Eda stood there, completely quiet, not sure what to say or do with the sight in front of her. She watched as her sister introduced Nero to their mother for the first time – the fact that Mom didn't know shit about having a grandson was a whole other can of rat worms – and watched as the elder Clawthorne dropped her staff, tears filling her eyes.
"I've missed… so much."
The instant those words left her lips, Gwen all but leapt forward and pulled her daughter and grandson into a tight hug. Even from where Eda stood, and even with Mom's eyes shut tight, she could see the regret deep in them. Slowly, but surely, Lily returned the hug as tightly as possible, her own shoulders shaking in sadness. Nero didn't return the hug nearly as fast, seeming far more confused and put off by the sudden display of affection, all of which made Eda just as confused as her nephew, if not more.
Lily's acting like she hasn't seen or hugged Mom in forever. And Mom's never met Nero before? Eda would've thought Gwen at least visited and met her grandson during his early years and he simply never remembered. Hell, she had her own reasons for never talking about her mom, even if she thought about her and… and dad almost constantly. But the fact that Mom didn't even know Nero existed until now…
Eda was still iffy about her sister after everything, what with all the hardship her life's had thanks to the curse. She was almost as iffy about her mom, what with how she kept barging into her life with some new quack "cure" for her curse every single year, not getting the hint that her elixirs were good enough for keeping it at bay (or the fact that she quite literally tried everything else at this point already). But despite everything, it still hurt so much to see them like this.
Watching Mom pull away from the hug, removing her glasses and wiping the tears away, she quietly asked, "Please, tell me everything."
"Okay," Lily nodded, wiping away her own tears, "Let's take this inside first."
Taking Mom's hand and Nero's, Lily led them both inside. Both grandmother and grandson seemed almost limp, the former looking so hurt despite being in good health (especially for her age) and the latter too caught up in his own shock to get a word in. As the door closed, everyone was left outside to stare, Hooty stretching outward to join them while Graff zoomed to the front of the door, forming into a question mark.
"Are they gonna be okay?" Hooty's voice was disturbingly low, none of his usual annoying high-pitched exuberance present. Shit, he was even ignoring Graff's presence on his door!
"I'll… get back to you on that, Hooty," Eda muttered before she heard a sniffling at her side. She looked down and saw Luz's own eyes fill with tears as she tried to keep the snot in her nose. Hoooo boy, Eda pulled a handkerchief out from her hair and handing it to Luz, who took it and blew her nose. Rolling her eyes, Eda asked, "You hanging in there, kid?"
"Y-Yeah. I'm s-sorry it's just-" Luz sniffled again, Selki nuzzling her leg, "It's so beautiful!"
"Maybe if y-you're a dumb baby who likes that stuff, b-but…" King tried his best to sound tough, but quickly devolved into tears and hugged Luz's other leg, the Human Witch kneeling down and hugging him and Selki while Hooty gently wrapped himself around all of them. Once again, Eda was surprised by how tender and thoughtful the house demon was being, since he'd normally have constricted them in a bone crushing hug while balling his eyes out like a baby by now.
After what felt like forever, they all released from the hug, wiping their eyes (well, Luz did for Hooty) before Luz looked at Eda and asked, "Should we go in too?"
Eda shook her head, "Nah, give them some privacy. Besides, Mom's visits are never a good time for me."
"What do you mean?" Luz looked like she couldn't believe her, "I'd kill to see my mom right now, and Lilith looks so happy to see her. Why don't you want to see your mom? She seems so nice!"
"She is, but it's…" Eda crossed her arms with a sigh, kicking the dirt to try and take some of the edge off, "It's complicated kid." Hearing a thud, Eda looked and saw Luz, King, and Selki all sitting on the ground attentively and leaning forward. Getting an idea where this was going, Eda narrowed her eyes, "You're gonna hound me until I spill, aren't you?"
"You have a backstory, and I want to hear it. Backstories are my life!" Luz whispered that last part as it it were the most sacred thing in the whole of creation, hugging Selki, who chirped in kind.
"Plus, she's your mom, and you took me in, so when you think about it… that kinda makes her my grandma too!" King cheerfully added, causing Eda to repress a gasp. For some reason, hearing him say that filled her with a warmth that she just couldn't put a finger too.
"Come on Eda, pleeeeaaaaaase?" Hooty stretched right into Eda's face, which she was way too used to at this point. What she wasn't used to, was the pleading face Graff was forming on Hooty's door, which proved to be the last straw.
