Summary: Some family fun times!
Hooty had a lot of fun in his home. Centi always gave him kisses, King gave him the glorious army role of 'janitor of doom', Eda always had fun and highly experimental things for him to test, and Lucci was his best buddy! He was still working on the human, but he was getting there! Like right now, as he was keeping Luz spectacularly company as she looked at her magic rectangle with worry and stress.
"Someone's getting a frowny face! Lets flip upside down and inside out!" Hooty rubbed his head against her face. "What'cha looking at? A love letter?! Dark inner secrets that expose the very essence of one's soul?! The foundation for all life within the universe?! TELL MEEEEEEE!"
"Krkrkrkrkr!" Centi did their usual playful growl whenever Hooty spoke with his curious volume.
"No Hooty, it's … my mom." The girl sighed. "She wants me to call instead of just sending texts every now and then." They fell into the seat. "Lying over a few texts is one thing, but this … this is just something else."
"Ahh, lying to your loved ones, I've seen that a million times before." Hooty nodded. He saw it everyday with Eda lying to Lucci for the last ten years. In fact, he was a part of that lie. "The guilt slowly eats you apart from the inside piece by piece until you're filled with cute but tiny holes that'll slowly crumble you into tiny tiny Luz bits."
"Jeeze, thanks for amplifying that feeling that ruins my life deep down, you're really helping." Luz thanked him as she rolled her eyes.
"I'M HELPING!" Hooty shouted as Centi launched some playful spit onto him.
"My ears are burning, did someone mention something about lying?" His best house buddy came walking down the stairs. "Because if so, I think I can be of service."
"Lucci, you can't lie about my entire last month." Luz said with exhaustion.
"Challenge accepted." He grinned, coughing into his fist. "Test fest powers are a go." He stopped, coughing a bit. "Test fest powers are a go." He tried again, sounding lighter. "Test fest powers are a go." Oh, when did Luz learn ventriloquism?
"Whoa, how did you do that?" Luz looked freaked out.
"You know how I stretch my body a little?" Lucci asked back, pointing to his neck.. "I've been thinking about exactly how much of my body can stretch when I got molded into a baby, so I had a thought to stretch out my vocal chords." They coughed again. "Now I can sound like anyone I want." King's voice called out.
"Who dares steal the King of Demon's voice?!" The little guy came running in from the kitchen with a piece of bread in his mouth. "Because that's copyrighted!"
"New power." Lucci grinned. "Now call your mom, I'm gonna have a five person conversation with a single woman."
"You sure you wanna strain yourself like that?" Hooty asked. "You got super tired when you were a kid after stretching yourself too far."
"I'm the son of the Owl Lady, half of everything I do is a risk." Lucci snickered. "So are we doing this or what?"
"The guilty part of my brain says no, but the need to not worry my mother says I'm dialing now." Luz pressed on her little rectangle as it glowed a little. "Oh please let this work, please let this work." She silently whispered as the ringing stopped. "Hey Mom, I'm finally calling just like you wanted." There was a moment of silence. "Camp is fine …" Lucci gestured for her to hand over the phone. "Oh, hold on a um … ' the camp counselor wants to talk with you'." She moved it to Lucci.
"Hello, Ms Noceda?" He asked, sounding kinda like one of Eda's ex boyfriends. "This is Charles, I just want to say your daughter is an excellent camper, she's made tremendous progress over the course of the last few days alone." There was some silence. "Yes, although we did have a bit of a problem with her phone. When you can hook up to the delusional reality of the internet combined with the need for parental contact, it becomes a line of 'should we take it' or 'should we not'."
"Wow, he's covering his bases pretty well." Luz noted with a small impressive nod. "I just thought everyone else was just really gullible, his lying did not sound this good the last few times."
"It depends on the situation." King answered. "When it comes to someone like Lillith, he only puts in about half the effort because she already knows what to expect."
