Daddy Blight Visits
Alador Blight was nervous; he was more nervous than the time he was called into the principal office for the abomination incident in his youth. His state of being didn't go noticed by his eldest children.
"Hey dad," Emira said encouragingly. "You know Amity wouldn't hold it against you."
"I would, if I was her," Alador whispered.
Emira let out an angry sigh and looked at the Owl House. She knew her little sister wouldn't hold anything against their father. Amity would understand that with Odalia no longer being the CEO that Alador would be busy running the company.
The oldest Blight sibling frowned as she went over that thought again. Her dad didn't have a head for business. If anything, he probably would have run the company into the ground, if the Emperor hadn't appointed Kikimora as the acting CEO.
Emira's frown turned into a scowl as she thought about the demon. In many ways, Kikimora was better at running Blight Industries than her ex-mother ever could. She actually gave Alador weekends off!
But, when Kikimora found one of Odalia's designs, she began to crack the whip to get Alador to complete it before the Day of Unity. Emira was both in awe and terrified as she watched her sister, her sister's future wife and their friends fought against the machine Kikimora had built.
"I can't do this!" The sudden and panicking voice of her father brought Emira out of her thoughts.
She watched as her father turned heel and tried to make a run for it. Emira had planned for this and used a plant glyph her future sister-in-law taught her to tie him up in vines. She also made sure to tie his hands tight so he couldn't make a spell circle.
"Dad, calm down," Emira told her father sternly. "You're just nervous!"
"I'm not," Alador whispered dishearted.
The twins exchanged uncertain looks and then looked back at their dad.
"Dad, what's been up with you?" Edric asked seriously. "This entire month, any time we try to get you to come with us and see Amity, you lock yourself in your lab and don't come out for nearly three days."
"Because…" Alador mumbled, eyes clouding over.
"That's not an answer, dad," Emira said firmly, grip tightening on her vine rope. "And I'm not letting you go until you finally tell us."
"BECAUSE I DON'T DESERVE HER LOVE!" Alador screamed angrily, "JUST LET I DON'T DESERVE YOUR OR YOUR BROTHER'S LOVE!"
"Dad…" Emira breathed out, dropping her vine rope.
The anger in the eldest Bright disappeared and all that was left was bitterness. He hung his head so his oldest children couldn't see the shame in his eyes.
"I never wanted to make abomination weapons, I just wanted to show the Isles what progress could do for our magic," Alador muttered with self-loathing. "But once Odalia saw what I could do, she insist that weapons were the way to go."
The inventor stood up when he noticed the vines that held him had loosened. He looked at the house her youngest called home and let out a defeated sigh.
"The days all of you were born should have been the happiest days of my life," Alador said sadly. "But I was so wrapped in everything to give any of you the time of day. No, it would be better if I just disappeared from Amity life like I planned."
He turned to leave and felt the vines tighten around him once again. He looked over his shoulder and saw his daughter looking at him with a mix of anger and pity.
"Sorry, dad, but you need this more than we thought," Emira said firmly and looked at her brother. "Ed, help me out here."
The middle Blight child smiled at his sister and summoned a potion with a quick spell circle. He walked up to his father and sprayed the bottom of the inventor's feet. His smile turned a bit mischievous as he got behind Alador and gave him a push.
The abomination witch found himself moving forward as if he was on ice and screamed as Emira moved out of the way. The eldest Blight child winced as she watched her dad end up in a very unpleasant place.
She glared at her brother who just grinned sheepishly.
"You asked for a hand," Edric retorted weakly.
Emira just sighed and walked up to the Owl House. "Yeah, but think what that poor guy is going through?"
"Who?" Edric asked, tilting his head slightly "Hooty or dad?"
Emira sighed again and looked at the house; her dad, with his head up to his neck, was trying to free himself from the house demon's mouth. To the right, the tree bond-beasts of the Owl Familia looked on with confusion.
"For once…I feel bad for Hooty," Emira said, feeling just as surprised as Edric looked.
