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In a vast meringue forest, two birds stood perched on a tree. One, a canary with a newly molted soft lavender hue, huddled up next to its mate, a sparrow with a gentle chocolate mat of frazzled feathers. Together they spent their day, with no high-octane adventures or secret mysteries to uncover. No, these birds would not have such a thrilling day. Today was merely a day of rest, a calm in the storm. And little did the birds know, they’d soon meet another.
“Hey, Amity!” a soft voice blurted, startling the grey-clad teen in her tracks. Luz and Amity stood just outside of Hexside School of Magic and Demonics, making their way down the fanciful white limestone steps through a crowd of students all clad in their own coven colours. Amity, with a stack of books held dearly in her arms, had been making her way down the steps after a strenuous day. Lately, she’d been having trouble with marks, and it was starting to take its toll on her nerves. But as she reached the bottom steps, Luz’s call startled her, causing her foot to slip off of the steps and she fell forward, parting the crowd and landing with a dirt-smudged thud.
Luz, seeing her girlfriend fall, quickly darted through the crowd, instinctively holding her hand out for Amity to take, and as soon as Amity’s hand touched hers she gently lifted her from the ground. “Oh, sorry I startled you, cariño,” she near-silently assured, helping the startled girl pick up some of her books.
Amity merely blushed, scratching the back of her head nervously. “I- It’s fine, I’m just a… l- little stressed,” she stumbled, with her especially having trouble saying the word ‘little’.
“Hmph, you know, if you were still on our Grudgby team maybe you’d still have basic coordination,” called a high-pitch, commanding tone from the back of the crowd. “Since your social standing and legs are off-balance lately...”
“Boscha, can you quit being a jerk for a day?” Luz hissed, glaring down the three-eyed Grudgby captain with a determined gaze. The sniveling girl then happily shoved her way through the crowd, meeting Luz’s gaze.
“Nope, I’m having way too much fun,” she chuckled, drawing a spell-circle and causing Luz and Amity’s hoods to float up and smack down on their faces, giving the girl an opportunity to coax her palisman, Maya, from her resting spot on the girl’s shoulder. The orange crab then hopped off of the girl’s shoulder, transforming into its staff form as Luz lifted the hood from her face, letting out another frazzled hiss.
“That’s it!” she yelled, mimicking her favourite literary witch’s call; “Boscha, I challenge you to a wit-”
“Challenge me to a duel?” Boscha remarked with a giggle, sitting down on her staff and inspecting her nails with a lazy gaze. “Nonono, I’m busy, and you aren’t worth my time,” she concluded, then giving her palisman a light slap, sending her and the staff shooting off above the woods.
Luz then let out another growl as the students around them let out a snicker, with Amity letting out a whimper, her little side showing through as she held Luz’s hand and shook a little from the confrontation. “I swear, when I next get a hold of her…” Luz grumbled before being cut off by Amity lightly tugging on her hand, causing the girl to look Amity in the eyes, “Hm?”
Amity then tried to speak but, due to being more than a tad overwhelmed, let out naught but a tiny whimper, prompting the girl to clamp her hand over her mouth. The students making their tired march out of the school gave Amity a curious glance but didn’t mention anything, deciding it’d be better to get home than deal with more school drama, for the weekend was only a day away.
Noting her girlfriend’s babble and letting out an “Oh,” of recognition, Luz then softly kept holding Amity’s hand, leading her away from the school caringly, gently rubbing her thumb against the back of Amity’s hand to try and help her relax. “How old are you right now, cariño?” she softly asked, trying to use her very best mamí voice to soothe her little.
Amity, still startled from the situation with Boscha, and now fully little, had her eyes tearing up a bit. Really, all she could do to respond to Boscha lightly mocking her was to be little? Even with her new self-confidence, that was not a good track record in her mind.
