Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1 A faint gleam.

Eda sighed as she placed the kid on the couch. Said kid was currently unconscious and considering what she had done not even an hour ago Eda didn’t expect her to wake up anytime soon.

Considering how much magic the kid was throwing about (enough to wreck a good chunk of the Conformatroium) Eda had no idea if this kid was even human. Because the Human realm didn’t have anything in the way of magic right? Because the strange transformation she witnessed certainly implied otherwise.

She frowned in thought as she closely examined the kid. She brushed the kid’s hair back and found rounded ears. Of course she could have a fairly rare mutation where sometimes a witch end up with rounded ears but Eda deemed that unlikely considering the kid followed Owlbert from the Human Realm. Also the scanning spell she use didn’t return any results that pointed towards the kid being a witch.
So there was that.

She looked down at the kid’s hands and noticed a ring on her right hand to her senses it felt like some sort of magical artifact. It was silver and had a purple gem that had some slowly disappearing black spots. It also had some engravings Eda couldn’t fully make out or decipher the meaning of. Eda didn’t notice this but her usual desire to obtain anything shiny and put it in her nest didn’t rear its head.

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt as she fully processed the gem on the kid’s hand. It uncomfortably reminded her of her own gem which monitored her magic level and made sure to help her keep her curse in check. “Please don’t tell me someone cursed a kid.” she muttered lowly anger coursing though her veins. If the kid (Luz her name was Luz) was actually cursed and she ever got her hands on who did so well they would learn first hand why she was one of the most feared wild witches on the Boiling Isles.

“What was that Eda?” her room mate asked from behind her.

Eda jumped slightly. “King don’t sneak up on me.” she said scolding him. King being King didn’t really care.

“What? I’ve been here a while. You must have been preeety deep in thought.” He jumped up on an unoccupied portion of the couch near Luz’s feet. “So what’re you thinking about?” he asked as he turned to look at the Owl House’s latest guest.

“I was thinking about what Luz did.” she answered and true she was thinking about that but she was also thinking about her curse.

“Yeah that transformation was sure was something.” King agreed. Eda thought back to Luz’s transformation. There had been a flash of light as the girl wearing a hoodie and shorts was replaced by one wearing an outfit that reminded Eda of the outfits humans thought witches wore hat included. She also had a staff that she used to whack people over the head as well as cast spells with which Eda wholeheartedly approved of. “Do you think she wants to join my army and help me regain my power?”

Eda chuckled while rapping King gently on his skull covered head. “You can ask her when she wakes up and no sooner.” She ignored the guilt as it burned at the back of her throat. Now wasn’t the time anyway.

“Okay Eda. I will.” King said with a slight pout. Thankfully he didn’t push and was content to curl up and take a nap.

“Owlbert do you mind watching over the kid while I rustle up something for us to eat? Cause Mama’s pretty hungry and I’m sure the kids are hungry too.” Considering they broke into prison, started a riot and blew it up in short order she expects them to be absolutely famished. Owlbert snapped off a salute saying to leave it to him. “Thanks.” she said as she made her way to the kitchen in order to prepare them all a somewhat late lunch.

First things first what was something a human could safely digest? She asked herself as she rummaged around in her fridge. She also made a mental note to go shopping soon they were starting to run low.

Griffin eggs seemed like a safe bet.

- - - -

Lilith Clawthorne quite frankly wished she could curl up in her bed and sleep the rest of the year away but unfortunately duty calls and since her sister was involved she was called in to examine the situation and from what she could see the Conformatirum would need extensive repairs to fix all the holes and burn marks and maybe a survey to check if the foundations were still stable. Her sister was one for mayhem but this level of destruction was (thankfully) a very rare occurrence. She also noticed that one poor guard had somehow gotten themselves stuck in a wall.

She looked mournfully down at her near empty cup of coffee while not particularly paying attention to what Warden Wrath was saying to her. The ever dutiful Steve on the other hand was noting down things for Lilith to peruse after a nap he had given Wrath a disapproving nod at one point, clearly whatever Wrath said was something asinine or stupid. Well she wasn’t paying attention until she managed to hear something very interesting. “-It wasn’t the Owl Lady it was this kid you see. Well it wasn’t that weird demon that’s usually by her side” Lilith’s eyes widened. She took a final swig of her coffee because she needed the energy. Her body long fueled by a mixture of spite, stubbornness, an inability to give up and sheer refusal to admit she had done wrong buzzed with a burst of energy. It wouldn’t last her too long so she had to make it count.

“Could you describe this child that was accompanying my sister?” she asked the warden looking at him with a stern glare that made all who caught its eye wilt (besides Edalyn of course). She needed to know who this mysterious child was and whatever their connection with her sister was.

Wrath wilted as Lilith glared at him. “Right so the kid she had tanned skin, curly hair and oh yeah she had golden brown eyes!” Wrath replied his words pouring out like a flood. “She changed with some strange magic and then started blasting.” He pointed to the poor guard lodged in the wall. Two other guards were trying to their best to help their fellow guard out of the wall without it collapsing on top of them. “Then she blasted poor Fig into the wall.” Lilith felt a headache coming on as Wrath rambled on about what had happened. For the sake of her last sliver of patience (also to avoid getting into trouble) she was not going to send this man to meet the Titan first hand....even if she’s getting more and more annoyed at him as time went on.

“Did you happen to catch any name or aliases the child used?” she asked putting her hand up in attempt to stem the flow of words Wrath was throwing her way. He had moved on to telling her what Eda was doing while it was information she would like to know the way the man conveyed it left a lot to be desired. She really didn’t need to hear how Wrath thought her sister was alluring, beautiful or any other adjectives he could use to describe her with thank you very much.

She sighed as Wrath thought back to the moment he got a face full of magic laser. He managed to eventually remember the name he heard before said laser. “Her name was something like Luz? I think that’s it.” Well at least she has a name now....except she had no idea how it was spelled so that might cause some issues.

“Thank you Warden Wrath.” Lilith thanked him before smiling at him like a viper about to strike its prey. “We’ll leave you to handle the incident reports about what my sister was doing here in the first place.” Warden Wrath gave a nervous gulp as a guard dropped a big pile of paperwork in his hands. “Remember it needs to filled out in triplicate.” His despair would fuel her at least to the end of the day and then she could take tomorrow off.

She hoped.

Please let her get her day off.

“That was mean.” Steve lightly chided her not meaning it in the slightest. “But I can’t say he didn’t have it coming.” he said as they left the room. “Really luring the Owl Lady to the Conformatroium just so he go on a date with her really?” he said disbelieving what he had just heard. One could ask who would be dumb enough to lure one of the most wanted criminal in the Boiling Isles into a secure prison in attempt to get a date with said criminal. But Warden Wrath proved to be dumb enough to do so which answered that question.

Lilith just felt her headache get much much worse.

Some days were not worth getting out of bed for and today was very quickly becoming that bad.

- - - -

Luz woke up to find herself on a couch and found that it was a worn yet comfy thing. She also found she ached a bit but a quick application of her magic soothed that well enough. She blinked as she tried to wipe the sleep from her eyes with her hands. She sat up and found King conked out near her feet. She could faintly smell something cooking as well as hear someone humming a song. She also heard a flutter of small wings heading towards the humming.

What was the last thing she remembered?

Her eyes widened as she remember what she had done before winding up on a couch. Meeting Eda the Owl Lady and King, being recruited to help to break into prison to steal something back, met the warden who cut off Eda’s head (even with the kinds of injuries a magical girl could get in the line of duty decapitation was a new one for Luz), managed to free some prisoners, started a riot and transformed into a magical girl and proceeded to beat up said warden.

“Oh I definitely overdid it.” she muttered as she turned her soul gem from a ring into its proper gem from to see how much magic she still had and if she needed to top up with one of her grief seeds. She blinked as she saw her soul gem seemed to be in near perfect condition with only a small hint of miasma that was slowly but surely disappearing. “That can’t be right.” she muttered examine every inch of her soul gem. She had used a lot of magic so her soul gem should be more corrupted that it actually was. Was it something the Boiling Isles were doing? If so why? Who? And How?

“What can’t be right kid?” asked Eda who was carrying a plate of what looked like scrambled eggs to Luz. Luz upon seeing that her stomach grumbled. Eda chuckled as she handed the plate to Luz who accepted it gratefully. “Guess you worked up an appetite huh?” she asked rhetorically as she sat down on a nearby chair. Her face suddenly became serious as she looked at Luz’s soul gem. Luz gulped suddenly feeling just a tad nervous. “Do you care to explain what just happened back there?” Eda asked as Luz place her plate of eggs on the coffee table.

Luz tossed up the pros and cons of telling the truth of her situation and eventually decided to tell Eda the truth considering the pros outweighed the cons in her mind. So here goes nothing. “Do you know what a magical girl is?” she asked, feeling very vulnerable, wanting to figure out what Eda knew and she could build on from there. Also she had no one to talk to about magical girl stuff apart from Kyubey and he was a no go for obvious reasons. She once had other magical girls who fought by her side. They were dead and they were never coming back.

“No I don’t kid.” Eda replied sensing that whatever was happening was serious.

“Well what a magical girl is is simple. A being called Kyubey will offer a girl one wish.” she said sombrely as she thought back to that day. Her gaze was solely trapped in the past not seeing the present. The past where her life would change and not necessarily for the better. Eda was listening intently to Luz’s story. “If they accept they become magical girls and need to fight monsters to survive.” She remembers her first fight with a witch and she’ll never forget the feeling of pure terror at the sight of it.

“What do you mean by that kid?”

Luz held up her soul gem allowing Eda to get a better view of it. “This is my soul gem.” Eda took a breath as she considered the name. Luz smiled in a manner suggesting resignation. “If you’re thinking that the name is ominous. You’ll be right. This is my soul removed from my body and turned into a gem.” Eda look appropriately horrified at learning that piece of information. “As we us our magic our soul gems get more and more corrupted and the only way to purify it is with something called a grief seed.”

“What’s a grief seed exactly?” Eda asked with an air of gentleness that seemed uncertain like she wasn't quite sure how to do it properly.

“Well remember when I said magical girls need to fight monsters?” Eda nodded showing she remembered.” Well the funny thing is the monsters I have to fight are also called witches. Funny huh?” No one laughed. “Defeat the witch and you get a grief seed. Use it to purify you soul gem and dispose of it with Kyubey’s help before the witch can hatch from the grief seed. And on the cycle goes.” Holding her soul gem in one hand she made a circling motion with her other hand. Magical girl kills a witch then she uses it to purify her soul gem so she can hunt more witches on and on it goes until the girls dies either by the hands of a witch or another magical girl or they become a witch themself.

“Kid you don’t have to keep talking about this if you don’t want to.”

“I know but I really do need someone I can talk about this with.”

“And you chose me of all people?” Eda looked incredulous at the thought of someone coming to her for help. Well Luz was trusting her instincts on this one. One needed a good set of instincts to survive as long as she has as a magical girl.

“Yeah. Yeah I did.” Luz took a deep breath in an attempt to fortify herself.

“So what are the monsters called witches like?” Eda asked not sound particularly happy at the name and Luz couldn't really blame her.

“Witches are magical girls whose soul gems have fully been corrupted. They’re as good as dead and all that’s left is a monster that exist to spread despair.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

At Luz’s declaration Eda had a realisation this kid really needed someone who was able to help her and that her situation was an uncomfortable reminder of the fate in store for the Owl Lady. A part of Eda decided right then and there that she was going to be the person she wished had helped her when she was a child. She wished with all her heart for someone anyone to help her deal with her curse. But nobody did so. “Would you like a hug kid?” she asked Luz gently. Luz nodded shakily. She looked like she wanted to cry and Eda couldn’t blame her in the slightest.

So Eda moved herself to the couch right beside the girl and pulled her into a hug. Eda could faintly fell the girl sob in her arms. Eda, who didn’t quite know what came over her, started to gently croon hoping to help sooth the girl. “I guess you really needed that huh?” she asked the girl rhetorically. The girl just gave a slight nod. Poor girl how long had she dealt with this on her own? King evidently being woken up by the noise took one look at what was happening and sat himself on Luz’s lap joining in on the hug. Eda couldn’t help but smile softly at the sight.

“Well kid you’re in good hands.” Eda began trying to work up the courage to admit something she didn’t like talking about. It was like trying to light a fire with wet kindling. Difficult but doable. But soon enough she gathered up the courage and in an attempt to get it out before her courage deserted began to ramble. “We’re kinda in the same situation. Well okay not really but I’m cursed you see.” Luz looked up at her, her eyes still wet with tears she said nothing. King looked confused for a moment before a look of realisation crossed his face. Well time to admit something she had been fearing for years. “I was cursed when I was a kid and sometimes I turn into a giant owl beast.” She still didn’t know who did it but whoever it was was in for a world of pain once she finds out.

“Is that what the elixir you drink is for? To help with your curse?” asked King who had seen her drink the elixir on multiple occasions and any time he asked her about it Eda dodged the question until he stopped asking.

“That’s right.” replied Eda.

“What else happens Eda?” asks Luz her voice a sombre but understanding one.

“Well...” Eda starts tapping the gem on her chest. Luz looks at the gem and understands. “The curse drains my magic and once it’s all gone...” she trailed off meaningfully.

“You become the owl beast permanently?” asked Luz already figuring out the answer.

“Yeah. That’s my best guess anyway. Don’t really want to test my luck you know?” Luz nodded agreeing with that sentiment. Eda didn’t like the fact she met someone who relate to the fact she was cursed and could end up an owl monster permanently.

“Yeah it sounds horrible. How long have you been cursed if that’s okay to ask?” Luz asked her hesitantly like she wasn’t sure if she was allowed to ask that.

Eda who was the one who bought up the topic in the first place smiled slightly. “Kid it’s all right I’m the one who bought it up in the first place.” she ruffled the top of Luz’s head. Luz half-heartedly protested but didn’t do anything to stop it. “Besides don’t be afraid to ask questions. If I don’t want to answer I’ll just say so okay?”

“Okay.” replied Luz. “I wish I asked more questions when Kyubey offered me a wish.” she muttered in a self recriminating manner that reminded Eda of some of her worse days where she regretted many decisions she had made like not opening up to Raine or at least not shutting them out completely.

“Is it okay if I ask what exactly happened? Same rules apply. If you don’t want to talk about it just say so and we’ll move on to another topic.” Eda said.

“Thanks Eda.” Luz said smiling sadly. “But I want to talk about it. I need to talk about it.” she then whispered morosely. “...Besides I don’t have anyone to talk to about magical girl stuff any more. Not since Sarah...witched out and...and killed Ashley.” Eda thinks she probably wasn’t supposed to hear that. But from what it sounded like this had happened fairly recently in the grand scheme of things. Did the girl even have time to properly grieve?

Luz took a deep breath and told Eda the story of how she became a magical girl.

- - - -

Four years ago.

Luz was sitting by herself somewhat near the local playground reading the first Good Witch Azura again getting lost in the world full of magic and wonder. She was close enough to see the kids playing and far enough so no one would pay her any attention. She would have played with the kids on the playground but none of them wanted to play with her leaving her all on her own. They thought she was too ‘weird’ or ‘excitable’.

She wished she could go on magic adventures like Azura! She could save the day and make lots and lots of friends and even have amazing powers!

She sighed wistfully.

Magic wasn’t real.

She wouldn’t have the chance to go on adventures.

Or make friends.

“What are you reading?” asked a cutesy sounding voice. Luz noticed it echoed oddly. Luz put down her book and looked to see who was speaking to her.

Instead of a person it was a bunny cat thing with red eyes standing near her. It had long white ears with floating golden rings and a long white tail. Its face seemed to be stuck in a permanent half smile. “Uh were you the one talking to me?” she asked the strange (probably magical) animal.

“Yes I did.” spoke the animal. Luz, who couldn’t help it, was so excited! Was this her chance? “My name is Kyubey. A pleasure to meet you Luz Noceda.” He even knew her name. Wow! Was this her chance? Her chance to be special?

“Uh what do you want from me Kyubey?” asked a curious Luz who wasn’t at all suspicious of the strange creature. It was like all the magical girl anime she watched! With a talking mascot and everything. Everyone knows the mascots are trustworthy.

“You have potential. The potential to become a magical girl.” explained Kyubey. Did he believe in her? Only Mami believed in her even since her dad died.

“Really?” asked an awe struck Luz.

Kyubey nodded. “Indeed. You just need to do one thing.”

“What is it? I’ll do anything.” Luz said who would later go on to deeply regret those words.

“It’s simple. I offer you a wish and in return you become a magical girl and fight witches that bring only despair.” he explained and Luz being who she was at the time saw nothing wrong with this. “So what wish will you make to have your soul shine?” he asked the girl.

Luz hummed in thought. What should she wish for? She looked at the Good Witch Azura book in her hands and brightened as she had an idea. A perfect wish just for her. “Kyubey I know what I want to wish for.” She smiled as she spoke a wish she held dearly in her heart.

“I wish that I could go on magical adventures just like Azura.” she wished with all her heart.

Kyubey smiled. “You wish will be granted.” And so a purple gem was created. It gleamed brilliantly in the light of the afternoon sun.

And so Luz’s life would take a whole different direction.

- - - -

“And that’s the story of the day I became a magical girl.” Luz said finishing up her story to Eda and King. Her tone was one that shouldn’t come from a kid so young. Kids should be enjoying life living and learning not being tricked into fighting monsters that used to be kids.

Eda tightened her grip on the kid. Is she ever meet the weasel she’d make him regret every single one of the girls it had tricked. She felt an agreeing growl from the owl beast. For once they actually could agree on something. “Why is he granting wishes like that?” King asked. It was a good question. Why was that weasel granting wishes of kids in the first place? What did he get out of it?

“He told me after...after.” Luz trailed off seeming not want to talk about whatever had happened. Luz took a deep breath. “He told me that he grants wishes because it helps stave off the heat death of the universe.”

“Isn’t that like a really really long time out?” asked King who apparently got bored one day and started reading through some of the books that Owlbert had gotten from the Human Realm. Crazy the kind of things people throw out.

“...Yeah. It is.” Luz replied. Her stomach growled loudly causing Luz to blush slightly at Eda’s amused look.

“All right I think that’s enough serious talk for now.” Eda declared. She reached over to the plate and handed it to Luz. “Eat up kid then we can talk about what happens next.” Luz nodded practically inhaling the eggs Eda made for her. Wow she must have been hungry.

- - - -

The Basilisk know as number five was having a pretty weird day all things considered. She had escaped from the Emperor’s Coven, snuck into the Owl Lady’s tent in an attempt to see if she would help her, saw a human run past her chasing after a palisman and then she saw the door. It lead somewhere else, a place that smelled...different to the Boiling Isles. The Basilisk took a deep breathe and snuck through the door before it closed up behind her.

Leaving her trapped in what appeared to be a whole other world.

A world she had no idea about what it contained.

In an old run down shack that looked like a sneeze could bring it down.

...Maybe she should have thought a bit more before she leaped.

Well too late now for second thoughts.

She exited the shack and found that trees had green leaves which was really weird.

“Mija? Where are you?” She heard a woman call from the distance. The Basilisk panicked as she heard someone come closer to her.

So she transformed into into the first human she ever saw.

“Ah there you are Mija! You always come here to think.” the woman said as she came near the house and saw number five who just smiled nervously. The woman had tanned skin with brown hair in a bun. She was wearing glasses over her brown eyes and she was wearing a strange blue outfit. “Are you feeling alright?” the woman asked her in concern at whatever expression she saw on the Basilisk’s face.

The Basilisk nervously waved her hands about. “I’m...I’m just nervous.” she explained telling the truth but not the whole truth. She was definitely nervous!

The woman’s face softened. “Don’t worry Luz. It’ll be fine. I’m sure camp will be fun and you’ll surely enjoy it. I’m sure of it.” Well at least she knew the name of the person she was currently pretending to be. What Luz didn’t expect was the woman closing in then hugging her.

Luz, eyes widening, tensed slightly at the hug afraid before relaxing as nothing bad seemed to happen. If the woman noticed she didn’t say anything. It felt...nice. Nice and comforting.

The woman moved back slightly from the hug so she could look at Luz’s face.
“Come on I think I can manage to drive you to camp. How does that sound?”
“Sounds great. Thank you.” Luz smiled nervously.

The woman smiled. She disengaged the hug and turned to leave the clearing the old ramshackle shack was in.

Luz followed as she gave one last glance at the ramshackle shack and her only connection to the Boiling Isles that lay within.

She turned away and took her first steps into a whole new world.

- - - -

Camila Noceda walked out of the woods her daughter trailing right behind her. She was worried about her daughter. It seems no matter what she tried her daughter wouldn’t talk to her about what was bothering her. It was like part of her daughter was closed off from her and wouldn’t be honest with her feelings. Luz would smile but there was an edge to it. Luz would laugh in a way that sounded slightly broken. She would talk about Azura but there was always a hint of regret. Luz’s eyes used to hold such a lively spark and now it was like only embers remain. There was the tensing up when she hugged Luz.

It got worse about three weeks ago when Sarah Wilhelm (who was just a little bit older than Luz) was found mysteriously dead in an alleyway and Ashley Jackson (who was a year younger than Luz) vanished without a trace. The two girls, she knew, often hung out with her little girl and spent time together doing whatever kids did these days. When she asked about them after what had happened Luz had a guarded look in her eye and clammed up tight. Then there was the book report which proved to be the last straw with the school administration. Either Luz went to camp or she was expelled and as much as it pained Camila to do so she sent Luz to camp.

There were rumours about what happened and Camila hated every single one she heard about the part her daughter may have played in what happened to Sarah and Ashley.

It hurt her something fierce that her daughter wouldn’t talk to her but she knew that she had to let Luz know she would be there for her. No matter what.

Maybe camp would just be what she needs.

She hoped.

She and Luz walked up into the car. Camila got into the driver’s seat as Luz got in the passenger’s seat. She smiled at Luz who gave a shaky and nervous smile in return.

Camila turned the keys in the ignition. Off they went.

Luz quickly turned her attention to the view outside the car window she looked in awe at the passing scenery smiling slightly as she did so. Camila’s heart broke at the sight she had sorely missed.

When was the last time she had seen her daughter like that? Smiling earnestly? She asked herself. She couldn’t answer the question satisfactorily.

Soon enough they arrived at Camp Reality Check and Camila found where to drop off her daughter.

As Luz got out of the car Camila said farewell to her daughter. “I’ll see you later Mija. I love you.” She waved her goodbyes for her daughter she wouldn’t see for the next three months.

“I...I love you too.” Luz said waving back to her.

Camilla after making sure her daughter was heading off to where the other kids were going left.

A thought niggled in her mind at something she had noticed with her daughter as she drove back to Gravesfield. Where was her daughter’s ring? The one she never took off.

She frowned deeply as she thought. Where had that ring come from in the first place? Camila certainly didn’t get her a ring like that. So that left the question of who did so.

The question would go unanswered for quite some time.

- - - -

Luz enjoyed the eggs Eda had made for her. They tasted amazing. She smiled as she finished off her lunch. “Thanks Eda. It was really good.”

“You’re welcome kid. Glad you enjoyed it.” Eda smiled. “What do you want to do now kid?” she asked.

Luz thought for a moment about what she should do. She didn’t want to go to camp for three months one it sound objectively awful to her two she had no idea what the witch population was like where the camp was located which meant she could easily wind up a witch if she was unlucky. “Hey Eda do you think I could stay here and learn about magic and the Boiling Isles?” she asked the older woman. She wanted to investigate what was purifying her soul gem and if she could replicate the phenomena she could...prevent those tragedies from occurring again. Sarah twisted into a mockery of her wish and Ashley killed and consumed no trace of her left. She wanted to learn about this world she found herself in. She wanted to learn magic that wasn’t tainted by Kyubey’s paws.

“Well kid I have no idea if you can do magic like I can.” Eda admitted. “Buuut I know for a fact magic has changed a heck of a lot over the centuries so maybe you’ll find some sort of lost magic or something. Heck I don’t know kid but I’ll help you however I can.” Eda said smiling, Luz felt excited in a way she hadn’t felt in a good long while. “So sure you can stay here.”

“Thanks Eda!”

Eda chuckled. “You’re welcome kid.” She ruffled Luz’s hair again. “Also you’re going have to help about the house and my stall while you’re here.”

“That’s fair.” Luz said in agreement.

Eda let go of the hug and stood up. “Come on kid let’s go set up a room for you to sleep in while you’re here.” she said before walking up the stairs.

“Cool let’s go.” Luz gently picked up King in her arms and followed the witch up the stairs. Meanwhile King was enjoying being carried by Luz.

Eda, with Luz and King right behind her, opened the door to the room it seemed she partially used for storage. “What do you think kid? We’ll get you a proper bed later.”

“Thanks Eda it looks good.”

“You know you don’t have to lie to spare my feelings kid. I’m a big girl I can take it.”

“No Eda I mean it.”

“Okay then but we’ll do some cleaning up first okay? Make it a bit more liveable for ya.”

“Sounds good to me.” Luz repiled before seeing what looked to be a sleeping bag. She put down King who grumbled slightly about being put down. “I can use this to sleep on while I wait for a bed.” she explained to the witch and the demon.

“What is that weird fluffy thing anyway?” King asked as he peered at the sleeping bag Luz was holding.

“It’s a sleeping bag King. It’s kinda like a small portable bed people use while they go camping.” she explained.

“I see I see. Like a sleep cocoon.” he said nodding his head to show his understanding.

“Basically yeah.” Luz replied as she put the sleeping bag to the side.

“Okay you two enough messing around.” Eda smiled showing she was enjoying their interactions. “Let’s do some cleaning so Luz can stay okay?”

““Okay.”” the two of them said.

So the three of them started to tidy up the room a bit. Hooty even poked his head to help. He got Luz punching him in the face when he accidentally spooked her. It didn’t seem to do much to him.

Luz apologised and Hooty, who said it was okay, got lectured by Eda to stop sneaking up on people implying that this was a recurring issue with the bird tube thing.

- - - -

Luz the Basilisk didn’t know what to make of this camp she wound up at. After talking to an adult she was pointed to where everyone was gathering for the introduction at camp. It looked like it was at some sort of stage area. In front of it was a whole lot of kids that seemed to be about Luz’s age.

After about ten or so minutes after she had arrived and joined the group in front of the stage a man walked up on the stage and stood in front of what Luz was pretty sure was a microphone or least the human equivalent of one anyway. Than man looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here but had no choice in the matter. He tapped the mic with his finger causing a slight bit of feedback. “Hello and welcome to Camp Reality Check where you’ll learn to think inside the box.” His voice was monotonous and bored. “First things first the rules.” he then proceeded to list of all the rules of camp and people quickly stopped paying attention. Luz found it difficult to focus. His voice made her want to take a nap.

Someone next to her muttered. “Wow this is pretty boring huh?”

Luz started slightly. “Are...are you talking to me?” she asked as she turned towards the voice.
The person standing next to her had brown eyes and black hair. They had a small gap in their teeth and they were wearing what looked like a black dress. They blinked in surprise. “Uh yeah I am. My name’s Masha Jackson. You’re Luz Noceda right?” they asked her knowingly. Luz guessed Masha knew the real Luz.

Oh dear.

Well at least Luz knew her own surname now.

“Yup that’s me Luz Noceda.” Luz replied masking her nervousness as best she could.

“Cool nice to finally meet my sister’s friend.” Masha said smiling at a Luz who could only feel dread at the moment. Who was Masha’s sister? What should she do?

“Nice to meet you too Masha.” Luz replied trying her best not to panic. She looked at the guy on the stage. She had a double take. Was that guy still talking?!? She listened and found the man was talking about the camp’s values and wow did Luz tune out fast. She even saw a couple of people had fallen asleep standing up. Which was kinda impressive really.

“How long do you think this guy will natter on for?” Masha asked. Luz could only shrug having no idea.

Eventually after what felt like an eternity of boredom they were allowed to explore the camp with a reminder to not go too far into the woods. Something about people disappearing? Noted.

Masha grabbed Luz’s hand. “Come on I want to talk with you privately.” They said as Luz blushed at the casual contact. Masha then led her darting through the crowd of people gracefully and skilfully to the woods they were literally told no to go too far in.

“Uh Masha why are we going into the wood?” Luz’s question went unanswered.

Soon enough when the camp site was just out of sight Masha let go of Luz’s hand. Before she could mourn the loss of the hand holding Masha trapped Luz between them and a tree with an outstretched arm. “I’ll ask you this only once. Who are you and where the hell is the real Luz Noceda?” The enby stated gravely. The look in their very pretty eyes were as hard as flint.

Oh this was the worst case scenario.

- - - -

Eda sighed feeling slightly exhausted as the trio had just finished with some cleaning to make Luz’s room presentable and as soon as they had done so Luz began to make herself at home. King had curled up and fallen asleep about halfway through. So Eda and Luz were just content to leave him there as they finished up the cleaning.

“What do think of your room now?”

“It’s great Eda thank you.” Luz smiled slightly.

“So how long do you think you’ll stay for?” Better ask now then get a nasty surprise later down the line.

“I’ve been sent away for the summer so about three months?” Luz replied with a slight droop of her shoulders. She held up three fingers to help illustrate.

“Is it okay if I ask about what happened?” Eda asked. It might be something serious it might not.

Luz shook her head. “I’m not really ready to talk about it yet.”

“That’s perfectly fine kid.” Eda smiled. “Good for you for remembering the golden rule.”

“Treat others like you want to be treated?” Wait what?

“Heck no if someone is asked a question they don’t want to answer they don’t have to.” Eda said with a scoff.

“Oh okay.”

“So we’ve got at least a few hours before I put on dinner do you want to do anything?”

Luz hummed and pulled out what looked like a small sketch book. “I think I’ll do some drawing if that’s alright.”

“Perfectly fine by me kid. What do you think you’ll draw?” Eda asked curious about the kid’s hobbies.

Luz hummed. “I think I’ll draw you and King.” Luz gave her a wistful smile. “I like drawing the people and moments I care about.” Luz told her. She was clearly leaving something out but Eda figured if it was important Luz would tell her.

Besides Eda had an inkling on what Luz was implying.

“Well kid I’ve got some drawings on King’s up on the fridge. So if you want you can hang up some drawings as well.” she offered.

“Really?” Eda nodded. “Thanks Eda.” Luz smiled.

Eda couldn’t help it and smiled back. “You’re welcome kid.” She then ruffled the kid’s hair again. Luz just pouted as Eda did so.

The next morning Eda would find two additional drawings on her fridge. One of them was of her looking very majestic with Owlbert while King was on her shoulder looking somewhat goofy. She smiled enjoying the picture and how Luz portrayed her.

The other was a bit more surprising to the Owl Lady. It was a drawing of three girls each with a name below them. The girl in the centre was clearly Luz she was smiling as she had both arms around the other two’s shoulders. The girl on the left had short blonde hair, green eyes and a fox like grin and she was wearing something that a phantom thief would wear. The name under this girl was Sarah. The other girl had black hair tied up in twin tails, she had red eyes and was wearing a red dress that went down to her ankles. She wasn’t smiling but she was clearly comfortable where she was. Below the other girl was the name Ashley.

“Oh kid. I’m going to help you with all that I can.” she swore to herself clutching her half empty mug of apple blood. “and that’s a promise.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

Luz gulped as Masha asked her the worst possible question to ask. She had no idea what to do. “Uh how did you know?” she asked Masha nervously. She would have tried to avoid the question and attempt to trick them that she was actually indeed Luz. However if Masha knew Luz well enough it wouldn’t work. So being somewhat honest it is.

Masha pointed at Luz’s right hand. “That’s why. Because the real Luz always wore a ring on her right hand and she never ever took it off,” they explained to her as Luz looked at her right hand, “The one time someone tried to take her ring off....well let’s just say someone got a mean left hook from Luz.” The enby looked at Luz with a meaningful gaze. “So that’s how. Who are you anyway?”

“I uh I don’t really have a name?” Luz explained with a nervous shrug. “I kinda panicked and took her place and form when I heard her mom coming.”

“Are you some sort of shapeshifter or something?” Masha asked. They looked quite surprised at Luz’s nod. “Huh okay. Do you want a name for yourself?”

“Uh yeah I would. Could you help me?”

“Sure I think I can do that.” Masha smiled at her before they remembered what they were doing in the first place. “But can you please tell me where Luz is?” their voice cracked a little at what they said next. “She was the last one who saw my sister before she disappeared.” Oh that was why.

“I’d quite like to know where Luz Noceda went off to as well.” A voice called out startling the pair of Masha and Luz who both whirled around to face who just talked to them. “My apologies I didn’t mean to frighten you.” The weird bunny cat smiled Luz found that smile to be...off. “My name is Kyubey and I’m quite curious where Gravesfield’s only magical girl has run off to.” What the heck is a magical girl?

“Wait Luz is a magical girl?” asked Masha, who apparently knew what a magical girl was, receiving a nod from Kyubey. “What about my sister? Was she a magical girl?” they asked Kyubey clearly desperate for an answer. Luz found the sight to be a heart wrenching one.

“She was one while she was alive. She was killed in the line of duty by Sarah Wilhelm.” Kyubey revealed to the pair. His voice seemed to not emote much so it sound like her was just stating an interesting fact to Luz.

Said declaration hung in the air for a moment as both Masha and Luz tried to process what they had just been told.

“what.” was all Masha had to say to that. Disbelief and shock filled that word. “...why why would Sarah kill her?”

“I do not know why one person would kill another.” Kyubey replied still smiling. Did he have any other expression apart from smiling? It was honestly kinda creepy. “But there might be many reasons why someone would choose to kill another.” Well that wasn’t a very useful answer.

“What...what happened to her body?”

“Unknown. She was killed in a witch’s labyrinth and when that witch was killed anything still inside would have been destroyed as the labyrinth collapsed. Any attempt to find out has resulted in failure.” Kyubey explained as his tail swished about.

“Right...right. I think I just...I just need a moment.” Masha replied as they sat down on the forest floor leaning their back against the tree. They looked like they were processing what they had just heard. Luz could see the faint hint of tears in their eyes.

Kyubey turned his attention back to Luz, seemingly content to leave Masha to their own devices. His beady red gaze looked at Luz intently. “So what manner of creature are you then?” He asked the Basilisk.

“Well I’m a Basilisk.... a shapeshifter basically.” Luz explained. She left out her ability to eat magic. Something told her to be careful about who she told about that little ability.

“I see I see.” Kyubey tilted his head to the side slightly. “I wasn’t aware there were other sentient species on this planet.”

“Well I’m an escaped lab experiment so I wouldn’t really know.” she replied. It was true she didn’t really know anything about where she was. Which in hindsight wasn’t her best idea but she didn’t really have any better ones at the time.

“That makes sense. May I ask what kind of experiment you are?” he asked with a curious tilt of his head.

No.

“No. I don’t feel comfortable sharing that with you.” she stated flatly.

“Understood.” Kyubey turned around and began to leave. “I am needed elsewhere.” he stated.
He briefly turned his head around to face Luz. “I would recommend you two leave the woods soon. There is a witch nearby and it is coming closer.” With that he walked into the mist. “I’ll be in touch.” Luz could hear him say.

The mist?

Luz sniffed her eyes widening in shock at what she smelled. It was the scent of magic. Something was coming.

Luz shook Masha’s shoulder. “We need to go.” she said as the enby raised their head, tears trailing from their eyes. The mist grew thicker. There was a bird’s cry. Masha’s eyes widen. They stand and Luz takes their hand in hers.

[There’s a countdown from 5. The lights flicker.]

[4] There is a groan of bending steel. { 飛行機に乗れません}

[3] There’s the sound of a cuckoo clock.

[2] A flap of wings of many birds { 空に触れることができない}

[1] and a screech of anger. Of despair.

{さあ、ショーを始めましょう} The witch stirs from her dream.

Reality blurs and the forest distorts and twists. The forest is now made up of clocks and gears all reaching high into the heavens. The floor was made of frozen interlocking gears like time had stopped. There was a constant tick and a constant tock as time slowly marched on. Tending to the clocks were strange wooden birds occasionally replacing the gears with junk trying to fix the clocks that were not working. There was mist whirling in the air as the birds flew through it to reach their destination. The birds did not care that there were uninvited guests they were only considering their jobs worth paying attention to. {時計が止まりました。時計は動きます。時計が止まりました。} It takes three days to go over it. It takes three days to go around it. Location unknown. {お母さん、寂しいです} Where did she go? It ends. It begins. It begins at the end. It ends at the beginning.

“I’m guessing this is a labyrinth?” Masha asked clutching tightly to Luz’s hand. Luz didn’t mind it. Take comfort when you can. Small moments are precious. {私のようにならないで、あなたの時間を上手に過ごす} The air is stagnant. There is no flow. Yet they breathe fine all the same.

“Yeah let’s get out of here before we met the witch this belongs to.” Luz suggested. Masha agreed immediately.

“Sounds good to me.” Masha replied. They didn’t want to be here. But they were.

They both turned and began to walk slowly away from the hive of activity in order to search for an exit that wasn’t near something that might kill them. They won’t be killed. They will be repurposed.

Unfortunately for the two there was a lose piece of scrap metal in their path. Small and usually inconsequential. Like many things in life such as a pebble in the pond.

One of them accidentally kicked the piece of metal. It went flying. They both tracked it with their eyes and saw that it was going to hit one of the clocks.

It did so with a loud crash and a bang. There was a moment of brief silence as all the wooden birds stop their work. The silence was broken by Masha and Luz breaking into a sprint running for their lives. The birds dropped what they doing and flew after them. They had found some new parts. Oh joyous day! Time will move again. It has been so long since they had found new parts!

“Shit shit shit.”Masha cursed as they ran after Luz.“This is not how I expected summer camp to start! The clocks seemed to be endless. {時間はぐるぐる回る} There was no end in sight. There was no beginning and no end. Or was there? Yes? No? Yes? No? No No No No No No No No No No!

“Less talking! More running!” Luz shouted dodging out of the way of a bird diving down to attack them. { 私の時間は止まってしまいました。} How does one pass an eternity? Time repeats itself. Like re-runs on TV. No rhyme no reason. Over and over again.

“Right!” Masha replied before they all felt the world begin to rumble. { それは再び動くでしょう} The dreamer awakens for her beautiful dream. A dream where there is a tomorrow to come. She would take their time for herself. Her time shall move again. The first second of eternity will pass.

There was a bird in front of them. It was made of gears of all sorts of metal like brass and steel, it was made up of pistons and wires and pendulums. There was no rhyme or reason in its anatomy. It was gigantic. {魔女ミネルバが目覚める} It roared at Luz and Masha. It spread its wings wide. She shall chip away at the diamond mountain. The next second of eternity shall pass.

There were birds behind them. There was no where for them to run. They could not fight. Well Masha couldn’t. Luz decided to try something risky. The gigantic bird leapt at them ready to steal what belongs to her. Belongs belongs error error error. Luz took a deep breath and consumed. She consumed the witch’s magic. She consumed its very being. She consumed and she consumed and she consumed until she could consume no more. The bird screamed. Eternity would pass no more. Time had stopped. The bird was winding down. Maybe it was time to rest? The diamond mountain would remained unchanged. Nothing would change. Nothing could change. The bird has wound down. It is time to rest. Things could change. But it won’t be easy.

It tasted vile. It burned and it sickened and it twisted. It tasted of despair of hopelessness of anger of sorrow of the last moments of a young girl’s life. It sickened Luz but she wanted to live. She wanted to be free. So she forced it down. Down deep in her gullet. She consumed magic of a living thing. Of a dead thing. Of a living thing. It lived and it died and yet it tried to live in spite of that.

Something whispered. “I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.” It was an echo. Fading fast. Going to another place. “But thank you. Thank you for freeing me.” Thank you for what? Luz wanted to ask. She got no answer.

The world righted itself and Luz found herself on the ground with a pounding headache and the sounds of a forest that wasn’t made of metal and gears and despair. Luz could see Masha fretting and then brightening up as they saw Luz wake up. “Oh my god you scared me. Don’t you ever do that again.” they chided her. Luz could see their concern and worry in their eyes.

“Sorry I’ll try not to worry you next time.” Luz smiled. “What happened after I did that?” Luz asked she couldn’t quite remember what happened after she ate the witch.

“Well the labyrinth disappeared. So there’s that.” Masha stated dryly. “Apart from that you didn’t miss much.”

“Cool.” Luz sighed. “I think I’m just going to lay here for a bit.” She looked up at the canopy and marveled at the green trees. Luz heard Masha shifting and the dirt being kicked about. She turned to look at Masha who took a page from her book and laid down on the forest floor.

“What? We don’t have anything...,” Masha looks at their watch. “for at least three hours so I’m just lay here and try and process things.” Fair enough.

“Would you like to talk about it?”

“Not just at the moment thanks.” Masha replied. They looked up at the sky with a thoughtful frown. “I’ve got an idea.” they said after about five minutes of companionable silence.

“What is it?”

“Coming up with a name for you remember?” the enby reminded her. “I did promise and well now is a good as time as any.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Luz said. “Do you have any suggestions? I don’t really know any good names.”

“Well that’s a damn shame. Well that's why I’m here to help.”

Soon enough after vetoing some of Masha’s suggestions such as Velma, Daphne, Molly, Anne and Mary. Luz picked a name she liked the sound of. She decided to be Vee.

That was the first thing to truly belong to her.

Her very own name.

“Hi I’m Vee it’s nice to meet you.” Vee greeted her friend.

“Nice to met you too Vee I’m Masha.” They both smiled at each other. Vee couldn’t help it and started to laugh she was so glad to be alive. Masha somewhat baffled ending joining in anyway.

They enjoyed their time together until it was time to go meet their cabin. The pair had leaves in their hair and a smile on their faces. So their first day at camp soon drew to a close.

- - - -

While Vee and Masha were running for their life Kyubey was making sure to keep an eye on the two just off in the distance with the help of a slight adjustment of the perception filter. At seeing what the self proclaimed Basilisk did to the witch Kyubey had a realisation. Firstly Vee Noceda left out some details about herself likely deeming them irrelevant. Secondly neither Masha Jackson nor Vee Noceda should be contracted. While potential gains could be high in the either case the potential problems they might cause was too big a risk to the cycle at this juncture. They may be reassessed at a later date but for now he was content to observe.

But one thing for certain is that the origins of Vee Noceda was of high priority. The creation of beings that can consume magic could easily threaten the harvest of energy.

He must ensure there are no more than the one know as Vee Noceda. If there are others then they must be found and quickly. How someone on Earth managed to create something like Vee Noceda was a mystery.

He was quite content to leave Vee Noceda alone for the moment. The area she was in had a low population density of witches and she was going to be here for the next three months so things should be fine as long as Kyubey left a drone to watch her.

- - - -

It was the end of Luz’s first day in the Boiling Isles and she was nearly ready to turn in for the night. She had a shower and done her teeth.

She said good night to Hooty, Eda and King. She settled down in the sleeping bag planning to read a bit for before sleeping. Her phone beeped. She looked down and saw it was a text message from her mom.

Mami: How are you finding camp?

Luz thought for a moment.

She typed out a response.

Luz: I think I’m going to like it here.

Luz: I love you.

Mami: I love you too Mija. Good night.

Luz: Good night Mami.
She closed her messages and heard a knock at the door. Another lie to the pile. “Come in.” she called.

The door opened revealing King with his rabbit Francois in his arms. “Your sleep cocoon looks comfy. Can I use it as well?” he asked so adorably.

Luz chuckled. “Sure thing King.”

King cheered and made himself comfortable at the foot of the sleeping bag kind of like a car. “Night Luz.” he said.

“Good night King.” Luz replied.

Soon enough Luz fell asleep.

And for once the nightmares didn’t seem as bad.

And so the first day ended.

- - - -

Luz woke up and blinked at who was right in front of her face. It was Hooty. He greeted her with a smile. “Hiya new roomie. How’re you doing?” he asked his voice feeling like nails on a chalkboard. Compared to some of the witches she had face it wasn’t that bad. That one shadow witch still made Luz think about the screams of the damned when it was particularly dark.

“I’m good Hooty. But could you back up a bit? I need to get up and ready for the day.” she asked the house demon politely. “Uh please?” King who had been sleeping at the foot of her sleeping bag grumbled slightly.

“Sure thing Luz! Besides I’m going to rustle you all a nice and delicious breakfast.” His head shot out of the room with a hoot.

She could hear the sounds of muffled cursing from Eda coming from downstairs. Luz snickered as she got her clothes read for the day.

She headed to the bathroom and got ready for the day.

Time to begin her second day in the Boiling Isles.

- - - -

Eda was hanging out by her lonesome in the kitchen enjoying some solitude before the kids got up for the day. She usually wouldn’t be up this early but some weird dream woke her up and she couldn’t get back to sleep. So warm apple blood at like seven in the morning it was. She tried to see if she could remember anything from her dream only to come up with nothing. “Stupid dream being unclear.” she groused to herself.

Eda cursed as Hooty made a sudden appearance in the kitchen with a loud ‘hi Eda’. He nearly caused her to drop her apple blood. “Damn it Hooty. Don’t do that.” she reprimanded her house demon. “How many times have I told you not to do that?” She adjusted her grip on her ‘thirty and flirty mug’ to make sure she didn’t drop it

Hooty stuck his tongue deep in thought. Eda’s eye twitched slightly. “Hmmm at least twice.” he responded as he start to rummage around in the cupboards for what he need to cook them all breakfast.

“It’s a bit more more than two.” she replied with slight annoyance. A whole lot more than two in fact.

“Oh it’s three then.” Nope still wrong.

Before Eda could try correct him again she heard a “Good morning Eda.” from Luz who just came down the stairs.

As Eda turned to face her apprentice, she still couldn’t believe that she had an apprentice now, Eda noticed that Luz seemed more at ease than she was yesterday. The day they met the girl was very guarded and expecting things to go wrong. Eda sighed. That girl reminded her a lot of herself. There was a still an edge of caution to her ever move but at lease she seemed comfortable in the Owl House. “Morning kid. How you feeling?” she asked before taking a sip from her mug.

Luz gave a slight smile. “I’m good Eda. So what’s the plan for today?” Luz asked as she got herself a glass of water. Both ignored Hooty’s very loud singing as he cooked some griffin eggs on the stove.

“Well I’m going to get you and King to run some potion deliveries for me.” Eda replied. It would serve two main purposes one allow her apprentice to get familiar with Bonesborough as well as allow Eda to focus more time on her potion work. She had some orders that she had been putting off for a while due to them needing a fair bit of time to devoted to them. Also try and think of some sort of lesson plan for Luz. She wanted her apprentice to be the best she could be and that was something she didn’t want to half ass.

“Ah man do I have to?” King asked (read complained) as he finally made his appearance. Eda was wondering when he was going to show up. At least she didn’t have to find what odd place he decided to sleep in. Last time she found him sleeping in one of her cauldrons. “I need to lord my power over the children. How else will I gather my army of darkness?”

“One: Luz needs someone who knows their way around Bonesborough while I’m working on some potions. Two you can do that another day the slay ground isn’t going anywhere. Finally I’ll give you two some money for you to get some not dogs or something.” she said sweetening the deal at the end. King loved not dogs and was willing to do just about anything for some.

King, tail wagging in excitement, agreed. “Okay I’ll do it.” he said failing completely to hide his excitement in the slightest. He reached to Eda silently asking her for the money.

“You can get the money after we eat breakfast.” Eda said. King pouted but complied.

“Uh what’s a not dog exactly?” Luz asked curious about the food item Eda mentioned.

Eda shrugged. “It’s kinda like a hot dog.” she explained to Luz she had tried a hot dog before on one of her visits to the Human Realm. It was fine.

“Ah okay.”

“Come on kid Hooty’s done cooking so lets get something to eat while it’s still hot yeah?” Eda suggested.

Luz nodded. “Sounds like a good idea.” she said in agreement.

Soon everyone had some breakfast. After they cleaned up Eda handed Luz some money, a bag full of finished potions and a list of names and addresses.

“Good bye kids.” Eda called out as King and Luz headed out the door. “Remember! Measure twice and cut once and don’t trust men in sandals.” She gave them a wave goodbye after giving them some killer advice.

“See ya.” “Bye Eda!” the two kids called out as they exited the door closing behind them.

Owlbert poked his head out of Eda’s hair and gave a hoot saying he had found what she was looking for. “Really? Thanks Owlbert. Good job.” Owlbert dove back in and quickly popped out holding a book titled ‘Magic and you: a beginner’s guide.’ She had thrown that in her hair at some point and kind of forgot about it. But now that she had a kid to teach and starting with the basics would be a good idea. She took the book and quickly flicked through it seeing it was still in good condition.

Owlbert gave a hoot. “What?” She got a reprimanding hoot in reply. “What do you mean it’s a mess in there I organised it last week?”

Hoot.

“Argh not again!” she groaned. Looks like she would have to spend some time in the near future organising her hair storage again.

“Oh whatever it can wait.” Owlbert hopped onto her shoulder as she tied her hair back. “Come on we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

- - - -

So far Luz had found the deliveries to be simple and easy. She got to explore Bonesborough with King and get to know the city better. Some of the reactions she got from Eda’s customers after explaining who she was were a bit odd however. One asked her about someone called Raine and when she said she had no idea that was that lady went all aghast and shut the door after paying. Another looked liked she believed the end times were coming after giving her name. King just shrugged it off saying people could be really weird sometimes.

What the two of them wouldn’t realise until much much later is that Luz only introduced herself with her first name and the fact she was Eda’s apprentice leading to some people in Bonesborough drawing the wrong conclusion and subsequently spreading that information around. But by the time they did find out it would have been too late.

Luz pulled out the list of names to see who was left. There was only one name left on the list Adegast. They were nearly done. “Soon we can feast!” King cheered from his perch on Luz’s shoulder.

“Yeah yeah.” Luz said with a chuckle. “Can you point in the right direction?”

“Yeah gimme the list.” King said reaching out a claw. Luz gave him the list. King read the address on the list and began to give her directions. “You’re going wanna take the next left and then...”

After about five or six minutes or so of King guiding her they found themselves at their destination. Luz raised up the list to check they were in the right place. She lowered it and the castle was still there like an eyesore.

It was certainly....something alright.

“Uh what are we looking at?” King asked as he squinted at the castle clearly not sure what to make of the castle in front of him.

“Adegast’s house presumably.” Luz replied. “Let’s give him his potion and grab his money.” she suggested. Something felt off. “Then we can get some not dogs.”

“Yay food! Let’s go!” King pointed at the castle wanting to get this over as soon as possible.

Luz went up and knocked on the door. The door opened on its own revealing what looked to be shelves and shelves of books. Luz walked in her steps echoing. “Hello? Is anyone here? I’m here with your potion from Eda so if you could show yourself that would be really swell.” Luz’s voice echoed around the room.

A sudden cloud of smoke spewed forth. Luz tensed up slightly ready to act. The smoke cleared to reveal a bearded man wearing star covered robes with glasses on his face. “Why hello there I’m Adegast.” the man greeted them looking at Luz with barely disguised curiosity. “I expected Eda to deliver my potion.” Something about the way he said that rubbed Luz the wrong way.

“Well I’m Eda’s apprentice and she’s tasked me with delivering her potions.” Luz explained. “So if you can get the money I’ll give you your potion and we’ll be out of your hair.” Please just have the money so they can leave.

“Hmmm.” That wasn’t a good sign. “I’ll get you money in just a moment. Why don’t you have a seat and some tea while you wait?” King gave her a questioning look. Luz gave a slight shake of her head. King understood immediately.

“No thanks we’re good.” Luz replied firmly to the man.

“Are you sure? I think we can talk about a great deal about what fate has in store for you.” he said smiling like a grandfather would. Luz scowled while King looked at her with concern. She knew what fate typically held for magical girls like her.

“No.” was all Luz said before turning to leave. She had enough of this.

She felt Adegast grab her wrist. “Let go.” she warned the man. King sensing danger jumped of Luz’s shoulder and got out of the blast zone. He quickly ran out of the castle and away from danger.

Adegast didn’t let go.

His mistake.
There was a flash of light.

- - - -

She stood in a library. Pages filled the air dancing in a non existent breeze.

Each page was a picture of her in different outfits. Different fates. Different possibilities.

She grabbed one. Wrong. She grabbed another. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

Finally she found it.

She grabbed the page. It ignited.

She burned. Like a star. Brilliant but brief.

She transformed.

First she dons the dress as the fire fades.

Her outfit is a white sweater which is surmounted by a purple yoke and on it is her soul gem takes the form of a purple star surrounding by a gold outline. It has a purple ankle length skirt.

Her trainers ignite and transform into boots.

With a snap of her fingers a wide brimmed hat coloured white appears on her head. She pulls down the brim to cover her eyes.

She reaches out and her staff answers her. It’s made of white wood and is topped by a blue raindrop shaped gem.

- - - -

The transformation faded and Adegast’s severed arm fell to the floor with a clatter. It sounded like wood. Adegast roared. Luz noticed that the bearded man had a tentacle going into him. Like...like a sock puppet she realised.

“Okay that’s not a pleasant sight.” she said as she saw Adegast’s true form. It looked like a nightmarish cross between a ventriloquist dummy and an octopus.

“IF I CAN’T USE YOU AS BAIT I’ll JUST KILL YOU AND USE YOUR CORPSE TO LURE THE OWL LADY HERE.” the strange demon roared.

“Worse monsters that you have tried and failed.” she said mockingly.

He went on the offensive and Luz replied in kind.

He struck when she stood with other puppets wielding weapons like swords and axes.

She dodged and shot out a fireball and managed to burn off some of his tentacles. The smell of burning flesh began to fill the room. Adegast roared in agony and fury.

The air began to fill with more and more puppets. Making it hard to finish this in one go because he could surround her and make it as difficult as possible to finish the fight properly.

But she could always bring down the house. She smiled as that thought crossed her mind.

She summoned numerous fireballs. She shot them at Adegast who wanting not to be burned again dodged as many as he could. Some gave him glancing blows but most flew past him and hit something behind him.

“YOU MISSED.” he stated trying to mock her. Well it wouldn’t work.

“Did I now?” she asked him with a raised eyebrow. She slowly but surely began to charge up her finisher.

A panicked Adagast turned around to see what Luz was aiming at.

Perfect.

Charge at 100% and ready to fire. Sparks circled her staff.

“I’m Luz Noceda the residing magical of Gravesfield.” she declared. “Now eat this sucker!” She let lose the stored energy. It flew and took the form of a phoenix. “Infierno de Fénix!” she roared as the phoenix hit its target right in the back launching Adagast right into the ceiling. Cracks started to form from the ceiling and made their way down the walls. The parts that got hit by her fireballs were burning quite readily. Apparently most of the castle was made of wood.

Parts of the castle started to fall as did Adagast who didn’t get up.

Luz turned and ran outside the castle as fast as she could. Just in the nick of time too as the castle collapsed as a massive pillar of flame shot up towards the heavens.

The pile burned as Luz watched ensuring Adagast didn’t try and launch a sneak attack and that’s were Eda and an exhausted King would find her ten minutes later.

“Shit kid are you all right?” Eda asked clearly very concerned for Luz.

Luz just shrugged.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4

“Come on kid. Let’s get you home.” Eda said not realising what she implied. Luz gave a brief nod still gazing wearily at the burning building. Eda would have to ask what had happened later as King couldn’t really explain things after running back to the Owl House basically non stop. “Let’s get out of here before the guards arrive.” She helped Luz sit on her staff and then took off. Just in time too the guards had arrived in full force to investigate.

“Yeah.” Luz muttered.

As Eda flew away from the scene the scent of burning wood wafting in the air. She thought about Luz’s very telling non answer to her question about if she was all right and was concerned for her apprentice. But Eda had no idea how to proceed with actually helping the girl and wished she actually had some friends who were parents to see if she could pick their brains.

Eventually Luz seemed to relax as they neared the owl house with her eyes relaxing and she stopped tensing up.

As they landed Luz turned to Eda. “Could I lay on the couch for a bit?” she asked her mentor. She honestly did look like a lie down would do some good to Eda. Luz, in general, looked like she had trouble sleeping with the bags under her eyes. Considering what she had to deal with it wasn’t that much of a surprise that nightmares could be an issue.

Eda frowned in thought. Maybe she could see if she could take Luz to a healer and see if they could help with Luz’s sleeping issues and maybe help Eda get Luz all the nutrition she needs. However there was the matter of the only healer who wouldn’t attempt to turn her in was currently at the ankles and wouldn’t be back until the end of the week. She’d run it by Luz later see what she thinks.

“Yeah sure thing kid.” Eda replied as Hooty opened the door for the three allowing them entry.

As Luz collapsed on the couch in a heap of exhaustion gathering some cushions to rest her head as she did so Eda returned Owlbert to his owl form. He immediately perched himself by Luz. As did King who leapt from Eda’s shoulder and made his way (somewhat sluggishly) over to Luz. He clambered up and curled himself like a cat on Luz’s stomach. He started to make a purr like sound as he did so. Luz smiled softly. “Thanks.”

Eda feeling her age collapsed in another seat letting its comfort softness envelop her. She missed the time her back and limbs didn’t ache near constantly.

She turned her attention back to Luz who was giving King a scratch on the back. “Hey kid? Do you wanna talk about what happened there?” she asked the kid resting on her couch.

Luz hummed in thought and she continued to scratch King. She sighed in resignation apparently coming to a conclusion she didn’t care for.

“Yeah I probably should huh?” Luz asked her rhetorically.

“Kid if you’re not up for it now we can put it off til later.” Eda gently reminded her.

“I know but if I keep putting it off I’ll never be able to get it off my chest.” Luz said as if speaking with experience and Eda could easily believe her apprentice would do something like that. Then again so did she always finding excuses to put off telling Raine about her curse. She always found some excuse or reason not to tell them and well....it didn’t end well that was for damn sure.

“Fair enough kid. Do you want something to drink or eat before we talk?” Eda knew for a fact she had some human snacks that should still be good around the house. Maybe they could be of some help.

Luz shook her head. “No I’m good for the moment.” Then she gave Eda her account of what happened. With every word Eda’s anger grew and if Adegast was still alive after the beating Luz gave him she’d rip him limb from limb. She felt a grumble of agreement from her tenet.

Eda took a deep breath in and a deep breath out. She was the pinnacle of calm and Zen. “Thanks for telling me that kid.” she sincerely thanked her apprentice. It must have be rough to talk about especially if Luz didn’t really have anyone she could turn to. “How are you feeling now?” she asked.

“Kinda tired honestly.” Yeah that was fair she had been out for most of the day even before setting someone’s house on fire.

“Fair enough kid.” Eda rummaged around in her hair and pulled out the book she had been meaning to give to Luz. She held the book out to Luz. “Here kid been meaning to give this to you.”

Luz takes the book and looks at the cover with a curious gleam in her eye. “What’s this Eda?”

“Well if you’re going to be my apprentice you’re going to need to learn how magic typically works around here.” Eda then gave Luz a mischievous grin. “Ya gotta know the rules before ya can break them as I always say.” Much to Eda’s delight Luz smiled and laughed slightly. It wasn’t much but it meant the world to the wild witch.

“Thanks Eda.” said Luz as she opened up the book and began to read.

“You’re welcome kid.” Eda got up her bones creaking in protest which Eda ignore with years of practice. “I’m going to make myself some tea. Would you like a cup?”

“Yeah I would actually.”

“Cool I’ll get right on it.” So Eda made her way to the kitchen and put the kettle on letting it began boiling the water in it. She opened up the cupboards and rummaged around to see what they had in the way of tea bags and as it turned out she had a lot more variety than she expected. Eda blinked in shocked at how much tea she found. “When the heck did I get so much tea?” she asked herself scratching her head a bit before shrugging it off. She’d figure it out eventually. “Hey kid any preference for tea?” she called out into the living room.

Luz who seemed quite engaged in her book called back. “If you have anything citrus-y that would be great!”

Eda looked through all her tea bags and found what Luz was asking for. “Sure thing kid coming right up.” She got a bag for herself as well not particularly picky about what tea she drank.

“Thanks Eda.”

“You’re welcome kid.”

Soon enough the kettle boiled and Eda and Luz both had a nice cup of tea to drink.
Luz taking interment sips as she read her book while Eda took slow sips letting warmth soothe her tired old bones. She found that she actually quite like this flavour and made note to see if she could get some more later.

Eda thought about how strangely domestic things have got after meeting Luz and surprisingly found she didn’t mind it too much. She smiled softly. ‘Ha I can’t imagine the look on Lily’s face if she saw me, the owl lady, doing something like this.’ she thought to herself with some amusement. She didn’t dwell to long on her sister content to enjoy the moment rather then desire a long gone past.
A small part of her wondered what Raine would think of this.

- - - -

Meanwhile Eda’s sister was wishing she was doing literally anything else now. Sadly she was busy dealing with the fallout out from the conformatroium being badly damaged which meant lots and lots of things like incident reports and surveying the building and a whole heap of issues that had fallen her way. Most of these she managed to delegate to Warden Wrath for the part he played in that mess. However she still had quite a lot to do because her sister was involved which in many people’s eyes meant Lilith had to be involved as well also there was the fact she was tasked by the emperor to capture her sister.

She really wanted a break.

Currently she was watching some surveillance footage that they were able to recover from the conformatroium. It wasn’t a complete recording of events as the surveillance system had been fried part way through but it was more than they had before. Also due to budget cuts there were less surveillance than she would like also the sound wasn’t working just to add to her annoyance.

What she managed to summarise from what she saw the order of events went something like this.
- Eda, Luz and Eda’s demon (whose name escapes Lilith at the moment) arrive in the area where they kept ever confiscated item behind a magic barrier.

- Luz some how bypasses the barrier? The barrier that can keep everyone with a lick of magic out. What. If Wrath was lying to her about who was actually responsible she’d be furious.

-Luz searches inside the barrier eventually picking up a cardboard crown. Sure why not. Break into prison for a cardboard crown.

-As Luz exits the barrier Warden Wrath sneaks up behind Eda and decapitates her by using his hand morphed into a scythe. He grabs Eda’s head by her hair.

-Wrath then brings out a bouquet of flowers and seems to ask Eda on a date with his subordinates cheering him on. Okay ew. We don’t flirt with criminals for Titan’s sake.

She suddenly wishes she wasn’t sober for this sadly all she had to drink was coffee that had long gotten cold. On with the watching.

-Luz upon hearing what Wrath was saying looked absolutely disgusted. Which Lilith whole heartedly approved of.

-Luz’s eyes flash a bright purple. Like a warning.

Lilith leans forward in curiosity taking in ever detail and ensuring to memorise it.
What is going on with this strange girl?

-There’s a bright flash of light and after it fades Luz is wearing a completely different outfit. Lilith had no idea what was going on any more. What kind of witch is this girl?

-Luz blasts Wrath with her staff launching a fireball at him into the wall as well as causing him to drop Eda. The conformitorium rumbles. How hard did Luz launch him?

The feed cuts out. Lilith slaps the top of her crystal ball trying to get it to work again. It works but only after her hand starts to ache. As the image clears up she shakes her hand in order to help it stop hurting.

Before she can continue watching the footage Steve runs into her office. She could have sworn she put a ‘do not disturb’ sign on her door. “Head Witch we have a situation.”

She pauses her crystal ball and gives Steve her full attention. “What is it Steve?” she asked him politely.

“You asked me to bring to your attention any incident involving you sister or the girl Luz that was with her and well....Luz was last seen entering a castle?” He sounded unsure about it being a castle. “Anyway the castle soon caught fire and collapsed and witness had said they had seen the Owl Lady fleeing the scene not long after.”

Lilith wanted to pinch the bridge of her nose. She had asked him that but she didn’t expect another incident only a day after. Eda tended only to cause chaos once every few days or so. So if this girl was a worse version of Eda Lilith dreaded what kind of chaos the child could cause.

Lilith stood up. “Where did this incident take place?” she asked as she called Mike Socks to her side from his perch. Steve took a moment before coming up with the address. After he did so Lilith thanked him. “Thank you Steve. I’ll be heading out now. How about you take your break now and join me when you’re done?”

“Okay see you then.” Steve waved her farewell. “Break time for Steve.”

Well now it was time to investigate.

- - - -

Lilith soon arrived at the scene to find a pile of brunt wood and a puppeteer demon corpse. The corpse looked burnt like someone had launched fireballs at it and crushed like someone dropped a house on it. Considering the burnt wreckage she could see Lilith had a pretty good idea what the cause of death was. She could see guards setting up a cordon to ensure no one would get too close to the crime scene as well as some picking through the wreckage trying to find anything of use.

She landed on the ground and dismissed Mike Socks. She saw the guard who was leading the efforts and made her way over to them.

The guard upon seeing Lilith snapped off a quick salute. “Head Witch Lilith. It’s good to see you.” They sounded a touch nervous but then again Lilith was told she had the kind of effect on people. Somehow. Every time she asked for an explanation no on would give her a straight answer.

“At ease.” The guard dropped the salute still as tense as an overwound spring. “What’s the situation? Steve told me the bare bones of what happened.” she asked keeping one eye on the wreckage as the guards shifted through it.

“Well from what we’ve managed to gather the Owl Lady’s apprentice was running potions deliveries for her around town and she and the Owl Lady’s demon eventually went in to the castle that soon went up into flames.” Lilith hummed thoughtfully as she processed what Eda’s apprentice was doing. Making delivery runs for her sister made sense because it allows Eda to spend more time on her potions while her apprentice gets some practical experience.

“Do we know who owned this place?” she asked as she looked at the corpse. It looked somewhat familiar but Lilith couldn’t quite place her finger on where she had seen them before.

“Well it used to belong to Adegast, who as you can see is now very dead.” The guard pointed out. “We only found out who that was because we had his wanted poster on hand.” Lilith scowled as she finally remembered who Adegast was. He was a puppeteer demon who lured people into to traps and turned the corpses of his victims into his puppets allowing him to lure people in better. “We’re guessing the kid was too much for him to handle and well you can see the results for yourself.” That she could.

“Was there a bounty for Adegast?” There mostly likely was but better check before hand.

“Yes there is why?”

Lilith smiled. “Well it doesn’t make up for the fact a child had to face a monster like that. But I believe that we should pay it out to my sister’s apprentice.” The fact a child who looked, Lilith did some quick calculations in her head, no more fourteen had to fight someone who had been slipping out of the Emperor’s coven’s grasp for years stung with the bitter hint of failing to do their duty to keep people safe.

“if you’re sure Head Witch. But uh where does the kid live?” Lilith gave them a flat stare with a raised eyebrow. “Oh right Owl House duh.” The guard (who Lilith really needed to get the name of) saluted again. “I’ll get right on it.” With that they ran off to go get that done.

Lilith realised something she should have done before sending the guard off. She should have asked about what else the witnesses saw or at least where she could find them in order to talk to them. She also forgot to ask their name.

Damn it.

- - - -

Raine was currently walking around Bonesborough having just been shopping for food they needed to get when they heard some interesting whispers. They didn’t mean to eavesdrop really. But hearing Eda’s name brought them up short. That name was one that belonged to someone they dearly missed. There was faint images of a day around fourteen years ago, one that was blurred by booze and bad discussion making and the disappointment of waking up in their shitty apartment all alone.

They ignored how much that hurt. Well they tried to. It wasn’t really working.

It still hurt.

“Have you heard?” asked one witch whispering to another. Well whispering was a bit of a misnomer because this witch was not at all subtle.

“No what is it?” replied the other curious what their friend was asking them about.

“Well I’ve heard from my other other friend that the Owl Lady’s daughter who’s called Luz apparently was running deliveries for her mother.” Eda had a daughter!?! What? How? When? Who did she have a daughter with? Raine quashed those old fantasies of growing old with Eda after having a couple of kids as they tried to distract them.

“What? Seriously?” Raine agreed with that. “What does she look like?” Also a good question.

“She has tanned skin, golden brown eyes, curly brown hair and from what I’ve heard smiles exactly like the Owl lady.” Raine imagined what that girl looked like and all they could see was what they imagined their and Eda’s kids looked like a combination of the two of them loved and treasured by them and Eda.

“How old do you think she is?”

“I think she’s about fourteen.” Raine felt their world drop from beneath their feet as they processed how old the girl was and the most likely order of events. They and Eda get drunk at a bar one night and wanting to relieve the days when their relationship was strong, they had a one night stand in Raine’s shitty old apartment.

It was a magical moment and one Raine wished dearly they could repeat.

But they needed to focus on the fact they had a daughter. A daughter they didn’t know existed. Did...did Eda raise their daughter all by herself? The question boggled them as they thought about it before they realised the fact Eda, being one of the most wanted witches on the isles, would likely not have anyone she could safely turn to.
Lilith was right out being the head of the Emperor’s coven. Her parents she didn’t really talk to any more. Raine, as much as it hurt to admit, was also a member of the bard coven and she didn’t likely think it would be safe to turn to them.

They had a lot to think about. They had a lot to make up to Eda and Luz.
They needed to go home, drop off the groceries and think about their next move.

So they walked home thoughts weighing heavily on their shoulders.

If they stayed for just a bit longer they would have heard mention of Luz entering a building that soon after she entered caught fire and collapsed.

Good thing they didn’t or their stress would go through the roof.

- - - -

Eda was sitting in her chair having long finished her cup of tea and had picked up a book to read. She was reading some cliched love story. It made her cringe but honestly it reminded her of something she had missed for a long long time.

She shook her head and tried to focus on her book.

She turned her attention to Luz who was still laying on the couch reading. King was also had fallen asleep at some point while Owlbert read over Luz’s shoulder.

Luz was quite a way through the book Eda had gave her, her eyes were alight with curiosity and fervour as she read. Eda smiled at the sight finding that it warmed her heart.

Maybe now would be a good time to ask. When things were peaceful and not in the process of burning down. Eda hoped Luz didn’t keep up her streak of destroying buildings because it was slightly worrying Eda. It would also bring a lot of heat down on a fourteen year old kid.

“Hey Luz?”

Luz turned to face Eda. “Yeah Eda?”

“I’m not quite sure how to say this but I want to take you to a healer I trust.” Mala was her family healer who had taken care of her when she was a child and had a good head on their shoulders and they also knew the value of discretion. She also made a note to book an appointment for King at some point might help her figure out what kind of demon he was.

“Uh why do you want me to go?” she didn’t sound like she was opposed to going which was good because Eda had no idea what she could do if Luz didn’t want to go.
Not a whole lot most likely.

“Well mainly to see what advice I can get in regards to food you can eat. Trial and error is good and all but I don’t want you to suffer the negative effects of that.” Because some of the food native to the Boiling Isles would likely be an extremely bad idea for her to eat. “And also I want to see if I can get you some help in regards to you sleeping properly.” At Luz’s slightly surprised expression Eda explained. “Kid you clearly have trouble sleeping cause my sister could get the same sometimes.” Luz looked curious at the mention of her sister but didn’t ask. Maybe she noticed the slightly bitter tone Eda had when she mentioned her sister. Lilith often had trouble with sleeping finding it hard to settle down for the night and was often tired. Eda had a suspicion that due to the Emperor’s coven running its people roughshod Lilith’s sleep schedule was likely still fucked to put it bluntly.

Luz took a moment to think about it before replying. “I think that’s a good idea. I have been sleeping better here but...” Luz trailed off and Eda knew exactly what she was saying.

She may have slept better here but it still wasn’t particularly good.

“I get what you mean kid.” Eda said. “I’ll book you an appointment for next week after they get back. Sounds good?” The middle of the week would probably be the best as Mala tended to be less busy then allowing all of them some privacy from any nosy idiots who might try to turn Eda in for being a wild witch or Mala for helping one.

Luz nodded. “Yeah sounds good to me.”

With that things drifted off into a companionable silence only punctuated by the sounds of flipping pages and King’s quiet snoring.

Eventually the silence was interrupted by Luz. “Hey Eda?” she asked having just finished her book and had begun to reread it.

“Yeah kid?”

“When do you think we can have a proper magic lesson?” Eda had to think what did they have on this week? Tomorrow was trash collecting day. So it would have to be the day after.

“How about the day after tomorrow? Because tomorrow is trash collecting day and I’m going to be decently busy doing that.” Eda said promising the girl her lesson.

“Sounds good. I’m looking forward to it.”

“I am too kid.” Eda meant it she was honestly looking forward to teaching someone.

Both Eda and Luz’s stomachs growled in unison causing Eda to laugh. “I’ll get dinner started. Would you like to help?”

“Yeah I would.” Luz gave her a smile as she said that.

And so Luz ended her second day in a peaceful manner.

- - - -

Luz’s third day began with a day at the beach. Not swimming of course on account of the boiling waters that surrounded the Boiling Isles which as Eda explained would kill anyone foolish enough to swim in seconds.

No they were cutting open the corpses of creatures called trash slugs that had washed up on the beach. Apparently they often ate detritus that somehow made its way in to the demon realm and Eda used them as one of her sources of merchandise.

Luz would be able to appreciate this a lot more if the smell of decay didn’t make her feel like she was going to be violently ill.
“Uh Eda?” she asked doing her level best not to throw up. The smell reminded her of the time- She cut that thought off not wanting to remember that incident.

“Yeah kid?” Eda as she dug around and pulled out a ball of slime. As she looked up and saw Luz’s expression she got a concerned look on her face. “You okay kid?” Luz shook her head. Eda got up cleaning her hands of gunk in the process and made her way over to Luz. “I’m guessing the smell is is getting to be a bit much?” Luz nodded. Eda’s face softened. “Kid how about you take a walk? Get some fresh air?” Eda suggested. Luz agreed with a nod. “In that case hold out your hand.” Looking confused Luz did so. Eda gave her the ball of slime. It felt like there was a hard core in the centre of the slime ball. “First bit of wisdom I can give ya is that a witch is resourceful and knows how to make use of what the Isles provides. So the task I have for you is simple. See if you can find a use for it. Think you can do it?” she phrased like a challenge. But a challenge she knew Luz could beat.

Luz with a determined and slightly grin said. “I think I can.”

Eda smiled back. “That’s the spirit kid.” Luz felt a brief feeling of wanting to make Eda proud and held on to it tight even if it felt like it could burn her.

With that Luz makes her way into the woods and tries to find a use for the slime ball or rather a seed as Luz wiped the slime off revealing a plant seed.

She soon hears someone telling themself. “I can do this.” over and over trying to motivate themself and not believing it for a moment.

- - - -

Willow wonders why she evens bother going to school. She hates how much of a failure she is in abominations. She hates how her dads made her take the abomination track saying that there are more opportunities. That’s all well and good but if she can’t do anything involving abominations those opportunities are completely and utterly useless.

She wishes she was strong enough to argue for what she wants to do.

She wishes she was in the plant track.

She wishes- She shook her head she couldn’t change the past no matter how hard she tried.

She’s in the forest on her way to Hexside and she’s trying to motivate herself while her friend Nana is trying her best to help even though it’s clear that she has no idea what to say.

Nana was a strange creature Papa had found one day a couple of months ago sheltering near their front door during a storm. She had green eyes, a mouth set in a small smile, long floppy ears that were uneven in length, covered in white fur as well as a long fluffy tail. Most of her body was covered in scars from various animals thinking she would make a good snack.

“I can do this.” she said trying to motivate herself and failing. She doesn’t believe in herself. “I can...do this.” Willow wanted to scream that she couldn’t. “You can get the grades you need.” No she couldn’t.

Nana starts to purr something she had started to do recently. “I’m sure you can think of something.” She gave Willow an affectionate headbutt. “You’re the best witch I know.”

“Nana you only really know my parents, Augustus and me.” Willow pointed out admittedly Nana tended to stay at home with Papa so she didn’t really get the chance to meet new people.

“Still the best.” Nana sounded absolutely certain as she said that and Willow wished she could agree with her friend. “You give me yummy treats.” Of course that was one of the reasons. But Willow still enjoyed the compliment nevertheless.

“I want to believe-.” Willow said before accidentally treading on a flower. She let out a shocked gasp at what she had done. “Sorry little one.” she apologised as she drew a small circle with her finger. The flower glowed and the flower perked right up.

Willow smiled. “Why don’t you do plants?” Nana asked with a cute tilt of her head. “You seem much happier doing that.” She would but no one really ever asked her what she wanted to do before. Not like she could transfer tracks or anything.

Could she?

She didn’t really have time to pursue that train of thought.

Soon Willow could hear the rattling of a wagon coming close to her location she turned and saw another thing she hated. Or rather someone she hated.

Amity Blight.

She was sitting on a wagon that was propelled by magic and reading a book as well. Willow knew for a fact Amity was pretending to be oblivious to her surroundings.

Blight closed the book she was reading and looked almost surprised to see Willow there. Willow didn’t buy it for a second. “Wow Willow I almost didn’t see you there.” And Willow’s the head of the bard coven.

“Hello Amity.” Willow replied feeling very sullen at having to deal with Amity. The flower, in tune with her mood wilted,. Nana tensed up feeling her friend get tense as well.

“I guessing you’re trying to get to school early?” Because-” As if the universe hated her specifically Willow’s cauldron decided to start rattling and tip itself over spilling its contents on the ground because of course it did. “You’ll really need to if you’re going to have something to show in class today.” Nana’s tail started whipping back and forth as if she could feel Willow’s mood. Today was turning out to be a terrible day. She just knew it.

Willow frowned and felt an embarrassed blush crawl up her face.

As Amity looked at the abomination slime Willow had worked on she sighed. “This is why people call you ‘Half a witch Willow’ you know.” Yeah she knew that.

Willow also hated that name. That thrice damned name.

Amity’s cauldron started to rattle. “Oh looks like someone has something to say to you.” Amity lifted the lid Amity snapped her fingers and commanded. “Abomination rise.” and out came her own (much better formed) abomination.

The abomination slumped slightly before reaching out its arm and touching Willow on her forehead. Willow could feel something get left behind as the abomination withdrew its arm.

“...You’re....a....star.” mumbled the abomination. Its words dripped like well like slime all slow and viscous.

“Aw it’s just like mine.” Amity said not at all sounding smug as she pointed to the star pinned to her uniform. “But small and meaningless. But as top student it’s my duty to tell you to keep at it.” Amity smiled mockingly as Willow felt her anger beginning to smoulder. No her anger started to burn. “You may even get a passing grade someday.” She turned back to her abomination and ordered it. “Abomination cower.” It returned to an inert state back in its cauldron.

Amity turned to leave. “See you in class Superstar.” she said just to get the last word in.

She left leaving Willow behind just like when they were kids.

“Oh see you in class Superstar.” Willow repeated mockingly as she wiped off the sludge off her forehead. “I hate it when she does that.” She shook her hand hoping to get the purple residue off. It mostly worked.

“I don’t think I like her very much.” muttered Nana.

“I hate abominations.” Willow started to say her eyes clenched shut in anger. “I hate getting bad grades.” Her anger burned. Nana started to look around feeling something was going wrong.

“Uh Willow.” In her anger she couldn’t hear her friend’s concerned tone.

“I can’t stand this!” Her anger poured out and into the ground. Magic following her will began to channel itself in the way that most suited Willow and that was plants.

The ground rumbled.

Massive vines started to grow from around the flower and began to whip in a frenzy.

In her fury Willow didn’t notice that one of her vines had wrapped itself around someone’s ankle and dragged them to her.

“Uh excuse me?” someone asked sounding somewhat concerned. It was a voice Willow had never heard before. “Uh Kyubey looking thing help!” What was a Kyubey?

“Willow wake up!” Nana seeing that her friend could hurt someone gave Willow a stronger that usual headbutt. Which wasn’t saying much as Nana was like 80% fluff but it worked well enough.

Willow blinked and saw that she had trapped someone in her vines. She had tanned skin, brown curly hair and golden brown eyes. She was wearing shorts and a hoodie and she had a ring on her right hand. Part of Willow thought this person was quite cute but that was drowned out by the fact she could have hurt someone.

“Oh no, no, no, no, no I’m so sorry.” With a gesture of her hand she gently set the girl down and mentally ordered the vines to retreat.

“It’s fine I’ve had worse,” that wasn’t very remeasuring actually, “and besides the thorns only left some scratches. I’ll be right as rain soon enough.” What did that even mean?

Willow leaned closer to the girl upon noticing a very important detail that she had missed on her first look. Her ears were round. This person was a human. Augustus would be super jealous.

“You’re human?” Willow reached out and touched the girl’s ears and wow they were so round. “Wow they’re so round.” she said letting her thoughts spill out.

“Uh yeah I am.” The girl smiled a slight blush on her face as she took a step back. “I’m Luz. What’s your name?” She shot a strange look at Nana like she wasn’t quite sure what to make of her. To be fair that was most peoples reaction to first seeing Nana. Most didn’t seem so weary though.

“Um I’m Willow and this is my friend Nana.” she introduced herself and her friend.

“Nice to meet you.” Nana chimed in.

“Nice to meet you two. Nana is it okay if i ask you something?” Luz said back she seemed slightly tense to Willow. Her eyes had a shadow of weariness to their depths.

“Yeah sure thing.” Nana said back ever cheerfully. It didn’t seem like she noticed Luz’s weariness then again she once somehow set her tail on fire and didn’t notice until Willow pointed it out before promptly extinguishing it

“Does the name Kyubey mean anything to you?” Willow felt there was some hidden meaning to that question or she could be imagining it. Either or.

Nana tilted her head humming as she thought. “Nope doesn’t ring a bell.”

Luz relaxed slightly as she heard that answer. There was still a fair bit of wariness but it was lessened.

“That was some pretty impressive magic.” Luz complimented her sincerely. She looked in awe at the flower Willow had used her magic to perk up.

Willow blushed not out of embarrassment or anger but rather she blushed because it was a long time since someone gave her a sincere compliment. Even if it was for a track of magic she wasn’t supposed to be doing in the first place.

“Uh thanks. But I’m...I’m not supposed to do plant magic.” Even though she wished she could.

“Why not?” asked Luz and considering the Human Realm didn’t have magic it likely seemed quite odd to her so it was up to Willow to explain.

“Well I’m in the abominations track and so I’m only allowed to do magic relating to that.” she explained as she gestured to her uniform’s purple sleeves and leggings as much as the reminder of the subject she hated so much stung.

“Why?”

“I wish I knew but the Emperor states that only his coven can mix magic.” They both ignored Nana’s statement of ‘he sucks that’s why’ Luz did smile slightly as she heard that. Willow found that she quite liked that smile.

“In that case why don’t you transfer to the plant track then?”

“Uh I’m in the abomination’s track because my dads think there are more opportunities there.” Willow didn’t actually know how true that was. She hadn’t been able to find very good info on that.

“Well that’s dumb.” Nana gave an agreeing nod. Luz’s face brightened. “I’ve got an idea. Do you want to hear it?”

“Uh sure what is it?”

“How about I come with you and support you with whoever you have to talk about changing tracks? How does that sound?” Luz then muttered. “I also really want to check out a magic school.”

“I don’t know Luz....” It did sound very tempting.

“Please it’s worth trying you don’t look happy as you are now.” And that was the thing wasn’t it? She wasn’t happy. She wished she could have admitted it earlier but she didn’t want to disappoint her parents.

The bell screamed a reminder that she need to get to school soon if she didn’t want to be late.

“Okay.” Luz and Nana cheered. “Let’s see what we can do.” Willow couldn’t help it. She smiled the cheer feeling infectious. “Come on Luz.”

Willow, with Nana on her perch, started to make her way to school with Luz following beside her.

“So how long have you been on the Boiling Isles for?” Willow asked wanting to get to know Luz better and maybe even make a new friend. She had precious few as it was.

“I’ve only been here for a couple of days.” Luz revealed and wasn’t that a shock.

“Wow really?”

“Yeah.”

Soon enough the pair fell into easy conversation and Willow learned Luz was someone called Eda, whose name sounded familiar, and King the demon. Also someone called Hooty who she called kinda odd but nice. She was wanting to learn magic and was studying under Eda as her apprentice.

While Willow told her about her family about Dad and Papa and her friends Augustus and Nana as well as things about Hexside she might need to know like how to deal with the lockers and who to avoid if she could.

Eventually the group found themselves at Hexside and Willow’s stomach was fluttering with nervousness. “I’ll drop off my project in the class room and then I’ll take to you to see principal Bump. Sound good?” she said in attempt to keep what little courage she had from deserting her.

Luz shot her a thumbs up. “Sounds good to me. You’ll lead and I’ll follow.”

So Willow lead Luz into school.

- - - -

Nana didn’t know a whole lot about anything. But one thing she did know was that there was something up with the girl Luz....something or other. Nana didn’t think she gave her or Willow her last name which most likely meant it was an infamous one or one she didn’t want people to know.

Eda was also a name she had heard before. She thought for a moment as the memory came back to her clearly. Eda Clawthorne, the Owl Lady, and the most infamous wild witch on the Isles.

That was it!

Luz was likely related to Eda in one form or another. It was just a matter of figuring out the connection.

Considering the (probable) ages and the fact Lilith was well known for her disinterest in romance and the like Luz had to be Eda’s daughter.

But if she was related to such an infamous criminal it most likely something she didn’t want to be widely know so unless Luz proves to be a threat to Willow she’s quite content to leave things as they are. Besides Willow could always do with more friends.

As they entered Hexside Nana noticed Luz look at her ring with an odd expression on her face. Luz looked around her gaze a mix of awe, curiosity and a hint of weariness as she looked around the halls of the school.

But whatever it was Luz chose not to speak up about it.

So Nana decided to ask her later.

When they were in a less crowded area. I.E. not at school.

Nana tried to gaze at Luz’s ring. Something felt familiar about it. Had they met before? Why did it feel familiar to her?

There was also the name Kyubey a familiar sounding one. The one Luz said with such vitriol and bitterness.

The girl raised many questions and Nana hoped she could answer them for her.

She had no clue who or what she was.

She wished she had some answers.

Please?

- - - -

Principal Bump was praying for a nice calm peaceful day. He doubted he’d get it but the thought kept his spirits up also planning what do do when he retires in 200 odd years that helped a lot getting him through the day. He plans to take up something like knitting that would be nice. They’ve already had their twice a week misadventures that both resulted in one of the construction tracks being blown to pieces.

How that happened on two separate occasions Bump still couldn’t understand and he had a feeling he didn’t want to.

All he knew was that repairing the two classrooms was going to take a lot of money.

He heard a knock at the door.

“Come in.” he called curious as to who was knocking on his door.

The door opened to reveal Miss Park, her strange companion Nana and a young witch Bump hadn’t see before. She did feel familiar in a way that made his heart clench in dread.

He hoped that is was just his imagination.

“How may I help you three?” he asked looking over Miss Park’s two companions and memorising everything he saw. He’d never know when something would come up so best to be prepared. Also he still had no idea what sort of demon Miss Nana was and every source he turned to came up similarly useless.

“Well I want to have a look around the school and thought someone like you’d be the best to ask if that was possible.” said the young witch. Bump was quite impressed actually. Instead of some cockamamie scheme like sneaking in as an abomination or something she instead decided to ask if she could.

Bump’s estimate of her character was raised. Considering his expectations where in the ground at this point it may not say much.

But then again people have been failing to meet his very low expectations for years.

“Oh that’s a simple enough matter.” Bump said as he opened one of his drawers and found the visitor pass. “Here you go one visitor pass.” he said as he handed it to the girl. She put it around her neck letting it clearly show she was a guest and not an intruder. “What’s your name?” he asked wanting to now the child’s name.

“Oh I’m Luz. I’m Eda’s apprentice.” Say what now.

Okay this was the worst possible scenario imaginable.

It wouldn’t do to panic especially in front of children.

He would panic after they left.

Also break out the emergency wine for just this sort of occasion.

“Ah I see Eda Clawthorne right?” Luz nodded a proud smile on her face. Bump made a face at hearing his worst fear come to horrifying reality. Both Miss Clawthorne and Miss Park just gave each other a confused look and shrugs. “Miss Park is there anything else I can help you with?” he asked at seeing Miss Park trying to work up the nerve to say something.

Miss Clawthorne shot Miss Park a thumbs up and a smile to reassure her. Bump was happy to see such a sight. More of mutual support please and less trying to bring other people down.

“I want to change to the plant track.” Well that was simple enough.

“Sure thing. But you do know I’ll need a practical demonstration before I can allow the transfer right?”

Miss Park nodded. “I’m ready.” she said working up the nerve and gaining a determined look on her face.

Bump smiled. “That’s the spirit. We’ll get right on it so you can be ready for your new classes tomorrow.” The demonstration was mostly a formality but it made sure he did his due diligence. “Do you mind just wait outside for a moment I need to make an announcement first.

Both Miss Park and Miss Clawthorne nodded and walked outside his office closing the door behind them.

He took a deep breath.

- - - -

Willow couldn’t believe it was as easy as just asking.

“I can’t believe it was that easy.” Willow muttered to herself. She could have saved herself so much grief.

“Don’t worry you’ve got this.” Luz said making it clear she truly believed that. “Besides I’ve got something you can use if you want.” Luz reached into her pocket and pulled out a seed. “Here you go.” she said as she held out her hand for Willow to take it.

“Thank you Luz.” Willow said as she took the seed in her hand and felt how much potential in such a small seed. “Are...are you sure?” About giving this to her. About believing in her.

“Absolutely sure.” She was. She belived in her.

Willow walked up to Luz and gave her a hug. “Thank you thank you thank you.” she said with happy tears in her eyes. It was a really nice hug Willow wanted more.

There was a crackle of the school announcement system as it turned on.

Principal Bump’s voice came through loud and clear. “Everyone I’m afraid that I must inform that code c is in effect. I repeat code c is in effect. Remember your training people and we will get through this relatively unscathed. Thank you and good luck.” There was a crackle of static as he turned off the announcement system.

“What was that about?” Willow asked Luz as she disengaged the hug.

“I have no idea Willow. I have no idea.” Luz looked as confused as Willow felt.

The principal’s office soon open with Principal Bump walking out. “Right now that’s dealt with let’s get your demonstration out of the way shall we? The grugby pitch should be empty around this time of day so we can use that.”

With nothing else they could do Willow, Nana and Luz followed after him.

Willow was ready for this.

Chapter Text

chapter 5

At the grudgby pitch Willow took a deep breath in and a deep breath out. Behind her was two friends and her principal. She was nervous but....

She looked at Luz who smiled at her and Nana who waved at her.

But she had people who believed in her.

She could do this.

No she would do this.

“Whenever you’re ready Miss Park.” Principal Bump said. “You may begin.”

Willow pulled out the seed Luz had gave her. It felt ready for her to say the word.

