The angel of the owl house

The Angel of the Owl House

Season 2: The Human Realm

Chapter 2: Nautical Nightmare

If there was one thing Luz hadn't expected to return to after the emotional reunion with her mother, it was a stand off between Raine, Lilith, and Hooty, and a pair of Coven Heads. Luz had last seen Darius Deamonne and Eberwolf the Huntsman when she'd been a captive of Belos' at the castle, forced to watch Eda and Lilith fight while she was all tied up. She hadn't gotten a good look at them then, and while she knew they'd been at the Conformatorium for the Petrification Ceremony as well, she hadn't seen them herself. Now Luz was getting her first real look at the two without anything to distract her.

Darius was a dark-skinned male witch with green eyes, and dark purple hair and goatee that seemed to be made of abomination slime. The abomination "hair" was shaped into a vague bun shape with a green abomination eye, and it all wobbled and pulsated in a way that meant it was never quite the same shape moment to moment. Darius' outfit was a black sleeveless shirt with pointed shoulders, gold trim around the neck, waist, and shoulders, and purple jewels encrusted in a u-shaped arch beneath his collar. He also had tight purple (almost pink) coloured pants, white elbow-length gloves and matching knee-length boots with purple soles. Lastly he wore a pink half cape that covered his left arm and shoulder, and was trimmed in dark purple with a diamond embroidered in the same colour near the end. It was an outfit that screamed "I actually have a fashion sense", and Darius wore it well. He was also wielding a razor sharp scimitar of abomination goo.

Then there was Eberwolf the Huntsman, and this was someone Luz had a very hard time resisting the urge to run over and hug. Eberwolf was a very small Biped Demon, only coming up to Darius' waist, and that included their large hair. Eber's body was largely like a witch's, only covered in orange fur, with a more puppy-like mouth, purple eyes with yellow sclera, and large, canine ears on the sides of their head. Their hair was a large, thick mane of auburn, with some of it tied into a fluffy ponytail. Their clothing was very simple compared to Darius' more extravagant outfit; consisting of brown boots, yellow wristbands with spikes on the back, a dark gray sleeveless shirt, and some kind of dark brown skirt or kilt made from the paw of some kind of beast, most closely resembling a bear. Eber's pupils had thinned into slits and they were brandishing their claws, which did nothing to hide the fact that, to Luz at least, Eber was absolutely adorable.

The stand off between them and the residents of the Owl House had been interrupted by Eda calling out to them, and while Darius and Eber both looked at Eda, Rasiel, and the kids, Raine and Lilith kept their gaze fixedly on the Coven Heads.

"Welcome back, Eda. Sorry about this; Hooty alerted us to these two showing up on our doorstep just a few minutes ago." Raine said, eyes glaring at Darius.

"We'll drive these two off in no time! You just rest from your trip." Lilith added, focused more on Eber.

Eber grinned and snuffled in what sounded like an animalistic giggle, while Darius rolled his eyes; "You really think the two of you can defeat the two of us? It is obvious from your hair and eyes that you've been diminished in some way. Considering the Owl Lady's hair has a bit more white to it, one of her eyes has changed colour, and most importantly, she's not stuck in the form of a wild beast any more, I'm guessing you found a way to share her curse between the three of you?" the Abomination Head said condescendingly.

"You're well-informed." Eda frowned, moving King from her shoulder to the top of Luz's head and stepping forward whilst summoning Owlbert in staff form. She gestured for Hooty to pull back and watch the kids, while she took his place between Raine and Lilith. "But don't think we're weak enough to lose to you scrubs!"

Eda, Raine, and Lilith then all pulsed their magic, giving them glowing auras of yellow, red, and blue respectively. While the power they'd been given by Luz's Angelic Blessing was only a fraction of their old power, it was more than enough to be intimidating!

Eber's fur stood on end and Darius narrowed his eyes; "I was aware of Lilith's little pain-sharing spell; Hettie loved to complain about it whenever she got a little too into her cups… But sharing that curse at that point should have stripped you all of your magic, or at the very least weakened you…" he frowned, before looking past the trio to the kids behind them, or more specifically, to Luz.

"Ah, I understand now. An Angelic Blessing… you're using the girl as a magic battery."

Luz blinked in surprise, wondering how Darius knew of Angelic Blessings, while the adults glared at him; "We aren't using her at all! She volunteered!" Eda growled, "Now enough talk; if you came here to take us out and capture Luz, you're in for a butt-kicking!"

Eber growled, but Darius just said; "Easy, Eber. They're defending themselves, not challenging you." He then dismissed his weapon and stepped forward, slowly raising his hands. "As hard as this may be to believe, we didn't come her for a fight."

"Then why are you here, Darius?" Raine demanded, not letting their guard down.

"Simple; we wish to combine out forces to destroy the Emperor."

That answer surprised all of them; "You want to defeat Belos!? Why?" Luz asked, stepping forward.

Darius looked her up and down, some unknown emotion glittering in his eyes, before smirking; "Ah, the little angel herself. My reasons for wanting Belos dead are my own, but know that Eber and I have been plotting against him for years. We actually rose to the Heads of our respective Covens for the sole purpose of getting close to him so we can finally put an end to the degenerate."

"You two were traitors the whole time?" Lilith asked, surprised.

Eber barked, and Luz blinked; she'd understood that! It seemed Eber's language was similar to Barcus'! The little Coven Head had basically just said "Yes."

"After Raine rebelled, I didn't know you had it in you by the way, and revealed they had a sizeable following, we knew it was time to begin acting overtly. Not to mention that the angel child was able to score a small victory in battle against Belos AND reverse petrification." Darius said.

Raine slowly lowered their violin, trusting their lover and her sister to defend them if need be; "So, you want to join forces with the Covens Against The Throne?"

"AKA The CATTS! Meow!" Luz grinned, throwing up her cat hood (which covered the sleepy King) and putting her hands up like cat paws.

Her friends couldn't help but snicker, as did Eberwolf, while Darius just looked thoroughly unimpressed. "Please don't tell me that is your actual name."

His request was met with silence and he rubbed the bridge of his nose with a sigh; "I'm already regretting this…"

"Be nice, Purple Brother. Friends needed. Little Light needed. Needed to kill Emperor." Eber barked. Their language was close enough to Barcus' that Luz could understand most of it, but there were enough differences that it ended up sounding broken in Luz's head.

The name Eber had called her made Luz blink; "Did you just call me "Little Light?" How did you know my name means Light?"

