Despite her mild reservations about the idea of trying to mold an impressionable young human into a bona fide, spell-slinging witch –

Ugh, and here I thought I'd managed to avoid being called 'teacher' by the boys, Eda shuddered at the thought.

…The witch did have to admit, much to her pleasant surprise, that the kid snapped into place alongside her little flock of goofballs like a long-lost piece of some crummy jigsaw puzzle.

Admittedly, said puzzle in this metaphor was already composed of bits from various parent puzzles, having been reassembled solely on account of the same cheap trimmers being used over and over by the same company… but the symbolism of the whole thing was getting away from the Owl Lady already, and it was much too early in the day (read: before noon) to be getting philosophical.

In fact, if there was one thing that Luz Noceda and low-quality metaphors had in common, it was that they arrived all too often and early for the older woman's liking.

Her first morning with the kid shacking up in the ol' Owl House had involved her all but tripping over the shorter girl - dressed in a raggedy robe and a particularly sooty traffic cone - as she stumbled down the stairs, half-blinded by exhaustion, where the human proceeded to brightly chirp at her…

"Good morning, Eda the Owl Lady!"

There was no way any kid at or around high school age should be so peppy, so soon after the sun rose. Did she need to pop an analysis spell on the girl and make sure she wasn't sneaking hits of any 'fun stuff' behind the witch's back?

They stumbled into the kitchen, chattering back and forth as Eda blearily poured herself a mug of apple blood, warding off the unending tide of chatter from the excitable human with a promise of dealing with the lack of a magical curriculum for the girl, later.

There were a few moments of blessed silence that filled the kitchen, with King joining them quietly at the table, allowing Eda to choke down the rest of her caffeinated slop of choice… until the human could no longer contain herself, anyway, and began rattling off questions and comments and requests as soon as the last droplet had passed her newfound mentor's tongue.

Eventually, the Owl Lady caved before the onslaught of rapid-fire chatter, showing off the mystic powers of Owlbert and his staff to the wowed human, along with a brief demonstration on how some of her well-used alchemy equipment functioned from where she'd left it upon the countertop the night before.

It had occurred to her that, with a growing teenager (and demon) now knocking down the cabinet doors of her poor pantry alongside the older members of the household, it might not be the worst idea to be doubly certain that her food stores were up to snuff for the lot of them. Their unconscious Guest certainly hadn't had any undue issues thus far on her enforced diet of semi-solids and healing remedies, but any potioneer worth their weight in salt would not leave such medical concerns to be discovered the hard way… if one ignored the fact that the thought had only just occurred to Eda, anyway. There was a very good chance, with robust regeneration potions practically replacing half of the comatose woman's lost supply of blood and fluids – along with no way to properly gauge feedback – that she was simply able to resist something that might otherwise harm an average human.

Thus, it had been a hurried trip back through the portal to her apprentice's homeworld to collect a few easily available samples like random mushrooms she found in the woods and garbage scraps, which were… arguably edible, for a round of stringent testing late into the night.

While the panicked precautions had stolen some valuable resting hours away from her, in the end, Eda was glad she'd double-checked - because as it turned out, a lot of what she normally stocked was almost certainly somewhat toxic compared to Human Realm fare. Kind of weird, considering whose world it was that was so aggressively polluted with garbage, but there wasn't much she could do about it but section off the sacks of grains and cartons of eggs and dairy that didn't ping her calibrated tools as holding higher than average acid or sulfuric content, and hope for the best.

All of this was to say that she had passed out in her comfy nest upstairs and forgotten to clean out or replace most of the relevant beakers and sensors, which made for a good impromptu course on how to craft an edible meal for the starstruck human glued to her side.

Eventually, however, as breakfast came to a close, Eda could see the bubbling assault of words working its way to Luz's lips again, and so she headed off the questions with a grand flourish of her waiting staff, drawing the girl's glimmering eye to its motion.

"Now traditionally, witches are awarded their staffs during their time at school. However, with me being your teacher, we'll be taking a different approach." Here, she retrieved a batch of prepared potions from beneath the sink, clunking their rattling contents upon the table. "You'll be working for it, instead."

She gave the eager girl a rundown on her usual method of business, along with a list of locations that needed deliveries, before shoving both Luz and King out the door with a cheerful goodbye.

"Be back by nightfall, or risk mortal peril!"

And with that, her apprentice was off, and she could enjoy the peace and quiet for a bit longer.

"Ah…" She sighed contentedly, leaning against the open doorway beside Hooty. "I give 'em twenty minutes before they hit trouble and come running home."

"Oh, ye of little faith!" Hooty trilled brightly, snaking over her shoulders to watch the departure of their housemates. "It'll be at least an hour before they hit the real weirdos in town, hoot hoot."

Sadly, her house demon ended up being the victor of that particular bet, a fact that had her grumbling under her breath as King and Luz returned well after the sun had passed its daily zenith – though they certainly weren't incorrect about the kids finding some sort of nonsense to get up to during that time.

"Wait, wait -" The old witch snickered, muffling the guffaws with a hand as her apprentice pouted fiercely, her adorable glare doing little to deter the mirthful King and Eda. "You're telling me this wizard on my list pulled the ol' 'mysterious Chosen One' schtick? On Luz?"

"He even gave her a map!" The tiny demon crowed in delight, sending them both to the floor in laughter while her human student hid behind her precious book, a blush burning so fiercely the witch could see hints of it around the novel's spine.

Her disgraced apprentice muttered about having some time to herself to nurse her wounded feelings, and the pale witch opted to acquiesce, dragging her chuckling demon roomie along with her so that Luz could have a little privacy.