"Oh, we are doing a bit of a tech free week next sunday, so you may not be able to get in touch with your daughter then. It's to let the natural world overwhelm the unnatural one, for a better grasp on needs vs wants." They responded. "Thank you, it was a pleasure talking to you as well, I'll let you speak with your daughter again. Toodles."
Luz whispered 'thank you' before picking up the phone. "Yeah, they're really nice here. Yes, I've made a friend or two here. No, they're not snakes this time, I've stayed away from dangerous animals."
" Krkrrkrkr ." Centi pured as she melted a little bit of the ground before going to sleep.
"That's the …" Lucci messed with a blackboard sign, writing 'ocultmentary'. "Documentary they're playing us on what to do in case of a bear sighting. I promise I wont feed one, I know better now. Sorry, gotta go right now, talk to you later. Bye." Luz pressed the rectangle again, slumping in her chair. "That was….mentally excruciating, but we did it."
"And no consequences whatsoever." Lucci spoke with a voice that sounded like he did before puberty kicked in. "Well Luz, how do you feel now?"
"Relieved that I haven't worried her too much yet…but still guilty." Luz answered, planting her hands in her face. "What am I going to do when she finds out? Summer's going to end in the human realm eventually, and I'll have to go back and explain myself."
"I don't see why." Lucci shrugged. "Just act a little more 'in the box' when she expects it, and you never have to explain you actually didn't go."
"But I don't want to have to hide something this big about my life from her." Luz groaned. "I have enough trouble keeping the fact I'm Bi away from her."
"Bi? Bi what?" Lucci asked. "Bi-linguel?"
"Bisexual." Luz explained.
"Bisexawhat?" King questioned.
"Is that a human phrase or something?" Hooty questioned.
The girl looked confused as Eda came through the door, closing it behind her. "Ah, human junk day." The woman smiled, tossing a pile to the floor.
"Eda?" The human questioned. "Does the Boiling Isles not have bisexuals or something?" She questioned.
"Hmm?" The Owl Lady looked confused, before gaining a look of understanding. "Ah, not quite. We never dealt with bigotry like that before, so we never developed specific terms for gender and sexuality. If you like something, or feel like something, you just are. No flags or anything required."
"Is bigotry some sort of continent?" Hooty questioned.
"Wow…I…don't know how to answer that without scarring someone for life with a history lecture." Luz looked wide eyed, shaking her head. "Bi just means I like boys and girls."
"Why would you need to hide that from your mom?" Lucci asked. "Doesn't everybody like boys and girls?"
"I have a preference for personality traits over their bodies." Eda shrugged.
"I think romance should be dead with violent rage." King grumbled.
"I'm trying to figure out how to date a tree." Consent was such bullshit sometimes for Hooty.
"Hoot." Owlbert put in their two cents.
"Owlbert, you naughty dog, don't say that stuff out loud." Lucci blushed.
"Also, Lilith is 'Asexual'." Eda air quoted. "As in she doesn't find people attractive … she was the only one immune during the locker incident."
"Huh…despite this being horribly terrifying, it's also weirdly accepting." Luz gave a small smile. "Anyways, I guess I'll just continue to lie to my mom and never tell her about this place, no matter how much it sends a thorn into my stomach."
Lucci looked over the girl for a brief second, before snapping his fingers. "Hey Luz, how'd you like to meet Grandpa today?"
The girl gave a wide gasp. "I'm gonna go pack my bags!" She shouted, running upstairs.
"You know she's never going to shut up about learning backstory today after this, right?" The boy's mom narrowed her eyes.
"Eh, she saved my brain from becoming a permanent pile of ashes, it's the least I can do for her." Lucci shrugged. "You could stand to visit Grandpa too, you know."
Eda tensed up for a moment. "Nah, it's human junk day. Gotta see what I can salvage." They waved off quickly. "Like … this." She held up some strange metal cylinder. "This has gotta be worth a fortune."
Luz ran back down. "I got food, the sword, and …" She stopped. "Why are you holding an empty soda can?"