Everyone but Rasiel looked at her with shock; "You understand them?" Darius asked.

"Yeah, my friend Barcus speaks a similar language." Luz replied.

Eber smiled and barked at Luz; "Interesting Angel Pup! Call you Little Light because Pup's name has no word in Eber's tongue. Use meaning instead. Eber understands other tongue."

"You understand Spanish!?" Luz asked, surprised.

She got a nod from Eber, while Darius answered casually; "We studied other languages from the Human Realm so we could communicate in public without being understood. Spanish is one of them."

Eda frowned; "That's all fine and dandy but you didn't answer Raine's question! Are you here to join up with the CATTs!?"

Darius shuddered, making Eber give him a sharp look, before he sighed and said; "Awful name aside… yes. We would like to join forces. We want to abolish the Coven System, remove Belos' tyrannical ways, and kill the man himself."

"Why?" Lilith asked. "You need to give us a real reason if you want us to believe you."

"Would you believe me if I said it was for some good old-fashioned revenge?" Darius asked with a slight sneer.

Eda, Lilith, and Raine exchanged looks, clearly weighing their options. Amity saw this and said; "If they're telling the truth, having these two working with the CATTs would be huge! They're insanely powerful Coven Heads! Eberwolf is said to be unstoppable in one-on-one duels, and Darius is the only Abomination user in the world who might be stronger than my Dad!"

Eber puffed themselves up with pride, while Darius smirked; "I'm glad to see at least one of you Blights understands the pecking order, though I object to the "might be"! Your father is a hack, darling, but an admittedly skilled one. There's a reason he's the second best member of my Coven."

Amity tilted her head, not sure if she should be insulted or honoured by the man's words, while Eda just crossed her arms petulantly; "I don't know… I don't trust these guys! You stood back and did nothing while Belos tortured Luz and turned her into a monster to kill me! Not to mention you did nothing when Raine was captured at the Petrification Ceremony!"

Eber actually looked ashamed at that, and Darius coldly shot back; "And what would you have had us do? We were surrounded by all the other Coven Heads, the angel child was restrained by the Emperor himself, and security at the Conformatorium was too tight! If we'd been ready to launch our own rebellion, we would have acted, but as it stands we would have just been exposed, or worse, destroyed!"

Luz stepped forward and touched Eda's arm; "They're not wrong, Eda. Raine was lucky to escape with me that day at the castle, and only managed it because Belos was separated from the Coven Heads. Plus Raine was exposed as a traitor and the CATTs were made public to save you. We were lucky; they might not have been."

Eda was still frowning, but she was at least willing to give the two a chance. "What do you think Raine Storm? The CATTs follow you." she said. While Raine had nominally made Eda their co-leader, she was the one in charge of fighting and actually sticking it to the Emperor; Raine was the thinker and tactician of the pair.

"Amity and Luz have a point; these two are powerful and did have good reason for not interfering… Would the two of you make Everlasting Oaths with us to prove your claims?" Raine asked.

"Begrudgingly, yes. We expected that much as a minimum." Darius replied, while Eber barked their agreement. They both stepped forward and offered their hands, with Raine taking Darius' and Luz volunteering to take Eber's. The oath was simple; Darius and Eber both swore that they were genuinely against the Emperor, that they would not betray the CATTs, and that they wouldn't do anything to knowingly harm any member or associate.

As soon as the oath was made, Luz's self-control (which was already diminished by how tired she was after her long day) finally snapped and she couldn't stop herself from pulling Eber into a hug, holding the diminutive Coven Head in her arms and squealing with delight and she rubbed her face against Eber's, like they were a teddy bear.

"Luz!?" her friends and family cried while Darius gaped and Eber blinked in shock.

"O-Oh! I'm so sorry!" Luz said, gently putting Eber back down; "I shouldn't have done that, especially without asking. But she's just so cute and fluffy! She's almost as adorable as King!"

King, who was now sleeping on Luz's head, snorted in his sleep.

Eber and Darius just stared at Luz in shock (though neither seemed upset, thankfully), and Raine gently said; "You still shouldn't hug people without their permission, Sparks. Besides, Eber is male."

Luz gave Raine an odd look; "Really? But I could have sworn…"

"Actually Raine, the girl is correct." Darius said, after exchanging a look with Eber and getting a nod in response; "Eberwolf is actually female. Both in body and gender identity."

That was a surprise to everyone except Luz and Rasiel (who'd also assumed Eber was female). "If Eber is female, why pretend that she's male?" Raine asked. Gender inequality was a thing in Human Realm Society, but not in either Divine or Demon Realm Societies, so it was exceedingly rare for someone to hide their gender identity.

Eber began to bark an explanation; "Eber is Biped. Daughter of Witch mother and Direwolf Father. Direwolves are Beast Demons, but smart. Smart but cruel; very strict hierarchy. Males on top, large on top. Females low ranking. Small wolves low ranking. Half-Breed? Lowest ranking. Eber is all three. Father was Pack Alpha, would have killed Eber at birth for weakness. Mother lied, said Eber was male. Eber is unique half-breed; Father and pack couldn't tell gender, so believed lie. Eber work hard to become new Pack Alpha, but Pack rebel if gender revealed. So secret."

Luz frowned sadly as Rasiel translated for the others; "I'm sorry to hear that… Don't worry, you can trust us not to tell anyone, right guys?"

The others all nodded in agreement, making Eber smile. She actually clambered up onto Luz's shoulders, allowing her fur to rub against Luz's face, much to the angel's pleasure. Eber also gently pet King, who purred in his sleep. Darius' expression became a soft smile; "You really are quite interesting, Luz Noceda. Before today, only four people besides myself knew Eber's true identity; her mother who has sadly passed away, two dear friends of ours who disappeared beyond the Isles, and my former best friend and mentor, who has also passed away. How did you figure it out?"

"I don't know… I guess I just immediately assumed she was female. Maybe it's an angel thing?" Luz shrugged.

Rasiel said; "It is likely because you understand her language. It is difficult to explain to those who don't understand her, but her voice sounds distinctly feminine compared to Barcus, whose voice was masculine. That's how I knew she was female."

"Huh." Luz murmured, not sure if Rasiel's theory was right or not. Still it was the only theory she had, so she went with it. "Forgetting all that, should we go inside? It's kind of gotten dark…"

She looked to Eda for permission, and the Owl Lady reluctantly lowered her staff and nodded, causing Lilith to do the same. "I guess they can come in… no funny business though!" Eda demanded.

