It was an exciting morning for the young human. She was practically bouncing off her feet when making her way downstairs towards the kitchen. She woke up earlier than needed just to be extra prepared for today's lesson in magic. Her mentor, Eda the Owl Lady, had promised to teach her the elemental spells if she spent the whole week doing her chores.
Luz didn't hate chores, but she didn't always do them when told to (as any normal teenager would), so she always double-checked to make sure she did them and did so correctly. Eda had never seen someone her age so excited to do chores, but it was understandable. The young girl was always so eager to learn magic and become a witch like everyone else on the Boiling Isles.
While Luz sat impatiently at the table, she noticed her small demon friend make his way into the kitchen about an hour later, yawning and scratching at his back. "Good morning, King!" She chirped, giving him a warm smile.
"Neh." He replied, heading straight for the fridge. He was half-expecting breakfast to have already been made, but since Luz hadn't done anything but sit there since she woke up (and occasionally sneak around the kitchen just to observe how different the utensils were from the ones in the human world), there was no meal for him to eat. So he resorted to rummaging through the fridge to snack on something instead.
"Is Eda awake yet?" Luz asked curiously yet anxiously, bouncing in her seat like a child. "I don't want to bother her, but I've been waiting all week for today's lesson and if I have to wait much longer, I might actually explode!"
King sighed, his arm now full of pudding packs and soda cans. "Yes, you may have mentioned that once or twice." He said, walking over to his high chair. "Just try to calm down a bit, would ya? We all know how excited you are to learn magic, but you don't have to pester Eda every five minutes."
Luz stood up as he sat down. "I know, I know. I don't mean to, I just can't help it." She said apologetically, yet still with a twinge of excitement. "I'm like, the only human who can do magic, as far as anyone knows. It's a big deal for me, I just want to know all that I can. Yeah, I'll be going to Hexside soon, but it's still cool learning things from the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles!"
"You'd think the most powerful witch could get better snack options." King scoffed as he pulled the lid off of the pudding cup. "I mean seriously, vanilla pudding? She couldn't have at least gotten the chocolate swirl?!"
Luz giggled before her head turned towards the hallway, a wide grin appearing on her face. She saw the figure of her mentor walking from the staircase with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Since she'd clearly just woken up, Luz didn't think much of it or the slow movements of the older woman.
That is, until Eda actually entered the room and her outward appearance was noticeable. She was paler than usual, aside from her nose—which was red from irritation. Her eyes were baggy and her hair was an absolute mess. She continuously sniffed as she slowly walked towards the fridge, summoning a mug in her hand with her magic.
Both Luz and King exchanged a glance before she decided to approach the owl lady. "Umm, Eda? You feeling okay?"
Eda sniffed and poured some apple blood into her mug. "Uh-Huh." She lied, and Luz could definitely tell. Not just because of the lack of emotion in Eda's voice, but by how congested she sounded.
"You sure? You look kinda sick." Luz frowned, holding her arms behind her back.
Eda lazily walked over to her chair, slouching the second she sat down. "Kid, I have the strongest immune system of any witch ever. I don't get sick." She bragged, but it was clear she was still lying just to appear fine to her friends.
"You were throwing up just last week." King stated.
"Shut up." She scoffed.
Luz still wasn't convinced. She stepped over and placed her hand on Eda's forehead, shocked by the warmth radiating off her skin. "Oh god, Eda, you're burning up!" She frowned, "Do you want me to get you something? Medicine? Wait, what do witches take when they're sick?"
The witch shook her head, pulling Luz's hand away from her head. "Luz, I'm fine." She sighed, "It's just some sniffles."
"No, no. You definitely have a fever." The girl said, grabbing Eda's arm. "Come on, I'll take you to bed. You need to rest."
As much as Eda was aware of how ill she was, she refused to give in. Others would've thought it was because she didn't want to bruise her pride or appear weaker than she was. But secretly, it was because she didn't want to disappoint Luz. She had worked so hard all week and she was so excited for her magic lesson, she deserved a mentor who could actually teach it to her, not some sick and mopey witch who could barely stand on her own.
"No, I promised you a magic lesson today." She said, carefully standing up from her chair. "I'm not going anywhere until you've learned all four spells."
"Eda, it's okay. I'm not worried about that right now." Luz assured her softly, still holding her arm just in case. "You can teach me tomorrow, or whenever you feel well enough."
King finished off the last of the pudding before he stood up and walked out of the kitchen, deciding to be useful in the situation. "I'll get the cold elixir. It usually helps." He informed.
"Thanks, King!" The girl smiled as she began to lead Eda out of the room, taking her towards the living area. "Here, you lay down and I'll make you some soup. That always makes me feel better when I'm sick." She smiled.
Eda groaned as she sat down on the sofa, slouching against the armrest. "Look, whatever human food that heals sickness won't work on me." She said, "Besides, I said I'm fine."
"Just give it a chance." Luz patted her shoulder before walking back towards the kitchen.
King strolled into the room with a bottle of blue elixir, handing it up to the witch, in which she thanked him. "This isn't because of your curse, is it?" He asked quietly.
"No, not every health problem I have is 'cause of the curse." She rolled her eyes. She drew a circle to summon a box of tissues, then pulled one out to blow her nose. "Anyway, I'll be fine. I just need a quick rest and I'll be back to normal, then I can finally teach Luz the element spells."
The demon tilted his head, watching her slowly drink the cold antidote. "You know she's not gonna hate you if you don't teach her today, right?" He spoke up, catching her attention. "She wants to learn magic, but not at the expense of your health."
Eda sighed and glanced away, deciding not to respond. She knew deep down he was right, Luz wasn't going to be disappointed just because she was sick, it wasn't like it was her fault for having a fever. But still, she hated procrastinating on anything, let alone guiding her apprentice on the knowledge of magic. She already felt like a crappy teacher anyway, mainly because Luz didn't always trust her methods.