The nagging sense of concern that the whole ordeal had ignited in her gut remained, however, and a few pointed questions to King only fueled the Owl Lady's growing suspicions. She didn't bother selling to inconsistent yuppies most of the time, especially so-called 'wizards' – she knew better than to trust any man that enjoyed casual drapery.

Seeing as it was a near guarantee that Luz was still going to sneak out in an effort to 'prove herself worthy,' the old witch readied her staff and cloak, waiting for the telltale signs of the girl's departure. Sure enough, when she wandered by the attic door to not-so subtly snoop, all she could hear was the clatter of its open window in the wake of a gentle breeze, with no gullible teen student in sight.

Tracking her younglings' steps throughout the day brought her down a winding path through decaying ruins and dead towns, which all came to a head with an expectedly climactic battle, the pair of them swooping down out of the canopy to duel the foul form of one of her primary rivals, Adegast. Things started to look a little dicey when the prick managed to get her across the chest, almost breaking her ribs with the blow before wrapping her up tight in his tentacles, but some of that fighting spirit the Owl Lady had witnessed in her apprentice chose that moment to rear its head. It bought them just enough of a reprieve for the witch to turn the tables, battering Adegast's slimy form until he had withered away, left drained and shrunken by the effort of resisting their attacks.

She promptly ate him on the spot, only thinking to offer her queasy-looking human a bite of the catch after the fact.

Edalyn Clawthorne may have forcefully buried any sense of sentimentality deep within her core over the years, but she still held true to a few principles, and it made her angrier than she'd admit to see her young student endangered by some jerk with an overinflated ego and a weird fetish for puppets.

The girl still seemed pretty down though, what with her dreams of heroism thoroughly crushed under the heel of reality, and so the witch decided to treat her to one of the best views she knew of on the Boiling Isles.

"Look, kid." She gazed into the twinkling sunset, Luz's eyes tracking her line of vision, as they basked in the gentle onset of night atop Owlbert's staff. "Everyone wants to believe they're 'chosen.' But if we all waited around for some sorta prophecy to make us special, we'd die waiting. And that's why you need to choose yourself."

Soaring high above the eaves of the Owl House, watching that vim and vigor fill Luz's gaze once more as she took in the majesty of the Demon Realm's wild reaches beside Eda and King, the old woman felt some of that repressed softness in her heart loosen at the sight.

After that, though, she began to anticipate her newest charge finding plenty more trouble.

That assumption was almost instantly validated the day the witch decided to bring her hangers-on down to the beachside, determined to finish what she'd begun with the trash slug of her dreams all those weeks ago.

Eda made a token attempt at getting her newfound student involved, encouraging her to fish about in a rather unpleasant pile of ooze, but even the astounding discovery of an unidentifiable nugget of sludge was not enough to rekindle Luz's magic-hungry attention.

"Actually, if it's okay with you…" She began backing away cautiously, as if face-to-face with a slitherbeast or some other such monster. What, did she think Eda was gonna bite her for not adoring trash duty like she did? "I think I'll head home and take a look at pictures of animals that are – still alive." She gave the sunning King a parting scritch of his tummy, eliciting a giggle from the little guy on her way back towards the trail. "Love you, King! See you later!"

Eda simply shrugged, too invested in her pursuit of financial gain to care overmuch.

"Ah well. More for me, then!"

At some point, King roped her into some pointless and inane bet about which of them would make the 'better tutor' and how she was responsible for her student 'running off on her,' the yearning for gambling she'd kindled in his young heart making her proud – if only of his enthusiasm, and not his skill with putting his money where his mouth was.

That little bet lasted up until the juvenile trash slug he'd been attempting to tame tried to consume them both and they had to send the wretched thing packing. Which was for the best, really, seeing as the discovery of her runaway apprentice having fled to the nearby halls of her old high school would have meant she'd have actually lost the gamble to King, a thoroughly untenable outcome.

By the time that little side-quest had resolved itself, her wayward student had returned, trailing a pair of newly-made friends in the form of two witchlings she'd found within the depths of the Owl Lady's elementary stomping grounds. They proudly displayed the indigo abomination goo staining the girl's only set of clothes as the trio nattered on, excitedly filling her ears with their adventure of the day and brandishing the rolled-up form of –

"That's my girl!" Eda snatched the printed sheet from the shorter twerp's hand, gazing at its glorious image with almost parental pride at the sight. "Ah, baby's first 'wanted' poster. Good job, kid. Looks like I managed to teach you something, after all."

That first week or so had more than proven to the infamous Owl Lady that she'd made the right move, letting the overeager teenager shack up with herself and the boys.

It was the little moments between those grand and wacky expeditions, however, that marked the most intriguing aspects of gaining another member for their little band.

When the girl wasn't bouncing off the walls, begging Eda for any scraps of knowledge the witch could think to provide, Luz Noceda was quietly inserting herself into every aspect of their daily lives. It was nigh identical to King's arrival at the Owl House, made less jarring by the repeated performance; her clothes began to appear in the baskets sorted for washing, towels and toiletries scattered around in bathroom spaces as they laid beside her housemate's own belongings. The sweet soprano of her voice would fill the voids where silence once reigned, in the gleeful whispers and mutters she shared with King, or the excitable flow of rants on things like her love for magic and those fanciful, flowery kids' books she favored so heavily. Sometimes, in place of greedy demonic claws, it would be fragile human fingers digging around in the pantry for snacks and supplies, or running the sink to the tune of clattering plates.

