#grimwalker things

[letsplaythermalnuclearwar]

hey wouldn't it be fun to give Hunter a bunch of Grimwalker things that no one but Belos knew about and everyone assumes is just Belos being cruel until they try something different and then it turns out it was actually necessary for Hunter's wellbeing?

so like one day Hunter mentions never having ice-scream or cake or really any other type of dessert. and everyone's like "that's so sad we have to get him ice-scream right away." but then Hunter spends the next couple hours being violently ill and it turns out Grimwalkers can't handle processed sugar

or he was never allowed to go to the healers when he was injured and he always had to stitch himself up (or Belos would do it sometimes if it was bad enough). and everyone's completely horrified because that's terrible and evil and what could the point of that be except to make Hunter go through more pain? and then someday he breaks a leg or something and they take him to the healers and it just. doesn't work. nothing happens. and it turns out healing magic is completely ineffective on Grimwalkers

anyway I think it would be fun to make the line between what was care and what was abuse a little blurry every now and again

[sea-creature-things]

Grimwalker things

Chapter 5: Sleep

Having dinosaur lungs can NOT be good for your health lol

For anyone actually following my fic, I'm so sorry this chapter took literal months to make. Life was a bitch and got in the way, but I'm back now and I'm gonna try to get the next chapter out much faster <333

Read here below the cut or on AO3 with this link:

Hunter walked on the soft forest floor. The leaves and moss cushioned his feet. There was no path to follow, but he knew where to go. Through the trees, there was a certain way forward.

Large, winding, blue trees. Everywhere. He’s never seen Palistrom trees this tall before. There was a thick canopy above him, but the forest was exceptionally light. Like the sun had an unbothered reach to the floor.

It must be summer.

Everywhere he looked was teeming with life. Those magnificent winding trees had a bunch of shelf-like mushrooms on them. He saw a small, black and white bird standing on one, while it drilled into the tree bark. There were tiny flowers growing between the roots on the ground. He saw a few butterflies fluttering around them.

He always thought that, even though their bodies were very disturbing, their wings were the prettiest things.

The forest wasn’t just bright, it was noisy. He heard rodents scurrying, insects buzzing, and many more birds chirping. All just out of sight. Hunter knew he probably wouldn’t see any larger creatures, he wasn’t exactly being stealthy.

But he didn’t feel like he should be.

He was just walking. On a path that he knew. He wasn't hunting or tracking anything, he wasn't on a mission. No beast in existence wouldn't notice his approach.

The exact moment when he had that thought, he was proven wrong. There, previously hidden behind the giant tree trunk Hunter walked past, was a Celeritas deer. He was surprised to say the least. The demon was too, its head shot up and it stared at him like, well like a deer in headlights.

Hunter stood still as well, admiring the majestic beast. Its blueish fur was meant for camouflage, its legs were even red to blend in with the grass. The deer broke out of its frozen state, turning and running in a show of that top speed it was famous for.

And Hunter let it go.

Because he didn't have to chase it. Because he could just watch. Because he could relax here. He was sure of it. This forest was a place where people should relax.

As he continued walking, the forest slowly become less bright. He could see the sky beyond the canopy a little, the fluffy clouds had turned into beautiful shades of purple and orange. He’d been here for quite a while.

It must be a really large forest.

Life was slowing down, the flowers were closing and the animals were leaving to sleep. The shadows grew and the sky turned darker and darker. Still, Hunter knew the way forward. When the dusk turned into night, the forest once again came alive.

Hunter could hear more sounds than before, but couldn’t see the nocturnal creatures that came out of hiding. He hoped any large demons were still too shy, because night was the best time to hunt. If there were Celeritas deer in this biome, there were predators who ate them. And Hunter wasn’t exactly thrilled to become a ‘unique dessert’.

The moon and stars made sure it wasn’t entirely pitch black. So he didn’t feel too scared. In fact, he felt just as relaxed as when it was daytime.

Something caught his eye, a light blue glow at the base of a tree he had already passed. Between the roots and the long red grass, sat an ice blue crystalline rock. It emanated a soft but cold light. He was instantly intrigued, but when he turned to get a closer look, a noise made his ears prick up.

“Hunter.”

He felt the hairs on his neck stand upright as a familiar voice whispered behind him. His head quickly shot back again.

But there was no one there.

He scanned the environment in front of him. The trees still looked the same and, most importantly, the forest was still loud. If there was a beast stalking him, the birds and rodents would stay far away. He must’ve imagined it.

“Hunter!”

This time he was certain the voice was real. It came from beyond the trees, as if someone was calling him over. It felt so familiar, but he couldn’t place it.

The chances of a puppeteer demon messing with him were low. And he still didn’t feel the slightest bit worried or afraid. He was only curious. It felt like he was going to see someone important. This was the person he had walked literal hours for.

“HUNTER!”

A sudden pain hit him hard in the chest. Like a violent punch or a blunt object traveling at mach speed.

He could almost feel the electrical current through his back as he shot upright and his eyes flew open. His lungs filled with air in one big gasp. Flailing, his arms searched in front of him, grasping at anything to hold onto. But there was nothing and his arms fell back down immediately.

Where was he?!

It was too bright. It gave him a headache, his eyes were struggling to adjust to the lights. His bedroom was never like this in the morning. Where was his staff? Where was his mask? Where was Flapjack? He heard his palisman somewhere in the room, but the chirping was a little hard to understand. Actually, there were a lot of muffled sounds that he couldn’t hear quite right.

Suddenly, he felt something wrap around his neck. His hands instinctively grabbed onto it. He flinched away as much as he could, searching quickly with blurry vision. The panic went as quickly as it came, when he realised it was just Gus. His friend was hanging around his neck and pressing against his shoulder, hugging tightly. Hunter relaxed, moving his right hand to try and hug him back in this awkward position.

Wait. He hasn’t been at the castle in forever.

Everything came flooding back to him. The disastrous mission at the Night Market, a stressful hideaway at Hexside, the Day of Unity and a portal to the Human Realm- basement!

He’s been sleeping in Luz’s basement for 7 weeks! Hunter groaned from the pain behind his temples. He rubbed the side of his face and tried to move his legs slightly. His limbs were really heavy, like he was wading through molasses. Waking up had never been this difficult before.

There was a soft sniffling sound coming from his right. He looked at Gus, his eyes finally worked properly, and saw the boy’s shoulders shaking. He took uneven, tiny breaths that made his body jolt like a hiccup. His face, which was difficult to see underneath Hunter’s own chin, was all scrunched up and his eyes were shut tight. Any air that escaped his mouth came out in soft sobs and when he sniffed through his nose, there was a loud and pretty gross sound.

He was crying.

“Gus? What happened, what’s wrong?” Hunter asked immediately alarmed, his voice came out a little hoarse. With his free arm he pushed ever so lightly against his friend’s shoulder, trying to get a better look at him.

The hold on his neck loosened a little when Gus looked up. He took a deep breath to try and form words, but it only came out as abrupt coughing. Then his lip trembled and anything he said was impossible to understand. He buried his face back into Hunter’s neck as his shoulders continued to shake and his sobs grew louder.

With his newly restored sight, Hunter looked around the room in search of possible danger. He was extremely surprised to find the girls all gathered around his bed.

Willow was sitting beside Gus on her knees. She was gripping the fabric of his sleeping bag. Amity sat at the foot of his bed. She held her hands together in front of her chest with tense shoulders. Vee was standing behind her. She was in a half-human disguise with yellow piercing eyes and a tail wrapped around her legs. Her hands were clutching a phone.

They all looked mortified.

Alarm bells went off in his head. Something happened and he wasn’t there to protect them.

“What happened?” Hunter asked again, looking back and forth between the three of them. He couldn’t keep his voice from betraying the fear he felt.

Willow was still clutching the edges of his bed, her eyes locked on his. She breathed deep and steady. It looked like she was fighting the urge to cry, but maybe that was just interpretation, he wasn't sure. Vee shivered and her rigid body moved out of the blue. She sat down between the other two girls, her gaze anxiously shifting all over the place. Amity stared at the floor and blinked a few times before she looked back up. Her eyes were the only part of her face where he could see her true feelings.

A harrowing mixture of fear and stress was present on all of their faces. But he also saw a lot of relief in their expressions.

Flapjack, who had been circling above him in a wild storm of chirps that Hunter couldn’t follow, landed in front of him. The cardinal had to catch his breath and hung his wings beside him instead of folding them up. Exhausted, he hopped over to his witch’s left hand and rubbed against the palm. It would’ve been comforting if the state of his palisman hadn’t chilled Hunter to the bone.

“Gus woke us up a few minutes ago.” Amity took up the role of explaining, forever capable in high-stress situations. But the tone of her voice was flooded with unease. “He told us you weren’t breathing.”

What?

“Hunter are you okay?” Amity asked worried when he didn’t respond. He couldn’t respond, he couldn’t think, he could only watch her as his vision slowly hazed over.

What?!

“Does he look okay!?” Willow burst out, gesturing wildly. Hunter’s attention snapped towards her, his vision briefly refocusing.

This wasn’t happening.

“He’s clearly in shock!” Vee yelled. She also moved her hands wildly, her features shifting in distress. Gus’s grip on his neck disappeared and Hunter felt himself sway woozily in the now free space around him.

This was not happening!

“Stop yelling at each other!” The youngest witch shouted at the girls. His outburst definitely worked, because they all went silent and looked at him in surprise.

Hunter’s stomach churned, a rising nauseous feeling morphed to dizziness in his head. The ringing in his ears grew louder. The pain in his head became sharper. He blinked rapidly, straining to focus.

Gus wiped his wet eyes aggressively with his sleeve. This seemed to quiet down the others even more. Willow shrunk out of her fire and, when Gus sniffed in a nasty way again while tears kept pouring from his eyes, she rubbed his back in an effort to soothe him. Vee was breathing heavily, seemingly deliberate, trying to calm herself down and get her magic under control. She was struggling to do so, judging from the way her half-human hands clawed in the air. Hunter watched in a daze as Amity noticed it too and carefully touched Vee’s hand. The basilisk startled, but quickly understood her friend’s comforting gesture. She gratefully interlocked her fingers and squeezed in Amity’s hand. It must’ve worked, because her breathing slowed down and her magic became stable again. Amity gave her a strained smile, then locked eyes with the floor and let out a heavy sigh of her own.

Luz!

Where was Luz? He had found her earlier, right? She was here too, right? She had to be. Why hadn’t she said anything yet?

It felt like his thoughts were trudging through mud. Vee had said something about shock, but that wasn’t quite right. He knew what shock felt like and this definitely wasn't it. Still, his mind wasn't working like it should be. He felt nothing but confusion.

He finally found Luz. She was the only one on his left side, sitting on her knees and hugging her stomach. Her face was pale, almost ashen, and her entire frame was tense. How in Titan’s name could he not find her? She was right next to him!

She was looking at him so intently, as if he would disappear if she didn’t watch him. He silently begged her to say something. To tell him what was going on. To help him out of this mess! But she just kept staring at him. Was she even seeing anything at all?

“Hunter?” Willow broke through his trance. Her voice was so tiny, it didn’t fit her at all. Seeing her scared was unnerving. If Willow of all people was scared, then how the hell was he supposed to feel?

No, how? He seriously couldn’t tell. It felt like his brain was filled to the brim with fog and the more he tried to search through it, the more he got lost.

“I…” His voice was still hoarse. He swallowed to remedy his dry, sandpaper throat, but it barely helped. “I don’t understand.”

Willow looked taken aback slightly, this was clearly not the response she expected. Her pretty features morphed into concern. She squirmed in her seat, trying to form a response, sharing an unsure look with Vee and Amity. The pink-haired witch at least tried, her eyes darting around and her mouth gaping like a fish. An indecisive hum escaped when she snapped it shut, completely at a loss. Vee had long since surrendered, keeping her eyes on her fidgeting hands to avoid any expectations.

In the silence, Gus’ shaky sigh was painfully loud. He’d calmed down a lot, probably thanks to Willow, and had been following the awkward glances of the three girls. He turned to face Hunter again and took a deep breath.

“I had a nightmare.” He began. Emmiline had taken a position on his shoulder, rubbing her face lovingly against his cheek. Flapjack had settled into his lap, likewise trying to comfort the 12 year old. He’s only 12 years old! “It made me really anxious, so I went to wake you up. Cuz you said you wouldn’t mind.”

The last part sounded more like a question, as if he was asking for confirmation. Hunter could only give a few quick nods.

“But-“ Gus’s voice broke. Despite Emmi and Flap’s best efforts, there were new tears forming in his eyes. “But you wouldn’t wake up! You were so still a-and it looked like you weren’t breathing. So I checked!” He added quickly, as though someone would hold it against him if he hadn’t. “I ch-checked your mouth and I-… I couldn’t feel anything!”

A sense of dread came over him as Hunter looked at his friend’s terrified face. He had a theory, a sickening gut feeling that settled down after listening to that story. For what felt like the hundredth time, his vision glazed over only to focus anew when Willow spoke up.

“That’s when he went to get us.” She said as she put her comforting arm back around Gus. The witchling let himself fall against her.

“Everything happened so fast.” Amity added, which Vee supported with a nod, her gaze still very much locked on her claws. The tension in the room was almost visible.

Everyone was on edge because of him. Everyone was afraid because of him.

The overwhelming urge to puke felt more real with every second. He knew what it must’ve looked like. He knew what they must’ve thought.

“And Hunter…” Willow was trying to catch his eyes, but he looked away. “We couldn’t find your pulse.”

Hunter’s head whipped around to Luz so fast it hurt his neck.

You let them check for a pulse?!?

She was still in the same crumbled up pose as before, uncharacteristically motionless. But his sudden and intense glare made her jolt backwards, a nearly unnoticeable amount. She blinked for seemingly the first time and met his eyes apologetically.

No- Stop!

This wasn’t her fault!

It wasn’t her fault that this happened. It wasn’t her fault that they checked for a pulse. And it wasn’t her fault that he doesn’t have one. That he doesn’t have a bloodstream. That he doesn’t have real organs, or a real body… That he isn’t real.

Wait-

He does have a bloodstream, he could bleed! He had bled just a few days ago! This was absurd! Stupid! Of course he has blood, he might be a grimwalker but he is alive! He just… doesn’t have a heart.

Hunter placed a hand on his chest. His Galderstone’s subtle pulsing almost felt like a heartbeat, it was trying its best.

He absentmindedly rubbed his chest, then his sternum. Hard, just like he was taught, the pain helped him tune back in. He was met with Luz’s worried face, this time he gave her an apologetical look. He also realised that Amity had been talking this entire time.

“-veins, so I have no idea if we were doing it right. I mean, obviously not because we couldn’t feel anything. Titan, I should’ve paid more attention in healing class. Or actually listened to Emira when she was talking about these things.” She rattled on. Luz reached over the sleeping bag to hold her girlfriend’s hand. Amity immediately quieted down, letting out a trembling sigh. She gave her a grateful smile that spoke volumes.

Luz really had been in some kind of trance just now. Had she come to the same conclusions as he had?

“I was trying to find…” Vee pointed at her phone as her voice trailed off in disappointment. She dropped her hands to her lap. “Anything that might help.”

She looked just as surprised as the rest that she had suddenly found her voice. Her tail unwrapped from her legs and landed with an agitated sweep behind her. Shifting uncomfortably, she cleared her throat.

“Then Gus slammed your chest.” Vee continued. That was probably the pain he had felt earlier. The punch that had ripped him out of that dream. The basilisk looked at Gus, he was still slumped against the older witch, but his tears had dried. She gave him a worn smile that fell just as quickly. “Luckily that worked.”

The room fell silent. Were they waiting on him? Hunter tried to think of something to say, anything. But the fog, and the mud, and every other mess he was searching through didn’t want to comply.

Maybe things were just moving too fast. Maybe he was still reeling from his rude awakening. Maybe he really was in shock. He didn’t know why, but he wasn't panicking like all the other times. He wasn’t in a cold sweat, breathing rapidly, heart beating fast and loud against his ribcage.

He was numb.

And his head hurt, and he couldn’t think. All he could do was look at their faces, hazily and contrite.

Intense stares drilled into him. They were expecting an explanation. Or a promise that he was okay, however unbelievable it would be. Or at least a reaction. Anything!

But he had nothing. He didn’t know. He genuinely didn’t know.

What if he was wrong? What if this wasn't a grimwalker thing? What if there was actually something wrong with him?

“I’m not saying there is something wrong with you, but maybe it’s a good idea if Camila takes a look?” Vee offered, as if she had been holding her breath and only now let go. He knew how uncomfortable she got in the silence. “I know she’s a vet and not a doctor, but she still knows a lot about health.”

“Not about Witch-health!” Amity yelled, her harsh tone surprised him.

“It’s not that different!” Willow said defensively.

“We don’t know that!”

“Don’t you want to make sure he’s okay?!”

“Of course I do!”

Their bickering made his headache even worse. Maybe in a different situation, or simply at a different time, it would be amusing. He’d interject with a lighthearted joke or an understanding remark. Or something else that in another moment would’ve worked. Or even something that failed but still managed to make them realise what they were doing.

But this wasn’t that moment.

“We-“

“I think that’s a good idea, Vee.” Hunter interjected, pushing through the pain in his throat. Addressing his sister directly, like Willow and Amity weren’t even there, calm and resolute. He was so done with this.

This moment, this situation, this night. He wanted it to end already.

The basement fell silent again. This was basically him admitting that there was something wrong. He decided to play it that way.

He was tired. He couldn’t explain shit. He couldn’t calm them down. He couldn’t reassure anyone.

He looked at Luz. Her eyes locked with his, a sheen of recognition painted her face. She didn’t have the same horrified look in her eyes as the others, but her face was stiff with worry.

I don’t know what else to do. Please help me.

His sister's stare widened. She placed a hand on his shoulder, a forced smile on her face. And, finally, she spoke.

“Okay. I’ll go get her.”

——————

The harsh blue lights gave the kitchen a cold atmosphere. It was definitely the middle of the night. The window was like a pitch black portal, no stars or moon to illuminate the garden, apparently the lights along the road didn't reach that far either. It was uncomfortably different from the warm, inviting kitchen Hunter was used to.

Camila was examining him, she said the kitchen would be better suited because it was bigger and had better lighting. Unfortunately, she was right. She had instructed him to hop on the kitchen island. Then she grabbed the first aid kit and some of her veterinary stuff.

So now Hunter was slouched over, with his legs dangling over the edge. He was vaguely aware of the clump of his friends gathered in the corner. They had stopped just in front of the doorway. Hunter knew they were watching, but he couldn't find the energy to care.

Flapjack was standing on the counter next to him. Every now and then, he chirped some comforting words. Flap was trying his best to soothe his witch, but he was still very worn out. His feathers were ruffled and his beady eyes blinked sluggishly. He looked pretty much like how Hunter felt.