"Ugh. Fiiiiine," Eda groaned and leaned back, arms limb behind her before she straightened herself up. Giving her impromptu audience one final look, she relented and began, "It all started sometime after I was cursed. Mom started doing everything she could think of to try and help, but-"
"-I found out I was pregnant three weeks after."
Gwen listened in complete silence, seated at her eldest daughter's bedroom desk. After all but begging for answers, Lilith brought her here to explain. She started from the beginning with how she went to a bar and got drunk, later waking up in a rented apartment room, and even later learning of her pregnancy. Her Sweet Flea went quiet after that, nervously rubbing her wrists as she sat on the bed, leaving Gwen to look between her and Nero. The way her grandson crossed his arms and leaned against the door, glaring at her with a flat expression, left her feeling rotten on the inside.
"W-Why didn't you tell me?" was all Gwen could ask, voice trembling all the while Lilith looked to the floor. Her mind already started coming up with excuses for why her daughter never contacted her about this: She was too busy with the Emperor's Coven. She was too busy raising Nero. She was too busy teaching. And so on and so forth.
Yet not even Gwen could bring herself to believe any of those excuses. Her Sweet Flea had always been so self-sufficient, able to multitask and handle many responsibilities at once since youth. If anyone could find a way to balance all of those things at once, it was Lilith. And even if by some circumstance she couldn't, surely she would've called her and Dell to help out. They would've done so in a heartbeat, so why didn't she call or write to them?
Does she hate us? That thought threatened to bring more tears to Gwen's eyes. Why would Lilith hate them so much?
"I… I was…" Lilith swallowed, still refusing to look at anything but the floor, "I was scared. I didn't think I deserved your attention… and I didn't think you'd listen to me anyway."
Gwen blinked before her eyes went wide. Why would Lilith think she didn't deserve their attention? Why was she scared? Why did she not think they'd listen?
"Sweet Flea, you could've called. We… I… your father and I would've listened."
"Would you have?" Nero's question sounded downright biting.
"Yes, I would have," Gwen answered honestly.
"Really? Because the whole bit with you never showing up for seventeen fucking years doesn't exactly give me a shit ton of confidence."
"Nero!" Lilith admonished, though her son didn't seem to back down at all.
Sweet Flea, your son is more… vulgar than I was expecting, Gwen blinked a bit, surprised that grandson was so caviler about such language. She'd known Lilith to have always been such a clean mouthed child growing up. If anything, Edalyn was the one throwing curses left and right since she was eight years old. Lilith often got on her case for it, though pretty much all of them gave up on that and just let Eda swear as she pleased. Of all the things she expected from her grandson, this wasn't one of them.
Then again, she had no idea how her eldest raised him. She had no idea what he was like.
And she desperately wanted to know. More than anything, she wanted to make up for lost time.
Yet Nero didn't seem to want to give her that chance.
"Just saying," He told his mother before turning to Gwen, "You could've called us yourself. Or wrote. Or just… I don't know, something!"
"Nero!" Lilith once again admonished, and this time, her son seemed to relent. After the fact, however, she sighed and faced Gwen, "Mother, as glad as I am to see you right now, I do have to agree with my son. I'm scared to ask, but... why didn't I ever hear from you after all these years?"
Gwen looked between her daughter and grandson, unable to hide the sadness as she sighed, "It's not that I never wanted to visit you, Sweet Flea. It's just that I was too caught up. Between having to take care of your father after he was injured and trying to find a cure for Edalyn, I was… busy." She practically spat out the word. Not at them, but at herself. She shouldn't be giving herself any excuses like this. "I never forgot about you. I wanted to write or call, but I kept focusing so much on them."
Things went quiet for a few moments, Lilith finally managing, "How is he? Father, I mean."
"… Better than before. He'll still never carve a Palisman again," Gwen saw her daughter flinch at that. She likely still remembered that day. When Edalyn transformed and attacked him. It still haunted them all. "But he's been finding hobbies to keep himself busy. He's been… happy, for the most part, but I can tell he still misses the old days." Gwen looked her daughter in her mismatched eyes, "He misses you too. You and Edalyn."
That seemed to raise Lilith's spirit for the briefest second, but it suddenly all came crashing down again as sadness entered her eyes. "Y-You said that you were busy trying to find a cure for Edalyn," She began before asking, "Any progress?"
