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No one else seems surprised by the demon with Luz's mother, and Hunter figures that there's a story he missed. That's just what happens when up until recently you've been blindly serving your evil uncle. Vee doesn't look like any demon he's seen in person before, but he's done his research. Apparently, Mrs. Noceda has been sheltering a basilisk.
He remembers the rumors he first heard a few months ago about escaped magic experiments. Some Coven Scouts even whispered about being charged to find basilisks — a difficult task, given their shape-shifting and magic-draining abilities. His uncle was…displeased when Hunter tried to question him about it (the underground labs were off limits for his own protection given his dangerous interest in wild magic — or so his uncle claimed), so he put the incident out of his mind. Just like he pushed aside other inconvenient information when he was part of the Emperor's Coven.
If he were an escaped creation of the Emperor (aren't you, though? a little voice whispered), then he certainly wouldn't want to be around the Emperor's nephew and right-hand man (current status notwithstanding). He needs to tell Vee that he is was the Golden Guard. Before she accidentally hears it from someone else.
*****
The tall blond witch asks to speak with her in the same hallway bathroom where Vee spotted him with Luz earlier. He keeps the door open and stands near the far wall.
Hunter explains that he used to be the Golden Guard and that the Emperor was his uncle. While he's quick to say that he's changed sides and would never hurt her, the fear is still overwhelming. Vee's been captured before and is terrified of being captured again.
She runs.
Vee makes it to the old shack before she stops. This isn't the first time she's thought she'd have to leave, and like before, she doesn't want to go even as she feels compelled to escape (escape what? the Golden Guard? absolutely. the former Golden Guard? maybe. Camila's home? Gravesfield? certainly not the Human Realm). Luz seems to trust Hunter, but Luz doesn't always have the best judgment (maybe Vee is still a little indignant on Camila's behalf). Still, he revealed his identity to her, and that probably counts for something. In retrospect, he also made it rather easy for her to get away. And Vee really, really doesn't want yet another new start.
She goes back.
Thankfully, everyone is too busy getting settled to notice she was ever gone, and she throws herself into welcoming the witch girls who will share her Luz's room. Tonight she'll let Mamá Camila handle the boys in the basement (surely he wouldn't attack so soon — he looks absolutely terrible).
She hopes that if it proves necessary, she'll be able to fight.
(Number Five remembers the basilisks who fought and fed as they escaped — leaving behind the empty husks of their victims. She left one too.)
*****
Hunter gives Vee as much space as he can. He can feel her eyes on him whenever they're in the same room, and she always makes sure she has an exit route available. That's smart thinking — Hunter would be doing the same thing in her position. He's a potential threat and she's right not to trust him — at least not until he's proven himself sufficiently (he's not sure what that would take). It's not surprising that she managed to escape his uncle and evade the Coven Scouts — she's observant and looks for opportunities.
She also seems particularly protective of Mrs. Noceda Camila. As much as he can sense Vee's discomfort around him, she would rather face that than leave him alone with Luz's mom (her mom too? he could have sworn that he once heard Vee call her "Mamá" when the others were out of earshot).
*****
She's been watching him, and she knows he knows she's watching him. He doesn't seem to mind — if anything, he seems to approve of her precautions. Vee sees him check the same exits that she does, and if their eyes meet, he gives her a small nod of acknowledgement. When they visit new places, he instinctively goes ahead of the others and scans the area for threats and the fastest escape route. Before bed he always does a subtle sweep of the house (she's not sure anyone else has noticed), and judging by the enormous bags under his eyes, he kept watch for their first few nights in the Human Realm (the bags never fully go away, but at least he sleeps at all now).
Everything about him screams child soldier, but she slowly becomes convinced that while he's a potential threat to others, the Noceda household is under his protection. He's just too much of a big brother to Luz and Gus and he sometimes follows Willow around like a giant puppy. It takes him a little longer than the others to relax in their temporary home, but now she's seen his gap-toothed smile, his blushes (most often around Willow but also whenever anyone says something nice to him), and his shining eyes whenever he finds something new to like about the Human Realm. His face is an open book, and in retrospect that isn't too surprising for someone who used to have a literal mask to hide his emotions.
She decides to trust him.
