Loyalty & Light

by BlehBluhBlah

"You and me, hermana... always." Ever since the Noceda sisters were kids, Lealtad had one thing in mind, and one thing only: protect her little sister's smile. Follow through a journey of The Owl House, as canon events unfold with Luz's big sister watching over her. Can Lealtad keep her sister grounded in her true home? Or will she lose her to this new world's fantastical themes?

19. Agony of a Witch

A/N: Sorry but, some angst is dead ahead.

---

Chapter Summary: When the news of Eda's curse worsening hits the Noceda sisters, Lealtad tries desperately to work with her friends and come up with a stronger elixir. She can only hope her efforts aren't in vain...

Word Count: 16,071

---

Agony of a Witch

"Barcus, again, there's nothing to tell!" Leal shouted as she set the wet dish on the drying rack.

She heard her friend bark through the crystal ball, then a series of chimes occurred. Leal turned back to the table in time to see text appear on the screen. Just below Barcus' happy face, as he narrowed his eyes skeptically at her, his words were translated for her to read.

You expect me to believe that?

She rolled her eyes. "You're Oracle Track. Go ahead and do a palm reading for me later—we can see if I'm 'hiding' anything then," she dryly remarked.

He chuckled. Yeah, that's not how that works.

She turned back to the sink, continuing her washing. "Honestly, what I said last night was the truth! We ate, we laughed and talked, then we went home! If there was more to tell about you and I would be talking about it!" She was grateful that with her back turned, as Barcus could easily see her ears heating up at the thought of yesterday's events.

Another bark and a chime. She glanced back. But last night you distracted me with the results of your healing potions tests AND your new glyph!

She snorted. "Yeah, that's not really my fault. Blame my amazing sister for being so cool," she joked with a big smile.

She heard Barcus laugh behind her, and as she spared another glance, she caught him saying something. Like you'd EVER let anyone blame your sister for anything.

"Hah! True."

Today's morning was a good one. She got an early start, so she was able to join Eda in the kitchen and help her cook breakfast. It had been awhile since she had helped Eda with breakfast, so it was a nice change of pace with old habits coming in. They were able to make a huge spread and Luz even got up in time to enjoy all of it with them. Eda proposed it as a way to celebrate Leal's "date" but the girl didn't bite into the woman's bait. She was too busy enjoying the morning to even bother. She even set aside a large bowl of gruel for Hooty—of which he quickly devoured—before the bird dozed back off into his slumber.

With enough time left in the morning, Eda announced that she needed to work on a personal project of hers as a very important package arrived with some valuable goods. Luz wanted to practice her glyphs, so Leal offered herself up to finish cleaning up their breakfast dishes. To pass the time, she decided to call up Barcus, and though she wanted to brush up on some notes, her friend was far more interested in rehashing yesterday's afternoon events.

She heard the crystal ball chime once again after a bark after she began to put away the last dish. So you're not going to tell me ANYTHING else about your and Edric's date yesterday? she read as she turned around, leaving her to flush and glare at the smug dog looking at her.

"It wasn't a date," she hissed.

Suddenly, a loud fire blast erupted, making Leal straighten up in alarm.

Leal?

"Hang on Barcus, I think something just came up," she hurriedly said as she dried her hands, "I'll talk to you at school!"

Okay but I expect more details then! she managed to read before turning the crystal ball off. With haste, Leal grabbed her belongings off the dining table and ran into the living room. But for all her alarm and readiness, she was met with a lax Eda using magic to stir a cauldron in the middle of the room as the woman herself casually looked out the window drinking tea. She seemed to notice Leal's presence and raised a brow at her.

"Where's the fire?" she asked her.

Eda blinked. "Fire?"

"I heard a blast."

"Ah, that. Emperor's Coven is here," the witch casually explained as she set her drink down on the table, next to her cauldron.

Leal's eyes widened in alarm. "They are?" she asked in shock.

"Relax, Hooty has it handled," Eda assured as she placed a hand on her shoulder, motioning her toward the window. There, Leal was able to witness the dozens of Coven Scouts getting thrown around the forest. One even attempted to crawl away—and though they were wearing a mask and cloak—Leal could tell they were crying out for help. A Scout's body launched toward the window, causing Leal to startle at the sight and leaving Eda to pull her away from the window. "Yup. When all's said and done," the woman said with a proud smile, "Hooty is the natural defence system of the Owl House."

Leal chuckled, tucking her bat into her messenger bag. "Yeah, well, considering how I fed him earlier and he just passed out—it's easy to forget sometimes."

"Understandable, actually." Eda snorted. "Just don't forget that despite the quirkiness, we're all capable of some badassery," the witch reminded her, flipping her yellow scarf around her neck with elegance.

Leal rolled her eyes, but still sought the opportunity since it was presented.

"Why are you wearing that ugly looking thing anyways?" The only thing strange about today was Eda suddenly wearing a large yellow scarf. Neither Luz nor her really questioned it, but it was still strange. Especially since when she was helping the woman cook, she still had it on. "Are you that attached to yellow?" she teased.

"Never forget your Potions roots, kiddo," Eda winked before moving back to her drink and pot.

Leal chuckled, but noted how her inquiry still went unanswered. That was Eda, she supposed, so it was probably just another phase of fashion choice. Some clamoring of footsteps emerged and Leal looked over in time to see Luz enter the room, with her eyes immediately pulling toward the pot in the middle. As expected, the girl rushed over to the pot and neared her hand toward it.

"Ooh, magic 'sghetti," her sister cooed.

"Hey," Eda warned as her levitating spoon raised and smacked Luz's hand. "That 'sghetti is Witch's Wool," she explained, "It repels powerful spells." Leal leaned close in time to watch the woman pick some strands up revealing an indigo material of, well, wool that was shining with yellow. "Every witch worth their salt has a cloak made from this stuff!" she proclaimed.

Luz's evident fascination only grew, with the girl's cheeks flushing a bit as her eyes widened in awe. "I'm worth salt," she uttered. Grabbing the cauldron in eagerness, Luz shouted, "I want cloak!"

"Easy, kid!" Eda chastised as she yanked the pot from her hands, leaving Leal to snort in amusement. "With the Emperor's goons at my doorstep, I need this for protection," she stated as she set it down. Placing her hands on her hips, she looked out the window. "They have really stepped up their attacks lately,"

"I think I finally understand why the Emperor wants you so badly," Luz said in a worried tone. "He's got the hots for you, doesn't he?" she teased, prompting a no-look high five from Leal.

Leal chuckled. "Can't be an emperor if he ain't got taste!" she remarked as she high fived her sister.

Eda smirked at their quips, winking and clicking her tongue as she shot them a pair of finger guns. "But no," the witch replied in a serious tone. "Emperor Belos wants to control all wild magic through his coven system," she explained as she clenched her fist, "He ordered my capture years ago because I refuse to fall in line."

Lealtad hummed her understanding. She gathered that much from context at least. And well, it was hard not to hear about how much the coven system worked in school. Or how much it sucked.

"And he won't stop until he's got you…" Luz worriedly noted, dropping her head a bit.

She placed a hand on her sister and flashed her a reassuring smile. "Relájate, hermana, Eda's the strongest witch we know," Leal reminded her. "If Hooty can keep 'em at bay, they don't stand a chance against Dama Búho," she proudly stated, nodding toward the witch.

"Yeah, Leal's right! Don't sound so worried," Eda agreed, shooting Leal an appreciative smile. "I'm a master escape artist. The only thing that can slow me down is my curse, and that hasn't bothered me for weeks!" she happily declared, raising her hands to the sky. As if by some cruel twist of fate, several dozen feathers sprouted from Eda all over, making the three freeze in shock. "Uh oh."

And before they could even say anything, Eda immediately began to change and shift into the Owl Beast, with the last thing either of them noticing was her gem turning pure black.

Leal pushed her sister back as she pulled out her bat from her bag. "Luz, get King and get the elixir, now!"

::TITLE OPENING::

Fending off Eda in Owl Beast form alone was a feat in and of itself, but Lealtad managed. The second Luz bolted from the room, Leal realized she should've readied a light glyph instead, and the error cost her a swing from Eda. But a parry with her bat—activating an ice glyph that shot out at Eda—created enough of an opening for Leal to dig into her bag and throw out a fog brew and disorient Eda a bit. Giving her time to pull out some light glyphs, Leal immediately began flashing Owl Beast with periodic light glyphs, causing her to freeze in place.

The maneuver hurt her eyes a bit, so Leal had to glance away at each flash, but it was working.

And just enough as well, for Luz and King soon returned with a bottle of elixir. "Good job, Leal!" Luz shouted as she ran straight toward Eda. During her many flashes, the transformed witch roared, giving Luz an opening to pop an elixir open and pour it down her mouth.

"Nice, Luz!"

They all ceased, waiting for Eda to turn back.

And they waited.

And waited.

Leal's eyes widened in alarm. "It's not working. Luz, get back—"

Her sister quickly acted, pulling out a light glyph to stun the beast. "We need more!"

Tagging out, Lealtad hurriedly rushed out the room and up the stairs, shouting, "I'll get them!" With great haste, Leal ran to Eda's room and barged into her closet, pulling diving into the witch's chest of elixirs. She as quickly as she could, she pulled out as many of her own potions and filled her bag with the elixirs, then darted back to her sister. As she arrived, she noticed Eda was actually a tad smaller than before. "Luz, catch!" she shouted as she threw an underhand toss to her sister.

Whipping around after another light glyph flash, Luz caught the elixir and spun back as she uncapped it, pouring it down Eda's mouth. She seemed to recoil at that, with her body trembling, but her form was shrinking. "Quick, more!" Luz shouted.

Leal was already on the move, right beside her sister as she began pulling out all the elixir and continuing this cycle of force feeding. It was insane how many bottles it was taking. A few minutes had passed and Leal's bag was nearly empty. Thankfully, after each bottle, the Owl Beast was also shrinking. "Hermana, we're gonna have to move her up to her room," she said as she handed her sister the second last elixir, "we can just pull the elixirs from there!" She was just about Eda's regular height now, only still significantly larger in size.

"Got it." Luz nodded as she pulled out a plant glyph and shot it out at Eda, restraining the Owl Beast up with several vines.

