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"That much Hex Mix can't be good for your stomach."
Hunter recalled his best friend's words. He was briefly brought back to that dimly lit school hall, where Gus offered him his first ever wholesome sandwich for lunch.
He must've missed his scroll alarm, and he felt the weight of the brain fog resulting from the long nap he'd just woken up from. The time on his scroll read "7:41pm".
Oh no! It's already after dark.
Then he felt hunger pangs building in his stomach; unfortunately, it was feeling near impossible for him to care. Even though he was in his hoodie under the covers, it must've been a particularly chilly spring evening. He would probably have to adjust the heating, with Camila's permission of course.
Today's attempt at a carving lesson with Dell Clawthorne didn't go as planned. He remembered stiffness and pain beginning to prick at his hands, arms, and legs as he had put on the old apron at Dell's workshop. It hadn't been long before he removed the apron and gave up for the day.
Somehow it was a stark reminder of the clothing that he felt no longer fit him. Not in the literal sense, but more so because he felt…in his bones…the magnitude of how his inner life couldn't have felt more different.
It was just under six months since Belos's defeat.
The time that passed since Halloween felt like a flurry—a distant "planet" (a word he picked up from Cosmic Frontier) that was "lightyears" back in time—and his head was now pounding enough from going overboard with the nap. So much so that it annoyed him into wanting to fetch a new glass of water from upstairs.
With a deep inhale, he anchored himself to the sounds of clattering of cooking utensils and the voices of Camila, Luz, and Vee just above.
He didn't remember the walk to the kitchen. Groggily, he looked around now at the doorway leading to this communal space of his new-ish home.
"Hi, mijo," Camila spotted him before he had a chance to change his mind, skitter past her, and be out of sight to be alone in the living room.
Now that he'd been seen (perceived!), he felt obligated to, well, participate. Or to at least try.
Camila had just filled their new and shiny food processor with a sizeable pile of fragrant-smelling leaves and other smaller ingredients which he couldn't recognize. The old processor had been left alone for quite a few years, forgotten in a storage box in the basement. The entire box was damaged by a burst pipe one year, and Camila's stress levels had hit their threshold to the point that throwing it out was less taxing on her mind than considering the warranty period and getting it looked at.
Vee twiddled her thumbs, smiling but feeling a little tense from the quiet, "We happen to be working on a new sandwich."
Camila maintained a cautious grin before turning around to proceed to the stove. She switched off one of the hobs, and only then was Hunter aware that she was making some kind of sauce which smelled kind of delicious.
A lightbulb then went off in Luz's mind. "Hey Hunter, what if I told you that one simple button press could get almost all of today's food preparation out of the way?"
This happened to pique the boy's interest, even if the feeling was faint to him. He latched on to it: anything to attempt to quell this dehydration-related headache. Amidst the tangle of frayed thoughts now running through his head, he was trying to apply one of the concepts he was picking up in therapy: "noticing", instead of overanticipating and ruminating. In this case, he paid attention to the sound of Luz's voice. His sister's company and presence.
His gaze happened to fall upon the word "sandwich" on a recipe card on which he recognized Vee's handwriting. Once again, the distant echo of Gus's words from so long ago rang in his mind.
"…that simple, huh? For a sandwich?" he mumbled.
Luz nudged him along, "Go on, try it!"
Camila joined in, "Sí, we're making some pesto to go with the cheese and bechamel sauce. The sandwich itself is a Croque Monsieur, and it is a recipe from France. The pesto has fresh spinach, some sweet basil, almonds, garlic, lemon juice —"
"…and a touch of grated dairy-free parmesan cheese," Vee finished off the list, appearing to harmonize with Camila's inflections.
With that, Hunter held down the main button of the machine with a finger and watched the ingredients blend together into large crumbs, and then as if by magic, the mixture became a smooth green that he remembered as the colours of leaves in a human realm summer. Being transported back to the memory of seeing fireflies an eternity ago (so different from firebees)…helped him to feel a little more grounded at this moment.
