The Angel of the Owl House

by OwlHouseAngel

Luz Noceda is a young half-angel girl living with her angel mother in the Human Realm. Her attempts to be good always backfire, and after one too many mistakes, her mother sends her to Camp Reality Check. But a chance event leaves Luz in the Demon Realm, where she meets the Owl Lady, who teaches her that in a chaotic world like the Boiling Isles, Luz might be the perfect angel.

21. INTERMISSION 1: Vee the Basilisk

The Angel of the Owl House

Intermission

Chapter 1: Vee the Basilisk

A young girl slithered through the streets of Bonesborough, hidden beneath a ratty old cloak she'd scavenged from the trash when she first arrived in town. It wasn't exactly comfortable and it smelled pretty bad, but the girl needed it to keep herself obscured and conserve her magic. She would need her limited magic more when she finally reached her destination; the Human Realm, the one place she might escape to where she could be free of the Emperor and his minions.

For this young girl was Subject Number Five, though she preferred to go by Vee, and she was a Basilisk. She and her species, including all variants and subspecies, had gone extinct a very long time ago. They'd been hunted down and exterminated by Witch and Demonkind due to their ability to drain magic, but it was for that exact reason that the Emperor and his Coven had found a way to bring them back. Vee didn't know the full details; she only knew that she and her fellow test subjects had been born in a lab beneath the Conformatorium, apparently created artificially with preserved blood from ancient Basilisk fossils. Vee had spent her whole life there; all 14 years old it, locked in a cell and experimented on. Warden Wrath and the Emperor's researchers would bring her all manner of small magic creatures to feed on, and whenever Vee refused, she was punished harshly.

For years, poor Vee and her fellow Basilisks had seen no hope for escape; they were guarded too closely and kept chained up in their cells, only being released when they were taken to the lab so the Warden could force them to use their powers in front of the Emperor. Vee hated those times the most; the Emperor scared her, especially since he paid special attention to her for being one of the only two subspecies in the group. There were six Basilisks in all; Subjects One through Four were Common Basilisks; largely serpentine creatures with thick snake-like bodies and more bestial faces with wide necks. Vee was the last and youngest Basilisk; a subspecies known as a Golden-Eyed Basilisk, so named for their golden pupils in the centre of black irises. Her upper body was slightly more humanoid than the others, having a thinner torso and a more pronounced neck and shoulders, as well as a generally being closer to a human in size, and a lot more docile in temperament.

This stood in stark contrast to the other subspecies; a Greater Basilisk known as Subject Zero, and the eldest of the lab-grown Basilisks. She was utterly insane and seemed to almost revel in feeding on the magic of others… her only complaint with their life in the dungeons was the lack of magic to eat. Vee was terrified of her… but on that fateful day a week ago, Subject Zero had been the one to save them, if inadvertently.

The Emperor had come for another visit to see their progress, and as always Vee and the others were dragged before him and made to drain magic. This time they were made to drain magic from some Witch prisoners from the Conformatorium above their heads, and while Vee hated it (despite how full it had made her feel), Subject Zero had loved it. She had demanded more, becoming completely intoxicated, and when no more was given, she'd gone wild, revealing a surprising amount of strength by overpowering the scouts holding her down and devouring magic from them, including the magic in the keys to their chains. With the magic drained from the keys, their shackles had clicked open immediately, and Subjects One and Two had attacked the Emperor and his men alongside Subject Zero. But Vee, and Subjects Three and Four had been terrified and knew they could never defeat the powerful witches, so they had fled.

Taking the forms of scouts with their shapeshifting powers, Vee and her two fellow Basilisks escaped the Conformatorium and went into hiding. They eventually split up for safety, but Vee knew it was only a matter of time before she was caught. Her only hope was found in a rumour she'd heard while passing through a small town about three days after her escape. It was a rumour about someone known as "The Owl Lady" and "The Wild Witch of Bonesborough", who allegedly sold human goods straight from the Human Realm. In disguise, Vee had looked into these rumours and discovered another rumour; that the Owl Lady apparently had a way into the Human Realm!

It was for that reason that Vee had come to Bonesborough; she would never be able to live freely in the Demon Realm, but if she could find the Owl Lady and use her to get to the Human Realm, she could be safe! It would be easy to shape-shift into a human and never have to worry about the Emperor again!

Being careful not to let too much of herself be exposed by her cloak, Vee made her way to the Bonesborough Market and began to look around at all the different stalls and tents that had been put up. All the different magics and smells on display had Vee salivating, but she suppressed the urge to feed and followed her nose, searching for the smell of a curse. Golden-Eyed Basilisks had the sharpest sense of smell there was when it came to magic, and since she'd heard that the Owl Lady was cursed, she was able to follow that scent until she found exactly what she was looking for.

It was a stall set up in front of a large tent, which a woman with long, thick silver hair and golden eyes was watching. Vee eyed the woman closely, noting the green bandana she wore over her ears and the distinctive torn red dress; there was no doubt about it, this was Eda the Owl Lady! She looked just like the wanted posters Vee had spotted, so the young Basilisk slowly made her way over, mentally planning out what she'd do. She wasn't sure how she'd convince the Owl Lady to send her to the Human Realm, and as she got closer, Vee began to worry about what would become of her if the Owl Lady decided to use her like the Emperor had done, or perhaps even turn her in to the Emperor's Coven for a reward or a pardon!

Fear overcame her, and instead of just talking to the Owl Lady, Vee slithered behind her tent, and subtly snuck under the canvas. Inside the tent, she found herself faced with the back of a strange door, which had been set up at the back of the tent. Vee could sense very powerful magic coming from it… it was a kind of magic she'd only sensed once, when the Emperor had put a vial of some foul black liquid under her nose and ordered her to memorise the scent. Vee was so transfixed by the odd door that she paid no attention to the rest of the tent's contents, and instead moved to the front of the door, finding it open. The door had some kind of giant yellow eye on it, and the door frame was filled with a vision of a small wooden porch, beyond which was a path through a forest… a green forest.

Vee gasped quietly; this must be a portal to the Human Realm! And it had been left wide open! She couldn't help but wag her tail excitedly; this was her ticket to freedom, and she didn't even need to deal with the Owl Lady!

She was just about to pass through, but saw something coming from the other side. It was a little owl, hopping along on the ground and dragging a large sack of human junk. Vee suspected this was the Owl Lady's Palisman (she did have an owl staff on her wanted poster after all) and wondered if she should just ignore it and run past it, but then she saw someone else pursuing the owl. It was a human girl with tan skin and shortish curly dark brown hair, dressed in denim shorts, dark blue leggings, and a white and purple hooded shirt.

With a quiet squeak, Vee hid amongst the human junk already in the tent so the human girl wouldn't see her. The Palisman was one thing, but a human that could expose her was quite another, so Vee wasn't taking any risks! She watched from her hiding place as the owl hopped straight through the portal and hurried out of the tent to its mistress, followed a moment later by the human girl.

"Whoa… where am I?" the girl whispered, looking around at the trash filled tent. Vee got a good look at the girl, but her looks weren't what caught her attention… While the girl had appeared to be human, now that she was actually in the same realm as Vee, the young Basilisk could smell her and knew she was definitely not just some normal human!

Her scent definitely had some human to it, but that was to be expected from someone coming in from the Human Realm, and the majority of her scent was something distinctly different… distinctly magical… distinctly familiar.

It was a scent Vee had picked up from the Emperor. He too had the smell of a human and the odd magic that this girl had, but while his was powerful and mixed with the foul stench of rot and burning Palistrom wood, the girl's magic smelled pure and gentle, though quite weak. There was also a second, stronger version of the same magical smell coming from something around the girl's neck, though Vee couldn't figure out what it was. Considering the girl looked human, Vee suspected it was some kind of concealment stone.

Vee couldn't quite place what the smell reminded her off, but the answer came when the girl suddenly gasped after peeking out of the tent.

"The owl became a staff! That makes it a Palisman!" the girl whispered to herself, "Only two types of people have Palismen; super powerful angels… and witches!"

Vee had to cover her snout to stop her own gasp of surprise; that was what the smell reminded her off! It was angel! This girl was an angel!

The Emperor had made her smell angelic blood at one point, but he'd not allowed her to do it again after she'd given him an odd look, no doubt realising that he carried a similar scent. He'd terrified her into not saying a word, something Vee had been happy to obey!

