It's been another week since Luz started her mission. A total of two weeks and five days... give or take, but Luz has been getting a little too comfortable with her new routine. And a little too attached to the other inhabitants of the Owl House.

Currently, Luz was listening to King teach about different types of demons. They were in the living room, a large bulletin board leaning against the front of the couch. Luz was sitting on the floor, tuning him out and humming and nodding along.

The past week had been less eventful than the first, with Eda's Potion lessons twice a week, her curse acting up in the middle of the night, that one night the backyard caught on fire and a drunk on apple blood Eda thought to put it out with coffee... and the attempt at getting the key one night, so yeah not as eventful.

Monday's potion lesson went fine, Eda taught Luz more basics on the different ingredients. Even if Luz already knew due to the Emperor's Coven training she took. Friday's lesson was a bit different, Eda told Luz to experiment with the ingredients she had been taught so far and that she would return in an hour.

Luz was never aloud to experiment or even be left alone with potion ingredients. She was always told to follow the books and recipies. It was strange not having a recipe to follow and only a book of ingredients and their uses. At first she tried making an explosive, since it was a recipe she remembered easily. However with her limited ingredients she was aloud to use, it became difficult.

She substituted the ingredients she didn't have and made sure to write everything that she did down. When Eda came back she held a leather-like belt that held ten empty potion bottles and a sheath for a small bladed weapon. "Thought I'd get you a little something, it's even got a sheath for that dagger you carry around."

Luz had taken it and examined it carefully, half expecting it to be some kind of trap. It had small unfinished light glyphs etched into the leather, so that she wouldn't accidentally activate them she assumed. "Is this custom made?" She asked, looking up at the Owl Lady. "Pfff- no, what made you think that?" Eda crossed her arms and looked away, trying to seem uncaring, but Luz could see the small smile on her face.

Luz smiled as well and looked down at the gift, her smile fading. "But... why?" Eda looked at her apprentice at that and was silent for a moment. "Well, you've been helping me with delivering Potions and I don't want a repeat of your first delivery. Plus, I haven't found anything on glyphs yet sooo..." she trailed off, shrugging.

"Anyways, let's see what you've made here." Eda picked up the list Luz had written for her potion and looked it over. They then filled up some of the bottles on Luz's new belt and went out to test them on some poor creature. The potion ended up paralyzing the target for one minute, before the target was able to move again. Which Eda said was impressive for her first experimental Potion.

Now though the belt was upstairs in Luz's room on the nightstand, all ten Potion bottles full of the Paralyzing Mixture and the dagger sheathed. "Luz, are you even listening?" Luz blinked and looked over at King, who was standing in front of the bulletin board with his arms crossed. "Sorry I must've spaced out, I'll pay attention." King narrowed his eyes at her for a moment before nodding and turning back to the board again. It didn't take long for Luz to space out again.

Luz wasn't even sure how the backyard caught on fire last Wednesday night. Her and King were playing one of his campaigns in the backyard, Eda was outside with them reading a book and drinking Apple Blood. The grass had caught on fire suddenly and Luz had to grab King before they succumbed to the flames.

Eda had been inside getting more Apple Blood, when they rushed inside telling her what happened. She then somehow got a pitcher of coffee and made her way outside and put out the fire, spilling the coffee everywhere in the process. It was later revealed that somehow Hooty had accidentally made the fire.

Late Thursday night, Luz had woken up from a nightmare and her curse acting up. Luckily King slept through Luz's frantic shuffling through her bag for the Elixir. Once dealt with she lay awake for another hour or two, unable to sleep. Eventually she got up and quietly exited her room and wandered down the halls of the Owl House.

She had decided on an attempt at getting the key. She snuck over to Eda's room and quietly creaked the door open. Peaking inside, she saw Eda asleep in her nest. She quietly made her way over to the side of the nest and crouched down beside it much like the last attempt, but this time King wouldn't yell for her.

Luz's attempt ended up failing when Eda woke up and looked at her in sleepy confusion. "Kid? What are you doing in here?" The Owl Lady sat up and looked to the human. Luz pulled her arm back when Eda shifted, trying to come up with an excuse. "I-it's nothing, I'll go back to my room." Luz stood up and backed away.

