Boscha was outside, throwing a grudgby ball at the basketball hoop. She didn't want to bring her ball here, so she left it at home. It was the last thing she got from her dad, she really didn't want it to get ruined or lost or destroyed. Inside, Luz was getting a demon lesson from King, she wasn't really interested in that. It was a pretty nice day out she had to admit. King, meanwhile, had a murder board set up for his presentation. Photographs and drawings of various creatures that could only be inferred as demons filled the board. The supposed king of demons delivered his oration with passion to his audience of one.
"Demons like me are grim tricksters of the twilight, creatures of sulfur. And bone. And anarchy. And FURY. AND- Luz are you even listening?"
His would-be student was whittling the time away looking at her phone and adding flair to the pictures she had taken of the presentation so far. "Oh, yeah. Totally."
"Seriously, you need to be paying attention!" King scolded. "This information could save your life someday."
"Totally paying attention. This is my paying attention face." Luz made an exaggerated listening expression while nodding and humming. After a few seconds, she checked her phone again.
King became slightly concerned. "Are you feeling okay? You're acting a little more scatterbrained than usual."
"You think so?" Luz asked. "Might be time for my medication. I should have some methylphenidate left."
"Mithril funny date? Is that some kind of potion or something?"
"Or something." Luz fished her medication out of her bag and took her recommended daily dosage. "It helps me to control my impulses and mood and concentrate better."
"So it's some kind of intelligence-boosting potion?" King wrung his diabolically cute paws. "If I had access to that magic, imagine the havoc I could wreak on my enemies."
"Nuh-uh." Luz put her medication back in her bag and zipped it up. Tight. "I need this. If I go too long without, I get all moody and forgetful."
"Oh. So it's a potion a day to keep the curse away?"
"I guess? "Curse" sounds a bit harsh, though. Should we get back to the lesson?"
"Oh, yes!" King scampered back to his murder board. "So, intro aside, demons of the Boiling Isles can be sorted into three categories known as the "Three B's." That's bugs, beasts and bipeds. The last B might be of interest to you since your sis-"
A strange chime interrupted his speech, causing Luz to go back to her phone.
"WEH?!" King was understandably flummoxed. "I thought that potion was supposed to help you pay attention!"
"I mean, it takes a while to kick in. But that was Mom's ringtone just now!" Luz scrolled for a few seconds before jumping to her feet. "And she's ready to come here! Where's Eda?! Boscha?!"
Luz ran outside before King could get a word in.
"Boscha, mom's coming! Where's Eda!?"
Before Boscha could answer, Eda came by.
"Hey there kids." Eda said, "What's got the short haired one all jumpy?"
"EdaEdaEdaEdaEdaEDA!" Luz was running in place. "Need portal! Need key! Where door?!"
"Geez, kid, where's the fire?" Eda asked.
Luz ran even faster in place. "¡Mamá viene de visita! ¡Necesitamos prepararnos!"
"Whuh?"
"She said Mom's ready to come over." Boscha roughly translated for her sister.
"Where the hell is that damn key?!" Eda began rummaging through her hair.
Boscha would make fun, but she was more concerned about Luz's burst of energy. "So, Luz... are you...?"
"Yeah yeah! I took my medication a few minutes ago. I'm just so excited!"
"Oh, okay then." Boscha smiled. "I almost thought something was wrong. So, you ready to tell Mom all about our first week here?"
"Yeah!" Luz said, "I can't wait to tell her about all the fun stuff we did!"
"You mean like the time we nearly died... or the other time we almost died... oh, what about that time we almost died?" Boscha asked, "Maybe we should think about what we say."
Luz stopped at that moment, realizing that Boscha might have a point.
"Uh... okay, you're probably right."
"Like always." Boscha said.
Eda found the key and summoned the portal.
"Now we wait." Eda said, taking a step back and getting a spell ready, "Hey, Ballscha!"
Boscha recognized that and jumped out of the way, right as Eda was about to hit her with the spell... unfortunately... Camila arrived right as Boscha got out of the way. In place of Camila, was a Camila themed ball, around the size of a yoga ball. Eda looked a bit nervous, and leaned down to whisper to Boscha.
"Do... you think she would be mad if I used her for Yoga?"
"Uh, I would be mad, and disgusted... and I would set you on fire." Boscha said.
"Guess I have been out of the game a long time. Do you think I still have a chance?"
Boscha facepalmed. "I think I'm gonna need therapy. Again."
"Tell you what..." Luz butted in. "How about you change Mom back and we can work from there?"
"Oh yeah!" Eda blushed from embarrassment.
Despite the odd greeting, Camila was still overjoyed to see her daughters again. She provided them snacks, fresh clothes and a refill of methylphenidate for Luz. King was about halfway through the snacks when the Nocedas gathered at the couch.
"Your offerings are most pleasing, Human Mom." King beamed. "You definitely have the Demon King's blessing."
"Aw, Gracias, pequeño lindo. Camila should be upset that he was devouring all the food she brought for her daughters, but watching the little furry demon stuff his face was too endearing. He was even more adorable when he got his head stuck in the box of Hojuelitas.
Eda walked into the room with a cup of tea prepared with the greatest of care for Camila. Hopefully it would be a start to getting back in her good graces. Although, Camila had already forgiven her.
"Okusama, kono tokubetsuna sutoranguruberītī o zehi o tanoshimi kudasai." Eda politely said as she handed the tea to her guest.
Camila took the tea, but couldn't understand what her host was saying. "Uuhhhhh... ¿Qué?"
She looked at Boscha and Luz, both of whom could only shrug, as they were as clueless as she was. Eda sensed their confusion. "Did I say that right?" She asked them. "I thought I'd learn your special human dialect to be more accommodating."
Camila chuckled. "Oh, that's nice of you, Ms. Cl- Eda. I appreciate the effort, but there are more than two kinds of, uhh, "human dialect.""
"Say wha...?"
"Yeah, you wanna be learning Spanish for that, not Japanese." Luz informed her.
Eda kept a tense smile on her face that belied her inordinate blushing. She promptly excused herself and left the room.
Luz looked at her sister. "Wow. I'm surprised you didn't have any snide remarks to dish out, Boscha."
"After what she just went through?" Boscha remarked. "I may be a smartass, Luz, but I'm not a monster."
"Boscha, language!" Camila said.