The young angel began to back away, and Vee could see that her window to escape was closing. While the angel was still looking away, she silently slunk through the portal, feeling a sense of vertigo as she passed into the Human Realm. Immediately the overbearing smells of Bonesborough and its magic was replaced by the clearer, subtler smells of the human forest she arrived in. Vee found herself stood on a wooden porch outside a dilapidated house, and quickly hid herself behind a nearby tree so she wouldn't be spotted when the angel came back through.

But the angel didn't come back through. Instead Vee heard the sound of a squeaky toy being stepped on, followed by an exchange of voices.

"Oh ho, what do we have here?" asked an unfamiliar voice. It sounded like a woman's, so Vee guessed it was the Owl Lady. She must have discovered the angel in her tent.

"Eheheh, nobody important. I was just worried about the little owl, hopping along all alone. But he's home now so I'll just be going!" that was the angel's voice.

Before another word could be heard, the door of the dilapidated house, which also served as the Human Realm side of the Portal door, suddenly slammed shut, then blew open again in the breeze, revealing nothing but the inside of the old house. Vee peeked out from behind the tree and inspected the door, opening and closing it again. No matter what she did however, the portal remained closed.

"The Owl Lady must have closed it… I hope that angel girl is okay." Vee whispered to herself.

Suddenly, she smelled another angel, one with a lot more magic, coming her way. She then heard a voice calling out; "Luz? Where are you?"

Vee panicked. Should she run and hide, or disguise herself? She didn't know what any other humans looked like, but since the angel girl had been disguised as one, Vee decided to take a gamble and assumed the girl's form.

A moment later, a woman that looked a lot like an older version of the angel walked out of the woods. She had her dark brown hair tied up in a bun, and her eyes were behind a pair of glasses, but the resemblance to the other angel was still strong, and her magic was even more so. It was the same magic Vee had sensed from around the other girl's neck. The older angel was dressed in some kind of light blue shirt and pants in a style Vee had never seen before, but she didn't have time to think on that, as the woman took one look at Vee and smiled.

"Luz! There you are." she said, walking over.

Vee gulped; so the angel's name had been Luz… good thing she'd heard her talk enough to copy her voice!

"Hello… fellow angel!" Vee said nervously, "Um… skin's sure weird!"

The other angel, apparently Luz's mother, chuckled and walked over, putting her hand on Vee's shoulder.

"Very funny." the woman chuckled, before frowning as she looked past Vee at the abandoned house. "I'd rather you not go near this old place again, Luz. It's unstable and dangerous; it could collapse with you inside it!"

"S-Sorry…" Vee said shyly.

The woman just smiled; "It's okay, you didn't know any better. I don't think you've come to this part of the woods before… But listen, I've been thinking… I know how nervous and upset you are about going to camp. I still think it'll be good for you to learn to make friends and help people in ways that are less… chaotic, but I don't want you to feel like I'm chasing you away. You've never been away from me for more than a day, so three months is a big adjustment!" Luz's Mom said, gently rubbing Vee's shoulder.

The disguised Basilisk looked up at her with surprise; this woman was so kind and gentle… had Luz been running away from her to avoid going to this camp place? Had she really felt like she was being chased off?

"So, I've decided that instead of the bus, I could drive you to camp." Luz's Mom continued, "We haven't been on a road trip for a while, and we could take the time to talk a bit. I've got the day off from work, and you can have full control of the playlist. What do you say?"

Luz's Mom offered Vee her hand, and the girl hesitated. Should she accept? What if the real Luz came back? She'd be exposed in an instant! But then again, what if she never came back? She was in the Demon Realm now and there was nothing Vee could do about that. Maybe pretending to be her would at least prevent this poor woman from every realising her daughter might be gone forever…

Whether it was for that reason, or a more selfish one, Vee gently took the woman's hand with an uncertain smile.

Luz's Mom beamed at her and pulled her in for a hug, making Vee feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. She'd never been hugged before, only having seen hugging during her brief time on the streets after fleeing the Conformatorium, and she could definitely say she enjoyed it. The older angel even stroked Vee's hair, almost making the disguised Basilisk purr.

After that, the two began walking back to Luz's house, which was a nice little home on the edge of the forest. Vee liked it a lot, but as Luz's Mom approached the odd dull red cart outside the house (Vee had heard her call it a… car?), the woman suddenly turned and asked; "Oh Luz, where is your satchel with all your things?"

Vee gulped nervously; "Um, I left it inside?"

Luz's Mom stared at her for a minute, frowning. She then shrugged; "Huh, I could have sworn I saw you with it earlier… must have been my imagination. Hop on inside and get it; I'll get the car going." she said, tossing a set of oddly small keys to Vee.

Vee, surprised her obvious lie had been believed, fumbled to catch the keys, then nervously went over to the house's front door. It took her a moment to figure out how to unlock it, then headed inside and began to look around the house. She needed a satchel of some kind, so she began to wander around and peer into various rooms. There was a lot of things she didn't recognise or understand, but exploring did reveal a few pieces of information.

A framed child's drawing had the words "To Mami and Papi. Luz Noceda Age 4" scrawled on it, revealing the full name of the girl she was impersonating. Vee also learned that Luz's Mom was named Camila Noceda thanks to a bill addressed to Camila on the kitchen table, and learned her father's name was Manny thanks to a lover's picture frame in Camila's bedroom that had the words "Camila and Manny" written on it. The fact that it was clear only two people lived in the house, despite the plethora of pictures of Manny, let Vee figure out that Manny had passed away… Vee hoped that the couple's daughter hadn't met the same fate in the Demon Realm.

Shrugging that off, Vee eventually found which room was Luz's and began looking around for a satchel. Vee eventually found a purple one in Luz's closet, and immediately smelled the magic on it. Curiously, Vee dropped a random book from Luz's desk into the satchel and noted that the satchel still felt like it was empty.

"It's enchanted to be weightless…!" Vee gasped, before mumbling; "Come to think of it, Luz was going away for three months… she'd definitely need more than one satchel of stuff to last that long, so if this one is like the other one, it must be both weightless and expanded on the inside."

Vee smiled and began grabbing Luz's clothes and putting them in the satchel. She didn't really need to wear clothes since she could just shape-shift, but if she had some, she could change without needing to use her magic! Vee was sure to pack a lot, including a few sets of the same outfit Luz had been wearing earlier (it appeared to be her favourite, considering how many sets she owned), then once she was done, she happily trotted back outside to Camila, locking the house behind her and giving back the keys.

"I'm done, Mami." Vee said, using the name she'd seen on the drawing. Camila smiled but didn't otherwise react, so Vee figured she'd done the right thing.

"I was wondering what took you so long! So you decided to switch from the yellow satchel to the purple one?" Camila said with a knowing smile; "Are you just trying to stall?"

Vee shook her head; "N-No! I just… wanted a change." she stuttered. "You believe me, right?"

Camila chuckled; "Don't be silly, Mija; of course I believe you! Angels can't lie; you know that! Honestly, camp must really have you frazzled!"

Vee chuckled along with her, while inwardly she was feeling a mix of relief and trepidation. She hadn't known angels couldn't lie, but it explained why Camila believed her even when she wasn't being very convincing. However it was also dangerous; if she told a lie that Camila knew was false, she'd instantly figure out that Vee wasn't really Luz! She had to tread carefully!

"I-I guess I am. Just frazzled, I mean. Um, shall we go?" Vee asked.

Camila grinned and started the car and began driving (Vee had to hide her surprise when it thrummed to life and began to move without the need for something to pull it along). As they were driving out of Gravesfield, Camila turned to Vee and said; "You can turn on the radio whenever you want."

Vee smiled, but she had no idea how to do that. Plus, she wanted to learn more about Camila and the life Vee was currently borrowing, so she shook her head and shyly said; "A-Actually, can we just talk? If we're gonna be apart for three months, it'd be nice to talk a lot first."

Camila once again beamed, and Vee felt warm and fuzzy again, feeling like she'd said the right thing once more. The drive to Camp Reality Check was about three hours long, and Camila and Vee ended up spending the entire time just chatting. Camila did most of the talking, with Vee asking questions occasionally so she could learn more and more about the Human Realm and this odd little family of angels that inhabited it. By the time they were almost at the camp, Vee felt oddly close to Camila and was actually a little sad to be leaving her for camp. She certainly understood how Luz had felt, and after hearing Camila laugh over some of the funnier and sillier mishaps Luz had gotten into while trying to be a good angel and help people, Vee felt like she emphasised with Luz a bit, and that in turn led to sympathy.

