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Life is not perfect. Even with Luz and King back home safely, the Owl House is still fraught with problems. Eda’s still adjusting to her prosthetic arm, despite it being top-line abomination technology crafted by Alador and Darius. Raine is more difficult for Lilith to talk to now they’re not distracted by toppling dictators together. King can’t go out in public without people staring at him, fully aware of just how much power he could possibly have over the Isles.
And Luz…
It’s been a week since she came back from the human realm. A week since Lilith watched her run into Eda’s arms and hold on as tight as possible. A week since Luz turned to her and gave her an equally bone-crushing hug, despite Lilith’s initial shock.
Lilith had held Eda through countless nights of grief as her sister cried, the agony of neither of her children being with her amplified by the uncertainty of not even being sure if they were dead. In a sick, twisted, way, Eda had told her one night, she almost wished she knew they were gone. Then she could grieve properly. Instead, she was hanging onto loose threads of hope that they might still be out there, somewhere.
Thankfully, the small bit of hope they all held onto turned out to be true. King was trapped with the Collector, and Luz stuck in the human realm, but they were alive. The relief Lilith had felt at that confirmation was only topped by the relief she felt when she saw Luz and King in the flesh once again.
And yet, Luz is scarred. Physically - she has a new eyebrow slit that isn’t just for aesthetic - and emotionally. She was before the Day of Unity, and guilt twists in Lilith’s gut as she knows that she’s partly responsible, having used Luz’s life as a pawn to capture Eda.
Luz avoids talking about the Day of Unity itself, preferring to tell funny stories about how her friends adjusted to the human realm. She doesn’t sleep at night; Lilith hears her soft footsteps going downstairs in the small hours almost daily. And when questioned about her eyebags in the morning, Luz shrugs it off and claims it's just her body adjusting to being in another realm again.
Honestly, Lilith doesn’t sleep too well herself. Eda’s warned her that sleep deprivation is bad for the curse - but it has less of an effect on Lilith’s beast, probably because she’s so used to running on almost empty from her days in the Emperor's Coven. As such, when she has difficulty going to bed at night, she often gives up and goes downstairs to idly work on some of her historical research, or simply gaze at the stars and their constellations.
Tonight is one of those nights. Lilith’s barely poured herself some apple blood - the non-alcoholic kind, as Lilith doesn’t deal with alcohol well - when she hears footsteps on the stairs.
Lilith’s ear twitches. She’s become rather good at discerning the different members of the Owl House’s footsteps - you can hear Eda in her slippers from a mile away, King’s little legs are unmistakable, and Raine treads so lightly you can hardly hear them at all. But these footsteps sound different altogether. As such, Lilith is hardly surprised to see Luz at the threshold to the kitchen, but Luz looks as if she’s about to turn and run.
Lilith tries her best encouraging smile. “Apple blood?”
Luz frowns. Lilith realises her mistake, and laughs. “Non-alcoholic, you’re probably not old enough for the real stuff yet.”
That prompts a small giggle from Luz, and Lilith sighs in relief as the girl joins her at the kitchen counter. “People my age in the human realm definitely drink by now,” she says.
“Oh, in that case, that’s definitely a similarity between our realms. Eda and I smuggled a bottle of real apple blood from our parent’s supply when I was sixteen and she was fourteen. I was rather unimpressed with the taste, though.”
“Well, I eagerly look forward to the day I get to try some for real,” Luz replies with a grin.
Lilith offers her another smile, but they fall into a soft silence, only interrupted by the occasional cry of a beast demon from the forest. In all honesty, Lilith is content to simply sit with Luz. Privately, she’d also cried during the days when she believed Luz was truly gone; she hadn’t spent nearly enough time being her cool aunt as opposed to the woman who once almost murdered her, and she would never be able to make up for it. But then Luz came back, and Lilith has missed her so much. Having Luz here and safe feels uncharacteristically kind of the universe.
“How was Eda, while I was away?” Luz says suddenly, jolting Lilith out of her thoughts. Luz isn’t making eye contact, choosing to stare determinedly at the counter. “And be honest, please.”
Lilith sighs. “She believed both you and King were dead for a while, and it almost broke her. That’s when Raine and I moved in. But after we learnt King was with the Collector and you were possibly in the human realm, things were a lot better. Eda dedicated everything to looking for a way to reach you. But you worked that out yourself, in the end.”
Luz looks up. “Yeah, I did.” There’s an edge of guilt in those three words though, and Lilith mentally berates herself. She believes it was the right choice to be honest with Luz about Eda's state, but…
“She cares about you very much, and it’s not anyone’s fault that we believed you and your friends to be dead for a while. You had to go to the human realm to be safe, and we didn't know that,” Lilith continues, trying to put as much reassurance into her tone as possible. “But you're here now, and that's what matters. Eda was hopeful the whole time, and once we saved King, he was able to tell us that you were okay.”
Luz smiles a little. “I know, I know. I just… hated being away from her. And you,” she says, and Lilith feels warmth curl inside her at the sincerity of Luz’s voice. “I hated that I didn’t get to say goodbye, and I was so scared about what was happening here, and I couldn’t even use glyph magic or anything. I was terrified I’d never be able to get back.”
Luz’s words make an idea form in Lilith’s head. She turns to Luz, and says: “Did I ever tell you that I discovered a new glyph combo while you were away?”
Luz’s eyes immediately widen. “You did?”
Lilith nods. “Took a lot of practice, but I got it down.”
“Show me,” Luz says intensely, and Lilith stands up, searching the kitchen for a spare piece of paper. She finds one, along with a pen, and sits back down.
“This glyph works a little similarly to the invisibility one, so don’t panic if it seems like I’ve disappeared when I use it,” Lilith warns, as she traces the intricate lines onto the paper. Once she’s done, she faces Luz. “Alright. Are you ready?”
All Luz can do is eagerly nod.
Lilith breaths in and places the glyph onto herself, picturing the place she wants to be transported to in her mind’s eye. She vanishes, before reappearing a few feet away on the other side of the counter. “Ta-da,” she says a little awkwardly, and takes in Luz’s slack-jawed expression. “So. What do you think?”
“Teleportation?!” Luz whisper-shrieks, banging a fist on the counter. “You worked out how to teleport, and you didn’t tell me? For a week?”
“I kind of forgot about it,” Lilith replies, scratching the side of her face. “It’s not particularly useful for tidying up around the house.”
“Oh my god,” Luz says, getting up and walking around the counter to join Lilith. “I just- that is literally so cool! You have to tell me everything right now. Wait! Let me get a notebook.” And with that, Luz speeds off, and by the time she returns, Lilith is already sat back down.
“Alright,” Lilith begins. “It actually started with me experimenting with the invisibility glyph, as a matter of fact - teleportation wasn’t what I specifically had in mind, but I knew it could be used as a base for more complex combinations…”
As Lilith continues to ramble, Luz furiously jots down everything she says, before trying out the glyph herself multiple times, testing its limits the best they can in the Owl House’s kitchen. Frankly, both of them should be asleep. Lilith should be a responsible aunt and tell Luz to get back to bed, but this is the brightest Luz’s face has been all week, and Lilith just doesn’t have the heart to.
Life isn’t perfect, and neither is Lilith. But she’s trying, and if nothing else, she knows she is one of the luckiest aunts in the world.