"Ah, Grudgby season! Oh, how I used to love this time of year," Lilith said to her son as they descended down to just in front of Hexside.
"Didn't know you used to play," Nero said as he got off her staff.
"Played? No no, my son. I was our team's captain." Lilith smirked as she thought back to those days on the field. How she bypassed her opponents' every move, dodged every obstacle, and scored point after point. She still had a couple of her old trophies stored away, though they spent most of their time collecting dust in her closet since her work with the coven began. Even then, it wasn't like she had anywhere to openly put them these days, given their size.
"Sounds like you had a lot of fun. Kinda starting to wish I gave it a shot back in those tryouts."
"Probably for the best that you didn't. It can be quite dangerous, all things considered." Lilith was putting it mildly, given the threat of vivisection, impalement, and incineration among others that the sport entailed. "Besides, last time I played, Hexside had an all-girls team. I don't know if things have changed, but..."
"Point." Nero sighed and turned around to head inside.
"Oh! Wait!" Lilith stopped Nero and said, "After you finish your classes, you'll have to walk home. There's something I'll be busy with, so I won't be here at 3:00."
Though hopefully, if things go well, I'll be finished giving Edalyn an earful long before then, Lilith mentally added, having decided a few nights prior that she'd had enough of her sister's growing influence on her son. And no, it most certainly had nothing to do with how well aunt and nephew got along and how Lilith, even now, felt lost in her little sister's shadow. It most certainly, unequivocally, definitely wasn't in any way, shape, or form related with that. This was about protecting her son from the consequences of letting himself be led astray by a wild witch. If Emperor Belos made good on his threat and petrified her son then-
Lilith shook her head, looked to her son, and asked, "Do you understand?"
"Got it," Nero replied, albeit with a tone Lilith couldn't pin down. She then noted the sudden melancholy in her son's posture and wanted to say something, but before she could, he fully turned back. "Hey, mom," he said, his voice sounding uncertain, "Can I...I was wondering if..."
"What is it, my little raven?" Lilith asked, almost sensing the fear rolling off her son, reminding her so much of his reactions to Grom. Please Nero, she thought, Just tell me what's troubling you. Let me help. You can be open with me. Please.
Nero continued to stay silent, looking away as his face cycled through a mix of emotions; first fear, then sadness, and finally frustration. In the end, he grunted, "Just...never mind. I'll see you after class." He turned and swiftly walked down the pathway to Hexside, entering its halls and exiting Lilith's sight, almost as if trying to get away from her as fast possible.
"Dammit," Lilith cursed and looked down. Every day, it felt like her son was moving further away from her, and there was nothing she could do about it. Though if there is, she looked to the sky, I know where to start at least.
She looked back to Hexside one last time before she took off into the air on her staff. As she flew, she felt her pocket mirror ring, causing her to stop in mid-air and pull it out. Opening the mirror, she grimaced to see that Kikimora was calling her, voice as smug as ever.
"Hello, Lilith. I'm calling to inform you tha-"
"Not now Kiki," Lilith interrupted, "I'm in the middle of something important."
"Now listen here, Lilith," Kikimora's agitation bled through, "As the leader of the Emperor's Coven, you must also report to-"
Lilith closed the mirror and tossed it to the ground far below, an alley cat crying out in pain as the mirror hit its head, before flying off. She had spare mirrors back at home anyway and she had no time for interruptions right now. Stomaching whatever guilt was bubbling up in her throat, she prepared herself to reprimand her sister.
Kikimora felt her eye twitch, "That...that little..." she clenched her fist, "She bloody cut me off!"
A Coven Guard opened the door to her chambers, "Madame Kikimora, I heard-"
"AAAAAAARRRRRRRGGHHH!" Kikimora screamed, throwing the mirror at the idiot's face.
Lilith landed just outside the forests that typically hid her sister's "Owl House" as she so eloquently loved to call it. The last thing she wanted was to have to put up with that irritating pest Edalyn called a security system, so she had to sneak her way through. With staff held at the ready, she proceeded through at a slow pace, avoiding leaves, twigs, bushes, and anything that could draw attention to herself.
