A/N: Trigger Warning for this chapter. There will be alcohol use around the midpoint.

Eda was a crook, through and through. She'd stolen, robbed, cheated, hijacked, pinched, poached, snatched, swiped and once even purloined. She'd done it all, and what that did to a gal on the lam was make her observant.

After all, if she was going to be emptying some pockets, she had to know which pockets to pick, often just by looking at someone. She'd learned to judge when someone was carrying a lot of snails, and how easy it would be to take them without being noticed. Not that it wasn't fun to be noticed, the chase was half the thrill, but she always needed to know who was more on guard than someone else.

And Amity was always on guard. Or, more accurately, always on edge. The girl had opened up about being a runaway, and even reestablished some form of connection with her siblings(an act Eda paradoxically both wished she could perform, and didn't understand why anyone would want), but she'd kept her trap shut about whatever else had happened in her old home.

Eda didn't want to pry. That wasn't an exaggeration, either, she really didn't want to pry. Amity's past was behind her, and it was best it stayed there. Still, she was supposed to be a 'responsible' adult, at least according to Camila, so she did her best to make sure that Amity always knew she was welcome, and that she didn't have a mountain of expectations on her to be perfect, that Amity didn't need to wait for the other shoe to drop.

Clearly, Eda hadn't been trying hard enough. Or slacking off enough? Whatever she was doing, it hadn't worked.

Because her poor, dumb human seemed to have finally cracked and was on the verge of a panic attack over one broken potion vial, like Eda was going to snap at her for an honest to Titan accident.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Amity gasped, covering her face with her hands as she began to hyperventilate. Her body had frozen up, still as a statue as the potion soaked into her shoes, the puddle spreading the longer it lay there.

Eda fought the urge to roll her eyes, resisting her usual sarcasm. Instead she spun her finger, summoning a spell circle that vanished the liquid, though it did leave a bit of a stain on the floor, and gently placed her hands on Amity's shoulders, "Hey, listen to me, it's okay."

Amity didn't respond, so Eda carefully pried the girl's hands away from her face so she could look at her, brushing a thumb through the human's hair. "It was an accident. I'm not angry at you, or anything."

Tears beaded in the corners of Amity's eyes as she stared back at the witch. "I- I'll pay you back. You can take a cut from my pay, or-"

Okay, now Eda was rolling her eyes. "Enough of that. If I made Luz pay for every bottle she accidentally broke during her own potion deliveries, I'd be rich. I'm not going to make you pay, it's fine. You don't owe me anything, and you apologized, we're good."

She gave a gentle tug on Amity's wrist, guiding her out of the kitchen and away from the cauldron Eda had been brewing at, "Come on, let's get out of here."

Amity followed, shaking a little as Eda led her away, "What are we-"

"We're taking the day off," Eda said firmly. "You need a break. Between the chores, the Hexside classes, and trying to find all kinds of new spells on your own time, you're starting to fall apart. You're not perfect, kid, and you shouldn't expect yourself to be."

She had Amity sit on the couch, then scooted the coffee table closer, propping the Crystal Ball on top. "We are going to do absolutely nothing except watch bad soap operas, and eat eyescream. And you wanna know why?"

Why?" Amity murmured, as if she had no choice but to ask.

Eda gave her a little pat on the head, "Because this is the Bad-Girl Coven. Where the only rule is that there are no rules! Think you can handle that for a day?"

Amity gave a little nod, making the Owl Lady grin. "Good. Now, I hope you like Booberry eyescream, because there was a sale at the- oh, who am I kidding, I shoplifted it."

Eda watched the corners of Amity's mouth perk upward into the world's smallest smile, and considered that a win.

Hours later, the two were still splayed out on the couch together, having changed back into their pajamas despite it being midday. King was curled up between them, welcoming a day off from the pressures of ruling with an iron fist over his kingdom of stuffed animals.

