We Wear the Mask Chapter 1, an owl house fanfic

We Wear the Mask, by Paul Laurence Dunbar

We wear the mask that grins and lies,

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,–

This debt we pay to human guile;

With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,

And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be over-wise,

In counting all our tears and sighs?

Nay, let them only see us, while

We wear the mask.

We Wear the Mask

Written by Bazinga007

Chapter 1

The Owlet

"I'm just not sure I like this place, Manny."

"What do you mean? There's a lot of history in this old town," Manny said, his bearded mouth smiling out the window as he took in the sight of the simple town. "You think Salem was bad? Back in the day, this town was even worse. You couldn't even sneeze in the wrong direction without risking a noose around your neck. Or being drowned in the nearby river. Or being burned alive even."

"Yeah, especially if you were a woman," Camila replied as she drove down the street, a joshing smile on her face. "A lot of great history here."

"That statue of those two guys seemed cool," Manny offered.

"I'm pretty sure that statue is dedicated to a couple of witch hunters," Camila replied.

"Oh…still kinda cool, though." Manny looked like he was about to add to that, but began coughing into his fist instead.

"You okay, Manny?" Camilla asked.

"Oh, I'm fine," Manny said after he quit coughing. "I didn't wanna tell you, but I started smoking those big cigars so I could look like a big shot."

Camila rolled her eyes at the joke and shook her head with a smile. The Latino couple looked like a happily married pair to anybody who saw them. Manny, wearing a simple, blue-green, polo shirt and cargo pants, was always an incredibly nice guy. He was handsome like an actor who plays the funny guy in a popular sitcom, with his neatly trimmed beard and haircut. The kind, humorous glow in his eyes was one of the many reasons his wife, Camila, fell in love with him.

Camila Noceda had dark brown hair, much like Manny did, held in a ponytail by a yellow scrunchie. She wore a red sweater and a pair of tan pants as she drove their SUV through town. Although they both had brown eyes, Camila's eyes were more of a caramel color, complementing Manny's chocolate gaze. She was a pretty woman with a kind face and a warm smile.

"Look, Manny, I know we've been living here for over a week now. And I love the new vet clinic, I really do," Camila said. "But, come on, let's be honest. This is a town of Bible-thumpers with an ugly history of intolerance. Everyone here is such a stiff."

"Oh, this town's not that bad. The diners and coffee shops are all pretty good and traffic is never terrible," Manny argued. "And I have that interview tomorrow, we can't just bail on this town."

"I know, I know," Camila relented. "I just…I just want this to be a family-friendly town, that's all. I don't want Luz to get bullied in school or gossiped about by all the other moms…manojo de perras."

"Ah, she'll make plenty of friends." Manny turned and looked at the baby in the backseat. "Who's gonna make plenty of friends? Who's gonna bring home her date one day for mommy to scare the living hell out of?"

The cute, little, baby girl, strapped in her car seat, kicked her legs and giggled at the sight of her smiling daddy. The baby with dark hair, tan skin, and her father's chocolate eyes, had been fitted in a yellow, cotton shirt and a little pair of overalls, as well as a pair of white, baby shoes on her kicking feet. A stuffed toy–a happy-looking, purple, one-eyed demon with horns, wings, and a forked tongue–was held in the baby's arms.

"She's still awake?" Camila asked. "What's it take to get this kid to take a nap?"

"We should've just let her crawl around until she tuckered herself out," said Manny.

"She doesn't tucker out, you know that." Camila frowned as she adjusted her glasses and squinted her eyes. "Hey, who's that by our house?"

As they were nearing their house on the block up ahead, Camila and Manny noticed a man exiting the woods near their house and heading back to his car. He had brushed-back, brown hair, and short facial hair in a soul patch. He wore square glasses on his face and a brown coat over a mint-green, collared shirt and dark brown vest, jeans, and black and white shoes.

"Oh, I know that guy," Camila said upon recognizing the man. "That's Jacob Hopkins, he's the museum curator."

The curator drove his car away and Camila turned on her blinker. "I'll park the car and follow the path he took. I hear this bicho raro sets up traps in the woods to catch mythical creatures, but innocent animals always get caught in them instead."

"Huh. Someone oughta talk to the police about that," Manny said as Camila pulled up next to their house.

Camila killed the engine and opened the glove compartment to grab a pair of cutters. "I can take care of this myself if you wanna take Luz inside."

"Actually, I think I'll take Luz and go with you." Manny unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. "Maybe a walk through the woods will get her to take a nap."

Manny opened the rear passenger door and unstrapped Luz from her car seat. "Ey, mija. You wanna go for a walk through the woods?"

Luz blinked at her dad, then blew a raspberry at him.

Manny chuckled as he picked the baby up out of her car seat. "Yeah, I was never the outdoorsy type either. Tell you what: as soon as you fall asleep for a nap, I'll take you back to the house. Deal?"

Luz reached up and grabbed Manny's beard.

Manny smiled warmly. "Deal," he said before he carried the baby after her mother as she followed the path into the woods.

The path led to an old, abandoned house in the woods. It was a two-story building no bigger than their own house with faded, white walls and a brown, gable roof with a brick chimney built into the left side of the house. The front door sat between the two broken and dirty windows on either side of the door. Four pillars held up the awning that protected the wooden porch. The house had a large hole in the roof, and there was moss growing on the roof and on the stairs.

"Huh. Didn't know this was back here," Manny said.

"I think the real estate agent mentioned this place. The old house has been here since the 1600s." Camila's eyes widened. "Dios mío, look!"

Over by the porch, a rabbit had gotten caught in one of Hopkins' traps. A wire was wrapped around the poor creature's hind leg. It tried in vain to yank its leg free.

"Oh, you bet your cottontail I'm going to the police." With the cutters in hand, Camila slowly and carefully approached the caught rabbit. "Tranquilo, amiguito. I wanna help you. Just hold still."

The rabbit struggled to get away from Camila as she moved the cutters to the rabbit's leg. As Camila neared the wire around its leg, the rabbit whipped its head around and bit Camila's hand.

"OW!" Camila reeled her hand back, cringing from the pain and holding her hand to her chest. "¡Mierda!"

"Camila!" Manny cried. "Are you okay?!"

"I should've put on some gloves." Camila moved the cutters toward the wire around the rabbit's leg in another attempt to free the creature. With a single, careful snip, Camila cut the wire off of the rabbit's leg.

Free from the trap, the rabbit wiggled its nose and stared up at Camila before bounding into the woods.

Camila smiled. "Perfecto."

"Are you okay?" Manny asked again in concern.

"Oh, I'm fine," Camila said. "I'm a veterinarian, you think that's the first time I've been bitten? I'll get it cleaned when we get back to the house."

Manny sighed with relief. With Luz in his arms, he walked up onto the house's porch to check out the place. "You know, I gotta say; for such an old building, it's honestly not in that bad of shape." He walked over to look through the window. "The inside of the house doesn't look so terrible either. Maybe the possums that took over the place decided to keep it in somewhat decent condition. Good for them."

"I think the man who built this house was one of the town's best carpenters or something," Camila said as she stepped onto the porch as well. "I'm not sure, I'm not crazy about this town's history. I mean, for crying out loud, this town is called 'Gravesfield' on account of having the largest graveyard in the Colonies."

"Because of all the–"

"Because of all the witch trials, yeah."

Camila winced in pain and brought up the hand the rabbit had bitten. There was no blood, but the bite mark was clearly visible. "Maldito conejo."

Just for a moment, Manny put Luz down, letting her play with her stuffed demon on the porch, and walked up to Camila in front of the door to the house. He gently lifted up her hand to look at the bite.

"Boy, you can really see where the buck teeth bit into your skin."

"Manny."

"What? You can totally see it, look." Manny pointed at the bite mark. "The buck-toothed biter. You want me to kiss it better? Cuz I'll do it. You know I will." He gently kissed the bite on Camila's hand a few times. "There. Does that feel better?"

Camila snorted into a laugh as she held Manny's hand and leaned her head onto his chest.

"Eres ridículo," Camila said. "And I love you."

"I love you more," Manny said smugly.

"No, I love you more," said Camila.

"No, I love you more."

A bright light erupted inside the house and an explosion blasted out of the door.

The police finished putting up the tape, creating a perimeter around the old house. Cop cars were parked outside the perimeter as the police surveyed the property. The Gravesfield sheriff, a broad-shouldered man with dirty-blonde hair and a mustache, made his way past his deputies to the porch. Standing by the door was the police detective that had been assigned to the case. The detective was a woman with black hair and fair skin, a head shorter than the sheriff. She wore a tan trench coat with black leggings and high-heeled boots. She chewed on a piece of gum and wore reflective sunglasses as she examined the door and the porch, taking notes.

"Detective Muller?" the sheriff greeted as he stepped onto the porch.

"Sheriff Matson," the detective said. "Nice to meet you."

"So, can you tell me what happened?" Matson asked. "They said it was an explosion that done it. But my men scoured the whole house a dozen times. There's no evidence here that would suggest an explosion. No scorch marks, no visible blast damage, no chemical traces, no nothin'."

