I do not own Soul Eater or Owl House.

If I did... oh, who the Hell am I kidding? I'd have been just as broken up by the finale if I did. Possibly moreso.

Luz tumbled out of the dark.

One moment, she was suspended in the abyss that she'd spent the last… God knew how many hours sitting in, breathing water in hopes of finding her Soul Wavelength - she had her Soul Wavelength now! - and the next, she was breaching the surface, the warm air nothing short of frigid on her skin. She was caught between blinking blearily through the bright orange haze that nearly blinded her from all sides, choking on air as her body convulsed, violently trying to expel the water from her lungs, and throwing her arms blindly forwards as gravity suddenly reclaimed its control over her weight.

This time, however, she managed to catch herself on her hands and knees rather than sprawling face first on the floor, violently coughing water onto the rug and gasping for breath; her lungs spasmed, trying to transition back from water to air, and once again she found herself wondering if this was how a fish felt upon being pulled up and out of its river on the end of a hook, shivering, cold, and struggling to breathe.

However, the sensations, no matter how unpleasant, couldn't dampen her spirits.

"... I… I did it…" she managed, pushing herself up onto her knees and staring at her palms; she could still feel her Wavelength coursing through her body, its pulse so obvious now that all she could do was wonder how she ever could have missed it before, "I did it…!"

She heard the Owl Lady chuckle from above; the apprentice followed the sound, and found the Witch standing beside a pitch black orb of water floating in the center of the room, King perched on her shoulder. It rippled and jostled like a small scale ocean, countless waves dancing back and forth across its surface, but it couldn't have been any more than six or seven feet across; big, certainly, but not the fathomless depths that Luz could have sworn she'd been swept up in.

"That you did, kiddo," Eda acknowledged, flicking her wrist; all at once, the water on Luz's skin, in her clothes and hair, and that had spilled into the rug began to pull away, rising up in small streams and droplets before rejoining the greater whole of the pitch black orb, "In three days, at that."

"Three. Days," King repeated, incredulous; he hopped down from Eda's shoulder as she strode towards the front door, the orb floating behind her, wide eyes darting back and forth between the water and the girl, "How in the name of Black Dragon Nidhögg did you manage to do that in three days!?"

"Well… I had some help," she admitted, pushing herself up and to her feet, "Eda did walk me through it on the third day…"

"Yeah, but that shouldn't have been enough!" he threw his arms wide, "Even with guidance, it should've taken you at least a week!"

"Maybe I'm just lucky?"

Before the pup could respond, a thunderous crack rolled through the sky above, making the girl's heart leap into her throat; she staggered over to the window as feeling slowly began to return to her legs, staring out into the darkness beyond.

"... it's still raining?" the brunette murmured, the sky seeming completely unchanged from the first time she'd entered the water.

"Yep," King clambered up onto her shoulder, staring out with her, "Hasn't stopped even once. Doesn't look like it's gonna stop anytime soon, either."

"Okay, seriously, what is up with this weather?" Luz asked, "I get that this is a coastal area, but storms for this long? And the rain burns?"

"That's because we don't usually have weather like the human realm does, Luz."

The apprentice turned to see her teacher once more, patting off her hands as she closed the door, smirking, "While it tends to vary a bit depending on where specifically you are in the Demonic Realms, the Boiling Isles don't have rain or fog like you'd expect; we have plagues."

Luz blinked, "Plagues? Like… biblical plagues?"

"The whole shebang and more; there's whole sections of each of the Nine Covens dedicated to dealing with them - the Oracle Coven especially gets paid out the nose for trying to predict them," the vixen grinned, "Boiling rain, you've already learned about the hard way."

The girl grimaced, rubbing her hands together; by now, the burn was already completely gone thanks to Eda's healing Magic, but that didn't make remembering the sensation any less uncomfortable.

"Beyond that, we have gorenadoes, shale hail, acid sleet, firestorms, meteor storms - those are always fun - ashen snow, scarlet rot, mustard mist, glass-gas, scalding fog…" the silver-haired woman had nearly run out of fingers to list things with, "You name it, we've probably had it at some point."

"... and you never have any ordinary rain or snow?" Luz queried.

"Only places you'll find that are naturally cold places, like the Ribs, the Knee, the Talon Mountains, or what's left of the Sternum," the Witch crossed her arms, stepping over to stand beside Luz, staring out into the storm, "The meltdown from those high-elevation places are what feed a lot of the Boiling Isles' ecosystems, actually, though most of the plant life here has evolved specifically to handle the harsh conditions."

"... it's a wonder that anything survives out here," the tanned teen stated, resisting the urge to reach out and put her palm on the glass, despite the golden barrier that still stood, shielding the house from the rain.

"There's a reason you humans consider 'mythical creatures' to be so dangerous," King's smug tone was accompanied by a knowing glance, and she was sure a smirk was present under that skull. Then he frowned, clutching his chin, "Although admittedly there's not a whole lot that stands up to a painbow."

"Painbow?"

"It's like a rainbow, but it turns you inside out if you look at it without some serious eye protection," Eda crossed her arms, eyes narrowed in distinct annoyance, "Even I'm not sure how that works. It's like the sky just decides it hates everyone for a few hours once the storm's gone, grabbing anyone that looks at it and rippin' 'em a new one."

"Okay, now you have to be messing with me," Luz set her hands on her hips, mock glaring up at the Owl Lady.

