Azulira Writes

Lilith was there, as far as Emira knew, because she was the siblings' legal guardian, and was required to be. Her mother had never spoken fondly of the woman, other than annoyingly admitting that she was rather strong. Emira didn’t believe that Lilith thought anything better of their mother. If the situation was reversed, she couldn't imagine her mother being anywhere near as kind as Lilith had been.

Of course, according to Amity, a few months ago, Lilith probably wouldn’t have reacted so positively; Lilith had been obsessed with proving her strength and worth, just like their mother had been. Just like Amity, and Edric and herself as much as she hated to admit, had been up until the last few months. Her eyes landed on Luz, who was sitting beside Amity, with a comforting hand over Amity’s own. Luz changed everything for the better.

The leader of the Oracle Coven, she recognized his large mustache, grabbed Emira’s attention, temporarily, as he stepped up to the podium to begin his eulogy for their mother. “Death is a cruel force,” he droned, and Emira found her attention slipping from him. As much as she wanted to be a good daughter and mourn her mother, it was just… easier, to focus on anything else around her. She caught Edric’s glance with her own; he felt the same.

Emira let her mind drift from the funeral, towards the events of the weekend so far. Friday had been a mix of so many emotions, once they had gotten home from school; exhilaration, exhaustion, anxiety. Then Saturday happened, bringing fear, misery, guilt, and numbness instead of the usual mix of joy and mischief. And today… Emira didn't know what to think of today. They'd woken up to Hooty annoying the worker from the Construction Coven, and that was the high point of the day.

There had also been Lilith and Eda’s own mother showing up, right before the funeral, which was an interesting experience. There was a large divide between the Clawthorne sisters when it came to their mother, Emira had recognized that almost immediately. One sibling got all the attention, and the others were left to flounder for every spare bit of attention they could grab. Lilith seemed grateful to be able to leave, and to put her mind off it. Her eyes shifted towards Lilith, her face not quite somber, but certainly a mix of emotion. Maybe she hadn’t been able to get her mind off her own mother after all.

Emira’s gaze once more swept over the people she could see at the funeral. She still couldn’t pin any notable names to faces. Mourners from her mother’s coven still outnumbered those from her father’s, but this was expected. Her father never made friends easily, and he wasn’t the one who was dead. Then again, her mother wasn’t- hadn’t, Emira corrected herself, hadn’t been the friendliest person either. It wouldn’t surprise her if she learned that half the ‘mourners’ were secretly elated at the death. They were hiding it well, at least.

For a moment, Emira tuned back into the eulogy, “-invaluable. In fact, she would have been my choice for successor as Coven Head, were her life not cut so tragically short. There are many things we can learn from Odalia, such as kindness and patience-” Emira let her attention slip again. She didn’t get the point of lying about the dead; her mother certainly hadn’t been kind. At least not to her, Edric, or even Amity. Maybe her mother had been kind to her boss, but that could be attributed to climbing the ladder as quickly as she could, more than any innate kindness. And patience? Emira nearly scoffed at the idea. The only reason her mother ever waited for was to make people nervous.

That was when a large feathered form crashed through the temple’s ceiling, setting off a panic. Most people fled the beast’s entrance, and Emira felt for her brother’s hand as she instinctively drew the spell circle to render herself invisible. She looked to her side, to see Amity and Luz. With Edric’s own invisible hand in hers, Emira stepped towards the two of them, grabbing them and pulling them away by Amity’s hand.

“What?” Luz cried out, as she recovered her balance and attempted to snatch the spell glyphs that had begun fluttering to the ground, even as she was pulled away.

“It’s okay,” Edric answered, “We’ve got you. We’re going to get out of here.”

“We can’t leave!” Luz cried, “We have to help Eda!” The beast turned to Luz’s exclamation. The owl beast, Emira realized. She’d heard stories, but she’d never seen it. Was that really Eda? Emira pulled harder, practically dragging Amity. They were strong, but not face-off-against-cursed-Eda strong. Unfortunately, the Owl Beast didn’t seem to care about how strong they were, as it began charging towards Luz's exclamations.

Fortunately, an ice pillar caught the charging creature in its side, knocking it into the temple’s wall. “Edalyn!” Emira turned towards Lilith’s voice, seeing the Witch brandishing spell glyphs of her own, “What happened?” The Owl Beast only shrieked in response, and charged at Lilith. A glyph flashed in Lilith’s hand, and the light orb it produced managed to stagger the Owl Beast long enough for Lilith to dive out of the way.

“Why isn’t it working? This is supposed to be the latest version!” A new voice called, and Emira turned to see the Clawthorne matriarch, frantically flipping through a book.

“Mother?” Lilith called, using a plant glyph to pull herself out of the way, and towards her mother, “Why isn’t what working?”

“The book!” Gwendolyn shouted, showing it to Lilith, before flicking her staff out to deliver a gust of wind to knock the Owl Beast off its feet. Lilith snatched the book, looking through it.

“You believe this?” Lilith sounded almost offended, “This would never work!” Emira noted a few feathers sprouting curiously along Lilith’s forearms.

“But I… How do you know it couldn’t work?” Gwendolyn asked

“Because I’ve spent the last few decades looking for an ACTUAL cure! Lilith shouted, “I could have told you this would never work!”

“You’ve been looking for a cure? Why didn’t you tell me, we could have been working together on this!”

“I tried! I tried to contact you all the time! But you never responded!” The feathers began appearing around her neck, and Emira began pulling Amity, and Luz, further away. “Did you at least bring any elixir?” Lilith demanded,

“That poison? It only makes the curse worse!”

“NO IT DOESN’T!” Lilith shrieked, before a realization seemed to come over her. “You never listened to Edalyn either, did you?” Emira barely caught Lilith’s whispered realization. “All this time, I thought Edalyn had your whole attention, but you never actually listened to her.” There was the faint sound of a giggle, caught in tears, before it turned into a shriek, as feathers sprouted across Lilith’s body, which began to distend and shift, into its own monstrous form.

(Line Break)

It had finally broken free; that was the Bird’s first realization. None of the golden poison had come to wound it, weaken it back into submission. It stretched its wings and screeched. That was when it had it’s second realization; its Other was here. It turned from the white-haired witch that triggered a burning feeling inside its core. She could be dealt with later. The Other was more important.

Before the Other could strike it, the Bird brought a claw down on the smaller form. The Other struck back, digging its teeth into the Bird’s flash. It hurt, but the Bird wasn’t going to back down. The Bird could fight. It has done nothing but fight, even before it hadn’t had the Other. It wasn’t going to let the smaller, weaker Other make any claims of superiority. The Bird spread its wings, blocking the Other’s possible escape to the sky as its front talon found purchase in the Other’s side.

There was a commotion behind it, and the Bird craned its neck around, to see the White-Haired Witch lead three children with green hair away, and a fourth child as well. HOW DARE SHE! It screeched and launched itself at the witch. She would only hurt the children! It’s talon nearly sunk into the witch’s back, but the Other managed to sink its teeth into the Bird’s leg. The Bird screeched at the Other. It’s Child was with the White-Haired Witch, and it was going to let her Take its Child? The Bird’s own teeth sunk into the flesh of the Other.

The Other bit back, and slashed across the Bird’s wing with its front talons. The Bird dropped it, swatting it into the wall. The Other shrieked, and rushed the Bird, throwing its weight into the Bird’s chest The Bird fell off balance, knocking over the long box that had been sat on a pedestal. Something wrapped in cloth fell out of it, and the Bird could smell Death. Pride and Anger fueled its core. It wanted to grab the Corpse, and tear it apart. But it wasn’t going anywhere. First, it had to deal with the Other, and then the White-Haired Witch. And then it could have its fun.

A roar sounded from above the Bird, and it turned its head towards the Other. It had escaped to the skies while the Corpse distracted the Bird.The Bird tried to stretch its wings, but the building didn’t provide enough space for take off. It dug its talons into the wall, and began to climb its way up, as the Other swooped down, to strike with its rear talons at the Bird’s face. The Bird dug its claw into the Other’s leg, and threw it away, into a bit of roof that hadn’t yet collapsed inwards.

Finally, the Bird could extend its wings fully, and take to the sky. If the Other wanted to fight in the sky, so be it. The Other flew towards it, slashing at the Bird’s torso before the Bird could swat it away and dive after it. The Bird’s rear talons found easy targets in the Other’s wings, slashing into them fiercely.

The Other freed itself, turning over to grab the Bird’s leg in it’s mouth. In response, the Bird flew towards a wall, slamming the Other into it. The Other refused to let go, so the Bird slammed its leg towards the wall again. The Other, however, let go, ducking under the talon as the Bird slammed it into the wall. The Other flew up behind it, latching onto its back with sharp talons. The Bird screeched at the Other’s deception, turning quickly to slam its back into the wall, just barely catching the Other as it tried to let go.

The Bird turned its head, sinking its teeth into the side of the Other’s face, its front talons digging into the Other’s sides. After slamming it into the wall again, the Bird released the Other and roared. The Other roared back, still refusing to accept its place. The Bird WOULD ALWAYS BE BETTER THAN IT! WHY COULDN’T IT ACCEPT THAT!

The Bird rushed forward, meeting the Other halfway as they dug their talons into each others’ shoulders. They dropped, and the Bird managed to remain on top as the Other slammed into the ground under it, struggling for its freedom. The Other managed to escape, flying to the end of the alleyway before turning to screech and stand its ground against the Bird. The Bird dove for it, but the Other managed to dodge, flying above it, landing on a nearby rooftop. The Bird followed, and as the Other tried to swipe at it, tackled the Other into the tiling

Then there was the White-Haired Witch, speaking to the Other. Of course she was talking to the Other. The Bird ignored the anger and grief in its core. It could feel the Other change, as it prepared to strike with its talon raised high.But the Other seemed changed, and it was able to react. The Other grabbed the raised talon, stopping it, before flying around, pinning the Bird to the roof.