But her worried mind was hushed as Luz gently scooped Amity into a soft hug, gently cradling her in her arms to try and calm the little one down. “Pequeño, it’s ok, Boscha can’t mess with us now,”
Amity relaxed a little due to being in her caregiver’s arms, gently letting her worries fly away, the hectic butterflies of being mature and perfect all slipping away slowly, bit by bit. But still, the flurry of worries stuck around, circling the little one’s mind, and a few tears still struck through her closed eyes.
“Shh, cariño, it’s okay, shh... Mamí’s here,” she assured the little one, rubbing her back gently with her thumb while cradling her, trying to rock Amity the tiniest bit to help her slip into little space and away from the big issues that plagued her.
But, big Amity was trying her very best to stick around, so she tried her very best to communicate what was wrong in an articulated, proper manner. “Hey, sorry about me being little again, it’s just that since my Mom made me take extra classes, I’ve been a bit overwhelmed…”
At least, that was what she intended to say. All that came out of her mouth was a spaghetti pile of adorable babbles. Luz then let out a happy coo at her adorable little one,
“Aww, sorry honeybun, but I think you’re a bit too little to talk.”
Said little, in frustration, then let out a tiny ‘hmph’ in response, pouting over her own lack of maturity. “Don’t worry, nena, you’ll be able to talk later, but now, how about we get you some after school snacks?” Luz suggested, earning a happy ‘Mmhmm!’ from her little.
Luz then cheerily carried her little over to a quaint clearing in the forest, with a gigantic pink blossom tree in the middle of it, flanked by a somewhat steep cliff hanging over the boiling sea. The two had met up here rather often, not only due to its tree being a result of their first dance together but also because very few even remembered the area’s existence, so thus it was a great place for Amity to be little in peace.
Having readied some food for a little picnic earlier today, Luz then gently set down Amity, who promptly looked up at her with adorable puppy eyes and shot up tiny grabby hands. “Oh, pobrecita… Don’t worry, Mamí just needs to set up the food and blankets, but then you can sit in my lap all you want!” she promised, gently patting her impatient little one’s head before swiftly setting up some blankets and a little picnic basket. Suddenly, she noted the lack of a soft pink bag among Amity’s pile of books she had been carrying. “Oh, cariño, where’s your little bag?” she wondered, since Amity always had two, one at the Owl House and one which she kept with her either in her room or in her locker.
Amity then let out a tiny squeak, quickly looking around and finding it not there. She then realized she’d left it in her locker and tried to explain that, but due to her being little, only let out a tiny babble before quickly pointing to roughly where Hexside was.
Luz, with her quick thinking, caught on and then quickly looked for Amity’s normal bookbag, and after she gently took it off of Amity’s back, she then reached into the smallest pouch and carefully scooped up Ghost, who’d been fast asleep for most of the school day, but now awoke. “Alright nena, can you stay here while I get your little things? And don’t worry, Ghost will watch over you,” she assured, setting the palisman down in Amity’s lap.
Amity let out a defiant huff but as Ghost nuzzled up against her hand she gave into the cuteness of her palisman and softly began to pet it, forgetting entirely about what was happening around her. Just before leaving, Luz gave Amity a gentle kiss on her forehead, which was met with a happy, babyish giggle. Luz then let out one last coo at her adorable little before slipping off to go get the bag.
To try and not leave her little alone for too long, Luz darted through the forest, eventually getting a bit tired from running and deciding to use an ice glyph on the path to make a slippery, speedy pathway. She then took a few steps back before dashing on the ice, sending her flying forward and careening into a tall bush. She then lifted herself out of the bush, shaking off a few thorns that stuck to her clothes, and then stepped forward, noticing she’d already found herself at Hexside. “Oh, I guess that worked!” she remarked, then making her way over to the entrance to see a familiar form.
Out a few trees away from where the two perched, a lone canary with a glossy golden visage and soft white coat nestled itself on a cold pine tree, the spiny nature of the tree giving little space for a proper, safe nest. As the bird softly looked around, it saw the two, who were in a soft, luscious coniferous tree, which gave plenty of shelter and shade, a true home. And yet, the canary knew it would not be able to shelter under that tree, for those two had chosen it for themselves, and the canary needed to care for its tree. It had to do so, that was its purpose.
