Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Five!”

Eda’s voice stutters slightly, her nerves getting the better of her as she counts down, one hand holding down the button on her bunny walkie-talkie, the other raised high as it grips tightly the neck of the teleportation potion – one that was gifted to her from a ‘secret admirer’, as Hooty put it – ready to release it at a moment’s notice.

“Four!”

King and Hooty stand behind her, visibly shaking as they flank her left and right, both wrapped tightly around The Owl Lady’s legs. The cardinal palisman is seated on her shoulder, none of them able to hold back their worry for the humans on the other end of the communication line – even though all they can do is wait.

“Three!”

From outside The Owl House, three more witches are huddled close together, straining their ears trying to hear Eda’s voice. Darius holds especially tight, his abomination-hair dripping onto Raine and Eberwolf, although they can’t bring themselves to care about their dirtying robes - their fear for the safety of The Golden Guard overtaking all of them.

“T-Two!”

Deep breaths, Eda, she thinks to herself, her voice betraying her. You have to stay calm, you have to bring them back. You have to save Luz and Hunter. She draws in one last breath, steadied as she finishes the countdown.

“O – ”

“EDA NOW! PLEASE, NOW – ” Luz’s voice rings through the house, her fear coming clear through the walkie-talkie before cutting off. Eda freezes for a split second, before steeling herself – and her resolve – throwing the teleportation potion into the center of the room. Golden smoke fills the living space and blocks the vision of the three within it, all of them coughing, trying to clear the air, desperately trying to see –

Nothing.

What.

“What?”

Eda blinks once, twice, eyes darting around the room, hoping, wishing, praying that maybe she just missed them, that maybe they just ran into a corner she hasn’t checked yet. But her eyes scan every surface over and over and over and over and she still can’t find them and she still looks for them but all she can see is –

Nothing.

It didn’t work. The teleportation potion didn’t work.

Luz and Hunter are still trapped. The Golden Guard and her daughter are still in the mind of Emperor Belos.

Was - Was it the potion? Was she given a faulty one? Did she mess up its activation? Did she fail them? Was it Belos? Are they okay? Did he hurt them? Did he kil –

No. Deep breaths, Eda. Don't panic. She takes a moment to centre herself, focusing solely on the problem at hand and how she can fix it. She plucks a few feathers from her arms and forces herself to calm down. All she needs to do is find another teleportation potion, and then she can get her two kids out of there. The issue now, however, is how exactly she’s going to come across another one.

As she thinks, a hand raising to her chin as Hooty and King scramble around the room, she comes up with two possible solutions. She can either try to make the potion herself – although that already wasn’t going so well the first time around – or she can try to find her ‘secret admirer’ and hope that they can make her another potion that actually works. Eda won’t hold her breath for that second option. She can’t actually expect that person to just burst through her front doo –

“Eda! Where are they?!”

Huh. Apparently she can expect them to ju –

Wait.

“Darius? Raine?! ”

When Eda first heard from Luz that she was inside of the mind of the Emperor, she was only a little worried. She knew that Luz could take care of herself, and she knew that she could make the return spell. They've both done this before. She wasn't worried – even if the feathers sprouting on her arms said otherwise.

When she heard that The Golden Guard was trapped with her, she became a little more worried. He’s the one who threatened the Blight girl – Luz's partner – as well as Luz’s other friends, not to mention the multiple times he put Luz herself in danger. But Luz says that he can be trusted, at least for now, and that he won’t hurt her, so Eda decides to trust that – plucking a few new feathers out of her hair – and continue working on the return spell.

When she couldn’t quite figure out how to connect the spell to the Emperor’s mind, then she fully allowed her worry to take over. Luz hadn’t responded on the walkie-talkie for a couple of hours now, King was destroying her favourite couch, and she couldn’t get this stupid spell to work – if only her feathers stopped getting in the titan-damned way!

Just as she was about to lose herself in her own head, Hooty crashed through the window, yelling about some ‘secret admirer’. His voice was just loud enough to bring Eda back – reminding her that she couldn't afford to be worried – and when the flowers gifted to her melted into a potion bottle, she was finally able to breathe again - the path bringing the kids back to safety finally clear.

When the potion didn’t work – when three coven heads burst through her front door, one of them her ex who had apparently lies about losing their memory, she didn’t know what to feel. Confusion? Fear? Anger? Betrayal? Guilt? Whatever it was, it didn’t matter. Shoving all those emotions down her throat, Eda focused solely on how to save the kids, as she demanded to know exactly what was going on.

Raine spoke about how they never lost their memory, how Darius and Eberwolf kept them safe from Terra Snapdragon until they were able to stay safe on their own, and how the three of them formed the new rebellion: the CATs. They spoke of how they only wanted to keep Eda safe - keep her away from the danger, and keep her with her kids, much to Eda’s chagrin. Even now, she can see how conflicted they are to even be here. They spoke of the draining spell, and how they needed to find out more, so they hatched the plan to enter Belos’ mind.

Darius told her about how Luz and Hunter interrupted those plans in the Night Market, and ended up in the Emperor’s mind instead of them. He talked about how they came to this house as soon as they could, watching over it until Raine sent over the teleportation spell. Eberwolf grunted about Darius to burst through the door when the potion failed, even as Raine tried to hold him back. Eda noticed how scared he looked when talking about The Golden Guard, and how distraught he was when he didn’t see Hunter when they came in.

Now, as they all stand in Eda’s living room, desperately hoping that their kids would just appear in front of them, The Owl Lady takes one last long glance at Raine before taking a deep breath and clapping her talons together.

“Okay! As informative as that was, I still have a lot of questions that need answering.” Her intense gaze lands across all three coven heads, with all but Eberwolf wilting under it. “But we have more important things to worry about. How were you planning on escaping the Emperor's mind the first time?”

Eberwolf grunts, telling her about how their teleportation potion was their one-way ticket out. He sniffs before lowly growling about how it was their only one.

“That’s… not good. Do you at least know how to make another one?” The Beastmaster nods his head, garnering a grin from Eda. “Perfect. So, what do we need?” Eberwolf smirks back as he lists off the ingredients to Eda, the number slowly growing larger and larger as King approaches the coven head, trying to bat at his ears, getting pushed away with a soft ‘weh’.

“But what if it doesn’t work again!” Darius blurts out, unable to stop his worry from interrupting Eberwolf. “What if it fails again? What if Hunter is trapped in there forever? What if we can’t save him?” Darius is shaking now, his abomination-hair staining the carpet below as it drips down his head, his usual cool persona falling away to panic. “W-what if – ”

“Darius. Breathe.” Raine grabs his shoulders, turning Darius’ head to them as his eyes meet theirs. “I know you’re worried – we all are. But you can’t lose focus. We need you at full strength if we want to have a chance at rescuing them. Can you do that?" The for Hunter goes unspoken.

“I-I…” The Head Witch of Abomination stutters before finally steadying himself, The Golden Guard’s palisman landing on his shoulder as his hair solidifies once again. “Yes, you’re right Raine. Thank you.”

“Chin up Goo Daddy.” Raine and Darius turn towards Eda, the latter grimacing at the former nickname from Hexside. “We got three coven heads and The Strongest Witch on the Boiling Isles, all working together. We’ll get them out.”

“We have to.”

The coven heads nod grimly as Eberwolf finishes explaining the necessary ingredients, and where to get them. He grunts, warning them that it might take a couple of days to gather everything, and at least one more to mix it together. Eda nods as she grabs King, already turning away to pack a travel bag, feathers getting in her rations as they all plan out who exactly will gather which ingredients.

Once everything is set, Darius leaves, all but running out the door, with Eberwolf following closely behind. Raine stays back, their eyes meeting Eda’s, looking as if they want to - need to say something, before tearing their gaze away and flying into the sunrise. Eda just sighs before calling for Owlbert, ready to fly off as well, before King pulls on the hem of her dress, a sad look in his eyes.

“Eda.. will Luz be okay?” King’s voice trembles, tears threatening to spill out of his eyes. Eda’s heart breaks as she pulls him in for a hug.

“Oh, King. Luz is strong – stronger than we like to give her credit for. Of course she’ll be okay. All of  us’ll make sure of it.” King just sniffles before climbing into her hair, now ready to leave.

She’ll be okay. She has to be.

Unfortunately, Eberwolf was extremely correct on how long it would take for Eda to gather her set of ingredients.

Between climbing the Knee’s mountaintops for the Iron Pine Needles, swimming to the Finger Isles for the Pistol Crab Shell, and haggling with Geoff in the Night Market for some Liquid Dream Smoke, it took exactly two days – almost down to the second – for Eda and King to return to The Owl House, their stash in tow.

Eda could have grabbed the Lava Slug Tails they needed right away, if only she was more awake, the family hiding back in their boiling puddles for an entire day when she missed the first time around. Did Eberwolf know that would happen? That sneak.

The two of them could finally see The Owl House appear over the horizon, the sun barely peeking up above the hills behind them. Eda speeds up, her harpy wings gliding across the sky, as King tries – and fails – to organize the ingredients in her hair. Just as they touch down, Hooty wraps the duo in a hug, before opening the door to let them in.

Just as she steps inside, she can hear the telltale schlorp of abomination goo, Darius teleporting behind her, twigs and mud gathered in his usually pristine robe. Raine flies in behind him, their voice breathy and hoarse, their glasses smudged beyond belief. Turning back inside, she can see Eberwolf, laying on her couch with a cheshire grin on his face and the red palisman nesting in his hair. Hooty apparently had let him in a few hours ago.

That sneak.

Eda could feel some of the tension leave her body at the sight of the other coven heads, her shoulders dropping as King jumps out of her hair, grabbing François and running to the couch, falling asleep almost as soon as his head touches the pillow – the sleepless journey taking its toll on her son.

Allowing herself a moment as well, Eda closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, feathers receding into her skin as she lets the white noise of the other witches shuffling around wash over her. She jumps slightly as an arm drapes around her shoulders, before leaning into the familiar touch, turning to give a small smile to Raine Whispers, who gives a squeeze in return, bags easily apparent under their eyes – under everyone’s eyes, the journey having taken its toll on all of them.

Raine lets go of Eda as she pouts, and walks over to the table in the center of the room, dropping off a small bag beside two others, as well as a set of instructions on how to brew the teleportation potion, before turning to face Eda once again. They tell her how the three of them can’t stay - how they’ve been away from the castle for too long already, and how any longer might compromise their standing. They promise that they’ll all be back before the potion is ready as Darius grabs a sleeping Eberwolf and drapes him over his shoulder.

Eda nods, and Darius teleports the three of them away before she can properly say goodbye. She just shakes her head as she walks over to King, grabbing the paper Raine left behind before plopping down on the couch, one hand reaching to pet King’s skull, the other opening the parchment as it unfolds once, twice, four times, the instructions nearly reaching the floor. 

Her eyes glaze over the words as she just can’t seem to internalize the instructions, dropping them to her lap with a huff, her head falling to the back of the couch as her eyes begin to close. She just needs ten minutes to rest, and then she can get started on the potion.

Those kids are strong. Luz is strong. They can wait ten extra minutes.

Chapter Text

True to her word, Eda wakes after a little over an hour – the small bird tugging at her hair – and begins her work on the potion. King continues to curl up on the couch, his snores filling the air, taking up the space that Hooty’s singing usually would, the house demon uncharacteristically quiet as Eda pulls out her cauldron. She pins the instructions to her wall and drags every bag left by the coven heads to the kitchen before she begins brewing.

The process is slow and methodical, each step meticulously planned. Flowers are dried and ground into a powder, measured to an exact weight before being mixed with nearly frozen liquids and stirred exactly three times, then placed into her cauldron and warmed to precise temperatures, left there for hours before the next ingredients can be placed.

It’s not easy work, with how unforgiving each step is, but it’s involved, and that is the perfect distraction for Eda, turning her attention away from the missing space where Luz would usually be. If she could use traditional magic, she could speed up the process – measuring the quantities and temperatures with just the wave of a finger. Instead, she has to do it manually, placing rocks on one side of a scale, and drops of screaming slime on the other, balancing the weights with her own hands, making sure everything is just right.

She can’t afford for this potion to fail.

Eda grabs a handful of Spiced Esquilax Fur, sprinkling it into the simmering liquid mixture, watching as it turns from blue to red, the fur dissolving into an anchor to the real world. As she watches the temperature rise and hold, she –

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

Her focus is interrupted by a knock at the front door. Eda’s about to yell to the coven leaders she's expecting that they can just come in, when -

“Luz? Are you there?”

Oh.

“Where are ya, Luz?”

Oh no.

“Batata? Is everything ok?”

It’s Luz’s friends.

“HOOT! Come in!” And Hooty’s just let them in.

Eda drags a palm across her face before rushing to the living room, greeting the kids with a slightly forced smile. The three of them stand tall in the center of the space, their eyes the only window showing Eda their nervousness - Willow glancing between Eda and the cauldron, Gus’s eyes darting from King to Hooty, and Amity’s gaze scanning the entire room, as if she were looking for Luz even now.

“Hey, Eda.” Gus speaks first, aiming for an air of casualness they all know doesn't exist. “Is Luz around? She hasn’t been responding to us on Penstagram.”

“And she hasn't messaged me on her Tamagotchi, either!” Amity blurts out, before taking a sheepish step back at her outburst. “I know she’s probably just busy with… I don't know what… but she usually at least sends me a message in the morning! She hasn’t sent one in a few days and I don’t want to seem too clingy but I’m just worried that something happened to her an – ”

“Breathe kid. It's alright.” Eda puts a hand on the Blight child’s shoulder as she freezes, before bringing a hand up to her neck in embarrassment. “I get it, I’d be worried too. And, well…”

Eda trails off, unsure about whether or not to tell them exactly where Luz, before deciding that its impossible to keep this a secret from her friends, the sad looks on their faces too much to bear. Titan, she’s getting soft. “Luz’s situation is not… ideal. She currently stuck with The Golden Guard in Be – ”

“Cale - Hunter?! Is he okay?” Willow exclaims, cutting off Eda and herself with a shout! “He hasn’t been responding to my messages either!”

“Why are you so worried about The Golden Guard?" Amity sneers, at the mention of Hunter, the plant witch returning it with full force. "He’s not a good person. You know that, right?”

“He's not a bad guy, he’s my friend.”

“Did you forget what he did at the Eclipse Lake?”

“Did you forget how he saved us a – ”

“Alright you two, that’s enough.” Eda steps between the two girls, insults held back on the tips of their tongues. “Yes, The Golden Guard is with Luz. But Luz is strong, and – for some reason – she trusts him, and I trust her, so I’m going to trust that both of them are okay.”

“But where are they?” Gus asks, a questioning look over his face, over all their faces, although Amity is still trying to hold back some of her anger. Eda just sighs as she looks between the three kids, before telling them about what had happened just three days ago.

She tells them about their trip to the Night Market, the golden flash of taking Hunter and Luz, the short conversation they had through the walkie-talkie, the teleportation potion gifted to her, how it failed, and her current quest to make a new one. She leaves out a lot of specifics, not wanting to reveal the CAT’s identities and worry the kids more than necessary, but judging by the shocked expressions overtaking them, it didn –

“What can we do to help?” Amity interrupts, a look of determination across her face – across all their faces, and Eda can’t help but smile.

Luz really managed to find some seriously amazing friends.

“Right now? Nothing.” A look of indignation spreads over all of them, but Eda continues before they can say anything.  “I’m serious. I can’t have you three mucking about in my kitchen as I’m working. This potion needs to be finished by tonight, and I need to focus.” Her face softens. “You can stay here until we bring them back. I’m sure your faces will be a welcome change compared to whatever they’ve seen in there.”

The students grumble but ultimately shuffle around the kitchen as Eda slinks back into the kitchen, lowering the temperature just in time as the green liquid nearly boils over the cauldron. A few more hours pass, the three kids getting into a game of Hexes Hold’em with King, Hooty, and Hunter’s palisman – the palisman somehow winning most of the games, much to Amity’s annoyance – before another knock rings through The Owl House.

“I told ya, ya don’t have to knock!” Eda yells from the kitchen, watching as the Speedy Sloth Sweat slowly drips down from its pelt and into the potion. The door creaks open as Darius, Raine, and Eberwolf walk in before she hears a gasp – multiple gasps. She forgot the kids didn’t know they were coming. Fantastic.

“Head Witch Darius?! What are you doing here?

“I could ask you the same thing, Blight.”

“Is that Head Witch Raine? Why are there so many coven leaders here?”

“Why are there children here Eda? You know it’s not safe!”

“Ex-cuse us? We’re here to make sure our friends are safe from your emperor.”

“AND I’M HOOTY”

“My emperor? I’ll have you know tha – ”

“Can all of you shut up! Do you want me to drop this cauldron?!” Eda shouts, thoroughly cowing all of The Owl House’s guests, although the tension in the room still palpable. “Titan, look – We all want to free Luz and Hunter, right? So instead of fighting, let’s work together to get this done." Eda takes their silence as a yes. "And working together means keeping quiet so Mama can finish this potion. Got that?”

A collective grumble emits from everyone before they settle down on opposite sides of the room – the kids continuing their game of Hexes Hold’em, while the coven heads huddle together to discuss information they had gathered at the castle. Satisfied, Eda turns back to the kitchen, hearing some stilted conversation crop up between the two groups as she puts the finishing touches on the potion, the liquid finally taking on the golden colour she’s been looking for.

“Soup’s on!” Eda runs into the living room, having just transferred the finished potion into a clean bottle. “I need everyone to clear over to the couch so the kids can have some room when they return. King, can you grab Luz's bunny phone?”

“Is the potion done?” Willow asks, Eda nodding as King runs over with the walkie-talkie, tossing it to her before jumping back into Eberwolf’s hair.

“So, now what?” A curious look takes over Gus’ face, glancing between Eda and the potion in her hand. “You just toss the potion and hope they come back?”

“Yes. The potion should be enough.” Raine’s eyebrows crease in worry as they turn from Gus to Eda. “However, I am worried the magic might not have the necessary strength - considering it failed to work last time.”

