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It had taken a total of about twelve hours for Luz to go completely stir crazy, despite the fact that she and her friends had been trapped in the human realm for that time.
She just needed to do something , sitting around doing nothing made her think back to The Day of Unity, and she was not ready to tackle those feelings yet.
“Hey… Amity?” The girl turned to her girlfriend, who was now looking at her with observant, honey colored eyes.
“Yeah?” The witch delicately played with a strand of her lilac hair, making Luz blush in spite of herself. Like seriously, why did her girlfriend have to be so cute when Luz was trying to be serious?!
But Luz quickly collected herself after a short internal screech. “How would you feel about seeing some of the human realm?”
The pale girl’s eyes widened. “I mean… that sounds great, but would your mom be okay with that?” She asked worriedly.
Oh. Luz had forgotten about that. “Let’s check.” She stood up, offering her girlfriend her hand, causing Amity to smirk as she took it.
The couple walked into the kitchen, where Camila was cleaning the dishes from breakfast.
“Mami?” Luz started, trying not to seem nervous as she began to realize what she was about to ask for.
The woman turned, looking expectantly at her daughter. “Hm?”
“Can Amity and I go to the park?”
The question made Camila pause, turning completely to face her daughter. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, corazon…” the brunette pursed her lips pensively.
“I promise, we’ll be super careful!” Luz pressed.
Amity nodded, catching onto her girlfriend’s gusto. “I can cover my ears with a…” Amity frowned, turning to Luz and bashfully asking in a low voice, “what did you call it again?”
Luz chuckled a bit. “Bandana.” She forces back on her mom. “We’ll be back before dinner, I promise!”
Camila sighed. She knew that Luz could look after herself, she had survived in The Demon Realm (that’s what it was called, wasn’t it?) for months, and she was old enough to be allowed out of the house. Camila didn’t want to push her away again. “I want you to text me a few times to let me know you’re safe, are we clear?” She relented.
Luz looked surprised to the point that Camila felt a twinge of regret. “Sí Mamá. ¡Muchas gracias!” She bounced up and excitedly pulled her mom into a bone crushing hug, that Camila happily returned, ignoring the life being squeezed out of her. Amity smiled at the sweet display.
Luz grabbed the witch’s hand as they skipped off to Luz’s room to get ready for their date (they hadn’t said it was a date, but who was that fooling?).
***
Camila couldn’t help but watch fondly as her daughter and her girlfriend came out of Luz’s room wearing complementary outfits and giggling cutely as they left the house.
Camila had mixed feelings on The Demon Realm as a whole, but her daughter’s girlfriend seemed like a keeper. She was polite and kept Luz safe, and most importantly, they made each other happy. She was relieved that her Luz had found such a nice partner.
That being said… Camila finished up the dishes, looking around the dining area with a slight frown. Where are the others?
Vee was at the library, but she hadn’t seen Luz’s other friends since breakfast. Actually, that wasn’t entirely true, the blond boy hadn’t even been at breakfast, the other kids said something about him needing to sleep in (which Camila was inclined to agree with given his dark eye bags).
She decided to check on them. Luz hadn’t told her much the night before, but Camila was smart enough to infer that these teens had gone through something immensely traumatic.
As she predicted, all three of Luz’s friends were cuddled up together on the floor of her bedroom; the smaller boy and dark haired girl were eagerly toying with a purple device that looked remarkably similar to a smartphone and the blonde haired boy was leaning against them, petting a small cardinal (?) in his lap.
She didn’t want to startle them, so she softly rapped on the doorframe, causing the girl holding the device to look up and offer Camila a small smile.
“We were just seeing if our scrolls work in The Human Realm.” The glasses-clad girl was clearly excited, but kept her voice low for the blonde haired boy, who seemed separated in his own little world. “Since Luz’s phone worked back home! And they do! We can’t send videos, but we can send messages!”
“That’s great!” Camila responded quietly. That probably will help them feel a little less stressed about this whole situation.
The mother looked down at the trio, remembering they were still in their torn and dirty clothes. “Why don’t you all shower and change? I’m sure Luz wouldn’t mind if you borrowed some of her clothes. If nothing of hers fits you, you’re free to try my closet.”
The smaller boy perked up at that, his eyes battling between curiosity and apprehension as he stared questioningly at Camila. “Could you…” the girl nodded encouragingly at him to continue, “could you show us how the shower works? It’s probably different than at home.”