"... English and Español?" Boscha said with a smirk.
Camila just face palmed. On one hand, she loved her daughter, on the other... boy there are sometimes Camila wishes she understood what goes on in Boscha's head.
"Oh, well. How was your week in this... Demon Realm?
"Scary!" Luz spouted.
"Exhausting!" Boscha added.
"Exciting!"
"Empowering!"
"Slimy!"
"Flammable!"
"¡Mijas, por favor!" Camila had to calm them down. "It seems you two are taking to this place well, which is great. Boscha, did you learn anything about your magic?"
"I learned that it comes from a gross, bile-filled organ attached to my heart." Boscha answered.
"Oh, wow." Camila tried her best to sound supportive in spite of the disturbing revelation. "That is... something... Wait, This thing was attached to your heart? You've had a dozen x-rays and check-ups this year alone, and those doctors couldn't find it?! ¡Esos imbéciles incompetentes y vagos!"
"I know, right?" Boscha sympathized. "Oh! I also learned about a cool new sport called Grudgby! You remember how Dad and I would make up those crazy rules for basketball? The deathtraps? The full contact? The fireballs?"
"Oh, yeah." Camila laughed. "That was adorable."
"Well, that's Grudgby!"
Camila instantly went pale. " ¡Oh, mierda!"
"Language, Mom." Luz teased.
She and Boscha had a good laugh at that, and even their mother had to join in. King finally managed to wrest the box from his head after bumping into the front table.
"Hey, Luz, did you tell her about your lessons in magic school?" King blathered. "Or that quest for the staff with the puppeteer?"
"What is the little perro talking about?" Camila asked Luz.
"Oh, King just likes to tell stories." Luz nervously replied as she winked at the little demon.
King tilted his head. "Weh? You don't remember getting scammed by that squid thing into playing his squid game? Or almost getting dissected?"
"Almost getting WHAT?!" Camila didn't take that news too well.
"He's exaggerating, Mamá." Boscha tried to talk her down.
"Yeah, you know, why don't I take King and we go get that cool thing we found." Luz said.
"What thing?" King asked.
Luz grabbed him and ran up the stairs. Boscha was trying to figure out how to calm her mom down.
"Oh, did I tell you that Luz has been helping me with basketball?" Boscha asked.
"Don't tell me she was the ball."
"... I mean... she actually doesn't seem to hate it." Boscha said, "Honestly I got to talk to her about that sometime, I'm getting a bit nervous about that."
"Who wants charcuterieeee!" Eda came back into the room holding an old plank of wood with assorted leftovers, some of which were moving. Suffice it to say that Eda didn't entertain much.
Camila was hesitant to try the... food(?)... that was set in front of her. But she took the least eldritch-looking piece because she didn't want to be a bad guest. And hopefully, it will make Eda stop staring at her so anxiously. She took a bite and noticed that it was surprisingly sweet with a hint of cinnamon. She'd have finished it, too, if it didn't just blink at her. To her further shock, she had then witnessed her adopted daughter wolf down a piece of food with even more eyeballs.
"You've... really acclimated to your new environment, Boschita. I know you weren't a vegan by any stretch, but seeing you eat something... moving...?"
"Yeah, I was a little hesitant at first, too." Boscha reminisced. "But the stuff with the eyeballs? It's like eating boba tea! The way they pop in your mouth is just-"
"ANYWAY..." Camila really couldn't stomach any more details on Boiling Isles cuisine. "How is the search for your birth family going?"
Boscha struggled to think of something -anything- to not lead her mother to learn that she only feigned interest in that so Luz could stay here.
"What?" Eda was a little confused. "I thought you only feigned interest in that so Luz could stay here."
"Excuse me?!" Camila stared daggers at the other two.
"Ohhhh, were we not telling her that?" Okay, Eda was very confused.
Camila stood up to face her daughter. "Boscha Valentina Noceda, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"Oops, forgot the scream cheese." Eda wasn't so confused that she didn't know to immediately bail.
"E... E..." Boscha watched as her last vestige of protection bolted to the kitchen.
"¡Luz, baja aquí ahora!"
Footsteps were heard tumbling down the stairs until Luz peeked into the living room.
"Mom? What is it? What's wrong?"
Boscha mouthed the word run to Luz, hoping to save her from the raging mother.
"Did you put Boscha up to this act? " Camila didn't give Luz a chance to escape. "Did you use her discovery as a chance to live out your... witch fantasy?"
"Mom, no! She d-" Boscha tried to explain before her mom cut her off.
"I am asking Luz."
The youngest Noceda froze. She knew what she wanted to say, but didn't know how to say it. The long silence was broken up by the clap of thunder from outside.
"I... didn't use Boscha." She managed to force out.
"What would you call it, then?" Camila kept pressing. "I told you her self-discovery wasn't an excuse for you to be playing around like this. And to top it all off, you're abusing Eda's hospitality."
She waited a few seconds for a response from Luz, but her mind was made up regardless.
"The two of you, get your things. We're going back."
"NO!" Luz shouted over the sudden sound of raindrops on the roof.
"Wait, what's going on now?" Eda popped back into the room.
"Ms. Clawthorne, I thank you for looking after my daughters, but I can't let them stay here under such false pretenses." Camila headed out the front door. "Please feel free to visit us sometime. Now hurry up, you two."
"Mom, wait-" Boscha tried to reach her.
"ARE YOU INSANE, WOMAN?!" Eda ran for her. "You can't go out there now!"
The Noceda matriarch didn't even take a moment to process what she just heard. "I don't care how hard it rains, these two are in big tr-AAAGGGHHH!"
She pulled her arm back as it was burned by a few scalding droplets. Eda took her back into the house. "Look, Cami, I know you're upset, but heading out into the boiling rain is a crazy way to deal with it."
"Boiling rain?!" The whole Noceda family exclaimed.
"Oh yeah, you guys don't have that in the Human Realm." Eda cast a magic shield over her head. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to weatherproof the house before Hooty-"
"AAAAAAGGGH! MY PRECIOUS STUCCO!"
"-does that."
As Eda stepped outside, Luz had already brought down the first aid kit for her mom's burns.
"Here you go, Mamá"
"Don't think this changes anything Luz." Camila was quick to point out. "I'm incredibly disappointed in you."
