A Krampusnacht Carol

Paths

Amity set her glass down on the kitchen table, it's pungent red fluid swirling about as she did. The voices of her friends and family could be heard from the living room, playing games and laughing. The table before her was nearly full of food, both from the Human Realm, and the Demon. A bowl of marinated demon wings sat beside the potato salad, and shaved spider roast had been mixed in with the rice and pigeon peas. There was an awful mess on the oven and in the sink; her abominations having difficulty keeping up with the amount of dishes that were piling up, and the boiled over sauces that had burned onto the stove top. Amity turned to take in the view of the setting sun out of the Owl House's back window.

It had been a year since she and her friends had faced Krampus, and she had decided to start making changes, both to herself and her company. After sending everyone home for the holidays when she had woken up that day, she and Camila had addressed the Healing and Potion Covens, and after a few months of treatments, the drastically diminished disease in both of them vanished. Camila had been skeptical of course, though after her own walk through a magical world as Amity's guide, she had finally taken to accepting a little magical help. In that time, Blight Industries had needed an interim CEO, and she had asked Willow to stand in for her.

"Hello, Amity." Willow said, catching Amity's attention. "I was hoping to see you this year." Willow always had the best heart of any of them; tender yet tenacious, with a love for all of her friends and family, and the natural world that both realms needed. When Amity had returned, she had signed over complete ownership of the company to Willow, who had in turn began making changes of her own.

Amity turned, smiling at her old friend. "It's nice to see everyone together again. I was just looking for a moment of quiet."

"Oh." Willow said with an embarrassed squeak. "I'll leave you..."

"No! Willow, it's okay. I'm just not sure I could lose that Twisty game to Hooty again." Amity laughed, stepping around the table to embrace Willow in a hug. "How is Porter-Park Incorporated doing these days?"

"Uhm, good." Willow replied, gently adjusting her glasses. "Gus is running our entertainment division. Eda is running things here, now that the portal has been moved to the Owl House. After Lilith returned from her expedition with her half of the curse, the Owl Beast was able to leave to wherever its home is, and we've been able to finally treat her."

"I noticed a new spring in her step. Did she ever tell you what she was using Owlbert's feathers for?"

Willow looked to the side, her cheeks blushing slightly. "Uhm, maybe. But I think that's her story to tell."

Amity lifted an eyebrow. "I thought we were all done with secrets." she smiled, picking up her glass of apple blood again and taking a sip.

"This is more of a gift." Willow said, squeezing her lips shut in a thin smile. "Otherwise, profits are... well, down. But both worlds are healing. The rainforests in the Human Realm are nearly regrown, and we've started the first Palistrom Tree Sanctuary on the Boiling Isles. With your abomination constructs, we've nearly eliminated carbon..."

"Okay Willow, enough shop talk." Amity interrupted. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine." she replied, moving to the side as an abomination brushed past her to deliver more snacks to the living room. "I mean, it's a little stressful trying to repair two worlds."

Amity nodded. "Well, don't forget you have a lot of people behind you. I'm sure you'll make better decisions than I did."

"Well, that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about." she squeaked again, starting to sweat and earning herself a suspicious look. "Uhm, your mother visited the other day. She was looking for you, and I wasn't exactly sure how to handle it."