"The only reason the report says it was an explosion was from the evidence gathered from the medical team after the victims were examined, yes?" Detective Muller asked.

"Yeah, that's right." Sheriff Matson sighed and shook his head. "Real damn shame. Camila and Manuel Noceda. Married Latino couple, new in town. According to the report, they were both standing right here," he gestured in front of the door. "And then, bam, they were tossed off the porch and onto the front lawn."

"I've read the reports as well," said Muller. "What has yet to be determined is the cause of the explosion. They're saying the explosion came from the other side of the door, but aside from the damage from the years of neglect, it's completely intact."

"A real mystery," said the sheriff. "We got the Fire Marshal looking into it. He's thinking it might've been an IED. I called up a weapons expert and showed him the reports, asking him if it could have been a modified firearm or a homemade cannon or something. At the moment, we ain't got nothing concrete."

"Any suspects?" the detective asked.

"Just one. A Mr. Jacob Hopkins. The curator of the Gravesfield Historical Society Museum. According to the neighbors, he likes to set up traps around here to catch hobgoblins and leprechauns and whatnot. He's a strong believer in that kind of thing, to the point where he needs to see a shrink."

"Did he say anything worth writing down?" Muller asked.

"I questioned him personally," the sheriff said. "The crazy fuck thinks it was demons and witches that done it. Then he spouted some wacky bullshit about Mars and teeth and time machines. I dunno, I stopped listening to him after the witches and demons part."

"This is an odd town, eh?"

"You don't know the half of it–I get calls from the coffee shop every other damn week about fucking demonic rats."

Detective Muller sighed. She put away her notepad and lifted up her sunglasses. "Have you released Mr. Hopkins from custody?"

"No, but without any solid evidence, I'm not sure how much longer we can hang on to him," said Matson. "He's at the station right now."

"I would like to question him personally," said Muller.

"Go right on ahead, but I doubt you'll get a better answer than what I got." Sheriff Matson took a deep breath. "...There's one more thing you oughta know."

"The infant," Detective Muller guessed. "Luz Noceda."

The sheriff nodded sullenly.

"...She didn't survive?"

Matson shrugged. "Maybe she did, maybe she didn't."

Detective Muller cocked her head. "Meaning?"

Sheriff Matson flexed his jaw, as if preparing to speak words he didn't want to say.

"The infant, Luz Noceda…has not been found."

(fifteen years later)

"Come one, come all! I am the one and only Eda the Owl Lady! The most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles!" The Owl Lady waved her arms with a showwoman's talent at all of the odds and ends displayed on the shelves and on the table at her stand, making her large, silver hair waving around her maroon dress like a vengeful wraith. Above her stand was a sign that read 'Eda the Owl Lady's HUMAN COLLECTIBLES' written in black marker and red paint.

"Come see my treasures collected from the Human Realm itself! How about this potion of vitality and stamina? Brewed with the guts harvested from beasts of the Human Realm!" Eda picked up a can of Monster Energy and held it up in the air. "Or how about a bag of human candy?" Eda put the can down and picked up a bag of red firecrackers. "Oh, here's a good one. Who wants to bring home their very own gag hair dryer?" Eda picked up a revolver. "Great for failing marriages."

The witches and demons, beings of every shape, color, size, and distinction you could possibly imagine and more, walked past Eda's stand without a second glance.

Eda frowned, irritation shining in her golden eyes. The Owl Lady had snow-pale skin and sharp features. Whenever she smiled her red lips, she showed a troublemaker's grin with a gold fang fixed into her teeth. A pair of golden, ball earrings hung from her pointed ears. Stockings and high-heeled boots that matched her dress decorated her legs and feet. Her fingernails were painted gold to match her eyes and her earrings.

"Ah, farts. Another one of those days," Eda grumbled. "Okay, King, you're up. Do your little dance."

"No flippin' way!" King shouted as he hopped up onto the table. The furry, little guy was about the size of a small dog. He had dark, navy-blue fur on his body and his fluffy tail, except on his stomach and the tip of his tail where his fur was a dark lavender color. On his hands and feet were a pair of claws that didn't look very sharp. The top half of his head, hiding his mouth, was a horned skull with a pair of fangs, the left horn being broken. Behind the skull's eyeholes, his big, wide eyes were yellow with purple irises. He wore a red collar around his neck with a gold disc hanging from it. King's adorable appearance was always a surefire way to draw in customers.

"King, if you want me to put food on the table for you to scarf down, you'll do the dance," Eda instructed, placing her hands on her hips.

"I'm not doing the dance!" King crossed his arms stubbornly. "And you can't make me!"

"Oh, you bet your fluffy little bottom I can." Eda looked over and nodded to her assistant.

Eda's assistant walked over and picked up a boombox. She wore white tennis shoes, beige pants, and a dark brown sports jacket with cream sleeves. On the jacket's chest area, there was a golden star stitched on the right side and a red letter 'E' outlined in white on the left. The shirt she wore underneath the jacket was a light hoodie, and the purple hood she currently had up sported a pair of cat ears on it. In addition to the cat hood, the owl mask she wore hid her face from view, only showing her chocolate-brown eyes. A live owl–a cute, little, brown bird with amber eyes–sat on the assistant's shoulder.

Eda's assistant picked up a cassette from a shelf labeled 'human artifacts' and put it in the boombox. She pressed the play button and the human song Jeepers Creepers played. Eda handed King a cane and placed a tophat on his head.

"Showtime, King!" Eda exclaimed. "Let 'em have it!"

"This is both animal cruelty and child abuse, I want you to know that," King said before dancing to the music.

"Hey, everyone! Come and see the dancing demon!" Eda called to the crowd. "Feel yourself be drawn in by the power of his cuteness!"

While Eda wasn't looking, King reached behind the table and put up a sign that read 'I'm being held here against my will' written in Sharpie on the front of the table before continuing his dance.

King's cute, little dance did the trick. Customers started surrounding the Owl Lady's stand, saying 'Awww' or 'He's so cute' or 'I think I'll buy that gag hair dryer.' The demons and witches that weren't watching King dance started browsing through Eda's wares. The Owl Lady had a smile on her face as she traded snails for stuff she either stole or dug out of the garbage.

A trio of teenage girls walked up to check out the adorable, dancing demon. The one in the lead was a triclops girl with pink-tinted skin and dark pink hair held back with a hair tie. Her gray-blue eyes, like the color of steel, sparkled as they watched King dance.

"Oh. My. Titan. I have got to take a picture of him." The pink triclops girl summoned her penstagram scroll out of the air and held the purple scroll up at King.

"All pictures ten snails!" Eda said.

"Oh, what a rip!" The triclops girl angrily put away her scroll. She placed her hands in the pockets of her sports jacket and decided to look around the stand, her two friends following behind her to check out all the stuff.

"Ooo, Boscha, how about this?" One of the other girls, a witch with rounded cheeks, dark skin, gray eyes, gold ball earrings on her pointy ears, and pinkish-gray hair held up in a ponytail toned at the base in a dark mauve, walked over to one of the shelves and picked up a cube made of different colored cubes.

"What is it?" Boscha asked.

"I don't know, but it looks cool."

"I'm with Skara, it looks like some kind of magic key or something," the third girl said. She had a pointed chin, cream skin, dark, forest-green eyes, and short pear-green hair. Like Boscha and Skara, and most other witches, she had pointed ears.

"The Human Realm doesn't have magic, Amelia, it's what makes them so lame." Boscha took the strange cube from Skara and studied it curiously. She looked over and saw the Owl Lady's masked assistant handing out bags of firecrackers in exchange for snails.

Boscha walked up to the assistant. "Hey, owl-cat. What's the deal with this thing?"

The assistant turned around and seemed almost startled by Boscha. From her height, Boscha guessed the assistant was in her same age group.

"Oh, th-that thing?" The assistant asked, sounding nervous and excited. "I-it's called a Rubik's Cube, it's a puzzle. You have to make every side of the cube the same color."

Boscha looked at the cube skeptically. "...Alright, fine. How much?"

"Um, which shelf did you take it from?"

"That one." Skara pointed at the shelf she had taken it from.

"Oh. Then, twenty-five snails."

"For real?" Boscha asked.

"I-I mean," The assistant shrugged. "It's…it's not like you can get one of those anywhere else."

Boscha groaned and rolled her three eyes. "Fine. Titan, the Owl Lady really is a criminal." Boscha handed the cube to the assistant and dug around her pockets.

Skara came up and took notice of the assistant's jacket, seeing that it was just like Boscha's, except Boscha's was pink instead of brown. "Are you a Hexside student?" she asked.

The assistant shook her head no. She saw that the three girls were all wearing school uniforms–black cowls held together by a button, a black tunic, and black boots. The sleeves and pants were different for the three girls. Boscha's were yellow, Skara's were scarlet, and Amelia's were forest green.

"What's with the mask, got a bad case of acne or something?" Boscha counted out her snails and placed them on the table next to the register. "There, ya crook. Twenty-five snails."

The assistant handed Boscha the Rubik's Cube before putting the snails into the register.

Boscha tossed the Rubik's Cube up in the air and caught it. "...I'm already regretting this purchase."