The floor and table were littered with empty cartons of eyescream, the remnants left in the containers long melted and dripping out, making everything sticky. The witch and the human stared dead-eyed at the screen of the crystal ball, watching some brainless entertainment that had kept them captivated for the past few hours, until it faded to commercial.

Amity blinked, her eyes feeling mildly strained, "This was… thanks, Eda, I needed this."

Eda waved Amity off, sitting upright in her seat and sliding her feet into her bunny slippers, "Don't mention it, Boots."

Amity raised a brow, "Boots?"

"Yeah, isn't that what your brother and sister call you, for whatever reason? One of those dorky human nicknames?"

Amity shook her head, looking disgruntled over the subject, "No, it's Mittens, and I hated it."

"Then you'll love being called Boots." Eda said, as if that made any logical sense, "Doesn't matter anyway, you wear both on your feet."

"You really don't," Amity laughed, pushing aside the last of her eyescream.

Eda smiled softly at her, "Now there's a sound I don't hear often enough. You, laughing."

Amity looked away, feeling embarrassed, "I'm sorry-"

"Don't be!" Eda scolded, giving the girl a shove, "You've been walking on eggshells around here for too long. Loosen up! Come on, let's go."

For the second time that day, Amity was dragged by her wrist by Eda, this time back into the kitchen. The witch brought her over to a batch of empty potion vials, and gestured to them, "See these?"

Amity nodded slowly, confused, "Ye-"

"Fuck 'em!" Eda exclaimed, then gave one of them a shove right off the countertop, sending it crashing to the floor. Amity flinched at the noise as it shattered on impact, and when she opened her eyes she found another bottle in front of her face, this time held in Eda's spindly fingers.

"Well," the witch goaded, "Go ahead!"

Amity tentatively reached out and took the bottle, looking between it and Eda, then the broken one on the floor before it clicked. "You want me to-"

"Break it!" Eda encouraged, giving Amity a pat on the back. Amity hefted the small glass bottle in her hands, inspecting it. It had a swirling pattern on it that twisted from the top to the bottom, and the glass glittered beautifully in the sunlight that peeked in through the kitchen windows. It was decorative, and gorgeous. Then she let it drop.

CRASH

And now it was none of those things. It was broken into a hundred little pieces on the floor, and Eda was cheering her on. Something welled up inside of Amity, and she laughed, holding nothing back. "Can I do that again?"

Eda pushed her over to the counter where the rest of her bottles sat, "Don't ask, just do!"

Eda watched as Amity, face like a kitten inspecting its prey, pawed one of the vials off the edge of the countertop. The human's eyes lit up as it shattered, and another quickly followed.

That's just how it started. "Come on, I have more stuff we can break!" Eda chuckled and led Amity out of the room and down into the basement, towards all the trash she couldn't sell.

With her hands held out, Eda gestured to it all, "Let's have some fun!"

When King woke up from his nap on the couch, the living room was covered in dented electronics, stuffing and feathers that had been torn from pillows, and a plethora of other broken garbage. "What happened here?" He asked the two panting women in the room.

Eda held a pillow in both hands, holding it out away from her body, and Amity had a baseball bat, ready to swing. The two glanced at each other and snorted, falling into a fit of giggles. "I'm loosening up!" Amity chortled.

King watched with worried eyes as she brought the bat down, striking the pillow, which exploded into a flurry of feathers.

The next morning, Eda whistled happily to herself as she cooked up breakfast, patting herself on the back for doing such a good job. She'd never seen Amity happier than last night. And people thought she couldn't be a role model!

The place was still a bit messy after yesterday's mayhem, but Eda had gotten Hooty to devour most of the mess. Having a House Demon was like having a living garbage disposal, and it was one of the few things the feathered fiend was good for. Really the hard part was stopping him from eating something that hadn't been broken. Even the glass posed no problem for Hooty's stomach.

Eda placed the cooked food on the table, glancing at her watch. Amity was usually up by now, ready for school, but she supposed after their rager last night, she'd slept in. "Hey, Boots!"

She waited, then when she didn't hear anything, walked to the base of the stairs and yelled up again, "Breakfast is getting cold!"

