The angel of the owl house

Season 1: The Demon Realm

Chapter 5: A Horrible Night to have a Curse

Luz giggled quietly to herself as she recorded King on her phone. The little demon had somehow gotten a ducky sock stuck to his nose and was trying to get it off, refusing her help whenever she offered. It was an adorable sight, so she had opted to record it to show her Mami when she finally returned to the Human Realm. She needed all the evidence she could get that the Demon Realm wasn't so bad, so her Mami would let her return!

It had been two days since Luz's day at Hexside, and even though it was technically the weekend over those days, Luz had gone back to assist with the clean-up for a couple of hours. It was today, the first day of school after the incident, that officially started their punishment though, so Luz had joined the others in spending an hour working both before and after school, spending the time between in lessons with Eda while her new friends were in class.

Principal Bump and the teachers were doing the brunt of the actual construction, repairs, and dangerous work, but the so-called "Punishment Crew" were helping by moving supplies, delivering things, and clearing out junk and burnt foliage from the ruins below. Bump had decided that with the rediscovery of the Fibul Academy Ruins, it was finally time to expand Hexside, so they would soon be refurbishing the extensive ruins into a part of the main school. To that end, teachers paired with a couple of the Punishment Crew were sent in to survey the ruins, while the oracle track students used their spirits to make sure there were no nasty surprises.

It had been hard work, even if only for an hour at a time twice a day, but Luz had been happy to have the excuse to hang out with Willow some more, as well as get to know Amity as well. Boscha and most of her crew ignored Luz, but Amity and Amelia were the exceptions. Amelia was becoming good friends with Willow, sharing a love of plants (Willow was loving the plant track so far) and Amity wasn't teasing Willow any more, instead treating her neutrally. Apparently she only became friendly when Luz was around, something Willow had smirked about as she'd told the disguised angel. Luz didn't know what that was about, but she'd been happy either way.

Luz was pulled out of her reminiscing by King letting out a frustrated growl and rolling onto his front. He slapped down a plant glyph and summoned up a few small, thorny vines to grab the ducky sock stuck to his face and shred it, whereupon he laughed triumphantly and stomped on the remnants; "Haha! Where are you now, ducky sock! Fear my mighty magic!"

"You're getting good at that." Luz complimented as she put her phone down to sweep up the scraps of sock. The woods behind the Owl House, the old tower, and the basement were all full of pots with plants grown by King and Luz for Eda, who'd been rubbing her hands together with glee over the money they were saving since they found the glyph.

"Since my true power was sealed away somehow, this is the only magic I have. Which reminds me; I called you here today to offer a gift!" King proclaimed.

"Ooh, a gift? What is it?" Luz leaned forward expectantly.

King went over to a large rectangular object with a sheet over it, then grandly pulled it off to reveal a cork-board with various demonic pictures pinned to it. At the top read "Demons 101".

"The gift of knowledge!"

Luz grinned; "You want to teach me about demons?"

"Yes! You taught me the light and plant glyphs, so it only seems fair!" King nodded, "Now I had this whole speech about how we're grim tricksters of the twilight, and creatures of sulfur and bone!" he pumped his little fist, then wilted; "But Eda pointed out that since you're an angel, it probably wasn't a good idea to teach you how scary and violent we can be… so she helped me put together another kind of class!"

Luz smiled with interest. She knew that the demons of the Boiling Isles weren't all horrifying monsters; the wild ones were basically just intelligent and dangerous magical animals, while the "civilised" ones were just people with slightly different quirks than witches, humans, and angels. King's "scary" class would have likely been an exaggeration born from his overactive imagination, and his belief that he was the King of Demons.

"Okay Professor King, your eager student awaits." she said, putting her phone away.

King gave an excited little giggle at the title, then put on a funny blue hat with a cord atop it, and grabbed a long stick to point with. "Then let us begin! Now, the exact origins of us demons is debated, but the most popular theory, according to Eda, is that our ancestors were born from primordial pools of the Titan's decomposing matter, when it first died and its magic and flesh began to go wild without something to control it. Exposure to this same wild magic is what supposedly caused witches to evolve Bile Sacs." he pointed to a vague map of the Boiling Isles, then to a doodle of another demon like himself, and a basic witch stick figure.

"We demons come in all manner of shapes and sizes, but as a general rule, we all fit into one of three categories; Bug, Biped, or Beast; AKA The Three Bs."

King pointed to a crude doodle of Adegast and a fairy; "Bug Demons are the weirdest looking ones; while they tend to look like common bugs, a few have evolved to look like other types of creatures. They're experts in mimicry, and are tricksters and predators! Hooty is supposed to be a kind of Bug Demon too, but I'm not really sure if that's true… especially since he also says Bug Demons communicate through dance… I tried it out myself, but apparently I "said" something offensive so he tried to eat me!" he shuddered. "Bug Demons are a really broad category and the most difficult to identify; the only certainty with their kind is that all of them have to spin a cocoon to go from their child state to their adult state."

He then pointed to a drawing of the Cthulhu-like demon teenager Luz had met a few days ago, "Biped Demons are the humanoid ones. They first came about when demons and witches started having kids, so they're kind of like witches too. They're the most intelligent demons and have Bile Sacs and can cast magic like a witch. You probably saw a lot of them at Hexside."

Luz nodded, remembering all the weird and wonderful students she'd seen. But that also made her curious as she remembered people like Boscha. She raised her hand; "Hey Professor King, if witches all look like humans with pointy ears, or angels without wings, does that mean that everyone with extra parts, like more eyes or horns, is a Biped Demon?"

King's eyes brightened, glad that Luz was getting into his lesson; "Good question! The answer is no, or at least not exactly. Biped Demons that have kids with witches can end up with either a smaller version of their own species, unchanged, or a witch with a couple of demonic features. I think it's decided by which parent is the birth-giver. Eda wouldn't tell me how demons reproduce and she won't let me read any books about it, but she did say that all children are the same species as their birth-giver and a few of them, mostly witches, can also take features of their other parent."

Luz listened with interest, and tried not to smirk at the mental image of Eda trying to avoid giving "the talk" to King. He was only about 8 years old, according to Eda, so Luz couldn't blame her for wanting to avoid the subject!

Lastly, King pointed to a picture of some kind of yeti-looking monster stood next to a giraffe; "The last type of demon are the Beast types. They're the least intelligent and are basically just wild animals, with almost none of them having real magic. They tend to be aggressive and territorial, but some species of Beast Demons are practically tame, and are kept as pets, even by other demons."

"Wait, is that a giraffe?" Luz raised an eyebrow.

King nodded; "Oh yeah, those freaks got banished from the Demon Realm thousands of years ago. Not sure what happened to them after that."

"They ended up in the Human Realm; you can see them in most zoos, or out in the savannahs." Luz told him. King eyed her like he was trying to figure out if she was joking or not.

"Well… that's one more reason to avoid the Human Realm!" he decided.

Luz giggled, trying to imagine a bunch of powerful witches and demons being terrified of the giraffes at the Gravesfield zoo. Personally, she'd always liked them, but thought they were funny looking. However thinking of demons did raise another question. "Say Professor King, which kind of demon are you? You don't look like a bug, and you're too intelligent to be a beast. Are you a Biped? I've never seen you draw a magic circle… do you have a Bile Sac?"

King went quiet for a moment; "Actually, I don't know what kind of demon I am. I think I'm a Biped… or at least I was one, back before I lost my powers. Aside from glyphs, I haven't been able to use magic since I was cursed into this form…"

"Has Eda taken you to a healer before?"

"No, but she did do scans on me. I don't have a Bile Sac." King said, "And I don't think I can spin a cocoon either… so unless I'm actually some lowly beast, it has to be because of this form I'm stuck in."

Luz didn't seem convinced; she definitely believed King was something different than the Three Bs, but she wasn't so sure about the King of Demons thing. Before she could say anything else though, the crack of thunder startled her.

"Uh oh, looks like its gonna rain." King said.

Luz gasped; "I love the rain!"

Before King could stop her, she got to her feet and ran to the door. She threw it open and stepped outside; "I always love feeling the first few drops in my hair. Plus there's something so cool and primal about thunderstorms! Like the heavens themselves are roaring!" she said excitedly.