Leaning against the walls flanking the steps up to Hexside was a form clad in a white flowing robe, though lacking his usual golden mask, showing his scarred face off in full colours. He stood rather lazily, with his palisman in staff form at his side, his eyes tiredly glancing around the school, looking for someone, but his slow blinking and occasional tiny yawns paired with baggy eyes showed he wasn’t in top condition. “Hunter?”
The sleepy lad’s eyes then darted upwards as he saw Luz before him, and he clutched his staff, standing up straight as he did so. “Oh, hello, hum- er, Luz.” he answered, rubbing his eyes a bit.
“What are you doing here?” she posed, unsure of the tired lad’s intent, considering the two’s last encounter at the Owl House, and how he was still intent on helping the Emperor. And with how much he seemed like he was willing to throw away his little side, this encounter seemed suspicious.
Hunter, thinking this wouldn’t have turned out for anything, stumbled over his words. “Well.. I um, wanted to…” he stammered, a faint blush coming to his face.
“Be little?” She mused, since unfortunately for him, Luz seemed to catch on before he was willing to admit anything.
Hunter’s face immediately went to a soft pink and he looked away abruptly, fidgeting with the hem of his robe, too nervous to respond. The boy, yes, had come here for such a purpose, but hadn’t expected anything to come of his attempt. With how things always went with Belos, he thought the kindness Luz gave to him before was more than he should have expected, and him coming to Hexside was a bit too hopeful. He couldn’t simply be little, that was far too easy, and wouldn’t be fair to Luz. He needed to help her out before he could be little.
So, he hushed his little thoughts. “No, nothing like that. I just wanted to see if you needed anything.” he fabricated, leaning on the school nervously and pushing back a tuft of his blonde hair. He wasn’t entirely lying, though. After the hassle he thought he put on Luz by being little a few days back, he thought it may be best to help her if needed.
“Well… Actually, I do need a bit of help with something…” Luz admitted, turning towards Hexside’s doors. “Amity left her bag in the school, and maybe you could help get it back.” As she remembered, the door was locked up soon after classes ended, so getting in would be a small hassle.
Hunter, immediately glad to help, then tried to look through a window, but it was far too high-up for him to see. From this angle, he was only able to see the stones surrounding
the-
He then felt Luz lightly tap on his shoulder. “Hey, kiddo, I don’t think you’re tall enough to see up there… I could pick you up if that’d help,” she offered, causing the boy’s face to go completely flushed.
“I.. I’m a big kid, I can do it!” he affirmed before hopping up onto the wall and climbing up to the window, peering inside.
“Hey! That’s really dangerous, you could fall!” Luz warned, reaching out to Hunter, who was now quite a ways up the wall. He merely stuck out his tongue at Luz before continuing to peer into the window of the school. Inside was a simple classroom, being the bard classroom. Inside it had a few instruments scattered about, with no desks and instead having music stands in a rough semi-circle surrounding a podium at the front of the class, which had a conductor’s baton placed upon it. As he squinted his eyes and tried to get more details, he felt his footing begin to slip.
The boy then let out a shocked squeak and his balance became shaky, just barely holding onto the window frame. He gripped on tightly but as he tried to slide to the left to get better footing, his foot slipped off the brick wall and he fell forward off of the railing, letting out another squeak as he braced for impact with the ground. Instead, he fell onto a soft surface, rather pillowy, and didn’t feel hurt one bit. “Huh…?” he wondered aloud, looking up from his face-down position.
He then saw that below him was a soft flower, which hadn’t been there before. “Hunter, are you ok?” Luz fretted as she rushed over, helping the boy up and checking him over for any wounds.
Hunter then nodded, feeling a tad more little. “Yeah… what happened with the flower?” He pondered, looking down to the giant flower that had so spontaneously appeared below him.
“Oh, I just used a plant glyph,” She explained, pulling a handful of glyphs from her pocket, “I always carry a couple on me,” Oh yeah, he’d forgotten how proficient she was with magic, despite being a human. It honestly amazed him. She didn’t need any artificial magic, just those glyphs, and she’d actually been able to crack Belos’ mask...