"Sure, disregard your mentor's lessons; see where it gets you," the woman's tone was utterly deadpan as she turned away, beginning to put her living room back together, "If I were you, I wouldn't look at the sky for a day after the rain stops, just to be safe. One layer of glass is not gonna save you from a painbow, and they're called painbows for a reason."

Completely unable to tell if her teacher was being serious or carrying on with what had to be a joke, Luz watched as the mat was lifted out of place and swept clean of ink and candles, the table being set back into place in the center of the room, the myriad of candles being extinguished one by one; eventually she stepped forwards, clearing her throat, "So… what now? I can feel my Soul Wavelength, so… what next?"

"Do you even have to ask?" King crowed, gripping her head and trying to twist it towards the stairwell, "Now we can get back to my lesson!"

"King," Eda's voice was low and warning again, craning her neck so a sole golden eye was visible.

"Eda, come ooooonnnn!" the tiny tyrant whined, "Luz just unlocked her Soul Wavelength! In three days! Doesn't that put her ahead of the game?"

"It does. But that doesn't mean we can afford to slow down," she set the cauldron firmly back in place over the flames, then turned to face them, "Now that she's unlocked it, she has to learn how to use it. Quickly. I want to have her able to shape and apply her Soul Wavelength, and see other Souls, as soon as feasibly possible."

Just as he had before, King bristled, a furious gleam in his eyes as he dug into Luz's shoulder; he seemed ready to launch himself at the Owl Lady, his whole body tense, a spring ready to uncoil at the slightest provocation…

"... you said that was enough for today, right?"

Luz's voice broke the tense silence, as well as the staredown between the Demon and the Witch; both had their attention firmly fixed on her now, King blinking, the Owl Lady raising an eyebrow.

"Before," the chocolate-eyed girl spoke quickly, eyes fixed on the one-woman parliament, "Right before I found my Wavelength. You said that was enough for today?... doesn't that mean we should… I dunno… break for now? Pick up tomorrow?"

For a long moment, Eda said nothing, arms folded over her stomach and expression unreadable. Slowly, though, a smile broke out over her ruby lips, and she let out a chuckle, "Clever kid, aren't you?"

The teen beamed, "I'm learning from the best, aren't I?"

"... King," the woman glanced at the pup, "You took your board upstairs like I asked?"

"Yes," he muttered angrily, "And my books."

"I helped!" came Hooty's muffled voice from beyond the door, making King stifle a curse.

"Good," she gestured, "Then head on up. Luz and I need to have a chat, and then I'll send her up after you."

"... you promise?" he narrowed his eyes, distrusting.

"I promise; this won't take much more than a few minutes at most," she jabbed a thumb, "Now head on up."

"... I'm holding you to that," the diminutive Demon declared, then finally hopped down from the girl's shoulder; he stopped at the threshold, pointing at Luz, "I hope you're ready, Luz! This is going to be a VERY important lesson!"

With that, he was gone, the clicking of his claws on the hardwood disappearing into the distance.

Chuckling, Luz, folded her hands behind her back, curiously meeting Eda's gaze as the Witch sat down on the couch, crossing her legs.

"Sooo… what is it you want to talk about?" the girl asked, curious.

"When were you going to tell me that you have ties to the DWMA?"

For a long moment, Luz wasn't sure she'd heard the question right; shock ran through her in an explosion, its fires rising up from her guts along the length of her spine and into her throat, before the fallout of dread began to sink back down into her stomach, eyes wide and fixed on the Witch.

All of the cheer and humour had drained from the woman's face and posture; her eyes were sharp, cold, and appraising; whatever emotions were behind those predatory golden eyes, the child couldn't see them, her talon-like nails tapping on the fabric of the couch. The rest of her body was utterly motionless; despite the ease of her posture, Luz was distinctly aware that Eda could be on her feet in an instant, and there was nothing the girl could do if the woman decided she was a threat.

With a single sentence, Eda had ceased to be her mentor.

Staring at her was the Witch. The Owl Lady.

A woman with a lot of power who now had every reason to consider her a threat.

The teen's mind swam, struggling to force her lips to form words, "... h… how…?"

"You didn't exactly work very hard to hide it," Eda began, "I suspected something was up from the moment you started catching on in our initial lesson. You said it yourself - Soul Wavelength isn't generally taught in the human realm. There's only one place that you could reliably learn it from… and yet, you picked up on it very quickly - as if you already had a basic understanding of the mechanics, and the lesson was just refinement for you.

"These sessions have only made those suspicions stronger; you mentioned lessons from your sister, which I would assume were to help you with your Soul Wavelength," the Witch raised a hand, gesturing towards Luz, "Which explains how you managed to find your Soul Wavelength so quickly; even among Witches, three days to find one's Soul Wavelength is practically unheard of.

"You might have been using flawed instructions, but you were already trying. Which is the most important aspect of unlocking Soul Wavelength," The hand fell, Eda's eyes narrowing, "What really clinched it, though, was that mantra of yours."

Luz was struggling just to keep her breath under control; she couldn't break away from those eyes, run through by their piercing glare all over again with every point that the Witch made.

