Gehetag 2, Sixth Lunar Disappearance, 50 CE | The Owl House

Luz threw herself onto her bed and buried her face into a pillow. After a few seconds of muffled screaming, she flipped over and stared at the ceiling.

Titan, why did I just do that?

In all her time at school, she had never once called a teacher "Mom". She had always made sure to call her teachers by their title, and she wouldn't be caught dead calling any of them the title that was reserved solely for Camila Noceda. If that had ever happened and word got out, it would have been a social death sentence. Plus, it would have just given more ammunition to Taylor and her cronies. It was already bad enough that they had decided that banding her with the moniker of "Luz-er" was the funniest thing ever, and they would probably think that "Momma's girl" was even more of a knee-slapper. So, yeah, Luz would wade through the guts of every trash slug on the Isles before she would ever call any of her teachers "Mom."

Yet she had just called Eda "Mamá."

I mean, it's not like Eda isn't motherly. Even if it is in her own Eda way.

Luz thought back to all the fun things that she, Eda, and King had done together. There were the big things they had done, like the prison break at the Conformatorium, not to mention the whole ordeal she had just gone through just hours earlier with Tre, Ivy, and the Bat Queen. But there were also the smaller things that Luz had enjoyed as well, like watching trashy soap operas on the CB or pulling pranks on unsuspecting Emperor's Coven scouts. Luz wasn't exactly watching Wheel of Misfortune with Mr. Berenson on the reg back in Gravesfield. Those weren't things you did with someone who was just your teacher. Those were things you did with a parent.

But that brought up a whole new quandary for Luz to deal with. If she was beginning to see Eda as a mother figure (and that was a giant if), what did that mean she saw Camila as? It wasn't like she could have two moms, right?

Right?

A knock at her bedroom door snapped Luz out of whatever silly funk she was in. The voice of the Owl Lady could be heard through the wood.

"Hey, Luz. You up for a talk?" Eda asked, making sure to stay in the doorway and not intrude on the basilisk's space.

Luz propped herself up on her elbows and took a deep breath to compose herself before answering. "Sure, come on in."

Eda slowly opened the door, carrying a bowl of sancocho in her free arm. After placing the bowl down on Luz's bedside table, she took a seat on the foot of Luz's bed. "Look, kid. I may not speak Spain-ish, or whatever that language is, but I'm pretty sure you called me Mom back there. Is that right?"

Luz nodded. "Yeah," she responded quietly.

Eda let out a long exhale. "Well dang, kid. Didn't know you thought so highly of me," she said with a smirk, before growing serious. "Look, Luz. If you want to call me Mom, Mamá, whatever, I'm cool with that. Call me whatever you're comfortable with, whether that be 'Eda', 'Owl Lady', or anything in between. Well, except 'Edalyn'. Only my parents and Lily get to call me that and live. Anything else is fair game, though. That sound good to you?"

Luz sat up. "Yeah, that sounds okay. I think I'm going to stick with 'Eda' though, if that's alright."

Eda got off the bed and onto her feet. "It is. Well, King and I are going to be in the kitchen munching on the rest of the san-co-cho, and if you want seconds you're more than free to come on down." With a grin and a flash of her signature gold fang, Eda quietly closed the door to Luz's room, leaving the basilisk alone with her thoughts yet again.

Draping her legs over the side of the bed and grabbing the bowl of sancocho that Eda had left, Luz took a test bite. The broth had somehow gotten even better now that the hot sauce that Eda supplied had mixed fully with the existing elements, and the spice had taken the flavor to another level. The griffin chunks were also exquisite, having just the right mix of tenderness and chewiness. Taking another spoonful, Luz tried the yuca and squash, both of which were excellent as well. She had to admit that this was some of the best sancocho she had ever had. Given, it wasn't as good as Camila's, but that was an impossibly high bar to surpass.

Before Luz could realize what was happening, she finished the bowl in record time. Deciding it was finally time to rejoin society, Luz returned to the kitchen and placed the empty bowl and spoon in the sink. Eda and King had apparently found the sancocho as good as she did, as the pot that once held the meal was in the sink as well. It was empty, save for a few stray chunks of squash.

Moving into the living room, Luz found Eda and King on the couch, both enraptured by a show on the crystal ball. Making her presence known to the two, Luz plopped down in front of the couch and took a seat with her legs crossed.

"What show is this?" Luz didn't recognize the character onscreen. Currently, a witch (like, the stereotypical Earth version of a witch, green skin and all) had a lit firework situated in a bucket of paint inside what was presumably their house. Luz had no idea what they were trying to do, but Eda apparently found it hilarious.

"Mr. Legume," Eda answered between fits of laughter.

"Yeah, this guy's super funny!" King added, barely able to stop himself from laughing alongside the Owl Lady.

On the CB, Mr. Legume sat nestled in a corner, ears plugged, waiting for the firework to go off. Unbeknownst to him, though, his palisman (a snorse) had decided it was hungry for a snack and had flown into the kitchen. Unfortunately, that was where tha paint bucket and firework was, so when Mr. Legume heard the firework go off and returned to his kitchen, he found it completely covered except for a snorse-shaped section that was free of paint.