“And Lilith,” the Bird heard the White-Haired Witch as she grabbed it on either side. It felt, deep in its core, a stirring of complicated emotion. Grief, anger, longing. “You were always so self sufficient,” pride, and an odd sense of calm as the White-Haired Witch rubbed its cheek with her thumb. “But I didn’t give you the attention you deserved.” She was right, the Bird understood that at its core. But why did it hurt? The Bird cried, and moved itself closer to the comfort the White-Haired Witch was providing. It hurt so much. When it tasted the elixir, trying to force it back into its cage, it didn't resist. It needed to rest.

(Line Break)

Amity took refuge in Luz’s room when they got back; the adults had stayed outside, to talk, and the twins occupied the kitchen. Even Luz, who shared her refuge, seemed distant, which was understandable given... Everything about today. Amity looked out the window, her eyes landing on the Clawthornes. Worry surged up from inside her; she probably shouldn’t be spying on them, but she stomped it down. She wasn’t spying, she was observing, and there’s nothing wrong with observing.

Amity couldn’t exactly tell what they were talking about, but it looked emotional. She could see all three of the Clawthorne women were crying, to some degree, which made Amity nervous. She knew crying could be healthy, but it still unnerved her to see three adult witches she knew to be strong, or at least had been strong, crying so openly with each other.

"Today was," she heard Luz pause in the middle of her comment, "eventful."

"Yeah," Amity agreed, turning towards Luz, “it was.” She couldn’t force her eyes to meet Luz’s, so she settled on the door behind her. “I’m sorry for freezing up when Eda- the owl beast, appeared. I should have helped you subdue her. Or pull you out of danger. Or…”

“Hey, it’s ok. Everything’s ok,” Luz spoke gently, “You didn’t do anything wrong by freezing up. It was a scary situation. Plenty of other people there froze up too.”

“You didn’t freeze up,” Amity pointed out, “You were trying to help Eda. Ed and Em didn’t freeze up, they were trying to get us to safety. I did. All I was good for was holding onto you and Emira like dead weight.”

“Hey, I’m glad you were holding onto me,” Luz commented, and Amity imagined a blush as she continued, “I mean, if you weren’t, I wouldn’t have had any idea where you were, and I would have been worried. And I probably would have gotten hurt a lot worse if you hadn’t been there to pull me out of the way.”

“You got hurt?”she asked, choosing not to say that if she hadn’t been holding on to Luz, she’d have been able to get out of harm’s way.

“Oh, yeah,” Luz answered, rolling up her shirt slightly, exposing the red marks along her stomach. “I got hit by some rubble that got thrown up with everything going on, so these bad boys are going to be super cool looking for the next couple weeks.”

“That looks really bad,” Amity commented, staring at the bruises, “Aren’t you in pain?”

“Oh yeah,” Luz answered “but I’ve had a lot worse. This isn’t really all that bad. Just looks like it is.”

“You’ve had worse injuries than that?” Amity nearly shouted in her worry.

“Like when I was five, and I slipped off the monkey bars and broke my wrist,” Luz supplied.

“Monkey bars?”

“Or that time I skated face first into a wall,” Luz continued, not answering Amity’s question.

“Why would you skate into a wall?”

“Or that time I slipped out of a tree and got a broken leg and a concussion.”

“Ok, ok, I believe you,” Amity answered, her gaze still fixed on the new bruises. “You really get hurt a lot, huh?”

“Mami used to say that that’s why she went into medicine, because she knew I would be a troublemaker," Luz answered.

Amity let out a small laugh, and let a comfortable silence fall for a moment before she spoke, "Thank you. For making everything a little bit easier."

However, Alador could name a number of times where his inability with planning served more as a detriment. Like right now, for instance. His feet thudded against the still warm mud, and he felt the exhaustion in his bones as he conjured the energy for another spell, wiping away traces of his passing for this portion of his journey. He had no idea where he was going, or even where he was. When he’d left, over half a day ago judging by the first faint traces of sunrise in the distance, he’d been heading towards the Elbow. 

If he’d gone by cart or staff, he’d have been by now. But if he had gone by cart, there was no way he could have avoided being tracked. Not without hurting, and possibly killing, people. He wasn’t a murder. “Aren’t you?” he tried to ignore the intrusive thought, whispered to him with the faintest touch of Odalia’s voice. 

Then there was his staff. He fiddled with the zipper hidden in the interior of his work jacket. It hadn’t been unzipped in a long time, and it had been even longer since he last laid his hands on his staff. Would Pige even recognize him, after all these years? If she did, would she be able to forgive him, for locking her away to gather dust in a bag of holding? For abandoning her? Lily had, but… that was different. The bond between a palisman and a witch was supposed to be something unbreakable. And if it was broken… well, Alador had seen his fair share of Odalia’s palismans. The ones that escaped with cracks and breaks were the lucky ones.

So no, his staff wasn’t an option. He couldn’t afford to lose Pige now. That left his feet. Heading towards the elbow, with no idea what to do afterwards. Probably head towards the shoulder, and then… the skull, maybe? It was largely untamed, due to the difficulty of crossing the mouth… Which would also present him his own challenge. 

He couldn't walk much longer, he knew. The only thing keeping him going was the momentum of it; if he stopped, he would collapse where he stood. Then he saw the shack, alone amongst the trees, with a wild garden creeping around and, in a number of places, on it.

Alador made his way into the dusty abode, the door creaking as it opened before him. He coughed, and dust swirled in the air. He took in the room. It was bare, save a coffee table, an armchair, and a rather large couch. He almost cried seeing the couch, and collapsed upon it. Exhaustion took him immediately.

He awoke with a start, to the sound of someone drinking something. Someone lived in all this dust? "Of course not. Don't be stupid, dear," Odalia's voice answered his private thoughts. His body froze. "At this point it might set a record."

"You're dead!" He wanted to shout, but it came out as a whisper. 

"And yet, here I am" Odalia's voice commented, and he could hear her take a slow drink. "What makes you think I'd be dead?"

"You couldn't have survived…" his own voice felt distant. Barely there.

"Survived what, dear?" Odalia's voice was strong; firm, yet calm. 

"I killed you."

"No, you didn't, Alador," she denied, and he felt her cold hand reach out and take his. He shuddered as she squeezed. "You made an Abomination do it, and ran away. Nearly thirty years, and you didn't even stay to watch the light leave my eyes."

"Shut up," he tried to command her voice; she couldn't be here, he had to be hallucinating. 

"Honestly Alador, could you at least act a little more mature? You tried to have an Abomination murder me, and I'm still able to hold a civil conversation."

"How are you here?"

"Because you failed, Alador. Like always."

"I'm not a failure!"

"Yes you are! You've been a failure since you were a child! When was the last time you even contributed to anything successful?"

"The company-"

"Yes, your father's company, that he made successful with his own Abominations. His success earned him his spot as the first head of the Abomination coven. Then, he passed it down to you, and I made sure it didn't crash and burn while you… tinkered."

"My Abominations-"

"Are certainly unique, I'll give you that. But successful? Please Alador, we both know that for every one that works there are at least seven failures."

"I-"

"Don't speak. I've proven my point," Alador felt his jaw reluctantly clinch with Odalia's command. "Honestly, Alador, why do you always insist on fighting what you know is right?"

"You're wrong," his voice came out quiet, and weak.

"Am I?" He felt the cold spread from his hand up his arm, seizing his throat. 

"I'm not worthless," he said, trying to squeeze her hand hard enough to hurt. She gave no reaction. 

"I never said you were worthless, Alador," she said, affecting a soothing tone, "You're worth quite a fortune, and you were able to sire one good heir. Although she did inherit your rebellious streak. But I can smooth that out. No, Alador, what you are is pathetic."

He felt the chill settle on his heart, as tears began to well in his still closed eyes, "No."

"Yes, Alador. You've always been pathetic. Even when you were a child, and you wanted to settle for Lilith."

"Shut up!" He shouted, but found himself unable to rip his hand from her grip, or move at all. 

"The second-best child of a second-rate family. But honestly, if it weren't for your money, even she would have been out of your league. "

"Shut up!" A sharp blow came across his cheek, and a chill spread out from the impact. She'd slapped him?

"You will not speak back to me like that Alador!" Odalia's voice… changed, somehow. Even in her fury her voice was icy, cold enough to burn. "I've spent every moment of our marriage taking care of you, even when you began cheating on me and drinking that horrid memory potion, and this has been my repayment? Leaving the job of murdering me to one of your little toys, sending our children off to be under the care of criminals, and this ungrateful attitude when all I've tried to do is remind you of your place?"

"How do you know about the children?" Alador asked. She wouldn't have had time to check on them if she had followed him, and there was more that didn't add up, "And you couldn't know about the memory potion… and I made sure to wipe my tracks."

He could feel the ghost of her lips near his ear as she whispered to him, "I know everything about you, dear. You can't escape."

Alador shot upwards in a cold sweat, the blankets pooling at his hips. There hadn't been blankets when he'd passed out… Had Odalia really been here? He looked around, and noticed a surprising lack of disturbance in the dust, save what he knew himself to be responsible for. "How?"

"Are you awake this time?" A voice called from above him. Turning his head towards the voice, he saw a fox, upside down on the ceiling.

"Uhm… yes?"

"Good. You're quite noisy in your sleep. I hoped the blankets might help calm you, but they didn't."

"Oh… my apologies… I didn't realize this home was occupied," Alador pulled the blankets to the side, and sat up, preparing to leave.

"It's not," the fox said quickly, "and I don't mind if you stay. I'll just need to close my ears." Alador took a moment to process everything as his brain shook off the last remnants of his terrifying rest. The fox was carved from wood, but moved naturally, and was now making its way down the side of the wall, one paw always on the wood. Was it a house demon? But it was so different from the Owl House's house demon? Perhaps, if Alador were lucky, Hooty was unique. 