"Wait." Luz stopped. "Did you have a nightmare?" Eda asked, taking in Luz's tense body language. Luz quickly hopped onto the excuse "yeah... bu-but it's nothing really! Sorry to wake you." Luz turned around and walked towards the door again. "Does it have something to do with the Human Realm?" Luz paused at the door, her hand on the doorknob, she didn't turn or say anything.

"It's just.." Eda continued "some of the things you say have me a little... concerned, I guess, about your home life." She paused, thinking for a moment before speaking again. "Like that first day we met you said 'I don't think I have anything to go back home too' and King mentioned to me one time that you said something about being a waste of space." Eda stopped talking to see if Luz had any kind of reaction.

Luz had her shoulders hunched up and her back still turned away from the Owl Lady. "Now I don't know your whole situation at home or whatever, but it doesn't sound good." Eda leaned against the edge of her nest and crossed her arms "then again, maybe I'm reading too much into things. It's none of my business anyways." She paused again to see if Luz would say anything, when she didn't Eda offered one last thing. "If you ever wanna talk about it, I'll listen. Heck, I avoided my problems and look where that's got me." She chuckled lightly.

Luz was silent for a moment, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "It's just... kinda complicated..." Luz paused, still having her back facing Eda. She wanted to share, she wanted to tell Eda the problem she was faced with, but that would blow her entire cover and she couldn't risk that.

"I'm just not sure if I wanna talk about it." She settled on, Eda nodded in acceptance "you can stay here as long as you want to figure it out, but for now I think we should go to bed. It's getting late and we can talk more if you want later."

Luz nodded "yeah... yeah okay. Thank you, Eda." Eda waved her off with a yawn "no problem kid, now go back to bed." Luz closed the door behind her as she left the room. She didn't immediately return to her room, she wandered the halls a bit longer thinking on what Eda had said.

She shook her head, no. She had to go through with the mission, and put her feelings aside. The Emperor was the only way for her curse to be healed and return home to the Human Realm.

"Luz!" King waved his paw in front of Luz's face as she focused her gaze on him again. "You're not listening again!" He complained, glaring at Luz. "Sorry, sorry, I guess I'm just kinda... out of it today?" She shrugged, King just narrowed his eyes further and tapped his little foot on the ground with his arms crossed. Which Luz thought was adorable. "Alright, how about you bug Eda for dinner and after we can read some Azura?"

King brightened and scampered up the stairs. Luz chuckled for a moment before sighing, she should probably attempt at getting the portal key again soon. Maybe in the middle of the night again, after Eda's had too much Apple Blood. She snickered at the thought then huffed, she didn't like how she was getting so attached to Eda and King... and maybe Hooty. She couldn't help it though, they were just so... kind and real, she supposed. Compared to the Emperor's Coven, who most were faking pleasantries to get in good with the Emperor.

The Emperor himself... well, he was the reason Luz had her curse in the first place. But he was the only one who could take it away as well... right? Of course he could, he's the most powerful witch on the Isles. She just needed to get the portal, and by extension the key, to him and he would heal her and send her on her way home. It's all that she worked for for seven years, she couldn't throw it all away at her one chance.

King came bounding down the stairs with Eda right behind him. "We need a feast fit for a King!" He exclaimed as Eda shuffled into the kitchen. "Yeah, yeah, I'm on it. Hold your Snake Horses." She replied. Luz got up off the floor and stretched, spending a couple hours sitting on the floor was not a good idea.

Luz made her way into the kitchen as Eda casted spells, dishes flying through the air and setting themselves up on the table. King banged his fists against the table, chanting "food!" Over and over again.

Well... it couldn't hurt to stall on getting the key for a bit, right?

A/N: Sorry for no chapter last week, it was kinda hectic. I went on a 9 hour trip to South Carolina last Saturday, then returned on Tuesday to a hurricane. Evacuated to a safe place with our pets early Wednesday and returned home early Thursday. Then unpacked and kinda just crashed for the day, on Friday I was finally able to write for a bit and Saturday I spent most of the day cleaning and playing a bit of fortnite before finally finishing this chapter at 2 in the morning lol.

So it's technically Sunday now, but imma publish anyway. Hopefully this next week won't be so hectic and I can actually publish on time. As for the whole hurricane thing, the worst of it was on Wednesday night but it wasn't that bad, cause our mobile home was still standing lol. I mean the house is already falling apart I was kinda surprised it didn't collapse hahaha. The pets are fine too and I'm also fine, along with my family and nonexistent friends. :)