"'A Sound Soul dwells within a Sound Mind, and a Sound Body,'" the silver owl intoned, enunciating each word slowly, as if she were invoking a spell just by speaking them, a spell more powerful than anything Luz had seen her cast so far; a chill ran down the youth's spine, and she couldn't suppress a shudder before the Owl Lady continued, "The mantra itself is older than the Academy - much, much older - but the Reaper took it for his own and practically made it into his signature. That in mind, I sincerely doubt you heard it from any Witch, in the Isles or in the human realm…" she raised a single finger, as if to demonstrate her point, "... and among humans, there's only one group you possibly could have picked it up from."

Silence. The brunette couldn't bring herself to make so much as a sound. Every response she came up with felt like a lie, a desperate deception crafted to buy herself a few extra seconds; even if they weren't, her throat was constricting on itself, terror's venom rushing up from her stomach and into her windpipe, leaving her with just barely enough room to breathe. It was all Luz could do to keep herself from hyperventilating, but even then her mind was racing, rapidly painting in the vibrant oranges and purples of the Boiling Isles all the horrible fates that could befall her in an instant if the Witch so pleased.

She wouldn't even need Magic for most of them; it would take no effort to shove the girl back into the fire, to snap her neck, to drag her outside and leave her to the mercy of the boiling rains. Each vision was more horrid than the last, and there was no doubt in the teen's mind that for every one she involuntarily conjured, there were a thousand more ways the Owl could do away with her that were worse than she could imagine.

"... that being said," there was no change in Eda's expression - her tone, however, had softened, if only by a single note, "I can also tell that you aren't a proper student."

Somehow, that was enough to halt the parading fantasies of death in Luz's mind; slowly, the severity seemed to drain from the Witch's face. Frigid judgement gave way to something akin to pity, brows creased, eyes narrow, but soft, and the set slipping from her jaw.

"For everything you know, there's another three or four things that you aren't even aware of - things that the Academy should have taught you already," she continued, "That, and they should have at least put you through your paces with your Soul Wavelength if you were… but you didn't even have it unlocked. Which, considering what I noted before, means your connection is… familial?"

"... my dad and my sister," Luz finally managed, the ash in her mouth finally beginning to crumble, "They're… with the DWMA."

"But you're not."

The teen shook her head, breaking her gaze away from the Owl Lady's stare, eyes falling to the floor as one arm clutched the other, "No."

Eda's arms slipped down from the shoulders of the couch, settling in her lap, "You weren't allowed."

"... no," Luz repeated, more quietly this time, "I wasn't. Mami… she wants a normal life, for me."

"... is that why you wanted to become a Witch?"

"... partly?" even to the child, the word felt more like a question than an answer, "I just… I wanted…"

"... a place to belong?" the Witch ventured, "Something to call your own?"

Slowly, Luz nodded - though she knew it wasn't nearly that simple.

Nonetheless, Eda seemed to accept the explanation; the pale woman let out a deep breath, closing her eyes as she pinched the bridge of her nose. An exasperated smile slowly spread across her lips, her hand pulling away to drape across the couch's cushions again, genuine warmth spreading through her once again, "You sure like to get yourself wrapped up in some serious messes, don't you, kid?"

"... it's one of the few things I've ever been good at," the girl murmured, lips curling into a rueful smile of her own.

"... I get it, Luz."

The declaration caught the teen off guard, forcing her to blink, eyes rising up to meet those golden orbs once more.

"Better than you think," Eda assured, leaning forwards, elbows on knees, fingers interlocked in the open air, "I know what it's like to want something for yourself. Especially when someone close to you has something that you wish you could have."

"... you have a sister?" Luz asked.

"... we don't get along," the magus' eyes fell, "Haven't had a proper conversation with her in… centuries, now."

"... I can't imagine not talking that long with my sister," the chocolate child stepped closer, then sat down beside the Owl Lady, idly staring into the hearth.

"Then why are you here?"

The question wasn't hostile; when the apprentice met the Witch's eyes, they were filled with a curious concern.

"... I wanna be a Witch," Luz said simply, "Like you…"

"And I'm an enemy of the DWMA," Eda stated, "If you become a Witch like me… wouldn't that make you their enemy too?"

"Just by virtue of being a Witch?" the tanned teen asked, eyes wide.

"The Reaper hates Magic, Luz," the elder woman snorted, staring into the fireplace, "He may spare the occasional child or weakling Witch, but make no mistake. He loathes Magic, and everything to do with it. If you're a Witch, you are, and always will be, an enemy of the Reaper and his little cabal.

"And if you become a Witch?" those golden eyes set upon her again, those ruby red lips drawn tight and thin, "... you'll be making enemies of everyone who follows him. Your family included."

Once again, Luz found her eyes falling to the floor, staring at the rug. She bit her lip, barely noticing the dead skin peeling away with her teeth over the roiling in her stomach, anxiety and fear surging and clashing with conflicted anger.

"... I'm not trying to dissuade you, Luz," the Witch began, setting a hand on Luz's shoulder, slipping the phone back into her grip, "And I'm not going to throw you out. At the very least, I'd like to teach you how to use your Soul Wavelength properly. But you need to seriously consider what you actually want. Especially considering what you already have."

Before the girl knew it, she'd opened her phone's photos, staring down the most recent pictures she'd taken over the course of June; her parents stared back by the dozens, eyes of chocolate and cyan mingling with warm smiles and laughter. All of a sudden they seemed so long ago, and so far away…

The elder magus watched as Luz stared down at each picture in the automatic slideshow, shifting her weight back, "I can see that there are issues; if there weren't, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation…" those gold talons settled on the back of Luz's hand, comforting "... but you seem very fond of your family."