Boscha tried again to reason with her. "Mom, seriously, this isn't her fault-"
"Don't cover for her." And again, her mom wouldn't have it, "Luz, I have always loved your spirit and creativity, but your own fantasy world is holding you back. And it's blinding you to how you're affecting others-"
"STOP IT!"
Camila and Boscha were blown away by Luz's outburst.
"You sound just like Old Man Hal!" She cried. "Always blaming me for how people choose to act around me! ALWAYS making me out to be the problem! You think my "fantasy world" is holding me back... "
Luz's shirt was soaked in her tears as she struggled to talk. "... Some days... it's the only thing that keeps me going."
She ran up to her room. The others expected to hear the slam of a door, but hearing it gently close was somehow more unsettling.
"That wasn't... We still need to leave" Camila was trying to gather her thoughts.
"Mom..." Boscha tried to reach her yet again.
"We'll wait out this storm, of course. Let her cool off a bit."
"Mom!"
"I don't blame you for her behavior, but she needs to learn not to-"
"MOM!"
Sick of being ignored, Boscha let loose a burst of fire to get her mother's attention. "I'm sorry, but you're not listening. I'm entirely to blame for this. I wanted Luz to be here. She had NO idea that I was doing this for her sake until a few days ago, and she's still determined to help find my birth family despite knowing that. And it's not as if I haven't learned more about myself during my time here."
"It's not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, Boscha..." Camila sighed. "But why are you enabling her like this?"
"Because she's right." That came off a little more impassioned than Boscha intended. "Those Azura books have been her rock for years. But this place -this realm- has been the best thing to happen to her. She's flourishing here, Mom. She's helped people, she's more confident than I've ever seen her... She's made friends here."
"She has?"
"Yeah. Real friends. Not imaginary or drawn or reptilian... Well, I'm not a hundred percent sure about the last one. But if you saw how she is here..." Boscha felt too deflated to continue and headed upstairs. She looked at her mom one more time. "Por favor mamá, no le quites esto."
Boscha opened the door to her room, relieved to see that Luz hadn't run off this time. She laid down on the sleeping bag next to her sister.
"Hey."
"Hmm." Luz had stopped crying, but was still sad.
"Remember that one time we got into an actual fight?"
"Mm-hm." Luz let out.
"Yeah, you had a nasty black eye, I had a broken nose... then that one dick started mocking you." Boscha said, smiling at the thought, "Damn, I was an evil ten year old, broke his leg for that."
"Why are you telling me this?" Luz asked.
"Because of what I said that day." Boscha said, "Only I'M allowed to mess with you. I do mean that, I will fight for you, even against mom, because I'm the only one allowed to mess with my sister. You love it here, and I want you to be happy, you deserve that more than anyone."
Luz stayed quiet.
"Hey, why don't we go see Eda, let her ball you up for a little bit?" Boscha suggested, "Would that help cheer you up?"
"... Maybe a little." Luz said, "It's just... Amity."
"Mint Chocolate Chip? What about her?" Boscha asked.
"I don't like how we left things." Luz sulked.
"I thought things worked out with that Principal... Bumper?"
"Heh heh, just "Bump." And yeah, things got sorted out. But Amity looked so sad when she got me out of Hexside. Not that she didn't want to be my friend... I don't think... but she said she wasn't worth the trouble."
"From what you told me about her mom, I get why she might feel that way."
"Then there's that whole "Blight Industries Showcase" biz. I don't know what that means, but I don't like the sound of it one bit. I'm worried about her, Bosch."
"Yeah, I don't blame you."
"As much as I want to stay here to be a witch, I'm also afraid to leave her behind without helping her somehow."
Boscha could only think to hug Luz, admiring her determination. "I'm sure you'll find a way. And if that way involves fire, I got your back."
"Heh. Pyro."
"Nerd."
"Titan, that was such a chore." Eda exclaimed as she cracked her neck, having just finished building a magic shield extensive enough to protect the Owl House from the boiling rain. She also had a slightly frayed briefcase with a familiar demonic eye. "Good thing I finally remembered this. Don't wanna lose the door to my only source of income... and to your home."
She saw Camila sitting by herself looking distressed.
"You okay, Cami?" She asked her guest. "Are the girls still leaving?"
"I... dammit, I don't know." Camila massaged her temples. "I hate that Boscha lied to me like that, but I can't really fault her for why she did."
"Yeah, it wasn't that hard to catch on as to how far she'd go for Luz." Eda mentioned as she sat down next to Camila.
"I don't know why I'm surprised. Boscha wasn't exactly the squeaky wheel of the two, but having to hide her true identity from the rest of the world often felt like a full-time job. I couldn't make enough time for Luz." Camila leaned back on the sofa. "I think Manny knew how tough it would be before he passed away. And why he made Boscha promise to look out for her. I just feel like I'm in over my head here."
Eda took a moment to reflect before she replied. "For what it's worth, I think you've done great to raise some damn good kids."
"You... honestly think so?"
"I mean, I'm not a mom, but I have been a kid once. My sister..." Eda let out a yawn. "My sister and I were a lot to handle for both our parents back in the day. But you? You brought up two girls from different realms on your own for years -and teenagers at that- and somehow made it work. That's nothing to sneeze at."
"Thank you, Eda." Camila smiled. "I guess I was a little hasty thinking they should leave. If being here helps them both, I don't want to get in the way of that."
Eda conjured a few balls of light to juggle. "Well you don't need to worry. Those two will be masters of magic under the tutelage of THE most powerful witch of the Boiling Isles!"
"Oh? And who might that be?" Camila joked.
Eda laughed at that as her movements became sluggish. Two of the balls of light burst when they fell to the floor, as did the third when it bounced off her head. The elder Noceda was shocked when the old witch passed out on the couch.
"¡MIJAS!" Camila shouted. "¡Tenemos un problema aquí!"
Hearing their mother scream, the sisters rushed down the stairs.
"What happened to Eda!?" Luz asked.
"Oh god, Mom killed her!" Boscha began to freak out.
Camila wasn't keeping it together much herself. "NO! She just collapsed! I didn't kill her...did I? Did my human germs deteriorate her immune system?"
"You killed her with your human venom!" King shrieked. "After you weakened my resolve with snacks!"
"I did what?"
"Wait, you ate all the MAS MAS?!" Boscha noticed the empty bag of her favorite snack in his hands. "You cuddly, adorable asshole!"
