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When Luz opened the door to the bathroom, what she did not expect or want to see was her brother standing there with a razor held above his wrist.
They stood there, dumbfounded, staring at each other for a while before Hunter finally broke the silence.
"Shit," He muttered.
"Shit," Luz repeated, shooting an awkward finger gun and dipping it in time with her nod.
She held out her open hand and made a 'give it here' gesture, trying to look Hunter in the eye so he would be less likely to try something. He met her gaze for a split second before dropping it back to her hand and reluctantly placing the blade in her palm, careful not to cut her.
Luz moved her hand and held it over the bin, tilted it and watched the little blade slide off her hand and drop into the plastic bag. Then she turned back to Hunter and hooked her hand in his open, still outstretched one.
"We're going downstairs and I'm getting mom." She stated firmly, tugging him after her out of the bathroom and down the hall.
He nodded miserably and followed after her, curled in on himself in shame.
"Sorry..." He muttered.
She took a moment to articulate the right response.
"I'm not mad, I just want to make sure you don't hurt yourself." She reassured him. She knew Hunter had a huge thing about worrying people were mad at him and sometimes it got so bad she'd witnessed him having panic attacks because someone sounded a little off with their response and he was convinced they now hated him.
They reached the bottom of the stairs and padded into the kitchen. The floor was cold against Luz's bare feet and she made a mental note to grab some socks on the way back upstairs. For now, she turned around and gently pushed Hunter to sit down in a chair.
"Stay right there, I'm gonna get mom. Be right back." She told him, gesturing with her hands held up before rushing back upstairs.
She approached her mother's bedroom door and took a moment to mentally prepare herself before standing tall and knocking her fist against the wood.
"Come in!" Her mom called from the other side so she cracked the door open and crept in.
She awkwardly stood there for a moment before saying a quick, "Hi."
Camila raised a worried eyebrow as she surveyed her daughter. "Is something wrong mija?"
Luz rocked on the balls of her feet, giving Camila a grimace before she found the words to explain. "Hunter tried to hurt himself." She mumbled. "But I stopped him! He's downstairs, in the kitchen." She quickly added as she saw panic flash in her mother's eyes.
Camila was quick on her feet and even quicker out the door and down the stairs, leaving Luz to stumble after her, trying not to trip over her own feet as she caught up.
As she followed Camila into the kitchen, the cold floor sent a shiver through her and she cursed herself for forgetting the socks.
"Hunter, mijo... are you alright?" Camila worried, trying to place her hand on his cheek but she paused and withdrew when he turned his head away, biting his lip and staring off at the wall to his left.
Camila hesitantly sat down in the seat beside him, finally slowing down after the initial fear of her son being hurt had worn off.
"What happened?" She asked, narrowing her eyes with concern.
Hunter bit the inside of his cheek, just silently staring at the wall for a while before his eyes flicked to Luz who was still standing in the doorway and she got the message.
"I opened the bathroom door and he was standing there with a razor, holding it above his arm. I took it from him and put it in the bin and then went to get you." Luz explained.
Hunter pulled his knees up to his chest and hid his face behind them, looking down at his fluffy red socks as if they were the most interesting thing he'd ever seen. Well, that wasn't entirely a lie. Fluffy socks were very cool and he did like them very much.
"Why were you going to do it?" Camila asked, turning her attention back to him.
He tugged a loose string from his sock and watched it pull the fabric tight before he pulled it taunt and it snapped, returning the fabric to normal again.
"You're going to be mad." He mumbled behind the barrier of his knees, as if it could protect him from however he was worried Camila would react.
Camila nearly sighed but thought better of it and instead hung her head sadly. "I promise I'm not mad. I just want to know what's wrong so I can help." She reassured him.
The room settled in a tense silence for a few minutes before Hunter broke it once again.
"My sigil..." He muttered, "I want it out."
"What do you mean baby?" Camila tilted her head, her eyebrows knitting together with concern.
"I don't want to belong to him anymore, I don't want to be bad anymore..."
Neither Camila nor Luz needed to ask who he
was. They both already knew there was only one person it could be.
It made a lump form in Luz's throat at the thought that the horrible man was still causing harm to her brother even from the grave...
Camila seemed to feel the same way as she tugged the boy into a tight hug, running her fingers through his hair the way she knew he liked. The first time she'd ever done it, he'd practically burst into tears and clung to her side for at least a week.
"You're not bad, I can tell you that, and he never owned you and he never will. I promise." She whispered, letting her eyes slip shut as she clutched him in her arms.
"I want it out..." Hunter mumbled, muffled in the hug.
That's when a brilliant, masterful idea wormed its way into Luz's brain and she jumped a little with the sudden realisation.
"I'll be back in a minute!" Was all she announced before running off, the distinct sound of the front door opening and shutting following her.
The pair in the kitchen were left confused but they soon accepted the fact that this was just another one of Luz's schemes and they'd best wait and see what was to come. So while they waited, Camila gently rocked him like a baby. She couldn't help herself, this poor boy had missed out on sixteen whole years of being a kid and he deserved to have that back.
All things considered, Luz was bursting back through the door and sliding into the kitchen surprisingly fast.
"Sorry," She panted, gripping her thighs as she tried to catch her breath, "Just went to the shop."