(SC)
Alador sat in the living room of the Owl House, his eyes cast down. The inventor had a thin layer of drool running down his face but didn't try to clear it off with the towel that was given to him.
No, he found a single flaw in the coffee table far more interesting.
"Would you like some help, Mister Blight?" a kind voice asked, startling the inventor out of his thoughts.
Alador looked up and saw a person who was no doubt the mother of his daughter's future wife. His eyes widened as it fully registered with him that his youngest was engaged to be wed.
Alador had known about the engagement for a while now and he hadn't even congratulated her yet. Titan, he truly was a terrible father!
"...Yes," he replied awkwardly.
Camila just smiled and picked up the towel. She skillfully began to clean the oldest Bright and removed his goggles at the same time. Within a minute and a half, Alador was cleaned, and Camila handed him his goggles.
The inventor frowned as he saw something in his goggles. Against his better judgment, he looked at the Owl Familia family portrait and his eyes fell on his youngest daughter. It wasn't just Amity who looked happy in the portrait but her entire family.
The young abomination witch was wearing a smile that not only reached her eyes, but those eyes sparkled in a way Alador never saw before. Amity also looked so natural, unlike the rigid and proper pose Odalia forced everyone into.
In short, Amity looked like she was really happy to belong to a loving family, and that was just her in her "knocked-down" state.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Camila's kind voice brought the inventor back to reality.
Alador sighed and looked at the human mother. He began to fidget with his goggles as his mind was still on the photo behind him.
"Yes, she looks so much more beautiful when she's smiling naturally," he replied after a moment, and then looked at the human with pleading eyes. "Tell me, have you ever made a mistake and tried your hardest to figure out how to find a way around it?"
Camila looked at the witch inventor before sighing and taking a seat on the love-seat. She looked at her daughter in the picture and then offered Alador an understanding smile.
"I don't have an answer for that," Camila said honestly, "I'm still learning much myself. But, what I have learned is that you can't let all your mistakes take over your mind. It just makes you feel like you're stuck in place."
Alador stared at the human mother in astonishment. He realized this was a true mom; not the so-called "perfect" image that Odalia always said she was. No, despite being a mother for 14 years, Camila was still learning and growing.
Alador opened his mouth to say something when a noise caught everyone's attention. Lilith came into the living room and the two other adults could see a slightly embarrassed Amity looking out from behind her mother's legs.
"Sorry we're late," Lilith said apologetically, and then her tone turned more teasing. "Amity wanted to take a few minutes to make herself extra pretty."
"MMMOOMMY!" Amity whined embarrassingly.
Camila and Lilith laughed good-naturedly as the ex-coven head gently pushed her daughter from behind her legs. Alador couldn't look away from his daughter; Amity was wearing her standard "knocked-down" outfit, but her hair was free and combed back.
Alador had seen Amity's "knocked-down" state on penstagram all the time (he secretly follows the Owl Familia under a false name) and yet, he couldn't but feel like he was staring at the most beautiful creature in two realms.
"I didn't know it was one of these weekends," Alador said sadly, standing up. "I will get out of your hair."
He was about to leave, but Lilith quickly got in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"This was Amity's idea," the Historian said kindly, gently pushing Alador back onto the couch.
The Historian took a few steps back and offered Alador a kind, motherly smile. Amity took this time to climb onto the couch and quickly placed her head on her father's lap. Alador was startled by this and his face went scarlet.
Lilith smiled nostalgically; she knew her daughter only did that with someone she completely loves, like herself or another family member. She looked at her human sister and a silent message was sent between the two.
Camila got up from her seat and together, she and Lilith made their exit. Alador knew the two mothers had abandoned him, but all he could focus on was the daughter he wrong so many times.
He was searching his memories trying to figure out when the last time had interacted with her in such a way. The only thing that came to mind was when he used his magic to set up a swing set for her. He had promised her that he would push her until the sun went down.