"EVERYONE JUST GET A GRIP!" Luz commanded everyone's attention. "Eda should be okay soon."
"Wait, how do you know?" Boscha asked.
Luz knelt down next to the Owl Lady. "Because this is how you were when you overexerted your magic. Eda mentioned weatherproofing the house. It must've taken up a lot of her energy. We should get her to bed."
Camila had to admit, Luz was definitely showing more confidence here. She hadn't seen her daughter so assertive since... ever. It looked as though Boscha was right about the benefits of staying here. For now, however, Luz was right. They needed to get Eda to her room. Boscha happy to do that... because it meant she could avoid being a ball for a few hours... Luz had the opposite reaction. Camila picked Eda up and the Noceda's went to Eda's room... where they got one of the biggest surprises of their lives.
"What the hell is that thing!?" Boscha yelled, pointing at a giant nest.
Normally Camila would call Boscha out on her swearing, but this time she couldn't, because she was about to say the same thing if Boscha didn't beat her too it.
"I... do I put her in it?" Camila asked.
"I... guess." Luz said, "I mean, where else would she sleep... man, they didn't prepare me for this in science class."
"Because you were more focused on the liquid changing color." Boscha said, "Meanwhile, I was doing great."
"Yeah, I get it, you're a master at Chemistry." Luz said, "And it's not like I don't try. Chemistry just hates m-WHHOOAAAAAA!"
"You okay?" Boscha rushed to her sister's aid, at which time she saw the Florence flask that Luz slipped on. "Wow, you really weren't kidding."
Boscha went to pick up the flask and noticed part of a tag tied to the neck.
""A potion a day"... Well, okay then. Just another random magical thing." Boscha said, "Probably nothing to worry about."
Camila set Eda into the nest as gently as she could. It was an easier task than she anticipated, as the Owl Lady was far lighter than she appeared.
"It's a good thing we were here." Camila remarked while looking over Eda's unconscious form. "I shudder to think what would've happened if she had nobody to help her."
"Hey!" A certain little demon cried from the doorway. "I help out sometimes."
Camila approached King and started to scratch his chin. "Oh, cachorrito, claro que sí."
King walked over to Luz.
"Luz, can we continue our demon lesson?" King asked.
"... Sure." Luz said, "With Eda out cold, I can't enjoy my... hobby."
"I am very concerned by the fact that you call being turned into a ball a 'Hobby'." Boscha said.
"You weren't complaining the other day when you threw me into the basketball hoop." Luz said, "Come on King, let's go have a lesson... one last time."
Camila watched them walk out of the room. "Wait, "last time?" What does she mean by that?"
"You were saying we had to go back home." Boscha reminded her.
"Oh. Well, I... may have been a bit hasty in my decision. I'm starting to see how she's come into her own here. And if she's making friends here as well, then you're right, I shouldn't take that away from her."
"You mean it?" Boscha's eyes lit up.
"I do. And I was too quick to blame Luz for your decision..." Camila turned to face Boscha, a sinister glint in her eyes. "... and we WILL be discussing that in the future, young lady."
Boscha gulped.
"But for now, let's see what Luz and the little perro are up to while we wait out the storm."
As they left... feathers popped out of Eda's arm.
King pulled off a paper, revealing the most dangerous demon in the Isles... the Snaggleback!
"Oooo!" Luz said, clapping giddly, "I want to know more!"
"Then you're in luck!" King said, "They wander the rain, feeding on anyone foolish enough to stay out in it."
"Ten bucks says I can make it to the treeline and back." Boscha said.
"NO!" Camila said.
"Aw, let her try." Hooty protested. "It'll be funny."
"¡Oye!" Camila switched to a stern, motherly tone. "Don't be encouraging her bad habits. Now, Boscha, let Señor Rey continue his lecture."
"Who?" King was confused.
Luz snickered. "She means you."
"Okay." King said, "Now, where was I? Oh right! The Snaggleback is capable of surviving the boiling rain, as it's shell is tougher than diamond, very few things can get through it. In fact-"
There was a growl coming from upstairs, getting everyone's attention. Camila got everyone behind her, just in case.
"Uh... was that sound normal?" Luz asked.
"We've been here for days, you'd think we'd of heard it by now." Boscha said.
"Snaggleback!" King shrieked. "It's the only thing that could make it through the rain to get in the house!"
Camila nervously addressed King. "Remind me again, King, were these "snagglebacks" gentle creatures?"
"Sure, if "gentle" is human talk for "savage and bloodthirsty.""
"Well, that's reassuring." Boscha deadpanned.
And then, something suddenly occurred to Luz. "EDA!"
Luz ran past Camila and upstairs.
"Luz!" Boscha said, running after her.
Camila let out a sigh and ran after them... King ran after them because he didn't want to be alone.
Luz was the first one to make it to Eda's room, where she saw... nothing... no snaggleback, no blood... no Eda. She noticed the giant window was open, as did the others when they caught up.
"Oh, shit!" Boscha exclaimed. "The Snuffleupagus got Eda!"
"Boscha! Language!" Camila knew this wasn't the time for scolding, but it was hardwired into her brain.
*CRASH*
"¡¿Qué carajo fue eso?!"
"Mom!" Luz and Boscha were both shocked at their mother's exclamation.
"AAAAAGGGHHHHH! HOOT-HOOT!"
"That was Hooty!" King cried as they all ran back downstairs.
As they ran downstairs, the lights shut off. Once there, they saw Hooty being bitten and clawed at by a large shadowy figure with glowing eyes. They all went wide eyed, and Boscha even cried.
"... He's dead... finally!" She cheered.
The beast growled at them and started to move over towards them.
"Kids, stay behind me." Camila said, slowly walking backwards up the stairs, "It's... it's just an animal, like the ones I work with."
"This is a little bigger mom." Luz said, very nervous.
"I'm working with what I've got here, Cariño." Camila softly spoke. "Keep quiet and keep your movements nice... and... slow..."
The beast sneezed.
"WEEEHH! THE SNAGGLEBACK WILL KILL US ALL!" King scrambled back up the stairs, but tripped halfway. The Nocedas looked at him in shock, but when they looked back at the frayed doorway, the beast disappeared. They waited a minute before they all sighed in relief.
King came back down and assumed a triumphant pose. "Ha-ha! I knew my feigned cowardice would drive the Snaggleback away!"
