A/N: Hello again. I'm back with my latest update for this fanfic, now moving on to episode two of The Owl House. I'm not entirely sure how many chapters this is going to take up, but like episode one I'm hoping it doesn't span more than three. I know a lot of other fanfic writers in this section have aimed to write up each episode as one long chapter, but I prefer to split it up wherever possible because it tends to give more leeway when it comes to descriptions and character interactions. Plus, the last thing I want to do is cram too many events into one chapter. I can get how difficult it is to follow when there's too much going on. So, do expect the introduction to the second episode to be rather uneventful in this chapter. I once again plan on focusing on this fanfic to get through episode two before once again taking a brief break to update another fanfic of mine. I feel that's the best way to do this so I don't leave you guys hanging for too long on cliffhangers. XD Thank you for favouriting, following, reviewing and reading this fanfic. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Chapter 4: Expectations vs Reality
For the inhabitants of the Boiling Isles, the night—though uneventful for most—quickly blended into day the moment dawn arrived. This also included the residents of the Owl House as the cottage and area surrounding it became bathed in a warm, yellow glow. At the back of the cottage which faced the Boiling Sea, one of the windows creaked open, moving back and forth on its hinges with the faint breeze that had caught it. Inside the room the window briefly exposed, Lizzie laid curled up under her blanket and on top of her mattress on her left side, quietly sleeping away with her head partially buried into the pillow and her chest slowly rising and falling underneath the covers.
She stayed that way until the sunlight slowly flooded into the room and the breeze managed to slip inside, lightly brushing across her face. Lizzie shuddered from the cool chill and blinked her eyes open, taking a moment to process her surroundings before she yawned loudly and stretched her arms above her head. The blonde rolled over onto her back as she prepared to sit up but she paused when she locked gazes with a familiar pair of hazel eyes above her belonging to none other than Luz, who was leaning forward on her knees with a wide smile.
"Good morning, roomie~!" Luz greeted in a cheery tone, causing Lizzie's brows to raise as her green eyes silently stared at the human with the occasional blink.
Her reaction would have been a lot more violent had the memories of yesterday not immediately returned to her as if she'd just been headbutted by Hooty. 'Ah, right. Eda brought a human home, made us storm into a prison with her, angered the warden, lost her head, and then escaped because we caused a prison riot. How could I forget that?'
Lizzie quickly took in Luz's grey tank top, blue shorts, and white socks (which she recalled was the human's sleepwear from last night) as Luz straightened her posture, giving the girl a look up and down before she made a response, her voice a little groggy.
"How long have you been there?"
"Since the crack of dawn," Luz replied without her smile faltering, causing Lizzie's eyes to narrow.
"… Why?"
"I couldn't sleep."
"No. I mean why were you watching me sleep?"
There was a brief pause as Luz looked to the ceiling, a finger placed to her chin. But soon she was focusing back on Lizzie and shrugging. "I guess I just wanted to make sure you were real. And you are!" Luz reached over and lightly poked Lizzie in the nose with a finger. "Boop!"
The blonde witch lightly flinched at the touch. "You didn't need to stare at me for that long to figure that out, though."
"I know. It's just…" Luz trailed off as she rubbed at her upper arm and stared at her lap, her voice going quiet. "I've never had a roommate before. I don't know what roommates typically do."
That stirred Lizzie from her tired state.
"Hold on." The blonde pushed herself up a bit with her elbows. "You've never had a roommate before?"
"No. Have you?"
"I have, actually." Lizzie turned to where King was snoozing away on the end of Luz's dark and light blue patterned… sleep cocoon? She didn't know what it was. She recalled the little demon already being there last night when she'd returned to the room. "And he's snoozing right over there."
Luz followed Lizzie's gaze with a forced blink. "King doesn't have his own bed?"
"Nope." Lizzie sat herself up properly with another yawn, which she partly muffled with her hand. "King sleeps anywhere he wants. Sometimes it's in the living room. Sometimes it's in here."
"What about with Eda?"
"Ha." Lizzie chuckled and rubbed her eyes. "He's not allowed anywhere near Eda's room. He can't be trusted."
"Aw…" Luz shuffled over to where King was and picked him up under his arms, the movement causing the little demon to open his eyes and make a small noise as he was lifted into the air and held at arm's length. "Who wouldn't trust this little cutie-pie?"
"I am not a 'cutie-pie'!" King replied defiantly, scowling when Luz let out a high-pitched squeal and hugged him against her chest.
"I can't believe this isn't a dream!" She jumped to her feet and glanced around the room with a wide grin on her face, remaining oblivious to King attempting to push himself out of her grip. "I'm actually in the Boiling Isles, training under a mentor as a witch's apprentice! I'm so excited!"
Lizzie watched Luz stomp and spin around on the spot with drooped eyes before the girl kissed King on the top of his head and put him down on all fours. 'How is this human a morning person?'
As King groaned and allowed his body to flop onto its front, Luz collected her folded clothes from her bag and tucked them under her arm. "I'll get out of your hair and change in the bathroom." Luz went to head to the door but stopped after a few seconds and turned to Lizzie with a frown, raising a finger. "Uh… Where—?"