*****
Out of all her new arrivals, Hunter seems to be the one most in need of mothering (not that he would ever admit it). Camila's been looking for an excuse to spend some time one-on-one with him, but it's been proving unusually tricky. She asks him to go grocery shopping with her, playing up how much she'd like his help carrying the bags — she knows he likes being useful.
For some reason he looks nervous and turns to Vee. "Would you like to come with us? I'm sure there's enough room for all three of us in the car."
Vee gives him an unreadable look. "Not this time, thanks. I'm sure you can handle it without me."
Camila doesn't know what Hunter and Vee have been communicating to each other with their eyes, but Hunter visibly relaxes and follows her to where she's parked.
Hunter's interested in the controls and mentions that he's flown airships before. He looks old enough that she could probably get away with giving him some driving lessons on backroads — much like she's been doing with Vee (with the basilisk aged up a little in appearance just to make it even less likely that they'd get pulled over). With this many kids in the house, Camila feels better having an extra driver or two in case of an emergency and Hunter and Vee both seem responsible enough to be trusted. (Those two also don't have family waiting for them on the Boiling Isles, and a small part of her wonders if she's preparing them for a possible life in the Human Realm.)
*****
Hunter sees Vee try to find her place in the group and can relate — as the turncloak latecomer, he's familiar with that feeling. Today she looks as lost as he feels as the others pair off for the afternoon. Luz and Amity are absorbed in each other while Gus and Willow are playing some sort of two-player competitive fighting game on the TV (this involves shouting, trading insults, and Hunter nearly being hit in the face by Gus' enthusiastic victory pump).
Vee's been standing around listlessly in the corner of the living room, but it looks like she's done playing the role of the outsider and is looking for an exit. "I'm just going to go do the dishes."
"Let me help you." He gets off of his perch on the couch arm and joins her in the kitchen.
The silence is a little awkward as she washes and he dries, and Hunter realizes that they've never really had a proper conversation with just the two of them. "You went to a human summer camp, right? What was that like?"
Vee's smile reaches her eyes and a whole summer's worth of memories comes tumbling out of her mouth. She tells him about mortgages and interest rates, the almost inedible food served in the cafeteria, the alarm clock that terrified her the first morning at camp, the thin mattress on her bunk (she assures him that the bunks in casa Noceda are much more comfortable and that her cell was much worse), the first time she was caught in a summer thunderstorm, and the friends she made in her cabin (he wonders if she still gets to see them now that she's no longer Luz).
After that, they find themselves teaming up most days to take care of the household chores. Neither of them ever acknowledges just how hard they try to stay in Camila's good graces — this is the best home either of them has ever had and they don't want to lose it.
*****
Hunter's fashion sense is just so hopelessly tragic, even for a refugee from the Boiling Isles. He's standing out on the porch, looking so incredibly dorky with his watermelon pants and his Crocs (Crocs!), and it's hard to believe that she's looking at someone who used to be the literal poster boy for the Emperor's Coven. Someone she used to fear.
She can't resist teasing him about his outfit. (And maybe she wants to test the edges of their brand new friendship.) "What would your former subordinates say if they saw you now, Watermelon Pants?" (Ok, apparently her insults need some work.)
"You assume that the Coven Scouts saw me back then," he scoffs, straightening up and folding his arms in front of his chest. "Besides, watermelons would have been worthy scout rations. They provide excellent hydration as well as important nutrients."
Vee rolls her eyes but doesn't let herself get distracted by the merits of Human Realm fruit. "Weren't you in charge of the Coven Scouts? How were you supposed to lead them if they couldn't see you?"
He shrugs, looking away. "They only ever saw the Golden Guard. My uncle…discouraged fraternization. I was instructed to wear my mask and uniform when I was around the lower ranks. To better command respect and draw upon the established legacy of my predecessors." He clears his throat and attempts to relax the stiff posture he unconsciously adopted (it doesn't quite work, but he's trying). "You're criticizing my watermelons and you're wearing a pumpkin sweater. Watermelons are clearly superior since they don't need extensive preparation to be edible. All you need is a knife, but pumpkins require a knife, a heat source, and plenty of time."
She can't just let that slide. "Pumpkins are seasonal and cute."
"And watermelons aren't cute?" It's a good thing she's not intimidated by his glares.
"Are you going for cute?" she asks curiously (his latest clothing choices are a bit of a drastic change from child soldier and coven head, but perhaps that's precisely why he'd be drawn to them).
