Our Wild Family

by Littleladybaker

Ten years after their daughter went missing, Luz Noceda stumbled into the owl house and into their lives. But is there more to this human girl than meets the eye? Who IS Evan? And what exactly is the Day of Unity? Basically a retelling of the series but with a few twists and every one is a little bit younger. Amber is there as well but she doesn't have a character tag.

5. The Missing Melody

The Lost Melody

Amber smiled over at where King and Luz were learning about demons from one of King's books. Her parents had gone out shopping and trusted her to watch the younger two while she finished her schoolwork. The large book was spread over Luz's lap and she, oddly enough, had opted to keep her hood up for the past couple days. King was happily curled into her side, Francois tucked neatly in the crook of his arm.
*Ping!*
She conjured her scroll and checked the message from her parents. She hissed through her teeth.
"Hey, guys?" She turned, "Are all the windows closed? Zaza just messaged saying that there's a storm coming."
As if to accentuate her point a roll of thunder boomed through the house.
"I think so-"
"I love rain!" Luz shoved the book to the side and scrambled to her feet.
"I'll tell them you said that," Amber chuckled, "Wait. Luz? Where are you going?"
Luz stepped outside and twirled around under the darkening clouds.
"I love feeling the first few drops on the top of my head!"
"Luz!" Amber leapt to her feet and scrambled after her.
Eda and Raine rounded the corner running. Luz yelped as the boiling rain hit her skin.
"Everyone inside!" Eda ordered.
Raine lift their fingers to their lips and whistled. A blast of bard magic knocked both girls back into the house. Raine and Eda tumbled in only a moment later.
"Well, that was a close one." Eda gasped. "But the important thing is that neither of you got hurt."
Amber groaned from under Luz. Eda winced.
"Rainestorm, you mind patching up the kids while I put up the rain shield?"
"I'm on it."
Eda nodded and stepped back out into the rain. Raine helped Luz and Amber up, grabbed the first aid kit, and led them and King out onto the porch.
"It never occurred to me that the human realm would have different weather than us," Amber sat cross legged and took the salve her parent offered her.
"Me neither," Luz winced as Raine dabbed burn salve on her arms, "But I guess it makes sense. Boiling sea, boiling rain."
"Yeah, the weather here is a little more…hostile," Raine chuckled, applying another band aid.
"Boiling rain, gorenados, painbows!" Eda chirped.
"It's like a rainbow but looking at it turns you inside out!" King explained, "Oh! Oh! I want one too, Zaza!"
Raine rolled their eyes and applied a bright blue band aid on his snout. King squealed with delight.
"I wanna be like Eda, The Owl Lady when I grow up," Luz whispered, "She's so cool! The strongest witch on the Boiling Isles! Sassy! And sooo pretty!"
"You don't have to tell me that," Raine pulled her into their lap while they watched Eda.
"Hey, Eda? Why do they call you The Owl Lady?"
"Because I'm so wize," She fluffed her hair as she approached.
"Because she coughs up rat bones," Hooty insisted.
"I think it's because she gets distracted by shiny objects," King countered.
Raine and Amber burst into laughter.
"All of the above and more!" Amber offered.
Eda glared at her family before scooping up King and marching into the house, "The level of disrespect. From my own family!" She tossed him on the sofa and cracked her back. "Ugh. I guess that spell took more out of me than I thought."
Raine frowned, "Are you ok?"
"I will be. I just need some rest." She kissed their temple and flopped down next to King.
"Hey!" Luz lit up, "Since it's raining and we're stuck inside, you can teach me a spell!"
Eda groaned, "Kid, I just said I need to rest."
"Just a little one? Please?" Luz begged, "I'll record you on my phone so I can practice by myself!"
Eda sighed and sat up, "Fine. One spell."
"Yes!" Luz eagerly sat in front of her.
"Alright. Where do you think magic comes from?" Eda began.
"Um…From the heart?"
Eda blinked, "Actually, you're right!"
Luz lit up until Eda continued.
"A witch's magic comes from a sack of magic bile attached to their heart," She pulled a diagram from her hair.
"Cool!" Luz grinned, then deflated, "Wait. But can I even do magic if I don't have a magic bile sack?"
Eda shrugged, "I'm not sure what all will work for you to be completely honest."
*Thunk*
Amber lay her head on the table.
"You already know about the gifs Evan uses but, as far as we know, there are only the two." Eda continued, "We've never found any others."
Luz frowned. Eda shook her head.
"Well, we'll never know if we never try," She grinned, "So start recording, Kiddo. I'm going to show you how to make…light."
She twirled her finger and a ball of light appeared. Luz gaped up at it. Eda smiled and leaned back.
