When Eda was cursed with the Owl Beast as a teen, her mother Gwendolyn called almost every healer to try and cure Eda. But nothing seemed to work which ticked Gwendolyn off. The last straw was when a healer gifted Eda a gem that will tell her when the beast's energy started to surface. She took the healer out into the hall and complained to the healer. The healer tried to suggest consulting the potions coven to give Eda something to keep the beast at bay. Gwendolyn was even listening and wanted that beast gone even if they had to cut it out of Eda.
Eda overheard everything that her mom said, she was terrified and then ran away from her house. She ran all the way to the backyard; she stumbled on the portal door and used it to escape her mother. Gwendolyn decided that if the healers couldn't help her, then she would find another way to cure Eda, no matter the cost.
Eda was just getting ready for the day and taking her morning elixir. She came into the kitchen where Luz was asleep after an all-nighter trying to find a way to build a portal to the human realm. "Mean!" Eda shouted, which started Luz awake. "We ran out of apple blood. Still no luck?"
"None. And I was up all night. I read every tome, book, notepad and tea leaf. But nothing explains how to make a portal to the Human Realm." Luz stated as she looked down at the table.
Eda wished she could help Luz but the door she found was already old when she found it. Luz asked Eda how long she had the door. Before she could answer, they suddenly heard Lilith scream. They ran to the living room and found Lilith on the floor, her hand turning into a feathered claw. Eda rushed into action by grabbing an elixir from under a pillow and giving it to Lilith. Her hand started turning back to normal; thanks to Lilith splitting the curse with Eda, the elixirs were working again.
Lilith panicked when she saw that her hand had fallen off and Eda placed it back on, a small side effect of the curse but Eda thought it was fun. Eda stashed elixirs all over the house so whenever Lilith felt feathery, she could help herself to an elixir. "I had no idea this is what I did to you. I am so sorry," Lilith apologizes.
"Eh, at least I got company now. And you got me if you need anything." Eda says as she walks away.
Eda explained that she had the portal door for years, never finding out who made it or where it came from. Varian came out of the Owl House overhearing everything. Luz was curious about Eda's past and why she didn't tell anyone. She stated that she was mostly using the door to hide from someone. Before Luz could ask Eda, the wind suddenly picked up then a tornado of sorts came their way.
The tornado stopped revealing an older witch with a hawk palisman. "Hello, little witchlet. Come here." the lady said as she walked to Eda ready to hug her.
"Gwendolyn," Eda spoke, annoyed.
"Are we still on that? I'm your mother, call me Mom." Gwendolyn said with a bright smile.
Gwendolyn had heard about the petrification ceremony and wanted to check on Eda. Lilith heard her mother outside then she rushed to her side wanting to say hi and to tell her that she was there too at the petrification ceremony. Gwendolyn just ignored Lilith, but she did like her dyed hair and wanted to tell Eda something important. Gwendolyn claimed that she had found a way to cure Eda's curse after thirty years. Eda turned down her mother's offer, she got her elixir system and that was enough.
"But who knows what they put in those nasty concoctions?" Gwendolyn asked.
"Actually, I do. And would you look at the time?" Eda said while putting her mother on her staff. "I got a lot to do today. So sad to see you go. Okay, Bye!" Eda slapped the staff making it fly away from the Owl House.
Eda turned around to see Lilith, Luz, and Varian staring at her with their jaws wide open. Lilith complained that she hadn't seen their mother in forever and she was handing her a cure on a silver platter. Luz and Varian were both shocked that Eda had pushed her mother away. Eda explained that Gwendolyn comes around every year with a new "cure" for the curse, but they never work. She was done getting her hopes up. Lilith just walked back into the house looking disappointed that her own mother never visited her but Eda.
Luz saw Gwendolyn's sad face and she couldn't help but go and talk to Gwendolyn. Varian joined up with Luz who was telling Gwendolyn about the rift between their parents in the human realm. Gwendolyn actually said that she may know how to fix both of their rifts, if they help her cure Eda's curse then she could give them some information to help them with the portal. Varian wasn't really sure about trusting Gwen, but Luz convinced him otherwise. Gwen held her amulet around her neck which started to glow, and told them that they were going to meet someone special.
Gwen took Varian and Luz to a curse expert that she had met who promised her a cure. She used her amulet to reveal a hidden lair where a strange healer with four arms used magic to heal an imp with boils all over his eyes. "That's Master Wortlop. He's a traveling curse expert, who's perfected next-level healing magic." Gwen explained.