She certainly had no issue ingratiating herself with the demons that resided alongside her. King may have played at being high and mighty, but the kid was a pushover, and no amount of synonyms for 'evil ruler' that he might've looked up in an old dictionary would change the fact that whenever Luz was looking to cuddle, her favorite ball of fluff had no problem giving into the demand. And then there was Hooty – despite having jammed his head into the bathroom while Luz was freshening up that first morning, an action that Eda had specifically warned him against ever doing with any woman in the house, he did not seem to repulse the human girl nearly so much as her native roommates. She was willing to withstand his occasional unhinged tirades, at least, which was more than Eda could say for herself.

What really boggled her mind, though, was the ease with which the girl could say the words, 'I love you' to her new companions. The witch had never heard such an outpouring of care within the walls of her home before, not from herself nor any others - an acknowledgement that left a tight knot hidden behind her ribs, a sensation that only faded whenever the human went in for another one of her tender hugs.

There was one notable exception to the rule of Luz's affections, however, and that was their slumbering Guest.

To be entirely fair, none of them had really gotten much of chance to take the older human's measure, yet. That hadn't stopped Hooty from all but imprinting on the unfortunate girl when Eda wasn't looking, something she pitied her patient for, even if there was little that could be done about it.

Regardless, she'd seen hints of Luz's disquiet around the unconscious Guest, beginning with her introduction to the sleeping stranger that first night they spent together beneath the same roof. The kid had been unusually fidgety, unable to maintain eye contact and looking like she'd rather be anywhere else in the Isles at that moment. The witch had no true clue as to what might've inspired such discomfort in her new apprentice – the other human's injuries were severe, that was for sure, and even her own hardened constitution wavered a bit whenever she stared at the pair of impact scars that had shattered the younger woman's skull at one point, or the glassy scarring swaddled beneath bandages that marked the end of a missing limb. But for all of her untested nature, Luz had yet to strike the witch as truly squeamish about much of anything.

Whatever it was, though, that agitation kept Luz away from the other girl whenever and wherever possible. The mornings and nights where they moved their resting visitor into the living spaces of the house would often include the younger human shying away earlier than she might have without the interruption, always able to find a reason to chat with someone in the kitchen just around the corner, or retiring to her room with a quick quip about being tuckered out from whatever chores and lessons the day had brought.

That was the status quo for the first few days, their newly acquired ray of sunshine tiptoeing around her fellow human as if she owed the poor wretch money, until one night in the living room, each member of the house sprawled about lazily as they relaxed before the onset of bedtime.

Hooty had brought their Guest down from the upper balcony they'd provided her, cradling her donated rocking chair with more caution than Eda had ever seen him use with anything else, gently depositing the occupied seat within the living room as they basked in the cool breeze fluttering through the cracked window panes. Caught in the middle of reading her obnoxiously overblown fantasy novels to a morbidly fascinated King – Eda had long since put her mastered abilities of selective ignorance to good use as the ridiculous prose spilled from the two on her sofa - the younger girl could only fuss uncomfortably a bit, but her obligation to the young demon thrown over her lap clearly kept her anchored in place.

That was until the furry little ruler sat up suddenly, as if an idea had struck him, and launched himself to the floor with an excited whuff. They watched as he scampered over to the sleeping woman, careful to navigate around the lengthy black locks of her remaining hair as he grunted and pushed, tugging her piece of furniture over to the empty space beside the old couch. Eda witnessed the play of shifting emotions over Luz's expressive face, tracking her uncertainty when it splayed across the girl's eyes and lips in spite of her feeble efforts to hide it – until King piped up, his childish voice high with anticipation.

"D'you think she'd wanna hear a bedtime story, too?"

The witch almost expected her apprentice to refute the young demon's innocent inquiry, something that would be a significant first for their fledgling relationship… but when her gaze returned to the young human's face, she was disturbed to find the poleaxed expression that now occupied Luz. She saw the jump of her throat when the youngling swallowed, mouth pressed tight as if she were holding back a deluge of words, and only relaxed somewhat when her student finally spoke in a choked voice.

"You know King? That sounds like a great idea. I'm sure she'd love to hear some of Azura's adventures with us."

A bit of pride rose within her breast as she watched the pair settle back into the cushions, catching wind of the determined set to Luz's shoulders while they sat and read, her resolve to overcome whatever hang-up she'd been suffering from evident in the way she ran through her silly book with force behind every word.

After that night, when Eda was of a mind to keep an eye set towards the goings-on of the Owl House between the long summer days, she'd sometimes discover the young human sat beside the slumped woman in her creaky chair, running through countless paragraphs of goofy drivel that any self-respecting witch would likely be offended by for how it portrayed their people. At some point, the kid must've swapped over to the next horrid novel, probably packed deep within the bowels of the meager travel bag she'd thought to bring along for the ride to the lands of the Demon Realm.

She could track the visible easing of tension, no matter that it had been such a one-sided affair to begin with, as Luz spent less time looking constipated at the dinner table whenever the pale witch decided they should stop stocking a gravely wounded surgery patient away upstairs like folded laundry.

One quiet afternoon, a week or two into her apprentice's stay at the eccentric household hidden within the woods, Eda decided she'd finally broach the topic, now that things had seemed to sort themselves out somewhat. She caught the girl in between her own efforts at a particularly touchy potion, spending lunch sat before the kitchen windowsill with resting Guest in tow, much as the witch herself had done several times before. Her voice dramatically rose and dipped while she acted out a scene from the book caught within her fingers. Evidently, King had had his fill of such a thing already, seeing as he was napping upstairs on the balcony and not sat on Luz's legs.