"It's what's going to feed this family for the entire week once I sell it." The Owl Lady grinned confidently.
"I genuinely don't know how we haven't starved to death in the last ten years." King muttered.
"I thought most of our income was stolen." Lucci bluntly admitted. "Alright Luz, leave the Chaaps, Centi can't come along."
"Aww, but we never take her out of the house." The girl said disappointedly.
"No can do, Luz. Pops is….used to be…" Eda struggled with her words. "..a Palisman carver. His house is filled with Palistrom wood, and no Crystal Devil would be able to resist devouring it, junk food or not."
Luz gasped. "Does this mean we get our witch staff!?"
"I've been asking that for years, and sadly, no." Lucci placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "If you're lucky, an old Palisman will choose you, but until then, we're staffless." He began moving out the door. "Now come on, Grandpa's an early riser and he gets tired easily."
"On it Lucci! To your Grandpa!" The two marked out the door as Hooty closed himself again.
"So … you got any earth bugs in that pile?" Hooty asked, diving his head into the pile of garbage. Anything they didn't sell he was allowed to eat!
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Dell drank a small bit of water, giving a sigh in relief. "Two trees down …" He glanced over at the rest. "Eight to go …" The man was slipping in these later years. Palistrom trees had to be harvested in a specific way, otherwise you'd carve right through the seeds and lose the ability to produce more. Incompetent harvesting was a major reason why Palismins were so rare these days.
He grabbed onto the pile of wood, putting it onto the sled and securing it tightly, ignoring the intense pain within his right arm. Age had done its toll, and while healing magic had allowed him to use it functionally again, it was still a struggle to grip anything or do something more detailed. Dell was blessed to have Gwendolyn around to pick up where he couldn't, but some days, like today, he just had to do the job himself.
As he dragged the sled to the house, he came upon a familiar face walking along the path. "Lucci?" He asked curiously. He didn't remember inviting the boy for a stroll today.
"Hey Grandpa." The child smiled. "I brought along a roommate slash friend." It's been so long since he heard the word friend used by them in such a positive manner. It brought a smile to the man's heart.
"Finally extending that olive branch? I thought I'd never see the day." He snickered lightheartedly as he turned to the new face. "I see that you're a nice young.." He noticed the ears, round instead of pointy. "..Did Edalyn leave the portal door open again?"
"She did, but staying here was completely my choice, no kidnapping involved whatsoever." The human girl smiled as she bowed. "Luz Noceda, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Clawthorne." The girl squeed. "Ahhh, Eda's dad, I can't believe this day actually came!"
Dell chuckled. "A fan of my daughter?"
"She wants to be a witch herself." Lucci explained. "Mom took her in as long as she helps out every once in a while."
"And now I've got myself genuine magic. Behold!" The girl pulled out some strange symbols and tapped them creating a ball of light and an ice cube attached by a vine. "I've got magic!"
Dell looked on, impressed. "I see. Nice to know my Witchlet has another hatching in the nest." He gently patted the girl's head. "Please, no need to be formal. Call me Dell."
"Yes sir, Mr Dell sir." She answered with sparkly eyes. "Today is already awesome!"
"Do you need a hand grandpa?" Lucci asked, noticing his luggage of Palistrom wood.
"I'm not that old yet, little Owlet. My bones are as strong and firm as ever." He laughed as he almost fell back from the weight on his shoulders. "Though if you insist on helping me, I won't stop you."
"Oh of course Grandpa, I know you're the toughest guy I know." Lucci laughed, grabbing the sled and pulling it easily with one hand. "Grandma Gwen's not around to help you today?"
"No, she's off on another expedition I'm afraid. Exploring the world and its wonders." And looking for a cure for their daughter's curse. "I'm sorry if I disappointed you, Luz."
"Are you kidding!? One half of a legend is still a legend! I have so many questions about Eda." He couldn't tell if the girl was just naturally curious or if Eda's been exaggerating her tales a little too much. "Like, was she just as sassy and cool when she was my age!? How did she get her hair so big and storage-like?! Did they always sleep in a nest!? When did she get her staff!? How did she know she was ready for one!?"
