Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A lot of things changed in the aftermath Eda nearly being petrified. However, one thing that became quickly apparent didn't change was the number of people that wanted to get back at Eda. In fact it seemed to have only gotten worse. Probably because they figured an Eda without her magic would be easier to get vengeance on. Something they quickly found out the hard way, couldn't be further from the truth.

However, that difficulty of it didn't stop it at all. And so by the third or fourth time it happened, Luz mostly had their routine down pat. Kidnapped by some random resident, they plan to use her as a trap to lure Eda in; Eda and Lilith show up and give the most recent kidnapper a bad time. One of them frees her, and they usually cause some havoc on the way out. Rinse and repeat as necessary with minimal variation in the meantime. 

If nothing else it was boring in how repetitive and predictive it was. Or at least that's what it had felt like up until Luz's most recent kidnapper decided to break from the mold...

Luz had actually almost been intrigued at first when the most recent kidnapper had said he was more interested in what she could do. Rather than holding her ransom for Eda like everyone before him like the others before him. The only real antagonistic person on the isles before she had run into that had shown interest in her was Belos. 

That intrigue had quickly faded to be replaced with horror and fear when she realized what she was actually being asked to do. Placed in a rather cavernous room and told reproduce a rather large glyph pattern she hadn't come across before. Though the initial unfamiliarity wasn't the concern. It wasn't like she had heard of glyphs before she arrived on the isles after all. The concern came from the fact that it had to be drawn in her own blood. 

Luz had of course tried to get out of it. Whatever intrigue she had turned quickly into full-on fear when she realized that they weren't letting her go without the glyph. And would resort to cutting her themselves if they needed to in order to complete their task.

Luz didn't understand what one couldn't do with a blood-based glyph, or any blood-related magic to be honest. Eda had actively discouraged it in the past even if done by accident, something about blood magic having possibly nasty consequences. However, she didn't have a way to self-rescue herself. They were denying her access to regular notebook paper, having already stowed what glyphs she had on her elsewhere, and insistence on this method, she realized she was trapped until Eda and Lilith showed up. 

At this point, Luz wasn't entirely sure how long it had been since she was taken. All she knew was that she was exhausted, hurting, and struggling to draw the remaining part of the glyph at this point. Shaking hands does not make for drawing a giant glyph. And while she didn't want to paint it...well as she had quickly discovered she messed up, she was made to start over. So it was some relief when the head of the group that had snatched her got distracted by some commotion coming from the outside. It had allowed her a moment to breathe and maybe hope Eda and Lilith had finally shown up.

However, that relief was short-lived as the one remaining guard grabbed her roughly. "Hey, if boss-" The remaining guard started. Only to cut off and drop off when he dropped to the floor a moment later unconscious.

Luz perked up a second ater as she caught sight a familiar mane of grey hair. "Eda!" 

Eda didn't waste time with pleasantries. Dropping down to the floor next to Luz, and moving to work on the lock attached to her foot to help prevent any rescue attempts as she talked. "Sorry, that took so long, kiddo. They didn't send the usual ransom note. So we had to get creative to figure out where they had taken you. You alright?"

"That would be because he wasn't after you for some reason." Luz admitted carefully extending out her right arm, which had a long cut across it from where the ringleader had cut her for blood for the glyph.

Eda frowned at that and turned her attention away from the lock confusion evident about the ringleader's intent. This was starting to feel a lot less like the typical circus for some reason to her though it still felt like she was missing a piece of the puzzle. "He wanted my blood for some reason," Luz added as Eda wrapped the arm with some spare cloth before turning her attention back to the lock. "Where's Lilith?"

"Lily's taking care of the head perps while I went ahead to get you free." Eda answered as she undid the lock around her ankle. "You feel up to walking?" Eda asked, helping her up onto her feet. Only to have Luz start swaying in response as soon as she let go. "Well that's a no."

Eda quickly opted to pick Luz up at that point. It wasn't the first time, unfortunately, that they had found themselves in this position. Where Luz hadn't been able to get out on her own. Kidnappers tended to get creative to make sure their form of ransom could just walk off. After the first couple of attempts, kidnappers had wisened up on how to handle Luz. 

However as soon as they were on their feet Eda spotted the pattern on the floor. And it gave her pause as a sense of dread building at the sight of the unfinished glyph. She may never have seen the glyph before tonight but when taking that with the cut, she had a bad feeling about just why Luz had been kidnapped. Not that she was going to let her know that while they were still here. The last thing she needed was to freak Luz out. "Kid, what is that on the floor, do you know?" She asked, wanting to double-check she didn't imagine things. 

Eda could feel Luz's shrug. "Don't know. Well I know it is some sort of weird glyph and that it had to be done carefully. The ringleader was just insistent on how careful I was, but he wouldn't tell me why that was so important. And that it had to be done correctly with no little mishaps." There was a slight pause. "I don't know what it was for. But...it just couldn't be for a good thing. So I was trying to delay until you got here."  

"Yeah I'm getting that impression as well.  I really  don't like this." Eda said as her eyes narrowed as some pieces of the puzzle started to fall in place. Quietly stowing away the last part of that statement for a lecture on a rainy day. She had bigger concerns at the moment. She was now realizing that she had seen these kind of glyphs or had at least heard about them. A long time ago, when she had first been cursed. She had never expected to run into them again. "Let's get out of here before any more problems show up. They all secured Lily?"

If Luz had more energy, she would have maybe jumped in surprise. She hadn't heard Lilith come up during the conversation. "Yes, all I need now is to report this." She still had some people within the Emperor's Coven who were sympathetic towards her. They were the ones she usually turned to when someone kidnapped Luz. This time would be no different.

"Right, I'm going to get the kid home while you do that report. Though before we go, you might want to take a look at the floor before we leave." Eda said, shifting her weight slightly and settling onto the staff while giving Lilith a moment to check out.  

Lilith frowned at that going back in the direction Eda and Luz had come from. Only to reemerge a moment later looking shaken. "Titan is that-" a nod cut her off from Eda. 

Luz frowned at the reaction, and she was now  really  wondering what the glyph was actually. "Guys-"

The its nothing that came out of both of their mouths was a little too quick. Luz frowned as the sinking feeling she had when she had initially been given the 'request' came back with full force. Something was off about the glyph though now she was wondering what was setting both of them off. "Guys-"

"It is best we don't discuss that here in case they don't cause." Lilith said, cutting in before Luz could even start the question again. "Its best explained when we are away from here." 

It wasn't until they were back at The Owl House. And Luz was bandaged up that Eda finally explained what had shaken the two of them. "A demonic summoning spell?" Luz said, face scrunching up slightly in confusion. Still, a bit lost on the supposed weight behind it. "I'm lost. What's the bad thing about this? Well, beyond it being spilled blood."

Eda and Lilith exchanged a glance at that. It was Eda who reluctantly answered the question. "The things is  there's  not a lot of that kind of spells out there. And the ones that do exist tend to be very...sacrificial in nature."

Luz paled at that thought as she read what Eda wasn't saying. Eda catching on to how much that was panicking her. "But don't worry, we got them all caught, and they won't be a danger to you again." Not if she had anything to say about it. Though they were going to have to start doing something about these repeated kidnappings...

Luz let out a small sigh of relief at that.

"Though there is still the issue of that is supposed to be considered lost and banned knowledge." Lilith said, rubbing her forehead. "How in the world did they even find out about it?"

"Probably the same way I did. Desperate reading." Eda answered. Back when she had first been cursed, she had read a lot of things. Some of which could be classified as questionable in hindsight, but she had been desperate for some help. She had never acted on the knowledge, of course. She wanted nothing to do with that dark of magic. But unfortunately, that didn't mean she could take back knowing its existence. "You might want to check the head honchos background. I'm not trying to excuse what he nearly did. But there may be more of a story there. And just because the danger has passed for now-"

"Doesn't mean it will go away completely." Lilith finished for her seeing where she was going. Standing up and she realized she needed to make a phone call.

Seeing the look on Luz's face, Eda added. "Don't worry, kid. Even if they do get out a second time, I won't let them get you a second time." She couldn't risk that. Things were going to have to change around here, unfortunately.

Chapter Text

It was a typical day at school. Well, as normal as you could get when it came to Hexside. Nothing weird had happened so far. Everything seemed fine. So why was it that she couldn't entirely shake this feeling that something was about to happen?

So she turned to one of her classmates to see if they could understand. Celeste frowned when asked though. "I haven't picked up anything that suggested that there might be trouble in the future." She admitted. "Is it just a gut feeling your getting?" 

"At this point, yes," Luz admitted. She had tried looking into what Oracle magic she could do. But so far, everything had come up blank. It was partly why she had turned to Celeste to see if she might have a better idea. Since she had been doing this for considerably longer then she had. "I know gut feelings in terms of 'oracle' magic can be questionable. But I'm having a tough time shaking this one."

Celeste's frown deepened. "Well, probably if it's that much of a problem, it might be worth asking one of the teachers about." 

"Yeah, that's probably best." Luz agreed. However, further investigation would never be able to be completed. Since that was the last thing Luz registered before a loud boom rocked the hall, and everything cut to black. 

Luz wasn't entirely sure how much longer she regained consciousness. Sitting up, the first thing she noticed was that something was giving a painful protest at the moment, and a painful ringing sound still ringing in her ears though it was starting to fade at least. What had even happened?

Looking around for her bag that contained her glyphs, she spotted it finally partially buried underneath some of the rubble. Grabbing hold of it, she pulled hard. Only to have it slip out from under it, and the excess force caused her to hit some of the other rubble with a painful hiss. This was going to really hurt the next day. But at least she had her glyphs now! Scrambling to her feet and swaying for a brief second before steadying., trying to figure out what to do next. She finally had a chance to survey the rest of the classroom, and she paled. All that was left of the room was rubble. Any signs of her classmate having disappeared behind the rubble that was scattered around the room. Hands tightening around the bag for a moment - was she the only one. No, she couldn't think about that. She needed to get out and get help with only a few glyphs until someone with more potent magic needed to be here. 

Thankfully the doorway, while destroyed, wasn't impassible, and she slipped out and into the hallway. Or at least what remained of it. Taking a right out of the door, she walked down the hall until she hit an impassible wall of rubble. Obviously, whatever had happened had caused the building's wall to partially cave in. Moving around it, she tried to find a weak spot or maybe something easy to move out of the way. But other then a few small holes, she came up empty. She was about to turn and go back down the other way when a familiar voice called out. 

"Luz!" Luz glanced back down the hallway or what remained of it now with the debris strewn about. Catching sight of a rapidly approaching Amity and Willow from the other end of the hall and let out a sigh of relief. "Your alright!" Neither of them were trying to hide their relief at finding her though Willow's might have been more obvious.

"Yeah, I got lucky." Luz admitted trying to shove the image of the destroyed classroom out of her head for a moment and just how close it had been. She could think about how lucky she had been at a later point after they got help. Which speaking of..."What about you guys, are you okay? What happened with Gus?" She asked as her eyes caught sight of the out cold Gus that Willow was carrying piggyback style.

"We're okay. We were both far enough out from the explosion that we didn't get hurt thankfully. Just trapped. Gus, though, was out cold, probably got hit by some debris when the blast happened, but for now, he seems to be okay, at least until we can get him out of here." Amity said as she watched Luz fret for a moment.

Luz let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. What happened anyway?"

"We're not sure." Willow admitted shifting the weight again. "It kind of turned into chaos after the explosion. And we haven't really had much of a chance to talk to anyone. Most people near us were unconscious." Or worse. "And the ones that weren't were just as lost."

"It could be something that one of the potions classes were making. Though that brings up the question of what were they getting up to cause this much damage anyway?" Amity asked, frowning. Explosions and damage from potions gone wrong weren't that uncommon of a problem at Hexside. But this much damage seemed to be way more than usual. 

"It wasn't from a potions class." Luz cut in before Willow could finish. Seeing Willow's eyes starting to narrow at that, she quickly added before Willow could figure out she had been way closer to the blast then she had let on. "Anyway, why it happened isn't really that important?"

"I guess not." Willow reluctantly conceded. "Do you still have any of your glyph papers? Or did they get ripped up in the explosion?"

Luz winced at the reminder that most of her glyph papers had been buried made useless in some form. Thankfully she had managed to salvage a few of them at least. "I have a few glyphs that didn't get destroyed in the explosion. It's not much, though."

"That would have been convenient if it hadn't been damaged." Amity grumbled. Seeing the questioning look from Luz. "Getting out isn't going to be easy. The way we came from was completely collapsed in on itself." And there wasn't much hope that the other end would be in much better shape.  

"And a plant spell would make it easier to shift debris." Luz realized pulling out the few scraps of glyphs she had managed to gather before exiting the classroom. Shuffling through her glyphs just to make sure that there wasn't a plant glyph among them that Willow could use to her advantage. No such luck. She had her other spells, not that she was entirely sure they could do much more help at the moment. "Sorry, guys, turns out the plant glyph is the one I don't have. I would offer to redraw it on one of these. But I'm not sure what would happen."

"And right now isn't the best time to be experimenting." Amity finished realizing where she was going. 

Willow waved off the concern. "It was a long shot anyway." Turning back to Amity. "Looks like we don't have a choice but to move the debris."

"Here, let me take Gus so you can help more." Luz offered moving to take Gus. However, the minute his weight started to transfer to her, it became clear that it was a mistake as she began to see stars. Apparently, she wasn't nearly as fine as she had first thought.

Something that was apparently obvious to the other two. "Luz!" Was the common shout that came from both Willow and Amity as she tried to steady herself. Luz had barely a moment to try and offer some assurance before Willow rapidly moved back in and took Gus's weight back as Luz's vision started to clear again. Though judging by the look on both girls' faces, they weren't surprised by the development. "What happened? Why didn't you say you were hurt?"

"I'm not actually entirely sure what happened." Luz admitted. "I was knocked out when the explosion happened. I thought I was okay." It hadn't sunk in until she had moved in to help with Gus that she had realized that something wasn't quite as right as she thought. 

Amity opened her mouth clearly about to argue that. Before seeming to realize it wasn't the time. "Why didn't you tell us you were hurt, to begin with?" She finally settled on.

"I didn't think it was that bad." Luz admitted reluctantly, rubbing her arm slightly. Honestly, other then some painful bruises, she had thought she had escaped unharmed. Or at least relatively speaking when compared to the rest of her class. "So now, what do we do?"

Any other suggestion that might have been made was stopped by the familiar sound of an owl thrilling. Luz glanced back at the wall just in time to see a small wooden beak poke through a small opening in the wall. Followed by the rest of Owlbert a moment later."Owlbert!" Luz said happily, scooping up the Palisman. Who gave her cheek a nuzzle. If Owlbert was here, then Eda was also. So hopefully, there weren't too far from a way out. 

"Wait if he's here then, Eda-" Willow began only to stop as she saw a familiar glow of an orange spell circle come through the debris. The three of them taking a step back as the debris fell off to the side of the collapsed archway. Revealing Eda along with a couple of healers. 

"She got hit by something before we found her. Not sure what by or where she got hit, though." Amity cut in before Luz could try to lie about her state again.

"Amity!" Luz protested slightly. One of the healers moved to grab her and take her outside, but Luz backed up and said before he could get too close. "Wait. There's something, someone who might need your help more than me. I need to take you to them before we do anything else." 

Eda's lips pursed at that. "Kid-"

"Please-" Luz cut in again tone, almost begging at this point. She couldn't walk away without knowing someone else had looked in on her classmates. Not after the state she had left the room in.

Sensing that she wasn't going to win the argument, or at least not easily. Eda exchanged a glance with the remaining healer before sighing. "If you show us, then will you let him look you over kid?"

"Of course." Luz nodded and with the agreement in place. Luz lead them back the way she came, and to her oracle homeroom. Stopping just outside the broken doorway. Where you could see just how bad the impact of the blast was. "Titan." Eda swore under her breath. Turning her attention away from the room as the healer hurried past and back to Luz. "How did you know about this?"

"I was here when the explosion happened." Luz explained, missing the sharp intake of breath at the comment. Diverting her eyes away from the scene and towards Eda, she asked. "Can we please get out of here? I can't stand being here much longer." The last part was said, almost inaudibly.

Eda had been about to protest since it had been against the original terms. But one look at Luz's face was enough to stop that. "Yeah, let's get you out of here and have a healer check you out."

Emerging into the sun a little while later brought much-needed relief to Luz. Along with exhaustion as the adrenaline started to wear off. Finally, safe from the building and away from any more danger, what had happened was beginning to hit. The adrenaline from earlier finally began to fade. So it didn't take too long before she passed out into Eda's arms. 

The next time Luz came to, she was back at The Owl House and bandaged. King was the first to greet her. Nearly tackling hugging her only to get a slight wince in response as he hit a sensitive bruise. King squeaked. "Sorry!"

Luz gave a small reassuring smile. "It's okay."

"I did tell you to be careful with the kid when she woke up." Eda said as she came over from the kitchen. Tone only slightly scolding more seemingly relieved than anything. 

"Yeah, I know, sorry." King said, addressing the later part to Luz.

"It's okay. You just bumped up against a bruise." Luz reassured him. 

"Probably more than a bruise." Eda muttered to herself. 

Luz didn't respond to that though she wondered what they had found once a healer had gotten to her. Right now, she had another question after the day's events. "How's Gus?"

"Kid will be fine. He just took a nasty blow to the head. Nothing a good healer can't fix. He'll be back to his normal self in no time at all." Eda assured her. Luz let out a sigh of relief at that. "What about you, kid? How are you doing? You were in pretty rough shape when the healers got to you. Gave us a right scare when you passed out like that"

Luz winced slightly at the reminder of her near brush with death. "I'm tired, and hurting a bit but otherwise feeling much better. Sorry for scaring you." Luz assured her. It still hurt a bit but not nearly as bad when they had been trying to make their way out of the wreckage—speaking of which. What happened anyway? Where did that explosion come from?" Luz asked after Eda had finally pulled back. 

"They're still trying to figure that out." Eda reluctantly admitted. "Or they were when we left. I figure Bump will call some sort of meeting about what happened once he has more details." Luz caught onto what Eda left out. It didn't appear to be an accident of some sort. 

"How longs is school going to be out anyway?" Luz asked, trying to get her mind off of what had happened for just a moment. Damage repair like that had to take a while, right?

"Probably, the school building will be back to normal by the end of the week." Eda admitted. Seeing Luz's shocked face, she chuckled weakly. "Magic remember? With the right favors and the right knowledge, even repairing damage like that shouldn't take too long." Her voice took a more stern and serious one. "Though you won't be going back for a bit now. The healers were pretty explicit; you take it easy for a bit. You got really lucky that you weren't worse off from what happened."

Luz flinched at that. Knowing Eda hadn't meant to bring up what she had seen in the classroom before she had escaped. But it still hurt none the less. "I know." She quietly admitted. "I was talking to Celeste right when the explosion happened. When I came too she was trapped under a pile of rubble." Luz stopped there still not entirely ready to say dead, even if she fully realized that many of her fellow Oracle track students were now dead. It had been sheer luck she hadn't been one of them. 

Eda caught onto the self-deprecation before she even said anything. "Hey, don't you dare try to blame yourself for not saving more. You did all you could by helping us find those other kids, and that was quite remarkable, to begin with. Without you, a lot more would have died. It sucks, it really does, but you got to remember  you can't save everyone."

Luz tried to pull her knees to her chest before thinking better of it with her injuries. "It's just hard. I mean, I was literally talking to Celeste right before this happened. Now she's-" Luz cut herself off, finding herself unable to finish that sentence hands shaking, not even realizing that tears had started to fall.

"I'm so sorry, kid." Eda finally said after a moment. Not entirely sure what to add. Death was never easy on anyone—especially someone Luz's age. 

Some part of her was breaking at the fact it had been her kid that had not only nearly died. But had woken alone surrounded by dead bodies, she could only imagine what that must have felt like. She would count every blessing that Luz was alive. But at the same time, she hated seeing Luz hurting so much from surviving almost by chance. Pulling her into a hug, she did say. "I wish I could make all of what happened go away."

"Thanks, Eda." Luz said, finally.

Chapter Text

When Luz woke up that morning, she could already tell it was going to be one of 'those' days. Waking up with up already feeling a bit tired and sore was never a prelude to a good day. However, she just pushed it aside with plans to deal with any issues whenever she got done with the potion deliveries. She had only been at The Owl House for a couple of weeks at this point. And the last thing she wanted was to give Eda a reason to end the apprenticeship and send her back to the human realm.

Luz had been dreading this day for a while. She knew from experience how things usually went once this little detail came to the surface. She knew how it usually ended. She just hoped she could prove to Eda that her problem wouldn't stop her entirely and wouldn't be made to leave once the most recent flare finally subsided.

To her relief, the morning rounds of deliveries had gone rather well. Though as she settled down onto a bench around midday to catch a snack and run through and see how many more deliveries she had left. Luz could tell things were starting to catch up with her. Going through the list, though, she could see she had only a few more deliveries left. And then she could go back to the house and crash until dinner. 

The next house, though, brought a surprise and a detour. As she hadn't been expecting to see Lilith answering the door. She wasn't even aware Lilith ordered potions from Eda. "Ah, Luz. I wasn't aware you had taken over for my sister's deliveries." Lilith said as she took the bag from Luz containing her own potions.

"Yeah, Eda has me helping out during the week when we're not running that stand of hers. Since I can't exactly brew anything yet since Eda hasn't started that yet. I'm just the delivery girl." Luz said, shifting slightly, waiting to be dismissed. Wanting out before Lilith realized something might be awry. While the other people she had delivered for she hadn't run into enough to know that she was off today. After a fair number of encounters with Lilith, she wouldn't be shocked if she realized something was off.

"And how's that been working out today?" Lilith said, giving her a once over. 

That confirmed to Luz that she wasn't as good at putting on a front as she had been thinking. And started to look for an exit out of the conversation. She had no clue what Lilith might tell Eda. But anything that risked the apprenticeship needed to be taken care of quickly. "Its been going fine. I just got a few more deliveries left, so I probably should get going." Luz said, adjusting her handle on the bigger bag containing all of the customers' potions that she still had to deliver. Only to have the bag slip and start to fall only for Lilith to catch it with some magic.

"Are you sure you're doing okay?" Lilith said as she lowered the bag to the floor now frowning. Her skepticism showing clear and through now and dropping any pretense at the moment. 

"I'm fine, really."  Luz said with a nervous laugh. "But I should probably should get going. Eda still has a few people waiting on their deliveries after all." Luz said, moving to pick up the bag again, trying to think up an excuse to get out of there. She had a distinct feeling that if she stuck around too long, Lilith would catch on to her being sick. If she hadn't already, that was. 

"Surely a few minutes to have some tea won't annoy her other customers too much?" Lilith reasoned putting her hand over Luz's to stop her from completely picking it up. Now trying again to dissuade the girl from leaving. She didn't know much about humans, but she did know a decent amount about children. Especially ones with questionable backgrounds like her and Eda had discussed the possibility of Luz having. And she could tell Luz was trying very hard to hide she was falling ill. Though the exact reason as to why was still unclear.

Luz hesitated, finding it harder to say no a second time. Tea did sound nice right now with her slightly scratchy throat. And Eda couldn't be too mad as long as she got the rest of the deliveries done before the end of the day, right? "I guess a short stop wouldn't be too bad." Luz agreed and slipped through the door and past Lilith. 

By the time Eda had arrived summoned by Lilith's own Palisman, Luz had fallen asleep on the couch, tea long forgotten. One of Lilith's potions having meant to simply relax and hopefully bring the fever down, having instead knocked the young girl out. 

Eda shook her head at the question of if she had realized Luz was sick when she left in the morning. "She did seem to be moving a bit slower this morning. But I didn't realize she was getting sick. If I had, I would have kept her home." Glancing back at the sleeping form of Luz. "Why didn't she say anything?" The last part was directed more at herself then at Lilith. It was bothering her that Luz hadn't given any indication that she was off today. And it was bothering her that she had missed the early signs.

"I think she might have been fearing if she showed some sort of weakness that you might end the apprenticeship," Lilith admitted remembering a comment Luz had made prior to the potion kicking in. Sharing the conclusion she had drawn based on Luz's earlier actions. "I had to basically talk her into staying until the potion kicked in and made the call. Sometimes children who are removed from unpleasant backgrounds feel they have to prove themselves or they will be taken from that new place of safety. I've seen it with a few of my kids. Without either of us knowing more about Luz I can't say that's what happened for sure. But it is a strong possibility I believe."

Eda scowled at that. "I wouldn't have cut it off, and even if it wasn't panning out I wouldn't have made her leave. First off, the kid can't control when she gets sick. Second, I've gotten too invested in trying to figure this out at this point to stop." Though now, she was wondering where the idea had come from. It must have had something to deal with what Luz went through before she stumbled through the portal two weeks ago. But without knowing much beyond the basics, she could only guess why Luz would automatically assume the worse. Just how bad the situation had been, that The Owl House had become her place of 'safety' like Lily had mentioned. Though what bothered her most was maybe the idea of just how many times had someone walked out of her life for uncontrollable reasons that it had become her go-to assumption?

Lilith nodded at that. "Yes, I tried to point with her. However, she was particularly stubborn in her belief in the contrary." Lilith paused for a moment. "Before she fell asleep she wasn't making that much sense. But I thought I heard her mumbling something along the lines of being invested hasn't stopped people from backing out on her before." 

Eda massaged her forehead, wondering for a moment where Luz had gotten that idea stuck in her head before it occurred to her. "Must have something to do with life on Earth again." Things would be so much simpler, and they would be able to cut these issues off at the head. If Luz would be willing to talk for once before they sprang up.  

Luz had stayed asleep for the ride back. Only finally waking up again after she was back on the couch at The Owl House. Though it became apparent rather quickly that while she was technically awake she wasn't really entirely conscious arguably. Most of what was being said didn't make much sense to Eda as the girl nervously alternating between Spanish and English. The few phrases Eda did catch seeming to be an alteration between apologizing and pleading not to be made to leave.

Eda had been moving to grab another potion when Luz had grabbed a handful of dress to stop her. Turning her full attention back to Luz just in time to catch her say. "-please don't make me go."

Eda knew it was mainly the fever talking at this point but it didn't make her heart break any less at the amount of fear she could hear in the girl's voice. Settling back onto the couch. As King went to get the potion, she started running a hand through Luz's hair. "Its alright, kid, you don't need to go anywhere unless you absolutely want to." Knowing the assurances would be most likely lost on the delirious Luz. "I'm not going to kick you out for being sick."

It seemed like the more she found out about Luz, the more questions she had. What had happened before that Luz apparently had come to associate any possible weakness, even that of a cold, as a means of possibly being abandoned? Who had messed up her kid that the fear of not following through with her tasks was overriding everything else? Better yet, who was messed up enough to apparently toss a kid out when they were sick?

"Oh, kid, I wish you had found the door sooner." Eda said quietly, running a hand over Luz's cheek as the girl started to drift off again. Part of her just wanting to stay here and assure Luz until she got the point that she wouldn't have to go away. Another part of her infuriated and wanting to open the portal door to find the people that had hurt Luz in the first place. It wasn't the first time she wanted to go bang heads over a comment Luz had made or let slip over life back on Earth. And it certainly wouldn't be the last. Though it didn't exactly make it any better. 

Eda had put Luz to bed a few hours later before calling it a night herself. Only to be woken up in the middle of the night by the familiar glowing eyes of King standing next to the nest. "Something wrong?" She asked, sitting up slightly. 

"Luz is trying to get up and start doing things again." King explained. "I tried to get her to stop since she's sick, and ya know its the middle of the night, but she's still not listening to me." King paused for a moment before adding. "It almost looks like she's packing to go somewhere."

Eda frowned at that. Some part of her not surprised considering the delirious mumurings of earlier that afternoon. Before slipping out of the nest and following King back to Luz's room. Stopping in the doorway watching Luz for a moment as she realized King was right about the odd packing. "Kid, why are you packing?" Had she actually changed her mind about wanting to stay on the Isles? Or was this the fever spiking again?

Luz didn't really fully respond but mumbled something. Eda caught didn't catch the entire thing. But did catch the important ones, packing, force, and leave. And considering the earlier delirious comments, she was pretty sure what Luz was now mumbling about. "Kid, stop for a second and answer me this. Have I ever made you think I wanted you to leave?"

That seemed to catch Luz off guard as she stopped for a moment before shaking her head. Well, at least Luz was conscious enough to realize that as Eda tried to reason again. "Right because, like I said, kid, I'm not making you leave unless you want to. Though considering its the middle of the night. it might be best to wait a few hours if you actually do want to go back to Earth."

Luz fell quiet for a moment as King scurried back with another potion she asked. "But what if you change your mind?"

Eda frowned at that, wondering why Luz seemed so scared or convinced that was going to happen. They were going to be having a long talk about this when this was all over that was for sure. "Kid, I seriously doubt anything you could do at this point could cause that," Eda said as she handed the potion to Luz, who stood there holding it for a minute. "However, for now, it's best we talk about this more when your feeling better. You're not thinking straight with your fever." She pointed at the bottle Luz was still holding pointedly. "Which can happen sooner if you take your meds."

Luz would have maybe flushed more if possible but settled for a nod. With a quiet. "Thanks, Eda." Before downing the potion.

Eda was not entirely surprised when Luz fell back to sleep almost as soon as the potion took effect. She scooped up Luz in her arms before turning to King. "I'm moving her up to my room so I can keep an eye on her. And make sure she doesn't try to make any more nighttime escapades." Eda explained. After this happening for a second time, she didn't trust Luz to not pull it a third time in her current state. At least in her room, she could more easily stop it. "Your welcome to come along if you want."

Settling into the nest was easy enough since it was already big, due to it partly being made for her curse form. And King soon joined Luz in sleep land. Eda, though, found sleep wasn't coming to her nearly as easy. The events of the past day were troubling, to say the least. She couldn't let this one slide this time. She needed answers from Luz once she was recovered. That was for sure.

It was a couple of long days before Luz's fever broke. And Luz was well enough to have the conversation about why she had kept trying to leave anytime the potion started to wear off. 

Luz wasn't entirely sure where to start. The backing out of a family that had wanted to adopt her in the past. The strange flares that no one could explain. Unfortunately, the fact that she had to learn over the last few years that she really couldn't trust much of anyone with anyone. Let alone the basic facts about what she was like on a 'bad day,' let alone several of them in a row like she just had? "I'm not sure where to start, honestly. It's complicated." Luz finally settled on. 

"Then try to uncomplicate it." Eda said, crossing her arms. Noticing a small flinch from Luz at that, she sighed. "Kid, I'm still not mad at you, just concerned. And I can't help you if you won't tell me anything that's going on. You don't have to tell me everything. Just enough so that I can understand what's going on." 

Luz at first hesitated. Since if she started, she would probably have to tell everything to explain it. But as much as she didn't want to talk about it, Eda did deserve an explanation of sort. And well, it wasn't like she had anything to lose at this point. Opening her mouth, she finally started talking about all of it, the accident, her illness, the near adoptions, just about everything that had been the past few years. Everything that had lead to the bench in the park she had been sitting on before she had fled through the portal to escape the rain. Luz wasn't entirely sure how long she talked for, but there was an eery quiet afterward, which she finally broke. "If you changed your mind about me leaving after all of that, I understand." It wouldn't be the first time either.

"What-why would I-" Eda cut herself off mid-sentence as she remembered what Luz had just told her. Most people distanced themselves as soon as they found out about the illness. Including people she had thought she could trust. "Right, don't answer that." Eda said a moment later. Of course, Luz would assume the worst. Since by her own admission, that's where her current track record heavily leaned. "Kid, I meant what I said when you were sick, and that didn't change." In fact, arguably, she was even more firm in that stance after that long story. "As long as you want to stay here, your welcome too. Why do you keep thinking that I'm going to toss you out anyway?"

"Because no one ever wants the weird broken kid." Luz quietly admitted after a moment. The two things were always too much for people to handle. It was why she had tried and failed to tone down some of her quirks. One was apparently one thing. But two? Was just simply too much. Or at least that's what she had remembered one set of almost parents saying at one point. 

"But I do." Eda's voice broke Luz out of her self-deprecating train of thought. Looking up at her, startled. "Kid, do you think I just take in any kid with a pity story from off the street? If I did that, this place would probably be packed. I wouldn't have taken you in if I wasn't prepared to deal with anything that came along with it. I'm not going to kick you out just because there were some unexpected surprises. Especially since, among other things, it would make me a huge hypocrite." 

After all, she had hidden her own curse after all from Luz and King. She may have wished Luz had told her sooner. But at the same time, she did understand the element of fear that came with those kinds of actions. 

Eda was a bit surprised when she suddenly found herself being wrapped around in the 'parallel-arm' thing. Before relaxing slightly and returning the gesture. She may not always get it, but she did understand whatever it was, was important to Luz. And she needed it right now for whatever reason. Finally, after Luz pulled back, she asked. "So you don't know what caused it huh?"

Luz shook her head. "No, it's just been something I've had to deal with since the accident. Getting into someone who could maybe help me back home has been  difficult ."

"Yeah, I bet." Eda said with a frown. "Well, I can't say how much will change here. Since your a human in the Demon Realm. But we can at least try and see if we can find someone to help you if you want."

Luz lit up at the prospect. "Really?" At Eda's nod, she smiled and hugged again against Eda's protest this time. "Thank you so much."

Eda hid a small smile at that though it was mask rather quickly. "Yeah, yeah. Why don't you go upstairs for now? You're still off from delivery rounds for another day. I don't want you getting sick again from pushing too soon. For one, I'm sure Lily would have my head if I sent you out too soon to make deliveries." Luz winced at the reminder of the first day of being ill. "Anyways, I'm sure you can find something to do while I make some calls." 

Eda tapped her arm for a moment, thinking on what to do next as Luz headed back upstairs to her room. She wanted really to get some help for Luz, but she wasn't sure where to start honestly. Over the years she had just learned to live with the curse on her own for a while now. But just because she did that didn't mean Luz had to necessarily. Though there was the problem of not knowing how to get Luz some help. Maybe the Parks or Morton might know someone that could help out? It was worth a shot at least.  

Chapter Text

Chapter 4

Hiding From the Boogeyman

When Eda had been called to Hexside to talk about something that had happened in one of Luz's classes. A dozen scenarios had run amock in her head. However, not one of them was the one she ended up facing. As she stared at the face very much younger Luz, then the one that had left home this morning. "What happened?" Eda asked, finally tearing her eyes away from Luz for a moment to question Bump on just what exactly had happened.

"That's what we are still trying to figure out, actually." Bump admitted with some reluctance. "We know there was an incident in one of her potions classes. And it resulted in her becoming well this. But we're unsure as to why it happened."

"None of the other kids transformed into small children?" Eda asked, raising an eyebrow. Wondering how it was just their luck that Luz was the one that got hit a potion that decided to de-aged her instead of doing whatever its original intention was.

Bump shook his head at the question. So most likely, it had something to deal with Luz being a human, then Eda realized. Well, something like this was probably bound to happen sooner than later. Though now, she was wondering how she was going to explain this to Camila. At least Luz hadn't gotten hurt in the accident. "Alright, kid, let's get you back to the house." A frown went over her face for a second when she thought she saw Luz shrink back at that. But any hint of trouble was gone as quickly as it had come.

Initially, Eda really hadn't many complaints about the temporary situation. As she was finding out, Luz was just as adorable as a small child as she could be as a teenager watching her play and interact with King and Hooty. 

However, after a day or so with young Luz, the amusement was starting to fade. And she was tempted to pull Camila over again the next time she had off from work. Since the behaviors were starting to become more than a bit concerning about what things had been like for Luz when she had been about this age. Since she discovered rather quickly, the child had a perpetuity to hide whenever Eda showed any intense emotion. 

Teenage Luz hadn't been without her issues. Her tendency to hide in her cat hoody when she got nervous or was possibly scheming was one of them. And maybe this was a prelude to that same behavior. Though it did make Eda wonder why Luz had developed it in the first place. 

However, when Willow and Gus came over to visit. Having been invited when some part of Eda hoping that Luz would recognize the two enough to finally relax for the first time in days. It brought up a new troubling aspect of the wanting to hide, most notably the fact Luz seemed to be a lot keener to learn about Gus' illusions then any of them had expected. Sure, teenage Luz had certainly been interested to see if she could use illusion magic. However, this seemed almost different in nature, more concerning definitely. As she seemed to skip over the plant magic and went straight to the illusion magic.

"Wow, can I do that?" Luz asked, directing her attention from Gus's illusion for a moment and directed the question at Eda. Who up until that point had just been watching.

"Er, well, if you can, we haven't been able to figure out how to yet," Eda admitted. Some of the other tracks at Hexside Luz still didn't have quite the same grasp as she did others. Abominations and illusion so far had proven trickier than others like beast keeping and potions. Not that it had stopped teenage Luz from trying to find glyphs to do her own version of the magic. "I'm sure there's a way to do it. We can always try looking again later."

Eda was briefly surprised by how disappointed Luz was looking at that. Adding that to the growing list of concerning things to her, why was the kid so insistent on learning illusion magic? She really did need to try and talk to Camila about this. If she could get a straight answer out of her. Maybe a truth potion was in order...

Looking back at the group. It looked like she wasn't the only one with concerns. If the frown on Willow's face was anything to go by. "Eda-"

Eda cut her off. "Let's talk in the kitchen." She wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to have this talk in earshot of Luz yet. "Can you two stay out of trouble for ten minutes?" Eda asked, directing the question towards Luz and Gus. Though Luz was still too entranced by the illusion to pay her much, Gus gave her a quick nod.

"So you noticed something is up too, huh?" Eda asked as they settled into the kitchen area out of earshot of Luz.

"Kind of hard to miss," Willow said with a frown. "Do you know why she's acting this way?"

Eda shook her head. "Not really, unfortunately. Luz, the one we know, only occasionally talked about her childhood. And it was usually from when she was slightly older than this." Something that seemed intentional now looking back. "When she did talk about it, though, there was never a mention of any real problems."

There was a piece of the puzzle here she wasn't seeing yet. And it was driving her nuts. What was it about Luz's history that was missing that made it all come together?

"She never said anything to us either. She's mentioned problems with classmates before though something about this seems different." Willow noted. "I don't really understand the hyper fixation on illusions, though."

Eda, unfortunately, had already pretty much figured that part out. And she didn't like what it meant. "She wants to have a more efficeint way to hide, I think. I've had to coax her out of a closet what feels like half a dozen times now. The kid seems to think its the best place to go to be safe for some reason. Since it always happens after when she misinterpreted a comment I made as anger towards her." Eda said.

Today instead of hopefully assuring Luz, the situation had caused more concerns for Eda. She had thought that the kid tended to hide whenever anyone older then her got too emotional. This was why looking back, maybe inviting the older kids over had been questionable even if she had good intentions to begin with. But the interaction with Willow and Gus had just disproved that. Luz was apparently mainly scared of adults. 

It was becoming evident that no matter how much she would rather not bring Camila in right away with her new concerns. Worrying that it might just make the situation worse if Camila was at the center of it in the worst way possible. She probably wouldn't be able to get away with it. She needed to know what had changed that Luz wasn't nearly as fearful as a teenager. However, that also meant bringing Camila in. And without more info...she was worried that might make things worse. 

For a bit, it seemed like things almost settled down. Luz almost seemed to think that Willow and Gus were okay with her that she was safe. Or whatever the concern kid Luz had with Eda was. However, that sense of security didn't last very long. As she soon found herself kneeling in front of one of the closets trying to coax a reluctant Luz out of it yet again. The only responses so far being muttered phrases that Eda hadn't been able to make high nor hare of so far. "Kid, I can't understand you when your mumbling into your shirt like that," Eda said, a bit of exasperation coming through despite her intentions to not do anything that might scare the kid off.

"I want Aunty Camila." Luz finally raised her head enough to be heard clearly.

Eda blinked in surprise a couple of times. Aunty? Well, that was a new piece of information neither of the Nocedas had mentioned before. Luz had always referred to Camila as mami. Though it did possibly answer a couple of her questions. 

Eda hated to admit it. She still didn't want to bring Camila in, but it could possibly point to another source for Luz's problems. Camila being Luz's aunt, originally did maybe give some answers to the questions that had bothered her for the past several days. And did provide some relief. Since it seemed entirely possible, she had been drawing the wrong conclusions about what had happened since the accident had occurred. She just hoped she was making the right decision by doing this. 

Eda hung back from the closet, watching carefully as Camila tried to coax Luz out of it. Carefully watching as some part of her wondered again when the counter potion would be done. Only glancing over at the duo when she heard the tail end of Camila mentioning something about being on the Boiling Isles. 

For a moment, Eda saw a flash of surprise and excitement flash across Luz's face before the nervous, worried mask went right back on. Though it was annoying to see leave as quickly as it had come. It was a bit assuring to see a bit of the Luz she had grown to care for in the past two months. Curiosity started to peak again as she heard Luz ask. "But what if he somehow manages to find me?" 

"He doesn't even know this place exists, Mija. And if he did, he would have a hard time getting past Eda." Camila motioned back at her. 

Eda may not really know the 'he' either Luz or Camila talked about, but that wasn't entirely going to stop her. "Yeah, he'll find it hard to get past the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles," Eda said with a twirl of the staff. "If Emperor's Coven guards can't get to me. Neither can he get to you or me."

Camila gave her a grateful smile at that before turning her full attention to Luz. "See. He'll have a hard time getting to you. You don't need to hide in the closet here, Mija. Your safe, and I'm safe." Seeing Luz continue to hesitate, she added. "And remember what I told you before."

Eda was left briefly wondering for a moment what that statement was. As she saw the young Luz relax slightly for a moment. And finally, with a bit more coaxing, exited the closet.

Luz had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room a little while later, leaving just Camila and Eda to talk in the kitchen. "Thanks for coming when I called," Eda said, starting to relax slightly now that it was looking more likely some of her assumptions had been mistakes she had made. 

Camila waved it off. "It wasn't a problem. I'll always make time for her. Besides, someone needed to coax her out before she decided that it was safest to stay there before you could administer the counter potion." Camila admitted. Causing Eda to frown, but before she could question the statement further, Camila started again. "So, you must have some questions about Luz's behavior since she got de-aged."

That was maybe downplaying it, Eda mentally noted before saying out loud. "Yeah, the hiding in closets behavior and a suddenly developed interest in illusion magic that wasn't there before is a bit eye browsing raising I gotta admit." But then again, she was assuming that wasn't normal behavior. 

Camila let out a sigh before glancing back at the sleeping form of Luz on the couch. "Yeah, she used to do that a lot more when she was younger." Camila paused for a moment, seeming to be considering her next words before starting again. "Luz is actually my niece. I adopted her when she was six after it became apparent that my sister and her husband weren't fit to be raising her."

Eda felt several puzzle pieces click together at once at that statement. Suddenly a lot of things that hadn't made sense before were cast in a new light. "She was  abused." She said more than questioned cut herself off before she got started on an angry tangent that could wake up the kid and scare her all over again. Camila's nod was the confirmation she needed to that question. "How bad was it?"

Camila seemed to hesitate to answer that, and right about as Eda was going to push for more details, she finally answered. "I found out when I did because she landed in the hospital I was working at at the time." She glanced over at Luz, a guilty expression coming over her. Ignoring the sharp intake from Eda as she continued. "I knew things weren't perfect at my sister's place. But until that moment, I didn't realize how bad it was. It wasn't until I had an emotional child pleading not to send her back that I realized how bad things I had let things get." 

It was something she still beats herself up about not realizing sooner. If she had, she would have applied for emergency custody much sooner. As it was, she wished she had used more of her own common sense to realize Luz needed to be separated from her parents before she had ever landed in the ER.

Eda's first inclination was to rage against Luz's apparent birth parents and maybe a tiny bit against Camila for not getting the kid out sooner. But judging by Camila's face, the woman was already beating herself up enough about not stepping in sooner. So she decided to bypass that entirely. "So, I'm guessing the closet activity goes back to how things were with her birth parents?" Eda guessed. Camila nodded her head at the question. Well, that explained the illusion thing as well. Probably Luz had been looking for another way to hide from her parents. "So then what's the best thing to do if she decides to retreat to the closet again?" 

"The best way to do things tended to vary a bit. Sometimes she could be talked out like today. Usually, when she was feeling a bit brave." Camila gave a sad smile at that. "Sometimes, it was just easier to sit with her until she felt ready. Just be patient, and she should come around rather quickly." 

Despite Camila's repeated assurances to Luz, she was safe at The Owl House before leaving at the end of the day. The issues didn't go away immediately. As became apparent a couple of days later. When Eda got an unexpected surprise. 

When Luz had gone missing again, Eda had fallen into the usual routine of checking the closets. Only to this time to find them seemingly empty. Which meant one of two things, one, Luz had somehow finally figured out the glyph aspect to illusion magic. Or two she had run off into the woods. At least narrowing it down should be pretty quick before Luz put herself into some kind of danger. "King, wake up. I need your help. Luz has gone missing." She nudged the sleeping demon from his slumber.

"She's not in the house?" King stretched a bit, sitting up. "I don't remember hearing her go out the front door while you were working on potions."

"And you were also taking a nap and could have just as easily missed her." Eda counterpointed. "Look, just help me find her. I'm worried she might have wandered off into the woods. And without ready access to glyphs, I'm worried she might get lost or worse hurt somehow if she bumps into the wrong 'neighbors.' You have a better nose for tracking then I do. So you are the best one to locate her." 

King only gave a slight grumble of protest. Though it was more of a front than anything. Since they both knew how much of a soft spot he had developed for their Luz, and by extension, kid Luz. 

Eda was only mildly surprised when King ended up leading them back to the same closet from the other day. Tapping something in front of him that she had thought was air at first. But a soft meep confirmed the presence of Luz. So Luz had apparently figured out how to work an illusion glyph. Though the fact she hadn't said anything was a bit concerning. "You alright, kid?"

When Luz tried to ignore that question, Eda let out a small sigh. "Kid, I know you're there. I'm not mad." Actually, she was rather impressed kid Luz had managed to figure out the illusion glyph. She must have really wanted it so she could hide from her birth parents after she went back home. "Actually, I'm rather proud. Just because it's done differently doesn't make it easier if observing your older self has shown me anything." 

There was a beat of silence for a moment before a shy admission came from Luz. "It actually took a few tries to get right." 

That wasn't too much of a surprise considering the more complex magics seemed to be more finicky. Still, the fact kid Luz had managed it at all was an impressive feat. She just hoped Luz realized that. "So, do you feel okay enough to drop the magic? Or do you want to stay like that for a bit longer?"

Eda could hear Luz's feet shuffling for a second. "I actually don't know how to undo it." Luz's voice said a moment later. And while she couldn't see her face, Eda could hear the embarrassment in her tone in having got herself stuck like that.

"Well, that's easy enough to fix," Eda said, summoning Owlbert into her hand. A small spell circle later, and Luz was standing in front of her like usual.

"Sorry for causing any trouble Ms. Eda." Luz said. "I didn't realize I was going to get stuck like that."

Eda waved off the apology. "Nah, don't worry about it. I've had to help your teenage self out of trouble caused by her magic in the past. I've come to learn to expect it." At least nothing had got damaged this time.

"Also, I got to say good job on figuring out the glyph as quickly as you did. Even when your older stuff has found it in the past, it sometimes took her a bit to get it right." Eda praised Luz for a moment. She may not have been happy why Luz had tried to figure out the illusion glyph. But that didn't change the pride she was feeling. 

Even as she felt terrible that this was coming now with a warning. Something to keep in mind if she remembered any of this by the time she got back to her normal self. One she hated to give but had to none the less. "Though kid, I have to warn you. As far as we know, the glyph magic doesn't work in the human realm." Seeing the scared and disappointed look on Luz's face was enough to get her to quickly add. "Though we can try and see if we can change that before you go back."

The way Luz's face lit up at that was going to make any trouble caused by rearranging her schedule to accommodate it worth all the while if Eda could pull this off. 

Luz seemed to finally relax over the remainder of her stay. It seemed learning the illusion glyph and Eda's promise had done the trick that all of the other conversations had failed to do. Things weren't exactly perfect as they usually were. But at least the kid wasn't jumping nearly as much by the time she finally was administered the counter potion. 

"I just wished I could have helped you figure out how to do magic back home," Eda said as they settled back onto the couch. It was the one thing that had evaded her no matter how many tomes she had turned over during kid Luz's time on the Boiling Isles. "I really wanted to do something for her, you, whatever that could help still when back home." Despite the fact, the potion needed to be administered, and Eda knew that. It still hurt that she couldn't have had a bit more time to help Luz.

"Actually, you still kind of did," Luz admitted. Seeing the look of surprise on Eda's face, she further explained. "You may have not been able to fix the magic thing to help me hide from my birth father. But you were part of the reason I turned to mami when id did. At that point in my childhood, I was still trying to figure out how much I could actually trust mami. What you did during that week kind of inadvertently was what got kid me to finally come clean to her when I landed in the hospital the next time."

Considering how shy Luz had still been at the end of her stay at that time, Eda was surprised that she had made that much of an influence. But she was glad she had a hand in somehow getting Luz out of there finally. "Well, I'm glad at least one good thing came from last week's adventures." Even if it wasn't the result, she had wanted. One good thing was better than none, she supposed.

"Two things." Luz corrected with a chuckle. "Remember Amity was the one that introduced me to  The Good Witch Azura  books." Before that escapade to the 'future,' Luz hadn't even known they had existed. She really did owe Amity, and by extension, Eda, thanks for that. They had been a good form of escapism when everything had been thrown up in the air when her mami had removed her from her birth parents' house.

Eda let out a playful groan at that. When she had invited Amity over during the weekend, she had been hoping to give Luz someone to connect with. Since what she knew from Camila, she had been obsessively reading the books for years. "I still can't believe that she was the one that actually introduced you to that." Something she still couldn't decide if it was a good or bad thing with how damn flowery they got at times. "Do you actually still have that copy?" She asked, wondering aloud for a moment.

Luz nodded. "Yeah, that copy's back at mami's house. The one I keep here is a copy I got later. It came to mean a lot to me when family stuff turned to turmoil, so I tend to treat it carefully." It had become a sign that eventually, things would work out. A reminder that at some point, some when things would turn out okay. And that had, in turn, come to mean a lot to her. She took a breath before starting again. "So I know you must have questions-"

Eda waved it off. "Camila answered my most pressing concerns. So I'm good. Though I can't say the same for your friends." Luz winced at that. "Willow, I know picked up that something was off though I never did tell her what. Gus and Amity, I'm not so sure how much they might have realized something was off."

Luz let out a small sigh and made a note to explain to Willow the story. Since the last thing she needed was one of her friends getting overprotective towards her Mami when it was wholly unnecessary. Standing up to go grab the crystal ball and make a call.

"Though kid, one more thing." Luz stopped when Eda spoke again. "I don't need to know. But if you ever just want to talk about what life was like before you ended up with Camila. Don't be afraid to talk to me. My family wasn't nearly as bad. But I'm not going to say we weren't without our messes either."

"Thanks, Eda," Luz said with a tight smile. "I don't think I'm really ready to talk about it." Or if she would ever be ready honestly. "But I'll try to remember that."

End Chapter 3

Chapter Text

There was an unspoken agreement between Luz and Amity whenever they hung out. Luz didn't ask about why Amity was now living with Lilith as her ward. Amity didn't ask about why she had been sent to some strange summer camp to change her.

Of course, the agreement only could last as long as something didn't come in to change that. Though it was probably inevitable that it would happen eventually with how often the group hung out together. Which one day, almost two weeks after Luz had first arrived on the Isles, it finally did.

It was supposed to be a simple outing to a nearby park. Just a nice leisurely afternoon together away from their two respective mentors. So how was such a simple get together able to go so horribly wrong, Amity wondered? 

"Don't be so testy about this Amity, if you simply would come with us, you'll see-" Her father asked, trying and failing to put on some sort of pleasantries. Amity mentally corrected herself to Alado. He hadn't been a father to her in years. If he had even been one arguably at all. 

"Have you lost your mind?" Amity just about snapped. Confusion finally winning out over the strange mix of emotions that were going through her right now.  They weren't supposed to be able to get this close.  Lilith had spent a lot of time and effort, making sure of that. So how in the world had they ended up in this situation? 

"Do you even remember what happened the last time I was allowed to be around you?" Amity asked. It had been right before the twins had been moved to their apprenticeships. It had been the whole reason she was supposed to have a restraining order in place in the first place!

"Now come, dear. Don't you think you make more of a scene over a simple matter?" Odalia asked, raising an eyebrow.

Amity bit her lip to keep from making a comment back. As much as she wanted to retort, Odalia had the upper hand at the moment as the staff pressed into Luz's throat was an all too important reminder of. Until help got there, she had to be careful about how she played her cards. No matter how much she wanted to remind them how, it had actually gone down all those years ago. She couldn't, not with Luz's life on the line. 

Thankfully before Odalia could possibly dig herself further. A sharp smacking noise was what got Odalia to finally release her grip on Luz and the staff dropping to the floor. Luz rubbed her throat as she tried to figure out what happened before realizing she was free and scrambling away from the dazed Odalia. A moment later, realizing what had happened as she caught sight of a furious, almost glowing, Eda as she hovered in the air just a few feet short of where Odalia had ended up.

"Stay out of this, Edalyn. It doesn't involve you," Odalia snapped at the new arrival. Turning her attention away from Amity and Luz for the moment. 

"Three things. First off, you don't have any right to call me by my given name, minty." Eda said as she started to build a larger spell circle, not even really pausing. "Second off. This became my business the minute you decide to hurt  my kid  to get at my sister's kid." Eda said, unleashing the spell she had been building onto the two elder Blights.

"That's only two things," Alador noted, confused by the obvious pause.

Oh, Eda had a third thing. She had just been waiting for the opportune moment to deliver the punch line. "Third, maybe you should learn not to turn your back on the very people you were antagonizing in the first place." Eda's comment was the only warning either of the Blights got before one of Amity's Abomination fists slammed into them, knocking them flat on the floor.

They didn't get back up, and Eda cautiously was the first to approach. "Looks like you knocked them out, kid," Eda said as she poked the form Odalia for a moment with the end of her staff. Before taking a step back and turning to the other two.

"I didn't mean to put that much power behind it," Amity said. "I was just trying to get them to stop." It wasn't exactly the first time she had used the spell to that method. But it had been so long since she had needed to use that in that exact method. Being Lilith's ward meant she hadn't usually needed the same protection level, or at least not at home.

"Eh, to be quiet frank, they deserve it for causing this trouble," Eda said with a shrug. "Besides, it took care of the problem rather quickly." It certainly had solved her issue of how to knock out both older Blights at once. Turning her attention fully to Luz and Amity, she asked. "Did either of you get hurt?"

Amity shook her head no. They had seemed more interested in using Luz as a negotiating tactic then hurting her. At least at first. "Odalia was holding Luz at staff point, though."

"Yeah, I saw that as I came up. Here let me see your throat, kid." Eda said. Luz reluctantly dropped the hand she had been holding in front of her throat for a moment. And Eda could start to see the beginning of a bruise beginning to form. "Well, that's going to hurt. And I want to take another look at it when we get home. Did she hit either of you two anywhere else?" 

Another head shake followed by Eda, giving a sigh of relief. Glad that she had found them when she had. Rapid footsteps a moment later signaled the arrival of Lilith. 

"Your kids okay. Mine was used as a hostage." Eda answered the query of the two kids being okay. She was starting to feel a bit cross now that she was sure Luz was mostly okay. 

Amity and Lilith gave a collective wince at that. Eda pinched her nose. "I'm not mad at you, kid. I doubt you wanted to see your parents." She was about to say she was mad at Lilith, but she wasn't entirely sure that was accurate either. She was more confused and concerned than anything else. She had let the Blight situation slide by because it didn't concern her. But now they had made their business part of hers, by threatening her kid. 

Lilith glanced at the unconscious forms of the Blights and could feel a headache coming on. "There's  supposed  to be a restraining order against them to prevent this from happening," Lilith said, massaging her forehead, wondering just how they had managed to get around that piece of magic. All signs were pointing to less than scrupulous forms of magic practicers. Maybe another Night Market raid might be in order...

"Well, at least this mess should give you time to sort this out without them running around," Eda said. At least one good thing had come fo this, she supposed.

Noticing the wince again from Amity, Eda raised an eyebrow. "Alright, what now?"

"Charges never seem to stick against them." Amity reluctantly admitted.

Eda glanced at Lilith, who nodded her head in affirmation. "Well, if that isn't a pleasant thought to end on. Anyways come by the house when you're done dealing with them." Seeing the way Amity shrank back at that, she softened for a second. "Don't worry, I'm not mad at you." That may have been true at first, but she was getting the feeling Amity hadn't wanted this to happen as much as she did. "I just want to talk about the mess with Lily." 

For everyone's safety and to avoid a repeat incident of today, she needed to know exactly what was happening with the Blights. Or in the case of Amity, former Blight. Since it was apparent, they couldn't quite contain it within the direct family and the children's various guardians. 

The ride back to The Owl House had been quiet. And Eda hadn't wasted any time giving Luz a second look once home. 

"Let me see it again," Eda said, getting the girl to move her hand away from her throat. She had checked it back in town to make sure it wasn't going to cause some immediate danger. But now that she wasn't worried about the guards possibly causing additional problems, she wanted to take a second look.

Eda could see the start of what looked like a bruise from where the staff's tip had been pressing, but other then that didn't look too bad. Though judging by how hoarse Luz was earlier, having it was going to have its effects for a bit to come. "Alright, it looks bruised at the very least. Anyways you're going to need and try to take it easy on your voice for a bit to let it heal. I'm going to go grab some potions to help. But remember what with like with the hair growth potion. We won't know entirely how much the potions will help until you start taking them."

"What happened anyway?" King asked as he looked between Luz and the retreating form of Eda heading into the kitchen.

"The Blight parents tried to use Luz as a negotiating tactic to get Amity," Eda called back. 

"Oh, I thought we were cool after the whole incident with you being transformed into an owl beast," King said, sounding a bit disappointed at the new development. 

Eda winced at the reminder of the incident that had lead to her and Lily initially getting back on speaking terms before saying. "We still are 'cool' as you so put it. Amity clearly didn't want anything to do with her parents. It was them causing all the problems."

King frowned. He didn't know as much about Amity as he did Luz, but the impression he had got during the very misadventures was. "I thought her parents weren't in her life?"

"They're not supposed to be," Luz added. Shutting her mouth when she got a pointed look from Eda.

Eda turned her attention away from Luz for a moment to answer King. "Kids right. There's a restraining order against them and all that, according to Lily. It shouldn't have been possible for them to that physically close to cause today's problems." Seeing Luz about to ask a question, she stopped her in a mild scolding tone. "Write it down, kid. You're not going to help that heal if you keep trying to talk around it."