Gwen shook her head, "No. I've been trying, but nothing I've found has worked so far." She looked down sadly and pinched the bridge of her nose, "And with how this curse has created a rift between us, she doesn't seem to accept any cures I try to give her anyway." Lilith nodded in understanding, only for her eyes to briefly go wide, as if she'd caught up with something Gwen had just said. Worried for her eldest daughter, she asked, "Is something wrong, Sweet Flea?"
"You… you visit Edalyn… regularly?"
Nero's own eyes went wide with worry as he looked to Lilith, "Mom?"
"You've been visiting Edalyn all this time but could never do the same for me?" She asked, voice desperate as she stood up and slowly made her way towards Gwen. "Was it really so hard to just stop by our house after visiting Edalyn?" Her voice began flaring up in anger, "You were too "busy" to even give that much!?"
The more she loomed over her, the more feathers started protruding from her skin, eyes morphing into an all too familiar inky black that made Gwen gasp.
"Sweet Flea, what is-"
"Why couldn't you ever be there for me?"
"Mom!" Nero got between Gwen and Lilith as the feathers started spreading around Lilith's neck.
"Why did you always love her more than me?"
"I… I never meant to-" Gwen stepped back as Lilith stepped closer, her voice sounding like a hundred.
"WHY COULDN'T I EVER BE ENOUGH FOR YOU!?"
"MOM!" Nero got between them and grabbed Lilith by her shoulders, "You need to take a breath! The curse is acting up!"
"Curse!?" Gwen stood back in horror, My Sweet Flea's been cursed too?
Lilith looked at her son, then down at her body, gasping and clutching at herself to desperately keep the transformation at bay.
"Shit!" Nero turned Gwen, "Grandma, stay here and try to calm her down. I need to go find something."
Before Gwen could ask what that something was, he was already gone in a blur of blue, purple, and white. Lilith's screams of pain forced her attention as she knelt down, holding her daughter's shoulders. "Sweet Flea, it's okay. I'm here. Momma's here now. Just follow my voice."
"M-Momma, just… just go…" Lilith whimpered out, sounding so small in her arms.
Gwen shook her head, voice resolute despite her terror, "No. I've left you alone for too long. I'm not leaving you again."
"But I'll hurt you," Tears were pouring out of her eyes, "That's all I ever do."
"Lilith…"
"All I've ever done is hurt my family," Her voice started sounding more distorted. More distant. It frightened Gwen, realizing that she was losing her daughter.
"No, Lilith, that isn't true at all! I'm the one who-"
"You'd all be better off if I just disappeared."
Gwen gasped at her daughter's words. Does she… Was it the curse talking, or was this truly how Lilith felt? How long had her daughter felt this way? How could she have felt this way?
And how could I have been so ignorant for so long? Gwen desperately hugged her daughter and closed her eyes, feeling Lilith grow in her arms. Her eldest began snarling and thrashing, a sign that the curse had fully taken hold, but Gwen refused to let go. She refused to leave her daughter aside.
Never again.
Before it felt like she could be overpowered, Gwen felt her daughter's movements cease. Opening her eyes, she saw a large, blue, ethereal hand at Lilith's back, holding her and her massive wings down. Turning to the door, she saw her grandson, his right, reptilian arm outstretched as his hand mimicked the larger one's movements. Just behind him was Edalyn, the human girl, the bone-headed demon, and the Selkidomus. On the walls, there was also a moving image of an exclamation point for some reason.
"Mom. Can you hear me?" Nero took slow, calming steps forward, a bag filled with what sounded like glass in his left hand, "Wasn't sure how many we'd need, so we got as much as we could." Lilith didn't seem to care and just kept snarling and screeching. Nero looked to his grandmother and asked, "Let me talk to her."
Gwen hesitated, not wanting to let her daughter go. She'd failed her enough. She'd failed both of her daughters enough as it was. But she didn't know how to help Lilith, let alone either of them.
But if anyone knows Lilith and how to reach her… With some reluctance, Gwen nodded and let her daughter go, taking steps back as Nero took those same steps forward. He knelt down and met his mother face-to-face, staring into her massive black pits with his bright blue ones.
"Your name…" He began, "Is Lilith Carmilla Clawthorne. You're 47 years old. You love William Blake poetry, and documentaries, and studying."
Lilith snarled again, coming within just a hairs breadth of biting off Nero's nose.
And yet he didn't so much as flinch.
"My name is Nero Claudius Clawthorne. I'm 17 and… I am your son." Lilith's snarling entered a low rumble. Almost like she was contemplating his words amidst all the feral rage. Seeing this, Nero continued, "I remember the first time you took me out to eat Ice Scream when I was four. It was the day after I first ran into Belos." Gwen saw him tremble slightly, "The day after I saw the monster he really was. You wanted to cheer me up, so we went out the minute you got off work." He chuckled, "I kinda got excited and threw the scoop in your face by accident, but you laughed it off. Both of us were laughing for like an hour."
