Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with the Owl House.
The Protect Eda Society
Unlike other towns across the Boiling Isles, Bonesborough did not have the opinion that Emperor Bellows was a good fellow.
Most residents of the town never said this in public where a member of the Emperor's Coven could hear them. Out in the open, they enthusiastically supported the emperor when asked. In the privacy of home or another private establishment, that was another story.
So when the Emperor made a declaration that Eda was a wanted outlaw, they agreed to a quiet act of rebellion- they had to protect Eda.
Willow and Gus made their way back into town after another trip to see Luz at the Owl House. They had come together to brainstorm how Luz could attend Hexside if the school calendar lined up with the one on Earth. Luz needed to return by the end of three months, or she would worry her mother deeply. So she called on her friends for ideas.
They hadn't come up with anything yet, but at least they started thinking about it.
"You two kids," a guard called out to them, making them freeze stiff. The guard approached them, holding up a wanted poster of Eda and King. "Have you seen the Owl Lady?"
"Nope," Gus said immediately, putting on his best showman smile. "Never seen anyone that looks like, well, that." He gestured to the image. It was kinda the truth. Neither of them had seen anyone resembling Eda with those exaggerated features.
"Unfortunate," the guard grumbled, lowering the poster. "Let any of the guards know if you do see her."
Willow waved to him as he went on his way. "We will." Once he was out of earshot, Willow sighed in relief. "I've never had to lie to a guard before."
Gus shrugged, taking the lie easier than she was. "I just think of it like an illusion, but with words. You should try it sometime."
"You want us to what?" The Abomination professor nearly screeched. His personal abomination dropped him, reflecting its master's shock. "Ouch. Bump, have you lost it?"
"I'll have you know my hat is secure to my head," Principal Bump replied. "And yes, I already made the promise to Miss Clawthorne."
"Oh, she's a miss now?" Miss Jengenmeyer scoffed. "What happened to Eda?"
"She became a miss when she enrolled her apprentice with the school," Bump answered.
"I can't believe we're actually going to be teaching a human." The Illusion track professor commented, looking astonished. "Where did she even get one of those?"
"The same place she gets all those human knick-knacks we pretend not to have bought from her," Bump quipped. Several teachers averted their gazes, well aware who the principal was referring to. "Look, the point is we're not stooges for the Emperor's Coven, we're educators. A human wants to learn from our school, and I won't deny her that chance when Miss Clawthorne has already gone through such effort to make it happen. No snitching about her or the human, understood?"
Morton had been reorganizing his shop's shelves when he saw some of the guards coming his way. He blanched at the sight. Immediately, he grappled for his crow and dialed a number.
"Hey," he said once the call connected, "it's me. Eda's supposed to be on her way over here about now, and the guards are in my sector, coming eastward. Need a distraction to lure them away. No, don't ask Tiny Nose! You know how she-"
An explosion could be heard on the other side of town.
"What in the Emperor's name?" One of the guards grunted. "Move it! We have to investigate this. It could be the Owl Lady."
Morton watched in quiet horror as the guards hurried off. In his ear, he could still hear the other end of the crow call.
"We're all just playthings for higher beings!" Tiny Nose shouted in the background. "Playthings for them to put us in alternate dimensions!"
"Tiny, give me my crow back!" Morton could hear the person he had called demanding.
The call disconnected, and Morton looked up to see Eda, King, and that new human girl that seemed to follow them everywhere approaching his shop. Without even looking, he grabbed her needed elixir and prepared for their usual quick exchange of product and money.
Most residents living in Bonesborough privately despised the emperor. Out in the open where the guards could hear them, they faked positive opinions about him, his system, and who he considered outlaws.
Unlike other towns across the Boiling Isles, Bonesborough did not have the opinion that Emperor Bellows was a good fellow.
Unlike other towns, they had the opinion that Eda was, and they had to protect one of their own. Even if she never knew how they felt.