A/N: Another interlude, probably the last before season two starts. This one will focus on a few things I had wanted to go over that got cut from previous chapters, refit so that they work a bit better into singular narrative for a shorter chapter.
Luz ran her plastic gloved hands over her hair, making sure the dye slathered over it was spread evenly. This was a monthly tradition for her, almost a meditative practice, where she massaged her scalp and washed away any physical signs of her curse that showed, pretending once more to be a normal, magical girl.
She sat and waited for the dye to settle, humming to herself impatiently. This was her least favorite part, the waiting. She got so easily distracted, and as a smaller child that had… consequences of having her wander off and accidentally getting dye residue all over the house. It was still hard to not wander far from the bathroom sink, but humming the latest song she'd heard being played in the Bard Track classes sometimes helped.
When it was time, she rinsed her hair out, making sure to get all the remaining dye out of her hair, reaching blindly for a towel to pat it dry and inspect it. Making sure to have covered up all the growing patches of supernatural grey coming from her roots with her usual natural brown.
Every month she did this, she swore she found more grey creeping in on her. Most of the right side of her head would have lost it's brown by now if she'd stopped dyeing it. It wasn't that she didn't think the grey looked great. Her Mom pulled it off way better than a woman her age had any right to, and Malin Gael the Mysterious Soothsayer had it as well, and they were a cool Azura character. Even if their hair was more white than grey, but Luz didn't care for the distinction.
Dyeing her hair wasn't the hard part. The hard part was watching her Mom slowly lose her magic as time went on, and know that's the future that lied before herself as well. It's why Luz studied every track the way she wanted to, so she could revel in it while she had the chance. It's why potions was the track she'd decided on, so she at least had something to fall back on when the time inevitably came.
The hair was just a reminder of her fate, and she preferred to keep it covered. Out of sight, out of mind.
Looking in the mirror at herself, Luz allowed herself to smile. She didn't want to have to worry about that kind of stuff today. Last night was Grom. Grom! And she now had a… well, she wasn't sure if Amity was her girlfriend yet, but they'd made plans to discuss that together. Luz couldn't wait, and no amount of grey hair or loss of magic was going to keep her down today!
"Luz! You have a guest!" Her Mama's voice rang from downstairs, dragging the witch from her thoughts. Giving her hair one last pat down with the towel before tossing it aside, Luz raced down the steps, each step making a loud thud as she ran, eager to see which of her friends(maybe Amity?!) had come to see her.
"As excited as I am to also see you, Luz, it's uncouth to run in the house." Her guest chided, tone halfway between stern and playful.
"Oh!" Luz's expression fell at the lack of pretty girl, but her smile came back just as quickly, "Tia Lilith! How's my favorite Auntie doing?"
Lilith sat at the living room sofa, legs crossed with a patient smile on her face. On the coat rack by the door her Emperor's coven cloak hung, and beside it was her staff. It wasn't unusual for Lilith to stop by when Luz was at her Mama's for the week, always having an open invite for a seat at dinner in the Noceda household. It was, however, unusual to see her so early in the day, since her job demanded so much of her time.
"I'm doing well, all things considered," Lilith answered, patting the seat beside her. As Luz joined her, Camila entered the room, a tray of refreshments consisting of beverages and snacks in her hands that was set down on the table for her daughter and her guest. "Thank you, Camila, you really didn't have to do that."
Camila just shook her head, "You always say that. Just eat what I give you already. You don't eat enough as it is with how hard the coven works you."
Lilith just chuckled, politely taking a handful of berries the mother and daughter had grown together in her hands to snack on while they talked. Topics like Luz's grades and what she was learning in class, how Camila's work was going, and Lilith's duties and adventures with the Emperor's coven were all discussed, though Luz could tell there was something on her aunt's mind the whole time they spoke.
Finally, it seemed like enough time had passed that Lilith was comfortable trying to get to the reason she was here. Luz could tell by her posture, the way she sat up just a little bit straighter. "So, I happened to stop by Edalyne's last night for a visit-"
At the mention of her ex, Camila's eyes flashed, "That must have been a late visit, since we were all at Grom together last night."
Lilith paused, "Ah, yes. It was a late night. Grom, did you say? Her and her human were dressed for the occasion."
"Amity." Luz corrected gently, but sternly. "Her name is Amity."
Lilith gave Luz a tight, patronizing smile, "Yes, Amity-"
Luz wasn't finished, "She was my date last night. I didn't like how you talked about her at the Covention, so you'd better be nicer from now on."
Lilith looked mildly uncomfortable with the notion, shifting in her seat, "Your date?"
"Yes, her date. Can you believe it? One moment my little girl is playing with dolls, the next she's asking girls out on dates… and playing with dolls. The more things change, the more things stay the same," Camila laughed, obviously catching onto Lilith's discomfort and making sure she knew exactly where Camila stood on the subject.
"The Hecate figure isn't a doll, Mom. It's a collectors item! That I happen to play with like a doll. There's a difference." Luz defended insistently, then turned back to her aunt. "And yes, Amity was my date. She's my- well, she's not my girlfriend yet, we, uh, we're going to talk more about that later, but she's important to me. She's smart, and kind, and I like her. That isn't going to be a problem, is it?"
Lilith bit her lip and shook her head, "No, no. I'll- I'll re-evaluate my opinion on her, since she's so… important to you. Anyway, as I was saying-"
"Good." Luz interrupted again, taking a sip from her drink, not breaking contact with her aunt.
