A/N: Whew. This was quite a challenge to write. I would have gotten this chapter done sooner, but I kept rewriting this chapter and changing my mind about what I actually wanted to show and tell. But with the airing of Hollow Mind, Edge of the World and, most recently, Labyrinth Runners, it helped to put things into perspective. I know a lot of you are probably shook up after the last trio of episodes (I know I was, even though the fandom had pretty much worked most of the stuff in Hollow Mind out), and while we aren't quite there yet, I can safely say that I have some good ideas for those episodes when I do eventually reach them. But for now, I hope the continuation of episode ten is going to be enough.

When we last left off, Lizzie was in the process of investigating what was going on with Eda's curse, while our trio of misfits went to the slayground. I know there were some of you who were expecting Lizzie to have followed them to the slayground, but given her character and her current circumstances, it made more sense for Lizzie to stay put and do her own sleuthing. I did this on purpose, as when you get into this chapter, you will see that Lizzie goes off on her own little mission, which was necessary to allow... certain canon events to continue as planned. Also, for those who are curious, you will finally get to see a certain palisman make their appearance again, and even get a glimpse of another twist involving a certain relative of Lizzie's. I wanted to make sure that while Lizzie couldn't be involved in Plot A, she still got her own 'parallel' that'll feed nicely into Chapter 30, especially as it comes with an added twist. Plus, if any of you recall Lizzie's circumstances and knows what happens to Eda during Plot B of this episode, you might be able to guess the other reason I purposely chose this plot for Lizzie to be involved in...~

Thank you again to everyone who has been favouriting, following, reviewing and reading this fanfic. Your continued support is greatly appreciated. I hope the revelations and twists that come from this chapter meet your expectations. I'll now dive into answering some reviews.

KaseyKay17: I've answered some of what you've said above; however, I will say that while you won't get to see King's squeak of rage here, it will still appear next chapter. I'm not stealing King's thunder for the very thing that helps Eda. I wish I could have included Lizzie in the interactions at the slayground, but in terms of her character, it didn't make sense for her to be out in the open. And there really wasn't much of an excuse for her to be there at all, hence why I took a more creative approach for some of the revelations made during this episode. And regarding the fox palisman... you will find out in this chapter and the next. I hope you like it. ^^


Chapter 29: A Cry for Help

The moment after Eda, Luz and King had departed for the slayground, the young witch did what she needed to do for the morning before returning to her room to retrieve the elixir logbook (which she and Luz had agreed to keep locked away inside the chest with the key kept somewhere safe, just as a precaution). While Lizzie did spare a furrowed glance towards her potion equipment with the urge to scratch the insatiable itch that was finally completing her healing potion, she knew she had to take advantage of the peace and quiet to focus on Eda's wellbeing. As much as she wanted to deny it, what she'd witnessed last night had left Lizzie shaken and questioning things, even with Eda's reassurances. She truly wanted to believe her technical employer, yet she couldn't ignore that gnawing feeling in her gut, the one that indicated that something just wasn't right. For her own peace of mind and for the sake of the others in the cottage, she knew she had to use this time to ensure the Owl Lady was okay, even if there was the risk of the residential house demon sticking his beak into her business. Thankfully, Hooty had decided to remain in the front door for the time, so Lizzie was granted the time to think while avoiding making her already faint headache worse.

That is… from physical noise. The same couldn't be said about the mental storm that was about to brew inside her head.

Under the light of the late morning sun blaring through the kitchen window, Lizzie sat at the head of the table closest to the doorway, resting the side of her face against her palm. Open in front of her was a small brown leathered book with a strap and buckle attached to the book's cover, with its pages detailing dates and numbers related to Eda's elixir supply for each day. The blonde witch drummed her fingers against the surface of the table as her green eyes reviewed the difference in the numbers for each date, only stopping when she needed to flick to the next page. That soon stopped when Lizzie had come across an anomaly in one of the entries from a couple of weeks ago, where she noticed the number of missing potions was two instead of one.

'What the…?' Lizzie straightened out her back and sat up in her seat, placing a hand to her forehead at the throbbing of her headache beginning to intensify at her discovery. 'There was another case where Eda used more than one elixir before last night?!' The blonde bent her head towards the pages and squinted, allowing her eyes to scan the numbers again while keeping her fringe out of her face. 'Wait, let me check it again. I am tired. I need to make sure this is accurate.'

But, of course, Lizzie's efforts proved to be futile. Even with her eyes close to the page and her finger trailing down each entry made, the numbers still added up to what she'd originally guessed.

The blonde witch released a loud groan and leaned back a bit on the stool, covering her hands over her eyes.

'Dear, Titan! How did Luz and I miss this?!' Her shoulders slumped as she dared to peek past the gaps in her fingers, her gaze focused on the ceiling. 'Then again… it wasn't a frequent occurrence. We must have thought it was just a one-off or that we miscounted.'

Lizzie sat straight again and placed her fingers to her temples, giving them a rub when she closed her eyes and huffed.

'I was hoping Eda didn't know about this, but now I'm starting to wonder if she lied to me last night. As a witch with knowledge on potions and elixirs, I know the possibility of them wearing off starts when more than the recommended dose is needed. And given Eda is a potionist herself, surely she would have suspected the same thing, right?' Lizzie frowned and scratched at her chin. 'Although… knowing Eda, wouldn't she have also believed her own reasoning? Maybe she thought the same thing and assumed she was having a bad day…?'

After a few moments of sitting still, Lizzie growled and viciously swiped her hands through the front of her hair, causing her fringe to stick up. She was tempted to smack her face into the table, but she naturally refrained from doing so in favour of hiding her face in her hands.

'Come on, Elisabeth. Stop being so paranoid. Eda wouldn't lie to you again, not after what happened that one night during the boiling rain.'

