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writing-fanics · 1 year

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⁂ starry eyed ⁂

✦ Hunter X Collector!Reader ✦

[Chapter Five: Watching and Dreaming]

previous chapter

[Y/n] smiles, as she sits up happy the war is over, watching as the sun shines between the clouds. She looked down at a puddle of water, and her reflection stared back at her, and her eyes were no longer that of the same as her brother. But, [e/c] and her hair was now, [h/c], and the purple batch on her face no longer there.

‘And that's how we saved the Boiling Isles.’

In the forest where the red pine trees are to be placed horizontally. A bird perches on one horizontally.’Well, as much as we could.’

At the Archives, where everyone starts to come out safely.

‘We were so relieved to see everyone safely released from the Archives. They were spared the worst of it, at least.’

Lilith hands over a puppet Steve to be returned to normal by The Collector. Steve then feels his body and sees Lilith, who offers him a hug. Instead, Steve scoops her into a big hug, much to Lilith and The Collector’s happiness. Inside everyone was reuniting with their families and loved ones.

with their families and loved ones.

‘Because of that, everyone got to reunite with their families and loved ones.’

Amity runs over to hug her father, who happily hugs her. “Dad!” Amity laughs happily, Odalia scowling to the side. Gus, looks around for his father worriedly. When he does, he releases several illusions of himself which all approach his father. Once surrounded, Perry tries to hug the first two illusions until he gets to the third one, who turns out to be the real Gus. He picks him up and hugs him as the other illusions disappear.

Willow looks around for her fathers, accompanied by Hunter. He then suddenly smiles and points to someone. Willow instantly stares in shock and she runs to hug her fathers tight, who then kiss each other after.

Hunter’s expression returns to gloom as he reaches into his pocket; pulling out the single wolf ear hairclip. He had forgotten to give it to her when they reunited, and something in him told him that he’d never see him again. The moment he saw the tiny stars fall from the sky in the archives, it was just that gut feeling. He looks down sadly, as he looks after realizing no one might be probably waiting for him.

‘And if someone thought they had no one waiting for them, well, they were in for a nice surprise.’

Someone suddenly ruffles Hunter’s hair, and he looks towards them in annoyance to reveal Darius and Eberwolf, with an appreciative looks on both of their faces. Darius then points to Hunter’s shirt to which he goes into detail explaining everything while Darius and Eberwolf look on, interested.

Someone suddenly taps on Hunter’s shoulder, and he looks towards them in annoyance but turns into a look of joy, revealing [Y/n]. Emotions took over and he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her as if her life depended on it. She pulled back from the hug and smiled at him, the excitement of seeing her again and the emotions, just seemed to take over, cause the next moment he crashed his lips on hers. She was taken aback for a moment but slowly melted into the kiss and kissed him back.

Back in Hexside, everyone celebrates the return of Principal Bump, which is met with applause. His long black hair, which is flowing in the wind, stops to reveal Amelia and Cat, who wave happily. Boscha suddenly pushes through the Blight twins who were in front of her, Edric falling due to his cast, runs over and hugs them, crying.

‘Still, there was a lot of work to be done—’

Various Bonesborough citizens, including Morton, observe all the damage done. Darius and Eberwold, inside the ruined castle, look on at the Titan’s hand, now in its new position.

‘And not everyone was keen to change things—’

Belos’ ruined throne. Vitimir, Terra and Adrian all walk towards it with mischievous looks on their faces. Two big shadows loon over them, revealed to be Darius and Eberwolf. Darius forms his left hand into an abomination fist, seemingly threatening them, as the three coven heads walk away nervously. Vitimit suddenly returns to touch the edge of the throne and it is promptly smashed away by Darius’ abomination hand.

‘But we were ready to give it a shot. All of us.’

Inside the owl house, Eda fixes the nest as she lays Raine down, then resting by their side. King jumps from behind, plopping into the spot beside Raine as Luz, Eda, and [Y/n] laugh. A blue light suddenly flashes and the gang turns to look at the Collector, followed by a hooded Lilith. The sisters reunite and hug as Camila and Amity, also enter the house. Amity and Luz hugs, and subsequently share a kiss. Camila then nudges Luz’s hand and the two share a hug.

