Eda tapped her foot in rhythm to the boiling rains pumping against the barrier outside. She watched in amusement as King battled a ducky sock stuck on his nose.
"And here we have the most fearsome creature in the world, the King of Demons. Facing his natural enemy, the ducky sock!" Eda teased, watching as King finally ripped the sock to shreds. King scoffed and blew Eda off.
"Human Luz, I will give you yet another lesson on demons! You will grow up to be the most fearsome!" King shouted at the toddler, who was sitting patiently holding Francois. "Prepare yourself for... Demons 101! Demons like me are grim tricksters of the twilight, creatures of sulfur and bone." Luz tilted her head, trying her best to understand King's word choices.
Eda snorted. "And cute little paws."
King sighed. "Can you ever cran it? But... yes. And cute little paws. True. We live only to create chaos and misery. Our only weaknesses are purified water and passive‐aggressive comments. Sometimes."
Luz giggled as Eda cooed lightly. "Aw, you guys are sensitive."
"Even demons have inner demons. The most powerful demon of all, is the Snaggleback! He's a-"
"Bad boy!" Eda exclaimed, ruffling King's head fur as she walked past, catching Luz's attention.
"Luz, pay attention! This information could save your life someday."
"You expect a toddler to pay attention to a boring demon lesson?"
"My lessons are not boring!"
Suddenly, a crash of thunder and Hooty's screams alerted the three. Eda opened the door as a terrified Hooty curled up behind her.
"Hoot! The barrier is failing me!"
The barrier Eda had put up minutes prior was not rapidly decreasing in size.
"Ah! Boiling rain is comin' in! Everybody inside, now!"
Eda grabs Luz, who had just crawled outside after Eda, and basically threw herself, Luz, and King inside the house.
"Phew! That was close! But the important thing is, nobody got hurt."
"Yep! Totally not hurt at all in the slightest!" King screamed, laying on top of a crying Luz.
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King carefully put a bandaid on a burn on Luz's arm, following with putting a bandaid on his snout.
"Look! Now we're boo-boo buddies!"
"Boo-boo!"
"That's right! Boo-boo buddies!"
"Ugh. This annoys me so much sometimes..." Eda muttered, glancing at Luz. "Hey, I wonder if humans have these types of things on earth."
"Don't they have... like... I don't know, weather? Not plagues, gorenados, shale hail, painbows..." King carefully counted on his paws.
"How am I supposed to know? I've been to the human realm only a couple of times. Been nothin' but sunshine. Disgusting. And Las... eh... Vegan? Horrific..." Eda shuddered at the thought.
"Ever heard of a painbow?" King asked, nudging Luz. "It's like a rainbow, but looking at it will turn you inside out, heh!" King grabs the strings of Luz's onsie, drawing her hood closed. Luz giggled.
"Yep. So, until the Boiling Rains stops, nobody is allowed outside tonight."
"And if the rain doesn't get you... the snaggleback will! They wonder the rain, feeding on boiled tourists!"
Luz started to whine, pushing the book King had shoved in her face away.
"Well, whatever the case, this force field spell should protect the house from boiling rains and made‐up demons. Now stronger than ever!"
"Hoot! Well, it better be! I don't want another repeat of last time! So, hurry it up with that force field. That rain is getting closer to my precious stucco!" Hooty screeched.
"Yeah, yeah. I got it."
Eda closed her eyes, concentrating on her spell, as she made the barrier stronger than before.
"Someday, kid," Eda started, looking Luz's way. "I'd like you to be as cool as Eda the Owl Lady. Magical, sassy, surprisingly foxy for her age..."
Luz titled her head, as if asking a question nobody understood.
"And, you know why they call me the Owl Lady?"
"Cause she coughs up rat bones!" Hooty interrupted.
"I was gonna say, cause I'm so wise..."
"Nah! I think its cause she gets distracted by shiny objects!"
"No, I don't!"
King pulls out a pen, clicking it and making a small diamond attached to the end glow. Eda's eyes lit up at the sight.
"It sparkles and shimmers and shines and delights... I must have it for my nesttttt!"
Eda jumped at the pen, attempting to grab it. King hides the pen, and Eda crashes to the ground.
Luz lit up, clapping and laughing. "Nst! Nst!"
"The force field really took it out of me..." Eda groaned.
"Uh-oh, moving a little slow. Age finally catching up to ya?"
Eda scoffed, throwing King's hood over his eyes, making him scream. "Darkness!"
"You had it coming."
Eda picked Luz up, who had since crawled over to her. As Eda walked inside, King pouted.