She took this opportunity to smoothen out her hair again with her fingers, feeling a sense of déjà vu slowly crawling up in the form of a slight lump poking at her throat. But surprisingly, it didn't come from the night they'd discovered Eda's curse, but instead from the first night Luz stayed with them. As much as Lizzie wanted to deny it, these feelings of confusion and frustration were so similar to back then, when she'd been concerned for Luz and what would become of her attempting to follow what she'd perceived to be a silly dream at the time. Eda's words had stuck with Lizzie since she'd spoken to the Owl Lady, yet she recalled one specific thing she said that definitely seemed to resonate with this situation.

'That's a hurdle we'll cross when we get to it. For now, let's just see where this goes. She should be fine as long as we keep a close eye on her.'

'Dang it, Eda!' Lizzie's mouth twisted as she brought her hands away and plopped them together on the table, her gaze focusing on the pages underneath her. 'But I can't deny she was right, and her words ring true even now. As confusing and frustrating as this situation is, it's too early to conclude anything.' The blonde reached out to close the book with a gentle thud, sighing quietly while holding it between her hands. 'All I can do is just keep an eye on Eda and keep record of what's going on. After all, so long as we keep on top of it, we can prevent the worst from happening.'

The young witch rose from the table and headed out of the kitchen into the hallway with the book in her hold, passing by the living room and towards the stairs.

'I'll need to speak to Eda about what I've found when she gets back. But until then, maybe I can use the remainder of this time to make my—'

Lizzie didn't even get to finish her sentence or reach the top of the stairs before she was interrupted by the front door slamming open, followed by a cry of pain from Hooty.

"Ouch! Hey!"

The blonde's head turned to the doorway of the living room as she stopped at hearing Luz's wavering voice shout over clattering wood and a soft thump.

"Liz, a little help here!"

Lizzie's eye twitched as she jogged towards the living room, with the déjà vu from last night springing to her chest in the form of palpitations. She didn't need to question Luz about what was going on, because she could easily guess from context what the potential problem was.

'Spoke too dang soon!'

Lizzie reached the living room in record time and skidded to a stop in the doorway, her eyes widening at the scene she was being made to process: Eda faceplanting the red sofa in a sprawled position, Owlbert off Eda's staff and perched on the back of the sofa close to her head (with said staff laid against the sofa arm opposite) and Luz staring down at the Owl Lady with a furrowed brow and her hands placed on the other arm to support herself as she leaned over. King didn't appear to be anywhere nearby the trio, but one quick glance round the room had her finding the little demon plopped on his bottom on the floor in the opposite corner closest to the door, his back facing the current chaos. He appeared occupied with something, which Lizzie couldn't help raising a brow at, considering Eda's current condition.

Luz's eyes glistened the moment she saw Lizzie enter the room and approach them, prompting the latter to speak up as her gaze flitted between the young human and middle-aged witch.

"What's happened?"

"Eda fainted at the slayground because of her curse," Luz explained, making Lizzie gasp and stare at Eda's back wide eyed.

"What?!" Lizzie's voice went up an octave, prompting Eda to turn her head so the right side of her face was visible.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Eda said groggily, limply waving her hand dangling towards the carpet. Lizzie could see her eyes were drooped and, like last night, she was a little paler than usual, which only confirmed this was the work of the curse. "I was only out for a few seconds."

"That's not the point!" Lizzie yelled and clutched at strands of hair on her head with one hand, using the other one to point towards the hallway. "You need to take your elixir now."

Luz briefly jumped on her toes and raised a hand, already jogging round the sofa to head out of the room. "Oh, I'll get it!"

"No, you won't," Eda's hiss stopped Luz in her tracks instantly, narrowing her golden eyes the Latina's way while stretching her dangling arm out for her staff. "I am very capable of getting it myself."

Lizzie folded her arms and watched the Owl Lady wriggle her fingers with drooped eyes at trying to grab at the staff that was inches out of her reach, unable to hold back a sarcastic remark when Eda grunted and scooched her body forward without getting up. "Sure you are."

Eventually Eda got a grip on her staff and hoisted herself up onto her feet, but in doing so she wobbled a couple of steps to the side. Luz and Lizzie were both moving to either side of Eda with their hands ready to grab a shoulder each. But they soon paused when Eda plonked the bottom of her staff against the carpet to steady herself, her head rolling from one side to the other in response to the sudden reaction.

"Whoo." Eda closed her eyes and placed a hand to her forehead. "Head felt heavy for a second."

Luz stepped closer to Eda's side and wrung her hands against her chest, while Lizzie stayed back and observed what little colour was left in Eda's face slowly drain away with a creased brow.

"You're not looking too good, Eda." Luz switched her gaze to Lizzie and mirrored the older blonde's expression. "Maybe I should stay here and help Lizzie and King take care of you." The girl gasped and placed her hands to her cheeks with a wide blink, a grin slipping onto her face as she said her next words in a sing-song tone. "We can dress King up in a little doctor's outfit!"

Said King stopped whatever he was doing (Lizzie had yet to check) and peeked over his shoulder at hearing his name, blinking and tilting his head while making his usual sound of confusion. "Weh?"

Lizzie was quick to shake her head and move her arms in a crossing motion in front of her chest, the events of the night market springing to mind the moment Luz mentioned the word 'outfit'. "No way. Seeing King in clothes was weird enough one time. We don't need a second."

"Agreed." Eda mumbled, holding out her hand to beckon Owlbert to her. The owl palisman let out a quiet 'hoo!' and promptly flew to Eda, perching on the top of her staff and tucking his wings into his body while connecting the foot that Lizzie knew held his interlock onto the base. "Besides, I'm fine. I don't need anyone"—The Owl Lady shot Lizzie a quick sideways glance at that and twirled Owlbert round to screw him onto her staff, with the owl's realistic features slowly shifting into a wooden state as she did so—"to baby me. So, you just focus on your grudgby game plans with those dweebus friends of yours, okay, Luz?"

"Grudgby?" Lizzie repeated with raised brows, crinkling her nose as she focused on Luz. "Since when were you into grudgby?"