"Dang, nice!" Leal commended as she flashed once more, stunning the beast. Acting with the effects of the elixir and the light, the two hurriedly picked Eda up and ran, with King following behind them. "She's still heavy, huh?" she grumbled as they opted for just dragging her up the stairs instead.

"It's fine," Luz groaned as they continued to drag her through the halls, "her room isn't far!"

Soon enough, they managed to get her inside her room. King had hurried along to the closet and fished out the rest of the elixirs, and thus began another cycle of force feeding. Luz took the roll of continuously popping the bottles into Eda's mouth while Leal would uncap the cork stoppers after King handed her an elixir, then pass it to her sister. It was getting to the point where Eda's form was starting to return! Or at least, her figure was, but her body was still severely coated in feathers and her eyes were still owl-like. And by the thirteenth bottle, which was still in her mouth, Eda's hand snaked out from the plant wrap—as she had gotten thinner—and palmed at Luz's face.

But it was a witch that was kneeling before them now, no longer the beast.

Leal breathed out a relieved sigh. It worked!

Eda's eyes returned to normal as she widened them, realizing what she was doing. She pulled out the empty bottle from her mouth and breathed a sigh of relief of her own. "Thanks for this," she said as she set the bottle down and stood up. Her feet clattered with the rest of the empty bottles. "And… those," she awkwardly added.

Leal scoffed as she walked over to her collection of potion bottles she left on the floor. "No problem Dama Búho," she said as she began to shove her potions back into her bag.

"Yeah, well, it kinda was, but we—hey, your gem!" Luz shouted. "It's still dark!"

Lealtad turned around and gasped. She was right! That gem went fully dark when Eda turned, but it was only half dark now. They hadn't exactly been around much for Eda's transformations, but was there really a correlation between the two—

"Ah!" Eda yelped as she grabbed her scarf and covered up her gem. "No, it's not! You're nuts!" she shouted.

"The curse has been getting worse and you've been hiding it!" Luz accused, pointing at Eda.

Leal gaped in shock. Luz was right. She lied. Her heart began to pound. No. No, no, no—this wasn't happening.

Eda let out a defeated sigh, releasing her scarf. "You're right." Leal shook her head, taking a step back. "It's taking more elixir to turn me back and more magic to keep the curse from rearing its feathery head," Eda explained.

But…

During the Knee, Eda used Healing magic on her. She used magic to summon all of Luz's stuff when they were at the carnival. When the Willow's mind fiasco happened, she used magic to send Luz and Amity into her mind and pull them out. And those were just the notable things she knew about. There were countless trivial things she used it for daily. Leal could already recall dozens of instances of the witch using levitation magic casually—heck, she was literally just using it to stir her witch's wool a moment ago!

Lealtad couldn't find the words. Why was she hiding this? What… What happened in the past few weeks that made Eda think she couldn't tell anyone this? Or shouldn't tell anyone at all? Why would she hide it? Leal gripped at her bat, which was awkwardly stuffed into her bag, and clenched hard on it. No. Just… no. It wasn't the same thing. Leal shook her head, ignoring the thoughts of an old home from way back before, a home even she barely remembered. The day they learned… the start of it all: the check ups, the move to Gravesfield, the decline of health and spirit.

The long drawn out journey of the inevitable.

Her parents hid it from her and Luz in the beginning.

But it was obvious by the time they had to reveal what was going on.

She swallowed hard as she looked to her sister, who was staring at Eda in worry. She was so young then, by the time they learned. But… this wasn't the same, Leal had to believe that. Her heart broke at the sight of King's saddened face from his seat on Eda's nest. She couldn't even imagine how he felt. Or how Hooty would feel. No… she could. But Leal just wouldn't think like that.

"What happens if you use your magic up?" her sister frantically asked. "Do you... do you die?"

Leal flinched at her sister's blunt inquiry, gripping harder at her bat.

No.

No.

Not again.

The witch's eyes widened in alarm. "No!" Eda replied, placing her hand on her hips. "Jeez, you're morbid." She crossed her arms. "I just kinda sorta, turn into the Owl Beast... forever."

Leal's eyes widened in shock. What.

Eda threw up a smile as she pumped her fist in front of her chest. "Ahhh, it's a fate much worse than death if you think about it." Despite the situation, the witch still snorted and laughed. She glanced at her, and Leal could see the woman's face wince a bit before she turned back to her sister.

Whatever face she was making right now, Lealtad was confident she was not hiding anything right now.

"No!" Luz denied. "No, I-I can't let that happen! I'll do something about it," she said determinedly, "I'll find a cure and then—"

Eda stepped forward and placed her hand on Luz's shoulder. "Hey, don't worry. I just have to limit my magic use a little," she said while jerking her thumb at herself. She then leaned in and brought her fingers up to the corners of Luz's mouth, forcing a wide toothy grin. "Ah! There's the Luz I know!"

Her sister's temporary smile fell instantly, and Leal could understand why.

She had seen nothing of the sort with Eda limiting her magic use. The witch practically acted like nothing was wrong! Leal's eyes widened at that realization. Why do they always pretend nothing's wrong? Why do they always wait until it worsens before they say anything? Lealtad clenched her eyes shut. Why… even in this world of magic and fantasy, is Life still unfair?

The second she opened her eyes, she realized her siblings were hugging Eda. Luz wrapped herself around her waist while King occupied Eda's left ankle. Wasting no time, Leal rushed forward and hugged the witch from the side, exerting a grunt from Eda. This was a hug of desperation. She embraced the woman with such fierceness and care, practically pleading with her presence to root her there forever. It was… it was like letting go would… let her go.

Not this time.

Please.

But soon enough, the witch had to budge.

"Okay!" Eda huffed. She started to walk, and Leal backed off, clearing her throat to prevent the sob that was threatening to release. "It's... time... for... school!" she declared as she began making her way out the room.

Leal lagged behind, casting her eyes at the empty potion bottles on the floor.

The elixir wasn't working anymore. Or, at the very least, it wasn't as efficient anymore. Magic bile sac was finite, even if it replenished through rest, Leal understood that from Healing classes. Even if Eda stopped using magic permanently, the curse would drain the magic in her bile sac overtime. And with the elixir losing its potency, it would only be a matter of time until it happened. Which meant… Eda was on a clock.

"It always comes back to time," Leal muttered, clenching hard at her bat before tucking it into her bag. She let out a big sigh, then turned away from Eda's room. She hurried down the steps and managed to catch Eda dropping Luz off at the backdoor.

"Have a good day!" Eda shouted as she handed Luz her bag.

"Get rest!" Luz advised, "Drink lots of water! Stay out of the sun! Lift with your knees, not your—"

"Yup, yup, I hear ya!" Eda urged her sister forward. "Don't be late!" Luz had turned away and began walking as Leal approached. The witch spun around and smirked, nodding toward the exit. "Hurry now, you don't want your sister to leave ya behind do—oof!"

Leal leapt forward and hugged the witch, embracing her with all she could. It wasn't like before. She poured all she could into this one as she tightened her hold on the woman. It was a hug that said a lot… and she hoped Eda understood at least a fraction of what she was saying. Because not been Leal could put it into words.

"O-Okay, Lealtad, you—"

"Please," she whispered into the woman's chest. She sniffled, forcing back the tears that were on the rise as she pulled away. Her eyes met Eda's, and she could see the witch falter a bit.

Just like him… even Eda couldn't bear to tell the truth, because of this reason, huh?

Releasing a shuddering breath, Leal shook her head. "Please… don't hide things like this anymore?"

Eda's face cringed a bit. "Aw, jeez, kid. I'm sorry—"

"It's fine," she brushed off. "Just…" she took a breath. "Just keep us in the loop. For everything. Don't hide this." Eda smiled at her, nodding slowly. "And… " Leal let out another breath, clutching Eda's dress tightly. "And, promise me you'll try to get better." She closed her eyes, fighting back the burning feeling behind them, then opened them. Eda's eyes were wide with surprise. But Leal had to go on. "I… I can't deal with another—" she swallowed, shaking her head. "Seeing someone else get sicker in front of me. So promise me."

"Bean Head, I—"

"Promise me," she asserted, "You said we'd protect her together." She nodded toward Luz's direction. "So… So promise me you'll be around for that too." She didn't care if it was childish. She didn't care if it was stupid. She just… she needed to hear it.

With a sigh, Eda nodded. "I promise, Lealtad."

She gulped, nodding back as she stepped back and held out her hand toward her. "Everlasting Oath?" she prompted.

Eda looked touched and shocked by the request, but she held her hands up non-offensively. "Said to save my magic 'member?" she reminded with a smirk.

Leal's ears flushed as she nodded again. "R-Right. Sorry."

Another hug from the witch, and then a pat on the head. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Bean Head." Pulling away, she leaned down a bit at Leal's eye level. She brushed off some of the tears around her eyelids as she chuckled. "What you're gonna do today, is go and learn. Okay?"

She swallowed again. "Okay."

"Good." She placed a hand on Leal's shoulder and gently pushed her out. "I'll see you guys later!"

And then the door shut.

::FLASHBACK::

"Mamá told me you wanted me to tuck you in tonight?" her dad asked. Leal lifted her head up from her pillow, squinting her eyes a bit as the light from the hallway silhouetted his body. She tugged her blanket closer to her chest as she pouted at her father. He had a smile on his face as he quietly entered the room. But it was smaller than before. It wasn't as big. His smiles were hard to see now. Not the fake ones, but these ones. Leal's eyes brimmed with tears as she watched her dad slowly walk toward her. "I thought you were too old for tuck-ins," he teased in a soft tone.

"I-I'm not…" a sniffle, "t-too old for you, Dad," she said with a shuddered breath, unable to fight her tears.

Her father's eyes twisted with concern as he knelt down by her beside. He enveloped his left hand on hers as he asked, "Hey, come now, mija, why the long face?"

"Y… You're not getting better, Papí," she quietly said.

He frowned, looking taken aback. "Oye, I beat you and your sister at the Game of Life last night. I think that means I'm kind of owning Life right now, no?" he proudly said, smirking at her.

It was a good smile too. But it wasn't the one she wanted… it was one he was making for her. The ones he'd make for Luz. It was a lie.