So far, so good, Lilith mused, grateful that luck was on her side for a change when it came to visiting her little sister's domain. Provided she did nothing to attract to draw Hooty's attention, everything would work out we-
Cristle
Shit! Lilith panicked, thinking the house demon had found her, and fired a blast of magic at the source. The resulting explosion destroyed a large tree and its surrounding bushes. When the smoke subsided, it revealed nothing but dirt and the remains of at least one family of birds, which Lilith felt at least a tiny bit guilty for. Still, seeing nothing of any consequence was there, she sighed in relief. But just as quickly, she felt the ground beneath her feet rumble as a realization hit her.
"Oh fuck me!" Lilith found herself knocked into the air before landing on her butt. Shaking off the disorientation, she looked up to see the second greatest annoyance of her existence (just behind Kikimora) staring down at her with that ever-present, idiotic grin.
"Hiya Lilith!" Hooty chirped with that tone that made Lilith feel like someone was flossing her brain with a razor wire.
"Hooty," Lilith stood up and spoke with a dangerous edge to her tone, "I'm here for my sister. Stand aside or suffer the consequences."
"See, I would, but I don't have legs. Hoot!"
"You know damn well that's not what I meant!" Lilith shouted as she charged up her staff, ready to burn the bird worm to ashes. But before she could fire the blast, he burrowed into the ground. Lilith cursed and looked left and right, not knowing where Hooty would pop up from. One would think she'd have an idea how to fight this thing, having done so before, but if she could credit Edalyn's house demon as anything aside from annoying, unpredictable would be an apt word to use.
"Come out come out where ever you are," she whispered and waited for the bird worm to make his move, keeping her focus on the ground. While she expected him to burst from the ground, those expectations were shattered as she was suddenly knocked forward. Lilith rubbed the back of her head in pain as she picked herself up, only to be slammed by something in the chin and sent flying into the air. She pushed the pain aside to crack an eye open, seeing that she was now just above the trees. But more importantly, she saw the roof of her sister's house just past them.
"Doody do do doooo!" Hooty started chattering, taking advantage of her distraction to wrap her up in his tube-like body. She couldn't see, she couldn't speak, and she was just barely able to breathe. "Hey Lilith! Want to play a game?" But unfortunately she could still hear the house demon speak, even as she was slammed into the ground, her entire body wracked with pain, "OH! A bug!"
Yet the pain is somehow more bearable than hearing him talk, Lilith groaned from within her fuzzy prison as she heard Hooty chew and swallow on something.
"Hmm, what was I doing again?" Hooty asked, somehow, in his endless stupidity, forgetting that he had her wrapped up. Fortunately, or unfortunately in Lilith's case, he noticed her and said, "Oh boy! A new friend! I gotta show Eda! Hoot!"
I don't know whether to be angry or grateful, Lilith felt the wind in her hair as the house demon rushed back to Edalyn's home. She heard the door open, but wasn't moved an inch.
"Hoot hoot! Eda! Guess who found a special friend in the forest!" Lilith felt herself be pulled inside the house, Hooty shouting, "It was me! Hoot!" as he released her to the floor. She raised her head, panting to let regain her breath, and glared at her sister, who was sitting on her couch and in her old Grudgby uniform for some reason.
"Lilith," Edalyn glared back, putting a lunchbox into her mess of a hairdo.
"Edalyn," Lilith stood up and was about to continue, but the bird worm beat her to the punch.
"HOOTY!"
"Beat it, Hooty," Edalyn walked up, gesturing for the house demon to leave. Thankfully, he obliged and retreated back into his door, leaving Lilith alone with her sister and hoping she didn't have to put up with Hooty for the rest of the visit.
"What's with your old uniform?" Lilith asked, still wondering on that.
"Laundry day," Edalyn said. "What are you doing here?" Lilith opened her mouth to answer, but her sister cut her off with, "Wait! Don't tell me." She cleared her throat and said, "'Edalyn Clawthorne. I, Perfect Prissy Lily, hereby arrest you under the orders of his royal high-ass.' Am I close?"
Lilith pinched the bridge of her nose and said, "Okay, first of all, I sound nothing like that!"
"You sound exactly like that."
"Shut up! Secondly, I'm not here on Coven business." Edalyn stopped laughing.
"Okay then, Lily, so what's with the visit? 'Cause I'm just gonna go out on a limb and guess this isn't to catch up."
"It's simple," Lilith moved just in front of Edalyn, glared at her, and poked her chest. "Stay away from my son. The last thing he needs is you twisting him into a wild witch."
Edalyn raised an eyebrow, "Seriously? That's why you're here? Think you're being a bit paranoid, sis," she shrugged and moved to sit back down, "Besides, not like I run into your kid enough to actually be that big an influence on him."
