Welcome Back To Gravesfield
The Owl Familia stepped through the doorway and into the forest surrounding the town of Gravesfield. Everyone was holding their stomach.
"I really wish they would work on that stomach-turning feeling you get when you exit the portal," Vee moaned as she tried to shift into her human form.
Luz might have voiced her agreement if she didn't feel she would throw up soon. She lightly shook her head and looked around. She smiled when she saw a group of familiar people.
Drake Blacklight Junior walked up to the Familia and offered Luz a welcoming gesture.
"As head of the Gravesfield's welcoming committee, I welcome you to our humble town," the flower shop owner said professionally.
Behind him, his twin sister, Danna Hopkins, and his wife, Sally, shook their heads good-naturedly. The graying blonde hair woman walked past her husband and got close to Familia. She smiled motherly at the "knocked-down" mothers and then turned her attention to the others.
"We don't get many visitors, so can you indulge my husband this once?" Sally said in a clear joking tone. "But, jokes aside, let's get you to our van. We brought some stomach medicine for this sort of thing."
Sally was about to turn and address her family, and she frowned when she saw the portal flash. The light faded, but she saw nothing. Still, she did a scan and saw a demon realm bug flying away from the door.
The newspaper columnist made a note to contact the Witch House in town. The town didn't need a potential problem on its hands.
(SC)
A short distance from the portal door, the Babblerstones appeared, their invisible glyphs turning to dust. The family of three was all hunched over and dry-heaving.
"Titan!" Zoe screamed, after recovering a bit, "That was the most horrible thing I ever experienced, and I do regular fittings!"
That small outburst was the wrong thing to do; Zoe suddenly found herself throwing up the contents of her stomach. Of course, this caused her parents to start throwing up as well.
(SC)
Luz and Camila smiled with nostalgia as they stood in the center of their human realm home. All around them, their family and the Blacklight family were finishing getting the house ready.
"It's nice to be back here," Luz mused nostalgically and looked at her mother. "Right, Mami?"
The human mother looked at her daughter with a big smile and nodded childishly. Camila jumped when a faint bang reached her, and she whimpered when a familiar voice followed.
"THAT'S NOT YOUR ROOM, EDALYN!"
Amity stopped her dusting and sighed. "I go see what Aunt Eda did this time," the witch muttered with a hint of annoyance.
Luz nodded absent-mindedly, her eyes not leaving her "knocked-down" mom. The human witch slowly got down on her knees and brought her arm around her mom. She gently wrapped Camila in a hug and stroked her hair.
Camila took a sharp breath, and her daughter felt her mom relax into her embrace. So Luz continued to comfort her mother, unaware that someone was watching them.
"You know," Drake said softly, "My family and I can finish up here. All that's really left is getting the food, and Jacob's handling that part. So why don't you get these rugrats some air?"
No one missed the mild disdain in Drake's voice when he mentioned his nephew. Still, no one in Owl Familia was against the idea.
"Umm, Mister Blacklight?" Vee asked as she walked up to her partner's father. "Why isn't Masha here?"
Drake looked at his child's girlfriend and gave her a warm, fatherly smile.
"Vee, I said it before," the flower shop owner said kindly, "You don't have to be so formal with me. You can call me Drake."
Vee just smiled bashfully and, with a faint blush, nodded meekly. Drake's smile grew a little warmer before he sighed.
"Masha wanted to come, but they're just getting over a small cold. My wife and I didn't want them getting sick again," Drake explained warmly and became teasing, "But I think having a cute snake nurse would make them feel better in no time.."
Vee's blush got deeper as her ears began to wiggle. She was no doubt thinking about cosplaying as a nurse for her partner.
Drake chuckled under his breath at the scene and agreed with his child; the basilisk was cute when she was flustered.
He opened his mouth to tease Vee more when someone ran by him, cackling. The Blacklights, Owl Famila, and Danna blinked as they watched Eda jump through a nearby open window.
