Summary:
Eda reconnects with an old acquaintance and gets a harsh reminder of her curse.
"Likewise, Mrs. Blight. Be seeing you soon."
Lilith ended the call and made her way up a spiral staircase towards the Emperor's room.
As Lilith gazed upon the door, blocked by two guards standing at either side of it, a nervous thought made itself present inside her head. It had been three days since the human appeared and the only information they had gathered were essentially table scraps. Surely the Emperor's patience must be wearing thin. While she did like to think of herself as relatively silver-tongued, she knew there was only so far the power of persuasion could get her. If only she had given the role to the Golden Guard earlier, she may have more to present. As it was though, she'd just have to pray to the Titan what little information she had would be enough.
"The Emperor will be seeing you now."
The guards stood aside from the door to let Lilith through. Whatever concerns she may have had, she refused to let them show on her face, walking into the throne room composed and self-assured. The Emperor stood facing away from Lilith; his tall stature and mask casting a fearsome shadow across the room. Lilith approached but kept a few feet of distance.
"A few days prior I assigned you to watch over the intruder and gather information from her. How has your progress been?"
"Menial, my liege. I have ascertained only a few things from that girl: she identifies by the name 'Anne Boonchuy' and claims to be from a settlement named 'Ellay.' Now, I am relatively well read on the geography of the Boiling Isles but I must admit, I have never heard of such a place. My intuition tells me this is a fabrication."
"My, my, that is menial. What a disappointment,"
Lilith hung on every word of Belos' brief response, feeling it pierce through her reserved exterior.
"But I am making progress… my-my liege. Everything I told you about, I discovered this morning. I have developed a new tactic.. And it seems to be working."
Belos stroked where his chin would be under the mask.
"I see. You may be capable of salvaging your mediocre performance just yet, Miss Clawthorne. But you will have to produce greater results. It's not everyday that a human materializes in my domain. She may claim ignorance but that is not a claim I, or you, can afford to entertain. You must discover her true motive, and quickly. Understood?"
"Understood, my liege."
"You may go."
—————————————————————-
"Aw sugarnuts!" Marcy exclaimed. "I totally forgot to check out a Boiling Isles encyclopedia when we were at the library! Eda, can you take us back pllleeeaasssseee :3"
"Sorry kiddo, I got stuff to do today. Why don't you look over those books we checked out last time?"
"Nah, already read 'em. Luz is going through them now."
Luz looked up from their breakfast, cheeks stuffed full of cheap human cereal Eda had found on her last run.
"Gwuh?"
Marcy waved politely and felt her heart rate increase by about 15 bpm. It was probably nothing, though.
"What's so important that you don't have time to take her to the library?" King asked.
"I'm going potion shopping today."
King shot her a perplexed look.
"And maaayybbee hit up the tavern."
"Ah. I see."
"I'll be back at three." Eda explained as she slung an empty sack over her shoulder. "Take care of yourself, kids."
And on that vague instruction, Eda left through the kitchen door.
—————————————————————-
"What a week, huh? What's a girl gotta do around here to get a pint of apple blood?"
Eda rested her elbows down on the counter and stared in the direction of the barkeep.
"For one, try paying your tab." The barkeep quipped back, not looking up from the glass he was cleaning.
"Aw come on! You know I'm good for it."
"That's what they all say…" The barkeep tutted and slid a pint along the counter to her. "You'll pay for it next time. And there better not be no phony notes from Lilith Clawthorne saying you drink for free."
"Well she is my-"
"Yes, your 'sister' we know. Only the 50th time you've brought it up." The Bartender rolled his numerous eyes.
"Hell, by now everyone this side of the boiling sea has gotta know. For a high bounty criminal, you really do a terrible job keepin' a low profile."
Keeping a few of their eyes trained on the glass, the barkeep used the remaining ones to stare Eda down.
"Oh, to think of all the unpaid for drinks that bounty could cover… Prob'ly a little extra left over as well. Maybe I'll renovate this place or go on vacation. What d'ya think about that?"
"Geez I get the idea, I promise i'll pay next time"
With a hpmhf, the barkeep turned his attention to a different customer and left Eda be. Eda, in turn, focused in on her drink, which would be empty a lot sooner than she anticipated. In light of her current intoxication, she turned to entertainment. A masked bard was playing a distant yet familiar song in the corner of the tavern. Their cloak and mask concealed near all identifiable details along with the poor lighting, but that voice told Eda enough. But it couldn't be, surely? The head of the bard coven at a dive bar like this? At this time of day, when they would surely have duties to attend to at the castle? Preposterous. But that voice was bringing back some rather potent memories for Eda. If they weren't who she thought they were, that'd be a remarkable coincidence.