Camila nodded. “Of course. Would you like to go first?”
The boy glanced back at the girl, who once again nodded, motioning to the taller boy leaning on her. “I’m not getting up anytime soon.” She attempted to joke, coaxing a weak smile from the boy, who carefully removed himself from the cuddle pile and stood up. It was clear that he appreciated the attempt to make him smile after whatever horrors they faced the day before.
It turns out the showers from The Boiling Isles were pretty similar to those on Earth, but Camila was still glad she gave him a quick reminder on which direction to turn the knob for hot and cold. Unexpectedly mixing the water temperatures up wasn’t very pleasant.
When she returned to Luz’s room, she looked back at the blond haired boy with pursed lips. They all seemed stressed, of course, but he was on an entirely different level. Camila only heard him speak to comfort the smaller boy a few times last night. “Is he… alright?” She questioned softly. He was still staring at his bird with an unfocused expression, absentmindedly petting them as they chirped back at him softly.
The girl nodded with a frown. “Hunter’s… been through a lot. We all have, but him especially. The emperor was his uncle.”
Camila’s eyes widened. Luz had talked a bit about the controlling emperor who was secretly a witch hunter. Her daughter had also recalled how the tyrant was killed right in front of them… even though it seemed Hunter knew his uncle wasn’t good, watching him die probably wasn’t the best experience.
“I don’t think we introduced ourselves last night.” The girl continued. Camila decided she must be the rock of this little trio, given how she seemed to enjoy comforting the boys. “My name is Willow. The boy in the shower is Augustus, but we all call him Gus. And like I said before, this is Hunter.”
Camila smiled. “It’s lovely to meet you all. I’m glad Luz made such nice friends.” The compliment made the dark haired witch smile bashfully.
She heard the shower shut off. The boy- Gus, must be done. “Do you think you’re able to… rouse him, so one of you can get up?”
Willow nodded. “Flapjack, you can help, can’t you?”
The bird chirped in what seemed to be agreement. They flew from the boy’s lap and onto his shoulder, tweeting in his ear.
“Hunter…” Willow’s voice was barely above a whisper, making Camila wonder if he was startled easily.
Something in Hunter’s face changed, he looked up, his eyes darting from the cardinal to Willow, who never stopped gently smiling. “Hi Hunter.”
He blinked, his face reddening as he processed Willow staring at him with large, green eyes. “Captain… hey…” His voice was a little scratchy from lack of use, but it wasn’t bad enough to concern Camila.
Suddenly, he sat up straight, his head whipping over to stare fearfully at Camila. “I-I didn’t upset you… did I?” Camila grimaced at the genuine terror she saw in his eyes.
“Of course not, Hunter.” Willow assured him. “Miss Camila was just checking on us.”
Hunter didn’t seem to believe her, but he still offered a slight nod to at least acknowledge the explanation.
“Do you want to shower first, or-“
“No no, you can, Captain.” Hunter insisted. “You deserve it.”
“Okay…” Willow slowly agreed.
As she walked out of the room, there was a split second where the young witch and Camila locked eyes. There was a violent spurt of fire in Willow’s gaze, and Camila understood her silent message in an instant: Don’t hurt him. The underlying threat was a little too clear.
But Camila gave her a curt nod as Willow passed her and walked out of her sight, she wouldn’t look scared in front of a teen, even one that could undoubtedly beat her in a fight.
A few seconds later, Gus enthusiastically returned, a proud smile on his face, he was wearing one of Luz’s anime T-shirts and a pair of blue lounge shorts that he’d managed to tighten to not fall off him. “The soaps have scents , Hunter! Nonsensically named scents ! Like, why is the spice old?! How do they trap ocean breeze in the soap?!”
The comment made the older boy huff out a laugh. It was by far the most at ease Camila had seen him, but in a way that was slightly off.
Ah. Her sense of happiness faded marginally when she noticed the lack of sincerity in his eyes. He’s faking happiness for Augustus. The thought made her deflate slightly.
“So I tried all of them! Weirdly enough, the scents don’t all work well together.”
“Luz and I prefer different scents.” Camila added fondly. “They aren’t usually used all at the same time.”
“I-it was an honest mistake!” Camila nearly gasped, not expecting Hunter to suddenly jump forward and become so defensive.