"If you weren't so adorable, I would punt you for a field goal." Boscha said as she glowered at the little demon.
Luz was still looking at the doorway. "Umm, shouldn't someone check on Hooty?"
Luz, Boscha and King exchanged looks.
"Not it!"
"Not it!"
"Not it!"
"What are you thre- ugh, dammit." Camila was a millisecond too late to catch on. "Just stay close to me, okay?"
They crept ever so carefully to the dislodged door. As Camila knelt down next to Hooty, she was relieved to notice that the magic shield was still working. She began to inspect the door demon, checking his eyes, his tongue, and even looking down his throat. She saw things in there that neither human nor witch was meant to see.
"Is he okay, Mamá?" Luz asked.
Camila turned to her kids. "Well, in my professional, medical opinion, I have no idea what the hell this creature is made of. But he looks like he's breathing, so I'm pretty sure he's okay."
"Ugh, why!?" Boscha yelled, very upset at this.
The beast's screech was heard and the group huddled together. Boscha made a spell circle and a large ball of light formed, illuminating the area around them.
"So are we just going to wait here until we get eaten?" Boscha asked, "Because I have plans on finding a hot witch to date, and being ripped up and digested REALLY puts a damper on my plans."
Boscha made sure to not say whether it was a male or female, as she was still learning a bit about that herself.
"Don't worry, we're not just going to take that puta down!" Luz said.
Camila's mouth dropped, while Boscha broke out laughing.
"Hahahaha! That's my sister!" Boscha said, putting an arm around Luz's neck and giving her a noogie, "You're finally learning."
"Boscha!" Luz complained, pushing her off.
"Where did you learn that kind of language?" Camila asked, sternly.
"Boscha sleep swears."
Her sister ruminated on that while twirling the ball of light on her finger. "I don't remember doing that, but it sounds like me."
The beast screeching got them back on track. "Whatever! Luz is still right, we have to take that puta down." Camila exclaimed. "Not to mention we have to save Eda from that thing. Do any of you know if Eda has anything we can use to defend ourselves with? Some kind of magic weapon or something?"
Boscha and Luz shake their heads.
King had to think for a minute. "Hmmm, I dunno about weapons. Maybe she's got something in the armory upstairs?"
"Why didn't you guys tell us we had a room full of weapons in the house?!" Boscha asked in equal parts anger and glee, which concerned Luz somewhat.
"Yeah, I think you just answered your own question, Sis."
"Hey!" Boscha said.
"Oh I can't believe I'm about to say this, kids, go play with the weapons." Camila said.
"YES!" The Noceda sisters excitedly ran upstairs.
"Just don't take anything too sharp!" Their mother called. "Or anything that shoots fire! And definitely get shields!"
"You're an even better mom than they let on." King pointed out.
"Aw, thanks... I think." Camila replied. "So do you think we can survive against this Snaggleback?"
"Mmmmnope."
Boscha and Luz stepped out of the armory, excited about the items they found. Boscha had a shield strapped to her back. She also had a vorpal blade in one hand and a morningstar in the other. Luz donned a winged helmet and was dragging a warhammer.
"You sure you don't want something you can actually carry?" Boscha asked.
"I'm... good..." Luz strained as she kept lugging her weapon. "They... say that... in times of crisis... people can summon... superhuman strength. So I'm gonna make sure that I have... something heavy... to defeat our enemy!"
Boscha shook her head. "Well, at least you have a weapon picked out. What's taking Mom so long?"
Back in the armory, Camila was cradling a strange, crescent-shaped blade with an unusual amount of affection. "A Battel'lop! I can't believe she had one of these. It's like being in an episode of Cosmic Frontier."
At the doorframe, the Noceda sisters were looking at their mom.
"Uh... mom?" Boscha asked.
Camila let out a cough, both in surprise and trying to cover her inner nerd.
"Sorry I just... your father used to talk about something like this... brings back... some good memories." Camila said, smiling a bit.
The screech was let out again, making them all remember that the beast was still here.
"We need to hurry." Luz said.
"So, what's the plan, exactly?" King wondered.
Boscha thought on that for all of two seconds. "Let's just flail our weapons around until we hit something moving!"
"It's a... nice pitch, Mija..." Camila didn't want to demoralize her daughter, especially during a fight for their lives. "... but Eda's still out there, and I doubt she'd appreciate us cutting her to pieces."
"Well if that happens, we can just put her back together."
"That is not funny, Boscha. It's not as if we can just pop her limbs back into place... can we?"
"Oh yeah, totally." Luz assured her. "She managed to survive getting her head chopped off when we caused that prison riot."
"You were in PRISON?" Camila exclaimed.
"SNAGGLEBACK!"
Everyone looked in the direction king was pointing at. They saw a shadow emerging from the nearby doorway.
"This is it, kids." Camila steeled herself. "Everyone stay close to me and make yourselves look bigger. Hopefully we can chase it off."
Luz and Boscha did as they were told. King crawled atop Camila's head for a more intimidating stature. Once the shadow crept closer, The group charged screaming at the approaching creature. The strange being had but one response...
"AAAHHH! DON"T HURT ME!"
The Nocedas plus King were shocked to find what looked like a small pink monkey with a spiky turtle shell. It demonstrated that it was no threat with the way it assumed the fetal position on the floor.
"What the fuck is this?" Boscha asked, "There's no way this is the thing that broke down the door."
"Well... that's anticlimactic." Luz said.
"I didn't break down the door." The pitiful creature noted. "I climbed in through the window to get out from the rain."
King approached him for a closer look. "You're the Snaggleback?"
"Uhhhh, yeah." The Snaggleback meekly replied.
"YOU'RE the most fearsome demon in the Boiling Isles?!"
"I am? Huh. If I knew that, maybe people wouldn't be using me as an ornament so much."
"Waitwaitwaitwait..." Camila had a more serious question in mind. "... if YOU didn't break down the door-?"
Just then, something broke through the ceiling. Everyone screamed in horror as it grabbed the Snaggleback and dragged it back through the hole it made. Boscha put her hands up, dropped her weapons, and turned around.
"Nope, fuck this!" Boscha said, walking away... until Luz pulled her back.
"No, you're not going anywhere!" Luz said.
"Girls, quiet down, or else you might-"
They heard a growl and turned around. The shadowy beast dropped the shell. King held onto Camila's leg, while Luz and Boscha looked very scared.
