A/N: Hello again, my friends! Welcome back to The Owlcast! This chapter wound up taking me a little longer to write than I thought it would. Between the terrible heatwave that has now descended upon us and me just generally not being well, my work ethic has been quite slow. Also, my weekends have been occupied with writing for the next update for Her Deadly Thorns, so this hasn't helped much either. XD But at last, I've gotten it done. A little over two months later, but it's still been done.

I will warn you all now that not much happens during this chapter. It's mostly focused on dialogue that occurs between Lizzie, Luz, King and Eda to set up for later events, especially surrounding Eda's curse. But I think compared to last chapter, this one is a little more light-hearted and feelsy. More character bonding and interaction focused. Though, I can imagine when things ramp up... this chapter is going to sting for some of you. XD

In any case, thank you all for the views, favourites, follows and reviews. Your continued support is greatly appreciated. It's nice to see The Owlcast gain a bit of traction again considering the terrible hit it took a couple of months back. Extra author's notes and answers to reviews will appear at the bottom of the chapter, so do stick around for that. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the next chapter.

Chapter 64: A Close Call

Lizzie's heart was racing ten to the dozen as she darted to the top floor of the cottage, each of her steps thudding in time with the palpitations acting her eardrums. Her thoughts were as scrambled as King's breakfast, her vision a blurred and watery mess of colours blending into the tears welling to her eyes. She was struggling to breathe, greedily gasping for air like a fish drowning on oxygen. But none of it slowed her down, her body pushing on and running up each set of stairs and from one end of each hallway to the other off muscle memory alone, practically leaving Luz in the dust.

'This can't be happening! Eda's curse hasn't bothered her in weeks! We've kept on top of her elixir schedule! She's restricted her magic usage wherever she can! I made sure of that! So, how…?!'

Unless Eda's curse had finally progressed to the point where her elixirs had completely stopped working—a terrible thought that stirred up the dread deep in the pits of Lizzie's stomach.

'Don't tell me… Eda's curse is finally—?'

A loud bang echoed from the third floor of the Owl House by the time Lizzie charged up the last set of stairs, startling her back to reality. The blonde witch gritted her teeth and growled, briefly squeezing her eyes shut and vigorously shaking her head a couple of times to get rid of her tears.

'Focus, Elisabeth! Just see what you're dealing with first!'

With heaving breaths, Lizzie legged it down the third-floor hallway and then skidded sideways upon closing in on the open doors of Eda's attic bedroom, coming to a complete halt right in the middle of the doorway.

"Eda!" Lizzie cried out breathlessly, staggering her way into the room and readying her index finger to cast a spell if needed. "I'm here!"

It took the blonde witch a moment to process the current state of the room, yet the moment her green eyes located the Owl Lady beside her nest, Lizzie's brows raised sharply with the lowering of her finger and a befuddled blink.

Eda was fine. She was on her hands and knees, panting and rubbing a hand at her sternum, but there wasn't a single sign of the Owl Beast's usual features. No feathers, no fur, no clawed hands, no talons, no unusually large and pointy ears or fangs, no black or enlarged pupils. All Lizzie could see was Eda's regular maroon and hem-ripped dress, her golden and slightly pointed nails, her grey and white, bushy hair, her signature golden fang and golden eyes; basically, how Lizzie was used to seeing Eda.

'What the…?'

King was standing at Eda's side upon Lizzie's entrance into the attic room, gently patting and rubbing at her back with a paw. That all changed when Luz's hurried footsteps bounded down the hallway outside, with both Lizzie and the little demon looking to the doorway just in time to catch the Latina human copying the former's sideways skid as she came into view.

"Liz, is Eda—?!" Luz barely took a step into the room before her hazel eyes locked onto the Owl Lady's kneeling form, her panic instantly evaporating with a frown at seeing Eda looked normal. "Huh?"

"Ahem!" King cleared his throat and approached the confused adult witch and teenage human standing in the doorway, holding up his paws on either side of his head out of reassurance. "False alarm, people! Nothing to see here! The King of Demons has everything under control!"

"But…" Lizzie forced out with another disbelieved blink, her eyes flitting back and forth between Eda and King a couple of times. "We heard Eda's roar from downstairs."

"It definitely sounded like Eda had turned into the Owl Beast!" Luz added dumbfoundedly while scratching at the side of her head.

King nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, Eda almost did!" The little demon held his head high and moved his paws to his hips in a wide stance. "Fortunately, the King of Demons was nearby, quickly and heroically springing into action!" He briefly raised one of his paws to give the older witch and human a little wave. "There's no need to thank me!"

Outwardly, Lizzie playfully rolled her eyes at King's prideful boasting. Inwardly, however, she was releasing the biggest sigh of relief that she hadn't even realised she was holding.