“The Emperor’s mind is a dangerous place.” Darius chimes in, the coven heads having thought about this exact issue at length. “No matter how much we despise him, he is unfortunately still one of the strongest witches on The Isles. Even with the precautions we’ve taken with this potion’s construction, we may still need an extra boost to finish it.”

They all mutter ideas, trying to think of something that could possibly power the magic, before a voice speaks up from behind Eda, the softest it’s been all day. 

“...would the Titan blood from the key work?” Amity’s eyes are downcast, almost nervous to share her idea, knowing exactly what they've been saving it for.

“But... that's the last of her Titan Blood!” Eda exclaims, feathers beginning to sprout from her hair once again. “She needs it to get back home!”

“She'll never get home if she doesn't get back here!” King jumps from Eberwolf to Eda, the glove already in his hands, the last drops of blood beginning to leak from its cloth. Eda tentatively grabs it, a conflicted look crossing her face for a moment, before she steels herself and drops the fabric into the bottle, the potion almost bubbling over before settling down one final time.

“Kid, you there? We're getting you two out.” Eda turns on the walkie-talkie and speaks into it, getting back nothing but static in return. She looks around the room nervously. “She’s not answering, again. We’re just gonna have to trust they’re together, and that they're okay.”

“They will be. Luz is strong.” King assures her, a determined look on his face – over all their faces. Eda takes one last breath, her own internal countdown starting again.

Three.

Two.

“One.”

*CRASH*

The potion explodes in a flash of golden light, the smoke shimmering with sparks not present a few days ago. The room is filled with gas almost instantly, blinding the occupants for a few seconds, all of them coughing, trying to clear the air in front of them. A few moments pass as Eda squints at the center of the room, desperately trying to see –

There. Just in front of her fireplace, two figures stand alone. As the air clears and Eda can get a better look at who or what is now in her living room, she sees a brown jacket draped around one of their shoulders – her old Grudgby jacket that she recently gave to her kid. 

Luz and Hunter are standing in the middle of her living room. 

The potion worked.

“Don’t crowd them.” Eda holds back King and Hooty, her joy and relief only lasting for a second as she gets a better look at the two children, quickly realizing that something is wrong.

Hunter is the one wearing her jacket, the bomber hanging loosely off his shoulders, his arms hanging freely in the air. His torso looks almost bare, the golden chestplate he usually dons nowhere to be seen, the sleeves of his dark yellow undershirt ripped off, its jagged tears landing just above his shoulders, revealing his too skinny arms. His black pants are just as ratty, scrawny legs visible behind various holes in dirty fabric. His gloves are nowhere to be seen, his matching boots stained brown and red, much like all his clothes are.

Luz isn’t faring much better, her cat hoodoe torn on one side, only a single ear still intact. The rest of her shirt is similarly wrecked, clean cuts spread across the fabric as if it was slashed, her jeans and legging just as riddled with holes. One would never be able to tell her shoes were once white, grime and grease and red covering them fully, staining the footwear forever. The only things preventing the air from getting to her skin from all the rips in her attire, are various off-white cloth wraps – wraps made from The Golden Guard’s former cloak.

Wraps which are stained just as red.

Both of the kids are covered in them, cloth tied around their bodies as if it’s the only thing holding them together. Most of the wraps are on Luz, her arms and legs almost entirely wrapped by the fabric. A large piece of the cloak holds Hunter’s torso, but, unlike Luz, his limbs are free of the fabric – his scars visible for all to see. 

A lot of his scars look old, older than any child should have gotten those scars, rips in his skin scattered across his arms and legs – his hands so marred that it’s a miracle they’re still intact. Some scars still look a few months fresh – one set of clean horizontal scars criss-crossing his right arm too visible to ignore. A lot of the scars Luz would be showing are covered by the cloak wraps, only only knowing they even exist from the red seeping though – except for a single large gash across the left of her jaw, one that mirrors the scar on Hunter’s face.

As Eda scans the children, her gaze meets theirs. Both of their eyes are unfocused and glassy, as if they still don’t know where they are. Their mouths are snapped shut, scared to even utter a sound. Everything about them screams fear, from their hunched posture, to their bent knees, to their gazelle-like stance, the two standing on the balls of their feet – ready to run at a moment’s notice. Their hands are locked together, fingers entwined as if they’re scared to lose each other.

Something is very wrong.

“Luz?”

Luz’s eyes snap towards Gus, his voice bringing some part of her back. He loses her gaze just as quickly as he takes it, her eyes darting around the room, going from person to person, wall to wall, taking in everything around her, pausing on Eda for a moment longer than the others. A look of horror slowly creeps up her face as she takes a step back, the movement shaking Hunter out of his own stupor. His eyes shift around as well, his gaze holding something more akin to anger, instead of fear like Luz’s were.

“No no nonono, why…” Luz mumbles, her voice barely audible, the panic echoing loudly around the room and she continues to walk away from everyone. “Why is it always me leave us alone or just kill us if you’ve found us itwouldbeeasierthisis somuchwoRSE – ”

“Luz? What’s wrong?” Eda tries, taking a step forward, reaching out a hand to comfort her daugh –

“Don’t touch her.” Eda freezes as Hunter scowls at her, dropping Luz’s hand as he steps in front of her, bringing his arm up as if to block anyone from coming close. Eda recoils away, his fiery gaze almost burning her as she brings her own arm back to her chest. Luz is still panicking, arms drawn over her torso as she shrinks behind Hunter, as if it’s muscle memory to hide behind him, as if she’s used to this fear.

“Golden Guard.” Amity snarls, his head turning violently towards her, the abomination witch almost stumbling back at the intensity, before collecting herself. “Step away from my girlfriend.” Hunter’s glare only deepens as he literally growls at her, Amity freezing a moment before uncorking the bottle on her waist, a wave of goo forming around her hand, about to launch it him when – 

“NO!” Luz grabs Hunter, throwing him behind her as she jumps in front of him, the merest idea of a threat seemingly sending her into a frenzy. “Stay away from him!” Amity instantly drops her magic, shocked at the sudden movements of her girlfriend, mouth agape, Luz slowly pushing herself closer and closer to the wall. 

“Human…” Darius mutters, slowly approaching the two, hands raised placatingly in their direction. “We just want to hel – ”

“I said stay away!” Luz yells, grabbing a leaf with a glyph drawn on it and slamming it between her hands, a spike of ice shooting forwards and coming dangerously close to skewering Darius’ unusually unkempt hair. The room is still as Luz begins backing up again, bumping into Hunter as she continues to spiral. “Why is it always my memories why is it always Eda and King and my sweet potato imissher does he just wanttohurt me?”

“Don’t take all the credit for yourself. He’s getting to mine too.” Hunter’s quip is a clear attempt to comfort her, his voice soft – softer than anyone has ever heard it – and it somehow works, Luz’s breath slowing down. “Darius is here. Flapjack is here – they clearly came from my memories. Still doesn't make them real.”

Memories? Not real? What?

The room is quiet now, save for a few words emanating from Luz and Hunter, the two now speaking as if the others aren’t even there. Their eyes still dart around the room, in anger or fear, looking around at everything and nothing – looking at everything in the room but the people in it. Their eyes pass over them, as if they’re looking right through them, as if they’re not really there - as if they’re not real.

“What do you mean ‘not real’?” King questions, beginning to walk forward before thinking better of it and stopping himself. “We’re standing right in front of ya.”

Eberwolf chitters, agreeing with King, garnering a scoff from Hunter, clearly not believing them. Even the red palisman – Flapjack, Eda realizes – tries to flit over its owner, but Hunter just ignores it, going ot swat ti it before he slams his arms back into his side, almost scared to even touch it. Eberwolf just grumbles again, trying in vain to convince the two that they’re real. He tells them of the Mindscape, the plan to jump in, the effort to learn more about the Day of Unity –

“HA! Now I know none of you are real.” Luz cuts off the coven head with a laugh – a joyless sound, as tears begin to spring from her eyes, her voice devoid of all emotion. “The Day of Unity's come and gone a long, long time ago. You all d-died a long, long time ago.” Luz’s eyes are downcast, guilt mixing in with her fear.

“What? Why would we be dead?” Willow asks, her worry over her friends overcoming her fear at the idea of her death.

“Because that’s what the Day of Unity was meant to do.” Hunter whispers, his voice quivering ever so slightly. “That’s all it ever was – a genocide . B-Bel – Belos killed all of you with the draining spell. His goal wasn’t to power a spell, or merge the realms – it was just to kill.”

“H-hey… it’s okay.” Raine murmurs, careful to to approach the two again even in their own fear at the the day’s true intentions. “The Day of Unity’s not for a few weeks. I’m sure we can fig – ”

“STOP IT! ” Luz screams, falling to her knees. “Stop trying to give us false hope, Belos!” Luz speaks – continues to speak as if she’s still trapped in the Mindscape.

“Whatever your trick is this time, it won’t work .” Hunter speaks to no one in particular. It’s as if he’s trying to convince himself, trying to keep himself sane. “We know it hasn’t been just a few days like you’re trying to convince us.” 

“It’s been 358 days since you’ve trapped us. We’ve been stuck in here for a year.”

Chapter Text

What? The fuck?

358 days? A full year? That's ridiculous. Eda wasn’t napping for that long, right? It’s only been a few days, that’s – that makes no sense. She can’t believe it. She refuses to believe it. She refuses to believe that those kids were trapped in that hell for that long. As Eda looks around the room – everyone’s jaw either dropped to the ground, or clenched so tightly it was in danger of popping out – it’s clear they’re all thinking the same thing.

But as her eyes wash over Luz and Hunter, she sees things she can’t quite explain. Scars on Luz, scars that she could have gotten in Belos’ mind – she was gonna rip that fucker’s head off – but would not have been able to heal in just three days. Scars on Hunter, scars that she's certain weren't there even just a few weeks ago - even if she can't remember every inch of his skin, she knows that the Emperor's precious Golden Guard wouldn't have that many visible marks on his body.

A closeness between the two that she can’t explain. They were apparent enemies just a few days ago, based on how Luz would describe their relationship - even if she believed the ‘bad but sad boy’ could be better. But now they hunch together, silent conversations taking place between glances around the room, seemingly trusting each other with their lives - over all his coworkers, her friends, over Eda and King – an understanding existing between the two that couldn’t have been built in just three days.

As Eda tries – and fails – to wrap her head around the dissonance between the time she’d last seen Luz and Hunter and the time they’ve apparently been apart, she can hear their voices pick back up, their silent conversation having become not so quiet.

“You know how long we’ve been in here?” Luz whispers, her attention solely focused onto Hunter with a furrowed brow. “How? Why? We could never see the sky in there, how could you tell?”

“I’ve been a soldier almost all my life, Luz.” Hunter replies, looking down, almost as if he’s ashamed. “Keeping a schedule, my body waking with the rise of the sun, even when I can’t see it – this internal clock, it’s been ingrained in me. Built into me, I guess.”

“But why did you never tell me? You knew how long we’ve been stuck here, and you just didn’t say anything?”

“I-I’m sorry, Luz. I… I just didn’t want to worry you.”

“Hunter… I don’t want you to…”

Eda lets their words wash over her – rather, she can’t help but let them wash over her – as panic overtakes her body, cotton and feathers filling her ears as she thinks about what those kids have gone through. What did they see in there? What would they have had to fight, to come out with so many scars? What changed them? What hurt them? Has it been a year? Have they really been trapped in there for that long? Wh –

No. Don't panic. Focus, Eda. For them. She takes a breath and forces herself to calm down, forces the feathers back down into her skin – forces herself to focus on the problem in front of her, and nothing else. As she brings herself back, she can hear Luz and Hunter talk about how they can escape, their eyes darting between shattered windows and locked doors, picking apart the best ways to rush past everyone standing in front of them.

Luz and Hunter are currently in front of her, planning their escape right in front of all of them, as if they’re not there, as if they didn’t just bring them back. She cannot allow them to leave. She needs to keep them safe, and keep them here, no matter how long they may or may not have been gone for. And she can only think of one way to do that.

“Hooty.” Eda breathes, not taking her eyes off of the kids. “Lock down The Owl House for me.”

“HOOT! On it!” Hooty disappears as he slithers back to the front door, slamming it shut as the house begins to close itself off from the outside world.

“What?! ” Both Luz and Hunter turn to Eda, frantic gazes locked on to her as they finally come back to the present, a look of betrayal plastered on their faces.

“Y-you can’t keep us here, Owl Lady!” Hunter yells, the desperation evident throughout his voice, the panic underlying his anger finally coming to the forefront. “You can’t just lock the doors and keep us trapped in this memory forever! We-we’ll get out of h-here – ” He trails off, eyes darting around the room as the windows shutter themselves closed, one by one.

“Hunter, please…” Darius speaks softly, emboldened by the closing windows, slowly approaching the two. “We just want to help. We jus – ”

“I said stay the fuck away!” The Head Witch is cut off, unable to finish his sentence as he’s grabbed by the front of his cape and flipped , his back meeting the solid wood ground as Luz – Luz ? When did she learn how to do that? – stands over his body, her laboured breaths and lithe arms belittling the strength, technique, and ease in which she threw the larger man. “None of you come any closer.”

“C’mon Luz, it’s us!” Gus tries now, stepping in front of his friends as he reaches a hand out, an olive branch extended to the two of them. “All we wanna do i – ”

“What part of ‘don’t come any fucking closer’ do you not get!?” A clap echoes throughout the room as a wave of fire rushes towards Gus, the illusion witch barely managing to duck as the flame just misses its chance to singe his skin before dissipating into nothing. As the smoke clears, he can see Hunter standing with a palm outstretched – when did he learn how to use glyphs like that? – and a pile of burnt fabric at his feet, the symbol being drawn on a piece of his cloak, his gaze burning hotter than the flame he just created. “Come on Luz, we have to go now.”

“Right.” Luz responds, as if their teamwork is second-nature to them, the two dashing between Amity and King so quick that they can’t even attempt to stop them, running to the front door. Luz grabs the knob and tries to wrench it open as Hunter slams into its wooden frame, the two desperately trying to escape this cage, unable to get it to even budge, Hooty holding fast. “Come on come on comeon openupopenu – ”

“No can do, Luz!” Hooty calls from outside, the sound of his voice almost drowned out by the sound of Hunter’s shoulder hitting the door. “Eda told me not to let anyone out, so nobody’s getting out!”

“That’s right, kid.” The two whip around as Eda slowly approaches, hands raised non-threateningly, the kids still seeing it as one. “We just want to know what’s going on, so that we can protect you two.”

“Protect us?!” Hunter says incredulously, his brows raised even in his panic. “You’re not gonna protect us, y-y-you’re just keep us here, keep us trapped until Belos comes… an-and then he’s gonna… gonna kill … us… we can’t sta…”

Hunter’s voice gradually slows as he struggles to keep his eyes open, barely able to finish his last sentence as his body slumps to the ground, back resting on the wall behind him. Luz falls shortly after, a look of betrayal flashing in her eyes before they close, her head landing onto The Golden Guard’s shoulder. Eda whips around as the last notes of Raine’s lullaby leave their lips, their low whistling tone fading as the final notes of their sleep spell ring out in the air.

“Luz? Hunter?!” Willow rushes forward, trying and failing to catch the two before they fall, the plant witch looking over her two friends before whipping around to face Raine, her eyes glowing green as her magic threatens to take control.” What did you do to them!?”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. They’re okay.” They rush forward, quick to appease the angry plant witch in front of them. “It’s just a simple sleeping spell, I promise. I wouldn’t hurt them.” Willow doesn’t seem fully convinced, but her eyes turn back to normal anyways, the sprouting vines to wilting back under the floorboards.

The witches take a moment to collect themselves, Gus dragging Willow back to Amity, while Raine slowly walks back to Darius and Eberwolf, a guilty look on their face. King scrambles towards Eda, an uncomfortable silence now filling the room, even Luz and Hunter’s breaths inaudible, as if they need to hide even in their sleep.

As the two kids sit, their bodies finally allowed to relax, not being held up by the tension permeating their every move, Eda can see just how tired they look. The jacket around Hunter’s shoulders hangs loosely, his entire body barely holding the clothes on him, his toothpick limbs skinnier and unhealthier than even a lithe soldier should have, and Eda could swear his ribs poke through the cloak around his torso. 

Luz doesn’t fare much better, the usually bright and cheery girl’s demeanor is inlaid with stress, even as she sleeps, her face contorted into a frown as if she’s never been allowed a day to relax in her life. Her fingers shake, curling in and out even as she sleeps, her hyperactive mind not allowing her body to rest.

Both of them have bags under their eyes – bags so dark and prominent they threaten to pull their entire faces down, the depth of them sucking in every colour around them, like a black hole for all their emotions, their tiredness on display for everyone to see. Even now, as they sleep, they still look tired. As Eda takes in the state of these kids, a voice pops up from behind her, so quiet she could swear she was imagining it.

“...what did they mean we were going to die…?” Gus whispers, unable to stop his voice from shaking, the stress of the teleportation – and everything else they’ve seen – finally getting to him. “O-on the Day of Unity? What… what did they see?”

“They must’ve seen Belos’ real plan in there.” Darius tries to exude an air of confidence as he speaks to Gus, though his eyes betray him, staring as Hunter’s sleeping figure in worry. “They must’ve seen the draining spell for what it really was.”

“Draining spell? So, this whole time, Belo – wait.” Amity cuts herself off, turning sharply to the Head Abomination witch, pointing an accusatory finger “Did you know? Did you know about the Day of Unity? About the draining spell? Did you know we were all going to die?” Darius tries to glare back, but is unable to keep it up for long, shoulders slumping as he sighs.

“Some of it, yes.” Darius fully turns to the students as he explains. “We knew about the existence of the draining spell, but we had no idea what it was meant to do. That’s why we were planning on going into his mind. To imagine that it was made solely to kill us…”

“Wait wait wait wait wait.” Willow steps forward, standing between Amity and Darius, a hard look in her eyes. “It was you? You’re the reason these two were even in Belos’ mind in the first place?”

