Not the first time since she'd started out her journey that Luz regrets not asking if she could borrow Owlbert for a little while.

Just from the sky, the hurrying human could tell boiling rain was closing fast and she still had a lot of ground to cover after her latest trip to the night market. She'd noticed that Eda's elixir stash was running a little low. Also, they were almost out of apple blood, and she'd had heard Eda saying once about how the stuff from the night market had a much richer taste.

Her pack shifted heavily against her back as she moved, but Luz only smiled with the extent of her haul. She might have gone just a little overboard considering how Eda had gifted her a larger cut of snails since they'd last pulled a bounty hunting job, but she'd found some interesting Azura figurines after finishing up at the apothecary and considering she hadn't heard from Amity since they'd decided to officially start seeing one another…

She didn't even think about asking if Amity had been able to go see the Bat Queen about adopting a palismen of her own or if her mother would even allow something so 'second hand' to be brought into the Blight home.

A sudden rustling pulls her attention away from the looming threat of burning rain and for the moment pauses any more worrying thoughts of her crush of a gf as Luz's squinting gaze looks towards one of the bushes ahead of her.

Out of habit Luz tugs out one of her ice glyph squares as the small ball of glyph-created light drifted closer towards whatever was making that shuddering noise.

Considering the last time, she'd been on her own so close to the hidden haven that was The Owl House had ended with running into Amity, Luz was a lot less tensed than she maybe should have been as she edged closer up the uneven pathway.

Mew?!

"Aaww." Luz coos immediately replaced the inactivated ice glyph back into a small pocket of her witch's cloak. "Hey, there little one." The human greets dropping not so gracefully to her knees considering the bulky pack on her shoulders.

The sleek white cat blinks up at her. Its icy blue eyes are mesmerizing as Luz cautiously holds out her hand for the animal's approval.

Mew

This new trilled purr seems to be one of recognition as those piercing blue eyes hold her own a few more beats in the soft glyph created glow of light before the cat completely forgoes sniffing at Luz's outstretched palm and instead makes a small jump up to nuzzle affectionately under Luz's chin.

It was then the first warning crack of thunder rolled in

"We can find your owners after the storm dies down alright?" Luz bargains scooping the rather snuggly cat into her arms and more specifically under her cloak as she jogs farther into the darkening forest. She'd needed to use two more light glyphs before she reached a point that was familiar enough to duck her head and run headlong straight ahead of her.

Hooty already swinging open with a worried "About time, Hoot Hoot." As the humming glow of the protection spell finished shaping around the oddly alive house.

"Oh, yeah. Hi." Luz smiles guiltily now once she spots not just Eda but also the Clawthorne mother Gwendolyn waiting for her both seated at different ends of the sofa.

"Your lucky King ratted you out otherwise you'd have been locked out by Mom's forcefield." Eda scolds and Luz can only guess she was still attempting to change into her newer harpy self at will as those hybrid golden silver eyes looked her over for even the smallest hint of burns.

"We also grounded King." Gwen tells her "he's not to have any contact with his pushed animal army nor that creature he calls Jean-Luc for the rest of the week letting you go out alone."

At this, the cat still curled under Luz's cloak gives an amused sounding trill before sliding gracefully onto the ground.

It was the first time Luz noticed the small interlock of the cat's back paw.

"You're a palismen." Luz realizes earning a happy trill from the cat now winding quite happily around the human girl's ankle.

"A claimed one at that, human." Gwen agrees "the presence of an interlock means that palismen has already bonded with its magic-user."

The happy balloon in Luz's chest deflated a little more at the news remembering the times she'd watch her two best friends gain their staffs and palismen a few days before. "Oh." Was all she could manage as she bends to give the still purring cat another round of light scratches.

Gwen's own palismen Hawksley and Owlbert both of fluttered down to attempt to go that cute chattering all palismen seem to be able to do with one another before the smaller of the two bird-like palismen turns back to Eda with a few soft hoots of his own as Luz's eyes go wide.

"Owlbert says Ghost promises her witchlet is safe. She just happened to slip out after her bonded fell asleep doing homework." Luz pretended not to hear Eda's shuddered "Nerd" towards the end as her eyes move to watch the hissing fall of the acid rains hitting the ground outside.

"Why'd you go wondering around on a night like this?" Luz questioned feeling more than seeing the more lively palismen nuzzling against the crook of her arm as she carried the magic cat over to watch the burning rains with her.

The others and even Hooty all moving into the kitchen in a rather sweet attempt to give the two some semblance of privacy.

"She wanted to meet you apparently." Eda answers after another helpful translating series of mews and hoots from Owlbert and the one Luz guesses was called Ghost. A fitting name the human girl agrees as her more adoptive mother since coming to the Boiling Isles gives her a teasing wink before heading into the kitchen with a rousing call of "Alright who wants first dibs to draw on Hootsifer?"

"Come on Ghost. You can sleep in my room, then we'll go get you back to your owner in the morning alright?" Luz decided her eyes shifting from the rain to the expectant icy blue eyes of the feline palismen snuggled in her arms.

Ghost giving an agreeing mew and a light nuzzling under her chin earning a low chuckle from the human girl.