King whined as he waited for the noise to go down and hopefully enjoy some of the tasty looking food. It was hard, especially after being stuck in Eda's hair for most of the day…
'I should've stayed in the room!' He mentally berated himself. 'Even if Hooty tried to get rid of me, at least I'd have TV!
Wait!
King had a genius idea; he'd go to the back of Eda's crown and snatch whatever he could as Eda walked the resteraunt! And what unique and intriguing dishes for the king of Demons to sample! He'd savor each and every bite…
Until he had his first taste of Thai spice.
'An endurance test…THAT I AM HAPPY TO FAIL! EDA! TAKE OLLIE AND LEAVE FOR THE LOVE OF THE TITAN! I'LL DRINK SEWER WATER! ANYTHING!'
Sadly for King, he would get no reprieve for the next few hours.
OWLPHIBIA
Suffice to say, Eda was having just as much of a blast as her son. And she apricated it; moving was hard!
The Thai folk, she discovered, came from a nation in the east and had an entire temple in the city dedicated to their culture. Upon learning from Oum of how Ollie had saved Anne, the citizens immediately invited the Clawthornes to the next Market day, also making it clear Eda should clear the day, as there would be tons of things to do; games, langyage lessons, plays….
When asked where she'd moved from, Eda had to sneak a few crocodile tears (literally, thank goodness she had the potion on her) into heer tea and spun a tail of living on a plantation, beingt the only 'sane' or 'unbroken' one who'd snuck out for here son's sake after a certain someone expressed interest in Olivier.
Luckily for her, Ollie had told the Boonchuy family a similar story, so they ate it up and stopped pressing. The parents in attendance respected her at the very least.
And on the matter of parents, the witch was also ealted she was NOT the only…'outsider' at this party, as Marcy and Sasha's parents were also present:
Mr. Waybright tried very hard not to flirt with Eda; which both sort of irked the Owl lady but also earned her respect; it turned out he was a widower; his wife having left him and his dauighter a year ago after meeting another, wealthier man. Sasha, the spitfire that she was, was the light of his life and while he certainly never denied Eda's attractiveness, he seemed to limit himself when he saw how happy Sasha was to have Olivier as a friend.
Speaking of whom, Sasha and Olivier and begun regaling their younger kids of their fight against the bullies, then after leaving themawestruck (and Eda proud of her boy's sneakiness) moved on to contests of whoever could eat the spiciest food. Neither won, and both spent a good ten minutes downing water and pop in their parents arms whoile said parents applauded them for trying anways.
"You'll get to mommy's level one day, sweetie." Eda assured the boy.
OWLPHIBIA
Hidden in Eda's mane, King took solace in the fact he wasn't suffering alone. He also made a point to test this…Sasha; she seemed a prime candidate for the hero to eventually take him down.
OWLPHIBA
Mr. And Mrs . Wu revealed they were second generation immigrants from ANOTHER country in the east (how many where there, Eda wondered but kept to herself). Mr. Wu worked as a business consultant and his wife a freelance artist. Such a combination might've helped excplain how the adorable Marcy was such a bright, inquisitive and actyally smart little girl.
Marcy seemed to have appointed herself as Olivier's 'explainer', telling him what certain phrases meant, what certain foods were and also explaining the allure of TV hiws like Poket-Monsters, Shinobi Tortioses, Poppyseed Alley and Funnybone. And Oliver in turn seemed to udne4rstand some of Marcy's bigger words.
Eda had to admit, Marcy reminded her of Lily when they were youmger…she then forced herself to forget her sister…..
"Excuse me, Mrs. Ollie's mom?" Anne said, carrying a pitcher of tea. "Would you like some more?"
With a big grin on her face, Eda smiled as she lowered her glass and then took the pitcher.
"Don't mind I do, kiddo! Say…why don't you take a break and play with the others? I'll cover ya."
The little girl beamed and raced to join her friends for a game of piggy in the middle.
Now, Anne? Eda liked her very much! A doer and fun lover, with a rebel streak in her already. Hopefully she'd keep that…
"Anybody need a refill?" Eda called out, pouring as needed. "And don't worry, Mrs. B. I wagered Anne needed a break."
Oum , who'd been moving to remind her daughter of her job, sighed and then smiled.
"Thank you, Eda."
"Hey, I should be thanking you/" The Owl Lady smiled as the ducked back to get more drinks. "You r kid helped mine out and you kept him safe."
