Chapter Text
It had been four years since the second Grave Eclipse occurred, and a year since Himi and her classmates had graduated. Many of them had found careers they were satisfied with on the Isles, although some decided to relocate.
Matt had gotten into architectural design after taking it as an elective, and he had landed a job as a carpenter. He repairs and paints walls and ceilings in people’s homes using his ooze abilities in a yellow shirt with torn off sleeves, red sneakers, and brown pants, with a pencil mustache and ponytail. Despite the somewhat unsanitary nature of his patching material, he’s gotten many good reviews for the quality of his work done. He had a lot of requests the first few weeks, and since those have calmed down, he’s taken some time to visit his good friend Cat, who is the coach for a team of newbie professional Drujby players. Even though he’s not the biggest fan of sports, he’s there to support them when they’re scrimmaging or during games.
Skara became a local musician in Gravesfield. She initially just started playing in parking lots in a pale peach shirt with brown stripes with an orange vest over it, black pants, and red boots. After getting enough attention, people had asked for her to play at their events. Several months later, she had set up a Potsify account, where she sells her recorded songs. She’s only gotten a few hundred total sales so far, but she believes she’s on course to becoming a name known around the nation and will eventually get the chance to play on a stage live in front of hundreds of people. Her most popular song currently is about butterfly wings and is one she wrote herself.
The aspect of human culture that interested Gus the most were the movies. After reading about them, he visited the film club at the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts in his purple blazer and brown vest over a white shirt, black loafers, and blue trousers, with a goatee. After learning about the storyboarding process, he found out they were in the middle of creating a new indie and were using technology provided to them by the faculty in order to create the visual effects. He offered to help using his powers, which they happily agreed to. They recently released one that was spoken about somewhat widely on the Internet for its plot. Gus has since become a valued member of the club, and has some ideas for future projects.
Bo felt there were some improvements that the healthcare system could use. However, instead of petitioning for change, she decided she would bring about it herself on a small scale. After donning a bluish white short-sleeve blouse and long skirt, she started going to local hospitals, and telling the staff there if they had any patients in need of medical attention. They were a little confused at first, but they were surprised to see she could heal minor enough wounds in a matter of seconds. She has been doing this for the past few weeks, usually being able to go through a few tens of patients before needing to rest for the day. Although people have offered to pay her, she has always declined, as seeing people in good health is enough for her.
Boscha, on the other hand, stayed on the Boiling Isles after graduating, and let her hair grow out. After Morton shamefully admitted he likely would never be able to compensate her for the fungi he had provided him a number of years ago, they agreed his debt would be paid off if he transferred ownership of Mr. Elixir to her. After the paperwork had been signed, she rebranded it as ‘The Chalis’, and got a fair number of customers the day she opened. She served them in a timely manner with a heart-shaped stopper in each bottle. After a few months, she was able to get enough expendable income to remodel the place to her liking, and get herself an outfit consisting of a white dress with a fur neckline, black fingerless gloves, and over-the-knee leather boots, which she likes to have on at work. When she closes up for the day, she goes and replenishes her stock herself. Even though rarely she runs into monsters when she goes out, she brings her trusty Spark and shurikens with her to deal with them.
Although she didn’t attend Hagbone, Vee did go back to her home briefly a few months after the Grave Eclipse to stand up to her parents. They did admit they were wrong for wanting to push her to get into the Emperor’s Coven when it was being run by a maniac. They did encourage her to pursue some other respectable endeavor, but she told them she wasn’t going to set her expectations for herself that high. After some discussion between her parents, they decided that, as atonement for them mistreating her, they would let her do as she pleases. Although she has been in the Human Realm continuously since then, she has kept in contact with her parents, even if it’s sparse. She and Ramona are currently living together in Michigan, where they both work as trail guides.
Amity, Emira, and Edric have been running Blight Industries after Alador formally handed the rights to them, with the younger daughter leading the engineering team, Emira being responsible for the financials, and Edric taking care of marketing. Although he has retired, Alador still does lend a hand occasionally to his children; this is vastly different from Odalia, who has been relaxing on the beaches of the Apojii Islands, away from her family. They don’t seem to mind, though, as their morale and productivity have increased ever since she left. Amity in particular has been more upbeat, as she and Luz recently had a daughter named Nadia together through magical means. Luz has been looking after her for the most part, and when neither of them are able to, the seven foot tall Pinto serves as a dragon babysitter.
The Warriors of Vale haven’t received as much praise as the years have gone by, but people all around the Isles know their names and what they accomplished. They’re still good friends with one another, despite the fact that they no longer try to race at Trial Road, which was what initially brought them together. The Lost Ones have gotten some new rivals, though, in the form of a Jupiter Adept beast keeper called Linette, who has a team of a Mars Adept healer, a Venus Adept potion brewer, and a Mercury Adept dancer.