Maybe he shouldn’t go down that rabbithole again. Thinking about Belos now would only send shivers down his spine. He’d gone out without Belos’ permission… again, so this whole ordeal could turn sour fast. But, he swatted away those thoughts, at least for now.
“Oh, that makes sense… anyway, it didn’t look like there was anyone inside that class, so we should be able to get in there.” Hunter revealed, going to jump up the wall again before Luz, - near effortlessly, - managed to scoop him off of the wall. “Huh?”
“Nope, you’re not climbing up there again, lil guy, you could get really hurt.” she tutted, setting the boy back down on the flower as she started to look through some glyphs she could use. Hunter, after being picked up so easily, blushed vividly and let out a tiny pout, but rather than intimidating it was merely adorable. Really, he wondered how he might’ve gotten so easily picked up… was she just strong, or was it something else? Well, to be fair, he hadn’t been eating much lately… or getting proper sleep.
Luz then swiftly pulled another plant glyph from her pocket and gently held it in her hand, getting ready to toss it to the ground so it would send the two flying upwards. She then smiled and offered a hand to Hunter, “Hey, I’ve got an idea, you might wanna stand up for it.”
“Nuh-uh, I’m perfectly fine he-” as he pouted, Luz quickly lifted him from the ground and tossed the glyph to ground, causing it to go off and send the two careening upwards in through the window, sending it flying open and causing the two to crash into a couple stands set up in the room.
“Ow…” Hunter whimpered, getting up from the pile of music stands, upon which he looked down to see a bruise on his elbow, it seems he’d scraped it on the way up, and the impact tore straight through a tiny portion of his sleeve.
At first, he didn’t make any note of the bruise, but as soon as Luz lifted herself from the pile, (and gotten her hand unstuck from a misplaced tuba), she saw the bruise and immediately her brain went all-out mamí mode in response to seeing the lightly injured little.
“Oh, cariño, are you ok?” she fretted, gently inspecting Hunter’s bruise, causing the boy to nervously pull away. “Little one, come here, I need to see how bad your boo-boo is…” she continued, wanting to make sure the tiny one was ok, since it seemed like he was the sort of little who didn’t say when things were wrong.
Hunter then whimpered, letting out a tiny squeak and shuffling farther away, covering the boo-boo with his cloak. He was intent on helping Luz, not letting her help him.
He needed to be big right now, that’s what mattered most. But, unfortunately for him, his tiny self left him mute.
She then frowned, trying to come closer to the tiny one but he kept slipping away, “Hunter, please come here, I just need to make sure it’s not too bad.” She assured, trying to use her most comforting voice. “I’m not mad, you’re not in trouble, I just want to make sure you’re ok, chiquito.”
As Luz tried more and more to help him feel little, all Hunter could do was back further and further away, trying to fight his headspace as much as possible. And, as he did so, a certain palisman was disturbed from its sleep… Lil Rascal, sensing that something was wrong, flew up out of Hunter’s cloak and chirped at Luz, trying to seem angry, but he was far too adorable.
“Lil Rascal, c’mon! Hunter needs help, and I’m gonna make sure he’s ok.” She declared, a bit too loudly for her tastes, and before long her and the palisman had a tiny argument. All while this was happening, Hunter felt smaller and smaller due to how loud everything was and had now backed away to the point he was at the door of the classroom. Despite his resistances, the bad-but-sad blonde boy he usually was soon was replaced with a tiny, scared kid whose friends were arguing.
As Luz and Lil Rascal kept up their debate, something began to stir, and before long, Hunter felt something tug at him. He looked to his side and saw a head tilted at an awkward degree, with a grey bony mask concealing this being’s face. It then, with it’s near upside-down features, having teeth at the top of its mask and eye sockets closer to the bottom, (though covered by eyelids,) stared directly down at Hunter, despite not being able to see. For it was one of Hexside’s guards, and it sensed trouble. Before the boy could make a peep, the guard raised it’s shepherd’s crook and snatched it around Hunter, pulling him out into the hallway. He tried to pull away, letting out some whimpers, but before long was beginning to be taken all the way to the detention.