Gwen could see her grandson's smile grow just a little brighter, "You remember how you were trying to fix the bathroom's faucet when I was seven? I walked in and accidentally caused you to break it. You pretty much got blasted in the face with scalding hot water. It left you cursing for a good thirty or so minutes."
Now that made Gwen blink a bit, with Lilith herself blinking in remembrance. Her Sweet Flea swearing like a sailor? She thought it impossible. She remembered the young teen she used to be, cringing whenever she accidentally said anything stronger than "damn". Just how much as Lilith changed from then?
How much have I misjudged my own children?
"You started panicking like crazy when you realized that I heard everything. Almost started bawling your eyes out on the couch over how you "ruined everything". It hurt a lot seeing you like that. You remember what I did to try and cheer you up?" Nero waited a few seconds, clearly not expecting an answer as he went ahead, "I asked, "So does this mean I can say fuck now?" You remember that?"
Lilith blinked again, and this time, her bestial form started chortling, as did Edalyn, her wards, and the living wall art that morphed into a laughing face. Even Gwen couldn't help but giggle as she tried to suppress her mirth. It was so immature, so unlike what she knew from Lilith, and yet it was still her daughter.
"Remember…" Lilith growled out, her voice sounding smoother despite how it echoed, "I… remember…"
"Sweet Flea!" Gwen breathed out, covering her mouth as she began to cry.
"What do you remember?" Nero's voice trembled slightly. He let the ethereal arm holding his mother vanish, Lilith remaining in her position before she rose up and slowly extended her head towards him. She sniffed the air, staring at him curiously, and then she nuzzled her face against his.
"My little raven."
"Y-Yeah," Nero sounded like he was sniffling a little as he reached out and hugged her, "I'm here mom. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, I promise."
"… you should," Lilith stopped nuzzling and looked away.
"Mom…"
"I've only ever hurt my family. My mother, my father, Edalyn, and you. I cursed my own sister-"
Gwen gasped in horror. It… it just couldn't be true. Her Sweet Flea was the one who cursed her Witchlet?
"-caused her to attack our father-"
Gwen saw Edalyn flinch, her eyes filled with guilt.
"-made mother spend all her years trying to clean up my mistake-"
"Lilith, I-" Gwen didn't know what to say. She didn't know what she could say.
"-and all I've ever done was restrict you. Limit you. I shielded you when you never needed it. I refusedto let you grow up."
"Mom, I told you. It's okay. You're trying and-"
"NO IT'S NOT!" Lilith shrieked, wings flaring out in such a way that everyone but Nero went on the defensive, readying themselves if she went on the defensive. "Every time I try, I feel like backsliding into old habits, and I don't know what I'll do if I slip. I just…" Her eyes shimmered as large, pearlescent tears started to fall, "I didn't want you to grow up the way I did. I didn't want you to feel unloved and unappreciated. I didn't want you to feel like you weren't good enough. But I made you feel like that anyway. I went too far. I always go too far. You're better off without me."
Though none of the words were directed at her, each one felt like a spear in Gwen's heart.
I… I never meant to make you feel like this.
And yet she did.
As memories came pouring in, she wondered how many times she should've given Lilith the attention she deserved. How often had Lilith tried to impress her, be it with magic or some auxiliary skill she was honing, only for Gwen to brush it aside in favor of Edalyn? Her adorable little Witchlet, so full of potential, so driven to cause chaos and mischief, that she always needed someone to help her out, to pull her back and make sure she didn't hurt herself. Gwen thought her Sweet Flea was always so responsible, so capable, that she didn't need her help. She never realized-
No.
Gwen shook her head.
She should've realized it sooner.
"Mom… don't ever say that again." Nero leaned forward and hugged his mother again, much to Lilith's surprise, "Don't ever say that I'd be better off without you. I'm always gonna want you in my life, even with all the crap it comes with." He pulled back from the hug, "Not gonna lie, you being yourself can kinda suck. Felt for a long time like you didn't believe in me or that I could handle myself. Sometimes, it crops up again and I get scared we're both gonna go back to old habit. And yeah, you… you hurt a lot of people, family or otherwise."