He shrugs, cheeks slightly pink. "Maybe. I'm mostly going for different. Aren't you too?"
She's not sure she likes when he's perceptive, and apparently she's letting her discomfort show on her (still pretty new) face.
He looks a little less like an annoyed big brother now, and more like a concerned big brother. His voice is serious and earnest when he speaks. "I was the Golden Guard. I know something about wearing a mask all the time, and I think you do too. It can be…scary, giving that up. Letting go of an old role."
"Trying on a new face?" She tries valiantly, but her voice wobbles just a little.
"It's a good face," he says, smiling (he's been doing that more often). "Basilisk or human. And the person underneath is pretty great too."
She might be the one blushing in embarrassment now.
Vee casts around, looking for something to say to cover her awkwardness. "I like your haircut!"
It's true. His hair had managed to reach his shoulders after less than a month in Gravesfield, but now it's chopped short. Vee felt relieved the first time she saw his new look — the long blond strands had made her think of a monster who sometimes removed his horned mask while examining his specimens.
He looks a little tense now, and she wonders if he used to see the same resemblance she did.
"I got tired of looking like somebody else." His mouth twists into something that's not quite a grimace but not exactly a smile. "And it was getting in the way of figuring out who I am. Without the mask."
Vee understands that perfectly. "I know just what you mean."
*****
This isn't the first portal they've tried to make and it won't be the last.
Hunter always makes sure to be the one who makes the final connection to the door — he's spent a lifetime dodging danger and doesn't want the others to get hurt if anything malfunctions. Gus usually volunteers to hold the fire extinguisher, but Vee's the de facto fire brigade. (Vee's shown Gus several safety videos, but they don't stick.)
Once the flames are out, the disappointment sets in (well, at least for the others who have family waiting on the Boiling Isles — for a moment he remembers sludge dripping on his shoulder and the squelching sound his boots made as he ran to the portal). Failure always hits Luz the hardest despite her being the only one with blood family in the Human Realm. (He's not sure how Camila feels about Luz's other family — King seems to be her little brother, Lilith Clawthorne of all people has somehow become her "cool aunt," and the Owl Lady is… another aunt? Another mother? Still, given how many teenagers Camila is currently taking care of, perhaps she's not so different from her daughter and also has a flexible definition of family — she certainly seems to have adopted Vee.)
While Amity comforts her girlfriend and Willow tries to cheer up Gus, Hunter and Vee get to the practical business of salvaging what's left of their latest attempt. Some of the materials can be reused or replaced fairly easily, but they've largely decimated Gravesfield's talking rat population (not that they were all that useful as a magical power source anyway).
"Do you want to go back?" Vee asks quietly.
He frowns as he tries to delicately disconnect some wiring before deciding that it's too fried to be used again. "It's my duty. I helped my uncle with his plans and it's my responsibility to make things right."
Vee doesn't look happy with him. "That's not a real answer."
"It's…complicated." He fidgets with the damaged wires. "I don't want to go back to my old life. I can't go back to my old life, even if I wanted to."
"But is there a new life you'd want there?" She sounds a little wistful.
"I'm starting to imagine one." He looks over at Willow and Gus and thinks of playing flyer derby and studying whatever magic he wants. "What about you?"
She shakes her head. "Too many bad memories in the Demon Realm. And it doesn't feel safe."
"That's...understandable." While he can't say that his old life on the Boiling Isles was easy, at least he had a tiny taste of what it might be like to just be a regular teenager. Vee never had that chance. "Just remember you'll have bodyguards if you ever decide to visit."
He tries to make a hammy show of flexing his muscles and is gratified when she smiles (he might be new to friendship but he's learning).
"I'll think about it. But I don't think I'll go through the portal with you. At least not anytime soon." She hesitates. "Are you afraid you might get punished? For who you were?"
He's been trying not to think about that too much. "I don't know. I've done some bad things." He remembers witches in chains and stacks of confiscated Palismen. "I'm sure some people would want to see me locked up. Or worse." That's certainly a cheerful thought.
Her voice is small when she speaks. "I might have killed a guard when I tried to drain them. I didn't stop to check. It was on my way out of the labs."
He puts a cautious hand on her shoulder. "That sounds like an accident."
"Basilisks have been killed for less," she says darkly.
There's not much he can say to that. "At least this basilisk has a safehouse."