"Don't lie to me!" Lilith shouted, "If that wasn't the case, he wouldn't be visiting this place and accepting dangerous gifts like a Titan damned fire sword!"
"Oh please that-" Eda stood ramrod straight and swerved, looking at Lilith with wide eyes, "Wait how did you know that?" Now Lilith's eyes widened as she clamped her mouth shut, realizing she'd said too much. She heard her sister mutter something about a "white bird" before glaring, "You sent Coronis to spy on your own kid, didn't you!?"
"Shit!" Lilith muttered as Edalyn rubbed her temples.
"Really sis? I mean, even Mom never went that far!"
Lilith briefly froze at the reminder of their mother before. However, she shook her head and pushed that giant lump of bitterness aside for now before continuing, "Look, my point is that he's sneaking out here and taking after you. If this continues, he'll wind up just like you!"
"An awesome, kickass witch who spits in the face of danger and gets to do whatever, whenever?" Edalyn smirked, twisting her body and flipping her hair.
In response, Lilith sneered, "A wild witch who's one step away from being arrested and possibly even petrified."
Eda frowned and fully turned to her, "Well gee, maybe if you didn't make your own kid feel so suffocated, he wouldn't be coming here to get some space!"
Lilith froze as she tried to process what she'd just heard, "What?"
"Didn't it ever once occur to you that you're being just a bit too smothering towards Nero?" Edalyn answered, this time walking up and poking her in the chest, "You're right, he does come here to visit, but he only really comes here because he needs a break from your overprotective parenting."
"I..."Lilith stammered, feeling her face heat up with rage, "Edalyn, the isles are a dangerous place for any child growing up. Don't you remember everything our parents had to save us from when we were children? You may call it being overprotective, but with the isles the way they are, it's necessary to protect my child."
And that's just the normal environmental hazards, Lilith thought, remembering Berial's words from all those years ago; of how he and others like him hunted those with Sparda's blood, and that included her son. With those rogues now in hiding, who knew if they'd managed to summon other demon lords to the isles? That was also discounting the likes of Echidna, whose whereabouts were still unknown, and Berial himself, who could come to the isles on his own power.
Edalyn glared and fired back, "Lilith, I think you need to start wearing glasses again, because in case you haven't noticed, your son ain't a kid anymore!"
"I know that! But I'm doing this for his own good!"
"And just what makes you know what's best for others?" Eda shouted, "You honestly think me joining Emperor Asshole's coven is gonna undo this curse of mine, but what then? I'll be stuck living the rest of my life as his fucking puppet like you!"
"Edalyn, I-"
"Not to mention that it's just a bit insulting that you don't think your own kid can hold his own," Her sister interrupted her, "I mean, I'll admit I have some doubts in Luz from time-to-time, but she usually always proves me wrong. Much as you want to keep Nero safe, he can hold his own against what the world throws at him just fine."
"And just how would you know that?" Lilith bristled, trying to keep herself in check, "Do you honestly think you know my son better than I do?"
"Well considering your kid can hold his own against a Titan damned demon lord, I'd say you don't know him all that well!" Edalyn snapped before she blinked, her eyes widening as she slapped a hand to her mouth. Lilith felt her mind go a million miles away, everything becoming a loud, discordant static as she lost all control of her body. She tried to comprehend what came out of her sister's mouth until finally, her mind caught up with her mouth, letting her speak.
"What?"
"Uh...curse is making me say random non-sequiturs?" If Edalyn was trying to distract her, it wasn't working. Lilith gave way to complete shock and anger, grabbing her sister by the scuff of her Grudgby uniform and pulling her close.
"WHAT!?" She shrieked, not wanting to believe what she'd just heard.
Edalyn removed herself from Lilith's grip and huffed, "Okay, fine, so when we went to the Knee, we ran into some demon chick named Echidna and fought her. But-"
"Edalyn," Lilith growled, now knowing that her son had an encounter with one of the monsters out for his blood. It took all her willpower to keep her from attacking her sister for such action then and there, "You put my son in danger! Do you have any fucking idea what something like that would do to him!?"
"Wouldn't know since me, him, Luz, and the baby Blights all kicked her ass and sent her into the sky," Edalyn retorted, "So yeah, Nero can handle himself just fine."
