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Hunter leaves the palace in secret.
If his uncle knew he was sneaking out at all, let alone sneaking out to go to the Owl House, of all places… Hunter shudders to think of his reaction.
But he doesn’t have to know. Darius said he’d cover for Hunter, simply thrilled that Hunter was engaging in some age-appropriate rule breaking. Hunter isn’t sure how he feels about knowing how lax Darius is with the rules, but for right now, it’s benefitting him.
He woke up feeling… off. Different. Easier to irritate, easier to cry. All it took was a frustrated whine while getting dressed for him to know he wouldn’t withstand training. And if the other coven leaders saw him…
By the time Hunter gets to the Owl House, he’s jittery from nerves, so wrapped up in his own worries that he jumps into his Golden Guard persona the second Luz opens the door.
“Human! By order of the Emperor, I demand you undo this curse at once!”
Luz rubs her eye, trying and failing to restrain a yawn. “Good morning to you too.”
Hunter levels his staff at her. “I demand answers!” He then adds sheepishly, “And you said I could come over if I needed anything?”
He doubted she actually meant it when she promised him that, but Luz is far too nice of a person to not leave him with an open offer. Especially after Willow and Augustus both vouched for him.
“Oh yeah.” Luz yawns again. Why is she so tired? It’s barely seven-thirty! Still, she steps aside, letting him hustle in. Not like anyone would see him out here, but he’d rather avoid taking that risk. “So what happened?”
“I’ve been cursed! That’s the only explanation!”
“Hey, inside voices, please,” Luz says. She’s giving him that same look Darius gives him at times, the one that’s so condescendingly sympathetic that he has no choice but to stop short. “Eda gets really grumpy when she isn’t allowed to sleep in.”
“Right.” And just like that, his bravado shrinks into nothing. That little voice in the back of his head roars to life, taunting at him that he was bad, that he’d done something wrong, and while unpleasant on a normal day, it’s unbearable now. “Sorry.”
Luz blinks in surprise, her mild irritation blossoming into panic. “Oh, hey, don’t cry! It’s alright!”
Hunter glares at her. He’s sure he looks much less intimidating with tears running down his face, just like the child the coven leaders mock him for being. This had to be their work, a cruel practical joke that he intends to put a stop to.
“We’ll fix it!” Luz pops over to the other side of the kitchen, producing a washcloth for him to wipe his face with. “I promise.”
Hunter doesn’t say anything as he accepts the washcloth, scrubbing his face with more force than necessary. The fact that she doesn’t immediately see the problem makes him want to throw something.
“So you think you’ve been cursed?”
Hunter glares harder, reminding him why he hadn’t wanted to come here in the first place. But if he’d gone to Willow, she would’ve sent him here too, and if he’d gone to Lilith, the same. “I know I’ve been cursed.”
“O-kay.” There’s something oddly indulgent about her smile, like she’s talking to that little demon pet of hers. Something about it makes him want to reel back before she can get to the punchline. “How do you know you’ve been cursed?”
“Why else would I feel like a child?”
Some part of him can’t help feeling proud that he managed to throw her for a loop. But that satisfaction is quickly undercut by the realization of what he’d just said. “Like a child?” Luz echoes.
“Pretend you didn’t hear that!” Hunter bunches up his cloak, holding it to his chest like a security blanket. He had to come in disguise, though, so it’s not as comforting as holding his cloak with the Golden Guard emblem.
Luz doesn’t answer right away, just stares at him like she’s trying to figure out his secrets. It’s the same way she stares at those dumb runes of hers, and despite his attempts to keep calm, Hunter’s eyes burn. He’s not some puzzle to be studied!
After what feels like forever, Luz turns away, directing her attention down the hallway.
“King, I’m borrowing some of your plushies!” Luz calls.
“I will burn you at the stake!” King replies from the other room.
“Kay, thanks!” She turns back to Hunter, her expression softening into something leagues gentler. It makes him want to melt into the floor. It makes him want to break a window. “Pick whichever one you like,” Luz says. “King’s just full of hot air.”
Hunter doesn’t ask. It sounds like one of her human sayings, so he’ll let it slide. He doesn’t feel like talking anymore.
Luz kneels on the floor in front of King’s plushie hoard, prompting him to do the same. “What do you think?” she asks, holding up a fluffy penguin for him to see. “Mr. Flipper?”
She’s making fun of him. She has to be making fun of him. There’s no other explanation. But… he’d be lying if he said some of those little guys didn’t look inviting.
He has his own stuffed animal back at the palace, hidden away in his room where no one can find it. It’s impractical for the Golden Guard to have something so childish, but he can’t help himself. Besides, he knows he’ll be mocked, maybe even punished, if anyone were to find it. Is this really allowed?
Hunter dares another glance at Luz. Maybe it’s not a joke, but a trap? A way to get him to slip up so she can report it to the Emperor?
Luz offers him a little smile, nodding at the pile of plushies. There’s something so encouraging in that look. Like everything will be alright. Like he’s safe. And for some crazy reason, he chooses to believe her.
His hands end up latching onto a cardinal. It’s one of the smaller plushies, and its stuffing causes it to squish into his hands. Sniffling, he manages a tiny smile.
“Oh, this one kind of looks like your Palisman, huh?”
“Mhm.” He folds the plushie against his chest, cupping it right over his heart. It’s soothing in its weight.
“Well, the good news is that I figured out what’s wrong?”
Hunter frowns. Then why does she sound so scared?
“I don’t think you’ve been cursed,” Luz says. “I think you’ve regressed.”
Her smile is gentle, like she’s trying to break the news to him, but he doesn’t even know what that means! Regressed as in he’s shrunk? Because obviously he’s still the same size!