Past nausea and dizziness, he didn't feel much of anything. But the room was already spinning a lot less than before Camila started this investigation. The closest thing he felt to an emotion was confusion. A feeling that had refused to leave ever since that dream.

Most dreams feel real in the moment, but when you wake up they're so obviously ridiculous. This dream wasn't like that. Even now it felt like he had actually walked through that forest. He could remember everything so vividly.

It was disorienting.

It had been so tangible, so authentic, even though he's never in his life seen a palistrom forest like that. In fact, he was sure those didn't exist anymore.

It was a proper forest. Not the sad orchard that he’s visited so many times, where all the trees grew in straight rows and weren’t allowed to get too high. Where not even mice nor insects dared to live, forget about any large beasts!

Besides, it was weird for him to have anything other than a cold-sweat nightmare.

Hunter mentally kicked himself. His dream was hardly the most important thing right now. But he couldn't stop thinking about it. Did it mean something? Was it related to the way he slept that night? Or was it just a stupid dream? More pleasant than his usual, but just as unhelpful.

His eyes searched the floor, but the off-white linoleum didn’t hold any answers. Obviously.

"Honey, I need to put the stethoscope on your skin, do you mind if I slide it under you shirt?" Camila asked carefully, interrupting his train of thought. She tugged softly on the back of his shirt, making sure Hunter knew what she meant.

He did. It would be a lot easier for her if he simply took it off, or held his shirt up to expose his back. But there were a lot of scars there. It’s not that he was ashamed of them, but he he wasn't eager to show them either. This was different from a few scars on his legs, he didn’t know how his friends and Camila would react.

"N-" He tried to answer her, but the air caught in his throat, like his voice was trapped. And when he shook his head, Camila didn't seem to understand what he meant. He sighed and tried again. "No, go ahead."

Hunter was reminded of when he sat on an examination bed in the infirmary. He hated the healing coven, but he really shouldn't. They kept him alive. He was only allowed to go there when he had to, when his newest wounds were too serious to heal on their own.

He just hated when that happened.

The healing coven witches would move around him in much the same way Camila was doing. The cold part of her stethoscope pressed against his back, then his chest. Finally something that felt familiar and it had to be this.

He moved his limbs as she instructed, breathed exactly like she told him to while he stared into the wall ahead. His long hair hanging in sad strands around his face, like a curtain shielding his expression from outsiders. Or rather, from his friends. He didn't want to look at them, and he didn't want them to look at him.

“Let me check… some more things.” Camila said hesitantly, her hand a few inches from his chin. He made no motions to get away from her. So she placed one hand on the side of his face, holding him gently, and the other under his chin. He felt two finger press into his skin.

It would’ve been really nice if he didn’t know she was checking for a pulse. Where he was so sure just a minute ago, he now had no clue. Did he have one or not? He couldn’t remember if he’d ever checked his own pulse.

He’s placed a hand over his heart plenty of times, and his galderstone used to fool him with its fake beats. But why would he ever bother to check his own pulse? Using a technique he specifically learned to check if other people were still alive on himself was absurd.

Against his will, his eyes fluttered up and looked into Camila’s. She then looked into his, as if she could sense it. Maybe she could. She gave him the softest, gentlest, most comforting smile. And he nearly broke.

Please just say there's nothing wrong with me.

Hunter quickly fixed his gaze back on the ground. There was a pressure on his eyes, a kind of pain that meant he was exhausted. A pain he knew very well. Sleepless nights were a constant in his life. At first it was simply from working on countless missions as the golden guard. He didn’t have time to sleep.

In Hexside he was too scared to sleep. And the first few days in the human realm he just wasn’t able to. No matter how much his eyes burned, he stayed awake, thinking too much.

Stone sleeper lungs.

The words kept repeating in his mind. That was his theory, his gut feeling, his explanation. He had read about Stonesleepers, even before his desperate raid of Hexside’s library. He used to think they were cool. Learning about the dinosaurs that used to roam the Boiling Isles in his studies was actually fun.

But now, thinking back to the books he read in his hideout left a bitter taste in his mouth.

The Stonesleeper has a very unique ability. This creature can go into something aptly named ‘the stone sleep’, during which it slows its breathing down to near zero. Subsequently, its metabolism and heartbeat also slow down. The creature then turns its hide to stone using petrification magic.

It this state, the demon is protected from all kinds of threats and has no need to hunt. A perfect hibernation, used in moments of danger but more often in moments of peace. When it feels safe enough to rest.

However, not every Stonesleeper with a rocky hide is actually in a stone sleep. The creature has evolved to use its unique ability as camouflage or even as a decoy, tricking potential prey into a false sense of security. Until the demon strikes.

He had read the same information again and again, in five different books, next to the passages and stories about grimwalkers. Searching for any correlation, any shared traits, any effect on personality or character. He’d been so desperate to learn about himself that the air became harder to breathe, and the edges of vision went dark. Flapjack had to calm him down and forced the books closed with his tiny beak. He’d begged his witch to go somewhere else for a bit.

Hunter could barely call it a theory anymore, part of him knew it was the truth. What happened earlier tonight was the result of his dinosaur lungs. And it was terrifying, he didn’t want to be anything like them.

Stonesleepers were not cool. They were giant, dangerous monsters. Vicious predators that survived a mass extinction during the Hecktaceous period, only to terrorise people of the Deadwardian era.

They were scary, Hunter didn’t want to be scary. He already terrified his friends tonight and he hated it. The look in their eyes after he asked for Camila, the glances they exchange when they thought he couldn’t see, it killed him.

He was a little wobbly on the stairs and they all looked so worried. He already regretted his decision when he watched Luz leave. But a big part of him genuinely and desperately wanted to check it out. Not breathing was very concerning, grimwalker or not.

Then Luz came back to the living room with Camila on her heels.

Amity and Willow had to explain everything again. Hunter couldn’t really follow it, not that he tried very hard. There was no new ground being broken, he had all the information already. Listening to it again, this time with Camila’s reaction right there…

He didn’t want to follow it.

He had made the mistake of looking into her eyes then as well. The horrified expression that formed on Camila's face after they told her... It was so foreign to him. He wanted to cry. He wanted to apologise. He wanted to travel in time and never let Luz wake her up.

She really cared.

He knew that already. But every time she showed it, every time he saw her face full of concern, it was like a fresh new gut punch. As if he never learned his lesson: Camila cared.

She had stayed silent for an unbearable time, then she promised to take a look and led them to the kitchen. And now they were here, under the cold, unnatural lights. A soft pitter patter started to fall on the roof above. It quickly turned into louder, more harsh rainfall. The black portal that was supposed to be a window had streaks of water run down it's surface.

He still had mixed feelings about the non-boiling rains of the human world, but the sound was always comforting.

“Alright cariño,” Camila said as she packed up her work kit. She caressed his hair, clearing his face. He braved to look at her and anxiously awaited her verdict. She put another strand behind his ear and gave him another painfully tender smile. “I am sure you’re okay.”

Hunter was suddenly flooded with so many feelings that he couldn’t distinguish any of them.

“Thank goodness,” Flapjack chirped and hopped closer on the counter. It startled him, he kind of forgot Flap was there. Hunter scratched his palisman on the cheek, he recognise the relief on his little face as one of the feelings in the lively mix of emotions inside him.

But he couldn’t muster a nod.

He couldn’t tell him he agreed, because now it was officially a grimwalker thing. Flap didn’t notice his reluctance however. He gratefully melted into the chin scratches.

Hunter felt terrible for the stress he’d caused his sweet little palisman. He wondered if his condition had effected Flapjack in some way. Palismen were very in tune with their witches emotions, sometimes too much so. Hopefully this wasn’t part of that magical connection, but just Flap being tired.

Hunter did feel more at ease doting on his palisman. He was happy with Camila’s news, and very grateful.

For the first time, Hunter looked back at the doorway. Relief was painted clearly on his friends’ faces. Luz was snug against Amity’s side, her head resting on her girlfriend’s shoulder. Her eyes were shut in an exhausted kind of calm. Amity’s own head rested on top of Luz’s, but her eyes were locked on Hunter. She smiled, strained but genuine.

Luz was holding Vee’s hand. Whose other hand was pressed against her chest, meeting the tip of her tail that spiralled down, wrapped tightly around her. She was smiling as well, but hers was not strained. She beamed at him, looking almost cheerful, and swung the arm attached to her sister back and forth.

The solace his sisters gave each other was difficult to see when it was him they needed comfort from.

Gus was on Vee’s other side, but he was somewhat turned away from her, because of the way he hugged to Willow. Gus’s face was obstructed by Emmiline, who snuggled her witch with a surge of kind words. Willow had her arm over his shoulder, the other one was wrapped around her own stomach. Her beautiful peridot eyes were fixed on Hunter. She took a deep breath while squeezing Gus tighter against her. The ghost of a smile tugged at her lips.

Hunter had difficulty looking anyone it the eyes, let alone smile back.

He focussed back on Flapjack, who was more than happy to receive his attention, and eventually on Camila. She had followed his looks at his friends. She, unlike him, was capable of giving them a reassuring expression.

“I couldn’t really find a pulse either, but I’m pretty sure you’re still alive.” Camila said playfully, still stroking his hair. Her humour fell flat as Hunter was suddenly very busy with keeping his dinner down. The stone that fell onto his stomach may as well have been his heart.

He was right after all, he had no pulse.

Judging from the fraught silence coming from the doorway, the rest couldn’t appreciate the joke either. But eventually a few voices murmured in support.

“Maybe your anatomy is just a little different?” Camila offered somewhat awkwardly, throwing a questioning glance at the witches. Hunter didn’t follow up to see their answer. “Your heart and lungs sound perfect, so a weak pulse is out of the question.”

She said it so matter of factly and she kept patting his head, he wanted to believe her.

“Maybe…” Camila began, as if she was contemplating something. She moved her hand onto his shoulder. Looking from him to the other kids when she decided to go on. "There are different stages of sleep. One of them is called deep sleep. That’s when our brains slow down, our muscles relax, our temperature drops, and our breathing becomes really slow. Now, this is also the stage that’s the most difficult to wake up from.”

Hunter fixed his eyes on the wall again. Camila's explanation was of more use for the other kids. It was nice, it just didn't apply. While she kept talking about ‘brain waves’ and ‘sleep cycles’, he found himself more interested in the wall’s decorations. The green wallpaper had such a different colour at night. The rustic shelf mounted on it was littered with all kinds of knickknacks.

Picture frames, spices, oddly specific kitchen gadgets. And a plant that spilled over the edges of its pot, which Willow had immediately volunteered to take care of. Just like all the other plants in the house, the number of which had steadily increased over the weeks.

In the same way they had done in the basement, his eyes slowly glazed over. His vision became blurry and unfocused, his hearing muffled. Camila's voice seemed to blend into the background.

Then he felt something on his cheek.

"Oh hijo." It was Camila's hand, holding his face. She gently turned his head to face her. Hunter fought desperately to keep himself from breaking. She rubbed her thumb over his cheek. “You’ve had a lot of trouble with sleep, right? Deep sleep could be a little… new to you?"

“Yeah, maybe.” Hunter tried to sound as convincing as possible, but he heard his own voice echo uneasy in his ears. Camila gave him another heart-wrenching smile he was certain he’d never get used to.

"I promise you're okay."

Camila was so good at giving him exactly what he wanted. He really loved that about her. He felt respected and cared for in her house, in her presence.

But it also made him question if she was telling the truth.

He was ashamed of that feeling, but it gnawed on his brain. He knew, logically, that Camila would never do such a thing. She wasn’t the type of person to lie. Not about this. In spite of that, those thoughts wouldn’t go away.

She brushed another long hair strand behind his ear. It had fallen in front of his eyes when he looked down, in an almost dramatically sad way. It was a fine representation of his general state at the moment. He wanted to be happy and relieved and grateful, he really did. He wanted to accept Camila’s explanation and climb back into bed, but the overwhelming sense of dread made him miss the numbness he felt before.

While everyone else was now put at ease, he was the one terrified.

“Hunter, I’d like to give you a hug. Would you…” Camila’s voice trailed off, like she wasn’t sure how to ask the last part. But it was clear enough.

At first his mouth fell slightly open from surprise, but then his lip quivered a little and he pressed them together in an attempt to fight his emotions.

He nodded.

He didn’t trust his voice right now. Camila’s simple offer had felt like yet another gut punch. She opened her arms for him so he hopped off the kitchen island, into her warm embrace. Her arms enveloped him entirely. Her warmth and her scent filled his perception, drowning everything else out, just for a moment.

Hunter couldn’t remember the last time he’s hugged someone taller than him.

If that ever even happened.

His eyes burned with a new kind of pain. A stinging, prickling sensation which he knew meant there were tears forming in his eyes. Titan! Why?! He blinked rapidly to try and deter them. He hoped Camila wouldn’t let go too soon, so he could hide his face against her shoulder.

“You’re okay, hijo.” Camila said again. This time, he believed her.

And he stopped fighting.

He let the tears form and fall. Burying his face in Camila's shoulder, her warmth covered him like a fluffy blanket. He breathed a little staggering. He held his arms tighter around her back, not wanting her to ever let go. At least not for a while.

He suddenly felt extra hands and more weight piling onto him. Slowly moving his face away from the crook of her neck, and blinking the blurriness out of his eyes, he investigated. He saw Vee, Amity and Willow had joined the hug. He checked his assumptions on the other side, finding Gus and Luz.

Yup, they were in the middle of an awkward, but endearing group hug. He unclasped one hand from Camila to slowly ruffle Vee’s hair. He did the same for Gus with his other hand. After which he put his arm around Luz to make the huddle feel more like an actual group hug. The trio had very determined expressions, which was kind of adorable.

Catching Amity’s eye, he tried to show he was thankful and signal he felt guilty about causing trouble. He wasn’t sure if she got all that, but she smiled a lot less strained this time. He even managed a wobbly smile for Willow. Which she instantly returned much brighter.

Flapjack landed on her shoulder, signing a bunch of supportive words. Only then did Hunter notice Emmiline had also found her place on Willow’s shoulder. She squeaked that she hoped he’d feel better soon.

“I’m sorry to worry you all so much.” Hunter sighed.

A cacophony of voices erupted. After ages of excruciating silence, he heard all his friend’s voices like he was used to: completely unintelligible due to them talking over each other. But the overarching message was that it wasn’t his fault.

If nothing else, it was nice to hear.

“Bueno,” Camila leaned back, lovingly putting a hand on his cheek again. She rubbed faces and ruffled hair by the other kids while the group hug disbanded. “I know that it’ll be very difficult right now, but let’s all go back to bed, you need sleep.”

——————

Gus stood like a statue in the middle of the basement. The girls had all lingered when him and Hunter were herded to the stairs by Camila. Gus had been ready to get back to their room and curl up on his couch-bed. But with every step they actually approached the door, he became more reluctant.

How do you move on from a night like this?

The weird feeling settled uncomfortably in his stomach. Luz seemed a little antsy too, swarming around them while Camila bid them goodnight. Vee on the other hand, looked pretty happy. She yawned and bounced over to cling to her mom. Amity seemed content too, but Willow was sporting a more worried expression next to her.

Amity had hooked her arm in Willow’s and the look she gave her screamed ‘I will comfort and support you’. Gus just knew Willow hated that look. He saw in her expression that she really didn’t want to be glued to her in that way. But she didn’t outwardly reject her either.

It was weird seeing them like that after screaming at each other in the basement.

Their friendship had become a lot better since the day of Unity, but it was still rocky at times. Maybe he should talk to Willow about that tomorrow. She still had the tendency to think Amity was treating her like she was weak. But Gus honestly believed she was just trying to be a good friend.

Their minuscule scene was a nice distraction, but it didn’t help Gus’s feelings. He still didn’t know if his anxiety was normal. What made it worse, was Hunter being unreadable as he listened to their caretaker’s good night wishes. His blank expression stayed as Camila sent them off to bed.

And now they were here. Both of them standing in the middle of the room, his friend seemed just as hesitant as Gus felt.

He was absolutely exhausted, but there was a snowball’s chance in the Boiling Sea that he could sleep right now. It was pointless to even try.

He felt horrible.

Uncomfortable and tense and, above all else, filled with regret. His heart squirmed around in his chest. Flashbacks of the incident were already floating to the forefront of his mind. The panic had set in so fast, everything happened so fast.

It was scary.

Hunter must be in the same boat, but a hundred times worse because it all happened to him.

Gus was too tense, too anxious, too riled up to even think about sleeping. A smaller part of him was afraid, scared they would go back to sleep and it happened again. That’s probably what Hunter thought too, and that’s probably why they had been standing like this for what felt like an eternity!

Which had actually barely been a minute.

“I don’t think I can sleep anymore.” Gus said after deciding to just rip the bandaid off. His skin crawled too much in the silence.


“Me neither.” Hunter admitted like Gus expected. He stared at his sleeping bag like it was one of Eda’s magic traps. Flapjack was perched on his shoulder, rubbing his beak against his witch’s face.


“Do you wanna try…?” Gus asked carefully, knowing that they probably should. But hoping he would say no.


“No.” Hunter said in a low voice. Flap chirped and the blonde boy tickled his chest feathers. Then he turned back to his friend and quickly added, “Do you?”

“Not really.” Gus admitted. He also hoped Hunter wouldn’t feel guilty. He had a habit of getting it in his head that everything was his fault.

If anyone should feel guilty it was Gus. He’d started this whole mess. He woke everyone up, scared them, all for some deep sleep and a hard-to-find pulse. Hunter just looked so…

He should’ve known better.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Emmiline squeaked. Gus kind of forgot he was carrying her. She stood up on her back paws, curling her tail around his hands and putting her front paws against his chest.

“All this happened because of me, Emmi.” Gus whispered as imperceptible as he could. He didn’t want his friend to hear.

"No no! Not true!" Emmiline squeaked louder. She glanced at Hunter for a second, before climbing up to his shoulder. She hugged the side of his face. "It was just a big misunderstanding."

Her squeaks were softer this time, probably trying to soothe his racing thoughts. It almost felt like she was telling him a secret this way, mumbling so close to his ears. She continued to shush him and Gus shut his eyes to focus on her words and the scaly-but-gentle paws that rubbed arduously over his temple. Emmiline wasn’t exactly a natural at calming people, but she tried her best and that’s what mattered.

“Yeah…” Gus sighed. “I just feel like I made everything worse. I got so scared so fast. I shouldn’t have assumed…”

He’d opened his eyes again and noticed Hunter kind of drifting away. He landed at the table conquered by sewing supplies. Gus felt his shoulders tense as he worried if Hunter had heard everything after all. But it came as quickly as it went, because that would be impossible. It’s not like grimwalkers had better hearing.

"You had a nightmare." Emmiline whispered. Gus was more focused on Flapjack as he jumped onto the sewing machine. Hunter probably said something because the cardinal chirped happily. His own palisman moved away from his face with one last rub against his cheek. “Hunter would understand!”

Grimwalker.