"Thank you everyone! I appreciate the chance to come out and share my music with you! I- I hope you a- all enjoyed!"
The masked performer recalled their palisman and quickly made their way off stage. Eda watched them have a quick chat with who was likely the manager, a small sum of about 75 snails be paid, and the performer sneak out the back door. Seeing the opportunity in front of her, Eda wedged her foot in the door just before it shut, waiting a moment before following the bard outside.
"Hey bard. That song sounds real familiar, where would I have heard it before?"
"Well I do play here every Wednesday so…"
"First time I've seen you round here."
"I- I heard you talking to the bartender about your tab-."
"Oh quit acting coy, Raine. I know it's you."
—————————————————————-
Marcy strolled around the corridors of the Owl House, trying to find something new to occupy her time with. Passing Eda's room, she noticed the door was slightly ajar and got a wee bit curious.
"Just a look couldn't hurt…"
Marcy peered into the room, spotting King peacefully asleep on the bed. In the corner was a wardrobe with a broom standing next to it.
"Ooooo what if that's a magic broom, and there's a bunch of magic stuff in there? I should take a peek."
As Marcy opened the wardrobe door, a pile of clothes and human world paraphernalia fell out, squishing her beneath them. A strange, possibly alive flesh ball about the size of a basketball rolled over into a chest of drawers, knocking a series of potions resting on top of it onto the floor.
"WEH!?" King shouted as all the fur on his body stood up, jumping from the bed onto the floor.
"What was that??" He asked while trying to scratch his ear with his foot.
"Ahh I'm sorry I didn't know I didn't know!" Marcy pleaded, poking her out from the pile of clothes and junk she was still under.
King locked eyes with Marcy in an uncomfortable silence.
"Were those… important?"
"Probably."
"Do you even know what they do?"
"I know Eda needs them really bad."
"Marcy?"
King and Marcy turned to the still cracked open door to see Luz's face peeking into the room.
"What happ-"
"She did it." King interrupted, pointing a claw at Marcy.
"I- I didn't know!"
"Eh, should be fine. Eda's out buying more as we speak." King clarified.
—————————————————————-
"Keep your voice down. I can't be seen here."
"Yes, that would be quite inappropriate for a.." Eda cleared her throat for dramatic effect. "Coven head."
Raine, sensing the weight of the conversation, pulled Eda into the adjacent back-alley they were planning on leaving through for the sake of privacy.
"Alright, you got me. I never could pull the wool over your eyes." Raine conceded.
"So, how's the work keeping ya these days, eh Rainestorm?" Eda playfully elbowed them.
"Oh, you know… about the same as always."
"So whatcha doing here then? Looking for inspiration?"
"I don't know what to tell you, it's a taxing job." Raine shrugged, but not in a dismissive way. More so just out of a lack of anything more to say. "Even coven heads have to let off a little steam sometimes."
"You know, I was always under the impression you hated the spotlight. Wouldn't you be happier playing in a secluded spot out in the forest or something?"
"To be fair, there aren't tooo many more people in that tavern than there would be in a forest. Besides, the emperor's having me write this new symphony in his honor, to 'inspire the masses into obedience', I think were his words. He's all about that kind of thing. He told me to get out on the town and investigate the people to 'tap into their cultural weaknesses.'"
"So this is just killing two basilisks with one stone for you, huh? "
"Geez Eda, Am I not allowed to enjoy my job on occasion?"
"So you remember my name after all."
"Oh I could never forget it." Raine chuckled. "And truth be told, I'm glad I ran into you again."
"Oh? How come?"
"Well, if my tone towards our beloved emperor didn't clue you in, I'm not exactly the founding member of his fan club."
"Cheers to that. Why even work for that dirtbag if you hate him so much?"
"I'll be quitting soon.. And I'll be leaving him a little going-away present, you could say."
"Huh?"
"I have a plan. But I can't discuss it here. Too public."
"Well, my place is pretty secluded so you'll be safe there."
"Oh, that might work! Say, where are you staying these days, Eda?"