Luz grinned and leaned forward so she was close to Lizzie's face with her hands balled into fists above her head, forcing the blonde witch to step back. "Since I discovered a little something called 'Hexside Pride'!" Luz straightened out and scrunched up her face with a noise of disgust, bringing her fists to her chest. "Ugh. To think that Glandus—whoever they are—have the nerve to face us!"

Lizzie smirked and folded her arms at seeing the holes in Luz's excitement, already preparing a sarcastic retort. "They're Hexside's rivals, Luz. As a new student, you should have known that, especially as Hexside is built on their old building's remains~."

Luz relaxed her current stance with a wide blink and raised brows. "Wait, really?"

"Oh, yeah."

"How intense is grudgby?"

Lizzie shrugged her shoulders and dimmed her smirk down to a smile. "Eh, you'll find out if you go to the game."

Luz frowned and pointed towards Eda. "But what about—?"

"Eck," Eda interrupted Luz with a disgusted noise and a shudder, opening her mouth and pointing a finger to the back of it. "You're grossing me out with your sympathy."

Lizzie scowled at the Owl Lady and placed her hands to her hips. "Well, excuse Luz and I for showing concern for your wellbeing."

Eda narrowed her eyes between her two charges. "I just told you I'm fine and that I'll take my elixir! I don't need babysitting!" She did a flicking gesture with a hand. "So, the pair of you had better get on with your plans today. Because if you don't,"—She gave the top of her staff a rough pat—"I'll be more than happy to give your heads a good bonking with Owlbert."

Lizzie narrowed her eyes at this and prepared to retort, yet she stopped when Luz smiled widely and held her hands above her head with a loud cheer.

"Hooray for sports!"

Luz swirled on her heels and darted off to where King was still sat on the floor, with Lizzie quietly sighing with a hand to her forehead.

'Eda always knows how to turn Luz into a distraction, doesn't she?'

"Then I'll see you later, Eda, Liz!"

Eda didn't say anything in favour of putting a hand to her hip and watching Luz crouch beside the little demon, with Lizzie being the one to verbally acknowledge Luz's farewell. "Have fun, Luz."

"Bye, King!" Luz beamed as she took the top and bottom of King's head between her hands and planted a quick kiss on his skull, with King remaining unfazed and keeping his concentration on what he was doing.

Now that she'd gotten a good look at King from where she was standing, Lizzie could see crumpled balls of paper surrounding the little demon, with him appearing to be scribbling away on a blank sheet of it with a red crayon.

'Yeesh. What's going on with him?'

When King didn't answer, Luz pulled away and quickly stood up to head towards the door, yet that didn't stop her from calling out to him anyways on the way out. "Don't spend all day plotting your revenge~!"

And surprisingly, King responded in kind while continuing to go about his scribbling and not once break his gaze away. "That drooly-faced heathen will know my wrath for usurping me!"

As the door gently opened and shut behind Luz, Lizzie looked to Eda with a faint frown for clarification on that little 'interaction', to which Eda responded by shaking her head.

"Some snot-nosed kid pushed him down the slide at the slayground. Don't worry about it."

"… Ah," Lizzie said with a nod, deciding not to say anything else out loud in case she riled up King anymore unintentionally.

'Right. So, just usual 'King things'. Got it.'

Using her staff like a walking stick to support herself, Eda slowly made her way out of the living room and into the hallway. "If anyone needs me, I'll be sleeping this exhaustion off."

As Eda disappeared round the doorframe, Lizzie cupped a hand close to her mouth and shouted after the Owl Lady in a stern tone. "Don't forget to take your elixir, Eda!"

She heard Eda shout back sarcastically. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Mom."

Lizzie cocked a brow at Eda's attitude, yet she decided it wasn't worth retaliating. But as the blonde witch relaxed her stance, her eyes caught sight of the logbook she was still holding, causing her to gasp and cover her mouth with a hand.

'Oh, speaking of elixir, Eda's supply was low when I checked it last night, wasn't it? I should really go and get her some more. But…' Lizzie dared to glance over towards King, who was crumpling up a piece of paper between his paws and then tossing it over his shoulder with a quiet growl. 'is it a good idea to leave King with Eda? I mean, he seems like he's learnt his lesson from last time and yet…' The blonde turned her gaze to the cover of the book in her hand, running a palm over it with a furrowed brow. 'Eda's already collapsed once today because of the curse. What if it manifests again when I'm away? I could put King in danger.'

It seemed like a silly thought, and yet the events of the first night they'd dealt with Eda's transformation was permanently burned into Lizzie's brain. She and King had had too many close calls dealing with Eda that day, with Hooty out of commission, Luz disappearing partway through and then Lizzie herself getting injured. The concerns for what could happen to King without her there to protect him were hard for Lizzie to ignore.

Lizzie raised a hand to her chin to give a stroke, letting out a heavy breath as she closed her eyes. 'This would be so much easier if I had my own palisman and staff. I'd be able to get to Bonesborough and back in record time. Even still, Eda needs her elixir. And as long as she takes a vial now, it should delay any transformations occurring in my absence. Surely, King should be fine for a little bit, right?'

After a moment of silent contemplation, Lizzie huffed and lightly smacked the book against her palm, preparing to leave the living room in favour of collecting her cloak, her potions and Eda's purse (which she knew the location of, as Eda knew Lizzie was trustworthy enough to handle her money when she needed to use it for whatever reason).

'I don't have much choice. I'll just have to be quick.'

Once she'd headed to her room, put the elixir logbook away, double checked her potion supply in her satchel, and grabbed Eda's purse (after checking the number of snails in it), Lizzie collected her satchel and her cloak and speed-walked back into the living room where King hadn't moved from his spot.

"King, I'm just popping out to Bonesborough on a quick errand," Lizzie explained to the little demon as she headed for the front door, slinging her satchel over her shoulder. "I'll be back as soon as I can, but in the meantime, please keep an eye on Eda. Make sure she takes her elixir."

King muttered his response without looking up or halting with what he was doing (which was going about his scribbling), his voice monotone. "Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever."