"At the end of the hall to the left," Lizzie answered immediately, knowing Luz had no idea where the bathroom was. "It's a big purple door with a 'ladies' sign on it."
"And a sign for the King of Demons!" King loudly added from where he was lying.
"Which is just a piece of paper stuck to the door that he made himself."
King whipped his head back to Lizzie and narrowed his eyes. "Excuse me!"
The blonde witch smirked in reply, choosing not to say anything more. Luz smiled and held a thumb up as she turned to jog away. "Thanks, King, Liz!"
Lizzie's smirk faded when Luz disappeared round the doorframe, her eye twitching at King bursting out into loud laughter and rolling onto his back.
"Ha! She gave you a new nickname!"
"Ugh…" Lizzie grunted and ran a hand down her face, kicking her blanket away and standing up. "Why is it so difficult for any of you to call me Elisabeth?"
King didn't respond and continued to laugh with his paws on his stomach, causing Lizzie to huff and run a hand through her hair to smoothen out her bedhead. In doing so, she caught a glimpse of Luz's side of the room while King went about calming down.
Luz had clearly done her best to make it hers using what little belongings she'd brought along with her, including sticking a 'The Good Witch Azura' poster to the left wall, which matched the same cover that was on her book. It depicted a tan-skinned woman in a white gown with a large, white, pointy hat and flowing green hair striking a pose with a white staff, accompanied by a tiny black-furred creature that resembled a dog and an elderly woman who resembled Eda a little (which made Lizzie chuckle at the thought). But aside from the poster, Luz had also settled her 'bed' and bag up on the left side of the room, along with two specific objects on either side of it that caught Lizzie's attention amongst the four pillows Luz had. One of them was a rectangular device with two tiny black wings stuck to the sides of it that Lizzie didn't recognise, but the other one was a picture in a wooden frame placed upright beside the pillows, which the blonde witch was more drawn to.
Lizzie crouched and picked up the picture with one hand to get a better look of it, where she saw a teenager (posed with one eye closed and an open-mouthed smile) who was clearly Luz because of her familiar clothes and obvious resemblance to her current age. But it wasn't Luz who she focused on, but rather the human woman with her eyes closed and a wide grin who Luz was locked in a hug with. She held a very close resemblance to Luz, having her dark-brown hair styled like Luz's while tied in a bun. She wore a pair of thick, red glasses, a blue, short-sleeved top and long, matching trousers.
The blonde witch stroked her chin as she analysed the picture, the cogs already turning in her head. 'Huh. She looks a lot like the human. She's probably related to her, maybe even her mother.' Lizzie broke away to glance towards the doorway of the room, her eyes drooping a little. 'I wonder if she knows where the human is…'
"Ooooh! Are you snooping through Luz's stuff?" Lizzie turned her focus to King when he spoke, seeing him walking over to the rectangular device on the opposite side of the 'bed' to pick it up between his paws. "I call dibs on her human rectangle!"
"Nu-uh." Lizzie quickly reached over and snatched the item from King's paws, causing the little demon's shoulders to slump and his eyes to narrow.
"Hey!"
She put the picture and rectangular device down. "Leave her stuff alone, King. These items are probably important to her. We can't have them getting lost."
King stomped his foot and scowled. "You were messing with her things too!"
"I was looking at a picture. That's what they're for." Lizzie stood up and placed a hand to her hip, her other one pointing towards the door. "Now, would you please leave so I can get ready?"
"Fine," King said with an exaggerated sigh and allowed his arms and tail to hang close to the floor. "But this isn't over." He pointed at Luz's 'bed' as he dragged his feet to the door. "The sleep cocoon is officially my napping spot." King held his paw and chin up. "I declare it—as the mighty King of Demons—and I will be back for it!"
"Sure," Lizzie muttered sarcastically.
She waited until King had left and closed the door before flipping her hair behind her shoulders, closing her eyes. Her conversation with Eda last night replayed in her mind like a song on repeat, and she couldn't deny she still wasn't having mixed feelings towards Luz's presence here. However…
'It's like Eda said: keep a close eye on her and see how it goes. I mean… what's the worst that can happen?'
Hooty's high-pitched and muffled voice sounded close to where the bathroom was, forcing Lizzie to open her eyes.
"Mornin', Luz!"
Lizzie heard Luz's muffled scream, followed by a muffled cry of pain from Hooty and then a muffled apology from Luz.
"Ow! I just wanted to wish you a good morning!"
"Sorry, Hooty!"
Lizzie smacked her hand against her forehead.
'This is going to be harder than I thought…'
The kitchen area of the cottage was the only room on the first floor that was located towards the back of the Owl House. Amongst the usual items one would expect to find—such as a long, black range to the right of the kitchen entrance and a yellow fridge—there was further evidence of the Owl Lady's famous hoarding with various supplies and knickknacks lining a single shelf that stretched around the full length of the room, close to the high ceiling. Seated on a wooden stool with her back facing the arched window exposing the forest and cliff edge view, Lizzie (now dressed and cleaned up) downed the rest of her beverage from her mug while leaning her arms against the table, watching King (who was sat in a wooden highchair at the head) stabbing at a plate of yellow mush and eyeballs with a fork.