Hunter raked a hand through his hair. He shot a kind smile his way, but he couldn't hold eye contact. Gus quickly looked away as well.

Maybe it wasn't...

Before Gus could finish that thought, his wandering eyes spotted something that put everything else aside.

A red box with a blue border seemed to scream for his attention. The colourful picture on the front and sudden memories of late game nights culminated in a beautiful idea.

“Oh!” Gus exclaimed, stumbling over his feet as he beelined for the box. He managed to grab it without injury and showed it to Hunter. “We could play a game?”

“Oh,” his friend blurted out after his surprise disappeared. Hunter’s smile for once didn’t look so forced and Gus felt like the room got several tints brighter. “Okay.”

His own smile came easy as he bounced to the specific spot on the floor where they usually played boardgames. Hunter moved to join him, but was stopped in his tracks by Emmiline yawning. Both boys ‘aww’ed at her adorable display.

“Someone’s tired.” Hunter cocked his head to the side, Gus laughed. ‘Exhausted’ was probably a better word, but he didn’t want to ruin the better vibe.

“You should go to sleep Emmi.” Gus said as he put her back in his hands. The chameleon gave him a look, she was sceptical. He giggled and tried to reassure her. “Yes, I’m sure.”

Hunter gestured to the fabric-covered table, Gus knew what he meant and nodded. His buddy knelt down and let Emmiline hop over to his hands. He brought her to the nest that the palisman had made from the fabrics and threads. It was cute and soft and nobody dared to touch it.

Gus started to set up the game, they’ve played it enough to abandon the manual in the box.

“You too Flap, you’re completely drained.” Hunter told the little bird. Flapjack warbled from his perch on the sewing machine, Hunter didn’t translate, but it sounded like a protest. He carefully picked him up anyways, putting him next to Emmi. Flap conceded immediately, chirping softer this time.

“Yeah, we will. Eventually.” Hunter responded. He gently caressed Flap’s feathers on his back. “I promise.”

Gus guessed that was about them going to sleep too. He thought it was fair to try, like Hunter said, eventually.

“I know, love you too” He heard him whisper to the cardinal. Gus couldn’t help the wide smile on his face. He pretended to hear nothing and continued to put the colourful tokens in their assigned squares.

They played for a while.

Neither wanted to make good on their promise to try sleeping. Not yet at least. This made them play worse than normal. They made bad decisions, chose the lower numbers on ambiguous dice rolls, and just generally did the polar opposite of what someone who wanted to win would do.

They also took every opportunity to knock each other’s pieces off, so that it had to start from the beginning. Usually they’d show mercy every so often. This new way of playing was strange, but it was also fun.

It was a good distraction.

Hunter kinda slumped and Gus noticed his eyes were shut. But before he could say something, his friend shot back upright. He focused back on the game like nothing happened, but Gus also noticed his eyes meeting his own for just a second. It was like a look Gus would give his teachers if they caught him zoning out.

"Are you okay?" He asked, knowing full well that he wasn't. He just had no idea what else he could say. It was almost a reflex to ask that question.

"Yeah yeah!" Hunter said in a weird, high pitched voice. He was still really bad at lying. Gus kinda hoped he would never get better at it.

"We can try to sleep if you want?" Gus asked. The distraction stopped working and all the bad stuff was settling back in his stomach. Thoughts raced through his brain at breakneck speeds.

"No. No, I just-" Hunter hung his head, tossing the dice back and forth in his hands. "I don't think I can, even if I wanted to."

Gus looked at his friend, patiently waiting for him to fill the silence. To expand further on his feelings. He wanted so desperately to just blurt out that he knew. He wanted to tell him everything was okay. Grimwalker? So what!

But he wanted Hunter to come to him. To tell him out of his own volition. He wanted to give him the privacy he deserved, the freedom he longed for.

He wanted to be patient.

Gus liked to think he was making slow progress in his personal mission of ‘making Hunter more comfortable’. He believed that in due time, he would open up more.

And he did! He told stories about coven missions and his secret wild magic studies, but never anything serious. Not from a lack of negative experiences, Gus was sure. Hunter just didn’t want to talk about it yet.

So for now, he'd stick with the slow progress. Playing games late at night in the basement, sharing a love for books, learning about the human realm together. He'd show, not tell. He was a freaking illusion witch after all!

That's what he set out to do, but if Hunter would just tell him...

Bonding was nice and all — if someone had told him months ago that he would care this much about a scruffy teen, Gus would call them crazy — but this night was already so different. All the same things they were doing felt so much heavier. Maybe this could be the perfect place to start?

His brain was like a metronome, swinging between wanting to talk or not. Gus had to admit that his eyes held a certain expectation when he looked at his friend in that moment.

But Hunter stayed silent.

That tactic rarely worked on him, because he's used it so many times himself. He had used it on Luz so many times now, they lost count!

It was a simple truth they both knew: people love filling awkward silences, and then they’d just blurt out their secrets. The trick still worked on Gus, knowing what the other person was doing didn't seem to help at all. Hunter though, he was some kind of expert.

So deafening silence it was.

As they played their game. Gus rolled the dice, getting a five and a three. Instead of using the high roll to bring his furthest piece into the finish, he used it for his newest piece on the board. And he used the three to knock off one of Hunter’s pieces. His friend shot him a fake pout and Gus smirked.

The silence was broken by the door to the basement swinging open. Both of them turned their heads, seeing Luz walk down. She was struggling to drag the covers of her bed down the steps. Neither of the boys really reacted, maybe they were shocked. Or maybe they weren’t surprised at all and were just patiently waiting for her to descend.

Gus felt like his second guess was more accurate.

"I'm sleeping here tonight!" Luz proclaimed cheerfully when she finally reached the floor. She had a very big, toothy smile, but her eyes weren’t laughing. She was very obviously trying her best to stay positive when she was actually very tired.

“Okay.” Gus and Hunter said in unison. Luz nodded with vindication, like she was saying ‘yeah that’s what I thought’. Was she worried she’d have to convince them? If Gus wasn’t running on empty he’d welcome her with literal open arms.

She was probably also in that same boat, waterlogged by discomfort.

“Can’t sleep either?” Hunter asked as she shuffled to his bed and dumped her stuff next to it.

“Yeah...” Luz said, looking away awkwardly and shrugging in an exaggerated way. Yup, she definitely felt the same. Gus could appreciate her attempts to stay bubbly and cheerful.

“Sorry about that.” Hunter said quietly, looking at his hands as he fidgeted with the cuffs of his sweater.

“It’s not your fault." Luz told him, beating Gus to the punch. They exchanges looks that Gus couldn’t really read. Luz joined their spot on the ground. "I just wanted to check on you.”

Gus swore those looks between them meant more than the words they said. His exhausted mind couldn’t stop the tiny pang of jealousy that ran through it. But it was only good for Hunter that he was so close with Luz.

Wait.

Could those looks mean she knows? Did Hunter tell her about being a grimwalker?

This time a stronger wave of jealousy washed through his intestines. If Hunter told Luz, why didn’t he tell him? They were best friends.

Gus forcefully stopped his train of thought, shaking his head in what he hoped looked like a ‘trying to stay awake’ way. If all of that was true, he was happy for Hunter. He deserved to have someone like Luz looking out for him. And nobody said he couldn’t have two.

“You wanna play too?” Gus asked Luz, trying to hide the mental gymnastics his brain had just done. He pointed at the colourful board that laid forgotten on the floor.

“Ludo? I haven't seen that game in ages. Sure, I’ll play.”

She continued to wipe the floor with them. But only because Hunter and Gus weren’t trying before. Now it was on!

The trio slowly became more at ease and actually started to have some fun with the game. When Luz won for the second time and celebrated her victory with arms outstretched to the sky, a big yawn interrupted her cheer. Gus laughed at the sight, but then he also yawned, in the middle of his laugh. He tried to fight it but, of course, he couldn’t. Hunter look at them fondly.

“Maybe we should go to bed now?” He asked with a smirk, hanging backwards and folding his arms. Gus suspected that his ‘we’ didn’t actually included himself.

“No way!” Luz objected, Hunter immediately shushing her. Gus didn’t think she was loud enough to wake anyone up, but would never say it. He was kind of happy to see his friend fall back into his normal habits. Luz stuck her tongue out at her brother. “I gotta make it a perfect run with three wins.”

“Absolutely not!” Gus protested, revelling in the shushing he got as well. He was already setting up the board and smacked Luz’s pieces off. She gasped in offence. “I’m not letting you. I wanna win at least once.”

“Alright, it’s settled then.” Luz put her pieces back on the board, in the staring square. “One more round.”

Hunter scoffed, trying hard not to smile. He rolled his eyes, but set up his own pieces too.

Halfway through their third match, they heard the basement door swing open again. Willow and Amity leaned over the railing, smiling as they greeted the trio. Gus and Luz waved happily.

Gus was surprised to see Hunter’s face not light up at the sight of her.

Willow flew down the stairs, dragging her comforter behind her like a cape. She had her pillow under her arm like a grudgby ball. Once she touched down and threw her things onto the couch, she sat down between Gus and Hunter.

She put one arm over each of their shoulders and hugged them close together. Hunter yelped as Willow basically held them in a head lock. Gus couldn’t help the giggles that escaped his mouth. It was exactly the same as the time he was wrestling Hunter and she crashed their match, except this time she released them much faster.

Amity came down a lot calmer. She had her blankets neatly folded, setting them down carefully on the arm rest of the couch. Then, she turned to Luz as fast as possible. Her girlfriend was already waiting for her and they embraced.

Gus didn’t feel the need to witness their pda. They were cute, but he didn’t want to see them get all smoochy. He did still hear Amity’s exasperated sigh, indicating how her and Willow felt under that positive exterior. It was so obvious nobody even pointed it out this time, of course they couldn’t sleep.

They too were in that same boat. If anymore people climbed in it might sink from the weight.

“So… sleepover?” Luz asked sarcastically. She shook out her comforter, arranging it neatly next to Hunter’s sleeping bag on the ground.

“Yeah, I guess that’s what’s happening here.” Willow chuckled. Her hand had lingered on Hunter’s shoulder, and Gus couldn’t wait to tease her about it tomorrow, she gave him another warm smile and stood up. Picking up the stuff she had thrown so haphazardly just a second ago.

Gus was again surprised by his friend’s reaction. Hunter was supposed to be an open book, but he couldn’t read that expression. He wasn’t embarrassed or flustered, he didn’t look sad that Willow was leaving, he didn’t even seem happy that she had been so close.

He could almost see it, what his reaction would normally be. The boy would be blushing and smiling, he’d be mesmerised by her. Was it weird that Gus was this involved with their crush hell? Nah.

He was just a very nearby best friend.

Very nearby, like all the time. Probably because they lived in the same house right now.

The girls were chatting as they set up shop, building what Gus could only describe as a pile. A cozy pile though.

“I’m joining,” Gus said as he pulled his covers from the couch, dropping it on the nest that had engulfed Hunter’s flimsy mattress.

“You’d rather sleep with us on the ground than on your own soft, elevated couch?” Amity deadpanned.

“Yup!” Gus matched her sass and pointedly dropped his pillow as well.

“Awww Gustifer~” Luz draped herself over his shoulders and gave him a noogie. Gus cringed from the weird feeling of her knuckles rubbing over his scalp. He laughed, thrashing until he escaped her.

Willow and Amity burst out laughing at the state of his hair. The plant witch reached out with an unsteady head to try and fix it. Gus swatted it away, much rather doing it himself. He tried and failed to stay mad, rolling his eyes with a sigh.

The girls finally calmed down. Luz’s joke about it turning into a sleepover felt more and more accurate.

“I like how humans can have a moonlight conjuring more than once a year.” He said while fixing the position of his blanket. “And without moonlight.”

“Well, we’re not conjuring anything.” Amity pointed out with a smirk.

“Not yet~” Willow joked in a singsong voice.

Gus looked back at Hunter, expecting a smile at least. But he was still just sitting there, staring off into the distance. He didn’t like not knowing what Hunter was thinking.

“We should move the couch.” Willow said, interrupting his worries. She was arranging all the pillows on one side of the pile. “I don’t think everyone will fit otherwise.”

“Yeah good idea!” Gus said, a bit louder than he intended. He hoped that Hunter would feel better once their weird little fort was done and they could get some sleep.

He must’ve noticed him staring, because Hunter seemed to zone back in from wherever he was and started cleaning the game. After putting it away, he kind of wandered around the room. Like he was suddenly very interested in Camila’s old stuff.

The pile was done, and it was big. But without any mattresses to speak of, it didn’t look that inviting yet.

“I think we need more blankets.” Gus pondered out loud, hand on chin.

“We can gather some stuff from the living room.” Luz offered.

“I’ve got blankets!” Vee announced as she thundered down the stairs. Carrying a stack in her arms higher than her head. She held them up once she reached the bottom, like she was presenting them, beaming a smile at her friends.

They all laughed and greeted her.

“Did we all have the same idea or something?” Gus asked, watching her drop the fluffy blankets on the floor and rush towards Hunter. Vee hugged him tightly and he wrapped his arms around her back.

Gus saw her smile fade just for a moment as she buried her face in her brother’s chest. But when she bounced away, it was back in full force. Gus watched her inspect their pile with great interest. When he turned around again he saw in Hunter’s eyes what he hoped so fervently wouldn’t be, guilt.

His heart sank and he felt a lump in his throat. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know what to say.

“Sort of.” Willow answered his question, looking towards Vee confused. “None of us could sleep, but…”

“Vee said she wasn’t joining.” Amity finished her sentence. She and Luz had picked up the new blankets and were organising them in the nest. None of them seemed to have noticed what he saw.

“I thought I couldn’t fall asleep because of those two.” Vee pointed accusingly between the other girls.

“Yeah, she just kept tossing and turning,” Amity pointed her thumb at Willow. “More than usual I mean.”

The plant witch stuck her tongue out at her friend. A myriad of knowing laughs filled the room.

“It’s not like you were much better.” Vee said in Willow’s defence. “You kept sighing the whole time!”

She demonstrated with a mockingly dramatic sigh. Willow joined in and they started alternating like a broken record. Amity rolled her eyes.

“Should we go to the basement too?~” Vee imitated their pink-haired engineer with an overly soft voice.

“Do you think Luz is coming back?~” Willow imitated her with another dramatic sigh.

“Awww batata!” Luz hugged her girlfriend and planted a kiss on her cheek.

Amity pouted as her face turned red. The other two girls cackled, high-fiving each other for the great performance.

“So I kicked em both out.” Vee continued with the story. “Thought we’d all sleep better if they just joined downstairs like Amity kept moaning about.”

“Willow suggested it too!” Amity fired back.

“But when they were gone, I still couldn’t sleep” Vee ignored the interruption. “So I thought ‘ah heck, why not?’ and grabbed as many blankets as I could find.”

Gus laughed at her story. But by the way she had hugged Hunter when she came down, he knew she felt more strongly about it than she let on. Vee probably felt the same way he felt, the same way they all felt. At least they weren’t alone, right?

That has been their saving grace this entire time; they had each other.

Willow yawned and flopped down onto the pile now covered in layers of blankets. She sprawled out her limbs in an exaggerated way. Gus knew, ironically, that’s how she usually ended up sleeping anyways.

“Leave some room for the rest of us!” Amity jumped down beside her and pushed her playfully.

Gus let himself fall onto them, getting pushed and poked until he rolled to Willow’s other side. Luz claimed a spot next to her girlfriend and Vee curled up next to her sister, shifting to her Basilisk form.

As if they had practised it, they turned their attention to Hunter in unison. Gus was really worried that he would misunderstand. They weren’t here because of him, they were here for him.

Hunter looked really out of it, staring blankly with half-closed eyes. He didn’t even get flustered about Willow basically sleeping in his bed. And Gus really wanted to see that, it would’ve been so funny. Instead, his friend just seemed confused.

“Get in here dude!” Gus exclaimed, getting four different ‘yeah’s as support from beside him. The anxiety that had stuck to the back of his mind acted up, jittery and tense. What if this didn’t work? What if he didn’t like the idea of this nest-thing?

To his relieve, Hunter’s confused expression fell into a smile. His eyes closed and something like an amused scoff escaped his mouth.

He walked over and slowly laid down on his back next to Gus. He let out a long, strained sigh as his body seemed to relax. Amity turned off the lights with a spell circle, sinking the room in near darkness, only the faint glow of the fairy lights remained. Sandwiched between his two best friends, Gus shut his eyes, feeling the anxiety finally leaving his mind for good.

Hunter laid in the darkness and silence. His eyes had long since adjusted to the shadows and the faint glow above him. He could see every detail of the ceiling and it was the only thing he could focus on. Folding his hands over his belly, he tried not to disturb Gus. Who had been sleeping soundly next to him for a while now.

All of them were asleep already, but he couldn’t.

He knew he wouldn’t be able to before even laying down. He was past tired. Past fatigue. Past exhausted. He didn’t feel empty either, just bad. Really really bad.

He sat up, not sure if the uncomfortable feeling in his back was from the blankets or his thoughts. He looked at them. Gus, Willow, Amity, Luz and Vee. Titan, they were all so important to him and he treated them like this.

The least he could do was ensure he wouldn’t wake them up, again. He wanted to toss and turn, worm around until this stupid night finally turned to day. So he crawled away, to preserve their sleep. Not too far away, he faced them sitting with crossed legs.

He summoned Flapjack’s staff form.

If he were awake, the cardinal would have protested egregiously. He would've flapped his wings hard and demanded his witch go to sleep. He would have pecked him on the head and given him some mystic advice or a lecture. He would've chirped up a storm until Hunter resigned to avoid waking everyone else. Again.

But no palisman could ignore this command, especially one as genuine and desperate as Hunter's was in that moment.

He was so grateful for his friends and so happy to be surrounded by them. He had to keep this. He had to protect this. Clutching the wooden staff closer to his chest, he understood what he had to do. He hated it, but he didn’t care. It’s the one thing he’s good at.

He could keep them safe. He could do what he was trained for, was made for. He could guard them.

[bakedbeanchan]

trial and error and error and error and error and error and error and error and error and

[weaverofink]

AU where Belos DOES manage to successfully possess one of the unfinished grimwalkers and poor Hunter has to confront yet another thing wearing his face

[jess-the-vampire]

Imagine moving to a new country and their equivalent of Jesus is just walking around and everyone is very casual about it actually

[quadrantadvisor]

Owl House/Boiling Isles biology headcanons from a fic idea I never wrote:

Witches have a wider range of color vision than humans. A lot of magic puts off infrared light (meaning Luz is missing out on like, half of what spells actually look like).

Humans, however, have a better sense of smell. Witches are better at digesting potentially hazardous materials, but humans have to worry about poisons. Humans are also highly specialized to smell petrichor (via Wikipedia, "able to detect it at concentrations as low as 0.4 parts per billion"), and witches can't smell it at all. (Luz is like, "I miss the rain smells in the human realm so much. On the Boiling Isles the rain just smells like burning :/" and all her friends are like, "what. are you talking about."

