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Chapter Text

Luz hums to herself as she runs her hand along the spines of the books.

"Ah! Here it is!" she grins as she reaches to pull it out.

Only to find a force pulling it away from her.

Luz frowns, pulling harder.

"Oh come on- ah!" her grip slips, causing Luz to fall backwards onto the floor.

She peers through the gap made by the missing book, only to see a pair of garnet-coloured eyes peering back at her in surprise.

Luz gasps, standing immediately.

"Golden Guard!" She hisses.

"Wow, for someone so insistent on knowing my name, you sure don't use it much huh?" The Golden Guard-  Hunter,  grumbles.

"Well then  Hunter,  I would like that book. Can I have it?" Her wording is polite, but the aggression is barely concealed.

"Hmm... how about... nope!" The older boy (how old did Lilith say he was? Sixteen?) cackles, walking off.

"Hey!" Luz runs around the bookshelf, seeing Hunter striding off casually whistling that same tune from the airship.

She pauses for a second, before thinking  fuck it  and gives chase after the boy.

Soon enough, Luz is chasing Hunter across the library from one end to another, taking small joy in the fact that he didn't have his staff to teleport in that unsettling way that he and Belos do. 

Eventually, Luz manages to snatch the book, throwing a handful of dust into Hunter's face and running off with a wild cackle.

Ignoring the startled cry of "Oi!" from the teen behind her, she makes a beeline to the front desk.

Slamming the book down onto the librarian's desk, Luz announces, "I'd like to check out this book!" with a sense of victory filling her.

The librarian raises an eyebrow but scans it through regardless.

Accepting the book being handed back to her with a cheery  thank you,  she turns back to Hunter, who is red-faced with anger.

She sticks out her tongue, before skipping out of the library with a satisfied smile.

After running a few errands she'd promised Eda (and getting a box of Terror Tarts with the spare change) Luz finally notices the time.

"By the Gods!" She gasps, running to the bus stop (or the Boiling Isles equivalent of one) while cursing herself for being so airheaded.

"Shit!"  she hisses, watching the bus roll away, just a few minutes too late. She collapses onto the bus bench with a heavy sigh, knowing that Eda was out getting some potion supplies with King from a market a town over, thus calling her would be no use as Eda didn't have a mobile phone (scroll?) she could call.

A frustrated groan from nearby startles her, swinging her head around to the source.

She's surprised to see Hunter there, annoyance radiating off of him.

The boy sighs, dropping his head into his hands.

"I'm not having an ideal day today..."

His gaze shifts over to the bus bench, eyes sharpening the second he sees her.

"Great," he mutters. "Luz the human."

"Uh, just Luz."

"Sure thing, Just Luz."

She glares at him.

Hunter smirks back at her, smugness exuding from him as he flops onto the bench beside her.

A few minutes of silence pass before Luz awkwardly speaks up.

"So... how long does the bus take again?"

"...twenty minutes. It's been four."

"...oh."

"Yep."

Silence once more, this time interrupted by a box opening.

Luz takes a Terror Tart from the box before wordlessly sliding it over to the older boy.

He looks down at the box, then back to her.

"Huh?"

"You uh, do you want a tart?"

Slowly, the blonde boy nods, carefully taking one from the box.

"I've never had one of these before," Luz admits quietly. "Are they good?"

"Good? They're the best!" The blonde exclaims, a smile spreading across his face.

Somehow, this spirals into a fifteen-minute conversation about everything and anything save for their jobs, both of them thoroughly enjoying the other's company.

Hunter seemed so much happier as just himself than he did as the Golden Guard.

In the middle of a lengthy conversation about Hamilton (in which they both agreed that It's Quiet Uptown was as beautiful as it was heartbreaking, the subtle reference to Dear Theodosia broke Luz's heart) that they both realised there was a problem.

Garnet eyes meet coffee-coloured, both narrowed in a challenge.

Both had the same thought. The same goal.

Both sets of eyes flick down to the box, landing on the lone tart still sitting there so innocently.

I WILL get that tart.

And thus the fight began.

Due to neither having any magic whatsoever, they both ended up just slapping each other ("What the shit, that hurt!") and pulling hair. ("OW- what the hell, Human!?") 

Finally, Hunter managed to grab the tart.

"Aha!"

His victory was short-lived however, as Luz seizes her opportunity, launching forwards,

And licking the tart.

"Ew! What the-"

Luz snatches the tart and crams it into her mouth, wincing a little at the gross moist spot she'd licked.

Hunter just stares at her.

"By Titan, you really don't give up, do you?"

"Mope!" Luz says cheerfully, response heavily muffled by the tart.

Shortly after, the bus pulls up.

After an awkward journey spent half in silence, the other filled with a quiet explanation of what a Karen was to Hunter after one happened to enter the bus for a little while, they eventually reached the stop for Bonesborough. 

"See ya some other time, Just Luz!" Hunter calls as he turns to leave.

"Oh wait, before I forget," Hunter turns back to her with a shit-eating grin. "Thanks for the book."

There in his hand, is the book that started their whole meeting in the first place.

"Wha- why you  ass!"

Hunter's laughter echoes around the nearly empty streets.

Chapter Text

Surprisingly enough, quite a few chance encounters happen after that.

At some point, they reached a mutual silent agreement to just roll with it.

(While avoiding Kikimora at all costs, of course, but that wasn't hard. Everyone else seeing them meant nothing and Emperor Belos never left his castle.)

It was during one of these random meetings that it happened.

They were discussing whether Phillip would've died if Alexander had agreed to go upstate, (so far they were leaning towards no, damn your workaholic tendencies Alexander) when they bumped into a certain triad.

No, they were not the Schyler Sisters.

They were the Blight Siblings.

"Heya Luz!" the twins chorus in their usual happy greeting, Amity following suit.

"Who's your friend?" Emira asks, gesturing to Hunter.

"Oh, uh-"

"Hunter. Hunter Cazador."

Luz manages to keep a straight face. Barely.

"Hi, Hunter, nice to meet you!" Edric responds, punctuating his sentence with a wink.

As the conversation continues, Luz finds a moment to pull Hunter aside.

"Do you even know Spanish!?" She hisses.

"A little? I found a Spanish to English dictionary once and I used the first word I thought of as a last name..." Hunter rubs the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Cazador  means HUNTER, you dumbass dolt!" Luz whisper-yells at the boy, torn between facepalming and laughing her ass off at his utter stupidity.

"...oh."

"Yeah  oh,  you idiot!" 

Luz says that last sentence slightly louder than she intended, drawing the attention of the Blights, who were in the middle of a petty squabble.

"You guys good there?" Edric asks.

"Yep!" Luz chirps as Hunter responds with "Just fine!"

They both stand there smiling awkwardly, Luz trying to stop her laughter from coming out.

Wait, but does this mean Hunter is like the male version of Dora? Because Dora means explorer so Dora is Explorer The Explorer, or Dora The Dora, so does that mean Hunter is Hunter The Hunter, or Cazador The Cazador, and why does that last one sound like a knockoff wizard from the 90s? Probabilitor Pythagorus Decimaldore the 3.1416th?

Maintaining a straight face at these thoughts was a near herculean task, her smile straining.

"...right," Amity says slowly, ignoring the blatantly obvious signs that there was indeed something weird happening.

Soon after, the three siblings bid goodbye to the two, Edric swinging an arm around Hunter's shoulders in a way that seemed a tad beyond friendship.

As the three left, Luz watched Amity (who'd hugged her goodbye,  hugged her!)  leave before turning to Hunter, snarky comment dying mid-formulation.

Because the blonde-haired boy was staring after Edric distantly.

While  blushing.

A smirk spreads across her face.

Little shit mode, go.

"So, Edric Blight huh?" 

Hunter jumps, spluttering for a second before shooting back,

"So, Amity Blight huh?"

"Wh- NO! I- no! Gods, you sound like Willow..." Luz buries her face in her hands, hiding her raging blush.

Hunter snickers at her obvious crush.

"B-besides! You've got way more stupidity than me,  Hunter Hunter.  Bloody Dora knockoff!"

"Okay, first of all,  how dare you  compare me to Dora, second of all, I panicked! What was I supposed to say, 'Hi there, I'm Hunter Belos, I work for the Emperor aka the person currently trying to kill Luz'!? You can't- oh stop laughing!" 

She doesn't. Luz laughs for a solid five minutes, gaining multiple concerned looks and pure exasperation from Hunter.

And when she gets home, she laughs again as she recounts the story to Eda and later her mother.

"You know Mami," Luz muses after her hysterics die down. "He may have started as my enemy, but I think that if we were on the same side, we could be the best of friends."

Little did Luz know, far away in the Emperor's palace, Hunter found himself confiding the same thoughts to his small red palismen, who coos comfortingly back at him.

Maybe one day.

Chapter Text

Luz's eyebrows furrow in concentration as she bites the end of her pencil.

Come on, I can solve this! I know I can!

The abomination formulas on the page reminded her strongly of chemistry, so Luz wasn't going in completely blind at least.

"Having trouble, Just Luz?" Hunter smirks, sliding into the chair on the other side of the library table.

"Old joke. Dead joke."

"Reincarnated joke. Anyway, what's got you in such a frazzle?"

Luz shoves her homework over to Hunter, dropping her head into her arms.

"Abomination homework huh? Well, I have to admit, you've done pretty well with the previous questions, but this one section is a mess." Hunter chuckles.

"Oh shut up. I don't understand any of this shit at the bottom."

"That's just maths. Wait, do humans not have maths-?"

"We do! I just- I can't read it!" Luz drops her head onto the table with a  thunk.

"Can't read it? But this- OH!" Hunter slaps his forehead berating himself for being so clueless. "This is Old Isles! It's only used in specific conditions, one of which is abomination mixture measurements. It's a really weird system compared to the typical one, two, three, etcetera."

Luz perks up, interest piqued at the idea of learning more about the systems of the Boiling Isles.

"How does it work?" She asks eagerly, sliding around the table to the other side to better see what Hunter was doing.

"I think it would be best if I drew up a key for you as a reference, see the way it works is...

"I think I get it!" Luz exclaims (quietly, they were still in a library after all) after a few minutes of Hunter's instructions. "It's like Roman numerals!"

"Roman what?"

"Roman numerals!" She repeats. "See, in Ancient history-"

"Ancient history?"

"Kinda like a war-filled but more civilised version of how the savage age is depicted?" 

Hunter nods at Luz's unsure explanation, prompting her to continue. 

"Anyway, there were humans known as the Romans that used a system similar to this instead of the modern system, known as the Hindu-Arabic system in the human world, but instead of having these symbols they had an I for one, V for five, X for ten, etcetera. They stacked them as they do here in the, what did you call this? 'Old Isles' style?"

"You humans have such peculiar history. I found a book on it once, but over half of it was ruined and the information I could read meant very little sense."

Luz smiles smugly.

"I have just the video!" She announces, pulling up  The History Of The Entire World, I Guess  that she had thankfully downloaded onto her phone before her trip to the Boiling Isles.

The entire time, both remained unaware of the lavender-haired witch watching from the shadows, her two siblings right behind her, three sets of gold eyes narrowed.

(Hunter ended up even more confused about human history after viewing that video.)

Chapter Text

Hunter isn't sure how Luz Noceda ended up becoming his temporary biology study, but he suspected it started when Luz asked what the bile sac was like.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean do you feel it there? Is it heavy or something, or is it-"

"No, I mean, don't you have one?"

She looks up at him, confused.

"No? I'm human after all, no magic to speak of."

And somehow they ended up here, with Hunter examining Luz's fingers.

"Yours seem less used to rotation, as well as less built for it." Hunter muses aloud, tracing the bones in her finger down to her hand. "However, your fingers seem stronger than ours."

"It kind of makes sense though, considering that I don't need to rotate my wrists." Luz points out. "Witches rotate their fingers and wrists to draw spell circles near-daily, but humans mostly use their hands for grabbing, holding and writing, as well as the many other menial tasks that witches complete using magic instead of physically."

