This Child Complete Us:
Enter…The Lieutenant

"...So, let me see if I am correct in this matter," Supreme Commander Aphla said slowly.

The mysterious cult leader paced in front of the unit that failed their mission, combing over every detail he learned in his head. To his right, Commander Zeta waited patiently, arms behind his back.

He stopped pacing and looked at the unit, and while no one saw his face, everyone could tell the mysterious commander was disappointed.

"Not only did you fail in your mission to retrieve the subject, but you also chased a rising criminal throughout a city block," Aphla spoke calmly.

"Correct, sir," the commanding officer of the until spoke calmly and without fear.

Alpha sighed and looked at the unit. Except for the commanding officer, he could see that everyone else in the unit was scared witless.

"Tell me," the mysterious said, "Did you keep to our cover story and only one type of magic while out in the open?"

The group was silent, not moving or looking at each other. Finally, the unit's commanding officer stepped forward and kneeled.

"Yes, sir," the officer said calmly. "And if I may speak freely, sir?"

Supreme Commander Aphla gestured to the officer to continue.

"Sir, I wish for you to spare my unit. I will bear their punishment all on my own."

Zeta watched as his superior looked at the unit and took out his staff. The orb began to glow, and the unit's commander stood, placing himself between his troops and his superior.

"Your punishment as such," Ahpla spoke calmly. "You all will have your magic sealed for a month, and the entire unit will be sent to our Base at the Knee, where you work to refortify the base's structure."

Alpha raised his staff and unleashed its magic on the unit. The colored sleeves on the cultists began to glow, and they were soon moaning as they felt like their arms were getting crushed.

Alpha stopped his spell after a minute and addressed the unit. "You have your assignment, so are you dismissed."

The unit lingered, letting the pain from the sealing fade. When the pain had dulled to arch, the unity saluted and then marched out of the room single file. Zeta watched as the unit left and looked at the Supreme Commander.

"Maybe I speak freely, sir?" he asked calmly.

Alpha walked up to his second-in-command, and though he couldn't see it, Zeta could tell Alpha was smiling.

"Da, you are my oldest and trusted friend," Alpha said with surprising warmth. "When it's just us, you don't need to be formal. But walk with me; I have much to do and little time before someone realizes I am missing."

Zeta nodded, and the two left the meeting hall. They turned left and headed down the hall as Zeta talked.

"I'm curious why you went so easy on that unit. The men broke several of your rules when trying to retrieve the subject. You would punish them severely for breaking just one of your rules."

Alpha sighed deeply as the two reached a door. He made a white spell circle, and the door unlocked a second later. The two mysterious leaders entered the room. The room was a simple office with just a desk and chairs.

Alpha and Zeta walked over to the desk, and the supreme commander sat behind the desk as Zeta sat in front.

"You know I take no joy in punishing our men," Alpha said, a hint of remorse in his voice. "But you are right, and the reason for that is simple. Coven Day is less than two weeks away; we can't afford to thin out our ranks during this time, not when all the coven heads are supposed to be making an appearance this year. Besides, they kept our cover by only using one type of magic."

Zeta frowned as he said, "That's another matter I have been meaning to bring up with you. Is it still important to keep this charade going? At this time, citizens will realize they are more to our front than a simple cult."

"Da," Alpha said, "It's important we keep that story alive as long as possible?"

"Why, though?" Zeta asked. "We're getting closer to Coven Day. Wouldn't work in our favor if the people knew our goal."

Alpha sighed and stood up. He made a spell circle and created a window behind him. He looked out the window for a few seconds, watching the citizens going about their lives without knowing what lurked in the shadows.

He sighed again and made the window vanish.

"Remember, most of the citizens are too enthralled in Belos's lies to see the truth. It would do us more harm than good if the people of the Boiling Isles knew our true goals," Alpha explained. "And it's like my mentor used to say: All stories are true. So, if we can keep the citizens thinking we are just a simple cult, it should keep the Emperor's Coven off of tail long enough for us to enact our plans."

Zeta frowned under his hood but nodded. He trusted his old friend and was willing to follow him to the pits and back.

(SC)

In the office belonging to the head of the Emperor's Coven, a witch sat at his desk, looking over reports. He was frowning as his eyes scanned the report as he didn't like what he was reading.

He heard a knock on his door and answered as he finished reading the report. "You may enter."

