Summary: A trip through a strange realm, where a boy lay baren, taken in by an owl.

"Dang it, 'come to the human realm during the winter' she says, 'suckers will be lining up everywhere' she says. Most 'wonderful time of the year' my cursed butt." Eda Clawthorne grumbled as she practically fought her way through this snowstorm. She would've cursed the lady that convinced her that there was something of worth heading to the human realm during the harsh snow season…if said lady wasn't Eda herself.

She figured if these humans already expected some fat old pervert dressed in red to break into their homes, that it would be the perfect opportunity to bring home two sack loads of human goodies to sell back at the boiling isles. Turns out that was a load of hogwash, because she slid down fifty chimneys in the past four days, and not once was she greeted with milk and cookies.

Not to mention there were houses that didn't even have chimneys, the lying story. Luckily, she had a workaround with a rock and a window. But still, the objects inside were mostly inedibles and giant trees, which was easy to find when one lived in the FOREST!

"Oh human realm, nothing about you makes any sense yet I still come back to you." It was her one escape from her sucky life, the only time she could escape being the ever notorious 'Owl Lady' and just be Eda….or Marylyn to a couple of ignorant souls. Sure she was still a theif and criminal over here, but the way people reacted to her magic every so often was an idle treat she allowed herself to enjoy every now and again.

The human world, as complicated as it could get, was an escape, a world of her own she got to explore, where no one from her past could influence anything…except the one or two ex's she had that lived here…wasn't she trying to make herself feel better?

"Come on Eda, don't be a priss like your sister. What makes humans happy this time of year?" She asked herself as she tried to recall. "Talking snowmen, Ugly sweaters, reindeers with nose infections, nailing a man on a cross." Humans had the strangest customs.

"And don't even get me started on the songs." She grumbled, already humming one of the ones that got in her head. "Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg." She muttered the only normal song. "The batmobile lost a wheel-"

"Aww a wwaa ghuaaa!" A voice finished off.

"I don't think that's how it goes, but it's been a while." She responded with a joke as she tried to look around. Worst case scenario, she was being followed by someone who's house she broke into and wanted payback. There was plenty of snow around, so she could hide the body long enough to make a getaway.

The response was a giggle, which she began to follow. "Here stalker stalker, here any angry strangers trying to murder me." She called out in a pacifying tone, trying to find the source of the noise.

"Bwaaaah." It could always be a wild feral animal, where in which case she would either have fresh meat to eat tomorrow or a brand new fur coat. If luck was on her side for once, she'd have both tonight.

Closing in … closing in … "Gotcha, scum!" She readied a fireball, aiming it right at the bastard's face.

"Guwaaa." Bastard was surprisingly accurate, as a baby tried to reach for the warm fire. A baby, alone, in the middle of the woods.

Eda gave a mental rundown on her own ethics to see if she would be willing to just walk away from the child. Sadly, this was not the case. Damn you conscious. "Let's find whatever you humans have for an orphanage and get this over with." She groaned at her now extended work time.

"Bewwaaaah." The little drool machine giggled as they picked them up.

"You're so lucky that witches eating babies hasn't been a thing in centuries, or else you'd be looking pretty tasty laying down on a silver platter with an apple in your mouth." Then again, the kid looked pretty plump, and they were alone…

"Bwa."

"Nah, Lilly and Gwendolyn would never let me live it down if they ever found out." She responded as if the little tyke could actually understand. "Word of advice kid, responsibility is the worst. Avoid it as if your life depends on it."

"Gugah."

"Over hundreds of humans in this dimension and the first one to not curse me away is a baby." She muttered. "Really says something about your race doesn't it, kido?"

"Awsss."

"Just do a favor and wherever you end up, make sure to pickpocket as many snooty people as you can. The world's a weird and often cruel place, so you gotta take whatever advantage you can take, got it?"

"Gaaah." To think this was the most intelligent conversation she's had with anyone for the longest time. She could barely stay sane from spending five seconds with the house demon, and she had no choice but to live in him. "Agawah." The little tykes stomach began to glow.

"Glowing baby?" Eda questioned out loud. Did she leave the portal door open again? The ears on the kid were round, and she didn't have any apple blood today, so she was 70 percent sure she wasn't hallucinating. 

She checked up and down all over the little squirt. Looked human, but then again, she wasn't exactly an expert on them. She was pretty sure he had all the human attributes: five fingers, round eyes, rocks in the stomach, the lack of teeth was a concern but apparent that was normal for-

She did a double take as she looked over the stomach area. Sure enough, a bright pink jewl was sticking out of the babies belly.