Eber, hopping off of Luz's shoulders, nodded and Darius followed suit. Raine and Lilith then escorted them inside the Owl House, while Amity, Willow, and Gus walked out.

"We'd like to stay, but it's getting late and our parents are expecting us home." Amity said, wishing she could stay to observe the meeting, being curious about Darius since he was her dad's rival.

"School doesn't start again until next week, so be sure to call us tomorrow with the details!" Willow urged.

Luz nodded, then gave her friends a hug and Amity a kiss, before waving to them as they flew home on Amity's staff. Once they were gone, Luz headed inside with the others. Eda had taken their guests to the kitchen so Raine and Lilith could finish their dinner, and Hooty had stretched around the house to poke in through the kitchen window too, so Luz took the moment to rush upstairs and tuck her sleeping little brother into bed, before coming back down to join the others.

The young angel took a seat at the kitchen table, with the residents of the Owl House all on one side and the visiting Coven Heads on the other. Rasiel decided to be helpful and made some tea for their guests, and both Eber and Darius stared at it with strange expressions after taking just one sip.

"What is this tea?" Darius asked, taking another sip.

"Gleam Tea. It's originally from the Divine Realm. Luz's mother was kind enough to give me some that she'd grown." Rasiel explained, taking a sip and sighing contently.

Luz also enjoyed the familiar beverage, while Raine and Lilith got to try it for the first time. It was a pleasant flavour, akin to an expensive black tea, only with a fruity aftertaste that the Demon Realm natives couldn't identify. Eda wasn't a fan, but both Raine and Lilith enjoyed it immensely.

Eber and Darius clearly did too, as they drained their cups and accepted another before they even began their discussion.

"Now that we know we can all trust each other, We're willing to share our resources with you, to make our combined rebellion stronger." Darius said; "We have access to the latest intel from the castle, as well as around 200 total Coven Witches who are willing to side with us against the Emperor. I can also provide ingredients and supplies for Abominations, while Eber has a whole menagerie of trained beasts that can fight alongside us, as well as her Direwolf pack of 25 wolves. For hideouts and safehouses, you'll have access to our Coven Headquarters and various assorted locations throughout the isles, with our most prominent safehouses being in Latissa, Manubrium, Pancrea City, Cartilia, Palm Stings, Phalagia, and Shin-On-Shingles."

Luz and the others blinked and exchanged looks; "Whoa!" Luz exclaimed, "I'm surprised you even want our help! You seem pretty organised already. We only have around 50 members, don't we?" she asked Raine.

The Bard shook their head; "Thanks to the Wild Witches coming to Bonesborough, and the new batch of Conformatorium escapees we busted out at the Petrification, we now have around 130 members. Still, combining that with the 200+ people and beasts you two can offer would be extremely helpful." Raine said. "We're primarily based in Bonesborough but have safehouses in Latissa, Cartilia, and Pancrea City too."

"Bat Queen helps too! Powerful Pack!" Eber barked.

"Actually, the Bat Queen only helped at the Conformatorium because she owed Eda a favour. She's not really involved in our fighting. But Amity and I both have favours from her we can call in, so we could probably convince her to help with a couple of really important things." Luz corrected.

Eber and Darius exchanged frowns; clearly they'd hoped to have the Bat Queen on board completely. Still, even having her for just a couple of missions could be crucial!

"So how are we doing this? Are we in an alliance now, or are you and your people joining the Covens Against the Throne?" Eda asked impatiently.

"For the moment, we'll stay separate and work as an alliance. However we might be convinced to fully join your group." Darius said, "If you can prove that your three leaders are up to snuff."

"Three? But the CATTs only have two leaders; Edalyn and Raine." Lilith said.

Darius raised an eyebrow as he looked at Luz; "I'm talking about you, Luz Noceda. You have become the face of Raine's rebellion."

That wasn't a surprise; Luz had heard as much from Raine themselves, as well as their three lieutenants. Most of the isles truly did think that Luz was the real leader of the CATTs, since she rescued Eda and Raine from the Petrification and managed to fight Belos to a standstill and break his mask. Luz didn't mind that label since she was already as wanted as she could be by the Emperor's Coven, and it took some of the attention off of Raine and Eda, but in reality she was just a junior member who did what Raine and Eda asked her to do, which were primarily defensive and support roles.

"I'm not actually the leader though. I just help and do what I'm told." Luz said.

"Really? Then I assume the Owl Lady has been repeatedly telling you to do the impossible. Curing Petrification, breaking Belos' mask, and even getting your own arm cut off to escape the Emperor's Coven Sigil… those aren't the actions of a mere subordinate." Darius pointed out.

"That's because she's not a subordinate!" Eda declared, putting an arm around Luz's shoulders; "She's my daughter and apprentice! Her Bio Mom even gave me her blessing!"

That was met with smiles from Raine and Lilith, and curious looks from Darius and Eber.

"Is that so… Well regardless; the Isles believe you are the leader, Luz. My people will follow you and the…" Darius sighed wearily, "… CATTs… if I tell them to. But Eber's people are impressed more by strength. They won't join you unless you can prove yourself, so if you want to win their respect and support, you'll need to impress them."

Eber nodded, and Luz tilted her head; "But even if they don't join the CATTs, they'll still cooperate with us, right? Then isn't that enough?"

"And isn't fighting the Emperor enough too? Luz may not have put him down for good, but Belos was the one who fled the fight first." Rasiel pointed out.

Eber shook her head; "Little Light fled too. Emperor comes back to fight, but Little Light gone. Little Light not lose, but not win. Beast Keepers are Pack! Strong Pack! They follow Alpha, they respect Alpha! Little Light not finish her foe, so not true Alpha. Pack won't follow. Won't work with other Pack with weak Alpha."

Luz frowned; "So your allies won't work with the CATTs because they think they have a weak leader, namely me?"

"Yes. Eber doesn't agree, could force obedience… but dangerous. Begin rebellion within rebellion." Eber said, looking sadly at Luz.

"And explaining that Luz isn't the leader isn't enough?" Lilith asked.

Eber shook her head again; "Who stronger? Whisper Bard, Owl Lady, or Little Light?"

Eda and Raine both had to begrudgingly admit it was Luz; "Sucks to admit, but with our powers diminished and Luz becoming an Arch-Angel, she technically has more power than us." Eda said.