As this occurred, Luz had scarcely taken notice, until she took a breath in between the arguing and looked behind Lil Rascal to see Hunter was no longer there. “Wait, where’d he go?” She pondered, interrupting the argument and causing palisman and human alike to head out into the hallway to see where Hunter is. Before Luz could get a good look, the palisman let out a chirp and caused Luz’s look to snap over to where he’d chirped. Across the hallway, Hunter, who was looking quite distraught and was letting out whimpers and crying, was being hauled away, and he made desperate grabby hands at Luz as the guard turned a corner, causing Hunter to turn with him out of sight.
“Don’t worry Hunter, we’re coming!” She shouted down the hallway before beginning to charge down the hall, glyphs in hand. As she did so, Lil Rascal loudly chirped and got Luz’s attention, and she saw as the palisman quickly went into his staff form, which she promptly caught. She let out a surprised “oh” before excitedly hopping on the staff and going rocketing down the hallway. As the pair went flying down the hallway, some other guards became roused from their duties and began to swing up at the two, but Luz’s training with flying allowed her to easily bob and weave her way away from the shepherd’s crooks that tried to capture them.
As they turned the corner, they saw Hunter was just about to be taken into the detention, which had been recently refurbished, and Luz tossed a glyph at the guard holding him, causing the guard to rear back, pulling it’s crook away from Hunter. Luz then quickly flew closer to the floor, where she gently scooped up the little, sat him on the staff and then sent the trio flying away from the hall with the abundance of guards.
After the trio taking a few breaths, and Lil Rascal returning to his palisman form and sitting atop Hunter’s shoulder, Luz gently put her hand on the boy’s opposite shoulder. “Are you okay, huff, cariño?” she pondered, getting a reply via a quick head nod from the tiny one. “Good, now… can I please see your boo-boo?” she asked softly, trying her very best to be calm and not worry the already spooked little.
Still, Hunter was rather scared due to their close encounter with the guards, and the little one felt tinier by the second. As Luz comforted him, his big thoughts fluttered away and his eyes began to tear up from all the stress and loud noises. Seeing this, Luz quickly sat down, scooping Hunter up before gently placing him in her lap. “Shh.. don’t worry, little one, I’ve got you, everything’s ok,” she assured, gently brushing Hunter’s hair with one of her hands to try and calm the scared kid.
She felt horrible that anything had even happened to Hunter, first his boo-boo and now almost getting caught by the trouble-sensing guards. In her eyes, the poor little one needed a safe place to stay and be tiny, and she felt awful for getting him all worried when he should feel safe. Sure, she already had a tiny one to worry about, but Hunter needed help just as much, and deserved it.
After petting his hair for a bit and whispering sweet nothings to help him calm down, Hunter eased his breathing and calmed down, with Lil Rascal gently cuddling up against Hunter’s cheek to help him relax. Once his tears stopped and he’d relaxed, Luz then gently lifted part of the tiny one’s cloak to see the scrape on his elbow. From what she saw, it wasn’t bleeding much, and she’d probably just need a tiny band-aid or two to cover it up. She then softly patted the tiny one’s head again before declaring “Alrighty, so, I’ll get you those band-aids in a second, but first we need to get that bag I need for Amity, ok?” she softly told the little one, trying to keep her voice quiet.
Hunter meekly nodded before Luz looked around to see if there was any way she could get to Amity’s locker. Thankfully for her, the detention class, or what was once such, was right nearby. “Oh, phew, that’ll make this easy peasy!” she declared before scooping up Hunter into her arms and heading inside, quickly sitting Hunter down on a desk so she could draw a square of chalk onto the blackboard before tapping it, causing the secret door to budge open. She then scooped up Hunter again and snuck inside the hole, closing the secret door behind them.