'Thank the Titan for King! Looks like my earlier thoughts was just the paranoia of yesterday getting the—'

Luz's horrified gasp interrupted Lizzie's train of thought, returning the blonde-haired witch to reality just as the Latina teen pointed at Eda and nearly yelled at the top of her lungs. "Eda…! Your gem…!"

Lizzie followed Luz's finger to the golden gem on Eda's sternum, now exposed thanks to the Owl Lady lifting her head and moving it to a higher angle to get a look for herself. The younger witch's green eyes bulged at seeing the bottom half of the gem shrouded in black, recalling witnessing a similar sight on the night she found Eda in her bedroom.

'It's still black? But isn't it supposed to change back to gold after Eda turns back to normal?'

Lizzie had no idea what the purpose of Eda's gem was and how it was connected to her curse, with the older witch having yet to discuss it with either her, Luz or King since they'd found out her little secret. However, Lizzie and Luz had concluded based on previous observations of Eda's curse acting up that the gem only changed colour when Eda was either close to or in the process of transforming into the Owl Beast. Lizzie remembered the last time she'd used the elixirs on Eda she'd witnessed the gem change from black to gold. So, of course, she was just as surprised as Luz was at the revelation, with even King cocking his head to the side with a perplexed blink.

"Oh, yeah, Luz is right," the little demon remarked. "I didn't notice that before now."

Eda's head instantly snapped up at hearing this, a bead of sweat trickling down from one of her temples as her shoulders visibly stiffened.

"W-What?! This?!" she hastily replied through a nervous laugh, forcing a wide smile that unnaturally stretched her skin on her face as she quickly tried to cover her discoloured gem. "Y-You're nuts, kid! It's always looked like this!"

"It didn't look like that when I saw you earlier!" Luz sternly retorted, a matching scowl gracing her brows. "Your gem only turns black when you need your elixir. So, why hasn't it changed back to gold?"

"Maybe 'cause I need some more elixir?" Eda argued defensively, staggering to her feet. "Either way, I'm not sprouting feathers and the like anymore, so there's nothing to—"

The sound of clinking glass against her heel silenced Eda's further protests. Everyone's eyes glanced to the small pile of empty vials piled behind Eda, prompting the Owl Lady herself to widely blink in surprise. By Lizzie's quick count alone, she estimated there was at least more than ten bottles there.

'Uh oh…'

"King?" Eda tentatively addressed the little demon, directing a concerned frown in the little demon's direction. "How much elixir did you give me?"

"Uh…" King uttered and briefly glanced up at the ceiling, tapping his bony cheek with a claw a couple of times during his pondering. A few seconds passed before he awkwardly smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "I sorta lost count after elixir number six."

"There's more than six," Lizzie bluntly stated, pausing to count the elixir bottles under her breath using her finger to manually track each one. "Thirteen, by my count."

Just saying the number out loud left a bitter taste on Lizzie's tongue. It was almost quadruple the amount of elixirs she'd been taking since the last time her curse's resistance had worsened, and in such a short amount of time to boot.

"Thirteen?!" Eda loudly repeated. She tightened her grip on her gem and darted her golden eyes about the scattered glass, scratching at the back of her bushy head with her other hand. "I don't even down that many bottles of apple blood!"

'And yet your usual count of apple blood is also a concerning amount,' Lizzie retorted in her thoughts, making sure Eda didn't hear her in case she derailed the current conversation. This wasn't the time for her to be drawing attention to the wrong problem.

"But that was what was left of Eda's elixir supply from last night," Luz quietly pointed out, her brows furrowing with concern as she glanced between Lizzie and Eda multiple times. "A-And it's so much more than what you should be taking…!"

'Oh, Titan, she's piecing it together,' Lizzie worriedly thought, a lump springing to her throat as she watched Luz fix her focus onto Eda with quivering lips.

"Eda," Luz's voice cracked at the next words to leave her tongue. "Does this mean your curse is getting worse?"

There it was: the dreaded question Lizzie had been waiting for Luz to ask for a long time now, making her quietly gulp to force the lump back down her gullet.

In all honesty, the blonde witch hadn't expected either her or Eda to keep up the ruse for as long as they had done. Sure, Lizzie knew that she and Eda weren't going to keep this hidden from Luz and King forever, but as green intently locked with gold for a solid ten seconds, that didn't stop the nervous sweat from breaking out on Lizzie, coating her forehead and almost sticking her fringe to it.

'Eda hasn't confirmed it herself, but going off my knowledge on potions and elixirs, Luz's conclusion is accurate. All signs point to Eda's curse becoming resistant to the elixir. So, depending on how Eda answers Luz's question, it might finally be time to drop the act.'