Alador scowled as the memory continued to play out. Things were going well, and Amity was laughing her head off. Things didn't last, Odalia suddenly stormed up to them and demanded Alador's attention. She had a sudden rush job and only Aldor could complete it.
Alador's scowl deepened as his ex-wife forced him into working on the day-off she promised him. He created an abomination to keep his daughter company and promised he would be back as soon as possible.
Alador's anger turned to self-loathing as he remembered he didn't keep that promise. In the end, not only was the project more challenging than Odalia let on but he was so caught up in things that lost track of time. By the time he got back, Amity was nowhere to be found.
"...Why would you give me the time of day, Mitten?" Alador asked himself self-loathingly. "I don't deserve your love."
He shifted nervously as he thought of the best way to let his daughter know she was better off without him. Amity felt her father's fidgeting and looked up at him with a frown.
The "knocked-down" witch jumped from the couch and with an adorably cute scowl, began to tug on her father's pants.
"Daddy, come!" Amity insisted.
Alador decided to indulge his daughter for the first and final time, and he stood up. He gasp when Amity suddenly runs out the door, and instincts he thought were buried came rushing to the front of his mind.
"Amity Blight-Clawthorne!" he screamed as he hurried after his daughter. "I don't care that you've been living here for over four months! There are still dangerous creatures out there!"
He rushed out the door and Hooty slammed it shut behind him. He didn't even care when he heard the sound of clicking locks; he was too focused on finding Amity. He didn't feel any sense of relief when he spied his daughter a few feet to the left of the house.
Instead, Alador felt something he hadn't felt before; fatherly rage. He stormed up to his daughter, who was wearing a smile that would make her adopted aunt proud.
"Young lady, you better have a good reason for running off like that?" Alador asked in a scolding tone of voice. "I don't care if you live here now; you're currently too young to be out here by yourself."
The smile didn't leave the "knocked-down" witch's face; instead, Amit pointed to something behind her. Alador glared scoldingly at his daughter for a second before he looked to where Amity was pointing.
The inventor was confused when he saw something. He got closer and realized it was an unbuilt swing set. It didn't take much to figure out what Amity wanted.
"You want me to put this together?" Alador asked his daughter uncertainly.
Amity nodded and Alador couldn't help but smile. It was a bitter smile, but a smile nonetheless.
The inventor looked at the swing set and made a spell circle. Abomination goo rose from the earth and formed into hands. The Abomination's hands manic Alador's movement as he began to carefully assemble the set.
Unlike the set he made back at the manor, Alador took his time in putting this one together. He carefully slip the parts into place and fortified the insides with hardened abomination goo. As a finishing touch, he coated the entire thing with a thin, transparent layer of Abomination goo. The coating should keep the set safe from the dangers of the Isles for years to come.
Quite pleased with his work, Alador noted that the three swings had adjustable seats. This meant this was a set for all ages.
He heard a soft gasp and looked down at his "knocked-down" daughter. Amity's eyes were wide and she was smiling the likes he has never seen before. She run to the center swing and using some abomination as a platform, got onto the swing.
The second Amity was settled, the magic in the swing activated and altered itself into a toddler's seat. Once she knew everything was ready, the "knocked-down" witch looked at her daddy with puppy-dog eyes.
"Daddy!" Amity squealed happily. "Push! Push!"
Alador was taken aback by this; not only did Amity want his help in putting something together, but now she wanted him to play with her. A smile, one that was brighter than one before blossomed on his face as he walked behind his daughter.
"Ready, Mittens?" Alador asked as he gently placed his hands on her back.
Amity looked at her daddy and gave an eager nod. Alador chuckled as he gave his daughter a gentle push. Amity let out a small squeal of joy as she swings forward. Alador chuckled as he caught his daughter a pushed her again. He put a little more muscle behind his next push, and Amity giggled heartily as she went a little further than before.
Alador suddenly heard a noise as he caught his daughter and looked ahead. His first thought was that it was Odalia, and tensed his body. He immediately relaxed when he remembered that Odalia was still locked up.