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't stay. I'm making my way to the Skull."

"Oh," the house demon's body slumped, "Is that far?"

"Oh, uhm," something about the question threw Alador, "I'm not sure. I've never made the journey on foot. Maybe a week?"

"That seems a long way, why are you going so far?" the fox questioned, and Alador froze up. How was he meant to answer this? Any answer he could give would only bring more questions that he was even less ready to answer. 

"I don't believe I owe you an answer," he decided to avoid the question.

"You barged into me and passed out, and now you're trying to abandon me! An answer is the least of what I'm owed." Alador took a moment to process the demon's words, as he stared down at it. It looked up at him, clearly upset.

"Abandon you?" He asked,and the fox almost winced, withdrawing into itself.

"Well," the fox stuttered, "I just thought that, with how you came in and passed out, that maybe you'd stay..."

Alador carefully thought out his answer, finally responding "You might be right, about me. I guess it is kind of like me abandoning you. I've… done a lot of that this past day."

"You don't have to," the fox offered, "you can stay."

"I can't," Alador denied, "I'm a wild witch. You'll end up hurt if I'm found."

"Then don't be found!" The fox exclaimed desperately, "I don't think wild witches are bad, if that's what you're worried about. My old occupant was a wild witch!" That… explained a lot, when Alador thought about it. Including why the house was likely abandoned.

"I can't," Alador said, stepping towards the door. "I'm not strong enough to stay." 

"You don't have to be!" The fox said, "Please, stay!"

"I'll make you a promise," Alador offered, "when I can come back, I will."

"Daphne said the same thing," the house demon muttered, looking away. After a moment, the fox offered its paw, "Make an Everlasting Oath."

Alador, hesitantly, drew the energy up for the Oath, taking the fox's paw. "When I can, when I have the strength to, I will come back." The oath sealed itself. Alador made his way to the door. 

"My name is Vul," the house demon called out to him, "when you come back, you can call me Vul."

(Line break)

Luz ascended the stairs quietly, listening for any sounds from the Blights. However, even as she stood in front of the door to her room, she heard nothing. Carefully, she pushed open the door, letting out a breath when she saw all three Blights, sitting quietly in a circle. Piled on the floor between were their scrolls, and even from here Luz could see the massive amount of notifications. News travelled fast. On the Boiling Isles apparently. 

"Hey," she gently called out, to no reaction from the seemingly-numb Blights. After a moment of the awkward, somber silence, she continued, “I wanted to come check on you guys. Are you ok?” Quickly, she continued, “Sorry, that’s a stupid question. Of course you’re not ok, given everything going on. I’m sorry, I’ll leave-” 

“Stay,” Amity said, softly, just as Luz was about to cross the threshold out of the room, “Please.”

“Alright,” Luz agreed, moving towards Amity. She sat down gently, joining the Blights in their silence. She found Amity's hand, and gave it a gentle, comforting squeeze. Amity squeezed back, tight, and didn't let go, as if making sure Luz was really there.

It was Emira who broke the silence, "What happens now?" 

The squeeze from Amity's hand tightened for just a second, before Amity spoke, "I don't know."

"We wait for Dad, right?" Ed suggested, "Miss Lilith said they didn't find him, so he's probably out there, right?"

"Ed…" Emira quietly said

"No!" He almost shouted, "They probably need Dad, because he's really powerful with Abominations, or they want the money and need one of our parents, and Dad was the smarter choice. So he's alive."

"Ed's right," Amity agreed, "If he wasn't found, there's no reason to believe he's dead." An uncomfortable silence descended, as Amity spoke the fact they'd been avoiding. Eventually the silence was broken, by a crow pecking at the window. 

"Dear Emira, Edric, and Amity Blight," a voice Luz didn't recognize called out, "As assistant to the leader of the Oracle Coven, I wish to inform you that the coven will be taking the burden of making funeral arrangements for your mother. Currently, the funeral is scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday the Eleventh, at three p.m. If this time is inconvenient, please respond with a time better suited. If not, we will see you tomorrow at the coven's temple in Bonesborough." The crow then closed its beak, almost entirely motionless as it perched on the windowsill.

"Wow, that seems quick," Luz commented, "In the human realm it's like three days to a week." When none of the Blight children responded, Luz added, "Sorry. I probably should have kept that thought to myself."

(Warning, depiction of a panic attack in the next six paragraphs)

This wasn’t his room. This wasn’t the manor. Judging by the noises from outside, they weren’t even in Bonesborough, or any city, for that matter. His thoughts began to race, imagining any number of scenarios that could be going. He clenched his eyes shut, and tried to will his breathing to calm. But it wouldn’t, and he could feel his breath escaping in bursts. His eyes hurt, even as he squeezed them shut even tighter, and his ears were ringing and his throat hurt because he couldn’t control his breath. He couldn’t breathe, even though he knew he had to be breathing because he could hear it, he could feel it in his throat but it didn’t matter because he couldn’t breathe and he was going to pass out, or possibly-

“Edric,” a voice. He recognized the voice. It was Emira. She was close. He reached out to her and grabbed. He could feel his heart beating rapidly, and he was sure Emira could too. His face flushed; ashamed. Here they were in an unfamiliar building, and he was useless. Just like mother warned him. He was useless and he couldn’t even do anything to protect his sisters and they were gonna- “Edric, breathe!” Emira said.

“I’m trying!” he wanted to yell, but what came out was more of a mangled gasp. Couldn’t she tell he was doing his best! Even though his best wasn’t good enough, he was trying! He felt something warm running down his face.He couldn’t even fake being alright? Emira was still talking, but he couldn’t hear the words, even though she was right there. She was drowned out by his ragged breathing and the ringing in his ears!

Suddenly, there was someone else at his side; he refused to open his eyes, but he could feel their presence there. He gripped Emira tighter. There was a hand on his shoulder. He clenched his fists, and he swung. And a pained grunt broke through the ringing in his ears and his ragged breathing. He chanced to open his eyes, and saw… Luz? They got Luz too? And she was holding her arm over her stomach? He’d hit Luz? He hadn’t meant to. Luz was nice, he didn’t want to hurt her. More tears slipped down his face.

“Edric,” Luz’s voice managed to cut through, and she was looking at him. “Can you see me?” Of course he could see her! He nodded. “Good. What’s something else you can see?” He looked around, and his eyes landed on Emira. He lifted the arm he was grasping. “Good. Can you focus on Emira while I look through my stuff for something?” He nodded, and turned to look more fully towards his twin, seeing the worry in her eyes. He felt the shame rise in his cheeks. She was worried about him because he couldn’t handle himself. What kind of brother was he? He gripped her tighter as he tried again to get his breathing under control.It was still ragged, but it didn’t hurt as much as it had.

Luz returned, and placed something in his hand, “It’s a fidget cube,” Luz explains, and Edric turns his attention to it. It’s… certainly cube shaped, for the most part. He regards it wearily, moving his thumb on a circular pad on one of the faces, noting that it moved with his thumb. “Can you focus on it for me? See what it does?” He nodded, and focused on the cube as best he could, using his thumb and fingers to manipulate the various sides.

(Descriptions relating to panic attack over)

A few moments later, he realized he wasn’t breathing as hard, and his ears weren’t ringing. His throat and eyes still hurt, and there were still a few tears washing down his face, but he could breathe. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Emira and Luz both hugged him, “Edric what was that?” his sister asked, “Are you okay? You’ve never done that before.”

“I don’t know,” he says, even though he wants to tell her that he’s never had something that bad before.

“I think you had a panic attack?” Luz said, and he turned to her. Emira did too, judging by how she suddenly looked between the two, “It’s a thing, in the Human Realm. My mom gets them sometimes. She says having something physical to focus on and work with helps her with them, and sometimes that’s ADHD toys, or a stress ball, and she also has a mantra that helps. But I happened to find that in some of the junk Eda’s been collecting from trash slugs.” With an exaggerated gag, Edric dropped the toy, causing Luz and Emira to laugh. “Don’t worry,” Luz said, “I made sure to scrub it totally clean! I think I might have used more soap on it than on Hooty last month.”

“That just makes me worry about how clean Hooty is,” Emira joked.

“We try, but,” Luz shuddered, and changed the subject, “Anyway, getting some food and drink will also help, Ed.  So let me wake Amity-”

“I’m awake,” the girl in the blanket burrito said, “but somebody,” Edric knew that if Amity were facing them, she’d be glaring at him and Emira,  “trapped me.”

“Right,” Luz said, “I’ll help with that, and then we’ll go see about breakfast.”

Luz was able to unwrap Amity, and managed to keep her from much more than glaring at the twins as they all got ready to head downstairs. A cursory glance in the living room revealed only King, curled up on the couch, and Hooty missing from the door. Edric was curious about that, but noticed Luz shuddered at the hole and turned away. Better not to ask, he assumed.

Instead, Luz led them to the kitchen, where the group discovered Eda tiredly mixing something in a cauldron. “Morning kids,” she greeted with a yawn.

"Morning Eda!" Luz beamed, "Where did Lilith and Hooty go?"

Eda was silent for a moment, mixing her potion, before she responded, "I'm thinking about expanding the Owl House, so I sent Hooty out with Lilith a few hours ago so he could shop around at the construction coven. Because for SOME reason he doesn't trust me to make the expansions any more."

"Expansions? I thought the Owl House was just… like this?" Luz questioned.

"House demons don't usually take to expansions well," Edric commented, "Is Hooty different?"

"I'd need more hands if I was gonna list how Hooty's different," Eda commented, "but you're right that house demons don't usually like expansions. But it's not because they prefer growing naturally or anything. It's because most witches only care for what they want, not what the house demon wants. Design, functionality, floor plans, even what materials are used. That ends up choking the house demon until they decide to just tear down the offending bit."