A tense silence veiled over the attic bedroom like a thick blanket. Luz stared at Eda intensely upon stilling her lips, the watery sheen over her eyes pleading with the Owl Lady to give her an honest answer. Lizzie used her cardigan sleeve to wipe away the sweat from her face and then crossed her arms, keeping the focus of her own gaze on Eda to await her response. And then there was King tentatively tapping his claws together, his head constantly turning between the teenage human and the older witch amidst their little stare off.

It took a while before the Owl Lady said anything, with Eda's golden eyes flitting over all three of her technical charges multiple times and for a few seconds each, as though her mind was scrambling to come up with a reassuring answer (most likely a white lie, Lizzie naturally assumed. Because when was Eda ever willingly honest about something unless she was pushed to be?). But eventually, Eda groaned loudly in defeat and slumped her body forward so her arms were hanging limp, pinching the bridge of her nose between an index finger and thumb.

"Ugh! I'm too tired to come up with a convenient lie!" she complained, making Lizzie shake her head out of disappointment and briefly close her eyes.

'For Titan's sake, Eda! Would it really kill you to just be honest for once?'

And as if the Owl Lady had read Lizzie's mind, she righted herself with an irritated huff and made her way over to where the blonde witch was standing.

"Here's the deal, kids: during the incident at the Slayground, I needed an extra bottle of elixir to turn me back to normal. At first, I didn't think it was a problem." Eda stopped beside Lizzie and placed a firm hand on her shoulder, turning to face Luz and King with the drooping of her eyes. "Until Redwood looked over your little logbook and discovered it wasn't just a one-off. There were other days where I took slightly more elixir than usual."

"W-Wait, what?!" Luz spluttered an octave higher than she intended and held her palms up, flitting her head back and forth between Lizzie and Eda in a mixture of disbelief and shock. Meanwhile, King stayed quiet, but his shocked silence didn't stop him from widening his eyes at the two witches and slacking his jaw. "T-This has been going on for that long?!"

"Afraid so."

Luz slapped a palm to her forehead and dug her fingers into her hair a bit, frowning in thought for a few seconds. "How didn't I notice this before?! Lizzie and I were both keeping track of your elixirs daily, so—!"

Lizzie saw the moment the realisation dawned upon the human teenager when Luz's pupils shrunk two sizes, her whole body freezing over as though Eda had just picked her up and tossed her into a pile of snow from the Knee. It took several seconds for Luz to muster up the courage to look Lizzie in the eyes, her own hazel ones beginning to glisten with the faint knitting of her brows.

"Were you covering for Eda?"

Each word that left Luz's lips was a sharp stab to Lizzie's chest, not helped by the obviously hurt and betrayed expression the younger girl was now giving her. Not that Lizzie could blame Luz for being upset with her. She did promise to be more open with her going forward, a promise she'd gone back on.

But as Lizzie opened her mouth to explain herself, a harsh squeeze from the hand still on her shoulder swiftly closed it again.

"Don't be too hard on her, Luz," the Owl Lady calmly interjected, raising her other palm out of reassurance. "I asked Lizzie to keep you and the goofball in the dark. She was just doing it out of respect for my wishes." Eda leaned forward and covered the side of her mouth with her hand, lowering her voice at the next thing she said but still speaking loudly enough for the blonde witch to hear her. "Though believe me, it took a lot to wear her down! She really didn't want to hide it from you!"

Lizzie playfully rolled her eyes at the joking (and slightly exaggerated) jab, then relaxed her shoulders upon seeing Luz's own sadness and pain melt away. Looks like Eda's words managed to get through to her. Though it wasn't going to stop the blonde witch from properly making amends, however.

"Still, I'm sorry for hiding the truth from you and King, Luz," Lizzie sincerely apologised, awkwardly rubbing a hand at the back of her neck. "Like Eda said, I was against the idea of being secretive. But it's her curse, and I didn't feel it was my place to say anything. Not to mention, we weren't sure if what was happening at the time was serious. We just didn't want to worry you unless you actually needed to, you know?"

"Yeah, I get that," Luz replied calmly, tilting her head in the direction of the empty elixir bottles piled up close to Eda's nest. "I mean, compared to what happened just now, it sounds like Eda's curse hadn't progressed that badly."

"Yeah. It was just one extra bottle every so often. And up until today, we had things under control." Lizzie sighed heavily and glimpsed at Eda's empty elixir vials. "But now I'm starting to wonder if you're right. It does seem like the curse is getting worse."

Eda gave the younger witch a harsh slap on the back, making Lizzie wobble and almost fall over upon stumbling forward a couple of steps. "Nah! Don't worry your little blonde noggin', Redwood! Because it's not the curse getting worse," she proudly declared, causing Lizzie, Luz and King to send the Owl Lady a bewildered blink each.

