"So this is the Human Realm…" Lilith mused as she walked down the sidewalk, Eda and Amity following behind her.
"Yep," said Eda. "Okay, so a few things to watch out for; firstly, cops. They're basically like the guards back home, but a tad more competent and occasionally a bit nicer. They'll typically ignore you if you don't mess with them, but even then they're not really prepared to deal with magic."
Lilith frowned. "But only one of us has that now."
"Which is why I'm telling you to be careful. Now, the next thing you need to watch out for is CAR!"
"Wait, what's ca-" A red light flashed out of the corner of Lilith's eye, and she turned just in time to see one of those large metal carts lurch to a stop only a few feet away. A door on the left side swung open and a dark-skinned woman in blue clothes stepped out.
"Oh dios mio, are you okay?" the woman asked.
"Uh… yeah, I'm… fine," Lilith supplied.
"I am so sorry, I should have been paying more attention."
"It's fine, I should have noticed your… car?" Lilith shot a quick glance to Eda, who gave a subtle nod.
"Right… Anyway, I haven't seen you around before."
"Yep!" Eda said. "Just moved in a couple days ago, actually."
"Oh, well, welcome to the Neighborhood. I'm Camila, by the way; Camila Noceda." Camila extended her hand, which Eda shook.
"Nice to meet you Camila, I'm M-" Actually, if they were going to be spending most of their time here she may as well start using her real name. "Edalyn. Edalyn Clawthorne. But you can call me Eda. And the woman you almost ran over is my sister, Lilith."
Camila blushed in embarrassment. "Yeah… again, sorry about that." She then looked at Amity. "Anyways, is this your daughter?"
Eda shrugged. "Nah; we're just taking care of her 'cause she just doesn't have anywhere else to go."
"I see…" Something flashed across Camila's face as she said that, but it was gone just as fast. "So what's your name?"
"It's Amity," the teen answered.
"Well, nice to meet you Amity. I'll have to introduce you to my daughter when she gets back from camp, she's about your age too." Camila took one last look at the group before saying "Well it was nice meeting you three, but I need to go to work now. I'll be sure to give you a proper welcome next time."
The three witches watched as she got back in her car before backing out into the street and driving off. "Well, she was nice," Eda said. "You know, for someone who almost ran you over. Although I've wanted to do that a few times as well, so I can't really blame her. Anyways, as I was saying, cars; watch out for them…"
The next time they met Camila was as she was coming home from work a few days later. As she pulled into her driveway she noticed two familiar a familiar pair, and went out to greet them after turning off her engine. "Good afternoon."
"Hey," said Eda. "Nice to meet you again." Behind her, Lilith nodded.
"Actually, I was hoping to run into you again, could you just wait here a moment?" After saying that Camila went inside before returning with a plate of cookies. "Here, some of the neighbors and I made these for you. Just as a 'welcome to the neighborhood' type of thing."
Lilith hummed. "Well I appreciate the thought, but I couldn't possibly-"
"Speak for yourself," Eda interrupted, taking the plate out of Camila's hands. "Thanks Cammy."
"Uh… you're welcome. By the way, where's… Amity? Did I get that right?"
"Yep, and she's just resting right now. It's been a long day… moving things."
"Ah. Well, if you ever need a hand with something, just let me know."
"Thanks for the offer, but I think we've got it handled." Best not let any humans see any of the stuff they brought over with them. But come to think of it… "Actually, I don't suppose you have any 'powerful tools' we could borrow for a bit." Unfortunately in their haste to bring over whatever they'd need on a daily basis, they forgot to bring a few things they wouldn't use on a daily basis. It didn't help that she still expected to have her magic when she first wrote the list of things she might need.
"I… wouldn't exactly call them 'powerful,' but I have a few things I could probably last a few days without…"
"Do you mind if we have a look?"
"Not at all! Here, why don't you come in?"
The two witches took her up on her offer and followed her in. Inside, Eda notice several pictures of a young girl. "Is that your daughter?" she asked.
"One of them," Camila answered.
Lilith frowned. "Wait, I thought you said you only had one?"
Camila froze for a moment. "…It's… complicated," she eventually replied. "Anyways, this way."
Camila was taking out the trash when she saw two women coming out of the woods. Her eyes narrowed as they noticed her and approached. "Hey Cammy," Eda greeted.
"Eda," Camila said coldly, before glancing at the other sister. "Lilith."
Eda frowned. "Is… something wrong?"
"…No." Camila then turned to Lilith. "By the way, I wanted to apologize for Vee's behavior yesterday. She just gets a bit shy around strangers." She shrugged. "Though considering what she's been through, I can't really blame her."
As she was saying this, Eda looked over to the house and saw two faces staring back through the window. They both ducked away upon realizing they were noticed, but not before Eda recognized both of them from a few days ago.
"Apology accepted," Lilith said. "Did… something happen to her?"
Camila's face hardened. "You could say that… But it doesn't matter, she's with me now and anyone who wants to hurt her will have to go through me."
Lilith frowned as she remembered her own misguided attempts to protect her sister. "Yeah… I can understand that…"
Camila grinned and leaned forward, which made Lilith quite uncomfortable for some reason. "Glad we're in agreement." Upon saying that she turned and walked up to her house without another word.
As soon as the door closed behind her, Lilith finally allowed herself to shudder. Eda, meanwhile was just confused. "What was that about?"
"I have no idea…" Lilith admitted. "But… I think we should go now."
AN: Surprise! Honestly, I didn't even plan to write this at first, but I just loved that last scene too much to not. And as it turns out the word count is just barely over what I consider to qualify as a full chapter, so I feel completely justified putting it here instead of Short Trips, hurray!