"If we don't move... maybe it won't see us." Luz said.
"Luz... this is not Jurassic Park... that is not a T-Rex... and that's not even considered accurate anymore!" Boscha said, before putting Luz behind her, "Fuck off, prick!"
Boscha made a spell circle and blasted fire at it. But to her utmost dismay, the beast swatted the fire attack away. All the fire managed to do was momentarily illuminate the beast's face. A face -aside from its pitch-black eyes- that was disturbingly familiar to all of them.
"EDA?!" They all shouted.
The apparently feral Eda inched closer to the group.
"Hey Luz, you summon that superhuman strength yet?" Boscha pleaded with her sister.
Luz was trembling. "I can't. Not against Eda. Why don't you summon some superhuman strength?"
"I'm a witch, Luz. By definition, I can't gain superHUMAN strength."
"Technically, she's half witch, half demon." King blurted out.
"...THE FU-?!"
Eda let out a shrill cry as she stood on her rear legs. She raised a hand full of razor-sharp talons to strike. But before she could, Camila rushed to the front of the group to shield them. She raised her Battel'lop and steeled herself.
"You may not be yourself, Eda, but witch or beast, DON'T YOU DARE HURT MY GIRLS!"
After hearing Camila's shout, Eda's arms went slack and she resumed her quadripedal stance. She carefully approached the blade-wielding mother, craning her neck around the weapon to get a better look at her. Eda started sniffing her, then slapped the weapon from her hands. Camila internally cursed the impracticality of her beloved blade as a cost of using a sci-fi aesthetic. It seemed that her time was up, and so she closed her eyes and waited... and waited... and waited... and wait- seriously what was the freaking holdup?!
The answer to that came as Camila felt a soft, fluffy sensation against her face. And then she heard... purring?! She opened her eyes to see Eda nuzzling against her. Everyone was definitely dumbfounded at her sudden change of demeanor.
"Eda! You're back!" Luz rejoiced.
The sudden noise spooked Eda, who clutched Camila closely and took off with her.
"MOM!" Luz and Boscha called out to her.
"MIJAS, SAVE YOURSELVES!"
"The sisters and King stood in stunned silence at what had just transpired for what felt like hours. Eventually Boscha broke the silence as she turned to King.
"Please tell me there aren't any skyscrapers in the Boiling Isles."
"What's a skyscraper?" King asked.
"What are we going to do!?" Luz asked, "Our mom was just taken by our cursed mentor, probably to Eda's nest, where she'll fill mom with-"
Boscha put a hand over Luz's mouth.
"I know you, so I'm going to say... if you finish that sentence, I'm throwing you outside to deal with the rain." Boscha said, before sighing, "I swear, you read too many fanfics at this point."
"Hey, Mr. Hardcor3 is a great author!" Luz said, "And what about you and DeviantArt? You got a bit of a thing for Abs."
"Not my fault that Garth2The2ndPower is an incredible artist." Boscha said.
"Can we get back to the matter at hand?" King asked.
"Right." Boscha said, before coming up with an idea, "I got it! What if-"
"You are not catching her on fire." Luz said.
"But she might taste like chicken." Boscha said.
"Nope, not happening." Luz said, "We have to find a way to stooooo... I got it! King, tell me everything you know about demons like that!"
"But just the cliffnotes. For the love of God, just the cliffnotes." Boscha pleaded.
"Hmph." King shook his head. "Fine, but you'll be taking the make-up course if we survive this."
"What?! You're not the boss of me!"
"Of course not. I'm the KING of you. Y'know, you being part demon and all."
Luz clapped her hands to get their attention. "Guys, FOCUS! Now King, what kind of weaknesses does an owl... beast have?"
"Well..." King stroked his chin. "... I don't exactly have any info in my almanacs for whatever Eda is, but I noticed her large pitch-black eyes. Demons with those kind of eyes are super-sensitive to light."
"Fire it is, then" Boscha had a fireball at the ready.
"BOSCHA!"
Luz's loud but firm tone compelled her sister to extinguish her fire. "Party pooper."
"Fine, I'll use the light spell, but what will-"
Boscha was cut off when Luz pulled out her phone and took a picture with the flash on. Boscha was temporarily blinded and looked VERY annoyed with Luz.
"... You are an asshole." Boscha said, rubbing her eyes, "When we fix Eda, I'm telling her to turn you into a doormat."
"That brings me to our next point... how do we fix her?" Luz asked.
"Hmm... I remember her drinking some golden liquid everyday." King said, "That might be what keeps this from happening."
Boscha's eyes widened.
"Wait... like this?" Boscha asked, pulling out the bottle she found earlier when they put Eda in her nest.
Luz looked at the torn tag that was still tied to the bottle neck.
""A potion a day"..." Her mind instantly flashed back to her earlier discussion with King about her methylphenidate. "... "keeps the curse away?""
King nodded.
"Yeah. That's what your medicine reminded me of. I thought Eda just took that potion to fight off the common mold, or something. I had no idea it was to stop her from turning into... that."
"King, take this." Boscha said, handing him the bottle, "It's your job to pour that down Eda's throat when we get her down."
"Okay..." King took the bottle. "...but I'm only doing this by my own decree, not because you said so, minion!"
Back in Eda's room, Camila had been awkwardly sitting in her nest for what felt like hours. She watched with equal parts fears and fascination as the Owl Beast gathered various amounts of debris from the house to reinforce the nest. Suddenly, Eda was distracted by something outside the window. Camila saw an opportunity to escape and carefully crept for the door. She was mere inches away from freedom when she felt a tug at her shirt. Eda had already caught her, and with her teeth, she picked up Camila by the back of her shirt collar and placed her back in the nest. She then purred against the captive human before turning her back on her.
"Wait a minute." Camila's veterinary training clued her in on Eda's behavior. "Does... does this mean you trust me? Even after I tried to escape?"
The Owl Beast didn't respond. She simply stuffed her face with the hors d'oeuvres from earlier in the afternoon she had gathered. Rather than eat them, however, she spent an unusual amount of time chewing the food. It didn't take long for Camila to figure out what she was up to.
"Oh, mierda. Don't tell me you're going to feed that to..." She had to suppress her gag reflex at the thought. "I know I told the girls to run, but I really hope this isn't one of the times they actually listened."