"WHERE IS SHE!" Amity screamed as she stormed down the stairs. "Where did Aunt Eda go!"
The two families looked at the young witch and nearly burst out laughing when they saw her. Amity's face was covered in a dye that matched her hair color.
"Are-hehe-you okay, Sweet Potato?" Luz asked through her laughter.
"I will be," Amity replied angrily, "Once I give my aunt a good talking to…and maybe a small spanking."
The tri-track witch said the last part under her breath as she summoned some abomination goo. She rode it like a surfer on a wave. Everyone, with dread, watched as Amity made a mad dash to the door.
Thankfully, the door magically opened, and Amity charged through it. Everyone sighed with relief and then turned to Lilith. The "knocked-down" historian wore a pride smile as she stopped the spell that opened the door.
"What happened?" Vee asked.
Lilith sighed and walked over to the rest of her family.
"Edayln didn't want to give up Camila's room and didn't like it when my Little Raven told her otherwise," she explained plainly.
Vee looked ready to say something when they heard a noise followed by Amity's angry voice.
"TITAN AUNT EDA! THAT HAD GOT TO BE THE WORSE STINK POTION YET!"
"You might want to get those two under control before they do more damage than the great flood of 94," Sally commented awkwardly.
The Owl Familia looked at the Blacklight and nodded awkwardly. Luz took Camila by the hand, and Vee did the same with Lilith, and the group hurried after their other family members.
They passed a dazed and disoriented Jacob as they raced out of the house but paid him little mind.
(SC)
"Are you sure about this, Luz?" Vee asked uncertainty, "We don't have the best of luck with places like this."
The Owl Familia was at the local playground, where the "knocked-down" mothers were playing.
Luz had suggested the playground after they had caught up to Amity and calmed her down. While the tri-track student had returned to Familia's human home to wash up, Vee and Luz had made the short walk to the playground, all while Vee's worry grew.
"Don't worry," Luz said with a dismissive wave. "That's the Slayground. This is a playground. Totally different, so we should be good."
The basilisk looked at her human sister skeptically and then sighed in defeat. Vee went over to the swing set and sat next to Camila. The "knocked-down" mother was swinging without a care in the world and singing a song in Spanish.
Luz smiled with pride as she looked around the playground. Lilith was climbing up the slide for another go and Eda…Luz frowned as she realized her witch mother wasn't in sight.
The human witch looked around, trying to keep her panic under control. When she couldn't see Eda, she worried for the "knocked-down" witch and those around her.
Luz sighed with relief when she finally found her witch mother. Eda was napping on a nearby bench. The human witch walked up to her witch mother and carefully took a seat.
She reached out to give Eda a quick pat on the head and brush some strings of hair out of her face. She hesitated when the ex-wild witch fidgeted slightly. When Eda mumbled something about Steve keeping his hand off her apple-blood stock, Luz proceeded to pat her witch mother on the head.
"Well, if it isn't Luz Noceda?"
Luz tensed and accidentally pulled Eda's hair, waking the "knocked-down" witch up. Luz instantly knew who that voice belonged to and wished she had listened to Vee. She looked to the playground's entrance and saw Heather Mason walk into the area.
The Blonde-haired cheerleader lazily scanned the area before she looked at her old classmate. She walked up to Luz condescendingly. If someone were skilled enough, they would have seen that something was off about the girl.
Heather didn't display her usual confidence. If someone looked close enough, one might see how nervous the cheerleader was. However, she was putting up a good front, so only the mothers saw it.
"Can we talk for a moment, Noceda?" Heather asked confidently.
(SC)
Amity, stink-free and wearing a new outfit, was reaching the playground when she felt it. She looked down at her soul stone and felt some of Luz's anxiety flow into her. She readied a spell and walked up to the playground's entrance.
Amity's face twisted with mild annoyance when she saw one of Luz's old bullies approaching her. She became a bit confused as she studied the human.