"That's," Luz commented, "kind of sad."

"Yeah. It's why house demons are a lot less popular now. Most witches don't know anything about compromise. All you have to do is work with and trust your house demon, and they'll be more than happy to let you expand them."

"Most house demons also can't remove themselves from the house without dying?" Edric questioned curiously. Eda gestured towards the living room, the hole in the door clearly visible. "I mean, how is it Hooty can just leave, when most house demons can't?"

"Hooty has experience and I have know-how," Eda commented, "There's a reason they call me the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles.How come you know so much about house demons anyway?"

Edric felt his face heat up as he mumbled his answer, “I’ve been looking at them for when I get my own place.”

“Huh,” Eda commented, “Didn’t expect that. Well, tell you what, if Hooty ends up meeting a nice shack, I’ll tell you where they leave the egg.” Eda laughed, and Edric cracked a small smile at the offer

(Line Break)

Lilith was tired. Well, that wasn’t exactly true; she and Eda had each whipped up an invigorating potion to make up for the night of lost sleep, so she was more than awake. She was just processing. There was… a lot to process. Hooty seemed to recognize this; he’d draped himself over her shoulders, and seemed to be doing his best to comfort her. She patted his head, and decided to make idle conversation, “What kind of rooms are you thinking about getting, Hootsifer?”

“At least four bedrooms, and a bathroom. And a library! Luz and the angry one like books, and I’ve always wanted to be a smart, sophisticated house! Or I could play up my fun loving nature and get a rec room! Or an indoor pool!”

“Those all sound quite lovely,” she placed her hand on his hand and patted him gently, “but an outdoor pool would attract more bugs, don’t you think?”

Hooty gasped, “You’re so smart Lulu! It would be like a stew and I could drink it whenever!” She laughed, and continued to pet her friend for a while, until they arrived at a shop operated by the Construction Coven.

“What can I do you for?” Asked the burly witch behind the counter.

“Good morning ma’am,” Lilith greeted, “My sister is looking to expand her home. Have you by chance heard of the Owl House?”

“Heard of it?” The witch guffawed, “The place is a legend in the Construction Coven! No one knows who built it, or how they managed to get one of the most violent house demons known to witch kind to cooperate!”

“I’m not that violent!” Hooty complained, causing the witch, who likely hadn’t realized Hooty was more than an accessory, to scream. “I’m a caring and gentle soul!”

“You’re the Owl House house demon?” the witch seemed afraid, and was backing away from them.

“Yep! I’m Hooty! And this,” he took a moment to wrap Lilith in a hug, “is my best friend, Lulu!”

“Pleasure to meet you,” the witch managed to stutter out, “but it's a coven policy we don’t do work on house demons.” The witch let out a nervous laugh, “Sorry about that.”

“Ah, but I thought you guys wanted to know all about me!” Hooty complained, drooping.

“Yes,” Lilith said, hiding a smirk as an idea presented itself, “It really is a shame they’ll never learn the secret to working on house demons. Especially ones that want at least six new rooms, and a pool. It’s a shame to think we’ll have to keep all that knowledge, and money, to ourselves. I imagine all that could put someone in line for coven head.”

“I know you’re playing me,” the witch acknowledged, timidly, “but you’re right.” The witch, reluctantly, began to guide them around the story. They spent, by Lilith’s count, at least two hours in the store, talking about different woods and stones, with a promise that the witch would come by that afternoon to begin the actual project.

In another hour, following a quick stop at one of the new chain-restaurants that had been popping up recently,  they returned to the Owl House, the mid-morning sun shining brightly. “Could you get the door?” Lilith asked, gesturing with her head, as her arms were occupied by a number of sacks, and at least one box. She hoped she had gotten enough food for breakfast. Hooty obliged, opening the door, before grabbing a number of sacks from her with his beak, extending towards the kitchen.

Carefully, she sat down what she still carried, and removed the backpack Hooty resided in, setting it on the floor. She picked up what she still had to carry, and made her way to the kitchen as Hooty returned. She did her best to ignore the sounds behind her, closing the door to the living room once she made it through.

She was greeted by everyone’s faces, as she entered, save Eda who was focused intently on downing her apple blood.’Good morning,” she greeted.

“Yeah yeah, it’s morning. Are we going to eat already?” King responded before anyone else, and Lilith sighed.

“Of course, King,” Lilith said, placing the box on the table and opening it to reveal a large assortment of pastries, most of which had a notable yellow filling.

“Oooh!” called King, “Slitherbeast claws!” as he scampered across the table to grab two of the paw shaped treats.He held them up in either hand, and let out a roar. Lilith noted, as did King judging by his “Weh?” that everyone else at the table blanched. Thankfully, after a moment, Luz let out a small laugh, which seemed to satisfy the young demon.

When King had made his way back to his seat, Emira spoke, “We aren’t normally allowed sweets for breakfast.”

“Since when has that stopped us?” Edric asked, having already absconded with a number of tarts.

“Since it’s being allowed,” she said, looking carefully at Lillith. Edric, for what it was worth, put down the tart he had just been about to bite into, though kept it in front of him.

“Emira’s right,” Amity said, making a quick show of disgust at the words, “Our parents would never allow this.”

“That’s what makes this sweeter,” Edric replied, before Lilith could get a word in. He took a bite, adding, “Besides, it’s thornberry!”

“Doesn’t this strike you as a little odd?” Emira almost pleaded with her brother.

“Yeah,” he answered, “Dad sent us out in the middle of a boiling rain storm, to have us stay overnight, at the house of two of the formerly most wanted-”

“Hey!” Eda attempted to interrupt, though didn’t manage to stop Edric’s speech.

“-individuals in the Boiling Isles, with not so much as a message from Mom since yesterday morning. So yeah, it’s a little odd.” There was a small bite to Edric’s voice, and it was apparently unusual, judging by how both Emira and Amity reacted to it, “So let’s just enjoy some pastries before the other shoe drops. Please.”

“Is Edric right?” Emira asked, turning to Lilith, who weighed her two choices in her mind. Either say yes, and risk freaking out Emira, Amity, and possibly Luz, or saying no, and making it hurt more later.

“Yeah, mostly.” Eda made the decision for her, “Except I’m still topping the wanted charts.” Lilith noted Emira looking to Edric, and then Amity, with concern, before wordlessly grabbing a few pastries for herself. Amity followed her siblings’ lead, and then so did Luz, leaving Eda and Lilith to split the rest, as Lilith took her own seat at the table.

The breakfast passed slowly in the silence, and there was an unmistakable tension in the room. King finished first, and Lilith noted that he was exceptionally quick to leave the room. Luz finished next, followed by Eda, and then Edric, Emira and Amity. Lilith set down her remaining pastry. “There has been some… upsetting news.” When the children all remained silent, even Luz. “Luz, could you go make sure King isn’t getting into anything?”

“No,” Amity refused, quickly grabbing Luz by the arm as she tried to stand, “Please, stay.” Wordlessly, Luz sat back down, gripping Amity’s hand in an attempt to comfort her.

“Very well,” Lilith said, “Right… Last night, your father sent you to us, even though it was a rather brutal rain storm. “ Emira was the first one to nod in acknowledgement, followed by Edric. “And there was a reason for that.”

After a moment of silence, Eda spoke, “Odalia saw that there was going to be an attack at the manor yesterday.” Lilith almost spoke up, but Eda continued after giving the children a second to digest the news, “She didn’t think you guys were gonna get hurt, but she didn’t want to risk it, so she had Alador send you kids somewhere no one would think to look for you.”

“Oh,” the twins managed to chorus, and Lilith noted Amity squeezing Luz’s hand tightly as she tried to keep her expression neutral.

Lilith picked up the silence, “This morning, I passed the manor. The wards had been undone, and… there were already guards and members of the Oracle coven investigating.” It was silent, as the children stared at her with the almost blank looks that Lilith knew meant ‘Please don’t say what you’re going to say.’ But it was too late now. “Your father…. Wasn’t found in the building’s remains.” What went unspoken, but very clearly heard, was that their mother had been.

He let himself slump against the tree, exhausted from the trek he had made so far. His shoulders sank as a heavy breath escaped him, and he couldn’t help but notice his hands were still shaking. Despite the situation, he let out a little laugh. Here was Alador Blight, a true master of abominations, and his hands were shaking. He sank down the tree further, resting on the large exposed root. The richest man on the Isles, next to the Emperor himself, and he was using some old, gnarled tree’s root as a chair.

He looked up, and was almost surprised to see the blue barrier that protected the Owl House.Almost. He supposed a part of him must have known where he was going. A part of him feared that it was Odalia’s magic, guiding him to their children, trying to get him to reclaim them. Alador shook his head, clearing the thought. Odalia wouldn’t have had the power for such a spell, even if she were alive, and it would have flirted with the line of legality… not that that really mattered, to a Blight. If he’d wanted to, he could probably have shifted off any legal ramifications from Odalia’s death. Accidents with abominations weren’t uncommon, and you can’t expect even the most powerful of oracles to be watching their own future constantly. But that’s not why he’s running, is it?

He looked to the barrier again. No, he had a number of different reasons to run. He wasn’t a parent. He only barely qualified as a father. They’d never know why, and they’d never trust him again. Not that they had in the first place. And that was ok, he told himself, it’s alright. 

Alador’s heart ached, staring at the barrier. It wouldn’t prevent his entry, and neither would that “infernal house demon” that Lily had told him about, in some of their shared moments. He could march in there, and say he’d changed his mind, that his children would stay with him in their home, and Lily could as well. He could be a better father; he could be one in the first place. His children could have parents that actually cared about them as people, not as pawns. 