Still nothing. A little knot of worry built up inside of Eda, and so she marched up the stairs, telling herself it was just the mom in her being a buzzkill. Knocking on Luz's bedroom door, she received no response, and that worry spiked to full blown concern.

"Look, Kid, you'd better be dressed because I'm coming in," Eda spoke, turning the doorknob and entering, eyes on the wad of pillows and blankets Amity normally slept in on the floor. Only she wasn't there.

There was a rustling in Luz's bed, and Eda relaxed. "There you are. What, get tired of the floor and decide to take Luz's bed while she's away?"

Amity yawned, stretching, "Something like that, yeah. What's up?"

Eda smirked, "Fine, I won't stop you. As long as you stick to the floor when Luz is home, that is." She teased.

Amity frowned, a hint of red on her cheeks at Eda's insinuation, "Edaaaa!"

Eda just laughed and shook her head, "I'm just pulling your leg. Breakfast is done, in case you're hungry. Shouldn't you get ready for school, though? You're gonna be late."

Amity smiled serenely, a hazy look in her eye, "You know what? I think I'm gonna skip school today."

Eda blinked in surprise, but flashed a supportive thumbs up, "I like your enthusiasm! I wish Luz would skip class more often! Now get down to breakfast, or else Hooty will eat it like he did everything else."

Amity spent the whole rest of the day in her pajamas, the same ones she'd worn the whole day previously. She doodled a bit, drawing a few glyphs, and spent an hour or so studying her own unique branch of magic before giving up, tossing the books aside to crawl back up on the sofa and watch more shows.

By the end of the day, she was beginning to stink, and Eda was beginning to worry. "Hey, Boots, don't you think you should go take a bath? Or at least change?"

Amity shook her head, not taking her eyes off the screen, "Nah. I'm comfy, so no point."

King walked by with a clothespin over his nose, "There is most definitely a point. You're starting to smell like Hooty."

Amity shrugged, popping a chip into her mouth and chewing loudly with her mouth open, "Don't care."

King watched, horrified, then clawed his way onto the sofa, "Hey, those are my snacks! You dare steal from the King of Demons?!"

Eda's face fell, "Amity, I think-"

"Shhhh, this is a good part." Amity hushed her, pushing King aside and keeping him at arm's length as the demon tried to take his bag of chips back. She then continued to ignore Eda, much to the Owl Lady's irritation.

The next day was more of the same, Amity hadn't gone to school, and the only reason she was wearing something else was because Eda had laid out some clean pajamas for her to wear, and taken the old, gross ones away before Amity could put them back on. It didn't solve the no bathing issue, but it was better than nothing.

There was also a growing pile of potions in the kitchen that needed to be delivered, and Eda's patience was being tested. She loomed over Amity, who had once more claimed the couch and was doodling, this time not glyphs, and not on paper, but on Eda's bounty poster, drawing a beard and mustache on the face of her mentor.

"You know," Eda started, tone bordering on dangerous, "That isn't a very flattering look for me."

Amity hopped back, sizing up her work, "I dunno, I think it looks good on you."

The witch shook her head, and tried to put some authority into her voice, "Your chores are beginning to stack up, little missy. I need you to get dressed and head out to the markets, you have potions to deliver."

Amity plopped back down on the couch, spreading her limbs across it, "I dunno, that doesn't sound like a 'me' problem. Why don't you just have King do it?"

Eda glared, but Amity wasn't even paying attention to her anymore, instead cracking open a comic book of all things and making a show of reading it right in front of Eda.

Fuming, Eda marched to the kitchen and grabbed the sack of potions, motioning for King to follow her. As she reached the door, Amity called out, "Does this mean I've earned my quitter badge?"

Eda waited until she was outside before she began to growl and grumble. King just shook his head.

By the time Eda had finished covering all the back orders and made it back home, the sun had gone down. She was miserable from walking around in her heels all day, and she hadn't eaten since breakfast. Not to mention Freeloader One wouldn't stop complaining about how she'd broken Freeloader Two, and that she was just living up to Eda's example.