"Does that mean you've finally figured out what's been causing your problem?" Lizzie questioned.

"Not exactly. But my curse acting up just now gave me a sudden thought."

"Which is?"

"Well, sometimes, stress can cause my curse to flare up—something I haven't told you three about yet, by the way—" Lizzie, Luz and King narrowed their eyes at that, prompting the Owl Lady to hastily continue and gesture a hand towards the middle of the trio. "And ever since Luz came along, we were having quite a few run-ins with the law compared to what we're used to, along with other trouble."—Eda poked Lizzie's nose with a clawed fingernail, startling the blonde witch and making her flinch—"You know I'm not one to air my feelings out in the open often—"

"You mean at all," King sceptically uttered under his breath with drooped eyes and crossed arms, which Eda never caught.

"—so it might come as a surprise that the change in situation may have been making me a little stressed out. Same with the incident with Lilith and Tool-bag too. Which means…"

Eda trailed off and lowered her hand to her side again, unable to finish the rest of her sentence or look the trio in the eyes as she lowered her head and bore holes into her partially black-coloured gem on her sternum. Although, she didn't need to explain further for Luz, Lizzie and King to understand where she was going with her explanation, the middle of the trio sighing heavily and frowning out of concern.

"You think the stress of everything that's been happening is what's causing your curse's resistance to the elixir," she quietly concluded on her employer's behalf, prompting Eda to nod stiffly in reply.

"Yup," Eda confirmed, running her clawed fingernails along her gem and tracing the watery outline of the thick black bubbling away like the boiling water inside of a witch's cauldron. "Knocked the nail right on the head there, Redwood."

"That actually makes a lot of sense, thinking about it," Lizzie mumbled as she frowned and cupped a hand to her chin, ignoring King clawing his way up the back of her nightgown and cardigan to pull himself up onto one of her shoulders. "On the day we were forced to go to the Night Market because you were sprouting feathers, that occurred a short time after the chaos at Covention." The blonde witch waggled a finger in the direction of the Owl Lady, her frown deepening a bit. "And when Owlbert came to fetch me during the night the day before you took Luz and King to the Slayground."—Lizzie ignored the wide eyes and shocked gawks King and Luz both directed at her upon hearing this revelation—"That incident happened a little time after you and Luz had that argument over your teaching methods and you decided to get her into Hexside."

"Is that why you were tired the next morning?!" Luz exclaimed.

"You liar!" King shouted and pointed a claw at Lizzie accusingly. "You said it was high-pitched screeching from the forest keeping you awake!"

"Which would make me a 'white liar', King," Lizzie corrected jokingly. "Because high-pitched screeching did keep me awake." She jabbed her thumb at Eda. "But it wasn't from the forest."

"You still lied!"

"And now you know why." The blonde witch reached over to give the little demon a patronising pat on the head. "So, don't worry about it."

King grumbled something inaudible under his breath and drooped his eyes in response, prompting Lizzie to smile cheekily upon pulling away and returning her attention to Eda.

"Either way, Eda, I agree with you. There's definitely a pattern with the timing. But that now begs the question." Lizzie pointed at the empty elixir bottles on the opposite side of the room, scowling sternly and placing her other hand to her hip. "What exactly can we do to limit your elixir intake?"

"Yeah!" Luz said as she stepped closer to Lizzie's side, giving the back of King's head a light scratch (an action he appeared to appreciate, based on the way his eyes blissfully closed and his head tilted up with a contented hum). "King was lucky you had enough elixir to cover you this time. But that was the last of your supply." Luz gestured her finger back and forth between her and Lizzie. "And Liz and I only have five backup elixirs on hand during another emergency."

"Meaning you're going to need to procure more from Morton asap." Lizzie leaned in close to Eda and prodded her hard in the chest with a finger, narrowing her eyes a little. "Which is especially dangerous to do now, thanks to Lilith. There's no telling what lengths she's prepared to stoop to if either Luz, King or I try to get the elixir on your behalf."

Lizzie momentarily shuddered upon recalling the terrible moment during Covention where she watched in horror as her own cousin tossed poor King from the room's stands and towards those earth spikes. King wasn't even involved in the conflict going on, and yet Xander was more than prepared to use him simply because he knew the little demon was associated with his target. If Xander was prepared to use someone close to her as bait for his own endeavours, then Lizzie wouldn't put it past Lilith to do the same with either her, Luz or King just to get to Eda.

"Ha!" Eda snorted and physically waved Luz's and Lizzie's concerns off with both hands, fanning them back and forth in the air and forcing Lizzie upright again. "Did you girls forget who you're talking to?" The Owl Lady grinned wickedly and shot the trio a cheeky wink, causing her golden fang to glisten under the morning sun. "Why'd you think I slipped out to the Night Market last night, huh? I've been preparing for this situation!"

