Angel: I saw Encanto yesterday, and...thankfully it did not disappoint! I loved the music, the animation, Mirabel is my favorite character. Some stuff was...a little disappointing, because the trailer hinted at a different type of story, but I still loved it. I cried near the end, too, I related to Mirabel so much. I have glasses, and sometimes I feel like I'm not special to my family either. Please...go watch this movie! I had to will myself to not look at any spoilers or reviews, but it was worth the wait! 2021 isn't disappointing with their movies, huh?
Also, for the next two weeks, I'm gonna be dealing with moving stuff, since I'm moving before Christmas. I'm writing Eclipse Lake right now, so I'm not too worried about falling a little behind. But to make things easier, I'm gonna continue updating three times a week, so that I can get chapters out faster. And so people can enjoy certain episodes earlier.
"It always starts the same way." A younger Eda sat up with a sharp gasp. She panted heavily and stood up, surrounded by an empty void. "I wake up someplace...dark." She walked around only for a few seconds before something ran past her. "And then IT appears." A large shadowed foot stomped a few feet away. The owl monster showed itself to her with a screech. She screamed and ran off in the other direction. Tears flew from her eyes. "And eventually, I wake up and I know I turned into...that thing."
She looked up at her mother and a healer, who looked concerned. Mrs. Clawthorne tapped her fingers against her chin in worry.
"I see...Here, take this," He handed her a small yellow gem. "It will tell you when the beast's energy is bubbling to the surface. Also, I hear gems are quite fashionable for young witches."
"Oh, what a beautiful little stone," Mrs. Clawthorne smiled, though some of her statement didn't seem too happy. "May I speak with you outside?" She pulled him out of Eda's room, smiling at her daughter. "Just a minute, hon." She closed the door, but not all the way. "What the heck was that?!" Eda pressed her ear to the door. "I thought you were in the Healing Coven, not the Bauble Brigade."
"Mrs. Clawthorne, we have never seen a curse quite like this," The healer tried to assure her. "I'm not sure it can be healed. Perhaps if we consult the Potions Coven, they may know a way to keep it at bay."
"Keep it at bay?!" The woman asked angrily. "Oh, no. My daughter is suffering and I want that thing out! Cut it out if you have to."
Eda gasped sharply, covering her mouth. The thought of that terrified her. She looked up and saw the open window pane.
"Edalyn, I'm taking you to someone else," Mrs. Clawthorne opened the door, confused to find her daughter gone.
Eda ran into the forest, coming to a stop. After she caught her breath, she noticed a gate with a stone wall. She walked slowly, glancing around. "I never knew this was back here..." She suddenly tripped and fell flat on her face. "Huh?" She glanced back and saw something buried in the sand. She pulled it out to reveal a suitcase. She moved away the dust, and it had an eye on it. Suddenly it came to life, surprising her as it turned into a door with a key in the lock. The door opened to reveal an unknown realm. "What?" She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"Edalyn!" She heard her mother cry out. "Edalyn, is that you?"
She then remembered what Mrs. Clawthorne said and jumped through the door, the portal disappearing along with her. "Edalyn!" Her mother came across the area. "Edalyn! ...I will find a way to cure you, Edalyn. No matter what it takes."
An alarm screamed and Eda grabbed onto it, making it shut up. She then threw it across the room, and it hit a painting. It broke apart and landed on a pile of other broken alarm pieces. She adjusted her messy hair, crawling onto the floor face-first.
She sat up in the bathroom, grabbing her fang and screwing it on. "Weh!" She checked her teeth before pulling out a razor, using it to shave off her feathers. She then opened her storage unit for her elixirs and drank one. "Blegh!"
Once she put on her new outfit, she ripped a piece of it off. "Ah, there we go. Mama like."
Luz and Lucila were both in the kitchen asleep. The younger Noceda was laying her chin on a stack of books while the older Noceda had her cheek against the table, both of them snoring with drool coming from their mouths.
"Beans!" Eda shouted and they woke up in alarm, screaming. Lucila's hair was a bit of a mess as Luz fell onto the ground. The Owl Lady looked in the fridge for something. "We ran out of apple blood," She kicked the door closed, turning to the two with crossed arms. "Still no luck?"
Luz sat up, Lucila stretching her arms. "None. And we were up all night. We read every tome, book, notepad, and tea leaf!" She showed Eda her cup, the leaves coming alive to give off a shrug from a stick man. "But nothing explains how to make a portal to the Human Realm."
"Maybe it's so ancient that there's nothing documenting it," Lucila yawned a little, adjusting her messy hair.
"I wish I could help ya, kids. My door was already pretty old when I found it."
"How long did you have it?" Luz asked curiously.
"Well-"
A scream interrupted her and they gasped. The three ran into the living room to see Lilith on the ground, her body starting to form feathers and claws from the curse. "Help...me."
"Lilith!" Lucila exclaimed in concern. Eda ran over to the couch, moving away a pillow to reveal several elixirs. She then went over to her sister.
"Calm down, just calm down," She helped lay down Lilith, pouring the potion into her mouth. "The curse acts stronger when you're stressed." The feathers slowly went away and Lilith slowly opened her eyes.
"That was...horrible!" She confessed to the Owl Lady. "How have you managed all these years?" She rubbed a temple.