She pouted. "Don't be silly when I'm trying to be sad," she muttered as she tugged the blanket further up to her chin with her free hand.

"Aww, lo siento, Leal." Her dad sighed. "I just can't bear to see any of my daughters so sad."

Leal's eyes brightened at that. "Then… Then promise me you'll try to get better!"

Her father's face shifted into a sad look. "Leal…"

"Promise me, Papá," she pleaded, her eyes filling with tears once again. "P-Promise."

He nodded with a brief sigh. "Okay. I promise, mija. I'll… I'll try…" he leaned close and pecked her forehead, giving her hand a squeeze before pulling away. "I'll get better."

And she believed those words whole heartedly.

::NOW::

Leal sniffled, letting out an annoyed scoff as she walked.

She and Luz had gone half the way in silence. Luz seemed to focus on something else, but Leal was too busy thinking… about the familiarity of everything. But, remembering that, made her mad. What was she thinking? She wasn't some kid anymore. She wasn't a child making wishes. Why did she even ask that of Eda? She felt so stupid even thinking about it. What a childish thing to say… a promise against the impossible.

Yet she still wanted to believe Eda's promise was real. That maybe, because she was different—because this world was different—it'd be enough. It still hurt to think about how the woman looked at her with guilt and sincerity, like she realized the lies caught up to her. It hurt to think about why she hid it for so long and kept them out of the loop. It hurt… because it was so familiar. She just never thought she'd see such a face on Eda Clawthorne of all people.

But then she did.

Luz on the other hand?

Shaking her head, Lealtad took a deep breath and swallowed back her rising sob. She quickly wiped away her tears with her sleeve and turned to her sister, snaking her hand into hers. Luz startled a bit at the touch, but Leal just smiled at her. Luz's smile returned for a bit, and Leal was relieved to see it. It wouldn't be the same. Especially not now, not when her sister could actually understand what it meant to watch someone fade. No… she wasn't sure how, but she'd make sure Luz wouldn't see it.

Eventually, in their sullen silence, they neared Hexside. When the noticeably viking ship came into view, both of them recalled today's trip. Luz was supposed to go. She looked at her sister and frowned at her pensive and concerned face.

"I-I don't know, Leal, I don't think I should go anymore," she admitted. "With Eda, and the Scouts—"

Leal placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey. A distraction might do you good," she pointed out. With a shrug, she nodded toward the boat. "Besides, you might still learn something. Just keep your head down and do what we came here to do: learn." She raised a brow. "Got it?"

Luz nodded. "Okay."

She let out a sigh before hugging her sister. "Stay out of trouble. I'll be waiting for you after school, 'kay? We'll walk home together," she softly said.

"Okay." Luz pulled away and smiled. "Love you."

"Love you," she said back. "Now let's go learn."

::::

She missed meeting up with her friends at her locker. In all honesty, she was dragging feet and nearly late for class itself. Leal's mind couldn't help but linger on the morning's events. The second she entered Still Healing, she was greeted with Viney's frantic and eager waving. She flashed the girl a small smile as she slid into her seat. She began to ready her notebook, but was slapped on the arm. "¡Oye!" she hissed, glaring at her partner. "What was that for?"

"Where were you before the bell?" the girl aggressively whispered, "Barcus told us you told him last night about all your healing potion tests! They work great?"

Leal mustered a half-smile. "Y-Yeah. Sorry. Something came up."

Viney's brows raised. "This about Ed? I thought you and Ed made up? Emira told me about it on our call last night."

Leal shook her head. "No, we did. It's not that. It's…" she let out a sigh. "Nothing. Just something I can't really fix back home." Yesterday was simpler. She wish she could just go back and ride the high of the day. Spending time with Edric—laughing and having fun—it didn't feel good thinking of that right now.

She was surprised when Viney's hand came atop her wrist. Mister Rowan began class, but the girl seemed adamant in ignoring him. "Hey," she softly said, "you can talk to me. Or Barcus or Jerbo. 'Kay?"

Leal blinked at that as Viney pulled her hand away.

Right.

Wow.

She had friends now.

Mustering as much of a smile as she could, she looked back at her friend and said, "Maybe later."

Viney seemed satisfied by this, as she nodded.

And they then dived into their lecture.

"Okay everyone, today, we'll be learning more about medicated potion routines and ailments!" Rowan announced. "Such methods vary in purpose, but overall, what we're focusing on today is the application of magic to treat the body on a daily basis. Some may rely on a once a day healing glyph over a sore muscle or weak bone, others may require a full routinely work up from Healing doctors based on a condition they're born with!"

Leal's eyes widened. Holy shit. Without hesitation, her hand shot upward.

"And—oh! Yes, Miss Noceda?" Rowan called out, halting his board writing.

"What about curses?"

His eyes lit up. "Ah ha, good question! Curses range from many different causes and have different effects. Their lethality can range drastically too: some are capable of inflicting death while others, a minor illness. Their treatments have a greater variety as well, some can be treated through the use of Healing magic while others can be treated by elixirs!" he explained, more so toward the class. "Curses are a rare illness within our society these days, so treatments are still hard to come by." Leal raised her hand eagerly again. "Oh, yes, Miss Noceda?"

"What about cures?"

"What about them?"

"Are… Are there any?" she asked.

Rowan sighed. "Because of the rareness of such conditions, it's rarer for a curse to be even cured by conventional Healing alone. Without the work of many healers, most curses are usually incurable and more so are kept at bay or subdued in their effects by magic. Why, I'm certain the only person capable of doing so flawlessly would be our Great Emperor!" He let out a chuckle. "Though I'm afraid such a great witch would be far too busy to cure every curse out there."

Leal rolled her eyes and shot her hand up again.

"A-Ah. Yes?" Rowan prompted her.

"Belos is capable of great magic because of his unification between all magic," she argued, "so wouldn't that mean it wouldn't be conventional methods that could find a cure?"

"I-I'll be honest, Miss Noceda, curses are a subject we aren't able to dive much into with our curriculum. Not much we have truly studied I'm afraid," Rowan said with a regretful tone. "Though I do admire your enthusiasm regarding the manner! I'm afraid even my knowledge of the matter is severely limited." He sheepishly shrugged. "Any further inquiries regarding curses—at least in more depth—will have to be pursued independently." Clearing his throat, he turned back to the board. "Now, on that topic of incurable conditions, Healing can be used to keep the effects at bay or lessen the fatality of the conditions!"

Leal felt many eyes fall upon her, Viney's included. It wasn't unusual for her to be inquisitive in class, but this was definitely more proactive than usual. She also assumed it was obvious that she wasn't exactly hiding her concerned interest when she started speaking. Regardless, she took the stares in stride as she continued to pay attention and write. She'd listen and learn. She had to.

Rowan went on about the severity of certain conditions and illnesses, and the extent of what Healing magic could do. Potions merely acted as a deterrent or cure in some regards, but true healing was the only thing capable of returning a body's conditions to its original state. Potions could have similar effects, but it was more generalized and universal in what it could accomplish. Very rarely would a potion be limited to a specific race or demon or kind of witch; they were meant to be used by all. Healing magic was a "supposed" cure all that worked on anyone, but was either limited by the severity of one's conditions or the user's own magic.

Leal… she wasn't really on either of those spectrums.

She was an outlier of a witch, much like her sister.

Though being "unique" didn't get results, least not the results Lealtad wanted. All it meant was that she had her own way of doing things by circumstance. Whether or not that could apply to this situation wasn't at all on the table. What she needed to figure out were curses itself. Learn more, understand more, and hopefully: find more on Eda's curse specifically. If she could at least start somewhere, then she could figure out something.

The rest of the morning breezed by in a flash.

She was just going through the motions of class at that point. What she learned regarding medicated routines wasn't too dissimilar from what she knew about the Human Realm and of Eda's situation. The concept of taking medication on a routine basis or in response to a reaction occurring wasn't lost on her. Luz was diagnosed with ADHD when she was eight, going on nine, and there was a small period of time where she tried medication. But after stating she didn't like it, their mother agreed to take her off the meds. Things like that were what made Leal realize many of the medicines and practices of the Demon Realm weren't too dissimilar to the Human Realm.

Leal was able to actually understand and relate to her course material for a change. Most of the class was more theories and lectures, leaving Leal to take more and more notes. But it wasn't even her just taking notes on what was going on—she was also reviewing her older notes whenever she had time. It was hard not to look at everything. Her behaviour was noticeable enough that Viney checked on her, asking what was up with all the determination and page flipping.

Leal just told her she was just focused was all.

Then Healing So You Live came around, and that was less useful—for today's events at least. Learning about defensive/offensive Healing magic like shields and laceration spells, and employing them in training wasn't all that helpful. Most curriculums had sparring sessions—sometimes with other classes—unfortunately in Leal's case, she was limited to what she had at her disposal. So no Healing magic for her to use to defend herself: just a bat, some glyphs, and potions. Because of the unorthodox methods, Viney was the only person who ever really partnered with her, but she would utilize Beast Keeping magic as well.

Fending off Puddles and Viney's spells were a challenge, but Leal managed. She had sparred with the girl a few times before, so it wasn't too difficult to hold her own. Though her mind had wandered for most of the class. Viney had actually landed five hits on her—which hurt like Hell—and caused the girl to profusely apologize and offer some healing. Leal refused her friend on that account and decided her healing potion would be enough to mend her sore body and bruises and cuts.

But it didn't dispel her classmate's ongoing worry for her.

Thankfully, Viney didn't prod too much. She only expressed caution by the end of class. When they walked into Healing After Living. The room had been rearranged with the desks off to the perimeter, likely to make room for the practicals they were about to commence. All the students stood in a sort of U shape, all facing toward the front of the class, with Leal and Viney standing at the end near the door. Puddles had been soon called after, and the giant griffin had taken up a spot behind Viney, casting a somewhat looming shadow over the girl.

Leal would've found the sight amusing had she not been focused on the class, with her desperately wanting it to start up soon. Practicals were today, and that meant more avenues for her to distract herself.

