Luz slowly came too, her mind stubbornly refusing to process anything that was happening. Blinking at the rather bright white of the room she found herself in, the first thing she realized was how much she felt like absolute trash. Her body hurt all over, her head was fuzzy to the point of pain, and the gnawing pain in her gut made it feel like her stomach was attempting to eat itself. To be honest, it's likely that it was if the bits and pieces she could remember where to be believed. Pulling off the single biggest bout of magic she had achieved to that date on an empty stomach would do that.
Wait, magic? When had she started referring to her abilities as magic? It was probably an apt description for the reality bending powers she possessed, but not her normal way of referring to them. That's when her brain decided to finish rebooting and she was hit in the face by the memories of the previous day. Sitting up far too quickly to be healthy, she groaned in pain as her vision darkened around the edges and her entire being throbbed in protest to the beat of her heart. Luz took a second to steady herself before looking around, taking in the room with wide eyes as she did.
It-it wasn't all a dream! Yesterday actually happened! She was in another world! She-she was homeless, on the run, and didn't even know if she could even get back to the human realm, or if she even wanted to. It was all too much for her to think about at that moment, she needed to focus! Pushing down the dread at the unknown she took another look around the room, this time paying more attention to what and where she was rather than focus on the fact that she was still on the Boiling Isles.
Most of the room was stark white with tiled walls and floors, off to the side opposite a set of glass block windows was a bank of glass front cabinets that contained what looked like miscellaneous medical equipment and odd bottles containing a variety of colored liquids. On the wall opposite to her was the door to the room and a few of those little medical carts that she saw surgeons use in the medical dramas her mother used to watch along with a cabinet, counter top combo with a sink set into it. On her side of the room were three beds that could be separated by curtains. Two of said beds were occupied, the one she was in, and the other, it was Eda!
That reminded her, she had no idea how she got here. It didn't appear to be anywhere in Eda's house, the style just didn't match. In all honesty she doesn't really remember much after she led the prison riot to begin with, everything after getting on the staff with Eda was a blur that hurt her head to try and remember. Sighing at the very least she could ask Eda when she gets up, for now though she may as well sit back and see if she can't get her head to stop pounding.
Leaning back she laid her head against the cool tile of the wall and closed her eyes. She was far from tired, her body actually getting the rest it wanted for a change instead of being woken up before dawn to pray, like back at her former caretaker's home, but the pale gray light that was streaming into the room from the window wasn't helping her headache any. It was several minutes of her just sitting there in silence, enjoying the closest thing to a lazy morning that she experienced in almost four years, before she was dragged out of her only mildly successful attempt at relieving her headache by the sound of shifting sheets and groaning coming from the bed next to her.
Turning and looking she saw Eda slowly making her way back into the realm of consciousness. It seemed that the older woman was even less of a morning person then she was as it took her several seconds to realize that she wasn't in her own home. Blinking a few times Eda looked around, her mind slowly rebooting as her gaze came to rest on the girl in the bed next to her. Any thought that had been in her mind just a second before came to a screeching halt as her eyes widened to the point that they were liable to pop out of her head. The kid was awake!
"Kid!" shouted Eda, scrambling so fast to get out of bed that she got tangled up in the thin blanket that was draped over her. Almost falling to the ground she caught herself and managed to escape the confines of the fabric prison she accidently got herself stuck in. "How are you feeling? Anything hurt?"
Luz just stared at her for a moment trying to process why Eda, someone she had known for maybe four hours, appeared so worried about her. It was odd to say the least for the young teen, especially after not having the same amount of care shown by her own family for quite some time. Getting her thoughts in order she responded to the worried woman's question "I'm fine for the most part, hungry, and my head hurts a little but that's about it."
She wasn't lying either, honest! The initial pain that she felt when she woke up faded rather quickly leaving her feeling better physically than she had in quite some time, well other than the headache that still hasn't faded, and the gnawing emptiness of her stomach. It was odd if she thought about it, how good she actually felt. Normally she was at least a little sore at all times, her muscles and joints just vaguely sore all the time. She honestly can't remember a time when that wasn't the case now that she thought about it. Shoving those thoughts to the side for now she turned her attention back to Eda.
"Good, that's good." Eda awkwardly replied, stepping back as she realized how close she had gotten to the girl.
It was at this moment that King decided to wake up. Unlike Eda and Luz, the little fluff ball of a demon woke up quickly and promptly attached himself to Luz's midsection like a furry barnacle. His instincts told him that the girl was family, not that he knew what they were saying at that point in time, but he knew that he absolutely didn't like it when she fell unconscious the night before and the fact that she was up, and looked to be in good health relieved him greatly.