It must be so awful for a young angel with little to no power to be stuck in the Demon Realm! Even though it would mean being exposed and losing her place with Camila, Vee kind of hoped Luz would make it back safe and sound.

After a long but emotionally fulfilling drive for Vee, Camila pulled into a parking lot on the edge of a forest camp ground, where several other families were dropping off their kids. There was even a larger version of a car (Vee had discovered these were called "Buses") dropping off dozens of other kids. They all looked so different, and their expressions were just as diverse; some looked scared, some looked angry, some looked sullen, and some looked excited or even eager to be at camp!

"There are so many people…" Vee whispered as she got out of the car.

"All the more potential friends to make." Camila smiled as she joined the disguised girl; "You'll do your best to make friends, right?"

"I will. I promise." Vee said honestly. Camila smiled a little wider, then escorted Luz over to where several adults were stood. They were fairly young, being in their late twenties to early thirties, and all dressed in brown cargo shorts and green t-shirts with a square logo on the left breast, beneath which were the words "Camp Reality Check".

These were the Camp Counsellors and were currently checking in all the various kids, smiling kindly at them all and speaking in a friendly tone. Camila and Vee approached one of them, a young man with a clean-shaven face, tanned skin, and green eyes.

"Hello, I'm Camila Noceda, here to check in my daughter Luz." Camila greeted politely.

The Counsellor grinned; "Ah, our last minute schedule change! I'm glad to see you got here okay!"

Camila looked a bit sheepish; she'd told Vee in the car that she'd called ahead to let the camp know she wouldn't be coming on the bus, but the woman had been worried that the camp would be angry over sending their bus there for nothing.

"Ah, I apologise for that…" Camila said nervously, only to be waved off by the Counsellor.

"Think nothing of it, Mrs Noceda. We had to pick up three other campers from Gravesfield anyway, so it wasn't a wasted trip for our driver." he said, before looking to Vee; "You must be Luz! Nice to meet you! I'm Counsellor Stevenson, but you can just call me Adam."

"N-Nice to meet you, Adam." Vee said shyly, bobbing her head.

Adam smiled kindly; "Ah, nervous are we? A lot of first time campers are. Don't worry, three months may seem like a long time, but it'll fly by. It's rare we get a camper leave without having enjoyed their time here."

Vee brightened up at hearing that; maybe this place wouldn't be so bad? Adam scribbled some details down on his clipboard, then asked Camila a few questions to clarify any medical needs or issues Luz might have. Vee listened carefully, then watched as Camila read through some papers that she was expected to sign. Once Camila had signed the papers, they were handed to Vee to read and sign too. This made the Basilisk nervous; she could read English (known as the common tongue back in the Boiling Isles) thanks to being taught in her youth by the researchers, who wanted the Basilisks' literate, but writing was a whole other matter.

Shakily, she took the offered pen and read through the papers, which were a basic agreement that stated she agreed to follow the rules of Camp Reality Check unless necessary to preserve her life or the lives of others. She held the pen like she'd seen Camila do, then wrote the word "Luz" in a shaky hand. The Z looked more like an S, but Camila didn't comment and Adam just patted her shoulder, dismissing her shaking as being nerves.

"Right! You're all signed in! We'll have a short introduction assembly shortly, followed by your cabin assignments. In the meantime, you're welcome to mingle with the other campers." Adam told her. "Mrs Noceda, you're welcome to stay until the assembly if you wish, but if you'd like to go then we'll take good care of Luz until you its time for her to come home."

Camila nodded and turned to Vee; "Luz, I'm going to go home, okay? It's a long drive and I'll need to work overtime tomorrow."

"O-Okay Mami." Vee replied, suddenly a lot more nervous.

Camila tutted softly and pulled her into a hug; "Te quiero, carino. Buena Suerte! (I love you, darling. Take care of yourself!)"

Vee didn't understand a word of Spanish, but she did understand emotions, so she replied; "I love you, Mami."

Camila smiled at her, then kissed her forehead with tears in her eyes. Vee felt a little choked up herself, as she smiled and waved as Camila returned to her car; "Call and text me whenever you want!" the woman said as she got behind the wheel; "Have fun, Mija! I'll miss you!"

Vee continued to wave, until Camila had driven off and disappeared into the distance. Once Camila was gone, Vee suddenly felt very exposed; she'd gone from a prisoner and fugitive to masquerading as a disguised angel in a summer camp, and she had very little idea of what she was supposed to do! Still, she didn't want to mess things up for either the kindly Camila or poor Luz, lost in the Demon Realm, so she took a deep breath and put on a brave face as she went to stand near the counsellors. Adam saw her keeping her distance from the other kids and made small talk with her in-between checking in the other kids, helping Vee feel a lot more comfortable.

It wasn't long after he finished signing in the last of the other teens that another counsellor pulled out some kind of odd, horn-like device and spoke into it, causing her voice to echo across the parking lot.

"Alright campers, please follow us to the assembly ground for the introduction!" she said energetically.

With a mix of sighs, grumbles and excited murmuring, the other teens obediently followed the counsellor out of the parking lot and into the forest camp grounds, escorted by the other counsellors. There were a lot of log buildings built around the forest, and a large lake in the distance just beyond the main campsite, and Vee was careful to memorise as much of it as she could during the short walk to it. They stopped at the outdoor assembly ground, which was really an open clearing with several rows of logs for seats, a tree stump with some kind of device on it towards the back, and a large white sheet hanging stretched out on a post of some kind at the front. Vee and the other teens were directed to sit on the logs (Vee was careful to sit on the edge of one, making distance between her and the grumpy looking boy she was sat beside), then watched as the counsellors assembled in front of the odd sheet. By Vee's count, there were 32 campers (including her) and 8 counsellors, making an even 40 people.

One of the counsellors did something to the odd machine on the tree stump, causing it to shine a light onto the sheet, which made images appear. Vee had no idea what it was, but it worked a little bit like the projection feature of a crystal ball, like she'd seen at the lab.

The image on the projection screen showed the Camp Reality Check logo; a box with a rainbow inside and the tag line "Camp Reality Check: Thinking inside the box!" written under it.

Adam stepped forward; "Welcome Campers, to Camp Reality Check." he said grandly, smiling widely. There were a few scattered claps and cheers from the few people happy to be there, with Vee giving a quiet clap out of courtesy (and immediately stopping when the boy beside her glared).

Adam nodded politely to the few that had responded positively, and didn't seem even a little worried by the lack of response from everyone else.

"Now, I'm sure a lot of you aren't too thrilled to be here. I understand that; our camp doesn't have the greatest of images, and once upon a time, it probably was as bad as you might have feared. It was originally founded to be a kind of rehabilitation camp for juvenile offenders from the days of the Great Depression. Despite a change in management and goal, that reputation has lingered to this day, making it a scary for some to be sent here. Believe me; I was sent here myself as a kid, and I was terrified and angry over it." Adam said, remembering his own childhood; "But I learned how wrong I was, and can honestly say that some of the happiest memories and closest friends I've made have been right here at Camp Reality Check. It's the same for all of my fellow counsellors."

Every other counsellor nodded in agreement, wearing pleasant expressions, which helped sooth some of the tension that had been building amongst the campers. Adam then continued; "For some of you, you've been sent here because you're imaginations are a little… too active. You've found yourselves getting into trouble, not because you're bad kids, but because you've not always known when to hold back and avoid going too far. Coming here can feel like punishment, especially with a name like Camp Reality Check and a motto like "Think inside the box", but that's not our goal here. We don't want to stifle your imaginations and creativity, or change you from the no doubt vibrant young people you all are into obedient cogs in society's machine; our goal here is simply to help teach you how to use your imaginations in a healthy way. How to take your creativity in a constructive direction, so that you can live your lives to the fullest without also causing trouble for those around you. To learn when its time to bring things back inside the box."

Vee smiled as her nervousness began to fade, and there was some muttering from the other campers as they grew more relaxed. Vee knew that Camila had feared she/Luz would view coming here as punishment, so she had no doubt many of the other sullen teens had thought the same, but Adam's gentle yet impassioned words had brought some peace of mind to them, erasing their fears.