For a treacherous moment, Alador’s mind showed him such a future. Waking up next to Lily just before the sunrise. Waking the children up with breakfast as the dawn filtered through the window, and sending them to school, everyone happy. Spending the whole day with Lily, and welcoming the children home with tight hugs, listening as they told him about their days. They’d laugh together, they’d cry together. They’d be a family. And then, at the end of the day, he’d go to bed beside the woman he loved… In the same bed he’d shared with Odalia. In the same house he’d shared with Odalia; the same house he’d known since he was a boy. The same house that was undoubtedly breaking down in the boiling rain. Of course that’s something he could never have.

“Hello!” a voice called from below him, and Alador turned to see a… bird-tube thing burrowing out of one of the dry spots near the base of the trees, “My name’s Hooty! It’s awfully late to have a visitor, but I’m super glad to have a new friend come by to hang out!” Oh Titan no…

“No,” Alador responded quickly, perhaps harshly, “I mean, I was just leaving.”

“Boy that sounds awfully suspicious,” Hooty commented, “If I didn’t know you were actually here to be my friend, I’d think you were here because of Luz’s mean friend and her siblings arriving here under an abomination! But you don’t look like them, so I doubt you’re related, which means you’re here as my friend!”

“They didn’t know the forcefield spell?” Alador commented out loud, shocked. He’d sent his children out in this with no reliable protection.

“Nope,” the house demon popped the p, “unless that’s what they’re calling really big and goopy abominations these days, but I wouldn’t know that. I don’t get out much!” After a moment of staring each other down, Hooty added, “Oh I know, I can ask Lulu! She’s smart so she’ll know!”

“Lulu?” Alador hadn’t been aware of anyone by that name at the Owl House, unless that was the human’s name? Amity had mentioned it, it was something close to that, wasn’t it?

“Yep, she’s Eda’s sister,” oh no…, “And MY best friend!”

“You’re friends with Lily?”

The owl gasped, “You call her that? She HATES when Eda calls her Lily. I’m gonna go tell her!”

“No! There’s no need for that!” Alador shouted after the bird tube as it disappeared into its hole. He cursed to himself before standing up and rushing towards the staircase along the path that headed further into the woods.

(Line Break)

Lilith’s letter sat on the coffee table in front of the sisters, Lilith blushing furiously, while Eda looked mostly amused. “So…” Eda said, after a long moment of awkward silence.

“We don’t need to talk about it,” Lilith said curtly.

“Oh yes we do,” Eda responded, “You were shacking up with Alador!”

“We weren’t ‘shacking up,’” Lilith defended, “And do we have to talk about this now?”

“Well when would you like to talk about? When we’re telling the kids you’ve got custody of them?”

“No!” Lilith exclaimed, “Ideally, they’ll never have to know. It’s not like it matters anymore.” She crossed her arms and looked away from Eda.

“Right, this is probably… a lot,” Eda placed her hand on her sister’s shoulder, “Are you ok?”

"I'm fine, Edalyn," Lilith shut down the question, "Let's get back to the actual topic at hand."

"Fine," Eda grumbled, "but next time you get drunk I'm gonna find out everything."

"Then I'm never drinking again," Lilith asserted.

"You go ahead and believe that."

"I will," she agreed. It was silent for a few moments before Lilith asked, "Do we have any thornberries?"

"No," Eda answered,"Why?"

"It's the only breakfast food I know the children agree on," with a questioning look from Eda, she answered, "Amity mentioned it while I was training her."

"Ah look at you,"Eda teased, "Remembering details about your children. It took me two weeks to remember Luz's name, and you're already worrying about them having food they like. You're a regular mother hen."

"Eda!" Lilith groaned, mostly in embarrassment, "I just thought it might help the situation."

"Right," Eda shot the idea down, "A nice, tense breakfast, until someone finally breaks it and says something about what's going on. My money's on King."

"My money's on the weird guy that's been sitting outside the house!" Hooty interrupted, "He was crying! Or it might have been the rain."

"Who'd come out here in weather like this?" Eda questioned.

"A scruffy nerd who knows Lulu! But he called her Lily!"

"Alador..." Lilith jumped up off the couch, running to the door. She slammed it open, and caught the shine of the purple bubble. The rain began to pick up, a loud rumble of thunder rolling across the sky as she called out for him, "Alador!"

He froze, and Lilith took a few steps towards him, to the edge of the barrier, before stepping outside of it, a small bubble forming over her. The rivulets of rain sizzled and threatened to burn her feet as she approached him. She had too many questions to ask, as she stopped a few feet from him. But she knew the most pressing one, "Why?"

He turned around, looking towards Lilith, and she could see the tears streaming down his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but if he did, the roll of thunder drowned it out. She could see the weight of his regrets on his shoulders as he took a step backwards. As Lilith brought her foot up to take a step forward, lightning came down between the two, and she stumbled back. When she managed to regain her sight, she saw Alador running away, his purple bubble fading away behind the tree line. 

(Line break)

"You want to get it nice and tight," Luz instructed as Emira and Edric handled the blanket wrapped around Amity. They pulled it as tight as possible, with Amity giving a small groan of disapproval, before Emira tucked the corner of the blanket into the inside of the roll by Amity's feet. "Yeah, that will do!"

"It's like swaddling a warg pup!” Edric said. Emira glanced at him curiously, so he responded, “Remember? I wanted to go to the Beast Keeping track stables because I heard from Viney about the new pups!”

“I wasn’t paying attention to the lesson,” Emira replied.

“Right, you were too busy paying attention to-” Edric began.

“Wait, you guys know Viney?” Luz asked, cutting Edric off.

“Well, I wouldn’t say that,” Emira said, looking away.

“Oh?” Edric looked at Emira, grinning, “Maybe you don’t because you’re scared to talk to her, but I’ll have you know I’m like, in her top ten friends.” Emira’s face flushed, and stared intently at Edric

“She doesn’t talk about you,” Luz said.

Edric, dramatically, grasped his side, letting out a gasp of, “My pride!” before falling over. Emira rolled her eyes, before grabbing a nearby pillow and smacking Edric with it. “Hey!: he cried, “What ever happened to respecting the dead?”

Luz laughed at the twins’ antics before managing to ask, “Why would Emira be afraid of Viney anyway? She’s super cool and really easy to get along with!”

“Oh, Emira’s aware, she just refuses to finally go up and say Hi Viney, I-” Edric began, once more being cut off.

“Anyway!” Emira forcefully redirected the conversation, “You still haven't explained what a burrito is.” She gestured to the blanket-encased Amity.

“Oh, right!” Luz said, quickly moving on, “A burrito! So, in the Human Realm, there’s this place called Mexico.”

“Mexico,” Edric said slowly, like he was testing the word out.

“Right, Mexico,” Luz said, “and they have a type of bread called tortillas.”

“Tortilla,” Edric repeated, nodding.

“Yeah! So you take the tortilla, and put a whole bunch of food on top of it, and then you roll it up like we did with Amity, and that’s a burrito!”

“You’re going to eat Mittens?”Emira gasped, “I thought humans eating witches was a myth!” Amity grumbled something in response to Emira’s raised voice, before starting to roll back and forth slightly.

Luz, to Emira’s evident surprise, laughed at the charges, “No, I’m not gonna eat Amity!” She placed her hand on Amity through the blankets, causing her to stop rolling, “Amity’s awesome. She’s great! I love that I get to hang out with her and,” Luz suddenly blushed, removing her hand from Amity, “be her friend. I’ve never had a friend quite like her before.”

“Luz, do you have a crush on Mittens?” Edric asked gleefully, both twins now staring at her with an almost predatory look.

“What, no! Of course not! We’re just really good friends! Totally platonic! Nothing romantic whatsoever. Definitely didn’t spend all night awake thinking after your mom nearly killed me haha. And I mean, if I did it would totally just be about how great friends we are and how it totally didn’t give me butterflies when Amity called me ‘her Luz.’ Because that’s totally a normal reaction to your friend acknowledging your close friendship-”

“Hey,” Emira gently interrupted, “It’s alright. We’re not gonna make fun of you for having a crush on Mittens.” Edric looked at Emira and raised an eyebrow. “Alright, we’ll probably make fun of you for having a crush on Mittens. At least a little. But we won’t judge you for it.”

“I absolutely judge you for having poor taste,” Edric teased, grinning, “Besides, if we go too far, you can always tease Em for her crush on Viney.”

“EDRIC!” Emira grabbed the pillow, bringing it into a hard swing against Edric’s head, with Edric blocking in time with his arms.

“I mean, I kind of already put it together,” Luz tried to defend Edric, “That’s the only reason I can think of for you to be nervous to talk to her if you know she’s cool.” 

Emira’s face flushed, and after a moment she spoke, “Well, since mine and yours are out in the open…” She smirked at Edric

“No,” he responded, watching her

“I guess it’s only fair that I tell you about…”

“Em, please don’t” Edric bowed to her, begging

“That Ed here has his own little crush.”

“Em!” Edric whined, mortified.

“It’s kind of weird to believe that you guys all have crushes that you’re scared to talk to. Like, you guys are super great. I don’t think it’s possible for you guys to be turned down.”

Edric sighed, “You’d think that…”

“But we both got stood up at Grom,” Emira finished, sulking.

“Viney turned you down? She didn’t even mention that she got asked to Grom!” Luz exclaimed.

“I didn’t ask Viney,” Emira said, “I asked a Construction track girl out. I think her little sister was one of Amity’s friends? Someone I thought Mom would approve of if she did any digging. We were at a Hex Girls concert, and she was so happy when I asked. I nearly thought she was going to crush me with that hug.” Emira smiled at the memory, before her face fell to a frown, “But she stopped answering my messages about two days befor Grom, and she showed up with some stupid guy.”

“I’m sorry,” Luz said, giving Emira a side hug, “But if it makes you feel better, I don’t think Viney would ever do that. She hates people being fake like that.”