Lizzie paused after opening the front door and fastening her cloak around her shoulders, her eyes drooping at the little demon's dismissive reply. "… King." The blonde emphasising his name finally brought King to halt his scribbling and peek at her over his shoulder. "Did you hear what I just said?"

King narrowed his eyes and sighed, answering in a low tone. "Yes. You said you were going somewhere and you'd be back soon."

Lizzie mimicked King's expression and smacked the side of her hand against her palm. "What about the part where I told you to make sure Eda took her elixir?"

There was a few second delay before King nodded quickly and turned back to the paper in front of him, resuming his scribbling. "Yeah, sure, that too."

Lizzie allowed her shoulders to slump with a small huff, proceeding to pull her hood over her head as she stepped out of the door and closed it behind her. As much as she wanted to correct King on his dismissive behaviour, she didn't have the time to stand there bickering with him. She was just going to have to trust he'd heard her and would do as she said.

'Honestly, King. Why must you be so engrossed in your silly little fantasies?'

"Hooty," Lizzie addressed the house demon as she went to step away from the cottage, not bothering to turn around and instead continuing walking ahead. "hold down the fort until I get back."

And, as she expected, Hooty answered in his usual jovial way.

"Roger! You can count on me! Hoot!"

'Well, at least someone is listening to me.'

That was the last thought Lizzie had on the situation, all as she adjusted her cloak hood and satchel strap while departing from the Owl House as fast as her legs would allow.


With her pulse pumping in her ears, Lizzie jogged through the forest all the way to Bonesborough at a steady and brisk pace, gripping the strap of her satchel the whole time. She didn't know if it was because of the adrenaline spiking at the thought of poor King cowering in the corner while the bird and humanoid-like creature with enlarged pupils and that creepy smile loomed over him, but it was enough to keep her pushing even as she entered the bustling streets of the town and zipped between various crowds, despite her heavy breaths and the screams of her aching limbs. When was the last time she'd felt such fear and dread coursing through her? Was it the day she was running for her life from that guard hired to stalk her? Was it the night she rushed to the library at realising Luz was being lured into pranking Amity by Edric and Emira? Was it the day she spent running around when Eda cast that body switching spell? She didn't know anymore. She hadn't realised until now just how much chaos had entered her life since the day Luz arrived, more so than usual.

'Come on! I have to get back to King and Eda fast!'

Unfortunately for our young witch, her terrible sleep from the night before was about to take its toll, because the moment she skidded into the next street and started to run to the other end, she felt her body wobble from side to side, forcing her pace to slow down so she didn't fall over.

'Drat. Body's giving up on me. I've got to rest.'

Giving in to the needs of her body, Lizzie brought herself to a halt in the middle of the street. She bent forward and placed her hands on her knees, wheezing while attempting to regain the lost oxygen to her lungs. She briefly felt her limbs shake from the strain she'd put on them, along with the sweat trickling down her face and the thudding aches previously hidden by the adrenaline rush pushing through now that she was calming down.

'Whew…' Lizzie reached an arm up to her face to wipe away as much of the sweat as she could, her chest heaving. 'It's moments like this where I wish I had a staff. It'd make my situation so much easier…'

Childish laughter from her left brought Lizzie to lift her head and raise her brows, her head instantly turning towards the source. A rectangular area surrounded by a high brown wall from its left side to its right side and a metal barred fence on its front with a small gap for entry was what Lizzie found herself staring at, where she could see toddlers in Hexside's signature uniform with grey leggings and sleeves either running around or making use of the equipment placed in there. One child was sitting in a blue sandbox with golden spikes on its four corners. Two others were climbing up the rope wall and wooden ladder on either side of a small square structure supported by skeleton legs with a red rounded roof decorated with tiny bat wings attached. The toddlers then proceeded to run in single file across a metal bridge that extended off the tower, leading them to another structure with two large horns atop its rounded purple roof, supported underneath by clawed feet on the corners of its base. Two of its holes were decorated with fang-like teeth to resemble a monster's mouth, while the hole at the end had a pink slide attached to it which seemed to resemble a tongue and which the two toddlers proceeded to slide down. And then Lizzie could see another pair of children sitting on two spring rockers resembling a blue snake-like creature and a purple dragon-like beast, moving back and forth while holding onto the handles on either side of their heads for support.

The blonde witch straightened out and gripped at her abdomen at realising what she was staring at.

'Ah. The slayground. I thought I recognised it. Not that I ever played much here as a kid.'

Lizzie walked her way over to the metal fence to get a closer look at the toddlers chasing each other or playing with the equipment, her eyes in particular being drawn to the slide upon recalling what Eda had said earlier. She couldn't see any children with snotty noses, but that didn't stop her from wondering what had gone down with King on that piece of equipment.

'Oh, man. I can only imagine King's reaction when he got pushed down that slide. Wouldn't be surprised if he even did his little 'squeak of rage', as Eda's nicknamed his childish tantrum.'

The blonde couldn't help chuckling at the mental image she had of King sitting on the ground and thrashing his arms and legs around, with his eyes squeezed while making a shrill noise Eda said was similar to what a tea kettle would make when it was finished boiling. Lizzie still remembered the first time she'd been witness to King's tantrum, which had been after Hooty had ingested one of King's soldiers (which had just been a toy bird Eda had found in the Human Realm). Eda had exaggerated the build up by acting as if the little demon was ready to explode like one of her potions, so you could imagine the look of confusion on our young witch's face when she'd seen and heard what Eda actually meant, with the Owl Lady herself rolling round the floor of the living room cackling like a mad witch. To this day, Lizzie still couldn't understand how a tiny demon like King could make such a noise, but at least now she was able to laugh about it.

Yet as the blonde witch continued to watch the children within the slayground, her moment of respite was ruined by a familiar deep voice, an angry familiar deep voice.

"How could you do this?!"

'… Oh no.'