"That's not the point! I-"
"Then what is the point, oh sister of mine?" Edalyn interrupted Lilith, glaring deeper than she had previously, "That keeping him tightly monitored and treating him like a baby is better? I may not be mother material, but even I know that's shitty parenting. What's next? Gonna lock him up in his room if he starts acting out, wanting to go adventuring and fighting against the crap the world has in store for him?"
Lilith glared back, "I will do whatever it takes to protect my son. I may not like it, but if it comes down to it...well, better that than hurt, dead, or petrified for eternity."
"If that's really how you feel, then all you're gonna do is make him hate you, Lilith," Her sister concluded as Lilith clenched her fist, an orb of heat forming in her palm.
"Uh..." the high-pitched voice halted their argument as they both looked down to see the small, furry creature with a skull on his head; King, if Lilith remembered correctly. She'd been so caught up in dealing with her sister that she hadn't even noticed him. "Can I leave?" he asked, "This is making me really uncomfortable."
Edalyn's anger faded for a moment before she knelt down to meet her pet at eye level, "Sure, why don't you head upstairs. This'll be over soon, alright?" King nodded and ran out of the room, leaving Lilith alone with her sister, who stood up and levelled one last glare at her, "Lilith, if you're done here, then get the hell out of my house."
"Not yet," Lilith said before looking at her sister's uniform, an idea forming as she smirked, "In fact, given what season it is, why don't we have ourselves a wager. I challenge you to a Grudgby match."
"Eh?"
In response to her sister's confusion, Lilith explained, "Simple, if you win the match, then I'll leave and not return to your abode for about a month. Given my job and your criminal status, that's the most I can manage."
Edalyn nodded, "And if you win?"
"If I win, then you'll stay away from my son for good," Lilith finished, "Do we have a deal?"
Lilith watched her sister ponder on it for but a few moments. However, she just as quickly dawned a confident smile and answered, "Game on, Lily."
Nero walked out of Hexside, same time as everyone else, and let himself get lost in thought. It was the same thought that had been plaguing him since the previous Grom, and what had taken up head space the entire day as he coasted through his classes.
Okay, so Mom, we need to talk, Nero thought. For the longest time, I've been going out and—No, that's not right.
"Yo! Claw Boy!" Emira shouted, Nero stopping and turning back to see her and Edric walking out of school. He decided to let them catch up before continuing down the path. "How's it been?" Emira asked, "You looked kind of out of it today."
"Nothing, just..." Nero sighed, "Just working some shit out."
"This have anything to do with Grom?" Edric asked, dropping the usual mischief and sounding more concerned.
Nero shook his head, "No. Well, sorta," he rubbed the back of his head, "I was planning on telling Mom everything about, y'know, that," the twins looked to each other in confusion before Nero clarified, "The thing with me going out to fight monsters behind her back."
Edric and Emira's eyes widened before they nodded in understanding, though Emira was quick to smirk and say, "So does this mean I won't be able to use it as blackmail material anymore?"
"Oh hardy friggin' har," Nero deadpanned as the twins laughed. Part of Nero wanted to laugh with them this time, if only cause he knew it was a joke, but he just couldn't. At least, not with his mind being such a mess of worry as it was now. Thankfully, Edric and Emira got the hint and stopped laughing. They ended up in a mellow silence that continued all the way until the twins reached their carriage, Nero stopping just in front as the Abomination servant opened the door to let the Blights in.
Edric was about to enter first, but he looked back, "So about telling your mom," he began before asking, "If you're going to, maybe it'd help if we helped?" Nero raised an eyebrow as Edric clarified, "I mean, what if you practice with us so you can get a good confidence boost?"
"I don't know..."
"Come on, Nero, it's pretty obvious that you're not gonna get that boost by yourself. Besides," Emira stepped in and rested and took both Nero and Edric into one-armed grabs, her brother more willing, "It's the least we could do after that whole mess with the demon lady."
Nero remained silent, still not sure on getting help, especially from the Blight twins. If he did want help with this, then his closest option was Luz, but she was busy practicing for some after-school Grudgby thing last he heard. Still, he had a sinking feeling Edric and Emira weren't gonna give him a choice in the matter. As if to prove his point...
"Hey," Edric pulled away from his sister's grasp and stepped up to the Abomination, "Could you maybe drive this over to Nero's? You can pick us up there."
The Abomination nodded, and soon enough, the carriage was on its way and out of sight. Nero sighed as he saw the twins give him smug smirks, "Alright, seeing as you have me in a box, you can help."
