Decided to update this again. Here Grometheus meets up with an old friend and Luz's future aunt.
A new spirit also makes an appearance.
The two days had passed rather quickly, and Grometheus groaned as he knew he had to face reality.
The kid's parents were never coming back for her.
It had been almost a month since he had found her. And at this point, if her parents ever returned in the future, they were gonna be given a harsh(and perhaps fatal) punishment. But, for now, he kept the mindset that they were never returning.
"Kid, if your parents aren't really coming back, then I'm gonna take care of you from here on out. I'm not… caretaker worthy, but I'm gonna try my best."
The Kid babbled in reply, reaching out to his face. He shook his head, though let her touch him. Might as well try to give her some sort of love, even if he hadn't given any in many years.
"Also, if you're really going to stay in my care, I can't keep on calling you Kid."
He set her down on the floor, grabbing the parenting book. His hope was heard as he found a section on names. It wasn't an extensive list, but it was still a nice mix of rare and common names. He started flipping through as the Kid explored his home, hoisting herself up on the furniture occasionally.
Moxxie? No, that doesn't sound right for her . He needed something suitable as names were a big deal for demons and even if the kid was a human he would apply that culture to her.
He looked over at the toddler, who looked back at him. A smile formed behind her pacifier.
"Luz?"
He had accidentally flipped to the L page, and read the first name that caught his eye. Kid, or should he say Luz, reacted immediately. Since she was looking at him when he called her that, she titled her head.
Yes, that suited her. It meant "Light" too, which was somewhat ironic now considering the Knee was a dark place.
A light in the dark Grometheus couldn't help but think as he watched Luz babble happily at her new name.
Luz it was then
Some time later...
"Master, you named her?"
The Hunter had come for the afternoon shift, and the servant was shocked to learn that his master went as far as to name the kid.
"I kinda had to. I can't keep on calling her Kid." Grometheus said off handedly
A grin reached the Hunter's face which was thankfully hidden by his mask, as he innocently put his hands behind his back.
"Master, if you name something, or in this case a person, you know you get attached, right?"
"I'm not attached! Is it so wrong to give a child a name?" Grometheus yelled in response
The Hunter bit back a laugh, taking Luz into his arms.
"I suppose not. Enjoy your trip, master."
Grometheus huffed in annoyance at his servant's teasing "He's lucky he's my most loyal servant" he thought before traversing out of his tree home. The Hunter laughed once he was out of earshot, placing the child down on the floor.
"You really have master, caught, don't you, Luz?"
Luz clapped her hands, babbling. The Hunter shook his head, holding out his hands.
"Now that you have spoken your first word, it's time to get you walking." He grabbed her hands into his, helping her stand. She wobbled a bit but stayed upright thanks to his help. "Let's give your papa another surprise, yeah, kid?"
Luz giggled, like she was agreeing.
Later that night, Grometheus was once again in his human form.
But instead of the town of Bonesborough, he was currently in a different forest that wasn't in the Knee, evidenced by the lack of snow. Exiting from the shadows among the trees, he slipped on by a few wandering demon hunters. If they weren't so stupid, they'd probably notice the shadow having outlines of eyes and teeth. But eh, too late for that.
Grometheus finally spotted his location and with a smirk he casually walked up to a cave. He wasn't intimidated by the entrance being skull shaped nor the numerous amount of bones surrounding it. Titan knows how many bones he had thrown into the burning well.
"Is anyone home?!" he called out in a casual tone.
For a moment nothing happens before a ring of fire suddenly surrounded him. He looked down and saw that there was now a symbol on the ground. It had a large circle at the bottom of the circle with a dot in the center. On top is a smaller circle with a curved triangle on top. Another curved triangle is also included on top of the bigger circle which goes over the smaller circle.
Any normal person would have been terrified by this but he wasn't exactly normal now was he?
Luckily he didn't have to do anything to free himself as a booming voice erupted from within the cave.
"Let him through Bruni"
A hiss then came from the ring of fire but after a while it slowly dissipated.
Grometheus still can't believe he's about to ask for help from this person. But they were the only one he could ask that had any experience with children.
Might as well get it over with Grometheus thought as he entered the cave. Once inside he saw the numerous number of palismans in the cave but they weren't who he was looking for. When he reached the edge he finally saw her.