Luz flushed at that before grabbing her notepad, writing down the question. 'Do restraining orders work differently here? Back home, it's just if you get within a certain distance you get the cops called if you're caught.'

"Yeah, we have magic at play here," Eda said, handing the paper back to Luz before continuing. "How its  supposed  to work is if the party the order is ordering to stay away gets to close, it's supposed to force them back and if they still ignore it, teleport them out. While alerting the appropriate authorities. And with the minimum distance, at least her parents should never have been anywhere near that close enough to grab you or cause any of the other trouble that happened today."

'Oh, so someone undid the spell then.' Luz realized.

"That's what it seems like. Lily's going to have her hands' full tracking down whoever did that." Eda noted. Lilith was going to have her hands full with that. And she didn't pity the fool that had made the mistake of helping the Blights perform that particular bit of magic. 

'Could someone have maybe appealed it to get it taken away?' Luz asked, frowning slightly.

"I'm actually not entirely sure if that's an option," Eda admitted with a frown. She didn't know if you could undo an order spell like that. "However, I'll ask Lily about it just to check."

Lilith and Amity had finally shown up almost two hours later. Luz had started nursing a hot drink while waiting though moving to engage with Amity as soon as she spotted the other girl. While Luz and Amity interacted, Eda, pulled Lilith into the kitchen to talk about what had happened today. "Apple blood?" Eda offered up the drink as they settled into the kitchen.

Lilith almost seemed to consider it for a moment before shaking her head. "No, I already have enough of a headache from having dealt with Odalia and Alador today. I don't feel like unnecessarily adding to that."

Eda gave a sympathetic wince at that. "I'll take it, then they're as bad now as they were in school then."

"Worse," Lilith admitted. "At least when they were students they had to report to someone, they're parents usually. Now there's hardly anyone to keep them in check. Which, in turn, leads to situations like today."

Eda raised an eyebrow at that now left with more questions than answers. "So if that's the case. Then I've got to wonder how you got Amity. Or managed to get the twins out from under their noses for that matter."

Lilith flushed at that. While she was glad that she got Amity and the twins out. She wasn't entirely proud of how she had to do it. "I had to blackmail them into cooperating. Looking back now, I should have realized this was going to probably come back to haunt me sooner then later." Lilith said. 

"You  blackmailed  them?" Eda's eyebrows shot up at that. It sounded like such a foreign concept to her. Straight-laced, Lilith had blackmailed someone, even if it had been for the good of another person. It was such a strange idea for her to wrap her head around. 

"As I said, it wasn't my proudest moment, but I was desperate, and something  needed  to be done," Lilith admitted. She would much instead have used other more proper methods to get Amity under her care. Unfortunately, the Blights had made that impossible outside of drastic measures. "However, I really didn't have a choice. They weren't going to let her go easily otherwise. Or the twins when I had to later step in to assist them."

Eda let out a low whistle. "You were really desperate to get all of them out then." This really raised the question for her then of what had happened. After today's events, she really earnestly needed to know the dysfunctional Blight family's story. Or at least enough to know what to expect if the elder Blights tried to cause them any more trouble.

Lilith closed her eyes for a moment. "You weren't there when it happened, of course. And to be honest, it wasn't so much the incident and the harm inflicted on Amity itself if I remember correctly that made me act when I did." A lot of details on what had happened had since faded with time. "As much as it was that the twins felt desperate enough to run through a driving storm to get her to me." 

A lot of things had been lost to time. However, that image had not been one of them. Before then, Lilith had known for a while that things hadn't been quite right in the Blight household. However, up until that night, when the twins had shown up on her doorstep in the boiling rain, one carrying Amity and the other holding up a shield to keep them dry from the rain. Had she begun to realize just how bad things were. That had been the turning point in her raising Amity. 

Eda let out a whistle at that. The fact that two kids had deemed it safer to flee into a boiling rainstorm for their sister's protection. Then stay safe in the manor spoke volumes for all the wrong reasons. "Well, I'm glad you got her out then. Though if they didn't care much about her, then" 

Lilith frowned, thinking for a moment before answering the question. "Its only a guess until I have a chance to talk to them again. But I think it deals with appearances. High society families like their's talk. Even if they continuously dismissed their children's absence as being part of their apprenticheship. Someone was bound to catch on that there was something else happening sooner or later." She paused for a moment. "I just wish I knew how they had managed to undo the restraining order." That was going to be a headache to fix.

Eda frowned again at the reminder of the undone orders and Luz's earlier suggestion. "Luz actually wondered if they could have maybe someone undo it officially. Instead of back-alley dealings like I'm sure both of us thought."

Lilith frowned at that. "I guess that's possible. Though I feel like I would have heard something about it going through official channels if that was the case." But then again, it could have been hidden from her intentionally. Either way, it was another avenue she couldn't completely dismiss. Not yet, at least.

"Speaking of Luz. You might want to consider getting Luz a scroll of her own in case of emergencies." Lilith said after a moment of silence. "I would like to say that Odalia and Alador won't cause any of us trouble again. However, they already found their way around once piece of magic that was supposed to be impassible. I wouldn't be shocked if they caused problems again."

Eda winced at the possibility. "Yeah, your probably right. Between the Owl Beast and this, it's not safe for her to have some sort of outside contact that isn't back to the human realm." 

Actually, now that her thought was on Luz's safety, she started to think about the kid's training. Maybe it was about time she tried to focus the intent of Luz's training more. With the amount of trouble, the girl seemed to attract entirely by accident. A shield spell and a couple more offensive spells could do her wonders. Though the problem was, as always, finding the associated glyphs.

Chapter Text

The first time Eda had to deal with one of Luz's nightmares was the first time she had really gotten sick after arriving on the Boiling Isles. 

Eda had already moved Luz up to her nest after Luz's most recent failed escapade. Wanting to make sure that if somehow in the fever-driven delusion, Luz seemed to think she needed to leave yet again, she would be able to quickly stop the girl. So it hadn't taken much to wake her up when Luz's dreams had taken a turn for the worse.

Eda was woken up sometime in the early hours by an increasing volume of rushed words from Luz. Ignoring what the kid was saying for a moment as her hand moved over the kid's forehead, she frowned. Looks like the fever was threatening to spike again. However, she couldn't exactly carry a delirious Luz and fetch the potion at the same time. Well, she could, but then she risked smashing the very potion bottle she needed so best not to risk it. Instead, opting to wake King up and send him after it and a bowl of cold water before turning her attention fully to Luz.

With King off, Eda turned her attention back to the still sleeping Luz. Rousing her turned out to be easier than she had expected as she soon found a pair of arms wrapping around her. She still wasn't entirely sure what Luz was saying. The use of the two languages could be a bit confusing at times to deal with. Only catching a few words here and there in English. However, she had a small idea just based on hearing the words 'home' and 'scared,' among other things. Eda gave Luz a reassuring pat on the head. "It's alright kid. Your safe back at The Owl House. Where no one's going to make you leave."

Luz gave a loud sniff before looking up at Eda. "Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you up."

Eda scowled slightly at that, with her voice taking on a slightly scolding tone. "Hey. No apologizing. You can't control getting sick, and you certainly don't have control over whatever nightmares decide to cause problems." She would know personally with the latter.

Luz looked away from Eda for a second muttering. "But, I still woke you."

Eda let out a frustrated sigh at that. She wasn't sure if it was the fever or what. However, it seemed Luz was being particularly stubborn at the moment. "Yeah, and that was because of something out of your control." If anyone was to blame, it was the people that had caused the incidents that had scared Luz enough to cause her nightmares. Definitely not Luz herself. "Don't fret about it kid." Eda said as she noticed King had dropped the potion passing the potion to Luz, she added. "And if you're that concerned about upsetting me, then we should have a long talk when you're better." 

Actually, regardless they needed to have a long talk. The longer Luz was ill, the more questions Eda had. She couldn't just let this slide anymore. She and Luz had to talk once she was better. 

Luz took the offered potion. "Thanks, Eda. I'll try to think on that." Yeah, there was not going to be much of thinking on it. They had to address the subject matter finally. Not that she was going to fight Luz on that right now. As Luz was starting to slip back into sleep land, she muttered a couple more rambles before falling back into sleep land.  "Por favor, no me dejes.  I'll be good, I promise." Was the last thing out of her mouth before sleep completely overtook her.

Eda winced at the pleading in Luz's tone. Removing her hand for a moment and putting a new cooling towel on Luz's forehead before turning her full attention back to what she thought Luz had said. 

Eda may not have entirely understood the Spanish part of that, she really needed to get Luz to teach her Spanish once she was better, but combined with the later part, she was fairly certain what Luz had said. Talking to the only half awake, Luz running a hand through the younger girl's hair for a moment, taIt'sng even if she knew Luz wouldn't hear her. Maybe it would at least drive some of the nightmares away for once. "It's alright, kid, you don't have to leave. I don't think much could scare me off at this point, no matter what you think. If chasing after a puppeteer demon that used you as bait didn't scare me off. A little illness sure isn't going to do the job." 

That somehow seemed to finally get through to Luz as she seemed to almost relax for a moment in her sleep. Eda watched for a moment more before seemingly assured that Luz was really out for the count before saying to herself. "Oh kid, I wish you would tell me what's gotten you so scared." She said more to herself than to Luz. 

"Why does she keep thinking that you're going to make her leave?" King's question was what broke Eda out of her musings. Frowning, looking between the two of them. 

Eda gave a small shrug at that. "I honestly don't know the answer to that King. I wish I did, though." 

"It-it wasn't anything we did, right?" King asked a bit hesitantly.

"No, or at least not that I'm aware of," Eda admitted. "This seems to be something to deal with her life on Earth. Even if I'm not sure what though." Eda said after a moment of contemplation. "For now, there's not much we can do. Not until she's better, at least. Let's try and get some sleep. Who knows, maybe Luz will feel up to finally answering questions in the morning." 

King fell back into slumberland shortly after leaving Eda with her thoughts. King's question had raised a real question she hadn't really considered. What if Luz's issue wasn't something caused by her Earth life. What if instead, it was something she had somehow caused? 

Eda didn't want to think she had hurt the kid. She did genuinely care for Luz, and the thought of hurting her pained Eda even if she might not admit it out loud. 

However, with Luz's own share of secrets, she couldn't put the thought entirely out of her mind. Not knowing a lot about Luz's previous life was starting to come back to bite her in the worst way possible it felt like.

One way or another way, one thing was clear. Luz needed to explain some things to her when she was finally feeling better. It felt like Eda only really had half the story at times, and when she only had part of the story, she couldn't help Luz nearly as much. So, at least partially, Luz needed to come clean about what her life on Earth had actually been like. They couldn't afford to keep any more big secrets like what had caused her to hide her illness.

It would be a few more days before she would finally come to understand things finally. When Luz, with a great deal of reluctance, finally opened up about her issues back on Earth. The driving force behind the nightmares and the fever based delusions. The driving force behind her fleeing through the portal even if she wouldn't say those words quite yet. That would come even later.

However, for now, Eda didn't know any of that. So all she could do was work with what she had and reassure Luz that she didn't have to go anywhere. While just hoping that she somehow hadn't made things worse.

Even after the fever had long since faded. Well, after she and Luz had a long discussion about her life back on Earth. Luz was still a bit jumpy about coming to Eda about personal matters. Fearing that, Eda would change her mind in an instant about the whole matter. 

For Eda, it was a frustrating thing to watch. She knew years of abandonment couldn't be washed away by one simple reassurance. She knew she had to let Luz come to her first, not the other way around. That it was going to take a fair share of time and steadfastness before the girl realized that she was sincere to her word. That she wasn't going to walk out on Luz because of something she couldn't control. No one, let alone a child like Luz, deserved to be put through that. However, that didn't make it hurt any less to see how much Luz had been hurt that she had developed trust issues.

Slowly, but indeed Luz did start to let her guard down. The first real sign came almost a week after Luz had shared her story with Eda...

It was late, sometime in the early morning, when Eda was woken by the creak that was her door opening. First, reaching for the staff, unsure what was going on, having just woken up. Only to relax a moment later as she recognized the figure in the doorway.

"Kid?" Eda blinked at the figure of Luz standing in the doorway, holding King in her arms, face lit up for a moment by a lightning strike outside. Eda frowned slightly as she saw the kid flinch slightly as a rumble of thunder echoed through the room a moment later. "Everything okay?" Before realizing that it was a stupid question in hindsight, Luz wouldn't be here if it was.

Luz opened her mouth to answer before seeming to decide against it muttering. "It's nothing. Sorry for bothering you."

Eda sat up fully in the nest, now frowning at Luz as she started to try and make a hasty retreat towards the bedroom door calling. "Kid, it's clearly not nothing if you showed up at my door at too early o'clock in the morning. Come here, kid. What's got you all worked up?" 

Luz floundered in the doorway for a moment. "It was just a stupid nightmare. Forget it, I don't want to be a bother."

Eda was surprised. Outside of the time, Luz had been sick, Luz hadn't really mentioned having nightmares. But the surprise didn't matter. What mattered was Luz needed her. "Kid, it's okay. You needing me after a nightmare isn't going to make me look down on you." Eda said as she tried to beckon Luz back over. Moments like this really made her want to bang heads back on Earth. However, now wasn't the time Luz needed her here. Not on Earth going after the people that had hurt her kid repeatedly. "Now, do you want to join me in here?" 

Luz chewed on her lip for a moment before finally taking a hesitant step in Eda's direction. "Are you sure I won't be a bother?" Something about being around Eda did feel reassuring after that last nightmare. However, even with Eda's assurances, she couldn't entirely shake the concern of being a problem.

"Kid, I wouldn't offer if it was." Eda reminded her as Luz slowly closed the gap before slipping into the nest. For a moment wondering if this was another aspect of life on Earth, beyond not having someone to really trust back there, showing itself. Before deciding, it wasn't that important at the moment. "What got you worked up anyway?"

"It's just bad nightmares." Luz finally admitted. Eda didn't respond to that and waited to see if Luz would elaborate. Eventually, a moment later. "It was storming just like this the night my parents died." 

Ah, nightmares about her parents' death. That certainly made sense considering the driving boiling storm going on outside the house right this moment. Though she wasn't entirely sure how to respond. How do you react to your ward coming to you about a nightmare about their parents' death of all things? She still didn't even know how they had died to begin with. Luz had skipped that little detail in her earlier explanation. "I wish I could make the storm go away. However, even for all my power, I can't exactly control the weather." Eda said, settling for something between a joke half-apology. 

Sometimes she wasn't entirely sure what to do, to be honest when it came to Luz's parents. She didn't know that much about the kind of grief Luz had. Hers were still alive. They just had been estranged for years now since her curse had gotten worse. Even her recent relationship with Lilith was a fairly new thing that had only begun after her sister had started teaching. 

"I know you would if you could," Luz mumbled, already starting to fall back asleep now comfortably settled into the nest. "Thanks, Eda."

The next time Eda had to help with a nightmare, King came to get her in the middle of the night. Rather than Luz seeking her out like the last time. 

At first, Eda thought it was in the same vein as the nightmare Luz had when she was laid up with a fever. The fear of her being driven out because her own 'curse' had gotten the better of her. 

However, it became apparent after a little bit that fear wasn't at the center of it. Unlike the other ones where Luz had been asking to stay, Luz was trying to getaway. From what she couldn't tell. A previous home was her best guess, but that was even more confusing. Luz had been seeking a home for a long time. So why had she been apparently fleeing one at some point?

At least she knew how to handle this one. Assurances of safety were a lot easier than trying to deal with fever dreams or experiences she had yet to deal with herself. Though as she dealt with a crying child in her arms who was still not quite awake, it didn't really hurt any less to see Luz that frantic or hurting.

It took a couple of minutes before Luz started to calm down and become more aware of her surroundings. "Eda?" Luz blinked up at Eda in confusion, apparently still not quite awake yet and only now realizing it was Eda with her.  

 "Yeah, that would be me. You finally awake kid?" Eda said, glancing down at Luz. 

"Yeah, um sorry about your nightshirt," Luz muttered, slightly embarrassed that she had gotten Eda's nightdress's front more than somewhat wet. 

"Eh, don't worry about it," Eda said, waving off the concern. "You alright kid? That sounded like it was a heck of a nightmare." Eda noted with a frown. She still didn't really understand Spanish. However, she did understand the tone. And between that and the intermingled English, it had painted a rather grizzly terrifying picture.

"Nothing I haven't dealt with before," Luz responded. Which did little to assure Eda about it. In fact, it did the opposite, really, and she waited to see if Luz would expand. 

There was a beat of silence before Luz answered the unasked question. "It was just one of the houses I was at." Eda felt rather than saw Luz shrug. "Some were better then others...that wasn't one of the good ones. That one was particularly bad and I try not to think about it. However, sometimes just it slips into my dreams for some reason."

Okay, that felt like an understatement. Considering what some of the statements had sounded like. "Kid, to be honest, it sounded like you were pleading with someone for-" Eda cut herself off before she finished that sentence. She really didn't want to think about the implications the nightmare raised. However, at the same time, she couldn't really drop it. She really did to know at least one thing. "Just how bad was it?" Eda finally settled on asking. She already had some guesses just based on the nightmare Luz was having and the strangled pleas. However, she was hoping Luz herself might be able to talk about them. Partly because she was hoping she was wrong in her assumptions. 

"I don't want to talk about it," Luz admitted. Hearing Eda's slight sigh, she added quickly slight panic, starting to build in her voice. "But if it makes a difference, I'll talk about it."

"Hey, hey, its okay. I'm not mad." Eda reassured her as she picked up on Luz's rising panic. "If you don't want to talk about it, then I don't need to know." As long as it wasn't hurting Luz anymore, then she could live with Luz's secrets. The key being that as long as Luz was no longer in danger, of course. "I just would have liked a face or name to the trouble because I would love to give them a piece of my mind." Preferably with the end of her staff. 

 "You can't, though," Luz said, mumbled into her nightdress. "They're in jail already." 

"Ah well, that certainly put a damper on plans," Eda said, almost pouting. She really did want to get back at the humans for hurting her kid. Though admittedly, that wasn't entirely a deterrent. If she could break into the Conformatorium, she should be able to break into a human jail system. Though there was the issue of figuring out where Luz's antagonizers actually were. She doubt Luz knew, and even if she did, it didn't feel right asking the kid that kind of question. Obviously, this was a touchy subject for her kid.

At least her disappointment had a good reaction as she heard Luz giggle slightly. "Thanks, Eda." 

Eda's nights had rarely been free of some sort of dreams, even when she was younger and newly cursed. 

Sometimes they were nightmares of the night she had been cursed. Sometimes they were dreams of better times. At this point, she was used to it. She hadn't expected it to change anytime soon. For any more nightmares to add themselves to the mix. However, her taking on Luz as first her apprentice and gradually her kid had introduced a very new, very real fear into her life. That with it a new aspect for her nightmares to take on. 

What could happen to Luz if she was unable to stop the curse's progression?

It was a question she hated to consider, no matter how much she realized she needed to think about. One she had tried to shove out of her mind in the past. One she had tried to only think about in passing because it scared her. 

The fact that she was going to have to eventually leave King and Hooty behind. Well, Hooty could possibly take care of himself as long as she gave the house to the right person before the curse overtook her. King, on the other hand, hadn't had anyone before her from what she did actually know about him. Finding someone to look after him was more complicated. 

Then Luz had entered the picture and complicated things further. She could no longer just shove the concern to a distant corner of her mind. Luz was an orphan, first and foremost. And she had seen the problems Luz had faced before coming through the portal. If she didn't find a medicine that could force the curse into remission or find someone willing to take Luz on. Then she would be right back where she started. And she absolutely refused to let Luz go through that again. So with all that, the nightmares, some concerning Luz's fate, some not, seemed to increase in frequency. 

Dreams seemed to shift from day to day, based on her concern. 

She had been in the middle of a nasty one about what could happen if Luz couldn't protect herself from her from her beast form when something shook her awake. Eda sat up in confusion for a moment, wondering what had shaken her out of the nightmare. Her answer came a second later as she realized that Luz's brown worried eyes staring back at her. "Kid, what are you doing up here at this hour?" Eda asked though she frowned after a moment. "I didn't wake you up, did I?" She didn't think her nightmares were that loud, but maybe she was wrong.

Luz shook her head at the question. "No, you didn't, it was King who got me up," Luz admitted, and Eda could now see King's smaller figure standing next to Luz's leg. For once, not really trying to hide his own concern. "He heard you having a nightmare."

"Ah, well, thanks for the concern, but don't worry too much about it," Eda said, waving off the concern. "It was just some of the usual stuff with the curse." Well, that was a half-truth, at least. Not that she was going to further elaborate on it. Knowing Luz, she would find some way to circle it back and blame herself on Eda's own nightmares. Even though Luz had even less control over Eda's dreams, then Eda did.

Luz frowned at that. "Do you often have nightmares about the curse?"

"Sometimes," Eda admitted. "Nothing I'm not used too though." Well, usually, anyway. "Anyways, I'm good. It's too early for any of us to be up. Go back to bed kid."

"Actually, I thought I heard thunder in the distance," Luz admitted shifting a bit. She was getting better at asking Eda for help when she needed it. However, years of unhappy habits were going to take time to break, so she still wasn't entirely comfortable asking Eda. "Would it be okay to stay up here with you for the rest of tonight?"

It was an excuse and an offer at the same time, and they both knew it. There had been none of the usual warning signs of an incoming storm. Eda would have already acted to put up the barrier if there was. However, not that Eda would admit it out loud, she did appreciate the indirect offer. "Yeah sure hop on in, kid. You're always welcome here. You know that."

Eda wasn't entirely sure if Luz didn't really try to talk that much after that because she was tired. Or because she realized Eda might not want to talk about it. But she appreciated the kid was just giving her company this once, especially after how grizzly the last nightmare had been, even if she might not admit it out loud. Some reassurance that Luz was okay, even if it was silent, was more than welcome.

However, as Luz drifted back off to sleep, her thoughts started to drift again rather than join Luz and King in sleep land. Back to the nightmare and the very real fear that accompanied it. Despite her efforts, the curse was getting worse, and there was still no way outside of the elixir to help counteract it. The reality that the curse might leave her trapped in her Owl Beast form was a very real one. And one she didn't know how to respond to.

She couldn't send Luz back to the human realm. That much was obvious. Luz had no one left back on Earth, and in some ways sending her back could be equivalent to a death sentence. If Abigail's last actions were anything to go by, at least. It was simply not an option. So what was she going to do? Could she ask Lilith to take Luz on? Would Lilith even want to take Luz on? 

There was no clear cut answer to her problem, it felt like. All Eda knew was that she couldn't avoid it any longer. She needed to figure out what to do with Luz if the worst-case scenario did occur; as much as none of them wanted to consider it, it had to be done sooner than later. Before, it was too late.

Chapter Text

Stepping off the school bus to a quiet, empty house wasn't unexpected. But that didn't make it hurt any less. Her mother had promised this time she would be home to celebrate her father's birthday. Said she had the day off work today. However, the car her Mom drove was noticeably absent from the driveway. And while there was a chance she had just gone out to run a quick errand. If the rest of her history had taught her anything. It was far more likely that her mother had opted to go into work instead.

Luz wasn't even sure why she expected anything different at this point, she wondered as she dug her house key out.  Sure  her mother always claimed that she would have the day off. However, not once in the three years since his death had it actually happened. If there were three days that she could genuinely count on her being at work. It was on the anniversary of her father's death, her father's birthday, and Dia de los Meurtos.

"Guess it's just you and me again, Papi," Luz said, reaching over to pick up a photo of her with her father as she took a seat on the edge of her bed. "Sorry, we couldn't celebrate it with Mami. I really thought this year might be different."

Luz had known for a while her mother must blame her for her father's death. It was what made the most sense, sadly. However, knowing that it would happen didn't make it hurt any less. Knowing that her mother blamed her for what happened so much, even if she never said those words. That she blamed Luz so much for what had happened that she couldn't even stand being around Luz on three full days of the year. 

Not that Luz blamed her mother, really. It  was  her fault after all that he had been out that night after all. If she hadn't been so selfish and needed that one little thing...

Luz put the photo back down. She sighed as she laid back down in the bed, trying to ignore the inevitable sign of tears starting. "

Luz jerked awake a moment later. Cutting off the part dream and with it part of that memory. Rubbing her eyes for a second as she sat up with a groan and glanced at the book next to the cauldron she had borrowed from Eda. She hadn't made any progress on figuring this out at all, and it was driving her nuts. She needed to figure this out. She  needed  the last chance this would hopefully provide. 

It was memories like the one she had just dreamed, the painful sting of her mother not wanting to be around her on certain days of the years, now even six years after the accident. That had lead to Luz digging through Eda's book collection in the first place. If there was any way to talk to her father one last time. Then she was reasonably sure Eda would have information on it. And as she glanced back at the old tome that she had been referencing. It turned out that she had been right.

That of course was the moment Eda happened to walk in. Having needed to talk with Luz about something that was about to be quickly forgotten. Looking between Luz, the half-full cauldron, and the book sitting in the girl's lap before raising eyebrow. "Kid what are you doing?":

Luz quickly moved to close the book. "Nothing!"

"That doesn't certainly look like nothing," Eda said eyebrow raising further. She wasn't particularly mad Luz had taken the cauldron. Though it did explain a couple of things. But she did want to know what Luz had apparently decided to get up to without telling her. "Come on let me just see the book," Eda said holding out a hand expectantly.

Luz shrank back at that. It wasn't like she had stolen the book. But she was still worried about how Eda might react. However, that served to only further concern Eda. Eda let out an exasperated sigh. "Kid I'm not going to yell."  Or at least not until she had seen what Luz was trying to hide. "Just give me the book. "

Luz finally relented handing over the book. Eda took a look before paling slightly. "Where did you even find this?"

"It was sitting on one of your book shelves." Luz said. "I was looking for some new reading material and I found that."

Eda couldn't resist pinching her nose. "You went looking for reading material and decided on this of all things?" Luz started to open her mouth to retort only to be cut off by Eda continuing. "You know what it doesn't matter why you chose it. I just am having a hard time believing you chose it to begin with. I told you to talk to me before looking into certain types of magic due to their inherit danger. This is one of them. You don't just go around starting to perform spells with the dead involved." Eda scolded. "They can be extremely dangerous when not done right. What on the surface of the Boiling Isles possesed you to start looking into this?"

Luz noticeably shrunk at the scolding. Before admitting in a small voice. "I'm sorry. I just wanted one last chance to talk to my Papi." Luz finally said as she could feel the sting of tears starting up. "It's stupid. I know it probably won't change anything. It won't stop the fact Mami blames me for it-"

Eda blinked once then twice, not sure at first if she had heard Luz right. "Wow, okay, let's stop that right there before you continue any further. What do you mean your Mom blames you for your Dad's death?"

Luz gave a small shrug at the question. "I mean, she never actually says it. But she always avoids me on the anniversary, or on his birthday, or on Dia de los Meurtos." Eda wasn't entirely sure what the last one was but figured it must have some important meaning that she was missing. "And it was my fault he was out that night, to begin with just to get some stupid thing."

Oh. Eda wasn't even sure how to respond to that. Her first instinct was to go find Camila and demand answers as to what the woman was thinking with this apparently repeated behavior. However, considering how much of a mess Luz currently was and what she had just found the kid getting up too, that was probably the worst idea. 

Eda began again, choosing her words carefully. "Look, I am not going to claim to be a parenting expert." Titan knew how poor of an example her own parents had set for her and Lily. The fact that Lily was doing such an excellent job with Amity was a testament to the contrary. "But if he went out that night, he must have thought whatever you needed wasn't 'stupid.'"

"But  it was  my fault he was out that night." Luz protested. "He wouldn't have been out at all if it hadn't been for me."

Eda held up a hand to keep Luz from continuing before asking."Alright, let's stop right there and put a pin in it. And come back to it in a second. What do you mean it was your fault he was out that night? Work with me, kid. You need to explain yourself better."

She thought for a second Luz might not answer the question. But then quietly, reluctantly, the answer came. "I was sick that night. We were out of cold meds. So since Mami was working, he had decided to run out to get cold meds for me. It was on the way back he got hit and killed by a drunk driver."

Eda inhaled sharply. "Oh, kid." She said sadly. "He went out because he cared about you. I doubt he would have wanted you to keep blaming yourself for someone else's drunken mistakes. That's not your fault."

Luz's response as the tears were now running freely down her cheeks was just heartwrenching. "But if it isn't my fault, then whose is it? Why does it feel like it's mine?"

Eda bit her tongue to keep herself from giving her initial answer to the second question. She already had a strong inkling on who to blame the fact that Luz kept blaming herself. But even she knew now wasn't the time for that. "I don't know, kid, probably that other driver." It would help if she actually understood what Luz even meant by driver. But with a somewhat at best inacurrate understanding of humans she couldn't claim to understand what had happened. But she could say she got the basic idea thanks to it apparently involving a drunk person. "But I do know that it wasn't yours. And don't you let anyone convince yourself otherwise."

It was a couple of hours later when Eda finally placed a lightly napping Luz on the couch. Tucking a blanket over the girl before turning back up to Luz's room to deal with the mess that was the leftover potion Luz had been trying to make. 

The past couple of hours had been enlightening, to say the least. As she had found out what life had been like for Luz on Earth in a way, the past couple of weeks had failed to get across. And boy had she underestimated how apparently isolated Luz had been.

Turned out, Camila's behavior wasn't the only one that had lead to Luz getting that idea in her head. Luz said they rarely went to family reunions anymore, and judging by some of the comments Luz had overheard, Eda could see why. Camila may not have been perfect, and Eda was still questioning her other choices. But at least she had enough common sense to apparently realize they had been hurting Luz. 

Not to say the situation with Camila wasn't without issue from what Eda could tell. Lack of her own parenting skills and personal history in the matter aside. Something just felt not quite right with the Noceda household. 

That something was making part of her want to go running around Earth until she found Camila and had a long talk with the woman. 

However, as much as she wanted to do that, Luz didn't want to contact her mother just yet. Being worried about how she would react to running away from the camp. For now, Eda would respect her wish, at least since she couldn't really blame her for having that worry. However, that did leave her some difficulties in understanding Camila.

Eda wanted to believe that Camila wasn't that bad of a mother. Just because Eda was just continuously bearing witness to her not being all that incredible in the mothering department didn't necessarily mean she was like that all the time. 

However, it was hard when she kept seeing Camila's questionable decisions. From sending her to a 'summer camp,' the more she heard about it sounded like a fancier conformatorium with a different title, to apparently not handling her own kid's grief all that well. Then there was the deciding to just ignore her on the days that it was becoming obvious even to Eda when Luz needed her more than ever. 

At the very least, even if it did turn out, Camila was a better person, then the first impression she was getting. Someone needed to sit her down before she did even further harm to both of them.  

In the meantime, Eda guessed she would have to be more careful about what books she left lying around for the future. This could have gone a lot worse if this spell had been a simple glyph and not the far more complex spell it actually was. 

As it was, Eda was torn between proud of Luz for making it that far on her own. And wanting to scold her for being reckless. She hadn't exactly been kidding when she said the potion was dangerous, especially if Luz had tried to use it at the wrong time of year. The middle of summer was was the absolute worst time to be performing spells that dealt with the world beyond. Not that Luz would have known it. 

The best thing would have been to throw the entire thing away and act like it had never happened. But for some reason, she couldn't entirely get her to dispel it. She could hardly believe it herself, but she was honestly thinking about coming back to it in a few weeks, closer to the fall when the borders would be much, much thinner. And thus, the spell less dangerous. Either way, she supposed she didn't have to decide right that moment. Deciding to put it in a stasis bubble for the meantime. She could deal with whether or not she could or would fulfill Luz's request once they weren't both running so high on all the different emotions.

As it turned out, she did end up coming back to that potion and spell after all. Not that Luz knew it at first. Eda had kept it from her because there were still many things that could easily go wrong before they even cast the spell. She didn't want to get Luz excited only to have it all fall through before she was even given a chance. 

It was still a couple of weeks before Luz's birthday when Eda finally decided it was stable enough that she could tell her. And decided to give Luz part of her present a bit early. She wanted Luz to have an option to use it whenever she wanted. Now that it was almost ready and she was sure it wasn't going to backfire on her, she called Luz into the kitchen to show off the project she had been hard at work for the last month or so now without Luz being the wiser. 

Luz looked down at the cauldron, full of some sort of dark purple potion that smelled odd. Before looking up at Eda in confusion. "What's this all about?"

"You remember that spell you were trying to figure out how to do on your own back in August?" Eda asked. Luz winced at the reminder. Looking back, that had been a hair-brained scheme, and obviously, she hadn't fully thought it through if she had thought she could sneak it by Eda. "Well, I've been prepping it for a while now. And since it should be done in a few days, I thought now might be best to ask if you're still interested in casting it.

Luz stared for a moment in disbelief at Eda. It had been over two months now since that incident. After Eda's adamant refusal to cast the spell, Luz had tried to put it out of her mind. Eda knew better than her after all what kind of magic was safe to use. So as much as it hurt that a world could give her so much, couldn't give her one more thing. She had accepted it, well for the most part, at least. "I thought you said we couldn't do that." Luz started looking back up at Eda in confusion. "It was too dangerous." 

"I did, and it still is." Eda began. "But this time of year, the veil between worlds is at its thinnest, so this is the safest time to do it. So if you absolutely want to try to talk to him one final time, now is your best chance. However, this is a  one  time deal. So what do you say?" 

A near tackle hug was the answer to Eda's question. "So how long do we have?" Luz asked as she finally pulled back.

"The veil starts thickening again in around three weeks. So if you want to do it, it has to before the middle of next month." 

"Dia De Los Meurtos," Luz muttered to herself. Huh, it made sense that this is one of the things Eda had mentioned being one world leaking into the other. Seeing Eda's questioning look, she added. "It's a special holiday back home. Basically, once a year, we welcome the souls of family members who passed on. It's November 2 on the calendar back home." 

Eda frowned at that, running the slightly different calendars in her head to make sure it would work. "That would be cutting it a bit close," Eda admitted. "But I don't see why we can't do it then." 

"Yes!" Luz said excitedly, punched the air. Before a new question popped into her head. "Wait, can I invite mami?" Luz asked.

Eda hesitated, unsure if this was the smartest idea if previous track record with Luz's mother was anything to go by. However, maybe it would do more good than harm for once. "Sure, if you want. Just don't maybe expect her to say yes, kid. Remember what we talked about before." 

Luz nodded. "I know." There had been several talks about her mami's own issues with dealing with the grief of the loss of her father. "But, I just can't rightfully do this without at least offering her the chance we were both denied."

Luz had barely had any concentration all day. Bouncing in her seat, waiting for the final bell to ring had felt like torture. Even if she knew Eda had said they couldn't cast the spell until the sun finished dipping below the horizon. She would much rather have been back at the house helping Eda for once.

"Really excited for this one, aren't ya?" Eda said with a laugh and a smile after Luz had nearly bulldozed her way through the front door. Barely able to contain her excitement as she had seen the sky starting to slowly change colors (apparently, nights on the Isles were even longer than she was used to back home). Signaling the hour was near.

"Of course!" Luz said. "I finally get to talk to my Papi again. So, of course, I am excited to get casting." 

"I know I'm just teasing," Eda assured her. Before taking on a more serious tone. "Now, kid, remember what I told you about the spell."

"I know." Luz cut in. "Just because it provides a temporary bridge doesn't necessarily mean they'll cross it." She had been trying to prepare herself for the fact that after all this work that she would fail at the last hurdle. But really, she had been trying to think of anything but that factor.

Eda nodded. "Right. But don't worry about it too much. I'm sure he'll be just as eager to actually talk with you as you are." If Luz's father was half the man, the stories made him out to be anyway, he would. She had only warned Luz to begin with because she hoped that if it did happen if for some reason. It would soften the blow just a bit. "Alright, let's do this," Eda said as she picked up her staff.

Overall the final part of the spell really wasn't that complex when you thought about it. The more difficult and dangerous portions were in the earlier stages. She had already coated the staff with the potion that would help act as a conduit to create the bridge. All that was left was a spell circle and a few words. Simple enough, if it wasn't for the fact they were dealing with magic involving the dead.

Luz watched intently from the sidelines as Eda began to draw her spell circle. No matter how many times she saw magic being cast on the Isles, it never got old. And to make it even better, in some ways, this would probably be her one chance to see this particular spell. She watched as the circle was completed. It formed into a rather large white ball of light that hovered over the ground. Glancing up at Eda, the older woman answered the question that hadn't been asked. "Give it a second. Sometimes it can take a bit for the spirit to cross over."

Eda let out a sigh of relief as she saw the spell starting to stabilize, and the glowing ball start to form into a more humanoid figure. Luz's Dad had taken the bridge. Eventually, the glow faded from a bright, almost white light. To reveal a muscular man around Camila's age with slightly darker skin tone than Luz's, glasses, and a beard that wrapped around his face.

Eda took a step back to give Luz and her father some more space. "Papi?" Luz asked tentatively. Almost afraid that somehow one wrong word and this would all just vanish in a moment.

"Luz?" He asked, clearly confused at her being able to see him. "How are you able to-" He cut himself off as he caught sight of Eda. "Never mind, I think I know the answer to that question already."

"You know, Eda Papi?" Luz asked, looking between the two for a minute, surprised.

"Know  of her , maybe a more accurate description, Mija." He said with a chuckle. Eda wondered for a minute just what kind of stories he apparently been hearing. "I've been watching over you and your mami since I passed."

Eda didn't hear what Luz said back at that point. Deciding to slip into the kitchen so she could give Luz and her father some space to talk without someone lurking over her shoulders. Now that the spell was complete, there was no reason to hover over the two of them. She would hopefully have some time to ask questions later before the spell ran its course. 

Chapter Text

Luz was feeling tragically reminiscent as she sat at her room's window, watching the storm clouds start to roll in. For the first time since she had started Hexside, she had been assigned a group project. 

Luz had used to love group projects. Back before, they had become soured by partners who either refused to give her attention of any sort. Or ignored her outside of making her do pretty much all of the work. And today's events had her reminiscing about what had been her last group project before summer break and partly another familiar incident that she couldn't help thinking of...

It had been for a group project for Biology class. Luz and her partners were supposed to be meeting up at the library. However, when she had shown up at the designated time. No one else was there. Figuring maybe, for once, they were just running late. So she had waited. Then one minute had turned into ten, then twenty. As a familiar, sinking feeling started to form that maybe they weren't coming after all.

"Hey, guys, um, aren't we supposed to be meeting to talk about the project today?" Luz hit enter, sending the group text out to the two other girls in her class. 

There was a pause for a minute even, and she wondered if she was about to be ignored before Skyler replied with. "Sorry, I had a last minute change of plans. I won't be able to make it."

Luz sank into her chair at the response. Placing the phone back onto the table. Wondering for a moment why she had even stopped to consider why this time might be different. Why did she ever think it might happen? She didn't even have to fake surprise when the other girl, Misty, texted back saying she had also had a last minute change of plans.

This always happened. Every single time she was placed in a group project at school. One of two things would happen. Either her group project members would just flat out ignore her outside of relaying the necessary information, usually at the last minute. Or they would just dump all the work on her. And because she was a far cry from being a teacher's pet at the school. Saying anything never really went anywhere. 

She was used to it by now. It had happened more times than she could count over the years. So, as tears started to form if she was so used to it now, why did it still hurt so much?

Most group projects had had similar incidents like that. They had gone from chances to hopefully make new friends at the start of a new school year. To two words, she dreaded with all her being.

However, the Isles were a different place with different people. So when she had started Hexside, she had been hoping things maybe would be different this time. 

So she had been tentatively excited for a project with two of her fellow Healing Track students, Bo and Cat. Maybe, hey, they actually wanted to learn about the glyphs used in healing magic like she did. Perhaps Bo had even been sincere in wanting to do a project on healing glyphs. Something that was right up Luz's alley!

However, as Luz sat at her bedroom window, watching the storm clouds roll in and still no sign of either of them. She was starting to think she had been too hopeful. And it dipped even lower as she heard Eda answering a call from what she assumed had to be at least one of the duo.

"I assume that was Bo and Cat saying they can't make it?" Luz asked, turning her attention away from the window as Eda stepped into the room a minute later. Really that was a foregone conclusion at this point for her.

Eda frowned at that. "First off, you know what they say about making assumptions. That it makes an ass-"

"-out of u and me. I know. I'm really regretting teaching you that human phrase right now." Luz said before Eda's comment caught up with her, and she realized where Eda might be leading too. "Wait, does that mean Bo and Cat are still coming? What about the storm?" 

"Yep. That's why they were calling, actually. They wanted to know if they could spend the night." Eda explained. "Bo apparently found some books she wanted to share that could help with the project. She ran late because 'got buried in books,' her words not mine, and Cat apparently was held up at Grudgby practice." 

Luz blinked once, then twice. Her brain not fully processing it. The idea of someone actually wanting to work on the same topic with her was extremely foreign. The fact that them showing up late for once was an honest mistake and not intentional...it felt like some of her world had been tilted on its axis.

Eda's slightly playful grin was quickly replaced with a concerned frown. Now more than a bit concerned by Luz's reaction. "Kid, you okay?" 

Luz gave a shaky nod at that. "Just give me a second. I'm not used to people actually wanting to work with me on group projects."

"Not a single one?" Eda asked as she closed the gap between the two. Taking a seat across from Luz. Though she wasn't entirely sure why she was surprised. Luz had told her how lonely growing up back on Earth had been. How isolated she had been. Of course, this would show up as another facet of it. 

A quick headshake came from Luz at the question. "Weird kid remember?" Luz asked with a shaky smile. Trying to hide the start of tears. "Group projects weren't fun for me. On a good day, I was just ignored outside of the occasional necessary conversation. On a bad day, I had all the work dumped onto me." No one had ever actually wanted to interact with her more than necessary. The whole idea of what was about to happen was utterly foreign to her brain.  

Eda sharply inhaled, drawing the now quietly crying Luz in for a hug. "Oh, kid, I'm so sorry." Sometimes it astounded her just how lonely Luz had been back on Earth. Just how isolated she had been from everyone. 

At least, as questionable as it might have been, the decision to send Luz to that summer camp was starting to make more sense. Camila had probably been trying to find a way to get her daughter out of her unwanted isolation. And the camp should have been the perfect opportunity if it had been anything like it was actually advertised.

In some ways, Eda guessed it still had not just the way probably Camila had anticipated.  

Bo was the first to arrive. "Thanks for having me over, Ms. Eda." She said as Eda let her in through the front door. Having left Luz upstairs to give her a minute to compose herself before greeting the other girls.

"First off, just call me Eda," Eda said. "Second off, it's not an issue. Luz has been really excited about this project." Seriously the kid had been bouncing off the walls when the project had been first brought up. It was why she had been so taken back at first by Luz's reaction when she had realized Bo and Cat were still coming.

"To be honest, I've only ever had one other sleepover before, and well, that was a unique flavor all into its own," Luz admitted with a sheepish laugh. The only other sleepover she had had was the one that had resulted in them enchanting Hooty. Until now, all she had known about sleepovers were what she had read in books and seen on tv. 

"Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that. You were one of the people that animated a house!" Bo said, snapping her fingers. She hadn't been able to participate in that particular Moonlight Conjuring with Cat due to some unrelated problems back home. But she certainly had seen the story all over Penstagram. Only to have something catch her by surprise. "Wait, have you really never been to a sleepover before getting here? Does the human realm not have them?"

"No, they do. I've actually been to a couple before I came here, but they were...complicated." Luz reluctantly admitted. She just didn't want to talk about how she usually got involved in a sleepover. She hadn't been to one in the human world in years. Because the last time she had made that mistake, she had ended up being the butt end of several mean jokes. So to say the sleepover with Willow and Gus had been the real first one. Since it had been the first she had enjoyed in a while, she would be putting it mildly if she was honest. 

Bo frowned, glancing over at Eda in evident confusion at Luz's dodging of the question. The older woman just shook her head at the unasked question. "Well, then. We'll just have to make sure we don't spend all night studying once Cat gets here."

Chapter Text

Boscha had been a consistent thorn in Luz's side since her arrival on the Isles, it felt like. The two had a bad start with the whole incident at the Covention. And it only seemed to have gotten worse since then. 

Though Luz, outside of a few incidents, hadn't really given much mind to the three-eyed girl for the most part. It wasn't like she was the first person for her to run against with. Or would be the last. 

However, after an incident at school, she couldn't just stop ignoring the other girl as her hand was forced...

Whatever Lilith had been expecting when she heard Amity, Luz, and Willow showing up midday on a school day. Luz was pretty sure what she got, wasn't it.

Eyes darting between the three girls for a moment, she finally asked. "What in Titan's name happened?!" 

"Boscha." Was Amity's tight answer as Lilith moved back to let the three in. 

Lilith pursed her lips, not entirely surprised. Boscha had been the source of several problems when Amity had first come to live with her. Boscha had been an on and off problem over the years. And up until recently hadn't been an issue. Though it looked like her target had just shifted to Luz instead of Amity. Partially out of jealousy if she had to guess. "That's not surprising, unfortunately. Though I have to ask why you three came to me instead of someone like the school nurse?" 

"The nurse  is  part of the problem," Willow said. 

Lilith frowned, wondering what exactly she meant by that before deciding it could be clarified later. "What about Bump?" Certainly, he could have summoned someone from the healer's coven, right?

"Well, he was still ripping her a new one when we left to come to you," Amity explained.

Luz added. "In his defense, I don't think he realized how bad it was." Heck, she hadn't realized how bad it was at first. At least not until the adrenaline had started wearing off. And by that point, they had already started walking away from the school. 

"And just how bad did it first appear?" Lilith asked tersely as she looked the girl over. There was a noticeable beginning of bruising where it looked like Luz had hit something hard. And she hadn't been bearing weight on her right foot when she had shown up. To her, at least it didn't look like it could have been played off as a minor incident.

Willow confirmed that a moment later. "Boscha caused her to take a bad tumble down the stairs." 

"It's not like I haven't dealt with worse on my own," Luz muttered though it was still heard loud and clear. 

There was a beat of silence at that particular piece of news. "I do not know if I want a clarification behind that," Lilith muttered to herself as the one who finally broke it. Before rethinking that. "Never mind, I do want a clarification."

"I er kind of ended up in the hospital once after someone slipped me food I was allergic to that I thought was safe," Luz admitted. After that was when the bullying had shifted more to just ignoring her altogether. Which, in some ways, wasn't much better. 

There was a beat of silence. "What is with you and having bullies really out for you?" Amity was the one to finally ask.

Luz shrugged at that. "Easy target? Remember, no friends means no one who would exactly care besides my Mom, and certainly no one at school." No friends and no teachers who liked her had made her more than a bit of an easy target. "And people back home...don't always take allergies seriously."  

Luz briefly wondered why it looked like Lilith was having an epiphany before being distracted by Willow. "I know you keep saying not all humans suck. But I gotta tell you it's kind of hard to believe that when you keep telling stories like that."

It had been nice to have someone on her side that wasn't her mother for once. It had been even nicer to see some actual consequences behind what had happened. Back home, where she had been at the bottom of the barrel of the social ladder at school, that had never happened. 

After the incident had happened by all accounts, no one would have probably faulted her for staying as clear as possible of Boscha. And for a while, she did just that. However, once the initial pain and injuries had faded, she had been left with a set of mixed emotions.

Luz wasn't entirely sure what to do with Boscha. On the one hand, it hadn't exactly been a minor incident between the two. However, on the other hand, if there was one thing Luz hated more than maybe what had happened in the first place. It was seeing someone else being isolated like Boscha was dealing with.

Most people probably would have ignored it. Most would probably not have faulted her in that after the last incident. However, when she knew what that was like. Knew how painful it could get. So maybe that was why despite the protests of everyone around her. She still decided to approach Boscha. Despite the myriad of objections and questions of pretty much everyone she knew, including Boscha herself. 

"Ugh, I don't even get it. I was the one that caused the mess in the first place. Why are you even trying to help?" Boscha exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. After her recent botched attempt at fixing things up.

Well, at least she had gotten through to her that it wasn't entirely out of pity, Luz supposed. "Because as much as that hurt. I also know how much hurts to be isolated." Luz admitted. "And that's not something I would wish on anyone else regardless of what happened before."

" You  know what it's like to be isolated?" Boscha's skepticism could be heard clearly.

Luz gave a sad laugh at that. "Yeah, that probably looks ridiculous to think about now, huh?" She said with a sad smile. She knew it had to look a bit absurd as a claim. After all, she had Willow, Amity, and Gus from the very beginning of her enrollment at Hexside. "But it's true. Back on Earth, I was the weird kid no one wanted anything to do with. Willow is the first friend I had in years. I can't even remember the last friend I had before her. I had a lot of people over the years who I thought were my friends. Only to have them decide I was too weird, or I was only partly useful to them and dump me at the first opportunity." She hadn't looked at Boscha during the entire speech, only looking up at the other girl who, for her part, seemed genuinely surprised. "So yeah, you could say I know something about sitting alone at the lunch table by myself." Lord knew how many times she had.

There was a moment of silence before Boscha finally spoke again. This time her tone was softer than usual, seeming to finally have realized that as hair-brained as it possibly was. Luz was coming from a genuine place of wanting to help. "Look, I honestly am not good at making friends unless it related to Grudgby-" 

"Yeah, Amity mentioned that," Luz said, scratching her cheek.

Boscha continued like she hadn't heard Luz. "-I appreciate the offer, it's weirdly kind of sweet. But I doubt your friends really appreciate this little scheme."

"They definitely had their protests," Luz admitted. The argument between her and Willow playing back in her head. "I've already had three different people try to talk me out of it. But it's my own decision to do this. And as much as they might dislike it, they can't really change that." Luz said with a shrug. "And even if this doesn't pan out into a friendship. Maybe at the very least, me hanging out with you will cause some of the issues that the whole incident caused." 

Boscha gave her a weird look at that. "Why would you want to help get that resolved. I'm the one that caused that mess in the first place?"

"Because I don't really like what's happening as a result?" Luz said. "Look, don't get me wrong. I'm not happy it happened to begin with." Walking around with a broken ankle for a couple of weeks hadn't been fun. "But some people are taking it a bit too far in retaliation, in my opinion. So even if we don't end up friends. Maybe at least hanging out will cause some to back off?" Hopefully. It wasn't like she could control the entire school population. "You can't tell me some of the antics lately have been slightly out of hand."

Boscha winced at the reminders of some of the things that had happened over the past few weeks. Luz had a point, whether she wanted to admit it or not. "Alright, I'll give it a try, at least," Boscha said, finally caving in. 

Chapter Text

It had been a few weeks since Luz had first approached Boscha. Things had been rocky in the beginning. Luz’s friends already knew that she had gotten it into her head she wanted to befriend Boscha. So it wasn’t a surprise to them to see the two hanging out. However, after everything that had happened before, there was a distinct sense of weariness towards Boscha. From both Luz’s friends and anyone close to her, really.

Eda was maybe the most concerned that her kid would end up getting hurt by Boscha somehow. The other girl seemed to be improving. At least based on what she was occasionally gleaned from the rest of Luz’s friend group. However, Eda still was worried the other shoe was going to drop. And when it did, Luz was going to get hurt again. 

So when Luz and Boscha had shown up late from Hexside sprouting the start of several new bruises. Eda was afraid to say in hindsight, she had initially assumed the worst. She had been about to show Boscha a milder version of why you didn’t mess with her family. Only to have Luz intervene. “Wait! I get you’re angry, but you’re angry at the wrong person this time. Boscha stepped in to help me, not hurt me.“

Eda’s eyes narrowed, looking between the two again. Some part of her still skeptical, but she was already seeing she would not get past Luz. She just hoped the kid wasn’t lying for some weird reason. Deciding to give the benefit of the doubt for the moment, she opened the door fully. “Alright, come on in, and then you two need to tell me just what happened apparently after class.” 

Luz’s state wasn’t nearly as bad as Eda had initially feared. There were no broken bones this time at least. Just a bunch of bruises, nothing a good salve couldn’t take care of. 

Once she was done, Eda had dismissed Luz back to her room for the moment. She wanted to talk to Boscha alone about what had happened. Having held off on interrogating Luz at first. Since knowing her, she had been trying to downplay the actual events. 

Eda just raised an eyebrow at Boscha’s surprise protest at getting looked over. “Kid, I already have everything out. Let me just look at it.” 

Boscha just gave her a confused look. “I thought you were mad at me.”

Eda had to resist the urge to facepalm at that. “I was when you got here.” And in some ways still would perpetually mad about the other incident. But that being said, Eda felt she owed her some help after… well, whatever had happened. “But that’s because the last time Luz came home from Hexside like that, it was your fault.” Eda pointed out. Noting with a small bit of satisfaction, the flinch from Boscha. Since the incident, the girl might have come aways. However that didn’t mean she was entirely ready to forgive the kid quiet yet for hurting her own kid. “Now I’ll admit that it was my mistake today. But that just raises the question of what happened?”

Boscha hesitated for a moment more before apparently deciding it hopefully couldn’t get any worse. She removed the cowl so Eda could get a better look. As she pursed her lips for a moment, seeming to debate something before answering. “Luz has apparently been having some problems with some upperclassmen.” 

Eda frowned at that a bit surprised. “This is the first I’ve heard of it.” Not that she didn’t necessarily believe the triclops. Then again, it shouldn’t have surprised her. Luz had a tendency to hide problems out of not wanting to inconvenience others. However, she would have thought someone else in Luz’s friend group would have picked up on it by now. Since she knew that they had all started being more attentive since the incident with Boscha.

“The others don’t know. Luz... knows, most of her friends are busy today. Something the older kids apparently picked up on too. Since they only show up when they’re sure no one is going to step in. She didn’t want to tell them because she didn’t want to cause problems.” Boscha explained. “Something about how she used to deal with bullies back on Earth all the time on her own. So she could handle a few here. Or that’s what she said at least.”

“That’s definitely Luz.” Eda agreed. “So how did you find out about it then?”

“She and I usually walk part of the way home together once a week when the others aren’t busy.” Eda’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. This was the first time she was hearing about this. Boscha continued on, not seeming to notice. “So I hadn’t seen it before. But today, I got held back by one of my potions teachers, Ms. Jenkenmier. So Luz was left waiting outside alone.”

“And that’s when they pounced,” Eda concluded, seeing where the story was already going. 

Boscha nodded. “By the time I came out it was already a mess. One of them had her pinned, while another was taunting her and holding her necklace.” Eda twitched at the reminder of the necklace. That necklace seemed to somehow get Luz into more trouble than anything else. She got its importance to the girl, but she wondered if she shouldn’t be wearing it to school. This was the second major incident involving the thing. “And that’s when I got involved.”

“Must have been some fight. You’re both pretty banged up from it,” Eda noted, watching the younger girl for a second. Partly wanting more details. She knew before ‘the incident’ Boscha had been the Grudgby team captain. So she wasn’t exactly someone you could just walk all over. Which just raised more concerns about who had been targeting Luz.  

Boscha looked away, a bit embarrassed at her own state. “Yeah, well, there were six of them, and they weren’t exactly small.” She paused for a moment before smirking. “Though that’s not to say they got off exactly, got off free.” 

Eda was right Boscha was a fighter. However, fighting back hadn’t been her only aim. If Luz hadn’t been there, she probably could have wiped the floor with them easily. But Luz had been there, and it had divided her attention. Making dealing with the bullies just the more difficult.

However, Boscha was also sure that with the damage, they wouldn’t be causing problems again. At least not for a while. She was the ex-captain for a reason. You didn’t exactly get away free when picking a fight with her. If nothing else, at least two of them were going to be walking funny for a while. 

Eda twitched at the sudden realization that Luz had apparently had six larger students targeting her. What made it worse was that no one had been the wiser until now. Which was troubling since who knew how long this could have been going on. It was entirely possible it had started before even the whole fiasco with Boscha had happened. Looks like she needed to have a word with Bump and Luz now that she thought about it.

“That should do it,” Eda said as she finished wrapping the last bandage. She stood up for a second and going to her cabinet. Finding the jar she had been looking for, she grabbed it and passed it to Boscha. “That should help with any bruises you might have from the scuffle. Apply twice a day, and those bruises should be a memory by week’s end.”

Boscha blinked in surprise before tucking it away in the bag without a protest. Realizing that it was most likely it was meant as a thank you for helping Luz. As well as an apology for the first assumption when they had arrived from Hexside. Even if Eda wasn’t saying that. “Thank you.”

Eda nodded before starting again. “Now, I don’t know what your plans are. If you want to stick around to talk to Luz, you can. But I need to talk to her about some matters, so it may be a bit.”

Boscha looked at the time and then winced. “I should probably get going home, actually. I didn’t tell my parents I was planning to go over to a friend’s house after school.” Her coming with Luz to The Owl House had been an impromptu one. Only brought on when Luz had insisted on after they had finished dealing with the upperclassmen. “And if I stay out much later, there going to wonder. Tell Luz I’ll see her tomorrow at school.”

Eda watched Boscha go for a moment thinking before turning back into the house. She wasn’t entirely ready to totally forgive Boscha for the incident yet. Even with the assist. However, that wasn’t to say Boscha stepping in to help today helped with slowly shifting her opinion. Maybe with some time, she could mostly move past hurting Luz, though that might be a stretch. Though she doubted full forgiveness would ever come.

Anyway, her opinion on Boscha at the moment was the least of her concerns. She needed to talk to Luz on why this kept happening. She needed to get to the bottom of why incidents like what had happened to the upperclassmen kept happening. Before she ended up with another broken bone. “Kid, why didn’t you tell anyone about the problems you were having with the upperclassmen?” Eda asked, not even bothering to beat around the bush as she took a seat across from her.

“I thought I could handle them on my own.” Luz said with a shrug.

Eda’s eyebrow raised at that in skepticism. If anything, history had proven that was the least likely to happen. “Kid, the last time you hid something because you thought you were handling it. You ended up at Lily’s place with a broken foot.”

Luz flinched at the reminder of what had happened between her and Boscha. Eyes darting around as she tried to figure out a way out of the conversation. However she soon realized there was none. “Did I ever tell you what happened with my last friend before Willow?” Luz finally asked.

“Hmm, no,” Eda confirmed. Wondering at first where this might be coming from. It seemed a bit out of nowhere, but maybe Luz had a point she was missing. Instead of trying to dodge the question yet again. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Yeah,” Luz said. Part of her was hoping Eda might understand her decisions afterward. Though to be honest she didn’t have a lot of hope on that sticking she had to try. “Can I ask you to try to not to interrupt first?”

Honestly, going by the track record so far with Luz and being back home. Combined with were her first thoughts she had about where she thought the story was probably going. Eda wasn’t sure she could keep quiet. “I won’t guarantee it, but I’ll at least try.” Eda finally reluctantly agreed.