She made a spell circle with her hand and it launched itself at the seed. The seed started to glow a faint green.

The seed started to shake.

Willow gently placed on the ground and let her power flow. She could imagine her eyes glowing a bright and vibrant green.

The seed grew releasing vines, vines and even more vines. They grew and grew and for good measure grew some more. Enough vines to smother the pitch in fact.

Willow blinked in shock. She didn’t put much power in right? Certainly not enough to cover the entire pitch.

“My word Miss Park you have a fair bit of power.” Bump gave her an impressed look. “Now show me how much control you have.” That she could do easily.

Willow gave him a nod and put on a show.
She made the vines move as she willed making shape themselves into a multitude of shapes and patterns. Such as pyramids spheres and even some animal facsimiles such as griffins

Eventually Principal Bump cut her off. “I’ve seen quite enough.” He smiled widely. He looked proud and a bit impressed. “And I’m happy to say you’ve passed. Congratulations.” With a quick flick of his hand Willow’s uniform’s arms and leggings changed from the purple of the abominations track to the green of the plant track.

Willow couldn’t help the excited smile that was on her face. She had done it! Luz and Nana ran up to her ready to congratulate her. “I knew you could do it Willow!” Luz cheered as she pulled Willow into a hug. Willow quickly returned the hug quite enjoying hugging her friend.

“Yay Willow’s the best witch.” Nana cheered rubbing herself against Willow’s ankles.

“Thank you.” was all Willow could really say. But it said all that she wanted it to say. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for being there for me.

Principal Bump coughed getting everyone’s attention causing Luz to disengage the hug and Willow to pout internally. “While this is all very touching. Miss Park are you able to return the pitch to normal or at least diminish the vine coverage at bit?” he asked in a way that made it clear that it was mostly out of curiosity and that saying no would in no way affect his opinion of her.

Willow thought for a moment mentally calculating how much power she would need to do so. Growth was easy as the was a plant’s natural inclination. Reverting a plant using magic took exponentially more power however.

“No sorry don’t think I’d be able to do that.” she replied.

“That’s quite alright Miss Park. Thankfully the teachers here can handle this sort of thing. Considering this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.” Now Willow wanted to know what happened the last time. Principal Bump made a quick spell circle and got a piece of paper in his hand. “Here’s your new schedule if anything needs changing do let me know.” He handed the schedule to Willow who quite happily took it from him. “Now then off to class you three.” he dismissed the three.

Willow grabbed Luz’s hand as Nana jumped onto her usual perch on Willow’s shoulder. “Thank you!” Willow called out as she ran off towards a brighter future. Whatever response Principal Bump had was quickly lost in the wind.

But first she had class to get through.

And for once she smiled at the thought.

- - - -

Luz was happy for Willow as she quite happily followed along. She was glad Willow got the chance to pursue what she wanted to do rather than what someone else wanted for her to do. Her thoughts then turned to what she would like to do if she went here. She wanted to do everything but she had no idea what king of workload what would entail.

“Thinking deeply?” Nana asked noticing Luz was lost in thought. Willow continued her stride listening to her two friends talk.

Luz wasn’t quite sure what to make of the Kyubey like creature, she also realised that she had no idea what their species name actually was, she seemed to be more genuine than Kyubey but Luz found that she still didn’t trust her at the moment.

So she would wait and see.

If she had something planned for Willow Luz would make sure to end her.

Luz eventually figured she should answer Nana’s question.

“Yeah I’m thinking about what I would do if I went here.”

“What do you think you’ll do?” she asked sounding like she actually wanted to know as opposed to Kyubey who was, as Luz eventually noticed far too late, performative in how in he acted when interacting with someone.

“I don’t know I want to learn everything I can.” She wanted to learn all about magic she could while she was here in the Boiling Isles.

Nana hummed. “Quite the curious one aren’t you?” It was phrased like a question that they all already knew the answer to. But it wasn’t rude, cold or a rebuke. She said it like it was a good quality to have.

Luz didn’t quite know what to make of it but replied anyway. “Yeah yeah I am.”

“That’s a good quality to have.” Nana said before tilting her head slightly. “Can I ask you a question.”

“Uh sure I’ll try my best to answer.”

Luz really should have expected Nana’s question but was still surprised anyway.

“Who is Kyubey?” Wasn’t that the question? At first Kyubey was a friend someone who offered her the chance to be greater to mean something in this big uncaring universe. Then he was her guide as she grew older and fought more and more witches always there to talk to her. Recently he was a monster, someone who quite happily consigned girls like her to death against a never ending battle for the sake of staving off the heat death of the universe.

“Kyubey is another member of your species and someone who is responsible for hurting me and my friends.” she said causing both Willow and Nana to be shocked at what they heard. She ignored the flashes of memories. The forest of clay like flesh. The sight of the fox made of hands all grasping onto each other grasping onto to Ashley wanting to grasp onto her. The raining blood. It poured and stained and it smelled like iron. The foxy smile. Taking taking taking until there was nothing left. All that was left was a lonely lonely girl. She shook her head. “I hope for all our sakes you are nothing like him.” she stated a clear warning to Nana.

“I will be I promise.” Nana said sounding upset at what happened and like she meant that promise. “Can I ask what happened?” Luz shook her head making it abundantly clear she didn’t want to talk any more about this. “Understandable.”

“Would you like a hug Luz?” Willow asked her concern easy to read on her face. Luz was heartened at that reaction. Her instincts towards Willow told her Willow would be a good friend.

“Not at the moment. After class maybe?” Luz suggested know if she got a hug now she might just cry in the middle of the hallway.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Soon enough a younger witch ran up to them a magazine in his hands causing the group to stop. “Willow did you know that humans affix metal to their teeth? I think it’s so they can have magnetic children.” the young man said somehow completely missing the fact Willow was holding someone’s hand also Luz wanted to laugh at how inaccurate that thought was. “Uh hi Nana and Willow’s friend. I’m Augustus Porter.” he said finally noticing Willow wasn’t alone. He blinked as he noticed something. “Wait are you human?” Luz nodded. “Where are your gills?” he asked trying to peer at Luz’s neck to see if she did indeed have gills.

Luz feeling confused at the question responded somewhat hesitantly. “Uh humans don’t have gills....sorry?” Not a question she expected to be asked she would admit. Willow chuckled slightly at the look on Luz’s face.

Augustus snapped his fingers looking only somewhat disappointed. “Dang I really thought humans did. Oh well.” he looked at Luz again. “Oh sorry what’s your name? Didn’t mean to be so rude.” he looked somewhat sheepishly. “Also could I ask why you put pieces of metal on a kid’s teeth?”

“I’m Luz. Nice to meet you too and the reason where put metal, called braces, on our teeth is to help straighten them.” she explained to the boy who was listening intently. “Oh yeah we had an Augustus back at my old school everyone called him Gus.” Well they did before his untimely demise that only she knew about. As far as anyone knew he just disappeared one day. Not an uncommon fate in Gravesfield sadly.

Augustus, now called Gus, looked ecstatic. “Wow a human nickname. Willow I would like to be called Gus from now on.” he stated with a whole heap of gravitas.

Willow gave a cute sounding giggle. “Sure thing Gus.” she said as she smiled at her friend.

The watch on Gus’ wrist started to scream as many things in the Boiling Isles did. “Oh shoot I need to get to class. See you later and congrats on moving to the plant track Willow!” he shouted as he ran off.

“We should probably get moving huh?” Luz asked Willow rhetorically.

“Yup let’s go.” Willow pumped her fist.

Luz still had one question though. Why did her ring detect a witch at Hexside? And why did it feel like it was deep underground?

This would require investigation.

She looked at Willow. All bright and excited. Like Sarah her thoughts whispered.

But that could wait.

- - - -

Amity Blight was having a typical day for one such as herself. She had to deal with her mother in all her ‘glory’ who seemed to only care for her when it suits her, her annoying siblings who often got her into trouble and her father who seemed more often absent than not these days.

She was sitting in class as her classmates presented their abominations to the class under the threat of extra homework if they failed. Amity wanted to go first in order for the professor to be in a good enough mood so he wouldn’t do such a thing but he said he was ‘going to save the best for last’. Many had failed for what seemed to be minor faults to Amity but then again she wasn’t the teacher so what did she know?

But at least she was the top student in the abominations track who always got full marks on her projects. Mother certainly said she was proud of her as long as she kept her grades up to a consistent impossible standard.

‘Why do you even want her approval?’ An errant thought asked her. ‘Why do you want the approval of the woman who forced you to cut your friend out of your life?’ The thought of her now severed friendship with Willow stung like a fire bee sting.

Amity scowled. ‘You know why.’ she thought to herself defensively. Mother would ruin Willow’s life if given half the chance. So she had to cut her out of her life.

‘That is not a good reason and you know it you coward.’ Now she was arguing with herself in her thoughts. Great. ‘Besides why bully her with Boscha then?’ The question was one she asked herself all the time.

Amity didn’t really have a good answer for that.

Speaking of Willow she didn’t seem to be in class today. Amity frowned in thought that was odd. She knew for a fact Willow was well on her way to school when she bumped into her and called her cruel name and insulted her to her face.

Did...? Did something happen to her?

The thought made worry drip down her spine like freezing cold water. If something happened to Willow and Amity didn’t do anything to stop whatever happened. ‘What right does someone like you have to worry about her?’ the voice asked its voice filled with derision.

She ignored it like all the other things she tried to ignore and that was with minimal success.

Amity was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard her name being called. “-and now last but certainly not least Miss Blight.” Professor Hermonculus called out sounding actually like he was looking forward to this considering she was the only student he actually seemed to care the slightest about.

She stood up and made her way to the front of the class ignoring everyone looking at her. She could practically feel things envy, frustration, pride and a whole mix of emotions being sent her way. If she ignored it things would be fine. It was not fine and neither was she.

Her cauldron stood at the ready its contents gentle bubbling away.

“Abomination rise.” she ordered. Calm, strict and orderly as Mother demanded of her.

It immediately moved to fulfil her orders and formed into a humanoid shape made of purple slime and it stood to attention.

Professor Hermonculus looked at her abomination with a proud gleam in his eye. He looked at it appraisingly and found no faults to declare started to proudly extol the virtues of Amity’s work and wow Amity wish he wouldn’t do that. “Look here students this is how you make an abomination.” he pointed to its feet. “It has the right number of toes on each feet.” he poked it in the arm and pulled it out causing a strand of abomination slime to stick to his finger. “It is just the right consistency.” He shot the rest of the class a disappointed look. “Why can’t you all be like Amity here?” He shook his head his disappointment clear for all to see. “She may have saved you from extra homework but you’ll still very disappointing.” Everyone gave a sigh of relief at that before Professor Hermonculus continued with his lecturing. Amity was especially relieved she didn’t get much free time in the first even before dealing with things like extra homework. “If you lot continue as you are you will be nothing but absolute disappointments.” he stated harshly causing one student to silently burst into tears while their seat mate patted them on the back. Thankfully the professor was standing in such a way where he couldn’t see that display. If he did he would be sure to comment on it.

The bell screamed freeing Professor Hermonculus’ students from dealing with him for now. The professor shook his head. “Class dismissed.”

The class quickly got to their feet and quickly vacated the room as fast as they could. It was honestly quite impressive the pace they moved at. All except for one Amity Blight.

“Yes Miss Blight?” Professor Hermonculus asked with a raised eyebrow. “How may I help you?”

Amity made sure her expression was schooled and didn’t betray her inner thoughts.

“Do you know where Willow is?” she asked trying to make it look like she was asking in the context of her being the top student concerned for her failing classmate.

Professor Hermonculus scowled slightly at the mention of Willow. “She has been transferred to the plant track. The cowardly girl quit.” he explained and Amity had to force herself not to openly scowl at her teacher. It was a close thing. “It’s good that you’re concerned for your fellow students but you shouldn’t concern yourself with someone like Park.” How dare he?

“Thank you I understand.” Amity replied while making a small spell circle behind her back. “I’ll be heading to lunch now.”

“Have a good lunch Miss Blight.”

Amity Blight left the classroom.

And if Professor Hermonculus happened to scream as the abomination carrying him collapsed into a pile of slime....

Well it had nothing to do with Amity.

......

Amity soon found herself in the cafeteria where it was full of hustle and bustle as students got themself food and tried to find places to sit.

Amity searched the cafeteria looking where her ‘friends’ were sitting and it seemed they had found themselves a seat in the far corner of the cafeteria. They seemed to be talking about grudgby from the diagram Skara was holding.

Boscha upon seeing her smiled and waved. Amity waved back without a smile on her face. She didn’t want her true feelings towards Boscha to be known because if they were her mother would make things difficult for her.

As Amity continued to survey the cafeteria as she joined the queue for lunch she noticed Willow, Willow’s strange cat thing, Porter and someone else all sitting together seeming to enjoy each other’s company greatly talking with each other while the strange cat thing seemed to be putting its face right in a big bowl of what looked to be griffin stew. Amity ignored how jealous she felt at seeing Willow smiling at someone else rather than her.

She blew her chance years ago. She didn’t deserve forgiveness.

‘She should be smiling at me.’ Why? She had no reason to that considering how Amity had treated her for years.

She took a look at the girl sitting across from Willow. She had tanned skin, curly brown hair and golden brown eyes. She was wearing a half lavender and half white shirt, two small studded earrings as well as a silver ring on her right hand from what Amity could see from her current position.

‘She’s quite cute.’ an errant part of her thought as she took in the girl’s appearance. That errant part was soon shut up by the rest of Amity who pointed out Mother’s rule. Blights only associate with the strong.

But still she still felt curious and wanted to know more about the girl Willow was hanging with.

So she decided to indulge her curiosity.

After getting some food she walked over to the table Willow was sitting at. She was coming from behind the new girl who was quite animatedly talking about.

Willow upon seeing her immediately and understandably got a guarded look on her face as much as it Amity to admit that. Porter who was sitting next to Willow made a similar face as he saw Amity.

The strange cat creature still had its head in its bowl. Amity questioned if that thing needed to breath. She hadn’t seen it once come up for air. It was a really big bowl too. Amity didn’t knew they even had bowls that big here.

“Uh guys what’s with those looks on your faces?” the girl asked before turning around to look at Amity. “Ah.” she said. “May I help you?” she asked clearly unimpressed with her. Amity doesn’t think they’ve met before so most likely Willow had warned the girl beforehand. No matter.

“Yes I’m curious.” she smiled coldly as Porter shifted nervously at seeing her smile. “Who are you? And why are you hanging with half a witch here?” Amity had like a million other questions but those could be asked at another time.

The girl scowled at the name clearly unhappy to hear that name. “My name’s Luz.” she said. She then took a deep breath. “And quite frankly I don’t think it’s any of your business who Willow hangs out with. You two are clearly not friends.” Luz replied firmly.

Amity still smiled coldly. “That may be so.” What she did next was admittedly very impulsive and kinda dumb.

She took a page out of her sister’s book.

And flirted with the girl.

She put a finger under Luz’s chin and smiled flirtatiously. “See you round cutie.” Willow scowled while Porter looked nervous and the strange cat thing, having finally finished its stew, removed its stew covered face from the bowl to look curiously at what was happening.

Luz blushed a furious red and Amity realising what she did removed her finger from Luz’s chin blushed and promptly began speed walking away as fast as she could.

‘Why did I do that?’ she asked herself. ‘Why did I take a page out of Emira’s book?’ The girl was cute sure but she didn’t know the girl like at all. ‘Maybe we could get to know each other more?’ a part of her asked being the part that desired romance for itself. It would also royally piss off her mother if that happened. ‘Wait no I can’t make Luz deal with my mother that’s just cruel.’ She would say not even her worst enemy should deal with her mother if it wasn’t her mother who was her worst enemy in the first place.

She screamed internally, not sure what to do, her face a furious red.

And when Boscha asked what the hold up was all Amity had to say was she got caught up in talking with someone which was true.

- - - -

Willow scowled as she saw what Amity just did to Luz. How dare she flirt with her friend. Because if Amity in an attempt to hurt her for associating with Willow, Willow would make her regret it. This she swore to herself.

“What’s with Luz making those weird sounds?” Nana asked her face covered in stew. Willow sighed fondly as she got a napkin to clean her friends face who on account of her having no arms was a messy eater.

Luz was indeed making weirds sounds. They sounded like her brain had fried itself when Amity flirted with her and was trying to come up with something to say only for errors to pop up. “Uh....what? Cutie? Uhhhhhh.” Like that for example.

“Amity was flirting with her.” Willow explained with her face in a scowl as she finished wiping off her friend’s face. She wondered what exactly her friend was and it seemed Luz had met another of Nana’s kind so maybe she could answer some question both Willow and Nana had if she wanted to.

It seemed this Kyubey had hurt her new friend gravely. So if Luz didn’t want to talk that was perfectly fine to Willow. Willow made a promise to herself.

She would be there for Luz no matter what happened.

“Oh like your dads?” Nana piped up after thinking deeply for a moment.

Willow chuckled. “Yeah kinda.” She and Nana had often borne witness to her dads’ flirtations they were often sappy to the extreme. She wanted something like that in a partner.

Nana tilted her head to the side. “Does that mean Amity wants to marry Luz?” she asked innocently. No way would she let Amity get her mitts on Luz!

Willow felt her heart skip a beat at the question while Luz-

“NBHJGFUEPJKJJHHGT.” Did that while sliding down her seat. Also Willow didn’t think that was a language Luz was speaking.

Gus concerned for his new friend could only state. “Is is she okay?”

Nana strode her way over to Luz and jumped down to her level.

She poked Luz in the cheek with a fluffy paw. Luz’s cheek was squished and Luz had no reaction.

“I think her brain is broken.” she stated like she had any idea what she was talking about.

Considering the times Nana tried to help her with her homework Willow doubted it honestly.

Hopefully the rest of the day was going to be smooth sailing.

and for once it was.

- - - -

Eda and King had a good haul of trash from their scavenging and they were now dragging it up to the Owl House when they came across a peculiar sight in their doorstep. It looked to be a big sack with a note pinned to it.

“Hey Hooty what’s with the big sack on the front door?” she asked her house demon who had been, once again, distracted by a bug. “Also do you know where Luz is?”

Hooty once he stopped focusing on the bug began his report to his witch. “Well a guard dropped the bag of saying something about ‘repayment for Adegast’ or something.” That would mean the sack was most likely full of bounty money. The weather vane started point in a certain direction. But why would the money be left here? Even if Luz was responsible for his defeat the coven would usually just keep the money. “And Luz went that way. Hoot.” Eda upon looking at the direction Hooty was pointing in had a sinking realisation.

There was only one place of note in that direction and that was Hexside.

A school that shapes kid’s minds to serve the emperor and his coven system.

A place that prevented magic from being mixed.

A place that taught kids to conform to the system.

Eda had to get the kid out of there stat.

She dropped her bag of junk trusting Hooty would know what to do with it. “I’m coming Luz!” she shouted as she ran in the direction of Hexside. Her face set in a concerned frown.

King ran right after her concerned for his friend. “Wait for me!!!! Curse you tiny legs!!!” he cried before Eda briefly stopped, picked him up and then continued running.

She’s got to get her kid out of there.

- - - -

Lilith got back to her office feeling absolutely exhausted and just about ready to sleep like the dead. Any longer without sleep and she would likely hallucinate the titan peering through reflections again. That was a very awkward weekend.

Her attempt to ask the witnesses went well enough into what had happened at Adegast’s place even if some of them gave her a slightly odd look before telling her what she wanted to know. When she pressed they got very evasive and not having any reason or evidence to pry Lilith had to let them go.

So what she knows is that Luz was once again responsible for destroying a building and Titan Lilith hope that pattern doesn’t continue even if this time it was well warranted. “Quite a powerful child that one.” Lilith murmured as she sat at her desk and sunk into her nice comfy chair. She wondered how exactly Eda came across the girl. Who in their right mind let Eda take their child as an apprentice?

There was something screaming at her about the most likely connection. Something obvious she should consider and yet she couldn’t think of it. It was really rather annoying.

Maybe she could ask Eda the next time they meet. Lilith smiled.

Now there was an idea.

That would probably make things easy because Lilith knew when her sister was lying to her and so could figure things out soon enough.

Lilith decided to see if there was any work that still needed doing on her desk and found a note.

She opened it to see its contents and gave a slight scowl as she read it.

-Dear Lilith Clawthorne

This is Hettie Cutburn.

In my capacity as the head witch of the healing coven I am recommending you take a minimum of a weeks break. If you try doing any work I’ll know.

You clearly are exhausted and in order to not have a repeat of what happened last time I’m ordering you to rest.

Don’t worry Steve said he’ll handle any work that needs doing.

Now get some rest.

She sighed and placed the note on her desk.

Well it looks like she’s being forced to take at least a week off.

Maybe she could spring a visit to her sister and finally get some answers.

Her stomach growled reminding her that she should really get something to eat.

She’ll visit her sister tomorrow.

- - - -

Luz was having a good day at Hexside. She was learning so many interesting things about the Isles and magic! It was certainly a lot more exciting that her school back in the Human Realm. Also nothing really bad happened! So that was a plus as well.

Well okay it was weird that Amity the mean girl decided to flirt with her during lunch. Luz blushed at the thought it was nice in a weird sort of way. She’d never had someone flirt with before and well....her brain had no idea how to take it and basically shut down for an embarrassingly long time before rebooting itself around when lunch ended.

But after that classes were fun and now it was time to head home for the day. Apparently today was a half day so everyone got let out early. Gus had already headed off home to do his homework while Luz and Willow remained at school to talk a bit more. Nana was taking a nap somehow remaining upright on Willow’s shoulder.

It was nice having someone her age to talk to.

Luz was chatting with Willow about the classes they shared when Luz caught a glimpse of Eda in the corner of her eye. Luz turned to see her mentor moving towards her a concerned look on her face. Also she was holding a grumpy looking King under arm like a football Luz noted with some amusement.

“Kid are you okay?” Eda asked somewhat fretfully as she came up to Luz and looked over with her to see if anything was wrong. “They didn’t brainwash you or anything?” King meanwhile got set on the ground and looked at the school with a mischievous look.

Luz smiled. “I’m fine Eda I just explored Hexside and I made some friends.” She gestured to Willow. “This is Willow.” Willow gave Eda a slightly nervous wave and a brief ‘hello’. “and sleeping on her shoulder is Nana.” Luz gave Eda a hug which she swiftly returned. “Besides I had a good day today.” She meant it too.

“That’s good to hear kid.” Eda said relaxing a bit. “Come on kid let’s head home before King tries to raid the bins here again.” Eda disengaged the hug and turned her attention to Willow. Her face softened slightly. “Well since you’re friends with Luz you can come over to visit if you like.” she said looking Willow over.

Willow nodded. “I’d think I’d like that.”

Eda smiled. “Great.” She turned back to Luz. “Come on kid let’s head home.” Eda picked King up before he could scarper off much to his disappointment.

“See ya later Willow!” Luz called back to her friend.

“Bye Luz!” Willow replied with a wave.

All in all Luz had a good day today.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6 Rainy days rainy thoughts.

It was a brand new day at the Owl House and Luz and King were outside playing with each other having a grand old time when it started to rain. Luz noticing the rain coming towards them grabbed King and quickly ran inside. She was just in time to see Eda running from the rain. “Everyone inside!” she called as she ran in the door. She then looked down to see that Luz and King were already there. “Ah good hustle on that kid. Looks to be a doozy of a boiling rain storm. So none of you go outside okay?” Of course the rain boiled here considering the boiling seas. Eda made a spell circle. “Whelp that’s the shield up.” Eda noticeably looked pretty tired after have doing so. Must have taken a fair bit of magic. Eda yawned. Yeah she must be pretty tired. Looks like the lesson would have to be delayed till tomorrow because Luz did not want Eda to exhaust herself for her sake. Which sucks but Luz could deal.

“Sure thing.” King replied as Luz put him down on the ground.

“What other kinds of weather do you guys get here?” asked a curious Luz. If the rain boiled here what was the other weather like?

“We don't have weather; we have plagues, gornadoes, shale hail, painbows and other fun stuff like that.” Eda explained trying her best not to yawn. Wow those sounded unpleasant.

“Painbows are like rainbows but looking at them turns you inside out.” King chimed in cheerfully. Well that was a disturbing image.

“Yikes.” was all Luz could say to that.

Eda yawned again. “Sorry kid I don’t think I’ll be able to do much teaching today. I’m exhausted. We’ll do it tomorrow okay?” she sounded upset at not being able to teach Luz but taking care of herself should be a higher priority. “I promise.”

“Yeah that’s fine Eda. Get some rest.” Luz said reassuringly.

“See ya kid. There are some leftovers in the fridge if you two get hungry.” With that Eda made her way up the stairs and to her room.

After Eda had left it was just King and Luz left in the living room while the sizzle from the rain could be heard in a somewhat disjointed rhythm.

King turned to Luz. “So what are we going to do?” he asked.

Luz hummed thoughtfully before responding. “Do you have anything you want to do?” she asked the small demon. May as well see if he has any ideas.

King snapped his fingers. “Oh I know! Could you tell me about being a magical girl?” He looked at Luz pleadingly.

Luz felt whatever resistance she could muster (which was little) crumble in the face of such cuteness. “Yeah sure thing what would you like to know?” she asked as she and King walked over to the couch.

As they sat down and made themself comfortable King’s tail was wagging in excitement. “Uh apart from all the fire what else can you do?”

“Well as a magical girl I can wield power over the four elements that being fire, earth, wind and water. Kinda like Azura.” she explained to her captive audience. She got out her sketchbook and opened it to show King a picture of herself in her magical girl outfit bending the elements to her will.

King gave an appreciative nod as he saw Luz’s picture.

He looked at Luz. “Uh why have we only seen you use fire?” he asked Luz.

“Well it’s because fire is what comes easiest to me.” she explained as she did so she tapped the sketch of fire on her sketchbook. “Then in terms of easiest to hardest it goes water, wind and finally earth.” She tapped in order the wind surrounding her, the ball of water and then the chunk of earth. Manipulating the earth had always been difficult for her. Ashley theorised that it was because Luz needed a different mindset in order to use it better. They weren’t really able to test the hypothesis due to everything going horribly wrong soon after. Only pieces remain. She wasn’t able to grab her hand. No no no no no. It was reaching to steal take rob end her. The forest burned. It burned with her. It smelled like burning clay. It smelled like burning flesh. Tears. Sorrow. Loss. Anger.

“I see I see. That makes sense.” King replied.

“Do you have any stories?” asked King. Luz hummed in thought. What stories could she share with him? While he did live on a giant corpse and saw his fair share of disturbing things Luz didn’t want to traumatise the little guy with some of the things she had seen. So that left out...most of them actually. She definitely wasn’t going to tell him about the shadow witch they fought. She shuddered at the mere thought of that particular witch.

What even was her life?

Oh wait there was at least one story she could share with King. One that was happier than most. Which in the grand scheme of things probably wasn’t saying much as much as the thought depressed her.

Before she could start to tell him that story they both heard a knock at the door.
“Uh are we expecting anyone today?” Luz asked King who shook his head.

“No besides who would be stupid enough to go outside in the boiling rain?” That was a good question and one Luz didn’t have the answer to.

“I’m going to see who it is.” Luz said as she got off the couch and made her way over to the door.

“Be careful Luz it could be the snaggleback one of the most dangerous demons on the isles.” King warned her.

“I’ll be fine King.” Luz said reassuringly if worst comes to worse she would fight as she always has. She opened the door. She blinked at the sight of the woman at the door. “Uh who are you?” she asked somewhat caught flat footed. The woman was around Eda’s height. She had long straight blue hair and minty green eyes and she was wearing a two tone dark grey dress as well as wielding a staff topped with a white raven. Luz also noticed that the end of her hair was faintly steaming.

“I’m Lilith Clawthorne.” the woman replied. “May I please come in? I got caught out in the rain.” Lilith explained. Luz let her in not wanting for Eda’s relative(?) to be out in the rain any longer than she had to be. Luz moved to the side and gestured for Lilith. “Thank you.” She looked around the living room looking for someone. “Where’s my sister?” she asked after not finding who she was looking for. Well at least Luz has met one of her mentor’s family. Even if she looked to be Eda’s opposite in every way. Weird how that happens.

“She’s gone to bed.” Luz explained. “I’m Luz by the way.” she introduced herself not wanting to be rude.

Lilith gave her a slight smile. “A pleasure to meet you Luz. Did you get the bounty money from Adegast?”

“Uh yeah I did. That was you? Also why did you do that?” The money was mostly stored in her room while she had some in her wallet in case she wanted to buy something while she was out and about and boy was it a surprise to find out she got money for fighting someone when she got back from Hexside.

“Well she is the head of the Emperor coven.” King pointed out. “So she could do that if she wanted to.” Luz couldn’t believe Eda’s sister was the head of the Emperor’s Coven. How did their family manage that?

Luz tensed slightly at that reveal that Eda’s sister was most likely the one in charge for pursuing Eda. “What are you doing here? If you’re here to cause trouble I’ll fight you ever step of the way.” she warned Lilith. She meant it too.

“Don’t worry I’m not here in the capacity of my job as leader of the Emperor’s coven.” she explained with a slight smile at Luz’s threat. “I’m on vacation and I decided to visit my sister and maybe learn a bit about her apprentice.” She sounded sincere about that at least. Her eyebrow also gave a slight twitch at the word ‘vacation.’ Luz wondered what that was about. Oh well not really any of Luz’s business.

Luz relaxed slightly taking Lilith at her word for the moment. Still she would keep an eye on things. “Okay. What do you want to know?” Lets see what see wants to know.

“Can you tell me what sort of magic you used? I can make an everlasting oath to never speak of it to another if you’d like.” Lilith blinked as she finally noticed something very important about Luz. “Wait are you human?!?” Did she just notice? It wasn’t like she was hiding it like at all.

“Uh yeah I am.” Lilith looked like she got a sudden headache when Luz confirmed that she was human. Weird. “What’s an everlasting oath?” Luz asked the witch curious about the unfamiliar term.

Lilith pinched the bridge of her nose briefly before responding. “An everlasting oath is a binding contract that ensures people keep their word and if they break they will be punished by the magic that powers the oath.” Huh neat. Lilith at least seemed to be honest about that.

Luz accepting her explanation asked. “Okay how do we do this then?”

“Uh Luz are you sure you want to do that?” King asked clearly worried. Luz wanted to give a reassuring pat on the head but refrained wanting to keep her eyes on Lilith.

“It’ll be fine King.” Luz smiled. Lilith flinched at the smile. “If she tries anything I’ll make sure she regrets it.” Lilith nodded her head somewhat shaken at the girl’s confidence.

“Hold out you hand.” Luz did so and Lilith clasped it with one of her own. There as a circle of magic around their hands as the oath was sealed. Luz honestly expected something a bit more impressive and found this to be a bit anti-climatic in all honesty. “The oath has been sealed anything you tell me cannot be shared to anyone else.”

Well here goes nothing.

“Well Lilith what do know about magical girls?” she asked getting straight to the point.

“I’m sorry what?” King laughed at Lilith’s confused look on her face. Luz felt a brief hint of amusement as well.

- - - -

After Luz’s explanation Lilith felt the desperate need for a stiff drink or something for her headache she now had. Apparently the Human realm wasn’t completely bereft of magic like she was taught and girls like Luz were tricked by some sort of wish granter into fighting a never ending battle against monsters that used to be girls in the exact same situation all in an attempt to prevent the long off end. From her comfy seat she could see Luz and King sitting on the couch. The pair of them taking comfort in each other as Luz explained what a magical girl was to her. As Luz finished up her story Lilith could hear the faint sound of rain falling as she silently tried to process what Luz had just told her.

Lilith got to learn that Kyubey extracts the souls of those who make wishes and turns them into gems. With Luz turning her ring into a purple egg shaped gem Lilith was confronted by the fact Luz’s soul was outside her body and thus vulnerable to anything that consumed souls usually that had to work to get the soul loose so they could eat but if it was already outside the body....

Lilith promised to herself is she ever meet Kyubey she would make his life a living hell.

Lilith had no idea what to say to the girl. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.” was all she could think to say to Luz. It wouldn’t fix things because Luz made it clear that once a magical girl it was an until death position and most clearly didn’t last long. She was sorry that children had to do such a thing. Children should be learning and growing and enjoying life not fighting for the fate of the universe.

“It’s okay Lilith. There’s nothing you can really do.” Luz replied with an easy going grin. Lilith saw the flash of something in her eyes. It was so brief that Lilith wasn’t quite sure what it was but she knew she saw something.

It felt familiar and not in a way Lilith liked to think about. It was a look she saw in the mirror every time she looked. Like she was trying to say things are fine. But the truth is things are not fine and you have no idea how to fix things.

“I know Luz.” Lilith gave Luz a meaningful look. “I know.”

Luz clapped her hands causing King to give off a ‘weh’ of surprise. “Right enough sad stuff. I was going to share one of the happier stories I had with King. May as well share it with you as well.” At least there were some happy memories there.

Lilith in need of something that wasn’t thinking about the horrible fate that may befell the girl in front of her agreed.

- - - -

Around six or so weeks ago in Gravesfield.

Luz and Sarah were tracking down a witch that had made its home in the old abandoned mall complex on the outskirts of Gravesfield as a part of their daily route around the town. The day was mild and somewhat cloudy not too hot or too cold just a nice day to explore abandoned buildings that tend to have horrible monsters in them. You know usual teenage things.

Once upon a time there were big plans of building a large mall in an attempt to do something. Luz wasn’t actually sure what they were planning to do with such a large mall complex in such a small town such as Gravesfield but whatever it was it didn’t happen. Mainly due to someone embezzling all the money during a finical crisis which resulted it in being abandoned and left to rot and funnily enough a popular place for witches to congregate. Also urban explorers who tended to end up as witch food if they’re unlucky.

They entered the mall and started to head in the direction of the half built theatre upstairs where they roughly detected the witch to be.

Suddenly the signal stopped much to the surprise of the two magical girls. They blinked and Sarah slapped her soul gem like one would an old tv to see if that would make the signal come back.

Spoilers it did not.

“What do you think happened?” Luz asked clutching on to her staff wearily.

“Best guess is someone else got there first.” Sarah replied adjusting her glove. It was a nervous habit she had Luz had noticed. The blond hair girl was wearing an outfit that kinda reminded Luz of the thief outfit the Persona 5 protagonist wore except there was no mask and instead of pants Sarah was wearing a black loose ankle length skirt.

From the floor above a voice rang out. “That’s correct!” Luz and Sarah looked up to see a magical girl standing on the railing. She was wearing an outfit that somewhat looked like Luz’s own outfit only read and black and with no cool hat and the soul gem being in the form of a cat’s head. “It was I! Ashley the mistress of the-.” Her boastful monologue was cut short as she lost her balance. “Woah shooooot!” she cried as she fell from her precarious perch.

Luz being quick on the draw leapt up and caught Ashley in her arms before she could land face first on the painful and uncaring ground. “Are you okay?” Luz asked the girl in her arms.

Ashley blushed before leaping out of Luz’s arm smoothing her rumpled skirt with her hands. “Yes I’m quite fine thankyouverymuch.” she said her words quickly blurring together. Ashley took a deep breath in an attempt to gather herself. “May I ask you your names my fellow magical girls?” she asked in a somewhat haughty way as she tried to puff herself up.

Luz thought it was an adorable sight and from Sarah’s smile she thought the same thing.

“I’m Sarah.” Sara said with a warm and inviting smile.

“I’m Luz nice to meet ya.” said Luz with a cheery grin. She was happy to meet another friendly magical girl. The last couple had been less that friendly to put it politely.

After everyone introduced themselves there was an awkward silence as nobody had any idea what to talk about.

“Uh so how have you been?” Ashley asked them somewhat nervously breaking the silence. Luz noticed that she had a staff as well. Ashley’s staff was wooden and topped with a red orb surrounded by twigs placed haphazardly. Ooh maybe they could be staff buddies.

Luz smiled at the thought. That would be nice.

“Good good. I’m guessing you’re new at this?” Sarah asked with a knowing smile.

“Yeah I made my contract yesterday with Kyubey.” Ashley explained looking somewhat nervous. “And that was the first witch I fought.” Already fight a witch on her own on her second day on the job was quite impressive to Luz.

“You did well especially for someone so new.” Sarah gave Ashley a quick once over. “You would like to team up with us?”

“Would I?!” Ashley stated excitedly before giving a slight cough. She looked a bit embarrassed at her own excitement. “Uh yes yes I would like that.”

“Well then welcome to the team.” Sarah said invitingly.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Ashley said with a great big smile on her face.

“Glad to have you aboard.” Luz said happy to have another magical girl on the team.

“You won’t regret this I promise!” Ashley promised. Luz would never regret this moment even after everything that had happened. Never.

Eventually the three decided to revert to their non magical outfits and leave the mall for the day. There were no other witches they could detect at the moment.

So they decided to go to the local cafe and get something to eat.

While they were walking there Ashley and Luz began talking about the Good Witch Azura because the younger girl was also a big fan of the series like Luz was.

“What do you think of the idea Hecate and Azura getting together?” Luz asked curious about what Ashley thought of the ship.

Ashley hummed in thought. “I like the idea but I feel like it should be a bit more slow burn. You know what I mean?”

“I do. But I’m okay with the pace we have honestly because imagined if they dragged it out.” Luz didn’t particularly care for things being dragged out admittedly.

“Yeah that’s a good point.”

“Besides I can recommend some good slow burn fics if you like.” She had many saved on her laptop and phone for when she wanted to read them again. Some of them she even wrote herself and posted online.

“Awesome I’d like that.”

“You two having fun back there?” Sarah asked from her position in front of the two younger girls.

“Yeah.” They replied in unison.

“Good to hear.” Sarah walked up to the cafe door and opened it. “Come on you two let’s get something to eat.” So Ashley and Luz entered the cafe and a beautiful but brief friendship was born.

- - - - -

Lilith quite enjoyed the story Luz had told her King did as well if his laughter was any indication. It was nice that she had such good friends even in her situation but Lilith knew from reading between the lines things probably broke down in some way. How? Lilith wasn’t sure but she wasn’t go to ask the girl something like that on their first meeting. Whatever happened it was likely very recent too. It reminded Lilith of happier days spending time with Eda before she was cursed, cursed by her foolish sister Lilith. Something she soon grew to regret.

Lilith frowned in thought. She knew Eda would be good for the girl being willing to do anything to help the people she cares for like she did for Lilith once upon a time. But still Lilith wished she could help somehow....she just didn’t know how.

“Do you have any funny stories about Eda Miss Lilith?” Luz asked a small smile on her face as she reminisced about happier days. “Considering it’s story time and all.”

Lilith startled but quickly regained control. What Luz said made sense to her.

What stories could she tell the children? Nothing to obscene of course.

Lilith smiled. She had plenty of embarrassing stories of Eda back when they were children. The thought struck her like a bolt from the blue.

Oh she had a good one.

“Well children listen closely for now I shall tell you the story of my sister accidentally asking out one Raine Whispers....” She loved this story and she was glad of having a chance to share it. So she said it like she was hamming it up for a play or a captive audience.

Both King and Luz looked at her with unrestrained curiosity and Lilith love that kind of look. Luz even whispered something about ‘Eda’s backstory.’ but Lilith didn’t think she was supposed to hear that but never mind.

“It all began on a mid summers day....”

- - - -

Speaking of one Raine Whispers they were staring out the window seeing the rain fall and drip down the window with a cup of coffee in their hands. If one didn’t know any better one would assume they were thinking deep and meaningful thoughts.

Nope.
They were panicking because they had no idea what to do about their daughter that had been hidden from them for fourteen years. Their daughter with Eda.

Their students on the other hand were watching some sort of period drama on their shared couch. Derwin and Amber seemed to be quite engrossed in what they were watching eating popcorn all the while. Katya, who was sitting closest to where Raine was standing was shooting them the odd look ever now and then.

“Hey teach what’s got you so thoughtful?” Katya asked wondering what was on her teacher’s mind. Also she wanted to know why they’ve been standing by the window for like the last hour or so. Derwin and Amber on hearing Katya ask that question turned attention away from the program they were watching.

Raine sighed before turning to face their students. “I found out that I have a daughter.” they revealed to their students who looked appropriately surprised at the news.

“Uh say what now?” questioned a baffled Katya.

“Wait how come you didn’t know you have a daughter?” asked Derwin. It was a fair question and Raine couldn’t really believe it until some pieces fell into place.

Raine sighed but explained the order of events to their students. Of how they had a daughter with the infamous Owl lady and that her name is Luz.

Katya blinked having recognised the name. “Wait Luz I meet a girl with that name.” Everyone else in the room turned to her looks of curiosity on their faces. “It was when I got arrested for my stories about food falling in love.” she explained. Raine scowled as they remembered that little incident. Warden Wrath had far overstepped with arresting their student for writing stories. They along with Derwin and Amber were just about to go help break Katya out when she ran in the door talking about the very interesting day she just had. Which was certainly one way to put it.

Which also saved them from potentially getting into huge trouble for breaking someone out of prison.

“She was a nice kid. Powerful too.” Katya reminisced fondly. “She’s....also kind or responsible for the current state the conformitroium is in at the moment.” Raine boggled at the thought of a kid doing that much damage on her own. They had seen the state of it while going to work the next day and if they didn’t know otherwise they’d have presumed Warden Wrath did something to royally piss off Eda whose temper was legendary for how destructive it could be. It was a miracle that building was standing. Even if it would most likely collapse if someone sneezed. “So what are you going to do about this teach?” Katya asked her teacher.

And Raine...“I have no idea what to do.” They admitted feeling somewhat ashamed of themselves for leaving the woman they loved to raise a child on her own. “I want to make things right.” They did but where would they begin?

“Well maybe talking to Eda and Luz and figure out what they want may be a good start.” Amber suggested. It was a good suggestion but there was just one small problem. Mostly on Raine’s end.

How do they do that?

“How do I do that?” They felt nervous and adrift. They couldn’t just go up to Eda and talk! They’d just make a fool of themselves! Like that one time they didn’t like talking about.

“Talk to them.” Derwin stated bluntly. “You need to talk to them.”

“I know....” the bard groaned. Raine’s eyes widened as the idea struck them. “I have an idea.” They could find Eda and provided their courage didn’t flee with its tail between its legs they could talk to each other in a somewhat private setting like her market stall. They told their idea to students who agreed it was probably the best thing for Raine to do at the moment.

“Don’t worry teach will be with ya every step of the way!” Amber cheered raising a fist into the air. Derwin and Katya both chimed in with their own words of affirmation.

Raine smiled things suddenly didn’t feel so bad. “Thank you.” They loved their students well and truly.

“So when do you think you’ll do this?”

“Uhhhhh.” Words how dare you fail them now.

“Oh for goodness’ sake.”

- - - -

Willow was in her room laying on her bed reading her plant textbook for class while Nana was curled up quite comfortably in a little pet bed the Parks had gotten for her when they first found her. It was a comfy thing coloured green with images small white flowers that Willow knew to be snow drops (a flower that only occurred naturally on the knee) dotting the outside.

Willow could hear the sound of the boiling rain falling from the safety of her room. It was relaxing in a way it was like her world just consisted of herself, her room and her strange friend. Where there are no big problems for her to face. She can just enjoy reading her textbook and have a peaceful day.

Speaking of friends. “Hey Nana what do you make of Luz?” the witch asked her companion. She didn’t really have a chance to ask Nana about Luz yesterday considering she basically fell into a food coma from all the food she ate at lunch time.

Nana shifted slightly in her bed. “I like her.” Nana said somewhat cheerfully. “I think you’ll be good for each other.” Willow blushed slightly at the thought but brushed it away for the moment. Now wasn’t the time anyway. “Besides....” Nana said before trailing off hesitantly. It was like she wasn’t quite sure what to say or how to say it.

“Besides what?” Willow asked concerned for her friends. Nana from the day Willow met her was a cheerful one who always approached things with a smile and hesitation was an alien emotion from her friend.

Nana got up and leapt from her bed onto Willow’s. She then snuggled into Willow’s side. Willow putting down her book gave Willow a scratch on the head.

“I think that Luz needs a lot of help.” Nana revealed. “Something tells me she’s not in a good head space at the moment.” she said solemnly. “And I have no idea what to do.”

“How can you tell?” Willow asked she trusted Nana when she said that. “Like I believe you when you say that.”

“I...I don’t know...I’m sorry.” Nana said clearly upset at not being able to answer Willow’s question. Willow didn’t hold it against her. If she didn’t know she didn’t know. No point making her distressed about it.

“Well I do know one thing at the very least.”

“What’s that Willow?”

“We’ll just have to be there for Luz when she needs us.” Willow stated a small spark of determination bursting into an inferno. She wouldn’t be one to abandon her friends. Not now or ever. Unlike-

“Yeah that sounds good to me.” Nana agreed. “I like the girl.” she muttered softly before she started to softly purr trying to comfort herself and her witch.

‘I do too Nana I do too.’ Willow thought to herself.

Nothing more needed to be said at the moment.

So the two enjoyed the sound of the falling rain.

- - - -

Camila Noceda was currently all alone and she found that she didn’t particularly like being all on her own. Her house was much quieter than she had long gotten used to. There was no sounds now apart from the rain and the tv that she wasn’t paying much attention to at the moment. Gone were the sounds of her daughter humming while she was drawing. Gone was the sounds of the shows Luz liked to watch up in her room. Gone was her daughter’s energetic chatting as she talked about something that had caught her interest which were varied and Camila always enjoyed listening to Luz talk.

Camila missed her daughter. She missed Luz dearly. She missed her energy and her passion. She knew that the camp would be good for her. Her daughter would learn how to think inside the box and fit in with people. Even if a small part of her disagreed with that assertion.

Camila sighed feeling the weight of her burdens drag down her shoulders. She knew Luz needed to be punished for what had happened with her book report. She still wondered where on earth Luz obtained fireworks considering they were illegal in Connecticut. She knew even if it felt like she was hurt her daughter somehow.

That part always disagreed with her choices that made her ask is this really the right thing for Luz? So far from Luz’s texts things seemed to be fine.

She had no idea.

She had no idea what Luz would be like after camp.

She would see at the end of camp. Part of her wished her daughter remained unchanged by this uncaring world. That she would still be an imaginative and excitable girl Camila knew her as.

Until then all she had for company was the rain and her own thoughts.

- - - -

Vee found that the rain in the Human realm was a completely different beast compared to the rains in the Boiling Isles. Here the rain was cold and didn’t burn people to death if they got caught out in it and had no form of shelter.
She found she actually quite like the rain here. She found it soothing in a way the boiling rains weren’t. Probably because she actually had proper shelter this time she noted to herself idly.

Considering the rain all outdoor activities were cancelled and everyone was either doing some form of art like colouring (inside the lines of course) and drawing and the like.

Vee would admit to herself that so far while camp was informative about the human realm it was dreadfully dull and it was only her friends in cabin seven that made things even somewhat enjoyable. There was Alex the boy whose fringe covered his eyes and Sam the girl with her hair cropped short and wearing glasses. As well as Masha who was amazing and kind and Vee really wanted to be able to repay them.

But she had no idea how and it wasn’t like she could ask the others for help unless she wanted to reveal the truth.

Something she didn’t want to do quite yet. Later but not now.

Vee sighed as she watched her hand colour in the flower a nice shade of red. It honestly felt like the camp had no idea what to do with them. “How’s your colouring in going?” she asked her friends.

“Eh could be worse.” Sam admitted with a shrug. She was colouring a picture of a possum which Vee was surprised to find out was a real thing. Sam was doing quite well with her colouring in.

“It feels like I’m back in kindergarten.” Masha stated bluntly. They were folding the paper in some sort of odd fashion as opposed to colouring in the picture they had been given. Vee wondered what they were making and was looking forward to see what Masha made. “It really feels like they have no idea to deal with teenagers.” they noted bluntly. Sam and Vee made sounds of agreement both having the same thought at one point or the other.

Alex had fallen asleep at some point and no one really had the heart to wake him up.

“What are you making Masha?” Vee asked seeing that Alex wasn’t going respond any time soon.

“Origami.” they said. They waved the piece of paper they were currently folding. “This one is going be a frog when I’m done.”

“Froggy.” Sam stated with the upmost seriousness.

“Indeed.” Masha replied before seeing Vee’s gaze at their work. “Would you like the frog when I’m done Vee?” they asked her with a glint in their eye. Thankfully Vee and Masha managed to spin Vee as a nickname that they called her to divert any suspicion.

Vee nodded. “Yeah I would.”

“Sure thing.” Masha said with a slight smile as they got to work.

Vee smiled back.

Soon enough Vee received her first ever gift of an origami frog.

She enjoyed the company of her friends on this rainy day.

- - - -

Luz and King couldn’t help but laugh when they heard what Eda had did. Lilith found she quite liked seeing the children laugh freely.

“I-I-I can’t b-b-believe that she did that.” King said before bursting out into peals of laughter.

“Yes she had a lot of trouble with looking in Mx Whisper’s eyes from then on.” Lilith noted with dry amusement. Then again Eda shouldn’t have practised asking Raine out in the very public hallways of school when said object of her affections tended to be on a school day. The face Raine said yes and kissed her on the cheek made Eda’s resulting blush one Lilith would never be able to forget.

In unison everyone’s stomach growled to demand their own feed them sustenance. Lilith blushed slight at the sound her own body made. “You wouldn’t happen to have something to eat would you?” Lilith asked feeling like she was imposing herself on the residents. It was not a feeling she liked funnily enough.

“Yeah we have some left over razor beetle pasta we can warm up.” Luz offered. Lilith wasn’t picky about what she ate. That had long been beaten out of her in basic training. She tried not to think about those days they belong buried deep as she could hide them.

“That sounds lovely.” Lilith replied as Luz stood up and made her way over to the kitchen. Lilith tried to be the one to do so only for Luz to state she was a guest so it wasn’t her responsibility to do so.
Soon the air was filled with the scent of reheated pasta. Luz got out three bowls and served up food for all three of them.

“Thank you.” Lilith said softly as she held the bowl in her hands letting the comforting warmth seep into her bones.

The three ate their meal in comfortable silence. It was the best food Lilith had had in years.

As she had finished her bowl of pasta and put the bowl in the sink she thought of something. “Luz how long have you been my sister’s apprentice?” It probably was a fairly recent thing....or the coven’s information gathering skills were awful.

For the sake of her sanity she’s going to assume it’s the first thing.

“I’ve been Eda’s apprentice for about three days.” Thank the titan they weren’t completely incompetent. Luz smiled before her lips twitched slightly down. “Today was going to be our first proper lesson but Eda wasn’t well enough to do so.” she sounded a bit upset at the fact but she clearly understood that one’s health should be a high priority. She pointedly ignored her thoughts of practising what she preaches. She was fine. “But if all goes well we’ll have it tomorrow.”

Lilith didn’t like seeing someone so young upset so she had an idea. “Would you like me to give you a demonstration of some magic? I won’t teach you much because that Eda’s duty as your mentor.” she offered. Far be it for her to interfere with Luz’s education.

“Yeah I would.” Luz smiled. “Would it be okay if I recorded it?” she asked pulling out what looked like a metal rectangle to Lilith who assumed it was a human thing she didn’t know the function of.

“That’s perfectly fine.”

Luz pumped her first looking excited at the thought of magic. Lilith missed the days when she could feel the same way.

She shook her head dislodging that thought.

What would be a good demonstration for Luz?

She had just the thing.

“Now Luz bear witness to my light spell.” Lilith said as she made a circle in the air. The circle dissipated and all that remained was a small softly glowing ball of light. Lilith always found this spell to be a comforting one. It helped when the dark seemed voluminous and never ending. It let her see there were no monsters apart from her.

Luz oohed as she looked at the ball of light while she was recording. Lilith hoped she would never lose that sense of wonder. Unlike her.

“Wow.” Luz murmured as she mimicked what she saw Lilith do. Lilith didn’t imagine it would do much so imagine her surprise as Luz managed to make a spell circle which then promptly disintegrated.

Lilith blinked in shock and so did King and Luz.

“Am I missing something?” Luz asked herself before turning to Lilith. “Lilith do you know if there’s anything inside the spell circle?”

Lilith frowned in thought before smiling when she realised something she had a research project she could do. Was there anything inside a spell circle? Thinking about was getting her excited. “I have no idea. But it’s certainly a question worth pursuing.”

Luz smiled looking excited at the thought of magic research. “Yeah I think so too.”

King yawned. “I’m tired.” he muttered petulantly.

Okay maybe they could do it another time.

Lilith looked at the time and saw it was getting late. “Maybe later?” she asked her sister’s apprentice.

Luz shrugged. “Fine with me.” She then picked up King. “Come on buddy let’s get you ready for bed.” King gave her a sleepy nod. “You fine sleeping on the couch?”

“Yes I will be.” Lilith replied with certainty. It help that she had slept in far less comfortable places than her sister’s couch.

“Night Lilith.” Luz called out as she ascended the stairs.

“Good night Luz. Good night King.”

Soon enough the lights were dimmed and Lilith fell asleep to the sounds of the boiling rain.

- - - -

The owl woke to the sound of rain. She blinked as she stretched the witch’s body. It had been many years since she last had control over the body. She peered down and saw the likely reason why she was in control.

It was a bottle full of a foul golden liquid that sloshed gently as the owl nudged it with a claw.

The witch, in her exhaustion, must have forgotten to drink the elixir.

Oh well.

The owl wished she remembered her name her life anything else about herself. The only things she could remember was being trapped by that damnable hunter and her sister the best guardian her people had falling and becoming like the monsters she faced.

The owl at the thought of her sister remembered something. The witch had taken in a girl who had the same duty as her sister the Little Light. Now where was she? The owl was worried about the Little Light. She needed to be cared for.

The owl left the witch’s room and quietly made her way to Little Light’s room she gently opened to door and saw Little Light and Old Blood comfortably sleeping in the sleep cocoon their snores fighting the rain for dominance. The owl smiled at the sight they seemed to be well but...

She had a better place for them to sleep. A place where she could keep them as safe as she could.

The witch and the owl’s shared nest.

So she quietly made her way in the room to move them only knocking one thing onto the floor. A strange metal rectangle. It made a clatter as it fell and hit the ground.

She stilled.

Little Light and Old Blood stirred slightly before settling.

But they didn’t awaken.

She moved slowly and carefully.

Soon she picked up the two fledglings as gently as she could manage.

They still slept.

She made her back to the nest and placed the fledglings inside making sure neither of them woke up.

After they had made themself comfortable the owl laid just behind Little Light and let her snuggle into her plumage.

She crooned softly at the girl.

Soon the owl was lulled to sleep by the rain.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7 Covention antics part 1.

Lilith, being the light sleeper she was, woke to the sound of something falling to the floor upstairs.

She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the gloom. The shadows stretched and warped making the world distort around her. It looked like something was reaching out to grab her. It was just her imagination. There was the sound of something large moving around upstairs.

She made a spell circle and made a small ball of light. It floated in her hand and lit up her surroundings with a gentle and warm glow.

Lilith sighed in relief when she saw she was just in Eda’s living room. There was nothing hiding in the shadows. Is that so?

She heard some more movement coming from upstairs. She frowned. “What is going on up there?” she asked herself quietly. Nobody answered her. Why would they?

Using her stealth training she quietly made her way upstairs to see what was making that noise. Just like your worst nightmares right? A noise in the dark. You all on you own. A hidden danger. Just like you deserve.

She noticed that two doors were open.

One room was empty only occupied by an empty sleeping bag. Luz’s rectangle was lying on the floor. Lilith moved over to it and picked it up. The glass had multiple cracks in it presumably from falling on to the floor. Hopefully it wouldn’t affect how well it worked.

Lilith frowned in thought as she surveyed the empty room. If Luz’s rectangle was here, where was the young girl?

She placed Luz’s rectangle gently at the end of her sleeping bag and turned her attention to the other open door.
Her heart dropped as she saw what had caused all that noise.

The owl beast.

The owl beast who had King and Luz.

Two children were near a very dangerous creature. And whose fault is it for Eda being in such a state? That’s right it’s you.

It seemed to be preening Luz who somehow managed to sleep through it. She must be a very heavy sleeper.

What?

She snuck closer hoping it didn’t have sensitive hearing.

Thankfully either it didn’t have sensitive hearing or it didn’t deem her a threat.

She moved closer only stopping when the floorboard beneath her creaked slightly. Just like the stories you’ve read. Make a sound and the monster finds you and eats you right up. A fitting fate for one such as yourself.

The owl beast looked at her sleepily but gave her a small warning growl.

Warning her to back off.

Lilith stopped moving. She didn’t want to upset her. Too late for that now. “I’ll just leave you to that.” Lilith whispered as the owl beast laid her head down still keeping a watchful eye on her.

She began to back off. The owl beast kept her eye on her.

Something she could remember from beast keeping classes is that certain demons kept their children in their nest and would fight anyone who dared come near their children.

She made her way back downstairs thoughts going all over the place. She sat back down on the couch she had been sleeping on not that long ago.

How the owl beast was acting reminded her of that quite a bit actually.

Was Luz Eda’s daughter somehow? If she didn’t know any better she would say Luz would be a dead ringer for Raine and Eda’s daughter but there was one slight problem with that theory.

The problem being that she was human or at least part human. She forgot that her family had the occasional round ear trait popping up ever now and then. So how could that happen? She then remembered Eda had the portal to the human realm so most likely she had sex with a human and got them pregnant with Luz. Luz would have been raised in the human realm by her other parent far away from anyone who would seek to harm Eda by going after those closest to her as well as being away from the Boiling Isles long enough to manufacture plausible deniability. Lilith had to admit that was a fairly well thought out plan for Eda.

In that case she would help Eda keep her daughter a secret and just say Luz was a human learning under her.

It was honestly the least she could do for her sister. Also she wanted to be a good aunt for Luz and King. She smiled at the thought. It sounded nice.

So she settled back on the couch and slept until the sun rose.

- - - -

Eda woke up to find someone digging an elbow into her side. She rubbed her bleary eyes and was surprised to see both King and Luz in her nest both fast asleep and seeming quite comfortable. Also the pair had a lot of feathers covering them. What happened yesterday?

She cast her mind back to the previous day. It was raining, she cast the shield spell, apologised to Luz for not being able to begin her first lesson. Went to bed early and that was all she could remember really.

She could vaguely recalling searching for the kids, wanting to make sure they were safe and sound and happy. Also she saw someone familiar. But it was all hazy like a dream.

She noticed an undrunken bottle of elixir by her nest.

She hadn’t taken her elixir last night forgetting to do so in her exhaustion.

Her heart dropped, even if the kids were safe, that was still a massive fuck up on her part she needed to be better. She pulled out her scroll from her hair and made sure to set a reminder as well as an alarm so she would remember to take her elixir regularly. She may have gotten lucky this time but she knew the luck would never hold. “Come on Eda. You need to be better.” she quietly berated herself. She drank the elixir screwing her face at the taste but forced it down anyway. As always it tasted bitter.

She didn’t want to be anything like her mother after all.

Eda sighed and made the difficult decision to wake up Luz. She didn’t want to disturb the kid who desperately needed as much sleep as she could get but she needed to know what had actually happened. She couldn’t ask King because of his habitual exaggeration that she had no idea where he got it from.

“Hey kid?” she called out gently and not too loudly.

Luz groaned but she started to slowly wake up.

She yawned as she got up and stretched her arms above her head. King grumble at being shifted before settling once again. “Uh hey Eda....” Luz yawned again. “What’s up?” she asked and it seemed to Eda that her apprentice wasn’t quite awake yet. “Why...why are you in my room?” She blinked as she finally noticed what room she was actually in. “Wait why am I in your room?” she asked as she looked at Eda’s room and nest with a curious gaze. “Wait do you actually sleep in a nest?”

“In reverse order yes I do it’s actually quite comfortable and secondly that’s what I want to know. Do you know what happened to you last night?”

Luz shook her head. “No after we ate dinner King was tired so I got him ready for bed then we both headed off to sleep.” she replied scratching her head a bit. “Wait I vaguely remember something falling last night but I’m not sure what.”

Eda sighed. “Kid I think the owl beast paid you two a visit last night and moved you two to my room for some reason.”

“That’s weird.” And Eda couldn’t do anything but agree. This was not usual behaviour for the owl beast. It usually attacked anyone nearby.

“You said it kid.”

“Uh wait I need to mention something.” From Luz’s tone of voice Eda had a feeling she wasn’t going to like whatever Luz was going to tell her.

“What’s that kid?”

“Your sister stayed the night.”

- - - -

Downstairs Lilith was scrounging around Eda’s cupboards to see if she had any teabags she was in the mood for a nice hot drink. She was trying to not drink as much coffee as she usually did because as it turns out the coffee was making her sleepy instead of waking her up which was annoying when she finally figured that out.

She was pleasantly surprised to find her sister had a vast selection of teabags in her cupboards. She didn’t take her sister for being a tea drinker.

She just got out a box that looked appetising enough when she heard her sister shout. “SHE’S WHAT?!?” from upstairs. In surprise she dropped the box of teabags on the floor causing the contents to spill out.

Guess her sister found out about her being here and she didn’t seem to be too happy about that fact. Lilith found she couldn’t really blame her sister for that.

She bent down and began to pick up the spill teabags off the floor and put them back in their box.

“Hiya.” chirped a familiar and grating voice coming from right behind her. She slowly turned around to see Eda’s house demon greeting her with a ‘smile’ she gulped and hoped the house demon was one to observe guest rights. “What are you doing here hoot?” it didn’t sound like he was threatening her it sound like he was curious more than anything. Well that’s what she hoped anyway.

Lilith stood up and smoothed out her skirt. “I was caught out in the rain yesterday and Luz quite kindly let me stay for the night.” she explained to the house demon what had occurred yesterday.

“Oh okay. I’m Hooty. What’s your name?” Lilith gave a sigh of relief it seemed she was safe from this one’s habit of terrifying people for now at least.

“I’m Lilith Eda’s sister.” she smiled slightly. “Thank you.” For not attacking me mainly.

“You’re welcome!” Hooty wiggled with joy a sight Lilith would never be able to forget for the rest of her life. He stretched around and looked at the back of her neck “Oh I like your tattoo.” He said approvingly. Her what? “It kinda reminds me of a mirror. All glassy and shiny.”

“I’m sorry what tattoo? Do you mean my coven sigil?” she asked feeling very puzzled. That was the only thing she could think that could be reasonably mistaken for a tattoo. Even though the coven sigil was more of a brand than a tattoo.

“No silly the one on the back of your neck.” She’s never been much of a tattoo person in the first place and if she did get one it certainly wouldn’t be on the back of her neck.

“I don’t have a tattoo on the back of my neck.” Lilith shot back. Hooty spat out a device Lilith couldn’t make heads or tails of, it somewhat reminded her of a camera. He got himself into position and Lilith had to suppress the urge to run for the hills not feeling at all comfortable with this.

“Say cheese.” There was a brief flash of light from behind her. “Here ya go hoot.”
Hooty reached over her shoulder to hand her a photo of the back of her neck. Sure enough on the back of her neck was a silver mark that looked a lot like a silver mirror.

“When did I get this?” she asked herself feeling very lost. How did she not notice this before? How had anyone missed this? She felt very stupid when she remembered that she usually wore her hair down and that it would cover the tattoo.

“No clue. But it looks cool.” Hooty answered even though Lilith didn’t ask him. “Maybe I should get a tattoo ooh what should I get?” Lilith decided she was going leave Hooty to his musings of getting a tattoo because it was so not her problem right now.

Her main problem was figuring out where that tattoo came from.

She then heard someone stomping down the stairs followed by a much lighter pair of footsteps. That was her sister mostly like followed by Luz and sure enough her guess was correct.

There was Eda with an angry look on her face and Luz trailing right behind her. “What are you doing here?” Eda launched right into questioning her.

“I stayed the night when I got caught out in the rain. Luz here quite generously let me stay the night.” Eda shot Luz a glance. Luz nodded confirming Lilith’s story. “I was planning to visit you while I’m on vacation.”

Eda turned her attention back to Lilith. “Well you picked a poor time for that.” she dryly noted. Lilith probably should have checked the forecast before she left. Hindsight and all that. “Why did you decided to visit us anyway?” Eda raised her eyebrow as she asked Lilith that question.

Lilith gripped her skirt with one hand nervously. “I...I’ve missed you sister.” she admitted not wanting to let her hesitation stop her. She missed the time they spent together. She missed the fun they had. She missed their bond. She’s missed it all. “Since I’m being forced to take a break I thought I could visit you not in the context of part of the Emperor’s coven but in the context of being your sister.” Please believe her. She was telling the truth. She did miss her well and truly. Lilith shifted nervously as Eda studied every inch of her to see if she was telling the truth.

Eda sighed but seemed to believe her. “Fine you can visit as long as it’s as my sister and not as the emperor’s goons.” she said and Lilith was quite happy with that little condition.

“That’s perfectly fine by me.” She had the chance to visit her sister and her niece. Speaking of her niece she seemed to be absolutely covered in feathers. Probably from being snuggled by the owl beast last night. Lilith found it to be an adorable sight

“Good, good.” Eda muttered before she noticed Lilith was holding a photo in her hand. “What’s with the photo?”

“I’m not sure but apparently I have a tattoo on the back of my neck and I don’t remember getting it.” She showed the picture to Eda and Luz.

“Didn’t take you for the type to get a tattoo.” Eda noted. Luz on the other hand her eyes narrowed as she took in the picture of the back of Lilith’s neck. “Hey kid what’s with the look on your face?”

Luz ignored Eda’s question. “Lilith do you mind if I take a look at it?” she asked her voice serious and brokering no argument.

“Uh sure Luz.” Lilith replied letting the girl go behind her and take a look. She felt nervous letting someone right behind her neck it made her feel vulnerable in a way she didn’t really care for.

Luz let out a hiss. That didn’t sound good. “What is it Luz?” Lilith asked worried at what the girl figured out.

“It’s a witch’s kiss. I’m going to remove it.” Luz replied as she touched the back of Lilith’s neck before launching into a much need explanation. As Luz touched her neck Lilith felt a spark of magic jump into her. “The monsters I face back home could use a witch’s kiss to alter their emotional state, exacerbate any negative emotions or to lure them into their lairs.” she explained and Lilith felt her heart clench in fear at the implications. Her niece had to deal with something like that on her own? “Did you fight any strange monsters or the like anywhere in the last few years?” Lilith tried to remember if there was anything that she fought that may have had contact with her neck. No she didn’t...

Wait no she remembered now.

She tired to reinforce the seal a few years ago as a favour to Bump in order to make sure it didn’t get loose as often. She ventured down into the abyss beneath Hexside.

Where Grom’s seal lied.

Part of it broke free. The seal was weakening at unacceptable rate.

The liquid darkness grabbed onto her. She sank and sank like a drowning bird. She would never see the sun. Her life would be eclipsed.

It grabbed her neck. It dripped and it dripped and it dripped.

But no matter how much dripped down it was still in one piece. It was the bottomless abyss. She gazed into to it. Down down down it goes. There was no beginning. There was no end. Just her and the abyss. Watching her. There were no eyes but she was watched. She was judged to be wanting. She was found to be wanting. The starting penalty is five.

It burned. Like ice so cold in burns. She heard the whispers. It wanted her fear. It would become fear. It would become her. It would be her. Her her her her her her. Who was she? Life penalty. Give your life to me.

“Lilith.” she heard someone calling her. She was drowning in the dark never to be seen again. Body penalty. Cast aside your body. “Lilith!” There it was again. Freedom penalty. Shackle yourself to another. Someone calling for her. Fortune penalty. Destroy your good fortune. Who would do such a thing? “LILITH!” Eda shouted piercing through the dripping abyss. That’s right she was Lilith. Penalties deemed invalid. The starting penalty is still five. Five five five five five five five five five five five five five five five.

Lilith blinked and found she was still in Eda’s kitchen Eda having grabbed hold of her at some point. Lilith looked up to see her sister’s alarmed look on her face. “Lilith what was that all about?” Luz also looked frightened at what she just saw. Lilith couldn’t blame her. She just wished she didn’t show such a shameful thing to her family. She didn’t deserve such a thing.

“I remember how I got the witch’s kiss.” She tried to shakily stand up but found her legs were shaking too much for her to do so. So she grabbed on to her sister and once more leant on her. “Do you mind sitting me on the couch first?” she asked in a rare show of vulnerability. “I don’t think my legs want to cooperate.” she tried to joke which fell flat on its face from Eda’s very unimpressed look.

Eda’s face softened at see her in such a state. “Sure thing sis.” She put Lilith’s arm around her shoulder. “Come on let’s get you comfortable.” She moved slowly but surely to the living room. Lilith barely managed to prevent herself from collapsing right then and there.

Eda sat Lilith on the couch, Lilith settled on the couch and felt the clammy darkness cling to her. Except she wasn’t in the abyss. She was in the owl house. She was in the owl house. Eda settled next to her wanting to keep a close eye on Lilith. Luz sat on a nearby chair worried at whatever happened when her mind wandered back into the abyss. Lilith wished she didn’t have to deal with her like this. “It was Grom.” she started. Eda took a breath at that name having been crowned Grom queen one year and having faced it in combat. Luz looked confused at the name before a look of realisation crossed her face. “Bump asked me if I could help reinforce the seal keeping Grom at bay. I managed to reinforce it not before part of it slipped out and attacked me.” Lilith shuddered as she remembered that sensation of liquid darkness choking her. “Thankfully I managed to shove it back into its seal.”

“Would Grom happen to be somewhere under the school?” Luz asked a very serious look on her face. Lilith nodded her head. Luz muttered a curse under her breath and seeing Lilith’s confirmation. Lilith had a feeling she wasn’t going to like whatever Luz was going to say next. “That must have been what I detected when I went to Hexside.” Okay that wasn’t too bad. Lilith also made a mental note of the fact Luz could detect when creatures like Grom where nearby. “I’m going to have to go down and take a look. Maybe see what I can do to get rid of it.” Never mind.

“No!” Lilith shouted while Eda shouted “Fuck no kid!” Luz looked surprised at that vehemence the two sisters displayed at that idea.

“But-” Luz tried to say before Eda cut her off.

“Kid I know you had to face monsters like that before. But I want you to at least do some healing before you go off and fight a monster like that.” Eda looked at Luz with a face that clearly showed how worried Eda was for her daughter. Her sister rarely allowed herself to be vulnerable these days. “Please kid.” Eda pleaded clearly upset at the idea of Luz facing something like Grom. “I want you to be safe and happy.” Eda really has changed since she last properly talked with Lilith. Lilith thinks it suits her well.

Luz sighed with a conflicted expression on her face but reluctantly agreed. “Okay Eda. I promise.”

“Thank you.” Eda smiled sadly at hearing that. She didn’t look too happy about this situation. Then again who would be? “Besides knowing your luck you’re going have to face at one point or another. But that’s why we have Grom. So we can have a kid fight a giant fear monster to prevent it from torturing us with our worst fears for an eternity.” At Luz’s raised eyebrow Eda muttered. “Yeah now that I think about it’s kinda fucked up we’re doing that.” Lilith had to agree with that. Like she knew it was tradition and all that. But it would only take someone getting unlucky once for everything to go to hell in a handbasket.

Luz couldn’t help but let out a short laugh at that. “Well at least you’re self aware which is more than I can say for most people.” There was a small but noticeable tinge of bitterness as Luz said that which left Lilith wondering what her niece dealt with with living with her other parent.

Before anyone could say anything else Lilith’s scroll beeped to remind her of something she nearly forgot about. Her guest speaking appearance at the covention in a couple of hours. Unfortunately even with the fact she was on vacation didn’t mean she could get out of it or helping with the set up. “Sorry but I need go now. I have a prior commitment I need to get to.” She made sure she looked presentable enough for the occasion. “It was...good seeing you again sister.” Lilith smiled suddenly feeling somewhat awkward. “And it was nice meeting you Luz. I’ll hopefully see you all later.”

“Lilith?” Eda asked something in her voice Lilith couldn’t quite discern.

“Yes Edalyn?”

“Don’t be a stranger okay?” Eda asked her and Lilith couldn’t find it in her to refuse. She knew she couldn’t change the past but maybe she could build a new relationship with her sister. She found that the thought was quite appealing to her.

“I won’t.” There were many things Lilith left unsaid but the brief hug she gave her sister said plenty all on its own. “Good bye.” Lilith smiled before she turned to leave. “And thank you for letting me stay.” Thank you for letting me in.

“See ya Lilith and you’re welcome.” Luz replied.

Eda waved her own goodbye.

So Lilith left feeling the slightest bit lighter.

Maybe things could get better.

- - - -

After Lilith had left Eda turned her attention back to Luz. “You doing alright kid?” the old witch asked her apprentice. She was worried for the girl and knew that even if she didn’t go looking for trouble it would find her no matter what. Eda wished Luz didn’t have to deal with so much and she wished she could just wrap the girl up in a warm blanket and keep her safe from anything that would hurt her. But she couldn’t do that so she just had to do the next best thing. That was to be there for her daughter apprentice.

“Honestly I’m not sure.” Luz admitted. “I know where you’re coming from but it’s not the first time I’ve face my worst fears in the form of a witch turning in to them.” Luz told her so matter of factly that it hurt Eda to hear that.

“That may be so kid but you shouldn’t have to deal with something like that on your own.” Eda reminded her. “I’ll be there no matter what. King and Hooty too.”

“Thanks Eda.” Luz said. “Can I have a hug?” she asked somewhat hesitantly.

Eda felt her old withered heart soften at the sight of Luz. “Sure thing kid.” she opened her arms invitingly. Luz took that invite and hugged Eda who returned. “There ya go.” Eda seeing all the feathers in Luz’s hair decided to start taking them out. She made sure to gently remove them and place them in a pile on the table in front of her. “The owl beast sure left a lot of feathers around.” Eda noted as she felt Luz shift slightly as she made herself a bit more comfortable.

“Yeah she sure did.” Luz said as she let Eda shift out all the feathers. At the end of it there was quite a sizeable pile of feathers on the table.

Soon enough they could hear King coming down the stairs. When Eda saw what he looked like she couldn’t help it but laugh.

Luz laughed too.

“What?” he asked seemingly unaware of the fact he was covered in owl feathers to the point he looked like a really big bird.

“AH BIG BIRD!!!” Hooty shouted as he caught sight of King. The house demon promptly retreated back to whence he came.

King just sighed.

After Luz and Eda eventually got their laughter under control they held King return to his fuzzy glory.

- - - -

The residents of the owl house after removing all the feathers from King and Luz as well as having some breakfast set up Eda’s stall in the market place. While Eda was trying to attract any customers and was failing miserably Luz was sitting on the tent’s floor going over the recording she made of Lilith last night. Her phone’s screen had been cracked at some point last night and that was having an interesting effect on the spell circle on screen. King was reading a book about warfare in the Boiling Isles and was quite engrossed in it.

As opposed to just being an empty circle it now had a symbol in it. The symbol consisted of a small triangle sitting on top of a circle which was sitting on top a much bigger triangle. The bigger triangle was bisected by a vertical line that had two smaller diagonal lines that were slopping to the left.

Luz, feeling a surge of excitement of answering the question she had, pulled out her sketch book as well as her pen and quickly ripped out an empty page from the back. She placed the piece of paper on her cracked phone screen and began to sketch it.

She drew with no hesitation and a steady hand from years and years of practice.

And in an instant she was done.

One spell circle with a glyph inside.

So she went with her instincts and touched with her free hand.

The paper crumpled and in its place was a small ball of light.

Luz cupped the ball with her hand letting it float right above them. It felt.....comforting for lack of a better word.

“Uh Eda?” she called still amazed at what she had just done.

“Yeah kid?” Eda asked as she turned around to see what was going on. As she caught sight of what Luz did her face broke out into a proud smile. “Well I’ll be damned. Your very first spell. Good job kid.” She moved to take a closer look at what Luz had done. “Now how did you do that?” she asked with a burning curiosity and Luz was happy to answer.

“Well I recorded Lilith casting a light spell and look at what’s in it!” She turned the phone so Eda could have a better look at it. “There’s like this glyph in spell circles and it’s so cool!” she couldn’t help but gush as Eda looked at the glyph with a curious gaze. “Look!” She tore out another empty page of her sketchbook and drew the glyph once more. She touched it and another warm glowing ball of light joined the first one gently bobbing in the air. She just did magic! She felt the warm rush of accomplishment as she cast her first proper Boiling Isle spell.

“Kid that’s honestly amazing. I’m proud of you.” Eda ruffled Luz’s hair. Her voice was warm as she said she was proud of her. When was the last time someone said they were proud of her? She couldn’t remember.

“Do you think I could do it?” Eda asked.

Luz shrugged seeing no harm in trying. “No idea want to try it?”

Eda grinned. “Heck yeah I do!” Eda pulled out her own pad of paper from her hair and began to try drawing the glyph like Luz had done.

It took her a couple of tries to draw one that worked.

Eda had her tongue stuck out, scrunched balls of paper all around her, as she tried her best to draw a circle and finding it really hard but eventually she got it. She finished the glyph. “Here we go!” She pulled out the piece of paper and tapped the glyph.

It joined the other two.

Eda looked at it with barely hidden awe and Luz couldn’t blame her.

Speaking of spells she wanted to try something now that she knew the spell circle contained a glyph inside it. She visualised the glyph as well as the circle containing it. She visualised a comforting glow. She visualised a light to guide.

She traced the circle in the air with her finger letting her magic flow and when the circle finished it faded and left behind a light ball just like the two she made with a glyph.

“Wow you sure are something huh kid?” Eda murmured at seeing Luz’s third successful spell. She sounded extremely proud of Luz who just smiled bashfully at the praise she was receiving. She felt warm just from hearing that.

“Thanks Eda.”

“You’re welcome kid.”

“Hey Eda?” Luz asked having finally noticed something very important. “Today’s market day right?”

“That’s right kid.” Eda blinked somewhat surprised at the change in topic.

“Then where is everyone? We’re the only stall here.” Luz pointed out. It was true apart from Eda’s tent the market place was practically a ghost town or rather a ghost market place. Luz half expected a tumble weed to roll on by. She was kind disappointed one didn’t.

Eda took a look at the empty market place and cursed as she realised the validity of Luz’s statement. “Shit you’re right kid.” She looked around with narrowed eyes searching for signs of the other stalls to find none. “Where the heck is everyone?”

- - - -

Willow was so excited for today! Today was the covention! Where every coven showed off their stuff for all to see! She couldn’t wait to see what was in store. She even had heard rumours that they had a guest speaker from the Emperor’s coven.

She was with Gus who was equally as excited as she was and Nana who mostly came for the promise of free food.

They walked into the market place to find it was nearly empty apart from one tent and in that tent Willow could spy Luz and Miss Eda talking. Behind them were three light spells gently bobbing in a non existent breeze.

“Come on Gus let’s see if Luz wants to come with us.” she said excited at the thought of potentially spending time with her new friend. She made her way to the tent Gus right at her heels.

“Luz!” she called out drawing Luz and Eda’s attention. When Luz turned to face her Willow waved at her. When Luz saw that it was her calling her name her face lit up in a beautiful smile as she waved back.

“Hey Willow what’s up?” Luz asked as Willow stopped right in front of Miss Eda’s tent. Willow could also spot King reading a book seemingly unaware of the outside world.

“It’s the covention today!” she explained. Miss Eda’s face scrunched up at hearing that. “Where you get to see what the covens can offer us if you work for them!” Miss Eda especially didn’t like that bit.

“Oh kinda like a job fair!” Luz said making a connection that Willow couldn’t quite grasp at the moment. At the same time Eda muttered “Ugh that thing, of course’s it’s today.” She didn’t sound happy at that. There was a hint of disgust and derision in her voice.

“Soooooo I was thinking.” Luz leaned in interested as to what Willow wanted to say. “Do you want to come along?” Luz hummed thoughtfully before turning her head towards Miss Eda. “Miss Eda can Luz come along with us?” she asked politely figuring she should probably ask Luz’s mentor for permission before absconding with Luz. Miss Eda seemed reluctant to actually do so. So Willow decided to break out her secret weapon. She gave the older woman a cute pout. “Pleeeeease?” Gus wanting to spend time with Luz as well joined in as did Nana who again was motivated by the promise of food and spending time with Luz. Mostly the food thing though.

The glutton.

Miss Eda sighed but eventually relented against their combined might. “All right fine kid. But I’m coming with you lot.” Eda said giving a condition Willow was quite happy to play along with. “Also don’t call me Miss Eda. How old do you think I am anyway?” Willow decided she wasn’t going to answer that one and made sure to subtly elbow Gus in the side when she saw him going to answer.

“That’s fine by me.” Willow agreed with Miss Eda. Whoops wouldn’t want to call her that now would we?

“Alright King we’re going to the covention! So put your book away and everyone out of the tent.” King did so by getting up from his seat and giving his book to Eda who stored it for safe keeping in her hair. Willow would have to ask where she could learn that trick it looked super useful.

After the three occupants of the tent had exited Eda bought out her staff and slammed its butt on the ground. The tent wrapped it and its contents up in to an easy to carry bag. Eda grabbed the bag and stowed it away. She turned her attention to Willow and the others. “Right then kids everyone in front of me so I can keep an eye on you troublemakers.” All the kids made to do so. “Right let’s go!”

Willow seeing Luz was standing right next to her had an idea. Before she could let her doubts stop her she grabbed one of Luz’s hands. It felt right.

At Luz’s surprised look Willow smiled happily. Luz smiled back and held her hand tightly. Like she was afraid of letting go.

Willow would never let go.

So hand in hand the two walked to the coevention centre talking all the while.
Meanwhile Gus was badgering Eda about her human collectable stands while Eda was trying her best to answer his questions even if Willow could tell she was exaggerating some things or outright lying about some of the human stuff she had on offer.

- - - -

Raine had everything planned out. They knew that Eda tended to set up a stall at the market place selling human knick knacks on the weekend and they knew that would be the best place to find her and talk to her. The plan, as much as they had one, was to go by themself to Eda’s stall and try to talk to her and try and make things right for both her and their daughter. No pressure. They took a deep breath in then a deep breath out. They’ve got this.

They wished they could believe that but the anxiety wasn’t making it easy.

When they got to the market place and saw that it was completely and utterly....empty.

There was not a soul in sight.

Raine stood there and took in how empty it was.

They had to resist the urge to cover their face with their hands and scream. It was very tempting. Oh so very tempting. But they could feel their palisman’s reassurance through their bond. The small grey fox named Melody stood by her witch and rubbed herself against their legs. ‘You’ll be okay.’ the small fox said. ‘I’ll be here every step of the way.’

“Thank you.” The bard thanked their fox companion.

‘You’re welcome.”

They realised they might have completely forgotten about the fact that the covention was today. Which most likely meant Eda didn’t bother setting up her stall due to the fact there was basically no foot traffic and thus no people to buy her wares.

Which left them of the question of where Eda and Luz actually were.

Their best guess would be they could be at their home except Raine didn’t actually know if Eda would aprriecate them dropping in without a warning. So that was going to be a last resort.

‘Maybe they’re at the covention.’ Melody suggested. Raine honestly couldn’t Eda willingly going to something like the coevention unless she planned some sort of scheme or something she wanted was there and Raine knew for a fact apart from Lilith being a guest speaker this year there really wasn’t anything special going on this year.

“What makes you say that?”

‘Not much is open today. Not a lot to do. Maybe she’s bored and wants to cause chaos.’ Which was true due to the coevention many shops weren’t open today and would only open up some time in the afternoon. Also Raine could see Eda doing that.

Raine agreed. “Well may as well check it out.” They were rostered to operate the bard coven’s stall in the afternoon so that allowed them to have free reign of the covention hall until then. Hopefully they find who they’re looking for.

Melody’s tail started to wag in excitement. ‘Yay meet Eda again.’ That little troublemaker loved Eda. Melody reminded Raine of Eda quite a lot.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Raine pointed out.

‘You’ll find them.’ Melody said with absolute certainty. Raine wished they had her confidence then again Eda had confidence to spare when they were dating.

“We’ll see.” was all they could say to that. Melody jumped up and perched herself on their shoulder. “Alright alright I’m moving.” They said with a chuckle. They gave Melody a quick scratch under her chin before beginning to make their way to the covention centre.

‘Onward!’ Well far be it for Raine to refuse such a request.

What the bard was unaware of was the fact if they had come just a few minutes earlier they could have easily had the chance to talk to Eda.

- - - -

Eda scowled as she took in the covention hall. She hated this place and she hated this event with a fiery passion. It was an event designed to ensnare impressionable children into signing their lives away all in the service of the emperor’s goals whatever they may be. But she promised that she would try and supervise the children so she would do that to the best of her ability.

Speaking of the children she could spy Greenie holding Luz’s hand. Both girls had slight blushes on their faces but neither made any move to let go. Eda was so going to tease Luz about that when this was all over. It reminded her of how she acted around Raine before she worked up the nerve to ask them out. They did say yes after Eda returned to consciousness so Eda was going to take that as a win.

Whatever happened between Luz and Greenie Eda could only hope it ended better that her relationship with Raine did. If she wanted or needed advice she would help her the best she could.

“Uh Eda?” Luz said questioningly as she pointed at one of Eda’s many many wanted posters that were hung up all over the place. “Is it a good idea for you to come here? Considering you’re like super duper wanted.” She sounded worried and Eda didn’t blame her. Considering walking into a place where most people wanted your head both literally and figuratively was typically considered to be a bad idea. But Eda was a deft hand at this and could run circles around them with her eyes closed.

Also she had a cunning plan.

“Don’t worry Luz I have got just the thing.” She pulled out a pair of fake glasses and a bandana. She tied her hair up using the bandana and put the glasses on. With a quick spell circle her hair turned the same burnt red of her childhood. “One disguise and voila I’m just an ordinary and *snrk* law abiding citizen.” Calling herself law abiding made Eda want to break out into laughter. But she managed to refrain mainly because of the fact it would draw attention towards her and the kids which was the last thing she wanted. Luz giggled slightly at the idea if Eda following the law.

Both Goops and Greenie both looked at each other in disbelief at Eda’s brilliant disguise. Meanwhile Nana just looked at her with a smile seemingly amused at what was going on. “Uh Eda are you sure that will work?” Greenie asked clearly thinking that her disguise wouldn’t work. But in Eda’s experience the members of the Emperor’s coven tended not to be the sharpest bulb in the drawer.

“Ha don’t worry Greenie.” Eda said ignoring Greenie’s correction. “This disguise has worked for me plenty of times. As far as they know I’m the sweet old lady Marilyn.”

As if to prove Eda right a coven scout walked by them and said. “Oh hello Marilyn.” before they walked on past into the covention centre.

Eda raised an eyebrow at the kids to say ‘see’ while Goops and Greenie just looked dumbstruck at see her disguise working. Luz and King just laughed at the sight finding some amusement in all this.

So they walked into the covention hall and Eda dearly wished she could just set the building on fire and be done with it.

- - - -

Amity was walking around the covention centre happy to have the chance to spend time away from her family. She wanted to be away from her absent father who seemed uncaring and unbothered. She wanted to be away from the twins’ antics which often resulted in her getting into trouble or something else going wrong. She especially wanted to be away from her mother. Her mother’s words were like poison sickening and wrong and vile but she had no choice but to listen. No matter how much it burned and twisted and hurt. You are not to be friends with her. Blights only associate with the strong. That girl is weak and will always be weak. So you know what you must do? Good. If you don’t it will be all too easy to ruin her life. Amity tried to stop the memories but knew no matter what she tried they would be there in the back of her to constantly remind her.

The oracle stone around her neck wouldn’t allow her to block mother or her words out. This is for your own good Mittens. Wearing this will make sure you don’t stray away from greatness. From your position in the emperor’s coven. What if she didn’t want greatness what then?

She knew she was destined for the emperor’s coven she wished she got a say in the matter but she still wanted to check out what the other covens had to offer.
The baking coven’s muffin were especially delicious. She took a bite of the muffin and found it to be pleasantly sweet.

She often didn’t have the chance to eat sweet things like muffins dud to the fact mother had her on a strict diet. So she was going to take the chance to eat stuff like that while she still could.

As she walked away from the baking coven she spotted a particular group. A group consisting of an old woman, Porter, the weird cat thing, the weird demon, and most notably Willow and Luz. She tried her best to suppress her inevitable blush at what she had called the girl when they first met.

Willow and Luz were both holding hands Amity noticed. Amity felt envious at such a sight. But she couldn’t quite figure who she was envious of. Was she envious of Luz for holding her best former friend’s hand? Or was she envious of Willow for holding the hand of a girl she found cute.

Well she also found Willow cute.

Amity shook her head. ‘Focus.’ she thought to herself. ‘You can worry about cute girls when they’re not heading right for you!’ She blinked as she realised what was happening and promptly went back the way she came.

It didn’t seem like they noticed her yet.

Good.

She was going to find a place to hide and hope they didn’t find her.

She wanted to untangle her feelings before she did something stupid...again.

Oh why did she flirt with Luz? She knew why but she wasn’t going to admit it even in the privacy of her own thoughts.

She couldn’t find it in her to regret it. Not really.

It actually felt good and Amity couldn’t quite articulate why. She knew exactly why.

The only way things could be worse if her mother decided to drop in to visit (read ruin things) but what where the chances of that?

- - - -

In the halls of the covention centre Lilith cursed quite colourfully in the privacy of her own head at the sight of one Odalia Blight heading her way. This was the woman who quite literally wrote the book on the best way to screw people over. She would know considering she had read it one night in a somewhat drunken haze and it made her already quite low opinion plummet even further.

Why was she here?

Lilith had no idea but knew she wasn’t going to like whatever answer she was going to get. She smiled in a manner most people would call forced and awkward but Odalia didn’t seem to notice or care. “Odalia what brings you here?” She made no mention of the fact Odalia usually spent time working at Blight Industries or making people miserable. Like what she was doing to Lilith right this moment. Or how she made Amity miserable when she had to deal with the woman.

Titan she hated that woman.

“Well I’m here to check up on Mittens of course.” Odalia replied and it took a second for Lilith to remember who Mittens was. It was a nickname she knew Amity despised being called. “I’m here to check up on her progress of course.” At the covention of all places?

“Did you not read the weekly reports?” Lilith asked. She had made sure that at the end of the week to send the Blights progress reports on how Amity was doing. Mostly to make sure Odalia didn’t bother either Lilith or Amity in what little free time they could get.