"Now you try. Remember to think about which spell you want to do. And, the larger the spell circle, the stronger the spell and the more energy it takes."
Luz nodded, focused, and drew the spell circle. A glowing violet ring wobbled into existence before collapsing. The room was deadly quiet.
"Evan can't do that…" Amber sat up.
Eda frowned, "Raine. Come see this."
"What happened?" They came back from where they had been putting away the groceries.
"Luz, do the spell again. Just a small one." Eda ordered.
Luz looked between the adults and formed another spell circle. It had the exact same result. Raine frowned and knelt in front of her.
"I-Is something wrong?" She asked, "I know I didn't do it right but–"
"Do you hurt anywhere?" Raine interrupted, "Especially your chest?"
Luz placed a hand against her chest and shook her head, "No. It tingled a little but it didn't hurt. Why?"
Raine wrinkled their nose and looked up at Eda. She nodded.
"Because it looks like bile sickness," They explained, "It's usually caused by an underdeveloped or atrophied bile sack."
"But I don't have a bile sack."
Raine nodded, "I know."
"Make her an appointment with Violet." Eda crossed her arms.
They looked over their shoulder at her, "Are you sure?"
"I trust, Vi. You know that." Eda didn't look up, brushing away feathers that hadn't been there a moment ago. "If there's something wrong with her heart then it needs to get checked out."
Raine nodded, "Alright. She needs her vaccines anyway."
Luz swallowed thickly, "I-I do have a heart murmur."
They both looked at her.
"They never really looked into it," She continued, "The doctors just said that my heart beat was a little off."
Eda growled and pressed her face into her hands. Raine turned and put a hand on her knee.
"It's ok. You didn't know." They insisted, "Amber, go get your mother's elixir from the bedroom."
She nodded and ran off. Luz scoot closer to Eda.
"It's really ok, Eda." She said, "I didn't say anything. I didn't even think to bring my medical records down."
Eda growled again and downed the potion Amber handed her. She took a deep breath and looked down at Luz.
"Sorry, Luz." She sighed, "I just…"
Raine squeezed her knee and nodded. She nodded again and tapped the stone on her chest.
"You see this?"
Luz nodded.
"It's called a bile monitor. I use it to help me manage my curse."
"Curse?" Luz tilted her head.
"Yeah. The real reason people call me the Owl Lady," Eda explained, "If my bile levels get too low or I get too stressed, I turn into the Owl Beast."
Luz looked down at her chest.
"Nobody likes having a curse but, as long as I take my elixir, it's manageable. It's also why I take heart conditions so seriously."
Luz nodded.
"So, until we get you an appointment with Healer Violet, no spell circles." Raine insisted.
Luz felt her chest tighten with despair but nodded nonetheless. Raine smiled and hugged her.
"How about this: You go upstairs and see if there's anything you want to put in your room," They offered, "And, after dinner, I'll teach you a bard spell."
Luz perked up instantly, "Really!?"
"Of course," Raine laughed, "Bard magic doesn't tend to put as much strain on the heart so it should be fine. Especially if you use one of my palistrum instruments."
"Yes! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She tackled them with a hug.
Raine laughed while Amber grabbed Luz around the middle.
"Come on! I think there's some stuff from decorating my room left!"
"Kay!" Luz turned, "You coming, King?"
"Nuh uh. I'm taking a nap," He curled closer to Eda.
"Alright. Suit yourself."
The girls ran up the stairs. Eda rolled her eyes and lay on the sofa, pulling King against her chest. Raine lay a blanket over them both before returning to the kitchen.
LLB
"Now, if I remember correctly, I put the star stickers in…" Amber opened the closet door, "This closet."
Luz blinked at yet another closet full of stuff. Amber grinned and pulled up a box.
"You guys have a lot of junk," Luz pulled a creepy old bobble head from the box.
"A lot of it is stuff for Mama's stall at the market," Amber explained, "Zaza tried to organize it once but that didn't last long. As long as the living area is clear and they can find what they need, they're happy."
"Then why can't we find the stickers?"
"I don't know. We should have found them by now." Amber sighed, "Maybe Hooty ate them."
Luz chuckled and moved on to another box. It was full of photos.
"Oh! Mysterious backstory!"
"What?" Amber crawled over, "Oh! Dang! That's where those went."
Luz pulled out a handful of pictures and began flipping through them.
"Eda was a redhead!?" She thrust one at Amber.
"She sure was," Amber took the photo, "Hey! That was the day they brought me home!"
She stuffed it into her pocket and flipped through her own handful of photos. Most were duplicates. She put them to the side and grabbed another handful.