"No refunds!" The Owl Lady shouted.

"Of course." Boscha turned around and walked away and Skara and Amelia went with her. Skara took the cube from Boscha and began trying to solve it.

The way the assistant stared after the three girls made it look like she wanted to go with them. She even looked like she was about to call after them. But before she could,

"Eda the Owl Lady!"

The deep voice of an Emperor's Coven Guard was enough to part the crowd. The officer was of a thick, somewhat rounded build beneath the uniform he wore. A dark gray shirt with sleeves that went inside thick, black gloves. A brown belt with a golden buckle went around his thick waist. And beneath that, he wore black pants stuffed into brown boots. On his face, with his cowl hood over his head, he wore a dark gray, metal, pointed mask, showing only a little bit of purple skin and black eyes with blue irises through the mask's eyeholes. On a white ring of cloth, like a sash of sorts, over his shoulders and over his chest and back, he wore a golden triangle, identifying him as a loyal member of the Emperor's Coven.

"Ah, boy. Here we go again," Eda said tiredly.

"You are hereby under arrest for operating a stand without a license, refusing to join a Coven, resisting arrest, assaulting Emperor's Coven officers, defacing public property, suspicion of theft and burglary, forgery of illegal documents, public intoxication–you get the idea, it's a long list."

"Hey, I haven't done jack lantern!" Eda said angrily to the Coven Guard. "Come on, can't you just buy something so we can both go home happy?"

"Well, that gag hair dryer looks–wait! No!" The Coven Guard drew his sword and aimed it at the Owl Lady. "Now come quietly, or we're gonna have to do this the hard way!"

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it a million times, pal," said Eda. "Owlbert!"

The small owl sitting on the assistant's shoulder flew to Eda. Owlbert extended into a staff which Eda caught in her hands. The Owl Lady drew a magic, gold circle in the air with her finger and from that circle, a ball of fire shot at the Coven Guard. It was meant to be nonlethal, but still entirely painful. The Guard was thrown off his feet by the blast and landed painfully on his back, a smoking scorch mark now decorated the front of his uniform.

"Time to scram, fam!" Eda slammed her staff down on the ground, creating a spell that made the tent behind the stand wrap around all of her wares and shrink down into a sack small enough to carry on Eda's back for an instant pack-it-up-and-go.

Eda quickly grabbed the sack and slung it over her shoulder. "Don't forget the–"

The assistant held a key up to show the Owl Lady she got it. The key, hanging on a brown rope, was a double-bitted key was made of a dark brown metal–or possibly wood–and looked simple enough. The creepy part was the yellow, slitted eye on its decorated bow. It was like the eye of a serpent or a monstrous cat.

"Good! Now get on!"

King hopped up onto the assistant's shoulders as she placed the key around her neck. She ran over and sat down on the hovering, magic staff along with the Owl Lady.

The Coven Guard managed to get back on his feet, right in time to see Eda the Owl Lady smile and wave sweetly at him.

"Byeeeeeeeee!"

Owlbert spread his wings and took off into the air, too fast for the Guard to react.

The Coven Guard slouched his shoulders and hung his head, letting out a miserable groan.

"I should've joined the Baker's Coven like I wanted to do in the first place. I never should have listened to my dad." The Coven Guard shuffled away. "But he was all like 'I have no son' and mom just stood there and agreed with him, like she always did, and I landed this exhausting job. Titan dammit."

Riding her palisman staff, Eda flew the three of them high over the town of Bonesborough, giving them a good view of the Boiling Isles, the home of all witches, demons, and everything in between. Covered with forests and settlements the same way plants would consume an abandoned cabin in the woods, the occult country lay atop the corpse of a fallen Titan. A giant being of both myth and legend, but never fiction. Reduced to mostly bone, the Titan had died on his back, arms outstretched with his right leg bent, his knee sticking up in the air and considered a place of great power these days. The Titan had fallen into the Boiling Sea. The ocean of boiling hot liquid stretched out as far as the eye could see in every direction from the Isles. According to legend, the Boiling Sea was infinite, filled with the painful tears shed by the great Titan upon his demise.

The Town of Bonesborough had earned its name by being founded in the lower regions of the Great Titan's ribcage. Farther north, the Titan's ribs were taller than most towers. And beyond that, was the Titan's horned skull. His empty eye sockets had been staring up into the sky since the day he was slain. No one knew for sure how the Titan was felled, but most said it was simply from old age. The Skull was a sacred place for witches. Hallowed ground, dating back since the age of the first order of Wiccans.

"I am getting so sick of having to put up with these Coven creeps," Eda complained as she flew Owlbert through the air. "I mean, it used to be fun, messing with those idiots. But now, it's just getting old. Every other day, we have Guards trying to take down the stand or Scouts trying to break into our house. Titan, what I wouldn't give to punch the Emperor right in the nose."

"Hey, if you get to punch him in the nose, then I get to bite his ankles!" King shouted as he hung on from the assistant's shoulders. "That's why you're always calling me an anklebiter, right? It's my right as the ankle-biter to bite his ankles! I wanna bite some ankles!"

Eda chuckled. "You absolutely may. Titan knows you won't be able to do much else, shorty."

"Hey, that was uncalled for!" King cried.

Eda laughed as she took the staff in for a landing, flying them down in front of home sweet home. Or as Eda liked to call it, the Owl House.

Located near the cliffs outside of Bonesborough overlooking the Boiling Sea, it was a fairly decent-sized house made of white stone, with a window here and there. A blue roof sloped around the house's pear-like shape. Behind the house, to the left of the building, was an old tower of gray stone, with orange moss growing on the base of the tower. The house's most notable feature was the circular, stained glass window high above the door right below the roof. The large window looked like an orange, demonic eye with a red, slitted pupil.

The three of them dismounted the staff and Eda walked up to the front door under the blue lean-to. The simple, wooden door had a light brown, perfectly circular, owl face with wide, somewhat creepy, deep brown eyes.

"What's the password?" the owl face asked in a high-pitched, ear-piercing voice.

Eda poked the owl face in the eyes.

"Let me in my own house, Hooty," Eda demanded.

"Alright, geez!" the house demon complained. "You never wanna have any fun…! Ow…! Hoot!"

The door swung open. Eda and her assistant, with King still on her shoulders, walked into the Owl House. The front door led into the house's living room. There was a fireplace to the right facing opposite of a faded, velvet couch and a coffee table on top of a large, dirty-aquamarine-colored rug. There were chests of belongings and other such trinkets here and there decorating the house on the floor and the walls.

The house was illuminated by the candles that lined the shelves, showing the starry artwork of an owl creature on the ceiling. Eda's favorite house decoration hung above the couch; her wanted poster. The poster displayed, in the Emperor's Coven's artwork, the Owl Lady wielding her palisman staff in one hand and fire in her other one. King was to the left of her, and Eda's assistant, wearing her cat hood and owl mask, stood to the right of her. At the bottom of the poster was the amount for her bounty; a staggering one trillion snails upon her capture. But that was just before taxes, mind you.

"Now I don't know about you guys, but I think I had enough fun for one day." Owlbert flew off of his staff as Eda laid the staff against the couch. "Imma get me some apple blood."

"And I have an army to desecrate." King leapt off of the assistant's shoulders and went over to the couch to pick up a pink, stuffed rabbit that was missing one of its button eyes. "Come, General Francois! We shall bathe in the blood of our enemies! And make necklaces from their teeth and finger bones and maybe their toe bones!" The little demon scampered excitedly upstairs.

"Ah, he's such a good kid." Eda made her way to the kitchen. "Hey, com'ere, Luz. I wanna talk to you."

The assistant, Luz, blinked curiously behind her mask before following Eda into the kitchen area. The kitchen had a bay window with a view of the back of the house, a door to the right of it leading to the backyard. The walls and shelves in the kitchen were lined with several sorts of strange objects. Luz took a seat at the table while Eda grabbed a bottle of apple blood out of the fridge.

"I tell ya, after a day of sticking it to the Emperor's Coven, one of these is exactly what I need to celebrate." Using her teeth, Eda popped the top, spat out the cap, and took a swig from the bottle. "Ahhhhh, that's the stuff."

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Luz asked curiously.

Eda went over to sit down at the table with Luz. "I saw you about to talk to those three girls at the stand."

Luz's eyes widened. "Uh…s-so?"

"So. I'm proud of you for finally trying to socialize again," Eda said.

"I socialize," Luz argued.

"I meant with kids your own age," said Eda. "instead of whatever you end up finding out in the woods. Speaking of which, you're not allowed to invite that Snaggleback you met into our home."

"He just needs a place to stay for a few nights."

"Yeah, and a few nights will end up becoming a few weeks and then a few–never mind." Eda took another drink of apple blood. "Look, kid, I know it's not that easy for you. I mean, hex, I didn't really have a lot of friends back in school either. But you gotta go out there and make some friends. Real friends."

"I have–"

"Hooty and King don't count."

"Well, what about–"

"Owlbert doesn't count either."

Owlbert flew into the kitchen. He landed on Luz's shoulder and rubbed against her chin affectionately, much to Luz's delight.