"Well, it's been hard," Eda helped up Lilith, the two Nocedas smiling in relief that she was okay. "But since we split the curse, at least the elixirs are working again."
"That's a relief," Lilith looked down at her hand and saw that it was missing. They all flinched in surprise, and judging by Lilith's reaction, this was the first time that this was happening.
"Oh, yeah, sorry," Eda picked up her sister's hand. "Side effect of the curse. It's actually fun once in a while," She screwed her sister's hand back on.
"For you to scare people with, maybe," Lucila murmured to herself, remembering the first time she and Luz saw it happen.
"Now don't worry. I've stashed elixirs all over the house," Eda showed her sister some hiding spots. "Whenever you start feeling feathery, just help yourself to one of these bad boys." She pulled one out of Luz's hood, who was a little amazed.
"Ooh! Do Luci next!"
Eda chuckled and dug into Lucila's hair, pulling another elixir out of it. "What the-?!" She glanced at her hair in shock, wondering how she hadn't noticed this for probably weeks.
"I had no idea this is what I did to you," Lilith stated sadly, closing her eyes. "I am so, so sorry."
"Eh, at least I got company now," Eda handed her the elixir. She had lots of time to process it and to move on from the fact that Lilith cursed her. And besides, she had earned Eda's acceptance of forgiveness. "And you got me if you need anything."
She walked past Lilith, who smiled gratefully. She laid down on the couch with a sigh, looking up at the ceiling. Eda had taped some elixirs to the ceiling even. "Hmm," She smiled fondly; her sister had thought of everything when it came to this...
Luz and Lucila walked outside to join Eda. "As I was saying, I've had the portal door for years. But I originally just found it in the dirt. Never figured out who made it or where it came from," She crossed her arms with a small shrug. "I just kept it to myself."
"Why wouldn't you tell anyone?" Luz couldn't help but ask.
"Luz! That's personal," Lucila scolded her a bit.
Eda didn't seem to mind, though, as she laughed. "Why? Suddenly curious about my past?"
"Always," Luz narrowed her eyes in determination. "Always curious."
"Once she's curious about something, she never lets it down. One time I snuck out to see a late-night concert from my favorite band and she wouldn't stop asking me about it for weeks. I finally caved after about almost a month," Lucila shook her head.
"You sneak out?" Eda smirked at her and she scoffed playfully.
"I think we all established already that I'm not as orderly and responsible as you see me as all the time," She argued back. "And it was a one-time concert! It was a once in a lifetime opportunity."
Granted, Luz made her go to an Azura Con thing just to make sure she wouldn't tell anyone...
"Well, I may have been using it to hide from someone," Eda noticeably got a little angry as she looked away.
"Hide from who?"
"Probably me!" A new voice called out, a gust of wind suddenly happening. They covered their eyes with their arms, hair blowing in the wind. A tornado with a bird on top suddenly arrived, heading towards them.
"Magic bird tornado?!"
The tornado stopped to reveal Mrs. Clawthorne, who had a large eagle for her palisman, as well as a necklace over her chest. "Hello, little witchlet," She greeted Eda fondly. "Come here!" She ran over for a hug, but Eda didn't look so happy to see her.
"Gwendolyn," She placed a hand on her mother's hair, stopping her from the hug.
"Oof. Are we still on that?" Mrs. Clawthorne placed her hands on her hips. "I'm your mother. Call me Mom."
"Mom?!" Lucila, Luz, and Lilith exclaimed, Lilith having pushed the window open.
"It is so good to see you again," She held Eda's cheeks. "How are you feeling? Are you eating well?" Eda pushed her mom's hands away. "I heard all about the Petrification Ceremony. Trust me, I have a lot of strong words for that Belos!" She crossed her arms in disapproval.
"Mother!" Lilith suddenly jumped onto Eda's back, leaping off. "Mother, you know, I was there too."
"Oh, hello to you too, sweet flea. Oh, still dyeing your hair, I see," She lightly touched Lilith's bang. "Well, it's very sleek. Now, give me a moment with Edalyn, dear. It's important." Lilith looked disheartened at this, the two Nocedas glancing at each other. Lucila couldn't help but sense that Mrs. Clawthorne wasn't paying too much attention on Lilith... "That's right! Today, I am about to complete a 30-year-mission."
"Oh, no," Eda said in dismay.
"You mother has finally succeeded!"
"Here it comes," The Owl Lady pinched her forehead.
"Today, I shall be curing your curse!" Mrs. Clawthorne announced, Eda scratching her ear.
"No, thanks."
"What?!" The other three exclaimed at her.
"I said, no thanks. I got my elixir system. I'm good," She tried to say as politely as possible. Lilith looked at her disapprovingly.
"But-but who knows what they put in those nasty concoctions?" Gwendolyn stepped forward a bit, frowning.
"Actually, I do. And-" She looked at her arm. "Would you look at the time? I got a lot to do today," She placed her mother on her staff. "So sad to see you go. Okay, bye!" She slapped the staff and the woman flew off. She swept her hands, feeling proud of herself with her hands on her hips. "Moms, am I right?" However, she looked back to see the dumbfounded faces of the trio.
"I haven't seen Mother in forever!" Lilith stomped up to her. "And she was handing you a cure on a silver platter!"