"Oh! Luz, look at this one!"
Luz put down her own handful to look at the photo. Six people sat on a hill. Raine held a little Amber in their lap, shielding her from the popcorn Eda was throwing at them. On Eda's other side was a woman with long black hair and a tall man with his long dreadlocks pulled up in a neat bun. She was leaning back against his side even as she scolded Eda. He was laughing as he held a baby Evan in his free arm.
"Are those Evan's parents?" she asked.
"Yup! That's Aunt Lily and Uncle Darius." Amber said, "This was Evan's first Bonesborough Brawl!"
"I don't know what that is but it sounds amazing!" Luz took the photo and put it in her pocket, "And like perfect blackmail material."
Amber laughed and grabbed another handful. Luz sat back and continued to flip through the photos in her hand. Suddenly, she sat up, eyes wide.
"Luz?" Amber sat up, "What's wrong?"
"Who is this?" She thrust the photo under the other girl's nose.
Amber's frown deepened. It was of her family all sitting in the nest together. She was grinning wildly, sandwiched between Eda and Raine. They were both supporting her arms as she held a tiny baby with mint green hair.
"Melody. My baby sister." She held the photo reverently. "She…went missing a long time ago."
"Eda and Raine had a baby?"
"Mhm," Amber smiled sadly, "You two probably would have gotten along pretty well. She'd be about your age now."
Luz started shaking. She reached up to tug at her lengthening hair.
"It's alright, Luz." Amber continued, reaching over to ruffle her hair under the hood, "You didn't know. Just don't mention it…to…"
She had knocked the hood off. Luz was staring up at her in horror. The roots of her dark brown hair was bright mint green.
"Luz…Is that your natural hair color?"
Luz yanked her hood back down, "I'm sorry. I-I didn't have any hair dye so I tried to keep it covered. I don't want to make anyone upset."
"It's alright," Amber was still staring at her, "So, is that why you asked Zaza if their hair color was natural?"
Luz nodded, "I figured if their hair was natural then there must be others on the Boiling Isles. Humans don't have green hair so my parents must be here. But I didn't know about Melody. I'm sorry. I didn't want to make anyone upset."
Amber shook her head, "I don't think they'd be mad. I think they'd be very happy. Luz…I think you are Melody."
Luz stared up at her. Then she looked down at the photo.
"I-I can't be." She insisted, "I mean, what are the odds of that?!"
"Pretty good," Amber sat back, "You said your Tia Camela found you in the woods? The portal door opens up to a forest. And Mama and Zaza are the only ones on the Boiling Isles with access to the door."
The color drained from Luz's cheeks and she started shaking again. Tears filled her eyes as she started rocking, arms wrapped around herself. Amber sat up.
"Uh oh. Ok. Let's take this somewhere else." She hauled Luz to her feet.
Without another word, she dragged her down the hall, down the stairs, and past the living room. Eda and King were still napping on the sofa. They ran through the kitchen where Raine was just starting to get dinner ready.
"Where do you two think you're going?" They didn't even look over their shoulder.
"I'm just taking Luz up to see the tower. It's covered by the shield."
"M'kay. Be careful."
Camber continued to drag Luz along. Up the spiral staircase of the tower. Then, she pushed her down onto a cushion, wrapped her in a blanket, and sat on a pillow in front of her.
"Hey. Hey. It's ok. Follow me. Ok?
Take a deep breath, Puff out your chest. It's gonna be ok.
If it's loud in your mind, just take your time. It's gonna be ok."
She repeated the song again until Luz giggled weakly and sang along. She kept rocking but she wasn't panicking anymore and she was able to look back at Amber. She looked around the tower. Pillows, blankets, and even a few of King's plushies were scattered around. A low table was covered in craft supplies and sheet music though there were no instruments lying around. Sketches of different animals, both from the human realm and the demon realm, and demons covered the rough stone walls.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have freaked out like that." She squeaked.
"No. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overwhelm you," Amber shook her head, "I guess I just got excited. Melody was my baby sister and the idea that she's not just ok but has come back was just…"
Luz nodded and shuffled under her blanket for a moment, "Do you really think I'm Melody?"
"With my whole hearts." Amber insisted.
"Did she have any other identifying features? A birthmark or anything?"
Amber shook her head, "Not that I can remember. Do you have any of your baby pictures? If we could put them side by side then maybe that would be enough proof."