Adam could see the campers slowly opening up, and smiled happily before continuing his speech; "And that isn't the only purpose of Camp Reality Check. Some of you are here from underprivileged backgrounds; lives that have been defined by struggles and hardships…" Vee gasped softly, and leaned forward in her seat, hanging on Adam's every word; "You've come from a life where survival is the only goal. Where the most you could ever hope for was a hot meal and a roof over your heads. You've learned to view life as a constant battle, something you have to get through one day at a time. But here at Camp Reality Check, we strive to help all young people see the reality of life, and so we want to show you the good it has to offer. We want to give you a reality check on the positives of life! To show you all that life can be something enjoyed, and not just endured. And while we're doing that, we'll also be teaching you all some important life skills, so when you find yourselves going out into the real world, you can show it what you've got!"

The kids who had clapped or cheered earlier all brightened up, and the other kids looked contemplative. Even the grumpy boy sat beside Vee turned to look at her briefly, his expression softening a bit. Vee gave him a shy smile, and while he didn't return it, she definitely sensed less hostility from him.

Adam looked around and saw that he'd managed to largely get through to the campers, or at least get them to keep an open mind. With a big grin he finished his speech by saying; "And on top of all of that, we're still a summer camp, not summer school, so we want you all to have fun. I promise you all that if you keep an open mind and let yourself just enjoy your time here, you'll leave here with fond memories and maybe even a desire to come back some day. This year is actually rare, since we don't have any returning campers unless you count us counsellors! Now, with all that said, welcome to Camp Reality Check!"

His speech was met with applause, this time by all the teens. Those who had clapped before (like Vee) did so more confidently and the others joined in with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

After that, the introduction assembly went into a brief overview of basic rules for both behaviour and safety, schedules for meals and curfews, and a basic itinerary of activities and how they would be handled. Generally each day would be split between regular hour long camp activities like games, swimming, and crafting, and "life lesson seminars" which were shorter, half-hour lessons that would teach them things they needed to know for later life. Vee listened eagerly and began to get excited; camp might actually turn out to be really fun after all! Though she did find it somewhat ironic that she was one of the "underprivileged" kids in reality, while disguised as one of the "over-imaginative" ones. Still, she resolved to do her best and make friends, and try to help people in healthy ways just like Camila wanted.

Once the assembly was over and the Counsellors had all introduced themselves, the campers were assigned to their cabins; it was four kids to a cabin and while bathing areas were divided by gender, the cabins themselves weren't, so they were all given a stern warning to behave as well as an opportunity to object if they were uncomfortable with their placements.

A young female counsellor named Morgan was the one to call Luz's name. "Masha Voelker, Gray Ramos, Luz Noceda, and Rebecca Dewitt!"

Vee and three other teens went over to her, and she greeted them with a smile; "Great! So you four are all from Gravesfield, so we decided to bunk you together. Do any of you know each other already?"

Two of the other kids shook their heads, while a girl in a black dress said; "We've seen each other around school, but we've never hung out."

Morgan nodded; "So you four will be okay sharing a cabin?" The other three nodded, so Vee did too. "Excellent! Then you guys will be staying in Cabin Seven! I'll be your personal counsellor during your stay with us, so be sure to let me know if you have any questions!"

The four nodded once again, and were escorted by Morgan over to a set of log cabins. There were eight in total, split into two cul-de-sacs of four each, and they were all identical except for the numbers carved onto their doors. Morgan unlocked the cabin marked with the number seven, then pulled out four lanyards with keys on them.

"These are for you. Please be sure to keep the doors locked at all times for safety; there's a fire exit on the other side, so no need to worry about being locked in during an emergency." she said, before finally opening the cabin door and letting them in.

Vee looked around the cabin with interest; it smelled earthy, like the forest, and had four beds, one in each corner of the room, with a large trunk in front of each one as well as a bedside table next to them. Besides that there were a couple of windows on the side walls, the previously mentioned fire exit on the back wall, a door with the letters WC carved into it, and some kind of small metal cylinder in the centre of the room that was connected to the ceiling by a pipe. It was very simple and rustic, reminding Vee a little of an abandoned house she'd hidden in when she'd first fled the Emperor and the Conformatorium.

"I'll leave you guys to get yourselves settled in. Spend some time getting to know one another, then come find me outside when you're done. And please don't mess with the heater." Megan said, nodding to the metal cylinder before turning and leaving the four to their business.

"I call the bed by the fire escape!" the girl in the black dress declared, running over to take it.

Vee blinked in surprise, and the others quickly claimed the beds closest to the front door, leaving Vee to take the last one closest to the WC door. She didn't have a problem with that, so she just casually walked over and sat on it, putting her satchel down beside her.

"So… looks like the four of us are cell mates!" the girl in the black dress grinned. "I'm Masha Voelker. I'm non-binary, so I go by they/them." they said.

Vee didn't understand what non-binary meant, but if Masha wanted to be called they/them, she wasn't going to object. Instead, Vee took a closer look at Masha; they had a lighter complexion somewhere between peach and tan, and short black hair worn in a bob cut. They had dark brown eyes that were almost black, and when they smiled, a gap was visible between their top front teeth. Vee found that rather cute, and smiled at them.

"I'm Gray Ramos." said their second cabin mate. They appeared to be a boy, with skin darker than the Nocedas' and shaggy pitch black hair that was long enough to cover his eyes. He also had a bit of stubble and wore plain shorts and a t-shirt, along with sandals and an orange bead bracelet. His tone was fairly dull and bored, but he seemed like an okay guy. "I'm a dude, but all that gender stuff means nothing to me, so call me whatever you'd like. I'm cool with whatever." he said, lying back on his bed with his hands behind his head.

The last of their cabin mates was a stocky, well-built girl with very short reddish-brown hair, blue-green eyes, and glasses. Her clothes were tomboyish and sporty, and her expression was open and friendly. "I'm Rebecca Dewitt! I'm a girl and proud of it, but if you start treating me like I can't do something because "it's for guys" then I'll kick your butt! But if you're cool with me, I'll be cool with you."

Vee smiled; these three were interesting! But then she noticed them all looking expectantly at her, and she realised it was her turn to introduce herself.

"O-Oh! Um, I'm V- I mean, Luz. Luz Noceda. I'm a girl too." she said. The real Luz was a girl too, from what Vee could tell, and while Basilisks were technically genderless creatures, Vee had always mentally referred to herself as a girl and felt more comfortable assuming female forms, so she felt it was okay to consider herself a girl. "Nice to meet you all."

They all grinned, especially Masha; "Nice to officially meet you too. You know, you're kind of infamous around school." they said.

"I am?" Vee frowned.

"Oh yeah, just about everyone knows you. You're like the troublemaker who never actually wants to cause trouble. It's kinda impressive." Masha laughed; "I saw those special effects you made for the drama club! They were so realistic that the EMTs were called! That's just awesome!"

Gray nodded; "It was pretty sweet. I also got to hang out with a tarantula for a while after you brought some in for the art class. It was pretty rad. Shame the teachers took him away…"

"And you helped out that cheerleader get a second shot on the squad after that accident with the bake sale! I was seriously tempted to punch Brittany Michaels after I saw her bossing you around like a servant! I'm guessing that incident is why you got sent here, right?" Rebecca asked, looking sympathetic.

Vee wasn't sure, since of the three events the others were talking about, only the drama club incident had been mentioned among the "funny" screw ups Camila had reminisced over. She answered with a non-committal shrug and said; "I just wanted to help…"

The others looked at her sympathetically; "Oh goddess, you're a real sunshine child aren't you? We three dwellers of darkness will have to be careful not to corrupt you." Masha said good-naturedly.

"Excuse you, but I'm a sunshine child too! I'm just the "I'll burn you without sunscreen" kind of sunshine child, while Luz here is the "I'll make flowers grow" kind." Rebecca grinned, going over to sit beside Vee and put an arm around her shoulder, making Vee smile timidly.

Masha scoffed; "Fine, I guess that means we're half sunshine and half darkness in this cabin."

Gray replied; "I am a beacon of light. Someone just needs to change my light bulb; I'm too lazy to do it myself."

His deadpan delivery had Rebecca and Masha howling with laughter, and Vee found herself giggling too, while Gray smirked. Once the laughter died down a bit, Vee asked; "So, um… you all know what I'm here for. But what about you guys? I-If you don't mind me asking that is."