Inside was the Secret Room of Shortcuts, a place Luz hadn’t used much in her time at the school, though it was rather useful. As she arrived inside, she softly placed Hunter on the ground. “Now, I’m gonna go get Amity’s bag, you stay here, mmkay?” she softly asked, patting the little one’s head softly. The boy hesitantly nodded, upset to be left alone, but Lil Rascal’s cuddles kept him too occupied to worry.
Luz then quickly hopped up the spiral ramp of the room and found her way to the door closest to Amity’s locker, which led through a somewhat old grudgby poster on the wall of one of the hallways. As she pushed through the poster, she took a peek ahead, seeing no guards, and then stepped through into the hallway. Thankfully for her, Amity’s locker was just nearby, and she then went over to the locker, tickled the locker’s mouth to get it to open and then quickly scooped up Amity’s soft pink bag from the locker. Before any
guards could turn the corner and catch her, she quickly slipped back through the grudgby poster door and into the Secret Room of Shortcuts.
Once she got back to the room, she came down the spiral and let out a happy coo, for at the foot of the spiral sat Hunter, sleeping with his palisman nestled against his neck.
Trying her best to be careful and not disturb this adorable sight, Luz carefully scooped up Hunter, carrying him through to the closest exit, being a secret trap door that led out
behind the school.
As she made her way out, she then looked down at the tiny one in her arms. This lil guy is supposed to be the Golden Guard? This little sweetheart, the right-hand man of a tyrant, bringing the Titan’s justice? Sure, this was the Boiling Isles, where things didn’t always make sense, but that was absurd. Hunter is just a kid. He doesn’t need the weight of a people on his back or an emperor barking orders down his throat. He just needed time to calm down, to relax. To be a kid.
She then let out a chuckle at how adorable the sleeping blonde was before making her way through the forest, eventually ending up close to the clearing where Amity was. This time, however, she didn’t use her newfound ice path idea, since she didn’t want the little one getting any more boo-boo’s. Then she’d have to reform the boo-boo buddies! (Not entirely a bad idea, but that was a thought for later).
Right now, she had two littles who she thought might have a great playdate. Gently, trying not to jolt the little one awake too quickly, Luz sat down behind a tree, sitting the boy
in her lap and softly booping his nose. “Boop!” she whispered, letting out a chuckle. “Hey, pequeño, we gotta get up,” she announced, trying to wake up the tiny one.
Hunter’s eyes then slowly began to flutter open, glancing up with his glistening crimson eyes, letting out a tired whimper as he did so and began to rub his eyes. “Mmm… I nu wanna wake ups…” he murmured groggily, letting out a tiny yawn.
Luz then softly patted the little one’s back, “Sorry bud, but we gotta get up, I got a special surprise for you!” she offered, which immediately got the kid out of his tired state and his eyes went wide open with excitement.
“Ooh! What is it?” he hollered, looking up at her with a sparkle in his eyes.
She smiled and patted the tiny one’s head, “Well, I’ve got a friend for you!” she declared, trying to not be too loud.
“Who?” he pondered, looking up at her, his tooth gap showing, which made him seem all the more little. Here it was, this was the part Luz was dreading. She knew that Hunter might not be comfortable being around Amity, since he might just feel guilty, and Amity might get defensive and try to be big and protect Luz, but both littles just needed a
friend, someone to support each other.
So, she gathered all her courage and said “Amity,” causing Hunter’s face to go pale. He was tiny, and he was about to see Amity? She practically beat him in their fight and she wouldn’t want him around, after how he threatened her and Luz…
And as guilt washed over Hunter, tears began to form in his eyes, and his breaths got a bit shaky, with the world feeling so big, so terrifying, and him feeling so tiny that he could be swallowed up by it in a second. He’d made a mistake coming here, he was abusing Luz’s kindness and would only risk getting them hurt. Belos probably already sent a team out to capture them, and Belos would find out that Hunter hadn’t gotten rid of his tiny side like the Emperor had asked. Lil Rascal would be broken, Luz and Amity would be captured, all of it would fall and it would be his fault. He didn’t deserve their kindness. He was a villain, he was an awful person, and he knew it.