She then gave Luz her staff and walked toward the man, she kneeled to him then started pulling out different sacred items from her bag. The copper egg from the Snowy Rib Cage, the silver dagger from the Swampy Toads, and the Golden chalice from the desert of Palm Stings. Master Wortlop gifted Gwen a special tome that has the healing ability as a reward. But he warned her to keep it away from the eyes of "non-believers'' who might be blinded by its power. She left with Luz and Varian who became suspicious of Wortlop.
Luz went with Gwen to try and cure Eda with the tome and some signs that Luz made to lure Eda out. Varian stayed at the Owl House with King and Lilith to keep them company. King figured that if Eda's mom could just show up then his dad might too. But Lilith scoffed at King's hope as she lay on the couch, stuffing her face with ice cream. "Sometimes it doesn't matter how dutiful you are or successful you are, parents just won't give you the time of day," Lilith said, sulking.
"My dad won't be like that," King stated, confidently.
"Right. Your mysterious father, who didn't even stick around to watch you hatch. Looks like you and I are in the same boat, King." Lilith stated.
Meanwhile, Luz and Gwen had finished setting up different traps with different techniques to try and cure Eda. Gwen had spent a year on a bunch of dangerous quests to prove that she was worthy of Wortlop's secrets. The signs seemed to have worked because Luz and Gwen heard Eda coming. They started with crystals that were supposed to be quite calming to lower the beast's defense. But the crystals rained down on Eda and she dodged them, including one big crystal that made her start feathering.
Luz grabbed an elixir from her bag to give to Eda, but Gwen stopped her. "Oh, no, no, no. The texts say those feathers mean we're driving the beast out. Don't worry. After today, Eda will never have to drink those nasty little things again." Gwen said to Luz.
Back at the Owl House, Lilith and King were going through several tubs of ice cream. Those two were in an ice cream coma but they still kept eating the ice cream. Varian and Rudiger were starting to get worried about them. Even Hooty was too and not just because the ice cream that Eda gets is from the Night Market. "Um guys, maybe we could slow down with the sweets?" Varian asked.
"Are you my mother? Because that is an awful lot of judgment." Lilith stated.
King stated that he wasn't going to find his dad, he'd have to come to King. And Lilith was sick and tired of being overlooked so she was gonna renounce her mother. King told Lilith that her mom was outside with Luz so she could tell herself after they cured Eda's curse. Lilith wasn't that surprised that her mother was paying attention to Eda. She said that she didn't care but that was when dark feathers appeared on her face. King pointed to her face then Lilith freaked and tried to grab an elixir, but they were gone.
She looked all over the house, but every last elixir was gone. She began to panic and stress out then she changed into her cursed beast form, The Raven Beast. King, Hooty, and Varian witnessed Lilith's transformation. "Lilith? You still there?" Varian asked.
The Raven Beast raised its claw to attack Varian, but King used a light glyph to distract the beast. "Go! Find Luz and Eda! We'll hold her off." King shouted.
Varian took Rudiger and they ran out into the woods, following all the signs Luz had made to lure Eda. Varian managed to find her in the bushes after being launched into the sky by a net. Eda's face and arms were beginning to feather up. Varian started looking around for Luz and Gwen; he found them hiding on a ledge just above Eda who was getting chased by flying snakes. Varian climbed up the ledge towards Luz just as Gwen was talking on a crow phone.
"What did you just do?" Luz asked with concern.
"It turns out the ancient tome is the first of a series. So, I'm trading in a few paltry family heirlooms to get the rest." Gwen explained.
Luz asked Gwen to hand over the book so she could see it herself, but Gwen refused to hand it over. Rudiger jumped off Varian's shoulder and snatched the book from Gwen and gave it to Luz. Luz and Varian flipped through the book, and it was filled with the most ridiculous treatments. Like a jar of bees for existential dread, aroma therapy for broken legs, and bird songs for sufferers of stuffy noses. Gwen was getting scammed by someone who was pretending to be a healer named Wortlop.
Gwen wasn't willing to accept that she was being tricked, she still thinks Wortlop is a real healer. Luz was calling off these so-called treatments and was about to give Eda one of her elixirs. But Gwen stopped her and snatched it from her. "Luz, I really thought we were on the same side. According to Wortlop, poison like this is made by healers and potion makers who simply want your money." Gwen explained.
Luz tried to go back to the Owl House for more elixir, but Varian told her that someone had stolen all of the elixir. Just then, Gwen's palismen Hawksley came with a sack of every elixir bottle that was from the house. "Why would you do that?!" Luz and Varian shouted in unison.
"Because I am a mother who will do anything for her daughter," Gwen stated.