“No – I mean technically yes, but I – we – ” Darius stumbles over his words, unable to keep his composure from the onslaught of accusations coming from the kids. “Look, it was never our intention for them to go into –”

“Intention!? Well I intend to shove a fucking vine up your ass –”

“Okaay, that’s enough.” Eda commands, Willow still incensed but ultimately snapping her jaw shut, Darius’ unable to meet her eyes, his guilty expression directed to the floor. ‘“We can talk about the Day of Unity, we can blame each other later – but right now? We need to make sure that Luz and Hunter are okay. Can we do that?” A moment passes before a collective grumble of agreement rings out, Eda releasing a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

Titan, when did she become the responsible one?

“First things first, we should bring them both up to Luz’s room. Her cot should already be set up in there, and there should be another one in the closet on the left for Hunter, if you could set that up too.” Eda points up the stairs, directing Willow and Darius to where they need to go, the two already having picked up the kids. “They can rest on something more comfortable than the living room floor, and we can keep an eye on them in a place away from the front door.”

“Are you sure we should be keeping them together?” Amity mumbles towards Eda, looking more tired than she’s ever seen her. “I mean, he’s The Golden Guard, we know what he’s done, and… and I don't - ”

“Oh, Boots…” Eda places a warm hand on her shoulder, trying to give her a reassuring smile, even if they both can tell it rings hollow. “I know you’re worried for Luz – hell, I am too. But, if we believe them – that they really were trapped in Belos’ mind for a year, then the only thing they had in there was each other. And based on how they kept trying to sacrifice themselves for each other, I think we need to keep them together. At least for now.”

Amity opens her mouth to retort, but is unable to come up with a proper counter, and relents.  Willow and Darius carry Hunter and Luz upstairs, leaving everyone else in the living room, with a promise to keep an eye on them. Gus and Amity flop backwards on the couch, while Raine and Eberwolf retreat to the kitchen. Eda draws a deep breath before turning to the stairs, intending to follow them upwards.

“Mama? Are they gonna be okay?” King’s sad voice nearly shatters Eda’s heart, her demon son popping out from her hair. “I-I know Luz is strong, but that – I’ve never seen her like that before…”

“I – ” Eda’s voice is caught in her throat, unable to say yes to comfort him, unable to lie to him, instead reaching up to scratch beside his horns. “I don’t know, baby. I don’t know.”

Hunter’s armour feels heavy on his shoulders.

He can’t remember putting it on – he can’t even remember getting out of bed for his duties -- but still, he trudges onward. With every step, it feels like his Golden Guard uniform is getting harder to wear. One step, and his chestplate grows bigger. Another, and his mask threatens to slide off his face. A third step, and his cloak drags even further on the ground behind him.

He’s worn this exact outfit for years, the act of putting it on and taking it off every day having become its own little ritual for him, but today it just feels so foreign. It feels like it’s not even his armour – like it belongs to someone else, like it was never meant for him. It pulls his body down, his feet dragging with each step, the burden of The Golden Guard’s armour – of being The Golden Guard – too much for just his shoulders, like he’s carrying the weight of so many others on his back.

He doesn’t know where exactly he’s going, unable to lift his eyes to see what’s ahead, the ground below him an endless void. Whenever he tries to think about where he’s supposed to be going, his head begins to pound. All he knows is that he has to keep going, no matter how hard it is to walk forwards.

Then, all at once, he stops, stumbling down onto one knee, kneeling in front of something , his eyes still pulled down to the polished stone floor below him. He can slowly feel himself regain control of his body, so he looks up, taking in the dull yellow tones of the throne room around him, before his eyes settle on  –

Belos.

The silhouette of The Emperor is standing in front of him, his back turned to his nephew, his shadow covering him entirely. He waits, looking towards his throne, not even acknowledging the presence of his Golden Guard kneeling behind him. 

“U-Uncle? You called for me?” Hunter inwardly curses at his own stutter, hoping the Emperor either doesn’t notice his mistake or overlooks it you should’ve trained that out of you already so he doesn’t have to but he doesn’t even respond. “Emperor Belos?”

He still doesn’t make a sound, his silence somehow more terrifying than whatever he would say about Hunter’s many failures – every moment that passes, he feels the armour on his shoulders get heavier and heavier, threatening to pull him straight through the ground, every second of anticipation more tortuous than the last, his own thoughts worse than anything Belos could ever say.

Useless    

   Worthless

Failure of a Golden Guard

Better off dead                       

                         Nobody would miss you

                         Die

Die                 

                            Die

Die             

Wait. Is tha – 

Flapjack is caught in the Emperor’ grip, the palisman struggling to escape, his wings flapping uselessly as tiny cracks begin to form throughout his body, Belos slowly tightening more and more. Hunter can feel his own panic rising, his own heart getting crushed in his Uncle's hand what did he expect bringing in wild magic he deserves this.

“Uncle! Please!” his voice comes out raw, like he hasn’t used it in years, desperately begging for his palisman to be released, for his friend to be safe. He tries to stand up, but he’s frozen, stuck kneeling in front of the man who holds his entire life in his hands, the only proof of that life his darting eyes and mouth. “Please, stop! Don’t! I-I can get you a different palisman! I need hi – ”

“...h-hunter…” Luz – Luz? – gasps weakly from within Belos’ grasp, her neck choked by his claw-like grip. Her struggles get slower and slower, her flailing limbs eventually coming to a halt as her eyes glaze over. Hunter kneels like the subservient little wretch he is and watches, his voice caught in his throat as he watches the life leave Luz's eyes, trying desperately to save her he can’t move he can’t lose her he –

*SNAP*

He hears the sickening crunch before he sees anything. He sees her before his brain can comprehend what happened. He sees the way her neck snaps, her windpipe crushed, her spine shattered, the bones visible through every puncture they made, the last gasps of air leaking out from holes the ripped in her throat, her neck bent more than ninety degrees the wrong way, her lifeless eyes staring into his. He realizes, finally, that he’s looking at her corpse.

Hunter?

He can’t help but stare, the shadow of The Emperor filling all his vision that isn’t currently turned towards the body of his palisman, the cardinal torn in two, one large fracture down the centre of its body, green blood leaking down to him, the puddle forming around his knees. He can’t take his eyes off of Luz's pallid skin, whitening with every second, her red blood now staining his boots, too.

Hunter, please wake up!

He can’t move, can’t speak, can’t think, can’t breathe as he stares at the deaddeaddead body of Luz , the broken corpse of Flapjack lying in front of him – he can't even whisper apologies, can’t even beg for forgiveness for letting her die, for not saving him he can’t even tell her how much he needs her how he can’t live without him how he wishes it was him instea –

“HUNTER!!”

Hunter shoots up, finally regaining control of his body, scrambling forwards, trying desperately to reach Luz – Flapjack’s body, the creaky floor of the throne room giving no purchase as he struggles to find them, the darkness of closing in around him as he can’t find her but if he could just get to her than maybe he can make it so only he’s hurt but where is she he can't find Flapjack even if Luz died he still needs to protect her he needs her he needsher –

“Hunter. Breathe.”

Hunter freezes as he hears Luz’s voice her windpipe was crushed Flap’s body was shattered they can’t be talking to him and he feels his arms being held taut. He struggles as his wrists are controlled to his sides he needs to get free he needs to die instead of Flapjack he can’t live without Luz but is unable to free himse –

“I’m here.”

Hunter stills, their phrase bringing back some clarity to himself as he forces himself to focus. He feels his body being lowered to a kneeling position on the smooth – rough? – floor of the throne room. 

“You’re here.”

His left hand is dragged down, his palm flat on the stone – wood? – floor, the bottom of his hand slowly opening and closing on the cold below him, the top greedily taking in the warmth of Luz’s – isn’t she dead? – hand as it lays flat on his, the feeling of the surface grounding him. 

His right hand is moved slowly, brought up and forwards until it hits something, he can feel its comfort on both sides of his palm, the front of his hand feeling the heartbeat of Luz, its erratic rhythm reminding him of what his own body should feel like. 

His eyes finally focus, staring right into the brown eyes of Luz Noceda – the human who is certainly not dead – their faces nearly touching, a final reminder that he’s not alone, and he exhales.

“We’re here.”

Hunter can feel his body slowing down, his breath still shaky but calmer, as he takes in his surroundings – takes in the wooden paneling of the decidedly not throne room, and the still living body of Luz. He breathes out one last time before touching his forehead to hers, letting her know that he’s here too, Luz now leaning into him just as much as he was.

It’s a technique they’ve developed after being together for so long, for when one of them was panicking – which happened extremely often. It reminds them that even if they can’t tell what’s real or not, if the world around them is trying to kill them at every moment, if everything else is against them, they at least have each other. Every touch, every look, every coping mechanism grounds them to each other.

No matter what happens, they’re here. Together.

Hunter slowly releases himself from Luz’s death grip, the effort of holding him down clearly  taking its toll on her, and he can’t help but wince, pausing a moment to scan her body, to make sure he didn’t hurt her – Titan knows it wouldn’t be the first time – but she looks uninjured.

“S-Sorry'. Was jus’ a nightmare. Didn’t mean to wake you.” Hunter slurs, drawing out a glare from Luz.

“Stop apologizing for those.” She answers, exasperated, these two having had this exact conversation hundreds of times, neither one backing down. Hunter shrugs back, agreeing to disagree, and Luz just huffs, knowing that she apologizes for her attacks just as often. Hunter takes another look around the room, his memories slowly coming back to him.

“Are we still at The Owl House?!” Luz nods as Hunter sighs, sitting back on both of his hands. “I was just bashing my shoulder on the front door, and now I’m waking up in your old room? Why? What happened?”

“I don’t know. I remember just as little as you.” A dark look crosses over her face as she continues. “With how desperately they wanted to convince us they were real, I thought that pendejo would’ve been close, and that they were just stalling for him to get here. But they trapped us and put us to sleep, and he’s still not here.”

“We’ve been in his mind for so long, and I still can never tell what he’s thinking.” Hunter chuckles darkly, before smoothing his face over, looking around the room once again. “Regardless of whatever tricks he’s trying to pull, we have to take advantage of the opening they gave us.” Hunter allows his training to kick in as Luz nods, squaring her own shoulder in preparation.

“No matter what, we need to get out of here.”

Chapter Text

For all his ingenuity, Hunter had no idea how to escape.

Then again, his ingenuity so far has only amounted to him saying we need to get out of here, so maybe there wasn't much of it to begin with.

In his defense, he had just woken up, and on top of dealing with the after effects of a nightmare and subsequent panic attack, he was understandably disoriented. It takes a few minutes for Hunter to actually focus, the blur surrounding him slowly leaving the edges of his eyes – the edges of his skin as he brings himself back to the present.

“Were you able to find anything?” Hunter asks groggily, fog still being blinked out of his eyes. “A way for us to get out? You were awake before me, right?”

“Uh, not really, no.” Luz rubs the back of her neck sheepishly, looking just as out of it as he felt. “I kinda just woke up, too. it was - when you, you know…” Luz trails off, her other hand slowly inching towards his.

“Oh.” He turns his gaze down, unable to meet Luz’s eyes, but still reaching out with his own hand. “I’m sor – ”

“Please, don’t say sorry.” He just grunts, clearly still wanting to apologize, but unable to vocalize it, a part of him glad he ended up waking her. “I'd rather be woken up every night, like this, than knowing you suffered alone. Again.” Their hands finally meet, Luz’s palm resting on top of Hunter’s, the cool of the wooden floor and warmth of her skin comforting him.

“...thanks...” 

Luz just smiles, keeping her hand on his as they look around the room the two are currently trapped in. Although he’s never seen it himself, he’s heard Luz describe it. The room is just as cluttered as he imagined it, various trinkets from the Human Realm strewn about the room, with even more presumably hidden within the two chests. A Good Witch Azura poster dominates the wall, a small bed reserved for King lying empty just below it. Hunter sits on a cot in the middle of the room, with Luz sitting on a second one beside him.

Behind both of them, a window overlooking the second story of The Owl House, is locked tight.

It’s dark outside. It always is.

“Y'know, this place really looks just how I remember it.” Luz softly scans the room, her eyes looking around at the space created from her memories, unable to help how it brings her comfort, no matter how fake it may be. “If we have to die anywhere, I think this would be as good a place as any.”

“Hey, don't you go deciding where I'm gonna have my funeral!” Hunter whisper-shouts, aiming an accusatory point at Luz with his free hand. “You can die here if you want, but I'm gonna go down in a place much more worthy than this!”

“Yeah? Like Eclipse Lake? That kind of worthy?” Hunter just sputters as Luz tries to hold back a laugh, before he slouches down with a grumble, a smirk playing on his lips as well. Luz’s expression morphs into something wistful as she looks around again, her gaze locking onto the glass behind them before continuing. 

“I think you would've really liked it here.” Luz can’t help the longing tone in her voice, dreams of waking up, sharing breakfasts and fighting over crystal ball channels with him, finally giving him a chance to live in a happy home, a safe home – and Hunter can’t help but dream of it too.

“... yeah. I think I would ha – ” 

“Hunter? Luz?”

The pair freeze, having been cut off at the sudden appearance of a third voice entering the room. The two of them sit up, backs ramrod straight as they slowly turn to the voice behind them. Willow stands in the doorway, one hand resting on the frame, a look of deep concern on her face. Behind her stands Raine, trying – and failing – to smooth their own face into something more neutral.

“How… how are you two feeling?” Willow asks cautiously, lowering her hand from the door to her side, making herself small, as if she’s talking to an injured animal - with the fear that was so obviously present on Luz and Hunter’s faces, they may as well be - but they quickly school their expressions into something more akin to anger.

“Oh, we’re doing just fine.” Sarcasm drips from Luz’s tone, her hard glare settling on Willow. “We just woke up from one nightmare, landed in yet another one – trapped in a memory meant solely to hurt us, waiting for Belos to get here and come kill us. Everything’s great.” Luz internally smirks at the horrified expression on Willow’s face, but she doesn’t show it as Hunter speaks up beside her.

My boy? My boy is awake?

“Here to knock us out again, Whispers?” Hunter shakes his head, ignoring the voice emanating from beyond the stairs. His tone is dark, like he’s angry at them for even existing – he very well may be, considering how they're only here to bring them to their death. “Or do you want to just finish the job yourself? Don’t want to get your Emperor’s hands dirty, right?”

“We just want to make sure you two are doing okay.” Raine’s voice is calm, emotions mostly held under control, although they can’t keep their eyes from nervously darting between the room and the two kids.

“You only want to keep watch on us to make sure we don’t run away.”

“Yes. That is a part of making sure you’re okay. Making sure you’re still here, so we can keep you safe.”

“Safe ?! You think here is sa – ” Luz cuts herself off, her voice rising in volume until she forces herself to stop, settling into something more cheery – more false. “Look. We’re awake now, as you can see, and we’re currently not running away. That should be enough, right? You can officially leave us alone. We’re fi – ”

“Stop saying that! You’re NOT FINE!” Willow’s screams, her voice reverberating around the small room, startling everyone – Hunter especially flinching back hard as he squeezes his eyes shut. “You’re hurting – you’re bleeding, for Titan's sake! You're saying these – these crazy things – that this is just a memory, that you're still trapped in Belos’ Mind! That you were in there for a year! That you can't trust us, that we're not real! It's only been three days! Please, we just want you to trust us! We just want to HELP!”

The room is quiet, stunned into silence, save for Willow, her shallow breathing filling the air between everyone, the stress of the past couple of days coming through in that one moment, her mind finally catching up with her body. 

Hunter? Love you. You’re safe.

A curious look passes over Hunter’s face, recognition or realization or something entering his eyes for the first time since he’s been brought here, taking a moment to question whether or not this place is truly a memory – that speech may be too impassioned to be fabricated – but it quickly morphs into unbridled fury.

“You want to help us? How about you stop trying to fool us? How about you stop trying to pretend that you’re real?” Willow can feel the anger radiating off Hunter, his whisper-quiet voice echoing around the room. “How about you actually save us from Belos, instead of lying to us about it just to kill us?” She tries to respond at that, to say that we did save you, Belos won’t find you here, but she can’t even open her mouth to respond before Hunter barrels on.

“Better yet, how about you go back in time and get us out – how long ago did you say? A few days ago? So we’re not trapped in here for a fucking year?” Hunter stands up, somehow even angrier although his voice is just as quiet. “So we don't have to spend every waking moment hiding, running for our lives, hoping we’re not caught? So we don’t have to spend every moment asleep reliving the fucked up things that Belos did to others? To us? How about you make it so he doesn't scar us? So he doesn’t create me? So Luz doesn’t spend all that time with him alone?”

“How about you give us a fucking reason trust you? Because the only thing we’ve known in here is hurt, and fear, and fucking pain. This isn’t be the first time you've all been used to trick us, and I know it won’t be the last, 'cause Belos is not a merciful man.” 

“If you really want to help us? You can just leave.”

Hunter stands shakily on top of his cot, knees locked tight – whether it’s from exertion or anger not even he knows. His heavy breaths fill the air between everyone, taking the place of Willow’s – who stands silent, having lurched back further into the hall, hand held over her mouth, trying desperately to hold back her tears. Luz gets that same curious look Hunter had earlier, colour and light entering her otherwise glassy and unfocused eyes – also questioning whether or not this is real, before rapidly shaking her head, as if she's trying to snap herself out of something.

My baby boy. It’s okay. We’re here now.

“Can you please just fucking leave?” Luz’s words pull him out of his own head – she sounds so, so tired, the weight of months spent running hanging on her shoulders. Raine shakes their head no, answering for both themself and Willow, neither one willing to truly leave them alone. Luz just groans, throwing her head into her arms, taking a moment to exhale before peeking up at Hunter.

He catches her gaze, and a silent conversation passes between the two. Their gazes dart between the window behind them and the pockets of Eda’s Grudgby jacket – pockets filled with makeshift glyphs. Minute expressions flicker across their faces, questions and answers detailing readiness and speed coming and going in milliseconds, the two speaking in a language only they know, before nodding to each other and steeling themselves to run.