Maybe she wasn't the role model she thought she was.

She was welcomed back home to the sight of her walls, ruined. Amity had apparently been busy with her artistic skills, bottles of paint and brushes scattered around and the walls painted like a madman had escaped the asylum with a lifetime supply of art supplies. Brushes had obviously been limiting the girl, as she'd clearly resorted to finger painting as well, hand prints splashed onto the wallpaper.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Eda heard the sound of glass shattering, and let out a groan. This again.

"You know, I really thought we were over the whole 'destroy all the glass in the house' phase, Boots." Eda seethed, marching through the living room and into the kitchen where the noise had come from.

As she entered, she found Amity, still clad in her PJs and standing on top of the counter. She was covered in a rainbow of paint colors, on her clothes, skin, even in her hair. On the floor was a broken bottle, one with a label that meant it had something in it. King weaved under Eda's legs to sniff at the contents, then covered his nose from the harsh scent.

In Amity's other hand was an identical bottle, this one full that she was cracking open, then to Eda's horror she took a deep drink from it. The human burped, then pumped her fists, "Wooo!"

"That's my Apple Blood!" Eda's mouth hung open in disbelief. Amity swayed, clearly drunk out of her mind, nearly losing her balance and falling off the counter, only to be caught by her mentor, who righted her back up to her feet.

Eda pried the freshly opened bottle out of Amity's hand, inspecting it. "Just how much did you drink?" She was aghast, this was way too much for a first timer, much less a fourteen year old.

"At least this entire bottle," King supplied unhelpfully from the floor, gesturing to the shattered glass.

Eda handed him the remaining bottle of Apple Blood as she began to coax the girl down off the counter before she hurt herself, "What in the name of the Titan were you thinking, Boots? Who said you could get into my booze?"

Amity brought a finger to her lips, "Don' ask, just do…. Shhhh. Don'… don' tell Eda- or, hic! Do, doesn't matter. No rules, soooo no trouble."

Eda paled, climbing up onto the counter herself to get the girl into her arms. Amity babbled about something that Eda wasn't able to understand, her words becoming too slurred, not that Eda was listening. She was in the middle of an existential crisis.

"I've created a monster." The witch moaned.

Amity booped Eda's nose with her finger, and laughed. And laughed. Then laughed some more just to add insult to injury. Then she threw up all over the countertop and floor, before promptly passing out.

Eda scooped the girl up into her arms, cradling the human with a look of deep concern on her face. "King, can you get me some warm wash cloths and meet me by the couch?"

King set aside the bottle of Apple Blood and waddled to one of the cabinets to do as he was told. As Eda carefully maneuvered herself down from the counters and back to the floor she added, "And keep Hooty from eating the barf. That's just gross."

Eda carried Amity back to the sofa, gently setting the girl down onto it. With a spin of her finger she summoned up a bucket to sit beside her, in case the girl needed to empty her stomach again, and when King brought them, Eda cleaned the girl up with the wash clothes, then carefully covered Amity up with a blanket.

She stunk like alcohol, barf, and like she hadn't showered in at least three days. And that was all on Eda.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Eda reached into her hair and pulled out one of the least used tools in her arsenal, her own personal scroll. Biting her lip, and feeling a bit anxious, she took one of her spindly fingers and dialed a rune she'd memorized, but never kept saved, and waited as it rang.

"Hola?"

Stomach churning, Eda opened her mouth, "Hey, Cam."

"Eda?" Oh, and there was the worried tone that still tricked Eda into thinking Camila might still care about her. "What is it? What's happened?"

Running a hand through her hair, Eda didn't even know where to begin, "I need some advice. On, uh… parenting."

The line was quiet, until finally the silence broke when Camila started laughing at her ex.

When Amity woke, it was to the single largest headache of her very short life. Clutching her head she groaned loudly, too loudly, that just made her head hurt worse. What had happened last night?