Lilith remained quiet for a moment, making sure they were done. When she was certain, she began anew, "As I was saying, I stopped by late last night and Edalyne and I were talking. About her curse, and what to do about it."
Luz and Camila nodded, knowing that's exactly what Lilith would say because it's all she mentioned when she ever brought up her sister. It's one of the reasons they tried so hard to derail the conversations with interruptions, on top of Luz wanting to defend Amity from her aunt's prejudices.
"The thing is, she's insistent on doing things her own way, and refusing my help. Help she urgently needs, I'm sure of it." Lilith continued. "I don't know how much time is left before the curse entirely consumes her, and, well, you two might be able to talk some sense into her. Get her to join the Emperor's coven."
Camila shook her head, a warning in her next words. "Lilith, this is treading dangerously close to breaking our deal. We agreed you wouldn't try to use Luz to try and guilt Eda into joining the coven with you. That is for her to decide, and she has made her choice."
Lilith grit her teeth, masking it with a smile that hid a desperate plea, "You're her partner, surely you can talk some sense into her?"
Camila kept her expression guarded, "I'm her ex, not her partner. And I can't control her life, or make her decisions for her even if I was still her partner, and I don't appreciate you asking such a thing when I've made it clear before that I won't help you change her."
Luz nodded beside her mother, "It's Mom's curse, and she gets to decide what to do with it. If she doesn't think the Emperor's Coven is worth it, then it's not worth it to her."
The young witch shrugged, "Besides, she has her integrity and her beliefs, and… I respect Mom for sticking to them, even knowing what might happen to her one day."
"You mean her pride." Lilith seethed, "Her integrity and her beliefs have never stayed the same longer than her next con. Well, Damn them and her pride, I'm trying to save her! My Sister! Your mother!"
Camila was on her feet, face stern and presence commanding, putting herself between her daughter and her guest, "Lilith Clawthorne!"
Lilith sighed, her shoulders tense. She stood from her seat, "My apologies. I- I shouldn't speak as if you don't care. And I've overstayed my welcome."
With a wave of her hand her cloak flew back over her shoulders and her staff returned to her hands. "I'll be going. Thank you for the food and drink. And the conversation."
She strode towards the door, Camila still glaring at her from behind. Lilith opened the exit, and stood in the doorway, "And Luz? Good luck with your new girlfriend."
Then Lilith was gone, and the door was closed, and it was just the two Noceda women again. Camila lightly pressed a hand to Luz's shoulder, concern on every inch of her face, "Are you okay, mija?"
Luz nodded, her heart heavy, "Yeah. I'll be okay. I know she means well, but… it's not easy sometimes. Knowing what will happen to Mom. What might happen to me."
A kiss was pressed to Luz's forehead, "I know what might happen to you mother someday can be scary. But there is always hope for a cure. New ones are found every day, I should know, I'm a Beast Healer. And just because she doesn't want to join the Emperor's Coven doesn't mean you can't one day, if the Emperor's word can be trusted, that is. You have that option, I just don't want it to be thrust on you anymore than I want it thrust on your mother."
Luz hugged her Mama, "Thanks. But I'm not sure he can be trusted. We've all seen what he does with people like Mom. I love my Tia, but I've been around Mom long enough to smell a con when it's happening, and everything about The Emperor's deal stinks of it."
Still… if only there was some way to heal her mother of her curse. To be rid of it herself. She'd have a lot less grey hair to worry about, and not just the supernatural kind.
A/N: For an AU where Lilith is Luz's aunt, I've hardly had a chance to show them interact with each other. It's been mentioned a few times, but all of their direct interactions got cut because they were kinda superfluous. I wanted to rectify that before we get to the finale.
It's especially hilarious to me that I've put off a direct interaction between them because one of my biggest peeves about the show is the lack of interaction between Amity and Lilith, when they're supposed to be student and mentor. Their relationship apparently isn't close, and has been on the rocks since Covention, but it's still a bit funny we never get to see them interact, or Amity get a chance to react to Lilith's character growth, or get an apology for being used.
Anyway, these two are close. And it's not just Luz, Lilith is close to Camila as well. Lilith visits at least twice a month. I even considered a plot point where she had a thing for Camila, mostly because, even this late into season one, I still have no idea if I'm leaning into "Cam and Eda get back together at some point," or "Eda and Raine get together." But dating your sister's baby-mama seems kinda weird to me, so I didn't go that route. It'd just make Lilith look even worse in whatl's to come, because I would have played on her jealousy of Eda when it came to Cam if I'd gone that route.
Also, of course I had to have Luz dye her hair brown. That was my biggest hint that she was cursed as well, all the way back in chapter 3. Amity sees the cluttered bathroom and notes dye bottles among the litter. While the color isn't brought up, Eda doesn't use hair dye, meaning it had to be Luz's, and she had her normal brown hair in the previous scene. The Hair dye scene was originally going to be used right after Intruder in the Elements, with Luz's hair going a bit grey after her transformation, but I cut it when I switched some stuff around.
I know a lot of you think Luz shouldn't have grey hair, but Lilith got a streak of it immediately after taking on the curse in canon, so it's plausible Luz could as well after 8 years. Besides, it's my fic and Luz needs that bit of angst! Let me know what you guys thought of this little micro chapter in the comments!