"GOOD NEWS THEN, MOM!"
Camila was low-key thrilled to see Boscha enter the room.
"Alright you overgrown chicken, let her go!" Boscha said.
Eda growled at Boscha and started walking over to her, ready to attack, when Luz ran in and used her camera flash on Eda. Eda screeched and moved back. Luz kept taking blinding pictures of Eda. Boscha ran over to the nest and grabbed Camila's hand. Eda, through the small glimpses of sight she got, saw this and was mad. She headbutted Luz's stomach, knocking her back and charged at Boscha. Boscha saw this and made a spell circle, making a light spell that made Eda stop and screech.
"Mom, run!" Boscha said, pushing Camila to the door.
Luz got up and started using the flash to blind Eda again. The Owl Beast recoiled from the blinding flashes, ultimately folding her wings over her face to protect her eyes. Noticing Eda was huddled and still, Luz halted her attack. She inched closer to her to see how her mentor would react. Slowly, she reached out.
"Eda?" She softly spoke. "Are... are you in there?"
The creature withdrew further.
"It's okay. We'll get you your potion and forget this whole nasty biz ever happened."
Once Luz got close enough, Eda lashed out with her wings, knocking Luz across the floor. As the human tried to get to her feet, the Owl Beast had already left the room. Luz picked up her freshly-cracked phone as she shouted out to the others.
"GUYS! EDA GOT OUT!"
At the living room, Camila and Boscha readied their phone and light spell respectively. No sooner had they heard Luz's warning than Eda appeared right in front of them. Camila already shielded her daughter as she took aim with her phone.
"Lo siento, Eda, but this is for your own good!" She pressed the button on her phone, making the Owl Beast flinch, but nothing happened. She checked her phone to see if the flash was turned on.
Boscha noticed her mother's struggle. "Mom? What are you doing?"
"I don't know, I don't know!" Camila kept fumbling with the phone. "I can't get the flash to work!"
"Did you press the record button again?"
"No!" Camila looked at Boscha with her light spell through her camera lens as she noticed the timer on her screen counting up. "Maybe!"
Eda took advantage of their distraction. She body-checked Boscha clear out through the doorway into the rain. Her mother couldn't even register what had happened before Eda picked her up again and took off.
King, however was scared for Boscha. "WEH! MINION!" He called to her. "Get back in before you get cooked."
Boscha shook the cobwebs out of her head before King's words managed to sink in. She covered herself with her arms and braced for the pain from the scalding droplets. Pain that never came.
"What the hell, King?!" She called to the little demon. "I thought you guys said this was BOILING rain!"
"It is! Look at the flowers around you!"
Boscha did just that and noticed that they were all burnt and wilted. She also noticed the hissing from certain surfaces struck by the rain. She held out a hand to catch a few drops, but barely felt anything.
"What in the hell is happening here?" She wondered.
"IFRIT!" King realized.
"The fuck are you calling a freak?!"
"No, "Ifrit"! A race of demons that thrive in fiery climates! That must be what kind of demon you're a part of if you can withstand the rain!"
"Huh." Boscha had a sudden flashback to her first few days in the Noceda home. That one time Manny freaked out when she reached for the stove while the burners were on. Then confusion when Boscha didn't even flinch when she touched the burners. "Another piece of the puzzle falls into place."
Boscha scrambled to her feet and ran back inside, going after Eda.
Luz slowly was crawling to the wall, when she heard the sound of Eda coming back. She quickly played dead, closing her eyes as Eda put Camila back in the nest. Eda went over and sniffed Luz.
'Please work. Please work. Please work.' Luz thought.
It seemed to as Eda went back over to Camila. Luz quickly, and quietly, unlocked her phone. She tried to turn the flash on, but it wouldn't work. She got a nervous look before her thumb accidently opened her gallery. Her last image was Boscha performing a light spell. She then noticed something... some kind of... symbol in the ball of light. Look carefully at Eda, seeing her distracted, Luz quietly grabbed a pencil and paper and drew the symbol. Eda's ear twitched as she heard the noise of pencil touching paper. She moved over towards Luz, just in time for Luz to finish drawing the symbol. She heard Eda moving towards her and began to try and get up, accidently touching the paper. To Luz's surprise, the paper started glowing, and temporarily blinded Eda.
'Did... oh my god.' Luz thought.
She grabbed another pencil and began using both hands to draw the symbols. She got 15 in the 45 seconds it took for Eda to be unblinded. Eda growled at Luz as she stood up, glyphs in hand... smiling.
"Surprise, I'm ambidextrous, bitch!" Luz said, "... Oh god, I'm spending too much time near Boscha... please forgive me for saying that Eda!"
Eda screeched and ran at Luz. Luz smiled and slammed a glyph on the ground, making a bright light form in the middle of the room. King and Boscha made it back to Eda's room, just in time to miss Luz's display. Boscha was at her limit with the Owl Beast and conjured up fire.
"One side, Hermana! I'm gonna serve us up some Kentucky Fried Eda!"
"Boscha, NO!" Luz stood in front of her. "I've got something awesome to help fix this!"
"More awesome than fire?! I doubt-"
"Boscha!" Camila called from the nest. "There will be NO immolating, young lady!"
The older sister stifled a scream as she dispelled the fire.
"Get mom out of here!" Luz yelled, "I'll handle Eda."
"I'm not going to-"
"Do it bitch!" Luz yelled.
Boscha grabbed her mother's wrist and ran out of the room... she knew if Luz swore that she was serious... hopefully this time it will work. Luz held two glyphs in her hands and ran at Eda. She jumped in the air and slammed the glyphs together, creating a massive flash that blinded Eda.
"I really hope there's no lasting side effect from this." Luz said, as Eda began to see again, "Sorry Eda, but if there's one thing I learned from mom's vet clinic, it's that some animals need to be put under before they can get their medicine."
Now Luz may not be good at hand to hand combat like Boscha, but she wasn't stupid, despite what teachers say, she could easily fight Eda, she just had to use her best advantage... her creativity. Luz activated another glyph, before grabbing the ball of light and throwing it at Eda like a baseball... which she was ACTUALLY good at, a little hidden talent of hers, but that's a conversation for later... The light glyph hit Eda in the face, making her screech in pain as the light blinded her. Luz repeated this process, making Eda back up against the wall, a desperate attempt to get away.
'Time to take your medicine.' Luz thought.