"Luz, wait! Get back inside!" King yelled, hesitating in the door frame.

"Huh? Why? It's just a little wat-AH!"

Luz cried out as a drop of rain landed on her outstretched palm, making a hissing sound. It was absolutely scalding, leaving a red mark where it had landed. Luz recoiled and saw more drops of rain landing around her, letting off wafts of steam and killing the more fragile greenery around them.

"What!?" Luz yelped.

"Boiling rain!" cried Eda, running back to the house. She'd been to the market to stock up on supplies for dinner, but was now high tailing it towards Luz and the Owl House, trying to shield herself from the rain. She saw Luz and grabbed her; "Everybody inside, now!"

Without breaking pace, the Owl Lady dragged Luz back into the house, literally diving through the door as the rain really began to pick up. Eda landed relatively safely, but Luz went head over heels and slammed into King, before both ended up rolling into the far wall with pained groans.

"Phew, that was close! Sorry for the rough landing, kid. Trust me, the boiling rain would have been worse." Eda grinned.

Luz winced as she pulled herself to her feet; "I'll take your word for it…"

She helped King to his feet too, then Eda sat them both down in the kitchen to apply burn ointment to Luz's palm and some basic healing magic to both children's bruises. After they were both healed up, Eda gave them a couple of band-aids to put on, since King always liked to have some evidence of his "battle scars." King stuck his over the bridge of his skull nose, while Luz put hers on her arm.

"Now we're boo-boo buddies!" King proclaimed.

Luz squealed at his cuteness; "Oh my gosh, I love you so much!"

Eda chuckled at the kids' antics as she began to head outside again; "I've got to put up a barrier around the house, before the rain picks up any more and damages the place. Come sit under the porch roof and watch; it's a useful spell to learn."

Luz nodded eagerly and followed her, putting King on her shoulders. Once they were outside and kept safe and dry by the little roof over Hooty's door, Eda drew a spell circle to create a translucent yellow dome over her head to demonstrate it to Luz, then gestured for her to give it a try. Luz focused on what she wanted as she drew her own golden spell circle, and actually managed to produce a decent protective barrier over her head, though it was less like a dome and more like a light film that was draped over her and King.

"Hey, I actually did okay at this one!" Luz grinned happily, stepping out into the rain. The air was still uncomfortably hot and muggy thanks to the boiling rain, but at least it wasn't painful.

"Go figure, an angel would be pretty good at protective magic. Still needs some work, but you can help me out now." Eda said, summoning her staff (which wasn't harmed by the rain) and stepping out to join Luz.

"I can help too!" King declared, grabbing his notebook and making a plant glyph. He activated it, causing a sturdy tree to grow around the three of them and keep them out of the rain. The tree's leaves died immediately, but the strong bark kept the rain out, leaving the trio safe in its hollow.

"Nice work, King. That'll save us some strength." Eda complimented, dismissing her barrier and signalling for Luz to do the same. She then began casting numerous spell circles one after the other, overlapping them until they formed a white ball in her hands. "Luz, focus on the barrier spell and add your own circles to this ball, over and over. We're going to fold your magic into the barrier along with mine, like when we fold out magic into our potions, got it?"

Luz nodded and obediently began adding her own strength to the white spell orb. "Boiling rain on the Boiling Isles… you know, Mami used to say it rained fire and brimstone here. I think this is the closest she's been to being right about this place!"

"Yeah, we don't really have weather. We have plagues, gorenados, shale hail, painbows…"

"It's like a rainbow, but looking at it turns you inside out!" King said cheerfully.

If Luz's hands weren't busy, she'd be hiding in her hood at the mere idea of those.

Thanks to Luz's help, Eda completed the barrier spell a lot faster than she'd expected, thrusting the head of her staff through the orb then slamming the staff's base against the ground, causing the spell orb to erupt into a massive golden bubble around the Owl House, which then shrank until it covered the place perfectly, like Luz's film-like barrier.

"All done. Thanks for the assist, kid." Eda said as she began to head back inside the house.

Luz gasped at the display of magic; "Wow… I hope I can become that powerful one day. Maybe I should practice the barrier spell some more… there's got to be some people in Bonesborough who could use the help!"

Before Luz could get carried away, Eda grabbed her and dragged her inside again; "Nope; you're staying right here. Until the boiling rain stops, no one is allowed outside tonight."

"Aw…" Luz pouted.

"No whining; this is the Owl House and I am the Owl Lady, so what I say goes!"

Luz and King rolled their eyes good-naturedly. Then Luz said; "Speaking of Owls, is your curse okay? You must have just used a ton of magic."

The girl eyes the jewel on Eda's chest; Eda had told her that it was a magic monitor after she'd revealed her curse to her, and it was looking a little dull.

Eda frowned; "It did take it out of me… Come to think of it, my Curse Cure Elixir has been marinating for over five days at this point. Now is probably the best time to test it."

She began heading to the basement, but suddenly staggered as a wave of exhaustion hit her. "Whoa… maybe it took more than I thought."

"Eda!" Luz cried, rushing over to help her; "Hold on, I'll get you to your room, then go and grab the potion myself."

Eda was too tired to argue, so let Luz help her up the stairs and to her room. Eda then stepped behind her privacy screen to change into her pajamas, while Luz rushed back down and headed to the basement.

As she passed King, he frowned; "You're going to come back to the lesson after helping Eda, right Luz? I was gonna let you scratch a demon's tummy; me!"

Luz looked guilty; "Sorry King, can we postpone it until later? I want to make sure Eda is okay. She does a lot for us, so I want to be there for her."

King couldn't really argue with that, so he just huffed and went off to keep an eye on Eda while Luz fetched the potion. The young angel hurried down to the basement and over to the cauldron with the Curse Cure Eda had been brewing. It was still simmering away over a magical flame, so Luz grabbed a ladle and poured some into an empty vial. However, the result was… disappointing. The potion looked almost exactly the same as the common elixirs Eda had been drinking for years, only slightly less orange and more golden.

"Is this really going to help? I can't feel much strong magic from it." Luz frowned, sniffing it. She then looked over to the now-empty vial of tears she'd given Eda. The Owl Lady had used the whole batch, but maybe that wasn't enough?

"Maybe I can make it stronger with more tears…" Luz wondered aloud. On the one hand, she was still kind of uncomfortable having any part of herself put in a potion, and she also didn't think it was the wisest idea to meddle with Eda's concoction, but on the other hand, Eda had literally helped save her life against the Mandragora and had taken her in for the summer, so Luz felt like she owed the woman. Besides, angel tears weren't toxic, so adding more couldn't hurt Eda, and if it messed the potion up, Eda still had a whole cauldron of the stuff.

Making up her mind, Luz searched Eda's lab for another vial of the Tearful Tonic, eventually finding some in Eda's store cupboard. "I can't believe I'm actually taking this stuff willingly…" Luz muttered, remembering the day Eda had tried to force her to take some. Acting quickly before she could change her mind, Luz let a single drop of the tonic fall on her tongue. Immediately, she burst into tears and her chest shook with sobs, forcing the girl to try and keep quiet in case she drew King or Hooty's attention. As she cried, she held the Curse Cure under her chin so the tears would drip into it, and each drop made the potion glisten and shine a bit brighter while the colour got paler.

By the time the ten minute duration of the Tearful Tonic had expired, Luz felt awful. Her eyes were sore, her chest ached, her throat felt like she'd swallowed a hair ball, and her head pounded from dehydration. However, she'd cried so many tears that Eda's potion had gone from a shining gold to a shimmering pearlescent colour, not unlike Luz's concealment stone.

"Ugh, let's not do that again." Luz mumbled, wiping her face. She put the rest of the tonic away and snuck up to the bathroom to wash her face and hide the evidence of her crying, before finally going into Eda's room to find the woman sitting sleepily in her nest as King kept her awake by singing very, very badly.

"What took you so long, Luz?" King demanded, "Do you know how hard it is keeping her awake when she's like this? I've had to sing non-stop!"