"So that may be due to biological or evolutional need... does anything similar to that happen to humans?"

Luz thinks for a moment.

"Well," she starts slowly, "I'm not sure if witches have this too, but if we tend to damage the skin on a certain part of our hand often, then our body learns to naturally strengthen the skin there?"

"What does that mean?"

"We call them calluses, they're usually formed due to hobbies or habits but some people get them from ordinary things such as holding their pen too hard when writing."

"Fascinating," Hunter whispers to himself. "So it's like your bodies form an extra layer of protection for that specific area?"

"Yeah, exactly like that!"

"Do you have any?"

Luz nods, flipping her hand over palm up.

"Yeah, my school has a mandatory band class where we have to choose an instrument to learn and play in the band. I chose violin, and because of this, my fingers have calluses where they used to rub against the bow and strings." She points to the tips of her fingers, and Hunter notes how they are rougher and slightly discoloured. "However, we get the chance to drop out of that class after a few years, a chance I took. That was a few years ago, so because I don't play the violin anymore therefore not injuring my skin by rubbing it harshly against the strings and bow, my calluses are healing." 

Hunter nods, mind spinning with all these discoveries he wasn't able to find out before.

"So now that you've investigated the way I work, how about you?" Luz suggests.

Hunter nods.

Five minutes later, Luz is borderline attempting to drown him due to him mentioning the 'Out Of Sea' theory, where it was guessed that witches were previously a type of fish that learned to walk on land when the Boiling Sea got too hot to survive in, and thus Luz declared it to be "Experimentation time!" and decided to test his lung capacity. When he pointed out his uncomfortably high chance of death, Luz had simply told him to suck it up in the name of science because "No great discovery comes without pain".

(As it turned out, Hunter could indeed hold his breath underwater longer than Luz by 10 seconds, and he holds it over her head until this day.)

Chapter Text

This time, the two had not bumped into each other on the street.

Nor the library.

It was at a book store.

When they both reached for the same brand-new Azura novel.

They both stop. Then stare.

"You... like this series?" Hunter asks awkwardly.

"I feel so betrayed." 

"Huh- what?"

"HOW DID I NOT KNOW YOU WERE AN AZURA FAN!?"

"...well I mean you never asked so-"

"I didn't? Wait- OH MY SPIDER GRIFFON I DIDN'T!" Luz gasps, seeming ridiculously horrified at herself.

She grabs two books, shoves one into his hands and drags him to the checkout, then as soon as the transaction is completed she drags him out the door.

"Luz-!?"

"You are coming with me and that is the end of the story."  she hisses abruptly, a dark look in her eye that Hunter hasn't seen since he first met her and he captured the dog-demon-thing, (Lord, he thinks his name was? Prince maybe? Some form of royal nobility) and remembering that brings back the subsequent memory of the next time they met, on the day she threw him out of his own airship.

It simultaneously amuses him and brings him fear, because for a 5'3 fourteen-year-old with a penchant for trouble, she was fully and completely able to hold her own, even against Emperor Belos as she's already proved.

As soon as the man enters his mind, Hunter banishes him back into the void of his subconscious, not willing to interrupt Luz Time with sour thoughts of responsibility.

...

Hey, wait, since when has Luz Time been a thing?

Luz tugs on his wrist as she leads him through the woods to a small clearing with very little in it aside from grass and weeds.

"I, the Good Witch Luzura, declare you to have entered my realm! Who may you be, strange blond asshole?"

Hunter can't help but snort at the name.

"Hello Luzura-"

"GOOD WITCH Luzura!"

"Right right, sorry, hello Good Witch Luzura, I am Hunter Gold Belos-Cazador, pleased to make your acquaintance." 

He bows lightly to her.

"Wait, is that your full name? Hunter Gold Belos? Cazador isn't your real last name I'm pretty sure, but wow you lucked out in middle names, huh? Also, you need a cool alias!"

"Like... like my work name?"

"No, you dumbass! Like mine, declaring yourself to be a witch!"

Hunter snorts again and rolls his eyes. 

"Very well then, Good Witch Luzura, I am..." he thinks for a second. "I am the Gold Witch Guard, and I am humbled by your presence." 

He bows again, this time the flawless formal one taught to him so long ago by the Em- his Uncle.

"Likewise, worthy Gold Witch. Shall we go forwards on a conquest to get pastries? 'Cause I'm kinda hungry..."

On cue, Luz's tummy rumbles, and they both chuckle lightly.

The next time an Azura book comes out, Luz and Hunter make sure to buy it together.

Chapter Text

"Heya there, Hunter Cazador right?"

Hunter jumps at the smooth but familiar voice, swinging around to face the source.

The source also happens to be the source of a good portion of his sleepless nights, full of screaming into a pillow and banging his head against the stone wall cursing his stupidity and the decisions he makes when he panics.

Such as befriending Luz. Prime example right there. 

Lovable little witch scamp.

"Ah, yes. That's me, Hunter Cazador. You're uh, Edric, right?"

Hunter winces internally as he says the name, hoping that he put enough uncertainty in to not seem too eager, but not too much as to insult him. 

(Both were tips from Luz, some of the rare few that worked. Now if only she would use said tips on her own person of interest...)

"That's me!" The green-haired Blight boy is grinning brightly.  Or rather, Blight-ly,  his inner Luz supplies.

Wow. He's been spending so much time around her that he has an inner voice dedicated to her. 

It even sounds like her...

"Anyways," Edric continues, unaware of Hunter's sudden discovery of a voice inside his head, "You're uh,  friends  with Luz right?"

Hunter doesn't miss the slight emphasis on the word 'friends' but nods regardless.

"Great! So does that mean you know when her birthday is?"

"Yeah, October 30th," He remembers because Luz went on a whole tirade about the pros and cons of being born on a human holiday called 'Halloween'. "Any reason why you're asking?"

"Two reasons, the first being that Mittens was freaking out over it yesterday," Mittens is the nickname for his younger sister Amity, Hunter remembers. Her irritation at the name seemed more for show than a genuine annoyance. "And the second reason... it's just, Luz, she's done so much for everyone, especially Mittens. She's so much more relaxed, so much happier. She doesn't lock herself in her room for hours studying anymore as an attempt to meet our parent's towering standards, and she has  friends  now, ones she chose for herself and is happy to spend time with for more than obligatory reasons..."

Edric blinks, starting a little as if he zoned out.

"Sorry about that, a bit of an infodump there, heh."

"No worries, I get the struggle of having a parental figure with high expectations."

Edric smiles at him, and Hunter forces himself to fight off his blush.

"Oh! While I'm here, can I ask you two things?"

"Shoot."

Edric blinks.

"You want me... to shoot you?"

"Wh- no! It's a human term Luz taught me, it means yes, you can ask your question."

"Oh! Oh good, I'd hate to hurt you," Edric chuckles. "Anyway, here's question number one: what do you think Luz would like for a present? Y'know, just gathering data."

What would Luz like...?

"...books, fantasy books. She also likes shiny, glowing objects, not sure why but I suspect it's for mischief, detachable notepaper for her glyphs and books on magic and/or Boiling Isles history. She also really appreciates hugs." Hunter lists, surprised at just how much he knew about the younger girl.

At some point, Edric had whipped out a notebook to write them down, snapping it shut sharply when he finishes.

"Got it, thanks for helping me." Edric smiles again.

"You uh, said you had three questions right? You've only asked two..."

Wait, he  has  only asked two, right? What if he hadn't and Hunter looked stupid and Edric laughs at him and-

"Oh yeah, you're right!" Hunter's catastrophising is mercifully halted by a cheery but oblivious Edric. "But uh- it can wait for another day!"

The green-haired boy's smile is a little more strained now, ever-so-slightly tenser. Had Hunter not been trained his entire life to see these things, he'd likely miss them. 

Edric was very good at acting. He even managed to pull off the stutter as if it were a charming mannerism rather than a slip-up.

That was... suspicious.

Come to think of it, the Blights are one of the closest families to the Emperor...

"Alright then," Hunter smiles his politics smile, as he calls it. If Edric's going to play a guessing game, then Hunter's going to be the one to win it.

A slip of nervous panic breaks through Edric's facade, and as soon as it happens the boy is excusing himself to leave.

Hunter watches him go, gaze piercing into Edric like a truth-tipped dagger tearing into his psyche.

Turning on his heel with a bit more dramatic flair than necessary (but not enough for it to be commented on, it's never good for an action to be commented on), Hunter sets off towards a certain stall in search of the Boiling Isles's resident human.

Edric Blight...

Garnet eyes narrow.

Maybe I should look into him a little more.

"Something's wrong with him." Emira insists.

"He's  fine,  Em!"

"Ed, you were too busy trying to figure out how to charm him and gay panicking over him, at the same time, in FRONT of him-" 

"I was not!"

"-to see! His smile was like the ones that mom and dad's friends do when they're doing those crazy backhanded compliments while plotting mental warfare!"

"You mean politics?"

"Yes! Exactly! He noticed  everything!  Every slip, every TWITCH, every single mistake or hint you gave was noted and remembered-"

"You really think he paid that much attention?" Edric perks up like a puppy, causing Emira to groan.

"That's not a good thing Edric! How does he even  know  that much about Luz!? He's never even been mentioned until a month or two ago, how does he know so much?"

"...I mean, if a guy who's that pretty befriends you how could you not tell them every- AH!" Emira hurls a pillow at him.

Somewhere else, the Golden Guard lightly sneezes, before continuing on his walk.

(Steve won the betting pool: he knew that the Golden Guard would have a kitten sneeze.)

Chapter Text

"No!" Luz gasps. "You can't be serious."

"I am Luz. I'm deathly serious."

"You wouldn't-"

"I did."

"How DARE you look through my notebook!?"

"Relax Luzy-Lu," Hunter smirks, leaning back in his chair as he folds his hands behind his head. "All I found was more evidence of you simping over Amity."

"That's-!"

"I photographed it, naturally," He ignores Luz's high-pitched shriek of panic. "For petty blackmail and to play in the wedding slideshow for the guest's enjoyment. I think she'll highly enjoy the one with you saving her from a monster-"

"Oh my god HUNTER FUCK OFF-"

"Or maybe the one with the abomination-"

"HUNTER I SWEAR-"

"OH NO IT SEEMS I CAN'T HEAR YOU-"

"HUNTER-"

"WHAT'S THAT LUZ? YOU WANT ME TO SEND THEM TO HER?"

"NO!"

"SURE I'LL DO THAT NOW-"

With a shriek of alarm, Luz slaps the scroll out of his hand and it falls to the floor.

"If you even DARE to send them I'm telling your crush that you're straight." Luz hisses.

"You wouldn't."

"Watch me."  

Luz holds up her phone threateningly.

A moment of silence ensues.

"Mutual destruction. Truce?"

"Truce."

They shake hands, an agreement having been wordlessly reached.

They began walking again, and just after they turned the corner, two heads of green hair pop out of a bush of a near-identical shade.

"Did you hear that? He's not straight!" Edric exclaims giddily.

"He also likes someone dumbass. Someone who more likely than not isn't you."

"You don't know that!"

"You've had more interactions with the Golden Guard than you have had with him!" Emira sighs, exasperated.

"Still-!"

Chapter Text

"How did this even happen?" Hunter whispers, staring at the burning stall in horror.

Luz, however, is somewhat apathetic to it.

"Eh, what happens happens. No one knows how."

Hunter whips around to glare at her.

FIVE MINUTES AGO:

"Bet I can beat you in a race from that tree to the other!" Luz calls, pointing to two trees quite a bit away from each other.

"You're on!"

Luz won the race.

"Ha! I win!"

"You did not! I let you win, Luzy-Lu!"

"Nuh-uh! I got here fair and square!" she declares.

"Okay then, let's race again to prove it. From here to Bonesborough, on our palismen."

Luz grins competitively as Owlbert flutters up onto her shoulder.