Raine notices a split-second too late, reaching out towards the two with a strangled shout just as Hunter pulls out another leaf with a glyph on it, slapping it between his hands with a –

*FLASH*

 – the light glyph blinding the others, filling the room for only a moment, but that instant is all they need. Hunter pulls Luz up by her arm before dashing away from the two witches, aiming for the window behind them. Willow lets out a sharp gasp, reaching out with an arm, a vine shooting itself towards Luz. The plant almost wraps around her ankle before it disintegrates into a pile of dust, the fire glyph Luz used to defend herself quickly following suit. She steps in line behind Hunter, who’s running shoulder first into the glass, jumping through with a loud –

*CRASH*

 – as the two leap through the second story window, glass embedding itself into Hunter’s shoulder, towards the red grass below. They can hear Raine shout for the Owl Lady as they fall, their cries for Eda getting farther and farther as the ground gets closer and closer. Hunter manages to right himself in midair, tilting forwards slightly so he can push when his feet touch the ground, throwing himself into a roll, skidding away from The Owl House. 

He hisses at the ache in his shoulder, the impact into the window spraining something, the glass shards getting pushed deeper into his skin. All Hunter can do is shake his arm awake and promise to look over it when they're safe. He turns back to Luz once he's righted himself, looking over to see if she's okay, when –

“AGH!!” 

Hunter can’t whip around fast enough, spinning just in time to see Luz crumple to the ground, a scream erupting from her throat as she falls to her knees. Hunter sprints back to her, a panicked look on his face as she falls sideways, grabbing at her broken ankle, already swollen blue, already creating a small puddle of blood below her. He reaches down to pull her up, eliciting another cry of pain.

“AH! Stop, please, it – it hurts – ” Luz yells out, tears pooling in her eyes as she looks down at her broken foot, the act of just touching it sending waves of pain throughout her body. Hunter freezes for a moment, before steeling his face and lifting Luz up, her scream of pain echoing across the clearing.

“I’m sorry Luz I'm sorry - ” Hunter whispers as he drapes her arm around his shoulder, leaning all of her weight into his side as she whimpers in pain, the soldier walking for the both of them. “But we need to get out of here. I’ll – I’ll take a look at it after, okay?” Luz just nods, a weak thing, as Hunter begins to walk away from the memory of the Owl House.

He manages to make it a few steps, before a shadow fills the sky above them. Hunter looks down to try and catch the shape of what’s flying overhead, just able to make out the shape of large wings and talons before it disappears, the figure which it came from landing in front of them with a soft thud.

“Blondie? Luz?!” Eda stands in front of the two, her gray wings outstretched to block them. Her talons dig into the ground below her, while her hands are outstretched in front of her, simultaneously reaching out to them and keeping them in place. Hunter flinches back anyway, another yelp escaping from Luz's lips as Eda's black eyes dart to her ankle. “What happ – ”

“Stop, Owl Lady. Please. Just let us leave.” Hunter breathed out, voice so low that only Eda could hear it. His gaze is trained directly on her, his eyes swirling with a mix of emotions – anger, concern, hatred, fearfearfear – but even she could see that he’s looking through her, before he hardens his gaze. “Now move. Before I have to make you.”

Eda is frozen, heartbroken as she looks at the kids in front of the hurt kids, desperately wishing she could say something, do something to make them feel better, but she's unable to push anything past her lips, not even able to exhale. Hunter just huffs and tries to walk past her, but can't even take one step as something holds him back.

“Luz?” Hunter’s head swivels to the human he’s carrying, who’s completely stopped in her tracks. A look of concern sweeps across his face as he tries to drag her forwards again, but she's unwilling to move an inch. “Hey. What’s wrong? Come on, we gotta go.” He tries to pull her again, but she refuses to move. 

He takes a closer look, and sees that her eyes are trained on the sky above them. She must have looked up when The Owl Lady’s shadow passed overhead, he supposes. He can't quite figure out why she’s so engrossed with the darkness above her, so he turns his own gaze to follow hers.

Hunter looks up to see –

“Human?! What are you doing?!”

“Wha – I’m just putting on a light!”

“Ghk – Well, put it out! Belos will see it and then he’ll find us!”

“It’s just one light! No way he’ll be able t – HEY!”

Luz squeaks as she’s grabbed by Hunter, the former Golden Guard trying to extinguish the ball of light between his own hands. The two are dragged to the ground, rolling around in a desperate struggle of light slaps, soft shoves, and hair pulling as she valiantly defends her little glyph made from her now almost empty notebook.

She struggles for about ten seconds – a new record! – before Hunter manages to toss her away, falling backwards with a grunt as Hunter lunges forwards and snuffs out the light between his gloved fingers. Hunter lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and takes a quick look around, making sure that nobody had noticed their little scuffle.

Even without a light, Hunter could see the mangled trees surrounding him, his magenta eyes having already adjusted to the darkness around them. The two of them were stationed just beside a clearing, the dense foliage of the Emperor’s forest of memories providing a decent enough hiding place. Behind him, Hunter could just make out the portrait holding the scene they just jumped out of.

It was a memory, hung just behind them now, of Belos standing over the half dead bodies of his latest witch village conquest, his sigil unable to kill them fully – The Emperor forced to murder them himself, staining his cane with blood bone brainmatterdeath – the image of the current Golden Guard, ending just as many as Belos, even with the hesitation apparent in his strikes, would replay in his head over and over again, at least until the next memory they visited. Hunter just shoved down his terror – and his bile – and finished surveying the area. 

After he’s made certain they weren’t being followed, he lets out a sigh and slumps forwards, bringing one knee up to his chest as he curls his arms around it, closing his eyes as he tries – and fails – to will the images of the dead witches from his mind. He tilts his head back and looks up at the darkness above him, the sky, and its sun, its stars never present. 

A stagnant silence fills the air, and Hunter’s almost able to relax, when another flash of light burns the outside of his eyelids.

“Human…” Hunter growls, Luz just rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly, not at all embarrassed by the new glyph.

“C’moooon Hunter, please? It’s just one light.” Luz’s eyes are pleading with him, but he refuses to let up, his own eyes shooting daggers. “Besiiides, you already checked around for him, and he’s not here, right?” Hunter continues to glare at her, neither one backing down, before Hunter breaks, looking down with a huff.

“Alright! Fine. We can keep the light.” His glare returns, though not as strongly as before. “But it’s your fault if he finds us here.”

“Yes sir!” Luz gives a salute and a wobbly smile, her voice shaky as guilt seeps into it, as if she’s already failed them. Hunter just lets out a groan as he leans back, closing his eyes again, his ears flicking around to try and listen in for any approaching enemies. Hunter can hear Luz sit down near him, just barely within arm’s reach as she pulls her own knees to her chest, the visions of the last memory clearly affecting her too.

All Hunter can do is try to tune her out.

Unfortunately, he can’t quite relax like he had almost managed to earlier, the light from the glyph cutting through the darkness of his eyelids. Unable to find any real rest, Hunter opens his eyes, and unable to help his own curiosity, turns to look at the little ball floating beside him. The light itself is dim, but it’s still bright enough to reflect off a few of the surrounding trees. 

He’s never had an opportunity to look at wild magic this closely – all his knowledge coming from the forbidden books he would sneak out of the castle library into his room – so he allows himself to get taken in by the soothing light. Just as he gets lost in its illumination, he hears a voice to his side.

“...I miss them.” Luz is nearly inaudible, Hunter’s ears flicking towards her, trying to listen in closer. He turns to face her, the human having laid down at some point, one arm resting behind her head, her eyes now trained above the treeline. Hunter feels woefully unprepared to comfort her – Luz having lost so many things - her mom, her friends, her family, her lif - 

“The stars… I miss them. Do you…” Luz trails off, unable to voice her question.

“Yeah. I miss them too.” He responds anyways, surprised he can actually find an answer to her question, turning his gaze upwards to look at the empty darkness above, the sky devoid of any light. “I actually used to sneak out of the castle, sometimes, to the roof, just to look at them. I’d bring a few pieces of glass, trying to make a makeshift telescope. It was nice, until Belos found me and used the glass to – well, you can probably guess.” Hunter chuckles darkly, rubbing at the scar on his upper arm where those pieces of glass were once embedded. 

Luz just hums, taking in yet another reason on why she hates Belos, and looks up to the void herself.

“How come we never see any?” Luz sits up, now facing Hunter, this conversation apparently more interesting than the empty sky above her. “I mean, there’s none out here, there’s none in any of his memories – heck, I can’t even remember the last time I saw the sun, let alone stars. And I know it’s been daytime in at least a few of those pictures!” Her voice rises in volume, and while Hunter would usually be telling her to keep quiet, lest they be found, he can’t help but answer earnestly.

“I don’t think Unc – Belos ever cared much for the stars.” The words come easily for Hunter, easier than he would’ve ever expected them to – being here for the past weeks with Luz has made it easy. “Sometimes I’d hear him mention how the stars – the constellations – weren’t right. I never knew what he meant by that – until now, I guess. Just another thing he hated about the Boiling isles.” She nods again, and before Hunter thinks about it, he leans towards her with a smirk.

“But you wanna know what I think? I think he just didn’t like the idea of something else being above him.”

Luz stares at him for a second, mouth agape, like she can’t believe he would dare insult his precious Emperor – Hunter can’t believe it either, but there's been a lot of unbelievable things happening recently – before she bursts into laughter, holding her gut as if it’s the funniest thing she’s ever heard. It’s the first laugh he’s heard from her in days, and he can’t help but laugh alongside her.

It takes a couple of minutes for them to calm down, Luz wiping joyful tears from her eyes, but the two eventually settle back down into silence that is much more comfortable than before. Luz is lying down again, a small smile still on her lips, and Hunter is staring intently at the ball of light. Another moment passes before Hunter speaks up again.

“Human. I have a request.” His voice is clear, as if he’s reading a mission report to a coven head. “Would it be possible for you to show me how one can create this light glyph?” As confident as he tries to appear, his face completely betrays his nervousness, his eyes darting between the ball, the floor and Luz herself, his mouth twisted into a grimace.

“You? Want to learn how to draw a glyph?” Luz is dumbfounded, as if she can't believe that Hunter is asking her anything? “You want to learn wild magic?!”

“No. Forget about it.” Hunter grumbles, turning away in a mixture of anger and embarrassment. “What was I thinking? Never should've asked, I knew it wouldn't…” His voice trails off as Luz is unable to hear his mumbling.

“Wait! I didn’t mean – sorry, We can – shoot – ” She scrambles up, reaching out to Hunter's shoulder before stopping short, remembering what happened last time she tried to grab him without warning. “I don’t mind teaching you – lemme just – here, look!” Luz reaches into her pockets, feeling around as Hunter turns back, an annoyed look on his face.

“Human. Just drop it. Seriou – ” Hunter is cut off as Luz shoves her nearly empty notebook and a pencil into his hands, causing him to flinch back. Luz looks only a little guilty, before slamming the paper down in front of her, grabbing the pencil from his hands and drawing the glyph herself. Hunter tries to get her to stop, saying anything and everything to interrupt her, lunging to grab her wrist again, just as she yells out –

”HERE!”

Hunter freezes, giving Luz enough time to slide the completed light glyph into his field of vision. His hand hovers above Luz’s wrist before he reluctantly pulls it back and crosses his arms with a grimace. Luz is wearing a shaky smile as she leans back.

“Here. It’s a light glyph. You just tap it and it turns into a ball.”

“Human. I said no. I don’t want to – ”

“C’moon Hunter, Please? I know you wanted to, you wouldn’t have asked otherwise. And I know you like wild magic because when we were in Latissa I saw you looking at the light glyph and I just wanted to do something nice since you seem so sad all the time and I get why what with you being trapped in here with me and I don't want to make it worse for you but then I always do anyways and I'm sorry I just wanted to – ”

“FINE!” Hunter shouts, interrupting Luz’s spiral, her eyes shooting up as he lightens the bruising grip on her arms she didn’t realize she was holding. “Fine. I’ll look at the glyph.” He sounds annoyed, but she can hear the slight relief entering his voice when she stops panicking.

It takes a moment, his stubbornness still holding his body, before he relents and looks down at the glyph in front of him, taking this pattern for the first time in his life. He tries not to look too closely, only doing it to satiate Luz, but he can’t avoid his curiosity taking over, mumbling about various alchemical symbols, the fire, water, and accents of gold present throughout the glyph, his hands fidgeting as he rambles, the love of knowledge and study of wild magic and alchemy coming out as Luz tries her best to answer his questions with a smile.

Before he realizes what he’s doing he presses down on the glyph, and watches as the paper crumples into a ball of light.

He stares at it as it floats up to him, stopping just in front of his face, his magenta eyes reflecting the dim light in front of him. The ball itself is perfectly spherical, the paper having long since disappeared into the magic. The light is slightly warm, but also cooling, the fire and water symbols which made the glyph present even in this little bit of magic. As Hunter looks closer, he could swear he can see the faint etchings of the pencil glyph markings outlining the edges of the light.

It’s beautiful.

“Can I make one?” Hunter whips around towards Luz, all sense of a soldier’s decorum now gone, an excitement in his eyes that Luz has not seen in a long time. Luz nods vigorously, almost throwing her pencil and notebook to Hunter as she sidles up beside him to explain how to create the glyph.

If Luz could see her own face, she would see the excitement in her eyes as well – a joy that hasn’t been present in her for a long time, too.

Hunter messily draws his first ever glyph, a mixture of nerves and excitement making sure he can’t quite draw the perfect circle. He looks at Luz nervously, scared that he’s already messed it up, but she assures him that it will still work. As he fills in the other shapes, he rambles about other symbols present in the centre, how both the iron and sun symbols form the base of the glyph, and before the pencil even hits the ground he slaps a hand onto the glyph,

This ball is imperfect, the small dents in the sphere where Hunter’s wobbly hands couldn’t form the circle easily visible, the light itself flashing on and off, instead of emitting a continuous stream of energy – but he can’t bring himself to care. It floats up to his face all the same, and he knows that it’s his. 

He did magic. He drew his own glyph, and did magic.

He's used glyphs before, but there's something special about this one, about the one that he drew himself. Hunter can’t help the giggle that falls out of his mouth as he rushes to draw another, and another, and another, a small field of fireflies surrounding him and Luz, and soon after she joins in as well, drawing just as many glyphs, wide smiles on both of their faces as they fill the clearing with more and more lights, the danger of being found forgotten in their excitement.

It doesn’t take long for Luz’s notebook to finally run out of paper, it was already pretty low, but as she looks around at the lights, and at the smile on Hunter’s face – as she feels the smile on her own – she can’t bring herself to care. She flops backwards and looks up at the lights, the magic forming constellations that she’s never seen before – constellations that the two of them made with their own hands. 

She can hear Hunter lay down beside her, the joy radiating off both of them in waves. Even as their laughs die down, and their own personal stars slowly float away, a companionable silence fills the air between them. Luz is content to sit in this moment, forgetting about everything she’s seen today.

“Belos was wrong, I think.” Hunter speaks up, quiet even amongst the silence of the Mindscape. “About the stars, I mean. I never knew the ones in the Human Realm, but the ones in the Boiling Isles, at least, were good. Are good. I – I like the stars.”

“I think I like these stars, too.”

Luz turns to Hunter, his voice as soft as she’s ever heard it, his eyes staring up at the lights they created together, at the stars they created together, and smiles.

“Yeah. I like our stars too.”

They both take a moment, watching as their light glyphs float higher and higher, lazily approaching and passing the treeline, rising into the empty void above them, filling the darkness with constellations made of their own heart. As they look up, there’s a sense of comfort, a sense of companionship, a sense of belonging between the two.

If Belos didn’t have the stars in his mind, then they would make their own. 

And the stars would be theirs.

Hunter looks up to see the stars.

Millions upon billions of stars, lights hung in the sky, patterns dancing across the night in the most beautiful choreography. Stars creating familiar shapes, constellations forming glyphs and mythical creatures.

Stars that shouldn’t be here.

Every colour along the spectrum flashes across what should be darkness. Beauty fills his vision in a way that shouldn't be possible – in a way that Belos would’ve never allowed in his own Mindscape.

These stars shouldn’t be here.

Even among the nights when Luz and Hunter would try and fill the void with their own stars, the light glyphs floating up and forming their own constellations, there would never be this much – even when they filled so much they couldn't tell where one sphere ended and another began.

These stars Shouldn’t. Be. Here.

“...Luz?” Hunter shakily asks, barely able to get the words out. “Did… did you make these?” She doesn’t respond, still looking up at the sky, in as much disbelief as Hunter felt. A beat passes before she shakes her head, confirming what he already knew to be true.

Belos refused to allow the sky to have stars in his Mindscape. The only lights that filled the darkness were created by Luz and Hunter. Neither of those things are true. And yet.

And yet.

These stars shouldn’t be here.

Does that mean –

“Amity?”

Hunter turns to face Luz, tears pooling in her eyes as she looks ahead, darting between Eda and the others – the group gathering outside The Owl House, having rushed out the front door as soon as they heard the shattering glass above – Amity standing in front of all of them, mouth agape.

“Am’? Is it you?” Luz chokes out the words, disbelief pouring through her voice as she looks at her girlfriend – for the first time really looks, not through her, or past her. For the first time looking at her, the cloudiness that was ever-present in her eyes since she arrived here finally parting. “Is – is it really you?”

“Luz!” Amity practically shouts, the words tumbling out of her mouth. “Yes, it's me! Oh, Titan, I’m so glad to see you're okay, I'm so – ” Hunter can feel Luz flinch in his grip, Amity having ran towards them in her excitement, before cutting herself off at Luz’s reaction. Something in Amity’s sad expression must spur Luz on, their eyes locked onto each other, as she begins to walk towards her.

Hunter can feel Luz releasing herself from his grip, slowly unraveling her arms to try and approach Amity, but he can't bring himself to stop her. He sees her take one step forward before stumbling, falling to her knees with a cry of pain, but he can't bring himself to help her. Even as Amity rushes to hold her up, he can't bring himself to go and protect her.

He can't bring himself to do much of anything.

There’s too many thoughts swirling around in his head for him to even think about moving. Ideas of how he has to go and protect her, of how maybe this place is truly real, of how he needs to grab Luz and run, of how maybe this place is safe, of how they need to get out, of how even if this place isn’t safe it’s as good a place as any to die, of how – 

Chirp.