He fights around the lump in his throat, the placid calm that wants him to be quiet and let someone else do the speaking. “Is that a human thing?”
“Oh, uh, yeah!” Luz averts her eyes. “Humans regress all the time. It’s such a common thing I’m surprised you haven’t heard about it.”
Hunter pouts. Considering her mentor, the fact that she’s the worst liar on the Boiling Isles is almost impressive. “Don’t lie to me.”
“Okay, so maybe I only know about it because I was browsing for Azura fanfic, but I promise it’s not a bad thing!”
Hunter scrubs at his face, like he can rub the weakness off. Somehow, putting a name to it is even worse, calling it a “common thing.” It would be easier if he’d just been cursed. “Don’ like it.”
Luz’s face softens. “I bet it’s pretty scary the first time, huh?”
The problem is that it’s not the first time. He’s woken up like this dozens of times before; this was just the first time he couldn’t ignore it. “When’s it gonna stop?”
“Whenever you feel better, I guess. You must be pretty tired.” He hates how soft her voice is, like a big fluffy bed he just wants to sink into. “When was the last time you had a nap?”
Hunter scowls. He’s the Golden Guard, after all, and he doesn’t nap! Napping is for babies.
“Okay, okay, no nap,” Luz relents. “But maybe if you rested for a bit, you’d feel better?”
Well, so long as she isn’t making him nap. There’s nothing baby-ish about sitting.
“Here.” She leads him to the couch, patting the empty space. “Why don’t you sit with me?”
Cautiously, he sinks into the space beside her, nearly jumping out of his skin when she wraps an arm around his shoulders. How can humans be so casual with touch? Or is this just a Luz thing?
“What’s that?” he asks, pointing to a large book he doesn’t recognize. When had she even had time to grab that?
“Oh, well, I was thinking I could maybe read to you?” She holds up the book, revealing an illustrated cover with The Good Witch Azura in large text. “It’s really good, I promise!”
Now, Hunter can’t remember the last time he was read to, aside from when he was quite literally being taught how to read, but he can’t help suspecting this might be a ploy to get him to nap.
Still, would that be so bad? As much as he hates to admit it, it’s safe here. If he fell asleep—which he wouldn’t—he wouldn’t have to worry about who woke him up.
So, he sits back, tucking his knees up against his chest and wrapping his cloak around him. With a grin, Luz turns to the first page.
Right away, he can tell he doesn’t like it. Or more accurately, that he shouldn’t. The idea of a magical world being safe and fun is stupid, the characters are boring, and the plot is contrived. Exactly the type of work that would get dismissed as “drivel” in his studies.
But he does. He really, really does. Maybe it’s just the way that Luz reads it, combing over every sentence with care, or the way she has a special voice for every character, but he can’t help being enchanted. And maybe it might be fun to go some place where magic is safe and where everyone is friends.
She’s barely through the first chapter when his eyes grow heavy. Maybe he could just rest them for a bit? Luz continues on, but the words wash over him. Fading and fading until it’s nothing but blissful rest.
Hunter wakes up feeling more rested than he has in years.
Which is saying a lot, since the couch he’s curled up on is far from comfortable. But at some point after drifting off, someone had wrapped him up in an actual blanket and tucked a pillow under his head.
Part of him wants to bolt upright, to leave before anyone notices he’s awake, and to never speak of this again, but the part of him that’s firmly in control right now is too cozy to move. So he squirms around to get more comfortable and blinks in the low light, wondering just how late it got while he was sleeping.
He almost jumps out of his skin when someone touches his hair.
“Hey, you’re okay.” It’s Luz. Of course she wouldn’t have left. But are his senses really so dulled that he hadn’t even realized she was still here? “Did you sleep well?”
Hunter doesn’t feel capable of words still, so he just nods.
“Good, good.” She lets the conversation fall off there, despite how clearly she wants to keep talking.
Hunter sits up, scrubbing a hand over his face. He doesn’t feel ready to talk, not by a long shot, but he still blurts out the question nagging at him anyway. “Why?”
For a second, Luz doesn’t know what to make of that. “Why what? Is it really so crazy to think that people wanna look out for you?”
Well, yeah, but he can’t just say that. People always give him the weirdest looks when he does.
“Every tiny deserves a safe place to regress,” Luz says. “Just think of me like a big sis, okay?”
Hunter furrows his brow. “Is that another human thing?”
And right on cue, there’s the weird look. “Are you about to tell me you don’t have any siblings?” Luz asks.
Hunter’s face burns. Logically, he knows that isn’t his fault, but when she says it like that, he can’t help feeling the opposite. “Sorry.”
“No, it’s okay! Me either, actually. But I’ve always wanted a little brother or sister.” Luz glances to the side, as if summoning her courage. “And maybe if you needed to… you could come back? We only got past the first chapter, after all.”
He should say no. It’d be safer for everyone involved if he did. But there’s a little voice in the back of his mind, telling him how nice this was, how needed this was. It’s probably the last thing Darius had in mind when he wanted Hunter to participate in good old-fashioned teenage rebellion, but he’s never been good at doing things conventionally.
“Wanna know how it ends,” he murmurs, unable to look her in the eye.
And just like that, her smile goes supernova. “Yes, of course! Just let me know whenever you need some tiny time, okay?”
His eyes stray back to the book, left abandoned on the coffee table. Maybe it’s too soon, but…
“More?”
“Huh?” Her head swivels to the book, and then she beams. “Yes, of course, we can read more!” Luz fetches a small lamp to read by, and gets cozy on the couch beside him.
This time it’s natural, almost instinctive, for him to lean his head against her shoulder.
“Chapter Two: The Hidden Door…”