When Luz woke up, the first thing she registered was a dull throbbing in her head.
Opening her eyes did not help things. The sun coming in through her window hurt to look at. The throbbing became more noticeable. Luz also took slight notice of the itchiness in her eyes, as well as a very stuffy nose. Her body also felt hot, although she was shivering. She sat up.
Ow ow ow ow!
Immediate regret. Her head spun as she clutched it.
Hopefully it's nothing. I did stay up waayyyy too late last night, though… Luz thought as she remembered waiting with the echo mouse for hours until Eda playfully threatened to have Hooty drag her out of her room to
make her get ready for bed. (It worked)
Slowly, Luz starts to stand up. The headache, of course, makes this difficult. (However, her nose became less stuffed and more runny.) Nevertheless she manages to make it to the door.
By the time Luz makes it downstairs, Eda is already rummaging the kitchen for food, and most likely apple blood.
"Morning, Eda," Luz yawns. Her throat feels irritated.
Eda turns around. "Ah! Morning kid- woah."
Luz stares at her mentor, crossing her arms. "What?"
"You don't look so good, kid." Eda points out.
Heh, I don't feel so good either. My head feels like it's about to explode.
However, Luz answers with a dismissive wave. "Eh, it's probably nothin'. I stayed up very late last night," she sits down and rests her chin in her hands.
Eda gives her a concerned look and finds the food she's looking for. "Uh…okay, but don't overwork yourself." Luz just nods sluggishly before sneezing.
(Silently, the human girl wonders what the Boiling Isles version of "bless you" is.)
After Eda had set down her, Luz, and King's breakfast, Luz had begun rubbing her nose. It felt significantly better, until she remembered that one: she shouldn't do that, and two: there are napkins right next to her. She used one to blow her nose.
God, it hurt more than necessary.
And try as she might, Luz can't bring herself to start eating her breakfast. Her stomach doesn't hurt, nor does she feel like throwing up, but the thought of eating the pancakes in front of her makes her stomach squirm. So, she gently pushes the plate away.
Ah farts, my arms hurt now, Luz notes. And the throbbing in her head has doubled.
"Luz? Luz!" The sound of snapping fingers gets her to look up. "Hey, you feeling alright?" Eda asks with concern.
"Hm?"
"You've been sluggish and rubbing your nose and you didn't eat yet. Are you feeling alright?" The witch repeats in a way that sounds like she's trying to sound calm.
Trying her best to sit up straight, Luz shrugs. "'M fine," she insists. But to her dismay, another sneeze escapes her. Dang it.
God someone make it stop…
Then, Luz decides that maybe splashing her face with water might help her feel better. And possibly look better.
"Uh- I-I have to go to the bathroom!" Luz blurts out, and it sounds slurred. She tries to stand up, but doing so makes legs hurt and her head spins once more. She barely even made it to the stairs, and now, it feels like a weight is on her chest.
No no no, not now, I can't slack off today!
Before she knows it, Eda and King are by her side.
Wait, was the room growing? Or shrinking?
"Luz," Eda says, keeping the girl steady with firm hands on her shoulders. "Tell us the truth. How are you feeling?"
The seriousness in her mentor's voice is hard to ignore. So, Luz admits defeat.
"I…" Luz tries to find the right words amidst her dizzy and pounding head. "I don't feel so good, Eda," the words sound pathetic when they come out.
That's all Eda needs to hear for her to nod her head and gently lead the girl by her shoulders.
"I thought so. Come on, let's get you upstairs hon, 'kay?" She says as they ascend to the bathroom.
When they finally reach the bathroom after what felt like longer, Luz hurriedly stumbles towards the sink on shaking legs, and attempts to reach the handle that turns on the cold water. But then her head starts itching, as if there's ants crawling over it, and she's sent into a coughing fit.
Standing up while trying to hold onto the edge of the sink starts to hurt, until Luz feels cool, calloused hands take her hands away from where they are gripping.
"Hey hey! Easy," Eda chides, helping the girl so that she is sitting on the toilet lid. "Easy, kid, don't hurt yourself." after Luz has been sat down, she starts hunching over, clutching at her head. Eda, who is now kneeling in front of her, tries to soothe her by rubbing her shivering back. "It's okay. Take some deep breaths, c'mon."
It's comforting, and Luz tries her best to do as her mentor says, but it's so hard with the way her body is feeling right now. She reaches up to try to rub her eyes to clear her now cloudy vision, but Eda stops her by grabbing her hands.
"No, don't do that, you'll make it worse." Eda scolds softly. "Look, kiddo, clearly you're sick, so you have to let me help you, okay?" She says firmly, leaning in and tilting Luz's chin up to get a better look at her face. "You trust me?"