"I'd kill to see our mom right now," Luz gestured to her and Lucila. "And you just launch yours into the sky?!"
"Why would you treat your own mom like that?" Lucila crossed her arms, frowning.
"Oh, listen, she comes around every year, toting a new cure for my curse. But they never work, so I am done getting my hopes up," She held up a hand, walking right past the three of them.
"Mother visits Edalyn...regularly?" Lilith asked in disappointment, walking back towards the house. Meanwhile, Lucila and Luz stared in the direction that Gwendolyn went.
She didn't end up far as she landed safely near a pile of rocks. She looked away sadly from her daughter's reaction and walked off. The two couldn't help but feel bad for her; she had her heart in the right place, but Edalyn wanted nothing to do with her...
"Mrs. Clawthorne, wait!" Luz called out as they ran up to her. "I'm Luz, Eda's apprentice. And this is my sister, Lucila." Lucila waved with a smile. "I think what you're doing is so sweet. Eda can just be so...Eda sometimes."
"And how," Lucila looked up at the sky briefly in exasperation at the reminder. She could appreciate Eda for everything she had done for her and Luz all day if she wanted to, but the woman's stubbornness knew no bounds sometimes.
"Call me Gwen, dearies," She gestured to herself with a small smile, but then it dropped. "But please don't blame Edalyn. It was the curse that created the rift between us."
"We understand," Luz smiled softly. "Right now, there's an actual rift between us and our mom in the Human Realm."
"Yeah...I wish we knew how she was doing, we haven't physically seen her in months," Lucila frowned a little. The Human Realm situation was actually distracting her from...other things.
"Human Realm?" Gwen asked in confusion, and briefly noticed their ears. She thought for a second and gasped. "My dears, I may know how to fix both our rifts!"
"Really?" They wondered in surprise.
"I've heard some information that may assist you two on your quest. Help me cure Eda's curse and that information is yours."
"Great! Thank you so much," Lucila smiled as she looked happy, though she couldn't help but feel a bit hesitant. She wasn't sure why, but she'd dwell on it later.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Luz pumped her fists, smiling eagerly. "Where do we start?"
"We'll be consulting someone very special," She held the necklace with a ruin on it, and it glowed.
"So we're gonna meet a curse expert?" The younger Noceda asked in excitement, Gwen walking between both sisters on a forest trail. "This is so rad!"
"Yes, after years of dealing with the Healing Coven," She waved her hands dismissively, as she didn't like the answers that they kept giving her. "I finally found someone who promised me a curse," She smiled and then looked up, as they had reached their destination. "Ah, here we are." They were standing in front of a bunch of rocks...
"Umm, where is here?" Lucila murmured in confusion, Gwen stepping forward. She held up the necklace and the rock in front of her showed off the same symbol. That rock turned out to be a door as it moved to the side, showing a secret passageway. The three stepped inside, where there was a room full of candles, plants, crystals, charms, and symbols.
"Please," A little gremlin begged, who had boils on his eyeballs. "They're so itchy."
An older witch with four hands was sitting on a throne. He waved his hand, magic surrounding the little gremlin. He gasped as he was lifted up into the air. His eyes not only changed so that his boils were gone, but his eyes now had a bit of a sparkle to them.
The three gasped at this, Gwen humming in approval. The gremlin landed on the stone structure he was leaning on. "Boils, they're..." He touched his face, ecstatic. "They're gone!" He turned around to the old witch. "Thank you, Wortlop. Thank you!" He ran off happily, giggling.
"That's Master Wortlop," Gwen explained to the two, and they turned to stare at him. "He's a traveling curse expert who's perfected next-level healing magic. Ooh!" She ran past the two and they spun around, Lucila catching Gwen's handed out staff. The woman kneeled in front of Wortlop.
"Gwendolyn, my pupil," He greeted her. "Your aura is shining bright." His eyes shined as there was only white light in them, no pupils at all."
"It took many months, but I was able to gather the sacred items you requested," She took out a bag, laying down the items she scoured for. "The copper egg from the Snowy Rib Cage," She laid down a sparkling egg. "The silver dagger from the Swampy Toes," She then held up a dagger. "And the golden chalice from the desert of Palm Stings," She held up a glowing gold chalice.
"You're a dedicated mother, aren't you?" He waved his hands and they glowed green as a book manifested in front of him. "Inside this tome is the healing ability you seek." He handed her the tome, which had his symbol on it. "But keep it away from the eyes of nonbelievers, for many will be blinded by the power it holds."
"I understand," She smiled gratefully, bowing to him. "I am in your debt, Master Wortlop." She then turned around and left, the sisters glancing back with happy smiles before they left.
Gwen hammered down a sign that said apple blood on it near the Owl House, Luz finishing off the sign with an arrow. King looked out the window, hugging his stuffed rabbit. "Isn't it amazing, Francois? If Eda's mom can just pop up, who says my dad can't?" He watched as the three ran off to go set up their plan with more signs in their hands. He then stretched his arms. "Better get my hugging arms ready."
"Ha! Yeah, good luck with all that dad stuff," Lilith remarked while laying down on the couch, pigging out on ice cream. "Sometimes it doesn't matter how dutiful you are or successful you are, parents just won't give you the time of day."