Luz nodded. That made sense. “Well, I guess to start with, ya need to something...”

Boscha wasn’t the first friend who had intervened for her when the bullying got physical. Nor was Willow the first friend she had had that could be defined as an actual ‘good friend.’ For a time before the Isles. Those had been belonged to her one and only friend. A red-headed girl her age named Cara. 

They had been rather close. If anyone had asked Luz that, the bullying at the time would cause the friendship to break off. Luz wouldn’t have believed it.

Sure, they had their occasional issues with the bullies. Sure, her parents never seemed to fully approve of Luz. But that never had seemed to stop Cara. No matter how many scuffles that ended up with one or both of them bruised. Cara had stuck around. Until she simply hadn’t. 

Cara’s parents had never been fond of Luz. They might not have ever said anything. But she still saw the pursed lips or long glances whenever either of them had problems with the bullies. Not that the disapproval ever stopped Cara from getting involved. Luz wasn’t entirely sure if Cara didn’t know or didn’t care. But looking back, she should probably have seen them breaking it off the first chance they got. And when one incident turned particularly nasty, it finally had happened.

Luz and Cara were sitting on the front porch of the Noceda house. Talking and trying to ignore the arguing that Luz knew she could clearly hear in the background. “Sorry about your arm again.”

Cara waved off the concern. “Eh, don’t worry about it. Wasn’t your fault to begin with. And I can think of a lot worst ways to get a broken arm than defending a friend.” 

Luz gave a small smile at that. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.” Though judging by the continued arguing, Cara’s parents definitely didn’t see it that way. “So, what are we going to do this weekend, anyway?”

Cara pursed her lips, glancing back toward the arguing. The only time Luz would her ever acknowledge her parents’ problem. Before turning her attention back to Luz. “I don’t think Mom and Dad are going to let me out of their sight for a while.” 

“Sorry,” Luz said with a wince. She felt terrible about Cara getting hurt, but she wasn’t much of a fighter to begin with. Maybe it was time she tried talking to Mami about getting some proper self-defense training? Though with how little the principle liked her, that might do more harm than good if she fought back. 

Cara waved it off. “Don’t worry about it. Not your fault that the bullies have it out for you. A bit of trouble is well worth it in the meantime. Besides, we’ll have all summer to make plans and hang out. It was totally worth whatever trouble I get to in the meantime to one-up Beatrix and her gang.”

“Yeah, I kind of wish your parents saw it the same way,” Luz admitted, glancing back at the house again. She had a feeling this was going to come back to bite her more than she realized. She just didn’t know how much yet. 

“Eh, well, what can you do,” Cara said with a shrug. “I’m sure it will be all back to normal soon enough.”

Luz frowned at that. While it was true that this was a song and dance, they had done quite a few times. Something felt different this time. She couldn’t remember the last time she had heard this much yelling come from the house. “Maybe.” She finally agreed.

Cara opened her mouth with some response. Only to be cut off when her parents finally exited the Noceda house. “Come along, Cara, we’re leaving.”

Luz noticed a frown cross her friend’s face for a moment, though it quickly disappeared. “Looks like I gotta go, I guess. See ya on Monday, Luz,” Cara said, giving a final wave before following her parents back to the car. 

That was the last time she had sene, Cara. Cara had been quietly transferred schools without either girl’s prior knowledge a few days later. And once Cara was out of her middle school, her parents cut contact between the two of them. That last fateful afternoon sitting outside talking about what they would do over the summer once this all blew over. Ended up being the last time she saw Cara. 

After that, people mostly ignored her. Most new kids who arrived were warned to steer clear. And when she wasn’t ignored, well... she had the allergy incident to show just how well that could go for her. So the only thing she had gotten out of it was one simple rule. Don’t let others get involved with her bullies. All it did was lead to pain for her and everyone else.

There was a moment of silence when Luz finished giving Eda to process the story. This explained quite several things in hindsight. Luz wasn’t telling her friends because she wasn’t used to having them. Though that was definitely a factor here. But also because history had taught her before that others getting involved lead to them getting hurt. And when they got hurt, they were forced to leave. Whether or not they wanted to wasn’t even a factor, apparently. 

Eda absolutely hated that hiding it had become the solution for Luz. But unfortunately, she could also understand it. Titan knew how many people she had distanced from or had been distanced from because of the curse. 

“I just don’t want to be that lonely again.” Came Luz’s small voice finally breaking the silence. “I thought if I could handle it myself, then no one else had to get hurt. And no one would have to leave again. I… I just can’t go back to that again, Eda.” 

Eda felt some part of her heartbreak at how just lonely and scared Luz sounded. Wrapping the girl tight, she finally said. “Oh, kid, I’m so sorry. It was never your fault.”

“But if it wasn’t, then why did everyone keep treating it like it was?” Luz asked, clearly confused.

Eda thought her next words carefully before starting. “Because sometimes people are idiots and place the blame wrongly when they’re confused and hurt.” Titan knew how long she had blamed Lily for the curse, even if it really hadn’t been her fault, to begin with. Lily had been as much of a victim in what had happened. But the curse had hit her so much harder it had taken a while to get past that. “Sometimes people eventually realize it. Sometimes... people just don’t. Unfortunately, your friend’s family apparently was the latter.”

Eda paused for a moment before coming to a realization. “Honestly, Lily would probably be better for you talk to this about. We had a bit of a similar falling out when we were younger, I’m afraid to say. She would know better what you went through in some ways than I did.” 

Eda could only help with Luz’s isolation so much. For the most part, Eda understood what Luz had gone through. The curse having forced some isolation of its own. But this time... Lily would be the one better to help Luz than she could. 

Though in the meantime, she did at least know one way she could help. 

It had taken longer than Eda might have liked to get the group corralled. Mainly since she didn’t want to corral the entire friend group together at the house.

Luz was already tired from the day’s events. So while Eda felt it was necessary to have some friends over. She also wanted to keep it strictly between her and the three closest friends. She had learned over the years, the more people, the more exhausting it got, and the more likely it was, it would overwhelm her. Which was the last thing Luz needed. 

Amity had been the easiest to get and thus the first to arrive. Mainly because she had been with Lily. So all she had needed was to convince her to allow Amity over.

Amity only bothered with a quick hello. Making an immediate beeline for Luz, plopping down on the couch next to her. Lilith frowned, glancing at Luz before turning to Eda. “What happened this time? Boscha again?”

“No, actually, the triclops helped, believe it or not,” Eda said with a snort. Really, it was impressive how Luz got under everyone’s skin. She wouldn’t have guessed a few weeks ago that Boscha would ever be friends with Luz. “Some upperclassmen apparently have been giving Luz a hard time.”

“That’s quite the change,” Lilith noted in surprise. She wouldn’t have pinned Boscha as the type to help anyone. Let alone someone who had been a victim for as long as Luz had. Guess the other girl really was changing for the better.

“Yeah, the kids really good at getting to other people. Even those you would least expect,” Eda said with a slight smile watching Luz and Amity for a moment. 

“Not with enough apparently if she keeps attracting bullies, though,” Lilith noted with a tense voice. Luz’s bandaged cheek didn’t go completely unnoticed. “How did another situation like this get missed, anyway?”

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something that deals with,” Eda said. It was why she had asked both Lilith and Amity to come. Instead of just Amity. “Let’s go into the kitchen to give them some space, and we can talk without prying ears.” Though judging by how enraptured the two already were, Eda doubted they would have noticed, anyway.

“So, we’re not going to let them get off free, right?” Gus was the one to finally broach the topic a while later. Willow and Gus having arrived about a hourish after Amity did. They had been talking for a while and until Luz having nodded off onto Amity’s shoulder.

“Oh, that’s a given. Though we still have to get past the fact, we have no clue who they are.” Amity said with a frown. Of course, they could just ask Luz. But knowing Luz, she would say she didn’t know. So it was better to look for another way to figure out who the six older kids were. 

“Well, we don’t know who they are, but Boscha does.” Willow hesitantly reminded them.

“Which really doesn’t help us,” Amity noted with a wince. 

While using Boscha to help identify the bullies seemed simple enough, there was another matter at hand. None of them knew how to reach Boscha without going through Luz. They hadn’t really interacted with Boscha since the incident. It had been Luz’s choice to befriend the triclops. But between Willow and Amity’s history with the girl. Neither of them had been in any hurry to build bridges between them and the other girl yet. So none of them knew how to contact Boscha. 

“Wait, a sec-Amelia!” Willow seemed to have an epiphany. Much to the confusion of the other two.

“I thought we were talking about reaching out to Boscha since she’s the only other person who saw the bullies? How would Amelia help?” Gus said in confusion. 

“That’s not what I was thinking.” Willow shook her head. “Amelia is on the Grudgby team. The same one that Boscha used to be captain of. If anyone knows how to contact Boscha, it should be one of her ex-teammates.” Willow explained as she pulled out her scroll, looking for the other girl’s number. 

“You do1 that. I’m going to contact the twins and see if they want in on this.” Amity said, pulling her own scroll out. Though that was probably a foregone conclusion.

It had taken a couple of days to get the retaliation pulled together. What had started out as a minor group effort had somehow developed into most of Luz’s group being involved? Combine that needing to pick the best time to pull it when it would do the most damage. And it had taken a while to get the whole thing coordinated. Now all was left was to make sure they had everything and unleash it on the upperclassmen.

“Do we have the glitter?” Willow asked as she went through the list.

“Yep,” Edric said, holding up the rather large round container in his hands full of magical glitter. 

“Duct tape?” Willow asked.

“Check!” Gus said, holding up the two rolls of aforementioned duck tape. That had been some of the more challenging items to get. The only one who knew how they were supposed to look like were Luz. And convincing her to help get them without telling her about the prank had been an interesting task. “Can’t wait to see if the stories about this really hold up!”

“Glue?” Willow continued, ignoring Gus’s comment for the moment.

“Right here,” Amity said, holding it up. “Though I’m not entirely sure how this is supposed to help when we already have that duck tape stuff.”

Willow didn’t even miss a beat in her response. “We’ve been over this. Duck tape is for the stuff in the lockers. Glue is for the glitter and feathers. Speaking of which... feathers?”

Viney held up the rather large bag of feathers. “More than enough to cause havoc.”

Willow nodded, moving onto the last items on the list. “.... And finally, last but not least, the slime?”

“Right here! Plus, the food coloring too!” Emira said, holding up one of the two containers of slime that she and Jerbo were carrying.

Willow frowned at that, not recalling food coloring being a part of the plan. But knowing the twins, it was probably something they had come up with at the last minute. “Alright, let’s do this then.”

“How did you two end up in charge, anyway? This was our idea, to begin with.” Amity grumbled. As the group split up to set up the prank. Amity was helping set up the magical glitter slime bomb. 

“Because we’re the pranking experts. And no one does retaliation better than we do.” Edric said with a smug grin. 

“I have some doubts about how much of an expert you two really are.” Willow skeptically noted. Remembering one particular prank that had gone really wrong. But couldn’t mount much more of a protest. After all, they had been the ones behind most of the coordinating of the prank. Titan knew they probably wouldn’t have thought of asking Viney for feathers if Emira hadn’t come up with it first.

“And yet, that didn’t stop you three from turning to us,” Edric noted more than a bit smug.

“Ugh, let’s just get this set up before somehow your egos somehow get even more inflated.” Amity cut in before Willow said something that somehow made it worse. As she went to summon an abomination arm to help hold up the glitter until the right time. 

Like some said, revenge was a dish best served cold. And the sheer shock on the older students’ faces made the delay well worth it. Along with the sheer surprise on Luz’s face when she got full sight of the students that had been causing her trouble.

“We admit to nothing,” Amity said with a smirk when Luz asked what they had done. Well, at least not within the school walls where they could get in trouble with Bump. 

“Let’s just say hypothetically someone knew what happened... what exactly did you guys use?” Luz asked, tearing her eyes away from the glittery, slimy mess that had been her bullies for one moment.

“Hypothetically? A mix of some slime and glitter. Not entirely sure what else was being used.”

“Huh, so that’s why Gus kept pestering me about that,” Luz said in a moment of realization.

“I’m just glad I’m not on the receiving end of this one,” Boscha said, admiring the group’s handiwork. And she had thought some pranks she had dealt with were bad. It seemed time and maliciousness had only made the pranks more creative since the truce had been called. 

“You knew?” Luz asked, more than a bit surprised. Her friendship with Boscha might have come a long way. But her getting involved in a prank in partially Luz’s name. Hadn’t been something she would have expected from the other girl.

Boscha’s eyebrow raised at that. “How do you think anyone knew who was behind the incident the other day?”

“Oh, right, that makes sense,” Luz said, blushing slightly in embarrassment. “Thanks.” 

Amity gave a soft smile. “Like we said before. No one gets away free with hurting a friend.” And especially not Luz. 

Chapter Text

Luz had expected it from the very beginning. There was no doubt in her mind that the first family reunion she took everyone to would end in some sort of a disaster. Her family combined with the family she had made during her time on the Boiling Isles? Yeah, there was no way they were going to get out of this without something getting blown up. 

It had given her pause at all in inviting anyone from outside the family to the reunion. Despite their attempts to be discrete, she hadn’t completely missed the whispered comments about what Fortunata looked like. Or not so whispered in the case of one of her aunts. She finally had friends and a quasi-family that actually accepted both her and the wolf. Most of the family back home put up with it at best. Something she knew only since they honestly really had never been the most discreet about it. 

Which within itself raised a whole other set of concerns. Most of the whispered comments were done at hearing ranges too low for humans to hear. So under normal circumstances, only someone who had full access to their wolf senses would hear them. However, the witches weren’t human and something Luz had learned really quickly was they had fantastic hearing. Not exactly Noceda standard, but also far above that of a normal human. So most likely anything said ‘discreetly’ would still be overheard by them. 

She knew how protective both Eda and Amity could get. So Luz would be kidding herself if she didn’t say she wasn’t worried about it going downhill. All Luz could do was hope that they didn’t get themselves banned from a park like the last time things got explosive.

Despite knowing it was probably going to end up being in vain. Luz to her credit had tried warning the others on what to expect.

“Hah, if they think yours looks bad, they should see what I looked like fully transformed.” Eda said with a snort. Luz had just finished the last warning on what to possibly expect at the reunion.

“ Edalyn-” Lilith began a clear warning in her tone already.

Eda cut her off, waving off the concern. “Calm down sis, I have no plans to actually do that. Even if I could.” Too bad she had yet to figure out how to control the transformation. That would most likely shut up Luz’s more problematic family members really fast. “Though seriously kiddo if they give you any trouble about it just send them my way. I still have some photos of the last time I transformed. That should shut them up real fast.”

“Thanks, Eda. However, I have no plans to stick around the bad ones long enough for them to give me trouble.” Luz assured her. No way was she letting there be a repeat of the aftermath of last Winter’s reunion. Even if she had to stick around one of the others like glue for the entire night. Hopefully, no one would be too bothered being stuck with Fortunata at their side for a few hours.

Lilith let out an exasperated sigh. Before turning her attention to Luz. “Do you know why they have this reaction, anyway.” Maybe if they knew what drove it, they could cut it off at the head before it got going?

Luz shrugged at the question. “I’m not sure. I guess it maybe deals with how long it's been since a wolf like Fortunata came along? I mean, the last one who inherited as many mutations as I did was my great-aunt. And even she didn’t hit the genetic lottery to the same extent.” No one was entirely sure when the last time someone had gotten the total package. All they knew was it was well before anyone who was still living memory. “So I get why they have that reaction to Fortunata.” 

Judging by the frowns on the others’ faces, they didn’t entirely exactly agree with that. King was the first one that let his displeasure be known. “If anyone tries to say something bad, I shall challenge them to prove them otherwise. And make them rue the day they said it!”

Luz gave a small smile at that before reaching up and scratching King’s head. “Thanks, but please don’t do that. Most of the wolves easily dwarf you, King. The last thing I want is any of you getting hurt.” Plus, with how drunk some of her cousins got during the reunion. The last thing she wanted was someone to take his challenge seriously.

“I’m with the demon pup on this one.” Amity said, ignoring the indigent ‘hey,’ from King. “You're the cutest looking wolf demon I’ve ever seen. No one should make those kinds of comments.”

Luz blushed before giving a slight wince at that. “Yeah, expect to probably have an argument with at least one of my aunts.” No way would Deborah let that comment fly without throwing in her own two cents if experience had taught her anything. “Though I appreciate the sentiment.”

Yeah, the reunion was definitely going to be interesting if this conversation was any sign.

Surprisingly enough, the reunion had gotten off to a relatively good start. Luz’s guests had surprised several people. Thankfully, though, no one had pushed too far when Camila had said that they were guests of theirs.

However, Luz had been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Most of the relatives that she didn’t particularly get along with hadn’t arrived so Amity and the others had seen the rest of her family on their ‘better’ behavior. Something she knew was going to end soon. Since some of the family didn’t always have the best filter at keeping their opinions to themselves.

Amity had barely left her side the entire time, seeing how nervous Luz was getting. “Hey deep breaths. So far nothing bad has happened.”

“Yet.” Luz noted slightly darkly. Honestly, she would feel much better if her troublesome relatives just showed up so she could get this over with. “Sorry. I know this probably looks over the top. Considering how well this has gone so far.” 

“Hey remember I come from a family that is very good at putting up a front.” Amity reminded her, placing a placating arm on Luz to try to reassure her. Of all people, she knew too well why Luz would be nervous. Her parents had been masters of hiding their true intentions when they wanted too. She believed Luz. If she said that there were family members who looked down on Fortuna, then there definitely was. They just hadn’t shown their true colors yet. “Don’t worry, I get it.”

“Thanks.” Luz said smiling before wincing as she spotted the one face she had been dreading maybe the most. Her aunt, Deborah, who thankfully for her was too busy talking with her mother at the moment to come over to her.  “Oh, great, here we go.”

Amity frowned, following Luz’s gaze before spotting the aunt in question. “So which one is this?”

“Deborah.” Luz said, crossing her arms. “Remember how I told you while most won’t say to my face what they think of Fortunata? She’s not one of those people.” She was already dreading the backhanded compliments of telling her she was dating. If she would even believe her, that was.   

“How much should I be worried?” Amity asked, frowning as she watched the woman for a moment. Trying to decipher and see what she could expect from a conversation before it even started. 

“About her making a comment about the wolf? Probably won’t happen right now. Or not yet, at least since she’ll try to put on a front at first. However, that’s not the only issue, unfortunately.” Luz began only to cut herself off as she saw Deborah approaching. Not able to warn Amity that Deborah might try setting her up with another family member because she looked down on Luz. 

“Luz.” Deborah’s slightly warm greeting. “So good to see you. After you were missing from the summer solstice festivities, I was unsure if you were coming back.”

“Deborah.” Luz greeted, not missing the flicker of annoyance across her aunt’s face. After one particular nasty get together her Mom had said she didn’t need to call her ‘Aunt’ anymore. And Luz had stuck with it. No matter how much it annoyed Deborah, or how much anyone else in the family asked. She would not call her, her aunt, until Deborah stopped treating her and Fortunata like they were beneath her. And considering she had just insinuated that she had missed the summer solstice absence because they had driven her out... That probably would never happen. “Good to see you as well. I was away in a mentorship program and couldn’t make it back.”

“Yes, I heard about that.” Deborah noted.

Judging by the flicker of doubt Luz caught, she definitely didn’t believe the excuse. Not that Luz had expected a response otherwise. What Luz wouldn’t give to do magic back on Earth at the moment. But nope, they still hadn’t figured out if there was a way to do Glyph magic away from the Isles. And she didn’t have her own Palisman yet to use in such a manner.

Either way, she wasn’t in the mood to argue. She just wanted to introduce Amity and then exit the conversation as quickly as possible. “Then you might have also heard about the fact I have a girlfriend now. This is Amity.” Luz said, motioning at Amity who had said nothing yet.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Noceda.” Amity said. 

Luz picking up on the forced pleasantries in her tone. And judging by the frown on her aunt’s face, she hadn’t entirely missed that either. 

“Likewise.” Deborah said neither Luz nor Amity missed the once over she gave her. “You're a fine-looking girl. I’m surprised Luz could rope in someone like yourself.”

Luz bit her lip before she let out an audible groan. And she could almost feel Amity twitch next to her. The backhanded compliment of an insult had not gone unnoticed by either of them. Luz started mentally counting down readying for the next comment based on the stories she had heard from her aunt’s son, Hugo. 

“Maybe I should introduce you to one of my sons Hugo.” Yep, there it was. 

Luz could tell Amity was slightly confused by the segue, so she jumped in before Amity could respond. “Thanks, but I can do that myself later.” 

Deborah started opening her mouth saying “But surely-”

Luz cut into the suggestion she knew was coming. “Oh, hey look there’s cousin Jesus, looks like he wants something. We’ll catch you later, Aunty.” Before taking off to the other side of the park with Amity in tow.

When they came to a stop at the edge of the clearing most of the family was in. Only then Amity realized that they were again alone. “Guessing Jesus doesn’t exist?” Amity asked. 

“Oh no, I do have a cousin named Jesus. He’s just nothere yet. But I didn’t want to deal with Deborah anymore and that was the only excuse I could come up with.” Luz said.

“So should I be worrying about this ‘Hugo’?” Amity asked after a moment.

Luz snorted. “Nah. Hugo’s a good guy and wouldn't steal anyone’s girlfriend or boyfriend for that matter. Besides, he’s about as interested in girls as you are in guys. Not that it has entirely stopped her from trying to introduce him to pretty girls. Despite the fact Hugo’s now had two boyfriends when I last asked.” 

“Let me guess, she’s the type that doesn’t like her idea of a perfect world shaken up?” Amity guessed. Recognizing it from having seen it in her own parents.

Luz nodded. “It’s partly why she hates Fortunata so much.” Everyone else in her generation looked pretty normal, except for Luz. Much like Hugo being only into guys. Luz’s wolf looking anything but normal had shaken up Deborah. And thus the continued hated remarks towards it. “Anyway, let's just try to avoid her. That probably won’t be the last attempt she makes to set you up with Hugo knowing her. But if we steer clear, we should be okay.”

Luz and Amity ended up getting separated when Amity started talking with some of Luz’s other cousins who had been curious about magic. With Luz being flagged down by an increasingly annoyed Eda. As a group of her younger cousins had been pestering her about why she was there at all. 

“I honestly don’t care what you say as long it will get them to back off at this point.” Eda said, rubbing her forehead. She had come at Luz’s request, and Camila had said the additional support would be appreciated. Something that Luz had seemed to echo in the warning earlier without fully realizing it. She kept telling herself that she was here to support Luz. But the pestering was getting to be a bit much, even for her.

Luz frowned for a moment before two ideas occurred to her. “I mean, do you want me to tell that about your curse or just make something up?” She asked Eda. 

Eda twitched at the idea. On the one hand, she still wasn’t particularly fond of sharing the fact that she had a curse in the first place. On the other hand, she was around an entire family line that had been cursed and so were likely to not overly judge her. “Fine, if you think that will make any sort of difference.”

Eda tuned out Luz’s explanation until she suddenly found herself at the center of attention of the entire group of kids. “You can transform into a wolf too? Is that something all witches can do?” Eda isn’t entirely sure which kid asks the question.

Eda couldn’t help but be slightly bemused. She wasn’t entirely sure where that conclusion had come from. “No, and no. I turn into what we call an ‘owlbeast’ and that issue is just limited to myself and my sister.” 

“Could you show us it?” Another kid pipes up.

Eda frowns before realizing with a family that can control their transformations, of course they would want a demonstration. “No, for one, I can’t exactly control my transformations like you guys can. For two, she’s more wild than your guys wolves.” Eda noted as she watched two of the older wolves play tussle behind the group of kids she was talking too.

“Wait, why can’t you control your transformation?” Was the question that came out of a kid’s mouth not even two seconds after Eda had finished speaking.

There was a beat of silence followed by another girl’s voice adding. “Oh, my god Laura. You can’t just ask someone why they can’t control their transformation!”

Eda was about to make a snarky response of her own, but Luz beat her to it. “Laura, you know the family story goes that our ancestor only learned to tame the wolf with help. Eda hasn’t had that until recently.” Leaving off the fact that none of them were even sure if the owlbeast could be remotely tamed like the wolves had. 

Hearing the start of another protest, Eda cut in. “Look kid, not all curses are made equal. If there’s a way to control her, I have yet to discover it. And that’s the end of the story.”

“Sorry about her.” Amity looked up in surprise to see another one of Luz’s cousins had come up to her. She had long ago finished explaining the existence of magic to some of the family. In the lull she had been fending off Deborah’s rather annoying insistences to meet Hugo. She hadn’t heard him come up. Holding out a can of soda as a peace offering. “My Mom’s never been really great taking no as an answer. I’m Hugo, by the way.”

Ah, so this was the boy that Luz’s aunt kept trying to set her up with. “Amity and yeah, I got that impression really quick.” Amity took the offered can, taking a swig.

Hugo winced at that. “Yeah, sorry about that again. It’s just that-”

“Your Mom doesn’t like the fact that you dating guys fits into her oh so perfect view of the world?” Amity guessed. While her issues with her parents had never been because of her liking girls. Based on what Luz had told her, she could easily see that being a problem here in the human realm. 

“Luz?” He partly correctly guessed.

“Yes, and no.” Amity admitted. “Luz did warn me about your Mom. However, I also had parents who engaged in similar behavior. So it’s hard not to recognize the behavior that you grew up with that.”

“Guess if there’s one universal truth, it’s that.” Hugo noticed with a wince. Though he frowned soon after glancing over at where Amity had least seen Lilith. “Though I thought the dark-haired woman you came with was your mother?”

“Lilith is my mentor, not my mother.” Amity corrected. “I do live with her now, though. However, I was referencing my actual parents, who have a similar attitude. Let’s just say they didn’t take me being friends with Luz that well. And this was before we started dating officially two months ago.”

“Ah, because you were both girls or…” He trailed off their letting Amity fill in the blanks.

Amity shook her head at that. “No, sexuality isn’t such a big deal on the Isles. It would probably be more weird to make a fuss of it, to be honest.” Thinking for a second on what to say. “Look, I’m not going to explain to a guy that I just met what happened.” There was no way she was going to tell anyone in a park full of Nocedas that it had been her ancestor that had cursed them to begin with. While Luz may have taken it well once she got over her initial shock. It was probably a good bet that the rest of the family wouldn’t have the same reaction to that piece of news. “But my parents have a particular reason for disliking our at the time friendship. And viewed it as blasphemous for just hanging out together let alone being friends.”

Let him think it was because she was a witch and Luz was a human. That at least was a partial truth. Her parents hadn’t been fond of her being around Luz when it had been just because she was human. It had only gotten worse when they had found out she was a Noceda. Because she certainly wasn’t going to tell him the whole story.

Hugo frowned at that. Obviously not entirely buying the story, but to Amity’s relief didn’t press her for more information. “Anyway, I gotta go so nice talking with you. If Mom gives you any more trouble about setting us up, try to send her in my direction. I’m used to handling her strange fantasies.” 

Luz joined her shortly after Hugo wandered off. “Sorry about that. I didn’t realize how pestering my younger cousins were going to be about Eda or I wouldn’t have walked off without you. 

Amity waved off the concern. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve mostly been keeping myself busy talking to your other cousins. Hugo seems nice at least.” Nicer than his mother at least she mentally added. 

“Yeah, he’s definitely one of my better cousins.” Luz agreed with a smile. Hugo’s reaction to her wolf form had been almost one eighty of his mothers. And he was one of the few people in the family that seemed to genuinely not care how quirky Fortuna looked. “Though you may want to avoid his siblings. They take more after their mother while Hugo takes after their father.”

“Noted.” Amity said with a wince.

“No trouble from Deborah?” Luz asked.

“Well, some.” Amity admitted with a wince. “But mostly, she’s kept away when other family members have been by. So I haven’t had to deal too much with her.” 

Luz smiled in relief at that. “Glad to hear that. Why don’t we-”

“Hey Luz.” Luz turned slightly as she caught wind of one of her least liked cousins, Jesus coming up behind her. “What’s the deal with the grey-haired lady?”

Luz let out an exasperated sigh at the question. Though it really wasn’t his fault that they had already asked her this question. She was just tired of having answered the question for what felt like a dozen times now. Well, her Mom and Eda had been clear on what to say if people didn’t stop asking. She just hoped it didn’t raise any more questions in response.. “I now have two moms.”

Jesus blinked in apparent confusion. “What does this have to do with the grey-haired lady.”

Luz scowled in annoyance. “First off, that’s Eda. Second off, she’s my other Mom genius.”

Jesus apparently would not drop this much to Luz’s growing annoyance. “Did she and your mom...?” 

Luz shook her head at the question. “No. I mean I wouldn’t object if it happened. It just hasn’t happened, yet.” Though she was fairly sure that it was going to happen at some point in the future. If either of them could move past whatever was holding them back. She didn’t think Eda’s curse was as big of a deal breaker to her Mom as Eda kept thinking it was. She just needed for them to both realize it.

This only seemed to fuel the flames of confusion, apparently, as Jesus asked. “Then how..?”

“I adopted her.” Luz said with a shrug. She could hear Amity give a slight snicker next to her. It was really only half a joke. She really considered Eda her second Mom. But for now, she was just playing with Jesus. If he was going to bother her about Eda, then she had every right to troll him.

Something that the statement seemed to quiet effectively if the confused expression was anything to go by. “What?” Jesus said. “You can’t just adopt someone, Luz.” 

Luz raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “I met her on an island full of magic that doesn’t play by any actual rules.. And the thing you're getting caught up on is the fact that I apparently adopted her?”

That seemed to stop Jesus effectively in his tracks. “Huh. I guess that’s fair. Well, thanks for answering the question. See you around Luz.”

Amity waited until she was sure he was out of earshot. “I can’t believe he actually fell for that.”

“Yeah, Jesus was never the smartest cousin.” Luz noted. This was far from the first practical joke she had played on him like this. Though this might have been the one that had taken the least convincing. “Though it is true that I consider Eda a second Mom.” Luz said with a shrug. “The adoption thing wasn’t my idea originally, actually. Eda and Mami said I could say that if I got really too over pestered about Eda being here.” Well, to be more precise it had been her Mom to come up with it and Eda to okay it.

As the night had dragged on Luz had originally hoped that they might get out of the reunion with nothing happening. Sure Deborah was being annoying and pestering her girlfriend though what else was new. Deborah had always been known for sticking her nose in places she didn’t belong. But other than that and the usual comments, things were going mostly smoothly. That was until Deborah had finally just taken a step too far.

“I don’t get how you can take it.” Amity said, crossing her arms with a sour look. Having overheard a few of the family comments when Luz had shifted for a bit to tussle with some of her cousins. “It's not like you're the only one with extra features.” Sure Luz had the most, but she wasn’t alone. Heck, her mother had horns as well among a couple other features. 

“Its just is what it is.” Luz said with a shrug. This wasn’t even some of the worst comments she had to deal with. Not that she was going to risk telling Amity that and having her blow a gasket at the thought. Noticing Amity’s look was still sour, she added. “Hey, it’s okay. As long as I have you guys around I can deal with whatever everyone else says.”

“That still doesn’t make this right.” Amity said, the sour look morphing into a frown.

“No.” Luz agreed. “But if I stop to think about it too long, then the weight of it will get to me.” She couldn’t afford to dwell on how isolated she sometimes felt, even within her own family. “So I’ll just take what I got and not try to dwell too much on anything else ‘kay?”

“Alright.” Amity agreed with some reluctance clear. But understanding at the same time it was best not to push it.

Luz gave her a grateful smile, though it quickly turned into a slight groan as she heard the encroaching steps of her least favorite family member. Seeing the questioning look from Amity, she said. “Deborah’s on her way over.” 

Amity couldn’t help her own audible groan. “Why can’t she just get a clue?”

“She just always has been like this, in my experience at least. Though it probably doesn’t help that I’m the one your with.” Luz admitted. “Deborah never liked me. Even before I got Fortunata. Getting Fortunata made it ten times worse, though.”

Amity frowned at that, wondering just what Luz was referencing, but she didn’t get to ask since that was right when Deborah walked up to them both. “Ah, there you are Amity.” Amity hid a wince at the slightly familiar condescending tone. Yeah, Luz’s aunt definitely reminded her a bit too much of a more working-class version of her parents right now. “Come along, I still haven’t introduced you to Hugo.”

Amity had to bite her tongue to keep retorting that the woman had no clue what she did or didn’t want as her first reaction. She was trying to make a good impression on Luz’s family. Running her mouth at the aunt was a bad idea. No matter how aggravating she was being, no matter how insulting she could be (she hadn’t missed the fact Deborah hadn’t addressed Luz). Would only have the opposite effect in enduring her to the family. Instead settling for a far more pleasant. “I actually already met him. And while he seems nice enough, I’m not interested, and neither is he.”

Luz piled on to that. “Yeah, Deborah if you're so set on finding him a mate why don’t you try to poach someone else’s boyfriend.” Since she had no respect for other people’s relationships. Though Luz hoped she wouldn’t take that advice to heart.

Luz didn’t miss the scowl that went across Deborah’s face at her continual refusal to address her as Aunt. But her calling Deborah, Aunt, again would not happen anytime soon. She would call Deborah her Aunt when she stopped looking down on her. And considering that didn’t appear to be happening soon. Neither was her respecting her aunt.

Deborah gave a harrumph and said in a snooty tone. “I simply don’t understand why someone like you would take pity on someone like her by being her girlfriend.”

If the beginning of the comment wasn’t enough to cause Amity’s temper to spike, Luz’s small, barely noticeable flinch was enough to send her over the tipping point. Hand wrapping around her girlfriends for a moment before giving it a reassuring squeeze. Reminder of one thing, no matter what Luz’s family might think Amity was with Luz because she loved her. No more, no less.

Now she just had to try and sell Deborah on this. “Look, I don’t know what your deal is.” Though Amity had a couple of good guesses. “But let's make one thing clear to you, you do not know me. And so you don’t get to go around assuming why Luz and I are dating. Which just for the record is because I love her .”

Deborah’s scowl seemed to deepen even further. “I just don’t understand how anyone besides her own mother. Could take a look at her wolf and think that’s okay. And decide they loved that. ”

If the comment itself hadn’t been enough to send Amity finally over the edge. Luz’s second much more noticeable flinch at the comment was more than enough to do the job. She lunged at Deborah, completely forgetting her own magic in the heat of the moment. Only to find herself restrained before she could even completely close the gap. 

Wondering at first who had caught her. She glanced up to see a pair of gold eyes staring back, Eda. Grumbling slightly at getting caught before she could let Deborah know exactly what she thought of that insult towards Luz. Eda hissed. “We’re supposed to be enduring ourselves to their family, remember? ”

Amity scowled before hissing right back. “You didn’t hear what she said to Luz. Otherwise you would have been right there with me.” 

Eda frowned at that, opening her mouth to ask what she meant. However, Deborah cut her off before she could get the question out. “And just who might you be?”

Eda was the one to answer the question. “I’m Eda. Luz’s mentor.”

“Ah, so you're the one that Luz has supposedly been staying with, supposedly learning magic from.” Deborah said, her face lighting up slightly. “I was wondering who would actually take someone like Luz to teach anything too.”

Eda didn’t miss the undercurrent of doubt in the other woman’s voice. “She’s a good kid. A bit hard headed, maybe. But a fantastic student who I wouldn’t trade for anyone in the world.” Though Eda’s face and tone remained neutral. Luz had been around her enough by now to recognize when she was angry. And boy, had Deborah’s latest insult really set her off if the storm brewing in her eyes were any sign. 

“And you don’t take issue with her problem?” Deborah, eyebrow clearly raised in skepticism.

Eda shook her head at that. “Well, considering I have a similar problem of my own. No. Because that would make me a giant hypocrite.” Her eyes narrowed. “Why what’s it to you?”

Amity beat Luz to any comment that might dampen the situation. “Well, I don’t know what she thinks about you. But she already stated that I’m only with Luz out of pity.”

Eda’s grip tightened around her staff and for a moment Luz worried that she might accidentally crack it. Her tone was flat out icy when she spoke next. “Oh, really?” A small nod from Luz confirmed what Amity had said. “And just what do you think of my choice in mentoring her?” Not that Eda really cared what Deborah’s opinion was, to be honest. She just wanted to see if the woman had any common sense, really. 

Deborah shrugged and said with a haughty tone. “I mean, I do wonder why one would want to teach Luz. And the validity of someone who would want to, for that matter. I’ve heard some of the stories about her previous school. Snakes, honestly.”  

Luz was just about ready to facepalm at Deborah at this point. She just kept adding fuel to the fire and missing all the warning signs that all she was doing was making things worse. She wasn’t sure if it was her stubbornness or the fact that she apparently didn’t buy the ‘magic’ story. 

So far, there had been a few family members who steadfastly refused to believe magic was real. Playing off Amity’s fire was some wacky special techno effects (though Luz wasn’t entirely sure how that would work). And considering how Deborah could get, her being part of that group wouldn’t be a surprise.

However, as she started at the standoff for a moment. It astounded her just how deluded her aunt was, apparently. 

“Look, we should probably go.” Luz said with a bit of a nervous laugh. Hoping to maybe get Eda and Amity away from the conversation before Deborah somehow made it worse. And at the rate things were going, she was seriously worried about what Deborah would say next. For both her sake and theirs.

Eda in what would prove to be a faithful choice, however, didn’t take the bait from Luz. Instead, she added more fuel to the fire. “No, wait. I want to know exactly how she thinks I’m a poor teacher when it's apparent she’s either never been one. Or if she has, she’s bad at her job.”

“Excuse me?” Deborah indignantly said. “I am a perfectly fine teacher.”

“You heard me.” Eda said. “If you're going around insulting people for things they can’t control. Then you are obviously not cut out to be in my role. And Titan bless any child whose unfortunate to be stuck with you.”

Luz for one agreed with Eda here. It wasn’t like she had similar thoughts herself in the past. She clearly played favorites among the family, Luz was a firsthand example of seeing that. However, she really didn’t want to add more fuel to what was quickly showing signs of a raging forest fire of an argument. By agreeing with Eda at this point.

Deborah’s eyes narrowed. And a feeling of dread started forming in Luz’s stomach. She knew that look usually preceded something bad. “Well, I’m not entirely sure you're a much better teacher. Considering the stories I’ve heard being passed around. You’re ill fit to replace her actual mother, no matter what Luz thinks or what Camila’s actual standards. Not that it matters. Your teaching a two bit wolf to begin with. You probably couldn’t teach an actual wolf to save your life.” 

Luz recoiled slightly at the comment. Not entirely sure why this one hit differently. It wasn’t like Deborah hadn’t said something similar before. However, what she hadn’t factored in was she wasn’t the only one to overhear the comment this time. And boy, did it set off Amity and Eda. 

Luz, usually, was pretty much at peace with her wolf side from what Amity could see. However, every once in a while she saw small cracks in the facade. Hints that while Luz and Fortuna were mostly in tune with one another, everything wasn’t as perfect as it seemed. Occasional comments or actions hinting that Luz at least was maybe self conscious at times about how Fortuna looked on a not so great day. No matter how much Amity reassured her, how much she really didn’t care how Fortuna looked. So with the statement came a sudden clarity. As Amity was finally starting to understand where they were all coming from and boy did it make her angry.

Eda was livid at the moment. She hadn’t appreciated the comment from Deborah to begin with about her training ability. However, it was more the slight recoil from Luz at the comment that had honestly set her off even more. Like Amity, she had also seen the occasional cracks and had more than once wanted to throttle whoever was behind it. 

Now that she was finally faced with the source of her ire, it was really hard not to. The only thing really holding her back at this point was the fact that she was trying to get on the Nocedas’ good side. She would give Deborah one more chance to keep her mouth shut, before the ice fell out from under her.

There was a snapping noise and at first Luz initially worried that Eda had broken Owlbert by accident. But on closer look, she realized Owlbert wasn’t the only thing she was carrying. Her hand wrapped around a now broken piece of silverware. Eda’s tone carried a growl, a clear warning of how angry she was getting.  “You have one minute to retract that before I make you regret what you just said.”

Luz knew she wasn’t about to retract it and Deborah confirmed it a moment later by out right sneering. “I don’t understand why I should have to lie-”

Luz wasn’t sure who lunged first. Only that one second Amity was next to her, and the next she was lunging at Deborah with Eda. That was when Lilith showed up stopping both in their tracks literally leaving them hovering in the air with a faint blue outline. 

Lilith’s arrival was something that Luz wasn’t entirely sure yet was a good thing. For all Lilith acted they were sisters for a reason, and Lilith may be the calmer of the two, but that didn’t mean she was completely devoid of a temper of her own. And if Deborah managed to set all three off, it was going to turn ugly... 

“What in the world?” Lilith said as she walked up. “What is going on here? I expected this of you, Edalyn. But I would have thought you would have known better, Amity.” 

“But she was insulting Luz!” Amity and Eda said together.

“Really it's fine. It's not like I have heard none of this before.” Luz said with a nervous laugh. Ignoring the visible twitch from Amity at that comment. As she was trying once again to diffuse the situation before Deborah put more fuel to the fire. Only later would she realize she might have accidentally added fuel instead of dousing it.

Lilith frowned, starting to open her mouth to ask a question. But Deborah beat her out. “And just who might you be?”

“Lilith. I am Edalyn’s sister and Amity’s mentor.” Lilith answered.

“Oh, so you're the one running this two bit rodeo then.” Deborah noted. “Maybe you can talk some sense into Edalyn about what makes up a proper teacher and student.”

Lilith’s eyebrow went up at that before she asked. “Pardon? Do you care to clarify on that statement?” Judging by the frown on Lilith’s face, she probably already understood what Deborah was or rather wasn’t saying. It was just about a clear warning as Eda had given Deborah. Either take back the statement or retract it. Or else it wouldn’t end well for her. 

Deborah to her credit looked like she might be having second thoughts. Unfortunately for her Eda was more than happy to share what had been said right before Lilith had shown up. Knowing exactly how to help rile Lilith up. “Oh, she said Luz is a subpar wolf, Amity’s only with her out of pity and that I’m only teaching her because I am only allowed subpar students.”

“Oh, really?” Lilith asked, her tone icy cold. “And what does that make me?” She already had a piece of the equation. Not that they had told any of the Nocedas outside of Camila, but she had been teaching Luz some aspects that Eda lacked in. So by insinuating that Luz was only Eda’s student because she couldn’t teach. She had just insulted Lilith as well. 

“I don’t know if the others are willing to accept it. Considering one of them’s your student, I can’t see how it would be otherwise..” Deborah muttered no one was entirely sure if she had been meant to be overheard. But with four people with heightened hearing, there was no way it went unmissed. 

There was a pause for a moment as all four of them processed what had just been said. Before Luz began carefully backing up, putting space between them and Deborah. Lilith may have been the calmer of the Clawthorne sisters. But she certainly had her own buttons. And now Deborah had essentially smashed all three of their buttons at the same time. It was about to get ugly, Luz was sure of that. And she did not want to be in the middle of it. If anyone asked later she had tried to defuse the situation, but Deborah had kept piling on. 

Good thing too, since that was the last coherent sentence anyone got out before it devolved into pure chaos.

A little while later saw Luz just staring at the mess that was a combination of witches, abominations, and a few transformed Nocedas and winced. Having long lost track of what was going on. To say the least, this was going to be a mess to sort out. Well, at least no one else looked like they were going to be jumping into the fray anytime soon. “Luz?” Her Mami’s voice turned her attention away from the mess for a moment. Camila walked up frown growing. “What happened?”

“Who else? Deborah.” Luz said, crossing her arms partially in annoyance. At least no one after this could say her discomfort with that aunt was unjustified. Hopefully.

Camila let out an audible groan at that. The headache that had been growing since they showed up was now in full bloom. “Alright, well, that explains our side. Though I thought you said Lilith was the one best at keeping the others in check?” The whole reason for bringing along Lilith had been to hopefully keep the other three in check.

“I mean, she technically is. But she’s also kind of prideful? And the last thing I remember Deborah saying before it all went up was insulting Amity among other things. Soooo…” Luz trailed off there, letting her Mom fill in the remaining blank. 

Camila audibly groaned as she realized what had happened. “She took the slight against Amity as a personal slight against herself.”

“Yeah.” Luz agreed, looking back at the mess. At least it looked like things were finally starting to calm down. She really was going to need to ask Amity at some point, Deborah said that had set the whole chain reaction off in the first place. “So do you think we are going to have to worry about being banned from future reunions after this?”

Camila couldn’t help the small snort she gave at that prospect. “I doubt it. Teo didn’t get banned after the incident that got the entire family banned from the last park. Besides, if they try to argue, I’ll just say your Aunt started it.” Camila frowned as a new question dawned. “What did she say, anyway?”

Luz winced, knowing her Mom was about to take the comment even worse than Amity did. “Well, there were several things. But what set Amity off and thus the chain reaction was her insinuating that we were only together because she pitied me. Since there was no way a pretty girl like that would willingly be-”

Camila raised her hand, effectively cutting Luz off. “Don’t finish that I think I get the idea of what happened.” Part of her wondered if she could talk Miguel into keeping Deborah home from future reunions. She certainly had done a lot more damage than anyone else had, and it wasn’t like she was a member of the family by blood. Regardless, after today she honestly wanted the woman nowhere near Luz and her friend. For both the pack’s safety and Luz’s. She knew all too well this could have gone a lot worse. “I need to go talk to your uncle. Try not to cause more of a mess while I’m gone.”

Miguel was busy talking to another family member when Camila had walked up. “Miguel, we need to talk now.”

Miguel sighed and turned his attention to Camila. “Yes, I saw the mess with the witches and the others.”

“Well, yes, that is one thing. That is not what I want to discuss.” Camila said, crossing her arms. “We need to talk about your wife, Miguel. She’s gone too far this time. She needs to stop coming.”

Miguel frowned at that. “Alright, I’ll bite. Why is it that Deborah needs to stop coming based on a situation that four people played a part in? Not just my wife.”

“Actually, it was more she kept adding to it then being a part of.” Someone in the small crowd added in. Getting looks from both Camila and Miguel at the comment. “What? I was watching the whole thing. Luz tried to defuse the situation several times. All three of them said at least gave one chance for Deborah to retract her statements before it got worse. She insulted them and Luz. And considering they already consider Luz family going by their scents, she was just adding fuel to a burning fire. Face it Miguel, she intentionally made it worse.”

Miguel rubbed his forehead a feeling of a headache coming on. “Alright. Then what am I supposed to do. I feel like even as ridiculous as this was banning maybe a bit too much.” Trying to find a way to avoid what he knew would be a nightmare of an argument with his wife.

Camila, however, was having none of it. Deborah had hurt Luz enough times now, and she would no longer let it slide. Deborah had gotten away with something for simply being Miguel’s wife for the last time. “Did you know after the last Winter Solstice I had to sit with her and convince her that she wasn’t a freak because of some comments Deborah said? Do you even realize that part of the reason I tried to send her to summer camp wasn’t just to teach her to be normal? But to also help her find a circle of support besides myself, since so few people in this family will look at Fortuna with a straight face? This may have been Deborah’s worst transgression, but she’s been at this since the beginning. She needs to be stopped, Miguel.” 

Miguel frowned and in some denial said.” It can’t be that bad-” 

Camila, however, was done with him trying to downplay it at this point though. And played her one trump card. Miguel wasn’t the only family member who could have claimed pack leadership when their father had died. She had simply not been interested in it and had left it for him and Maria to sort out. She was going to make clear he remembered that much. “Three hours, Miguel. It took three hours to calm her down after the last reunion. And that was only after a promise of some Chimichurri sandwiches. This is the happiest I’ve seen her at a reunion since before her father died. And it’s all because those three are here with her. If you won’t do something about Deborah and the others who keep making these comments, then I am not coming back, period. No reunions, no parties, no get-togethers, I will not subject my daughter to being constantly degraded just for the sake of pack unity.” 

Miguel frowned in disbelief. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, I’m dead serious, Miguel. Do something about Deborah or I am not above splitting the pack up to protect my daughter.” Camila said before turning to head back to Luz. “Let me know what you decide.”

There was a slight pause as Camila walked away before one of Luz’s cousins Diego asked. “Ya know she’s not the only one with issues with Deborah, right? I mean, even if we don’t count the stunt she pulled today. Which admittedly going by this doesn’t paint her in a splendid light.” He held up the phone with a full recording of the conversation before everything had gone up in smoke. He had been about to show Miguel when Camila had come up. “She’s done some not so great stuff.”  

Miguel raises his eyebrow and turns to fully address the small 20 odd something group of family members that had gathered around while he and Camila were talking. “Okay, really, just how many of you have issues with my wife?”

Around half of the hands in the twenty something group went up. It was another cousin, Francisco, that spoke up. “No offense, Miguel, but your wife is kinda a bitch. And not in a dog sense.”

Miguel rubs his forehead as he starts to realize how much of an issue this actually is. “Alright before I get into all of this just how many of you have some sort of proof on you of similar incidents with Deborah.” The same hands as before went up. Miguel lets out a sigh. “Alright, let’s go through this slowly. I’ll figure out how to handle this when I’ve seen everything.” If the rest of the incidents were anything like today, there might be only one solution.

“Thanks for yesterday again by the way.” Luz said poking into the demon eggs the following day at breakfast. They had gotten back from the reunion relatively early the previous day. With a promise to get together in the next day or two for some more traditional Witchling Winter Solstice activities. Things had been far from settled with Miguel by the time the event had settled. But she had overheard that Deborah was going to finally be held responsible for something so that was nice at least. “It was nice to see someone else put it up to her like that, that’s not Mami.”

Eda gave a small smile at that. “No problem, kid. Not sure where she thinks she can get off with that. Surprised it took that long for something like this to happen honestly.” Eda frowned, remembering seeing the gathering around Miguel. Had really no one stuck it up to the woman before then? She didn’t understand pack mechanics so maybe she was missing something but it astounded her that it had taken that long for something like that to happen.  

“Pack mentality, literally and figuratively with us.” Luz said with a shrug. “Truth be told while Deborah might be the only one who seems to have no filter, partly because she could get away with it being Uncle Miguel’s wife. However, I know she’s not the only one that has the opinion of Fortuna. The last family member who won the ‘genetic’ lottery before me was a couple of generations back. So since most had forgotten what we used to look like, I’m kind of the family freak.” And whether she said it, in some ways they were right. No matter how much it hurt to acknowledge.

Eda frowned, remembering a brief conversation she and Camila had before they had gone back to the Boiling Isles. Where it had been hinted at least a bit that there were probably more cracks to the facade than Luz let on. And she would probably see more of them as Luz and her got closer now that she would start realizing that they were on her side. “Kid, your entire family is all a bit quirky because of the curse. Don’t let them make you think you are a freak. And you don’t need to keep up a facade around me. I thought you would know that by now.”

Luz sank slightly into the chair. “It just hurts that that’s their opinion. It's not like I chose to have Fortunata look that way. It's hard when so many, whether they say it, seem to view her that way.”

“Yeah-well they can stuff their opinions in a garbage bag that gets tossed into the Boiling Sea.” Eda said with a snort, not entirely sure what other advice she could provide now. “And besides, remember what did you tell me when I was struggling to come to terms with what Lilith did?”

“That just because they’re family doesn’t mean they don’t occasionally do something stupid once in a while?” Luz asked after a moment of thought.

Eda snorted at that. “I had forgotten about that particular nugget. But no that’s not what I was referring to.” Waiting for a moment to see if Luz would remember what she had said before sighing. “What you said was just because they’re family doesn’t make the pain of them hurting any less.”

“Oh.” Luz said. “I guess I just never thought about it that way with me. I mean-”

Eda cut her off before she could continue, already seeing where this was going. “Eh don’t you start on just because what Lily did is technically worse means you have to accept it. They’re still family that hurt us. And while Lily and I are moving past our differences, slowly, that doesn’t mean you have to do the same if they keep acting that way about Fortuna.” She shrugged. “Anyway, if they give you trouble like that again, feel free to point me in their direction so I can give them a ‘lesson’.”

“Thanks Eda.” Luz said with a smile. “But I won’t be doing that.”

“I just wish one of you had come and got me so I could show Deborah my awesome power!” King declared from his seat, interrupting the moment.

Luz couldn’t help that small chuckle and grateful smile giving a scratch behind one of his horns. “Thanks King, but I think it’s probably better you sat this one out. It was already a big volatile mess to begin with. And we’re lucky no one really got hurt.” The unsaid thing being King wouldn’t have had a real chance against the adult wolves. “Besides you just sitting with me when we were sorting it all out was really all I needed.” King might not have intended to become a therapy demon. But that’s what he had been for about a half hour. “So thank you, both of you.”

Chapter Text

Eda had known about Luz’s birthday long before she had gotten involved in the planning stages of her quinceañera. Or even known what a quinceañera was to begin with.

Even with the intent of casting the spell to let her speak to her father a final time. Luz was oddly subdued about the whole affair. But when Eda had tried to corner her about it, Luz had waved off the concern at every corner. 

It was so typical of Luz it shouldn’t have surprised her. But that didn’t make it any less frustrating. As Eda couldn’t quiet figure out where the mentality was coming from. 

Was this another result of Luz’s time at the camp? Had the camp been so insistent on making everyone uniform that even birthdays had been an issue?

But that didn’t seem right either. Luz had mentioned nothing like that coming up with the camp. And they had been working steadily to erase the damage the camp had caused. 

So what was behind this?

Finally, as the date started creeping closer on the calendar. And with Eda still at a loss at what was causing the shift, Eda had turned to the one person who would hopefully know, Camila. 

“It concerns her quinceañera.” Camila explained as Eda took a seat on the couch across from her. 

Eda blinked, slightly confused. “Her what?” Racking her brain trying to remember Luz using that word before but coming up blank. Whatever this was, Luz hadn’t talked to her at all about it.

“Her quinceañera.” Camila repeated. Seeing Eda’s blank look, Camila realized Luz must not have talked about it at all. “It’s a party in the simplest of terms. Though party might not be the right word. It’s more of an event. A celebration of a girl coming of age in our culture. I guess my worries about making sure that she has the best one possible is accidentally rubbing off on her.” 

That or Luz was sharing the same concerns, and Camila hadn’t realized it. Eda noted to herself.

“Okay, so I get that this is a huge deal to the both of you.” Or at least that was the conclusion Eda was drawing here. Based on what Camila and told her. And Luz’s previous behavior. Something minor wouldn’t have affected Luz to this same extent. “Though I am still a bit lost as to what the actual issue is here.” Eda admitted with a frown. 

“I just have concerns on how well this will actually go. How well I can make up for certain things. On one hand, I can arrange certain things. Make sure the family’s there. Make sure she’s ready for the mass.” Camila said ticking off the various things that were a part of the celebration. “But there are things that no matter what I do won’t fill the void.”

“Like what?” Eda asked. 

“Her father’s absence for one.” Camila answered. “There are a few parts of the quinceañera that would normally involve him.” 

Oh well, that certainly explained more than a few things. Eda briefly wondered if Luz had even considered doing the spell earlier. Before realizing it was probably best not to suggest it. Performing that kind of spell during a public event could spell serious trouble for all of them.

“Well, I can’t fix the Dad issue.” Eda admitted. However, there was other stuff she could help with. If she could talk Camila into it, that was. “But why can’t she have parts of it here on the Boiling Isles?” 

Was there some strange rule that said the party had to be on Earth? Or was Camila thinking too far inside the box again?

Camila stared blankly for a moment before frowning. “I’m honestly not sure. I hadn’t even considered moving the party.”

“Well now, that its out there, is there any real reason not to move the party?” Eda asked. Both genuinely curious and trying to push it. After everything that had happened. After all the stories. Some part of her couldn’t be completely convinced Luz wouldn’t be much happier to have a party on the Isles than back on Earth.

“Well, it could cause issues with the mass. Though conceivable we could still have it here on Earth and then have the rest of the party here. Though I’m not entirely sure how that would impact the rest of the family’s attendance….” Camila trailed off after a moment. 

Eda raised an eyebrow at that. Remembering various tales from Luz about both sides of her family. None of which were very complimentary to them. “Okay, lets be honest here for a second. Do you actually think after everything that happened with both your family and her father’s? Do you think she would actually enjoy having them there? Tradition or not?”

“No. Your right there. Most of the family’s attendance would just make things worse.” Camila said with a sigh. Outside of a couple of exceptions. Having most of the family there might make Luz more miserable.

Maybe moving it wouldn’t be such a bad time, Camila wondered for a moment. Luz would most likely be happier having her party on the Isles. Yes, there was the mass part of it. But there really was nothing stopping them from having the rest of the party elsewhere. Sure explaining to some members of the family why not every was getting invited might be complicated? However, making Luz happy was the more important goal.

After all, some part of her would always wonder if Reality Check camp would have still happened if certain aunts hadn’t been so pushy.

Maybe it really was for the best that she just left them out of this when she started to think about it.

After all, she could spend a thousand lifetimes apologizing and trying to atone for what had happened with Reality Check Camp and still feel like she hadn’t made up for it. Even if her intentions with sending Luz to that awful summer camp and never feel like she really made up for it. 

No, Eda was right. It was for the best to limit most of the rest of the family involvement.

Besides, it wasn’t like they were around most of the time, anyway.

Eda had been pretty sure that once asked, most of Luz’s friend group would jump to say yes. However, to get this done, she was going to need help. Some of Luz’s friends she knew better than others. So it was easier, for her, to spread the work than do all of it. So she had enlisted the help of the main trio.

Well, after checking to make sure they were on board with the whole thing first.

Though as it turned out, Amity was already aware of and incorporated into the quinceañera. Apparently, Eda had missed beating Luz to that particular punch by one day. 

Willow to her somewhat surprise was the one to voice some reservations about the plan. “I don’t know Eda. Shouldn’t Luz be the one doing this?” There was a lingering question that could be heard but not voiced of, did Luz even want them there if she wasn’t doing to the inviting. 

Amity ended up being Eda to the punch. “Actually, I’m with Eda here. Remember, this is Luz we’re talking about. She befriended Boscha despite the fact Boscha was essentially the reason she broke her leg. And yet none of us knew she even had allergies until she slipped up. She’s afraid the slightest inconvenience is going to cause everything to come tumbling down. She’s not asking because she doesn’t want you there, Willow. She’s not asking because she’s afraid of you saying no. And knowing her, she won’t ask because she’s still afraid of being rejected.”

Eda silently agreed with Amity on this one. While the kid had come a long way in the past several months. Both Nocedas had, actually. But there were still lingering issues from the lack of friends, the loss of her father, and the camp, among other things. While according to Camila, it would have been preferable to have Luz ask and not the other way around. Knowing Luz, she was far less likely to ask first. So it was easier to ask around first and then have Luz reject someone if she really didn’t want them in the court.

Not that Eda thought the latter would be an issue.