The Witch's apprentice raised her head, finding her mentor's eyes.

"... is all this," the red-clad caster then gestured to the room around them - the candles, the hearth, the dozens of oddities on the walls and shelves, all the things that had kept filling Luz with wonder up until a few minutes ago, "Is learning Magic… really worth giving them up?..."

"... I…"

The girl found herself entirely at a loss for words. Nothing she could think of seemed reasonable; everything that came to mind all of a sudden felt somewhere between belligerent and ungrateful, her heart having dropped to the very pit of her stomach, once again lost and alone. She couldn't keep her head up to see what was around her in the moment; her head kept dipping, drawn again and again to stare listlessly at the screen, unable to take her eyes away from the reality that was now confronting her…

"... I can see you need to think," slowly, Eda rose to her feet, stretching before letting out a tired sigh, glancing down at her apprentice, "I'll leave you alone. Just… try not to keep King waiting, okay?"

"... one spell."

Once again, silence; it took Luz a moment to realize that she had spoken, raising her head from her phone's screen to meet the Owl Lady's eyes once more.

When she received no response, the teen repeated, "One spell. You said you wanted to teach me how to use my Soul Wavelength. Before I decide anything, I… I wanna learn one spell."

The Witch's face was stony, unreadable; she just stood there for a long moment, stock still, not so much as blinking as she stared down at her student.

"... please?..." Luz couldn't quite keep the high, begging tone out of her voice, all too close to a child desperately begging for a toy. It was only now that she felt her hands had clasped together, fingers interlocked and raised almost to her chin…

She could only imagine how she must have looked. The only thing that was missing was to be on her knees.

Finally, though, Eda managed a smile, "... Wavelength first, Luz."

"... Wavelength… first…?" the girl echoed.

"You need to be able to use your Soul Wavelength to be able to use Magic. If you can't shape your Wavelength, you can't cast a spell."

"... you promise?"

"I promise," the Witch turned on her heel, "I'll teach you your first spell as soon as you understand how to shape your Wavelength."

With that, the Owl Lady strode out of the room, leaving Luz alone to ponder.

A frustrated sigh escaped the Witch's lips as the door swung firmly shut behind her. As soon as she was alone, her whole facade went to pieces; her shoulders slumped, her bones ached, and exhaustion was seeping into her very Soul.

As if being completely unable to shrug off Lilith's looming proverbial presence from her mind weren't enough, there was far too much that had been sapping her energy since the Hexside incident.

Even if she hadn't been awake for far, far too long, she also hadn't had the chance to recover from the shielding spells she'd hastily had to cast in order to protect herself from the rain during her hasty retreat from the shores of the Lower Kneecap. The massive barrier she'd cast to protect the house was only making matters worse with how much energy it demanded; there was a reason so many people elected to build their homes from the Titan's bones rather than stone, wood or metal, as the boiling rains in particular had a tendency to strip the Magic from even the sturdiest protective wards over time, and the bones were the only thing that seemed outright immune to effects of the weather.

Normally, Eda was confident enough in her work that she wouldn't have bothered with the barrier, instead trusting her wards to stand up to the rain. But as things stood, she needed to be as certain as possible of the house's protection, and the best way to do that was with her own Magic - the barrier's multiple golden layers both repelling the rain, and muting all Wavelengths within, completely hiding the Owl House from any and all prying eyes.

But it was cold comfort, and far from the extent of her worries. King was bound and determined to make a nuisance of himself, checking at all hours of the day to see if Luz was ready for a break in hopes of teaching her about Demons. He was darting in and out of rooms constantly, bombarding the Witch with resentful glowers and pointed barbs that she had neither the energy nor the patience to suffer through at the moment.

And to top it all off was the human herself.

Compared to constant Charybdis of Magic that was the house's barrier, the abyssal meditation spell was a drop in the bucket - but it required significantly more concentration for the Owl Lady to maintain. Completely blocking all sight and sound, maintaining a mental link to track her apprentice's vitals and emotions, even making sure that Luz was able to breathe was another task to constantly maintain across the long hours of each session over the past three days. Despite everything that had just occurred, Eda was quietly glad to be done with the task of drawing out the girl's Soul Wavelength, even if it meant moving on to more overt lessons that would undoubtedly be more mentally taxing for the both of them.

Which brought her back to her current dilemma.

She'd known, of course, that Luz had some connection to the DWMA. It was the only conclusion that made any sort of logical sense when she took the girl's foresight and knowledge into account. Eda hadn't taken it as a personal betrayal - that child couldn't reasonably hope to betray anyone, and had almost certainly omitted the connection out of a genuine desire for companionship as much as anything else - but nonetheless had hoped that confirming her suspicions would be enough to harden her resolve.

It hadn't.

If anything, getting an inkling into the particulars driving Luz's desire for Magic only made the realities of the matter all the more cruel.

It was only natural that she would want something of her own, especially when someone she clearly loved and adored so dearly already had it.

"... how long has it been since I last slept?" the Witch finally asked, kicking off her heels.

Her answer came in the form of a hoot; Owlbert had perched himself at the base of the window at the far end of the room, and was still staring out into the rain.

"... five days…" Edalyn let out an agonized groan, "Maintaining two separate spells on top of it…"

The magus didn't so much lay as she did simply let herself fall into the bed of branches and brambles. She couldn't bring herself to care as twigs, thorns and random baubles were tangled in her hair or scraped at her skin, staring up into the rafters with vision that was only getting progressively more blurry.