The human attempted to sit up, but that was clearly the wrong move. The world spun, a wave of dizziness and nausea hitting her that was so intense it felt like her insides were about to become her outsides. As she felt the vomit build up in her throat, something was shoved into her hands, a bucket, and she quickly shoved her head in that as she retched.

She was aware of a hand brushing against her back, gently patting it as she emptied the contents of her stomach. "Shhh, I got you Boots, just let it allll out."

That sounded like Eda, but Amity was a little too preoccupied to care as a second wave hit her, and the bucket quickly filled.

When she was done, stomach empty and aching, a grey hand passed her a glass full of water and urged her to drink, and despite her wanting to do anything but put things in her mouth, she did so. Her small sips turned into desperate gulps as she realized just how thirsty she was, only before it could be quenched the cup was taken from her hands.

"Slow, Amity, drink it slowly or you'll just chuck it back up."

Eda started to pass the glass back to her, before thinking otherwise. The witch left Amity's side, leaving her with her massive headache and unquenched thirst and feeling utterly miserable, only to return what felt like an eternity later with a plastic cup.

"A- A sippy cup? Isn't this for babies?" Amity moaned, regretting her words as they made her brain hurt.

A hand brushed through her hair, "it's one of King's old cups. It'll keep you from trying to drown yourself, at least."

That made sense. Amity sat there, drinking her water for who knows how long. Eda said some things that she didn't hear, didn't stick with her, then after some time offered Amity a hand. She was pulled off the couch, stumbling on her legs like a newborn deer, as Eda led her to the upstairs bathroom.

"Take a shower, kid. You reek, and it'll make you feel more coherent." Eda helped her into the tub, carefully peeling the pajamas off of Amity until she was in her undergarments. "I'll let you finish getting undressed. The toilet is here if you need to empty your stomach again. Take your time, but we're going to have a talk after you're done, got it?"

Amity nodded blankly, still not remembering how any of this happened. Eda left, closing the door behind her, and Amity turned the knob to start the shower, whimpering when the water came out ice cold before heating up to how she liked it. From there, time had no meaning. It was just Amity and the shower, and it always had been and always would be.

She cleaned herself up the best she could. To her dull surprise dried paint flakes peeled off her skin and went down the drain. She didn't remember painting. The bar of soap slipped from her grip halfway through using it, and she couldn't pin it down after that, so whatever remained unwashed stayed unwashed. Her hair was easier, the bottle didn't want to slide all over the tub. She stayed kneeling on her knees the whole time, not trusting her legs to keep her upright, and she remained there under the warm water until it went cold again, and then she continued to stay there for a bit longer as well.

It wasn't until she became aware of her own chattering jaw that she turned the faucet off, shivering as she blindly reached for a towel to dry herself off with. She felt better. Not good, but better. More present. She wanted to drink more water.

Amity stumbled out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel, and made her way to the room she shared with Luz. She blearily looked at the mess she'd left Luz's bed in after sleeping in it, and considered climbing in and taking a nap, only to feel a little embarrassed over having slept in Luz's bed without her permission. She'd just wanted to sleep surrounded by Luz's scent, and an actual bed had felt so good after weeks on the floor. She kinda felt like a creep for doing that. Maybe she should sleep in her own space next time, but she needed to get dressed first. Maybe later she could sleep until she didn't feel like garbage anymore.

She didn't own a dresser, so instead she had old boxes Eda had given her to store her clothes in. It was easy enough to pick something to wear, because frankly, she didn't care as long as it was clothes, so that's how she found herself in a loose pair of jeans and a beaten up old shirt that she'd gotten from the thrift store over a month ago. Her socks were mismatched, and she still felt cold, so she put a tattered robe on as well, then stumbled back towards the door.

The stairs were daunting alone, but she made it, and before she knew it she was back on the couch, head resting against a cushion and sippy cup back in her mouth as she rehydrated herself. Before she could get too comfortable though, Eda slid into the seat on the other end of the couch and asked, "So, ready to talk?"