"Oh, come on, ya little, brown-nosing bird." Eda sighed and stood up from the table, walking around to place a hand on Luz's owl-free shoulder. "Luz, you're a great kid. And you would make a great friend to the right kids." Eda gently put Luz's hood down and lifted up her mask. "If only you would stop hiding that pretty face of yours."

With her hood and mask off, Luz's tan face and short brown hair could now be clearly seen, as could the anxiety on her face and in her brown eyes.

"Mom. How am I supposed to make friends with these?" Luz pointed at her two round, human ears, nothing like a witch's pointed ears.

"You have cute, little ears," said Eda. "A pair of cute, little, round, human ears."

Luz crossed her arms and looked away. "Tell that to the kids that used to gawk at me like I was some kind of sideshow attraction. There's a reason I begged you to stop taking me to the playground."

"Hey, you know, a lot of demons don't even have ears," Eda said. "You don't see any ears on King or Hooty, do you? Ears are overrated anyway."

"Mom, we can't just pretend that I'm not a real witch. Because I'm not." Luz hugged her arms nervously. "I love you, and I love being able to call you 'Mom'. But…we both know I'm not your real daughter."

Eda frowned and blinked. She bit her lip and looked to the side.

"Luz…what do you want me to do?" Eda asked softly.

"Let me go to Hexside."

Eda's eyes went wide. "Oh. Uh…kiddo, that might not be the best idea. I wasn't really the best student back in Hexside, and, you might not get the warmest welcome from the teachers because of that. I don't think Miss Jenkinmeyer ever forgave me for stealing her teeth."

"Okay, then let me go to school back in the Human Realm," Luz suggested. "I go there all the time to collect stuff for us to sell at the stand. I could stay there for longer periods of time just to go to school."

"Uhhhhh…" Eda tapped her fingers along her bottle of apple blood. "That…just might be an even worse idea."

"Why's that?" Luz asked. "I'll actually fit in at a human school."

"Then why was Hexside your first choice?" Eda asked.

Luz pursed her lips shyly. "To learn how to be more like you."

"Awwwww," went Eda, placing a hand over the yellow jewel that decorated her chest.

"I wanna learn how to use magic. Like you," Luz said, looking excited by the very idea. "Even if it means being made fun of for my ears."

Eda took a deep breath. "...Tell you what, Luz. I have some stuff for you to go out and deliver. While you're gone, I'll…I'll give it some thought. I promise."

"Oh," said Luz. "Well, okay, I guess."

Eda finished off her apple blood and made her way to the living room. "Come on, little Owlet. Let's get you set up."

Luz followed her caretaker back into the living room. Owlbert flew off of Luz's shoulder and up into the nest he had built for himself on the higher shelves overlooking the living room. Eda went down into the basement for a moment and brought back up a large sack of clinking bottles. Luz went over and grabbed a red wagon, pulling it over to Eda for her to dump the bottles into the wagon, luckily not breaking any of them.

"The usual route?" Luz asked.

"With one additional family. One additional rich family, with a lot of money," Eda said with an excited smile. "The Blights."

"The Blights?!" Luz asked. "What could they possibly want with the stuff we sell? I mean, honestly, look at some of this stuff." Luz reached down and picked up a bottle of green liquid. "Snake oil?"

"No one wants an unoiled snake," Eda said.

"Is that supposed to be a sex joke?"

"Only if you make it one, ya dirty-minded weirdo." Eda bent down and organized the bottles in the wagon. "Look, Alador Blight is trying new things with his abomination goo, testing and experimenting with what it can be used for and stuff. He made it incredibly clear in his letter that I was his very last resort, but he can't get any of the stuff he needs from his usual suppliers. So, I'm hooking him up this time." Eda snorted out a laugh. "If only I was able to hook him up before Odalia sunk her claws into him. Poor bastard, and he was actually an alright guy."

"Aren't all the Blights horrible people? They're called the 'Blights' after all," Luz asked. "I mean, you called Odalia Blight an ice-cold, unlikable, dead-hearted, greedy, venomous bitch. Numerous times."

"And uppity. Don't forget uppity," said Eda. "And don't worry, you won't even run into Odalia. Which is probably for the best. She and I didn't really get along in school. Just drop off the stuff Alador ordered, get the money, and then come back home. Don't worry, you'll be fine."

"Well…okay." Luz lowered the owl mask back on and put up her cat hood.

"Luz, you don't have to–"

"It makes me feel safe, alright?" Luz said.

"Oh, alright. If nothing else, the mask keeps up my brand." Eda walked over and opened the door for Luz. "Now go make me some money and earn your keep."

"Be safe, Luz!" Hooty stretched his seemingly infinite, snake-like body out the door and moved his face closer to Luz. "Tell me the names of any enemies you make, and I'll turn them into pellets! Hooty hoot hoot!"

"I will, Hooty." Luz moved her mask up for just a moment to give Hooty's cheek a kiss.

"Awwwwwww," Hooty blushed and batted his eyelashes, turning his head coyly.

"Oh, quit sucking up to the house demon and get out of here." Eda ushered Luz out of the house. "But first, gimme the portal key. I don't want you losing our meal ticket."

Luz lifted the key to the portal that allowed them to travel to the Human Realm up over her head and handed it to Eda.

"Thank you." Eda stuffed the key into her hair. "Now shoo, shoo, shoo. Make me money, make me money."

Luz pulled the wagon of wares out of the house and Eda closed the door behind her.

Once Luz was gone, Eda let her own mask drop, revealing pain and guilt. She turned around and leaned back against the door, sliding down onto the floor. Eda gripped her hair and took a deep breath. Owlbert flew down from his shelf nest and landed on Eda's shoulder. The palisman pressed his head against Eda's cheek, and the Owl Lady smiled in appreciation.

"Hey, Eda!"

Upon hearing King coming down from upstairs, Eda shot back onto her feet and recomposed herself. She put her infamous sly grin back on as King ran down the stairs and up to her, Francois held in his arms.

"Eda, settle an argument for us," the self-proclaimed King of Demons said. "Who do you think is more qualified to lead our armies to victory at the front of the lines? Me, the king? or General Francois? Please keep in mind that I greatly outrank him."

Eda chuckled and shook her head. "Actually, I've got an even better adventure for you to go on."

"Weh?" King asked.

Owlbert flapped his wings and extended into a staff for Eda to grab.

"You wanna check out Hexside?"

Luz pulled the red wagon down the cobblestone road, walking past all of the witches and demons and straight-up monsters going about their business. Bonesborough was a town with its houses in a close-together cluster, with no noticeable pattern or organization. Luz walked down a road along a line of houses and buildings both old and new, but you could hardly tell which were which, the style had changed so little over the years. Like snowflakes, no two houses looked the same. And in truth, it made the town of Bonesborough look like a unique painting from a distance.

Most of the supplies in Luz's wagon were gone, traded for a fair amount of snails for each bottle sold. Most people preferred not to buy anything from the infamous Owl Lady, who loved to scam and cheat. But the ones who did order from the Owl Lady were good for their word and good for their money. You might think a young, teenage girl pulling around a wagon full of goods would have been mugged and robbed in no time. But wearing her owl mask and cat hood proved to have a positive outcome. Luz was on most of her mom's wanted posters. And the Owl Lady's reputation as the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles was enough to deter most potential scoundrels. If your mom was the kind of woman who would burn down a store with a single twirl of her finger just because she found the price of apple blood to be unfair, how many people would actually have the gall to rob you?

Luz walked up to one of the houses and knocked on the door. A fairly tall, dark-skinned witch with curly black hair neatly trimmed at the sides answered the door. He wore a mustard-yellow, collared vest with a white long-sleeved shirt underneath, along with a pair of black pants and boots.

"Hello, Mr. Porter," Luz greeted.

"Oh, you again!" Mr. Porter adjusted his square glasses. "Luz, right?"

Luz nodded. She picked up a bottle of blabber serum and offered it to Mr. Porter. "As you ordered. Seems kinda shady for a news reporter to want this stuff."

"As we say in the news: the truth shall be revealed!" said Porter. "Speaking of which, could I possibly take a moment of your time–"

"No."

"Just ten minutes, that's all I–"

"Mr. Porter, we appreciate you buying from us, but you're not going to get an interview with me or my m–uh, manager," Luz said.

"Oh, come on. Please," Mr. Porter begged. "I've been trying to interview the Owl Lady for years now."

"I know."

"Can you at least tell me what your relationship with Edalyn is?" Mr. Porter spun a magic circle and summoned a pen and notepad. "How long have you been–"

"Goodbye, Mr. Porter." Luz grabbed the handle of her wagon and walked away.

"Let me know if you change your mind!" Mr. Porter called after her.

"I won't!" Luz called back.

"You won't let me know or you won't change your mind?"

"Pick one!"

Another reason why no one ever bothered Luz while she was out and about was because nobody really knew that Luz called the Owl Lady 'mom.' Being the Owl Lady's daughter was hardly something Luz felt ashamed of, not at all. But Eda insisted that Luz not brag about it to anyone. As far as the Emperor's Coven was concerned, Luz was just a masked mystery weirdo who worked for the most wanted criminal on the Boiling Isles. Nobody important to anybody else.

