Work Text:
Listening
Being the daughter of the head of the Emperor's Coven had its perks, like getting her staff at an age when most witches were still learning the basics of whichever track of magic they were on at school. Luz hadn't even attended school; well, not officially anyway, and she didn't think getting banned from Hexside for blowing up an abomination cauldron full of undercooked goo counted as a graduation ceremony.
Luz's palisman was barely tolerated by the rest of the Emperor's Coven. That was another place where it paid to have her mother in charge, since most coven scouts had to surrender their palismen for destruction at a certain point.
Her mom rationalized it by pointing out that she needed the extra oomph. Her magic was versatile and she'd trained hard to use it to its fullest extent, but even with Snowy to bolster her power... well, that was why Lilith had stuck a Construction Coven power glyph on her, wasn't it?
Maybe she should have been more bothered by that, but considering how it had turned out—
"Are you listening, Luz?"
Luz gave a start, which nearly proved disastrous given that she was suspended quite some distance above the forest canopy. She pinwheeled momentarily before remembering to tighten her legs around her staff to maintain her balance. Snowy issued a sharp hoot through their empathic bond.
Don't worry, girl, I wouldn't actually fall. Hunter's been training me how to hold on better at high speeds. This? This is nothing, just taking it easy for Mom's sake.
Snowy's answering hoot sounded skeptical, but Luz was already bracing herself more properly to turn her attention away from the skies in front of her. Lilith, atop her staff, had pulled alongside her. Judging by her pronounced frump, she had been trying to get Luz's attention for a minute. Oops.
"Sorry, Mom. I was thinking about my duel with the human." There. That was certainly true enough, if perhaps a little misleading. Still, the irritation eased from Lilith's features.
"Yes, that was... unfortunate, the way that turned out." Leave it to her mother to put it so delicately, as if speaking to her adopted daughter was on par with addressing the Emperor. A gulf of meaning lay between them, almost as deep as the literal depth they could fall if either slid from their staff — which she wasn't going to do, so Snowy could stop radiating stress across their bond!
Luz sighed and spoke plainly. "I'm not mad, Mom. Amity was cheating too. It, uh, balances out, I guess?"
Over the wind, she barely heard Lilith's sound of discontent, but her mother didn't press on the subject. Instead, what followed was a question that drew her up short. "And... are those your only thoughts on what happened?"
Now what did that mean? What else was there? Dueling with the first human she'd ever seen was kind of a big deal, wasn't it? Though what had happened afterward... might not be best to tell her mother about that part.
"I'm not sure what you mean," she said cautiously, and Lilith made that face which meant that she was already impatient.
"Edalyn," she said with such vehemence that Luz instinctively looked around in case the infamous Owl Lady had just manifested nearby. When she realized that was what Lilith was really pressing her on, Luz gave another start.
Oh. Yeah.
Yeah, it was the first time she had seen one of her real parents, wasn't it? She certainly ought to have some feelings about that. Maybe very complicated feelings, feelings she might even purposefully try not to think about.
"Yeah," was all she said, hoping that would be all.
It wasn't.
"Your biological mother," Lilith pointed out, as if that phrase weren't branded on the underside of her eyelids. Luz noted with some curiosity that Lilith didn't say anything about the other half of the equation. The other mother.
Still, the way Lilith said it, as if Luz wasn't aware of the significance, made her laugh softly. "I know who she is, Mom."
The expression on Lilith's face now wasn't frustration but confusion. She looked so flummoxed that Luz stifled another laugh.
"Well, I... expected more curiosity, I suppose. You're usually so enthusiastic." Lilith's observation almost sounded like a protest.
Luz shrugged, before realizing her mother probably hadn't seen it. Turning her gaze back to the horizon in front of them, she couldn't help regretting how far the castle was from Bonesborough. This was just all sorts of awkward. "She encouraged a human to try dueling a witch. I guess that proves she's as irresponsible as you've always said."
Lilith made a thoughtful sound, a hmm that was a little too loud to be incidental, and she soon discovered why. Her attempt to play on her mother's rivalry with her sister backfired.
"If I might remark," Lilith began archly, which was an emotion Luz was barely aware her mother was even capable of. "You don't seem particularly distraught about how that played out."
It had been kind of a whole fiasco. It had made Luz look weak; it had made Amity look crafty and treacherous. It made Lilith look bad. Heck, it probably made the whole Emperor's Coven look bad. Even if her mother wasn't upset, it was possible Luz would find herself punished in other, possibly more subtle ways when she returned to the castle.
And yet... no, she didn't feel particularly upset by it. That last look in Amity's eyes, the sheer wonder of being encouraged instead of scorned—
"Oh, it was—" Luz cleared her throat, feeling her pointed ears heat. "I mean, it's fine. It was, um, fun."
Yeah... it was fun getting to meet someone her own age who wasn't a butthead. Amity was prickly, but in that moment, in that corner, she'd seen a glimpse of something soft. Something so desperate for warmth that it pulled at her heart and bile sac. Luz really hoped she'd get to see her again. Maybe she could bring her favorite book and see if the girl would like to borrow it? Oh Titan, if she could finally have someone to talk to about Azura...!
"Luz? Luz, are you listening?"
"Mmm," she hummed, smiling out into space, lost amid the possibilities.
Yeah, I think the way it ended was great.