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Azura and Tansy strolled leisurely through Bonesborough, they had been given the day off so they could see some old family friends: Willow and Hunter Deamonne.
“It’ll be nice to see Aunt Willow and Uncle Hunter again,” Azura expressed, “we haven’t seen them much since they had the baby.”
“Yeah, it’s just a shame our folks couldn’t come too,” Tansy added, “what with your moms having that meeting with their publisher and my dads being so busy with work.”
The two then arrived at the Deamonne household. It was a modest home in Bonesborough, but various plants and vegetation could be seen around it, including a greenhouse on the second floor. It made sense though, given that Willow was the head of the plant coven. Hunter, however… they didn’t know what his occupation was, and whenever they tried to ask, he would dodge the question or change the subject. Whatever he did though, he made enough to provide for his family, and was given enough free time to spend with them.
The young couple knocked on the door and seconds later were greeted by a chubby woman with dark blue hair and glasses. She wore a green dress with lace sleeves and tan boots. It was Willow alright, but she seemed a bit off. Her eyes were half open with heavy bags underneath and her hair was unkempt, it looked like she was struggling to stay awake.
“Uhh… Aunt Willow,” Azura said.
“Huh,” she yawned. “Oh, hi girls. What brings you here?”
“We came to help you and Uncle Hunter with the baby,” Tansy explained.
“Oh! Right. Come on in.” She then led the girls into her house.
Azura and Tansy looked around, the place was a mess. It looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in over a month. Plants were knocked over, the sink was full of dirty dishes, and the trash definitely needed to be taken out.
“Yeesh, is everything alright,” Azura asked.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah,” Willow muttered drowsily as she stumbled, “parenthood’s just been a little harder than we thought.”
“I’ll say,” a male voice replied.
They turned to see a blonde man walking down the stairs. His eyes were a dark red, his long blonde hair was tied into a ponytail, and his beard was cut off from his side burns by a noticeable scar on his right cheek. He was dressed in a leather jacket, a green shirt underneath, blue jeans, dark boots, and black gloves. On his shoulders, a bee and a cardinal were perched. It was Willow’s husband, Hunter.
“We haven’t slept in… in…” he dozed off, snoring loudly. His palisman, Flapjack, chirped loudly, waking him up. “WHAT?! I’m up!”
“It can’t be that hard,” Tansy doubted, “can it?”
As if to answer her question, the sound of an infant crying could be heard from upstairs. The married couple groaned.
“I’ll take care of it,” Willow said as she walked upstairs.
Hunter sat down on the couch, letting out a tired sigh. “I haven’t been this exhausted since the Emperor’s reign.”
Azura and Tansy sat with him. “Yeah, but it’s worth it, right,” the half-witch asked. “Just think of how hard you and Aunt Willow tried to have Caleb.”
It was true, he and Willow had waited over a decade to have their child. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but rather because of the Emperor’s cruelest trick. When he made Hunter, he put in a little “precautionary measure” to make reproduction prove nearly impossible for the grimwalker. For fourteen years, he and Willow tried desperately to have a baby of their own, but almost every attempt ended the same: in failure. They couldn’t even do like Luz and Amity did since the tyrant prepared for that too; every time they tried, the spell would go inert.
After every failed attempt, Hunter would be thrown into bouts of self-loathing and depression. He always blamed himself, he thought Willow would be better off without him, that she deserved a real witch. Thankfully, she would always pull him out of that pit, remind him that she loved him, and that she would always love him, no matter what.
The moment they found out they finally succeeded, that Willow was actually pregnant, Hunter couldn’t believe it. When the baby was finally born, it felt like he had witnessed a miracle. Fourteen years of effort and heartbreak led to that moment. Holding his child in his arms, Hunter couldn’t help but shed tears of joy.
Willow then reentered the room with their child in her arms, snapping the grimwalker out of his thoughts. He looked at the baby, who was blissfully unaware of their haggard state, and gave a small smile.
“Yeah, it’s all worth it.”
Azura and Tansy cooed and awed at the baby. “Aww, hello, Caleb,” the half-witch greeted in baby talk.
Caleb giggled joyfully, not a care in the world. Azura then took the baby from Willow, allowing her to sit next to her husband. She and tansy just adored how cut he was. With his messy dark blue hair, single blonde streak, piercing green eyes, and chubby cheeks, he was cute enough to eat, which was a serious concern given the diets of some inhabitants of the isles.
