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Camila had been to the Demon Realm a handful of times since Luz had defeated a genocidal maniac and saved the realm. Her daughter was a hero. It was still hard to wrap her head around that. The tiny, squirming baby she had once cradled in her arms had saved so many people.
It had been three months since the defeat of the aforementioned genocidal maniac, and Camila still had… mixed feelings about the Demon Realm. She respected it. It was Luz’s second home, after all, the place she lived during weekends and school breaks. But walking past eyeballs in the streets as griffins soared through the sky was… different.
“Come on!” Luz skipped ahead of Camila and Vee, the three currently walking towards the old shack that now housed the portal between realms. Camila looked down at Vee, the girl fidgeting nervously with her hands. She had been slowly working towards becoming more confident in the Demon Realm, and Camila felt comfortable having her in it for a few hours at a time now. Which was why they were going over to the Owl House for dinner that Friday night, much to Luz’s excitement. “You’ve met Lilith, right?” Luz turned around as they reached the shack, her feet sliding forward in the wet grass. She steadied herself before she could topple over.
“Is she the one who’s Eda’s sister? The woman with the, uh, bird-tube?” Camila asked. Luz nodded,
“Yep, cool aunt Lilith! And Hooty. They’re visiting for a few days, so they’re going to be over when we arrive,” the girl paused, thinking for a moment, “oh, did you know that King started Hexside this week?”
“You may have mentioned it a couple hundred times,” Camila fondly rolled her eyes.
“Oh, yeah. Eda says she was called into the principal’s office on the first day,” Luz stopped in front of the doorway of the shack, waiting for Camila and Vee to catch up.
“The first day ?”
“Something about sabotaging the detention pit? Oh, apparently Bump’s retiring soon too, before he has to go through having another member of our family in the school system.”
As she followed Luz into the portal, Vee close behind, Camila pondered over her daughter’s words. Luz had said “our family” so easily, without a second thought about the bizarre nature of the family structure she’d found herself in. She was used to it, Camila supposed. Having a mother and basilisk-sister in the Human Realm, and another mother-figure in the Demon Realm along with that mother’s partner and her brother (who was apparently a Titan, whatever that meant). And that wasn’t even mentioning the friend group that had become her family too. The kids who had become somewhat of a family to Camila as well, while she provided for them all for a few months.
Things were better than they’d been before. Luz was accepted for who she was and surrounded by people who loved her. She was secure in her place, for the time being.
Camila was still trying to figure out hers.
She felt Vee shift closer to her as they passed through the portal together. Portal crossing was a strange experience, and it would likely continue to be for a long time. To Camila, it felt like she was slipping into a space of nothingness for a split second, her matter twisting and turning until it all melted away into emptiness. Then she was looking over sludge-like water, with the stars reflected in its depths. It was followed by a flashing light, and she was suddenly on the other side.
She blinked once she had finished the process, looking up at the Boiling Isle’s sky. There were clouds looming above. Short, red grass tickled her ankles as she took a step forward, Vee coming out of the portal behind her.
“Are you sure you feel comfortable with tonight?” Camila asked. Vee nodded,
“Yeah. I’ll be fine.”
“Tell me if you’re not, okay?” Vee nodded again, reaching out and squeezing Camila’s hand. They followed Luz, who had already run ahead, up to the door. Camila caught sections of a conversation before Luz even went to open it.
“There’s like another whole layer of teeth starting to poke out!” Eda’s voice became audible. Camila shuddered slightly. “They look like they could cut through metal.”
“That’s not… Huh. So they do,” Raine’s voice came next. Luz, completely unperturbed by the conversation, opened the door with a wide smile. The brightly lit living room of the Owl House came into view. Eda and Raine were sitting together on the floor, King in Eda’s lap instead of the horrifying, fanged creature that Camila had honestly been anticipating based on their previous conversation. She still wasn’t a hundred percent certain what went on in the Owl House on a normal day.
King’s head was tilted back as the adults examined the top of his mouth, where there was apparently a new layer of teeth starting to grow in. Eda looked impressed.
“Um, hi?” Camila said from the doorway. Eda glanced over, a smile coming to her face.
“Hey there,” she wrapped her arm around Luz as the girl ran over, King closing his mouth and jumping down to the floor.
“King’s randomly started cutting a new layer of teeth over the past few weeks,” Raine said for context, which was quite appreciated.
“He’s a Titan, right?” Camila asked, Eda nodding,
“Yep. So every physical change is a surprise.” King dropped his head against the floor in response. Camila smiled softly. She’d come to adore this kid, who had become her daughter’s brother.
A woman with light auburn hair poked her head out of the kitchen, “Eda, can you -”
“- Coming,” Eda walked over to the kitchen and disappeared from sight, Raine meandering after her. Vee inched away from Camila’s side over the span of a few minutes to join Luz and King’s conversation, relaxing once she was sitting down with them, clearly welcomed. This left Camila alone. Right beside the door.