"Aw, bring my min- I mean, my student, back here! We have to finish our demon lesson!"
"We got more important things to do."
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"Peek-a-boo!" Eda yelled, uncovering her eyes to a laughing baby. Luz clapped her hands, nearly falling backwards on the couch. Eda repeated her previous action, getting a kick out of the infants giggles.
"Seriously? We're doing this? Why are we doing this when we could be learning all the fun ways a demon could kill you? Look how teethy! Bite, bite!"
"Because it's good bonding time." Eda said, matter-of-factly.
King scoffed. "Bonding shmonding."
Eda rested her head against the couch, panting in exhaustion. "I just need... one second... to rest."
Eda closed her eyes, and in a few mere seconds, was passed out.
"Yuh-oh! You killed her, kid!"
Luz started to whine, crawling onto Eda's lap.
"Hm..." King rubbed his chin. "Bap! Yep, she's out!" King shouted, bapping Eda in the face. "Bap! Just making sure!"
Luz started to whine even louder, patting Eda lightly. "Eda! Eda!"
"Shiny thing. Big nest." Eda started to snore.
"Don't worry, Luz. Eda had her head cut off once, and honestly, probably not the last. But, the point is, that woman can survive anything! She's probably just tired from staying up all night chasing shrews and voles." King reassured.
"Bed." Luz babbled, grabbing Eda's hand, understanding that sleep meant bed.
"Ugh, what? Now you talk? And you say that? I don't wanna take her up!"
Luz started to whine again. "Bed!" Luz pointed to the stairs. King grumbled.
"Hoot! I'll help!"
King only grumbled even louder.
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Hooty placed Eda in her nest, hooting softly. Luz pulled herself up onto the nest, peering into it at Eda. The red leash attached to her onsie restraining her from going too far from King.
"Eda?" Luz babbled, a solemn expression written in her face.
"Should I bap her again?" King asked, nudging Luz. Luz smiled.
King bapped Eda in the face, cackling and jumping down, leading Luz out of the room.
The two made their way downstairs, and when they finally made it, sat on the couch. Luz drew scribbles on a loose piece of paper, while King drew a demon with several mouths.
King shoved the paper into the toddlers face. "Hey, you know what's really cryptish? Let me tell you about the most spine‐chilling demon... Smoochy‐pie the Sweetie Baby! He's... well, he's a lot more threatening than his name implies..." King muttered, making the toddler laugh at the drawing. King sighs.
"You're so... childish." King groaned, placing his notebook on his lap. Luz started to whine, wiping her eyes. King perked his head up.
"What? Are you getting hungry?"
Luz whined louder, rubbing her eyes.
"If I make you a bottle, promise me to watch my demon lesson while you drink it, okay?"
Luz momentarily stopped whining to tilt her head, a slight coo in her voice. King nodded.
"I'll take that as a yes!"
"Well, she said that babies have to drink a special formula to get nutritions, so there has to be some around here somewhere, right? I mean... heh, how else would you have lived this long?" King scribbled in his notebook. "And I have a theory. Every day I notice Eda sneaking drinks of this special elixirs, see? Then she always gets a boost of energy, see? I think that's where you get nutritions from! And I know where to get some."
Luz titled her head once more, as if asking, "really?"
King, seemingly understanding her unasked question, nodded. "Sí."
Luz clapped, a slight smile.
"Yes! I know. I really am a King."
King pulled away from Luz's grasp, tying Luz's leash to the couch leg to ensure she doesn't move.
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"Now, where could it be..."
King looks at Eda's bedside table to see a small glowing glass bottle. King nodded, carefully trying to sneak over. Suddenly, a loud clang jolted him from his sneaks.
King gasped in shock, lashing his tail. "Ha! Nice try."
To much of King's amusement, the trap spoke back. "Nah, my heart wasn't in it." The trap up and walked away. It walked away.
King brushed it off to Boiling Isles Mishaps, and scampers to the bottle. He climbs onto the table, and carefully reads the note.
"'An elixir a day.' Cryptic! Nyeh!" King ripped the tag off and tucks it under his collar, keeping it in place. King grabbed the potion and hopped to the ground. He looks at the potion, then guiltily at Eda, nervously cooing.
"Mm... nah."
King runs down the steps so quick, he nearly falls down them, catching himself just before he starts to tumble.
"Luz, Luz! Look, I got it!"
King unties Luz and leads her to the kitchen, helping her onto the counter. Once up there, King grabs her bottle and pours the Elixer inside. King picks the bottle's lid up and readies to put it on, but a clash of thunder startles him and make him drop it.
