KING OF DEMONS

KING CLAWTHORNE         ( THE OWL HOUSE )

baby. baby boy.

technically a god-like being? we’re still working on that.

loves his mom and big sister to the ends of the earth.

used to think he was a king. doesn’t anymore, but kept the name.

literally a child. really. he’s like eight.

enjoys belly rubs, but only from luz.

just a little lad. a wee creature. an ankle-biter, if you will.

likes to yell and is not afraid to show it.

has the most adorable squeak of rage.

“King?!”

There’s a genuine shock at the sight of him—not just because he’s barrelled right into her legs. Lilith hasn’t seen the little Titan in months, and some part of her held a quiet fear that they would never meet again.

That might be why, when she realizes he’s running from someone, instinct takes over before she can think to ask questions.

“Hold on,” she warns, though it’s unnecessary as she already feels his little claws gripping her shirt. And in an instant she’s readied her staff to take off, carrying them both high into the air.

        despite the excitement, king was careful to keep his claws firmly in her shirt and decidedly away from skin, even as they shot up into the sky fast enough to pull a startled ‘weh!’ from him. despite the jarring movement, he was used to eda’s erratic flying, and was able to stay firmly lodged on lilith’s shoulder until she leveled them out enough to relinquish his death grip enough to no longer worry about tearing her shirt. for a moment afterward, he was still, fur puffed and adrenaline rushing through him, before king managed to shake himself slightly and lean forward far enough to fit lilith into his point of view.

    he found himself... wanting her to do that again. to have that moment of lulled safety, again. and so he took one step, and then another, and then another, until he was running to willow. small puffs of breath left him, and by the time he’d reached her, had skidded to a halt at her feet, he was nearly panting.

    ❝ willow! ❞ there was uncertainty there, in his voice, in the slight wobble of his chin. he stood there for a moment, awkwardly. after all, she was more luz’s friend than king’s... but she had been kind to him, and to luz. ❝ um, are you... okay? ❞

  “ Ah yes that was the word they called it! ” his ears and tail perking up,like how they do in the ‘eureka!’ emote

 “ Ch….Christ-Mast! That was it! To be honest their version sounds more……Appealing than ours…..I do not want the thought of him breaking into my living space ”

  “ Tis not that odd to me…..I have learned they seem to have similar traditions to my Star just under different names…..I am guessing this ‘december’ tradition is……Ah forgive me the name is escaping me since I know it as Starlight…. ”

  “ Ah,one is guessing this is what the people here call their Moons……I am still learning seeing as back on my Star we do not have this…..’November month’ ”

Eda still wasn’t so adept with human technology as the younger witches who’d gotten acclimated to this place, even though her cumulative time was probably much greater. Scrolls she understood just fine, but these phones in comparison just had way too many features to accidentally trigger.

Still, she’d figured it all out enough to use the features she wanted when she needed to. She’d found a bench in the park to crash on- one of the nearby bars she liked to hit up wasn’t open for about a little over a half hour, so she wanted to spend that time browsing humiliating videos on MewTube. The site may have featured the largest conglomeration of adorable pet videos known to man or witchkind, but seeing somebody make a complete fool of themselves in public was always fun too. Owlbert didn’t quite seem as into it as she did, but he was still watching along with his cackling owner.

“Wow, that…how do you even fall like that? She definitely broke something.” With a smile on her face even as she talked about that sort of harm, she began to look through more recommended videos when her Palisman started hooting excitedly. “Huh? Wha-” Before she could ask, a soft weight hit her right leg, the familiar endearing whine making her heart jump. Sure enough, firmly clinging to her leggings was someone she’d worried for whole nights at a time about, safe and sound with her once again.

”King!” Eda bent down and gently grabbed him to lift him up from where he was. His claws probably tore at her leggings a bit, and she couldn’t care less. Her arms pulled him into a tight hug- she tried to let up a bit due to his size, but she wasn’t sure how well she’d done. “I am, I’m right here…I’m okay. I’m so glad you are too.”

        there was only a moment of resistance when king felt her hands around his middle, tugging gently in a clear attempt to pick him up. he felt unwilling to let her go, even if it was only for a few seconds, even with the knowledge that he would end up in her arms if he did. but it lasted only that moment, his claws only gently snagging on the fabric of her leggings before king let go with the promised assurance of her arms around him. and he was not disappointed when she immediately drew him into a hug—maybe a little on the tight side, but he couldn't bring himself to care. not when he was seeing her again, after not knowing what had happened to her, raine, and the others on the day of unity. not so soon after being pulled away from luz like that.

    the thought of it all, the uncertainty and the fear, made king sniffle, once, twice. he could feel his eyes starting to grow damp, and before he knew it, there were full tears pooling in his eyes as he burrowed deeper into eda’s arms. he didn’t want to cry again, but he couldn’t seem to help it. not when he felt so overwhelmed, and so relieved, at the same time. not when he was with his mom again.

    ❝ run! ❞

    ❝ you! intruder! ❞ the fact that they clearly had a key meant little to him. ❝ who said you could come in here! ❞

Luz heard King before she saw him–the little noises he made were ones she’d recognized anywhere in the universe. She whipped around towards the direction she’d heard them from only to suddenly have a little brother slam into her hard enough to knock her backwards onto her rear. Her arms wrapped around him tightly as she toppled, the hug automatic and natural.

“King!” Luz gasped breathlessly, his name a half-laugh-half-sob. As he cried into her shirt, she held him even tighter, one hand raising to the back of his skull with the intent to rub his head–instead she pats him once before just holding his head, her own bowing down to press her forehead to his horns.

“King, it’s okay, I’m here, I got you,” she finally reassures, voice soft. Finally, she begins to rub the back of his head. “I’m okay. I got you.”

        it was grounding, feeling her arms around him, her forehead pressed to his. it felt simultaneously that he had just been held like this by her, and also that it had been so long. the feeling made king cry harder, for a moment, letting the feeling of safe, warm, and familiar wash over him as his big sister hugged him. it didn’t matter where he was, or what was happening, because luz was here with him, and she would know what to do. she always did, and she always made sure he was okay. it was their job to look after each other, and now that they were together again, king was confident that’s how it would be again.

    letting his sobs slowly die down into sniffling, king wiped at his eyes with an arm before turning still-watery eyes back up to luz. he hadn’t meant to hit her so hard, or knock her to the ground, but he couldn’t make himself feel sorry when it had brought them even closer. not when he still didn’t want to pull away from her quite yet.

    head snapping up and around, king was scurrying across the grass before he’d even really thought about it, bounding forward on all fours to reach the source of the laugh. as so it was only a matter of moments until he’d collided with long legs, clawed paws immediately clinging to the fabric of her leggings even as a wail left his mouth.

                            ❝ EEEEEDAAAAAAA!!! ❞

    ❝ you’re here! you’re okay! ❞

    small ‘weh!’s left him as he sprinted as fast as his short limbs could take him, jumping and slamming into luz like a torpedo. his yells turned to sniffles, and then to full crying as he clung to her with all his strength.

    ❝ luz! you’re—you’re— ❞ okay, he wanted to say, but the word seemed stuck in his throat beneath the tightness that threatened to close it. instead, he settled on burying his face in her shirt, clawed fingers digging into the fabric as he tried to pull himself even closer.