Eda leant in closer to whisper the answer into their ear.
"Well, I'll be over in the evening in a day or two if that's alright with you."
"Sure thing. It was nice catching up, Raine. Stay safe, okay?"
"I'll try my best."
Eda shot them a concerned look as she took her leave to walk back to the Owl House.
—————————————————————-
"Hey Eda! It's me, the favorite character Hooty! HOot! You know I looovvee you- Is that apple blood I smell? Eda, you slyyyyy doggggg. HOOT!"
Hooty winked in Eda's general direction.
"Hooty. Hooty. Not the time. I got a real bad headache so could you just be a little less 'Hooty' than usual? No offense. "
"Oh so that's how it's gonna be then, sister? Say no more."
Hooty coughed and then proceeded to talk in a freakishly low register, becoming almost unrecognizable.
"Please Enter."
He then hastily opened up his mouth to let Eda though. She meandered into the living room while resting her forehead on her palm. Luz was lying on the couch with King resting on their lap while they dropped snacks into their mouth. Marcy was sitting on the floor next to them, doing a sketch of King.
"Hey kids, I-I'm home." Eda sighed.
"Are you okay there, Eda?" Luz inquired.
"She's definitely been daydrinking." King whispered, loud enough for Eda to hear.
"Maybe a little. But also I'm goosing for a potion right about now. Wait a second.. I forgot to buy my potions! Crap!"
"Potions?" Luz's ears perked up.
"Yeah, I got this potion that I gotta take otherwise.. Well hopefully you'll never have to see. I think I have a few left in my wardrobe."
"Oh about that…" Marcy nervously laughed. "I don't know how to tell you this but…"
"You broke them, didn't you?"
"Yeahhhhh. But I swear, it was an accident. I didn't know.."
"It's okay, it's okayyy I just gotttaa… uhmmmm okay it's fine i know I have a backup around here somewh-"
Suddenly, Eda started convulsing and squirming. Her body started to morph and twist into a heavily feathered, sharp clawed, ginormous beast.
"Quick! hide in here!" King pointed to a small closet and the three frantically crammed into it, closing the door behind them with a panicked thud.
"What's happening, King? What's wrong with Eda?" Luz questioned.
"I don't know. I mean, I knew about Eda's medication but I didn't know this is why she takes it."
"Is there any more of it in the house anywhere?"
"Uhhh… there might be an emergency bottle under her pillow."
"Hey, let me go grab it! This was all my fault in the first place, it's the least I can do." Marcy interjected.
"But Marcy, it'll tear you into a thousand pieces!" Luz pleaded. "I get wanting to make things right and all, but if that thing sees you, you're toast!"
"Don't worry, I have a plan. I was reading up on owls in Eda's library and just like in the human world, they're extremely sensitive to light! If I just shine my phone flashlight in her eyes, I'll buy enough time to get her that potion! Speaking of, it's really low on charge. We gotta do something about that later. Anyway, just wait here. I got it all under control!"
Marcy gave a quick wave then flung the door open, closing it behind herself with equal enthusiasm. Luz heard the sound of footsteps getting gradually quieter followed around 10 seconds later by much louder footsteps.
"King, we have to do something. I can't just leave Marcy out there on her own!"
"But I thought you said we'd be toast?"
"Yeah well, we've got to do something or… woah!"
Luz tripped over an object obscured by the darkness of the closet. Holding it up to the light coming out of the keyhole, they realized they had seen it before.
"This is Marcy's Journal® ! Oh my God, she must've dropped it when she left… She made a bunch of notes about all the weird stuff around the house. There might be something in it that could help!"
"Seems unlikely."
"Well what other option do we have, King?" Luz flicked desperately through the pages of the journal, unsure of what they were looking for, but sure they hadn't found it yet.
"What is all this stuff? Like what's this weird circle thing?" Luz pointed to a diagram labeled 'light glyph' and tried turning the page, accidentally activating the glyph in the process. The page turned into a small ball of light which proceeded to hover in the air for a few seconds before imploding.
"What the heck was that? Did I just do magic?"
"I- I think so."
"Oh, oh wow I did magic. I did magic! King, this is so freaking cool!"
"Woa… I've seen that spell done before hundreds of times but never like that. How did you do that?"