"But I'm nowhere near as skilled or experienced as you two!" Luz retorted.

Raine ruffled her hair; "That may be true Sparks, but we have to rely on your blessings to have any power at all. We can't beat you as we are now, which makes you the strongest."

Eber nodded; "Pack care about strength; won't respect leader weaker than subordinate. Little Light strongest Cat Rebel, then has to be Alpha."

"So to get your pack to help, along with the rebels from the Beast-Keeping Coven, I need to do something to prove I'm strong? How do I do that?" Luz asked.

Eber's face lit up; "With Trial! Trial to show skill and power!"

Luz and her family exchanged curious looks. So Luz would have to take some kind of trial? Darius quickly chimed in; "You just have to do something that the pack and the Beast-Keeping Coven will respect. Luckily for you, we have an idea for that already."

He reached into his cloak and pulled out a wanted poster, which he placed on the kitchen table. Luz leaned over it and read it carefully; it depicted some kind of giant aquatic beast demon that resembled a seal, known as a Selkidomus. The bounty was for 1,000,000 snails, and it was wanted for supposedly ravaging ships along the coast. The bounty also stipulated that the creature had to be brought in dead, and if the body wasn't recoverable, then its entire pelt of scales had to be brought in instead, with a diminished reward if only some scales were brought back. Oddly enough, the wanted poster was old, but the details about the ravaged ships had been added on recently.

"You want me to hunt a Selkidomus for you?" Luz asked, not liking the idea of hunting a wild animal.

Thankfully Eber shook her head; "Not hunt or kill. Protect. Emperor wants Selkidomus dead. Wants its scales. Don't know why."

"Selkidomus are apparently largely gentle creatures. Eber insists they only turn aggressive if threatened or if protecting their young. They're also endangered, so protecting one will go a long way with the Beast-Keeping Coven while also setting back the Emperor." Darius added.

Luz hummed; "Seems easy enough. I'd be happy to help."

"Hold on a moment Owlet." Eda said, frowning severely; "What's the catch?"

Darius grinned; "The "catch" is who you're protecting the Selkidomus from. The Emperor has grown tired of the bounty not being collected, so he has assigned his new Coven Head and Assistant to collect it themselves."

He pulled out another poster and showed it to the Owl Family. This time it was a recruitment poster depicting two figures in matching unique scout uniforms; a male figure in a golden uniform and a female figure in a silver one. The top of the poster declared "The Golden Guard and the Silver Sentinel" and beneath their picture were the words "Join the Emperor's Coven TODAY!"

"The Golden Guard and Silver Sentinel… I think I remember seeing these guys while I was chained up on the battlements. They're also the ones that helped Belos when he had that weird fit after I broke his mask…" Luz murmured.

Lilith glared at the poster; "Please don't tell me I was replaced as Coven Head by that kid!"

"Afraid so, Lilith." Darius smirked, before shaking his head with a sigh; "The little prince has had a big head over it ever since. Strutting about the palace, trying to imitate Belos. It would be cute if it weren't so pathetic."

"What can you tell us about this guy, Lilith?" Luz asked.

"Not a lot. I only vaguely remember his face beneath the mask, and I honestly didn't want to know much about him. He always got special treatment because he was "The Genius Teen Prodigy!" Lilith sneered in a mocking voice, "But in reality, he's just a brat. Power-wise, you blow him out of the water… though he is admittedly skilled and very well trained." Lilith conceded.

Luz hummed then asked; "What about the Silver Sentinel?"

Darius answered; "She replaced Kikimora as the Emperor's Personal Assistant; Belos wasn't too happy with Kikimora for allowing you to escape and being so useless at the Conformatorium, so she was demoted to the Sentinel's subordinate. As for the girl herself…" the man shrugged; "Honestly, we can't say much. She's mute and only ever communicates with Belos or the little prince through sign language or telepathy spells. We all call her the Silent Sentinel. Beyond that, we don't know anything about her. Even her scent is concealed and blocked by her armour."

Luz considered it for a moment; taking down the Emperor's two best agents and saving a Selkidomus would definitely win her the respect of Eber's people. It would be tough, but it would also be a huge boon for the CATTs! Plus she had managed to go toe to toe with Belos! How tough could his two teenage minions be?

"Alright, I'll do it!" Luz declared.

"Are you sure, Sparks? We won't think less of you if you want to turn this down." Raine said seriously.

"I can handle it, I promise!" she replied, getting to her feet; "I just need to know when and where!"

"Tomorrow at dawn. Eber handle the where. Will meet you here." Eberwolf said, clearly pleased with Luz's decision.

Luz nodded seriously and turned to Eda; "Mom, I want to do this. Can I?"

Eda smirked; "I'm tempted to say no just to see if you'd rebel against me and do it anyway. But I don't wanna play mind games. If you want to do this, then I'm with you all the way, kiddo!"

Luz beamed and hugged her tightly; "Thank you, Mom!"

"You're welcome Owlet. Now its late and you've had a long day, not to mention what you'll be doing tomorrow. Go get cleaned up and then go to your nest and get some sleep. Raine, Lilith, Rasiel, and I will handle the rest with Darius and Eber." Eda said, giving Luz a kiss on the forehead.

"Alright. Good night everyone! Darius, Eber; it was nice meeting you both! You're actually pretty nice people! See you tomorrow, Eber!" Luz said, before hurrying out of the kitchen with one last wave. Her family (and the slightly bewildered Coven Heads) waved to her, and Eda subtly signalled for Hooty (who'd just been sniffing the food Rasiel had brought back from Camila) to follow Luz upstairs and make sure she actually went to bed without being distracted.

Once the girl was gone, Darius couldn't help but comment; "That child is certainly… odd."

"Got a problem with that, Darry-Boy?" Eda asked with narrowed eyes.

"Down, Edalyn." Darius replied dismissively; "She just reminds me and Eber of an old friend. But enough about the angel child for now. We should discuss Belos and our intel on him. We know he has a weakness; those strange fits of his that require him to eat Palismen. We just need to find a way to reliably trigger one. I don't suppose you have any intel on the cause of those fits?" he asked, acknowledging that Eda and Lilith were more knowledgable about curses, afflictions, and the Emperor himself than Darius was.

Eda shook her head; "Sorry, but nope. We know he's some kind of angel corrupted by his experiments, but that's it."

There was a long, silent pause as Darius and Eber stared at Eda, their eyes slowly widening.