She took a glyph and put it on her knuckles. She ran at Eda and delivered a Superman Punch to her face. Eda was knocked out by the combined effort of Luz's, admittedly weak, punch and the light finally causing enough pain.
"Boscha, I need the Elixir!" Luz yelled.
Boscha, King, and Camila ran in, seeing the owl beast out cold.
"Damn, Luz, how'd you manage that?" Boscha asked.
"I'll explain later, let's get this potion down her throat before she wakes up!" Luz said.
Eda's head felt like shit.
She could have sworn somebody stuck hot knives into her eyeballs. Try as she might, she couldn't adjust her vision. Everything looked pitch black. At least until she saw her hands and realized everything was pitch black.
"Ah, shit, not this again..."
She was apparently familiar with her situation, as she anticipated the sudden burst of light in the shape of a doorway opening up behind her. A silhouette with large, piercing eyes emerged from the threshold. Whoever or whatever it was, Eda wasn't happy to see it.
"Lemme guess, you're still not gonna say anything?"
The shadowy figure stood silent and still.
"Well, I hope you can hear me at least, because when I get my hands on you, I'm gonna wreck your sorry ass for cursing me. Maybe twist your damn head off and see if YOU can put it back on, you-"
"Eda?"
"Huh?"
"Eda?" Luz called out.
"Huh?"
A disheveled Eda woke up in her nest. She found herself surrounded by Luz, Boscha, King and Camila. They appeared to be worried about her for some reason.
Her head still felt like shit.
"Hey, guys..." She moaned. "Sorry if I worried you. I guess that shield spell really tuckered me out. I just wanted to make extra sure you were okay, and-SHIT!"
Everyone was startled by her outburst as she rummaged through her nest. "Where is it where is it WHERE IS IT?! Gotta find-"
"Is this what you're looking for?" Boscha held up one of her bottles.
"YES! Gimme!" Eda snatched the bottle, only to realize it was empty. "Where's the... oh no."
Luz put her hand on Eda's. "It's okay. We figured out that you needed this medicine. I mean, getting you to take it was... a bit of a challenge, but nothing we couldn't handle."
"So you saw." The Owl Lady was crestfallen. "You guys know about my condition. I was hoping you wouldn't have to deal with it."
"What is this condition, Eda?" Camila fretted.
Eda took a deep breath before explaining. "Well, when I was a kid... I was cursed. I don't know how or why. Just that if I don't take these potions regularly, I turn into... that."
"So, that's why you're called the Owl Lady?" Boscha asked. "I thought that was just some kind of motif you were trying to project."
"Pretty much. I'm sorry for keeping this from everyone. I hadn't thought much of it, since I lived alone for the most part." Eda's expression became even more sorrowful. "I didn't even consider the risk my curse would put you all through, and I'm... I'm so sorry. I put you all in danger. Maybe you guys would be better off leaving after all."
"Says who?"
All eyes fell on Luz when she spoke up. "What happened to you wasn't your fault. Nobody deserves to be isolated for whatever condition they might have, especially if it can be treated."
"Yeah." Boscha also felt sympathetic. "No matter what you are -Owl Beast, Ifrit or even Nimoid- you're still the cranky, blackmailing supercriminal we've come to know and love."
Eda managed to smile, but wasn't entirely convinced.
"I guess the matter's settled, then." Everyone was surprised to hear Camila weigh in. "I guess you two will be staying for the rest of the summer after all."
"We will?!" Luz was naturally excited to hear that.
"You... you really trust me?" Eda asked.
The elder Noceda smiled at her. "As much as you trust me."
"Even though I might turn into-"
"I think my girls showed you it's nothing they can't handle. All the more reason you could benefit from having them around. Juuust don't try to feed them when you go all Big Bird on us."
"Do what now?" Eda's confusion was compounded by a sudden churning in her stomach. "Oh, Titan! How old were those leftov-?! BLLEEEEAAAARRRRGH!"
"I'm... just... gonna lie here... for a minute." The poor creature muttered after he broke free.
"Okay, everybody ready?"
Eda, Boscha, Camila and King sat in attention on the living room couch. Luz had promised them a demonstration regarding how she had brought down the Owl Beast, a role being reenacted by a reluctant Hooty.
"So there I was..." She started. "... trying to get the phone to work after it was dropped. And that's when I saw it. A mysterious pattern in the image of Boscha performing a light spell. I didn't know what it was, but I was compelled to draw it- memorize it. I touched the drawing and theeeeennnnn..."
Luz pulled out one of her spare glyphs, turned to Hooty and slapped the glyph with her other hand. To the total surprise of her audience, a ball of light emerged from Luz's hands.
"Whoa." Eda was speechless.
"Dios mío..." Camila cleaned her glasses to make sure she wasn't seeing things.
"Weh?" King was generally confused.
Boscha, on the other hand, trembled in her seat. "You really did it? You did magic?"
"I did magic." Luz proudly proclaimed.
"You did magic!"
"I did magic!"
"YOU DID MAGIC!"
"I DID MAGIC, BABY!"
Boscha ran to her sister to give her a hug as good as Luz could ever give her. Everyone else sat in quiet admiration as the two laughed and rejoiced.
"Did I tell you or did I tell you?!" Boscha cheered.
"You sure did." Luz started to shed tears of joy. "Thank you for believing in me."
Camila, meanwhile, was trying to hold back tears of her own. "Mira a mijas. *sniff* Nunca he estado más orgulloso de ellos."
"Yeah, they're really something." Eda didn't understand exactly what she said, but as she said before, she understood context. "Thanks again for trusting me with them, Cami. I thought that with my condition-"
"You remember what Luz said, right? Nobody deserves to be isolated for a condition they didn't ask for. She knows firsthand how horrible that feels."
"Really?"
"And even our home hasn't always been safe for them." Camila frowned at the memory of Jacob Hopkins kidnapping Boscha all those years ago.
"Still, I feel like I'm getting off to easy for this." Eda lamented.
"Well..." Camila reached behind the couch and pulled out the Battel'lop she found earlier. "...I will be keeping this. Non-negotiable.
"Uhhh... okay."
'Damn, this woman keeps getting hotter and hotter.' Eda thought.
Eda felt a bit happy at seeing the others being so welcoming despite her curse.
'Maybe... maybe I don't need to be alone anymore.'
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