Amity wasn't, but she nodded her head anyway. Eda sat back in her seat and folded her arms, "Good, because I was going to talk anyway."

"Now, what do you remember from last night?" Eda probed, sizing Amity up. The human shrugged, taking a drink of her water then set the children's cup down on the table.

"Not much. Kind of a blur."

There was a loud thunk as Eda set something on the table, making Amity flinch at the noise. Prying open her eyes, Amity saw it was a Bottle of Apple Blood, opened and partially emptied. "You got into my reserves, kiddo."

Amity eyed the bottle, a little bit of last night coming back to her, "I drank that much?"

Eda shook her head, "That and an entire other bottle. You went for the good stuff too."

Amity closed her eyes, feeling flushed, "I'm sor-"

"No, you're not, but you're gonna be." Eda cut in, grabbing the bottle and uncorking it, taking a swig. After swallowing, she pointed a finger at her human charge, "I learned a little something these past few days. That rules exist for a reason. They exist to keep you, and I do mean just you, in check."

Amity pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them as Eda continued, "You descend into total anarchy without something keeping you on the straight and narrow. According to my ex, you're one of those kids who 'needs structure,' so from now on we're going to start establishing some… rules." Eda had to choke out the word, looking like it took actual, physical effort to get it past her lips.

"Number one, no drinking. At least, nothing I bought." Eda started, listing it off with a finger. "Two, you do your chores when I tell you to, no skirting them off to me or King, or even Luz. Three, you go to school. You need all the structure you can get, and I'm not a great example of that. And four, I'm gonna end up making more of these as we go along, and you're gonna have to follow them. I'm new to all of this, Cam's always been the 'good' parent between us, so I'll take it a day at a time."

Eda sighed, glad to have gotten all that out so she didn't have to talk about rules and constraints anymore, "Just don't let King tell you he's allowed to make the rules either, that's a power trip waiting to happen."

Eda finished, and gestured to Amity for her turn to speak. The human, hoping to get this over quickly, gave a small, short nod, "That…. sounds more than fair."

Eda seemed appeased, "Good. Also, since you broke rules one through three, you're grounded."

Amity supposed that was fair as well. She'd figure out the specifics like what she was restricted from, and for how long later. For now, she laid back down, curling into a ball to get some more rest. Before she could lose consciousness, she spoke again, "Eda? Thanks."

The witch snorted, "You may just be the only person to ever be grateful to be in trouble."

Even Amity couldn't help but smile a little at the truth of that statement, "No, but really. I felt so free on that first day. Like I could do anything. Then I kinda spiraled after that because I could do anything. I knew I was getting bad, but having nothing to hold me back felt like a pit I couldn't dig myself out of."

Eda hummed, "Noted. You're a rebel who needs a cause. Otherwise everything falls apart. We'll sort it out. I'll make a proper bad-girl out of you while keeping both our sanities intact."

Amity snorted into the couch cushion. "I look forward to how you figure that out."

Amity had passed out on the couch again, and Eda let her sleep. The witch dropped a blanket over her, and got rid of the barf bucket before it could start to stink. She really was like Amity's mother at this point, taking care of her when she was, er, 'sick.'

That didn't bother her much. She already had to take care of Luz and King, and to a lesser extent, Hooty. When did the biggest, baddest witch on the Isles become a full time mom to so many kids? She blamed Camila for getting that ball rolling. Still, Eda wouldn't trade it away for the world.

As Eda made to put her bottle of Apple Blood away in the kitchen, she was half surprised and mildly annoyed to hear a commotion outside. Glancing out the window she groaned as she saw the familiar white capes of the Emperor's Coven. It had been a while since they'd tried to lay siege to her house, she'd almost been hopeful that they'd given up for good.

Pouring herself a mug of Apple Blood, since she might as well if she was going to have to watch the show, she settled into one of the chairs at the kitchen table to watch out the window. Hooty took care of the coven guards as he always did, some screaming as they saw him, others begging for mercy and receiving none as they were forced into cute outfits and made to attend one of Hooty's terrible tea parties. The poor suckers who couldn't get away in time begged for death rather than have to sit under the gaze of those beady eyes of the House Demon as he yammered on about his day.

