Spirit Animal: Pride of the Panther

Ch. 4: Most Important Meal

The next day, Gwen woke up. She yawned a big and rose from the bed, looking to see Luz still in her panther form as she was sleeping so peacefully on the bed. Gwen slowly made her way to the door, not wanting to wake Luz.

'Time to give Edalyn a call. I hope she's up.' Gwen thought as she opened the door and snuck out of the room.

She summoned her scroll and dialed Eda's number. Eda did not pick up, instead, she got her inbox.

"Eda here, the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles, leave a message and I might get back to you... and if you're Lily trying to get me to join a coven... go die in a fire."

Gwen rolled her eyes. That's the same inbox message Eda has had for nearly twenty years, no matter how many times Gwen has asked her to change it.

"Oh, well, I may not be an Oracle, but I guess a little surprise is going to be in her future." Gwen said.

Gwen put her scroll away and decided to go get breakfast ready, she could just pay Eda a surprise visit with Luz instead of calling since she wasn't answering.

"I swear, that girl needs to learn that you pick up calls from your mother." Gwen mumbled.

Gwen could understand why but she just wanted their relationship to be better, she wasn't the same ignorant woman she was before.

"I mean, you try and leach your child one time, and suddenly you're the bad guy." Gwen said, "I can't believe I fell for that scammer's lies."

If it wasn't for her other daughter, Gwen would still be wasting her time and money following the advice of some fake healer.

"Maybe one day we can have a family dinner, that's something I hope will happen before I die."

Gwen got to work in the kitchen and made breakfast for three, more like five in case Luz was as hungry as she was last night at dinner.

'I hope that girl is okay, I know there is a lot going on right now, and it hurts to see someone so young in such anguish.'

That's all that Gwen thought of as she made breakfast, how hard this must've been for Luz and how exactly she could help her outside of the portal Eda has. Maybe she could talk with her a bit more. Gwen heard a noise and turned around, seeing Luz standing there.

"Good morning, Luz. I hope you slept well." Gwen said with a friendly smile.

"I did, thank you." Luz said, "I know I'm probably being a burden-"

"Luz, you are not a burden, you are a young girl who needed help." Gwen said.

Gwen refused to let Luz think so little of herself, bringing her a fresh plate of pancakes and guiding her to the table.

"Here, eat up, you need your strength."

Gwen gave Luz a hair tussle with a smile, making the human feel a little better, before she went back to making breakfast.

"So, like I said, my daughter has a portal to the Human Realm, and since I would like to have a word with the person that hurt you, I will be going back with you." Gwen said.

"What? Are you sure?" Luz asked her.

"Don't worry, Luz. I may be old, but I've still got some fight left in me." Gwen said as she flexed her arm, showing a surprising amount of muscle.

"Woah." Luz said.

'I have never seen an old woman that ripped before.' Luz thought as she mentally compared their muscles. 'I feel like I should work out more all of a sudden.'

Gwen sat down next to Luz.

"Now, I want you to be prepared, my daughter isn't exactly the... nicest person. She can be a little bit blunt and rude."

"Okay? I've run into people like that before." Luz said as she ate the pancakes.

"Maybe but Edalyn can be a bit much. Just keep that in mind, she really is a good person." Gwen said to Luz.

"If she's willing to help me, then I'll trust her." Luz said.

Gwen smiled, glad that Luz was willing to trust Eda.