Chapter Text
If Camila Noceda had a snail for every daughter that she adopted from a demon species which she either didn't recognize or was extinct (and therefore had little idea of how to care for), she'd have two snails. Which wasn't a lot, but, and she could not possibly stress this enough, it was incredibly weird that it happened twice.
Camila dearly wished that she didn't have to send Luz off for six weeks, but the principal had made it very clear: If she didn't, Luz would be expelled. And, unfortunately, Camila didn't really have any other options for getting Luz an education. Hexside was a public school that simply didn't receive enough funding to teach powerless students at higher levels. Based on what she'd heard about the school, Glandus definitely wasn't an option for a powerless demon whose only means of self-defense was biting. She'd get eaten alive – maybe literally.
The camp was a new program the Emperor had instated that year in order to teach students to be good citizens, and possibly lead them into joining the Emperor's Coven in the future. For six weeks, the students would be s learning from members of the Emperor's Coven, led by the Golden Guard.
Unfortunately, Luz would have to be picked up by an airship – neither of them actually knew where the camp was, that was kept a secret. No one from the Emperor's coven would dare approach Hooty and his tea parties, so Luz had needed to wait in a clearing roughly two minutes from the house by foot – as close as the scouts were willing to get, and even then only the bravest among them would dare approach. Camila, unfortunately, also had to work, so she couldn't see Luz off. Head Witch Eberwolf's favorite ratworm wasn't feeling well and she needed to take the appointment, even though it was the weekend and she'd normally be off work.
Camila was actually relieved when Eberwolf canceled the appointment because, in his own (roughly-translated) words, the ratworm 'threw up all of Darius's makeup'. When she'd asked why it had eaten the makeup in the first place, Eberwolf had promptly ended the call without answering.
When she returned to the spot for pickup, Luz wasn't there. Camila frowned and opened her bag to let a little brown mammal of indeterminate species out. This was Elaine, Camila's palisman. She had based her appearance on a critter in a comic written in a human language she couldn't read that Manny had found a couple of years before they'd adopted Luz.
"Elaine, can you find Luz?"
The palisman nodded, and began sniffing at the ground and leading her away into the forest. Before long, Camila spotted a familiar little creature – Luz – standing next to a pool of water.
"Luz, Mija, you're going to miss the transport," Camila said, as she approached.
Luz jumped, and turned to look at her in shock. It might have been better to be less stealthy, Camila mused.
"Oh, um, hello, fellow person," she said, as she tapped her skull. "Bone's sure weird."
"Very funny," Camila said. "I had a cancellation at the clinic, so I can wait with you, okay?"
Luz nodded hesitantly.
As the two of them walked back, Camila frowned as she glanced at Luz. Her daughter looked… not like herself. Luz's face wasn't very expressive, but Camila had known her for her entire life, and she knew how to read what little expression she could make and her body language. This, however, was unfamiliar, and she wasn't really talking. Camila didn't know how to handle it, and it hurt, seeing Luz so unhappy.
Once the two of them got back to the waiting spot, Camila sat down next to next to her. She still looked uncomfortable, so Camila moved to pat her head. She flinched back at the touch, and Camila sighed.
"I know you don't want to go," Camila said. "But I meant what I said earlier. It could be a chance to make some real friends. And you'll learn so much. The Emperor's Coven are the best of the best."
"Emperor's Coven?" Luz squeaked. Only, that wasn't Luz's voice anymore – it was much raspier.
"Luz?"
"I – you can't make me go back! I won't go back!" Luz yelled, and then bolted. Camila had to scramble to get up and give chase after her.
"Luz!" Camila called out.
Normally, there wasn't much chance that Camila could catch up with Luz. For one thing, she was a pretty fast flyer when she wanted to be – faster than most palismen. For another, when she didn't fly, Luz had the advantage of four legs.
An advantage she wasn't using, instead opting to clumsily run on two. Keeping her in her sight was easy. It only took a minute or so for Luz to trip and fall, right in front of the same puddle she'd found her at earlier. Camila, fearing that her baby might be hurt, ran faster to make sure she was okay.
But Luz was turning into something else – something scaly, snakelike, and distinctly not Luz. But by the sounds it was making, it was scared. Camila slowed down – this wasn't an animal, she knew, but she knew she should still move calmly and nonthreateningly.
"Hey, it's okay," Camila said, as she moved closer. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"… Really?" The creature asked. "How can I know that? You were going to send me to the Emperor's Coven!"
"No, no, I thought you were my daughter, Luz," Camila explained. "They were going to teach her because she's been having trouble in school."
"… Oh."
"Did you see where Luz went?" Camila asked, as she knelt down to help her up.
"… Kind of?" The creature sounded unsure of herself. She pointed to the puddle that Camila had first found her by. "She crashed into that water and disappeared."