He looked his mother in the eye again, grabbing the sides of her face, "But that doesn't mean your a bad person. You just… made mistakes. Hugemistakes, yeah, but you honestly want to make up for it. That's worth a lot more than you'd think," Sighing, Nero let his mother go, "You're probably gonna screw up again in the future. Hell, we're probably all gonna screw up something at some point, and thinking about it scares me. But I'm never gonna want you gone, no matter how many times you fall back. I don't think any of us do."
His eyes turned back to Gwen as she nodded, turning to everyone else and seeing them nod in kind. She could see the tears welling up in the eyes of the human girl and the little demon, with even her own vision becoming glossy again. Despite Edalyn's best efforts, she was wiping away at her own eyes.
"See?" Nero faced his mother again, who still looked shocked at everyone, "And you know the best thing about screwing up?" He then reached into the sack and pulled out a round flask filled with an orange, glowing potion, "You can always start over." Holding it out to his mother, he asked, "What do you say? Want to try again?"
Once more, though not directed towards her, Gwen couldn't help but feel touched by her grandson's words as she removed her glasses and wiped away her tears. She watched as Lilith nodded, accepting as her son held the flask to her mouth, drinking down to the last drop. When it was all gone, Nero put the glass away and hugged his mother again, who first nuzzled her face against his as the transformation slowly reversed itself. Once she was back to normal enough, she hugged her son tightly, tears falling from her closed eyes as the last of the feathers retreated into her skin.
"I'm sorry," Lilith sniffled out, her chin rested against her son's shoulder. From where she was standing, Gwen could see Nero's own shoulders shaking, and she walked around a bit to see that he was crying as well. Though he said nothing, the smile on his face said all that was needed.
"It's okay Lilith," The human walked up, still wiping her eyes with her shirt as she knelt down. Mother and son retracted a bit, both of them looking to her. Smiling at Lilith, the human joined into the hug and said, "If it means anything, it starts with sorry."
Lilith teared up again, melting into another hug with the both of them as she whispered, "Thank you, Luz."
"Hey, don't do group hugs without me!" The small furry demon rushed in alongside the baby Selkidomus and hugged at Luz's side, which she gladly accepted, as did Nero and Lilith.
"Eh, what the hell?" Edalyn wiped a stray tear and walked up to everyone, joining in on the group hug in a way that reminded Gwen so much of years gone by. Back when she, Dell, Lilith, and Edalyn would do this so often. But now she was watching it with an all new family. One that both her daughters had become a part of.
A family that I haven't truly been a part of, Gwen lamented, looking down sadly. She wanted to join them, yet couldn't bring herself to do so. She didn't think she'd earned such a privilege, not after what her actions had wrought.
She failed to give Lilith the affection she needed, always assuming her daughter didn't need her attention when it was now glaringly obvious that she did. It left her wondering if her neglect was what caused Lilith to curse Edalyn, and the fact that she cursed her at all left Gwen sick to her stomach, showing just how much she'd failed them both. Further rubbing salt in the wound was that her ignorance meant she'd missed the first seventeen years of her grandson's life. A grandson who, for all she knew, probably hated her for it.
She failed to give Edalyn the space she needed, always barging into her life, believing she'd finally found a proper cure for the curse. Yet now she saw that even those attempts at cures were fruitless, as Edalyn had been right all along with her potions. Gwen never believed that those nasty things were of any real help, but seeing what they did for Lilith just now…
I'm sorry. I failed you. Both of you, Gwen pulled off the necklace she wore, staring down at Master Wortlop's rune on it. He'd promised her a cure for the curse, and after years of dealing with everything from the Beast Keeping Coven to the Healing Coven, Gwen thought she'd finally found a cure through him. But after what she'd just witnessed, what she'd just realized she'd been contributing to, she decided to trust her daughter's judgment. Without a second thought, she dropped the necklace to the ground and looked back on the affectionate display with a sigh, one final question left in her mind.
How do I fix this?
Gwen walked up to the group and gently tapped her grandson's shoulder. He looked up, as did all of them. Nervously, Gwen tapped her fingers against her staff and asked, "Nero, Lilith, would it be alright if I spoke with both of you alone? There's… a lot that I need to say."
"… okay," Nero nodded, seeming unsure as he pulled away from the hug and stood up alongside Lilith, everyone else leaving one-by-one. The little demon was the first to leave, the living art following not far behind. Luz picked up the Selkidomus and smiled at them all before walking out the bedroom door, leaving only the Clawthornes behind.
"You too, Edalyn," Gwen managed, looking her youngest in the eye, "We can talk later."