"And so, Azura snuck betwixt drooping boughs of the ancient forest trees, crunching pine and bone in equal measure 'neath her arcing heels, as she so bravely infiltrated the loathsome bastion of the dreadful Gildersnake -"

Luz squeaked to a stop as Eda made her presence known, the clatter of her trashcan's lid shattering the flowery mood that her student had been so immersed within, as the witch gave her a sly smirk.

"Still trying to bore the poor girl to death with your knock-off witch stories, huh?"

The short human gave an offended gasp at the suggestion, a hand raising daintily to press against her collarbone in exaggerated shock.

"Why, the nerve of some people. The Good Witch Azura is a literary masterpiece, I'll have you know! It's a massive hit with the six-to-eleven crowd on Earth."

"Wow, literal toddlers," The witch deadpanned. "Because those are so well known for their very critical takes on trashy literature."

Luz gave a haughty scoff at the remark, turning back to the window with a harrumph.

"I suppose that real witches just have no taste for the finer things in life. Stories don't have to be made for adults to be good, Miss Owl Lady."

"Listen, all I'm saying is that I've dumped a fortune's worth of potions down this chick's throat by now," The old witch draped herself across the raised back of the rocking chair, jostling its unknowing passenger slightly. "And if you give her an aneurysm from all of that sappy writing, I'm gonna be a little pissed."

She barked a laugh at her own joke, throwing her head back in mirth – only for her chuckles to fade when Eda took in the forlorn cast of Luz's features as she gazed at their Guest, brows scrunched in consternation.

The infamous Owl Lady sighed.

"Hey, I'm just kidding." She shifted over, dropping a comforting palm to her miserable looking apprentice's arm. "I'm sure if she's been picking up on any of you reading to her, then the entertainment is appreciated."

"Yeah. You're probably right."

The witch frowned in bemusement at the put-upon response she received, glancing down at the slump of Luz's shoulders as they sat before the kitchen window, sunlight dappling their clothes with beams of shifting light. Taking a steadying breath in through the nose, the pale woman prepared herself for a discussion on perhaps the most horrid thing imaginable:

Feelings.

"Something you wanna talk about?" She queried gently, watching her student's crestfallen bearing closely. "Seems like you've had an itch you can't scratch these last few days."

A bit of an understatement, considering the kid's default approach to life thus far seemed to be one of mildly misplaced optimism and cheer, but Eda wasn't going to say that.

"Hey, isn't it me that should be asking you about character motivations, and mysterious backstories, and… stuff?" Luz weakly returned, giving a half-hearted laugh at the joke, but her sad attempts at deflection were met only by the unimpressed expression of her mentor.

"…Sorry. It's – I didn't wanna bring it up 'cuz it's dumb," The kid muttered, palming the back of her neck. "Ancient history, all in the past, you know? I shouldn't be so hung up on it these days."

Well, that's a red flag if I've ever heard one.

Eda slowly turned to take in the rise and fall of her comatose patient's chest, watching as she shifted and silently murmured in her sleep, brow creased in some subconscious consternation.

"Does it have something to do with what King said the other night? Looked like you saw a ghost, and I've got too much pride to let one of those bums lurk around my house."

"Yeah, it, uh… yeah." Another chuckle, this one much more bitter with self-recrimination. "I guess he made me realize how rude I was being, kinda trying to – not bother with, um, her. That's not how I'd want someone to treat me if I were laid up in bed all day."

Eda opened her mouth to comment, golden eyes tracking the solemn girl sat below her, only for her teeth to clack shut as the girl prattled on, nerves edging her words.

"And I just – I thought of my… my dad. How he would've felt if I was too much of a scaredy cat to read to him."

"Your…?" The witch started, but her burgeoning question was steamrolled by the growing urgency of Luz's confession.

"He gave me my first Azura book before, um – before the hospital. I… I was gonna read it to him, at some point, but there just - wasn't enough time. I was still getting into longer books, and, and I wanted to make sure I could get everything out for him, if I was gonna read him anything."

The young human seemed to shrink into herself, even as she turned her face away from the old witch, but that did little to prevent Eda from hearing the unshed tears now throttling Luz's words, much to her horror.

In spite of her claims, the witch's student was very clearly not 'over' anything – a state only magnified by carrying around her unsaid worries for a good week's worth of time.

Oh Titan. I am not equipped to handle crying kids.

That thought was only worsened by the bolt of roiling guilt that passed through her intestines as she recalled the wick of flame licking over the pages of a well-loved fantasy novel the day she met Luz, moments before it was knocked from her hand by the passage of the excitable, alien girl.

"And when King said that… he sounded just like my mom, there. S-She told me once -" The girl's wrist swiped across her upper lip as she sniffled. "That even if Dad wasn't going to wake up again, that he'd still hear the voice of his mija, no matter what."

Eda remained frozen in place, dumbstruck by the unexpected turn of tragedy, even as the chill about her heart crackled and snapped at the sight of the young girl forcing herself not to cry.

"Like I said, it's – it's stupid to treat someone badly because of that. I… he's been gone for a long time, so I just need to -"

The situation was rather rapidly getting away from the older woman, her intentional avoidance of attachment to all but her inner circle having left her ill-prepared for dealing with the various woes of younger folk. But… she despised the way blame trickled into her cheery student's words about herself as they crumbled and fell from her lips, and without much of a better idea on how to handle such a situation, Eda settled for the least offensive option.