“I did.” Then why are you here? “But I want to see first hand how my Mittens is progressing.” Oh that’s just great.

“And how do you plan on doing that?” Lilith asked bracing herself for whatever Odalia would say.

Odalia smiled. Lilith hated her smiles. Lilith could only describe Odalia’s as cruel or mocking. “Why I think a witch’s duel would be just the thing for Mittens to show off what she has learned.” This was going to be a disaster Lilith just knew it. “And I’ve got just the witch in mind.” Oh Lilith did not like the look on her face. “A one Luz Clawthorne I believe.”

Lilith needed to keep her cool. She knew for a fact that Eda nor Luz would be the type to step foot at the covention hall not that she was going to tell Odalia that fact. “And how exactly do you intend to do that exactly?”

“Oh it’s oh so simple dear Lilith.” Lilith shivered at hearing that feeling a lot more uncomfortable than she already was which would be impressive if Lilith wasn’t feeling so sick. “You just need the right incentive.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 8 Covention antics finale

Luz entered the covention hall and gaped at all that was on offer. “Pretty impressive huh?” Willow asked seeing Luz’s impressed look. “This event shows of the main nine covens which are the bard, abomination, beast keeping, construction, healing, illusion, plant, oracle, potion and last but certainly not least the emperor’s coven.” she listed off. Luz had heard about them before but not in any great detail.

From where Luz was standing she could see the construction coven’s stall where Tiny Nose received a glyph placed it in her forehead and proceeded to go mad with power. “I am an avatar of destruction!” For all of five seconds before someone used a sleep spell to knock her out. She could also see a bunch of other covens that Willow didn’t mention like one that seemed to be full of cats and someone with an allergy to cats’ worst nightmare.

“Hey Willow what about the other stalls I’m seeing?”

“While there are nine main covens there are many minor covens that are off shoots of the main nine such as the cat coven, the baker’s coven, the small cat coven, the large cat coven,” she shot a look at Eda who was looking pretty grumpy, “the grumpy coven.”

“I heard that!” Willow and Luz giggled at Eda’s reply

“Maybe being here will convince you to join a coven.” Willow suggested to Luz’s mentor. Luz doubted that anything would get Eda to willingly join a coven. She valued her freedom to much to do so.

“Ha! Never going to happen Greenie! Besides I like being able to do any magic I like.” She pointed over to a stall where there was a witch wearing a glove. They grabbed the wrist of the witch standing in front of them with their gloved covered hand. When they removed their hand what was left on the young witch was a mark that uncomfortably reminded Luz of both a witch’s kiss and a brand that you burned into things or in this case people. As the brand settled Luz could see a brief glimpse of chains made of energy running up the young witch’s arm and towards his heart. The people in the stand cheered as the branding was finished and Luz felt like they were celebrating a death sentence. “That kid there will only be able use illusion magic for the rest of his life. Any time he tries the coven brand will tighten its grip and the more he does it the worse it’ll get.” She looked at them all with a look of utmost seriousness. “Do you know what the leading cause of death for witches in a coven?” Everyone else shook their heads not knowing the answer. “It’s because of heart failure. Because in order to bind their magic they’ll need to bind their bile sack....” Eda trailed off.

Luz picked up from where Eda left off figuring out what Eda was saying and feeling absolutely sickened. “Which is located on a witch’s heart...and that means every time the bindings tighten the worse it gets for their heart.” Their hearts were literally bound. So when they tried to do anything outside their coven they would eventually be killed by their heart failing. So those cheering people were, as Luz feared, indeed celebrating a child’s death even if they didn’t know it yet.

“That’s right kid.”

“Wait what about the Emperor’s coven? What does that coven brand mean for them?” Willow asked shocked at hearing that witches in a coven had a higher occurrence of heart problems. Luz could also see Gus processing something whatever it was it wasn’t good Luz could tell that much.

“Even with the Emperor’s coven the brand is a symbol of control and I know for a fact that Bonehead can use them to hurt anyone if he so chooses.” Eda grimaced as she told them this clearly unhappy with having to tell them this piece of information. Unfortunately sometimes the truth could be a bitter thing indeed as Luz would know first-hand. So as much as she wanted to hide away and not deal with this she would have to face this head on. She could afford nothing less than that. “Sorry to ruin the illusion for ya kids.” she apologised to them as sincerely as she could.

“It’s...it’s alright Eda.” Willow said weakly. Luz hated hearing Willow sound like that. It sounded so wrong for her to sound so defeated. She gently squeezed Willow’s hand.

Willow shot her a grateful look.

“No it’s not Willow.” Eda replied actually using Willow’s name to show how serious she was. “I know getting the truth out is important but I don’t want to hurt you kids.” she said to them softly. “So I’m sorry you had to learn this all from me.”

“We know....” Gus said. “But it’s a lot to take in.” he admitted. Yeah it really was. Finding out something like this can really change how you view the world.

“Yeah I know kid I know.” Eda replied. “Do you all want to stay here or do you want to leave?” Eda offered them her tone making it clear that she wouldn’t judge them whatever they choose to do.

Willow, Gus, Nana and Luz looked at each other and silently asked each other what they wanted to do. While Luz was curious about the coven system and how they worked her friends were a higher priority.

Eventually Willow gave her answer. “I want to stay at least for a bit. Everything else is closed for a while and this will give us something to do at least till then.” She smiled somewhat shakily. “Besides I want to hang out with my friends.”

“How about everyone else?” Eda asked getting a yes from Gus and Nana and a don’t mind either way from Luz. “King what about you?” King didn’t answer. “King!?!” the wild witch asked in alarm. Eda started searching the covention hall for her wayward room mate. “Has any of you seen which way he went?” Everyone apart from Nana shook their head. “Nana which way did he head off?”

Nana pointed to the baker’s coven stall that was off in the distance with her right ear. “He mentioned something about baking and he went in that general direction.” she told Eda who looked like she was very annoyed at King and Luz couldn’t blame her.

“Right I’m going to look for him you lot keep an eye out and we’ll meet back up at the entrance in an hour or so okay?”

“Sure Eda.” “Sounds good.” “See you then.” “Bye bye.” were the replies Eda got before she head off in the direction Nana had pointed her in.
With Eda gone that just left Willow and Luz who were still holding hands, Gus and Nana sort of standing there not sure what to do next.

Eventually Gus broke the silence. “I think I’m going to take a look at the Illusion coven’s stall maybe I can get some advice with me skipping grades and all.” He looked concerned at Willow who had seemed to settle down for the moment. “What about you?” he asked his friends.

“I’m fine just wandering around honestly.” Luz replied it kind of reminded her of how she spent her time at conventions back in the human realm just with actual magic and a lot less cosplay. She often just wondered around and saw whatever caught her interest.

“I’m fine with that idea.” Willow replied who seemed quite content with Luz’s suggestion.

“Can we get something to eat soon?” Nana chimed in her stomach grumbling rather loudly. “I’m hungry...” Did Nana only think about food or something?

Willow laughed at Nana’s antics. “Sure sure you little glutton.” She turned her head towards Luz. “Come on let’s get this little one fed.”

“See you later.” Gus called out getting the same farewells from his friends as they headed their separate way with Gus heading to the Illusion stall while Willow, Luz and heading in the direction of the cooking coven.

Soon enough at the cooking coven Willow had gotten them some sort of kebab to eat and Luz thought it was delicious it was spicy just how she liked it. Nana seemed to love it of the Kirby impression she did meant anything. She inhaled the kebab stick and all. “Hey Willow what did you get us?” Luz asked after swallowing the mouthful she just had.

“This is griffin kebab. How are you finding it?” Willow just before she took a bit of her kebab.

“It’s really good. Thank you Willow.” Luz smiled at her friend. Before she realised that she probably shouldn’t have eaten that without trying it out beforehand. Thankfully for future Luz she would experience no negative side effects and she would know more food that she could safely eat.

“Thank you Willow.” Nana chimed in as well. “It was yummy. I really liked the stick’s taste.”

“Nana you know you’re not supposed to eat the sticks. It tends to upset your stomach!” Willow chided Nana and it seemed like this was somewhat of a common occurrence from Willow’s exasperated tone.

“But they’re sooooooo gooooood.” Nana whined childishly.

“That may be so but you’re just going to complain when your stomachs hurt.”

“Will not.”

“Will too.”

“Will not.”

“Will too.”

“Will not.”

“Will not.” Willow said reversing the argument.

“Will too and that’s final!” Nana replied not realising that she had been tricked. She stamped one of her paws for emphasis. It was an adorable sight. Like a grumpy kitten. A small part of her wondered why Kyubey and Nana differed so much. Was it their environment or how they were raised or what food they ate? Because the difference between the two was like night and day. Kyubey was often still and had very little variation in his tone while Nana moved around like she had a boat load of energy and her tone had much greater variation from emotions like anger, sadness, joy and probably a lot more that Luz hadn’t seen yet. Nana also seemed to have eyelids and actually blink. Maybe she was some sort of an offshoot of Kyubey’s species? Luz had no idea honestly.

“I’m glad that we could agree.” Willow said with a small but smug smile.

“Yeah-. Hey wait a minute!” Nana shouted as she realised what had just happened to her. Luz honestly couldn’t believe she saw some get duck season rabbit seasoned in real life.

Luz couldn’t help it.

She laughed briefly before forcibly stopping herself. “Sorry couldn’t help but find that find that funny.” she explained as she saw Willow and Nana looking at her. Neither of them looked at her judgmentally or with annoyance or any emotion like that.

“That’s okay Luz it’s a nice laugh. I like how it sounds.” Luz couldn’t help the small blush at hearing Willow tell her that. She had never been told that by anyone except her mother before. It was ‘oh you laugh too loudly’ or ‘you have a weird laugh’ or other things to that effect. It sucked. She didn’t like the sound of her own laugh.

“Uh thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Is it a frequent issue?” At Willow’s look she clarified what she meant. “Uh Nana eating things she’s not supposed to?” It was like some of the pets that Mami treated as a vet when they ate something that weren’t supposed to. Like a cat eating a rubber band.

“Unfortunately yeah it seems like she doesn’t know what’s food or not most of the time.” She shot the currently pouting Nana a look. “That’s why we don’t leave her to her own devices at the moment. We’ve been teaching her what’s safe for her to eat...but it’s been slow going.” Willow said with a sigh.

“That’s really weird.” What was going on with Nana?

“Yeah that was what the beast keeper we took her to said as well. She also mentioned something about her biology being really really odd.” That was not at all a concerning statement to hear.

“In what way?” asked a morbidly curious Luz.

“The only thing I can remember off the top of my head is something about most of her organs used to vestigial or something. Apparently her organs have being growing in so we’ve been asked to keep an eye on things.” Now Luz was wondering what the hell was going on with Nana?

“What in the world?”

“Yeah she’s a little mystery alright.” That was certainly one way to put it.

“Damn right I am!” Nana said as she seemed to have stopped pouting. “Uh Luz can I ask you something?” she asked Luz somewhat hesitantly. Luz noticed her tail was waving slowly through the air.

“Yeah sure what is it?”

“Is there anything you can tell me about my species?” There was a hint of desperation in her voice she wanted answers and she hoped Luz would be able to give her some. Luz sadly didn’t know much that would be actually useful information.

“I’m not sure how much I can tell you but I do know one thing.” She leant over and whispered what she knew Kyubey could do in Willow’s ear and Nana being in very close proximity could hear as well.

That Kyubey could grant wishes.

Maybe just maybe Nana could too.

Luz had no idea if it was a species wide thing or just a Kyubey thing. Whatever the case may be she wasn’t going to shout it out for the whole world to hear that would only invite trouble. Wishes without thought without consideration caused more problems than they solved in Luz’s experience.

Both Willow and Nana despite hearing something very shocking managed to not broadcast their surprise to the world. But for those who knew her Nana’s tail’s whipping back and forth was a clear indicator of her feeling.

“Uh did you?...you know?” Get your wish granted Luz finished inside her head. Luz nodded her head. She showed her right hand, the one that wasn’t holding Willow’s, and the ring on it to Willow.

“This is the reminder of what I asked for.” Luz sighed feeling somewhat exhausted. She didn’t quite feel like elaborating right at this current moment. “I’ll tell you more later if that’s all right?”

“Yeah that’s fine with me. You just take the time you need. Want to focus on less serious things for now?” Willow said offering Luz an out. One Luz was quite happy to take.

“Yeah I would.”

Willow looked up at the nearby sign of the closest stall. “Do you want to take a look at the bard coven?”

Luz shrugged. “Yeah sounds good to me.” she said in agreement. She really wanted to see how music and magic interacted with one another. She hoped it would be super cool.

- - - -

Raine was checking in on Amber and Katya who were currently running the bard coven stall. They were all supposed to be doing their best to recruit as many witches as they could for the day of unity but due to their slight rebellious tendencies they weren’t giving it their all and Raine was quite proud of them for that even if they couldn’t say that out loud. Once upon a time Raine was happy to be part of such a prestigious system serving the Emperor’s will but as time went on they got better a noticing the flaws within the coven system. Such as people being arrested on a whim for ‘not fitting in’ or people disappearing for speaking out against the system.

“How are things been going you two?” Raine asked their students.

Amber who was resting her face on the palm of her hand said. “Not many people have come here since we’ve started our shift. Probably cause they don’t think bard magic is cool or something.” Raine felt slightly indigent at the idea of bard magic not being cool. It was music! Everyone likes music!

“Well it’s definitely given me time to write.” Katya said in amusement. Raine could see that she was on her scroll typing something out. They couldn’t really read things upside down very well but it looked like to be some sort of story about a jail break? Raine shrugged it off. If Katya wanted to talk about it it was her prerogative. But they were happy Katya was enjoying her writing. “I’ve managed to write over a thousand words!”

“Good job!” Amber said shooting her fellow student a thumbs up.

“Hehe thanks.” Katya replied looking pleased at being praised.

Before Raine could give their own compliments they could hear a pair of footsteps coming from behind them. They turned to see who was coming up behind them. One witch was a girl with green eyes and green hair and she was wearing a pair of glasses. On her left shoulder was the strangest creature Raine ever laid eyes on. It was primarily white with a long white tail and had green eyes. Its body was covered in long healed scars and it had a pair of tassel like ears. it’s left ear was about half the length of its right one which had a floating golden ring around it. Above those ears were another pair of triangular ears. Despite being not quite sure what to make of it Raine thought it looked to be quite cute.

The other witch holding the green haired girl’s hand on the other hand made Raine’s heart beat much faster in some combination of fear, nervousness, anxiety and the sheer panic because they suddenly had no idea what to do or say or think. The girl looked so much like the combination of Raine and Eda that it hurt. She had tan skin, golden brown eyes and round ears just like Eda’s grandmother and aunt. She was the girl that they had heard about in rumours lately. Eda Clawthorne’s daughter as well as theirs. Raine felt themself break out in a nervous sweat at the sight of their daughter. Their mouth was suddenly feeling dry. They remembered that drunken night some fourteen years ago. One they could never regret even to their dying days. There was passion and desperation. Desperation to never let go to never lose sight of one another to feel the warmth on another. Things blurred in a drunken haze. Kisses desperate and messy. Just like the both of them. Nothing else existed at the moment except for the two of them. ‘Please stay.’ ‘Please don’t leave me alone.’ ‘Please don’t go.’ They didn’t know who said what but they wished they didn’t wake up alone in their bed that Eda stayed that they could make things better. They laid there in their messed up bed reaching for someone who wasn’t there. ‘I love you.’ ‘I miss you.’ They shook their head they should focus on the here and now not on something that happened fourteen years ago.

It hurt to think Eda wasn’t able to come to them or trust them about the fact they had a daughter. They understood why because they were part of the coven system but it still hurt to think about.

“Oh hey Luz funny seeing you here!” Katya greeted the girl with a smile at seeing the person who had helped break her out of prison. Raine couldn’t blame her.

“Oh hey food love girl.” At everyone’s somewhat confused look at that nickname Luz looked a bit sheepish. Raine found the sight to be adorable. “I uh didn’t actually get your name,” Luz admitted, “while I was breaking you out of prison.” The green haired girl (Raine really needed to get her name they couldn’t keep calling her that even in the privacy of their own head it felt really rude) let out a ‘wait what?’ at hearing Luz had did that. “I’ll tell you more later Willow.” Luz promised and Raine finally had a name to call her. Willow nodded clearly curious about what had happened. Raine managed to get the general gist of what had happened from Katya’s recollection of events but they got a low more by having Melody sneak in and read the incident report for them. The fact Luz was so powerful made Raine wonder how she had go unnoticed all these years.

Katya laughed. “Yeah I guess you wouldn’t really get the chance to get names with all that was going on. My name’s Katya nice to properly meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

“I’m Amber her bestest friend.” Amber said happy to finally meet one of the people who had broken her friend out. “Who’s you friend on your shoulder Willow?” She peered at the creature who waved at her with its right ear which sure was a sentence that Raine just thought.

“I’m Nana nice to meet you!” the creature greeted them all somehow. It sounded echoey like a poorly recorded message or one that was suffering some degradation. Raine felt a little startled at hearing Nana talk without moving her mouth and they knew for a fact the Katya and Amber had a similar reaction even without looking at them.

Raine took a depth breath and gathered all their nerve they could muster. They could do this. They could face up to their mistakes. They could make things right. “I’m Raine. It’s nice to meet you.” They gripped their shirt with a nervous hand. “How’s Eda been? I’m an old friend of hers.” they said not quite intending to say that but too late for that now.

“Wow really?” Luz said. “It’s nice to meet you Raine.” She looked them up and down with a curious gaze taking in every detail she could. It made feel like they were being examined under a microscope. “How long have you know Eda for anyway?” Eda probably hadn’t told her a lot about them huh? It made sense still sucked though.

“I knew her when we went to Hexside together.” they said fondly remising back to those times. Back when Eda was feared school wide as Lord Calamity with the help of the secret tunnels she somehow made in order to sneak around the school without getting caught by any of the teachers.

“They also used to date.” Katya piped up with a mischievous grin. The traitor. She would rue the day. Rue they say.

She wasn’t getting any of their homemade fudge for at least a week.

“Thank you Katya we did use to date.” Raine said with a sigh.

“Wow!” Luz muttered at hearing that. “Wait I already knew that.” She did? Luz shook her head. “Do you have any stories about Eda at Hexside. Because I can’t really imagine her going to school with out causing a boatload of trouble.” That was very much true. Raine knew for a fact that some of the teachers broke out into happy tears when they heard she was leaving school. Some even broke out some wine to drink which Raine thought to be just ever so slightly unprofessional.

Raine laughed they certainly had stories to share. “Yeah she was just a big a troublemaker as she is today.” They thought about a story they could share with Luz and her friends. They smiled as the perfect story crossed their mind. “Yeah I have plenty of stories of Eda’s Hexside days and I’ve got a good one.” They said with a smile. The story of the first time Eda asked them out was one they remembered fondly. Even if they accidentally cause Eda to knock herself out by surprising her. Oops.

Katya and Amber, leaning forward to better listen in, did nothing to hide their interest about what story their teacher was going to tell them. Willow and Luz also did so. Raine gestured to some empty chairs that were nearby. Willow and Luz getting what they were implying sat down and made themselves comfortable.

“Right so Eda was practising in front of a mirror she had found in an abandoned class room trying to figure out how to ask me out. She seemed to be distracted by trying to figure out what to ask me and let me say this she had no idea what to do. She was floundering with statements like ‘Waine Rhipsers would you go out with me?’ or ‘you me date please.’” The bard’s captive audience couldn’t help but laugh. Luz in particular seemed to be enjoying the story which Raine was glad to see. “So in order to put her our of her misery I said yes and I may have startled her so badly she ran face first into the mirror.” They gave a sheepish grin. “That knocked her out for a while.” They weren’t going to mention that they had put Eda’s head in their lap blushing at the thought of what they did. “So yeah that’s the story of how Eda asked me out for our first ever date.”

Luz smiled shaking her head as she did so. “I still can’t believe that Eda did something like that. Lilith told me a similar story but this was one about Eda asking you out for Grom. The one with the pudding.” Raine blushed profusely at the memory. Eda tried to ask them out with the help of some blood apple pudding. She tripped when Raine spoke up to accept from behind her and Raine got a face full of pudding.

As well as Eda stammering out her invitation to them.

They accepted.

Once they cleared their face of course.

And given her a kiss on the cheek.

“Yeah it was a bit messy.” They then whispered to themselves. “It was so public.” They shuddered. Just like their worst nightmare about schools that they had as a child. Except in real life and with more dating was involved and slightly less public performance.

Then they realised that Luz said Lilith had told her that story. “Uh when did Lilith tell you that story?” they asked wondering how big a part of Luz’s life Lilith was.

“She told us the story when she stayed over last night because she got caught out in the rain.” Luz explained while Rained shuddered at the thought of being caught out in the boiling rain without a proper shelter. They had lost their uncle because of the boiling rain. “She seemed nice enough. Very tired looking though.” Raine could agree on Lilith being tired that woman wouldn’t know a health sleep schedule if it hit her upside the head.

“Uh Luz who’s Lilith?” asked Willow clearly curious about the unfamiliar name.

“She’s Eda’s sister.” Raine explained answering the question instead of Luz. “You most likely know her better as the head of the Emperor’s coven.”

“Oh okay.” Willow said before realising what that meant. “What?! The most infamous criminal in the Boiling Isles and the head of Emperor’s coven are sisters?!?” Raine could understand her disbelief well enough anyone who vaguely knew the two knew that the two of them were very different people with very different priorities. Eda’s priority was crime and crime adjacent activities last they checked. But considering Luz’s existence things have likely changed for Eda

“Pretty wild huh?” Raine asked her with a chuckle.

“I’ll say.” Nana said.

“Speaking of Eda where is she?” Raine asked. They wondered where their ex was at the moment because if she was here they half expected for something to catch fire.

Luz shrugged. “Not sure she’s looking for King cause he wandered off without telling anyone.” Luz perked up with a familiar gleam in her eye. She was just like her mother alright. “We’re going to be meeting back up in about an hour so you can come along if you like?”

Raine thought feeling very conflicted about the offer. They felt it wasn’t their place to but into Eda’s life but that part of them was the one who wanted to run and hide so they chose to ignore that part. The rest of them the part that wanted to make things right for leaving Eda all on her own however wanted desperately oh so desperately to go see Eda again. To see how she had changed it the years they last saw each other. Was she taking care of herself? Was the owl beast behaving itself? Did she need any help? They knew at least she would be as beautiful as the day they last saw her. So they followed their heart.

Raine smiled a faint smile. Their heart was beating as fiercely as a drum and it didn’t want to slow down any time soon.

“Yeah I think I would actually.”

- - - -

Speaking of Eda she was very very annoyed at the youngest resident of the Owl House. She was fine with him going off on his own but he needed to tell someone before he did so. She was going have to remind him of the rules again.

Which left her wandering the covention hall trying her level best to A: not burn down the building just yet and B: catch sight of where King might have gone off to. She was not having much luck with either admittedly.

The longer she spent here the more she wanted to go fuck it and set the place on fire. Seeing people quite happily giving up their freedom and their magic made her sick. She hated the propaganda that a witch can only be fulfilled if they were a member of a coven that one can find community and happiness. Community she could give them that but any happiness the coven gave its members would come at a steep cost. That wild witches are perverting the titan’s gift of magic. She honestly didn’t believe that Belos could even speak to the titan and it wouldn’t surprise her if he was lying about that. For what ends Eda had no idea but she knew that whatever it was would be bad news for everyone. Besides Eda was a big believer of the dead not dictating how the living lived their lives. She also hated the fact when she was younger that she quite happily bought into the system.

If she didn’t forfeit that day she would be standing there with a smile on her face as she recruited the impressionable kids with their whole lives ahead of them.

She shivered at the thought.

She shook her head. Now was not the time to think of what might have been. She needed to find King.

Eventually her search bought her to a quiet corner of the covention hall. There weren’t as many people here and Eda could spy a bench she could use to rest her feet for a moment before she continued on with her search. She was getting worried for the little guy. She hoped he didn’t get himself into too much trouble. Well without her anyway.

- - - -

Meanwhile King having his fill of snacks and free goodies had fallen asleep in the tiny cat coven. He was basically buried alive under so many cats who decided he made a perfectly good heater. Soon enough pictures of King in this situation would end up on social media and would make people take King a lot less seriously now. (Not that anyone took him too seriously in the first place mind you)

- - - -

As Eda got closer to the bench she could she that a young witch was already sitting there. Eda took a look to see if there were any other benches available only for them to all be full up and since she didn’t want to sit on the floor on account of her sore joints her only choice was to sit on the bench with the green haired witch who was looking at the ground with her hands tightly gripping her knees. Eda noticed that the girl was wearing a nice pair of boots so that’s what she’ll call her. Can’t use Greenie again now can she?

She walked over to the bench. “Do you mind if I sit here?” She asked politely. Well as politely as she could anyway.

Boots startled and looked up to Eda a very surprised look on her face. “Uh yeah sure. It’s...it’s a free isles after all.” Eh not really considering how Belos ran things around here but she wasn’t going to argue when her feet were stating to hurt from how much walking around she been doing lately also she didn’t want to get into an argument with a child thank you very much.

Eda sat down and made herself as comfortable as she could on the wooden bench. She was not very successful at that much to her annoyance. Could they not make the seating the least bit comfortable? She groused to herself in her thoughts.

Meanwhile her seat mate went back to her thinking about deep things. Whatever that may have been Eda hadn’t been a kid in years. She had no idea what kids liked these days. Well apart from King and Luz but they were her kids.

She knew that King like learning about demon biology, warfare, battles and weaponry throughout the ages. He especially like reading books about those subjects. He like to have hot baths with bubbles in them. He wanted to become the king of all demons. He loved food with lots of crunchy bits because he could pretend he was devouring the bones of his enemies. He had many soft toys which he had dubbed his ‘army of darkness’ lead by his favourite toy a soft blue rabbit he named Francois which he often played war games in that he sometimes roped Eda or Luz into. She smiled at the thought she had fond memories of occasions like that.

For Luz she knew the girl was passionate about learning magic often approaching it with a child like sense of wonder that Eda loved to see. She was curious and loved to ask her questions about the Boiling Isles and how they worked. Eda, being one to reward curiosity, did her level best to answer Luz’s question. If she couldn’t she and Luz would look for an answer together. She also knew that Luz was quite enamoured with Willow even if she didn’t quite know it herself just yet. Luz quite liked spicy food. She couldn’t have milk due to her lactose intolerance. They were still learning about what Boiling Isle food Luz could safely digest while there already was a fair bit she could eat safely it wasn’t truly enough for a varied diet that would give a growing girl like Luz all she needs. Thankfully for Luz’s sake she had a doctor’s appointment with Mala next Tuesday so hopefully they could help them figure things out. She also knew that the kid had trouble sleeping at times due to things like nightmares keeping her up. She seemed to be sleeping well enough at the Owl house but Eda would like if her kid could get the rest she needed.

She also knew that Luz was a very hurt girl. The human realm wasn’t bereft of magic as she was once taught and that was the problem. Luz was a magical girl made to fight monsters that were once people just like her. The magic seemed tailor made to lead young girls like Luz to their deaths. Something about Kyubey made her make some disturbing comparisons between him and Belos. It did not make her feel very good about things. The idea of twisting magic, a wonderful thing, into something that was only made to control and hurt. Not telling people what they’re getting into as well as leaving out important information that could affect how they lived. Her kid had friends that were in the same boat but they had died very recently leaving Luz all on her own.

Apart from her mother Camila (the name sounded vaguely familiar to Eda but she couldn’t quite place where) the kid didn’t have much in the way of a support system back in the human realm. Eda knew Luz loved her mother but she could notice the hint of hurt that her kid had whenever she talked about her mother. Something had happened. Eda didn’t want to pry and was content for Luz to tell her in her own time.

A (admittedly) cynical part of Eda, one that had been shaped by her interactions with her own mother, told her that Camila had hurt Luz somehow and that she should be kept away from Luz. However the rest of Eda was a bit more rational. It pointed out that she didn’t know the full story at the moment and leaping to conclusions would only end up in unwanted trouble for everyone involved.

So she would wait to see what Camila was actually like.

And if she was just like Eda’s own mother and going to hurt her kid.

Well let’s just say Eda would be a very unhappy women.

She hoped that for Luz’s sake that things wouldn’t turn out like that.

But still a part of her couldn’t help but worry.

Worry for her kid.

Worry for her future.

- - - -

Amity was sitting on a bench deep in thought when she heard someone ask her if she could sit on the bench and Amity went with her first instinct and said she could.
Amity took a look at the woman and found that she looked vaguely familiar to Amity. Amity racked her memories and figure she had seen this woman at the market place on the odd occasion so that most likely was the reason why she felt so familiar.

Figuring she wasn’t going to talk to her any time soon Amity went back to her thoughts. She was thinking about what she wanted to do if she had the choice to. She wanted to apologise to Willow, she wanted to be friends with Willow again, she wanted to get to know Luz better, she wanted to chose who she would be friends with, she wanted to have time to herself, she wanted to enjoy her life, she wanted to be able to decide where her life should lead but she had no idea how to do that. Her mother kept a close eye and a tight grip on her in order for Amity to be her little puppet dancing on her strings. She was a Blight and Blights must be powerful, they must be successful, they must not show weakness, they must not associate with weakness or weak people and they must do what Mother says or else.

Mittens listen to everything I say. Do everything I tell you. Aim for where I aim for you. You will be happy. You will make me happy and oh so proud. So just do what I say. Good job Mittens. Odalia smiled so proud of her little puppet. She would go where the strings took her. She could not argue she could not scream she could not shout. She could only dance on those strings.

She wished that she could cut those strings. They bound her. They bound her arms. They bound her legs. They bound her head. They bound her heart. She wished for freedom. For the cage to be empty. For the bird to fly free.

Alas a puppet such as her would never be free. But her desire burned. It was practically scorching but still she held onto it it as tightly as she could. No she was going to be free. It may not be today or next year or in five years but one day she was going to be free. That she swore to herself.

“You’re thinking pretty deeply aren’t you Boots?” suddenly asked the woman. Amity took a moment to realise that the woman was talking to her while using a nickname. Unlike the nickname Mittens Amity found she didn’t mind this one all too terribly much. Her voice was rather nice sounding like a loveable rouge kind of character. “Mind if I ask what’s got you so worked up?”

Amity startled not expecting the woman to talk to her. “Yeah no it’s fine totally fine.” The woman raised an eyebrow clearly not buying it. Amity wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t feel like talking about her problems with a stranger but on the other hand this woman wasn’t involved with her family problems and maybe an outside perspective could help.

After judging the pros and cons of each option she made her choice. She sighed. “It’s my family.” she began deciding to talk about her problems. “Things are.... admittedly far from ideal.” Which was a severe understatement if there ever was. With her mother controlling her every move. A father who she last saw in person over two weeks ago and her siblings who were massive trouble makers who hated her.

The woman sighed not in annoyance or anything like that it felt more like she understood what Amity was meaning. “Yeah I get what you mean Boots.” the woman said. “My family’s not what I would ideal either. Family can be a messy thing sometimes take it from me kid.” Amity could feel that this woman was telling her the truth. It sounded like actually understood how Amity was feeling. “My mother wants me to do what she says whatever consequences that befall me be damned. She doesn’t care for what I want she wants it her way or else. I loved her once upon a time but now...” The woman trailed off and Amity could figure out the rest easily enough. It was like that with her mother as well. “There’s also my sister who worries me with how much work she’s doing without resting. That woman needs to take a break.” The woman looked meaningfully at Amity. “But considering you’re Odalia’s daughter I can make a pretty good guess what the problem is.”

“How did you know I’m her daughter?”

“Mainly the dyed green hair kid. Odalia wants you to be moulded into her image right?” Amity nodded confirming the woman’s guess. “Right that tracks I used to go to Hexside around the same time she did.” The woman smiled. It was not a very happy one Amity noted. “I imagine she’s just as nice as she was then.” the woman said voice sarcastic and biting. Considering her mother was a thoroughly unpleasant woman Amity couldn’t say she was very surprised. Her mother had that effect on people. Eda glanced down at Amity’s necklace. “Hey Boots do you mind if I take a look at your necklace?” The woman sounded much more serious (and dare she say it alarmed?) after she looked at her necklace.

“Uh sure but why though?” Amity asked as she took of her necklace. She knew that mother ordered her to never ever take off her necklace as much as the reminder of mother’s control over her suffocated her but the woman’s concerned tone was worrying Amity. So she decided take off the necklace. It was her first purposeful act of rebellion.

“Well Boots,” the woman began as she took the necklace from Amity’s hand, “from what I can see your mother has put a but load of monitoring and tracking charms on this thing.” She scowled as she closely examine the necklace. “There’s also a one way telepathic channel. So she can make you hear her as long as you wear the necklace.” As the woman said rather angrily before she crushed the necklace in her hands. It sparked with purple magic as she did so. She opened her her hand and revealed the remains of Amity’s necklace. Amity was shocked at seeing the woman casually crush her necklace to pieces with as much effort people would use to deal with skin eating fairies. She felt fear at the idea of Mother's reaction to her necklace being destroyed. But she also felt this thrill of not being monitered any longer. “Hey Boots do you have somewhere else you can stay? I don’t think you going back home and back to her is a good idea.” Amity had no idea where she could go Blight Manor wasn’t a home and her hideout at the library wouldn’t be a good idea for anything longer than an overnight stay.

Amity shook her head. She didn’t have any friends she was willing to stay with. Boscha she didn’t like very much. Skara she hardly talked to and the rest she didn’t even know their names! “No I don’t and I don’t think Miss Lilith would let me stay either.” She liked her mentor well enough sure but she wasn’t sure if she would want her student staying with her. Part of her was afraid to ask. She didn’t know what to do if one of the halfway decent adults in her refused too help her. Her boss Malphas wasn't even a consideration due to potential backlash he would from Mother exerting her power becasue he couldn't afford to fight back against someone like her.

“Huh small world. Lilith’s my sister.” Amity blinked in shock. Lilith had mentioned her sister on the odd occasion. Mostly to complain about her. Her sister Eda Clawthorne better known as the owl lady. Eda on seeing Amity make that connection smiled at her. “Well considering she can’t get into her apartment at the moment,” wait what, “because she can’t find her keys.” Seriously? Lilith always seemed so prim and proper and well organised. She didn't seem like the type of person to lose track of things like her keys. “So I’ll guess I’ll have to help you out instead. Well if you want me to that is.” Did Amity want her to? Did she want Miss Lilith’s sister to help her out? Was she willing to take that chance? Take that risk? She was scared. Too scared to go home yet too scared to leave. What was she more afraid of?

She made her choice after agonizing over it for what felt like an eternity.

“Yeah I would like your help.” She did her best to look Eda in the eye. "Please."

Eda smiled. “And help you I shall.” Then Eda stuck her hand into her hair and pulled out her scroll. Her face gained a confused look as she read the message on the screen. She typed a quick response. Amity not being the nosey type didn’t try and catch a peak of the screen. After Eda finished typing her response she stowed her scroll away in her hair. “Right so Lilith needs my help with something. So I’m going to go do that. Do you want me to give you my address or something?” Amity nodded. Eda gave Amity her address which Amity committed to her memory. It wasn’t too far from the path she usually took to school.

“What does Lilith want your help with?” Amity asked curious as to why her mentor was asking Eda for help.

“Something super illegal.” Eda wiped an imaginary tear from her eye. “I’m so proud of her.” Right. Amity had a feeling she didn’t want to get involved in illegal activities (yet) so she didn’t pry.

Eda’s face fell back into a serious expression. “You going to be okay Boots while I head off?”

“Yeah I’ll be fine.” Amity said trying her best to believe herself. “I’ll see you round?” she asked in an unsure manner.

Eda’s face softened. Her expression was so warm and yet so alien to Amity. “Yeah see you round kid.” Eda said before heading off into the crowd. Soon she disappeared and Amity was left to her thoughts.

One string snapped.

One step closer.

Amity smiled. It was small and nigh unnoticeable.

But she smiled all the same.

- - - -

Just before Lilith texts Eda.

“You just need the right incentive.” Odalia’s statement hung in the air like the axe of an executioner ready to fall and end things. Lilith took a moment to process and think things over.

“And what exactly might that be?” Lilith needed to be in control and she needed to figure out what Odalia was planning with this stunt and how she would react. She kept her face calm and still. Her roiling emotions hidden beneath the surface.

“It’s simple. You get Mittens and Clawthorne to duel and no one learns of the face Eda Clawthorne has a daughter. If you don’t....” Odalia smiled one full of venom. “Well I’m sure our illustrious leader would be quite interested to hear about her.” Okay so she was threatening Luz with reprisal from the Emperor if her discovered her existence. That would not do. A small part of her, the one that doubted what she was told, quite loudly told her to keep her niece away from him and she didn’t know why. She knew perfectly why. The hoops he made her jump through. The broken promises. The inconsistencies in history. The details that didn’t add up. The people who vanished for speaking out. The sudden drive to recruit everyone they could. The hidden lab beneath the conformatorium, the statues who resembled missing people and most damningly in her mind the fact he didn’t give them any actual details about the day of unity. She just wasn’t ready to admit she had made a huge mistake and wasted a good chunk of her life chasing something she would never get.

“No.”

Odalia blinked shocked at the blatant refusal. “What?” she choked out like she had never been told no before and Lilith wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. Lilith found she quite enjoying saying no to someone like Odalia. It made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

“You heard me.” Lilith glared at Odalia who took a step back. “I. Said. No.” One important thing that Lilith noticed that the area they were in only had Lilith and Odalia. Behind Odalia was a closet door.

“How dare-?” Odalia started to rant only for Lilith to use a sleep spell on her. If she put a bit more power in than strictly necessary well no on has to know. Odalia feel to the floor sound asleep. Lilith made sure that no one was coming before she opened the closet door and dragged Odalia in and shut the door behind her.

Lilith took a deep breath as she realised what she just did and found she didn’t regret it. However to ensue that Odalia didn’t reveal Luz and Eda’s connection she would need to forget that little fact. She didn’t have the means to do so on hand but she did know someone who just might.

She pulled out her scroll and pulled up her sister’s contact details. She was very glad that Eda never changed scrolls since the last time they met and that she still kept Eda’s contact details. It served as a reminder of simpler times when they were the Clawthorne sister together against the world.

She missed those times.

She opened up her messages to Eda and saw the last time they had talked to each other over their scrolls were well over a decade ago. She winced at the reminder of their strained relationship.

She let her her fingers fly over the keyboard to write her message.

Lilith: Edalyn I need your help with something just a touch illegal.

She made sure to include her location as well she didn’t want to send Eda on a wild goose chase.

Eda: I’m on my way.

Not even five minutes later Lilith could hear the confident strides of her sister coming down the hall.

Lilith opened the closet door and beckoned her in. She idly noted that Eda was wearing glasses and had her hair tied up for some reason.

Eda seeing Lilith’s expression did so before Lilith shut the door. Eda looked down at Odalia and scowled. “Right what did Odalia do this time and what do you need help with?” Eda sounded like she already was angry at Odalia but Lilith didn’t really have the time to ask why

Lilith explained what had happened with Odalia threatening to reveal Eda and Luz’s connection to the Emperor. “I need you to help me erase some of her memories.” she explained.

Eda pulled out a pair of tweezers from her hair. “Yeah sure I can help.” She looked at the sleeping Odalia with fire and fury in her gaze. Her mouth baring her fangs in anger. “She is not going to hurt my kid.”

Eda turned to Lilith. “You know how to get the memories to the forefront?” she asked Lilith. “I’ve never been the best at this sort of thing.” Lilith nodded and they got to work. Lilith using some magical suggestion to bring the memories to the forefront then Eda using the tweezers pulled out the memory photo.

The photo showed Odalia clasping on to a necklace. One Lilith noted looked near identical to Amity’s necklace she also noticed her sister scowl at the sight of the necklace. Odalia was listening intently to something a sinister grin on her face. Lilith gave Eda a nod. They had the right one.

So without any ceremony or hesitation Eda ripped the photo clean in two.

The memory was erased and only the head of the Oracle coven would have the slightest chance of recovering it.

Both Eda and Lilith gave a sigh of relief after they did so. That was one thing taken care of. Now for the next thing. Lilith turned to her sister with a raised brow. There was also the speech she needed to give in like an hour but she didn’t really care about that now. “How did you get here so fast I thought you hated events like this?”

Eda sighed with an air of fond exasperation. “Well the kids wanted to visit and well nothing was open.” Eda explained keeping a wary eye on Odalia. That made sense. “Honestly I really want to burn this place down.” Yeah that didn’t surprise Lilith in the slightest.

“Why haven’t you?”

Eda held two fingers together their tips barely touching. “I am this close to saying fuck it and just set this place on fire.” She looked down at Odalia and poked her with her foot. The sleeping woman mumbled in her sleep before settling down again. “What are we going to do with her?”

Lilith inspired by Eda’s comment about burning the place down had an idea.

She told Eda her idea.

Eda laughed.

She smiled and said. “That’s a fucking amazing idea. Let’s do it!”

- - - -

King woke from his nap by the sensation of someone quite rudely picking him up. He was going to complain but he noticed the sound of the fire alarms going off. Yeah that might be a good reason to pick him up. He looked at who picked him up and saw it was one of Luz’s friends the short boy. King tried to remember his name. He thinks it’s was something like Nero. No Caesar. Wait he rememberer now his name was Gus. That’s it Gus!

“What’s happening?”

“A fire broke out!” Gus explained as he carried King under his arm like a ball. King would complain about this and leaving all his tributes behind but the fire made sure he didn’t do that. “We’re going have to evacuate.”

“Yeah that makes sense.” Even if he didn’t like it.

- - - -

Willow was surprised to hear there was a fire but she calmly made her way out of the covention hall with Luz and Nana. Raine and their two students right behind them. Thankfully the evacuation went off without a hitch.

Right now they were standing far away from the currently burning building. The fire fighting coven already having a stand there was already combating the blaze. They didn’t seem to be having much luck in that front.

Willow could see Gus and King walking up to them. “Hey Willow. Hey Luz. Hey Nana.” he greeted before realising that Raine, Katya and Amber were also there. “Uh hey people I don’t know.” Katya laughed at that greeting before responding with her own greeting. Raine and Amber introduced themselves as well.

Gus ended up telling his friends what he had been up to before the fire broke out. Apparently he had spent most of his time at the illusion stall before wandering his way over to the tiny cat coven where he had found King. He even snapped some photos before the fire alarm went off. Then Willow and Luz recounted their day as well catching him up on what had happened. Nana on the other hand curled into a ball on the ground groaning due to her upset stomach.

Willow didn’t have much sympathy for her gluttonous friend she knew she wasn’t supposed to eat any kind of wood and what does she do? Just that. She loved Nana but it was like she had a genuine disregard for instinctual self-preservation or outright lacked it.

Willow shook her head as she spotted Eda walking up to the group. Right behind the older witch was another woman around her height and- “Amity?!?” she asked as Amity to look shocked at seeing her and Luz there. Willow wondered why Amity was following Eda. She didn’t think she was the type to follow a criminal. Then again Willow really couldn’t say she knew Amity now could she?

Meanwhile Eda on seeing Raine went. “Raine?” her voice trembled slightly as she asked that question.

Raine smiled. “Hello Eda. It’s good seeing you again.” Then Raine noticed the woman right behind her. “Lilith?!?” they asked in shock.

“Hello Whispers.” There was an air of awkwardness between the two Willow noticed.

The air was full of awkwardness and the sound of a burning building as no one was really sure what to say.

“Can you put me down? This is really undignified.” Except for King who wanted to be put down on the ground.

“Oh yeah sure thing.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 9 Amity is having an eventful day

Soon enough Gus had to head on home due to the fact he had homework to do and wanted to get started on it so he could get it over and done with which Willow agreed was a good idea. Katya and Amber also left due to having prior commitments (what exactly those commitments were Willow didn't ask) but they didn’t go until they said their farewells.

That left Luz, Nana, Amity and Willow standing sort of awkwardly staring at each other while the adults (with Eda holding King) had their own little conversation just out of earshot. Both Amity and Luz were blushing quite brightly upon seeing each other and Willow felt the odd sense of jealousy? Envy? Protectiveness? Towards Luz. She had no idea what it was but she sure knew it felt weird.

Nana being Nana was the first to say anything. “Hi lady who wants to marry Luz.” she greeted. Willow had no idea what Nana thought she was doing but whatever it was it sure worked. Amity and Luz’s blushes somehow got even brighter to the point Willow half expected them to burst into flames. Thankfully they didn’t because Willow didn’t want her friend to burn.

Willow could also hear Eda burst into laughter upon hearing that and it made Willow wonder how good her hearing was. “I don’t...” Amity started looking like her thoughts had failed her and she was just flailing about. “Marriage? What? But I-. I’m too young.” Amity spluttered out. “She’s cute sure but I Erhk!”

Luz at the same time flushed bright red. “I don’t think she wants to marry me Nana.” She pulled her hoody over her head. “I’d like to marry a cute girl one day but....” Luz somewhat sombrely trailed off not finishing her sentence. It felt like Luz didn’t expect herself to last long enough to get married.

As much as she found Luz’s flustered reactions to be cute decided to get to the bottom of why Amity was here. “Why exactly are you here Blight?” she asked not at all hiding her vitriol towards her former friend. The name Blight felt like poison on her lips. Luz, her eyes poking out from under her hoody, looked at Willow with a very concerned gaze. Willow didn’t take her eyes off of Amity allowing her to notice some interesting details such as the fact Amity was not wearing her ever present necklace as well as the fact that Willow could see the faint hint of fear in her eyes. But fears involving what?

“Miss Clawthorne....Miss Clawthorne offered me a place to stay.” Amity started to wring her hands nervously. “She said I shouldn’t go back home.” She moved her hand to where her necklace usually sat only to come up with nothing but air. She looked down and her face went from one emotion to another so quickly that Willow couldn’t quite make out how Amity was feeling. “That I shouldn’t be near my mother.” The word mother was said in a way that felt like there were some very complicated emotions tied up with that word and that none of them were good. Amity sounded afraid in a way Willow had never heard her before. Willow was used to cold indifference and mocking taunts not this.

Willow wasn’t quite sure she like the idea of having Amity and Luz stay in the same place. Not without her at least. That was a good idea. She would ask her dads if she could stay at Luz’s place. Nana could come too. “Uh why did she say that?” Speaking of Nana. She tilted her head to the side in a clear show of confusion as she asked Amity that question. Willow made a note to talk about subtext and implications with Nana again. She was learning but she didn’t want her friend to get hurt by asking questions at the wrong time. Then again Nana seemed to take everything literally and had problems with understanding emotions and things like figures of speech.

Amity stiffened slightly as her eyes looked back and forth half expecting something to attack her. “I don’t want to talk about it.” she said coldly her face falling back into its typical mask of cold indifference. But Willow could see the pain in her eyes well enough.

Nana hummed. “Okay then.” She leapt off of her perch on Willow’s shoulder and began to sit on Amity’s foot before she started to purr.

“Uh what are you doing?” Amity asked her confusion making her mask crack as she saw Nana on her foot. Luz let out a small heh at Amity’s confused tone.

“You’re not feeling good right?” Nana asked not waiting for an answer before speaking again. “Well Willow feels better if I purr.” she explained and that was true Willow did feel comforted by Nana’s purrs. “Are you feeling better?”

Amity wiping her confusion from her face sighed. “I don’t think you’ll be much help to me at the moment. Sorry.” Willow could see the hints of exhaustion in Amity’s expression something she had never seen before. A part of Willow (the part that still longed to be friends with her) ached as she saw that. It felt wrong to her.

“A joy shared is a joy doubled. A sorrow shared is a sorrow halved.” Nana said like she was quoting something. “I read that from the Park cookbook.” Willow has read the family cookbook and she doesn’t remember that phrase being in there. “No wait it think it was ‘101 ways to cook griffin eggs.’” Nana said before Willow could correct her. “Okay it doesn’t really matter you get what I mean right?” Willow wondered what exactly were in the cookbooks Nana was reading.

“I do.” Amity said with a sigh. “But I’m not ready to talk about things with you.” she winced slightly for some reason. “Uh no offence?” she sounded like she expected something bad to happen because she refused to talk. Which was a concerning reaction Willow had to admit.

“Yeah no worries.” Nana said. “If you don’t want to talk then don’t.” Nana didn’t sound offend in the slightest. “Do what works for you.”

“Thank you.”

Soon conversation died down leaving the sounds of Nana’s purrs to fill the air until Luz asked a question.

“Uh Amity?”

“Yes Luz?”

“Why did you flirt with me?” Luz asked with a curious tilt of her head. Willow had the exact same question.

“I panicked okay?” A flustered Amity said. “I went with my sister’s advice and flirted with a pretty girl. I’m sorry.” Considering the rumours Willow heard about Emira flirting with any girl that caught her eye she could believe it.

“Oh no don’t apologise.” Luz replied waving it off. “It’s just I’ve never had someone flirt with me before.” she said it so matter of factly. Like it was something she considered herself unworthy of getting. Well Willow was just going to prove her wrong now wasn’t she? “It’s just new to me is all.” Luz explained.

“Right still I probably shouldn’t have done that.”

“Maybe but we can’t change the past. So what will your next step be?”

“I don’t... I don’t know.” Amity said sounding very lost. Willow had a feeling she wasn’t just talking about the flirting thing.

Willow got out her scroll and sent her parents a text asking if she could stay the night at Luz’s place if she got permission.

She got given the go ahead from Papa.

Now she just had to ask Eda if she could stay the night.

Simple enough.

She began to make her way over.

- - - -

Raine was trying their best not to panic to stutter and stumble over their words in the face of Eda. She looked good and she aged a heck of lot better than they did. She was carrying her son in her arms. He looked quite comfortable there.

They had no idea what to say. They hadn’t seen her in years. Their break up was a messy one to say the least. They knew now that Eda was cursed to transform into an owl beast but when they were dating Eda kept trying to hide things and pretend everything is fine when it clearly wasn’t. They wanted to know and be there for her but she kept shutting them out. Then Raine had enough and broke things off and joined the bard coven which they regretted so so much. It was stifling they weren’t allowed to innovate or experiment with music they had to follow strict guidelines.

“Do you think I can stay over?” Lilith asked. Thankfully Lilith was buying them time even if unintentionally. They just wished they could think a little bit faster. “I still can’t find my keys and I don’t want to stay in the barracks.” Raine winced at the mention of the barracks. They were not a very nice place to sleep from the rumours they had heard. Wait what was that about her keys?

“Yeah sure. Just remember what I said.” Lilith nodded showing she understood leaving Raine out of the loop. Eda smiled. “Good.” Eda turned her attention back to Raine who stiffened feeling like they were about to be interrogated. They hoped that was just them being paranoid. “So what brings you around here Raine?” Her tone was warm and a tad awkward like she was happy to see them but didn’t quite know what to say. Unlike Raine who had absolutely no idea what to say. Their thoughts were the very definition of blind panic which wasn’t very helpful. They silently plead with their brains to stop panicking for a moment and think of something to say.

“Luz.” they said before the deluge that was their explanation flowed from their mouth. “I meet Luz and apparently she helped save one of my students Katya from the conformatroium after she got arrested. She and Katya recognised each other and you got mentioned and she offered a chance to see you again. I took it. I missed you a lot Eda I wished things ended differently from us. I want to be a part of your life again.” they said without stopping to take a breath. They didn’t want to look Eda in the eye. They couldn’t look her in the eyes. They couldn’t handle being rejected by her. They couldn’t handle seeing the hurt in her eyes. “I’m sorry that you were all on your own.” They couldn’t say that they were sorry for leaving her to raise two kids on her own. That they weren’t a part of their life.

“Raine do you mind looking up for a moment?” Eda didn’t sound angry or upset even if she had every right to be. Raine did so and found nothing like they were expecting. They saw no anger. They saw a hint of melancholy and regret but they also saw happiness at the sight of them. Raine didn’t expect that at all. “Raine I know things didn’t end that well between us and I wished things ended differently as well.” Eda smiled softly and beautifully. Raine fell in love all over again. “But I’m...I’m glad to see you too. I’m glad Luz met you.” Raine’s heart fluttered with their nervousness. “....uh I would also like to see you again even if just as friends.” Eda said with an uncharacteristic nervousness. Raine could see her tapping her left foot on the ground. The beat a frantic and nervous one. Raine was so used to Eda being confident and having a devil may care attitude that the difference was striking.

“Uh I I would like that as well.” Raine could hear Lilith mutter something uncomplimentary under her breath most likely remembering how bad they were back in school and thinking back on it yeah they were certainly cringe worthy. They were fine being friends at the moment. They didn’t want to jump right back into a relationship and they had a feeling that Eda probably had the same idea.

“Titan spare me.” Lilith said with a roll of her eyes. The smile she had said despite her annoyance she was happy for the two. Eda being the mature woman she is stuck out her tongue at her sister.

Lilith being as mature as Eda stuck out her tongue as well. Raine wanted to laugh it reminded them of when they were children before things went wrong and they all went their separate ways. Lilith becoming the head of the Emperor’s coven, Eda becoming a wanted criminal and Raine joining the bard coven.

Raine could hear some footsteps coming from behind them. They turned their head and saw Willow was making her way over to them. They also noticed that Luz and Nana as well as the girl whose name they didn’t know were standing there somewhat awkwardly and even from their position the blushes on those two girls were as clear as day. Raine on seeing Luz act so awkwardly is reminded a lot of how they were like back in Hexside all nervous and blushy around Eda hopefully there will be less sticking foot in mouths with those two.

“Hey Eda?” Willow asked as she came to a stop right by Raine’s side.

Eda putting her tongue away turned to look at Willow with a raised brow curious as to what the young witch wanted. “Yeah Greenie?”

“Would it be okay if I stay over for the night?”

Eda thought for a moment as she mulled over Willow’s words. “Yeah sure thing already got Boots and Lily staying over what’s one more?” she replied with a small smile. “Besides I think it’ll do Luz a whole lot of good.”

Willow ran over and gave Eda a great big hug. “Thank you so much!” Eda awkwardly patted Willow on the back clearly feeling how much strength Willow is putting into her hug.

“That’s nice kid but can ya let go? I’m losing circulation here.” Eda said as King perched himself like a parrot on her shoulder to avoid being caught in the hug.

“Oh sorry.” Willow said as she let Eda go. Eda made a show of brushing herself off but Raine noticed the slight wince Eda had as she did so. Did she have some sort of joint pain or something? Eda then quickly rubbed her wrists in a circular motion with her other hand. They made a mental note to keep an eye of her.

“It’s fine kid you’re quite strong.” Eda noted with a gleam in her eye and Raine knew she was up to something or was planning something.

Willow gave a bashful chuckle. “Well I was in the abomination track and I had to drag my cauldron on a cart by hand.” she explained while both Raine and Lilith had near identical looks of shock on their faces. They knew for a fact that abominations could be very heavy often heavy enough to leave a crater in a hard stone floor if dropped which considering their weight was a somewhat common occurrence. The fact that Willow did it solely by hand was very impressive.

Eda on the other had gave an impressed whistle. “It’s certainly impressive kid. Those things can be super fucking heavy as Alador could attest to when he dropped on on his foot.” His foot took a very long time to heal even with magic helping the process. Darius had found it funny for all of five seconds before realising how heavy those cauldrons could be before rescuing his rival by getting it off of him.

“Who’s Alador again?” Willow asked clearly trying to place the name and not quite managing to do so.

“Boots’ dad Greenie.” Eda explained. Wait Boots was Amity Blight? They knew that Alador and Odalia had married but didn’t keep up with what they got up to not wanting to think about Odalia and more than they had to. Taking a look at the green hair girl Raine had to concede that Amity Blight looked like a combination of the two. Raine felt their heart go out for the girl. Odalia was, as one could imagine, not a very nice woman. She was callow and cruel back in school and Raine had a suspicion that she didn’t get much better even after all those years.

Willow gave an ‘ah’ of understanding. She then looked at her watch on her right wrist. “What are you going to do now?” Willow asked. “Now that the covention hall is burning down?” Speaking of it seems the fire fighting coven was managing to beat back the blaze.

Eda and Lilith gave each other an awkward look and an unsure shrug. Eda’s had a hint of pride in it however and Raine knew for a fact she had something to do with the currently burning building. Eda looked back. “What go grab a bite to eat?” Eda asked. Willow’s stomach grumbled causing her to blush. “Guess that answers that.” Eda chuckled.

Eda turned back to Raine. “Do you want to come with?” she asked offering Raine a chance. One they would be foolish to pass up.

So they took it. “I would like that.” Raine smiled at the thought of food. They could feel their stomach demanding them feed it.

Eda face Luz and Amity and Nana. “Hey you lot come on we’re getting lunch!” she called to them. Nana, who was on Amity’s foot, on hearing the word lunch practically bolted over to Willow. Willow laughing at the sight picked up Nana, whose tail was a blur from how fast it was wagging, and sat her upon her shoulder. Behind her Luz and Amity walked a much more sedate pace. Raine could see that on their faces was a bright blush. Wonder what that was about?

Unless Luz told her about it Raine was content to leave things lie. They wouldn’t interfere with their daughter’s love life. But they hoped that they could get to know her better.

She seemed to be a lovely girl. Eda must be so proud of her.

As Luz walked up to Eda she gave her a hug which Eda happily reciprocated. Eda when they were younger wasn’t usually one of hugs but it seemed having a child changed that. “Hey Eda where’re we going?” she asked.

“I know a great little hole in the wall that serves great food.” Eda replied looking over Luz with a caring gaze. “How was your day kid?” Eda raised an eyebrow at the sight of Luz’s blush. Meanwhile Amity made her way over to Lilith and began talking to her. Lilith looked to be very surprised to see Amity there before schooling her face and began to listen to Amity. Raine didn’t listen to what they were saying. It was rude to eavesdrop after all.

“It’s been pretty good. Raine’s really cool. You know food story girl?” Eda nodded. “Well her name’s Katya and she’s one of Raine’s student. There was also Amber. They seemed really nice. I also had a good time with Willow and Nana exploring the centre. I had fun today.” Luz said her words somewhat of a torrent. Eda smiled at Luz’s excitement.

“That’s good to hear kid.” Eda ruffled Luz’s hair while she only gave a token protest. She seemed to be used to Eda ruffling her hair from her half hearted protests. Raine thought it was a sweet sight. “Come on let’s get some lunch.”

Luz laughed. “Sounds good to me.”

So Eda led the way Luz and Raine right behind her. Willow walked by Luz while Lilith and Amity bought up the rear the pair of them still talking with each other.

- - - -

Gus grabbed the house key from his pocket and inserted it into the lock. He gave it a quick turn of the wrist unlocking the door and giving him entry. He opened the door and walked on in. He closed the door as he called out. “I’m home!”

“I’m in the living room.” His dad replied. Knowing where his dad was Gus made his way to him. Perry was on the living room couch reading a book. From where he was standing Gus couldn’t quite make out what he was reading. “You’re back early than I expected.” he noted putting a book mark in his book and closing it and putting it to the side. “I’d thought you’d be out for a bit longer than that. How was the covention by the way?” Gus could make out the title of the book to be ‘How to trick your senses: fool more than just your sight’ That looked to be an interesting book he’d have to see if he could read it after his dad was done. He could fool the senses of sight and hearing well enough. It was the rest he wanted to get better at. He knew for a fact the best illusionists could fool senses like touch, taste and smell. He wanted to as good as if not greater than those illusionists.

“Well the covention hall is on fire last I checked but before that it was kinda cool. The illusion stall was really neat.” It was neat talking to much more experienced illusionists but the experience was bought down by Eda’s reveal of what the coven brand could do to people. He wasn’t sure if he believed her outright but something told him that she wasn’t lying to them. He thinks it was due to being in the Illusion track allowing him to be better discern when someone was lying to him which had served him well over the years. He needed to find a way to find out what was going on.

“Wait what was that first bit again?” Perry asked blinking like he couldn’t quite process what Gus had just told him.

“Uh the covention hall got set on fire?” Gus repeated somewhat questioningly.

“Huh guess I wasn’t hearing things. Wait how did it get set on fire in the first place?” Gus shrugged not sure quite who set the hall ablaze. He had a feeling Eda was involved somehow but revealing that suspicion would likely make the very scary witch very very mad at him. His dad’s scroll, which was sitting on the chair’s armrest, let off a buzzing sound of an alert coming through. Perry looked very surprised at whatever the alert said and when his dad turned the scroll towards him Gus understood why.

The alert read ‘Odalia Blight arrested in connection to the fire at the covention hall.’ Below that were some comments of people writing their thoughts about it. From a glance most of them were negative to neutral at best.

Gus blinked as he tried to place the name before remembering that his dad had mentioned her on the odd occasion (mostly to complain about her interfering with the news) and that was Amity’s mother. “Huh.” was all he could really say to that. He also noticed with some amusement that someone commented ‘is anyone really surprised? We all know she’s a terrible person.’ Many comments agreed with the first one showing that in the terms of public opinion most people didn’t like Odalia Blight all that much.

“Yeah. That’s certainly one way to put it.” Perry muttered. “Wonder how this is going to affect Blight Industries?” he asked the world rhetorically. That was a good question what would happen to Blight Industries now that the head of the company was arrested for arson? Gus had no idea due to the fact he was 12 and he had no idea what went into running a business like Blight Industries.

So he just shrugged in lieu of an answer. “Yeah fair enough.” Perry laughed. “Well I know what’s going to keep me busy when I head in for work for the morning.” Perry then gained a concerned look on his face. “Hey champ what’s the matter?” he asked at seeing the worried expression that made a home on Gus’ face.

Gus wasn’t sure how to ask or word this and he was sorely tempted to just brush it off and say everything is fine. But he didn’t he knew that his dad wouldn’t believe him if he did so. So he decided to talk maybe he wouldn’t give the whole story but enough for the moment. He took a deep breath. “Hey dad?”

“Yeah champ?”
“Is it true that the leading cause of death for witches in a coven is things like heart failure? Caused by the bindings the coven seals places on their bile sack?” he asked leaving out the fact Eda was the one who told them that little fact and see how his dad reacted. Then he would see if he could tell him where he got this information

His dad had a troubled look on his face at hearing Gus’ question. Which was understandable. “Can I ask who told you that?”

Gus weighed up the pros and cons and decided that he would tell dad who he learned it from. “It was Miss Eda.” he explained. “She told us this while we watched someone get inducted to a coven.” It was something her had accepted as a fact of life being part of a coven and only being able to use one type of magic. But how serious Eda was planted seeds of doubt in his mind. If they hide the fact that coven symbols could cause heart failure in otherwise healthy witches what else could the be hiding? His imagination, as much of a blessing as a curse, conjured up various horrible scenarios such as secret basilisk experiments, the day of unity being a massive scam and falsehood and the emperor planning to bring about the end of the world and the death of everyone Gus knew and loved. His dad was right sometimes a vivid imagination could be a curse.

His dad hummed in thought as he heard who told Gus that. “Honestly I don’t know if that’s true or not but if it is it would explain a lot...” he trailed off getting lost in thought for a moment. It sounded like it was something he had considered before. “But if Eda is correct that means I have to do some digging.” he sounded like he knew Eda somewhat personally. He also sounded very very worried. Whatever connection he made in his mind was not one he liked. Whatever it was Gus couldn’t help but be worried.

“You know Eda?” Gus asked not quite sure how to proceed and so grasped the one line of questioning available to him at that moment.

“Yeah I do. I wasn’t friends or anything like that but I knew her well enough when we both went to Hexside.” he explained to his son. “How was she by the way?” he asked.

“She seemed well enough. Her apprentice and my friend Luz wanted to go to the covention so she came along to supervise us.” Gus explained. “She did not like going there in the slightest.” The fact the covention hall ended up on fire did not surprise him in the slightest.

His dad laughed at Gus’ very true statement. “No she wouldn’t be I would imagine. Then again she was always a bit of a rebel even back when we were kids.” He hummed thoughtfully at hearing that Eda had an apprentice. “Never really took her as the teaching type but then again I didn’t really know her all too well.” his dad admitted.

“Well she seemed to care a great deal about Luz.” Gus said as he recalled the interactions between the two. It kinda reminded him of how Willow interacted with her dads at times. He kept that thought to himself.

“I’m glad she’s doing well enough.” his dad replied. “What are you going to do now?” Now that was a very good question. Gus had no idea what he would do in the future but he did know what he would do now.

“I think I’m going to get started on my work from school.” Gus said. “I want to at least start on it before I forget.” He left his school bag in the living room so he wouldn’t forget to do his work. So he got up and opened his bag and pulled out the worksheets he need to finish. With a quick glance he guessed that it shouldn’t take him too long.

“Sounds good to me.” His dad smiled at him. “If you need any help you’ll know where I’ll be.” Either in his office if he was going to work on something or the living room when he wasn’t. His dad didn’t really use his bedroom apart from sleeping in it.

“Thanks Dad.”

“You’re welcome champ.” His dad gave him a kiss atop of his head before heading over to the kitchen. “You want anything to eat or drink while I’m here?” Gus shook his head not really needing anything at the moment and also he could use getting something to eat or drink as an excuse to stretch his legs.

Soon enough Gus started to work letting his work distract him from his whirling thoughts. The air was filled with his hums, the sound of pen on paper and the sound of a boiling kettle.

It was a small domestic moment.

One that in the coming days would be few and far between.

Not that anyone knew that at the moment.

So Gus enjoyed the moment unaware of what the future had in store.

- - - -

Vee started to have odd dreams. They weren’t her usual dreams. She usually dreamed of the cages. The experiments. The pain her captors gave her and the others. Being forced to drain, to feed until there was nothing left. They hurt. But it was a familiar hurt. One she had long gotten used to.

No she dreamed she was a human girl. she was a daughter of a mother who loved her very much. She was twelve years old, she loved dolls and movies, she had brown hair and brown eyes. She lived with her mother who took care of her all on her own. They were driving when the girl wanted to ask her mother something. Her mother had died in an accident and it was all her fault. She shouldn’t have distracted her. It was all her fault. Kyubey appeared and offered her one wish. She could wish for anything she desired. She knew what she should wish for. She wished to go back to the day her mother died. It worked. She started the day over and went back and she failed.

She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed. She went back and she failed.

No matter how hard she tried her mother would still die. She tried and she tried everything she could think of. Nothing worked. Her mother died over and ever and over and over and over and over and over again. Her soul wore down. It wore down. It wore down. It wore down. It wore down. It wore down. It wore down to nothing but fragments which quickly fading away into nothingness.

Despair smothered her like a flood it dragged her deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper.

It felt like nothing mattered. Nothing worked. Nothing would work. Nothing changed. Nothing would change. Her fight against fate was futile. There were no miracles. Her soul grew darker and darker and darker until...

She was no longer a girl. She could no longer know love. She could no longer hope. She could no longer wish.

She was a monster. A monster born of despair, of rage, of resignation and of leaning of futility. Nothing more nothing less.

She was a bird that was cursed to an endless eternity. Her body consisted of cogs and gears ramshackle in appearance and construction. Her eyes became cracked red gems. Her arms became wings that could not fly too encumbered by it construction. Her heart was made of clockwork that did not work it did not function. How could it? She had nothing left. Her mother was gone. Her mother was gone. Her mother was gone and she would never be coming back. Her legs became talons wicked sharp enough to cut people to ribbons.

Her time would never move beyond that day. The gears of time were stuck. She would relive that day over and over and over and over and over and over until the end of time itself.

When Vee woke up she found that she had a massive headache and a brief identity crisis which wasn’t very fun to say the least. Was she a basilisk who dreamed she was a human or was she a human who dreamed she was a basilisk? Thankfully when Sam and Alex asked she said that she woke up with a headache which was true but from Masha’s gaze they knew she wasn’t mentioning something. Vee mouthed that she would tell Masha later which they accepted with a nod.

Thankfully for Vee the medication she was given worked a treat and her head didn’t feel like someone was constantly using it as a drum rather it just felt like someone kicked her in the head which was a marginal improvement. Her headache did get her out of the activity they were doing today (which was learning about taxes and tax brackets and how not to commit tax fraud, though Vee suspected that last part was a joke) and Masha volunteered themself to help look after her for which Vee was very grateful. She knew that Masha was doing it out of their concern for her but a small part of her suspected that they also didn’t really want to learn about taxes. Which was none of her business really.

But she was grateful for the company as she laid on her bed and explained her dream to Masha and her suspicions on what had happened when she ate that witch and her magic.

“That is weird.” agreed the enby. “You ate the witch but you got memories when she was human am I getting that right?” Vee nodded her head holding an ice cold water bottle to her head. It didn’t do much but it felt nice. Their eyes widened as they realised something. “Wait you don’t think...?” Vee following her friend’s train of thought arrived to the same conclusion Masha did.

“Magical girls can become the very monsters they face.” they said in unison.

“Kinda like Kamen Rider.” Masha said pounding on of their fists into their other hand. “Using the same powers as those they face.” Vee had no idea what they were talking about.

“Like what?” Vee blinked in confusion.

“I’ll show you later when we get out of here.” they promised and Vee would hold them to that. She was really curious.

“Cool can’t wait.”

“Wait then what would that mean for my sister?” Masha asked and Vee could practically sense her friend’s dread. “Kyubey said that was she was killed by Sarah.” He did say that. Even back then it felt like Kyubey was purposely leaving things out.

“Are you thinking...?” Vee asked trailing off in a prompting manner.

“Yeah I think there’s more to the story and that Kyubey wasn’t telling us the whole truth. My best guess was that Sarah became a witch and killed Ashley and Luz was the only one who could have put Sarah to rest.” They leaned their head back against their pillow. “God this is just one huge mess isn’t it.” they groaned and Vee couldn’t really argue with that assessment. Even if Sarah didn’t become a witch it would still be one very complicated situation.

Vee’s head throbbed at the thought of what was going on. “Yeah it is. Do you want to talk about anything else for a bit?”

Masha shrugged their shoulders. “Yeah that sounds good to me. Not much we can really do while we’re here.” they pointed out. “Do you mind if I ask you something?” they asked and Vee gave them the go ahead. “What usually happens when you eat magic?” they asked her.

Vee didn’t have to think very long about how to answer that question. “Well usually when I eat magic it goes to a stomach specially designed to store magic and keep it for later use. I usually don’t get visions or memories of those that I drain.” Her eyes widened as she realised what was different this time around. “Wait I think I know what was different this time.” she exclaimed.

“What do you think was different this time Vee?”

“Well I think it was the scale usually when I eat magic that’s it the victim can usually survive albeit drained. But with the witch I consumed I consume everything that comprised her which would include her memories and her soul.” She realised what that meant as soon as she said it. “Oh my god I ate a person. I’m a monster.” It hit her like an avalanche. She wanted to be sick. Her stomach rolled and turned. She was a monster like she was told she was. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Masha seeing her current state leapt to their feet and sat themselves next to her. “Vee look at me. Please?” They pleaded with her. Vee eventually did so tears in her eyes. Masha sighed. “Vee I’ll be blunt the situation we were in had no good answers it was awful and shitty and dear god did it suck. You just wanted to live another day and I know this might not help but I’m glad you saved me and yourself. I know this much for certain and that is you are not a monster.” Masha stared Vee right in the eye. “You’re a kind and wonderful person so don’t you forget that. Okay?” They sounded so certain and sure. Like they were stating an easy to see fact. Vee wished she had that kind of certainty.

Vee nodded sniffling slightly as she did so. “Okay.”

Masha smiled before wiping away a tear with their hand. “That’s good to hear. Sorry I upset you.”

Vee flailed her arms around. “It’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourself you just wanted to ask me a question.”

Masha laughed slightly. It was not a laugh of amusement Vee noted. “I think we have a bit of a problem blaming ourselves for things that are out of control.” they replied.

Vee laughed as well. She didn’t particularly find this humorous either but sometimes you just had to laugh or you would just cry.

“Do you want to talk about something happier?” Masha asked.

Vee quite happy for the change in topic took hold of it with both hands. “Yeah I would any idea what to talk about?”

“Do you want to get to know each other better? We’re going to be here a while so may as well is what I think.”

“Yeah that sounds good. Could you go first?” Vee asked not quite sure how to introduce herself and wanted Masha to provide her an example.

“Yeah sure thing! I’m Masha I like reading, history, the occult and building model kits. My favourite colour is green and my favourite book series is Skulduggery Pleasant.” They smiled at Vee. “Your turn now. Tell me only what you’re comfortable with sharing.”

Vee took a deep breath and smiled. “Hi I’m Vee. I’m not sure what I like just yet. My favourite colour is blue. I spent the first few years of my life in a cage and I have no idea what to do next.” As Vee said this she could practically feel the iron bars dig into her. The cages were too too small. She could see the other basilisks in similar conditions to her. No! She had gotten out she reminded herself.

Masha frowned at hearing that had happened. “Well in that case how about I help you find things to enjoy now that you’re free? Would you like to do that?” they gently asked her.

Vee didn’t have to think very long to answer that. “Yeah I like the sound of that.” she smiled to show Masha her appreciation of their offer.

So promise made Masha began to show Vee some things they had on their phone and Vee had to say it certainly was a learning experience and one she would not forget any time soon.

- - - -

Lilith let her sister take the lead making sure to keep an eye on where she was going. An admittedly hard task because she could feel her attention waning away from her sister and towards her student one Amity Blight. She had no idea why Amity was here nor she did she have any idea what the awkward air between her, Luz and Willow was all about but honestly she was too tired to care about that and so focused on Amity to the best of her ability.

“So uh what’s bring you around here?” Lilith asked and immediately regretting what she just said. Couldn’t she have come up with something better? Really Lilith really?

“Miss Eda broke the tracking necklace my mum gave me and offered me a place to stay for a while.” Yeah Lilith could see her sister doing something like that. She and Odalia famously did not get along during their time at Hexside. “Also did you really lose your keys?” Lilith flushed a bright red at Amity asking her that question. She did not like the embarrassment she felt when Amity asked her that. It wasn’t Amity’s fault of course. It was completely her own fault.

“Yes I did.” she eventually admitted trying not to think about how much of a shameful display she currently was right this moment. She was supposed to be in control, calm and ready for anything. She, for the life of her, felt like exactly like none of those things and knew she was one stressful situation away from breaking down in tears. She really really hoped it didn’t come to that she knew whatever shred of dignity she still had would be absolutely annihilated. “Things have, ah..., let’s just say getting away from me.” She tried to retrace her steps to see where she might have dropped them only to have zero luck and she wasn’t going to ask anyone in her coven because she knew most of them (barring the odd exception like Steve) would not help her in the slightest due to the high level of backstabbing and betrayals going on. She also didn’t really trust them to recognise Eda in a flimsy disguise let alone help her find her house keys.

Lilith being the social savant she was had no idea what to say to her student next she she fell back on asking Amity about her day. “So how have you been since we last met?” Social skills don’t fail her now! She plead to herself in her thoughts.

Amity turning to look at Eda who was regaling Luz and Whispers about the time she cursed Hexside with sentient graffiti which as far as Lilith was aware still there. “I’m honestly not sure. Things have be pretty eventful for me today. How about you?” Amity’s face when she said her day was eventful told Lilith everything she needed to know.

“My day has been eventful as well.” Lilith replied and that was certainly saying something. She had found out about the witch’s kiss on the back of her neck, got it removed by her niece, had to run over to the covention hall, encountered Odalia, knocked her out, erased some of her memories and then helped her sister set the covention hall on fire. Now she was getting lunch with her sister, a coworker, her student, her niece and her friend and whatever that weird cat thing was. After that she was crashing at her sister’s place yet again.

Lilith had no idea what to say next and it seemed Amity was in the same boat as she was. The silence felt awkward until Lilith broke it with a laugh at herself. “Titan I’m bad at this.”

“Bad at what Miss Lilith?”

“I’m bad at talking to people in anything outside an educational or business context.”

Amity laughed as she said that. “I get what you mean. At school when giving a presentation or answering a question it’s so much easier to get the words out and mean what you say.” Lilith would agree with that statement. She easily talk about whatever presentation for at least half an hour non stop but put her in a social situation where she couldn’t talk about what she was passionate about she would flounder around like a beached fish. If she ever figured out to turn herself invisible back when she went to school Lilith certainly would use it to vanish so she didn’t have to deal with people.

“I know right?” agreed Lilith. “It’s like the moment I have to make small talk I have no idea what to say and I just stand there awkwardly.”

“Yeah that sucks. Do you have any advice?” Amity asked her and Lilith had to think about any good advice she could give her student.

And came to the sinking realisation that she had no good advice to actually give Amity. She didn’t want to disappoint her student but she needed to be honest. Lilith shook her head. “Sorry I don’t really have any good advice Amity.” she admitted to her student. "I don't really have much of a social life." And Titan did it hurt to admit that.

Amity didn’t seem too put out thankfully. “That’s okay Miss Lilith.” Amity gave her teacher a small smile. “Besides it’s nice to talk to someone who gets it you know?”

“Yeah I do know.”

“Besides talking about this with you helps a bit as well.” Amity said honestly. “So thanks...”

“Well I’m glad to be of some help.” Lilith replied well and truly glad that she managed to help her student even if it was just in a small way. Also Like Amity said it was good to talk with someone who understood what social situations could be like to people like her. As much as Lilith loved her sister she wouldn’t be much help in regards to this specific situation. Raine would understand what she was talking about but the two of them hadn’t talked in years and Lilith wasn’t quite sure how to broach that topic with them. “And you’re welcome Amity.”

Soon enough the group arrived at their destination. They ordered lunch and had a good meal. To Lilith who had lived off rations for the last ten or so years it tasted absolutely amazing. They talked with each other still somewhat awkwardly with an air of uncertainty until Luz mentioned the good witch Azura which prompted Amity to talk about it excitedly with her. The pair of them seemed to be quite happy to have someone to talk about their passions and Lilith was glad her student was having a good time. Admittedly she didn’t have much context as to what they were talking about but they seemed to quite engaged with what they were talking about. She had tried to read the Good Witch Azura once but the prose was much too flowery for her taste.

Luz even ended up dragging Willow in to their conversation which she did so with a small smile. Willow stilled seemed wary around Amity but that soon faded as their conversation pivoted to other books they had read. Willow chiming in with the books she had to read for the plant track with Luz and Amity asking her questions about it and she answered to the best of her abilities. Soon even Willow was smiling like Amity and Luz were.

Eda who was eating a sandwich looked at Lilith with a raised brow. “What are you smiling about?” she asked as she turned away from Raine who was drinking a coffee before putting it down and dumping a whole packet of sugar in. Meanwhile King was demolishing a cupcake with great abandon it was like he was devouring the entrails of his enemies.<

Lilith poked at her face and found what Eda said was true. She was smiling. It felt so alien to her. When was the last time she truly smiled in happiness? “I guess I am. I just like seeing the kids happy.”

Eda’s face gained an understanding expression. “Yeah I do too.” She looked at Luz with a great deal of love and affection. Lilith thought to herself that this quite suited Eda. “Luz’s a good kid.” She turned back to Lilith with a smug smile on her face. “Hey Lily remember the light spell you showed Luz?” Lilith nodded remembering she had done so last night. “Well she found something pretty damn cool let me tell you.” Eda pulled out a pad of paper from her hair and showed both Lilith and Raine a strange symbol that had been drawn on the pages of the notebook.

Eda ripped out the page and then tapped the symbol with her hand and what happened next was something Lilith didn’t expect. The page crumpled up and turned into a ball of light that hovered in the air and let of a gentle and warm glow. “Ta da!” Eda said as both Lilith and Raine looked awe struck at the little ball of light. “Pretty cool huh?”

Lilith wasn’t quite sure what to say. “What? But how?” she asked as moved her hand closer to the ball of light. It bobbed up and down as her hand drew closer. It felt playful in a way.

“Well apparently that little symbol was in the light spell you used so Luz traced it out and here we go one ball of light.”

Raine looked at the ball of light with a smile on their face. “Eda this is amazing. You must be really proud of her.” they said with a faint hint of awe in their tone and Lilith couldn’t blame them. This was amazing! Were there other symbols like this in other spells? If so it could change how magic is taught and experienced! The possibilities could be endless! She had so many questions!

Eda smiled. “Heck yeah I am. I’m damn proud of that girl.” She sounded so proud of Luz and Lilith couldn’t help but feel the same way.

Meanwhile Luz seeing Eda demonstrating the light glyph and Amity and Willow’s curious looks gave them their own little demonstration. The girls looked suitably impressed at Luz’s light spell while Nana having finished her meal was trying to bat her paws at it. She wasn’t having much luck catching it as it kept flying just out of reach before floating back down to its starting position. Willow quickly took out her scroll and snapping a picture of Nana trying to reach the ball of light.

Willow showed the picture to Luz who laughed before she showed it to Amity who smiled slightly at the photo. Lilith who had long gotten used to her student keeping her face in a cold emotionless mask was glad to see her student smiling and laughing. Amity was always so guarded even around Lilith but considering who her mother was she couldn’t say she blamed her.

She smiled at the sight before turning her attention back to Eda and Raine and King. “I’m glad Luz and Amity are having a good time.” she said to her sister. She meant it too.

“Yeah I am too Lily.” Eda replied. “I’m glad Luz is making friends.” she murmured softly to herself and while Lilith wanted to question that statement because Luz seemed the type of girl to make friends easily but something in Eda’s tone prevented her from pressing her.

- - - -

Camila Noceda was talking a walk in the woods. It wasn’t something she did too often but lately some idiot was leaving bear traps all over the woods surrounding the old abandoned shack which could easily pose a threat to the wildlife that called the forest. So she took it upon herself and some of her coworkers to occasionally search the woods and disarm any traps they happened to come across.

Today Camila had come across five traps which she had disarmed with grace and expertise mostly from doing this for at least two weeks.

“If I ever find that idiota I swear....” Camila muttered to herself as she gathered the traps she had disarmed so she could get rid of them. If she found the person who was doing this they would rue the day they thought could do something like this! She sighed. She wondered who had the time or the inclination to trap the woods so frequently because this could not be cheap.

She needed to clear her head.

So after dragging the traps out of the woods and in front of her very quiet house she pulled out her phone and dialed a friend’s number. Soon enough her friend picked up and a tired sounding woman replied. “Hello Camila more traps?

Camila sighed. “Yes Charlie more traps. Sorry if I woke you from you nap.”

Charlie gave a matching sigh of exasperation and annoyance. “It's fine. Want me to come over and get them properly disposed of?”

“If that’s not too much of a bother.” Camila said feeling slightly guilty for calling her friend. She knew that she didn't have any reason to feel guilty about this but knowing that didn't change how she felt.

Charlie laughed. “Camila it’s fine besides I’m doing what I promised to do. Nothing more nothing less. So relax okay?” Camila could hear Charlie state. “Besides I blame the fucking idiot who thought trapping the woods like that was a good use of their time.” The proceeding muttering Camila could barely make out but one thing she could make out that Charlie was going to throw the heaviest thing she could find. Camila didn’t find it in her to stop her if things came to that. “I’ll be there in ten okay?”

“Okay see you then.” Camila replied before ending the call. She pocketed her phone and sat herself down on her house’s front steps. She didn’t quite want to head back into her silent house just yet. She wanted to hear all the small but vibrant noises. The ones that made sure that she was still alive and there was still life to live.

She leaned back her head making a gentle thud against her front door. She found that she hated the silence. She hated how empty it felt. She hoped Luz was having a good time at camp. She hoped Luz was making friends.

(Meanwhile Luz sneezed getting a bless you from Willow. Vee sneezed causing Masha to take her temperature thinking she was coming down with something. All that happened as a result was Vee getting a vibrant blush from how close Masha was.)

Soon enough ten minutes have passed and Camila could hear the sound of a car stopping right in front of her house. She removed her head from her door and turned her gaze towards the car. In it was a blonde woman with blue eyes she was wearing a tank top and jeans. Both of which were cover in oil stains from whatever project she was working on. “Hey Camila!” Charlie called as she got out of her car. “Just put them in the back seat and I’ll take them off your hands.” Camila got up and with Charlie’s help managed to store all the traps she had found. Camila was glad they were gone. She hoped whoever was doing this would stop but she had a sinking suspicion they would keep doing this.

“Thanks Charlie.”

“You’re welcome besides what are friends for?” Charlie said with an energetic smile.
“How are things going by the way?” she asked Camila with a faint hint of concern. Camila had talked to Charlie before about what she knew about what was going on with Luz (which wasn’t quite as much as she would like) the younger woman always happy to lend an ear for her friends which Camila greatly appreciated.

“It’s been so quiet I hate it.” Camila admitted to her friend. “I miss her so much.” She didn’t need to say who she missed both women knew the answer well enough.

Charlie hummed before she got that look on her face. The one that said she had an idea and Camila could only hope that this one wouldn’t result in a fire breaking out. That had been very messy to say the least. “How about you come over to to my place for dinner tonight?” she suggested. “It’ll be fun and Agatha and Emily would be happy to see you again.” Camila didn’t know Charlie’s girlfriends too well but they seemed to be nice young ladies from what she had heard from Charlie. So the idea of getting to know them better sounded like a good one to Camila.

So Camila didn’t have to think for too long. “Yeah that sounds like a lovely idea to me. What time do you want me to come round?”

Charlie replied with a beaming smile. “Great! We usually have dinner around six o clock so come around five gives you time to properly meet my girlfriends. So I’ll see you then.”

“See you then.” Camila replied as she saw her friend close the back door of her car before getting in and starting the car and driving off. Well at least she had something to do tonight.

What was the time anyway?

She pulled out her phone and found that it was roughly three in the afternoon so she needed something to occupy herself with until then. There was no one she could really hang out at this hour accounting for things like work and such. Marilyn the strange woman she was hoping to be friends with she hadn’t seen in months. She didn’t want to go inside just yet.

She looked at the woods she had just be walking around in and got an idea on what to do with some of her free time.

So she went for a walk and immersed herself in nature.

She let the vibrant sounds of the world guide her steps and found herself in a somewhat familiar clearing. It wasn’t the one with the old ramshackle shack. This was a clearing she know Luz used to go to with Ashley and Sarah on a semi regular basis. Camila was curious what they got up to but didn’t feel like prying if Luz wanted to tell her that was her choice. Camila didn’t want to be like her own mother who constantly hovered over people not giving them much in the way of privacy.

Camila looked at the clearing and noticed some odd details about her surroundings. There was the odd scorch mark dotting the clearing and it didn’t look like someone had built a campfire or something. Rather it looked like someone had been throwing fireballs around. Camila frowned as she thought that. This easily could have started a forest fire. She also noticed some odd formations of stone and earth jutting out of the ground. She gave one of those formations a light poke. Nothing happened she just felt the cold and solid rock. It did not budge. It did not move. Unless there was a small localised earthquake right at this spot Camila had no idea how something like this could happen.

Then there was the biggest surprise and that was fact there was a small wooden shelter nearby and Camila knew for a fact it wasn’t there last time she had passed by this clearing.

So she decided to take a closer look. She hoped she wasn’t in some sort of horror movie or she’d be in big trouble.

She moved closer and noticed that the shelter seemed to be slapdash in its construction like its builder was inexperienced and wasn’t quite sure what they were doing. There were a lot of make shift repairs such as duct tape covering gaps and holes. She peered inside and saw that there was a purple sleeping bag with a pillow as well as covered in blankets. On top of the pillow was a green plush bear. It had black button eyes, a soft red ribbon around its neck and red paw pads. Camila could tell this was a well loved toy. Its head drooped, the eyes were covered in dings and scratches, its fur was faded and old.

Nearby Camila could see a half drunk water bottle sitting on its side and nearby there was a broken pen. It looked like someone had crushed it to pieces. It stained the floor with blue ink. There was a book which had a cover that was a plain pink without much in the way on decoration and it had a note attached to the front. The cover and note both had splotches of blue ink dotting their surfaces.

The note read: Luz, Ashley read this if something happens to me. I love you.

It was signed by the initials S.W. The writing was shaky as if the writer was having trouble putting pen to paper.

Camila now had an idea who this shelter belonged to.

She thought back to ever time Sarah had come over to Luz and with a sinking realisation she could not recall Sarah mentioning anything about her family or where she lived. Sarah Wilhelm was homeless.

She had lived in the woods for goodness knows how long.

Did Luz know? If she did did Sarah ask her to keep it a secret? How did she not notice this shelter before? She had many questions but precious few answers.

She took another look at the pink book. Part of her wanted to leave it there and show Luz later. Another part wanted to take it and leave it Luz’s room and the other part wanted to crack open the book and see if she can actually get some answers.

Much to her eternal shame she picks up the book and opens it up to read it. She got to an early entry and began to read. She did her best to ignore her bubbling guilt.

She wasn’t very successful.

-Dear diary I have no idea what to do everything has been taken from us and I have no idea what to do. Please help. Wait why am I asking you? You can’t talk back. God I hope you can’t talk back that would be weird. Argh I want to write all the rude words but I don’t know how to spell them.-

Camila choked back a laugh at reading that last line.

- So everything is gone but someone offered to help me.-

Camila just raised an eyebrow at this. Something felt off to her.

-His name is Kyubey and he’s some sort of magical girl mascot and he’s offering me one wish. I can wish for anything I want and I just know what to wish for.-

Below that entry was picture of what looked to be a white cat with pure red eyes. Camila could feel a strong sense of distrust towards that thing for some reason.

The next entry was fairly short.

-I may be in some trouble and need to skip town. Don’t wanna write the details. I’m going to throw a dart at a map and go from there.-

-I’m going to some place called Gravesfield. Better get moving.-

Camila as she read through the diary noticed that the dates often skipped ahead with little rhyme or reason. Most likely Sarah wrote in it whenever something important happened.

Eventually she arrived to a date roughly four years ago.

-Right so Kyubey introduced me to a new magical girl. Her name is Luz Noceda and looks like I’m going to be her teacher. Kyubey used the word mentor but I don’t think it fits me that well then again what do I know I haven’t been to school for a while.-

Camila felt like the ground fell out from under her as she saw her daughter’s name. Some puzzle pieces fit into place and she wanted to know one thing. When did her daughter become a magical girl? What kind of monsters did she have to fight? As much as she wanted to believe it was something like Sailor Moon with the power of love and all that she had a feeling it wasn’t quite like how the shows portrayed it.