"... Titan… no wonder everything hurts…" she mumbled, raising an arm to cover her eyes.

The Palisman hooted again; though she couldn't hear his wings, she could feel his presence as he flew about the room, perched above her on one of the rafters.

"That's why I'm in here, Owlbert," she huffed, "I'm trying to get some shut-eye while I can."

A distinctly unimpressed croon.

"No, I am not just here to sulk."

A hoot flat enough to perfectly balance a chessboard.

"Look, would you just lay off?" Eda shoved herself to the side, rolling over so she was facedown in her nest, "I'm tired. I want to sleep. I'm not in the mood to argue with you."

There was a brief pause before Owlbert let out a hysterical screech; it took her a moment to process the sound, but when it finally clicked, her heart froze, sending rivers of icy dread coursing through her veins as her eyes shot open, and she reached for her neck.

A mane of feathers had begun to sprout from the Owl Lady's skin, a thick muffler that ran from her chin to collarbone; in her exhaustion, she hadn't even felt it begin to spread.

But she did feel what came next.

Eda had to bite down on a scream as the foreign Wavelength rocked her body from within; she could feel its figurative claws ripping away at her as it tried to break free from her control, tried to force its way out of the cage that kept it imprisoned, and as her insides twisted on themselves, stretching and rearranging to fit something else altogether. Organs she hadn't been born with swelled and grew, squeezing her lungs against her ribcage and leaving her gasping for breath before her chest cavity finally began to expand; her dress threatened to rip and shred as her shoulders contorted, muscles tearing and reforming around the bones that were sprouting from her shoulder-blades, stretching her skin like elastic as the prickling itch of sprouting feathers spread across her skin.

And all the while that Wavelength, that horrid, pitch black Wavelength sent wave after crushing wave of pain crashing through her, fracturing bone and shredding muscle only to heal it again in an instant, molding and reshaping her body into something that better fit its own purposes. She could hear it scream as it slammed against her Soul, trying to force her back, force her out, to claim her body as its own vessel…

"Owlbert!" she gasped for air in a pitch that was not her own, struggling to speak around the extra teeth that were growing from her enlarging jaw, her new talons digging into her nest as her arms thickened and elongated...

She didn't need to finish her request; he was already swooping down, a bottle in his talons, the golden liquid within bringing a wave of panicked hope as only a lifeline can. He landed in front of her without so much as a sound, plucking the cork from its neck and tossing it aside before scooting back out of her reach.

The Witch snatched it up in an instant, forcing herself onto her back, jaws thrown open wide and letting the liquid pour straight down her throat. She was well-accustomed to the taste by now, but even if she hadn't been, the acidic sting on her tongue and the taste of bile and pus was nothing in the face of the sheer agony that was wracking the rest of her body.

As soon as it made contact, she felt herself convulse; she collapsed to the bottom of the nest, muscles spasming as all control was lost.

Her muscles shrank; her bones receded. Feathers fell from her skin in clumps, all too similar to discarded mange. The black Wavelength waned, giving her room to breathe-

And Eda smashed it with her own Wavelength with every ounce of force she could muster, forcing it down, down, down into the depths where it belonged; with every pulse, its struggling, scrabbling, and screeching grew more desperate, fighting with everything it had to get loose from her grip.

She didn't relent. She just kept going, knowing this wouldn't stop until one force won out over the other.

"Get… back… IN THERE!" she roared, redoubling the force of her Soul one final time.

The black Wavelength was finally forced all the way back; it sank back into the dark, one final scream echoing in her mind as the only evidence that it had ever been there… aside from the pain, at least.

"... at least six broken ribs…" Eda managed between wheezes, spitting a mouthful of blood as it oozed from her split gums; she was so familiar with the resulting damage by now that she could identify more than half of her wounds by location and the severity of the pain alone, "Broken or displaced bones in both arms and legs… including the hands and feet… both shoulderblades splintered… at least four torn major muscles… at least my spine feels mostly okay this time… hips and elbows…" she grit her teeth as she tried to push herself up… only to fail, all four of her limbs giving out in painful protest and causing her to sink painfully back to the bottom of the nest, "... definitely dislocated…"

She could barely articulate her fingers, much less lift her arms; just trying to curl her hand brought unspeakable agony, forcing her to fight and flinch just to prop herself up against the edge of the nest…

"... Flourish and… fucking Decay…" the Owl Lady slumped back down as she cursed, "Can't this at least heal me on its way out?..."

A negligible weight landed atop her head, Owlbert's claws gently flexing as he tried to maintain his balance; his crooning was distinctly perturbed as he rubbed his head against her, clearly trying to tell if she was starting to recover.

Her body would heal, in time; it was one of the few genuine benefits of her condition. Already, the unpleasant sensation of muscle and bone pulling against each other as they tried to realign and knit themselves back together was tangible beneath the pain - the same process that snapped her body back together after clean cuts and rendered most of her wounds mere annoyances rather than genuine concerns.

In her current state, however, just letting herself heal would take far too much time. And time was not a luxury that Eda could currently afford.

"... elbows first," she managed, "... after that, I can try to… manage the rest…"

Her instructions given, the tiny carving immediately set to work, hopping down to her right arm; immediately, he was surrounded by a faint blue glow, the telltale sign of Healing Magic, his small, but gentle Wavelength soothing her limb and eliciting a genuine sigh of relief from his partner.