Oooh, Shiney … well, payment couldn't hurt, right? She reached down for the rock, pulling on it. "Come to mama."

"Mama." The baby responded as its chubby little hands began patting her own as she found herself tugging on the rock little.

"Is this thing inside of you?" She questioned as she tried tugging a little harder. Was she above hurting children? Yes…except when they were annoying…or got in the way…or when they had something she needed…was there actually anything she hasn't done?

"Mama." The baby repeated, clasping the hand she was trying to use to take out the shiney rock.

"Hey, don't start saying that word in front of me. That implies attachments, and I'm only good at burning those to the ground." She warned the baby sternly, wondering if she was going to need one of those crane things to take the rock out. 

"Bwaaah."

"Well the past weeks sucked hard griffon eggs, I'm cold and the only thing I have to show for myself is a shiney rock attached to a probable human baby. I suppose you're not old enough to understand the concept of bribery to give it up, right?"

"Buh."

"That's what I figured." Eda groaned. "Maybe there's a human that can figure out how to extract it without murder-" She couldn't finish her thought, the wind picking up harshly. "Come on, this place sucks." She grumbled.

Her only option was to leave … which unfortunately meant taking the child. "Huga buba, Mama."

"It seems you understand guilt tripping just fine." Eda rolled her eyes as she made her way back to the rickety old house that held her portal door. "And would you stop calling me mama? My conscious is already shot as it is."

The baby stuck its tongue out lazily at her in response. This child was growing to grow sarcastic, wasn't it … not under her watch, of course. Eda was not the touchy felt type, and the boiling ocean would freeze over long before she'd ever call herself a mom. Even her own would proclaim just as much.

"Alright kid, you'll be coming with me, but just until tomorrow when this blizzard stops." Eda declared . "Just know if you grow up having nightmares of a horrible realm of flesh eating demons, you'll blame your sperm donors for abandoning you instead of the kind witch that saved you soft tiny butt."

"Aww a." They giggled, before sucking on her finger with eyes … no, don't you dare fall for the act. It was trick! A way to let your guard down before-before the child bit her finger as it detached …Damn curse.

"Don't think just because you're a baby I'm going to let you get away with cannibalism. The innocent act only gets you so far." She grumbled as she poked the baby's stomach. "Spit that out right now before I make it crawl out of your throat." She was already regretting this.

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Hooty stared at the bug, and at the dirt, and at the tree, and at the sky, and at the cloud, and at the ocean, and at the bug, and at the dirt, and at Eda. Oh, Eda was back. "What's the password!?" He shouted.

"I'm not in the mood Hooty, we got baggage today." The lady grumbled. "Open up so I can dump it."

"Ooh, something tasty I hope!" Hooty cheered as he opened up for his roommate and bestest best friend in the whole world. Sure she claimed he was just the 'security system' of the house, but the bird demon like to think he'd broken down the woman's defenses.

"Maybe, if the little booger maker keeps annoying me." Eda responded, tossing something onto the couch. Hooty took a look at it …

"Well someone got frisky with an ex." He responded. It was nice to see something like this when her love life was usually … awful. And Eda never took his helpful advice either.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Hooty, I have absolutely no attachment to this thing in any way possible. I just found it in the woods on my way out of the human world." Eda groaned. "The moment the snow dies down there and I figure out how to rip the rock out of it, the snot launcher is outta here."

"It is a shiney rock." Hooty responded, becoming almost mesmerized by the pink thing. "At least you kidnapped an interesting looking baby."

"I didn't kidnap it, there was no one to kidnap him from." Eda responded. "That means there's no money to exploit, I thought I made the rules clear when I installed you."

"Wait, I thought I came with the house." Hooty asked with confusion. "I know I had a mom …" In fact, where was his mom? How come he's never seen another demon like himself? And why did he remember being a kitten?

"Mama." The baby cooed as he began gnawing on its own flabby arm.

"Looks like the little guy's already imprinted on you." Hooty observed with a happy cheer. "Oooh, I can set up the nursery and sing lullabies every night to lull it to sleep like a song bird! Rock a bye Hooty, on the hilltop! When the wind blows, your head will go pop!"  

The little guy did what no other living creature he's come across ever did before: he smiled and clapped. "Mwah. Mwah." The baby gurgled as it reached for its head.