Eda watched it all with great amusement, but felt none sweeter than when she noticed a familiar face in the crowd. Wrapped up in Hooty's coils, Lilith was brought around to the back of the house, Hooty pushing his head in through a pane of glass, "Eda! You have a visitor!"

"Unhand me this instant you slimy, disgusting, horrid creature!" Lilith screeched, arms pinned and unable to cast any magic while in Hooty's grip.

"Put her down, Hooty. And Lilith, the back door is unlocked, let yourself in." Eda chuckled into her mug, downing the last of her drink and slamming it onto the table.

Hooty did as he was told, leaving the witches alone as he went back to attend to his tea party. Lilith shivered in disgust, wiping the mucus that Hooty's body created off of her clothes before she turned the handle and stepped inside the Owl House, cursing her sister and her house demon to the depths of the Boiling Sea.

"You get used to it. Really, it's bathing him that's the real pain," Eda cackled, enjoying the sight of Lilith suffering in the way all siblings do.

Lilith leveled her glare at Eda, eyes flashing dangerously, before she breathed out a sigh and tried to look more composed, "Are you finally ready to hear me out then, sister?"

Eda kicked her feet up onto the kitchen table, "About what?"

Lilith clapped her hands together, "About joining the Emperor's Coven, of course! He can cure you, I know he can, and then we can be together, serve him together."

Eda shot Lilith a deadpan stare, "Hard pass. The hardest. Maybe he can cure me, I doubt it, but let's say he can? I still wouldn't want to be within a mile of that dope."

Lilith frowned, but before she could defend her precious Emperor, Eda cut her off, "If you want to help, we do it my way."

Lilith opened her mouth, then closed it, pondering. Giving a brief nod, she held her head up high, "Very well, I'll listen to whatever you have planned. It's the most you've trusted me for years, I might as well see what you've been doing."

"Good, glad you're seeing things my way, sis." Eda smirked, kicking her feet off the table and stepping out of the kitchen and into the living room, "Follow me. And be quiet, will you?"

Lilith trailed after Eda, looking over the house her sister called home and judging every corner of it, from the build to the decour. Eda hadn't had time to get rid of the paint all over her walls yet. Lilith didn't bother hiding her distaste for her sister's dwelling, doubly so for the company she kept when she saw why exactly her sister wanted her to be quiet. "The human is still here?"

Eda glanced over at Amity, still curled up on the sofa where Eda left her. "Yeah. The brat's learning some magic. Even signed her up for Hexside."

She smiled fondly, Lilith might even call it warmly, "I'm proud of her for how far she's come."

Lilith rolled her eyes, "yes, I'd heard she was attending school. I visited Luz earlier in the week, and she was… worried about the human. Said she hadn't shown up for her classes the past few days."

"Careful, Lily, people might think you're capable of concern!" Eda sneered. "She's got a name. It's Amity. So use it. And yeah, she skipped school a bit this week. She was, uh… sick."

Lilith sniffed, "Nothing contagious, I hope?"

"Nothing you need to worry about, now get up the stairs."

Eda stepped inside her room, guiding her sister inside. Once there, she gestured to a sheet on the wall, obviously covering something Lilith couldn't make out. "And this is supposed to be…?"

Eda grabbed the sheet, pulling it off to reveal a board covered in names, pictures, and motives. "This is my suspect board. I'm trying to find the person who cursed me."

Lilith folded her arms, feeling uncomfortable with the subject, but thankful she didn't appear anywhere as a suspect. "I-I fail to see how this will help you track down a cure, Edalyne."

"Easy, nobody is dumb enough to cast a curse without knowing the counter to it. It's what we were all taught since we were small." Eda scoffed, while Lilith just looked attacked, "So, if we find out who did it, then we can beat the cure out of them. Eh?"