‘As for The Collector—’

The Collector then approaches King and decides to give him back Francois. King happily hugs Francois as he walks away.

‘he and I made a pinky promise to keep trying our best. He said he had a lot of growing up to do, so he decided to return to the stars.’

[Y/n] looks down at her little brother and hugged him, and he hugged her back “Even though, I’m no longer a Collector, I’m still your big sister.” She said, kissing him on the forehead. King then catches up with the Collector and decided to let him have Francois. He then whispers in The Collector’s ear, which makes him tear up.

‘No one argued, but I think I heard King whisper, "I hope I see you again.”

‘We got our happy ending, but I realized something in that moment.’

‘When the Titan had finally passed on, so did the powers of the glyphs.’

But there would be a new adventure..

[ four years later ]

Owlbert flies next to Willow, who is now a professional flyer derby player. Together, they dive into the forest, where Hunter is carving a palisman from palistorm wood to give to Braxas. Willow lands on the ground and surfs on thorny vines. Hunter turns and he has a bluejay on his shoulder. He glances at the Bat Queen and Eda’s parents working in the garden. He catches up with Willow and walks before sliding down a steep incline. Hunter loses his balance and Willow breaks Hunter’s fall, and they are in shock.

They look to the side and they warmly smile. It is a gravestone for Flapjack, and Willow conjures delicate vines to decorate the gravestone. Hunter and Willow fly off to Bonesborough. They stop at the library, which is in the process of renovation. Mattholomule is seen overseeing the construction, while Kikimore is struggling with the wooden beams. Lilith unfurls her plans for a library wing, and Hooty eagerly watches.

The wind suddenly picks up and an Abomintaion themed blimp lands in front of them. Amity steps out and hugs Lilith. Lilith then revealed her new harpy form, which resembles a raven. [Y/n] lands on the ground, and holds her staff in her hand while holding a sketchbook in the other. She smiled happily seeing, everyone, and walked towards Hunter kissing him on the cheek.

‘Jasper, stop I’m trying to listen!’

‘Me too, shh be quiet Stella!’

Sitting in a chair sat a much older [Y/n] her hair had been cut short, and there was a wedding band around her left ring finger. Closing the picture book in her hands she looked down at the children in front of her. A boy with blonde hair and [e/c] eyes looked at his twin sister with an annoyed look. A girl with [h/c] hair and brown eyes stuck her tongue out her at older twin. [Y/n] shook her head, and watched as her children bickered over them continuously interrupting the story.

“Knock it off you two,” She said, looking at the twins whose gaze shifted back to their mother, who still held the book in her hands. She opens the book, and was about to continue reading.

“Mommy?” Stella said, causing her mother to look up from the book. “Yes, sweetie?” [Y/n] said, looking at her daughter. “What, was it like when you kissed daddy?” She asked, and Jasper looked at her disgusted making a barf face.

[Y/n] chuckled, patting her lap Stella stood up and waddled her way towards her, and she picked her up. “Well, the first thing there was a lot of emotion behind it.” She said, smiling looking down at her daughter, “We hadn’t seen each other in almost a day, and he thought he’d lost me again, and that he’d never see me again.” She said, sadly causing Stella to frown.

“But, the moment he saw me it was like seeing an old friend after years of being apart. And all that emotion just took over.” She said, recalling it and smiling warmly at the memory. “Then he said I love you?” Stella asked, and [Y/n] shook her head, “Nope, not yet thats my little star.” [Y/n] said, nuzzling her head against Stella’s. “Is a story for another day.” She said, causing Stella to frown.

“Awe, did I miss storytime?” A voice said, the children looked over towards the doorway, a much older Hunter stood there. “Daddy!” the twins exclaimed, running over to their father he knelt down wrapping his arms around his children.

“How’s, my little stars?” He asked, Jasper looked at his father happily, “Mommy’s telling us the story of how you and everyone defeated Belos.” She said, and Hunter looked at her, “They’ve been begging me nonstop.” She said, and Hunter just rolled his eyes with a smile. “Plus, they wanted to stay up so they could see you.” she said, smiling and placing a bookmark in the book for later.