She closed her eyes, flaring her own Soul…

Only to find herself being bitten for her troubles, the owl carving glaring up at her in warning.

The Clawthorne couldn't bring herself to react. She just stared right back down at her Palisman, eyes half lidded, "I know… what you're going to say… I don't… want to hear it…"

He hooted his concerns anyways, flapping his wings to hop over her waist, and nestled in the crook of her other arm, setting to work once more.

"I know…" she hissed, partially from pain, partially from frustration.

Somehow, he raised an eyebrow, clearly conveying his doubt.

"I know, Owlbert," she reiterated, even through the pain of breathing brought by damaged ribs and organs, "... I know using Magic… in this state… makes it worse. But what else am I supposed to do?... I can't just leave all this to you… I've done this enough times… I can recover."

The owl gave a belligerent headbutt against her hand - a motion that normally would have been harmless, but in this situation jostled her broken and dislodged bones, making her stifle another yelp of pain.

"... you did that on purpose…" the magus snarled, teeth bared, now having half a mind to stick the Palisman to his staff and stuff him in a closet once she could stand.

He met her baleful glare with one of his own, defiant even as he healed the Witch's hand. Slowly, anger faded, and she leaned back against the edge of the nest with a sigh.

"... I know I was reckless…" Eda confessed, rubbing her fingers across the owl's wooden feathers once she was sure she could do so without any pain, "... but it's not like I've had a lot of options… this storm's just… upended everything…"

His expression softened; but when he crooned again, his tone was still scolding as he perched himself on her fingers - a move clearly made to keep her from trying to heal herself on her own.

"'No excuse not to sleep'…" she muttered, "... You say that like I've been avoiding it…"

The carving shook his head, seeming to know better than to argue; instead, he turned to a different topic, ruffling his feathers as he worked his way up her arm.

"You know I can't drop the barrier right now…" she scolded, "It's too important… right now, we've got nowhere to run… so our best option is to hide… and keep our hiding place safe..."

The owl rotated his head almost all the way around to glance knowingly at the bottle, as if to indicate the alternative. He then turned back to face her, tilting his head quizzically.

"... look… none of this is ideal…" Eda began, "But if I heal myself right now… get some sleep… and take a little extra elixir… we can wait out the rest of this storm… that way, I'll at least recover some of my energy…"

The Palisman frowned, clearly disapproving of the plan she'd laid out.

"It's our safest option…" the Witch insisted, "I'm not putting all of us at risk… because of my problems…"

Owlbert's stern hoot made it evident that he believed she'd already done just that.

"Owlbert, please…" she managed, trying to push herself into a sitting position once again, despite the pain, "... for King?… for Luz?…"

The wooden bird of prey continued to glower at her for a long moment, still firmly in disagreement with her chosen course of action. Nonetheless, he grudgingly returned to work, starting his way down her ribcage.

"... thank you, Owlbert…" the Owl Lady sighed, finally flaring her Soul and adding her own Wavelength to his efforts.

An aggrieved hoot.

"... fine… we'll prioritize finding ingredients… once the storm's over…"

With that, the two fell silent, slowly healing the Clawthorne's broken body as the night and storm wore on…

It was rare for Death City to have rain.

Blair had expected that; given the city's location, it would have been stranger if the city somehow received regular rainfall. With Nevada constituting the most southwestern state in the North American Midwest on the wrong side of the Rockies, Death City was a frying pan during the day, a freezer in the night, and painfully dry the whole way through - dry enough that the cat went through a whole water bottle each day.

It wasn't wholly unpleasant, mind; the sunrises and sunsets were brilliant, and the fact that most of the city was underground meant there was remarkably little light pollution obscuring the stars, giving the cat an excellent view of the cosmos when the sky wasn't overcast.

Which only served to make the storm all the more disconcerting.

Blair idly spun the wine in her glass as she stared out the window through the twisted streets; dark as it was already, the roads, buildings and the walls that wrapped around the entirety of the city were all obscured by the thick haze that clung to the cobblestones. She could barely see to the street below, and what she could see was rushing with small-scale rivers, the myriad of sewer grates not quite enough to handle the sheer amount of water that was being cast down from the heavens.

The only thing that was visible in the distance was the Academy itself, and that was in large part due to the light of its gargantuan candles, which remained lit even now, keeping the building's towering silhouette profoundly visible against the storm clouds.

She let out an uneasy sigh, taking a swallow of the dark red liquid, "At least it's not boiling…"

Blair reached out with her free hand, pushing her laptop open again. It took a moment to re-establish its connection to the apartment's somewhat shoddy internet, reloading her email and messages. Once again, however, she found herself disappointed when the only thing she found was a text from Risa, letting her know that Chupacabra's was closed for the evening and that she had the night off.

The free time did nothing to soothe her nerves. The pitter patter on the panes from the rain was only serving to make her restless - and with nowhere to go and no one to visit, she was stuck in Maka and Soul's apartment, checking every few minutes for an update she was slowly realizing, with no small amount of dread, that she wasn't going to receive.

"... I asked them for daily updates," she said, setting the glass down as she stared at the last email they'd sent her, the curt message from the Scythe and Meister barely five words long, but enough to put her on edge - especially seeing as they'd managed to track down their target.

That had been nearly five days ago, now.

It was hard not to come to the natural conclusion that something had gone wrong.