Edalyn didn't seem to mind, simply nodding before tapping Nero's shoulder and whispering something in his ear that sounded like, "Go easy on her, kid." before she started for the door. She briefly stopped upon seeing the necklace Gwen had dropped to the floor, picking it up and biting it for a bit. Edalyn continued examining it as she walked out, no doubt planning to sell it. Not that Gwen minded, since she didn't want nor need Master Wortlop's services anymore.
"What do you to talk about, mother?" Lilith asked, worry creeping into her voice. The way she nervously rubbed at her wrists, just like when she finished explaining everything, just like how all of this started, made Gwen loose control of herself. Almost instantly, she grabbed her daughter, who yelped as she was pulled into a tight hug.
"I'm sorry!" Gwen whispered into Lilith's ear, "I… I never meant for any of this to happen."
Lilith hesitated for a second, but then hugged back, "Mother, none of this is your fault."
"But it is! Sweet Flea, I… I should've been there when you needed me. I should've realized something sooner. But I never did, and look what happened."
Lilith sighed back, "I should've sent you a message, or visited you to explain everything. Even just a letter telling you I was fine and inviting you to the house would've sufficed. I was too much of a coward to face you or father."
"You wouldn't have been so afraid to reach out to us had I done better as a mother," Gwen looked down at her hands in sadness, "Had I given you the time of day, perhaps you wouldn't have cursed Edalyn. Perhaps we'd all be the happy family we should've been."
"Please don't blame yourself for what I did to Edalyn, mother," Lilith took Gwen's hands into her own, "You made mistakes, but my sins are my own."
"I can see where Mom gets all her problems from," Nero cut in, crossing his arms and leveling a flat stare at them, "Looks like she got all her self-hating from Grandma." His eyes went wide before he blinked and covered his face with his right hand, groaning, "Shit. Starting to think I have it too."
"Oh Nero," Lilith let go of her mother and raised a hand to reach out for her son, hugging him until he sighed and she let go.
"Nero, I'm sorry I was never there for you either. I was so obsessed with curing Edalyn that I failed Lilith, and because of that, I missed out on getting to be part of your life as well," Gwen looked away, feeling undeserving, "I know that no apologies will ever make up for it, and I understand if you hate me, but…" she closed her eyes and sighed, "Just know that I'm sorry."
She waited for her well-deserved admonishment, but after a few seconds, nothing happened. Instead, Gwen felt something lightly flick her nose, making her gasp and snap her eyes open. She saw her grandson's hand retreat from her face as he looked on her and said, "All's forgiven."
"Was that necessary?" Lilith gave her son the look, with Nero flatly looking back.
"Wanted to snap her out of the guilt binge. Sue me."
"You don't… you're not mad?" Gwen still wasn't sure what to make of this, especially when Nero chuckled slightly.
"That's literally the exact same thing Mom asked when she told me about the whole curse thing," Nero said before rubbing at the back of his neck, admitting, "Honestly, I'm not sure what to feel about all this. You suddenly show up and I learn a lot of new shit I wasn't ready for. But like I told Mom, you just made a mistake. A huge one, sure, but you're honestly sorry about it. And like Luz said: It starts with sorry."
Feeling tears well up in her eyes again, she nodded, "Thank you." Despite the smiles from her daughter and grandson, Gwen felt her mood falter, "But there must be something more I can do. There's still so much I have to fix."
"As do I," Lilith held her mother's hand again, "We can figure it out one step at a time."
"In that case, it step one's saying sorry, then can step two be us not hating ourselves for the rest of the day?" Nero asked, somehow sounding japing yet fully serious at the same time, "This shit's exhausting and I don't like all of us looking like we want to punch ourselves in the face."
Lilith and Gwen found themselves looking to each other before both faced Nero, Lilith replying, "I promise I'll do my best, my little raven."
"Me too, but still…" Gwen sighed, wishing she could do more. She wished it didn't strain her husband so much to travel these days. He always seemed to know what to say whenever her worries over their family came to a boil. Oh how she wished he was here instead of- "I know!" Gwen got an idea and smiled brightly at the two, "Why don't you two come home with me? At least for a week?"
"Huh?" Nero blinked.
"You want us to… really?" Lilith asked, expression and tone somewhere between scared and hopeful.
"Yes! I know your father will be happy to see you," Gwen took Lilith's hand before taking Nero's in the other, "And I know he'll be happy to finally meet you. I want to make up for all the years I missed, finally making up for lost time with my daughter, and finally getting to know my grandson. So, what do you say?"