"That confirms it: I've brought a broken baby into my house." Eda slapped her forehead and slid it across her face. "No wonder it was left in the woods, anything that likes your singing had to have something wrong with it." Rude. "Maybe we can find some human doctor or something …" She said, fiddling with her finger. "It's sticking more than usual …"

"You mean to keep him safe while you drink?" Inside of Hooty's mouth of course, he always wanted to taste a human … he wouldn't digest the little thing though. Especially if they still liked his singing.

"No, I mean literally sticking, the little brat swallowed my finger…gross, don't tell me baby humans have gluey saliva. I would've thought twice about swapping spit with one if I'd known that." 

"You'd still be married if you'd followed my advice.."

"I was never married. That wedding in Vegas was clearly just a joke that only two people drunk off their asses would've gone through. No one in their right minds would ever make that official." Eda groaned as she rubbed her forehead. "Please, just stop talking. Between your voice and the snot maker, Mama's got a headache that only Appleblood can cure."

"Mama. Mama. Mama." The tyke kept repeating over and over. Aw, it was like when a wolf raised a baby manticore..before it grew up and ate the parent at least. 

"For the last time, I am NOT YOU MOM..!" Eda shouted at the top of her lungs, before suddenly jolting back as feathers grew out of her head. "No, not now! I thought one elixir a day would do the trick!"

"Woopsie, that's not good." Looks like it was Hooty's job to help. He stretched his head to an elixir, rushing over. "Come on Eda, drink your medici-" She suddenly grew wings, which hit him in the face, causing the bottle to roll away with the pretty stars. "I'm out of the job, aren't I?"

" Scaweeeee!" The owl beast screeched, the talons groaning as she became more quadruped. That was probably a yes. Guess it was back to the lonely forest life for Hooty.

"WAAAA!" The little baby cried out as the owl beast screamed, drawing its attention. Well on the plus side, Eda's problem would soon disappear without her having to lift a finger!

"Screeeeee!"  The owl beast started to crawl towards the little human, there being no doubt what was going to happen. "Scree-arwo?"  The beast looked confused as it lifted up her right clawed hand, a small hint of a glow shining out of one of her fingers.

"Oooh, I didn't know your curse let you glow in the dark! Or did you eat a bunch of glow worms for breakfast too? They're like nature's candy and leave you feeling warm on the inside for a few hours."

Her finger began to sparkle pink, followed by her hand, then stopped at half her body, flashing and shifting as Eda became a half lady half owl. "What the heck …" The owl lady looked over herself, before finding the elixir on the floor, snatching it up and drinking down the bottle in one gulp.

"Never see you go beast mode halfway before? Is it a new magic trick you've learned? Why didn't you tell me before? WHAT SECRETS HAVE YOU KEPT FROM ME!?"

"Knock it off Hooty." She glared at him, now fully normal with no feathers, before staring at her hand. "What was …" Eda took off her hand, looking it over. "Did I touch something weird?"

"Mama!" The baby began tugging on the Owl Lady's leg, reaching his hand upward. "Mama …"

"Would you please knock it off? Between this and your drool getting all over me, I have half a mind to…to.." Eda narrowed her eyes at the baby, then her finger, switching her attention back and forth for twenty seconds. "Nah … couldn't be." She muttered. "I spent years looking for a cure … and baby drool is the answer?"

The baby merely giggled in response, the stone in their stomach softly glowing and beautifully. "Ooooh sooo pretty….must head towards the light…must head to the shiney.." The bug demon instincts in him were on overdrive.

"Hey, that's my shiney." Eda snapped him out of it before giving the baby a good look in the eye. "Definitely looks human with the ears, the only weird thing about it is the rock."

Hooty backed up, looking the boy over. "Do you even know what kind of rock it is?" He asked. "I've never seen something like it from the stuff you steal from the market."

"Not exactly a rock expert, and over half of it is that side the lid, but it kinda looks like a diamond." Eda guessed, rubbing her finger on its smooth surface.

"Damo, Damo." The boy rubbed the woman's arm.

"Aren't those supposed to be clear?" He asked.

"Well what do you think it is?" She asked him.

Hooty stared at the pink rock in the stomach closely. "... A Quartz?" The demon guessed.

"Hooty, only a moron who's never seen them before would confuse a Diamond and a Quartz." Eda stated matter of factly. "Either way, it's obvious this kid won't be going back to the human realm."

"Yeah, he's the first child that hasn't run screaming from you after half an hour. New record." Hooty congratulated the woman.