He heard Vee's and Luz's bubbly excited voices as they heard a timer go off. In the corner of his eye, he saw Vee slithering to the far edge of the counter to put on oven mitts, before Luz opened the oven door for Vee to bring out a tray containing four scrumptious-looking sandwiches.
More curiosity was brimming a little in him.
Camila made sure that Luz had a dairy-free portion of substitute cheeses; plus, she had used lactose-free milk for the sauce.
As they sat down to eat, Vee brought over a serving bowl containing the pesto, complete with a serving spoon. Camila demonstrated her idea of drizzling a bit of pesto over the 'mouth' of her sandwich before she enjoyed the first bite. Stringbean floated right above Luz's plate, demanding with a series of squeaks to sample the food.
Hunter observed the golden brown crust of cheese melted over the top of the dish. He bit into his sandwich, remembering how cheese was largely associated with the popular dish in this realm named "pizza", and was astounded by the effect of the piping hot goodness melting in his mouth. He hazarded a good guess as to why his family had decided on a meal like this on such a cold evening.
"This is…good. Great, actually," his eyes widened a bit, and he was clearly more animated than before. He couldn't deny that the feeling from the flavours—thanks to the pesto and the ground black pepper—was kind of electric, yet it felt like a hug he'd been craving.
Is this what it’s like to plumb the depths of possibilities, when it comes to crafting the perfect sandwich?!
The others gave him ample space, clued in to how he didn't look up from the table, but he was surprised at the speed with which he downed the Croque Monsieur. The others must've been surprised, too. He'd even eaten the whole sandwich.
As they cleaned up after the meal, something shook him a little inside.
Camila handed him her apron (she hadn't bothered to remove it at the dining table as she was really peckish), as he was the one standing nearest to the row of wall-mounted hooks where the assortment of the family's aprons were hung up. As he checked it for stains and returned it to its usual spot, like he would for his carving apron, it struck him how he'd managed to do some creating in this kitchen. Or at least, he'd been a part of that process.
Wiping down the last few dishes, he paced towards Camila after the girls headed upstairs for a game of Moonfarm Valley.
"…Camila? I'd like to learn how to make this sandwich," he laced both hands together. "Could you teach me sometime?"
Camila was happy to see that he had more calmness etched in his features than listlessness. "Sure thing. I could show you tomorrow."
His eyes lit up a little more, and she took both his hands slowly.
“Baby, this kitchen is your space to use as you wish. After all, this is your home as much as it is mine.”
Hunter went a little red, and couldn’t help but feel some satisfaction that they’d all made those wonderful sandwiches together.
“Okay,” he smiled back, thankful that he hadn’t slinked away to the living room earlier on. “I’ll..try to keep that in mind.”
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"Mamá. I can't move," Hunter whispered loudly.
Camila nearly panicked. She'd gotten up the earliest and was about to head downstairs to get breakfast going. The four of them had been huddled together for the night after both Luz and Hunter had trouble sleeping.
Emerging from the bathroom with Stringbean nestled on her shoulder, she took a quick look to assess whether Hunter was alright or if he was a concerning amount of —she waded around in her thoughts to find the word— "dysregulated".
The expression that her son wore was quizzical, more than anything. His breathing appeared steady. He was wedged between his sisters, who were sound asleep snuggling up to him.
Camila's mind flashed to Captain Avery's Astral Oath, as it did more and more in the past months. She'd sworn to embody it as she continued to raise her now larger family, and it involved getting to know the demon realm. For instance, she did her best to protect Hunter from scrutiny whenever she dropped him off for therapy, keeping an eye out in case anybody recognized him on the streets as Belos's former right-hand man. She was prepared to go into Mama Wolf mode at all times.
