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The Owl House is... strange.
That’s all Hunter can think as he lays on his new bed in this room. Luz and the Owl Lady had given it to him earlier that night after he had made his way back from the woods, exhausted. But he had long since given up on sleep. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the shattered masks of the other Golden Guards, heard his uncle’s cruel words. No, sleep wasn’t happening.
So, he observed.
The room is a decent size, but it looks like it’s been unused for a while. A few boxes have been moved to the far corner, filled with nic nacs and other random items. An empty potion bottle here, a stuffed animal there. Some of them look like human things, though he has no idea what they do. The bed is comfortable, and the blankets are warm. The other creature that lived with them - King- had even given him an extra. Flapjack is curled in that one, seemingly asleep. There’s even a window like his ro- old. His old room.
His gaze shifts towards the scenery, the moonlight glimmering through the cracked curtains. The memory of his panicked run through the forest leaves a bad taste in his mouth, but the thought of Belos waiting for the right moment to strike - to end him for his apparent betrayal - makes him feel downright sick to his stomach.
Everything feels so… different. So wrong. Part of him distantly wonders if it’s all a horrible nightmare.
Hunter shifts the blanket around his shoulders, like it will somehow help. Leaving the castle to infiltrate the school had been one thing. It had been his real first taste of anything outside the Emperors Coven and his castle. This though… how is he supposed to describe this?
He closes his eyes. The masks return, each with a frame accompanying them. Petrifaction, electrification, and on and on. He counts what he remembers seeing on the ground of the emperor’s memories, sixteen in total. He doesn’t want to forget them.
They hadn’t gotten to escape, but he had.
It’s all… it’s a lot. It’s too much, actually.
His hands are shaking again. He slips them out from the blanket and Flapjack is suddenly there, nesting against him and hugging his side. The action makes his lips twitch upwards, if only for a moment. “Thanks, Flapjack.”
His palisman chirps softly, sounding a little sad. “Of course. I’m not going anywhere.”
That’s… that’s one thing he can count on, at least. Tears sting his eyes again and he scrubs at them in frustration. He’s cried so much in the last couple of hours. Flapjack flies up to his shoulder now, resting in the crook of his neck.
A soft creak sounds from down the hall, and Hunter stiffens. Flapjack nudges against his neck comfortingly and then there’s a knock on the door. Before his mind can begin to panic, Luz’s familiar voice whispers,
“Hunter, it’s me. Can I come in?”
He blinks. She sounds as exhausted as he feels, so he guesses she hadn’t been able to sleep either. He nods slowly, more to himself than anything. “…yeah, sure.”
The door creeps open and Luz steps in. In the faint light from the hallway Hunter can see she’s in her pajamas, two steaming mugs in her hands. She sets one on the nightstand beside him and shuts the door and sits next to him, her own mug is cradled in her lap. Now that she’s closer he can see the tension in her expression; the puffy look of her eyes. It’s all the more clear when she doesn’t send a smile his way. It’s more than understandable given everything that’s happened, but it’s still… strange.
A sweet smell from the mug catches his attention, and he glances towards the glass that she brought him. “What is it?”
“It’s hot chocolate, or… you know, as close as I can get to it on the Boiling Isles.” There’s a pause and her hands tighten around her glass, a sad smile slipping onto her face. “My mom would always make me some on bad days.”
The Owl Lady - she told him she wanted to be called Eda - had said he could get her if he needed anything. King had offered him a stuffed animal. Now Luz, someone he had actively worked against, was giving him a warm drink. Why?
He pretends not to notice the tears that glimmer in her eyes when she mentions her mom. His eyebrows furrow as he grabs the mug. He brings it to his lips, and it tastes… surprisingly good. It’s sweet and, as the name suggested, chocolate-y. There’s a hint of something else. It might be a spice, but it’s not one he’s familiar with. It adds a little extra warmth to it and calms some of the persistent chill that’s been following him around since- since. The surprise must show on his face because she asks,
“Have you had hot chocolate before?”
He shakes his head. He’s had warm drinks before. Darius let him have a spiced tea once, and that’s the most similar thing he can think of. It takes a moment but he can see the gears turning in her head, the hint of worry where she begins to wonder if it’s something the Boiling Isles doesn’t have or if it’s just something he never got to try. To be honest, he doesn’t know the answer to that question.
