The next evening, Lilith appeared at the Clawthorne house with a rare, giddy smile on her face. Tonight she'd be spending the entire evening making sure her nephew understood where he came from and get an idea on his potentinal
"Wow, Anne was right! You DO look like Maleficent!"
So you could probably understand that when a little Taiwanese girl answered the door instead of said nephew or her sister, the Head Witch of the Emperor's Coven was confused.
"Um….Thank you…?"
The little girl, seeming to guess the witch's confusion, grabbed Lilith's hand and shook it.
"Hi! My name's….!"
"Aunt Lily!" Another voice cut in as Olivier raced forward and knocked Lilith to the ground. Despite her shock, she smiled warmly and messed with his hair.
"Hello, Olivier. Are you well?"
The little boy nodded his head in excitement as he helped his aunt to her feet and gently dragged her in.
"Lily!" Eda beamed as she stepped out
"….What on earth are you wearing?"
"My work uniform." Eda smiled, striking a pose. "How do I look?"
"….Like a poor attempt at a Guard who is also way too proud of her looks." Lilith said bluntly.
Eda just laughed at that.
"You ain't wrong, sis: I'm the night guard at Pizza Planet. Not too exicting, but with all the toys, rides and games? Worth protecting."
Lilith hadn't been listening; whatever job her sister did in the human realm? She wagered it was probably even more embarrassing than being the one soul on the Boiling Ilses who refused to see Emperor Belos' wisdom and using any magic she pleased.
"Sibling ying and yang, huh?" Marcy noted to Olivier, who nodded.
"Yeah."
"I mean, your mom is fun, loud and funny and your aunt is calm, pretty and….teacher like." Marcy continued.
"Will the other child's parents be along soon to pick her up?" Lilith asked her sister, partly to avoid the worryinbgf thought of being 'boring' compared to Edalyn.
"Oh, did I forget to mention Marcy will be staying over?" Eda coyly feigned ignorance, batting her eyes.
"..Marcy?" Lilith asked before she recalled her conversation with Eda. "Oh! You mean one of Olivier's friends."
"Yeah, she's like you, only fun." Eda smirked, leaning in to explain: "Her folks have to work late tonight and she and Ollie have been working on something that'd make the Construction Coven cry."
That got Lilith's attention; a human child the same age as her nephew with the intellect of a genius? Consider her interest peaked.
"Um….?" Marcy suddenly butted in. "If I'm too much trouble, Mrs. Ollie's Aunt?"
"Lilith, please." The head witch gently smiled. "Call me Lilith. Or Lily."
Eda's eyes widened in shock; she barely got away with calling her sister 'Lily' as a teasing nickname, but Marcy got the go-pass?
"Well, Sasha and her dad said I could sleep over if you want time with Ollie." Marcy offered.
"Wait, no!" Olivier pleaded. "Please let Marcy stay, Aunt Lilith! She's really nice and smart and…"
Lilith held up a hand.
"I'm the right hand of a very powerful person and lead vertible armies. I can handle two five year olds." She smiled proudly.
'…Oh, she's going to regret that.' Eda smirked before glancing at the clock.
"Crud! I better skidaddle!"
She patted Marcy's head and then kissed Olivier's forehead before nuzzling his nose.
"Don't raise too much heck for your aunt without me, okay baby?"
"Okay, mama." Olivier promised
And with that (and letting Lilith know where the 'takeout' money was) the former Owl Lady headed out the door, power-walking a few minutes before Owlbert poked out of her hair and turned into his staff form so Eda could fly the rest of the way.
OWLPHIBIA
Once Eda had left, Ollie and Marcy had given Lilith a quick tour of the house. Humble as it was and despite being an 8th the size of Clawthorne manor, Lilith felt cozy and nostalgic,
"So…Aunt Lily?" Olivier asked after the tour ended and the three poured themselves glasses of juice (Lilith keeping her disappointment at the weak 'Juice blood').
"Yes, Olivier?" Lilith smiled.
"Mama says and I remember some people saying we lived wrong. Do you know anything about that?"