"Yes!" they both pumped their fists into the air as they all started walking down the road to Nero's house, Emira asking, "So where do we start?"
"For starters, no overdramatic renditions of my mom reacting to the truth," Nero replied, at this point wondering why he bothered.
"No promises," Edric cheerfully said as he cast an illusion of his mom that walked alongside them, a stern glare piercing into his eyes, leaving Nero to groan and drag his hand down his face.
This is gonna be a long walk.
Lilith stood idly by in the makeshift Grudgby arena Edalyn had set up for their match. Hooty was going over the rules while King stood at the side dressed in a cheerleader uniform he was convinced was "armor of intimidation", something she didn't want to admit to finding amusing.
"Since pencil pushing for all these years may have left you rusty, I'll go easy on you," Edalyn said as she threw the ball to Lilith. Lilith caught the ball with her knee and began performing some tricks with it, all the while smirking at her sister.
"Remember, little sister, you may have been our star player, but I was team captain for a reason," Lilith said, spinning the ball on her finger before throwing it back at Edalyn.
Not a second later, Hooty blew the whistle, and the game began. Lilith struck first and managed to take the ball as it went straight into the air, Edalyn hot on her heels. She weaved past the bird worm as he played the part of a sudden pillar, making a direct b-line towards the haphazardly constructed Grudgby goal.
HA! First blood Edalyn! Lilith happily thought, feeling a rush of excitement as she threw the ball at the net. However, that excitement turned to bitterness and shock as her sister managed to dart ahead and grab the ball midair.
"Not so fast!" she gloated before rushing right past Lilith, who was still processing what just happened. Growling in frustrating, Lilith ran after her sister, watching as she leapt over the house demon's attempt to block her. Not willing to let her get the first goal, Lilith summoned forth spires of ice to impede Edalyn's path. Instead, her sister used them, somersaulting and flipping across each one before reaching the goal and making a direct shot.
"Oh yeah!" Edalyn landed and pumped her fist into the air, "Whose still got the moves? I still got the moves!"
Lilith watched as her sister did a silly dance, all while Hooty pulled the ball out of the net and King drew the first of six tally marks under Edalyn's name. Her fist clenched as memories of the old days started seeping back in. Back on the field, how no matter how hard she trained, nor how hard she tried, her sister would always score more points for their team than she could. Whether it was through cheating or skill, Lilith didn't know, but as much as she loathed to admit it, Edalyn was their star player. Despite Lilith's past position as team leader, she still couldn't compare to her sister's greater skill. The fact that even years later, the gap remained as wide as ever, only infuriated her more.
Lilith shook her head, shaking off her rage and envy, "This isn't over yet, Edalyn!"
"If you want, I can start easing up," Edalyn smirked as they both returned to the center of the field.
"No," Lilith seethed, despite her efforts to calm herself, "Give it your best shot."
"And that's the full truth, Mom," Nero said to the illusion, "You wanna...say anything?"
The twins kept the illusion silent as they all walked across the street and turned left to where his house, and by extension the Blights' carriage, was. Though the thing that took Nero's attention the most was the emotionless stare his mom's apparition was giving him. Are they trying to come up with something? Nero wondered as he looked to Edric and Emira, the gears in their heads clearly spinning. He just hoped whatever they were plotting wasn't-
"How could you!?" the illusion cried out, hands covering her eyes in the most melodramatic display of sadness he'd ever seen in his life, "A-After everything I've done for y-you, how could you go behind my back like this!?"
"Okay, would you two knock it the fuck off!?" Nero shouted at the twins, who were struggling to hold their laughter back.
"PFFT! S-Sorry, sorry," Edric wiped a tear from his eye as he dismissed the illusion, "But at least you got the full confession out that time."
"And it only took you twenty attempts," Emira congratulated as she patted him on the back.
"I thought it was only sixteen," Edric chimed as they all stopped.
"No, it was definitely more than that," Emira argued.
"Uh, guys?" Nero tried to get their attention, but sadly, the twins weren't listening.
"Yeah, well I think you're wrong," Edric fired back as Emira gave him a challenging glare.
"And which of us has the highest math scores?"
"Guys?"
"We scored the same on that last test!" Edric exclaimed, not noticing that they were drawing a bit of attention from passersby, "Remember? We even snuck in the same cheat sheets!"
"Unlike you, I have the wit and wisdom to not need to look at those sheets every half a minute for answers," Emira retorted.