“I’m not gonna ask out Viney,” Emira said, “If I did, Mom would find out. It would probably end with Viney in the Conformatorium.” Emira sulked further.

“I’m sorry,” Luz murmured as she squeezed the hug just a bit tighter. “What about you?” She asked Edric.

“Roughly the same story. I asked out some girl from a good family so Mom wouldn’t get on my case, but she messaged me saying she wouldn’t be going with me,” he sighed, “But I didn’t even like her so it’s alright.”

“It still sounds like you’re hurt by it,” Luz noted, before opening her arm to invite Edric into the hug.

“Maybe a little,” he said, joining the hug, “Rejection always hurts, I guess.”

“Yeah,” Luz agreed, “That’s what Grometheus showed Amity. Her crush rejecting her.” Luz was silent for a moment, before asking, “If you didn’t like her, then why did you ask her?”

“I didn’t want Mom and Dad to hurt the guy I like,” he answered, “He’s got great prospects with Abominations, so if it ended up Mom and Dad didn’t like him, well…. Dad pulls a lot of weight in the Abominations coven. Add in the fact he does Plants too and…”

“Jerbo?” Luz asked excitedly.

“Yeah,” Edric admitted quietly, and Luz began to giggle. “What?”

“Nothing,” Luz answered, “It’s just kind of funny that both of you are into your own gender and crushing on dual-track witches. It’s a pretty big coincidence.”

“Yeah,” Emira agreed, “Or it’s genetic.” She chuckled, and was joined by Edric, and then Luz. After a moment, she said, “Thanks, Luz. It feels good to be able to talk about this stuff with someone other than Ed.”\

“Hey,” Ed muttered, mildly indignant, “but yeah. It helps.”

“Amity!” Luz shouted, vaulting off the couch to latch onto her friend, “Are you ok? It’s raining!” She quickly pulled Amity inside, with Amity’s grip on her elder siblings dragging them in after her.

“Baby Blights?” Eda questioned, “What's going on? Did Odalia see sending your kids out to get mauled by the weather becoming the latest fashion in that busted crystal ball of hers?" When there was no response, beyond Luz shooting her a glare, Eda prodded more, "Seriously kids. What possessed you to come here in this weather? This place isn't exactly 'Blight Appropriate'." As Eda made air quotes, Amity practically collapsed into Luz on the sofa, and so did her Abomination, loosing three bags just inside the doorway as it collapsed into a puddle of goop and boiling water. "Ah, crap. Bug out bags."

"Bug out bags?" Luz questioned, worry creasing her brow as she laid Amity safely on the couch. 

"I guess," Edric mumbles, his eyes focused on Amity as he and Emira huddled together tightly. 

"How long have you had them?" Eda asks, watching the twins. 

"Father packed them," it was Emira who answered, perhaps slightly too loudly, as she quieted her next words, "he gave them to us today. Before he sent us out in the rain."

"Hooty, wake Lily," Eda commanded.

"One Lulu, coming up!" Hooty agreed, almost gleeful as he shut himself.

"Luz, go pour three glasses of apple blood." 

"But-" Luz tried to argue

"Now," Eda didn't leave room for argument, and Luz reluctantly got up, casting a look at the gently displaced form of Amity, and then the twins, before making her way to the kitchen.

"We don't drink apple blood," Emira said, before quietly adding, "Mother doesn't allow it."

"Hypocrite," Eda muttered, before saying, "it's not for you. It's gonna keep me up, wake up Lily, and hopefully keep the kid from the worst of the burnout." Neither of them argued against her, though Emira cast a worried look at Amity. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Edric mumbled, reaching into his pocket, “but father gave me a letter, for you.” He pulled out a plain white envelope with ‘Edalyn’ written on it, in handwriting that almost rivalled chicken scratch in decipherability, extending it to the Owl Lady.

“And I have one for Lilith,” Emira said, producing a similar envelope, with Lilith’s name on it, as Eda unceremoniously ripped open hers with her nail. The room went silent for several moments, as Eda quickly scanned her letter.

The silence was only interrupted by Luz’s entry, carrying three mugs, “I got the apple blood,” she announced, placing the mugs on the coffee table. Eda’s hand quickly shot down, grasping the “30 and flirty” mug and bringing it to her mouth, taking a long, slow drink. Then, she pulled a straw out of her hair, placing it in one of the mugs, a plain black one.

“Give this one to the kid,” Eda told Luz, adding “It’s just to give her bile sac a little boost,” when she saw Luz’s hesitant look. 

Luz grabbed the mug,moving to sit beside Amity, who hadn’t moved since Luz had left. “Amity,” Luz said, gently shaking the witch with her free hand, “You need to drink this.” 

“I don’t wanna.” Amity mumbled, barely audible, “it smells bad.” She almost burrowed deeper into the couch, as much as she could in her exhausted state.

“Eda said it would help,” Luz promised. 

“Medicine?” Amity questioned, her eyes squinting open to look at Luz before shutting quickly

“Yeah, medicine,” Luz agreed, pushing it yet closer to Amity. Amity, seemingly reluctantly, took the straw. 

“Disgusting,” Amity commented as her face seemed to pale from the taste, before drinking again as Luz held the mug.

“I paid for that,” Eda grumbled, before gesturing to Edric and Emira. “You two, take a seat. We need to have a serious talk when Lily gets down here.”

“A serious talk about what?” Lilith asked from the hall door as the twins sat down beside their sister. “Why are the Blight children here?” She yawned, leaning against the doorway. 

“I have a letter for you,” Emira answered, extending the letter over the coffee table, though careful as to not extend so far as to lose contact with her twin.

“A letter is hardly a good reason to be out at this hour, in this weather,” Lilith said, taking the letter. She looked at the letter, adding, “And I doubt Alador would send all three of his children if it were just to send me a letter.”

“Read the letter Lily,” Eda said, notably somber. Lilith gently opened her letter, pulling out the pages within. The next few moments were silent, broken only when Lilith shifted the papers in her hands. Then again, she shifted the papers, almost frantically seeming to double check something.

“What’s going on?” Luz asked, watching Lilith flip between the pages.

Eda looked at her own letter, then back up to Luz. "I'm not gonna say it twice," she nodded towards Amity, who seemed only present enough to slowly sip the apple blood Luz held for her, "and I think everyone would prefer to be rested to hear it. The baby Blights are gonna be rooming with you tonight."

"Like a sleep over," Luz tried to be cheerful, smiling at the twins, both of whom returned the smile. 

"Right, one of those," Eda agreed, "now take them up there." Luz nodded, putting Amity's mug of apple blood in Edric's hands before scooping the exhausted girl into her arms.

"Come on," Luz said, "you can help me make an Amity burrito."

"I don't know what a burrito is," Edric said, following Luz and dragging Emira with him, "but it sounds like it will inconvenience Mittens." 

"Shit," Eda said, once the coast was clear.

"That is putting it lightly," Lilith agreed, taking a seat on the now free couch. A moment later, after grabbing her mug of apple blood "What are we going to tell them?"

"Hey kids, we got some good news and some bad news. Good news is Odalia's getting the stick up her ass removed, bad news is Alador's the surgeon?"

"Edalyn!" Lilith nearly spat out her drink as she quietly yelled her admonishment.

"What? We're going to have to rip the bandage off somehow!” “No! Not like that! This needs a delicate touch!”

“That was delicate,” Eda answered, to a shocked look from Lilith, “I’m not telling you the not delicate option because you’ll get judgy.” There was a brief pause, before Eda amended, “Judgier.”

“Take this seriously!”

“Take what seriously?” King asked as he made his way into the living room from the hallway, “Also I’m sleeping in your nest tonight. Luz invited over the cupcake smasher and two new minions and the room is small as is.”

“Crap. That’s right. We’re gonna need a lot more room,” Eda realized, with some frustration.

“For what?” King asked, before noting the three bags just inside the doorway, “Ooh, bug out bags. Did one of your exes figure out how easy Hooty is to bribe again and we’re gonna leave Lilith to deal with them?”

“He can be bribed?” Lilith questioned.

“No, I fixed that when I told him he could take the bribe and still have his fun,” Eda answered, “The bags are-”

“Wait, no, I got it,” King interrupted, “tax collectors found us and we’re gonna leave Lilith to deal with them?”

“Why am I the one getting left behind”

“No, King,” Eda said, “These aren’t our bags.”

“Then whose,” King began to question, before looking at the bags, and then to the hallway, and finally back to Eda, “No. No? You can’t be serious.”

“Afraid so King,” Eda confirmed

“But I don’t want the cupcake smasher here! The two big minions we can put in a shed, but the little one needs to go. I mean, think about how Hooty feels, she beats him up every chance she gets!”

“Yeah, think about how I feel,” Hooty agreed.

“Shut up Hooty,” Eda and King said in unison, causing the tube to grumble. Eda added, “And while you’re here, grab those bags and take them upstairs.” She signalled the bags on the ground, which Hooty began to devour, causing everyone to look away. “Besides, we can’t send them away. Lily’s their legal guardian now.”

“Well then kick out Lilith,” King suggested.

“Hey! I’m right here!” Eda reminded the demon

“I’m not kicking out my sister,” Eda said, “and I’m not kicking out the kids either. Or putting them in the shed.”

“Why not?” King demanded

“Because I said so,” Eda responded, making King grumble and stare at her. Eda returned the stare, and eventually King looked away, making his way back to the hallway.

“As much as I hate to admit it,” Lilith sighed, “the little demon does have a point. There’s not very much room as is.”

“I’m not gonna make you move out Lily,” Eda said, before looking up at the ceiling.

“Alador left more than enough money for a modest home,” Lilith protested.

“Which is more than enough to get the Construction Coven to do some off-the-books work for a lot more space.” Eda suggested, “And I’m sure Hooty wouldn’t mind the expansion.”