She pushed herself up from the chair, revealing her bump of a stomach. “Now, that you back….Bedtime!” She said, clapping her hands, causing the twins to whine. “Daddy! Can we stay up to finish the story?!” They asked, and Hunter shook his head, “Nope, mom said it’s bedtime.” Hunter said, and they pouted folding their arms across their chest.

“Plus, mommy needs rest,” Hunter said, gesturing toward their mother’s growing stomach. “But, I’ll finish the story tomorrow,” Hunter said, looking down at the twins whose eyes lit up with joy.

taglist

@tinkerbellsgf @supernerdycookietrashblr

#Hunter x reader #Hunter x you #Hunter x y/n #hunter x collector!reader #hunter toh x you #hunter toh x reader #hunter toh x y/n #toh x reader #toh x you #toh x y/n #hunter wittebane x reader #hunter wittebane x you #hunter wittebane x y/n

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sergeantsporks · 1 year

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Writing Request:

(Raeda) Can you do when Eda first finds out that Raine is a puppet?

The change from beast back to witch was a gradual process. Lilith’s elixirs weren’t QUITE as potent as Morton’s, but Eda still felt herself falling into her body slowly with every new brew. How Lilith and King had gotten the first one down the owl beast’s throat was a mystery to her; maybe King had managed another ‘squeal of rage’ miracle. Or maybe the owl beast was sick of being in this place and was more than happy to switch back.

It had started with a vague awareness of what was going on around her, instead of being locked in that dark in-between space. The owl beast still had control of the body, but at least Eda somewhat knew what was happening, albeit in a dreamlike state.

Her awareness had gotten sharper and sharper until she was a passenger in her own body, and now… now she could move again. She gripped the bars of her cage in her front talons. “Ready?”

Lilith gave her a thumbs-up from her hiding place behind a rock. “Go for it!”

Eda yanked her arms apart, and with a grinding screech, the metal tore, creating a hole big enough for her to squeeze through.

“Alright, let’s get King and get—”

Eda stepped over a line, and a row of figures dropped from the ceiling, drawing circles. Eda barely had time to register Darius’ face before a massive abomination swept her up, pushing her back into the cage. A row of people stood at attention, watching her.

Eda blinked. “Darius,” she snapped, “What’s wrong with you? We’re on the same side now, remember?”

Lilith climbed out of the cage, putting one hand on Eda’s upper arm “Look.”

The owl beast’s eyes were much more sensitive than Eda’s eyes were normally, picking up tiny details as if she were going over the area with a magnifying glass. Darius’s hair was still, and cracks showed in his joints, which she KNEW were not from poor moisturization.

“What’s… wrong with him?”

“It’s not just him,” Lilith whispered, “It’s all of them. Everyone from the head.”

Eda had focused her sights on Darius—after all, he was the one whose powers had pushed her back into the cage—but she saw now that Eber crouched next to him, fangs bared, and next to Eber…

Raine’s eyes stared lifelessly at her, glowing gold and orange.

“No.”

A steely, unsettling calm spread over Eda, numbing her senses. “No,” she repeated, “This is… I’m just still in the dreamscape. Lilith? Lilith, can you hear me out there? Owl Beast, I want to turn back. Whatever deal you want to make, whatever the condition is, let me wake up!”

“Edalyn,” Lilith said in a tone that was too gentle, too understanding, “You’re not dreaming.”

Eda whirled around, forcing Lilith to duck under her wing. “No,” she snarled. The calm was starting to give way to panic, horror bubbling up in her several stomachs. “NO!”

“Edalyn, the curse, your emotions—”

“I don’t care!” Eda howled, “I don’t care! I left them to save King, and I couldn’t even do that! If I’d picked them up, if we’d gone together, if—if—”

“It’s not your fault,” Lilith said gently, “Eda, you couldn’t have stopped this.”