"Don't listen to her, Francois," King warned the stuffed rabbit. "My dad won't be like that."
"Right," She remarked in disbelief. "Your mysterious father, who didn't even stick around to watch you hatch. Looks like you and I are in the same boat, King..." He whimpered, hugging Francois a bit in fear. The ice cream definitely was not helping the situation...
Luz tied down a vine to make it into a trip-rope. She wiped the sweat from her forehead. Lucila planted the last sign with the hammer, hands on her hips proudly. "Nice work, girls," Gwen jumped down to them. "With Wortlop's tome, and your abilities to lure Eda out of the house, we'll be curing that curse in no time!" She winked at them.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she's always down for more apple blood."
"When isn't she down for apple blood is the question," Lucila rolled her eyes in amusement. Eda kept trying to blow some of Lucila's earnings from the street on apple blood, and she eventually had to use it to buy King a bunch of stuffed animals...
That was a long day, to say the least.
"So, that Wortlop guy was really something," Luz continued, standing up. "You're his pupil?"
"Oh, yes," Gwen looked up from skimming the tome. "But first, I had to prove that I was worthy of his secrets," She waved a finger to put away the tome. "So I spent the last year on a bunch of dangerous quests," She smirked a bit. "And I didn't even get that many scars," She showed off her scarred biceps, were about 5 or 6 of them.
"Cool," Luz stated as they stared at it. "Also, dang, girl, your bicep game is ridiculous!"
"I've never seen any mom with biceps like that," Lucila commented, though reminded herself not to get on Gwen's bad side ever. They heard a noise and Gwen gasped.
"Our signs must've worked!" She guided them over to a hiding spot. There were several silly signs from Luz, and some normal ones from both Gwen and Lucila.
"Oh, baby, time to stock up on Mama's night juice," She smiled as she followed the path.
"According to Wortlop's tome, we start by lowering the beast's defenses with special crystals," Gwen whispered to them both. "And they're supposed to be quite calming." One of them fell right in front of Eda's feet and she dove out of the way.
"Whoa!" She spun her staff to avoid some others as they broke off. She spun around to avoid the next one. "Huh. Knife season came early this year." A shadow loomed over her, and she looked up. Eda screamed as she fell backwards, a giant crystal landing in front of her. Feathers then popped out of her body as she did NOT look happy.
"Oh," Lucila covered her mouth, feeling a little bad about that. After all, that could've killed Eda! Luz gasped, pulling out an elixir.
"She's stressed!" She prepared to throw it.
"Oh, no, no, no," Gwen stopped her. "The texts say those feathers mean we're driving the beast out."
"Oh..." She didn't feel that was the case, though. If Eda knew about that, wouldn't she have tried that method years ago?
"I don't know..." Lucila murmured hesitantly.
"Don't worry," Gwen placed a hand on their shoulders. "After today, Eda will never have to drink those nasty little things again."
Luz smiled weakly, deciding to roll with it. "All right. What do we do next?"
"Next, we're gonna put that beast...on ice," She released a cloud from her bag that formed itself into a human face, and it then started to blow ice. Lucila sweated a bit at this. When Eda somehow managed to survive all of this afterward, she feared for her life of what the woman would do if she found out they were the ones behind this...
King and Lilith were both on the couch, surrounded by a tone of empty ice cream cartons. The two groaned, holding their stomachs.
"How do you get a parent's attention?" King wondered groggily, a carton sliding down his face.
"Heck if I know. Mother wasn't even at my Coven Initiation," Lilith had another spoonful of ice cream.
"At least you know what she looks like," King sat up, looking a little angry. "All I have is an old wall carving. What if that's just graffiti?"
"Heh," Hooty opened the door to face them, a little concerned. "That's, uh, that's an awful lot of ice cream you guys are eating," He lowered his body to the floor, looking at all the flavors such as sludge chunks or key slime pie in red or green. "You know that Eda and Luci get that stuff from the Night Market, right?"
Sometimes Eda and Luci went out at night together to buy stuff for the fridge since Lucila would ride her bike to go grocery shopping back in the Human Realm, so she knew what she was doing. Not only did it help Eda form a grocery list from time to time and knew what Luz wanted thanks to Lucila, the two also bonded over their favorite ice cream flavors from the Night Market (AFTER Lucila got a sample taste of them to make sure it was all edible). Back home, though, Lucila only had a learner's permit, and she would've gotten her license had she chosen to stay home.
"Are you my mother?" Lilith argued back. "Because that is an awful lot of judgment."
"This stinks," King threw down the ice cream carton. "If my dad doesn't care about me, why should I care about him? Hmm? Well, I'm not going to him! He's gonna have to come to me," He leaned backwards, crossing his arms.
"And I'm sick of being overlooked!" Lilith sat up, furious. "From now on, I...I have no mother! And I-I'd say that to her face!"
"Yeah!" King agreed with her, Hooty frowning. All that ice cream was getting to their heads, and he didn't know how to stop it.
"Isn't that taking it a bit too far?" He protested at them.
"It's not taking it far enough! Go tell her. Go on. She's right outside," King gestured to the door.
"She is?" Lilith's eyes widened as she didn't know that Gwen had returned.