“So you want to keep them here so you get a bigger house?” 

“Of course not Lily! It’s just… I know what it’s like to have your whole world shaken apart,” Lilith looked down and away from her sister at the comment, “and the last thing you need at a time like that is to have your world shaken more.”

“Edalyn, I-” Lilith tried to apologize. 

“Not what we’re talking about right now,” Eda said, finishing off her apple blood and setting her mug on the coffee table, “I’m too sober for more than one serious conversation tonight.” Eda paused for a moment, eyeing the empty mug. “I would have done anything for the kind of stability they can have here. I’m not gonna rip it away from them.”

“Thank you,” Lilith said, adding, after a moment, “I’m sorry for snapping at you. All of this happening at once is… Overwhelming. I would never imagine Alador to do what he says he’s going to. He’s always been more gentle.”

“Withdrawal can do a lot,” Eda commented, “Add in the guilt and all the other emotions he’s got to be feeling. It’s not so unimaginable.”

“Withdrawal? Withdrawal from what?” Lilith questioned, turning to her sister.

“Did your letter,” Eda asked slowly, “not mention anything about it?”

“Obviously not,” Lilith focused on her sister.

“Distraction spell!” Eda yelled, pulling a bag of Hex Mix out of her hair to throw at her sister, and jumped up, only to  be caught at the last moment by Lilith. 

“Edalyn, that hasn’t worked since I was eight,” Lilith complained, “Now what do you mean by withdrawal?”

“You know how Oracle magic can really start to screw with your head if you’re good at it?” Eda asked

“Yes?”

“And you know how memory wiping potions can help?”

“Edalyn!” Lilith was scandalized, “Those are highly illegal!”

“So is everything else I do!” Eda answered, “and he’s hardly the only person who bought them. I thought he was doing it because Odalia was too uptight to get it herself. I didn’t think he was taking it! Let alone mixing it with alcohol.”

“He was mixing an illegal memory potion with alcohol?” Lilith looked like she was ready to feint from shock.

“Should we just trade letters and see what he didn’t tell both of us?” Eda suggested

“No!” Lilith snapped, “He obviously intended us to keep the letters private. Otherwise he'd have sent only one, addressed to both of us."

"Who cares what he intended? It's your letter now," Edalyn reasoned, "Besides shouldn't we both know everything we can about what we're getting into? I thought you'd agree with the smart thing to do."

"I don't think it is the smart thing to do," Lilith answered simply. 

"Why not?" Eda demanded, watching her sister.

"I just don't," Lilith stood her ground.

"You're hiding something," Eda stated.

"That's ridiculous."

"Oh yeah? Then why won't you tell me why sharing our letters is a bad idea?" 

"Because it's personal, Edalyn!" Lilith snapped. 

"Who cares? Do you think I'm gonna judge you for whatever Alador told you about looking after his kids?"

"Yes!" Lilith said, to which Eda responded with a curious, almost scheming, look. "Edalyn, no!" It was too late. Eda pounced, grabbing at the letter with one hand and using her other to hold Lilith down by her face. Holding the letter out of Lilith's flailing reach, Eda began to read. 

(Line break)

"Alador," Odalia called into her husband's workshop, "where are the children?" When no answer came, she proceeded down the stairs, into the workshop proper. "Alador, answer me," Odalia commanded, approaching her husband, hunched over the work bench against the far wall, placing her hand on it's shoulder

"I'm tired, Odalia," Alador's voice called from beside the stairs. Odalia turned to look, seeing Alador step forward from behind one of the workshop's numerous tarps. Odalia took a step towards Alador, but was stopped when her hand refused to move, beginning to sink into the form slumped over the workbench. 

"What is the meaning of this?" Odalia asked, struggling to remove her hand from the Abomination as Alador's features melted away from it. 

"I told you, Odalia," Alador's voice was steady, "I'm tired." He grabbed her free hand, pulling it away from her trapped appendage. "I'm tired of this life," he told her, forcing the hand deep into the Abomination. 

"Where's your coven mark?" Odalia whispered, her eyes fixed on her husband's bare forearm. 

"I left the coven, Odalia," he answered simply, "Didn't you already know?"

"What are you talking about?" Odalia's voice grew more frightened, as she failed to recall any such memory.

"We were going to discuss it, this morning," he crouched down, beginning to move Odalia's legs into the Abomination, "And then I gave you your coffee, and you seemed to just… forget."

"Alador, what did you do?'

"What I had to, Odalia!" He shouted, breaking his calm facade, angry tears beginning to well up as he knelt before his wife. "I've spent the last ten years of our marriage forgetting every moment we spent in the same room. I can't stand you, Odalia."

"Alador!"

"SHUT UP!" he roared, "I'm so tired of hearing your Titan damned voice!" He stood up and turned away from her, "I used almost the last bit of my memory potion in your coffee. To get you to shut up and just leave!"

He took a deep, shuddering breath, before he continued, more steadily, "And you left. And I was alone with my thoughts. About you. About us. Our children."

"Alador," Odalia said meekly, "where are the children?"

"Don't pretend to care now," Alador's voice rumbled.

"I'm not pretending!"

"YES YOU ARE! NEITHER OF US CARE FOR OUR CHILDREN!" Before Odalia could respond to the accusation, Alador started a barrage of questions, "What kind of glasses does Edric need? Who's Emira's favorite bard? What is Amity's favorite book series?" When Odalia failed to answer after one second, Alador shouted, "I didn't know either! I spent hours learning about our children by snooping around their rooms to get them what they need! What kind of father does that make me? And what kind of mother, that you've never even wanted to learn."

"I am not a terrible parent," Odalia defended.

"Do you remember our children ever smiling in front of us? At us? I don't, but I can blame that on the memory potion. You can't."

"A Blight doesn't-" 

"WHY DO YOU CARE SO MUCH FOR A DAMN NAME THAT DOESN'T EVEN BELONG TO YOU?" The tears of anger rained freely as he shouted at her, "OUR CHILDREN SHOULD MEAN MORE TO US THAN THEM BEING SOME STUPID LEGACY!" It was a moment before he added, "That's why I sent them to the Owl House. I trust Edalyn Clawthorne to look after our children better than us. And Lily."

"I thought you agreed to stop calling her that."

"I lied. She's the only bright spot I have in these last ten years. I'm not giving that up. Not for you."

"Alador!"

“I should be more surprised,” Marinette could see his admiration of her in his eyes, and his smile, “but, well, you’re already so amazing.” Marinette’s cheeks heated, and she did her best to hide it by averting her gaze. “I’m glad it’s you. I don’t think I’d rather you be anyone else.” Marinette couldn’t help smiling, despite the dire circumstances.

"I'm glad it's you too, Adrien," Marinette answered. Ignoring the thoughts welling up telling her how Adrien returned her feelings, Marinette instead focused on a plan. "We need to stand up, and follow the Akuma to Hawkmoth."

"Of course, m'lady," the two of them stood up together, working in almost unnatural synchronization. They wrapped the blankets around them as hoods, keeping their face to the ground to follow the Akuma's trail. "How long do you think we have until the Akuma finishes it's business and heads for Hawkmoth?"

"I don't know," Marinette admitted, "They didn't really give away their motives," which, of course, was something very unusual by Aluma standards. Most were extremely willing to scream their motives at the top of their lungs. "Did you get anything?"

"He kind of looked like a D&D character," Adrien said, "Maybe his character died? Look for a character sheet?" Marinette nodded, it was as likely as anything else. "He's probably after his DM for killing the character," Adrien hypothesized, "but if it happened tonight, he has probably already done so."

Marinette didn't like thinking about that, instead commenting, "So he's heading for Hawkmoth?" She tried to ignore that they were rather quickly falling behind. The Akuma's lead continued to grow when Adrien tripped, bringing both of them down.

"My Lady!" Adrien's voice was slightly pained, and incredibly worried, "My Lady, something's wrong!" Marinette turned to look at him, and fear pierced her heart.

"Adrien!" She couldn't keep her voice down, "Your foot!" It was gone; Not cut off or anything, just gone. Like it had never been there. Slowly, the lack of existence crawled up his leg, pulling him apart piece by piece. 

"Marinette," Adrien's voice was desperately begging for help. Marinette wrapped her arms around him, hoping she could somehow anchor him to her. "Marinette, please," she tried to ignore the strange distance to his terrified voice as he returned the embrace. "What's happening?"

"Hawkmoth," it was the only reasonable conclusions. He must have wished to get rid of them. She could feel her partner getting lighter in her arms as the spread of the non-existence grew quicker. "Please don't go," it was a useless request, she knew. She could feel him leaving. 

"I promise I'll stay with you," he promised. Marinette's hands moved to cup Adrien's face, before pressing a kiss to his lips. True Love's Kiss always worked right? Her hands collapsed inward, the sides of her partners face slipping from her grasp. The last she saw of Adrien was his green eyes, reflecting a deep pain, before they too faded away. 

A certain fuzziness overtook her. Was this how Adrien felt? More importantly, who was Adrien? Was he why she was crying? She couldn't remember. Why couldn't she remember? She wrapped the polka-dotted blanket around her and headed home; she could figure out what happened there.

It was early when Marinette woke up; far earlier than usual, even for a school day. The sun was just barely beginning to peer into her room when she opened her eyes. She hadn't slept particularly well; she had been upset last night, after all, though she couldn't quite remember why. It was probably nothing. Marinette took the opportunity granted to her to snuggle into her warm, red and black polka-dotted blanket. "Marinette," her trap door swung open as her mother came into view, "You need to wake up or- Oh, you're already awake."

Marinette laughed a little at the slightly awkward situation, "Yes maman, I'm awake." Sabine continued up, into Marinette's room, before moving near her bed.

"You were crying last night," Sabine showed clear worry for her daughter, "Are you alright? Did you have a spat with Luka?"