Luz stuttered to a stop as the older woman stepped around her chosen seat, staring up into the witch's face with a horrible sense of vulnerability in her eyes – until Eda dropped to a knee before the scrawny human, and pulled her forward into a warm embrace, the first she'd initiated herself since the girl's arrival.

"Sorry about bringing up bad memories, kid," The Owl Lady murmured into her hiccupping student's dark curls. "And there's nothing wrong, or dumb, about letting yourself be upset over something like that. Trust me."

A flash of old scars and shaking hands tore across her memories like the spark of a passing comet, but Eda forced the wounds of her own past away with old familiarity, leaning into the hug as it was returned by her shivering apprentice.

They stayed locked like that for a little while, until the surge of silent sobs finally came to a shuddering halt, and the pale witch released a reluctant Luz to take in her blotchy face and tear-tracked cheeks.

"Thanks, Eda," The kid muttered, palming her eyes. "You give pretty good hugs when you aren't trying to run away from them."

She snorted at that, ruffling the girl's trimmed hair in passing as the pale woman stood once more.

Any further comment or comfort, however, was batted aside by the shriek of an alarm she'd set, drawing a frustrated grunt from the scowling Owl Lady.

"I hate to run on ya when you're down, kid, but this is a pretty time-sensitive delivery I've got cooking." She hiked a thumb over her shoulder towards the rattling clock sat upon the counter, her expression softening as Eda gazed down at Luz's tearstained self. "You think you'll be okay for a bit by yourself? I'm gonna need King's little rat hands for this one."

Generally, fleeing from someone so emotionally compromised was a poor idea, even if the kid was looking a little steadier. Considering how her current brew was liable to blow a boat-sized hole in the side of the house if it were left to settle for too long, though…

"I'm better, Eda. Thanks." She waved a flippant hand towards the front door. "Go do your 'master alchemist' stuff. I'll still be here when you get home."

The old witch gave her arm a parting squeeze of comfort as she made to depart, bottling and sacking the products in question with the ease of a long-practiced tradeswoman.

Even as she departed for the distant form of Bonesborough with sleepy roommate in tow, however, a lingering sense of old guilt stayed with her, swirling around her stomach while the Owl Lady considered the sins of her own self and family.


Luz gave a gusty sigh as Hooty's door closed on the heels of her mentor, sinking into the rigid clutches of her kitchen seat, feeling a wave of mental exhaustion sweep over her in Eda's wake.

Any amount of crying had an annoying tendency of knocking her out. Her mami had always said it was her body's way of conserving liquid, tone teasing as she accepted her daughter's grumpy denials with good humor. Regardless of the reason why, waterworks had a way of sapping the normally energetic girl's vigor like nothing else, and so she slumped in the gentle warmth of the day, allowing herself to doze while her brain cleared out some of the dark thoughts that had haunted her so thoroughly for the last week.

Dad…

It was a rule of thumb that Luz didn't let herself wallow too much where it could be avoided, forcing her mind to skip over all of the little reminders that still dotted their emptier house in the Human Realm, those tiny ticks that liked to throw that yawning vacancy back in her face so casually. Staring at a dusty, framed photo of a family no longer complete was one thing, something more tangible that she could handle, day to day, as new worries came to fill the corners of her mind – but stumbling over a pair of men's shoes in the basement, long abandoned and dry-rotted, or perhaps detecting a faint whiff of familiar cologne in the foreign walkways of the local mall were things that Luz had no way of controlling, and so she did her best to avoid them entirely.

Staring into sunken brown eyes and watching the ongoing hospice care of a sickly patient was a bit too much for her to just not think about it, though.

Dozing as she was in her stiff chair of choice with novel forgotten, basking in the unbroken silence of a resting Owl House, the sudden sound of a breathy, wheezing voice ghosting past her ear nearly caused the young girl to have a second freakout that day.

"Hello…?"

Luz jerked and shrieked in shock, tumbling to the floor with furniture in tow as her instinctive urge to flail reigned supreme. A few panicked seconds of thrashing on the ground left her panting and wide-eyed, gaze darting up to inspect the comatose form of her company, looking for whoever had spoken –

Only to stop, mouth left agape, as she met lucid and startled eyes, goggling down at her uncomprehendingly as the willowy, half-dead woman blinked, nonplussed.

"…Sorry."

Her words were a mummified whisper, barely audible to the sprawled girl, hammered into being by a parched throat that had forgotten how to shape speech over days and weeks of disuse.

Feeling the shock of the surprise flush from her system as her heart raced, Luz was quick to right her chair, a mortified blush spreading across her cheeks when she finally took the full measure of the conscious woman before her.

She was tall – tall and rather muscular, a pair of observations hidden behind the slump of her sleeping body and the raggedy, oversized clothes she'd been provided from Eda's extensive wardrobe. However, watching the older girl's twitching arm flex and turn, glacially slow, Luz could clearly make out the sculpted definition of someone who was more than passingly familiar with what must have been a pretty intense regimen. Even still seated as she was, the alterations to her posture by consciousness were startling. The Guest sat ramrod straight, her bruised eyes unerringly locked onto the younger girl's movements while she flitted about, worrying pointlessly over the undamaged chair she'd spilled from as nerves claimed any ability to respond coherently.

The remaining cascade of her well-loved and curly hair gave the observing woman an almost regal air, paired with the stiff way she sat at attention, head tilted inquisitively while the more mobile of the pair scooped her discarded Azura novel from the dirty floorboards. She seemed remarkably aware, almost frighteningly so in spite of all that befallen her, eyes darting around the kitchen with naked curiosity when her attention finally wandered away from the embarrassed form of the younger human.