As Eda twirled round and strutted over to the back of her nest, Lizzie gawked at the older witch's retreating back in disbelief. "That's where you slipped out to?"

"Does it matter? I figured you'd be proud of me for being responsible and organised for once!"

"Not telling anyone where you're going isn't 'being responsible'!"

"True." Eda stopped beside her nest and glanced over her shoulder at the blonde witch with a toothy smirk, pointing her nose to the ceiling and standing proud with a hand to her hip. "But having a plan makes me 'organised'!"

Lizzie finally fell quiet as she, Luz and King watched Eda crouch down and reach out to grab something from behind her nest.

"Regarding my curse: as long as I limit my magic use, that should keep it from rearing its ugly head for a while. And as for Lilith and the emperor's other goons…" The Owl Lady trailed off and grunted as she stood up and hauled a medium-sized black cauldron up from the floor by its handles, plonking it on the ground in front of her feet with an echoing thud. "… they'll have nothing on me with this!"

Lizzie and Luz approached the cauldron and gathered round it to get a better peek at its contents (all the while, King stayed on Lizzie's shoulder), revealing long and dark-blue thread coated in a glowing golden outline almost piled up to the brim of the cauldron's opening. Luz's eyes grew wide and sparkled, an awe-filled gasp escaping her lips as she lightly smacked her palms to her cheeks.

"Ooooooh! Magic 'sghetti!"

Luz reached out a hand to touch it, but she swiftly stopped partway by Lizzie loosely grasping at her wrist.

"That's not food, Luz." Upon releasing the younger human, the blonde witch moved closer to the cauldron's opening and squinted suspiciously. "I think that's 'witch's wool'."

Lizzie's shoulders stiffened at the harsh pat on the head she received from the Owl Lady, releasing a startled yelp from King at the little demon being wobbled about a bit.

"Good observation, my trusted employee," Eda complimented in a jokingly proud tone, earning herself a brief and unamused scowl from said 'trusted employee'. "It is, indeed, witch's wool—a magical material known to repel even the most powerful of spells." The older witch explained that last part for Luz's benefit, eliciting another awed 'Oooooh…' from the human while her hazel eyes remained fixated on the cauldron. "Every witch worth their salt has an item of clothing made from this stuff, but until now, I've struggled to get my hands on some. Lilith's declaration yesterday finally pushed me to try the Night Market. And wouldn't you know it." Eda gestured her palm to the cauldron. "There's a thread store that sells the stuff."

Lizzie huffed and shook her head in disapproval in spite of the explanation. "You still could've just told Luz that in the first place. There's was no need for the secrecy."

Eda scoffed and rolled her eyes in dismissal. "Oh, relax, Redwood! I was never in any danger, curse or otherwise!" She placed a hand to her sternum and straightened her back, holding her head proudly at the ceiling. "I've been on the run from the Emperor's Coven for most of my adult life, my sister included. If they had any chance of catching me, they'd have done it by now!"

Lizzie's eyes drooped with the sagging of her shoulders, grumbling under her breath when Eda grabbed the cauldron's handles and lifted it off the floor. "That's not an achievement to brag about."

"And once I turn this witch's wool into a cloak,"—Lizzie noticed Luz's eyes almost bulge out of their sockets at the word 'cloak'—"my prissy sister ain't gonna know what hit her!"

"Cloak?" Luz repeated. The Latina girl shuffled closer to the cauldron and made grabby motions at it with her fingers, her eyes alighting with an excited glint. "I want cloak!"

"Ah, ah!" Eda sternly stated, turning her body away to move the cauldron out of Luz's reach. "Easy, kid! There's only enough witch's wool for one cloak." She plopped the cauldron down on the floor again and held up an index finger. "And with the emperor's goons potentially coming to my doorstep, I need it for protection."

"Aw," Luz replied despondently and pouted, her body drooping forwards and her arms dangling at her front like a limp rag doll. "And here I thought I could finally get a magical item of clothing that wasn't from a scam."

Eda sighed quietly and reached over to give Luz's hair an affectionate ruffle, forcing a reassuring smile. "Oh, I'm sure you will. Just not today." The Owl Lady put both hands on Luz's shoulders and turned the human around, gently pushing her to the bedroom doorway. "Now, run along, my apprentice!" she ordered in an exaggeratedly authoritative tone, with Lizzie following them while keeping King on her shoulder. "Give me a couple of minutes and I'll meet ya downstairs before you go off to school."