She breathed a sigh of relief and let out a chuckle. A beautiful feeling she couldn't pinpoint began blossoming to life all over again, deep down in her, as she fondly remembered the photos they'd taken on his adoption day some weeks ago. It never ceased to amaze her that things had changed, that it was no longer just herself and Luz. The house didn't feel cavernous and too spacious anymore; instead, it was filled with a new vibrance.
She proceeded to tell Hunter, "You three deserve a good lie-in, and your carving lesson isn't till after lunchtime so…I'll get breakfast ready and you could focus on washing dishes later."
He uttered a neutral "Okay" in response, still half-deciding whether he should gently move Vee's tail (which was somewhat wrapped around him) away using his leg, and slowly ease Luz's head into the comfortable pillows instead of against his chest. By doing those things, he'd be able to clear a path to leave the bed and insist on helping his mom to prepare the meal.
It would always be bittersweet for Camila that this thoughtfulness of his was shaped by a childhood in a tyrant's castle. She could tell that he really wanted to assist her now. Yet, refusing him too often would also be denying him his true wishes.
In the end, she thought she'd leave him with options, "Well, it's up to you, mijo. If you have a nice snooze now, you'll also get to spend more time with your hermanas. But if you still want to help me out, you're more than welcome."
She beamed at him, and this left Hunter with a sense of security and warmth that was becoming more and more familiar to him; a warmth that he savoured every ounce of.
Camila didn't delay in getting her morning playlist up and running, taking out a couple of avocados and an onion from the fridge. When she noticed that Hunter didn't emerge from upstairs, she was more than content, thinking about how he was so naturally filling in the role of a brother and also a son.
A couple of hours later, she poured each of the kids a glass of freshly made horchata. The weather and temperature today felt neither here nor there on this late summer day, and she felt compelled to create some extra Noceda camaraderie.
Without a word but with her motherly smile, she offered the last glass to Hunter, who couldn't help but grin brightly. Having a family recipe he could be part of, on top of delectable freshly grilled breakfast sandwiches…fewer things were better than this way to start his day.
He would head to his carving lesson in a few hours, then to Darius's house in the evening to spend a few nights there and study for the next set of Hexside exams.
Later that afternoon, in the quiet of the palistrom forest, Dell Clawthorne observed that his dedicated mentee had a new serene look in his eyes. When they sat down to work on a more complex palistrom shape, he heard more fullness in Hunter's words as his student asked the occasional question. The old witch thought back to those bittersweet days of waiting and hoping and sacrificing, and of working tirelessly with the Bat Queen, which finally bore fruit after so long. Now, the Nocedas brought his family plenty of joy.
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After Luz subjected her whole immediate family to a home theatre screening of "The Untamed Cyborg", Camila and Hunter were near bawling by the end, hanging on to one another.
Vee exclaimed with newfound boldness that they ought to try a restaurant in the demon realm. She had been thinking on it for quite some time, and riding the momentum of this early evening seemed like the right time to try something pretty different by her standards.
Her mom and brother wiped their eyes once the film credits began to roll. Hunter muttered something about how this movie somehow felt a lot like living out the Astral Oath.
Luz chuckled that yes, a family dinner outing would be great to thaw out from the movie's sappy emotions. Running through her recollections of eateries in the Boiling Isles, something the CATs said in passing the other week stood out almost right away. In Latissa, a place called Bleeding Edge had been doing some remodelling work and they'd even began putting out flyers to get people to try their food and drinks.
She now broached this subject to her mom and siblings, and everyone was on board. They didn't want to stick out like a sore thumb since family time really mattered, so muted colours, hoodies and/or hats were probably the way to go tonight. Vee chose to assume her human form for the outing.
The tavern, as it turns out, was trying out a…friendlier brand campaign compared to when Belos's regime hadn't fallen yet. The place was being turned into a pleasant neighbourhood spot for demons and witches from far and wide to dine together. However, the execution of that grand plan was looking messy.