Spying the cash register, Eda realized she hadn't paid for her and Olivier's Pad Sew Ew. Normally, she;d be fine with dining and dashing, but…
Going through her pokcye, Eda pulled out two bills.
"Is…this enough for… Uh, Mrs. B?"
Oum's eyes widened.
You see, being so used to snails, Eda was stuill figuring out6 the actual worth of certain paper bills. She'd just handed $200, far more than what was needed.
Oum quickly composed herself and took o0ne bill, giving Eda the change she needed. Eda then put the other bill in the tip jar, smiling in a way that said
'From one mom to another.'
Oum was…confused about Eda. Yes, Olivier had wandered off and she believed their house not being ready yet, but she seemed so relaxed and full of herself. Having also left a tense situation in Thailand, Oum felt Eda was too relaxed for someone of her story….but then again, oit was also clear shed loved her son more than anything else.
With the drinks filled, Eda went back to her brief serving stint, managing to sneak a mess of Oliver's hair as she did so.
"Honey? Everything okay?" Bee asked his wife.
Startled by her husband, Oum stifled a yawn.
"Yeah, yeah. Just…tired."
Bee gave his wife a kiss and motioned for her to sit down as he took over.
OWLPHIBIA
Returning to the Motel room with a sleeping Olivier in her arms a few hours later after a ride from Mr. Boonchuy while Oum cleaned up (with some help from a sleepy Anne), Eda smiled warmly as she waved goodbye to Bee and ignored the traumatized front desk clerk.
This was a good day, regardless of how it went: She had left a good first impression on the people who mattered, she had sampled some delicious food that no one else in the Boiling Isles would ever…and her baby boy had made friends.
Sadly, all good things must come to an end, as once she opened the door and let a panting King rush to the bathroom to drench his throat in water, Eda spied a crystal ball shaking.
She groaned as she then spun a magic circle
"Or course he calls now of all times…"
The crystal ball floated upwards and then began to project an image and audio.
"About time! I've been waiting for hours!"
The speaker was a fat, well dressed bird demon, whose voice reeked of posh and wealth. Eda could spy a generous meal before him and spots of food all over his clothes.
"Sorry, not sorry." Eda said, rolling her eyes as she put Olivier to bed, being sure he was blocked from view. Any other time, she'd have swindled someone like him blind…
"Do not take that tone with me, Owl lady! I was generous enough to bribe and or send the Coven scouts elsewhere just so that you could go to the Human realm…on the condition of gathering intel for…"
"Here's your first thing of intel:" Eda snapped, wanting to limit the time she dealt with this idiot. "Time moves differently in the human world compared to the isles. What feels like days to you? A month for me."
A bold-faced lie, but this idiot bought it hook line and sinker.
"…I'll leave a note to Oracles to save memories of any messages."
"Second bit; there are way, way, WAY more clans of humans that we ever guessed."
This made the demon raise a brow
"…Can you give a rough guess?"
Eda faked thinking before saying the first number that came to mind
"I'd guess….600."
The demon's eye's widened in shock and he swatted away some sweat.
"I'm already on the lookout for any basic guides or tapestries." Eda added, cutting her benefactor off before he could speak.
"…Anything else?"
"Third and final thing for now." Eda said. "Humans have shrunk but upgraded their muskets and built armor of plastic. And their Coven scouts are called policemen who normally wear blue and like doughnuts, so get the baking coven busy!"
The noble-demon nodded and then helped himself to a drink.
"I'll call again in a week. Try to have more…or Belos may get a clue as to where you are."
He then ended the call, missing Eda mockingly repeating him:
"'Or Belos may get a clue as to where you are." And what good would that do with no portal, lardo?"
Sighing away her annoyance, she then smiled as she saw Ollie and King, fast asleep on the bed. And with that, Eda remembered the rest of the day.
'Today alone makes this move worth it.'
And with that, Edalyn Clawthorne herself fell into a deep, happy slumber, her boys in her arms.
OWLPHIBIA
Meanwhile, back in Thai Go, Wayne finally fell off the wall Eda had slammed him into
"D-don't….don't mind me…"
He then collapsed back into unconsciousness, dazed, confused….and dreaming of that lovely lady who'd done this to him.
'What a woman…!'
OWLPHIBIA
Olivier grimaced in his sleep, sensing something was wrong. However, his sleeping mother held him closer and he relazed, forgetting all about whatever could be bothering him as he instead remembered all the fun he'd had with Marcy, Sasha and Anne.
He was hoping to see them again soon.