Doctor Victor Stein was absolutely exhausted, more so then he was normally. His day started off as any other had in the last six years, wake up, open the clinic and see patients. The only thing that could even be considered odd was the worrying uptick in fairy bites, but it was the start of fairy season so it wasn't fully unexpected. No, the thing that absolutely drained his energy was a visit from Eda. The Owl Lady was, as sad as it was to admit, the only real friend he had anymore. He just wished that she could visit without bringing her special brand of chaos with her. She had shown up this time just as he was getting ready to start on dinner, almost breaking down his door with her banging.

She had apparently gotten her hands on a human of all creatures, and if that wasn't surprising enough, a human who could do magic! He was pretty far from being an expert on humans, but from what he had learned from the myriad of human biology texts that washed up, and that Eda had given him, that wasn't something that happened. They lacked pretty much every adaptation and structure that was needed to cast magic. To a certain extent he was even right about that assessment.

The kid, Luz, that Eda had dragged to him after she passed out was a mystery. She most definitely had the appearance of a human, the round ears, and lack of fangs supporting the theory. It wasn't until he started his more in depth scan that he learned just how much of a mystery she was.

Her biology was a strange mismash of human and witch with something else thrown in there for good measure. He honestly wasn't sure where the witch, human, and wherever else she was stopped and the others began. She lacked a bile sack like a witch, but had most of the other organs associated with the bile system. It seemed that her blood was what carried her magic, not bile like a witch. There were several other oddities as well, her bones were abnormally hard, closer to that of a demon than that of a witch or human, along with having what appeared to be the start of a pair of horns just ready to begin growing. All in all he had no idea on what to make of her biology from the perspective of the scientist that he was in a past life. As a doctor he could make out enough to diagnose what was wrong with her though.

She was extremely malnourished, even if she had a metabolism that processed resources twice as fast as that of a witch's, she would still have been starved for years at least. Just given the bare minimum to survive and grow at a rate that wasn't completely stunted. She would need to be put on a fairly rigorous regiment of nutrition and supplemental potions but he was confident that she would be able to catch up to where she should be growth wise within a few months to years. He would definitely be monitoring her over the next few weeks though just to make sure.

Bidding Eda good night after seeing to the child she brought in he went off to see if he couldn't scrounge up something to snack on before he went to bed. That's when he heard something from outside. The sound of rustling and digging like something was sorting through a container… or a trash can. One of the current residents of his clinic has had to be rushed to him before for eating out of trash cans, he'd rather not have to pump King's stomach again if the little demon decided to get into them once more.

Sighing at the thought of fluffy, trash eating demons, he exited the back of the clinic, closer to the side that he lived out of then the part he used to house patients. Looking around he honestly couldn't see anything, the sun had long since set and the light of the moon was obscured by the building itself. Cursing, he cast a small light spell to see if he couldn't get a better look at whatever was rooting around out here, hoping that it was nothing more than a random animal looking for a snack.

Blinking to get the spots out of his eyes, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye and a tuft of brown hair poking out from behind the dumpster. Approaching carefully, he found what had decided his trash was a good place to dig through and boy was he surprised.

Hunkered down behind the dumpster was a young, teenage girl, and not just any teenage girl, but one he had just seen five minutes ago, inside, and unconscious. Taking a closer look he did notice a few small differences, a slightly different hair style, the colors of the clothes not lining up exactly, and most telling of all, a small tag attached to the girl's right ear, a roman numeral five etched into the metal. He knew that tag, or at the very least knew what the tag was.

"Hey," He called out softly, attempting to not spook the hiding girl. "Are you ok?"

Flinching, the girl curled in on herself attempting to make herself smaller. Her body was shaking in fear as she leaned away from him. Cursing to himself he thought of what he could do, if the girl was what he thought she was he could completely understand her reluctance to interact with him. Maybe a bribe? No that wouldn't work right now, her figuring out he knows what she is before he could get her talking to him would be bad. She would likely try to flee and he would much rather not have to chase her, or Titan forbid knocking her out.

Tying again he called out to her, "It's alright, I won't hurt you. I promise. Why don't you come out and we can get you something to eat? That's what you were looking for right?"