Eda barely heard her. “Or even if I’d just done a better job impersonating them—”

“Eda.” Lilith took her face, pressing her forehead to Eda’s. “There was nothing you could do. Do you hear me?”

“But—”

“Raine wouldn’t blame you.”

The fight whooshed out of Eda at her words, and her wings drooped, feathers settling from their agitated, puffed-out state. “I…”

“They wouldn’t,” Lilith insisted, “So don’t blame yourself.”

“We’re really neck-deep in something crazy, huh?”

Lilith chuckled dryly. “I think we’re past neck-deep. I’m pretty sure we’re in over our heads.”

Eda sighed. She’d been somewhat equipped to deal with Belos. At least they’d had a plan, if a slapdash one. At least she’d had allies. The Collector? A completely different story. She didn’t know his tricks, and she was down to one available friend. She’d barely gotten Raine back from the coven, again, and now they were LITERALLY a puppet. It was all so overwhelming—all she wanted to do was curl into a ball, put her wings over her head, and block it all out.

But if she did that, she might never come back out.

“What do we do next?”

Lilith brushed her skirt off. “First, I perfect that elixir, and we get you back to your regular self.”

“And then what? We can’t leave with those puppets guarding us—even if we can overpower them, we don’t know what kind of alert that might send to the Collector.”

Lilith paused at that, regarding the puppets. “Well,” she said finally, “They wouldn’t be the first enemies you managed to get on your side, now would they?”

Eda snorted. “Yeah, sure. Which enemies, my own family, or the people who were already on my side, just in secret?”

“Fair enough. Come on. Let’s get back in your… room… before these puppets decide staying behind the line isn’t good enough.”

She climbed back into the cage, but Eda didn’t follow. She reached out, brushing Raine’s face with one claw. It was so big in comparison to them—trying to put her hand on their cheek would have probably thrown them into the wall. She was huge, she was feathery, she was monstrous.

But Raine hadn’t cared. In the brief second she’d glanced at them in her harpy form, there hadn’t been a trace of disgust on their face.

After so long hiding this side of her from them, they hadn’t cared.

“Hang on for me, Rainestorm,” she whispered. Her voice cracked, and she turned tail, clambering back through the hole she’d made in the bars.

We’ll find a way to get them back.

Somehow.

#toh #the owl house #toh fanfiction #my writing #raeda #eda clawthorne #lilith clawthorne #raine whispers #writing requests

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wherethebuttercupsgrow · 2 years

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So I don’t watch The Owl House, but I absorbed some things through osmosis and got thrown into the google docs, so! Anyway, hope you enjoy!

The golden guard is dead, but Darius isn’t.

He keeps the memory of his mentor alive in that slow burning flame in his chest, and he soldiers on. Attends the funeral, lips pressed together, hands folded neatly, feeling less like a person than the body he’s mourning.

(It’s just a body- he knows this, in that slightly distant way where everything lines up even if he doesn’t want it to. His mentor is gone somewhere he can’t reach, and what’s left is just a shell, no more alive than the abominations Alador plays with during recess.)

(That’s all it is, but Darius can’t look away from the golden glare of the mask, the cloak wrapped around a stick figure frame, the way his knuckles stand out from under skin, pearly white, scars wrapped around his hands. Those hands had squeezed his shoulders. That cloak had made its way over him more than once, asleep over his notes. The blonde hair that peeks out from beneath the hood all watery and pale would have been up in a tight bun. This is just the body, but if Belos wasn’t watching he’d think he might drop to his knees and weep the way no one ever weeps for distant fallen heroes, the way one would grieve a father or friend.)

—-

The golden guard was a traitor, so Darius is.

His mentor had died in the crackle of lightning at the edge of the staff in the warped shadows of the castle. That part of Darius that had loved what he did and loved what he would do for the coven died with them. He remembers the way the air had tasted of ozone. The burning.

Belos hadn’t seen him. He’d sat there, alone and still, until he was sure that no one would see him. Then and only then had Darius crawled out on shaking hands and knees and nearly collapsed with the ragged force of his breathing.

His mentor dead. It hadn’t been quick.

