Someone Else Is Pulling at the Strings

Chapter 1 Was It Scary?

"Lily?" the younger woman let out, "how did it feel like to be one of those puppets?" The ginger turned away from her with a grim expression on her face as she rubbed her arm. Eda sat up quickly. "Look, if you don't wanna talk about it-"

"No, it's fine." Lilith glanced down at Hooty in his motionless form. She knew why Eda was asking that, although, she expected her to do so so much earlier. She cupped the wooden owl's head and pulled him into her lap. "It was...scary and confusing," Lilith admitted, "kind of like the curse, but more...vibrant, yet so dark and cold." She brushed Hooty's cheek with her thumb, trying to find the right words. "No matter what I did, my body wouldn't move, I couldn't speak a word. I was calling out to Hootsifer, I was calling out to you, knowing that neither of you could do anything."

"Could you hear or see anything?" Eda asked her. Lilith didn't look up from her best friend.

"I'm...not sure. I believe I did. I was so stressed out by everything that happened that...the curse tried to take over. It didn't, but it tried." Her hands were shaking as she was thinking back to the Day of Unity and its consequences.

She had to watch as her sister suffered from the draining spell combined with the curse while every other witch was also in pain, some even unconscious. As soon as everything was over, the Collector showed up, cracking the Titan's skull in half. Colorful stars were falling from the skies, terrifying the still-tired people. And the worst part about all of this? Her nephew was right next to the source of all this chaos. He was meant to be with Luz! What was he doing up there? And what happened to Luz?

Her sister was in pain, her nephew was with an all-powerful being, her niece was missing...and the final blow was her best friend sacrificing himself to protect her.

The moment she saw Hooty turn into a Jack-in-a-box-like toy, her eyes widened as she was falling to the ground, reaching her hand to him as if trying to get hold of him. She felt a sudden itch all over her body and the feathers popped out of her skin. The next thing she knew was that she stopped falling, but couldn't move a muscle.

"It couldn't break through the spell, so we were both stuck in an endless loop of fighting for control that neither of us could actually get," Lilith continued, "I'd say I was too distracted to register what was happening around me until I was released. I assume that's why you can't remember your time as a puppet, you have fully transformed after all." She glanced at her sister who was holding up one of the glasses they filled with the elixir. It was then that Lilith realized that she was covered in feathers. Must've been the memories getting to her.

She took the glass from Eda, giving her a soft thank-you smile. She drank the elixir, making the feathers retract back into her body. Her face cringed as she swallowed.

"Ugh, you were right about the taste..."

"So, you think Raine knows about my visits?" Eda wondered.

"Considering that Hootsifer knew about me, I'm sure they do."

"Well, gotta get ready for...their rejection." Her cheeks turned red as a nervous smirk crossed her face.

"Oh, please." Lilith rolled her eyes. "Who could reject the great Edalyn Clawthrone? Seeing how you two were right before and during the Day of Unity, there is no way they would reject you. And if they did, I'd make sure the Raven Beast takes care of them." She nudged Eda with her elbow, making her chuckle.

The moment was broken once the two sisters and the small Titan heard a twig crack in the distance. King jumped off Eda's lap as she and Lilith stood up. They noticed a figure approaching them, they were obscured by shadows at first, but slowly walked into the light, revealing none other than...