Yiyi, or Bat Queen if formal , was a guardian similar to him. But instead of demons, the Bat Queen protects Palismans which he knows was because the Bat Queen herself was also a palisman, albeit a large one. The bat like creature was cooking away using her telekinesis, the air smelling like sweet.
"So..." her voice drawled, a clear accent covering her voice. She turned to him, her red eyes piercing as she obeserved him. "It had been a while since you last visited me Fear Bringer. I assume you didn't just come here to say hello" She said passively, turning back around to cook the various meals for her child which was a smaller version of her
"You'd be correct, Yiyi."
"Bat Queen to you. What do you need?" she asked while levitating a knife to mince some vegetables.
"Well, I'm in quite the predicament."
"What for?"
"I… am taking care of a child long term. Due to this, I need to know how to cook, at least a little bit."
"Oh? Grometheus , the fear bringer, has a child? Interesting development."
Grometheus sputtered, and she levitated her knife to silence him, her back still to him.
"Fear Bringer, your bright yellow eyes and tone gave it away. Not to mention we have known each other for a long time. Also, I saw your shadow when you were coming up here."
Grometheus grumbled. It wasn't like he had anything better. This is the human form his eldritch transformation came with. Bat Queen laughed, putting down the knife, turning to him once more.
"Well since I'm not busy, maybe I can help you. How old are they?"
"About a year, give or take."
"A toddler? Interesting. A he or she?"
"She. Her name is Luz."
"Luz? How cute" Bat Queen grinned. She opened a chest. "Since you like reading so much, how about you read this. I'll be down in the Knee in a couple days." She levitated a book into his hands. He looked down at it; a cooking book, what a shocker. "For now, keep feeding her what you have been. Since you're suggesting she's still alive, I'm impressed you know what to give her."
Grometheus shrugged. Bat Queen smiled, turning back to her cooking.
"For a ruthless demon, if you're willing to learn how to cook for a little child, that means you care about her a lot."
"Well, I kinda have to. It would be rude of me otherwise."
Bat Queen snorted in response
"Right. Now go along. I don't want anyone else finding this sanctuary ."
Grometheus faded back into the night, sliding along as a shadow once more. Bat Queen watched with a look of interest in her eyes
"I wasn't saying you care in the sense you care because she's a child…" She hummed to herself. "She could survive off of the fruits and vegetables I'm sure he's giving her. But the fact he's willing to learn how to cook… How adorable."
Bat queen went back to cooking before the food is burnt.
Grometheus arrived back to the front of his home as he changed back into his demon form. He saw the Hunter was sitting on the footrest, watching over Luz.
"Welcome home, master! I'll be off," The Hunter greeted, waving. He then left, passing by Grometheus . He sat down, opening the cook book.
After a while, his attention turned to Luz. She was standing in her crib, making little fussy noises.
"Why do you keep on waking up at this time? You know it's witching hour, right?" he joked. "Oh, this? It's boring, don't worry about it."
She looked at him with her big hazel eyes, and he sighed.
"Fine, fine. I'll read you another story. But only so you can fall asleep."
He picked her up, settling her down on his lap. She beamed, Grometheus switching out the cooking book for the 1000 Ghost Stories collection. She loved it a lot, and it was more of a breeze to read than the silly toddler books. He began to read her a story, once again becoming an entertaining storyteller as he wiggled his fingers and even did a little bit of voice work.
Soon one story turned to three, and the clock chimed for four o'clock.
"Alright, time for you to sleep."
She was fighting off sleep, it was quite obvious in her slow blinking and heavy head tilt. He put her back into her crib, where she quickly fell asleep.
Grometheus then picked up the cooking book again, and began to read it once more.
Well how about that? Bat queen is officially going to be Luz's aunt. Bat queen is one of the few individuals that Grometheus would consider a friend. Just as Bat Queen is a guardian to palismans, The Fear Bringer is a guardian to demon beasts so its no surprise that the two of them get along well(or at least tolerate each other)
By the way I have a headcanon that Bat Queen's lair is enchanted in a way that only palismans could find it though it is possible for other people to accidentally stumble into it.
So the new spirit is called Bruni, the spirit of fire. He is a friend of Bat Queen and serves as a guardian for the palisman's sanctuary.
Anyway. Review, Favorite, Follow.