"I was referring to the fact that he's obviously magic and would probably get exploited and used." Eda glared. "So he's staying here where it's safe." Safe and Eda weren't exactly two things that were synonymous.

"So you can exploit and use him for yourself." Hooty guessed what Eda's mind was probably at.

"I like to see it as a mutual exchange of resources." She responded. "I get to use his powers, and he gets a home."

"Awa." He reached out for her disembodied hand.

"And my body parts are detachable, so I don't have to spend money on toys." She grinned.

"That seems very unsanitary and scandalous." He gestured to the hand, which the baby already began teething on.

"What do you care about cleanliness? I saw you eat mud yesterday after chugging down six rats and a vole."

"My body is a temple with very specific needs." Hooty justified.

"Whatever. I found the kid, now it's mine."

"Do you even have a name?" Hooty asked, before pausing. "Or a gender?"

"Had to dump a diaper on the way, so I know it's a boy….as for names.." Eda paused. "Rocky…,diamond…nah, just naming him after a rock just feels lazy and dumb." Eda pondered for a bit. "Hmm….you know, I've always been fond of Lucifer."

"Doesn't that just make it obvious he'll be a troublemaker?"

"I'm raising a kid, did you expect anything else?" Eda answered as she picked the tyke up. "Isn't that right, little Lucci? You're going to raise hell all over the place, won't you?"

"Bawwaaaggh." The now named baby Lucifer giggled as he chewed on Eda's hand.

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Severine was bored as she guarded the gate, feeling the whole thing pointless. "Hey Steve." She asked her fellow guard.

"Yeah Severine?" The guy was always up for a chat.

"You ever wonder why we're here?" She asked.

"It's one of life's great mysteries isn't it? Why are we here? I mean, are we the product of some cosmic coincidence, or is there really a Titan watching everything? You know, with a plan for us and stuff. I don't know, man, but it keeps me up at night." … The fuck?

"... I meant in front of this door." She responded.

"..Oh." Steve awkwardly shuffled in place. "I was hoping to unpack a few things when you asked.."

"Steve, if I cared about being mentally sound, I would've joined the tiny cat coven." She responded with a bit of exasperation.

"I mean, I guess you make a fair point …" He admitted.

"Listen, we're in the Emperor's Coven, the best of the best. And we get stuck with guard duty ? Doesn't that seem … demeaning?" She asked. "It's like using an abomination to swat a fairy."

"To be fair, fairies are rather pesty and persistent, even if they taste pretty good in a pie." Severine sent him a look. "Look, all jobs are important. Imagine if a Wild Witch got her hands on all these snails."

"What witch would be stupid enough to try and steal from the Emperor's coven?" Severene asked, baffled. "If we were talking about someone like the Rainbow Devil, then maybe I'd understand, but another witch, I doubt it."

Steve looked thoughtful. "What about the Owl Lady?"

She snorted. "The old broad with a minor bounty on her head?" She couldn't suppress her laughter. "Get real. She's just one witch, and she has a curse that zaps away her magic." 

"Her beast form is rather ferocious though." Steve countered. "And she's Lilith's sister, she's bound to have some special tricks and spell up her sleeve."

She snorted. "Like i'd ever fall for a trick of some forest person."

"Traaa." … They both turned to the baby on the ground, gazing at them with curious eyes.

Neither of them talked for what felt like a full minute. "Please tell me I just forgot it was bring your child to work day." Steve begged.

"I don't even think anyone in the Emperor's coven has ever dated anyone." Not for lack of interest, the job was just too demanding for any free time, hence the 'one day off a year' rule.

"Really? I could have sworn the new Warden was getting out there." He muttered. "Anyway, we're gonna need a new report code for 'baby wandering the middle of a hallway', because I seriously don't think either of us are equipped with child support."

"Don't you have a brother the exact same age?" She asked.

"Yeah, but I don't see Matthalolmule that often, and It's been forever since I've been a kid." He leaned down. "Maybe I can try some psychology."

"Psychology … on a baby …" She seriously questioned the sanity of her coven.

"Hey there little guy." Steve greeted himself in a childish voice. "Where's Mama?" Did he really think this was gonna work?

"Mama!" The child laughed, pointing … behind them …

"Dang it Lucci, what did I tell you about calling me out in the middle of a robbery?" The looked to see a lady in ragged clothes as she held an entire sack of the moment they were in charge of watching over.

"Grgha."

"Being unable to say anything else is no excuse for being a shoddy distraction."