Willow had moved to Vault and opened up a nursery there, where she cheaply sells flora that she grows herself. She gives people advice about how to nurture the plants, such as how often to water them and with how much. Nearly all of the residents have bought from her, since the flowers she sells have pleasant aromas, are easy-to-maintain, or have colors that blend well with the decor in their homes. Some people have even come from out of town in order to purchase from her, and with the additional sales coming in and boosting the economy there, the mayor has considered building more into the rural part of town. Even though people respect Willow for her involvement with stopping the eclipse, they treat her as a lady with a friendly demeanor and a green thumb.
Cade decided to enroll in officer training so he could patrol the Isles. After he passed, he was given permission to be stationed in Bonesborough, so a former Emperor’s Coven member could be moved elsewhere. He tried to dress the part by putting on a leather jacket with a dark red T-shirt visible underneath, as well as skinny jeans and boots, and a scabbard slung over his back with a small claymore in it. People have generally kept out of trouble around him, with some offenders only committing small offenses like littering and petty theft, which he lets off with a ticket when he catches them in the act. He has enjoyed making people feel safe, and getting respect from them as well.
Viney went on to become a public speaker who mainly advocates for people around the Isles to not be ashamed of who they are and express themselves however they see fit. After hearing how incredible of an Adept she is, there have been people who have wanted to be like her; as a result, there has been an increase in the number of people who get into more than one track over the past few years. People still enjoy her unique dance routines with Puddles, which she showcases on her Flintstagram, but people appreciate her more for how she has made them feel more comfortable with themselves. Even though she has continued this out of care for others, she does get a kick out of getting the spotlight more than some of the dancers she went to Hagbone with.
Amiti, after taking a shine to Eoleo’s sailing, had asked if he could become a part of his pirate crew. He was welcomed with open arms and hurrahs. He did not partake in the usual activities that the other pirates did, such as drinking, playing poker, and exuberant banter, as he primarily wanted to see the boiling seas and visit the other continents. He got a fair share of treasure whenever they found any, as well as rewards for bounties they complete, as he had helped out with obtaining those. He recently let the crew know he was going to quit his seafaring with them, although he still hangs out with them whenever they’re at the pub. Some people in town almost didn’t recognize him once he returned, as he had gotten noticeably tanner.
Lilith bid her sister adieu and returned to Harun Village with Hooty. It was there they bought a small house, in which the two complete chores together. Once they’re done with those, they usually go over to Ivan’s place and help him write his stories. He’s been able to get his tales out quicker and they’ve been received better by his neighbors. One day, when his wife Feizhi and their daughter Karis had come by for a short vacation, they were urged to compose their own story. Lilith turned it down at first, but after seeing how excited Hooty was about the idea, she took on the challenge. A few weeks later, they finished their tale and shared it with the others in the village. Although the people did admit it was a little difficult to follow, they were delighted to hear it. She and Hooty have continued to do this regularly alongside Ivan.
With Raine having stepped down as a member of the council, they decided they would spend more time with someone who they had seen sparsely for the past few decades due to their busy work at the Emperor’s Coven. Eda decided to take that a step further and asked Raine if they wanted to move in with her and King, to which they agreed. Eda had set up the Owl House as an adoption center for the children who had lost their parents due to the Grave Eclipse, with them living in comfortable rooms in a basement she had dug out. Although Raine would help out with nurturing the kids there, she was happy to have them there primarily since she wanted to be their significant other. The two have since gone public about their relationship, and they’re happy with each other.
The knowledge of the outside world that the moles of Taldpius had was through rumors. Some of them had their curiosity piqued and wanted to see what it was like for themselves, and, as an extension of the law that was previously passed by Megan there, the residents were allowed to depart from the island if they wanted to. They didn’t know what to expect when they went there, though, so they had ventured towards the mainland and had seeked out King for advice a few years ago. He gladly showed them around Bonesborough, and while some found the town to be disappointing, others felt it’d be more inhabitable for them; those ones set up a camp on the borders of it.
Although Hunter had kept his room in the palace, he felt a little lost as his only parental figure was gone. However, Darius begrudgingly stepped up to the plate and gave him sage advice, on top of his duties of overlooking the Isles. In addition, he taught him skills he’d need to know before he went out into the world on his own. Darius was somewhat of a rough teacher, not accepting any talk back from him and being a little critical when he made mistakes. However, he was, above all, patient with him, and Bailey helped cheer him up when he was stressing out. On the day he left the palace, Hunter had thanked him, and while he admitted he believed he had more to learn, Darius had instilled in him a desire to keep improving. He and Bailey had wished him luck in whatever he set out to do.
As for Himi, she got a small house for herself in an open field close to Vault, complete with a fence around it, a garden in the front with a bird bath, a bench, and a little marble shrine with a big eyed, small eyed, and wide hipped clay doll on it. Every morning, she would wake up early, brew herself a cup of hot tea, and take it outside with her. She would sit on the bench with Quartz and watch the sun rise. During this, Willow and Hunter would occasionally walk by, hand in hand, with their Djinn by their sides.
Willow: “Isn’t it a beautiful day today, Himi?”
Himi grins. “Always is”, she says.