Finally the silence was broken by them both screaming (or barking in Eber's case): "BELOS IS A WHAT!?"

[The Next Day]

Luz awoke shortly before the sunrise to the sound of her scroll alarm, and immediately hopped out of her nest and began to prepare for the day. She would be going to protect the Selkidomus with Eber, so needed to be prepared before dawn broke! As she hurried about getting washed, dressed, and sending texts of explanation to Amity and her friends so they wouldn't wonder where she was, Luz accidentally woke up a sleeping King.

"Huh… why are you up so early, Luz? You don't even have school today…" King said groggily.

"Sorry to wake you King, but I'm going somewhere this morning." Luz answered.

King yawned and shook himself awake; "Great. I'm coming too."

"You don't even know where I'm going." his sister pointed out.

"Don't care, I'm coming too." King retorted.

Having no intention of arguing with her little brother, Luz just giggled and nodded, telling King to get ready and come down for breakfast. A few minutes later and they both headed down to the kitchen, where they found the rest of the house's occupants awake too and already making breakfast.

"Morning guys! You're all up early." Luz smiled as she took her usual seat at the breakfast table.

Lilith, Raine, and Rasiel all smiled and wished her and King a good morning, while Eda, who looked half-dead, slurred something into her cup of Apple Blood. She wasn't a morning person…

"We've got business with Darius today. He and I are going to be going over a few plans to further the CATTs positions." Raine said, "And Lilith will be assisting us."

"Indeed. Meanwhile my sister just wanted to see you off." Lilith said, grinning as she poked her little sister. "By the way, Eda filled us in on what happened with your mother. I'm glad you were able to resolve things with her."

"Thanks, Lilith. It was touch and go at first, but it turned out good!" Luz said, tucking into her breakfast.

King began tearing into his own too, as Rasiel filled him in on what he'd slept through the previous evening. He was a little annoyed to have missed the confrontation with Darius and Eber, but since it had just been a talk, he didn't complain too much. Raine also told him and Luz that they'd spilled the beans on Belos being an angel to the two Coven Heads, who'd reacted about as well as could be expected. They'd agreed that it was best not to reveal Belos' true nature, as otherwise the other groups against him could view the rebellion as two angels fighting for control of the isles, especially since Luz was seen as the leader of the CATTs by just about everyone except the CATTs themselves. It could even rally some people to fight against both the CATTs AND the Emperor's Coven, so it was best not to risk it; no one needed to know he was an angel to bring him down.

"So all we've got to do today is go with the tiny wolf lady to beat the snot out of some teenagers hunting a sea monster? Oh, I'm all for that!" King declared, "Maybe I can finally show off my new secret moves!"

"Ooh, are you finally going to show me your secret project?" Luz asked with a grin.

"Maybe, maybe not. I'm a King of Mystery, sister!"

"More like a King of the Cutesy!" Luz cooed, tickling King's belly as he pretended to try and escape her grasp.

A few minutes later, Hooty poked his head into the kitchen and declared; "Darry-Boy and the Puppy are here!"

Luz giggled at the nicknames while Eda snorted, having been the one to teach Hooty those names. The Owl Lady downed her Apple Blood in one gulp and said "Let 'em in Hooty."

"Okay! Hoot!" the House Demon replied, before shrinking back into his door. A moment later and Darius and Eber walked into the kitchen, looking done with their day despite it just starting.

"Edalyn, I want you to know that I hate you, and your infernal bird worm." Darius said with a glare.

"Love you too, Darry-Boy." Eda smirked.

Darius sighed and rubbed his eyes; "It is too early for this…" he looked to Luz; "You're ready, I assume?"

"Yes sir!" Luz smiled, hopping to her feet with a little salute.

Darius eyed her for a moment; "If you weren't an angel, I'd accuse you of being a sarcastic little brat. Whatever, just go with Eber while I deal with the grown-ups… and Edalyn."

"Oi!" Eda groaned as Luz and King both snickered and followed Eber back into the living room. Rasiel also followed them.

"Little Light prepared for trip? Only take a day, so pack light." Eber said.

King looked confused, not understanding the Cover Head's words, so Rasiel translated for him. Meanwhile Luz nodded and snapped her fingers to summon her satchel and pull out her Witch's Wool Cloak.

"I'm ready! I can summon any supplies I need by keeping them in here." Luz said, placing the satchel on the sofa. She'd already worked out a system with Eda; if she needed something from home, she'd text Eda to put it in the satchel so Luz could summon it to her side whenever she wanted! It gave her access to the whole Owl House inventory… so long as someone was home of course. Hooty didn't count, as he sadly couldn't be trusted with a scroll due to… "The Incident".

"I'm coming too!" King declared.

Eber looked at him for a minute, then shrugged; "That fine. Pack thinks King is weird dog, so won't care if he helps. No other friends though; Little Light must complete trial without help."

"Does that mean you won't be coming along too?" Rasiel asked.

"Eber come to watch. If Eber sees, Eber can report to Pack! Eber won't help though." she replied.

"Very well. I will be coming along too; I don't have magic so I won't be able to help Luz, but I can still be a useful source of information." Rasiel said.

Eber frowned; "Only small ship. More crew just get in the way. No magic means no defence. Can't protect burden."

Luz and King looked disappointed, but Rasiel just smirked; "Oh, I can take care of that."

He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin disk of gold metal, which was about coin-sized with little prongs on it as well as a tiny purple stone. He then reached up to King's neckerchief and clipped the disk onto the back of his medallion. "I made this with some help from Lilith." he explained, before handing King back to Luz and sitting down on the sofa. Everyone watched him curiously as he closed his eyes… then promptly stood back up, leaving his body behind.

"Ta-da!" the once again ghostly Rasiel grinned. "Now I can come along without getting in the way or needing to be protected. I can also use the oracle stone I just put on King's medallion to communicate with him telepathically so long as I'm inside it or Luz's ring."

Luz and King were amazed; "How did you know you could do that!?" Luz exclaimed.

"I found out the first time I woke up after sleeping, and accidentally left my body behind. I don't know if this is permanent or just until I'm fully put back together, but it's useful regardless." Rasiel said, going into King's medallion. "Think of me as your personal scout, library, and communication device!"

The kids grinned, while Eber eyed Rasiel's body (still alive despite now being devoid of a soul) with morbid curiosity. Satisfied that Rasiel wouldn't get in the way and couldn't help Luz with her trial beyond information, Eber accepted his company with a nod and a pleased bark.