That one noise, so simple, so achingly familiar, cuts through every thought racing through Hunter’s mind – a blur of red emerges from the crowd as Hunter turns to face the noise, stopping just in front of his face, as a little cardinal begins flitting around his head.

My boy. My baby boy is here. Love you so much. My Hunter is here.

“...Flap?” Hunter is barely able to get the words out, tears blurring the edges of his vision as he tries to reach out for his palisman, trying to make sure that he’s real, unable to even raise his hand above his waist. “...are you… are you real?”

It’s me. My boy is back. My boy is safe. Love you love you love you. Missed you so much. Love my Hunter.

Flapjack continues to chirp his affirmations and love to Hunter, circling around his head excitedly as he ruffles his hair and nuzzles his cheek, unable to contain his joy at seeing his witch again. Hunter lets out a wet laugh – realizing the voice of his palisman he was hearing coming from the hallway since he woke up was actually real – before it turns into a choked sob, the tears finally starting to fall from his eyes.

Hunter falls to his knees, gripping his arms tightly as his heaves get louder and louder. Flapjack’s calls sound farther and farther away as Hunter desperately tries to hold himself together, desperately tries to keep himself from falling apart before he feels an extra set of hands join in.

He flinches back hard at the sudden touch, scrambling away with a yelp, water blurring his vision as he tries and fails to see who touched him – memories of Belos kneel pain sharpbloodsorryuncle flooding his mind – before the hands graze his arm again, even softer than before, and Hunter just feels himself freeze.

The hand stops as it caresses his arm, a deep voice cutting through the ice in his ears, and while can't quite make out everything it's saying, words like it's okay and you're safe now and little prince make it to his ears, and when he feels a second hand touch his other arm, he can't help his body from leaning into the comfort, a choked sob escaping his throat. He cries and cries and cries as he claws at his own arms, more arms joining in to hold him. 

If this place is truly real, if we're finally out of Uncle’s mind – a traitorous part of Hunter's mind thinks – then maybe it's okay to fall apart. Maybe I can trust these hands to hold me together .

And so Hunter cries, falling apart, allowing the coven heads surrounding him to keep him together. Raine holds him close, pulling his torso into their own, as Eber nuzzles into his back, his paws grounding him. Darius surrounds all three of them, holding them all close as if he’s scared to lose Hunter again – judging by the tears falling down into Hunter’s hair, that was a fair assessment.

If Hunter was able to look up, he would see Luz going through the same thing.

Luz’s screams are somehow louder than his own, her voice echoing across the forest – cries of Amity and Gus and Willow and please be real pleasebereal breaking the heart of everyone who hears it – her hands scrabbling at the back of her girlfriend’s shirt, grabbing at it as if her life depends on it, looking for any sensation, any feeling to ground her, to remind her that this is real.

Amity holds Luz just as tightly, tears rolling down to her smile as she whispers her pet names alongside her comforts for her girlfriend. Gus and Willow flank her left and right, the younger witch leaning his head onto her left shoulder, as Willow holds her right side tenderly, flowers sprouting from beneath. King flops onto the top of her head, mussing her hair as he wheezes out soft wehs, his own cries mixing in with Luz’s.

Beyond all of them, Eda watches, a soft smile on her face, the sobs and cries and screams of Luz and Hunter filling the air between everyone, the two of them going for what feels like hours, letting out the stress of a presumed year – anger and sadness and grief and joy and fear and love coming out in waves.

Even if, come the morning, Luz and Hunter go back to not believing that this place is real, go back to not trusting everyone – hating everyone – that’s okay. This moment is enough. And everyone will be here for them when they come back again.

As the sun finally begins to peek over the horizon, the noises coming from the two traumatized teens finally dying down, Eda can feel something in her break, and something else instinctual rise up in her, telling her that she needs to protect h-these kids.

And when Luz and Hunter finally pass out, the stress of the night finally over, Eda finds herself agreeing with it.

Chapter Text

Normally, whenever Eda was woken up at sunrise, she would take a moment to bask in the morning light.

Most of the time, Eda wouldn’t be awake yet – much preferring the late nights and the comfort of her nest to the early morning – a cup of clawffee mixed with apple blood the usual way she warmed her insides. Whenever she does get up early enough to see the sun cresting over the ocean just outside The Owl House, however, she would let that light warm her.

But right now, she was awake – and while she would love nothing more than for this to be a normal morning, to let the sun rejuvenate her – she can’t quite focus on the rising ball of light. 

As she looked at the two kids passed out in her front lawn, surrounded by Hexside students and Coven Heads, her yard filled with friends and enemies, she knew this wasn’t a normal morning.

Then again, most of her mornings the past few days have been nothing close to normal.

Eda looks on as the two groups slowly move the unconscious Luz and Hunter from the forest’s edge into the house – Willow hoisting Luz up and across her shoulders in a firefighter’s carry, and Darius lifting Hunter in his arms bridal-style – watching as they disappear past her front door before following them.

As she steps inside, she sees the back of the young plant witch, already halfway up the stairs, with Amity and Raine following close behind – the bard going with them to help with Luz’s broken ankle. To her right, she sees Darius laying Hunter down on the couch, resting him on his back, as Gus and Eberwolf hover over him in concern.

They all move carefully around the house, not wanting to wake the two kids as they gingerly shuffle about, directed by Eda as they go and gather first aid kits and pain potions, blankets and pillows – working to settle Luz and Hunter into her room and the living room, respectively. 

Soon enough, Luz’s foot is thoroughly wrapped, the bone having been reset as soon as she was laid down, the healing glyphs and soft whistles of Raine’s magic having helped speed up the recovery – even if the ankle is still swollen blue, it’s better than having the bone sticking out. On the couch, Hunter is smothered with pillows and blankets, a small pile of bloody glass - formerly embedded in his shoulder - now gathered on top of an abomination blanket. 

Once all of them are certain the kids are as comfy as they could be, the witches filter into the kitchen - only stepping on a few of the creaky floorboards underneath - going to meet Eda, who’s currently standing over her empty cauldron.

“So, the two of them are settled in nice and comfy?” They all nod, turning to the still sleeping blonde on her couch. Eda just gives a big smile and claps.

“Great! Now get out.”

The Owl House goes still, all eyes turned to Eda as she stands by her back door, one hand on her hip, the other hand directing the residents outside. A beat passes, before her kitchen erupts in complaints, shouts of what do you mean and we can’t just go and I'm not leaving him here alone before Eda raises a finger, shushing the crowd in an instant. She turns to the witch currently on her couch, who thankfully hasn’t woken up from the sudden influx of noise.

“Eda, you can’t be serious.” Darius tries again, doing his best to keep his voice down. “You can’t expect us to get up and leave after all this? After we finally bring back these kids from Belos’ mind? After they tell us they were in for so much longer than three days? After they passed out after crying for hours after jumping out of your second story window?”

“Yep! I actually can expect that!” Eda just smiles, a little more forced than before, before directing them to the door once again. “Now get out. Shoo. Mama needs her space.”

“But – but we can just stay here!” Gus speaks up, eyeing Hunter to make sure he doesn’t wake up. “We can just watch them, we can ju – ”

“Actually, Goops, you can’t.” Eda’s smile drops a bit lower now, before pointing a finger at the three Coven Leaders. “You three need to go back to the castle. Unless you want to get your coven blown?” The Head Witches look a little sheepish, as Eda then turns to the kids. “And you? You kids need to get back to school.”

“School?!” Amity yells, seemingly not caring if she wakes Hunter – he still hasn’t moved – but she does turn back to the staircase to make sure Luz hasn’t woken up. “After everything, you think I should just go back to school!? ” 

“Boots.” Eda’s smile has fallen, now, looking directly at the abomination witch. “Go. To. School. Learn some shit. Have some fun. Live your lives. And make sure people see you. We don't want any undue attention coming to our sleeping beauties over here. And you all need to keep up appearances, right?” Eda looks pointedly at the abomination student, making sure she knows this is specifically directed at her. Amity looks hurt – the nights spent sneaking out into Luz’s embrace to escape her mother now coming back to haunt her – before she drops her head in defeat. Eda’s face softens as she continues. “It doesn’t mean ya can’t come back. Just means ya can’t be here now.”

Amity nods begrudgingly as Eda looks to the other witches, who all grumble, before agreeing to leave as well. They slowly file out of the dining room, giving wayward glances to the stairs leading up to the human, or to the couch holding the former guard, before exiting the house, their steps getting further and further away as Eda hears them either fly out or teleport away.

Once she’s certain that they’ve all left, Eda fully drops her expression and flops onto the chair beside her couch, dragging a hand across her face.

This has not been a normal morning at all. 

Eda glances out the window, the sun having risen higher in the sky now, but still not yet to noon. The light finds its way into her eyes, irritating them as she involuntarily closes her eyes and turns her head away, resting it deeper in the arm chair. Eda tries to get up, but she can’t quite bring her arms to her sides, exhaustion overtaking her body, overtaking her need to stay up to make sure the kids are okay.

No matter what, Eda can’t fall asleep.

Eda wakes up.

Usually, when The Owl Lady wakes up, it’s a slow process. Her eyes gently open as she uncurls from her nest, gradually stretching, shaking, and popping her tired joints and muscles as he steps out of her room with a yawn, never fully awake until she’s made her way into the kitchen and nursed her first glass of apple blood for the day.

This time, Eda does not wake up so quietly.

Her eyelids snap open, unblinking as her gaze darts around the room in a panic, her spine going ramrod straight as she shoots up in her seat, forced into the waking world from a dream she didn’t even realize she was having. Her body stands up before she can process it, her legs carrying her up the stairs two-three at a time, hands grasping the door to Luz’s room, opening it with a –

*SLAM*

 – wincing at the loud noise before rushing into the room, desperately looking around, until she sees –

Luz is still asleep.

Her apprentice is laid flat on her back, one injured leg raised up, her swollen ankle wrapped in fresh bandages and healing glyphs, resting on a stack of pillows that’s surprisingly well balanced. Her arms are crossed over her torso, the makeshift cloth wraps placed at her side, replaced with fresh bandages – Eda never got a look at Luz’s scars, but based on Raine’s reaction, she's probably glad she didn’t.

As Eda forces herself to calm down, her gaze makes its way up to Luz's face, and she softens at how peaceful she looks. Her expression is relaxed, mouth almost curved into a smile as her eyes are closed just enough to block out the sun outside. King is asleep on her torso, his entire body splayed across her body, as if he's trying to keep her held down, keep her here. 

It's extremely cute.

Eda reaches for her scroll, hand disappearing into her hair as she goes to take a picture of her children, before she freezes, dread pooling in her gut as she thinks –

What about Hunter ?

A similar panic overtakes her body – a panic she never expected to feel for The Golden Guard – as she runs out of the room, jumping down the entirety of the staircase, nearly falling on her face as she barely manages to right herself, scrambling to her living room as she turns to the couch to see – 

Hunter is still asleep.

The Emperor’s former right hand man is sprawled on her couch, covered head to toe in every blanket that existed in The Owl House – and some that certainly didn’t. Beside him lies the pile of glass shards extracted from his shoulder earlier - she really needs to clean those soon. Hunter’s torso is presumably still wrapped in his old Golden Guard cape, the cloth not visible around the couch, but it's hard to tell since Hunter’s head is the only thing peeking out from under the covers.

Eda would be worried for the boy potentially overheating, but the look of contentment on his face eases her mind. Hunter’s mouth is slightly open, the gap tooth he usually hides now easily visible. His eyebrows are set straight, the ever-present angry furrow Eda had seen since he was rescued is completely smoothed out. His palisman is sleeping on his head, nestled in his hair, soft chirps emitting from his beak like melodic snores.

Once she’s made sure that the two kids are okay, Eda finally lets go of the breath that she was holding. She takes a look outside her window, staring at a sun who has risen to its peak, barely casting shadows below. Eda realizes that she was only asleep for a few hours, the midday sun still shining bright – but it’s still a few too many hours than she should have.

Eda takes one big stretch, raising her arms straight above her head until she hears a pop from her shoulders, before making her way to the kitchen, pulling out her ingredients as she begins to make some painkiller potions for the kids – Titan knows they’ll need it. It also serves as a nice distraction from the stress that’s still building up, in the form of the feathers littering her arms, giving her mind a place to go as she focuses her ears on the kids still sleeping in her house, just in case they wake up.

But they don’t.

Even as Eda makes potion after potion after potion, painkillers and healing and sleep aids and elixirs for her curse, the bottles beginning to overflow her cupboards, they don’t wake up. Even as Eda turns her attention to the stovetop, starting to cook for when they do get up, making scrambled griffin eggs and seared slitherbeast steaks and screaming raspberry salad, cooking more food than the four of them would ever need, they don’t wake up.

Even as the sun begins to dip, the kids coming back after their day at Hexside, Amity doting on Luz as Willow watches over Hunter and Gus distract King, they don’t wake up. Even as the Coven Heads arrive, bearing gifts of clothes and soothing balms and even more potions, trying to take care of every need these two might have, they still don’t wake up.

Even as the sun is replaced by the moon – and has been for hours now – everyone who doesn’t live at The Owl House leaving to sleep in their own beds, they don’t wake up. Even as nearly a full day comes and goes since Luz and Hunter have passed out, Eda nervously flitting between her room and the living room, they don’t wake up.

Even as the sun comes up once again, the cycle repeating, they don’t wake up. Even as she goes back to the kitchen to make even more potions, cook even more food, they don’t wake up. Even as King’s laughs, Hooty's yells, and Flapjack’s tweets are replaced by the murmurs of the Head Witches and Hexside Students, they don’t wake up. Even as they all leave once again, night falling on the house, the silence almost too much to bear –

They don’t even twitch, still in the same positions in which they were laid down nearly forty-eight hours ago.

Eda might’ve believed they had died, if it wasn’t for the slight snore coming from Luz’s mouth, or the whistle passing between Hunter’s teeth. 

Eda manages one last patrol around the house before she’s unable to stay awake for any longer, the days catching up to her once again, stumbling into her own room and collapses into her nest – the nest that she hasn’t slept in for days, ever since the kids went missing. 

Eda hasn’t had the best relationship with sleep. Ever since she got her curse, her nights have been either plagued with nightmares of the moment Lilith gave it to her, or of the beast taking over and hurting her kids. She learned long ago to not like, or even trust, her sleep. But, Eda also knows that she can’t properly take care of these kids when they wake up, if she’s too tired to actually do so.

So, with a heavy heart and heavier limbs, The Owl Lady curls up in her bed, using her hair as a blanket, and closes her eyes, drifting off in seconds. She doesn’t want to sleep for too long, but she does need to sleep.

As long as nothing happens while she’s out.

Luz wakes up.

For once she wakes up calmly, her body being slowly pulled from its unusually dreamless sleep. Most nights, her mind is plagued with nightmares – dreams filled with Belos Phillip pain deadwitches herfaultherfaultherfault – or memories filled with worse. The emptiness is actually a welcome respite from the usual panic in which she's used to being awoken.

She can feel herself gradually coming back into her body, taking in the familiar bedding underneath, the soft blankets on top of her, the warm weight atop her torso. Even her raised leg, lifted up into an unnatural, but oddly relieving position, is still comfortable. She can’t remember the last time she was able to sleep in a place this nice, most of her rest occurring on a cold forest floor, so she takes a moment to snuggle deeper into the covers.

For the first time in a very, very long time, she feels well rested.

A few minutes pass before Luz opens her eyes, wanting to take a look around at wherever she is, but quickly closes them as a bright light blinds her. She snaps her head away from the slight burning feeling she felt, the sudden movement disturbing whatever is on top of her, a questioning weh emitting from it, but she turns back to bask in the light, keeping her eyes closed. She doesn’t remember making a light glyph large enough to both warm her and blind her last night, but she embraces it regardless. 

Her brain wants to question why she’s so comfortable, why there’s a glyph that large in the first place, why she actually felt safe enough to actually get some sleep, but instead she moves to pull the fuzzy blanket over her head. She knows she should be questioning it more, but she stubbornly wants to stay in this comfort, even if just for one extra moment, so instead she tells her hyperactive brain to make sense of it.

Luz has learned to never let her guard down. If she did, then there must have been a reason for it. She assumes that this place, wherever it is, has to be safe. She never would’ve slept so deeply, so comfortably – never would’ve made a light that bright, a signal that bright – if it wasn’t safe. She assumes Hunter must’ve thought the same thing, or else she would’ve never heard the end of his complaining, so she goes to –

Wait.

Where’s Hunter?

Any sense of safety she felt earlier is ripped from her throat as she springs up, flinging blankets and pillows and King – King? – up and off her body as her eyes slam open, burning from the bright light as she desperately looks around the familiar – why is this place familiar? – room, trying and failing to find any sign of him.

Luz attempts to stand, pushing herself up with her arms before getting forced back down to her knees, a jolt of pain shooting up her leg. She tries again, but she can’t make it more than a step before falling down with a cry of pain. She tries to muffle her cries wheredidhego not wanting to alert anyone in case this place truly isn’t safe, but she can’t help the whimper that escapes her throat as she crawls towards the wall, pulling herself up to lean on it. 

She can feel something or some one hanging onto her good leg, pulling at her damaged leggings, pleading with her to stay down and you’re gonna hurt yourself again, please and it’s okay Luz, but she can’t focus on the voice – can’t focus on anything as her senses begin to dull, the colours of the room around her fading to grey, panic beginning to settle into her bones.

“HUNTER!?” Luz’s yell reverberates in her own skull, the only sensation she receives that tells her she’s actually said something, her knees shaking, hands scrabbling along the wall as she stumbles along it, looking for a door, a window, an exit, anything that will lead her to an exit hepromisedhewouldn’tleave – that will lead her to Hunter.

She knows that she needs to keep quiet, knows that she can’t risk Belos finding her again, but she can feel her rational mind falling away, cries spilling out of her as she calls for Hunter three, four, five times, her screams getting louder until they merge into choked sobs, his name the only thing coming from her mouth.

Where is he? Is he okay? Is he even alive? Is he – Did Belos get to him? While she was asleep? Why - how – he promised – He promised he wouldn't leave her here. Leave her alone – that he would be there for her. If he didn’t leave then was he taken? Nonono , he can’t have been captured by Belos, she can’t imagine it, physically can't imagine him going through what she did – doesn’t want to – please where are yo –

“LUZ!?”