"No, maman, Luka and I are doing just fine," a blush tinged her cheek as she answered, "I'm not really sure why I was upset last night." Her mother pursed her lips, but said nothing. Marinette wished she could give her an answer, but she simply didn't have one. She changed the subject, "Actually, I was wondering, could I invite Luka over after school?"

"Of course dear," Sabine smiled, "Just make sure that your door stays open."

"Maman!" Marinette's blush intensified. Sabine chuckled, then gave Marinette a hug before descending from her room once more. Marinette made her way to the bathroom, showered, and got prepared for her school day quickly, used to a rushed morning most days. She eventually made her way to school, sitting down next to Alya.

"You're early today," her best friend commented.

"I didn't sleep well," Marinette answered, "Something upset me last night, or something, but I can't remember what." Alya looked like she was about to say something, so Marinette added, "No it wasn't Luka, my mom already asked. But I am going to be inviting him over after school."

Alya grinned, "Oh? Are you going to work on a new project with him?" She teased.

"No!" Marinette blushed, "We're just gonna hang out."

"You know I have to wonder what's going to be han-" Alya was interrupted by Marinette.

"I don't ask you about you and Nino," she pointed out. It was Alya's turn to blush. "And besides, we've only kissed a couple times. Luka's really chill."

"What a gentleman," Alya teased. The two continued to banter until class started. Marinette's eyes drifted to the empty seat by Nino; usually Nathaniel sat beside him, but the artist was out sick today. For some reason she couldn't quite place, it was almost difficult to imagine Nathaniel sitting there. "Hey girl, you ok?" Alya whispered, "You're staring awfully hard at Nathaniel's seat."

"I'm fine," she answered quietly, breaking her eyes from the chair, "I just thought I saw something."

"If you say so," Alya answered, and the two of them turned back to their notes. While Marinette couldn't shake the feeling of something being off with Nathaniel's seat, she could ignore it. The rest of the day passed by mostly uneventfully, with Marinette texting Luka over lunch to ask him if he wanted to come over after school. He was glad to accept.

 Marinette greeted Luka at the backdoor of her parents' bakery. She hugged him before leading him inside and up to her room, making sure to leave the trap door open. The two quickly settled into their comfort zone with each other; Marinette designing while Luka strummed his guitar and wrote down some ideas. She was happy. 

“I think I fucked up,” he heard her whisper between sobs. “Like, big time.” 

She was calming down slowly, so Adrien waited a moment before pressing the issue, “What happened Chloe?” She continued crying softly for a minute before she calmed down enough to answer.

“Sabrina and I,” she managed to get out, before crying more. Adrien had an inkling of what might have happened. The two were close; and if something happened between them, well, that explains why Chloe would call him first.

“Did you get into a fight?” He pushed gently, hoping he could get a better grasp on the situation.

“Not exactly, “ she answered. What had happened then? “We were going to have a sleepover, and…” Chloe burst into sobs again, clearly wounded by the memory.

“It’s okay, Chloe,” Adrien comforted his friend, “I’m here, I’m listening.” They hadn’t fought, but something had happened at their sleepover? Adrien tried to piece something together from that, but came up dry. He turned to look at Plagg, who eyed him back. Maybe Plagg could go check on Chloe?

“Not unless you triple my camembert for the next month,” Plagg seemed to know what Adrien was thinking, and wasn’t about to agree. Adrien could tell that Plagg was listening to the conversation intently, though, by the way he focused on the phone. He was curious too, even if Adrien knew he’d never get him to admit it.

"I… we were sitting on my bed, watching Netflix. Some ridiculous horror movie," she began recounting her tale, despite her sniffing.

"You hate horror movies?" At least, she had always said she did.

"They're usually cheap and lame, and I don't like being scared," Chloe confirmed, "But Sabrina was there, and she had talked about it, so I figured it couldn't be too bad." Adrien nodded intently, receiving a snicker from Plagg, since Chloe couldn't see him nodding. "Anyway, we were watching this ridiculous horror movie, and I ended up getting scared." Chloe took a moment to breathe carefully, before continuing, "And Sabrina had her arm around me, because I was scared and she knows how I hate being scared. And it was nice and I.. " Chloe's tears began to return full force.

"It's ok Chloe, I'm sure whatever happened can be fixed," Adrien had absolutely no clue what could have happened, but if he knew one thing, it was that Sabrina and Chloe could always make up with one another.

"I tried to kiss her, Adrien," Adrien... hadn't known Chloe liked girls, "I'm supposed to like cute rich guys, like you, but I couldn't help myself. It's that stupid movie's fault. If it weren't for that movie, my heart wouldn't have been pounding and Sabrina wouldn't have been holding me and I would have kept my lips to myself."

"She's lying," Plagg whispered, "You should read her diary. They dress up as you and Spots and…" 

Adrien frowned at Plagg, waving his hand to shush the kwami. "Kisses don't come out of nowhere like that, Chloe. It's ok to like girls."

"I don't!" Chloe denied, "I don't have any feelings for her!"

"Denial isn't just a river in Egypt," he lightly taunted."It’s ok to have feelings for her, Chloe. Love is an amazing thing.”

“I don’t love her!” Chloe screamed. “I know what love feels like. I loved you. This can’t be love.I’ve never felt like this before.”

“Chloe, love comes in different forms, and they don’t feel the same way. Like, you love your dad, right?” Adrien asked gently

“Yeah,” Chloe responded, seemingly receptive to Adrien’s questioning/

“And it doesn’t feel like what you felt for me, right?” Adrien tried nudging her towards the obvious conclusion.

“Of course not!” Chloe seemed almost scandalized at the question, “You’re Adrikins, and he’s my dad!”

“And Sabrina is Sabrina; the love you feel for her is going to be different than anything you felt for me,” Adrien tried to guide her gently.

“I don’t love Sabrina,” Chloe denied, quietly this time, “I’m just upset because I kissed her and ruined our friendship. She just, left, right after I kissed her!”

“Did she seem angry, or upset?” Adrien asked gently.

“I don’t know,” the sniffles were threatening to take over as Chloe responded, “She just, she looked shocked, got up, and left.”

“Maybe she needs time to figure things out?” Adrien suggested, “And it sounds like you do too.”

“I told you, I’m not-” Chloe tried to deny, even more weakly.

“I get it, you don’t think you are, but trust me,” he interrupted, “You need to reflect on it, ok? You have the entire weekend to figure out your feelings. Then, you can talk to her Monday morning,”

“You’re probably right,” she answered quietly, “Thanks, Adrien. I’ll think about it.”

“Of course. Good night, Chloe,”  Adrien looked to his clock. Just past 12. Well, it’s not officially morning until the sun is up, so good night still works

“Good night Adrien,” the line went dead, and Adrien layed back down, quickly falling asleep. His weekend passed by quickly, with only an early morning akuma attack on Sunday the only thing of note, and soon he was waking up on Monday morning.

“You look eager today,” Adrien commented to Plagg, already hidden in his overshirt. 

“We both know she couldn’t be tactful to save her life,” Plagg responded, “And I, for one, love watching disasters like this in progress.”

“I’m sure Chloe will do fine,” Adrien responded, though he did have to admit to himself he was a bit worried. Plagg…. Wasn’t wrong. It could go badly, but he knew he couldn’t interfere. This was something Chloe had to do on her own. 

Sabrina was already at her locker, alone, when Adrien arrived. He avoided saying anything to her; it wasn’t his place to get involved. He was more than glad to eavesdrop, however, and set about looking through his locker as he waited for Chloe. It wasn’t long before he heard a distinct clicking, Chloe’s high heels against the floor. The high heels weren’t the only difference in her outfit; she was wearing a dress from his father’s line that Adrien hadn’t even realized was out yet, and she had let her hair down. Come to think of it, that dress HADN’T been released yet. “We need to talk,” Chloe said, cornering Sabrina.

“What about, Chloe?” Sabrina asked, meekly trying to avoid the issue.

“I kissed you, Sabrina,” Chloe said. When Sabrina tried to scoot away, Chloe placed her hand against the locker, blocking her escape. Sabrina started to speak up, but Chloe cut her off, “I understand if you don’t want to be friends because of this, but I need to say this ok?” Sabrina nodded, and Chloe continued, “I was really confused about why I did it, and it hurt a lot when you left without saying anything.”

“Sorry,” Sabrina offered quietly.

“I’m not done talking,” Chloe warned, then added, “I didn’t mean for that to sound rude. If you interrupt I’m going to lose my nerve, ok?” Sabrina nodded, and Chloe continued, “I cried for a long time, Sabrina. Because you’re important to me and I was worried I’d ruined what we built up. I called Adrien, and he told me to spend the weekend thinking about you, and everything.” Adrien ducked behind his locker, in case Sabrina looked over. “But the thing is, it only took me Saturday to realize what I was feeling,” Adrien heard Chloe pause and take in a deep breath; “I lo- I luh-” Chloe stumbled over her words a few times, before she finally managed to admit, “I like you, Sabrina. Romantically. Every last moment I’ve ever spent with you is a treasure, Sabrina, and I wouldn’t trade a single one of them for anything. And I know you might not want to be friends anymore because of this but I just couldn’t keep this bottled up anymore.”

“Chloe, you’re right. I don’t want to be your friend” Adrien peeked his head around the corner, shocked to hear that. He saw Sabrina looking into Chloe’s eyes, before grabbing the taller girl by the face and gently kissing her, “I want to be your girlfriend.”

“You scared me,” Adrien could just barely hear Chloe say to Sabrina, before wrapping her arms around the smaller girl. “Why did you leave Friday night?” She eventually asked. Adrien was almost ready to leave, but he had to admit he was curious too

“I was,” Sabrina paused for a moment, seemingly searching for the right words, “I was confused too. We’d only ever kissed when we were playing Ladybug and Chat Noir, and we haven’t played since…”