-Anyway she’s nice and I hope we can be good friends.-

-First witch hunt was successful. Luz seems to be quite powerful apparently she’s just like Azura. I have no idea who that is. I'll have to ask her later. Here’s hoping she lasts a good long while.-

Camila skipped ahead a few more chapters wanting to know more about what her daughter got up to as a magical girl. Apparently she faced monsters called witches. Part of her remembered a tale of two brothers residing in Gravesfield. One left with a witch and the other chased after his brother neither were ever seen again.

-Another magical girl today her name is Ashley and she’s a massive dork. She did like this whole big intro thing on top of a balcony railing and fell off. Luckily Luz managed to catch her. After talking with her for a bit she seems really taken with Luz and Luz has no idea that is the case. Then again Luz can be pretty oblivious at times. Honestly no idea on if I should do anything about that. So I’m just going to leave things alone unless it become a problem.-

Camila gave a slight smile at that.

-Something’s wrong. It seems I’m burning through grief seeds a lot faster than the other two. My soul gem is clouding faster and faster. I’m trying to think as what might the difference between us might be.-

-Shit shit shit. I’ve figured it out. It’s my ability to copy the powers of other magical girls. That’s the only reason I can think might be causing this. When I copy someone’s powers I guess it takes magic to keep it for later use or something. So the more I copy the more magic is required for upkeep. I must have hit a tipping point or something. I’m fast approaching the point of no return.-

-I’m scared. I’m scared. I’m so scared.- The writing grew shakier and shakier. Camila could practically sense the fear and despair behind those words.

-Luz, Ashley if you’re reading this I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you what was happening. You two looked up to me and I didn’t want you to see me struggling.-

Camila knew the feeling. She didn’t want Luz to have to see the struggles she was going through with Manny’s death and the fallout from that. Luz had her own struggles to deal with she didn’t need her mother to add on to it.<

-Take care I love you. You two were some of the best things that ever happened to me. Help yourself to my stuff I don’t think I’ll need it where I’m going.-
That was the last entry. The rest of the diary was blank. Camila gently closed the diary and did her best to process what she had just read.

Camila had no idea what to think.

Camila had no idea what to do.

Camila had no idea what to say.

It was a lot to take in and she needed to have a face to face conversation with her daughter when she got back from camp. This wasn’t the kind of conversation you had over text.

She took one last look at the shelter and picked up the soft bear, worn by the passing of time and the love of a girl who was no longer here. It felt sombre as she did so.

“Lo siento.” she murmured to the quiet space. I’m sorry that happened to you. I wished I knew you better. I wished I could have helped you more. “Thank you. Thank you for being Luz’s friend.” She received no answer.

She left the shelter and made her home. She entered through the front door and walked up the stairs and headed towards Luz’s room.

The door was shut. Out of habit, even though Luz wasn’t home, Camila knocked on the door. “I’m coming in.” she announced as she opened the door. Luz’s room was as she left it. A bit of a mess on the floor but that was a simple enough fix. Luz’s posters affixed to the walls showing all the things enjoyed. There was the Good Witch Azura, Pokemon, Sailor Moon, Little Witch Academia and a lot more Camila wasn’t particular familiar with. She could also see the odd drawing of her friends Luz hung up on her wall (Camila could now feel sorrow as she looked at those drawings knowing a bit more of what had happened) as well as her art projects that she kept on a shelf. There was her bed made somewhat crookedly covered with a handful of plushies. Finally there was her desk dotted with various bits of stationary and the odd art project in different levels of completion.

She walked over to Luz’s desk and left the plush bear and the diary on it. The bear sat there. It looked lonely and Camila think a friend or two might be a good idea. So she went over to Luz’s bed and picked up two plushes. One was an otter and the other was a black cat. She wasn’t sure why she choose those two in particular but it felt right. She placed the black cat to the bear’s right and the otter on the bear’s left.

“That’s better.” she quietly said to herself. She checked the time my looking at her phone once more. She still had about an hour to go before she had to leave.

She left the room and the sun continued its journey across the sky. The shadows changed and transformed. One could see that faint hint of three girls in the dancing shadows. But blink and it was gone. It was like they were never there in the first place. The shadows would remain until the setting of the sun.

~Thank you for everything.~

~Things may have been short and sweet.~

~But they were some of the best days of my life.~

~Let’s meet once more on a warm summer’s day.~

~Let’s share stories with smiles on our faces and laughter in our voices.~

~Sayonara Luz.~

- - - -

Willow after eating lunch and then running back home to get some things she and Nana would need for her sleepover at Luz’s house was walking and could see Luz’s home just off in the distance. She got their toothbrushes, Nana’s sleeping mask, her medication and got her pyjamas and some changes of clothes just in case.

Lunch was good she ended up be dragged into conversation about books she had read with Luz and Amity and she ended up quite enjoyable. It reminded Willow of when she was a child and she and Amity were the best of friends. They would talk and talk about whatever topic came to mind. Willow missed those days dearly. She never got why Amity suddenly cut her off at her birthday even after these years she still didn’t know why.

Willow shook her head as she attempted to dislodge those thoughts as the group (apparently Raine wanted to visit Eda’s place) arrived at the Owl House and they were greeted by a very strange and energetic house demon named Hooty. “Hiya new friends what are your names?” he asked his voice was on that Willow knew she was going to find grating if she had to listen for too long. Willow and Amity and Nana quickly gave their names in attempt for Hooty to leave already. Nana especially didn’t seem to like the sound of his voice.

“Let us in already Hooty.” said an exasperated Eda. “We’re burning daylight.”

“Alright alright geez you can be so rude sometimes.” Hooty replied as he opened the door allowing everyone to enter. King walked over to where there was a beam of sunlight and curled himself up in a ball and promptly fell asleep. Lilith, Eda and Raine made their way to the kitchen. Eda filled the kettle up and put it on while Lilith and Raine sat themselves at the dining room table. Amity sat herself on the couch and picked up a book and began to read it. She seemed lost like she was adrift and unsure what her next move should be. So she decided to lose herself in a book for a bit.

“I’ll tell you you more in my room. Like I promised I would.” Luz said in a whisper. Willow nodded to show she heard her and followed her friend up to her room. The idea Nana could possibly grant wishes was a concerning one. One that could be used in a whole manner of horrible ways. One of the first lessons she had learned living here is wish granting can go horribly wrong even if you try you best to make it fool proof so always be careful when wishing for something.

She walked up the stairs with Nana on her shoulder. Luz opened the door to her room and gestured for Willow to enter. Willow did so and was greeted with Luz’s room.
Willow wasn’t quite sure what she expected honestly but from what she could see Luz was clearly making this room her own. She noticed small touches like posters on the wall and knick knacks on a shelf. There was a sleeping bag on the floor. Willow could also see some stuff that looked like junk that had been stored away and was now in the process of being cleared out.

Luz gently closed the door behind her and she gestured to a couple of stools that was near a chest of drawers. The stools were mismatched one was tall and purple and the other was green and stout. Willow sat on the green stool (Nana jumped on her lap right after she did this) while Luz took the other stool. Luz seemed to be quite nervous and she was gripping her hoodie with her right hand. On which Willow noticed a ring on her right hand. It was a silver ring with a purple gemstone it glimmered beautifully as it caught the light. “Right not quite sure where to begin but I’ll ask you this. Do you know what a magical girls is?”

Willow shook her head unfamiliar with the term while Nana gave an unsure shrug. “I’m not sure but the term sounds kinda familiar.” she sounded uncertain about where she might have heard that term before.

“Right well I’ll show you what I mean.” with saying that Luz was enveloped by fire and when the fire dies down she was wearing another outfit. It was striking and when Willow looked at a nearby poster it looked a lot like the Good Witch Azura on said poster. “I’m a magical girl.” Luz started to explain. “Four years ago my wish was granted.” she smile languidly. “Kyubey granted my wish and the price was to fight monsters know as witches for the rest of my life.” Willow took a short breath at hearing that. “Not people like you of course. I guess a better way to describe them would be despair witches huh?” Luz shook her her head. “Anyway not the point” she gestured to the purple star shape gem on her chest. Willow could see the odd black spot marring the purple gem’s beauty. “By fighting despair witches I can get grief seeds to purify my soul gem. If I don’t... well let’s just say I become a monster like just ones I face. Ironic huh?” Willow thought it was less ironic and more cruel than anything. Fight to live another day. Fight until the end. No other choice was available. “Kyubey leaves a lot of things out when making contracts with people.” she said with a bitter edge to her voice.

“Wait are there any of those despair witches here?” Willow asked after hearing that Luz needed grief seeds to keep herself alive. “How have you been purifying your soul gem?” She was worried for her friend.

"To answer your first question I'm only aware of one and it's trapped beneath Hexside." The only thing Willow knew that was under Hexside apart from the ruins of the previous school was Grom. “And that’s the thing as long as I’m in the Boiling Isles my soul gem is automatically purified. So I’m going to figure out this phenomena to replicate it back home and maybe just maybe I can prevent those kinds of tragedies from occurring again.” Willow could only guess what had happened to Luz. She knew from Luz’s tone of voice whatever happened hit her really hard.

Nana piped up. “I’m guessing this is why you were suspicious of me right? Because of what Kyubey did to you?” Luz nodded her head. Nana sounded absolutely furious at Kyubey and Willow felt the exact same way. “I’m sorry he hurt you like that. When I get my paws on him I swear.....”

“Yeah but from what I can see you a nothing like him and I hope you stay that way. You don’t need to apologise for the actions of others but thank you anyway.”

“I promise.”

Luz gave Nana a small smile. “I’ll hold you to that.” She turned to look at Willow and she could see how much this weighed on Luz. Willow promised herself once more that she would be there for Luz. “Do you have any questions?”

“I have like a ton of questions.” said Willow. She did but she knew it would likely take a lot of of Luz to answer them all. “But I can ask them later. Besides I just want to hang out with my friend.” Luz gave a small sigh of relief at that.

“Okay I’ll be sure to answer any questions you have.”

“I do have one question I want to ask.” Willow said in a somewhat playful tone.

“Yeah what is it?” asked a curious Luz who decided to play along.

“Do you want a hug?”

“Yeah I would like one.” Luz replied as she returned back to her usual outfit.

Nana jumped off of Willow’s lap as she stood up. She pulled Luz into her arms and let Luz take comfort in her presence. Luz relaxed slightly as she returned Willow’s hug. Nana watched with a small smile on her face.

As they disengaged from their hug Willow could see the faint hint of tears in Luz’s eyes but she was smiling. “Thank you Willow.” One tear escaped Luz’s eye Willow without thought or hesitation wiped it away.

“You’re welcome Luz.”

Nana piped up. “Can I have a hug too?” she raised her tassels upwards asking for uppies.

Willow couldn’t help it. She laughed.

Luz joined in soon enough with her own laugh.

Willow soon obliged her friend, picked her up and gave her a hug too.

- - - -

Amity was downstairs reading a book. She had no idea what it was about or even if she liked it. Her eyes scanned the pages not processing a single word. She sighed as she closed the book. It wasn’t doing much good for her at the moment. She put the book to the side and stood up. She stretched for a bit before deciding to ask Eda where she was going to sleep. She looked down at the clothes she was wearing. She also needed to ask if she had a spare set of pyjamas she could use. She really didn't want to sleep in her current outfit.

She walked over to the kitchen where the three adults were seemingly talking about dinner arrangements. “Is it okay if I stay for dinner Calamity?” the bard sound a touch hesitant and unsure .

Eda laughed. “Yeah sure thing Rainestorm. Besides I think the kids would like to talk to you a whole lot more. So be ready for a lot of questions.” Eda said teasingly.

“I’ll be ready.” Raine said somewhat confidently before faltering somewhat at the end. “I’ll...I’ll do my best to answer.”

Eda laughed at that before taking notice of Amity standing there feeling very awkward. “Hey Boots what’s up?”

“Can I ask where I’m going to sleep tonight? Also do you have any sleepwear I could use tonight?”

“Yeah sure thing I can scrounge up something for you to sleep in. Boots you fine with sleeping in Luz’s room tonight?”

Amity’s face definitely didn’t blush a bright red. Shut up! No on will believe you. “Yeah that’s perfectly fine. Right. I’ll be fine.” She was not screaming internally panicking at the thought of staying in the same room as the girl she flirted with not too long ago.

“Uh huh sure.” Eda said with amusement. “Anyway come on Boots let’s get you sorted before dinner yeah?” Amity nodded words failing her at the moment.

Eda stood up from the dining room table and pushed her chair back in leaving Raine and Lilith sitting at the table.

Eda walked towards the stairs with Amity following right behind her. Amity did her best to calm her turbulent emotions but the unbidden thoughts were not helping her in the slightest. It was a scene from her romance novels. She slapped her cheeks with both hands. Focus! Nothing like that is going to happen. So calm down.

- - - -

Raine looked curiously at Eda’s fridge more specifically the drawings that were pinned on. There were multiple violent scenes that depicted grand battles and bloodshed. There were also one that depicted Luz and two girls. Luz was in the centre with the other two girls one on each side. Beneath each girl was there name. Raine committed the names Sarah and Ashley to their memory. Lilith seeing Raine’s curious expression explained. “Those are some of Luz’s friends.” Lilith gave off a small sigh. “They are unfortunately no longer with us. I don’t quite know the whole story but I do know it is not a happy one.” Raine knew there was likely more to the story but that was Luz’s choice to tell them what had happened.

For now they would do their best to be their for Luz and Eda and King. This they swore to themself and nothing would get in their way.

They promised.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10 Could I stay the night?

Eda walked up the stairs and knocked on Luz’s door. “Hey kid can I come in I need to help Boots with the sleeping arrangements and stuff.”

“Sure Eda.” replied Luz as she opened the door for her mentor. “So what’s the plan?” Eda could also see Greenie and Nana were in Luz’s room as well. Eda wondered what they were talking about but she had a pretty good guess as to what the topic was. Besides Luz would tell Eda if she needed to know.

“The plan is simple. Boots and Greenie are going to share your room tonight and we’ll work on long term arrangements for Boots later.” If Boots was going to stay more than one night they would have to look in getting Hooty to expand and create another room or two. Luz blushed furiously as she stammered out her acceptance. Seriously what happened between those two? Eda sensed a funny little story behind Boots and Luz’s reactions. Well she could tease her kid about it later. She needed to sort Boots out then she could tease the living daylights out of the two.

Eda walked over to a small pile of clothes in the corner and searched around for something. It took her a moment but she found what she was looking for. She pulled out one of her home made shirts and a pair of shorts. “Catch Boots!” Eda said as she tossed the articles of clothing to Boots. She also made a mental note to help Luz clean up her room at some point. Her kid really didn’t need Eda’s junk in her room.

“The Bad Girl coven?” Boots said as she stared at the shirt in a confused manner. She examined the image of Eda riding Owlbert while she was wearing sunglasses and a backwards cap. Next to her was the words bad girl coven written in bright vibrant colours. Eda was quite proud of her handy work she would say so herself.

“Heck yeah Boots made those shirts myself.” Eda bragged she still had no idea why she decided to make fifty odd shirts in a range of sizes with a picture of herself with the words ‘bad girl coven’ next to her. She chalked it up to being very drunk or very bored or some combination thereof. “Besides in a pinch they also serve as decent enough sleepwear.” Eda could attest to that considering the times she had to sleep in the bad girl coven shirt she used on a semi regular basis when she couldn’t find her usual pyjamas. She really need to keep a better track of her things huh? Oh well problem for future her. Her future self would once more curse her past self.

“Uh thank you?”

“You’re welcome Boots. Besides we’ll bet you some proper sleepwear tomorrow okay?” Eda blinked as she realised something she should have asked Boots before. “Is there anything you want to get from the Blight’s manor? Like personal possessions or the like?” Boots could also need things like medication or certain things that she found to be comforting. If Boots was staying here she was going to be as happy and comfortable as she could possibly be. Her pride demanded no less from her and Eda wasn't going to fail.

Boots nodded her head. “Yeah if we can head up tomorrow that would be good. Dad would be in his workshop and the twins would be out of the house.” The way she said the twins gave Eda the idea that there wasn’t much in the way of love lost between Boots and the twins. There was some level of care there but it was tinged with bitterness as well.

“Cool can do Boots.” Greenie gave Boots a look and Eda suddenly felt like she and Luz should leave them to this. “Luz do you want to help me with dinner?”

“Yeah sure.” Luz replied with a smile. The way she was looking at the two she could see something was up as well. She also figured that she probably shouldn’t be here at the moment.

“Can I help?” Nana asked. “I’ve been learning to cook as well.”

“Yeah sure you can’t be any worse than King.” One would actively try to be worse than the last time King was allowed to help in the kitchen. There was too much fire (much more than required) and she had to replace the burnt out shell of what was once her oven. So from then on King was banned from cooking until he was a bit older and a bit taller then they’ll reassess. Also she loved that oven and it will be missed.

“Yah!” Nana cheered before she raced out of the room and down the stairs. Well someone was sure excited to be in the kitchen Eda noticed with some amusement.

Eda left the room with Luz right behind her. She closed Luz’s room door and let Boots and Greenie hash things out. Eda wouldn’t interfere unless things got physical. Until that point it was up to Boots and Greenie.

As she walked down the stairs she began to plan what she would make for dinner. She had Lilith, King, Raine, Luz, Greenie, Boots, Nana and herself to feed. So eight people in all. Not the largest gathering she’s ever had to cook for but still a fair bit of work was needed.

Decisions decisions.

Eh she’ll think of something soon enough.

She started to hum a song underneath her breath. It was one that was engraved on her heart. The song Raine wrote just for her.

She missed Raine so dearly. She was happy to see them again. But underneath her happiness was an undercurrent of nervousness and fear. She didn’t want to push them away again the first time was bad enough and she had no idea if she could survive a repeat. She was afraid, afraid that she would make the same old mistakes and leave herself and Raine hurt. She didn’t want to screw this up again.

“You okay Eda?” Luz asked.

Eda stopped humming as she thought of the best way to reply to Luz’s question. “I’m nervous.” she admitted to her student, “I’m afraid I’m going to mess things up again. I just don’t want Raine to leave me again.” It felt freeing in a way like she was lightening a heavy burden. But the fear of fucking up still remained.

“Well you’ve got me, King and Hooty at the minimum.” Luz replied. “So we’ll help you with that. Besides I’m afraid too.” Luz admitted sounding very vulnerable to Eda as she did so. The young girl had a lot to be afraid of. “Want to work on it together? Being brave I mean despite all the fear.”

“Yeah sounds good kid.” Eda replied. “Let’s try our best yeah?” She hoped this worked for the kid.

“Yeah.” Luz smiled and Eda couldn’t help but smile as well.

“Come on Kid let’s get dinner started before that weasel gets into any mischief.” Eda said as she left the stairs and arrived on the ground floor.

Luz laughed as she followed in Eda’s footsteps.

Eda’s heart felt just a little bit lighter. She was still afraid but she would put her best foot forward.

She owned Luz and King that much at least.

- - - -

Amity and Willow were left alone in Luz’s room. The air was emotionally charged and Amity had no idea what to do or what to say. She studiously avoided looking in Willow’s eyes she didn’t want to see her old friend’s justified anger. Her thoughts were racing trying to think of something to say.

She was not having much luck in that regard.

Willow sighed. “We need to talk.” she said clearly not leaving Amity any room to argue. Before Amity could respond Willow continued on. “Before we get to what I want to ask I let you know one thing Amity Blight. If you do anything at all to hurt her I’ll make you regret it.” Willow phrased not as a promise or a threat. She phrased in such a way that Amity knew the moment she harmed one hair on Luz’s head she was dead meat. It was a certainty.

“I...I promise I won’t hurt her.” Amity replied trying to inject as much sincerity she could muster and hope Willow believed her.

Willow let out a small sigh. “I’ll hold you too that.” her old friend said. “Right then I have just one question I want to ask you.” Amity took a breath to steady herself as she readied herself for whatever happened next. “Why did you break off our friendship at your birthday party?” Yeah Amity really should have figured Willow would ask her about that.

Her thoughts raced and started to blur together. How should she answer the question? She had no idea. Words failed her. Her thoughts failed her. She could hear her mother’s poisonous words like a cruel whisper like something in the back of your thoughts that would not leave. We don’t associate with weaklings like the Parks. Blights such as us should only associate with the strong. So cut this weakling out of your life or else. Amity thought she just had to endure it. Endure the bile and poisonous words. Endure her mother’s treatment. Endure her father’s absences. Endure the twins’ hatred and vitriol. Endure Boscha. Endure being apart from her best friend. Endure her mother making choices for her. She just had to pretend she didn’t care. Wear a mask of impenetrable stone. Let no one see her weaknesses. Let no one see your emotions. Let no one in. Let nothing hurt her. You are the pride and joy of the Blight family. You are as precious as a gemstone. Like a gemstone you can only follow the path laid out before you.

Does the Boiling Isles have anything like the Good Witch Azura? Luz asks her. Amity replies yes. I like Azura Amity admits. She talks at length with someone who enjoys the same thing she does. It’s exciting. It’s fun. She laughs and she smiles. More than she has in years. She’s glad to talk to someone with a common interest. She hasn’t done so in years.

What about you Willow? What books have you read lately? Luz asks Willow. Willow quickly launches into a book she was reading. It was about plants native to the Knee and how they adapted to the colder climate. Amity asks questions curious about what that might entail. Willow answers her questions with ease. She is passionate unlike when she was in the abomination track where she was miserable. She is smiling. She is confident. It’s an amazing transformation Amity thinks to herself. She wishes she could have borne witness to it.

She doesn’t want to endure this any more. She has had enough. She doesn’t want to endure her mother’s treatment of her. She doesn’t want to endure her father’s absences. She doesn’t want to endure the twins’ hatred and vitriol. She doesn’t want to endure Boscha. She doesn’t want to endure being apart from her best friend. She doesn’t want to endure her mother making choices for her. She had enough of pretending she didn’t care. She didn’t want wear a mask of impenetrable stone. She didn’t want to pretend to be strong. She wants to let people into her life. She wants to wear her emotions on her face. She wasn’t going to be the pride and joy of the Blight family. She wasn’t going to be some prized bauble Mother could display as she so wished.

She had long gotten used to the status quo. She had let it grind her down. A flicker of anger one long thought extinguished roared to life. What was once a small ember was now a roaring inferno. No more! She had more kindness and affection from a woman she had met today than she had gotten from her mother in fourteen years. Had her mother ever shown her love or care or affection. No. No she had not.

So she let her words flow. “Mother ordered me to cut you out of my life. I was to afraid of what she would do to you if I refused.” Amity said trying not to cry. She wasn’t very successful at that. “She threatened to ensue you- you would never go to Hexside. She would... she would have ruined your life.” Amity couldn’t hold back her tears. “I’m so so sorry.” She sniffled trying to stem the flow of her tears. “I’m so sorry I was such a coward.” She was a scared little girl. She remembered the primal terror she felt as Odalia promised to ruin Willow’s life. Even at fourteen she was still afraid of Odalia Blight and what she represented to Amity.

Willow rushed over to her and gave her a bone crushing hug. Was Willow always this strong? “I’m sorry you had to go through that.” Willow said in a soothing tone as she gently rubbed Amity’s back. “This explains things but I’m not ready to forgive you just yet.” Amity found that to be fair enough she would have done the same in Willow’s shoes.

“Fair, fair enough.” Amity replied with a slight hiccup.

“But I’m willing to start over.”

“Sounds good *hic* to me.” Dammit she actually has the hiccups now. Great. “I... I like the sound of that.” She hiccuped once again. Starting over from a blank slate was more than she deserved honestly but then again Willow was always a very kind person.

Willow giggled slightly at Amity’s hiccups before disengaging from the hug. She gave Amity a small smile. Amity managed to return with a smile of her own despite her tears. “Hi I’m Willow Park. Nice to meet you.” Willow held her hand out for a hand shake.

Amity took Willow’s hand and noticed how strong Willow’s grip was. “Hi I’m Amity *hic* Blight. It’s nice *hic* to meet you too.” Amity blushed slightly embarrassed at all her hiccuping.

With Amity’s introduction finished Willow pulled Amity into yet another hug. Amity enjoyed it immensely because *wow* Willow was strong. She could practically carry Amity without a single bit of strain. Amity tried to shoo that thought away. It remained like a stubborn stain one couldn’t quite rid of.

“So Luz’s a cutie huh?” Willow asked her teasingly an amused smile on her face.

Amity could only blush and stutter. “Uh yeah. She is! But so are you! You’re both cute!” Amity’s blush worsened significantly as she realised what she just said. “And I’m just going to stop talking now.” Amity wished she could turn invisible or something. Willow blushed slightly at Amity calling her cute as well.

“Well you’re pretty cute yourself.” Willow replied with a teasing grin and Amity’s brain decided now was a good time to shut down. She didn’t know what to do when someone flirted back.

“Ehhehehehehehehehe.” Please help Amity Blight. Her brain’s not working any more. Help. Pretty girl called her cute. What do? Help?

“Oh Titan I think I broke her.” Amity could hear Willow saying off in the distance. “Amity!” Willow called. Who was Amity again?

Oh right she was Amity.

Amity would snap out of it eventually. Hopefully.

But the blushes on Willow and Amity’s faces would earn them a lot of questions from a nosey Eda when they went downstairs for dinner. But that was a problem for future Amity. Present Amity still needed to reboot herself.

- - - -

Camila got herself ready to leave she changed into a much more comfortable jeans and t-shirt. She knew this wasn’t a formal occasion so she decided to wear something comfortable. She also undid the bun her hair was in and let it down. She stowed the hairband she used in her pocket. Charlie’s place wasn’t that far from her own so she could easily walk there and be there within twenty minutes.

She left her house and shut the door behind her. She locked the door behind her and checked to make sure she didn’t forget anything. She had her keys, her wallet, her phone and she also found a dollar in her jeans’ pocket. She had everything she needed. She took a small breath and began to walk.

The afternoon sun cast its light on the footpath bathing everything in the heat of a summer’s day. To pass the short walk Camila imagine the shadows held unfathomable worlds just ready to be explored. It was something she did while she was alone. It made her feel less alone even if just for a moment. She saw the shadow cast by a tree and imagined it was a whole forest teeming with life and full to the brim with secrets just waiting to be discovered. But every game must come to an end as Camila Noceda finally arrived at her destination.

She checked she was in the right place and she was. Charlie’s house in comparison to her own seemed to be just a little bit larger. Charlie’s house was painted a pleasant sky blue colour and the front door was a nice shade of sea green.

She walked up to the front door and rung the doorbell.

She moved back slightly as the doorbell rang. She didn’t have to wait for very long as the door opened to reveal a woman wearing an eyepatch. She had tan skin and she had dyed her hair a striking shade of sliver. Her left eye was covered by an eyepatch while her right eye was brown. She was wearing a grey shirt that had a picture of a sleeping black cat on it with the words ‘maybe later’ underneath it. She was also wearing an ankle length black skirt. At seeing Camila at the door the woman gave her a small smile. “I’m guessing you’re Camila Noceda?” she asked her.

“Si I am indeed her.” Camila had an idea on who this was. “You are Agatha correct?”

“That’s right. It’s nice to finally meet you Charlie has nothing but nice things to say about you. Says Keekee loves you when she visits you.” Keekee was Charlie’s one eyed tuxedo cat and like Agatha said Keekee was quite the affectionate little thing whenever she came in.

“It’s nice to meet you too Agatha. I’m glad to put a name to you face. Charlie loves to gush about you and Emily.” Agatha blushed slightly as Camila told her that fact. “Keekee’s quite the model patient.” Whenever Keekee had an appointment she was always so well behaved for Camila. The other vets not so much. One of her coworkers called Keekee the spawn of the devil the one time they had to take Keekee.

Meow. Speaking of Keekee said cat ran to the door and was pleasantly surprised to see who it was. The cat sprinted past Agatha and to where Camila was and climbed like one would climb a tree. Keekee was purring up a storm as she perched herself on Camila’s shoulder. Keekee gave Camila a gentle headbutt happy to see her. Camila made sure to give Keekee a scratch on her chin. “Why hello Keekee happy to see me?” Keekee’s loud purrs were answer enough.

Agatha laughed at seeing that. “I guess she does really like you. Come on in.” Camila did so purring cat making Camila feeling like a pirate who couldn’t get a parrot and instead went with the next best thing. Agatha closed the door behind them. Camila looked around the hallway they were in and saw that there were a lot of plants and photos dotting the place. The plants Camila didn’t know what they were specifically but they looked very nice. The photos mainly consisted of Keekee getting into antics and being cute. There was also the occasion picture of Agatha, Charlie and a girl Camila guessed to be Emily. In each photo they always looked so happy and full of life. “Come on let’s head into the living room Emily has been waiting to meet the famous Camila Noceda.” Camila tore her gaze away from the photos and followed after one of her hosts. She ignored the small pang of envy she felt as she looked at those photos. She wanted something like they had. It sounded...nice. She missed having someone to spend her days with like she did with Manny back when he was alive.

Camila laughed. “Oh I doubt I’m famous but thank you for the compliment.” It was nice to be complimented.

“You’re welcome.” Agatha replied as Camila followed her into the living room. “You’re lactose intolerant right?” Camila nodded her head like her daughter she too was lactose intolerant. “Well so am I so I guess that’s something us two have in common.” Agatha said with a small smile. As Camila walked into the living room she found that she quite like the sea patterned wallpaper. There was a big couch that had patches sown on giving it a patchwork appearance. There was a plush chair that like the sofa had a similar amount of patches. In front of the chair and sofa was a long coffee table that was about the same length as the couch. On three of the four walls there were bookshelves crammed to the brim with books and other knick knacks from all over the place. On the fourth wall there was a decently sized television that was currently turned off. Camila could hear the sound of Charlie humming in another room. Camila guessed Charlie was currently in the kitchen preparing for dinner.

On the couch Camila could spot Emily who leapt to her feet on seeing Camila enter the room. Emily like Agatha had tanned skin and hair dyed silver. She had blue eyes and was wearing a pristine white dress that seemed to be quite frilly. She had a large smile on her face as she grabbed Camila’s hands with her own. “Hi I’m Emily. You can call me Em, Emi anything really it’s nice to meet you!” she greeted Camila excitedly. “Oh hi Keekee!” Emily greeted the cat cheerfully upon noticing her upon Camila’s shoulder. Keekee’s purrs intensified at being greeted.

It was certainly an infectious kind of excitement as Camila smiled as well at Emily’s cheery mood. “It’s nice to meet you too Emily.” Emily then let go of Camila’s hand and sat back down on the couch. She patted the space to her right motioning for Camila to sit.

So Camila did both figuratively and literally taking a load off even if for a moment. Keekee then moved from Camila’s shoulder to her lap still purring up a storm. She scratched Keekee’s chin. Agatha walked to Emily’s other side and sat down before snuggling into Emily’s side. It was an adorable sight.

“So how did you and Charlie meet?” Emily asked with an adorable sort of curiosity in her voice. Camila smiled as she remembered back to that day she first met the younger blonde woman.

“Well I met her when she first took Keekee to the vet’s clinic I work at. I want to say it was five years ago or so?” Camila think that sounded right but it was really beside the point. “Anyway she places this cat carrier on the counter with a somewhat worried look on her face and says ‘I just have to warn you that Keekee can be a nightmare for the vet.’ So of course I say don’t worry I’ve dealt with difficult patients before.” As a vet she had to deal with her fair share of patients that wouldn’t cooperate. “So I take her and Charlie into the room to take a look at Keekee and guess what?”

“Was she a complete and utter terror?” Agatha asked with a small hint of amusement.

Camila laughed. “No I take her out of her carrier and she’s basically the perfect patient. She stays still and we were done in no time.” she said before turning her attention to the purring cat in her lap. “Yes you were the model patient yes you are.” Keekee’s purring could only be described as smug.

“Apparently she only behaves for you.” chimed in Emily.

Camila gave the cat an exasperated sigh as that was unfortunately true. She only behaved for Camila. “That’s true. But it did lead to me making friends with Charlie.” she smiled fondly at the thought. At first the two women really only interacted in the context of the vet appointments but over time they occasional ran unto each other which allowed them to talk and get to know each other better eventually resulting in the two striking up a friendship. “Your girlfriend is an amazing friend.” Camila smiled. “I’m glad we’re friends.” She really was glad to have Charlie as a friend. Even as an adult Camila found that making friends was really difficult. So the friends she did have she was very grateful for. There was also the fact Camila did not like any of her fellow parents for the at best rude comments about Luz Camila had overheard over the years.

“Aw thank you.” Charlie said from behind Camila causing her to jump slightly. “Oh sorry.” Camila waved her off since nothing bad happened she just got a small fright. Charlie then moved over to Emily and Agatha and gave them both a brief kiss on the head. “So dinner is in the oven and it’ll be ready in like an hour or so.” She smiled at Camila. “So how goes the meeting?”

“It’s going well Charlie.” Camila replied with her own smile. “Your girlfriends are lovely to talk to. I was just telling them the story of how we first met.” Camila said as Charlie walked round the couch and sat by Agatha resulting the eye patch wearing woman being in the middle of her two girlfriends. Charlie laid her head on Agatha’s shoulder and grabbed hold of her left hand in a gentle and caring grip.

“Oh yeah I was soooooooo nervous because Keekee is usually such a little butt to the vets.” Keekee made an inquisitive noise at hearing her name. “That’s right missy you can be mommy’s little terror.” she cooed at her cat. “But no Camila takes her out and she’s, well, purring just like that.” she gestured to the still purring cat. “I don’t know how she did it but it sure was something let me tell you.” Camila’s heart fluttered slightly at the earnest compliment she received from the blonde.

“Why thank you Charlie!” Camila couldn’t help the nervous sounding laugh from escaping but it seems the other women didn’t mind. She smiled she was having a good time. “So how did you three end up together?” she asked curious as to what had occurred.

Charlie and Emily then launched into the story of how the three ended up dating with Agatha occasional chiming in with corrections or comments. Camila began to relax. She took in the story with a keen ear. Of how Charlie and Agatha were dating when they met Emily while at the library and how they had hit it off. Both Agatha and Charlie upon realising that they were falling for Emily so after Charlie stopped panicking and freaking the fuck out (Agatha’s words not hers, Charlie also couldn’t seem to protest that description) they decided to approach Emily and see if she was open to joining their relationship and to make a long story short she was.

“I was so nervous when they both approached me.” Emily confessed. “I thought it was something bad you know? But wow was I surprised when they asked me to be in a relationship with them.” Emily beamed as bright as the sun. “I was so happy to say yes. I love them so so much.” she said before giving Agatha a kiss on the head. The short woman blushed from the affection she was receiving but Camila knew from her smile she was enjoying it.

Eventually the conversation drifted to her daughter with both Agatha and Emily curious to hear more about her daughter. Camila was quite happy to share the stories she had of her daughter, makes it feel like she wasn’t far far away. “When she was a kid she found a snake’s shed skin in our backyard.” Camila smiled when she remembered that moment all those years ago. “She called it the snake’s pyjamas.” Everyone else barring Agatha who smiled softly at the story and Keekee cooed at the story.

“Aw that’s so cute. The snake’s pyjamas” gushed Emily. “Your daughter seems really sweet.”

“Yeah Mija is an amazing girl.” Camila said with a sadness tinted smile. “But I can’t help but worry about her you know?” she admitted to the others. “Things seem to be difficult for her at the moment but I have no idea what to do.” She didn’t go into the whole story on account of the whole magical girl thing but she still wanted to see if she could get some advice or something. “I know I need to talk to her face to face but I can’t help but dread that conversation.” She also had no idea how to broach the whole magical girl thing when Luz got back from camp. So that was going to be fun. Please note the heavy sarcasm. Camila let out a sigh. She hoped she thought of something before camp was over.

“Well I don’t quite know about Luz but what helped me when I was in a difficult situation was the fact I knew for certain that I had someone in my corner willing to bat for me did quite a lot to help.” piped up Agatha her eye looking off into the distance. “So I think you’re doing your best but if you need help well I’m sure one of us could be of some use.” Agatha offered Camila. Both Emily and Charlie nodded as well both clearly quite happy to offer their support and help if Camila needed it. Camila was glad that she knew such supportive people.

“Thank you.” Camila smiled a smile with a slight tint of sadness. Soon the topic changed to lighter subjects. But Camila was glad for the help.

The night passed with Camila in a very good mood. Dinner was good. She had made some new friends. Had good conversations with them, traded numbers with Emily and Agatha and she ended the day in a better mood than she started it in.

She was still aware of the problems she still had to face but at this current time they felt not as insurmountable as they did before. As she got herself ready for bed she promised to herself to do the best she could do for Luz. She put her glasses in their case and got into her bed getting herself comfortable before turning out the lights.

“Good night Luz sleep well.” she softly murmured to herself before she drifted off into the land of dreams. “I love you.”

She dreamed of a fox, a black cat and an otter enjoying playing together on a warm summer’s day with Camila watching over them with a smile on her face. The sun was warm and there was a nice breeze to keep things cool. They darted to and fro laughter filling the air and smiles on their faces.

It was a bittersweet dream.

~Dream of times that may have been.~

~Dream of what has not happened.~

~The euphoria of unrealised possibilities is bittersweet thing.~

~But even so let us live to see another day.~

~Where the future is bright.~

~And possibilities can be realised.~

- - - -

Emira and Edric were sitting alone in the Blight Manor figuring what to get themselves for dinner. Neither felt like cooking tonight. Mother was absent which was strange and outright concerning because the twins knew for a fact that she didn’t have any meetings that would be this late in the day. Also Mother was big on family dinners where she could have ‘the whole family together.” Emira personally thought that was just something Mother said to make herself sound better than she actually was. They weren’t a family. They hadn’t been for as long as Emira could remember.

Emira idly pulled out her scroll to check her socials where something very surprising caught her attention. She managed to choke on thin air as she read what had happened. When Edric looked to see what was causing his sister to choke Emira just showed him what she just read. He choked too.

Mother had been arrested for, of all things, arson of the covention hall. Emira couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of what she just read. Admittedly not what Emira expected for Mother to be arrested for but she would take what she could get.

“What what does that mean for us?” Edric asked a very good question. Emira had no idea honestly what it would mean for the Blight siblings or the company (not that Emira gave much of a damn about it). “Also whose going be the one to tell Dad?”

“Not it!” Emira said quick on the draw as always.

“Not it- dang it.” There was Edric just a little bit too slow. He sighed. “Better go tell him now before anything else happens.” Probably a good idea.

He got up and left for dad’s workshop in the basement.

Emira thought she was forgetting something very important before she remembered who else was missing. “Shit! Amity!” She hadn’t see hide or hair of her younger sister since this morning before she went... before she went to the covention.

The covention that their mother had just been arrested for burning down.

Emira panicked at the thought of her mother setting the building Amity was in on fire. She may get on Emira’s nerves but she didn’t want her sister to get hurt or even killed.

Why would Mother do that?

The only conclusion Emira could reach was that Amity did something to displease mother and mother true to form overreacted to an insane degree.

Emira had no idea what Amity did but her wellbeing was more important than Mother’s condition or what she might have done to set of mother dearest in Emira’s mind.

Emira quickly bought up her messages and sent a brief one hoping Amity was able to reply.

Emira: Are you okay? Just learned Mother dearest set the convetion hall on fire.

Emira waited and waited. It felt like an eternity but Amity eventually replied.

Mittens: SHE WHAT!?

Not long after the first message appeared a second popped up right after it.

Mittens: I AM CURRENTLY AT A SAFE PLACE WITH A FRIENDS.

Mittens:*SOME FRIENDS.

Emira let out a sigh of relief at hearing Amity was safe but she did have to wonder why Amity was typing in all caps

Mittens: ALSO CAPS LOCK IS MALFUNCTIONING AND I CAN’T FIX IT. SORRY.

Oh that’s why.

Emira had to laugh after reading that message.

Emira: No worries. Stay safe okay?

Mittens: I WILL. YOU TOO.

Emira: I’ll try my best but no guarantees with Edric.

Emira loved her brother dearly but he could be rather accident prone and liable to get himself in a lot of trouble if someone let him out of their sight.

Like she was doing right now.

When she sent him to talk to their dad.

Alone.

Shit.

Emira: got to go let Edric out of my sight.

Mittens: GOOD LUCK.

With Amity’s well wishes Emira leapt to her feet and rushed to the door only to run right into said brother resulting in him taking a tumble while Emira fell back onto her tail bone. Ow.

“What’s got you in such a hurry?” Edric asked as he picked himself off the floor. “Told dad by the way the moment I was done he fell dead asleep so I had the butler take him to his bed.” Emira could see their dad doing that because apart from meal times he spent most of his day in his workshop. Emira had no idea when the last time he had a vacation or like a break or anything like that.

Emira as she picked herself off the floor took a quick look at Edric only to find apart from abomination slime in his hair he was completely fine and uninjured.

“Well I was just worried you were going to hurt yourself with no one to keep an eye on you.”

“Hey I can be left unsupervised!” Edric protested her very true and factual statement. Emira raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “I can!” Yeah Emira doubted that highly.

“Let’s agree to disagree.” she said not wanting the two of them to get into an argument. An argument between the two twins could get very very heated if they weren’t careful. “Also Amity’s spending the night with some of her friends.” She specifically didn’t ask where Amity was staying because she didn’t want any record on her scroll for the sake of plausibly deniability as well as ensue that anyone who reads her messages couldn’t find out where her sister was staying.

It was a habit she had gotten into a long time ago when she spied on her mother taking a peak at her messages on her scroll in attempt to catch Emira out on something. Thankfully Emira’s luck was good that day and mother didn’t find anything to get her or Edric in trouble for. From then on she made sure to have a passcode on her scroll as well as never letting it off of her person just in case.

“That’s good. That’s good.” Edric said with his own sigh of relief. “What are we going to do now?” he asked and Emira wasn’t really sure how to answer that. What would they do now that mother was arrested?

Her growling stomach quite handily answered that question for her.

“I don’t know about you but I’m going to grab a bite to eat.”

“Yeah sounds good to me.”

With that the twins finally got round to actually getting something to eat.

They got take out.

- - - -

Raine watched as Luz and Eda bustled around the kitchen cooking dinner for everyone. They were cooking griffin egg omelets with a variety of fillings for dinner and from what Raine could see where they were sitting it looked to be quite good. Eda was doing the cooking of the actual omelets while Luz was preparing some toppings such as various meats and vegetables for Eda to add in to the omelets. Nana was trying to do her best to help so Eda had given her a knife and asked her to chop some bell peppers. From what Raine could see Nana wasn’t the steadiest person in the world. She gripped the knife in her right tassel thing. It was a somewhat shaky grip but she held it as tightly as she could. Her chopping was somewhat unsteady and the pepper she chopped up were rough and somewhat uneven. However Nana was clearly proud of what she had accomplished from her happy tail wagging. She may have also snuck a few pieces when Eda wasn’t looking but Raine wasn’t going to tell.

Their stomach growled at the thought of food.

They had offered to help with dinner prep but Eda flatly refused them saying they were a guest and so and they quote ‘Sit your ass down Whispers you’re my guest.’ End quote. So they just watched the mother daughter duo work in the kitchen. There was an easy going and trusting air between Luz and Eda as they worked in the kitchen. Eda could also be heard humming a song as she cracked the eggs and deposited their contents into a large mixing bowl.

“Hey Luz how are things going?” Eda asked as she held a big bowl of egg while whisking it.

“Pretty good Eda nearly done.” Luz called back as she wiped the back of her hand on her forehead. With a few more chops Luz was done with her task.

“I’m done too!” chimed in a very proud Nana. She had placed the knife down at that point not seeing any point to still holding on to it.

“Good job you two.” Eda said with a warm smile. “Now lets get these things added and then we’ll get something to eat.” They proceeded to add all the fillings into the mixing bowl and before long Raine could smell the scent of cooking omelets on the stove. As Eda was pouring the mixture into the pan Nana was keeping a close eye on things watching intently. Her gaze was a hungry one.

While this was going on Lilith had decided to take a nap on the coach and from the eyebags Raine could see on her she clearly needed it. She was quietly snoring away her palisman Mike Socks keeping a watchful vigil over his witch. Someone had pulled a blanket over her at some point but Raine wasn’t quite sure who had done that. The blanket was clearly a homemade one consisting of unmatching pieces of fabric all sown together to form one huge chimera blanket. Its colours was a bright chaotic mess and Raine absolutely loved it. It didn’t hurt that the blanket looked very warm and cosy.

She looked to be quite comfortable on the couch. A closer look at her face showed Raine how guarded Lilith was when she was awake. When she was asleep her face relaxed noticeably. Like she wasn’t haunted by her fears and worries.

Mood.

“Hey could someone wake Lily up? Everything is nearly done.” Eda asked as she started on one of the last few omelets. The mixing bowl nearly empty of all its contents.

“I’m on it!” Nana said as she leapt down from the kitchen counter quickly making her way to the couch Lilith was currently sleeping on. Mike Socks watched her with a cautious gaze before turning his attention back to his witch on seeing Nana didn’t pose much of a threat to Lilith. Admittedly Nana didn’t look like she could take on someone as strong as Lilith in a fight but Raine had long known from both being taught and experience that appearances go be deceiving.

Nana jumped up near Lilith’s head. Lilith muttered something before settling down again.

Nana poked Lilith’s cheek with her paw. “Wake up.”

Nana poked Lilith’s cheek with her paw. “Wake up.”

Nana poked Lilith’s cheek with her paw. “Wake up.”

Nana poked Lilith’s cheek with her paw. “Wake up.”

Eventually Lilith started to stir from the incessant poking. “I’m up. I’m up.” Lilith grumbled as she sat herself up. She looked at Nana with a very disgruntled look on her face. “You better have a very good reason for waking me up.”

“Dinner’s ready.” Nana explained with a small smile on her face. She was clearly excited for dinner.

- - - -

Lilith who would readily admit she was not one who liked being woken up from her nap. She had trouble sleeping at the best of times so any sleep she could get was greatly appreciated.

Upon hearing Nana’s explanation Lilith had to concede that was a good reason. “That is a very good reason.” Lilith replied as her face softened at the mention of food. Her growling stomach was also very noticeable causing Lilith to blush in embarrassment. “It smells very good Edalyn.” Lilith complimented her sister.

“Thanks I had help from Luz and Nana here.” The pair of them waved at Lilith as their names were called.

“Thank you.” Lilith said to all three of them. She looked around the room and noticed that two of their members were currently absent. “Where are Amity and Willow?” she asked.

“They’re upstairs.” Luz explained. “I think they have a very important conversation.” Lilith did know of Willow Park from the occasional wistful remembrance of her student. Amity didn’t say too much about the glasses wearing girl but what Lilith did hear tend to be very positive. ‘Willow is so cool.’ ‘Willow is so smart.’ ‘Willow is so strong. So on and so on. When Lilith asked about her friendship with Willow Amity shut down clearly unhappy to talk about whatever had happened between the two girls. Whatever happened must have been pretty bad.

So Lilith decided to change topics to one that would make Amity feel less uncomfortable. She decided to talk about some magical theory with her student such as how having a clear image in your mind when using abomination magic makes it much more effective in day to day use. So to put that to the test she had Amity hit t five targets with her abomination making sure to use a different method each time. So if she use her abomination to throw a rock at one she couldn’t do the same thing for the other four forcing her to improvise.

Amity succeeded with great aplomb so Lilith decided to end things early that day and get her student some eye scream.

Before anyone could be sent up to get the two girls said girls came down the stairs both of them having bright red blushes on their faces. Lilith just raised a curious eyebrow before deciding it probably not any of her business unless Amity decided to tell her for whatever reason.

Edalyn on the other hand said with a teasing grin and a waggling brow. “Hope you two didn’t get up too anything heated.” Both Willow and Amity’s blushes worsened at what Edalyn just insinuated. Luz complained with a shocked ‘Eda’ with a bright red blush of her own.

“Edalyn!” Lilith said with a reprimand. “I’m sure those two did nothing of the sort.”

“What?” Eda said with an innocent looking expression. “I’m just glad those two didn’t get into a fight.” Lilith didn’t buy that for a second.

King who had woken up by now asked. “What is she talking about?” Nana could only give a small shrug in reply. “Well guess it’s not my business.”

But soon enough everyone got something for dinner and sat themselves up at the dinning table. It proved to be quite crowded in the end but Lilith found she enjoyed it more than she expected. Soon conversation bloomed between everyone sitting at the table. Lilith didn’t really join in on any of the conversations quite happy to sit there and let everything wash over her.

Lilith guessed the time where she arrived to an empty and silent house affected more than she expected. She found herself fondly reminiscing to the time when she was young and still living with Eda and her parents. Meal times with often messy, chaotic and somewhat loud but Lilith had to admit that she really had missed those kinds of meals.

She smiled slightly causing Edalyn to notice. “What’s got you so smiley?” she asked her as Nana basically inhaled her omelet. Raine was watching on in horror while King cheered her on.

Lilith gestured to the table. “....Well this it reminds me of when we were living with our parents.” she explained. “I’ve missed moments like these.” Edalyn’s face softened as Lilith admitted that. Luz and Willow were talking about the plants they liked and from what Lilith could overhear she was going into a fair bit of detail. Amity was eating her omelet sedately and she seemed to be enjoying it immensely

“Well as long as you come in the context of being my sister you’re always welcome here.” Edalyn softly reassured her. “Besides...I’ve really missed you Lily.”

“I’ve missed you too Edalyn.” Lilith replied as she thought about how much of her sister’s life she had missed due to the two of them being on opposite sides of the law. “I’ve missed so much.” she murmured to herself. She had missed Eda having two kids. She had missed birthdays and celebrations. She had missed milestones. She felt melancholic as she thought about what she had missed.

“That may be so Lily but you’re welcome to join in if you want.” Edalyn offered to her. Lilith felt like she didn’t really deserve this because of what she had done to Edalyn but at her core she was a selfish greedy woman. She wanted so so much.

So she accepted. “Thank you Edalyn.” she smiled. “I would love to.”

- - - -

Eventually dinner was finished and it was getting late. On seeing Luz and King starting to yawn Eda gently suggested they head up to bed and she would handle the clean up. “Come on kids it’s getting late how about you head off to bed I’ll handle the clean up.”

Luz sleepily nodded her head. She let out a jaw cracking yawn. “Sounds....sounds good Eda good night everyone.” she said as she picked up a sleepy King.

“Night kiddos sweet dreams.” Eda said softly to her kids. She gently ruffled Luz’s hair. Luz slightly leaned into her mother’s touch a soft smile on her face. Raine had to resist the very strong urge to coo at the adorable sight.

Lilith who looked like she was ready to fall asleep where she stood said her own good night. “Good night Luz. Good night everyone.”

Raine chimed in as well. “Good night Luz. Good night King sleep well.”

Luz, King, Willow, Amity and Nana made their way upstairs to get ready for bed after everyone of them said good night leaving Lilith, Raine and Eda downstairs to wash up.

Eda immediately took charge. “Right Raine could you help me with the washing?” she asked quietly clearly not wanting to be too loud.

“I can do that.” Raine said.

Lilith asked with a somewhat puzzled look on her face. “What about me? What can I do?”

“Yooooou... can set your ass down and take a break. I can clearly see how exhausted you are.” Lilith didn’t seem to have it in her to protest Eda’s claims despite clearly wanting to.

“Fine but I won’t like it.” Lilith said as she sat down on the couch like a very grumpy cat. It was an adorable look for the head witch.

“Work hard play hard and take a damn break Lily that’s my motto.” Eda shot back before turning her attention to the dishes. Raine got to their feet and made their way over to Eda in order to help her. “I’ll do the washing? You do the drying?” Eda asked as she gestured to the sizeable drying rack that was near the sink.

Raine nodded their head. So the pair got to work. Eda scrubbed the dishes with a fervour and energy that reminded Raine back when Eda was a kid. After Eda was done with the dishes she handed them to Raine who then organised them on the drying rack.

They got into a smooth rhythm matching each other’s beat and adjusting when necessary. Raine found this moment, one so inconsequential and small, to be a welcome one. They half remembered a quote something about doing taxes and laundry in any life. That definitely fit for this situation they thought with a smile.

They got lost in their thoughts while their body placed the dishes on the drying rack. They wanted more moments like this with Eda. They wanted to spend the good times and the bad with her. They wanted to get to know Luz and King better. Suddenly an idea struck them.

“Would-? Would it be alright if I stay the night?” Raine asked Eda who hummed as she heard their question. Raine could feel their nerves sending nervous impulses through their body as they waited for an answer.

Eda, hands busy with scrubbing the pan she used, eventually answered. “Yeah I would like that honestly. You okay with sleeping in my nest?” she asked them. “I don’t think you would want to sleep on a chair.” Raine did not thank you very much. They looked comfy to sit in not sleep on. The idea that Eda slept in a nest seemed so fitting they thought with a small smile at the mental image.

“I would be happy to.” They meant it with every fibre of their being.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11 Mom we accidentally animated the house.

Night had long since arrived and Raine was feeling very nervous at the moment. Eda and they had long since finished the dishes and let a companionable silence fill the air. Said silence was only interrupted by the occasional snore from Lilith, who at some point had fallen asleep. Eda with a soft smile had pulled the blanket up over her and left her sister to her sleep.

Raine wasn’t sure what to say to her just yet but they watched as Eda slowly but surely turn off the lights one by one leaving the room cast in the shadows of the night. The shadows were soft as they announced it was time to rest. They were standing by the stair waiting for Eda to finish up with her tasks before they headed up the stairs.

Raine could hear the gentle chorus of the woods outside as Eda made her way over to them. It was soothing.

“Come on Rainestorm let’s get to bed.” Eda quietly said as she walked up the stairs skipping the third step for some reason. Thinking she had a reason for that Raine did the exact same thing.

As Eda reached the top of the stairs she looked into an open room with small and soft smile at what she saw. She made a silent gesture for Raine to come over. Raine made their way to where Eda was standing and peered into the room to see what Eda was looking at.

Raine saw that this was Luz’s room and all the occupants were soundly asleep with Willow on the left, Luz in the middle and Amity on the right. Nana was wearing an adorable little sleep mask that had an image of sleeping cat’s face on it. She was laying on her back at the foot of Willow’s sleeping bag. Her front left paw gave the occasional twitch while her soft purring filled the room. Willow was sleeping on her back her right arm laying over Luz. She was wearing soft green pyjamas dotted with a leafy pattern.

On the foot of Luz’s sleeping bag there was King curled into a ball soft breaths barely audible even to Raine’s keen ears. Luz was clutching Willow’s arm in a loose grip with a peaceful expression on her face. Luz’s pyjamas were a plain purple with a blue highlight.

With Amity however Raine couldn’t see her face on account of her sleeping on her front. Raine had no idea if that was really a comfortable position to sleep in but if worked for Amity they weren’t going to comment. She looked to be wearing a somewhat large black t-shirt and that was all Raine could really tell from where they were standing.

“I’m glad she’s sleeping peacefully tonight.” Eda muttered barely audible but Raine due to being so close managed to hear her well enough. Raine guessed Luz had issues with sleeping. They hoped it wasn’t anything like Ma’s insomnia. That was a terrible time for everyone they thought to themself. They eventually exorcised the spirit causing it but it was rough on all their mothers and them.

“Does-? Does she have trouble sleeping?" Raine quietly asked Eda who gave them a grave nod.

“Yeah she does. It worries me a hell of a lot Rainestorm.” Eda admitted to them. Back when they were kids Eda would have never admitted being worried or scared or the like. “We’re going to see Mala for an appointment soon and I hope they can help her. It’s-? It’s just I worry you know?” Raine knew that feeling very well indeed.

“Whatever it may be worth but I think you’re doing a very good job Calamity.” Raine said in a quiet reassurance. “I’m like that with my students. I worry when they’re hurt or scared. It’s rough but it’s worth it in my eyes.” They especially worried when their students were doing something a tad rebellious like working to undermine the coven system.

“Yeah I agree.” Eda replied with a distant look in her eye. “I want to do right by my kids.” There were many things left unsaid in that last statement but Raine knew it wasn’t their place to press. If Eda wanted to tell them she would.

Raine gently bumped their shoulder into Eda’s making her look at them. “And you will I know you will.” They said with a quiet and resolute certainty. The Eda of the past would not be very successful at this kind task but the Eda Raine saw now. She had changed and she had changed for the better. She was much more open that she used to be. She admitted her uncertainties and her concerns. She looked out for her kids. She loved them in a way only an idiot would miss. “You’re quite good at this parenting thing.”

Eda let out a small and surprised laugh at hearing that. “Thanks Rainestorm.” was Eda’s sincere thanks. She gently grabbed onto Raine’s hand. “Come on let’s get to sleep. It’s late and I want to go to bed.” That sounded like a great idea to Raine.

Raine nodded their head in agreement and let Eda lead them into her room and wow seeing really is believe Raine thought as they caught sight of the nest Eda slept in. Eda after shutting the door with a quick spell let go of Raine’s hand. What she did next caused to Raine to blush most profusely.

Without a care in the world Eda started to strip Raine despite very tempted averted their eyes while covering them with their hand. “Eda!” they quietly exclaim in shock.

“What?” asked a very confused Eda. There’s a rustling of clothes. “Oh right um oops?” Eda sounded very embarrassed as she realised what she had just done. “Well it’s nothing you haven’t seen before right?” That may be so but at least give Raine some prior warning! There was more rustling of clothes as Eda dressed herself in her sleepwear. “Okay you can look now.” Raine did turn around a bright red covering their face. What they saw took their breath away. Eda was wearing a plain red nightgown. It was a simple and relatively plain outfit but the way it clung to Eda was a sight that would be seared into Raine’s memories for the rest of their life. The way it clung to her curves. The way her silver hair caught the moonlight streaming through the window. The way her muscles rippled underneath her skin. They could feel their throat dry as they stared. “You okay Rainestorm?” Eda asked seeing their dumbstruck expression. She waved her hand in front of their face trying to find any signs of life.

“...Beautiful...” they said in a quiet whisper. Their face felt like a burning flame from how bright they were blushing.

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.” Despite that Eda had a small blush on her face.

“Uh nothing. It was definitely nothing.” Please believe me please believe me, repeated in their thoughts.

“Uh huh sure.” Eda said clearly not believing them. She then threw a shirt and a pair of shorts at Raine who despite their current state managed to catch them. “Come on get changed and lets get some sleep yeah?” Eda then let out a jaw cracking yawn. Raine looked at the shirt and noticed that had a picture of Eda on it with the words ‘bad girl coven’ on it. They smiled in amusement as they looked at the shirt Eda handed them. That was so like her.

Raine blushed but quickly got themselves changed. Eda being polite turned around to let them change in piece. “I’m done Calamity.” At hearing that Eda turned back around and greeted them with a smile. Raine loved this smile. It was soft and warm.

“Come on Rainestorm lets get to sleep.” Raine needed no further prompting as they followed Eda into her nest. As they laid themselves down on the twigs they found that despite the material making it up the nest was really rather comfortable.

As they drifted off to sleep they had one last coherent thought. I wouldn’t mind doing something like this again. They smiled at the thought.

Soon enough they joined Eda in a restful slumber.

- - - -

In the Owl house everyone was asleep. There was a silence in the house. Until the palismen decided to hold a meeting atop the rafters. They took the rare chance to catch up with each and see how the others were doing. Melody had to be lifted up there by Owlbert much to her consternation due to the fact she couldn’t fly in her animal form. “Yip” (Oh the indignity.) she muttered to herself.

Owlbert decided to start things off. “Hoot.” (How have you two been in the last few years?) He was curious because due to Lilith and Eda being on opposite sides of the law meant they didn’t have much chance to talk peacefully. With Melody he hadn’t talked to her ever since their witches broke up all those years ago. It was not a day Owlbert looked back on fondly whatsoever.

Mike Socks quietly stated his own reply. “Caw” (I’ve been fine for the most part. But I’m concerned about Lilith.) he admitted as he peered down to his currently asleep witch. She turned slightly in her sleep before settling once more. “Caw caw.” (She’s been burning the candle from both ends as it were.) Owlbert noticed something similar when Eda and Lilith had their clashes. Lilith seemed to be getting more and more exhausted each time the sisters clashed. Her moves slowing bit by bit bit. Her spells destabilising more and more. Despite her exhaustion her desperation seemed to be spurring her on. But her desperation for what exactly? Was the question on Owlbert’s mind. Something was driven Eda’s sister to some truly desperate lengths to recruit Eda to the The emperor’s coven and that was concerning to say the least.

However he knew for a fact that asking Mike Sock wouldn’t get him the answer due to the raven’s loyalty to his witch and so he would keep her secrets unless told otherwise.

Melody gave her own cheery yip as well. “Yip.” (Well I’ve been good. Rainy had some regrets they’re dealing with now but I’m sure they’ll do a damn good job with making things right.) Owlbert wondered what exactly those regrets were in the first place. Maybe something about how their relationship with Eda ended? That would explain why they asked to stay the night. Maybe they wanted to be apart of Eda’s life again. If they did so Owlbert would be there to support his witch no matter what happened. (How about you feather duster?) Owlbert’s eye twitched at that nickname causing Melody to laugh at his reaction. Owlbert wished he had hands so he could flip her off. But his glare would have to do for now.

Owlbert let out a soft hoot as he calmed down. “Hoot.” (I’ve been good. Things have been....) He wasn’t quite sure how to put it. (Eventful shall we say.) That was a good way to put it. Things have certainly been eventful but... (But I wouldn’t have it any other way.) That was true he wouldn’t want it any other way.

“Yip.” (Aw how sweet.) Melody cooed. “Yip yip.” (How old is the owlet anyway? Just out of curiosity.) Owlbert doubted that highly but couldn’t see the harm in Raine or Melody knowing how old Luz was. He also noticed her nickname for Luz and found it to be a fitting one in his opinion.

“Hoot hoot.” (She is fourteen years old.) Owlbert replied. Luz had told Eda and by extension Owlbert her birthday not long after she had settled herself in. Eda wanted to get to know the girl who would become her apprentice a bit better. So she asked her some questions like when her birthday was. It was October first on the human calender.

Melody rubbed her chin with her front left paw. “Yip.” (I see I see.) She nodded her head as if something was made very clear to her. What that was Owlbert hadn’t the foggiest clue. Hopefully it wouldn’t blow up in their faces like last time something like this happened. He shuddered as he remembered that day. So many eggs. It took forever to get it out of his feathers.

Mike Socks tilted his head to the side also confused as to what Melody was going on about. “Caw?” (Okay....?) He then shook his head to the side and decided to move on. “Caw caw caw. Caw?” (Okay moving on. So how has Eda been since we last meet?)

“Hoot hoot.” (She has been a lot better lately. I think having to take care of Luz and King is making her work on herself more.) He looked down to the living room below his keen night vision allowing him to see small details very clearly. He could glimpse the drawings of the fridge as well as the to do list Eda had pinned in there as well. He could see the pile of cushions Luz had arranged while she was taking it easy. He could see the odd plushy that King had left in odd places as a result of his war games. He could see the pile of books by the sofa, middle of the process of being read by all the occupants. The coffee table in front of the seats piled with half read magazines and half finished drawings

Slowly but surely Luz was making this place her home and Owlbert was all for it. He quite enjoyed the Owlet’s company and knew that she and Eda would do each other a whole world of good. He realised that he was using Melody’s nickname for her and found that he like the sound of it.

So he was going to use it from now on.

“Hoot hoot.” (I’m happy that Luz is a part of her life.) He pointedly ignored the coos from the other two palisman. He was happy the girl lived here even if it was a temporary arrangement. He hoped once Luz’s time here was up they could all sit down with Camila Noceda and see if they could come to some kind of arrangement so that Luz could still have her life as part of the Boiling Isles. He dearly hoped so.

But that was a problem for another day.

“Hoot hoot.” (She’s a good kid.) Owlbert quietly murmured to himself.

“Caw caw.” (I agree.”)

“Yip.” (She seems like a nice girl.)

Eventually the conversation drifted to the palismen shooting the breeze and enjoying each other’s company. It had been many years since they last did something like this and so they wouldn’t waste the chance they were given.

Titan knows when they would next get the chance.

So they quietly talked among themselves until the sun rose and a new day begun.

- - - -

Luz could feel the warmth of the sun’s light greet her with its gentle embrace. She stirred slightly as she began to wake.

Luz woke to the sight of Willow’s arm across her chest. Luz’s arms were holding on to it before she slowly moved Willow’s arm back over to Willow. At some point in the night Luz must have grabbed hold of Willow’s arm.

She tried to think back to any dreams she had last night and found that the nightmares that often dogged her sleep didn’t wake her up in the middle of the night as they usually did. As she looked at Willow’s very cute sleeping face Luz thought deeply. Willow breathed in slowly. Willow breathed out slowly. Luz honestly felt safe. And wasn’t that an odd thing to think? In a place like the Boiling Isles where it could be very dangerous she felt leagues safer than in the Human realm. It felt like such a selfish thing to think in Luz’s opinion. Like she was disregarding all the sacrifices Mami had made for her sake over the years.

Honestly a (very large) part of her felt like she belong more in the Boiling Isles than she did back on Earth. Apart from her mum she didn’t really have anything to go back for. The only friends she had been able to make were dead. Most of Gravesfield didn’t like her. There were the rumours that she was responsible for her friend’s deaths floating around. When she first heard those rumours she nearly erupted in anger. It was a very near thing too.

Well she ended up taking her anger out on some witches. Her anger still burned but it was more at a simmer by then.

As she was thinking all these heavy thoughts she didn’t notice that Willow was slowly waking up. So it came as a bit of surprise to Luz to see Willow looking right at her blinking somewhat sleepily. Willow yawned letting Luz see her very cool fangs. “Uh hi?” Luz awkwardly said. She quickly averted her eyes, a bright red blush on her face.

Willow quietly laughed at Luz’s reaction as Luz turned to face Willow. It was a laugh of amusement not one of mockery. “Hi to you too.” She smiled softly at Luz. “Looks like you’re thinking pretty hard there. What are you thinking about?” she asked Luz with a gentle sort of curiosity.

“Honestly is it weird that I call this place my home?” she asked feeling so so selfish. “Like don’t get me wrong I like the human realm.” Humans, on the other hand, tended to be hit or miss in her experience. Sure Mami, Ashley, Sarah and Miss Charlie liked her but that was really it. “But I feel like this place is more of a home to me. Is that weird? Am I being selfish?” she asked feeling very vulnerable at the moment. But she didn’t feel like she was unsafe or that Willow would do anything to intentionally hurt her.

“Luz you are being selfish.” Before Luz could say anything Willow continued on. “But I don’t think it’s a bad thing personally. Sometimes, sometimes you need to be selfish and focus on what you want or need.” Willow gave her a comforting smile. Luz felt a small warmth as Willow did so. “Besides you taught me that you know. When you asked me what I wanted to do. Not my parents. Not anyone else. Me.” she reached out her hand and Luz grabbed hold of it. “Besides I’m beginning to think that maybe being too selfless is just a bad as being too selfish ya know?” That made sense to Luz’s brain but her heart disagreed saying that she shouldn’t be so ungrateful and selfish.

“I get what you mean but...” It’s so hard to put yourself first. To focus on your needs and wants. Everyone tells you to put yourself to the side and focus on others.

Willow gave her an understanding nod. “It’s hard isn’t it?” Luz nodded her head. It was hard. It was hard to know when to be selfless and know when to be selfish. “So let’s work on it together okay?”

Luz smiled back. It was small and unsure. “Yeah let’s work on it together.” She let go of Willow’s hand and extended out her left hand’s pinkie. On seeing Willow’s confused look she explained. “This is a pinkie promise. You link up your pinkies and you make a promise and promise never to break it.” Willow nodded and extended her own pinkie. They linked their pinkies and made their promise.

Luz’s heart felt just the ever bit lighter.

Their heartfelt moment was interrupted from a loud snore from Nana rolling over in her sleep.

The two girls couldn’t help it and giggled quietly at the sound.

Then Willow and Luz quietly got up and left the room to go downstairs. Leaving the rest of the occupants to wake up at their leisure.

- - - -

Eda woke up to the sight of a certain bard sleeping in her nest. She blinked for a moment as she tried to process things. She then remembered what had happened and blushed brightly at the thought of what she had done. Did she really just strip while Raine was in the room? Yes. Yes she did. Why did she do that?

She knew the answer but didn’t want to admit it just yet. So she didn’t

She sighed as she looked at Raine’s adorable sleeping face. They seemed to be quite cosy in Eda’s nest which made her glad. She didn’t want someone she cared about to be uncomfortable. She had missed Raine dearly. If she could go back and change only one thing it would be that she would tell them what was going on rather than just bottling it up. But one couldn’t change the past without a great deal of risk so Eda just had to take it one day at a time.

She hoped she didn’t screw things up this time. As she looked at the bard’s mint hair part of her wanted to run her fingers through their hair. It was something they used to do when they were dating. They would each take turns running their hands through each other’s hair. Eda always found that to be relaxing.

So it really shouldn’t have come as a surprise when she started to do just that. She wanted to stop but couldn’t find the will to do so. So she combed her hands through their short hair in a repetitive motion. Her hands glided through Raine’s hair just like it did all those years ago.

Soon Raine woke to her running her hands through their hair. “Uh hi?” Eda awkwardly said. She quickly averted her eyes, a bright red blush on her face. “Uh sorry I’ll stop.”

Raine shook their head as they shifted themselves closer so Eda would have an easier time with their hair. “No it’s- it’s fine Eda. It’s honestly quite nice you know?” Yeah she did know that well enough. “Would you like me to return the favour?” Did she?

Eda had to admit that sounded nice. She was a very tactile person. She loved being close and able to touch the people she loved. She ran her hands through Raine’s hair enjoying the sensation immensely

“Yeah I would.” She rummaged round her hair with her hand and eventually pulled out a comb and some oil. Her hair, nowadays, could be a tangled mess at times so whenever she combed it she used an especially made oil blend to help get all the tangles out. She handed both objects to Raine who took them with their usual level of care. “Probably a good idea to use the comb and oil first. My hair can get pretty tangled.”

Raine laughed at that finding some amusement in Eda’s very true statement. “I’m guessing it’s not any better than when we were kids.”

Eda let out a short bark of laughter. “Yeah it’s way worse now.” It was sadly true as she grew older her hair became more predisposed towards tangling.

Raine smiled at her. “Well guess I better get started then.” They gestured to where Eda should move so they could comb her hair. Eda sat in front of Raine feeling like she was just a teen again. When her future was secure and she wasn’t one of the most wanted criminals in the Boiling Isles. Soon Eda felt Raine gently combing through her hair. With the help of the oil the comb glided through the tangles straightening them with the greatest of ease. It was a smooth repetitive motion one that made Eda relax as she let Raine work their magic. “Eda can I ask you something?” the bard asked her somewhat hesitantly. Eda hummed giving them the go ahead. Eda waited for a moment for Raine to gather their nerves. Before Eda could ask what the question was Raine finally asked her the question. “How-? How has being a single parent treated you?” they asked sounding somewhat afraid of whatever Eda would say as an answer. Eda had no idea why they were so afraid and chalked it up to their anxiety.

Eda had to think on how to answer that for a while. How did being a single parent treat her? She thought of the day she first found King on that island all on his own. She remembered taking him with her because she didn’t want someone to be on his own like that. She remembered his very first word ‘King’ as she mused that he was like a tiny king atop his throne. She remembered the sleepless nights where neither she or King could sleep and she did her best to get the both of them to sleep. Eventually they would usually fall asleep very early in the morning. She remembered teaching him how to read and write as well as pick pockets and pick locks. She gave him his very first book. It was a child’s book about fictional warlords and tyrants and he ate it all up.

She remembered the day she first met Luz a girl who reminded Eda of herself back when she was that age. She was scared and wary but ready to fight to the bitter end. She had nearly burnt Luz’s book before the girl had snatched it out of her hand. She would apologise for that after the fact when she found out how important that book was to Luz. She remembered taking the girl along to the conformatroium in order to get King’s crown back. After Luz had destroyed the conformitroium she had learned a bit more about the girl. She decided to take the girl under her wing as her apprentice something Eda would never ever regret. She witnessed Luz’s first ever spell. Eda is so proud of her. She wants to see how far Luz could go.

She was basically a mother of two huh? She couldn’t find it in her to deny it. If she was younger she would buck against the idea of being a parent but now she wouldn’t. Oh how the years have changed her.

“It’s had its ups and downs but I don’t regret it for a second.” And she never would.

“I’m glad to hear that.” Raine repiled as they gently combed her hair. “But it must be hard doing it on your own.” They had a good point about that. When she was on her own things were much easier but now she had two kids relying on her.

“Yeah but you’ll help right?” she asked the bard combing her hair. She couldn’t see their expression as she asked that but their answer was clear enough.

“I’ll do my best to help you with your kids.” they promised her and she believed them with all her heart.

“Thanks Rainestorm.”

“You’re welcome Calamity.” Raine replied their voice warm and soft like Eda’s favourite blanket.

Soon the two witches fell into a companionable silence as Raine hummed while untangling the bird nest that Eda called her hair. While they were doing this Eda quietly thought to herself about how her life has changed.

The air was filled with the gentle brushing of hair and the quiet humming of Raine Whispers.

- - - -

Amity slowly wakened to see not her usual opulent room filled with its reminders of ‘the greatness of the Blights’. Instead she woke to something much more rustic and dare she say it homely? Sure there was the odd pile of junk, something that Mother would never let fly, but for the most part it was clear to Amity that Luz was making this room a place of her own. Amity’s room, on the other hand, she didn’t get much say in how the room was decorated. Mother decided what furniture she had and how it was arranged. Sure Amity had some say in the small things but anything larger than the odd trinket was not something she could decide.

Only the best for the Blights. I know what is best for you Amity.

Amity shook her head to banish her mother’s poisonous words before turning her attention back to surveying the room. Speaking of Luz it seemed like she and Willow had woken up at some point and left the room. The door was cracked open and on Willow’s sleeping bag Nana was beginning to stir while King seemed to be still asleep.

Amity then heard her scroll vibrate. Someone had messaged her. She pulled it out and scowled as she read who had just messaged her.

It was Boscha.

Boscha: Yo Amity ready for the moonlight conjuring? We’re going to have a big celebration at my place tonight.

Amity thought back to today’s date and realised it was that time of year again. It was the day the moon was in perfect alignment with the stars increasing its magical influence. She had basically had forgotten about it.

She reread Boscha’s message as she thought about what she wanted to do. In all honesty she didn’t want to go and hang out with Boscha and since her mother was out of the picture.... well she suddenly had a lot more freedom in how she went about things.

Before Amity could type out her refusal Boscha sent her another message.

Boscha: Oh yeah sorry about your mom burning down the covention hall. That must suck.

The only thing that sucked about that situation is that Amity wished something like this happened earlier.

Amity sighed as she typed out her response.

Amity: SORRY I CAN’T MAKE IT TONIGHT. I WANT TO FOCUS ON MYSELF FOR NOW. ALSO CAP LOCKS IS BROKEN AND I CAN’T FIX IT.

After a brief hesitation she sent another message.

Amity: WE NEED TO TALK AFTER SCHOOL TOMORROW.

Boscha: What about?

Amity: SOMETHING I DON’T FEEL COMFORTABLE TALKING ABOUT OVER MESSAGES.

She was going to break off their ‘friendship’ because honestly she hated being forced to hang around Boscha and see how Boscha treated those she deemed lesser. She wasn’t going to do it over texts because that seemed far to callous for Amity to do to someone.

Boscha: Uh okay? Sure I’ll talk to you then.

Amity: SEE YOU THEN.

Amity sighed as she shut off her scroll and put it away. She really needed to get her scroll looked at sometime soon. “What’re you sighing about Amity?” a cutesy sounding voice asked her. Amity looked down and saw that Nana was awake with her sleeping mask draped around her neck. Nana gave her a wave with her tassel which Amity returned.

“It’s just... It’s just dealing with someone I don’t particularly care for. Mother forced us to be friends and I don’t want to continue a friendship like that. Honestly I hated it from the start.” she admitted to the strange creature. She wished she was stronger. “So I’m going to break things off because honestly I think I need to work on myself and Boscha won’t be much help.” Especially with her insistence of bullying people like Willow. Also Amity would need to get Boscha to stop it or Willow would and that would likely not end well for Boscha.

“What does Boscha feel about your friendship?” Nana asked and it was a good question in all honesty. How did Boscha feel about their forced friendship? Amity honestly couldn’t say considering she didn’t actually know Boscha that well in the first place.

“Honestly I don’t know but I’m going to talk to her tomorrow. This is something I need to do.” Her mother would call her selfish for doing something like this but Amity honestly couldn’t find it in herself to care. For once in her life she was making a choice solely for the sake of herself.

“Yeah that’s probably the best thing you can do.” Nana said before giving Amity a gentle headbutt. “I wish you the best of luck with whatever happens.” It was like being headbutted by a cushion Amity thought to herself with some amusement.

“Thanks.” Amity said somewhat thankful for the strange creature that hung out with Willow. Amity honestly had no idea what to make of Nana. She didn’t look like any demons or beasts Amity was aware of. The closest thing Nana resembled was the sea cat but even that had several issues. Firstly like the name implied sea cats lived most of their life at sea only coming on land once a decade for their breeding season. Two the fur was the wrong colour and consistency for something that spent a good chunk of its time in the boiling sea. Thirdly sea cats didn’t have those tassel like things or floating rings as a part of their body. Fourth Nana’s tail was the finned tail typically of the sea cats. Finally sea cats couldn’t speak Common like Nana was so obviously capable of doing.

So yeah long story short she had no clue. But that didn’t stop her from giving Nana some head scratches because Nana was cute and she deserved it. From Nana’s loud purring she was clearly enjoying Amity’s attention.

“What are you?” she quietly asked as she scratched Nana’s chin. Nana then rolled on to her back leaving her white belly exposed to the air. Amity started to give Nana a belly rub which from Nana’s loud purrs she loved it. She honestly wasn’t expecting any answers.

“No idea.” Nana stated as bluntly as a hammer. “We’re trying to find out but we have no idea what my species even is.” That sounds really lonely honestly. Not knowing where you came from or what you even are.

“Really me too!” exclaimed King causing both Amity and Nana to look at him to see that he had woken up at some point in Nana and Amity’s conversation. “When Eda found me she had no idea what I am even to this day. I’m not a biped demon because I don’t have anything like a bile sack. I’m not a bug demon because I have no instinct for dance.” He shuddered as he said this making Amity believe that there was a story behind this. “Which would would leave beast right?” Amity nodded to show she understood what he was saying. She knew of the three b’s classification system for demons having learned it for her biology classes. “Well I need blood tests to verify if I am one so who really knows at this point?” He then pointed a bony claw towards Nana. “I guess you can call us mystery buddies or something.” Solving them or causing them? Amity thought to herself with some amusement. She looked at King and Nana again and decided that they would more likely cause mysteries than solve them.

Nana nodded her head seemingly quite liking the name. “I like that name.” She rolled back to her feet causing Amity to stop with the belly rubs. She waked over to King and gave him a gentle headbutt. “We can be the mystery buddies.” King gave her a pat of the head after she had said that.

“Right as our first order of business-,” King’s stomach growled loudly, “Let’s get something to eat I’m hungry.” Nana seemed quite agreeable to that suggestion.

“Yeah food sounds good.” Honestly it sounded good to Amity as well. She wondered what the Owl House had to offer in the way of breakfast.

King basically grabbed Nana in his claws and held her over his head like she weighed absolutely nothing. “To breakfast!” he cried with Nana echoing his words wholeheartedly. He then walked out the door excited to go get something to eat.

Amity followed after them in a much more sedate pace. Until she heard King go. “Oh shoot!” as he tripped over in his excitement nearly taking a tumble thankfully Amity managed to rush over and grab him before he did so. Nana, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky she flew out of King’s grip and began to tumble down the stairs.

There wasn’t any loud thuds or crashes as Nana bounced down the stairs. If Amity wasn’t looking right at her she wouldn’t know that Nana was falling down the stairs at all.

Bounce.

Bounce.

Bounce.

Bounce.

With each bounce Amity and King’s heads followed Nana’s every bounce until she came to a stop at the foot of the stairs seemingly unharmed. “I’m okay.” she called causing both Amity and King to give off sighs of relief at hearing Nana was fine. Willow could be heard from downstairs sighing in a combination of relief and exasperation. Which gave the impression that this probably wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. Which tracked if Amity was being at all honest.

Nana then shook her head and got to her feet before walking out of sight towards the kitchen. Amity got to her feet while making sure that King was able to stand on his own. King now a touch more cautious walked down the stairs with Amity right behind him. She kept an eye on him just in case of a repeat occurrence. It was something she had seen at her part time job at the library. Kids getting excited about something and tripping over their feet. She had a lot of practise with dealing with that sort of thing.

As Amity made her way to the bottom of the steps she could see Willow giving Nana a quick check over. Seemingly happy with what she saw she placed Nana on the kitchen counter before giving her a quick scratch under the chin. Another thing Amity noticed was the sound of someone cooking something. As she got a better look she could see Luz was cooking pancakes for breakfast. Willow once she was done with Nana looked up and saw Amity and King coming down. “Morning Amity. Morning King.” she greeted them. There was still an air of awkwardness between Willow and Amity but honestly Amity didn’t expect anything else really. She may have begun to make amends but she had still had done a lot of harm to Willow.

“Morning Willow.” King’s greeting however was rushed as he made his way over to Luz and gestured for her to pick him up. With a laugh and a smile Luz did so with her free hand. She placed King nearby allowing him to watch her as she worked. King’s

“Morning King.” Luz greeted before she greeted Amity. “Morning Amity.”

Amity blushed slightly as Luz addressed her. “Uh good morning Luz.” She desperately hoped she didn’t come off as a massive fool to the other girl. Amity looked to see if she could come up with something to talk about. She didn’t really come up with anything at that moment and Luz turned her attention back to cooking. She wandered down to the couch to see that Miss Lilith lying down on it reading a book on her scroll. On Miss Lilith’s lap was her palisman as well as Raine and Eda’s ones. The three of them had all apparently chosen to use Miss Lilith’s lap as a bed at some point. Miss Lilith was giving Mike Socks a light scratch on the head with the hand that wasn’t holding her scroll. Mike Socks made a gentle crooning noise as she did so.

Lilith looked up to see Amity standing there. Her mentor greeted her with a small smile. “Good morning Amity how are you doing this morning?” How did Amity feel this morning?

She thought about it turning things over in her head trying to figure things out. She was tired sure. She was a touch stressed sure. But one thing that drowned out most of her negative emotions was the sheer relief and happiness she felt that she was away from the Blight manor. “Good morning Miss Lilith. I’m good all things considered. Things were pretty eventful yesterday.” That felt like a big understatement to Amity. “How are you doing?”

Lilith gave a short laugh at hearing Amity call yesterday eventful. “Yes it was wasn’t it?” she continued to scratch Mike Socks’ chin while she talked with Amity. “And I’m quite well thank you for asking.”

“What are you reading Miss Lilith?” Amity asked while motioning to her mentor’s scroll.

“Amity you can just call me Lilith when we’re not in our lessons.” Amity nodded her head knowing she was probably still going to call Miss Lilith Miss Lilith and it would take a while for her to adjust. Miss Lilith’s face brightened as she sat herself up. “Right so the book I’m reading is called ‘the mysteries of the Bonesborough Library.’ It’s basically about fanciful ghost stories at the local library such as the non existent fifth floor or the endless corridor in the basement or the spirits that steal the voices of your descended love ones. It’s quite interesting in all honesty. You can really feel like the author worked there and knows the place inside and out.” While Miss Lilith was explaining the book Amity had sat herself down in an empty chair. She listened quite intently as Lilith explained to her the story she was reading. Amity found herself curious about the story considering the library she worked at was the one featured in that book. “I can send you a link if you’re interested.”

Amity nodded her head. “I am interested.” Lilith then sent her the link allowing Amity to peruse it at her leisure. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome Amity.”

Soon Amity could hear another pair of footsteps coming down the stairs. Amity turned to look and saw both Eda and Raine coming down the stairs. Eda was blinking somewhat sleepily like she still wasn’t fully awake just yet. Raine on the other hand looked bright eyed and bushy tailed. Eda gave a yawn before greeting everyone. “Morning everyone.” Her sleepy gaze made its way to the kitchen and saw Luz and Willow were busy rustling up breakfast for everyone. “What are you two cooking? It smells really good.” Eda asked with a small smile on her face.

“Thanks Eda.” Luz smiled bashfully at Eda’s praise. Amity thought Luz looked really cute with that smile on her face. “We’re cooking pancakes and some other things. We’re just about done too. So does someone mind helping set the table?” Raine nodded their head and went to get some plates from the kitchen. They with some help from Eda set the table for breakfast.

Lilith shut off her scroll and stowed it away. She got off the couch in such a way that the palismen could still use the blanket. Mike Socks grumbled at bit of being shifted around but soon settled down. Amity got up as well feeling a bit peckish herself.

She made her way and sat herself at the table. The food smelled good and when she took her first bite it was delicious. There was much discussion going on but Amity let it wash over her content to focus on her food. Breakfast at the Owl House was a noisy messy affair a complete contrast to breakfast at the Blight manor. With breakfast at the Blight manor mother dominated the conversation talking about the topics she chose and nothing else. Where in the Owl house no one dominated the conversation where the topics ebbed and flowed like the tides. The topic drifted around with no particular aim or purpose. The topic went from what had happened yesterday to a brief tangent about the time Eda cursed a locker room with ghosts to if any of them had any plans for today (most of the group wanted to take things easy for today). Amity honestly just planned to take it easy today as well. Amity found this to be something she enjoyed a lot more than she expected.

It was nice.

- - - -

Eda, after breakfast where she and Lilith cleaned up, went down her mental checklist seeing if she had anything pressing she needed to do today. She had no potion ingredients she needed to harvest or stock on. She had done the laundry a couple of days ago. She didn’t need to stock up on anything for her stall considering yesterday was a wash in regards to actually selling anything. Stupid covention.

While this was happening King and Nana were reading one of his favourite books together the two becoming friends at some point, Greenie and Boots were having a somewhat awkward conversation and Raine was talking to Luz about bard magic. Her kid was enthralled as Raine discussed how bard magic worked. She even had a note pad she took from Eda’s stash of notebooks. “So does the type of material used in its construction affect well an instrument works when casting spells?”

Raine hummed thoughtfully as they heard Luz’s question. “No not really. As long as the material allows bard magic to flow through it should be fine.” Raine replied. “But you need to find the right balance of letting things flow and stability. Get the balance wrong well... best case scenario is that nothing happens. Uh the worst case uh well boom...” the bard trailed off leaving the likely consequences for anyone nearby unstated.

“Boom?”

“Boom.” Raine said to Luz with the utmost seriousness. Eda left them to it and went back to her mental checklist.

She blinked as she remembered she should check on her elixir situation to make sure she wasn’t running low. The Owl beast may have seemed to like both King and Luz but Eda didn’t want to push her luck the next time something like that happened. She got the faint impression of someone taking offence at that. She went around the house and checked all the places she kept an elixir and found that she was indeed running low. Most of the spots had nothing and she only had a couple of bottles of elixir on hand. She cursed to herself. Looks like she needs to go on a supply run today.

She made her way back to the living room and told everyone else what she was doing. “Well I need to get my elixir anyone want to come with?” Raine and Luz volunteered to come with her while the rest were quite happy to stay at her place. “Right cool. Shouldn’t be gone for longer than an hour. Byeeeee.” Everyone staying gave them a wave as they left.

After closing the door behind them as well as hearing Hooty’s farewells the three began their trip to Morton’s shop. As they were walking through the woods Luz asked her a question. “Eda?” she asked.

“Yeah kid?”

“Why do you need to buy your elixir? Can’t you just make it?” It was a pretty good question and one Eda was quite happy to answer.

“Well kid the thing is some of the ingredients for my elixir are under heavy guard. Trying to steal them from the plant coven would be a colossally stupid idea.” especially after they had upped the security surrounding the green houses. “However Morton knows some people who can get him the ingredients for my elixir and at a reasonable price too.” Eda never asked where he sourced the ingredients from knowing that secrecy is the name of the game. “Sometimes it’s more a case of who you know than what you know.”

“I know how to make exploding instruments now.” Luz joked. Eda had to laugh at Raine’s slightly concerned expression at the idea of Luz messing around with exploding instruments.

“Not in the house you’re not missy.” Eda joked back. “Hooty is pretty damn durable but I don’t think he’s that durable.” She ruffled Luz’s hair ignoring Luz’s token protests. “If you’re going to play around with explosions do it outside.” she suggested.

“ooookay Mooooom.” Luz replied jokingly. Both of them missed Raine’s expression at hearing Luz called Eda mom. Eda honestly like the sound of being Luz’s mother even if she would likely never admit that fact to anyone even on the pain of death.

“Eh good enough.” Eda trusted Luz enough to know she wouldn’t likely play around with magically explosive objects without a damn good reason.

Soon enough the trio made it into town and saw something that made Eda scowl as she led Luz and Raine on a path around them. They were witches and demons all kitted out in armour. They were dragging a cage covered by a cloth. Whatever was inside was clearly angry and upset from the growls Eda could hear. Eda couldn’t identify the creature from its growls alone. She was good but not that good. “Demon hunters.” Eda growled angrily. She hated the demon hunters with a fiery passion.

“Demon hunters?” Luz clearly confused by the term but clearly noticing Eda’s very strong distaste. Raine was also keeping a wary eye on the demon hunters as well.

“Like the name implies they hunt the wild demons that call the isles their home. The more difficult the hunt the better. They often hunt demons for the highest bidder in order to get them trophies and trinkets from the hunt. They don’t hunt for food or resources. They are trophy hunters nothing more nothing less.” Eda filled the words trophy hunter with a heavy dose of vitriol. She understood hunting for food. Hell she often did the same during the winter months to help make it through the cold season. What she didn’t understand was the idea of hunting for trophies. The ecosystem of the Boiling Isle is a delicate thing and the demon hunters trampled all over that without a care. There were also very persistent rumours that wild demons weren’t the only thing they hunted. Eda wasn’t usually one to put stock in rumours, considering the rumours that she often heard about herself like she was ten feet tall, breathed fire and ate babies, but she had heard them from people she actually somewhat trusted so she kept an eye out just in case.

“Luz,” her voice was grave and serious making Luz listen closely, “make sure you keep clear of them okay?” Luz nodded her head showing she understood. “Good kid.”