A voice cuts through the fog building in her vision, bringing her back to this room for just a second. Luz whips her head around to face the direction where her name was called. A blurry figure stands across from her, seemingly shaking with just as much effort to stand as she feels. If she could see its face, she would see the same panic mirrored across both of their faces.

Luz flinches as the figure rushes to her, whatever it is stopping right in front of her as its features slowly come into focus. Its cheeks are sallow, thin, starved, with scars crossing over its right jaw. Its blonde hair is messy, pushing away from its roots – Luz’s breath hitches in the worst way possible Belospleaseno – until piercing red eyes, familiar red eyes meet hers, and everything else falls away.

“...hunter…?”

A sound escapes from the person – from Hunter, he’s alive – in front of her, and she feels her hand become surrounded by his, just as she reaches out for his own. They pull their hands to each other’s chest, both wanting to bring each other back, in their own little ritual. Luz takes in the comfort on both sides of her palm, the front of her hand feeling the heartbeat of Hunter, its smooth pulsing rhythm reminding her of what her own body should feel like.

She turns her gaze in front of her, meeting Hunter's magenta eyes, his own gaze turned to their hands, his breaths controlled, forcing her own breathing to slow. His arms are bare, with Flapjack perched on his shoulder, and she just now notices the Grudgby jacket hanging from her own shoulders – he must've draped it over her at some point. She touches her forehead to his, and the two stand there for a moment, reminding each other that they’re here.

Luz can feel her senses gradually return. Her eyes dart around, taking in the familiar sights of her old room – her cot messily set up in the centre, her Good Witch Azura poster hanging above it. She looks down to see her brother latched onto her good leg, a look of relief washing over his face as he sees her coming back to herself. She reaches down a hand to him, wanting to take even a little bit of solace in this memory, when suddenly –

Her memories of last night flood back to her. 

Memories of running, getting cornered by Belos, the two standing their ground before a cloud of golden smoke envelops them, stealing them away from there, bringing them into another nightmare. Memories of a painfully familiar room, filled with painfully familiar faces, trying to tell them that they’re safe, when they could never be safe. Memories of falling asleep, of waking up, of jumping out of a window.

Memories of stars.

Just as she turns to look outside of the window – it wasn’t a light glyph, it was the sun – another figure rushes through the open door of her old room. Eda slides in, tripping over herself as she looks around for the source the earlier shouts, before her eyes land on the two kids leaning onto each other, and her face instantly softens.

“Oh, kiddos…” Eda speaks quietly, forcing herself to stand still as the two kids turn to look at her  – truly look at her, not through her – which is a very welcome change compared to a couple nights ago. “Are you o – how are you feeling?” She cuts herself off, clearly these kids are not okay.

“...Eda?” Luz whispers out, unable to answer her question, a look of recognition on her face, mixed in with the fear and worry and sadness that she was unfortunately used to seeing these past few days. “Is this… are you…?”

“Yeah, Luz. This is real.” Eda breathes out, relief flooding her body, so, so glad that she doesn’t have to convince them that she’s not fake. “We’re real. You’re here.” Hearing that familiar phrase somehow reassures Luz that what she’s saying is true - no matter how implausible it may be - and she nods, letting Eda know that she believes it.

She can’t help the smile that appears on her face, going to reach out to ruffle Luz’s hair, but her arm can barely make it above her waist before she’s frozen still once again. Hunter flinches at the movement, his eyes closing as he backs into the wall, a sharp breath escaping his lungs. Beside him, Luz puts a hand between them, shielding him from whatever imagined impact might be coming.

Her heart shatters as she looks down at these two kids, thinking about how much had changed, how much had been broken in just a few days – in just a year. She wants so desperately to hold these kids, to protect them from whatever made them so scared – so paranoid of the world around them.

“How about we go downstairs, hm?” Eda voices instead, putting on a smile that everybody can see through. “You’ve been asleep for a while, why don’t we get some breakfast in you?”

Luz and Hunter share a look, a conversation taking place in mere moments, before they turn to her and nod, joining their hands again as Luz goes to grab King with her other hand and Hunter begins to pet Flapjack.

The four of them head out of the room, King’s voice echoing up the staircase as Eda hangs back, allowing herself a single moment to crumble , silent tears falling from her eyes and staining the wood floor below her, before she picks herself up again, wiping her face clean before following them downstairs, promising to do her best to make sure these kids smile again.

The first note she makes to herself: Don’t separate those two again.

Chapter Text

Luz couldn’t believe that she was back at The Owl House.

A part of her still can’t believe it – a large part of her, actually – the part that’s kept her safe, kept her alive all this time. As she makes her way downstairs, however, flanked on both sides by Hunter and King, she finds herself trusting in that little glimmer of hope.

Luz can feel her body shift involuntarily as Hunter adjusts his grip, pulling her up as he drapes her arm over his shoulders, holding her so she isn’t putting any weight on her bad ankle. King holds onto her other hand, the quick pitter patter of his claws on the hardwood below keeping in time with their longer strides, clinging to her the same way he has ever since they woke up.

When the trio first left her old room, King had tried to wedge himself between Luz and Hunter, as if he was trying to protect her from The Golden Guard – as if Hunter could ever a danger to her, as if he wasn’t the only thing that was ever safe – but King quickly shuffled to her other side at the fearful and panicked expressions that appeared on both their faces. Luz only felt a little guilty about forcing him to move, leaning further into Hunter, before squeezing King’s hand again.

Every step they take down the hall echoes in her ears, getting louder and louder as they slowly make their way forwards – Luz thinks she can hear King trying to talk to her, but she can’t bring herself to focus on the words, her attention taken in by the hallway surrounding them. 

Memories begin to fill her vision – memories of running down this very passageway, clad in a black cloak and cape, past framed images of King frowning, dressed in a frilly pink bonnet as he sits in his a chair with a snickering Eda – alongside pictures of a young Eda dressed in the same pink bonnet, beside her sister in a blue one. 

Luz watches herself jump down the staircase, only now noticing the dust and grime that falls off the traffic cone above her, caking the walls beside her – before another image of herself and King run up the stairs and past her, the pictures on the wall morphing into ones with her and King and Eda together, smiling and laughing as they brew potions, with King still wearing his frilly pink bonnet. 

Luz can’t help but smile herself.

She’s learned time and time again not to trust memories, especially not nice ones like these – but sometimes it’s just easier to fall into them. Sometimes it’s easier to just pretend that it’s real.

By the time they make it to the top of the staircase, Luz is still lost in her visions – the group can barely make it past the first step before she winces, the drop down putting too much pressure on her leg. She can feel Hunter’s grip on her arm tighten, his guilt at allowing her to get hurt coming through in that one action, but she just shakes her head at him and moves to continue down the stairs.

The pain is enough to bring her back to herself, King’s voice becoming clearer, finally able to focus on what’s he's saying, glad that she was able to hide her pain well enough from King so as to not cut off his conversation – Luz herself not noticing the flinch that had come from the tiny demon at her pain, forcing himself to keep talking, for her sake.

“ – so the eastern stuffie front has been relatively quiet, which is especially surprising since the Duchess of Fluff loves to enter battles she shouldn’t be involved in. I guess she’s still recovering from her defeat at Lord Ducky’s hand.” Luz turns at the mention of the rubber duck, and she can feel King vibrate at the attention. “He loves to fight – he actually started the war with François. They’ve been going at it for – ”

“Lord Ducky?” Luz interrupts, her mind still trying to catch up with the conversation. “When did he get a promotion?” Her question sends King beaming, so happy that his sister has come back – so so happy that she’s here again, with how withdrawn she’s been. “He only owned Rubber Island before, right? Then again, when the war’s been going on for a year, I guess anythi – ”

“A year?” King cuts her off, his surprise snapping her mouth shut. “They’ve only been fighting for a couple of days.” An incredulous look crosses over Luz’s face, before she remembers that it only has been a few days for everyone else. This time, she doesn’t miss the flinch from King, even though he’s able to quickly smooth over his expression. 

“I-I mean – yeah! When Madame Swan gave up her throne, Lord Ducky ended up inheriting the kingdom! He got really lucky.” Luz doesn’t say anything else, although the tilt of her head lets him know that she’s still listening. “I don’t see him winning, though. Like, Lord Ducky doesn’t have much experience as a king, and François still has a favour from the Amphibians to call in – y’know, ever since the Ducky family betrayed them…”

Luz can feel Hunter perk up at the mention of Amphibians, his head turning to face King as he continues to talk about the delicate and intricate political situations of the Plush Kingdoms. She can almost the hear the gears turning in his head, fighting between wanting to talk about something he’s passionate about, not wanting to interrupt King, the fear and desire to share a part of himself, if he’s even worthy to have a conversation with him –

Luz nudges him slightly, pulling him out of his head, before tilting her own head towards King, letting him know it’s okay to talk to him. Hunter lets out a soft glare, not wanting to interrupt, but Luz just pouts, pleading with him – eventually garnering a sigh from Hunter as Luz internally cheers at winning their silent conversation.

“King? You – you said something about Amphibians. Are frogs a part of that?” Hunter asks, King pausing his description on General Ducky’s poor battle plans to look up at him warily, wondering where this question came from. “Be – because I have – had – a plushie – I think he was an Amphibian warrior. Pink, with green goggles, thin arms and legs. You think – do you know him?” 

Sprig, Luz thinks to herself. She remembers how Hunter would talk about his plushie, one of the few pops of colour in his room, nearly drowned out by the drab beige and grey of his Uncle’s decoration. She remembers the happy look on his face as he talked about getting it as a gift from Lilith, back when he was just the Emperor’s nephew – the first and last nice thing Luz can say she did for him. She knows how much that plush means to him.

Hunter’s voice is nervous, not only to be talking to the demon he once captured and threatened, but also scared to admit any sense of weakness in front of anyone that isn’t Luz.

Thankfully, all of his worries are assauged the moment Hunter mentions his own plush, King’s guarded expression dropping almost instantly, his eyes shining with wonder and curiosity and joy – the mere mention of a genuine interest and appreciation of plushies soldiers enough to change how the demon sees the former Golden Guard.

“Oooo! I don’t know a pink frog, but I know a purple one! Or, I guess she’s not a frog yet… she’s mostly a ball right now.” Luz can hear the excitement creeping into his voice again, can feel how his arms swing around in hers as he looks up at Hunter with stars in his eyes. “I guess she’d be a badpole? Oh, maybe they’re related! Maybe he’s her brother! But – why aren’t they together?” 

“Uh… maybe he left for a mission?” A thoughtful look crosses over Hunter’s face. “A secret mission to infiltrate the… uh – the Cotton Empire! Yeah! And that’s why he’s with me! He needed a… witch on the inside?” Luz can feel the way stiffens at calling himself a witch, still unsure if he’s doing this conversation thing right, still worried if King even wants him to speak, still –

“That makes sense!” King shines at his words, Hunter almost having to cover his eyes at his brightness. “The Cotton Empire has been planning to overthrow the Plush Alliance for decades now! And the best way to learn about their plans is with a frog on the inside!”

“...y-yeah.” Hunter lets out a soft smile, and Luz can’t help but smile herself. The two continue talking, with King excitedly sharing every detail he has on the Amphibians, along with any rumours about Madame Swan’s secret rebellion and the Cotton Empire, Hunter taking in every word, ready to relay this critical information to his new ‘informant’ – Luz can see the sadness in Hunter’s eyes as he think about the plush he hasn’t been able to see in a year, may never be able to see again.

Their conversation continues as they reach the bottom of the staircase, the three of them passing by Hunter’s makeshift nest on the living room couch – Luz giving Hunter a questioning glance at the small pile of glass shards beside it, to which he just shrugs and motions at his injured shoulder before turning back to King.

They make their way into the kitchen, King’s and Hunter’s voices echoing out through the open window, the three only in the entrance for a few seconds before The Owl Lady comes barreling down the stairs, rushing past them, panting slightly as she leans over the counter. 

Luz can feel Hunter freeze beside her, his arm tightening across her shoulder at the sudden movement, Luz returning the squeeze to try and comfort him. She looks up to tell off Eda, but stops herself, noticing a set of splotchy red eyes, with barely hidden tear tracks running down her face.

“So? Who’s hungry?” Eda spreads her arms out, making a show of her aloofness before Luz can bring it up. King squeaks as he lets go of Luz’s hand, rushing over to his high chair, chanting food! food! food! Eda quirks an eyebrow at the two kids still standing in the middle of the doorframe, the former Golden Guard’s eyes trained to the floor. 

Hunter’s feet are glued to the ground, and with Luz still glued to Hunter, the two stand unmoving from their position. A moment passes, Eda looking on confusedly, waiting for them to make their way to a seat, her worry that she’s frightened them growing, before she realizes that Hunter’s not actually frozen in fear – he’s waiting. He’s waiting for permission.

“You can – uh – go ahead and. Sit down. It’s fine.” Eda coughs, unsure of the best way to tell him he doesn’t need to ask permission to sit down. Hunter just nods before she can convey any of that, almost running the closest chair, pulling it out and nearly throwing Luz onto it, before he walks over to his own chair, looking up nervously at Eda again, as if he couldn’t dare to sit. Eda just smiles at him again, and he gingerly takes a seat.

“So. Now that everyone’s, uh, ready. What’s on the menu for today?” Eda forces an air of casualness into her voice, one that nobody really believes. Her eyes dart between Luz and Hunter, both of whom look very confused. “Um… what would you like to eat?” The two continue to stare at her like she’s growing feathers – Eda checks to make sure she isn’t – and Eda doesn’t quite get why . 

It’s just food, right?

“I want griffin eggs!” King slams his claws on the table, drawing everybody’s attention to him. Eda silently mouths a ‘thank you’ to King, the demon knowing how much time she spent on cooking those eggs – not wanting them to go to waste, but also making a decision just so Luz and Hunter wouldn’t have to.

“Great! I can get y’all som – ”

“I can help!”

Hunter shoots up, nearly knocking over his seat as he rushes over to Eda’s side, the fridge not even yet opened. Eda tries to shoo him away, not wanting either him or Luz to do any work, but the former guard is already rummaging through her cupboards, doors opening and closing in rapid succession in his search for dishes. By the time Eda pulls out the two-day old griffin eggs, four plates have been arranged on the counter in front of her, with Hunter standing at attention beside them.

Luz fidgets in her seat as Eda spoons the eggs onto the plates, the kitchen island separating her and Hunter – the idea of any obstacle existing between her and Hunter sending a spike of anxiety through her chest. The way Hunter rushes over to her, discoloured griffin eggs stacked high, it’s clear he’s feeling the same way. Hunter gives her a pointed look as he puts it down, and Luz just raises an eyebrow, as if to say I know. 

Hunter exhales, ending their silent conversation before making his way over to King, a similar plate of eggs in his hands. King yells out a loud thanks as he drops it, and Luz can see the way he tries to suppress a flinch, before dipping his head in a nod, mumbling out a thanks, a faint pink colouring the tips of his ears.

He quickly goes over to his own seat, placing the eggs in front of him as he pulls himself up to the table, hand hovering over his fork before he pulls it down to his lap, spine straight as he sits at attention – as if once again he’s waiting for permission.

“It’s okay. You can eat. You don’t need to wait for me to say it.” Hunter slouches at Eda’s soft words, his soldier’s posture dropping. He eyes the eggs warily, fork in hand, still not moving to actually pick them up. “Well, go on! It doesn’t look that bad, right? I mean, it’s not castle food, but it’s still somethin’.” Hunter just grimaces, and Eda turns to her apprentice, hoping to get her to convince him to eat, just to see the same expression mirrored on her face. 

“Luz? Everything alright?” She doesn’t say anything – she doesn’t have the heart to tell her that it’s not alright.

Luz is scared. She’s scared of what this meal might tell her. She’s scared that as soon as she tries to take a bite, it’ll just – it’ll be like it always has been, that this will have just been another memory, another trick – another way to torture her. She doesn’t want that to be true, doesn’t want to go back – she wants this to be real, wants to stay here for just one second more.

But she sees the way Eda and King look at her – with pity, adoration, concern, love, hope – and she can’t disappoint them. Even if it’s not really them.

Luz goes to take a bite, and  –

“Hunter? Can we – can we please slow down?”

“No! Not yet! We can’t stop yet!”

“But we’ve been running for – for hours now! Surely we – haah – we’ve gotten far enough away by now!”

“Look, human! If you want to stop and get captured by Unc – by Belos, then be my guest!”

“Ay, dios mío…” Luz continues to grumble under her breath as Hunter drags her along, weaving between the trees of Belos’ Mindscape, gripping her arm tightly as they run, obviously never actually going to act on his threat of leaving her behind. 

They’d been running for a few hours now, jumping between memories and forests, trying to escape from The Emperor. It’s been about a week since Luz was teleported here alongside Hunter. About a week since they’ve been running, never taking a break for longer than necessary until they move again. About a week since the two of them were trapped, forced to live through the torture that Belos had put The Isles – put Hunter – through. About a week since they learned that Hunter’s entire life was a lie. 

About a week since Luz learned just who Emperor Belos really was. About a week since she learned what Phillip Wittebane was planning to do with the Day of Unity. About a week since she learned that she helped him. That she gave him magic. That she was complicit in genocide – it’s already been a week theyneedneed to getout of here to stop it she needs to fix hermistake itsherfaultherfaulther –

Luz is pulled out of her thoughts by Hunter, who jerks her forward when she begins to flag, forcing her to keep pace with him. She tries to tell him to slow down, but is unable to get the words out, her own heavy breaths cutting her off, her legs like jelly as she stumbles through the woods.

She doesn’t know how much longer they’re forced to sprint – seconds and minutes and hours blending together – until suddenly she stops, nearly crashing into the back of Hunter, the former guard standing still as he takes a look around at the clearing, his eyes darting between various picture frames.

“You – you could warn me if you’re – ” Luz has to take a moment to catch her breath, unable to finish the sentences through her exhaustion – how is Hunter barely even panting? “If you’re gonna stop in the – the middle of nowhere!” 