"Alright everyone," Mister Rowan began after the bell had rung, "as you all know, today's class will focus on practicals. So, for each demonstration, I will be inflicting a type of injury upon one of you via a laceration magic, and your partner will be tasked with healing you. Then, after a couple back and forth runs of this, we will switch and I will inflict the injury upon you and you will heal yourself. Do not worry, as always, I will be on standby ready to treat anyone in case something goes wrong! Remember, it requires a great deal of strength to heal one's self with magic and focus, so be sure to concentrate!" He clapped his hands excitedly. "Partner up… and begin!"

Leal turned to Viney with a smile. "Rock, paper, scissors who goes first?" she suggested, readying her palm and fist.

Viney blinked. "Uh… what?"

"Oh, you guys probably don't have that here, huh?" She awkwardly chuckled. "It's this game where after you count to three or whatever, you and your opponent throw out a hand and you either make a rock, paper, or scissors," she explained, making the proper gesture for each item. "Rock beats scissors, paper beats rock, and scissors beats paper. It's a fun kid's game and all, but most of the time people use it to determine a winner or loser for like, who goes first or who gets the last slice of a food or something."

Viney's eyes lit up. "Ooh, sounds fun! Can we play?"

Leal glanced over to Mister Rowan, who was beginning to go to each group. "Yeah, but let's make it quick."

Two draws, and one victor (Viney claimed Leal had cheated with her rock against her scissors) and Viney was the first to go. When Rowan arrived, he gave Viney a cut against her left bicep. She had pulled her sleeve up, exposing the arm in full, and not staining anything as the blood began to drip. She hissed in pain and turned to Leal, wearing a strained smile. "Yup, it's a cut alright!"

Lealtad chuckled. "Don't worry, I got ya."

She looked down to her bag and moved to grab a healing potion, then stopped when she saw it. At the bottom, a bright orange potion bottle. It was an elixir. The last one she had before they moved Eda to her room. She must've accidentally left it in when she gathered her stuff earlier. Pulling it out, Leal stopped and stared. She had been in Potions and Healing for weeks now. Looking at this bottle, it didn't feel too different from anything else she'd ever brewed.

That was right.

What was she thinking?

She was a goddamn student of the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles! She was a part of the rare breed that was the dual-track students of Hexside. She was mixing magic. She wasn't a little girl anymore. She learned things. She knew things. She understood how to help people. The main reason she even took Healing was for this: to help her loved ones. This was it. The moment she could finally do something.

"Uhhh, Leal?" Viney winced, holding her bicep with teary eyes. "Anytime now?"

Leal blinked. "¡Mierda!" she shouted, tucking the elixir back into her bag and pulling out a healing potion."Lo siento, Vi," she said as she uncapped her potion bottle and handed it to the witch. "Spit into this!" Viney seemed grossed out by the remark but Leal shook it. "Hurry!" The girl then spat into the bottle and Leal quickly capped it, rapidly shaking it until it turned blue. Uncapping it once more, she handed it back to her friend, "Here, drink this!"

Viney raised a brow but accepted, downing the bottle in one go. Her eyes lit up as she no doubt felt the sensation then looked to bicep, noticing the cut was gone. "W-Whoa! That's amazing!"

Leal smiled. "Thanks. Sorry I got distracted there," she sheepishly said as she took the empty bottle and capped it, tucking it back into her bag.

"Eh, no big. You did heal me in the end after all," her friend proudly said. Her brow raised as she felt up her bicep. "What was that other potion you pulled out though? I haven't seen you with that before?" She smirked. "Did you already invent a new one?"

"Heh, nah," Leal said with a head shake. "It's… related to what I'm gonna tell you guys at lunch today." Viney's interest rose at that. "But first, what do you know 'bout reversing transformation curses?"

Viney's eyes widened. "This again? Well, like Mister Rowan said curses are hard to come by these days. But transformation curses? I'd wager that's a rarer breed. I didn't even know such a thing existed! But, I guess I shouldn't be surprised—curses are capable of a lot of things," her friend replied.

"But even in all your time studying Healing and Beast Keeping, you pulled up nothing on transformation curses?" Lealtad addressed. "I know Beast Keeping magic sometimes involves transformations."

Her friend chuckled. "In a vague way, yeah. But it's less 'transformation' and more 'enhancement'," Viney corrected. At Leal's confused head tilt, Viney went on, "Only biped demon witches can really 'enhance' their natural traits, but that's more so the ones with beast features. Like the head of the Beast Keeping Coven, Eberwolf the Huntsman! I've seen videos of him on Penstagram making his claws razor sharp!"

"Hmm, neat, I guess?" Leal hummed. "So does that mean you've learned nothing 'bout curses from your studying?"

"Nope. All I can really do is echo what our teacher said. The severity of the curse is what it depends on at the end of the day." Her friend shrugged apologetically. "What's with you and curses all of a sudden?"

Leal smiled, looking down at the elixir in her bag then looking back at her friend. "Well, let's just say I have a challenge ahead of me. And I intend to meet it head on."

::::

Come lunch time, Leal was surprised to see Edric and Emira joining them. Though she didn't exactly have any objection to their presence either. The gang sat in their usual arrangement: Viney and Jerbo on one side, Lealtad and Barcus the other. When the twins joined, Emira sat next to her "girlfriend" (Leal was still unsure of their labels) while Edric politely asked Leal if it was okay he sat next to her. She couldn't help the blush on her ears and the big grin on her face as she nodded okay.

"Sorry," Viney said as everyone settled in, "I forgot to say I invited them to sit with us for lunch."

Jerbo scoffed. "C'mon, it's no big deal."

"Yeah, I don't mind," Barcus agreed.

Leal nodded. "The more the merrier."

While the twin's were comforted by their replies, Viney's face contorted in worry. "Yeah, but you said you wanted to…" she trailed off, raising her brows at Leal.

Oh.

"Ah, yeah, well," she looked to Edric and Emira, then to her other friends, all sharing the same confusion. She took a breath. They were all her friends at the end of the day. "It's fine."

"What is?" Jerbo asked.

"Well, I have some heavy news to dish out," Lealtad warningly said, "And uh, it was quite a shocker to learn this morning." She looked down at her lunch, staring at it intensely as she rested her hands on the table. Thinking about it once again, if she closed her eyes she would be right back in that moment. Which moment, she wasn't sure of though. "It's still wracking my brain."

Edric's hand came down next to hers. She nearly jumped, but realized he wasn't touching her—just barely a graze next to her hand. "Well, we're here for you," he softly said.

Barcus nodded. "Yup! If you want to share, we'll listen."

Leal took a deep breath.

And so, she told them.

Everything.

Her heart spilt on and on about the struggles Eda had been dealing with, how between the Emperor's Coven and the curse, she was stressed and overtaxed. How the curse granted her moniker, how it controlled her life and took over her body. How the curse functioned, its weaknesses and its remedy. How hopeless it felt. She nearly cried after saying everything, but held back as she pulled out the elixir and rested it on the table, staring it at as she spoke.

It was scary to think about. Terrifying to relive. But… Leal wasn't in despair entirely. No, she had an epiphany and she wanted to get to that. Filling her friends in first was a priority, it just still hurt to do so.

"Wow…" Edric uttered.

"Oh my Titan," Barcus sadly barked, "Lealtad… I'm so sorry."

She smiled her appreciation but chuckled, stopping the rest of her friends from beginning their condolences. "Thanks guys, but… as much as it hurts—I'm not wallowing in this pity." She picked up the elixir and tossed it up and down in her hand, wearing a proud smile. "I'm gonna reverse engineer this elixir, like we've been learning in Potions, and I'm gonna try and figure out a way to make a stronger version to help Eda."

Collectively, all her friends' eyes widened and jaws dropped.

"Jeez, Leal," Jerbo said, "That's a heck of a goal." Viney elbowed him, making him wince. "Hey, it's commendable! But I'm not sugarcoating it!"

Leal rolled her eyes, chuckling. "I know. It's nothing is easy. Nothing worth doing, is ever easy. But this is. She is. Eda's worth it," she softly said. "So, that's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna work on this," she gently flicked the elixir, "and see what makes it up and try to see if I can make it myself. At the very least? Then I can be Eda's supplier and she won't have to waste so many snails on stocking up."

"Still, a curse turning you into an Owl Beast?" Jerbo addressed. "I've never heard of one."

"Well, in fairness, I've barely even heard of many curses," Barcus admitted.

"Most Em and I have ever heard is when we were looking around for prank ideas," Ed chimed in. As all eyes fell on him—his sister looking mortified—he held up his hands. "We just searched it up! Never did any! They're way too extreme."

"Yeah," Emira sighed. "At least, the ones we saw. There was one that put a target to sleep… forever." She shuddered. "I still don't know how they're made."

"That's another thing," Viney said, pointing to the girl, "Not much is known about curses and their origin. Some doctors think it's the combined efforts of wild witches fusing magic for nefarious purposes." Leal frowned at that, raising a brow at the witch. "N-Not that it's true or anything! I mean, I-I know—"

"Relájate, Vi," Leal softly remarked, "I know what you meant. And just 'cause I have an attachment to a wild witch and wild magic doesn't mean I expect the rest of you to." She sighed. "I know it's gonna be hard, but I want to—need to try."

The gang all exchanged looks at that, but Leal decided enough was enough and began to bite into her sandwich.

Eventually, Barcus smiled at her. "Still, reverse engineering a potion is a big feat," he pointed out, "We've only just started in class."

"I know, but—"

"So I'm gonna do what I can to help you figure it out."

Leal blinked, swallowing her food in surprise. "¿Que?"

"Yeah." Viney nodded. "I might not know much about curses, but I can offer what I can with Healing."

"You think I'm onboard with that Emperor's Coven trash?" Jerbo mused with a smirk. "We're the dual-track squad! Mixing magic is practically how we breathe." He gestured around the table, "And we look after our own."

Emira shrugged. "Not sure what I can really contribute but I wanna help. You've helped me and my brother."

"Exactly," Edric agreed, nodding with a smile. "Plus, as an agent of mischief I'd firmly be against whatever the Emperor's Coven has got going on," he casually said, waving his hand about.

She snorted. "Glad to hear such a noble reason," she teased. He winked at her, but she let herself own up to the blush this time. She let out a small sigh, unable to help her smile. "'us weirdos have to stick together', huh?" Leal fondly recalled. Fair enough. "Thanks guys," she softly said.