Eda glared at the little demon; "Oh, don't you dare act like you're the victim here!"

Luz chuckled nervously; "S-Sorry. It took a bit longer than I thought to prepare the potion, then I had to use the bathroom." she said, technically telling the truth.

Eda eyed her suspiciously, then noticed the potion in her hands; "Whoa, that's a different colour. I wasn't expecting it to turn out that potent." she commented.

"T-That's not a problem, right?" Luz asked.

"Nah, it should be fine. Now gimme; Mama wants to sleep!"

Luz obediently handed the potion to Eda, then stepped back with King as the Owl Lady popped off the cork and drank it down in a few short gulps. Eda shuddered when she was done; "Dang that's salty! It's like I just chugged some of the boiling sea!"

"Well it does contain tears!" Luz forced herself to giggle, "So… feel any different?"

Eda paused for a moment, then nodded slowly; "Yeah, actually. My body feels kinda tingly."

She looked down at her magic monitor, but frowned when it showed no change. She then drew a spell circle to cast a basic light spell, and found it coming out sluggishly. "I'm still tired though, and my magic hasn't been recharged."

"So, the curse isn't cured?" Luz frowned.

Eda shrugged; "I have no idea. I guess we'll just have to wait and see if I start to transform. In the meantime, I'm going to take a nap; you two keep it down."

With that, Eda flopped backward into her nest and immediately began to snore, having fallen asleep before her back touched the nest.

"Now that she's out, let's continue your lesson on Demons! Including the belly scratches!" King said.

"Maybe later, King. I want to keep an eye on Eda and we need to be quiet." Luz replied.

King scoffed; "Don't worry about Eda; once she's sawing logs like that, she won't wake up for anything! Watch!"

The little demon leaned into the nest and lightly slapped Eda across the face, getting nothing more than a snort in response. "See? She's gonna be out for hours. But if you want to watch her, we can continue our lesson in here!"

"Oh, okay then." Luz smiled, "I'll go get your board, Professor King!"

King giggled happily as Luz left the room, then continued to entertain himself by bapping Eda on the face to make her snort in her sleep until his student returned.

For the next hour or so, King gave Luz a rather comprehensive lesson on common species of demons, as well as the most dangerous ones like the ferocious Snaggleback. Luz learned a lot, and King practically drank in her praise and eager attention. The afternoon slowly gave way to evening, and the lightning outside grew more frequent, interrupting the lesson with bright flashes and the following roars of thunder.

"King, I think it might be a good idea to leave it there for today." Luz said after his lecture was interrupted for a fifth time by thunder. "We should probably start thinking about dinner anyway."

As if on cue, King's stomach grumbled; "Good idea. With Eda out for the count, we can eat whatever we want!"

"Maybe I'll cook up a dish from the Divine Realm that my Mami taught me. I'm pretty sure some of the ingredients are similar to what we already have… Wait a minute." Luz blinked as she looked at Eda's nest; "Is… is Eda sparkling?"

Luz and King slowly approached the nest and peered inside, finding that Eda really was sparkling slightly. Her pale skin had a soft glow, and glittered as it caught the light. The woman had also stopped snoring and seemed in a deep, peaceful sleep.

"Maybe it's the cure! Do you think it's working?" Luz asked excitedly.

"I've got no idea. Curses aren't my area of expertise." King replied. He then reached into the nest and bapped Eda again, already giggling in anticipation of the snort. However no snort came, making King pout. He bapped her again and again, trying to get her to make the noise again, while Luz watched, amused by her little friend's frustrated expression. Finally, King gave one final attempt, but in his frustration, he accidentally slapped Eda full force across the face.

Normally, this wouldn't be a big issue; King wasn't very strong and his paws were fairly soft… except this time, he accidentally caught Eda with his claws, leaving two shallow scratches across her cheek.

"King!" Luz exclaimed.

"Ah! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that!" King yelped, "I'll get a bandage and-"

The skin around the scratches began to sparkle even more intensely than the rest, until the scratches eventually glowed white and then disappeared. Luz and King gaped at the pristine skin where the marks had just been, trying to process what happened.

"Did Eda just heal super fast!?" Luz asked.

"It must be because of the angel tears in that potion. They're useful for super strong healing potions, right?" King pointed out.

Before Luz could reply, Eda suddenly began to sit up. The two children went silent as Eda lifted herself into a sitting position. The Owl Lady's eyes suddenly flew open, revealing they were pitch black with an ominous golden glow around the edges that reminded Luz of Willow and her Bile Overload. The girl's eyes flew to Eda's magic monitor, and she paled as the stone began to shine brighter and brighter.

"I-Is this the curse!?" Luz cried.

"I don't know! Eda's never actually transformed in front of me!" King cried back. The two children hugged each other as Eda leaned forward onto her hands and knees, still in some kind of sleep or trance. Then the woman opened her mouth and let loose a terrible roar that shook the house, and should not have been possible for a witch like Eda.

Following the roar, feathers began to sprout form Eda's exposed skin, then spread out over the rest of her body like a wave. As they encompassed her hands and feet, they became the talons of a giant owl, and her legs were awkwardly twisted and bent into the bestial legs of some kind of demon. Her hair became a thick, feathery mane, and long tufts of hair came from her pointed ears, which grew much longer and sharper. Her mouth, twisted into a sinister grin, was willed with sharp teeth, and a golden glow could be seen from within her throat. Lastly, her body was swelling to almost ten times its original size, quickly outgrowing the nest and even the room itself, while six massive wings grew from her back. The only parts of Eda that remained the same were some of her facial features and the magic monitor on her chest, which had become completely pearlescent, like the potion she'd drunk earlier.

Luz gasped in horror; Eda had transformed fully into the Owl Beast.

"It didn't work… the cure failed!" she cried.

"It didn't just fail! I think this is worse!" King yelled fearfully.

The Owl Beast growled at the two children, annoyed by the noise. It was so large that it was taking up most of the room in Eda's bedroom, so Luz had to hold King and press herself against the wall, then slowly slide her way towards the door to get out. Once she was out of the room, she ran down the hall and began to hyperventilate.

"This is all my fault! I made it worse!"

"What? No, this isn't your fault! It was Eda's idea to use your tears." King said.

"You don't understand! I added more tears!"

"What?"

"That's why I took so long to get the potion! I thought it looked weak, so I took some of that tearful tonic to make myself cry a bunch! But all the extra tears must have messed with Eda's recipe, and now it not only failed, but turned her into an even bigger, scarier Owl Beast!" Luz confessed, on the verge of hysterics. Neither she nor King had seen the Owl Beast before, but Eda's descriptions had been fairly detailed, and it wasn't supposed to be that big or have that many wings!

A snarl caught their attention and they looked up to see the Owl Beast poking its head out of Eda's bedroom, unable to squeeze through the door. It was glaring at them, and growling quietly much to their terror.

"I don't get it! Angel tears are supposed to help cure and heal things! Even if you used a ton of them, how could they have turned Eda into a super Owl Beast!?" King asked desperately.

Luz wracked her brain for an answer, then gasped; "A Bile Overload! They must have caused Eda to have a Bile Overload!"

"I don't get it." King said.

Suddenly, the Owl Beast snarled again and slammed its body against Eda's door frame, making the wall creak and the plaster around the frame crack. Luz screamed and ran, carrying King with her and getting down the stairs just in time to avoid the Owl Beast smashing its way out of Eda's room and into the hallway, which it was forced to crawl through due to its massive size. Luz retreated to the Owl House's stone tower, hoping that the Owl Beast wouldn't find them there.

"Luz, I don't understand." King whispered as they hid, "How could your tears cause a Bile Overload?"

Luz nodded frantically; "I messed up again! Every time I try to help, things get crazy! I'm starting to think it was just luck that things worked out with the Conformatorium and Mandragora…"

"That's not true! You've helped out a lot! And we can still help Eda! We've just got to figure out how to turn her back to normal." King comforted her.

"But how? Doesn't her normal elixir just give her a magic boost to fight the curse's drain? That won't help if she's overloaded." Luz said, before gasping; "Wait! If the curse is also activated by strong emotions, then the elixir must also have something in it that dulls emotions, right?"

