#flapjack: -chirp chirp-

[hyperfixated-chaos]

Can't get over the fact that Sir Golden "parkour pro chasing after Luz to get back his staff, including literally scaling a wall" Guard literally just fell down a bunch of stairs while wondering out loud if they were an illusion. Hunter, how much sleep have you been getting??

[litfeathers]

So this is what I pictured when it was revealed that Evelyn basically used her cool bird to get Caleb's attention.

The music was the Thanks to Them OST.

[transpanda-1]

🌗Some people write Flapjack as still surviving in a sense in Hunter’s psyche or soul or something, but let’s go a step further

Flapjack fronting in Hunter’s body as The Owl Beast fronts in Eda’s, funny mute birdy time! They’re making a cozy nest rn and they love their headmates

[gwennhadu-bug]

i love them your honor

[ejacutastic]

single cricket in flapjacks tank grew wings after I threw it in and I cannot find it I've actually never had this happen before I'm fully in hell

[theonlythingimfuckingisstupid]

anyone else think that hunter copies flapjack’s chirps as a stim??

[bird-likes-to-fandom]

I AM NOT OKAY

[wildtornado-o]

This is Tom Riley to me.

[penny-anna]

I have rewatched all of the Owl House in the last two weeks (thank you for that), and it's been a while since I was in the fandom so there may be an obvious answer that I'm missing or forgetting, but do you have any thoughts on Hunter's use of Caleb as an alias during his infiltration of Hexside? Like, was that a subconscious accident? Does Belos talk about Calebs a lot? Is it written in places in the palace? History books? Are there a bunch of memorials for some dude named Caleb in there?

none of the above!! Flapjack suggested it:

the 'chirps' is (presumably) Flapjack saying 'Caleb'.

[milomilesmib]

I just realised something about Hunter and now I'm a wreck.

After "Hollow Mind", when Hunter goes to Hexside in the midst of an anxiety/panic attack when all the trauma of realising he's a grimwalker and his idol is evil and his life is a lie- and Flapjack was with him, probably trying to comfort him while he's panicking and crying about the sheer amount of trauma that he just gained-

Just. The image of Hunter panicking and Flapjack playfully tugging on his hair and chirping and trying to cheer him up because he doesn't like seeing Hunter sad but Hunter just won't move because he's so terrified and lost.

Flapjack was probably the one who brought him his old Emerald Entrails uniform in hopes to comfort him. At the start of "Labyrinth Runners" Flapjack is trying to get a sandwich out of the trash- probably for Hunter- so I'd bet Flapjack is the one who brought him the Hex mix and everything he needed to survive there.

And Hunter lived there alone for what could've been a few days or a week, the trauma fresh in his mind. How many mental breakdowns did he have? How many flashbacks and panic attacks and meltdowns, Flapjack trying to help cheer him up and calm him down for all of them. Probably a lot.

And he's described as looking "sickly" by Emira in "Labyrinth Runners" which could've been from restless sleep, his mental state, the quality of food he was getting (not great)- but also I know from personal experience dealing with that amount of trauma in that amount of time can make you look unwell.

And imagine- with the idea of Hunter becoming a student of Hexside- Hunter going back into that room where he spent days with Flapjack as his only comfort and just. Melting down as soon as he steps in. Because yeah, he wasn't well, but he was living in relative safety and calm with Flapjack and now Flapjack is gone and the amount of trauma he was feeling back then feels like nothing compared to what he feels by the end of the series.

Basically I'm crying over Hunter again. And I miss Flapjack.

Edit: y'all should see my self rb to see the art that triggered this post because it's so ouchies

[hunter-kitten]

hi! could i request a story where a gn!human!reader introduces hunter to the human custom of back scritches? :3

hehe this was fun to write! Thanks for the prompt. (I wrote it during class 🤭)

Scratchies! Hunter x gn! Human! Reader!

“Hunter?” You ask, walking down to the basement. You had been trying to finish a homework assignment but his bird kept trying to get your attention. “Your bird wants something!” The bird lays on your shoulder, clearly comfortable.

You get to the bottom of the stairs and find him on the floor, laying on his back.

“Oh! Uh, Hey Y/N.” He quickly gets up, clearly embarrassed. “Flapjack! Quit bothering them.��

Flapjack chirps and begins to pull your hair, pulling you closer to the boy. “Ow!” Standing only inches away from him, your face begins to turn slightly red.

“Flap! Apologize! I’m sorry y/n.”

“No, no. It’s fine..” flapjack flies towards Hunter and lands on his shoulder. “I should be heading back upstairs now.. sorry for disrupting whatever you were doing.”

He sighs and nods his head, with his hand placed behind his neck. “Yeah..”

It kind of sounded like something was bothering him, but you were unsure whether to ask. Unlike your little sister Luz, you were a bit more shy and had a harder time talking to others.

“Is something bothering you hunter? You sound a bit troubled.”

His cheeks turn red, and he smiles sheepishly. “Nothing! I’m um.. fine. no need to worry about me y/n!” Luz had told you about his past and how he was basically a child solider. She said he had a hard time opening up, and that he was a “sad boy.”

For some reason, you felt a sudden determination to help him. “C’mon hunter. Maybe I can help. I won’t judge. Promise.” Maybe that’s why flapjack was trying to get your attention. So you could help him! He lets out a long sigh. “Okay, fine. I have this.. itch on my back. And I can’t reach it.” He gives flapjack a frown, and the bird chirps. You begin to giggle, smiling at him. “Lemme guess, you were too embarrassed to ask the others for help?”

He nods his head, and then looks away. “I don’t want to bother them! And I know Luz would probably make fun of me or something.” Yeah, she probably would.

“Here I’ll help. Sit down on the couch.” You two walk towards the small couch and he sits down. “Now, face the wall.”

“What..”

“Just do it silly.”

He turns around, facing the wall.

Flapjack chirps happily, and sits on Hunter’s head.

“I don’t know how you guys do it back in the demon realm, but I’m going to introduce you to the human custom of.. back scratchies!”

“Back huh?!”

You begin to scratch his back. His ears begin to turn red. “Tell me where it bothers you. Here?”

“Lower.”

You move your hands lower and begin to scratch. “There?”

He stays quiet, with his eyes closed and a slight smile on his face. It’s clear that you found the itch that had been bothering him. After a solid five minutes you stop.

“Better?”

“Yeah.. Thanks Y/N.”

[writing-fanics]

⁂ starry eyed ⁂

✦ Hunter X Collector!Reader ✦

[Chapter One: It Takes Time]

next chapter

[a/n: reader is the older sister to the collector, hunter maybe out of character but even if he is it makes for great moments here]

Everyone is seated at the dining room table, and Camila looks at everyone as she takes in everything she's just heard. "Okay, so in the Demon Realm, you fought the evil Emperor Belos who turned into a monster..." She says, looking at everyone.

"Well, he started out human." Gus added, "Right, but he was defeated by a newer, smaller bad guy?" She asked, still taking it all in. She never expected such a world and things to actually exist.

"The Collector." Willow said, and [Y/n] could feel everyone looking at her when she said that, so she brought her knees to her chest. Placing the hood on her robe over her head, hiding her face from everyone.

"We don't know what he is or how Belos found him," Willow added, looking over at Camila. Luz looked up panicked, "Who knows if we'll ever figure that out?! But they're creating a lot of chaos." Luz says, panicked. "We have to do whatever it takes to get back," Amity says, placing her hand on Luz's shoulder.