Heather Manson remained Amity a lot of herself before Luz came into her life. She was a confident girl with an air of superiority about her. Except, Amity didn't see that in the girl human. Sure, Heather was putting up a good front, but Amity saw right through it.
Amity canceled her spell when she sensed no danger coming from the girl and got a little closer.
"What do you want, Heather?" Luz asked dully.
Amity saw Heather's body language change slightly, and some of her nervousness slipped through. She had to hand it to the human, though she put her walls up fast enough that most would have missed the slip-up.
"Look, Noceda…Luz, I just-" Heather hesitated, but she steeled herself quickly, "- I wanted to say sorry."
That statement threw everyone in the area for a loop; Eda's mouth was on the ground as she stared at the human. Things were quickly turning awkward, so Heather began talking.
"Look, when you asked me out that time, I was going through a lot," the cheerleader said quickly. "And I'm not talking about just school stuff. Asking me out was the last straw. Not only did I snap at you, I laughed in your face too. So I'm sorry."
Luz continued to gawk at Heather as her mouth moved ever so slightly. It was clear that the human witch was still a little shell-shocked by everything happening.
Thankfully, Amity had recovered enough to do something she knew would bring Luz back to reality.
She opened the link she shared with Luz just a bit more and let her love flow through it. That did the trick; Luz felt her future wife's warmth wrapped around her like a warm blanket on a cold day. She relaxed slightly and sighed as she looked Heather in the eyes.
"I guess that's okay," Luz replied, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.
Heather smiled, pleased with herself for making it this far.
"Well, it's been fun," she said with fake arrogance, "But I don't want to be seen with the likes of you any longer than needed."
She then turned and walked off, ignoring the glares she was getting from the "knocked-down" mothers. Soon, Amity and Vee joined Luz, who was still processing everything that had happened.
"Well, that was…something," Vee said awkwardly.
"...Yeah," Luz replied and then dry chuckled, "Well, at least it wasn't like that time an entire city block caught on fire."
Like tempting fate, there was a sudden boom not too far off. Naturally, Camila jumped at the noise. Amity, Vee, and the Clawthorne sisters looked at Luz. Luz didn't notice this; her attention was on her "knocked-down" mother.
Vee got close to her sister-in-law and whispered, "Do you think this is a #25?"
"I would say we should go with #49," Amity replied, her eyes not leaving Luz. "But I think we can let this one slide."
Vee looked at her mother and sister and nodded her agreement. After that, the Familia broke up and went back to enjoying themselves.
Unbeknown to the Owl Familia was the source of the boom they heard, namely a broken-down, white van. The van had parked next to the playground a few minutes after the mixed family entered it.
It was almost like whoever was in the van was watching the family of humans, witches, and demons.
(The next day, early morning)
With a light groan, Luz turned over and smiled at the sight; Amity's sleeping face was mere inches from hers. It would be so easy to steal a kiss from her sleeping beauty if the window in the abomination wall wasn't too small to push her head through.
With a light chuckle, the human witch carefully pulled herself free of the bed and did a little stretch. She thought about walking around the bed and stealing that kiss but decided not to. Amity was a light sleeper, and she deserved to sleep in every once in a while.
She quietly slipped out of her mom's room and walked down the hall. She stopped at the door leading to her old room and gingerly grabbed the handle.
After a quick check, ensuring Eda didn't booty trap the door, Luz quietly opened the door. She smiled in a near motherly fashion when she saw the sight; Camila was sleeping soundly on Luz's old bed. Next to the bunk bed were the old fold-out beds Eda and Lilith were sleeping in.
Finally, Vee was on the top bed, with her tail hanging over the edge.
Luz wanted to go and grab her camera but decided against it. Instead, she quietly walked up to her mother and gently kissed her forehead. Eda must have sensed she was not getting attention; she moaned in her sleep and squirmed a bit.
Luz giggled under her breath at this and went over to her witch mother's side. She lightly kissed Eda's forehead, and the bard witch settled immediately. Finally, she kissed Lilith and left the room.