Blinking, both Eda and Luz looked down at King rather surprised by his actions. Eda is taken once again by surprise at how fast the little demon had taken a liking to Luz, and Luz by the fact that he was willingly cuddling into her after his attempts at escape the night before. Both decided to not voice those thoughts at the moment as there were other pressing matters to attend to.
Eda knew that she should go get Vic, firstly to get the kid something to eat as she knew she was in desperate need to get something, anything into her stomach, and second so he can do a proper examination now that the girl was awake. Turning to the aforementioned girl she spoke up. "So kid, I'm going to go get the doctor and see if I can't track down something for you to eat, ok?" asked Eda, placing her hand reassuringly on Luz's shoulder.
Luz took a moment to respond, processing what was just said. She was in a hospital or clinic of some sort then, if what she was hearing was correct. She had her suspicions if the white tile and medical implements in the cabinet were anything to go off but she wasn't sure till then. Eda had also mentioned food, something she was in desperate need of. She had burned through any calories that the small amount of oatmeal she had eaten yesterday morning had given her and was absolutely starving at this point. In fact she was so hungry that her stomach chose to let its displeasure be known by growling loudly. Blushing, she turned to Eda and nodded.
Taking act as the approval it was she got up and headed for the door only to stop just before she reached the handle. She turned around to face the two children on the bed before addressing the two of them. "I'll be back in a few minutes, keep an eye on each other ok?" she asked before opening the door and slipping out leaving the two alone in the room.
"You-you're not going to pass out like you did last night are you?" asked a small voice from the demon currently curled up in her lap. Looking down, she met his gaze, the amount of fear and worry present in his eyes shocked her and pulled on her heart in a way she could barely describe. All she really knew at that point was that she wanted to tell him she would be fine, to comfort the obviously scared child and that's what she did. Pulling him closer into a hug she whispered into his ear, or at least what she thought was his ear.
"I'll be fine, King, no need to worry. I just pushed myself a little too hard without eating properly last night was all." she reassured, she wasn't one-hundred percent sure on if that was the whole reason she passed out, but it was, in her mind at least the most likely scenario on what happened.
Her words seemed to do the trick though, as King calmed down, at least slightly. Letting the hug slip a bit to a one armed affair her free hand worked its way to his fur, her fingers running through it deceptively soft strands as she reassuringly pet the small demon.
It took Eda a few minutes of searching to find Vic. She knew the layout of the clinic pretty well from the number of times she had been there. The good doctor was one of her best customers on the potion side of things and she tended to deliver his orders in person to make sure that they got to him without trouble. Checking the reception area where he normally sat when not with patients she was surprised to find no sign of him, the door to the clinic was even still locked. It seemed that he wasn't even up yet, or simply hadn't left the living area of the clinic yet. Making her way to the second objective on her list Eda hoped that she would run into the doctor on the way there.
Her prayers were answered as, as soon as she entered the combined kitchen and living area of the residential part of the clinic she found the man she was looking for. He was nursing a cup of coffee and looked more dead than she had seen him in years, it looked like he hadn't slept at all last night. Clearing her throat to get his attention she raised an eyebrow at his state before giving an update on the situation.
"You look worse than I feel," snarked Eda, walking up to the little breakfast bar area that separated the living room from the kitchen. "Anyways, the kid is up. Said she feels fine other than a headache and being hungry, but I'd rather have you double check that to be sure. I also said that I'd scrounge up something for her to eat, have anything stashed away in that perpetually empty fridge of yours?"
Grunting in acknowledgement he set his coffee on the table before standing up. "That's perfect actually, I need to finish the exam now she's conscious and I can get her file started while she eats." He explained before opening the fridge. "Griffin eggs, Phoenix bacon and toast should be good enough, don't you think?"
"Yeah, that should be fine." She responded, out of all the foods on the isles, Griffin eggs and Phoenix meat had just about the lowest amount of demon bile of any common foodstuffs on the isles. If she was remembering what Vic had said last night correctly the kid was somewhat deficient in the enzyme needed to properly digest the stuff so it was probably a good thing to avoid feeding her anything too heavy in it for now. She didn't want the kid to experience a replay of what happened to Stan, her ex husband after all. It was no fun cleaning up after that night and she would avoid it happening again like the plague.
"Why don't you let the kid know that I'll have the food ready in a few minutes and bring her something to drink?" said Vic, placing a pitcher of water on the counter with some glasses as he waited for the bacon to cook down a bit and render enough fat to fry the eggs in.