Slowly, Luz nods. She hopes she has enough strength left to talk to the witch.
"There we go," the witch praises. She then helps Luz into sitting up straight. Well, as straight as possible. Meanwhile Luz tries to muster the strength just to keep her head up.
"Think you can speak?" Eda asks while getting a washcloth. Luz nods. Shouldn't hurt to try. "Good, good," Eda sounds relieved.
As Eda is soaking the washcloth, Luz shivers starts talking, even if it feels like her lips are falling apart.
"M-my head is throbbing and itching, my throat hurts, my eyes itch, my arms and legs hurt, a-and I feel too hot!" Luz manages to get out. Great, now she feels some tears leaking out. "I wanna rip my skin off…"
"Shh, it's alright, I'm gonna help you." Eda shushes. Now she's back in front of Luz and pressing the front and then back of her hand against her sweaty forehead. The touch is…tender, and Luz almost leans against it until it is pulled away.
"Yeah, you are burning up." The witch observes. "Probably a fever." Eda then gently presses the cold washcloth against Luz's face. One hand cups the back of her neck while the other gingerly wipes at her crusty eyes, cheeks, and nose. It's a great relief against the fire that is Luz's face and the headache. "Here, this should help bring it down."
To Luz's discomfort, another coughing fit happens. She moans and Eda gives her the washcloth to hold against her face.
"Poor kid…look, how about we move you to your room, yeah? You'll be more comfortable there, trust me." Eda says.
Before Luz can answer, Eda scoops her up with one hand under her knees, and the other under her back, carrying her to her room.
"Eda, I can walk fiiine…" Luz mumbles out, weakly pushing against her. Her mind can't help but go back to the Echo Mouse. "Gotta…build portal,"
Eda snorts and shakes her head, gripping the girl a little closer. "Yeeaaah nope. Not testing that theory."
Luz decides on resting her head on Eda's shoulder for the moment. Her mentor, despite her slender frame, is very strong, as she is holding Luz like she doesn't even weigh as much as she does. It feels safe.
Unfortunately the sickly girl couldn't linger on those thoughts for long, because right as she was about to drift off, she was lowered onto her very comfortable sleeping bag. She involuntarily whined at the loss and dropped her washcloth.
"Nooo…" then a sudden worry pulls at Luz's chest. "A-am I gonna die, Eda?"
"Titan, no! Like I'd allow it. Don't worry kiddo, you are gonna be fine." Eda reassures, placing the cloth back on the girl's head.
"Really?" Luz says hopefully.
"Uh-huh, you just have the common mold."
"I-is that like the common cold?"
"Eh, if the common cold includes headaches, body aches, and inability to think clearly, then yeah." The witch says. "But don't you worry. It's harmless."
Luz finds that she feels a lot calmer now. "You've had it before?"
"Yeah, once. It's not fun." The witch chuckles. "Enough about me, though, you need water. Stay put, okay?" Eda leaves, but not before playfully throwing the human an 'I'm watching you' gesture.
A few minutes later, Eda was back with a cold glass of water. "Here. Sorry I didn't get it for you earlier."
"It's fine," Luz takes the glass, sits up and drinks the water, marveling at how nice it feels against her throat.
That's when the itching in her eyes and head comes back, and an attempt to scratch was made before Eda grabs her hands again.
"Kid, don't do that!" She says. "Look, I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure the itching is a main symptom, okay?"
"S-sorry, it just-" Luz starts.
Then Eda gets an idea. "Hang on, I have an idea. You got any clean socks in your bag?" Luz nods. "M'kay."
Keeping a hold on Luz's hands with one of her own, Eda rummages around in her kid's duffel bag until she finds two socks, one pink and one blue, and slips them over Luz's clammy hands.
"There you go. I know the itching is a lot, but that should keep you from hurting yourself. It always helped me." She informs.
A goofy smile pulls at Luz's lips and she playfully makes a chomping gesture with one of her hands. "Nom, nom," It manages to get a laugh out of her mentor.
Eda reaches inside her hair and pulls out a notepad and pen. "Luz, if you can, could you tell me a few things that might help you feel better?"
Luz thinks hard and squeezes her eyes shut, rubbing her arms. "I think so…" She tries to think back to what her mom did to help her in the human realm.
"Uh…well, sometimes soothing music helps me." Luz responds. Eda nods, scribbling something down. And Luz continues. "Like Lofi, and whale noises…" the memory of listening to Lofi beats while reading Azura makes her heart swell.
"What else?"