Finally, Luz managed to work past her befuddlement, giving her lunch partner a wobbly grin when that hawklike gaze shot back to the standing teen.

"Hey, it's no problem – should've moved over to the couch if I wanted to take a nap, right? Heh heh…"

She paused, the encounter catching up with her jolted brain, and the witch's apprentice flinched in realization.

"Oh my gosh, this – this is the first time you've been awake since I got here! Man, of course Eda would have just left." Hands fluttering uncertainly, Luz gazed about the reaches of the cabinets and counter, words cracking with anxiety. "Is, um. Is there anything I can get you? Maybe some water? You sound pretty thirsty."

"…Sure."

She had no idea if the wounded figure normally spoke monosyllable words in a slow, almost lackadaisical drawl, or if that was simply a result of her circumstances. Perhaps it was more of a reaction to Luz's floundering social skills than anything else, but the girl powered through that unpleasant thought before it could worsen her current embarrassment.

The worried teenager was quick to return to her companion's side with a generous glass of water, presenting it to the seated woman with an accompanying smile that she hoped didn't look too forced – only to mentally kick herself as she watched the single, shaking hand of the Guest reach up, every motion measured with intent, while she carefully wrapped trembling digits about the cup.

The drink disappeared slowly, every last drop savored by someone who'd been left powerless to care for themselves for weeks, the awkwardness of the shared silence interrupted only by the soft sounds of slurping. Empty glass clunking heavily on the runty folding table Luz had placed between their seats, the intense gaze of the stranger returned to Luz, pinning her in place with its focus.

"Thank you."

Her weak voice had been somewhat enriched by the offered water, enough so that Luz could clearly parse out the force behind every word, a sense of magnetism filling each deliberate syllable to pass from those wide lips. The tones were only a shade deeper than her own words, but the woman seemed to carry a great weight as she spoke, drawing her mystified counterpart in with each individual sound.

"Ah – no problem, gal pal." Luz shot her a pair of vigorous finger guns, her usual response to uncertainty in any mildly uncomfortable conversation. "Just glad to be of help!"

Clearly taken aback by the unbound energy that the younger girl all but regularly oozed, dark eyes roamed her open features, the Guest's own expression inscrutable – until, finally, she seemed to pass some unstated test, and the seated woman gave a short huff of amusement, some of her tension easing from stiff shoulders as she sank back into her rocking chair.

Luz was… freaking out, just a little, on the inside. What was the etiquette for handling someone coming out of a coma? Maybe she should just – introduce herself, make sure nothing was going immediately wrong at the moment?

Taking the opening for what it was, she stepped around the arched back of her own kitchen seat, offering her upturned palm to the recalcitrant stranger.

"Not sure how much you, um, might've picked up already, but – it's a pleasure to meet you! Luz Noceda, witch's apprentice and amateur artist, at your service."

Eyeballing the open hand hovering before her, the willowy girl seemed to arrive at some decision after a few moments of further scrutiny, and her quivering arm ascended to meet her fellow houseguest's own.

"Hi. I'm… Taylor."

The name was delivered with some hesitance, wheezing from a throat unused to such a word, though Luz was willing to chalk that up to her seeming difficulty with stringing together sentences for the moment.

"Glad to see you doing better, Miss Taylor!" Chirped the younger human, her smile growing more genuine with the acceptance of her greeting. "I'm sure everybody else will be pretty excited, finally getting to hear your voice. I know they've been pretty worried about you - at least since I got here."

It really was just her luck that her mentor and tiny demon cuddle bug had fled before she could witness the borderline miracle sat before Luz. Well – there was still Hooty to be found nearby, but the last that Luz had seen of him, the house demon was in the midst of committing possibly illegal acts on the property's supply of insects and so she figured he was rather busy.

A noncommittal hum met her statement, the woman's gaze slowly sweeping towards the shimmering kitchen window that bathed the room in shades of light. Her eyes narrowed as she gazed into the yard, faint lines of consternation digging into her features, and with a blip of surprise, Luz realized that their guest might very well be near-sighted.

"Um, so, that's the backyard," She so eloquently supplied, stumbling to continue when her only response was the unimpressed raise of an eyebrow by her companion. "We're in the Owl House, which is pretty close to Bonesborough…"

Slowly, a thought occurred to the girl, as her audience's stony expression remained unmoved.

"You… probably have no reference for what I'm talking about, do you?"

"No."

"Ah. Okay. Well…" Luz's fingers tapped together anxiously, as she pondered where, exactly, she should begin. "You're human. So you're from Earth. Right? Because Eda didn't seem to think any others lived in town, or on the rest of the Isles…"

"Yes. Earth." Taylor No-Last-Name supplied, her incredulity clear in spite of the rasp ruining her words, as she squinted up into the nervous teen's face. "Or… one of them."

"Wuh – sorry, 'one of them?'" The witch's apprentice blinked, her mind stuttering over the implication of the wounded woman's claim. "Like, as in there are multiple Earths? Never heard that one, before."

Had the damage to her head been worse than they feared? Or – and the thought sent a frisson of interest running through Luz – was there more to the oddity of the woman's question?

Her counterpart's sunken eyes widened at the statement, curiosity clear, before stark relief flooded into her countenance, some of the stress lines marring her cheeks and forehead easing with a winding sigh.

"Don't worry about it," The strange guest replied, her ghostly tones gentled by whatever she'd derived from Luz's reaction. "I'll… explain later. So…" She gestured weakly towards the window with her remaining arm, and the tree line beyond. "Not Earth?"