In the future, he will lose detail, moments- the way his mentor laughed. The smell of his hair, cinnamon and nutmeg.

He remembers the screaming.

He’ll always remember the screaming.

(It’s almost funny, how easy it was. Everything he’d worked for and ever wanted ashes in his mouth the moment his mentor had confronted Belos, back tense. The Emperor will announce later that night that he’d died a hero against wild magic before the body even had time to cool. The Emperor is half right.)

(Darius writes his notes and makes his connections and sometimes when he’s alone and in the dark, he presses his arm against his eyes and tries not to think about how he’d never even got to see their face.)

—-

The golden guard was strong, so Darius is.

He hates Hunter. Hates what the child stands for, really. Same mask same hood same staff, and it makes him feel sick to the stomach to look at.

He’s the head of a coven now, not an apprentice working his way up the ranks. He works with Raine and Eberwolf and does what he’s told on his own terms, and hides away those rebellious thoughts for when he can get away with it. It’s awful, horrible work, and some nights he spends scrubbing his hands with hot water until they’re red and raw less for the goo that had covered them and more for the red.

Dead, traitor, strong- all things the golden guard was that Hunter isn’t, and it settles in Darius’s stomach oddly. He cannot look at them without that resentment crawling up his throat and threatening to spill out like poison, so he simply doesn’t.

He looks away.

(It’s easier if he does. Because if he looks, then he remembers those pale hands wreathed in electric scars, blonde hair haloed around his head, that mask on his face, and he thinks of Hunter in a coffin six sixes smaller and his arms folded over the sigil on his chest: Belos’s even in death.)

And then one day he sees Hunter with that lopsided stitching and he can’t even care that the other’s mask is off, because all he can see is red.

That isn’t his.

That will never be Hunter’s. The resentment is tight in his chest then, all that time spent listening to the orders of a child half his age and gritting his teeth through the rage, because how dare he stand where they once stood- he’d pushed it down but this is all too much. It takes all he has not to tear the cloak down the middle or into paper thin shreds that not even he would be able to piece together again, the memory of his mentor properly laid to rest instead of haunting this sixteen year old’s shoulders.

A part of him knows this is unfair. But it’s easier to hate this child, this naive teenager, who hangs on Belos’s every word and lurks in the shadows of the castle like a warped echo of what once was. He tosses the cloak back like it means nothing and turns his back, and he lets the poison drip out of his mouth because it’s all he has.

“And I say you don’t deserve to wear that patch.” He says, and he doesn’t even look at Hunter as he walks away.

(Hunter is probably used to it, anyway.)

—

Do you even know what I’m capable of?

He raises his arm up and for a moment, even Darius isn’t sure what he’ll do.

He won’t kill them. He won’t even bring them back to Belos. But for the fraction of a second with the sword held high, it dawns on him that if Belos had truly been standing behind him, looming, he doesn’t know what he’d do. If the blade would sink into this group of kids, or if he’d turn it against the emperor. He thinks it’s the latter. He hopes.

In that fraction of a second, Hunter throws himself in front of Darius’s blade, face set and scared and looking at him like he’d look at Belos, and Darius-

Darius feels sick for entirely different reasons than he thought.

(A child should never look at anyone like that. Darius wouldn’t kill him, would never kill him, but Hunter doesn’t believe that- Hunter had flinched, and he knows somehow that will follow the screaming into his nightmares tonight.)

Darius breathes in. Out. The Golden Guard wasn’t nice, except for the moments he was. When he’d seen Darius eat lunch alone and sat next to him, that quiet support he’d sometimes forget to feel. When his mentor had died their death had been all Darius had left of them, colored every interaction and moment.

But before there had been a traitor and a secret keeper, there’d just been a mentor and student, and Hunter is looking at him with those wide, resigned eyes, and Darius cannot look away.

He gives Hunter the cloak, fixes the stitching. It was the Golden Guard’s, and though Hunter is young, he’ll grow into it. Not a symbol of blind obedience, but resilience in the face of injustice, strength in spades.

Hunter offers a hesitant smile.

Darius doesn’t look away.