Masha sighed; "I'm here because I'm super into the occult. You know, black magic, demon summoning, monsters and creepy stuff. All the cool stuff. My parents are normally pretty cool with it, but I kinda tried to summon a demon at my super religious Grandma's house and nearly gave her a heart attack. It might have been funny if she was one of these old "hell fire and damnation" types, but she's actually a pretty sweet old lady. So my parents sent me here and gave me the whole "we love you, but your imagination almost killed Grandma" speech. I'd have put up more of a fuss, but like I said, Grandma's a sweet lady so I felt bad. Now I'm here."

Vee wasn't sure what to think about Masha's interest, being that she was technically a demon herself, but maybe if Masha turned out to be as nice a person as she hoped, they could become a confidant?

Gray was next; "Mom's poor and couldn't afford a vacation this year. This camp's free, so she sent me here. Guess that makes me one of those "Life can be enjoyed, not endured" type kids the Counsellor was talking about. Didn't want to come, but Mom seemed so excited for me that I agreed."

That one brought a sad smile to Vee's face; Gray and his Mom were both just trying to do their best for each other. It made Vee think of Camila, since she didn't have a real bio Mom of her own.

Last up was Rebecca, who looked both proud and sheepish as she explained her own situation; "Well, I joined the wrestling team this year. Our school doesn't have a girl's team, so I had to join the boys' one and there was a lot of the usual "girls can't compete with boys" stuff from my new teammates. I got sort of… creative when I corrected them. And by creative, I mean I was whipping out Pro-Wrestling moves that I saw on TV. Wiped the floor with the lot of 'em, but got a serious warning from the coach and my dad that the stuff I see on TV is dangerous and I wasn't to do it again…"

"But you did it again." Masha smirked knowingly.

Rebecca nodded; "I did it again. I actually felt kinda bad; one of the new guys on the team was flirting with me, but I thought he was making fun of me, and when he didn't stop, I got mad. I did a number on him too; the Boston Crab, a pile driver, even finished it up with a Suplex! Poor guy didn't stand a chance. He had to go to the nurse, I had to go to the Principal's office, and now I'm here. On the bright side, he actually seemed more into me after all that! I even got his number."

Masha and Gray both laughed, while Vee was terribly confused; she didn't know what wrestling was, let along pro-wrestling or any of those other odd words Rebecca had used. The only part she'd recognised was crab, and she had a feeling Rebecca hadn't been giving this guy seafood!

Naively, Vee asked; "What's a Suplex?"

Rebecca got a playful gleam in her eyes as she said; "Stand up and I'll show you."

Vee did so, and Rebecca stepped behind her while Masha and Gray grinned. Rebecca wrapped her arms around Vee's stomach from behind, almost like a hug, and when Vee was about to question why she'd get in trouble for something like this, Rebecca suddenly arced her back, lifting Vee backward and over her head, suplexing her into her bed. Vee bounced off the soft surface with a squeak, then flopped onto the floor. It hadn't hurt, but it had been surprising, and she poked her head out from behind the bed with a bewildered expression. Masha and Gray burst into loud laughter, and Rebecca giggled too, while Vee just blinked owlishly. She didn't feel like they were laughing at her though, so she didn't get upset.

"So a Suplex is like a danger hug?" Vee asked, totally innocently.

There was a beat of silence, before her cabin mates burst into howls of laughter once again, to the point that they were almost in tears. Vee giggled along with them; she quite liked these three oddballs!

They were still chatting and laughing away, getting to know each other when Morgan returned. The counsellor had a big smile, glad to see them getting along so well, then took them on a full tour of the rest of the camp.

After that, Vee's first day in the Human Realm sped to a rapid conclusion. After a tour of the facilities, they had dinner made for them by the counsellors, before being given a shower schedule and allowed to wash up before lights out. Even after lights out, Vee and her new friends spent half the night talking and laughing, until they eventually fell asleep.

That first day gave way to the first week, which came to an end before Vee even knew what was happening. Each day followed a basic pattern; wake up, clean up, gather together to make breakfast at 8am, alternate between hour long fun activities and half hour long life lesson seminars, make lunch at 12pm, again alternate between activities until it was time to make dinner at 5pm, then spend the evening on a team competition until it was time for showers at 9pm and lights out at 10.

Just about every moment was fun or informative for Vee. After the day of their arrival, a different two cabins each day would take it in turns to work together and cook for everyone at meal times (with the counsellors teaching them different recipes and techniques along the way), and Vee found she was surprisingly good at this, and an eager student to boot. The activities included things like hiking, various sports (like soccer, tennis, volleyball, baseball, etc.), swimming in the lake, scavenger hunts, and various kinds of arts and crafts. True to their word, the counsellors didn't try to stifle anyone's creativity during these activities, but encouraged them to stay within the rules and parameters, making it less about restricting them and more about doing the absolute best, most impressive thing they could within the limits set for them. It became a challenge, and it was fun to see how far everyone could go without going over the line.

The Life Lesson seminars weren't exactly fun, but they were informative and did a lot to teach Vee about the Human Realm. Things like mortgages, budgeting, insurance, taxes, and all manner of other skills were taught in bite-sized chunks to avoid boring the campers too much. It was all very helpful information and the counsellors taught it well. Vee was probably the only one in camp who didn't feel disappointed when it was time to attend one of these lessons.

Then there was the evening team competitions. As it turned out, the eight cabins had been split into two cul-de-sacs of four for a reason; each cul-de-sac was a team, and the four cabins in each one would work together against the others in various games and events to win points for their teams. Cabins 1-4 were the Red Team, and Cabins 5-8 were the Blue Team, which naturally included Vee and her new friends. Whichever team won the event would win points, and the team with the most points at the end of the week would win a small prize (usually something small, like candy or snacks), while the team with the most points at the end of a the month would get something bigger, with a larger prize also promised for the team who won the most points by the end of camp. The events were also heavily built around teamwork, so whichever team worked best together would often win. The events were simple but fun, like tug-of-war, capture the flag, king of the hill, and other similar games. Vee found that she struggled if she needed physical strength, but excelled at speed, flexibility, and communication. Her Blue Team had won the most points in that first week, much to Vee's delight!

Between all these activities, Vee grew closer to Masha, Gray, and Rebecca, and the four of them had fallen into various roles within their group. Gray was quiet and seemed lazy, but was always willing to silently help without making a big deal out of things; Vee was having him teach her Spanish, under the excuse that she felt "rusty", while she in turn covered for him when he wanted a break from cooking or cleaning the cabin. Rebecca was the strong woman, and was always the first to volunteer to help with physical labour, but was also the most hot-tempered; she would defend her friends during the few arguments that cropped up between the campers, and Vee would serve as a gentle hand to help her calm down again. Masha was the unofficial leader of their group, serving as their voice whenever they needed to communicate with other cabins, and was a font of dry wit and amusing cynicism, even while being supportive of the others. Vee pulled double duty as the helpful one and the "innocent" one; her shy, soft-spoken, and inexperienced demeanour making the others protective of her even as she helped fuel their positivity towards the various activities.

After their first day of activities, Masha had complained; "This stuff is all so lame… its dumb, teenage coming of age, slice of life, BS."

Vee had drooped a little upon hearing that; "O-Oh… I've been having fun with everyone…"

Masha had gotten an odd look on their face, then sighed and smiled; "Well if you're having fun, I guess they can't be all bad. If I'm stuck in prison, I might as well enjoy it with you, Sunshine."

Since then, Masha, Gray, and Rebecca had tried their best to enjoy themselves, and once they'd gotten over their initial annoyance with the situation, they actually began to have real fun!

The first week had gone great, and the rest of the first month passed in what seemed like the blink of an eye, with Vee growing more confident in her borrowed skin. She had learned a lot about the Human Realm, and thanks to a Basilisk having a natural disposition towards learning new languages (it was an evolutionary trait to help them blend in more easily with other people and cultures), Vee had become almost fluent in Spanish, now almost exclusively speaking Spanish when alone with Gray. Literally the only real negatives in her experiences had been a few instances were other kids were less than friendly, and her Blue Team ultimately losing the first month's prize despite their strong start, but even that wasn't enough to dampen Vee's enthusiasm! She'd even learned to write properly with some help from Rebecca, who'd graciously not asked questions about why she was so bad at it at first, and had been sending written letters to Camila (something all the kids were encouraged to do with their own parents) and gotten some back.

