The Owl Lady Spells Again
Summary: The Familia finished their testing just in time to deal with an unwanted guest.
"Is this busy work needed, Lily?" Eda said dully.
Lilith sighed and looked at her sister.
Eda was back to normal and was standing on the pillar. The platform was made with stones and vines wrapped around them. It was about 10 feet tall and used several of the densest plants on the Isles.
"Yes, Edalyn," was Lilith simple reply.
The wild witch let out a sigh and began to play. It wasn't long before bard magic covered the pillar and traveled along the ground. The Familia took a few steps back, but Eda kept the magic from going much farther.
Lilith and Willia kept their eyes on the pillar, and it wasn't long before the magic warped and turned black. Soon the corrupted magic started to bubble, and Lilith had seen enough.
"You can stop now!" she called to her sister.
The wild witch stopped playing, and the corruption ceased a few seconds later. Lilith and Willia walked up to the pillar and quickly examined the platform. Eda climbed down and looked at her sister uneasily.
"So, that happened," Eda joked, trying to hide her worry.
Lilith looked at her sister with a serious expression, and Eda sighed.
"I know, I know," Eda quipped dully. "Be careful when Owda's in me. Speaking of that beast-"
Eda made a spell circle, and it flickered a few times before it solidified. The magic circle quickly grew to Eda's size, and a few seconds later, the Owl Lady's beast jumped out of the magi circle.
Eda dropped to her knees a second after the bond beast was free, panting and sweating. Lilith, Amity, and Luz quickly walked up to their family member. Eda held up a hand as she slowly got into a sitting position.
"I'm good," she said slowly, her breathing evening out.
Lilith frowned and looked ready to chew her sister out.
"What a find! What a FIND!" a voice suddenly said giddily.
With a sigh, Lilight looked over her shoulder and saw Flora emerge from the forest. The Emperor Coven's historian had a giddy look on her face.
"Hello, Flora," Lilith greeted with forced politeness. "I see you decided to stop hiding."
Flora was surprised that the Owl Familia wasn't surprised about her presence. She tried to hide her surprise as she walked up to the group.
"Yes," Flora said confidently. "Well, like I said, I want my name on this find."
"Hey," Eda said sharply, "You want credit for this while all you did was creep around my house? You're lucky my sis didn't have Hooty on you the second he realized you were here."
"Edalyn, I will handle this," Lilith told her sister and then looked at her old mentor. "Flora, if you truly want credit for this find, you can have your name as the project head."
Everyone gawked at the ex-head witch like she had grown a second head. Even Flora was shocked about this turn of events.
"Are you sure about this, Lilith?" Jane asked after she recovered.
"I am," Lilith replied, turning her attention to Flora. "This has never been about seeking fame or glory. But, about paying back debts that I owed. So, if you really want to take credit, then who am I to stop you."
"Umm," Flora was still too shocked to form words. She gave her head a shake and then put on a confident smile. "If that's what you want, deary. Now if you excuse me, I need to report my findings."
"Not so fast, four-eyes," Eda said sharply, walking up to the historian. "I don't like that you've been creeping around my house for the last two days."
A wicked grin formed on the wild witch's face as she made a spell circle and summoned a fireball. Flora couldn't help but falter under Eda's malice-filled gaze and began losing her confidence. She took a step back as Eda took a step towards her.
"I-I know you're not that strong at the moment," the bad-girl historian retorted, failing to hide her nervousness.
"True," Eda agreed, "But for a tool like you, kiddie spells are all I need…SPICY TOSS!"
Flora let out a high-pitched scream and dodged the fireball aimed at her head. She took off running, and Eda gave chase. The Owl Familia and company watched Eda chase the historian into the woods, and Lilith looked at her family.
"Should we head inside and get lunch ready?" she asked light-heartedly.
The group nodded a little awkwardly and turned to the front door. Hooty opened the door, and Lilith thanked him as the group entered.
A still screaming Flora ran past the house a second later, dodging fireballs. Eda came into view a second later, now using Luz's fire glyphs instead of her natural magic, cackling the entire time. Behind her were all three bond beasts, with Owda and Rath riding on Roca.
(M Corner)
Well, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that the magic-warping side of Eda's curse remained. After all, I still had Eda take Raine's place to try and stop the Day of Unity in my series.
With this, we end the "beast bonding" arc. All that's left in part 1 of the Daily sub-series is the final chapter of the "Camila and Vee" arc. Stay tuned for it!