Camila's eyes flickered as she rolled over in her bed, groaning as a small beam of light streamed into her room from her window. Reluctantly she turned over and cast a look towards her alarm clock. It read 5:12 am. Camilla couldn't help but laugh at her luck, of course, she managed to wake up early on her day off. It made sense she supposed, her life had taken quite a toll over the past few months. She sent her daughter to camp, only to find out that wasn't her daughter but a shapeshifting basilisk who she would later adopt as her own anyway. All the while her "real" daughter was in the demon realm fighting a genocidal manic and training to become a witch.

She had spent weeks of sleepless nights and tireless mornings praying that Luz would return to her safely, that she would get the chance to apologise to her beloved daughter and show her just how much she loved her. Vee didn't tell Camilla much about the demon realm but she said enough to instil nothing but anxiety and fear that she would never get the opportunity to see her beloved baby ever again. Then, after all that her baby returned on that cold rainy night, but she wasn't alone. She had returned with an entire group of children who looked absolutely exhausted and terrified, her heart bled for them.

God, they didn't look any older than sixteen (which she found out was Hunter's age who was the oldest of the group). They were so young and had already gone through so much. Camilla didn't hesitate to take them in and treat their wounds, she had waited this long, she could wait another hour to hug her daughter. Right now some children needed her help. Her baby, needed her help.

That had been a month ago and the children had all settled in pretty well considering the circumstances, but Camila knew something was wrong with Luz. She hadn't come back the bubbly and hyperactive girl that she left as. Instead, now she was quiet and distant. She could tell every time she smiled it was fake, she was pulling up a front for the sake of her friends and while she found that admirable she also knew it wouldn't help anyone. Camilla truly wanted to help her baby and make up for her failures as her mother. There was nothing Camila wanted more...she just didn't know how.

Begrudgingly Camila pulled herself out of her bed and quietly made her way to the kitchen. There was no point in going back to sleep so she decided to just get up and make herself some coffee to wake her up. (She deeply regretted introducing Hunter to coffee, they had to quarantine the stuff now as he decided somewhere along the line that coffee made a great substitute for water. She made sure to break that habit the second they all caught on)

She made her way through the halls careful not to make a sound and disturb the sleeping teens, regardless of her knowing Hunter was most likely reading rather than sleeping. As she got closer to the kitchen she noticed the soft light of the lamp, a stark difference from the eerie darkness of the rest of the house. Upon entering the kitchen Camila very quickly found the source of the mysterious light, it was none other than Luz, who didn't seem to have noticed her walk-in. Upon closer inspection Camilla saw she wasn't just sitting there, she was hunched over the table furiously drawing and writing unknown symbols, at least symbols Camila didn't recognise, into her notebook. After a moment or two Camila decided to move closer and make her presence known.

"Mija? Sweetheart, are you alright?" Luz startled at the voice and whipped her head up towards the sound, her eyes widening as they locked with her mother's. Luz quickly changed her expression and attempted to appear happy and smile like she always did. She was good, Camila would give her that. The expression might have worked on her friends (though Camila doubted Hunter believed it, the two seemed to have an unsaid agreement but Camila never felt to ask) but the expression didn't work on her.

Camila was her mother and a mother always knew when her baby was hurting.

"Of course mama, I'm fine I just woke up early and decided to do some doodles. I didn't want to disturb the girls so I came out here, I'm sorry if I woke you" Camila shook her head.

"No Mija I woke up myself, I blame my overly efficient sleep cycle...my I take a seat?" She gestured to the seat opposite her daughter, Luz seemed to struggle to find the words but nodded. Camilla allowed herself to take the seat and move herself closer to her daughter and took a moment to look at the papers littered around the table. Some had been scribbled out and scratched up, Luz even attempted to hide some under her arms. Camila couldn't decide whether she was trying to hide them from her or herself. Eventually, curiosity won her over and she asked her daughter her questions.

"Are these the glyphs you were talking about Mija?" Luz looked surprised and Camila felt a prick in her heart, was her daughter that surprised that she paid attention? That she took interest in her interests and hobbies?

"Uh...yeah, in the demon realm, humans can't perform magic naturally so I had to get creative. I found out that I could perform magic by using these glyphs, they're the magic of the isles. I found each and every one of them in the nature of the isles, every glyph representing an element and with them, I learned to combine them. That way I was about to learn more spells" Camila leaned her head in her palm as she listened to her daughter rant about her findings in the demon realm. For the first time since her return, she felt she was seeing her daughter again, her Luz. She was always so passionate about her interests...

And Camila had tried to take that away...it's true she only had the best intentions at heart but now she looked at the situation, after everything that had just happened. Luz never needed to change, everyone just needed to change their point of view. Camilla should have known that trying to change her wouldn't have ever helped her, what Luz needed was to feel accepted. And she'd be damned if she ever failed her baby like that again.

She would do her best to understand her daughter better or at the very least she would make sure Luz knew that she was accepted.

That she was understood.

"That's lovey Mija, I never would have thought to try anything like this. You really are a bright girl aren't you...you get that from your father" Luz teared up a little at the mention of her dad, but not because she was sad. She always loved hearing that she took after her dad or that she had inherited some of his quirks, it made her feel like she was connected to him, even when he wasn't there.

"Thanks, mama, he would have loved it" Camilla's smile was bittersweet, she had no doubt he would have.

"So Luz, what was your first glyph? There's so many how did this all start" Camilla asked. Luz shuffled the papers around and pulled out a small round symbol and pointed.

"This one, it's a light glyph" Camila's eyes widened slightly until she started chuckling, this effectively confused Luz who tilted her head in confusion.

"That's ironic don't you think sweetheart?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your name Mija, Luz...remember it means light. Your very first glyph was a representation of your name, you really were meant to be a witch weren't you" Luz let it sink in and tried her best to ignore the fact her mother called her a witch...she couldn't believe she had never made the connection. She knew she was always a little scatterbrained but this really took the cake. Not long after Luz couldn't help but snicker until she erupted in uncontrollable laughter. Camila joined in. The two stayed in this state for a solid three minutes before they managed to gain control of their bodies again, their sides aching and chests heaving from the lack of air.

"I can't...I can't believe I didn't connect that. Wow I feel so stupid"

"Don't worry Mija, I think if I was making balls of light I would forget to" The two remained in their comfortable silence for a few minutes until Camila finally broke it.

"Hey, Luz...I don't suppose you could teach me would you?"Luz was taken aback.

"Glyphs? Really mama?" Camila nodded and watched the brightest smile break onto her face, excitement radiating from her body as she bounced in excitement, nodding vigorously at her mother,

"Yes, of course, I can teach you. It might be a bit confusing but with me, as your teacher, you'll get them in no time"

"I have no doubt sweetheart" And the two spend the remainder of their morning hunched over the table talking and learning about the glyphs and magic from the demon realm. Luz even went into depth about how she managed to find every individual glyph taking this chance to bond with her mother. They were so immersed in their lesson that they didn't notice the shadow of two children hiding behind the wall smiling at the long overdue mother-daughter moment.

"It's nice to see her smile again isn't it Blondie?"

"Which one?" Vee shrugged.

"Both, they've needed this for a while"

"Yeah...what do you say we distract the others and give them more time?"

"Good idea...hey Hunter, you're a good brother"

"...thanks, you're a good sister. Luz is lucky to have you" he glanced at Camila.

"Both of you"


Thanks for reading everyone!

~Luna