Before the Collector left, they imparted one last gift onto the Boiling Isles: a Portal that crossed between the Human and Demon realms. Everybody else stayed the night at the Owl House but in the morning, Luz felt the pull of home tugging at her heart. It woke her before dawn and she could not get back to sleep, so she went up the tower. Amity — sleeping next to her — awoke when Luz got up. Amity waited a few moments to clear the sleep from her eyes before she got up to follow her girlfriend. She found Luz laying on the hardwood, watching the clouds drift under the stars. Stringbean slept on her chest.

"Can't sleep?" asked Amity.

"Wah!" Luz bolted upright, launching Stringbean forward. The little snake zipped around in the air for a few moments before finding her place back on Luz's lap.

"Sorry! Sorry," said Amity. Ghost appeared out of the staircase and nuzzled Amity's leg, clearly wondering why they were awake at such an hour. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"No, I'm sorry," said Luz. "Did I wake you?"

Amity took Ghost in her arms so that she could rest there. "I wanted to be awake," said Amity. She crossed the radius of the tower to get to Luz. "Is something bothering you?" She sat down next to Luz and placed Ghost on her lap.

Luz looked at Amity for a long while and Amity looked back patiently. Then Luz looked out to the horizon, where the sun's light had just begun to peer over the Boiling Sea. She looked at the stars once more, then to Stringbean on her lap. "I don't… belong here anymore," she said. "Not right now."

"What do you mean?" Amity showed her confusion plain on her face.

"I mean — I don't have a place here on the Boiling Isles. I need to go home."

Amity's confusion turned to compassion. "Of course you have a place here! If this is about Belos tricking you—"

"It's not!" said Luz. She pulled another light glyph from her pocket. "Watch." She placed it on the ground and tapped it. Nothing happened.

"I don't understand," said Amity.

"You weren't there when we fought Belos." She looked Amity in the eyes. "I sorta… died." Luz winced at the terror in Amity's eyes. "I went to the Place between Realms. I met the Titan. He used the last of his power to bring me back to life, then left for good. Now the glyphs are useless. The Boiling Isles have no titan magic left to command."

Amity considered for a moment, focusing on the ground. "I still don't see why that means you have to leave." She focused on Luz again. "You still have Stringbean. She has magic. You can still be a witch! Why do you want to leave after everything?"

Luz looked at the ground now, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm tired, Amity. Ever since I got here, my life has been at stake. I've nearly died more times than I can count. The only reason I'm still here is because a literal god gave up his life for me. And now, the one part of this realm I had mastered to keep myself safe is gone." Tears fell now, her last words spoken between sobs.

Amity shrank. "I get it," she said. "You're afraid. I can relate." Amity leaned forward and took Luz in a hug. Ghost rolled off her lap and glared up at them. "If you need to spend some time away from the Boiling Isles, I understand. Just… promise it's not forever?"

Luz returned Amity's hug, tears slowing. "I promise. You know I can't stay away forever."

They pulled back a little — touched their foreheads together, still holding each other's shoulders. "I'm going to miss you," said Amity.

"I still want to see you!" said Luz. "I just… want things to be normal for a little bit. You know, normal for me."

"Still." Amity frowned.

"Yeah," said Luz. "I'll miss you too."

The morning went on and once everyone had woken up to the smell of Eda's breakfast, Luz said her goodbyes and returned home with Camila. The sun rose in the Human Realm too. As they walked across the abandoned property behind their house, Camila stopped and turned back to the revived structure. It looked… different with the Collector's touch on it. "We really have to make sure nobody does anything to this place," she said. Then Camila realized that Luz had gone on without her, head hung low. Camila jogged to catch up. "Luz? What's wrong, baby?"

They stood in their own yard now, their house in view. Camila put a hand on Luz's shoulder. Luz leaned against her for support. "It's nothing, Mama," she said.

Camila sighed. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. Pero Mija, no me mientas. I know something happened when you fought Belos. Eda made that clear enough last night."

"I just…" The tears came back. "Want things to be normal for a bit."

Camila stood confused for a moment, certain that her daughter's definition of 'normal' had changed over the last few months. Then she smiled and knelt down to her. "Okay, Mija. Things can be normal for as long as you need. Asegurémonos de que Vee todavía esté bien."

They opened the front door to the smell of Vee cooking her own breakfast. In the kitchen, the basilisk worked furiously over a pan of eggs. "Smells good!" said Camila. "You really got the seasoning down."

Vee turned around, a big smile spreading across her face. "Camila! Luz!" She slithered over to hug them, which they both returned. "You're back!"