"Yeah, I saw her go off with Luz and Luci," King explained to her. "I think they're gonna heal Eda's curse or whatever."
"Uh, oh," Her expression faltered, bringing her hands together. "Is that so? Mother paying attention to Edalyn, again! I mean, it's not like I care," She waved her hands in denial, smiling widely...but that argument came back to bite her as feathers grew from her face. Hooty slowly moved away from her.
"You got, uh...you got a little, uh..." King tried to tell her and she gasped in realization. She looked everywhere for some elixirs, but unfortunately, somehow they were all gone despite Lilith not needing them until now.
"Where...are...the elixirs?!" She started sobbing in Eda's room, kneeling onto the ground. King and Hooty stepped in.
"Lilith?" The little demon asked cautiously, Lilith letting out a scream, her eyes turning fully black. She then transformed in front of them, King nervously holding up a tub of ice cream, but that wasn't going to work.
"This...better be the oldest, strongest, stinkiest apple blood ever," Eda grumbled as she crawled to the top, and she felt like a mess...and when she lifted up her head, she still had a bunch of feathers on her body. She saw a sign that said 'it really is that good!' and it made her scream in frustration. As she walked, she suddenly slipped on a gooey substance., sliding down a bit. She grunted at the mess on her boots. "I just stole these!"
She then fell into a trap when she stepped onto a pile of leaves, and a net catapulted her into the sky. She flew right over the three, Luz and Lucila looking horrified. "It seems like the curse isn't my daughter's only problem," Gwen remarked at this, the Owl Lady landing in a bush. Her staff quickly joined her and she held up a hand.
"Help Mama up..."
"I don't think this is working," Lucila frowned a bit. "We haven't seen a shred of progress, and it's been hours."
"Gwen, we tried freezing the curse out, we tried sweating the curse out, we even tried flying snakes for some reason. Lucila's right, I don't think this stuff is working either," Luz agreed with her sister as Eda ran past the tree they were hiding in, being chased by the flying snakes. "Did Wortlop ever say where he learned this stuff?"
They glanced up at Gwen, who was oddly on her crow phone. She tapped a button and the crow flew off.
"What did you just do?" Luz asked skeptically.
"It turns out the ancient tome is only the first of a series," She explained with a smile, handing a crow something and it left. "So I'm trading in a few paltry family heirlooms to get the rest," She levitated the tome into her hands. The two sisters glanced at each other skeptically. It seemed pretty weird that Wortlop would ask for precious things in return for a series of books to HEAL a curse. Which already was ridiculous to Lucila, because she just learned recently from school that curses usually weren't that extensive to heal.
If the Healing Hat couldn't cure Eda, according to Lilith, none of this stuff could either.
"Let's see that book," Luz stepped forward, holding out her hand.
"Halt," Gwen stopped them, holding the book away. "Only people who have scaled Wortlop's Pyramid of Study can touch the tome!" She held out up her necklace, but Luz used a plant glyph to grow a vine, and it snatched the tome. "Hey!" Luz caught it and opened the book, her sister looking over her shoulder.
"What is this? Jar of bees for existential dread? Aromatherapy for broken legs?" She then flipped a page. "Bird songs for sufferers of stuffy noses?"
Lucila rubbed her neck as she heard the last one. One time in Healing class with her sister, they had to do that exact thing for healing minor stuff like the flu or headaches. It wasn't as fun as it sounded since they had to make sure not to get infected...
"Gwen, you're being scammed," Luz closed the tomb. "Wortlop is a fake."
"You really think I'd spend my life savings on a fake?" Gwen asked in disbelief, grabbing the tomb back.
"Look, none of this stuff is actually relevant to the curse," Lucila gestured to the woman.
"I know you want what's best for Eda, and so do we," Luz took out an elixir from her fanny back. "But we're calling this off."
"Maybe if we explain everything, Eda won't be too angry at us," Her sister rubbed a temple. They went to go see where Eda was to throw her one, but Gwen bent down to them.
"Girls, I really thought we were on the same side," She then took the elixir from Luz. "According to Wortlop, poison like this is made by...healers and potion makers who simply want money," She showed them a page that literally said 'don't spend money on this, spend it on me!'
"This is ridiculous," Lucila pinched her nose, wondering how Gwen, a seemingly smart and sweet lady, could believe any of this. Not only that, she was reciting stuff that she had misinformation on!
"Are you kidding me?!" Luz screamed at this. "You just-" She grunted, pinching her temple. "Whatever. We'll just get more at the house," She pushed away the tomb.
"I'm afraid that will be a waste of your time," Gwen stated and Lucila blinked at her in confusion. Her palisman floated down with a bag, and once he dropped it, the bag opened up to reveal that it was filled to the brim with elixirs. "Hawksley cleared out every bottle hours ago."
"Whoa..." Luz looked a bit unnerved now, especially since Gwen didn't know about Lilith, which was concerning the older Noceda. Mostly due to the fact that Lilith seemed really sad about her mom barely paying any attention to her, and she wasn't sure how long the woman could last emotionally without getting stressed. "Why would you do that?!"
"Because I am a mother who will do anything for her daughter," She was about to toss it when the two stopped her.
"No! Don't do it, Eda needs that!" Lucila protested and they all fell off the tree.
