Eda was more than a little worried. Luz, the kid who came through her portal, seemed to be crashing hard. She'll admit that she had done some pretty impressive bouts of magic if you factor in her age and the simple fact that she appeared to be at least part human (she'd spent enough time in the human realm to know that humans DID NOT have magic so something else was obviously going on there) but the level of exhaustion that she was suffering from was far from normal.
Usually, when someone used too much magic in a short amount of time they would get fatigued, possibly even passing out right then and there when the spell was cast due to a sudden, sharp drop in blood sugar, but would normally recover rather quickly. It was similar to what happens when you overexert yourself sprinting. You're out of breath for a few minutes, maybe a little overheated but recover to a point fairly similar to before you exerted yourself rather quickly. The kid seemed to be suffering from something long-term like she had spent all day casting spell after spell and burnt through all her reserves.
Paired with the stuff she saw in the kids bag, she's seen enough runaways and homeless kids (herself included during her youth) in her time to know what their bags tend to have in them. Food, warm, durable clothes, money (if they had any), IDs (once again if they had any) ect. It raised some red flags. During their little flight back to her home she thought about ways to approach the kid about everything. She may have only known the kid for a few hours at this point but she had grown on her. Anyone who had enough guts to not only smack Wrath upside the head with a blunt object, but also lead a prison riot of all things to save her skin was ok in her books. That wasn't even touching on the faint buzz of instincts from the damned Feather-brained curse of hers shifting under her skin as she looks at the kid, almost the same as what she feels with King.
Touching down outside the Owl House, she led the kids inside, she landed much closer to the house then she normally would and it seemed that Hooty was about to ask about it before she silenced him. Say what you will about him never shutting up, but when it called for it he knew when it was time to be quiet. Plopping King onto the couch she turned to Luz, she had to approach this carefully, especially if the kid was a runaway like she thought. Making her feel trapped would be the worst thing she could do, giving her a way out was imperative.
"So kid," Snapping her fingers and summoning the portal key from Luz's pocket. With a quick press of the eye and the door was up ready to be used. It was about as good of a way out as she was able to get for the kid, a way back to her home dimension. "A deals a deal, let's get you back home."
The kid seemed to look at the door for a second like she was contemplating something. Hey, maybe she wouldn't have to be the one to bring it up! It looked like the kid was debating on asking to stay herself. She turned back to face her and opened her mouth, about to talk. That's when the exhaustion seemed to just double, she wavered for a second, eyes fluttering before rolling back, and she slumped like a puppet with its strings cut. "Kid, KID!" She yelled, rushing forwards to try and catch her before she hit the ground.
Gently laying Luz on the floor, Eda felt herself starting to freak out. She knew from experience that passing out like that wasn't good, especially for a kid like Luz. Doing a quick check for any injuries, it was better to be safe than sorry here, she didn't want to move the kid if she had any neck or head injuries after all, that would be VERY bad. Not finding anything, she started on a plan of action. The first thing she needed to do was get something that she could transport the kid on. If she remembered correctly, she has an old stretcher in the hall closet, that would work. She just needed someone to keep an eye on the kid while she grabbed it.
Turning to King she was about to ask him to watch Luz while she ran and grabbed the stretcher when she saw his expression. He looked so afraid, so small. The last time she saw him like this was after she had a particularly bad time with her curse and ended up stuck in bed for a few days. He didn't leave her side for the entire time.
"Is… is she going to be ok?" He asked, she forgets sometimes just how young the little guy is, seeing him like this, scared, worried, really drives that point home. Putting on a brave face she lies. "She'll be fine, why don't you sit with her for a bit while I go grab that old stretcher from upstairs ok?"
He seems to hesitate for a second, the look in his eyes telling her he knew she lied through her teeth. Blinking and looking down he just nods and hops off the couch ploping himself next to the girl. He takes one of her hands and holds it, eyes not leaving the prone body of the child laying on her floor.
Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she rushes upstairs to the closet that has what she's looking for, making sure to grab a couple of blankets on the way. They'd make a good way to hold the kid on the stretcher as she flies. Luckily she remembered right on the location of the thing, one of those random finds from the Human Realm that she questioned why she even grabbed, but appreciates when she needs it.
Making her way back downstairs she sees King firmly planted in the same spot that she left him, his tiny back rigid and eyes firmly fixed on Luz. He's a lot more worried then she originally thought, she doesn't think that she's ever seen him stay that still for that long. Setting the stretcher down next to Luz she looks to King. "Alright kiddo, I need you to step back for a second so I can get her on the stretcher ok?"