King shrugged; "I don't know, but it sounds right! And it's not like we have any better ideas!"

Luz smiled, feeling a spark of hope; "The normal elixir probably won't be any good now; it might make the overload worse, but we can use it as a base for a sedative potion! Eda has a ton of stuff in the basement; there's got to be something we can use!"

"It's worth a try! Let's go!" King said, scurrying back up onto Luz's shoulders. The two then snuck out of the tower and down to the kitchen, taking care to be as silent as they could be. The house was quiet, but it was also a mess; the Owl Beast had trashed the place as it rampaged around, leaving claw and teeth marks in everything; it would take forever to fix everything, even with magic, but Luz couldn't let herself worry about that now. Save Eda first, deal with the consequences later. With the Owl Beast nowhere in sight, Luz and King were able to silently make their way to the basement, sighing with relief as they closed and locked the door behind them.

"Right, let's get to work." Luz said, running and grabbing a clean cauldron and as many books on potions and alchemy as she could carry, spreading it all out on the workbench Eda had set aside for her to use during lessons. She found the recipe for Eda's elixirs in one of the older books and read through it quickly.

"Huh… this doesn't look too complicated, and we've got most of the ingredients here. I think I could make this… so why does Eda buy these instead of making them herself?" Luz frowned.

"Ooh, I know this!" King said eagerly, pointing to one of the ingredients on the page; Goldwort. "It's 'cause of this! That's a super rare plant that doesn't grow naturally on the Boiling Isles. Eda said it's only grown in the greenhouses at the Plant Coven Headquarters, and only people with a license can buy it for their potions. Apparently Eda tried stealing from them before, and now the plants are booby-trapped and will wither if she gets near them."

Luz grinned; "That's not a problem for us! We can grow some with the plant glyph, can't we?"

"Good idea! I'll try it out!" the little demon replied, hopping down from Luz's shoulder to give it a shot.

Luz opened a book on rare herbs and flipped through the pages until she found the entry on Goldwort, then showed it to King. He studied it closely for a few minutes, then drew a plant glyph and slapped it down on a pot of soil. Just as the two children had hoped, a small herb with glowing golden leaves grew in the pot, looking exactly like the entry in the book.

"It worked!" King cheered.

"Great! I'll start working on the altered elixir; you focus on growing more Goldwort." Luz said. King gave a little salute, then both of them got to work.

The Elixir really wasn't too difficult to brew, as it only had four more ingredients besides the Goldwort; a thick syrup made from Sleeping Nettles (for a sedative effect), powdered Carabas Herb (so the nettles didn't actually put the drinker to sleep), a few Punching Petals (for an immediate boost to bile production), and a Soothing Sprig (for relieving aches and pains caused by the curse). The Goldwort was distilled into a kind of balancing solution, allowing the other ingredients to blend properly, as otherwise they would become volatile and explode.

Once Luz was completely familiar with the ingredients and how to prep them, she started brewing the potion. She altered the recipe slightly; mixing in a lot more of the Sleeping Nettle syrup and omitting the Punching Petals. She didn't bother adding more of the Carabas Herb (if Eda ended up knocked out, then that gave Luz and King more time to fix the house a bit before she woke up), but she did also add a few more Soothing Sprigs, all while mixing the elixir together with a healthy amount of Goldwort, which King was pumping out like a machine.

After almost an hour of work, the Soothing Elixir was fully mixed and just needed to simmer for another few minutes before it was ready, then they could go and feed it to the Owl Beast and turn her back to Eda.

"So, got any plans for how to actually make her drink this stuff?" King asked, watching the potion bubbling away. It was a pale purple colour, and the mist it gave off made him yawn if he got too close.

"How about baiting the Owl Beast into roaring or trying to bite, then tossing the potion into her mouth?" Luz suggested.

King nodded eagerly; "Let's go with that! It sounds way more fun than my plan!" He'd been thinking of hiding the potion inside some meat and feeding it to the Owl Beast, but Luz's idea was exciting and dangerous, so that got his vote.

Unfortunately, before the potion was ready to be bottled and used, the cauldron's flames went out, as did the lamps down in the basement.

"What's happening?" Luz frowned, trying to relight the cauldron.

"Hooty controls the house lights and appliances. He must have fallen asleep." King replied; "We'll need to go wake him up."

Luz nodded; "Right, but let's get the cauldron simmering again first." she said, having King grow a few pieces of wood that she used to build a fire, igniting it with a bolt of light magic. Once the flame was burning and the cauldron simmering again, Luz headed up the stairs to the rest of the house, King following closely behind her. Both were clinging to the walls and relying on their memory to navigate the darkness, fearing that using a light glyph would draw the Owl Beast's attention. As they reached the kitchen, they heard a loud crash and Hooty screaming.

"HOOT! HOOT!"

"Hooty!" Luz cried, running into the trashed living room. She skidded to a stop and gasped as she saw Hooty and his door were ripped of their hinges, deep grooves carved into the wood, as the Owl Beast gnawed on it, illuminated by the flashes of lightning from outside. Hooty looked dead, his eyes closed and his tongue poking out from his beak, making Luz scream.

"Hooty, no!"

"Luz, look out!" King cried, as the Owl Beast prepared to pounce on the girl.

Luz shrieked in surprise and dropped to the floor, letting the Owl Beast sail over her and hit the wall beside King. Luz scrambled back to her feet just as the lightning outside subsided a bit, plunging the living room into darkness and leaving Luz unable to see any part of the beast besides its menacing glowing eyes. With the element of surprise already gone, Luz quickly cast a light spell to illuminate the room, but in her panic she made it a bit brighter than intended, creating a bright flash that made the Owl Beast shriek and snarl.

With the beast distracted, King saw his chance; "Luz, get out of the way!" he ordered, drawing a plant glyph. Luz dived out of the way and King slammed the glyph onto the floor, creating a massive pillar of thorny vines that struck the Owl Beast hard, knocking it through the front door (taking a chunk of the door frame with it) and the barrier around the house, making it land out in the boiling rain.

Luz gasped; "Eda!" but her worry was unnecessary. The Owl Beast hissed and snarled as the boiling rain burned it, but the powerful healing potion still running through its system caused the wounds to heal instantly, allowing it to stand in the rain without worry.

"Whoa… that's unexpected." Luz whistled.

"Ha! Did you see that, Luz! With my mighty glyph powers, even the powered-up Owl Beast is no match for me!" King proclaimed, throwing his little arms in the air in triumph. He ran outside, remaining within the barrier and blew a raspberry at the Owl Beast.

"King, don't goad it just yet! The potion isn't done yet!" Luz warned.

King turned back to her; "Aw, don't worry Luz! What can the Owl Beast possibly do against us now?"

Luz's eyes widened as the Owl Beast stalked up behind King; "King, run!" she cried.

"Huh?" King just blinked, and before he could move, the Owl Beast grabbed him in its jaws and tossed him into the air, making him scream "Weh!?"

Luz shot a light blast at the beast, but it barely flinched, instead just opening its jaws wide and catching King in its mouth, before swallowing him whole.

"NO! KING!" Luz screamed. The Owl Beast, it's wound from her initial light blast now healed, gave a sinister grin and began to stalk towards her. Luz responded by creating another bright flash, then shooting it a few more times, being careful to avoid its stomach in case she hit King inside it. The Owl Beast roared in pain, reeling back from Luz's spells, then ran back outside the barrier and took flight. Luz ran after it, then fell to her knees as she saw the Owl Beast fly away from her and the Owl House.

"No… King. This is all my fault!" Luz cried, tears building up in her eyes; "My stupid plan got King eaten, and Hooty possibly k-killed, and Eda trapped inside that thing. Now it's gone! What do I do now!?"

She curled up into a ball on the floor and sobbed; she'd just ruined everything, and there was nothing she could do.

Luz lay there crying for only a few minutes, before she felt something tugging on her hair. Sniffling, she looked up and saw Owlbert standing in front of her face, pulling on her hair with his beak.