Since leaving her room, Lizzie had lost the whereabouts of Luz and had no idea where she currently was. She'd initially assumed the human had come down to look for something she could eat, but instead found King with his plate of mush and no sign of Eda (who she could guess was probably still sleeping, knowing the time). She wasn't concerned about Luz, though. She knew there was no way Luz would just wander out of the cottage without anyone accompanying her at this stage. She was sure she was either looking for Eda or trying to get her bearings of the rest of the home. So, in the meantime, Lizzie had eaten and continued her day like she normally would. Both Eda and Luz would show up soon, she thought.
"Hey, Lizzie?" Lizzie put her mug down as King addressed her, noticing he'd paused in his 'onslaught on the mush' and left the fork sticking into it. "Do you think humans eat the same things we do?"
"Why are you asking me? I'm no human expert."
"It's not like I can ask anyone else! Witches are the closest creatures on the Boiling Isles to resembling humans. Even if you have pointy ears."
Lizzie shook her head and rested her chin on her hand, twirling her foot around underneath the table. She realised King did make a good point. It was one of the things that had failed to cross her mind when she was lecturing Eda and Luz yesterday. "I wouldn't assume so. But I'm just going off her reactions to things that I've seen."
"Hm..." King hummed as he gripped his fork again and pulled it free from the mush, causing the food pile to slump towards the right. "Does that mean any snacks she gives us are gonna be some human garbage from the portal?"
Lizzie's eyes drooped. "You're still on that?"
"Yes!" King banged his tiny fists against the highchair. "I demand the human compensate me with treats for letting her stay here!"
"Don't you think you should be more concerned about whether she's going to be able to digest any of our food safely?"
King frowned for a few seconds and squinted before relaxing his expression and shovelling his fork into the mush. "Nah. If anything happens, she had a good run!"
Lizzie closed her eyes and turned away while pinching her nose, resisting the urge to throw her mug at King. 'That does make me wonder if the human can eat anything here. I should bring it up to Eda later, because we might have to collect food through the portal…' The blonde's eyes shot open then, her brows raising. 'Wait. Why am I suddenly sounding like a fretting parent?'
Footsteps approaching the kitchen brought Lizzie back to reality, seeing Eda finally enter the room still in her nightwear. Her eyes were partially open and her body was hanging forward a bit, with her arms dangling limply. The older witch was practically dragging her feet across the wooden floor, but neither King nor Lizzie showed any reaction to this. It was obvious to them that Eda was just tired. But Eda wasn't the only one to enter the kitchen. Luz followed closely behind the older witch with a faint frown on her face, yet Lizzie found her attention immediately drawn to the human's current attire. She had something black and cone-shaped on her head and was dressed in a short, black robe that Lizzie was sure belonged to Eda…
While Lizzie sat up straight and rubbed at both eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things, she heard Luz speak while Eda raised her left hand and beckoned with her left finger, causing a white cup with '30 & Flirty' printed onto it in yellow, blue and pink writing respectively to levitate through the doorway with a dim, golden light around it.
"Eda? Hello? Don't you remember me—? Ah!" Luz cried out and ducked her head when the cup briefly collided with the back of her head, making her stop to hold her 'hat' still while Eda continued to the fridge with her cup floating to her side so she could grip it with the handle.
'What is the human wearing? Is that Eda's bathrobe?'
The glow around the cup vanished as Luz straightened herself out along with her 'hat', speed-walking to catch up to Eda when she opened the fridge and bent down to pick up and pour some red liquid. "We started a prison riot and defeated the evil Warden Wrath yesterday? Does that ring a bell?"
Eda finished her business before standing up and turning around to face Luz, kicking the fridge door closed with the heel of her foot. "Kid, give me a moment, all right? I haven't even had my apple blood yet."
Luz's brow furrowed at this, her eyes darting between the cup and then back to Eda's face. "Don't you mean 'apple juice'?"
"… No."
The young girl watched Eda drag herself past her without any further acknowledgement, gaping slightly and creasing her brow further. She eventually turned to Lizzie and held her hands out towards Eda when the older witch sat herself on the side of the table and took a swig of her beverage. "What's going on? Was she cast with a spell that made her forget I exist?"
Lizzie waved Luz off with a hand and folded her arms against the table, ignoring King as he went about stabbing at his food again. "Eda's not a morning person. Just give her a minute." She gave Luz a quick look up and down, her brows raising. "By the way… what are you doing with Eda's bathrobe?"
"Bathrobe?" Luz blinked twice and glanced down at her attire, briefly pulling at the bottom of the robes. "I thought these were witchy clothes!"
Lizzie smiled slightly, her jaw twitching with the urge to laugh. "… Witchy clothes?"
Luz nodded and balled her hands into fists in front of her chest, giving the older witch a wide grin. "Yeah! Like Azura's! You know, with the flowing robes and the pointed hat!"
Eda finally snickered and lowered her beverage away from her mouth, turning to Luz while gripping the cup in both hands. Meanwhile, Lizzie saw King using his fork to lift his food off the plate and put it in his arms, only to hold it against his face and close an eye as he continued jabbing to break through the mush. "Kid, what you're wearing is nowhere near close to that fictional character. You're wrapped in a bathrobe and parading round with a dusty traffic cone on your head."