The girl seems to stop for a second, her shaking frame stilling for a moment as she contemplates what he just said. It seems that the offer of food was working, hopefully she responded positively. It takes a few seconds for her to decide, but slowly she opens up a little. Turning to face him, he can see that he was right about what she is. The light from his spell reflecting off the tapetum lucidum at the back of her eyes coming out a pale gold color told him everything he needed to know.

"Y-you promise not to hurt me?" She stammered out, voice quiet and weak. It pulled on Vic's heart to hear, he knew at least partly the horrors that this child likely had to suffer through.

"I promise, now why don't you come out and we can head inside and get you something to eat ok?" He reiterated, hoping to get her in the house, where he could a) get her something to eat and b) hopefully broach the subject of what she is without freaking her out.

Reaching his hand out to help her out, she finches back again staring at the metal limb for a moment before taking the offered help. It took him a second to realize just how small she actually was, smaller than even the girl she was impersonating, the girl who had been starved half to death. Once again cursing to himself, he led her into the house.

The girl studied him as they walked. She seemed to take a catalog of his appearance, paying special attention to the spider web of crisscrossing scars that covered most of the exposed skin on his body. He wasn't sure what she made of the scars, remnants of his past, of the sigil he cut out of his body when he left his old life behind, not that the small slip of a girl next to him even knew what they were. He had been told before that the scars resemble a branching set of roots, snaking their way up from what's left of his right arm, a few thick branches of corded scar tissue that split off to smaller, thinner tracks. The most prominent, visible one of them being the one that makes its way up the side of his neck and cheek and almost reaches his right eye.

Watching her out of the corner of his eye, he saw as she opened her mouth to talk, to ask a question only to shake her head and close her mouth again. He figured that she was going to ask about the scars, or maybe why he was helping her, but decided not to voice her inquiry. To be honest he wasn't upset that she decided not to, it gave him a bit more time to figure out how to approach the elephant in the room. The fact that she was a basilisk and how to bring up his prior involvement in her creation.

He couldn't be sure without seeing her true form, but he was almost certain that she was one of the ones that he personally created before he had to flee the project and the Emperor's Coven. He hoped he was wrong, that she didn't spend the last almost fourteen years at the hands of the monsters that ran the biological research division. But he also hoped that he was right, simply because he knew that if he was that they were unable to recreate the cloning process he created to revive the species in the first place. It was a bit of a catch twenty-two situation if he was being honest.

Reaching the kitchen, he turned to the girl again, "Alright, so, do you want a sandwich or leftover cockatrice noodle soup?" He asked, he didn't have a whole lot that he could give her that he could make without having to actually cook anything. He simply did not have the energy at the moment to not burn anything that he tried to cook.

"I-I'll take the soup please." She almost whispered. It was probably a good thing she chose the soup, one of his regular patients, an older woman by the name of Beatrice had made it for him and her recipe included several herbs that were high in magic. In fact, if he remembered right, the particular combination she used could be used as a substitute for the 'free' magic that a basilisk needed, funny enough. He'd have to thank her for the soup again.

Pulling out the half empty tupperware container (something he picked up from Eda's shop years ago) of soup and cast a quick reheating spell on it. If he 'accidentally' added a bit more magic to the food while doing so, then that was his business. Grabbing her a spoon from the drawer as well he set the now warmed soup on the table and mentioned for her to sit and eat, taking up the chair opposite to her himself.

Letting her eat, he thought of how to approach the whole situation again. He needed to know if another raid on his old lab was needed again. He very much so didn't want the Emperor's Coven making any more basilisks that's for sure and he obviously didn't do as good of a job as he had thought the first time around. He also had to hopefully get her to accept his help, he wasn't going to abandon her to the Slitherbeasts and force her to survive on the run. If she let him he could easily forge her documents and give her a place to stay, a home hopefully. He just had to figure out how to get the ball rolling is all.

It seemed that luck was on his side today as she took initiative to start the conversation for him. "So, why are you being so nice and feeding me?" She asked, an undertone of distrust present in her voice.

"Well to start off with, I'm a doctor, it's kinda my job to help those in need after all. But you're right to be suspicious to be honest. There's more to why I'm helping than just that. This is going to sound bad, but I ask that you wait until I'm done explaining to freak out ok? I know what you are, I know that you're not the human girl you are impersonating, and I know that you are a basilisk revived by the Emperor's Coven." He explained. Her eyes widening as he spoke, the spoon she was eating with dropping from her hand as she appeared to be ready to bolt. Holding up his hands he continued "let me finish before you run off, I have no intentions whatsoever of turning you in or hurting you. In fact, if you'll let me, I want to help you."