"Owlbert! You're okay! I thought you might have been stuck with Eda." Luz said, scooping the little Palisman up. "Oh Owlbert, I'm so sorry…"

The owl shook its head and gently fluttered up to peck her lightly on the nose. It then landed on her shoulder and pointed its wing in the direction the Owl Beast had flown.

"You want me to go after them? But how?" Luz asked.

Owlbert immediately transformed himself into his staff form and floated in front of Luz, inviting her on. Luz gasped; "You aren't effected by the rain either… if I use the barrier spell Eda taught me, I should be able to go out there! And I've still got the potion we made! We can still do this!"

Owlbert hooted with a little nod, filling Luz with determination. She wiped her eyes and ran to the basement as fast as she could to grab the potion. It was just barely simmered enough, so Luz quickly poured it into as many vials as she could carry and stuffed them all into her satchel, before running back to Owlbert and hopping on. She cast the barrier over herself to keep out the rain, then said; "Let's go, Owlbert! King, I really hope you aren't being digested!"

With that, Luz and Owlbert shot out of the Owl House and flew in the direction the Owl Beast had gone in. Luz took off her concealment stone to reveal her angelic form and flapped her wings as hard as she could to help boost their speed a bit more, hoping to catch up with the beast as soon as she could. Thankfully, and to Luz's immense relief, the Owl Beast soon came into view, as it hadn't actually flown very far away. It was flying over Bonesborough, circling the town in search of prey, it's menacing glowing eyes acting like a beacon of danger for anyone still outside.

As they got closer, Luz remembered some facts from her Mami's animal documentaries; predatory birds were only vulnerable from above, as they had no reason to look up and fear becoming prey themselves. With this in mind, Luz flew Owlbert higher and higher, until they were just barely below the clouds as they approached the Owl Beast, ready to dive bomb it and force a potion down its throat. Luz and Owlbert hovered there for a few moments, then when a clap of thunder drowned out all noise, they swooped down on the Owl Beast. Luz swung Owlbert down onto the top of the Owl Beast's head, making it roar in pain, then immediately tossed one of the potion vials down its throat and slammed Owlbert against the bottom of its jaw, forcing its mouth shut again so it would swallow before Luz and Owlbert flew a short distance away.

The Owl Beast roared in anger, but the glow of its eyes and inside its mouth became duller, showing the potion had worked, at least partially. It was still flying though, so Luz knew she wasn't done yet. Luz stuck out her tongue at the beast, then flew away as fast as she could, making the beast chase her through the air. They went low, to the abandoned streets of Bonesborough, which Owlbert navigated with practised ease after having escaped the guards with Eda on numerous occasions, while the Owl Beast slammed into walls and trees with reckless abandon, unable to fly as nimbly as the Palisman. Eventually, Luz and Owlbert lured it into an alleyway, then as the beast flew at them as fast as it could, Luz cast another bright flash that blinded the beast, leaving it unable to react in time as Owlbert pulled Luz out of the creature's way and it slammed into the end of the alley at full speed.

The beast groaned and whined, writhing around on its back as it rubbed a paw over its head, while Luz dropped another couple of potions into its mouth, which it swallowed instinctively, growing even groggier. The glow from the Bile Overload vanished completely, and the Owl Beast began to shrink until it was about the size Eda had described it as, and four of its six wings disappeared in a cloud of feathers.

"It worked! She's almost completely back!" Luz beamed, "Just a couple more! Hang in there, Eda!"

Luz pulled two more potions out of her satchel and flew over the Owl Beast's mouth. The beast was smaller now, so Luz flew a bit lower to drop the potions in accurately, but the instant the first one slammed into the back of the Owl Beast's throat, it choked and lurched forward, the bottle flying out of its mouth and beaning Luz right in the forehead. She yelped and fell off of Owlbert, landing on the Owl Beast's stomach, only to end up hitting the floor with an "Oof!" as the beast rolled over.

Owlbert hooted frantically as he turned back into his Palisman form, and Luz looked up to see the Owl Beast rearing back, ready to slash her. Unable to get away fast enough, Luz threw her arms up in front of her face to try and shield herself. She braced herself, but instead of the feeling of claws carving through her flesh, she felt all the air being knocked out of her as Owlbert slammed into her chest as hard as he could, knocking her away from the Owl Beast's swipe. However, this resulted in Owlbert getting slashed instead, making him squawk and hit the ground.

"Owlbert!" Luz cried, rushing to cradle the Palisman as the Owl Beast took to the air again, ready to resume its hunt from the sky.

Luz examined the little owl, paling as she noticed a large crack on the top of his head that spread down his back, almost to his tail feathers. "You're hurt! Don't worry little guy, I'm sure Eda will be able to fix you when we get her back!"

Owlbert hooted weakly, then squawked again as a drop of the boiling rain got into the crack on his head, burning him. Palismen, and the Palistrom wood they were made from, were not actually immune to the boiling rain; it was the varnish they were coated with, or the leaves of their trees that usually protected them, and now that he was cracked, Owlbert had a massive weak spot that was letting in the rain. Luz gasped and cradled him beneath her barrier; "Oh no… Owlbert! You can't fly like this!"

The little owl hooted stubbornly, transforming into his staff form again and floating beside Luz, silently ordering her to get on. Luz just shook her head; "No, Owlbert. I'll think of something, but you need to rest. If you go out in the rain, you'll just get more hurt!"

Owlbert turned back into his Palisman form and hooted forcefully, trying not to react to the rain that was hammering down on him. Luz tried to pull him back under her barrier again, but he fluttered out of her reach and hooted again. He wasn't going to give up on saving his partner, no matter how damaged he got. He tried to communicate this with his hoots, and Luz felt like she understood what he was saying, but she still refused.

"I can't let you go out there! I know I messed up a lot today, but trust me to find another way! Please Owlbert, hide in here where it's safe! I'll take care of Eda and King." Luz begged, opening her satchel and holding it out to him.

Owlbert peered inside, seeing the array of potions bottles, then hooted mournfully. Before Luz could react, he flew forward and pecked her hands, making her drop the satchel, which he then grabbed and flew off with, chasing after the Owl Beast, who was circling above the alley, waiting for them to leave so it could swoop down and catch them more easily.

"No! Owlbert, come back! OWLBERT!" Luz cried. The owl ignored her and began an aerial dance with the beast, swooping and diving to try and get a good angle to dump the potion-filled satchel into its mouth. But the beast was bigger, faster, and stronger than Owlbert, and it began to almost toy with the little bird, swatting at it like a cat with a toy. The swats weren't hard, but with Owlbert already damaged and the rain making it worse, it was only a matter of time before he broke completely. Luz wanted to offer support by blasting the Owl Beast from the ground, but the aerial battle was moving so fast that she wasn't sure she'd land a hit, and if she made the blasts too big, she could vaporise Owlbert!

"I've got to get up there! Dang it, if only these wings could fly!" Luz cursed, looking back at her feathery wings. Despite their massive growth spurt upon the beginning of her maturity, they were still too small to fly with, leaving the young angel locked on land.

She needed another way to get to the sky, and short of suddenly becoming an expert at parkour and scaling the walls to the rooftops of Bonesborough, Luz had no idea how to do that!

"Think Luz! Channel Azura! How did she get high up when she couldn't fly!?" Luz said to herself, rubbing her temples. A brainwave hit her; "The thorn vault! I can use the plant glyph to launch myself, just like King launched the Owl Beast!" she exclaimed.

Unfortunately, anything Luz had to write with had been in her satchel, which Owlbert now had, so she needed another method. When a cursory glance around the alley revealed nothing useful, Luz made a decision she never thought she would. She reached behind her to one of her wings and plucked out a feather. It hurt a bit, like plucking a nose hair, and it felt like she had just done something terrible to herself, but Luz didn't let that stop her; she needed to save Eda, King, and Owlbert!

Using her feather like a quill, Luz scratched a plant glyph into the cobblestones beneath her, then braced herself and slapped it, imagining a mighty pillar of vines that could launch her into the sky. The glyph glowed a bright green, and just as Luz has imagined, a huge number of vines burst from the ground beneath her, entwining themselves together to form a massive column of vegetation that rocketed her upward so fast that it made her eyes water.