"Ugh," Eda stood up, throwing a snake out of her hair. "Woo, this ain't good," She examined herself as the three screamed, landing in a bush nearby. Once they landed, the elixir bottle was in pieces. "Hey, what is going on here?" She demanded them for an answer.
"Witchlet, it's okay," Gwen stood up, dusting herself off. "Luz, Lucila, and I are working to heal you."
"What?! This was all you?" Eda pointed to all the traps she went through. "You weren't healing me. You nearly killed me!" More feathers grew onto her body, which didn't go unnoticed.
"We didn't think it'd go this far without success, we're so sorry," Lucila frowned, gesturing to herself and Luz.
"Eda, please try to stay calm," Luz said, as Eda was getting stressed.
"Why? Why should I be calm? I have a right to be UPSET!" That was all it took to make the transformation occur as black eyes appeared, and she quickly turned into Owl Beast Eda.
Meanwhile, Eda was in a dark void. It wasn't until a large foot stepped in front of her that she opened her eyes. She looked up to see an owl monster right in front of her, standing up. "Ohh...let's get this over with," She took off into a run.
Owl Beast Eda approached them with a growl. "Don't worry. According to this, we just have to...uh..." She skimmed through the tomb, but obviously it had nothing to fix this.
"Have to what?" Luz wondered in anticipation.
"Buy the next volume?" She showed them a page that said to be continued on volume 7...Luz took a deep breath, grunting as she gestured to the book.
"I-I can't even," Lucila facepalmed at Gwen. Owl Beast Eda let out a screech and suddenly King arrived out of nowhere. He gasped at the appearance of Owl Beast Eda in front of him.
"King?" Luz asked in confusion.
"What are you doing here?" Lucila added in.
"So Lilith was feeling stressed...and, uh, the light glyph didn't really work. So, uh...uh...uh..." A shadow loomed over them and they all gasped. Something landed in front of Owl Beast Eda that was much larger than Eda herself...
Lilith.
"She turned into that thing!" King hugged Luz's leg in fear.
"Sweet flea?" Gwen murmured in concerned, the sisters absolutely shocked. The Raven Beast let out a large roar. Owl Beast Eda charged forward, as did Raven Beast Lilith. But because the Raven Beast was much bigger, it quickly took hold of her sister and flew off, both of them screeching. The group were just flabbergasted. "That...was my little sweet flea," She muttered in realization, King glaring at her. Luz took hold of Eda's fallen staff. "That means she's also-"
"Cursed, yes! Were you not paying any attention to her?" King interrupted, joining Luz and Lucila on the staff.
"We have to help them," Luz held out a hand to Gwen. "Will you help us?"
"This...this must be part of the process, right?" She grasped her necklace, confused and not knowing what to do.
Lucila shook her head at Luz, signaling that the woman wasn't going to be of much help right now. "I can see you still need a little time. Alright, Owlbert, let's fly!" The three took off, Gwen flying off in the opposite direction.
"Wortlop...he's not a fake, is he?" She asked herself, not knowing what to believe right now. "After everything I did for him," She landed in front of the secret entrance, peeking inside. She then gasped as it turned out that Wortlop was actually a disguise...for little gremlins. And they had everything that she gave them. They had a fire made out of firebees.
"Hey, what do you wanna call this one?" One of them put dirt in a jar.
"Eh, I don't know. Cleansing mud?"
"Yeah, from the Healing Bogs of the Hips or whatever. What do you think?"
"I think we're gonna be rich," The one who had boils on his eyes previously was putting on makeup to make it look like he had ugly eyes. They all started laughing when suddenly, the firebee fire grew. They gasped and screamed in fright. The firebees moved away to reveal a furious Gwen.
They quickly put on the disguise, but the damage had already been done. "Mrs. Clawthorne," One of them cleared their throat. "What a fortuitous surprise."
"You know..." Gwen stepped forward slowly. "Right after Eda was cursed, I joined the Beast Keeper Coven," A firebee landed on her finger and she smirked. "I thought they surely would know what to do. But the beast keepers told me the curse couldn't be tamed. And the Healers told me it couldn't be healed," She came to a stop in front of 'Wortlop.' "Eda told me she found something that made it manageable at least. But I didn't listen."
"I could give you the next volume! 5% off? 10% off?"
"Leave," She growled out, the firebees' flames increasing. "And if I ever see you in Bonesborough again, every beast in the forest will be after your head!" She declared angrily. The gremlins separated out of the costume and screamed, digging into the dirt and disappearing. The firebees went back to the small little fire. She chuckled, flipping her hair. "Still got it!"
Lilith took Eda into town, tackling her sister onto the ground. They destroyed walls of homes, Owl Beast Eda throwing her sister into someone's house. Owl Beast Eda then flew off. Her sister snarled and flew after her. Once she reached her, Raven Beast Lilith kicked her down and they faced each other. Owl Beast Eda flew off, but the two tackled each other. They landed near an owl woman, who was feeding the birds. They flew away, but she still threw the birdseed.
Luz, Lucila, and King flew over them on the staff. "Gotta think fast. Whoo!" She noticed the Mr. Elixir shop still open.
"No one's bought anything in a while," Morton lamented, hand on his cheek. "I should close up shop," He reached out to the wooden door of the window.