Luz had to admit that, even though there wasn't much dialogue to the show, the facial expressions and slapstick comedy more than made up for it. As she watched episode after episode with Eda and King, Luz slowly grew tired. Grabbing her tail behind her (When did you show up? Luz thought) and using it as a pillow, the human-basilisk hybrid decided it was a good time to take a nap.

Some time later, Luz awoke to now find herself on the couch, swaddled up in blankets like some kind of Luz burrito. Sunlight was streaming through the window of the living room, so she at least knew it was still daytime. Mr. Legume was still playing, and now the titular character was up to his wacky hijinks at a healer's ward. Emerging from her blanket cocoon, Luz let out a yawn and rubbed at her eyes. She grabbed the CB remote and turned off the device.

How long had she been out?

Shuffling into the kitchen, her tail laying limp behind her, Luz grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter and took a bite. Taking a seat at the table so she could finish her snack, Luz saw a note that had been left out for her. Shifting the apple to her left hand, she picked up the slip of paper and began to read it.

King and I are out shopping, and we probably won't be back until midnight, so you're home alone for the time being. (The bird worm doesn't count.) That means you are responsible for feeding yourself dinner and whatever snacks you may want. If you don't feel up to cooking for yourself, I've left you twenty snails to have some Taco Hell or whatever delivered. (Or you could be like King and blow it on Sin-A-Bun.) The money is in the top left cabinet. Didn't want the little gremlin to swipe it for himself when my back was turned, so I had to put it up high. Anyways, be sure to stay safe, make good choices, yada yada yada.

- Eda

Taking another bite of her apple, Luz flipped over the note to see if there was anything on the other side, but there wasn't. Rising from her seat and checking the indicated cabinet, she indeed found a twenty-snail bill. Pocketing the money, she turned to look at the clock hanging above the stove. It was nearing dinner time. Dang, she must have been out for at least six hours. Her body must have really needed that nap.

Luz's stomach rumbled. Okay, it was time for dinner. However, she didn't really feel up to the task of cooking for herself, so ordering off the CB it was. Walking back into the living room, Luz took another large bite of the apple to tide herself over. Grabbing the CB remote and turning the device back on, she toggled over to the search function.

Hmm… what would be a good dinner for cheap? She wasn't feeling Taco Hell, as the Hell it put her through was in the bathroom. She also doubted there was a Boiling Isles equivalent to McRonald's, so that was off the menu as well. Maybe there was a pizza joint that would deliver to the Owl House? It was worth a shot.

Typing "pizza" into the search bar, Luz waited to see if there were any results. Surprisingly, there were. There weren't many good ones, though. Uncle Jim's Pizza had five stars, but that was only based on twelve reviews, so Luz was wary. Tiny Tyrant Pizza was on the other side of the spectrum, with a lot of reviews, but most of them being negative or mediocre. The only place that Luz could find with a substantial amount of reviews that leaned toward the positive side was Hellfire Pies, so that was the one she chose.

Navigating to the company's page, Luz scrolled around until she found the "Order Now!" button. Once she pressed that, she was taken to another page where she crafted her order. It was a little disorienting when she was picking what she wanted on her pie, since there would be something so normal to her, like a tomato sauce for the base, but right next to that would be the alternative option of abomination goop. Luz didn't even think that stuff was edible! Nevertheless, the basilisk eventually settled on a small thin-crust pizza with tomato sauce, griffin cheese (Thank Titan she didn't inherit her mother's lactose intolerance.), and toppings of ratworm chunks, griffin slices, pepperoncini, plus a sprinkling of onion for good measure. While it might not have been the traditional pepperoni or plain cheese that Luz was used to, she might as well expand her palette while in another realm. After finalizing the order, Luz flipped the CB back over to broadcast mode to see what was playing.

"PIZZA'S HERE HOOT HOOT!"

Muting the episode of Reptilia and slowly walking over to the, Luz fished the twenty snails out of her pocket and opened the front door. On the doorstep of the Owl House stood a younger witch who barely looked to be out of their teenage years, a pizza box in one hand and a snail collection jar in the other. (How the Isles hadn't figured out the concept of a credit card yet, Luz would never know.)

"I've got a small build-your-own pie for Liz Nokayda," the witch said, reading off the receipt.

"Luz Noceda," the girl replied, correcting the pronunciation, "but, yeah, that's me."

The delivery witch handed Luz her pizza, and she could already smell the cheesy goodness inside. "Your total is thirteen snails."

Luz handed over the twenty-snail bill, which the delivery witch took before looking in the collection jar to fetch the basilisk her change. As the witch moved to hand the girl back her seven snails, they noticed that she had human ears.

"Wait a second, are you a –"

Oh crud, Luz thought, I forgot to morph witch ears!

"I'll let you keep the change if you don't mention me to anyone, ever," Luz interrupted before the witch could finish their question.

The witch just stared at Luz before slowly depositing the seven snails in their own pocket. "Alright, deal. I need the cash, anyway."

"Okay, thank you, bye!" Luz said quickly before slamming the door in their face.

Phew! Crisis averted!

Setting the pizza on the coffee table in front of the CB and cranking the volume back up, Luz grabbed a paper plate from the kitchen before resuming her spot on the couch. Taking a slice from the pizza box, the pie had come out perfect. Today might have been wild and crazy, but right now she had pizza, a funny animated show on the CB, and life was good.