The letters she got back confused Vee however; based on their content, Camila seemed to think that she'd been texting Luz and getting messages back, which implied the real Luz was somehow responding from the Demon Realm. But if that was true, why hadn't Camila figured out Vee was a fake? Hadn't the real Luz told her what was going on? Could it be she'd been captured and was forced to keep responding so her angel mother wouldn't get suspicious and come looking for her? Had someone else gotten Luz's phone and was responding in her place for some reason? Or was Luz intentionally hiding the truth… and if so, why? Was she stuck in the Demon Realm but didn't want her mother to worry? Or was she staying there on purpose? Camila driving Vee to camp had been a last minute decision for her, so it was possible Luz believed her mother would assume she got the bus to camp…

Vee began to wonder just what was really going on in the Demon Realm with Luz… yet as she looked around at her new friends and read the love filled letters from Camila, a small part of her hoped Luz wouldn't return, so Vee could keep taking her place. It was a dark voice inside her heart, and one Vee hated herself for having, but it was also one she couldn't deny.

Vee was considering all this on the final night of her first month. The next day would be the beginning of the second month at camp, and Vee was sat in her bed, re-reading Camila's most recent letter. Gray and Masha were already asleep, exhausted after the tough game of Capture the Flag that had been the evening's team game. Only Rebecca was still awake, but she was putting her glasses on her bedside table as she called over to Vee.

"Are you gonna turn out the light soon, Sunshine?" she asked sleepily, having adopted the same nickname for Luz as the rest of the Cabin.

"Oh! Yeah, I'll turn it off. G'night Becks." Vee smiled softly, folding the letter up and putting it away. She reached over and turned off her lamp, flooding the room with darkness. The only remaining light came from the pale moonlight streaming through the window as Vee fully tucked herself into bed.

Rebecca gave a slurred "Good night…" before dropping off to sleep almost instantly. Vee smiled, filled with affection for her friend, as she too began to drift off to sleep.

That night, Vee found herself having a strange dream. She didn't realise it was a dream at first, as she blearily opened her eyes and saw herself in Cabin Seven, listening to the quiet breathing of her cabin mates. But she soon realised what was going on when she felt another presence at her bedside. Vee turned her head a little, and blinked as she found Camila sitting at her bedside, a warm and loving smile on her face.

Vee loved that smile, but the Camila who wore it was unlike the one she'd met in the waking world. This Camila was wearing fairly mundane casual clothes instead of the medical scrubs Vee had seen her in, and her hair was down and coloured a striking white, that seemed to glow faintly in the moonlight. In addition, two large feathery wings were folded behind her, also shining with dim holy light. This was Camila's true self; this was the angel Vee knew her to be.

Camila's hands were on Vee; one gently stroking her hair and one holding her hand above the covers. Both hands felt so warm, and Vee felt nothing but comfort from their touch. It was unlike any touch she'd ever experienced; it was different from the cold, painful touch of the scientists and coven scouts, the cruel, steely touch of the Emperor, or the kind and friendly touch of her new friends. It was even different from the loving touch Camila had given her when she'd dropped her off… this felt deeper. Holier… It was something Vee couldn't find the words for.

"Mama…?" she whispered, her eyes growing heavy again.

Camila stooped to kiss her forehead; "Beloved Mija… My Luz… Go to sleep. Have sweet dreams."

Vee remembered thinking that she was already having one, but then Camila took her hand away from Vee's hair and gently traced a circle on Vee's forehead. A moment later and Vee's eyelids became impossibly heavy and she closed them again. The young Basilisk knew nothing but oblivion from that moment until she awoke early the next morning.

"What an odd dream… it was nice though." Vee whispered to herself, getting up first as she always did.

It was as she was preparing for the day that Vee noticed something odd; her magic reserves were full!

The young Basilisk had been careful not to use much magic while at camp. She'd only shape-shifted twice since arriving; once was to get rid of Luz's clothes so she could realistically change her outfit without using magic every time, while the other occasion was to temporarily give herself hidden gills while learning to swim with a humanoid body. It wasn't much, since they were fairly minor edits to her current disguise, so her magic hadn't dropped by a lot, but now it was completely full! Not only that, but the magic she was now filled with felt different. It was distinctly angelic too, reminding her of Luz and Camila's natural magic.

Vee didn't know where this magic had come from; it had already begun to blend into her enough that she couldn't completely tell if it belonged to Luz or Camila. She wondered if she'd somehow eaten some angelic magic from one of Luz's things in her sleep… the only magic item she knew she had with her was Luz's satchel, but that still looked to be working fine. Had Vee missed something? Or had assuming the form of an angel, even a disguised one, somehow allowed Vee to gain some of their powers? That didn't sound right, but Vee couldn't think of any other solutions! Had the odd dream about Camila been some kind of sign? Had her mind dreamt it up because of this new magic? Vee had a lot of questions and no answers…

She was distracted from her questions by a yawn from Masha, as the teen got up and began preparing for their day; "Ugh, morning Sunshine. You okay there, you look like you've seen a ghost?" Masha said groggily.

Vee nodded quickly; "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a weird dream."

"Oh… well if you ever do see a ghost, hit me up, yeah?" Masha grinned, heading to the bathroom. Vee rolled her eyes and giggled, and some of her questions began to fade from her mind as her day continued as always.

By the time Vee went to bed again that night, a smile on her face as she thought about the fun day she'd just had, those questions had largely been forgotten amidst all the new information she'd learned that day. The fact that the magic she'd woken up with had fully assimilated into her, losing its angelic essence and becoming purely her own, also meant that Vee didn't really think about it again in the coming days. Camp and her friends kept her distracted, and she only vaguely remembered the odd dream when it came time to write a letter to Camila again.

Another week passed at Camp Reality Check, then another, and another, and another until finally, the second month had gone by, almost faster than the first one! By this point, pretty much all the campers were openly admitting that they were enjoying their time together. They'd all become friends with their cabin mates and begun to expand that friend circle to the other cabins in their teams, and Vee had even gone a step further in becoming a bit more friendly with members of the Red Team (half the camp was beginning to call her Sunshine now, including the counsellors)! The Life Lesson Seminars weren't any more popular than before, but they were brief and informative, so no one complained too much, and they did provide some downtime between the more fun activities! Vee was devouring every bit of knowledge she could get on the Human Realm, and was now fully fluent in Spanish, and was confident in her ability to pass as a human in the outside world; perhaps she could even help Camila with finance stuff now! Or cooking! She was getting really good at cooking, to the point that many of the other campers looked forward to the days that Cabin 7 cooked their meals!

But with the end of another month came another odd dream.

It had gone exactly the same as last time; Vee found herself slowly opening her eyes and seeing Camila in her full angel form sitting beside her bed in the cabin, her hands brushing Vee's hair and holding Vee's hand. However despite initially appearing to be the same dream, there were two differences; the first being that Camila's clothes were different from last time. It was still a casual outfit, but it was a different one from before. Second were the words Camila had whispered to her when Vee had said "Mama?"

This time she'd said; "Dulces suenos, Luz de las estrellas. Te vere pronto. Te amo. (Sweet dreams, Starlight. I'll see you soon. I love you.)"

She'd then kissed Vee's forehead again and gently traced a circle over it with a finger, whereupon Vee promptly succumbed to oblivion once again.

The next morning, the beginning of her final month at camp, Vee once again awoke feeling like she was overflowing with angelic magic, and all the questions from last month came flooding back into her brain. What was going on!?

"This magic has to be related to those dreams, right? I've had the same dream twice now, and both times I've woken up afterwards with angelic magic in me! Is it because of this form?" Vee wondered, looking down at Luz's body. Was she technically an angel right now? When Basilisks transformed, they did take on the physical traits of whatever they became, but that didn't usually extend to magic. Plus, she was technically transformed as a human, since she'd been mimicking Luz's human disguise.

She briefly checked the borrowed satchel and found its enchantment still as strong as ever, so she knew she hadn't accidentally eaten its magic in the night, and after another search of her borrowed belongings, she found no signs of anything else that was, or appeared to have once been, magical.

Unlike last month, questions continued to burn inside Vee's head for the whole day. Once could be dismissed as a random event, but twice under the same circumstances? That felt too much to be a coincidence. She was quiet and distracted all day, something her cabin mates, fellow campers, and the counsellors all noticed, but when asked she'd just insist she was okay and just had stuff on her mind. She still managed to have fun with the days events, but the questions just wouldn't stop plaguing her.

