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“I can’t go back.” Hunter began to hyperventilate with this realization. Where was he supposed to go? Stay here at the Owl House with these criminals ? No thank you! But…Belos wouldn’t let him go back. Where else could he go now that the castle wasn’t an option?
“Kid, breathe,” said the Owl Lady, holding out a hand to help him up.
Hunter backed away in fear. Everything he’s put her and Luz and the weird rat thing through…he couldn’t trust them! He scrambled to his feet and ran out of the house, tossing his cloak to the floor. He heard Luz call his name, but he only ran faster.
Hunter wasn’t able to run as far as he’d like. He was still hyperventilating and his head felt fuzzy. Not how he usually felt when he had a panic attack. More like…gah, not now! He can’t regress now ! Hunter thought of Darius and how disappointed he always was when he refused to let himself regress. He wouldn’t ever see him again, would he? Darius was a coven head and he was…a grimwalker. Belos would just make a new one. ‘It would be such a hassle to replace you,’ he’d told him once. A hassle. Not impossible. A minor inconvenience. Before, Hunter thought he was referring to replacing him with, maybe Kikimora, but….
He sunk down to the ground against a large rock, frustrated, angry, scared, and sad. He tried to remember how Darius helps him calm down, but all he could think was “I can’t go back,” “Belos is going to kill me,” “I don’t want to die!”
Chirp!
“Hunter!”
Hunter looked up through his tears to see Luz running toward him with Flapjack on her shoulder.
“Flapjack!” He choked out and held out his finger for him to fly over and perch on. Hunter lifted the palisman to his face and Flapjack rubbed his feathery little head against his cheek.
“You’re okay,” Luz said, relieved. She sank down next to him, but stayed far enough to not make him feel crowded.
Hunter wanted to tell her to go away, but he was too little to be able to say all those words. And as long as she didn’t start rambling he guesses he wouldn’t mind some company besides Flapjack….
Luz stayed quiet, wanting to wait for Hunter to start a conversation. She didn’t want to leave him alone, though. She knew he must be going through a lot right now. Hell, she was too! She still couldn’t believe Belos and Philip were the same person! She couldn’t believe she’d helped him! Still, though, that hurt couldn’t be as bad as finding out the person you thought was your uncle wasn’t really and had actually just created you.
“Luz! Where are you?!”
Luz sighed. She saw Hunter look at her from the corner of his eye curiously.
“You’re not the only one who ran away after all that,” she said. “Eda wanted to know what we saw, but…I wasn’t ready to talk about it. And I wanted to make sure you were okay…. Can I tell Eda we’re here? She can help you too.”
Hunter looked uncertain. He didn’t want to be hurt…. He knew she wouldn’t turn him in to the emperor. That would just be stupid for her and Luz since he was looking for both of them. Flapjack chirped in his ear, telling him to say yes. Flapjack told him about how well he’d been taken care of while he was gone and he knew that everyone would take care of him too. Biting his lip, Hunter finally nodded in response to Luz.
“We’re over here, Eda! We’re both okay.”
“Oh, thank titan,” Eda sighed, running over to them. King was riding on her shoulder with something clutched in his hands. Eda looked over the two kids, scanning them both for injuries. They seemed fine physically, but she knew they had to have seen some serious shit in the emperor’s mind.
King scampered down to the ground, but didn’t run to Luz like he wanted to. He tugged on Eda’s skirt and pointed, waving around the thing in his hand.
“You can give it to her,” Eda told him.
King ran to Luz and offered the stuffed animal. “I brought Blade for you,” he said, referring to the stuffed bat.
“Thanks, King,” Luz smiled sadly at the demon and hugged Blade tightly. Noticing King hovering, she held out an arm for him and gave him a tight hug. The hug made her start to feel little, but that was okay, because she wasn’t feeling so scared anymore. She looked up at her mentor. “I’m sorry for running away.”
“It’s okay, kiddo. I’m not mad. I’m just glad you’re okay. Both of you.”
Hunter looked up, surprised. Why did she care if he was okay?
Eda looked around them. “Why don’t we go back to the house? I left Hooty to guard the place, but I think he’s worrying too much to be much use as a guard.” She also didn’t know who else was out there in the woods with them, but she could feel someone watching them. Maybe multiple someones. And she didn’t want either of the kids to be in danger if it was someone from the emperor’s coven.