"It's good to see you, Vee," said Luz, trying to match her smile to the others'.

"What happened in the Demon Realm?" asked Vee. She looked to Luz but she hesitated, so Camila spoke up.

"Belos is gone. For good, this time. The Boiling Isles are safe."

"What about the Collector?"

Camila waved her hand horizontally. "Luz came to… an understanding with them — and they went back to space. I wonder what space is like in the Demon Realm?"

As Camila contemplated, Vee looked to Luz and smiled. "That's great! I knew you could do it, Luz!" Luz smiled back, but it didn't hide the look in her eyes. Vee hesitated. "Oh! I'll add some more eggs! You guys must be hungry!"

"Actually," said Luz. "I don't think I can eat any more eggs, griffin or otherwise." And she escaped upstairs.

Vee and Camila looked at each other. "We had breakfast at the Owl House," explained Camila. "¡Pero podría comer!"

Days passed. Camila and Luz realized they had returned on a Thursday, so they spent the weekend recovering from their adventure. Luz spent most of the time in her room, only coming out to eat and take walks at night with Stringbean. Other than her and Vee, there were no reminders of the Demon Realm at the house. Luz left her Azura costume in the corner of her closet, buried under various other memorabilia. Vee helped around the house, cooking meals and keeping the place neat so that Camila could rest. She and Camila spent their free time watching animal documentaries. It had become a favorite pastime for them over the past few months. On Monday, Camila and Vee were surprised to see Luz up early for breakfast, backpack in tow.

"Where are you going?" asked Camila in her scrubs.

"School," replied Luz.

"Are you sure? You can take a few days if you want. You're friends at Hexside don't even go back for another week—"

"¡Mama!" Luz inhaled. "Normal, remember?"

Camila sighed. "Okay, just… take it slow, okay?"

Luz nodded once, then left for the bus just as Vee set her 'Los Dos Golpes' on the table. Vee and Camila exchanged nervous glances. The school day went by slow. Luz spent the first half of her classes in the back of the room, keeping quiet. As usual, her teachers and classmates ostracized her. She was used to it by now, but it had started to hurt again somehow. By lunch, she half-regretted leaving the house.

"Hey Luz." Luz looked up. A teen with short, dark brown hair, olive skin, and two piercings on their left ear stood before her, holding a full lunchtray. They wore a Gravesfield Historical Society t-shirt over top of a black dress, with fishnets down their legs and black combat boots on their feet, and a choker around the neck that matched their hair. Luz recognized them — one of Vee's friends from camp — but she couldn't remember their name. "Mind if I sit with you?" they said. Luz hesitated but then gestured to the bench across from her and they sat. They both remained quiet for some time before the newcomer spoke. "So are you like, from another dimension or something?" Luz sprayed orange juice straight out her nose. They laughed as Luz assessed the state of her clothes. "Oh, sorry. Sorry." They offered Luz a few napkins.

Luz wiped up her face and dabbed at her soaked shirt and jeans, realizing just how unprepared she was for this conversation. "What makes you say that?" she said.

The inquisitor thought for a moment. "Well, you were really cool at camp. Weird, but cool. Then a few months ago you completely change your style and act like you don't even know me. Then you disappear for a week and nobody knows where you went. And you show up today like nothing happened."

Luz sensed nothing accusatory in their tone. They only wanted to know the truth, something Luz could not give them. "I'm sorry," she said. "It's been a weird year for me. A lot has happened."

They waited for Luz to elaborate, but she didn't. "Oh, okay," they said. "I just wanted you to know, you know, no hard feelings. Oh, and if you ever want to talk about what happened, I'd be happy to listen." They stood up to take their still-full tray somewhere else.

"Wait!" Luz shot up and cursed her friendly instincts. "Do you wanna…" She tried to think of something teenagers did. "...watch anime sometime?" She cringed in her damp Monster Slayer Academia tee.

They smirked. "Okay, Luz Noceda. Tonight. Your place?"

"Yes!" Luz blurted before she could think. "Wait— I mean… sure." The not-so-strange-stranger waved goodbye and left, clearly pleased with themself. Luz slumped onto the bench. "Why did I do that to myself?"

The bus dropped Luz off that evening before Camila got home, which meant she would work late that night. Luz walked into the kitchen where Vee played with her claws on the table.

"Vee!" Hearing her name surprised the basilisk. She had expected to be ignored. "What's the name of that friend of yours? The one who works at the Gravesfield Historical Society?"

"Oh, Masha?" said Vee.