Just as this was happening, the Owl Beast had grown bored of its game with Owlbert, and slashed at the little Palisman, clipping his wing and causing him to plummet downward. Luckily, Luz was already on her way and was able to catch him and her satchel, as well as blast the Owl Beast's wing as she flew past it, making it fall from the sky. However, Luz now found herself with a new problem… she'd gotten herself into the sky, but what was going to keep her there!?

Owlbert hooted frantically, trying to transform or grab Luz and fly, but he was too badly damaged. Luz, seeing there was nothing more she could do, twisted in the air so she would land back first, hopefully cushioning Owlbert's fall. He hooted in protest, but Luz just smiled.

"This whole mess was my mistake, Owlbert. I can't let you get hurt any more, even if it means I have to be instead."

Owlbert shook his head and tried even harder to fly with its damaged wing, magic practically pouring off of him. Time around Luz felt like it was slowing to a crawl, and for a moment, she could have sworn she understood Owlbert's hooting like he was her own palisman.

"I want to fly together!"

Those words, screamed over and over, filled Luz's heart with a burning sensation, just like at the Conformatorium. Luz found herself wishing for the same thing; "I want to fly with you, Owlbert. I want to fix the mistakes I made and save King and Eda. I want to fix you, and Hooty. I want to make everything right!"

Those feelings fuelled the burning she felt in her heart, and made it spread through her veins and across her skin, pooling into her wings and stomach as the image of the plant glyph filled her head. The feeling was so familiar, but Luz couldn't quite place where she'd felt it, but she hugged Owlbert tightly to her chest and closed her eyes, a sense of warmth and completeness rushing over her.

Just like at the Conformatorium, Luz's body erupted with golden light, and in a moment of pure instinct, she spun in the air and spread her wings wide. The wind caught them, and with a mighty beat, Luz went from falling to flying.

Luz gasped and opened her eyes as she found herself ascending into the sky, rather than falling from it. "I-I'm flying!" she cried.

Owlbert hooted with joy in her arms, then pointed to her wings with his own, intact wing. Luz looked over her shoulder and felt her eyes widen as she saw what her wings had become. Each one had grown from being about five feet long to about seven feet, with a total wingspan of just over fourteen feet. Each wing had also lost the last of her fluffy, baby down and replaced it with luxurious and regal looking white feathers. They also felt strong and sturdy, letting Luz fly through the air with ease, and the instincts that came with them allowed her to move in the sky as naturally as on land.

Luz couldn't believe it; her maturity had just rocketed to completion! The complete growth of her wings signified that she was now a fully grown angel!

"H-How did this happen…? It's just like at the Conformatorium; my magic just suddenly exploded outward and sped up by maturation!" Luz exclaimed, dancing through the air and enjoying the feeling of flight.

Owlbert hooted happily, hopping onto Luz's shoulder and nuzzling her, making Luz giggle. "Looks like we can fly together after all! But let's deal with the Owl Beast first!" Luz smiled, taking back her satchel.

She looked down to where the Owl Beast had crash-landed after she'd shot its wing. It had landed on the roof of the Bonesborough precinct, which would likely be trouble for Eda later, but Luz doubted the Owl Lady would care. The Owl Beast, still under the healing effects of the botched cure, healed from the crash rapidly, and upon shaking off its dizziness, it took to the air again and darted at Luz, snarling furiously.

"That's right, come and get me!" Luz taunted, letting the Owl Beast get close before flying away, her smaller form able to fly much more nimbly than the drowsy demon. The beast was only a couple of potions away from turning back into Eda, but Luz needed to get King out of its stomach before that, so she led the beast high into the air, then blinded it with another bright flash. While it was reeling from this, Luz dived down to the ground, then kicked off and flew back up, building speed until she finally reached the Owl Beast again, then slammed her foot right into the beast's stomach with all that momentum.

Luz yelped as she heard a crack from her own leg; the bone breaking from the force of her own kick, but it had the effect she'd hoped for. The Owl Beast fell to the ground again and immediately began to gag and retch. It was a disgusting sight that made Luz and Owlbert cringe, especially when the beast finally vomited up the contents of its stomach in the form of a giant owl pellet. Luz sent some light blasts at the Owl Beast to make it fly off again, then landed beside the pellet, careful not to put too much weight on her broken leg, and ripped it open, gagging at the stench and the sight of old rat bones.

Inside, looking mildly traumatised but very much alive and undigested, was King.

He scrambled up and looked around in a panic as Luz used her barrier-covered wings to shield him from the rain. "Weh!? I'm free!? I'm free! Yes! Hurray for freedom!" he cheered. He then noticed Luz; "You saved me! I owe you one; it was not pleasant in there, I tell you! She has teeth! Teeth inside her stomach! Forget all my lessons earlier, that thing is the most terrifying demon on the isles!"

Luz giggled and hugged him. He smelled really bad, and his fur was a bit damp with Owl Beast drool, but Luz didn't care.

"I'm so glad you're okay, King!"

"You too, Luz. But what is up with those wings? They look way bigger!"

"That's a long story, but the short version is that I can fly now." Luz answered.

"At least you're not hurt. Well, mostly… you're limping." the demon pointed out.

"That's a shorter story; broke it kicking the Owl Beast."

King looked both concerned and impressed; "I want to hear both these stories in more detail, but I think we still need to deal with that." he pointed up to the Owl Beast, who was circling above them far more cautiously. Having been injured a couple of times by Luz now, it was reasonably wary of her.

"Okay, here's the plan; you make plant glyphs to tie it down with vines, then I'll stuff the potions down its throat." Luz said.

King agreed immediately, pulling out his notepad and pencil. He immediately drew two plant glyphs and then activated them in his paws, sending a pair of long vines up at the Owl Beast, aiming for its wings. The first one wrapped around the joint of its right wing, but the Owl Beast swerved out of the way of the other one. King's choice to activate the glyphs in his paws instead of the ground also came back to bite him, as instead of tethering the beast to the earth, it was now tethered solely to him, and he didn't have the strength or weight to drag the beast down. Instead, the Owl Beast flew up higher, dragging King into the air with a "WEH!?"

"Oh no you don't!" Luz yelled, flying after King and quickly grabbing him before he could get too hurt by the rain.

"Ouch…" he whined, "Looks like we're boo-boo buddies again."

"We'll patch you up back at the house, but first we need to catch this beast!" Luz yelled, flying after the Owl Beast, trying to grab the vine still attached to its wing. She wanted to grab the vine then fly around it's legs and other wing to bind it, AT-AT style, but it was flailing around so erratically that she couldn't get a grip on the vine.

"Dang it, will. You. Stop. Moving!" she growled, getting frustrated.

Her magic bubbled beneath her skin and she threw her hand forward instinctively; "GET OVER HERE!" she yelled.

Instead of the light glyph and a light blast appearing from her hand, a glowing green plant glyph appeared, and from it shot another vine just like the one King had made. It flew at the Owl Beast, which predictably avoided it with a barrel roll to the side, but then it suddenly changed course, slithering through the air like a snake until it grasped the beast's front left talon.

"What!?" Luz cried.

"You did glyph magic without drawing again! It's the same as the light glyph!" King yelled excitedly.

Luz had many questions, but she put those aside for the moment and shifted King onto her shoulder with Owlbert, then repeated the vine spell with her other hand, finding it coming naturally now that she'd done it once. It felt just like using her light magic, with her just having to picture a different glyph and effect. The second vine grabbed the Owl Beast's other front talon even as it tried to dodge, then Luz flew up and around the Owl Beast until she was on its back. She straddled the back of its neck and pulled on the vines, using them like reins to steer the Owl Beast.

"Back to the house! It's time for you to take a nap in your nest!" Luz yelled.

The Owl Beast thrashed a bit, but Luz kept her grip on the vines and yanked them hard, forcing the groggy creature to follow her directions and allow itself to be steered through the skies above Bonesborough and towards the Owl House. As they neared the house, Luz flew off of the beast's back and quickly flew in circles around it, binding it tightly with the vines, while King scurried around it and added more vine bindings with more plant glyphs.