"Oh my Titan, YES!" Lilith jumped up and down in excitement before hugging and lifting Gwen into the air, "This is going to be so much fun! I can't wait to meet father again!" She gasped, "I need to start packing!"
Immediately, Lilith started tearing through her drawers and haphazardly throwing clothes, books, and amenities into piles. Gwen and Nero both looked at the scene with amusement. Even after everything that'd happened, Lilith was still so easily excitable.
"I should probably start packing too," Nero shrugged and made his way for the door.
"Need any help, dear?" Gwen asked as Nero reached the door handle.
"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't really like anyone going through my shit," Nero opened the door and waved before heading out, leaving Gwen feeling a little bit down.
"Don't be upset, mother. He never lets me go through his shit either," Lilith casually said, putting all her books in individual stacks sorted by genre alphabetically without missing a beat.
"I think that's the first time I've ever heard you swear like that," Gwen couldn't help but chuckle. It was so different than from when Lilith was a girl who could barely bring herself to say even the smallest curses when pressed.
"I've been doing it a lot more over the years, even if I'm not proud of it. Between everything with the Emperor's Coven and having to raise Nero, it helped relieve a lot of the stress," Lilith answered, now organizing her clothes before she froze, "You're not upset about it, are you? That I'm not the same Lilith you raised?"
Gwen smiled and walked up to her daughter, enveloping her in one final hug, "On the contrary, I can't wait to get to know you again, Sweet Flea."
Within her arms, she could feel Lilith beam and hug back. Mother and daughter stayed like this for a while before finally releasing, the two of them packing bags together.
"I'M GONNA MISS YOU SO MUCH, LULU!"
What a drama king… Eda tried and failed not to roll her eyes, watching as Hooty ensnared Lilith in a bone-crushing hug. Her sister took it in stride, giggling and hugging the house demon back with one hand while her other held her staff and sack of belongings.
"I'll miss you too, Hootsifer," Lilith replied, voice full of affection, "And don't worry. We'll only be gone for a week at most."
"THAT'S STILL TOO LONG! HOO-HOO-HOOT!" Hooty sobbed his big brown eyes out. Once again, Eda rolled her eyes, but smiled a bit this time before looking over to Nero, who was saying goodbye to Luz and King.
"See you later, cos," Nero knelt down and rubbed the top of King's skull. The little rascal tried to look put off, but it was clear he enjoyed it, based on how he was laughing.
"Cut it out!" He said, still laughing as Nero stopped. The minute Nero retracted his right arm though, King jumped up and hugged him, "I guess I'll miss you."
"Sounds like you're gonna have a lot of fun," Luz stepped in from behind King, picking him up into her arms.
"Maybe. Gotta admit, kinda nervous about it. Gonna be meeting grandpa for the first time too," Nero picked up his own sack with personal belongings and shrugged, looking up at the early noon sky.
"I'm just happy for you and your mom. And, y'know, that she and Eda can still be with their mom, since…" Luz sounded kinda sad toward the end in a way that made Eda's heart ache, especially as she watched Nero pat her shoulder.
"Hey, we'll find a way back to Earth, you know that, right?" Nero's question was met with a sad smile from Luz that made Eda look to the floor, face falling as she kicked dirt.
Don't make promises you can't keep, kid, Eda let out a frustrated sigh. Though Luz tried her best to hide it, her homesickness was practically on her sleeve half the time. Making it worse was that Eda could only blame herself whole Luz's whole situation. She just couldn't beat Lilith fast enough, getting into that whole situation where she was forced to expend the rest of her magic. The moment she opened that portal door back in the cell, she should've just shoved Luz back to Earth before she could say anything. Maybe then, Luz wouldn't be stuck in this-
Fuck! Nero was right, this family really does have a self-hating problem, Eda pinched between her eyes, wishing she hadn't eavesdropped on her mother, sister, and nephew's conversation, Titan dammit, ignorance is bliss sometimes.
"Edalyn?" At the sound of her name, Eda turned to her mom, who was holding Selki and caressing the top of her head. The baby Selkidomus cooed in her arms. As she patted Selki, Eda could sometimes make out the Beast Keeping brand below her right wrist. It sent another stab to Eda's heart, knowing that her mother was only involved with this coven bullshit in her desperation to cure her curse. If she'd told Lilith the truth, that she didn't care to join any covens, the day before their big fight rather than during, would things have been different?