Willow winced at the reminder of the incident with Boscha. “Yeah, okay, point taken.” Turning to Eda, she asked. “So what is it you want us to do to help set this up?”

Eda began pulling out the small stack of envelopes Camila had made out for Luz’s friends. “We were going to extend the invite to the rest of the friend group. But you three are the only ones I really know ‘remotely’ well, arguably. So I’m wondering if you three might do the whole asking them for me?”

Willow eyed the name on the first envelope at the top of the stack. But didn’t move to take it yet instead saying. “Considering my history with Boscha, it’s probably better I don’t make be the one to ask her.”

Eda raised an eyebrow at that. She knew Boscha and Willow had a history, but she hadn’t realized it ran that deep. “Is both of you being in a party going to be a problem?”

Willow shook her head quickly at that. “No. That’s not an issue. I’m just not sure if she would think an invitation coming from me would be sincere, that’s all.”

“It’s probably better I take them anyway since I used to be in Boscha’s circle,” Amity said, taking the envelope stack from Eda and pulling out the necessary invites before passing them to Willow. 

Willow frowned for a moment flipping between the envelopes. “I’m guessing it’s probably best for me to take the kids who Luz knows from the ‘detention track.’ I know one of them occasionally pops into our classroom to check on his projects, so getting them their invites shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Which leaves me with the twins.” Gus said, reaching out and taking the last two envelopes.

Amity had never actually been to the Treasure Shack before today, as strange as it sounded.

Sure she knew where it was. It was hard not to know where her old friend group hung out. However, because such activities had been viewed as ‘beneath them’ when she was still with her parents. She had been excused from any trips to the shack. To her, the time Boscha and her gang were at the house. Were her brief respites from a friendship she, at the time, hadn’t really wanted. 

Skara had been the one funny enough, most excited about the party. “Told you fifteenth birthdays were special.” This comment was shot at Boscha, who simply gave an eye roll at the comment. 

“I mean, this is more than just a birthday party Skara. Quinceañeras are more than just a birthday party Skara. According to Luz, this is a coming of age party.” Amity said, shaking her head. While she had little doubt that Skara’s own birthday bash had been one for the ages. This was different in multiple ways. For one, Skara definitely hadn’t needed to go to church before the party could even start.

Boscha glanced at the envelope in her hands again before asking in a surprisingly hesitant voice. “Are you sure she’ll want me there?”

Amity had to fight to keep the surprise off of her face at how Boscha sounded. Though with the history between Luz and Boscha, she guessed the question could entirely surprise her. “Boscha, Luz’s Mom wrote the invites. Knowing full well the story between the two of you there. If she thinks Luz will want you there. Then I’m pretty sure Luz will want you there.”

Admittedly Luz’s Mom hadn’t maybe had the best judgement at times in the past, Amity acknowledged. Look what happened with the ‘summer camp’ after all. Not that she was complaining. If she had most of the things that had led to her and Luz meeting in the first place. 

However, Amity really didn’t think Luz wouldn’t have a protest against Boscha being there. 

Plus, even if Camila had misjudged. Eda had seen all the invite envelopes. So she would hope that if Eda thought it was an issue, she would have taken Boscha’s invite out. Especially since knew full well the rocky relationship between the two girls that had only recently blossomed between them, would have intervened before any of them got the invitations. 

It was kind of wild to consider how much the group dynamic had changed since that summer. How much they had all grown up. How far Boscha had come. If anyone had told Amity at the time Luz had broken her foot that Boscha would somehow be one of their friends. She would have laughed at the absurdity. Boscha at the time had been a lot of things, but a friend to Luz was not one of them.

Boscha scoffed a second later. “Well, of course she would want me there. I don’t even know why I even bothered to think otherwise.” 

Yep there went the vulnerability and right back to the Boscha she knew and had grown up with. 

“I’ll take it as a yes then.” 

“I mean, I’m all for a good party. But shouldn’t we be the ones telling Luz yes?” Cat asked.

Amity said with a shake of her head. “Luz sometimes worries about things she doesn’t need to worry about. So we’re asking everyone before even telling her since at the rate things are going, I don’t even know if she would even ask before we run out of time.”

Amity honestly didn’t think this was going to backfire on them. But maybe they had read Luz wrong on this subject. Too late to turn back now, she supposed.

“I gotta admit, it is kind of weird to go around this way and not just ask her directly. I know I would prefer to be doing the asking if I were Luz.” Boscha commented.   

“Yeah, well, it’s not your 15th birthday were talking about here. It’s Luz’s. Do I need to go back over both of your histories as an example of just why were having to go about this the long way around?” Amity asked Boscha. Knowing full well it would shut Boscha up.

After all, Boscha was only back on the Grudgby team again after the incident. Because she had shown progression in the right direction. And with her and Luz slowly mending bridges and becoming friends. It had given enough indicator to Bump that Boscha could rejoin as long as she pulled no more stunts. 

Admittedly, Boscha had yet to regain her captain's status. But it was a step back to doing what she loved. And one that wouldn’t have been possible if for the fact that Luz really hated seeing people being lonely because of something she was involved in. Even if it wasn’t her fault to begin with.

“Point taken.” Boscha conceded with a slight grumble. 

“Also, just so you know that just because we’re asking for Luz doesn’t mean you must say yes.” In fact, Amity would rather they didn’t. The whole point here was to keep Luz from getting more hurt. Having someone agree to the obligation would be the opposite of what they were trying to achieve. “Would she like you there? Yes. But don’t decide just solely on her behalf.” Because that would surely backfire. “If you really feel uncomfortable or need time, you have it. We’re not telling Luz until we go shopping next week. So just make sure you know for sure by then.” 

Gus had thought that with him being used to having classes with the twins. That he knew what to expect as far as giving the invite went. However, in hindsight, he should have realized there was nothing ever really simple when it came to the twins.

“I mean, if she needs people, we definitely know more than enough to help fill this court of hers if she wants.” Edric pointed out thoughtfully.

Gus gave a nervous laugh at that, cutting them both off before they could go fully down that rabbit hole hopefully. “Uh, let me ask Amity first, since she’s the most closely involved of all of us. But I think it’s supposed to be close friends only. Not everyone in our Illusion Track homeroom.”

Or at least he didn’t think it worked that way. But then again, for all his claims about humans, he himself didn’t fully understand them at times. Luz was constantly surprising him. 

Among other things, he hadn’t heard of a quinceañera before Luz had walked into all of their lives. So for all he knew, he could be entirely wrong about how the party’s rules worked. The one thing he did know was that this wasn’t your usual birthday party. So they had to be careful that everything went right.

“Lets just let them handle it.” Emira cut in before Edric could try again. “We don’t want to be the talk of Bonesborough for ‘all the wrong reasons’ again.” 

“Again?” Gus looked between the two now really starting to second guess the decision to invite them. Wondering what the first incident was to begin with.

“There was... a bit of a mess back with one of Amity’s birthday party when we were still living with our parents,” Emira admitted, exchanging a side glance with Edric.

“Still worth it.” Edric muttered. 

Yeah, Gus was really starting to second guess the choice of inviting the twins at the moment.

Though he guessed if it was really an issue, Amity would have mentioned something when they had decided who was going to talk to who.

“So what exactly happened?” Gus asked, glancing between the two.

“Well, you see back when all three of us lived with the family. Mother expected Amity to keep certain company.” Emira started.

Gus frowned at that, not sure where the conversation was going. “Yeah, I’m aware. Remember, Willow hasn’t exactly been shy about their rocky relationship.”

Sure things were better now. But it had taken a while to get there. And he had been there for some of that. 

“Yeah well, sometimes the people Amity was expected to keep company with... weren’t all that great.” Emira explained. 

“Boscha?” Gus guessed, scrunching his face. But that didn’t quiet make sense. This kind of thing sounded like more of a mild deal breaker.

Emira shook her head at the question. “No. This kid was from a different family entirely from the other side of the Isles. As much as mother tried at times she couldn’t quite get Amity to get along with everyone. Sure, Amity was really great at faking it usually. But every once in a while there was this one kid who Amity couldn’t even fake pleasantries along.” Emira explained. “It used to drive our mother insane.” 

“Anyway, one of them was giving Amity a hard time at her eighth birthday party. So we might have done a little bit of retaliation?” Edric added.

“Nothing long lasting as far as damage goes. Just enough to let them know to not mess with our sister.” Emira said with a shrug.

Sounded like more than a bit if they had the town talking. 

“That may or may not have involved glue and glitter,” Edric added.

Ah yeah, that lined up more with what he expected from the twins. 

“Remind me never to cross you two or Amity.” Gus really didn’t want to give them an excuse to be on the receiving end of a malicious prank. 

Well, he never had wanted to begin with. But hearing past stories was really making him want to make sure he did nothing to anger either of them.

Emira turned back to Gus. “Anyway, we’ll make sure not to talk about it for now. But if Luz wants more than close friends there. We know some people.”

To be honest, despite sharing a track with Jerbo. Willow really didn’t know the three of them that well. She really only knew Jerbo in passing since he was older and they only had a couple of classes in common; they weren’t particularly close.

Actually, outside of the twins and Luz, she wasn’t entirely sure if anyone in the friend group knew the ex-detention track kids that well, if they were being honest. And while all three seemed 

In particular, she wasn’t sure how the Barcus situation was going to be handled. She wasn’t even sure what they were doing about King. Were they doing anything about King? Willow wondered belatedly. Or was he just sitting back at The Owl House during the human side of the festivities?

Part of her was wondering right now if anyone other than her had thought of these issues. Maybe Amity? But then again, considering how Amity got around Luz. The answer to that was probably not. 

Willow frowned at that, thinking for a second. “You know, I’m not sure. I’ll have to ask Eda or Amity about that. My first guess is that there probably is. But don’t take my word for it. Amity said there’s some rather extravagant dresses involved in this from what Luz told her. But I have seen none of it myself, so...” She gave a small shrug.

“Fancy like a ball?” Viney asked with a small frown on her face.

Willow shrugged at that. “Like I said, I’m not sure.” 

She really should have asked Amity more questions before they split off, apparently.

“Is having to dress formally going to be a problem?” 

Willow was really hoping not, since none of them had really thought to account for this wrinkle. None of them knew what would happen if they didn’t show up in proper attire.

Definitely wishing she had questioned Amity and Eda more. 

Viney waved off the concern rather quickly, though. “Nah. I have some fancy clothes. It might affect my comfort level. But if its just one night, I can live.”

“Maybe don’t mention the comfort thing to Luz since she might take that the wrong way.” In fact, Willow was almost sure Luz would take that the wrong way. 

“Got it, mum’s the word.”

Jerbo however was frowning at Viney though. “Do you really have a dress? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in anything formal before.”

“I do it’s not my fault that I had to miss GROM and didn’t get to wear it.” Viney grumbled right back. “And your sure one to talk considering I’ve never seen you in a suit either.”

“Er, what about Barkus?” Willow asked interjecting before the argument could get even further off track. 

The dog demon barked a couple of times, something Willow couldn’t understand. “Barkus says he has some of how own formal wear so that should be a problem.” Viney translated. “Though I am kind of wondering how they’re expecting to explain the ‘dog’ in a group of ‘humans’.”

Willow frowned at that. Obviously there must be a plan or else Barcus wouldn’t have been on the list of invites. However, she hadn’t the faintest what Eda and Luz’s mother were thinking. “They must have something planned. But I am going to have to ask Eda about it. Since I’m not entirely sure either what they’re thinking.”

Keeping word from getting to Luz had turned out to be a bit more complicated than they had expected.

While everyone involved had been hoping to keep it just between themselves for the time being. That hadn’t quite worked out. Somehow word had got out that some big party was on the horizon before they had told Luz. Thankfully that was most of what people had figured it out. But it hadn’t stopped Amity from worrying that Luz would realize the party being whispered about was her own party.

Thankfully Amity had kept Luz from quiet, figuring it out until they were sure everyone was on the same page. On the whole affair of whether they wanted to be in Luz’s court. 

Though it was still going to be a mess to deal with the party thing once Luz knew the actual truth. 

Unfortunately, all the secrecy had led to Luz getting the wrong idea. 

Amity stared at Luz for a second in disbelief. “What? No, I’m not breaking up with you. Don’t be ridiculous. Where did you even get that idea?”

Luz shifted, a bit uncomfortable at the question. “Well, you’ve been being really secretive recently.”

Amity had to resist the urge to facepalm at that. “And you of course assumed the worse. Luz, even if I was going to break up with you, which I’m not. I would have done it before you invited me to your party.”

Luz flushed at that. “Okay, yeah, when you put it like that. The idea sounds stupid. Though you can’t entirely blame me for being worried about all the secrecy.”

“I was being secretive because Eda had asked for my help with something involving your party. And didn’t want me to tell you quiet yet.” That was the truth, at least.

Luz looked momentarily surprised and confused. “Wait, what did she need your help with.”

Amity chewed on her lip for a moment, trying to figure out how to start this. “Look, there’s no real simple way to explain this so here.” Amity said, handing over the paper she had the others sign off on. Just to let Luz know there had been more than just talking about it. 

“I know that its traditionally your task to ask people to be in your court. But Eda was worried that you might be too worried about the rejection to actually do it. So she got us involved with trying to help.” Amity explained, wringing her hands slightly. “Please don’t be mad.”

“Oh.” Luz inhaled slightly. This really had caught her off guard. “How did you guys even figure out what was going on?” 

One mystery at a time.

“Eda went to your Mom when you kept dodging the question. She explained the quinceañera to her. And then got us involved with trying to help set up a party on the Boiling Isles.”

“Wait, were having the party on the Isles?” Luz asked, partly in disbelief. Amity nodded. “And Mom’s okay with it?” Luz asked, glancing up from the papers at her girlfriend, still uncertain.

“Well, it apparently took some convincing from Eda. But she eventually got onboard with the idea.”

“Yeah that sounds about right.” Luz said with a sigh. Well, at least most of the stress was gone from the party now. She was still wondering how some things were going to work. But not knowing at least a lot of the awkwardness and just possible unhappiness about having to celebrate her quinceañera so she wouldn’t have been happy with. Took a lot of the stress off of her. 

“I was terrible at hiding my worry, wasn’t I?” Luz asked after a moment.

“Extraordinarily so.” Amity said with a small smile.

“I gotta admit, I am a bit surprised that Boscha signed on to this. I know things are better between us. But I wasn’t sure if she was the type to go with a part with us.”

Amity shrugged at that. “Boscha’s never been one to turn down a party. Though she was actually wondering if you would even want her there at all.”

Luz frowned at that. “I thought we had mostly moved past that.” 

Well, it wasn’t like everything that had happened would disappear. But mostly, Boscha had become a friend at this point. Just one that she had an unfortunate past with prior to the friendship forming. 

“That’s what I thought, and I told her pretty much. But she was still worried. Or at least she was for a moment.”

“I’ll need to bug Eda sometime. I seriously want to know what she said to get Mom to go along with this.” If Luz had thought this was possible from the beginning, she would have asked. But it had been taking time for her mother to come around. And she thought changing locations was going to press her luck. “A bunch of witches at a quinceañera. This is probably going to be wild.” Luz said with a smile.

It was sinking in that this was really going to happen. She didn’t have to worry about being miserable at her own quinceañera. Maybe not entirely stress free yet. Maybe not perfect, after all there were things and people who would be missing no matter what she was able to do. But at least for now it was headed in the right direction. 

Amity returned that. “Probably will. But then again, what would it be a Boiling Isles anything if we didn’t do this the ‘normal’ way?” 

Chapter Text

“What do you mean I can’t go back there yet?” Eda demanded of the nurse. Her tone low and her grip on Owlbert tightening as her anger and frustration at the conversation just continued to grow. 

The good news was that Luz’s first surgery to help with the scars had gone well. However, with this new unfortunate healer based issue. Eda was having a hard time enjoying the relief that the surgery had been a success.

Since the bad news was that someone who obviously didn’t understand the gravity of Luz’s situation, somehow, had gotten involved. Leading to some now very unnecessary complications.

After all, the only reason Eda had been able to talk Luz into having surgery in the first place was through several conditions. One of which had been to be with her as much as possible. So with some difficulty they had arranged for her to be there when Luz woke up.

A gentle reminder of though things had been difficult in the past. Things were different now.

Or would be if certain healers weren't such a pain in her neck.

More than anything, this was supposed to help Luz conquer her fear of hospitals. To aid with the recovery process. To help build her trust in people beyond her own ‘family’ and friends. 

So, Eda being back in the recovery room when Luz woke up was of extreme importance. A memo that this healer hadn’t either got or failed to understand it. 

Or maybe the healer was on a power trip. Eda didn’t know which it was, and to be honest, she really didn’t care why the problem existed. Just that it was there and needed to be removed. She needed to get back to her kid now.

However, instead of giving an inch to help her patient. The healer just kept doubling down. As the healer gave off an annoyed harrumph before saying. “Like I just told you. You will be allowed to see her once she’s been moved into a normal room.”

Eda massaged her forehead as she felt a headache starting. Where was Althea when she needed her? She surely would be more effective at putting this witch in her place.

“And if you would check her chart, you would see a note from her healer that I’m supposed to be back there with her now. Explaining why the normal rules got waved for Luz.” Eda said trying one last time to get the healer to just look at something, anything that backed up what she had been saying for the last ten minutes.

The healer scowled in annoyance. “Look just because she is a human-”

Eda cut her off before she could finish the sentence, as whatever restraint she had just snapped. “Oh, my Titan. It has nothing to do with her being a human. She has trauma associated with hospitals. Just CHECK the file. ”

The healer was nothing but if stubborn even in the face of a raging Eda. “I don’t really see why that would be necessary.”

Eda resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Fine, you don’t want to do that. Then get her actual healer on the ball. Or else your going to have a child panicking on your hands as soon as she’s awake enough to realize I’m not there.”

Hopefully Althea would get through the thickheadedness in a way Eda was currently failing.

Eda wondered for a moment if the healer was going to challenge her again. However, finally after a long moment in almost an excruciatingly slow movement. She checked the file, probably to see who the healer was. That finally got an actual reaction from her. As she paled after a second before saying. “My apologies, Mam, I didn’t realize who her healer was.”

Not that that should have made a difference, Eda internally grumbled. 

Guess it was a good thing that Lily’s partner needed to be just as stubborn and powerful as she was. Because who knows how this would have gone otherwise.

“Follow me right this way to the recovery area.”  

Eda wasn’t entirely sure she had ever seen anyone leave as quickly as the healer did. Once she left her at Luz’s beside.

Obviously Althea’s name had effectively scared her into compliance. Which should never had to have happened. However, it wasn’t something that surprised Eda. Names held power in the Isles and Althea’s name being the one that evoked such a response wasn’t all that much of surprise, really. Though it didn’t make it any less annoying for Eda.

Though it meant that the healer might be in trouble for disobeying a direct order. Something to talk to Althea about later, she supposed.

For now, all she cared about was that she was back with her kid finally.

Just in time, too, it appeared. As Eda had barely gotten settled into the chair in the bed next to Luz when she started to rouse from the medicine induced slumber. 

“Hey kiddo.” Eda gave Luz’s unbandaged hand a small squeeze as Luz’s eyes blinked a bit sleepily at her. 

Luz blinked a few times before saying in a groggy, unclear voice. “Eda?” 

“Yep. Right here when you woke up. Just like I promised.”

Definitely would not mention the near mess she had nearly had not even five minutes earlier, that was for sure. She also would not try to notice what looked suspiciously like a moment of relaxation from Luz. 

Eda hadn’t been lying when she had said to the healer. That if she wasn’t there, Luz would panic. However, there was something infuriatingly sad about having this confirmed in front of her eyes.

Could she file a complaint against incompetent healers? Eda wondered to herself. Because she was really tempted to at the moment as some fury from earlier re-surged through her.

Luz gave a small humming sound, acknowledging Eda’s statement before saying. “I know. I still worried though.”

Good reason too, Eda thought to herself. Outside, though, she put on her best reassuring, cocky face and said. “Hah, you think I can’t stubborn out some bunch of healers. One way or another, I would have made it back to you. Even if I had to break several rules in the process.”

That got a giggle from Luz as she relaxed a bit. A small moment of silent passed between the two before Luz said. “Eda?”

“Whats up, kiddo. Do you need anything for the pain?” Eda asked. Internally thumping herself. Why hadn’t she thought of that question before?

While the healers had said she would be mostly numb and out of it at first, Eda couldn’t help but worry. Human being subject to witch medicine. There was bound to be something that went awry, it felt like?

However, a headshake from Luz told her that wasn’t the concern. 

“No, I was just wondering if we could go home?” 

Ah yeah, that question was bound to happen, Eda supposed. Though she had been hoping Luz might wait a bit. It didn’t surprise her how quick it had come up.

Even if they had discussed all of this before the surgeries. Luz was probably too out of it to remember them at the moment.

However, as much as Eda was sure Luz probably wanted nothing more than the safety of her own bed. The healers had to clear her first, and that would take a few days. Eda just settled for a simple. “Not yet.”

“Don’t like that,” Luz muttered more to herself than to Eda. 

Eda couldn’t help the small chuckle at that. Not entirely missing just how young Luz sounded at the moment. She sounded every bit the child she was. “Neither do I kiddo. But unfortunately, neither of us can go home for a bit.”

Luz had a confused frown at what Eda had just said. “But you can.”

So Luz was almost certainly more aware than she was letting on at the moment. Eda briefly wondered if she was using some sort of defense mechanism again. But for now, settled for a simple. “Not without you in tow I can.”

By the time Althea came by on an evening round to check in. They had moved Luz into a proper room. Luz was currently sleeping. Which left Eda to talk freely without worrying the kid might hear about the near incident.

“How’s things been going with our favorite accident apprentice?” Althea asked.

“Okay now, though things were a bit of a mess earlier,” Eda grumbled. She was still sour about that entire conversation with the healer.

Seeing Althea’s concerned look, Eda elaborated. “Oh, don’t worry, the surgery went fine. It was the healer afterward that was a pain in my side. Almost didn’t let me back to see Luz. Even after I told her multiple times what the arrangement was.”

Althea let out a small sigh of relief. Though it was short-lived as she realized what had almost happened.

“I see.” Althea pursed her lips in concern and slight anger. Had she not made her instructions clear enough, or had someone just tried to override her position? Either way, someone needed a stern talking to at the very least. “Did you catch the healer’s name by chance?”

Eda shook her head at the question. It seemed so obvious now, but her concerns had been elsewhere at that time. “I wasn’t really thinking about that. I was more concerned about getting back to Luz before this caused some actual damage.” 

Althea nodded in acceptance of the answer. “I suppose it doesn’t matter anyway I can look and find out who it was. It would have just made things faster in getting a formal reprimand.” 

“Would me filing a complaint against them also expedite this?” Eda asked.

Someone needed to knock her down a peg in Edas opinion. Something Eda herself would be more than happy to help with if she could.

Althea nodded. “Most likely. She gave you that much trouble?”

“It’s not so much the trouble that’s the issue here. It’s why started listening to me.” Eda said with a shake of the head. “I’m almost certain that the whole thing was caused by her going on a power trip since she didn’t change her mind until she saw your name.”

Not that she could prove the mind changing was caused by that. Just have a very strong suspicion.

“That is troubling.” Althea said, pursing her lips. “To answer your question, yes, it would help. Though sometimes this process can get messy, I must warn you.”

“I would rather get involved in a mess then have someone try to pull that again next time.” Eda argued. If they set a precedent, this wouldn’t happen again was what she was hoping. Or at least that was her reasoning.

Althea nodded in understanding. “Fair though, I hope that this time will give her some reassurance that you are really around to stay.”

If Luz didn’t start showing progress on her own with moving past her fears. Maybe it was time to bring in a mental healer. Yes, it was important to help Luz with her fears. However, if it was impacting her quality of life in a way that was detrimental. Then they needed to acknowledge she only could do so much.

Part of Althea felt it might be a good idea, regardless. For one, in case the worst-case scenario happened with Eda and her curse, it would give Luz some more outlets to grieve. 

For another, Luz had obviously never been taught real coping mechanisms in the aftermath of her own parents’ death. From the few times it came up, Althea had the understanding that she had been told to bury most of it. To her, at least, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to finally address it. 

However, pushing Luz into it might do more harm than good, and with the way Luz looked to Eda for guidance. It was better to get Eda on board with this before trying anything else.

Eda nodded in agreement. “I mean, that’s what I hope too. I want the kid to trust more people. However…” Eda trailed off for a moment, looking at Luz’s sleeping form. “However, realistically, after everything that happened before we met. We have to be prepared that things will be the same next time.”

Althea hummed in agreement. “There are other ways to help Luz cope with this besides what we’re doing here. For now, though, I think we agree on doing what we can and focusing on expanding that at a later time.”

“Mind healers?” Eda guessed.

Althea nodded. “Yes. From what little she’s told us about the years after the accident and coming to the Isles, do you honestly think she was ever allowed or taught to properly grieve?”

Considered what Lilith had told her about Eda’s track record with healers. Althea wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when bringing mind healers up. Althea just hoped that Eda wouldn’t put her own poor experiences in application to Luz.

Eda closed her eyes for a moment. It was something she had wondered often. And the answer to that she was almost certain was no. “No, she probably wasn’t allowed any of that.” Something that still broke part of Eda’s heart. “Though I’m not sure how well her seeing a mind healer will go. You’ve seen how hard it was with just regular healing.”

The kid’s aversion to healers had proven to be more than a thorn in Eda’s side at times. Along with leaving Eda with more than a few lingering questions about the years between Luz’s parents’ death and meeting Owlbert.

The biggest one being just how had someone meant to care for Luz messed up so much? Sure Eda’s parents had never been perfect. But some of her own stories paled compared to Luz’s.

Not that she expected to ever get an answer to her questions soon. The kid could be so averse to talking about anything about those years, and Luz trusted her.

So, while Althea’s idea had merit. Eda wasn’t sure if Luz would agree to this willingly.

“That is unfortunately true.” Althea agreed. “Regardless we have to try.”

They owed that much to Luz.

“Edalyn?” Lilith was one of the first visitors to drop by the next morning. 

“Hey Lily.” Edalyn said with a slight yawn. Adjusting herself in the chair, trying to get more comfortable. Hospital chairs weren’t really meant to be slept in.

Lilith narrowed her eyes at her. “You look tired.”

“Yeah, well, sleeping in a hospital chair isn’t exactly easy.” Eda said, stretching for a second and giving a slight wince. Her muscles were probably not going to be happy with her choices again, after this was all said and done. However, Eda at the moment could not care less.

Lilith stared at her, confusion clear. “If your sleeping with difficulty than why are you here? Why not go home for a few hours and come back when your properly rested?”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

Eda didn’t answer right away. Instead, trying to think how best to phrase a response to the question.

Did she tell Lilith about the nightmares Luz still suffered? About the times she had been jostled awake by a half asleep Luz crawling into the nest with her. Or the sleepless nights spent assuring Luz that she wasn’t going anywhere without a fight?

Did she remind her of the whole incident that had happened when Luz had gotten sick for the first time since arriving on the Isles? How Luz had only helped with the chores because she thought the slightest excuse would cause her to be kicked out? 

Did she remind her of just how difficult it had been to persuade Luz to at least give Althea, or any type of healer, a chance after all these years. How the trauma associated with the accident and her own family’s abandonment meaning she had very little positive associations with the healing field at this point.

Eda never got to decide on an answer. As a moment later she was distracted as she noticed Luz shifting around in her sleep. A usual early sign of an incoming nightmare. 

Ignoring Lilith’s looming presence for the moment, she focused entirely on Luz. Some part of her hoping that maybe it wasn’t a nightmare for once disappeared as soon as Luz opened her mouth and said. “No, don’t go.”

Eda ran a thumb over Luz’s unbandaged hand giving a small squeeze sending a small pulse of magic through the bond. Sometimes, if the nightmare wasn’t too bad, that would be enough to help snap the kid out of the nightmare without having to wake her up. “Hey kiddo. I’m right here, it’s okay. I’m not going anywhere.”

For a moment Eda thought it might have worked as Luz asked. “Eda?”

Eda leaned slightly closer in. Luz seemed to have responded to her, but she also hadn’t opened her eyes. So it didn’t look like she was awake yet. Going off of that she gave another squeeze, hoping to raise the kid out of the nightmare before it really started going. “Right here, kiddo.”

“Wait, don’t go. I promise I’ll be better.”

Titan, these nightmares were going to be the end of her, Eda swore. “Hey it’s okay. I’m right here. I haven’t left your side this entire time. You just need to wake up more kiddo.” Another small pulse of magic for good measure.

That finally did the trick as a moment later Luz’s eyes fluttered open. “Eda?”

“That’s me, kiddo. You alright? Sounded like you were getting into a nasty nightmare.”

Really, it was telling that Eda could tell when the nightmares were worse. That she had enough experience now to be able to remotely tell when the dreams were worse than others. Was not great from her perspective.

However, there wasn’t much she could do right now. Except hope that maybe Luz might open up to a mind healer about the old trauma after this was over. Since it was becoming apparent that that she really needed someone to talk to.

Luz hummed. “Just the normal.”

To Eda it was more telling that anything that they had an established ‘normal’ at this point. “I thought you had left. Like the last time.” 

“I told you I’m not going anywhere.” Eda reassured her. “And even if they make me leave, I’m not going to just leave you alone. If I have to, I’ll make Lily sit in on it. But I’m not going to just abandon you.”

Eda had to bite her tongue from continuing and making a comment about Luz’s family. As frustrating as they were, now wasn’t the time or place.

Now was the time to be helping the kid. To make sure she understood, she wouldn’t let the kid’s trauma repeat itself. That she would not let history repeat itself for Luz.

That while she hadn’t lived Luz’s lives. Thus she did not have the same experience. However, she could imagine the pain of having no one when you absolutely needed someone, and it was absolutely horrible.

The kid should have never have to live through that at all to begin within, and Eda was going to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.   

Looking back now when compared to Luz. She hadn’t realized how lucky she had been with Agatha.

That her mentor hadn’t been so easy to scare off when she had been cursed. That she had had some support system during those hard years. She could have easily landed in a similar situation to Luz’s without her.

“Promise?” Luz asked.

“With all my heart and bile sac.”

That finally got a small smile from Luz. “Thanks. I wish we could just go home, though. I hate how being here reminds me of that.”

Eda didn’t need to ask what Luz meant by ‘that’. She already knew. “So do I, kiddo. But we gotta wait a few more days.”

Titan, she just wanted to scoop up the kid and take her home. However, if she did, that Althea would never let her hear the end of it. 

For the kid, she reminded herself. It would all be worth it for the kid. 

Even if neither of them were happy with the situation at the moment.

“I know its hard. However, when we can go home than I will make you whatever you want for dinner. Just be a bit more patient, kiddo.”

“Even if its something you hate?”

Eda was probably going to regret this later, but she still said. “Even if its something I hate.”

“Still, I don’t want patience. Want my bed.” Luz sleepily grumbled, already drifting off again.

Eda gave a pat on the arm at that. “Don’t worry, it will be all over soon enough.”

“That’s why I have to be here,” Eda said to Lilith as she leaned back in the seat as soon as she was sure Luz had fallen back into a more peaceful slumber. 

Sure having the nightmare was not great. However, it had saved her having to decide which story to tell Lily about; she supposed.

“How often-” Lilith cut herself off, not sure what she wanted to ask. How common were the nightmares? No, that didn’t seem entirely right either.

Eda, however, took her to mean the first question. “Does she have them? I’m not sure to be honest.”

It felt like more nights than not. But maybe that was just because some days blended together with her.

Lilith gave her a calculated look. “Edalyn if the issue with those nightmares than you really should have her talk to someone.”

Eda leaned back in the chair with a sigh. “I know. I know. I already talked to Althea about this. I’ve definitely thought about it. But now is really not the right time for the kid.”

This situation was stressful enough without throwing in a brand new healer on top of it.

Lilith pursed her lips. “Edalyn, I am not entirely sure how this holds true. To me it feels that now when she’s in recovery is the best time since she won’t be able to do much.”

Eda shook her head. She understood where Lilith was coming from, though that didn’t mean she agreed with her. “The kids stressed enough as it is. I don’t want to mess things up here by adding to it.”

“That’s… true, I guess.” Lilith conceded with a great deal of reluctancy. “Can I ask you something?”

Eda shrugged. “Sure. Don’t know if I’ll have an answer to it though.”

“Do you know why Luz has those nightmares?”

Eda hesitated for a moment, trying to think best how to answer it. However, it seemed like the only proper way was the blunt way.

She and Luz hadn’t exactly discussed talking to anyone else about her family problems. So there was no real map on what to do. However, maybe it was best to change that.

After all, if the worst happened than Lilith needed to know Luz’s past. “Unfortunately, yes. Remember how I told you before that her extended family is well… not great? That there why she was in that ‘foster’ system to begin with?” Lilith nodded at the question. 

“Well, as I found out when we were first starting this process. The incident that lead to this was the surgery. In their ‘infinity wisdom’ they left Luz right in the middle of the recovery from one of her surgeries.” Eda explained.

Her blood boiling again at the reminder of the conversation. While she knew family wasn’t the end all, be all, sometimes certain family just blew her mind. IN the worst way possible. Luz had been six when she had been left to fend for herself essentially for years. Until she and Owlbert had met.

“So, naturally, the kid because of that has developed a fear of that happening again.” Eda said. Most kids didn’t have a positive association with places like this. However, Luz had more than most.

Lilith stared slightly open-mouthed for a second, anger flooding through her at the mere idea. She had known Luz’s family wasn’t in the picture. Since it had been what enabled Eda to sweep in and take guardianship. However, this was the first time she was hearing the full context, and it angered her.

Human or not, Luz was still very much a child, and from what little she knew about Luz’s history, she had lost her parents very young. Which meant she would have been astonishingly young when her last remaining family had decided she was apparently too much trouble. 

Far too young for someone to go through that.

Not that someone should ever have to deal with that to begin with. There was just something about a small child going through that that incensed Lilith.

You would think after how much she had seen in her own career of helping students at Hexside. There wouldn’t be much left that could surprise her. And yet Luz’s family’s actions did just that. Finally shutting her mouth, she focused on the one thing she could comprehend. 

“You wouldn’t do that though.” Lilith pointed out.

“No, I wouldn’t and deep down she knows that.” Eda agreed. “But right or wrong, that’s what Luz associates these surgeries with. A lot of medical stuff with, actually. It took a lot of time, effort, and compromises to convince her to even give this another try.”

There was a beat of silence before Lilith asked. “So we don’t know where any of her family lives, right?” 

Eda’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Lily, are you saying what I think you are?” Her tone a mix of genuine surprise and a bit of teasing. She guessed Luz had gotten more to her sister than she had realized. 

“Maybe I am.” Lilith agreed with a slight sniff. “It just doesn’t sit right with me what happened. They abandoned a small child at the moment she needed them most. I just- who does that ?” 

“I mean you work with some kids whose families themselves are uh not that great, so to speak? “Eda reminded her. Her thoughts flashing to her sister’s newest apprentice.

“I know.” Lilith said, pursing her lips. “It shouldn’t surprise me at this point. After what I’ve gotten involved in myself. Yet somehow people keep surprising me in the worst ways possible.

“Her extended family, apparently,” Eda said in a sour tone. “Anyway, I’ll let you know if I ever locate them if you genuinely want to join me in giving them a ‘lecture.’”

Gus and Willow visiting later that day brought some much needed brightness. To what had been a dreary affair so far. 

“So, have you looked yet?” Gus asked. Curiosity winning out for the moment.

“Gus!” Willow protested. 

“It’s okay Willow, I expected this.” Luz assured her friend. Gus was curious about humans. Of course he would wonder about this. That was something she had quickly come to terms with. “To answer your question, Gus. No, I haven’t yet. The bandages are pretty much all the time right now. So there’s not much of a chance.”

“Healers want to keep it wrapped as much as possible to help with the healing. Gawking and extra questions can come later, kid.” Eda added.

Also, even when the bandage changes were happening, she was still too scared to look. She knew Eda had said the surgery had gone well, but she still worried that would somehow turn out to be a lie. 

“I am not going to gawk.” Gus protested. “I was just wondering if there was going to be a gnarly scar there.”

Willow’s confused expression reflected Luz’s own. “Gus, her surgery was to fix the scar, not make new one.”

Gus flushed in embarrassment. “I know. I just kind of remembered reading something about certain scars being important?”

Ah, it was another one of those things than.

Luz shook her head. “Yeah, I think that’s more of a personal thing and less of a societal thing. I don’t know how other people view these kind of scars. I just know that I never really liked mine.”

For her at least it was just a bit too much of a reminder of what had been and what continued to be. The surgeries were supposed to help with a few different things. Though losing the constant reminder was the one that most stood out in her mind right now.

“Hey maybe when your done recovering you can join us at Hexside.” Willow said. Trying to get the topic off the surgery at hand. 

“That would be cool. Haven’t been to school with friends in ages.” Luz agreed.

Eda winced at the indirect reminder of the previous years again before Luz’s arrival. Though the idea had some merit, she had to admit.

Hexside had been an idea she had tossed around in her head a few times. Even if she wasn’t a fan of the regular school system. It wasn’t her own experience that really mattered here. It was what benefited Luz more than anything. As much as she might dislike it, having the kid in classes with kids her own age wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Luz had been denied so much in the past. Having her as a student at a school could be good for her in a way Eda couldn’t provide.

Well, at least she had a few months at least to sort all of this out.

Also, sending her to regular school didn’t mean she had to stop teaching Luz. In fact, that would be completely contrary to the point of Luz being her apprentice. Just meant that during the week her own lessons would shift to more of an evening time. 

She just had to get past her own personal reservations first.

“We can look into it after all the surgeries are over.”

Not a yes, not a no. Just a maybe. At least until she talked to Principle Bump. 

Hopefully, he wouldn’t use her rebellious years against her.

Amity came by after Willow and Gus left.

Something Luz was slightly disappointed by. But Eda was slightly grateful for. Between her sister and the kids, the room would have gotten crowded and even more noisy. Plus, three kids to corral on her own was more than enough to deal with for her liking. 

Just because she was glad Luz was getting visitors didn’t mean she didn’t she enjoyed the headache that came with it. 

“So far everything’s been going okay.” Luz said. Trying not to let her own slight annoyance show. Luz was getting tired of fielding the question. Everyone from well-meaning friends to healers had been asking it and it was getting tiring to repeat herself.

Luz was glad people were concerned. It was a nice change of pace from what she had grown used to. However, at the same time it was tiring. “Going to miss being able to do magic though.”

Luz’s eyes shot over to a now discarded pile of glyph papers. After Willow and Gus had left, she had been messing around trying to see if she could draw the circles and elements needed for her glyph magic. So far it had been a rousing non-success. 

Drawing circles when you had one arm heavily bandaged was surprisingly hard.

The healers in the beginning had protested her even trying it. Afraid that her doing magic would impact healing. Until Eda had pointed out that since she had no bile sac, there was nothing she could really impact by doing magic.

Another advantage of being human, she supposed.

Though how helpful it was when she still couldn’t draw circles was up for debate.

Luz had never realized how much she relied on both hands for something so simple, and it drove her nuts that something she should be able to do. She couldn’t.

Ugh, at least it was only for a few weeks. Until the therapist healer cleared her to use the arm more, she reminded herself. 

Though not knowing when that would come was frustrating on a whole other level.

“Oh, actually that reminds me.” Amity said, holding out the box she had almost forgotten during the conversation. “I got you this.”

Luz took the procured box and with some help from Eda. Opened it to reveal what looked like some stamp. Huh, well, this was different. Willow had got her flowers. Gus some toy trinket that she could mess around with her good hand when she got bored. Amity had gotten her a stamp? Why?

As if sensing the question, Amity added. “Check the bottom.” 

Luz turned the bottom of the stamp over and realized it had the marking of the Light Glyph on the bottom. 

“That way you don’t have to stop doing magic just because its hard to draw. The other ones weren’t ready yet. But I was hoping this might help you feel better about the ‘can’t do magic’ thing for now.”

Well, this just changed about everything. There were a lot of emotions swelling at the moment, but the biggest one was just gratitude. This was going to make the coming weeks so much easier. “Thank you.” Luz managed.

“Oh, the other ones are done. We just didn’t tell Amity, we wanted to wait until they release Luz before turning her loose with the remaining glyphs.” Lilith said quietly under her breath to Eda, not wanting the two to overhear them. 

She didn’t think the human would intentionally cause damage with the other ones. However, Lilith had decided it was far better to not chance it. 

Admittedly, Luz’s refusal to learn the fire glyph at this point meant the most damaging element wasn’t in play. However, But that didn’t mean plant and ice glyphs weren’t entirely harmless either. 

That wasn’t even starting on the issues of accidentally doing lightning indoors. 

No, it was just simply best for the remaining glyphs to be given to Luz once she was home.

“Where did you even find something like this?” Eda asked.

“Amity spotted a practicing alchemist on an outing using something similar to quicken his work. Althea was the one with her, so I don’t know how she convinced him to do this, but she did.” Lilith answered.

“The kid can be really persuasive when she wants to be.” Eda said.

Lilith hummed in agreement.

"Anyway, I probably need to get his name just in case.” Eda noted.

Lilith was less than enthusiastic about that idea. ”You would just use them for mischief making.”

“I mean, I’m not going to deny the idea hasn’t crossed my mind.” Eda said with a shrug of the shoulders. “However, that’s not why I want their name. If something happens to Luz’s stamp than I need to know who to go to.”

“Oh, right.” Lilith said. “I’ll get the name from Althea when I see her next.”

“Also thank you, all of you.” Eda said after a moment. Sure it had been Amity’s idea. However, without her guardians, this wouldn’t have happened.

Eda hadn’t entirely missed how disappointed Luz had been at the lack of being able to do magic while recovering. Or the attempts to reconcile with trying to find new glyphs to try once she was recovered. Or being able to draw better.

It wasn’t the same, but it would hopefully be enough to cheer Luz up in the meantime and satiate her want to practice magic. 

The next couple of days were more of the same. Luz was recovering nicely. Eda was still with Luz. Which was becoming a bit of an issue in Lilith’s eyes. So when she and Amity visited next, she had pulled Eda out of the room to talk. “You need to go home Edalyn.”

Eda scowled in slight annoyance. “I can’t go home. We’ve already been over this. If I leave, the kid is going to freak.”

Lilith resisted the urge to pinch her nose in annoyance. “I am aware of that. However, you can’t tell me that sleeping in the chair is doing you any good.”

Eda gave a shrug at that. “Eh, I’ve slept in worse spots.”

Lilith opened her mouth to express doubt. Only to remember that there had been a few years between Eda’s apprenticeship ending with Agatha and her moving into Hooty, where no one was entirely sure where Eda had disappeared too.

So as much as she disliked it. It was very much possible Eda had slept in worse spots.

However, there was still a cardinal difference here. Those years Eda was alone for all Lilith knew. Now Eda had an apprentice to look after. “Okay then, if not for your sake than for Luz’s. Your not just looking out for your own health and safety anymore, Edalyn. You have a child to think about. If your not taking care of yourself than it will impact Luz’s recovery. What happens if you get sick?”

Also, if Eda didn’t go get some proper sleep sometime soon. Well, Lilith wouldn’t it put past the hospital to force the issue.

At least if Eda went home now, they could control the situation. Lilith could offer some help. If the healers got fed up in the middle of the night, then there was nothing Lilith could do to help. 

That did the trick, judging by the change in expressions on Eda’s face. “Fine.” Eda conceded a bit reluctantly. “However, you got to promise me you’ll stay with her while I’m out.”

Lilith nodded, not surprised by the demand. She had been expecting something of that nature from Eda. “Of course.” It was a minor concession to pay, all things considered.

“ And I’m not leaving until the kid falls asleep again. Don’t need to make this any worse on her.” Eda added.

“Fine.” Lilith conceded with some reluctance. She would much rather Eda would do it now than wait and maybe back out. “However, you’ll need to take Amity home then.”

At least she was still going, she supposed.

It still had taken effort to get Eda to leave. However, after much reassurance, Lilith had found herself alone with a sleeping Luz. Or at least she had for a while, as a voice alerted her to part of that changing. 

“Aunt Lily?” Luz asked.

Well, there went any hope Luz would sleep the rest of the way through Eda being made to go clean up. Luck was never that much on their side, was it?

Snapping the book she had been trying and failing to read closed. She looked up to see a confused and slightly worried Luz. “How are you feeling?”

“Sore and sleepy. So nothing new. Where’s M-Eda?” Luz asked.

Lilith didn’t miss the near slip. Or the nickname Luz had called her when she first woke up.

Though she had to admit she was surprised it hadn’t been a full slip with everything else was going on. She was almost certain at this point the only reason Luz wasn’t Eda’s child officially in some form was because Eda couldn’t be bothered to check. 

The two had become attached enough as it was that the signs were there. To be honest, if Eda’s bond with Luz hadn’t evolved, Lilith would be more surprised than if it had. 

The two were just too close at this point. There were too many signs and markers of a familial bond vs an apprentice bond. For it to be just that of a guardianship at this point. 

Or at least that’s what Lilith reasoned. 

Though whether Eda was aware of it at this point was a good question, since she had yet to discuss it.

Though Lilith supposed she was one to talk. She had suspected that the bond between her and Amity had evolved similarly by this point. Or at the very least, was evolving similarly. Though she also had yet to verify any of that. 

“The healers insisted she get some proper sleep and food for a few hours. She asked if I could keep an eye on you while she did so. She should be back in about an hour.” Lilith said.

Lilith left out it had been her doing the persuading for the moment. Since it had been coming very close to it being the healers, anyway.

Orders from Althea or not, the constant family presence had been slowly becoming an issue.

”Oh.” Luz said. “She is coming back, right?”

Lilith did not miss how worried Luz sounded. Or the slight rage at it now that she knew where it was coming from. “She is. I promise.”

Titan she wished she could smack certain members of Luz’s family at the moment.

“Sorry. It probably looks stupid-.” Luz said.

”Don’t apologize.” Lilith said cutting in before Luz could continue. “Edalyn has informed me what happened the last time you had a surgery. Its perfectly reasonable to worry all things considered.”

“I just know its silly. But I can’t go back there after all this. And if Eda decides-”

Lilith put a hand to stop Luz’s ramble momentarily. “Even if Eda had to release you from the apprenticeship, you don’t necessarily need to go back to the human realm. Not unless you want to, of course. You have people who care about you here, Luz. Not just Edalyn. We would find someway for you to stay on the Isles. I can promise you that.”

Luz didn’t know this of course since Eda didn’t want to scare her. However, the very real curse had already forced that conversation. While Lilith prayed to the Titan, they would find something before it became too late. Althea and her had agreed to take over Luz’s guardianship if it came to that.

Unless Luz really wanted to go back to Earth. She wouldn’t have to.

Once Luz had fallen back to sleep, she had stayed asleep until Eda’s return, much to Lilith’s relief. “How are you feeling now?” Lilith asked.

“Better. Sleep and food helped.” Eda ignored the look Lilith was now giving her. “How’s the kid been doing?”

“She woke up briefly. We talked. She had the usual worries. But didn’t panic, at least.” Lilith paused for a moment. “I told her a bit of what you had asked myself and Aly to do with a worst-case scenario. Trying to reassure her she didn’t have to go back to Earth if she didn’t want to. Though I’m not sure how well she really registered it.”

“I’m not sure if I am ready to to let her know that Lily.” Eda said with a frown.

Lilith shook her head in disagreement. ”I understand that you would rather have waited to sort out the curse yourself.” Eda not wanting Luz to worry was the least surprising thing. “However, think about it from Luz’s perspective. If she loses you, she loses her only home. I was just looking to settle her nerves, nothing more, nothing less.”

“Yeah, I guess I see your point.” Eda agreed with some reluctance. She had been so focused on protecting Luz from the reality of the situation, she hadn’t stopped to think about how Luz might view it. “Thanks for agreeing to that, by the way. I know that was an unconventional question to ask you both. Since you both have your own apprentices.” 

Lilith raised an eyebrow at that. “Edalyn, you’ve never been conventional.”

Eda shrugged at that and said. “True, but I think asking someone to take on an apprentice in the worst-case scenario is unconventional even by my standards.”

“That is true, though I doubt this is what one could call a conventional apprenticeship anymore.”

“Oh, come on I haven’t gone that far off the rails with Luz have I?”

“Well, no, but I doubt Agatha magically adopted you.”

Things may have been difficult with their parents. However, it had never been quiet that rough.

The momentary hesitation from Eda. surprised Lilith as much as the next sentence. “I didn’t magically adopt her.”

Lilith raised an eyebrow. Where was this coming from? “Edalyn, you stayed with her for four days. Only leaving when I kicked you out. I’ve seen the way you treat her. I would be more surprised at this point if your magic hadn’t claimed her as your child than if it had.”

Magic could be funny like that. 

Eda was quiet at that, much to Lilith’s surprise. ”Why are you so opposed to this Edalyn?” Lilith pressed when Eda still didn’t seem to accept it.

“That’s not the thing, it’s not that I am against it.” Under normal circumstance, Eda would have proclaimed the kid as hers loudly a while ago in every sense of the word. However, this wasn’t normal. Normal didn’t have a curse attached to her. “It’s that I’m afraid by admitting it I’ll hurt the kid again.”

Lilith frowned, confusion deepening. “I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

Eda gave a small, exasperated sigh before clarifying. “I’m afraid what will happen if we dn’t get the curse under control. I mean, the kids had more than one adoption fall through. Through no fault of her own. I don’t want this to become that to her.”

Oh well, that was rather unexpected. 

All things considered, it was a legitimate reason to hesitate, Lilith supposed. Though Lilith wondered if Eda realized that the hesitation might be coming too late to make an impact. “If your magic claimed her than its already too late to worry about that, you do realize that, right?” Lilith asked.

Eda sighed and nodded. “I am aware. I know its redundant at this point. I guess I just I’m not sure if I want to address it with the kid yet.”

Lilith never thought she would have this type of argument with Eda. It seemed much more likely to occur in the reverse. Yet here they were.

Hoping to get Eda to maybe see some sense about protecting Luz, she said. “Just try talking to her. At least give her the choice if she wants to acknowledge the bond. She is mature for her age. Just because she lost ones before. Doesn’t mean she might not want to acknowledge the family she now has.” 

In fact, Lilith would bet a fair amount of snails that Luz rather would, even if it meant she might lose her family again. 

“I know you think that by not telling her your protecting her. However, you could just be as well hurting her by doing this Eda. Just think about it Edalyn, that’s all I ask.”

Two days after Lilith and Eda’s conversation surrounding making Luz officially a part of the family. News that they had been waiting for finally came.

Luz could go home.

Eda had been more than happy to give Luz the news. She knew they were both more than a bit tired of the hospital. Particularly Eda was getting tired of the occasional arguments with Luz’s nurse about her presence there. “Hey kiddo. Good news. Healers say you can finally go home today.”

What Eda didn’t tell Luz was that it had been a two-sided argument to get Luz released. Althea had said at this point they were being overprotective, and anything that could be done at the hospital could be done at home. The healer who had done the surgery had been a bit more paranoid about this. And had wanted to keep Luz for an unspecified amount of time.

Something that would not fly. Eda knew her kid, and she knew her kid would not do her best recovering in a damn hospital.

Eda had a feeling that was why they really only had won the argument in the end. Not that she cared why she had ended up winning the argument.

Luz was just about as excited as Eda had expected. “Yeah! I am tired of seeing all these healers. When do we get to leave?”

Eda let out a small chuckle. “As soon as the paperwork is done. Though you still have therapy for that arm, kiddo. We’re not quiet done seeing healers quiet yet.”

Luz pouted at that. “I still don’t get why we have to do that. Its not like I had to the last time.”

“Yeah, they weren’t supposed to do that I’m pretty sure.” Eda said to herself.

Of course, it was hard to say for certain with all the differences between the worlds.. However, something told her that the therapy should have been something Luz had done the last time around. It was just the family screwup had prevented that.

It still amazed her how much one’s family could screw another person over. Sure Eda knew that. However, it still somehow hurt worse to see know Luz had gone through that and just how many things were the way they were because of them.

Eda would bet a good amount of snails that the fear of hospitals wasn’t the only remaining issue from Luz’s family up and leaving. She was almost certain Luz should have more range of motion in that other hand, among other things. 

For now, she tried to refocus on all the negatives. Today was a good day. Since Luz being out of the hospital meant they could both relax. Finally. 

Chapter Text

Luz was just six when she lost her parents. The last memory she has of her mother is of her telling her everything will be alright. A small blessing in hindsight. She isn’t sure how she would have handled remembering her mother dying. When she wakes up five days later in a hospital, she’s the only survivor of the crash. 

It’s a freak survival by chance. No one can figure out how she survived. Not even Luz herself. The experts say she should have died. It’s a miracle she didn’t. Luz doesn’t care about all of that. All she wants is her Mami back.

Later down the road she will ask those questions herself. With the scarring on her hands and legs, it’s hard not to. Just how close she actually got to dying? How was she even still here?

Those answers, however, won’t come for another few years when she meets Eda. 

In the meantime, it’s just trying to get by. Try not to notice the looks she gets from her parents’ remaining family. Try not to drown in her grief. Try not to let the frustration of being unable to say goodbye truly to her parents get to her. Since her parents’ funeral is as much as a spectacle, it feels like as it is a farewell.

It was the first time she lost her family, but it certainly won’t be the last.

Luz is almost seven when her remaining family decides she’s too much trouble.

Luz of course doesn’t know this yet entirely when it happens.

Luz’s old enough to understand something’s not right. Though she doesn’t quite grasp it yet. She knows she doesn’t remember her parents arguing this much when they were alive.

So the family’s arguments stand out more because of that. Makes the pain more pronounced. It’s hard not to notice that they seem to almost always be about her. About the trouble she supposedly causes.

Even when it isn’t always her at the route of it.

Then again, they weren’t exactly trying to hide their opinions either. 

Luz has tried her best to ignore it. Hide the stabbing sensation she feels anytime her Aunt and Uncle pass her over for one of her cousins. Or make a snide comment about some mistake she made. Or the look in their eyes when they think she’s not paying attention. 

For her own sake, though, she never acknowledges it. It would just cause too much pain to do so.

Some part of her does internalizes it. That the favoritism and comments are her fault. Even though it never was. It was just a lot of misplaced feelings.

It will be years down the road, lots of conversations late into the night, and hugs from Eda. Late-night conversations with Amity who knows what it’s like to have a family that isn’t great. Conversations with a mind healer who despite another species somehow understands her. Before she fully understands that her aunt and uncle placing the blame of her parents’ death on her was uncalled for. 

For now, though, not acknowledging it just seems the easiest way to go. Maybe if she doesn’t acknowledge it, it will make things easier she reasons. Maybe things won’t go sideways.

It’s a small hope, but it’s one she needs to get through the past year.

That hope eventually comes crumbling down. As after a surgery to help with her scars, a social worker quietly enters the room and has the hard task of explaining to her she won’t be returning to her aunt and uncle’s. That they turned her over to the state.

It’s the second time Luz has lost family in some fashion.

The good news was the hospital would not make her just up and leave. However, the decision’s timing couldn’t have been worse. For Luz, it will change just about everything involving something that should have been simple. Into something ten times more difficult. 

Her new social worker, a woman in her twenties that Luz swears she feels like she’s met somewhere before. Drops her off at her first foster home a couple of weeks later. Setting a long journey of searching into motion.

Luz is seven and a half when her first prospective adoption backs out.

It’s the third time she’s lost a family.

The issues of being a survivor aren’t new to Luz. She’s been living with them for a year and a half. 

The scars, the colds, the tingling nerve pain are part of it. The nightmares that no child should live with are another. However, rather than sympathy and understanding, it just causes a rift.

It’s a lesson Luz is going to learn over the coming years. Is just because she’s used to it by now. Doesn’t mean the family’s who want to adopt her are.

When she gets older, she’ll realize they probably wanted a prop more than they wanted Luz. However, at seven all she can feel is the pain of losing another family.

Though Abigail tries to tell her otherwise. Tries to tell her that maybe her odd habits are what stopped the adoption. Maybe try to tune it down for the next family?

With what she learns about Abigail later, Luz wonders if this advice was genuine. If any of it was. Or if she was trying to make things extra complicated.

That won’t be until down the road, though, when she has the benefit of hindsight. 

She still trusts Abigail to help her at this point. So she tries to follow the advice. Some part of Luz breaks at trying to press it down. Her love for weirdness had become her coping method after the plane crash. However, if it meant having a family again, it would be worth it. 

Right?

Luz is ten and a half when she first meets Owlbert. 

It’s been four years now since the accident. Three and a half since her last family walked out on her and it’s been difficult. 

She’s gone between at least a dozen foster homes. Has had multiple families back out when faced with the reality of her situation. Despite Luz, trying her best to make her presentable, nothing seems to work.

Luz tries not to let it get to her. About how with all the commonalities between her and her foster siblings that are lucky enough to get adopted. That the only difference she can find is her. 

Or as time progresses, it feels like Abigail is trying less and less to help her. Sure, her social worker always greets her the same way. There are other signs, though. That she’s been seeing her less being the biggest.

Luz tries to reason that she’s just busier now. She tries not to think about how it feels like Abigail seems to be giving up on her being adopted. If she thinks about it too much, she will get buried in sadness. She can’t afford that on top of everything else.

Luz doesn’t spend much time at ‘home’ when she can. So meeting up with Owlbert would probably have happened, eventually. It just happened that day she sat down next to Owlbert’s usual trash diving spot. 

The strange little owl ends up bonding with her over food.

Luz won’t know it for months really, but it’s the start of the journey to her finally getting a family again.

Luz is still ten and a half when Eda takes her in.

She’s been Eda’s apprentice for a few weeks now. Going to human school during the day, then coming to the Isles to work with Eda. Before getting ‘home’ in time for curfew.

It had worked great.

Right until she had heard she might be leaving the foster they had placed her with. Something that she would have welcomed a few weeks ago. Was something she now dread. Sure, the home was not great, but she didn’t care about that. She cared about getting to the Boiling Isles.

So panicked and worried she might lose the connection to the one person who seemed to care about her. She had run away with only a bag of her things ending up on Eda’s door step, soaked from running through the rain to the portal door’s location.

Eda, bless her, doesn’t really question it. Seeming to have been expecting something like this might be coming. She had already set up a room for Luz in the house. 

There will be many conversations over the next few days. Nagging Lilith about official paperwork. For now, though, all Luz can feel is relief as she hugs Eda tight. 

For the first time in four and a half years, she feels she’s home.

Luz is still ten and a half when she has to confront her biggest fear. How will Eda take all the baggage that comes with her?

Luz had been putting on a well-manicured front for weeks now. Trying to hide just how many problems she has. The nightmares, the aches from the old scars, the slight tremor in her hands that probably will never go away. So far, the only slip-up had been during the boiling rainstorm. 