"Slow down, little one, I can only answer so much at once." He calmly quieted down the little girl. Edalyn certainly picked a lively pupil to take on. "She was almost as excitable as you were. Always curious about magic and testing it in ways that were unstructured. Mixing them as she saw fit to follow whatever desire she wished."
"So she was always this awesome." The girl muttered with starry eyes.
"I would certainly say so, but I know one or two who may describe it differently." Mainly the school board who'd constantly complain to him. His main desire was to see his family happy above all else, so he didn't mind the trouble making too much. "We Clawthorne's all have a particular affinity for birds in general, Owl's were just the one that spoke to Edalyn the most." He showed off his own yellow cardinal.
"Wow …" Luz stared in awe at the creature. "I guess birds rule for this family …" She looked downtrodden suddenly. "Although it's kinda funny Eda chose Owls … considering the …." Oh.
"I take it you've learned of the curse?"
"Wait, you knew the curse too?" Lucci asked.
"Eda asked to keep it a secret … it brings her a great deal of shame." He gently showed his arm, causing the eyes of the children to widen. "I don't blame her … she wasn't in control of her actions … the only one who hasn't forgiven her is herself."
"So the curse attacked you too.." The boy rubbed his arms with a twitch for a second. "Grandpa, I just found out a while okay that my spit has healing magic in it. It can't cure mom's curse, but it can heal injuries." He asked. "I can fix your arm and eye if you want.."
"No." Dull put his hand in the air. "The past is the past, little Owlett. My Palisman carving days are behind me. Now my main focus is planting as many Palistrom trees as I can for the future, for someone else in the future to pick up the trade."
The boy was silent for a moment, simply walking along and in thought. "Maybe Luz could do it." Lucci suggested after the moment passed. "She does have good art skills."
"Wait, really?" The girl turned to the boy.
"Yeah, you got a knack for creating stuff, and you want your own Palisman one of these days, right? Learning how to make them would both teach you to respect them and get your own in one fell swoop."
"If you really want to learn, I'm certain Edalyn could show you how." Dell offered. "We carved Owlbert together, and it was one of the happiest moments in my life."
"Wow, Palismin carving … that sounds awesome." Luz spoke with wonder as she looked down at her own hands. "Today just gets better and better!" Definitely an active light in the world. "Oh, is that your house?" She pointed to his shack.
"Yes …" He noticed a light on. "And it seems she's come as well."
"Who?" Lucci asked.
"Your aunt Lilith of course." It was even rarer for Dell to see his oldest daughter around the house. Today was a day full of pleasant surprises.
"Aunt Lily's…here?" Lucci groaned. "This can't end well."
"Come on Lucci. Maybe she's just here as family instead of a Coven Head." Luz optimistically hoped.
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"I'm sorry father, but this is more of a business matter than a family one." It killed Lilith on the inside to have to do this to her own father, especially after not seeing him for years at this point, but she had a job to complete.
"Called it." Lucifer, who she was surprised to see there at all, spoke up blankly. "Let me guess, you're gonna say he's not in a coven and arrest him just like you try with Mom?"
"Come on Lucci, let's not try to poke the hornet's nest too quickly here." Eda's human student Luz tried to pacify the boy. "We're all guests of Dell here, let's try and keep things relatively civil." It was nice to see the girl had some sense in that brain of hers. Clearly that didn't come from Edalyn.
The boy groaned. "Fine … so, Aunt Lily, what brings you to this … household?" They spoke with forced civility.
"While my father has not joined a coven, that is not the matter that brings me over today." Mainly out of concern. Sigils were painful to apply, and she didn't want her father to experience more pain with his injuries. "By decree from the Emperor himself, all Palistrom wood is to be collected for the Emperor's coven."
