Boscha Noceda

Chapter 2: New Friend

It was just a regular day at the Noceda household. Luz and her parents were in the middle of enjoying their dinner - tonight was rabo encindido night- when they heard a shrill cry from outside. Camila seemed to recognize it as the cry of another rabbit caught in a snare, judging by how she was muttering obscenities under her breath. With a superheroic demeanor, Camila was already donning her gloves as Manny rushed to get the wire cutter. Luz was instructed to stay in the house, as they didn't want her to accidentally get caught in a trap herself. Luz could barely get a word in before the door was locked and her parents were off to save the bunny. After a minute or two, Luz had already opened a window in the back of the house, laying a piece of oxtail on the sill. It didn't take long for a raccoon to come up and devour the treat. Luz giggled happily as she fed more of her leftovers to the masked critter. Eventually, the reverie was broken by the sound of the front door opening.

"Uh-oh!" Luz threw her remaining food out the window. "Cheez-itz, Rigby! Mami and Papi are back!" The raccoon wasted no time scrambling out the window that was closed immediately after its escape.

Luz ran back to the kitchen as fast as her little legs could take her. She hadn't made it in time before her parents came in, and was already scrambling to come up with an excuse.

"Bee-envenidos a casa, mamá y papaaaaaaaaAAAAA?!" Luz's train of thought stopped right in its tracks as she noticed the disheveled pink girl in Camila's arms.

"Luz, Mija, we need you to get the first-aid kit." Camila said, "Can you do that for us, Carino?"

Luz noticed the blood running down Boscha's fibula and nodded. She rushed off to get the first aid kit like Mami and Papi taught her to in an emergency.

As she brought the kit to them, Camila wasted no time dressing the strange girl's wounded leg. Luz shivered as she saw the girl crying, which got her shedding tears of her own. she tugged at her father's shirt to get his attention.

"Papi, is Princess Bubblegum gon' be okay?"

Manny couldn't help but smile. "That's not Bubblegum, mija. Her name is Boscha."

"Is Princess Boscha gon' be okay?"

This time, he had to fight the urge to laugh out loud at his daughter being adorable.

"Princess Boscha's gonna be just fine, niña. We'll get her fixed up and home in no time. She's just going to be staying here until then, so can you be on your best behavior?" Manny said.

"O-Okay." Luz said, watching her mom wrap Boscha's lower leg in gauze.

"Well, that will stop the bleeding and heal in a few weeks." Camila said, "You may have a bit of a limp for a while, though."

"Mmm-kay." Boscha struggled to speak through pained whimpers. "Th-thank you... muh-miss..."

"Just call me Camila, dear." She then gestured to the other Nocedas observing them. "You've also met mi marido, Manny, and this here is our own little girl, Luz."

Luz looked up to Manny, unsure of what to do.

"It's fine, mija..." Her father assured her. "...go on and say hi."

The small human carefully approached their guest and slowly waved her hand, not wanting to surprise her.

"H-hi... I, uhh, I'm Luz. Luz Noceda. Nice to meet you."

"Hello. I'm Boscha." Her eyes lit up at Luz's friendly greeting. All three of them. The shock of seeing them caused Luz to stumble backwards.

"Yeah, we'll need to cover that up somehow." Manny told Camila.