"Watching movies and eating soup? That's all I can think of right now," Eda caps the pen and Luz squints. "Hey, does the ceiling look funny to you?"
Eda cringes but snorts at that comment. "Alright, I'll try to get the things you need, okay, squirt? I'll be right back." She ruffles the girl's hair before leaving the room once more.
Luz is just about to drift off when the door opens. She lifts her head to see none other than King entering her room, balancing probably five or six of…somethings. It's too blurry to tell, so Luz lays back down.
To her surprise, King waddles over and piled the somethings on top of and around her.
"Aww King…" although she lacks the strength to do it, Luz wants to pull the little goober into a hug. He's so sweet…
"Luz, I'm giving you my stuffies. You need them more than I do!" The demon declares proudly. "Jean Luc's watching you, too!"
"You're da beesst!" Luz slurs out. King beams and tucks Francois under her arm. Then Luz frowned. The gesture is appreaciated, but what if King catches the cold and he's worse than she is? "Waitwaitwait, you don't want me near your stuff, I'm all gross!"
"Mmm…don't care! Anything for you, Luz." King says. "Oh, and Eda's brewing some kinda potion for you? Feel better!"
"Ah, that's nice…"
A few minutes later, Eda is back in the room with a cup of a blue substance and a box of tissues. She kneels next to where Luz is laying, holding out the liquid.
"You gotta drink this, Luz, it's a potion that should help you feel better." She informs Luz, who is trying to move towards the Echo Mouse's cage, but Eda swiftly grabs her arm and firmly holds her down.
"No wait, I gotta write stuff down-"
"Luz," Eda urges with a squeeze. "You aren't well! The mouse can wait until later. Right now, I need you to drink this, okay?"
Reluctantly, Luz nods. Eda's a potion master, so she must know what she's talking about… and maybe the potion won't taste too bad?
Eda carefully cups and tilts the back of Luz's head and brings the potion to her mouth. Getting the hint, Luz opens her mouth and swallows the best she can.
"There you go, that's more like it," she hears Eda say.
Sure enough, the potion tastes like the bitter cold medicine her mom would make her drink back home, but despite the disgusted face, it feels soothing against her throat, and she's able to relax a little more, though the headache remains.
"Hehe, it's got a kick, doesn't it? Now- the potion won't make the mold go away completely, but it should make you feel better." Eda says while adjusting the cloth on Luz's head.
Sniffling, Luz speaks up again. "Thank you so much, Eda. Y-you didn't have to do all this,"
Eda frowns deeply and cups Luz's cheek. "Uh-uh. None of that, kiddo. We talked about this, remember? Whatever you need from us, we're here for you and we want to take care of you. And right now, my priority is that you're safe and comfortable." Luz leans into the touch as a thumb gently stroked her cheek. It's scary how much her mentor feels like a…mother to her most of the time now.
"Thank you," Luz sniffles out. "My legs hurt…"
Eda chuckles, strokes Luz's hair, and pulls the edge of the sleeping bag up. "Told ya you should take it easy."
As Luz snuggles into her cocoon, Eda sighs at how much the kid pushes herself all the time. Luz, who has red eyes with dark circles under them, flushed face, a sniffly nose, and is clearly having trouble breathing. It's obvious that the sickness was brought on by the also obvious lack of sleep. She wishes Luz would realize that she should put herself first too. She's still a kid for fuck's sake!
Then Eda gets an idea. "Luz," she touches the kid's shoulder. "I have an idea. It's been so long since your little friends were here."
"Yeah?" Luz says groggily. She looks up to the idea.
"How 'bout we invite them over? Willow, Goobs, your new girlfriend-"
"I have a girlfriend!?" Luz half yells, half whispers.
Eda snorts a bit at how absolutely out of it Luz is now. "Settle down, kid. You sure do! Remember the other night?"
"Oh yeah!" Then, Luz's attention is directed to a certain rodent that has crawled out of the cage. "Aw, hey lil' guy!" She coos.
Eda fondly shakes her head. Surely later, Luz would once again be focused on portal research. But hopefully, as long as she gets rest and relaxation for once, she'll be better in no time.
(Well, not that she's any better when she herself is sick.)
For Luz, being sick was miserable. It's not the first time she woke up like this and had to have somebody coddle her, but in some ways…she didn't mind. Sure, she was lightheaded, and felt like death warmed over, and her limbs ached like crazy, but at least she had people here that wanted to be here.
Not for the first time, it felt like home.
"Mkay kid, I'm gonna get that soup ready for ya and call your friends. You stay here and rest up, okay?" Eda says at Luz's door before leaving.
"Thanks mom…"
Yeah, Luz thinks, I'm gonna be okay.