Blair snapped her laptop back shut, shuddering; she truly wanted to believe that everything was fine, that the two had simply lost track of the time goofing off in Italy and forgotten to keep her updated… but that simply wasn't like either of them. Even if Maka was still ill-at-ease with the Magical Cat's presence in their daily lives, she was still too diligent to let an update slip out of spite or carelessness, and despite Soul's indolent, carefree facade, she knew he cared too much about the people around him to just up and forget because he was having fun.

Even if it somehow had slipped their minds, they wouldn't have forgotten for five days in a row.

Since the third day without an update, the temptation to hop on her pumpkin and speed off to Venice had bubbled away in the Black Forest Witch's stomach, a cauldron of anxious concern that made it nearly impossible to keep herself in the moment.

Unfortunately, there was precious little to be done. Even if she left right this second, she likely wouldn't reach Venice for a week without the help of the portals… and even then, those portals brought about their own dangers - dangers that she couldn't afford to take lightly.

"... I wish I could get in touch with Spirit; maybe he has some idea of what's going on…"

The only response she received was the endless percussion of the rain.

… no… there was something else now.

Her ears twitched, the sound of footsteps echoing just above the sound of the raindrops; slowly, the cat's golden eyes drifted to the door at the end of the hall, which had remained closed since Soul and Maka had departed for their mission abroad.

It only took her a second to confirm that the footsteps were indeed in the hallway beyond - a single set, shuffling slowly across the hardwood as if to limit the amount of noise they were making, for fear of waking up the neighbours at such a late hour. Closer and closer they came, until they stopped right outside the door.

Blair didn't move.

She simply flexed her fingers, setting down her wine glass and crossing her legs, waiting either for the knock, or for the attempted break in.

Neither came.

Instead, there was a metallic jingle, and the turn of the lock.

The Magical cat's heart skipped a beat as light streamed in from the hall; the small, but unmistakable figure stumbled in, and closed the door behind them, once again plunging the apartment into near total darkness.

Blair was on her feet well before the silhouette could reach for the lightswitch. She approached, heart flooded with relief as she stopped dead in the middle of the hallway as the figure mechanically kicked off their shoes, and hung their signature, tattered coat up on the hook that had been hung on the sliding closet doors.

"Maka."

The young Meister inclined her head, before slowly looking up; her green eyes stared, unseeing, for a long moment before she finally registered the cat's presence, her response a nearly mute mumble, "... Blair…"

"... good evening, you," the woman flashed her fangs, flouncing her curls as she leaned against the wall, "You had me worried."

"... sorry…" Maka managed, her gaze falling back to the closet as she haphazardly shoved her shoes back in with her feet, "... things… kinda got away from us."

"It's alright," the cat assured, swiftly picking up on the preteen's mood and dropping her teasing tone entirely, "I just like to make sure you're okay. That's all."

This time, the student didn't respond. She just closed the closet door, and proceeded to stare into nothing, her hand latched onto the handle.

"... where's Soul?" Blair glanced at the door, "Is he hanging out with Black Star tonight?"

The depth and speed of the breath was accompanied by a stiffening of the spine, Maka's whole body seeming to convulse before she hunched; she curled in on herself, her grip on the closet door tightening and her free hand wrapping around her stomach. Her pigtails obscured her face from view, but Blair didn't need to see her face to tell that something was wrong.

"... Maka?" she prompted, taking a step closer.

Still, the girl refused to speak; she just shook her head, her breaths deep, but shaky.

Slowly, the purple-haired cat reached down, cupping the pale girl's chin; Maka didn't fight as her face was angled back up towards the woman's, her expression nothing short of haunted.

"... Maka," Blair kept her voice as gentle as possible, but she wasn't able to take the worry out of her tone, "Where's Soul?"

"... hospital wing," the girl fought to keep the crack out of her words, but even so they came out in a croak, "Won't let me see him…"

With those six words, everything clicked.

The lack of contact, Maka's demeanour, Soul's absence…

"Oh, Maka…" Blair reached out to wrap her arms around the girl's shoulders, "I'm so sorr-"

"Don't."

The snap was a single harsh, cold note that hung in the air between them; Maka had stepped clear out of Blair's reach, back nearly against the door and her hands raised as if to block the cat's arms. Distress danced in the young girl's eyes behind a mask of stern stone, failing to hide her swift breaths or suppress the tremble of terror that ran through her body - though terror of what, Blair couldn't be sure.

"... just…" the preteen tried to muster some confidence, but the cat could only hear the frightened child underneath, "… just don't..."

"... okay," the woman lowered her arms, keeping them just raised enough so Maka could see her empty hands, stepping back to the edge of the hallway, "I'm not going to do anything, Maka. I won't do anything."

Slowly, Maka's breaths began to ease; her hands fell from their outstretched position, slowly clutching at her sides as those green eyes fell once more. She leaned back against the door, the fear draining from her posture and expression in favour of an exhausted listlessness, staring blankly at the floor.

"... I… don't suppose you want to talk about it?" Blair ventured.

The girl shook her head.

"... would you like me to make you something?" the Magic cat offered, "I got baking chocolate the other day. Would you like some hot chocolate?"

"... no," Maka managed, pushing up and away from the door, "Thanks, but no."

"... alright," the Black Forest feline shifted to the side, letting Maka pass by her and into the living room, "... do you… still have school in the morning?"