"Guys!?"
"Oh yeah! Well how was your score on those Beast keeping questions in the pop quiz?" Edric asked, sounding smug as Emira's face grew embarrassed.
"I-I, that doesn't matter!" Emira stammered, neither twin noticing the crowd forming around them, "What about that Illusion test where-"
Oh for Titan's sake! Nero brought forth a spectral arm and grabbed both twins, motioning towards the crowd to get out of his way. After a good few minutes of walking, he looked back and saw they were far off from anyone and just another block away from his house. Sighing in relief, he put the twins down and said, "Y'know, you two make me very glad that I'm an only child."
"Eh, sounds boring," the Blights said simultaneously.
"Definitely less of a headache."
"Maybe, but that's neither here nor there," Emira said as they all continued walking, Nero putting his hands in his pockets while Emira rested hers behind her head. Edric, however, whistled a tune Nero heard once or twice on Spellify when he was bored, though he couldn't place a name on the song itself. He remembered it being catchy though.
After turning a corner one last time, they arrived at Nero's home, Blight family carriage parked out front and waiting for the twins. Edric stepped forward as the Abomination opened the carriage door, "Well, guess this is it, huh?"
"Yeah..." Nero muttered, feeling like his heart was about to leap out of his throat.
"If it makes you feel any better, first confession to your parent is always the worst," Emira encouraged before looking to Edric, "Remember when we confessed to Dad that we put kick me signs on the backs of all his workers?"
"But he wasn't really listen-"
"ANYWAY!" Emira interrupted as she looked to Nero, "Point is, you just gotta rip that band-aid off and it'll be smooth sailing after the fact. You know the words now, so all that's left is to put then out there."
"And if you need anything, you know where to find us," Edric added, holding out a closed fist as Emira did the same. Nero looked to them both and felt a brief smile grace his lips. With his right hand, he gave them both a fist bump before heading down his house's walkway and approaching the front door.
"Good luck, Nero!" Both twins said at once, Nero turning and waving back at them as their carriage drove them away. Once they were out of sight, he headed inside and noticed that his mother had yet to arrive. With a sigh, he headed for his room and laid down in bed, mentally preparing himself and rehearsing his confession.
Now or never, I guess, he thought to himself as he awaited for his mom's arrival.
Lilith felt a bead of sweat fall from her brow as she slam dunked the ball into the goal, scoring her fifth point. She landed and returned to the center of the field, feeling her back ache from the strain of the game thus far. It had taken damn near everything she had, but she managed to match her sister move for move throughout the entire game. Thus far, they were at an impasse, with only one point left to decide the victor.
If nothing else, the fact that I'm one point from victory against her is an achievement, Lilith smiled in excitement. After all these years, she was finally going to best Edalyn at something. To top it off, it was Grudgby of all things that she finally got ahead in.
However, that same self-loathing thought entered her head, almost snarling at her, Oh please, the only reason you're even this far is because of what you did to her. If it weren't for the fact that you ruined her life just to get ahead-
"Nervous, Edalyn?" Lilith asked, crossing her arms as Edalyn approached the center ring. She'd long since lost count of how many times she had to push this same line of thought down, and in all likelihood this wouldn't be the last time either.
"Ha! Not even a little, Lily!" Edalyn flashed a confident smirk as Hooty stretched out and blew the whistle one last time. The ball flew into the air as both of them leapt out for it, Lilith baring her teeth as she tried to reach it before her sister. But Edalyn reached the ball first and took it, darting down the field as Lilith gave chase.
I'm not going to let you beat me this time! Lilith leapt for her sister, hoping to take the ball, but Hooty picked that exact moment to pop up. Without missing a beat, Edalyn used the bird worm's face as a platform just before Lilith could reach her. Suddenly, any hope for victory was lost as Lilith landed right atop Hooty's broken face, leaving her to watch as her sister threw the ball into the goal and scored the final point.
"YES! Bad Girl Coven for the win!" Edalyn cheered as Lilith collapsed to the dirt, her defeat washing over her.
I...I lost, Lilith bitterly thought as her hands clutched the ground beneath her. Her eyes glared downward, briefly slamming her fists against the dirt. She lost. Despite everything, she lost. She threw everything she had at her sister, pushed for every advantage she could see, and yet she still fell short.
