Chapter 2) Two Names Are Better Than One

A/N: I'm glad so many people liked part one of this little anthology! Here's a second part that I hope you'll enjoy just as much!

This one is from Camilla's POV, and picks up some time after the first one…

I let myself in, and the sound of chatter and joy drifting from the living room has me smiling, my worries from seconds ago pushed aside, if only for a moment.

Then I remember what I am holding in my left hand, and I'm worrying all over again.

I'm probably worrying over nothing. This is good news, after all… right? I'm making a good decision aren't I?

But it's not just my decision to make, is it? This can only work if we all want this. And as much as I hope and believe with all my heart that they do both want this as much as I do, I can't stop worrying about it.

"Hello Mrs Noceda!" I hear Amity call out from the living room, followed by greetings from all the rest, Hunter and Gus and Willow and King as well.

"Bienvenido Mama!" calls Luz alongside.

"Welcome home, Camilla!" calls Vee.

I stall for a moment before responding, my reply coming out with perhaps a little less enthusiasm that I would have liked.

Camilla… it never used to bother me that Vee calls me by name. But these past few days, as I've been thinking and overthinking what I'm about to suggest, I can't help but feel a small pang of… something, in my chest.

Shaking myself, I make my way into the kitchen, setting down the bag of groceries on the countertop and the… other thing… beside it. The groceries were just an excuse. This is what I really went out to get.

"Luz?" I call out. "Can you come help me with the groceries, dear?"

Time to get this going.

This conversation is long overdue.

Luz enters the kitchen, Stringbean sitting on top of her head as always. The little darling almost never leaves Luz's side if she can help it. The sight of her dozing in Luz's hair is as adorable as ever.

"Luz… can you close the door for a moment?"

Luz pauses for a second before she pushes the kitchen door with her foot behind her.

"What is it?" she asks. She sounds worried. Stringbean seems to pick up on it as well, as she lifts her head and looks around, alert and on guard.

That she is so protective of Luz at all times is a wonderful sight to see, but I need to put them both at ease before either starts to get upset. This is supposed to be good news, after all.

"Nothing's wrong, Luz. I just need to talk with you about something."

She doesn't look less worried.

"Do you like having Vee live here with us?" I ask, and immediately I realise my mistake in phrasing it as a question like that, as Luz's eyes widen and she starts to tremble.

"Of course I do!" she says in a rush, her voice high and panicked. "Of course I like her! I never meant to make her feel bad, I swear! I'm so sor-!"

"No!" I cry. "No, Luz, you haven't done anything wrong!"

I should have considered my words more carefully. Luz has been doing a lot better than she had been before, not blaming herself so much, not apologising for everything she does… but she's still healing. They all are, really.

I'm dancing around the issue, and it's not helping anyone. I need to be direct and clear, no more misunderstandings.

But first, I need to help Luz feel better. So I make my way over to her and pull her in for a hug.

"You haven't done anything to make Vee feel uncomfortable or unwelcome. I promise."

"Are you sure?" Luz asks, sounding small and uneasy like she had done that night she had first started to open up to me properly. Sounding like she wants to believe me, but not knowing if she can.

I pull away and return to the counter, reaching past the bag of groceries for the thing I probably should have showed her before I said anything.

"Here." I hand her the folded pages, the paperwork I had been finalising all morning. The first real step towards the confirmation needed.

"Eda has been helping me," I start to explain as Luz takes the paperwork from me, turning it over in her hands as I talk. "Since Vee has no official registration for… well, anything… it's been a little tricky, but she helped me to, uh, 'find' the documents that the authorities needed."

Luz looks back up at me with wide eyes again, but this time they are wide for a different reason.

"You… you and Eda forged identity papers for Vee!?"

I allow myself to smirk a little at Luz's dumbfounded expression.

"Hey, your mother can be a rebel too, you know. I just needed a little help with some of the more… sneaky parts."

Luz still looks quite caught of guard by my confession. "Eda said she was busy researching the Titan…" she whispers to herself.

I wince at that, feeling a little bit guilty for asking Eda to lie for me all this time.