When night time finally came and the residents of Cabin seven had all gone to sleep, Vee tossed and turned as she tried to push the questions out and finally get some sleep of her own, but she just couldn't do it. Nothing she did would ease her mind, so she eventually decided that enough was enough; she needed to investigate!

As silently as she could, Vee slipped out of bed and over to the window, which had been left open to allow some cool air in, since it was a warm summer's night. Vee peeked out, but upon seeing no one around, she carefully climbed out through the window and began sneaking her way over to the lake, making sure to not make a sound. When she reached the lake, she walked along its shore until she was on the opposite side from the camp, where she wasn't supposed to be. If she was caught, she could get in trouble for both breaking curfew and leaving the camp grounds, but this was too important to put off any longer.

Vee stripped off Luz's borrowed clothes and immediately shifted back to her own form for the first time since she'd arrived in the Human Realm. The moon was full and shining, so Vee could see perfectly, and the lake seemed unnaturally still whilst bathing in its light. Vee looked down at herself and immediately noticed that her body had changed, subtly but noticeably.

Before coming to the Human Realm, Vee's Basilisk form had been covered in slick, pale, swampy green scales, with a cream coloured jaw and mottled cream spots on her belly. She'd also had cream fins on her tail, one of which was pierced with a ring (through which a chain had once been threaded, to restrain her tail during tests) and another of which had a tear in it, from when a young Vee had ripped out the previous ring that had been pierced through her while thrashing around in a particularly painful experiment. Lastly, her head had once had a crop of dark blue hair, messily cut by her wardens so it wouldn't get in the way of her black eyes and their golden pupils. Similar blue fur had once been on her long ears too… but a lot of that had changed now.

The Vee that stood on that lake shore was different; not in form, but in colouration. Her swampy green scales had begun to turn a light golden tan and glittered slightly in the moonlight, while her fins had turned completely white. The tear in her fin had also fully healed, leaving it pristine. In addition, her entire underbelly was now coloured cream, as opposed to just having spots of it. Her eyes remained the same, but the colour of her hair and the fur on her ears had lightened from dark blue to a very pale baby blue, and the hair itself had grown out, a lot more than should be possible for three months of growth, since Basilisk hair grew slowly.

"W-What's happening to me!?" Vee exclaimed, keeping her voice low. This change wasn't normal, was it? Vee didn't know a massive amount about her own kind, just what she'd heard from the researchers at the Conformatorium, so she wasn't sure if this was a natural metamorphosis that happened when Basilisks grew older, or something brought about by the disguise she was taking. Vee knew she wasn't fully grown yet, so it was possible this had something to do with her natural maturity as a Basilisk, but she simply had no idea if that was the case or not. She had so many questions, but no one to provide answers! She couldn't exactly ask the humans around her, nor could she ask Camila without exposing herself.

With a groan, Vee slumped onto her back on the lake shore, her tail gently swishing through the water as she stared up at the night sky. It was a beautiful night, and the stars were twinkling brightly up above. Masha had told her a bit about human fortune telling, revolving around things like astrology which used the stars to predict one's fate. As Vee looked up at those stars, she wondered if her fate was written up there too… if so, was it a happy one? Was she truly free from the Demon Realm and the Emperor's Coven? Did she really have a home with Camila? What would happen when Luz returned… would she return?

More questions came, and as always, no answers came with them.

Shaking her head, Vee got up again and decided to dive into the lake, taking a refreshing swim to calm her nerves and clear her head. Basilisks were good swimmers and could naturally breathe under the water, so Vee swam around beneath the lake for a while. The waters calmed her worried heart, and after about an hour, Vee surfaced again and once more lay on the lakeside, letting the warm summer air slowly dry her scales. She resolved to not worry about the future and live only in the now, where she was happy and had friends and people who loved her. The questions of Luz and her future could wait.

Once she deemed herself dry enough, Vee shifted back into Luz's form and put her clothes back on, then quietly snuck her way back to the cabin. As she reached the window she had snuck out of, she found someone waiting for her.

Masha was stood beneath the window, leaning against the cabin wall and admiring the stars, their pale skin illuminated by moonlight. They saw Vee approach and gave her a soft smile.

"Nice night for a quiet stroll, right Sunshine?" Masha said quietly.

Vee flinched and looked down in shame, embarrassed to have been caught; "S-Sorry Masha… did I wake you?"

"Don't apologise, I knew something was up with you today. You've been off since waking up. I couldn't sleep because I was worried about it, so when I heard you sneak out, I was tempted to follow you." Masha admitted. Vee paled, fearing that Masha had seen her true form, but her gothic friend soon eased her worries; "I didn't go through with it. I figured you had a right to your privacy. But you know if you want to talk, I'm here for you. Okay?"

Vee found herself blushing as her face heated up; "T-Thanks, Masha. I appreciate it. You're a good friend."

Masha grinned; "Aw, you're a real sweetheart. It's nothing really; I was resigned to hating this place, but you and the others have actually made this kinda fun. It was weird seeing you not be your usual sunshine-y self, but I guess even cheerful people can have off days."

They walked closer to Vee and gently ruffled her hair, noticing it was still a little damp; "Huh, went for a swim did you? Your clothes are dry though… Don't tell me you went skinny-dipping?"

Masha's smile was teasing, and Vee went beet red. The lack of denial made Masha gasp softly and blush, even as their smile widened; "Oh wow! You've got a bit more of a troublemaking side than I thought!" they then looked coyly at the disguised Basilisk; "Maybe you should invite me next time."

Vee squeaked, and could have sworn she had steam coming out of her ears as Masha tried to keep their giggles quiet.

"I-I…!" Vee stuttered, completely flustered.

"Don't take it too seriously." Masha giggled, "You're a cutie, but I don't want to make things weird right now. Still…" they leaned over and kissed Vee on the cheek, nearly making the poor girl's heart stop, "… think about it!"

With a wink, Masha then turned and hoisted themselves back in through the cabin window, before poking their head out and offering Vee their hand. Vee shook off her shock (and tried to calm her rapidly beating heart) as she accepted Masha's hand and was pulled through the window and into the cabin. She almost stumbled and found herself being caught by Masha, who again smiled coyly. Their touch lingered for a moment, before Masha released Vee's hand and whispered; "Good night, Sunshine."

"G-Good night, Masha." Vee whispered back, her hand tingling even though she wasn't holding Masha's any more. Her gothic friend retreated to her bed, and Vee promptly lay down in her own and covered her head with the covers.

Well, she may not have gotten any answers during her little excursion, but she'd definitely gotten her mind off of her odd dreams and magic! Now her mind was completely occupied by thoughts of a certain friend, dressed in dark lace and smiling flirtatiously! Somehow, Vee found these thoughts a lot easier to fall asleep to.

The last month of camp continued like the previous two had, only with Vee now a lot more conscious of Masha. Things hadn't changed between them; they were still close friends (perhaps even best friends) and joked and had fun together as they always had, neither allowing any awkwardness to come between them. However Vee found herself looking at them a lot more, admiring them in ways they hadn't before, and feeling tingly whenever Masha touched her, even if it was just a casual pat on the back or ruffling of her hair (something Masha seemed to enjoy doing a lot). There was also a bit of flirting now, almost exclusively from Masha, which never failed to get Vee blushing while Gray and Rebecca grinned.

Vee felt it was probably weird of her to be developing feelings for a human, but she didn't care; she just enjoyed her time with Masha and her friends. She never took Masha up on that offer of a late night swim however.

Finally, after three long months, the summer began to reach its end and so too did Camp Reality Check. The final night they all spent together was a somewhat bittersweet affair; the Blue Team won their final event, giving them the points needed to officially win the entire team tournament and claim their prize, which turned out to be medals, and new smartphones, which were very happily accepted. Vee, who didn't have one of her own, was quick to exchange numbers with her Cabin mates, as well as emails with many of the other friends she'd made at camp. That night, Vee, Masha, Rebecca, and Gray stayed up almost the whole night, just talking and promising to hang out more in the future; they would all be returning to Gravesfield, so they would get to hang out whenever they wanted, much to their joy!

But eventually sleep took them and the day of departure came. There was one final farewell assembly in which the counsellors thanked them all and wished them well, and the campers (some begrudgingly) admitted that their time at Camp Reality Check had been fun and not at all the nightmare many had expected. Some of them were even pretty sad to be leaving!

From there, they all walked together to the parking lot, where the bus awaited some and parents awaited others. Vee was glad to see that Camila was one of the waiting parents, so she eagerly ran over to her.