Luz started to cry, and King groaned at his luck.
"Oh, golden Elixer! Gone! This is awful!" King yelled dramatically.
Luz continued to cry, her patience finally running out.
"Hey, hey! Who even needs formula when we got food all around the house?"
But King knew that Luz needed both her formula and Eda to sleep.
Luz's cries come to a halt when the light's shut out. King groans. "Hooty controls the house lights. He must've fell asleep."
King's head perks up when he hears Hooty hoot in pain. Him and Luz share a glance, and he picks Luz up, carrying her the best he could now that she grew a bit.
Luz and King reach the living room and gasp. A shadowy beast has knocked the door of its hinges and made a mess of the front wall. It leaves deep scratches in the wood next to Hooty, growls when it notices the other two, then flees. King scampers to Hooty, bapping his beak repeatedly.
"Hooty, buddy, oh tell me you're in there! Please!"
King opens Hooty's eye, then lets it fall shut again. "That thing! It escaped into the rain... It must be the... the..." King gasped. "The Snaggleback! It feeds during the rains! It must've stumbled upon our house and seen us inside."
Suddenly, a loud howl erupted from the night. An upper window is smashed through, making King jump in place.
Luz started to whine, looking up at King. "This could be a lesson! This would be a great way for you to see a wild demon up close and personal."
"Eda!" Luz pointed inside, a look of worry emitting from her face. King nodded.
"Yup. You knocked her out, technically. So we have to go up there and protect her!"
Cue the two mini's preparing for battle. King slips rubber gloves on Luz, and then tapes a pillow to his own chest. He puts bandages under Luz's eyes like eye black, then tilts his head up proudly. He gives Luz a hockey stick, and then runs past in favor of grabbing Francois. "Weh!"
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King hesitantly approaches the staircase, baby Luz in his arms. Luz points a flashlight rapidly around the room, following the light with her eyes, not quite understanding the weight of the situation. Floorboards creak as they go up, making every step an eternity long. They reach a hallway and stop as the door to Eda's room creaks open. They share a nervous look. Luz reaches and pushes open the door all the way, revealing an empty room and a shattered window, through which a bolt of lightning strikes.
"Eda!" Luz points to Eda's nest.
"She got snaggle‐backed!" King screamed, despair in his voice.
"Eda?" Luz reaches for Eda's pillow. "Eeeeeda!" Luz started to whine.
"Slash marks! I'm the demon expert! I need to help. I'll go get my demon book." King sits Luz on the floor, scampering out of the room and down the hall.
After a minute or so, King returns to the room, two books in his paws.
"Wait, wait. First edition or second?" King gasped and drops his books. "Luz? The Snaggleback got her!"
Suddenly, a shadow from behind him snarls, and King, against his better judgement, chases after it.
"You craven beast! Give me back my boo‐boo buddy!"
King rounds a corner and gasps once more. A door creaks closed. Luz's pacifier and pacifier hook is stretched across the ground.
"Luz?" King's voice breaks a little as he looks at the pacifier. He picks it up, holding it close. He opens the door and enters the closet, looking around until noticing a shadow hiding behind clothes.
"There's nowhere for you to run!" King moves aside some clothes, to reveal a small monkey looking creature. "Snaggleback? Wow. You are a lot shorter in person."
The creature started to stumble over his words. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I‐I just needed a place to hide from the rains!"
"Then why did you break down our door and take Luz? That's not cool, man. Bad Snaggleback!"
"I- I didn't do any of that stuff. I snuck in through a window just now."
"Huh? Well, then what..."
A sudden crash sounded above them as a shadowed claw pulls the Snaggleback through the ceiling. Snarls and stomps are easily heard as King backs away from the hole. Something bangs against the door.
"Oh, no! A twist!" The Snaggleback yells, right before being devoured.
King yells, then whimpers, covering his mouth when he hears the door creak open. In the doorway, is the shadowy beast, snarling and growling It spits the Snaggleback's shell out, then roars loudly.
"Oh, my..."
The beast advances, forcing King against the wall. King yelps.
"Stay back! Hey, hey. I am the king of demons, okay? And as such, I demand you to barf my friends back up!"
The beast screeches and raises a claw. King yells and ducks, and the claws score the wall where his head was a moment before. King runs from the beast, proving far more nimble than the beast, rounding corners with ease while the beast slams into walls. King yelps with every movement the creature makes, snarling all the way. King rounds a second corner, swiftly sliding into a room and closing the door with a squeak. The beast enters the hallway King was just in moments prior.
King panted for air, back against the door. Allowing his eyes to adjust to the dark, he sees a terrified infant in the corner of the room, holding back choked sobs.