"Yeah, were DO you and Miss Clawthorne come from?" Marcy asked. "I know she said the nearest town was 'Gravesfield'….and you clearly do have similar food and or ways of living like we do, but no TV shows like what we have here? Dressing like movie cahracters? Not to be rude! Just…"
A smile overtook Lilith's face.
"Well, I was planning on telling you at a later date, Olivier." She admitted as she spun a magic circle. "But since you asked and since Marcy here is so eager for knowledge?"
Several books plopped onto the table from out of thin air; said books looking like something out of a Halloween store or movie with snarling, monstrous faces and rough, flesh like skins. Both children were in awe and stood up as the presentation began; Ollie for hearing more about the world his mother kept him from and Marcy been in awe of a REAL magican babysitting her.
'Anne and Sashe are going to be so jealous!'
"The Boiling Isles…." Lilith began with authority, unfurling a parchment map of the land she called home. "Formed from the corpse of a Titan."
"Like a fossil!" Marcy gasped.
"Oh yeah, I can see it; the skull, the ribs, the arms and legs….does he snore?" Ollie asked.
"No." Lilith interjected, a mix of annoyance and adoration of the child like wonder clear. "He's long since dead."
"Are there regional governance systems?" Marcy asked.
"There are covens." Lilith responded. "Each focusing on a specific type of…"
"Like Pocket Monster gyms?"
"…What is a Pocket Monster?" Lilith asked. "Some kind of…pet? And what do gyms have tyo with anything."
Marcy looked scandalized, pointing Lilith and then Olivier, who nodded and mouthed:
'I'll tell you later.'
Lilith accepted that for now and inhaled before continuing, showcasing nine symbols.
"The Covens prevent reckless magic use, by having members focus on one type: Potions, Construction, Healing, Beast-Keeping, Oracle, Illusions, Plant, Bard and Abomination. In the past, wild magic led to chaos, curses, and…."
"Have you ever cursed someone?" Marcy interrupted.
The room went still and cold as Lilith's fingers tightened slightly on the parchment as a memory came back to her:
Years Ago
She was older than Marcy and Olivier were now; still a child yet close to entering Coven age. The single open spot for the Emperor's Coven tryouts; the freest and most powerful Coven; the one that kept the world safe….that she and Eda had dreamt of being all their lives.
She was smarter and more clever, but Eda worked harder and had much more natural talent. And Eda was just as, if not sometimes even smarter than Lilith.
There was only room for one and it had been her dream…..
So, when she recalled Emperor Belos' words on 'hard choices for the greater good?' She snuck into the Midnight Market and grabbed the first curse she saw before sneaking back home, scroll in her hand and the lie she told herself repeating like a mantra:
'Just for a day. For the Emperor's Coven. It should be temporary.'
Eda sleeping in her room without a care in the world…..
Present Day
Lilith then snapped out of the memory to see that the children were watching her now, concern and worry clear.
Ollie slid out of his chair and hugged his aunt, startling her her, but also making her smile. Carefully, she placed a hand on his back.
"You'd never curse someone," Ollie said simply, total confidence in his aunt. "And if you did? They deserved it."
Lilith closed her eyes, fighting back tears of joy, shame and regret.
'Oh Titan, please never let him find out….' She inwardly prayed. 'Please have Edalyn come to her senses and join if just for the curse…'
She then spied Marcy looking down at her feet in shame and poking her index fingers together.
"I'm sorry, Miss Lilith." She managed. "I didn't mean to…."
"You did nothing wrong, Marcy." Lilith said firmly, smoothing Marcy's hair with a gentle smile on her face. "Questions are strength. Be proud of your intelligence."
Marcy lit up like she'd won a trophy.
"…Magic should protect," she said quietly as she returned Olivier to his seat to continue the lesson. "And curiosity should never be shamed."
The moment lasted exactly seven seconds before Ollie tilted his head.
"Mom says curses are like glitter. Once you throw it, it gets everywhere."
Lilith's composure fractured just a hair as a chuckle and smirk overtook her face.
"…That is disturbingly accurate."
Then, all of a sudden…..
"I HEARD EDUCATIONAL OPPRESSION!"
King barreled into the room, glaring at the books as if they offended him personally.