It takes a second for him to respond, slowly letting go of her hand and shuffling a bit away, still staying close though, and his eyes never leaving the downed girl. Moving carefully Eda moves Luz onto the stretcher, securing her down with some blankets that she wrapped around it and tied. Stepping back she casts a levitation spell on the stretcher and unconscious girl and turns towards King "I'm going to take the Kid into town to get checked out by Dr. Vic, do you want to stay here or come with?" She asks knowing King's fear of the good doctor. It's a mostly unfounded fear but the doctor can be quite intimidating especially when you are taken in to see him because you got sick eating literal garbage.
Climbing up on her shoulder, King looks back at Luz "I'll come with you guys, got to keep an eye on that freak of a doctor." He says as they leave the house.
The flight to Doc Vic's only took about fifteen minutes, but to Eda it felt MUCH longer. She knew from prior experience and some basic medical understanding that she picked up over the years that the longer someone is unconscious after fainting like the kid did the worse things are and the kid showed no signs of waking any time soon. Touching down outside Doc Vic's clinic she rushes to the door and bangs on it to try and catch the doctor's attention before she moves to drastic measures. Luckily for Eda, and the clinic's door, the doctor heard Eda's banging and came to investigate.
Victor 'Vic' Stein, doctor of medicine, expert biologist, and scholar of some regard was just about to start on a late dinner when someone started to pound on his door like they were going to try and knock it down. Making his way to the front door of the clinic he uses the peep sight to check if he needs to prepare for a fight. The Emperor's Coven had been cracking down on unmarked witches as of late, and while to them he was marked, he'd not put it past them to do random checks on those that they may question the validity of their mark. Looking out he saw one of the last people he'd expect to see, Eda.
Opening the door he got a better look at what was going on, Eda, and her roommate (adopted son if he was being honest) were standing at the threshold to his little clinic looking far more worried and serious then he's ever seen them. With how long he's known Eda, and how closely they've worked in the past that was saying something. Just behind the two on the old stretcher that Eda had claimed to have gotten from the human world was an unconscious teen. Eyes widening at the situation he gestured for them to follow him, the copper of his mechanical right arm glinting in the fainting light of twilight.
Seeing the urgency he let the three in and cast a quick spell to monitor the kids' vitals while he led the three to one of the patient rooms. Once he verified that the kids' vitals were stable and he didn't have to worry about her condition deteriorating he turned to Eda to get the story so he had a better idea on what to look for.
It seemed that the kid came through that portal door of Eda'd following Owlbert, who seemed to have stolen her bag by accident. Eda, the ever enterprising woman she is, saw what she thought was a human teen and made a plan to get something that belonged to King back from that Asshat Wrath, who'd stolen it from the literal eight year old and hid it behind an anti magic barrier. Eda then proceeds to pseudo-blackmail the girl into helping her get it back, only to find that she in fact wasn't human after all and didn't even know it herself. The kid proceed to then cast several high powered unlocking spells capable of opening the locks on the Conformitoriums cells that were specially designed to be impossible to open with unlocking spells, before leading a prison riot to take out Wrath, only to pass out about twenty minutes later in the middle of a conversation.
He had a pretty good idea on what happened to the kid after listening to Eda's story, but any further examination would need approval by the girl's parent or guardian, who likely didn't even know the kid was in the Demon Realm in the first place. Sighing, he turned to Eda, "I have a pretty good idea on what caused her to pass out Eda, but we have one small problem. I can't perform the more in depth examination that is needed to confirm that hypothesis without the permission of her parent or guardian, and from your little story it's likely that they don't even know that she's in the Demon Realms in the first place."
"So what?!" Growled Eda, glaring right into Vic's eyes, "You saying that you won't help her then?"
"No, what I'm saying is that I CAN'T help her. My healer's oath would prevent me. That's not to say there isn't a way, you just might not like it very much." Explained Vic, motioning for Eda to take a seat on the chairs lined up along the wall.
"Explain, Now."
"You'll need to agree to become her guardian in Loco Parentis." Said Vic, seeing Eda was about to jump up out of her chair to agree without fully knowing what she was even agreeing to he held up his hand, "Before you jump up and agree, let me explains what that means. You would become fully responsible for her till such time as I deem her fully recovered and fit to take care of herself. While she is under your care you will be just as, if not more so responsible for her care then even that of her parents. Understand?"
Eda leaned back in her chair, mind running a mile a minute as she contemplated what was happening. She knew that if the kid was in any real, life threatening danger, Vic's healer's oath would make him treat her no matter what. As he wasn't rushing to try and figure out what was wrong with Luz that told her she was at the very least stable. That fact alone took a weight off her shoulders that she didn't even know was there. Now the real question was, was she willing to take the responsibility of becoming the kids guardian in Loco Parentis. On one hand it would give her a reason to keep an eye on the kid more than just the fact that she was worried about this random, more than likely homeless teenager. On the other hand, she's about as far from a good role model as one could get being the most wanted criminal on the enter Boiling Isles and all.