—-

(Much later, in the forest, his knuckles will dig into Raine’s shoulder as he wrenches them back, heart in his throat, the owl house in the distance.)

(He cannot lose them. Not now, not yet, not again.)

(The Golden Guard was dead, but Darius isn’t, but Hunter isn’t, and he won’t outlive another. He won’t look away again.)

#the owl house #toh #hunter #darius #the golden guard #belos #dadrius #did i really do this again #did I really post a fic for a fandom I'm not in #AGAIN

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ankylosaurusthesaurus · 2 years

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so. that episode of toh, huh (spoilers in the tags)

#the owl house #toh #them's the breaks kid #toh spoilers #raeda may be my favorite ship in the show now #RAINE WHISPERS I AM OBSESSED WITH YOU #i'm calling it right now terra is gonna be a bigger threat than kikimora by the finale #kikimora's kinda going through it rn i feel like she's almost being used as a distraction or something against luz and co #also does this mean that darius is helping raine?? since at the end an abomination brought them the spell that terra was using #and the abomination had darius's same hair detailing #i was not expecting any of the twists in that episode toh has such good righting #after this episode and the hunter episode i am very much a darius stan #i want a darius episode at this point #odalia being a third wheel to darius and alador at hexside #i love gay people #i am so obsessed with raine #terra is such a good villain like she's so evil i am obsessed and terrified #i have so many theories about darius's role in everything aaaaa i'm so excited #honestly darius is just coven head to get a paycheck and make sure hunter's alright at this point #he's so done with everything else #YOUNG EDA IS ADORABLE #i am now headcanoning eda as having adhd it just makes sense i feel like #and obviously the curse is a metaphor for living with mental illness and personally i am choosing to interpret that as adhd #it can be anything that makes sense to you though i do like that dana has never explicitly stated that it's a specific mental illness #and there's nothing in the series that makes it look like it's very explicitly a certain thing #it makes it much more personal to the viewer and it allows the viewer to be able to see themselves in eda and her journey #and to be able to connect and learn from her growth #i love eda she's my favorite character #her growth and story and relationship to luz and history and everything about her is just so interesting #and her relationship with lilith and her mother and father

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sergeantsporks · 2 years

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Gilded Family

Hollow Mind Spoilers

Rating: Teen and Up, Gen

Ch 1/?: End of the Line

In which none of the previous golden guards or wittebro died, actually, they're all fine and living happily together as one big dysfunctional family

Ao3

“You’ve got a little abomination witch you’re mentoring, isn’t that right? I suggest you quit poking your nose where it doesn’t belong, if you want him to have any chance of a bright future. Last warning. Stand down, golden guard.”

“YOU LEAVE HIM ALONE!”

Hunter blinked up at a ceiling.

Where am I?

The last thing he remembered was a flash of red light, and Belos shaking his head in disappointment.

And then…

“Darius!” Hunter sat bolt upright, and then a wave of pain swept over him, his skin burning and itching. He fell back again with a groan, sinking into pillows.

“Oop! Yeah, I wouldn’t move too much right now if I were you. You got blasted pretty good.” A red haired witch’s face appeared over him. “Hey, there!”

“How long?” Hunter whispered weakly.

Is Darius okay?

“Uhhhhh yeah, that’s… complicated.”

“I need to—to—”

“You need to rest.”

“Who are—where are—”

“We’re going to explain, I promise, but it’s a lot to process, so we need to make sure you’re physically okay enough to handle it.”

“I doubt it’s more to process than the last couple of days,” Hunter said bleakly.

Uncle killed our family. He never cared, he killed all of them, and he’s probably already gone after Darius, I can’t sit around here!

“You’d be surprised.”

Wait. “We’re going to explain?”

“Yeah. We. HONEY!” the witch called, “HE’S AWAKE!” She held her hands up. “Okay, try not to freak out, this is going to be… a little weird.”

A man poked his head in the room, and Hunter’s heart about stopped in his chest.

He looks like me!

He didn’t look quite the same—there were differences, little details that were just a little off, and he was older, somewhere in his thirties, if Hunter had to guess, but overall…

Did Uncle not kill us all after all?