She stilled for a second, eyes narrowing as she spoke "and why should I believe you?" She hissed, her disguise falling slightly as she readied to run again.

"Because, if I had known that any viable embryos remained after I trashed the lab the first time I would have gone back to get you out." He explained, hands still up but the regret at leaving some of at the very least one basilisk still under the control of the damned Emperor showing.

"Explain."

"It's a bit of a long story, but to start with, my current identity is that of doctor Victor Stein, but that wasn't always the case. At one point I was known as one, Willard Eyestone, the former head of the biological research department of the Emperor's Coven. The one who originally revived the basilisk species."

"I hope you realize that doesn't do anything to make me trust you more. In fact, it makes me trust you even less!" She interrupts. He completely understands where she's coming from on that, the fear and pain she must be feeling at this moment, but he continues

"Let me finish. Please!" He pleads, "I was also the one who destroyed the original lab and all its research when I found out what was going on."

He honestly regretted most of the work that he had done for that damned coven. He thought that he was doing good at first, that he was helping, but that couldn't be further from the truth. It took him seeing what was done to the basilisk, his children in all but blood for him to realize what was going on.

It was probably a good thing that the patient rooms where sound proofed from all outside noise at this point, as her reaction to his confession of being the one to more or less end the basilisk revival project was more than a little loud.

"What!?" She screamed, eyes blown out in shock. "But that would mean…" Trailing off she looked him fully in the eyes for the first time, trying to convey the shock and confusion she was feeling.

"I was the one who ended the original experiment, yes. I had thought that I had gotten all the specimens out when I destroyed the lab and torched the research, but I regrettably seemed to have missed at least one." He explained.

"Missed? Wait! You said that you got the other specimens out? Does that mean others managed to escape? That there are others, out there free?" She exclaimed, an almost reverential fever burning within her.

"To an extent, all that were left, or at least all that were at the original lab were lesser basilisks, unlike yourself who is a greater basilisk, they are little more than animals, lacking the reason and intelligence to communicate."

"B-but, I thought that I was a lesser basilisk?" She mumbled, just loud enough for me to hear. Blinking he couldn't stop the headache that slammed into him. Who was the absolute idiot that they had heading the project now? The distinction between lesser and greater basilisks was down to three main differences, firstly how they consume magic, secondly the intelligence, and thirdly size. Surprisingly the lesser basilisk is the larger of the two size wise, being on average twice the size of their cousins, but they are significantly less intelligent and lack the ability to control how much magic they take from their prey. The greater basilisk on the other hand is much smaller, but far more intelligent, and has the ability to regulate the amount of magic they take.

"Who ever told you that was dead wrong. We wouldn't be having this conversation if you were. Lesser Basilisks are little more than animals, driven by hunger. A lesser basilisk would have likely already attempted to drain my magic by now just to sait their hunger."

"Oh…" She whispered to herself, obviously confused and weary.

"Look, why don't you finish your soup, and we can pick this up tomorrow after the patient that I have in the other room leaves ok?" He asked, he knew that he was running on fumes at this point and the rest of this conversation deserved to be dealt with, with a clear mind. "Once you are done i'll show you to the spare room ok? The only thing I ask is for you to stay there till my patient leaves tomorrow as I don't think that the person you are impersonating right now would appreciate to find another person running around as her after she passed out like she did after all."

Titan found himself in a darkened room split in two by a set of gilded iron bars. He knew where he was, now to just find what he was looking for. Scanning the room he quickly spotted what he came here for. His sister, one of the few of his pantheon to still exist. The queen of owls, the goddess of knowledge and the creator of the first potions, Nyctea.

"Hello sister." He called out, gaining the attention of the woman in front of him. Her gold and onyx gaze sweeping over him. He could feel the disdain held within her. The pain of betrayal she felt at being left to rot in this gilded cage of hers.

"Brother," She spat, rage flashing in her eyes as her jet black magic swirled angrily around her form. "What brings you here after so long of letting me fester in this hell?"

Sighing he knew that this wouldn't be easy, she was clouded by the perceived betrayal at the fact that she was left alone for over a million years, sealed away into a scroll first and then into the body of a witch as nothing more than a curse.

"My absence wasn't intentional dear sister, I only just managed to gather enough of my power to manifest here." He tried to explain.