"That's it!" "Why? Did you see them at school?" "Yeah… I kinda, sorta invited them over?" Luz became sheepish. "What!" "Tonight—"

"WHAT!" Vee instinctively slipped into her human form. "Luz, this is bad! Of all the people that could figure out what we are and expose us to everyone, Masha has got to be the closest!" Vee held Luz's shoulders, shaking her back and forth. "They have this weird intuition, like they can read minds or something! And you just invited them right into our den of lies!"

Luz held Vee's wrists. "Vee, relax. They're not going to figure out what we are. They're just gonna come over, watch some TV, then leave." "Why were you even talking to them?" "Because you made friends with them while you were pretending to be me." "Oh! I forgot about that! This is all my fault! I'm gonna get myself dissected!"

"Vee!" Luz shook Vee back. "No one's getting dissected! Besides, I've been thinking, we can use this as an opportunity."

"Opportunity for what?"

"To get you some friends in the Human Realm other than me and Mami."

Vee thought about it for a moment, a smile creeping across her face. "Aw, Luz! That's so you of you! So what do we do?"

"That's the best part. We don't have to do anything except hang out with Masha."

"Okay. Just hang out with Masha, just like back at camp. Except I'm not you. You're you and I'm me but Masha doesn't know any of that—" "Vee. Focus." "Right! I can do this." "Yeah! We got this, girl!"

Later that evening, the doorbell rang. Vee tensed over the stove, lips quivering across her face, as Luz went to open the door. On the other side, Masha stood waiting — now wearing grey sweatpants and an oversized navy blue shirt. They smiled when they saw Luz. "Hey, girl!" they said. "What are we watching tonight?"

Luz gestured for them to come in. "Oh, I was gonna let you pick. And it doesn't have to be anime, that was just a stupid thing I said." "Nah, I like anime." "Really? What do you watch?" "Just limited series, like Puello Mago Makodo Majoko and . The longer stuff always seemed like a lot, but I liked the look of that MSA shirt you had on today if you don't mind a rewatch." "Wait, so you've never seen Luna Scout?" "Can't say I have." "Then we have to watch that. They rebooted it a few years ago and it's supposed to be so much better than the original."

"Sounds good." They entered the kitchen. "Oh, hey! Rebus girl!" said Masha when they saw Vee. Vee waved nervously. "It's Vee, right? Weird," continued Masha. "I've never seen you two in the same place together before. How do you know each other?"

Luz chuckled nervously as Vee tried to answer the question. "We're uh… umm…" "Sisters!" blurted Luz.

"Oh, cool," Masha considered. "Wait, I thought you said you were new to Gravesfield, Vee?"

"We're um, half-sisters," said Vee. "I was living with my dad until a few months ago."

"Ah, that makes sense," said Masha. "I lived with my dad on the other side of the county until this semester. Hey, did you and your friends ever figure out that rebus?"

"Yep!" said Vee. "You were super helpful, thanks!"

"Cool! What did it say?" "Oh, it was a map to the old cemetery but… we didn't find anything." "Hm. It probably led to Caleb Wittebane's birdcall. It was buried at his grave after the townsfolk realized he had disappeared for good, but now it's on display at the Historical Society." "That must be it!" said Luz.

Masha's eyes narrowed for a moment, then opened wide. "So are we gonna watch some Luna Scout or what!"

"For sure!" said Luz. "I hope you don't mind if Vee joins us, do you? She hasn't seen it either."

"Not at all. The more, the merrier, right?"

"Cool. Feel free to help yourself to the pantry. Vee made maduros and I'm gonna make some popcorn. Vee do you wanna queue up the show? It should be on Neatflix."

"Don't worry, I brought snacks," said Masha. "Maduros and popcorn sound good though."

Masha and Vee went into the living room together. They set their snacks on the coffee table and sat on the couch.

"Feel free to have some." Masha gestured to the bag of barbeque chips on the table. Then they popped a maduro into their mouth. "Mmm! That's good. What is a maduro anyway?"

"It's a Dominican snack," said Vee as she went for the remote. "They're basically plantains cut into bite-size pieces and fried with sugar and salt. Luz's — I mean — my mom showed me how to make them."

"Girl, you got a talent," said Masha as they took another one off the plate.

"You should try Camila's. They're the best!"

"Who's Camila?"

"Oh! Um…" Vee stammered. "My mom."

"You call your mom by her first name?"

"I um…" Her speech faltered.

"Hey, it's okay," said Masha. "Families are complicated. I know mine is. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Masha licked the barbeque flavoring off of both sides of a chip, then slid it into their mouth. "You know, you and your sister are a lot alike."

"Yeah?" said Vee.

"Yeah, you remind me of how she was at camp, before she changed."

"Really? That's so weird…" said Vee.