What is up with those ears?!

“Hi,” the man said awkwardly, “Uhhhh sooooo… I’m theeeee original.”

What.

“Wow, somehow this never gets easier. Um, yes. Hi. So. My brother. Phillip. Belos. Whatever you want to call him.”

“Your brother?! But—”

“It’s weird, I know, it’s… wow, I’m explaining this badly.”

“Yes, you are,” the witch teased. She reached out, as if to take Hunter’s hand, then faltered. “Permission to touch?”

Hunter nodded distractedly. Uncle has a brother. But he can’t be—he’s too young, Uncle is ancient, this guy can’t be his brother! And if he was, that would make him my—my—

The witch gave his hand a squeeze, the touch dragging Hunter’s spinning thoughts to a stop. “How much did Belos deem too much?” she asked quietly.

Hunter wanted to bury his head in the blankets just thinking about it. “He’s a witch hunter,” he whispered, “He killed our family. But if you’re his brother—did I have it wrong? Did I betray him for nothing?!”

Did I put Darius in danger for nothing?

“No,” the man sighed, “He thinks I’m dead. And that’s the way I want to keep it. Look, what you didn’t find out, what he didn’t tell you is that… you’re only his nephew in a manner of speaking. I’m… you’re a grimwalker. Of me.”

“He doesn’t know what that is,” the witch chided, “What he means to say is, you’re a copy. A—a replica, if you will.”

“Phillip wanted to replace me after I chose witches over him.” The original held up his right hand, which was missing the last three fingers. “Fun, huh? Stabbed me, mutilated my hand, and left me to die. Much like he left you to die. But… I survived. My wife saved me. And we saved you, too.”

I’m… a copy?

Am I even real?

None of this matters.

Hunter tried again to get up, fighting back dizziness. “Thank you for saving my life. But I have a kid I need to get back to—well, he’s not my kid, but he’s in danger, and he doesn’t even know it, and I have to let him know I’m okay!”

The two exchanged a glance, and the witch gave Hunter’s hand another squeeze. “We can’t… quite let you do that. It’s—”

Hunter ripped his hand out of hers, lunging out of the bed. He bowled the man over, limping for the door. Every muscle screamed in pain, and his skill burned and chafed, but he shoved the door open.

They can’t keep me here.

They can’t—

A kid stared back at him, his neck covered in heavy scarring, like someone had tried to rip his throat out. How old was he, twenty, at the most? That was being generous. Hunter’s hand went up to his own neck, covered in bandages and healing patches.

He looks like me.

“Uh-oh, Mom and Dad messed up the explanation again, didn’t they?” the kid chuckled.

Hunter backed away, his head whipping around as he tried to find an exit.

There’s another one.

And another.

This is impossible.

They all died, and even if they hadn’t, the time in between—

This is impossible.

He stumbled over his own feet, and the original caught him. “Hey, there. I’ve got you.”

“H-How,” Hunter whispered, “How is this—how are they—”

“They all used to be Hunter.”

“That’s… I’m Hunter!”

“Not anymore,” a couple of the boys chorused.

Hunter shook his head, his thoughts whirling around unfinished. “This is—”

“Every single one. I’ve rescued every single one of my brother’s copies after he left them for dead. Every single Hunter.”

“But I’m—I’m—they’re not—I’m Hu— I’m—”

The original sighed. “I’ve got something to show you. If you’re up for it?”

Hunter nodded, numbly following him to another room where he pulled out a crystal ball. He touched the surface, and it lit up with the familiar inside of the keep.

“Look here.”

Hunter peered at the glassy surface, sick to his stomach at the sight of the hallways he’d walked down a thousand times.

There was someone else walking down them.

Someone wearing a uniform he recognized, although the cloak wasn’t quite the same.

It looks too big on him. Too heavy.

“That’s—”

“Hunter the latest.”

Hunter glanced back at him. He looks the most like you. “He’s just a kid! Why’s he already the golden guard?!”

“The youngest one yet,” the original said sadly, “The most obedient, too.”