Witches don't have an appendix, but they do, coincidentally, also have a random organ that doesn't have much of a purpose and sometimes ruptures and kills you. It's located slightly above the right lung.

Kinda obvious but, ears. Witch ears have a greater curve than human ears and taper into a point. They have some limited mobility, allowing the witch to pinpoint sounds, and they play a part in emotional expression. For a witch, it's not really that strange that human ears are round, it's more that they don't move at all. They're completely stiff, and it makes humans difficult to read. (Luz is lucky she's otherwise very expressive, or else she would come off as nearly emotionless. As it is, sometimes people think she's not being genuine, because her ears don't match the rest of her expression, like when someone smiles without their eyes.)

Humans have slightly denser bones than witches. As a result, humans weigh a bit more on average and put on muscle easier.

Witches can't digest lactose

A high tolerance for most human poisons means that alcohol isn't a popular drug for witches. It technically affects them in a similar way, but their tolerance is such that it's not an effective way to get high. Most of the drugs used recreationally on the Boiling Isles would kill a human instantly.

Witches have a different pulse beat from humans, since their hearts are designed differently to accommodate the bile sac (and grimwalkers' pulses are even more unique, since they have a galdorstone. Rather than the thump of blood valves, Grimwalkers have a sort of magic hum that pulses their circulatory system.)

[nerdykorgi]

Dapper brothers✨✨

I cant even tell you what this is lol

had an idea that needed to get out of brain so here we are.

unshaded version under cut

[crimeronan]

Poor Luz getting so so so frustrated (and kind of relieved. It's like half frustrated and half relieved) at how nonchalantly Hunter is taking being a Grimwalker. He's just like "So what you're telling me is that there are countless other examples of what my life would be like if you were not a part of it and they all end with 'Dead as a Doornail' and somehow you still do not understand that you are Perfect. Weird-Ass." Luz is just like ">:( Stop That!!!!"

luz having been so scared to tell him the grimwalker thing because she's terrified that maybe he won't trust himself anymore, because she's so scared that he might not be able to consent to their relationship, because why would anybody in their right mind consent to anything with luz when she is Bad,

and hunter is just like.

.....what??? that makes no fucking sense. if anything i should have put belos ABOVE you, if he was breeding for loyalty. luz. you're being crazy

luz: but what if you Have to be loyal to whoever's nicest to you. what if you can't help it. what if belos is usually nicest and i just got in the way and-

hunter, throwing his hands up: EVERYBODY IN THE ENTIRE WORLD IS LOYAL TO WHOEVER'S NICEST TO THEM.

[pespillo]

he greets almost everyone it just caught them off guard the way he does it

[maskednerd]

[hamletunfortunately]

Drew my friend @fableshouse's grimwalker pip (+caleb) oc Icarus because he was JUST SO PRECIOUS!! im obsessed, and i think about him every day.

[b1ackpaws]

Literally a cat why is he so ear 🤨⁉️

[sea-creature-things]

Grimwalker things

Chapter 7: An itchy weakness, the sequel

I made a sequel, cuz I had more details about this headcanon and more scenarios that I wanted to share.

Also, Lumity date!

Read here below the cut or on AO3 with this link:

Luz was riding the bus back from school. She leaned her head against the window, watching the outside world zip past. It had been a long day at school and the peculiar smell coming from those crappy seats was not helping her headache.

What a waste of her time. Her day had started off so well too!

She’d actually gotten Hunter so far to fall asleep and she watched over him as she promised, for a while. But it was hard to not sink deeper into the old armchair. Frankly, it was a little nostalgic, falling asleep in that thing. She half expected her mom to carry her upstairs, but she wasn’t five anymore. And staying with her brother had its own charm.

She always wanted a brother, but had no idea what they were like. King seemed to really love sleeping near her though.

Anyways, when she woke up the sun was shining so beautifully through the window. Literal rays of warm light coming into the room.

She was ready to tell Hunter good morning, but when she turned she saw he was still out cold. A strong feeling of pride bloomed inside her chest. She fought the urge for mischief or high-pitched Spanish cooing.

Willow was awake uncharacteristically early, immediately spotting the blonde tufts of hair peeking out from the blanket as she walked into the living room. Her eyes widened and an adorable smile formed on her face. Only then did she notice her other friend in the room.

She greeted Luz with a whisper and pointed to the boy on the couch, clearly surprised to see Hunter sleeping.

She agreed with a giggle. Her pride in this never-before-witnessed skill growing even stronger.

Willow had quietly walked closer, keeping her eyes on the sleeping boy. She seemed very impressed and asked how Luz had managed it.

When she asked Willow if she was jealous, she'd denied it so vehemently that the only logical conclusion could be that she was. Luz had not actually expected that, but it made her incredibly happy.

She went absolutely feral teasing her friend.

All those years of shipping characters online flooding back to her as she beheld the result of her matchmaking skills. Not that she had anything to do with Hunter and Willow meeting, but who cares! Their love story was unfolding in front of her very eyes!

Of course, her squealing woke him up. She couldn’t possibly be blamed at a time like this, it was way too cute.

They wished him a good morning as he looked around all drowsy and yawning. Hunter’s hair was a mess, completely tangled and one strand even ended up in his mouth. Luz couldn’t help but laugh as she helped him fix the literal bird’s nest on his head.

Willow escaped like the wind, using breakfast as an excuse. Luz had never seen her face so bright pink.

It was only seven o’clock in the morning at that point and the rest of the house was slowly coming to life.

She boasted about her accomplishment every time someone woke up. Everyone had a similar happy and surprised reaction. She didn’t want to embarrass her brother too much though. So she had decided to keep Hunter’s new off button a secret, for now.

The vibe at home had finally gotten back to normal. Luz was so, so glad all that tension was gone.

It didn’t take long for her perfect day to turn sour though, considering it was a school day and she would throw away six hours for an unruly classroom and depressed teachers. Precious time that she could be spending on far more important things. Like building a portal!

They had an actual plan now and it felt so close, so real. Like she could just reach out and touch it, turn the knob and walk into the Boiling Ilses.

Instead she had to ’sit still and listen’ all day. Bombing a history pop quiz was just the icing on the cake. At least she had something to look forward to, her date with Amity!

Just her and her beautiful girlfriend on a mundane, slice-of-life date they both loved. Luz was a little nervous about the talk they’d inevitably have, but it was important and she felt ready.

The bus’s frame shook violently and bumped against her temple. This thing was hitting every pothole known to man! Luz reflexively winced from the pain, then slowly looked around to see if anyone had noticed. If they were judging her.

Whatever.

Even if they were, she didn’t care. Or shouldn’t care.

She was about to put her forehead back against the cold glass, until she recognised the neighbourhood. Luz didn’t know how quickly she had to grab her stuff and get out of there. She practically ran through the front yard and flew through the door.

“I’m home!” She announced while using one arm to swing herself into the living room.

“Luz!” Gus jumped up from the floor where he and Hunter had been lounging, absolutely surrounded by books. He stood in front of her in an instant and grabbed her hand. “Come on!”

“Welcome home.” Hunter greeted, chuckling at her surprised reaction to Gus turning her around and leading her through the hallway.

“Wow, wait-“ Luz stopped in her tracks, Hunter almost bumped into her. “Where is Amity? I have to get ready for our date.”

“Willow and Vee are helping Amity with her outfit-“ Gus explained.

“Yeah, serious fashionistas.” Hunter added ironically.

“And we’re gonna do the same for you!” Gus said excitedly, tugging her along as he headed for the basement. “Well, I’ll be styling you and Hunter will watch from a distance.”

Luz looked back at the oldest witch as they slowly and steadily herded her to the stairs. Partly because she wanted to see his reaction to Gus’s dig, but mostly because everything was moving a bit too fast for her. She was still catching up to this plan.

“Yeah, yeah.” Hunter waved Gus’s teasing away annoyed. He huffed indignant. “Blight was clear enough about my fashion sense.”

Luz couldn’t help but laugh as she finally understood what was going on. She was willing to bet it was Amity’s idea to have them get ready for their date like this, and she absolutely loved it.

Her day was already getting perfect again.

Amity twirled in front of the mirror. She had found a soft pink dress at the thrift store they visited a while ago. It was stretchy at the top and had a long, flowy bottom. It had a square necklace and short bubble sleeves. The way the frilly skirt spun as she moved made her feel like a fairy tale princess.

Its colour now perfectly matched her faded hair, which stung a little, but the perfect fit was too good to pass up.

She felt cute.

Dressing up for a date was something she had kind of dreamed about. It’s not like it was her burning ambition or something, but it was nice to experience. She only wished she had the annoying voices of her siblings behind her as she tried on different clothes.

Instead, it was Willow and Vee, who were the best hype-women ever. It just wasn’t the same. Even though they’d be teasing her every way to Sunday, she missed Edric and Emira. But she was still grateful to have the girls help with her outfit and boosting her confidence.

“I think I hear Luz downstairs.” Vee chirped up as she was searching through a drawer. Amity felt the excitement spike and she almost ran downstairs to greet her girlfriend.

“Wait, we’re not done.” Willow looked up from rummaging in the closet. She laughed as Amity immediately turned on her heels.

“Do you think she’ll like the idea?” Amity asked, suddenly not as confident in her plan.

“You kidding?” Willow walked behind her, looking at their reflection as she put her hands on Amity’s shoulders. “She’ll love it!”

“One hundred percent!” Vee matched her energy. They carried out their duty as cheer squad very well, instantly making her feel better. Vee slithered closer, as she held up a cute, black hairband with a tiny bow on the side. “Now, I was thinking of matching this with your black sandals.”

“Ohmigosh, cute!” Amity squealed and Willow nodded passionately.

“And I found this.” Said the plant witch as she placed a necklace around her neck. Amity immediately recognised the small, golden heart connected to a delicate chain. She gasped enthusiastically as the gold metal made contact with her skin.

“Actually, Luz gave this to me.” She explained, an unavoidable smile tugging at her lips. “So it’s perfect.”

She remembered when she’d made a passing comment about liking the design. They were just browsing in the mall, but the next day Luz handed her a small gift bag with that necklace inside. She was truly adorable. Amity was still looking for something to give back, nothing felt good enough yet.

“I was also thinking of this belt, but I’m not sure anymore.” Willow continued as she held it next Amity’s dress. She had to suppress a laugh, because the way she was holding it almost made it look like a snake, especially with that grossed out look in her eyes.

“Nah.” Vee said decidedly after tapping her chin and squinting at the new combination. Willow didn’t seem too heartbroken about it, throwing the thing over her shoulder with flair. It landed on top of the large pile of clothes that had already been rejected.

“Do you wanna do something with you hair?” Willow asked, playing with a pink strand. The motion gave her flashbacks of Emira doing the exact same thing.

“Hmmm, I was thinking about an updo.” Amity began, gathering her hair in a lazy example of a bun. She dropped it again, looking at her friends sheepishly. “But I don’t wanna make you guys do my hair for an hour and then decide I don’t like it.”

Vee giggled and Willow laughed, shaking her head. She already waved her hand, probably ready to brush it off. Having her friend support her like this, made her feel so happy. Amity was ecstatic, and honestly a little surprised, with how much closer they had grown.

“Hold on a minute,” Vee cut her off before Willow even started. She shape-shifted into her human disguise, but her hair was pink instead of the usual green and blue pattern. And it was styled in a lovely messy bun.

“Oh my Titan Vee, that’s genius.” Amity marvelled at her hair. She looked away shyly, but smiled wide. The idea of Vee modelling for her by shapeshifting was perfect, it seemed so obvious in retrospect.

“Yeah!” Willow agreed, also circling around the basilisk and admiring her creation. Amity could tell it made her well up with pride.

She modelled a few options for them while Amity described what she wanted. They ended up with something pretty complicated, but with Willow’s seal of approval she asked them to replicate it. The plant witch’s confidence wasn’t misplaced, because when it was done it looked almost exactly like Vee’s blueprint.

Amity loved every inch of it. The high braided bun, incorporating the cute headband, left a few curly strand in front to perfectly frame her face.

“What do you think?” She asked, twirling in front of the mirror again. Now with the complete outfit.

“It’s adorable!” Vee cooed with her palms pressed together in front of her mouth.

“Absolutely gorgeous!” Willow declared, her hands on her hips and a satisfied smile on her face.

Boosting her confidence indeed.

If everything was going according to plan, Gus and Hunter had been doing the same for Luz. Though, Amity hoped the illusion witch was taking the lead like he promised. Hunter’s fashion sense was… questionable at best.

Luz stood in the middle of the basement as Gus bounced around her in a whirlwind of clothes. Hunter was off to the side, lounging on the couch with a stupid smirk on his face.

Gus had displayed possible options for outfits everywhere; the couch, the washing machine, the sewing table. It was mostly her stuff, but she recognised some articles - especially accessories - as coming from the boys’s closet. There were definitely some outfits she liked, but the sheer magnitude was a little overwhelming.

He was taking this really seriously.

“Wow…” Luz gawked, standing around uselessly as Gus waited for an answer. “It’s uh- it’s a lot.”

“I kinda raided your closet, sorry ‘bout that.” He laughed, scratching his cheek.

“It’s fine, I love this idea.” Luz assured him. She took the combination of a cropped hoody with flared jeans from his amped up hands.

“Amity came up with it,” Hunter said, standing up and joining the fashion show at Gus’s side. Luz nodded and smirked as she reviewed the dark purple fabric in her hands. She knew it. “Said she wanted a dramatic reveal, like you were picking her up at her house.”

Luz looked up quickly and her face must’ve betrayed her sudden panic, because Gus slapped his arm and shot him a pointed glare.

“What?” Hunter threw his arms up and looked at his buddy confused. “Was that a secret or something?”

“Did you guys work on the portal today?” Luz asked and Hunter got the expression of sudden realisation. She really didn’t have the time or mentality to be subtle here. Or to worry about the boys worrying about her.

She just wanted to know if they were getting closer, so she could pick her girlfriend up for real.

“Yup, we’re still figuring out the kinks” Gus said, giving the taller boy another snarky look. Hunter avoided his gaze by suddenly being very interested in the ceiling, absentmindedly picking at his nails. Gus rolled his eyes with a smile. “We experimented with the palismen’s magic, but-“

“That’s great! Did it seem powerful enough?” Luz interrupted, an incredibly light feeling bubbling up from her insides. It almost felt like it was forming a lump in her throat.

“Yes!” Gus stepped forward, looking just as giddy as she felt. “Their raw power is incredible.”

Luz’s smile was instant and so wide it put as strain on her cheeks. A soft sigh unwillingly escaped from it and a dangerous feeling of relief made itself comfortable in her gut.

They could do this. Their research was paying off. Their time wasn’t going to waste, they didn’t even need her six hours. With the palismen’s magic they would finally, finally get them back home.

Get her friends back home, of course. She was already home.

“We have high hopes for this plan.” Gus said. They were infecting each other with their good moods and dopey smiles. Hunter seemed doubtful, but he was probably just worried. He was a worrywart! No need to dwell on that, right?

Suddenly, there was a finger waving in her face. Gus picked up another outfit he had showcased. “BUT for now just focus on the clothes.”

“Oooh, I like this one.” Luz knew she got distracted easily and Gus was using that against her, but that outfit was totally her style.

After she had changed in the bathroom, she obediently returned to the basement. All the while fighting the urge to sneak upstairs and find out how things were going. She was super curious, but there was no way she’d ruin Amity’s plan.

“Hhmmm,” Gus tapped his chin, scrutinising his own combination as Luz did an apprehensive spin in front of them. “Hunter go get your boots.”

“What?” The blonde turned to him with a questioning frown.

“They’d fit perfectly with the outfit!” He explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “And it’s not like Luz has a much smaller size.”

“I dunno about that…” Luz admitted. She didn’t have to point out that Hunter was taller than her. She was pretty sure he’d even grown a few inches since they got here.

“Just go.” Gus said hot-tempered when Hunter showed similar hesitation. He gestured with his hands, like herding a troublesome sheep, until he got his buddy to the stairs. “If they don’t fit that’s too bad, but we won’t know if we don’t try!

Luz cracked a smile and shared an amused look with her brother before he disappeared to the hallway.

Amity’s nerves were getting to her, she hadn’t thought about this waiting period while Luz was still getting ready. She knew she looked good and she knew it didn’t even matter what she wore, her girlfriend would still think she was pretty in a garbage bag. But she was still getting antsy, pacing through the room.

“Girl, calm down.” Vee said in another failed attempt to get her to relax. She was laying on her belly in Luz’s bed, her head resting on her hands and her tail swaying from side to side.

“You put too much pressure on your plans, Ami.” Willow added, leaning back in the pink office chair and playing with clover. She was right, but that didn’t really help lower her stress.

Stress that she didn’t even know where came from.

“I know…” Amity conceded, but kept pacing.

“Knock knock!” They suddenly heard Gus’s voice from behind the door. He didn’t really wait for an answer before swinging the door open, bowing with court-like flair. “Luz is ready and waiting downstairs for you, my lady~”

Amity burst with a laugh, quickly suppressing it to pretend being disgruntled. The girls behind her didn’t hold back, roaring with laughter as Gus performed another, deeper bow.

“Thank you Gus.” Amity said graciously after the three of them had died down. Her nerves had disappeared like snow in the sun. “Did you…”

“Don’t worry, I worked my magic.” Gus reassured her. Amity was pretty sure the angelic glow around his head was an illusion, but she still opted to check for a spell circle behind his back. Gus smiled innocently as he broke the spell.

Amity stared at him with playful exasperation and Gus giggled. Then he winked. “And Hunter didn’t touch a thing.”

“Come on guys, he’s not that bad at…” Willow’s voice trailed off as all the heads in the room turned. Teasing eyes and mischievous smiles settling on her.

Vee slithered over to her, resting her head on the chair’s armrest and staring up at Willow like a cat. Gus walked over as well, his hands folded behind his back with a similar smirk.

“Sorry what was that?” He asked innocently, making Willow’s shoulder tense up as she tried to look anywhere but at them.

“Not bad at…?” Vee teasingly repeated her own words. Now she was full-on blushing.

Amity didn’t know how to jump in there and join the teasing, so she let the ‘peas in a pod’ do their thing. Even Clover was buzzing around, she could only guess how much the fuzzy bee was poking fun.

Amity was honestly still confused by this crush. Not from Hunter’s side of course. And not that he wasn’t a great guy, but…

Why?

When they were kids Willow always fell for the smooth, charismatic heroes it the romance novels they read. Well, when they snuck into the young-adult section of the library and secretly read together in their hideout.

Amity claimed the library hideout in the friend-divorce, sometimes she even hid there from Willow. She always regretted it, especially when she read about a cliché, charming heroine. Or about an outlaw love interest or some kind of misunderstood villain.