"You are  on."

Hunter's palismen perches itself into his hair, chirping excitedly.

One thing led to another, and the next thing they know, a stand is on fire and Edalyn is cackling from beside them both while Hunter reevaluates everything he's done today.

"I like this kid!" Edalyn exclaims, still laughing.

Chapter Text

The Emperor's ball.

It was a revered event, one where the richest of the rich received an invitation to attend a ball thrown in the Emperor's honour.

Every year an invitation was extended to the Emperor. 

Every year it was politely refused.

This year was no exception.

But the other person who received an invite this year was none other than Hunter Cazador-Belos, who to be perfectly honest was appaled.

And even more so at what the Emperor had to say about it.

"Uncle, I fail to see how this would benefit me or my mission-"

"Hunter, if you are to have any influence in politics you must learn these types of things."

Hunter grimaces minutely, biting back his insults.

"...yes Uncle, of course."

"You can bring a plus one, and I don't particularly mind if you do or don't or who you pick. Of course, you will be going as Hunter, not the Golden Guard, so instead of your usual uniform, you will need something more formal."

Hunter nods.

Great, just what he hates most.

Getting new clothes.

Fortunately, (or unfortunately, perhaps) his Uncle had planned for this ahead of time and had already found a suit for him.

Upon returning to his room, he found it laid out on his bed and tried it on nearly immediately to test how it felt.

Hunter looks into the mirror, examining the outfit picked.

A black shirt with pinstripes in a dark grey, covered by a suit vest jacket in a darker shade of his eye colour that matched the pants. His Uncle hadn't provided shoes, so Hunter took that as a go-ahead to wear his usual boots.

Something was still off though...

Experimentally, Hunter rolls up his dark sleeves and nods in satisfaction at the results.

As for his plus one, well, he had an idea of who he could drag along to this torturous event...

"...you can't be serious."

"Oh come on Luz, it'll be fun!" At her flat look, Hunter throws in his biggest bargaining chip.

"Y'know, the Blights are going to be there~" he whispers, watching Luz's head snap around sharply. "Amity will be there with her parents, in a pretty outfit, in a place where you can dance with her romantically just like you always imagine... I'm pretty sure you're allowed to walk through the beautiful gardens too..."

Hunter watches Luz smugly as her face gradually gets redder at all the ideas of what she could do with Amity there.

"I- okay fine! Sure! I'll go!"

"Perfect, I'll pick you up from the Owl House on Tuesday at 8, half an hour before the party starts. Does that work?" Luz nods happily, still buzzing with her recently acquired Amity Information.

Hunter has ever-so-conveniently forgotten to tell her his suspicions. Not because he cared about her feelings, no! He just wasn't certain yet.

Hunter didn't want her to jump to rash conclusions and make stupid decisions as she tended to do before he knew exactly what was going on with the Blights.

That's all.

(But maybe, just maybe, he cared a little bit about her feelings too.)

Hunter flies his staff through the skies, finding so much simplistic joy in this one small thing he'd never known before.

The Emperor has always insisted things be done with haste, thus he was taught a light travel teleportation spell to hop from here to there.

But feeling the wind on his face and messing up his already dishevelled blonde hair was an experience he could never get enough of.

Landing softly on the grass outside the Owl House, he is immediately confronted by the 'Owl Tube Bird Demon', as Lilith had called it. 

He believed its real name was Hooty, though.

"Hey~ are you a new frieeeeeend?" The thing, Hooty, asks in a voice that was even more annoyingly grating than Lilith had described while getting uncomfortably close to him.

"I'm here to get Luz?" He manages to get out, wincing at how much it sounded like a question.

"Sure thing! I'll go get her riiiiiiiight now! LUUUUUUUZZZZZZZZ!!!" It yells, arching up into the topmost window and sticking its head in without warning.

"Can it Hooty! You're giving us all a headache!" Edalyn yells, rubbing her ear,

"Sorryyyy~"

Edalyn then gestures for Hunter to follow her inside into the most intriguing living room he'd ever seen, filled with oddities of all shapes and sizes from both of the worlds.

Standing in the middle of it all is Luz, negotiating something with King while wearing a black and grey dress with a golden crescent moon on it.

"-c'mon King, I need that bracelet!"

"No! It is my crown as I lead an army of decimators to conquer foreign lands!" King declares boldly.

"I'm sorry King," Luz pulls the chain from the demon's head. "But you can have your crown afterwards, okay? I need to borrow it right now for this event."

Luz pulls the bracelet around her wrist, doing up the clasp before turning to him.

"Okay I'm done, let's go!"

Edalyn clears her throat.

"Ahem, don't you humans usually take pictures at something like this?" 

Hunter freezes, about to protest when Luz grabs him by the wrist in a verifiable death grip.

And that's how a photo of the two ended up being hung on the wall of the Owl House, alongside ones of Luz as an otter and of Edalyn, Lilith, Hooty, King and Luz together.

In the photo, Luz is grinning brightly with one hand clutching his sleeve and the other thrown up in the air with careless joy.

Hunter has a small but genuine smile on his face, accompanied by a peace sign. 

He'd deny it if asked, but Hunter loves that photo more than any other taken of him in either persona.

The two approach the entrance, handing their invitation to the witch at the door.

After spell-checking it, the witch nods and lets the two in.

And Luz can't say if she's ever seen a place so beautiful.

She isn't sure where to start.

"Do you want me to show you around?" Hunter asks, noticing her unease. "It's pretty big at first but less overwhelming after a while."

She nods.

Five minutes later, Hunter is telling her what the plaques beneath the paintings mean (despite her attempts to learn, Luz still can't fully read Old Isles runes) when a quiet "Luz?" interrupts his explanation.

Both turn to see Amity behind them in a dress in the patented Blight colour scheme.

Hunter subtly steps away to watch the whole thing go down.

Heh, this will be fun to watch.

"Amity! Amity, Amity heyyy!" Luz exclaims with the iconic expression of Gay Panic.

You know, the one that screams  I-don't-know-what-the-hell-to-say-so-I'll-just-panic-over-the-pretty-person.  That face.

Of course, Hunter has no experience with this whatsoever. None. Not at all-

"And they're at it again." Edric sighs, appearing out of titan-damned nowhere and leaning casually on Hunter's shoulder.

"It was fun at first but after a while it just gets infuriating." Emira agrees, standing on Hunter's other side and honestly? If these two can repeatedly sneak up on him then it's no wonder Luz was able to blast him out of his airship.

He secretly cringes at the bruises he got afterwards though.

"This does seem like it'd get tiring after a while..." Hunter muses, being careful to keep his face neutral.

Hunter is 95% sure Amity is in this for no reason other than her legitimate crush.

The twins, however, were much more unpredictable. They assist their parents as much as Amity does, but they have a significantly longer chaos record compared to their (usually) level-headed sister.

Hunter couldn't even begin to comprehend what went on in their minds.

More than that, he couldn't separate what was Emira and what was Edric, and by that, he means he can't identify their individual weak points because they either made up for the other's weak points or supposedly shared them. The only certified one he had was that Edric was allergic to dairy, and Hunter certainly wasn't going to  poison  the verdant-haired witch.

...

Well, unless things went  really  sour. In which case, all bets were off.

For now, though, Hunter decided his best option was recon work. 

"Oh, you have  no  idea. But hey, how about we leave the sapphics to their gayness and the three of us go somewhere else?" Emira suggests innocently.

Warily, Hunter nods. 

There could be many things that the two twins wanted here, and Hunter was determined to not give them anything.

Okay Edric, Emira may be doing this because she thinks he's shifty but this could be your chance!

Edric watches the blonde take a careful sip of his fizzy apple blood, flinching slightly at the bubbles in the liquid.

"Sooo, Hunter! How'd you end up here?" Emira asks sweetly.

"My Uncle got invited. I don't know much about his job but he ended up convincing me into going instead because I must 'represent the business' and all that jazz."

Hunter's voice takes on a strange tone towards the end, presumably him trying to mimic his uncle's accent.

"Are you in line to inherit his business then?"

"More or less? I mean, my Uncle doesn't have kids he can pass it onto so uh, here I am I guess."

"Speaking of future careers, which coven are you aiming for?"

Hunter tenses minutely, just the slightest bit more pressure on the plastic cup he's holding.

"Ah, my Uncle demands I go for the Emperor's coven. It's not all that bad I suppose." Hunter shrugs with a sense of surrender, punctuating his statement with another drink of his apple blood.

"You seem close to your uncle," Emira muses. "Is he close to your family too?"

Edric can almost see the walls in Hunter's mind strengthen.

"...you could say that."

His garnet eyes were hooded, his eyebags contrasting his put-together appearance and Edric just can't help but think,

Damn, I'm gay.

Chapter Text

Luz couldn't believe it.

Here they were, standing in a fairytale garden from Luz's greatest imaginings, Amity by her side on a night with a full moon shining perfectly above them.

No painting, no photograph could capture the true beauty of this garden.

The two sit side by side on a bench, their words all said and their hearts full and shining.

"Luz?" Amity whispers.

"Hm?"

"I love you."

This isn't the first time Amity has said this tonight and it most certainly won't be the last, but every time she does Luz feels shivers go down her back.

"I love you too  mi flor,"  she whispers in return.

The song playing on repeat from her phone still echoes softly in the space around them, beautiful and eternal just as this moment would be in their memories.

When the sun,

Loves the moon,

Even the ocean,

Feels her pull...

Just minutes ago they'd been twirling together to it when Luz had dropped on one knee and finally said everything she'd been wanting to for far longer than she'd known.

Amity looked beautiful when she was surprised.

Not that this was uncommon, Amity always looked beautiful.

But she looked  especially  beautiful surprised.

And even more so when she smiled.

As if sensing her thoughts, Amity turns to her and smiles shyly, a blush still floating across her face.

Luz loves her girlfriend.

Hunter isn't sure where Emira went, or when she left.

Everything's a little fuzzy...

Was it the lack of sleep? No, he'd gotten a whole three hours last night.

Then what-?

"Oh... it seems that alcohol got into the safe apple blood..." someone mumbles and Hunter thinks  ah.

That would do it.

But all his thoughts of caution are swept away by a touch on his shoulder and golden eyes only inches away from his own.

The gold eyes get closer, and Hunter follows suit.

He thinks he says something, but can't tell what it is.

One of Edric's hands finds his waist and the other is interlaced with Hunter's and they're barely a breath apart and then-

Hunter doesn't remember much more of what happened after that.

Chapter Text

Upon waking up, Hunter's first thought is  who the hell took a sledgehammer to my skull?

His second thought is more of an observation, and that observation is that this is not his room.

And also, he is on the floor.

Sitting up slowly, he takes notice of a sleeping bag behind him containing one human with King curled up by her feet, her dress thrown haphazardly onto the floor beside a neatly folded suit vest-

Scratch that,  his  neatly folded suit vest. Set beside the vest are his boots.

A glass of Headacure potion sits on the ground just above his head beside a pile of clothes plus a note addressed to him.

With a great amount of effort, Hunter pulls himself upright and manages to drink the watery potion before reading the note.

Heya Hunter,

Apparently some random witch had the bright idea of switching the apple blood around. Ha! Kids.

Anyway, you were tipsy as all hell, so Luz brought you back here so you wouldn't, I dunno, die or something.

Some guard you are. (Kidding, kidding. Sorry for poking at your fragile coven ego...)

Feel free to stay a few hours though, I can't wait to see you after that stint at the market plus all the chaotic stories Luz has told me.

- Eda

Hunter chuckles, rereading the letter.

For a wild witch criminal, Edalyn wasn't so bad.

He grabs the clothes (his usual under-outfit for his uniform, he doesn't want to know how Eda got that) and goes to seek out the bathroom to change before going back to the room.

He looks over to Luz, watching her grumble as she tries to cling to the fleeting shreds of sleep to no avail.

Eventually, the girl submits to the call of the waking world and sits up slowly, rubbing her eyes.