"I don't really know I just kinda put my hand on this circle thingy, look there's another one right here wait a minute… there's a bunch of empty pages in the journal. If I draw a bunch of these and do that spell, I might be able to distract that creature from Marcy! She did say that thing might be sensitive to light so uhh worth a shot!"
"We're banking Marcy's safety on 'worth a shot'?"
"Well do you have a better plan?"
"I could assert my authority as king of demons but it didn't look like it could be reasoned with exactly…. I don't know, I'm just really worried about her."
"I am too." Luz concurred. "The longer we wait around, the more danger she's in. I'm opening the door in three… two… one… "
Luz and King sprung out of the closet, ready to face the Owl Beast. The two found themselves in the living room, torn up and deserted. As their eyes adjusted to the light, the two instinctually stood back-to-back so they couldn't be cornered.
"Where'd they go?"
"Probably upstairs I guess." Luz propositioned while sketching out copies of the light glyph symbol on every page of the journal. They led the charge out of the living room and up the stairs. With each footstep up the creaky wooden floors, Luz prayed that the Owl Beast wouldn't hear the commotion and come barrelling towards them. At the top of the staircase was a lengthy corridor with several rooms stemming off from it, the last one being Eda's room. From that distant room, a low inhuman grumbling emanated.
"I think it's in there." Luz inferred.
"Let's not go in that room then."
"But what if Marcy's in there with it?"
"She might not be?"
"C'mon, King! Let's face that thing!"
"If you say so- woah, wait -what are you doing?!"
Luz picked up King and placed him atop their shoulders, then began sprinting towards Eda's room, swinging the door open with bravado.
"Marcy! We're here to save you!"
"Never fear Maiden Marcy for I, King of demons shall slay…"
"Awww who's a good beastie?"
The hulking beast before Luz & King began purring as Marcy scratched behind its right ear.
"Oh hey guys! Whatcha up to?" Marcy's face lit up in an electric smile as she greeted the two.
"What are we- Marcy what happened?"
"We thought you got mauled or eaten or torn to a million little bits!"
"Oh- sorry to totally worry you. It was kinda scary at first but turns out all she needed was a little TLC and affection."
"Huuuuh." Luz responded.
King leaned down to Luz's ear to confide to them.
"Not gonna lie Luz, I got myself psyched up with that whole 'never fear' thing. I had this whole speech; I was looking forward to doing a little slaying."
"Oh don't worry King, You're slaying plenty as is." Luz winked.
"What?"
"Oh Marcy, check this out!"
Luz pulled out the journal and pressed their hand down on one of the pages with a light glyph, sending a little ball of light into the air in front of them.
"Holy guacamole, Luz! How'd you do that?"
"Well y'know it was nothing." Luz blushed. "You copied down this lil symbol into your book and I just kinda touched it."
"Oh, that? That's just somethin' I saw carved into a lantern and I doodled cuz I thought it looked cool."
King jumped off of Luz's shoulders and started scrambling around Eda's bed, looking for the spare potion, eventually finding it underneath the bed.
"Here, give this to her." King said, passing the potion to Marcy. "This'll calm her down. Probably."
Marcy gently poured the contents of the potion into the Owl Beast's mouth, then stood back as it once again violently convulsed. The creature shrunk in size and stature until Eda had returned to her normal form.
"Ughhh, what happened?"
"Eda!" Luz cried out.
"Eda, you're back!" Marcy proclaimed.
"Back? What.. did I? Oh no, I must've turned into the Owl Beast in front of y'all. Are you all okay?"
"We're okay, but what about you Eda? What just happened?" Luz asked, earnestly.
"What happened is I forgot to pick up more potions when I was out." Eda replied, spitting a feather out of her mouth. "I s'pose I might as well just explain things now you've seen me like… that. I have a curse that means if I don't take my potion when I'm supposed to, I sorta turn into that thing. I call it the Owl Beast. I've been managing it decently over the years but recently, it's been putting up more of a fight than usual. Nothing I can't handle but.. Yeah, it's a bit rough.."
"Eda, I gotta ask. I've lived with you for as long as I can remember. How come you never told me?" King probed.
"Well, y'know.. I figured you'd be kinda freaked out if you saw me like that. And to be honest, it's just a rough chat that I didn't wanna have. Sorry, King."
"Hmm, you're not wrong, it's just a lot, y'know. I'm the King of demons after all, and I had no idea there was another beast of such power living in my domain. That's kinda a big deal. I honestly wish you would've told me about it sooner."