Steve sent her a look. "'I'll never fall for her tricks', 'Psychology on a baby'." He repeated sarcastically as he grabbed the child, pulling up his staff to get battle ready. "Eda Clawthorne, by decree of Emperor Belos, you are hereby under arrest."

"Save the propaganda for another mindless stooge, cause I ain't listening." The semi-infamous criminal glared as she took out her staff. "Now let the kid go."

"So it's not enough that you steal from Emperor Belos, you've resorted to kidnapping children too, you make me sick." Steve glared passionately.

"Why did you instantly assume kidnapping?" Eda asked. "He's mine."

The child tried to reach forward. "Mama … mama …"

Steve coddled the child, gently rocking it. "Dude, seriously, she's not a good influence on-"

"MAMA!" The child shouted, their arm glowing pink as the hand extended forward, grabbing onto the Owl Lady's arm.

"What the fu-?!" Severene was about to shout, before a fireball was launched at her head, while Steve was wacked across the face with the owl staff.

"Hey, language. There's a child nearby." The owl lady laughed as she pulled the baby into her arms. "Lucci, you are just full of surprises. Why don't you tell me these things that you do?"

"Mama!" The kid used its long and noodly-like arms to stall around the criminal in a gigantic hug.

"That's it!" She launched a fireball of her own.

"Wait, the kid!" Steve tried to call her out. Forget the kid, this woman was worth the risk.

She shot forth a blast … which was blocked by a pink shield. "Where did you even learn these spells, Wild Witch!?" She shouted in bafflement.

"... The meet and greet?"

"Mama." The baby nuzzled his head against the criminal's face.

"Well it was the best I could come up with on the fly. I'd like to see you come up with a better lie."

"Aguu."

"Oh I'll take that bet, you little hellion. You can't outshine the best."

"You're not helping the kidnapping charges at all just so you know." Steve groaned as he tried to get back up.

"Well you see, I'm hoping the concussions I'm going to give you will alleviate that." Sparks began to fly off the woman. "Because you just tried to hurt the child of the world's most powerful witch …"

"Belos doesn't have any kids." Steve countered again.

The lady paused for a second, before the baby gave the two of them a blank look. "Babu."

"You're right Lucci. These idiots do need to have their internal organs rearranged and their brains replaced with a bag of bricks." The magical surge grew even stronger as lightning began shooting off everywhere.

"..Steve." Serverne called out to her partner, still looking like he was in a daze.

"Yeah."

"I hate you."

"I deserve that…Massive life lesson for Steve today: never upset criminals with children….even if they are kidnapped."

"You are just dying to go into an early grave today, aren't you?" Serverne knew joining the Emperor's coven would cause them to be on the verge of life and death, but this seemed like a tad much to handle all at once.

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"Faster! Faster!" Lucci (or was it Lucifer? His mom constantly used both) cheered as he hung in his mama's head as they rode through the sky. Her hair was starting to get big and bushy, big and soft enough to sit in. "Faster Mama!"

"Believe me, kiddo, I don't need your encouragement to tell me twice." His mama responded as they flew over the very hot sea. "The rain is about to start soon. I don't suppose you've remembered how to use that shield spell?" 

"Sowy." Mama always said he could make some big indestructible frisbee but he's never been able to make it happen when he tried, only by accident.

"It's alright, I just need a minor shield spell that won't last while flying through uncharted seas, or risk being killed by Emperor goons … lovely." Mama groaned as she did a fun little spin. She was always doing stuff like flying backwards, like an owl does.

"Why water hurt?" Lucci asked as the air started to get more and more misty and foggy.

"Because it's really close to the sun, which is super hot." She responded. "As for the water down below … I'm not sure." Mama looked down at the bubbling ocean. "That's been around a lot longer than I have, even longer than Belos has been around."

At the mention of the name of who mama declared the biggest jerkward in the universe, Lucci stuck out his tongue. "Boolus sucks. Goatface makes witches look bad and stink."

"That's what I've been telling people for years, but apparently no one can be as smart and attractive as we are." He giggled. "But we still have a problem. Hey Lucci, can you spot anywhere to land down?" She asked.

He looked around for his mama. Sea, sea … oh! "Giant toe thingy!"

"Giant toe?" His Mama asked, confused as they looked ahead. "That's odd. We're a good distance away from the boiling isles." In Between all the fog, they headed towards something that looked like a giant island like the one back home, minus the giant dead skull looming over everyone.

"Tall and straight." The boy pointed to what looked like a temple of sorts … another king maybe? Oh, what if it was a nice king?