"I have some copies on my phone," Luz pulled it out of her pocket and scrolled through, "But Tia Camela has all the originals. Here. This was me in the hospital the day she found me."
Amber took the phone and immediately lit up brighter than the stars above, "That's Melody's blanket!" She fished around in her own pocket for the photo of Melody. "See, she's wrapped in it here."
Luz frowned, "I'm not sure that would be enough. I mean, every foster home I was ever in told me it was probably just another blanket anyone could purchase at any baby store."
"Nope!" Amber's smile didn't waver, "Not possible. Uncle Darius made that blanket special for Melody. It's one of a kind. He made one for each of us. Mine is pink with black bats; Evan's is purple with white ravens; even King has a blue one with gold stars. Do you still have it?"
"Yeah. It's in the bedroom. It and Trix are the only things they never took from me."
Amber nodded, "Perfect." She looked back and forth from the photo to Luz a few times. "But why are your ears round now? They're pointed in the baby picture."
Luz hung her head and covered her ears, "One of the homes…They clipped my ears when I was two. Tia Camela was livid. I think that was the only time I've ever heard her raise her voice."
A look of horror washed over Amber's face.
"She pulled me out of that home as soon as she found out! But the damage was already done and they couldn't fix it."
Amber nodded, "Good."
Luz shuffled in her seat and took her phone back, "We can't tell them."
"What! Why not!" Amber scrambled to her knees. "Mama and Zaza have been looking for you for ten years! They'll be ecstatic!"
"Because…I can't. I can't even do magic now!"
" Neither can Evan. That never stopped him or made any of us think any less of him." Amber reminded her, "Besides, Zaza said that it looked like bile sickness. We have potions for that. Your magic will get stronger."
"Then can we wait until then?" Luz begged, "I just…I'm not ready. Not yet."
Amber pursed her lips but, eventually, nodded. "Alright. Not yet. After all, we have all summer before you're expected back in the human realm. And, whenever you are ready, we'll tell them together."
Luz smiled and nodded, "Ok. Together."
Amber smiled and flopped back, looking up at the stars that shone through the rain clouds. Luz shuffled until she was lying next to her sister and covered them both with the blanket. (1)
"Hmm. Do you ever play that game where you try to find silly constellations in the stars?"
Amber chuckled, "Yeah. It's been a while since I've played, though."
They looked around for a moment before Amber pointed, "Look. That one looks like King's collar."
Luz nodded, "Yeah! And that one looks like Raine's viola."
"I found Owlbert!" Amber pointed at another.
"That one looks like one of Evan's glifs."
Amber furrowed her eyebrows, "Where?"
"Right there," Luz sat up and grabbed a pad of paper and a colored pencil off of the low table, "It looks like this."
She drew the round shape as Amber sat up next to her. She tapped the picture and gasped as it came to life. A brilliant, glowing gold orb, just like Eda's earlier. Amber gaped at the witch light for a moment before grabbing Luz's arm and dragging her back down from the tower.
"Amber? Where-" Raine lept out of their way as Amber dragged Luz back through the kitchen and into the living room.
"What's going on?" Eda grumbled as she sat up, arm still wrapped around King.
"Luz, show Mama and Zaza what you found!" Amber pranced from foot to foot.
Luz blinked at her in horror until Amber rolled her eyes.
"In the tower, Dingus."
"Oh." Luz nodded and drew another light glif on the paper in her hand.
As the witch light drifted towards the roof, Raine and Eda watched in awe. Then Raine lunged forward and lifted Luz above their head.
"That's amazing, Luz!"
"Wha-"
"Baby's first spell," Eda chuckled, resting her chin on her free hand.
"But I've used Evan's glifs before," Luz reminded them.
"True," Raine let her back on her feet but continued to hold her close, "But you found this one. Just as Evan's first spell was the plant glif."
"After all," Eda lay back down, "We didn't count the bard magic Amber lets off when she snores."
"Hey!"
Luz shuffled and smiled up at Raine, "Do I still get to learn a bard spell after dinner?"
"Absolutely," They agreed, "Do you want to help me with dinner?"
"Depends on what we're having. I don't know how helpful I'll be."
Amber lay on the sofa with her mother and brother while Raine led Luz into the kitchen.
"I was thinking we could have enchiladas. My nobi's family recipe."
Luz grinned, "I can do that! I've helped Tia Camela make enchiladas a bunch of times!"

LLB

1) This scene may or may not be based on the scene in Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch has a Glitch where Lilo and Nani do the same thing after a big fight.

This will probably be the last chapter until December. I do NaNoWriMo and that's going to take up all my writing time in November.