But, at the same time as he felt the world beginning to swallow him up into a sea of sobs, the only thing he was wrapped with was a warm, gentle hug. “Oh, cariño, shh, don’t worry, shh…” Luz whispered, delicately wiping the tears from the tiny one’s eyes. Overwhelmed with fear, all Hunter could do was cry into Luz’s shoulder, but unfortunately for him, his cry was a bit too loud.
One day, the lone canary, knowing what it’s heart wanted, attempted to fly closer to the duo’s tree. It wanted what they wanted, the safe shelter of the tree, the leaves, not the spiny ones of its own. It wanted to feel safe. But, it’s duty kept it steadfast, until it finally felt the urge to fly over. It didn’t go too close, merely flying as close as it could without being seen, but one day, the sparrow with the frazzled feathers took notice of the visiting white-gold canary, and seemed to befriend the lone bird. But, as one canary visited, the lavender canary of the tree began to see where it’s mate had flown, and was cautious of this new visitor.
Just a ways away, Amity sat with her back up against the blossom tree, her palisman nestled in her lap, and she had started to get a tiny bit worried. Yes, she’d been with Ghost, so that helped distract her, but she was worried about her Mamí. She hadn’t come back for what felt like ages, and she promised she’d be back with the little bag after not too long. And, as with many littles, her patience ran short quickly. Worried for her Mamí, but feeling a bit bigger, Amity decided she’d find her caregiver! And then, she’d give her the biggest, bestest hug!
Determined to get her mission done, she then slowly, (just to make sure she didn’t trip over anything, since she was a little clumsy), got up from the ground, with Ghost following behind her, and she set off into the woods. While she didn’t want to go too far, (for fear of getting lost and because her Mamí said not to go too far away while she was little,) she was getting impatient, so she decided to just stick to the path, since hopefully that would lead her to the… school.
To Hexside. And with thoughts of Hexside, so came the girl’s worries. She’d nearly failed an assignment in one of her new classes she was taking, and she knew that when she got home, that would end up terribly disappointing her parents. Now, normally, she’d be able to get the project done lickity-split, no problem, but since all these new classes were overwhelming her, and with her family’s opinion of her hair, she’d found herself little more and more frequently. She’d hoped she wasn’t too overbearing for Luz, due to how little she was being, but she couldn’t be sure. Was she a good girlfriend? Was she a good little?
But, before her thoughts began to worry her any further, she heard a sound from the woods nearby. At first, she didn’t know what it was, but soon it became clear. Someone was crying. Curious, the little one shook away her worried thoughts and peered around for the source of the sound. As she turned around a tree, she saw it. The Golden Guard, sat in Luz’s lap, sobbing loudly.
What the hell was he doing here? The one who threatened her and her girlfriend, getting comforted by Luz? No, this isn’t good, he’d already abused her kindness before, and she wasn’t going to let him try and hurt Luz. But as soon as she started to draw a spell circle in her hand to protect Luz, Hunter looked up at her. In his eyes, there was no mischievousness, no malice. His spectral crimson eyes held the look of a scared child, tears marking his face like streaks of paint on a canvas. Wait… the look of a child?
Was he…?
Well, he did say he and Amity were similar in their position, but maybe they were more similar than the two even realized before now.
And, seeing Amity hold up her spell circle, Luz quickly grabbed her hand that was drawing the spell circle, “Amity, no, he isn’t doing anything wrong,” Luz insisted, and seeing her girlfriend defend him, and Hunter’s sad gaze, Amity dismissed the spell circle and stepped back, unsure what to do.
She felt awful for immediately preparing a spell, since it’s clear now that he meant no harm, but she just wanted to protect Luz. She’d understand that, right? But, as soon as she stepped backwards, Hunter, who was still terrified, also backed up, scooting out of Luz’s lap.