"Okay, let's see here." Luz pulled a rolled-up list out of her pocket. "Only person left is…aw, crap."

"Ah, ha-ha-ha! Titan, it's been a while since I've sat here, hasn't it?" Eda reclined in her chair and placed her feet on the desk with her hands held behind her head. "Ah, the memories," she reminisced.

"The memories indeed," Principal Bump replied flatly. The principal of Hexside was an old man with a slight hunch and wrinkled hands with long, black nails. As the school principal, he wore the traditional long, black gown with a gold yoke and a matching black cape that had gold trim just as the sleeves did. A blue stole hung over his shoulders to complete the outfit. Bump's hair and upper head were hidden by his palisman–a maroon-skinned imp with horns and yellow eyes with teal centers that were given to Bump with the palisman on his head in the appearance of eating his upper head.

"Those memories are not helping you, Edalyn." Bump raised his hand and drew a magic circle, his magic lifting Eda's boots off of his desk and placing them back on the floor. "You should be incredibly grateful I even let you step foot in this school again."

Eda sighed and took one of the pencils out of the tin. "Alright, fine. Look, you know why I'm here."

"Yes, I appreciate you contacting me via Crow beforehand," Bump said, watching in irritation as Eda placed the pencil between her nose and her top lip. "And, I suppose I should apologize for my initial reaction."

(about ten minutes earlier)

"Come on, Bump, let me in!"

"Absolutely not!" Bump shouted from the window above.

"Can't we just talk?!" Eda shouted from down in the front of the school.

"Scram!" Bump yelled. "There is no way I'm letting another Clawthorne go to this school, you were enough of a nightmare!"

"You never complained about Lilith!"

"I will complain about letting your daughter go here!"

"She's adopted!"

"She is?"

"I'm glad you eventually came around." Eda started twirling the pencil in her fingers, only for the pencil to fly out of her fingers and hit Bump in the face.

"I am already regretting that decision." Bump groaned and pinched his brow. "...Look, Edalyn. I know it's been difficult for you ever since what happened at the Coven tryouts. And parenthood? Sweet Titan, I did not see that coming. You? A mom…? Really?"

"Okay, I get it," Eda said in an annoyed manner.

"So it's really true." Bump shook his head in amazement. "You actually have a kid."

"I have two, actually."

"Yeah, where's your other one?"

"Digging around in the school's garbage somewhere, I dunno."

"...Uh-huh… Regardless of what you've been through, however, let's take a minute to be realistic," Bump said. "You are a wanted criminal, Edalyn."

"The most wanted–"

"The most wanted criminal on the Boiling Isles, yes, I know," Bump interrupted. "You're also a dropout who made me greatly appreciate my career as an educator as soon as you left school. I won't lie to you, I had a few celebratory rounds once you dropped out."

"So did I. And Luz is nothing like me, honest. She's way more like Lilith. But, you know, way cooler, like me," Eda said. "She's a real good kid, she loves to read, she's well-behaved, she's eager to learn, she wants to learn how to be a real witch."

Bump raised an eyebrow. "Is she not one?"

"Yeah, that's the other thing about Luz," Eda said, tapping her fingers together nervously. "Luz is, and if I know you, you are going to love this,"

"Here we go," Bump muttered.

"Luz is…a human," said Eda. "From the Human Realm."

Bump's eyebrows went up. "Your daughter is a human?"

"Yeah, she's an…adopted human orphan–she's a human, bottom line!" Eda took a deep breath. "...She wanted this, alright? She wants to learn how to use magic. She'll make an excellent student, I promise."

Bump stared at Eda for a while. Then, he hummed thoughtfully as he placed his chin in the crook of his thumb and index finger.

"A human student here at Hexside," he thought aloud. "...I bet Glandus never had a human student. St. Epiderm neither."

Bump cleared his throat and steepled his hands professionally. "I am…intrigued by the idea of Hexside teaching witchcraft to a human. I believe our school could benefit from having such a unique exchange student. If we could pull this off, it would really show just how effective of an education we offer."

"Sooooo?" Eda tilted her head eagerly. "Whaddya say?"

"I say…I'll consider it." Bump stood up from his desk and went over to his filing cabinet. "After you, Miss Clawthorne, pay your debt."

"Didn't my parents pay my tuition for the semester I dropped out of?" Eda placed her boots back on Bump's desk as he rifled through his files.

Bump used his magic to lift Eda's boots off of his desk without even looking back at her. "Oh, I'm not talking about your student debt, Edalyn." He pulled out a ridiculously large stack of papers and files, several books worth of it, out of the file drawer. "I'm talking about the necrotic experiments, the graffiti, the scams, the cheating, Miss Jenkinmeyer's teeth–the poor woman, and all the rest of the trouble you caused when you were here."

Eda watched anxiously as Bump dropped the stack of papers onto his desk with a loud thud. The paper on the top read 'Permanent Record,' and below that, 'Edalyn Clawthorne.'

Eda stared at the stack of papers. "...Huh…I thought there'd be more."

"Oh, there is. Much more."

"Damn."

"We can get started on clearing away all of this right now, if you'd like." Bump sat back down, a smile on his face. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Yeah, I bet you are," muttering under her breath, she added "you shriveled up cacodemon." Eda stood up from her seat. "I just wanna get this over with. Let me grab my kid out of your garbage so I can send him home, and then we can get started."

"I am blown away by your parenting skills," Bump replied flatly.

"Oh, I'll blow you away." Eda grumbled her way to the door. "In a hundred little pieces."

"I heard that."

"No you didn't."

"Okay, here we are. 811 Bruegel Boulevard." Luz looked up from her list. "Woah. Fancy, fancy."

Standing at the gate to the entrance of The Blight's property line, the metal sign above read 'Blight Manor.' Beyond that, the manor itself looked quite comfortable, but the building's straight and solid structure also held an air of strong authority. The historic Blight Manor, located on the Right Arm but still within Bonesborough's city limits, was a large abode built on top of a hill, looking like a castle from one of Luz's books from the Human Realm. The manor was made from purple and gray stone, with a brown, shingled roof and a purple, wooden double door. The home had a couple of stone chimneys and a large spire built in the center of the house. The manor also had round, stained-glass windows with intricate diamond designs at the top level of the building.

Luz double-checked to make sure her mask and hood were both on before nervously pushing the gate open and pulling her wagon down the path to the manor. Her worry was not unjustified. From what Luz had heard, the Blights have been…well, blights, for as long as anyone could remember. They made their fortune mostly from security productions. Nowadays from abomination golems, what with Alador Ghul, a master in the abomination track of magic, marrying into the Blight Family and becoming Alador Blight. The family's success also came from their long-standing loyalty to the Emperor's Coven and their cutthroat business tactics.

Luz gulped as she approached the front door. She struggled to get her wagon up the stairs to the door, but managed. With a shaky fist, Luz raised her arm and knocked on the door. It took a few seconds before someone answered.

To Luz's surprise, it was an abomination golem that answered the door. Stocky beings made of dark, purple goop with sagging, droopy faces and glowing, green eyes in dark, empty sockets, abominations tended to vary in size and sometimes even shape, depending on the goop and the witch commanding it. This one, humanoid like most abominations, was only a couple feet or so taller than Luz, and looked somewhat classy. At the top of its head, the goop curled like hair, complete with small facial hair and several chins, with a goop tuxedo. It was a butler abomination, by the look of it.

Luz blinked owlishly behind her owl mask. "Um…delivery for Alador Blight?"

The abomination moaned like a zombie before closing the door. For a good minute, Luz felt like she had been ditched. Just as she was about to knock again, or maybe leave, the door opened once more.

This time, it was an actual person who answered the door. He was a boy who didn't look much older than Luz, maybe by a year or two. A thin build with deep-pine green hair, he had pale, rich skin with a mole under his right eye. His eyes were golden, much like Eda's were. His attire consisted of a dark gray, long-sleeved tunic tucked into purplish-gray pants, a sleeveless burgundy shirt with a belt around his waist, and gray boots with burgundy cuffs.

"...Um…Alador Blight?" Luz asked softly.

The boy laughed in amusement. "Uh. No."

"Oh." Luz blushed behind her mask. "R-right."

"You're here with my dad's order?" the boy stepped to the side. "Well, come on in, then."

Surprised, Luz hesitated and chewed on her lip before pulling her wagon through the door.

"Cute wagon," the boy commented before closing the door. He walked ahead of Luz and led her through the manor. The inside of the house was well-kept, clean, and everything looked fancy and expensive. Luz was afraid to touch anything, else she accidentally break something and owe the Blights a fortune.

"Yeah, Dad's always hard to find on a workday," the boy explained. "And, wouldn't you know it, every day's a workday."

The boy led Luz into what looked like the manor's living room. Or the parlor, as rich people called it. The drapes were a rich, deep purple, like abomination goo, a bookshelf held expensive-looking decorations as did the small table over near the wall. The fireplace mantel had a shelf above it, a lit candelabra at each end, and pricey trinkets between them. Above that, was a family portrait of the Blights.