Holding the infant in her arms, Azura was struck with an idea. “Hey, what if we take him out on a walk to tire him out, and you guys rest?”
When she turned to face them, she was surprised to see they were already asleep. “I’m gonna say that’s a yes,” Tansy commented, “don’t worry, I’ve got this.”
She then strolled over and hoisted the couple over her shoulders with ease. The young girl carried them up the stairs as her girlfriend watched in adoration.
“Some might be intimidated by a girlfriend who can benchpress a truck, but I find it super attractive,” Azura commented, blushing.
***
Later, the girls walked through the park with Caleb in a stroller and a duffel bag around Tansy’s shoulder. It was a beautiful day, the girls were happy they could spend it together. Caleb seemed to be enjoying himself as well, if the multiple giggles and babbling were anything to go by. As they walked along, a few people couldn’t help but stop and comment on how cute the baby was.
As they walked along, a low gurgling sound could be heard. They looked around quickly, worried they were being tailed by a ferocious demon. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so where was that noise coming from? That’s when they were then greeted by the sound of sniffling coming from the stroller. They looked at Caleb to see tears forming in his eyes and his lip quivering, and not only that, the gurgling noise was coming from his stomach. He was hungry.
They made their way over to a nearby bench and sat down. Azura took Caleb out of the stroller while Tansy rummaged through the duffel bag before pulling out a bottle of formula. She then handed the bottle to Azura, who started feeding its contents to Caleb.
The baby happily partook of the formula, guzzling it down in a matter of moments. Azura removed the bottle and held him up to her shoulder. She then patted him gently on the back, causing the tyke to let out a tiny little burp. She then held him in front of herself and smiled.
“There, all better?”
Caleb didn’t respond with a usual cheery giggle like he was know for though. His expression seemed to display discomfort and struggle before relaxing and returning to his normal joyful self. A foul stench then invaded the girls’ nostrils. The girls gagged in response, they knew what was happening.
“Someone needs a diaper change,” Azura commented.
***
Moments later, the girls emerged from a public restroom, having just changed Caleb’s diaper. The baby was cheerful and oblivious, Azura and Tansy however, their faces were marred by disgust, shock, and trauma. They walked back over to the bench, utterly silent and disturbed by what they had just witnessed.
“How…” Tansy asked, “how could something so cute make something so foul?”
“I don’t know, babe,” Azura replied, “I just. Don’t. Know…”
While the girls were distracted by their trauma, a small, purple, gremlin-like demon trudged out of a nearby bush. He put a hand over his empty stomach and groaned.
“Aw man, I gotta find something to eat, and soon!”
He looked around hoping to find something, anything that would satiate his hunger. He scanned his surroundings before finally seeing a perfect target: an innocent, unassuming baby in the care of two teenage witches.
The demons eyes went wide with hunger as he licked his lips. “Mmm, that’ll do.”
He then snuck over to the bench, trying his best not to be seen. He peaked his head around the corner and slowly positioned his hands closer to Caleb. In an instant, he snatched the baby and took off in a mad dash.
“YOINK!!!”
“What the—“ Azura said in confusion, “HEY!!!”
She and Tansy ran after the diminutive creep furiously.
“GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE CREEP,” Tansy roared.
They followed him through the market. The demon tried to lose them by diving through numerous tight spaces, but Tansy just barreled through like a human— err, witch battering ram. Caleb was oblivious to the danger he was in, he thought it was all just some game. The gremlin looked back and whimpered in terror.
“OH, COME ON!!! Witches your age shouldn’t even have a baby!!!”
“He’s not ours, you nitwit,” Azura called back, “we’re just babysitting him!!!”
“Oh… we’ll that’s much more socially appropriate!”
The demon turned left, but found himself cornered in an alley, a tall picket fence blocking his path. He turned to face Azura and Tansy, the girls angrily inched closer. The demon then pulled out a knife and pointed it at the baby.
“Stand back, or the baby gets it!”
The girls stopped dead in their tracks. They wanted to tackle the little creep and get Caleb back, but he held the cards at that moment. If they tried anything, he’d stab Caleb, and if they didn’t, he’d get away. For the time being, they stood still with their hands up.