"Alright then," Jerbo slid his tray aside a bit as he pulled out a pen and paper, "What should we start with?"

"Well, knowing what makes up the elixir is pretty important," Leal pointed out.

"Maybe searching up as much as we can on curses—or even just an Owl Beast curse—can help too?" Viney suggested.

Leal frowned. "Eda's been stuck with this thing for decades… I don't know if we can find anything different than she did."

"Well maybe that was then," Edric countered. "Things have changed from when she was younger. Who knows? Maybe there's been new things and she stopped searching?"

"I can head to the library to check," Jerbo offered.

"I'd rather not waste time with it," Leal firmly said. At their confusion, she sighed. "I kinda wanna make this now." She glanced down at the elixir. "Eda's on borrowed time, and a second wasted is a minute longer for her as an Owl Beast."

"Then let's now waste any," Edric said. As all eyes fell to him, he smirked. "We'll skip the rest of today."

"Uhh, what?" Leal asked.

"C'mon, you're hardly gonna focus in class with this on your mind, and Hexside's the best place to experiment with all its tools and equipment available!" Edric pointed out. "This isn't just an excuse to skip class," he added, crossing his arms.

"'Just'? So it's partly?" Barcus teased.

The boy frowned. "Ugh, you know what I mean…"

"Actually, he does make a fair point," Viney chimed in. She shot Leal a smile as she said, "You have been a bit distracted, all things considered. It might be better to just focus on this for now."

She flushed at the observation but sighed. "Okay, Em and Ed aside, I can't ask the rest of you to skip out on school for my sake."

"Well, good thing you're not asking," Barcus remarked, raising a brow at her. "Because we're doing it, whether you want us to or not."

Leal sighed once again as she was met with all her friends' determined stares. "Wh-Where would we even go? Using the Secret Room of Shortcuts is a no go, since Bump definitely knows about it now."

Emira smirked as she spoke up. "Well, before we even knew about that—"

"Em and I are masters of skipping class after all," her brother finished.

The twins smirked as they said together, "We have a spot."

::::

The room in question was not too dissimilar from their other classrooms. The real kicker was that it was being concealed by their Illusions. Edric and Emira agreed to rotate shifts to maintain the illusion of the door being a wall, while the rest of them committed to figuring out the elixir. Edric managed to swipe a spare cauldron set from a potions room and Emira grabbed Barcus a spare crystal ball just in case, leaving the four to set up in the middle of the room with four desks joined together.

Fourth period had begun nearly twenty minutes ago and the gang had only just started working.

"So, what's the step by step in reversing a potion process?" Viney asked.

"Understanding what the potion does, first. After that, it's basically an assortment of guesswork: knowing what ingredients do what and hypothesizing whether or not their traits are what makes the potion tick. Then we make our own concoction to try and match it," Leal explained as she finished laying out her ingredients. "I can't do it, but Perro Guía here can appraise the finished potion we make using Potion magic, and see if it matches the elixir."

"And after that, you can work backwards to see what ingredients are crucial and what can be added to make the elixir stronger and more effective!" Jerbo concluded.

Leal shot him a finger gun and clicked her tongue. "Exactly!"

Edric, who was taking a break from his Illusion and leaning against the wall beside his sister, raised his hand. "Um, question?" he said in a soft voice. Lealtad snorted at his adorable demeanour and nodded at him, prompting him to go on. "How exactly are you supposed to figure out the ratio to certain ingredients?"

Barcus and Leal shared a sympathetic look of agony. "We don't, exactly."

"It's trial and error," Leal sadly sighed.

All their friends' eyes widened at that.

"But it's not completely hopeless, between Leal and I, we have a decent understanding of most ingredients and their functions," Barcus said with a smile, "Knowing what amount of something turns a potion into a certain colour, to how little of something affects its potency, we can narrow it down pretty well!"

"And out of everyone in class, we were the only ones who managed to figure out some ingredients," Leal added. At that, their friends' looks of shock seemed to fade a bit. Taking comfort in their reassurance, Leal clapped her hands together. "Whelp, let's get brewing!"

It was honestly a bit hopeless at first—if the looks of everyone else's faces aside from Barcus were anything to go off of. Though Edric, for whenever he could take a break, seemed genuinely intrigued by all the potions work going on. But to Viney, Jerbo, and Emira, who weren't as well versed as they were, the process of reverse engineering an elixir was severely complicated. Halfway through the fourth period, and they had barely gotten a decent make up of what the elixir consisted of. It wasn't much of a surprise to Leal that the ingredients were not only expensive and rare, but also plenty.

Harpy owl feathers, sleeping nettle, changeling fairy wings—all components they managed to ascertain. By the time the bell to fourth period's end rang, Leal and Barcus concluded heating the cauldron was also crucial to the process in order to increase the viscosity of the mixture and make it more susceptible to the various ingredients within it. But it was still difficult to really affix what exactly was the key ingredient to the elixir's "curing" ability.

And by the time the fifth period bell rang, it hit Leal. "It's not just limited to the Owl Beast…" she muttered as she looked up from her notes. Barcus looked away from the cauldron as he continued to stir, while Viney, Emira, and Jerbo set down the ingredients they were holding in their hands. Their silent confusion prompted her to go on. "Eda gets her supply from Morton—"

"Mr. Elixir?" Barcus clarified.

"Yeah!" Leal nodded.

"My parents go there. He's the only business that isn't really attached to the Potions Coven."

"Oh, so cheaper deals, yeah?" Jerbo guessed. "But, why aren't we going to him then?"

"Well, I don't think he'll really give us the recipe," Lealtad replied. She shook her head. "But that's not the point! Back during the Moonlight Conjuring, Eda ran out of elixir and tried to go to Morton for a resupply, but he was fresh out! So, she had to go to the night market instead! Got it from this demon named Tibbles."

Emira canted her head. "But what does that have to do with the elixir being limited to the Owl Beast?"

"Not being limited," Lealtad corrected with a smile. "If Morton isn't the only one with the elixir in stock, it raises two ideas: either Owl Beast curses are more common than we think or—"

"The elixir isn't restricted to solely just the Owl Beast!" Barcus finished, his eyes widening.

Leal smiled, glad her friend caught on.

"Hang on, I'm still lost here," Emira sheepishly admitted.

"Yeah, same?" Viney agreed, glancing between the two.

Jerbo gasped. "If Morton and Tibbles are stocked on it, then it's not just a niche potion. It has to have a market!"

Leal nodded, clicking her tongue. "Exactly. And if it is more commonly produced then it means it's not a potion designed to alleviate the Owl Beast transformation," she smirked at her friends, "but a potion that counteracts transformations."

"And that means its ingredients aren't as limited as we think!" Emira chimed in, finally piecing it together.

From then on, it was a lot faster of a process when it came to concluding a proper recipe of the elixir. With the help of Jerbo and whichever Blight was taking a break, they also managed to search up on the crystal ball elixir cure all potions/recipes. With that all under way, Leal and Barcus managed to piece in the final ingredient, which had to be added after everything else. At that point they'd stir until the heated mixture turned to a shade of pastel yellow.

A couple tablespoons of salted, ground up trash slug skin, and stirred until it reached that bright orange hue.

And by the time fifth period was halfway done, the gang managed to create their own batch of elixir. After appraising it from Barcus, it was a match! A round of cheering and excitement was short lived as Leal dove back into the work. She jotted down the necessary ingredients and set it aside, asking Barcus to prep more elixir. Now the hard part came: enhancing the elixir.

"Leal, you should at least take a small break," Edric softly urged. Everyone else was sitting off to the side while Barcus brewed.

Lealtad shook her head as she glanced from her notebook to her textbook. "I'll rest when I get home. We're in school—I'd be this busy in class regardless." She shot him a look. "And you agreed with me that I shouldn't waste a second," she smugly said.

The boy frowned at that, but thankfully said nothing else as he sat beside her.

Leal let out a frustrated sigh as she pushed aside her textbook, looking back to the ingredients they had.

For every solution she thought she had, it only ended up changing the effects of the elixir itself. The sleeping nettle acted as a deterrent that essentially "slept" the other form, but adding ratworm spit only nullified its drowsiness effects. Adding the properties of roacholotl skin would only counter the effects of the harpy owl feathers and changeling fairy wings. From what Leal and Barcus were able to conclude—with the help of Viney's beast knowledge—the transformation properties of the harpy owls along with the chameleon nature of the changeling fairies, were the amplifiers to the salted trash slug skin.

The whole elixir relied on the concept of "change" itself, but also the reversing of it. In essence, reversing "change" back to its neutral state. Adding the healing attributes of the roacholotl or the healing attributes of any other ingredient ended up countering the effects of what made the elixir work. They had gone through two batches by the time fifth period was nearly over, and each brew of elixir churned out four bottles. They were getting nowhere with an advanced solution, only impotent useless garbage. Eight ineffective potions that did squat.

"We're getting nowhere," she groaned as she finally slumped down in her seat, bringing her hands up to her head. She glanced up at the new batch of elixir Barcus had just finished and scoffed. "¡Maldita maldición estúpida!" she hissed, slamming her hands on the table. "Still can't do anything!" she mumbled, "Still just some niñita who can't help but cry."

"Leal, calm down," Viney gently urged, "We'll get this right eventually!"

"I can't!" she shouted, standing up from her seat. "I… I need this to work. As quick as possible. I… I can actually do something this time an-and—" a hand came down on her shoulder and she froze. Turning to her left, Edric was smiling at her.

"We get it. But… crying is okay too," he softly said.

"Yeah," Barcus agreed. "Maybe a break would do some good?"

Leal rubbed at her stinging eyes, slowly shaking her head. "No. I-I don't mean to be a brat, an-and immature—especially when you guys have been so helpful—but I just… I can't slow down. Not yet." She clenched her fists and let out a breath. "I can feel the answer here. I-I know it." This wasn't just some kiddish dream for her. Earlier in her third period class, that epiphany struck just as hard as the revelation of Eda's condition. It was something she knew she could do. "You guys have been on my case about my doubt and whatever." She humourlessly chuckled. "But this? I know I can solve it today. Now."

Because time was against her.

And she knew she could fight it this time.