Luz and King said their goodbyes to the others (Hooty put lunch bags in Luz's satchel for her to summon when she wanted them), and Eda gave them both a hug and wished them luck before they headed out. Eber, not wanting to risk being seen with Luz, had the angel girl hide her under an illusion that made her look like a Baby Titan like King (not that Eber knew what he was) then gave her instructions to fly to the Bonesborough docks.

The Bonesborough docks, on the northern coast of the Titan's Right Arm, had previously been restricted solely to the Emperor's Coven and its ships, with civilian vessels needing to dock at Latissa in the armpit instead, but now that Bonesborough was an independent town, anyone could dock there! Luz landed on the docks and shrank her wings with the spell her Mami taught her (deciding to do that instead of hiding them from now on), before following Eber's quietly barked instructions. There were a few small civilian vessels moored at the dock, and a large frigate that was being captained by a red skinned Biped Demon with the features of various sea creatures, such as a fish's fin on his back and a red crab claw in place of a left hand.

Eber barked quietly as Luz passed him; "That Demon serves Golden Guard. His ship owned by Emperor."

"Should we sabotage his ship? So he can't help that jerk come after us?" King whispered.

"We can't, King." Luz whispered back; "Bonesborough is neutral now, remember? We can't act against the Emperor's Coven here unless they're acting against the CATTs. If we break the truce, we and the CATTs will be kicked out of town!"

Eber barked; "Little Light speaks truth. No cause trouble in town."

That made King pout, but he supposed it made sense; if they broke the truce, it would just make their cause look bad and they'd lose support.

Eber led Luz all the way to the end of the docks, were a small ship was moored. It looked like a mix between a small sailing boat from the Human Realm and a Victorian Era steam boat. It was fairly small, with only a couple of lower decks, and a figurehead shaped like a snarling snow leopard. In Luz's mind, she thought it was about the same size as the Going Merry from One Piece, which thrilled her as she began to get excited for her high seas adventure.

Waiting at the bottom of the gangway was a very familiar face that made Luz smile when she saw it.

"Viney!" Luz cried in greeting, rushing over to the girl. The Magic-Mixer was wearing a white short sleeve shirt and baggy orange pants, as well as dark brown leather boots and an orange bandana around her head with the Beast-Keeping Coven's sigil on it. She looked a bit like a sailor!

Viney smiled brightly at Luz; "Hey Luz! Glad to see you're still looking good after the Petrification Ceremony. Hi King." she greeted, adding the last part when she saw King on Luz's shoulder.

"It's great to see you Viney! Are you joining us too?" Luz asked, noting the girl's clothes.

"Yep! This ship belongs to my Mom, and I'm helping her sail it!" Viney then dropped her voice to a whisper; "Head Witch Eberwolf asked us to take you to the Selkidomus' hunting ground to help with your trial for the Beast-Keeping rebels!"

Eber barked; "Vine Child is daughter of old friend. We meet on board."

Viney blinked, surprised to see Eberwolf's disguise, but didn't comment; "Anyway, come on aboard and meet my Mom! She's been eager to meet the girl who helped start the Multi-Track program at Hexside!"

Luz nodded eagerly and followed Viney onto the ship, and was brought into the cabin near the back of the ship. As soon as she, King, and Eber walked into the cabin, Eber shook off Luz's illusion to reveal her true self since no one outside could see her now. A moment later, a door on the other side of the cabin opened and in walked Viney's mother.

The woman was a witch like Viney, and shared many features, including her skin tone, her green eyes, and her day brown hair tied back with a thorny hair band. She was a dead-ringer for an older Viney, but she was also huge! She was easily 6 and a half feet tall and very muscular, with scars on her exposed arms and a large claw mark across her face. Her hair was also far wilder and messier than Viney's despite being tied back in a ponytail, and her clothing was similar to Viney's sailing outfit, only with an orange captain's coat worn over the top, the sleeves of which had been torn off. The woman grinned widely as Luz looked up at her with awe.

"So, this is the little angel that's going to help us save the Selkidomus! Good to be working with you, brat!" the woman greeted, her voice gruff but friendly. "The name is Valtora, member of the Beast-Keeping Coven and captain of this ship; The Loving Leopard!"

"Nice to meet you, Captain!" Luz replied, shaking Valtora's offered hand.

"This ship is called the Loving Leopard?" King questioned incredulously.

"Aye!" Valtora boomed, "Named for my darling wife Meesha! A Cait Sith with the appearance of a Snow Leopard!"

Cait Sith were Biped Demons that were basically just cats that walked on their hind legs like witches, though they were sized like the cats they were based on. House Cat Cait Sith were similar to King and Eberwolf in size, but Luz imagined a Leopard Cait Sith would be closer to a regular witch.

Viney smirked; "Mama was NOT pleased with the name! But nothing can change Mom's mind!"

Valtora laughed loudly; "Isn't that the truth! I swear one of these scars on my left arm came from her displeasure! But we can talk more when we're out to sea and away from the eyes of the Emperor's Coven." she said, briefly looking through the cabin window to where the large frigate owned by Belos was moored. She made eye contact with the captain Luz had seen earlier and frowned. "Your presence has already been noted, girl. Viney, take your friend below deck and get her dressed like a proper sailor! We're about to leave port and everyone pulls their weight on this ship, even guests!"

Viney saluted her Mom; "Aye Aye Captain!" she grinned, gesturing for Luz to do the same. The young angel repeated the gesture and words, then followed Viney out of the Cabin, leaving Eber alone with Valtora.

The large woman's smile faded; "I saw the Golden Guard and his silent doppelganger here earlier this morning. They'll definitely follow us out to sea. Having the angel onboard may have already blown my cover." she said.

Eber barked; "Eber will vouch for you. Lie and say Little Light asked for favour from Vine Child, and you agreed. Claim you spied and tried to sabotage. When we reach Selkidomus, signal Emperor's Coven Ship. They believe you bring Little Light into trap; your cover protected."

Valtora nodded in agreement; "Very well. I hope the girl can handle this… I saw the fight with Belos and heard from Viney how she helped take down a Greater Basilisk, but fighting out on the open sea is a different story altogether…"

As Eber and Valtora were talking, Viney took Luz and King below deck, which was divided into a small living area, a bedroom, and a cargo hold.