Hunter takes this as an opportunity to engage his Little Shit Mode™.

Changing his pose silently, he waits for a few moments before cheerfully declaring, 

"Good morning sunshine!"

Luz starts and shrieks lightly, flailing as she got tangled up in her sleeping bag and ended up as a surprised, half-awake mess of pyjamas and blanket.

Hunter can't stop the laughter from bubbling out of his mouth.

Without warning, the window slams open and the demonic bird tube stretches his neck (body??) through it, looming over them like an angry deity.

"Hooty hooty hello!" It declares, far too loud and chirpy for Hunter's hangover, much less at half-past seven in the morning. "How was the party~? Have fun? Meet anyone, hoot?"

It suddenly gasps, visibly excited, but before it can speak Luz is pushing it out the window.

"Hooty! ¡Vete a la mierda, tubo de pájaro loco!"

Sighing, Luz shuts the window firmly before turning to him.

"C'mon, let's go downstairs."

Hunter nods.

Upon entering the main living area, the first thing Hunter spots is Edalyn sitting by the coffee table, drawing something.

"Morning Eda!" Luz declares.

"Morning kiddos, hope the Headacure worked." She directs the last part at him, and he nods gratefully.

"Yeah, the first hangover's always the worst. But hey, what can you do?" Eda finishes her sketch, attaching it to a plate beside her and tapping it.

The plate vanishes, and Eda grins.

It was a glyph,  Hunter realises. The light-bending glyph Luz had used to sneak up on him many times before.

Luz heads to the kitchen to start on breakfast, declaring that she was making 'pancakes', which Hunter believes is a human dish. Luz seemed excited about it.

He then realises that he's probably overstayed his welcome though, not even mentioning the clothes, but as he moves to leave he feels Luz grab his arm.

"Hey Hunter, help me make pancakes!" 

And well, she'd asked him to help her... it wouldn't be polite to refuse her request, would it?

A few minutes into the process, Hooty lets out a happy yell.

"Oh boy! Visitors! It's been so long since someone came over, hoot!"

"Okay you wacko worm-tube thing,  listen up-"

"Amity!" Luz yells joyfully, tossing the spatula at Hunter and runs over to the window before she straight-up  jumps  out of it to run to the lavender-haired witch.

Hunter lets out an amused huff, continuing to flip and serve the pancakes as Luz had been doing earlier.

She'd made extra, however, so she'd probably been expecting the visitor.

Plopping the final pancake onto a plate, he carefully balances them while walking towards the table to put them down.

Wow, this shirt is comfortable...

The door opens and Luz runs in, dragging a smiling Amity behind her, both followed by-

"Hunter! Hi!" Emira grins at him, and he responds with a polite  hello.

Edric fidgets behind her, watching his sister talk excitedly with her girlfriend. (Luz had given him the run-down and Hunter had congratulated her sincerely)

He still doesn't know what happened past that comment over the alcoholic apple blood mix-up.

Eh, couldn't be that important.

Chapter Text

Hunter didn't mean to do it.

He swears!

He just...

Luz had told him how sad Edalyn had been when she'd lost her friend (lover?) to Belos.

And it wasn't like he'd LET THEM-let them escape.

He'd just accidentally happened to have dropped his spare set of dungeon keys onto their tray of food...

Whoops.

It wasn't treason if his Uncle didn't know...

No, no no no.

That train of thought led nowhere but to disaster.

One traitorous act leads to another and then-

Hunter shakes his head free of those thoughts. Still, what his Uncle didn't know (and what he would never know) wouldn't hurt him.

His mind flashes over to a certain red bird waiting patiently in his room for him.

Behind his mask, Hunter smiles at the thought of little Rascal. He wonders what the small bird gets up to in his absence.

But regardless of that, he turns his mind to the same thing the rest of the coven is panicking over:

The escaped prisoner.

Raine Whispers.

The prisoner he helped-

"Sir! What do you wish for us to do regarding the escaped prisoner?" A guard asks dim-wittedly.

"What do you think I want? Look for them!" Hunter groans.

They really were useless.

It was times like these he missed Lilith.

She had despised him somewhat, sure, but he'd held nothing sort of respect for the woman and her ability to climb the ranks with her ambitious nature.

But she was gone, and he was left to pick up the slack.

"You have a Sprig stuffie!?"

Hunter jumps, very surprised to see Luz on his bed and even more surprised to see her cuddling his frog toy excitedly with sparkles in her eyes.

"'Sprig'?"

"Yeah, from Amphibia! Sprig Planter!"

"Oh... I just called him Hopper."

Luz squeals, and then Hunter remembers the actual situation. 

"Wait, hold on, why are you here!? How... how are you here? This is the Emperor's castle-"

"Pff, I've snuck in and around this place twice already, what's a third-"

"TWICE!?"

"Maybe?"

"May-maybe?" Oh, MAYBE she says about sneaking into one of the most fortified places on the Isles!  He's not sure whether to be pissed off or impressed.

Rascal chirps suddenly, flying over to him from...

...Luz's hair?

"Golden Guard?" Kikimora's saccharine voice calls from the other side of the door, and Hunter panics.

If he's caught with Rascal, with Luz, he can say goodbye to everything he's ever had or will have.

And in a stroke of idiocy, instead of making Luz go through the window and leave, he pushes her into the closet and hisses,

"Hide!"

Before shutting the door.

Luz cups Rascal and Owlbert in her hands as she listens to the conversation between the two.

"Golden Guard, the Emperor has heard that the prisoner has escaped and wishes to speak to you about it."

Luz hoped she was imagining the smile in Kikimora's voice.

"Of course," Hunter says with no small amount of dullness. "I'll go now."

"Remember boy, your position with the emperor is a privilege, not a right. If you were to set out on this path without the emperor's help, you never would've even been able to step through the gate."

Luz really wants to punch that tiny demon lady.

So what if Hunter had no magic? He'd worked so hard for this, regardless of the emperor's help!

Luz is fully aware that she could leave any time she pleases. Yet, she stays. She stays and waits for Hunter to come back for a reason she doesn't know.

Protest as she may, Luz knows she's gotten far too attached to Hunter, regardless of his job on the opposing side.

Eventually, he returns, collapsing on what she assumes is his bed with a quiet huff.

Cracking open the closet door, Luz is surprised to find that no, it was not his bed, but the floor.

Hunter had tears rolling down the sides of his face, an arm draped over his eyes.

Luz walks over to him as Rascal lands lightly on the boy's arm, cooing comfortingly.

"Hunter...?"

A muffled sob is the only response.

"You... do you want a hug?"

The blond slowly sits up, curling into a ball and burying his hair into his arms.

"Yes please,"  Hunter whispers, one teary garnet eye peeking out at her.

Silently, Luz wraps her arms around the shivering blond.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"I... I helped them escape. R-Raine, I mean. The prisoner Kikimora mentioned earlier."

Hunter sniffs.

"He-he found out, and he- and he wasn't even  mad,  he was just  disappointed  as if he just EXPECTED this of me one day..."

Luz nods understandingly.

She knew that disappointment well, the  I-had-hoped-you'd-know-better-by-now  type of disappointment.

The  I-wish-I-was-surprised  disappointment.

"But he sounded so detached as if it was just another failure he could cast away until he needed to make use of it..."

Luz squeezes him, before looking over to the two palismen watching sadly from their shared perch.

"Come with me."

Edalyn is a very nice person, Hunter decides.

She'd let him in after taking one look at his tear-stained face, offering a hot mug of apple blood and an empathetic smile, not in pity but understanding.

Rascal's currently asleep by the window, enjoying the sunlight. He couldn't go near the window often at the castle lest he is spotted.

"So kid," Edalyn finally asks, sipping her apple blood. "What'd you do to piss off Belos?"

"I freed Raine Whispers."

He jumps at the tremendous spit-take Edalyn does, staring at the woman and not knowing if he should offer his assistance as the woman splutters.

"You WHAT?"

"I freed... Raine Whispers?"

"So, they're free now?"

Hunter nods slowly.

"Huh... then where are they-"

A knock comes from the door, perfectly on time.

"Edaaaaaa~ your bestest best friend is hereeeee!"

Faintly, Hunter makes out a quiet, "Hello to you too, Hooty," that Edalyn seems to hear too. She goes still, staring at the door.

"Um, Eda? Can I come in?"

"Oh- yeah! Sure, come in!"

Hunter sits there silently, choosing to observe the incoming interaction silently as he nurses his now warm cup of apple blood in his hands.

That plan is thrown out the window as Luz barrels downstairs just before the door opens, running directly to him.

Luz opens her mouth upon reaching his side, undoubtedly about to say something when Raine walks in.

They're soaked, minty hair plastered against their forehead, but still the picture of artistic ingenuity in their rebel uniform, BATT if Hunter recalls.

Bard magic always intrigued him. Something about forming a rhythm and bringing it to life, intertwining the notes and beats with magic in a beautiful symphony of magical prowess brought forth such sweet feelings.

"Eda, hi!" They chuckle, face reddening.

Beside him, Luz gasps.

King waddles up to the two of them, plopping himself next to Hunter and leaning against his knee with his usual little nyeh sound that Hunter now associated with the demon.

"Who're you?" King demands, pointing at Raine.

"Oh! Uh, well, I am Raine, head of the Bard coven- wait, former head? Traitorous head? Ah, w-whatever. Point conveyed. No need to add on an extra verse if you've already written the chorus." They mutter the last part mostly to themselves.

Another quiet gasp comes from Luz.

"Cute bard metaphors!" She whispers excitedly.

Hunter doesn't know if he should facepalm or not.

Raine, to their credit, merely chuckles, pushing their wet hair to the side so it wouldn't keep dripping onto their glasses.

Said glasses were mysteriously suspended with no arms to hold them up...

How does that work?

"How... how does what work?"

Crap, I said that aloud.

"Your uh, glasses. They're just... floating?"

Raine blinks.

"Oh, these? They have a special part on the band over my nose that helps it stay on, like a clip-on. The arms kept hitting my instrument, so..." 

Hunter nods, reasonably satisfied by this explanation.

"Anyway, I've introduced myself, how about you three?" They ask, turning to the other two.

"Oh, I'm Luz!"

"And I'm King Clawthorne!" King declares, his hands (paws?) on his hips. He would've looked powerful- had he not been so small.

"Hunter." He offers blandly.

Raine looks like they're about to say something, but Edalyn cuts them off.

"So Rainestorm, you're a fugitive now huh? Welcome to the club!" Edalyn throws up enthusiastic jazz hands. 

"We're also known as the Bad Girl Coven. Only about half of the coven is female though." Edalyn adds the last part as an afterthought.

"Shouldn't it be the Bad Person Coven then?" Raine asks.

Edalyn pauses.

"Well yes technically, but that sounds villainous. Also, I'd have to reprint the t-shirts."

Then Edalyn drags Raine into the kitchen, declaring that, "A jailbreak deserves celebration food!"

They ended up making a human recipe, mostly for Luz's sake but also they'd been looking for an excuse to try it, apparently. 'Apple pie', it was called.

In other news, Hunter has decided he has a new favourite food.

Chapter Text

Walking through the Emperor's castle has never felt more depressing.

Hunter wants to go back to the owl house, play cards with Owlbert and Hooty, listen to King's stories of how he'd conquer the isles (they were very entertaining, surprisingly), draw glyphs and read with Luz, complain about covens with Eda, cook with Raine, do just about anything except for his job.

Sighing silently, he enters the entrance hall to greet the Blights (minus Alador, he was 'busy' apparently) before bringing them to the Emperor.

If nothing else, he'd get an outside view of Emira and Edric, and how they acted around authority. Especially their parents.

Amity wouldn't be there, he knew that already. She had something-or-other to do instead.

Opening the doors, he braces himself for whatever the hell will happen next.

That...

That was something.

That something was an experience.

The twins were so cagey it was strange. Is it because he's in the Emperor coven? Because he captured Luz? Because they have no reason to trust him?