It had been pouring the night of the accident. Luz doesn’t think she will ever be able to hide her fear of the roar of thunder and the flash of lightning across the night sky. 

Eda takes it all in stride, thankfully. Doesn’t push her, opting to just sit with her for a while. Luz won’t realize until later that she had tried to cast a muffling spell to make things better, but it had only half succeeded. After all, blocking sound doesn’t block the flashes of white outside the window.

It all comes crashing down a few weeks later when she gets sick for the first time. 

Luz won’t remember much of the next few days. Of Eda sitting with her soothing the nightmares brought on the fever. Or of King worrying that they had messed things up somehow. 

What she remembers when she’s well enough is Eda promising her they will try to find out how to get to the bottom of this. Or of Eda saying that she wanted the actual weird broken kid that before no one had wanted anything to do with. 

There are a lot of tears after. It will be awhile before Luz fully, truly, believes Eda. There’s going to be more hiccups on the way. For now, though, Luz starts to genuinely believe that maybe, finally, things aren’t going to fall out from under her. 

Luz is eleven when she finally has another surgery to help with the burn damage.

It’s been a wild few months. For the first time in who knows how long she has actual friends. For the first time she has a friend who somewhat understands her.

Amity and her may have come from different backgrounds, but they do have one thing in common. They know all too well what it’s like to not having other people that care about you.

Eda likes to gently tease that their long-lost sisters of a sort. 

Things have been good. 

However, despite everything going better. Agreeing to have another surgery hadn’t been easy for Luz.

Luz at first wasn’t sure if she even wanted it. She got why Eda had wanted this for her. At the same time, though… there were just too many terrible memories associated with the last time. However, Eda promises her she will be there with her every step of the way. 

And Eda to her credit pretty much keeps her word. Luz is never really alone during the entire process. 

Some part of her is releasing her fears and hesitation when she accidentally overhears Eda talking about being unsure about calling her a family. 

And with that, she crashes right back to where she was when seven. Being told that her aunt and uncle don’t want her.

Eda knows she messed up.

She isn’t sure what she did, but she isn’t oblivious. Luz has been pulling back from her after the surgery. She had thought they were getting better, so what had happened?

She gives a few days to see if Luz will tell her first. Before she sits the kid down and asks point-blank what was wrong. Luz, of course, tries to deny there was anything wrong to begin with.

Eda shook her head. “Kid, I maybe a lot of things, but oblivious isn’t one of them. Just talk to me.”

Luz hesitates for a moment. “I overheard you talking with Lilith when I was still in the hospital.”

“Okay?” Eda is confused what Luz is referring to.

“About you magically adopting me.”

Oh. oh. Well, that explained it. “Kid, it’s not what you think-” Eda began.

“What is it then?!” Luz yelled, interrupting her. Startling them both. Luz hadn’t ever really gotten angry before. “I’m-”

“Don’t apologize, kiddo.” Eda said. “But can I ask if you would give me a chance to clarify? I promise there’s a bit more to it.”

Luz hesitates at that for a second before nodding. 

“I’m not sure how human adoptions work. But with a magical adoption, there is a bond forged between the family. A strong one.” Seeing Luz opening her mouth, Eda said. “Stronger than the one between teacher-apprentice.” Luz closed her mouth. “The thing is, you know I’m cursed and I don’t know how this is going to end. I don’t know how it will affect a bond I form if the worst happens. Kid, I want to adopt you, have for months. But I’m afraid what might happen to you if we do.” 

“But what if I want it, regardless?” Luz asked.

She got what Eda was getting at here. She got why Eda was hesitating. At the same time though…after all of these years. After all of the lost family. Part of her really wanted this.

“Kid-” Eda began in protest.

Luz wasn’t having any of it. “I get it. I get your worried about me getting hurt. But for the first time since I was six, I feel like I have a home. I have a family. I want you to be my Mom officially.”

After all of these years, she wanted to say that she had a family again. She wanted to say more than anything she had a family again.

Luz got in the grand scheme of things it probably didn’t mean much. Eda was family to her regardless of what a piece of a paper said.

Yet for some reason, she really wanted this.

“And what if you get hurt?” Eda asked.

Luz shrugged. “I mean, what else would change? I mean, I’m already broken.”

“Kid-” Eda began in protest.

“Please Eda.” Luz’s eyes were welling up with tears. “For years, this is all I wanted. I just wanted to have a family again. Please, I just-” She cut off there, her voice too full of emotion to keep going.

“Hey it’s okay. Come here.” Eda said, beckoning Luz over and carefully drawing her into a hug on her lap. Being mindful of Luz’s still heavily bandaged arm. Giving Luz a few minutes before talking again. Giving Eda herself a couple of minutes to rethink it. 

Lilith was right. As much as she hated to admit it. Trying to protect the kid wasn’t working. It was making things worse.

“Alright, if this is what you want. Then I’ll start the process of making the adoption official.”

“Really?” Luz asked looked up at her eyes, still a mix of worry, hopeful and worried.

“Really.” 

After all, it wasn’t like Luz was the only that wanted them to be a family.

Chapter Text

For the first time in what feels like forever Luz starts looking forward to the end of the school day. Not because she’s going back to a home that never feels like a home.

Rather because it means she gets to see Eda and King again.

Luz stops home long enough to drop off her school bag. Let her foster mother know she’s still alive. And then books it to the park that hosts the door between worlds. 

They aren’t doing the same thing every day. Some days Eda has the human junk store set up. Sometimes Luz is helping her run potions or make deliveries (the latter hadn’t been without a couple of incidents. Thankfully Eda catches on surprisingly quickly when she needs help even when she won’t always ask it).

Sometimes it doesn’t feel like either of them knows what they’re doing.

Sometimes it does.

Luz honestly doesn’t care though. It's not entirely about the magic for her. Not after the first few days at first. Sure she absolutely loves the chance to become an actual witch. However, it plays second fiddle a lot of the time to just being around Eda. 

Something about Eda makes her feel like she has a home again. Part of Luz is still weary. She’s had one too many bad experiences to fully believe that everything’s going to be okay. Another part of her just wants to bask in finally feeling like an adult in her life genuinely cares about her.

It’s been far too long. 

Though part of her is scared that someday it will all fall out from under her.

After all, it wasn’t like she hadn’t had it happen to her before.

She tries to ignore it for right now. For the first time in ages, she’s genuinely happy. As long as nothing changes she’s content.

Of course, something does change.

It comes on a normal Saturday. Luz is getting ready to head out the door when her foster mother stops her. 

“Abigail is coming tomorrow.” 

Luz hides the cringe at the name of her social worker. Rather trying to focus on getting the information she needed. When was she coming by. “Oh, it's already time for the checkup?”

It feels a bit earlier than normal. But Luz tries to ignore that and the concern growing in her at Abigail coming.

What her foster mother says shatters any hope that’s built up for the past few weeks. That she might be able to make something of her apprenticeship with Eda. “No. You are being moved. Apparently, someone else needs to be placed with us. So Abigail is taking you to another family.”

Luz can’t remember the last time she was this heartbroken.

Luz tries to keep a straight face after she passes through the portal door. 

She knows that she should probably just tell Eda. But she can’t bring herself to do it. As much as she wants to tell her, she can’t.

Telling her would mean a lot of things. In order to tell Eda, she would have to talk about the actual reality of having her as an apprentice would be. The things that up until now Luz has been too worried to talk about.

After all, this was supposed to be just a trial run to see how well this would work. Luz still half expects that once Eda starts finding out more about her. That things will fall apart like they always do.

Just because Eda seems to enjoy being around her as much as she does. That doesn’t mean it won’t fall apart. 

Not that it makes it any easier. 

Of course, despite everything Eda still picks up on something being wrong.

It's partly Luz’s mistake, to begin with. She knows that with the apprentice bond Eda can sometimes pick up emotions from her and vise versa when they’re touching. Even if it's brief.

Apparently, she was radiating grief enough that Eda only needed a slight touch to realize something’s wrong. “Alright what’s wrong?”

Luz tries to play dumb at first. Despite knowing it won’t work. “What do you mean what’s wrong?”

Eda frowned deciding she wasn’t having any of it. “Kid I could practically feel the turmoil radiating off of you. Brave face or not something’s up. I am not oblivious, kid. Just talk to me.” 

“It's nothing. Just had a hard day yesterday.” Luz downplays it.

That wasn’t entirely a lie either. Luz doesn’t entirely understand why it feels like the bullying back home seems to be hitting harder. Maybe it's because in some ways things have been getting better? However, the comments have been hitting harder regardless recently. 

Eda frowns at that. “That didn’t feel like nothing.”

“It's just been a rough last few days in general,” Luz says with a shrug.

Eda sighs but seeming to realize Luz isn’t going to give her an answer finally drops it. “Alright, I’ll trust your judgment. Though remember you can talk to me if you need to.”

She really can’t about this Luz thinks. However outwardly she just says. “I know.”

Eda can’t sleep.

Luz went home hours ago. Insisting to the end that everything was okay. Despite Eda knowing full well that it isn’t. She drops it.

There’s always the next day any way she tells herself. 

Yet she can’t stop thinking about it.

Luz had been upset by something. That much was clear. Their bond still isn’t strong enough that she can feel emotions without contact with the kid. But there had been so much under the surface when she had brushed up against her. That she would have to be oblivious to miss it.

So why didn’t the kid just tell her?

It wasn’t often that she wished for Lilith’s understanding and knowledge. But at least if she had it maybe she could understand what had the kid so scared.  

A possible answer comes to her unbidden. Though she dismisses it at first. Luz had said to her that sometimes she got moved from one house to another with little warning. 

Eda remembered it because she was surprised just how matter of fact Luz had been. 

It seems silly to even consider. Since the kid would tell her first right?

Whatever she was worried about wasn’t that, right?

However, Eda can’t stop thinking about their last conversation before Luz went home. The way Luz lingered a bit longer than normal. The way she held a King a bit tighter during this visit. 

It clicks all at once. 

Shit, the kid was either planning to leave or was being made to.

Well looks like she couldn’t hold off on that conversation until the morning. Grabbing Owlbert and the key, she just hopes she can find the kid quickly.

Luz can’t sleep.

All she can think is about the next day. About how she knows Abigail is coming. She doesn’t want to go. Things were finally looking better.

She should have just told Eda. At least even if she couldn’t do anything. She would have gotten a proper goodbye. 

So she’s wide awake when she hears the sound of something hitting the window. Luz ignores it at first thinking it's just a tree. Then it happens again. And a third time. 

Finally, she gets up to close the window she's assuming her foster sister opened and forgot to close. Only to be greeted by a familiar sight standing about a hundred yards away, Eda. “Eda?” Luz stares at her in confusion. Not entirely sure she is imagining things.

“Hey, kid. Do you think you could sneak out? I want to talk.”

Luz glances over at her foster sister and roommate for a moment. The younger girl turns over and lets out a snore. Not that she probably would care if she up and disappeared. “Yeah just give me a second.”

“So do you want to tell me what’s wrong or do I have to pull it out of you?” Eda wastes no time beating around the bush. 

Of course, Luz doesn’t know it yet. But she already pretty much knows what’s wrong. However, she wants to give her a chance to come clean first. 

Luz opens her mouth to protest. The usual sentences on the tip of her tongue. Eda beats her to it. “Don’t tell me it's nothing. I can tell it's nothing. I don’t know what you're trying to hide but I can clearly see it.”

“I don’t know if you can help me.” Luz finally admits. After all, this was much more of a human problem than it was a witch problem. 

Eda of course protests that. “We don’t know that if you won’t tell me what’s going on.”

Luz hesitates still. Well, she guessed if she was probably not going to see Eda after tomorrow as she expected. Then most likely just telling her wouldn’t hurt as much, right? “I’m supposed to move houses tomorrow.”

“Oh.” Eda inhales sharply. “This quickly?”

“They don’t usually give me a lot of warning,” Luz admits. “So that’s the problem. I don’t even like it here. But I don’t know where they’ll put me next. And if I move town then-”

“Kid, breathe, ” Eda cuts in as Luz’s pace becomes more frantic. 

Luz just keeps going though. “And I don’t want to leave. Not because I like it here. But because if I leave the new place might be far away from the door. And then-” Luz cuts herself off. Too many emotions bubbling to the surface at once. Trying not to ignore the sting of tears.

Luz lets out a surprised squeak when Eda pulls her into a hug. It has the calming effect that words wouldn’t. As Luz can feel the reassurance coming off of her in waves. Though she picks up on something else in the undercurrent. It's not strong enough to be able to say what. 

There’s a moment of silence between the two before Eda asks. “Well, what if you come to live with me instead?”

Luz looks up sharply. She didn’t hear that right, did she? “What?”

Eda’s patient when she repeats herself. “What if you came to live with me instead? I mean you said it yourself the only reason you like it here is because of the door. If you came with me then you wouldn’t have to worry about it. I could teach you full time.”

Luz hesitates. She wants to believe Eda. She can feel the sincerity behind Eda’s suggestion since Eda still hasn’t let her go. But she can’t even recall the last time someone actually wanted her. The sheer amount of pain that came with knowing that just because someone says they want her. That doesn’t mean it always holds up in the end. 

The pain must be obvious to Eda through the bond since she asks. “You okay kid?”

“I don’t want to cause trouble,” Luz says finally.

Eda frowns and Luz can feel confusion now. “Who would you be causing trouble to though? Me? I’m the one who offered it in the first place. The people watching you? Kid can you actually say they care?”

Luz flinches at that question. She knows the answer to that already, no. Though saying it out loud doesn’t make it easier.

Eda to her credit realizes her mistake. “Sorry, that was a bit harsh. But my point remains.”

“You really would want me?” Luz asks. Even after the past few weeks, it feels too good to be true. Even as she can feel Eda not lying to her. It still feels too good to be true.

The first adult in her life to seem to genuinely care for her in over four years wants her to come live with her? It’s a dream come true for Luz but she can’t help but worry that Eda might change her mind later down the road.

After all, she’s had people she thought she could trust to be around longer, yet still pull back, before.

“No takebacks, you actually want me around permanently. I mean are you sure I’m a bit ya know.” Luz cuts off not entirely sure if she wants to say the word. No matter how accurate it is.

Eda shakes her head. “Broken or not your still my apprentice. If your willing to put up with a cursed teacher as your mentor. Then I’m willing to do with whatever baggage your hiding in the closet.”

Luz looks up at Eda surprised she picked up on it.

Eda manages a chuckle at that. “Just because you're not saying anything doesn’t mean I’m not noticing it. I don’t know what you’re trying to hide or why you insist on doing so. But I did notice it.”

“Are you sure?” Luz finally asks. “There’s a lot of it.”

Eda thinks for a moment about the room that’s waiting for Luz back at the House. The one that she decided to set up despite not knowing entirely why. 

The bed, the toys King helped pick out, the books. She may not have fully understood why she was feeling the need. What the small spell had told her when she had cast it. 

But now that she’s looking at Luz she does. Luz needed a home and it was apparent she was going to be the one providing it.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” 

Eda tries to hide her scowl at Luz’s bag when they grab it before heading home. Part of her just wants to leave the bag behind. It's not like she doesn't have things already for Luz back at the house.

The only thing that stops her is knowing that there might be something important in the bag. She’s been between places before she knows that just because it doesn’t look important to someone else. That doesn’t necessarily mean it is. 

“Luz!” King scurries up and Luz doesn’t need to even be asked to pick him up. She just does. “So you’re staying with us now?”

“Sure seems that way?” Luz said though Eda doesn’t miss the trace of the question in Luz’s voice. 

Be patient, she reminds herself. Lilith had said that sometimes it takes a while when they had discussed this before. It would probably be a while before Luz realized that this was real. 

“Yep. Can’t exactly have my one apprentice up and moving can I?” 

It's not the only reason. Lilith had basically confirmed her suspicions that something was off in Luz’s home situation. 

Neither of them knew enough about the human world to exactly understand what. The human world seemed to play by different rules. However, Lilith had seen enough with her own gaggle of kids to at least recognize some of the signs.

Lilith hadn’t been sure though Luz coming to live with her was the right choice when the idea had been tossed around. She had believed despite the mysterious nature behind the apprentice bond. Luz probably would be better off living and being raised in the human world while retaining the apprenticeship. They just needed to help her find somewhere safer than the situation she was in.

So this hadn’t been part of the plan, to say the least. 

Neither had been putting together Luz’s room originally. She had told Lilith throughout the whole shopping trip that it was 'just in case' Luz needed somewhere if they went too late.

Lily might not be happy with her spontaneous action. However, Eda was pretty sure even in the morning she wouldn’t regret it. The kid had grown on her in the past few weeks. She would much rather deal with Lilith’s incessant complaining than lose Luz.

Luz gives a small smile at that. “Yeah that’s true I guess.” 

A jaw-cracking yawn a moment later reminded Eda just how late it was. “Alright, kid let's get you to bed.”

Luz is at first confused when Eda leads her up the stairs. She had been expecting to crash on the couch tonight.  Followed by probably shopping tomorrow. So she can’t figure out what Eda’s up to.

The answer to which comes a few minutes later when Eda comes to a stop in front of a door. A door that leads to a room that last Luz checked held some extra supplies for Eda’s business.

However, the odd storage room isn’t what greets her when Eda opens the door. It's a full-fledged bedroom. She follows Eda into the room only paying half attention to what Eda was saying. Something about having a place to crash. 

Luz is too focused on the room. It's obvious Eda tried to decorate based on what she thought Luz would like and improvised somewhat. There’s a half-full bookshelf. A couple of toys and some stuffed animal she swears she had seen King playing with before during her visits.

Luz is speechless.

“-anyways I tried to decorate based on what you might like. Lilith and King ‘helped’. But if there’s anything that I missed let me know and we can go shopping in the morning.” Luz finally registers Eda talking. “Of course we probably need to anyway. I want to get you some new clothes.”

“This is mine?” Luz asks. Despite all the evidence, part of her can’t believe it.

“Yeah of course who else would I make a kid's room for? My own imaginary kid?” Eda tries to joke.

It falls flat.

Luz has a hundred different questions floating around in her head. How had Eda even known she was going to need this being the biggest. But for now she’s too worked up to talk or even thank Eda. Just opting to hug her mentor instead.  

“Kid?” Eda asks, not missing the influx of emotions from Luz’s end. Some of which she’s having a hard time placing. The biggest two weren’t hard to place at least. Relief and surprise. Eda tries not to think about what that means. It's something best to think about in the morning. 

Though the start of tears is much harder to dismiss.

Despite the fact, Luz doesn’t feel upset Eda still has to check. “Hey I didn’t upset you did I? Did I mess up something with this?”

Luz shakes her head rapidly and her voice cracks when she finally does talk. “No, it’s perfect. It’s just-” Luz pauses for a second and then continues. “It’s the first time someone’s really tried to make me feel at home in a long time.”

Well if that wasn’t heartbreaking. Hadn’t Luz said she had been between homes for years now?

“This will be your home for as long as you want it,” Eda assures her pulling Luz slightly tighter into a hug. If she had to fight Lily on it so be it. Human or not Luz needed help and for some Titan known reason, she had been picked to do so.

Eda is confused at first when she wakes up in the morning. 

She knows immediately it's not her nest. As much as she loved her nest it was not nearly this soft. Plus last she checked her chest didn’t weigh this much when she woke up usually.

It comes to her a minute later when she’s finally awake enough to remember the night before. And realize where she was and what the weight on her chest was.

She had taken Luz from that house (Eda refuses to call it a home) and put her up. Luz had gotten herself so worked up that Eda had stayed with her, worrying she was going to make herself sick.

She hadn't; she had just exhausted herself out and fell asleep eventually. Eda hadn’t meant to fall asleep with Luz but she had been hard-pressed to move after the kid had fallen asleep. So apparently she had ended up joining Luz in slumberland. 

She carefully extracts herself from out and under Luz and King who had also joined them at some point, it seems. Luz didn’t need to get up right away. But Eda did want to start making appointments. Make a few calls.

She knows Luz insists that she wasn’t hurt and other than fear there wasn’t anything to worry about. Eda’s more inclined to believe it when she sees it. So probably best to have that healer Lilith used to have Luz looked over.

Considering why she and Lily worked together it seemed like the best choice.

Though it did mean she was going to have to tell Lilith about the rather spontaneous choice she made the night before.

Lilith, as predicted, was less than pleased by her taking in Luz. 

In fact, Eda predicted it so well that she made sure to step somewhere private to make the call. Where Luz was least likely to wake up and overhear it. If Luz’s abandonment issues ran as deep as she was starting to suspect. Then having her sister second guess her taking in Luz (well-intentioned or not) in earshot of the girl was just going to make things worse.

She’s hoping that she can use this appointment with Althea to maybe talk some sense into her sister. The kid was terrified of abandonment. That much was clear of what little Luz would open up about.

Which made Eda think that maybe putting her with another human family wasn’t the best solution. She got Lilith’s concerns. She understood where her sister was coming from. But at the same time… who was to say that just because they were different races didn’t mean that she was the best solution to be Luz’s caretaker?

Wouldn’t Luz just see it as being abandoned again?

Luz doesn’t take the idea of seeing a healer that well when she suggests it. 

Though it's less of a suggestion Eda has to admit. She had all but scheduled a time with Althea. Saying she wanted to talk to Luz first before having her come over. 

What she hadn’t expected was the sheer and utter panic on Luz’s face. And Eda is afraid she was inches away from having a panic attack before she manages to calm Luz down. 

Of course, once things calmed down Eda’s first thought is to assume the worse. That somehow the human healers had somehow hurt Luz.

Luz of course denies that. Though she still hesitates to explain herself to Eda. It takes a solid minute for Eda to realize that this was probably the baggage thing rearing its head for the first real time. And Luz was probably worried that if she elaborated something bad would happen.

Which was a whole other level of an issue now that Eda thought about it.

Eda doesn’t say that though. Just reminds Luz of the night before. “Hey remember what I said last night. I want you regardless of anything else that comes attached to it. A few hours hasn’t changed that.”

Sure Luz being scared of healers hadn’t been something Eda had exactly anticipated. However, she stood by what she had said.

“I just want to know what to expect a bit. If your fear’s based because Titan forbid one of them hurt you-”

“No, it's not that,” Luz said with a shake of her head. Chewing on her lip before saying. “You remember how I told you before my parents’ families weren’t in my life?”

Eda frowned. She wasn’t sure she liked where this was going any more than the first train of thought. “Yeah, you told me that was why you were staying where you were.”

“Well, I was with them for not quite a year?” Luz hedged. “Long enough that I was cleared for and had surgery on my burn scars. Anyways I don’t know the timing or what happened to cause it but-”

Luz cuts off again. She knows she should just say it and get it over with. But that it had happened at all still hurt three years later.

Why did they ever take her in if they didn’t want her?

Eda’s eyebrows skyrocket as she puts two and two together. “They abandoned you during the surgery?”

What kind of messed-up pieces of shit abandoned a small child in that situation?

“No, it was after,” Luz said, shaking her head. “I know it wasn’t the doctors' fault. I know things weren’t great-”

Eda’s eyebrows shoot up even further. Wondering just what the situation had been but lets Luz continue.

“-but the fact they chose then to up and leave me-”

“It hurts.” Eda finishes when Luz doesn’t continue. There was a small sigh. “So I’m guessing your fear deals with what happened there?”

Luz nodded. “I know it's silly. The doctors didn’t do anything but their jobs-”

“Hey, you don’t need to explain yourself. Fears don’t exactly behave normally.” Eda assured. She had a couple of her own ideas as to why Luz’s fear had attached to the human version of healers. But now wasn’t the time. “So I’m guessing this ‘family’ of yours just kind of left you alone during the stay?” An unsurprising nod from Luz. “Alright would it make things easier if I stayed with you during the visit?”

At the core of it, all Luz was afraid of abandonment. She was abandoned and left alone by the sounds of it before it even became official. So by that logic, if she stayed with Luz that should help right?

“You would do that?”

“Of course. Anything to help, kid.” Heck, she would probably volunteer even if it didn’t help. “I know you said that the last family didn’t hurt you. But I would just feel a lot better if you just got looked over by someone.”

“Alright then if you stay with me I guess I can deal with it.”

The appointment goes well at first. Althea casts a spell to get Luz’s history. Since of course coming from another world Luz has none. 

Eda really doesn’t like the look she sees across Althea’s face for a moment when she starts reading the result. So the kid had downplayed the situation most likely. 

This was going to be an ugly conversation. 

At least Luz was safe she supposed. Though now Eda can’t help but feel some guilt. She should have gotten the kid out of the situation weeks ago. 

It didn’t matter that she hadn’t known. She should have known. It wasn’t like she and Lily had the world’s best parents either. How had she not realized Luz needed help until last night.

How had she and Lily missed that it wasn’t just small issues at home?

Finally, Althea finishes it. “Well, there isn’t much I can do today. Some of this is going to need time.”

Eda’s eyebrows shoot up again. Wondering just what that means. 

Althea continues on ignoring the questioning look Eda is shooting her. “However there is one thing we can take care of today. It looks like you have a badly healed arm Luz?”

Luz winces at that. “There was an accident a couple of years back. I couldn’t get to a doctor in time.”

Eda doubts it's only that much of the story. But for now, squelches any attempts at anger rising up. Luz needed her calm. Getting angry would not help the already jumpy kid.

Althea to her credit just nods in acceptance of the answer. “Of course. However, I wanted to talk to you about rebreaking it so it can heal properly. It would give you some better function of the arm in the long run and less pain.”

Luz looks startled. “You know about that?”

Althea gives a sad smile at the question. “I help watch over some other accident-prone children with your mentor’s sister. I know all about what can happen.”

“Oh. So it would actually help?”

“Once it's finished healing properly, yes. You will be unable to use it for a few days at first though.”

Luz hesitates and Eda gets the feeling that it's somehow on her accord. “Hey don’t let me stop you. A few slow days isn’t going to hurt in the long run.”

She would much rather Luz not be in pain on her own accord.

Luz accepts that and then asks. “So what do we do now.”

“First we’ll put you to sleep-”

Eda notices Luz stiffen at that. Before Eda can ask what’s wrong Luz asks. “Do I have to be asleep?”

Althea frowns at that. Clearly just as lost as Eda is feeling on why Luz would want to be awake when she’s getting her arm intentionally broken. “Well, it would be significantly less painful. May I ask why you would want to be awake for this?” 

Luz shifts slightly. “I just don’t want to wake up alone again.”

Oh, right. The last time Luz had a family they had walked out on her when she was still sleeping. Yeah, Eda could now see why this could be a problem for Luz.

The question was how to reassure Luz that wasn’t going to happen. Luz didn’t trust Althea. However, she seemed to trust her so maybe in there lies the solution.

“What if I cast the spell instead?” Eda suggests. “That way you would wake up if I wander too far afield.”

Luz considers that for a moment. If Eda cast it then she wouldn’t wake up unless Eda moved away right? So if something did happen she would wake up. That could work. Luz nods. 

Althea’s noticeably hesitating, however. “This is a rather powerful spell.”

Eda hears the question of ‘are you sure you can handle it.' Lilith must have mentioned the curse then and the drawbacks. “Hey, I’m not the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles just in name ya know. I can handle one measly spell.”

One quick instruction lesson later, Luz was asleep. Much to Eda’s relief. She still isn’t sure how the kid managed to get under her skin this fast. But she’s glad she doesn’t have to deal with her being awake to fix the arm.

Althea doesn’t waste any time beating around the bush to question her after the arm’s finished. “How serious are you about taking Luz in on a permanent basis?”

Eda blinks at the question in slight confusion. “I mean the human’s probably would view what I did as kidnapping. So I would say pretty serious.”

Althea hums at that. “True.”

Eda watches the witch for a moment trying to get a read on what she’s thinking. She doesn’t know the healer all that well. She and Lilith were much closer. “Do you think me caring for Luz is a problem? I know Lily thinks it would be better for her to be with humans.”

Althea shakes her head at the question. “No, my concern was the opposite. I don’t want Luz going back there. Not unless something drastically changes.”

Eda’s eyebrows shoot up and her stomach drops. “That bad?”

Titan, what had the kid been through?

“It's hard to say with certainty how bad it is considering she’s human but that being said…” Althea trailed off seeming to about how to best phrase it before continuing. “If she was a witchling and didn’t have somewhere safe to go to she would probably ending up with Lily and me.”

That bad then. 

A new question comes to mind unbidden. She hates that it's even a question. “They didn’t actually, you know-” Eda doesn’t even want to finish the question. 

Althea shakes her head. “No nothing of that nature that I can find. Though what I did find isn’t great either, admittedly.”

Eda’s eyebrows go up again. “What exactly is in there?”

“Most of the usual things you associate with abuse cases. Malnutrition, signs of old injuries, things of that nature. However, this one caught me off guard.” Althea flips through the file before handing it over to Eda. 

Eda reads the line Althea is pointing to once. And then in sheer disbelief reads it a second time. “That can’t be right.”

“I wish it wasn’t but there’s old damage one would associate with a scar of that nature there.”

“I just. She was a kid. Still is, who, why-” Eda is five seconds from going through the door to find the culprit and smack some heads. She didn’t care that the scan said it was two years old. No one got away with hurting her family.

Althea’s voice is what stops her. “I know you're angry. But Luz needs you here. And if you go looking for the culprit it will definitely cancel out the spell.”

That has the intended effect as Eda finally sits back down.

There’s a small silence between the two of them before Eda says. “I don’t care what Lily says. She can’t go back there.”

There is no way Luz being with humans would improve things. It's just inconceivable to her. Not after everything else. Luz needed a home, whether that came with the humans shouldn’t matter in Eda’s eyes.

“You and I are in agreement there. I’ll talk to her about this. I think she just needs proof that Luz is better off here to be convinced. This.” Althea motions at the file. “Should be more than enough.”

Eda just hopes that it's that simple.

Thankfully it is.

Two days later Raveena showed up at the Owl House with a small bundle of papers attached to one leg. Unattaching them Eda found there was a short letter from Lilith, some papers to make the apprenticeship more official, and most important paperwork to make her Luz’s guardian which Lilith had already signed off on. 

Eda can’t remember when was the last time she was this happy over a signature of all things. 

The letter’s short. Basically, Lilith says she wants to keep a close eye on Luz and make sure she’s actually improving living with Eda. The guardianship is temporary but if things go as well as Eda and Althea have been implying. She will be more than happy to sign off on it being permanent.

Eda suppresses a groan at that. She wished they could just jump to the permanent one. She can’t see a situation where letting Luz go back to the human realm would be a good idea. 

Luz looks up from her breakfast seeing Eda signing off on the forms. “What’s that about?”

“Guardianship and apprenticeship forms,” Eda says sliding one paper and a pen over to Luz so she can add her form. “It’ll make you my ward officially with the government.”

Luz drops the pen in surprise. “You would be my guardian then? Are you sure about that?”

Eda doesn’t miss the unspoken. “Are you sure you want this trouble?”

“Yeah, I’m sure kid.” Eda cracks a grin. “After all it was my idea, to begin with.”

It only had been Lilith’s reservations that had kept it from happening before now. 

“Oh, then why now?”

“Lilith needed a bit more convincing. Althea’s visit did the job thankfully.” 

“Did she not like you taking a human apprentice?”

“What? No, nothing like that. She was ecstatic when I told her you were my apprentice. Kid, you gotta understand something. Lily and I didn’t have the best parents. We’ve always been a bit different in our own ways. And our parents had a bit more trouble with her brand of odd.”

With Eda, as much as they had hated it, it seemed they knew how to handle a wild child. Not so much Lily, unfortunately.

“Anyways you remember how Althea mentioned that they look after a group of kids?” Luz nodded. “Well, Lily wanted to prevent kids from having the same problems we did growing up. So she looks after a group of Hexside students. Some more hands-on than others.” Judging by Luz’s confused look she still didn’t understand so Eda added. “She was unsure because she was worried that you wouldn’t get the better care here versus back on Earth.”

Luz's mouth forms an o at that. “So she was trying to care in her own way?”

“Precisely. Now that Althea could prove that your most likely safer here the argument has died off.”

Well, mostly, but she wasn’t going to tell Luz the caveat if she didn’t have to. Not when she was pretty sure she could do a better job a hundred times over.

There was no need to tell Lily when Eda was certain it would never be a concern in the first place.

Luz gives a surprised yelp when the paper disappears after signing. Right probably should have mentioned that… “It just went to the archives. So it's now on record that your my ward and apprentice.”

“Just like that?” Luz asks.

“Just like that.” Eda agrees. “Welcome home kiddo.”

After all, now Luz was her ward. The Owl House was her home as much as it had been Eda’s.

Well, it had been before now Eda supposed. This just made it official.

Luz smiles at that. One of the brightest smiles Eda’s seen her give. “It’s good to be home.”

Chapter Text

Eda, King, and Luz don’t often talk about the first time they met.

Mainly because Luz doesn’t remember any of it.

Sure she remembers the decision to run away from the camp. She remembers finding the portal door and stumbling through it. The last thing she remembers is a flash of orange that she now knows was Eda’s hair. After that though everything is blank for a few days.

Really to be honest she doesn’t remember much of those first few weeks if she is being completely honest. 

The few times she asked Eda it went nowhere. Eda always gets this distant look when those early weeks come up. King’s answers are worded in a way so Luz is never sure if she can take him seriously.

In the end it doesn’t really matter to Luz.

She found Eda and she’s away from the camp that’s all she really cares about.

Lilith is the first one to ask about it.

It’s a quiet moment between her and Eda. Amity, Luz, and King are elsewhere. They’re talking about some of the after effects of the curse.

Even now years after the curse had been removed. The effects aren’t completely gone.

Eda had paused for a moment to check on some potions she had brewing at the moment. Lilith of course had questioned what seemed like an abnormally large order compared to when she had seen Eda working before. To which Eda had simply said it was for a monthly personal stock. 

“I wasn’t aware you took so many potions.” Lilith said, frowning. Not liking at all the implications at all that the five different cauldrons implied.

Eda shakes her head at that. “I don’t. They’re not mine, they're for Luz.”

“Oh.” Amity had mentioned Luz had said she had some health issues. Lilith had never really thought about the extensiveness of it before now. “I didn’t realize it was such a concern.”

“Yeah well they caused some hiccups when she first came to stay with me so I’ve had to deal with them front and center.”

Hell, part of the reason Luz had ended up with her was because of it.

“You know I never asked. How did you two meet in the first place?”

“There’s not much to tell.”

Really there wasn’t. All it had been was Luz stumbling through the door which she had forgotten to close. Fainting from a high fever. 

Luz had originally ended up staying at The Owl House because Eda had no clue where she had come from. She didn’t know where the local landmarks were. Or where the human healers were. And she wasn’t about to kick out a sick child on her watch. 

The following weeks were where the story really started arguably. 

“There must be some story behind it Edalyn.” Lilith protests.

Eda pauses for a moment there seeming to consider how to best respond to that. “Maybe there is but do I ask you how you and Amity came to live together?”

That does the trick in getting Lilith to stop the questions. 

Amity is next though she’s a lot less direct than her mother figure.

Boscha was being her normal self. Though a comment directed towards Eda had managed to set Luz off in a way Amity wasn’t used to seeing before. 

It had been only through some quick thinking and intervention no one had ended up in a fist fight. 

“Why did you even go after Boscha? You know that’s just going to make things worse right?”

“I know but you don’t get it. She never goes after you and Lilith.”

Now it was Amity’s turn to get annoyed. “Only because of Lilith’s status and you know that.”

Luz realized she had accidentally stepped on some toes in her own anger. “Right sorry. It just hit really close to home this time. Too close.”

Amity frowned not for the first time confused by her friend’s behavior and history. It didn’t make much sense to her if she was being honest. “What part the part about Eda being a-”

“No, no. It's the other part.” Luz admitted with hesitance. “Eda took me in when no one else wanted me. If I didn’t have Eda, I don’t know where I would be right now.”

Dead probably. Eda had saved her in more than one fashion.

“How did she save you anyway?”

Luz didn’t like talking about her time before the Boiling Isles. Something that for the most part Amity respected. Everyone had skeletons in their closet. Sometimes a bit more figuratively then literal in the case of Luz. So Amity was always wondering how in the world a wild witch like Eda had essentially come to adopt a human.

“I wish I could tell you but I honestly don’t remember much after I first started living there. My...issue was uncontrolled back then and at its worst before Eda helped.”

Oh that’s what Luz meant by save.

Amity lets the topic drop from there.

Then Willow.

Willow is more just curious about how they became a family to begin with when she asks Luz the question. 

“Does it really matter?” Luz asks. 

To her at least it doesn’t matter. Eda’s the first person that she feels genuinely cares about her. She never knew her parents and the foster families she had gone through had only tolerated her so much.

“Nah I get it. Family’s family. Regardless if it’s by blood. I was just being a bit nosey that’s all.”

Luz nods, she guessed the question was inevitable at some point. Considering whether to answer before saying. “To be honest I don’t really remember anything about the first few days.”

“Nothing?”

“No. When Eda found me I was sick, extremely so. I was in and out of consciousness for a few days. And even then after that it's all kinds of muddled until she helped me find the right potions to help.”

To be honest Luz doesn’t really remember much about her first month on the Isles.

“I didn’t realize it was flaring at the time.”

“Only because of the camp.” Luz grumbled. 

Her opinion on the whole camp affair is complicated. She hates every memory attached to it. She hates how bad things got. However without it she probably would never have met Eda. Never found the Isles that had slowly become her home in the past year.  

So, yeah it was complicated to say the least.

Willow’s look at first surprises Luz. Then she remembers that she almost never talks about how screwed up the camp was. 

Eda is really the only one who knows outside of her healer. And Luz sometimes just prefers to keep it private. 

The less she reflects on that time the better.

“Hey, I’m fine.” Luz assures. 

“Still that that happened to begin with…”

“It’s messed up. I know that. However, without them I would never have met Eda or you or anyone else. So-” Luz shrugs. “It’s not all horrible.” 

Finally Gus thought of his way of asking if by far the least indirect.

“I just don’t get if there’s so much cool stuff on Earth why you left?”

Luz thinks for a moment picking her words carefully. Gus, of the friend group probably knew the least about her pre-Eda time. Part of Luz didn’t want to break his fascination with the human realm. Just because she didn't have a great history there.

Though that reality breaking moment was probably going to come at some point anyway.

“It’s...complicated. Not everything's sunshine and rainbows on Earth, Gus. I know you see the good side.” Partly because that was mainly what came up when it came to Human Appreciation Club things. “But not everything’s perfect.”

“Sunshine and rainbows?”

“Ah right you guys wouldn’t have that here.” Even after living on the Isles for a year Luz still got tripped up over the different metaphors. “I don’t know what the equivalent here is but basically means not everything is good and happy as it seems.”

“Ah so like there can’t always be moonlight and conjurings. Got it.”

Luz made a note to ask Eda about that later. Though she guessed it sounded similar enough.

Maybe she should ask Eda for a book on witch metaphors.

“So were things really that bad?”

Luz hesitates for a moment trying to think how to best respond to it. Sure not everything was bad. But for years the good had been buried under so much. 

“I’m sorry.”

“Why?”

“It must hurt to think about Earth if you have all those bad memories attached to it.”

“It does sometimes.” Luz admits. “But talking with you about the good times helps me remember that not everything was bad all the time.”

Gus lights up. “I’m glad I can help then.”

It’s only after Gus that Luz finally asks Eda what actually happened.

“Why do you wanna know.”

“I guess I’m just curious. I don’t remember anything after I arrived for several days. And by the time I really started getting better you had pretty much just taken me in.”

Eda seems to debate at first for a moment, finally saying. “Alright. But first let's start with what’s the last thing you remember before waking up here. And the first thing you remember after that.”

“Stumbling through the portal door and then waking up in your room a few days later.”

“Yeah that sounds about right.”  Eda agrees. “Alright then-”

Owlbert had been running behind getting back from his human treasure run. So Eda had left the door open. What she hadn’t expected was for Owlbert to show up with a teenage girl in tow. 

Before Eda gets the chance to question anyone on anything. Like just how did Owlbert acquire a human apparently. The girl passes out on her. 

“What the heck?”

King walks up to her side. “Is she dead?”

“I don’t think so.” Eda kneels besides the teenage girl. Placing a hand in front of the mouth. Still breathing at least. Though what had caused her to turn into a heap is a good question.

Maybe it had something to do with going through the portal. Hand moving she passes by the kids forehead. Which she can now tell is radiating heat.

Fever. The kid was sick.

Which raised a whole bunch of questions that definitely weren’t going to get answered right now with her out for the count.

Probably the best thing to do was to take her to a human healer. But Eda doesn’t know anything about them. Let alone where to find one.

Well she did know how to treat an illness at least. Or at least a high fever. And as long as the kid was sick and out cold she was Eda’s responsibility. Whether she liked it or not.

First things first was to get that fever down. Eda reasoned, scooping the girl up off the floor. And then she could question Owlbert on a few things. 

Eda learns the girl’s name on her second day, Luz.

Admittedly she doesn’t learn much else. Despite her work the fever still has yet to break. And Luz is in and out of sleep most of the time. 

Owlbert has been even less helpful in figuring out where Luz came from. He had said he had thought she was lost in the woods. And getting caught in the rain seemed like a bad idea.

He hadn’t even realized Luz was sick at first. 

Of course naturally the easiest way to find answers would be to send him scouting to see where the kid came from. However right now she wants Owlbert closer to her.

So for now the mystery remains.

At least keeping an eye on Luz is easy enough. The kid is sleeping other than when Eda shakes her awake to make sure she eats or drinks something. 

Day four post arrival throws a hiccup in that Eda had never been expecting.

Eda wakes up to an empty nest.

A quick talk with Owlbert tells her that he hasn’t left but has moved down to the kitchen. Moving down herself causes an eyebrow raise though as Eda finds Luz cooking. Or trying to if the way she’s falling asleep again on her feet is any indication.

“Kid?”

Whatever Eda expects, it's not Luz about jump startling herself back awake. Followed by a string of apologies. 

“Kid-”

“Luz.”

Eda wonders why the correction for a moment before pushing the question out of her mind. “Luz, take a breath for a second I’m not mad. I was just concerned to see you cooking while sick.”

“But if I don’t cook then how can I earn my place.”

“I forgot I said that.” Luz interrupts for a moment. She hadn’t realized she had said anything of that nature. But then again Eda hadn’t really seemed surprised when she had first talked about what life on Earth had been like for her.

“It’s not the only thing you said. But it was the one that started setting off alarm bells. Because-”

“No one should have to earn a spot in a family.” Luz repeats what Eda had said to her so many times now.  “I know you keep reminding me.”

“And I will keep telling you as long as you need it. Since you lived with some messed up people.” 

Well if that didn’t raise a whole bunch of red flags Eda isn’t sure what will. “Luz it's okay you don’t need to do that. You’re sick.”

“But-”

“No but.” Eda cuts in. “Now are you actually hungry or were you just trying to help?”

“More thirsty than hungry.”

“Okay I can work with that.” 

Honestly part of Eda is starting to wonder if Luz is faking the memory loss.

Okay, not really but she was getting a bit tired of repeating herself to Luz.

The only time Luz doesn’t seem to have known where she was, was during the kitchen incident. And Eda thinks she was more on autopilot than anything else that time.

At least there hadn’t been a repeat of that she supposed.

Regardless Eda is almost at her wits end with trying to get Luz better. When a rather big surprise happens.

Luz casts a light spell.

It’s an accident. Luz still doesn’t have control over her magic. And her being sick only makes the situation worse. She’s trying to put the little ball of light out when Eda comes into the scene. Not having seen Luz casting but not being able to miss the floating ball of yellow light in the room no matter how hard Luz is trying to hide it. “Huh I don’t remember casting a light spell in here.”

Luz freezes in place. One hand still holding the light ball and staring at Eda wide-eyed. And proceeds to start panicking.

Okay, panicking over magic was definitely not something Eda thought she would ever see let alone experience. But at least she knows what to do. Grabbing Luz and pulling her in close so she can she starts taking her through the exercises she was taught. “Breathe with me. In…” Eda internally counts to 7 before talking again. “And out….”

Slowly but surely Luz’s breathing slows to a normal pace. Eda gives her a couple of minutes to collect herself before asking. “Are you feeling better?” A nod. “Alright do you think you can tell me what that was all about?”

There’s a pause before Luz shakes her head no.

Eda’s not sure where to go from there. There was some part of her that was confused. Why would someone panic over using their magic? 

“You know now that-”

“That you were worried I was going to take everything the wrong way? Yeah I’m aware. But at the time kid you gotta remember I had just walked in on you panicking over a light spell. It didn’t make much sense.”

Really she needed some answers on what the heck had just happened. But she didn’t want to force them out of the kid.

“Could you at least tell me why you were panicking over a light spell?” Eda decides to try.

Luz looks up for the first time in the whole conversation. Confusion evident on her face. “A light spell?”

“Yes, a light spell.” Eda’s equally baffled but pushes it aside for a moment. She casts her own light spell as an example. “See? Just like yours.”

Except maybe not. Luz stares at Eda’s own spell with a sense of open mouthed wonder. And now Eda is left wondering if she’s ever seen anyone else use magic before.

It would maybe explain the panic attack depending on how other humans viewed magic.

“Can I touch it?”

Eda cocks her head slightly wondering why but decides it doesn’t matter. “Sure. It shouldn’t hurt you.” 

The way Luz holds the ball gently in her hands cements Eda’s suspicions. “You’ve never seen anyone else cast magic before have you?”

Luz shakes her head no slowly. Some part of Eda’s heart breaks when Luz speaks her voice cracking slightly. “Everyone back on Earth just calls me a menace." If she's lucky. Sometimes that's the kinder thing to be called. "I’ve tried so hard to control this but everything I do just makes it worse.”

“Magic can be difficult to control if you don’t know what you’re doing.”

“I know.” Luz has a distant look in her eyes for a moment. And Eda wonders what she’s remembering. 

Eda’s not sure who's more surprised by her next suggestion. Her or Luz. “Would you like me to teach you how to control your magic?”

Luz stares at her for a moment. “You would be willing to do that?”

“Of course. No one should have to live in fear of something that is a part of them.”

Eda will take it to the grave that part of this is self motivated. Yes she wants to help Luz to learn to control her magic. No one should have to live in that much fear of their own self. She would know herself how hard and trying that could be.

However, a human doing actual magic is such a curiosity. She’s hoping that maybe having Luz around some more might solve how this was even possible. 

Though part of her wonders if she is going to like what she finds out.

However, despite the self motivation there is some sincerity. She remembers what it was like when was freshly cursed. Being worried about turning into The Owl Beast on a moment’s notice. 

That was part of the past now. However that didn’t mean she couldn’t sympathize with Luz. 

“You know what that’s like?”

“Yeah but that’s a story for another time.”

No way was Eda going to explain just yet her troubled teenage years. Or her own magic based issues. That could come later. If ever.

On the bright side this does make things a bit easier. If Luz can do magic then she must have some sort of demon or witch blood in her. So a healer would be able to properly treat her. She just has to find a healer.

“And there’s not much else to say there really. You started getting better after Althea came out. And the rest is history.”

“So I basically wore you down into taking me in?”

“In a way I guess you could say that. I mean there was no one real moment I knew I was taking you in permanently. Though I guess learning you can cast magic was the catalyst. It just kind of happened. Whatever resistance I might have had left after nursing you back from a fever went away pretty quickly.”

What had started out as a strange want to help driven by a degree of curiosity. Had evolved as Luz had gotten closer to her. As Luz had gotten better and slowly started opening up to her and King. After Eda had found out the actual chain of events that had set up the two of them meeting in the first place…

Yeah, Eda had been more than willing to let Luz move in permanently rather than return to the human realm.

Sure the family thing wouldn’t come for a few more weeks. As Luz had wormed her way into her heart. But at first it was nice to have some other constant company besides King. 

The continuing mystery of Luz’s ability was just part of the equation. At this point Luz was as much family as Lilith and King were.

“Thank you.”

Luz isn’t entirely sure if she’s thanking Eda or Owlbert. Since they both had a role in her finding a life and family on the Isles. 

“Your welcome kid.”

Chapter Text

One of the first things Eda notices about Luz after the fact she’s human is the scars.

It’s hard to miss. From the first time Eda took off Luz’s shirt to try and get her temperature down. The patchwork of scars scattered over the girl’s body stare back at her.

It unnerves her for some reason. Though she can’t entirely put her finger on why.

Maybe it’s some of the locations?

After all one of the scars would be right above where a bile sac would normally be in a witch. She would know since she has a similar scar on her own chest. 

However in a human, Eda’s not entirely sure why there would be a scar there.

Humans didn’t have bile sacs right?

Something to worry about another time. She had bigger concerns on her plate.

The second time Eda thinks about the scars is after Luz first casts magic around her by accident.

Once she’s got Luz calmed down and asleep her mind flashes back to that one scar. Suddenly everything she had thought she had understood about humans is thrown into question. 

The magic and the scar makes her wonder, maybe humans do have bile sacs? 

But if they did then why had Luz needed surgery there. Most witches and humans she supposed didn’t need surgery for it. So what gave?

Why did Luz have an almost identical scar to her own? 

Why did it feel like there was something sinister afoot?

Maybe the healer she’s going to call can answer her questions. 

The third time Eda is reminded of the strange stitched scars that are over Luz comes when the girl has her first nightmare since arriving on the Isles.

The healer wasn’t able to tell her much on the mystery that is Luz. She had been hapless as Eda was on why Luz had so many scars.

All Eda knows is that there must be some time to the fact Luz can do magic. Though she doesn’t understand it yet.

King’s the one who wakes her up in the middle of the night.

“Luz is having a nightmare I think?”

“You think?” Eda stares at King for a moment. Hoping he just didn’t wake her up at 2 am on a whim.

“She’s not saying anything. Just a lot of miming. But she is sweating a lot and-”

“-she could make herself sick at this rate. Got it.” Eda concludes summoning Owlbert to her side. 

The kid had just started getting better. The last thing they needed was for Luz to work herself into such a frenzy that she makes herself sick all over again.

Luz is still in the throws of a nightmare when they reach her room. King’s description had been accurate. The kid was tossing and turning in her sleep but Eda couldn’t hear a sound from her.

Eda frowns before she realizes why. Silencing spell. Well that’s easy enough to fix.  Thankfully she hadn’t used up all her entire yesterday.

What she doesn’t expect is the near scream from Luz when the spell is cancelled. Jumping back slightly in surprise for a moment. She catches a few phrases that make her stomach sink further. Before she moves closer and decides a simple spell to wake up Luz is in order.

It’s probably maybe not the best course of action Eda realizes as she draws the spell circle. But Eda’s more worried what might happen if the nightmare is allowed to continue.

The kid’s fever just finally broke three days ago. She really doesn’t know if the kid can afford to be sick again so soon after. 

Luz cuts herself off rather quickly as she rejoins the land of the living. Stares up at Eda who had been holding her, not entirely sure what would happen when she came to, for a moment confused. “Eda?”

“The one and only.”

Luz finally wakes up enough to realize what happened and immediately starts panicking. “Oh my god I am so sorry-”

Eda cuts in as the kids' words get more frantic. “Kid breathe. I’m not mad.” A bit concerned about what Luz might be having a nightmare about to begin with that would leave her in such a state. But not mad. 

“But I woke you up.”

“King woke me up actually. He noticed you having a nightmare.” Eda said with a shake of the head. “And even if he hadn’t you don’t need to hide them from me.”

Titan knew she was familiar with having her own fair share of nightmares.

“But people don’t like it when I scream in my dreams and wake them up.” Luz says after a moment. She was supposed to be quiet. If she had to have magic then this was the one good thing she could do.

Or that’s what people liked to say to her a lot anyway. 

What the actual hell? Eda wondered for a moment. Who were these people that apparently needed a head smacking? You couldn’t control nightmares.

Luz continued seemingly unaware of the growing horror in Eda. “They don’t like being reminded that things happened to me.”

Eda stares for a moment, mouth slightly agape. She is left again wondering what Luz’s story is. The kid had been dodging questions about it since she had finally become well enough to hold a resemblance of a conversation. 

For now though she pushes it aside. Luz didn’t need questions. As much as Eda wanted answers that could wait.

“Well it doesn’t bother me. I know all about horrible nightmares.” Eda admits with a shrug. Titan knows how many she had had herself. “You can scream if you need too and if we need to find another outlet for the nightmares. We can look into it.”

“Still I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing.” Luz shut her mouth with a click. Eda realizes she made a mistake a second later. “Kid I just-” Eda breaks off not sure what to say. “I’m not mad. You don’t need to apologize. I don’t know what they’re about but you’re allowed to have nightmares.”

“No I’m not.”

Some part of Eda is growing exasperated. “Yes you are. No matter what other people say you can’t control your dreams. And anyone who thinks otherwise is foolish.”

“Then why does everyone get mad at me when I have them? It’s not like I chose to-” Luz cuts herself off before she finishes the sentence.

Eda raises an eyebrow. “Choose what?”

She’s guessing whatever the end of the sentence is deals with Luz’s nightmare. But the girl just looks away. Refusing to answer her question.

“It just hurts less.” Luz finally just says.

What the actual hell. Willingly muting yourself hurt less? Less than what exactly?

“Well around here you're allowed to let them loose. I know what nightmares are like. I know what trying to bury them is like. Just let them loose okay kiddo?”

Luz looks like she wants to question it but decides finally against it. 

Eda knows she’s probably wondering what will happen when she goes back to the human realm. Not that will be an issue for a while. She wasn’t letting Luz out of her sight until she knew exactly how the girl was doing magic. Maybe there was a bit of projection going on. But Eda felt that Luz, whether she would say it or not, needed some guidance.

Guidance that she definitely wouldn’t get back with the humans.

Also there were concerns Eda had just from the fact Luz could do magic at all. And letting the teen back into the human realm without knowing what the story was didn’t sit well with her.

Especially with where some of Luz’s old scars were.

Eda finally finds out about the story of the scars by accident.

Any plans of Luz returning to the human realm had long been scrapped by this point. Eda’s not entirely sure what happened that caused her to find Owlbert and the door. But whatever it was she doesn’t feel comfortable letting her out of her sight.

Not when Luz has magic that she can’t seem to always control at least. 

Luz still hasn’t talked about how she has magic. Eda does know that humans normally wouldn’t be able to cast. And Luz really doesn’t cast that often. Most often it’s an accident. 

“Magic just gives me grief sometimes.”

“So you hate it?” Eda asks, quaking an eyebrow. She certainly wouldn’t have pinned that based on the fact Luz seemed comfortable staying on the Isles.

“‘Hate it’ are probably the wrong words. Magic is pretty. I love it when you do it.” Luz slowly admits. “I just, I’ve always been able to do this and no one can tell me why.”

“No one?”

Luz shakes her head. “I accidentally cast my first light spell when I was seven. It’s just been a long downhill mess since.” Her voice cracks. “Everyone looks at me like I’m a freak. And I know it has something to deal with the fact I don’t remember anything before I was six. But I can’t figure out what.”

Woah wait what?

Eda stares at Luz for a moment not sure if she heard right. “You don’t remember anything from when you were five?”

Luz shakes her head. “I know something happened. But everything’s sealed. No one can tell me. No one’s willing to tell me.”

Eda stares at Luz for a moment. A nastier theory starting to form in the back of her mind. She really doesn’t like the possible implications that are lining up here. “Alright, why don’t you tell me what you do know and let's see if we can’t maybe figure something out to help.”

The kid probably knew more than she realized. However, it was obvious that no one had tried to help her before now.

Eda is right. Luz does remember a bit more then she realizes about her younger  childhood years. 

It would be more accurate to say Luz doesn’t remember enough to make things make sense. Then it does to say Luz doesn’t remember anything at all of those years.

Though Eda gets the impression she would rather just not remember at all.

Luz does know snippets. Mainly thanks to her nightmares. Men in lab coats. Needles and words she never understood. 

There’s more there. Luz occasionally cuts herself off from saying something. However, Eda doesn’t push for more. Obviously whatever Luz can remember is hard on her. 

Eda only ever asks one question. “Can you tell me how you got some of your scars?”

Luz hesitates for a moment. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to kid. I was just wondering."

“The thing is like everything else I don’t really remember how I got them.” Luz finally admits after a second. “I know they’re from back then. But other than that…”

“Nothing else?”

Luz nods.  

Maybe that’s a blessing Eda reasons. If these ‘people’ (if you could even call them that) were willing to do all sorts of experiments on young children. Then however Luz got her pattern of stitched scars was not a pleasant one. 

“Why did you want to know anyway?”

“Curiosity mainly.” Eda says with a shrug. “I have a similar scar to one of yours on your chest.” 

Luz’s scar was smaller all things considered. Which made sense considering this happened when she was a small child. But the location was not that far from her own scar. 

She thought Luz would just accept the answer. Instead Luz seems to grow more curious. “Why do you have a scar there?”

There’s a beat for a moment and Luz realizes she may have asked too personal of a question. “Sorry-”

Eda holds a hand up effectively cutting her off. “It’s fine. I should have expected that question, all things considered.”

Of course Luz would wonder why she has an identical scar.

Eda sighs debating for a moment. On one hand telling Luz makes sense. On the other she’s worried what telling the kid about the nastier side of magic is like might do to a witch who is just starting to accept her magic.

Though really she supposes it's only a matter of time before Luz finds out the truth anyway.

“When I was younger, someone cursed me. The why and who to it really doesn’t matter now. Point is it was using my magic and my bile sac against me. So I was given two options. One was to hope to find an elixir and hope in the meantime it didn’t cause too much damage. Or two, since the curse was mainly centered around my bile sac still. Have it removed and have an artificial one put in place thus eliminating the curse entirely.”

“You went with option two.” Luz realizes eyes widening putting the puzzle pieces together. 

“Yep.” Eda confirms with a nod. “Bitch of a surgery and I still have to take medicine just like you do. But it's better than the alternative.”

It was better than possibly dying.

“Anyways my scar from back then is pretty dang close to yours.” Eda finishes knowing the question that’s on the tip of Luz’s tongue.

“Oh.” Luz says quietly. “But I don’t have a bile sac.”

Yeah that much was obvious. They would have found it within Luz’s first week. Hard to miss on a medical scan.

“True but I’m guessing in whatever they did to give you magic. Some haphazard attempt at giving you a bile sac like a witch would have happened at some point.”

Oh.

“They were trying to make humans into witches.” Luz realizes what Eda has already figured out.

“Seems like it.”

“But why?”

“That’s the million snail question.”

What did humans want with magic?

Better yet how had they even found out they existed?

If they knew about bile sacs. That suggests that they knew how witch anatomy worked. Or at least enough to know that they needed them to do magic. Which raised a whole other set of questions.

Eda needed to talk to Lilith. Because she really didn’t like where the implications of this might be pointing towards. 