Spinning a quick spell to levitate the glasses while she grabbed the pitcher, Eda gave a quick nod to Vic before exiting the room. Following the somewhat familiar route to the clinic side of the building Eda let herself get lost in thought for a second. The fact that as of last night she was now responsible for Luz in the same way that a parent was hitting her harder than she thought it would. How was she supposed to tell that to the kid? How would she react? From what little she actually knew about Luz she was more than likely a runaway who had been abused by her previous guardians, would the kid run again or would she decide to stay? Would she accept the fact that Eda was now responsible for her or rebel? The whole thing was warring in Eda's head distracting her to the point that she didn't even realize she had made it back to the room till she almost walked into the door.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she shoved the worries and fears that were running rampant in her mind to the side. Entering the room she saw her two charges sitting on the bed where she left them, the small demon snuggled up into the older girl's lap. It was a surprisingly heartwarming scene to watch and somewhat reminded her of the times that she and her sister used to cuddle when she was a kid. Blinking a few times to get her train of thought back Eda fully entered the room getting the kids attention as she did.
"Vic should be here shortly with the food," said Eda, grabbing one of the rolling trays and pulling it over to the beds before setting the pitcher of water on to it and summoning the floating glasses with a wave of her hand. "He also sent me with something to drink if you want it."
Luz reached out, grateful for the glass of water. She wasn't exactly thirsty but was hoping that the water would help to dull the ache of hunger till the food arrived. She wasn't exactly sure what was going on, the level of care that these literal strangers were giving her was something that she wasn't used to anymore. The fact that Eda had taken her to see a doctor after she passed out due to not eating was so different to the treatment that her former caretakers had shown her that it boggled her mind.
As she had sat in the room waiting on Eda to get back, the events of the night before had slowly become more and more clear, she remembered the ride back to the Owl House, and the decision that she had made. She was going to stay in this strange realm and see if Eda would take her in.
Sipping on the water, she pulled in on herself subconsciously, shoulders drooping as she worked up her courage to talk to Eda about her decision. Would the older woman let her stay with her? She carried enough to bring her to see a doctor after she passed out, but would that be enough for Eda to open her home to her? Sighing internally Luz just decided to rip the band aid off and out right ask.
"Hey Eda?" Asked Luz getting the attention of the older witch, "Can I ask you a question?"
"You just did kid, but go on." joked Eda, a nervous smile slipping on to her lips. She had no idea what the kid was going to ask and was desperately hoping that she wouldn't ask her to send her back to the Human Realm. Vic had not made her take an everlasting oath last night to fully cement in her appointment as Loco Parentis for the kid but she knew that the doctor would definitely make her follow through nonetheless.
"Would-would I be able to stay with you? At least for a little bit?" asked Luz, her eyes firmly on her lap as she waited with baited breath for Eda's response.
Blinking, Eda took a moment to process what Luz had just asked. The kid wanted to stay with her! That would make things so much easier when it comes to her new status as the kid's guardian, even if the kid was unaware of the relationship at this point. That reminded her she really needed to let the kid know that she was responsible for her for the time being regardless.
"Yeah kid, you can." replied Eda, a warm smile on her face. Deciding to just come right out and tell the kid now she continued. "I was honestly about to ask if you would like to stay with me anyways. I had to agree to keep an eye on you for a bit anyway to get the doc to treat you so you staying with me just makes things easier!"
That took Luz by surprise. She had no idea what to think about the situation now. She was almost deliriously happy to have found a place to stay so soon after running away, somewhere her former caretakers would never be able to find her, but she wasn't too sure on how to feel about the fact the Eda basically was forced to take her in all because she passed out and needed medical attention.
"You-you didn't have to do that!" cried Luz, looking directly into Eda's eyes
Eda looked down at her watching the emotion flick through the girl's eyes. She saw the fear, the happiness, and the surprise flow from one to the other and back. She may not know exactly what Luz was thinking but could make a guess going off what would be going through her own head in her situation.
"You're right, I didn't have to, but I did want to." she reassures Luz.
It takes a moment for what Eda had said to sink in. for the fact that someone wanted to take her in and wasn't just forced to, to fully be processed. It was almost enough to make her cry in happiness. Even if she didn't fully believe it just yet.
"Thank you!" Luz squeaks out, her voice small and horse as she tries not to cry.
"Of course kid." said Eda, reaching over and gently patting the girl's hand. The three sat there in a comfortable silence, Luz taking solace that she is not alone, and Eda and King simply not wanting to push the girl too far at the moment.
It was this scene that Vic walked into, his arms loaded down with four plates of food stacked one on the other like a server from a dinner. Smiling at the sight of the three getting along so well he sets two of the plates on the cart that Eda had pulled over before grabbing another one and putting down the last two.
"Alright," said Vic, sitting down on the bed next to Eda. "It's time to eat. We'll handle introductions and finishing up your exam till after we're finished."