Her father stared at her silently, before giving a small huff. "Very well, I'll finish the harvest within three days. After that, you may help yourself." Thank titan he was cordial about it.
"You really do have no soul in that black void you call a heart, do you?" Lucifer growled.
"Lucci, I ask that you leave it be." Father responded as he poured some tea. "I have no need for the wood I do not carve, and as long as I don't let the untrained harvest it, I can grow new trees for the next bloom."
"Yeah, more wood that she's just going to keep taking and taking for who knows what." Lucifer responded. "You said it yourself that Palisman are rare these days, and people like her…" He pointed to Lilith. "-Are the reason why. What does Boolus even need with Palistrom wood if he hates wild magic? Probably break them down for toothpicks."
"I'll have you know the Emperor has a reason for collecting the Palisman. Very important reasons." She shivered upon recalling him consuming the essences of a dozen or so Palisman that were collected. Lilth counted herself lucky she was granted the honor of keeping her own as the head of the Emperor's coven.
"Oh right, because sucking up to him is always the way to go." Lucifer drones on sarcastically.
"I'm doing the best I can to calm him down, you know." She spoke seriously. "He's more and more aggressive with having Edalyn captured." There was talk on bringing in the other Coven Heads … or walking there himself.
"Oh, like he can do that. We already manage to avoid his 'top enforcer' every week. You don't have anything on us Lily."
"Hey Dell, why don't you try telling us embarrassing stories about Eda as a child, that ought to calm the mood-" the human tried to intervene.
"I'm not the bad guy you're trying to vilify me as Lucifer…" Lilith ignored the girl to get her point across.
"I'm not the bad guy you're trying to vilify me as Lucifer." The currently insufferable child mocked back at her, perfectly imitating her voice.
"Don't you dare make a mockery of me!" She shouted.
"Don't you dare make a mockery of me!" They called back. The boy may have been adopted, but he was clearly Edalyn's child with how easily he was able to get on her nerves.
"Tea anyone?" Father asked, but his voice was filled with acceptance that the situation was only going to escalate from here.
"Yes please, talking with that annoying voice is taxing on the throat." Lucifer accepted a cup as he threw in another jab.
"We can't keep this civil, can we?" She asked with a growl.
"No, because here is how it's going to go." Lucifer glared at her. "The Palistrum wood is going to stay here, and the emperor can find his kicks somewhere else. And if not, I will take on any scout stupid enough to walk by here and try."
"You know you don't make helping your mother out any easier for me by actions like an unruly brat." She snapped back.
"Oh, Because branding her and forcing her to do a job she'd clearly hate helps her so much."
Something deep inside of her snapped, causing the woman to slam her hands on the table as she glared at the boy. "WELL MAYBE THAT JOB IS THE ONLY WAY TO CURE HER!!" Lilith shouted out in rage.
The silence that followed was very welcomed but soon became awkward as the eyes were all gazing at her. "... Do you happen to have any sculptures around Mr Dell?" The human asked. "Say, far far away from this conversation?"
"Yes, I believe I do." Father picked himself up and led the girl into another room. "Let me show you some of my earlier Palisman designs." He looked back at both her and Lucifer, both of them having not moved from their spot, gazing at them with what Lilith hated the most in this world…disappointment. "When you both stop acting like children, you're more than free to join us."
They walked out, as the silence continued on for even longer it seemed. "... You knew?" Lucifer asked, after what felt like an hour passed.
"... Everyone in the family knows." She responded. "We were there when she … hurt father."
"So everyone but me." He rubbed his arm, as Lilith connected the dots.
"Did she hurt you?" The woman asked, instantly alert. "I can put you somewhere safe until-"
" No." The room shook a little as he responded, a flash of pinking shining from his skin as he did, making Lilith recall what the Rainbow Devil had told her. "..Sorry…I wasn't trying to.." He rubbed his eyes. "I..I don't want to leave Mom alone, not when she's like this. I have the power to help her..but she keeps..she keeps.."