"Luz?"
Luz hesitates, staying in her place. So, King dares inch closer to her. The girl cowers even more, a heartbreaking look on her face.
"Hey, hey... It's me. King. Your boo-boo buddy, remember? How did you get in here?" King's question slips out casually, as if the baby would respond.
"Eda..." Luz mumbled, wrapping her small arms around King. King hugged her back, sighing in relief.
Luz, noticing her pacifier hooked onto King's collar, takes it and puts it in her mouth, comfort slowly sinking in.
"I‐‐"
Luz tilts her head, and that's when King notices a small piece of paper stuck in her hair.
"What's that?" King takes the paper and begins to read. "Keeps the curse at bay." King gasped, a horrible realization shocking him. He pulls the tag fron earlier out of his collar, and puts them together. "An elixir a day, keeps the curse at bay..."
"Cur?" Luz titled her head, trying to repeat King's words.
"I was wrong the whole time! That's no Snaggleback. That creature is..."
The two of them scream as a clawed hand bursts through the door, soon being followed by a body. The creature growls at the two, the moonlight shining on the face.
"Eda!" Luz pointed, a small, worried, but almost relieved, look on her face.
Eda growls and stalks closer, raising a claw to swipe. Luz starts to cry, hiding her face in King's shoulder, and drops her flashlight, which lands on the button, flicking it on. The flash from the camera blinds Eda momentarily, making her scream. King grabs Luz and runs, hiding on a balcony. Eda's screams echos loudly.
Eda stalks the room, sniffing and growling. King holds his small paw over Luz's mouth. Eda sniffs the air just above the two, and growls. King grabs a can and throws it away from them, distracting Eda and causing her to chase the sound.
Luz whines, confusion taking over. "Eda?" Luz asked.
"Don't you see? The Elixir I gave you doesn't give Eda powers. It prevents her from turning into that thing! She's turned into a nightmare and it's all my fault... I'm so sorry, Luz. I‐I just wanted you to be into demons. I don't have many friends, and no one even pays that much attention to me. I thought maybe if I taught you, finally someone would care about creatures like me. I... why am I even telling you this? You're a baby."
Luz titled her head. "King." Luz smiles up at King, giving him the sparkling pen.
"Huh?"
"De-man." Luz attempted to pronounce.
King lights up, pointing to himself with a head tilt. Luz smiles bigger. King takes the pen, then giggles and hugs the toddler. After he sits up, he puts some nearby leaves on the ground in front of the two.
"Let's see..." King started to draw on the leaf. "She was bigger, covered in feathers, and had giant black eyes. Demons with black eyes are usually sensitive to light." King looks at Luz's flashlight. "That's it! Light! We can use that!"
Luz presented the flashlight, making him contemplate his decision.
Luz whined, tugging at King's paw. King sighed.
"You know? Maybe this could work...?"
King clicked the flashlight, watching as the glass shadders. Suddenly, a light from the sky seems to float down, landing on the ground with a small thud. Once it hit the ground, the light faded until it went out. The small ball is attached to a string. Luz instinctively reached for it, and once she grabbed it, she slightly squeezed it, and it lit up before her eyes.
"Whoa..." King muttered, his breath atook. "What... does that mean?"
Luz's eyes glowed with wonder, as she started to make giggles.
"Shh! No matter how cool that is, we're not going to stop anything with something that small."
Distant screeching startles them both, making them cower in fear.
"What do we do now?"
Luz whined, holding her small hand near the light, watching as it levitated around her. King hummed in thought, watching the scene as well.
"I think I got an idea, Boo-boo buddy."
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Eda sniffs the ground, soft snarls emitting from her. She starts to sniff a book, when a clicking noise distracts her. King is standing in the doorway, clicking the shiny pen.
"Oh, what lovely thing do we have here? It's just so dang shiny. Oh, my. Oh, dear."
Eda stares at the pen's light in awe, cooing. She screeches suddenly and lunges for it. King takes off running, with Eda close on his trail. King ducks down a hallway, making Eda slide into a pile of books and papers. She crashes into a wall, and gasps when a blanket is dropped over her head.
"Now, Luz!"
"Sorry... Eda." Luz recognized her words, tilting her head in sorrow, before squeezing the ball.
Blinding light overtakes the room as the light shines into multiple mirrors, reflecting the light off one another.
Eda screams, and everything goes black.
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Eda groggily wakes up in her nest with a straw in her mouth. She sits up, gasping after noticing one black eye.
Eda slurps her the rest of her Elixer, and finally returns to normal.