Luz's grin faded as she glanced up at the 'hat' on her head before carefully lifting it off and turning away from the table to blow on it. A large, black cloud of dust disappeared into the air as the orange cone with the white stripe was revealed, causing King to stop what he was doing to look at the scene. When Luz gaped at the sight, King started to snicker before breaking out into small laughter, while Lizzie's smile widened. She managed to spare poor Luz any further embarrassment on her behalf.
Lizzie reached over to pluck the traffic cone from the girl's hands. "Don't worry about it." She placed the cone beside her stool. "Eda's got a bad hoarding habit. Most of her storage cupboards on the second floor are filled with rubbish. Dust collects way too easily."
"Why were you wearing that stuff anyhow?" Eda asked before she went to take another swig of her beverage.
Luz bounced on the balls of her feet and moved closer to Eda's side, leaning forward with both hands placed on the table. "I wanted to be prepared for our magic lesson. I expected to start learning spells, or getting my magic staff, or being sent on a dangerous magical quest—"
Eda interrupted Luz with the raise of her hand, pulling her cup from her mouth to reveal an 'apple blood moustache' (a thin line of red liquid going across her upper lip). "Whoa there. You can't become a witch overnight. That's not how it works. Plus, we don't know if humans can learn magic."
Luz pouted and flattened her feet. "Isn't there anything you can teach me? There has to be something!"
The Owl Lady wiped the apple blood from her mouth with her sleeve and put her cup on the table, tapping her chin. "Well… you did mention a 'magic staff'." She stood up and placed a hand to her hip, smirking slightly. "Do you really want one?"
Luz's eyes widened as she placed her hands on her cheeks. "More than anything."
"Then let's give it a try." Eda placed her right hand behind her back and held out her left one towards the kitchen doorway, closing her eyes; Lizzie knew straight away what Eda was about to do and say, while Luz let out a quiet squeal and put her hands into fists in anticipation. "Magic staff, come to me!"
The group of four listened as loud crashing and glass breaking noises sounded from the hallway, prompting all heads to turn to the doorway with a blink, with Eda's eyes drooped and her posture slumped. After a few more seconds of shattering and banging, Eda's staff appeared down the hallway in a yellow glow stood upright. It practically flung itself towards its master, missing Eda's hand entirely and instead smacking her directly in the face.
"Ack! Yeesh!"
Eda cried out in surprise as the spell wore off and caused the staff to fall towards the floor, making her flail her hands about in a scramble to grab it while still in a daze from the hit. Luckily, the Owl Lady managed to recover quickly and catch it in her left hand just as it was inches from the floor, allowing her to stand up straight again and briefly spin the staff around her fingers. Lizzie giggled and quickly muffled it with her hand, but Eda still heard it and squinted, slamming the bottom of the staff on the wood.
"Quit the giggling, Redwood. It's early." Eda cleared her throat and returned her attention to Luz, gesturing her free hand to the staff. "Now, usually, witches earn their staffs through school. But since I am your teacher, we'll be taking a different approach."
Luz tilted her head and blinked. "And what's that?"
Eda crossed her arms behind her back, a sly smile appearing. "You'll have to work for it, as per our deal."
"Aw…" Luz crinkled her nose and frowned. But then her expression relaxed when she faced Lizzie. "Do you have a magic staff, Lizzie?"
The blonde witch shook her head. "No. I didn't get far enough in my education to make one."
Luz gave a wide blink. "Eda never taught you?"
Lizzie narrowed her eyes, while Eda raised a brow. "Why would Eda teach me?"
Luz looked between the two witches before gesturing her hands towards the Owl Lady. "Isn't she your teacher too?"
Lizzie and Eda blinked simultaneously, the pair clearly at a loss of words regarding Luz's question. Both witches stared at Luz in silence for a solid minute before they exchanged glances for another. And then… their stoic looks cracked.
Luz stepped back with wide eyes as Lizzie and Eda burst out into laughter, with the former hunching over the table and gripping her middle and the latter smacking her thigh and breaking her mirth with occasional snorts. The pair were laughing so hard, tears were welling in their eyes. During this time, Luz looked to King for a reasonable explanation, but the little demon wasn't paying attention anymore. He'd since abandoned his fork and had resorted to ripping at his food with his teeth, holding it in between his bare paws and growling like a dog.
Luz patiently waited until the two witches had calmed down before she spoke again.
"Did I say something funny?"
Eda wiped a loose tear away with her finger and took a deep breath, smiling widely at Luz. "Lizzie isn't my student. She works for me."
"What?!" Luz almost shouted, looking to Lizzie (who was also smiling and a little pink in the cheeks from her laughter) and then back to Eda with a slight gape. "But then why…?"
When the young girl trailed off, Eda turned towards the doorway and beckoned Luz with a finger. "Follow me." She crossed eyes with Lizzie when she started walking. "You too, Lizzie."
Luz and Lizzie watched Eda go, briefly exchanging glances and blinks as the older witch disappeared into the hallway. Yet soon both Luz and Lizzie did as they were instructed, with Luz jogging after Eda and Lizzie trailing a bit behind the younger human. Eda continued her explanations while leading the young girl and witch upstairs, after passing through the second floor and entering her room on the top floor.