“Would finding out why you can do magic help with your unease?” Eda says trying to push the disturbing thoughts out of her mind. And circling back to why they had started talking about this to being with.

Luz frowns for a moment. “Maybe. It could just make things worse.”

Eda hums at that thought. She hadn’t really considered that. “True. But it could also help with your health issues. If we know what was actually done to you.”

“You really want to look into it don’t you?”

“Only if you're comfortable with me doing it.”

It’s a sensitive topic Eda can tell that much. 

Luz still hesitates. “I just don’t want you to think of me as differently afterward.” She finally had somewhere it didn’t feel like she was a monster. Somewhere that felt like home. What if-

Luz is surprised when Eda pulls her into a tight hug. Squeezing her tight for a moment. Her tone’s surprisingly soft and gentle when she speaks. “You're not a monster kid. And whatever happened to you, me knowing isn’t going to change my view on that. I just want to help, please just let me help.”

Luz's voice chokes for a second, she feels the start of tears, as she tries to talk again only getting a couple of words out. “But I-”

“Hey no buts.” Eda says. “The only monsters are those freaks that did the experiments okay?”

The fact Luz doesn’t say okay back immediately is telling. However Eda supposes it will take time. She only knows pieces of the story but obviously doing magic had a negative impact.

Convincing Luz to embrace her magic and that she wasn’t the monster in the closet in her own story is going to take time. But Eda is sure that with enough time she can do it.

Something in Luz breaks at that and the tears start cascading fully then.

“Kid?” Eda asks now, more worried than before.

Between a few hiccups and the tears Luz manages to get out. “No one’s really ever said that before.”

Part of Eda feels like her heart’s breaking all over again for Luz. Though this time it's out of a sense of familiarity as much as having known Luz went through that. No kid should ever have to think that. She knows that pain all too well herself. And the grief it causes. She doesn’t hesitate a moment to pull her kid back into a tight hug. 

For a few minutes neither of them said anything. Eda doesn’t let Luz go when she speaks again there is a sadness to it with an undertone of fury.

“I’m so sorry kiddo that you went through that. But I promise you you’re not the monster in this story. And you may not realize that now, or tomorrow, but someday you will understand that you're not the monster for something you can’t control and never asked for.”

Chapter Text

Luz knows that there are other side effects from being able to do magic. Of not being able to stay in one place for too long.

Years of being labeled a monster for something she can’t control. For being kept at a distance. People being afraid that if they say one thing will set off her and strange ability.

That’s not how it works of course. And she tries to explain that. 

No one ever believes her.  

It gets bad enough at times that sometimes she prefers the bad homes. Sure they hurt her. But at least they aren’t keeping her at arm’s length. At least they are touching her. 

Even if that touch comes with pain.

Luz knows it's not healthy. That none of this is. She’s not blind. She sees how most people normally interact. She knows she’s smaller than most girls her age. On every front possible. She knows it's not normal to have bruises just because she wants someone to touch and acknowledge her.

And she knows it's probably feeding a self fulfilling prophecy of not being able to control her ability.

But what choice does she have? It’s far worse to not have anything in her experience. And at least this is something. It might hurt, sure, but it’s still something.

She tries not to think about what will happen in four years when she turns 18. It scares her what’s going to happen when she’s finally old enough to be moved out of the system. 

What’s going to happen when no one has to deal with the monster anymore?

The first time Eda goes to ruffle her hair Luz instinctively flinches.

It’s more on instinct than anything. In the few days she’s known Eda she hasn’t hurt Luz. However, years of the only real touch outside of the occasional hospital stay being associated with pain...makes things difficult.

They’ve been together for about five days now. Part of Luz already knows the reaction is silly. Eda’s been nothing but kind to her since she stumbled through the portal door sick.

Eda naturally draws her hand back to herself at that, a small frown on her face. “Kid I wasn’t going to hurt you.” She says softly.

“I know that I just-” Luz cuts off not sure how to finish that sentence.

How do you explain a history with touch of all things? Especially one like hers?

Eda’s frown deepens at the lingering silence.

“Can we try that again?” Luz regrets it almost as soon as she asks it. 

Eda however beyond a quirked eyebrow doesn’t say anything. Instead reaching up and giving Luz’s hair a ruffle. Luz doesn’t realize that she starts leaning into the touch. Or that Eda lets her hand linger a bit longer than probably necessary.

Oh. This was nice. 

Was this what it was like to actually have someone touch her that didn’t seem to hate or fear her on sight?

Luz wouldn’t know. She’s been doing what she now knows is magic for seven years. She had been dealing with those consequences for just as long.

Any positive interaction from before then had gotten lost to the sands of time. Including ones with her own mother if she had even been around long enough for that.

Luz makes herself pull back. If she could have lingered a bit longer she would have. However, she doesn’t.

She’s worried that if she lingers too long Eda might get annoyed. 

“Thank you.”

“Always happy to oblige kid.”

She knows Eda wonders what happened. How she got to the camp. Why she was running away when she was that sick. And this is probably just another mystery to her. And now she’s also probably wondering why she had this whole thing with trying to touch her.

Maybe at some point she’ll explain herself to Eda. Today isn't that day however.

Eda is confused and worried by Luz at times. 

When they first meet she puts the concerns about the bruises and scars aside for the moment. She has far deeper concerns to deal with. She can worry about those implications at a later date.

Though that doesn’t stop them from resurfacing when the kitchen incident happens. She’s now sure something’s not right with Luz’s situation. However she just doesn’t know enough yet to understand what.

Finding out Luz can do magic explained several things.

Finding out how humans had viewed magic back on Earth. Or at least Luz’s magic explains several more things.

And confirms some suspicions that had started to take root. 

Between the stories, watching how Luz reacts to her, and the check ups with Althea a sort of picture had begun forming. Of a neglected, abused human teenager with a gift that on the Isles would have welcomed her. Even if it might have been viewed as odd. Common belief was humans couldn’t do magic after all. It wouldn’t have had the same reaction.

Luz wouldn’t have people make her the monster in people’s closets. Luz wouldn’t have been treated in such a way that apparently even the friendliest gestures had the kid turning to puddy.

Eda can’t undo what happened before her and Luz met. However this she knows she can help with. Since she gets it.

She gets it far too well actually.

There’s a reason why she made Owlbert and Hooty not long after she got kicked out of her parent’s house. It still didn’t entirely fix things and she’s probably gotten a bit too adjusted to not having regular touch before Luz’s arrival if she’s being honest. 

But touch is still touch and it has been better than entirely nothing. And without the two of them she isn’t sure what would have happened.

Though looking at Luz and how it seems like the only touch she really knew came with pain. Eda begins to see what could have been for herself if things had turned out differently.

Of course eventually Lilith had worked up the courage to tell her how the curse had happened eventually. So she could get the proper help and treatment. But there had been a good solid year where she had been on her own.

And Titan does she know what it feels like to just need some other touch. 

So even if it confuses her. Even if Luz isn’t always asking, Eda tries to make sure the kid gets what she needs. 

So they start to establish a system.

Luz still isn’t comfortable with initiating contact (it will take an incident a few months down the road before that starts to happen). Althea’s uncertain if that will ever change considering what growing up for her was like. 

So Eda has to learn to work with that aspect of Luz. Not that Eda really expects anything about raising a human to be normal.

Not that it bothers her.

Luz is unique. She’s one of a kind. And that means they have to realize even if they are using what witches would normally be like as a guide. It’s very likely all things considered Luz won’t follow it. 

So Eda has to learn to read when the kid wants it. Since there’s a very real possibility that Luz won’t ever be able to comfortably communicate it.

Some days are better than others. Some days she knows when the kid needs her. Some days she still can’t figure it out. 

The first real breakthrough they have is when Luz asks to hug her.

Though what should have been a cute moment is clouded by confusion. Eda’s never heard the word before. And Luz explaining it doesn’t really make it much better if she’s being honest. 

Luz of course takes the confusion the wrong way. Thinking she accidentally misstepped by asking for it.

Eda’s quit to cut that train of thought off at the front. “No it’s not that. I’ve just never heard of it before.”

“Do you guys not have them here?”

“I’m not sure? Mine and Lily’s parents weren’t exactly the most affectionate. So if they do exist well I never got one at least.”

Honestly she wouldn’t be surprised if they did exist. Their parents were just that way growing up.

Something to bother Lilith about later she supposed. 

“Anyways if you can explain it to me I can try it.”

Might be awkward as heck. But then again it wasn’t like either of them were going to have a standard apparently.

“Well from what I saw you just wrap your arms around another person and hold them? And they do the same?”

Yeah this sounded odd to her. But if Luz said it sounded and always looked nice. Maybe trying it once wouldn’t hurt. 

“Alright kid come here.” Eda said beckoning Luz over. And pulling the kid in like she thought Luz was trying to get across.

Huh this was nice. Maybe a bit awkward which wasn’t unexpected but it was nice. 

Luz pulls back after a minute or two like always. 

“Thanks.”

Eda reaches out to ruffle the kids hair. More out of habit by this point. “No problem kiddo. Like I said always happy to oblige.”

After all it wasn’t like she didn’t understand that want to make up for what was lost.

Titan, she was glad sometimes that the worst of it had been kept to when she was a teenager.

Eda’s woken up in the middle of the night a few weeks later.

At first she isn’t sure what roused her. Then she spots Luz standing in the doorway of her room. “Kid?”

Luz stands there for a moment and then after a moment. “Forget about it.”

“Hey wait. Kid if you came all the way up here at least tell me why.”

Luz hesitates but finally says. “I had a nightmare. I don’t even know why I came up here.”

But Eda does. She had come to realize a few things about Luz. And so this didn’t surprise her. 

It’s just Luz trying to make up for lost time again really. 

Luz hadn’t had any family before her. So of course she hadn’t had a chance to have someone to cuddle with after a scary dream. Like the hugging thing she would have only seen examples of it if she had seen it at all. Of course now that she has Eda she wants that.

Even if apparently Luz didn’t quiet realize that herself. 

“Kid if you really want to get cuddly I’m not going to stop you.”

Sure cuddly wasn’t her normal style of thing. But she had come to realize that everything about looking after Luz was going to probably end up pushing her boundaries

Including the ones she hadn’t thought existed before.

Luz still looks uncertain. Looking between Eda, the lifted blanket, and the door with uncertainty. 

Eda thinks for a moment she might take her leave. However then Luz surprised her by taking a step forward in her direction. Eyes flicking between the raised blanket and Eda.

“Come on kid, it’s getting drafty over here.”

That’s all the final encouragement Luz needs. As she closes the gap and almost dives into the nest next to Eda. 

It takes a minute to get resituated. Luz ends up curling against Eda in a moment that just feels like it drives home how small she is. Eda runs a hand through her hair for a moment just letting Luz relax a bit before she says anything.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Luz shakes her head after a moment of consideration.

“Alright that’s fine. Though if you change your mind I’m right here.”

“I just don’t wanna think about it.”

So probably about the lab then. Luz tended to freeze up more about that. Funny how a more mundane issue was the one Luz could open up to her about. 

Either way it didn’t matter, Eda supposed. 

“Just remember you're safe here from those boogeymen.”

Luz hums in acknowledgement at that.

A silence falls. Eda wonders if Luz fell back to sleep. However Luz surprises her. “Eda?”

“Hm?”

“Thank you.”

“Always willing to help kiddo.” 

The first time Luz really engages in touch on her own accord should have been one for celebration.

It should be a sign of how far they’ve come.

Of course Bonehead had to go and ruin it all. 

They had been diving around the kid’s mind for a bit. Eda was starting to get concerned. Admittedly she was using witch logic again. But she had been expecting a run-in with an ‘Inner Luz’ at some point.

However up until this point it had just been her and Lily.

She really hopes that whatever damage Belos caused didn’t do something to Inner Luz. If she existed.

It ends up being a younger Luz that leads them to her.

Part of their job in fixing what Belos messed up was to help Luz repair the walls around the memories of Luz’s time as a lab rat. It’s not easy and her and Lily have already lost their lunch once. But Eda knows the kid needs it.

Though it is enlightening to what the hellscape of Luz’s early years were like, she has to admit. 

Eda’s not surprised when they do find a version of Luz, it’s a kid version trapped inside of one of those awful memories. It’s a start. At this point finding older Luz would take time because she’s probably deeply buried somewhere.

Dispelling the memory isn’t that difficult. Though the way child Luz looks at her is a bit unsettling. Older Luz probably had some degree of heroism towards her. But it was always hidden. Little Luz not so much.

“Hey kiddo. Do you know who I am?” Depending on how Luz used to compartamalize her trauma. It’s pretty possible she doesn’t.

“Kind of? You take me in.” Okay kid Luz has a bit of a lisp and Eda is trying to ignore how adorable it sounds. 

“Do you know where to find your older self? We kind of need her help to finish fixing this mess.”

“Yeah I can lead you to her.”

Okay that would uncomplicate things. “Alright would it be okay for me to pick you up?”

The way little Luz lights up at that is all the answer she needs.

Little Luz is a good guide all things considered. 

She won’t go too close to older Luz. Something about Luz not liking to see her too much. Which is a whole other level of concern that Eda can’t unpack right now. But she gets them most of the way there.

Eda’s a bit surprised when she suddenly finds herself being hugged by teenage Luz. This was new. 

She can think about this new development later though. They still have a mess to sort out. And Luz to help.

Hand placing on top of Luz’s head she asked. “Everything okay kid?”

There’s not a response for a moment but Luz eventually pulls back. Before she gives a non committal shrug at that. “Belos.” 

“Yeah I know Lily told me all about what he did.”

Not that she really had needed too. Once they had gotten inside Luz’s head Eda could see it for herself.

Luz noticed that they weren’t alone for the first time.

“Ms. Lilith.” 

“Ms. Luz. I must apologize. I didn’t think the emperor would quiet act like that.”

Luz just nods at that. 

“So how much more work do we have to do?”

“It’s...not great.”

Bad in other words. Though Eda’s not sure if it's bad in reference to the damage or what’s left to go through. Probably both knowing Luz.

“That’s alright kid we already had to go through some not great stuff.”

Luz doesn’t look like she entirely believes Eda. But there’s not much else that can be done. 

They have to go through the rest of it. Like it or not.

Things go more smoothly from here on out with Inner Luz now acting as a guide. But before they can get out. They have to confront the last memory Luz has before she was put in camp.

A lot of what they see has been seen before. Luz being kept at arm's reach from the rest of her foster family is fine. The arguing is another. 

What she isn’t expecting is what happens during the memory.

“That idiot better hope we never meet.” 

“Can’t kill what’s already dead.” Lilith reminds her.

Though judging by the ice in her tone she probably had similar sentiments.

“I know.” Eda glances over at Luz who hasn’t looked at either of them during the entire conversation. Even as she’s walking up Luz isn’t making eye contact with her. Obviously she was expecting the blame game. Probably had dealt with it before Eda realized belatedly.

It was probably how she had ended up in that camp to begin with. 

“How much trouble am I in?”

Eda’s not sure if she’s asking about what they saw. Or what happened today. Or both. It doesn’t matter, the sentiment is still the same.

“You're not in trouble.”

Luz gives her a skeptical look at that.

Eda can’t quite hold back an amused snort at that. As if. “Kid please. You protected yourself and your foster siblings. No matter what someone told you then, you did the right thing.”

Titan, it was messed up that Luz felt otherwise. Though Eda couldn’t say she was surprised. 

Luz lets out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. 

“Was that why you got sent to that ‘camp’?”

“Yeah my case worker said that I needed to learn better behavior and this place would teach it to me.”

Looking back now Luz isn’t entirely sure how she expected that. Though judging by the sour look on Eda’s face she does. 

“People are idiots.”

“But at least this idiot led me to meeting you?”

Eda softens a bit at that. “Yeah that’s a good thing.”

She reaches up to give Luz’s hair a ruffle. For the first time either of them can recall Luz doesn’t automatically flinch back at the motion. 

“Come on kid let's go home.”

After the incident with Belos it’s like a flip switched with Luz.

Luz is still a bit nervous to initiate contact. But Eda finds she’s doing it more and more.

Some part of her hates that it had to do with the castle incident. Her kid shouldn’t have to be retraumatized just to be comfortable with touch. 

It’s like she’s driven by some fear.

A fear that Eda has a very strong feeling she knows what it is.

Though it was kind of funny when Luz starts getting more touchy with other people. Eda doesn’t think she’ll be forgetting that squawk her sister let out when luz surprised her the last time she came over. 

Eda’s still not happy with Lilith about what happened. She knows Lilith had no way of knowing what Belos would do. And she has her own responsibility in the entire mess. 

And she knows that Lilith couldn’t have really stopped what had happened. But that doesn’t mean she had to like it.

At least she had some blackmail material that made it kind of worth it she had to admit.

Of course though for every step forward. There is one backward it feels like. 

Luz’s confusion the first time she accidentally becomes overstimulated from touch was to be expected. The kid hadn’t had much touch to begin with. So of course the idea of being overstimulated after being understimulated for so long?

Yeah that’s not a shock.

Of course Luz, being Luz, and not having a normal upbringing, thinks she messed up.  “Kid, getting overstimulated isn’t a bad thing.” Well okay maybe that was a poor choice of words. “You're still learning your boundaries so you don’t know this but it’s normal that you would have a point of too much.”

“Do you ever get like that?”

“Occasionally, yeah.”

“Do I-”

“Kid you never cause it and even if you were I would tell you.” 

It hadn’t come up as a problem before. Mainly because Luz being more touchy was so new. And even if it had Eda liked to think that she was pretty good at disengaging her. 

“Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” Part of Eda wants to give the kid a reassuring touch but she knows it will just make things worse right now. “Everyone’s a bit different. And if I’m overstimulated it’s not on you.”

Eda’s not sure what to do with the sheer relief she sees in Luz’s eyes. 

Yeah they still had a lot to work through even if they had come a long way.

“So it’s normal?”

“It’s perfectly normal kid. I know it has to be frustrating to have all of this conflict.” It was exhausting just watching Luz. “But I promise someday this will all be less overwhelming and things won’t feel like a weird roller coaster you can’t make out the top and bottom of.”

Eda doubts there will ever be a ‘normal’ for any of them.

But a time when Luz isn’t so worried over touching or being touched as she is right now? 

Yeah that’s she’s certain is eventually coming. 

Chapter Text

Looking back in a few years, if there had to be a moment where Eda had to go and say ‘Yeah this is my kid now’. That first night would probably be the one. Though the following week had solidified it as more and more details about Luz and her home situation had emerged.

Up until then, things hadn’t been bad. Maybe a bit formal and stiff. But not necessarily bad. 

Her and Luz’s lessons had been going for a few weeks now. Luz was still closed off around her. Trust in adults wasn’t exactly the highest for her. 

So while Eda was starting to suspect that there was something off about Luz’s ‘home’ situation, Luz had yet to open up to her remotely about it outside of a few details.

It was funny how one mistake would set off a chain of events that would permanently change both of their lives for the better. It would also be the start of Luz beginning to really trust the adults in her life again.

Even if the beginning had been rocky to say the least.

Luz had felt her stomach drop as she happened to look at her phone as she was wrapping up the lesson with Eda. She had completely lost track of time. “I’m sorry Eda but I need to go now. I have to get going. I didn’t realize it was this late. If I don’t get home before curfew, I’ll be in massive trouble.”

“I thought you said your family really didn’t care what you did in your free time?”

“They don’t, for the most part. As long as it maintains a certain image they could care less. Breaking curfew, however, breaks that image. So the family I live with is pretty strict about curfew.”

It was one of the few rules they had dictated. Luz didn’t know what would happen if she missed it.

However, previous experiences said it wouldn’t go well.

So best not to risk it.

“Would you maybe prefer to spend the night here?”

Luz blinked in surprise at the offer. But already knew the answer. “No. As long as I’m back before curfew I’m okay.” It was going to be hard-pressed to get there. “I’ll be in more trouble if I don’t show up at all.”

Concerned flickered across Eda’s face much to Luz’s surprise. But she didn’t press it further, thankfully.

“Alright then, I’ll trust your judgement there.”

“Thanks Eda, I'll see you in the morning.”

No one was answering the door.

Luz had gotten back to the house. With what she had thought were a few minutes to spare. 

Only to find the door locked and no one coming. 

It had started to rain on the run over. A cold rain, and if she didn’t find somewhere to get out of it soon, it was probably going to leave her with more problems than just being locked out of the house. 

But she had nowhere to go.

The only person that remotely cared about her was Eda. And that was out with the door closed. 

...but the house that held the portal between worlds when it was closed was still three. 

It wasn’t perfect. It would still be closed. However, at least it wasn’t in the rain wondering if help would come.

Eda was getting ready for bed when Owlbert alerted her that something was amiss with Luz. 

Her bond with Luz wasn’t very strong yet. Certainly not enough to pick up on something that had gone awry. And Owlbert’s hadn’t really been yet. So when Owlbert alerted her…

She knew something was wrong. 

Eda’s mouth turned into a frown as she got what little Owlbert could pick up on. It wasn’t much. A feeling of cold and wetness. Somewhere dark, a bit of worry. A feeling of distress that had caused Owlbert to alert her in the first place.

There was a lot there to say the least but no context. And maybe that was the most concerning. Why was the kid somewhere cold and wet when she should be safe at home?

Pushing the concern aside for the moment, she could worry about the why later. Unless Owlbert was wrong Luz needed her. “Do you think you can guide me to her?”

Even if the kid was safe she had to check. What kind of teacher would she be if she didn’t?

‘ Of course.’

“Alright, King, I'm going out for a minute. Try not to destroy anything while I’m gone.”

Luz isn’t sure how long she’s been in the shack when she’s roused slightly. Blinking slightly in confusion, a glance towards the door tells her it's still raining. So she's not sure where the noise is coming from. Since who would be out in a cold spring rain?

Her answer comes a second later when a familiar voice greets her. “Kid?”

Luz flinches away at first. Out of it, for the moment, not recognizing the voice. Until a familiar hand and passing concern that isn’t hers is felt a moment later.  

“Hey, it’s just me. Eda. You can feel me right?”

Luz nodded at that as she could see some of Eda’s emotions leaking through the bond. Mostly concern and worry, though, Luz picked up something else but she wasn’t sure what. Though she regretted the head nod almost immediately as her head spinned.

“Good. Now what are you doing out in this weather? I thought you were going home?”

“Can’t go home.”

Luz can’t see Eda’s face, though she can somehow still see a frown already. “Won’t or can’t?”

“Can’t. Door locked.”

Luz hears rather than sees the sharp intake.

“Alright, well, then let's get you back to the house. Would it be alright to pick you up?” 

Luz nods and Eda scoops her up. First thought was just how warm Eda was. She could almost burrow into it.

“Titan, you're freezing.” Luz starts instinctively pulling away thinking she annoyed her. Before Eda speaks again. “No, hey it's okay kiddo. I’m not mad.”

Normally Luz would have her worries dancing around in the back of her head. But Eda’s too warm and she’s too cold to protest right now. So Luz just resettles back into position. 

She passes out again before Eda goes back through the portal door.

Okay, first order of business, get the kid dry and then warmed up. She wasn’t entirely sure how long the girl had been out in the elements. If it had been since she had gone back through the portal door or not, but it seemed a given that it had been for an extended period.

King takes one look at the duo and asks. “What happened?”

Eda puts Luz down on the couch, thinking for a second on what was best to do next. And two things came to mind. “Caught out in a rainstorm. Could you get my ball, I need to call Lily.”

“What why? Is Luz hurt?”

“I don’t know to be honest. However, Lily has a healer on call and while I know how to treat me being out in the cold, that’s not going to work on the kid.”

In the meantime Eda went about trying to find some clothes for the kid to wear. She may not know much about humans. But she was pretty sure wearing cold, wet, clothes was a bad thing no matter the species.

Though it wasn’t exactly easy. Everything she had would be giant on the kid. Though she guessed that really didn’t matter in the overall scheme of things.

Finally, pulling out an old shirt and pants that she kept around for emergencies, deciding the easiest thing was to just shrink them so the kid wouldn’t be swimming in them.

Taking off Luz’s shirt brought to light a reality she hadn’t thought about before. Just how extensive some of Luz’s scars were.

It was the first time seeing the full extent of the scars. And just how far they extended. It only raised the question more of how the kid had survived all of it.

“Got it Eda.” King said, plopping the crystal ball down next to Eda. She could tell he had a question but thankfully didn’t ask. So she turned her attention to her ball completely. 

Lilith was rather displeased by the late night ball call. “Edalyn, do you know what time it is?”

“I have a good idea.”

“Then why are you-”

“Medical problem I need your healer.”

That shut Lilith up rather quickly. “Alright, I’ll go get her and be there in under an hour. Are you hurt?”

“No, it’s the kid and please try to be faster than that.”

Lilith frowned. “Is it an emergency?”

“Maybe?” Eda glances back at the kid, who had yet to rouse from the slumber since they had crossed through the portal threshold. “I’m not really sure.”

“Treat it with urgency then got it.” Lilith said with a nod. “See you shortly.”

“Do you know why this happened?”

Lilith and Eda were currently in the kitchen to give Althea space to look Luz over. And Eda was left trying to explain how they had ended up in this situation in the first place.

Eda frowned, there wasn’t much. “Well the kid was pretty out of it so I couldn’t get the story out of her. But apparently, for just running behind.”

“That’s troubling.” Lilith noted with a frown. 

“You don’t seem that surprised by it.”

“I’m not...it's not the first time I’ve heard something like this.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask what kid you took in that got locked out like that.”

“And I won’t answer that question.”

“Yeah I figured as much.” Eda said with a sigh. Lilith was protective of the kids she kept an eye on. And because of how the Isles operated, she often couldn’t share how the kids she watched over had become watched over by her. So it didn’t surprise her. “So I guess we were on the mark about her having problems at home.”

Lilith hummed in agreement at that. “Of course, the question is how many problems she is having.”

Eda got contemplative for a moment. Remembering how Luz’s first interactions with Owlbert had gone. The fact that Owlbert had managed to talk her into packing lunch for the kid.

Something hadn’t been right for a while, she realized. It was just the first time it had become so much in her face that she couldn’t ignore it anymore.

“Probably more than we realize.” Eda admitted. With how guarded the kid was she could really only take a stab in the dark on how things were. Maybe the healer could shed some light into the situation? Speaking of said healer, she had just come into the kitchen. “How is she?”

“She’ll be fine from what I can tell. She might be a bit under the weather for a couple of days. But, she’ll make a full recovery. However, my concern isn’t entirely just around tonight’s event.” Althea said, pausing for a moment. “How much do you know about her home life?”

Eda frowned for a second while exchanging a glance with Lilith. This was strangely on point with the conversation they had just had. “Not a whole lot, I gotta admit. I know the kid’s family isn’t around. But she doesn’t like talking about it. And it hadn’t impacted our lessons that much up until tonight. So I hadn’t pushed.”

“You think she needs to be moved?” Lilith asked Althea with a frown.

“Possibly. It's hard to tell for sure how urgent it is. But she has some old questionable injuries. Nothing that recent though.”

Eda frowned for a moment going over the few conversations her and Luz had had about her home situation. There wasn’t much to work off of. “I know the kid says she usually doesn’t stay in one place very long. So it’s possible that they are from her ‘old home’.”

Though that raised a whole bunch of questions on what had happened there.

“Possibly best to observe carefully from a distance then.” Lilith noted with a frown. 

“I do have one final slightly less pressing matter. Though I am curious about it. The old burn scars she has have traces of magic in them.”

“But she’s human?”

“Yes, which is what confused me. However, I don’t think it’s from anything she necessarily cast. Rather something that was cast on her by someone somehow.”

“An old protection spell?” Eda gathered. It would line up with what little details Luz occasionally gave her…

“Precisely.”

“Well, it would explain the bond’s being able to form, at least. However...I really don’t want to press the kid for details if she knows how it exists at all. Whatever is behind those scars is traumatic for her. That much I do know.”

“And she is the slow to trust type so pushing could cause more problems.”

Eda nods at that. “So as far as Luz’s situation, what do you suggest we do?”

“I’m not entirely sure. If what you say is true then removing her might do more harm than good.”

“Althea, we know if things aren’t necessarily okay at home, Luz most likely won’t tell anyone.”

“Ugh, I hate this situation.”

“Welcome to looking after children with troubled backgrounds.”

Luz didn’t wake up properly until the following afternoon. And of course, she was disoriented until Eda sat across from her to talk. 

“Easy, kid. What’s the last thing you remember?”

Luz frowned for a moment, trying to recall. She remembers wrapping up her lesson with Eda. Running home and then discovering she couldn’t actually get in the house. After that she doesn’t really remember which. “Um- getting locked out.”

“Makes sense, you were pretty out of it.”

“What happened?” Luz absentmindedly picked at a spare thread in one of the blankets that had been on top of her.

“I’m not exactly sure. The healer I had check you out said you had been out in the cold too long. But I was hoping you could tell me.”

“They don’t like when I’m outside too long.”

“Yeah, you mentioned that before. But, kid, locking you out in the freezing rain?”

Eda guessed they should be glad that rain on Earth wasn’t like how it was here.

“I’ve survived worse.”

Yeah, Luz had definitely implied that before. Though, it doesn’t make Eda like it any more.

“Why did you call them anyway? I don’t like healers…”

Well, it was more she didn’t like doctors. But it was the same principle if she understood it correctly.

“Because I was worried that this was something out of my control, kid. I may have managed to learn to help myself for years now, but every once and a while I have to, unfortunately, actually turn to a healer.”

“Oh.”

“What have you got against them anyway kid? I know for me, it's because I don’t like being treated like a magic experience.”

“It’s...complicated.” Luz settles on. She can’t start to explain how much of a mess doctors had made her life. Some of it sounded similar to Eda.

But then there were instances like the only relatives she had living walking out on her in the hospital. Being treated like some freak for managing to survive an unsurvivable accident. 

There was just too much pain. 

“Kid, I don’t want to press too much if it hurts, but I just don’t want to make mistakes when you are with me.”

“I know, and thanks. And maybe someday I’ll explain.” But today wasn’t the day. 

Luz ended up spending the night at the house.

She was already a day late and she was going to be in trouble with her foster family anyway. What did one more day matter at this point?

However, staying had led to Eda and her talking about something Luz had really hoped wasn’t going to come up…

“You know if you have problems at home, you could just stay here.”

Luz froze at the comment. While she liked Eda. And she genuinely enjoyed learning magic. Anytime someone suggested taking her in, it never ended well. It almost started some countdown until they decided she wasn’t worth the trouble to deal with.

Not with all of her baggage she had anyway.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Luz finally admits.

Eda frowns. “Why not?”

“Because every adult that cared or said they did, walked out on my life once they found out what trouble I actually was.”

“So you think I’ll do the same?” Eda can’t keep the hurt out of her voice. She thought the kid would have known better by now.

“Not intentionally. But something always happens. No one ever stays.”

“Kid, we’re bonded by magic. It would be pretty hard for me to walk away from you.”

Luz knows this, of course. She knows of out of all the adults she’s met that seem to care for her, that Eda really is the least likely to walk away from her.

But at the same time…

“I’ll think about it.” And that’s all Luz is willing to commit to at this point.

“Where were you?”

Her foster mother’s anger is just about as expected. 

“With a friend who was kind enough to let me spend the night.”

Luz tries to not let the scoff hurt. But it still stings even knowing Eda does seem to actually care. “What friends have you managed to make? Lila says most of your yearmates avoid you.”

“I never said they went to school with us.”

“So you're hanging out with hooligans then.”

“Eda’s not a hooligan.” Or at least not in the definition of her foster mother anyway.

“That has yet to be determined until I meet this ‘Eda’. You should have contacted us that you weren’t going to come home. What if one of your caseworkers came by?”

Luz bites her tongue to keep from saying it wasn’t like she had a way to contact her. 

“I assume she would just reschedule then.”

“Oh, of course, you wouldn’t understand the importance of other people's time. Not with everything else you’ve gone through-”

Luz stares at her for a moment. It wasn’t like she had ever wanted any of this. It's not like she wanted to go between houses like some unwanted toy. She would give anything to have her parents back and be able to have a normal school year.

But apparently, that doesn’t matter here. And something in Luz snaps and before she can think about the consequences, she starts yelling.

Eda feels the sting of pain wash over the bond before Owlbert even alerts her something happened with Luz. Though his frantic flapping just reinforces her suspicions.

“Something’s wrong with Luz.”

It’s not a question. She can feel the lingering pain over the bond. Something had happened to the kid. 

And considering how new and fresh the bond is. The fact she can feel it worries Eda. Owlbert at most should have picked it up.

“Lead the way.”

Someone was going to almost certainly get a head smacking for hurting her kid.

Eda’s not sure what happened entirely. But she is pretty  sure she doesn’t like the implications of seeing her kid holding a clearly broken arm. With some woman she doesn’t recognize yelling over Luz about something she clearly doesn’t understand.

Eda is more than happy to insert herself between the two. Startling both Luz and the other woman. 

“Get away from my kid.”

“Luz is not your child.”

Well, not by any human mesure. Not that Eda actually really cares. She’s not sure when Luz got under her skin this much. But if there’s anything she hates more than hurt kids, it's her kid being hurt.

“She is now. Can you walk kiddo?” Eda turns her attention partially away from the woman and to Luz, who up until this point had been quiet.

Luz slowly nods, getting to her feet. Giving a small wince. 

“You can’t take her.”

“Really? Who's going to stop me? You? Who just broke the kid's arm? Don’t you think it would be detrimental to your cause, whatever that is, to call the coven guard on me.”

Not that the guard had any jurisdiction over her. She just needed the woman to back down.

Judging by the way the woman pales she seems to realize just how much trouble she is in. “She ran her mouth.”

Suddenly Eda is reminded a bit too much of her own mother. Someone she swore she would never be, and never let any one emulate. And any patience she has goes out the window.

“Running her mouth is no excuse for harming a child.” Eda roars.

The flinch from both the woman and Luz reminds her that there is one person at stake here. 

“I’ll give you one warning. Don’t follow us. If you do you’ll regret it.” Eda turns her attention to Luz. “Come on kiddo let's go.”

They're back in the house before Luz has a bit of a breakdown.

The kid had been quiet the entire walk back to the house. And Eda had been growing worried. But as soon as they got through the door it was like a dam burst and the kid started crying.

So here they were, the three of them. Luz hugging Eda as tightly as one could with a broken arm. King curled up on her lap. 

“Thank you.”

“Just doing what someone should have done a long time ago. Though, I’m guessing that’s not your experience.”

Luz had certainly implied she hadn’t had a lot of adults in her life that actually cared for her enough.

A head shake from Luz confirms the suspicions.

“How did you know I was in trouble?”

Eda taps her head for a moment. “The bond, remember? She smacked you hard enough that even with how much growing it has to do, I picked it up.”

“Right.”

“What did you say to her anyway?” Luz looks away uncertainly. “Kid, you're not in trouble with me. I meant what I said. I was just wondering.”

“She kept implying I wanted the problems I have…”

Ah, dodging the question again. 

“Well, I can’t say anything great in response to that. But I would bet good money no one wants their problems. Yourself included.”

“Yeah.”

Especially when it came with dead parents.

“I should get that arm looked at.”

“It’s fine.”

“Kid-”

“It’s not like it's the first time I haven’t had broken an arm.”

Well, that’s not great.

“Well, regardless, I am looking after you and I want to make sure you’re properly treated. So could you trust me to get a healer to look at it?”

Luz shakes her head. “You’ll just run like everyone else has.”

Titan, they were going to have problems to work through weren’t they?

“And what if I don’t? What if it doesn’t scare me off?” Luz doesn’t answer her. “Kid, I am cursed. I promise you that most of what you have won’t make me bat an eye. And if it does feel overwhelming, then I swear I will find some other way to make this work, okay?”

Luz just keeps avoiding Eda’s eyes though.

Finally out of sheer exasperation Eda draws a circle. And pulls both of their hands through it saying, “I promise I am not going to give up on you just because you have some baggage, kiddo.”

Luz stares at her hand for a moment in confusion.

“That’s an everlasting oath, kiddo. That means I can’t back out of this just on a whim, okay?”

Bright brown eyes stared up at Eda’s own gold and gray. And she’s about sure the kid's about to start crying again.

“You really mean it? You're really willing to take that chance?”

“Of course, kiddo. I wouldn’t just make one of those on a whim.” Luz stares at her hand again. Eda has a feeling they are going to have a ways to go to get Luz to believe her. But she hopes this is a start. “Now would you please let me call a healer for you?” 

Luz hesitates again and Eda is thinking even after all that she might say no. But finally there’s a reluctant nod yes. “Okay.”

It’s a small step and she has a feeling there’s going to be a lot of steps like this in the future. But at least, they are starting to head in the right direction.

Chapter Text

After the events of the last two days, Eda feels dead on her feet.

She suspects it's a mutual feeling in the group. Luz, at this point, looks like she’s torn between wanting to fall asleep on her feet and wanting to yammer away.

She still has Lilith to deal with and everything that has come out of that.

They needed to have a long talk about the last two days. And setting boundaries now that she would be staying with them.

However, she mentally can’t deal with everything that has to deal with that. It can wait until the morning when she has a clear head.

Regardless, kicking her to the curb isn’t part of the plan.

For one, Lilith has nowhere else to go she’s fairly sure. For two, she’s a bit concerned about what could happen if she did.

Lilith didn’t always have the best coping mechanisms. And she had a feeling, regardless of her own responsibilities in the mess that had just happened, that the past couple of days was going to bring it out strong. For a final thing, in spite of everything, she had missed having Lilith around. Her being in the Emperor’s Coven had driven a wedge between the two of them. 

And now that it was gone, even under not great circumstances, hopefully, they could start to really reconnect, even if they had a bunch of issues to still work through.

So yeah, Lilith would be in the house for the foreseeable future. That much was a given.

However, they need to have a long talk now that no one’s life is in danger.

But that can be done when it doesn’t look like everyone’s dead on their feet. Or feels like it.

Sleep should be simple.

It’s not.

Luz isn’t sure how long she’s asleep before the first nightmare hits. 

But when it starts, it hits hard.

Luz is back on the bridge again. Trapped inside the bubble as Eda and Lilith duel. 

It feels almost as bad to see a second time as it did the first time.

Maybe even worse because she knows what's coming already.

She knows she’s going to get thrown off a bridge. She knows Lilith will make Eda go too far.

It’s not like she hasn’t been trying to forget what had happened for the last day or so after all.

About the dangling over the pit. Watching Eda straining to keep her above the pit. Begging her not to do this.

It goes the same for the most part. Eda uses the last of her magic to force Lilith’s magic away. And Owlbert rushes down to grab her before she can become impaled.

But this time, when she is put on the bridge, there is no scream that precedes the transformation.

There’s nothing at all, actually. 

Eda’s form just lays there, unmoving.

Not breathing.

And it clicks what happened.

Eda hadn’t just sacrificed her magic for her.

She had sacrificed her life as well.

This can’t be happening.

Lilith is somewhere in the background. But she doesn’t pay the other witch any mind, instead she's rushing over to Eda’s side.

Trying everything and anything she can to fix this.

Eda can’t be dead.

She promised her that the curse wouldn’t actually kill her.

But nothing is working. And Eda’s body just lays there unmoving. 

And the world seems to stand still.

Except for an odd shaking sensation from her shoulders.

Luz’s first reaction is to pull away from the shaking. Figuring it’s Lilith in her half-asleep/half-awake state. Until, a familiar comforting scent hits full force as a voice says. “Kid, breathe.”

That’s when the scent clicks and she realizes who actually has a strong grip on her. Eda.

Luz lets out a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding, fully burying herself into the other witch's chest as sheer relief blossoms in her chest that Eda is not actually dead. 

Because, God, that nightmare had felt so real.

Eda’s shifted the two of them slightly and is drawing circles on her back. “Hey, it's okay, kiddo. You're okay, I’m okay. No one’s hurt.”

And if that wasn’t a miracle in itself.

“You want to talk about it?”

Luz thinks for a second before shaking her head.

“Sorry for getting your shirt wet.” Luz mutters, not entirely missing the fact that she had gotten tears all over the witch's shirt.

“It’s fine, kiddo.”

“Still.”

Eda cuts in before she can finish the sentence though. “Kid, I have spare nightgowns. You're allowed to cry if you need it.”

Luz relaxes a bit at that. 

“Do you think you’ll be okay to go back to sleep?” Eda asks, after a moment. 

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”Is what Luz says. All the while, the images of what could have been dancing in her head, but she ignores it.

Enough has happened in the last day. Eda’s already been through enough. She doesn’t need this on top of everything that happened, on top of everything that she nearly caused.

She doesn’t need to burden her with a bad night’s sleep by making her stay with her.

She can handle her nightmares.

Of course, things don’t go nearly to plan after she falls back to sleep.

It’s another nightmare. Though, really, it’s not that much of a surprise.

This one starts when she’s in the basement dungeon being confronted by Belos, demanding she hand over the portal door to Earth in exchange for Eda and the other’s lives.

It goes the same as what had happened earlier. She can hear Eda’s screams even through the layers of whatever makes up the room, and reluctantly hands over the door with plans to blow it up just like last time.

Except this time, after she hands it over, he doesn’t actually send her up.

She has to stand there listening to the screams of the other three as they get turned to stone and she can do absolutely nothing to stop it.

Because she’s trapped in a basement with a tyrant.

And no amount of screaming and pleading will change his mind.

And her world starts to collapse around her just as she feels herself being shaken by some unknown force.

Luz wakes up a moment later.

Turns out the unseen force in her nightmare was Eda shaking her awake, again. Though, King is also awake this time watching her with worry.

That one must have sounded as bad as it felt being trapped in it.

“Another one?” Eda asks, after a moment.

Luz nods slowly. “Sorry to bug you.”

Eda shakes her head at that. “I’m not mad at you, kiddo. Just concerned. Did you sleep at all between the duel and yesterday?”

With the amount of nightmares the kid was having tonight. It feels like a fair question, at least, Eda thinks.

Luz shakes her head no at the question.

“I didn’t have the time.”

Between the duel, the walk back to the house. And everything else that had happened afterward, sleep hadn’t been in the cards.

Eda raises an eyebrow. Even as she’s not entirely sure she’s going to like the answer to the question she still asks. “What do you mean you didn’t have the time?”

Luz hesitates at that. “...Well.”

“Kid, just tell me. I don’t think many revelations at this point are going to make the situation worse.”

“I kind of had to walk home from the castle.”

Oh, well, that explained it.

Eda’s mind scrambles for a moment, trying to figure out how this had been able to happen. Only for it to come up blank. “Why didn’t you ask someone for help?”

“Who? Lilith? She was too busy dealing with you being transformed. And it’s not like I have a way to call my friends around here.”

Yeah, that was a problem they needed to fix, Eda realized belatedly.

They had been really lucky Luz hadn’t been attacked by something on that walk home.

She was the only reason any of them were alive.

“I’m so sorry, kiddo.”

That couldn’t have been the easiest. The Isles could be a dangerous place. Even if you had magic. And Luz...well she didn’t have that.

Eda’s not sure how long she sleeps this time before Luz pops into her room saying that King is having a nightmare this time.

Really, she should have seen this coming. She had raised King. She was the only family he knew.

Even if he didn’t realize any of it, if he lost her….well, she wasn’t sure what would happen. Just that it wouldn’t be happy.

All that was left would be Luz. And she was still a child herself.

So, of course, what had happened would shake him to the core.

“You nearly left us.” King says, burying his face face-first into the nightgown she has on.

Eda knows that he’s really saying you nearly left me, but he won’t ever actually say it.

It’s just how King is.

“I know, and I am so sorry.”

Really.

But she didn’t have any other choice. It was the only option left to rescue Luz. Lilith was obviously not going to relent until she succumbed to the curse and she wouldn’t let the kid die. 

So she hadn’t a choice, which was a whole other can of worms that she didn’t have the energy to open at the moment.

“I’m so sorry. But I promise, I am not going to leave you, Luz, or anyone else again okay?”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Once she’s sure that King is calm, she starts reconsidering her options.

This was the third time in the past couple of hours that she had ended up in Luz’s room because either Luz or King were having nightmares. 

She didn’t fault them for having nightmares.

Because who wouldn’t have them after the day they had?

Well,  she hadn’t but those are probably coming eventually. 

However, maybe a change in scenery would do them some good. Or rather, a change in sleeping location.

At the very least, it would mean if one of them had another nightmare, she wouldn’t have to drag herself down the hallway to comfort them. 

However, Luz’s sleeping bag wasn’t really meant for more than one person.

So they were going to have to move to the nest.

“Alright, maybe it would be best for all of us to move into the nest for tonight. What do you say?”

The way King scurries up and onto her shoulders is a resounding yes to that question. Though Luz hesitates a second more.

“Are you sure?”

“Kid, I wouldn’t have offered otherwise.”

Eda has a feeling that the hesitation isn’t just normal teenage angst but something that ran deeper surfacing. 

But for the moment, she’s a bit too tired to think too deeply about it. Another thing to process in the next couple of days.

“Now are you coming or not?”

“I’m coming.”

Great now she was having nightmares as well.

Eda had been hoping she would maybe not get them.

Ignoring the fact that she knew what had happened was lingering. However, her mind and her dreamscape had other ideas.

She wasn’t going to get time to process any of it in the land of the non dreaming before the nightmares started.

Maybe she should have seen that coming.

Though, the chaotic mess that is the nightmare does catch her off guard slightly. Most of the time her nightmares focus on one thing.

Though, she guessed since yesterday was such a mess, it would make sense her nightmare wouldn’t focus on one particular thing either.

It starts when they’re on the bridge connecting the castle to the rest of the Island. She’s fighting Lilith. It starts just like the day before.

Lilith tosses Luz off the bridge daring her to catch her and making her choose between her magic and the fate of a kid.

Except this time, things go differently.

Her magic’s too late. The kid falls to her death. 

Her piercing scream is the absolutely last thing she hears before a deathly silence.

She turns to Lilith preparing to scream only to have the scenery flicker.

And suddenly they’re no longer on the bridge but at the Conformotorium trapped in a cage, which Lilith and King had just been tossed into.

Things proceed like they did before. Her yelling at Lilith for what had happened or nearly happened.

But when she lashes out, no one stops her. And her sister’s form collapses to the ground, blood spilling from a gaping hole.

Eda’s stuck not really able to move forward. Frozen. She can’t fix this.

This wasn’t what she wanted. Or what happened.

She had been angry, yes. But she didn’t want Lilith necessarily dead either.

The scene flickers again.

They’re back on the bridge.

Eda’s confused at what happened for a second. There’s no hole in the kid's chest. But it doesn’t take that to know something else had happened to kill the kid.

And the sinking feeling in her stomach makes her think that she had something to do with it.

Her and Lilith are yelling at each other about something. 

But she is only half paying attention to what’s coming out of her mouth.

The kid died because of something she had done.

The scene flickers again. 

Though this last time makes little sense to her. 

Lilith is petrified and alone. Her face contorted in pain and standing as an ever present statue in what Eda has to assume is Belos’ throne room.

Why was she here?

Better yet, why was Lilith petrified?

What else had gone wrong here?

Did it have something to do with what had nearly happened?

Even if this part is still as painful as it is confusing.

Was this because of something Lilith hadn’t told her?

It doesn’t even make much sense for her to have this nightmare. 

And yet, here they are.

The scene starts to flicker again to another nightmare. But before it can change, the dream dissolves entirely. 

It’s Luz waking her up this time rather than the other way around.

“Eda?”

It’s one word. But it's a loaded question within the name. And Eda has gotten to know Luz enough by this point to recognize the layers in the question.

Most prominently being, are you okay?

All of which Eda dodges when she gives her response. “Sorry for waking you, kiddo.”

Maybe the nest party idea wasn’t the greatest after all. Considering her own nightmare had just woken up one of the kids.

But then again, it had been a while before she had a really bad nightmare like that.

Luz shook her head though. “It’s okay I was awake anyways.”

Well, that makes it marginally better, she supposes. Though, she doesn’t like the fact that Luz isn’t sleeping either.

“The bridge?”

After all, nearly falling to your death would cause all sorts of nightmares, Eda would think.

“I mean yes? Kinda? But also I just-”

Luz cuts off for a moment. And Eda can see the hesitation just about written all across her face.

Shifting slightly to both get more comfortable, so the kid was leaning slightly against her, she asks, “Talk to me, kiddo.”

Luz's voice cracks as the tears finally start that Eda was waiting for. “It’s all my fault that you and the others got nearly killed.”

And there we go.

She had been waiting for the kid to let down her barriers enough.

“You’re going to need to explain that one to me, kiddo. Because last I checked, it was mostly on Belos and Lilith.”

And well, she didn’t think Lilith had intended for it to go that way. Her involvement still was a thing that she couldn’t fully ignore.

“If I hadn’t gone after the healing hat-”

“Something else would have happened.”

There was something off about the whole situation. And Eda is sure that she doesn’t have the full picture yet.

She just doesn’t know what details she’s missing at the moment. 

Well, not all of them, anyway.

She does know that something was off with Lilith and the coven. She had kind of known that for a bit now but with her own concerns, she hadn’t thought too deeply about it.

However, seeing Lilith petrified in the throne room brought it back to the surface.

Why did she have that specific dream?

Did something her sleeping mind realize that her waking self hadn’t?

Dreams tended to cross over into oracle magic. An area that was not hre expertise, if she had to admit.

So maybe there was something to it.

Another thing to add to the list of things to talk about with Lilith in the morning.

Since the duel felt like an act of desperation.

But why had Lilith felt driven to that point to begin with?

Well, Lilith had a lot of questions to answer as it was.

This was just another one to deal with in the morning.

She just hopes that the answer is halfway reasonable. 

Because having your sister threaten your kid, she better have a halfway decent reason behind it.

Eda is jolted awake again by the sound of the door opening.

At first she’s confused as to why. A quick glance at the nest tells her Luz and King are still with her. The only person that wasn’t in there with them was Hooty. 

Oh, and Lilith, she realizes a bit belatedly.

She was still adjusting to the fact Lilith was now living with her after all these years. Probably would be for a few weeks, if she’s being realistic.

Sure, enough when she looks up she’s met with a pair of teal and grey eyes, who looks rather startled at being caught. 

Probably expected her to be asleep like any normal person would be at this hour. 

“Can’t sleep either?”

“Of course I can-”

And there goes the defensive tone and the never dying need to be self-reliant. Probably should have seen that coming.

After all, Lilith had always been that way.

“Lily, I am not going to fault you for having sleep problems, regardless of what's happened.”

Oh, she was still not entirely happy with everything that had happened the last two days. Finding out she was cursed and having Luz nearly killed in a bid to cure her, that once again was a falsehood.

Yeah, she was going to be annoyed at the very least with Lilith for a whole.

But at the same time….maybe avoiding starting off on the wrong foot was a bad idea. And ignoring the fact that even for all of her sister’s faults, there were bound to be issues left over from what happened and not just for them but for Lilith as well. 

Lilith noticeably deflates at that. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Bothering you. After all, it’s my own fault that I am having them to begin with.”

Well that was true. But at the same time…

Something about the nightmares tells Eda that Lilith knows she messed up. How much she realizes it is up for debate at a more sane hour of the morning.

“Do you want to join us?”

Lilith looks startled. “I don’t know if it’s the best idea. You don’t even know why I-” 

Eda cuts in, starting to feel the beginning of a headache if she doesn’t stop her now. “Lily, it's really late. I am sure you have a story to tell me. But I’m way too tired to process it right now.”

“All the more reason-”

Eda just barely keeps herself from snapping at Lilith in her own sleep induced exhaustion. “Just get in here, Lily.”

Lilith hesitates a moment more. And Eda wonders if she is going to have to grab her sister and pull her in at this point. But then finally, Lilith steps into the nest, carefully angling herself so she isn’t too close to her and King.

But not completely out of reach of Eda eiter, who grabs her sister’s hand with the free arm that’s not draped around Luz and King currently and gives a squeeze.

“I missed you.”

“Missed you too Lily.”

This time when they drift off to sleep the nightmares stay away.

Eda’s the first one to wake up the following morning.

Everyone crashing in the nest had worked surprisingly better than she thought it would, to be honest. Guess after the incidents of the previous nights, there was going to be some lingering problems.

Stupid curse. Stupid Belos.

Kinda stupid Lilith.

Seriously, what possessed Lilith to curse her in the first place?

Speak of the witch and apparently she would apparently appear, since Lilith joined her in the kitchen a moment later.

“Hey, Lily.”

“Hello, Eda. Thanks for last night.”

“Hey, we’re probably already going to be a mess from the last day. And well-” Eda lets out a small sigh. She can’t say she’s entirely accepted “I can’t say I am happy at what happened. But at least, we all got out of it relatively unscaved.”

There were certainly a lot worse ways the last two days could have ended.

“I know, and I realize I owe you an explanation. For well, everything that has happened.”

“We can talk after my apple blood has kicked in. And yeah, you’re right, you do owe me an explanation.”

“I know. Though I do have to ask, are you comfortable with me remaining here for the time being regardless of what gets discussed?”

Eda quirks a questioning eyebrow at that. “I mean where would you go? I am guessing any connections you might have were cut when you left the coven.” Eda points out.

Lilith winces at that but doesn’t disagree. Finally saying, “I could go to our parents.”

Eda winces thinking about the last few years with Gwendolyn. “That’s probably not a good idea.”

Regardless of everything else, Lilith was in a vulnerable position. And considering their mother’s view on the curse, it would probably only hurt her to have her living with their parents. Unless Gwendolyn finally stopped being so stubborn about the curse.

But considering it hadn’t happened in three decades, Eda’s pretty much given up hope it will happen at this point.

Lilith frowns at that. “Why?”

“Let’s just say Gwendolyn has had a hard time accepting that my curse could be managed-” Seeing Lilith open her mouth for a moment. “-which it was up until recently. You're recently cursed, Lily. Going there will cause more problems.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean Gwen likes to hide the elixirs any time I try to visit. There’s a reason why I only see her once a year. And it’s only when she shows up to tout her next miracle cure.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize that she didn’t accept it.”

“She never told you?”

“More like she never visited in the first place. I haven’t seen her in years.”

Huh, guess their mother’s obsession caused problems for more than just her.

“When did you stop calling her 'Mother' anyway?”

“When she stopped seeing me as a person and more of a problem to fix.”

“That’s fair.”

Seeing the look on Lilith’s face, Eda lets out a sigh. “Look, Lily. Just because I don’t have contact with Gwen doesn’t mean you have to do the same okay? Just be careful, is all I ask.”

The last thing she needed was for anyone else to get hurt because of their mother’s stubbornness.

“I’ll think about that.”

Shortly after, Luz came down. At which point Lilith asked. “Would it be alright to take breakfast to my room?”

“Yeah, go ahead if that’s what you want.” Eda said, waving her off in dismissal.

“So she’s going to be staying here I’m guessing?” Luz asked, after Lilith had disappeared up the stairs.

“There’s nowhere else for her to go.” Eda admitted. “Though, I’m not going to ask you to be comfortable around her considering what happened.”

No other option or not, Lilith had put them in quite the position, still.

“I honestly don’t know how I feel around her at the moment.” Luz admitted, glancing in the direction Lilith had disappeared in.

That was understandable.

“Thanks again for last night.”

“It wasn’t a problem, kiddo. Honestly, I would be more surprised if you hadn’t had nightmares. That was a long two days.”

“Yeah, it was. So what happens now?”

“I’m not sure, kiddo. I need to have a long talk with Lily. And maybe you should tell your Mom where you are considering what nearly happened.”

The way Luz flinches at that is unexpected and causes Eda to quirk an eyebrow. “What happened?”

“I had to burn the door.” Luz admits softly.

Oh, oh. Well, there went that option then.

“Kid, I promise you we will find you a way back home.”

There had to be more than one way to travel besides that door right?

“Thanks, Eda.”

Chapter Text

When Luz had first ran into Hunter at the library she hadn’t been sure what to think. 

First off, seeing him in completely casual wear seemed almost weird. Almost as weird as the first time she had seen Lilith wearing that one shirt she had taken such a liking to.

It got even weirder when she realized he was apparently trying to look into Wild Magic.

That had been weeks ago.

Now, Hunter was a regular at the House. Though no one other than Luz knew he was the Golden Guard.

Mainly because neither her or Hunter were entirely sure how to tell Eda. If they could even get the older witch to believe them.

Since Luz had seen first hand that once Hunter started letting his barriers down, Hunter the Golden Guard and Hunter the teenager tended to act quite a bit differently when compared to each other.

However, fate had a bit of a different plan. And circumstances ended up forcing the conversation when Hunter showed up rather unexpectedly on the doorstep with a mint haired witch in tow and one hand clutched tightly to Rascal while looking like he had been through some sort of incident since he was leaning slightly to the left.

“Hunter? What are you doing here?” Luz asks, eyes drifting rather quickly up to the other witch she didn’t recognize. “And who are you?”

“My name’s Raine. Eda’s probably spoken of me?”

Luz blinked once, then twice. And then suddenly the nagging familiarness of the other witch clicks. 

Because she distinctly remembers Eda mourning them just a few weeks ago. 

“Oh my god. Eda’s going to be over the moon to see you again.”

To say the very least. She had overheard the conversation with Lilith before. 

They had thought Raine was dead killed personally by Belos. For turning traitor on him.

“That’s mutual. But can we get inside? I've had better days. And Belos hit him,” Raine motioned at Hunter, “on our way out.”

“Shit. Right, yeah, come on in.”

“Eda, we’ve got company!”

“What? Did Hooty insist on having a late night tea party again?” Luz can hear Eda call back from upstairs. 

“Not quite.”

“Alright then, whoever is showing up this late better-”Eda cuts off as she gets a full glimpse of who is sitting in the living room, voice failing her for a moment before finally saying, “Raine?”

Raine has had a tired look on their face since they showed up. But Luz doesn’t miss the way the other witch lights up on seeing Eda with a small smile. “Hey, Eda.”

“You’re alive.”

“Yeah, well, I was apparently more use alive to Belos than dead.”

“How did you get away?”

“I had some help.” Raine said motioning to Hunter was still out cold on the couch. 

“Hunter?”

“You know him?”

“He’s one of Luz’s friends.”

Luz has the decency to look and feel sheepish at the look Raine levels her. “We weren’t exactly sure how to tell anyone.”

“Tell anyone what?”

“Hunter was the Golden Guard.”

It's the conversation that clearly no one really wants to have.

However, want to have or not the conversation had to happen eventually. And once Eda was sure no one was in immediate danger, she sits him down.

“So you’re the Golden Guard...or were anyway.”

“Yes.”

Eda wasn't yelling. Though, that may be concerned Hunter more than he would like to admit.

When Belos was really angry he never was loud. And so this kind of anger tended to make him worry more than not.

