Disclaimer: I do not own Owl House. It is Copyright of Disney.
Being Hurt is a Reason to Heal Chapter 1: Spare a Coin?
"Spare a coin miss?" the young orphan said, hand extended. The young boy was dressed in a tattered potato sack with dirt covering his face. He looked like every other homeless person on the Boiling Isles. The boy's only distinct feature was his orange hair which went down to his shoulders.
"Ah, what is a little cutie-pie like you doing on the streets?" the richly dressed woman asked. She was flanked by a man in equally fine clothing who held her hand protectively.
"I need coin to survive. Please help me," the boy said. He seemed to be on the verge of tears.
"What about your parents? Where are they?" the man asked, furrowing his brow.
"Peter! Don't be rude. This little angel obviously doesn't have parents," the woman yelled.
"It's true. Daddy took mommy away."
"Where did he take her to?"
"Outside our house… I heard a loud bang and when he came back he told me mommy was gone," the boy said, tears now in his eyes.
"Oh dear, that's terrible. Come here." The woman embraced the orphan.
"Ah, c'mon Meryl. This is a sob story. He thinks we're marks," Peter said, glaring at the young orphan.
"Nonsense, Peter. Try to have a little sympathy," Meryl said before turning her gaze toward the young boy, "Is there anything we can do for you?"
"A little bit of coin goes a long way." The boy once again held out his hand, giving the couple his most pitiful look.
"Of course. Peter give this adorable child your purse," Meryl commanded.
"B-but Meryl! Ugh, fine. Here!" He slammed the purse into the boy's grasping fingers.
The pouch was bursting with coins, weighing heavy in his hands. He looked up gratefully and said, in his most sincere voice, "Bless you."
"Ah… Hey! If you want, you can come stay with us."
"What!?" both Peter and the boy said in unison.
"We have a big house, with a pool. We have plenty of servants who will be at your beck and call. If you want."
"O-Okay! Just let me get my stuff from the alley where I sleep. Meet me at the pub in a half-hour." The boy tried to act like he was excited, but was sure he flubbed the attempt.
"Okay see you then. Stay safe!" she called.
"I will." The boy walked away from the couple, but was stopped by a small dog-like creature with a skull mask on his face.
"Aidan, the King of Demons demands tribute," the dog-like creature commanded. Though he tried hard to sound tough, he only seemed adorable.
"What do you want this time King?" Aidan looked down at the diminutive King of Demons.
"I demand ice cream," the King said.
"King I don't have money for ice cream."
The creature looked skeptically at Aidan and then turned his gaze towards the purse. "Well what's that?"
"You know this money belongs to mom. If she found out we bought ice cream with it, she would kill us."
"Eda won't mind us getting a few frozen treats. Besides, it's super hot out here."
"King, no means no."
"Fine," King replied crossing his arms.
"Don't be a sad sack. How about when we get home I run your favorite brush through your fur."
The little demon creature's tail wagged, "You mean it!?"
"Sure I do buddy."
"Uh, Aidan?"
"Yeah King?"
"Looks like the guards are talking with your marks," King said pointing over Aidan's shoulder.
When Aidan turned his head he saw a guard wearing a pointed mask holding a wanted poster of Aidan's mother along with a picture of him. He was talking with the richly dressed couple and they seemed to be in shock.
"Run?" King asked.
"Run!" Aidan confirmed.
"There he is! After him!" the guard yelled pointing his finger at the retreating pair.
Aidan and King rushed through the city's streets, the guards nipping at their heels every step of the way.
"Hey! Stop! In the name of emperor!"
Aidan turned around and pointed his fingers at the charging guards. "The emperor is all washed up." Aidan traced a blue circle in the air from which came a crashing wave of water, engulfing the guards.
The guards, coughing up liquid, picked themselves up off the ground. They watched their quarry run into the crowded streets. They chased after the boy and the demon, but lost them. They looked around but still couldn't see them.
Aidan managed to get away by ducking into an alley. He was safe. Breathing heavily Aidan watched King do the same. After the initial shock the duo laughed.
"Did you see them choking on your spell? Please tell me that was salt water," King said.
"It was," Aidan said proudly.
King clapped his hands together. "Take a bow."
Aidan did just that. "Thank you. Thank you. Did you expect anything less from the son of the greatest witch on the Boiling Isles."
"You are truly a worthy servant of the King of–" he was cut off by a screech from across the street.
"Demons!" a finely clothed woman screamed. The source of her fear was two children.
The first was the bigger of the two. He had purple skin and two filed down horns. The other was a girl who looked about the same age as Aidan. She had blue skin and stubby wings.
"Really? She is scared of a few half-bloods? Wait til she's introduced to a real demon, like me."
Aidan watched the two being lead out of the store by the shopkeeper. The big barrel bellied man led the kids by their ears.
"And stay out! You filthy fiend-bloods," he hollered, throwing them into the mud.
As the children found their footing, Aidan walked up to greet them.
"Hey are you okay?" he asked.
The boy who Aidan guessed was about ten, flared his nostrils and grabbed the girl's hand. "What do you care!? Let's go Anne." The demon-blooded boy was about to walk off, but was stopped by his sister.
"But Donnie, I'm hungry," Anne said, her voice meek.
"Well, we're not gonna get any food here. So let's go."