She walked to the living room, looking through her contacts on her phone.
"He should be up by now," Luz said as she dialed a number on her phone.
She placed the phone to her ear as it began to ring. After a couple of seconds of ringing, someone picked up.
"Hola," a voice replied sleepily, and Luz smiled.
"Hola, Tio Carlos," Luz replied cheerfully.
The line was silent for a moment before Carlos Rivera replied. "Sorry about that. I'm not up until I have my sixth cup of coffee."
Despite having heard that joke a million times, Luz still laughed at it. It was through this laugh that Carlos realized who he was talking to.
"Luz? What are you doing in the human realm?" her uncle asked.
The laughter died on Luz's lips, and she sighed as she sat on the couch.
"Well, Tio Carlos, it's like this…," Luz said, explaining everything that had happened.
"Hmm, you said that my little sister is around eight?" Carlos asked, and Luz replied with a 'Yes.' "That makes sense."
"I knew mami had problems with noises," Luz explained, getting a little nervous, "But I never asked why? Is it something bad?"
She heard her uncle chuckle and replied, "No. It's more like one of those silly stories that are embarrassing enough you don't want to relive it, no matter how much time passes."
When Luz's uncle spoke next, his tone had turned a little more serious.
"We were at the park one day, and somehow a bunch of college kids got their hands on a bunch of speakers. No one knew how they got them or what they wanted to do with them. We just knew that something went wrong, and the speakers released one massive boom."
Luz gasped as she turned the phone to speaker mode and stared at it. Carlos took his niece's silence as his cue to continue.
"To make matters worse, we were near the kids when the speakers blew," Carlos said, earning another gasp from Luz. "But you don't need to worry about your mami. Your abuelo and I took the worse of it."
"Is that why you need a hearing aid?" Luz asked uneasily.
"Si," Carlos replied simply. "I'm nearly completely deaf in my right ear. But what happened to your mom was the event traumatized her slightly. It took her over a year to recover."
Luz stared at her phone, chewing over her uncle's words. He was right; the story wasn't terrible, but she saw why her mom didn't want to talk about it, even after nearly 28 years.
"However," Carlos's voice brought Luz out of her thoughts, and she looked at her phone. "If there's one thing I know about this family, we have each others' backs. So, my Little Light, just have your mother's back when she needs you the most?"
Luz couldn't help but smile; her Tio was miles away, but he could read her like a book and knew the right things to say.
"Gracias, Tio Carlos," Luz said gratefully. "It was good talking to you."
"It could be any time of the day, and I will always be there for my family," Carlos replied warmly. "Give my sister and the rest of that whacky family of ours my love."
Luz laughed heartedly and ended the call. She let out a sigh and leaned back into the couch.
"Are you okay, Mija?"
Luz let out a cute noise, and she looked to her right. Camila was rubbing her eyes as she walked up to the couch. Luz smiled a little sheepishly as she made room, and her "knocked-down" mother climbed up.
"Sorry, Mami, did I wake?" Luz asked, and Camila shook her head as she laid it across her daughter's lap.
Camila got comfortable. Luz hesitated before she ran her finger through her mother's hair. For the next few minutes, mother and daughter enjoyed each other company.
"Are you okay, Mija?" Camila asked again.
"I'm just worried," Luz replied after sighing, "This is crazy, even for us. But Tio Carlos gave me some good words to go by."
Camila looked her daughter in the eyes and smiled when she saw the love in her daughter's eyes.
"And know until this is over, I will be here for you," Luz said proudly, "Like a good mother should be."
Luz blushed when she realized what she had said, and it wasn't long before Camila was also blushing. However, neither felt truly ashamed by this statement.
Instead, Camila put her head back on her daughter's lap, and the two went back to silently enjoying the company.
(M Corner)
Now, we reached the vacation part of the story, which means it is time for family fluff and childish antics. And, of course, Eda would be leading the charge. Also, Carlos was a placeholder I was planning to use if they never told us Lzu's dad's name.