"Mom, Mama, and have a house in Bonesborough, but we use this ship as a mobile vacation home, so we keep some stuff here. Mom is really into the whole sailor thing, so you'll want to wear these." Viney said, opening a footlocker at the end of her cot in the bedroom. Inside was several sets of clothing similar to Viney's current outfit in different, with Luz selecting a white shirt, blue pants, a blue bandana with a simple fish emblem embroidered onto it, and a neckerchief shaped like a blue crab.

"This is kind of fun! It's like we're playing pirates!" Luz smiled, stepping into the bathroom to change clothes. She had to layer an enchantment over the shirt to allow her wings to pass through it, and she kept her Witch's Cloak on, but hidden beneath an illusion.

"Not bad." Viney commented when Luz stepped out. "You too, King." she added, putting a bandana on King's head (causing his horns to poke holes through it). His bandana was black with a skull and crossbones design.

"There! Now you're both ready to work like proper sailors!" Viney grinned.

"Aye Aye, First Mate Viney!" Luz giggled, saluting.

Viney giggled right back, before turning serious; "So, you're going to be protecting the Selkidomus from the Emperor's goons. You've got my thanks for that; Mom has been worried about it for a while, especially since the Emperor updated the bounty."

"I will. Don't worry, I won't let it get hurt!" Luz promised as Viney took her and King back up on deck. "By the way, I had no idea your Mom was a ship captain or in the Beast-Keeping Coven!" she leaned in to whisper; "Or one of Eber's rebels!"

"I didn't know about that last part until after Mom found out I helped you at the Conformatorium. She and Mama were pretty peeved, even if I didn't do any fighting or get in trouble." Viney said, wincing as she remembered the scolding she'd gotten, "And Mom is part of a team that monitors oceanic wild life around the Boiling Isles. She makes sure all the sea-life is healthy and not becoming endangered or overpopulated, plus she drives off a lot of illegal fishermen and poachers."

Luz smiled; the Beast-Keeping Coven had a reputation on the Boiling Isles as wild thugs who tamed beasts for combat and were called in to deal with troublesome monsters, but in reality, they were like Park Rangers and Wild Life Conservationists. They kept careful tabs on the population, territory, and health of all the Isles' animal and non-sapient demon species, and worked as much against those who hurt beasts as they did against wild beasts threatening the population. Contrary to popular belief, they also preferred not to use beasts in combat; they would if necessary, but mostly they used Beast-Keeping Magic to take on the aspects of beasts to fight instead.

"That's great! My Mami's a vet, so she's basically like a healer for animals. I bet she and your Mom would get along great!" Luz commented.

Viney smiled with interest, but before she could answer, her Mom came over to them (Eber stayed in the cabin out of sight); "Looks like you've got your sea legs on now, Squirt! Or should I saw sea wings?" Valtora smirked, noting Luz's little wings.

"Aye Aye Captain! I'm ready to work!" Luz saluted.

"That's the spirit! Right crew, here are your work assignments! Mr Clawthorne; you're on look out up in the Crow's Nest! There are talking tubes up there, so use them to report on anything you see so you're not hollering!"

King looked up at the Crow's nest, which was a small balcony built onto the side of the ship's smoke stack. It looked like a pretty cool spot, and keeping watch wasn't like actual labour, so he was happy with it.

"Aye Aye Captain!" he said, getting into his role as a sailor. Valtora then grabbed him and launched him into the Crow's Nest, making him scream "WEH!" before he landed on a pillow inside the nest.

Valtora then looked to Luz; "Miss Noceda-Clawthorne, I'm putting that fire power of yours to work! You're job is to fuel the furnace at the stern! Keep that fire burning and this ship chugging!"

"Aye Aye Captain!" Luz repeated.

"Outstanding!" Valtora then picked Luz up by wrapping her large hands around the girl's thin waist, then tossed her over to the furnace, where Luz landed in a hammock beside it.

Luz blinked, bewildered that she'd been thrown too, then heard Valtora's booming voice declare; "Miss Leonis, you're still on deck swabbing duty after your misadventure last week! You can start at the stern! That furnace belches soot like I do after a bucket of flaming green-dogs!"

"Aye Aye Captain Mom!" Viney yelled, before she too was launched into the hammock. Luz wasn't expecting that and so hadn't gotten out of it, and soon found herself trapped under Viney.

"Oof! Sorry Luz!" Viney laughed, getting to her feet; "Mom is… a bit intense. Good thing Amity and Emira weren't here to see us in such a compromising position!" she teased.

Luz squeaked in embarrassment, realising how it must have looked for her to be trapped under Viney on a hammock, even if it had been brief and purely innocent. Her blush made Viney laugh harder as she grabbed a bucket and mop that were already set up beside the furnace. Luz then struggled to get out of the hammock without landing on her face, before eventually giving up and just growing her wings and flying out of the hammock before shrinking them again.

"Neat trick. Have you always been able to do that?" Viney asked.

"No, this is a new spell my Mami taught me yesterday." Luz replied, opening up the furnace and using the plant glyph to fill it with wood and plants that she immediately ignited with the fire glyph. The fire burned fast and began heating the water in the ship's boiler, with the excess steam and smoke being funnelled via enchanted pipes to the central smokestack.

After a couple of minutes, Valtora's voice echoed across the ship through several talking tubes; "Alright sailors, our course is set for the Simmering Shoals! We're raising the anchor and setting sail!"

Luz heard the rattling of heavy chains as Valtora manually hoisted up the anchor (the woman had strength that would put a Construction Witch to shame) and a moment later, the ship's propeller came to life and the Loving Leopard began sailing out of port and into the open sea, heading to the north west. Luz and Viney chatted about school stuff for a little bit as the former kept the furnace lit and fuelled and the latter mopped away the soot that was building up around it, but then Luz looked up and frowned. The Boiling Isles was rapidly becoming a speck in the distance as the ship cut through the waves, but the Emperor's Coven Frigate was still visible in the distance, keeping within line of sight of their ship.

"We're being followed alright. Just as expected." Luz frowned. She stood and narrowed her eyes on the frigate, then began preparing a light beam spell, only for Viney to gently lower her arm.

"Don't start a fight. Our job is to defend the Selkidomus, not take out those sailors." Viney warned.

"I wasn't going to sink them; just disable their ship." Luz replied, nonetheless cancelling her spell.

Viney shook her head; "Still safer to wait and defend ourselves if they attack. One misplaced shot and you could blow up the frigate, or worse; sink it. Drowning in the Boiling Sea is a horrible fate."

Luz gulped and nodded; "You're right. Better to be safe than sorry; I don't want to kill any one!"