"You see, I happen to run a few businesses on the Boiling Isles." She brought her staff to her front and gently patted the owl palisman with her palm. "On weekends, I sell rare human treasures that Owlbert here drags over from the Human Realm. But on most days"—The trio stopped beside a large, brown sack beside Eda's nest, which the Owl Lady pointed to with her staff as she turned to face Luz and Lizzie—"I sell homemade elixirs and potions."
"Ooooh," Luz said as she went to bend down and reach into the sack, only for Lizzie to lightly tap her arm to stop her.
"I wouldn't do that. There are some dangerous solutions in there. At least for you."
Luz glanced back with a slight squint. "How do you know that?"
Lizzie smirked slightly and tilted her head. "I made them."
The young teen's eyes widened for a few seconds, the memory of Lizzie using her potions on Warden Wrath yesterday immediately coming to mind. "You made them?"
Lizzie nodded, prompting Eda to move to the younger witch's side. "She sure did. I used to handle all the work." The blonde winced when Eda roughly smacked her on the shoulder, rubbing the area she hit with a hand. "But when Lizzie came along, she took over the making and selling so I could focus on my other business. She's a real lifesaver."
'I'd disagree. But there's no use arguing with her.'
"So…" Luz pointed to the sack on the floor. "… am I going to be taking over from Lizzie?"
"Of course not." She wrapped an arm around Lizzie's shoulders. "But you will be helping her with today's deliveries."
Lizzie turned to Eda with narrowed eyes. "She'll be what?"
Eda quickly waved off Lizzie's concerns with a hand. "Now, now. It's just to Bonesborough."
"That doesn't make it any better!"
"Bonesborough?" Luz repeated, prompting Eda to move away from her nest and bring Lizzie with her.
"Yes."
Luz followed them through a rectangle cutout on the side of Eda's room that led out to a short stone tower on the side of the house, which appeared to act as a balcony. It gave a wide view of the Boiling Sea and the bustling town that lay beyond it, surrounded partially by blood red trees and towering fang-like rocks on its outskirts. Eda pointed to it with the head of her staff, keeping her arm around Lizzie while the younger witch attempted to pry it away with her own hands.
"That is Bonesborough: the town you'll be making the deliveries to." Eda briefly paused when Luz approached the stone wall and put her hands on it so she could get a better look, seeing the young human's eyes wide with awe. "You'll need to be careful, though. I have business rivals down there who'd love to take my business down and you two along with it."
Luz perked up at this and swirled around, letting out a quiet gasp. "Wait. Does that mean…?"
Eda finally let Lizzie go and placed her hand to her hip, giving Luz a wide smirk and a wink. "You wanted a magical quest, kid? Well, now you've got one."
Lizzie's shoulders dropped as Luz squealed and bounced up and down on her feet, her eyes drooping as the human gave the Owl Lady a smile and a salute with her hand. "You can count on me, Miss Eda! I won't let you or Lizzie down!"
'You've got to be kidding me… It's like déjà vu.'
The two witches watched Luz dart off (probably to remove the bathrobe and eat something before their departure) with a bright smile on her face. The Owl Lady was about to follow Luz, but she stopped at catching Lizzie glaring at her with her hands on her hips, prompting Eda to raise a brow.
"… What?" When Lizzie didn't answer, Eda sighed and walked over to the stone wall, seating herself on it. "If you're gonna yell at me again, at least let me sit down first."
"You can't possibly think this is a good idea, Eda."
Eda tilted her head, placing both hands atop her staff. "Why?"
"Because of what happened yesterday." She held her arms out towards the entranceway, her eyes wide. "You're doing exactly what you did with the Conformatorium: lying and then dragging the human into a crazy scheme."
Eda scowled and raised a finger to wave it around. "First of all, I'm not lying. I made a deal with Luz and you know I never go back on those. And secondly," She jabbed her finger in the direction of the town ahead of them. "this isn't a crazy scheme. It's business as usual."
"For me." Lizzie shoved her hands into her own chest. "But not for the human. Bonesborough is filled with creatures who'll try and eat her! And what about your business rivals?"
Eda leaned back a bit and crossed her legs, her eyes drooping. "You know I was exaggerating to hype Luz up, right?"
"That doesn't mean it isn't true!" Lizzie gripped at the front of her hair, lowering her head. "I struggle to keep a low profile as is. But now I have the human to worry about too?" She tugged at her roots. "It's too much pressure!"
"It's not just going to be you looking out for Luz. King will come with you." She paused to lower her voice. "When I make him."
Lizzie clapped her hands together and narrowed her eyes at Eda, her tone laced with sarcasm. "Oh, great. Just what I need; a lazy demon who'll leave all the work to me and then need me to bail him out of trouble." She turned away and huffed, crossing her arms. "You might as well have Hooty throw him and the human into the Boiling Sea right now, because there's no way I can protect them and your stuff."