He'd been wondering this throughout their visit.

Until he got his answer.

Emira had been whispering to Edric and had gotten just slightly too loud when he heard.

"...friends with Mom and Dad! No way he's nice..."

Ah, little do they know.

But Hunter has a plan.

As he escorts them out, he cheerfully announces, with no forewarning,

"I hope you two twins had a good trip, almost as much as I wish you never return, Miss Blight! Byeee!" 

Before spinning around and shutting the castle doors in her face.

He watched her go red through a spell one of the guards had cast, (he thinks it was Steve) spluttering about how 'disrespectful' it was while the twins were doing their best not to laugh. 

They were failing. Badly.

Meanwhile, Hunter found himself laughing alongside a good portion of the guards. Odalia Blight was by no means a popular woman among the lower classes from which the vast majority of the guards came.

As soon as even one of them started calming down, someone would crack a joke and they'd all be in fits of laughter again.

By the time Kikimora arrived, almost all of them were in stitches on the floor.

Hunter was in the middle of (losing) a card game against Owlbert when Luz came running down the stairs screeching for him.

"HUNTER- HUNTER YOU DIDN'T!"

"Huh? What'd he do?" Edalyn asks, raising an eyebrow.

Raine, sitting beside her while doing a crossword, looks up curiously.

"He- he, okay hold on," Luz gasps for air before blurting out, "He insulted Odalia Blight, to her FACE!"

Luz descends into a fit of cackles.

Raine drops their crossword.

Edalyn whips around to stare at him.

Hooty looks up from his half-typed letter.

Owlbert hoots.

"Well," Hunter says calmly, placing a card down, "In my defence, she was being a pain."

Luz wheezes.

"That's my boy!" Edalyn cheers, seconds before Hunter loses the game dramatically to Owlbert.

Bloody sentient wooden owls-!

Chapter Text

Hunter can count on one hand the number of times he's felt this awkward.

Or awkward at all.

In a life planned out for you with precision and intricacy, there's no room for uncertainty, much less awkwardness.

But sitting comfortably in a couch chair in the owl house, book in hand, he stares at Lilith Clawthorne as she stares back at him.

Both blink.

"You!"  they both screech, Lilith dropping her bag and Hunter half-falling off the chair.

"OKAY, okay calm down everyone! There is a  REASONABLE  explanation for EVERYTHING!"

Lilith storms inside and hits Hunter over the head with her staff.

"Hardly!" She scoffs. "Luz, I don't think you know who this is, this is-"

"My friend,  Lilith, I know everything and do I care? No. No, I don't. Now, will you PLEASE point the staff AWAY from Hunter!?"

Hunter has his hands up as if he were being arrested, looking perplexed.

"Lily! Don't threaten my kid!" Edalyn yells from the doorway to the living room.

Hunter's about 99% sure that if Lilith still had her magic he'd have been shot through the wall.

With a hole through his stomach.

"I think this is a bad time?"

The occupants of the room all turn towards the doorway where the three Blight siblings are standing.

Emira's looking at him suspiciously. 

Hm. She's never been so obvious about her animosity and suspicion towards him before.

He realises that he's still sprawled awkwardly half across the couch and half across the floor, however, he feels that if he moves Lilith will wack him again.

And Hunter does not want that, nor does his likely bruised scalp.

Ow...

"Okay!" Luz claps her hands loudly. "I see we all need to calm down here. Eda, you go explain stuff to Lilith in another room. Edric, you and Hunter can go on a walk, because he was probably very... uh, surprised about Lilith's attack."

Edric nods, whispering something to Emira (maybe a plan to gather information?) before walking towards Hunter to give him a hand up.

Hunter manages to roll into a semi-normal position on the floor before accepting the hand up.

(His normal way of getting back onto a chair was weird, to say the least, involving a gymnastics bridge, a 180 twist and half of a handspring so he opted to be normal for once today.)

Edric leads him out the door by the hand, and into the woods by the hand.

Still holding his hand, Edric turns to him.

"Are you okay? Lilith hit you pretty hard."

Hunter nods. 

"I've gotten worse from my Uncle, heh." 

He'd intended it as a joke, but Edric didn't seem to like it.

Turning to him, Edric puts his unoccupied hand on Hunter's shoulder.

"Your uncle hurts you?" He asks softly, brow furrowed in concern.

Hunter looks away.

"O-only sometimes! It's nothing to-"

"Hunter."

His eyes flick over to Edric's honest gold irises.

"Are you really okay?"

Hunter knows what he's asking.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

That doesn't mean he'll answer though.

Edric seems to realise this, his hand dropping from his shoulder with a quiet sigh.

"Okay. If you're ever not, you can always talk to me."

Hunter nods, before noticing that when he did so, his stray strand of hair was almost brushing Edric's forehead.

Edric notices too, stepping away.

He doesn't let go of Hunter's hand though.

"C'mon, let's keep going. There's a clearing up ahead that Mittens used to use to gay panic before seeing Luz." 

Hunter laughs.

"Really?"

"Yeah, my sister's a whole mess." Edric chuckles. "Actually, on the topic of sisters..."

He turns back to Hunter again.

"Is Luz your sister?"

Hunter blinks.

"I..." what should he say to that?

"Yep!"

Hunter jumps and turns around, spotting Luz walking towards them casually.

"His uncle's a piece of shit so Eda's unofficially adopted him, she did the same with me. Except my mom's great, she's just in another world."

Thank you, Luz, for saving me from that.

"Oh! Cool!" Edric grins. "I've just been wondering, y'know..."

Hunter jolts, remembering something.

"Is that what you wanted to ask me about at the market?"

Edric pauses, before nodding rapidly.

Just slightly too fast to be honest.

"Yeah, that's it!"

Hunter's eyes narrow a fraction subconsciously.

"Ah, I see, thank you for enlightening me."

Luz senses the shift in his demeanour and interrupts quickly.

"C'mon, Eda sent me here to fetch you two, let's go back."

Hunter nods, berating himself internally.

Dammit Hunter, you let yourself get caught up in his pretty golden eyes and charming smile and forgot that you're supposed to be wary about him and Emira! Idiot, idiot, idiot!

A light tug on his hand reminds him that he's still connected to Edric.

The tug was a clear request for Hunter to look at him.

He didn't.

Slipping his hand out of Edric's, he walks forward to walk beside his 'little sister''

Leaving Edric behind him to wonder what he did wrong.

Chapter Text

Hunter has never been alone in a room with Raine before.

Even when they cook, there's always someone. Be it Edalyn, helping them, King, demanding food or Hooty being uh... Hooty.

(Hunter will never forget the time Hooty tried to convince them to make 'bug stew'.)

They're sitting on the couch opposite, examining him in a most... uncomfortable way.

"Uh. Hello?"

Wow, reeeal eloquent Hunter.

Raine jumps, pushing their glasses back up their nose before stuttering out a hello in response.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

"Yes! Yes, I'm fine. You just... remind me of someone."

Hunter tenses. 

They could be referring to anyone, someone with blond hair like his or the same hairstyle or eyes or anything.

But Hunter still remembers that day.

Do they?

Hunter didn't like the castle.

The winding corridors, the high ceilings, the echoing rooms...

It was too different for his nine-year-old mind to process.

For the third time this week, Hunter found himself lost.

And it was only Tuesday, for Titan's sake!

His garnet eyes scan the walls, looking for a familiar... something. Anything.

"Are you... lost?"

Hunter jumps, spinning around to see a minty-haired person in a comfy-looking dress shirt and cool boots.

"Uh, mhm." He nods.

He didn't know why, but this person seemed like one he should trust.

"Okay then, do you want help? My name is Raine, by the way, they/them."

'They/them'? Hunter knew what those were he just couldn't remember...

Oh!

"I'm Hunter, he/him!" He exclaims to them, proud of himself for remembering.

Raine smiles brightly, and Hunter can't help but think that their smile looked a lot like Mama's.

He doesn't remember Mama well, but he remembers her smile. He'll always remember her smile, he'd decided after his first week without her.

"Okay then Hunter, where do you need to go?"

"The throne room!"

The throne room was Uncle's room, and that means Uncle would be there and if Uncle was there then that HAD to be the right place to go!

Raine didn't seem to like that answer though, their smile faltering.

"the throne room? But that's- that's where the Emperor is."

Hunter grins.

"I know! I havta go see him!"

They still look reluctant but stood with a sigh.

"Okay then kiddo, off we go."

As they started to walk, Hunter notices the instrument in their other hand.

"Wait, are you in the BARD coven? That's so COOL!"

Raine laughs.

"Thanks kid! What coven are you joining?"

"The Emperor's coven..." Hunter mumbles. "I don't wanna though, my Uncle wants me to."

"What one do you want to join then?"

"Healing!" Hunter punctuates his answer by throwing his fist into the air.

Raine laughs again.

They're a very joyous person, Hunter notes.

('Joyous' is a word that means 'very happy', he read it in a book!)

After a while of walking and far too many twists and turns for his little mind to remember, they both arrive in front of a towering door.

"Here we are Hunter, the illustrious throne room. Though, I still don't understand why-"

"You don't need to."

Raine jumps, spinning around to be met with the towering form of Emperor Belos.

"Thank you for delivering Hunter to me, Raine Whispers. I was about to go looking for him."

"Uh- you-you're welcome?" Raine stutters.

Fear isn't an emotion Hunter likes seeing on their face.

He much prefers them to smile.

"Now, we must be on our way, Hunter. Say goodbye."

Hunter raises an arm to wave cheerily as his Uncle takes his other hand.

"Bye Raine! You're very nice!"

And then the two entered the throne room, doors shutting with a  thud.

"I- yeah. Yeah, funny how that happens sometimes, right?" Hunter laughs awkwardly, pushing back his hair before his hand falls to his chin.

Subconsciously, Hunter cups the scar on his face, running his fingers across the disturbed skin there.

Raine's breath hitches.

"I- it's you."

"It- huh?"

"You're the kid from seven years ago!" Raine gasps. "The one who was going to the throne room!"

Hunter nods silently.

"Why... why were you-"

"He was giving me a staff," Hunter interrupts. He doesn't know why, but lying to Raine feels... wrong. "One he said would 'match my magical expertise.'"

Raine opens their mouth to say something before Hooty slams the door open.

"Luz is back from school, hoot-hoot!"

"Indeed, it is I! Please,  sostenga su aplauso!"

"Consider our applause held then, oh mighty Luzura," Hunter responds dryly.

"Silence yourself, witch guard!" Luz(ura) declares, thrusting her arm upwards. "For I am the Good Witch Luzura, and I am here to  get a snack!"

"It is my sworn duty to assist you Good Witch, but a snack I cannot stand for! Undoubtedly, you are going to steal the last Witcher Wafer! I am sorry to inform you, but the wafer is MINE!"

And thus began the mad scramble to the kitchen for the final wafer, leaving Raine on the couch to puzzle over this new piece of information.

Chapter Text

"You're losing form, Hunter."

Hunter stiffens, turning to his Uncle and dropping to his knees.

"Apologies, Uncle."

"This combined with your  rebellion  involving the former Bard head," oh, so that's their new title. "I think you're getting a little out of practice."

His blood goes cold.

Hunter knows that tone.

Nothing good has ever come of it.

His scar is proof.

Everything aches.

He's pretty sure that he's gained a brand new scar on his arm.

If he doesn't die of blood loss first, anyway.

The window bursts open.

"Hey, Hunter! I- OH  FUCK!"

Luz...

The world's getting kinda dizzy.

And...

Dark.

"Okay, okay hold on Hunter!"

Darkness... that means it's okay to sleep for a while, right?

"Hunter?"

He slowly closes his eyes. 

"Hunter-!"

And lets the darkness hold his worries at bay for a while.

Pain is the first thing Hunter registers.

Pain, followed by a LOT of blood.

This jolts him awake, causing him to hiss at the increase in pain.

"Jeez brat, are you  trying  to injure yourself further?" Lilith sighs from beside him, packing away medical supplies.