"Never even knew there was something this far into the boiling sea…oh well, beggars can't be choosers." Mama shrugged, finally landing as they walked inside, the walls of the doorway beingoking old and broken, but covered in weird looking circles.

The inside was worse, cracks everywhere, and a creepy silence … at least the people seemed nice and respectful. "Hey there." Lucci waved at someone with a moon head, who said nothing. Everyone here had a moon head for some reason. "Hello, can you hear me?" Nobody responded.

"Try to keep things on the down Lucci, we're kind of hiding from everybody at the moment." Mama reminded him. "I really thought I had something combining that ammonia stuff with bleach." Who knew clouds could get so big, and yellow, and hard to breathe in.

Lucci nodded, looking around at the weird drawings on the walls. "Do you know what the words say?"

"No, that's more of my sister's territory." Her what?

"You have a sister Mama?" He asked. "Can I get one?"

Mama sounded like she was choking on something for a minute. "Trust me Lucci, you don't know what you're asking me to do. For one, siblings don't just grow on trees."

"Do they grow in bushes like berries? Or buy them at the market?" He asked. "Or do we find them in the woods like everyone keeps saying."

"You were not found in the woods, you're mine. Also … I'll tell you when you're older." She trailed off, before shaking her head. "And another thing, siblings are the worst. They just annoy you all the time."

"Ne!"

"Like that … wait." Mama picked up her giant flying stick thingy and kept her hood up, covering his face. "Keep your head down Lucci, and remember what to do if someone has a knife."

"Bite the ankles and poke their eyes out." Lucci recalled what Mama taught him. 

"That's my boy." She nodded. "Alright whoever you are, I'm the most powerful lady in the Boiling Isles, just try and take me on!" There was a rumble from one of the moon people, they both turned as the shadows gave way, revealing …

"Nye." A black … thing with a skull on it.

"Mama?" Lucci asked. "What is that?"

"I don't know, some kind of deformed wolf maybe." Mama kneeled down and reached out her hand. "Hey little guy. What are you?"

"Ne!" It shouted again, waving its little arms as it carried one of the little rocks on the ground and placed it on another stack of rocks.

"Mama, he's making moon people." Lucci pointed out, climbing off of his mama. "I wanna get closer."

"Those are statues honey, they just stand there looking pretty, they don't move or count as living." She explained, poking one. "Looks like he's been here all alone."

"Nya!" The little skull doggie waved again.

"Aww, he's cute and lonely." Lucci said, holding his hand out. The little guy walked up and sniffed. "Can we keep him?"

"Lucci, what have I told you about taking in stray animals?"

"Make sure they're edible before bringing them home." He remembered mama's rule. "But he's too cute to eat, mama. Please?" He tried to make his eyes as beady as possible. "I take care of Hooty, why not a skull dog?"

She groaned. "Fine, but we have to make sure it doesn't have a family." She began walking around. "Hey, is anyone here!?" She shouted, looking down a hallway … before running in their direction. "Grab the dog and jump in my hair, kid!" Mama shouted.

"Ne!" The doggie squealed as Lucci took his little paw.

"Come on Doggie, we need to go before-Ahhhhhh!" What looked like one of the moon men, but bigger and more undead-like, crawled in front of them and unfurled big and stoney looking claws.

"Stay away!" Lucci raised his hands, the claw coming down as it hit-oh hey. "I did it, I made my shield!" He got a pet AND made his shield. The moon man looked at him, it's arm shifting and changing into a drill as it hit the shield, causing it to crack.

"And THAT is our cue!" Mama grabbed him, shoving him into her hair as she began flying to the entrance, grabbing onto the skull doggie and carrying him into his arms. "Point for the future, never cheer until you're sure the enemy is dead."

"Yes Mama." Lucci responded, looking as the moon man began chasing them, trying to extend it's arms after them, one of it's limbs becoming a bow and arrow that shot at them. "Attack!" He tried to move her, as they spun in their air.

"NE!" The dog creature's skull got hit, one of the horns popping off.

"Doggie!" Lucci called out. "Mama..!"

"I'll go back for the horn later, right now let's get the little guy home and focus on not dying!" Mama shouted as they got further and further away. Light bits of hot rain got on him, but Lucci couldn't have been bothered to care right now.

He turned to the doggie, gently rubbing the skull. "It's all right, Lucci's gonna take care of you."

The doggie stared at him. "Lucci."

There was a bit of silence. "Did that little guy just talk?" Mama asked, just as confused as he was.