Looking over at the girl unconscious in the bed beside her she made her decision, she'd take responsibility for her. It's not like she wasn't already planning on taking the kid in anyways this way just made it a bit more official she guessed. Besides, with how attached King was to the girl she doubts that the little fur-ball would let her say no. Looking back up at Dr. Vic she nods. "Yeah, I'll take responsibility for the kid. She helped me out, might as well do the same for her." Chuckled Eda, a small smile on her face.
"Alright Eda, grab King and sit back down. Can't have you two throwing off my readings after all."
Grabbing the ball of fluff and fur that had taken up residence on Luz's bedside Eda sat back in the chair Vic had sat her in. watching the good doctor work she saw him cast several diagnostic charms on the teen, she could honestly only recognize the basic full body scan spell that most doctors use and the more indepth version that was Vic's specialty. Around ten different scans later Vic seemed to make up his mind on what's going on, and judging from the look in his eyes it's not good.
"Well, we have a lot to cover," Said Vic, grabbing one of the chairs next to Eda and flipping it around to sit. "First, let me get the fact that the kid will make a full recovery out of the way first. She passed out due to a combination of exhaustion and low blood sugar, and should be up and about after a good night's rest and a hearty meal. That being said, the level of exhaustion and the fact that her blood sugar crashed like it did wasn't just caused by over use of magic. The kid is suffering from a rather serious case of long term malnutrition, a few years worth at minimum. It's lucky that her body was able to use its inherent magic to convert what would normally go to waste in what she ate into something usable otherwise she'd be in a much worse position. As it is her magic reserves are pretty much empty and her body has used up almost all of its fat reserves to keep her going. I'll be assigning a potion regimen to help combat the worst of the deficiencies she's suffering from and to help her body adapt to finally having the resources it needs to function properly.
"She will also need a full work up of immunizations when I deem her fit enough to handle that, along with needing a booster for the enzymes that break down demon bile and lactose as her natural levels of those two are on the low side. All in all though she seems fairly healthy other than the malnutrition and that can easily be remedied with time and care."
"That's a massive relief doc." Sighed Eda, slumping down into her chair.
The fact that Luz was definitely going to be ok was a relief to Eda. She had somehow become rather attached to the girl in the roughly four hours that she had known her and not knowing why she had passed out like she did put her more on edge then she would have liked to admit. Hearing that the girl was suffering from malnutrition made her blood boil though. She knew more about the workings of the human realm then she led on most of the time and could tell just from the quality of the clothes in the kids bag and the wad of cash she had stuffed away between layers of said clothes that who ever was taking care of the kid could easily afford to feed her enough to not be malnourished. It was added on to the rather alarming list in her head on things she would have to talk with Luz about before even thinking about letting the girl return to the human realm.
"It's probably best if you three spend the night here, no need to potentially wake her up trying to get her back to your place. Besides, I would like to do another scan in the morning after she eats something to see how she reacts, along with getting her started on her potion regiment."
Gesturing to the two free beds next to Luz, he walks over to a small chest in the corner of the room and pulls out a few blankets. Tossing one to Eda, he takes the other and drapes it over Luz before nodding at the two conscious residents of the room and taking his leave.
Looking over at the kid, Eda grabs King and places him at the foot of Luz's bed. The tinny demon can get real clingy when he's stressed and worried about someone, something she knows from experience the last time she got the fire flu, and figures that it'd be best to just put the fur-ball to bed with the girl and not have him wake the two of them up when he enviably tries to make his way over to Luz once she's asleep. Although she doubts that he would be able to stay awake that long in any case if how quiet he's been is any indication.
"Night, King." She murmured, patting him on the head before heading to the other free bed.
"Night, Eda." He responded, voice low as he drifted off to sleep curled up at Luz's feet.
Laying down, Eda simply stares up at the ceiling. Taking the quiet moment to think, she goes over everything that she has learned about the kid so far. While not a lot, it paints a none too pretty picture, a picture that has far too many parallels with herself at the kids' age for her to ignore. A young runaway, starved and scared, finding herself in a world that is not her own. It brings back too many memories of her time hiding out in the Human Realm and the fear and worry that gripped her during that time for her to let the kid survive as she did. She vows to herself that she'll give the kid a place to stay and the support that she wished she had when she was her age as she drifts off to sleep. Her thoughts far too focused to notice the echo of the Owlbeast in the back of her mind vowing to do the same.