Sitting on the large, dark magenta, comfy-looking sofa, was a girl filing her nails. Luz took a moment to look back and forth between the boy and the girl. They must have been twins, because at first glance, the only difference between them was the presence of a Y chromosome. They even dressed alike, except the girl wore shorts and slippers, and her mole was under her left eye. Her hair was set in a long braid, contrary to her brother's hair. Earrings that matched her golden eyes hung from her pointed ears.

"Hey, Emira. You know where Dad is?" the boy asked. "I can't find him."

"Yeah, what else is new." Emira looked over at her brother and raised an eyebrow at their masked guest. "Who's your new friend?"

"Oh, she's here with Dad's delivery," the boy said. "Didn't Manfred come through here?"

'Such a butler name,' Luz thought to herself. 'Right next to Alfred, only not as cool.'

"Manfred probably went to go find Dad." Emira smiled and patted the seat next to her. "Have a seat, owl-cat. It's gonna be a while, trust me."

Luz's fingers twitched. Taking a quick second to curse herself for being so weird around people her own age, and people in general, she pulled her wagon up next to the coffee table and then stiffly sat down next to Emira.

"Edric, go get us some Ghoul Aids, would ya?" Emira asked.

Hmph," The boy, Edric, crossed his arms and scowled at his sister. "Fine. But only because I want one, too."

"We got apple blood if that's more to your taste," Emira offered to Luz.

"I was taught to never touch the apple blood or else suffer the consequences," said Luz. "Ghoul Aid is fine, even though the ghouls they make it from give me nightmares for about a week whenever I drink it."

"Cool." Emira nodded at Edric, who grumbled as he left for the kitchen. Once Edric was gone, Emira crossed her legs and spread her arms along the back of the couch, smiling at the anxious Luz.

"So, you got a name, owl-cat?" Emira asked.

"Luz," she replied quietly.

"Lose?" Emira asked curiously.

"Luz," she corrected, speaking more clearly.

"Luz, huh?" Emira tilted her head. "What is that, Vampiric?"

"Spanish, actually," said Luz.

"What's that?" Emira asked.

"Oh, it's a language spoken in the–"

"Emira, who the hex is this?"

Emira and Luz turned their heads to see another girl enter the parlor. By the looks of it, she was closer to Luz in age than Emira was, being the younger sibling. Luz looked up at the family portrait above the fireplace mantel and recognized the girl as the third Blight sibling. She looked as unhappy in the portrait as she did in real life. Her mint-green hair was held up in a small ponytail, with auburn roots showing at the center of her forehead. Like her siblings, her skin was rich and pale, and she had those same golden eyes. Small, triangular earrings decorated her ears and an amethyst pendant decorated her chest. She wore a pitch-black, belted blouse with short sleeves, as well as a pair of magenta pants that went into black, buckled shoes.

"Oh, calm down, Mittens, she's here with Dad's delivery," Emira explained.

Luz failed not to snort. "Is…is that your name?"

The girl, Mittens, as Emira called her, growled at her sister, her face reddening from embarrassment and irritation. "No. That is not my name," she stated pointedly. "My name is–"

"Mittens!" Edric cheered as he came back from the kitchen, some Ghoul Aids in his arms. "Finally came out of your room, huh? Got sick of studying? Wanna Ghoul Aid?"

"I don't drink that stuff," Mittens snapped. "You know it gives me nightmares."

"Hey, me too!" said Luz.

Mittens narrowed her eyes at Luz. "Why is she here? You can't just bring vendors into the house, Mom'll blow a gasket."

"Ah, don't be so uptight, Mittens," Edric sat down next to Luz opposite of Emira and gave them both a Ghoul Aid. "Owl-cat here isn't hurting anything."

"She said her name was Luz," Emira said.

"Is that Vampiric?"

"That's what I asked."

"I don't care what her name is," said Mittens. "Get her out of here before Mom sees her! Just have her wait outside for Dad."

"Will you lighten up for once?" Emira asked. "Luz here is our guest. Don't be rude."

"Ugh," Mittens grunted up at the ceiling in vexed defeat before walking over to one of the sofa chairs facing the couch. She sat down and glared at Luz, as if waiting for her to steal or break something.

"Hey, that jacket you're wearing is from Hexside, isn't it?" Edric asked. "Do you go to school there? I don't think I've ever seen you before."

"Not that we'd recognize you," said Emira. "What's up with the mask? Is it part of the work uniform or something?"

"You two have a really smooth chemistry as twins." Luz wrung her hands. She suddenly agreed with Mittens that she should have just waited outside. Being asked questions about herself made her skin crawl. "The jacket…is a hand-me-down. The mask is for…um…my little brother shaved off my eyebrows last week, and they haven't fully grown back yet."

"Little siblings, right?" said Edric. "They're hard to handle sometimes."

Mittens narrowed her eyes at her older brother. "Like the older siblings are any easier to deal with."

"Hey, at least we're fun," Emira protested. "It wouldn't kill you to smile every once in a while."

"That rhymed," said Luz.

"Thank you."

"Maybe it actually would kill her," Edric suggested. "Imagine little Mittens trying for a grin. As she's struggling to get her face to contort to the unfamiliar position, her mouth shatters to pieces."

Emira snickered. "In that case, I say let's keep trying to get her to laugh."

Edric and Emira laughed, and Luz couldn't help but chuckle along. Meanwhile, Mittens glared daggers at the three of them, her face reddening like a tomato.

The youngest Blight shot to her feet. "You know what?! I–"

"What's going on in here?"

The four kids turned to see a man walk into the living room. From the family portrait, Luz recognized him as Alador Blight. To be perfectly honest, he wasn't anything like Luz had imagined him to be. The Chief Engineer of Blight Industries had a somewhat disheveled look about him, with his messy, unkempt auburn hair with ear-length sideburns, hairy arms, and stubble on his face. A pair of gold goggles with purple lenses sat atop his brow as well, and he had spots of abomination goo here and there on his person as if he had just stepped away from a project. He wore a dark gray lab coat wrapped around him, gray pants, and black boots all covered in purple stains from his projects. His eyes were the same golden color as his children's eyes. His slight hunch, rough and calloused hands, and the bags under his eyes suggested he was always hard at work. Under his right wrist, Alador was branded with the Abomination Coven sigil–the ghostly head of an abomination.

"Why are you kids always fighting? It's like clockwork at this point." Alador Blight's golden gaze settled on Luz and her owl mask. "Oh. Edalyn must have sent you with my order, yes?"

Luz nodded silently, pointing over at her wagon by the table.

"Perfect." Alador walked over to the wagon and started taking out the items he had requested. "Sorry to keep you. You got here sooner than I thought you would, and I get lost in my work sometimes."

Mittens rolled her eyes as if to say 'Yup.' But then her eyes widened when a thought came over her.

"Wait a minute. Edalyn, as in, Edalyn Clawthorne? The Owl Lady?!" she asked. "She's the most wanted criminal on the Boiling Isles!"

"Oh, yeah." Emira looked over at Luz. "I recognize you from the wanted posters now. Man, your job suddenly looks a whole lot cooler."

"Is it true the Owl lady eats rodents?" Edric asked. "And if so, how do they taste?"

"Dad, you can't buy stuff from the Owl Lady! Mom will flip out!" Mittens protested.

"You let me worry about your mother," Alador told Mittens. He placed all his items on the table and took out a large bag of snails. "I need these materials for my experiments."

"The Owl Lady appreciates your business," Luz said cheerfully. "And none of this stuff is fake. I promise. I make sure."

"How is Edalyn doing these days?" Alador asked as he handed Luz the bag of snails.

"She's doing good," Luz said, placing the money bag on her lap.

"Ah. That's good to hear," said Alador. "We were never friends, per se, back in Hexside, but neither of us ever did the other any wrong. After what happened to her, I must admit, I became a bit worried about her."

"What do you mean?" Luz asked. "What happened to her?"

"Oh, well–"

"Alador!"

Alador, as well as the three Blight children, jumped at the sound of that voice. Luz looked over and saw that Mrs. Blight had returned home.

Even without looking at the family portrait, Luz would've had no trouble figuring out who she was. Her mint-green hair was pulled back in a tight bun, and her skin was pale much like the Blight children's were. She wore a violet blouse with a white waistcoat decorated with an intricate, interlocking orb pattern in addition to a pair of navy-blue pants and gray, heeled boots. A necklace with an oval, amethyst gem matching the pendant Mittens wore decorated her chest. She also wore purple lipstick and a pair of lovely, golden earrings. Although they all shared the same sharp, facial features, where the kids were thin, Mrs. Blight had a fit, yet curvaceous build. But in her defense, she was a mother of twins with an extra daughter to boot, and she looked terrific to Luz.

Her eyes were the one feature she didn't share with the other Blights. Where everyone else in the family had eyes of gold, Odalia Blight had blue eyes that were the same color as a glacier, and just as cold. The arrogant way she carried herself gave the impression that she saw herself as the boss of everyone. Which made sense, really, seeing as how she was the head of Blight Industries and the boss of literally everyone else on that corporate ladder.