"Disappeared?" Camila asked. "What do you mean, disappeared?" The pool of water wasn't deep at all – even Luz would easily be able to keep her head above water standing on the bottom.
"… I know it sounds crazy. But she really did just disappear. I went over to look, but then I panicked when I heard you, and… Turned into Luz. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to trick you, I – I'll just go."
"Wait," Camila said. "You're a basilisk, right?"
"… Yes," the now-identified basilisk said.
"You don't have anywhere to go, do you?" Camila asked.
The basilisk shook her head.
"Why don't you come with me to my house?"
"But, the Emperor's Coven. If they find out I'm there, they'll hurt you," the demon said.
"Don't worry about that," Camila smiled. "They're all terrified of the Owl House. It's guarded by a ferocious house demon who protects my daughter and I from everything… Even things that aren't really threats."
She stepped into a clearing, the house coming into view.
"Speaking of, prepare yourself, he can be a bit much."
"What does that mean?"
Camila didn't answer, as Hooty spotted the two of them and immediately took on that duty himself. He stretched out of the door towards them at a rapid pace "HIYA CAMILA! OH, DID YOU BRING A NEW FRIEND? HI! IT'S YOUR OLD PAL HOOTY, REPORTIN' FOR DUTY!"
"Ack!" The basilisk hid behind Camila.
"Hello, Hooty. How was your day?"
"I ATE A BUG!" Hooty screamed. "I TASTED ITS HOPES AND DREAMS, HOOT HOOT! THEY TASTED LIKE HEMOLYMPH!"
"That was hemolymph, Hooty."
"Nope! It was its dreams!" Hooty insisted. "It was a human vampire bug!"
"If you say so," Camila said. She didn't know what would make a 'human vampire' eat blue-green, but it was best not to question Hooty too much. "This is… Well, she hasn't told me her name, yet, but she'll be staying with us for a while."
"Hmm…" The basilisk visibly leaned away from Hooty as he stretched over to inspect her, looking extremely nervous. "Okay! I'll get you a gift!" The bird worm stretched around the house, and the sound of glass breaking could be heard.
Camila shook her head fondly. Oh, she'd have to fix the window later, but Hooty… Well, he grew on you, after a while.
Once she'd led the terrified basilisk into the house, the demon girl had something to say.
"I've seen house demons. That was not a house demon," The basilisk stressed. "What was that?"
"Hooty," Camila said. "He just sort of… showed up one day. Luz is convinced he's some sort of eldritch god who was around before the Titan died."
"Oh," the basilisk said nervously. "He's… not, right?"
"No se. I don't think so but it's possible." Camila replied. She was quick to reassure her new companion, though. "Don't worry about it too much. You're under his protection, and that's a pretty good place to be."
Camila sat down on the couch, and motioned for Vee to sit next to her. It was interesting to see how a basilisk sat – the body-type of having arms with a tail instead of legs was quite uncommon in sapient demons – but she put aside her curiosity over that for the moment.
"I wanted to ask you a few questions. Firstly, what's your name, if you're comfortable telling me?"
"I'm Numb-" the girl stopped herself. "I mean, I'm Vee."
"Well, Vee, it's nice to meet you." Camila held out a hand to shake, deciding not to comment on Vee's stumble for now, and Vee looked at it in confusion.
"Hold out your hand," Camila said, and Vee did so. Camila shook her hand. "See? It's just a greeting."
She was more than a little concerned that Vee hadn't known that, but she could unpack all of that later.
"You saw Luz, right? And you don't know what happened to her?"
Vee shook her head. "I already told you everything. She just… vanished."
"That's… strange," Camila said. "Oh, mija, what have you gotten yourself into?"
She had an idea, though, and typed out a quick text to Luz. It failed to send, and she frowned. Internally, she was starting to panic. She tried to keep it together for Vee's sake – the girl seemed on-edge enough already.
"Why were you so scared of the Emperor's Coven?" Camila asked.
"… Um." Vee didn't say anything for a minutes. "… I don't think I'm ready to talk about it. They're chasing me, and…"
"That's fine, that's enough," Camila said. "You're safe here, I promise. One more question… Are you hungry, Vee?"
"I… Yes?" The basilisk said. She seemed completely taken aback by the question.
"Then I'll get you some lunch," Camila said. "If you feel like it, you can tell me your story. If not, that's okay, too."
"… Why are you being so nice to me?" The basilisk asked, as she slithered after Camila into the kitchen.
"You needed help," Camila said. "Does it really have to be anything more?"
"Not just because I'm the last person to see your daughter?" Vee asked.
"I'll admit, I'm worried about her," Camila said. More worried and scared than she'd ever been, except when Manny… "But you seemed so… lost."