"I wasn't sure if it would even work, so I didn't want to get either of your hopes' up just in case."

Luz stares at me for a moment longer before looking back down at the papers in her hands. She unfolds them and her eyes scan across the top lines of the first page, reading it aloud.

"Connecticut Department for Children and Families, request for…"

She stops, looks back up at me, then down at the papers, then back up at me again.

I take a breath, and resume talking.

"I'm going to ask Vee if she wants me to adopt her," I say, as calmly as I can. "But this has to be a joint decision. Unless all three of us are OK with this, it won't work. So I wanted to talk with-"

I don't get any further than that, as Luz slams into me so hard she knocks the wind out of me, her arms wrapping around me tightly and reminding me once again of just how much stronger she had grown over the past months.

"I'd love to have Vee as my sister."

Of course I was worried over nothing. Of course Luz would be over the moon to hear this.

Before I can say anything else however, there's a knock at the kitchen door.

"Mrs Noceda?" It's Hunter. "Can I get a drink?"

"Of course you can, dear," I reply. "Come on in."

My heart aches every time I see Hunter. Every time I see those scars Belos left him with. But at the same time, I feel such relief to see how much healthier and happier he looks every passing day. No more bags under his eyes or premature lines on his face. Smiles that look so much more genuine than the nervous and uncertain ones he gave me when I first met him.

I've only met Darius once in passing, but I would like to have a proper chat with him at some point, to thank him for giving this wonderful boy the safe and happy home he deserves.

"Is everything alright?"

I blink, and I realise that Hunter is looking at me with some slight worry.

I also realise that my eyes are tearing up a little bit.

"We're fine," Luz says, and I see her wipe at her own eyes as she turns to face Hunter. "Just having a moment is all."

Hunter looks awkward at that. "Oh, um… sorry. I'll come back in a bit."

"Nonsense," I say quickly, reaching into the grocery bag and pulling out the pack of soda cans from within. "Do you want one of these instead of just water?"

Hunter's eyes light up as he sees the name on the side of the pack. This particular soda was a favourite of his and the other kids' when they were staying here, so I've begun to make a point of always having some in the house for when they visit.

"Here, take them in for the whole gang, I'm sure you're all thirsty by now."

Hunter happily takes the pack of cans from me and exits the kitchen. Shortly after, I hear a chorus of thank-yous from the kids.

"Are we gonna tell Vee now?" Luz asks.

I want to. I really, really want to be able to tell Vee right away. I've wanted to tell her ever since I made up my mind in the first place…

"Later," I reply. "When everyone else has gone home. I don't want to put her on the spot like that."

Luz nods in understanding, and mimes zipping her mouth shut. On top of her head, Stringbean copies her, drawing the end of her tail past her mouth at the same time.

I'm giggling, then Luz is as well.

…

…

…

The other kids have all gone, and it's just the three of us left in the house.

(Four of us, I should say. Stringbean counts as well, after all.)

Luz and Vee are in the kitchen washing up and putting away the dishes from everyone's snacks earlier. I'm in the living room, paperwork in hand, feeling all of my nervousness from before coming back.

If Vee doesn't want this, then that's her choice, and I'll support her no matter what. Of course I'll be upset, but this is about what's best for her, so no matter what she chooses…

Even if she chooses to leave…

Even if she doesn't want to be here anymore…

Something tickles my ear, and I turn to see Stringbean floating beside my shoulder, her little forked tongue flicking in and out.

"Did Luz send you in to make sure I was OK?"

Stringbean hisses in response. Luz always seems to be able to understand what she's saying, but I have a harder time. Even so, I'm pretty sure this particular hiss meant 'yes, of course she did'.

How does Luz understand Stringbean? Can they talk to each other telepathically? Did Luz learn how to talk to snakes while she was in the Demon Realm? Do all witches understand their Palismen like Luz does with hers?

Would it be rude of me to ask her? I don't want to intrude if this is something special and private between them. As much as I've learnt in recent weeks about the ins and outs of magic and the Demon Realm, both from what Luz has explained to me and what Eda has filled me in on in our talks with each other, I still have a lot to learn about it all.