Hunter shook his head. “This—it doesn’t make sense. Where did he come from?! I think I would have noticed him wandering around!”

A deep sigh. “The reason you can’t go looking for your kid, is because… it’s been years.”

What? No, I just woke up, and I’m still injured—how has it been years?

“I escaped Phillip by fleeing to the future. He’s still here, but he’s not looking for me. Have you ever heard of a time pool?”

No, no, no, no, this can’t be happening—

“Those are just an urban legend!”

“They’re real. And they’re how I was able to rescue all of the other Grimwalkers. It’s been years since your ‘death.’ Belos has replaced you.”

What if he comes looking for us?!

“I d-don’t—I don’t understand, why here? Why didn’t you go so far that Belos wasn’t around anymore?! Why didn’t you use the time pools to stop him from killing us?!”

If you’d stopped this earlier, I wouldn’t have been taken from Darius. If you’d warned me, I wouldn’t be here!

“It doesn’t work that way.”

“Then how does it work?! Where’s my time pool?! I need to go back!”

“You can’t. I don’t know where they went, and you’re the last one I had to rescue, so I’m not going looking. They don’t always open up to the same times, anyway.”

“But they always open up here?!”

“Well—” The original sighed, suddenly looking much older. “Think of it like… time is a river. It flows forward, in one direction, yeah? And if I stick my finger in a river, it causes a disturbance, but the water just flows around my finger and back into the original flow. That’s how it is with time. Even if I try to disrupt something—like saving one of you—time would correct itself. Say I did rescue you before Phillip left you for dead. He still would have made the current Hunter to replace you, and you’d still be gone. And Phillip probably would have spent more time trying to track me down and kill me, and then I couldn’t save anyone else. The time pools are like places you can get out of the river, walk up the bank, and hop in at another predetermined point. You continue the way the river flows, or you can get back out and try to run back to the front of the river.”

“Why here? Why this time?”

Uncle’s brother shrugged. “Best I can figure, this is where the river stops. This is the front. The river is constantly expanding and we’re at the edge. I can’t go any further, because there’s nowhere else to go.”

Hunter nodded to the crystal ball. “What’s going to happen to him?”

“I don’t know. I knew more or less for the rest of you, but for him… nothing. It’s a bit terrifying, actually, not knowing when I’ll have to save him. I keep an eye on him, just in case.”

Someone else wandered through, a man with startling green eyes, and hair that was made of abomination goop. Hunter seized the ball. “Darius?!”

He’s okay!

He’s older than me, now.

It all sank in like a punch to the gut, and Hunter’s legs wobbled, giving out beneath him. The original caught him, lowering him gently to the floor.

“Oh my titan,” Hunter whispered, “He grew up. Look at him, he’s so big!” He laughed, tears pooling in the corners of his eyes. “He got a cape. Look at him! Is he the head of a coven?!” He rocked back and forth, gripping his hair. “He grew up, and I wasn’t there. And he probably never knew what happened to me, he never—” A sob built up in the back of his throat, and he felt a gentle hand on his back.

“I know it’s a lot. You’ve had a rough few weeks, and a rough life in general.” A deep sigh. “I know it’s… hard… not being able to go back to the people who do love you. But this house… we’re hidden, we’re safe. Belos hasn’t found us yet. And if he does find out about us…”

“Everyone’s in danger,” Hunter responded dully, “I can’t leave, because it could get everyone here killed, and put the current Hunter in worse danger.”

The original shrugged apologetically. “We won’t… stop you… from leaving if you really want to. I’m not going to be Phillip part two. But I do want you to be very, very, very sure that leaving is worth the risk not to just you, but the rest of us as well.”

Hunter glanced back at the crystal ball.

He’s all grown up.

He’s okay.

He… doesn’t need me anymore.

Hunter deactivated the crystal ball, erasing the image of his replacement, and the walls that made him sick to his stomach.

“No. I’ll stay.”

Maybe I have the option to leave.

But it’s not like there’s anywhere else I could go.

#toh #the owl house #toh hunter #wittebro #wittebane brother #gilded family au #toh fanfiction #my writing #toh spoilers

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