"I think he did." Lucci smiled just a little.

Mama groaned. "I think you just got a sibling, Lucci."

"Yeah!" He smiled. "I got a King as a sibling!"

"King." The little guy responded. "King! King!

Mama snorted. "Yeah, king of your own castle, with plenty of feasts and subjects."

"Bow before me!" Now Lucci had someone other than Mama to listen to Hooty and his's show tunes.

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Luz laughed as she played on the merry go round, spinning at speeds so few could dare to dream of. "I'm gonna be faster than a car!" She shouted, constantly kicking the ground.

"Careful you don't go too fast." Dad laughed. "I don't know how long I'll be able to keep up at the rate you're moving."

"But you're so big and strong dad! Nothing can stop you from doing whatever you want!" The three year old exclaimed what should've been obvious. Adults could be so silly sometimes. "And that's exactly how I'm going to be when I'm big like you!"

"Sounds like a plan, but try to save as much of that young energy while you can. Adulthood can zap it away if you're not careful." Dad spoke in that wise parent voice he often tried to use .

"Alright, I'll be a teenager forever!" She shouted. "I can drive and play games without a care in the world!" The brilliant middle ground, straight from the mind of Luz Noceda.

"Now I know you're trying to give your mom a heart attack. That's my job, kiddo." Dad chuckled. "Speaking of, I'm gonna go find her. She's been in the bathroom for a while. Can you be brave and wait here until I get back?"

Oh, a quest! "You can count on me. I will protect this spot with my life!" Nobody would intrude.

"You promise not to get into the snake nest this time?" Her dad asked.

"I promise to not get bit by a snake this time." She nodded.

"That's not what I said and you know it."

"But snakes are so cool." The girl pouted. "They can accomplish so much without any hands! Or feet!"

"Just please, stay away from anything scary today. Your mama's been pretty busy at the hospital, and I don't want to make her go on an emergency run to the ER today."

She pouted. "Fine, I promise, no snakes." She said as her dad made his leave. Mom's really seemed to make life less fun. "….But he didn't say anything about spiders."

Luz immediately ran to the nearest bush, having explored the park enough times to know where all the creepy crawlies hid. Some say it was gross and unnatural for a girl to be into that, but she'd hit them on the head and scream she was more than unnatural…Luz was supernatural….maybe…hopefully.

She looked through the trees. "Here crawly crawly …" The girl pulled out a plastic bag. "I got some delicious chips for you to eat … generic brand, but still yummy …" Luz called out.

She didn't have much time, mom liked to make things boring and didn't like pets, so times like this were her only moments where she could make animal companions. A talent to which she was awesome at.

Sure the last snake hunt ended up with five different holes in her arms, but those were just little venom filled kisses of love. The squirrels were super nice too, even if they got weird and started spitting whipped cream from their mouth.

Not to mention the legends of a purple big foot around town. That alone was a reason to search the forest. Now she just needed to find something in the … quiet … "It's quiet … too quiet." She always wanted to say that!

But seriously, nothing in the forest should ever be quiet. There should alway be a cricket chirping, a bird singing, or a dog barking. The only logical explanation was that she was being stalked by one of those bloody mask guys with sharp weapons from the movies mom didn't want her watching.

"… It's a good thing I carry a taser, otherwise being alone in a forest might be scary." She lied in the hopes that the guy would back off.

Hrssss

Oh, there was an animal. "Hey there … little …" She looked up at the green mane. "Big … guy." That was a really big bug. A centipede that was the size of a car, smaller centipedes running around inside of its mane. "Big green…hopefully friendly and non deadly looking guy that's just misunderstood and seeks friendship?"

"Hsssss" It responded in a low tone as its giant pointy mouth opened, green globs of spit pouring out as it sizzled on the ground.

"Acid spit…so cool.." Luz ooed at the sight. "Also not good for me." She held up her bag of chips in self defense. "Stay back, I have a bag and I'm not afraid to … hit you with it." If only her parents didn't catch her trying to carry the steak knife around.

"Crrrr." It leaned down, leering at the bag with an eye in its mouth….gross and cool… looking almost confused.

"What, you want the chips?" Luz asked, latching onto the first sign she had that she wouldn't be melted into a gooey puddle tonight.

"Wwrrr." It followed the bag.

"Alright …. Let's try it simple." She gently took out a chip, and tossed one right into its mouth. "Here's a chip boy.,.girl..,whatever giant centipedes like yourself identify as."