Completely immobilised by vines, the Owl Beast crash landed just outside the Owl House, allowing the combined strength of Luz, King, and Owlbert to drag the struggling beast inside. Once they were inside and out of the rain, Luz let her barrier drop with a sigh, then pinched the Owl Beast's nose. The beast stubbornly kept its mouth closed for a few moments, but its need to breathe soon outweighed its desire to make things difficult, and it opened its jaws to gasp in a breath, whereupon King and Owlbert shoved two more sedative elixirs down its gullet.

The Owl Beast thrashed in its bindings, and let loose one last howl of anger, before its body was consumed by golden flames. The flames vanished a moment later, leaving behind an unconscious Eda, still pale and sparkling from the healing effects of the failed cure, but otherwise completely fine. The magic monitor on her chest had faded from pearlescent to its usual amber, officially confirming she was back to normal.

Luz, King, and Owlbert held their breath for a moment, then collapsed to the floor with deep, relieved sighs.

"Thank goodness that's over…" King groaned.

"Well the dangerous part is at least. But we've still got to clean up the mess." Luz said, looking around at the trashed Owl House, not to mention her broken leg and Owlbert's crack. Plus King had a few minor burns from his brief jaunt in the boiling rain.

"You know, you might not believe this, but I think this is only the second worst mess I've seen here." King said, "Eda will be able to fix most of this in a flash. Still, these burns feel really sore. I don't suppose you could try your healing spell?"

Luz nodded; "I'll give it a try. Fair warning, I'm still not very good at it…" she said, drawing a spell circle. However, for some odd reason, the circle fizzled and faded immediately, not even producing the lacklustre healing effect Luz was expecting.

"Huh? It's not working." she frowned, trying again. It failed again, and then a third and fourth time, making Luz frown; "I don't get it! It's never been strong, but it always did something! I used it just a couple of days ago at Hexside! What's going on?"

"Maybe you're almost out of magic?" King suggested.

Luz frowned and drew another spell circle, this time using her mending spell to try and fix a claw mark in the floor. The spell worked, and the claw mark became shallower (though not fully repaired), confusing the children even further.

"I don't feel that tired and my other magic is working. Why can't I use the healing spell?" she said, getting frustrated. She didn't understand; her magic had gotten a big boost once she had her first awakening at the Conformatorium, so why had her second boost left her unable to use such a useful spell!? Unless…

Luz suddenly remembered the first meeting she'd had with Willow, and the sight of the girl using plant magic to heal a plant that she'd crushed. Her mind then shifted to the lessons in wild magic she'd been having with Eda; wild magic was comprised of different elements, of which Plant was one. The Plant element presided over life, rejuvenation, and restoration of all kinds, making it the prime elemental component of healing magic. Modern magic didn't tend to use elemental components unless directly manipulating the element, so Luz's prior healing spell hadn't used it, but now that she could manifest the plant glyph…

Taking a leap of faith, Luz summoned forth the green plant glyph and focused on healing. As the glyph appeared, a lotus flower blossomed from it, releasing little green particles like pollen as it bloomed. Luz held the flower over King's burns and watched as the pollen made his wounds glow and vanish completely. King sighed with relief, while Luz gasped with delight. She summoned another healing lotus and held it over Owlbert's damaged wing, nearly squealing with delight as the damage was healed, as was the crack on his head. Finally, she summoned one final lotus over her own leg and felt the relief that came with the healing pollen. When the flower disappeared, Luz slowly got to her feet, then cheered as she found her leg unbroken.

"I did it! The plant glyph unlocked healing magic!" Luz cheered.

"And it actually works all the way." King added, looking at the spots his burns had previously been. "It's kind of weird though; your angel magic lets you do weird things with glyphs. You can do them like I do, but then you can make light blasts with the light glyph and healing with the plant glyph."

"Yeah, and I got both glyphs in the same way. A flash of light burned them into my eyes, now they're stuck in my brain. And come to think of it, I was only able to use the light glyph after my magic awakened at the Conformatorium, and even though I found the plant glyph a couple of days ago, I couldn't use it until my maturation suddenly finished today." Luz mused, before briefly telling King what had happened while he was stuck inside the Owl Beast's stomach.

King had no idea how it had all happened, knowing a lot less about wild magic and angels than either Eda or Luz, so he just threw out his best guess; "If the glyphs are wild magic, maybe you can only master them by making a connection with the isles? That's like the main point of wild magic, right? To connect with nature?"

Luz wasn't sure; King's theory sounded right, but she didn't remember doing anything to make a connection. Both times it had happened, she'd been desperate to save someone, but did that constitute a connection to the isles? Or was it that her evolution allowed her to master the glyphs? Perhaps mastering the glyphs triggered the evolution instead, but if so, why?

Owlbert hooted softly, getting Luz's attention as he hopped onto her lap and gently pecked her belly. Luz giggled, thinking he was trying to cheer her up, until he grabbed her shirt in his beak and tried to lift it.

"Owlbert, stop that. What are you trying to do?" she asked.

Owlbert gave another hoot, then flew into her shirt to peck directly at her stomach. Luz lifted her shirt a bit to get him out, then gasped as she saw what the Palisman had been trying to show her. Just as the light glyph had appeared as a golden tattoo on her sternum, the plant glyph had now appeared as a green tattoo over her belly button, with straight green lights that ran off to the sides of her stomach, then up to her armpits, before going to join the golden lines by connecting to the circles around her wing joints, which went from just gold to half gold and half green.

"Another magic tattoo! Am I going to get one of these every time I master a glyph!?" Luz exclaimed. This was going to be hard to explain to her Mami.

"Who knows…?" King yawned, the exhaustion getting to him. He dropped off to sleep a moment later, and Luz didn't have the heart to try and wake him.

Suddenly feeling exhausted herself, Luz used her new plant magic to create some vine barriers over Hooty's empty door frame to keep intruders out, then dragged Eda and King up to Eda's bedroom with some help from Owlbert. She tucked both into Eda's nest, then sat down beside it and promptly drifted off herself.

[Later that evening]

Eda awoke feeling groggy, but otherwise in good health. Better than good in fact; all her usual aches and pains were gone, and as she looked down at her hands, she found some of the familiar wrinkles had receded.

"Did the cure work?" she muttered to herself. It didn't feel like it had; her dreams had been haunted by the Owl Beast chasing her, and the vague memory of a mysterious figure cursing her, just like they always were then she…

"...transformed… Oh Titan, I transformed!" she cried, looking around frantically. Her bedroom was trashed and there were claw and tooth marks everywhere, and the doorway to the hall was smashed open so a much bigger body could get through. The lights were also out, and the house was eerily silent.

"Oh no… Luz! King! Hooty!" she cried, leaping from her nest and running out of the room. She raced down to the living room, ignoring the mess the Owl Beast had made along the way, only to stop and breathe a deep sigh of relief as she found her kids sat together in the middle of the ruined room, putting band-aids on the scratch marks her other self had left in Hooty's door, which had been torn from its hinges. Luz and King had woken from their nap a short while before, and Owlbert was roosting on top of Luz's fluffy white hair.

"Welcome to the Boo-Boo Buddy Club, Hooty." Luz smiled.

"Finally, I get to be a part of something!" Hooty happily cried. As it turned out, the Owl Beast hadn't killed him; just knocked him out, much to Luz's relief.

Eda's eyes scanned over the kids, Owlbert, and Hooty, and aside from the obvious marks left on Hooty's door, and the kind of gross smell coming from King's fur, they all looked to be in good condition, much to her relief. In fact, Luz (who wasn't using her concealment stone) looked better than good; her wings having grown much larger!

"Kids!" Eda said, finally announcing her presence; "Are you okay?"

"Eda!" Luz and King both yelled, rushing to hug her. Eda found herself wrapped up in both Luz's arms and wings, while King hugged her ankle.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" Luz cried.

"Me? I haven't felt this good in years! I'm more worried about you guys! I'm guessing the cure didn't work if I transformed…" Eda frowned.