"Morton!" Luz cried out and he looked up, the two landing in front of him. "We need every last elixir you have."
He gasped and then noticed the older Noceda.
"L-Lucila!" He adjusted his face to try and look cool to her. "I-I mean, heeey, Lucila," He grinned at her.
"We don't have time for this, Morton," Lucila said in exasperation.
"Also, do you accept payment in hyper-realistic pencil portraits?" Luz held up a portrait of Morton that she apparently did herself. Lucila had to fork over her earnings thanks to Eda trying to blow it on the apple blood, so she couldn't pay Morton...
Luz beamed hopefully, but he frowned, turning to Lucila.
"I'm sorry, Lucila. This isn't anything against you, but as a businessman, I have to do this," He slammed the doors in their faces.
"Shoot! I thought I was improving," Luz said in disappointment.
"I don't think it had anything to do with your drawing," Lucila sweated a little.
"Don't worry!" They turned around to see Gwen landing nearby. She had a large bag over her shoulder. "Mama's here," She held up the bag.
The two beasts roared at each other. Raven Beast Lilith lunged forward, but Owl Beast Eda flew up to a house. Raven Beast Lilith tackled her onto the roof as the others climbed onto the roof opposite of them. "You sure this is gonna work?" Luz wondered to Gwen.
"Yeah, are you like secretly sending us to our deaths?"
"King," Lucila warned him.
"No, I'm making things right," Gwen ripped off the necklace and threw it down. She then broke it with her heel. Luz and Lucila jumped onto the staff with King, flying off. Gwen spun a large spell circle, making a few tiles from another house fly over. She used those to make her way over to them.
"My beautiful daughters, I failed you," She spoke up, getting their attention. Owl Beast Eda went over to her. "Edalyn...you're in there, aren't you?" She held out a hand, touching a part of the hair.
Eda was still running as she heard her mother speaking. "I should've listened to you. I know now why you pushed me away." Eda looked up in confusion.
"Uh, Mom?" She hesitated to say.
"I made you think your curse was something to be ashamed of." Eda clenched her fists, looking over to the owl creature. It screeched at her and she closed her eyes. "Whether we want it or not, it's a part of you. And I love every part of you." Eda held out her hand, a bright light flashing between her and the Owl Beast. Once it stopped, the creature had shrunk, and it ran off. "Mom, I can hear you! And you..." She looked back at the creature, tackling it and grabbing hold. "My turn to drive."
Gwen pressed her forehead to Eda's. "I'm so sorry..."
"Mom?"
She opened her eyes in shock as Eda's eyes were back to normal. "Witchlet!" She hugged her daughter in relief. Raven Beast Lilith saw this and roared in anger, about to strike. Eda grabbed hold of her arm, pinning her down before she could do anything. "And Lilith..." Gwen bent down to her, holding her cheeks. "You were always so self-sufficient." Lilith struggled, her mother rubbing her thumb against her cheek. "But I didn't give you the attention you deserved."
Lilith started crying over the years of never getting any attention. Gwen hugged her face, rubbing the top of her head. "Shh...NOW!"
The others flew over them, King jumping off the staff and landing on the two's ears to hold them down. Luz popped open an elixir with her mouth, Lucila pulling the cork open. Luz handled Eda while Lucila handled Lilith. Once they drank the elixirs, their eyes glowed yellow and a cloud of yellow air appeared. It knocked King backwards, almost falling off the roof when the two stopped him. They all shielded their eyes as the cloud shaped itself into a bird, lifting the two into the air. The cloud exploded, and it flashed brightly.
"Man, that is good elixir," Luz commented at it. Gwen looked up as the two women fell slowly towards her and she caught them both. Eda smiled up at her.
"About time, Mom."
Lilith then started crying again. "Mom, I heard you, but I couldn't stop myself. I-I couldn't do anything."
Gwen hugged the woman. "It's okay. Everything is okay now." She smiled as she pulled Eda in. "I'm here for you both."
The two Nocedas looked on with smiles. "She was...trying to do her best, huh?" King wondered, no longer angry towards Gwen.
"Anyone does all they can...for family," Lucila smiled softly at Luz, ruffling her hair a little. Luz grinned up at her.
Gwen stood in front of everyone except Lilith once they returned home. "I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused, but I-I just wanted to help. I should've trusted you more."
"Yeah, you should've," Eda punched her playfully in the arm. "But hey, don't be a stranger. Okay, Mom?"
Gwen softly smiled. Then Lilith burst out of the Owl House, carrying her staff and a bundle of items. "Mom, I'm ready!"
"Huh?" Eda eyed her suspiciously.
"Well, we were talking," Lilith went over to Gwen happily. "And...I've decided to go home with Mother and make up for lost time."
"What?"
"Lily?"
"You're leaving?"
"You lived here?"
"What?!"
"Edalyn..." Gwen started off, her staff disappearing. "Lilith tole me how she gave you the curse. I am so, so sorry to you both," She took hold of both of their hands. "To have this secret weighing you down. I wish I knew sooner."
"There's still a lot to be learned about this curse. But...it'll be nice to spend some time home and reconnect with Dad."
Eda looked away a little sadly, as she really did like having her sister around...
"We'll be away for a while, but we have plenty of elixir stocked up," She reached behind her hair, revealing a bunch of elixirs hidden in it.