That made her speed even more impressive considering she was only away for about ten minutes tops.
"But I got these!" She exclaimed, holding up at least ten sheets of paper for them to see. "Temporary tattoos!" She grinned with pride.
Camila mentally praised her daughter for coming up with such a good idea! And also for running all the way to the shops to buy them in an incredible time.
Hunter, however, was confused, and Luz sensing that walked over to the sink to pick up a cloth which she then soaked in water and thoroughly squeezed the excess liquid out. She strolled over to the cutlery, snatched a pair of kitchen scissors and then returned to the table with said scissors along with the damp cloth.
She tugged a seat around to sit on Hunter's other side, cringing a little as it made a nasty scraping sound on the kitchen floor. She then took her seat and began showing him how it worked.
She browsed through the sheets she'd picked out and gasped with delight when she found an adorable little snake. She grabbed the scissors and began cutting the little creature away from the rest of the sheet, being careful as to not cut into the design. Then she peeled the plastic layer off and stuck the design on her arm, smoothing it down to stick to her skin. She picked up the damp cloth where she'd left it on the table- draining a small puddle of leftover water onto the wood- and dabbed it on her arm, allowing the paper to soak flush against her arm. She put the cloth down and waited a few seconds before peeling it off and revealing it to the eagerly watching Hunter.
He was amazed by it, staring at the newly printed design on Luz's arm with a mix of confusion and curiosity.
Luz laughed and grabbed her sheets of tattoos, splaying them out like playing cards in her hand for Hunter to examine. "Pick one." She instructed.
His eyes scanned over the sheets before he noticed a wolf one and pointed at it with much enthusiasm.
"Should have guessed." Luz giggled, picking up the scissors again to cut the little wolf out.
She picked up the little cutout between her fingers and then used her other hand to gesture to Hunter. "Give me your wrist."
His small smile faltered a little but he obliged nonetheless, cringing slightly when he removed his glove and saw the sigil branded on his wrist. Back in the Boling Isles, they'd been working on a way to get rid of sigils but had so far gotten nowhere. After the Day of Unity, they'd become harmless, but people still didn't really want the reminder of their own near genocide plastered on their skin.
Luz quickly stuck the tattoo on his wrist, covering up his sigil and then grabbed the cloth to dab on top. She held it firmly against his wrist with her hand and counted to herself for a few seconds before uncovering it and peeling the soggy paper away, depositing it on the table.
Hunter gasped in amazement when he saw that the wolf tattoo had completely covered his sigil, it was was fully hidden under the little design. He looked at Luz and Camila with excitement in his eyes and they gave him encouraging smiles in return.
"Do you like it?" Luz asked. He nodded enthusiastically and she mentally patted herself on the back for the success of a great idea. "Let's do more!" She exclaimed, already grabbing the scissors to cut out more.
In no time at all, they both found themselves with arms completely covered in a variety of random tattoos, every patch of skin occupied by some silly little design.
Hunter turned to face Camila and held out the remaining sheets to her. "Can I put one on you?" He asked.
An even bigger smile plastered itself on her face and she nodded. "I'd love that, thank you."
He and Luz exchanged a glance and he turned back to her with a mischievous look. It always amazed Camila how good the pair had gotten at communicating with nothing but glances.
"Close your eyes," Hunter told her. She laughed, catching onto his plan and obliged.
She felt a sticky patch of paper be pressed against her hand, followed by something wet. She heard Luz laughing and Hunter shushing her but barely containing his own laughter.
When she felt something peel off her hand, she was instructed to open her eyes so she did so and looked down at her hand. Staring back at her was a silly little tattoo of one of those yellow minions from that one movie series. Seeing her reaction, her two kids were hysterical, doubling over with laughter.
Hunter picked up the scissors and cut out another minion tattoo, wetting it in advance and then turned to Luz.
"Hey Luz, think fast."
And before she even had a chance to react, he slapped it straight on her forehead, laughing his head off when she squealed in surprise. After a few seconds, he peeled it off and laughed even harder when he saw the result of his work.
In retaliation, Luz slapped a batman one on his cheek, having to physically hold his arms down so she could peel it off without him smacking her.
Just then, Vee slithered into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "Why are you all laughing so loud?" She yawned.
Hunter was quick to jump up from the table, picking up a pile of already cut-out tattoos along with the cloth as he went and rushed over to Vee.
"Can I give you a tattoo Vee?" He asked, barely containing his excitement, bouncing on his feet in a similar way to Luz.
"Sure," Vee replied and shapeshifted into her human form so the tattoo could stick better to her skin.
Hunter skimmed through the pile, considering his options, before picking up a blue and green butterfly and sticking it on her arm. He gently dabbed the cloth on it and Camila could see him quietly counting to himself before he peeled the paper backing off and revealed the design.
He looked up at Vee like a puppy looking for attention and she giggled, patting his head. "Thank you, Hunter. I love it." She told him and he beamed with pride.
"Hey!" Luz exclaimed. "How come he picks a nice one for you but goes and slaps a stupid minion on my forehead!"
They all burst into fits of laughter at each other's stupidity and Camila couldn't help letting out a chuckle too.
She watched her kids, grinning and laughing and it warmed her heart.
She loved these idiots more than anything in the world.