Her frowning face and her icy gaze landed on the unknown stranger sitting on her sofa wearing an owl mask and a cat hood. "Who and what is that and why is it in our home?"

"Calm down, Odalia. She's the delivery girl here with the stuff I ordered for my lab work," Alador explained. "I wasn't around when she arrived, so she was just waiting for me and her payment."

"Did you order from a Night Market dealer? The mask, the hood, that–" Odalia narrowed her eyes at Luz. "Hold on. I know that jacket. It's Edalyn's old grudgby jacket–you bought merchandise from the Owl Lady?!"

"All my usual suppliers didn't have what I needed. Edalyn did," Alador explained. While the three kids appeared nervous in the presence of their irate mother, Alador didn't look scared of Odalia. Negotiating with his wife seemed to make him more tired than scared, like it was something he had simply grown used to, but never enjoyed. "I know the two of you never liked each other, but she never scammed me. She's my cousin, Odalia, she wouldn't cheat me."

"Wait, what?!" Luz asked. "You're my mo–my manager's cousin?"

"Eh, the Ghuls and the Clawthornes are distant cousins, dating back hundreds of years ago," Alador explained.

"Woah, really? We're related to the Owl Lady?" Emira asked. "Cool."

"Oh, the eyes," Edric realized. "That's a fun twist. More of a minor detail, really."

"Like I said, we're distant cousins. One of the Clawthornes married a Ghul during the Savage Ages I think," Alador explained. It might not have sounded like much of a connected family, but blood was something that those of Wiccan custom took seriously. As the old saying went: 'Few things are more powerful than blood.' It was a common enough ingredient in advanced potion brewing.

"I don't care if she's your cousin, your sister, or your mother!" Odalia argued.

Luz looked away when she said 'mother.'

"The Owl Lady is the most wanted criminal on the Boiling Isles! We cannot, for the sake of both our company's and family's reputation, do business with her!"

"This isn't exactly a sale to add to the books," said Alador. "The kid is pulling her merchandise around in a little red wagon for Titan's sake."

"Indeed." Odalia walked over to Luz's wagon and stared down critically at her remaining supplies. "Pulling your merchandise around in a toy wagon. How much profit do you lose in theft alone? And look at some of this stuff. I mean, yes, Edalyn was one of the top students in the Potions Track. But who actually buys from her?" Odalia picked up a bottle out of the wagon. "...Although, I am willing to take this bottle of snake oil off of you for, uh, something I'll be doing later."

"Titan help me," Alador muttered under his breath.

Odalia stared at Luz, developing somewhat of a curious look. She then smiled at her. The smile looked convincingly friendly and genuine, but still gave Luz a chill down her spine. Her instincts screamed at her to not trust this woman. She was a cutthroat businesswoman, that was apparent to Luz. Eda might've been a scammer and an occasional pickpocket, but she was nothing like Mrs. Blight. Odalia was the worst kind of crook. The legal kind.

Odalia put the bottle she was holding down on the table and walked up to Luz, who sat frozen on the couch. Edric and Emira scooted away from Luz as their mother took some snails out of her pocket and placed them in the bag of snails on Luz's lap in exchange for the snake oil.

"You know. Blight Industries is always looking for new sales assistants," she said. "I'm not sure what meager salary Edalyn pays you in exchange for having your image next to hers on the wanted posters all over the Isles, but I can promise you an actually decent wage for your services to my company." Odalia pulled a purple business card out from her dress and offered it to Luz. "If you're interested, here's our card."

Luz took the card and stared at the decorated piece of plastic.

"Take it from someone who dealt with her conducted chaos all throughout our time together in school; Edalyn Clawthorne is just a series of disasters," said Odalia. "What hasn't gone wrong in that woman's life? Her story is just one long tragedy. A shame, really. She's a powerful witch with a lot of talent, no doubt about it. Too bad she chose to become nothing more than a filthy garbage peddler and a lowly potion pusher."

Odalia smiled like she was sincerely concerned for poor Luz. "You seem smart enough, owl-cat. And if you are, you'll come work for me instead. I can put you on a much more promising path than anything that cursed catastrophe can offer you."

Luz stared up directly into Odalia's cold eyes, holding her gaze for a few seconds. Then, she stood up from the sofa, walked past Odalia with her bag of snails, set the bag onto the wagon and grabbed the handle, said "thank you for your business. I'll show myself out," and headed for the door.

On her way out, without looking back but making sure Odalia saw her do it, Luz raised the business card up to one of the burning candles decorating the wall, lit the card aflame, then tossed it into one of the decorative vases and continued to the door.

Alador and his three kids all watched Luz leave with faces filled with shock. They all looked at Odalia. Mrs. Blight looked surprised, then entirely outraged, clenching her fists and narrowing her eyes as she watched the delivery girl leave.

"The Owl Lady is doomed to petrification!"

Luz stopped.

Odalia crossed her arms. "You may want to put the inevitable into consideration, dear."

For a second, Luz didn't move. But then she left without another word.

Eda kicked open the bathroom door and stormed out of the boy's room. Looking disheveled and exhausted, as well as downright incensed, Eda marched up to Principal Bump, who calmly stood by the lockers with his hands held behind his back, a small smile gracing his lips as he watched Eda approach him as if he were her next victim.

"Our janitor was quite happy for the day off," Bump said. "He and his husband went to the Kneecap for their anniversary. Twenty years strong, the two of them."

"I don't give a flying, fucking finch."

"Language, Miss Clawthorne," Bump wagged his finger at Eda. "We are in a school, young lady."

"Listen, you wizened old mummy," Eda growled. "I did everything on your list. Every. Single. Grueling. Chore. Now let my kid go to your school or so help me Titan, I will burn this place to the ground and dance on the ashes."

Bump chuckled. "You really haven't changed much over the years, Eda. It's almost refreshing." The principal shrugged. "Consider the debt paid. I know wiping away that graffiti wasn't easy for you."

"The last thing they ever spelled was 'why, mother?'," Eda said woefully.

"And as for, eh, Luz, you said her name was?"

"I know what you're thinking, and no, it's not Vampiric."

"I'm sure I can manage to squeeze her into the semester. Bring her back here this weekend for the standard placement exam, we'll see what she can do, and we'll have ourselves Hexside's first-ever human student," Bump said. "Come to my office so we can fill out the proper paperwork."

"It's not a whole lot, is it?" Eda pleaded.

"Well, let's see here; foreign exchange student, human from the Human Realm, caretaker is a wanted criminal, no legal documents whatsoever, your source of income is peddling trinkets and making your youngest dance for show, admission is a late entry, torturing you with this stuff is surprisingly entertaining," Bump counted on his fingers. "...You're not going to like the answer."

Eda's grip on the plunger she held snapped the handle. The broken plunger fell to the ground at the feet of the angry Owl Lady. "Can you at least guarantee Luz's safety while she's a student here?" she asked. "You won't let the Emperor's Coven harass her if they decide to take an interest in her, will you?"

"As one of my students, I can promise you her safety and protection here at Hexside," Bump said. His sincerity offered some relief to Eda. "Don't mistake me for one of the Emperor's Head Witches. I'm no one's stooge."

Eda sighed. "...Good."

"Now then." Principal Bump started down the hall to his office. "Let's get to it on that paperwork, shall we? I know how much you love exams, Miss Clawthorne."

Letting out a feral growl, Eda followed after Bump. "That kid better kiss the floors of this school."

It was late by the time Eda returned home. The sun had set and night had fallen. Eda flew Owlbert down in front of her beloved Owl House. For years now, this place had been her sanctuary. The one place on the entire Boiling Isles where she could go and feel safe. The one place where she could fall asleep in at least some amount of comfort and security, away from the rest of the world. The only home she had anymore.

Letting out a content sigh of relief, Eda, staff in hand, walked up to the front door of her home.

"Hi, Eda!" Hooty greeted. "How was school?"

"Oh, bite me, Hooty," Eda said as she pushed the door open. "Is Luz home yet?"

"Yup," said Hooty. "She came back with a bunch of money."

"Atta girl." Eda closed the door behind her as she walked inside. King was sitting on the couch, munching on a bag of chimera chips. Chimera chips: the flavor of three beasts mixed into one!

"Where's Luz, ya little bum?" Eda asked. Owlbert transformed from staff to bird and flew up to his nest on the high shelf.

"In her room," said King. "She left the snails she made on the kitchen table."

"Thanks." Eda snatched the bag of chips from King.

"Weh!" King complained, grabbing his little hands at the bag. "Gimme!"

"You know I love chimera chips. Buy your own." Eda tossed some chips into her mouth as she headed upstairs to Luz's room. "Mmm. You can really taste the serpent in this batch."

Eda reached the door to Luz's room and knocked on the door. "Hey, kiddo! I got some great news! Can I come in?"

When she didn't get an answer, Eda pushed the door open anyway. Luz's room was really just a large closet that Eda never used even before Luz came along. Not too spacious, but not too small for comfort. Luz was lying in the hammock she slept in, which was actually a large spider web she happened to find comfy. Eda wasn't entirely sure where Luz had gotten that spiderweb hammock. But no giant spider had tried to eat her yet, so Eda wasn't all that worried. Luz was wearing her pajamas, which consisted of a white t-shirt and blue sweatpants.