After a few seconds, something vaguely feathery and mostly slimy touched her shoulder. “Hiiiii Big Luz,” someone said right next to her ear. She screamed and jumped forward, whipping around after, ready to attack.
“No, Mamá, that’s Hooty!” Luz jumped up from the floor, “he’s technically the house, remember?” Camila took a deep breath and a big step back. That… owl-tube thing from before was staring at her with wide eyes and a big grin. She shivered.
“Right. Sorry, um… sir?”
“It’s QUITE alright, hoot hoot,” the owl-tube said, wiggling around for emphasis.
“Uh, okay then,” Camila stepped to the side, Hooty’s eyes trained on her as she moved. She headed off to the kitchen in response, where the other adults were. Hopefully he wouldn’t follow her. She didn’t know how far he could… extend from the door.
The kitchen was a mess at the moment, she realised as she entered. Random cauldron-like pots were scattered everywhere. The woman with auburn hair, Lilith, she remembered, was in the middle of cutting up what looked to be weird Boiling Isles vegetables. Or fruit. It was hard to tell. Eda was perched not-so-helpfully on the table near her, Raine doing something at the stove on the opposite side. “Can I help at all?” Camila asked, trying to keep the awkwardness she was feeling out of her voice.
“Yeah, actually. Here,” Eda beckoned her over, sliding over a plate of what looked like regular red berries, “the kids really like most of the fruit so we’re just throwing it together. These berries are tricky though, you have to spear them down the middle before you can serve them.”
“...Why?” Camila asked.
“Because they fight you.”
Camila did not sign up for this. Except she basically did. Sooner or later, being Luz’s mother was going to involve fighting berries, or something equally bizarre. She picked up the large needle Eda handed her and began stabbing the berries down the middle before they could roll away or bite her (...where were their mouths even coming from).
Raine left the kitchen after a little while, returning with King in their arms. The nine-year-old waved to Camila, noticing her properly for the first time since she’d arrived. She waved back, King responding by opening his mouth, proudly showing off the sharp ends of teeth that had begun to slice through the skin they had initially been underneath, right behind his first layer. “Oooh, they look very sharp.”
“They are. I accidentally bit the door this morning and they left a big mark on it!”
“How do you accidentally bite a door?” Raine asked, at the same as time Eda said,
“Oh, so that’s why there’s bite marks on the door.” The two looked at each other after speaking, exchanging a fond smile. Camila smiled slightly and looked down, focusing back on spearing the recalcitrant berries. It had been a long time since she had looked at someone like that, and someone had looked at her back with loving, living eyes.
“Good job with those,” Lilith came up beside her. Camila hadn’t even heard her footsteps. “Most people can’t spear all of them their first time.”
“I knew she could,” Eda said, leaning against the wall, “she’s got strong… how does Luz put it, vibes?” She took King from Raine’s arms as they got the table ready for dinner, Luz running in to help. Her speech was quick and excited, and Camila noticed that the other three adults didn’t exactly match her energy (though Eda could come close, it seemed), but listened and interacted with her regardless, all of her girl’s quirks that were viewed negatively back at home accepted and loved by them. Camila didn’t know if that was how it had always been. It wasn’t the way it had always been with her personally. But everyone had gotten to this healthy point. Luz had so many people on her side now.
A hand gently touched her arm and Camila smiled as Vee came up beside her now. The girl hadn’t changed from the human form she took on at all, and Camila absolutely wouldn’t force her. This realm hadn’t been kind to everyone, as amazing as the people Camila had met were. “Are you doing alright?” Camila whispered, Vee nodding.
Dinner was an odd affair, Raine and Lilith talking about politics from the realm that Camila knew nothing about. Eda and Luz spent half of the meal whispering to each, which could never be good.
She looked out the window. The sky had turned dark while they were eating, stars glittering above. She wondered if they saw the same stars from this realm, or if the Boiling Isles was in a whole different solar system. They did seem to have a moon and a sun… that would be something to investigate another day.
She sat back in her chair, wrapping her arm around Vee as the girl leaned her head against her shoulder, her food already finished. The conversation around the table had shifted to a recalled story about something that happened with a group apparently called the CATs. Luz was laughing, King sitting in her lap, occasionally interjecting with his own comments.
It was peaceful, Camila realized. So peaceful that Raine had fallen asleep, their chair beside Eda’s as they slumped against her.
Those little flickerings of pain that were always under the surface of her mind didn’t cease, but they were less noticeable in that moment. When she opened her mouth to speak, the people around her listened. They supported her, she realised. They were supporting Luz too. She wasn’t alone. Luz wasn’t alone.
She looked down at the girl snuggled against her side, the basilisk who had become her second daughter. Vee’s eyes were half-lidded now, it had been a long day. And she felt safe enough in this moment to let her guard down. Vee wasn’t alone either. The adults here were gentle with her and understanding when she felt the need to head back early, like she usually had so far when they visited.
Everyone here hadn’t fit in before, as far as Camila had heard it. And here they all fit in together. Something new was forming from something old. Something comforting and familiar.
And Camila was ready for it.