The man, a witch with pinkish skin, dark purple hair, blue eyes, and a horn sticking out the left side of his forehead, looked up as his door opened. A scout wearing an all-black uniform of a lieutenant stepped into the room and saluted.

"You called for me, Head Witch Drakius," the scout said professionally, with the voice of a young lady.

Drakius nodded and gestured to the seat in front of his desk, and the lieutenant took a seat. The female scout folded her hands on her lap and waited for her superior to talk.

"Thank you for coming so quickly, lieutenant," the head witch said professionally but with a hint of kindness. "But, as you probably figured, this isn't a social visit."

"I understand, head witch," the Lieutenant said, nodding. "And I'm ready for my assignment."

Drakius offered a small smile at his subordinate and grabbed the armrest of his chair. A grimace crossed his face as he slowly got to his feet. The lieutenant moved to offer her help, but Head witch stopped her by holding out a hand.

It took a second, but the head witch stood, and he took a deep breath.

"Before I give you your assignment, Lieutenant," Drakius said, "What do you know about the rumors surrounding a cult?"

The Lieutenant frowned under her helmet as she thought about the head witch's words. She had heard the rumors but largely ignored them because they seemed too far-fetched to care about.

"I'm afraid I don't know much about the rumors," The lieutenant answered honestly. "But, Head witch, I failed to see what to do with my assignment."

"A lot, actually," Drakius seriously spoke.

He reached to his desk and pushed the report he was looking at over to his lieutenant. The scout picked up as the head witch explained things.

"Yesterday, a little after noon, eye-witnesses reported Edalyn Clawthorne was involved in an incident that resulted in a fight around the marketplace."

"Of course she did," the lieutenant said with disdain. "No doubt she got into another fight with some Scout Unit."

"Actually, the Owl Lady was the victim in this incident," Drakius clarified. "The witnesses testified that Eda wasn't the instigator."

The Lieutenant looked up at the head witch, and Drakius didn't need to see the woman's face to know she was caught off guard by the news.

"I found that hard to believe," the lieutenant voiced, disbelief in her voice.

"When every eye-witness says the same thing, it's hard to deny," Drakius replied with a smile and then turned serious. "Now for your assignment. Please read that file."

The lieutenant nodded and read the file. Drakius grimaced as he sat back down. Once the lieutenant read the report, she looked at her superior and was clearly confused.

"Head witch, I don't see what any of this has to do with my assignment?" the lieutenant said, voicing her confusion.

Drakius sighed and gestured for the report back. The lieutenant handed it back to her head witch without questions.

"The reports match up with the description the rumor said about the cult," Drakius explained, his tone darkening, "But there are other things that are troubling about all of this. I'm sure you noticed during your read."

The lieutenant gave a reluctant nod. She had seen it in the report, and it didn't sit right with her.

"Edalyn Clawthorne was made a criminal of the Emperor six years ago. During that time, and through numerous pursuits had led her to become a very…troubling person to arrest," the lieutenant spoke reluctantly.

Drakius nodded and looked at the report. He skimmed through it for a second and then looked at his lieutenant.

"But these cultists were able to constantly surprise the Owl Lady," The Head Witch added. "So, lieutenant, your assignment is this. I want to interview Edalyn Clawthorne and get her point of view on this matter."

The head witch didn't need to see his subordinate's face to know she was surprised.

"As it stands, Eda is one of the few who has seen these cultists up close, and I liked to get her input on them," Darkius clarified. "Is that understood?"

"...Yes, Head witch," the lieutenant said reluctantly. "But, may I ask something?"

Drakius put on an easy smile as he leaned back into his chair.

"You know I allow my subordinates of any rank to speak freely," the human witch answered. "So, don't hold back."

The lieutenant took a second to pick her words.

"Why are you so…focused on this cult?" The lieutenant asked slowly. "Aren't they just mainly rumors? Even this new evidence doesn't prove the cult is real. For all we know, this was just some wild witches trying to make names for themselves and using the rumor to mask their true nature."

The Head Witch sighed as his entire demeanor changed, becoming more serious.

"It's like my mentor used to say: all stories are true," Drakius seriously spoke and clarified when he saw the lieutenant look at him, confused. "I have come to believe that every story or rumor starts out from something true. Whether it's a rumor started by a witchling on a slaygrounds or in some back alley, a rumor starts from somewhere true."

The lieutenant was intrigued, and Drakius picked up on this and offered her a smile.

"The fact there are rumors about a cult, one that has lasted longer than a year, is cause for alarm. But I think I held you up with my year-long side project long enough. Dismissed!"