“Now look you two, I haven’t eaten in a few days, and this baby looks delicious! So, let me go, and I won’t carve him up like a turkey… until I get home.”
That wasn’t an option. They had to get Caleb away from the demon, but how? That’s when Tansy got an idea, she slowly and subtly made a small spell circle. Just then, a small pillar burst from the ground and hit the demon right in the crotch.
The demon let out a pathetic, pained screech, with the force of the impact tossing Caleb into the air. The girls ran to catch Caleb, but he was flung over the fence. The leapt onto the fence, trying to climb over, but paused when they saw where Caleb had landed. Luckily he was okay, but not for long if he remained in his current surroundings
The girls gasped as they scanned Caleb’s current surrounding: he was sitting on a pallet of sandbags, being hoisted to the top of an active construction site. “AN ACTIVE CONSTRUCTION SITE,” Azura shrieked.
“I know, right,” the demon said, looking over the site with them, “is it contrived or just cliche?”
Neither girl answered, they just looked at him unamused and slightly ticked off. Tansy bonked him on the head, knocking him out. The pair leapt over the fence and into the construction site.
The baby started to crawl off of the sandbags, inching closer to the edge of the pallet. The girls gasped in shock, but luckily, he was able to crawl onto a girder that the pallet was passing. They breathed a sigh of relief, Azura looked to Tansy.
“Quick, make a pillar so I can reach him… please.”
Tansy nodded and made a spell circle, creating a pillar that Azura rode up to catch Caleb. She had finally reached the girder and chased after him as fast as she could, while also being as careful as possible, she was on a narrow beam high in the air after all. With every careful step, she got closer and closer to him. At the same time, he was also getting closer to the edge.
After a few more steps, she could finally grab him. She reached down and picked him up, but as she did, Caleb put his hand down wrong and fell over the side. Azura gasped and leapt to grab him, but she fell off the girder to.
Tansy screamed. What was she gonna do? Her baby and Willow and Hunter’s were falling to certain doom. She looked around, hoping to find something that she could use to save them. Luckily, she found their salvation in a patch of wet cement.
Using her magic, she made the wet cement form into a slide. The slide caught Azura and Caleb, and the two slid down safely. Azura held onto the baby for dear life, meanwhile Caleb raised his hands in the air and laughed. At least someone was having the time of their life.
Azura and Caleb reached the ground safely, with the teen witch letting out a sigh of relief. Tansy sprinted over to them and scooped Azura up in her arms.
“Don’t you ever scare me like that again,” Tansy exclaimed before peppering her loves face with kisses.
Azura looked down at Caleb, who was still oblivious to the danger they were just in. “I think someone’s had enough adventure for one day.”
“Yeah, let’s get him home.” Tansy the carried the pair out of the construction sight.
“Are you gonna let me down anytime soon?”
“Nope.”
***
Azura, Tansy, and Caleb arrived at the Deamonne household, their adventure finally over. The girls were about to walk up to the door, but something appeared from out of nowhere and blocked their path: it was the demon from earlier.
“Ugh, you again,” Tansy groaned.
“Yes, me again,” the demon snapped back, “now hand over that baby! I’M STARVING!!!”
Before either girl could refuse or retaliate, a gooey purple tendril shot out from behind them and grabbed the demon. The purple appendage then twirled the demon around and threw it far away. The girls turned around and were surprised to see where the tendril originated.
It was created by a tall, muscular, older witch with dark brown skin, bright green eyes, and dreadlocks that looked to be made of abomination goo. Additionally, his beard was made of abomination matter too. He wore a purple sweater decorated to look like an abomination, kaki pants, and white shoes. It was Darius, Hunter’s father and Caleb’s grandfather.
“Do I even want to know what that was about?”
“Mr Deamonne, what’re you doing here,” Azura asked.
“I came to check on my son and grandchild, and it looks like I’ve arrived just in time.”
Azura and Tansy looked at each other then back at Darius. “Yeah, I think Aunt Willow and Uncle Hunter could use the help.”
The girls handed the baby over to Darius, who instantly smiled as he held the child. “Hello, little Prince.” Caleb giggled at his grandfather.
With Caleb now in the capable hands of his grandfather, the girls walked back to the Owl House, ready to relax after the day they’ve had.
Azura sighed, “I hope the others had an easier day than we did.”