Because it usually leads to more pain than otherwise.

“You know that explains way more than it should.” Eda says with a sigh after a moment.

Like how he had never come over when he and Luz knew Lilith would be by.

Lilith would have recognized him in an instant. If not by his face under the mask, then by his voice alone.

This probably should be panicking Eda more than it, is she realizes.

But then again she apparently had had the Golden Guard walking around her house for weeks. And had been none the wiser.

So maybe that was why she wasn’t overly panicked.

“I can understand if you don’t want me around once I’m healed up.”

“When did I ever say anything like that?” Eda asks, cocking an eyebrow.

“I don’t know, I just assumed because of my history with Belos. And everything else you were probably expecting me to go away eventually.”

After all, she had hated the Golden Guard. 

Who was to say she would like Hunter now that she knew the two of them were the same?

“Kid, I try not to hold the sin of the parents against them. And don’t get me wrong, I hate Belos. But you’ve been coming over here for weeks. And had plenty of chances to lift a finger against me if you wanted to. And now I might not understand why. But you kind of clearly marked your side a while ago.”

“Belos is my uncle not my parent.”

“Same principle.”

“...you really wouldn’t mind me staying?”

“I mean, where would you go? I’m guessing whatever caused this will not make your uncle not very happy with you. It's not going to make you very welcome in his circles.”

“No, he’s going to be mad. And anyone else I might know will side with him.”

“Which is my point. Stay with me. No one is going to hold it against you for getting yourself out for the sake of a friend among other things.”

“Mx. Whispers isn’t my friend.”

“I wasn’t referring to Raine but to your Palisman, kid.”

Oh, right.

“Besides, I think you might have more friends than you realize, kid.”

After Eda was done talking with Hunter, she turned to Luz to resolve the mystery on how they had gotten here.

She had known her and Hunter had apparently been friends for weeks before Hunter first showed up at the house. Which raised so many more questions than she had thought possible.

Like when had the two met for long enough to be on friendly terms?

“Alright kid, we've put this off long enough. How in the world did you two meet let alone become friends?”

“It’s a bit of a long story.”

“We’ve got all the time in the world, kid.”

Luz hesitated for a moment before saying. “So you remember the whole Palisman Adoption Day thing?”

“...yea though I’m not sure what this has to do with this.”

“Well, he and Kikimora tried to go after the extra Palismans.”

“Shit.”

“Don’t worry, everyone’s fine.”

“Still should have seen this coming.” Eda muttered. She had heard from Lilith what Belos would sometimes do to Palismans. “Okay, but I still don’t get how that led to this.”

“Well, when Kiki tried to get them she also tried to kill him. So we sorta worked together to get them back.”

“And he just let you go off scot free.”

“I kinda snuck off with them.”

That made more sense. 

“So that’s where it started. How did you two manage to hang out again?”

“It was kinda an accident in the beginning.” Luz admits. “We ran into each other in the library when he wasn’t in uniform. And well, things kinda went from there.”

She hadn’t really meant to befriend the other witch. 

Really.

But there had been something eerily similar to her own issues back in the human realm that had drawn her in. It just kind of had happened along the way.

Eda raised an eyebrow at that. “Really? Things just went from there?”

Luz flushed a bit in embarrassment at that. “I mean, there’s not much else to tell that you don’t already know. For the first couple of weeks we just kept bumping into each other in the library because we were researching the same things.”

“Which is what led you to inviting him over, I’m guessing.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry. I should have told you from the beginning who he was.”

“You’re dang right about that.” Eda grumbled before letting out a sigh. “But I can’t necessarily deny the fact that you had a good reason.”

They both know that she probably wouldn’t have given Hunter a chance if she had known he was the Golden Guard from the beginning.

She wouldn’t have seen a teen that was in need of help but another part of Belos’ mechanisms. Not knowing who he was had led to a very different path.

And arguably had been what allowed him to feel like he could be free in the first place.

“I’m not going to say I’m happy, kiddo. But I am glad you did something at the very least.”

Otherwise, who knew what Hunter and Raine’s fates would have been.

“Though that doesn’t mean you aren’t completely off scot free.”

“Darn it!”

Lilith’s weekly visit was the first awkward encounter since Hunter had taken up residence in the house. As the oldest witch had frozen for a second of Hunter in the living room.

“Please don’t start a fight.” Luz mutters at Hunter when she sees him reaching for Rascal’s staff.

“Only if she doesn’t start one first.”

“Luz, please back away from him.”

“Lilith, it’s fine. He’s not going to hurt anyone.”

“That I find highly doubtful-Eda!”

Eda poked her head out from the kitchen. “Oh, hey, Lily.”

“What's he’s doing here?”

“Crashing.”

“Crashing- Edas he’s the Golden Guard!”

“I’m aware.”

“That’s all you're going to say?”

“I mean the kid's been coming over for a while now without causing trouble. I think at this point if he was going to cause us problems it would have happened.”

“ Edalyn .”

“Look, if it helps, I really can’t go back.” Hunter adds. 

“Lilith, he’s been coming here for weeks. It’s fine.” Luz says, trying to butt in again before things can get more tense.

“That doesn’t make it any better.”

“If it helps, he was responsible for getting me out of there.” Raine said, deciding to step out from the kitchen at that moment.

It takes a moment for Lilith to get her mouth working again. “Raine?”

“Good to see you too, Lily.”

“We thought you were dead.” Lilith said, barely keeping a crack out of her own voice. 

“Yeah, reports of that were greatly exaggerated.”

“How?”

Raine's eyes flickered over to Hunter for a second. 

Lilith just looks between the group. And finally lets out a sigh. “Alright, you need to start from the beginning.”

“Well, one difficult conversation down. One to go.” Hunter says a few hours later.

The conversation with the other former coven head had gone surprisingly smoothly. Once they had been able to convince her that yes, he didn’t really intend to harm anyone in the house. 

“I’m sure the others will handle finding out the truth fine.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You don’t have to worry about losing your friends over something like this.”

Luz can’t contain the snort at that. “Oh, I worry about losing my only friends more than I would like to admit.”

After all, how many ‘friends’ had walked away from her because she had done something wrong?

Because she had become too annoying?

Heck, she had thought she had lost all her chances with Amity because of the incident with Echo Mouse.

She was way too used to having people just walking away from her.

There was a reason why she may have understood Hunter a bit too well, once they had started moving past their initial bumps.

“Really?”

The skepticism is understandable, she guesses, coming from him. And really compared to what he had gone through, her loneliness was a mole hill next to a mountain.

“Yeah. Look, before I came here, I didn’t have any friends. Let alone a girlfriend. Everyone thought I was just a strange loser.”

“And yet, you want to go back there.”

“It’s more I want to go back to my Mom than anything else.” Luz admits slowly. Learning the difference herself had taken a while. “If I could have both my friends and my Mom that’s what I want.”

That had been one of her goals. Not just find a way home. But find a way to balance both aspects of her life.

“I don’t get it.”

“Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t. Anyways it doesn’t matter. My point was I may not know exactly what you're going through. But that fear? The one of messing up because of something you did? Yeah, no, that is one I completely understand.”

After all, she still dealt with it.

“Do you really think it will be okay?”

“I think so. And even if it isn’t, well, you’ve got me and everyone else at least.”

Luz was confident that for all the fretting that Hunter was understandably doing, that the rest of their friends would handle it okay.

May be a bit mad about hiding it, but that was the worst of it, she expected.

And even if they didn’t, well, Hunter still had her and the rest of the Owl House gang to fall back on. 

Things weren’t the same as a few months ago.

And if one thing was for sure, neither of them were quite as lonely as they once had been. 

Chapter Text

Luz lies.

She always said that she doesn’t remember the crash.

But truth be told, she remembers tiny bits of it. Not enough to really do anything other than give her the occasional nightmares of the cold metal that pins against her making escape near impossible and not being sure if anyone would find her.

But instead of telling anyone this, she just lies.

Because she doesn’t want the looks that come with the knowledge. That yeah, while tiny in the scheme of things, that she remembers anything of the crash.

So she keeps it from everyone.

The doctors, the workers, later Eda, and everyone else. They don't know. And she plans to keep it that way.

Except one little incident gone awry at Hexside causes it to come to the surface.

It’s a prank gone wrong.

It wasn’t even a bad prank, really.

Maybe.

Luz probably wasn’t the best judge of pranks, to be honest.

Though considering if she had been anyone else, it probably wouldn’t have mattered. That’s how she decides later it wasn’t a ‘bad prank’

But she wasn’t exactly anyone else. Considering she was the first human witch apprentice on the Boiling Isles. That made her stand out as is.

Her being the sole survivor of that crash made her even more unique.

Combined with the fact that she hadn’t slept that well the night before, she was a bit more on edge then normal.

Well, accidentally trapping her in a closet wasn’t going to end well.

Even on a good day.

Trapping her in a closet effectively and then something had fallen over made it all go downhill from there.

Raine isn’t entirely sure what to expect when Lilith shows up at their classroom but a panicking Luz is pretty low on the list.

“What happened?” Raine says, taking the girl from Lilith and running a hand absentmindedly through Luz’s hair while trying to figure out what to do next. 

Though they're not sure if they’re asking Luz or Lilith to be honest. 

Though the way Luz curls in further to them, a bit of a surprise considering how touch adverse she could still be around Raine, tells them that they won’t be getting an answer from the girl at least.

So they, instead, turn their attention to Lilith.

“We’re still trying to figure that out.” Lilith admitted. “She hasn’t said a word since we found her locked in a closet as part of some prank by the twins. I tried to get her to calm down to find out what had happened but she’s gone completely non-verbal for the moment.”

So what had set this off was going to have to wait for the time being in other words.

“Well, I would offer to get her to talk, but Eda’s still better at this than I am.”

Just because Luz had been slowly relaxing around them, didn’t mean that there weren’t issues left from what had happened and that Luz’s walls weren’t still up.

Eda was still the adult that Luz trusted the most.

And even then on bad days, Luz’s trust tended to waver.

“Eda’s actually on her way. But considering she wasn’t responding to me, I was hoping that you could help.”

Yeah, that might not be as successful as Lilith might think.

“I’ll see what I can do. But really, again, Eda’s the best at this with her.”

Just because they had managed to earn some of Luz’s trust over time doesn’t mean they still didn't have a ways to go and that they weren't the most likely to get Luz to talk.

Luz isn’t sure where she is now.

She does know she was out of the closet. She remembers someone pulling her out. And then handing her off to someone else.

But she had been too far into panic mode to really register what was going on. Let alone talk to anyone.

She was only now just starting to calm down. 

She feels whoever is holding her shift her slightly as she starts to finally calm down. And she finally realizes it's been Raine holding her for an uncertain amount of time.

Raine gives her a bit of a relieved smile. “Hey there, kid. You back with us?”

Luz slowly nods at the question.

“Want to talk about it?”

Luz shakes her head.

She probably should tell them. But the thing was telling them meant opening up a can of worms that she wasn’t ready to open yet.

“Alright, that’s fine. Eda will be here in a bit to pick you up.”

Eda was going to have questions. Ones she wasn’t sure she wanted to answer yet. If ever. Hopefully, she wouldn’t push too much for an explanation.

Hopefully, Eda wouldn’t be too mad that she had never mentioned it before.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Putting up with this.”

Raine frowns slightly. “Luz, we went over this. I knew if I started dating Eda again that it meant her kids came first. And that I would be taking on at least part of what came with that.”

“Still sorry. That in order to get a girlfriend, you had to deal with one of the worst broken kids on the Isles.”

Raine frowns at the comment. 

They were going to definitely need to have that conversation about self worth again. Raine thought they had made progress after the last conversation.

However, obviously, Luz still didn’t have a lot of it.

And for understandable reasons unfortunately. 

“One, we've been over this before. There are children out there that are far worse to be a parental figure too.” Raine says. “Two, even if there were, Eda wants you and so I want you too.”

Luz’s voice is small when she asks. “You sure about that?”

“I’m sure. And even if I changed my mind on having kids of my own,” which seemed doubtful at this point, “then I wouldn’t make Eda change for my needs.”

They were definitely not becoming one of Luz’s old fears. That much was for certain.

There’s a slight lull and Raine finally says. “I should probably update Lilith and ask where Eda is.”

It shouldn’t be taking this long for Eda to get to Hexside from the Owl House.

They were a bit surprised, though, when a tug on their outfit stopped them in their tracks. They looked down at Luz in surprise as she asked. “Actually, can you stay?”

Raine blinks in surprise. This was the first time Luz had asked them to stick around. While the two of them were still getting comfortable with each other, they had issues to work through with Luz. 

Luz had never really shown any interest in them sticking around before.

This had to be a good sign, right?

Luz is actually surprised that she even asked the question, if she’s being honest. The question had gotten past her lips before she had even thought about it.

But she doesn’t regret asking it.

She’s still weary around adults. Around Raine. But it had been starting to shift away slowly from the fear she had towards most strange adults.

And she’s trying to be better for Eda’s sake, since the two of them are dating now.

Even if she hadn’t really thought about it until now, there had just been something soft and comforting about how Raine had handled the whole situation with her panic attack.

So she might still be scared about what Raine being in Eda’s life might mean as far as her own future.

But at least Raine seemed genuinely nice towards her?

Hopefully?

“Of course.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, poca luce.”

Luz had drifted off again by the time Eda had finished talking with Bump about what had happened and made her way to the Bard room.

Eda’s lips quirk into a small smile, since Luz was still sound asleep on Raine’s lap.

“Oh, good, you're finally here.” Raine says looking up from the book they had been reading. “I was wondering what was taking you so long.”

They were starting to get worried if they kept being a pillow that walking was going to become a problem. But on the other hand, they hadn’t wanted to move Luz after she had drifted off.

So it had left them in a predicament to say the least. 

“I mean, you two seem to be pretty comfy as is.”

“My legs disagree.”

“Alright, alright, I’m coming over to take her off of you.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s good to see the kid’s relaxing around you.”

Even if it was far from the best circumstances, it was a step in the right direction that the kid apparently felt comfortable enough to accidentally fall asleep on Raine.

Maybe they would be able to finally find her instrument soon at this rate.

“Yeah, it’s a good sign. Did Lilith tell you what happened?”

“Yeah. I actually got here earlier. But stopped to yell at the twins.” Eda admitted, rubbing her face. 

“Believe it or not, they’ve improved since all three of them were removed from their parents.”

“...I’m almost afraid to think about what they were like before then.”

“Difficult.”

Well, dang.

It was never a good sign when Raine was down to one word answers to describe students. 

Though that made her more curious just what the twins were like.

Something Raine must have picked up on since they added. “I’ll tell you some of the stories another time.”

“That probably tells me more than you realize.”

“No, I know that it does. They’ve mellowed out some since leaving the manor. However, some habits die hard apparently.”

Really hard.

“Still, they sent the kid into a panic attack by locking the kid into the closet.”

“There’s a chance that they didn’t know.”

“Still not great.”

Though to the twins credit, they had looked like they had at least felt bad about the whole incident. 

And it wasn’t like she herself had known that Luz had that fear before. 

She knew Luz hadn’t told her everything yet. That was a given. 

However, she had thought that Luz had mentioned most of her fears. 

But this had never come up in conversation before.

Why hadn’t the kid mentioned it?

Actually, she already knew the answer to that question. There were still lying trust issues from before she had become Luz’s guardian.

And this was just one of them rearing its head again.

Though it made her wonder what the story behind this fear was.

She had a strong suspicion behind it. Though it didn’t quite make sense, since Luz said she couldn’t remember the accident. 

She didn’t think she was going to like it.

Even if it was completely unrelated by some miracle, then she had a feeling that it hadn’t come up before. Because someone in Luz’s past had handled that fear rather horribly. 

Then again, it was very rare that she liked any of Luz’s stories.

Titan, why couldn’t one human back on Earth be a halfway decent person half the time?

“I'm a bit surprised that she wasn’t with Lilith, I gotta admit.”

“Lilith thought I might be better suited to helping. And well, I guess something must be going right, since she actually asked me to stay when I talked about finding out what was going on.”

Eda blinks once and then grins. “That’s great.”

Though part of her worried that Luz might have asked because she was trying to please herself. She really hoped that it was because she genuinely wanted Raine around.

Because if it had been sincere, it was a positive sign that the direction was moving correctly.

Even if it was slow movement.

Luz doesn’t start to wake up again until it’s early evening. By that time school is out, and the four of them are just crashing on the Owl House’s couch.

Luz is between Eda and Raine with King curled up against her. Though it takes her a second to wake up enough to realize she was home and not at Hexside.

“You back with us, kiddo?” Eda asks.

“Yeah, sorry for causing trouble.”

“You know you’re never trouble, kid.” Eda said, reaching up and ruffling her head for a moment. More than used to the conversation by this point about Luz thinking the slightest inconvenience was causing trouble.

At least, she wasn’t calling herself a burden again, Eda supposed. 

“Do you want to talk about what happened?” Raine asks.

Luz hesitates for a moment. Part of her first instinct is to say no or make a story up.

Usually people find out that she has a sliver of a memory doesn’t tend to go very well. Usually, it ends in being told she is lying, since like so many other things it made no sense. 

But with Eda maybe it would be different?

Plus, there was no other real way to put it. Not that she could think of a story that would make sense.

Eda would probably figure it out anyway. 

She just was going to hope it didn’t go too badly.

“I’m scared of tight spaces. It makes me think of other things. But normally not that bad-”

“Kid, breathe.” Eda interjects and Luz hadn’t realized she was rushing through the explanation.

“You know you don’t need to defend your fears against us.” Raine adds after a moment.

She did know that. But certain bad habits die hard.

“Is this because of the accident? Or something that happened after?”

“...the accident.”

“You never said you remembered anything about the accident.” Eda noted with a frown, not missing the fact that Luz shrank into herself a bit at that comment. 

Whenever it had come up, it had just been talked about ending with Luz last seeing her mother reassuring her. And then blank.

“I mean, I don’t really. It’s just tiny pieces of a memory not long enough to even really talk about. But for some reason-”

“It’s enough to cause problems.”

“Umhm.”

“Why didn’t you mention any of this before?”

“Because the last time I did in the human realm, it didn’t go well.”

There’s a barely contained growl in Eda’s voice. “Did someone up and abandon you again?”

“Not quite.”

“What happened then?”

“Got told that it was impossible. And to not make up stories for attention.”

Oh, that was so much worse.

Titan, she really wanted to find a way to get the names of the people that had put Luz through hell.

“Eda.” Raine’s voice breaks her out of her thoughts. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“I know that face. Now is not the time.”

Eda hates that she knows Raine is right. The kid needs her here on the Boiling Isles.

Not returning the favor of making someone else’s life a living hell because of that.

“You believe me, right?”

“Of course, kiddo.” 

After all, she had all sorts of weird memories thanks to the Owl Beast. And while it wasn’t anywhere near the same, iIt wasn’t that much of a stretch to think Luz could remember something. Even a tiny something that most wouldn’t be able to.

“One hundred percent.”

Luz gave a relieved smile that just made Eda more internally frustrated someow. “Thank you.”

Yep, that made her even more frustrated. Considering Luz shouldn’t feel the need to thank them for just not being doubtful assholes.

There are days where Eda hates the route that led Luz to ending up with her. Some days she hates it more than others.

Because it had left the kid even more traumatized than someone her age should have to deal with.

But on the other hand, part of her doubts that Luz would have ended up with her if it hadn’t happened.

So it was a confusing mix of emotions to put it mildly.

At least, the kid has them now.

Chapter Text

Luz lasts a couple of weeks before things go crumbling down. And the reality of the promise her mother made her make starts to catch up with her. 

Badly.

Nightmares aren’t uncommon to her. 

Not after the bridge duel anyway.

But this particular nightmare had stayed away before now. It hadn’t been an issue while she was on the Isles.

Because she had friends here.

She had other people than her mother that cared about her.

So the old fear that she tried to keep hidden that she was just too weird for anyone, and that when her mother left, that no one would care about little old Luz Noceda had been at bay.

However, the trip to the human realm and the promise had brought with it the nightmare’s return...

It always starts the same way.

She’s in front of her house back in the human realm sitting on the porch talking with her Mom.

About the future. About how when things get tough they still have each other, though the lingering left uncomment is that Luz only has her mother.

Since no one wants to hang with the weird kid at school no matter how much she tried to be normal or whatever it was the other kids were looking for in a friend.

Though something does change this time.

There’s no other jaunting kids. Luz keeps expecting one of her old bullies to show up and make a comment but it’s still the two of them.

And it confuses her.

Right until she sees a very familiar portal door form down the pathway.

Oh, that’s what this was about.

The terrifying decision of having to pick between the Isles and keeping her promise to her mother.

Why can’t she have both?

“Stay with me.” Camila’s voice calls from behind her and she can almost feel her presence.

And the temptation is there. The want to be with her mother is there.

She loves her mother.

But at the same time…

Her mother’s presence vanishes and so does the door leaving her standing alone in the void. And that terrifying creepy cold feeling of being so alone takes over.

This is what she really fears.

“But what will happen when you're gone?”

“You will always have me.” Her mother calls though she still can’t feel or see her.

“But what happens when I have no one else?” Luz’s voice cracks for a moment “I can’t be alone. But before I went to the Isles that’s all I knew.”

That’s all she would know. 

Because no one on Earth actually wanted her other than her mother.

And Titan, did that reminder hurt so much.

Because if she had to choose then she was going to be alone.

“Please don’t make me choose. Please don’t make me leave this behind.”

It’s always the same plea. The same begs.

Please don’t make her decide between the two people that made her the most happy. And this ghost version of her mother, the one that embodied her fears, never listens to her.

“Am I not enough? Am I not a good mother?”

“No, Mami, you're the best mother. It’s everyone else that’s the problem. I can’t do this again.”

She couldn’t walk the school halls again where everyone at best ignored her or taunted her or worse.

She couldn’t do that anymore.

“Then come back to me.”

But it’s not her mother’s voice that speaks this time. It’s Eda.

“It’s okay, kiddo. We’ll figure this out.”

A minute later, she finds herself awake back in the demon realm, in her room being held by Eda.

“Easy, kiddo, I’ve got you.”

“Eda?” Luz contains a wince at how scratchy her voice sounds.

Apparently, it wasn’t just in the nightmare she had been talking.

“The one and only. Do you want to talk about it?”

Luz hesitates for a moment before saying. “No-yes. I really don’t know.”

Her mother was always saying it was easier to talk about these things. But that felt like just remembering what had happened.

And that she didn’t really didn’t want to at the moment.

“I guess I’m worried about leaving here.”

That was the closest to what had happened she was ready to talk about at the moment. And it wasn’t exactly a lie either.

“I want to be able to spend time with my mom. But-”

“You don’t want to give this up?”

“No and I know I might be wishing for the impossible. But I want to find a way to work it together so I can still have my mom and still have you, King, my friends, and my magic and everything else that comes from here.”

But most importantly, she didn’t have to be alone again.

“Kid, something I’ve learned since you got here is that you seem to be really capable of doing impossible things. If anyone can make it work you can.”

“I hope you're right.”

Because she didn’t want her nightmares to become real.

Luz eventually drifts off again leaving Eda to her thoughts and what to do now.

She wants to help.

She hates seeing her kids hurting. She wants to fix the problem.

However, there is one slight issue.

She couldn’t help when she didn’t even know what had scared the kid.

Well, not really anyway.

She got that much at least that the kid was scared of being left alone. Between what Luz had rambled about and King’s own comments, she’s sure that’s at least part of the factor.

Something Eda probably understood more than she should.

But she didn’t fully understand where the fear even came from. 

Why did the kid even have it to begin with?

Something must have happened in the human realm that Luz hadn’t talked about. But what?

She might actually have an idea that could help. Maybe sorta meet Luz half way with the problem. 

Though it was going to be heavily based on her own speculation on why the kid kept having nightmares. And a hope and a prayer to the Titan that she was right in some way at least.

It takes a bit of scrambling to get it together. Especially since none of them had planned it before and Amity has to essentially bribe the twins to get them on board.

But Eda manages to put together a last minute sleepover.

To be honest, she’s not entirely sure if it will work. But hopefully it will help some.

She didn’t like seeing her kid that scared. And since she can’t have a talk with Camila about what had happened, about what was even said between the two of them the last time Luz was in the human realm, since Luz won’t tell her exactly what the nightmares are about, Eda just has to speculate based on what King had overheard and work from there, which was settle for reassuring Luz that she won’t be left alone.

And the best way to do that?

Have a sleepover.

Which might not be her first choice in a long list of things, since that meant she had to deal with some other kids for the night. Not her definition of a fun time.

But the way Luz’s face lights up as her friends start to arrive?

Yeah, it makes it all worth it for her at least?

This might not be the root of the issue, since Eda doesn’t know for sure.

But at least it seems to be making the kid happier.

“Thanks again for this.”

“Not a problem, kiddo. Remember if you just need something just ask first.”

Nightmares can morph.

It’s something that Luz is unfortunately familiar with.

Though it's the first time it's done it in a while, she has to admit.

It initially starts out the same as the one from the night before. 

Her and her mother on a porch talking about an unknown future. About how they’ll always be there for each other no matter what the rest of the world brings.

But that’s all that stays the same.

There’s no portal door this time.

Just voices. So many voices.

But she can’t see anyone. 

Even her own mother has seemed to have been swallowed up by the void.

Leaving her standing there listening to a mixture of the taunts from her old bullies.

And comments from the people she had grown to know.

Grown to care about.

Thought, at least, had cared about her in some way. And wouldn’t leave her alone like she had once been.

Ones that she’s sure normally would just stand right next to her and tell her that her worries are silly and of course they wouldn’t leave her alone.

But she hears none of that. Sees none of it.

“Please, please stop. I promise I’ll do whatever. Just please stop leaving me alone. Please.”

But no amount of pleading seems to do anything.

Eda’s not entirely sure what woke her up at first. Though someone calling her name quickly tells her why she’s awake.

“Eda.”

It takes a second for the older witch to realize Amity is standing in the doorway. But she’s up and almost out of the nest as soon as she does. “What happened?”

Maybe jumping slightly to conclusions that something had happened but she had seen how Luz was with her friends.

And she was fairly sure one of them wouldn’t be getting her if something hadn’t happened out of their control.

“Luz is having another nightmare. And we can’t seem to wake her up.”

“Shit. Thought this might help.” Eda said, sitting up and pulling herself fully out of the nest. 

But then again, maybe she should have realized this wasn’t going to be simple.

Nightmares rarely were.

But she had really been hoping this might help somehow.

Apparently not.

“What is she even having nightmares about?”

“Don’t know.”

Amity blinked, confusion apparent at the response. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

“Just that. I have speculation but the kid never wants to tell me when I try to ask.”

Well, she kinda knew. She knew that the kid was worried about something about being alone.

But until the kid told her more, she could only speculate.

She just hoped that the kid would start talking soon before it really started to become more of an issue for her.

The nightmare is still going by the time Eda gets to the room, unfortunately.

“Come on, squirts, move over so I can get to her.” Eda says, waiting for them to make room.

While it was adorable how they had all huddled around Luz trying to help her get out of the nightmare and the bit of reluctance to move even when asked, she needed room to work. 

Thankfully, it didn’t take too long for her to get in the same position as the last night. Back against the wall, arms around Luz’s waist. Though she had the company of three other kids looking on in addition to King from the night before.

Though it's hard to tell what Luz is saying since she’s flipping between languages. It’s fairly obvious she’s in distress.

“Does this happen a lot?” Willow asked with a frown, watching Eda try to coax her friend out of the nightmare with only marginal success.

She glanced up at Eda with a frown.

More than she liked is what Eda wants to say.

But instead she says. “Not always. But it is sometimes a problem.”

And judging by the switching, it was starting to slow down. The kid was finally starting to rejoin them in the living room.

And soon enough, her efforts are rewarded as Luz finally rejoins the realm of the awake. Blinking sleepily up at Eda for a moment partly still in sleep confused daze. “Eda?”

“Easy, kiddo. I’ve got ya. And we’re not alone.”

“Sounded like one heck of a nightmare.”

Yeah, well when it’s one of your worst nightmares, it tended to end up that way.

After a while, most of the group had drifted off. Even Eda had somehow managed to fall asleep despite her less than comfortable position.

The only two that were still awake were Amity and of course Luz, who can’t seem to chase the nightmare out of her head no matter how hard she tried.

Though having everyone else there was helping, marginally at least.

Something Amity apparently picked up on.

“You feeling better?”

“Mostly.”

“Do you want to talk about what happened?”

“Not really.”

Not yet anyway. Because it meant opening up a box that Luz wasn’t ready for yet.

She knew it was coming regardless.

Though she half expects Amity to push it. Especially after tonight. But instead, her girlfriend just gives her hand a reassuring squeeze and a sad smile.

“Yeah, I get it. I don’t like talking about nightmares either. Hey, we’ll get through this.” Amity said, continuing to hold her hand. “Even if it takes a bit. You’re not alone in this you got us.”

Luz gave a small smile, wanting to believe that herself. Though the promise she isn’t sure she wants to keep is still lingering in the back of her mind. 

And part of her wonder if push comes to shove if the words from either side will stay.

She tries to believe otherwise.

“Thanks, Amity.”

Luz wakes up in the mid afternoon to an empty room. Though she can hear Eda making something in the kitchen.

“Did the others already go home?”

“Yeah, it’s nearly two o’clock kiddo. You were having a rough go about it. So we just let you sleep.”

That made sense at least.

She hadn’t even realized she had slept that late.

“Thanks, Eda.”

“Do you want to tell me what last night was all about?”

Luz hesitates at first. Her first instinct is to say no. She’s still not ready to open up that box. But at the same time, Eda might understand.

Eda always seemed to understand better than other people.

“You might not like it.”

“Kid...you don’t have to decide what to tell me and what not based on that, you know that, right?”

“I lied before about Mom’s reaction to the Demon Realm.” Luz hears Eda’s sharp inhale but  doesn’t stop. “I-there were some things that happened. I didn’t have time to tell her everything. Let alone talk about all of you guys.”

Okay, well that was unexpected. But she couldn’t say she was entirely surprised. 

It wasn’t like the door was exactly stable. And the incident with the basilisk Luz had mentioned meant time had been even more limited.

Though Eda didn’t fully understand what this had to do with the problem. “Okay, I get that but you're still going to have to explain where the nightmares are coming from.”

“I’m scared of being left alone. And before I met you guys-well, Mami was all I had. And before I left she made me promise I would stay with her. And I just-”

Luz breaks off for a second as her voice breaks slightly.

“I’m scared of having to hold that promise. Because I’m scared that things will go back to the way they were.”

After all, she hadn’t really changed. Not in the human sense of the word.

In the witch sense?

Sure.

But in the human sense?

If she went back now, she would still be that weird kid everyone had hated. 

Because there was no way she could be Vee. And that would probably cause everything to crumble-

Eda had kept quiet for a moment as she processed it. Realizing what it meant and just what the nightmares had to mean.

Oh.

Oh.

Well that was a heartbreaking scenario. That also made her extremely angry. What in the world was going on back in Luz’s home town that she was terrified to end up alone?

It made sense.

After all, Luz had just told her the day before that her mother had made her promise to stay with her once the door was fixed, which Eda supposes makes sense.

But it’s breaking the kid obviously.

“Do you want a hug?”

There’s a slight pause before Luz nods her head yes.

Some more silence lapsed between the two of them before Luz spoke again. “You know, I thought I was doing better. It’s not like I had had those nightmares since I got here.”

“Going home brought them back?” Eda asks softly.

Luz nods slowly.

Funny how something that should have made her happy, seeing her mother again after months apart, just seemed to cause problems accidentally.

“Oh, kid, I’m so sorry.”

“Not like you did anything.”

If anything, Eda had been doing her best to make her feel less alone. To make sure her fears weren’t completely founded.

After all, she had started a whole sleepover for that whole reason.

But there was a part of the fear that she couldn’t do anything about.

“No, but I still feel like I should have seen it. I know how much being alone, even when you choose, can hurt.” 

After all, she had chosen to push Raine away.

“Does it get better?”

Well, considering her track record...and what had happened the last time she had gotten together with Raine and the cascade of events because she thought her kids were walking away from her, no. 

“The fear, unfortunately, never really goes away. Or with me it didn’t. But being around other people that care for you does help, kiddo. It’s not always bad.”

For her, it had been Luz and King that had made things better.

For Luz, it had been her friends and her and King.

Unfortunately, everyone in that list was decidedly not human.

Something that Luz had already realized apparently. “But what if I can’t in the human realm? I mean how long did I try back home...”

Luz knows that sometimes her mother might think otherwise. And she can’t blame her considering her own track record.

But she really did try. She had really tried to make friends.

It just never seemed to work.

“Then we’ll figure out something okay, kiddo? No one wants you to be alone. Not even your Mom, I’m pretty sure.”

Admittedly, Eda had never met the woman.

But if she really cared for Luz, Eda wanted to believe she would understand. 

“We’ll get through this together, kid. I promise.”

Chapter Text

Going back to Earth was a mistake.

Luz had known that from the beginning.

But for some reason she had let herself be lulled into thinking it would be okay.

Despite the fact that somehow in living on the Isles for a few months now, she had been happier and arguably safer, than she was back on Earth.

But she had wanted to see her mother’s grave, since it was pretty much the only connection she had to her.

So she may have snuck out the portal door when Eda and Raine weren’t looking. Since she knew neither of them would approve of this slight misadventure.

And while the fallout did scare her, she still wanted to go.

It should be relatively safe, right? After all, it wasn’t a major day back home. No holiday, no anniversary, she should be able to avoid her old guardian is what she told herself.

Fate had other plans.

Turns out one of her guardians had decided to visit today too.

Something she only found out after she had gotten there and had been pinned to the ground by her throat, being demanded to give answers about where she had been for months.

Not that she could answer with a hand around her throat. And if this kept up with how hard breathing was, there was a chance she might not be able to ever answer.

Thankfully, Eda decided at that moment to let her presence be known by shoving her staff in her ex guardian’s face, causing them to loosen their grip on Luz.

“Get away from my kid.” There’s a barely contained growl to Eda’s voice.

“She’s no one’s-”

At which point Raine let themselves be known. “I would highly recommend releasing her and not finishing that sentence before you say anything you might additionally regret.”

That finally got them to release her.

Even in another world apparently Eda and Raine were capable of scaring people.

She sees Raine kneel next to them even through her dancing vision. “Luz?”

“Raine?” Luz managed to get out, not even sure if she really was seeing them, blinking trying to clear her vision. “How-”

“Easy, don't push your throat. As for how we knew, Eda saw you go through the door and we followed to make sure nothing happened.”

Thank the Old Gods for that.

There’s a questioning look that Raine seems to understand as they say. “Eda thought it was best to encourage it rather than stop you.”

After all, it was her first real act of rebellion in the time they had known her.

Lot of good that did, Luz thought as she rubbed at her throat.

“Here let me see.” Raine says and Luz moves her hand away to let the witch see the damage. A spell or two later, there’s a frown but not much else. “Probably going to leave a bruise. We’ll treat it when we get home.”

Luz opens her mouth to say something but Raine stops her. “Don’t.”

“You can’t take her anywhere!”

Right, her ex guardian was still here.

“I would like to see you try and stop us.” There’s a distinct warning in Eda’s voice. One that sometimes was a prelude to a transformation.

“Calamity-” Raine says a clear warning in their voice.

“I know, I remember.”

“Good.” Raine said turning from their wife to the source of trouble. “Now, I would recommend you not to follow us because that will cause most regrets. The only reason we’re even ending this here is because we have other matters to attend to.”

“You kidnapped her.”

“Hard to kidnap someone who never wanted to leave.” Eda says with a snort.

“What?”

“Forget it. You screwed up your chance a long time ago. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we're leaving.”

Not a short while after that, Luz woke up again.

Familiar minty green eyes stared down at her with concern, seeming to finally notice that she was awake. “Luz?”

“O’Pa?” Luz asked, feeling still dazed from her nightmare. Having gone from the human realm back to the Owl House in the blink of an eye, only to be stopped when Raine gently pushes her back down into the nest. “What happened?”

“You’ve been really sick for a few days now.”

She still was actually and Raine wasn’t sure if the kid would remember this conversation.

Her fever was too high to be remembering things as they had quickly learned over the past few days.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Owlet. You can’t control this.”

The reminder was going to fail to get through though.

Even when not ill, it was hard to get Luz to understand. Sometimes Luz understood.Other times though, she didn’t. 

This was definitely going to fall the latter.

“But then what am I responsible for?”

Nothing. But that’s not the answer Luz wants.

“Don’t worry about it.”

It’s something they're used to and now wasn’t the time to be arguing about the want to always take responsibility for something that wasn’t her fault. By the Old Gods, Raine really hated the family that had Luz.

“Sleep. We can worry about it another time.”

“I don’t think she even realized we were in there with her.”

The last nightmare and hallucination had kept taking more concerning turns, so Eda had decided to use a spell to try and pull her out.

And well, it had worked, at least.

“Probably not.” Eda agreed with a frown. Luz hadn’t even seemed to notice Raine wasn’t the only one in the room.

And it really didn’t matter if she was aware that it was actually them, just that she realized she wasn’t alone.

“Did she get any worse from it?” 

“No. At least not from what I can tell.” Raine says, glancing at the paper next to Luz. “Still got a high fever.” 

Luz had caught something at Hexside, which for most witches might not be a problem.

However, Luz was still first and foremost a human.With a human immune system, which not for the first time, was causing them some problems.

“Maybe she shouldn’t go back after this is over with.” Eda grumbled. 

Raine frowned at her for a moment before starting to say, “But we agreed-”

“I know. That as long as the kid didn’t start falling for Belos’ bullshit propaganda, she could go. I know, I remember.” Eda said, cutting in. “I just don’t like it when it starts hurting the kid.”

And making their kid this sick was hurting them in her book.

“I know and neither do I. But there are things even fake witches can be useful for.”

Eda rubbed her forehead at the reminder. She knew that. After all, it was the whole reason they had reluctantly enrolled Luz into Hexside to begin with.

That didn’t mean she always liked it though.

“Besides we don’t know who exposed her.”

Not everyone at the school was in a coven after all. And Eda’s turning point usually came on how she viewed other witches when they joined the coven.

“Actually, it’s more likely that it wasn’t someone in a coven. You know that as well as I do.”

“Yeah, I know.”

It was just easy at times to blame the fake coven witches, even if they weren’t the likely culprit.

“Besides, may I remind you that I was a fake witch once.”

After all, Eda's definition of a fake witch was anyone who willingly subjugated themselves to the coven system.

And once upon a time that had been them.

“Yeah, I don’t like remembering that.”

“I know but we need to remember for a reason, Eda.” Raine said. “Not everyone has been open to the problems of the coven system. And I know that frustrates the both of us. However, they can be educated like myself. So let's try to leave them out of this for the time being?”

“I’ll try.”

Raine’s thoughts turn once Eda takes her leave to take care of a few things.

Them and Eda had known for a while that Luz had been abused back on Earth. Luz still refused to call it that.

It didn’t take much to realize it was that.

They knew it had been bad. 

The fact Luz was constantly apologizing over the littlest things, the fact Luz wasn’t used to having someone genuinely caring for her, and the fact that this had been going on for so long, that before them all Luz had known was pain. Since her mother had died when she was too young to remember, leaving her to be raised by a guardian, who obviously wanted Luz to be her mother all over again among other questionable things.

That was what they knew.

Which seemed like a lot.

However in reality, with how little Luz would talk about it, really, they knew the bare bones of her life before them.

However, the nightmares and the lack of a filter from the girl because she was so sick was the first real glimpse into her life before she had fallen through a rift between the worlds.

And by the Old Gods, did both of them hate it.

Luz is back on Earth again. Back in her old home

Because somehow in a life that had become filled with strange monsters and creatures and living with two of the most wanted witches in the land, her biggest fears were what could happen if Eda and Raine grew tired of her.

If they started to see her as a burden like the rest of her family had.

That she was some imposter filling in for someone else.

Though admittedly, this one was less of a dream and more of a memory she realized after a moment.

Luz remembered this day. She had been around ten.

It was the first time she had really tried to put her effort into anything. One of her teachers had suggested she enter an art contest after seeing her work.

Even had sponsored her.

Luz had been so excited at first.

Maybe the rest of the family would finally be proud of her. 

Until she remembered the number one rule of the house. If it was something Camila wouldn’t have done, then it was frowned upon for her to do it.

It didn’t matter if anyone else in the family could or wanted to do it. If it was them it was fine.

But since she was Camila’s daughter, different rules always applied.

“It’s a shame that they couldn’t be here.”

Luz doesn’t even remember the excuse she had given her teacher at the time. Something about a work conflict probably. That was her usual excuse when something like this happened.

Thankfully, they hadn’t pressed it. Or tried to call home, since going home hadn’t been exactly easy.

“Where were you?”

“At the art show? Remember, the one I told you about.”

There’s a grumble from them at that. And a clear, “Camila would never have done that.”

It takes every bit of will power for Luz to say she’s not Camila. And the only thing that stops her is knowing that reminding them of it will make things so much worse.

They want her to be her mother.

And when she reminds them that she’s not, things don’t go well.

Not that her not saying anything does much.

They’re still angry that she went. She knows that face too well by that point.

And staring at their angry faces, most of the courage she had, the same courage that had given into asking why they hadn’t come, seems to vanish beneath her.

“I’ll be good. I can be more like her. I promise.”

Luz isn’t even sure why she’s trying. Her words never work. They still get angry.

And the result is almost always the same.

However to her surprise, for once, the anger dissipates. They are still not pleased.

She’s not going to fool herself into thinking otherwise.

But at least they're not angry.

“Good. Remember you’re lucky to even be here.”

“I know.”

She got lucky.

She doesn’t need to remember that.

She didn’t need to be reminded that it felt like a constant mistake that she was walking around, while her mother was six feet under the ground.

Luz is a bit surprised when shortly thereafter she finds herself awake again, blinking up at the tall dark ceiling that was Eda’s room.

“You with us again, kiddo?”

“Eda?” Luz asked, testing her voice and unsure if she had heard the older witch.

Soon enough, she has Eda leaning over her though with a sad smile. “Hey, kiddo. How are you feeling?”

“This sucks.”

“Yeah, getting sick like this can be like that. But that reminds me,” Eda said, picking up something that was outside Luz’s field of vision before putting a potion bottle in front of the girl. “Drink.”

Luz made a slight face and earned a chuckle from Eda at it, but eventually downed the potion.

“I would ask you what it was about, but I don’t think now is the best time.”

Even if Luz wasn’t sick it was still hard pressed to get her to talk about her life before she had fallen through the rift months ago.

“Just an old memory.”

Honestly, that was probably more telling than anything.

“I’m sorry, Owlet.”

“For what?”

There’s a lot of answers there. For not noticing there was a kid in trouble when they did venture into Gravesfield being the top one.

Because considering her own history, it feels like she should have noticed it sooner.

But then again, Luz was a human. And they still were learning what wasn’t normal for humans and Luz had been living with them for a couple of months now.

So knowing what was not normal would have been harder.

Yet, she still feels like they should have known.

“For not being there sooner.”

Luz just cuddled up to the older witch more though and said, “I’ve got you and Raine now. So it’s okay.”

It really wasn’t. But the argument wasn’t going to go anywhere productive at this point.

So Eda lets it drop.

Luz fell asleep shortly after that leaving Eda to stew in her anger again that she had kept lidded when the girl was awake.

“You’re going out again?” Raine asks as she moves to take her leave from the nest.

They had left Luz and Eda alone when talking. Figuring if their wife needed them, she would give the signal, since she seemed to be handling it well.

Or at least from what they can tell from the conversation they did hear.

Eda nods. “You know I don’t handle either of you getting sick very well.”

Eda hated when the kid had nightmares.

Eda hated it when her Owlet got sick.

So the two combined made for some of the worst time possible in her book.

There was a reason why she was occasionally leaving to go Palismen hunting. And it was because if she stayed too long, she was probably going to start throwing things.

As it was, the Owl Beast was extremely agitated again so they needed to burn off the excess energy.

And preferably, that would have been doing something to the humans that had been in Luz’s life before.

Because she hated the kid had went through that. And so did the Owl Beast. And it made for a hard time keeping her temper in check when she really did need to be keeping it in check.

But they didn’t have names or faces to who Luz’s tormentors were. The memories were fuzzy. And outside of nightmares, they had never actually meant Luz’s former guardians.

And Raine’s continued point that they might need to go back to the human realm for something for Luz was in the back of her head.

They couldn’t just turn the beast out.

Probably to anyone outside her family, doing this didn’t look good. It cemented the idea that she did have a heart of stone. And she should be beside Luz while she struggled with this.

But she knew that sometimes it was better to be away.

No matter what it looked like to the rest of the Boiling Isles, she genuinely loved her family.

She just had a different way of handling it.

“I know you don’t. And I’m not judging. But I can’t go with you when Luz is sick. So-”

“I need to be more careful, I know. Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know it.”

Luz isn’t even surprised by the fact that she’s back in the human realm.

Really, she would have been more surprised if she wasn’t.

While the Boiling Isles had not always been maybe the kindest to her, there were far more fears and bad memories of her time living in the human realm.

So while nightmares of incidents in the Boiling Isles could happen, it was far more likely to be about the human realm.

It wasn’t until she had arrived here, for the first time, she had been allowed to explore what it meant to be Luz.

And not some carbon copy of her mother.

However, for years she had been expected to be someone that she only had small faint traces of memories of before she had died. 

And a lot of stories from her family.

Mainly because her mother was constantly the measure of which she was measured to. Whether or not she wanted it.

And that was what was happening that particular afternoon.

It’s report card day.

Or as Luz used to call it, some of the worst days on Earth.

It wasn’t nearly as bad now that she was on the Isles. Eda and Raine didn’t care as much. Or at least, not to the extent her guardians on Earth used to, which was a whole other level of caring.

It always starts the same way.

Her coming home with the card in hand. Only to get yelled at by them because she wasn’t measuring up to her mother.

And even mounting the slightest defense got the same comment.

“Shut up, or you’ll wake the neighbors.”

Not that it really matters. Even if anyone could hear her, no one would come.

Besides, she wasn’t the one making the most noise to begin with.

“Now I’ll ask you again, what were you thinking ? You know better than to bring this back.”

Well, how was she supposed to stop that?

Science and math weren’t her best areas, no matter how hard she tried.

That’s what she wants to say.

Instead she says. “ I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying hard enough. I’ll do better next time.”

She would sleep less. Study more. Just do anything to make things better.

Though some part of her wonders what she can do at this point.

She’s done everything she can do except for asking for help.

And well, help was pretty much a forbidden word for her in the house. So that was out of the question.

“I don’t even know why we put up with you.”

“I’m sorry. I promise I’ll be better.”

She knows she can do better. She has to do better.

Otherwise, nothing good will come of her being here to begin with.

And then what was the point of being here to begin with?

The next minute she’s awake again and it takes more willpower than she should have at the moment not to flinch away at someone touching her forehead, before her vision clears enough to realize she recognizes a bit the figure leaning over her.

“Raine?” Luz’s voice croaks for a moment, not sure in her fever induced haze she isn’t seeing anything.

“Right here, Owlet.” She hears Raine’s voice before she sees their hand move across her field of vision.

“Oh, good, we’re home.” Luz let out a breath in realization.

At least here she wasn’t constantly trying to be a ghost in more than one sense of the word.

“Dreamed you were back in the human realm?” Raine asked, pushing back the girl’s sweaty bangs and readjusting the cool cloth on her forehead.

Though, it really wasn’t much of a question really.

“Uhmhm. Sorry.”

“Your dreams are not your fault, Owlet.”

It’s nice to hear that. Especially after that dream.

She’s still not used to having all the things blamed on her. It’s not what she’s used to being told. And some part of her still doubts it, while another part at the same time wants to believe Raine. 

“You promise?”

“Promise.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“It’s nothing new.”

“My ears are still open regardless.”

Luz closed her eyes for a moment, debating whether to answer the question. She knows she doesn’t have to. If she isn’t up to it, Raine won’t push.

But she still feels a need too. “Report card coming home.”

That was probably more telling than it should have been.

Raine still remembered when they had first enrolled Luz at Hexside. How she had first assumed that they wanted her to go into either potions or bard magic like themselves.

And just the sheer confusion when they had made it clear they didn’t have that expectation.

Eda might have been maybe a little disappointed when Luz had shied away from potions, once she had realized the expectations weren’t there.

Though, that hadn’t lasted very long once they had realized why she had shied away from it to begin with.It had reminded her too much of human science. The same subject she had been pushed into back on Earth.

The whole thing was another level of the trauma that neither of them had really expected and had been working through.

“I’m so sorry, Owlet.”

Luz buried herself further into Raine, already starting to drift off again as she muttered. “Not your fault.”

No, but it still felt like someone should hold responsibility for what had happened. Since, apparently, her former guardian wouldn’t at this rate. 

Raine had honestly wanted to ask more about the nightmares and what was going on in them but bit their tongue and kept the questions at bay for the moment.

Talking about what Luz was feeling at this point would be an exercise in futility.

Luz was going to be too sick to remember much of any of this.

So for the meantime, they were going to just have to remember what they were hearing and address it later once she wasn’t extremely ill.

Because honestly, what they were hearing was too concerning to just let go on a whim.

Titan, why had someone raised Luz like this?

Luz’s fever finally broke a day or two later, much to Raine and Eda’s relief.

“What happened?” Luz asks while slowly sipping some tea Raine had brewed for her.

She has flashes of memories over the past few days. Some remnants of a nightmare or two. And them being by her side the whole time whenever she actually woke up.

But not enough to really string together what had happened.

“You’ve been really sick. One of your false witches-”

“Eda.” Raine cuts in before the rant can go even further, feeling the beginning of one of their partners rants coming on.

Now was not the time to be going off on that no matter how much Eda would have liked too.

Besides, this was more likely on some teen’s parents, than one of Luz’s classmates.

Not that it really made it any better. Just meant the anger was slightly misplaced.

Eda grumbles a bit before muttering a sorry.

“Someone came to school sick and gave it you, Owlet.” Raine said, turning their attention to Luz.

“Oh.” Luz said, blinking, not sure how to respond. “How bad was it?”

Raine pauses for a moment, thinking of some of the sleepless nights of the past week. Of alternating with Eda when she wasn’t out hunting palisman or wondering if they should chance their luck in the human world. 

And thanking whatever Old Gods were listening that hadn’t been necessary when the girl’s fever had finally broken.

“I’m sorry.”

Apparently, they had paused too long in responding to Luz’s question.

And it looked like the cycle of Luz needing to take responsibility was showing itself again, since, really, who could control when they got sick?

All the preventative measures in the world, and sometimes things fell flat.

Eda wrapped her arms around Luz for a moment giving her a squeeze. “Hey, none of that. You can’t control getting sick.”

“That’s not what they said.”

There is no question needed to be asked as to who ‘they’ are.

“Look at me. It took me a very long time to realize this myself. But nothing you’ve done has warranted that happening, okay, Owlet?”

“But I’m the reason she died.”

That was something she had never been allowed to forget. Camlia had died so Luz could live.

And quite clearly, a lot of people thought that was a mistake.

And Luz had assumed the same. Because when so many people say the same thing it must be true, right?

However, being with Eda and Raine had her second guessing that.

Maybe her being here wasn’t such a big mistake in the world after all.

“Even if that’s true.” Which they had no way of knowing. Their only source was from Luz’s family members, since Luz herself had been too young to even remember her mother. “Even if she gave her life to let you live, I doubt she would want you to blame yourself, Owlet.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Maybe not, but I at least know it as well as the family you have that keep saying it's your fault she died.”

That at least got Luz to go quiet for a moment. Though who knew how well it had sunk in.

Something to figure out another time.

Luz had dozed off again by the time Raine and Eda’s conversation started drifting back to what they had found out today. 

While the revelation of the abuse had long since been suspected. Having it confirmed was...well,  it wasn’t going over well to say the least.

Raine knew their wife was itching to go through the door and find Luz’s family.

And probably the only thing keeping them from doing that was Luz still needed  both of them here and not rampaging around Earth for undisclosed amounts of time.

Otherwise, she would probably panic when she woke up next.

Because the nightmares and hallucinations were far from over.

They were decreasing, at least. As Luz’s fever started coming down, they dropped in number.

However, they weren’t gone entirely.

And really, even when the fever was gone the nightmares still wouldn't be. And they both knew that.

But at least, it wouldn’t be so constant.

However, their presence had Eda feeling sullen about certain other things. 

“You saw it first despite me being the one that lived through it.”

“Only because I saw it too much reflected on you growing up.” Raine said softly.

That just made Eda feel a bit worse. By the Old Gods, how hadn’t she realized Luz’s own situation sooner?

“Calamity, don’t beat yourself up over this.”

“I should have known though.”

“It’s been hard for her to open up. You know that. Remember what happened when she first got here?”

Luz had been so worried about upsetting them on just about everything to the point that she had initially tried to hide some of her night terrors until an injury opening up forced a reality check for all three of them.

In other words, Luz tended to be closed off in fear of telling them anything would make her a burden.

And while they were making progress to make Luz realize that was not the case, that she was wonderful and not a burden and the closest they viewed as a daughter, it was also a bit slow going.

Years of abuse and neglect took time to wade through. And they knew it wouldn’t go away fully. Just get slightly better.

“I would like to forget that, to be honest.”

“So would I but it makes my point. She’s still not so certain around us. Though we’ve made a lot of progress, we still have a ways to go. And for now, we can only respond to what we know.” 

Eda lets out an annoyed huff at that reminder. 

Raine rubs their hand across her wife’s arm in a reassuring way. “Either way she’s safe here and doesn't have to worry about going back home.”

Outside of the nightmares anyway.

But they could be there for her after those at least.

And hopefully, someday the nightmares wouldn’t haunt Luz so much anymore.

Chapter Text

No one is entirely sure how the mess gets started at first.

The day had started normally at least. Raine and Eda going over missions over breakfast. Luz getting ready for class, while tease fighting with King over something.

Typical morning routine for the residents of the Owl House.

That doesn’t last long though, as Luz gets taken on the way to school by a couple of overly lucky Coven Guards.

And everything goes haywire almost immediately after that.

Lilith isn’t there when Luz is brought in. She’s wrapping up something with the latest mission when she finally hears about the capture and makes a beeline for the throne room.

The door’s not locked.

That’s not a good sign.

Belos only left it unlocked when he wanted to make an example of someone or something. Otherwise, punishments tended to be very private.

So the fact that the door opened at first push was very concerning.

Lilith finds herself frozen on the spot in a mix of horror and shock from what she does find.

It’s not the first time she’s walked in on someone being tortured by Belos. She’s had enough experience with that to keep the explicit from slipping out that she knows wants too.

And that really is the only thing holding her back.

She knows why he brought Luz here. Him wanting Eda’s door is not exactly a secret. However, where the human lands in this is far more confusing to herself.

Knowing her sister even after all these years, this was bound to cause more problems than less.

Plus, this was a child. This doesn’t feel right. Relation to Eda or not. Hostage or not. There had to be a better way to do this than subjecting a child to torture.

There had to be a better way to get the door from Eda.

She wants to step in and stop it.

But what can she do to stop it?

Lilith isn’t sure how long between the human’s capture and her being put in a cell passes.

However, the whole thing has her on edge.

It’s not the first time she’s seen someone pulled through the rack by Belos. If you were higher up in the coven and angered him, it would happen. 

It was a risk that came with the job.

However, those were always adults who had signed themselves over and pledged themselves to the coven. Or at the very least, wild witches. 

This, this felt different.

Some part of her tries to argue otherwise. The girl had chosen to associate with her sister and her associates.

But another part of her remembers being that age. And having no one to turn to. Remembering being blamed for her parents or getting involved in their messes.

And part of her wonders if this is such a fair comparison to make.

It’s the first time she’s found herself questioning anything related to Belos. 

Lilith grabs her extra potions that she keeps for when she knows Belos is in a bad mood. She knows the girl is going to need it after the past day and heads for the dungeons.

Luz is surprisingly cautious at first, with not downing the potions at first glance and taking a quick smell of them before she touches either of them. 

But then again, she was being raised by her sister. Maybe she should have expected this.

Smart.

Though, it's admittedly concerning if she knew what a pain reliever should smell like. That raised some new concerns.

What had happened in this girl’s life before now?

Had Eda been-no that didn’t make any sense. Eda wouldn’t do that right? 

She wouldn’t stoop that low.

There must be something else going on that she wasn’t aware of yet.

“Thank you.” Luz said, finally breaking the silence.

“I know what that feels like. Least I could do was help.”

“Yeah, I always gathered it was probably not fun since O’Pa sometimes-” Luz cuts off there for a second, obviously realizing she had nearly made a mistake. “Anyways, why are you even helping me? Aren’t you on his side.”

Yeah, that she wasn’t so sure anymore, she has to silently admit.

“I was.” No need to deny it. They both knew it. “However, the last day has led me to question more than a few things that I haven’t been able to resolve. However, in the meantime, I thought this might help.”

“Thank you. It does. Though won’t this get you in trouble with Belos?”

“I can always make up a story for the Emperor.” Lilith said with a shrug.

Well she could if he didn’t find out about it before she could craft the narrative in her favor.

Then that would cause a lot of problems.

“That’s good.”

“Anything else I can help with at the moment?”

“Not really, I just want to go home.”

“Well I may be able to persuade the Emperor-”

“I don’t want to go back to Earth.” Luz says, shaking her head, cutting Lilith off.

“Really? Why not?” Lilith asked in shock.

Some parts of old theories that she had as to why Luz was with her sister were going up in smoke as she asked and leaving new questions in its wake.

Luz shifts uncomfortably, seeming to hesitate for a moment before answering Lilith’s question. Looking away from the older witch completely. “It’s just...well, I don’t have anyone back there. Mom and O’Pa are the first family I’ve had.”

“You really don’t have a family back home?” Lilith repeats trying to make sure she heard right.

“Yeah, I didn’t have anyone.” Luz says before adding. “Well not anymore, at least. My mama died when I was so young I can barely remember her.” Luz reluctantly admitted. “My caretaker...they only cared if they had to.”

Lilith doesn’t miss the use of a non familiar term with Luz’s other family member but lets it slide for now.

That was painfully familiar.

“I’m sorry.”

“Not like you're them.”

“No, but I know what that feels like. Did Eda ever tell you what our childhoods were like?”

“Not really. I got the impression it wasn’t happy but beyond that...”

“Not much.”

“Would you like to hear a bit about it now?”

Maybe if she kept talking, Lilith could figure out this confusing position she found herself in after all.

“Yeah, sure. I would love to hear about it.”

Lilith is left feeling even more uncertain after the conversation.

The girl had eventually fallen asleep. And against maybe her better judgement since she had no clue where things were going, she had left another pain reliever for the girl when she knew she would wake up.