Instead, he saw Camila and Eda coming up, their daughters in hand. Wordlessly, the two mothers walked up to the swings and put their daughters on them; Luz was to the right of her fiance, and Vee was to the left.
The magic in the swing activated and once everything was set, the mothers got behind their daughters. Together, the parents pushed their daughters and warmth filled their hearts as joyous laughter filled the air.
The three spent hours pushing their daughters on the swings and just talking to each other. Before anyone knew it, Lilith was bringing out lunch. Seeing this, the two mothers and one father helped their daughters down. With a quick spell circle, the former coven head materialized a picnic table and put lunch on it. The parents helped their children into their seats and took their seats beside the current children.
Soon, the entire group was buzzing as the children ate eagerly, and the adult busies themselves with idol chat-chit. Lilith noticeably panicked when she saw Luz trying to feed Amity some of her lunch.
"Luz, stop!" the historian quickly said, "Your lunch had jinnamon in it."
In an instant, the human witch turned the fork around and chump down on the meat. Luz gave the adults a big smile and the mothers couldn't help but laugh when they saw the meat chucks between the "knocked-down" human's teeth.
Alador was the only adult who wasn't laughing; he was staring at his future-daughter'-in-law's lunch.
"Amity's Jinnamon intolerant?" he choked out.
The good mood was instantly lost and Eda and Lilith looked at their old classmate like he had grown a second head. Ever the current children were giving him odd looks.
"You didn't know?" asked Camila, sounding genuinely surprised.
Alador sighed angrily and looked at his own lunch. Of course, he had his thoughts; cinnamon intolerance runs in his family. He even brought up the idea to Odalia when she was pregnant with the twins. That woman had waved off his concern saying something about anyone born from her wouldn't inherit anything like that.
"She was still in denial when the twins inherited her dairy allergy," Alador muttered bitterly.
The inventor's rage was starting to return as his thoughts keep coming back to his ex-wife. When Amity was born, she told Alador that she would check to see if Amity had inherited anything from them. He knew now she never did, and thinking back on it, Odalia never brought the subject up again.
Alador was brought out of his thoughts when he felt a hand come to rest on his own. He was surprised to find Amity looking at him with big, concerned eyes.
"Daddy, otay?" the "knocked-down" witch asked in worry.
Alador just sighed and with a small smile, patted Amity on the head. The witchling's face turned red and it was cute, so very cute to see.
"I'm fine, Mitten," Alador said warmly. "I just got caught up in my thoughts. Now finished your lunch, we have a full day of playing to get back to."
Amity still looked somewhat uncertain, but Alador gave her a smile, a genuine smile. That put Amity at ease and went back to her meal.
With a sigh, Alador looked at the swing set and made this vow; he would try to stop living in the past and try this second chance his daughter was giving him. After all, she gave someone who wrong her before another chance and got so much out of it.
Yes, Alador would try and be a better father…a better man, for all of his children. The inventor frowned as he realized something.
"Have any of you seen the twins?" he asked curiously.
The trio of mothers exchanged looks; truthfully, they haven't seen the oldest Blight children since the family arrived.
Suddenly, the witches were feeling very uneasy; they could only guess what plans the Blight twins were cooking up right this moment.
(SC)
Steve was cleaning his bike when he saw the Blight twins come into the view. The boy and girl twin were wearing matching grins as Edric held a potion in his hands. The ex-scout could see the label.
It read; Revunjation potion=duration; one day.
The twins looked at the potion and giggled before they head off in direction of town. Steve looked at the "reader" with a knowing smirk on their face.
"Steve's know where this is heading and Steve would be making popcorn. You would like some?"
Raine Whispers cocked an eyebrow as Steve went back to cleaning before they could answer. They sighed and decided it was best to leave it at that. They had something serious to talk about with the Owl Familia.
(M Corner)
Well, here's the start of the Blight arc, and I think we all can say that what comes next will be another terror the Boiling Isles had never seen.