Vee gave her a hesitant smile back. Camila wasn't sure what this girl had gone through, but she'd do everything in her power to make sure she was safe from now on.
She didn't get much out of Vee over lunch, but that was fine. It was clear the girl was hurting, and right now… As worried as Camila was about Luz, she was a resourceful little demon.
"Thank you for the meal," Vee said, once she'd finished. "I'll… get out of your hair, now."
"Are you sure?" Camila asked, as Vee was slithering towards the kitchen door. "I meant what I said earlier. As long as you need to stay here, you can."
"Even though I'm a beast that could eat all your magic and leave you a desiccated husk?" Vee asked.
"Yes, even then," Camila said. "Luz has taken a few bites out of me, and I've got the scars to prove it. I don't care if you can be dangerous, Vee. Anyone can be dangerous."
"I… guess that's true," Vee said.
"Hooty's dangerous, but he's not going to hurt you."
Vee shuddered.
"Okay, maybe Hooty's a bad example," Camila conceded. "But I've got plenty of spare room in the basement. There's even a futon down there you can sleep on."
"Futon?"
"Follow me," Camila said. She led Vee to the basement, being mildly surprised by how deftly Vee could handle the stairs for having no legs.
Vee looked around in wonder as Camila explained everything in the basement, though she skipped over the closet full of all the Cosmic Frontier stuff she and Manny had managed to gather (or make themselves) over the years.
"This room is yours for as long as you want," Camila said.
The expression on Vee's face… Camila didn't quite know how to describe it. Some combination of gratefulness, fear, and nervousness, perhaps?
"Do you like it?" Camila asked softly.
Vee looked around, taking in all the sights of the basement.
"… I think I'm gonna like it here."
"I'm glad. There's an old crystal ball in here somewhere that you can use to watch some CB shows if you want," Camila said. "Do you, ah, know how to use one?"
Vee nodded. "I found one with a scratched base in the trash behind some big sort-of purple house. I used it for a few hours and then ate its magic."
"Big purple house?" Camila groaned. "The Blights… Well, if you're ever there again, steal more of their stuff, they deserve it."
"… Wha?"
"My husband went to school with them. I… am not going to repeat what he said about them to a child."
Vee actually giggled at that. Good, that was good.
"Anyway, I'll leave you to get settled in. Let me know when you want dinner, okay?"
"… Okay."
Camila smiled at the basilisk as she headed back up the stairs.
Later that night, after Vee had fallen asleep, Camila reflected on how she'd taken another strange demon girl into her home. The circumstances were quite different from the last time. For a start, Luz had never known another life before she was a Noceda.
Fifteen years ago, Manny had transformed into the Owl Beast while spending some time with Raine. They had shown up at the house in a panic, telling her about Manny's transformation and the fact that he was being chased by the Emperor's Coven. The two of them had taken off after him, leading the Owl Beast into taking flight over the Boiling Sea.
They'd kept up following for hours, Elaine and Miles pushed to their limits. It had started raining, and the Owl Beast had swerved towards a island that just seemed to… appear out of the mists, covered in trees too thick to land in, with a huge tower in the center of the island. The plant life was unlike anything that could be found in the Boiling Isles, tall and thin with green leaves and abundant fruit.
Apart from the plants, though, there was nothing there, and the island almost felt like it was frozen in time – a relic of some long-forgotten age before the Boiling Isles. Raine would later tell Camila and Manny that it wasn't on any maps they could find.
The Owl Beast had naturally taken shelter in the tower, and Camila and Raine followed. The first thing they found inside was a pile of stone and flesh that looked like it may have been some sort of creature before being ripped apart by the Owl Beast, or more likely some sort of magical construct as it didn't seem to be any sort of demon. It had taken a while to find Manny as they walked through ancient, strangely well-preserved rooms with cryptic murals displaying battles and beasts that neither of them could recognize.
The Owl Beast had been located behind a freshly smashed door on the upper levels, curled up around an egg. It was more docile than usual, that night, seeming content to protect the egg. Camila and Raine had ended up spending the whole night and a good portion of the morning in that room, up until Manny had returned the normal and they could return home, egg in tow.
It was months later when Camila woke up to find that a tiny, lumpy dog-like demon with wings had managed to worm its way into her bed to cuddle. She'd soon found that the egg – previously left on a pillow in the corner – had cracked open. It quickly became the light of their lives, and so they named it Luz.
… It was about a year later that they figured out that it was actually intelligent, not an animal, when it started talking. It didn't take too much longer for Luz to proclaim herself as their daughter, something that Manny and Camila were all too happy to accept. When Raine had visited not long after only to be dubbed "Tíe Raine" by Luz, they'd been crying tears of joy. Luz had truly become part of the family.
And now, she was missing, and Camila hoped with all her heart that she was alright, wherever she was.