"She keeps insisting she can handle it on her own?" Lilith finished for him. "She tells me the same thing …" The Coven Head sighed. "I looked all over the Boiling Isles for a cure … eventually I realized there is only one witch powerful enough to cure her."
"... The Emperor would never cure her." Lucifer stated blankly, looking down at the ground. "She's a wild witch."
"Not if I can convince her." Lilith continued. "Your mother is the most talented woman I know. The emperor would be ecstatic to have someone like her serving him."
"That's the thing, isn't it?" Lucifer sighed. "It'd be freedom in chains."
Lilith frowned. "Lucifer, both of the clocks are running out. Not only is the Emperor getting more angry with the lack of progress on her capture, but the curse is growing." She told him bluntly. "Edalyn once was unafraid for years on end to do anything, but every use of magic accelerates the progress on it."
"So she really will be just the beast one day.." Yes, yes! Finally, she was getting through to him! "Even if I agreed this was the only way, can you guarantee Belos would even heal her?" He looked at her dead in the eyes. "Could you say without a doubt that Mom would be cured if she joined a coven?"
Lilith wanted to say yes. She's spent years under the Emperor, she knows him … she knows … She felt some hesitation in the bottom of her heart. "There's no other choice …" He was stronger and wiser than anything she or Edalyn could cook up in decades. If he couldn't cure her … then nothing could. And she would be responsible for losing her sister forever.
Lucifer looked down again, his head twitching as she could practically see the inner workings of his brain going back and forth between trusting and distrusting her word. "I-"
Kackackkack
"-I hear something coming from outside." He walked up to a nearby window.
"I was supposed to be the only representative of the Emperor's Coven today." She noted, moving to follow. "This part of the forest is isolated for the most part. There's not many people that would just randomly show up around here."
Kakrkdkrk.
The boy froze up, looking like he stared into the eyes of the titan himself. "Not people…but what about creatures?"
"Creatures are a natural occurrence …" She said quietly, slowly reaching for Mike as they changed into staff form. "But none of them are that loud …"
"That's because we're not dealing with normal animals." Lucifer took out his shield. "We're dealing with-"
Crack
" Crkwksha!"
"CRYSTAL DEVILS!" As if she needed this today.
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Luz wished she could have stared at these awesome things forever. Palismins, magic carving knives, drawings for complex interlocking, it was so fascinating. "CRYSTAL DEVILS!" And a single shout ruined that.
She slowly turned to Mr Dell. "Would you happen to have any kick but weapons?" She asked. "I have a sword, but it's a little on the heavy side." Luz was getting better though, she only fell over half the time now.
"I'm afraid not. I'm more of a pacifist compared to the rest of my family." The old man responded as he shakily held his staff. "I haven't used Maple in a fight ever since the accident."
"Alright, glyphs and magic sword it is." She hefted the blade as she ran out the door, taking a look at the two Crystal Devils in question.
One of them looked like some sort of hedgehog, covering itself with multiple navy spikes that it launched out at enemies. Said enemies being Lucci and Lilith, who were dancing around the beast's attack. "We did not need this today!" The boy shouted, using his shield to try and ram it.
"Disgusting little parasites! You're a bane on all witches everywhere!" Lilith screamed as she whacked away the other one, this one looking almost fox-like, with three sharp knife looking tails at its end, whirling around like a helicopter blade and slicing through whatever was thrown at it.
"They're just wild animals, no need to get too harsh on them!" Luz called out, using a plant to try and tie up the fox one, only for it to shred it to mulch.
"They're psychopathic maniacs, they can't be tamed." Lilith called out as she sent forth some blades of ice at the fox. "They're here to feast on the Palistrum wood!"
"Grandpa!" Lucci shouted as he blocked more spikes. "How have you lived here for years but never had a problem with these guys!?"
"Your Grandmother is a very terrifying woman!" The man responded from the shed.