"Nope," The younger girl confirmed, mind still spinning at the concept of her home world copied and dispersed, floating in the depths of space and time. "Okay, so. This is the Demon Realm, and we're on the Boiling Isles, specifically. I had no idea this world even existed until, like, a few weeks ago." She gave a cavalier shrug at the admission. "And I came here through a portal shaped like a briefcase, because apparently magic is real and people can use it! Hence the whole, 'witch's apprentice' thing I've got going on. Though…" She palmed the nape of her neck, loosing a weak chuckle. "I haven't actually learned any spells yet…"

Taylor seemed… befuddled by the suggestion that Luz might be able to make use of such supernatural abilities herself, a furrow in her brow as she gazed into the distance, her mind wandering. Concerned that she might have dumped too much pertinent info in the groggy woman's lap too quickly, the young teen made to backpedal.

"Sorry if this is a lot to take in. I just kind of figured that if you had ended up here too, and the only way that I came to the Isles was through a magical gateway, that you'd probably… eh…"

Her conciliatory babbling trailed off, the question fully percolating on her tongue as she fully considered the implications of Taylor's presence for the first time. Her companion, however, did not seem overly perturbed by the unintentional nudge Luz had given her.

"I… came through a portal." The scarred woman admitted, some of her earlier caution rearing its head, as she eyed the younger teen standing beside her. "Not sure why. Or how."

If she were being honest, for as trusting of an attitude as she liked to foster, Luz had little doubt that that wasn't the full scope of the ailing guest's story. But it was generally considered impolite to badger sick and wounded people over what was probably – hopefully – an innocent part of their lives that they were uncomfortable talking about, not to mention most of the other things that she wanted to ask her companion, and so she decided to leave it for the moment.

Not that she was too worried, in any case. With how battered the older girl was, there wasn't much for her to do if she wished Luz any harm – and Hooty, along with the rest of their roommates, wouldn't stand for anything of that nature besides.

"Eda might be able to help out with that," Luz supplied, finally returning to her decrepit chair. "She seems to have a monopoly on visiting Earth around here, so if there's any other way to get to and from, she's the gal to ask."

"Hm."

Silence swelled between them, stilted and awkward with unspoken questions aplenty, until it was sundered once more by her stoic company as Taylor gestured towards the battered cover of Luz's beloved book with a tilt of her skull.

"Heard you… reading, sometimes. What is it?"

"Oh!" The younger girl perked up at the shift in topic, lovingly presenting the second entry in her favorite series of fantasy novels. "This is The Good Witch Azura. It's this awesome story about magic and friendship and visiting new worlds!" Luz sighed contentedly, her digits sweeping softly across the scuffed hardback cover, tracing the divots and creases in its surface. "I've been a huge fan ever since I was a little kid. It's, ah -"

Some of her enthusiasm wilted at the memory of her teacher's joking needling about her choices in literature earlier that afternoon, fingers clenching the spine of the book self-consciously.

"I didn't bring a whole lot with me before I met Eda, so when I started doing bedtime stories for King, and he suggested we include you…" She gave an embarrassed little cough into the cusp of her fist, a light dusting of a blush arcing across Luz's cheeks. "Have you, um, been enjoying it so far?"

A corner of Taylor's mouth ticked up at the question; a low huff of amusement leaving her as the woman's head rolled, gaze growing distant with old fondness.

"It's…"

She pondered for a handful of moments.

"Flowery," The scarred girl decided. "Like a fantasy author's idea of… Shakespeare. Not bad," Taylor amended, catching view of Luz's wince at the onset of criticism. "Just dense."

A parched tongue darted out over dry lips, as the wounded visitor's voice grew faint with remembrance.

"Reminds me of my mom."

"Oh?" Luz asked, her curiosity peaked. "The book or the 'reading' part?"

Taylor nodded, far-off gaze growing foggy as wistfulness twisted her words.

"She… read to me a lot. English professor. At the local college."

It startled Luz when her companion's head turned towards her without warning, leaving her paralyzed in her seat as those dark, haunted eyes fixed her with a look of sympathetic regret.

"She's gone. Has been for… a long time." A knowing expression stole across the taller woman's features, and the young teen was suddenly, uncomfortably reminded of her prior comment that she had heard at least some of what was spoken around her comatose body, if not every individual detail. "You never really… let them go." Her eyes shut, pinched closed as if pained, as she added, "But it gets easier. Eventually."

Luz didn't trust her own words, strangled as they were by the sudden tightness in her throat; and in the silence, the scarred Guest spoke once more, in a tender murmur.

"Sorry. About your dad."

"T-Thank you," The younger girl muttered lowly, settling back into her seat as tension she was previously unaware of abandoned Luz's body. "Um. Sorry to hear about your mom."

"…Thanks."

She fiddled with the cover of Azura, quietly flipping its inked skin back and forth between agitated fingers – until Taylor spoke once more, her voice notably fainter.

"Do you mind reading some more…?" Drowsy blinks pulled at the black-haired patient's drooping eyelids, her attention wandering. "It's… easier to wake up again, when I can hear other people."

"Oh – sure, yeah. Ah…" Luz frantically searched through the pages, hunting the spot she'd left off after Eda's earlier interruption, a sense of priority filling her as Taylor's breathing slowly faded into the low background murmur of a sleeping body.