The trio made their way to Morton’s stand and Eda was slightly confused at the site of the closed store. She knew for a fact Morton’s stall should be open today. She knocked on the shutter. “Morton open up! I need some more elixir.” she didn’t let her voice drown under her impatience but it was a near thing.

Thankfully Morton opened the shutter and he looked like he had gone ten rounds with a Slitherbeast and lost. He greeted her somewhat languidly. “Oh hi E.... I’ve just- I’ve just be testing some of my potions on myself. You know how it is?” No she didn’t on account of the fact that using yourself as a test subject for whatever potion your brewed was an immensely stupid idea considering how easily things could go wrong. Morton should really know better. She wasn’t going to berate him.... that much but she would have to impress on him that you can still test your potions without using yourself as a test subject.

“Morton you do know there are alternatives to potion testing that don’t involve using yourself as a test subject right?” With Morton’s shake of his head Eda wanted to scream. She had learned how to test a potion’s effectiveness with a witch’s venus clipping in her very first potion lesson. “What are they teaching kids these days?” she groused before she took a deep breath in attempt to keep calm. “Morton do you know what a witch’s venus is?” Morton gave her a sorta gesture meaning he had heard about it at some point but didn’t really know the specifics so it was up to Eda to educate. “Well basically a witch’s venus is a plant that can be closely mapped to a typical witch’s digestion system.” Admittedly it was really only good for seeing how your potions would affect the typical witch because there was a great deal of variation in biology in witches and demons. But it still helped. “So you can feed one whatever potion you’re testing and note the results. Also they’re super easy to grow as they can grow from cuttings in the right conditions.” She kept a whole bunch in her workshop ready for whatever potion she needed to be tested.

Morton’s eyes widened as Eda imparted her potion making knowledge to him. “That would make things so much easier.” he muttered. “Where can I get some?” he asked and Eda was happy to answer.

“I’ve got some growing at home which I use for testing any of the potions I brew I can give you some if you like.” Morton nodded his head quite happy with Eda’s very good solution. “If give you some to do mind giving a slight discount on my elixir?” she asked. Her elixir may be somewhat reasonably priced but even so it added up very quickly.

“Uh sure thing E,” Morton hesitated for a second and Eda knew she wasn’t going to like whatever he said next, “There’s just one slight issue with that and, basically, I’m all out. Sorry...” She was right she didn’t like it at all. He learned over and whispered almost consiprationally. “I heard that a guy named Grim hammer can get you what you need for a price. Unfortunately he’s located in the night market.” Well looks like Eda was going have to take a trip to the night market tonight. Great just great. She did not like dealing with the night market in any capacity. It was useful sure but it always felt a bit too risky for Eda’s liking. Usually she just steered clear of the place.

“Right well looks like I’m making a trip to the night market... well tonight.”
“Would you like me to come?” Raine and Luz asked her in unison which was kinda impressive actually. They turned to each other surprised looks on their faces.

“Raine yes. Luz I want you to stay home. I know you can protect yourself but I’m not taking you into the place like the night market.” Luz nodded her head clearly not happy with Eda’s choice but accepting anyway.

“Okay.” Luz said before Eda ruffled the kid’s hair. Luz smiled slightly at that. “Be safe okay?” Luz asked her.

“I’ll try my best kiddo but no promises.” That was the best Eda could really promise her kid and everyone there knew it. But she would move heaven and earth to keep her promise to her kid.

“Good enough for me.” Luz said before leaning in to hug Eda who happily reciprocated Luz’s affections. Honestly before Luz came into her life Eda wasn’t very big on hugs.

The touching moment was eventually interrupted by Luz’s friend Goops running up to them somewhat out of breath. “Hi Luz.” He held up his hand asking them for patience. “Let- let me just catch my breath.” Eventually he straightened himself up ready to share whatever he was going to share. “Have you seen Pentsagram?” Luz shook her head due to the fact she didn’t have a scroll. Eda probably see on getting her one at some point. It would be an easy way for Luz to contact her in case she needed to. So one more thing added to the to do list She thought to herself. Her to do list was getting to be a very long one indeed. Goops proceeded to show Luz his scroll. “Boscha’s holding a moonlight conjuring tonight and look what she said.” Whoever this Boscha was she seemed to be a real brat. ‘Only real witches invited.’ Neither Raine or Luz seemed too terribly impressed with this Boscha either.

“Wow she doesn’t seem very nice.” Luz muttered. “What’s a moonlight conjuring anyway?” she asked. Always wanting to know more.

“Well kid a moonlight conjuring is basically where a group sleeps over at a friend’s place where they do the normal kiddy things like talk about their crushes, eat junk food, stay up late and animate a small object with their magic.” She had remembered doing them as a kid back before everything went to hell in a hand basket. As an adult it was silly and mostly inconsequential (apart from that one year with the cursed doll) but as a kid it was a fun way to spend the night with friends.

“Oh neat like a weird sleepover.” Luz stated and Eda found that to be basically a decent summary. It was a weird sleepover. “Do you think we could have one with Willow and Amity?” Goops looked excited at the thought enough to completely gloss over the mention of Boots. Eda had to think about it for a moment. Honestly most of the time nothing really happened magic wise but considering Luz was involved Eda had no idea what would happen. She had to weigh up the positives and negatives. The negatives were things like something going horrible wrong but then again that was true of just about anything really. You could also say that about walking to the store. The positives would be spending times with her friends, learning a bit more about the culture of the Boiling Isles and hopefully make some good memories.

She then looked at Luz’s subtly pleading face and felt what little resolve she had crumble in the face of Luz’s face. She sighed. “Okay kid you can have one,” the kids cheered but Eda held up her hand stopping the cheers, “but I have some conditions. Both kids nodded their heads willing to accept Eda’s conditions. Honestly Eda wasn’t going to be super strict on conditions. This was more for her peace of mind and to make sure there wasn’t a huge mess she had to clean up. “One I want Lily to be there to supervise you. Two I want no one going into my potions lab. It’s too dangerous for you kids to be screwing around in there.” She was going to show Luz her potion lab sometime soon but that would only be when Eda was there to supervise her. “Finally for the love of all that is good in the world please clean up any messes you make. I don’t want to come back to a dump. Is that good with you?”

The kids nodded their head. “Yeah that’s good with us.” Luz said while Goops said. “Sure thing.” Eda knew the kids would try their best to keep their promise and that was good enough for Eda.

“Good good.” Eda then turned around. “Come on then let’s head on home. Goops remember to tell your dad where you’re going.” She didn’t want to give Perry Porter any reason to be anxious and his son wandering off without telling him would definitely do that. She would know the same thing happened with King just yesterday.

“Sure thing. Uh what should I call you?”

“You can just call me Eda that’s what most people anyway.” Except for her sister who tended to call her Edalyn. Eda returned the favour by calling her Lily most of the time.

“Okay Eda.” was Goops’ reply.

- - - -

Gus was so excited! He was going to have moonlight conjuring with Willow and Luz! He had just the thing for them to animate too. It was a human realm toy called Beefy Bob. He had bought it at Eda’s market stall a couple of months ago. It did take him a moment to realise that Eda was the same person who he had bought Beefy Bob from all those months ago. Honestly Gus thinks it was his excitement making him focus on Beefy Bob that was the reason why it took a bit to remember where he had seen Eda before. The fact he managed to buy something from the most wanted witch on the Boiling Isles was honestly kinda shocking.

What was also shocking was his friend Luz’s connection to the aforementioned Owl Lady. He had noticed how Eda treated Luz and how she treated Gus and Willow and how incongruent it was to the rumours Gus had heard about the Owl Lady. He had heard she was cruel, callous, and spread the wicked gospel of wild magic and honestly Gus couldn’t see it. Sure she had a bone to pick with the coven system but considering what she told them yesterday there was a very good reason why she had grief with the coven system. Gus was also beginning to have a feeling there was other things that the coven system deliberately hid from people. If so what where they hiding? He would keep this a secret for now if only for his own safety and the safety of his friends. He had read books where the protagonist finds out some grave secret about the society they live in and trying to reveal it got them in a whole heap of trouble from the government.

As for the rumours about her being a cruel and callous witch and honestly the love and affection she had for both Luz and King made Gus think that the rumours might just be full of it or were trying to discredit Eda. Even an idiot wouldn’t be able to miss the love Eda had for her two... honestly what would be the right thing to call their relationship? He thought about for a moment and decided that the word that would make the most sense would children. Luz and King were her kids and Gus knew that without a smidge of doubt. The hugs, the ruffling of hair, the smiles they shared and the gentle affection Eda’s word held for her tow kids. Considering how wanted Eda was Gus decided to keep that little fact to himself for now.

He was walking with Luz, Eda and Raine to the Owl House after he had gotten everything he needed for the Moonlight conjuring. He had gotten his sleeping gear, his toothbrush, his water bottle and finally and most importantly Beefy Bob. The forest they were currently in wasn’t a place Gus usually frequented but it was quite a nice place to walk Gus found. He could see why Willow would walk through here to get to school. The variety of plant life you could find was impressive. He didn’t know much about plants but even he could tell this place was amazing.

Soon the group found themselves at the Owl Lady’s abode and Gus was quite amused to see that Eda went all in on the owl theme with her house. What Gus found less amusing however was meeting Hooty the house demon.

“Hiya Raine. Hiya Eda. Hiya Luz. Hiya new person do you wanna be my friend?” asked the house demon with something that could be loosely be called a smile. His voice felt grating in a way that it really really shouldn’t be. Hooty stretched out and examined Gus with an eye that had clearly had years upon years of experience of watching and prying. Gus stilled feeling like he was facing an unfathomable monster that could end him with nary a thought.

He nodded his head shakily not wanting to know what would happened if he refused. “Uh s-s-s-sure...? I-I’m Gus?” he replied somewhat uncertainly. He hoped this ended soon he really couldn’t handle be looked at like this any longer.

“Oh boy do I love making friends!” the house demon cheered and Gus knew he made a grave mistake but there wasn’t any time for regret as Hooty coiled around him in a great big hug. Gus shivered. Hooty felt wrong. His feathers itched like needles, his skin was viscous. “I’m Hooty! I like bugs! I like hugs! I like rugs! I like pugs.” Why is he rhyming? Please stop. “I’m sure we’ll be the best of friends. I love alllllllll my friends. We can share friendly secrets. We can discuss the beautiful flowers. We can have lovely hugs.” Never mind could we go back to the rhyming please? Of course Gus’ plea went unheeded.

“Uh sure but can-? Can you let me go? I need to go inside so I can see my friends.” and hopefully forget this he finished in his mind.

Hooty nodded his head. “Sure thing new best friend.” Hooty uncoiled himself from Gus and retracted himself into the front door. The front door opened and Gus sprinted in not looking back to see if the others were coming.

He ran into see Amity and Willow looking up at him slightly surprised looks on their faces at his sudden arrival. Gus had completely forgotten Amity was here. There was Eda’s sister fiddling with a kettle in the kitchen and she didn’t look up at him content with turning the kettle on. Both King and Nana were napping in a beam of sunlight the pair both curled up into balls. Raine walked over at sat in an empty chair. “Uh hi. I uh I met Hooty.” he explained and the immediate understanding looks which didn’t make him feel any better admittedly but knowing he wasn’t alone in this was somewhat comforting. “We- We’re best friends now.”

“Eh don’t worry about it Goops he usually doesn’t hurt people too much. Just remind him ever so often you’re a lot more fragile than he is.” Eda said with a quick pat on his shoulder before she made her way to the kitchen to talk to her sister. “You’ll be fine kid.” she called out. Gus did not feel reassured in the slightest.

“Hi. Gus what are you doing here?” Willow asked clearly wondering why her friend was here and Gus was quite happy to explain.

“Well Willow since tonight is the night for the moonlight conjuring Luz and I managed to get Eda’s permission to hold one here.” He briefly glanced at Amity before focusing his attention back on Willow. “Also Boscha is being a massive jerk about her moonlight conjuring she’s holding at her place. She says her one is only for ‘real witches.’” Interestingly Willow wasn’t the only one to scowl at Boscha’s declaration. Amity scowled as well.

“Wait why are you scowling aren’t you two friends?” Willow asked noticing that Amity was scowling at mention of Boscha as well.

Amity just gave a bitter sounding laugh which took Willow and Gus aback a fair bit. “The only reason why I was ‘friends’ with Boscha in the first place was because Mother ordered me to be friends with her.” There was a lot of bitterness in that statement. Amity took a deep breath seemingly in an attempt to calm her nerves. “I hated it.” The next few words surprised both Willow and Gus immensely. “Which is why I’m breaking things off. I don’t want to be friends with someone like her.” Amity gripped the bottom of her shirt with her right hand. What emotion was behind it wasn’t clear to Gus at the moment but it clearly wasn’t a positive one that was for sure.

Willow’s face gained a look of understanding. “Well if you need any help let me know.” Willow offered Amity.

Amity gave Willow a small but sincere smile. Gus had never seen the youngest Blight smile before. Every time they crossed paths Amity’s face was always an impervious mask so seeing her smile was new. “Thank you.”

“Hey what are you all talking about?” Luz asked having had wandered upstairs briefly for whatever reason. Willow and Amity turned to greet her. Willow with a smile on her face and Amity with a rather impressive blush on hers.

“We were just talking about the moonlight conjuring we’re having tonight.” Gus explained to her.

Luz nodded before turning her eyes towards Amity. “Amity would you like to join us?”

Amity nodded her head up and down vigorously. “Uh yeah I would.... If that’s alright with Willow?” Everyone turned their head to Willow who nodded her head seeming fine with Amity coming along for the ride.

“That’s fine with me Amity.” Her smile gained a teasing edge to it. “We can even talk about cute girls.” Amity’s blush was practically iridescent now. Luz just looked confused and Gus was in the same boat as her.

- - - -

Lilith was in Eda’s kitchen making herself a cup of tea when she heard the front door open and Raine, Edalyn, Luz and one other return. She could also hear her sister come up to her. She looked at her sister and waited for her to speak. “Could I ask you for a favour?” Edalyn asked her.

“You may.” Considering Eda had helped her with Odalia yesterday this was the least she could do and as long as it wasn’t something idiotically dangerous Lilith was quite happy to accept Eda’s request.

“Do you mind supervising the kids for the night? They’re doing a moonlight conjuring and Raine and I need to get me some more elixir from the Night market.” Lilith had to stop the instinctive scowl at the mention of the Night market. She hated what the place represented to her. But she decided to focus on the fact Luz was going to have a moonlight conjuring tonight. She had completely forgotten the fact the celestial alignment was today. Admittedly she had long lost track of what day it actually was. Honestly she didn’t see why not.

Lilith gave her sister a nod. “I can do that. How long do you expect to be gone?” she asked wanting to have a general time frame of when Edalyn and Raine would be gone. “Also should I check for any cursed dolls or the like?”

Edalyn shrugged. “Honestly I hope it’ll be a quick in and out but knowing my luck I may be gone the entire night.” Lilith hoped it was the first thing too. “And yeah if you can make sure whatever they plan to animate is free of any nasty surprises that would be great. Wouldn’t want a repeat of that year I was fourteen.” No they didn’t want a repeat of that.

“Well hope for the best and prepare for the worst right?” Lilith asked knowing full well to prepare for the worst. If there was one thing Lilith could take away from the Emperor’s coven’s training is that things tended to go wrong at the worst possible time. One thing Lilith actually did take away from training was an acute case of hypothermia.

“Yeah we’ll probably leave in a couple of hours or so.” Edalyn looked at Lilith with a grateful expression on her face. “But thanks for agreeing to do this for me.”

“You’re quite welcome Edalyn besides you helped me yesterday and I always try and repay my debts.”

“Well you’re my sister of course I’m going to help you.” Eda reminded her with a small smile. “Besides we promised ya know? To help each other with our problems.” Lilith did know that very well but she didn’t feel like she deserved such help or such kindness from her sister.

“I know Edalyn I know.” Soon the kettle finished boiling. “Would you like a cup of tea Edalyn?” she asked figuring it would be the polite thing to do considering she was using Edalyn’s teabags and all.

“Honestly yeah I wouldn’t mind one.” So Lilith made herself and Edalyn a cup of tea. As Lilith handed Edalyn her cup she noticed that her sister had small tremors in her hand. Lilith decided not to comment on it just yet knowing her hands did something similar. Her hands started to shake whenever she was doing a task the required a great degree of precision such as building small and fiddly things like toys. It made pursuing hobbies that made a lot of use of her hands a hard prospect. It didn’t help that her hands tended to cramp up whenever she was writing making things take so much longer. Her hands had a twinge of pain as Lilith thought that but the gentle warmth of her mug was soothing her pain. “Thanks Lily.” Edalyn said as she grabbed hold of her mug of tea and bringing Lilith out of her thoughts.

“You’re welcome.” So the two stood there in the kitchen taking an occasional sip of their tea.

- - - -

Time passes as it tends to do and the sun had finished it’s journey across the sky allowing the moon to begin its own journey. The living room had be rearranged to allow them space for the ritual with the coffee table being moved to the side. One of the sofas which Lilith was currently occupying, so she could watch over them, had been moved back as well. Eda, Raine and King had left for the night market not too long ago. Lilith, Nana, Luz, Gus, Willow and Amity where all that were left. Amity was curious how things would go this time because what usually happened when Amity attended one of these is that nothing happened and they mostly just hung out all night eating junk food. So she’d never actually seen a successful moonlight conjuring before.

The four young witches were waiting eagerly for the right time for the moon to be in the right position. They had briefed Luz on what to do and say. They were sitting in a circle around Gus’ strange figurine. (Beefy Bob was his name apparently, Amity found she didn’t like Beefy Bob very much) Amity was holding both Willow and Luz’s hands and if she was any more of a disaster her brain wouldn’t be functioning right now. It was a close thing though.

Nana was watching the proceedings from arm of the same sofa Lilith was watching them from. Her tail was slowly trailing through the air as her curious gaze focused upon Beefy Bob.

The timer Willow had set beeped and it was time to begin.

“Moonlight, we call, we sing.
“Moonlight, take this chance.”
Moonlight, come tie the string.”
“Moonlight, start the dance!”

They chanted together letting the magic build in the air with every word they said. What they expected to happen with Beefy Bob being granted a temporary simulacra of life didn’t occur. What actually did happen was the Owl House began to shake violently. Lilith fell off the couch being taken by surprise while Nana once more fell flat on her face. Amity and Luz ended up safe in Willow’s arms while Gus tried to steady himself as best he could. Some things fell off their shelves and onto the floor and Amity also heard a couple of things break because of the tremors.
When the tremors stopped everyone got to their feet to see what had happened. Miss Lilith examining the scene with a narrowed gaze then began to make her way over to the front door. She opened the door and gaped at what she saw. “Oh my word.” she muttered in shock. Everyone else walked over to see what was so surprising and when thy got there Amity understood Miss Lilith’s shock.
The Owl House was suddenly a lot higher up than it was a couple of minutes ago, to the point they could see over the treeline. Instead of animating Beefy Bob they somehow managed to animate the house instead. Miss Lilith walked out looked over the ledge and promptly walked back inside. She shut the door behind her and turned to the rest of the group. “Well you’ve somehow managed to animate the house and give it legs. So good job on that front.” Her praise while dry was sincere.
“Uh how do we put the house back cause Eda’s not going to be very happy with her house being so high up.” Luz asked sounded a bit worried about what they just did. Which was fair enough Amity wouldn’t be too happy if some kids animated her house if she was in Eda’s shoes.
Hooty then slithered in, breaking a window in the process, his eyes glowing with the bright light of the moon. “Hoot. By the power of the moon I have risen. Hoot. Hoot.” His voice had an odd echo to it like he was talking to them through a tunnel.
“Uh Hooty could you maybe, oh I don’t know, put the house back?” Luz asked the house demon. Said house demon didn’t respond and just sat there his eyes still glowing. “Uh Hooty?”

Lilith clapped her hands together to get everyone’s attention. “Right so in order to get Hooty and the house back on the ground you’ll need to hold hands again because you all animated the house which means you all play a part in controlling the house.” The four witches proceeded to do so.
“Hooty can you please put the house back?” Luz asked and Hooty nodded.

“Sure thing.” Hooty replied as the house once more began to shake. Looking out the window allowed Amity to see that the house was slowly but surely descended. When the shaking came to a stop everyone let out a sigh of relief.

“Wait how do we let Hooty out of the spell?” Gus asked. Everyone else turned to Lilith to see if she had an answer for their situation.

“Honestly I don’t know. I’ve never heard of someone animating something like a house demon before.” Lilith admitted before adding on. “But the spell typically wears of about after an hour so Hooty should be fine by then.” Before anyone could comment Hooty suddenly fell asleep. “What in blue blazes?” Lilith murmured as she moved closer to Hooty to examine him. Amity followed her teacher’s gaze and found she was looking at some sort of dart protruding from Hooty’s body. Amity’s best guess it was full of a very strong sedative considering how large they could be if you counted the house they were attached as part of their body. Not long after Lilith had caught sight of the first dart a second dart was fired. This one right into Lilith’s shoulder. “Well that’s just-.” Her complainant was left unfinished as she, like Hooty, fell dead asleep. Thankfully her fall was cushioned by the unconscious Hooty.

All the witches looked at each other. Willow and Gus like Amity had worried looks on their faces. Worried at the fact that both the house demon and the oldest witch in the house were both currently asleep in a pile on the floor. Luz on the other hand had a determined look on her face. There was a hint of worry yes but Luz seemed so brave right about now. It was reassuring to Amity it was like she had something like this happen to her before.

Luz looked out the window looking off into the distance. There was a hiss as she caught sight of something. “Demon Hunters.” Luz growled causing everyone else to stiffen. Amity cursed in the privacy of her own thoughts. This was not good in the slightest. “They must be after Hooty.”

“What do we do Luz?” Gus asked his voice tremoring slightly.
“Simple we stop them.” Luz made it sound so simple. From the glimpses Amity could catch the demon hunters both were much bigger than them and outnumbered them. “We’re all pretty powerful in our own right.” Luz’s face softened at her friend’s worried looks. “I promise you I’ll let nothing bad happen to any of you.” There was a sense of grief in those words.

Slowly but surely Amity felt a growing sense of courage. “What’s the plan?” she asked. Luz smiled as she began to outline her plan. After hearing it Willow and Gus smiled feeling more at ease now they had a plan.

Now they just had to put it into action.

- - - -

Raine walked alongside Eda to a place they had never been to before. They walked in the gentle twilight to the Night Market. The Night Market was a place of ill repute that Belos had tried to destroy several times but the occupants were very good at running and hiding eventually causing Belos to give up on that idea. Raine could see that various stalls had been set up selling many things that were either illegal or very frowned upon. Eda moved through the crowd with the ease of purpose searching for Grimm hammer’s stall. Many of the stalls didn’t have any names attached probably to make it harder to identify who was there in case of a raid.

The crowd Eda and Raine were currently in was filled with many people wearing cloaks to hide their features. Raine kept a wary eye out just in case anyone wanted to start something but it seems Eda’s reputation was a great deterrent.

Eventually Eda found a stall that had a great big ostentatious sign proclaiming it to belong to the person they were looking for. Eda squared her shoulders and marched right on in Raine right by her side. “Hi there.” Eda greeted as she entered the tent. “I heard you can get ahold of just about anything.” King who had been asleep up till this point had woken up and he began to look around to sell all that Grimm Hammer had in stock.

“That’s right. I’m Tibblet-Tibblie Grimm Hammer III but you can call me Tibbles.” said the small porcine demon with a smile on his face. “How may I help you?”

“You wouldn’t happen to have a curse suppressing elixir on hand would you?” Tibbles nodded his head.

“I just got some in stock. Let me go get it for you.” Tibble jumped from his seat and walked to the back of his stall. He came back with a box full of elixirs and from a glance Raine guessed there were about 20 bottles in there. “That’ll be 1000 snails....”
Eda began to reach for her wallet. “each.” Eda stopped reaching for her wallet.

“What no way to they cost that much!” Eda protested in outrage. “Morton charges me 10 snails per bottle! This is highway robbery.” What the heck is a highway? Not important focus! “What kind of game are you playing here?”

Tibbles laughed like a cruel bully. “Now now I’m playing the game of capitalism where everyone wins except for you.” Tibbles placed the box behind him so Eda couldn’t just grab it off the counter. “Now unless you willing to pay get out.”

Eda’s eye darted back and forth as she tried to think of something. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of a pack of hexes hold em cards. “How about a bet?” she asked with a dangerous trill in her voice. Raine felt a shiver go down their spine.

Tibbles leaned closer clearly interested in what Eda was about to say. “What kind of bet?” Greed was filling his tone like a flooded canyon.

“Three games of hexes hold em. Winner takes all what do you say?” Raine hoped Eda knew what she was doing. Eda mouthed to them to not worry and go on her signal. Raine gave the slightest hint of a nod showing they understood her.

“I agree.”

The game was afoot.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12

Eda may have been a hexes hold em champion back in the day. The problem with her plan was just one itty bitty problem and that was she had basically forgotten how to play. She looked at her opening hand to she what she could do and found that she had basically bricked. One of her cards could be used to get things going as long as Tibbles didn’t have any counter plays. She looked at her deck before looking at Tibbles who was thinking deeply on what his first move should be.

But it currently wasn’t Eda’s turn at the moment which gave her the time to think about her next move. Then she realised what she should do. She should cheat. Besides if Tibbles didn’t want her to cheat he should have said so. Rookie mistake. “I set one creature face down and set three traps face down.” Tibbles said as he made his first move. As time went on Eda began to remember how to play bit by bit. It looked like Tibbles played a stall deck. Eda scowled she hated facing against stall decks when she was a kid and she hated facing them as an adult. She preferred a sort of blitzing strategy, hit hard and hit fast.

It was her turn. She drew another card from her deck. She knew she needed to cheat but how? Oh whatever she’s sure she’ll think of something. “I summon the vegan unicorn in attack position.” she said as she played her only monster she had on hand. “I activate its effect. I discard one spell in order to draw a card.” she discard a spell card that wouldn’t be very useful at the moment in order to draw a card. She looked at the card she had just drawn and smiled.

“What’s got you so happy?” Tibbles asked immediately wary of Eda’s smile. As he should be, Eda thought.

“This is why. I play typhoon and I bet you know what that does.” Tibbles scowled as his back row was destroyed by her spell leaving only his face down monster as his only defence. “Right then my vegan unicorn attacks your monster.” Said unicorn trampled towards the face down monster and attempted to gore said monster. Unfortunately for Eda the defence rating of Tibbles’ monster was the same as her monster’s attack rating which means a stalemate. No winners no losers.

“My my guess that bluster was all for nothing.” Oh she’ll show him alright. “My face down shadow boxer’s effect activates. Send the top card of your deck to the abyss.” Eda did so and saw that her next card would have been useful is could have drawn the damn thing. He laughed uproariously and for a brief moment taking his eyes off the game and more importantly his eyes off of Raine. Eda pointed at the box of elixirs and Raine gained an understanding look in their eyes. They nodded their head and waited for Eda to do her thing, She swapped two useless cards with the top two cards and saw that they would make victory a certainity. Just as long she played her cards right. Tibbles stopped laughing and turned his attention back to the game. “Well what’s your next move Owl Lady? Your attack failed and you march closer to your doom.” Melodramatic much?

What Tibbles didn’t expect was for Eda to smile cockily. “Don’t worry Tibbles I grasp victory from you within three moves.” Okay so she was lying through her teeth but Tibbles didn’t know that now did he? There were two main ways to win in hexes hold. One way was to bring your opponent’s life down to zero and the other was to empty your opponent’s deck meaning they couldn’t play the game due to being unable to draw a card. Neither way was currently possible for Eda currently. But those two ways weren’t the only ways to win there were a handful of cards that had instant win conditions that could win you the game. None of which Eda actually had but if Tibble believed that she did have them it just make him sloppy enough for her to get her prize.

“What how?!? They’re supposed to be impossibly rare! How do you have any of them?” Tibbles ranted. Eda just smiled smugly at him which just infuriated him more. “I’ll defeat you completely and utter Owl Lady! You hear me? Completely and utterly?” Eda, while Tibbles was losing his marbles and not paying any attention to his surroundings, cast a small barely noticeable illusion on Raine. It wasn’t something that impressive it just made whatever it was cast on just fade into the background but Raine had the knack for sneaking around. One thing people didn’t really consider about bards is that they can do more than just make noise they can diminish or redirect it where they please. Raine did so by casting a couple of bard spells making their steps as light as the wind and as quiet as an echo mouse. They made their way to where Tibbles had stowed the elixirs and cast the same noise cancelling spell on the crate so moving it wouldn’t make a racket. “I am Tibbles and I will not be denied my victory over one such as you! You hear me!? My victory will not-” Eda had long tuned him out and tuning back in on the odd occasion to see he was still. Fucking. Talking. Eda wanted to bang her head on the counter but knew that doing so would be a bad idea. She needed all the brains cells she could get. Also she did not want to experience getting a concussion again. That sucked.

Raine gently picked up the crate. Its contents sloshed quietly as they did so. They slowly made their way to the back exit crate in hand. Tibbles didn’t notice a thing as Raine left the stall. Eda smiled like that cat that got the canary. “Why-? Why are you smiling like that?”

“Well Tibbles. Looks like the deal is off. Your elixir was fake wasn’t it? Illusions smoke and mirrors. Just a scam to lure in vulnerable witches like me?” she tutted at the small pink demon. “Shame on you Tibbles shame on you.” While Eda was saying all this she was laughing her ass off internally.

“What are you talking about-?” Tibbles turned to see that the crate of elixir was gone. “What this can’t be?” he turned towards Eda fury reddening his face. “What did you do?” he growled at Eda making her want to growl back at him. However she resisted the urge and just smiled at him like she was completely innocent of all wrong doing.

She raised her hands up in false surrender. “I did nothing.” she lied with zero shame or hesitation. “I just looked and found that it was gone.” she lied as easy as she breathed. “You must be a really shitty illusionists huh?” she asked him as she delighted in his incandescent rage. She actually had no idea what magic he was actually good at not did she care. While Eda was doing this King was snickering at seeing what was happening. “Well since the thing I want from you isn’t real I’m going to take my leave.” She started to gather her cards ignoring Tibbles’ protests.

“We still have our bet. You have no choice but to play all three games!” Tibbles protested like an idiot.

“Do I really?” Eda asked with a raised eyebrow before punching his lights out. As Tibbles saw circling stars Eda had one final thing to say to him. “You should have gotten that in writing.” Or a binding oath but Eda wasn’t going to tell him stuff like that. As she picked King up and placed him back in his harness. “Come on let’s head on home.”

“Yeah sounds good.” King looked up at her with admiration shining in his golden eyes. “You were so cool!” King mimed her punching Tibbles in the face.

Eda laughed as she gave King a quick scratch on his head. “Thanks buddy.” she said as she left Tibbles behind counting stars.

Now was the time to meet up with Raine and then they could all go home. Honestly she wanted a hot cup of tea and to curl up in her nest. That sounded like heaven right about now. She could feel the owl beast agree in a somewhat sleepy manner.

It didn’t take Eda and King to long to find Raine. They hadn’t gone too far. “Hey Rainestorm.” Eda greeted as she found the bard. Raine turned around and greeted her with a small smile.

“Hey yourself Calamity.” Raine replied as they handed Eda the crate of Elixirs. “I believe this belongs to you.”

“Thank you very much.” Eda replied as she grabbed hold of the crate before manoeuvring it into her hair for safekeeping. She was not going to carry that thing home.

“You’re quite welcome.” said Raine. “Where to next?”

“Next up is home.” Eda said fighting the urge to yawn. “Let’s-. Let’s hope the kids didn’t make too much of a mess.” She wouldn’t mind a small mess. Kids weren’t exactly known for being tidy after all. A prime example of that would herself as a kid. Her room was a mess that she hardly ever cleaned even when she had been meaning to get round to it. Now that she thinks of it she’s only a little better now she’s an adult.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine. They seem like good kids.” Raine said to her reassuringly.

“Even good kids can make a mess.” Eda pointed out. “Like the time Lilith blew up the potions lab.” It turns out not wearing your glasses when you need precise measurements was a bad idea. Who knew?

Raine laughed as they recalled that incident. Thankfully no one was hurt but it took a week to repair all the damage Lilith accidentally caused. “Oh right she did do that. What was she brewing that resulted in her blowing up the potions lab?”

“Honestly can’t remember it was so long ago.” Eda said truthfully.

“Yeah it was.” Raine said with a hint of wistfulness. “It’s so strange that we’re adults now. It felt like we were going to be young for a long time you know?” It felt just yesterday Eda was the terror of Hexside and now she was the Owl Lady the most wanted witch on the Boiling Isles.

“Yeah I get what you mean. Time seemed to zip on by.” Eda looked up at the gentle night sky with a sombre smile on her face. “But even so I’m going to enjoy the time I have in this world.” Almost instinctively Eda held out her hand. Raine on the same wavelength as Eda grasped it with one of their own.

“I like the sound of that.”

King looking between Eda and Raine nodded his head like he figured out some mystery. “Eda and Raine are flirting.” he proudly declared so sure of his deduction.

“We are not!” was the combined reply of Eda and Raine.

- - - -

The demon hunters surrounding the Owl House were the picture of professionalism and skill. They’ve hunted from down on the feet to up to the collarbone. They had hunted many demons of all shapes and sizes. Their latest prey was the Owl lady’s house demon.

“Do we have any more drugged darts?” asked the one holding a blowpipe. He had hit both the house demon and the oldest occupant of the Owl house. He could see about four witchlets in the house looking out briefly before ducking out of sight.

“Nope only had the two.” replied the one who handed him the darts in the first place. Blowpipe looked incredulous at hearing that. “What?” the other one said defensively. “The mixture we use ain’t cheap ya know!”

“She’s right you know. If you want something that will knock out just about anything you’re going to need to spend the money to do so.”

“Oh whatever. There’s about four kids in the house. What should we do about since someone,” Blowpipe gave a meaningful glance at a certain someone who will go unnamed, “didn’t mention we only had the two knock out darts?”

Tom raised his hand energetically a bright smile on his face. Everyone else sighed knowing what Tom was going to suggest. “What is it Tom?” Blowpipe sighed as he called out to the only one who seemed to have anything close to a suggestion. Annoyingly.

“We can tie them up and toss off a cliff.” Blowpipe had to resist the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. Tom continued with his ‘suggestion.’ “Come on guys you wouldn’t stop a man from fulfilling his dream of tossing kids off a cliff would you?” Blowpipe was honestly just tempted to tie Tom up and toss him off a cliff.

“Why-? Why are you like this?” someone asked him with a faint hint of horror in their voice.

“I was a strange child with stranger dreams.” Why did they work with him again? Oh right he was a very competent hunter when he wasn’t trying to toss kids off a cliff.

“You really were.” said a voice that none of them recognised. The demon hunters all turned to see that one of the witchlets had somehow snuck up on them. She was sitting on a tree branch up above the group giving them a wave as they saw her. She was a slight girl with tanned skin and wearing an outfit that reminded Blowpipe of the Good Witch Azura. Not that he read those or anything. His kids liked the books Okay?!? “Hiya. I’m giving you one chance to leave. Refuse and you’ll regret it.” her only response was the demon hunters laughing at her. “Well have it your way then.” She whistled loudly and all hell began to break lose.

One by one the demon hunters began to be pulled into the ground as mouths, lined with fangs, opened beneath them. They screamed as the earth dragged them down into the depths. Blowpipe looked back to the young girl was sitting and found that she was gone. It was like she was never there. He blinked before turning and deciding that this was not worth it. He began to run as his fellow hunters some who managed to dodge the initial assault joined him in running for their lives. The air was full of screams as one by one they fell. His heart was racing from his fear. His mouth was dry. His eyes darted frantically as he ran. The forest grew darker and darker.

He ran but the earth came alive and snared his ankle causing him to fall flat on his face. He could see the shambling creature before his world became dark. It was like the soil itself was trying to drag them down. The shambling creature was made of muck and earth and decay. It bubbled and frothed with decay.

When he came to he found himself in a pile of groaning demon hunters who looked like they had seen better days. He got up and surveyed his surroundings. They were the edge of the forest where the Owl lady lived. He counted the bodies and found that everyone was still firstly alive which was a relief and secondly everyone was here. Which was great.

He looked to the forest and saw the girl. She was just standing there. The girl was wrong. Her smile too wide. Her teeth too sharp. Where was the rest of her face? The girl waved at him. Blowpipe knew that for certain that the forest was cursed. It hated. It hated those who trespassed like they did. He shivered as the girl was gone in the blink of an eye. Maybe... Maybe he should consider a change in careers.

He would wait for the others to pick themselves up. That night the Owl house and the forest would gain rumours about the very land itself was alive and cursed. No one knew where the rumours came from in the first place but it would help deter unwanted guests.

- - - -

As the demon hunters picked themselves up and beat a hasty retreat Amity had to admit the sight of Luz in an Azura like outfit was amazing. Even more amazing was seeing Luz transform in a flash of light. Amity had the resist the urge to squeal in joy at the sight.

The plan was a simple one. Luz would give the demon hunters a chance to leave and if they didn’t take the next step was for Willow to control the roots of nearby trees and drag as many demon hunters as she could grab with Gus using an illusion to make it look like giant mouths were eating them. Amity would use some of her abominations to catch any stragglers and ensure that now got away. After retrieving all the demon hunters they would carry them out and drop them on the edge of the forest. After Luz gave them a friendly wave she turned to the rest of them with a smile on her face. “Good job everyone.” she praised them. Amity’s heart fluttered strangely at being praised. “Let’s head back. I don’t think we’ll be seeing them again anytime soon.” After saying that she let out a small yawn causing Amity to yawn as well. Wow did she want to curl up in her sleeping bag and sleep or what?

“Uh Luz could you tell us what was with the costume change and stuff?” asked a slightly out of breath Gus. Honestly Amity found it impressive on how many illusions he had up at one time as well as how convincing they seemed to be. Also Amity really wanted to know about the costume change as well. She wished she could magical change into Hecate’s outfit whenever she wanted. It would be so cool, she thought to herself imagining changing into Hecate’s dress whenever she wanted. She also pictured her and Luz dressing up as Hecate and Azura with a small blush as she did so. She would regret that thought in the not too distant future and was very glad she didn’t say it aloud.

“Well Willow already knows and I trust you two not to spread this around.” Luz looked at Gus and Amity with a dead serious look on her face. “Got it?” Amity and Gus nodded their heads the both of them sensing how serious Luz was.

“Yeah.” “Perfectly understood.” they said in unison. As quickly as the serious expression appeared on Luz’s face it disappeared just as fast. It was replaced by a small smile happy to see they were serious.

“Good to hear.” with that said Luz launched into her explanation into what she actually was. She was a magical girl and Amity listened intently to Luz’s explanation. Apparently girls in the human realm could be approached by a wish granter named Kyubey who would grant them one wish. The cost of their wish would be fighting for the rest of their lives. They either died to the monsters they fought or became the very monsters they faced. They were constantly living on borrowed time and constantly needed to purify their gem in order to live another day. Luz said that her gem was being passively purified while on the Boiling Isles which caused the other three to let out a sigh of relief.

As Luz was explaining all this there was a hint of loneliness and bitterness in her voice. It honestly struck a chord with Amity. Even in a group of your peers one could easily feel loneliness. Amity did when hanging out with her so called ‘friends.’ They had very in common in regards to passions and interests. Amity also felt bitter in regards to her situation and she had a feeling Luz had a similar level of bitterness in regards to her own situation. Honestly Amity understood being bitter about something you couldn’t really change.

But things did change didn’t they? She was no longer sleeping in Blight Manor. Mother was in prison. She was on the track to fixing things with Willow. She was beginning to become friends with Luz. Maybe it wasn’t going to be a permanent solution but still it was a change to her status quo.

Maybe she could help Luz.

But how?

She mulled it over as they all walked back to the Owl house.

She didn’t come up with any grand solutions.

It would lay in the back of her mind until she could thing of something.

For now Amity decided she would be there to support Luz as best she could.

- - - -

Lilith woke up feeling the most rested she had felt in years which was weird. Also her mouth was a bit dry, her arms were a bit numb and she was laying on the living room floor with Nana and Mike Socks looking down at her with a concerned look in their eyes. “Are you okay?” Nana asked as she poked Lilith with her marshmallow like limb. Behind Nana Lilith could see Hooty with a dust pan and brush cleaning up shards of broken glass. Mike Socks on seeing she was awake moved closer to her to comfort her. Lilith was grateful for her palisman.

“I’m fine honestly.” Lilith blinked to get some gunk in her eye out. “What happened? Why am I on the floor?” She looked around and saw that apart from Nana and Hooty there was no one else in the room. She felt a small jolt of panic shout down her spine. “Where are the kids?” she asked somewhat shrilly. Eda was going to kill her and she had every right to do so.

“You and Hooty got hit with some sort dart that knocked you out. Apparently it was demon hunters.” Nana started to explain as she started to knead Lilith’s side trying to soothe Lilith slightly. Lilith gave an angry hiss at hearing the face demon hunters had attacked them. She had heard rumours about their code of conduct and none of them were good. “Luz, Willow, Gus and Amity went out to scare them off.” Objectively she knew the kids would be fine they had a good head on their shoulders and were decently powerful. But it didn’t really stop the instinctive panic at hearing the children she was charged with looking after and protecting were tangling with people like demon hunters.

Before Lilith could rocket to her feet and find out where the kids went she could hear the sound of light foot steps coming in the front door. Lilith propped herself up despite the fact her arms still feeling like they were asleep. Nana and Mike Socks shifted back slightly to give Lilith room to manoeuvrer herself. She gave a sigh of relief as she saw the four kids were tired but unharmed. “Hey we’re back.” Luz said before zeroing on Lilith. “Are you okay?” Lilith felt touched by her niece’s concern.

“I am Luz. Thank you for asking.” Lilith tried to stand up and managed to do so. She was still a bit wobbly. So she quickly made her way over to the nearest chair and collapsed in it. Mike Socks flew up to perch himself on the arm of the chair. “What about you are you unharmed?” They may looked unhurt to Lilith but there easily could be injuries she couldn’t see.

“We’re unharmed Miss Lilith.” Amity said much to Lilith’s very obvious relief. Amity seemed to look for injuries on Lilith as well and seemed content with what she saw if her sigh of relief was anything to go off of.

“Yeah we’re fine.” Gus said with a small huff of breath as he also sat down on a free seat. Luz and Willow plopped themselves down on the sofa. Amity joined them not long after. She leant on Luz’s side while Willow sat on her other side. Nana joined in by jumping onto Willow’s lap. After pacing in circles a few times Nana settles down on Willow’s lap and starts to purr.

“We managed to scare them off.” Luz began to explain only to get interrupted by the sound of everyone’s stomach rumbling in unison. Luz laughed at hearing that. “How about we get something to eat?”

Lilith sighed as her leg started to bounce up and down with a frenetic energy. She tried to get it to stop. She didn’t have much luck and so she just had to wait for her leg to stop on its own. “I don’t know about you but I don’t really feel up to cooking at the moment.” She got a chorus of agreements from the children. “Does anyone know the number of a good take out place?” The children shook their heads. Amity she knew for a fact Odalia wouldn’t eat anything like fast food or take out or let her children do so. She would likely see as unbecoming. Even back during their stint at Hexside Odalia was dismissive of anything she deemed lesser or for the poor. The fact Alador married her in the first place still never failed to baffle her. Then again things like romance always alluded her at the best of times.

Hooty, who had just been hammering some board and nails over the window he broke, piped up. “I’ve got a good place a friend of mine works at. Just give me a second.” He swallowed the hammer he had just been using. Where it went Lilith did not want to know. He then wiggled his was over to Lilith just before he coughed up a menu on her lap. Everyone just had disgusted looks on their faces at what Hooty just did. Lilith wanted to punch the house demon but knew from reports of the scouts who encountered Hooty that would be a very bad idea. Some of the stories she had heard sometimes kept her up at night. There was also the ever present guilt about what she did to Eda and self loathing and sometimes even her insomnia. But still her point stills stands.

Lilith before she picked up the menu cast a quick spell to ensue that everything was clean. She gingerly picked up the menu and began to scan what it had to offer. She idly noted the prices and found them to be quite affordable. Hooty who had snaked his way so he could read over her shoulder. “A friend of mine owns the place.” he explained with a small smile on his face. “She’s great I think you’ll like her.” Everyone looked surprised to hear that Hooty had a friend who ran a restaurant. “What?” he asked. “I have my own adventures too ya know!” Lilith dared not think about what would constitute an adventure to the house demon. “Anyway I recommend the noodles they’re really really good.” With his advice given Hooty retracted himself back to the front door.

After Hooty returned to his post the kids got up and crowded around Lilith so they all could look at the menu and see what they would like. After about ten or so minutes of discussion everything was decided and Lilith rang the number atop the menu on the crow phone.

“Hello this is Jackie how may I help you?” the voice on the other side of the line was soft and professional. Lilith liked her already.

“Hello Jackie I’m Lilith and Hooty recommended you to me and I would like to place an order.” Lilith replied.

Jackie’s voice gained a hint of fondness at hearing Hooty’s name. “How is the old bird? I haven’t had the chance to talk with him for a long while.” There was a story behind the two knowing each other but honestly Lilith didn’t think it was any of her business. Honestly she was more focused on ordering food.

“Well he seems fine after both of us had been drugged by demon hunters.” Lilith said hearing an angry curse on the other side of the call. Seems Jackie might have heard similar rumours.

“Are you okay?” Jackie asked with a slight hint of concern. “I heard they tend to use a pretty potent mixture to drug their prey. I know for a fact they use things like concentrate of sleeping nettles and dozing pitchers’ leaves in their mixture.” Lilith knew the effects of sleeping nettles from memory. It was a very useful sleeping aid that helped people get to sleep when they had difficulties doing so. Dozing nettles she had heard of but she didn’t really know any details about the plant.

“I’m fine.” Lilith said. “For the most part anyway. Things are a bit tingly at the moment. Mostly in my arms.” she admitted. “What goes the leaves of a dozing pitcher do? I’m not quite familiar with that plant.”

“Right right. As long as it’s just your arms you should be fine. But if the tingling doesn’t stop or it starts to spread get yourself to a healer as soon as you can.” Something told Lilith Jackie had personal experience with the plant. “Basically we used to use dozing pitchers in sleeping potions before we realised that it could easily force the entire body to shut down if the dosage was wrong.” That would certainly do it.

“I will.” Lilith promised. “Now can I make my order?”

“Sure sure let me just get my notepad.” There was the sound of rustle stationary as Jackie searched for a notebook she could use. “Right lay it on me.” Lilith proceeded to do so, ordering enough for everyone and just a bit extra just in case. “Right it’ll take about an hour or an hour and a half before I deliver you order. That sound good to you?”

“Indeed. Thank you very much.”

“You’re welcome see you in a bit.” Jackie said as she hung up the call.

Lilith put down the crown phone on its perch before she stretched her arms high above her head. It helped a bit as the tingling in her arms started to die down. “Well dinner should be here in about an hour.” Lilith said to the children (and Nana) in the room.

“Sounds good to me.” Luz said as everyone returned to where they were sitting before.

The door opened once more. Everyone turned to look and see who it was and saw that Raine, Eda and King were back. “Can anyone please explain why we came across the demon hunters we saw this morning? And why they all broke out crying when they saw me?” Eda asked sounding somewhat confused.

“It’s true.” Raine piped up. “It was honestly really really weird. One even fainted.” Honestly Lilith had to agree. Eda really wasn’t really the type to make people cry at the mere sight of her... she thinks anyway.

“They bow in fear of Eda’s power.” King cackled before getting a gentle tap on the head from Eda. “Oh sorry. No cackling after eight pm.”

“Yeah no that’s not it.” Eda said before turning to see the boarded up window. “Also who broke the window?” she asked with a touch on annoyance.

“Hooty.” everyone collectively announced basically throwing the house demon to the slitherbeast as it were. Eda sighed as if she was expecting that answer.

“Yeah I should have figured. But also can someone please explain what happened?” Eda asked. Luz decided to be the one who explained what had happened. As she did so singing the praises of the other three witches for what they did. Amity and Willow blushed most impressively at that Lilith noted idly. Eda’s expression went all over the spectrum from anger at the demon hunters, to laughing at what Luz and her friends did to pride at how well they did so. “Good jobs kids.” Eda praised the kids who all looked quite happy to hear that. “I’m proud of you.” Luz looked especially happy at hearing Eda was proud of her. Lilith could understand where that sort of felling was coming from. Hearing that your mother was proud of you was an amazing thing to hear. Not that she would know she hadn’t seen or talked to her mother in years. Yes she is still bitter about it. What about it?

“Also Edalyn I’ve ordered and paid for some take out so you don’t need to cook tonight.” Lilith said.

“Oh thanks Lily. That’s really kind of you.” Eda said sincerely. “Besides honestly I’m not in the mood to cook tonight anyway.”

“It’s the least I can do Edalyn.”

“But still thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

As Raine and King sat down on the same couch Willow, Luz and Amity were on, Eda looked thoughtfully at the seating arrangement. “Probably should get some more seats huh?” she mused to herself before reaching into her hair and pulling out a fold out chair. With a snap of her wrist the chair unfolded allowing Eda to sit herself down. She smiled fondly at the sight of her living room being so lively and Lilith found that she missed moments like these. Soon everyone started to talk and laugh and joke filling the room with a gentle hum of conversation.

She could remember the hustle and bustle of her childhood. The two sisters going from one misadventure to the next. The house full of lively discussion about any topic they could think of as they went about their day. She hoped that moments like these would last. “What are you thinking about Lily?” Eda asked as she noticed her sister’s thoughtful look.

“Just thinking about how lively things are here.”

“Yeah they really are.” Eda smiled as Gus was regaling Luz with stories about his human oddities collection. He occasionally asked what each thing did and Luz quite happily answered his questions.

Eventually there was a knock at the door. “The foods here.” Lilith noted as she got up from her seat. Honestly she felt a lot better now. Which was good because she didn’t want to deal with the late night healers.

She got to the door and could hear the faint sound of conversation that ceased as she got to the door. Lilith opened the door and was greeted by someone who was a good head taller than she was. She peered up and saw a tanned face lit up with a soft and gentle smile. She had blue hair with the occasional silver streak as well as soft blue eyes. Lilith looked down, feeling a touch embarrassed for staring, and noticed “You must be Jackie.” Lilith said.

Jackie nodded her head. “That’s right.” She held up two bags in one hand. “Here’s your food.” she said as she handed Lilith the two bags. Lilith gratefully received them and noticed they smelt quite delicious. After receiving the bags Lilith reached into her pocket and got out her wallet in order to pay what she owed. “Thank you have a good night now.” Jackie said as she began to leave. “it was nice meeting you.” She nodded her head in Hooty’s direction. “See you later Hooty.”

“See ya Jackie!” Lilith shut the front door and made her way over with food in hand.

“I’ve got dinner.” Lilith stated somewhat unnecessarily. She handed one of the bags to Eda.

“Who was that?” Eda asked as she began to take the take out containers from the bag.

“Hooty’s friend who owns a restaurant apparently.” Lilith replied as she began to do the same thing as Eda.

“Huh learn something new everyday.” Eda sounded a touched bemused at that.

Soon everyone got something to eat. Everyone sat down and enjoyed dinner. Lilith ate until she was full. She enjoyed the simple luxury of having a nice hot meal. Often her duties to the Emperor’s coven meant she had to eat the rations they gave them because she didn’t have the time to sit down and cook something for herself. Honestly the rations weren’t that bad. They didn’t taste bad it was more like they didn’t really taste like anything. But they were quick and easy to prepare which meant they were perfect for someone who could be as busy as Lilith could be.

As she slurped up a mouthful of piping hot noodles she found that Hooty’s recommendation was a good one. They were delicious.

- - - -

Eventually the children and Lilith made themselves comfortable and drifted off to sleep. Raine had gone upstairs to get themself ready for bed which just left Eda the only one still awake in the room. The lights in the kitchen was still on allowing Eda to finish with tidying up everything from dinner. The rest of the lights were off casting things into a gentle and quiet gloom. Lilith was sleeping in the couch once more and that reminded Eda should get Hooty to expand the Owl House tomorrow. She had enough junk she could use to do so. Hooty if allowed to consume enough materials could use them to expand the house and create more rooms. Eda had done it a couple of times since she first moved in. The first time was to create a basement she could use for her potions lab and ensue King wouldn’t be able to wander in because at the time he was learning to walk. Eda didn’t want him getting into her potions or her supplies and causing a mess. King loved exploring as well as playing with new things. Add potentially volatile potions and ingredients to the mix and you had a recipe for disaster on your hands. Eda shuddered at the thought.

The second time was when she needed some more room to store the junk she planned to sell at her stall on market days. Now she was going to do it for the third time. Actually tomorrow would be the best day to do it as most of the kids would be at school and Raine would be at work. It would also help clear out some of the junk she had been meaning to get rid of. She had a slight habit of putting things like that off.

Eda then turned her attention to Luz and her friends. They had all settled down in their sleeping bags and drifted off to sleep. King was on the foot of Luz’s sleeping bag snoring away. Nana was on Greenie’s bad curled into a ball. The kids were sleeping seemingly without a care in the world. Eda had to smile at the sight she pulled out her scroll and took some photos with it. She made sure that it was quiet and there would be no flash that would disturb them. She looked at the photos she took and made sure to keep the best ones and delete the rest. After putting her scroll away she turned off the light plunging the kitchen into the gloom with the rest of the room.

One advantage of the curse she didn’t really talk about was the fact it granted her very good night vision. She could see in the dark a lot better than the average witch that was for sure. Admittedly she didn’t use it too often holding it in reserve just in case she needed it. Also she didn’t like reminding herself about how the curse had changed her body. The curse along with granting her better night vision also made her body fall apart like a doll, her joints constantly ached, it made her run warmer than the average witch as well as being a constant and steady drain on her magic. So yeah she didn’t like dwelling on that very much.

She gently padded her way over to Luz, making sure not to make a sound. Her experience with sneaking around helped her immensely in that regard. She bent down and kissed Luz on the head. “Good night kid. Sleep well.” Luz made some sort of mumbling sound before settling down again.

Eda stood herself up, feeling the creaking ache in her joints, and began to make her way to the stairs. She made sure to skip the stair that always creaked loudly if you stepped on it.

After making her way to the top of the stairs she could see that Raine had already fallen asleep in her nest. Their chest raised and lowered softy as the bard slept peacefully. At their feet the blanket was laying crumpled up, they must have kicked off in their sleep. It was a habit they had, kicking things like blankets off while they made themself comfortable. Eda softly chuckled at the sight and made her way to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, mentally noting to get Amity some necessities she would need of she was going to continue staying here. After doing her teeth and getting changed she quietly walked into her room. She settled herself down in her nest and pulled the blanket up over her and Raine. Raine instinctually moved closer to the walking heater that was Eda. She closed her eyes and let herself drift off.

She dreamed of the owl beast. It felt apologetic. It felt remorseful. She could feel the creature rest itself against her side. There was an unsaid apology. From who was hard to tell.

The night was a peaceful one.

Chapter Text

Chapter 13 Libraries are fun.

Morning had come and Eda was ready to expand the house for the third time in her life. Boots, Goops and Greenie were all at school. Raine was at work in the bard coven. Eda had to control her urge to scowl at that thought. Lilith was at the store apparently she wanted to get some necessities. Eda just realised that she could have asked Lily to take her books back if she was going into town. Oh well. Luz and King were at the ready.

All three were in the living room with Eda instructing them on how things were going to go down. “Right there’s some junk that I’ve been meaning to get rid of and this is the perfect chance to do so. We’ll take it up front so Hooty can have his fill and expand the house. Any questions?”

“Is there anything you don’t want us to get rid of?” Luz asked.

Eda thought about it for a while. “Anything that looks like it could fetch a good price on market day. So use your discretion okay?” Luz and King nodded their heads showing they understood. “Cool now let’s-.” Before Eda could finish her sentence there was a knock at the door. “Okay let me see who that is them we’ll start.”

Eda proceeded to walk up to the front door and opened it to find a woven basket. Inside there was something shifting underneath a red hand made blanket. Eda looked to see if she could see who left this at her doorstep. She had no such luck. Either they were very fast or very good at hiding. She picked up the basket and found that there was a note tucked into the basket. She pulled out the note and began to read it. Luz and King started to peer over her shoulder both of them curious as to what was going on. Eda pulled the blanket to reveal a sleeping baby bat. Next to said baby bat was a small bag that jingled as it moved.

Please take care of my child til morning. You will be handsomely rewarded. X-O-X-O-X-O-X Bat Queen. Said the note. Eda turned the note around to see that on the back was a list of foods the baby could stomach which made things a lot easier for them. She was not going to do trial and error on a fucking baby. Even someone like her had standards.

“Who’s the bat queen?” Luz asked as she kept an eye on the basket. She was looking at the baby with a curious gleam in her eye.

“She’s one of the richest demons on the Isles.” Eda began to explain to her kid. “She’s well know despite being a massive recluse. People say if you can get in with her you’ll be set for life.” She frowned, somewhat annoyed at the bad timing. “She sure picked a hell of time to do this.” she muttered.

“So it’s not an offering to you or food?” King asked with a tilt to his head.

“No King. No one’s eaten a baby since 1693.” Eda stated flatly. Maybe she shouldn’t have let him see that Baba Yaga show all those years ago. “Also who would want to make an offering to me of all people?” King shrugged unsure how to answer that question.

“Right so what are we going to do?” Luz asked a very good question. What were they going to do?

“Do you mind watching over the kid for a bit?” Eda asked. “King and I well get started on moving the junk as quietly as we can. Then I can take over after a bit.”

Luz snapped off a quick salute. “Sure thing.” Eda handed her the basket. Luz took the basket with a gentle hand. “Hey little one.” Luz murmured quietly as she made her way over to the couch. She sat down on the couch placing the basket next to her gently. The baby was still sleeping thankfully.

Eda turned her attention back to King. “Come on King let’s get to work shall we?”

King nodded his head. “Out abode shall be the greatest in the land.” he whispered not wanting to wake the baby as much as Eda did. Eda had no idea how to best look after a baby. Yes the money would be nice but Bat Queen had really poor timing. Then again Bat Queen wasn’t someone she knew particularly well in the first place. She had met her all of two times when crossover of the territory of the forest Bat Queen ruled over.

Eda laughed a bit at King’s quiet declaration. “It sure will be.” she said in agreement. “Come on buster let’s get to it.” King nodded his head. Time to get to work.

- - - -

Luz made sure to keep an eye on the currently sleeping baby. They kinda reminded her of when her cousin was a baby but you know if her cousin was some sort of bat demon. Okay so not quite the same thing but still. The baby snored and gave the occasional twitch. Was this species nocturnal like the bats of the human realm? If so they likely would wake up when the sun began to set. She was also curious to meet the Bat Queen as well. From the way Eda spoke of her it seems people didn’t come face to face too often. Also Luz loved Eda dearly but she really didn’t seem like the type to babysit babies. Which left Luz with a pressing question.

Why did Bat Queen leave her child with Eda in the first place?

She looked at the baby and hoped it held the answer to her question. Apart from being adorable she found nothing in the way of an actually answer.

Speaking of Eda she could see her carrying a broken plastic table in her arms. Two of its legs must have snapped of at some point because there were only two legs still attached to it. Behind her King was carrying what looked like the head of an anatomy dummy above his head which made sense because if he held in front of him it would have blocked his line of sight. Both of them were moving quieter than she expected which she greatly appreciated. She left them to it as she turned her attention back to the baby.

Who was still sleeping.

Luz decided to settle herself in and picked up one of the books that had been left on the table in front of her. She glanced at the cover and found that it seemed to be a book about the creatures that called the Boiling Isles home. She cracked open the book and began to read the first entry.

Entry 1: Apparitions.

These strange creatures can often be found in places such as graveyards and tombs where they lurk in search of their prey. They tend to be more common near the skull as well as the ankles. They resemble vague silhouettes of witches shrouded in a cloak of obscuring mist in their base state. Any attempt to disperse the mist has ended in failure and the very painful death of those who has attempted to do so. One can feel one moving closer by the small but noticeable drop in temperature. They can take the forms of one’s deceased loved ones. The mechanism on how they gain this information is unknown. Any attempt to test how they can learn this information has ended in failure.

They use this ability to make sure that their target lowers their guard. When they do they strike and consume their target’s soul by impaling the prey’s body with the hand of the target’s loved one. One theory as to why they disguise themself is that the sight of one’s lost loved one and them promptly attacking with weakens the target’s will to resist.

Luz shuddered as she read what apparitions did to people. She looked at her soul gem and rubbed it with her thumb. It was still here and she was fine. Also she probably wasn’t going to go visiting any graveyards and tombs any time soon.

They tend prefer to target people who are on their own but will attack groups if it feels threatened or is starving. Thankfully they have two key weaknesses. They cannot stand fire and they cannot stand bright light. It is now common practise to have all graveyards and tombs outfitted with torches that constantly lit every day of the year. The grave keepers ensue that the fire keeps on burning for the safety of all.

With the introduction of these measures fatalities and injuries attributed to apparitions have decreased severely but one still must take care just in case. It is hard to determine the population size because studying them tends to be perilous at best. It is also unknown if they are consumed by any other creature as most beasts tend to avoid areas they inhabit with great prejudice. No one is quite sure how exactly these creatures came to be but there are theories that they have some connection with Wraiths and Ghasts. Further research is required to prove or disprove these theories.

See also Wraith page 45. and Ghast page 12.

So Luz read through the book eagerly devouring everything she learned about the fauna of the isles. She made sure ever now and then to check on the baby. They were still asleep at the moment. As she did so King and Eda slowly but surely moved the junk they needed outside.

- - - -

It was the end of the school day and Amity was beside herself with nerves. She knew she need to do this but that didn’t stop her from feeling nervous. She hadn’t paid attention to many of her classes. She was currently waiting for Boscha at the grudgby pitch. The school had long been emptied out and most of the students had began to make their way home. Amity had her part time job in about an hour but she should be done before then.

Eventually Boscha turned up. There was no one else with her. Which meant it was just her and Amity. Her expression was a smug smile on seeing Amity. Boscha made her over to Amity. Amity took a deep breath in an attempt to settle her nerves.

Boscha came to a stop once she made her way over to where Amity was standing. “Well Blight what did you call me over to talk about?” Something about Boscha’s tone was almost expectant to Amity’s ears. What Boscha was expecting Amity had no idea but she was certainly not getting it.

Well better to just rip the band-aid off and get things over with. “I don’t want to be friends with you any more.” Boscha’s face fell at hearing Amity say that to her. “I was made to be friends with you by my mother.” She started Boscha right in her eyes. “I’m sorry but I can’t do this any more. I don’t like you and I don’t want to be friends with you. I’m sorry but I’m ending things here.” She stated not leaving any room for hesitation.

Boscha’s shock quickly turned to anger. “What the fuck do you mean Blight? Did nothing we did together mean anything? Playing grudgby together? All the sleepovers and the time we hung out together? Or putting half-a-witch in her place?” Amity scowled at hearing that nickname for Willow. Oh how she hated her past self for that stunt.

“No it didn’t. I enjoyed playing grudgby yes.” She would admit that grudgby was fun to play on the odd occasion she didn’t want that to be the sole focus of her life. “I had no choice but to be your friend. I hate the fact you kept picking on Willow. I hate that fact you think being the captain of the banshees means you get to walk over everyone in this school.” she asked Boscha a very pointed question. “Boscha how much do you actually know about me? Do you know my favourite colour? Do you know what kinds of books I like to read? Do you know what I like to eat?” She looked at Boscha with a meaningful glance. “Because all I know about you is that I hate how you treat others.” She honestly didn’t know much about Boscha’s likes and dislikes. Then again Amity wasn’t really paying any attention to things like that.

Boscha scowled as she tried to think of the right answers to Amity’s questions. She didn’t come up with any answers if the look on her face meant anything. “But you joined in too.” Boscha pointed out. “You were the one who came up with the name half-a-witch.” That was true but it was something Amity would deeply regret for a long long time.

“That may be so but I regret doing so for so long. I want to be a better person.” she declared with as much certainty she could muster. She wanted to be a good friend to Willow and to Luz. She hated Boscha’s habit of picking on those she deemed weak. Amity did nothing to stop it then. Now however she wasn’t going to let things continue on like this. “And I’ll give you one last piece of advice.” She glared at Boscha who took a step back at the strength of Amity’s glare. “Leave Willow and all the other people you bully alone or you’ll regret it. I will stop you.” she promised. She meant it too.

Boscha didn’t reply. Her face was like a kaleidoscope of emotion. It jumbled and twisted. It went from one emotion to the next. Before Amity started to leave so she could go to her library job Boscha began to reply to her. “Is Amity Blight suddenly too good for little ol me?” she asked Amity with a mocking cadence. Amity could have sworn she had seen tears in Boscha’s eyes but she wasn’t certain. “is Half a witch friends with you all of a sudden?” Her tone was mocking and full of her usual bite.

“No I don’t feel I’m too good for you.” Amity admitted honeslty. That bought Boscha to a stop. She was clearly surprised at hearing Amity’s answer. “I played a part in you bullying people and I do need to take responsibility for the people I helped hurt. I don’t want to be that cruel uncaring person any more. Willow was my friend yes and cutting her out of my life is one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I’ve apologised to her and have begun to make amends with her.” She looked at the time and regalised she really had to go soon if she wanted to be on time. “Look I’m sorry I had to do this. But it’s something I needed to do for myself.” She began to walk away. “Have a good life Boscha.” she said as walked away from her former friend.

Amity felt that things were just a little bit lighter and weighed her down a lot less than the used to. She still had problems sure but they felt a lot more manageable now. She left the school grounds and began to make her way to the library.

- - - -

“Have a good life Boscha.” Amity’s farewell echoed inside Boscha’s head. Why? Why did she do that to her? “Have a good life Boscha.”

Boscha stood there and stewed in her rage. How dare Blight? How dare she throw everything they had together away. She clenched her hands tight. Her nails dug into her palms. The pain was barely noticeable. “Have a good life Boscha.”

She stood alone at the grudgby pitch, the site of many of her triumphs. Amity was gone. She had left her. There was no one else here.

“Have a good life Boscha.”

So what if she didn’t know what Amity liked? So what if she didn’t know Amity’s favourite colour? So what if she didn’t know what books Amity liked to read? So what if Amity didn’t know anything about her? She just had to ask her.

So-?

So why didn’t she?

Boscha screwed her eyes up tightly. She didn’t want to cry. She had to be strong. She couldn’t show any weakness. She was strong, tough and fearless. She had to be. That was what her mothers taught her to be. She ignored the part that pointed out she didn’t ask Amity either.

“Have a good life Boscha.”

Boscha wanted to scream.

“Have a good life Boscha.”

She wanted to cry.

“Have a good life Boscha.”

She had no idea what to do next.

- - - -

Eda looked at the pile of junk she and King had placed out front. Eda was honestly impressed that both King and her managed to move so much junk without waking the baby. She determined that the pile they had would net them around three more rooms. One for Lilith, so she didn’t have to keep sleeping on the couch. One for Amity so she could have a space to call her her own. The third could be a guest room, to allow people to sleep over. Raine could also use it if they wanted to. The amount of junk would also make Luz’s room and the living room and kitchen a bit bigger.

Speaking of Luz she should check on her kid. See how she’s doing? “Right King I’m going to check on Luz and the baby. You keep an eye on the junk will ya? I’ll won’t be long.”

King nodded his head. “Sure thing Eda. I’ll make sure nothing gets by me.” Also Hooty would be there to protect King if anything goes wrong.

“Thanks bud.” Eda said as she walked through the front door. There was Luz reading a book. She was well over halfway through it from what Eda could see. Next to her was B.Q’s kid who was still asleep. Luz on hearing Eda walk over to her raised her head to see who it was. She smiled on seeing that it was Eda.

“Oh hey Eda. What’s up?” Luz asked as she used a scrap piece of paper as a bookmark.

“Well I’m taking over looking after the kid now.” Luz had been watching the kid for a while now and she needed a break. “We’re just about ready to expand the house. Which means I don’t want anyone inside when it happens.” Luz nodded her head seeing how serious Eda was being. “Good. Do you mind taking some of my library books back to the library?”

“Are you sure? I can still help.”

“Luz all we need to do now is let Hooty do his thing. Besides it’s good to take a break. Enjoy the library besides I’m pretty sure there’s something special going on at the library tonight.” Providing that she hadn’t gotten the date wrong of course. If she hadn’t, tonight would be the night of the wailing star. It was fun you get to literally see stories come to life. Eda fondly remembered the time she and Raine had snuck in to witness the wailing star. They had bought some of their favourite stories to life. The story of the wailing star was interesting to say the least. Some stories say it’s souls of the lost, travelling the cosmos and leaving magic in its wake. Some stories say that it was something created by the titan while they were alive. That they had created it so there was something to watch over those who came after, wailing for those who enjoy stories in all their forms. There was also a handful of stories that the wailing star was a punishment to some enemy of the titan, that they are forced to wander an eternity in the starry sky. Those tended to be more of a fringe belief in Eda’s experience. Whatever the truth was Eda didn’t really know but the one she liked the most was the idea of the Wailing star being created as a gift to those who loved stories.

“Okay Eda where are the books?” Eda pointed to the pile of books by the couch. “Ah. Well that makes it easy. Do you want me to get anything while I’m in town? Also what’s the special thing happening at the library?”

“Nah kid besides we’re going shopping soon anyway.” Eda replied as Luz stood up and picked up the pile of books in her arms. “I don’t want to spoil the surprise. Have fun at the library kid.” she said while Luz was heading out the door.

“I will Eda. Thanks!” Luz called back to her.

“You’re welcome kid.” Eda replied before she turned her attention to the sleeping baby. “Now to deal with you.” She gently picked up the basket and of course the kid starts to wake up as she did so. The baby’s eyes slowly blinked open and close slowly. They eventually caught sight of Eda’s face. The baby’s face began to screw up. “No no no no. Please don’t cry.” she gently pleaded to the baby.

Babies being babies aren’t usually one to listen to pleas. So the baby began to cry. Eda wanted to swear loudly and profusely. She hated her sensitve hearing at times like these. She managed to refrain. Thankfully they didn’t seem to want to fly out of the basket, at least for the moment. Eda had no idea how long that would last but she would take what she could get. She made sure her steps were even and quiet. While she was walking to the door. She tried to hum a lullaby in order to sooth the baby. It was a lullaby that her parents used on her and Lily back in the day. They sung it when they had trouble sleeping or when nightmares haunted their sleep.

It didn’t work.

The baby still cried. King covered his ears trying to minimise how much he heard. From his wincing he wasn’t having much success with how much noise there was not helping.

As she walked over where King was currently standing she tried singing the words of the lullaby. To see if that helped. Singing was something she didn’t do very often nowadays. She didn’t really like how her voice sounded.

“~When the light is running low~”

“~And the shadows start to grow~”

“~And the places that you know~”

“~Seem like fantasy~”

“~There's a light inside your soul~”

“~That's still shining in the cold~”

“~With the truth~”

“~The promise in our hearts~”

“~Don't forget~”

“~I'm with you in the dark~”

As Eda sang that old lullaby the baby started to settle and look at her with a curious gaze. Eda smiled, relived that they had stopped crying. She gently ruffled the top of Baby’s head. The baby leaned into it, letting Eda work her magic as she gently rocked them. “Hey glad I managed to help.” The baby cooed and began to clutch onto Eda’s arm. “Okay buddy not the best place for you to perch.” Her arm could fall off making the kid take an unneeded tumble. She scooped up the baby with her other arm and put the baby on her shoulder. She still gripped tightly on to the basket. They gripped on tightly which reminded Eda of the times King perched himself up on her shoulders. “There we go. Much better.” The baby seemed to agree if their happy cooing sounds meant anything.

“You used to sing that song when I was younger.” King noted. She did do that indeed. She used to sing this song to lull him to sleep. It was his favourite song and it never failed to soothe King to sleep.

“Yeah I did.”

“Why’da stop?”....That was a good question honestly? Why did she stop?

“Honestly I’m not sure.” She eventually admitted to her youngest kid. One day she just stopped singing around the house and she didn’t really know why.

“I think your singing voice sounds nice.” he praised her earnestly.

“Thanks King.” She smiled at hearing that.

“You’re welcome.” Maybe she could sing more often?

Eh she’ll see.

Eda shook her head as she got her brain back on task. “Right Hooty everyone’s out of the house. Go do your thing!” Eda said after making sure she, the kid and King were well away from Hooty or the junk pile. Didn’t want anything to happen if she could help it.

“Okie dokie Eda. Hooty ready for action.” the house demon said as he stretched out from the front door. As he reached the pile of junk he let his mouth engulf the pile. He started to swallow the pile making it smaller and smaller as he consumed more and more. Eda could see the occasional hint of the things Hooty was swallowing as it distended his body. Eda could see that both King and the baby had a look of awestruck horror at seeing Hooty do this. Yeah she had the same reaction the first she did this but she’s see much worse things than Hooty eating garbage. The house began to rumble and shake. Eda could hear the sound of grinding stone. She could hear the sound of creaking wood. She could see the Owl house slowly but surely expand from Hooty converting the raw materials into more rooms. Honestly Eda had no idea how old Hooty actually was or how he did the things he did.

She knew for a fact the older they got the quirkier they got. Hooty was for sure pretty damn quirky however it wasn’t a very precise way to figure out a house demon’s age. The thing is straight laced becomes weird and weird becomes even weirder. The only way to truly figure out how old a house demon was typically involved examining their dead body and counting the internal rings along the closet thing to a spine one could find. Eda funnily enough did not want to kill Hooty even if he have her reaching for the headache medicine at times.

Anyway this was completely beside the point the house was expanding and the two kids were watching it completely engrossed. Eventually the rumbling and shaking and grinding and the creaking came to a stop. After waiting a minute to make sure things were one hundred percent settled and Hooty had returned back to the door, she picked up King with her free hand and proceeded to walked through the front door Hooty opened for them. “Come one let’s take a look shall we?” King nodded his head clearly wanting to see the new rooms. The baby just let out a cute sounding squeak which Eda took for a yes.

As they entered to living room Eda and her two hanger-ons found that the living room apart from a noticeable increase in its interior dimensions, it was basically the same room and from a quick glance Eda could see the same thing with the kitchen. However the increase in size would make sure they new rooms up top would be supported properly. Hooty was nothing if not thorough in regards to those kinds of things.

“Right let’s go upstairs you two and see what’s changed.” As Eda traversed up the stairs she noticed that the third step no longer creaked when she stepped on it. She chalked up to Hooty using some spare material to fix the creaking step. However Eda knew for a fact she would take a while to kick her habit of skipping the third step. That wasn’t important. What was important was the new rooms that were available for them to peruse at their leisure. The hallway used to hold five rooms which were the bathroom, the study, her room, King’s room and Luz’s room (which she used for storage). The hallway went from to the bathroom on her left and the study next to it. At the end of the hallway was the small steps up to her room. On Eda’s right hand side there was Luz’s room and then King’s room next to it and her room. As she saw what had changed she placed King down to let him explore on his own two feet.

Now there were eight rooms placed with four doors on Eda’s right and three doors on her left. Her room was still at the end of the hallway. From a glance she could recognise what room was there before and what was not. “Eeny meeny. You.” she said as she picked the first new door on her right. She opened the door and found an empty room just ready to be decorated by whoever was going to occupy it. There was a small closet that was currently shut. The floor was a nice shade of red Eda quite liked. The window granted a nice view of the nearby forest. The baby cooed curiously as they looked at the window. “You want to take a closer look?” she asked her current changed who babbled happily at being asked that. “Okay then.” she repiled as she walked over to the window. “Let’s take a look.” It was a nice round one too, Eda idly noted in her thoughts. It also had a small alcove that one could sit in if they so chose. Eda also noted that she needed to go furniture shopping soon considering the current empty state of the new rooms. While Eda had a decent chunk of money saved away she was getting Lily to help pay for this. Good well made furniture was expensive but well worth the cost in Eda’s opinion. In theory Hooty could have made the rooms already have furniture that would mean less materials to make the rooms with. Also Hooty was not a very good carpenter.

After stopping, as well as helping King climb up in the alcove, she took in the view the window afford them. It was a nice one. She could see the forest shift in the summer breeze, she knew that eventually the breeze would cool as they headed into autumn. She could see some voles poking their heads out near the base of a nearby tree. The baby babbled as they reached one tiny wing out to the window. Eda chuckled as she gently picked up the baby and placed them next to King.

“Uh hi there?” King greeted somewhat the younger child nervously. The baby cheerfully gurgled before pressing their face against the window. They were eyeing the family of voles with a hungry gaze. Also she could hear their rumbling stomach. Eda, figuring the baby might be hungry, quickly whipped out the note to check what they could eat. One thing that they couldn’t eat at the moment was, funnily enough, voles. But Baby could have apple slices which Eda had in abundance. Both King and Luz loved apples and were quite happy to snack on them when they had the chance.

“Come on let’s get you something to eat shall we?” she asked as she she went to pick up the baby who seemed a tad upset at not being allowed to continue vole watching. Well Eda couldn’t leave the kid on their own or under King’s supervision. “Please don’t cry.” she pleaded once more. This time instead of just crying the baby vomited out an exact duplicate which, in turn, created one more. Meaning instead of one baby Eda now had to deal with three. Great just great. The three babies were flying in the air, all of them crying. Also one decided to breath fire. What was her life?

Good news the fireball didn’t anything flammable and set it on fire. It wound up flying right into the non flammable glass and splashing harmlessly against it.

Bad news was on the way to hitting the pane of glass King’s tail got hit. Thankfully it didn’t catch fire but King wasn’t best pleased with getting a fireball shot as his tail. Then again would would be> “What kind of demons are they anyway?” King asked clutching onto his tail to ensue that any stray fireballs wouldn’t hit it again. It was a good question. Honestly Eda was curious about what kind of demon the Bat Queen but figured that it was none of her business really.

“King run down stairs and get me a knife, some apples and some of the kiddy apple blood.” She looked at the three flying children making sure they didn’t have any other fun surprises in store for them. “I’ll handle the kids.”

King nodded his head before quickly running to the door. “Sure thing. Be safe.” He ran out the door his claws tapping on the wooden floor with a steady beat. The sound quickly faded as King made his way downstairs.

“I will King.” Let’s hope the lullaby worked again. If it didn’t Eda needed to come up with another situation or at least stall until King came back.

So once more she began to sing. She once more poured her heart into the lullaby.

“~When the light is running low~”

“~And the shadows start to grow~”

“~And the places that you know~”

“~Seem like fantasy~”

“~There's a light inside your soul~”

“~That's still shining in the cold~”

“~With the truth~”

“~The promise in our hearts~”

“~Don't forget~”

“~I'm with you in the dark~”

Unfortunately it didn’t seem to work as the kids were working each other up making it hard to Eda to soothe them. Eda cursed a blue streak in her head at seeing that her first plan failed.

Looks like she needed to stall then.

Oh goodie.

What did kids like again? They liked music, toys and food. She looked around the room. It was empty of anything that would actually help her. She tried to search around in her hair for any toys that she could use since King was getting the food and her singing failed.

She pulled out some soft toys that were all in various states of disrepair. They looked to be cartoonish bats. “Do the babies want to play with the nice toys I found?” she asked shaking the toys in one of her hands, hoping to attract the children’s attention. They were still crying but one did notice the shaking toys. Their crying quietened slightly as they flew closer to the plush bats, taking a close look at it. She gently held out her other hand letting baby number one perch on it. She then handed one of the bat plushes to them. They took it in their wings with a tight grip. She then placed baby number one on the alcove by the window. She let them examine the toy with a curious gaze while she turned her attention to the other two. They seemed to have noticed what Eda just did and started to quiet down. They flew closer, Eda doing what she did for the first one, gave them each a bat plush to hold.

Soon enough she could hear the tapping of King’s claws on the wooden floor as he ran up to the room. Above his head was a paper bag, in it was some apples, a knife, some small sippy cups for the babies and a bottle of kid friendly apple blood. “Got everything you asked for.” He said with a slight pant as Eda made her way over to him.

“Thanks King.” Eda said as she took the paper bag from his hands. She got out the knife and an apple and began to cut up into small pieces for the babies. She also noticed that King had thought to shove in some paper napkins as well. So she stopped cutting to pick them up.

“You’re welcome.” King said as he shot her a thumbs up before sitting by the wall the alcove was on. Eda placed a paper napkin in front of each baby before she resumed to cut the apple into small pieces. Her hand moved gracefully and quickly, resulting in about nine equal pieces. Meaning that the babies could get three pieces each.

She then proceeded to divvy up the apple slices to the kids. The babies all watched her with a curious gaze. Their eyes tracking her every movement. After Eda gave them their apple slices the babies began to eat. “Guess you must have been pretty hungry?” she rhetorically asked the small children who couldn’t speak yet.

They didn’t answer content to eat their food. Eda, feeling a bit peckish herself, picked up another apple and cut it in half. One half for her the other half for King. “Thanks King said as Eda handed King half an apple. He quickly began to scarf if down like it would run away. Admittedly blood apples could only run away if their legs weren’t pre-emptively cut off.

“You’re welcome King.” she said before taking a bite out of her apple. She thought deeply about what she could do to occupy the kids. She needed to think of something before the three babies started to cry again. One was bad enough but three would likely deafen her if she allowed to go on for too long. As she enjoyed the tart taste of the apple she had an idea. Probably should have thought of this earlier but oh well.

She could teach them to pick locks. It would keep them engaged and give them something to do. Besides it would help her when it came the time to teach Luz and Kings how to pick locks. She smiled at the thought. It could be a nice bonding experience for the three of them. She took another bite as she planned out how to best teach the kids how to pick a lock. She would need some simple locks, some tools like hair pins and probably some other things she might need. The locks were simple. There was a decent range of locks that had been made a part of her nest over the years. So were the tools. Considering she kept her lock picking tools on hand at all times you never knew when you would need to pick a lock. Which was more often than most people would think.

Lock picking was a very useful skill to have in Eda’s very sensible opinion. It had allowed her to get out of trouble on many occasions. Fun fact people can all the magical protection and safeguards in the world but those mean absolutely nothing if you don’t have projections against non magical lock picks.

Magic is a wonderful thing don’t get her wrong but she always made sure not to neglect her non magical skills like lock picking and beating people up with her fists. Something that Luz seemed to understand implicitly consider how infrequently she uses her magic to get things done. She really only used it when she felt she had too just like Eda did. Which made sense considering how her magic worked and how she wanted to conserve it as best she could she would have to figure out the right balance to strike.

After taking one final bite of her apple, Eda sat back and wondered how everyone outside the house was doing.

- - - -

Lilith had spent a good chunk of her day just taking a walk around town. It was enjoyable, she found, to just exist as you made your way through the busy town. Everyone was going about their day and Lilith found the simple feeling of not being on a constant deadline or constantly busy to be a luxurious one. The Emperor’s coven was known for not giving more than one day off a year (if you’re lucky) as well as only being allowed to sleep in until six am (she hates the fact she’s really not a morning person at all), there was the fact that the days were long which was exhausting to say the least. Don’t get her started on how busy being the head of the Emperor’s coven could be. She made a mental note to get something for Hettie for giving her this week’s mandatory vacation. Maybe she would like some wine or something? She wasn’t quite sure but maybe she could ask the next time they saw each other. Whenever that would be.

Lilith was currently in the store getting some supplies for Edalyn. It was only fair that Lilith contributed while she stayed there anyway. Besides she had plenty of money saved up from her years of service to the coven and she didn’t really have a reason to spend it before now. She had written a list on things one might need to at least begin furnishing a bed room also some food and drinks for Edalyn’s pantry. She knew what she liked in a bed room but she didn’t actually know what Amity would like. She would have to ask her when she’s done at her shift at the library. She should probably also message Edalyn and see what she wanted for the rooms. Actually she could just message Amity as well. She quickly whipped out her scroll and shot Eda as well as Amity a quick message. She put it away trusting them to reply to her messages soon. She then got back to looking at the mattresses and testing each on to see if they were to her liking. The one she pushed her hand down one was too soft and plush for her tastes. Time for her to try the next one.

As for Lilith what she liked in a bed room was a nice firm mattress, thick and heavy covers, lots and lots of pillows as well as a plush toy or two. Not that she would admit to still sleeping with plush toys at her age.

Soon enough she got a message from Edalyn asking her for some things she needed for the rooms. She mostly just asked for bed frames, mattresses, sheets and pillows. She said that the rest of the furnishing could wait and Lilith found that to be an acceptable decision. She also sent Lilith a picture of her teaching a small bat demon how to pick a lock. From Edalyn’s outstretched arm and the angle she was clearly taking the photo herself. The child was a small bat like creature with a small tuft of black hair atop their head. Their face was screwed up in concentration as they tried to manoeuvre the lock picks. In the background Lilith could see two other babies doing the same thing with the exact same look of concentration. It was honestly quite adorable.

Edalyn: Teaching the kids B.Q wants me to babysit how to pick locks. So far so good!

Apparently Eda was someone’s first choice for babysitting their kids. If Lilith hadn’t seen how her sister acted around her own children she wouldn’t have believed it at all. But since she has she could believe that someone would seek out Eda to look after their kids especially if their parent was also wanted by the Emperor’s coven. Also the initials B.Q sounded familiar to Lilith but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

Lilith: Starting their life of crime at an early age I see.

Edalyn: You betcha!

Lilith just wanted to laugh. She refrained however on account on being in a busy store on a weekday. However she did shake her head in amusement at Edalyn’s actions.

She blinked as she realised who might be the one to leave their children with her sister. There was a demon that many knew about but fewer have met. The Bat Queen, one of the richest demons on the Boiling Isles as well as one of the most wanted. Belos seemed to have it out for the demon as her bounty was second only to Edalyn’s. Frowning in thought Lilith realised that she didn’t actually know what crimes the Bat Queen was wanted for. She tried to search in her memories to see if she could remember but came up with nothing. Which was concerning to say the least. Maybe she could ask the Bat Queen if she got back at the right time. But that was for later. For now she would focus on getting some beds for Eda.

She eventually got a message from Amity.

Amity: APART FROM A SOMEWHAT FIRM MATTRESS I’M GOOD WITH ANYTHING.

Lilith frowned slightly as she read her student’s reply. Surely she had something else she would like right?

Lilith: Are you sure? Nothing else comes to mind?

Amity: I’M SURE.

Lilith: If you’re sure.

Lilith frowned even more at Amity’s reply. She then noticed out of the corner of her eye something she think Amity might just enjoy. Sheets with a picture of sleeping cats all curled up into a ball. She snapped a picture with her scroll and sent it to Amity.

Lilith: How about this? Does this strike your fancy?

Lilith could see the typing indicator pop up briefly before disappearing. This cycle continued for about a minute or so before Amity finally sent a reply.

Amity: IT DOES. THANK YOU.

Lilith: You’re welcome. Amity it’s going to be your room. You can decide what you want to do with it.

Lilith: Within reason of course. I don’t think Eda would appreciate it if you knocked a hole through the wall.

Amity: SHE REALLY WOULDN’T.

Amity: I KNOW I CAN DO THAT.

Amity: I THINK I HAVEN’T FULLY PROCESSED THE FACT I CAN SET UP A ROOM TO MY LIKING. ALSO IT’S HARD ASKING FOR SOMETHING YOU WANT.

Lilith’s heart went out to her young student. She knew what she meant. It was hard to ask people if you needed or wanted something. You feel like a burden on that person if you do so.

Amity: BACK HOME MOTHER WAS THE ONE WHO DECIDED WHAT I COULD HAVE IN MY ROOM. I WAS LUCKY TO EVEN HAVE THE CHANCE TO PUT UP SOME POSTERS I LIKED ON THE WALL.

Lilith: Well she’s not part of your life now. So I think it’s up to you where you go next.

Amity: I KNOW BUT IT’S HARD TO KNOW WHAT TO DO NEXT.

Lilith: Well you’re not alone in that. I know the feeling well. I still don’t know what I want to do with my life. I thought I had I had everything figured out.

Lilith: But recent events have given me a new perspective. Showed me that I don’t have things as figured out as I thought.

She thought that being a member of the Emperor’s coven was her calling in life. She thought that once she got there she would be set for the rest of her life. The reality was markedly different that she had anticipated.

Lilith: I’m scared of what comes next too.

Lilith: Let’s figure things out together okay? Besides Eda and Luz would most likely help you if you want.

Amity: I THINK I LIKE THE SOUND OF THAT.

Amity: THANK YOU

Lilith: You’re welcome

Lilith smiled lad she was at least a little bit of help to her student.

Lilith: Also when are you going to take your scroll in for repairs. The constant caps lock makes it look you’re constantly shouting.

Amity: I’M TAKING IT IN ON THE WEEKEND IN ORDER TO GET IT LOOKED AT. SORRY I NEED TO GO SOON MY BREAK IS NEARLY OVER. GOODBYE SEE YOU LATER.

Lilith: See you later. Take care.

Amity: I WILL.

Lilith stowed her scroll and searched for someone who work here. Upon finding one she walked her way over to them. They turned around to face. They most likely heard her from her footsteps. She saw no reason to silence them after all. “May I help you?”

“Yes you can.” Lilith replied before launching into what she needed.

- - - -

Raine was hard at work at being the second in command at the bard coven and they were greatly looking forward to clocking out for the day. When they were younger they thought being a member of the bard coven would allow them to freely experiment with their music and play what they wanted to play. That they could share their love of music with people who felt a similar love to music.

Unfortunately they had found that not to be the case. Music, like most magic nowadays, was heavily controlled. They could not create anything that could be seen as critical of Belos and his rule. Anything the created about Belos must support his rule and praise him for all he has done for the Boiling Isles.. They were not allowed to experiment and branch out. Many bard spells were restricted like the bard spell that help soothe someone’s pain or the one that helped temporarily strengthen things like concrete. Apparently that was mixing magic, which would mean that anyone who did that was a wild witch and must be punished. Safe to say Raine chaffed heavily under these restrictions as did their three students.
As they looked at some forms they had to sign, not really processing what it was saying, they felt exhausted. “Why did I want this job again?” they asked themself. Or they could have been asking their office. It was hard to say really.

Or Raine might be losing it.

Who knew?