Camila looks at them, "And you will. But for now, you should all rest. You're all safe here." She says, to them and [Y/n] just keeps her head down. She felt unease in the house as if she didn't belong like no one wanted her here knowing she too is a collector.

It was while everyone was settling down, she went outside and to the side of the house. She sniffled, as hugged her knees to her chest. She didn’t blame them for not trusting her. Why should they? She’s a collector they’ve seen firsthand what her younger sibling is capable of, what they’re capable of being collectors, yet, why does it hurt so much? Is she trying too hard? Not trying hard enough? What is she doing wrong? Is she the problem?

Tears brimmed her eyes, as she stared at the ground. Hugging her knees tighter as her mind wandered. “Maybe, I don’t deserve their trust.” She mumbled, sniffling as she stared at the ground. Watching, as a single butterfly landed on the grass in front of her.

“You okay?” A voice asked, from around the corner of the house. She quickly, wiped away her tears and turned towards the voice, Hunter. She stayed silent, hugging her knees to her chest and turning her head away from him.

He sat down next to her, “Having, trouble making friends Huh?” He asked, and stayed quiet but he could hear her faintly mumble something into her knees.

“I had trouble too.” He said, looking at the ground he could’ve sworn he noticed her looking at him then, looking back towards the ground.

“At the time I never interacted with anyone the same age as me.” He said, and she slowly turned to look at him. “Making, I struggled a lot it took time for me to let them in and open up.” He said, just as a little cardinal landed on his lap.

She turned to look towards the bird, “But, if it wasn’t for Flapjack here.” He said, gently petting the bird. “I wouldn’t have the friends I have now.” He said, and she looked at him slowly lifting her head.

“Even with Flapjack, it still took time and even still I messed up sometimes. But eventually,” He said, as Flapjack flew towards her and landed on her lap.

Chirping at her she smiled, and gently petted the small bird. “You’ll have friends that’ll stick with you forever.” He said, and she turned towards him smiling softly.

“So, it just takes time?” She asked, and he nodded she smiled softly looking at him.

“Time..” She whispered, she’s been around for centuries probably even longer. Leaning her head against the side of the house, “I’ve been around for centuries, and yet not once, has anyone wanted to be my friend.” She said, looking at him and he looks at her sadly.

She turned her head towards him and smiled, "Thanks, Hunter." She said, and he smiled back at her. She watched as he got onto his feet and reached out his hand for her to take. She bit the corner of her lip and took his hand. Standing to her feet, tripping slightly but being caught by Hunter. Her heart skipped, a beat as she looked up at him her cheeks turning a slight tint of red. Before standing back up and smiling, he leads her back inside the Noceda household.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

For [Y/n], it took her a while to finally befriend everyone. But eventually, they trusted her and realized she was different than her younger sibling. When that day came [Y/n] smiled.

[Y/n]'s eyes widened as she stared at herself in the mirror. Her hands gripped the new clothes on her body, every bit of it an extension of herself and a hint towards her title as a collector. the mixture of light and dark purples, with hints of white, and black.

She opened the door, smiling cheerfully, with a toothy grin. Camila smiled softly, seeing everyone in clothes that suited them. [Y/n] noticed, Hunter wearing a costume matching Flapjack and she couldn't help but smile. Seeing how adorable he looked in the costume.

wait? did she just call Hunter adorable?! her cheeks turned a slight tint of red.

[Y/n] was walking down the hallway toward Luz's bedroom, when she walked passed the bathroom. Looked down, and noticed strands of blonde hair on the ground. Curious she opened the door, wondering what was going on. She froze for a moment seeing a flustered Hunter, struggling to cut his hair.

Sweat ran down his cheeks as he turned to look at her. His eyes widened when seeing her standing in the doorframe. She smiled, at him and told him to sit on the toilet so she could help him. She picked up the scissors and took a few strands of hair, and started cutting. Hunter, had a blush on his face the entire time as she helped him cut his hair.

Hunter placed the jumper cable onto the door knob of the abandoned house. He turned back towards his friends, giving them the thumbs up. While, Gus, Amity, Willow, and Hunter's palismen. Where hamster wheels help charge, and hopefully create a portal to get back home.

Once, the signal was given they started running except Gus' palisman. Everyone watched as a portal began to form at the door but eventually exploded and turned into fire completely disintegrating the door. Everyone stared at it in shock and sadness. Gus ran over waving a fire extinguisher but Vee came up behind him. Taking it out of his hand, squeezing the nozzle aiming it at the fire, and extinguishing it. Luz looked down devastated that it didn't work.

[Y/n] eyes sparkled with wonder as she stared at the rain. Reaching her hand out to touch the droplets that fell from the sky, she chuckled softly, feeling one land in the palm of her hand. She had seen rain before but it was always deadly kind. Just as she was about to step outside. Hunter appeared beside her shaking his head, as he looked outside at the rain curiously.

Until Gus appeared behind knocking him down into the mud. [Y/n] had fallen as well landing on Hunter's waist, her cheeks turned red. As she looked towards him, but snickered seeing his entire head covered in mud the snail added an extra touch.

Willow smiled, seeing her friends having fun for once finally able to have a breather, despite the situation they were in. Camila stood beside her and handed her a Polaroid camera to take a picture of the moment, and she did.

. °•★|•°∵ ∵°•|☆•° .* Next Night . °•★|•°∵ ∵°•|☆•° .*

[Y/n] brought her knees to her chest, as she looked up at the stars in the sky. She missed, her home among the stars. She couldn't stand her younger sibling and what he was doing to the Boiling Isle. All because he wanted to play a game? But she'll never forgive their older siblings the archivists for what they did to her.

"I'll never forgive them for what they did?" She mumbled, into her knees. "Aren't you cold?" a voice asked, and she turned around and noticed, Hunter, walking out with a blanket and holding two cups of hot chocolate.

"Camila, saw you sitting outside and wondered if you were cold." He said, and she smiled softly as he walked over towards her. Handing her the mug, and her eyes sparkled looking at the warm contents in the mug. Seeing, the white marshmallows floating at the top.

"Thanks," She said, and he looked away slightly his cheeks turning red. He then placed, the blanket down beside her and was about to walk back inside, before she stopped him. "Hey, wanna stargaze with me?" She asked, sheepishly she could've sworn her voice cracked slightly. Why is her heart racing all of a sudden? Why did it feel like butterflies were in her stomach?

"U-um, sure." He said, cheeks bright red as he turned and walked back towards her, sitting down beside her. Taking a sip of the hot chocolate. "Surprisingly, your constellations in the Boiling Isles, are quite the same as the ones in the human realm." She said, smiling looking at him. Despite the fact that her heart was pounding against her chest rapidly.

She brought the mug to her lips, took a sip and her eyes sparkled. At how delicious it tasted, Hunter couldn't help but smile seeing this. "Oh, see that one ursa major and ursa minor?" she asked, looking at him as she pointed up at the night sky. "That's in the boiling isles as well," she said, smiling.

Her cheeks, went red revealing she accidentally placed her hand over his hand. She wanted to disappear back into the stars at this moment, both hunter and her locked eyes for a moment. Before looking away from each other embarrassed. "Um, so ah, whats It like being a collector?" He asked, and she looked at him and shrugged her shoulders.