Eda quietly groaned and rubbed at her forehead before finally standing up and mumbling. "It's too early for me to be doing this..." The Owl Lady approached Lizzie, clenched her hand into a fist, and gently brought it down on top of the blonde's head. She remained unfazed by Lizzie crying out in surprise and gripping at her head as she went to speak at normal volume, taking on a scolding tone. "You need to quit being so hard on yourself, Redwood."
Lizzie faced Eda with a wide blink and raised brows, looking like someone had made an illusion of her right in front of her eyes. "W-Wait, what—?"
She was cut off when Eda leaned forward and squinted, jabbing an index finger into her chest and making Lizzie's eye twitch. "I get it. Babysitting a human was never part of our deal. But you're more than capable of keeping her out of trouble. Yesterday's incident was proof of that."
Lizzie's nose crinkled, her head tilting a little. "… How exactly?"
"Because aside from Luz, you were the reason we escaped the warden." Eda poked Lizzie harder in the chest than last time, making her wince and grip at it with her hand when the Owl Lady pulled away and put a hand to her hip. "Sure, you probably wouldn't have won that fight if I hadn't weakened him first."—Lizzie rolled her eyes—"But you still toughed it out long enough to disable his fire breath." The Owl Lady smirked when Lizzie's body stiffened and she acted like she'd been turned into a statue, prompting Eda to pat the blonde on the head. "So as far as I'm concerned, if you can do that, you can handle keeping the human and the goofball out of trouble. Besides, it's only for the time being. I just need to keep Luz busy until I can figure out how to teach her magic."
Lizzie's jaw twitched with the urge to object and stand her ground, and yet…
'There's no use arguing with a witch who has lived and experienced more than I probably ever will. And like she said, it's only a temporary arrangement. I could keep her safe for a little while.'
"All right," Lizzie said through a sigh, her body relaxing as she reached up to fix her hat. "I'll keep an eye on the human. But on one condition." The blonde witch closed the gap between her and Eda and held out her hand for a handshake, her brow furrowing. "If the human gets into serious trouble and I can't bail her out, you have to have her help you find human knickknacks through the portal instead."
"Huh." Eda stroked at her chin and glanced up in thought. "I suppose it would be useful to have an actual human sort through the garbage Owlbert finds…" After a moment or so, Eda nodded and reached her hand out to grip Lizzie's, having the pair of witches share a single, firm handshake. "You have a deal."
Lizzie returned the nod. "Thank you."
"Which reminds me…" Eda let go and walked off the balcony back into her room, with Lizzie jogging after her. "A new order has been added to the list of usual deliveries."
"A new order?" Lizzie followed Eda to her dresser with raised brows, where the Owl Lady picked up a small piece of paper. "Is this for one of your regulars?"
"No. I've taken an outside referral. So, after making your usual deliveries, you'll have one more place to visit." She faced Lizzie and handed her the paper, which the young witch took without complaint. "You shouldn't have any trouble finding it. It's along your usual route. But I've written the address down for you just in case."
"Since when did you take outside referrals?" Lizzie asked before focusing on the written address, with Eda lifting her arms a bit with a shrug.
"Since now. It's not something I usually do, but I figured it was worth it for extra business."
Lizzie squinted at the address in her hand before turning to Eda. "Are you sure this is the right address? Last I checked, no one lived in this area."
Eda scowled and placed her hands to her hip. "Hey, I don't pay you to ask questions, Redwood."
"… You don't pay me at all."
Eda's expression relaxed with a wide blink. "Oh, yeah."
Lizzie chuckled as she folded the paper up. "But I will give it a look."
"That's all I ask." Eda reached out a hand to quickly pat the younger witch on her closest shoulder. "Do be cautious, though. If you think something isn't right, get out of there as fast as you can." She smirked a little and winked. "After all, your gut seems to have a knack for sensing danger."
Lizzie knew Eda was referring to what happened with the warden yesterday, because even though she hadn't realised what was going on until the warden made himself known, she had still managed to pick up on signs that suggested there was something wrong. She couldn't argue with Eda on that note, either.
"Understood. Is that everything?"
"Pretty much." Eda jabbed a thumb towards the doorway. "Now, go get your stuff. I'll bring the sack to the living room."
With the note still in hand, Lizzie gave a stiff nod and quickly made her leave of the room, heading straight for the second floor to grab her things, with Eda slowly trailing behind her (once she'd grabbed the sack with one hand).
'My potion supply is still limited from yesterday. Luckily, I have backup vials stored in my room. Though, I will need to make sure I stock up again at some point.'
After putting on her cloak and newly packed satchel, Lizzie returned to the living room to find Luz (without the bathrobe and in the clothes she'd worn yesterday) and Eda waiting for her, along with King curled up on a large chest just under the left living room window and Hooty watching them with the front door wide open. King's eyes were closed, making Lizzie assume he was probably sleeping. Lizzie approached Eda and took the sack from her, carefully slinging it over her left shoulder while the latter addressed her.
"All right. Quick recap." Eda put her hands together under her chin. "What do I always tell you to do?"
Lizzie let an amused smile slip before responding, knowing it was advice Eda made her repeat any time she left the house like it was a mantra. "Never befriend a man in sandals."
Eda leaned forward and pointed her fingers at her, tilting her head slightly. "And…?"
"Measure twice, cut once."