"Wait!" Luz shouted just as Eda pushed her out into the hallway, causing both Eda and Lizzie to stop suddenly. Before either Lizzie or Eda could query what she meant, Luz whipped round and launched herself at the Owl Lady, startling the latter by wrapping her arms tightly around the older witch's middle with a beaming smile and closed eyes. "Comfort hug!"

Eda instinctively widened her stance and squared her shoulders and arms, staring down at Luz with wide golden eyes. Though, her shock soon worsened when King leapt off Lizzie's shoulder and onto the floor, scurrying over to Eda and clinging his body to her closest leg.

"The King of Demons demands a hug too!" he yelled and squeezed his eyes shut tight, only making Eda's body stiffen a little more out of discomfort.

It wasn't until she heard Lizzie's giggling that Eda managed to defrost, the older witch snapping her head in the direction of the younger blonde to see her averting her gaze to the nearby wall to purposely avoid making eye contact.

"Oi, Redwood!" Eda awkwardly gestured her hands at the human and little demon clinging to her for dear life. "A little help here?"

Lizzie waved Eda off and took a quick deep breath to calm down. "Hey, considering what just happened, you should've seen this coming!" When Eda playfully rolled her eyes at the response, Lizzie finally moved to gently pry Luz from the Owl Lady's front and then King from her leg, placing a palm of hers each to their backs to guide them away down the corridor. "Come on, you two. Give Eda some space."

Though as the trio walked away, the blonde-haired witch thought she heard Eda groan and smack a palm to her forehead, muttering under her breath as she walked back into the attic bedroom. "Sheesh. What is with them and that parallel-arm-thing?"

Lizzie quietly chuckled to herself as she continued to lead Luz and King back to the ground floor, shaking her head in amusement.

'I still stand by what I said before: there is no way Eda doesn't know what a 'hug' is. I refuse to believe it.'

However, once the trio had descended to the second floor and were close to approaching the stairs to the cottage's ground-floor, Lizzie was stopped by a harsh tug on her right cardigan sleeve, where Luz had been walking beside her.

"Hey, Liz?" the teenage human hesitantly addressed the older blonde, turning Lizzie's attention towards her.

"Yeah?"

"A-About Eda's curse…" Luz slowly began. But then she trailed off and furrowed her brows a little in thought, momentarily breaking eye contact with the older witch to look at the floor and bite her lip.

Lizzie could tell by the current look on Luz's face that she was most likely having a mental debate with herself about whether she should continue or not. So, the witch patiently waited for the Latina human until she inhaled deeply and gripped a hand at her elbow, forcing her eyes back to Lizzie's when she finally dared to speak again.

"I-I might be overreacting a little by asking this, since Eda pretty much sounded like we have everything under control and all," she resumed in a wobbly and stuttering tone, nervously wringing her hands together close to her middle. "B-But let's say, hypothetically, Eda did succumb to her curse and the elixirs couldn't turn her back. What exactly would happen to her?"

Lizzie's brows raised a little in surprise at the question, a little taken aback at the timing of it rather than the question itself. It was a question Lizzie was expecting either Luz or King to ask at some point, since unlike her, they didn't understand Eda's curse as well and how the elixirs worked in comparison to her. But wasn't this a question that Luz should have asked Eda before they left the room? Then again, considering Eda's track record for lying in comparison to her, why wouldn't Luz ask her instead? Sure, Lizzie wasn't a saint when it came to always telling the truth either (what happened a moment ago was a perfect example of that), but out of her and the Owl Lady, she was definitely the more honest and trustworthy witch, something she'd proved to Luz from the moment Eda introduced her to the Owl House residents.

'Oh, boy. So, we're having this conversation now, are we?'

After a short delay, Lizzie puffed her cheeks out a bit and loudly exhaled, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck with her palm.

"Well… according to what Eda told me, it's likely she'd transform into the Owl Beast and then stay that way forever."

Luz's eyes widened in shock for a few seconds, with Lizzie catching King doing the same from where he was silently listened to the conversation on her other side.

"Forever?" Luz repeated with a disbelieved blink, her voice cracking a little. Lizzie reluctantly nodded, causing the Latina human to frown determinedly and step closer to the older blonde. "B-But can't you do anything? You and Eda are potion experts! Surely, one of you could alter the original recipe so it can cure her curse! O-Or combine it with a spell to make it stronger—"

"You don't think I've already tried those routes, Luz?" Lizzie replied solemnly and without thinking. It took a couple of seconds for the déjà vu to kick itself into gear, the blonde witch blinking widely out of confusion upon realising what she'd said. Wasn't this similar to the same conversation she and Eda had had not too long ago?

'Ooof.' Lizzie curled her lips inward and winced. 'Almost quoted her word for word there.'

But Lizzie's response did little to deter Luz, her determined frown deepening as she thumped her fist against her chest.