Vee looks over at Luz, who's being pulled up by Amity. "For now."
He hopes that it's for always.
*****
Vee stupidly, stupidly locks herself in the old garden shed when she's putting away the rake. Her options are limited. She tries but fails to kick the door open (her next few attempts don't work either). The fixed window is ridiculously tiny and she's not eager to deal with shattered glass (but maybe she'll risk it if she gets desperate enough). Even being a shapeshifter doesn't help — Vee can't transform herself into something small enough to wiggle through any of the holes in the walls.
How did she manage to escape the castle's secret underground labs if she can't get out of here of all places? Not all that long ago she was able to jump out of her Luz's window and hop a fence, so she can't be that rusty, can she? Her flight response is what's kept her alive and free, and now she's been defeated by a simple, Human Realm garden shed.
She's a mess when Hunter finds her an hour later when it's time for dinner and people finally notice that she's missing. The whole story with Jacob and the Gravesfield Historical Society comes out as he awkwardly pats her on the back.
"I won't let you get caught," Hunter promises. They start (non-magical) self-defense lessons the next day and she learns the trick to kicking down doors.
(He doesn't say a word about it to Vee, but she sees him help Mamá Camila fix the shed door so that no one will get stuck again. His face flushes when Vee thanks him later.)
*****
Now that Vee has been spending more time with Hunter one-on-one, she notices something odd about his smell — and it's not odd in the typical teenage boy kind of way. The other witches exude a comfortable level of magic from their bile sacs, but there's something different about Hunter. He's not like a human — there's still magic there — but something is off. She wonders if that's why she hasn't seen him do any casual magic without his Palisman.
One day as they're tag-teaming cleaning the bathroom — he hates dealing with the mirror and sink so she's doing that while he's on his knees scrubbing the bathtub — she decides to just ask what's different about him since he doesn't smell like a normal witch. Somehow he manages to slip and hit his head on the tub faucet as he startles. Vee tries to quickly check for injuries but he grabs her arm, wide-eyed and wheezing. It looks like he's counting on his fingers and she tries to count along. Even though she muddles it, his breathing eventually steadies and he releases his grip. Hunter refuses to let her finish up the bathroom cleaning on her own, and honestly the mindless tasks seem to ground him some more.
It's not worth potentially setting him off just to satisfy her curiosity, so she doesn't bring up the strange smell of his magic again. Instead, she asks about the breathing technique he used and he teaches her the right way to do it. Next time she'll do better (and it might be useful for her too someday).
*****
Oh Titan. He probably should have realized that a basilisk could unearth his deepest secret. No wonder his uncle didn't want him to join the hunt or visit his underground labs. Vee didn’t seem to know the full story when she confronted him, but now he knows she knows that he’s not just an ordinary witch. Still, even in the midst of his panic he recognized her as a friend, not a foe, and that makes him think that maybe he can trust her with the truth.
He spends a sleepless night agonizing over the decision, trying to find the right words, and imagining possible reactions (and comebacks). In the end, he’s not sure if all that rehearsing helped him feel more prepared or if it just made him more anxious. Either way, he’s committed now.
He can't risk anyone else learning the truth about him and it's hard to find the right moment to catch Vee alone without arousing suspicion (of course he didn't plan this part out). The anticipation is making his anxiety even worse and he wants to get the conversation over and done with. He's twitchy all through lunch and manages to spill apple blood juice all over the table.
Vee picks up on his jumpiness and comes to his rescue. "Let me help you with that."
She brings over some towels, and together they make quick work of the disaster (they waive off other offers to help — by now they're an efficient two-person cleaning crew).
Once everyone else has left the table, Hunter asks Vee if they can speak privately. The house seems too public, so he leads her outside to a garden bench after making sure no one else is in earshot. Flap rides along on his shoulder, and the little cardinal gives him some extra courage.
"You asked why my magic smelled strange. I…I've been keeping something from you and the others. Luz knows this already, but I'm not ready for everyone else to find out."
He takes a deep breath. There’s no undoing what comes next.
"I'm a Grimwalker. Belos created me out of his dead witch hunter brother to be his Golden Guard. Just like he made all the other Golden Guards before me."
He expects to see disgust or revulsion, but instead Vee’s face is eerily calm.