The Owl Lady gave a proud smile and reached out to ruffle Lizzie's hair, the pair remaining unaware of Luz watching them with a slight frown. "Atta girl!"
Lizzie closed her eyes at the action until Eda moved away and focused her sights on King, whose collar she grabbed as she hauled him up from the chest. He let out a startled "Nyeh!" when he opened his eyes.
"King, help Lizzie make sure Luz doesn't get lost, eaten, or both."
Luz gulped and held a hand to her throat at the comment, but the trio didn't notice.
"What?!" King frowned and folded his arms as Eda made him face her. "Why do I have to go with them?!"
"Because you technically work for me too. You need to start pulling your weight around here." Eda gave a sly smile and put on a playful tone. "Unless you want to start paying for rent~…"
King responded with a quiet grumble, prompting Eda to take that as a sign of his surrender. With her smile widening, the Owl Lady released the little demon and dropped him into Luz's waiting arms. The young teen smiled down at King and tapped him on the nose with the tip of her finger. "Boop."
King didn't do anything aside from blink and narrow his eyes. It was clearly obvious he didn't appreciate this in the slightest.
Lizzie took that as her cue to finally walk out of the door with Luz close behind. "See you later, Eda."
"Not if I see you first." As the trio got a small distance away from the cottage, Eda moved closer to the door. "And remember," Lizzie stopped and looked back to see Eda leaning through the doorway, taking on a cheery smile and tone as she gave them a wave. "be back by nightfall or face mortal peril!"
Lizzie's and King's eyes drooped as the Owl Lady ducked back inside and the door to the Owl House swung shut, seeming unfazed by the older witch's words. But then there was Luz… who paled and looked to Lizzie with a forced laugh.
"She didn't really mean that." Luz's grin dropped. "Did she?"
The blonde was silent for a moment, choosing to study the nervous look that had taken over Luz's face. After a few more seconds of silence, though, she shook her head and replied with too much emphasis in her tone. "Of course not." She reached a hand over Luz's head and pulled her hood all the way up, causing the girl's shoulders to stiffen as she gasped in surprise. "But you should keep your hood on. Need to hide those ears just in case." Luz swallowed thickly as Lizzie continued walking on ahead, eventually moving to catch up when she spoke. "Let's go, human. It's a long walk to Bonesborough."
"Hoot! Have a nice trip!"
The trio heard Hooty's shout from behind, but none of them made the effort to turn around or respond. Not that Lizzie acknowledged Hooty much anyway.
The dense, medieval-like town of Bonesborough was one of few places on the Boiling Isles where its residents acted like regular citizens going about their daily lives. But to a human outsider like Luz, it was like she'd stepped into a dream she was currently struggling to wake up from. Or at least, that's what Lizzie thought as the trio began to enter its walls. The blonde witch knew very little about humans, yet it wasn't difficult for her to tell with Luz's reactions to everything just what was causing the poor girl some discomfort. That had been evident to her even on the way to Bonesborough.
While they'd been traversing through the forests and following the winding path, Luz had been badgering Lizzie with questions about their surroundings: why do the trees and ground look red instead of green? Why is the sky purple and not blue? What's this thing that keeps sucking on my elbow? Lizzie's answer to the first two questions had been "Because they are." But she hadn't answered the third one, instead proceeding to grab the sucking creature by its wings and tossing it elsewhere before it managed to get a drop of blood from poor Luz. Despite that last thing though, it became obvious to Lizzie that Luz wasn't afraid of much on the Boiling Isles at this point. Regarding their surroundings, she'd simply chalked it down to Luz having some familiarity with them from her own world, based on her questions. Regarding the elbow sucking creature however… she assumed Luz was starting to grow a bit accustomed to their peculiar realm.
Upon entering Bonesborough, Luz's questions had temporarily ceased in favour of taking in the unfamiliar surroundings, with her reactions being a little more mixed this time around depending on what Lizzie noticed Luz was looking at as they traversed the stone pathways that intersected the town's walls. When it came down to the stone and wooden houses that stretched as far as four-stories high, Luz didn't show much of a reaction and walked beside Lizzie like it was nothing. But when it involved the homes with monster-like architecture (teeth, hands, eyes, bones, and maybe even a mixture of them all in some cases) and the pair of large green arms that loomed over the town, the blonde witch found the girl either staring wide eyed out of interest or shoving herself as closely into the older witch's side as much as she could. And some of those latter reactions didn't just have anything to do with the buildings either…
By the time the trio got deeper into Bonesborough and rounded underneath a stone arch, Luz came to a stop and gaped at the sight of some of the town's residents moving through the busy area. Her eyes followed a giant, purple centipede with a human-like face crossing their path towards the right, along with a being with a transparent green, jelly body, an orange cap and a visible human brain with eyes pushing a 'Not Dog' cart towards the left.
"Whoa…" Luz muttered, only to flinch when she found herself getting poked in the forehead by King's paw (who was now settled on her shoulders).
"Hey, didn't anyone ever teach you it's rude to stare?"
"You're one to talk, King," Lizzie interjected as Luz shook her head and blinked to bring herself back to reality. "When you first saw the human, I bet you couldn't stop staring at her."