Gus tried to calm him down with a shoulder pat. “Hunter, it’s ok-“
“Don’t punish him! Please! I-I’ll take responsibility!”
Camila froze. She was now certain that this Emperor was some form of abusive, and, more presently, Hunter had conditioned himself to see adults (or perhaps just parental figures?) in a similar light.
Her warm, brown eyes softened. “I won’t hurt any of you, carino; I promise.” She tried to sound firm without being intimidating, but it was a little hard while she harbored so much newfound rage for Hunter’s uncle.
Hunter’s face reddened and his ears twitched in what appeared to be embarrassment. “I-I didn’t mean-“ He shuffled a few steps back, his bird twittering worriedly.
Camila decided to stop him before he inevitably spiraled. “I know you didn’t mean anything by it! It’s quite nice to see that you care so much for your friends!” She decidedly ignored that the determined glint in his garnet eyes made her want to pee her pants in fear.
Hunter’s eyes widened as Gus offered a quick noise of agreement before pulling him off (most likely to show him one of the ‘human oddities’ he had discovered). The break relieved Camila, giving her a second to contemplate her next move.
After a few moments, she decided to text Luz and see if her daughter had any advice.
Mom: I’m sorry to interrupt your date, but is there anything specific I should avoid with your friend, Hunter?
Luz: MOM
Luz: IT’S NOT A DATE 😳
Luz: … at least not officially
Luz: I don’t think
Luz: Try not to look angry in front of him I guess tho?? He gets a little defensive
Camila sighed at the response. That’s one way of describing it.
Mom: Alright, thank you, hija ❤️
Luz: Np 💗💜
Camila was slightly disappointed that Luz hadn’t offered much new information, but it was enough for her to reaffirm her theories on Hunter’s home life.
She sighed, deciding to preoccupy herself with the laundry until she had a better idea of how to better help Luz’s friends.
***
The next hour or so was fairly relaxed. Hunter went to shower after Willow and was in there for at least double the time his friends were.
“It’s probably because they didn’t let him use hot water in The Emperor's Coven, or something.” Gus mused, but if the resulting cringe from Willow was anything to go by, the joke fell flat.
If he hadn't already been dead, Camila would have happily given this emperor a piece of her mind. At this point, everything she heard about the man made her hate him even more.
Eventually, Hunter exited the bathroom, nervously shifting his weight around as he glanced down at himself. He seemed enormously uncomfortable in Luz’s oversized sweater and shorts if his fidgeting, still gloves hands were anything to go by.
Camila was quick to notice the scar tissue that covered the majority of his legs. She did her best to offer the traumatized teen a sweet smile. “If you’d prefer something to cover your legs more than Luz’s shorts, you are welcome to check my closet.” She repeated her earlier offer.
Hunter’s eyes widened, but he nodded gratefully and scurried off. Given that the house only had two bedrooms, Camila wasn’t worried about him getting lost.
“I’m going to start dinner; is there anything specific either of you would like?” She asked after a short pause.
Willow shrugged. “I don’t know much about human food.”
Augustus’ eyes lit up at the question. “There are so many options! Humans have so many dishes!” He gushed enthusiastically, making Camila chuckle. “I can’t choose just one!”
After a moment of thinking, Camila had an idea. “I have quite a bit of chicken in the freezer. Do any of you not eat meat or animal products?”
Willow and Gus shook their heads.
“I haven’t been able to grill with all the rain, but it’s clear for now, so I might as well.” She said, more to herself.
“Oh! Can I help?!” Gus asked, clearly more at ease after taking a hot shower.
“Of course.” Camila didn’t mind teaching him a bit more about help, besides, he probably was trying to keep his mind occupied and Camila didn’t feel the need to stop him. “I’ll show you what we need.”
***
Hunter was relieved that Camila’s closet was open, because he probably wouldn’t have put together that the giant, wooden… thing across from the bed was what she considered a closet.
At first, he just observed the clothes from a distance, not wanting to unintentionally disrupt whatever order Camila had to her clothes. But the majority of the clothes in the front were pale blue pants and shirts that looked bland, but could serve as a last resort if he couldn’t find anything else. He stood there for a few minutes, not seeing much that caught his interest.
But after he had accepted defeat and was about to grab a pair of the blue pants (what did Luz call them? Scrubs?), but he noticed something shoved in the very back of the wooden storage. Very hesitantly, Hunter reached his arm back and grabbed the hanger with the white and blue outfit he’d seen.
