Chapter Text
Lilith sat up against the cold wall in her room, the moonlight shining through the window and onto the scratched-up wooden floor. Lilith had only been staying in the Owl House for a week, but she already hated it. Not because of the conditions of the house or the people that lived in it, but because she didn’t feel like she belonged there.
Lilith knew she wasn’t supposed to be here, she wasn’t supposed to be anywhere. She didn’t deserve a roof over her head after every terrible thing she had done for so many years. She screwed everyone over, and she needed to pay the price properly.
She needed to leave.
Lilith looked over towards the window, looking out at the evening sky. She could hear crickets outside as she got closer and closer to the window, pushing it open with a slight creak of age. Lilith poked her head out, instantly feeling the cold air on her skin. She looked out at her surroundings to make sure that the coast was clear.
Lilith growled, remembering the existence of that... house demon. She knew that thing would wake everyone up if she tried to leave through the front door. But Lilith didn’t want to use the back door in the kitchen either. What if someone was down there? She sighed and took off her boots to reduce any sound before slowly climbing out of the window and onto the roof. Her bare feet hit the hard and scratchy material, and she thought for a moment about climbing back into the house and just going to sleep.
No. She needed to leave. Now.
Lilith carefully slid down the roof and onto the hard dirt below. The small rocks poked at the bottom of her feet as she silently cursed herself. She couldn’t turn back now. She took one last look at the house before taking off to who knows where.
“Forgive me, Edalyn…”
—
Eda groggily walked down the stairs the next morning to the smell of fresh pancakes. Luz would sometimes make them for everyone if she was up early on the weekends. It gave her something to do before everyone woke up.
“Well, you’re up bright and early kiddo… can’t say that for the rest of us…” Eda groaned as she twisted her back, resulting in a chilling crack that went down her whole spine. She sighed in relief as she observed the other people in the kitchen. Luz was just turning off the stove, Owlbert was hopping along the counter, King was already helping himself to a plate, and… Lilith wasn’t there.
“Hmm… has Lilith come down here at all?” Eda asked, pointing to an empty chair at the table. Luz turned around with a puzzled look on her face.
“Uhh, no, I don’t think so… she might still be sleeping in.” Luz shrugged, scooping the rest of the pancakes onto a big plate, and ripping a few pieces up for Owlbert to peck at.
“…that’s weird, she’s usually up and at ‘em by dawn… I’m gonna go check on her, just put 2 of those bad boys on my plate, alright kiddo?”
Luz smiled. “On it!”
Eda made her way up the stairs and towards Lilith’s room. Maybe Luz was right, maybe she was sleeping in, even though Eda was sure that woman had never seen a day of ‘sleeping in’ before. She knocked on the door a few times, but didn’t even wait for a reply before heading in. This was her sister after all. Lilith’s privacy was not a concern to Eda.
“Yo, Lily, you’re gonna miss breakfast! -- oh...”
Lilith wasn’t in the room. Eda noticed the open window and the boots that were thrown onto the floor, and she thought for a split second that Lilith had snuck out in the middle of the night. But that thought was very quickly dismissed. It was dumb of Eda to think Lilith would do something like that. Although, with how she sometimes handled things, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibilities.
‘No, that’s ridiculous,’ Eda thought. ‘I just got my sister back, she wouldn’t up and leave again.’ Lilith was probably just getting ready in the bathroom. She made her way across the hall, noticing the bathroom door was already open.
“...Lily, you in here?”
The bathroom was empty. Eda stood still for a moment, her head reeling with the thoughts once more. She wouldn’t run away, right? Lilith may have been irrational at times, but she wouldn’t do something this stupid, would she?
No, she had to be outside somewhere. Eda was wide awake now, her heart racing in a panic. She zipped down the stairs and made her way out the front door. Hooty, of course, was already awake, and could sense that Eda was looking for something.
“Mooorning, Eda! I haven’t seen much good grub for you on this lovely morning, but I’ll keep looking!” Eda shook her head, running her hands through her hair anxiously.
“Hooty, has Lilith come out here at all today? I can’t find her anywhere in the house... I’m getting worried...” Hooty thought hard for a moment.
“Hmm... nope! Haven’t seen her or heard a peep from her all morning! Although I did feel... a disturbance last night... I felt something walking along the roof, and then it must have jumped off. It was probably a big ol’ bird! And then I heard something about ‘forgiving’, but maybe it was part of the dream I was having about all the bugs I’ve eaten in my life forgiving me for eating them...” Hooty continued rambling as Eda felt her stomach drop. She looked up at the open window and drew her own conclusions as she rushed back into the house, leaving the door open behind her. She was right. Her sister would do something this stupid. And if Lilith had been out all night, she could be anywhere in Bonesborough by now, maybe even farther.
“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit !” Eda ran into the kitchen, quickly looking around for her staff before running back into the living room. Owlbert could feel Eda’s urgency. He knew what she was looking for. Luz and King exchanged a concerned look as they walked into the living room to see Eda running around, muttering every curse word under the sun.
“Where is it? Where the hell is that staff??” Eda exclaimed as she sprinted back up the stairs and into her room.
“Eda! What’s going on?” Luz shouted from the bottom of the stairs, holding King in her arms.
“I’ve never seen her this frantic before…” King added as he looked back up towards the stairs. Owlbert agreed with a worried coo. They suddenly heard rapid footsteps as Eda ran back down with her staff in hand, and Owlbert immediately knew he was needed. He flew over to his place on top of the staff right away, and Eda briefly gave him a thankful glance before changing him into his wooden form.
“Eda, is everything okay?” Luz asked.
“No, Lilith ran away last night, and I don’t know where she is!”
“What?! Why?”
“I don’t know, but what I DO know is that she’s gonna die out there if we don’t find her!” Eda took off for the front door again, Luz and King following shortly behind her.
“Hop on, kids!” King swiftly climbed into Luz’s hoodie as she sat on the back of the staff and wrapped her arms around her mentor’s waist. Eda looked back at Luz and King, making sure they were ready to go as they both nodded in approval.
“Gun it, Owlbert!” The staff flew into the air as Luz let out a yelp of surprise.
“This wasn’t how I pictured my Saturday… “