Feeling her shoulders stiffen, Lizzie slowly turned her head and chanced a glance behind her, focusing on the left side of the street. As expected, she saw an emperor's coven scout stomping to a halt on the opposite side to where she was standing, his mask obscuring his face. Not that she needed to see past the mask to know who it was, prompting her to shudder at the chill that always rippled down at her spine at his presence.

'Xander.'

Despite the fact that Xander was facing the street ahead and not her, it didn't stop Lizzie hunching her shoulders and turning her head away a little to hide her face, reaching a hand up to pull her hood a little further for extra measure.

'He hasn't noticed me, by the looks of things. Still, I'd better stay put until he leaves. I don't want to draw attention to myself.'

She wasn't surprised to see him out and about, given his job role and all. But a longer glimpse at her cousin revealed that he was clearly upset, and not just because he was holding a crow phone to his ear, which she could hear him screeching into. Lizzie could see by his stiff posture and empty shaking gloved fist that he was angry.

"He has nothing to do with my screwups! So, why would you punish him?!"

Lizzie frowned as she eavesdropped on Xander's conversation, her head tilting to the side at the mentioned 'him'. She couldn't hear what the other person on the phone was saying, yet that didn't stop her from flinching when Xander loudly pounded his fist against the nearby wall of the closest house.

"I won't calm down!" Xander whipped his body to face Lizzie's direction, prompting Lizzie to blink widely and quickly look away while continuing to listen to his yelling; she swore she could hear Xander's voice cracking the more he went on. "You're the one who keeps making me go behind my superior's back! Are you trying to get me into trouble?!"

'What?!' Lizzie physically grabbed her neck with her hands to prevent her from suddenly rotating it round at hearing those words leave Xander's mouth, feeling her blood run cold. 'Did I just hear that right?!'

But her shock was short lived when she heard Xander gasp, daring her to look round a bit to his free hand loosened from its fist, trembling slightly as he brought it to his chest and dug it into his tunic.

"No, no, no, sir! I'm sorry!" He said in a pleading tone. "I didn't mean it like that! But I'm just a lowly coven scout. I wasn't supposed to go after Elisabeth or those palismen—" Lizzie saw Xander bring his arm to his abdomen as he was cut off and tilted his head closer to the crow phone, appearing to cower as if his body was about to shrink in on itself. Her brows raised at hearing his voice suddenly grow quiet and meek while rubbing at his side, sounding scared. "I-I know, but I have orders to stay at Bonesborough's precinct…! I-I can't just—"

Lizzie's brow furrowed when Xander was interrupted again and he visibly flinched, his grip on his side tightening as his chest heaved. For a moment she thought he was going to have a panic attack, but then she heard him take a deep breath through his mouth and shake his head, his voice shaky and breathless with the next thing he said.

"L-Look, I have to go. We can talk about this when my shift ends, okay? Just…" There was a moment of pause before Xander's voice went up an octave. "…please don't hurt him anymore."

Lizzie watched Xander take the crow phone from his ear and set it on its legs on the ground, with crow immediately standing up and spreading its wings out to lift itself into the air with a quick flap. Both witches silently watched the crow take flight and head off in the direction they'd both previously come in, with Lizzie's gaze immediately returning to Xander when she heard him mumble. A gloved hand slipped under his mask and partially exposed his mouth and his cheeks, the latter of which Lizzie could see were red and stained with tears.

"I've got to find him."

Without another word, Xander swirled on the heels of his boots and darted off down the street again, with Lizzie letting him go with a hand scratching at her own chest. She could feel a faint ache beginning to form and pull at her heartstrings, a sense of familiarity striking her. So much had been said in such a short span of time, and while the urge to pursue Xander was there, she knew it was a bad idea.

'What in the Titan was all that about? Who was he talking about? Who was he talking to? Xander called them 'sir'.' Lizzie pressed her lips together into a thin line and tilted her head a bit, focusing her gaze on her boots. 'He mentioned he wasn't supposed to be coming after me and those palismen. So, that means all those times I kept encountering him… he was up to something he shouldn't have been. And that was apparently because of this 'sir'.'

Lizzie found herself recalling the times Eda had mentioned Xander was probably going behind his superior's back, causing the young witch to huff and aggressively run her fingers through her fringe.

'Gosh darn it, Eda! Why do you always have to be right?!' The mention of Eda's name caused Lizzie to blink widely and gape at remembering why she was here to begin with, to which she smacked her palm against her forehead. 'Gah! That's right! Forgot I was here for Eda!'

Adjusting her cloak hood and satchel strap with her hands, Lizzie started to run again, leaving the slayground and heading off in the opposite direction to what Xander had left in.

'I've had my rest, so I'd better go get her elixir.'

Luckily, she knew where she needed to go, so getting to Mr Elixir and back was going to be a breeze, right? Yet, as per usual, part of her doubted her own words. Because for the residents of the Owl House, nothing was ever that simple. And that notion was proven to be right the moment she skidded into the adjoining street, leaving her a couple of streets away from her intended destination.

'Almost there. Just a little further!'

Incessant yapping from a nearby alleyway brought Lizzie to glance over during her jog, prompting her eyes to lock with a familiar pair of amber ones watching her pass by.

'What the—?!'

Releasing a breathless gasp, the young witch dug her heels into the ground and stumbled forward in her attempts to bring herself to a halt, briefly bending her knees and holding her arms out on either side to regain her sense of balance. The red furred fox palisman fell silent at seeing the blonde witch halt close to the alleyway it was standing in front of, its tail swishing back and forth at seeing Lizzie had taken notice of it.

'Oh, well, speak of the devil. It's one of those palismen I saved from the demon hunters.'

It took a couple of blinks from the young blonde to realise that she definitely wasn't seeing things, finally prompting her to approach the palisman with slow and careful steps.

"Hey, I remember you." Lizzie crouched before the fox palisman, which the fox took as its cue to move towards the witch and rub its side against her knees with its eyes closed. Lizzie chuckled and reached out to give the fox's back a little stroke, a small smile lingering on her face. "And I see you remember me too!"

The fox responded with a small bark and the hunching of its body, appearing to enjoy the affection the witch was giving it.

