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Eda sighed as she pushed open the door.
The Owl House was as lively as ever. Hooty and Lilith poured over a book on the couch, talking excitedly. They were happy to finally hang out again after weeks of only talking through letters. Gwendolyn could be found in the kitchen, making remarks about Eda's shopping as she went through the refrigerator. Luz sat on the floor, hugging King in her lap as they listened to Dell telling a story from the couch.
Eda leaned back against the wall, studying the group. She let her shoulders slump and ran a hand through her hair, picking out a few knots.
"Did you really carve palismen?!" Luz asked. Dell nodded.
"I did. I made many fine palismen in my day." Dell raised a shaking hand to gently pet the little bird. "In fact, Eda and I carved Owlbert together."
"AWWW!!" Luz squealed. She turned and noticed Eda hiding against the wall. "Eda! You need to tell us more about your childhood!"
Eda chuckled. "Maybe another day, kiddo."
Luz pouted. Eda smiled and pushed herself off the wall, ruffling Luz’s hair as she passed into the kitchen. That kid could really improve anyone’s mood.
Her expression dropped again as she found her mother. Food was scattered across all the counters.
“If you’re trying to organize my life, you’re about 20 years too late,” Eda remarked.
Gwen finally noticed her presence. “Ah, witchlet, there you are!! Are you really feeding those lovely kids of yours this garbage?" Gwen held up a container of ground slug meat. Eda frowned and snatched it from her.
"What's wrong with our food?" she asked.
"You cannot feed two growing children this junk, Edalyn." Gwen pulled out a container of bug juice and chucked it into the trash can.
"Mom!" Eda cried. "Leave our food alone. There's not much here that Luz can eat…"
Gwendolyn stopped, watching as Eda fished the bottle out of the trash. Eda gave her a tight-lipped smile as she replaced everything her mother had pulled out of the fridge. She sighed.
"I'm going to head up to my room. Don't break my house," she said. With that, she turned and beelined for the stairs.
“Oh, Eda!”
Lilith’s voice stopped her before she could retreat into the comfort of her room.
“Yes, Lily?” Eda asked, standing on the third step of the stairs. Lilith rushed over.
“Look at this!” She shoved a book into Eda’s face.
Eda’s eyebrows furrowed as she scanned the page. It was covered in mumbo-jumbo she would never understand.
“...What am I looking at?” she asked. Lilith rolled her eyes.
“Only the Boiling Isles’ most mysterious myth of course!”
Eda looked to the page. “Is that a… rat?”
Lilith snapped the book closed and used it to lightly hit Eda over the head. “No!” She opened the book again. “It’s a Caporybarticus. A dangerous creature that used to roam the Boiling Isles in the savage ages, but one day they all vanished.”
“Is this like the giraffe thing??” Luz asked, suddenly popping up beside the sisters. “Because that’s a capybara.”
Eda groaned. “You two are giving me a headache with all your nerd crap. I’m going to nap.” Lilith and Luz were too lost in their conversation to notice her as she retreated up the stairs.
As Eda entered the room, something caught her eye. The light from the window was reflecting off a picture frame on the shelf that was turned out of place. She walked over to it, straightening it out. Her breath caught as she realized what photo it was.
After King was officially adopted, he had insisted they take a family photo. Outside the Owl House, Eda sat on the ground with King proudly holding up his adoption papers and Luz sitting beside her. Hooty hovered in the background, looking as over-enthusiastic as ever. They were all smiling, truly smiling. Eda traced her finger over King.
She thought about how she used to be intent on letting the curse consume her. It was either that or fall prey to the Emperor's Coven. Finding King had thrown her world upside down in all the best way.
Taking him in really had saved her life.
She blinked away tears, remembering her last fight with her parents that had led to her crashing into a forest. The last time she talked to her father…
Eda set down the frame where it belonged and kicked her shoes off. She had just crashed into her nest when she heard footsteps.
There was a shaky knock on the door. “Witchlet?”
Dad , Eda thought.
“Come in!!” she called.
The door opened, and Dell Clawthorne entered, but not alone. King was sitting on his shoulder.
“Everything is so high up here!” he cried. Eda couldn’t help but smile.
“I see you met King,” she said.
Dell gently lowered the demon down onto Eda’s nest. “Care if I sit?” he asked.
Eda shook her head, and he crouched down beside King on the edge of the nest. King curled up between them, circling a few times before he laid down and closed his eyes. The room was comfortable silent for a while before Dell opened his mouth to speak. “You didn’t tell me you had a daughter, too,” he said.
Eda faltered. Her mind reeled as she tried to find an answer. “She isn’t mine,” she finally decided on.
“Oh?” Dell raised an eyebrow over his good eye.
“She… she has a mother, a family, back in the human realm. I’m just a surrogate.”
Dell frowned. “She certainly treats you like family. Treats all of us like family.” Dell laughed at a memory. “I don’t think anyone has been able to keep up with Lily like that in years.” Eda snickered.
“She moves a million miles a minute.”
Dell continued. “That girl loves you like her own mother, witchlet. Tell me, do you think of her as a daughter?” he asked.
Eda hummed in thought. “Yeah, I guess so,” she responded after a moment. Dell smiled.
“Just because she has a human family doesn’t mean she can’t have a witch family too.”
“When did you get so old and wise?” Eda asked.
Dell looked offended. “Who are you calling old?” Eda laughed.
“You are fundamentally old!”
“Fundamentally old,” Dell mocked. “I never heard such a thing!”
Eda found herself falling back into an easy, comfortable rhythm with her dad. She was reminded of when she was a kid, the playful ribbing off early mornings and games of skill and logic in the evening. It was soothing, almost.
She looked back at the picture on her shelf displaying one of her happiest moments.
Maybe they would need a new family photo.