In Hunter’s mind, however little it was, he knew Amity had a right to be mad, a right to attack him, it’d make sense. But she didn’t. Why were her and Luz being so nice to him? He could ruin their lives in a second, and they were helping him. He didn’t want to be a burden, and he didn’t want to get them hur-
“Hunter,” a voice cut through the little one’s thoughts, and he turned to the comforting tone that spoke to him. It was Amity. Currently, she was squatted down to his level, trying her best to be warm and comforting. “Hey, uh, kiddo, I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” she assured, her voice calm and gentle.
She… apologized? She thought she did something wrong? But he was supposed to apologize, he was the one he thought was wrong. He needed to run away and never come back.
“Oh, baby, come here, we didn’t mean to make you cry…” Luz gently pleaded, reaching out her arms to wrap Hunter in a hug. He hadn’t even noticed he was still crying. But, as Luz did so, Lil Rascal fluttered out from his cloak pocket, gently nuzzling up against the crying lad, and surrounded by comfort, Hunter came closer to Luz, who wrapped him in a tight but still soft hug.
“Shh… there there, it’s alright, cariño…” she whispered, gently patting the tiny one’s back and whispering sweet nothings to him to help him calm down. Eventually, after a few minutes of crying, Hunter’s cries became quiet and her breathing consistent instead of erratic. As he calmed down, Luz looked up at Amity, trying to communicate something through a series of winks and blinks, but Amity merely got extremely confused and furrowed her brow.
Luz then sighed and looked down at the little one, “Hey, Hunter, do you mind if Amity and I step away for a second?” she queried, trying to speak in her softest mamí voice to the little one, which got Amity more than a tad jealous.
In response, Hunter softly nodded, and as Luz pulled away from the hug, he let out a tiny whimper, but Luz assured him, “We’ll be back in a minute, little one, I promise.”
Quickly, as to not leave him alone for too long, Luz pulled Amity and herself away from the little one and went back to the blossom tree, with the two holding hands as they went. “So… what’s up?” Amity pondered, her voice seeming as big as could be, but Luz knew better.
“Well, nena, you and I both know you need some little time,” she began, causing Amity’s face to go bright red, chipping away at her big side as Luz was so good at. “And, with Hunter, you could have little play dates with him and you could both get the little time you need!”
Well, yeah, Amity did need to be little, after everything that was happening with her schoolwork. Whether she felt like she deserved it or not, it was how her brain coped with stress, and she needed to relax. Hell, she had felt so on-edge to the point that nearly any noise louder than a whisper would startle her. But still, she needed to get her work done, or else her parents would get mad again, and…
“Plus, Amity,” Luz added, gently holding a hand on Amity’s shoulder, “Your homework can wait, since little ones like you shouldn’t have to worry about a thing,”
It was miraculous how Luz always knew the perfect thing to say, and always knew how to help. She really was the perfect girlfriend. And the perfect Mamí.
“... Thanks, Luz,” Amity beamed, a blushy smile coating her joyful face as she looked in the eye of the one she held so dear. Her Luz. But, rather than a simple thank you merely in words, Amity softly leaned in slightly. But, before she could, Luz leaned in as well, leaving a gentle kiss on the lavender-haired girl’s lips, and for just that moment, the two’s love was all there was around them. No worries of homework or adventure or boundaries between them or anything of the like. Just two people who loved each other.
Luz pulled away, beaming just as much as Amity, and let out a happy chuckle, her face slightly flushed. Amity, likewise, was blushing, and gently held Luz’s hand, rubbing her thumb on the back of it softly.
“Well… how about we get you that play date, little one?”
Amity smiled softly, looking back to the woods, where her new friend awaited. “That sounds amazing, Mamí.”
But, despite seeing a bird of frayed feather, one who’d taken berries from their tree, the lavender canary did not hold one grudge against the one of golden hue. It had understood what the gold canary did, and why, and knew the only true way forward was through kindness, not enmity. So, the white-gold canary was allowed to stay in the shelter of the mates’ tree, and with that, the lone canary was alone no more. For, as the old saying goes, ‘Two of a Feather always stick together.’