"It's ah, okay, i guess. If you like being alone forever not having any friends and if you do, watchingthemdiecauseyourbasicallyan immortalbeing." She rambled, and he looked at her and she stopped for a moment and looked at him. "Sorry, that's the one thing I know I'll have to live with." She said, looking down.

"Watching the ones you love fade away with time?" He asked, and she nodded sadly. "Well, that's a long way away so you don't have to worry about that." He said, and she shook her head, "100 years is a blink in an eye for me." She said, looking into the cup of hot chocolate.

"I don't wanna be alone again," She said, tears brimming her eyes, and he knew that one day she'd still be alive and he, Luz, Willow, will all be gone. She wouldn't have anyone else to call her friend. Hunter placed the mug onto the grass and held up his pinkie finger. "What're you doing?" She asked, and he smiled looking at her, "I promise, that I'll stay with you for as long as I can." He said, blushing as he looked at her and she stared at him in shock.

"You making a promise with a collector huh?" She said, smiling mischievously, "I accept," She said, blushing as she wrapped her pinkie around his. Pulling away, she wrapped the blanket around them both blushing profusely, as they looked up at the stars. Hunter hesitantly leans his head onto her shoulder and her heart skips a beat. She smiles, and continues to tell him about the stars, and what it was like for her living amongst them.

End Chapter [Part One]

taglist

@supernerdycookietrashblr

[owlish-owlhouse]

Hey hi!! Have you seen the new owl house ep? If not, ignore this til you do please, because my ask includes a little spoiler lol

So, can you do a short story of hunter x reader ( preferred nonbinary:) ) where, instead of hunter getting possessed it's the reader? How do you think hunter would handle that??

Sorry if Its not spasific:) I rlly love ur writing!!!!<3

Hunter stared at you in horror as you smiled at him. But that wasn't your smile it was Beloses. Those weren't your eyes. They were Beloses.

"Hello Hunter." And that wasn't your voice. It was Beloses.

He was speaking through you, he was using you. Just like he used him. "what... What did you do to them?" Hunter stuttered in a quiet voice as he held FlapJack close staring at what you'd become. What Belos had done to you.

"I... Made some improvements. Do you like?" Hunter starting shaking staring at what should be you but wasn't you. Your body, your form, but in Beloses twisted image.

His evil curse seeping out of you, corrupting you. Green curling around your arms, legs, chest, and face digging and scarring your skin. Long claws and fangs distorting the features that once brought Hunter comfort. You gentle touch, your soft smile. Gone.

"I... I you..." Hunter starts to whisper beginning to lose himself. His hands come up to his hair and as he pulls at it his eyes are wide with tears. FlapJack transforms and begins to chirp at him but he's not listening too much in shock to respond. As your shadow looms over Hunter, antlers sprout from your head overwhelming him as he falls to his knees unable to breathe.

He begins hyperventilating and they... he... it... you smile softly.

"Awww what's wrong?" You... Belos questions as he gets closer. His steps echoing in Hunters head even as he tries to scoot backwards. "You're being so rude to your friend Hunter."

"You're not my friend! You're not them!" He screeches standing up ready to fight you. Flapjack chirps turning back into a staff and as Hunter points it at you... Belos... He can't do it. He can't hurt you.

"Oh but I am." You, it, him snarl and Hunter feels the tears drip down his cheeks as FlapJack glowed gold. But you were...

[cubicle-eyes]

A Little Longer

Hunter Noceda x M!Reader

Anon asked ...

"just read your latest hunter piece and it is so cute!! touch is my love language and i loved how you wrote it in that fic, and was wondering if you could write more with reader giving hunter lots of physical affection?? ^w^ like playing with his hair, scratching his back, massaging his shoulders, rubbing his back until he falls asleep...just generally pampering him after he's had a tiring day :) this boy deserves all the love <3"

On it!~

Song while writing:

[ Set somewhere in Thanks to Them, before Halloween ]

---

"Hunter? You still sewing?"

Y/N stuck his head over the banister of the basement stairs, looking over at his boyfriend as he kept sewing patches into the jacket. He glanced up, then went back to pushing the jacket under the needle.

"Yeah. What's up?"

"Nothing," Y/N hummed, coming all the way down the stairs and pulling an extra chair up in front of the desk with the sewing machine- careful to avoid the jacket as it flowed over the edge. He smiled as Hunter stuck the tip of his tongue out in concentration.

"You having fun there?"

Hunter flushed, pausing the machine. He glared at Y/N, pursing his lips.

"Yes I am, actually."

Y/N scoffed playfully, standing and moving behind Hunter. Hunter sat up in his seat and his back audibly cracked as he stretched. Y/N blinked at the noise.

"Have you been sitting all hunched over like that since dinner?" He took Hunter's hands before they could drop to his sides, holding them out to the side to make sure Hunter paid attention to him. The blonde huffed, grinning sheepishly as he leaned his head back, the crown of his head hitting Y/N's stomach. He didn't try and hide the way he nuzzled back to feel more of Y/N against him.

"Yeah. I was focused!"

"You're gonna hurt your back worse than that time at the Knee. When you-"

"When I crashed into the tree on Flapjack, yeah, I remeber." He shook his head, trying to pry himself from his boyfriends hands so he could go back to working. Flapjack chirped, as if to acknowledge the story. He seemed to be laughing.

"Take a break. You can go right back after a minute."

Hunter looked unconvinced, and Y/N let his hands go. When he leaned back over, smirking, he winced. Y/N clicked his tongue.

"Oh, does your back hurt? Like I just said?"

"Alright, alright. What else should I do?"

Hunter stood up, sounding snappy but grinning fondly as he crossed his arms, feigning sass. Y/N rolled his eyes pushing Hunter's forehead affectionately.

"Alright, smartass. Sit down, on your sleeper."

"It's a sleeping bag."

"Same thing!" Y/N laughed. Hunter sat down, crossing his legs and folding his hands in his lap. Y/N sat down behind him, hugging him from behind and pulling him closer to fill in the space between them. Hunter giggled, leaning his head back to Y/N's shoulder. The slightly taller of the two pressed a few Kisses to Hunter's cheek, nuzzling into the space between his jaw and shoulder. He pulled away all at once and Hunter laughed again.

"What are you doing?"

"Lovin' on you. Let me rub your back."

"Seriosuly?" He sighed, yet he still got situated in front of Y/N. The blonde leaned back slightly when Y/N started running his hands over his sweater, and Y/N chuckled.

"Here, slip this off. I'm gonna grab that coconut-lavender lotion that puts you to sleep."

"I'm not a baby." Hunter scoffed, slipping the yellow knit off and tossing it on the couch as Y/N sat back down with the purple bottle.

"You're my baby." Y/N teased, running his fingers through Hunter's hair and pressed another kiss to his cheek. Hunter blushed lightly.

"That doesn't count."

Flapjack fluttered around Hunter's head, then flew upstairs. Hunter tilted his head slightly.

"What do you think he's doing?"

"I don't know. Maybe he's just taking a break. I'm gonna start now, alrighty?"

"Alrighty." He huffed in amusement, leaning back against Y/N's hands as they worked on his back, easing the smaller knots before conquering the bigger ones. He sighed as Y/N worked on his shoulder blades, wincing slightly. Y/N eased up on the area automatically.