Wait,

Lilith?

"Hunter!" Luz exclaims, running over to the couch. "Ohmygosh we thought you'd  die!"

"That was just you and Raine, Luz," Edalyn calls from the kitchen. "Everyone else had full faith in Lily's medical abilities."

"I-it's not that I didn't have faith! I just didn't know if there was  time-"  Raine stutters.

"Hunter," Edalyn interrupts her friend (lover?). "Come with me."

Obliging, Hunter gets up from the couch as quickly as he could, wobbling over to the Owl Lady as she pulled him into the next room before closing the door.

This is it.

She's kicking me out.

I got blood everywhere so now she's going to tell me to-

"Stay here."

...what?

"W-what?"

"Stay here, at the Owl House. It's not safe there, just look at your arm! And I knew from the moment I saw your face that you'd gotten that scar from Belos-"

"No!"

Edalyn blinks, surprised.

"I, I can't go! I'm the only family he has left and he-he cares for me, he's just busy and stressed and it's my fault for not being enough, for not being able to meet his standards-"

"Kid, you're doing  far  too much for him-"

"No, I'm not! If I'm going to be powerless I may as well be useful, but I'm not!"

Tears burned in his eyes, but Hunter blinks them back.

He shouldn't cry.

There's nothing to cry about.

Edalyn pulls him towards her and wraps her arms around him in a hug.

"You're too young for this. You're too small."

In any other context, Hunter would take offence.

But here, he knows exactly what she means.

So for the first time in a very long time,

Hunter lets himself cry.

Edalyn refused to accept his apologies

And she refused to accept him calling her Edalyn.

"Call me Eda."

"But-"

"Nope."

"I don't-"

"Uh-uh."

"Edalyn-"

"Bzzt,  fail."

Hunter scrunches his nose.

Then he's hit with an idea.

One that will 100% backfire on him later but eh. Really, when  don't  his ideas drastically backfire?

Such as:

1. Befriending Luz.

Case in point.

"Okay then mom."

He sips his glass of water innocently.

Edalyn for her part is frozen in place, looking like that meme Luz showed him with the complex mathematical formulas floating around.

Looking down, Hunter realises his glass is empty, and unceremoniously gets up to put it into the sink.

Chapter Text

Working for the Emperor is not an easy task.

Working as a coven head is even worse.

So much to do, so little time.

As Hunter runs out the door that day he finds a stray piece of paper stuck to his shoe.

Scowling, he rips it off and crams it into his pocket.

Can't be that important anyway.

Petty theft is a dull but necessary thing to deal with as a member of the Emperor's coven.

Hunter usually loathes it, especially at this time of day (who the hell commits a crime at  six in the morning!?  What did they put in their apple blood, titan's blood mixed with crack??) but in this case, he's more than happy.

Simply because a mugger tried to steal from none other than Emira Blight and her friend Viney.

(Luz had talked about Viney, she was a rebellious upperclasswitch who was a part of the new mixed magics track that she'd met in the detention track.)

(Luz did not tell him how she ended up in the detention track.)

Thwarting the crime was easy. Returning the stolen items was even easier.

What came after however?

Awkward as ever.

"Interesting paper here." Emira comments, arching a brow.

Hunter turns to her, confused, before realising the paper that she's referring to is the one from earlier.

Snatching it from her, he says,

"How ironic that after being stolen from, you steal from me. What a story!" He keeps his tone jovial, jesting and unaffected when really he's trying not to freak out.

He hadn't checked the paper yet.

Hunter, you fool!

Who  knows  what was on it?

Something important, judging by Emira's expression.

Walking away, Hunter is careful to keep his body language neutral.

It could've been an order from Emperor Belos, a report on retrieving a part of the portal, something tied to the day of Unity, something about the Owl House, about  Luz-

Hunter stops.

Looking down at the paper, his blood runs cold.

This isn't the paper the Emperor's coven uses.

This was...

Oh NO.

Luz smiles as she reads her latest letter to Hunter.

They'd both been very busy lately, gathering ingredients for their respectful portals, so Luz had taken a page out of Hooty's book and had proposed they write to each other via letters and their palismen.

Dear Just Luz (aka Luzy Luz or The Good Witch Luzura),

I have been practising with my staff a lot! Rascal is so different to my artificial staff it's odd. I need to study this, wild magic feels so much more alive than artificial magic.

Although, I suppose the reason why is obvious.

I had a question-have you ever tried combining glyphs, not just with forming them, but to make something?

Such as a light sphere within an ice lamp or on top of a shaped ice pillar for decoration (as you mentioned once that changing the shape of the ice is possible) or a glowing flower? A glowing flower sounds beautiful.

I will report back soon!

From, Hunter (the Gold Witch Guard)

She smiles.

To the Gold Witch Guard (aka Hunter Cazador),

I tried one of your ideas! The one with the ice lamp!

It melted. :/

Oh well, better luck next time Hunter!

Maybe your glowing flower idea would work better, but I think to make that would require me forming it from the glyphs, which doesn't work well. BUT I WILL WORK ON THAT!!!

Lilith has taken to my glyphs with fervour (a fancy word she taught me that means 'with enthusiasm, but refined' apparently. You probably know that already though because you're smart and stuff!) and honestly, her intensity about it is kinda scary.

I think the only reason she hasn't lost her mind over them is Hooty.

Or Hootcifer, as she calls him.

(She says it's spelt with an S, but I like the C.)

Currently, she's telling me to tell you to, and I quote, 'jump off a cliff and see how your prodigious talent helps you then'. I'm beginning to think she has something against prodigies.

I have to go now, King is trying to paint using his voice powers. No, it is not working well.

Worst of wishes,

The Good Witch Luzura

(aka Luz)

(aka The Human)

(aka your friend no matter how much you deny it because you've met my family, my girlfriend, my girlfriend's family and I have teased you about your crush so that probably qualifies.)

Hunter wants to  sob.

He is DEAD.

WHY did he think incorporating his work name into his Azura name was a good idea!?

IT'S SUCH A GIVEAWAY!

He couldn't even claim that the Golden Guard had stolen his mail for evidence or something-the proof was right there!

Fuck!

He ran to the Owl House after his shift, barely remembering to grab Rascal on his way out.

Checking the time, he was relieved to see that Luz and co were still in school.

Slamming open the door (and quickly apologising to Hooty) Hunter yells,

"SHE KNOWS!"

Raine chokes on their tea while Lilith doesn't even look up from her painstakingly precise glyph practice.

Is that a compass?

"W-who knows? And what does she know?" Raine coughs, clearing their throat.

"Emira Blight! She knows!" He hisses, checking behind him in paranoia.

"Reeeeal shame there, brat." Lilith drawls, still focusing intently on her drawing.

Lilith's hatred of him kinda hurts, he's not gonna lie.

"Oh hey, Hunter," Eda calls from outside through the doorway. "What're you doing here? Aren't you usually at work right now?"

"I have a half-day today," Hunter responds, turning around again. 

"So did we!" A sweet voice gasps in mock surprise. "What a coincidence! Also, you didn't mention you had a  job!  What is it?"

Emira Blight.

Everyone tenses, realising the double meaning of that statement quickly.

Except for Raine, (who he hasn't told yet) and Edric, who thankfully appears to still be in the dark too. Good.

Not that he particularly cared about  Edric  knowing, no, he just wants as few people as possible to know so there are fewer people to deal with.

That's all.

"Oh, just some coven preparation," He responds nonchalantly. "Nothing of too much importance!"

He keeps his tone firmly even, not giving Emira an inch to work with against him.

Behind him, Lilith snorts as Raine remains as confused as Edric.

"Anyway, I just dropped by to say hello, I have to get going home now!"

"Actually, where do you live? The Emperor's castle?" Emira laughs, phrasing it as a joke.

Almost everyone knew she was dead serious though.

"Of course not, I'm nowhere near old enough to be in the  Emperor's coven!"  Hunter scoffs jokingly, throwing a charming smile at the twins.

"I gotta bounce though, byeeeee!"

He spins Rascal's staff, taps it heavily against the ground,

And then he was gone.

...In hindsight though, maybe teleporting in the same way the Golden Guard was known to do was a bad idea.

Chapter Text

After a few death threats, attempted violence, loaded glares and sceptical hums, all on Emira's part, they eventually explained the whole thing to her.

"Alright," Emira sighs. "I'll keep your secret, as long as you tell Edric  yourself.  I'm not telling him for you."

Hunter nearly cried, instead he chokes out a quick,

"Deal."

"Hunter, I have a new mission for you." The Emperor says smoothly.

"Of course, what is it?"

"Infiltrate Hexside. I have heard rumours of Bump allowing mixed magics to go on there and if it is true I will not stand for it."

Hunter nods.

"Of course, Uncle."

Hunter had never been so excited.

Walking through the corridors of Hexside was a dream.

Walking through them to get to the principal's office to submit his application to the school's  healing track?

That was even  better.

He carefully avoids Luz and co, (although he didn't spot Luz anywhere) following the helpfully placed signs to the office.

Knocking on the door, Hunter hears a call of  "Enter!"  from within.

Walking in, the first thing he notices is Luz.

Great, so he was avoiding nothing  for  nothing.

"Please take a seat, Hunter."

Principal Bump gestures to the empty chair beside Luz.

"Now, I heard that you were enrolling here and decided to inform Luz, as she is likely a part of your mission. After I asked, however, she revealed to me that the two of you are acquainted. You go by the last name Cazador on the streets, correct?"

Numbly, Hunter nods.

He didn't expect this.

"Good. In the records the Emperor has listed a different last name, would you like me to change that?"

Hunter blinks.

"Uh..."

"Seems like a good idea!" Luz jumps in, saving him just when he needs her. "Hunter Cazador, but for real!"

Hunter nods, smiling.

"Very well then," Bump smiles and draws a circle, the application floating from Hunter's hand onto the desk.

"Healing track hm? Good choice."

Hunter grins.

Last class of the day, let's go.

Due to his lack of magic, he had been given a gauntlet disguised as a glove that contained artificial magic. It also had the benefit of hiding his coven tattoo.

His first class (ever!) had been Spellmatics, or as Humans called it, math.

Or maths, he wasn't sure.

He thought it sounded more natural with the s, so he used that.

His last class today, however, was Isles History.

Hunter  excelled  at history.

For basic classes, there was a cross-track mix of students, meaning it was a combination of different tracks.

Hunter spies two desks at the back and decides that he'll sit there, right by the window.

If anyone has anything to say about it, then well...

Hunter isn't at the top of his coven for nothing.

Ten minutes into the lesson, the door slams open.

An angry oracle teacher walks in, covered almost head-to-toe in enchanted glitter gloop.

Multi-enchanted actually, if that shine says anything...

And behind her, she's dragging two students with identical green hair and shiny golden eyes.

Oh fuck.

Emira and Edric.

The way that the classes at Hexside work are you have three sets of classmates, your track class, your Spellmatics class and your core class, the final of which he's in now.

This means the twins are going to be in  all of his classes but two.

Fuck.

The twins trudge over to the only empty desk.

Which, just his luck, is the one right beside him.

They didn't notice him at first, until-

"Does anyone know the exact date of when the Emperor united the magic system into covens?" 

Of course I do,  Hunter scoffs internally.  It's been practically carved into my brain since I was nine.

"No one? Hunter, do you know?"

Fuck-

Answering the question calmly, Hunter makes sure not even  twitch  in the direction of the Blight twins for the remainder of the class, subtly packing away his things as the end of class neared.

Ten.

Hunter collects his scattered stationery.

Nine.

Packing them into his plain red pencil case, he makes a little noise as possible.

Eight.

He disguises the noise of him zipping his pencil case up behind a student asking a question.

Seven.

Writing quickly, Hunter copies down the final notes on the board.

Six.

He double-checks he has roughly the same amount of information as the teacher has on the board.

Five.

Silently shutting his notebook and slipping it into his bag, his eyes flick back to the clock.