"I am loving this family more and more every minute." Luz just needed to meet one more member and her quest for backstory would be complete. "Don't worry guys, I have the perfect solution to all our problems!" She reached into her hoodie and pulled out her snack bag.
"Luz, just because junk food works on Centi doesn't mean it'll work on these guys!" Lucci shouted, getting pushed to the wall by more and more pins.
"Oh ye of little faith, no creature can resist the fattening temptation of chaaps!" She threw them out. "Feast my friends!"
The fox turned to her. "Yiikkk!" It shouted out, spinning itself into a ball of blades as it charged, the chips it ran over vanished before changing direction to hit her head on.
"Ah!" She really thought that was going to work. "Stay back!" She lifted up her sword over her head. "I don't want to have to use-Ahh!" She started to fall over forward.
The blade met head on … as the magic pink sword met the ball of death head on.
Shink
…and sliced the creature's tail off. "Sorry!" Hopefully some stitches could fix that right up.
"Y eeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiik!" It screamed in pain
Poooof
One puff of smoke later, and the little guy disappeared, a small thud being heard as a little jewel hit the ground. "Well, that's one down." Lilith muttered with a pant, turning to the hedgehog. "Another to go."
"Would you can it with the spikes!?" The boy shouted, charging forward ramming his shield right into the beast. "Every time you guys are around, barring Centi, something goes horribly wrong!" Lucci accused as he hit the beast over and over.
" Arrrrggffh !" It screeched, rolling up into a ball and spinning all over the room in an azure blaze, practically disappearing into the air as it left more and more of a damaging trail in its wake.
"Why does everything spin around here!?" Luz shouted out.
"Spinning makes things dangerous, so of course they'd choose it." Lucci deadpanned as he formed some razor disks.
"Careful where your aiming, Lucifer, this is Father's home and my childhood dwelling, I don't want to cause more damage than there already is." Lilith warned.
"Well I'd appreciate you trying to throw a spell at the quick bugger." The boy argued as he tried to keep focus on it.
"Don't worry guys, I know exactly how to give little speedy here the slip." She took out her glyphs and pulled out an ice one. "If I altered this one just right…I can do this!" She clasped her hands before planting her palms on the ground, making the ice spread and form all over the ground like an ice rink rather than making a pillar of ice. She watched as the creature could no longer keep steady, bouncing off of trees like a ping pong ball. "Success!"
"Impressive. Unorthodox, but impressive." Lilith complimented as she waved her staff, manipulating the ground and forming hands to restrain the creature as it landed. "Now Lucifer, strike it while it's incapacitated!"
"Already on it!" Lucci called out, forming his drill as he went in for the final strike. "Take that!"
"Krrrrrk-"
Poof
They watched as the rock fell to the ground. "Still find it crazy that these guys … can just come back from that." Lucci panted as he looked at the fallen creatures. "They make no sense whatsoever."
"Believe me, I've encountered these miserable creatures far too many times than I could ever care for, and I still don't understand them." Lilith sighed, picking up the crystal's that had fallen to the ground. "We need to find a better way to contain them or they'll just keep coming-"
Krkr
"Behind you!" Lucci shoved Lillith out of the way as a flash of red came into vision, slamming itself right into Lucci's back and sending him across the forest floor.
"Lucci/Lucifer!" Luz and Lilith called out at the same time as they got a good look at what just attacked them. It was another crystal devil, this one red and standing on its hind legs, very buff looking in the chest area as it had some very bulging and spiky looking fists. Alright, that was horribly concerning, and Lucci was down, so they needed to-
Slam
Before anyone could blink, the Crystal Devil's head fell to the ground, rolling onto the boot of an old looking lady with a sickly sweet smile. "Who gave you permission to harm my grandson, mr?"
"Mother!?" Lilith cried out.
"Mother!? That's your and Eda's mom?!" Luz was so conflicted on what to do. Either cower in fear of the woman that clearly could wipe them off the face of the earth with all but a glance, or revel in awe of the spectacular power that was right before them.
