Legacy: An Owl House story

Aftermath (the first time)

Trigger warning: mentions/evidence of self-harm, mentions of abuse

The town Willow led Natalie through seemed acutely aware of her presence. She couldn't make out any actual words, but she knew all eyes were on her. She didn't mind, being used to being the subject of... less than pleasant occurrences, but it drove her crazy not knowing what it was they were saying. Curiosity was her one weakness. That, and large, climbable surfaces.

"Well, here we are," Willow announced as they came up to a rather large building. 

Sure enough, there were enough windows to be scaled all the way up to the roof.

"I'm guessing this is some sort of apartment complex?" Natalie guessed. "Unless your parents are rich and own the whole place."

Willow chuckled. "No, you're right. It's a sort of apartment. We do have the best view out the window though."

She walked up to the door and used what seemed to be a spare key to open the door. She led Natalie up the stairs a few stories until they came to a door with the number 27 on it. Using the same key as before, Willow opened the door and called, "I'm home! And I have a guest!"

An older, male witch with dark skin and a goatee leaned into the room and smiled at the sight of his daughter. Willow smiled as well and ran up to hug her father.

After the quick hug, the man looked at Natalie. "Oh! I heard the news, but didn't expect to meet a human so soon. My name is Eugene, Eugene Park. And what would your name be?"

"I-I'm Natalie, Natalie McKagan," she replied with a slight nod, extending her hand.

"We were all paired up with a human at school today, and I got Natalie," Willow told her dad. "Also, apparently humans also use handshakes for greetings and not just deals."

"Oh, well in that case," Eugene said, shaking Natalie's hand with a firm grip. "Please excuse the mess, we weren't expecting company."

Natalie took her first real look around the apartment, but couldn't quite tell what Eugene was talking about when he said "mess." There were a few plants on the windowsill, excepted of a Plant Witch like Willow, and a few family pictures here and there, but nothing to constitute a mess.

"Sammy, come in here and meet Willow's new friend!" Eugene called into what Natalie guessed was the kitchen.

"One moment please!" a male voice called back. "Dinner isn't going to prepare itself, especially now that I'm cooking for one more, I'm assuming?"

Eugene looked back at Natalie. "Oh yes, I forgot. Will you be staying for dinner?"

Natalie tilted her head, unsure what to say. So she simply looked at Willow.

"Actually," the witchling said, "if it's alright, I offered for Natalie to... stay here for a while until better living options become available for her."

"Well, other than the lack of an available bed, I don't see why not," Eugene replied. "Why don't you two get ready for dinner? It's spinach tonight."

"Alright, thanks, Dad!" Willow replied happily before signaling for Natalie to her room.

"It was nice meeting you," Natalie said as she followed Willow. "And thanks for letting me stay here!"

Once they were in Willow's room, Natalie immediately noted all the plants and other botanic materials Willow had. She'd had minimal exposure to Willow's plant magic that day, but she seemed really enthusiastic about plants, trees, and just nature overall.

"Um, I was kinda hoping to change out of my uniform, so..." Willow said sheepishly.

After a brief moment, Natalie realized what she meant. "Oh! Yeah, of course," she replied, turning to face the wall. "Thanks again for, you know, letting me..."