It was just hard for Eda. She never had to teach anyone anything, certainly not magic. And she never had to take care of a child before. Sure, Luz was old enough to make her own decisions and take care of herself for the most part, but she was a human in a realm of witches and demons and creatures originally thought to be myths, and often she would get herself into trouble. From the beginning, Eda always felt that she had to protect the girl at all costs and to be there when she needed her to. Never in a million years did Eda ever think she'd be a guardian for a child, and yet here she was.
She just didn't want to let Luz down.
While King already trailed off to a corner to take a nap, Luz walked back into the living room with a tray, carrying a bowl of fresh, hot chicken noodle soup and a mug of honey tea. "Here." She smiled as she handed it to the witch.
Eda sat up a bit and set the tray in her lap, picking up the spoon to stir it around in the soup. "Wow, thanks." She said, "Where'd you learn to make all this?"
"Well, my mom used to make it for me whenever I was sick and she taught me to make it for myself in case she wasn't home." Luz shrugged, "She's a doctor, so she's an expert on this kind of care."
Eda chuckled and blew on the spoonful for a moment to cool it off, then took a sip. "Mm, it's good." She said in satisfaction.
"Thanks, it wasn't easy making the ingredients considering the pantry was a little empty." The teen laughed awkwardly.
"Yeah, I was gonna go shopping today but, well..ya know."
She giggled and sat down at Eda's feet, watching her finish off the soup pretty quickly and try the honey tea—which she obviously wasn't used to drinking. "So is it just a fever?" She asked, "Does your stomach hurt? Your head?"
"Honestly, my throat hurts more than anything." Eda finally admitted, though it felt weird. She wasn't used to telling others what was wrong with her (physically or emotionally). "But I'll be okay."
Luz thought for a moment, then stood up to walk into the kitchen to grab a bottle of honey and another spoon from the drawer. She walked back into the room and poured some of the honey on the utensil, handing it to Eda. "Here, this should help soothe the pain."
Eda nodded and took the spoonful into her mouth, swallowing it slowly. "Thanks." She smiled.
Luz took the tray from her and set it aside on the end table. "Is there anything else I can get you?" She offered, draping a blanket over Eda's body.
"No, I'm fine." She shook her head, shifting into a more comfortable laying position.
The girl smiled, fixing a strand of Eda's hair that was out of place. "I'm gonna go to the market to get groceries for you, but you let me know if you need anything when I get back, okay?"
As Luz left the room to get the grocery list, Eda couldn't help but smile even more. She hadn't been pampered or cared for like this in so long, probably not since she was still living with her parents. She had been accustomed to taking care of herself, but she had to admit that it felt nice knowing there was someone who could take care of her when she wasn't able to properly.
Luz returned home an hour later with a few bags of groceries. She placed them in the correct cabinets with King's help, but held onto the elixir she bought that supposedly helped with fevers. But it was a drowsy medication, so she intended to wait until later before giving it to the sick witch.
The entire day was spent with Eda laying on the sofa watching mindless reality shows on the crystal ball while Luz continued to care for her. She made her lunch, did the house chores for her, and even kept King and Hooty entertained with card games and inside jokes. Eda was there to witness it all, and it was safe to say she was glad to be excluded from it.
By the time the sun set, Luz gave her the drowsy medicine and sent her off to bed. Everyone was pretty tired to begin with, despite not having done anything productive all day. Luz had brushed her teeth and changed into her pajamas by the time Eda finally got to her room and laid down in her nest, already feeling the elixir's affects taking over. At least now she wouldn't be kept up all night by her stuffy nose or constant coughs.
Once everyone else was ready for bed, Luz turned off all the lights and walked towards the owl lady's room to check on her. She opened the doors to see her mentor sprawled out in the nest, obviously already half-asleep. The only reason she wasn't completely passed out was because she heard someone enter her room.
"Oh, hey kiddo." She slurred slightly, giving a weak smile.
"Hey Eda, just came to make sure you're okay." Luz said quietly, "Good night."
Before she could even walk away, she stopped immediately upon hearing the witch call for her.
"Hey, wait. Come here." She gestured her over, patting the spot next to her.
Luz was slightly confused, but she wasn't going to just ignore the request. She shrugged and walked over to the nest, sitting right next to Eda. "What's going on?" She asked curiously.
Eda shrugged, "Nothing, just want to spend time with you." She answered tiredly, yawning afterward. "Lay down."
The girl chuckled as she lied down next to her, both of them shifting so they were comfortable. "I'm sorry I didn't teach you magic today. I know you were excited about it." Eda said, her voice unusually quiet and lazy. But considering how exhausted she was already, it made sense that she'd be talking so sluggishly, and would probably start saying things she didn't usually say.
Luz wrapped her arms around Eda and nuzzled her head against her shoulder. "It's okay, I just want you to feel better." She assured her softly.
Normally, Eda would've denied the affections, or more likely just remain unfazed by them. But much to Luz's surprise, she felt her mentor hold her close, like she was actually cuddling her. "Still, you deserve a better teacher." She sighed sadly, resting her chin atop the teen's head. "I know I'm not the best at these things. I just want to make you proud."
Even though she'd trailed off and her voice went quiet by the end, Luz still heard her clearly and frowned at her words. She had no idea Eda could be insecure, about anything, let alone about making someone proud of her.
Upon hearing her snore, Luz knew that the witch had already drifted to sleep, so there was really no point in waking her up to continue the conversation. She knew better than that, so she allowed the sick woman to have her rest.
Nonetheless, Luz smiled and further nuzzled against her, closing her eyes as she felt Eda unconsciously squeeze her.
"You already have."