The lieutenant nodded, got up, and saluted to her superior. She turned and walked to the door. But before she could leave, Drakius called out to her.

"Lilith, one more thing before you leave." Lilith turned and gave her full attention to her superior. "You have been a lieutenant for three months. While most would consider it formal, you are no longer required to wear your mask full time."

Lilith stared at her superior for a second and sighed. She reached up, pushed down her hood, and carefully removed her mask. She pulled her mess of red hair free.

"I understand, Head Witch Drakius," Lilith replied, a hint of sheepishness in her voice, "But it easier to keep it on than having the others teasing me."

Drakius offered his lieutenant a smile and nodded. Lilith returned the gesture and took a second to put her hood and mask back on before she left.

(SC)

The first thing Eda noticed as she stepped into the midmorning air was an ice sculpture to her right. She looked around and saw many sculptures littering her yard.

Eda walked up to one of the sculptures and couldn't help but be impressed. The sculpture wasn't anything special; it lacked detail, but she could tell the squirt was trying to form something with her ice.

She looked around again and saw some ice leading towards the back. With a small smile, she followed the trail to the back of the house. Sure enough, she came upon Camila playing with her ice glyphs, as Raine had named it.

Eda leaned against her house, her smile turning motherly as she watched the squirt work.

Camila put a glyph card on the ground and, after a moment of thought, tipped the glyph. Eda watched as the piece disintegrated and ice rose in its place. The wild witch watched as the ice twisted and jolted, trying to take the shape its caster imagined.

Eda frowned as she watched the ice suddenly stop and settle into an L shape and looked at Camila. The human's face fell, and she plopped down on her butt. She also looked like she was about to cry, making Eda think she had been at this for a while.

Eda couldn't help but smile at the scene, secretly finding it cute.

The wild witch faintly blushed as she realized her train of thought. She quickly tried to shove that thought into the back of her mind and pushed off the house.

"Hey, Squirt, like a hand?" Eda asked in a surprisingly soft tone.

Camila looked up at the wild witch with an angry pout, and Eda again thought it was cute. She once more pushed that thought to the back of her head and offered the human a hand.

Camila looked away as she took Eda's hand. The wild witch smiled as she helped Camila to her feet. She was about to say something when the human's stomach's faint growling reached her ears.

"How about breakfast," Eda suggested softly. "Then you can get back to your magic trying. How does that sound?"

Camila looked at the witch with a slight blush and nodded. Eda smiled and led Camila through the back door. The two walked into the kitchen just as Hooty came slithering in.

"Guess who made a new friend?" he asked chipperly, "It was me!"

The house demon then uncoiled his body, dropping the Coven Scout he had. The witch groaned as she hit the ground rough. The scout rubbed her butt in a rather undignified way and then looked at the Owl House residents.

Realizing where she was, the scout got to her feet and readied herself for a fight. Eda also got ready for a fight, putting Camila behind her and summoning her staff.

Eda frowned as she recognized the uniform of the Coven Scout lieutenant but could see a familiar mess of red hair sticking out of the uniform.

"Wait…Lily?" Eda squeaked.

Lilith sighed as she relaxed her stance and took off her head and mask. She grabbed her hair, pulled it free, and looked at her sister with a forced smile.

"Greetings, Edalyn," Lilith said politely.

Eda didn't relax her stance as she stared deep into her sister's eyes. A meeting between the Clawthorne sisters never ends well. Lilith most had sensed her sister's and held up her hands.

"I know you might find this hard to believe, sister," Lilith said calmly, "But I am not here to arrest you. I am…"

Lilith trailed off as she noticed for the first time the child clinging to her little sister. She stared at the child for a solid minute, looking over and studying the girl's features as her brain slowed to a crawl.

The lieutenant's eyes drifted to her sister, then to the child, and back to Eda. Eventually, Lilith looked at both of them as she stepped back. She noticed that the child looked like the witch Eda had been dating, and if she looked hard enough, she swore she saw tints of gold in the child's eyes.

Add to the fact that the child's hair was similar to Lilith's mother's in her prime, and Lilith came to one logical conclusion.

"EDALYN! WHEN YOU DID YOU HAVE A CHILD!?

(G Corner)

So, I figured that the Scouts we see with darker uniforms and ash-gray masks are higher-rank scouts, and since, at this time, Lilith had only been in the Emperor's Coven for close to 15 years, she wouldn't be a Coven Head just yet.