"No, no, you're fine. Just feels weird, you know?"

"What, you never had a a massage before? Man, you're missing out."

"Har har." Hunter rolled his eyes and Y/N chuckled.

"Luz says they have massage chairs at their mall. Camila said she might drive us up there after Halloween."

"..are we going to be here that long?"

The question stilled the atmosphere and

Y/N stilled for a moment before starting on the last knot in his back.

"I don't know." He said finally, using the heel of his hand to work the spot. Hunter winced and Y/N apologized. "I.. don't think we'll be home anytime soon. The portal isn't.. going well."

"Yeah." Hunter yawned, then snapped his head to the side to glare at Y/N.

"You tricked me didn't you?"

"What?" Y/N asked, grinning innocently. "No!"

"Yes you did!" Hunter laughed, leaning back do Y/N had to hold his weight with his palms, now that Hunter's back and completely relaxed. Y/N scoffed.

"Yeah, maybe a little bit. I didn't expect it to work." Y/N admitted. Hunter sat back up, stretching to reach his sweater.

He pulled it back on and yawned again, flopping backwards so his head landed on Y/N's lap. His arms fanned out to the side and Y/N laughed. He picked the back of Hunter's head up, helping him scoot up on the sleeping bag so Y/N could open it easier. Hunter laughed as Y/N made a spectacle of unzipping it and fanning it open before lying down on his back.

Hunter automatically crawled on top of him, settling for lying on Y/N's abdomen, slotting the rest of his body between Y/N's legs. One of his sock-clad feet rubbed against the side of Hunter's shin as he sighed, running his fingers through Hunter's hair, playing with the strands and scratching his scalp gently. Hunter hummed, then it turned into a giggle. He propped his chin up on Y/N's stomach carefully so he wouldn't accidentally hurt him.

"I love you. Thank you for the massage."

"Of course, Hunter, it was fun. I love you too." He sat up slightly and Hunter got the message, leaning up so they could press a kiss together.

There was a loud snap from the stairs, and Hunter jumped like a cat. Willow laughed, and soon so did Gus, Amity, and Luz. Y/N was startled into laughing too, falling backwards and covering his face as Hunter stood, face flushed red. There was Flapjack, positioned on Willow's head and looking smug.

"Flapjack! Give me that- Picture!"

He laughed, running up the stairs and after their friends. Y/N laughed to himself from the sleeping bag, rubbing his own scalp to get over the sudden adrenaline rush from being surprised like that.

Titan, he wished they were going to stay here for a little longer.

---

I relally like this actually! I hope you do too, anon!!

💙

[glyhpsrfvckincol]

If requests are open can I request Hunter x reader hcs in which his S/O is really sensitive to loud and sudden noises but also likes quieter calming noises (heartbeats, purring, wind/water, etc)

Thanks if you do! ^^

Sensitivity || Hunter Noceda

Synopsis - Hunter Noceda helping his sensitive hearing s/o.

Warnings - Mention of screaming. Mention of Mommy kink. Teasing.

Request are opened; headcanons only

↳ He understands to a certain degree. He doesn’t like people suddenly yelling.

↳ Hunter didn’t know that it was more than yelling that set you off though.

↳ He learned this when he dropped a pot in Camila’s kitchen. T_T

↳ He felt so bad.

↳ Just held you and apologised a few million times. Very quietly.

↳ Also, someone talking suddenly, specifically someone he didn’t know was there scares the wood bones out of him.

↳ Hunter gets flustered easily. Trust me, this is helpful.

↳ This makes his heart rate go faster.

↳ Just rest your head on his chest. He’ll become flushed, which would immediately increase his heart rate, slightly amplifying its sound and becoming even more calming.

↳ Will just fly you over the ocean on Flapjack. The sound of the water and the blowing wind. No talking, unless you instigate it first .

↳ Hunter also finds peace in these moments. Just you, him and FlapJack, who eventually becomes Waffles :(

↳ I just made myself sad, I’m so sorry😭

↳ In the human realm, he def would ask amity to burrow Ghost so you could hear her purrs. She agrees to this under one condition.

↳ She gets to tease Hunter. It only lasts 20 minutes because she gets bored.

↳ Hunter really hopes bird Chirps is a sound you like and that doesn’t overstimulate you.

↳ If rain is a good sound, he’ll just sit outside or by the window with you while you do whatever.

↳ Hunter will cover you’re ears while you sleep if you’re an incredibly light sleeper.

↳ Does anyone else hate the sounds of certain words? My friend speaks Cantonese and a particular sound bothers me. I don’t know why 😭

↳ And nails being dragged down chalk boards!

↳ Hunter will ask people to be quiet if there’s too much noise.

↳ “Luz, whatever game you’re playing, I KNOW for a fact it doesn’t need this much noise. Shut up!”

↳ Sassy siblings.

↳ If you like his voice {Lets be honest, who doesn’t?}, he’ll read you Cosmic Frontiers.

↳ With the book, The Good Witch Azura, he’d prefer Amity reading to you as Luz is very loud. Maybe he might read it to you.

↳ Listening to him learn Spanish I believe would be so calming. Like damn bro, it’s pronounced Mami, not mommy-

↳ Firm believer Hunter has a mommy kink.

↳ If time is set before Kings Tide, Hunter would tease you occasionally. Fucking hypocrite-

↳ But I digress, Hunter will always try to help you with your sensitive ears, just give the boy a bit of a direction.

[sea-creature-things]

Grimwalker things

Chapter 2: Palismen

Hunter has a special bond with the Palismen. It’s cuz he’s BUILD DIFFERENT. Literally.

This chapter was very fun to make. I gave Flapjack some old man-wisdom. Ghost is just like Amity. Clover is just a sweetheart and Emmiline is… unique.

You can read here under the cut. Or on AO3 eith this link:

It has been 3 weeks since they arrived in the human realm. The teeth incident was still fresh on Hunter’s mind. Another thing to keep him up at night. Not of the nightmare variety though, which was nice. This was just embarrassing.

And it was making him think about the whole Grimwalker-business. He definitely didn’t need more of that.

It was Friday and 6 am, but Hunter had been awake for even longer. Insomnia sure was fun! He got out of bed quietly, to not disturb Gus on the couch beside him.

He wanted his thoughts to steer clear of the Grimwalker topic. Or his uncle… or the fate of the Boiling Ilses, Darius, Eda, if they could even find a way back home-

So, he did things around the house. It had become his role here. Not officially, nobody wanted him doing this. But he did it anyway.

He wanted to be useful.

He wanted to keep Camila happy. Who wouldn’t be happy with a clean, organised house?

Besides, he liked doing it. It was a healthy distraction, like Luz always says. So he dusted every corner of the house, cleaned the kitchen several times and put everything where it belonged. Vee even taught him how to do the laundry, but it was still extremely early. Only quiet cleaning for now.

The bright, summer sun was slowly coming up. Would that make it 6:30 now? The sun rays through the curtains gave the room a warm energy. The natural lighting was a very welcome change.

It also lit up the clouds in various different colours. It reminded him of home, those purples and oranges. But they weren’t they same. The human realm was a lot more peaceful.

He didn’t trust it.

He wanted to, but this place still didn’t feel real. Every failed attempt at a portal, grounded them more. Every block in their creativity, made it feel so permanent. And it made him feel guilty.