They looked at the time and despaired at the fact they still had an hour to go before they could leave. It’s only an hour. You can do it, they thought to themself wishing time would move a but faster. Melody was lucky. She got to sleep in a little comfy bed while Raine had to work. Raine was just a smidge envious of their palisman. Honestly the nest Eda slept in was surprisingly comfortable for something that was mostly made of twigs and sticks and the like.

“That’s right I thought that Eda was hiding something from me and that it was straining or relationship.” they answered their own question. They felt a brief stab of guilt as they did so. They now knew why Eda had trouble talking about it. If they were in her shoes they likely would have done the same thing. Dodge the question about what was happening and clam up when pressed. Did they wish that Eda opened up to them about the curse?

Yes. Yes they did. But as they got older they realised things were probably not that simple for Eda at the time. With the curse and all that.

But one thing is for sure they really had missed Eda after they went their separate ways. They had missed her passion for magic. Her mischievous nature. Her cocky grin. Her kindness and strength. She had been one of the first people to reach out to Raine when they had first transferred into Hexside.

Then there was that night fourteen years ago were the both of them were very very drunk. Raine being drunk and not really thinking straight invited Eda back over to their crummy apartment. What ensued was a night of passion that Raine would never forget. They silently rubbed their legs together as they thought back to that night. It was wild and messy but it was full of passion and pleas for the other to not let go.

They could remember the breathless kisses. Feeling the tensing muscles of Eda’s back. The biting and the marking. “Heh I’m going to make your head spin.” Eda said with a cocky bordering on arrogant grin. True to her head she did make Raine’s head spin.

One thing that Raine didn’t expect out of that little tryst they had with Eda all those years ago was Luz. She had their ma’s curly brown hair and Eda’s eyes. She also had a similar smile to Eda. Like Eda she was curious to a fault and she loved to learn. From the questions she asked them about bard magic she was quite the curious and insightful kid. Raine loved her dearly despite not knowing her for very long.

So Raine would do their best to do right by her and Eda.

Raine looked at the clock again and they barely resisted the urge to bang their head against their desk. It felt like time was moving as slow as treacle and they still had an hour to go before they could leave.

“Argh.” they groaned, desperately wishing that the clock would move faster.

Unfortunately time marches at its own pace and wouldn’t change it for anyone.

- - - -

Emira realised, not that long after school finished, that it probably be a good idea to check and see Amity was at her library job. Then Edric and her could check up on her. Messaging was good and all but doing in person would do a lot more to reassure her.

So she dragged her brother to the Bonesbourgh library. Less dragged and more he came along willingly but still the point stands. Edric suddenly came to a stop as he looked up at the sign saying Boneborugh library. “Edric why did you stop?” Emira asked feeling just a bit annoyed at her brother stopping all of a sudden. They needed to check on Amity and she how she was doing. They really didn’t have time to dawdle.

Edric pointed up at the sign. “I’ve just noticed that Library is misspelled.” Emira backing up a bit looked up and saw that Edric was telling the truth. The word library was misspelled. Instead of being spelt l-i-b-r-a-r-y it was spelt l-i-b-a-r-y.

“Huh it is too.” Emira conceded before bring the pair of them back on track. “Come on let’s go see how’s Amity is doing. Then we can ask about the sign if you want.” Edric nodded. Clearly he did want to ask about the sign. Honestly Emira was curious as well. Did no one notice the mistake? Or was it that they couldn’t correct it for whatever reason? She had no idea what was actually the case.

“Sounds good.” Edric agreed. So the Blight twins opened the library doors and made their way into the library (or libary if you felt like being funny). At the front desk they could see a lanky girl placing a large pile of books on the front desk. The librarian began the process to return the books. He frowned at seeing the state of one of the books. Even from where Emira was standing the book had some pretty noticeable blood stains and what even looked like ash. What the heck happened to that book?

“I’m guessing that this is Eda’s handiwork?” the librarian gave a put upon sigh as he said this. “Well at least this one is still somewhat... legible.” He gave a shudder as he said that. He briefly gazed off into the distance like he was remembering something traumatic. He quickly shook his head before focusing his attention back on the girl.

“Uh yeah board games at home can get... uh let’s just say hectic.” the girl admitted sheepishly. Emira deciding that she and Edric had eavesdropped enough and that they really should go back to looking for their younger sister. So she and Edric began to walk to the kid section where they would look for Amity first.

“Uh huh.” One could hear his disbelief loud and clear. “Well another book to her ever growing tab.” The librarian sounded so done with this Eda. “Also the library will close early tonight because of the wailing star meteor shower.” Emira’s ears perked up at that. That sounded interesting but that could be something to do later. Whatever the girl was going to say in response Emira wouldn’t be able to hear as she had already too far away to listen in any more.

Soon enough the twins could hear the voice of their sister asking a question, Emira and Edric nearly froze in place thinking she was asking them that but they quickly realised what was actually going on “What do you think you're doing?” she asked as she read Otabin to the group of engaged children. The kids were sitting in front of Amity, who was sitting on one of those uncomfortable chairs all libraries had. She was holding the book in such a way that both allowed her to read the words on the page as well as let the children see the pictures. "‘We're your friends and we wanna help,’ said the Tin Boy with a yelp.” Amity said as she read the story to the children. Emira vaguely remembered reading Otabin as a kid. She read it while she was in the baby class and it was reading time. She curled up in the corner with some comfy cushions and let the book take her away. Happier moments aside she really should focus on the present.

“Otabin smiled and paced the floor. "‘I've never had real friends before.’" Amity said given Otabin a lonely sounding voice. Some of the kids gave sympathetic awes at how lonely Otabin sounded. If Emira could say anything it was that Amity really seemed to like reading to the kids. Now that Emira thought about it she never really seen Amity smile like this before. Which is really fucking depressing now that she thinks about it. Then again did Amity really have a reason to smile at the Blight Manor?

“‘Then we'll be your first,’ the Chicken Witch clucked. Otabin couldn't believe his luck. So, Bookmaker Otabin surrounded by friends, bound a book of friendship and that's the end.” Amity said as she bought the story to the end. She closed the book with a soft smile on her face. The kids got up as did Amity. “I’ll see you all another day. Thanks for coming.” Amity said with a soft smile on her face.

“Bye Miss Amity.”

“See you next time Miss Amity.”

“Thank you.”

One kid even hugged Amity’s leg as he said. “Goodbye Miss Amity. Thank you.”
“Thank you Braxas.” Amity replied as she gave the young child a pat on the head. “See you next time.”

Braxas cheered while he let go of Amity’s leg. “Yay!” he cheered as he walked off. Amity chuckled as he did so.

“Hey why are you two peeking at Amity from behind the bookcases?” a voice asked causing both of the twins to jump in shock. Emira was unharmed. Edric on the other hand, whacked his elbow on the bookshelf which caused a book that was improperly placed to fall off the shelf and hit him right on the head.

“Ow.” Edric said as he rubbed his head with his left hand. With his other hand he picked up the book that had just hit him on the head. He read the title out loud. “An idiot’s guide to head trauma.” He placed the book on the shelf shaking his head in disbelief. “Really?” he asked in disbelief. He turned back to the girl smiling somewhat apologetically. “Sorry we’re just checking in on our sister.” he explained. “I’m Edric by the way and this is my sister Emira.” he introduced them to the girl.

“Nice to meet you cutie.” Emira said finding the girl in front of her to be a very cute one. Her reaction of blushing a bright red was a very cute reaction as well. It made Emira want to tease her even more.

“Uh Hi. I’m l-l.” she stuttered before taking a breath. She started again. “I’m Luz.” she greeted them with a smile. “I’m Amity’s friend. Nice to meet you.” Her face was consumed by a bright red blush. She clearly wasn’t one of the girls that mother forced Amity to become friends with. Also Emira learned the names of the girls Amity was forced to be friends with and Luz wasn’t one of those names.

Edric nodded returning the smile. “Nice to meet you too Luz.”

Emira being a curious girl by nature wanted to know more about this friend of Amity’s. “So how did you meet our sister anyway?” She was glad that Amity was making friends of her own again.

Luz’s blush somehow became even brighter after Emira asked her this. Interesting. “Well you see-. Um. Well we met when I was visiting Hexside to see what it was like. She came up to us because she was curious about me. So yeah.” Emira felt that Luz was purposely leaving something out from her story. From her flustered expression and bright red blush Emira had a pretty good guess as to what had happened.

“She flirted with you didn’t she?” Emira asked already knowing the answer.
“No she-. She didn’t flirt with me. What makes you say that?” Luz said with a completely unconvincing manner. Emira half expected her to whistle innocently while looking off to the side.

“Uh huh sure.” Emira said not at all convinced by Luz’s deflections but was willing to put it to the side for the moment. Besides Luz just gave her something to tease her sister about later.

Ah young love.

“What are you all doing here?” asked a curious Amity once more causing Edric to whack his elbow against the bookshelf. She didn’t sound upset or angry which was good.

“Ow not again.” he complained rubbing his sore elbow. He turned to Amity a small smile on his face as he began to explain. “Oh hi Amity we’re were just checking up on you and... well we met your friend here.” He gestured to Luz before he shot Amity a quick thumbs up. “I approve.”

“So do I sister dearest.” Emire piped up, her face lit up with a teasing grin.

Amity gave an impressive show of not breaking out into a luminous red blush but she still blushed all the same. Her smile was a happy one at hearing that her siblings liked her friend. “I’m glad you do.” She smiled at Luz who gave a smile of her own in return. “She’s... great. I’m glad I met her.” There was a story behind that but honestly Emira knew that it most likely wasn’t her place to pry. “I’ve still got twenty minutes before I finish for the day. Luz do you want to wait up for me?” Amity asked her friend who gave her an eager nod. Amity was clearly happy to see that if her bright smile was any indication.

“Sure thing. We’ll let you get back to work.” Luz agreed, allowing Amity to get back to work. “I’ll just to get know you siblings.” She also tacked on at the end. “I’m glad I met you too Amity.”

“As long as you three don’t get up into any trouble have at it.” With that said Amity left to finish up her work day leaving the twins and Luz to their own devices.

Emira decided to take charge of things. “Well let’s find a free table and get to know each other shall we?”

“Sounds good.”

“That’s fine with me.” her brother agreed. With everyone in agreement they found an empty table and sat themselves down. Luz was on one side while Emira and Edric sat together on the opposite side.

“How is Amity doing by the way?” Emira asked the girl sitting opposite her. “Considering the whole thing with out mother setting the covention hall on fire and all that.” She was honestly surprised that the Blight matriarch didn’t do something like that sooner considering her temperament and her general personality. Speaking of parents she should really check on their dad to make sure he’s still alive and kicking. She’ll do it when she and Edric get back to the manor. Honestly the fact he feel asleep the moment Edric told him about mother getting arrested was concerning to say the least. She knew he was often busy but the level of exhaustion on his face was alarming because it implied he was busier than what would be considered sane and sensible.

An errant thought crossed her mind. Titan her family was a mess wasn’t it? She really couldn’t argue with that thought sadly, not that she wanted to. Her family was a mess and that was putting it lightly.

“Well she’s been pretty good. She’s staying with Eda King and I at Eda’s place.” Luz explained. “It was a big surprise when I found her with Eda let me tell you.” She tapped the table with her hand in a steady rhythm, allowing Emira to see the ring she was wearing on it. It was a small ornate silver ring, inset in it was a small purple gem and the band had some engraving in an unfamiliar language. The only reason why she noticed the ring in the first place was her eye for little details like that. Any illusionist worth their salt needed a keen eye for detail in order for their illusions to be as convincing as possible.

Emira raised an eyebrow at hearing the name Eda. It was not a common one nowadays considering how infamous the owl lady was, making people less willing to call their kids that. “You don’t happen to mean Eda Clawthorne do you?” Emira would take this secret to the grave but she looked up to the Owl lady and maybe just maybe had a small crush on her when she was a kid. “Like the most wanted witch in the isles? That Eda?” Emira asked feeling a tad envious of Amity getting to meet her idol, however she also felt a small ember of excitement at potentially meeting her and Edric’s idol. Luz nodded her head. “Huh okay. What’s she like?” she then added to clarify who she was asking about “Eda I mean.” She probably didn’t need to clarify but better safe than sorry. Mother did not like her children to speak with anything approaching ambiguity. It was a lesson she wouldn’t soon forget.

Luz, her hand still keeping a steady rhythm on the table, replied to Emira’s question about Eda. “Eda’s great.” she began with a fond smile. “She’s kind, she’s caring, she’s trying her best to teach me all about magic and I’m glad I know someone as cool as her.” Luz said giving a glowing review of the Owl lady. “I know for a fact that she cares about what happens to Amity. So Amity will be just fine. I promise.” Her promise was said with certainty and conviction. Like nothing would make that promise break. Emira, being a good liar herself, knew that Luz was telling them the truth.

“That’s good to hear. I’m glad that’s she okay.” Emira replied feeling relieved that Amity was doing well. From Edric’s relieved sigh he felt the same thing as well.

“Besides Amity’s my friend, I want her to be happy.” Wasn’t it sad? That hearing someone wanted Amity to be happy sounded so alien to Emira.

Titan that was a depressing thought.

“Thanks Luz.” Emira said sincerely. “Thank you for being Amity’s friend.”

- - - -

Amity felt a surge of excitement at seeing Luz again. Sure they had seen each other this morning but seeing her at the library was nice. She quickly finished her last few tasks before clocking out for the day. Usually her shift would last a bit longer but due to the wailing star the library closed early to ensue that any damage was minimised. Honestly Amity was curious as to what the wailing star looked liked. She had read that it had an ethereal beauty to it. She wanted to see it. She wanted to see its magic.

She shook her head. No Amity that would involve sneaking into the library. You’d get into trouble, she chided herself. But still the temptation was there, lurking in the back of her mind.

She sighed. Maybe Eda was bit of a bad influence but Amity couldn’t find it in herself to care. After living with Mother’s desire to control and influence everything the idea of being free as Eda was an alluring one. But part of her pointed out that Eda was free to do what she wants yes, but she is one of the most wanted criminals on the Boiling Isles.

But she probably should take things one step at a time.

After finishing up everything she needed to do she walked out of the office onto the main library. She spotted Luz talking with her siblings and from where she was standing they seemed to be getting along well enough. She easily ignored the burning jealousy at seeing Luz with her siblings. People may have liked the twins more than her but she knew that Luz wouldn’t do something like that to her. She was kind.

“Hey Luz.” Amity greeted her friend as she neared the occupied table. “How are you doing?” she asked enjoying the bright smile that Luz was sending her way. Part of her wanted Luz to only smile for her.

“I’m good Amity. How are you doing? How was school and your shift at the library?” Luz asked. Amity noticed the knowing looks the twin gave each other which gave Amity the sinking feeling that those two were going to tease her about this later.

“I’m good as well Luz. Thanks for asking. School was good for the most part.” Amity replied thinking about how to talk about what had happened with Boscha. “I did something I should have done years ago.” she said before adding on. “I’m glad I did it.” Luz nodded her head clearly understanding what Amity was getting at. “Besides that the library was great.” Amity loved working at the library. The kids were nice (for the most part), she loved reading to the kids and she loved being surrounded by so many books. Malphas was a good boss to work for. She even had her own little hideout in the romance section.

The hideout was a curious thing. Malphas said that he wasn’t sure who made it in the first place when he showed Amity it for the first time, but he did say that many people have used it over the years as safe space. Amity was in awe that there even was a secret hideout in the library. It made her wonder what other secrets the library held. Malphas allowed her to use it whenever she wished which she was very grateful for. As she made the place her own she found some scraps of paper that someone had been doodling on. In each of piece’s corner there were the initials L.M.C written on them. Amity figured it was the previous user of the hideout. She still had them in fact, she had them pinned on a cork board she had bought a while ago. She kept it by her Azura posters she hung up on the walls of the hideout.

Back to the present Amity looked at the time and found that the library would close in about half an hour, give or take. “Well the library is going to close soon so I think we should leave soon.” Overstaying their welcome was never a good idea especially in the library.

Edric agreed with a nod. “Yeah we probably should.” he had a small teasing grin on his face and Amity found out why when he continued talking. “Did ya know that Library on the sign out front is misspelled?”

“What.” Amity stated flatly. If it was Amity must have missed it completely and had done so for years.

“Yeah it’s true. It is misspelled.” Emira agreed, backing up their brother.

“Right right.” Amity muttered. “Well nothing we can really do about it now.” Frankly one of the first lessons Malphas taught her was to never work while clocked out and Amity wasn’t going to go against that piece of advice any time soon. She had precious little free time in the first place back then. “Come on Luz let’s head out.” Amity prompted her friend who nodded before getting up. She moved to Amity’s side. “What are you two going to do?” she asked, curious as to what her siblings where going to get up to.

“Well we’re going back to the manor and see how dad is faring.” Emira replied as she and Edric stood up as well. Amity hadn’t even spared a thought for their father.

“How is he doing?” Amity asked feeling like she should have at least spared a thought for her father. Edric made a so-so gesture with his hand.

Emira on seeing Amity needed some clarification explained. “He basically fell asleep the moment he heard Mom was arrested. I haven’t seen him wake up yet but I did manage to order the butlers to care for him in case he wakes up and needs something.” Emira then shrugged showing how uncertain she felt. “Besides that I’m not really sure how he’s actually doing but I don’t don’t think it’s good whatever is happening.” She looked at Amity with a meaningful stare. “Amity I think you should stay with Eda while Edric and I try sort things out in the manor.” Edric looked surprised at hearing that but a quick elbow in the side from Emira fixed that right up. He then nodded his head. “Look after yourself you hear me?” Amity nodded her head showing she heard Emira.

“Right yeah we’ll do that. Take care will you?” Edric said rubbing his side slightly. Honestly Amity had missed the times that her older siblings showed that they cared for her. It may have been over a decade ago but she remember the kindness they had show her.

“I will thank you. Stay safe you two.” Amity said.

Luz piped up. “It was nice meeting you two.” she said with a small smile. “See you later.”

“See ya.” “See you later.” the twins replied to Luz’s farewell before they all headed out of the library and split up into two separate groups. Edric and Emira began to head off in the direction of Blight Manor. Amity was going to leave soon with Luz, but not before checking to see if Emira and Edric were telling her the truth.

She looked up at the sign. She blinked then rubbed her eyes then she looked at it again. It looks like the twins were telling her the truth. “Well I’ll be.” she murmured at the sight of the misspelling.

“Huh didn’t notice that when I was coming in.” Luz said sounding somewhat amused at the misspelling. Amity and Luz looked at each other for a brief moment before they burst out laughing.

- - - -

Emira, as the twins left the library, turned to her brother. “Want to sneak into the library and see what the wailing star is?” she asked in a conspirational whisper. She probably didn’t need to do that but she found it enjoyable. So she did it anyway.

Edric nodded his head. “Yeah sounds good. Are we going to check on dad before we do that?” His stomach rumbled causing Edric to blush in embarrassment. “Also could we get something to eat. I’m hungry.”

Emira just let an exasperated yet fond sigh. “Yeah we can get something to eat before we break in and yeah we’ll check on dad before we leave.”

“Cool it’s been a while since we’ve broken in to somewhere.” Edric said with an excited pump of his fist. As the twins walked back to the manor Emira took notice of how busy the marketplace was in the evening. Which made sense since school was out and the fact most of the people she saw milling around were students. Seeing a food stall that looked good she tugged at her brother’s sleeve. She pointed to the stall and Edric gave her a nod. “That looks good.” he said as the twins wandered on over to the stall which seemed to be selling crepes with a vast range of toppings. The twins gave their orders, paid of them and then waited for their crepes to be made. Edric ordered a sweet crepe filled with three different types of jam while Emira ordered a savoury crepe that had ankle Taurus meat with lots of cheese.

They walked back to the manor eating something delicious.

. . . .

Emira, after she and her brother had finished their crepes, made their way up to their dad’s room to check on how he was doing. Emira gently opened the door not wanting to wake him up of she didn’t have to. The door creaked slightly, causing Emira to wince, but remained mostly silent. She opened the door to find their dad sitting up in his bed sipping on a hot mug of something. Standing next to his bed was on of the butlers standing at the ready, in its hands was a sliver tray. He blinked at seeing the twins enter his room. “Oh hello Edric. Hello Emira. What brings you two here?” he asked sounding a bit confused to see them in his room.

“We’re here to check up on you Dad.” Emira explained. “You fell asleep after Edric told you what happened with mother-.

Her brother interjected with his own piece. “The covention was a few days ago and you’ve been asleep since then.” Dad looked to be shocked as he seemed to recall what exactly had happened. Okay she was going to get to that in a bit Edric. She was going to ease him gently into it but whatever.

“Have I really been asleep for that long?” he asked in disbelief, receiving twin nods. There seemed to be a small slump as dad processed this. He ran his hand through his hair, something Emira knew he did when he was feeling frustrated or lost. “How have you and Mittens been doing?” he asked catching the twins off guard. Honestly Emira expected him to ask about the company, then his wife and then the kids in that exact order. So for him to go right to asking about his kids’ wellbeing took her off guard.

“Well we’ve been good.” Edric said to their dad. “I’ve been learning to cook for myself and I’m getting really good at it.” The twins deciding they really couldn’t keep getting take out decided to teach themselves how to cook. Edric found it enjoyable while Emira hated the heat of things like the oven and stove. He was getting quite good at it too (after she convinced him to knock it off with the knife tricks.) Good thing she had began to learn healing magic in secret. “Amity’s been staying with a friend of hers.” Dad had to think long and hard about who Amity’s friends were.

“Oh is she staying with...” he hummed trying to remember names. He snapped his fingers as he remembered their names. “Boscha or Skara?” It took him a good five minutes to remember two names. The twins just stood there kind of awkwardly as they waited. Then again he wasn’t the best with remembering names.

“No she’s staying with a friend of hers named Luz.” Dad tensed up slightly and looked confused at hearing that unfamiliar name and a touch worried(?) “She’ll be fine dad.” she said in order to reassure him. From the way he relaxed slightly it seemed that Emira did a good job of reassuring him.

“Do you happen to know the name of Luz’s parents or caregiver?” Dad asked curiously. “I’m curious as to who my daughter is staying with.”

Edric and Emira looked at each other, shrugged seeing nothing wrong with telling him and Emira proceeded to answer his question. “She lives with someone named Eda.” Somehow her dad relaxed even more at hearing the name Eda, which was not a reaction Emira was expecting to say the least.

“Ah Eda. Well she’s in good hands.” At his children’s confused look he explained. “I knew Eda when we both went to Hexside. She was in the year above me and despite her love of causing chaos she had a soft spot for kids.” Dad’s gaze was locked onto a distant memory. “She tried to keep it a secret but everyone knew that if you hurt with kids in front of her she would make people regret it.” He turned his gaze back to the present and in turn his children. “So I know Mittens will be just fine.” he said with more certainty than Emira had ever heard from him before.

His stomach rumbled loudly, demanding to be fed. Dad blushed slightly as his stomach growled. “Food honestly sounds very good to me right now.”

Emira sighed fondly. “We’ll cook something nice and easy while you get yourself clean.” Dad nodded his head after smelling himself briefly. His face screwed up as he did so. He really did need to have a shower.

“I’ll go do that then.” he said as he got out of bed. He wobbled slightly before finding his balance. I’ll see you soon.” he said as he walked into his bedroom’s attached bathroom.

“See ya.” “See you soon.” said the twins as they left his room. They entered into the too big hallways. To Emira the halls always felt too big, too expansive. When she was a child she often end up lost in the halls, having no idea where she was or how to get out. As she and her brother walked to the kitchen she could see all the paintings mother had hung up on the walls. They were all portraits of members of the Blight family, past and present. Mother said it was so they could remember the history and greatness of the Blights. Honestly Emira wished there were more variety in the artworks placed in the vast halls. It felt like something was watching her. Like the eyes of her long dead ancestors bearing down on her, finding her wanting. She hated it.

Her pace may have ever so slightly increased, from fear or anger was hard to say. Not noticeably but she moved just the ever bit faster. One thing was very clear. She hated this manor and what it represented to her.

It was a place that demanded you let yourself be controlled, to stay inside the lines, to be perfect little dolls. The moment she was old enough to strike out on her own, she would grab on to that chance with both hands. She would leave this place behind. Edric and Amity could come with if they wished to. She had her issues with her siblings at times, but she wouldn’t leave them here. Mother may be gone, but she still haunts these halls all the same.

Also the place was too damn big for five people. They really did not need so much space.

She sighed. That was for the future, in the present it was time to make some dinner. After that they could sneak into the library and see what the wailing star has to offer. “You doing okay sis?” Edric asked having noticed her sighs. Breaking the silence more than her sighs ever would.

Emira thought about how best to respond to her brother’s question. “Honestly just thinking about what I want to do in the future.”

“Any ideas on what you want to do?”

“Honestly no. Like I love illusions, don’t get me wrong. But I don’t know I want to be doing illusions for the rest of my life. You know what I mean?” This was partially the reason why she began to secretly study healing magic.

That and to help when her brother hurt himself.

Edric nodded. “Yeah I get what you mean. I’ve been looking at beast keeping magic cause I think the creatures that call this place home are really really cool.” his eyes sparkled as he said this, he was probably imagining getting into some sort of shenanigans with beasts. “I want to learn more.”

Emira laughed at hearing his reason for studying beast keeping. “That’s so you.” she said greatly amused at her brother.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Edric protested theatricality

“You know.” Emira stated bluntly.

Edric laughed. “Yeah that’s fair.” he conceded.

The twins laughed. Things felt a little bit lighter.

Eventually they got to the kitchen and got to work on a quick and simple dinner.

They had tomato soup with some bread.

It was delicious.

- - - -

Luz and Amity came back to the Owl house and was greeted with complete and utter chaos. Eda, Raine and Lilith were trying to wrangle the babies who were flying about making a great big mess. King was under the couch, trying to keep out of the way. Luz blinked in shock because instead of there being one baby like when she left. There were six. Six whole flying bat babies. Luz ducked under a stray bit of fire flying in her and Amity’s direction. She made sure to have Amity duck down as well.

There were six fly bat babies that could breath fire. Because of cause they could. “Uh what’s happening here?” she asked as she got back to her feet, while helping Amity up as well.

Eda gave them an exhausted sounding groan. “Well the kid became three which then became six when Raine and Lilith got back.” She gestured to a flying baby that Lilith was trying to sooth. She was missing an eyebrow. “As you can see.” Raine meanwhile was playing their violin trying to help calm the babies. Their clothes were rumpled and had several tears in them. Eda reached into her hair and pulled out a jingling bag. She tossed it to Luz who caught it with ease. “I think you should go out and get something for dinner.” Luz nodded, not very sure how much help she would be with a situation like this. She wanted to help but she didn’t know how. Also the crying was making her ears ring. Eda softened slightly giving Luz a small smile. “Kid I’ll be fine. I know you want to help, but I want you to enjoy being a teen while you still can.” Luz knew she was speaking from experience, considering how her curse would have affected her growing up. Luz nodded. Her eyes briefly flickered to King who darted out form underneath the couch. “Do you mind taking King as well? I don’t think all this noise is agreeing with him.” Luz picked up King and allowed him to perch on her shoulder.

King nodded. “Yeah it sucks.” he said as he adjusted himself, trying to make himself comfortable.

“Yeah sure thing Eda. Good luck.” Luz said wishing her mentor luck with what she was dealing with at the moment. Amity gave the same well wishes. King wanted to be as far away as possible.

“Thanks Kids we’ll need it.” she made a shooing motion with her hand. “Now shoo get something good to eat and when you get back the babies should be fast asleep.” she winced at the sound of something fragile falling on the ground and shattering. “...hopefully.” Eda added on.

Luz, Amity and King decided discretion was the better part of valour and beat a hasty retreat.

. . . .

Luz, Amity and King found themselves a nice restaurant and treated themselves to a nice meal currently they were on their way back to the Owl House, the sun long having set, when they saw something odd while walking past the library. Well Amity noticed the fact there were lights moving about the library. “Someone’s in there.” she said sounding very worried as she gazed at the flickering lights. Amity quickly explained seeing Luz and King’s confusion. “The wailing star when it crosses the isles brings any open books to life, which as you can imagine cause a lot of chaos.” she pointed up to the sky and Luz noticed the blue star shooting across the sky. As She looked at it she could almost hear the sound of crying. It was gone the moment she looked away. It was like she was imagining that noise.

“So whoever’s in there in danger?” Luz asked already knowing the answer.

“Depending on what books get opened, it could vary from minor inconvenience to natural disaster.” Amity said grimly. “We need to go in and get them out.” she stated firmly and Luz couldn’t disagree with that sentiment. Luz took out her phone and turned on its flash-light before handing it off to King.

“Yeah let’s go.” Luz said as she and Amity walked up the library’s front steps. Amity opened the door and walked in. Luz right behind her. King quietly whimpered as they crossed the library threshold. He stiffens as his claws dug into her shoulder. Luz ignores the pain with ease. “King what’s wrong buddy?” she asked feeling very concerned. King was boisterous and loud, so to hear him whimper like this was cause for alarm.

“Something’s wrong.” he whispered, like he was afraid of being noticed. “I don’t like this.” Luz didn’t like it either. Her instincts were screaming that something was wrong. She transformed into her magical girl outfit, letting her costume reassure her as it always did. King’s claws became less noticeable. The silence was haunting, it was only broken briefly by their talking and their footsteps. Apart from that it was like there was nobody there. Nothing but them and the shadows.

“We’ll be careful.” Luz promised King, as her little buddy’s eyes scanned the surrounding with a nervous gaze. There were shelves upon shelves, all full to the brim. Luz frowned as she noticed something off. She wasn’t sure if it was the darkness was throwing things off but it looked like-.

“The layout’s wrong.” Amity said unknowingly finish Luz’s thought, her golden eyes gleaming as they scanned their surroundings. “The shelves weren’t set like this when the library closed.” Luz could see that Amity was right. The shelves were wrong. “They can’t just move like that on their own.” Luz chose to trust Amity’s judgement, considering she worked her and would knew how things should be laid out.

Luz gripped onto her staff tightly, ready for anything. She kept her eyes open, watching for any movement.

Luz forgot one teensy little thing. That she still had her notebook on her. Her notebook had pictures of her friend and places. But it also had some pictures of dangerous witches. She was so used to bringing her notebook everywhere with her that she didn’t even think about. It had been something so ingrained in her, that she never even considered that she still had it on her.

This would later prove to be a big mistake.

- - - -

Typically when the library closes before the night the wailing star crosses the sky, they make sure to properly secure the books to ensue that someone bumping into the shelves won’t knock any books loose, and potentially opening the books. Unfortunately due to something like forgetfulness, or carelessness or something with a more malicious bent, that was not quite the case with all the books. Whatever the reason may be, the library is now a hostile place.

One shelf had been bumped and one book had fallen to the floor. The people who bumped the shelf moved on after picking themselves up, unaware of what they had just done. It lied with its pages opened, allowing the story to come to life. If one was to glance at the cover they would see the title ‘The mysteries of the Bonesborough Library’ emblazoned on it. The author was not featured by name on the cover or inside the book itself. The author is not important. What is important is the stories that are being recreated right here in this very library.

The shadows began to twist. The shelves began to move. Space distorted as the rumours came to life. There was now a fifth floor. Some of the corridors in the basement now had no end. There was now spirits that stole the voices of dead loved ones roaming the higher floors, there were other creatures that now called the library home for the night. The layout was altered and could alter itself depending on its mood. Some stairs you could go down without end yet you would never arrive at your destination. All that and more.

There were five souls wandering this labyrinth. The two twins snuck in to witness the magic of the wailing star. What foolishness. There is a very good reason why the library closed early. There was also the old blood, a young witch, and Little Light. They followed after in hope of saving the twins. They are a different kind of foolishness. One born of kindness. Will they survive the night? Who can say.

Do you believe in ghost stories Little Light?

Because you’re in one.

Chapter Text

Chapter 14 Ghost games.

Edric was the first of the twins to notice that something was amiss. “Uh Emira?” he asked, using his scroll as a source of light. The beam of light it emitted cut through the darkness with ease. He nervously looked into the shadows. He could almost see something move, shrouded in the gloom. He hoped he imagined it.

He shined the light in the direction, only to reveal a gap between the book shelves. Apart from that there was nothing there. “Yeah what is it?” Emira replied as she looked up at the window in the celling, she was tracking the wailing star as it shone its light down on the library below. She had pulled out a random book, Edric couldn’t quite make out the title but it looked like a kids’ book to him.

“I... I don’t think we’re alone.” Edric said keeping a wary eye on where he saw movement. Nothing moved. But still he watched.

Emira turned to face him. “I don’t think-.” whatever Emira was going to say to him got cut off as her face suddenly turned to a look of fright. “What’s that behind you?” she asked. Edric looked knowing the difference between when his sister was joking around and when she was serious. They shone their lights in that direction to see a brief flash of movement. Of something darting behind the bookshelves.

Whatever it was, the brief glimpse showed them it was something that looked grey and sinuous. Almost like a long grey tail. Edric hoped it was something like library security but something in his gut told him that wasn’t the case. “I don’t think we’re alone.” Emira said bring her voice into a low whisper. Edric nodded his head.

“Stick together.” Edric said.

Emira nodded her head. “We stick together.” They moved just a little bit closer to each other. She dropped the book she was holding, her grip having come loose. The book fell to the floor, the sound of its landing breaking the silence. Both Edric and Emira winced as they head the sound echo through the halls. Their breaths hitched as they watched and waited for something to happen. The book opened allowing Edric to see that Emira had plucked a copy of Otabin from the shelves. Out of the picture crawled Otabin himself. The purple rabbit stood there and stared at the twins. The twins stared back, both of them shocked to see him come to life. That must be the magic of the wailing star. It made a lot of sense why the library closed early. Because if something like Otabin could come to life, Edric thought with a growing sense of dread, what else could be bought to life from the pages of a book?

“Hello I’m Otabin. Will you be my friends?” he quietly asked the twins, his ears twitched as he did so. Edric wanted to coo at the adorable sight, but knew now was not the time.

Emira nodded her head. “I think we would like that Otabin. But I think we should be careful. Something is lurking in the library and I don’t want any of us to get hurt.” she warned the storybook character.

“Okay new friends. Otabin will help you.” he said, his voice full of determination.

“Thank you Otabin. Come on I can carry you.” Emira said gesturing to the rabbit to come closer. Otabin proceeded to do so, allowing Emira to pick him up. She placed him on her shoulder.

“You’re welcome.” Emira whispered. Edric kept one eye on his sister and the other on their surroundings. He could almost imagine thousands and thousands of eyes watching their ever move just waiting to pounce.

He hoped it was just his imagination acting up again. (He knew it wasn’t acting up. Something was lurking in the darkness.) He hoped it was his brain seeing emptiness filling the void with patterns. “What’s our next move?” he quietly asks, feeling very nervous.

Emira took a deep breath to settle her nerves before she responded. “I think we should leave. Everything-. Everything’s telling me to leave.” Edric was feeling the same way. Everything in his body was telling him it was a good idea to leave and to leave quickly. “We just need to head-.” her sentence was cut off as she looked back the way they came. There was no more path there. There was only the shelves full of books. “-back.” she finished as she looked at where they had come from, and found there was no way back.

“Well that’s not good.” Edric wasn’t too sure who said that but he found that he agreed with that sentiment wholeheartedly. Edric looked opposite to where they had come from. He could see a path forward, in the distance he could vaguely make out a stairwell. He tugged at his sister’s sleeve, in order to get her attention.

“What is it?” she asked as she turned to face Edric and see what he was looking at. “Ah.” she said, as she got the answer to her question. Emira and Edric looked around to see if there were any other paths they could take. There wasn’t. All paths bar one were gone. They looked at each other and gave each other a nod. They could stay here and potentially get attacked, or they could take the path and hoped nothing bad happened to them. They really didn’t have much in the way of good choices. “Guess we take the path.” she said clearly not looking forward to that prospect. Otabin clutched tightly at Emira’s shoulder.

“Yeah.” Edric confirmed equally not as pleased. So the twins walked the only path they had available to them. It was a straight shot to the stairs. There were no off shoots or other routes. Their footsteps echoed through the hall. There was no other sounds apart from their breath. They arrived at the stairs. “Maybe we can get a look from up there and see if we can plan a route out.” Edric said looking up the stairs. He watched as the shadows darted away from his light. Looking at the wall he could see that they currently were on the ground floor.

“Yeah let’s hope so.” Emira said as they took their first steps up the stairs. They took one step after another. Nothing leapt out of them. So they continued to walk up the stairs. Eventually it got to the point that Edric felt they should have reached the next floor by now. He and Emira looked at the wall to see what number floor they were on. What they saw instead of the number one they were expecting they say the number five. Next to it was a pair of heavy duty wooden doors. Written on them was a phrase Edric didn’t understand.ここには何もありません。ここには何もありません “Edric could you just remind me of how many floors the library has again?” Emira asked him. Edric wasn’t quite sure why she asked him that but made to answer her anyway.

“Let’s see. There’s the ground floor, the first floor, the second floor and-. Oh.” he counted out on his fingers before he realised what his sister was getting at. There was no fifth floor. There should be no fifth floor. Yet despite all that he could see that there was a fifth floor.

“Yeah let’s go back down.” Emira said as she pivoted on her foot so she could begin to make her way down the stairs. She stopped as they all heard the sound of something skittering up the stairs. “Never mind mystery doors it is.” she said with a great deal of false cheer as she opened the door. Edric was right behind her as the skittering drew closer and closer to them. Either it was something very very big or a lot of little somethings and Edric wasn’t in a hurry to find out which one it was. Otabin whimpered as he heard the skittering as well. The door slammed shut behind them, hopefully provided some of protection or at least slow whatever was after them.

The halls that greeted them, was to put it bluntly, strange. It felt like someone cobbled together hallways of different material giving no consideration to how that would actually work. Edric could spot material like stone, wood and what looked to be glass. In comparison there were many materials that Edric had no idea what they actually were. Another interesting thing was that it was well lit despite the fact there didn’t seem to be any lights, Edric and Emira turned their scrolls off to conserve power. There was the occasional door that he could spot. None of them had glass or any way to see through them leaving there contents a mystery. “So what next?” Edric asks. His voice echoes oddly through the halls.

Emira looks down the strange halls and doesn’t answer. They begin to walk down the hallway as they hear a skittering at the door.

Skitter.

Skitter.

Skitter.

!&$^&!@^#%*&^$&%@*

Rules of the fifth floor. Ignore them at your own risk.

1. Do not knock on any doors and do not answer any knocks at the door. It disturbs those who rest within and without. You wouldn’t want to do that now would you?

2. Do not speak falsely when asked questions. Saying nothing at all is perfectly fine however. But inaction is an action in itself.

3. Do not make eye contact with any of the fellow guests. The eyes are windows to the soul after all.

4. If you need to open a door, please do be courteous, no one likes a rude guest.

5. If you must choose a path never pick the path to your right. Also pick the path to your left or the one directly in front of you. Of course this is all a matter of perspective.

5. Most rooms are perfectly liveable, but do be warned there is no guarantee of safety. So only walk in a room if you are willing to take the risk. If you are not do not open any doors. There will be plenty to occupy you in these halls.

5. If you see a man, with a melting face, do not answer his questions. Politely say that you are busy and are needed elsewhere. He will ask you two more times and each time you must be polite and firm that you are needed elsewhere. He will relent and let you go about your business. He will not bother you again for the rest of your stay. If a woman with too few shadows and too many eyes ask do your best to answer. She is a kind being and may help guide you on your way. There is no guarantee of this of course but help is always nice.

5. If there is the voice of a loved one calling for you by name. Do not listen. Do not approach. It is an imposter. Head away from the source. Whatever you do walk away from the source. Your loved one is dead and gone.

5. Enjoy your stay. Thank you and hope you have a pleasant day.

If everything goes well you should make it out in one piece. If things don’t go well, you will be remembered like it or not.

!&$^&!@^#%*&^$&%@*

Emira was honestly very very close to freaking the fuck out. While she did get her wish of finding out what the wailing star did, she and Edric were trapped in something out of one of her more trippy dreams. Also Otabin had been bought to life and was currently riding around of her shoulder, can’t forget that.

She let out a short huff, feeling very stressed. She and Edric were wandering the halls, no clear destination in mind or in sight. The hallways’ layout was one that followed no rhyme or reason. It felt like the paths they walked didn’t line up properly, like an optical illusion that hurt to look at. She tired to mentally map out the paths they took, only for her to get the beginnings of a headache. So she stopped and let her feet take her to wherever she was going to end up.

No one spoke, feeling like they would be breaching some unknown taboo if the broke the silence. They did not open any doors and ignored any knocks at a door. They did not want to risk anything happening to them. But that still left them wandering in, what felt like, an endless maze of hallways. There footsteps echoed oddly through the halls.

Whenever they got to a crossroads, for some reason, they never chose the path on their right. They only chose the paths that were in front of them or to their left. Why they never chose the path on the right Emira had no idea but it felt like something was whispering to her. Whispering to never take the path on the right. She heeded the whisper and never walked the path to her right.

Eventually they got to the point where they needed to take a break, so when they got to the next set of crossroads they sat on the floor and caught their breath. Thankfully they hadn’t encountered anything that wanted to hurt them. They hadn’t encountered anything but the unanswered knocks at the doors. Which also meant they hadn’t encountered anything that could help them either.

Emira laid her back against a portion of the wall that was a cold smooth stone. She let the coolness sooth her as she felt the cold seep into her bones, she also made sure to keep an eye out. She didn’t want anyone sneaking up on them. While she was doing that Edric was lying on the floor, uncaring of what it was made of. Atop of him was Otabin, who was resting fitfully, on Edric’s stomach. Edric had offered to take Otabin of of Emira’s shoulder so she didn’t strain herself too much. She gratefully took him up on that offer. Otabin despite his small size actually weighed a fair bit and Emira’s shoulder was beginning to hurt.

It honestly felt like they had been walking for hours with no end in sight. She rolled her sleeve back and looked at her watch. Hopefully she could figure out how long they’ve been wandering for. Thinking back they had broken in around 7:30 or thereabouts. She blinked in shock at what she saw on her watch. It was only 8:30. They had been here for only an hour. “Edric.” she whispered, not wanting to be too loud.

“Yeah?” groaned an exhausted Edric, his arm covering his eyes.

“We’ve been here for only an hour.”

“Seriously?” he asked, a deep seated exhaustion obvious in his voice. “It feels like we’ve been here for ages.” he said with barely any exaggeration. It felt the same to Emira as well.

“Yeah it feels like that to me as well.”

“This sucks.” Edric muttered and Emira couldn’t argue with that sentiment.

They heard footsteps coming closer. Edric, Otabin held tightly in his arm, stopped laying on the floor and got to his feet. Otabin stirred slightly, his slumber disturbed, he gave a slight whimper. Emira got to her feet, cautious and ready to run or fight.

One step.

Two step.

A few more steps and they would see who or what it was.

Four steps away.

Three steps away.

Two steps away.

One step away.

In the corridor they were facing they could see a man. They could hear his steps. They could hear the dripping. Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop. It wasn’t water they were hearing.

He had a face like most men did. He wore a nice causal suit with nice causal shoes. They had markings of something dripping on to them.

But most men’s faces weren’t melting, like ice caught in the red hot sun. They could hear the dripping, as the droplets hit the floor with a splash. They did not look at his face but knew he had to have one. Even if it was constantly melting.

The footsteps came to a stop yet the dripping continued. “Hello there. Would you mind helping me?” the man asked the twins. Both twins were weary, ready to run at the moment thing went wrong.

“Sorry sir but my brother, our friend and I are busy. We won’t be of much help.” Emira stated firmly but politely.

#&*%$*&@()!^*&%

5. To wander in this false.

5. dream is the height of folly.
labyrinth
5. the further you go.

5. the harder it is to return.

5. all dreams must end.
the nightmares will end 

#&*%$*&@()!^*&%

Amity Blight surveyed the changed library, mentally noting all the changes she could see. The shelves seemed to reach higher than the used to and they seemed to have changed their locations. There were paths that weren’t there this afternoon. The front desk wasn’t were it was supposed to be. She looked up at the skylight in the ceiling, that was still in the right place. The skylight was letting in the light of the wailing star gently illuminate part of the library. Looking up at the ceiling it looked like it was higher that it was supposed to be. Her best guess was a book had been opened and it was warping the library as the story inside came to life. She knew this was going to be hectic at the bare minimum.

Luz was standing by her side surveying their surroundings as well, she was in her magical girl outfit, staff in her hand and she seemed to be ready for anything. “Amity do you think the wailing star did something to the library?” King holding Luz’s scroll like thing, looked around their surroundings as well.

“Yeah that’s the most likely reason.” agreed Amity, unable to think of any other probable reason, before she decided to explain to Luz and King what the wailing star did. “The light of the wailing star brings the contents of any open book to life, which as you can imagine can lead to chaos.” Luz nodded, probably imagining the potential disaster that could be unleashed. Sure the magic faded once the wailing star finished its trip, but any damage caused by something from a book wouldn’t be fixed. Like say a dragon from a book setting something on fire. The magic would erase the dragon, but the fire would remain and it would burn. In fact one of the worst fires in the history of Bonesborough was caused by a dragon that was created by the magic of the wailing star. It had burned for several days straight until it was bought under control. “So be ready for anything.” she warned them. “Anything that is in a book can become a threat to us.” Luz and King nodded their heads showing they understood her warning.

They heard growls coming from behind them. They all whirled around to face the source of the sound. Amity got an abomination ready while Luz’s staff lit up with a red glow. They, saw them practically covering the shelves and they found what looked like hounds but they looked wrong. It was like their legs didn’t line up properly, their eyes were wrong, their fur consisted of impossible angles, their teeth were too sharp. They looked at Amity and Luz with hungry hungry eyes. There was a swarm just waiting to pounce on them. There wasn’t one or two or even three. There were too many to count, it was like they blurred and shifted together, like a mixing pot. There was no clear beginning and there was no clear end.

Amity’s thoughts raced as she tried to figure out why they were waiting there and not attacking them. Were they waiting for something? She had no idea what that would be if that was the case. The chorus of growls echoed through the halls. It was like the raising tide.

“Uh what do we do?” King asked clearly unnerved just like Amity was feeling as well. Something about the hounds tugged at something in her memory but she had no idea what that was.

Luz, with a very determined look on her face, gave her answer. “I don’t think we can run.” she slammed her staff on the floor. The flood flinched briefly back before returning. “So we fight. You ready?” she asked staring at tide with a steely glare. The abyss stared back.

Amity barely had to think before she gave her response. She didn’t like their chances of getting away. She looked around confirming her fears. They were surrounded. They had to fight. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

King just said. “Not really.” he was afraid but resigned. Amity was afraid. From Luz’s tight grip on her staff, she was afraid as well.

At some unseen signal the deluge was upon them. It was time for the fight of their lives.

$*^@%**$^@%!$*^#%$*^$

They were shadows.
They were hungry.
They were restless.
They were hunting.
They were ready.
They wanted to consume.
They wanted to feed.
They only desired to eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat.

They could be driven away with the light of the titan itself. But such methods were lost long long ago. These hounds know no fear apart from one thing. They fear the light of compassion. They will hunt until their prey is dead. They will not stop. They will not quit. If one finds themself hunted by these hound never lose hope and your gift shall shine in your darkest hour.

$*^@%**$^@%!$*^#%$*^$

The hounds (for lack of a better terms) rushed towards them like a tidal wave, Luz grabbing Amity in her arms, ignored Amity’s surprised squeak and jumped. She jump as high as she could go, avoiding the deluge. Unfortunately she couldn’t really fly at the moment since she was having trouble with controlling the wind with her magic. But she did have her fire. But she would have to be careful as really she didn’t want to set the library on fire. Water was also out because she didn't have any water on her and the air was kept fairly dry, meaning very little water was actually in the air.

“Hold on tight.” she said causing Amity to tighten her grip. King did the same. She channeled the fire, angled her staff and let the fire flow from the butt of her staff. Someone was yelling in Luz’s ear but she ignored it so she could focus. They rocketed to a currently unoccupied shelf with Luz touching down gracefully. The flood quickly gather itself together and began to race towards them. Luz began hopping from shelf to shelf, trying to outrun the surging wave. She had a lot of practice hopping from one thing to the next, which was really helping right now.

Even though she managed to briefly escape, she knew for a fact that this was something that would not stop until what it was hunting was dead. Many witches and their familiars she had faced acted similarly. So sooner or later they would have to fight or they would be worn down and consumed.

As she hopped from shelf to shelf she could hear Amity mutter under her breath. She looked to be seriously in thought as she did so. “What are you think about?” she asked Amity, hearing what sounded like one of the shelves collapsing. Luz winced at the sound loudly echoing. One thing witches had over this thing is that for the most part their battles were contained in their own little pocket of reality, which meant the surroundings didn’t get damaged. Usually.

Amity gave a slight start but relaxed seeing it was just Luz talking to her. “Something about those hounds feels familiar but I can’t put my finger on it.”

“That sucks, was it something you’ve read recently?” she asked hoping to help Amity recall what it was. Because any info would really be useful right about now.

Amity’s eyes widened as she made some connection. “Reading! That’s it! They were in one of the stories in the mystery of the Bonesborugh Library.” That title felt somewhat familiar to Luz before she recalled where she had heard it before.

“The book Lilith recommended you?” she asked Amity. Howls angry at being denied behind them, a reminder to move. She moved, keeping a steady pace.

Amity nodded her head. “That’s right.” she said before she began to outline the story to Luz. They were interrupted by the sound of a familiar howl. Luz’s heart felt like it would break again. No no no no.

It couldn’t be. She looked towards the source of that howl.

And one of her worst nightmares had come back to life.

- - - -

When Luz rocketed away from the surging tide something fell out of her pocket. Something that in this circumstance could easily turn deadly. Her note book.

Her notebook fell, it fell through the hounds, who ignored it for it was not their prey. It landed on the floor, any noise it made was drowned out by the chaos above. It opened on the worst possible page it could manage. On that page was a creature that vaguely resembled a fox. Unlike most foxes this one had no fur. Its flesh was sickly and sallow. Its eyes were shown glowing a baleful red, showing that it wanted to take and take and take. The most striking thing was the fact the fox consisted of nothing but hands, grabbing onto the next. They all grabbed on to each other, wanting to bring everything into its covetous embrace.

A giant paw erupted from the notebook. It reached for the stars, forever out of her reach. Yet still she reached. She wanted everything. She howled in this strange new place, it was not her den but she would hunt all the same. She tried to wash the world in her colour but something stopped her. She growled but ignored it when she saw someone she wanted, off in the distance, she glimmered beautifully. She could not remember why but she knew without a doubt the girl belonged to her. There were vague feelings and vaguer recollections but she ignored them. They were nothing to worry about.

And what did one do when something that belongs to you tried to leave?

You get it back of course.

!#@^$#*

The [REPLICA/FALSE] witch with a [HOLLOW/EMPTY] nature, she wants to [FILL THE VOID IN HER HEART]. She desires what she should not have and no matter how much she is [LOVED], she will [NOT STOP] in an attempt to take what she [OWNS]. She [SHOULD HIDE] away in her [HOME] when there are visitors to her home due to [BEING AFRAID] however she may [TAKE] her visitors if they have something she wants. Do be aware however that [EVERYTHING] that is taken will never be [FOUND].

[WARNING UNKNOWN ERROR]

[CONTAMINATED BY UNCONSCIOUS BELIEFS]

Chapter Text

Chapter 15

“Could you please help me dear child?” the man with the melting face asked them once more. Something in his tone rubbed Emira the wrong way. There was this air of danger in his voice. The fact there was something wandering this halls was concerning enough never mind someone with unknown intentions. There was also Otabin’s reaction to consider. The moment the man appeared he hid his face in the crook of Edric’s neck. It made Otabin look like he was trying to hide from this man’s gaze. Honestly Emira didn’t blame him.

“Like I said we’re busy.” Emira stated to him once more. She made sure she was polite and firm in her refusal. “I’m sorry but we can’t help you.” She tried her best to make sure her annoyance and frustration with the man didn’t bleed into her voice. She felt some fear towards the man and the way he was talking to them. Talking to this man reminded Emira of talking with mother at times. She would put on a polite veneer but there was always an underlying sense of menace in her words. It bleed through more when mother didn’t get what she wanted. Which taught Emira to be careful with her words when talking to someone she didn’t trust.

“I just N-E-E-D Y-O-U-R H-E-L-P Y-O-U S-T-U-P-I-D C-H-I-L-D!” The man’s voice grew distorted as once more he was refused. Emira stood her ground. The man didn’t move to hurt them. He didn’t need to. The threat of violence lingered in the air.

But there was more ways of hurting someone than just physically. Her mother taught her well in the ways of harming someone without leaving a mark. She knew that lesson by heart.

Edric shivered as he heard the man’s anger, Emira barely managed to stop herself from doing the same. He clutched at Otabin, trying to shield him from the man. “I’m sorry but like I’ve said we’re busy with our own issues at the moment.” Emira stated firmly. Her nerves felt like they were shot but somehow she remained externally calm. Internally, however, was a completely different story entirely she was worried and scared. She tried her best to stay calm.

The man, did not rage at them or attack them but she could feel his disappointed stare nevertheless. In his breath she could hear a barely contained rage and fury. It uncomfortably reminded Emira of the times mother was angry at her and/or Edric.
“Such disappointing let downs you are.” mockery was dripping from his words, just like the boiling rain, burning and hurtful. “You’d never amount to anything if you-. The man’s diatribe was cut off with the sound of another set of footsteps coming towards them. “No. Not you.” the man said before the sound of someone running away could be heard. The man ran away.

Emira hoped whoever this was, wasn’t an even worse monster.

“Are you okay?” asked the one coming towards them, an honest concern in her voice. It sounded like an older woman, kind of like the stereotypical grandma voice most people thing of when they imagine an old woman. Emira didn’t dare look at the face and instead looked at the old woman’s feet. She wore jeans and a green sweater. She blinked as she noticed something quite odd about this woman. Despite how bright the halls they were in were, the woman cast no shadows. “He didn’t harm you did he?” Emira and Edric shook their heads saying no to that question. The woman gave a sigh of relief as she saw their shaking heads. “That’s a relief.” she sounded like she actually meant that.

No matter the angle there were no shadows. Everything casts a shadow when light is shone upon it. That’s how things worked. It like this woman wasn’t even there but the footsteps implied a physical presence. Then again a strong illusionist could easily fool the senses but Emira found no traces of illusion magic in their surroundings. So unless she can find any other evidence she’s just going to have to go with the assumption that the woman is really here. “Come walk with me.” The woman said to the small group, like she was inviting them on a nice walk.

“Can I just ask who are you? Where are we?” Emira asked, wanting some actual answers on what was going on here. She didn’t want to go wandering off with some strange woman. The woman just laughed, seemingly amused by Emira’s questions. In the corner of Emira’s eye she could see Otabin raise his head up to look in the woman’s direction. He seemed more curious than wary about this woman. So the woman had that going for her at least.

“Who am I?” the woman asked them, Emira could imagine the smile on her face. She laughed again, Emira found it oddly comforting. “In the grand scheme of things who am I doesn’t matter. I’m just here to help you on your way.” she said to them before she moved on to answer Emira’s next question. She began to walk forcing Emira and Edric to walk behind her, if they wanted answers. “As to where you are, well... you’re in a maze, for lack of a better word.” She hummed for a bit, her foot steps echoing the strange halls. “Well okay not quite. But there’s a story and in that story there’s a maze and in that maze is you three. Get me so far?” she asked. Emira nodded getting what the woman was getting at. If the wailing star bought Otabin to life what’s she to say that it couldn’t do something similar with something like, say, a maze?

“Not really.” Edric muttered.

“Well you’ll get it in a bit.” the woman said in reassurance before she continued on with her explanation. “Since you three are in this story, you are now a part of it. Most stories I would just recommend following the plot and leaving when it ends.”

“Not with this one I’m guessing?” Emira asked the woman rhetorically. She knew it wasn’t going to be that easy. But it would be really nice though.

“Correct. The further you wander the harder it is to return, and this story does not have a happy end in store for you.” she said to them gravely. Emira didn’t want to imagine what this place could have in store for them. “This place is at the precipice between existence and non-existence.” Well that was a cheery image. “So you need to find a way to break free from this story, if you want to go back.”

“How do we do that?” Edric asked the question that was on her mind. How did they get out?

“Well you need to ignore the whispers first and foremost, they want you to go-.” Emira was going to ask the woman what she meant by that, but then she started to hear something whispering, on a path to the right. It was faint. But it burrowed into her brain, it lingered there like a stubborn stain. It made her focus solely on the whispers, the rest of the world faded away. They sounded like someone she once knew. Her memories of this person were faint yet even fainter. She could recall a warm smile. She could recall feeling affection. The rustling of her hair while she played with this person’s daughter, a girl with brown hair. The years had caused the memories to fade, but there was still remnants in her mind.

“Come on Emira. I’ve missed you. It’ll be good to see you again.” The whisper was kind and warm. Emira wanted to see this person again. Unbidden she took a step down the path to the right. It was cold. She ignored it. She needed to see that person again. She saw the void. She ignored it. She needed to see that person again. “That’s it. Just walk down this path and we get to see each other again. I’d like that. Would you like that?” She could hear someone saying her name. She ignored it. She needed to see that person again. She heard someone shout her name. She ignored it. She needed to see that person again. She heard someone shout her name once more. She ignored it. She needed to see that person again. She felt someone grab on to her. She ignored it. She needed to see that person again. She felt someone try and stop her in her tracks. She ignored it. She needed to see that person again. She felt something sharp poke into her hand and she couldn’t ignore that.

She blinked, feeling like she had just come out of some sort of trance or dream. She looked down to see that Otabin had poked her with a needle, that Edric, frightened and afraid, grabbing on to her hand with a tight grip. Behind them the woman stood in the intersection, watching them. “Wha-? What happened?” she asked feeling somewhat incoherent. She felt like she was just having a nice dream only to be suddenly woken up. She didn’t enjoy the sensation too much.

“I’m guessing you heard the whispers too?” Edric asked her, she wanted to ask who he heard but refrained. She nodded to say yes. “Well I heard them too before Otabin poked me with a needle which woke me up.” He gave Otabin a pat on the head, he leant into Edric’s hand enjoying the sensation.

Otabin gave them a kind smile, he was honestly quite adorable. “Otabin always helps his friends.” he said brandishing his needle in one hand. It gleamed silver in the source-less light.

Emira smiled. “Thanks Otabin.” Her brother gave his thanks as well. Without Otabin they likely would have waked down this path, and past the point of no return. She shivered at the mere thought of it.

“You’re welcome.” Otabin replied. “Otabin likes being helpful for his friends.” he said earnestly. The trio decided to walk back to where the woman was waiting for them.

“Ah you’re back.” the woman said and Emira wanted to be angry at this woman for doing nothing to stop her from walking down that path, but before she could unleash her anger upon the woman, she started to apologise. “I’m sorry but I couldn’t go down that path with you. My reason is simple. I can’t not exist down that path. The moment I crossed that threshold I would cease to be. I’ve come close to it before.” There was an honest fear in her voice as she said that last part. Emira’s anger cooled slightly, she still wasn’t happy but she understood. “But luckily for you, you had someone to remind you of what is happening. Someone to bring you back from the edge of non-existence.” Otabin puffed up his chest with pride at a job well done. “Yet again I must say I’m sorry I couldn’t help you with this properly.”

Emira sighed. “I’m not happy but I understand your reason.” she said.

“You’re well within your right to do so.” the woman said in agreement. “But come on, time marches forward. Come morning the magic will fade and the dream will end. If you don’t leave before then, you’ll be trapped until the next wailing star. You’d be vulnerable to what else lives here.” she warned them beginning to walk down the expansive halls, Emira didn’t want to find out what else lived here thank you very much. Edric and Emira following right behind her.

“Uh how long would that be?” Edric asked in concern about the idea of being trapped in these halls any longer than they had to.

“Only about a decade or so.” the woman answered. If she noticed Emira and Edric moving just a bit faster she made no comment about it. “I don’t think you’d like being here that long.” Yeah no shit. “It is not a kind place.” Eventually the group just fell into silence, not wanting to talk much in an attempt to conserve energy. They took another left before going back the way they came.

She took the next left before taking another left. There was a third left taken before they went straight down the path in front of them. Emira felt like they were moving in circles. But she let the woman lead, she knew this place better that they did. As they traversed the halls, wandering aimlessly the woman began to hum a song. It was a quiet and melodic song. It sounded vaguely familiar to Emira, who started to hum along. Eventually Edric and Otabin joined in humming the song as well. The humming filling the silence of the halls. No more whispers could be heard. They took at least four more lefts. Emira noticed that logically they should have come across something that looked familiar but the hallways were all the same in the fact there was no patterns she could discern.

After a several minutes meandering through these halls Emira had to ask. “What’s the song you’re humming. It sounds kinda... familiar.”

The woman briefly stopped humming to answer Emira’s question. “I’m not sure.” she admitted. “I’ve known this song for as long as I have been aware. I have heard it echoing throughout the depths but I do not know what this song is. Sorry I can’t answer your question.” she sounded apologetic about the fact she couldn’t answer.

“It’s fine. If you can’t answer you can’t answer.” That still left Emira with the burning questions of what was that song and where did she hear it before? She didn’t know and she knew those questions would bug her until she could find some answers.

Eventually after what felt like an eternity they came across a set of familiar wooden doors. Emira and Edric ran to them, both of them hardly believing it. They could finally leave this place. Emira placed her hand on the door, ready to push it open.

Before she opened the door she turned to face the woman, she still didn’t make eye contact though. “I just want to say thanks... you didn’t have to help us.”

The woman laughed. “I know that I didn’t have to.” Emira could imagine her reassuring smile. “But I wanted to help you. I wanted you to be able to leave this place.” Emira felt the gentle suggestion that it was time for them to leave. Before she did so, the woman said. “You’re welcome Emira and Edric.” The twin’s eyes widened at hearing the woman say their names with such familiarity.

Emira pushed the door open and left the strange halls, her twin right by her side. She turned back to face the woman, Emira’s eyes knowing looking straight ahead. The doors begin to swing shut. “What how do you know our names? I’m pretty sure we didn’t tell you our names.” Emira’s question goes unanswered as the doors shut. They blink and like a mirage they were gone. Emira looked to the floor number on the stairwell they had moved to and saw the number 3. Emira gave a sigh of relief at that. They were out.

Emira frowns as she had caught a glimpse of the woman’s face right before the door closed. Her face felt oddly... familiar to Emira but she had no idea where she had seen it before. She searched her memories only to come up with nothing but vague recollections, but even those slipped like sand through her fingers.

“I’m not the only one who found that weird right?” Edric asked breaking the silence. “The fact she somehow knew our names without us telling her?” Neither Otabin or Emira would be able to answer his question as the sound of crashing bookcases and pained howls shook the library. Emira grabbed onto the nearest handrail, in order to keep herself upright. She reaches out and grabs Edric to help him steady himself. She really did not want to have her brother or Otabin fall down the stairs.

“What the fuck was that?” Emira asked as the shaking briefly stopped. The two twins nodded at each other and walked out of the stairwell onto the balcony. What they saw was shocking to say the least.

“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Edric asked.

“Yes Edric I can see Luz, some sort dog thing and our sister running from a giant fox monster and a pack of hounds made of shadows, as well the fact a lot of the bookcases have been knocked over or destroyed.” Emira said somewhat dryly. “I can also see that Luz changed outfits and that she’s jumping from bookcase to book case.” Which was an impressive bit of athleticism on Luz’s part Emira would quite happily admit. Also she was pretty sure that Luz was basically wearing the same outfit from that book series Amity really liked. She blanked on the name for a bit before she remembered what it was. It was Azura. Luz was dressing like Azura.

“Well just checking if we on the same page.” They both winced as the fox grabbed a piece of rubble and threw it at Luz and her two passengers. There was a look of fear on Amity’s face as the rubble flew at them. Luz shot a burst of flame from the staff in her hand, allowing her enough speed to avoid the incoming projectile. It crashed into the bookcase, Luz had just leapt off, with a thunderous crash of splintering wood.

Emira noticed something pretty interesting about the fox and the hounds, they may be both chasing after Luz and Amity. But they weren’t a united front, they occasionally attacked each other as well, getting in each other’s way. Sometimes the fox swiped at the hounds and sometimes the hounds bit the fox. “How can we help them?” Edric asked and seeing the enmity between the fox and the hounds gave Emira an idea. She proceeded to tell Edric and Otabin her idea.

A little bit of their specialty would do just the trick

- - - -

30 minutes or so ago.

Amity could practically feel Luz’s fear and her sorrow from ever inch of her body as they heard that howl. Amity, focusing on the fact that Luz was frightened of that howl halted her explanation on her idea to beat the hounds, she turned to look at what let that howl out. Amity could faintly hear Luz mutter the word ‘no’ over and over. Luz’s voice was full of terror and sorrow. King glanced back then he tried to snap Luz out of it by snapping his claws in front of her face. It didn’t work.

Her stomach dropped as she saw something horrible. It was a fox, if only in the loosest sense of the word. It had four legs, a long tail and a head, but that was where the similarities ended. It was tall so tall that it shouldn’t be able fit in the library but it managed to all the same. It was hands upon hands upon hands, they looked clammy and pale and sick. They all reached for something that was forever out of reach. The eyes glowed a bright bright red. A bright red that was laser focused right on them. Amity knew without a doubt that the fox wanted Luz and would let nothing get in its way. She saw its teeth as it opened its mouth as it howled once more. There were sharp like daggers, and Amity could imagine them ripping through their flesh if they got caught.

Beneath its feet some of the hounds began to strike at the legs of the fox. The fox returned the favour by swiping at them with its front legs, sending some hounds flying in the air. Amity could see that still there were hounds coming after them and they needed to move now. “Luz!” Luz was still trapped in the cycle. “Luz.” Amity shouted again and this time it worked as Luz blinked, and returned to reality.

“Shit sorry Amity.” Luz said apologetically, as she began to move again. “It’s just bad memories.” she explained before she cursed again. “Sorry the fox is my fault.” she said. Her voice sounded so upset with herself over what was most likely an honest mistake.

“What do you mean by that?” King asked, not judging her at all.

Luz took a breath before she explained. “I think my notebook must have fallen out of my pocket when I jumped up.” she looked angry at herself for doing so. “I should have remembered I had it in my pocket. I’m sorry I screwed things up.” Amity could faintly hear Luz reprimand herself for her mistake. The way she did it made Amity’s heart ache for the other girl. “Stupid Luz. Always screwing things up, just like they always say.” Whoever said that to such a kind and amazing girl was a complete and utter idiot.

“Hey don’t talk so mean about my friend.” King said snapping Luz out of her self recrimination. “She’s amazing and don’t you forget it!” he said to Luz earnestly.

“He’s right you know.” Amity chimed in with her own agreement. Luz blushed slightly at hearing them say that about her. “You’re kind, and amazing and-.” Amity trailed off not wanting to say the next word on her mind ‘beautiful.’ “So what if you’ve made a mistake?” she started. “Everyone makes mistakes. What matters if you work to fix them.” She got that lesson from book four of Azura not that she would admit that to anyone but Luz any time soon.

Luz smiled weakly. “Thanks you two. You’re right Amity about fixing your mistakes.” the way she said that first part made Amity think Luz didn’t fully believe that, and was just agreeing to move things along. Well Amity would just have to to tell her that until she does believe it. She heard the howls of the hunting hounds and shelved that for the moment. Luz seemed to do the same to as she asked Amity. “What do you know about the hounds?” Luz hopped to another bookcase and Amity was beginning to wonder how large the library as now. She knew for a fact that they should have reached one of the walls by now, yet she could see more and more bookcases stretching out to some unseen horizon. Which was a good thing because they need to room to manoeuvrer. Beneath them Amity could glimpse some wavering shadows. She could see the snapping jaws and the fearsome claws surface and then descended back into to the amorphous mass. It was hard to discern what was the hounds and what was just the darkness, which did not help Amity’s nerves in the slightest.

Amity thought about the book she had began to read because of Lilith’s recommendation, she hadn’t gotten that far but she did read the story that featured the hounds. “The story they were in said they afraid of a bright enough light. Something about the titan’s gift?” Amity shook her head, unable to recall the exact wording right now. “But yeah we need a bright enough light.”

Luz nodded, her face showing her determination. “Right I think my light spell would help.” Amity nodded, During the conjuring after things were relatively settled Luz had showed them all the glyph she could use to cast a simple light spell. Amity could remember the awe she felt when she saw that spell in action, it was something most witches could do with a quick spell circle but seeing Luz put so much effort into it, was kind of inspiring. The fact something like that was in a spell circle made Amity curious about if there were any other glyphs just waiting to be discovered. But her curiosity could wait for when they weren’t running for their lives.

“So what’s the plan?” King asked Luz, who had a thoughtful look on her face.

Before Luz could answer that question they got attacked by the hounds coming from in front of them, they had climbed up the bookcase in front of them and leapt at them. They must have split off from the main mass at some point and ambushed them. Luz lost her footing causing all of them to fall down, right into the waiting maws below.

As they were falling, the hounds were running to smother them. Then they would consume them. King started to panic as they fell. “Leave us ALONE! WEH!” he shouted in a panic, his last exclamation unleashing a wall of pure sound, forcing the darkness back, even if for a moment. It unleashed pained howls as the wall of sound run roughshod over them all. But soon they began to recover, nearly ready to attack them again.

Amity’s ears rang as King’s shout echoed through the library. Luz didn’t waste the chance she was give as she made her staff spin in a circle. Light trailed behind the staff’s head. As the circle was completed the world was washed with a warm comforting light, unlike other light spells Amity had witnessed Luz’s always felt warm and comfortable in a way she couldn’t quite explain. Amity closed her eyes just in case. As she did so she could hear the pained howls return louder than ever before. But soon enough the pained howls died away. She heard the sound of fleeing claws and pained whines as what survived Luz’s light ran away.

They ran right into the fox, that was running right at them. The fox crushed them like one would a fairy. “Shit!” Amity exclaimed as they saw the fox currently racing right at them. Amity wasn’t one for cursing usually but this felt like a good moment to swear. What the fox did next caught them all by surprise. It started to veer to its left, chasing after something only it could see, it was also snapping at something only it could see. Like it was chasing an illusion. And the only illusionists that were here were-.

She looked up and saw her siblings on a balcony above them, their faces were screwed in concentration as they worked their magic. She tugged on Luz’s sleeve, getting her attention. As Luz looked up to see the twins Amity explained what was happening. “They’re distracting the fox, now’s your chance.” she prompted Luz getting herself and King out of her (comforting) grip, she knew Luz would be able to fight better if she wasn’t worrying about keeping two other people safe. “We’ll be fine.” she promised Luz who eventually nodded her head. Besides she could a light spell if push comes to shove.

“Stay safe.” Luz urged the pair. They nodded their heads. Amity in a fit of impulse, kissed Luz on the cheek. The two girls blushed as Amity drew away.

“For luck.” Amity managed to squeak out. Luz nodded her head, just as flustered as Amity was.

She then raced in the fox’s direction. Meanwhile King went, “wow you must be really really down bad for her.” he said teasingly.

“Shush you.” Amity replied still very flustered, unable to deny his words at all.

- - - -

Meanwhile with Emira and Edric they were putting on the performance of the lifetime, and for someone who likely wouldn’t appreciate it, but their sister was in danger. Emira just didn’t want to stand around and do nothing.

Emira made an illusion of Luz, Amity and the furry dog in an attempt to lure the fox away, which seemed to work a treat as it immediately veered to the side chasing something that didn’t exist.

While she did that Edric created an illusion of the shadowy hounds attacking the fox, buying Amity and her friends the time they needed. Any of his hounds managing to attack the fox would cause it to feel the pain of the claws and jaws like they were real. Once you get to Edric and Emira’s level things like that become easy.

Both of them concentrated on their illusions in order for them to be as convincing as possible. They focused their magic, visualise what they needed to do, and let their magic carry out their will. The fox’s world would twist and distort under their magic. People may think illusions were good for only cheap tricks and making people see things. Well those people are fools. Illusionists can, with enough time and training, fool the very world itself. She and her brother had a long way to go until the reached that point, but they were getting there.

Emira could see the real Luz chase after the fox, her face was determined. Something Emira noticed was the faint hint of tears in Luz’s eyes, her sorrow clear to see to anyone paying attention. Luz bought her staff to bare, and the world was washed with light once more.

This was not the light of comfort and warmth however.

It was a funeral pyre.

- - - -

The fox chased its belongings, she veered to her left as she saw her prize racing away from her yet again. The annoyances kept attacking her, but she swept them away like tidal wave would do to anything in its path. Her eyes were on her prize. She did not notice the fact the prize she was chasing was leading her right into a trap. She kept chasing her prize unaware of what was coming for her.

Her prize vanished, like mist dispersing in the wind. She blinked in shock. Where did she go? She missed the fact the hounds that were attacking disappeared the exact same way. She searched for her prized possession, her head darted back and forth not finding her.

Until-.

Until she caught sight of her prize once more, she was standing atop of a bookcase that despite it all, still stood strong. It was battered and hurt, but it stood all the same. She saw her possession have tears on her face, despite her tears she had a look of grim determination on her face. Why would she cry? She had no reason to cry, they would be together forever. Her prize raised her staff, the fox could not understand what she was saying, but the fox noticed what she was doing. She looked so apologetic. Why? They would be friends forever.

Like they promised.

The air grew warm.

It grew warmer and warmer

until it grew hot, so painfully hot

so hot that not even ash would remain.

The fox, despite her instincts screaming at her, did not move. The fire burned everything away. She let it burn.

The fox did not scream, she did not shout.

She cried tears, yet she did not know why, she cried and she cried.

She could glimpse the breaking dawn as her prize Luz jumped down from her perch. Her voice carried apologies that the fox could not hear, she wanted to reach out and wipe her tears.

But she had no hands to reach out.

The darkness was swallowing her vision, the sounds of the world were sputtering out, she could feel herself fade away, bit by bit. It was like she was slipping into a peaceful nap.

She wanted to reach out to her friend.

She could not. She tried and she tried, but she could not reach out.

So she howled in mourning. She howled mourning something she couldn’t remember and something she couldn’t recall.

She howled until it

all

went

black.....

- - - -

The light of the sun broke over the horizon and King was exhausted to say the least. Amity immediately went to check on Luz the moment things settled down. In the damaged remains of the library, the magic of the wailing star began to fade. The library shrunk back to its normal size, the fox began to fade away, glimmering like starlight. Yet there were still plenty of damage from knocked over bookshelves, to burns, to claw marks and bite marks. King looked around and saw something poking out of the wreckage, it was a familiar green notebook with Luz’s name written on it. Luz would most likely want that back so he made his way over to it and plucked it from the rubble. He looked it over to see of it was damaged and apart from some small scratches and dents, the notebook was completely intact.

He padded his way over to where Luz and Amity currently were, and noticed that they were joined by two others. The two others looked like they were Amity’s siblings or something to that effect. But he focused his attention on seeing how Luz was doing and from the bone deep exhaustion he could see in her face and the deep seated grief in her eyes, he was guessing she wasn’t doing too hot at the moment. Amity was holding Luz’s hand, her previous fluster was forgotten as she focused on helping Luz, just being there for her.

Luz’s face brightened a small bit as she saw King coming closer. “King! You’re okay!” she said a note of relief in her voice at seeing King was okay. He held up her notebook and Luz gently took it back, a grateful smile on her face as she looked over her notebook. Her transformation reverted, returning her to her usual outfit. The other two green people blinked in shock at seeing Luz do that. They looked like they wanted to ask questions, but refrained. They also looked like they were about to drop from pure exhaustion. Luz stowed her notebook in her hoodie’s pocket. “Thanks King.”

“You’re welcome Luz.” King knew how much the notebook meant to his friend. King yawned, he didn’t make a habit of staying up so long and from how he was feeling he knew he was going to try avoid a repeat. “Geez I’m tired.”

Honestly King was really in the mood to just find a nice patch of sunlight and curl up and sleep the rest of the day away. He could do that back home however. “I think we should all head home.” Amity prompted, barely restraining herself from yawning as well. “It’s- ha. It’s been a long day for everyone.”

The other two green people muttered their own tired assent. “Yeah I think that’s a good-.” Luz cut herself off with a yawn. “a good idea.”

“Edric. Emira” Amity said saying the two other green people’s name, causing them to straighten up at being addressed. “I’ll talk to you two later.” she promised

Edric (presumably) agreed. “Yeah don’t be a stranger.”

Emira (he assumed) gave Amity and Luz a soft smile. “Stay safe you three.” she said kindly. Suddenly there was a loud crash from behind them. When they turned around to see what caused that noise, they saw that the sign had fallen off its perch and onto the ground. It left a sizable crater. Well King didn't envy whoever had the morning shift.

With their farewells all said and done, Edric and Emira went their separate way, leaving just Amity, Luz and King. “Let’s go home.” Luz said, an idea King could get behind. Luz picked him up and King let himself be lulled into a comfortable sleep.

As he drifted off he had one question on his mind, one that slipped his mind in his exhaustion, one that his slightly sore throat reminded him of. What was that scream he did?

He didn’t get any answers from his dreams unfortunately, but he did remember the comfort and warmth he felt from Luz’s light. He also dreamed of a roar, a declaration of protection. It echoed loudly through the air.

- - - -

Eda, half asleep while sitting propped up by the couch, could hear the front door open and quiet whispers from those who entered. She cracked open one eye, her vision blurry and unfocused, and saw that Luz, King and Boots were back (all three looked absolutely exhausted) and behind them was the Bat Queen. As tempting as it was to ask why Bat Queen thought Eda would make a good babysitter, her exhaustion and achy body stopped her. She did feel the babies that were in her arms, leaving to fly towards their mother. Part of her would miss them, the rest was just telling her to never be a babysitter ever again if she could help it.

Luz, who looked so tired, talked briefly with the Bat Queen before the richest demon on the isles left, not before giving Luz something. Luz gently shut the door behind her, then with King in her arms sat herself down near Eda. She leant into Eda’s side which allowed Eda to drape an arm over her and pull her close. In Luz's lap was a sleeping King. She could hear Boots sit herself next to Luz, and, in the corner of her eye, saw that she leaned her shoulder on Luz’s.

“Hey kid eventful night?” Eda asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the nearby Raine or Lilith. Luz didn’t say anything but her nod and her shaky breath was enough of an answer. “Get some rest kid and we can talk about it later.” Luz nodded her head again. Slowly but surely her breath evened out as Luz drifted off. “That means you too Boots.” Boots just gave her a quick thumbs up before joining Luz in the land of dreams. Eda started to quietly hum a lullaby underneath her breath.

Eda yawned and decided to join them in sleeping in well. She felt like she was forgetting something but figured she would figure out later.

She would later thank her past self for setting an alarm to remind her of the doctor’s appointment she had booked for Luz and King.

Good job past her. Usually she screws up and forgets but not this time.

For now she slept peacefully with her kids by her side.

- - - -

Viney woke up with the light of the morning sun as she usually did. She needed to wake early so she could take care of anything she needed to do before school, like make sure she had what she needed for the day as well as make sure Puddles was fed and her bed was cleaned.

She blinked as she felt the sun sneak through the gaps in her blinds, she sat herself up tossing her covers aside. Apart from hearing Puddles down in the stable her house was a silent place. It had been as long as Viney could remember. She got out of bed, sparing a brief glance for the strange photo on her bedside table. It was of a much younger Viney and a woman that she couldn’t remember. No matter who she asked she got no answers as to who that person was, it was like she was just a void of information. Something about that woman made Viney’s heart ache, so she kept the picture on her bedside table. After getting herself dressed and packing her bag she turned to leave. “Bye. I’ll be heading off to school soon.” she said to the strange woman, as she left her room. The picture did not reply. It would be strange if it did.

She walked down the stairs, taking them two at a time. In no time she was on the ground floor of her house. Poking her head through the door leading to the stable was Puddles who looked happy to see her. “Hey girl.” Viney greeted her faithful company. “Ready for another day?”

Chapter Text

Chapter 16

Eda heard the buzz of her scroll’s alarm digging itself into her ears, like a skin eating fairy, and bringing her back to the waking world, despite her desire for the contrary. She pulled out her scroll and opened it up, she looked at it with bleary eyes. Said bleary eyes were quickly cleared as Eda realised why she had set the alarm in the first place.

On her scroll she could see that there were the words ‘Appointment with Mala at one’ blinking on the screen, which meant she had an hour to get Luz and King there. She sighed as she began to wake up Luz and King. She would honestly just prefer to leave them to their sleep, but she knew she needed to take the kids to the doctor’s. “Come on you two. Rise and shine.” she said as she gently shook her kids awake. They looked at her with somewhat tired eyes, King also looked a touch grumpy, as Eda explained why she woke them up. “Remember that appointment I booked for you two?” Luz nodded while King gave a sort of gesture. “Well we have an hour to get there, so you two better get yourselves ready.” Luz and King got themselves up and began to get ready for the day ahead. They headed up the stairs, presumably to do their teeth as well as anything else that they needed to do. Which left Eda with a still sleeping Boots, Lily and Raine. Eda quietly snickered at seeing the fact Lilith, who was curled up in a chair, had lost an eyebrow sometime last night in all the chaos with the six fire breathing babies, she hadn’t noticed at the time due to the aforementioned chaos, but now that things had settled down she could notice it now.

Boots, who at one point had her head on Luz’s shoulder, was sleeping propped up against the couch, and as Eda’s aching joints reminded her it probably wasn’t the most comfortable way to sleep, so she gently picked Boots up, being extra careful not to wake her up, and laid her down on the couch. Boots gave a small sigh but did not awaken.

Eda ran through a mental checklist of things that she should probably do before their appointment. First things first, since Boots, Lilith and Raine don’t seem to be waking up any time soon, she would have to leave them a note. She didn’t want them to panic at not seeing them at home. So she got out a post it note and a pen and wrote them a note in her usual messy scrawl.

-Hey just taking King and Luz to the Mala’s for an appointment, not quite sure how long it will take but will be back well before dinner.

-If you feel up to it could you help set up the beds Lily got yesterday? It would be really appreciated. If not well we can always do it later.

- Later Eda.

She signed off her note with her name, and began to look for a place to put it. Seeing the perfect place, she grinned and peeled the note off the pad and stuck it to where nobody could miss it.

She could hear the footsteps of Luz and King coming down the stairs, she turned to look and noticed that Luz had changed into a clean outfit and that King had a bit of toothpaste stuck on his nose. “Hey Eda.” Luz greeted. “We’re ready to go whenever you are.” King nodded his head in agreement, before he saw where Eda had put the note and had to choke back a laugh.

“Right then I’ve left them a note and we probably should get a move on if we don’t want to be late.” Summoning Owlbert to her hand in his staff form, she then began to make her way to the door kids in tow. “Byeeeeeeee.”

“See ya.”

“Bye bye.” The three said their quiet farewells as the other three witches peacefully slept.

She opened the door, Hooty was apparently asleep as he didn’t greet them like he usually did, and walked outside. She sat herself on Owlbert as Luz shut the door behind her. Eda picked up King as he walked over to her, and made sure he was secure. Luz sat behind Eda and wrapped her arms around Eda, holding on to her tight. “You two ready?” she asked just before she took to the sky.

“Yup.” King said, popping the ‘p’ as he did so.

“Ready.” Luz said. Hearing that her two passengers were ready Eda took to the sky.

“Next stop Mala’s place.” Eda announced as she began to fly over the forest she called home. Eda loved flying with Owlbert, she loved feeling so free. It made her large problems just seem a bit small. Honestly she also enjoyed taking Luz and King flying with her. King loved being high up, says a king must reign from up high and Luz loved looking at the Boiling Isles from high up as well as the fact she loved flying as well.

As the scenery beneath them blurred Eda enjoyed the time she was spending with her kids, even if she was taking them to the doctor. Well she’ll get them both a nice treat after the appointment, to make up for it.

. . . .

Soon enough Eda arrived at Mala’s practise, they had about twenty minutes to their appointment. It was a small and simple clinic all things considered, like the Owl house it was surrounded by trees. It was divided into two segments. One was Mala’s actual house, which was made of a red wood and had a chimney cheerfully puffing away, and the other was their clinic where they worked from when they had patients. That portion of the house was made of stone that Eda could tell had been molded by construction magic. As she and the kids disembarked, Eda walked up to the door on the stone part and knocked on it in a rhythm.

After she did so she stood back a bit and waited for Mala to answer the door. Luz and King stood by her, both of them looked curiously at their surroundings.

Soon enough the door opened to reveal Mala. Mala, when Eda was a kid, seemed to be very tall and even now Eda felt they towered over her with ease. They had long red hair that went down to their hips, their pale skin covered in scars of what Mala called a legacy of a misspent youth, Their red eyes lit up at seeing Eda on their doorstep, their lips curled up in a smile as they looked over Eda like they used to for her visits. “Ah Eda. It’s good to see you again, it has been a long long time. Still up to mischief I see.” Their voice despite their age was a firm and strong thing. They always spoke with an even cadence and never needed to raise their voice. They turned their eyes to King and Luz who waved at her. Mala nodded. “I presume you are Luz and King correct?” they asked the kids, Eda knew they already knew the answer but they were being polite.

“Hi I’m Luz.”

“I’m King.”

“Good good. There is no one here so I can see them now if you like.” Well that makes things a bit easier.

“Yeah sounds good to me.” Eda turned to Luz and King, a mock serious look on her face. “Right which one of you trouble makers want to go first?”

“Not it.” went Luz.

“Not it-. Dang nabbit.” went King before realising he was first up.

Mala smiled, probably remembering when Eda and Lily used to do the same thing whenever they had to see them, titan Eda was getting old. “Right then come on King Clawthorne the examination room is right this way. Do you want either Luz or Eda to come in with us?” Eda didn’t realise at the time that King was referred to with her surname, when she finally noticed she would be figuratively over the moon, not that she would admit that to anyone.

King hummed for a second before answering. “Uh can both of them come in with me?” he asked nervously tapping his claws together.

Mala laughed. “That’s perfectly fine little King.” They had a habit of calling children little, like they did to Eda with calling her little Eda, they stopped when she was like fifteen, give or take. They gestured for them to follow. “The examination room is big enough for all of us.” The group followed Mala past their waiting room and into the examination room. The examination room was a well order place. There was a desk that had lots of tools that Mala could use to examine their patient, Eda however didn’t really know the name of any of them. There were also four chairs, one by the desk and the other three were facing the lone chair. There was also a bed like thing that a patient could lie down on, if needs be. On the walls there were pictures of things like cute animals and pretty flowers.

Eda noted that the pictures remained unchanged after all these years. She couldn’t remember them ever changing. It was nice to see that some things don’t change even after all these years. Mala sat in the lone chair, which prompted the other three to grab a seat as well. King looked extra tiny in his seat, much to Eda’s barely hidden amusement. “Right then what needs to be addressed?” the doctor asked, getting straight to the point as always. They grabbed a notepad and a pen, ready to write anything of importance.

King looked a bit nervous, but soldiered on regardless. “Uh well we’re not quite sure what kind of demon I am,” he began, nervously tapping his claws together as he spoke, “and there’s also that scream I did last night.” the what? Eda asked in her thoughts. She probably should get the full story for the kids soon. As he talked Mala made the occasional note on their notepad, giving the odd hmmm ever now and then. “Like we were going to get, um what’s the word?” he asked himself before remembering the word he was looking for with a snap. “Oh yeah overwhelmed. We were about to be overwhelmed by these shadow hound things, and I went weh! And like there was a big blast of sound.” Usually Eda would put this down to King’s very active imagination but seeing Luz give her a nod confirmed to her that King was telling the truth. “Also I think Eda said something about shots or something. I don’t know.” She did mention that at some point didn’t she? She could have given them to him by herself, but found in case like this it was better to let a professional to do it. At least one she trusted.

Mala looked at King with a steady and discerning eye. “I see. I see.” With a quick spell circle some glass test tubes appeared in their hand. “Well for finding out what kind of demon you are, a blood test should tell us.” King nodded, understanding what they were getting at. Honestly Eda had no idea what kind of demon King even was, hell she thought he was a weird dog at first. She stopped thinking that when he said his first word. “Do I have you permission to cast a spell on you? It’s just a simple spell that allows me to take some blood with using any needles.” King nodded his head vigorously, happy to hear that there would be no needles... for now anyway. “There may be a brief feeling of light-headedness but that’s normal and will go away after a few moments.” they said with a gentle warmth, one Eda remembered from her youth. Like Mala it hadn’t changed at all.

“Yeah sure thing.” King said, giving Mala the go ahead. They pointed their finger at King and made the spell circle. The spell circle sprung to life.... and then promptly failed.

Everyone blinked in shock at seeing the spell fail. “That’s odd.” Mala murmured. “It should have worked.” They tried it one more time, only for the exact same result to occur. Mala hummed thoughtfully, their eyes moving to King from their outstreched finger.

“Has something like that ever happened before?” asked Eda feeling concerned at seeing the spell fail like that. It wasn’t something Eda had ever seen a spell circle do before, it just failing to do anything. She had seen them crack like glass, them blow up and on one memorable occasion blinded everyone with an intense light. It was supposed to be a simple bard spell that made the caster’s hearing a little bit sharper. Safe to say they failed and failed miserably.

Mala shook their head. “No that’s not a reaction I’ve ever seen before even in all my years in this world.” They looked at King with a somewhat apologetic expression on their face. “Sorry it looks like I’m going have to use a needle to get some blood.” King deflated as Mala opened up a drawer marked needles and began to rummage around in it.

“Aw man.” Mala got out the right needle soon enough.

“You might feel a little prick.” To sweeten the deal Mala added. “I’ll give you a lollipop if you’re good.” They pointed to a jar full of candy, sitting atop of their desk.

“Really?” King asked, his tail wagging at the thought of candy. It wouldn’t be wagging for much longer however.

- - - -

Raine woke up from their long sleep to find that they had fallen asleep in the living room at some point. They tried to remember why they wound up sleeping here in the first place. They gave an exhausted groan as they remembered what happened last night when they got back from work. They covered their face with one of their hands and dragged it down their face.

Eda was babysitting the Bat Queen’s kids, and was having a rough go of it. Raine, as well as Lilith who returned not long after they did, offered their help. Eda, who looked quite frazzled, happily agreed to their help. Then things quickly devolved into a much more chaotic mess as what was just three babies became six. Also Raine was pretty sure that Lilith lost an eyebrow at some point because of all the fire flying about.