Hunter was hesitant to get up and go with them, but some gentle nudging from Flapjack got him up.
Once they got home, Eda had both kids sit on the couch. King lied on the back of the couch behind Luz’s head.
“Hooty, keep the place locked down for now,” Eda said. “Just to be safe.” She sat on the coffee table. “Alright, kiddos. Why don’t you two get comfy, while I find something to scrounge up for some dinner?”
“I can make dinner!” Luz offered. She was still feeling little, but she’d been cooking with her mom since she was a toddler! She could make dinner easily!
“Ooh, can I help too?” King asked, hoping to sneak extra food.
Eda thought for a minute. She knew Luz was obviously little, so she didn’t want her to use the stove alone. King wasn’t enough supervision, especially since he was more likely than her to burn the house down even when she was little. King wasn’t much older than Luz’s little headspace.
“Get everything ready, then tell me when it’s ready for the stove and I’ll help. Go put on some pajamas first. I’ll go see if I can find something for you too, blondie. King, stay with him.”
Within a few minutes everybody was in pajamas. Eda was keeping a close eye on both Luz and King in the kitchen and Hunter, who was curled up on the couch with his palisman in front of his face.
Eda frowned. “Clearly you’re not okay, so I won’t ask if you are. Do you want to talk about what you two saw in there? Luz hasn’t told me anything yet either.”
Hunter shook his head. Even if he wanted to, he was still feeling too little to actually say anything.
“You don’t have to right away. But I’ll be here.”
“Eda, we’re done mixing the batter!”
“Coming, kid!” She stood and looked back down at Hunter. “Do you want to come sit in the kitchen with us?”
He shook his head again.
“Okay. We’ll let you know when dinner is ready, then.”
Hunter startled awake to someone poking his leg. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep! He looked down at the demon rat thing. King?
“Dinner’s ready,” King said. “Eda wants you to come eat at the table with us.”
Hunter stood and followed him. There was a big plate of…he didn’t know what those were. Fluffy round circles?
“We made pancakes,” Luz smiled. “I mean, they’re kind of different from regular pancakes in the human realm, but this is as close as I can get them with the ingredients here.”
Hunter looked up in surprise, then looked at Flapjack, who was perched on his shoulder. “Flapjack? It’s you?” He tried to sound grown up, but didn’t quite manage. He didn’t think anyone noticed, though.
“You didn’t know what he was named after?”
Hunter shrugged and blushed, sitting down. Belos told him a flapjack was a type of pancake but never what a pancake was. He hadn’t wanted to ask and seem suspicious. He cut off a tiny piece of the pancake with his fork and took an experimental bite. “Hmm. Is good.”
Luz smiled at him.
Hunter cut more of the pancake, cutting a couple extra tiny pieces for Flapjack if he wanted to try it too.
---
Eda was woken up in the middle of the night hearing crying. She got up, worriedly. It didn’t sound like either of her kids…. She knew what King’s cries sounded like and it definitely wasn’t him crying. She checked on Luz anyway and sure enough, she was fast asleep in her room, cuddling Blade with King asleep at her feet. That meant it had to be the golden guard crying. Well, not the golden guard anymore. Hunter, was his name.
Eda walked down the stairs and the crying got louder.
“Hey, kid,” she said softly, crouching in front of him.
Hunter ignored her in favor of crying into his hands.
“I can’t imagine what you two must have seen to both be like this….” She knew it wasn’t going to be anything good, but she didn’t know what could make the kids act like this…. “Can I do something to help?”
“I want Darius,” Hunter sobbed.
“Darius? The abomination coven head?”
Hunter nodded, sadly.
“I’m sorry I can’t give you Darius, kid. Is there something else I can give you? Some water or apple blood? A blanket? Maybe you can borrow one of King’s stuffed toys.”
Hunter shook his head. Darius was the only one that could comfort him now. Sure, the man acted annoyed by him sometimes, but Hunter knew he really cared about him and he’d always taken care of him when he regressed.