She returned to her lost passage, resuming the dramatic retelling that had so captured her attention before. Words flowed from the page and across her tongue, filling the eaves of the Owl House once again, working their own breed of magic into the quiet comfort of the home for them both to enjoy. Every so often, Luz's eyes would dart over to her companion, watching as the stranger's mind was reclaimed by the pull of the void once more, her brief lucidity fading like a mirage of shimmering heat.

Watching her companion fall back into a restless slumber, Luz felt only determination to be there when she next awoke, a sense of duty settling about her shoulders as she read to a half-dead girl on an alien world.


Taylor was… uncertain what to make of the young girl by the name of Luz Noceda.

It was undeniably jarring, interacting with such a high energy teenager, even if the girl's enthusiasm had been neutered by their topic of conversation. Her mouth ran too fast for Taylor's lagging mind, caught between twilight and the brilliance of a waking world, emotions shifting so quickly that it left the healing parahuman struggling to keep up.

And yet perhaps most importantly, was the girl's earnest responses to her words, in spite of anything she might have considered strange or disjointed. Her bearing was that of someone who struggled to shoulder lies, and so when she reacted with genuine shock at the idea of multiple worlds all bearing humanity in their bosoms, it had filled Taylor with relief.

Unless she was horribly underestimating the kid - which seemed like a slim, if nonzero possibility - then not only did her response mean it was quite likely that her world was able to avoid devastation at Scion's hand – but that it was also increasingly unlikely for her to know of Taylor's true identity. With anonymity came safety, and on the surface of an alien world adjacent to this child's Earth, the consequences of her sins were even further removed.

There was certainly a more immediate assortment of punishments for Taylor to handle, before she wasted more energy worrying on distant threats. The battered state of her body and brain, for one – her conscious mind had been burdened by stinging pins and needles, an unbalanced sense of weight dragging at her head as she fought to exchange words with the other girl, phantom sensation echoing from the stump of a missing limb and the numbed echoes of her unmoving legs.

She'd nearly grayed out repeatedly, vision fuzzing at the edges as her mind twitched and jolted, reaching for the gaping void of the sixth sense granted to her by her unnatural abilities.

And so it was both relieving and concerning that, as sleep had pulled her back into that ethereal space Between worlds, the flicker of an old connection had flared into life just on the edge of her awareness – flickers of wings and eyes, creeping things and those besides, tantalizingly out of reach.

As she dangled above the impenetrable waters once more, freed arm suspended by grasping tendrils of bone and crystal, a distant broadcast from her alien partner rang up her spine, blossoming in her brainstem.

(ANTICIPATION)


"Welp, she definitely isn't awake now."

Eda's hushed tones echoed through the foyer from where the three of them stood, looking in upon the limp form of Taylor the Guest, ready to jump on any sign of motion in their excitement. The sun had already begun its descent behind the horizon by the time the remainder of their party had returned, darkness creeping into the corners of the old building's halls as they loitered.

The pale witch turned back to face Luz, taking in the sharp set of her student's shoulders as they loitered beyond the doorway, King's developing claws tangled in the folds of her pants.

"Glad you were here to catch her, kid," The Owl Lady stated. "At least we finally have a name to put to the face. Taylor… Tay-lor." She sounded the foreign word upon her lips, quirking a questioning brow at the young girl beside her. "Do humans normally name their kids after job titles?"

"What? No," Luz scoffed laughingly, only for her amusement to peter off as she gave the query some genuine thought. "Well, like, not regularly. And if we do, it'd be their last name. Though – I guess some people just… have names like that? I mean, 'Luz' means 'light' in Spanish. But that's not too weird, honestly."

"I'll take your word for it," The witch replied doubtfully. "Well. At any rate - good work, apprentice. Keep an eye out for any more signs of life from our favorite surgery subject, while King and I do the same. If anybody sees any other changes, come get me as soon as you can. M'kay?"

They nodded their acceptance of the command, and the Owl Lady gave a merry clap of her palms, grin returned to her lips.

"Great. Now, who wants to help me with getting dinner ready?"

The status quo restored, the various denizens of the Owl House set about preparing for the end of their day, each of their attentions unknowingly split towards the seated form before their window – waiting and watching for any further signs of life with baited breath.


Beyond the glacial reaches of a fallen Titan's knee, swirling headwinds gathered clusters of fattened, darkening clouds.

A low rumble of thunder echoed through the air as the growing storm swelled slowly into being, heavy with the promise of steaming rain.


AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Chapter and notes originally posted on 5-14-2023.

I'm not fully satisfied with how this chapter turned out, seeing as how I put it through a good amount of revision before upload, but it's more of a transitionary section before we really get into the meat of Taylor's involvement in the setting from here on out. We'll likely see a continued trend of shorter retellings of canon TOH episodes as we make way for an emphasis on crossover elements - though the presence of Taylor for some of those moments means we'll be visiting certain episodes in more detail.

And, oh look! Here comes one of my favorite episodes from Season 1! Something that had impressed me with the show that the writers stuck with throughout was their willingness to make major strides in character and story development outside of season finales and arbitrary milestones. One example of this is Luz and Amity's relationship, where it reached its zenith well within the runtime of Season 2 and we were given plenty of time to see it play out in the fun little interactions between the characters.

Needless to say, I consider Season 1's fourth episode to be pretty important to the development of the show as a whole.

Storm's a brewin', folks.

Oh yeah, probably going to try and avoid this sort of chapter length in the future. I didn't for my main story and look at it now - I average around +10k words for every update to FHAtI, but at least that's my take on a Lord of the Rings-style epic, so it makes more sense there.

Thanks once again to everyone that's read, commented and liked!