"Someday my hair is gonna be big enough to do that too," Luz smiled fondly.
"You actually want that?" King raised a brow.
"Just ask Luci, I do it to her every now and then."
"You do what now?" Lucila turned to her with crossed arms, Luz smiling sheepishly. Though honestly, she shouldn't be surprised anymore.
"No, Lulu!" Hooty went over to her with tears in his eyes. "You can't!"
"Hootsifer, I have to," She held his cheek, smiling. "But don't worry, we can be pen pals," She nuzzled his forehead and walked off.
"But I can't hold a pen!" He fell down sobbing and Lucila leaned in towards Lilith.
"Don't worry, I'll help him," She whispered to the woman, who smiled at her.
"Thank you, Luci, for showing me what it means to be a better sister. I...hope we can be friends someday."
"Lilith...we always have been friends," The girl smiled at her. "If it weren't for you, my guitar wouldn't be helping make so many snails," She chuckled at the joke, Lilith giggling a bit.
"Luz, Lucila," Gwen spoke up. "If it weren't for you, I might still be wrapped up in Wortlop's lies. So here's what I should've told you from the start." Lucila walked over curiously, standing at her sister's side. She leaned in towards them. "You're not the only humans to have lived in Bonesborough, "She smiled knowingly, the two gasping. Up until today, they thought they were the first. "There's a rare substance called Titan's blood. It is extremely powerful and sometimes causes leaks between our realms. Plants, animals—and you guys have a lot of garbage, by the way. But humans are rare. My great-grandmother told me about a human who once lived here. But one day he just vanished! Rumor has it he left something in the library, and if you can find out more about him..."
"Maybe we could find out how he got here!" Luz finished for her.
"Exactly," Gwen winked at them. She then flew off with Lilith, everyone except Hooty waving. He was still sobbing...
"Well, I'll be on the couch for the next 24 hours," Eda yawned, turning around to head in. "Good night."
"No, wait! I call couch!" King went over her, leaving just the two sisters outside.
"We'll be home soon, Mom," Luz smiled and then realized something. "Camp's probably ended by now. She must be so worried."
"We'll tell her the whole story someday," Lucila assured her, hand on her shoulder. "...Buuuut, maybe we ease her into it."
"Agreed," Luz sighed in relief at her.
Meanwhile, back at their home in the human realm, their mother was crying on the couch. She then sat up, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry. These animal documentaries make me such a mess," She turned off the TV.
"Here, Mama," Luz's hand reached out with a tissue box.
"Thank you, Luz," She stated to someone who...looked like Luz! "You always know what to do."
"I made your favorite, Mama," Someone who looked like Lucila, though hidden in the shadows, stepped into the doorway from the kitchen, holding a tray...
Lucila walked into the market, wearing her cloak as she had her hoodie over her hair and having a grey mask over her face. Ever since she started playing there for extra money, she had to be extra careful that she wasn't recognized by anyone she knew. She snorted to herself as she walked over to her regular spot, as she knew now how Eda felt dealing with similarly selling human stuff...She would reveal herself, but she didn't want anyone approaching her at school and treating her differently. And she also never sang either to further protect her identity, and also because she didn't sing in public. It wasn't because she hated it, but larger crowds made her a little uncomfortable sometimes.
She sat down and tuned her guitar, putting down a giant hat to collect snails in. She then started playing, getting some attention as they stepped forward, dropping some snails in. She smiled and then suddenly she thought of her recent song, and why she wrote it...as she began to think about the rift she was going through with the Golden Guard, blue flower petals fell to signify her sadness. The Golden Guard was walking by when he noticed a flower petal falling near his feet.
On the opposite side of the market, Emira and Edric were there thanks to their mother ordering them to bring back some supplies. They looked up as they heard the playing and saw the crowd.
"Hey, that's pretty cool," He looked up at the petals and they stepped forward, peeking past the crowd. The Golden Guard stepped up as well as he was curious about what was making the music. He got a good look...and he knew that by the glasses and the hands that it was Lucila herself. She played so fluently, never making a mistake or a slip-up. And the look on her face...it captured how she felt while playing. He stared at her, a small smile hitting his face. Edric was also smiling at the girl, being moved by her playing. He knew who it was since Lucila was the only person he knew that played guitar.
Lucila played the last note, hearing clapping and looking up with a small smile. People passed by dropping snails in her hat and she bowed thankfully. "That was...nice," The Golden Guard spoke up and she flinched in alarm, looking away silently. "A little shy, huh? Well, in any case, you're not breaking any laws, so no need to bring you to the Emperor." He dropped a couple of snails himself into the hat. "Don't think I don't know who you are."
She looked at him wide-eyed, but he just waved and left, leaving her a little baffled. Edric and Emira gave her some snails. "Hey, you're pretty good," Edric told her and she nodded silently. "Keep it up. A special girl I know oughta play more like you," He winked knowingly and she pinched her nose as they left.
"Nice one, bro," Emira nudged him a little. "Should we tell everyone?"
"Nah, let her be. No reason to spread it around," He waved it off, glancing back at the girl with a smile. She glanced back at him and then the Golden Guard, blushing to herself with a small smile of her own. She was just grateful that they weren't going to say anything...