“I’ll just stay here with you, then. I can go to the other side of the room if you want some space, but I’m not leaving you alone.” Eda looked at Hunter closer when he didn’t offer any type of response. She saw his thumb in his mouth and knew immediately he was regressed. She’d been around Luz and Amity enough to be able to spot another regressor. She’d suspected earlier that he regressed, but didn’t want to say anything in front of Luz and King and embarrass him, but this confirmed her suspicions.
“I’ll be right back,” she said, softly. “I’m just going to the kitchen, okay?”
Hunter looked at her sadly. She wasn’t Darius, but he was little and sad and she was better than nothing! She said she wouldn’t leave him alone!
Eda cursed silently. Oh how she wished she still had her magic! “How about you come with me, hm? You can sit on the counter while I pour your drink. You need to drink something or you’ll get dehydrated from all this crying you’re doing.” She held her hand out. Hunter tentatively took it, still sucking on his thumb. Flapjack perched on top of his head.
Hunter watched as Eda took out a sippy cup from the cabinet and filled it with apple blood. He blushed when she handed him the sippy cup.
“It’s okay, kid,” Eda promised. “You’re not the first regressor who’s been around the Owl House.” She wouldn’t tell him that Luz and Amity regressed in case either of them got mad. She didn’t think Luz would be mad, but she’d still let her tell him if she wanted to. “Nobody here will be mad or think any differently of you. Just let yourself relax and be little for tonight, then we can figure things out more tomorrow.”
Hunter nodded. She sounded like Darius telling him to relax…. He sniffled and stuck the sippy cup in his mouth. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep with the cup in his mouth and Flapjack on his chest. Eda stayed nearby, keeping her ears open while she dozed in case Hunter or Luz needed her.
---
Hunter woke in the morning, hearing quiet voices near him. He cracked one eye open and saw Luz and Eda. So that wasn’t all a dream. He could feel himself start to panic again, so he squeezed his eyes shut tight and forced himself to take deep breaths. Once he was calm enough he opened his eyes fully.
“You’re awake!” Luz exclaimed.
“Good to see you, awake, blondie,” Eda said. “I was wondering if you’d ever wake up.”
Hunter blushed. “How long was I asleep?”
“A while. It’s okay. You needed the rest. Hungry?”
Hunter sat up. “Um, can we have pancakes again?”
“No problem.” Eda went to the kitchen.
Luz walked over to sit next to Hunter. “I’m still in shock from yesterday. I almost thought it was all a dream, then I saw you sleeping down here, and I knew it was real.”
“Me too,” Hunter sighed. “I can’t believe he lied all my life. That I’m just a…a grimwalker.” They were both quiet for a minute before Hunter’s eyes widened slightly. “Wait, you saw me sleeping down here? W-what else did you see?” He remembered falling asleep with a sippy cup in his mouth. He could only hope the Owl Lady removed it before Luz came down.
“Hm? Oh, I already knew you age regress.”
Hunter blushed and covered his face. “ How? ” He demanded. How did she and Eda know he regressed?
“I can spot another regressor a mile away!”
“...Another?”
“Yeah, I regress too. You didn’t know?” Hunter shook his head. “Oh. Well, yeah. Eda doesn’t mind. She’s even taken care of me while I was little before. She’d take care of you too.”
“Lunch is ready!” Eda called from the kitchen. King bolted down the stairs on all fours and into the kitchen before Luz or Hunter could even start to stand up.
“What’s everyone want to drink?” Eda asked, setting out plates.
“Water, please,” Luz said.
Hunter asked for apple blood. He almost asked for another sippy cup, but stopped himself in time. Flapjack tried to encourage him to ask for a sippy cup, but he refused. To say he was surprised when Eda set a purple sippy cup full of apple blood in front of him would be an understatement. He looked up at her surprised and she just winked at him. Hunter blushed yet again, but picked up the cup and took a sip.
“So what are you doing, blondie? You gonna stay here with us or try to find someplace else? You are welcome to stay here, but we won’t force you.”
Hunter looked down at his breakfast sadly. He knew he wasn’t being forced to stay here, but there really was no other choice. He either stayed here where, yeah, Luz and the bird tube and the rat demon would probably annoy him everyday, but he’d at least be safe, or he could go out in the wilderness and risk Belos or a coven member finding him and killing him. So his choices were life or death. Uh, life, please.
“I’ll stay,” he said.