"I'm fine Mom," She put her thoughts away and focused on her mother's face, recognizing parental worry when she saw it. Hell, she'd been having it a lot since Luz came into her life, "Just thinking too much." Just saying that caused Eda to chuckle, "I should probably leave that to Lily."
Mom laughed in kind, "Don't sell yourself short, Witchlet. You've always been smarter than you tend to give yourself credit for."
"Never said I wasn't. Just that boring nerd shit and I don't mix," Eda shrugged. Sure, she got grades just as good as Lily (usually slightly below), but the learning process just wasn't her speed. The doing process, however? Now that she could handle and then some.
Too bad the curse made that part a lot harder. Now it feels like I'm starting to fall behind, Eda thought as she looked at Lily for a brief moment, only turning her attention away when Mom cleared her throat and put Selki down. "What's up?"
"Edalyn, I… I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I kept barging into your life, trying to force whatever cure I could find on you, never listening to you about your elixirs…" She sighed, drumming her fingers against her staff, "I just wanted to help, but I only made things worse. I should've trusted you from the start."
Hearing the sincerity in her voice, Eda couldn't help but smile and lightly punch her mom's shoulder, "Yeah, you should've, but better late than never." As Mom smiled back, Eda looked over to her sister and nephew, still having their farewell chats with everyone else, "Now go spend time with my sister's side of the family." Leaning in, she whispered, "And bring me any embarrassing stories you hear! This mama bird needs her blackmail material!"
Letting out another laugh, Mom gave Eda a thumbs up and directed her attention to her firstborn and grandson, "Oh Sweet Flea, Nero! Ready to head out?"
"Just about, mother!" Lilith excitedly replied, affectionately rubbing the top of Hooty's head as he released her from the hug.
"See you guys later!" Nero high-fived Luz and King before joining Mom and Lily.
"Wait! Before you go…" Eda stopped them before they could take off. She sighed, realizing it was taking way more effort to get the words out than she thought. With another deep breath, she finally managed it and said, "When you guys get there, could you… say hi to Dad for me?"
All three of them looked sad for a moment, shifting to understanding as Mom nodded, "Of course, Witchlet."
"Edalyn, are you certain you don't wish to come?" Lilith asked, "Maybe you and dad could talk about-"
"Nah!" Eda quickly waved off, not wanting to dive down that rabbit hole, "This is your time to spend with them! So relax and go make up for the lost years! I'd just butt in. Besides…" She kept up her smile, but could feel it becoming very strained, "I've got some other business to take care of today."
The three other Clawthornes looked between each other, hesitant for just a moment before they all nodded. Mom and Lily got on their respective staffs (Nero getting on his mother's), all of them taking off into the bright sunny day as everyone waved and yelled goodbye to them. Once they flew into the distance and were out of sight, Eda dropped her smile.
"Owlbert!" Eda called out to her Palisman, who flew out of an open window and landed on her shoulder. Then she noticed he was wearing a sun visor and raised an eyebrow. "Were you playing Hexes Hold'em?" Owlbert hooted, "With Graff!?" Another hoot, "And they beat you!?" One last hoot, making Eda blink. "Huh..."
"How in the heck does Graff-" Luz shook her head, "Know what? I don't want to know."
"More importantly, Luz, King, you're with me. Hooty, watch Selki and the house. And don't try to kill Graff… again," Eda gave her marching orders and started for the forest, hearing Hooty shout "OKAY!" while Luz and King's footsteps sounded behind her.
"Eda, what's going on?"
"Yeah," Luz followed up on King's question, "You look pretty mad. Is it about your mom? I thought you guys were cool now."
"We're a work in progress, but I ain't pissed at her. No, I'm pissed at these assholes," Eda looked back at her wards and pulled out the necklace Mom was wearing earlier.
"Why do you have your mom's necklace?" Luz asked as Eda stopped and held it out to her.
"See that symbol?" Getting a nod from both of them, she continued, "I know that symbol. Had a few run-ins with its owners too. Long story short, it belongs to a group of gremlins."
"Ugh, gremlins," King grunted, "They're the worst kind of people."
"Tell me about it, but these particular gremlins are con artists. And if my mom had their symbol, something tells me the "cure" she wanted to bring today was another of their cons. One that she fell for hook, line, and sinker," Eda glared at the necklace in her hands, tempted to crush it. She probably would've if she didn't know the rune was needed to enter those bastard's hideout.
"Wait, really!?" Luz gasped, slapping her cheeks right as Eda turned around and continued into the forest, hoisting her staff onto her shoulder and glaring at everything ahead.
"Follow along, you two. We got some gremlins to fuck up."