Anyways, this crush on Hunter surprised her is all. He was more anxious and nerdy than smooth or charming. But she was very happy for her.

She shook her head, tuning back in right as Willow jumped out of her seat utterly flustered.

“So Luz is ready?” Willow asked deliberately, trying to turn their attention back to the matter at hand. She hooked her arm with Amity’s, most likely using her as a shield.

“Yup!” Gus granted her the mercy of a change in topic. He got up from his dramatic - honestly impressive - lean on the chair and rubbed his hands together. “Let’s get this date started!”

He lead them down the hallway. Amity’s nerves came back in full force, but this time it felt more like exhilaration, like adrenaline. They stopped in front of the stairs, her friends all turned to her for the next step of the plan. But she was distracted by a certain conversation she overheard.

“Tell me I can do this.” Luz’s worried voice came from downstairs. Amity’s stomach dropped.

“You can do this.” Hunter’s voice instantly replied, not too enthusiastically.

“Now say it like you mean it.” Luz deadpanned. He scoffed in a particular way where Amity knew he was shaking his head.

“Relax.” Hunter said, not at all eloquently.

“That’s rich coming from you.” Luz pouted and Amity finally realised their banter was in good humour. She shared a knowing look with her friends as they giggled quietly.

“Okay, you guys go and tell her I’m coming down.” Amity whispered. Willow punched her arm softly before following Gus down the stairs. Vee was hot on their heels after shapeshifting to her human form and giving her a parting thumbs-up gesture.

“She’s ready~” Sounded Gus’s voice. She also heard Willow and Vee quietly compliment Luz’s outfit, only making her more curious.

Amity took a deep breath and walked down the stairs. In the most elegant, movie-like way she could, just as planned.

Luz was standing on the perfect place to greet her, only a few feet from the bottom step. Her mouth hung open in a comical, over the top way, but just as genuine as ever. Amity knew her face was hot red, like Willow’s tomatoes in the garden.

She was aware Luz cleaned up nice, but Gus had really outdone himself. She wore a dark purple jacket on top of a black top, which perfectly framed her shoulders. The sleeves reached to her elbows and her arms were adorned with a great deal of bracelets. Amity recognised a lot of them as gifts she’d happily given.

It made her happy to know they were both wearing each other’s gifts today.

Luz also wore a pair of stone blue skinny jeans. The formfitting pants nicely contrasted with the more loose jacket. Amity’s face was already hot enough, so she quickly focused on the brown lace up boots those skinny jeans ended in.

Wait- were those Hunter’s boots?

They certainly completed the outfit though. She’ll remember Gus’s impeccable fashion sense for next time.

Amity nearly skipped down the last steps, coming to a halt when she reached the bottom. She smiled brightly, marvelling at the way her ‘outfit reveal’ plan went off without a hitch. Luz’s beautiful dark curls bounced as she quickly closed the distance between them. Amity felt her arms wrap around her as she was suddenly lifted in the air and spun around.

“Ooooooh so pretty!” Her girlfriend squealed as she giggled from this princess-worthy hug.

Luz set her down, but didn’t release the hold around her waist. Not that Amity would ever want her to. She wrapped her own arms around Luz’s neck as they continued to hold each other in an ecstatic, bubbly giggle.

“You look quite good yourself~” Amity told her quietly, with a flirty voice she’d only ever use for Luz.

“Hey!” Gus grabbed her attention as he yelled. He was huffy as he tried to avoid the hand Hunter had placed over his face, seemingly shielding his eyes from her and Luz’s embrace.

Hunter and the girls next to him laughed as Gus finally succeeded in liberating his eyesight. Amity felt a little embarrassed at how easily she’d forgotten her friends were there. Her cheeks turned even redder, if that was possible. She let her arms fall off of Luz, who placed a quick peck on her cheek before releasing her.

Okay, now her cheeks were as red as they were going to get!

“Thanks for all your help folks,” Luz said upbeat as she grabbed Amity’s hand and led her to the front door, passing their friends. “But if you’ll excuse us, we’ve got a hot date right now.”

They walked outside under a symphony of laughing and cheering.

“I’m so glad my plan worked.” Amity leaned against Luz’s shoulder as they walked through the front yard. “Wasn’t it just the perfect movie trope?”

“It was perfect.” Luz agreed, touching her head briefly against hers. “Your plans always work.”

———

Luz thundered down the stairs, scaring her brother half to death. She briefly noticed his intense, wide eyes from behind his sewing machine as she flung herself on the couch. Grabbing Gus's pillow to muffle herself as she screamed her lungs out.

"Didn't go well?" Hunter asked nonchalantly like he hadn't just tensed every muscle in his body. If he was about to joke about this, if that stupid idiot was going to tease her about this...

"Shut up." She said defeated, still with her face buried in the pillow.

"Sorry, bad joke." Hunter's voice came closer. She turned her head to watch him sit down crosslegged on his mattress. "Did something happen?"

"No!" Luz responded instantly. "The date was perfect and happy and amazing."

It really was. She had taken Amity to a cute little café in town. They talked and laughed and held hands. They did all the cute couple stuff and enjoyed their slice of life day out.

Luz flirted with her of course, even more than usual. Comparing her sweetness to the various pastries on the menu. Then almost ordering the cheesecake because Amity called her ‘cheesy’, until she reminded Luz about all the lactose in it. So Amity ended up with the cheesecake, which she loved by the way, and Luz devoured a slice of apple pie. And it was lovely and amazing.

"But I couldn't do it!" Luz desperately continued, before she confused Hunter too much. "I couldn't talk about my feelings!"

"Ohh..." He looked like he understood now. Flapjack was perched on his shoulder, half hidden behind his long hair. He should really cut it already, or at least style it better. Hunter gave her a tightlipped smile. “Did you run away again? Or- from the conversation I mean.”

"No! Amity didn't bring it up, so I had to bring it up. I wanted to bring it up, but I couldn't!" She rambled on, still desperate and miserable.

"Wait, Amity didn't bring it up?" He held his hands up, Luz could practically see the gears in his head struggling to turn. "But that was the whole point."

"Don't judge me!" She cried out, burying her head back in the pillow.

"I'm judging both of you." Hunter’s voice sounded low and unimpressed.

"You!" Luz instantly retaliated into the pillow. She pushed herself up with sudden fiery determination, before continuing with a angry index finger pointed in her brother's face. "You're not allowed to judge anyone, you're a mess!"

“T-that is totally irrelevant!" Hunter sputtered offended. Luz suddenly had to try her best not to laugh, Hunter's frown slowly turned into a smirk. He shrugged again. "True, but irrelevant."

Luz giggled, her arm falling down weakly. She died down and they sat in silence for a little while. Luz’s misery returned unforgiving, she sighed after sitting up more comfortably.

Flapjack hopped from his witch’s shoulder to hers. He nuzzled into her cheek, singing a sweet melody she wished she could understand.

"What do I do now?" She moped, giving Hunter puppy-dog eyes as she absentmindedly gave the little palisman scritches.

"For Titan's sake, just talk to her!" He yelled at her, moving his hands around wildly. Luz jerked backwards surprised, she felt Flap’s little claws grab tighter on her shoulder.

"I'm trying!" She yelled back, scaring the bird into flying up frazzled.

He circled above them chirping loudly. Luz thought for a second she’d really scared him, but Hunter’s expression didn’t suggest that. He actually rolled his eyes, ignoring whatever Flapjack was saying.

He got a solid bonk on the head for it.

Flap landed in his hair afterwards, still chirping loudly as he nestled in the blonde locks.

"He's speaking in proverbs again." Hunter scrunched his face in a puzzled way, then shrugged as he looked at Luz. "Pretty sure he's calling us similar. In a bad way."

“What did he say exactly?” Luz laughed

“Birds of a feather flock together.” Hunter translated. Luz cocked her head at the familiar saying, he seemed to think she needed more clarification. “It’s more the way he said it that suggests it’s bad.”

“That’s a human saying.” Luz said, she could see her words shock the grimwalker in front of her.

“It is?” Hunter raised an eyebrow than looked to Flapjack. The cardinal hopped away, avoiding eye contact in a not-so-subtle way.

Luz was sure Hunter noticed it too, because when Flapjack chirped, he squinted suspiciously. She couldn’t imagine the cardinal was a much better liar than his witch.

“Anyways,” He changed the topic very obviously. The blonde boy clasped his hands together, jutting them in her direction. “Talk to your girlfriend Luz.”

“I told you, I tried.” She whined in despair.

“Well try harder, try more, try better.” Hunter said in a mock-pout.

“You’re not being kind at all…” Luz said in a real pout, a part of her a little peeved he wasn’t all soft and understanding like usual. But a bigger part of her was very glad they were joking around. She loved their banter.

"Listen hermanita," Hunter said enunciating the word carefully. His pronunciation was off, but Luz still got a kick out of the nickname. "A perfect date where you're happy and in love isn't a loss."

He poked her forehead to support his point.

“Alright, alright,” She swatted it away. “I get it.”

Luz reached out to pet Flapjack, basically insuring Hunter had to sit still like a pedestal for his palisman to be doted on. He had a point and she didn’t do anything wrong, she just had to find the courage to bring up her feelings.

Easier said than done though.

As she scratched the cardinal’s chin through the blonde nest, she had an idea. A perfectly devious, rambunctious idea.

"You know what would make me feel better?" She said, trying to suppress the smug, Cheshire Cat smile forming on her lips. He seemed to be considering it, but she wasn’t done yet. “Then let me do it when the others are there too.”

“No.”

“Come on~”

"Don't touch me." Hunter now looked at her suspicious, or rather, like a warning. As if those would ever stop her.

“Gruñón.” Luz reached a hand in the general direction of his ear. Hunter leaned backwards, effortlessly dodging her attempt. She got up from the couch extra slowly, every braincell in her skull focused on the same thing.

“I don’t know what that means,” His voice still carried the same alarmed suspicion. Apparently he’d noticed her movements all the same, because he kept backing away. “But I’m not letting you touch my ears.”

Hunter stood up, using his height as an advantage. Incredibly unfair, but if he thought that would intimidate her, he was sorely mistaken. Luz had seen him through enough embarrassing moments to ever be scared of him.

And if she had anything to say about it, this was going to be another one of those moments.

Flapjack flew away, sensing the suspense of the coming battle. Hunter was stuck between some kind of fighting stance and cautious body language.

Luz’s determination burned stronger as she crept forward. She lunged, arms outstretched and ready to scratch. But the next thing she knew, she was laying with her back pressed on Hunter's sleeping bag.

She blinked, her brain having a hard time catching up to the insane takedown Hunter had just used on her. He was like some kind of martial arts champion. His leg had hooked behind her knees and his hand gripped her hoody, to not drop her too hard.

But her resolve wasn't quelled yet! Her arms were still free to reach out and- until they weren't.

"Stop it." Hunter laughed as he grabbed her wrists.

"Okayyyy..." Luz groaned, she held out a hand for him to shake. "Truce."

"I'm not falling for that again." Hunter said, still holding onto her wrists. Luz cackled maniacally and he helped her stand up. Once her wrists were free she grabbed a pillow and chucked it in his face. Hunter gasped indignant. "I knew it!"

He grabbed his own pillow, flinging to her head. But she blocked it, quickly countering with Gus’s blanket. They didn’t erupt in an all out pillow fight, but their competitive spirits were definitely awake.

"You have to teach me how to do that." Luz said very energetic, doing her best rendition of a judo takedown against the empty air.

“No," Hunter shot her down, getting a hit in as she turned around with a mopey expression. He smirked after literally wiping that look from her face "Get outta here.”

She blew a raspberry at him, finally honouring the truce and cleaning up their weaponry. She only now realised that the boys's sleeping stuff was back here.

"No more sleepovers?" She put on a sad voice while fluffing up Gus's pillow and laying it back on the couch carefully. She had no idea how he'd feel about his pillow being used for war. So she was erasing as much evidence as possible.

"You still wanna keep tabs on me?" Hunter sighed annoyed. His tone confused her and so did his face when she almost snapped her neck to look at it.

"That's only part of the reason I wanted sleepovers." Luz told him with a frown. She wasn't going to lie to him, but it was hardly the most important reason at play. She just wanted to be close to all her friends after - what she now knew as - his stone sleep. The sleepovers were meant to cheer them up, the second one in particular.

"Oh." Her friend froze then smiled at her awkwardly. Luz giggled, punching him softly on the shoulder. The tips of his pointy ears turned a soft pink as he tried to hide his embarrassment by putting back his own pillow.

The room fell into a comfortable silence. Luz returned Gus's blanket to it's rightful place with the same care. Hunter sat behind the sewing machine, continuing his work on what she guessed was a sweater. Flapjack circled in the air a few times before nestling in spare fabrics and threads.

Luz wasn't ready to leave yet. Her heart was still set on some kind of competition. She dropped back down on Hunter's sleeping bag, folding her legs.

He raised an eyebrow at her, probably confused about what she was still doing here. But he didn't say anything.

It didn't take long for boredom to take over as Luz just sat there watching her brother sew. She started drumming her hands on her knees. She swore she saw Hunter roll his eyes.

“Did you come straight to me after your date?” He asked as he grabbed another patch, a slice of pizza. She wasn't sure if he was actually curious or just trying to tame her adhd. He leered at her from behind the machine. “I don’t know if I should be flattered or concerned.”

“Of course I didn’t.” Luz huffed offended. She also tugged on her hoody, because with that whole makeover thing he should’ve really noticed she was wearing a different outfit. “I’m a great girlfriend and didn’t just ditch Amity right after our date. I’ve been home for like an hour.“

She lost some of her gusto recounting her steps. “Also, the guilt and regret only set in after we were already home.”

Hunter burst out in a laugh, he didn't even try to hide it.

"Hey!" Luz stood up and dashed over to the sewing table. "Don't laugh you jerk!"

She made another attempt to scratch the spot behind his ear, but he dodged it pretty effortlessly. All the while still laughing like an jerk.

"Just get outta here already." He playfully slapped her arm to the side. Luz suppressed the urge to mock him, he sounded too much like a whiney little brother. Instead, she shuffled away, stopping in front of the stairs.

“Wanna play video games?” She pointed over her shoulder, an anticipating smile plastered on her face. Her competitive drive was still in high gear.

“Uh…” Hunter looked back surprised. She saw his eyes flicker to his palisman and the expression he wore didn’t sit well with her. The blonde boy turned to her and smiled. “Maybe later.”



“… okay.” It took all her willpower to walk back upstairs as her entire being begged her to meddle. Her brother was easy to read and there was something going on between him an Flapjack. But she had to remember it wasn’t her place, reminding herself to stop interfering in things that didn’t concern her.

Not much good came of her meddling in things like that…

Hunter took his sweater out of the sewing machine. It was coming along quite nicely. His only problem was the diminishing amount of space left. Every time he decided on a patch and sewed it on, he saw three more he really liked.

So before he they started overlapping too much, he decided he was done for today.

But first…

He watched his palisman stir in the little nest he’d made. Flapjack had probably made a hundred different nests on that table, every time Hunter used new fabric or string.

“Do you like it?” He asked, holding up the part of the sweater with the new patches. Flap’s beak stretched out into a yawn, his eyes fluttered open.

“It looks great!” He chirped. Hunter smiled wide, looking down at his work proudly. Flap made a low cooing noise, looking up at him with compassion and it confused him. “Is it bothering you?”

“Huh?” Only then did he notice that his hand had subconsciously reached for the spot behind his hand. He quickly dropped it. “Oh, no it’s… fine.”

The little bird radiated doubt, his tiny eyes squinting. Hunter laughed nervously.

“Really, it’s fine. Luz is just really annoying about it.” The palisman still didn’t say anything, but Hunter knew what that look meant. He sighed, knowing what he had to admit to get Flap to stand down. “It’s just so… abnormal.”

“Is this new feature really that bad?” Flap chirped, added a nice trill on the word ‘feature’ which made Hunter involuntarily chuckle.

“No, it’s not bad.” Hunter reluctantly admitted, giving the cardinal a miffed look. “That was actually the best I’ve slept in a long time.”

“Happy to hear it.” He laughed and Hunter smiled softly, nodding still somewhat reluctantly.

He folded the sweater up, gliding a finger over his newest stitches. They were so neat, mostly because of the machine, but still. He really felt like he was getting better at this, if only he could show Darius.

Hunter saw Flapjack’s feathers puff up as he stepped out of his pile. He had actually planted to talk to him about something else, but wasn’t sure if he should. He scratched his cute little palisman under the chin and made up his mind.

“How did you know that human proverb?” He asked once Flap had stretch out his little wings. He seemed to freeze for a second, giving him a wary side-eye before pretending like nothing happened.

“I am sure I’ve heard other witches say that before.” He chirped nonchalantly as he preened his back feathers.

”I’m not stupid Flap,” Hunter mumbled as he propped his elbow on the table, resting his head on his hand and looking down at his palisman with a sigh. “Even your name is a human thing.”

The cardinal stopped rooting through his feathers, but still avoided eye contact. He hummed a low noise as he looked around the room, seemingly deliberating if he should tell him the truth. He slowly looking up at his witch with a guilty expression and Hunter suddenly felt a little nervous, not sure if he really wanted to know the answer.

“I was made by someone who loved the human realm.” Flapjack told him, reminiscing with a look of happiness and yearning. “She traveled between the two worlds frequently.”

Hunter felt relief bloom in his stomach, his nerves had been unnecessary. He was actually intrigued about the witch who carved his sweet little bird, she must’ve been a really nice person.

She must’ve had the same intense desire for freedom he had felt when he and Flap bonded.

“What was her name?” He asked, curiosity rising in his chest and digging its sharp claws in his brain. This was the first time Flap had ever talked about his origins. Granted, it was the first time Hunter had asked him about it.

“… I do not remember.” The little red bird averted his gaze, Hunter could tell he was lying. One benefit of being a terrible liar was recognising fellow terrible liars.

“Flapjack.” He couldn’t help the disappointment seeping into his voice. He reached out his index finger to gently pat his head, but his palisman took a step back.

“It doesn’t matter. She’s been gone for a long time.” He chirped mournfully, scraping a tiny claw over the wooden table. He was still reminiscing, but his eyes had turned dark and somber.

“Oh.” Hunter fell silent and he instantly wanted to open a giant sinkhole and jump down into the black abyss. He desperately sputtered out an apology. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-… I shouldn’t have-“

“No no, don’t worry!” Flapjack quickly hopped forward, rubbing against the hand he was still holding up. “It’s alright, Hunter.”

Hunter was intimately familiar with beating himself up, he knew all of that fool’s tricks. So he should really stop falling for them, or stop picking fights with himself in the first place.

He felt a bit less stupid now, gratefully tickling Flap under the chin. His sweet little palisman was just as familiar with talking him down.

“I just miss her sometimes.” Flap said in a low chirp. “Both of them.”

Hunter’s curiosity was furiously poked by that last cryptic mumble. He was so tempted to ask further, pry a little more, but the mere idea of causing Flap more pain was unbearable.