Standing at the restaurant entrance, Luz didn't spot any "Please Wait to Be Seated" signage, so she beckoned to the others to trail behind her as they decided on where to sit. She gave Stringbean's little head a nice scratch, coaxing the palisman to stay in her pocket.
Hunter said he could brandish enough snails (generously given to him by Raine, for helping with rebuilding efforts) to pitch in and help them pay for a meal there, on top of some snails that Lilith gave freely to Luz.
Since Vee was really nervous too, finding her way in this place after not returning for many months, Hunter dutifully stood at the back of the group to watch her back.
One demon that seemed to double as a cook, not just working as a waiter, was rushing about trying to keep up the production line of emerging dishes from the hatch that separated the kitchen from the dining area.
They said with a yelp, hurriedly placing four menus at their table, "We're sorry…we are rather short-clawed today. Thank you for your patience!"
Camila laughed a little as she was still getting used to the differences between this world and the human world. She couldn't pass up the chance to whip out her fairly new scroll to test out its camera feature.
Hunter pulled himself out of overanalyzing comparisons between himself and the gosling character in the movie from earlier. Instead, he focused on the cooks operating in the kitchen, as they did their best to be a well-oiled machine.
They settled on something called "bokenade"—meat drenched in bluish purple gravy—which Luz promised was not dangerous to humans, and its flavour was a fair bit like the egg shakshuka that Camila remembered having at one of the Gravesfield neighbourhood brunch spots.
When another witch clambered over to take their orders after a long-ish wait, he exclaimed, "Oh! You're Luz the Human! And you're Luz's mother! Welcome, and we couldn't thank the four of you enough for your patronage!!"
Luz made a sheepish grin under her hoodie, whilst Hunter's lips were pressed tightly together as he hoped he wouldn't be recognized under his own hoodie. Vee was borderline jittery but keen to experience all this, while Camila looked around the space and out the windows with childlike wonder.
Vee was on her phone a bit later, deep in thought yet not in her own world. "Hm, maybe we should start on the planning for Grom?"
Hunter felt a lightness within, upon hearing his sister's words. Here he was, being and feeling like a kid who went to school and participated in school activities like his peers. Now worrying about Grom.
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The quiet of Robin's Roast was a welcome relief, with a couple of hours left before their closing time.
About an hour beforehand, Hunter reassured the others that he was genuinely okay.
At least, I think I am?
He hadn't told them how the sound of his own laughter surprised him as much as he did, along with the tug of guilt that immediately followed. Yet there wasn't any obvious tension in his body as he repeatedly did what his therapist called a "body scan".
He checked in with his breathing, and it seemed alright.
Flapjack…I…really had fun today. I wish you'd been there.
Seated in the quiet corner that he sometimes liked in this space, he processed the enjoyment of the afternoon picnic which they had outside Eda's house. He thought he'd use some downtime do this, before running over his notes on how to help Dell spruce up the palismen workshop. The hours spent at the picnic went by rather quickly, and he remembered the orange shade of the late afternoon sky.
"Oh, oh!! These are the hyper-upgraded sandwiches you guys put together, right?" Gus barked excitedly, reaching a hand out to help Willow lay out the large checkered mat for everyone.
"Sí! Freshly made for today!" Luz chimed in, feeling the salty sea breeze in her hair as she brought out the paper cups and beverages first.
Next, she fished through the picnic basket for the two signature flavours that were about to be officially introduced to those outside of the Noceda family, for the first time.
Hunter looked like he wanted to make a beeline to go chat with Raine, who was with Eda and King. Vee managed to catch him in the nick of time, for she knew too well that his workaholic side would sometimes still get the better of him.
Her brother paused as she stopped him in his tracks.
"Nuh-uh-uh," the basilisk held up a polite but firm hand, motioning to the main group gathering around. "Mamá says: nourishment first."
With that, Hunter let out something between a grumble and a sigh before taking a seat next to Gus.
"Oooh. What do you call these flavours?" Lilith approached them and peered into the basket. Hooty peeked his head out from his little backpack behind her, blurting out an accompanying exclamation of awe and wonder.