'Quite a coincidence that I'd find this little one out here after what I'd just heard, huh?'

When the fox pulled away to face her, Lizzie gave the area around them a glance, only for her brow to raise at seeing the fox palisman seemed to be on its own. She couldn't see any signs of the other four palismen she'd assumed were its friends, which she decided to mention aloud after returning her focus to the fox.

"Are you here alone? I can't see any of your friends."

Instead of giving a non-verbal answer, such as nodding or shaking its head, the fox blinked before proceeding to dash off into the alleyway. Lizzie leaned back with raised brows as she watched the fox disappear into the shadows, eventually standing up and jogging after it without a second thought; what prompted her to do this? She didn't know. Maybe because she was still concerned for it after what had happened last time? Or maybe that phone conversation she'd eavesdropped on with Xander was playing a part?

"Hey! Where are you going?!"

Of course, the fox wasn't going to and couldn't answer her question, so that left Lizzie with no choice but to follow the palisman and see where it wanted to take her.

The alleyway Lizzie and the fox had entered was a little wider and longer than most alleys the former had entered countless times, yet it made the witch less nervous about following the palisman to the other end overcast with shadow. Not that she thought the fox was going to lead her into a trap or anything. She just couldn't help being cautious.

Lizzie slowed to a walk as she and the fox neared the back wall that sealed off the end of the alleyway, where two dumpsters were situated against the left and right corners. Both dumpsters had space behind them big enough for a regular sized person (or being) to hide in, and it was in this space behind the right dumpster that Lizzie found the fox stopping beside. It jerked its head at the gap as if to indicate for Lizzie to take a look, and when she stepped closer to do just that… her body immediately froze over, like she'd been hit with a petrification spell.

Crouched and trembling under the darkness cover offered by the dumpster was a familiar looking black furred ferret, staring up at Lizzie with teary, beady black eyes. It didn't take much for the young witch to recognise the ferret, her jaw dropping a little the moment the name slipped from her mouth as a breathless gasp.

"… Bandit?"

It was Xander's palisman. Her cousin's palisman. The same palisman who had attacked her and then spent the majority of his time chasing her round Bonesborough Marketplace before eventually leading Xander to hers and Eda's last location in that alleyway. And yet, looking down at the palisman at her feet now, he was a far cry from the aggressive and angry hissing mess that had hunted her down that day.

Or so she thought, until Bandit proceeded to squint and hiss at her when she spoke his name, a reaction that caused her eyes to droop.

'Yup. That's Bandit, all right.'

Having gotten her confirmation, Lizzie crouched close to the ferret palisman and gave him a brief look over, her brow furrowing at the number of questions flooding into her head. All the while Bandit kept his gaze fixed on the blonde witch, observing her every move with caution. There was so much about this situation that confused her, but the main and obvious one that stood out from the rest…?

'Why's Bandit here on his own? He should be with Xander, unless he's sent him off on another scouting mission…'

Lizzie stayed silent as Bandit shuffled backwards a little to increase the space between them, hissing at her again as if out of warning, which she frowned at. She recalled Bandit to have been much bolder when confronting her last time, so why was he suddenly acting scared of her presence?

Her question was soon answered when Bandit backed up into the wall, where a streak of sunlight from the left had managed to infiltrate the alleyway and the area behind the dumpster and caught the ferret's upper back. Lizzie failed to suppress the gasp that escaped her at what looked like deep teeth marks she saw littering the palisman's back, causing a hand to fly to her mouth with a wide blink.

Xander's conversation from a moment ago played back in her head as the imaginary bulb inside her mind flicked on, a hand flying to her stomach the second she felt it drop at the recollections of Xander's tear stained face, his cracked words, his pleads and begs for the safety of the one he was worrying about…

'Holy Titan… Xander's looking for Bandit. That person on the phone hurt Bandit.' Lizzie blinked a couple of times when she felt tears pricking at her eyes, causing her to take a deep breath to pull herself together. 'How could someone do that to a palisman? No wonder Xander's so upset and worried. This person hurt his partner…'

Around the same time, she felt something soft and furry brush itself against her knees, which she immediately guessed was probably the fox palisman attempting to offer her some comfort. This was more than enough for her to shake her head and snap herself out of her thoughts.

'No, Elisabeth. Not the time. Focus on helping Bandit first.' Once she was sure she wasn't about to burst into a crying mess, Lizzie slowly held out her palm flat and close to the floor, stretching it towards Bandit. 'He might be your cousin's palisman, but that doesn't excuse the way he's been treated.'

"C'mon," Lizzie said softly, beckoning Bandit to approach her with a hand. "Let me take a look at you."

Bandit bared his teeth and let out a tiny high-pitched screech as he pressed himself further against the wall, in turn flinching and screeching again with a slight stumble at accidentally touching his injuries against the stone.

"Don't be like that." She stretched her hand a little further towards the palisman, leaning forward some with a faint frown forming. "I'm only trying to help, so just—"

The blonde witch was interrupted when Bandit suddenly lurched forward and swiped at her hand with his paw, prompting her to retract just in time with a breathless gasp. His claws failed to touch her, so she managed to escape without injury.

"Hey," Lizzie said with a scowl, cradling her hand close to her chest despite not being injured. "There was no need for that!"

Bandit responded with another hiss and took on a wide stance, looking ready to pounce. However, the fox was quick to intervene and leap between the young witch and the ferret, raising its back and shoulders with a growl of warning. Bandit screeched and stumbled backwards towards the wall, his screeching increasing in volume due to the pain he was probably feeling.

The blonde winced and closed an eye when Bandit started shaking and cowered before them, clearly becoming scared of the situation he was in. The sight made Lizzie recall the way Xander had reacted on the phone, causing a brief sharp pain to attack her chest. Lizzie reached out a hand then to place on the fox's head, causing the palisman in question to look up at her with a wide blink.

"It's okay," she whispered with a wavered voice, tilting her head as if to indicate for the fox palisman to step aside. "He's just scared. I can handle this."