"Sis, you alright?" Edalyn's question snapped Lilith out of it. Looking up, she saw her younger sister look down at her with nothing but concern; more than she deserved. As Edalyn held out a hand to help her up, Lilith managed to push her pride down just enough to accept it, standing up and meeting her sister at eye level.
"Fine. You...win, I suppose," Lilith bitterly remarked, crossing her arms as she tried, and failed, to maintain a calm demeanor.
"I gotta say, that was pretty fun," Edalyn admitted, "May not have played in a long time, but I don't think any of the games we had at Hexside ever got that intense. Few times back there where I thought you had me beat."
"R-Really?" Lilith stammered, shocked at what she just heard.
Edalyn nodded, "Yeah. You're not half bad," she then muttered, "For a pencil pushing coven crony that is."
Lilith, despite herself, actually let out a bark of laughter at that last sentence. Edalyn was quick to join in as they shared a laugh for the first time in what felt like an eternity. Unfortunately, the moment was killed by Hooty joining in and guffawing in the most obnoxious way possible, leaving Lilith and her sister to glare at him until he finished.
"HAW HAW HAW! HOOT HOOT HOOT! Ah, good times. Good times," Hooty calmed down and noticed his glaring audience, "What're we talking about again?"
"Hooty, I think Graff is on your favorite wall again," Edalyn immediately said, causing Hooty to gasp and rush back into the house, loud clanging and screaming echoing all the way out to where they were.
"Graff?" Lilith looked to her sister, who shook her head.
"Long story, but that reminds me," she turned and faced Lilith, "Deal's a deal, so looks like we won't be seeing each other for a month."
Wait, what de-? Lilith's eyes widened, "Oh..."
"Something wrong, Lily?" Edalyn raised an eyebrow as Lilith pinched the bridge of her nose in shame. Amidst the game and her drive to surpass her sister, she'd actually completely forgotten the agreement they had regarding keeping Edalyn away from Nero. It actually scared Lilith, how she got so caught up in the turn of events that her son was left at the wayside.
Some mother you turned out to be, Lilith berated herself as turned and began walking away, but not before looking back to her sister. "I'm fine, Edalyn," she lied, "Per our agreement, I'll leave you alone. Even if orders come in, I'll keep away from your home. However, I cannot promise that the rest of the coven won't do the same."
"Eh, fine by me," Edalyn shrugged, "I'll just send them crying right back to you anyway."
Knowing that was the best that could be done, Lilith nodded and continued out of the forests and back to the town of Bonesborough. She didn't bother pulling out her staff to fly home, as she decided to take the time to ponder to herself. Her attempt to confront Edalyn regarding her influence on her son ended in failure, and now she wouldn't be able to do so again. The fact that she forgot about that was still fresh in her mind as she constantly berated herself for such actions. She needed to focus on what was important here; protecting Nero no matter what.
Confronting my sister about it didn't work out, so I guess there's only one thing left that I can do.
"No more letting things boil over like this, Lilith," she muttered, "Best confront him about it now before things get worse."
Nero sat nervously on his bed, his foot tapping against the carpet to the rhythm of the Devil Trigger song he'd recently been introduced to. He tried to find different ways to relax, like sleeping, reading, or listening to music, but nothing worked. Taking a deep breath, he whispered, "Calm down. Mom's not here yet. Just take deep breathes and-"
The sound of the front door slamming open rang through the house, "Nero, I'm home!"
Nope! Nero felt his nerves come back in full force as he bolted for his bedroom window and opened it, almost jumping outside. However, he remembered all the practice he had, how Amity and Luz were able to face their fears, as well as the advice he received from the twins just before he arrived, and calmed himself down. He walked back into his room, closing the window behind him as he took deep breaths. Once he was about as ready as he could be, he headed down the hall towards the living room, only to bump into his mother along the way.
"OOF! Oh, sorry Mom," Nero apologized while his mother shook her head.
"No, it's quite alright, my little raven," she said, "I was just going to get you," she turned and made her way down the hall, gesturing for him to follow. With a nervous gulp, he did so and soon enough they were in the living room, Mom taking a seat on the couch while Nero sat in the recliner just to the side. They sat in an awkward silence that neither dared to break. Nero couldn't tell if his mother was trying to say something but couldn't find the words, or if she was waiting for him to speak first. Steeling his nerves and remembering what he promised, Nero loudly sighed just as his mother opened her mouth. Whatever she was about to say, he didn't know. All he did know was that he finally got the words out.
"Mom," he began, "We need to talk."