"Don't lie to me!" She raged, "That girl laying in the bed next to my host proves your deception just fine!"

"That girl is the reason I can even manifest here at all." he responded, "she is my daughter as you so obviously noticed, but she was not born in this realm sister, or can you not tell?"

"What does it matter what realm she was born into, brother? The fact that she even exists at all proves you had the power to manifest!" She screams at him, tears running down her face. "Why! Why did you leave me here alone brother!"

"My soul was trapped and shattered, sister. stuck between the realms unable to reform. It wasn't until your host found one of the Demon Doors and passed through that part was able to escape. Was able to slip into the human realm and regain a physical form in an attempt to put myself back together but not without a cost. My memory was sealed away, and the curse of rotting followed me. It wasn't until that girl as you so put it, my daughter Luzura was born that the seal on my memory was broken and I could remember who I was. But by that point it was too late, I was too weak from the curse to be able to try and return on my own and regain my power."

"And what of the twinges of power I felt watching over the youngling of yours? The echo of you that follows the boy around?"

Wincing, he knew that she was correct, to an extent. The tendril of power that he tied to King, to watch over him even if his soul was sunderd to dust in the wind, could have made contact with her, could have entered into this place from the first moment that her host found the child. There was one small fact that she was forgetting, or choosing to forget consciously or unconsciously, that the small mote of his power she felt would not have had the power to sustain itself for more than a moment here. Even in the few minutes he has resided here he could feel the draw on his power as the last spell Nyctea cast as she was first sealed away draws in power like a sponge. Her attempt at escape that is slowly draining her host of magic, that is pulling in all the free energy that it can in an attempt a million years in the making to break the golden cage that trapped her, would have eaten the mote in an instant leaving her just as, if not more alone then before.

"Are you forgetting sister, the spell you cast? Can you no longer feel its drain? That mote of power ment to watch my child would have been destroyed in an instant if I had directed it here. Could you have lived with the fact that you had inadvertently killed it if I had?" He asked, his voice harsh. He, more than any other, could understand where his sister was coming from. Could understand the crushing weight of loneliness that their current existence wroght, but he refused to fall to that bitter feeling, refused to let it win. The two children asleep in the beds not ten feet from his sister's host prevented him from even contemplating that action.

Flinching back as if struck, his sister's eyes widened. The constant drain on her magic that the spell caused had long since been forgotten, the spell itself pushed so far back into her memory that it may have as well been forgotten at this point. Staggering for a moment, she took the time to think, she realized that he was right. If the mote that he had watching his son had made its way to her it would have been destroyed in an instant. She honestly didn't know if she could have survived its destruction seeing it manifest for but a moment before vanishing into the ether to power a spell she has doubt will ever work.

"You, you are correct brother," She spoke softly, shoulders sagging in regret. "I apologize for my behavior earlier"

"It is alright sister, I fully understand. I in all honesty would have likely reacted similarly to yourself should the roles have been reversed." He reassured.

"Thank you brother. Now, as much as I appreciate your visit, I feel that there is more to it than just catching up I assume?"

"You would be correct," He confirmed, giving a quick flick of his wrist and summoning a set of chairs for them to rest on. "It is about my daughter, about Luzura…"

He regales his sister over the next hour or so about his daughter and her life in the human realm, about how she was born, his death, the death of his wife, and especially about her life under the monsters he called in-laws. To say Nyctea was livid would be an understatement. It was likely that the next time that Edalyn forgot to take her elixir his sister would somehow take control of the instinctual form that their shared curse gave them and hunt them down. He would happily watch as they were shredded as well, if he was honest.

"That is her story sister, would I be able to rely on you to help keep an eye on both my children?" He asked, already knowing her answer.

"Of course brother! It would be my pleasure, besides the two of them are my niece and nephew after all." She responded happily. It wasn't all that surprising, she always loved watching the other children before the fall after all.

"Thank you sister, I would love to stay and chat for a while longer but I can't stay any longer, my power is draining to a point that is getting dangerous. I will see you later" and with that he was gone, leaving Nyctea once again alone in her cage, this time thought with a sense of hope and purpose that she hasn't felt in a very long time.

Smiling to herself she turns and slinks off deeper into her part of the shared mindscape of her host, a plan forming in her mind. She would protect what was left of her family if it was the last thing she ever did.