"No way!" she argued, her voice raising a little in volume. "There has to be something we can do!" The teenage human started to visibly tremble, with Lizzie swearing she could see the veins on Luz's neck protruding at the frustration threatening to boil over like an overflowing saucepan on a stove. "I don't care how Eda plans to manage her curse! I don't want to wait for Lilith to stress Eda out even more and—"

"Hey," Lizzie calmly interjected, already knowing exactly where this was heading at hearing the younger girl's breathing grow sharp and erratic. When Luz went silent, the blonde-haired witch bent down to the younger girl's eye level and gently cupped her face between her palms, green eyes staring intensely into worried hazel. "It's okay. Take a breather."

Luz shakily nodded and swallowed thickly, ceasing her body's trembling instantly. She inhaled deeply through her nose, held it for several seconds and then exhaled deeply out of her mouth, repeating the process two more times until her breathing evened out again.

"There we go," Lizzie softly encouraged, giving Luz's cheeks two light pats and then moving her hands to the shorter girl's shoulders. "Feeling better?"

"A little," Luz replied quietly, very close to mumbling. Her cheeks gained a faint pink flush as she awkwardly averted her eyes to the floor, a hand rubbing at the back of her head. "Sorry."

Lizzie firmly squeezed Luz's shoulders. "Don't apologise. There's nothing wrong with you worrying about Eda. But believe me, if there was a cure or a way to strengthen the elixir, I'm sure Eda would have found those solutions by now."

"I know. It's just… learning that Eda's problems with her curse have been going on for a while now… and that you've been dealing with it all by yourself…" Luz trailed off to gulp and shut her eyes tight when her voice grew brittle, her shoulders hunching as she struggled to keep the volume of her voice under control. "It's not fair! Not for you, not for Eda! I don't like seeing her suffering! I don't like the thought that we could lose her if she's not careful!" She dug both sets of her fingers into the front of her tunic and clutched at the material. "I just want to help Eda! I hate feeling so helpless!"

It took all of the blonde witch's willpower not to flinch at the sharp pang that attacked her chest, the déjà vu screaming loud and clear.

'Oh, Luz…'

Lizzie straightened up with a heavy sigh and pulled Luz into her front for a comforting hug, one the young Latina instinctively reciprocated by wrapping her arms round the older witch's back. The gesture flooded a comforting warmth throughout her body, instantly washing away the pain as if it had never been there to begin with.

"I know, Luz, I know," Lizzie whispered in a cracked tone, resting the side of her head on top of Luz's own as the younger girl buried her face into the older witch's shoulder. A breathless 'weh!' from below prompted Lizzie to briefly look down at King, who had moved to hug Luz's closest leg as a way of joining in the hug between the human and witch. "I wish there was more we could do to help her. Seeing Eda like this hurts me too."

"And me!" King contributed, making Lizzie release a breathless snort and smile a little in amusement.

"But Eda's had this curse for a long time. She knows it way better than we do. So, we just have to trust what she says and keep a close eye on her." Luz responded with a disappointed whine into Lizzie's shoulder, a sign that she was back to her old self again. Lizzie smiled a little and squeezed the young Latina a little tighter. "Try not to worry too much while you're at school, okay? King, Hooty and I will keep things under control."

"Too right we will!" King proudly declared from below, prompting Lizzie and Luz to briefly look down at the little demon putting his paws to his hips and jabbing a claw into his furry chest. "Never fear, my human subject! As the King of Demons, I shall keep a close eye on Eda and be ready to act!"

"Which you did very well with earlier, yes," Lizzie praised, bending down to pat the little demon on the head. "Well done." She pulled away again when King closed his eyes and giggled in glee. "And I'll make sure Eda's elixir is restocked by the time you get home."

"You will?" Luz questioned as she pulled away from the older witch with a puzzled blink. "But what about Lilith and Xander? You don't have a staff like Eda does. One of them could catch you if you go to Bonesborough by yourself."

Lizzie smiled and tapped a fingertip to one of her temples. "I've already considered that. I can't borrow Owlbert just in case Eda needs him. But I still have my favour from the Bat Queen to cash in. Maybe I can borrow one of her palisman to fly directly to Morton's shop and back." The blonde witch winked and playfully smirked when Luz gasped in realisation and loosely balled her hands up to her chest. "There's no way Xander and Lilith are going to be watching the sky for a staff-less witch like me, right?"

"That's a great idea, Liz! That saves Eda from doing it herself!"

"That's the plan," Lizzie joked, reaching over to ruffle Luz's hair and then start making her way to the stairs, King tottering over her. "Now, come on. We can't have you being late for school."

Luz chuckled and jogged after Lizzie and King down the stairs, doing a small salute at reaching the older witch's side again. "Yes, ma'am!"