"So just like he made me and the other basilisks, except he used some old basilisk blood to bring us back from extinction." She smiles ruefully. "I guess we're both science experiments that aren't really supposed to exist."
He flinches at that. It’s not a new thought, but it’s something he tries hard not to think about with varying degrees of success (it’s hardest at night). And somehow it feels worse when Vee applies it to herself too.
"But I don't want to stop existing," she continues. "I'm here. And if I'm here, then I want to be free and safe." She scooches a little bit closer to him on the bench until their arms just barely touch. "And I want you to be free and safe too, Mr. Grimwalker."
"Do you know what happened to the other basilisks?" Even as he asks, he's not actually sure he wants to know.
Vee stares intently at the ground in front of her. "I don't know about all of them. Some died in the labs. Some escaped with me and some of them got recaptured. Some never tried to leave, at least when I was there."
Titan, if they ever make or discover a working portal they're going to have to find the secret labs. Assuming they haven't already been destroyed by the Collector.
"Do you know what happened to the other Golden Guards?" she asks hesitantly.
"He said they all betrayed him. I saw the memories in his mindscape of how he killed them." As he remembers, he starts to forget how to breathe. "He was going to kill me next."
She gives his arm a gentle squeeze and counts on her fingers (it helps and the attack is over before it's barely begun). "But you escaped. We both did. And now we both have a new start."
*****
It was bound to happen eventually. They run into each other in the kitchen sometime after midnight, both restless after nightmares featuring the same monster. Together they brew some lemon balm tea — leaves courtesy of their favorite plant witch — and sip in silence. It's unclear how much of the calming effect is from the lemon balm itself and how much comes from the ritual, but it usually helps.
Willow makes sure they never run out. (The others need it too.)
*****
"Sometimes it's hard for me to stop thinking about why I was made," Hunter says quietly one night as they're taking out the trash (everyone else is watching Frankenstein but Vee quickly stole him away for chore duty as soon as she heard Gus' choice). "I was the Emperor's tool. He used me to capture wild witches and Palismen. I helped him bring about the Day of Unity."
Vee's been getting used to his darker moods and his confessions (does he have these kinds of maudlin chats with Luz too?) and is getting better at handling him. "Do you know why he brought back the basilisks? He was using us to perfect his draining spell. If you're responsible for the Day of Unity, then so am I!"
Hunter is quick to argue and defend her (so predictable). "You had no choice! You were a prisoner!"
"And you weren't?" she says knowingly.
He doesn't quite sulk as they walk back inside and get ready to deep clean the basement — staying as far away from the living room as possible — but she's given him something to think about and she'll claim that as a victory.
*****
It's normal to have this many parallels between yourself and your relatively new friend/housemate (who was also created in a lab by the same evil person who created you — just using slightly different long-dead ingredients). This is totally just the normal amount of parallels.
*****
Driving lessons with Camila double as Spanish lessons — and often triple as grocery runs — and Hunter can’t help but be jealous how effortlessly Vee can switch from English to Spanish and back again.
He compliments her when they're alone unpacking the car. “Your Spanish is excellent. You really sound like you grew up as a Noceda.”
Vee's modest about it. “You know that basilisks are good at learning languages.”
He does. That little bit of trivia was in the books he found about her species, back when he hoped to help recapture her and the others that had escaped. (Thank Titan he'd been forbidden from that chase and had too many official duties to go on a rogue mission — what if he'd succeeded in catching her? It's hard to imagine life in the Human Realm without Vee.)
Vee spots what he's left unsaid. “Camila’s not going to stop caring about you just because you’re not instantly fluent in Spanish.”
Maybe not. Camila certainly seems more patient and merciful (and loving) than his uncle.
"And just because I sound like I could be a Noceda doesn't mean I am one." Her voice sounds sad and resigned.
"Camila isn't going to kick you out." He hasn't seen any evidence that she would. Vee still won't say it in front of the others, but she faces no consequences when she calls her Mamá — in fact, he's never heard a single reprimand. The basilisk has been doing an excellent job of being a dutiful daughter, and Camila is always quick to shower her with compliments and affection. As far as he can tell, her position seems absolutely secure.
Vee isn't reassured. "She said she wouldn't, but Luz…she's always talked about me staying here as something temporary. And I don't know if she's happy sharing Mamá. Camila."