His missed home, but he wasn’t really in a hurry to go back. He was sad, but not for himself. He would never in his life tell the others! He felt awful for wanting to stay here longer.

In this peaceful house.

The sun had another benefit, it made more dust particles visible. Which Hunter was actually grateful for. His brain was starting to wonder again. Not. Enjoyable.

He could technically also talk to distract himself, because he wasn’t alone. Flapjack and Ghost were keeping him company. And judging him.

Which is why he didn’t really feel like talking to them. Giving them the excuse that they needed to be silent. He had promised Amity no noise before 7 am after all. She is the lightest of sleepers.

But if those forbidden topics were barging back in... Ghost headbutted his shin. She had decided for him.

“Put the duster down, nerd.” She meowed.

“Don’t go stealing Amity’s nicknames now,” Hunter whispered back, “please.”

The white cat palisman licked his ankle. Her sandpaper tongue made him jump back, giggling. It meant that her name-calling was out of love, much like her witch.

“Put it down!" She meowed again.

"Stop cleaning, Hunter." Flapjack chirped. He flew down from the fridge onto the counter in front of his witch.

Both of them were now looking at him with even more judgement. Hunter didn’t think that was possible for a bird and a cat, but here they were. He sighed.

The fact he could understand Ghost at all was making his brain go places. Flapjack was his palisman, they had a strong bond and always knew each others intentions.

The fact he could talk with him proved that. However, he was able to talk with the others as well. He has understood every active palisman he’s ever come across.

He used to think it was normal, but learned his lesson quite early on. His commander back then thought he bonded with the deer palisman they were "retrieving", just because he—

Doesn’t matter.

It’s a Grimwalker thing.

So he’s been careful about talking to Ghost, Clover or Emmiline while their witches were around. One more thing he was hiding from them.

He hated this! At this point he would rather have a nightmare.

“Do something fun, find something else to distract.” Flapjack chirped.

“Read a book.” Ghost purred. “You nerd!”

“Not a bad suggestion,” Hunter said, “still don’t like that name though.”

“A tree can’t change its home.” Flapjack said amused, as he landed in his hair.

“What does that even mean?” Hunter walked over to the living room. Camila’s book collection was fair game. She had promised him many times.

“It means I can call you a nerd, because you are one.” Ghost mewed, bouncing alongside him. Flap confirmed it with a strong chirp.

“Alright alright, I get it.” He picked out a book on fossils. “But cleaning is not a bad distraction.”

“There is literally nothing left to clean.” The cat climbed on his lap the moment he sat down on the couch.

Ah. This was his fate now. They had successfully trapped him.

“There’s always dust.” Hunter mumbled.

“I am going to break that duster one day.” Flapjack settled comfortably in the blonde locks. Comfortable for him at least.

“Please don’t. It is Camila’s, she'd be very mad at me.”

“She wouldn’t be mad at you.” Ghost reassured him.

“Camila is a very nice lady.” Flapjack bonked him on the head with his beak. “And a spectacular mother.”

“Yes… I know, but still—” Hunter sighed. He played with the pages, not yet able to focus on the text. “Luz is very lucky.”

Ghost licked his hand. Hunter giggled again, jerking his hand away from her.

“Stop licking me!”

“Well hello there~” Gus came into the living room. Instantly in a good mood, seeing his bro so cheery. To Hunter, he came out of nowhere.

“Gus! Uh- good morning. Did I wake you up? Im sorry-“

“Nah, I just woke up on my own. It’s almost 7 ya know.” Gus said nonchalantly. He knew how to calm his friend.

“Oh.” Hunter relaxed. The house had finally entered the world of the living. Rest easy now, brain.

“Watcha reading?” His best friend came up to scratch both palismen under the chin.

“It’s a book about fossils.”

“Oh cool! Are human fossils very different from ours?”

“I don’t know… I haven’t actually read anything yet.”

“Oh. Well you do that then. I’m gonna grab some juice.” Gus said as he walked towards the kitchen.

“Do you need help?” Hunter gestured to Ghost to get off. Going non-verbal now that the others were waking up. She refused.

“No, I think I got it!” Gus laughed from down the hall.

“Read, nerd.” Ghost meowed lovingly.

Hunter reluctantly did as he was told. He’d have to combat her name calling later. Not that he really minded, he never felt hurt whenever Amity did it, but 3 times in 1 morning was a bit much.

Gus came back from the kitchen, two glasses of juice in hand. He didn’t bother asking Hunter if he wanted one two. The answer would always be no, when he meant to say yes.

He joined him on the couch and they looked at the pictures of human dinosaurs together. Discussing the similarities with their own extinct reptiles. A few minutes later, Amity and Vee appeared in the doorway.

“Hey nerds!”

Hunter couldn’t help the desperate sigh that escaped his mouth. The girls looked at him funny. He looked away embarrassed. He could just feel Ghost’s evil grin radiating from his lap.

“Good morning.” Vee chuckled.

Gus greeted them both. He showed Vee the book, but she had already read it and subsequently showed him her favourite page.

“So the ‘hey nerds’ was warranted.” Amity smirked. “What was that sigh for?”

Hunter met her eyes awkwardly. Her sassy expression matching perfectly with Ghost’s entire being. He’s been called a nerd 4 times in a very short amount of time. So his sigh was just as warranted.

“Flap has been calling me a nerd all morning.” He lied. The bird bonked him on the head for blaming him.

The actual culprit made a ‘mmrrrp’ sound. The white fluffy monster was laughing at them! Then she climbed down to greet her witch.

“You guys wanna have breakfast? Luz and Willow won’t be here for a while.” Vee said.

At that moment, Camila walked in. Hunter’s first instinct was to grab the book from Gus. It took an embarrassing amount of effort to ignore that instinct.

“Good morning kids,” She said cheery. They all said their good morning’s back. “I heard something about breakfast?”

“Yes, because those sleepyheads will take at least 2 more hours.” Amity laughed.

“Luz is usually a morning person,” Gus interjected, looking at Vee amused. “Did you swap or something?”

“No!” Vee crossed her arms with a playfully sour expression on her face. Then her face dropped and her voice got more serious. “Luz actually didn’t sleep well last night...”

She looked at Camila carefully, Hunter couldn’t help but do the same. Amity tapped the basilisks arm, she was probably not supposed to say that.

“Another nightmare?” Camila asked, but she knew the answer. She had one of those ‘worried mom’ expression that they saw very often. Hunter hadn’t been able to place them at first, being extremely foreign to him.

But Camila quickly had one reserved for him too. Luz had to explicitly tell him she wasn’t angry, just worried. He didn’t know how to feel about it yet.

“Poor girl.” Flapjack’s chirp was the only thing that could be heard, because the room was filled with an awkward silence. “You should talk to her.”

Hunter scratched his feathers to discretely tell him he understood. He would try, Luz was more likely to talk to him about her nightmares. Maybe because he had them too? Hunter didn’t feel like he could really help her though.

“Oh, is that ‘Guide through the Fossil Record’ you have there?” Camila finally broke the silence. She pointed at the book in Gus’s hands.

“Yes!” Hunter shot up. “I took it to pass the time, I hope that is alright.”

“That is quite alright, Hunter.” Camila reassured him once more. “You can take any book you like.”

Amity’s understanding look was a lot better than Ghost’s pitiful one. Vee gave him some grace by ignoring him, talking to Gus about her favourite fossil again.