There was a box TV from the Human Realm set on top of a four-legged table, high enough for Luz to watch from her hammock. Underneath that table was a DVD/VCR combo player and a bunch of Luz's favorite movies and shows in both DVD and VHS form. Mostly animes and adaptations of the books she loved. All of her books, as well as her sketchbooks filled with her own drawings and fanart, were in the other far corner to the left of the TV, stacked into a small bookshelf with as many books as it could hold. This included Luz's favorite series, The Good Witch Azura. She must have read those books a dozen times each. Between the bookshelf and the TV was a small desk and chair as well as a wooden treasure chest filled with all of her stuff, including her clothes. As far as appearance and wardrobe, Luz wasn't all that organized or equipped.

"Hey, Luz." Eda stepped into the room. "Guess what I–eek!"

Lining the entire wall opposite of the spiderweb hammock were all of Luz's masks. Each one was made herself from either wood, plastic, or paper (or skin) and good enough for Luz to be worthy of the wall. There was no more room for another one, so if Luz made another mask that she believed deserved to be on the wall, she just replaced her least favorite mask currently on the wall with her new mask. The masks hanging on the wall were crafted in the images of creatures of both the Human and Demon Realms, demons and monsters, mythical creatures, or something from an anime, book, or videogame she liked. She rarely ever wore them, though, favoring her owl mask.

What really unsettled Eda was that ever since Luz was little, the Owl Lady would walk past Luz's room and hear her talking to someone, sounding like she was talking to a whole group of friends. When Eda realized that Luz was talking to her masks as if they were actual people, she grew concerned.

"Titan, I'll never get used to that." Eda closed the doors and walked up next to Luz, doing her best to ignore the masks. With her owl mask lying on the desk, the witch-raised human had a pair of headphones on, listening to a cassette on her Walkman.

"María fue al mercado a comprar flores para su madre," Luz said aloud. "Hoy es el cumpleaños de la mamá de María y el papá de María le va a comprar un regalo." She was listening to one of her Spanish audio books again. Ever since she learned that she was Hispanic, Luz had developed a keen interest in learning Spanish. And she had gotten pretty good at it over the years. "María le dijo a su padre que le comprara a su madre ese vestido que tanto deseaba. Pero el padre de María probablemente le comprará a su esposa un ramo de margaritas barato, como el año pasado."

"Hey, Luz." Eda put her bag of chips in her hair and snapped her fingers in front of her face. "Headphones down for a sec."

Luz paused the tape and lifted her head off of her pillow, taking her headphones off of her head. "¿Sí Madre? ¿Qué necesitas?"

"Hey, none of that with me," said Eda. "You can learn to speak Spanish all you want, but you can't speak it around me. I don't want you talking smack about me right in front of me without me even knowing. I know you said you wouldn't, but that's what I totally would've done if I had bothered to learn a second language."

"What's up?" said Luz.

"Oh, nothing much." Eda examined her nails casually. "I took a little trip down memory lane. Visited Hexside for the first time since I dropped out. I even ran into good old, really old, Principal Bump. Who, believe it or not,"

Eda threw her hands into the air with an excited grin. "Agreed to accept you into Hexside!"

Luz gasped loudly as her eyes went wide with glee.

Eda's grin widened. "Who da best?"

"YOU DA BEST!" Luz threw her arms around Eda's neck in a tight hug. Smiling her big smile, Luz nearly popped her mom's head off as she happily hugged her. She had done it before, actually, which had led to some minor trauma and a few nights of bad dreams.

Eda chuckled as she returned the hug. "Yeah, that's right."

Still held in Eda's arms, Luz looked up at her mom. She then frowned, looking sad and scared.

Eda frowned with worry. "Woah, what's wrong?" she asked. "I got you into school. That's what you wanted, right?"

"...Mom…" Luz said softly. "The Emperor's Coven…won't ever take you away, right?"

"What?" Eda blinked. "Of course not. Where is this coming fro–" Eda suddenly looked past Luz and narrowed her eyes angrily. "...Odalia," she growled. "Dammit, Alador, you were supposed to buy the stuff behind her back."

"But, the reward money, and the wanted postures," Luz's grip on Eda's arms tightened. "Our stand is always closing early when the Emperor's Coven comes for you, and it's happening more and more. How long is it gonna take until they–"

"Luz, look at me." Eda raised her hand and tilted Luz's head up by her chin to look her in the eyes. "The Emperor's Coven of Goons have been chasing me around like a bunch of jealous exes for over twenty years now." Eda smiled. "They've never been able to catch me. They ain't about to catch me. And they're never gonna catch me. I ain't gonna join their Coven, or any Coven. I'm a wild witch, baby. And that's not going to change. Ever."

Eda raised her hand and gently caressed Luz's cheek. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

Luz's frown lifted up just enough for a smile. She raised her hand up and held Eda's hand on her face. As a result, she pulled Eda's hand right off her arm with a snap. The bone protruded out of her disconnected hand.

"Crap!" Luz shouted at the hand in her hand. "Sorry, Mom!"

"Ah, don't worry about it." Eda took her hand back and reconnected it to her wrist. "Happens all the time, you know that."

"Doesn't it hurt when that happens?" Luz asked.

"It's no worse than cracking your knuckles or popping your back. It actually feels kinda good sometimes." Eda screwed her hand back on. "Now it's getting late, so get some rest. First thing in the morning, we're getting you ready for your placement exam for your admission to Hexside."

"Placement exam?" Luz asked.

"That's right," Eda said. "And it's gotta be good. I have a reputation to keep after all."

Eda patted Luz's head and walked over to the door. "So good night. Sleep tight. Don't let the boogeyman bite." Eda snapped her fingers, and the candle hanging above Luz's desk went out. "He'll take your toes, you knows."

"Wait, Mom."

Eda's hand settled on the doorknob as she looked back at Luz.

"...Thank you," Luz said, smiling gratefully. "I promise, I'll do my best at Hexside. I know…I know having me around hasn't made anything any easier for you. I understand that. But, being your daughter? It's awesome. It really is."

Eda's eyes widened. She gave Luz a smile. "Being your mom is pretty awesome too, kiddo."

Luz's smile widened. "I love you, Mom."

"Yeah," Eda replied softly. "I love you too, Owlet."

Eda opened the door. "Now go to sleep, dangit. We got a big day ahead of us."

The door closed, and Luz put her headphones and Walkman aside and rested her head on her pillow. Rolling over on her side, Luz, despite her excitement, let her eyes close, and she drifted to sleep.

A large, deadly-looking spider crawled out of the crack in the ceiling above Luz and lowered itself down to her. Landing on the web, the overgrown black widow flexed its jaws and slowly crawled up to Luz. Working carefully so as not to wake the sleeping human, the spider wrapped her in a gossamer cocoon.

Luz let out a yawn in the slumbering comfort of the webbing. The spider crawled up and nuzzled Luz's forehead before crawling back up the wall.

On the other side of the door, Eda stood in front of Luz's room with her back toward the door. The usual confident and unfazed look she wore was replaced with a painful amount of guilt and regret. She leaned back against the door, trailing her hands through her thick hair.

Eda made her way into the kitchen, walking up to the fridge and opening it up. She reached into the fridge where she hid her stash of apple venom, a much stronger brew compared to regular apple blood, and took out a bottle. She then walked into the living room and saw King fast asleep on the couch. Every now and then, the little demon would go 'weh' and kick his legs in his sleep, then calm right back down in blissful slumber.

Eda's face managed a smile. She drew a magic circle in the air and summoned a blanket, which draped over King while he snored away. The self-proclaimed King of Demons got comfy under the blanket before falling back into pure bliss.

Eda quietly snapped her fingers and all of the lights went out. Then, she made her way upstairs to her own room. She reached the wooden, double doors and entered her bedroom, closing the door behind her. It was her room that had the large, stained glass, eye-shaped window overlooking the front yard. Eda's bedroom was surprisingly tidy, with a purple rug, red drapes, a tall mirror, and other bedroom furniture. There was no bed, though. But there was a large nest, an actual nest, in the corner near a side window.

Eda popped the top off of her bottle of apple venom and chugged down the entire bottle before tossing it aside. Then she kicked off her boots and shambled up to her dresser. Atop the dresser was a stuffed, purple, one-eyed, toy demon. When Luz was a baby, she was unable to go to sleep without it. When she got a little older, the sweet, little girl had given Spooky, as she named the toy demon, to Eda, in order to help her sleep at night. Eda picked up Spooky and stared down at him. The stuffed demon smiled happily up at Eda.

With the effects of the apple venom starting to kick in, Eda made her way to her nest and crawled into it, finding it comfortable, despite what others might think about sleeping in a nest. She curled up on her side and cuddled Spooky against her chest.

And then, like many nights before, the infamous Owl Lady cried herself to sleep.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries

To thee from tortured souls arise.

We sing, but oh the clay is vile

Beneath our feet, and long the mile;

But let the world dream otherwise,

We wear the mask!