He blinks and can't quite believe it at first. Luz? Who created her own Boiling Isles family after living there just a few short months? Who offered him a place to stay at the Owl House when his whole life turned upside down?
And then he remembers.
Luz's frown when she couldn't find the can opener and Camila explained that Vee reorganized the kitchen. "Isn't it so efficient?"
Luz's grumble when Camila heaped praises on Vee's casserole that somehow avoided everyone's problem foods. "I'm so proud of you, mija!"
Luz staring at a picture of Camila and not-Luz. "Isn't that a great photo? Vee and I had some mother-basilisk bonding time!"
All seemingly small, little things. Things he barely registered as an observer. But Hunter's been afraid of being replaced before and he can understand.
He doesn't know much about mothers, but he's still pretty sure Camila's heart is big enough to hold both Luz and Vee. (And maybe you too? a small part of him whispers before he squashes it down. This isn't about him.)
*****
One day when the others are outside enjoying the sunshine, Hunter rounds up Camila's two daughters and shuts them in their bedroom. Luz is one of the kindest people he knows, but everyone has their blind spots and Vee's place in the Noceda household is one of hers. He tells Luz (softly, gently, without judgment) that Vee deserves to have a safe, permanent home and that Camila wants to give her one. He expects them to find a way to make it work.
He sits on the hallway floor to make sure they talk things out but puts headphones on to give them extra privacy. Flap nests in his hair and he half-closes his eyes, leaning against the wall. They come back out after an hour or so, eyes a little red and puffy but with wobbly smiles. The intervention was a gamble, but he thinks it's paid off. He puts an arm around each one of them and gives them both a squeeze.
Over the next few weeks he can tell that Luz is making an effort to share her mom and build a stronger connection with her would-be sister. His heart positively glows when he sees Luz pull both Camila and Vee in for a group hug.
*****
It's just another typical morning. They're both early risers and they like to make sure Mamá Camila gets her coffee and breakfast before it's time for her to go to the vet's office. Vee doesn't trust Hunter's cooking, but he's figured out the coffee grinder and moka pot and helps with clean up.
Sometimes they work in companionable silence, but this morning Vee is feeling just a little bit darkly whimsical. "If Belos made you and he also made me, does that make us siblings?"
He laughs. "I've never been a big brother before." (Vee disagrees.)
It started as a joke, but the more she considers it, the more she likes the idea. For weeks now Hunter's been giving her the same big brother treatment he gives Gus and Luz (it's been nice). Why not make it official? Neither of them really grew up with a functional family — why don't they make their own? Luz has been trying and Vee is grateful for that, but she's still not quite ready to believe that casa Noceda will be a permanent home. And sure, she's known Hunter for less than two months, but the only way she's survived this long is by seizing opportunities as they come.
He picks up on her silent musing. "Wait, do you mean it?" She sees the same hunger in his eyes for family and belonging.
And then she remembers something her old cabinmates once told her about. "Oh, there's a human ritual to become siblings that I learned about at summer camp! You cut each other with a knife and mix your blood together!" She's not sure what basilisk and Grimwalker blood would combine to become, but suddenly she wants to find out.
"Is that even sanitary?" He has a comical look of disgust on his face.
Vee shrugs and decides to bait him. "Are you scared, Golden Guard?"
Now she can see the haughty arrogance he'd once been famous for.
"Never." (They both know it's a lie but it's effective — he won't back out now.)
Luz walks in on them just as Hunter is gently piercing Vee's finger with a sharp kitchen knife, trying to cause as little pain as possible.
"What are you doing?" she asks in alarm.
"Hunter's going to be my blood brother." Vee feels both a little embarrassed at being caught during a private moment and proud that she's snagged herself a sibling (and maybe she's also a little smug that while Luz and Hunter have their own sibling thing, she's the one who tricked convinced Hunter to make it official first).
Luz's face lights up (it occurs to Vee that the last time she saw Luz this happy was in old family pictures). "Ooo, I want in!"
Hunter carefully slices Luz's finger and then his own. Luz enthusiastically smears everyone's cuts together until there's no question that all three of them have exchanged blood. "It's official. You're both Nocedas now."
They all grin a little nervously at each other with suspiciously watery eyes and full hearts. Luz grabs both of their hands and Hunter and Vee complete the circle. Apparently, basilisk, Grimwalker, and human blood combine together to make family.