"Mija!" Camila beamed as Vee practically leapt into her arms; "It's so good to see you again!"

"Mama!" Vee cried, hugging Camila as tightly as she could; "I missed you!"

Camila chuckled and kissed Vee's forehead, "I missed you too. Letters and texts just weren't the same. Now I've got to ask, have you had fun?"

Vee nodded, practically bouncing; "I did! It was tons of fun! I made a whole bunch of friends! I'll introduce you to my best ones!" she said, grabbing Camila's hand and pulling the laughing woman over to where her cabin mates were standing.

"These are Masha, Rebecca, and Gray! They're my cabin mates, and from Gravesfield too!" Vee said, introducing Camila to the three smiling teens.

"Wonderful to meet the three of you! I'm Luz's mother, Camila." she greeted.

"Hey, Mrs. Noceda. Good to meet you too. If Luz has anything to say about it, we'll be seeing a lot of each other!" Masha grinned.

"Yeah. But don't worry, we're all house trained!" Rebecca joked with a wink, making Camila snort while Vee giggled.

"Al menos la mayoria de nosotros lo somos. Ne se sobre Rebecca. (At least most of us are. I don't know about Rebecca.)" Gray said with a cheeky smirk.

Camila and Vee both laughed, while Rebecca put her fists on her hips; "Hey, I may not speak Spanish, but I recognise my own name! Are you making fun of me?"

Gray gave her a deadpan look; "Yes."

"Oi!"

Rebecca tried to grab Gray, who moved like lightning to evade her, running in circles around their little group going "Woop woop woop!" while Rebecca chased him and threatened him with a plethora of different, increasingly elaborate sounding wrestling moves.

Masha smiled at Camila and said; "Don't worry, if she catches him, she won't hurt him. She might Suplex him though! She did that to Luz during our first conversation."

Camila raised an eyebrow, and Vee quickly said; "It was actually kinda fun. It was playful, and I landed on the bed."

Camila began to giggle again, especially as she watched Rebecca finally catch Gray and promptly toss him over her shoulders like a sack of potatoes. She came back over to the group, Gray not even trying to resist.

"Sorry about that!" Rebecca said bashfully, "I promise I'm not a violent weirdo; wrestling moves are how I show my love!"

"She's not lying. You should hear what she did to her boyfriend." Masha laughed.

Rebecca scowled at them; "First, we're not dating. Second, shut up."

"Aw, I think it's kind of sweet. So does that mean you love my daughter? The one you suplexed?" Camila teased.

Rebecca blushed; "Ah… Masha told you."

"She did." Camila said, before Vee whispered in her ear and she immediately amended; "They did. Sorry sweetie."

Masha waved off the mistake with a smile, as she began backing away from a slowly approaching Rebecca. "For the record, everyone here loves Sunshine. Also excuse me while I dump BOTH these guys in the lake."

Vee and Camila both giggled as Rebecca (still carrying Gray) chased after a cackling Masha. It didn't take long for the sporty girl to catch her gothic friend and throw them over her other shoulder, though luckily for both Gray and Masha, Rebecca had no intention of actually throwing them in the lake.

As this chase was happening, a smiling Adam came over to see what all the fuss was about.

"I see Cabin Seven is as energetic as always!" he said with a smile, "Wonderful to see you again, Mrs Noceda."

"Thank you, Adam. Tell me, how has Luz been doing?" Camila asked.

"Honestly, she's been an absolute joy to have here at camp. Her enthusiasm has rubbed off on a lot of the other campers, and there wasn't a single incident involving her that didn't also involve her being a mediator. I can honestly say she'd make a wonderful counsellor herself someday!" Adam praised.

Vee beamed, even as she blushed bashfully, while Camila looked positively overjoyed; "I'm so glad to hear that! Luz has always tried to be helpful, but it hasn't always worked out how she'd hoped."

"Well I'd say she's been the most helpful camper we've ever had here!" Adam said.

Camila pulled Vee into another hug; "Oh! Not only did you make wonderful friends, but you've finally found your own way of helping people! I'm so proud of you!" she said, eyes filled with happy tears as she embraced the disguised Basilisk.

A combination of joy and guilt filled Vee's heart; it should be the real Luz receiving this love and pride, not her… Vee was certain a real angel would have done an even better job than she had. But still, it had been her achievements that made Camila so proud, so she accepted the hug for another few moments, she pretended Camila truly was the mother she'd never had.

When the two finally separated again and Vee's Cabin mates came back over, Camila smiled at them; "The three of you seem like wonderful friends. Since you all live in Gravesfield, I would be happy to offer you all a ride home."

Vee gasped with delight, and all three teens nodded happily. Adam was also willing to agree, providing their parents gave permission first. Masha, Rebecca, and Gray immediately called their parents and one by one handed the phone to Adam and Camila, so the former could confirm that they'd given their consent and the latter could introduce herself and let the parents know that she was a responsible adult. Masha's parents were delighted to have their child come home in the company of a friend, while Rebecca's father and Gray's mother were a bit more reluctant, but agreed once their kids had convinced them.

Once the last call was over, Camila smiled at the teens; "Well, that's that! Time to hit the road!"

The Cabin Seven Crew cheered and said one last goodbye to Adam, before following Camila to her car and hopping inside. Rebecca was the largest of them, so she got the front seat with Camila, while Vee was the smallest and so found herself wedged between Gray and Masha in the back seat, where she blushed furiously as Masha made casually flirtatious comments.

The drive back home was long, but it went by in what felt like the blink of an eye as the occupants of the car chatted and laughed and talked about their experiences. Gray, a closet animal lover, was fascinated by Camila's stories about her vet clinic, while Rebecca was eager to talk about her wrestling and Masha about her occult fascination. Vee couldn't help but share a secret grin with Camila through the rear view mirror, both knowing that Masha's interests were more real than she thought.

Camila was also very interested to see the blatant flirting between Masha and Vee. She'd known her daughter had been attracted to many different people before, but she'd never known her to have an actual crush! It made her smile and brought back pleasant memories of her own first crush, which had also become her first love and eventual husband.

When they eventually arrived back in Gravesfield, Camila dropped each of the crew off at their houses and wished them well, then watched as Vee exchanged farewells with them, promising to text and email one another, and hang out at school too. It warmed Camila's heart to see it, especially when she dropped off Masha and the gothic teen gave Vee a kiss on the cheek and a wink before going inside their home.

When Vee returned to the car and took the now vacant front seat, Camila grinned like a Cheshire Cat. "So… you're rather close to Masha, eh?"

Vee turned bright red; "Mama!" she whined, making Camila laugh.

"Oh come now, it's my job to tease you a little!" the angel said, "Besides, they definitely like you too. If you want, you should go for it!"

"M-Maybe…" Vee said non-committally. She didn't really feel comfortable doing something like that while wearing another girl's face and life. It would only cause heartbreak if the real Luz came back and found that "she" now had a romantic partner that she didn't even know!

This thought dominated Vee's mind until they finally pulled into the driveway of the Noceda home, where her thoughts were promptly overtaken by how odd it felt to be coming "home" from the first place she'd actually felt at home.

As Camila got out of the car, she turned to Vee and said; "I'll make us some tea, and then you can tell me all about your summer. In the mean time, why don't you go put your things away in your room?"

"Okay Mama." Vee replied, happily following Camila into the house. As she entered, Vee was almost doubled over by the overpowering scent of magic that hit her. There was so much potent angelic magic in the air that she almost couldn't believe it was the same house! Had Camila been doing something with her magic before coming to get her, or had the changes Vee had been experiencing resulted in her sensitivity going crazy? It seemed like the former, since she hadn't noticed anything odd about Camila herself. Come to think of it, the magic in the house was definitely angelic, but smelled a bit different from Camila's too. Maybe she'd had guests from angelic family members?

Vee considered asking, but decided it could wait until they were having tea. Instead, she raced up the stairs to Luz's bedroom and threw open the door to drop off her satchel.

Well, the satchel was certainly dropped, but it wasn't intentional. It had slipped from Vee's fingers as she saw another figure in the room with her… a mirror image of her. Or rather, a mirror image of her disguise with a few notable differences.

A pointy eared, white haired, golden eyed Luz Noceda was stood there, eyes boring into Vee as a frankly overwhelming amount of magical energy poured off of her.

The real Luz took a step towards her, and the young Basilisk could do nothing but scream.