As the trio disappeared down the staircase, they remained unaware of Eda hiding behind the wall of the third-floor stairs at the other end of the hallway, partially peeking her body round to listen to their footsteps dying out. She was carrying the cauldron filled with witch's wool in both hands and wearing a yellow scarf round her neck to hide her blackened gem, having Owlbert perched on her left shoulder. When she could no longer hear Lizzie's, Luz's or King's footsteps, Eda released a blissful sigh and straightened up again, smiling a little at her owl palisman.

"Oh, Owlbert. Sometimes I forget just how good and considerate those kids are."

Owlbert hooted in agreement and flapped his wings in the air a bit, which Eda stiffly nodded to.

"No, you're right. Lizzie and Luz have taken such good care of me since finding out about my curse. They deserve something nice."

Owlbert hooted again and cocked his head to the side out of curiosity, causing Eda's smile to brighten.

"Oh, don't you worry! I already have something in mind for the both of them!" The Owl Lady brought the cauldron closer to her person and stared down at it. "I was planning to use this cloak for me, but Luz definitely deserves it more. And as for Redwood…" Eda winked at her owl palisman, smirking and exposing her golden fang. "Perhaps it's time we revisited our deal from three years ago."

A/N:

So, regarding Eda's curse, the reason as to why her conditions worsens in the first season is never fully expanded upon. Not that it really needs to be, because Eda's curse is a magical representation of a chronic illness and sometimes there isn't really an explanation as to why it gets worse (outside of her magic use). It can be just a natural process. However, because Eda's condition does seem to deteriorate midway through Season 1 after Luz arrives and the Owl House cast have gone through quite a number of stressful situations by the time of Episode 10, I decided to use stress as a logical explanation for why Eda's curse has worsened, especially in light of Episode 18 when King and Luz are forced to give her thirteen bottles of elixir (yes, I counted the bottles in the frame specifically for this chapter. There are thirteen). In Season 2, Eda mentions stress can trigger her curse, and this is something that isn't really played with until this specific season. And considering my version of the canon story has now been amplified because of Lizzie's presence, it made sense to use that here. Plus, Eda has a habit of keeping things to herself and bottling up her emotions instead of talking to others about them, which definitely helps in this scenario, I think. So... yeah. XD

And as for Eda's idea for something to gift to Lizzie and why I am planning for Lizzie to be out of the Owl House... well, I won't say much on this one for spoiler reasons. But let's just it's my way of ensuring Lizzie gets her own moment with Eda to compensate for the ones Luz gets with her.

*cough* But anyways... onto the reviews:

heart (Chapter 63): No, I wouldn't worry too much about figuring things out at this point. The issues surrounding Allard and Ulritch have only been vaguely addressed during the chapters that specifically focus on them and their relationship, naturally because there are other things that have taken precedent because of the canon plot. I won't be delving into the actual events that show why Ulritch is the way that he is until Season 2 at least, as that season will focus more on Allard, Marigold, Ulritch and Cecilia. But in regards to this fic specifically, the answers are there in the dialogue and the characters' inner thoughts. It's just something you have to read between the lines to get. XD Perhaps once later chapters focus on Xander and Cecilia again, the reason will become a little more obvious.

Gry27 (Chapter 54): No, not at all. Ulritch is an irredeemable *insert bad word here*, to be sure. XD The way he's treated Xander in particular is already crime-worthy. Unfortunately, the Emperor's Coven (being the corrupt and terrible law enforcers they are) won't arrest this guy unless he ditches the Potions Coven, which he won't. Fortunately, Ulritch will be getting his comeuppance. When, I can't say. But he will. XD

hoothoot (Chapter 63): Naturally, for spoiler reasons, I obviously cannot say how close either of the scenes are to my plans in the second fic. But I will say that Scene 2 is the closest out of the two of them. XD Unfortunately, while it would have been nice for Raine and the B.A. to help Marigold and Allard out (especially because they are aware of the couple's situation; good on you for remembering and being the first to acknowledge Raine's connection to them. XD), I have other plans for the couple by that point which will feed into Episode 10 of Season 2. But yeah, Scene 2 is close to what I am currently thinking of doing for that episode, though I can't say how. Still, both of them were nice ideas.

Gry28 (Chapter 63): While this would have been an interesting event to occur in Season 2, as I have said to past reviews, Hunter and Xander won't end up as training partners. They will have some interactions, as the plans I have for Xander after the conclusion for the first season will put him in a position where the two have some contact. But Xander isn't 'special enough' to wind up in a place where he and Hunter will be on equal level. Though, I will say that the idea would have been a great way for Lizzie and Xander to patch things up had the situation gone in that direction. And maybe such an opportunity will occur during this fic... Who knows~? XD