“Oh… do you like it?”
He nods, taking another drink. “It’s good. Thank you.” Flapjack gives a happy chirp from his shoulder, apparently liking the smell as much as he likes the taste.
That gets a little smile. He thinks it’s a real one. “I’m glad.”
They lapse into a somewhat comfortable silence as they finish the rest of what’s in their mugs. It doesn’t last long, though. Hunter doesn’t expect it too. Soon, Luz sets her empty glass aside and pulls her knees to her chest.
“I’m sorry you had to find out that way.”
The masks flash again. The monstrous mesh of palismans tell him to run. His grip tightens around the mug before he returns it to the nightstand, afraid he might drop it and it will shatter. Afraid he might shatter with it. “…Me too.” She looks like she wants to move towards him - hug him? - but she doesn’t. Maybe she’s wondering the same thing.
She’s giving him an opportunity to talk about it. To voice one of any number of the chaotic and terrifying thoughts running through his mind. He doesn’t take it. He can’t. Not right now at least. Instead, he finds himself asking, “What is your mom like?”
Luz blinks, surprised, before she smiles softly and gets that same far-off look in her eyes. “She’s smart, and kind, and she works really hard. She’s a veterinarian - an animal healer - so she’s always helping someone.” She pauses, gathering her thoughts. Maybe gathering memories, too. “She’s always encouraging me, helping me feel safe, pushing me to grow… even though it doesn’t always feel like it. She picks the corniest stuff on movie nights. Like, telenovela level.” She laughs, scrubbing at her eyes. “I miss her a lot.”
It’s sweet, how she thinks of her. How she misses her. It’s nothing like how he thought of Belos. He’s only just starting to realize that that relationship was all about control. About using him. Hunter can feel a twinge of something new in the mess of emotions in his chest though he can’t quite pinpoint what it is until he remembers his conversation with Darius after he tried to recruit Willow and the team to the Emperor’s Coven. ‘Encouraging me, helping me feel safe, pushing me to grow’. He can only hope Darius might fill that role in his life, assuming things work out and they all don't die on the Day of Unity.
Luz had fallen quiet next to him, and he turns when she curls in a little more on herself. Her voice is lightly muffled from her head resting against her knees. “While you were gone Belos told me something… it’s messy, there’s time stuff involved and- I really screwed up. I… I just make everything worse.”
Hunter’s eyebrows furrow. He tentatively says, “I heard about the time travel stuff. I had made my way back by then.” Luz’s eyes widen and he can see her mind jumping, already forming conclusions as to what he must think. His mind in comparison is sluggish as he looks for the right way to respond; the right words to reassure her. After a moment, all he can think to say is the truth. “Luz, you… you got me out of there. I don’t know what he would have-“ He grimaces. “I don’t know if I would still be here if you hadn’t. That doesn’t sound like making things worse to me.”
When he manages to look at her again a few moments later her head is raised. She’s looking at him with wide eyes, hands gripping the fabric of her sleep shirt. “…can I hug you?”
The question makes him pause. Has he… when was the last time he had a hug? Aside from the panicked one he had given Darius earlier that night, he doesn’t remember. But he’s too exhausted to think on it or think better of it, so he nods. She shifts back into a sitting position and Flapjack flies to the nightstand to give her room. She wraps her arms around his shoulders, resting one hand on his back. He stiffens at first, unsure what to do with arms. After a few moments he wraps one around her back and, gradually, he relaxes.
It’s not bad. It’s… actually nice. He doesn’t feel like he’s going to start shaking again. The world around him feels a little more grounded.
She pulls back after another ten seconds or so. Hunter doesn’t really know what to do with himself afterwards either, so he’s grateful when Flapjack returns to his shoulder. Luz gives him the same brief, faint smile before she grabs her mug from the blankets.
“I’m going to head back to my room, work on some things to help explain tomorrow. If you need any company later you can join me.” He nods, picking up his still steaming mug, and she exits the room. The door quietly clicks shut behind her.
Hunter takes another sip, savoring the warmth of the hot chocolate. The memories and terror are still a cloud hanging over him, but he doesn’t feel quite as alone.