Luz tackled Gwen just as she was about to smash one of the bottles but they both fell off the ledge. They landed in the bushes along with all the elixirs which had been smashed to pieces. Eda heard them crash and she demanded an explanation. When Gwen told her that she and Luz were only working together to heal the curse, Eda grew angry, and the stress was making the feathers worse. Luz and Varian tried to calm her down, but it was too late. Eda's eyes went black, and she turned into the Owl Beast.
Gwen turned the pages of the tome to find the answer but all she found was a note saying that she needed to buy the next volume. King suddenly ran out of the bushes and climbed onto Varian. "Did you tell her?!" King shouted.
"Tell me what?" Luz asked.
"So Lilith was feeling stressed and um, we couldn't find any elixir. And..." Varian stopped mid-sentence when a beastified Lilith flew in and landed right in front of them. "She turned into that thing!"
Gwen looked confused and shocked to see Lilith cursed. The Owl Beast and Raven Beast charged at each other and started attacking each other then flew away. Luz and King flew off on Owlbert while Gwen was still in shock by what she saw. Varian looked at Gwen, she reminded him of his father who was the same way as him. "Sometimes you have to learn to understand someone who's in a situation that you shouldn't try to help in," Varian said to Gwen as he looked down to his gloved hand reminiscing about the past.
Gwen took Varian with her to see who Wortlop really was. Turns out, he was just four imps that dressed up as a healer that scammed hundreds of witches out of their money. Gwen used her beast-keeping magic to scare the imps. She even threatened them to leave and if she ever saw them in Bonesborough again, every beast in the forest would be after their heads. The imps got so scared that they ran out of the cave. Varian was both speechless and terrified after Gwen's performance.
They grabbed one of the bags of money and flew to the town. Eda and Lilith were fighting so much that they were destroying the town. Luz flew straight towards Morton's potion shop and told him that she needed every elixir that he had. She tried to pay Morton with a hyperrealistic pencil portrait, but he slammed the window doors shut. Luckily, Varian and Gwen showed up with the sack of snails and paid for the elixirs. Gwen wanted to make things right with her daughters, so she came up with a plan to cure them.
She told Varian, Luz, and King to wait for her signal. She saw Lilith and Eda fighting on top of one of the buildings then she got closer to them. Eda crept forward towards her mother then Gwen put a hand on Eda's face. "Edalyn, you're in there, aren't you? I should've listened to you. I know now why you pushed me away. I made you think your curse was something to be ashamed of. Whether we want it or not, it's a part of you. And I love every part of you. I'm so sorry." Gwen said with sadness and regret.
Eda snapped out of her trance, but she was still in her owl beast form. Lilith got angry and tried to attack them, but Eda grabbed Lilith's claw and pinned her down. "And Lilith, you were always so self-sufficient. But I didn't give you the attention you deserved." Gwen says as she cradles the crying Raven Beast.
Gwen gave her signal then King jumped onto both beasts, forcing their mouths open. Varian and Luz poured the elixir into their mouths. Then in a flash of blinding light, Eda and Lilith were turned back to normal. Eda, Lilith, and Gwen gathered for a family hug while Luz, King, and Varian watched them. Varian had a few tears in his eyes thinking about his dad and how he was always around for Varian. Luz noticed Varian's tears and she hugged him. "I'm sure your dad would be proud of you," Luz spoke softly.
When they got back to the Owl House, Gwen apologized to Eda for all the trouble she caused and that she should have trusted Eda more. Eda forgave her mother and even encouraged her to stop by more often. Lilith packed her things and told the others that she was going with Gwen to make up for lost time. She even confessed to Gwen that she was the one who gave Eda the curse in the first place. Gwen even showed Eda the elixirs that she stashed in her hair. "Someday my hair's gonna be big enough to do that too," Luz said.
"You actually want that? Trust me, having long hair isn't all it's cracked up to be." Varian stated.
Hooty was sad that Lilith was leaving but she told him that they could still write to each other. Gwen thanked Luz and Varian for helping her patch things up with her daughters and freeing her from Wortlop's lies. In return, she began telling them the information she heard. "You two are not the only humans to have lived in Bonesborough." She said,
That piqued both Varian and Luz's interest. "There's a rare substance called Titan's Blood. It is extremely powerful and sometimes causes leaks between our realms. Plants, animals, and you guys have a lot of garbage, by the way. But humans are rare. My Great Grandmother told me of a human who once lived here. But one day he just vanished. Rumor has it he left something in the library and if you can find out more about him."
"Maybe we could find out how he got here, '' Luz says with happiness.