They quietly laughed as they saw Lilith asleep one of the chairs, she was missing an eyebrow and also Eda had stuck a note to her forehead. “Typical Eda.” they quietly said to themselves as they stood up, joints creaking all the while. They could also see that Amity was sleeping peacefully on the couch.

They made their way over to Lilith and removed the note from her forehead. They began to read it and found that Eda had taken the kids to Mala, who was her family doctor back in the day. They had only meet the doctor a few times in the past but from their brief meetings the doctor was a stern and caring individual, even if they were very insistent on being called a doctor rather than a healer. So they knew Luz and King were in good hands. Raine saw that Lilith was starting to wake, most likely being disturbed by them removing the note from her forehead. “Good-. Good morning.” Lilith greeted them with a small yawn. Raine actually wasn’t sure what time it was. “What’s that in your hands?” she asked looking at the note in Raine’s hand.

“A note from Eda.” they explained to her. “She’s taken the kids to Mala’s for an appointment, and she’s asked us, if we’re feeling up to it, to begin setting up the bedrooms with the beds you got yesterday.” they looked and found several large boxes leaning against the wall. Apart from some small dings and scratches the boxes seemed to have survived the night unscathed unlike them. “Also Eda left the not stuck to your head. Just f.y.i.” they tacked on at the end, their lips twitching up into an amused smile.

Lilith rolled her eyes, unsurprised to hear that Eda had done that. “Typical Edalyn.” she muttered, her tone one of annoyed fondness. Lilith stood up from the chair she was currently sitting, stretching her arms high above her head. Before she said anything their stomachs began to grumble. “We probably should eat before we get started on anything.” Lilith went over to Amity and began to wake her up by gently shaking her shoulder. “Amity, we’re going to have something to eat. Would you like something?” Lilith asked as Amity began blinking her eyes as she woke up.

“Uh sorry what was that?” Amity asked. “I-. I couldn’t quite hear you.” Lilith repeated her question. “Yeah that sounds good to me.” As Lilith backed off from her apprentice, said apprentice began to get herself off the couch. “I’m going to get changed. I’ll be down in a bit.” she said making her way upstairs for a change of clothes.

“See you in a bit.” Lilith said as her apprentice began to take the stairs, Amity’s footsteps echoing up the stairwell. “Right what should we make?” Lilith asked. “Honestly I’ve been mostly subsisting on the coven rations, for the most part.” Raine openly boggled at hearing that. Those things were foul and that was the nicest thing Raine could say about them. “What?” Lilith asked somewhat defensively. “I was too busy to cook for myself.” Raine had heard that being the head of the emperor’s coven was a huge job but for Lilith to be so busy that she didn’t even have time to enjoy a home cooked meal, heck even some take out, was shocking to the bard.

“Did-. Did you not get time for yourself or something?” Raine asked feeling incredulous when Lilith shook her head.

“No members of the emperor’s coven get one day off a year and can sleep in till six am. I, being the head of said coven, was kept very busy with all my duties.” That was insane. Raine got regular time off, and sleeping in till six wasn’t that great. At Raine’s shocked expression Lilith went, “Well we were told that we were doing a lot of good for the Boiling Isles and that our sacrifices would be rewarded come the day of unity.” Raine really couldn’t wrap their head around the fact the Emperor’s coven seemed to be worked into the ground.

“Lilith that’s absolutely insane.” Raine stated bluntly, “Every other coven gives its members regular time off and time to rest.” They really felt the urge to reach for the alcohol as Lilith expounded on what being part of the Emperor’s coven meant for someone.

“I’m... I’m beginning to realise that.” Lilith eventually admitted, an air of defeat in her voice. “But when I started out, I thought... I thought I was going to be a force of good, and help make the world a better place.” Lilith sighed, sounding more exhausted that Raine had ever heard her been before. “Now....” she seemed like she wanted to fall back on the couch. “Now I’m not sure.” She sounded uncertain and, dare Raine say it, lost. She looked at her hands, her eyes not quite seeing what was in front of her.

Lilith’s statement hung in the air, it was one that showed Raine how lost Lilith was feeling right now. Raine understood, having their own misgivings with the coven system that have grown the more they spent time in the system. “How come?” Raine gently asked Lilith, who had trouble looking in their direction.

“I’m not sure if I should tell you this. If this got out that I told you, you could be in danger. I.. I don’t want to place you at risk.” Lilith clearly didn’t want to have anyone else to be put at risk. She was quite happy to risk herself however.

Raine decided that wasn’t going to fly with them. They would get Lilith to tell them what she was willing to tell them. Besides it would be of a great help to their rebellion attempt. “Well I’m quite willing to risk it, besides I’m good at being sneaky.” They hoped their attempt of reassurance got across to Lilith. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” It seemed to work thankfully.

Lilith took a breath, steadying herself, “If you’re sure,” then she told Raine of what she suspected, of the doubts she had and finally and the most shockingly, told them of the lab beneath the Conformatorium, she glimpsed when she was surveying the damage. Well now they had something to look into. They would send their students a message later to take a look when they had they chance.

Soon enough Amity walked down the stairs, in a fresh new outfit. She looked at Lilith and Raine with a raised eyebrow. “Uh Lilith?”

“Yes Amity?” Lilith said turning to look at her apprentice.

“Do you know that you’re missing an eyebrow?”

“...what.”

- - - -

Vee was having a good day at camp, today the camp was hiking through the forest and she was fascinated by the surrounding nature, having being kept locked underground most of her life. Every sight was new and amazing and exciting and Vee couldn’t get enough of it. She had a backpack that had supplies she needed like food and water.

“Having a good time Vee?” Masha asked from behind her, Vee could clearly hear their smile. Vee turned round to see Masha, with backpack on their back, a walking stick in their and a smile on their face. Their face was flushed with exhaustion of hiking up the nearby hill, they were breathing somewhat heavily.

“Yeah I am!” Vee beamed brightly, Masha jokingly covered their eyes, saying that Vee was as bright as the sun. “It’s so cool!” She saw the birds flying through the air. She saw the sun shine through the leaves. She saw the leaves rustling in the breeze. She saw the little critters darting every which way, all going about their lives with an energy that Vee hadn’t really seen before. “I love seeing all these animals, and trees. I really like the trees.”

Masha laughed, clearly enjoying Vee’s joy. “Good to hear. We’ve got a little bit to go before we get to the rest stop. Once we’re there you can have a closer look at everything if you like.” Masha reached out their hand and Vee quite happily took her friend’s hand. She enjoyed the sensation of holding Masha’s hand and delighted in their warmth. Masha was always warm when she held their hand.

“Let’s go! Let’s go!” Vee cheered pulling her best friend along for the ride. She wanted to get to the rest stop as soon as possible.

Masha laughed once more. “Vee we don’t need to rush!” they shouted. “We’re really not that far!” Vee laughed as well, slowing down for Masha’s sake.

Masha’s words rang true as they came across the rest stop. It had an astonishing view of the camp below. They weren’t the last ones there, as there were still the councillors bringing up the rear as well as a few stragglers. Most of the hiking group had already arrived and were eating their packed lunches. Masha and Vee took a seat on an available bench, Vee marvelling at the view all the while. Then they got their packed lunches out from their bags and began to eat. Vee had several apples and some sandwiches.

There were snippets of conversation from the other campers and councillors filling the air, while Masha and Vee ate their lunch. “I really like the view.” Vee said after swallowing a bit of her ham sandwich. “It’s so good.” seeing a view like this was something that Vee would never forget for as long as she lived.

Masha smiled. “Want me to take a picture for you? I could print off for you once camp is over.” they asked her, pulling their phone out of the pocket that they had placed it in, Masha had being helping Vee blend in be teaching her about things like phones and the like. Vee nodded, liking the idea of having a physical memory of the time she had spent with Masha. “Cool, let’s get a nice angle.” They held the phone out, allowing Vee to see what was on the screen. She could see the forest below, the camp just barely out of frame and one could see the hint of the rays of the afternoon sun. “Look like a good angle to you?”

“Yeah it does.” Vee didn’t know much about how to take good photos, on account of never having the chance to do so, considering being a lab experiment and all. So she just told Masha her honest opinion.

Masha took the picture and showed it to Vee. “I like how it looks.” Vee said with a smile.

“Thanks.” Masha said, changing the phone’s angle before taking another photo, taking Vee by surprise.

“What did you take a photo of?” Masha didn’t reply and instead showed her the phone. On the screen it showed both Masha and Vee, smiling and having a good time.

“Just making some memories. You know how it is.” Masha explained, sounding somewhat wistful to Vee. “I’ll send a copy of this one as well if you like?”

“Yeah I think I would like a copy.” Vee said, looking at the camp below and seeing how small things looked when you were so high up.

- - - -

Luz comforted King with pats on his head, after he had his blood taken, he was currently holding a wrapped lollipop in his hand, twirling it back and forth. He was somewhat grumpy after getting his blood taken, not that Luz could blame him. Blood test were not typically fun. Mala had two test tubes, both sealed shut, full of a glowing blue blood, making Luz wonder if King’s blood was haemocyanin based as opposed to haemoglobin based. They looked at the tubes with an inscrutable look on their face. “Well I will admit, this isn’t I’ve ever something I’ve seen before. I’ve never seen blood like this from anyone before you little King.” they sighed, sounding like the years were physical weighing them down as they did so. “I can offer you no guarantees a blood test will get you the answers you seek, but I will do me best to find out for you.” Eda nodded, looking at King with a concerned eye. “Maybe you’re something new and unique or maybe you’re something ancient and unfathomable. I just don’t know or can tell at this current juncture.” Their voice was unwavering but apologetic. King, however, didn’t look like he was fully processing things, at the moment.

“Uh that’s alright, I’ve not known for a long time...” King said sounding much older that he had any right to be. Luz’s heart broke from the sight, and from Eda’s expression she felt the same way. “I just don’t have any memories of what I am. The earliest memory I have is of Eda finding me and taking me home.” The lollipop twirled absent-mindedly in his claws, as he recounted his first memory. “If you can find something... anything. That would mean the world to me.” Mala solemnly nodded their head.

“I can promise you that I will do my best to do so.” Mala promised the young demon. “The blood test will take a few days to fully process and for you to get the results.”

“I can wait that long.” King replied. “I’ve already waited a long time.” Eda decided to pick King up from his chair and plop him in her lap. King didn’t protest and let Eda comfort him. He looked like he desperately needed it.

“Would you like to talk about something else now little King?” Mala gently asked the small demon. “Something a bit less serious?”

Said demon nodded his head. “Yeah... that sounds good to me.” King stopped twirling his lollipop. “What should we talk about?”

Mala looked down at their notepad, looking thoughtful as they perused their notes. “Are you making sure to brush your fur every time it gets dirty?” they asked, looking at King’s black fur. “Because with any demons with fur they need to make sure to brush to prevent things like parasites and the like.” Then with a conspiratorial whisper Mala added. “You wouldn’t believe how bad it can get, sometimes, sometimes their fur is so tangled that any hair brushes got stuck and unable to be freed. Some of them are literal hairballs by the time they decide to see me.” They wagged their finger at King. “So little King does your fur get brushed?”

King giggled, seemingly amused at the mental image the doctor had conjured. “Yeah it does. Eda and Luz help me brush it.” Eda, as one of her conditions made it so that Luz would help with chores as well as things like making sure King is well looked after and that included helping him brush his fur. Luz honestly found the action of brushing King’s fur to be a soothing one. The constant and repetitive motions reminded Luz of the times she saw dogs being brushed at the local pet salon. King enjoyed it too, he was often quite happy to let Eda or Luz brush him on the odd occasion.

“Good to hear Little King.” King preened slightly at the small bit of praise he got from them. The rest of King’s appointment went well enough. He got the shots for all the diseases he needed protection from. King got an extra lollipop for being so good. There was just one last thing to talk about before it was Luz’s turn. “What can you tell me about, how did you put it, shout?” They were asking about the shout or wail thing King did last night. “Anything in particular you were feeling or thinking about?”

King hummed as he thought back to last night at the library. “Well I was scared because I thought we were going to get hurt, that Luz and Amity were going to get hurt... and I wanted them to leave us alone.” he recalled. Luz shivered as she recalled the moment King was talking about. The hounds and the moving shadows gave her some uncomfortable reminders of that shadow witch she encountered a while ago. Mala hummed as they noted down King’s emotions during the event.

“I see. I see. My best guess is that your wail was fuelled by your desire to protect your friends.” Mala theorised before adding on. “Or it could be fuelled by your fear of the people you care for coming to harm. I suggest that you find a safe place to practise when you get home so you can control your wail, I suggest your family help you with that as well.” Luz ignored the small flutter in her chest at being referred to as King’s family.

Eda nodded her head. “Yeah sounds like a good idea to me. What do you think King?”

“Yeah I want to control this power! I want to be as powerful as I can be!” Well King seemed somewhat back to normal, with his desire for power and all that. Luz would keep an eye on him just in case. Make sure he didn’t over do it.

“Sure thing buddy.” Luz said. “We’ll help you with this.” she promised her friend. No he basically was her little brother at this point. She promised her little brother.

“Thanks you two.” King replied moved at hearing their support for him.

“Right unless anything else needs to be added it’s now young Luz’s turn.” Luz tired to suppress her usual nerves when it came to seeing a doctor, and found that the idea of magical medicine made it easy to ignore that fear.

No one had anything to add in regards to King, so now it was Luz’s turn.

- - - -

Mala looked at the young human with an obvious curiosity, young Luz was the first human they had ever encountered but Mala knew for a fact Luz was not the first human to ever visit the Boiling Isles. Accounts were scarce and hard to verify, but they did exist. “Just as a matter of confirmation is your last name Clawthorne?” Luz and Eda both spluttered in surprise at their question. Mala delighted in their reactions, not that they showed that on their face. They knew that biologically that Luz wasn’t Eda’s daughter but she was in the ways that mattered. For all intents and purposes those two were mother and daughter, even if they weren’t quite ready to admit that yet.

“Uh no- no it’s-. It’s Noceda.” Luz eventually told them, allowing Mala to note that down for their records. Mala swore they heard the young girl mutter something along the lines of ‘I wish I could have that name as well.’ But they could easily have imagined that. They looked at Eda to see if she heard anything except she was too busy trying to get herself back in working order. Oh well. Something for later.

“Pleasure to meet you Luz Noceda.” Mala greeted, ready to begin the young girl’s appointment. “Now what brings you here?” At hearing that question Eda finally started to work again.

“Well the main thing is I want Luz to have a varied diet and well... I don’t want to accidental poison her.” Eda said as she pulled a list out of her hair. She handed it to Mala who took it. They looked over it and noticed that it was a list of foods, some had been struck out, others had ticks beside them. “Here’s a list of food we’ve tried that Luz could eat without having any sort of bad reaction.” It was a fairly long list all things considered. Mala approved of Eda’s dedication to caring for her children. “Is there any way to check for potential bad reactions without potentially make Luz ill?”

“Yes there is. With your permission I can take some blood and check it for the signs of potential allergies or reactions.” Mala looked at the list in their hands and crossed out of few untested items. “However I would recommend avoiding anything from the nightshade family however as most of the members of that family are poisonous, and I’m not sure how good a human’s liver is dealing with toxins.” They put the list aside for a moment and got out an anatomy chart of a typical witch. They opened it up and pointed to the liver with their index finger. “With witches their livers have adapted to process the toxins in their food and render them safe.” they explained. “I would recommend erring on the side of caution for the moment.” Luz and Eda nodded, taking their words in. “Now Luz do I have your permission to take some blood.” Luz nodded her head, giving Mala the go ahead. Mala cast the spell, they half expected to fail, but thankfully it worked, fulling two glass tubes with Luz’s blood. King looked a smidge annoyed at that Compared to King’s blood Luz’s was a much more familiar shade of red, the same red that most witches had.

After that there wasn’t much more to talk about apart from some general check-ups (Luz seemingly was a healthy girl of fourteen) as well as some more recommendations on foods that she could try, but Mala did stress that Eda had their contact details and could call them whenever she needed to. As the family stood up to leave Mala reminded themself to tell Luz about the fact she likely wasn’t the first human to come to the Boiling Isles. “Luz?” they called out causing Luz and her family to turn to face them. “I don’t know how true this is, but you are most likely not the first human to visit the Boiling Isles.”

“Huh.” Luz replied. “That makes sense actually. Do you have any idea where I could find something to confirm that?”

“Honestly your best bet would be the library...” Mala trailed off as they saw the guilty looks on King and Luz’s faces. “What’s with those looks on your faces?” Mala had a feeling they were not going to like what they were about to hear. Unfortunately their feeling would prove to be correct.

“Uh-.”

“Well you see-.”

“The thing is-.”

“The library’s well... it’s a bit of the wreck at the moment.”

“Totally not our fault.” King finished with a very (un)convincing defence. Mala felt the urge to place their head on their desk, and pretend the outside world didn’t exist, even if just for a moment. That or eat that chocolate cake in the fridge. Either or really.

“You two are so telling me what the heck happened last night on the way back.” Eda said pinching the bridge of her nose. “You two have anything else you want to tell me, before it comes out at the worst possible time?”

“Apart from what happened at the library, can’t really think of anything at the moment.” Luz said. “Uh sorry.”

“It’s-. well it’s not exactly fine and dandy but I can deal.” Eda replied, giving Luz a quick ruffle of her hair. “How are you two doing?”

“Physically we’re fine.” Luz said.

“Mentally,” King added, “....Probably not as good.”

“Right. Let’s talk about this a bit later back home.” Eda turned back to Mala, giving them a brief wave. “Well thanks for seeing the kids. Uh before I forget, how much do I owe you?”

Mala thought for a moment, calculating the cost for seeing Eda’s two kids. “Hundred Snails.” they said firmly. They were undercharging the family a fair bit compared to most other practises, but Mala didn’t care. Their practise tried its best to charge the patients a fair and affordable amount.

“Uh sure thing doc.” Eda said pulling a pouch of snails from her hair. She opened it up and pulled out the required amount of coins. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” Mala smiled. “It was a pleasure seeing you again Eda and it was a pleasure meeting you Luz and King. Safe travels.” they said as they farewelled their patients.

“Byeeeee.”

“Bye.” King said.

“It was nice meeting you.” Luz replied as they left out the door, closing it behind her, and leaving Mala all on their own.

They looked at the four tubes of blood they had acquired, holding them in their hands. Two were a familiar shade of red and the other two glowed a soft and gentle blue. They sighed. “I hope I don’t find anything too world shattering when I test these.” they joked to themself. They had noticed the magic ring on Luz’s hand, but they decided to not comment on it during the appointment. If it was necessary they could have asked but they knew the ring wasn’t relevant at the moment. But they couldn’t help their curiosity however. “I wonder what that ring is?” They slapped themself on the cheek with the hand not holding the vials. “Focus Mala!” they told themself. “If Luz wants to to you about the ring that’s her prerogative.” They looked at the vials of blood in their hand. “I should probably test you soon huh?” They got up to do so.

Good news Luz’s blood test went fine.

Bad news King’s blood would cause their testing apparatus to explode, which was a new one they would admit, they thought as they cleaned the soot of their face.

- - - -

Lilith after confirming what Amity said about her missing eyebrow, cast a quick spell to grow it back. Due to it being minor damage in the grand scheme of things it wouldn’t take much to grow it back. After that was all said and done, she, Amity and Raine got to work with assembling the bed in the room Amity had claimed for herself. Raine and Lilith were actually assembling it while Amity read the instructions.

They were struggling valiantly with assembling this

Titan

damned

bed.

“I don’t think this is right.” Raine said, holding two parts of the frame that they had screwed together. The way they intersected looked off to Lilith and from Amity’s reaction after checking the instructions, Lilith was right on the money.

“Uh yeah no that’s wrong.” Amity said, turning the instructions to face Raine, helpfully pointing at the appropriate diagram. “It’s supposed to be at a right angle... not whatever that is.”

Raine sighed and began unscrewing the part of the bed frame they were holding.

Meanwhile with Lilith she was trying to fit another part of the frame together. “Hold together damn you.” she cursed the wood, and its extended family for good measure. It did not hold together, because of course it didn't. Lilith hoped her sister got back soon so she could lend them a hand.

This really sucked and Lilith did not enjoy this in the slightest

Chapter Text

Chapter 17

Finally, finally the beds were all constructed and made and Lilith never wanted to deal with a screwdriver for the rest of her life. They had just finished Lilith’s bed for while she was here. Amity had gone to her room in order to set it up for herself, leaving Lilith with only Raine for company.

Raine looked down and poked something with their foot. Lilith looked to see what they were poking and found that there was still a half full bag of screws and bolts. “Is there still supposed to be this many screws left over?” they asked, as they stopped poking the bag with their foot and instead picked it up to look at it.

Lilith thought it over for a moment. “I think those are spares just in case some go missing.” she replied, thinking it was like her model sets that often included some spare pieces just in case some went missing. “We should probably keep it somewhere where we could find it again.” she suggested as the bard nodded their head.

“Oh that make sense.” Raine said with a small hum. “Where would be a good place to keep it?” That was a good question. They needed to put it in a place where it would make sense to put it. So not anywhere in a place like the kitchen.

“How about the bedside table?” Lilith asked, pointing to said bedside table (which was much less of a headache than the beds were to assemble. Thank the Titan.) “If it’s needed it won’t be in some far off place, where it won’t be much help.” Lilith had learned that lesson the hard way when she found out that if she needed to cut something open in the kitchen it’s not a good idea to have your only pair of scissors be in a completely different room. Raine agreed and opened the draw of the bedside table and dropped the bag in. They then closed it, meaning their work for the day was done.

Speaking of work Lilith didn’t have long left in her vacation and she had no idea if she actually wanted to go back. She sighed feeling somewhat exhausted from the antics of last night, the work she did today as well as the looming deadline she was facing. There was also the issue of Eda’s curse, which Lilith was solely responsible for. She knew she should tell Eda, but she was too much of a snivelling coward to do so. So it remained like a scar in the back of her throat, constantly reminding her of how much of a coward she was and the pain she had caused.

“You okay?” Raine asked, their keen ears hearing her quiet sigh.

“Honestly I don’t know.” Lilith admitted. “My vacation is ending soon and I’m not sure what to do.” she explained to the other witch. Lilith picked at her sleeve somewhat nervously, unsure what to do next.

“Honestly if I was in your shoes, I would think about what I wanted and if working for the Emperor’s coven was worth the sacrifices that it would force me to make.” Was the sacrifices the Emperor’s coven forced her to make worth it, sacrificing her time, her energy, her life, her relationship with her sister and friends and everything else it demanded of her. If she was at the beginning of her career she would have certainly said yes. Now, if forced to give an honest answer, she would say no. No it was not worth it in the slightest. It never was. She has been happier in almost a week spent with her sister and daughter than she had been as head of the Emperor’s coven for thirty fucking years. When she put it that way, wow, was that a depressing thought, she thought to herself ruefully.

“I know what you mean. If I had to give an honest answer, I would say no, this is not worth it in the slightest.” Lilith finally admitted, feeling a weight off her shoulder. “What do I do next?” she asked herself, trying to figure out her next move.

“You could hand in your resignation.” Raine helpfully pointed out. “...We can resign right? That’s a thing we can do?” That was indeed an option, one Lilith knew for a fact hadn’t really happened before. Most coven heads died in the line of duty as opposed to retiring or quitting. Since she was the head of the Emperor’s coven, well she knew everything she needed to do in order to resign from her post. It probably would be a historic event, first ever coven head resignation, but Lilith didn’t really find it in herself to care about that right now.

“Yes it is an option.” Lilith conceded, deciding to start on it tomorrow after getting some more rest. She was tired right now and would probably screw something important up, which would make quitting that much harder. She could just say screw it and not go back, but that way would likely get the Emperor’s coven on her case. She could defeat them all if she had to, but she really didn’t want to fight so many people. “I’ll get started on it tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.” Raine said with a proud look on their face. “I can help you if you need any.” they offered, Lilith almost wanted to refuse out of hand, but she knew that would be a stupid thing to do. Her pride was more trouble than it was worth really.

“Thanks I’ll be sure to ask you for help if anything comes up.” Lilith said agreeing to Raine’s offer to help. Raine gave her a soft smile, prompting Lilith to return with a small smile of her own.

. . . .

After finishing up their conversation upstairs Raine and Lilith decided to go downstairs, make themselves some tea and put their feet up. After boiling the water in the kettle and getting out the tea bags the pair found themselves on Eda’s comfy couch, piping hot cups of teas in hand. Lilith let the soothing warmth of her mug seep into her fingers, enjoying the comfort it brought her. She took a sip, giving a small comfortable sigh as she did so.

Right next to her Raine was also clutching their mug of tea, seemingly deep in thought about something. “Snail for your thought?” Lilith asked causing Raine to jolt a bit. Thankfully they didn’t spill any tea on themself, burning yourself with piping hot tea was not fun, as Lilith could attest to.

“I’m just think about Eda and Luz.” they eventually admitted to her, their eyes looking at mug in their hands, their voice remorseful. “I want to make up for leaving Eda to raise Luz on her own.” Lilith blinked, shocked at what Raine was implying. They weren’t implying that they thought Luz was theirs? “I left Eda with our child.” Okay they were.

Better correct that incorrect assumption before it spiralled out of control and made everything go horribly horribly wrong.

“You do realise that Luz is part human right?” Lilith pointed out, not unkindly. “She’s spent most of her time with her other parent in the human realm.” She was also a magical girl but Lilith knew that Luz should be the one to decide if Raine knew.

Raine blinked in shock as they processed what Lilith had just told them. “She’s what-? But the thing-. The thing fourteen years ago-.” They looked very lost, muttering something that happened fourteen years ago and Lilith felt remorse for hurting them, but having they be under the mistaken impression would just make things worse in the long run.

Lilith gave Raine a somewhat awkward pat on the knee. “I’m sorry that I had to tell you that, but I don’t think you operating under that impression would end well.”

“I know you did but it hurts you know...?” Raine replied as they tightened their grip on their mug of tea, using the heat as a way of grounding themself. Tears welling up in their eyes. “I honestly thought I had a kid, with the woman I love.”

“If it’s any consolation I think you’re doing quite a good job of being a part of Eda and Luz’s lives.” Lilith said in attempt to console the bard. “That and you seem to have the makings of being a damn good parent.” More so than Lilith’s mother who she hadn’t heard from or seen in over twenty years. No she’s not still bitter about that. What of it?

Raine gave a slight sniffle before they responded. “T-thanks Lilith that... means a lot to me actually.” they sounded genuinely grateful.

“You’re welcome Raine.” Lilith replied as they both heard the front door open. They both looked up to see who it was, and saw that it was Eda, Luz and King. Both Luz and King seemed to have lollipops in their mouths.

“Hey we’re back, how’s everyone doing?” Eda asked greeting the two witches sitting on her couch. She noticed the expression on Raine’s face. “What’s the matter Rainestorm? You kinda look a bit down.” Eda asked concerned for the bard.

“I-I thought that Luz was my daughter.” Raine explained, sounding upset at the mistaken assumption they had been operating under. Lilith wasn’t quite sure what to make of Eda’s expression. It almost looked baffled?

Also Luz started to choke on her lollipop, so she removed it in order to avoid doing so, looking shocked at hearing what Raine just said.

- - - -

Amity Blight had been busy moving her stuff out of Luz’s room and into her own. She didn’t have much, so it didn’t take her very long at all. Currently she was laying on her bed enjoying the comfort of the mattress Lilith had gotten for her. It was just right and much better than her mattress back at Blight manor. She’ll be sure to thank Lilith for it when she went back downstairs. She also really liked the sheets she had as well.

She was on her scroll looking for a good repair place when she remembered something somewhat important. She was supposed to be at school today. With how hectic things got last night she was so exhausted she slept till the middle of the day. She shoot off a quick message to Hexside explaining that last night was very exhausting and why she wasn’t in school today. Eventually she got a reply that said her father had already told the school his children wouldn’t be in today and that she didn’t need to worry.

Which was a weight off Amity’s shoulders. Giving a sigh of relief Amity got back to looking for a good repair place. Seeing a place in Bonesborough that got decent reviews Amity decided to check that out later, noting down its address so she could find it. She made a mental note to either check it out sometime after school or on the weekend. She could have gone today

From downstairs she could hear Eda give off a loud and surprised sounding squawk. “You thought Luz was our what?!?” Amity curious as to what caused that reaction put her scroll away and began to make her way downstairs. When she got down there she came across a chaotic scene. King was laughing, Luz was trying not to choke, Eda looked confused, Lilith was looking between Eda and Raine, while Raine was looking like they were wishing that the ground would just swallow them out.

“Uh what’s going on?” Amity asked drawing everyone else’s attention to her. “I-. Uh I heard Eda’s squawk.” she explained pointedly ignoring Eda’s comment of ‘I do not squawk.’

King taking a moment to calm down his laughter explained. “Raine thought Luz was their and Eda’s daughter.” Both Eda and Luz squawked in unison as King said that.

“She’s-.” Eda pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing as she did so. “She’s not my kid. Well she is my, but not biologically.” Eda explained somewhat flustered. “I see her as my kid okay?!” Lilith looked quite shocked to hear that Luz wasn’t Eda’s biological daughter, honestly Amity was feeling quite shocked to hear that as well.

“Ah I see you like a second mom as well Eda.” Luz said after finally catching her breath. She gave Eda a small hug from her side. Eda smiled as she hear Luz say that.

“Thanks kid.”

“Wait she’s not your biological daughter?” Lilith asked. “Oh my titan do I feel like an idiot.” She looked like she was moments away from grabbing a cushion and screaming into it.

“She’s not Lily. I literally just said she wasn’t. At this rate I’m going to have to ask how many people thought Luz was my biological daughter.” Amity had a feeling a lot of people who had seen how Eda and Luz interacted would answer that question with a resounding yes.

“I’m sorry I thought that.” Raine said remorsefully. “I honestly thought Luz was a result of that night fourteen years ago.” Amity took a moment to figure out what Raine was implying, when she did her face flushed a furious red.

“Wait what happened fourteen years ago?” Eda asked with a confused tilt to her head.

“Uh well you know...” Raine looked like they didn’t want to say it with King in the room. “We were drunk and well you came back to to my crappy apartment and well, you spent the night.” There were weight to those words, a king Amity wasn’t quite sure what to make of.

Eda’s face turned a bright scarlet as she processed Raine’s words. “Oh.” she squeaked out. “Oh Titan, that shitty apartment was yours?!”

“I was on a teacher’s salary, I couldn’t afford a decent place at the time.” Raine pointed out. Raine turned their attention to Luz, who was still hugging Eda. “I’m sorry about this. Can I ask about your parents, of that’s all right with?”

“It’s okay Raine I forgive you, besides I think you’d make an amazing parent.” Luz said making Raine smile from the compliment. “Yeah sure thing my parents are Camila Noceda and Manny Noceda.” Eda seemed to find the name Camila somewhat familiar for whatever reason. “What is it Eda?” Luz asked noticing her reaction.

“Well the name Camila sounds kinda familiar but I can’t really place it.” Eda said with a thoughtful frown on her face.

“Maybe you met her whenever you visited Gravesfield?” Luz suggested, while Amity mentally noted down the name Gravesfield. She might ask Luz about it, curious as to what the human realm could be like. She was no Gus, but she was a very curious girl at times.

“Yeah that’s probably it. I’ve met a quite a few people whenever I’ve visited your hometown.” Eda agreed with a sort of a half shrug. “So yeah Luz is my kid but I wasn’t involved in the process of creating her.”

“Do-? Do you really have to say it like that?”

“What? It’s accurate.”

Raine sighed, a small grin on their face. “Fair enough.” they agreed. “Any other world shattering revelations while I’m here?” they asked sarcastically.

“Well I’m a magical girl.” Luz said disengaging from the hug with Eda and transforming into her magical girl form. Raine’s face went agape from shock as they saw what Luz just did. “Surprise?” Luz said waving her hands in the air.

. . . .

Luz explained everything, from how she became one to the events of last night to Raine, who seemed to be taking it well.

“What-? How-? Sorry I think I’m going need some time to process this.” Raine said sounding very out of their depth. Luz nodded her head telling them to take their time. “Did you really end up destroying the library?” they asked seemingly focusing on the most recent event in an attempt to ground themself.

“Totally not our fault!” King piped up. “But yeah the library is a bit of a mess right now.”

- - - -

Malphas knew that some days it just wasn’t worth getting out of bed. Today, he decided, was proving to be one of those days. He looked at the library, his home away from home, and saw that it was on the verge of collapse. There were holes everywhere, shelves knocked over like dominoes, the misspelled sign had fallen on the ground. Well this would serve as good as reason as any to fix that damnable sign. It was misspelled after the last the time library was destroyed, and they couldn’t get anyone to replace it or fix it, citing things being very busy for the construction coven, with much more important and necessary projects. Well no they had no excuse not to do so considering the library was falling apart right in front of him.

He knew the most likely cause of the damage was that someone tried to sneak into the library during the wailing star and opened a book containing something dangerous. Said dangerous entity most likely went on a rampage damaging the library, and making this the first thing he saw this morning when he arrived, well before he had his morning coffee.

The only upside, that Maplhas could see, of this mess was that whatever was released didn’t escape from the library and proceed to rampage in Bonesborough proper. That and nothing was on fire. Couldn’t forget that. So wasn’t as bad as the last time someone snuck in. That time resulted in one of the worst fires in the history of Bonesborough.

At seeing the all damage done to his workplace however, there was really only one thing he could say.

“Jesus fucking Christ.”

- - - -

After Luz told Raine about her being a magical girl, they looked shocked while they processed it but eventually accepted it. Much to Eda’s barely hidden relief. If they reacted negatively, despite their history together, Eda would always prioritise Luz and her well being. If she had to chose between her kids and they person she had romantic feelings towards, she would chose her kids ten times out of ten.

There was also a very large part of Eda which delighted in the fact she admitted that she saw Luz as her kid, she was also over the fucking moon that Luz saw her as a second mother. ‘Little light and old blood are your family. Good that you finally realised.’ an unfamiliar voice sounded in her head. ‘Hello?’ she asked in her thoughts. She got no response except for a foreign sense of satisfaction. Okay be that way then.

Eda decided to think about this later, when she had some time to think. Currently she decided she should ask how the beds where going. “Hey how are the beds going?” she asked Raine and Lilith, bringing their attention to her. “I know I asked you to take a look-.”

Eda was cut off when Raine said, still somewhat flustered from earlier. “We managed to finish all the beds while you were away at Mala’s place.” Eda was happy to hear that, mostly cause she hadn’t put a bed together before and would probably screw it up. “We’ve set up some beds for Luz, King, Amity and Lilith.” they listed off, counting each name off on their fingers. “Also we set up one in the guest room.”

“Thanks you two. You’ve been a big help.” Raine smiled their adorable little smile they had when they were feeling proud of themself. Eda had missed seeing it, missed Raine so very very much. Eda still couldn’t believe they had a drunken one night stand. Okay Eda could see herself doing something like that, but really couldn’t see Raine doing something like that. Then again it had been years since they had last really talked to or seen each other since their break up so things could have changed in the years gone by. If the Eda of twenty years ago saw her now, she would not believe her eyes. Eda had always prided herself on being someone independent with nobody to hold on to, to be free to do as she wishes whenever she wished. It was a lonely existence, Eda would admit in the privacy of her thoughts. But now, now she has people relying on her. She has two kids who she would move heaven and earth for. One was a young girl, who reminded her of herself when she was younger, who loved magic and wanted to learn everything she could. The other was a young demon who knew nothing of his past and needed someone to help him through life. She was repairing her relationship with her sister. She had Raine as a part of her life once again. She couldn’t just afford to look out only for herself any more, she needed, as hard as it could be to believe, to be responsible for others’ well-being.

Lilith said. “It’s the least we can do.” she said somewhat demurely. “Besides it was nice having the chance to talk to Raine again.” she smiled as she said that, Eda had seen Lilith smile a lot more in the last week of so than she had seen her smile in all the years Lilith had been trying to capture her.

- - - -

The rest of the day went smoothly enough, in Eda’s personal opinion, they had a nice dinner, got everything cleared up, the kids had gotten themselves ready for bed, all of them enjoying their new beds. Lilith had gone to bed as well which just left Raine and Eda downstairs, the pair of them sitting on the couch together. Eda was about to say something only for Raine to blurt an apology out. “I’m sorry I thought Luz was our daughter.” they said, clearly upset with themself. “Titan I feel so stupid.”

“Raine,” Eda said gently, “It’s okay, I forgive you.” Admittedly thinking back on things, it made some sense as to where Raine got their conclusion from, even if it was wrong. Eda’s lip twitched up with a small measure of amusement. “Besides I honestly kinda find it funny.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Eda shook her head. “Besides when would I had the time to have her?” Eda pointed out. Because any method that witches could use to make a kid all took a minimum of nine months, and the longest stretch of time Eda wasn’t being a menace was about five months. “The longest time between sightings was like five months, not enough time to have a kid like Luz.”

“That’s something I really should have considered huh?” Raine asked her, their question a dry and rhetorical one. Eda gave a small laugh.

“Yeah you should have.” Eda pointed out. “But honestly do you regret being a part of my life again? Because I don’t.” Eda said, a rare moment of emotion honesty and vulnerability. “I don’t regret you being a part of my life again.” She held her hand out. Raine took it, melding their hand with hers. “Even if it happened due to a mistake.”

Raine sighed, but gave Eda a small smile nevertheless. “I-. I don’t regret it ever.”

“Good.”

So until they went to bed, the two enjoyed each other’s company, the night a quiet and peaceful one. Eda once more drifted off into the land of dreams and was greeted by that same old dream.

Well it started the same it always did.

- - - -

The witch was dreaming, dreaming of the night she was cursed, and when the owl was bound to her, the two becoming one. She could see the younger form of the witch, sleeping in her bed dead to the world. She could see the witch, older and more worn down by the world. Finally she could see the door open, someone wearing glasses walking in and unravelling the scroll the owl was trapped in. “This dream again?!” the witch loudly complained, clearly unhappy with this dream and who wouldn’t be in her place? A constant and tantalising hint of who ruined your life, the full truth just out of view. The witch gave an exhausted and bone weary sigh. “Every single time I fucking swear. This damn dream, taunting me.” She pointed a finger at the glasses wearing figure. “The moment I find out who you are, I’m going to get my revenge.” The witch swore, clearly planing on making this figure’s life a living hell.

Honestly the owl thought whoever did this would have it coming.

But that was beside the point, as the owl tapped the witch on her shoulder. “What do you-?” the witch’s question was cut off as she turned to face the owl, who thought it would be funny, to loom over her. “What do you want?” the witched asked her rudely, the owl didn’t really care that the witch was rude, their relationship as it were was a very messy thing at the moment and so the owl didn’t fault her for her rudeness.

The owl coughed, her voice raspy and raw from years and years of disuse. “We-.” she coughed briefly, she ignored the witch’s surprised look as the owl cleared her throat. “We need to talk witch.”

“The name’s Eda, you damn feather duster.” the witch responded bluntly. “Can you please call me by my damn name?”

“Okay-.”

“Huh didn’t think it would be that easy.” Eda muttered to herself, the owl felt somewhat insulted, Eda had said please and it would be rude to continue calling her witch when she asked otherwise.

“-Eda.”

Eda crossed her arms, she looks stern and expectant as she did so. “So what do we need to talk about?” Her tone made it clear if she didn’t like what she heard she would leave and that there would be nothing the owl could do to stop her.

“I want to talk about little light and old blood.” Eda looked confused at the name the owl said, taking a moment to connect the dots. Soon enough Eda knew the owl was talking about her children.

“Luz and King?” the owl nodded, confirming Eda’s guess. “Why do you call them that?”

“Luz reminds me,” the owl remembered those bittersweet memories, “she reminds me of my sister. She was a magical girl just like little light.” Eda just looked shocked that the owl talked about her sister. Then again it wasn’t like either of them talked before, not that the owl really had the capacity to talk at the time. She had been diminished by her captivity in that scroll- becoming a creature of instinct, and it took time for her to recover her facilities. By the time they did recover she wasn’t really in the mood to talk to Eda, but Luz changed things. “She is such a bright little light, despite it all she still shines.” she explained her reasoning for the nickname to Eda. “King smells ancient, he smells like the earth.”

“What do you mean by that?” Eda shook her head. “Okay not important. What do you want to talk about them for?”

“They are your family yes?”

“Yeah they are, and I don’t care what you think about it.” Eda said, looking at the owl with a weary gaze.

“I think it’s a good thing.” the owl said catching Eda off guard, the owl continued to talk to the witch. “Little light is the reason why I chose to talk to you.”

“What do you mean by that?” Eda asked with a guarded curiosity, willing to listen to the owl’s explanation.

“When I was first trapped in that scroll, all those years ago, I became fragmented and weak.” the owl said growling at the mention of that scroll she had spent so long in. It had been dark and suffocating, the owl could not breathe, she could not move and all she could do was think, day in and day out. It was suffocating. Eventually her thoughts slowed to a crawl, making it very hard to think. If she ever met that damnable Huntsmen again she would rip him limb from limb for all the suffering he put her and her world through. Memories began to slip away. Names faded away the fastest. Soon the smaller details went with them. “It took me time to recover my facilities, and be able to think things through.” the owl looked at Eda with an apologetic gaze. “Eventually I began to think again, and I’m sorry for how difficult I made things for you.” she continued to explain her reasoning. “When you first met Luz that day, she reminded me of my sister, very bright and loved. Until she turned into a witch when things went wrong.” The owl couldn’t remember the exact details, due to them being lost in the fog of ages, but her grief remained. “I do not want someone to go through that grief like I did.” The owl’s voice was raw, grief still feeling as fresh as the day it all happened.

Eda lowered her guard slightly, stepping closer to the owl. “I always thought you were just a creation of the curse. But that’s not the case is it?” the owl shook her head. “Shit. I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with me all these years.” Eda growled, before looking the owl in the eyes. “In that case, do you have a name I can call you? I don’t think I really should be calling be names like feather duster.” that would be nice, except the owl had long forgotten her own name.

“I don’t remember my name. I have long forgotten many many things, like my name.”

“Well I guess I can crack out the book of names and see if we can find one for you, until we find out what your name originally was.”

“That is agreeable.” Soon the dream started to fade, morning was coming and it was time for this dream to end. “The morning is coming, it is time to wake up Eda.”

“Wait I have more questions!” Eda exclaimed as the dream faded, leaving the owl all by herself, inside golden seas of the elixir, this time the owl felt just a bit lighter.

“Maybe I can talk to her in the waking world, like I did just before.” the owl mused to herself, shaking the golden liquid from her wings. Droplets of elixir splashed as they flew from her wings. She hated the pools of gold, she knew that it was the sake of Eda’s health. Didn’t mean she had to like it.

She hated how it felt against her feathers- all wet and cloying, how it smelt and how it tasted. She sighed and tried to deal with it as best she could.

- - - -

Eda groaned as she felt the light of the sun hit her in the eyes. She rolled over in her nest trying to stop it from shining in her eyes. She could hear Raine gigging from right next to her. “Still not a morning person I see.”

“Yup the sun is stupid and I hate it.” Eda groaned aloud, she never got how people got up and doing before eleven at the earliest. “How are you doing?”

“I’m good Eda.” Raine replied, smile clear from their voice. “Apart from hating the sun how are you doing?” they asked with some good natured teasing filling their warm voice.

Eda laughed at that very true statement. “I’m good, had a very strange dream though.”

“What made it strange?”

“Well usually I dream of the night someone curse me, but this time the owl beast talked to me. She wanted to apologise to me, for making things so difficult for me.” Eda sat up, turned to look at Raine, who was still laying in the nest, and continued to talk. “Shit Raine I thought she was just a monster created by a curse, but nope she was someone who was got stuck in a scroll somehow.” Eda said feeling somewhat bitter with the whole situation. “Luz is the reason why she chose to talk me in the first place. The owl said she didn’t want me to deal with the grief she had to deal with when her sister witched out.” Eda sighed, despite having at least 10 hours of sleep she still felt somewhat drained and exhausted. Good thing apart from her afternoon market time, her day was completely free. “Titan Raine this sucks.”

“Yeah I think anyone would not have a good time with all that going on.” Raine agreed. “But you have people who care about you, willing to support you.” Raine said before listing off the people in Eda’s life. “You have Luz, King, Me, Lilith. We’re here to support you no matter what.” Eda, who was feeling tense, could feel herself beginning to relax sightly. Raine sat themself up and leant over to give Eda a hug. Eda, quite happily let them do so, enjoyed the closeness, wrapping her arms around Raine.

“Thanks Raine.” Eda murmured into the crook of Raine’s neck, her eyes closing as she let herself relax.

“You’re welcome Eda.”

Eda’s eyes shot open as she remembered something she had promised to do for the owl. “Damn it. I’m going to need to find a book of names.” she had a copy somewhere on her bookshelves. She had just lost track of it.

“Uh why?”

“Cause the owl forgot her name, so we’re going to need something to call her, at least in the interim.”

“Yeah that makes sense.” Raine replied. “Want some help with finding that book?”

“Yeah some help would be nice.”

Until Raine had to head into work they searched the shelves for that damn book. They eventually found it, only after first finding several library books that were years overdue at this point, an old photo album, some old year books and also a bunch or racy romance novels that Eda had hidden on the higher up shelves after King began to learn how to read. She made a mental note to read those again, see if they held up after all these years.

- - - -

Nana was riding on Willow’s shoulder, enjoying her comfortable perch. School had been let out of the day, which left Willow, Gus and Amity walking towards the market place. They knew that Luz would be helping out Eda with her market stall and so they all decided to hang out with her after school.

The three students talked amongst themselves as they walked to their shared destination. Nana was content to just sit there and listen. Their current topic of discussion seemed to be about Boscha.

“-really weird. Boscha has bothered me at all today.” Willow said. “Like don’t get me wrong I’m not complaining or anything. But it is weird that she seemed to be going out of her way to avoid me.” This morning, Nana had seen Boscha do a complete about turn, walking back the way she came in an attempt to avoid going near Willow.

“I know right?!?” Gus piped up as well. “It is really friggin weird.”

“I can explain why.” Amity responded, adjusting the strap of her satchel. “I ended our friendship and told her in no uncertain terms to leave everyone she bullied alone or I would make her regret it.

“Well thanks Amity.” Willow said, with a small smile on her face. Amity returned the smile, looking some what self-conscious as she did so.

“You’re welcome Willow.” Amity replied, her steps in time with the other two students. “I have a lot of regrets and I want to make things right.”

“Well I think you’re doing really well.” Willow said in a complimentary manner. “I’m proud of you.” Amity nearly ran into a nearby pole, only for Willow to pull her out of a crash. “Are you okay?”

“Um yeah. I’m totally fine.” Amity said turning her head away with a small and barely noticeable blush. “Oh look there’s Luz comeonelet’sgoseeher.” Amity said, her words blurring together, and like she said there was Eda’s stall. Working the stall was Eda, Luz and King. Well Luz was. Eda was reading a book and King was taking a nap in a dog bed. There were also three palismen sitting on the front table, currently all snuggled up together, all of them keeping an eye on their surroundings. At the moment no one seemed to be buying anything from the stall.

Luz perked up upon seeing the motley group walking towards her. “Hey everyone how are things going?” she asked them all cheerfully. Nana, as soon as Willow was near the table jumped off and made her way to the palismen and sat herself beside them. Apart from a quick glance towards her they paid her no mind. Willow and Gus both said that things were good, Amity trailing behind them just a bit said things were good as well. If Luz noticed her blush she certainly didn’t say anything.

“Hey why Raine and Lilith’s palismen doing here?” asked Gus upon sighting the palismen on the table. Nana was also curious as to why they were here but was content to snuggle near them. It reminded her of the time she had spent under the Bat Queen’s care, well until she got lost and found herself at Willow’s place.
“Well Melody here wanted to come along and because and I quote ‘it’s too boring at work and I want to do something else’ end quote. Mike Socks on the other hand, Lilith is busy with something and asked us to take him outside so he can get some fresh air.”

“What is Lilith busy with?” Amity asked, long having since gotten her blush under control.

Luz shrugged. “Not sure. Whatever it is she’s drinking a lot of coffee to deal with it.”

“I’m pretty sure Lilith despises coffee.” Amity commented. “So it must be a pretty big deal whatever it is.

“I think so too,” Eda said, her eyes not leaving her book, “I asked her what she was doing but.... well she was too in the zone as it were.” she said with a shrug, “Also quick question who here thinks Luz is my biological daughter or has thought that?” Everyone bar Luz and Eda rose a limb, Amity looking somewhat sheepish as she did so, having learnt the truth the previous day. “King, Owlbert put your hands down. Both of you met her the same day I did.” Eda said without even raising her eyes to look at them, The both of them proceeded to do so, grumbling all the while.

“Wait so her name isn’t Luz Clawthorne?” Gus asked.

“Uh nope my name is Luz Noceda.” Luz said, Nana could barely hide her surprise at hearing that Luz and Eda weren’t actually related. It made so much sense to Nana.

“Nice to know your actual last name.” Amity said with a smile. “It really doesn’t change anything.” she pointed out.

“Nope.” “Don’t think so.” “No.” “Not really."

“No we’re still friends Amity.” Luz said, rounding off the answers. Amity nodded, happy to hear that.

“Yay friendship!” Nana cheered from her seat, earning her a few odd looks from the others. Eventually laughter broke out in the group starting with Willow which quickly spread to Gus then Luz and finally Amity.

. . . .

Time passed and Luz was hanging out with her friends inside Eda’s tent. Gus and Amity were asking Luz about some of the collectables Eda had back there, they also asked questions about the Human realm. Luz was quite happily explaining what those things were, as well as talking about her home, to her captive audience. While this was happening Willow was working on some of her plant track homework.

Eda was currently running the stand, the book she had been reading had been placed by her side, book mark where she left of. It also allowed Nana to see that Eda was reading a book of baby names, which struck Nana as quite odd. It probably wasn’t any of Nana’s business. The old witch had just sold something she called a foot full of holes. Nana was fairly certain it was just a kind of shoe, but she wasn’t the one running this stall.

Nana, still curled up in a ball, while this was all going down was listening to the palismen talk to each other. She couldn’t completely understand their words but she could understand the emotions behind them to a degree. Owlbert was curious about something and wanted to go and sate his curiosity. Melody, being very bored, wanted to go with him. Mike Socks on the other hand, wanted to stay here and relax, apparently content to enjoy a peaceful moment in the sun.

Melody and Owlbert seemed to be trying their best to convince him into coming along using their most persuasive arguments, chipping away at his resolve to stay here, until eventually they convinced him. Owlbert and Melody cheered and gave each other a high five. Eda shook her head in disbelief at the sight. “What’s got you two so jolly for?” Owlbert gave a series of short hoots, explaining what he and Melody had just convinced Mike Socks to do. “Ah right so you want to talk to B.Q and ask why she dropped her kids off with us?” Owlbert nodded his head, while Nana took a moment to connect the initials to the Bat Queen. “Huh okay and Melody’s bored and wants to go with?” Both Owlbert and Melody nodded their heads.

Eda thought about what Owlbert had told her for a second before replying. “Go right ahead, but be back before dark.” The palismen all nodded their heads accepting the curfew.

“Can I come with?” Nana asked feeling somewhat hesitant to do so. At the curious looks she got, Nana explained. “Well I used to stay in the Bat Queen’s grove before I met Willow, and I would like to see her again, just to let her know I’m okay.” Because it had been a while since she had seen her, and Nana really should let her know that she is still alive.

Owlbert nodded accepting her reasoning. As did Mike and Melody. Eda shrugged seeing as she wasn’t that involved with the whole thing. “Well let Greenie know when you’re leaving, as I don’t want her to get angry.” Eda pointed out, and Nana knew that if she left without a word Willow would be a very unhappy and/or upset plant witch. And Nana didn’t like it when Willow was upset.

“Willow!” Nana called, causing Willow to look up from the work she was doing. “I’m going with Owlbert, Mike and Melody to see the Bat Queen. So uh thought you should know.”

“Okay when do you think you’ll be back?” Willow asked making Nana, who didn’t quite know what time they would be back by- due to not having fully paid attention, turn to the palismen. Then Owlbert turned to Eda and gave her some small hoots.

“They’ll leave the grove before it gets dark.” Eda translated. “So they should be back before dinner.” Willow nodded seeming to be fine with that arrangement.<

Willow turned her head to look at Nana. “Stay safe okay?”

“Sure thing Willow!” Nana promised. Things should be fine. Besides they were just visiting the Bat Queen, what could go wrong?

. . . .

Nana learned something about herself today, and that was she hated heights. She especially hated heights when she was being carried by someone else. The someone else, in this case was Mike Socks. “Don’t look down. Don’t look down.” Nana told herself, trying to resist the urge to open her eyes and look down

While Mike Socks was carrying her, Owlbert was carrying Melody, who unlike Nana was having the time of her life. She cheerfully yipped as she occasionally brushed the tops of the trees with the tips of her paws just below then.

“-Look down. Don’t look down. Don’t look-.” It was a long way down. If Mike’s grip slipped Nana would have a very painful fall. She tried to think happy thoughts. Like about her favourite foods, she thought about hanging with Willow and her friends. She thought about the good time she would have being able to see Bat Queen again. She thought about being on solid ground again, and how good it would feel.

“Don’t look down. Don’t look-.”

Eventually they found their destination with Owlbert and Mike bring them down into the grove. They dropped off Nana and Melody first, making sure it was just a small drop, before they landed themselves. Nana, on contact with solid ground, promptly hugged the ground. “Oh solid ground how’ve I missed you.” Owlbert hooted, pointing out that she had to go through that again on the return trip. “Yeah I know but let me have this.” Nana said with a pout. Owlbert shrugged, seeing no point in arguing with her.

The grove they found themselves in was a sizeable one, with trees weaved together in such a way to keep it away from prying eyes. Throughout the grove, palismen of all shapes and sizes watched them arrive. Many had cracks and wounds on their wooden bodies. Some were missing pieces and some were barely holding themself together. One thing they all shared was curiosity, curious as to why they had arrived. Until some of them recognised Nana, and with eyes widening, rushed to greet her.

Nana was mobbed by some of the palismen she had know when she had first resided here.

“Hey everyone! I’m back and it’s good to see you again.” Nana said laughing as she was tickled by the small group trying to hug her. “That tickles! Hey-! Ha ha ha.” It was good to be back.

She heard someone chuckling from the back of the grove, Nana looked up and saw the Bat Queen giving off a small hearty laugh at what she was seeing. “Ah it is good to see you again. How have you been?” The Bat Queen asked sitting with six smaller versions of herself nestled in her hair.

Nana smiled. “I’ve been good thank you. I’ve found a place I can call home, and I’ve got a name. I’m Nana.” The Bat Queen smiled pleased to hear that, she had taken Nana in, despite the fact she wasn’t a palisman, because in her words ‘I take care of those who are lost or forgotten’ as she told Nana when she had asked her, on that night that felt so long ago.

“That is good to hear Nana. I am glad you have found a place to belong and a name to call your own.” The Bat Queen said, with the palismen surrounding Nana giving her their congratulations, a happy chorus of hisses, barks and meows.

- - - -

The Bat Queen was pleased to see Nana was happy and doing well. She was a strange creature to be sure, not that the Bat Queen had any room to talk. They had first met when the Bat Queen was patrolling the forest, ensuring that the forest was safe for those she protected. She could remember it like it was yesterday.

. . . .

The strange and unfamiliar looked so lost and afraid. She looked at the Bat Queen like she would harm the small creature. “Are-? Are you going to eat me?” she asked, her ears pinned back against her skull. The Bat Queen landed not too far to the small creature and not too close. She wanted the creature to see that she meant her no harm.

“No no.” the bat Queen said. “I am the Bat Queen, I mean you no harm. I am the guardian of this forest, and I protect those who are lost or forgotten.” She injected as much sincerity as she could, letting the creature seeing the truth in her words.

“Oh.... okay...” the creature said some hesitantly.

“Would you like to meet the palismen I watch over?” she offered, wanting to get this creature to a safer place, she reminded her of the palismen she watched over. It was getting dark soon, and some of the things that came out at night were not very friendly, to say the least. “It is a safe place for ones like you.” the creature relaxed slightly, hearing the honesty in her words.

“Uh okay.” The creature said, somewhat hesitantly. She walked over to the Bat Queen in a show of trust. “Uh quick question?”

“Yes what is it little one?”

“What’s a palisman?”

. . . .

The Bat Queen smiled as she remembered that day. Nana used the grove as a place to rest and relax. She often played with the palismen, enjoying their company. She did have a habit of wandering off at times, sometimes leaving the grove for small stretches of time, before she had wandered off for the last time, with the longest time she had been gone for being only two and a half weeks, where Nana somehow wound up at the Knee of all places. The Bat Queen was patient and willing to wait, even if the longer she was gone the more her concern grew. Until one day she left and didn’t come back. Until today that is. It was good to see her again, she searched every inch of the forest finding no trace of her. She would have searched elsewhere but the Emperor’s coven sending more scouts to capture her wards meant she wasn’t able to do so, unwilling to leave them unguarded.

The Bat Queen still couldn’t believe that Nana had been stuck in the old tombs in the caverns of the Knee. They were booby trapped to the extreme, in order to protect whatever resided there. So the fact Nana was able to survive where many hadn’t was surprising, because as much as the Bat Queen cared for Nana she could be a big idiot at times. What was also surprising was the changes Nana had underwent during her time in the tombs her eyes that used to be red where now a gentle green colour.

Apparently she had found a blue liquid in the tombs, and in a baffling move of pure stupidity, Nana decided to drink it. The fact the only changes were some of Nana’s colours and the fact she could be used as a glow stick was a matter of extremely good fortune.

The Bat Queen was roused from her musings when she heard her darling children coo curiously in Nana’s direction. “You can play with her, if you so wish. But do be gentle.” she reminded her children. The children flew off to join in with Nana and the palismen.

“Oh hi there.” Nana said noticing The Bat Queen’s children, who landed near her. “I’m Nana. What’s your names?” the babies did not reply as they were too young to be able to talk just yet. They waddled over to Nana, who reached out her right tassel for them to examine. Two grabbed hold with gentle grips. While the other four started to look at the palismen around Nana, and then deciding to play with them. The Bat Queen smiled, happy to see such a sweet sight.

She heard a small cough coming from near her, she turned to look to see that Owlbert, the palisman companion of Eda Clawthorne, was looking to talk to her, she still kept an eye out for her children. She could also see that Melody, the palisman companion of Raine Whispers, had joined in to play a card game with some of the other palismen, she seemed to be winning. Mike Socks, the palisman companion of Lilith Clawthorne, had perched himself on a tree’s branch and began to take a nap. “How may I help you Owlbert?” she asked, seeing that the owl had a question for her.

“Can I just ask why you sent your children for Eda to look after?” Owlbert asked. “She is usually not the first person that comes to mind when you want someone to babysit.” That was true, when one thinks of one Eda Clawthorne, they would usually think of the infamous criminal who was the most well know wild witch on the isles as well as being a wild and irresponsible woman. One does not usually think of her as a good fit for babysitting.

“Yi yi that is true.” The Bat Queen agreed. “But I wanted to get a good measure of her character. A good friend of mine speaks highly of her and I wanted to see if her was telling the truth.” Thankfully it seemed that Dell had been telling the truth about his youngest daughter. If he wasn’t Eda wouldn’t have lived to tell the tale. “Have you noticed the fact the Emperor’s coven has been actively increasing its presence lately? The fact they are trying to recruit everyone they can, as fast as they can? The fact they have been sending scouting groups into this forest in an attempt to capture the palismen that call this place home? The fact they are talking about the day of unity more than they used to?" The day of Unity used to be something that was mentioned very infrequently, now one could barely go near a member of a coven someone mentioning it.

“Eda and I have noticed most of those things happening lately. But what does that have to do with Eda being a babysitter for the night?”

“I do not know what Belos is planning, in general or for the day of unity, but whatever it is I dread what is in store for us all. That is why I need to be able to trust people like Eda, so we can face what is coming together.” The Bat Queen knew that whatever the Emperor had in store, it wouldn’t be good for anyone. She may have only had the one encounter with the man, but one was all she needed to see the truth that hid beneath that mask. The rot and the scent of spilt blood, that clung deep to that man, who cared only for himself and want he wanted. Said meeting was also responsible for the bounty that she had now, but that was besides the point.

“I see. What do you think he’s planning?”

The Bat Queen thought deeply, watching her children playing with Nana’s long and fluffy tail, before she replied to Owlbert’s question. “At this current moment I can not discern what Belos’ goals are. But whatever they are, they needed to be stopped.” She could see Melody win the card game she was in, gloating in her victory. The palismen she was playing with pouted but accepted their defeat with some grace.

The wind made the leaves rustle in the trees, she enjoyed that sound. She had no idea why but she always did enjoy. She chalked it up to her long forgotten past, before she was left behind. She could see her charges in the trees, a small but lively community. She would remember this for as long as she could, so she could remember what she was fighting for. She wanted the palismen under her protection to be able to live and thrive, which they could not do as long as someone like Belos was in power.

“I agree.” Owlbert said gravely, he too was watching the grove with a watchful eye. “What can we do to help?” That was a good question honestly.

“Keep doing what you’re doing. Resist, fight, live. All those things Belos wants to quash.” she prompted, before releasing an exhausted sounding sigh. “At the moment we need more information about what he is planning. If you have anything that can help please tell me.” she pleaded to the smaller palisman.

“Well I don’t know anything about me but Mike should know something.” Owlbert replied, before turning to the branch Mike was napping on. Owlbert then shouted. “Mike! Get over here!” so loudly that said raven got a rude awakening. The white bird woke with a fright and lost his grip. He fell off the branch he was on in an ungraceful heap. After picking himself up Mike gave Owlbert an unimpressed look. “Uh sorry about that?” Owlbert said with a sheepish apology. Mike brushed himself with his wings off before making his way over to her and Owlbert.

“This better be good.” Mike grumbled to Owlbert, who was blatantly looking away from Mike. “I was having a nice dream.”

“Mike Socks is there anything you can tell me about what Belos and the Emperor’s coven are planning?”

“Unfortunately I can’t tell you much as Belos didn’t really tell Lilith (or anyone else for that matter) very much in the first place. He said he is working towards the day of unity which he says would rid the isles of all wild magic and make us all ‘one with the titan.’” Mike said ‘one with the titan’ with heavy air quotes. “However there is the secret lab beneath the conformitorium, so if you want to look into anything, that would be a good place to start.” Mike Socks suggested. "We managed to catch a glimpse of it while we were examining the conformitroium, and later found out it wasn't on any of the plans we could find."

“I see I see.”

“Well Raine is definitely going to take a look if they get the chance.” Melody piped up from the Bat Queen’s blind spot. Everyone jumped and turned to look at the mischievous fox with a smattering of unimpressed looks. “What?” she said in an innocent sounding voice. “Lilith told them about it earlier,” she explained, “So they’re planning on checking it out soon.”

“-do you breath fire?” Nana could be heard exclaiming in the distance. “Hey careful!”

“Do excuse me for a moment I need to ensure my children don’t set anything or anyone on fire.” the Bat Queen said with a sigh, before they all heard Nana let out a loud yelp. When the Bat Queen looked she saw that Nana’s tail was on fire and she was rolling around trying to put it out. “...or anything else on fire.” With everyone telling her that she could go, she flew over to where she heard Nana shout. She would need to be stricter on fire usage in the forest. She did not want to deal with a forest fire any time soon.

A mother’s work was never done.

- - - -

Lilith had the forms she needed to quit right in front of her. Oh Titan did they not want people to quit, as the form was a frankly excessive in regards to actually quitting her job. Did they really need to know if she had used the staff room coffee pot?

The answer was no by the way. She had heard rumours that the coffee tasted like death itself and from the reactions Lilith had witnessed from the people who drunk some, she was inclined to believe it.

However that was completely beside the point. She leafed through the portion she had finished and was pleasantly surprised to see she was over half way there. Since she was doing so well...

“May as well take a quick break,” Lilith looked at the time on a nearby clock and blanched when she saw that she had been at this for several hours, “Titan have I really been working for that long?” she asked herself, before noticing how much her hand was hurting from all the writing she had been doing. She did some stretches with her left hand as well as massaging it with her other hand in order to relive the pain. She hissed slightly as she pressed down on the sore spot between her thumb and index finger, rubbing the area as she did so. She hated how her hands hurt whenever she had to write anything for any length of time, her joints creaked as she moved them, her hands shook making delicate tasks much harder than they needed to be.

“Yeah you’ve been really really busy.” a grating voice said, catching her by surprise, causing her knew to leap up and smack into the table. She rubbed her knee before turning to look at her sister’s house demon, with a very unimpressed look. She could see that he had put the kettle on and it was happily bubbling away. “What it’s true.” Hoot said with a shrug, or what Lilith presumed to be a shrug. “What are you doing anyway?” Hooty asked peering curiously at the documents Lilith had left on the table. “Sure lot of forms you’re doing. Would you like some help? I used to be a lawyer back in the Abyssal Shallows.” Lilith frowned as she heard that place name, it sounded familiar but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

It took her a moment to process the other part of Hooty’s statement, that he used to be a lawyer. She really couldn’t see it. “You used to be a lawyer?”

“Yup I was. I’ve also been a teacher, Santa with Bumpy that one year, an architect, a chef, a mortician, a fitness instructor, a librarian, and a whooooooole bunch of other things I can’t remember at the moment.” Hooty listed off to a somewhat baffled Lilith, who only grew more confused as the list went on. Who was Santa? Also how did he do those jobs without hands?

“When did you find the time to do all that? Aren’t you just a house demon and thus attached to the house?” Lilith asked trying to make sense of Hooty’s claims. House Demons once bound to a house could not leave, they would be a part of their house until they died.

“Oh I’ve got a little bird house that I can put myself in if I need to be mobile, also I’m older than I look.”

You know what sure, Lilith can roll with it. “Okay.” was all she could really say to that, at this current moment. Honestly Lilith thinks her brain was a bit fried from how long she had been working on those forms. The kettle finished boiling, so Lilith decided that a nice cup of tea would work wonders. “You can take a look if you want, I’m going to make myself a cup of tea.” she got up and walked over to the kettle and noticed that the tea bags and the mug she had claimed were already set out. Shrugging it off, she got to work, letting the long ingrained habit guide her. After making her cup of tea, letting its warmth soothe her aching hands, she turned to see that Hooty was wearing a pair of glasses, while he was looking over her forms. She blinked slightly surprised at the sight.

“What? I’m short sighted.”

. . . .

When Lilith went to bed that night she would remember where she had first heard the name Abyssal Shallows. It was a coastal town located on the hip, well know for its bustling trading scene, where people would come from all over the Isles to trade and sell their wares. Most importantly however was the fact that Abyssal Shallows had been destroyed well over two hundred years ago.

Which just left Lilith with the question of how old is Hooty?

- - - -

Luz was enjoying hanging out with her friends in Eda’s tent, they had all found something comfy to lean on and they were all sitting near each other. They were sitting in a vague approixmation of a circle, with it going from right to left, Luz, Amity, Gus and finally Willow. It was nice just having a peaceful moment together, enjoying each other’s company. They had been discussing some things about the Human Realm with Gus and, to a lesser extent, Amity had asked her a lot of questions about it, which Luz was quite happy to answer. Willow had been working on an assignment that was asking her to explain how and why the plants on the Boiling Isles adapted to their environment. She had finished it not that long ago, and was now currently reading a book titled ‘A torrid romance’ which was apparently a love story about two sailors falling in love while working on a boat sailing the boiling seas. From the way Willow’s eyebrows were raised, she seemed to to have opinions on how things were going.

“Hey Gus?”

“Yeah Luz what is it?”

“What made you so interested in the Human realm in the first place?” Luz asked, curious as to why her friend was so interested in her realm in the first place. “You don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to. Just curious is all."

Gus laughed. “No worries Luz.” he replied with a smile, making Luz relax a bit. “Besides Willow already knows-.”

“That’s true.” Willow pipped up, turning to the next page of her book. She flipped ahead a couple of pages and seemingly not liking what she was reading, she closed the book and placed it to her side. She turned her attention towards the conversation happening near her.

“Well I got really interested when my Mom died, cause she died when I was young.” Gus said getting lost in his memories for a bit. “Heart failure apparently, can’t really remember. But she had a big collection of magazines speculating about the Human realm, and reading them made feel like she was still there, like we were still connected. Over time my interest in the subject grew. You know?” Luz nodded knowing that feeling well.

“Yeah I know what you mean. It’s the same way with me and Azura.” Luz said, a sombre smile on her face. “My dad gave me the first book when he was really ill and staying in the hospital. When he... when he died, reading Azura would always make me feel like we were still connected, like he was still here.” She would always miss him, but reading the first Azura book would always make remember the good times they had shared. “Reading the book my dad gave me, it always makes me remember the time we had shared.”

"It’s the same with me.” Gus said, smiling softly. “it helps me remember her even after all these years.”

Both Amity and Willow smiled as well seeing this scene play out in front of them.

“Gag me. You kids are sickeningly sweet, I do hope you know that.” Eda grumbled good-naturedly, from her current seat at the front of the tent. It seemed that she was more amused than anything.

The kids couldn’t help it, so they laughed at Eda’ antics. Eda just rolled her eyes, small smile tugging at her lips.

Chapter Text

Chapter 18.

Raine and their students were on a very important mission. They were all wearing their bat masks, and they planned to sneak in to the conformtorium to see if they could enter the secret lab and find any useful information. Thankfully there wasn’t much in the way of actual security on the path they were taking, purposely avoiding the routes of the people working there. Thankfully Lilith knew enough about the routes so they could do their best to avoid them. She wasn’t sure of the exact location of the lab but she did give them her best approximation of its location.

Raine was in the lead, followed by Katya then Amber and finally Derwin at the tail end of the group. Raine was holding a map Lilith had made for them, to show them where she saw the lab. First they needed to take a left then the second path to the right. Raine could hear someone humming nervously, filling the air with sounds apart from their footsteps.

“Katya this is not the time to be humming.” Raine hissed quietly, not wanting to attract any attention at all, because the moment someone found that they were there, they would have to fight their way out. A prospect that seemed ill advised to the senior bard. They took the first available descending staircase, moving further and further away from anyone else. They began to descend into the depths. Every sound echoed off the stone walls. Raine tied not to think of how enclosed this space was, how suffocating it felt. They took a steady breath, taking another step into the depths.

“Sorry Teach.” Katya replied. “Just a bit nervous, cause I’ve been here before.” she explained, reminding Raine that Wrath had arrested their student for writing stories about food falling in love, something they still slightly upset about. “Something always felt a bit off, it was a weirdly empty prison.” Raine frowned as they heard that statement, that didn’t sound right. They knew for a fact the conformitrium was where many prisoners where sent to carry out their sentences.

“Katya, what do you mean by that?” Raine asked, trying to keep themself calm. One step. Two step. Three step. Four step. The light was dim barely enough to see, like this was not a place people frequented. Or it was one people wanted to be hard to find. The light flickered, casting dancing shadows on the wall. Raine paid them no mind.

“Well apart from me, I saw all of two other prisoners.” Katya revealed. “the rest of the cells were, as far as I could see, empty.” Raine could hear the shuffling from Derwin and Amber as they processed what they had just heard.

“I know for a fact that this is were many criminals are sent here when serving their sentences.” Raine said, stopping on a landing that split off into three different paths, all equally poorly lit, nearly all shrouded in unwelcoming gloom. They turned on their lights on their scrolls and they all took the first path on the left. “So that leaves the question of, where did all the prisoners go?” No one could really answer that question, any answer they could come up with, would surely be awful. Derwin gulped nervously at whatever thought crossed his mind.

“Maybe-? Maybe we can find out something when we get to the lab?” Amber suggested from behind Raine. “Cause like secret lab in the basement, that just screams secret experiments run on the prisoners.” Raine was inclined to agree. A lab in the basement of a prison screamed trouble. But that left the question of what exactly was the purpose of those experiments.

The beams of lights from their scrolls cut through the darkness, revealing naught but dusty foot prints leading to and from the darkness. Raine kept their eyes held high watching to see if anything leapt out at them. Thankfully for their shaky nerves, nothing did so. Leaving only them and their students.

“Honestly I hope that’s not the case.” Derwin muttered. “But I know we’re not that lucky for it to be false.” Raine really hoped that wasn’t the case, but knew better than to voice it aloud. Soon Raine came to a stop, their students stopping right behind them, a metal door, shut tight, barred their way. “Of course there’s a door.” he muttered.

Raine walked up to the door, and gave it a little test.

It was locked.

Why wouldn’t be?

They looked at the handle and saw that there was no keyhole. Which meant that there wasn’t any keys or they couldn’t picking the lock.

Raine sighed and glad Eda taught them this very useful trick for getting through a locked door. First they cast a silencing spell on the door, not wanting anyone to potentially hear what would happen next.

“Do you all mind standing to the side for a bit? I need a running start.” Their students slightly confused, did what they asked and stood to the side.

Raine stepped back at least ten of so paces. “Uh Raine what are you-?” Katya’s question was cut off as Raine ran by her. They knew where to aim. So they kicked the door off its hinges. Making fall flat to the ground with nary a sound. “uh okay. Guess you can kick a metal door of its hinges.” Katya said in utter disbelief. Raine didn’t need to turn around to see that their students had very impressed looks on their faces. They shone their light into the now opened room and found the remains of a laboratory, shards of glass dotted the floor, unknown liquids pooling on the floor. There were filing cabinets, all flung open with wild abandon, each drawer was empty. In the centre of the room there was a pile of ash, fragments of burnt paper could be seen within. At the wall opposite the door, Raine could see six empty cages, their walls covered in claw marks of varying sizes. They could see empty shackles hanging on the walls, dangling limply as they did so. Whatever was kept in there was, hopefully, long gone. On the left of the cages was a door, only the slightest bit open. The air had a noticeable hint of rot in it, making Raine want to pinch their nose.

“Can you teach me?” Amber asked, walking over to see the fallen door. “That looks really useful.” It was, but now Raine’s ankle hurt because they had just kicked a metal door. Something they probably should have considered before kicking a metal door. Too late now.

“Next time we have some free time I’ll teach you.” Raine offered, before their face fell into a serious expression. “Now spread out and see if you can find anything, make sure to grab pictures on you scrolls.” Their students nodded, and split up and got to work. Raine made their way to the filling cabinet, they doubted they would find much, considering the fact it seemed the people working here destroyed everything before leaving. Maybe they missed something. They pulled out the drawers and removed them, placing them to the side. All of them were empty, and it seemed whoever did this was very through. As they pulled the last one out they noticed an intact piece of paper, it must have fallen out during the clean up and no one thought to check. Bingo they thought to themself as they reached out and grabbed the piece of paper.

They began to read, not really sure what to expect.

Project Ouroboros subject number 5 log.

This subject is the most docile of the six surviving subjects, often refusing to drain the prisoners, often requiring motivation before it would do so. After which it would drain their magic like the rest of its brethren. In terms of shapeshifting Number 5 is the best amongst the subjects, with very little in the way of noticeable mistakes in its transformation. Is very good at acting like its disguise. Never let it leave your sight! Has attempted to escape on multiple occasions.

Subject number 5 is a Lesser Basilisk. A sub species of Basilisk that focuses on disguising itself and hiding amongst witches and demons. Like all basilisk it can drain magic and store it in a reserve it can access later. Like all basilisk it can shape shift using the magic in its stores. While many basilisks can use their magic as a way to strengthen themselves, the lesser basilisk instead uses it to perfect their disguises, making them near indistinguishable from the original. Lesser basilisks are often a muddy green colour in their natural forms. They have two arms with five fingers on each. They typically have a tail ending with a fin.

Unlike many other species of basilisk the lesser basilisk have a smaller maximum size compared to many of the other species. [part of the page was crossed out in such a way that made it impossible to read]

Noticeable incidents.

-When first testing to see how a basilisk draining magic works, Number 5 refused to drain the prisoner’s magic, citing how it ‘didn’t feel right.’ Motivational shocks were used, and Subject number 5 proceeded to do what was asked of it.

-Has tried on multiple occasions to escape its cell, only to be thwarted by pure dumb luck. First time is when it turned into an echo mouse and attempted to flee from its cage. It was stopped by a worker who noticed the out of place mouse, and the proceeded to capture it in an empty jar. On further inspection it was found to be the escaped basilisk. After punishment it was placed back in its cage. From now on there is to be weekly purges of any animals that are not used in experiments. Ensuring an attempts that involve disguising itself as a small animal are easily detected.

Raine didn’t read much further than that, their mind whirling with thoughts bouncing every which way, processing what they just read. Basilisks. Something, they knew for a fact, went extinct just shy over fifty years ago, killed by the Emperor’s coven. So either they weren’t extinct in the first place or... or they had been bought back somehow. Raine frowned as they thought about why someone would experiment on basilisks, they could only think of two reasons why. One was their ability to drain magic and the other was the ability to shape shift. Neither possibility was a good one in Raine’s mind.

“Everyone come take a look at this.” they said causing their students to come over to look at what they had in their hands. “They were experimenting on basilisks in here.” they said grimly.

“Aren’t basilisk, like, supposed to be extinct or something?” Amber asked, reading over the page with a keen eye. Her eyebrows furrowed as she read through the noticeable

“They are.” Derwin confirmed, looking like he was on the verge of losing his breakfast. “Also on a completely unrelated note I think I found where the rest of the prisoners went.” he pointed to the door by the cages. “The bodies are in there. I wouldn’t recommend looking in there, it’s not a pleasant sight to say the least.”

“Why are they there?” Katya asked before having a sudden realisation. “Wait Basilisks are supposed to be able to drain magic right?” Raine nodded their head confirming her guess. “So they... they used the prisoners as test subjects for basilisks to drain their magic.” Katya looked sick as she said that, face paling as well. Raine’s stomach somersaulted as well, very disgusted at the images their mind was conjuring up. “I could have easily wound up down here.” Katya said horrified at the mere thought of being down here. “I’m suddenly a lot more grateful for Eda and your kids busting me out.” She noticed the somewhat complicated expression on Raine’s face. “What’s that expression for?” Raine explained that Luz wasn’t their daughter and that she was a human from the human realm. Their face was a bright red as they told their students this, still somewhat embarrassed by their mistake.

“Ah, that’s cool and all but we should really get back to business.” Amber pointed out. “We can talk about this when we’re not in the basement of a prison.” she had a very good point. They really should talk bout this later.

“Right see if you can find anything else.” Raine ordered, making everyone get back to searching for clues.

Apart from the one piece of paper, they didn’t really find much in the way of useful information. They did find that some of the liquids on the floor were paralysis potions, useful if you need something to hold still and not move a muscle. Raine took a quick peek into the room off to the side. Derwin was right, it was not a pleasant sight at all. Under their breath Raine muttered an old prayer to the Titan, that wherever these people ended up, they would be well cared for. There was nothing they could for the dead at this moment. So they promised, to come back and give them their final rites. Titan I beseech you, many are making their final journey, please guide them on their way. I will come back and ensure that they will be returned to the great cycle, under your gentle gaze.

So now they knew that Basilisks were involved, being experimented on. The Emperor’s wanted to study their ability to drain magic. That there were at most six basilisks, they could be just about anywhere. (Meanwhile at reality check camp in the Human realm, Vee sneezed, nearly dropping her water bottle on her foot.)

As they escaped, returning from the cold suffocating depths, Raine had one question on their mind, what exactly did the Emperor’s coven want with the ability to drain magic?

It was a question, Raine knew, that once answered things would change. For the better or the worse was hard to say. But knowing their luck it would make things worse.

- - - -

Lilith was going to quit her job even if it killed her, though she’d prefer if it didn’t reach that point.

She was waiting in a long and meandering line, her position didn’t grant her the ability to skip ahead sadly. She was in the hall of personal and records, where everything was recorded which included everything that happened in the covens, which yes included people leaving like she was trying to do.

Thankfully she wasn’t alone in this endeavour. “Wow what a big place, makes me want to stretch out!” Hooty chimed from the birdhouse Lilith was wearing on her back, he seemed to be looking around if the small movements Lilith could feel. She tried to scrub the mental image of the snapping sinew and tearing flesh as Hooty ripped free from the door from her mind, sadly she would remember it till the day she died, as vivid as she first witnessed that horrible sight. The people were giving Hooty some odd looks, but he seemed unaffected, content to fill the air with his chatter.

Lilith was surprised when the house demon offered to come with her, Lilith accepted not wanting to do this on her own, and now had a fresh new nightmare to deal with when she went to sleep. “It is fairly big.” she agreed, quietly looking at the large hall they were currently in. “It has to be if we want to keep all the records as intact as possible.” As much as she wanted to espouse the virtues of the record keeping, she was quite happy to let Hooty talk. His voice may be grating, but Lilith found herself warming up to the very strange house demon.

“Oh that makes sense.” Hooty gave a slight nod showing that he understood. “How-?” What question Hooty was going to ask was cut off by him perking up on sighting something. “What just a second! I see Sam! Hey Sam!” Lilith looked in the direction Hooty was facing in and saw a coven scout freeze, did an about turn and promptly ran out of the room. “Saaaaaaaaaaaam!” Hooty called out as he raced after the guard, his voice echoing throughout the hall. “I have something I need to give back to you!”

“Nonononononononono! Lilith could hear echo from the distance. “What are you doing here? At seeing the looks she was getting she just smiled apologetically.

“Hooty can get.... a bit excitable is all.” She hoped the line picked up the pace a bit. She wasn’t very good with dealing with any sort of awkwardness.

- - - -

Luz was on the couch, reading a book about witch biology, one hand turning the pages while the other was giving King head scratches, the morning sun streaming in through the windows. Eda meanwhile was sorting through some boxes of stuff, seeing what she could sell and what she could maybe repurpose. Raine was off with their students doing something secretive and Lilith was trying to quit her job, with Hooty going along with her. She tried to suppress the memory of Hooty becoming porta-Hooty and failed miserably. She shivered at the thought, it was not a pleasant one.

There was a gentle song playing from something that looked like a record player, it reminded Luz of peaceful days and quiet moments. She quietly hummed along.

-the bile sack, one of the most important components for the witches of today so they can cast their magic. The magic that the Titan has gifted us is absorbed by the skin and is transported by the veins to the heart and more importantly the bile sack. Once the magic has arrived in the bile sack is processed into a golden magical bile, a form of magic much easier to use and use safely. In theory it is possible to use unprocessed magic, but the affects that could have on someone is unknown. It has never occurred in any circumstance that I could read about.

It is said that before witches had bile sacks, they had another way of using magic. Any records about that subject matter, in Belos’ infinite wisdom, were destroyed, for ‘being wild magic.’ and thus ‘against the Titan’s will.’

Luz smiled as she thought about the glyph she found, the warmth and comfort it represented to her. It was a promise, that no matter how dark things got, there would still be a light to guide her. It was a nice thought.

The book was a pretty informative one and it seemed that the author had a bone to pick with Belos and the decisions he made, if from the occasional snarky comment was anything to go by. One of her favourite comments went, Belos believes that only the Emperor’s coven should be able to mix magic. Of course this is very self defeating, as before they become members they cannot mix magic, you can see the problem I hope. Because Belos sure didn’t seem to. So they have to learn up to eight different tracks of magic as an adult, which means that typical competence for the guard is not very high, to say the least. This can be seen when they deal with anyone approaching a modicum of skill in mixing magic, which often results in their defeat and/or humiliation. Titan I need a drink.

It also didn’t surprise Luz that the book was among the many Belos had banned over the years, and from what Eda could tell her the author went into hiding to avoid being captured. Eda had, over the years, stolen many banned books before they were going to be destroyed, resulting in her mentor having one of the largest collections of banned books in the Isle. Eda also let Luz and King peruse the books whenever they wanted.

There was a knock at the door. Luz made sure to remember her place on her book and got up to answer the door. King grumbled at his pampering being interrupted, but quickly returned to his curled up state. Luz opened the door and was greeted by the sight of Gus. “Hey Gus.” she greeted her friend with a smile. “What’s up?” she asked noticing his troubled expression on his face.

“Can I come in? I need your help.”

“Sure thing come on in.” Luz said, stepping to the side and gesturing for Gus to enter. Gus did so and sat on the sofa. Luz, after she shut the door sat on the sofa as well. “What do you need my help with?”

“You know I’m the president of the Human appreciation society right?” Luz nodded, he had told her about it a couple of times. It was a school club that was really interested in human stuff, and Luz had found the idea to be a cool one. “Well there’s this new guy named Mattholomule and he overthrew me.” Gus said, sounding very annoyed at this new guy. “I wouldn’t have minded as much if he used actual human realm stuff but he-.”

“He used fakes?” Luz asked, already having a pretty good guess on what the new guy did.

“Yeah he used fakes, like one of them is just a rock he painted.” Gus said. “I would show you but uh.... I washed the paint off after I left school for the day.” he finished somewhat sheepishly. He shook his head, seeming to get himself back on track. “Right well could you help me prove they’re fake? I’ve talked about you a bit with the H.A.S. and they would like to meet you some time.” Gus said, honestly Luz found it sweet. “If you want to that is.” he tacked on at the end.

“Honestly sure I don’t mind helping out.” Gus pumped his fist in joy with a small ‘yes.’ “Besides I wouldn’t mind another visit to Hexside.”

“What’s this about Hexside?” Eda asked, brushing her hands together. Looks like she had finished what she was doing, or at least she decided now was a good time for a break. Behind her there was a least three piles of junk.

Luz turned to Eda, explaining what Gus was here for. “Gus wants me to help he get his position as the president of the H.A.S.” It honestly made Luz curious about what other clubs and things a magic school like Hexside would have.

Eda hummed. “Oh I remember that group, a whole bunch of nerds and dweebuses.” her eyes shot to Gus who was sitting right next to Luz. “Uh... no offence.” she tacked on, sounding like she didn’t fully mean that.

“That’s okay I come from a very long line of dweebuses.” Gus said, finding no offence in Eda’s statement. He seemed to take pride in it more than anything.

“Well if you’re heading out kid stay safe okay?” Eda asked, before ruffling Luz’s hair. “and make sure you’re back before dinner at least.” she said with that small bit of fondness, present as always.

“Sure thing Eda.” Luz replied smiling as she enjoyed the sensation of her ruffled hair. Luz was a tactile person, and enjoyed the warm touches of others. “I’ll be back before dinner.” she promised.

With that said and done Luz and Gus left the Owl house, shutting the door behind them. Gus noticed the noticeable absence of Hooty, just a circle of torn flesh and viscera that made Luz feel ill. “Uh where’s Hooty?”

“Well he’s-.”

- - - -

“-and that’s why I’m not allowed in the Ankle any more. Any questions?” Hooty was having a good time, it’s been a while since he got to go out and hang out with someone, he even got to give Sam her engagement ring back! The silly billy left it at one of the tea parties she had attended six or seven months ago. He tried to think back to the last time he had gone out with friends, he thinks it was some twenty odd years ago. That was the night Santa was assassinated, and Hooty was his temporary replacement for the night, because this was on Christmas Eve. They could find a better suiting candidate, but not in such a short span of time. So it was up to Hooty and Bump to save Christmas that year. The man owed him a favour. Also he actually knew where Bump lived.

But that was long in the past, currently he was with Lilith so she could quit her job. He had helped her with filling out all the forms correctly, using his experience as a lawyer to make sure Lilith wouldn’t have an issues. “That was certainly uh... an enlightening story.” said witch replied, her expression was an uncertain one but Hooty was used to that from everyone really, he didn’t take it personally. “What were you doing in the Knee in the first place may I ask?”

“That’s perfectly fine!.” Hooty replied, before he started to hum thoughtfully. “Honestly I can’t really remember, I think was helping someone find some rare potion ingredients or something.” A problem he found as the ever present passage of time marched onwards, was that his memories began to fade, and the people he used to know were gone like ashes on the wind. He had journals sure, but they were all back at the house, so he couldn’t really reference them at the moment. He could always show Lilith when they got back home. He’ll ask her when they get back.

“That’s fine Hooty.” Lilith replied, she turned her attention to the slowly moving line they were standing in. “How long is this going to take?” she quietly asked herself. She sounded somewhat impatient as she asked that. Hooty had an idea.

“I could get them to move if you like.” Hooty offered, taking Lilith off guard for a moment.

After taking a moment a process Lilith gave off a small laugh. “Thank you for the kind offer Hooty,” she looked at the desks off in the distance, “but I think it’ll be a good idea to wait, besides I don’t want you to get into trouble.”

“Aw Lulu that’s sweet, but I don’t mind getting into trouble for a friend.” Hooty said, deciding that Lilith could have a nickname. Names could come and go in his memories, but nicknames helped him remember someone. He wanted to remember Lilith. Like he remembered Evelyn, Callie, Charlotte, Carly, Victoria, Eda, Luz, King, Raine, Bump and everyone who called the Owl house home.

“What did you call me?” Lilith asked, not sounding upset at the nickname.

“Oh I called you Lulu. Do you not want me to call you that?”

“No no it’s quite all right. It’s just, apart from my sister, I’ve haven’t heard someone call me a nickname in years.” She gave him a soft smile. “It’s nice. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, besides I consider you a friend.”

“You do?” She honestly sound like she had trouble believing that, it made Hooty’s heart ache. He would make sure that she knew she had friends and people that cared for her, no matter what it took.

“Yeah I do.” He gave Lilith a pat on the head. “I like spending time with you.” Lilith was someone he enjoyed spending time with, as well as she enjoyed hanging out with him as well. She had a passion for history, that Hooty loved to hear her talk about, about how and why architecture has changed over the eras. She got animated and excited as she began to talk about. Most people would likely find Lilith’s passions to be about something boring, but Hooty didn’t care. He loved to share in the joys of others.

“....Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

The line continued onward, a slow and persistent march. “Want me to tell you another story?” he asked his friend.

“You know what sure. We have time to spare, go ahead.” Hooty thought about what story he could tell, and eventually decided on a good one.

“This is the story of Evelyn Clawthorne and how she met the love of her life....”