“So breakfast then?” Amity asked.

“Yes, let’s do that. Does anybody want eggs?” Camila rubbed her hands, ready to make breakfast just a little bit more special.

Hunter smiled politely. He did want eggs, but of course he didn’t say anything. Gus slung an arm over his shoulders, making him bend down quite a bit.

“We do!” He called out enthusiastically. Forever his saviour when it came to asking for things.

———

“Good morning.” Luz yawned as she entered the kitchen. She saw her mom and her friends (except Willow) all at the table. They greeted and welcomed her, but were already done with breakfast.

“Feeling better sleepyhead?” Amity kissed her on the cheek when Luz sat down next to her.

She nodded and returned the kiss. She still felt horrible, but an itty bitty bit better. And that’s what her girlfriend asked.

Clover and Emmiline had hitched a ride on her. Luz appreciated the company after a night like that.

“There you are buddy~” Gus cooed as his palisman stepped on his hand.

Clover flew over to Hunter and Flap. She buzzed up a storm when she joined the little cardinal in the blonde nest.

“Aye que lindo~” Camila cooed and the kids laughed. Hunter felt his face get hot from embarrassment.

Still, he’d never tell the precious creatures to leave. He had accepted his fate as ‘palisman free real estate’ long ago. Besides, Clover was always fun to be around.

He understood the constant buzzing and was trying his best to hide it. Apparently, Clover had tried to get her witch out of bed early for once. It didn’t go well. It was near impossible for him to not laugh as Clover described the things Willow miraculously slept through.

Buzzing next to her ear, sticking a paw in her nose, tickling her nose with bee-fuzz. He could clearly picture it.

The bee had even considered dropping something heavy on her. Luckily for the unaware witch, Luz came to the rescue. Or ‘disrupted her creative process’, as Clover saw it.

The aforementioned saviour looked at him curiously. Luz knew. She also knew he wanted to hide it. In her opinion, he was scared for nothing.

They would all think it was awesome he could talk with their palisman. A sharp pang of jealousy shot through her heart. ‘Their palismen’. That didn’t include her.

“Should we wake Willow?” Hunter asked.

“I’m NOT doing that again!” Vee burst out. Whatever she was doing was put on abrupt hold.

“Have you learned nothing?” Gus joined her passion.

“I still haven’t fixed that hole in the wall.” Camila mummed, squinting over her coffee.

“Sorry Mami…” Luz laughed awkwardly and her mom ruffled her hair.

“It’s alright Mija. When you live with 4 witches it was bound to happen.”

“Yeah…” Amity laughed in the exact same way as her girlfriend, “so not a good idea.”

“Luckily you don’t have to.” Willow chimed in as she entered the kitchen. “Also, I’m still very sorry about the wall.”

The group greeted her. Camila also reassured her about the wall again. She offered to fix it together to make her feel better. The plant witch happily agreed.

“I’ll make you two some eggs.” Camila got up, taking the empty pan from the table.

“You had eggs? Without me?” Luz gasped in fake-offence. She got up and put a hand to her forehead, like a Regency woman about to faint.

“How dare they. Such betrayal!” Willow joined her demeanour. Interlocking her fingers with her bestie. Those historical romance movies were leaving their mark.

The girls hooked their arms together, turned around dramatically and walked those 4 feet to the stove as fancy as they could.

At the table were 4 sets of eye-rolls. But they couldn’t say they weren’t amused. Amity snickered lightly and Hunter chuckled into his hand.

“Does that count?” Willow spun around and pointed at him. Then looked at Gus overjoyed. “Does that count for the game?”

“Sure!” Gus laughed. He smirked wide at his bro, whose expression soured. Hunter pouted and crossed his arms. This game was ridiculous if you asked him. “One point for Luz and Willow, I’ll write it down later.”

“We’re still behind Flap though.” Luz giggled.

“It’s not fair, he’s too cute!”

After the girls finished their breakfast the group got to talking about their plans. They wanted to do something fun and Camila came up with an idea. She offered to take them to the mall since she had an unexpected free day. Gus was insanely excited to explore and soon enough everyone matched his energy.

Except Luz.

She was smiling and cheerfully talking, sure, but she seemed off somehow. Hunter knew what Luz was normally like. She clearly wanted to go, but was apprehensive for some reason. He could guess what it was.

Willow and Vee, under leadership of Gus, ran upstairs to get out of their pyjamas. Camila followed at a calmer pace, after looking down at her bathrobe and fluffy slippers. Amity wanted to follow them too, but stopped in her tracks.

“Are you coming?” She asked Luz.

She had also noticed her girlfriend’s attitude was not as bubbly as it normally would be. Luz loved getting out of the house to show her friends the human realm.

“Oh I’m all set!”

She showed off her lame cat-hoody with pride. A black cartoon cat was on it, with the text ‘cats are clawsome’.

“Um.. alright.” Amity reluctantly agreed. She couldn’t think of anything to say. Maybe it’ll be easier for them to talk at the mall.

“I’m also ready to go.” Hunter said, gesturing to his own normal sweater and jeans. “You go change, and I will clean the table.”

“I’ll help!” Luz called out, jumping on her bro. She was doing too much now, looking overly excited, trying to conceal her feelings.

They grabbed the breakfast supplies as Amity went upstairs. The resulting silence while the put stuff back in the cupboards made Luz uncomfortable. Hunter thought it was quite nice, but she felt the need to fill it.

“So~ what did Clover say when she was all upset?” Luz bumped her shoulder into his.

“She was describing very vividly how she tried to wake Willow up early.” He smirked as he patted the little bee.

“Oh yeah,” Luz laughed and patted her too, “Sorry, baby, but that’s mission impossible.”

“So… what’s up with you?” Hunter questioned. Luz turned to him slowly with an uncomfortable expression. Now she missed the silence.

“When did you get so good at that?” She pouted. Hunter shrugged, credit belonged Flapjack for this one. But he had gotten better at it. Somehow.

“I heard you had a nightmare?” Flap was still in his hair, happy that his witch had listened to his advice.

“Who snitched?” Luz joked. She really didn’t appreciate Vee or Amity telling him that. Did they tell her mom? Was she worried?

“Vee did, but go easy on her. You shouldn’t keep those things to yourself.” Clover flew onto his shoulder and Emmi walked upside down on his arm.

“I’d rather tell you myself.” She pouted again. She couldn’t be mad at her kinda-twin for long. Vee never lied to mom and it was probably better to share anyways. She just didn’t want to admit that Blondie was right.

“Then do so.” He said, proud of his wit. He absentmindedly picked up Ghost, holding her like a baby.

Luz looked at the very serious boy covered in tiny magical animals. He looked so happy with his smart-ass respons. She wanted to brake out into a belly laugh. But instead she felt broken.

The nightmare had come back to the forefront of her mind. She thought about how her own palisman couldn’t join them in using Hunter as their playground. They were still stuck in the egg.

She didn’t even know if they were alive.

This sight made her laugh with tears forming in her eyes. It startled Hunter. He fumbled for a second, unsure and concerned.

Then he moved Ghost over to one arm and reached out with his other hand. He held Luz’s head. As she sniffed, he lightly pushed her towards him.

She immediately gave in and moved into the awkward, palismen-filled hug. Her head was resting on his chest and she looked down to Ghost in his arm. She mewed. Luz tickled her belly, laughing weakly through her blurry vision.