Because she had to.

It wasn't long until time started to speed by and make her feel impatient. The beginning of sixth period was a silence Leal was both grateful and guilty for. She understood her small little rant left a mark on her friends, so they were left to stew in it as they worked. But it stung a bit knowing she soured the mood entirely by shouting and crying a bit. They still flashed smiles and talked like normal, but the overall chatter had died down. But… she also was glad for it. She could focus more, and by the looks of things, so could the rest of them.

Viney and Jerbo and whichever Blight was free dedicated their time to reading up on her notes and textbooks. Meanwhile her and Barcus began working with random combinations and ideas, occasionally taking suggestions from whatever their friends found. It was barely trial and error—just error. But the cusp was there. Leal could feel it. They were just… missing something. Something that must've been simple. Or…

What would Luz do?

"That's magic baby! In the moment and spontaneous!"

Or Eda?

"Magic isn't proper! It's wild and unpredictable, and that's what makes it so beautiful!"

Maybe she was the problem here. Maybe it was time to just stop overanalyzing and to start… letting the magic brew. Wordlessly, Leal dug into her messenger bag and pulled out all of her healing potions. She began to uncap pour four bottles into an empty cauldron, earning a round of confused stares from her friends. Without any explanation, she proceeded to grab four bottles of elixir and pour each one out into the cauldron.

"Um, Leal?" Barcus inquired, "What are you doing?"

She shrugged at her friend then grabbed a ladle and began to stir the mixture of potions. "Magic," she simply said.

"Oookay, I think she's lost it," Edric whispered.

Leal chuckled, shaking her head. "It's not that. It's just… nothing about this is conventional. We aren't conventional," she explained as she stirred, "so maybe the same goes for the solution I'm looking for."

"But… mixing potions?" Viney hesitantly pointed out. "Isn't that like, really dangerous?"

Barcus nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but any combination we try during the mixing phase ends up with countered or diluted results. The only things I know work are my potion and this elixir. So it's time for a Hail Mary," she declared.

"A who mary?" Edric asked as he tilted his head.

"But your potion is still new isn't it? Isn't a bit risky to just mix it like this?" Jerbo worriedly asked.

Leal nodded. "Sure, probably. But… risks are worth the reward." Her sister took a big one wanting to stay here, Eda took a big one letting them stay with her, and Leal? This hardly compared to those two. If her healing potion returned the natural body to its original state—barring the fact a user sample was needed—and the elixir's foundation was reversing a body's effects from transformations, there should be a synergy. "The result might only come with both finished products."

With her friends seeing no other points to debate on, they all watched on with bated breath as Leal stirred. For a decent while, the orange and blue hues seemed to stay separate, mixing ever so slightly as she stirred them around. It must've been because of their finished states that the two mixtures had difficulty actually mixing. Barcus suggested moving it above a fire in order to expedite the process. After a few minutes, the change was noticeable: they were beginning to merge finally! All attention drew toward the mixture as it slowly shifted into a bright olive hue.

"¡Ay guau!" she softly uttered in awe.

"It… changed?" Jerbo confusedly said.

"Is that good or bad?" Edric asked.

"It means it's in a new state," Barcus answered, his eyes filled with shock. "Leal—"

"Already scooping," she said while filling up on empty bottles (obviously not the ones she poured them out from). She ended up filling six bottles of this new olive mixture, then laid them out before Barcus. "Perro Guía, if you would?"

Barcus nodded as he drew up a spell circle and cast it, creating a highlight around the bottles.

"Wait, how can he appraise these?" Edric inquired.

"He's appraised both the elixir and my healing potions already, so the make up of both those concoctions should be found in this," Leal explained, "At the very least, we might just—"

"It's an enhanced elixir," Barcus uttered in awe. "I-I don't know if it's entirely accurate, but if I am understanding this correctly, this new elixir is four times more effective!"

Silence fell over the room as everyone exchanged looks of surprise.

"H-How do we know for sure?" Jerbo asked, glancing between the potion students.

Leal looked down at the remaining batch of elixir. "We don't." She let out a small sigh. "I'll have to have Eda try it later when I get back home. For now?" She grabbed four more elixirs and began uncapping and pouring them into the cauldron. "We stock up on what we can… so I have more to work with later."

Without any prompting, her friends all fell into rhythm: preparing more batches of healing potions while Barcus worked on the original elixir. Leal could only hope to Titan and back…

This had to work.

::::

"I… I honestly can't thank you guys enough," Leal softly said as she put back the last cauldron.

Viney snorted. "It was no big, Leal."

"Yeah, I mean I don't know if Em and I really did much but—"

"You guys did plenty," Leal said assuredly, looking at the Blight with a serious smile. "I just… I'm sorry I blew up a couple times. I-It wasn't fair to, and—"

"Leal," Barcus interrupted, "We get it. You're going through a lot."

She cringed. "Yeah, but that doesn't excuse—"

"It wasn't as bad as you make it out to be," her friend pointed out. "And besides, this is still a heavy day for you. It's only understandable." He looked between the rest of their friends before smiling at her. "I can only hope that the work we did today amounted to something."

Leal chuckled, nodding. "Me too," she whispered, looking down at her bag. Twelve bottles of enhanced elixir. These were the results of today's haphazard and last minute efforts. Sixth period was near ending, and Leal knew the class field trip from the Emperor's Castle was to return soon. She still felt guilty that while her sister was out learning—even though she had doubts about going—Leal herself was skipping class. With another sigh, she looked back to her friends. "I-I know y'all said it wasn't a big deal, but I really appreciate everyone skipping class to help with me for this. I-I promise I'll try to help you all catch up with anything—"

"I'll hold you to it," Jerbo teased. "But it was worth it.

"Likewise," Viney agreed. "Helping people out is exactly what I signed up for anyways!"

"I mean, yeah," Emira nodded, "that sounds kinda cool to me too. I hope it works out for Miss Clawthorne."

Edric flashed a smile as he walked over to Leal, holding up his fist. "Anytime, Leal."

In spite of it all, her heart still fluttered at the boy's earnestness. "Gracias, Ed," she softly said as she bumped her fist to his. "I-I'm gonna go try and catch my sister," she said as she backed toward the door, jerking her thumb at it. "I wanna let her know what I'm gonna do before I head straight home."

"I'll be free on the crystal ball!" Barcus shouted, "Let me know how it goes!"

"Y-Yeah, I'd like to know too!" Edric chimed in, glancing between her and Barcus.

Barcus shot a knowing smile, waving Leal to go off. "I'll give him your crystal ball info. You go on ahead!"

She smiled gratefully at her friend before turning away. "Thanks again everyone! You're all amazing!" she shouted as she ran out the door. Of course, the last thing she heard—from what sounded like nearly all of them—was:

"Right back at ya!"

She had such awesome friends.

With newfound excitement, Leal rushed throughout the halls, avoiding any sightlines from the Hexside Guards as she made her way to the front of the school. It was risky, she knew this, but class was about to let out regardless and she was too eager to let Luz know of the news. This was her chance to brighten her little sister's day! There wasn't a moment to spare, letting her sister know that there weren't any vain efforts taking place here. This time… they had a fighting chance. Because even if this potion didn't work, then they were a step closer to making one that did.

A step was better than nothing.

A step was better than waiting for the inevitable.

With a wide grin, Leal watched in excitement from her spot beside the bottom steps of the school as the ship came flying down from the sky. She hid in her spot and waited for the ship to land, watching carefully as Bump exited first. As soon as the principal ascended the steps, Leal leapt out and over toward the crowd of students exiting the ship. And then she saw the three!

"Luz, guys!" she called out to her sister and her friends, waving them to come down the ship. "Sunshine, I have news I—" she looked up from her messenger bag and raised a brow, realizing the three were still standing atop the ramp and smiling at each other. "Guys? You gonna come down?" No response. Leal furrowed her brows as she walked up the ship moving to place a hand on her sister—

Poof.

Before she could even touch her, the faint air of Illusion magic erupted before her. Leal had spent enough time around Edric and his sister to know an illusion popping. Her eyes widened in alarm as she backed away. Why weren't they on the ship? Why did they fake being on the ship? The only conclusion Leal could leap to was that they wanted to stay at the castle. But what reason would—

Leal's eyes widened once again as her breath caught.

"Why, I'm certain the only person capable of doing so flawlessly would be our Great Emperor!"

No.

By the Titan, her sister was not that desperate was she?

Her instincts told her only one thing: hurry.

With time left to think, Leal ran. Eda would know what to do. She would know what's going on. Or at the very least, Leal hoped she would. She barrelled through the forest, running as fast as she could back home. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was just some silly prank they were pulling on her or something. But the worry was still there. She wasn't even sure what she'd say to Eda. What her words would sound like without coming off as ridiculous or paranoid. She could just hope that Eda would trust in her concern, if only for a small amount.

As she neared the clearing of the Owl House, she was met with the sight of Gus and Willow standing outside with Eda marching out, Owlbert in hand. But the most alarming thing to her was the menacing floating staff in the middle of the clearing! She swore it looked familiar, but couldn't place where. Leaving no room for questions, Leal shouted, "Eda!"

The three stopped and turned to her. A mixture of fear crept up in their eyes and Leal cinched immediately: her hunch was right. Luz was at the Emperor's Castle and in trouble. But why were her friends here?

"Lealtad," Eda sternly said, "stay here. I'm gonna go get Luz."

She blinked at the whiplash of the woman's seriousness. "¿Oye? Care to fill me in before you make statements like that, Clawthorne?" she snapped.

The witch's firm look didn't diminish. "This is serious, Leal. Lilith has Luz and called me out to the Emperor's Castle."

She barely had time to process that information as Gus and Willow all but launched toward her.

"We're sorry!" Gus shouted.

"We tried to help, but then we got caught an-and Lilith was too strong!" Willow explained.

Leal shook her head, holding up her hand. "Calm down, Park. I'm sure you two did the best you could," she quickly said. She turned to Eda, not having it in her right now to console or even address the two as she noticed the woman was ready to hop on her staff. "Eda, you're not going without me!"

The woman growled as she whipped her head to Leal. "I am. Luz is in trouble and it's me Lilith's calling out. If I'm gonna handle my sister, I can't be focused on you and your sister."

