Disclaimer: I don't own Owl House!
Title: How NOT to cope with curse hangovers.
Summary: Lilith, trying to ignore her guilt: can I offer you some coffee in this trying time?
...
The first cup of coffee, Lilith ignores the quiet house. She doesn't claim to know Eda's sleep schedule like she did as a child, but it was highly doubtful she'd suddenly become a chipper morning person. The human had used a lot of magic the night before, and was tired out. The small demon rarely left the human's side. She didn't have an excuse for Hooty, but she was grateful nonetheless that the door wasn't plaguing her morning. And, well, she has a headache. Lilith has always been the kind of person who sits and sulks when she doesn't feel good.
By the third, she knows something's wrong.
Heaving a long sigh, Lilith made two cups of coffee in plain mugs and went up the stairs. Frustrating as it was, she couldn't exactly blame them all for avoiding her. But everyone likes coffee, right? Well, except for children. She's not sure about demons, either. But Edalyn will like it. Probably.
The quiet thrum of voices from Eda's room doesn't stop Lilith, per se, but she felt a hesitation come over her. Were they talking about her? She did just get here. Eda did just find out her sins. Maybe they're planning what to do with her. She really shouldn't intervene. Lilith grimaced. A house of nosy demons would trip over themselves to tattle if she eavesdropped. She had no choice but to try her luck.
Lilith knocked on the door, and it went quiet. "Edalyn? I... brought you coffee."
"Come on in," Eda replied, sounding... off. But not angry. Lilith's shoulders relaxed a tad.
Eda's room is surprisingly empty at first glance. The "eye" of the house was stark in the morning light. There's a small bedside desk with thick tomes and various human artifacts, an evening bottle of elixir precariously on the edge. The floor is littered with cards, engaged in a Hexas Hold 'Em duel. The owl palisman was comfortably settled in the crest of the human's shoulder, cooing. The little demon was sleeping on her lap.
Also, there's a nest. That's a thing. Lilith stares at it, uncertain if she should praise Edalyn on her craftsmanship or chide her on her improper back support. She ultimately decides to stick out the mug instead. "Coffee."
Eda is perched on the edge of her nest by the elbows, a thick blanket draped haphazardly across her legs. She snorts at the offering. "Gimme some apple blood, would you?"
"Edalyn, it's barely nine."
"And?"
Lilith adds 'raging alcoholic' to the list of Eda's concerning attributes and sets the mug down. "I went through the effort of using that blasted human thing in the kitchen to make this, so someone has to drink it."
She scoffed but sat up anyway. But not, like, the usual process of sitting up. What she did instead was grab her staff and pull herself up in a move that, quite honestly, looks like murder on the wood floor and Eda's hips. Lilith hissed in a pained breath just watching her.
"Hey, don't judge," she slurred, picking up the mug. "I'm just a little wore out, is all."
"She gets like this after turning into the Owl Beast," the human chips in. "Usually it only lasts a little while, but..."
"Right," said Lilith. Almost getting petrified probably didn't help her physical state.
Eda reached over and tugged on Luz's hoodie. "Quit airin' out my dirty laundry, kid. If you're that worried about me, how about you and King head down to the market and get some groceries?"
"Menial labor!" she cheered, reaching over to wrap her arms around Edalyn's neck. Lilith tensed, but her sister seemed perfectly alright with the maneuver, patting Luz on the back with a fond roll of the eyes. "We'll be back real soon. Mejora pronto, Eda." She grabbed the snoozing demon and all but sprinted away, slamming the door behind her.
"Strange creature." Eda fell into her nest with a groan, one arm dramatically flopping over the ridge of twigs. "Are you... okay?"
"She's a good kid, but man does she wear me out sometimes."
Lilith awkwardly settled on the lip, warming her hands on her drink. It was strange to see Eda this close. The usual stuck out to her- the snaggle-tooth, the quirk of her mouth, her manicured nails. But there was also things she didn't typically notice- the wrinkles around her eyes, the creakiness of her twig-like joints, the limp laying of her hair. It was unnerving. Like looking into the crystal ball at lunchtime.
Edalyn is old.
Her younger sister is very, very old, and it's very much all her fault.
She cracked open an eye. "You're staring, Lily."
"Is that allowed?" Lilith replied, eyebrows raising. "I don't think I've ever seen you so still for so long."
"Practicing my coffin pose."
"Are you hurting that badly?"
Eda winced, both from the question and from trying to roll a little. "It's like a hangover, only if the hangover punched you in the hips fifty times."
"Oh. I see," Lilith said; then, feeling like she had to commiserate, "I have a bad headache."
"Yeah, I figured." She raised the mug, still untouched, in a mock-cheers. "You got a lot of catching up to do, Lily."
She gently clacked hers against Eda's. "I suppose that makes me a late bloomer."
"As always."
"And I was just about to offer you an alcoholic beverage."
"You talk like a nerd, you know that?" There was a pause. "Please?"
"Alright, Edalyn." She took up both mugs once again, instantly feeling better staring at Eda from a distance. She looked stronger. Healthier. Less old. "I should warn you, my mixology is more fruity than it is alcohol."
"I think I'll survive."
"This time," Lilith finished, and took her leave.
Author's Note: I've been meaning to get this out since the finale aired tbh. We know that Eda wakes up feeling pretty bad after a romp as the Owl Beast, and she was in that form a lot longer AND almost petrified in it. She's probably tired af. And Lilith's sore too from sharing the pain, but Eda's got a lot of physical aging over her, and this is a good reminder of that.
But, uh, yeah. Messes me up that Eda will die waaaaay before Lilith, regardless of how long witches live.
-Mandaree1