And if I'm being honest? It excites me quite a bit. Is this how Luz felt when she first found out magic was real?

My wandering thoughts are disrupted by the sound of a mug being placed on the coffee table in front of me, and I'm jolted back to the present.

"Here you go, Camilla." Vee made me tea. "All done."

I smile up at her as she and Luz sit beside me on the couch.

"What's that?" she asks, pointing at the paperwork that I'm still holding.

Well, here goes.

I don't dance around the question this time. I explain to Vee what I've been doing, how Eda has been helping me, and that she is now legally registered as a citizen with all that entails. Then I hand her the papers I'm holding, and I ask her the question I've been wanting to ask her for some time.

"Vee, would you like to be my daughter?"

My mind is full of scenarios where this goes wrong. I imagine Vee recoiling, I imagine her getting angry, I imagine her getting upset, I imagine her saying no, or just getting up and running away, frightened off by what I suggested.

None of that happens, because as soon as the words are out of my mouth, Vee is smiling the biggest smile I have ever seen on her face, and she's clutching the papers to her chest like they are the most precious things in the whole world.

"Yes!" she exclaims. "Yes, I want that! I want that so much!"

And I'm smiling now as well, and maybe crying a little bit too as I watch Luz pounce on Vee and hug her and babble about how happy she is to have a sister.

And then both of them, both of my girls, both of my daughters, are pulling me in to their hug and Vee is saying 'thank-you thank-you thank-you' over and over again and Luz is still babbling about having a sister and now I really am crying, because how can I not be right now?

I plant kisses on both of their heads.

"I love you, so much."

…

…

…

"And that, kiddos, is how you impersonate a social worker!"

I resist the urge to swat Eda on the arm, but only just.

"Is this something you've had to do before?" Vee asks, somewhat cautiously. I don't blame her. Eda is a wonderful woman, that much is true, but some of the stories I've heard about her exploits, from her own mouth no less, do raise a few eyebrows at minimum.

She just snorts out a laugh. "Well, if you wanna get into specifics…"

She doesn't elaborate, but she does make a few more joking remarks as we return to the car.

"Are you sure I can't give you a lift?" I ask again. "I can go past the portal door on the way home, or you could even join us tonight if you want?"

She waves me off. "Thanks Cam, but Raine and I already made plans for tonight. As for the lift…"

Owlbert emerges from her hair and shifts into his staff form, which Eda sits on side-saddle and begins to take off.

"I figure I'm long overdue on giving the good folks of Gravesfield a little fright." She smirk as she says this.

I just roll my eyes at her antics. "Be sure to not get in any trouble."

"Come on, Cam. This is me we're talking about. When do I ever get in any trouble?"

I just stare at her deadpan as Luz and Vee giggle in the backseats.

Eda snorts once again. "Welp, I'm glad I could help you, Cam. See you around."

Owlbert rises, and with a final "Bye~ee!", Eda's gone, flying off to do who knows what.

I sigh and enter the car, and my exasperation with Eda evaporates the moment I see Vee in the back seat, holding the final piece of paperwork with her name on it and beaming brightly.

Her name. Her new, full name.

Vee Noceda.

Hello to you all, and hello again to those of you who read the first part of this when it was uploaded last week! I'm Not Scot.

I really wish we got to see Eda and Camilla interact in the show proper. Of all the character interactions we never got, that potential odd friendship is the second one I was really hoping for (first, of course, being Luz and Vee).

I've been planning out some more ideas for this anthology over the past few days while writing this chapter, and I think next up I'll do a chapter from Luz's POV where she and Vee go to school together. That one might take a bit longer than this one did, as I also need to finish the next chapter of 'RWBY Re:Mixed' that I'm halfway through, so chapter three of this probably won't be uploaded this week. Sorry.

But what do you think so far? Love it? Hate it? Please feel free to leave a review, I love reading each and every one I get.

It's getting late where I am though, so for now, I shall take my leave.

Until next time,

Not Scot.

P.S: Darius adopted Hunter, and no-one can convince me otherwise.