Losing the witch that carved you must be hellish grief for a palisman. Hunter had no idea what that felt like, but talking about it had obviously been awful for him.

“You often remind me of them.” The little bird cooed as he rubbed his cheek against Hunter’s palm.

He couldn’t figure out if him saying that meant he was willing to talk more. He really didn’t want to risk it, but he had an idea on how to ask.

“If you ever want to tell stories about them, I’d love to hear it.” He promised as he stood up, holding out a hand for his friend to jump on.

“Perhaps I will,” He chirped, flapping his wings to make the jump easier. Hunter put him on his shoulder very gently, tilting his head as Flapjack rubbed against his cheek. “Some day.”

He guessed they both wanted to hide the truth sometimes. What a pair, truly a matching set.

“Or if you ever wanna tell me what you keep looking for in the shed.” Hunter tried with a hopeful smile, as he made his way upstairs. “I’m all ears.”

Flap turned to him with an unimpressed look. He knew he wouldn’t get any information out of him, no matter how many times he asked. And his latest run-in with curiosity was still weighing on his conscience, making him apprehensive. Didn’t the humans have a saying about that too?

“Alright then, keep your secrets.” He decided, laughing as he booped the little rascal on his beak just before opening the door to the hallway.

When he walked into the living room, everybody was lounge on or next to the couch watching tv. Some kind of animal documentary, that Vee no doubt put on, was showing a tiny rodent creature frolicking through a field.

He definitely wasn’t the only one that thought it was cute, Vee and Gus were practically melting into the couch. Willow, sitting next to them, almost had sparkles in her eyes. And the girlfriends, who were cuddled up on the floor, cooed as the creature jumped in the air with all four paws stretched out. Amity was the first to notice him.

“Hey nerd!” She said in that teasing-but-affectionate way. Hunter rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Hi.” He said unenthusiastically as he sat down in the big, comfy chair. He pointed towards the creature on the tv. “What is that?”

“A rat.” Gus said like he was in love.

“A greater stick-nest rat.” Vee clarified, she swished her tail back and forth. “It eats invasive plants.”

“Invasive?” Hunter got worried, watching the rat pluck a bunch of purple flowers.

“That’s when a plant or animal is not originally from the country it’s in now.” Vee explained further, but he felt no closer to understanding those concepts. “Invasive species are bad for the local ecosystems, but this little guy seems to thrive on those weeds.”

Hunter nodded slowly, more to indicate that he heard her words.

Nothing on the Boiling Ilses was, or could be, invasive. Everything originated from the Titan. Countries were weird on their own, but how could something be invasive just for crossing the arbitrary lines determined by humans?

“Invasion bad, rat good.” Luz summarised when she saw how confused he still was. She seemed to have forgotten about that game he owed her.

“Right.” Hunter just opted to watch the tv. He didn’t want to look stupid. But throwing a quick glance to Gus and Willow, who both shrugged, reassured him that they had no idea what any of that meant either.

“And he’s just really cute.” Willow smirked at him, the others humming in agreement.

He heard the sound of the front door open and close, keys jingling and shoes being kicked off. He fought the urge to jump up and look into the hallway, or even so much as turn around. It was Camila, he knew it was Camila, it always was and could only be Camila.

Luckily he didn’t have to wait long for the confirmation, as their host walked into the living room.

“Aye que Lindo~” She cooed at the rat on screen. Hunter only then noticed how exhausted she looked. She seemed almost dishevelled, her hair fuzzy and her eyes dull. Like she just came from an illegal brawl.

“Are you okay?” He jumped up. This time he couldn’t suppressing his instincts, not that he even thought about it. “Do you want to sit down? Here, take my seat. I can get you something to drink?”

He felt the burning stare of his friends on the side of his face, preferring not to see the look in their eyes. Camila’s compassionate smile wasn’t much better, but it also brought him comfort somehow.

“Gracias mijo,” She put a hand on his arm and sat down like she was completely drained. “I had a long shift today.”

She breathed a sigh of relief as she settled deeper into the chair. Hunter involuntarily did the same, he stopped picking at his nails, which he didn’t even realise he’d been doing. Camila gestured to the couch where his friends were making room for him to sit. “But no need to get me anything, sweetheart.”

He sat down at his designated spot, still avoiding eye contact with his friends and pretending he was very interested in the documentary.

It showed an aquatic animal that looked very interesting. Its tail was a little similar to that of a Selkidomas, but other than that its smooth body and tiny flippers looked so weird. It was called a ‘common dolphin’ and Hunter thought it was anything but cute, but the girls disagreed.

Vee was explaining to Gus how they were able to film an animal underwater. Willow and Amity somehow still looked at the tv with sparkling eyes as the beast eviscerated a small fish.

Hunter’s attention was suddenly pulled back towards Camila as she said something Spanish under her breath. She brought a hand to her forehead and let out an annoyed groan. He couldn’t remember if he’d ever seen her like that before. Was she angry? What was she annoyed at? Did they do something wrong?

“I can’t believe this.” She muttered to herself and he practically felt his heart rate spike. She turned to them. “Kids, I forgot to swing by the grocery store after work.”

Oh.

“Amity, Hunter,” She shot a pointed look at the both of them. “Would you two mind going to the corner store and buying some stuff for dinner?”

“Of course!” Amity read his mind. She perched like a Jackalope alerting to rustling leaves.

Hunter nodded happily. There was a flash of something he couldn’t quite place on their caretakers face, but then she smiled gratefully.

“Gracias bebes, I think the list is on the fridge.”

Hunter’s head snapped towards Amity and her eyes met his. They froze for just a second, staring.

Then they bolted.

There was no countdown, no verbal agreement, not even a shared thought bordering on telepathy. There was just a race to win.

Amity dashed behind the couch, reaching the hallway before him because he had to climb out of the couch. He almost passed her, sliding to a stop in front of the kitchen, but she slipped through the doorway first and rushed to grab the shopping list that was pinned to the fridge by a tiny rainbow magnet.

Hunter loudly exclaimed from the defeat and Amity cackled all the way back to the living room. He shuffled behind her in disappointment, grumbling. Amity held the list high in victory, Camila and their friends looked at them with clear confusion. Hunter just shot them the most sour look ever.

“I got it.” Amity said awkwardly, waving the list.

“Right!” Camila broke out of her daze and led them to the front door where they put on their shoes. It was still warm enough that they didn’t need a jacket. She gave them a shopping bag and some money. “I’m sorry for making you two do my errands.”

Hunter stopped dead in his tracks, turning around surprised before he could step outside. Amity seemed just as confused.

“But I’m very tired and I need my no-nonsense kids to do their thing.” She put a hand on Amity’s shoulder with a grateful smile. She practically glowed with pride and Hunter couldn’t help but feel the same thing bloom in his chest.

“Don’t worry,” his pink-haired friend said, reassuring Camila. “We love to help you out.”

“It’s the least we could do when you take care of us every day.” Hunter added. A soft expression graced her face and Camila gave them another grateful smile.

“Alright, be careful. See you soon.” She said as they walked down the garden path. They waved their goodbyes and promised to be quick. “Buy yourselves some extra snacks!”

Camila’s last sentence, before she shut the door, made them stop abruptly again. Hunter looked at Amity a little uneasy, she looked at him with tight-lipped resignation. A quiet understanding between them, they were going to struggle with that one.

——

Amity looked at the colourful rows of packaging on the shelves. It was weird to see so many different version of the same things. Stores back home didn’t have seventeen different brands for every product. She liked human realm food, but it will always be weird to her.

Sometimes the flavour was so intense and rich that she almost wanted to marry what was on her plate. Other times she was eating something so bland, it was just sad.

The trip to the corner store was boring and uneventful. She got to bark orders at Hunter, as was the prize for winning the game. And he’d have to do all the heavy lifting. It was a very efficient system in her opinion. But as expected, they were facing difficulties to pick out ‘a snack’ that wasn’t on the list.

“What about this one?” Hunter held up a bag of chips with cheese flavouring. “Vee loves them.”

“I don’t like the taste of those.” Amity admitted sheepishly.

“Do you like this one?” She pointed to a light blue packaging for chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate was one of the first things Luz had wanted them to try and for good reason, it was amazing.

“Sure.” Hunter replied noncommittally. “Would that be… appropriate?”

“I think so?” Amity shrugged.

“Let’s just get it.” Hunter lowered the shopping bag on the ground, the handles stretching from the weight. “I don’t wanna take too long.”

“Yup, I agree.” She grabbed the crinkling tray and dropped it into the bag. “Plus, it only costs a few snails- uh, I mean dollars.”

“Perfect!” Hunter nodded approvingly and they both burst out into a quiet, embarrassed laugh.

As they made their way towards the register, Hunter swung the bag back and forth a few times to hoist it up easier, holding it in both arms before putting it on the counter by the register.

Amity sniffed with amusement, Emira always did the exact same thing.

Her legs stopped working. A homesick feeling overwhelmed her and suddenly she was threatening to break down is this stupid little grocery store. Now the rows of shelving made the space seem uncomfortably small and all those colours surrounding her felt foreign in the worst way.

Everything she saw was tormenting her with its humanity.

She missed the tangible products that didn’t have that ‘plastic’ stuff around them. She missed the sweet elderly demon behind the register. She missed-

“Amity?” Hunter interrupted her train of thought by calling her name, for what might’ve been the second or third time judging from his expression.

“Huh?” She asked, hoping he’d just see it as her daydreaming. At least she wasn’t crying or anything.

“We need to pay.” Hunter pointed a finger at the register and all their items that had, apparently, already been rung up.

“Right!” Amity laughed nervously, forcing her legs to move forward and taking the bills Camila had entrusted to her out of her pocket.

As they walked out of the store and back down the road, her mind wandered back to the demon realm. She just couldn’t stop thinking about it!

She missed her siblings, she longed for them so painfully. She hoped with all her heart that they were safe. She missed their stupid pranks and their endless nagging. She missed how Emira helped her with her hair and the way Edric would sneak her snacks at night.

And she missed her dad. She was so unbelievably angry that she got separated from him, just when they were starting to get along.

But she didn't miss her mom. Maybe that made her a heartless, ungrateful child, but she didn't care. It's not like she was happy she got separated from her, that was a whole other extreme. She just didn't care where or how she was.

People always said “but she’s still your mom”, like that meant anything.

“Oh,” Hunter exclaimed like he remembered something, once again dragging her out of her thoughts. “How was you date?”

The giant smile that formed on her face was easy and real.

“Perfect,” Amity said dreamily, remembering the cute tea shop and her even cuter girlfriend.

“So you feel better?” Hunter readjusted the big bag on his shoulder.

“… Yeah.” She looked straight ahead so Hunter couldn’t see her face. He either didn’t catch her lie or chose not to pry, because he didn’t respond.

She’d been beating herself up about this all afternoon. All her problems seemed to fly out the window when she saw Luz laughing. For a moment everything was okay again. Now the longing for home and the dread she’d never see it again were crawling back into her brain.

And she didn't take the opportunity to talk to her girlfriend about them! So stupid.

She always felt better after talking with Luz. Amity never expected her to understand. Not when she had missed Camila so much, even when their relationship wasn't as good as it was now. But Luz never said "but she's still you mom”. Never. She understood.

But Hunter, he got it.

She carefully looked up at his face, hoping it wouldn’t instigate any more questions. His long blonde hair hanging down like a slob, he still hadn’t figured out how to style it properly. She remembered when they first started decorating the shack. She, Gus and Willow made drawings of their families and she had felt obligated to explain why she hadn’t added her mom.

Vee and Willow did their best to sympathise, Gus could comprehend her reasons, Luz understood, but Hunter was the only one that knew what it felt like.

Pure apathy.

Because he was feeling it too. Or he had felt it in the past. Not that they talked much about that. Or often. But he told her the numbness tended to transform into anger sometimes. And they talked about how much they had cared at some point, to an unhealthy degree.

“I get it.”

“I know you do… isn’t that horrible?”

“Probably.”

She watched him move the shopping bag from one shoulder to the other. Could she talk about her complicated homesickness with him instead?

They were already approaching the Noceda residence, the quaint little house with its white picket fence, and she felt the opportunity slip through her fingers willingly.

It just didn’t sit well with her. Equating her childhood with the terrible abuse he’d suffered felt so wrong. She didn’t want to be pretentious, apparently she had been in the past and didn’t even realise it.

She was also worried about rubbing his lack of a home in his face. She knew it wouldn’t take long for Camila to adopt him and Luz had told her about a certain Coven Head. But what if he took her talking about her siblings the wrong way?

Besides, she wouldn’t want to saddle him with any more stress around building the portal.

Amity pushed her knuckles against his shoulder blade in the way that Edric absolutely hated, getting the same kind of annoyed response out of Hunter.

“Come on,” She ran up to the door and rang the bell, gesturing for him to hurry up. An irritated mumble accompanied his shoes scuffing on the gravel as he readjusted the heavy bag one last time.

Luz opened the door, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek. They moved to the kitchen, finding everyone else already there. Willow was watering the house plants, Vee was showing Gus something on her phone, and Camila was preparing a salad.

“Welkom back kids,” She said cheerfully when they greeted her.

Amity and Hunter unloaded the groceries on the island. Camila immediately took the stack of frozen pizzas and put the first one in the already-hot-oven. Amity also proudly presented the cookies they bought.

“We got a snack.” Hunter said, his tone almost veering into arrogance. “For ourselves.”

“Just the one?” Luz’s mom asked and they froze.

Hunter looked at Amity a little uneasy, she looked at him with tight-lipped resignation.

“Uhm- well, that’s a perfect choice!” Camila quickly course-corrected, taking the package and marvelling at it like it was a prized possession. “Good job.”

“Wait, did someone say chocolate?” Luz piped up, quickly walking towards her mother and snatching the cookies out of her hand.

“Aye!” Camila took them back and playfully slapped her daughter’s hand away. “I know you’re hungry because it’s dinner time, but you’ll have to wait until after you’ve actually eaten your dinner.”

“Ooh, we’re having pizza?” Willow also walked up and examined the stack. Camila spun around as she picked up the top box.

“Yes-“

“Really?” Vee bounced over, clearly overflowing with excitement.

“Oh my titan, YES!” Gus approached from the other side and Camila turned around again, looking a little frazzled.

“Alright. Everybody step away from my kitchen.” She ordered, but Hunter was the only one actually taking a step backwards. Amity didn’t want him to feel weird, so she quickly joined him.

The others just giggled and slowly made their way towards the dinner table. Willow carefully lowered the pizza onto the stack with a funny expression.

“Yes, we’re having pizza.” Camila sighed in that exaggerated way, that she by now recognised as mock-irritation. “But only because I knew I’d have a long day at work today. And I’m making a salad so that it’s not too unhealthy.”

“Yeah, we don’t care about that last part.” Luz told her with a teasing smile.

“I do.” Their blonde friend pouted.

“Hunter.” Luz turned him around and put both hands on his shoulders so she could stare intensely into his eyes. “It’s pizza. Food for the soul. Food of the gods!”

Amity could see he was barely holding a straight face, while Luz was completely serious.

“How could you look me in the eyes and say you don’t like it?” She lightly shook his shoulders back and forth before walking around him.

“I never said that.” Hunter’s confused gaze followed her as she rested her arm around Amity’s shoulders.

She giggled and nuzzled her girlfriend’s cheek, earning a blushy laugh back.

Camila put the salad bowl on the table and told them to sit down. They all happily obliged as she took the first pizza out of the oven, cut it up into eight pieces and distributed each portion onto their plates. And so they ate each pizza one by one.

There was some debate over who got the left over piece at first, but after the first few rounds most of them had eaten their fill. The salad also helped, which was delicious of course. Amity had never been disappointed by Camila’s cooking.

Her flavours could rival the spices of the Boiling Ilses.

After dinner the squad - as had unfortunately become their nickname for the group - cozied up in the living room to watch a movie, having the cookies as dessert. Amity quickly understood why Camila had been worried about them only buying one snack, the sweet chocolate goodness was devoured before they could even pick a movie.

Luz eventually convinced them to watch a movie about dragons. It was an ‘animation’ movie, which took some explaining, but the first few minutes were pretty cool. Gus and Vee were immediately hooked and Luz was excitedly telling them about ‘techniques’ used in the movie.

Amity thought it was charming, but if she had to be honest, it wasn’t the best film she’d ever seen. The dragon’s anatomy was totally wrong and most of them wouldn’t even be able to fly in real life. Luz said it was one of her favourites movies ever though, so she wouldn’t judge until seeing the whole thing.

Hunter and Willow looked like they were enjoying the film too. The latter relaxed on the couch, an amused smile on her lips as she watched the tv. And the former lounging on the ground, resting his elbow on the coffee table, rivalling Gus’s invested look.

Maybe it was the Viking’s on screen, or maybe it was Hunter hair hanging down in sad strands, but Amity got an idea that she just had to try.

“Hunter?” She asked with a cautious voice, ready to tread carefully. He tilted his chin in acknowledgment, already eyeing her suspiciously. “Can I braid your hair?”

“Oh sure.” He shrugged as he focused back on the movie. 

“Wait what?” Amity was genuinely surprised. This was going way too easily. 
 
“Sure.” He repeated. She couldn’t tell if he was enthusiastic or completely indifferent.

“Really?” She felt herself getting excited and Hunter got more suspicious.

“Yes?” He looked around for any warning signs.

Amity squealed like a fangirl, clapping her hands in excitement. At that point, Gus and Vee turned to her confused. They had only seen her do that when it came to The Good Witch Azura. Luz and Willow knew that side of her better, but neither expected her to do it because of Hunter. She saw her girlfriend poorly hide an amused smile.

“Come here.” She gestured for him to sit in front of her. She smiled brightly at her girlfriend, not even feeling embarrassed, while Hunter awkwardly climbed over the table. This was way too exciting.

It didn’t take long until everyone lost interest again. Hunter was definitely indifferent to the whole thing, fully focused on the tv while she raked her fingers through his hair to detangle it a little.

“Careful with the spot behind his ear~” Luz whispered.

“No!” Hunter spun around before she had a chance to react.

“What spot?” She asked confused, plus a little concerned she was doing something wrong.

“If you scratch it he-“

“NO!” The subject of her teasing leapt up to try and cover her mouth. Luz wrestled his hand away, trying to get her message out through bursts of laughter.

“If you scratch it he falls asleep!” She eventually shouted. Amity’s pure surprise spilled out of her in a weird guttural noise. How in the world was something like that even possible? To fall asleep from someone scratching your ear? Was Luz exaggerating?

“You’re dead to me.” Hunter deadpanned, retracting his hands and staring her down. He basically just confirmed it. No way…

“You have an off switch?!” Vee hopped out of the big armchair, bouncing towards him with unbridledly excitement. When he didn’t react, she locked her fingers with Luz who nodded vigorously.