“She says ‘there there’.” Hunter translated. Rubbing her hair like she was also a cat. Considering everything, this awkward hug was quite impressive. Luz blinked away her tears and sighed.

“My nightmare was about my palisman. My egg… and Eda.” She paused to wipe her eyes. “I dreamt I was with her, carving the palistrom wood. But this time when I was done, she told me I made a mistake. That I shouldn’t have made it an egg. That I- that I… killed it.”

She pressed her face into Hunter’s chest when the tears filled her eyes again. She regretted telling him now, what if the others walked in? What if her mom saw her like this? Once the floodgates opened, she couldn’t stop.

“It was so messed up! How could my brain make Eda say those things?” Her voice was breaking, she was staining his shirt. She felt Clover rub against her cheek and Ghost licking her hand.

“It’s okay, you’re okay.” Hunter shushed her. “Nightmares are funny like that. They put your fears right in your face in the most horrible, screwed up way possible.”

“Yeah!” Luz turned to Ghost again. But forgot Clover was there, getting a face full of bee. It made Hunter snort. He quickly regained his composure and continued with a gentle voice.

“But don’t worry Luz. Your palisman is alive, I promise.”

“Can you promise that?” She pulled back to look into his eyes.

“I can. I’m sure they are alive. I can feel it.”

“Thanks Hunter!” Luz barrelled back into the hug. It made Flapjack fall off his head. She squeezed his lungs out as the little cardinal chirped aggressively. “Sorry Flap.”

“He says he forgives you.” Hunter smirks. Luz’s chuckle was still weak. She sighed and let go of her friend.

“I’m just so scared something is gonna happen to it.”

“I understand, but listen Luz. Your egg is save. It’ll hatch and you’re gonna show your palisman to Eda.”

Luz looked up at him, smile big and genuine.

“And before that, I’ll guard it with my life.”

The boy covered in magical creatures, shining brightly like the sun, was now back to looking hilarious. Luz broke out into the belly laugh she wanted before. She definitely felt better now.

———

The gang was outside getting ready to get into the car. Luz felt a little restless again. Her talk with Hunter helped a lot, but her fears didn’t just magically disappear. She wondered if there was a spell for that.

She looked at Hunter. He did say he would guard it right? No. No, thats not fair. He should not have to-

“Can I stay here?” Hunter looked at Camila nervously. Standing in the doorway, still half inside.

The kids stopped in their tracks and turned to him confused.

“I want to, uh, take care of the palismen.” He tried to explain. Picking up Emmiline from the ground as he smiled anxiously. “We shouldn’t leave them alone.”

“We’ve left them in the house before.” Gus pointed out confused.

“Ah well yes. That’s true…” Hunter trailed off.

“I understand, but it doesn’t feel right to leave you behind.” Camila tapped her chin. She didn’t want to force this kid to go to the mall. She still struggled with how to treat Hunter.

There was deafening silence. Guilt crept up on Luz, but he smiled at her. Did he really not mind?

“I can stay?” Willow offered suddenly.

“Huh?” Hunter’s eyes shot to her instantly. A tiny blush crept over his face. “No no no, thats not necessary! You wanna go to mall, right? You should go, have fun.”

He waved his hands, laughing awkwardly. He cursed his voice and his face. Titan why?

“I will stay. I’ve been to the mall enough times.” Vee said, snorting at the stupid boy and prodding him in the side. “Plus, it’d be boring without this guy stumbling through stores and cafes.”

Hunter was conflicted between being grateful and offended. He pushed her away with a hand on her face, earning a laugh from the others. Then he remembered Camila was there too and his back straightened.

“Okay, then the problem is solved right?” Amity asked, rearing to go.

“Yup!” Luz took her girlfriend’s hand and led her to the car. Glancing back to give a silent thank you to her bro.

“Are you guys sure?” Gus asked.

“Oh yeah, we’ll be fine.” Vee waved him away.

Willow looked at them confused, silently questioning Hunter if he was really sure. He smiled at her as genuinely as he could muster. She accepted it, and got into the car with Gus.

“I forgot something!” Luz ran back suddenly. Basically running through Hunter and Vee into the house and up the stairs. Hunter walked after her a little bit, watching the stairs from around the corner.

She flew back down holding her egg. She slid to a stop in front of him. Hunter held out his hands and she gratefully put the palisman in them. He saluted her and she beamed at him.

Then she flew past Vee, saying goodbye, and entered the car. The stragglers waved the off, while Hunter kept the egg behind his back. Camila drove off and the gang was in for fun mall-day.

Hunter and Vee retreated into the house. Vee stared at the palisman in his hands while they walked to the living room. Something stirred in her.

“So… What was her nightmare about?” She asked while giving him side-eye.

“I don’t know if I’m allowed to share that.” Hunter looked at her confused.

“Was it about the egg?”

“Vee!”

“Yes or no.”

“That’s not fair, you know I can’t lie!”

“So yes then.”

Hunter gave her a disappointed look. Her behaviour was surprising. And annoying. Where was this coming from?

“Okay, I’m sorry. I was just…” She looked down at her claws. A little ashamed of herself. “I asked her, ya know?”

He did know. It made sense now. Hunter didn’t fully drop his disappointment, but looked at her intrigued. He waited for her to continue.

“She didn’t want to share it with me, but with you it’s like immediate.” Vee made an explosive gesture.

Hunter’s expression softened. An upset Vee wasn’t easy to comfort, but he could understand her.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“I’m not.”

“I was just curious, okay?”

“Sure.”

Vee was about to defend herself, shoulders tense, a finger pointed at him. Basilisk-fury burned in her eyes. Then her arm dropped and she looks more sad than anything.

“I still don’t know if she even likes me.”

“Aww Vee, of course she does!” Hunter put a hand on her shoulder, but removed it slowly when she turned to him irritated. “I mean uh- it’s Luz! She wants to be friends with everyone.”

“I took her place for months!” Vee plopped down on the couch, hugging her tail to her chest. “She said it was okay but what if it really wasn’t? She doesn’t trust me…”

“Just because she didn’t want to talk about her nightmare, doesn’t mean she doesn’t trust you.” Hunter sat down next to her carefully. “It was just a… difficult subject.”

“Then why did she tell you so easily!?” Vee buried her face in her tail with a defeated sigh.

“I don’t know! Probably because of what we’ve been though together.” Hunter tried not to think about the mindscape too much. “Because I get nightmares like that too. And last time, she told me just because I was the only one still awake.”

She still didn’t look fully convinced. Hunter tapped the egg in his lap. Gently running a finger along the grooves.

“Or maybe because I’m a Grimwalker…” He said softly. Vee lifted her head. “She knows palismen are different with me.”

Vee opened her mouth, but couldn’t think of any words. Hunter’s expression was bittersweet. His true identity was a difficult subject too. They rarely talked about it after the reveal.

She had hoped to bond over the fact they were both (part) demon. But she respected his wish to keep it hidden. Maybe this could help him think more positively about being a Grimwalker?

“It’s a pretty cool trait.” She patted the egg. Hunter sighed.

“I don’t know why Luz tells me those things.” He’d rather to stay on the first topic. “But she doesn’t tell Amity either and I’m pretty sure she likes her.”