Vee led the responses, holding up the two distinct sandwiches in each hand, "We'd like to present..the Croak Monsieur and the Terroryaki Tofu Slider."
"Whether you prefer something comforting and wholesome versus something with kick and spiciness, these might just become your new favourite foods!" said Luz.
"Well, we hope you like them," Hunter shrugged and grinned, distributing the first few sandwiches and letting the picnic goers scrutinize them before deciding on the flavour they wanted. Gus and Willow were the first to choose their sandwich types, and the rest such as Dell and Gwendolyn followed suit soon after.
The mood was jovial all around. Nobody regretted their choice of sandwich, and they were impressed not only by the sliders' refreshing purple slaw paired with the chilli powder on the tofu cubes, but also the creamy cheesiness as they bit into the Croak Monsieur.
Raine watched the Noceda siblings having a slight bickering session and turned to Camila, "I think you're doing a fantastic job, raising the three of them."
Camila was overflowing with pride at the sincere tone of their voice, not quite able to find the words but instead just placing a hand over her chest.
Hunter was sitting near enough to them that he overheard. Making sure no one was looking, he almost outright beamed from ear to ear. To think that this all started out at Hexside, on that day when his close bond with Gus was formed.
Back at the house, Camila put away the cleaned dishware and marvelled at how there were no leftovers, given the picnic's success.
She worried a little about Hunter excusing himself to go to Robin's Roast, but trusted that he would text if it was dire. Seemingly out of nowhere, her thoughts settled on his old cosplay that was stashed away, and she was reminded of how taken aback she'd been when first seeing him wearing it on the night she drove them over to the Old Gravesfield Halloween Festival.
"…a promise made between Captain Avery and his family, to love and protect each other, just as they are."
Back then, she hadn't thought about Captain Avery's oath too much since being a "mother of six" meant keeping her eyes on every one of the kids. Hearing about the harrowing experiences which the kids faced was like having one's face splashed with ice-cold water.
She'd learnt early on that Gus and Hunter loved sandwiches. When the boys discovered her stash of old Cosmic Frontier books, she just knew that the stories she loved most were beckoning to her after so long, even though she could not name this at that time. It became completely unavoidable the moment she first saw them dressed up in those unmistakable red and yellow outfits.
With what happened on that Halloween night, she vowed to bring cheer, love, and protection to the people in her life, just as Captain Avery—and Manny—did so very naturally with their every breath. She was optimistic that each of her three children, not just Luz, would keep getting to know their incredible dad. She'd keep his memory alive, by remembering the love he had for his favourite stories and the people he met.
Poring over his scribblings on sheets of paper in the café, Hunter was briefly distracted by some chatter coming from the cashier, as the barista handed a trio of customers their cups of takeaway beverages. When the group left, she removed her apron and began checking the coffee machine to see what needed to be wiped down and cleaned before she closed up shop.
Right there and then, Hunter just about pictured himself handing a new budding witch their new palisman.
It was one little miracle at a time.
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Grabbing a flat serving dish, Hunter sped around the kitchen island to stir the mixture of purple slaw in a mixing bowl, making sure there was enough Greek yoghurt in the dressing. He kept checking that the sleeves of his freshly ironed shirt were rolled up enough to minimize the risk of stains.
"Hey, mamá? Which flavour would you like?" he called out to Camila who was somewhere in the foyer, offering her the two options that the family came to know pretty well.
He heard Gus and Vee discussing human world lore at the dining table. They were engrossed in comparing different cuisines found around the globe.
Since he'd arrived home earlier than expected, he'd beaten his family to it, finding time to freshen up, add some quick embellishments to his own carving apron using the sewing machine, and put together the sandwich servings all on his own.
"I'll take the tofu combo today, cariño," he heard his mother's reply.