“Why haven’t we been using that this entire time?” Gus laughed, Amity could see a teasing glint in his eyes as his full attention had found a new target.

She was also immediately drawn to Willow’s face. She seemed to be trying very hard not to laugh, smile, or in appear in any way amused by this new information. And she seemed to be failing.

“I only found out last night.” Luz explained, going into a whole tangent on how she finally got their most stubborn witch to sleep. Under a lot of giggling at that.

Hunter was ignoring everyone, a healthy shade of red on his face, and sat back down on the floor. Amity was happy to pretend nothing was said and continued gathering the strands in three even sections.

Something major happened with the boy and the dragon on the tv screen, which distracted the others again.

Or so she thought, as suddenly Luz’s hand was inching towards her work field. A delighted and devious grin spread on her face and the moment she saw that adorable expression, Amity knew she’d let her do anything.

She really shouldn’t, Hunter trusted her. They were friends now, they had a certain understanding and it hadn’t been easy to become friends.

And he trusted her!

But Luz was looking at her like that! Her hopeful- no, expecting eyes. Her mischievous smile that Amity loved so much.

So she let her do it.

Luz’s fingers found their way behind his right ear. Amity leaned back in anticipation, but the explosion she was waiting for never happened. Now overtaken by curiosity, she leaned the other way to try and see Hunter’s face.

It actually worked!

His eyes were fluttering closed, his body slumped a little. His weight slowly shifted until his back was against the base of the couch.

She tapped Willow’s arm, who instantly brought a hand to her mouth when she saw what was happening. Her eyes betraying her adoration. Willow quickly involved Gus next to her, who had about the same reaction, but he seemed to think it was more hilarious than cute.

Vee had also taken note. Resting her elbows on the chair’s armrest and her head in her hands, leering at her brother with a giant smirk. She even put the movie on pause. Either to not disturb his peace or because she didn’t want to miss both spectacles.

“Wait wait wait, guys. Listen closely." Luz held her index finger in the air, a knowing grin making them do what she said.

"Oh my Titan.” Willow took the words right out of her mouth.

Hunter was making a soft noise, almost like he was snoring. But the sound rumbled. It was muffled and low, buzzing while he both inhaled and exhaled.

"It almost sounds like he’s…” Gus cocked his head to the side.

It's a sound that Amity recognised easily. A rumbling that her beautiful, sweet palisman produced whenever they were snuggling together.

"Purring!" She gasped.

"Holy- I'm gonna tell him." Vee slithered off the armchair and came in close to Hunter, like she was examining him, with the smile of a trickster. He didn’t even stir from her presence.

"You can’t! Guys!” Willow protested, leaning very far forward. She jerked back when she realised how passionate and loud she was, but Hunter still didn’t react. She shied away with a giant blush on her face. “He's gonna be so embarrassed…”

"Uh- Yeah, that's the point." The basilisk shot her a quick sassy look.

"Nooooo~" Willow whined.

Hunter’s head was slightly lifted towards Luz’s hand. His relaxed body swayed ever so slowly to one side, getting stuck on Amity’s knee.

Until he suddenly fell to the floor with a muted thud.

They all gasped in shock, Vee was already reaching a hand out to help him, but the fall had given Hunter an immediate and very rough awakening.

"What the-..." He looked around bewildered. The room was dead quiet, except a muffled snort coming from next to Amity. Hunter's eyes immediately snapped towards the source, finally seeming to realise what just happened. Luz sensed her impending doom, vaulting over the back of the couch and quickly making a break for it. "LUZ!!"

He scrambled off the floor and chased after her. The living room roared with laughter, but Amity didn’t join in.

"Wait!” She called out. “I didn't get to braid your hair!"

"You think I'm still gonna let you?" Hunter came back into the room, dragging Luz under his arm as she tried to escape what looked like very intense hair ruffling. He stared daggers at her and Amity cringed, giving him an apologetic look.

"Please~" She clasped her hands together and begged him with big, puppy eyes. "Please Hunter?”

He stood there for a long time, his mean stare slowly softening into a pout as he looked anywhere else, seeming to consider her plea. His face was, and had been, completely red. Even the tips of his ears burned. Then he rolled his eyes and they landed back on her with a very displeased demeanour.

"... fine."

Amity breathed a sigh of relief. She was so disappointed in herself for letting this happen, but he didn’t seem all that crushed about it. Yes, he was flustered, but he was more concerned with Luz spilling the beans. Hunter wasn’t mortified or humiliated. He still trusted her.

Now as long as nobody told him he purred, she’d get to make that braid.

She didn’t even know why she wanted to do this so bad, but her happiness spiked again when he plopped back down in front of her. He exchanged some very annoyed words with Vee and Gus, shooing their hands away from his head.

She took her sweet time sectioning his hair again as Luz - who had been banished to the big chair - put the movie back on. Amity let herself get inspired by the vikings on screen, planning to make a big complicated hairstyle.

“You ever thought about dyeing it?” She asked, her voice naturally turning cunning. She added a thin section of hair to the right strand before crossing it under the middle one and repeated the process on the left side.

“Don’t test your luck Blight.” Hunter huffed, but she could tell he was smiling.

Titan, the amount of times she had done this with her siblings! They would spent hours on the floor of her room, doing each other’s hair. They’d play with the styles and colours, before ultimately going back to the green their mom wanted.

She missed them so much.

Her muscles stopped moving, she couldn’t see the blonde locks anymore through her blurry vision. He was around their age, their height. Maybe in another life, he would’ve been friends with them at Hexside.

She choked back the lump forming in her throat, blinked away stinging tears and continued her work. She was fully aware that she was treating Hunter like Edric, or Emira, or both. But she didn't care!

This weird, stitched together family was all she had right now.

[radiantmists]

also i think its interesting that hunter overheard the conversation between belos and luz about her helping him find the collector, but he doesnt actually have any context. and i think the context is important here because:

a) it is absolutely buckwild context involving lilith breaking a young belos' nose and i think hunter deserves to know about that

b) luz... didnt really do anything? like i guess she taught belos the light glyph but he was teleporting without it, i think he'd have been fine-- and as far as the collector, all she did was get chased around for like a minute while philip dug a hole. literally anyone else could have done that, and probably would have been bribed into it if she hadn't been there.

anyway i think somewhere during the thanks-to-them period hunter and luz should be commiserating about having SECRETS and everything being THEIR FAULT and both of them being MONSTERS or whatever, and luz talks in a bit more detail about what happened and hunter is like. that's it? THAT's what you're feeling guilty about? you're kicked out of the angst club by reason of insufficiently dark secrets!

[catboymoments]

Idk, there’s a stereotype that people who ship Huntlow only focus on Hunter and not Willow, and I do think you fall a little into it. Especially with Hyacinth being very one sided in their connection with Hunter over Willow.

who are you

[ortetbones]

Happy belated anniversary to the Lunter episode of all time, Thanks to Them. In honor of Flapjack here's a 6.7k fic that's my personal take on the Harpy Hunter concept. With lots of Lunter fluff because you know me. This is a pretty cozy one, so I hope you enjoy!

"I think Belos is possessing me again."

He said it in such a collected and matter-of-fact way, as though he were giving a formal report on the results of a mission. But even through the darkness and her own exhaustion, Luz could see the terror in Hunter's slightly retroreflective eyes and feel the way his hand trembled against her side as he prodded her awake.

She sat up to face him, doing her best to remain calm and not add to his panic. She reached out and cupped his cheek with her hand, tenderly rubbing her thumb across his lower eyelid as she gazed into his blood-red irises. "Well," she whispered, "Your eyes aren't blue, so that's a good sign. What makes you think something's wrong?"

She noted that despite his anxious state, Hunter couldn't help but melt into her touch, his eyes slipping closed as he leaned into her hand. "I just feel...off," he mumbled. "And my skin feels weird, like there's something crawling beneath it trying to get out, and I don't know what it is and..."

"Okay," Luz cut in gently, trying to stop him before he started hyperventilating. "Does it feel like that everywhere, or somewhere specific?"

He paused for a moment to think, then squirmed and rolled his shoulders a bit. "My back."

Luz hummed sympathetically. "Mamá said she thinks you might have some eczema there, remember?" she said. She tried to disguise her relief at having come up with such a plausible explanation so Hunter wouldn't know how concerned she had been. Sure, she had been there to witness Belos's death, but she had originally thought she'd witnessed it on the Day of Unity, and they both knew how that had turned out. "It's been getting kinda chilly lately, so it might be flaring up because of that. But if you want, I could take a look and make sure that's all it is if it would make you feel better."

"If you don't mind," Hunter whispered, scratching at the scar on his right cheek self-consciously. Luz reached over to turn on her lamp while Hunter unbuttoned his pajama shirt a bit so he could slide it down to reveal his upper back.

A gasp escaped from Luz before she could stifle it.

"What?!" Hunter whipped back around to face her, his eyes darting frantically over her face as he tried to read her expression.

Luz was speechless for a moment, her hands reflexively covering her mouth as she stared at what was currently protruding from Hunter's back.

Feathers.

Vibrant scarlet feathers were blooming outwards from his spine and extending across his shoulder blades. They were thin, Hunter's pale skin still visible beneath them, but feather follicles and sheaths dotted the rest of his back, suggesting that more feathers were yet to grow.

"What is it?!" Hunter cried, jolting Luz out of her thoughts.

"It's not Belos," she reassured him quickly, running her fingers through his undercut to soothe him. "Actually, I think it's...Flapjack?"

"Flapjack?" Hunter repeated, now sounding more confused than distressed.

"Here." Luz grabbed her phone off her nightstand and snapped a quick photo. She then passed the phone to Hunter so he could see.

Hunter stared at the screen, his mouth slightly agape. After a long moment's silence, his hand moved to clutch his chest and his lip quivered as tears began to well up in his eyes.

Luz let him cry, making sure to give him space and not overwhelm him as his body was wracked with choking sobs. When he had calmed down a little and managed to catch his breath, she placed a supportive hand on his right shoulder, and he immediately turned back to her and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "He's still here," he sobbed into the crook of her neck, his voice cracking. "He's...he's here with me. I mean, I knew he was, but..."

"Yeah," Luz whispered, hugging him back. "I get it."

Hunter sniffled and let out a weak laugh. "I don't think I'm gonna be able to go back to sleep tonight."

Luz handed him a tissue, which he accepted gratefully. "You wanna come snuggle with me?" she offered, shuffling to one side of her bed to give him room to lie next to her.

Hunter hesitated for a moment, but nodded bashfully. Luz noticed him wince as he began to readjust his shirt back up onto his shoulders, and he let out a hiss under his breath. "Does it hurt?" she asked.

"A little," he admitted. "It kind of stings where the feathers are coming through. And my back muscles feel really sore too for some reason."

Luz was at a loss for how to help. The only other person she could think of who had grown feathers like this was Eda, but her transformation had been instantaneous, and the circumstances were a lot different. Not to mention that despite their closeness, Luz knew Eda's curse was a subject she wasn't always open to talking about.

"I have some painkillers you can take," she said. "Why don't you try to get some rest for now and in the morning we can have Mamá take a look? She's worked with birds before at the vet clinic, and she definitely knows more about this stuff than I do. I'm sure she'll have some advice."

Hunter took the painkillers as instructed and slowly eased himself into bed beside her. "We shouldn't bother her with something like this," he murmured, pulling the covers over himself and nestling into his pillow as Luz reached over to turn her lamp off again. "She has more important things to take care of than whatever's happening to me."

Luz frowned and booped his nose with her finger, giggling at the disgruntled face he pulled. "We weren't gonna put ourselves down like that anymore," she reminded him gently. "Your safety and happiness is something very important. Plus, she, uh, does kinda love you like her own son. You realize that, right? She's been calling you 'mijo' for years now, dude. And even if that weren't already the case..." Luz's face broke into a grin. "You have boyfriend privileges now! She's gotta help her future son-in-law."

Hunter let out a squeak and and pulled the covers up over his face, but his blush was still plainly visible on the tips of his ears. Luz couldn't help the awww that escaped her lips at how adorable he was. He always flustered so easily.

Hunter peeked out from under the covers at the sound of her voice. Upon seeing Luz smirking at him, he scowled and pointedly turned over to face the other way, wincing a bit as he moved his shoulders. "Good night, Luz," he said stiffly. Luz noted that his ears, though flushed, were wiggling up and down slightly, betraying his happiness. "Good night, Hunter," she replied cheerfully.

***

Luz awoke to something tickling her nose. She blinked wearily, a blurry red shape slowly coming into view. She smiled as the events of the previous night began to come back to her. Hunter's feathers!

She rubbed her eyes and let out a yawn, turning to squint at the clock on her nightstand. 8:05. From the soft whistling of Hunter's snores, she could tell he was still sound asleep. He had gradually been getting better about not waking up at 6 AM all the time, but he would still typically only let himself sleep in until 7 at the absolute latest. She was glad he was finally managing to get a decent amount of rest. She wondered if lying next to her had helped him sleep better. She smirked as she imagined the flustered expression he'd make if she suggested that to his face. She glanced back at Hunter and froze as she suddenly got a better look at him now that her brain was awake enough to process what she was seeing.

It seemed that her assumption that the presence of more sheaths on his back meant he would be growing more feathers soon had turned out to be true. What she had not managed to predict, however, were the set of small wings that now extended from Hunter's shoulder blades.

Luz's breath caught in her throat as she gazed at him in awe. True to the wings of a cardinal, they began at their base a brilliant, deep scarlet, fanning out to become almost translucent at the tips. She didn't dare reach out a hand to feel his delicate feathers for herself, lest she wake him from his peaceful slumber, or worse yet, find herself to be the one in a dream.

She at last managed to tear her eyes away and nestled back under the covers beside him. She tended to just get out of bed whenever she woke up, but she didn't want Hunter to awaken to his new transformation alone and start panicking. She scrolled absentmindedly on her phone while she waited for him to wake up, browsing some webpages about birds and feather growth. While interesting, she wasn't really sure how much would apply to Hunter's situation.

Around half an hour had passed before she felt Hunter begin to stir gently beside her. She climbed out of bed as silently as she could and walked around to kneel on the floor in front of his side of the bed so he wouldn't have to roll over onto his wings to look at her. His eyes slowly fluttered open to meet hers, and his face broke into a warm smile at the sight of his girlfriend.

"Goooood morning, Hunter!" Luz chirped in a singsong tone, playfully ruffling his hair.

Hunter chuckled. "Morning," he mumbled in reply, rubbing at his eyes. His voice was raspy from having just woken up. "You're in a good mood."

"I have some exciting news when you're awake enough for it," Luz said, bouncing slightly in place. "How are you feeling?"

"Hmm. I'm not quite sure yet," Hunter said through a yawn. "I don't think the feathers sting anymore, but I'm still pretty sore." He sat up to stretch, lifting his arms to the ceiling as far as they would go. As he did so, the wings on his back stretched in turn, arching into a fiery halo behind his head. Luz must've let out a gasp, as he suddenly froze and gave her a quizzical look. "What?"

"You have wings!" she blurted out, unable to contain herself any longer.

***

Luz hurried on her way home from school, a skip in her step. Hunter had opted to sleep in this morning, so she hadn't gotten to have breakfast with him before she went to school and she couldn't wait to get back and see him.

It had been about a week since Hunter's wings had sprouted. They were small, barely bigger than his head, certainly unable to be used for flying. He had also not figured out how to control the muscles yet, assuming he could, and they tended to get in his way, repeatedly bumping into things whenever he turned around and making it uncomfortable for him to lie on his back or really change his position at all once he lay down.

But Luz had not seen Hunter so effortlessly happy in years. While he had certainly come to terms with his grief over Flapjack and had been doing a lot better for a long time now, in just this past week he'd had an energy and spark to him he had not displayed since his beloved Palisman's death. It seemed like every day Luz would be stopped around five or six times with an insistent "Look, look!" from Hunter as he spun around to show off his new feathers again, his wings bobbing merrily behind him.

It had given him inspiration for a new sewing project, too. The wings were cumbersome when it came to wearing a shirt, so he had taken to wearing his button-downs backward for the time being, but he had been excitedly rambling to Luz all week about his plans to modify his shirts to have snaps at the back. He had even shown some of his designs to Camila for review, and Luz felt a swell of affection in her chest when she saw how much more comfortable he was around her now.

He had not experienced any other transformations as of yet, though his feathers had at this point grown in so thick she could not even see the skin beneath them anymore. He looked so incredibly fluffy and soft, and whenever she was around him it took all of Luz's restraint to not shove her hand or her entire face between his wings to feel his beautiful scarlet down for herself.

Luz hummed to herself as she rounded the corner to her backyard, eager to see her boyfriend. A flash of scarlet caught her eye, and she turned, expecting to find him. What she instead discovered was a clump of red feathers stuck in the bark of a tree she had just passed. She frowned in confusion, glancing at the other trees nearby, and found them in a similar state. "Hunter?" she called out. There was no response.

She tore through her backyard, following the trail of befeathered trees. She could feel panic starting to set in. Had there been a struggle? Was he hurt? She stopped in the center of the clearing, looking around wildly, tears starting to cloud her vision.

She suddenly heard Hunter swear loudly, and she immediately rushed toward the sound of his voice. At last, she found him, and she was relieved to see that he did not appear to be injured. The main thing that caught her attention, however, was the fact that Hunter was currently rubbing his back against one of the trees with desperate urgency.

Luz couldn't help but stare. He had pulled his wings forward over his shoulders, clutching the tip of each wing in each hand, and was grinding the bark into the space between them. His face was contorted in a grimace, his nose scrunched up and his eyes screwed firmly shut. He huffed repeatedly in aggravation, letting out the occasional curse as he adjusted his stance to get a better angle. Autumn leaves crunched audibly beneath Luz's feet as she hesitantly approached him, but Hunter made no indication that he had noticed her at all.

"Uh, Hunter?"

He jumped and froze, finally realizing she was there. His face quickly began to resemble his feathers in color. "Luz," he squeaked. "You're home." He leaned back against the tree nonchalantly, clinging to his last shred of dignity as he acted as though that was all he had been doing. "S-So, how was school?" he asked with a strained grin. As he did so, he continued to squirm slightly against the bark, trying to make it look like he was just shifting his posture.

Now that she was getting a better look at his face, Luz noticed that he looked utterly drained, his lips chapped and his cheeks displaying a sallow tint that was visible even through his blush. And despite how long he had slept in that morning, his dark circles had returned almost to their Golden Guard severity, and his eyes themselves looked glassy and unfocused.

"Hunter, are you okay?" she asked worriedly. "Are you sick?"

He shifted his weight from foot to foot, clearly anxious to end the conversation. "I'm good! Don't worry about me. Hey, why don't you go tell Camila you're home?" His voice was shaky and weak.

Luz hummed, unimpressed with his attempt to deflect her concerns. "Why don't we both go see her, and she can take a look at you and figure out why you're so exhausted and itchy all of a sudden?" she said pointedly, coming closer to him.