It chomped on it, letting out a hum as the creature rolled over like a dog. "Oh, if only mom would let me take animals home." She cooed at the adorable creature.

"Hssss."

"Technically I could just let you follow me, but mom had a nose for sniffing out shenanigans, so that's a no go in the long run." Luz continued to pet the big thing's mane. "Your like a giant pillow, just a big ole softie on the inside and out, with just a little spike in the mix.

Hsssrr

"Oh right." She fed the creature another chip. "Who's a good child? Yes you are, yes you are." She rubbed their fluffy mane.

Krkrkrkr

It putted as it leaned its poofy head into its chest. "Awww, that's a good centipede, that's a good Centi."

"Luz! Where are you!?"

"Oh snap, totoally forgot about mom and dad. Gotta go!" She ran, but not before remembering something important. "I'll bring party sized Chaaps next time!" She tossed her bag right at the creature.

"Hsss." Such an adorable fluff ball.

========================================================================

King waddled around as he tried to copy the movement of these strange people. Two legs instead of four, imagine the height he could gain from such an action! "Ne! Nya! Fear me! Fear me!" He commanded his subordinates.

"Oh no, the almighty King shows off his might, whatever shall we do?" Muhahaha, yes, even the round boy Lucci feared him! Truly, King was mighty.

"Alright, power has definitely gone to his head. I totally should have named him Satan." The tall woman was more difficult to control, but she gave him cookies and belly rubs, so she was a semi-decent maid to have around. "Two little devils under my house…mom would defientely get a kick out of this."

"I know I do, hoot hoot." Spoke the … King wasn't quite sure what the thing in the door was, and frankly preferred to stay away from it instead of rule it. "Now three people live inside me. Life is awesome!"

"Wait, if we live in Hooty, then are we food?" His loyal subject Lucci raised a very important point.

"Nah, his stomach is in the basement." The maid replied. "On a side note, never walk downstairs, ever, alright?"

"Yes Mama." The boy Lucci nodded before looking up, pulling on his ears. "Why do my ears look so weird? They're not pointy at all."

"That's because … they got chipped when you were a baby." She responded after some strange hesitation. "A stray knife was thrown while we were looking for a hiding spot."

"Sounds painful." Lucci shuddered, still pulling on his own ears. "Stupid knife. Why did you have to make me look so different?"

"Ah don't worry about it kiddo, everyone's weird." She rubbed his head. "I have grey hair despite being foxy and young, and my body parts detach all the time." She pulled off a hand to demonstrate.

"Nya!" King squealed out his disgust and all. 

"Even King's one of a kind. I've never seen a demon like him around." The old witch replied. "As for Hooty…" She pointed to the door demon, who had began gurgling mud in his mouth. "Let's just say you're on the lower side of weird in this house."

"The lowest of the low! Someone give me an award!" The house shouted.

"… The point is, you don't need to feel weird kiddo. Everyone's special and different in their own fun way. And anyone that says anything else is full of it."

"Guess that makes sense." Lucci sighed, giving his ears one more pull. "Just that..you have pointy ears and you're the best mom I have."

"…I'm the only mom you have." The woman shifted weirdly.

"That's what makes you the best one." Lucci responded as something shiney began glowing from his belly, still pulling on his ears. "I just want to be more like you."

As he said it, he once more pulled on his ears … and didn't stop, even when they went above his head. "Aaahhh!" King shouted. "Nya!" Freaky ear magic!

"Wah…aahhhhhh!" Lucci screamed too as the ears suddenly snapped back like a rubber band, sending the boy to fall on his face. "I broke my ears! I can't hear music anymore!"

"Don't freak out Lucci, I'm fifty percent sure you're going to be fine. Just let me see the damage." The woman kneeled down and picked the boy up. "Now what…happened…" The old lady raised a finger and ran them against Lucci's ears…his pointy…not round ears…huh?

"Is it bad?" The boy asked with panic. "Can you fix them?"

"Fix them…?" The woman looked like she was confused by the question, before shaking her head. "No need. I think you fixed the problem yourself." She pulled up a tiny mirror and held it up for Lucci to see his reflection.

"I … have pointy ears." He realized, touching them with sparkly eyed wonder. "How did I …" Lucci gasped. "King, are you a genie!?"

"Nyaaaaa!" King was many things. He granted fortune to all those that properly respected him. "Lucci! King! Rule forever!"

"Quick, let's cash in on this." He smiled. "I wish Boolus had a heart attack." Wishing death on his enemies. Lucci would make a great second in command…right after Franswa of course.