- - - -

Bump was in his office, organising some things he needed to do for the coming inspection, such as who to show off and the parts to avoid taking the inspector to. He tried not to pinch his nose at the thought, the inspection was always a big cause of stress for the principal. The yearly inspection was when the Emperor’s coven sent an inspector to see if the school were running as the Emperor wanted them to. Nine distinct tracks and no mixing magic. The inspector was in charge of deciding to see if there would be any changes in the budget, they could increase it, which would be a big help, or they could slash it, which would be awful. Things would literally begin to fall apart.... well not literally, but you get the point. Some of the pipes near the potion classrooms had sprung a leak again.

One main point of contention in regards to the upcoming was the three students that had recently been caught mixing magic. Mr Barcus Clifford who mixed oracle and potion magic, Mr Jerbo Nervoso who mixed abomination and plant magic and finally Miss Viney Alraune who mixed healing and beast-keeping magic. During the day of the inspection he would have to make sure those three were out of sight of the inspector. Thankfully there was a room he could place them in, that was out of the way and tucked away in a corner.

In all honesty he never understood why Belos was so against mixing magic, it was a good way to broaden one’s horizons and helps them have a well rounded skill set. While he hated it he would have to follow the law to the best of his abilities, so as long as he didn’t see it, as far as he was concerned nothing untoward was happening.

It was entirely possible that there were other Hexside students mixing magic, but like he said, it’s not his problem if he’s not there to see it. He’ll have to let those three students know about that little fact. Or at least lead them to that conclusion, can’t say something like that outright.

Speaking of those three students, one Miss Alraune was somewhat of a cause of concern for him and the other staff at Hexside. Her records, for lack of a better term, seemed to be tampered with, in a way Bump had never really seen before. Any attempt to find out if Miss Alraune had parents or guardians had all been meet with failure, and that portion of her student file, well, all the words seemed to quite literally drip off the page in an unreadable mess. The fact no one seemed to notice this until fairly recently was confusing to say the least, but Bump would place this as something quite alarming, he would need to send someone to check on how she was doing living alone. It was like until Miss Alraune joined this school, she did not exist. Any attempt to track done her past was only meet with confusion and odd gaps in information.

He would need to talk to Miss Alraune about this soon, see what she knows about her situation and see what the next step should be. He knew that whatever he found, would, knowing his luck would likely be dangerous in one way or another.

He sighed and put that thought to the side when he heard a knock at the door. “Come in.” he called, happy for the momentary distraction. The door opened revealing Mr Porter and young Miss Clawthorne. “I presume you want to visit this esteemed institution once more?” he asked, rummaging through his desk draw for the visitor pass once again. On finding it, he held it our for the young Clawthorne to take.

“Yeah Gus wants my help with the Human appreciation society, and yeah I would like to have a chance to have another look around if I can.” was Bump’s reply as she took the visitor pass.

“Fair enough, same rules as before.” Bump reminded the young girl who shot him a cheeky salute. Just like Eda would do back in the day.

“Sure thing I’ll try to stay out of trouble.” Considering the family’s (read Eda’s) history with chaos and general mischief making, Bump was going to take that with a pinch of salt.

“See that you do.” Bump warned before asking the young girl a question. “Are you considering enrolling in this school?” he asked, unable to help himself. He wanted to see what this girl could accomplish, to see how high she could soar. He also wanted to help the girl with whatever was going on with her.

Luz hummed thoughtfully. “I’m considering it, but I really need to talk to Eda about it first, so yeah.”

“That’s perfectly alright with me.” Bump said, unsurprised by the response. It only made sense that they would have to talk in order for Luz to enrol here. “Well I need to get back to work, good luck with what you’re trying to accomplish.” he said dismissing the pair, he really did need to get back to work. As much as he hated the idea, but he need to get things done.

“Thanks Pincey B.” Luz called as she and Mr Porter left his office. Bump’s eye twitched at that nickname, he hadn’t heard it in years. He hadn’t miss it that very much. Though a small part of him did.... somewhat. Not that he was going to admit that.

He sighed, and got back to work.

- - - -

Eda had finished sorting out some junk to sell on the next market day, and was currently sitting on the couch with King by her side. Honestly things were so quiet now, Eda could practically hear her own thoughts bouncing around her head, like a room full of rubber balls, bouncing every which way.
She had gotten used to hearing the noises the others made while they were here, Hooty with his insatiable cheer, Luz with her curious questions, Raine with their whistling and humming, Lilith with her passionate rants and lectures, Boots with her simple joy talking with Luz. Now it was just her and King and Eda hated how quiet it was. She sighed.

Luz was helping Goops with something, Raine was doing something that was likely very illegal (she was so proud of them), Lilith was busy quitting her job, with Hooty going with her to help and Boots was at school. “You okay Eda?” King asked, opening one eye to gaze at her with concern.

“Yeah I’m fine, just missing everyone at the moment.” she replied, giving King a quick scratch behind his ear. “I’ve enjoyed how noisy and chaotic things can get here with everyone.” King gave a small content purr as Eda scratched him being his ear, one of his favourite spots. “It’s.... nice ya know?” She thought she was someone who preferred to be alone, but now she realised how lonely she was before King and Luz came into her life. The days where she came back with King was where things began to change, because she wasn't just responsible to herself anymore. She had to be responsible for a kid, so she started to shape up. She began to teach him how to make his way in the world. Then one day she met Luz, feeling a kindred spirit in the girl, making her want to help the girl. And in a way both King and Luz helped Eda. She wasn't just wasting her magic on herself, now she was using for the sake of her kids.

“Yeah I know.” King replied understanding where she was coming from, “I like it too. Luz is fun to be around.” The two seemed to be as thick as thieves, both of them enjoying each other’s company whenever the chance presents itself. Eda was infinitely glad that King had someone that wasn’t just her or Hooty.

“Yeah she is.” Eda murmured. She wanted what was best for the girl. The girl who reminded Eda of herself back when she had first been cursed. I’m deeply sorry for that. her guest whispered to Eda in her thoughts. I’ve accepted it okay, it was a shitty situation all round. But thanks. Eda replied in her thoughts. Have you picked a name yet? she asked, thinking she may as well ask how that was going. Eda had made a list of names for her guest to pick one from and was curious to see if she had picked one she like yet.

I have, the name Artemis is the one I chose.

That’s a good name. It’s nice to meet you Artemis. Eda replied, finding it to be a good name.

Thank you and It’s nice to meet you too. with that her guest went quiet, making Eda focus back on her conversation with King. “Hey King do you think Luz should go to Hexside?” she asked her youngest, wanting a second opinion about something she had been thinking about. She was in two minds, one said to send Luz to Hexside so she could learn things Eda wouldn’t be able to teach her. The other said not too, that part still bitter and hurt from how her schooling career had gone. Bump may have been a good principal, but most of her time at school was when Faust was in charge. Safe to say she had decidedly mixed feeling towards the current state of education in the Boiling Isles. Said feeling only became more and more pronounced as she grew older.

King gave her an unsure looking shrug. “Honestly I’m not sure, this is really something you should be talking to Luz about, not, you know, me.” King replied bringing up a pretty good point. “But I think it would be a good idea, get to see multiple viewpoints and all that.” he continued, unknowingly bringing up a point Eda had been think about in favour of sending Luz to Hexside.

Eda, with her unoccupied hand, ruffled her bird nest of a mane she called her hair. “I know... but argh I don’t know.” she admitted aloud, feeling somewhat frustrated with herself. “My stint at Hexside didn’t end to well.” she said in a massive bit of understatement. Considering it ended with Eda getting a massive bounty and her ending up as the most wanted witch on the Isles, yeah it didn’t end well by most sane metrics. Then again most people would say Eda wasn’t the sanest person on the block, which while somewhat true, was just fucking rude. Okay this was getting away from her, just a bit.

“Maybe you could visit? See how things are being run.” King suggested, offering a fairly good idea. “If you like what you see, you can get Luz enrolled.” It was a good idea all said. See how things where being run and see if she liked what she saw. Besides she could always tell Luz about the secret corridors, if she did end up enrolling the girl. Pass on something to the kid apart from the magic lessons and teaching how to pick locks and pickpocket.

Eda sighed, and had to concede the point. “Yeah that sounds like a good idea as any.”

Eda stood up, grabbing King in her arms. “Come on King we’re going to Hexside.” King pouted slightly at being carried underarm like a ball, but didn’t argue. Well if he wanted that to stop, he better hope he gets a growth spurt soon. Speaking of King, how long do blood tests take anyway, she would have to ask Mala how long they usually took. Eh she could always message them later, she had their contact details.

“Yeah yeah.” King grumbled.

With that all said and done, the pair left the Owl House and headed off to Hexside, leaving the Owl House the quietest it has even been in well over thirty years. It was a strange idea, that because even if most of the occupants left there would still be Hooty. But Hooty was gone for the day, leaving the house a quiet and sombre place. It, as much as an inanimate house would, wait eagerly for life to return to its walls. It wouldn’t have to wait that long in the grand scheme of things.

- - - -

Lilith had been idly listen to Hooty’s stories as she walked in the slow meandering line, the end was in sight. It seemed that Hooty had a lot of stories to tell and a willingness to tell them, if given the slightest chance. Lilith didn’t mind his stories, she had always loved stories, in all their forms and honestly, it was pretty interesting to hear what someone had to say about the long gone years in a first person perspective. The names Evelyn and Callie, that Hooty was talking about, sounded vaguely familiar to her. “Yeah Evelyn was really nice to the siblings when they first came to the Boiling Isles.” Hooty said. “One loved it and wanted to stay. The other hated it and wanted to leave.” Lilith couldn’t help herself and recall something that happened back when she was a child, the names tugging at her memories.

“What’s that dad?” a young Lilith asked of her dad, she was a tiny and curious thing, always asking questions about the world. Her dad, eyes full of mirth, showed her the paper he was holding. It was like a tree with a whole bunch of names on it. It had her name, Eda, Grandma Marilyn, Aunt Madilyn, Mom and Dad’s all on it. Many of the names Lilith didn’t recognise, but the two at the top caught her interest, due to the fact they were at the top of the tree.

“This Sweetflea, is a family tree. It tells us who’s in our family.” her dad explained, his finger tracing a line up towards the two names at the top. Those names were Evelyn Clawthorne and Cal-.

“Next please.” Lilith heard, snapping her out of her recollections, thankfully it didn’t seem that she went too deep and thus unable to hear anything, that would just be embarrassing. She took a deep breath and walked up to the counter that had just freed up. The clerk behind the counter, quite understandably, looked a bit shocked to see Lilith standing in front of her. However in an excellent display of self-control and professionalism, the clerk’s face feel into a practised and polite smile, Lilith found it to be commendable. “Head Coveness Clawthorne how may I help you?” she asked, somehow focusing solely on Lilith and not the house demon on her back. Lilith, opened the satchel she had resting on her left hip and got out the forms she and Hooty filled out, she placed them on the desk. She would never drop them, or plop them down. That wasn’t how she did things. The clerk, whose name tag read Rana, looked down and saw the forms that Lilith had placed right in front of her, her polite expression briefly letting her shock shine through. “Are you-? Are you really-?” Rana asked, her question was one that Lilith had expected, and was well prepared for.

“Yes,” Lilith answered, “I’m tending my resignation effect immediately.” There was a hush falling as the clerks on either side of Rana turned to look stopping their work in its tracks, causing a chain reaction of clerks looking at Lilith until everyone was staring at her. While there was a brief hush it was soon replaced by the harsh buzz of whispers and quiet questions. Which soon petered out as Lilith gave them all a meaningful stare, prompting them all to get back to what they were doing. “If that’s quite all right with you?” Rana nodded and quickly began to look through the forms, doing her due diligence and checking if everything was in order.

“Everything seems to be in order.” Rana said, after she had looked through all the forms. “If you and... your friend follow me, we can sort out some final things before you can leave this job behind.” Rumi stood up and opened the divider and walked to the other side of the counter. Lilith made to follow her, her heart hammering in her chest. She had expected something to come up and try and get in her way, so the fact nothing like that happened yet, safe to say, left Lilith a bit on edge. Sometimes the most frightening thing happening is nothing, nothing until you reach the point of no return that is. Like a bomb that didn’t go off, so you had to get close to figure out what went wrong.

Focus Lilith. she thought to herself, urging herself to remain calm, she could do this. She followed Rana into a side room, occupied by only two desks with a chair between them. The door closed behind her without a single noise, like the ending of one chapter. You’ll be fine. You’re not alone in this. She took Hooty’s house and placed it in such a way that Hooty wouldn’t have to twist his neck around to be a part of the proceedings. She sat down in one chair, Rana sat in the other. Her form was placed in front of her, upon the table. Rana’s face was a serious one. “Do you realise what this means?” she asked gesturing to the forms in front of her. “What happens after you cut yourself off from the coven entirely?” Lilith nodded, showing she understood. She was going to make as clean a break as she could manage, the coven would not support her any more. They really didn’t want coven heads to quit. Once the forms were filled she had to figure what her next step would be. Rana sighed, a bone deep exhaustion leaving her mouth. “I’m glad that you understand what’s at stake.” She looked at Lilith right in the eye. “Are you ready for whatever happens next?” she asked Lilith, dead serious.

“I am.” Despite her nerves and her fear, she answered. She was sure of what she needed to do.

Rana shuffled the pile of paper in front of her, bring a certain part to the top. “You want to nominate Steve as your successor?” Well she certainly wasn’t going to nominate Kikimora as her successor, now was she? Steve was the only one she really trusted in that den of vipers and she knew he would do a good job.

“That’s correct.”

On and on it went, questions were asked and Lilith did her best to answer. Hooty occasionally chimed in with clarifications and the occasional correction. It felt like it was taking forever.

“Just a few more forms to fill, and you should be done.” Rana said, sounding as exhausted as Lilith felt, placing another set of forms on the table for Lilith to fill. These ones seemed to be some form of liability waiver or something.

Lilith just groaned. This was going to take a while.

- - - -

Luz followed Gus to the club room, looking round the halls to see what else the school had on other. They had passed the illusion track classroom and saw that Gus had left an illusion to take notes for him, it seemed to have a few kinks to work out. As it seemed to be focusing on doodling than actually paying attention. It also had a trophy cabinet with one of the trophies being awarded to the person with the most bones. Gus stopped in front of the club room door, taking a small breath. He turned to Luz, “I’m going to go in first, get them hyped up for you, sound good?” he asked, seeming somewhat nervous.

Luz nodded her head. “Sure thing Gus, I’ll let you work your magic. You’ve got this.” Gus nodded and opened the door and walked in. He shut the door most of the way, allowing Luz to be able to hear what was happening inside the room.

After Gus entered the room she could hear the other members begin to chant the word “human” over and over, until a silence fell as Gus began to speak.

“Human Appreciation Society,” Luz then heard Gus twang a paper clip? Wait what. “I am proud to introduce the one the only.... Luz Noceda.” He said like someone presenting a star performer, with enthusiasm to match. Well that was her cue, she opened the door and was greeted by the Human Appreciation Society.

At the table Gus was standing in front of there were four other people. One was a girl with long brown hair that fell down to her shoulder, her name is Bo. One had an entire eye for a head, she was wearing a hood and she had short and choppy blue hair, her name is Eileen. One looked like a cycloptic unicorn, their name’s Uni and finally the one who was at the opposite end of the table from where Gus was standing, was a guy with short brown hair. From the process of elimination Luz figured that this was Matt, the one who overthrew Gus as the president. They all had shocked looks on their faces at seeing Luz right in front of them. Most of their faces morphed into some combination of excited and curious looks. Except for Matt who’s face was still caught up in his shocked expression.

“Hi I’m Luz Noceda.” she greeted them with a casual smile... well her best attempt at one anyway. “It’s nice to finally meet you.” With that the flood gates were open, and Luz was barraged with with a torrent of questions from the others.

- - - -

Bump had made decent headway on all the work he needed to do, so he decided that now was a good as time as any to take a break. When you got to Bump’s age, you learned to take breaks when you got the chance. So he put the thought of work to the side for a moment, and instead just focused on drinking his cup of tea.

He took a sip, feeling the warmth permeate into his old bones.

“That hits the spot.” he quietly murmured to himself, enjoying this brief moment of peace while it lasted. You would never-

“Hey Princey B what’s up?” he heard interrupting him from his thoughts, as a certain wild witch kicked his door open, Bump barely managed to avoid choking on his mouthful of tea. Bump winced at hearing the protesting sounds the door hinges made as the door slammed into the wall.

-know when something would happen.

Like someone kicking down your door for example.

He sighed. “Hello Edalyn, what brings you to my office on this auspicious day?” he asked her in a somewhat sarcastic manner. Honestly he never expected Edalyn to ever visit him on her volition, so safe to say this was a bit of a surprise to the principal.

Edalyn, who Bump just noticed had a small demon under one arm, sat down in the chair opposite his desk and kicked back, rudely leaning her feet on his desk, knocking over his name plate in the process. Bump promptly cast a spell that moved Edalyn’s chair back enough so her feet weren’t on his desk. He also took a moment to right his name plate. He gave Edalyn an unimpressed look, but as always she ignored it with the ease of years of practise. With a cocky grin and a mischievous glint in her eye.

The small demon who currently sat on her lap, looking somewhat familiar to Bump, who just shrugged it of to seeing him in Edalyn’s wanted posters. He would realise well after the school day had ended that this demon had on at least two separate occasions impersonated a substitute teacher.

Edalyn straightens herself up in the chair, adjusting her hair in the process. “I want to enrol my kid Luz here at Hexside.” she began, one of her hands were fighting with her sleeves, a nervous habit that she seemed to be unable to break. “Look I know-.” she trailed off, not quite sure what to say next, her cocky expression replaced by a much more uncertain one. Bump had a feeling it was something to do with how her own stint at school had ended for her. Bump had many regrets and how Edalyn was failed by the system was one of his biggest ones. “I just want what’s best for her you know?”

“I know what you mean.” Bump replied, knowing what that was like. “I think that’s a wonderful idea personally, having Luz as a student here.”

“You do?”

“I do.” Bump stated, unsurprised by Eda’s shock. He got up from his seat and walked over to the nearby filing cabinet and opened the drawer that was dedicated to the letter C. It used to be filled to the brim with reports regarding Edalyn and her antics as well as her permanent record, but after Faust leaving the position, Bump made sure to remove anything that Edalyn wasn’t at fault for or a part of. Which resulted in them only needing one c drawer as opposed to three. He picked up all the files on the trouble Edalyn got up to, and he walked back over to his desk and dropped the pile of paper on it. “But before we can do that, there are some things that you need to answer for,” Edalyn’s chair sunk slightly as Bump began to list off the things she did, “such as the necrotic experiments, the graffiti, the scams, the cheating, Miss Jenkinmeyer's teeth, the haunted changing room, and a laundry list of other antics that the effects can still be felt to this very day.” Frankly going through the entire list would take up too much time and energy, so he just mentioned some of the more egregious ones.

Edalyn looked up and down the pile of paper in front of her, a somewhat confused in her eyes. “Huh I’d thought there’d be more.” she muttered.

“There was.” Bump stated dryly. “But I’ve removed ones that were just Faust being petty.” he explained. After Faust left, Bump had the ‘pleasure’ to deal with all the fallout from how he ran the school. The detention pits, the choosy hat, all that and more he had to deal with, and still had to deal with. The choosy hat was thankfully still in its cage, until someone finally figured out a way to destroy it. That thing was insanely durable for something made out of fabric. “In order for young Luz to be enrolled,” he gave Edalyn a friendly smile, “You’re going to have to clean up after yourself.”

Eda sighed, but eventually agreed. “Fine if that’s what it’s going to take, I’ll do it.”

“Excellent.” Was Bump being petty? Oh absolutely. But there was also the fact that many of the enchantments Eda had left seemed to be very resistant to being dispelled even after all these years, so Bump figured getting the one who created said enchantments to get rid of them would be a good idea. Also she could give Miss Jenkinmeyer her false teeth back.

Oh Bump was going to enjoy this.

- - - -

Oh Eda was hating this.

The graffiti had started out by calling Bump childish insults and praising Eda, well it was. Now they were making it as hard as possible to get rid of them, questioning her on why she was doing this.

“I made you, and I can unmake you!” she shouted at the graffiti she had bought to life, pointing a mop at them like a sword. They moved out the way of her clumsy swing, leaving the mop to hit the wall with a wet smack sound. King was trying to help her and having just as much luck as she was. Bump, the asshole, was standing to the side, probably having the time of his life.

MOTHER WHY? the colourful writing on the wall asked her.

“I need to get my kid into school.” she explained, before charging into the fray once again.

“SO!”

“JUST!”

“HOLD!”

“STILL!”

Every shout was punctuated by the sound of a wet mop hitting and missing the graffiti. As she was doing this her thoughts constantly told her, You’re doing this for Luz. Reminding her why she was doing this in the first place. It gave her the will to do this and to do this right.

Titan she was really a little shit back in the day huh? She mused to herself as the dance between her and the graffiti continued.

You really were. Artemis chimed in, an amused lilt to her words.

Oh quiet you.

- - - -

Eileen couldn’t believe her eye at the person who walked through the door. A human, an actual real life human. A real life human was on the Boiling Isles. One of the first thoughts that Eileen had on seeing the human girl was wow she’s must have an eventful life. She was tall and lanky. She had tanned skin and short brown hair, and her eyes were a golden brown. They shone as she walked into the room, like gems glimmering in the light. She was wearing a shirt that was lavender on the top and white on the bottom, it also seemed to have a hood. She had small stud earrings in bother ears. On her right hand was a silver engraved ring. The language engraved on the ring, from what she could seen was one Eileen didn’t recognise. Eileen also couldn’t help but notice the small scars that dotted her arms.

“Hi I’m Luz Noceda.” the human greeted them all with an easy going smile. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Gus had told them all about his human friend before, mentioning that he would ask her if she wanted to visit some time.

With that the H.A.S members barring Matt and Gus began to ask her questions, all blending together in a nigh incomprehensible cacophony.

“How long-?”

“Are you really-?”

“What’s the Human-?”

Luz raised a hand, letting out a small laugh, a hush fell over the room. “Hey I can answer your questions, but I have a job to do first.” she gestured to the Human realm trinkets Matt had shown them all yesterday. She began to reach out to the nearest object. “I’m here to see-.”

“Stop!” Matt shouted cutting Luz off, he knocks the items on the floor. They all fall to the floor with a clatter. “Fine, I admit it, they’re all..... fake. They’re all fake okay!?”

The reveal caused Eileen and the rest of the H.A.S to let out shocked gasps. “But why?” Bo asks looking somewhat hurt at that reveal. It made sense considering her family history.

Matt jumps on the table, making Eileen scooch her chair back slightly. “Because I’m new okay!? I wanted to make friends, so I lied. Everything I showed you is a fake.” he admitted. Luz’s eyes narrowed as he said this. Why Eileen couldn’t really say. She didn’t know Luz too well to tell what she was thinking. “I’ve caused you enough drama. So... so I’ll just leave you and save you the trouble.” he sounded dejected as he got off the table, with it wobbling slightly as he got off it.

Gus moved towards Matt. “Matt, this doesn’t have to be the end.” he said in a reassuring manner. “You can still have a place here in the H.A.S, if you want that is.” Gus turned to the rest of the H.A.S members. “Isn’t that right guys?” he asked, wanting to see what the rest of them had to say in regards to this.

“You don’t have to be alone.” Uni said, their tone kind. “I’d think I’d like to get know you better.” they added on the end. Matt looked like he was legitimately taken off guard by hearing that.

“At least you owned up to it.” Bo added, her face softening slightly. “So yeah as long as you don’t do something like that again,” Bo gave him a small smile, “I wouldn’t mind being your friend.” The implied warning was clear from her tone. He shakily nodded his head.

Eileen not being in a talking mood shot Matt a thumbs up, letting him know that things were good at the moment.

“Really?” Matt asked, sounding hopeful as he asked. There was an odd edge to it, why Eileen wasn’t sure.

“Really.” Gus confirmed with a nod. He patted Matt on the shoulder.

- - - -

Eda was cursing her past self and what she did, she had just exorcised the ghosts she had let out into the changing room and boy were there a lot of them, they didn’t make it easy to get rid of them either. In no particular order she had also found where she left Miss Jenkinmeyer’s false teeth (in said teacher’s desk in the bottom drawer), got rid of the graffiti, dispelled some of the old hexes and curses she had left around the school.

King had exhausted himself partway through getting rid of the graffiti, at the moment he was taking a nap in her hair. She turned to Bump who was clearly having a good time at her expense. “Well anything else you need me to do?” she asked, feeling very annoyed at the moment, while trying her best to not let it show.

Bump shook his head, much to Eda’s not at all disguised relief. “No you’ve done a good job cleaning up after yourself.” he smiled as he continued on. “Now if you follow me to my office, we can get young Luz enrolled.” with that said he began to make his way back to his office.

“Finally.” Eda muttered under her breath as she followed behind Bump. If he heard, he didn’t seem to acknowledge it. “You better appreciate this kid.” Eda knew Luz would.

. . . .

As soon as Eda and Bump got back to the office, he had handed her some forms that she would needed to fill in to get Luz enrolled.

As she did so, Bump was quiet, seemingly focusing on some form of administrative work.

Name: was the first word that greeted Eda on the form. It didn’t take her long to fill out that first box.

Name: Luz Noceda.
Eda was sorely tempted to add Clawthorne to the name, but she knew that was a conversation she would have to have with her kid at some point before she did that.

Next up was things like age, guardians/parents, any allergies and intolerances. Those sort of things. Age: 14. For allergies and intolerances she put down lactose intolerant and she also had a mild allergy to peanuts.

The guardian part took her a bit longer. But eventually she put down her own name as Luz’s guardian why she was here. For emergency contacts she put down both Raine and Lilith, so in case something happened and they couldn’t reach Eda they had someone else they could contact.

For previous schooling she just put apprenticeship. Considering Luz didn’t go to any school in the demon realm before Hexside, so Eda couldn’t put any of them down.

So Eda went filling out the form, and by the time she was finished her hand was cramping something fierce from all that writing. “Here you go. One enrolment form for one Luz Noceda.” she said handing the documents back to Bump. After he took it of her hands she began to shake her hand slightly, helping with the pain.

“Thank you Edalyn, I’ll get these processed and then she can start next Monday.” He then looked Eda dead in the eye, placing the form to the side. “She’ll be safe here.” he promised. “I will ensure that her education here will go as smoothly as possible. After all you not the only one who disagrees with how Belos goes about things.” Huh she wouldn’t have know from looking at him. From his rolled eyes he could clearly see her shock. “Please I’m a principal not a stooge.”

“Thanks Bump.” Eda replied seeing the sincerity in his words. “See you round I guess?” she said getting out of her chair.

“I’ll see you next time.” Bump said, letting her leave.

- - - -

After helping Gus get his position back as the H.A.S president as well as sitting in some of Gus’ classes, which were really fun, even if Luz had to ask Gus for the occasional bit of clarification, Luz was walking home with Amity with Gus and Willow coming over for a bit to hang out. Nana as always, was perched on Willow’s shoulder. As they walked they all talked about how their respective days went. Willow’s was good, apparently they had been studying snapdragons and how they use mimicry to look like baby dragons in order to avoid being eaten. Amity’s day was pretty normal and she also saw Eda cleaning graffiti while she was heading. Nana.... well she slept most of the day on Willow’s lap really only waking up for food.

While Matt did say he just wanted to make friends, something told Luz that he wasn’t quite telling them the truth. At first at least, something about that changed when Uni talked to him about being friends. So Luz was content to watch and if he did anything to hurt her friend, well she’ll do anything to protect her friends.

Soon enough the group arrived at the Owl house and was promptly greeted with an enthusiastic hug from Hooty. “HIYA EVERYONE! HOW WAS YOUR DAY!?” he said, being way too loud. ow.

Everyone told him how their day went, their words all jumbling together in a great big mess. “Good-.” “Luz was a big help-.” “Ack too tight!!” “This is just like my worst nightmare-!” “It was good.”

“Yay I love it when my friends have a good day.” he said, at a much more bearable volume. He then let them go, opening the front door. “Want to hear about my day?”

Nana noped right out of there, running inside. “No thanks! I’m good!” she shouted, running underneath the couch.

Luz laughed. “Sure Hooty how was your day?”

“It was good thank you!” Hooty beamed, before retracting back into the door. “Lulu quit her job and she’s now taking a nap.” It didn’t take much for Luz to deduce that Lulu was most likely Lilith. As Luz and her friends walked through the front door, they all saw Eda and Raine were sitting together on the couch, King sleeping on Eda’s lap. The both of them seemed quite tired.

“Long day?” Luz asked. Raine just let out an exhausted groan, sinking into the couch.

“Yeah.” Eda agreed. “But I got you enrolled in Hexside.” she said, much to Luz’s excitement. “You’ll start next week.”

“Really?” Eda nodded her head. “Thank you!” Luz said walking over and giving Eda a hug. “Thank you.” she quietly said with her head buried in Eda’s shoulder. “I can’t wait.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 19

Luz was eating some pancakes for breakfast when Eda walked into the kitchen. “Hey kid how are you doing?” she asked, reaching for her thirty and flirty mug. Sitting next to Luz was Amity and King, who were also eating pancakes. Lilith was in the living room curled up with a book and a mug of tea. Raine didn’t seem to be up yet.

Luz finished her mouthful before answering Eda’s question. “I’m good Eda. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome kid.” Eda said before looking at the pancakes with a curious look on her face. “Who made the pancakes?” she asked, getting out a teabag before turning the kettle on. She placed the teabag in her mug, before setting it near the kettle.

“I did.” Luz answered, cutting a piece of her pancake, using said piece to mop up some of the syrup that drenched her plate. They had the ingredients and Luz decided to whip up a quick and easy breakfast.

“I helped!” King piped up, cheerfully mentioning the part he played. Luz smiled. Luz did most of the work, but she did let King help make the mixture, and do some of the flipping, which he seemed to enjoy greatly.

“Really?” King nodded. “Good to hear.” Eda said, getting a plate that Luz left out for her and Raine. “Mind if I have some?”

“Yeah sure. Go for it.” Luz said. Eda proceeded to help herself, piling her plate up with several pancakes. She then grabbed the bottle of syrup and drizzled her pile with it, practically drowning them in syrup.

“Thanks kids.” Eda replied, putting her plate on the bench while she waited for the kettle to boil. “What are you all up to today?” she asked before she began to dig in to her pancakes.

Amity was the first to answer. “Well I’ll not sure actually.” she said, “Schools out today and I’m kinda not sure what to do.”

Eda blinked in surprise at the news, mouth full of syrupy pancakes. “How come?” she asked, after swallowing her mouthful.

“Painbows have been spotted in the area,” Amity explained, “Bump closed the school until they’re gone.” Eda nodded agreeing that was a good idea, and Luz agreed as well. Painbows were deadly, most of the time, due to the fact that looking at one physically turned someone inside out, killing them instantly from the near instantaneous reversal. Fun fact your body is not designed to be turned inside out like a sock on laundry day. It wasn’t helped by the fact they were migratory and had a tendency to wander near population centres.

“Speaking of school,” Luz started getting the other two’s attention. “Is there anything I need to do, like magic wise, before I start?” she twirled her finger in the air casting a small light spell as she did so. She found it easy to do, it just felt right in a way she couldn’t quite put into words.

Amity nodded her head. “You need to know at least two spells unless you want to get stuck in the baby class.” Luz shook her head, imagining herself a fourteen year old in a class of toddler, and found she didn’t like the image at all. “Yeah didn’t think so.” Amity replied with a small laugh. Luz found it adorable, blushing slightly as she thought that.

Eda snapped her fingers, as if to say she had an idea, “I’ve got it!,” only to accidentally launch the knife she was holding through a window. The sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the kitchen. “....I’ll fix that later.” she said to the unimpressed stares of King and Amity, Luz was just trying not to laugh. “Right were was I? Oh right my brilliant idea. If you need to learn a new spell, the Knee’s the best place to do it.” At Luz’s prompting look, Eda began to explain. “Well the Knee’s full of magic, the wild and old stuff, not the stuff the Emperor calls magic. Besides it’s a good place to get close to nature and get in touch with the magic, lots of snow and forests and other junk.” Eda smiled excitedly as she explained why the Knee was a good place, her eyes gleaming as well.

“Sounds cool to me.” Luz said, making King snicker at the accidental pun. “What do we need to take?”

“Cold weather gear for one thing.” Eda said, which made sense, before turning to Amity and King. “Do you two want to come along?” she asked the pair.

King nodded his head vigorously. “Heck yeah I do! A ruler needs to see his domain from on high.”

Amity shrugged. “Sure it would give me something to do.”

“In that case kids pack your bags cause we’re heading to the Knee!”

King and Luz cheered, with Amity giving a small shrug and joined in as well.

- - - -

Lilith was in the living room reading a book while trying to think of her next step, after Luz had cooked a nice breakfast for her to eat. She had quit her job sure, but she needed to find a job soon. She had savings sure, but she didn’t want to solely rely on them, and a consistent source of income wouldn’t hurt. She took a sip of her mug of tea, ruminating on her thoughts. Maybe she could look and see if the library had some job listings or something. She had enjoyed her part time job back when she was a young teen. Maybe she could pick that up again.

She could hear the kids cheering from the kitchen, apparently Eda was taking the kids on a trip to the Knee, so Luz could learn a second spell before she began at Hexside. Soon she could hear them all head up stairs so they could pack for the trip. Lilith wished them the best and hoped they didn’t get in to too much trouble. She flipped the page, and found that she wasn’t really paying attention to her book any more, so she closed it with a sigh, making sure to bookmark her place. She placed the book on the table in front of her, then she laid back in her seat, curling her hands around her warm mug, letting the warmth seep in to her skin.

Speaking of quitting things, Lilith decided she really should stop dyeing her hair, it was a way of insisting that she and Eda were completely different and unrelated. By dyeing it black and having it straightened, it was her attempt to make a statement that she was a strict and orderly witch that followed the law to the letter. Considering her recent actions such as framing Odalia for arson, that was very untrue.

Also she didn’t want to spend more money than she had to on things like dye, the cost tended to add up, especially if you dyed it as frequently as Lilith did.

Also times two, she thought as she realised how blurry things in the distance and that it seemed to be blurrier than she remember it being, she should probably go to the optometrist some time soon. See if her prescription had changed, which knowing her luck was looking very likely.

“More things to do.” she sighed to herself, but she felt more free than she had felt in years. She could hear her sister’s steps coming down the stairs, the sound of a full bag bouncing up and down in time with her steps.

“What’re you thinking about Lily?” Edalyn asked as she walked over to the couch Lilith currently occupied.

“Just thinking about things I need to do at some point.” Eda winced in sympathy upon hearing that.

“Yeah I can relate.” Edalyn said trying her best to seem confident. “But I’m sure we’ll get through this. I know we can.”

“Thanks.” Lilith said to her sister. “Good luck on your trip.” she said to her sister giving her her best wishes.

“Thanks sis. By the time we’re back Luz will surely know her second spell.” Edalyn said with a great deal of certainty, not that Lilith could blame her. Luz was an exceptional person.

Lilith smiled. “I can’t wait to see it.”

- - - -

After about an hour of flying, Eda and her kids had arrived at the Knee, their landing kicking up a great deal of snow. It was just like Eda remembered it, cold, high up and freezing. The entire mountain range was covered in dense snow and snow covered trees, and off in the distance Eda could also spot some exposed ruins. Their breath turning to steam as they breathed out in the biting frozen air. Eda made sure that all the kids were wearing appropriate clothing for the conditions, which meant warm jackets, scarves, goggles, gloves and warm hats. Eda didn’t want anyone have to be treated for frostbite or hypothermia, not on her watch. “Welcome to the Knee!” she exclaimed, her voice echoing oddly in her snow filled environment. “The tallest place in the isles-”

“-and the coldest too!” King chimed in too, all decked out in cold weather gear as well. He had complained, saying his fur would be enough to keep him warm. But Eda put her foot down, pointing out that he had never really been out in the cold like this before and Eda wasn’t going to take any risks. The cold on the Knee was a whole other level than the usual winter cold King had experienced before. It could easily get well below freezing even on a sunny summer’s day, and the wild life could be at best be called, unapproachable. At worst, one could call them extremely hostile, but that only really happened during the winter where food was a lot more scarce.

Eda rolled her eyes at King’s little interruption, but continued on. “Like King said this place, is bar none one of the coldest places on the Boiling isles. So stick together okay?” she asked them, warning clear from her tone. Luz, Boots and King all nodded their heads showing they under stood. “This is a dangerous place sure, but there’s also a beauty that can be found in places like this.” she pointed to the view of the isles below. It was a breath taking view alright, you could see most of the Boiling Isles from the place they were all currently standing on. She could also see the falling snow dancing in the air as it fell to the earth. Most of it would remain on the Knee but a good portion of it would fall down below and melt into drinkable water.

Luz and King gave off appropriate noises of awe and wonder at the sight in front of them. Boots also looked suitably impressed as well even if she didn’t say it. Her eyes glimmered with a long suppressed wonder as she looked down on the world below. Eda couldn’t help the smile on her face.

After letting them look at the world below (and snapping some pics of them with her scroll) she called out to the kids. “Come on let’s get a move on!”

“Coming Eda!” Luz said turning around to face her mentor. “What’s first on the agenda?” The wind began to pick up. Flurries of snow flew up into the air.

“First things first, we need to find shelter.” Eda said noticing that the wind was picking up, blowing snow through the air. “Come on there’s a cave not far from here we can shelter in.” she gestured for the kids to move closer to her, she didn’t want to loose sight of them. They did so, prompting Eda to begin to walking to where she near a cave to be, and at this time of year there wasn’t likely going to be anything living in there that they couldn’t deal with.

The wind began to howl, making it easy for voices to be lost in the frozen air. Eda could barely hear her and the kid’s steps crushing through the snow. She turned to look, there were still in sight. Good. “Come on kids!” She didn’t know if they could hear her, but they nodded their heads, showing her they all understood. All the snow in the air was making it harder and harder to see where they were going.

But Eda knew that they needed to move in a relatively straight line. She reached out a hand behind her, grasping for the hands of one of the kids. She turned and saw the hole behind her, it wasn’t there before. “Kids!” she yelled, only for her voice to be carried away by the biting cold winds once more. She blinked, and all of a sudden the hole was gone. “Shit.” She moved towards where she saw the hole and found that it was suddenly solid ground again.

‘What is going on?’ Artemis asked her, and Eda couldn’t answer her. The wind buffeting her reminded her that she needed to move, and to find shelter quickly. “Please be all right.” she pleaded, worry filling her voice as she prayed that they would be fine.

She couldn’t do anything for them, if she froze to death. So with a great deal of reluctance, she made her way to shelter.

- - - -

Vee was currently writing a letter to Camila Noceda, and found she had no idea what to write, considering she had been around the woman for no more that two hours, and didn’t really know her all too well. Vee knew that she was a kind and caring mother, Vee ignored the burning guilt about the fact she wasn’t actually Camila’s daughter, and the fact she replaced said daughter. Today a chunk of their day was being set aside to write letters for friends and family. Masha was writing one for their mum, Alex was writing to his dad and Sam was writing to her older sister. Vee gently rest her head on the table they were all sat at. “How do I write a letter to someone, I’ve never done that before.” she complained her voice slightly muffled by the wooden table. It wasn’t like secret lab experiments often got the chance to write letters. She was very glad that she was a fast learner and she learned how to write well enough.

“Mood.” said Alex

“You could always make shit up,” Sam suggested, “It’s what I did when I had to write a letter to my teacher to explain why I didn’t do a homework assignment.” Vee looked up with a look wanting Sam to elaborate.

“What was the project?” Masha asked, brow raised in fascination.

Sam waved her hand that wasn’t holding the pen, like she was trying to wave the question off. “Well it was supposed to be about our family heritage right?” Everyone else (barring Vee who had never heard of homework before) nodded their heads. “Well I didn’t do it, mostly cause I couldn’t be bothered to do it.” Alex let out a short and surprised laugh at hearing Sam state the reason why so bluntly. Masha grinned at the frank admission. “So I say i was going to talk to my great grandfather about it, and turns out he was getting new hearing aids that week, so he wasn’t able to answer the phone-.”

“Did that actually happen? Your great granddad getting his hearing aids replaced, I mean?” Masha asked their friend.

“Yeah it did, it was a complete coincidence really.” Sam replied with a grin, now twirling her pen in her hand. “Anyway where was I?” she asked herself, trying to get herself back on track to tell her story. “Right the letter I had to write. So I said that due to the fact he lived on the other end of the country I wouldn’t be able to get a letter to and back from him in time.” She gave a small shrug, as if to say ‘what can you do?’ “So I wrote that in my letter, and well, my teacher had to believe me.”

“....wow.” was all Alex really had to say to that. Masha on the other hand just broke out into peals of laughter. And wow did Vee love the sound of their laugh. She thought with a small blush on her face.

“That doesn’t really help me.” Vee said, after waiting for Masha to stop laughing, they were still were giggling slightly however.

“Oooooor you could just write about what you’ve done.” Masha pointed out, still trying not to giggle about the story they had just heard. “Just talk about the activities you’ve done here, and what you’ve enjoyed.”

“Yeah that’s way better than my suggestion.” “Oh that makes much more sense.” Thanks Masha I’ll try that.” was the response they received.

So Vee got to work and began to write her letter to Camila.

-Dear Mom...

- - - -

Luz Noceda found herself face first in a pile of snow, it was cold and dark. As she pulled herself out of said snow pile also allowing to see that it was very very dark, she tried to remember what had happened before she found herself here. She was with Amity and King, trying to keep up with Eda during a blizzard, when the ground seemed to give way beneath them and they fell.

Before she did anything like look around she cast a quick light spell, using it to illuminate her surroundings, revealing that she and a nearby King and Amity were underground. Amity groaned as she say herself up, King not that far behind her. “What happened?” Amity asked, her eyes catching the light beautifully, it reminded Luz of a cat. Their surroundings was basically all rock, with only one way forward, a path that seemed to slope downwards ever so slightly. On the walls, Luz could catch the occasional glimpse

“The ground gave way,” Luz explained looking up to find there was no hole above them, “well I know the ground gave way, but it doesn’t look like it there’s a hole up there.” Amity and King both looked up to see the truth in Luz’s words. “Is teleporting magic a thing here?” Luz had to ask, seeing as that was the only thing she could think to explain how they got here.

Amity shook her head. “No, there have been attempts to create magic that would allow instantaneous travel, but last I checked they’ve been only met with failure.” The way Amity said failure, made it clear to Luz that whatever happened wasn’t pretty, and Luz didn’t want to ask.

“What happened?” Of course King would ask.

“Let’s just say it wasn’t pretty and I’m leaving it at that.” King pouted but eventually accepted Amity’s response. “I’m guessing our only path it the one in front of us?” Amity asked, clearly already knowing the answer. Luz nodded. “Right then. Let’s get a move on.” Amity said as she picked herself up, before turning to Luz with her hand. Luz took the hand with her left and let Amity help her up, not letting go even when she got back on her feet. King then clambered up onto Luz’s shoulder, and Luz was quite happy to let him do so. His legs were a lot shorter than hers or Amity’s, meaning what would be one step for them would be at least four for King. Luz, with her free hand clasped her light spell, using it to illuminate the darkness. Its gentle warmth seemingly banishing the chilling air surrounding them.

“Ready?” Luz asked, getting twin nods from her friends. So once more into the breach they went, their footsteps echoing throughout the rocky walls.

- - - -

Mami Tomoe was a very lonely girl as most magical girls didn’t have much in the way of a healthy social life, apart from Kyubey who was out on some sort of business, she didn’t have much in the way of actual friends. She had Kyoko, but well.... let’s just say things didn’t go well and leave it at that, shall we? She tried to suppress her memories of what happened. But she couldn’t help but remember Kyoko’s tears and anger about what had happened to her family. “We’re done.” Those were some of the last words Kyoko ever spoke to her before she ran off, tears streaming from her eyes and leaving Mami all on her own, trying and failing to reach out to the girl she-.

She was all alone in her apartment, sitting with a cooling cup of tea clasped in her hands. Her apartment always felt way too big for just her. When Kyoko came over-

She shook her head, not wanting to get lost in the past again. She would never get that relationship back, no matter how much she wanted it. She took a sip of her tea, trying to think about something else. But no matter how hard she tried, her thoughts kept coming back to Kyoko. Her smug grin, her bright red hair, her red eyes that made Mami think of rubies. Mami loved the passion Kyoko had towards cooking and food, how she felt in Mami’s arms while they hugged. Mami gripped her thigh tightly, trying to distract herself from her thoughts of Kyoko, and failed.

Dear god Mami needed to get over her crush on the girl. It was never going to happen, not in this life or the next. She needed to move on, she reminded herself forcefully. She needed to move on.

She could hear the pitter patter of a familiar set of footsteps, glad for the distraction she turned to see her favourite mascot jumping onto her table. “Hello Kyubey.” she greeted her oldest (and currently only) friend, trying her best to smile for him. “How have you been?” Her smile didn’t last too long before it evened out into a more neutral expression.

“I have been well Mami.” Her friend repiled, his white tail whipping back and forth in the air. “I have just been investigating a situation elsewhere that required my attention.” he said, not revealing much about what he had actually been up to. Which was typical of him really. He seemed to be a very private magical creature.

“How’s that going for you?” she asked, wanting to know what her friend had been up to. Kyubey took a moment to think about how he could answer that before he responded.

“A magical girl named Luz Noceda has disappeared, and I can’t seem to track her signature.” he eventually told her sounding like he was somewhat concerned as well, causing Mami to make a mental note of that name. Mami didn’t see that as being too odd, being a magical girl was a dangerous job and often ended up with a magical girl dying against a witch or in some cases another magical girl.

“What’s so strange about that?” she asked Kyubey. “Being a magical girl is a dangerous job, she most likely died in the line of duty.” she couldn’t help but point out.

Kyubey shook his head. “No I would know if she died, it’s like she vanished off the face of the earth.” Mami could almost hear the frustration creeping in Kyubey’s tone. “Despite looking everywhere in that town.”

“Maybe I could help?” Mami suggested, wanting to be helpful towards her friend.

“Unless you want to fly down to a town in Connecticut, I don’t see that as very feasible.” Kyubey replied bluntly, making Mami deflate slightly at the fact she couldn’t be useful. “Also you would need a passport to do so.” That was true, and Mami’s passport expired years ago, and she never got around to renewing it. Mostly considering her duties to making sure Mikitahara was kept safe from the witches that spawned there.

“But still if I can do anything to help you let me know okay?”

Kyubey nodded, accepting the offered help. “I will.”

“What’s the town called anyway?” Mami asked, mainly to sate her curiosity.

“It’s a town called Gravesfield.” Mami would turn that name over and over in her head, thinking about what she could do in regards to that town. When she went to bed that night, she would lie awake thinking about it, until she made a very impulsive decision. She would get her passport renewed as fast as she reasonably could and wince at how much it would cost, and once that was done, she would book the first flight she could to Connecticut. When she was there, what she didn’t realise, she would set things in motion that would make Kyubey’s life all the more difficult. It would also result in Mami winding up in a much better position than she started in.

It would also result in her dating a time traveller, a girl with insane potential, her old friend and a girl with a hero complex. But that's a story for later.

- - - -

Amity held tight on to Luz’s hand taking comfort in her friend’s warmth as the group walked the only path available to them. She is just a friend and nothing else, despite thinking that she still blushed profusely anyway. Thankfully it seemed that Luz didn’t notice and seemed more interested in looking ahead.

As they walked the path Amity could see the carvings lining the wall. They were old, and any writing that may have been on them, had long eroded away. Most of the scenes seemed to depict people going about their day, doing things like walking, doing magic, going to the market, and other stuff of that nature. “Wonder what are these carvings are for?” Amity asked aloud, her voice echoing through the rocky halls. King hummed as he peered from his perch on Luz’s shoulders, but he didn’t answer.

“Maybe it’s supposed to be a record?” Luz suggested, sounding somewhat uncertain of her own guess. “Like maybe they wanted to tell their story for everyone who came after them.” She said beginning to sound more certain of her guess as she went on. “Yeah that makes sense to me. Shame there’s no writing on it.” It was a shame, but Amity would like to have a way out a bit more than a huge historical discovery.

“This style seems familiar to me and I don’t know why.” King said, in a way that made it clear he was trying to remember where he had seen something like that before. He shook his head, clearly unable to recall. “Blast I can’t remember.”

“Maybe we could take some pictures and ask someone about it?” Luz offered bringing out her human scroll. Its screen noticeably cracked as Luz made it light up. “Better turn off the flash first.” she said to herself, bringing up a menu with symbols whose meanings Amity couldn’t really decipher at the moment. “There we go.”

“Why did you turn off the flash?” King asked, wondering why Luz did that. Amity knew why, considering the age of the carvings.

“It’s so we minimise the damage.” Amity explained to him patiently, like she would explain to the kids she read to, when they had questions for her. “These carvings are old, and we don’t want to damage them more than they already are.”

“Oh that makes sense.” King replied, while he did so Luz took a photo of a carving that seemed to depict a funeral, with a witch weeping over the body of another witch. Luz then began to take photos of as many carvings as she could, walking down the path hand in hand with Amity.

- - - -

Eda was stuck alone in a cave during a blizzard, and she wasn’t particularly happy with how things had turned out. She had found enough wood to get a small fire going, using it to warm her bones. She had gotten separated from the kids, and due to the blizzard currently raging outside it wasn’t safe for her to go searching for the kids. So she just had to hope and pray they would be okay. By titan did she hate that fact, she was better at getting things done, and she hated how she was being forced to just sit around. “I hate this.” she muttered to herself, holding her hands out in front of the fire.

‘I know you do. I’ve been there myself.’ Artemis chimed in, her voice filled with understanding. ‘But you just have to trust in them to keep each other safe.’

“I know, I know.” Eda replied. “But it’s hard, not being close by to help them if they need it.”

Artemis crooned in a way that she clearly meant to be reassuring. ‘They’re strong. They’ll be fine.’ Eda believed her, but that didn’t help the worry that gnawed at Eda. Was this what being a parent was like? Always being worried about your kids and wanting to help them when you could. She didn’t mind it all that much but still she worried. She suddenly felt just a little remorse of how much her dad had to deal with in regards to her. In regards to her mother, Eda felt none.

“I hope so.” Eda replied. “I hope so too.”

- - - -

Raine woke up, later than they expected and saw that Eda had left a note on their forehead, like she did with Lilith. “Oh Calamity.” they muttered with a fond exasperation as they read the note Eda had left them.

-Taking the kids to the Knee so Luz can learn a second spell.

It took a moment for them to realise why she needed to do that. “Oh right you need two spells unless you wanted to be stuck in the baby class.” they thought aloud. “Good luck Luz.” the bard wished the young girl.

-Should be back around dinner.

-Love you! Eda.

Raine blushed slightly as they read what Eda signed the note off with, she probably didn’t mean it in the romantic sense, even if a large part of Raine dearly wished that to be the case. They could feel their heart fluttering as they stood up and got ready for the day.

. . . .

As Raine descended the stairs they could see that Lilith was sitting in the living room, book in hand quietly reading to herself while curled up on the couch. “Good morning Raine.” she greeted the bard, not even looking up from her book. “There’s some pancakes left over if you don’t mind them being slightly cold.” Raine did not.
“Morning to you too Lilith.” Raine replied, making their way to the kitchen and saw that under a tea towel was a small pile of pancakes, which should be enough for them to start the day. As they got a plate and a knife and fork, Raine asked. “Who made them?” Their mind began to dredge up what they and their students had discovered yesterday, making them feel slightly queasy as they did so.

“Luz did.” Lilith replied taking her eyes of her book to look at Raine, who had just walked into the living room, plate in hand. “You okay?” she asked them, sounding somewhat unsure how to ask them, and feeling very awkward all the while. It reminded Raine of their school days where Lilith was always a very awkward person. “You seen upset or conflicted?” That was one way to put it.

“I found out what was being done in the lab underneath the conformitoium.” They could see the dread creep up on Lilith’s face. Raine took a deep breath, trying their best to steady their nerves. “They were experimenting on basilisks and their ability to drain magic.”

“B-b-basilisks?! Aren’t they extinct?” Lilith asked completely shocked to hear that. “How did I not learn about this when I was the head of the Emperor’s coven?” she asked, and Raine had a pretty good guess as to why that was.

“I think it was kept as secret as possible to ensue that no one would know about it and talk about it.” Raine pointed out. “They also somehow bought the basilisks back from extinction.”

Lilith took a deep breath, and steeled her expression. “Tell me everything.” So Raine did.

- - - -

Eventually the path Luz and her friends were walking opened up into a wide and expansive room. Well from Luz could see currently, as her light spell couldn’t fully illuminate the room they now found themselves in. From what Luz could see the walls were full of recesses, all filled with coffins. There was also a small garden in the middle of the room, which had some benches in it. “Where are we?” she asked, not really expecting anyone to answer her question.

“Gahaha! Well you’re in the catacombs beneath the Knee kids!” said an old sounding voice from behind them, booming and strong.

Chapter Text

Chapter 20

Amity and Luz turned around to see a turtle like demon right behind him, and the first thought that crossed Amity’s mind was ‘old’ and indeed the turtle looked old. He had wrinkles and laugh lines galore, one eye scarred over and the other full of mirth. In one hand he had a lantern, a flickering flame within. In the other he held a cane. His smile was warm with the slightest bit of mischief. Honestly if Amity had been asked to imagine a grandfather you felt safe with and cared for, the result would be very similar to the demon standing in front of them. “...The catacombs?” Luz asked, clearly approaching this situation with her usual caution. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well you see lil missy, this place is a burial site, for those who have undertaken their final journey.” he explained, looking around the room with an inscrutable gaze. “We don’t get many visitors these days.” Yeah Amity could believe that easily, from how dusty everything seemed to be. “Last visitor was this weird white weasel.” He shook his head, like he was trying to get himself back on track. Before Amity could ask about his previous guest, whose description bought to mind Nana, the old man walked in front of them. “Come on,” he called to them, “My study’s just down the hall, we can talk more there, as well as warm your bones.” Seeing the old man walk ahead them spurred Amity and Luz to go after him, to get some answers as well as warm themselves up. The catacombs were a cold place, it was not cruel and it was not hostile however, but it was more like slipping into a gentle dream. Amity knew one thing for certain, if any of them fell asleep here, they wouldn’t wake up again.

As they followed the old man down the hall, King piped up with a question of his own. “Hey Gramps do you have a name we can call you, or are we just going to have to keep calling Gramps?”

The old man laughed. “Gahaha! The name’s Gerson, kids!” he introduced himself with a boisterous laugh. “What about you whippersnappers? Do you have a name to call yerself by?” The trio in turn introduced themselves, with Gerson listening intently. “Nice to meet you all!” In front of them, Amity could now catch a glimpse of a large flickering flame, its warmth was filling the air, reminding Amity of a nice warm blanket. “Come in come in. Plenty of space to go around.” He made his way to an old ornate desk that had a large red plush seat behind it. The room, as Amity entered, was warm and looked to be a well equipped study, why something like a study was in a catacomb was completely beyond Amity. Behind were Gerson sat was a large roaring fireplace. The shelves were full to the brim of books, all looked to be well worn and well cared for. Amity could also see some stairs that lead up to a higher landing that also held more shelves as well as two large stone doors, both of them shut tight. Something about those doors felt off to Amity, and she didn’t know why. So unless they needed to Amity would keep her distance from them.

In front of Gerson and his desk were two large and comfortable seats, which Luz and Amity promptly sat down in, as she did so, Amity couldn’t help but notice the old man had what looked to be half written letters, as well some crumpled up into balls of paper strewed all over his desk. “Welcome to my study kids. Got any questions?”

“I have a lot of questions.” Luz asked, her eye darting around the room, studying every corner she could see. “Like who was your previous guest? Because it sounds like a friend of mine, her name’s Nana.”

“Was she a white weasel, whose eyes used to be red, and are now a brilliant shade of green? Cause if so, they would be one and the same.” Amity was curious as to why her eye colour had changed, but figured it would likely be answered if the old man told them more.

King nodded confirming Gerson’s guess, then stopped when he realised something. “Wait her eyes used to be red? How did that happen?” That was a very good question.

Gerson hummed in thought, one hand scathing at his wispy beard. “Well she ate something she probably shouldn’t have. Actually she shouldn’t have drank it, but, bah, semantics I say!” Everyone else waited for him to say what that actually was.

The silence was a tad awkward.

“What did she eat?” Amity asked, finding the silence to be a tad uncomfortable at the moment.

“Hmmm not sure really.” Gerson said with a shrug. Amity wanted to face palm at hearing that answer. “Whatever it was, it was sure was something preeety important. An old vial....” Gerson trailed off, like he was trying to remember what was in that vial and Amity could imagine him scrounging though his memories like an old and dusty archive. Actually the room they were currently in kind of reminded Amity of some of the old plans of the Library, maybe they had the same people work on them.

“Can you tell us what was in that vial please?” King asked, making Gerson look at the young demon with a raised eyebrow. Something about his gaze made him look like he was examining King and searching him for something. However it was gone so quickly that Amity wasn’t sure if she just imagined it. She shot Luz a quick look and it seemed she had seen it too, if the way she gave Amity a look and a quick nod were any indication.

“Oh I remember!” Gerson suddenly exclaimed, making King’s fur stand up from the sudden loud noise. “It was an old vial... dangit. What was it?” the turtle pondered, as King patted his fur down, making so his cold weather gear was sitting closer to his body.

Before Luz and Amity could say anything, Gerson finally remembered.

“It was Titan’s blood. Your weasel friend ingested Titan’s blood and survived the process.”

“What.” was his disbelieving response. Amity could feel her jaw drop as she heard what Nana had consumed. Titan’s blood. Back when it was more plentiful it was an often used magical catalyst that could grant one immense magical power, and frankly the idea of someone consuming that made Amity see that Nana was extremely lucky to have survived. After all Titan’s blood while powerful could easily blow up in someone’s face if they didn’t take the necessary care. Nowadays most of the veins that were harvested for their Titan’s blood had been depleted and much of what was left over had become a substance known as Fool’s blood, which was much more volatile and dangerous, in fact it was very liable to explode even if you just looked at it funny.

“Yeah funny thing that.” Gerson began, taking his eyes off King and looked up to the ceiling. Amity looked up as well, curious to see what was on the ceiling and found stars. Not like the stars in the skies, the ones that burned brightly and beautiful. These stars were clearly painted, and they seemed to glow softly, like a gentle reminder that the world was a very big place. Amity tried her best to see if she could recognise any of the stars or constellations, only for her to come up blank. “Back in the day Titan’s blood was a heck of a lot more common, sometimes people would be gifted some in a little vial on special occasions by the Titan themself.”

Amity looked back down at Gerson in shock at hearing that the Titan themself would sometimes give people their blood.

Gerson still gazing up at the painted sky, didn’t seem to notice Amity’s shock, as he continued to talk. “This was, of course, well before the Titan trappers reared their ugly heads.” the way he said ‘Titan trappers’ with such disgust and vitriol made it clear to Amity that she didn’t want to meet whoever they were. “It made it an unsafe prospect for the Titan to use their avatar.” Before anyone could question what he meant by this, Gerson continued to explain. “Because when a Titan uses their avatar, they can walk along the people, however they become vulnerable, the price of being close, I think. But yeah once upon a time the Titan used walk among the earth its children called home teaching and learning in equal measure. It was a wonderful time believe you me.” He shook his head, seeming like he was trying to stop himself from getting lost in old memories. It honestly sounded like he was around during that time, which wasn’t possible right? No one could be that old surely, not without a whole lot of magic. Amity decided she was most likely imagining things, placed that thought to the side, and tried to pay full attention to Gerson’s story.

“One such vial was entrusted to the creator of this here catacomb back before the Titan went silent, honestly that thing was just sitting there gathering dust, not like I had a use for the dang thing.” he finished with a joking tone, Amity had the fight to urge to smile at the bad joke. He bought his gaze back down to the three sitting in front of them, Amity could the weight of the past within that gaze. “Well that’s the story... well most of it anyway.” He tapped the side of his skull with a closed fist. “The years make the memories fade ya know?” King looked sad for a moment hearing that question but it was gone soon enough.

“Yeah I know.” Luz agreed softly. “How long have you been down here?”

“Hmmm let me see....” Gerson replied, trailing off with a quiet hum. The fire crackled in the background, it honestly looked like the wood in the fire hadn’t change at all. “No clue.” he eventually said. “Not like I get the paper down here gehaha!”

“But enough about this old fossil, what brings you three down here?”

“We were with Eda on the Knee,” King began sounding like he was trying to sound like he was trying to put on a play, “then there was a blizzard and a hole, and BAM!” King pounded his fist into his other palm for emphasis. “We end up down here.” Oooor he could tell it like that. Amity expected him to exaggerate things and make them seem larger than life. Gerson looked down at King for a moment before he nodded his head.

Gerson turned his attention towards Luz. “I’m guessing you’re here to look for something I take it?” As Luz tensed slightly Gerson just laughed. “Gehaha! You don’t need to worry bout me kid- I’m well past my prime- a ghost in the shell if you will, besides this place tends to draw in people who are searching for something.” Luz relaxed slightly, but not fully though.

Luz, still slightly tense, asked him this. “What do you mean by that?”

“It means that at least one of you is looking for something and hadn’t quite found it yet.” Gerson repiled, looking from Luz to King to Amity. Apart from Luz looking for a second spell, Amity couldn’t really think of anything they were really searching for. “Besides I want to help, I did use to be a teacher after all!” he said sincerely, and yeah Amity could imagine the old man being a teacher or working at the Library.

Luz, seemingly convinced of Gerson’s truthfulness, said. “I’m trying to learn a second spell before I start at school, it’s my my mentor took us up to the Knee.”

“I see I see.” Gerson replied thoughtfully, stroking his beard with one hand. “If you want to be closer to nature, the Knee’s a dang good place to go. Provided you don’t get caught up in a blizzard.” Which they did.

“Anyway, do ya mind if I see your first spell? It might give me an idea on how to help you.”

Luz nodded, and instead of casting it with her hand like Amity expected, she grabbed her notebook and drew the light glyph on an empty page. After ripping it out she tapped the glyph and activated it. Even though Amity had seen it before, it always amazed her to see the paper crumple up and turn into a ball of light. Luz’s light spells always felt comforting to Amity, like a night light when you were scared of the dark.

Gerson watched Luz cast her spell, a small gleam of something that looked to be wonder in his eyes as he gazed upon the small ball of light gently bobbing up and down. “Well I’ll be danged, that sure is something kid and I’m sure you’ll do well for yourself kid. Besides I think I can offer up two ways to help you.” He tapped his desk twice as he said that. “Actually I can just offer you one long way.” he corrected himself. “First things first, how about you three explore this place? Get to know the lay of the land and all that.” he suggested to them, and honestly Amity could see that knowing about the place they were currently trapped in would probably. “And after that we can talk about part two.”

Luz turned to Amity, and Amity turned to Luz. “What do you think Luz?” Amity asked her friend, wanting to hear her opinion on Gerson’s suggestion. Luz looked pensive as she thought about it.

After several moments of letting Luz think, she had come to a decision. “I think that would probably be a good idea, considering we’re stuck down here until we can find an exit.”

“I want to see all the horrible bits!” King piped up. “Like the booby traps, and the horrible death curses.” He sounded way too cheery for that sort of topic. “All kings need

“King I don’t think-.” Amity was about to tell King that there wasn’t very likely for there to still be working booby traps, as she doubted Gerson would be able to maintain such things on his own, if there were even any in the first place. She was cut off by Gerson’s laugh.

“Gehahaha! I’m sure there’s still some booby traps still armed if you want to take a look, but be careful.” Okay so they had to look out for booby traps, goody. “As for death curses, well I’m sorry to say we’re fresh out.” King let out a small ‘aw’ upon hearing that. “Your friend Nana managed to trigger them and survive somehow. She also broke them... somehow.” Gerson gave an unsure shrug. “I’m honestly not sure how that actually happened. I was in my study at the time.” At least there weren’t any death curses, which was a relief. Death curses as the name implied were curses whose entire purpose is to kill the target in a variety of painful and creative ways. They were a type of magic that were forbidden long before the Emperor came into power, any instructions on how to do so had been destroyed. Amity figured that no one liked the idea of people running around casting death curses at each other. “There’s plenty of space for you to explore. Maybe you can find some long forgotten treasure or something.”

King perked up at the mention of treasure. “That’s so cool!” King said leaping from his perch and running out of the room. Luz leapt up after him, trying to get him to not run off.

“King!” Luz shouted at the young demon. He didn’t listen, too lost in the thought of treasure.

Considering Amity knew how kids could get when they got an idea in their head, she soon joined Luz in chasing King.

Damn it Gerson! Amity cursed the turtle demon in the privacy of her thoughts.

- - - -

The old man, sitting in his old and weathered chair, watched the young ones run off, chasing after the young titan, a warm smile on his face. Or course he knew that young King was a baby titan but chose to keep it a secret for now. The more people who knew that there was still a living titan in this world, the more danger King and the people he cared for would be. The Archivists hunted down the Titans for a reason after all. The Titans were one of the few species, if not only, that managed to repel the Archivists when they tried to archive this world.

Which is my the huntsman created to Titan Trappers, to strike the Titans at their weak points and to ensue that the population would drop, eventually resulting in the near extinction of the Titans and the Archivists being wiped out in return. It was a tragic story. “What a waste.” Gerson muttered to himself, his only answer the fire roaring behind him.

But enough about stories that have long run their course, he should focus on the present. Luz, Amity and King were his latest guests and if all went well they would be his last. He grabbed an empty piece of paper and his pen, ready to try and write this titan damned letter, he wanted to do the best he possibly could. As he began to write, his thoughts wandered towards a particular story he had heard, a long time ago.

Once up a time a girl chanced upon a magical door in the woods, she entered the door and encountered the Demon realm and a witch named Clawthorne who would let her live with her. She would learn magic, fall in love, and make many memories with the people she met there.

She loved this world and in turn the world loved her.

She would be a shining star. Shining brightly through the darkness.

Gerson wished that this girl had a happy end, but he already knew the ending of this tale. It always made a tear come to his eye when he thought about it.

The girl was killed by the one she thought to be her brother.

You think that story was about Luz? No not at all. Luz isn’t the only human who has come to the Boiling isles after all.

This was a story of another girl – long long ago as a matter of act, as Luz’s story is still being written. Gerson would give the young witch what she needed, when the darkness and the rot began to consume this world, she would be able to write a new chapter. Write the ending she wanted, not what the world demanded of her.

Her story was hers to decide after all.

“That’s a good line.” Gerson said, taking a moment to note that line down, he then returned to writing his letter. “Dang nabbit.” he muttered as he noticed some typos he had made. He scribbled them out with his pen, he could start over, but he didn’t want to. He let perfect be the enemy of good far too often, a lesson he wished he learned when he was a whipper snapper. “Better late than never.”

He wrote and he wrote trying to get the words in his head on the page in front of him. Safe to say the words in his head were very uncooperative yet he persevered.

Soon he was happy with what he had wrote, it was sloppy, slapdash and a touch messy but it was done.

So he got an envelope out and folded up his letter, placing gently it in the envelope. He sealed it shut.

He wrote the names of the intended recipients on the front of the letter and put it away in his jacket pocket.

He got to his feet and walked up the stairs, walking up to one of the shut stone doors. He rested a hand on it, took a deep breath, and pushed it open.

He had some final preparations to make

After all it was going to be his last day today, so he may as well make sure that he goes out with a bang.
He walked into the darkened corridor, the door shutting behind him with a quiet thud.

- - - -

Mami Tomoe was currently laying on her stomach on her bed, using her laptop to look at flights she could take to Connecticut in the coming weeks, comparing prices and seeing which ones wouldn’t strain her finances too much. Her parents may have left her plenty of money when they died, and Mami had saved up a fair bit as well but Mami didn’t want to spend it frivolously. It’s not like she can really get a job at her age. Also the fact being a magical girl would be a higher priority than any job she could get.

Also she had to look into accommodation in Gravesfield proper. She was glad it was the school holidays at the moment meaning she didn’t worry about having to concoct some excuse to get herself out of school. Besides Mami didn’t think her usual method of getting out of school would really work if she wasn’t in the country.

Besides causing constant gas leaks would draw attention she didn’t really want or need.

As she scrolled through the flights available Mami made sure to filter out anything that would break the bank, which meant no first class or business class for her. She hoped air travel had improved from the last time she went flying as a child.

Eventually she found one that suited her needs that would be flying out the next day. Before booking a ticket she looked at accommodation in Gravesfield and found a motel that was decently priced and decently reviewed. So she booked her accommodations and her flight.

Now she needed to get her suitcase out of the closet she had buried it in and get packing!

How hard could this be?

. . . .

The answer to her question was not that hard at all actually. It didn’t take her long to find her suitcase, still covered in the stickers she had placed on it back when she was younger. Many of them had faded and began to peel away, but Mami could still see the Sailor Moon stickers she had placed on it a long time ago.

She made sure to pack enough clothes for at least a couple of weeks, as well as things like maps and some of her grief seeds she stored in an internal pocket. The rest she would have on her person.

Mami knew for a fact that the Grief seeds wouldn’t really register on x-rays and the like, having asked Kyubey about it. He said that technology would, for a lack of better words, skip over them not even registering them at all. Which was a relief for Mami which meant she could take her supply with her, and not worry about leaving them unattended in her home.

Something told her that would be asking for trouble.

- - - -

King came to a stop, realising maybe just maybe, running off in a place that may have deadly traps may not be a particularly good idea. Thankfully he didn’t actually make it too far, on account of his very short legs, only making it to the room with the small garden. He blinked as he noticed the fact it seemed to be a lot brighter now, to the point the entire room was properly illuminated. “Wow.” he quietly said to himself as he looked upon the room, the centre garden was full of flowers and trees that seemed absolutely enormous to the young demon. They were all muted colours, like the garden was mourning something. He also wasn’t sure of the species of the plants but some of the flowers looked a lot like the ones Hooty grew in his garden. Rosen Mourners he thinks the name was.

The illumination also allowed King to better look at the recesses in the walls and see the artistically carved coffins, each carving unique to a coffin. They were all made of a grey coloured stone.

He could see the sound of frantic footsteps coming from the corridor he had just come out off, he turned around to see Luz and Amity running after him, only slowing down at seeing that King wasn’t moving. “King please don’t run off like that again.” Luz pleaded to the young demon, which made King feel a jolt of guilt at what he did. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“I’m sorry Luz.” King apologised to the girl who was basically his sister. The thought of treasure was an alluring one, one that had him throw caution to the wind. “But I really want to find treasure, you know?” One of the things King had gotten from Eda was a love of treasure, along such things like a penchant for mischief, lock picking, general disregard for authority and a habit of pick pocketing people

Luz’s expression softened. “I know buddy, but we can do it together okay?” the magical girl kindly offered, making it clear she just wanted him to be safe, and honestly King didn’t really want to walk on his legs for that long.

Dang his tiny legs!!!

He hoped he got a growth spurt or something soon, being this short wasn’t fun.

“Yeah okay.” King said with a nod. “Could I climb up?” he asked reaching upwards with his claws.

Luz smiled and walked over to the black furred demon and picked him up in her arms. “Sure thing little buddy.” she said, letting King perch himself on her shoulder.

“Thank you.” King said grateful that Luz was willing to let him climb up on her shoulder.

“You’re welcome. Besides we don’t have any guarantees that there is actually treasure.” Luz pointed out, and as much as King didn’t really want to admit it, but Luz was probably right.

“I know.” King replied some what glum. “But I still want to take a look around.”

“Now that we can do.” Luz replied, warm smile on her face. “You ready to go Amity?” she asked the girl she was very clearly crushing on, who was currently standing to Luz’s side.

“Sure thing.” Amity eventually replied, apparently distracted by the garden in the centre of the room. Amity quickly shook her head for some reason, like she wasn’t sure of what she was seeing. “Which way should we go?”

There were the way they had come from and the path that lead to the study. Apart from that there were a couple of other paths, all equally lit as well as each other. “That way.” King said pointing to the path to the left. He didn’t know why he chose that path.

But it felt right.

So choose it he did.

Amity and Luz looked to each other for a moment, and Amity gave Luz a small nod. Luz then said. “Sound good to me.”

So they took the path to the left.

- - - -

One Camila Noceda missed her daughter dearly, she was always on the woman’s mind, filled with worry and the worst case scenarios she could imagine. Learning about the fact her daughter was a magical girl of all things didn’t help ease her worries in the slightest. It just made them worse, which was not good for the woman’s peace of mind.

It was one thing when your daughter was just a very imaginative girl who sometimes let things get away from her. It was quite another when she was fighting horrible monsters that could very easily kill her, and mostly likely killed her friends. It made Camila want to hug Luz as tightly as she could, scared to lose her daughter, her light.

She knew, that once Luz was back from camp, they would need to talk about her being a magical girl, and all that entailed for her daughter. She had read some more of Sarah’s diary, trying her best to ignore the guilt of doing so, in order to get a better understanding of what being a magical girl actually meant. Something called Kyubey offered a girl one wish, and when they made a wish they became a magical girl. They would have to fight creatures called witches to obtain grief seeds, which they could use to purify their soul gem, which would darken the more magic they used. Something about this whole thing seemed very off about the whole thing to Camila, and she would need to discuss it in greater detail with Luz when she got back. The dairy, while very useful, didn’t go into that much detail. That and Camila hated invading someone’s privacy, even if they were dead. Her grandmother was very bad with privacy.

But that was a topic she would have to deal with later, as right now she was just about to finish her break and then she would be hard at work as a vet. She took a final sip of her cup, emptying it entirely until only dregs of coffee remained.

She placed her empty mug in the staffroom sink, took a moment to catch a breath and then she turned to the staffroom door.

She loved her job, she loved to help people and she loved all the animals she worked with, (okay some animals she could take them or leave them), but even loving her job didn’t make it any less exhausting.

“Right Camila, you can do this.” she said wanting to motivate herself for the next stretch of work. She slapped her cheeks a couple of times, trying to feel a bit more awake before the coffee she drank worked its magic.

With that said and done, she left the staffroom and got back to work.

Soon her thoughts turned towards her patients and making sure they got all the care they needed.

. . . .

Eventually her shift at the vet was finished, and Camila was done at work for the day. After saying farewell to the rest of the staff of the very small clinic, for a not very large town. Apart from her there were five other staff. There was Taylor, Amy, Lisa, Aisha and Rachel. They were nice but Camila hadn’t really interacted with them outside of the context of work. She honestly wanted to change that, as Amy and Taylor seemed to want to get to know her better, and Camila really wanted to make some more friends. She then winced as her memories decided to dredge up that question she asked Luz, ‘Do you have any real friends? Not ones that are fictional or reptilian?’ She needed to apologise to Luz for that question. Even if Luz’s friends hadn’t died recently, it was still a very cruel thing to ask someone, Camila could still see the flash of hurt on Luz’s face. Hell back when she was a kid Camila had trouble with actually making friends. So why didn’t she consider that for Luz? She knew why. She was frustrated with the situation, and instead of dealing with it in a much more healthy manner, she took it out on Luz.

“Tonto, actuaste como lo haría tu madre.” she murmured to herself in Spanish. In that moment she just wanted Luz to realise the way she was acting was wrong. But instead she acted like her mother would have done, with a cruel and biting question.

She left the vet’s office and made her way to her car, parked in the lot behind the building. She unlocked it with a quick push of the button and sat in the driver’s seat. Instead of immediately inserting the key into the ignition, she instead closed the door and took a moment to think and decompress. She rested her head against the steering wheel and just took a moment to think.

She didn’t know how long she sat like that, head on her steering wheel, but the knock at her window startled her. She smacked her knee hard against the steering wheel. As she muttered a small curse, she turned to look at the woman who had knocked on her window. It was Amy, one of her co-workers. She had long unkempt brown hair that she had tied up in a ponytail, strands of hair sticking out every which way. She had brown eyes, surrounded by bags that spoke to many sleepless nights. She was wearing the same scrubs Camila was wearing and in her mouth was a lollipop sticking out of it. “You doing okay?” Amy asked Camila, looking concerned for the other woman, Camila noticed that Amy didn’t seem quite sure what to ask her from the waver of hesitation in her voice. “I noticed you thinking deeply, you want to talk about it?” Amy held up an already open bag of lollipops. “...I’ve got lollipops, if that helps.” the brunette said awkwardly.

Camila couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped her mouth.
“You know what? Sure.” Camila replied, gesturing to Amy to take a step back. Once she did so, Camila opened the door and exited her car. She shut the door and locked it behind her. Besides maybe having a second opinion would help her with deciding her next course of action.

With her agreement given both Amy and Camila sat next to each other on the back steps.

Amy held out the bag to Camila, offering her a lollipop. Camila took her up on her offer, and reached out and grabbed a random lollipop. As she withdrew her hand, she thought about how to phrase things, as she knew that talking about her daughter being a magical girl would at best earn her some very concerned looks. The worst case she didn’t really want to think about it.

Amy waited patiently for Camila to talk, sucking on the lollipop currently in her mouth. “It’s Luz...” Camila eventually spoke up having come to a decision, unwrapped lollipop rolling in between her fingers. “I think I messed up in regards to Luz.” Camila focused on the lollipop in her hand, not wanting to see the look on Amy’s face. “I think I must have really hurt her.” Camila took a shaky breath. “I’m not sure what I can do to make up for this.”

“What did you do?” Amy asked, her tone not a judgemental one.

Camila admitted the truth. “After the incident with the snakes and the book report and before I sent her to summer camp,” she had called the camp and they said Luz was enjoying her time there, but still she couldn’t help the guilt about the fact she had to send to Luz to such a place, “I asked if she had any real friends.” Amy let out a soft hiss as Camila said that. “Yeah.” Camila muttered. “I’m not sure how to apologise for that.”

“I’ll be blunt Camila, you fucked up.” Camila couldn’t help but wince at the blunt but true statement. Amy sighed. “But the fact is, you actually know you fucked up- which makes you a lot better than my own mom. My advise, as little as it’s worth, is to actually talk to Luz once she gets back from camp. Apologise to her for what you said.” Which was what Camila was going to do, but hearing it from someone else made it easier for her to actually go through it.

“I know.” Camila replied. “But I can’t help but worry. I know Luz is caught up in something she can’t tell me about... and it scares me.” She would hint at Luz being a magical girl, and see if Amy had any advice.

Amy sighed leaning back on the concrete stairs. “I think that’s a part of growing up... but let Luz know that you’ll be there for her if she needs you. Your kid has a good head on her shoulders, and besides how much trouble can one girl get up to at summer camp of all places?”

“Uhhhh....” Camila trailed off, not sure how to respond to that.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine.” Amy said trying to reassure her co-worker. She seemed unable to convince herself or Camila.

- - - -

Luz was mostly fine, she wasn’t in danger but she was getting annoyed. The path they took lead them to an underground river- that was too deep and cold to wade across, and the moment they had left the passage, it had vanished like it was never there in the first place. Which left the three of them in a room with a river they couldn’t cross, with the only way out being a passage across the river. The moment Luz tried to jump the river as a magical girl, a wind with no source buffeted them back, meaning they would have to figure another way across. The wind felt like a gentle admonishment, like it was chiding them trying to solve a puzzle with an unintended solution.

Apart from the river and the odd bit of snow on the ground and the air, there wasn’t much in the way of things for them to use. “This sucks.” King complained, laying on the rocky floor without a care, also seemingly unbothered by the stone floor. Luz was pacing back and forth, her legs restless and wanting her to move. She tried to find a solution but nothing was coming yet.

“It does.” Amity agreed, sitting nearby to where King was. “But complaining about it won’t really help.” she pointed out.

“I knoooooooow.” King groaned. Luz was exploring the room, and saw that despite it being a mostly sealed room, it was still lit up well enough for them to see where they were going. “Okay Luz? You’ve been pacing for a while now.”

“Yeah I’m fine, just something feels off you know?” She frowned thoughtfully as she looked up at the ceiling. Something about this room was nagging at her.

“Yeah, but maybe you should sit next to Amity for a bit.” King suggested. “Share warmth and stuff.” Luz couldn’t help but blush at the mental image that suggestion conjured up. She shook her head, trying to dislodge that thought, but failed miserably.

The room wasn’t that cold in comparison to the outside, but it still was noticeably chilly, that and cuddling up to Amity and Willow seemed like a good time to her.... wait a second, this wasn’t the time to fantasise, she could do that when they were back home safely.

She sat next to Amity, as close as she dared, and wrapped her arm around the green haired girl. Luz didn’t look to see the expression on Amity’s face but the fact Amity leaned into it, told Luz she wasn’t opposed to them to being close like this.

- - - -

Amity’s thoughts while this was happening tended to go along the lines of ‘ahhhhhhh! What do I do? I’ve never been this close to a girl I’ve like before!’ Also ‘wow wish Willow could join in. I wonder how’s she doing?’

But she nevertheless leaned into Luz’s warmth, enjoying the closeness.

- - - -

Speaking of Willow, she was currently hanging out with Nana and Gus in her room. They were reading some books they had taken out from the library before its unfortunate destruction, Willow was sitting on her bed with a half asleep Nana curled up at her feet. Gus was sitting in a beanbag chair nearby, book sitting on his lap.

Willow, having given her scroll number to Eda, had gotten a message from the wild witch that she was taking Luz, Amity and King up to the Knee so Luz could learn a second spell, so she could avoid being stuck in the baby class. She and Gus had wished them luck, knowing that Luz would need all the good luck she could get.

After seeing she had read the same passage about five times in a row, Willow decided that maybe she should rest her eyes for a bit. So reaching out to her bedside table, she blindly searched for something she could use as a bookmark. She then realised, after searching around for a least a minute, that actually looking at what she was feeling about, would make things a lot easier for her. So she looked and immediately grabbed a book mark depicting a Rosen mourner. “Hey Gus how do you think Amity and Luz are doing up at the Knee?” she asked her friend as she placed her bookmark in between the pages of her book.

Gus looked up from his book on famous illusionist throughout the ages. “I think, knowing Luz’s luck, they’ll wind up in something weird, but I know they’ll be fine.” Yeah that was along the same line Willow’s thoughts were on. She loved Luz Luz was a good friend, but from the stories the human girl told them, her luck seemed awful, like a higher power had it out for her. She hoped none of them wound up in the catacombs beneath the Knee, she had had heard horror stories of what happened to those foolish enough to try and explore that abandoned tomb.

Nana began to stir, sleepily blinking her eyes as she stretched her legs out. “What’s this about the Knee?” she asked, paws splayed out.

“We were talking about Luz and Amity’s trip to the Knee.” Willow explained to her other friend in her room.

“Oh I’ve been there before.” Nana said with a gaping yawn, revealing her fangs. “The catacombs were weird, lots and lots of- haaaaaaa. Lots and lots of shadows. They kept trying to say how empty I was, how pointless things were.” Willow and Gus gave each other very concerned looks at hearing Nana tell them this. Before they could ask Nana to explain, she just continued to talk about the catacombs. “Like I didn’t get it, still don’t really. But there were some weird looping halls, this underground river, this old room with a vial of blood that tasted weird, and this cool hall of mirrors, I could see the infinite reflections of myself, just going on forever. I thought I was going to be there forever, well until the nice old man broke the mirrors for me.” The mention of the room with a vial of blood and the fact Nana had consumed it, went unnoticed by both Willow and Gus, too lost in the story Nana was telling them.

“Uh what nice old man?” Willow asked, figuring a place that was said to be as dangerous as the Catacombs was the last place anyone would like to visit or live in.

“The nice man that lives there, his name was hmmmm... what was it again? It was Gerson, that’s it it was Gerson.” Nana said telling the name of this mysterious old man, and not much else.

Before Willow could ask Nana for more information, Nana began to speak again. “He had this nice study- said it was because of his job as a historian- and everything, I even got to curl up near the fire place, it was nice. I even got to eat moss. It tasted mossy.” Willow couldn’t help the snort of amusement at hearing that description, and the fact she ate moss. “He was really busy writing letters to someone, while I was sitting in front of the fire.”

“Who was he writing to?” Gus asked curious as to who a man living in the mountain would even to write to.

Nana just shrugged. “No idea, he just said he wanted to write some words of advice for someone.”

- - - -

Eda Clawthorne was stuck in a cave in the middle of a blizzard and she was not a happy camper. It was hard to blame her, considering her kids were doing who knows what in a place she couldn’t reach. “This sucks.” she groused, holding her hands out to the crackling fire she had managed to get going. She hated the fact she was forced to sit around and basically do nothing. She was a woman of action, she wasn’t meant to sit around. Also if she tired to sit still her thoughts tended to get away from her and go on weird tangents. She noticed that the cave extended to the point it turned to complete shadow. She wasn’t going to explore it at the moment, not wanting to wander into danger at the moment, unless she had to that is. If she was alone she would quite happily do so, but nowadays she had people depending on her.

“I agree.” Artemis chimed in, reminding Eda that she wasn’t alone in this, which was somewhat reliving to the wild witch. “But we can’t leave this cave until the blizzard dies down.” As much as Eda wanted to argue, she knew that trying to brave the currently roaring blizzard was just going to wind up with her freezing to death, which wouldn’t help anyone. Besides it was a total white out on the outside, meaning Eda could easily walk off a cliff without noticing.

“I know I know.” Eda replied, pulling one hand away from the fire to rummage around in her pockets. She was tempted to get her scroll out, but she wanted to conserve power. That and she knew for a fact the blizzard would interfere with the signal. Instead of her scroll she pulled out a pack of Hex Mix, opening it up and grabbing some of the mix to eat. She made sure that the kids had plenty of food and water on their persons so she didn’t have to worry in that regards. She still worried about everything else though. “Titan I’m going soft.” she murmured softly to herself, small smile tugging at her lips.

“But you don’t regret it.”

“I will never regret it.” Eda swore, making an oath to do just that. “It’s just wild thinking how much those kids changed my life.” Artemis just hummed thoughtfully in response, seeming quite pleased with Eda’s promise.

Eventually the two fell into a companionable silence, Eda occasionally eating some Hex Mix, the roaring blizzard outside, and the crackling of the burning flames being the only sounds in the cave.

Artemis after some time broke the silence. “Do you think we can control the transformation? Change when you want to, instead of changing uncontrollably.” Eda was taken a bit off guard by the question, not having expected Artemis to bring it up.

“What makes you ask that?” Eda asked still not sure of Artemis’ train of thought. What Artemis said next would clear up Eda’s confusion.
“Since your previous transformations tended to rampage because I was working against you and trying to take your body, maybe if we work together, you could control when you transform.” That made sense to Eda, as whenever she had transformed previously, it always felt like she had to fight for whatever control she could get.

Honestly the idea of having controllable transformations was an appealing one to Eda.

“You know what? Let’s do it!” Eda replied, getting to her feet. “Besides it’ll give me something other to do than stare at the fire.” she muttered.

Artemis just laughed.

“So any idea on how we’re going to do this?”

“Uhhhhhh....”

- - - -

The city of Mitakihara was currently facing a storm the likes it had never seen before. Rubble of buildings tossed every which way, water flooding the streets, elephants, clowns and other beasts like the ones you could see in the circus were parading down the street, destroying everything in their way. There was a woman floating high above the city, turning like one would turn an hourglass over and over and over. 絶望の香りが漂う It laughed and laughed and laughed. It was a cruel and mocking laugh, like it derived enjoyment from the suffering of others. Standing in the ruined streets stood a pink haired girl, bow in her hand. She was one of the two survivors. She was buying time for her friend to go back. Like turning the hourglass back. She took a deep breath, and nocked an arrow in her bow. いつ自分になったのか

The woman, or witch the girl did not know its true name. It had no barrier, where did it end? Where did I begin? The outlines of the self became distorted and blurred. The name it was given was Walpurgisnacht- the witches’ night. It was a festival to pray for protection against witches. It was a festival to prey on the city below. It marched upon the city, a natural disaster in all but name, it took the form of a storm- wild and destructive. あなたはこの無限のサイクルの一部ですShe took aim. She emptied her mind of distractions. She missed her friends dearly. She missed ----. She missed ------. She missed -----. She missed the girls she fought alongside, who had all fallen. But she would fight.

It was an amalgamation, of witches, of despair, of curses, of hopelessness. Defeating it may be a futile endeavour, but still the girl held her hope close to her heart, letting it burn like a brilliant inferno. 今のこのサイクルを断ち切ることはできません

As she let the arrow go, she could hear someone call her name. 今回もやってきます “Madoka wake up!”

“Madoka!” また最後の希望でお会いしましょう

“WAKE UP!” Soon the cycle shall begin once more.

. . . .

Madoka Kaname woke up with bleary eyes, sleep still having a tight hold on her, and found her best friend leaning over her face, blue eyes gleaming with fondness. “Finally you’re up.” Sayaka said teasingly. “You were sleeping pretty deeply. Have a nice dream?” Madoka, instead of answering, followed her first instinct and leapt out of her bed and crashed into Sayaka with a hug. “Ack!” Sayaka cried out as the two girls crashed on the soft carpet. Madoka buried her head into Sayaka’s shoulder, trying not to cry. She didn’t know why, but it felt like Sayaka went far away, to a place Madoka couldn’t follow her to. Sayaka, sensing her friend was upset wrapped her arms around Madoka. “I’m guessing it wasn’t a nice dream.” she said as Madoka hugged her tightly.

Madoka didn’t do anything but shake her head, confirming Sayaka’s guess.

“Hey, I’m not going anywhere.” Sayaka promised, and Madoka dearly wished her friend would keep her promise to her.

Eventually Madoka’s head surfaced from her hiding place in Sayaka’s shoulder. “I know,” Madoka replied, her voice somewhat hoarse, “I love you Sayaka.” she whispered pouring her heart out to someone she loved with all her heart., words that she hadn’t meant to say. Something was telling her, to not leave things uncertain, to not leave them unsaid- because you didn’t know how long you had together. She then buried her head back in Sayaka’s shoulder. If she hadn’t she would have noticed Sayaka’s bright red blush. She felt safe in Sayaka’s arms, and she was quite happy to lie there on the carpet.

“I-. Uh-. What-?” Sayaka started to stammer out and of course that’s was when Madoka could hear her bedroom door open.

“Sayaka did you wake Madoka up-?” Mum said from her door, cutting herself off as she saw what was happening. “Well I’ll leave you two to it then.” Mum said, closing the door behind her.