Leal marched forward, grabbing Owlbert by the staff as she glared at Eda. "All the more reason to bring me! Lilith will be focused on you, I can go get Luz wherever she is. If you're too split between Luz and your sister, you'll slip."

Eda raised a brow. "You think throwing yourself into the mix is gonna help?"

"She's my sister," Lealtad pleaded. "You can't seriously be asking me to step back?"

Eda's face contorted with a wide range of emotions she wasn't even sure the woman herself was able to process. But evidently, she let out a sigh and turned toward Lilith's staff, yanking it fiercely from its levitation. "Alright, hop on." Lealtad obeyed without question, making sure to tuck away her camera into her bag as she traded her bat out. Once she was situated behind Eda, they took to the skies, with the witch shouting, "You kids head on home and stay out of trouble! No telling what else the Emperor's Coven will do to you two!"

And with that, they raced off.

Flying through the skies, Lealtad couldn't help but let her mind wander. She made a lot of sense and offered a lot of talk toward Eda just a moment ago, but she wasn't even entirely sure what she could do. If this was something that would blow into the scale of the Witch's Duel back at Covention, Leal would surely be caught up in it. But at the same time, that meant the two witches would be focused on each other. But… Leal's eyes couldn't help but fall down at the witch's back, as though she was burrowing past her and looking into the woman's gem. Eda's magic… she wasn't sure if she could even handle Lilith with her handicap as of now.

Her eyes glanced down to her bag, yet she held her tongue. Was now the best time to bring this up? Eda had just taken a bunch of elixir this morning. While it didn't exactly revert back her gem, it did repel the Owl Beast. On the chance this enhanced elixir didn't work, it might end up worsening or outright incapacitating Eda before her confrontation. If this new brew did work, it was supposed to also cool and relax Eda as well, calming her Owl Beast form too. Though the possibility of it having opposite effects might happen too. It wasn't the fact that she doubted Barcus' appraisal, but instead her worry laid with Eda herself.

Her emotions, where her head was at, it might also have its own effects on the enhanced elixir's outcomes.

Lealtad took a breath. No, now was not the time. She would give it to her later, after they rescued Luz and got back home.

"Hey," Eda spoke up, "We're nearing the castle." Leal's eyes drew toward the structure in the distance. Large spiked up bones and rocks, towers surrounding a chasm, and a knock off of a Bowser's Castle was all but staring at them right now. The actual castle itself rested in the centre of the chasm, with a long metal bridge connecting from the land. From their height, Leal could easily see the bone spikes down at the bottom of the ominous chasm as well as the plethora of scouts and guards stationed along the walls. Yet, she also noticed she and Eda were descending.

"Why are we landing here?" she asked.

"We're not," Eda murmured as she cast a spell. A poof of smoke around them, and Leal felt a weird sensation glisten over her. They maintained a low altitude as they neared the archway of bones. It was then Leal started to realize Eda had cast an illusion on them. "We're invisible," she said. "I wanna get a peek at the situation before I come flying in."

Credit to her cunning, the two did manage to fly near the archway of bones leading toward the bridge entrance. Upon a closer look, it was much more clear to Leal that Lilith was stood in the middle of the bridge. With how this all was orchestrated, it seemed like a showdown was exactly what Lilith had in mind. But, to her dismay, no Luz in sight. Pulling back behind a rock, Eda landed them quietly. "So what's the plan?" she asked her.

"With my sister there, she definitely has her sights on me. I'm gonna make it stay that way." Eda cast a fast spell circle, presumably creating an illusion over Leal, though the girl could hardly tell what changed herself. "I've only cloaked you now. I'm gonna fly in there, make a big entrance, and try to get Lilith to take the bait to lure out Luz. The second your sister is in our sights, I'm pouncing and driving Lilith away. You will sneak in and try to get her out."

Leal took a breath after processing the witch's plan. "But, how will we get away? Where do we run?"

"Just get off the bridge and back here," Eda answered. "I'll be back to pick you two up and we'll bounce."

Leal gulped. "Okay… Okay. I can do this."

Eda placed a hand on her shoulder. "Of course you can. Just stay low and make sure not to draw any attention to yourself. I'll handle the rest."

And before Leal could even wish her luck, or give her a hug, or do anything, the witch vanished in front of her. A thundering storm suddenly erupted a dozen metres ahead and Lealtad nearly yelped. When she peaked over to see what just happened, she gasped at the sight of Eda who was suddenly floating above the bridge, with sparks of what looked to be lighting erupting around her as she slowly levitated down. Swallowing her awe, Leal quickly rushed out from her spot and over to the bridge, carefully and quietly as possible.

A flash of lighting appeared and Leal glanced up in time to see Lilith's staff embedded into the wall of the castle.

"Sister!" Lilith called out elatedly, her palms open, "I see that you got my invitation to a Witch's Duel!"

Eda wasted no time casting a large spell circle and firing off bolts of lighting at her sister. Leal nearly stumbled over herself as she witnessed the barrage of blasts barreling down on the woman. Lilith herself seemed to be caught off by the attacks, ever so briefly, until she gathered herself just in time as Eda flew at her head on. Like a Dragon Ball Z fight, the Owl Lady flashed around Lilith, attacking from all sides. Lilith managed to dodge and block a couple before turning around and calling back her staff.

Whirling back around as soon as her palisman came into her hands, Lilith fired a blast of blue fire at Eda's airborne body. The yellow sparks around Eda's body broke off as she turned around and flew at Lilith, shouting, "Where is she?"

Lilith dropped her stand and held up her palm. "Easy now," she advised. Eda stopped dead in her tracks, hovering just a few feet away from Lilith with just a foot off the ground. "The human is safe," Lilith said as she twirled her staff and slammed it.

A second later, a large bright blue ball came zipping out from inside the castle and stopped just before Lilith. Leal gasped as she realized Luz was trapped inside it. "Eda!" she heard her sister call out. Acting quickly, Leal hurried from her spot and down near the bridge, stopping just short of the actual bridge itself. All Eda needed to do was pull Lilith away. Hopefully, Leal could crack that bubble with her bat.

"You can have her back, provided you do as I say," Lilith said as she stepped in front of Luz. "Renounce your wild ways and join the Emperor's Coven," she offered, "He can help heal your curse!"

Lealtad would've scoffed if it wouldn't have given away her position. Seriously? That witch thought it'd be as simple as that?

"Don't believe everything that bonehead tells you," she heard Eda grit out. "He doesn't want to heal me, he wants to control me!"

"Then I will take you in by force," Lilith challenged as she spun her staff and dropped into a fighting stance.

Eda landed on the bridge as she replied, "You've always looked down on me because I'm wild, but fortunately, that just made me work harder than you." She spun her staff and slammed it to the ground, summoning a massive amount of yellow energy around her. Leal almost fell back in shock from the amount of power she could feel resonating off the witch. The shape of this energy took the form of an owl while echoing hoot resonated off around them.

"Ay dios mío," Leal whispered in awe.

A flash appeared, then an echoing slam, and before Leal knew it Eda was suddenly where Lilith was. She was standing like she had just swung, and Leal tracked the witch's gaze and realized she had whacked Lilith to the sky. Another flash appeared as Lilith centred herself in the air, and Eda was behind her. What happened next was a series of flashes Lealtad couldn't hope to keep up with. She shook herself out of her stupor and ran from her spot. This was her chance!

Luz's gaze was affixed toward the battle above them, which meant she could probably break her out without Luz causing a fuss. With only a few feet between them, Leal readied her bat to swing and—

A huge blast of blue flames landed behind Luz, sending her straight toward Leal! Lealtad stumbled back, falling on her rear as she had no time to dodge her rapidly approaching sister. But then Eda landed before her, spinning her staff around and causing the metal boards beneath them to light up. Leal could barely process what was happening as the boards slipping out from under her caused her to fall once again. She looked over to her right to see the boards had shifted into a ramp that caught Luz and maneuvered her around the bridge, turning her back to where she was.

A flash of blue from the sky and Eda jumped out of the way, pointing her staff toward Leal as she leapt. A weird tug hooked around Leal's body and sent her back behind Eda. As she landed on her hands and feet, Leal looked up in time to see Lilith's explosive landing. Eda just saved her life from that smash. The exact problem she was worrying about was happening: she was in the way of their fight. But was worst was that Eda couldn't expose her presence either.

Regardless of it, Eda didn't seem deterred. She cast out another spell, summoning three Hooty-like beings that wrapped around Lilith and bounded her still. Eda began rapidly spinning her staff, as though she was charging it up with the crazy amount of electricity emanating off of it. But even before the blast could fire out, Luz was somehow in front of Lilith. Thankfully, Eda's reflexes were on point as she dispelled her attack and veered it off the bridge. She could hear Eda panting as she shouted, "Stop hiding behind Luz, you coward!"

Lilith took a breath of her own while she held a smug smirk. "It's sad to see you slowing down sister. Tell me, is it the curse?" she teased.

Leal poked her head out to the side, now able to see her sister's face. Luz's eyes were wide as she slammed her fists against the bubble, shouting something Lealtad couldn't really hear with all the banging she was doing.

"Maybe it is the curse," Eda tiredly replied before taking a breath. "But then how pathetic are you, that you can't best me at my worst!" she shouted while spinning her staff and conjuring dozens of spell circles with it.

The Hooty-like beings grabbed Luz and threw her back toward the castle. Leal wasn't sure how she was going to get around this mess, with Lilith putting a barrier between herself and Eda's seemingly endless barrages, until she felt something wrap around her waist. She glanced down and gasped as she realized another bird tube was wrapped around her. Before she could even brace herself, it yanked her over the ledge and under the bridge, thrusting her toward the other end. She grit her teeth as she fought back her urge to scream because Holy Hell!

And then with one throw, Lealtad was over the bridge and landing right before Luz.

She shook herself out of her shock and rushed toward her sister. This was the best chance to get her out! With one big swing, Leal attacked the bubble, slamming her bat against it and causing a shard of ice to spew out from her bat. Luz leapt back in shock. "Leal?" her sister exclaimed.

Her illusion must've come undone the second she made contact. "Hang on, hermana, I'm gonna get you out!" she shouted as she arched up another swing.