Even if she was still confused about everything else, this could help some right?

It gave her some time to process the conversation at least as she felt herself turning the entire thing over and over in her head.

Particularly she kept going back to one sentence Luz had said.

“I don’t have anyone back there. Mom and O’Pa are the first family I’ve had.”

She remembers that feeling. Way back when she had joined the coven before she had risen through the ranks.

And the sheer terror of having to go home again.

Belos had said everything he did was for the greater good of the Isles.

But...how could sending a child back to a family that hated them really be for the Titan’s good?

There’s not a lot she understands about the situation. Why Belos decided to involve her beyond her relation to Eda being high up on that list. 

Or how the girl can do magic if the rumors were true.

But if she was a kind of witchling and belonged to the Isles, shouldn’t she be left out of this?

Wouldn’t that be doing the opposite of what they were doing?

She knows what she needs to do.

She just hopes they won’t punt her halfway across the Isles at first sight.

Eda is angry and comes out blasting as soon as she sees Lilith.

All things that Lilith was fully expecting when she went looking for the Owl House. Honestly, she was just relieved she could find it.

Her sister was very adept at hiding when she wanted to. So, most likely  if she could find her, that was intentional.

Which made seeking her out not the smartest decision in hindsight.

But she doesn’t realize that until later.

“Why the hell should we listen?” Eda snarled at her while Lilith was trying to communicate what was going on. And currently failing.

“Because I know where they are keeping her. And I can tell you how to get to her. But we can’t exactly daddle.”

That did cause Eda to finally falter in confusion. “...What?”

Eda’s not sure what caused her sister to seemingly make this about face.

But she is glad she did decide to take a chance and listen when the instructions true to her word leads her right to Luz’s cell.

“Oh, I’m going to bash some heads in.” Eda muttered under her breath as she got her first real look at Luz in a few days.

Lily had warned her that Belos hadn’t been kind to her. And Eda suspects that was part of the snapping point for her sister.

However, hearing it and seeing it weren’t exactly the same thing.

Someone’s head was going to roll for this. That much she was sure about.

“Mom?” There’s an uncertain voice from the cell that tells her Luz is awake. It's followed by a more relieved and happy. “Mom!”

“Shush, Owlet. I’m happy to see you too. But we need to stay quiet, we don't want to accidentally alert the guards.”

Well, anymore than they already had.

“Oh, right.”

“How are you feeling, kiddo?”

“Tired, sore. His magic hurts, Mom.”

That wasn’t entirely a surprise. Raine had talked about that before in the same tone.

“How did you even find me?”

“A certain raven decided to intervene and tell us where to find you.”

“Oh.” Luz blinks once in confusion before it clicks. “ Oh.”

“You talked to her, I’m guessing?”

“Yeah, after Belos first brought me in. We talked for a while and she gave me some food and a pain potion. I think she was confused about what to do. I didn’t know she was going to go to you though.”

Yes, living in a cult for thirty years would do that, Eda supposed.

Honestly, she felt still a bit lost as to why Luz coming into the picture changed things. However, that was something to figure out at a later point.

After this was all over with.

“Good on you, kid, for talking some sense into my sister.”

Eda still wasn’t sure what had clicked then where it hadn’t before. And part of her thinks she won’t like the explanation.

But it doesn’t matter. She’s got Luz back.

And maybe when this is over, after they’ve had some very long conversations and talks about where things were going, she’ll have her sister back as well.

They manage to get out undetected.

Thankfully.

The kid’s not exactly in walking shape. Despite Lilith’s attempts to at least keep an eye on her and help.

And it probably kept Luz from being in worse shape, honestly, considering she remembered what Raine was first like when they escaped the Bard Coven.

Things probably would be better if they had brought Raine.

And Raine had wanted to go with them.

But they were afraid that two people were far more likely to attract attention and make it difficult to get Luz out of there.

Thankfully, Eda had gotten out of there with minimal trouble.

This was far from the first time she had dealt with Belos’ magic and the aftermath of it.

It was just the first time she had dealt with it on a literal child. Which, by the Old Gods, made her blood want to boil.

Even if Luz wasn’t her child by blood, what he had done wasn’t right.

“Do you think it will leave any scars like yours?” Luz asked curiously as Raine applied some of the ointment on the marks.

“No. It wasn’t applied to the same effect as mine were.” Thank the Old Gods. “So it shouldn’t be permanent. Though you might be sporting a unique look for a few days at least.”

“I mean, I don’t mind. Now I look a bit like you O’Pa.”

Yeah, this was one piece of themselves they would rather do without seeing reflected on someone they cared about. Though it was a bit too late for that unfortunately. 

Their warring conscience must have been obvious to Luz since she nervously adds. “Unless it bothers you that I look like you, O'Pa.”

Raine ruffles her hair slightly though. “It does but probably not for the reason you're worried about. It bothers me because Belos caused it. Not because I am not happy to have you look a bit like me, okay?”

“Oh.”

“Look, if you really want to share a bit of this, maybe when you're healed, we can look at getting a similar tattoo.”

Barring Eda’s permission of course and it not being as extensive as their own scars.

And even then Raine was a bit reluctant.

“Really?”

“Of course. But let's finish getting you patched up. So anything like this is by choice and not by Belos, okay?”

A couple of hours later sees them back in the nest, with Luz sleeping away between the two of them.

It’s the first time in days that things have felt right. 

Funny how a couple of months ago, adopting a kid would have been the last thing on either of their minds. And here they were.

Having adopted an abused human child that they had just to go into the enemy’s territory to rescue.

Sometimes their lives were really that wild.

Eda was currently steaming with anger, not particularly wanting to sit around before making a move back against Belos.

He hurt her kid and she wanted him to pay.

Though the how part she had yet to figure out.

Raine was trying to talk some sense into their wife at the moment. “I am as well but if we challenge him right now at our current strength...”

“Then it won’t go well.” Eda finished reluctantly.

They were strong. But there was a reason they hadn’t gone after Belos before. And why Eda had been sneaky when rescuing Luz.

Not that it made her or the Beast like any better.

Well, just add it to the list of things that they wanted to pay them back for when it was all over.

“Exactly.”

Eda ran a hand through the sleeping girl’s hair before letting out a sigh. “I just hate that the kid got hurt and we can’t do anything we can do about it.”

“I do as well but they do say that revenge is a dish best served cold.”

“I know, but I feel like this has been sitting under an ice spell for years.”

Raine hummed in agreement there. This had been going on for a while after all. “He will get what’s coming to him eventually. They all will. We just need some more patience.”

Some more Palisman. Some more investigating.

And eventually, they should have enough to finally topple Belos and pay him back for what happened.

“So we’re in agreement then?”

Raine looked up at Eda, having missed what she had said prior. “Hm?”

“Oh, I was saying that the kid's going to be crashing in here with us until further notice.”

“Of course.”

That wouldn’t be the only lasting effect. 

There was a lot to go through after what had happened. Lilith’s questioning. Helping the kid heal. What the heck they were going to do with Hexside. Because Eda was far less inclined to let her go back after another incident.

But, for now, it only mattered that they had Luz back.

They can figure out everything else later.

Belos lashes out at everyone after Luz is rescued.

Lilith had been fully expecting this. Letting a key prisoner escape was going to raise his ire at anyone and everyone.

Including herself.

But Lilith finds herself caring less than she did before about the consequences.

Something had broken. And she wasn’t entirely sure if she wanted it put back together.

Everyone had a line in the sand. She had always tried to argue otherwise. That she would put everything on the line for her position as head of the Emperor’s Coven.

However, it was becoming apparent she may have been lying to herself for a long time.

Since, apparently, hers was this one.

Lilith’s disappearance is weighing on Eda even as she tries to hide it.

It had been almost a week since she had rescued Luz. And she hadn’t heard any word from her sister.

And she was growing more worried, even as Raine had pointed out she might not be able to come back immediately.

She knew there would be consequences. She’s no fool. Belos would cause problems with Luz’s disappearance. There was no doubt about it.

And she is trying not to think of the worst case scenario.

“I’m sure she’s fine.” Raine soothed.

It was a contrast to a few days ago, where worrying about Lilith meant worrying that Lilith was going to show up with a battalion.

Now, it was more concerned with what Belos had done in the wake of Luz’s escape than anything else.

“At the very least, if she had died, it would be all over the news. Or one of the informants would have told us.”

Eda lets out a small breath at that, realizing Raine had a point. “I just would feel better if I could actually see her.”

Funny how a couple of days had changed a lot of things.

It’s not the first time their lives have changed quickly. Eda was especially used to it at this point. It was how Luz came into her life and Raine back into it in a way.

Though, it never really failed to impress her how quickly things could change at a moment’s notice at times.

“Well, looks like we don’t have to wait much longer since it looks like she’s coming in.”

Lilith settles on the couch as Raine goes to double check Luz was busy or sleeping at the very least, while Eda offers Lilith a potion that Lilith eyes with some uncertainty.

“It’s just a pain reliever, Lily. Not sure if it will be as effective as it is with Raine.” Eda said with a shrug. “But I know it helps Raine when their scars flare up.”

Oh, she hadn’t considered that, Lilith realized, eyeing the potion for a moment more. In the coven where you really couldn’t get close to anyone, an offered potion bottle could just as much be a weapon as something to help.

Well, if Eda was out to kill her, she would probably have done it sooner she figured.

“I gotta admit, you helping us wasn’t what I was expecting.” Eda said, after a moment, “What even caused this?”

Lilith glances away, unsure how to answer. Since part of her isn’t entirely sure how or why something had snapped when it had. So she just asks instead, “How is she doing?”

“It’s not been easy. She may not have gotten the full exposure like you and Raine did. But still…”

“It hurt.”

“Yeah. We just assumed the worst and started her on a similar regiment to Raine’s.” Eda gets a distant look in her eyes. “Hopefully, we got it started soon enough to stop anything permanent.”

“That’s good.” Lilith said, letting a small silence lapse between the two of them before finally saying. “It reminded me of us.”

“Hm?”

“You asked me before why I changed my mind. Why I decided to help. Luz mentioned before she came to live with you, she didn’t really have anyone to call family. And something about the way she said it made me think of what it was like for us growing up.”

Eda deflated a bit at that. Though she doesn’t look surprised. “Yeah, I had that same realization a while back.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask. But how bad-”

“Worse in a number of ways.”

Lilith blanched at that thought. Their childhood had been far from easy, so to think another child had been put in that situation and it was somehow worse?! “How?”

“We at least had each other growing up. The kid had no one to go to before. She was so self reliant when we took her in, that she almost bled to death on us at one point.”

“Titan.”

That was painfully familiar and almost sounded like something she would do.

Actually, she was fairly sure she had done it before at some point in the coven.

“But she’s doing better?”

“Yeah, it’s a slow process. There’s a lot of years of damage to undo. But we’re getting there.”

“Good. I’m glad she has someone that cares.”

At least, Luz had been able to get out of the situation before it was too late, unlike themselves.

Lilith isn’t sure when she drifted off on the couch. Though when she wakes up in the early afternoon, it’s just her and Raine, who slipped her another pain potion. 

“Thank you.”

“Not a problem. How are you feeling?”

“Sore. Though this helps. Thank you.”

“Like I said, it's not a problem. I still remember what that feels like.” Heck, they still felt the after effects from their week-long stay in it.

Lilith winced. Right, Raine had been cocooned in one of those right before they had defected from the coven.

“How long were you in the-”

“Four days." Lilith said. "I would have come by sooner but I was worried if I ventured too far from the castle, Belos would get even more suspicious.”

“Makes sense. Though you were starting to worry Eda.”

Lilith looked away at that. “Between Belos and what had happened, I wasn’t sure if showing up immediately after was a smart idea.”

Not after all the fighting they had done over the years.

Raine let out a sigh. “Look, neither of us are happy about what happened with Luz. But regardless, Eda’s not one to hold grudges against families as I’ve learned.”

Well, as far as it meant having someone turn against Belos. Eda tended not to be the pickiest when it came to that.

And considering this was the one family member that Eda was anywhere close to being in good relations with, not that it's saying much considering what her parents were like, Raine is more than sure with time they can work it all out eventually.

“That’s not what exactly lines up with the stories in the castle.”

Though Lilith was starting to question some of those stories now, even just having been in the Owl House for the past couple of hours.

“Yeah, you're going to have a lot to unlearn.” Raine said with a wince, noticing the look that crossed Lilith’s face at that statement. “Don’t feel too bad about it though. I had to do the same when I first started living with Eda.”

It was a fairly common issue with defecters actually.

“Where did Eda go anyway?”

“She needed to meet up with another witch after you fell asleep. So she left me on watch duty.”

Right, even with her sort of defecting, the trust wasn’t going to rebuild itself overnight.

And if she stuck to her plans, it was going to take even longer to probably rebuild it. Not that she blamed Eda for needing time.

“Just how many witches does she have under her anyway?”

It’s not meant to be a malicious question. It’s more born out of genuine curiosity. Lilith knows her sister has been on her crusade for a while now.

However, this is the first time she realized that her sister seems to have managed to garner some kind of success.

A frown crossed Raine’s face at the question. “You know we can’t name how many.”

“Oh, right, silly me.” Just because she had started to turn, that didn’t mean she would be privalted to information involving her sister’s rebellion. 

She was going to need to remember that.

Though there was enough that this a regularly brewed elixir was maybe an answer in itself. 

Actually, that brought up another question she had wondered since Raine had exited the Bard Coven. One she had always wondered about but never had the chance to ask.

For obvious reasons.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, I can't guarantee I will answer. But you can ask none the less.”

“Why did you leave when you did?”

“...you remember how he encased me in a cocoon right before I left?”

“...yes.” Lilith said before pailing as something hit for the first time. “Wait, did he actually keep you in that for a week?”

“One week exactly. You seem surprised?”

“I didn’t think he would hold to his word.”

The cocoon punishment was bad enough even for a day or two. To trap someone in there for a week...

Lilith couldn’t exactly blame the other witch for finally reaching their breaking point. She wasn’t even entirely sure if she could hold out after a full week in that thing.

Belos had apparently been trying to make it into an extremely painful lesson that, for whatever reason, had backfired on him.

“This is Belos we’re talking about. When has he ever shied away from punishment?”

“True. Though that must have been horrible.”

The longest she had been encompassed was a couple of days. But that was mainly because she was head of his coven. So he couldn’t afford to keep her locked away for that long.

“It wasn’t easy.” Raine agreed. “But I can’t complain entirely.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s what led me back to Eda. Being stuck in there...it gave me a lot of time to self reflect. About what I really wanted in my life. And I decided that it wasn’t serving Belos.”

That made sense. Everyone had a breaking point, hers included.

“I must say, that was a bold move considering what he does to traitors.”

“Oh, trust me, I fully expected to be dead by the week’s end. Thankfully, Eda was willing to let me back into her life. And things moved on from there.”

“You make it sound so simple.”

Raine let out a snort at that. “Hah, it was far from simple. That first week was rough. Almost died at one point from trying to remove the seal.” Raine said, pulling back their sleeve where Lilith could now see an old square scar on their forearm where the coven brand should have been.

“But it all worked out in the end. So I can’t complain too much.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what? Not helping sooner?” Raine asked, raising an eyebrow. “You and I both know that you trying to help probably wouldn’t have helped. Being head of covens doesn’t come with an easy job.”

Lilith winced that much was true. But still. “I feel like I should have done something before now.”

Raine just waves off the concern though. “Neither of us were in a position to be helping one another. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”

At least they were moving to fix things now.

By the time Eda had returned, Lilith was ready to talk about the curse. Or at least, that’s what she kept telling herself.

She knew she needed to tell Eda the truth if she was really going to try and start anew with her sister. Everything needed to be on the table.

No more secrets.

It was time to finally tell her about the curse.

“I want to make amends.” Lilith explained.

“I figured as much considering the last few days.” Eda said, sipping on some apple blood. “By the way, thanks again for leading us to the kid.”

She still wasn’t happy that had happened. But she wasn’t going to deny that without Lilith, who knew what would have happened.

Who knew if they would have gotten the kid back?

“Where is she anyway?”

“Sleeping. She got really bad night terrors after we first took her in. After what happened recently, it’s not that far out there that they might come back. So we try to let her sleep when she can.”

Especially since one of the things Belos had been threatening to do was take her back to Earth. Something that was a commonly well known fear of Luz's. 

It was going to be a rough few days in the house, that’s for certain.

“I wanted to ask you something. You said you weren’t the one to grab her. Do you know who did?”

Lilith shook her head. “No, I was away taking care of something else when she was brought in.”

“Figures. Well, it was worth a shot.”

“We’ll find them one way or another.” Raine reassured Eda. 

Lilith bit back a question about what would happen next. It was best to probably not know. 

This was going to be an adjustment that much was for certain.

“So anyway, I’m guessing you didn’t want to talk just about the kid. So what’s going on?” 

“There’s something I feel both of you should know before I start spying for Belos. Something I should have told you years ago. But I could never get myself to tell you.”

There's a moment of tense silence.

“I know who cursed you.”

Eda’s not sure if she is surprised or not.

On one hand, it made sense. There were only a few people who could have cursed her that night. On the other hand, she had tried to dismiss the idea before.

Because after everything that they had been through together, it was hard to hear.

And that wasn’t even starting on her uncertainty on how to feel about finding out who had finally cursed her. A question that had haunted her for a long time before she had managed to make peace with the Beast.

Since they wouldn’t be here if the curse hadn’t happened.

In some ways, it was a strange blessing in disguise.

“Why even tell us now?” Raine asks.

Lilith isn’t sure how to answer, since there’s a lot of ways to answer the question. 

She had thought she could find a cure for the curse. She thought maybe there were other alternatives. The uncertainty of what could happen after had somewhat frightened her.

“I just felt now was the best time.”

And it was also when she finally had the most courage.

“Look, I’m not going to say I’m confused on how to feel right now. I’m glad to finally know what happened. But even with everything else, it still hurts.”

It still hurts to know it had come from her sister. And not one of their parents, like some part of her had started to assume a long time ago.

Even if she realizes that their parents were probably the driving factor for this happening in the first place.

Eda doesn’t miss the worried look on her sister’s face at that. “Hey, don’t look so down. Just because it's going to be a bit rough for a while, for multiple reasons, doesn’t mean we won’t get this figured out. We just need some time, that's all, Lily.”

It wasn’t going to be easy.

But Eda finally had Lilith back.

And she didn’t want to let her go now.

Chapter Text

Things seemed different here. Or at least, it felt like that to Luz.

Back home, when her guardian used to find out about the injuries they didn’t cause, she would be in a lot of trouble.

Over time she had learned to patch herself up on her own.

And while Raine and Eda seemed to care, and not mind in the way her guardian had, the worry was still there.

She knows how most adults hated her nightmares. The slightest aggravation or difference from her mother, made it all the more worse to be around. 

And she felt like this might be overstepping her bounds to ask for help, considering what had happened before.

Even if Raine said to come to them if things showed a sign of getting worse, it’s not a habit she can shake easily.

So out of force of habit, she goes back to what she usually does with adults.

Conceal when the problems start.

Night terrors had been a problem for as long as she could remember.

Most of the time she doesn’t remember them. They’re gone by the morning.

Though she had gotten used to hearing about them from her guardian, who absolutely hated them. Because sometimes she accidentally awakens other people from them.

So because of that, she had learned how to keep it from other people.

Otherwise, it would cause more problems.

Though the issue then became otherwise. Just because she wasn’t always talking and waking other parts, didn’t mean the other parts of the night terror went away. Which wasn’t new she had some things get worse from her night terrors.

Not anything she hadn’t handled before.

However, she also hadn’t had an injury quite like this before.

And soon, the two clash rather quickly.

Her old injury from the other night ends up telling on her rather fast. 

As apparently, night terrors and this particular wound don’t exactly go together as she found out the hard way, when Raine noticed that the injury was reopened again.

“You really didn’t realize it was bleeding again?” Raine asks, a clear trace of doubt in their tone as they are checking the bandages and reapplying them for Luz.

Only to have noticed the new problem.

While it was healing nicely for the most part, some of it was taking time and some of it had reopened as a result.

Which raised the earlier question.

Luz just shrugged though and went with her normal excuse. “I’ve got a bit of a high pain tolerance.”

It was easier to explain then, ‘Hey, I’m used to taking care of myself because no one back home cared,’ to her at least.

“Really?”

“Yeah, you should hear some of the stories I’ve been through. Some of them are probably absurd. But they’re real.”

Oh, if Raine’s speculations were right, then they could very much believe them. 

Speaking of speculations, maybe they could get Luz to talk a bit more about her life in the human world. To see if some of their speculations were actually founded.

“Why don’t you tell me one while I fix this?”

Luz hesitated for a moment though.“I mean, it’s probably nothing compared to the stories you and Eda must have.”

That was probably true, Raine internally agreed. But that wasn’t the point.

Since if they were remotely similar, then there were even graver concerns on the horizon.

“Regardless, I would like to hear one if you’re up to it.” Raine notices Luz hesitating at that. “Is there something wrong?”

“It’s just usually- when I talk about it, I also get in trouble.”

Okay, definitely was liking less and less of the inklings of Luz’s home life they were getting. 

Their frustration must have been showing because Luz said rather quickly. “I’m sorry, I can tell you if you-”

Raine held a hand to cut her off though. “It’s alright. I’m not mad at you.”

More at the humans.

And starting to question just how much of a trouble magnet she seemed to have. 

There was not being liked. And then there was this.

And well, Raine would be the first to admit they didn’t know much about humans. And they were going to have to learn as they went now that Luz was here. As some of the old theories had already been thrown out the window in the past day.

However, if witches and humans were similar enough, something was very wrong here.

Raine had to really quickly real their temper at the moment. Old Gods give them strength to keep them from going to Gravesfield and doing something they might end up regretting.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t make you. I was just concerned about it.”

Luz chewed on her lips for a moment, seeming to hesitate before finally saying, “I don’t always sleep well. It’s not really bad. But well, I guess last night aggravated it?”

Oh, well, that was easy enough to handle, at least.

“Luz, if you’re having trouble sleeping, please tell one of us we can get you a potion to help.”

“It’s usually not that bad. Just last night I was tossing a bit more than normal and I guess it aggravated it.”

Well, that was part of the concern.

“Luz, it’s not just how restful your sleep is that I’m worried about. But how much your sleeping could be affecting how this heals.”

“Oh.”

“Just please, if they get bad again, come get one of us for a potion? Eda and I are not going to judge you for a nightmare.”

Not when they had their fair share of them themselves.

Luz isn’t sure what got her up for her sleep at first. Other than feeling uncomfortable and probably the remnants of a fading terror.

Though once she’s in the bathroom and realizes the bandage is leaking, something tells her that’s why it opened.

Not that it made much of a difference when it happened in her panic. That only gets worse when her own attempts to patch it up until the morning were currently failing.

She really had messed it up, apparently.

And thus started an internal war in her mind. She probably needed help. But she couldn’t wake up Eda and Raine. But Raine had asked to come to them for help-

Only to pause as a familiar sentence flashed through her mind in a growl.

‘ You woke me up in the middle of the night for this .’

She had always gotten in trouble for needing help. No matter what kind of help it was. 

It was partly why she had learned to patch herself up on her own so many times. 

Raine and Eda seemed different. However, she had only been here for a couple of days. What was going to actually happen if she needed help?

Would they react the same way?

If she had done something like this before, she would have been in so much trouble with her guardian.

And part of her is still heavily inclined to still see if she can patch it up herself until the morning. And then ask for Raine’s help because she’s worried about that happening again. She just needed to find the right supplies.

Raine might not be pleased. But that should make them less angry than if she woke them up in the middle of the night.

Of course, finding where Raine kept their stuff was a bit more of a difficult task. But there were only so many places in the house. So if she looked long enough, she would find it, right?

Though with her head spinning, and looking down at the injury again, which felt like the blood spot had gotten bigger since she had last looked at it, had her reconsidering her whole plan at the moment.

Either way, staying in the bathroom wasn’t going to help. What she needed was probably kept elsewhere.

However, as she started to stand, she felt dizzy.

Shoot, she really was in trouble this time wasn’t she?

There was no doubt in her mind any longer. She needed them.

‘Please don’t get mad.’ Part of her internally pleaded with the two older witches before she even tried to move into the hall, even as she knew it was a futile hope.

Eda’s not sure what raises her from her sleep, at first. Her and the Owl Beast being aligned with one another means sometimes her senses will pick up on things most witches won’t.

However, that doesn’t mean it will always make much sense.

“Eda?” Raine mumbles, apparently noticing her having sat up.

“I thought I heard something.” Eda said, reaching towards her mental roommate, hoping they might have a better idea of what had woken her.

Since their senses were heightened beyond her own.

Thankfully, it doesn’t take long for her to get a response. Because that’s enough to cause a concern from a single word.

Blood .

Are you sure?

Don’t question me, witch.

Well, that was a positive and concerning considering she pretty much knew who the blood had to be coming from.

The question was why was she bleeding?

“I’ll be right back, Rainestorm. I’m going to go check on the kid.”

That woke up Raine a bit more. “Is something wrong?”

“I’m not sure, the beast says they smell blood. But with how heightened their senses are...”

“That could be anything.”

The heightened senses had caused a few problems in the past after all.

“If something’s wrong-”

“I’ll come get you, I know.”

Eda’s not sure what she expected to find as a source of the noise or smell. But a bleeding out Luz in the hallway?

That was not remotely on the list.

Eda feels herself almost pale at the sight, considering what had just happened the other day. That is too much blood for her comfort. “Luz?”

That gets Luz to look up at her as the girl’s attention had been more on the bleeding than anything else, and judging by the girl’s complexion change that movement was a mistake. “Eda?”

“Raine! Get the medical kit!” Eda yelled back towards the bedroom, knowing they would hear her before turning her attention to Luz. “Kid, what happened.”

“Nightmare.”

Nightmare? This was all caused by a nightmare? What the heck was the kid dreaming about then?

For now Eda tried to shove the questions out of her mind. Since the kid was going to pass out on her if she wasn’t careful.

Shit, she didn’t know enough about humans to know if she should be worried. But she was going to go with this was probably not a good idea.

Eda lightly tapped the girl’s cheek, not enough to hurt but just enough to keep her alert until Raine joined them. “Hey, hey. Look at me, I need you to stay awake okay?”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” There’s a pause for a second and when Luz doesn’t immediately respond but Eda does. “Hey, look at me. You have got nothing to apologize for.”

“Yeah, I do. I always have got to always apologize for something.”

By the Old Gods, some people were testing her temper tonight apparently.

“Okay, we can talk about this later. For now, I just want you to stay awake until Raine gets here. Can you do that?”

“I can try.”

“Okay, and I need you to try really hard. I know sleep must be really tempting right now. But I just need you to stay awake until Raine joins us.”

Speaking of Raine, why did it feel like it was taking them longer than normal to get here?

“ What happened ?”

Never mind, there was Raine.

“I don’t know. I found her like this. She mentioned something about a nightmare. But it didn’t make much sense.”

Raine slipped a hand over the girl’s wrist for a moment before drawing another spell circle with their free hand, muttering under their breath as their frown deepened.

Raine closed their eyes for a moment, muttering. “I told you to come to me if you were having problems.”

Maybe they shouldn’t have been shocked with the little track record they have so far. But it still wasn’t great to find out that the situation had gotten worse.

“I’m sorry.” Raine’s eyes shoot up in surprise towards the girl’s face, not having realized she was still awake at the moment.

“It’s-” Raine starts before deciding to correct themself. “Don’t worry about it. Just sit still and we’ll take care of it.”

“Okay.” Luz’s eyes slipped close again but didn’t seem to fall asleep just yet, leaving Raine to turn to Eda.

“This isn’t good. Do we still have blood replenishers?”

“Yeah, of course. I always keep a couple in stock, you know that.”

This wasn’t exactly their first healer emergency in the past few years. Running a rebellion meant you had to be careful at times. And keep things in stock most witches wouldn’t think about.

“I know, I was just making sure. I’m going to move her to our room while you grab those.”

They were really going to have to get information on human biology after this.

“Raine?”

Raine looks up to see Luz looking at them through half lidded eyes. “Hm?”

“Is it really that bad?”

Guess she hadn’t been quiet enough.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get you patched up good as new.” Raine soothes, running a hand through the girl’s hair, not missing the lack of flinch this time. 

There’s a lingering question in their mind though. Why hadn’t she gotten them to begin with when the wound had first opened?

It’s early morning before Raine feels like they can take a deep breath again.

It’s been a long last few hours. And it’s been confusing and scary. Because neither of them really know how to treat a human for blood loss. 

They know how to handle witches. But that wasn’t necessarily a recipe for success.

However, it was all they knew. So they had their own experience with witches.

For now, she seemed stable at least. The girl’s pulse was stronger.

Though, with neither of them having an aptitude towards healing magic, it was hard to tell for certain. Diagnosis scans could only tell so much. And well, Raine had been a bard specialist before leaving the covens.

And Eda was better at causing destruction than healing. Always had been.

Eda had managed to get some sleep after starting up a fresh batch of potions, which was better then they were. Though, their partner was equally on edge about this.

“You know, I can watch her for a bit. You need to sleep a bit, Rainestorm.”

“I’m fine.”

“ Raine. ”

“I can’t go to sleep yet.”

“Raine-”

“Not yet.”

“...fine. But if you’re still up when I come back, then we’re switching off duties. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Eda’s not surprised when she comes back that Raine’s still up.

Raine will push themselves to their limits for someone they care about. They both will. They had done it countless times in the past without question.

And despite only having the kid for a couple of days, somehow they had grown attached to her, which meant the same habits were surfacing.

So she has to put her foot down at this point.

“You need to sleep, Rainestorm.”

“No, I don't. I’m fine.”

They could definitely go for another day before they got in trouble. They had done this before. They just needed to be alert until Luz woke up.

“You’re not going to be any good if you magically drain yourself, Rainey. I can watch the kid for a few hours. It’s not my first rodeo.”

After all, it had been her that nursed Raine back to health after they left the coven.

Just because Raine was the more adept healer of the two of them, didn’t mean Eda didn’t know how to handle it.

“...fine. But if something changes-”

“I’ll wake you up, I promise.”

And when Raine is off sleeping is when Luz finally starts to wake up again. 

Eda has her nose in some journals she had borrowed from a library. So she almost misses Luz returning to the waking world.

Well, until the girl tries to sit up anyway. 

“Hey, whoa. No sitting up yet.”

While doing something as simple as that shouldn’t aggravate the situation, it was best not to chance it. 

Besides, the kid was going to be dealing with the side effects of blood loss. Something they knew was not pretty. And that could cause further issues if they weren’t careful.

“Eda?”

“The one and only. How are you feeling, kiddo?”

“I feel-”

Eda cuts in before she can finish her sentence though, already suspecting where it was going. “Honest answer please.”

“Kinda weak at the moment.”

“Yeah, blood loss can do that. Which reminds me now that you’re awake, I need you to drink this.” Eda says, handing over a potion bottle Raine had left with specific instructions to take when she woke up.

And over the years if she had learned anything, it was best to not fight Raine on instructions when it came to injuries.

Not that she really had a protest with the kid.

“But-”

“Kid, trust me, you don’t want to see what Raine’s like when they’re upset. And not taking your meds will definitely get that side of them showing.”

Luz flinched back at that just as Eda realized that was really the wrong thing to say.

“Sorry, that came out wrong. They won’t hurt you. Just might be disappointed.”

Luz finally took the potion, at least muttering. “What else is new?”

Disappointing adults seem to be her defining characteristic growing up. Just because she was in a new realm didn’t mean that necessarily would change.

Eda gives her a long calculating look at that but doesn’t say anything for the moment.

The first time around wasn’t much time for conversation. Kid was still sleepy and out of it, to Eda’s lack of surprise. 

So the second time she's awake, Eda gets the first real chance to ask why she hadn’t got them. Or try to anyway.

“You spooked both of us rather well, kid. I haven’t seen Raine that worried in a while.”

“...sorry.”

“Just try not to do it again. Though I gotta ask why are you so against just talking with us, kid?”

Well, she knew why she was against it.

It had taken herself a long time to realize it was okay to ask others for help. Longer than most would find acceptable.

But a lot had happened in her lifetime.

However, that was still a whole different reason than the kid.

Or at least, that’s what she assumed.

“What’s got you so spooked, kid?” Eda adds softly when she still doesn’t get a response.

“You don’t know what growing up with them was like.”

“Your family?”

“Umhm.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

There’s a pause and then a head shake no at that.

“Alright, that’s fine. Do you mind if I talk for a second instead?”

Luz shrugs in response, which Eda takes to be a yes. 

“Did Raine tell you about how I used to have popularity issues when we were still in school?”

“Yeah, briefly, why?”

“Well, for one reason or another that kind of went back to our parents. Since well, to be honest, our parents honestly never should have been parents.”

Part of the reason she had been a bit reluctant to take on kids of her own had been because of the worry of her falling into the same habit.

And that concern still lingered.

But at the same time, there was something about looking at Luz, and she can’t imagine becoming her parents.

She can’t imagine putting someone else through that.

“Before I decided to become the next Titan, I developed a bit of a reputation.”

“What kind?”

“Well, when your parents won’t look after you or your sister, you have to kinda get creative to make sure you both end up okay. So I may have a stint as a con artist.”

Some people would probably argue she still was. But not to her anymore.

“Anyways, I bring it up because I know that sometimes talking to adults isn’t easy. I had to create my own system because most didn’t care growing up. And I just wanted to, I guess, try and say I do care about whatever’s got you spooked.”

Well that had been a rambling mood.

Luz seems to consider that for a moment and mulling over her words before saying. “I used to get in trouble if I got hurt. Didn’t matter if I was at fault or not. If I showed up with even a bruise, I was going to get a lecture.” Well, if it didn’t come from them anyway. “Rather than getting asked if I was okay."

And that was if they were in a good mood.

“So you learned to hide because injuries meant trouble.”

Luz nodded at that.

Well that was definitely an understandable explanation, even if Eda hated it.

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to scare the both of you. It’s just what I'm used to. I’ve never not been able to handle it.”

Well, okay, that was a lie. There had been a couple of incidents she hadn’t had control of.

However, now was not the time to go into that.

“Some guardians really shouldn’t be guardians.” Eda muttered.

Luz hummedin agreement at that, already starting to drift off again.

“Go ahead and sleep, kid. You’re safe here.”

“Thanks, Eda.”

When Luz wakes up next time it isn’t Eda watching over her but Raine, which was a first since the other witch had been sleeping during their previous conversations.

“Where’s Eda?”

“She had to meet with someone.”

“Why?”

“New Titan dealings.”

It's calm for a moment before Raine unleashes the storm.

“Do you know how much you scared the both of us? I was worried that you were going to bleed out before we could fix it.”

It had been a while that Raine had felt the level of sheer panic. That someone they cared about might die before they could heal them.

Eda, while maybe not the most cautious witch, very rarely came out of fights with such level of injuries that they had to worry about that.

But desperately trying to patch up a dying child had brought a lot of those emotions back to the surface.

And now that Raine had a chance, they needed answers.

“I’m sorry I got hurt.”

Raine stared for a moment, briefly confused, before realizing why Luz thought they were angry versus why they actually were.

By the Old Gods, there was something messed up here.

Raine reached out slowly to cup the girl's face, ignoring the slight flich at first, before rubbing a thumb across her cheek as the girl slightly leaned into the touch.

Raine’s tone is soft when they speak again. “Luz, I was angry because I was worried. Not because you got hurt.”

Where in the Old Gods had that idea even come from?

“Still, I’m used to taking care of things myself. I should have been okay.”

“Child, what part possesses you to try and take care of yourself up to the point of nearly dying?!”

Okay, so maybe they were still angry.

Luz’s glance away is an answer in itself, and a horrifying thought occurs to Raine in the meantime. 

“Luz, has something like this happened before?”

The silence in response is a deafening answer of its own.

Now that the girl was at least regaining consciousness, Raine allowed themselves to relax a little.

They were at least out of the danger zone from what they could tell at a glance.

“You didn’t mention it was that bad.” Eda said quietly, having walked in on the last part of the conversation between Luz and Raine.

Sure, she was no fool. She knew it hadn’t looked good. However, finding out their spouse thought that they could have lost Luz hadn’t really sunk in until now.

Raine closed their eyes for a moment, still remembering how the girl’s pulse had felt under their fingers. The moment that really had sunk in that the girl was in trouble.

“I was already panicking. I didn't need both of us panicking.”

“Fair.” Eda agrees. “She’ll be okay though, right?”

By the Old Gods, when had the kid managed to get this much under her own skin? And this quickly nonetheless?

“We’ll have to keep a close eye on her in the coming week. But yes, she should be fine.”

“We’re going to have to be more careful in the future with this.”

“No disagreement there.”

It’s another day before Eda and Raine let Luz up and about really.

On one hand, she understands it. Raine had pretty clearly gotten across that it was a bad situation. And they’re just making sure she doesn’t make it worse.

However, it’s such a sharp contrast to the treatment back home she is used to. Where, as soon as the doctor’s orders ended, she was being pushed around.

It confuses her.

Back home, if she was lucky, people would leave her alone as long as the note lasted. But that wasn’t always the case.

Eda and Raine cared. And it was a foreign concept in her head. 

But she wasn’t going to deny she actually did enjoy it.

Things were a bit weird here. A bit strange. Especially when compared to Gravesfield.

And yet somehow, someway, it felt less scary than back home.

Maybe somehow, at some point, she could find a way to call this place home.

But only if the others wanted it first.

Chapter Text

Eda and Raine were well aware of the fact that something was messed up in Luz’s old home. Luz didn’t tend to talk about it. But the occasional slips were telling on their own.

That combined with Eda having grown up in a similar house. Once Luz started to let her guard down a bit, she started to spot the familiar signs.

However, it took a while for it to really show how bad it was.

It was a couple of weeks after Lilith had unofficially defected.

Luz was on her way to recovery. And the vines were starting to fade. As far as Raine could tell, it shouldn’t have any lasting marks.

Lilith had brought by some old weapons from the castle that no one would miss and things had started to spiral from there.

One particular blade catches their attention that Eda’s holding at the moment. The serrated edges sticking out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the blades.

“Oh, those can leave some nasty damage and some scars if you're not careful.”

She hadn’t meant to say it out loud. Though the dead silence that follows tells her she definitely did accidentally say it out loud. 

“And you know how?” Lilith’s voice is very tense.

Shoot, shoot, shoot she shouldn’t have said that.

No one was supposed to know how bad it actually got. That was one of the biggest rules of her life on Earth. Since if someone found out how bad it had got…

Maybe if she laughed off, no one would believe she had a first hand experience?

“Oh, it’s just something that I’ve heard.”

After all, back home, there were a bunch of rules she had to follow. But there was one especially big one. 

“No one can know how broken you are or else no one will want you.”

And if they found out about this then they definitely were going to know.

And things were going to come crumbling down again.

Some part of her realizes she has to get out of here before it's too late. So she bolts for the door only to be met with a familiar blue bubble.

And then the panic really sets in.

Meanwhile, to the three adults in the room, Luz was on the brink of having a panic attack and had slightly frozen for a second.

Raine’s the first to snap out of their shock over the sequence of events, realizing whatever was happening, bubbling in this particular experience wasn’t going to help solve the issue. 

“Lilith, can you release her?”

Judging by the amount of panic in Luz’s expression, the girl wasn’t going to be running off anywhere anytime soon.

Lilith quietly raises her staff, undoing the bubble and plopping the girl on the floor. No one moves for a second. Though Raine can see Luz mouthing the word "no" to herself.

They move slowly and deliberately to put themselves in front of Luz. Though she still doesn’t seem to realize they’re in front of her.

“Luz?”

The only response they get is a small flinch.

“What just happened?” Eda asks from behind them.

“I’m not sure.” Raine said, lips pursing further. “Owlet, can you please let us in on what’s going through that head of yours?”

Hoping the use of a nickname might get a reaction out of her.

It doesn’t. Luz just keeps the dead ahead stare she’s had on for a while.

"Is she with us?" Eda asks.

“No, she doesn’t even seem to realize it’s me.” Raine noticed with a frown. “The Owl Beast she might recognize though.”

It wasn’t a sure fire technique. 

However, considering how different they were from the rest of them, that might be enough to get Luz to snap out of what fear she was experiencing.

“Right, give me some space.” Eda says, backing up a bit and allowing the Owl Beast to take over, who trots back up to the two of them. Giving Luz a slight bump with their head, which is followed by a whine and a huff.

There’s a blink but Luz doesn’t seem to fully respond. So Raine takes one of Luz’s hands and puts it in the beast's fur, who more than happily leans into the touch.

That does the trick, thankfully, as Luz blinks once, finally seeming to realize who was in front of her. “Eda?”

Another whine though this one is more in affirmation to the question than worried.

“Oh, I just thought-” Luz cuts off. And Raine has a feeling that she’s thinking about whatever had started about this.

Raine gives her other hand a reassuring squeeze. “It’s okay, you’re safe with us.”

Eventually, they move to the nest.

Luz isn’t panicking anymore at the very least. But whatever got started involving the knife has left her out of it. 

However, having her guardians there seems to at least stop another possible panic attack.

And is probably the only reason no one is currently not on the Boiling Isles.

It’s taking Raine a lot of willpower at the moment not to disappear into the human realm at first chance and start demanding answers for just what in the name of the Old Gods had happened to cause this trauma.

Though, for the moment, that’s not exactly an option for them.

The door always disappeared when things started to come out of the woodwork. So Raine knew for the time being going to look for the door was fruitless. 

It wouldn’t show up again until things had calmed down. 

Besides, Luz needed them here and now. Even if their anger wanted them somewhere else. 

Even if they want to go after the people who had first nearly killed their daughter and then told her that she would get in more trouble if the truth got out.

Vengeance has a strong pull. And it's hard to ignore. 

But they will ignore it.

For now at least.

It’s a while longer before Luz is up to talking again.

And when she does it's still very much dodging the subject matter.

“I thought you guys might have already known. With you being witches and all that.” 

It’s a weak excuse. Luz knows they aren’t omniscient. But it was one of the ones she had given herself for not telling them what being home really was like.

“Oh, we knew it was bad. But not how bad.” Eda says, with a barely suppressed growl.

Raine was currently trying not to kick themselves for not running a deeper scan earlier. Any doubt about what had been going on would have been eliminated by that.

“We were trying to give you space to talk.” Raine added. “My experience with Eda said that forcing it would make it worse.”

“I just never had anyone to really talk to about it before.”

Most of the world had never cared what had happened. Not really anyway. 

Why Gravesfield’s social outcast had ended up in the hospital again wasn’t something most had cared about. They might try to act like they had.

But in her experience, they really didn’t.

Eda and Raine were the first adults who had asked and genuinely meant it.

Though that was just part of it.

Another part was just remembering it was hard.

There were a few times she had been genuinely scared. Not often because a lot of the times these incidents snuck up on her.

But the fear that had flooded her when that had happened...

Eda presses a kiss onto her head. “It’s okay. You're safe here and you don’t have to talk about it more if you don’t want to.”

Luz had dreaded going to sleep afterwards. Usually after a day like today, it meant having to go back through what the event was about.

And if she was lucky,that meant not having to relive the old memory of her guardian completely losing it and ending up in the hospital with a knife sticking out of her chest.

Tonight however, fate seemed to take a bit of a kinder side.

Luz’s mother had died when she was young. Young enough that she only had a couple of memories of her. And mostly knew what she looked like from the photos her guardian had used to keep.

Enough to recognize the figure in front of her who meets her in the realm of dreams. “Mom?”

“Hello, my little light.”

“But how-”

“Sometimes on the Isles, the barrier between the living and the dead wanes enough to allow for both sides to talk.”

Oh.

Confusion continues to swell in her chest. After everything she had heard growing up, this doesn’t make sense. “And you wanted to talk to me?”

A look crosses Camila’s face at that. A mix of sorrow and anger. “Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry. But they’ve been lying to you for a long time about a lot of things.”

“But why?”

“I’m not sure. I have my own speculation and if we have time we can talk about it. But there’s other things I want to discuss first.”

Speaking with her mother is cathartic. 

There are some things she had known or at least suspected for a while. Especially when it came to her former Earth guardian. 

But hearing it confirmed was vindicating.

“I am ashamed to admit they even managed to fool me.” Camila said with a tut. “If I had known how they would have actually behaved once you were in their care-”

“Everyone seemed to think you would approve.”

But then again, most didn’t know what actually happened behind closed doors.

A dark look passed across Camila’s face. “Yes and if anyone tries to say that to my face they will be feeling La Chancla from the afterlife.” Camila said, swearing slightly in Spanish before continuing. “I wanted what was best for you. And clearly they weren’t fit for the job. I just found out too late. And for that I can only apologize.”

“Thank you.”

Even if it's too late to undo the damage, a genuine apology helps in a way.

It helps to know that her mother had never intended for this to happen. That they had been able to fool everyone. 

“So about Eda and Raine…” A question that had lingered in her mind from the beginning was how did her mother actually feel about the whole thing. 

About her finding family in a pair of witches.

Luz knew what her guardian would have said. But that was now well established as a lie.

Camila gave a small smile at that. “I have to admit that you being raised by a pair of witches is...unexpected. But they clearly love you. And at the end of the day that’s what I care about.”

That was certainly a weight off her shoulders.

“You know when I started to call them...that. It was never about replacing you, right?”

Though it was a bit hard to replace someone you only had a few bare memories of, it was a fear she had hung onto for a long time.

What if they were right about her mother?

“I know. You know, if you do decide to tell them about all that happened, they aren’t going to be angry at you.”

Yeah, Luz was starting to slowly realize that.

“I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know if I can tell them everything.”

“Then just tell them what you can. That should be enough for them.”

When Luz wakes up again, she’s in the nest nestled between Eda and Raine. Eda is asleep on her left, the snores are a dead give away to that, while Raine is wide awake on their other side.

“Bad dream?” Raine asks, pushing some stray hair out of her face.

“No, actually it was good.”

Even if part of her questioned if it was real, there was something that had been cathartic about it, with finally putting to rest so many questions she had about her mother. 

“That’s good. How are you doing?”

“Still tired.”

“Makes sense. I’m guessing what happened before wasn’t easy to bring up.”

“Nope.”

Part of Raine wants to apologize but knows it would be a bit hollow for the moment, since you can’t really apologize for something you didn’t know was a problem to begin with.

“It was a couple of months before I got here.”

“Hm?”

“The incident with the knife.”

“Ah, so it was fresh then?”

Luz nodded.

“Well, I can understand why that would make it difficult.”

Fresh memories of threatening to be killed is never easy.

“It wasn’t just that.” Luz said, messing with her hands for a moment. “It wasn’t the first time they had threatened me with a knife.”

She had just been able to get away or get it back before.

So when she had ended up on the kitchen floor, with the knife sticking out of her chest and her guardian stumbling off elsewhere, she didn't know what to do.

She doesn’t even remember how she had managed to get to the living room. Let alone make an emergency phone call.

The next thing she remembers is waking up in the hospital room two days later.

This was the one thing she had never really tried to prepare for. Because she had always assumed that she could keep ahead of it.

Until she hadn’t.

“Luz?” Raine’s voice cuts through the fog of memories. “Owlet?”

“It’s fine.” Luz says, trying to ignore her shaking or the start of tears in her eyes.

This was months ago. She should be over it. Why was she getting this worked up now of all times?

 “I’m okay.”

Raine hums slightly pressing her own head against their chest. “No, you’re not.”

There is something relieving about it. About being basically told she doesn’t have to pretend that she’s over what had happened.

That she doesn’t have to be over nearly dying before her life starts to matter to anyone. 

“No, I’m not.”

After a while, Luz drifts off again and leaves Raine to try and figure out what to do with the growing situation. 

Eventually, the door shows up again. And they leave Eda to handle Luz, while they decide to do some research in the human realm.

Eda’s not been awake very long when Lilith pokes her head in, hesitating for a moment.

Eda spots and motions her in. “You can come in. Just keep your voice down. The kid’s asleep.”

“Noted. I think I got everything put away appropriately. But your system is slightly confusing.”

“Thanks again for that. Normally would have done it myself. But, well-” Eda motions down to the sleeping form of Luz.

“Yes, I can see you're preoccupied.” Lilith said, slightly amused. It was still strange to see her sister who had once sworn she wouldn’t have kids in this position. Though it drops away pretty quickly. “How is she doing?”

“Better. I think. It’s hard to tell.”

A frown crosses Liliths face. “Did you guys seriously not know that had happened before?”

“Yeah, the kid hasn’t exactly been telling us everything yet.”

Let alone about nearly being stabbed, apparently.

Lilith frowns at that. “I thought with how long she’s been with you that would be less of an issue.”

“Yes, well, it still is when you apparently get told that talking about it will make no one want you. Then it is bound to cause complications.”

Lilith’s eyebrow raises at that. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. I wish I was joking.”

“And I thought our parents were messed up.”

“Right? Sometimes the details she lets slip makes them sound like saints.”

Lilith’s eyebrows went further. “Really?”

“Let’s just say this isn’t the first death scare detail she’s let slip.”

“...noted.” Lilith muttered before asking. “Where did Raine go?”

“To the human realm.” Lilith raises an eyebrow. “Yeah, yeah, I know. But they said it wasn’t about getting back at them, yet. This is something about getting their hands on her records rather than going the long route.”

“And you didn’t go with them?”

“Kid needs one of us around. And they’re less likely to accidentally blow something up.”

A small silence descends on them before Lilith says. “I must apologize.” 

Eda looks at them in confusion. “For what?”

“Bringing the knives by and causing all of this.”

“Hm. We’re all a bit at fault here. We know the kid has some weird trauma. And should have realized this might have brought it up. Need to definitely be more careful with bringing weapons in in the future, however.”

“Noted.”

Eda’s not sure when Raine returns exactly. She had shut the window curtains a while back. And Luz, for the most part, had been asleep.

The whole incident wiped the girl out. 

But when they do return, they’re not empty handed.

“Is that-?”

“Yes. It wasn’t exactly easy. Had to teach myself a few things and probably messed up several things in the process, since things have changed since our last trip.” Raine said, placing a folder down in front of Eda. “But I was able to get my hands on it.”

Eventually. 

“And more than likely it’s not everything.”

Most likely, Luz had only been taken to the hospital in extreme issues. So not everything was going to be logged.

But it was a start at least.

“So we’re going to still have to rely on the kid to tell us things then.”

“Yes.”

“Well, that’s frustrating.”

Not because she didn’t trust Luz to tell them the truth but because it would be easier to just know now.

Since the kid, for whatever reason, was still scared to tell them what had happened behind closed doors even after living with them for a couple of months.

Raine’s still up flipping through the folder when Luz rises from her sleep herself.

“O’Pa?”

“Sorry, Owlet, I didn't mean to wake you.” Raine said, reaching over to turn off the light.

Probably needed to take a break from that file anyway.

“Hm. You didn’t wake me up, a dream did.”

“Ah. Was it about what happened earlier?”

“Kinda?” Luz says. “I mean, it was part of it. But it wasn’t the only thing.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Luz glances down and away from them before she says. “I know you and Mom want answers. I get that.” She takes a breath before continuing. “But I don’t think I’m ready to talk about how broken I am. Not yet, anyway.”

Raine frowns at the term being used. “Hey. What they did doesn’t make you broken. It makes them broken, okay?”

“Okay.”

Raine doesn’t miss the doubt in her tone or gaze. And isn’t surprised. Before Eda had started on her conquest and after she had gotten out of her parents’ house, they had to work through similar issues from what had happened.

Though they hate to see it surfacing again in someone they love, it’s not something they aren’t familiar with. 

They’re going to have a lot to work through.

But with time and patience they will get through it.

Raine doesn’t find the incident in question for a bit. There’s more to the folder than they anticipated.

They knew the knife scare wasn't the only brush with death she had that had landed her extensively in the hospital, but it was still hard to process to say the least. 

And it had them really questioning how it took her arriving in their care for someone to actually look after Luz.

It was a miracle that they had managed to get this far really.

The initial report isn’t much. Talks about a deep injury to the girl’s abdomen that had penetrated using a sharp weapon of some sorts.

But the location and the type...

By the Old Gods they really had gotten lucky.

They could have very easily lost Luz before they had even had a chance to meet her.

  Raine's sleep isn’t peaceful.

Reading the file before trying to go to sleep was a clear mistake, since it led to their own mind running wild about what could have happened.

Luz laying on the kitchen floor. The knife sticking out of her chest. Body unmoving as the still unknown guardian stumbled around her, not even seeming to realize that their ward is dead.

And when they do sober up, a funeral of one, since up until the Isles no one had wanted Luz.

Back on the Isles time passes mostly the same. Though Raine doesn’t miss that it’s still the two of them.

Since without Luz, there is no Hooty or King. 

And some of it is based on what most likely did happen.

Luz sitting in the hospital. Alone and unnoticed. And trying to hide the fact that she obviously doesn’t want to go home.

Since who knows what could happen next time, or if she’ll be that lucky. 

Considering the next time she nearly dies is the incident with the bullies and her apparent danger magnet status, Raine's just grateful nothing had repeated itself until then.

Thankfully, Raine wakes up after that. They’re not sure how much more of that they could have taken.

Raine sets the folder on fire. While the information it had given them was necessary and had made them understand some things, the nightmares aren’t worth it.

They’re not sure if they’ll ever be able to shake the image of Luz's body lying on the floor, cold and unliving out of their head.

They had been so close to losing one of the best things in their life.

And they hadn’t even known it had happened. 

“O’Pa?” Luz's voice breaks into their thoughts.

“Hey, Owlet, did I wake you?”

“Just the smell. What are you burning?”

“Just some old forgotten files, don't worry about it.”

“Oh.” There’s a small pause before Luz speaks again. “Hey, O’Pa?”

“Hm?”

“Could we maybe put some of the salve on?”

Raine frowned slightly. The pain from the vines should be going away by this point. “Of course, but can you tell me where you need it? The vine pain areas should be going away and if it isn’t, I’m concerned.”

“It’s, um, not that.”

“Then where-“ Raine cuts off as they put two and two together. “Is it where the knife scar is?”

“Yeah. Please don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad.” Well, not at her at least. “I just wish you had said something sooner.”

Luz had probably been in pain for months and they hadn’t been none the wiser. 

“But that would mean talking about it.”

“I-” Raine starts in protest only to realize she was probably right. And just going by this afternoon, this wasn’t an easy topic for Luz. 

Raine notices a slight wince from Luz before she says. “Besides, it only really gets bad before Boiling Storms.”

That really wasn’t much more reassuring. There had been more than a few of those since she had come to live with them.

“Just hang tight. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Seeing the jagged scar, as it turns out, is much worse than reading about it. Raine tries not to think about what it means as they rub the salve in.

Luz has been quiet almost the entire time. Outside of an occasional whimper when they brush too close to a nastier spot of the scar. But she doesn’t ask them to stop.

“You know, I tried to ask for help after this?” Luz finally says.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I was actually scared. I didn’t even remember calling for help, ya know. The last thing I remembered was lying on the floor with it in my chest. And then I’m in the hospital. I only found out later I somehow made it to a phone.”

How she hadn’t passed out from the pain and blood loss was a question in itself that she never would have an answer to. Since none of them remembered anything after the knife had entered her chest.

Heck, they hadn’t even remembered that. Only she did.

It doesn’t take much to realize why Luz had asked for help. “You were afraid going home would mean it could happen again.”

It could very well have. And the next time may not have been so lucky. They were briefly reminded of the Luz in their dreams but quickly shoved the thought to the side.

“Terrified. But when I tried to explain that, no one believed me. It was always me against them. And they always won.”

That seemed to be how the world worked, much to Raine’s anger with now having their wife and then daughter experience this.

Especially after their child nearly got killed because of it.

May the Old Gods have mercy on their soul if they ever track them down. Because them and Eda certainly wouldn’t.

“I’m so sorry, little one.” 

“Not like you did anything.”

And maybe that was where part of their problem came from. Why hadn’t anyone done anything?

They know Eda kicks herself for not seeing something. But they were together for a while before Luz came into their care, they should have noticed.

“You know, it wasn’t even the last time they threatened me? A couple of weeks before I landed here, they did it again and I was afraid-”

Luz’s voice cuts off at that point, too shaky to continue. Not that Raine needs her to, to know where it was going.

I was afraid it might be real this time. I was afraid I might not wake up.

Raine pulls her into a tight embrace. “It’s okay. You’re safe now with us. And I’m pretty sure Belos would win before Eda and I would let you back near them.”

Raine can feel the self contained sobs and pulls her tighter. “It’s okay, little one, if you want to let it out.”

That’s all for the half hunched sobs to turn into full on sobs. 

It’s a while before Luz calms down some, though she doesn’t release her grip on them. 

“Thank you.”

“Of course.” Raine says, running a hand through her hair. “Feeling better?”

“Hm. Much.” Luz says, a sleepy tone taking on. “No one really let me cry when it happened before.”

Raine closes their eyes for a second. That was what they had feared and they hated being right.

They hated they had correctly known that Luz hadn’t been allowed to be afraid of what nearly had happened. Because most likely, the adults around her hadn’t wanted to face what was going on.

“I am so sorry, little one.”

“Not your fault.”

“I know, but it shouldn’t have happened to you. Other adults shouldn’t act that way.”

Luz shouldn’t have had to curb her feelings because of other adults in the room.

And yet, here they were.

With them holding a girl, who had only now months later been allowed to actually express how scared she had been over nearly being killed by the person that was supposed to be watching her.

“Though if you need to let it out again, just let Eda or I know.” Raine finally manages. “In the meantime, try to get some sleep. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

“You burned the file?” Eda asks the next morning over coffee, not entirely believing what she was hearing at first.

All that trouble to find out what Luz’s issues were only to burn it all up?

It seemed counter productive.

“Because if I looked at it again, I would have probably destroyed something. If I nearly lost my temper over it, then you definitely would have.”

Eda lets out a low whistle. “It was that bad.”

“Worse.” Raine admitted. “And that was just what I could find. And from that alone...”

The fact that if the knife had been a few more inches in, then they wouldn’t be having this conversation was going to continue to haunt them. That was for certain.

“I have no clue how she survived for as long as she did.”

“It really does feel like some miracle from the Old Gods.” Raine agreed. “Do you know she tried to ask for help after that happened?”

“What?!”

“Yes.”

“And they said no?”

“More particularly she said they ignored her, which apparently almost led to an almost repeat incident.”

Eda can’t contain the growl in her voice. “I’m guessing the door has conveniently vanished as well?”

“I haven’t checked. But yes, most likely.”

“Of course. Because it’s never there when I want it.”

What she wouldn’t give to at least scream at some of these people now.

“I don’t understand how she can be so okay with what happened.”

“Because I’ve got you guys now.” Luz’s voice interrupts anything that Raine was about to say.