Moving lithely, he topped the sandwiches with a rather generous helping of ground black pepper (the way every Noceda liked it, if they were being honest). He finished preparing Camila’s portion by placing the remaining half of the slider bun on top of the purple slaw layer.
Next, he grabbed his small pouch and bag to set to the side just outside the front door. He was going to stay at the Clawthorne residence for a couple of nights.
It once again felt like neither a cold nor hot day, so Camila suggested they enjoy the meal on the front steps, and to prop the front door open for a while to help in airing the house a little.
He'd been in enough of a hurry that he'd forgotten to use a paper towel to cover the lapel of his new beige vest. Hopefully the green pesto from his own sandwich wasn't going to stain his new and already much-loved outfit.
She poured them both a bit of horchata in small glasses, which was a bit of a routine each time he was going to set off to spend time in the Boiling Isles.
"There's more of these in the kitchen if you want," he showed her the sandwiches on the serving dish, and she responded with a gentle touch on his shoulder.
He passed a slider to Camila, and spotted the apron that she was wearing as they sat down on the steps.
"Oh, are you cooking a dish later tonight?" he cocked his head a bit to the side.
She nodded, "Vee and I are bringing a casserole for the team at the clinic tomorrow, for a lunchtime picnic. We felt that everybody deserves something like that."
"You could say hi to all of them for me," Hunter smiled. He was extra busy these two weeks, so their colleagues were seeing much less of him.
Greeted by the purplish pink hues of dusk and crisp air, the neighbourhood was quiet and perfect.
They heard Gus presiding over his big world map, adding info to his ever-growing mental library of Human Realm cuisines.
"And this is where you find something called "masala chai"!" he chirped.
Camila turned her head around briefly to grin at the kids' enthusiasm, which continued to lend so much warmth to the house. She called out to Gus and Vee, "We have some of that in the left-side cupboards."
Vee could be heard replying "Thanks, mamá!"
With that, Camila and Hunter updated one another about the new and returning four-legged patients Camila saw at her clinic, how she finally dared to make an admirable attempt at making Cosmic Frontier fanart, the planning process Hunter was involved in for the upcoming Palisman Adoption Day, and even how Camila could be involved with the palisman workshop in the long run.
Checking the time on his scroll after about half an hour, Hunter looked apologetic as he got up from the steps. Owlbert was probably going to arrive soon on the other side of the portal, to meet him.
"Gwendolyn insisted that I join them, to at least try her new trifle recipe," he scratched his head a little. "And I kind of have an early start tomorrow morning with Dell. Sorry."
Camila made a waving gesture to convey that it was fine, and he helped her up onto her feet.
She brought her hand up to the right side of his face, "Baby. It's so good to see you keeping busy in this way." Previously, she didn’t have to reach this high to touch his cheek.
"It..feels right," he said in response, shrugging and leaning into her touch. The expression on his face was earnest and soft, "No habría pedido una mejor madre."
I couldn’t have asked for a better mother.
Camila hummed in response, and her heart could not have felt more whole.
"See you on Friday, for your flyer derby," she pulled him close, like she did for the many hugs they'd shared in the past two years. He wrapped her in the embrace warmly, grounding himself in the immense feeling of gratitude.
He found solace in her gentle words, continually amazed that he had this place to call family and home. Somehow, it brought him joy in particular to look at this simple flight of steps that led to the front door. Perhaps it was because it would never feel like the vastness and emptiness of the throne room which he remembered too vividly.
"Lo sé. I'll text you the details soon," he chirped and proceeded to kiss her forehead. "Te amo, mom. Goodnight."
"Te amo mucho, mijo."
They waved to one another as he headed off into the night, and he thought of the brand new apron Dell gifted him recently: for the carving work and related tasks in the palistrom forest. He also thought of his mother's nurturing and cooking, in their amazing kitchen which he'd never not call "home".
Waving a little more as he looked back, he was wearing a careful but undeniably hopeful smile as he took a bite out of his second sandwich.