King frowned and pointed a paw at her accusingly. "You weren't there! You don't know what I did!"
"Sorry," Luz said, returning her gaze to her surroundings. "I can't help it. I've only ever seen places like this in my dreams or books!" She looked to Lizzie with her hands to her chest. "Am I really the only human here?"
"As far as we know," she responded sarcastically, but then she shook her head as she went to walk forward, with Luz following. "But technically… yes. Humans aren't known to inhabit the Boiling Isles."
"Wow!" Luz nearly gasped, frowning and holding her hands out in front of her. "Do you think there's a reason for that? Like, why am I here?"
Lizzie raised a brow at the young human, wondering for a moment if the girl had been hit with a 'forgetful spell' or something. "You're joking, right? You followed a tiny owl through the portal, remember?"
Luz swirled around to face Lizzie while walking backwards, quickly shaking her hands about. "No, no! I mean, why was I brought here? To the Boiling Isles!"
'Is she being serious right now?' "Again, you followed a tiny owl through the portal."
"Which is a sign that I, Luz Noceda, have a predetermined path of greatness!" She threw her hands above her head and grinned widely. "Just like Azura!"
Lizzie suddenly felt like slamming her head into the next wall they came across as she stared at this overexcited human, completely lost for words. Meanwhile, King jumped off Luz's shoulders and landed on Lizzie's instead, glancing at the sack on Lizzie's opposite shoulder. "Yeah… unless this 'Azura' had a path to greatness delivering boil cream, I don't think it's the same thing."
The blonde witch snickered at King's remark and ducked her head, but Luz only smiled and pointed her fingers at the little demon. "Today I'm delivering boil cream, but tomorrow?" Luz clasped her hands together and twirled on the spot. "I'll earn the respect of everyone on the Boiling Isles!"
Lizzie and King slowly turned to one another and exchanged looks before the pair started to laugh, the latter wrapping his arms around his middle while the former threw her head back.
"Ha! Good luck with that!" King said between his laughter, with Lizzie nodding and smiling as she calmed down.
"Yeah! You're standing on an isle that's a cesspool of despair!"
"These chumps aren't going to take you seriously!"
"For now," Luz replied and kept her smile up as she turned away to look at their surroundings, squinting and crouching with her hand above her eyes.
She scanned the area until she caught sight of the back of a creature with a brown horse's body below the waist and a human-like top half with pointed ears and shoulder-length brown hair. The creature was standing in front of a stall that appeared to be selling something that resembled pumpkins, but the sign underneath them read 'Gourdbeast Eggs: 2 for 1'. With eyes widened and brows raised, Luz perked up and started jogging over towards the creature. "Here: watch me turn this isle into a cesspool of delight!"
Upon realising what Luz was up to, Lizzie gasped and darted after the girl, with King watching the human go with raised brows from Lizzie's shoulder. "Human, wait!"
Luz slid up to the creature's side and put on the best charming smile she could, gently elbowing its closest arm while it held an 'egg' in its hands. The creature was quite tall, so Luz couldn't see its head clearly. "Hey there! What has four hooves and wants to buy a potion?" She pointed two fingers towards them as she went to answer her own question, looking up to where its head was. "This guy."
A loud and frustrated sigh came from behind the 'egg' as it was placed down, with Luz freezing in place and losing her smile when the creature faced her, revealing a pair of eyebrows, a pair of green eyes, and a wide mouth on its chest, just above its six-pack. "My eyes are down here," the creature responded with a glare.
Luz cried out and stumbled backwards just as Lizzie came up behind her, allowing the latter to grab her by the wrist and pull her away from the stall. Although she didn't do it without sending a glare back at the creature, who quickly turned around to continue its browsing.
"You can't just go walking up to people like that," Lizzie said sternly, briefly stopping when they were far enough from the stall to face Luz a little and scowl. "Eda wasn't kidding about her business rivals. Not to mention some creatures could still try and eat you if they sense you're human."
Luz rubbed at the back of her head with her free hand and furrowed her brow. "Sorry. I was only trying to help…"
Lizzie's expression softened at this, prompting the older witch to let out a small sigh before letting Luz go. "I know. But you need to be careful. We can't have people knowing you're a human, let alone working for the Owl Lady. So, please stick close to me and don't leave my side again, okay?" Luz nodded to that. "Thank you."
Lizzie resumed her walking, with Luz quickly moving to her side as King settled on Lizzie's shoulder.
"I can still help with the deliveries, right?" Luz asked.
"Yes." Lizzie paused to faintly frown before continuing. "Just as long as you don't touch anything aside from the packages."
Luz straightened herself out and smiled, giving a quick salute. "Roger, ma'am."
Lizzie's eyes drooped. "Please don't call me that."
"You've got it, Liz!"
"Or that."
Luz scratched her head and tilted it. "Uh… What about 'Lizzie'?"
"Try again."
King rubbed his paws together and let out a low chuckle. "How 'bout 'Beth'?"
Lizzie glared at the little demon on her shoulder. "Don't you start!"
This conversation continued as the trio walked further into Bonesborough, with the witch, demon, and human remaining unaware of the guard in the black uniform lingering in the shadows of a stall nearby, watching their retreating backs with narrowed eyes.