"Even now you've both got this aura around you, like you're hiding something."

"Hahaha!" laughed Vee. "That's crazy!"

"Yeah… Did something happen to her?" asked Masha. "She's just so different from camp."

"She's just — I mean… We both have been through a lot."

"Hm, that's what Luz said too." To Vee's profound relief, Masha's line of questioning ended when Luz brought the popcorn in. Vee pressed play immediately to stem any more conversation. They sat in silence for the first half of the first season, then Camila arrived home. "¡Hola, mis pequeñas!" she called from the front door. "¿Cómo estaban mientras yo no estuve?"

"¡Bienvenida, Mami!" Luz called back. "¡Estamos bien! I invited a friend over, hope that's okay!"

Camila did not call back for some time. "I'll make maduros!" "Already did!" called Vee, though they were mostly gone by now. Camila poked her head into the living room and set her eyes on Masha. "Luz! You have a friend! I can't believe it!"

"¡Mama!" Luz growled.

"¡Ooh, bienvenida a nuestra casa!" Camila moved across the living room to hug Masha. "What's your name? What's your pronouns? How did you meet?"

"¡Hola señora Noceda!" said Masha. "I'm Masha, they/them. We met at camp."

"Oh!" exclaimed Camila, then she looked at Vee. "Oooohh… Well, that's nice. I'm so happy to see Luz making friends!"

"¡Mama, por favor!" Luz got red as Camila turned to hug her too.

"Okay, okay! I'll let you friends have fun." Camila left the room.

"Wow, your mom is so cool," said Masha. They sighed and glanced away. Masha picked up the last maduro and just stared at it. Luz silently got Vee's attention and gestured to them. Then she pretended she needed to leave the room to do something.

Vee took a moment to consider her words. "Is your mom not… okay?"

Masha twitched and narrowed their eyes at Vee before relaxing. "No, my mom… she's great." Masha smiled. "Actually, it's kind of annoying how supportive she can be." The smile fell. "I was just thinking about my dad."

Vee hesitated, but took a deep breath. "I think I know how you feel. My home was a prison. They— my dad… hurt me and pressured me to do a lot of stuff I didn't want to do."

"Well, here's to the Shitty Dads Club." Masha broke apart the maduro and gave the other half to Vee. They crossed their wrists in the air in a toast and smiled at each other, then each ate their piece. "You're really cool, Vee. We should hang out more."

Luz came back. Vee looked to Luz, who was just smiling. "I'd love that," said Vee.

"Awesome," said Masha. "Now let's finish the season before my mom makes me come home!"

For the rest of the night, Vee and Masha chatted over the show like old friends. Vee clearly admired Masha's cool attitude and Masha found Vee's skittishness very amusing. Luz just enjoyed the show and the conversation, pleased with her work. She didn't have to think about anything else, so that night would be the most peaceful sleep she'd had in months. Before Masha left, they thanked Luz for inviting them and said goodbye to Vee and Camila but when the front door shut, they sank low into a squat on the porch. They sighed. "What is it with you, Noceda sisters?" they breathed, before getting on their bike and riding home.

Hello All! Long time lurker, first time poster and whatnot. Anyways, I wrote a fanfiction. I have posted it on Ao3 and (because I'm old). If any of you lovelies would be so kind as to offer your feedback, there is also a link to a Google Doc of the first release with commenting permission (all links below).

My goal with this project is to create a seamless and believable sequel to the Owl House. There were so many hints for future storylines that never saw the light of day because Disney is a queerphobic shithole and I want to bring life to those lost aspects of the show. I want to stay true to the spirit of the canon, but that might honestly mean I deviate from the actual canon from time to time (my version of the epilogue is going to be slightly different from the canonical version).

The tone is more mature than the series (now with more swears!) because I feel like a show should grow with its audience and it will allow me to cover more of the topics I want to cover. As a result, I do make references to sexual themes but I do not include anything explicit. I'm aiming for the maturity rating to land somewhere around 'conservatives would ban it from high school libraries but nonetheless YA.'

Also, I would especially appreciate feedback from any of you who are fluent in Spanish or of Dominican heritage. I've done some research, but I want to make sure I do justice to those aspects of the show. I'm currently going off Google translate and four years of high school Spanish, so not a lot on my end.

Anyways, please don't be mean (or abuse the suggestion feature) and I hope you enjoy!

Ao3: /works/62651215/chapters/160378213

: s/14436341/1/The-Spider-s-Web

Google Doc: document/d/1z1UCwCJ_Lbs6i0YEAd3OiWM4ad6DxLBde4VTzrSPap8/edit?usp=sharing