“It’s not my fault you weren’t trained properly.” Hunter scoffs, tearing his eyes away from one of the memories to look down at Luz’s hunched form, returning the glare she sends his way – Hunter is still grabbing her arm, holding her up as she recovers, clearly having stopped just so she can get breath back, his actions betraying his seemingly uncaring words.

It takes a while, but Luz is eventually able to bring herself out of her exhaustion, her breaths steadying as she inhales one last time before straightening out, lifting her hands off her knees to take a look around at the clearing they’ve stopped in. 

Luz has been getting used to sights such as this, gray trees surrounding gray grass, a gray shroud enveloping it all. Wooden frames hang from the various flora scattered around them – so many terrible memories formed and built up from centuries of stolen life. 

The pictures hung here seem more recent. Images of the dull halls of the castle fill the background of most of the portraits surrounding them. Various figures stand within – coven Heads getting crowned their new positions, prisoners standing trial before petrification, Hunter kneeling in front of Belos before his next mission, his next scolding, his next beating, his next –

Luz forces herself to tear her eyes away, the thought of anybody being abused like that almost too much to bear, the images replaying over and over again in her head as she turns to look at Hunter, his gaze frozen once again at one of the memories – him kneeling as he begs for forgiveness, and only getting more wounds in return.

She wants to reach out, wants to wrench his head away from whatever torture he’s putting himself through, but her hand freezes just above his arm, unsure of how best to help him, not wanting a repeat of the last time she touched him without warning – her ribcage still aching from the impact of his elbow. Instead she just looks around, wanting to find anything to distract him, to distract both of them, when her eyes catch onto a memory, and she squeaks in delight.

“Hunter, look! It’s – It’s a party! Or a banquet! Or ball or – or something! Whatever, just – come on!”

“Wh – hey!” 

Hunter’s yelp is cut off as Luz grabs him by the arm and drags him – how does he like it? – towards the image hanging behind them, nearly falling flat on her face as they leap into the frame, stumbling into the great hall, the artificial light of the room blinding her as she stands up.

“This place is huge!”  Awe seeps into Luz’s voice as she spins to look around at the room. The banquet hall is absolutely enormous, golden walls stretching out farther than her field of vision, never able to see both ends of the room at the same time. Ceilings just as golden rise high – higher than even the roof of the castle looks from outside. Tall, thin windows are spaced out evenly along the walls, reaching up to the ceiling above them, the darkness outside the only reprieve from the blinding chandeliers hanging above them.

The room is filled with guests – it’s as if everybody living on The Boiling Isles is gathered in this one place. Coven members and leaders, teachers and students, families and soldiers, all squished together as if they couldn’t be anywhere else but here. Knowing Belos, maybe that was true. Luz loves it anyways, taking in the sights and sounds, as if this party was meant for her.

“It’s a big castle.” Hunter stands up beside her, dusting himself off as he stands up next to her, trying his best to look aloof at being dragged around and falling flat on his face, but his annoyed pout betrays him. “I doubt you’ve seen every part of it.” Luz just smiles back, glad her distraction worked, but her attention is taken once again by the sounds of the other guests around her.

“I wonder what this party is for?” Luz questions as she takes another look around the room, picking up various conversations around her, mutterings of parties and invitations, witches and prisoners, food and drink – when’s the last time she was able to eat something? – floating into her ears, not quite telling her what this gathering is about. “I mean, it seems pretty big, but I don’t know what it could be about. What do you think?”

“It was a celebration of a successful raid.” Hunter answers, his own eyes scanning the room, looking around for any exits should they need to escape. “Coven heads Eberwolf and Darius arrested one of the biggest holdings of wild witches we'd seen in years. Belos wanted to hold a banquet in their honour, a day before their petrifications.” He says it so casually, like he’s reading off a report, and not speaking about the murder of dozens of innocents.

“Oh.” Luz’s voice is quiet, processing the thought of so many people coming together to celebrate the death of others. She can see the way Hunter’s face falls again, his own mind rewiring itself once again, flipping what he once believed was just, mourning these witches as if he was the one who captured them, who damned them to this – before another thought crosses her mind.

“Wait, you know what this party was about? Were you here?”

“Yeah. I was.” His voice is still low, but he tilts his head to one of the room’s edges. “Stationed at the west exit.” Luz looks to where Hunter is pointing, seeing a younger Golden Guard standing watch. 

A yellow mask covers his face, the cowl over his head blocking everybody from seeing under it. The cape behind him drags along the ground, his fourteen-year-old body still too short for his uniform. He stands stock still – one could almost mistake him for a statue if it wasn’t for the steady rotation of his body as he scans the hall over and over again, artificial staff in one hand, a sparkling glass of something in the other.

“Looks boring.”

“It’s my job, Human. Was. Was my job.” Hunter exhales before he continues. “Doesn’t matter if it was boring, it’s what I had to do.” He pauses before he tilts his head to her, a teasing glint in his eyes. “Not everything can be all sunshine and painbows like your Azila books.”

“¡AY! Azura is a critically acclaimed series, and deserves to be treated as such!” Luz indignantly sputters, trying to shove him, but stumbles as he dodges out of the way, both of their smirks growing wider – wasn’t Luz supposed to be comforting him?

“Besides, there’s nothing wrong with wanting a party to be grand!” She continues, looking back up at him. “The second book had a party! After Azura had saved the dragon from a tyrannical prince, she met with Hecate there, and they shared a dance! It was beautiful! Magical! And it! Was! Not! Boring!” 

“Don’t you have any good stories about parties? Before you were just ‘doing your job’?” She puts that last part in quotations, and Hunter looks off to the side, seemingly lost in thought.

“...there was one party I can remember going to – before I was the Golden Guard.” He responds, a slight smile on his face. “When Belos still wanted his nephew to make some public appearances. It was the first time I had met the Blight Twins.” 

“I thought they were so titan-damned annoying.” Despite the harsh words, Luz can see the light in his eyes. “The two dragged me away from Unc – Belos’ side, asking me all sorts of questions about what it was like in the castle, what it was like being a prince – they never shut up. The only way I could get them to stop was by answering their incessant questioning.”

“Eventually, they got bored and pulled me over to the punch bowl.” Hunter turns to his side – the side of the room where his past self isn’t – presumably to the spot where the twins brought him all those years ago, his expression turning mischievous as he continues. “They put a few drops of some potion in there. I tried to get them to stop, but honestly the way Darius’ mouth set ablaze, dropping his cup and staining his shoes made me glad I didn’t.” 

Luz can’t help the laugh that escapes her throat.

“So you do know how to have fun.” Luz wiggles her eyebrows after catching herself, Hunter sputtering and shaking his head vehemently at the very insinuation that a prank could ever be fun. She giggles again, her face softening before she continues, poking his forehead. “You know, I’m glad there are at least some happy memories in there.” Hunter scowls, before letting a smile appear on his own face.

“Yeah. Me too.”

Luz grins, glad to hear of at least one happy memory that Hunter had, ones that weren’t filled with abuse. When his smirk eventually drops, schooling his face back into something neutral as he continues to look for potential exits. Luz follows suit, her eyes washing over the room, watching as the various guests flit back and forth, her eyes marking every gap as they open and close, hoping to see a glimpse of an exit, or of a weapon, or of a person, of Lillith or Eda or Amit –

She sees it.

A table.

With food.

Suddenly, everything else falls away.

Luz’s body moves before her brain can register, weaving between guests, bumping into them – almost knocking a few over – as she rushes over to the middle of the room. She thinks she can hear Hunter calling to her, telling her to wait, but she can’t bring herself to stop now that she’s been presented with food, her mind finally recognizing why she’s so dead set on getting there.

She hasn’t eaten a single thing since she’s been brought into the Mindscape.

She doesn’t know how she hadn’t realized it until now, how she hadn’t realized that it’s been a week since she’s eaten – maybe she was too panicked to notice, too focused on running away, too scared for Hunter’s life, or her own. Maybe it was magic, or adrenaline, or just pure thoughtlessness – 

It doesn’t matter, really, why she hasn’t eaten in so long. It doesn’t matter that she’s not hungry, that she’s not any weaker for it, doesn’t feel any worse for not eating. All that matters now is there’s food in front of her now, and she’s finally going to eat something.

A few more steps, a few more dashes, and she’s suddenly standing in front of the table. The spread is worthy of a king – or an Emperor, she supposes. Rows upon rows of freshly butchered fruits, delicately cut spider cheeses, and flutes of bloody champagne fill all four corners. If she wasn’t so desperate to eat, she would’ve been in awe at the selection in front of her. She would've been struck with choice paralysis on what she wanted to eat.

Thankfully, her hands make the decision for her. She reaches out, grabs the first thing in front of her, and shoves it in her mouth.

She can’t tell exactly what she’s eating just by the flavour – which is a little weird, but she chalks it it up to Demon Realm food being relatively unrecognizable, and continues to eat, looking down at the fried apple drumsticks in her hands – hasn’t she tried this before? Why wouldn’t she recognize it?

Something seems off about this.

She can’t quite tell what it is, instead bringing the drumstick up to her mouth for a third bite. She hasn’t eaten for an entire week. Most people who’ve been starved for that long would probably die, or at least have become severely malnourished – the only thing she’s felt is exhausted from the amount of running she’s done, and the lack of sleep she’s gotten. She can’t even remember a moment where her stomach grumbl –

Wait.

She can’t taste the food.

She goes to finish the apple, leaving behind the last bit of boney core, but as it hits her tongue, she realizes it’s completely flavourless. It’s like it’s not even in her mouth. She knows she’s chewing it, she feels her jaw working, but it’s as if the texture of it doesn’t exist. As she swallows it, she doesn’t feel any satisfaction from it, no less hungry than when she started eating it.

It tastes like nothing. It feels like nothing. It is nothing.

Hunter catches up with her at that moment, his anger is mixed with concern as his eyes dart from the apple drumstick core in her hand to her face.

“Human! Why would you run like – what were you thinking?!” His face betrays the worry he’s trying so hard to mask with fury, his hands clenched tightly to his sides to prevent himself from shaking her shoulders violently. “What if you were caught!?”

“It doesn't taste like anything…” Luz ignores his cries, muttering to herself as she reaches for more food. A block of scream cheese disintegrates into nothing in her mouth. A handful of pophorns pass down her throat like less than air. She’s stopped mid lunge as she reaches for a slice of booberry pie, a hand wrapped around her wrist.

“I don’t – it’s not – why?” Luz whips around to fully face Hunter, his panicked angry expression flinching back at the sudden movement. He goes to question what exactly has gotten into her, but he’s interrupted by her grabbing his shoulders and shaking him violently, little images of Flapjack spinning around his head.

“It tastes like nothing! Like – like it’s not even there! I don’t – what?” Her confused yells die down, turning into mumbles as she stops shaking Hunter, keeping her hands on his shoulders as he stops moving, holding a hand up to his head with a groan as he tries to orient himself back to this party. “I’ve had apple drumsticks before, so I know what they taste like, but then why – I don’t get it – I haven’t eaten I should be dead I don’t kno – ”

“LUZ!” Hunter’s shout snaps Luz out of her tirade, his use of her name so few and far between that the shock of hearing it alone is enough to bring her back. She doesn’t know what it is – maybe it’s the seriousness, the assuredness in his voice, maybe it's the fact he called her Luz, but she just has a feeling that he’s he’s gonna tell her that it’s okay, that she’s wrong, tha –

“You’re right.” Huh? “The food does taste like nothing.”

What? 

“What?” 

“Food doesn’t exist in Mindscapes. At least, not in a way that actually matters.” Hunter continues on, like he didn’t even notice she said anything. “It’s impossible to eat anything in here.”

“There were studies that looked into what actually exists in Mindscapes. One of those studies was with food!” Hunter’s eyes begin to shine as he speaks, getting the same excited look he gets on his face whenever he gets to talk about things he’s researched – Luz can’t bring herself to be drawn into it, at least this time. “There are records of people trying to relive certain meals they had as a kid in their Mindscapes, only to come out disappointed when they couldn’t taste anything.” 

“But when people were brought back out of the Mindscape, they found they weren’t any more hungry than when they entered. Even when they were in there for days, there was no change.” Hunter’s hands begin to gesture around wildly as he continues, fingers pointing in all directions. “People don’t get hungry, but they also don’t need to eat! There’s no known reason for why this is the case, but there are theories, mostly having to do with how those memories don’t exist in real time.”

“I guess we’ll never know for sure, now. Research into Mindscapes has become heavily regulated, with only memory extraction being legal.” Hunter gains a dark look dark across his face, arms dropping before continuing. “Then again, research into Grimwalkers is supposedly illegal, and look at me.” 

“Why?”

“I mean, nobody knows why, I alread – ”

“No, no. I – I just – why?!” Hunter sighs, a look of sympathy flashing across his face, before his expression turns unsure, still not so great at this ‘comforting’ thing.

“Look, Luz. Even with my extra research – which was totally legal by the way – the books I did have access to were extremely limited. I truly don’t know why.” He puts a hand on her shoulder, trying to give her a smile, trying to say the right thing. “What I do know is that we don’t need to eat to survive. And that’s a good thing.”

That’s the wrong thing to say.

“Survival?! It’s – ” Luz knocks his hand away as she glares at him, unshed tears forming in her eyes. “It’s not about survival! It’s about not being able to taste anything! Not being able to eat anything! Not being able to – ”

“What are you talking about? It is about survival. It’s all we can do to survive! Or did you forget about my Uncle still chasing us!” Hunter cuts her off, lucky that the other guests wouldn’t remember them, converting his disappointment that he couldn’t cheer her up into anger. “Until we can find a way out of here and stop the Day of Unity, then all we need to do is survive. If we have to sacrifice food to do it, then so be it.”

“Sacrifice food?! Wha -that’s easy for you to say!” Luz sneers, her rage at the situation turning into something more sinister. “Then again, you wouldn’t know anything about good food! All you’ve grown up with is the Emperor’s Coven gruel and Belos’ slop. You wouldn’t know a good meal if it slapped you across the face!” 

Luz can almost feel the temperature in the room drop as she says this, a flash of hurt appearing on Hunter’s face before it turns icy.

“You’re right. I wouldn’t.” His face is dark, his voice quiet as it echoes around the busy hall. “I was never allowed the privilege of eating anything other than slop. Belos made sure of it.” Hunter turns, his eyes scanning the room one last time until he finally finds the portrait leading to the outside world. “We’re leaving, human. Unless you want to spend your time eating more nothing.”

Luz can only feel a little guilty as she watches him stalk off before following, an angry look still on her face. 

He really wouldn’t get it. Food is important to her. So important. It’s a way for her and her mom to connect to their culture. It was one of the first ways her and Eda bonded trying to find things she could eat. It’s the best subject for puns with King. It was one of the few ways she could remember the Human Realm – remember her Dad. She didn’t know if she could live without those connections.

Then again, Hunter was right. She didn’t need to live – She needed to survive. If she wanted to stop the Day of Unity – if she wanted to save her friends and family, save the place she’s been calling a second home – she would have to survive. And if she needed to give up food to save them, then so be it.

But when she gets out, she’s gonna have the biggest, baddest, best feast of her life. Luz can promise that.

----------

In all honesty, the griffin eggs don’t taste that great.

Eda has never been a great cook – most of her skills in the kitchen are in potion brewing – and it’s clear that this meal especially is on the lower end of her spectrum of quality. The eggs weren’t mixed well, bits of white and yellow spread throughout the scramble. They’re overcooked, drying her mouth as soon as it touches her tongue. The boiling sea salt Eda uses is still too strong for her palette, and she used even more than usual. And they’re at least a day old, the stale taste coming through almost too clearly.

It’s the best meal Luz has ever had in her life.

Luz can’t help the tears that fall from her face as she takes her first bite, her eyes lighting up as she picks up her plate, no longer wary of the food, eating faster than she ever has in her life, the first meal she’s eaten in months, in a year – these salty, overcooked, stale eggs, made by her guardian, her mentor, her Eda – the biggest, baddest, best feast that she promised herself all those months ago.

She couldn’t dream of it being anything else.

She quickly finishes her plate before standing up, rushing over to Eda, a silent plea for seconds pushing past her lips. Eda looks surprised at how quickly she ate the food, and even more surprised at the intensity in which she’s asking for more – the first strong emotion from either of the kids that isn't fear, anger, or sadness – but quickly gets up to fix her another plate.

Luz chokes out a thanks as she’s handed the plate before she goes to eat again, not even sitting down as she stabs the eggs with a fork, starting again with almost as much speed as the first plate, tears still falling from her eyes as she goes back to ask for thirds, Eda quickly filling her plate once again.

This time, Luz eats slower, taking time to savour each bite, the dry, salty eggs almost forcing her to take a sip of water – water! She can actually drink water! She almost regrets taking the third plate, an ache in her stomach overtaking her body, but she continues on regardless, not wanting to waste a single crumb – not wanting to waste a single drop of food ever again.

She manages to finish her third plate, downing it with one last cough and a drink of water, tears of joy still streaming down her face as she smiles wide, gratitude streaming out of her mouth, thank you thank youthankyou as she tries to wipe her face dry, fresh tears renewing themselves every second. 

She hears a chair from behind her slide backwards, a blur of yellow entering her vision as Hunter stands beside her, eyes set to the floor as he holds his plate in front of Eda, shyly asking for seconds as well. 

Hunter, who had once bragged about how little he needed to eat, how he could sometimes go for weeks surviving on rations and water alone. How he couldn’t eat a lot, wasn’t allowed to eat. How he needed to stay skinny to be an effective soldier, how his body turned that thought into an order, how he physically can’t eat a lot.

Now, at least for today, with the promise of real food in front of him, he can ignore that demand.

King, not to be outdone, asks for seconds as well, just as Hunter sits down with his own plate, even though he’s yet to finish his first plate. Eda indulges him anyways, stacking his plate high with fresh, old eggs. King grins before turning to Hunter, challenging him to a race to see who can finish their plate first. Hunter just sputters as Eda counts down, the 3, 2, 1, GO!! barely even registering to him.