Luz pulled away from the hug, looking at her feet in shame; "Actually, about that… I've got some explaining to do…"

Eda raised an eyebrow as King led her over to the slightly ruined couch and sat her down, while Luz stood nervously before her. The little angel then began to explain everything that had happened, from the moment she went to get Eda's Curse Cure Elixir, to the moment Eda had returned to normal and been put back in her nest. Eda listened to the whole tale with a stony expression while inside, her emotions were going wild with worry, amazement, and a little bit of anger too. When Luz was done, she just stood there and stared at the floor, waiting for her mentor to say something.

Eda decided to get the worse part out of the way first; "Dang it Luz, what's the first thing I taught you when I took you into my potions lab!?"

Luz flinched; "D-Don't play around with ingredients unless you know exactly what they'll do."

Eda nodded her head sternly, and Luz's bottom lip quivered; "Eda, I'm so sorry… because of me you turned into a worse monster, the house got trashed, King was eaten, Hooty was broken, and Owlbert was injured. I'll… I'll go pack my stuff."

"Wait, what?" Eda frowned, "Did I turn over two pages at once there or something?"

Luz looked up; "You're going to send me away, right?"

Eda's eyes widened, while King, Hooty, and even Owlbert gasped in shock. The three of them turned to the Owl Lady with pleading looks.

"Eda, you can't send Luz away! She's my friend! She taught me the glyphs and listened to my lessons and gave me belly scratches!" King begged.

"I just became part of the Boo-Boo Buddy Club! Don't break us up!" Hooty cried.

Owlbert hooted insistently, reminding Eda that Luz tried to protect him and then fixed him when he was damaged.

Eda put her arms up in defence; "Whoa, I never said I was going to send Luz away!"

"Y-You're not?" Luz asked, daring to look hopeful.

"Of course not! Look, you messed up pretty badly, but you were trying to help. Sure it didn't work out, but you did your best to fix things afterwards, right?" Eda pointed out, making Luz nod, "Titan knows I've done stupider things, so I'm hardly going to send you away just for screwing up!"

"Mami did…" Luz whispered sadly.

Eda sighed; it had just been over a week since Luz's mother had tried to send her to camp, so the wounds were still fresh. The Owl Lady had no doubt that Luz's mother loved her dearly, the girl was usually happy whenever she mentioned her and had been exchanging texts with her mother to keep up the facade that she was at camp. Still, Camila's decision to send Luz to camp after her failures, no matter how well-meaning, had hurt Luz, and that hurt was still raw.

"Well Kid, I'm not your Mom. But don't think you're going to get away with screwing up either." Eda said, a smirk appearing on her face; "I've got two choices for your punishment; first, I have a long list of disgusting chores for you, on top of helping me fix the damages."

Luz gulped, but didn't protest, "Or second… I'll consider this your "one free screw up" and call it even."

The young angel blinked in surprise; "What!?"

"Don't you remember? After that mess with Adegast, you agreed to keep being my apprentice on two conditions. One of them was that I had to forgive one of your screw ups in the future." Eda reminded her.

But I thought that was for something minor! I almost ruined everything today!" Luz protested.

"And then you fixed it. You saved King by breaking your leg kicking me in the gut, which was impressive by the way. You tried to protect Owlbert and fixed him after he got hurt. You saved me, even if your mistake is what turned me in the first place, and you figured out a way to use the plant glyph to grow Goldwort, meaning I can make my elixirs myself now, saving me a lot of snails. The only thing you actually did wrong was add too many tears to my cure, and even that had some positive effects. I mean, have you seen my skin? It hasn't been this smooth since I was a teenager, and I look twenty years younger! It's just a shame it didn't turn my hair back to its old colour." Eda said, smiling at that last part.

Luz felt her heart soar as Eda got up and ruffled her hair; "So, what's it gonna be kid? Chores, or redeem your free pass."

"I-I still feel bad, so I'll take the chores. But thank you, Eda. You're the best teacher I've ever had!" Luz cried, hugging the woman tightly.

Eda sighed; "That's a terrifying thought, but I appreciate it. Now come on; you can help me fix this place up, then we can look into this glyph-based evolution thing you've been going through."

Luz nodded happily; no matter how bad the chores would be, she'd do them with a smile, overjoyed that her mistake hadn't made her lose the first place she felt that she belonged.

[Elsewhere]

Amity Blight lay on her bed, thinking about the strange day she'd just had. After the Mandragora incident on Friday (which her parents thankfully didn't know about), she had gone home as usual, only to find Luz the Half-Human occupying her thoughts far more than she had before. Amity had found the girl interesting from the start, but seeing her trying to save her and Boscha from the Mandragora despite them bullying her friend, as well as learning she was a big Azura fan, had made Luz even more appealing to the youngest Blight.

When she'd gotten to school this morning to help with the repairs, Amity had been surprised to find Luz there too, along with Willow, apparently being punished for their magic mixing plot. Luz was a hard and eager worker, and despite the dull work, never lost her enthusiasm. She had smiled and greeted Amity happily, as if she hadn't been bullying Willow just a couple of days before, and Amity found the work going by so much faster with Luz's company. She could have done without Willow's smirks, but it was a small price to pay.

Luz had gone home when school started, to Amity's disappointment, but had returned after school for another hour of work. By the time that hour was done too, Amity had blushed so much that she was sure she was getting light-headed.

From there, Amity's day had taken a turn for the worse. She'd gone to the Bonesborough Library, where she worked as a part time Librarian's Assistant, and had unfortunately gotten stuck when the boiling rain came in. She'd tried to get home before it started, but she hadn't made it in time, and ended up being forced to hide under an awning and wait for the rain to stop. It was then that she had her second encounter with a demonic monster.

Flying around the town was a monstrous bird-like creature, sort of resembling a griffon with six wings and a humanoid face that looked eerily familiar. Amity had watched as it swooped down and tried to eat some other poor witch stuck out in the rain, and had only been spared witnessing the witch's death by their quick thinking, diving through the window of a nearby house to escape the beast's attack. With no such windows near her and no way to get to one without facing the boiling rain, Amity had curled up into a ball and tried not to be noticed, praying to the Titan with all she had that today wouldn't be her last day…

Then she came.

An angel, a literal angel, appeared in the skies above, shimmering with golden light as a barrier protected her from the boiling rain. Amity watched, starstruck, as the angel fought the bird-like demon, until the angel descended to the ground so she could fly back up and kick the demon in the stomach. As the angel had descended however, they'd landed just a few feet from Amity, and she'd gotten a good look at the angel's face.

It was Luz.

For a moment, Amity had been sure she was hallucinating, but a second glance confirmed that it really was Luz. She was wearing the same clothes she'd worn to help with the repairs, and aside from her dark brown hair being snowy white now, she looked exactly the same as when Amity had last seen her… not including the huge angelic wings of course.

The fight with the monster had ended not long after that, with Luz wrangling it away with reins made from vines, leaving without ever knowing Amity had watched the whole affair. Amity had remained in hiding until the rain stopped, her heart beating wildly as she tried to come to terms with what she'd just learned.

Luz was an angel, an angel in the Demon Realm! One who was befriending witches and demons! It was amazing and unprecedented, but she knew in her heart that she couldn't tell a single soul. If the Emperor's Coven learned about Luz, they'd likely try to capture her… and if Amity's parents learned about her, then Amity didn't even want to imagine what they'd try and do. Angels had largely been feared in the Savage Ages, but in the modern day, there were a lot of people who'd want to use one.

Laying in her bed, Amity mused on what to do. Should she tell Luz that she knew? Or would that scare the angel girl away? Amity didn't want that… but what if being dishonest was worse?

The girl reached into her pocket and pulled out a trophy from her encounter; a single white feather. She'd found it beside a pillar of vines after the rain had stopped, and knew instantly that it was one of Luz's. An angel feather was an unbelievably rare and valuable find, but to Amity, it was a personal treasure, one she subconsciously pressed to her lips as she thought of the girl it had come from.

Realising what she was doing, Amity rolled over and screamed into her pillow; why did this have to happen? Why couldn't she stop thinking about that silky and curly white hair, or those soft amber eyes? Why couldn't she stop daydreaming about flying in her arms?

Why did her first crush have to be on a Half-Human Angel!?