Poof
The woman walked up to the small crystal, handing it off to a bird-like creature. "Carry this over to a Coven Head deary, anyone will do." With a nod, it picked up the crystal and flew off, before she went over to Lucci. "Lucifer, are you alright?"
"Head's ringing, but I'm fine." The boy brushed off as he stood up. "Thanks for the save, Grandma."
"Anytime dear, that's what I'm here for." She ruffled his head and turned back to Lilith. "Ah, sweet flea. Nice of you to visit. I see you're still dying your hair."
"Yes, I am …" The woman nodded. "This is the first time I've seen you in years-"
"And who's the girl?" They noticed Luz, before gasping. "Did you get yourself a daughter? Hopefully adopted unlike Lucci."
"Right here!" The boy in question shouted.
"Oh no, I'm Luz, Eda's human apprentice." She answered with a giddy smile that could barely contain her happiness. "You have no idea how awesome it is to meet you. I can barely get Eda to tell me anything about her past."
"Oh, an apprentice," They nodded. "I could show you some baby pictures if you'd like."
"YEEES please!" This was the most awesome family ever.
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Lucci watched as Grandma walked inside the house with Luz, slowly turning to his aunt. Going by how much mom loved to talk about Eda, they were probably going to be occupied until midnight. "... So … first time in years?" He asked.
"Unfortunately yes…I know partially it's due to my dedication to the Emperor's coven, but she hasn't sent so much as a letter asking me how I am." Lilly grumbled with crossed arms. "I sent her an invite to my coven head ceremony, and she wasn't there."
The boy winced. He couldn't imagine if Mom just ignored him or King over the other. That would have been cruel. "Ironic. Mom seems to take every chance she can to ignore her mom every month."
"... She visits Edalyn regularly?" There was a twitch in the woman's eye. "Of course, of course, why not. Perfect sister with her flawless skills and talent, potential all around." They began to walk away. "I have to go pack the palistrum wood. I'll make sure to take the other Crystal Devils with me."
He would've normally tried to fight his aunt on this, using his bubbles to keep it out of her reach, maybe even teleport the stash to mom…but something told him that this was something his aunt needed to do, more for herself rather than Belos. "Yeah, you go ahead and do that." He sighed. "It was nice seeing you, Lilly."
The woman seemed to pause in surprise. "Lucifer…I…know the situation is difficult for all of us..so know I appreciated it when you protected me."
"I was more worried about your palisman than you…." He tried to wave off. "I know how important they are to people, even emperor goons like you don't deserve that."
"No one deserves it …" She grimanced. "I've had to do many regrettable things no one deserves."
"Then why do it?" Lucci asked.
"Because if I don't, someone worse will." Lily shuddered. "I have to keep going Lucifer, because if I don't, all the hardship, all the heartache, and all the sacrifice would've been for nothing."
"So, this entire time, you trying to arrest mom at every turn…it was just because you wanted to cure her?" Lucci looked up at the pale woman.
"That's all I've ever wanted for the past thirty years, young Lucifer." Aunt Lily nodded slowly. "To finally heal her curse, so we can be a family again."
Lucci looked into the woman's eyes. Sure enough, he didn't sense a liar within her. Just a determined, hard working, tired, and confused old woman. "..I don't agree with what you're doing…but I can thank you for caring enough to try."
Lilith was silent for a moment. "You may not thank me forever." The woman stated. "The Emperor's patience only runs for so long … if I can't bring Edalyn in, more drastic measures will be taken … with no way out for her."
"A no win situation.." Lucci mulled it over, and gave a small broken cackle. "We both know how bad mom is with gambles." He sighed. "I'm trying my best to heal her curse too. I can't just go along with what the emperor says…but I won't fight you anymore on it. If you capture mom, then we do it your way, coven and all."
She nodded. "Thank you …" He could see tears fall down from her hidden face. "Thank you …"
"That's just …" Lucci looked away himself, watching Luz smile from the window. "That's what family's for."