Once he had gotten it out and was able to see the whole thing, he froze, sucking in a breath- it was a dress, a long, flowing sundress with a white bow at the waist.
He could almost hear Belos clicking his tongue disapprovingly as he held it up. “Real men don’t wear those frilly things, Hunter. You wouldn’t disappoint me with such clothing, would you?”
The thought made him purse his lips. He knew Belos had… different standards than the others on The Boiling Isles and he knew that his uncle was gone and he was free to make his own decisions, so why did the idea of wanting to wear this dress make him so uneasy?
But… he was alone now. Only Flapjack was here and the bird was chirping insistently about how he wouldn’t judge Hunter and that he should at least try the dress on.
Hunter gave a small nod. He moved to close the bedroom door so that he could be entirely alone.
“Okay…” he tried to psych himself up as he pulled the striped fabric over his head.
Huh. He hadn’t expected the frilly little arm puff sleeves to fall below his shoulders, but it actually made the dress cuter. He walked over to the full length mirror next to the closet and took a closer look at himself.
The dress was surprisingly comfortable, it was probably meant to be a bit more form fitting, but Hunter didn’t mind that it wasn’t pressed against him, it actually gave him a sense of relief. It was only snug at his waist, giving him an hourglass silhouette. The bottom of the dress was frilly, mimicking the sleeves and the top and making the piece cohesive in a way that made Hunter smile.
The white and baby blue complemented his ashy blond hair and made his vibrant, garnet eyes pop. He felt like that should bother him, given that their color was a telltale sign that he was a grimwalker, but when paired with the whole look, it just made him feel pretty. The only issue was…
The gloves. Hunter grimaced. His dark brown gloves didn’t exactly go well with his current outfit.
Flapjack must have sensed his hesitation because the bird quietly chirped at him.
“I know…” Hunter responded, looking back down at his hands pensively. Flapjack sweetly tweeted at him again, “maybe… just for a minute…”
He pulled off the leather gloves and gingerly placed them besides Flapjack, who had settled themselves at the foot of the bed.
Hunter didn’t like his hands, they were almost entirely covered in scars, many of which were discolored. He frowned, putting them at his sides as he looked back in the mirror, surprised at what he found staring back at him.
“It’s… me .” Even as he said it, Hunter knew there was more to the statement. For once in his life, he saw someone who was genuinely himself, and in a way that didn’t immediately make him recoil, not even his hands looked so bad with the whole look.
Flapjack seemed happy at his statement. The bird hopped onto his shoulder, nuzzling his cheek affectionately, making Hunter laugh softly. “Yeah yeah… I love you too, buddy.”
But the moment was cut short when Hunter heard the door swing open with a creek. He must not have closed it fully.
He instinctively froze, met with Camila’s wide eyes. His heart began to hammer frantically in his chest. Was he not supposed to wear the dress?! Was she mad at him?! What did he-
His spiraling thoughts were cut off by a warm smile. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen that dress…” She sighed reminiscently.
Hunter blinked owlishly. “Are you… upset?” He asked cautiously, not reassured by her initial reaction.
She frowned slightly. “No no, why would I be upset? If anything, I’m quite happy you wanted to wear it; Luz never did when I offered it to her.” She chuckled a bit at that.
Hunter’s face flushed in embarrassment. “Oh…” She seemed genuine, making Hunter question if she was trying to coax a certain response from him.
“I just came here to tell you that dinner’s ready.” Camila informed him. “Luz, Vee and Amity are back, and your friends, Willow and Gus are helping set the table.”
Hunter suddenly felt extremely guilty for not helping. “Ma’am, I’m so-“
“You don’t need to be sorry, corazon.” She assured him comfortingly. “I’m glad you were able to find some time for yourself. You all must have had a rough week.”
Time for himself ? The concept was still so new to him. It seemed so counterintuitive to everything Belos and the coven had conditioned him to believe (but honestly, that was basically his entire life, at this point).
“You deserve it, Hunter.”
His breath hitched. Never once had he been told he deserved anything , and here this human he just met yesterday was telling him that he deserved time for himself?
He wanted to cry, but he held it in. Camila seemed to notice, but thankfully did not address it.
“Are you ready to eat?”
Hunter thought for a moment, deciding that his friends wouldn’t mind him wearing the dress, so he gave a small nod, following Camila out of the room to where his friends were.