The fox palisman briefly tilted its head at Lizzie's response, briefly turning its gaze to the cowering ferret a small distance away. After a moment of staring, though, the fox relaxed its stance and stepped off to the side out of the way, with Lizzie giving it a grateful nod.

'I can't blame Bandit for being like this. Whatever happened to him must have shook the poor palisman up. It's no wonder he probably doesn't trust me.'

Lizzie pressed her lips together and sucked in a deep breath through her nose to relax herself, closing her eyes for five seconds before exhaling adjusting her current position so she was kneeling. When she addressed Bandit again, she did so in a gentle voice, just like before.

"I know you don't like me, but you can't keep running around injured." She patted her knees with both hands. "So, please just let me see your wounds. You don't even have to get that close to me. You can just come into the light."

Bandit squinted at Lizzie then and ceased his shaking, his tiny eyes flitting between her face and her hands on her lap repeatedly. After doing this for a while, though, he spread his legs apart and slowly stalked his way closer to the young witch, occasionally flinching because of his injuries. The little ferret stopped when there was only a few inches between him and Lizzie, giving her a better view of the bite marks on his back.

Because palismen typically had a wooden body—whether they were in a 'hibernating-like state' or 'alive'—Lizzie wasn't surprised to see that the bite marks on Bandit hadn't drawn any blood, instead resembling teeth-like dents. While Bandit stood before her with his body lowered towards the ground, Lizzie scrutinised Bandit's wounds with a hand to her chin and her lips pressed into a thin line.

'I don't think I've ever seen a palisman with beast-like markings on it before. I'm not in the beast-keeping coven, but last I checked, there weren't any beasts on the Boiling Isles that would want to try to attack a palisman.' She scratched her head with a blink, giving Bandit's tiny, pointed marks littered across the ferret's back a look with a slight squint. 'It's difficult for me to judge when I don't know anything about beasts to begin with. But whoever Xander was talking to definitely did this. I just can't figure out how.'

After a moment longer of staring, Lizzie let out a quiet sigh and raised an index finger, which she held just above Bandit's back. Bandit recoiled and hissed at the action, but that didn't stop Lizzie from drawing a small green spell circle above the palisman.

"Just relax and keep still. You're only going to make your injuries worse."

'Which is why it's a good thing that I've had enough practice with the healing spell for wounds. These marks count as 'gashes', so logically, they should heal.'

Bandit closed his eyes and shrunk away, expecting an attack of some sort despite Lizzie's reassurances. Yet the moment his wounds became engulfed in a faint green light, the ferret shuddered at the warmth it felt envelop his back, causing him to blink his eyes open and stretch his neck round to peek at what the witch was doing. Lizzie kept her finger above the spell circle while her gaze stayed fixed on the glowing wounds, remaining oblivious to the fox palisman watching this interaction with wide eyes as the injuries slowly grew transparent.

'I don't know how Bandit got those injuries, but I'm beginning to wonder if he wasn't supposed to be separated from Xander in the first place, based on the conversation just now…'

Lizzie couldn't deny that Bandit's wounds were unusual, and yet, even as she watched the marks fade until the glow of her spell and its circle faded out with them, her mind refused to stop pestering her with the question of what—or whom—could have injured this poor palisman.

'Xander mentioned Bandit was 'punished', didn't he? That obviously means this was done on purpose.'

The thought made Lizzie grit her teeth and jut her chin, the anger inside her beginning to bubble like one of her explosive potions.

'How horrible. And not just for Bandit…'

When the spell cut off and Lizzie retracted her finger, giving Bandit a moment to process what had just happened. The ferret palisman twisted his body and craned his neck to try to get a look at his back, blinking multiple times and twitching his nose as he did so. The sight caused Lizzie to smile faintly and tilt her head a little, finding it to be endearing. Her smile widened when Bandit stopped and looked up at her, her shoulders raising when she held her arms out on either side of her.

"See? Good as new. And I didn't hurt you, did I?" When Bandit didn't react to what she'd said, Lizzie gave her surroundings a quick look before turning back to the ferret palisman in front of her, her smile fading and being replaced with a slight squint. "I'm not sure how you got those injuries, but you should probably get back to Xander. Do you know where he is?"

The sight of Bandit's ears drooping and the little screech he made was all Lizzie needed to confirm the answer to her question, prompting her to huff and rub a hand against the back of her neck.

'Oh dear. I'm probably going to regret this, considering I know where he's likely to be, but it's not like I can just leave him here after everything that's happened…'

It took a few seconds for Lizzie to muster up the courage to slowly hold her hand out close to where Bandit was, who reacted rather calmly and just stared at it with a blink.

"I know your partner and I aren't exactly… friendly with one another at the moment." Her eyes drooped, her voice growing quiet. "But I'd never forgive myself if I left you here on your own, especially when I know just how much he cares about you. So…" She paused for a second, as if to reconsider what she was about to say, before slumping her shoulders and stretching her palm a little closer. "…would you like me to help you find him?"

Bandit reacted exactly as Lizzie expected him to. He backed up and barked at her with a squint, obviously rejecting her 'offer'. The blonde shook her head and pulled her hand away, closing her eyes for a few seconds. As much as she wanted to protest Bandit's stubbornness, he had made his decision. There was no use in her arguing with a palisman.

"All right. Don't say I didn't ask, though." She opened her eyes and focused on the fox palisman silently observing their interaction, choosing to extend a hand towards it instead. "As for you… we should probably get you out of Bonesborough, huh?" The fox palisman approached Lizzie and rubbed its head against her palm, making the witch snort a little out of amusement. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

Taking her hand away, Lizzie proceeded to collect the fox palisman under its front legs and lift it from the ground, standing up as she did so. "C'mon then. You can help me with my little errand before you show me where you need to be returned to."

Lizzie placed the fox against the front of her right shoulder and supported its lower back with her arms, allowing the palisman to rest its paws and chin atop her shoulder. It was clear that compared to their first encounter, this palisman felt comfortable enough to be around her now, a thought she kept to herself when she peeked over at the fox resting against her shoulder.