Viney smiled; "Glad to hear it! As the daughter of a Healer and a Beast-Keeper, few people value life more than me!"

The young angel giggled in response; "True! So I'm guessing your other mother is the healer then?"

"You bet! My Mama is pretty high-ranking in the Healing Coven! She's not in line to become Coven Head, but she's high enough to run her own branch of the coven! She's the one in charge of the Bonesborough Hospital!" Viney said proudly; "I help her there sometimes, when I'm not helping Mom with the boat or hanging out with my friends. Mama was really happy for me that I was able to Multi-Track without getting in trouble!"

"That reminds me, you don't think Principal Bump will cancel the Multi-Track Program now that Lilith is a traitor to the Emperor, do you?" Luz asked, it only just occurring to her that such a possibility existed. Bump had only allowed the program because it had Lilith's approval and thus the approval of the Emperor's Coven… she somehow doubted Belos or his Golden Guard would give the same approval.

However Viney was not worried; "I doubt it. Hexside is independent now, along with the rest of Bonesborough. I heard from Jerbo, whose dad is on the Town Council, that Hexside will be funded by the town itself now, so the Emperor's Coven doesn't have a say in how its run for now. Bump would have to be crazy to cancel the program! In fact, I heard rumours that Glandus and St. Epiderm were planning on their own Multi-Track programs."

"That's a relief! I'd hate to go back to just one track after getting used to three! Now that I've got the fire glyph mastered, I can finally use some decent Construction magic, and my Beast-Keeping magic has gotten better too! I've got an awesome calming spell that'll help if the Selkidomus attacks us!" Luz said.

Viney nodded enthusiastically and snapped her fingers, summoning a mandolin; "Me too! I'm actually starting to get the hang of this thing!"

Viney and Jerbo had been interesting additions to the bard track; Viney had ended up being most comfortable with stringed instruments and so had been given a mandolin, while Jerbo proved to be pretty good with a flute, which he'd taken to using to control vines, as if they were snakes. Sadly neither were any good at singing though; Jerbo's voice was decent but he was too shy to sing, while Viney had enthusiasm but, putting it as nicely as possible, her singing sounded like a cat having its tail trodden on. Thankfully they enjoyed the classes though and were eagerly mixing bardic magic with their other chosen tracks!

Luz began listening to Viney happily recount a story where she'd cast a bardic spell to relax her griffin, Puddles, so she would calm down enough to serve as a good therapy animal and nurse's assistant while healing a kid who'd broken their leg at the Slayground. The girls got so into talking that they neglected their duties and Valtora's voice soon boomed out from the nearest talking tube;

"Less yacking, more working, ladies! The ship is losing steam!"

Luz and Viney froze and looked to the furnace, which had not only nearly gone out, but was also surrounded by soot. They gulped and quickly got to work before Valtora could come out and chew them out for slacking off. They soon got the flames burning hotter and the soot wiped away so they could safely talk, though they were careful to keep an eye on their tasks this time!

The voyage dragged on through midday, during which everyone on board began to feel the heat. Summer had technically ended on the isles, but it hadn't yet cooled down, and it was always hot on the Boiling Sea. The heat of the sun, combined with the heat of the sea made the midday spike in temperature feel even worse; Luz had provided ice for everyone to keep cool, leading to Eber effectively making an igloo for herself while Valtora had taken to strapping blocks of the ice to herself for weight training as she walked around the ship. Luz was keeping herself cool with ice magic, and had also pulled up her sleeves, pant legs, and the bottom of her shirt to minimise how much skin was being covered in clothes (while maintaining her decency), while also being sure to check on King.

King had effectively frozen the Crow's Nest with ice glyphs, and told Luz not to come up whenever she tried to check on him, with Rasiel reporting that the young Titan was working on his secret project so didn't want Luz to see it yet.

However the one who was suffering the most was Viney; the poor girl was seriously overheating! Luz had produced ice blocks for Viney to sit on and hug to keep cool, and while it had helped, the roasting hot weather was still making the Magic-Mixer dangerously hot. She was sweating profusely and Luz was having to make water to rehydrate her frequently.

"Viney, are you okay? You're really not taking the heat well!" Luz asked worriedly.

"I… ugh… hate heat. I'm a winter girl, through and through!" Viney panted. "But don't worry; I'll be fine. I'm a Healer, so I know exactly how much I can take."

Luz didn't look convinced, and she was a healer too! "Maybe you should at least pull your pant legs up a little? You look like you're melting in those clothes." Luz said, noting how Viney had removed her bandana and tied up the bottom of her shirt, exposing her midriff, but kept her legs fully covered.

Viney shook her head; "I'm not really comfortable with showing off my legs. I know it's not indecent or anything, it's just a hang up of mine." she said, now getting red enough in the face that Luz was fearing she'd get heatstroke.

"Okay, you don't need to uncover yourself, but maybe you should get out of the sun instead. I'm serious Viney, you look like you're about to-"

Luz didn't even get to finish her sentence before Viney swooned and fell backwards. The young angel yelped and shot some vines out to catch the girl before she fell overboard or hit her head on the ship's railing. "Viney!" she cried. She got no answer; Viney had passed out from the heat.

"Oh no! Captain! Valtora! Viney passed out!" Luz cried, lugging the bigger girl onto her back and staggering towards the cabin.

Upon hearing her shout, Valtora came running and cursed upon seeing Viney's condition; "Damn it, she's been trying to tough out the heat again! Luz, take her to her bunk below deck and keep her cool and hydrated. We're nearing the Simmering Shoals and the waters are treacherous so I can't afford to leave the wheel for long; I'm relying on you to help my daughter. I'll give instructions through the talking tubes when you get there!"

Luz nodded seriously; "You got it, Captain!"

She then hurried below deck with Viney on her back. It wasn't easy either; Luz wasn't the strongest kid, and could only really carry the tiny King, and the very light and slender Amity. Viney, on the other hand, was a solidly built wall of muscle, not dissimilar to Valtora, so Luz really had to work to carry her down to her bunk. Thankfully she got there and immediately laid Viney down and used some ice magic to cover her bed and sheets in light frost to cool her down a bit.

"Alright, I'm here Captain!" Luz yelled into the nearby talking tube. "I've already cooled her bed!"

Valtora's voice yelled back; "Good job Luz. Now grab a cloth from her footlocker and damp it with cold water, then put it on her forehead to help bring her temperature down."