"W‐What happened? Oh, I have the worst headache. And my mouth tastes like roadkill..." Eda gags, before puking up a sack of bile.
A giant owl pellet breaks open, revealing the slimy Snaggleback.
"I'm just gonna... lie here for a minute." The Snaggleback said out if exhaustion.
Eda grabs her potion and hums in confusion.
"Hmm. I was looking for that."
King, noticing Eda awake, scampers over to her.
"Actually, we found an extra one in your closet."
"King? King! You stole my Elixir? I ought to break every bone in your‐‐"
"Shh! Over there." King said in a whisper, purposely cutting King off.
Luz is at the end of the nest, squeezing the ball off and on to make the light flicker. Amazement is evident in her eyes. She smiles widely everytime it re-lights up.
But, to ruin the moment, the ball of light un-attaches from around her neck, and shrinks down, until it finally disappears, leaving a small trail and trace of light, that being the only indication that it ever existed to begin with.
"Wow. How did she do that?"
The last bit of light it emitted finally disappeared, losing Luz's attention. Luz turned around and smiled when she saw Eda.
"I don't know, but she did it all on her own. Hey, I, uh, kind of messed a bunch of things up back there. And I just wanted to say I'm sorry."
"Well, you better be. I got a long list of disgusting chores with your name on it. But it's not entirely your fault."
Eda smiles and reaches down as Luz crawls over. Eda picks Luz ups and touches her nose to Luzs'. "Hey there, sweet girl."
Eda looked back at King. "I haven't been completely honest with you. When I was younger, I was cursed. I don't know exactly how it happened, all I know is that if I don't take my Elixir... Well, that's why people call me the Owl Lady. No one likes having a curse, but if you take the right steps, it's manageable."
Luz cooed at Eda, grabbing the hem of Eda's night clothes. Eda smiles at the toddler, poking her on the nose.
"There's nothing for you to worry about. It's all under control, and as long as no one steals my Elixir ‐‐ King ‐‐ then I'm fine. But, hey, look at that. A human did magic. Good on you, kid. Don't know how it happened... but, maybe I could teach you a thing or two of my own, seeing as... that light ball might not be too reliable anymore."
Luz smiled and pointed to King. "King!"
"Aw, how cute. She finally said your name. Did King help you? Did he?"
King giggled. "Oh, you!"
Hooty's squeaky voice echoed through the house, all of a sudden. "Hey, hey! Is anyone there? Hello? Hoot? I'm on the floor. It's cold!"
"That voice. That horrific voice!" King yelled. Eda laughed. "Well, as much as I don't want to, I guess I do owe you. So, me and Luz will take care of him. You stay in bed." King grabs Luz from Eda and grabs the leash. King grabbed the Snaggleback's foot and started ti drag him away. "Come on, you disgusting thing. We'll set you free now."
"Ow, ow, ow. I think my tail was digested." The Snaggleback complained.
The three left the room, leaving Eda alone.
Eda sighs, and lays back down to rest. When she closes her eyes, she finds herself in a void, with only herself and a door. Indistinct whispering is heard on the other side, confusing Eda.
"No. Not this memory again." Eda said in frustration.
The door opens. On the other side is a wavering dark shadow against a pure white background.
"You! You're the one who cursed me, aren't you? Who are you? Who are you?" Eda repeats her question over and over, pleading for answers she felt she'd never get.
Eda jolted awake with a gasp. She looks around the room and exhales, seeing a picture of her, Luz, and King. Seeing that comforted her greatly, and she finally relaxed against the nest.
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Hooty hooted happily as King finished putting a bandaid on the claw marks. His health? Restored.
"Welcome to the boo‐boo buddy club, Hooty!" King exclaimed.
"Finally I get to be a part of something!"
King scampers to the couch, sighing as he hit the soft cushions. Luz was sleeping just a few feet away, cuddled into Francois.
King holds his notebook close to him, pen in hand doodling away.
"And then she had teeth in her stomach. Teeth in her stomach! Can you believe that?" The Snaggleback had shock in his every word.
"Oh, yeah." King presents his drawing to the Snaggleback. "This will make a great addition to my demon book."
"That book is filled with so many interesting things." The Snaggleback took the book and pointed to a picture of himself. "Like this. I'm one of the strongest demons on the Boiling Isles, huh?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna have to edit that."
The Snaggleback's smile turned into a frown, and sighed in defeat and disappointment.
"Oh..."
And, wow. Tonight was a crazy night. But King was sure, nobody would hear the end of it.
(A/N: 4326 words. Longest chapter yet!)