'I'm not sure what this palisman got up to with its friends after we parted ways at the night market. Yet I'm going to assume they headed to the forest for safety. I recall Eda mentioning the emperor has little reach outside of Bonesborough.'

As Lizzie walked out of the alleyway, she dared to peek at Bandit behind her. Her brow furrowed at seeing the little ferret relax his stance and watch her go from where he'd remained by the dumpster. An ache struck her chest at the sight, yet it didn't stop her from turning away and continuing out into the street again.

'I shouldn't feel guilty. It's not my fault he doesn't trust me. Still, I'm sure he'll be fine. After all, this is the same palisman that managed to chase me round Bonesborough through a water balloon assault and two elderly ladies stalking me, one of whom acted like a rabid beast.'

Unbeknownst to Lizzie, Bandit had his gaze fixed on her retreating back as he crept to the entrance of the alleyway and stood on his hind legs, watching the young witch resume her walk in the direction she'd originally been heading in. After making sure Lizzie was a good distance away, Bandit turned away and took a step forward to scurry off in the opposite direction. However, the ferret palisman froze when his beady eyes locked with the sight of a grey furred coyote turning its way into the street. Its nose was to the ground, as if it was on the prowl for whatever scent it was sniffing.

Bandit screeched at feeling a cold chill ripple through his body, the latter of which managed to knock his flight response back into gear. The second he saw the coyote pause and raise its head to give its surrounding a look, the ferret palisman darted off in the direction Lizzie had left in, managing to catch up to her as she reached the other end of the street. It wasn't until Bandit leapt upwards and jumped onto her satchel that Lizzie realised he was there, prompting her to halt and look to her satchel with a wide blink at feeling it move against her side.

"Oh?" She caught sight of Bandit's tail and back legs as he dug under her satchel flap and slipped out of view, a small smirk flashing onto her face. "Changed your mind, have you~?" Bandit's head poked out from under the flap to stare up at his saviour with a squint and a hiss, prompting Lizzie's smirk to widen. "Well, I don't mind you hitching a ride in there. Just watch out for my potion vials, okay? We don't need any accidents."

When Bandit didn't say anything in favour of retracting his head a little under the flap, Lizzie focused ahead again and continued her walk. She was oblivious to Bandit briefly ducking back inside the satchel to move to the other side and peek through the gap to observe the coyote at the other end of the street, who had since resumed its sniffing towards the alleyway he had formerly been in, while seemingly remaining unaware of where the ferret had gone.

"Let's try the station first. That's the most likely place Xander should be, given his rank and position among the scouts."

However, Lizzie barely stepped round into the next street before she heard it behind her: a distant chorus of childish screams. The blonde dug her heels into the ground to bring herself to a halt and whipped her head back up the street with a wide blink to listen, followed by the fox palisman raising its head and twitching its ears and Bandit daring to poke his head out of her satchel with his own ears twitching.

'What in the Titan's name…?'

Screaming wasn't an abnormal thing for the young witch to hear when she was out and about. After all, the majority of objects present in the Demon Realm screamed, especially anything that acted as an alarm (such as a bell or an alarm clock, for instance). But in this situation, based on the number of screams she was picking up (which sounded like a lot), something in her gut was telling her that something was wrong, and that was including the fact she knew what was in that general direction.

'The slayground's back there, isn't it? I'm sure when I just passed it not too long ago, everything was fine.'

Her suspicions weren't confirmed until a familiar high-pitched roar broke through the child-like screams, propelling Lizzie's mind immediately to the mental image of Eda's owl beast form.

"Oh no…" Lizzie muttered with a hand flying to her mouth, the colour from her face draining almost instantly. It was a ludicrous thought to pop into her head, and yet that roar was too familiar to not be a coincidence. "That can't be…"

'Eda…'

Bandit and the fox palisman looked up at Lizzie with tilted heads when they heard her speak, yet they both ended up barking in surprise when the blonde suddenly moved forward and sprinted up the street in the direction she'd previously come in, securing the fox palisman against her with one hand while the other grabbed at her satchel strap to hold it still.

"Sorry, guys! We're taking a little detour!"

As she dashed past the alleyway she was formerly in, Lizzie remained unaware of the coyote raising its head from its sniffing and looking back at hearing the young witch pass by. However, when it was met with the sight of an empty street, the coyote snorted and turned away, resuming its earlier sniffing in front of the dumpster Bandit had been cowering behind.


Through the short dash there, Lizzie repeatedly hoped it was just her lack of sleep playing tricks on her. There was no way Eda had turned into the owl beast and was currently assaulting the children of the slayground, right? That sounded like something Luz could have come up with for a made-up horror story, considering her wild and creative imagination. But the reality slowly crept up on her when she saw a couple of children darting past in the opposite direction from the corner of her eyes, quickening the pace of her breathing at feeling her chest constricting.

'Please don't be Eda. Please don't be Eda. Please don't be Eda.'

But, of course, her mental pleads for mercy were all for nought. The moment Lizzie whizzed round into the street the slayground was on, she skidded to a stop when her wide-eyed gaze fell upon the slayground itself, not at all ready for the sight she was met with.

The slayground was quiet and abandoned, the toddlers formerly occupying it having disappeared. The spring rockers stood still with no occupants sitting upon them. The sandbox was empty, with a discarded bucket and spade and crushed sandcastle in its wake. There weren't even any children hanging from the ladder and rope wall or standing on the platform of the mini tower and bridge. The only presence Lizzie currently saw was the back of a large round bodied creature with a pair of black wings looming over the slide, perched on its hind legs with something clutched in its claws.

Lizzie didn't need to see its face to know what she was staring at—or rather… who. And that fact alone caused her blood to run cold and freeze up like a statue, feeling like the air had literally been robbed from her lungs.

'Oh, dear Titan…'

Her fears had come true, and they were worse than she could have ever imagined.