“You’re right.” Vee giggled. She patted Emmiline as she climbed on the side of his head. “I mean it though, it’s a cool trait to have.”

“Thanks.” Hunter shifted uncomfortably. “I just know it’s not normal.”

“And?” Vee jumped up from the couch. Basilisk-fury returned to her eyes. She shifted into pastel version of Hunter with a clown nose on. “Normal is boring!”

“Hey!” Hunter put the palismen aside to chase her. Which gave Vee a substantial lead, running around the house as clown-Hunter.

They chased each other for a while, the palismen even joined in. Eventually they tired themselves out and Vee retreated to her room to watch a show on her phone.

Hunter wanted to start cleaning again, but Flapjack and Ghost threatened to actually break the duster. So he returned to reading ‘Guide through the Fossil Record’.

He’s always been a fast reader though. Finishing the book under two hours. He put it back on the shelf and boredom took over.

“You look tired.” Clover buzzed.

“He didn’t sleep at all last night.” Ghost mewed at her.

“Thats not true!” Hunter protested. “I slept like 3 hours.”

“That’s still horrible!” Clover flew into his cheek, like a fuzzy punch.

“Yes.” Flap joined his bee friend by pecking his other cheek. “You know that is not a sufficient amount.”

“Yeah, tell em Emmi.” Ghost pushed the chameleon with her nose. The blue palisman stuck out her tongue as her eyes drifted in different directions. “She agrees.”

“Take a nap Hunter.” Flapjack chirped, prodding into Hunter’s cheek again. He averted his eyes with a ‘hmpf’ sound.

“Yes. Nurse Clover demands it.” The little bee said, floating pointedly in his face.

“Nurse Clover?”

“Doctor Flapjack’s orders.” The bird joined in flying in front of his face, to look at him very serious. Hunter just thought they was cute.

“You with them?” He looked at Ghost and Emmiline who had laid down next to the egg.

“With them?” Ghost elegantly crossed her paws. “I run this hospital.”

“I’m a brain surgeon!” Emmiline called out proudly. The other palismen exchanged uneasy glances.

“Yeah… I wouldn’t let you operate.” Hunter tickled her under the chin.

“Anyways.” Clover landed on his knee. “Nap.”

“Yes nurse.” He sighed.

He held Luz’s egg to his stomach and laid down. The carefully carved wood was brimming with potential. Hunter could feel the life softly emanating from the inside. They weren’t quite there yet, but the creature would join them soon enough. And they would be a little menace, just like their witch.

The rest bunched up together and found a place on his legs. Turned out they were right, he drifted off almost immediately.

———

Hunter woke up to giggling and something fluffy in his nose. He heard a camera shutter.

“Shit my sound was on.”

His eyes flew open when he heard Luz. He flinched back, but didn’t get up fully. His head spun from the sudden movement.

He was once again surrounded on the couch. His friends were standing behind the coffee table. Luz was closer in a photographer position with her phone. The giggling had not yet stopped.

Hunter finally investigated the fluffy thing that had been tickling his nose. Ghost. Of course. It seemed he had turned on his back in his sleep, hugging Luz’s egg to his chest. Then the other palisman found their way to curl into his stomach, while Ghost had planted herself in his neck and against his face.

“Welcome back guys.” He yawned when he managed to sit up just enough to lean against the armrest. He snuffed the remaining cat hairs out his nose.

“Good morning~” Amity teased.

“Is this what you meant by ‘watching the palismen’?” Vee poked the Grimwalker in his cheeks.

Luz slapped her sister’s arm and gave her girlfriend a look. If they teased him, Hunter might never sleep again! This was the first time she had even witnessed it. It’s totally not important that she was the one taking pictures of him, not at all.

“I had no choice!” Hunter joked, relieving her concerns. “It was nurse Clover’s orders.”

“Aww that’s so cute!” Willow cooed at her bee still sleeping soundly against his stomach. A soft pink quickly formed on Hunter's face.

“And she’s not wrong,” Gus added, saving him from saying anything stupid. “You need to sleep more, dude.”

Hunter wanted to fire back a snarky respons, but Amity noticed something. The noise she made brought everyone’s attention to her.

“Wait. Why do you have Luz’s egg?” She asked, visibly confused.

A few ‘oh hey’s and ‘wait yeah’s filled the room. It was like everyone just now noticed the blue palisman resting in Hunter’s hands.

“I asked him to keep an eye on it for me.” Luz answered for him.

Hunter carefully handed her precious carving back to her. Luz smiled very gratefully, she was able to have fun at the mall without worrying.

But if he wasn’t opposed to teasing right now…

“Still, this was sight to behold.” She smirked. Hunter’s warm and selfless aura dissipated as he squinted a look of betrayal at her.

“I’ll say!” Gus laughed. “We didn’t expect to come back to this pile of palisman on the couch.”

Hunter sighed. He guessed he should be more embarrassed by this. But those two could tease him all they wanted, because he really didn’t care.

He was stopped, for the second time, from making a smart-ass respons. His attention quickly snapped towards Camila, who just rounded the corner of the living room.

“Ohoho~ look at all the sweet babies together.” She said, when she witnessed the Palisman cuddle herself. “Tan lindo~”

Hunter’s eyes were now locked on their host. His hands fidgeted, picking at his fingernails. He looked at her with a hopeful smile. This was good in her eyes, right? Lindo meant cute, right?

Was it okay to be proud of this? Or should he come off as humble? Wait, was he supposed to say something now?

“I just put the groceries in the kitchen, who can help me put them away?” Camila continued with what she actually came for.

Hunter sprung to his feet.

“Yes! I can do that!”

The huddle of still-sleeping palisman got a rude awakening. As one collective, they slid off his lap. Hunter cringed when they hit the ground with a loud thump.

“Sorry guys…” he grimaced.

Ghost hissed at him and Emmiline made some disgruntled noises of her own. Flap en Clover laid on the ground, absolutely dazed. Nobody was hurt, they were made of wood of course, but that was still stupid.

Hunter cautiously lift his head towards the matriarch. She looked more surprised than anything. What did that mean? What was behind that expression? How could he be so forgetful?!

Amity broke into a snicker. Everyone turned to her and she tried to hide her laugh. But she failed. Luz gained her own wobbly smile from looking at it.

“Sorry, that was really funny.” Amity said as she walked over to Ghost. Who yowled when the witch picked her up. “Oh hush, you little drama queen. You’re fine.”

Luz was about to crack. Vee and the other witches were starting to have amused expression as well. Even Camila put a hand over her mouth, wrinkles formed in the corner of her eyes.

So, she wasn’t mad?

Soon, everyone was giggling again. Willow and Gus picked up their own palisman to shush their whining. Hunter looked at everything a little dumbfounded.

The laughter washed away any feelings of shame. He didn’t feel ridiculed, even though the were laughing at him. He felt a little stupid, sure. But the energy surrounding him was warm and soft. Like the morning sun was shining in his face again.

Hunter bend down to pick Flapjack up. The cardinal was still a bit dazed, but gave him a look anyways. He’d get a righteous amount of hair-tugging later.

“Alright then!” Camila sighed her last chortle away. The Dominican mother gestured to the vague direction of the kitchen. “Shall we?”

Hunter gave her a sheepish smile and a diligent nod. The awkward boy happily followed Camila into the hallway.

Maybe, just maybe, Vee was right. Maybe it was a pretty cool trait to have.