"No, you have to stop Eda—"

The swing connected with the bubble before Luz could finish, sparking another shard of ice into the bubble. It was cracking!

"Maybe you are stronger than me, but that made me work smarter! I became smart, crafty!"

Leal arched up once more.

"A lapdog for a tyrant!"

Another swing, another crack.

"You always thought you were better than me, that I could never beat you in anything!"

Just one more should do it!

"I am better than you!"

Lealtad smashed the bubble open, with her last ice glyph piercing through and shattering the bubble to pieces. Her sister fell to the ground, and Leal quickly moved to help her up to her feet. "C'mon, we gotta—"

"Then why were you so easy to curse!"

It was like time froze.

Anger, hate, shock, it all swelled up inside of Leal as she looked away from her sister and over to the witch just several yards away from her. Luz gasped in shock as she held onto Leal's arm. No way. No way this woman would do something so twisted to her younger sister. After all the years of chasing? The torment of this curse? Eda's own sister was the cause of it all? It was all her fault?

"A-And I have the power to remove it, if you would just let me explai—"

Eda released a cry of anger and the next thing Leal knew, a flash of yellow appeared and Eda was standing where Lilith was. A crash occurred behind them, and Leal glanced over to find Lilith falling from the wall onto the bridge. Okay, Eda was definitely pissed now. But seeing the front of her now, Leal's eyes widened as she noticed the gem was almost entirely dark. She was using way too much!

"Eda, stop! Your magic!" Luz shouted.

"Eda, she's free! We can go!" Leal pleaded.

Eda's glare remained as she huffed, her eyes burrowing past them and no doubt still locked onto Lilith.

Then a strange sensation overcame Leal's body. She couldn't move! She looked to Luz, who was also frozen still, as they both began to hover off the bridge. "Human," Lilith's icily spoke, "That orb was for your protection." Her eyes narrowed at Leal. "You stepped into this all on your own!"

Leal's breath escaped her as they were thrown to the side and dropped. She screamed in fear as she gripped onto her sister, watching the bridge fade into the distance. This was it. They were gonna fall—

"No!" she heard Eda shout. The witch's head peered over the edge as she cast a shaky spell circle, causing their descent to stop and their bodies to glow yellow. Eda saved them! They were so close to the bony spikes though. She had her hand up to the sky, as though she were pulling them up, but even with this distance Leal could see she was straining herself. Lealtad could feel Luz's grip on her hand tightening with each passing second. Eda's magic was about to give out.

Maybe if Eda let go they could land safely?

"Eda, stop! You'll run out of magic!" Luz shouted.

"Y-You can let go! We can land safely!" Leal shouted.

"It's my power, kids," Eda's voice echoed out, "And before you two showed up, I spent my whole life wasting it."

Any planning they could've had went out the window as Lilith hovered high above and cast another spell, igniting her hand with blue flame. Leal nearly shouted for the woman to watch her back, but the spell was already cast: and it was aimed at Eda. Though instead of hurting her, a giant hand came down and began pushing them downard, closer to the spikes. Eda's pull was straining against this new force—she was about to give.

"Eda, no, no, no!" her sister cried.

What could she do?

What could any of them do?

Leal's eyes frantically darted around, searching for anything.

Nothing.

She couldn't do anything.

"Alright Leal," she looked back at the witch. Her eyes were beginning to darken. "I-I think I'm gonna have to break our promise."

"No!" Leal choked out.

No, no, no.

Not like this.

"J-Just, let go, we can—"

"Listen to me!" Eda shouted, her voice cracking out as she fell to her knee, "I'm going away… and… I don't know, if I can bounce back this time. You two? Watch over King… remember to feed Hooty…"

"Please, no!" Luz sobbed.

"Eda…"

"And Luz, Leal?" Eda smiled, dropping to her knees completely. "Thank you for being in my life."

The last thing they heard was Eda's painful cry, and Owlbert's echoing hoot as a massive flash of light erupted where Eda was. Owlbert emerged from the blast and flew down at them. Despite herself, Leal gathered the sense to hold onto her sister tighter as Owlbert swopped down and caught them. The little palisman flew them up and onto the bridge, dropping them near Eda. And she was just lying there… nearly lifeless.

Luz took a step forward but Leal grabbed her shoulders. "No, Luz," she hollowly said, "she's gonna—"

"Argh!" the witch screamed. What followed next nearly deafened them, as Eda screeched, sending them back a foot or two. Her eyes opened and were pitch black. It took no time at all for her to shift into the Owl Beast. She was just Eda a moment ago… and now…

The gigantic owl stomped toward them. Leal fumbled into her messenger bag, reaching for a glyph but was too late. The Owl Beast pounced and Leal wrapped her arms around Luz, shielding her for—

Nothing.

They both looked in front of them, and Eda was bound in blue chains, now on the other end of the bridge with Lilith between them and her.

"Come along, sister," the woman dryly announced, "Now we can let the healing begin."

Healing?

Healing?

Sister?

What happened next blacked out from Leal's thoughts, as all she could see was red and that perra standing in front of them.

"You monster!" Luz shouted as she and Leal rushed at the witch.

"¡Eres una maldita demonio!" Leal screamed as she swung at Lilith, hitting her hand clean.

Lilith cried out as she dropped her staff, leaving Luz an opening to tackle her to the floor. Held down on the ground, Leal stepped forward and arched another swing, ready to smash the woman in the face. Lilith's eyes widened as she drew up a spell circle with her left hand and cast it, creating a wave of wind that threw her and Luz back at the entrance of the bridge. The two scrambled on their feet but stopped the second they realized Lilith managed to grab hold of Owlbert.

"Leave, humans!" she shouted as she clenched onto Owlbert. "Edalyn is finally with her family. Her real family." She slammed her staff, causing the bridge to retract. "Go back to your world," she said, "This one is ours."

And of all the audacity she ever had witnessed, this bitch smirked at them.

Lealtad screamed, emptying her lungs as she shook her bat at the witch as they entered the castle. "I'm not leaving until I bash your face in, you hear me!" The doors shut, and Leal could see the Coven Scouts inside beginning to scatter from the windows. That was it, huh? Some big show and they leave? She dug into her bag, pulling out a fog brew and throwing an overhand toss across the way. It clattered against the door, creating a mist of fog. "You all hear me?" she shouted. "I'm gonna smash every one of your faces in! We're not done here!"

"Leal," her sister's hoarse voice called out.

She startled at the hand that came down on her left grip on her bat. She looked to Luz, whose eyes were distant and long past. A look she hadn't seen in… a long, long time. The quivering lip, the shakiness of her hand—Leal's anger vanished, if only for a moment, as she embraced her sister with a hug. Now was not the time. They needed to go back home. They needed to regroup. She let out a breath as tucked her bat back into her bag. "Come on," she softly said, stepping in front of Luz as she crouched down. No more prompting needed, Luz fell onto her back and Leal grabbed her sister by the thighs, hoisting her up as she stood back up.

She carried her sister back home, heavy steps all the way through.

This wasn't over.

Not by a longshot.

---

A/N: This, and upcoming the last chap of season 1, consisted of many moments that I first thought up when I first made L&L. The interpretation of what Eda's sacrifice meant for Luz, to what it would mean to Leal. Working with Leal's unique outside POV, she takes a less drastic measure when it comes to solutions (in the grand scheme I mean, she skips CLASS for this). Having Leal separate for the field trip was a given in my mind, but this was where Healing and Potions were great plot devices. These were avenues that presented Leal with control—NOW she can save someone in her life, she has the power! The culmination of her friendships with Barcus and Viney (and everyone else), to her own studious hard work, and her care for Eda.

A big part of Leal's personality that is similar to Luz's, is being able to help the people she cares about. But as we've seen, Leal will work hard to do what she can.

It's definitely a mindset stemming from her trauma and grief. It's very obvious by now what Eda represents to Leal, and the idea of it (while it may not be something she's aware of/ready to admit) is enough to express she still has unresolved issues about Manny's death. The themes regarding Leal and Luz's character types are meant to contrast and compliment each other, but I think this chapter does a great job at balancing it. Or in other words, presents the opportunity to really SEE it.

Because of the show being finished, as I've stated before, I'm much more able to reference the aspects of Manny that existed in Leal's life. Before, I had marked out the scene where they learn of Eda's curse to be more of a shock and awe and much more subtle with Leal's reaction. But now, as I'm able to play with it more, I was able to give MORE depth to what Leal's mind was working with and the similarities she was reliving. I feel as though being heavy handed with it was a necessity because much like the show, this was the turning point of stakes for the main cast.

In Leal's eyes, she has to fight for Eda now, because she's still in reach.

A very few people had asked me why I decided to split season 1 into two parts, wondering if there was any significance. And now I can reveal: yeah, there was. We learn at the beginning of this chapter (and in canon) Eda's curse grows stronger the more magic she uses. The episode we learned the elixir doesn't work as effectively, was Escape of the Palisman or for L&L, chapter 11—the season 1b return. This is a subtle background thing that had been occurring throughout all the chapters from 11 to 18: the small instances of Eda using magic nonstop. Having chapter 11 begin Leal's slow love for the Isles while ALSO having a dark off-screen (for this fic) moment of learning someone is withholding information of their health, I felt like it was a great way to misdirect the tone going in.

Regarding the ending, I felt as though it wouldn't have been as natural to end up at the Owl House to RE-react to the moment. This is where the mediums/AUs have their differences. As an animated show, it makes sense to wallow in the aftermath of all that sadness, i.e., having Luz go back to the Owl House alone. Here, it would be exhaustive to extend the grief a bit just to match the show's moment of what already is its own sad scene. So, not really a spoiler, but the next chap will begin at that moment of their return, which is a great way to reopen the wound but also let the emotions sink back in for both you the readers and the characters themselves.

Finally, if you have questions regarding the enhanced elixir, it'll be brought up again in the season 1 finale chapter. But I will answer any questions I can in the comments!

---

Review Responses:

Guest: Aww, sweet!

---

As always, feel free to hit me up on tumblr if ya got asks! And leave a comment if you liked this chapter!

Next chapter update: December 6th, 2023

Stay safe, and stay lovely y'all.

Until next time,

- Bleh