"What in the Titan's name…?" Lilith recoiled; she knew of the strange creature her sister kept. But to actually see it?
"Oh, hi King!" Marcy waved. "Done whipping the troops into action?"
"Whipping can wait! There is no excuse for ignorance fuelled his misinformation!"
"I beg your pardon?" Lilith asked. "Who do you think you are, you…whatever you are?!"
"I am a monarch in exile." King declared proudly, climbing onto the table and snacthing one map labelled 'Taxes'. "Also this map is wrong. Lesser Maw demons absolutely pay taxes in despair."
"They do not." Lilith deadpanned.
"I've seen it." King beamed as Marcy began writing everything he said down.
"Just tune him out, Auntie." Olivier suggested. "Just tune him out."
Lilith screamed into her hands at how WRONG everything King said was.
OWLPHIBIA
10 minutes later, dinner arrived.
While Marcy, Olivier and King devoured the Chinese food Eda had ordered, Lilith examined a dumpling like it might explode.
"This is… human cuisine?" She inquired.
"Chinese!" Ollie said brightly as he savored some Chow Mein with all four proteins; beef, chicken, shrimp and tofu.
Her hunger overtaking her and not wanting to be rude, Lilith took a bite. It was warm and crunch with some juice in it. She swallowed.
"…It is adequate."
She immediately reached for another.
Marcy, herself enjoying a fortune cookie before returning to her tomatoes and beef, narrowed her eyes at Lilith. "You're chewing faster."
"I am not."
She was.
OWLPHIBIA
At 8:31 PM, Lilith made a critical error.
"One small glass for each of you." she murmured, pouring soda into cups for Olivier and Marcy.
She'd thought it was like sleeping medicine that actually tasted good; something she could report to the Cooking Coven to try and make.
She was wrong.
At 8:46 PM, she understood consequences.
Marcy was pacing in excited loops, theorizing about demon evolutionary patterns.
Ollie was attempting spell gestures at unsafe speeds and not even doing magic circles to do it; just copying whatever human children thought was needed to fire a beam of light.
King was chanting something about microwave sovereignty.
"I see the flaw in my judgment." Lilith stood in the center of it all, calculating.
OWLPHIBIA
Eda returned at 6 in the morning, happy the house was still standing and nothing was on fire. Cushions displaced. Glitter somewhere. King wearing a paper crown labeled TAX LORD. Marcy asleep mid-sentence. Ollie snoring softly beside her.
Her shift at Pizza Planet had confirmed a fear: The reason for the ghosts was still at the Restaurant was something she'd have to deal with soon.
Becoming a mother had made her vindicative.
Lilith stood unmoving, hair undone, eyes hollow.
"….Sooooo?' Eda smirked. "How'd it go?"
"Those." She pointed to Marcy and King. "Are NOT children. Those are 'Ragnarok' on the Apocalyptic scale."
"Aw come on Lily; she's adorable!" Eda smiled as she picked the kids up and put them on the couch with a blanket. "And Ollie behaved, right?"
Lilith clearly wanted to say something else, but instead replied:
"….I am going to crash in your backyard. Unless Acid rain pours or you have a nosey neighbor? Do not move me."
Abd that's just what she did.
OWLPHIBIA
From a penthouse suite and through a crystal ball, Kassandra Cosmostar smirked as she watched through opera glasses.
Lilith, the Emperor's golden prodigy, defeated by soda and five-year-olds.
"Oh, Lili." she purred. "Still so fragile when it matters."
Her gaze shifted to Olivier.
Even exhausted, even careful there was something in him. A spark she recognized. Untamed. Unstructured.
Not bound to bile.
"Interesting…." Kassandra noted, surprised she hadn't picked up on that when she and Eda had reunited. Then again, considering hos gracefully 'Eddie' was aging and the tea she spilled? "But another time."
Tonight she had business elsewhere. Something old, sealed and that, if Lilith ever discovered she was retrieving it…
Kassandra's smile sharpened.
"…She would hunt me to the ends of existence."
Her hand traced the edge of a small obsidian sigil hidden beneath her cloak.
The air shimmered faintly around her.
"Soon," she whispered, smirking when the faintest bits of laughter filled her head.