Four.

Sliding slightly closer to the end of his seat, (thankfully it was the one furthest away from the Blight's desk) Hunter keeps his eyes trained on the clock.

Three.

He shifts his weight.

Two.

He grips his bag strap tightly.

One.

The bell screams. Almost instantly, the class rises and begins to pack their things.

Hunter swings his legs from under the desk to the side, using the momentum from that to jump to his feet.

He follows the other quick students out the door, monitoring his speed carefully.

Enough to appear natural but not slow enough to be caught.

Slipping into the hallway, Hunter spots a crowd of students and blends in with the masses.

Edric's never really liked mystery books.

They're not his thing, too many plots and threads and small details that were secretly clues so you have to remember  every single one of them  such as how the angry man getting off the boat had dyed hair or how the side character had a tarp in his boot.

And the plot twists. Oh, how he hates the plot twists.

But Edric can make an exception, just this once.

Because Hunter was like a mystery book in his way, enchanting and strange with so many new things to learn.

He  was  the mystery.

But Edric knows better than to get comfortable.

There's a plot twist coming, and he doesn't know what.

But at the same time, there's a touch of something else that Edric doesn't want to think about in fear of spiralling and falling right into it.

Because every mysterious look follows a charming smile, every strange action is accompanied by a lovely laugh, and every suspicious glance is done by a pair of ruby-garnet eyes that shine just like the gems their colouring matches.

But sometimes the clouds come by and that shine fades away.

Edric hates it when that happens.

But he loves likes Hunter's smile, his laugh, his eyes. His awkward habits that interchange with confidence faster than you could say 'whiplash'.

Yes, Hunter is a mystery.

And every mystery has a plot twist.

He wonders what Hunter's is going to be.

Does he want to know?

Chapter Text

"Hunter!" 

The blond jumps, almost dropping his bag.

Luz is bouncing towards him cheerily.

"Oh, Luz. Hi."

"Hi! How's your first day been?"

Hunter smiles. "Pretty good-"

"Move it round-ears!" A pink-haired tri-eyed girl shoves past his sister roughly.

Hunter glares at her.

"I'm sorry, what was that for?" He asks lowly, magenta eyes narrowed.

"Huh? Who are-" The girl stops, staring at him.

Hunter ignores the flash of panic in his chest that she somehow recognised him.

"I asked you a question and I request that you politely answer it," Hunter says through gritted teeth. "Why did you push her? She doesn't appear to have done anything to you."

The pink-haired bitch finally snaps out of her weird trance.

"She- she was in the way! I was-" 

"In a very wide, barely occupied hallway?"

Hunter vaguely realises that said hallway is no longer very unoccupied as a small crowd had gathered around them.

The majority of the people are staring at him, likely due to his insistence on pink bitch apologising.

"I- oh what do  you  care? I don't even know who you are!"

"Likewise, although I can't say I want to know," Hunter responds coldly. "My name is Hunter for the record, though."

"Boscha. I don't understand why you're defending a  human  though." Pink bitch,  Boscha,  scoffs.

"And  I  don't understand why you're  insulting  her."

"Ugh. Wait, are you new? Oh, that explains it! You don't know how things work around here!" Boscha exclaims, acting as if this was the answer to everything.

"Well then new kid, how about  you  come with  me  and-"

"I may be new, but I'm not stupid. This isn't Mean Girls and I'm not Cady," Huntercuts in, hearing a faint  What's Mean Girls and who's Cady?  But he ignores it. "Meaning I can tell a bad person when I see one  without  the help of Janice."

Boscha blinks, seemingly not quite understanding the Mean Girls references that he learned from Luz.

"Now, I'm afraid that life is far too short to waste on this, so to you I bid goodbye."

He briefly bows, before straightening up and winking casually at the pink-haired girl as he spins on his heel and leaves, Luz following behind him.

He misses how she and her cronies go a flustered bloodberry red.

After school, Hunter has to work.

Oh, joy.

It was an average patrol, Hunter was partnered with Steve, which was always a plus, that guy was cool and also only a little older than him (not that Steve knew that) when they passed none other than the Pink Bitch herself.

Steve scoffs.

"Oh, it's  Boscha."

"You know her?" Hunter raises an unseen eyebrow.

"Yeah, unfortunately," Steve sighs. "I have a younger cousin, see, and he's always  telling me about the stuff she pulls, ranging from tripping someone in the hall to switching people's pencils for ones with nasty spells on them to this one time where she followed three people around for a whole day and picked on them!"

Hunter frowns.

"That's  not  right."

"Mhm. The three kids, I think their names are Willow, Gus and... Luz, maybe?" Hunter freezes. "I'm not 100% sure. But they ended up challenging her to a grudgby match and Boscha lost  epically."  Steve sounds like he's grinning.

Hunter laughs.

He trails off though when he notices Steve watching him.

"Uh, you good Steve?"

"Oh- yeah! It's just when you laugh you sound... so young."

Hunter pauses. 

Steve is the closest thing he has to a friend in the Emperor's Coven. From all that he's observed, Steve is very trustworthy. He was Lilith's favourite guard before she uh. 

Y'know. 

Betrayed the Emperor.

"Well... you could say that I'm younger than you'd think I am for a person of my position," He ends up replying semi-mysteriously.

Luz's dramatics are rubbing off on Hunter, sue him.

Steve laughs until he notices that Hunter isn't following.

"Wait, for real?"

Slowly, Hunter nods.

Their conversation is interrupted by a yell from a woman who was being repeatedly hit by an enchanted broom which Boscha and her friends laughed. Well, Boscha was laughing. Her friends looked very reluctant but faked amusement likely to please the pink bitch.

By the time they wrapped up the situation, their patrol was over. Bidding Steve a cheery goodbye, he walks to his room and hopes that Steve won't tell anyone.

Chapter Text

Hunter's job had been getting busier and busier recently.

But in return for Hunter doing so much work, his uncle had given him a certified day off of his choosing.

The day Hunter picked was a special one.

The day of Edric and Emira's 16th birthday party.

Not the uncomfortable social formality one that their mother had planned, but the party  they  wanted to have.

He'd been looking forward to it so much.

Until-

"I can't have it off?"

Hunter stares up at his uncle, forlorn.

"No, you cannot. The Blight twins are having a party... I wouldn't want you to get caught up in that."

Emperor Belos's eyes seared holes into his head.

"...oh."

"You must understand Hunter, I'm only doing it for your own good. The type those twins are mixed up with... the unruly sort, the kind I don't want you around," The Emperor explains, gliding down the stairs and resting a hand on Hunter's shoulder.

Hunter didn't like it when he did that anymore.

He preferred it when Eda ruffled his hair, or when Luz gave him a tight parallel-arm-thing, or when King declared him a pillow and took a nap on him.

Even Hooty's weird tube-wrap thing was more appreciated. 

"Hunter? Do you understand?"

"...yes, Uncle."

"Good. You will spend that day in the castle, and I suggest you catch up on paperwork. There are a few reports you haven't submitted yet."

Hunter nods, plastering a smile on.

"Okay Uncle. Thank you."

Belos nods at him, dismissing him out the doors.

Eda kept telling Hunter that he was overdue for a rebellious streak.

Perhaps it was time to cash in.

On the day of Edric and Emira's party, Hunter puts his outfit in a bag, grabs Rascal and leaves a fake note saying he's going for a walk.

It'll be fine, it'll be fine, it'll be fine-  he repeats, pushing down his panic as he walks to the Owl House.

"Oh hey, Hunter!" Luz exclaims as she opens the door. "You're here early-"

"Luz I've done a thing."

Luz blinks then sighs, gesturing for him to enter before shutting the door behind him.

"So you finally had your long overdue teenage rebellion and ran away from Belos?" Eda summarizes just as Raine walks into the room.

Raine, the unfortunate soul, spits out the apple blood they were drinking.

"Ran- Belos!?"

Hunter shrinks back into the couch nervously.

Luz gasps.

"Hunter's a criminal now! Welcome to the gang!"

"No! I'm not- it wasn't a law, besides, he'll prob-probably forgive me..."

Right?

His own words echoed in his ears.

"The emperor is not  a merciful man."

A chill racks through him.

I'm dead.

I'm so, so dead if, no, when he finds out

Hunter has to admit, this was worth it.

He's never had so much fun in his life!

Of course, he's never had friends before, either.

Emira goes downstairs to get water, Amity and Luz are in Amity's room geeking out over Azura (and doing NOTHING ELSE, hopefully) and Edric just excused himself to the bathroom.

It was all going fine-

-until a burst of artificial magic arrived right in front of Hunter.

He froze.

His limbs felt stiff and his heart was pounding.

Oh no.

Oh, no no no no no-

The scroll, as it revealed itself to be, hovered before him as if waiting.

Shakily, Hunter reaches out to grasp it, unfurling the parchment.

𝓘 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒, 𝓗𝓊𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇 '𝒞𝒶𝓏𝒶𝒹𝑜𝓇'.

𝒮𝓉𝑒𝓋𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓅𝒾𝒸𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓊𝓅 𝒶𝓉 𝑒𝓁𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃. 𝓑𝑒 𝑔𝓁𝒶𝒹 𝓘'𝓂 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝓈𝑒𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒦𝒾𝓀𝒾𝓂𝑜𝓇𝒶 𝒹𝓊𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓇𝑒𝒸𝑜𝑔𝓃𝒾𝓈𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝒶𝓅𝓅𝑒𝒶𝓇𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒.

𝓘'𝓂 𝓁𝑒𝓉𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓀𝑒𝑒𝓅 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓈𝑒𝒸𝓇𝑒𝓉, 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓃𝑜𝓌.

𝒮𝓉𝑒𝓋𝑒 𝒶𝓁𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝓎 𝒶𝓉 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓈𝓉 𝓈𝓊𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒸𝓉𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒶𝑔𝑒, 𝒽𝑜𝓌𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓋𝒶𝑔𝓊𝑒 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝑜𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒, 𝒽𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝓎 𝓘 𝓈𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝒽𝒾𝓂.

𝒲𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝒹𝒾𝓈𝒸𝓊𝓈𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓊𝓇𝓃.

𝔅

Hunter wanted to cry.

The door swung open.

"Hey Hunter- oh man, are you okay?"

Hunter nods silently, hoping the boy won't pry.

Thankfully, Edric doesn't, but he keeps an eye on the blond for the remainder of the evening after Hunter informs Emira of his pickup arrangement.

Luz was sleeping over, so Eda wasn't coming until morning.

The second the clock hit 11, a chime rang through the house.

Immediately jumping up before her brother could, Emira went to fetch the door.

Walking down the stairs, Emira wonders who to expect.

The short demon lady that Hunter always cringed at the mention of, Kikimora?

The emperor himself? 

No, wait, that one would be ridiculous.

Then who...?

She swung the door open.

There stood...

A perfectly ordinary person.

Nervous-looking, slightly confused.

Ordinary clothes and-

Oh.

A member of the emperor's coven.

Of course.

"Ah- hi? I'm here for- Hunter?"

His acting skills were deplorable, but Emira let it slide.

Plastering on a sweet smile, she chirps out a confirmation before heading up to get him.

"Hey Hunter, someone's here to pick you up now!" She announces.

Edric sighs, jokingly announcing his annoyance over being the only boy again.

Hunter laughs half-heartedly, picking up his discarded pair of boots and slipping them on.

Emira walks him back to the door, noting the nervous look on the blond's face.

Hunter is almost shaking from nerves.

He's going to meet Steve.

Steve, the only member of the emperor's coven that he semi-trusts.

Steve, to who he's already mentioned his relatively young age.

Steve, who already knew he was young but has never seen him without his mask off.

Steve, who  he's  never seen without his mask off.

Hunter's mind is running circles, tripping over proverbial rocks and metaphorical bumps before slamming into a mental wall.

Approaching the door, Hunter sees Steve before the other sees him.

He's as tall as he is in his coven guard gear, but now Hunter can see his messy blond-brown hair and pale red eyes.