"Yeah, okay that's fair." Eda conceded, brushing dust out of her hair. "Hey, how about I cook you your favorite dinner tonight? Would that make you feel a little better?"
"Maybe a little."
"What about you two? What're you two hankerin' for?"
"Uhhhhhh I could go for an omelet!" Luz requested.
"I got griffin eggs in the house. Hope that'll do."
"Yea, should do just fine! As long as they're not poisonous…"
"They shouldn't be. What about you then, Mars? What is your heart calling out for?"
"Oh um anything is fine"
"Nah nah come on I'm taking orders here. Seriously what do you want?"
Marcy held her head down in embarrassment.
"… Promise you won't be mad."
"Of course, kid."
"Can you make animal crackers pizza?"
Luz instantaneously swiveled their head to lock eyes with Marcy, eyes lighting up like bottle rockets.
"That."
"Sounds."
"Incredible."
"EDA!! We have to try that!!! Marcy, you're a genius."
"Animal.. Crackers? What is that, some kind of explosive?"
Luz fell to their knees with all the dramatism of a theater major, one hand held open towards the sky.
"Thou doth not hast animal crackers? I feel the might of a thousand daggers piercing through my woeful essence. O, I am not long for this cruel, cruel world." Luz closed their fist then pretended to faint. Marcy, King and Eda shot each other confused gazes.
"Guess not." Eda shrugged.
"So what do you want instead, Marcy?" King asked, cutting through the dead air.
"Can you just do some mac and cheese?"
"Yea, shouldn't be too hard at all. Luz, sound good to you too? It'd be a lot easier if I just cooked the same thing for both of you."
"As the winged lion doth crest gracefully through the pale blue sky, so do mine own spirits. Macaroni and cheese would be delightful, fine maiden."
"Did you get possessed or something?" King asked, perplexed.
"Alright… I'll go grab the minotaur cheese and get cookin! And Luz, wash your hands before dinner please, you've been on the floor."
"Yes, wash thy hands, you picaresque warrior." Marcy chimed in. "One cannot go into battle with hands that look acquainted with a…."
"Rump of a foul beast!"
"Rump of a foul beast!"
"That's a line from the fifth Azura book!"
"Yea after she trains with Geoffry the wise-"
"For her battle against Gralthanax!"
Luz and Marcy laughed it off, enjoying each other's encyclopedic knowledge of their favorite story. After the laughter died down, Marcy silently offered a hand to help Luz up off the ground, her usual quaint smile strewn across her face. Luz felt warm inside.
—————————————————————-
"Hey Kiinngg, I have a surprise for you."
"Weh?"
"IF you promise to go to bed on time tonight, no muss, no fuss."
"Is it a good surprise?"
"Would I trick you like that?"
"No….. Okay what is it?"
"Well after dinner I was going through some human junk, as I do, and I found something I think you might just like."
Eda brought her left hand out from behind her back, revealing a beige-coloured ragged bunny plush, with one eye replaced with a bubblegum blue button. She tossed the stuffed animal down to King.
"A new companion! I shall call you Francois and you shall be a guide through my journey of slumber!"
"See, I knew you'd like him, whattid I tell ya?"
King curled up in a ball on top of the couch, Francois in hand and Eda put a blanket on top of him.
"Oh and King?"
"Yeah?"
"About today, I'm sorry-"
"It's alright Eda. I know you care about me and you didn't mean anything by it. Just if you have any other cool demon forms you can turn into, be sure to let me know, alright?"
"Yeah alright King, I promise."
Eda tucked King in and gave him a little goodnight peck on the forehead. Then, she started to walk away and turned out the lights.
"Good night Eda."
"Night, King."
Eda waited by the doorway for a few seconds to watch King drift off into a peaceful slumber. After she was reassured he was fast asleep, she walked up the stairs and to the guest room, knocking a couple of times on the door.
"Hey, you two! Tomorrow's Thursday, which means chore day. Get some good rest tonight!"
"Okay, Miss Eda!"
"Will do!"
Luz switched off their lamp, and turned to face the wall.
"Good night Marcy."
"Good night Luz."
Marcy waited a few minutes to make sure Luz was asleep then got out of bed and opened her journal in the moonlight. Picking up a pencil left discarded on the floor, she turned to an empty page in her notebook and captioned it 'Newtsona for Luz' then began sketching.