The demon grabs his eggs by the handful, throwing his fork to the side as he stuffs his cheeks. Hunter turns to look at Luz confusedly, and she just just shrugs, garnering a scowl from him before he goes at his own plate – slowly at first, but picking up the pace as the size of King’s pile approaches his own. The two quickly match each other, a look of determination on both of their faces, King’s competitiveness and Hunter’s need to prove himself taking them both over, neither one wanting to lose. 

Eda holds a hand over her mouth, holding back her laughter, until King begins to choke on a small piece of egg. The Owl Lady rushes over to his side, dislodging the food with a light smack to his back – the tiny demon going right back to his plate as soon as he can. He can only manage one last mouthful as Hunter slams down his fork, an emphatic DONE escaping from his lips as he looks triumphantly towards King.

Complaints erupt from King, shouts of no fair! and you cheated! rushing between his wehs as Hunter looks smugly at her younger brother, and that’s all that Luz can take before a loud –

“HA!”

 – escapes her throat. 

One loud laugh followed by another as Luz doubles over, nearly falling out of her seat as she takes in the antics of the two in front of her. Eda quickly follows suit, dropping the hand in front of her mouth as she cackles loudly, slapping her hands to her knees as he tries her best not to tip over as well.

King throws another tantrum in his chair, flailing his arms wildly – flailing a lot more than he usually would, making sure to play it up, just as long as everyone can keep laughing – as he demands a rematch. Hunter just stares at him before he bursts into laughter, his guffaws echoing around the kitchen as it joins the others. King just screeches in indignation until even he can’t hold back his own giggles.

The sounds of all their laughter echo around The Owl House – laughter so loud that if there were any neighbours, they would be worried that someone cast a comedy spell on them. Luz laughs for so long it hurts – her voice crackles as her throat is worked and overworked, her back aches from how long she’s been hunched over, and her lungs wheeze at the thought of having to expel any more air.

It’s the best feeling in the world.

As the laughter dies down, Luz wiping tears from her eyes yet again – this time from joy, pure joy – her vision coming back to see the others doing the same, smiles plastered across all of their faces – Hunter’s is small, but still there – Luz can’t keep the smile off her own face.

She’s dreamed of this exact moment. Being back at The Owl House, both of them being free from the torture of the Mindscape, being beside her family – even if some of them are missing. At some point, she stopped believing in it. Stopped believing that they could ever get out – that her and Hunter could find their happiness again. Surviving was all she could focus on, and eventually, she started to believe that was enough. But now, surrounded by laughter and joy and love –

Maybe she can start believing in something better again.

Chapter Text

Hunter couldn’t believe that they were out of the Emperor’s mind.

Not in any sort of way to suggest that he’s holding on to some sort of hope, no. Hunter doesn’t believe in the Titan’s Miracles, doesn’t believe in his own luck, and certainly doesn’t believe in too good to be true – Hunter just does not believe that they’ve escaped Belos’ Mindscape. He can’t believe it. No matter how he may try to rationalize it, try to accept it, try to think it was actually possible, he just can’t. 

He’s learned a long time ago not to trust in good things like this, especially when it comes to himself. He’s not some protagonist in one of the Sidhe-tales he was read as a child, when Belos still pretended he cared about him. He knows not to expect a happy ending for himself, when his whole life up to this point has been some sort of Deadwardian-age tragedy.

Hunter wants he believe that they’ve escaped – wants to believe that the two of them are finally free of the endless purgatory of running and hiding and hurting and wishing so desperately to just die so they could be free of this hell and fighting so desperately to live just so the other wouldn’t be left alone – but Hunter knows that he can’t believe it.

Because if he starts to believe it – if he starts to think that they actually might be safe, then everything will certainly go to shit. The moment he let his guard down out in the field, he lost a scout. The moment he let his guard down around his unc – Belos, he gained a new scar. The moment he let his guard down in the Mindscape, Luz was taken it was hisfault she was hurt was captured wastorturedhisfaul –

A pressure beside Hunter tears his focus downwards, Luz squeezing his hand, somehow sensing the panic building in his head – the spiral he was sending himself down. He looks back up to meet her gaze, her eyes telling him you’re here. Hunter can only send a small smile back – both of them knowing that Hunter doesn’t really believe it.

Maybe Hunter did think it was too good to be true.

And yet, Hunter still sits beside Luz, instead of fighting to get out, like he knows he should.

Instead, he’s squished between his Luz and a mountain of blankets, the silence somehow more suffocating than either.

It’s been a few hours since the residents of The Owl house had finished their breakfast and moved over to the living room. Eda had originally tried to shoo the kids away so she could clean on her own, but Hunter rushed into the kitchen before she could even think otherwise, nearly knocking her over, his instincts to make sure he wasn’t useless – wasn’t a burden – taking over.

He had managed to wash the plates in record time, drying them just as Eda closed the fridge behind her from packing away the leftover eggs. Luz had stayed in the kitchen alongside Hunter, unwilling to exist in any space separate from him – Eda could see the way her shoulders hiked, her stress building as he turned away from her for even a second – causing all of them to spend most of their morning in the kitchen.

The sun had stopped blinding them by the time they made their way out of the dining area, having raised higher than the window’s sightline. Hunter stiffened as Eda rushed past him, moving to grab the pile of glass from his shoulder collected on the floor before he could, garnering a grumble, Hunter instead opting to shove the nest of blankets covering the couch to the side.

Luz ran over just as he created the space, nearly knocking Hunter over as she jumped into her seat in the middle of the couch, earning a glare from the grimwalker, her sending back a cheeky smile in return. Hunter quickly squeezed beside her, pushing up against the armrest as Luz draped her legs across his own. King dived directly into the blankets with a weh as Eda made her way back through the front door, sitting in her armchair, having just fed Hooty his breakfast of glass shards.

As it turns out, Hunter was never much of a conversationalist, with years of trying to turned into insults about his voice from the other scouts, cold shoulders from a lack of respect by the coven heads, or strikes for speaking out of turn by Belos – the past year spent talking only to Luz, or to nobody – but as sun continued its cycle, noon turning to afternoon turning to evening, even he can admit that the time spent in the living room was… awkward. 

It’s not for a lack of trying – at least, on every one else’s part. King tried to bring up the stealth mission that Francois was on, but Hunter was a lot less receptive to plushie talk now with a meal in his stomach and his senses back in his head. Hooty tried to barge in with his insects, but the crashing window just stunned Hunter and Luz into silence. And when Eda tried to ask them about what might have happened in the Mindscape – the faraway look she got from both of them, the fear of losing them both when she just got them back – cut pretty much all conversation for the rest of the day.

As nice as the morning was for Hunter – and Hunter can admit, begrudgingly, that he did enjoy the food, that he did enjoy their company, that he did have fun – that didn’t mean that he was ready to spill his stonesleeper lungs out to an Owl Lady who he still couldn’t believe was real.

And so, in the silence he so desperately wanted, Hunter waits for the other shoesnake to drop.

Gus is a kid who, self-admittedly, thrives off of change.

It’s why he chose to study illusions, when every other type of magic seemed too stagnant. It’s why he was able to skip two grades, when staying in the same class for a whole year felt too long. It’s why he loves Human culture so much, when it’s so different to anything else on the Boiling isles.

It’s why these past few days, which have been the exact same, from sunrise to sunset, have been some of the worst days Gus has had in recent memory.

All of this and more swirls through Gus’ head as he sits on the too big stone steps outside of Hexside, waiting for Willow and Amity to join him in his silence – exactly as they had been since they were first kicked out by The Owl Lady nearly half a week ago.

Today started the same as it always had. He woke up, turned on the crystal ball to see Perry Porter giving the morning news as he always does, ate the plate of griffin eggs that he left Gus before he went off to work, wished his dad was here to give him a hug instead of breakfast, and made his way over to Hexside. 

He sat through his classes, barely paying attention to the illusion topics he already understood, talked with Mattholomule – and avoided whatever feelings he’s definitely not developing around his friend – quietly ate his packed lunch of a partridge butter and goreberry sandwich, sitting beside an equally awkward Amity and Willow, and waited for the last bell to scream before he could rush out of the school.

He’s always the first one out, staring in the direction where Luz and Hunter are sleeping – as if he can will a change in reality if he believes in the Titan hard enough. Willow always follows behind him soon after, somehow more out of breath than he is. Amity arrives last, her dishevelled hair and eyebags getting worse and worse every day. As soon as she opens the doors the three of them quickly fly out, wanting to make their way to The Owl House as soon as they can. 

The flight over from Hexside is quiet, like it usually is. The first time they had flown over, Willow tried to make some sort of small talk, trying to take charge and bring their mood up – but Amity was too visibly anxious, any attempt to respond getting shut out by her throat, and Gus was too lost in his head – something currently unchanged even now– and Willow quickly learned it was a lost cause.

Honestly, things have been pretty different, Gus’ aforementioned thoughts – still running through his head, leaving no space for anything else – said to him. Well, at least compared to the last few months. 

He still doesn’t know exactly what had happened. Even now, he’s still trying to parse through what Eda and Hunter and Luz said, what might have happened in the days months they were trapped in The Emperor’s mind, what might be happening now, what he possibly can do to help – all he knows is that one day, nearly a week ago, Luz and Caleb went missing. 

And then a couple days later, they came back.

And that same day, Luz, one of his first real friends, one of his best friends, passed out in his arms, after screaming and sobbing her throat raw for hours and hours and hours, after jumping through a glass window in an attempt to leave them again, after trying to kill them just to get out – with Hunter doing the same right beside her.

And even now, they still haven’t woken up.

And Gus, alongside Amity and Willow, had made their way over to The Owl House every following day, just to watch Eda rush between her cauldron and stovetop, cooking and brewing in excess, just to play too many games of Hexes Hold’Em, watching over King and Flapjack – just to sit around, desperately hoping that the two of them would finally wake up.

Maybe it’s not the lack of change which has Gus so frustrated. Maybe it’s the fact that Luz and Hunter still haven’t woken up.

He just wants to see his friends okay again.

Gus can feel himself perk up as the sun begins to dip below the treeline, the silhouette of The Owl House quickly moving to replace it. This evening, the trio are making their way over a little later than usual, their flyer derby practice delaying them from leaving right away – this tiny change enough to make Gus hopeful for another. 

Amity had joined them this session, unwanting to go to The Owl House alone and unwilling to sit alone outside the front doors of the school. Viney and Skara could tell that something was up with all of them – could tell ever since their first day back at Hexside – but were courteous enough not to press them once their captain said they couldn’t talk about it.

Gus jumps off of Emmeline before they even pass the trees on the edge of the clearing to The Owl House, his palisman transforming back into her chameleon form and climbing up onto his shoulder. The illusion witch turns to see Ghost and Clover doing the same with their owners as they follow behind him. Willow steps in front, taking charge as she was been born to do, walking up to the front door and –

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

The noise wakes the tube demon up from its slumber, already moving to wrap the kids in a suffocating hug, before Amity forces him back into his hole with a whine. As much as Gus just wants to run in, check in on his friends again, make sure they’re still okay, still there, still alive – he knows he can’t. So instead they just wait for Eda to open the door for them –

*CRASH* 

*SLAM*

Silence.

The sound – and sudden lack thereof – freezes them to the ground, concern and worry and fear spreading throughout their bodies.

Maybe Gus wasn’t as ready for this to change as he once thought.

Amity moves first, somehow able to shake herself out of her stupor, a spell circle forming around and transforming her fists into abomination gauntlets, the goo flying from her hip flask as she runs towards the front door, pushing the tube demon out of the way once again and slamming the door open with a vicious thud. 

Concern and fury splay across her face as she stomps into The Owl House’s living room – but just as quickly as the emotions surge come forward, they leave, the abomination goo falling to the floor as Amity drops her spell, bringing an ungloved hand to her mouth.

Willow rushes in soon after, her own worry pushing past her fear, and she, too, stills in the doorway, her face turned just far enough towards Gus to show the surprise etched into her face, the beginning of tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

That expression is all Gus needs to bring himself out of his stupor, his legs finally working as they drag him into Luz’s home, the illusion witch squeezing himself between the two older witches as he sees –

Luz and Hunter.

They’re awake.

They’re alive.

They’re oka –

No. They’re almost certainly not okay.

Hunter is assuredly not okay, the older witch kneeling on the hardwood floor below, his back pressed tightly onto the wall behind him. One hand is pressed to the floor below, his fingers curling and uncurling, trying to grab and puncture through the hardwood with his nails. His other hand is held close to Luz’s chest, right over her heart, held still in some form of reverence for the person in front of him. His gaze is trained directly to her face, his breathing shaky and erratic – yet somehow even Gus can tell it’s clearer than it would have been a few seconds ago.

Luz is sat in front of him, knelt in the same position Hunter is. Her hands are held over top of his own, grounding the hands to the floor and her heart. Her breaths are slow and careful, her eyes much much clearer, trained just as heavily on Hunter as his are on hers – not even noticing the new guests in the living room. Another moment passes before something akin to clarity enters Hunter’s eyes, and they both breathe a sigh of relief before leaning into each other, their foreheads touching ever so slightly.

The contact between the two sends Amity recoiling in shock. The abomination witch is still turned away from him, but he can feel the look of incredulity spreading across her face – he can feel the anger, the fear, the jealousy rolling off of her. Beside him, Willow, still angled in a way he can see her, wears a look of concern, and of determination – her worry for her friends overtaking any fear she may have.

Beyond them all, Eda stands warily, her own indecisiveness rooting her to her spot by the staircase, clearly wanting to help but unsure how to do so – unsure how to not hurt them even more than they already have been – the wall creaking under her grip. King stands behind her, his paws clinging to her dress, having been thrown from his bed of blankets in Hunter's panic.

The tension in the room is almost visible, the emotions of the inhabitants coming out in waves, filling the air between them. And yet, The Owl House is quiet, everyone in it glued to their spots. The only audible sound is the quickly matching breaths of Luz and Hunter – the only sound except for the creaking of the floorboards beneath Gus’ feet, the young illusion witch walking towards the duo.

The sound of the old wood giving way beneath him is barely heard, even to him – but it’s enough for Luz and Hunter. As soon as his foot makes contact with the floor below, their heads whip up to face him, their burning gazes freezing him in place. As if they just remembered that they’re not alone here, as if they never let their guard down in the first place.

Just as soon as their eyes meet his, they leave, their gazes scanning outwards from him in a scarily practiced motion, the two clearly having done this before. Gus can see the way Hunter’s gaze lands on Willow, stopping for a brief moment before moving on to the windows behind her. Luz’s in the same way, reach Amity, and –

She stops.

Her gaze sits solely on Amity for more than a moment, the intensity making even Gus uncomfortable, though it only lasts for a second – Luz shooting up, bounding over to Amity and stopping mere inches in of her face before Gus can even blink, with Hunter following a few steps behind. Her eyes are still cloudy, but as they scan over her girlfriend’s body, taking in her features, her clothes, her magic, they slowly gain more colour and life, until –

“A-AMITY!!!” Luz’s shout echoes around the others, before a somehow even more oppressive silence replaces it. “It’s – it’s really… you…?” The young human is barely able to get the words out, breathless after having taken the three steps needed to cross the living room. Gus can see the way Luz’s hand reaches out to her, raising up before stopping just above her torso, as if her body won’t allow her to reach out farther – as if her mind won’t allow her to believe that her girlfriend is really standing in front of her.

“Yes! Yes, it’s m- I’m here!” The familiar phrase sends the tiniest flinch through Luz, although Amity doesn't even notice it, the relief pouring through her words is almost visible to Gus, the days of anxiety for the well-being of her girlfriend exuding from her still figure. “You’re h-” Amity’s words catch in her throat as her finally catch the tuft of blonde hair standing behind Luz, and –

And it’s over before Gus can even realize what’s happening.

One second, and Amity reaches out to bridge the gap between her Luz with one hand, grabbing her extended wrist and pulling her behind her, wanting to protect her from the Golden Guard – the person who attacked Amity, threatened Luz, stole away her chance to get home – the other hand reaching for Ghost, perched on her shoulders, ready to transform into a staff and protect the person she cares for most.

That same second, Hunter can almost sense Amity reaching out for Luz and shoots his own out to do the same, one hand grabbing the wrist still attached to Luz’s side, wanting to protect her from the memory created to hurt her – from Belos, who already stole her away once itcan’thappenagain – his other hand pushing up and forward, Flapjack already leaving his perch on his head, to join it working together as if it hasn’t been a year since they’ve seen each other, ready to protect the person he cares for most.

The next second, Luz feels both their hands on her wrists and reacts. She throws her arms to the opposite sides, wrenching them free from the grips threatening to tear her in half, spinning around to face Hunter quicker than Gus can even register, the former soldier pointing his palisman staff directly at the abomination witch’s throat, her own staff aimed right at his. 

The only reason neither of their heads have blown off – the only reason the tension in the room hasn’t blown the door off its hinges – is because Luz is already holding both ends of the staves in her own hands. 

Gus thinks he can hear Luz saying something, but he can’t quite out make the words forming on her lips aimed at Hunter – but whatever she says is enough to make Hunter drop his staff almost instantly, with Amity slowly lowering hers, her own jealousy and sadness plainly apparent at seeing how readily he listened to her, yet another reminder of how close they became.

Before it even ends Willow is racing towards all three of them, spell circles halfway formed on her fingers to separate them and stop all her friends from hurting each other, the young plant not needing a single moment to recover, all of their lives too important for her to even think about acting otherwise.

Gus would follow behind Willow, if it wasn’t taking all his willpower to not collapse to his knees right there. He doesn’t – he – he can’t even pinpoint why. He just can’t move. It's all – all too much for him.

If Gus was alone, he might lose control right then and there.

But that’s him being self-centred. He’s not the one who lost his girlfriend. He’s not the one who lost his daughter. He’s not the one who lost his crush as much as Willow tries to deny it or his son if how the abomination head reacted was any indication. He’s not the one who was trapped in the Emperor’s Mindscape for a year. All he was, was the kid who everything happened around.

His friends – the world – has changed around Gus. But Gus is a kid who thrives off of change, and the Titan be damned if he lets his friends suffer just because he can't handle less than half of what they went through.

So Gus stands up, dusts off his pants, and sets out to prove it.