He looks... pretty cool, actually.

If Hunter remembers correctly, Steve is 19-20 years old. He really isn't too far off Hunter's age.

"Uh- hi?" Steve says awkwardly.

Judging by the footsteps behind him, Edric and the others had come down too so Hunter needed to put on an act.

Not to mention he didn't know how this was going to play out in the long run.

Emira looked like she was trying not to laugh at whatever the fuck this is.

Yeah, I may need to take the lead here.

"Hi, Steve!" Hunter responds conversationally. "I'm ready to go if you are."

Steve nods stiltedly, and with a final wave to his friends, Hunter sets off with the older man.

Said man is not-so-subtly sneaking glances at him all the way down the driveway.

"Steve, if you have anything to say, go ahead." Hunter eventually says, adopting his Guard Voice.

"I- sorry, it's just... I know you said you were  young,  but I didn't think you meant like, seventeen!"

"Sixteen, actually."

"Sixteen!? You're-" Steve looks around and lowers his voice, "The Golden Guard, head of the emperor's coven, at SIXTEEN?"

"Uh. Yeah."

Steve looks bewildered, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Wow. When I was 16, I was trying to pass my Spellmatics class, and you're running the Isles's entire authority unit..."

"Mhm."

"I give up dude," Steve throws his hands up in the air. "You-you're unbeatable."

Hunter smiles.

"Mm, I just had the drive. Anyone could get there with the right shot." He responds vaguely.

"Well, I have no idea how we're going to get back, I was told you could teleport me but uh, you don't seem to have it?"

Hunter checks around before whispering,

"Don't tell Belos."

In a flash of light, Rascal (who was previously hidden in his bag) had extended to full size.

"Oh, woah!" Steve laughs, visibly surprised.

Hunter grabs onto Steve's arm.

"Watch out!"

"Wha-"

A flash of red, and they were gone.

Edric liked his siblings, and he liked Luz too.

But it got kinda boring after Hunter left.

He didn't have his number so he couldn't text him. He could text another friend but... they were all kind of boring compared to Hunter.

...damn, he's gotten way more attached to the blond than Edric thought he would've.

The last friend he had that he was this attached to was-

No.

No, his mother can never find out. No way Hunter was going to be approved of by his mother. if he'd never met Hunter before, he'd likely never met his uncle before, and if he hadn't met his uncle before it meant that he wasn't friends with Edric's parents.

Or allies, which Edric found a much more fitting label.

They don't seem to have real friends, politicians.

Hunter had fallen into Edric's whirlwind life and had stayed. He's so glad that the blond came when he did.

It's lonely, being the only boy.

But now Edric's drunk off of Hunter's presence, like that night at the party...

He excuses himself before the others can see his blush.

Chapter Text

The emperor is furious.

The anger is emanating off of him so thickly it was terrifying.

"Hunter."

Hunter gulps cold sweat gathering across his forehead.

"Y-yes?"

"I'm disappointed in you, Hunter,"  the Emperor says, the statement echoing across the chamber.  "I seem to have been far too lenient with your freedoms."

Freedoms-?

Oh.

"Uncle please don't lock me inside the castle please it's so lonely-"

"Oh no Hunter,"  Belos says, the cruel smile likely on his face conveyed with his tone.  "I'm going to restrict your freedom in a way  far  easier than that."

Hunter's heart stops.

He didn't like where this was going.

The Golden Jerk

< Amity

< Amity I need Ed's number

mhm sure >

< Amity seriously

< This is important.

< Please Amity

...fine. >

[CONTACT ATTACHED: Ed] >

< Thank you Amity!!

Unknown number

< Hey Ed

< This is Hunter

< I need to talk to you about something really important

??? >

what's up? >

< ...

< Can we do it over scroll?

I- we are though lol >

< Ed. Please.

okay, gimme a sec. >

Incoming call:  Unknown number

Click.

"..."

"...hi."

Hunter's voice slips through the scroll speaker.

"Hunter-"

"Look Ed I'm sorry but I don't have much time to tell you this-"  a shuffling can be heard.

"Huh?"

"Ed- I need to tell you before you find out... from some other source.

"Ed, I'm the Golden Guard."

Silence has never echoed quite so loudly in Edric's ears.

"...what-?"

"I'm so sorry- ah!"

Huh?

"Hunter?"

"I'm sorry,"  a melodic voice dripping with insincerity fills the scroll's speakers. Despite having never heard it in person before, he can pinpoint exactly who it is.

"My nephew can't come to the scroll right now. I would offer to take a message, but it won't matter because you'll likely never talk to him again."

Ice shoots through his veins.

"Goodbye, whoever you are."

A cracking, fizzling sound like dying sparks and broken glass comes through and then the call disconnects.

Edric needs to call Luz.

Chapter Text

The crystal ball glows, seconds away from being cast live.

All across the isles, witches gathered around their own crystal balls and scrolls to watch the emperor's impending announcement.

Hunter is almost shaking beside his uncle.

Beside  Emperor Belos.

A vice grip on his shoulder and the fear of immense repercussions is all that keeps Hunter from bolting.

Eda... Luz... King... Raine... Lilith... Amity... Emira...

...Edric.

All these people that he'd loved and now lost.

Because of this man beside him.

A spark of slow-growing resentment fills a small part of Hunter's chest.

The part that used to tell him to  forgive, forgive, forgive  his Uncle is now telling him to  fight, run, hide  from Belos.

The man behind the camera waves to Belos, indicating that the stream is about to begin.

And then they're live.

Hutner stand to the side as instructed, his mask a solace covering his face-

-and the rest of his uniform woefully missing, replaced by extravagant formalwear but not completely impractical, thankfully.

He'd been withdrawn from Hexside, and when he went there he knew that the principal could tell it wasn't of his choice.

"You'll always have a place here Hunter,"  he had said.  "As Hunter Belos, Hunter Cazador or Hunter Clawthorne."

"Citizens of the Boiling Isles,"  Belos declares in his most grandiose voice.  "Today I bring an announcement regarding the future of the Isles.

"Today, I bring news that I have a successor."

Hunter's heart thuds heavily, dropping steadily from his chest to his stomach.

"You are all already familiar with him. A prodigy, gifted with a staff near the likes of my own to suit his level of magical expertise..."

Raine's mug shatters when they hear it.

"...gifted with a staff near the likes of my own to suit his level of magical expertise..."

"One he said would 'match my magical expertise.'"

That couldn't be-

"Hunter?" Lilith breathes, eyes wide.

Eda sits up, significantly more interested now that her kid had been mentioned.

"This boy, this  child,  is no more than 16 years old. But he is exceptional."

Emira and Amity look over at each other, worry brewing in their eyes.

Edric just feels sick, staring at the glowing orb with growing fear.

"My successor is one you have all known for a while, one you are familiar with as a role model and a leader."

"Today I show you, my successor,"  Belos pulls Hunter forwards, into the view of the camera.

"My  nephew,"  Belos takes off Hunter's mask as the blond rapidly schools his expression, fear growing by the second.

"The Golden Guard, Hunter Archer-Belos."

Across the Isles, a moment of silence sounded, clear and silent.

Even nature itself seemed to have stopped, the wind stilling and the birds silent.

Before a rousing wave of applause echoed from witches on one end of the Isles to the other.

Except for those who knew, who  truly  knew, what this was:

A restriction, a figurehead, and inevitably, a death warrant when the wild witches came for Hunter's head.

Chapter Text

"Hunter,"  Belos addresses him coldly,  "I have  full faith  that you'll pick up where I left off."

You will do the will of the Titan, for it is greater than your own.

Hunter scowls, looking down so that no one will see it.

As Belos walks away, Hunter checks around him for people watching before slipping a slight, wooden feather that Rascal had gifted to him for comfort.

The small palismen was the single comfort he had now.

So many things had happened in the last five minutes it was like Emira had just been hit with four rounds of whiplash.

Let's review.

First of all, and the thing she was most pissed off about, she was getting pushed into an arranged marriage.

(What is this, the bloody 1600s?)

Secondly, Edric was getting his own room.

Mother  had deemed that they were too old to share a room (bullshit, they were fine) so Emira was going to be quite lonely, in the foreseeable future.

Her mother had informed her of the marriage the day after her birthday. She refused to tell her who it was until the Emperor's broadcast aired.

Watching it, Emira had had a sickening feeling as to who it was.

Entering her mother's office, she immediately spotted the woman's large crystal ball displaying an image that was likely taken from the broadcast.

The image was of Hunter.

The feeling worsened.

"Seems like a nice boy, hm?" Her mother commented. "Not a bad choice, all things considered."

All things-

A sinking pit was steadily forming in her stomach.

"Mother," Emira says through gritted teeth. "Please get the  point."

"Oh, I think you know the point, Emira. You're a bright girl after all, despite your unruliness."

"Mother-"

"I'm just doing what's best for the family, dear. You'll become the empress of the Isles, Amity will take over the company, Edric will secure our connection to some other family, it all works out!" Odalia rambles, pleased with herself.

"But mother-!"

"What  Emira, are you so  insistent  on?"

"I don't- I'm-"

"Spit it out,  Emira."

"I'm a-"

BANG!

"ODALIA! I BROKE THE CEILING!"

Her mother sighs.

"Oh dear, seems your father had an accident. You'll have to tell me another time."

"But-!"

"No buts dear, if you wanted to tell me you had your chance."

Odalia gives her eldest a tight-lipped smile before walking out the door, heels clicking on the tiles.

Emira stands there for a few seconds before crumpling to the ground.

"Fuck..."

Emira.

Hunter is being forced to marry  Emira.

As in Emira  Blight.

His friend. Ed's  sister.

Hunter's not even straight, what the hell.

His replacement scroll rings, startling Hunter who hurriedly rushed to pick it up.

"HUNTER!"  Emira's voice screeches through the speakers.  "Did you know-!?"

"No! Not until like, this morning!"

Emira wails.

Faintly, Hunter hears a muffled voice on the other end.

"I- shoot, Ed gimme a- sorry Hunter, I gotta go."

"Em-"

Beep.

Aaaand she cut the call.

Great.

Who knew what the Blight twins were discussing-

Belos swoops in from nowhere and snatches his new scroll-

"Huh- hey-!"

-And promptly throws it onto the ground and crushes it beneath his heel.

Hunter freezes.

That... was my last link to-

It’d been so hard just to sneak that one in, no way he could get another-!

"I'm sorry Hunter,"  Belos says cooly, his voice lacking the supposedly kind edge it had carried for the last nine years.  "But I can't let you have that anymore. Kikimora, please escort Hunter to his new room."

Kikimora, being the snivelling asswipe she is, bows and politely says, "Of course, my liege."

Ugh. Wait, 'new' room?

The door Kikimora led him to wasn't too far from his old room, but the inside was drastically different.

It was empty, save for a few bland books Hunter remembered skimming once a long time ago that he found horribly boring sitting on his bookshelf and a set of clothes waiting on his bed.

Very unfamiliar clothes.

"I hope your new quarters are to your  liking,"  Kikimora simpers, before leaving and letting Hunter explore his new abode.

All of his things... were gone.

Except-

A pink frog plush, with a note tucked under it.

Hunter,

I'm sorry but this was all I could save before they got rid of it, aside from a few cool books I tucked behind your new boring ones.

-Steve

Hunter smiles.

"Thanks, Steve," he whispers.

Looking down at the plush, he remembers Luz's reaction to it.

"You have a Sprig stuffie!?"

"'Sprig'?"

"Yeah from Amphibia, Sprig Planter!"

"Oh... I just called him Hopper."

Hunter stares at it for a moment, before pulling it into a tight hug.

"Luz... I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry..."

Outside, the first few drops of rain fall, signalling an incoming downpour.

Walking over to the window, Hunter props Sprig's head onto the windowsill and rests his head on top of the frog's.

Watching the rain slowly drip down, he sighs heavily, contemplating the future.

Wondering what happens next.

What a way to end.