Maka stopped in the second hallway leading to her and Soul's rooms; she stood, silent, for a long moment, the only sound being that of her shuddering breaths.

Finally, though, she brought a hand to her forehead, sighing, "... mandatory rest days for the next little while… just as well. Homework's probably piled up…"

"... I'll take care of breakfast tomorrow," the cat decided, "Hopefully the storm'll clear up by morning. Maybe they'll let us visit Soul?"

"... maybe…"

"... and I'm sure your friends are worried about you. Maybe-"

"Blair."

At this, Maka's tone had sharpened again; she craned her neck, the look in her eyes some attempt at a glare, but too tired, too anxious, to really pull it off.

"... please," she started, "... I know you mean well, but please… just stop."

"... alright," the cat nodded, "... just… let me know if you need anything. Okay?"

"... I'll be fine," the girl looked ahead again, head hung against her collarbone, "I just… need some sleep…"

The resolute tone was forced - but Blair knew better than to argue.

Instead, she nodded.

"... okay. Goodnight Maka," Blair wished, "I hope you sleep well."

"... 'night, Blair."

With that, Maka padded away without another word, leaving the cat alone in the kitchen.

Slowly, the black-clad cat returned to her seat, boots clicking on the tile; she picked up her wine glass once again, swirling the dark red liquid out of habit before taking another idle sip. She was torn between following Maka to her room in cat form and trying to snuggle up alongside her in hopes that her purring presence would be of some comfort, and heading out into the rain to the Academy in hopes of finding Soul; however, she could hear that the girl had already curled herself up beneath the covers, and would not take kindly to any further interruptions to her night. And even if the Black Forest Witch were to go to the Academy, she couldn't even begin to guess where Soul was, or what was so wrong with him that he couldn't come home, and had Maka so thoroughly distraught.

"... what the Hell happened out there?..." Blair asked aloud, pressing her claws into her brow, leaning forwards on the table as a helpless frustration blossomed in her bosom. She was completely unable in the moment to do anything, anything at all, for either of these children that she had gotten so attached to over the course of a few short weeks.

Slowly, however, the cat settled back in her chair, emptying her glass entirely before letting out a deep, calming breath, tempering the flames of frustration back into embers. It wouldn't do any good to drive herself in circles at this point - especially not when Maka needed her, whether the preteen wanted to acknowledge it or not.

Whatever had happened in Venice, it could wait. Until Maka opened up on her own, or the Magical feline's next meeting with Spirit when he inevitably returned to Chupacabra's.

Until then, Blair could only hope that patience would prove itself a virtue.

No Spanish to translate in this chapter, but all translation work in this story is done by maho_kat on Archive of Our Own! Please be sure to give her a great big thank you for all her hard work!

Speaking of Archive, I have an unfortunate message for my Fanfiction . net readers: Because the email opt-in system defaulted my settings to "no updates," I haven't been receiving ANY updates from the site at all. This means, unfortunately, I've been missing almost all of your reviews and have a massive backlog to read back through, and even then I'm not all that likely to get back to you on everything because Fanfiction's communication methods are a hot friggin' mess. Believe me, I'd love to respond to each and every single one of your reviews, but that's gonna be easier said than done on my end, especially with how hard it is to keep track of everything.

If you'd like me to more proactively respond to your comments, I try to respond to everything on Archive of Our Own. The comment system is a lot more user friendly and keeps things from getting too chaotic, and I actually know when comments are left there!

This is absolutely not to discourage you from leaving reviews, mind! I just straight up did not notice that I'd hit 200 reviews on Owls and Souls until a friend of mine actually pointed it out to me. Sorry about that, guys.

So that's this chapter down. And I managed to keep my Thursday promise this time! Maybe I'll actually be able to keep this up! Next chapter's not quite finished though, and this is shaping up to be a tricky arc. This chapter in particular gave me a little bit of trouble because I kept going back and forth over whether having this discussion between Luz and Eda now was a good idea. But honestly, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for Eda to just let it sit, especially when she's actively trying to get Luz out of her house - this just makes it all the more abundant to the Owl Lady that doing so is for EVERYONE'S safety, not just Luz's. But, we all know it's just not gonna be that simple... heheheh.

... as a side note... I've finally seen the Owl House's final episodes.

... I know I rag a lot... about the limitations the Owl House faced under Disney? How it wasn't allowed to be as dark as Dana wanted, about how there was so much demand for Hexside shenanigans, about the cancellation of season 3 and the fight to get it back... but that doesn't mean I don't love this show. Because I do love it, with all my heart - and these three final episodes encapsulate perfectly, everything I love about it. They're nothing short of a collective masterpiece, and despite their limitations, are probably the three strongest episodes in the entire series.

Despite everything, the Owl House went out on the highest possible note that it could. I have so many feelings about the show and the finale in particular, and it's gonna take me a while to sort them all out, I think. Hell, I'm not ashamed to say I was crying on and off the whole night after finally finishing it all, especially considering how sad I am to know that it's over. But suffice to say, I think I can wrap it up in five easy words.

I love the Owl House.

And I hope I can continue to show that love in the days to come.

... hoo! Sorry about that. Didn't mean to let things get that heavy, but hey, sometimes that happens.

Thank you so much for giving this a read, everyone, as well as for your patience and understanding with me. Please be sure to let me know what you think! I hope you enjoyed the twenty ninth chapter of Owls and Souls, Witches and Resonance!