Lilith eyed the board, which contrary to Eda's usual disposition, was well researched. Eda had obviously put a lot of thought, time, and effort into constructing this list of suspects. Anyone on it was powerful enough to know unknown curses, and had some sort of history with Eda as a child. She hadn't been popular, and her pranks and pickpocketing hadn't been limited to the Hexside student body as a teen.

Still, this wouldn't get her anywhere, since none of these suspects had done it. "This is a waste of time, Eda, why don't you just come to the coven, and it can be done. In a day, an hour if you'd just hurry." Lilith all but pleaded.

Eda sighed, and shook her head, "It's not just about the cure, Lil. It's about payback. I'm going to make whoever did this wish they'd never been born when I get my hands on them."

"Why bother?" Lilith asked, sweating a little under her collar from the nerves, "Isn't the best revenge a life well lived?"

Eda looked away, frowning. "I thought that once… For a short time. Especially after I met Camila. I didn't really care about getting revenge."

"Then what changed?" Lilith prodded, hoping to put whatever was keeping Eda searching to bed so she could just take her to the Emperor already.

Eda kept her mouth closed. She'd never told Lilith about how Luz had inherited her curse. Her sister already pestered Luz enough about joining the Emperor's Coven someday, and if she'd found out Luz also carried this burden she might do something drastic to force Eda's hand. Or tell their mother, who Eda already put up with enough. Eda had even considered going with Lilith herself after Luz had transformed the first time, handing herself over to Belos, but… She didn't trust him to keep his word. She expected a quick incarceration, and an even swifter execution if she ever gave herself up, and she didn't expect Lilith could do anything about it.

There wasn't going to be a deal waiting for her with Belos, as much as Lilith promised. And there would be no salvation for Luz, either. Not from the hands of that tyrant. It was better to keep Lilith in the dark about Luz, she didn't need to know.

"Nothing changed. Domestic life just wasn't for me, and I needed a hobby." Eda said shortly, cutting the conversation off. Running a hand through her hair, she turned back to look at Lilith, "Look, this is my plan. If you can't help, don't bother sticking around, alright? I'm not joining your damned coven."

Lilith took a look at Eda's list of suspects, and sighed, "I'll take a look into all of these. But Eda, if none of them are the person who did this to you, if you run out of leads, you must trust me. The emperor wouldn't lie to me about this, not after how faithfully I've served him all these years."

Lilith placed a gentle hand on Eda's shoulders, and quickly left, eager to find evidence that would clear all her sister's suspects so she had no choice but to give up her search for revenge and join the Emperor's Coven.

A/N: I've always heard about people raised in strict households being the biggest party animals when they get a taste of freedom, and that was more or less the inspiration behind this chapter. I've even seen it a handful of times in my own family, and it's not very pretty. Don't drink, kids, and for anyone of legal age, drink responsibly.

My own experience with alcohol is that I have none personally. I don't drink. I choose not to. I'm one of the ancient ones, almost in my thirties(and it physically hurts me to think about that), but haven't ever touched the stuff due to family issues. I've always been particularly sensitive to stories about drinking, and usually avoid them, but for some dang reason sad drunk characters always show up in my fics. Last time it was Sasha in an Amphibia fic. I guess because of my own experiences, it's shaped a more disturbed picture of drinking in my head. Amity being drunk unsettles me, which is why it personally works so much for me in this chapter, because it shows just how wrong everything has gotten with her so fast. Others may see it differently, even find the whole thing funny. You write what you know at the end of the day.

A lot of people have asked if Lilith knew about Luz's curse, and no, she doesn't. Eda and Luz have kept it from her. Basically no one outside of them, Camila, and Amity know. Eda doesn't want Luz to become the Emperor's pawn, or for Gwendolyn to find out and be doubly pestering.

Lilith is a rube anyway. We all know Belos is a liar liar pants on fire.

Let me know what you thought of the chapter! Next chapter will be another interquel that should be out on Thursday or Friday.