To her dismay, her boyfriend shrank away from her, fear evident in his eyes. "Please don't tell Camila about this," he begged. "She's been working at the vet clinic all day. I'm not going to disturb her when she should be taking a break."

Luz held back a sigh at how frequently they had to have this conversation. As frustrating as it was that Hunter simply could not get it in his head that she and her mom didn't see him as a burden, Luz knew his fear of being seen as such was deep-seated from his years in the Emperor's Coven, and she imagined his experiences with Belos made that fear even stronger when it pertained to someone he saw as an authority figure.

"It's not going to bother her to make sure you're okay," Luz said patiently. "It'd make her way more worried if you didn't tell her. And she's been pretty excited to study your wings. I mean, she's dedicated her entire life to being a vet. This is the sort of thing she enjoys and takes pride in doing!"

Hunter frowned, clearly unconvinced but unable to think of a good counterargument. Luz took this opportunity to gently extend her hand for him to take. "Come on."

His eyes locked onto her nails, his ears perking up in sudden interest. He fidgeted slightly, a light flush creeping back onto his cheeks.

"Luz," Hunter burst out, not bothering to hide the desperation in his voice. "Could you scratch my back?" As he said this, he finally abandoned his position against the tree and turned his back to her expectantly.

Luz gasped as she saw the state his wings were in. A matted tangle of dull and broken feathers sat at the bases of his wings, and prominent, crumbling feather sheaths stuck out across his back. His plumage had thinned out considerably, revealing his inflamed skin beneath, and his wings themselves looked ragged.

As much as it pained her to turn him down when this was the first time he'd ever managed to ask her for help, she didn't know what was wrong with his wings and was terrified of making matters worse and causing any further damage to his feathers. "Sorry, but I'm taking you to see Mamá," she said firmly, taking his hand and starting to pull him toward the house. Her heart broke as Hunter visibly wilted, a crushed expression on his face as he reluctantly trudged after her.

Camila turned out to have been out at the grocery store, but she was hurrying back home after Luz had called her to explain what was going on. As they waited for her to return, Luz had sat Hunter in a chair at the dining table, having turned the chair backwards to make it easier for Camila to inspect his wings. He had pointedly refused to speak or even look at Luz since she'd brought him in, opting to spend his time sulking with his back to her. Luz knew how miserable he must be, so she felt slightly bad for finding it adorable how grumpy he was.

"Mamá says she should be home in a minute," she informed him. His ears flattened irritably but he otherwise ignored her.

He groaned suddenly, reaching his hand to his back. Luz opened her mouth to tell him not to scratch, but she needn't have worried. It appeared as though Hunter had still not managed to gain total control over his wings, as they simply copied the movements of his arms and seemed to get directly in his way no matter what angle he tried to reach from. Luz couldn't help the snort of amusement that escaped her at this endearing predicament of his.

He shot her a resentful glare and she grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

Hunter fidgeted with his hands. "No, I'm sorry," he sighed. "I know you're trying to help. I shouldn't take it out on you."

Luz walked over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, taking care not to touch his sensitive feathers. "Aww, it's okay," she whispered, resting her chin on his head. "I know it's really uncomfortable. I don't blame you for being a little on edge." Hunter hugged her back, gripping the back of her shirt with shaking fingers.

"I love you, Luz," he mumbled. She could hear the tears in his voice, a mixture of frustration at his itching wings and guilt from being cold to her.

"I love you too," she said, planting a kiss atop his head.

"Hijos, I'm home!" Camila's voice called out, muffled through the closed door. She had taken to announcing her presence before coming in so as to not startle Hunter by opening the door unexpectedly.

"Mamá!" Luz rushed to greet her and practically dragged her over to where Hunter was sitting. "Can you figure out what's wrong with Hunter? Please? His feathers look like they're falling out and they're all itchy and he's super exhausted and sick-looking and..."

"Mija," Camila interrupted gently upon seeing Hunter's wings. "I think he is just molting. Cardinals molt when it starts getting colder so they have thicker plumage for the winter."

Luz suddenly felt very silly. "Oh." That did explain a lot. She looked at Hunter to gauge his reaction, and he seemed quite relieved, too.

Camila smiled at the two of them. She took Hunter's temperature just to be sure, and he did not appear to have a fever. "Growing a whole new set of feathers is a lot of work for your body," she told him kindly. "You'll probably feel very tired for a while. Make sure you get lots of sleep tonight, okay, mijo?"

"Yes, ma'am--er, Camila," Hunter murmured shyly.

Camila beckoned Luz over to take a closer look at his feathers. "These are pin feathers," she explained. "The sheaths covering them will eventually break apart, and they'll unfurl into Hunter's new feathers. Pin feathers are very itchy, but it's important they don't get damaged by scratching them when they're black like these ones." She pointed out a particular patch of sheaths between Hunter's shoulder blades which indeed were much darker than the ones on the majority of his back. "They're this color because they are so new that blood is still flowing to them. If you break them before the blood recedes, they will bleed."

Her forehead creased in concern as she parted his feathers to reveal a section that appeared to have met such a fate. She clucked her tongue in sympathy. "This looks like it hurts," she said. "I will need to disinfect this just in case. It looks like he has some plant material stuck in his feathers here, too. Maybe tree bark?"

Luz noticed Hunter's ears suddenly grow very red. "We were sitting against a tree earlier," she quickly cut in, trying to save him from the embarrassment of having to explain to her mom that he'd been using her backyard as a scratching post. "That's probably where he got that. So, how long 'til the sheaths don't have blood anymore?" She received a grateful look from Hunter, who was clearly glad to change the subject.

Camila hummed pensively. "Well, cardinals generally take around a month to finish molting--"

"A month?!" Hunter cried.

Luz and Camila jumped a little in surprise at his sudden outburst. He shrank in on himself, his ears drooping. "My apologies," he said, eyes fixed on the ground.

"Oh, mijo, it's okay," Camila reassured him. "A lot of your sheaths are already white, which means there's no more blood flow and they're ready to come off. That happens at the end of the molting period, so it looks like your molt is going to go a lot faster. You will probably have all your new feathers in a day or so."

Luz took one of Hunter's hands in her own and began stroking her thumb across the back of it to calm him. "Is there anything we can do for him?" she asked her mom. "It's really bothering him."

Camila nodded. "Adding more protein to his diet should make his feathers healthier. And the sheaths will come off more easily and be less itchy if they're not so dry." She began to head out of the room. "I will be right back. I'm going to prepare a spray bottle so we can mist his wings." She turned back and spoke to Hunter. "You won't be able to tell which feathers have blood flow without being able to see them, so make sure you do not scratch at them while I'm gone, okay, mijo? I don't want you hurting yourself." She caught Luz's eye. "Vigílalo."

Luz nodded in agreement to watch him, and Camila exited the room.

The instant she was gone, Luz turned back to Hunter. "So, where do you want me to scratch?"

Hunter gaped at her. "Huh?"

"Tell me where it itches, and I'll scratch it for you," Luz repeated, trying to disguise her excitement. Now that she knew nothing was wrong with him and she wouldn't be hurting him, her desire to touch his feathers had come back to her in full force. While another person might have been put off by the raggedness of his matted plumage, Luz's fascination with the gross and macabre just made his ratty, bloodied feathers all the more irresistible.

"Th-Th--" Hunter stammered, his eyes wide. "Th-That would be in direct opposition to Camila's orders." Despite the disapproving tone of his words, Luz noticed that his ears had perked up and were wiggling slightly. She decided to tease him a bit.

"Well," she said with a melodramatic shrug, drawing out her words, "I suppose if you don't want me to--"

"No!" Hunter said, a little too loudly.

"I mean, I wouldn't want to pressure you or anything," she continued. "I'm sure you can tolerate it just fine. It's not like it itches so bad you can't stand it, right?"

"Luz!" he whined.

"What?" she asked innocently. "Did you want something, cardenalito?"

She was delighted to find that the nickname earned exactly the flustered squeak from Hunter she was expecting. If he didn't want to be called her cute little cardinal, then maybe he should've thought about that before being such a cute little cardinal.

Hunter took a moment to reply. "You don't...think she'll be upset...?" he mumbled under his breath.

"Nope, not really," Luz said with an easy smile. "Plus, she only said you couldn't scratch. She didn't say anything about me doing it for you." She made a show of tapping the side of her head wisely and managed to get a small chuckle out of Hunter. "Besides," she added, "She showed me what feathers to avoid, so I know I won't hurt you."

Hunter let out a deep breath. "Then...yes. Please. Please, help me." He reached up and pulled his wings over his shoulders again to give her access to his newfound acnestis.

Luz's hands hovered over his feathers in anticipation. She decided to start by running her fingers through the thicker sections of his plumage, avoiding the sheaths for now so she could just experience the feel of the feathers themselves. Upon making contact with them she found them to be even softer than she'd imagined, from his silky outer feathers to his fluffy downy feathers. "Wow," she breathed, dragging her fingers through his plumage haphazardly as she relished the sensation on her skin.

Hunter, on the other hand, did not appear to be enjoying it as much. He leaned forward with a shudder, trying to escape her fingers. "Ugh, Luz!" he complained. "That tickles! You're making it worse."

Luz started. "Whoops, sorry. Got distracted." She finally moved her hands to the center of his back where the molting was most severe and began parting his feathers to reach his skin, gently removing some of the old feathers and picking out bits of crumbling sheaths and tree bark as she did so. She spotted a fully white sheath that was still attached to his skin, and she couldn't help but give it an experimental tug.

The sheath did not budge, but Hunter gasped and immediately leaned into her touch, practically shoving his back against her hand. "Do that again," he begged.

Happy to have gotten a positive reaction, Luz obliged him, trying once again to remove the stubborn sheath. When it still did not come off, she opted to try picking at it with one of her nails, and it at last began to flake apart, revealing a stunningly vibrant feather beneath. She stared for a moment, captivated, though admittedly more so by the loud purr that erupted from Hunter, who had absolutely melted into the chair he was sitting on the instant she started scratching.

"Does that feel better now?" she asked with a grin.

He nodded. "Could you go a little to the left?" he asked, his voice muffled against the back of the chair.

"You bet!" Luz replied brightly. She followed his instruction, slowly moving her hand across his other feathers and gently prodding each one she passed to find which was bothering him.

She stopped when she heard a gasp from Hunter. "That one, that one," he said desperately. Luz briskly scratched off the offending feather sheath, her smile widening at the audible sigh of relief she received from him in response.

She quickly got into a rhythm, and before she knew it she had removed a significant number of sheaths. He was already looking much better with so many more of his feathers unfurled, and the color of his fresh plumage was simply breathtaking.

"Are you good for now?" Luz asked. "Mamá should be back any time now with more stuff to help."

Hunter rolled his shoulders. "Would you mind getting one more? It's near the middle."

"Sure," Luz responded, parting his feathers to look for it. She frowned as she failed to find any more of the white sheaths she'd been removing in that area. She was about to ask him for more specific directions when she suddenly caught sight of a sheath that was black in color, difficult to see among the dark red bases of his other feathers. Hoping she was wrong, she poked it gently. "This one?"

He nodded eagerly. "Yes, please."

"Hunter, that one's got blood flow."

"What?!" He craned his neck in an unsuccessful attempt to look at his back, his brow furrowed in dismay and a pout on his lips. "But it's itchy."

Luz sighed. She couldn't help but take pity on him when he was this unintentionally cute. "I'll try to scratch it without pulling it off, okay? Just let me know if I'm hurting you." She gently dragged a single nail against his skin in a circular motion around the base of that feather, and she felt Hunter relax immediately beneath her hand. Relieved that this seemed to be enough for him, she tentatively began to scratch a bit harder, which was met with an appreciative hum from Hunter.

Luz heard a sudden cooing behind her that was not drowned out even by the loud rumble of Hunter's purring. She turned to find her mom standing in the doorway, holding a spray bottle in one hand and rubbing alcohol in the other and looking at the young couple with an amused fondness. She was leaning against the doorframe slightly, as though she had been standing there for a while.

"Mamá!" Luz protested, feeling her face grow hot. "Why didn't you say anything?" She'd gotten so wrapped up in helping Hunter molt that she hadn't realized how long it had been. A glance at the clock told her she'd been preening his feathers for almost fifteen minutes now.

Camila laughed, cupping her cheek with her hand. "Ay, but you two looked so adorable I couldn't bear to interrupt. You have been doing a very good job handling his feathers correctly."

She walked over to where Hunter was sitting and poured a bit of rubbing alcohol onto a cotton ball. "It will sting a little, but I need to disinfect where your feathers got hurt, okay, mijo?" she told him gently. He nodded silently and held still as she quickly cleaned out his injury.

"There we go." Camila said, setting the cotton ball aside. She passed Luz the spray bottle she had brought. "Removing the sheaths will be a lot less work once they're slightly damp," Camila explained to her. "You should try to make sure the mist reaches his skin, too, since that will help soothe the irritation."

"All right," Luz responded. She chose a section of Hunter's feathers at random and, after parting them, gave the area a quick spritz.

Hunter jumped slightly as the cool water hit his skin. "Oh!" he squeaked. "That is a lot better." His wings suddenly began flapping of their own accord, his feathers ruffling instinctively to move the droplets around his plumage.

Luz gasped in delight. "You're like a little bird taking a bath!" she exclaimed, her hands flapping excitedly.

Hunter let out a laugh. "Flapjack always liked bathing," he said brightly. "Sometimes, I would sneak him into the bathrooms at the castle, and I would cup my hands as I ran the tap so he could sit there and splash around. He looked so cute with his feathers fluffed up!" Hunter gestured animatedly as he spoke, and he rocked back and forth in his seat as though overwhelmed by his own enthusiasm.

Affection rose in Luz's chest as she listened to more of his rambling while she continued her work with the spray bottle. She always loved it when he shared his interests with her like this, and she was glad that he was at the point where he could talk about his late Palisman so readily and with such happiness.

After a few minutes, she had at last misted all of Hunter's feathers. She set the spray bottle down on the table and ran her fingers through his hair. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

He let out a comfortable sigh and nuzzled into her arm. "Much better," he said. "Thank you, Luz. You really didn't have to do all this for me."

Luz messed up his hair good-naturedly. "Hey, don't worry about it. I wasn't just gonna leave you to suffer! You want me to see if I can get more of the sheaths off now? There were a few that wouldn't come off before."

"That would be great," he said shyly.

Luz began picking at his remaining white pin feathers and was pleased to find that their coatings did indeed come off much more easily now they weren't so dry. Hunter nestled back down in the chair as she worked, his eyes slipping closed.

"Did Flapjack go through molting, too?" Luz asked him curiously.

Hunter hummed in contemplation. "I don't think so. Not to this extent, at least. Palismen do for the most part reflect the animal in whose image they're made, but since the Palistrom wood takes the place of keratin for them, I wouldn't be surprised if their skin and feathers work a bit different. Flap did have me preen him a few times, though." A fond chuckle escaped his lips at the memory. "I think he was glad to have someone with fingers to help him. He was always really bossy about what feathers he wanted scratched. He would--Oh! Wait, wait, go back, that was a good spot." Hunter squirmed, trying to chase her fingers. "No, up a little. Down a little. Yeah, right there." Luz rolled her eyes.

"That was very kind of you to help Flapjack preen, Hunter," Camila said to him as Luz continued to scratch his back a bit. "Birds can't reach all of their feathers by themselves, so if there's not another bird to preen them, they will need their owner to help them. In the wild, most birds will get preened by their mates if they have them."

"Huh. Good thing he's got one of those, eh?" Luz said, nudging Hunter.

He blinked at her, taking a minute to digest her words. His eyes suddenly widened and an intense blush spread across his entire face. "Luz!" he choked.

Luz clasped his hands in hers and looked him intently in the eye. "Hunter," she said, putting on a dramatic air. "From this day forward, I, Luz Noceda, hereby vow to preen your feathers for you whenever you need, and to aid you in every molt you have, in all our years to come."

By this point, Hunter looked like he was going to absolutely pass out from embarrassment, so she elected to spare him from more of her teasing, but not before giving him a chivalrous kiss on the hand for good measure. He whined and buried his head in her shoulder, unable to help the bashful grin that had made its way to his face.

"Thank you," he laughed, lifting his head to place a soft kiss on her lips.

***

Luz groaned, staring at the ceiling. It felt like every time she tried to go back to sleep, thousands of glowing blue eyes would flood her vision and her ears would ring with cacophonous, overlapping voices and the sickening crunch of bones. She sighed, giving up, and went to find Hunter.

Years ago, when they had gotten stuck in the Human Realm after the Day of Unity, they'd made an agreement that if one of them couldn't sleep, they would wake the other up for support. It certainly happened a lot less frequently now, but every once in a while they would both still have nights where the memories of Belos were too much to face alone.

Luz shivered as she walked across the basement floor, her socks not stopping the winter chill from reaching her feet. She paused a few steps from his bed and called out to him softly, hoping she wouldn't startle him. "Hunter?"

One of his ears swiveled in her direction, and soon a pair of red eyes were glowing at her through the darkness. "Luz?" he said groggily. "What's wrong?"

"Can't sleep," she replied.

He yawned and shifted to one side of the bed to make room for her, silently holding his arms out to invite her to cuddle with him. She accepted gratefully, nestling against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he murmured.

She shrugged with a dismissive shake of her head. "Just...Belos. Again." Her fists clenched. "I don't know why I still let him affect me like this. He's been dead for years and I still see him every day. I don't know what's wrong with me."

She yelped in surprise as one of Hunter's wings darted out to tickle the side of her neck. Her face unintentionally broke into a smile and laughter began to bubble out of her as his feathers brushed against her skin. He had been an absolute menace since he'd figured out how to control his wings. "Hey!" she protested through a fit of giggles, giving him a playful shove.

Hunter smirked and withdrew his wing. "There is nothing wrong with you," he told her firmly, his voice taking a more serious tone. "It...it doesn't really go away. No matter how long it's been. There's nothing that can make up for what he did." His hand moved to clutch his chest. "But...we have a chance now to live on. For all those before us who didn't get that chance. Even if it feels hard sometimes, I think it's worth doing. For them and for us."

Luz laid her hand next to his to feel his heart beating steadily beneath his chest. "Yeah," she whispered. "It is."

They lay in comfortable silence for a while. Luz noticed that Hunter's inhales and exhales felt a bit more intentional than normal, as though he were concentrating on breathing deeply in hopes that she would synchronize her breathing with his. She did so, and a feeling of calm began to wash over her.

"Hunter?" she murmured. "Can I pet you?"

He snorted. "You never have to ask to do that."

She smiled and draped an arm over him so she could lazily drag her fingers through his feathers. His winter plumage was so thick her fingers were almost completely buried in his fluffy down before they reached his skin. The softness of his feathers against her hand was instantly soothing and she could feel her eyes struggling to stay open.

The gentle trill of Hunter's purring began to fill the room, and the two of them quickly drifted off to sleep.