"Hold on. I can get you some food," Aidan said. He then showed the pair his purse full of coins, "I have some extra, so we can share."
"Really, you mean it?" Anne asked, her body shaking with excitement.
"What's in it for you?" Donnie questioned, his voice stern and protective.
"Us outcasts gotta look out for each other," Aidan replied.
"Outcast? You? But you're just a normal witch like the rest of them."
"Well you're half right, but my mom is none other than Eda the Owl Lady. You know the one with the huge bounty? So I know a thing or two about being judged by people who've never met me. We have that in common, at least." Aidan held out his hands in friendship.
Anne took it eagerly but Donnie did not.
"Let me get you something to eat. You want anything in particular?"
"Red poppers!" Anne exclaimed.
"We need some warm clothes for winter," Donnie said, his arms still crossed.
"You got it!" Aidan hurried into the store. He was met by a portly shopkeeper who gave the young boy a suspicious look.
"Can I help you?" he asked aggressively.
"Yeah I need some bread, a couple blankets, two winter jackets, six sets of warm clothes, three for a boy about ten, three for a girl of seven, a couple boxes of red poppers, and some canned food, enough to fill a cart please."
The shop keep eyed Aidan up and down. "And how are you going to pay for it all?"
Aidan grabbed the pouch and tossed it on the counter. He looked at the man who towered above him and said with a smile, "Why with coin of course."
The shopkeeper went to collect the items, still eyeing Aidan warily. He returned a few minutes later with four bags full of stuff. "That will be 25 snails."
Aidan counted out the money and slid it to the store owner.
"You know, it saddens me to see a pure bred witch out on the street. Why don't you stay for some cider?" he asked.
This is obviously a trap, Aidan thought. He looked at the back room and saw his mom's wanted poster. "No thanks. I really need to be going."
"Are you sure? I would love to help you get where you belong," the man said with a huge grin.
I'm sure you would, Aidan thought, I go to the comformitorium and you get a nice big payout. Aidan suppressed a biting remark. "I really need to get going, sorry."
"Oh okay. Don't be a stranger."
Aidan took his bags, his pouch, and went outside to find the two. They looked at him expectantly. "Here you go. There are some clothes and a few blankets. It seems he put about a week's worth of bread and about ten cans of beans in there as well."
"Did you get the red poppers?" Anne asked.
"Yeah looks like he gave me three boxes."
Anne, excited, grabbed for the box but was stopped by Donnie.
"Why?" he asked.
"Why what?"
"Why help us? We're fiend-bloods."
"I already told ya: we outcasts need to stick together."
Donnie stuck out his hand for Aidan to shake.
Aidan took it and said, "You're not alone."
Donnie pulled Aidan into a hug. "Thank you."
Aidan heard munching and turned to see King eating an ice cream sandwich, "Where did you get that?"
"Stole it from that dumb shop-keep while you were talking to him."
"King. C'mon man, that's not cool." Aidan facepalmed.
"We both know he won't miss an ice cream sandwich," King chuckled.
"That doesn't give you the right to be a–"
"Thief!" the shopkeeper yelled. He was flanked by two guards, their weapons drawn. "And there is the son of the Owl Lady, as promised," the merchant said, holding out his hand for his reward.
"Run!" Aidan yelled, grabbed King's hand, and led him down the alley.
Both Donnie and Anne followed after, but the bags weighed Donnie down. He and his sister ran into the crowded market, the guards right behind them. When they made a sharp turn Anne tripped. Donnie tried to help her up but the guards were closing in.
The guards were about to grab the two children when a voice called out.
"Hey look! Free money!" Aidan tossed the coin purse between the guard and the children. It landed, the coins bursting out. A crowd of people began storming toward the guards.
"Let's go Anne." Donnie picked her up and sprinted down another alley. They lost the guards, finding Aidan and King arguing.
"Really? You'll throw away coins for some random kids, but not to get me an ice cream?"
"It's your fault we were in that position to begin with. You and your sticky fingers."
"Yeah blame the King of Demons for taking what rightfully belongs to him."
"You don't have the right to other people's stuff–" Aidan felt a tug on his arm. He turned to see Anne looking at him.
"Thank you for your help. Sorry about your coins."
Aidan hugged the girl and whispered in her ear, "It's okay. It was the right choice."
"We better get going while the guards are distracted. I really appreciate your help," Donnie said, leading Anne away with their bags still in tow.
The young girl looked back, smiled, and waved goodbye.
"You did a good thing. Demon-bloods have had it rough since the Demonic Insurrection. You've got a heart of gold Aidan," King said patting him on the back.
"King, this is bad."
"What why?"
"Because I don't have any money for mom."
"Eda will understand. I'm sure"
"I know. I just wanted to help her out, to say thank you for being such a great mom."
King placed his hand on Aidan's shoulder. "I think she knows kid."
"Thanks King. Hey, let's go try and bum some hot chocolate from those cutie cafe people."
"Ugh, they give me the creeps. I mean what's their deal? Why do they hate teenagers so much?"
"I don't know, but you owe me for that little stunt you pulled."
"Ah, okay," King said walking beside Aidan toward the cafe. He's a good kid. I know his father would be proud, King thought, Maybe Eda will tell Aidan the truth about him one day.