Say My Name - A familial Owl House Fanfic

Chapter 8 - She will tear your city down

I wrote this and read shitty love story things instead of sleeping, I hope you are all satisfied at my expense /j
Love you all don't let my jokes make you think otherwise!

Time had soon passed quickly. Hunter was 'granted permission', as Eda said, to sleep on the couch until they had a room ready. Which wouldn't be needed, considering Hunter planned on leaving tonight. Even if they were nice and gave him more than he could eat.. quickly fashioned a new binder for him, he didn't even need to ask... made sure to keep him well-rested, even if he knew they suspected something was going on.. Put the softest clothes he'd ever imagined on his back. But that wasn't the point! These were criminals he was supposed to be associating with wild magic!

Not a warm place to stay, not emotional support. Titan, there had to be a spell or something influencing him. That was it! He didn't really prefer it here over the castle with his uncle! He stood up from the couch, staring at the sword he'd, though ending in failure, defended himself with. It... wouldn't hurt to take it, right? Eda obviously had plenty more, and what if there were demons out and about right now? That's a perfect justifiable reason.

Hunter picked the sword up again, forgetting about the injury he had suffered just a day ago. Pain jolted up his arm, branching out until it stopped at his collarbone and waist. He expected to be at the castle by morning, but this new discovery of pain told him it'd take much longer than that. He practically limped his way to the front door, opening it ever-so-slowly to avoid waking the demon that possessed the house.

It seemed he was successful and he silently cheered, leaving Hooty's door cracked so nothing could get in, but also so he didn't have to risk waking the other by closing the door completely. He had an uneven gait as he shuffled across the clearing. Easy pickings for any nearby predators if they so wished. But that didn't make Hunter falter as he made a, rather slow, beeline for the forest beyond.

The boy shoved through bushes, ducked below branches, and failed miserably at hopping across a stream. He was tattered once more, the clothes the human gave him were ripped. He'd enjoyed the shirt too, in all its simplicity. If Hunter recalled correctly, Luz explained that it was a sweater from a human school named 'University Of Arizona', and it had a bright red, dark blue, and white 'A' on it. Why the human decided to explain it to him, Hunter would never know, but he was thankful for the distraction from his wallowing, his mourning of his lost palisman.

He shook the thoughts from his head and continued on, Hunter making sure to keep the sword off the ground in case that dulled it. He had reached a clearing when he stopped again, sitting on a nearby boulder and pulling the sleeve of his sweater up. Hunter silently cursed himself for not convincing the owl house residents to at least help him clean up the smooth cut. Well from the lack of disinfectants it could be considered a gash now, pulsing slightly with dark green and yellow infection under his skin. Just the sight of it nearly made him puke.

A shrill chirp sounded nearby, causing Hunter to jerk his head up, despite the strain on his entire torso. He recognized that trill, he'd never heard another bird even similar! "Rascal?" He called hesitantly, standing up and making his way to where he heard the sound of the palisman. Another tweet, farther away this time, got Hunter running the best he could towards it. "Rascal!" Hunter shouted again, no longer worried about any wild animals or demons out to kill him.

Hunter burst through the trees after following the ever-retreating sound of his cardinal, a nagging in his mind told him he was delusional. And the sight he was gifted all but confirmed it as he stood in front of the infamous owl house once more. He stared at the building, a burning hatred rising in his chest. All he wanted was Rascal back! Tears flowed down his face, but his expression didn't change. He just gazed at the walls and windows, regretting ever leaving Rascal in his room alone.

"Would you stop it-" Interrupted Hunter's thoughts as he turned his gaze slightly to the left. From the side of the house walked Lilith, and Hunter would've run if he didn't see what was in her hands. "You're certainly the brat's palisman! Just let me take you inside!" Lilith hissed, struggling with keeping quiet and with keeping Rascal in her palms.

A noise was finally heard from the blonde boy at the edge of the forest, a choked sob of just pure bliss. "Lilith, Rascal?" Hunter asked, as if it weren't real. His legs carried themselves, the adrenaline making him momentarily forget about the pain in his back as he flung his arms around Lilith in the same manner Luz had done to him, entrapping her in a tight hug. A gasp erupted from the dark-haired woman, making her lose her grip on the bright red bird.

Rascal didn't retreat, though, as they recognized Hunter's voice instantly. Instead, they landed on the boy's shoulder. The painless one. They rubbed their head happily against Hunter's cheek, being met with a small chuckle, another sob, and a stroke from head to tail.

"Where'd you find him?" Hunter asked Lilith after a while, he'd only released her from the hug a few minutes prior, and stopped crying a moment after. He was almost certain Rascal was dead, the palisman didn't go to Luz where they would've been taken care of! But they certainly didn't seem injured now.

Lilith, still caught off-guard by the blonde's bright-as-day show of emotions, took a step back to recompose herself. Her hair was a mess, there were slight bags under her eyes, and she was covered in small cuts and bruises, coated with dirt over those. "The Bat Queen protected him, as she does every lost palisman. And you wouldn't stop moping about losing the thing," With the way she talked, you'd assume she was being heartless, but there was also a bunch of true emotion shining through. "So I figured you'd be happier if they were returned to you." Her gaze traveled down to Hunter's own matted appearance, a soft smile gracing her face. "You can stay, you know? Edalyn's not going to turn you away, at least until you're healed. Then you can go again, or do whatever you want."

The choice was now laid in front of Hunter. It couldn't be more obvious which one he should choose, but still, he hesitated. What would his uncle think? Would his uncle want him back after spending so much time under their enemies roof? How about Rascal? Hunter couldn't give the palisman up! He saw how close he, himself, was to a full sobfest. But his mind kept wandering back to his uncle. Belos wouldn't like this at all, would probably petrify him on the spot. If he could be found... The owl lady has evaded the law so far.

"Your hesitance tells me all I need to know," Lilith hummed, placing a hesitant, gentle hand on Hunter's head. It seemed everything Lilith thought she knew was wrong, though, as she saw Hunter flinch away from an exposed hand. Hunter didn't want to go back to Belos because he wanted to, he was abused. He felt obligated to go back. And only time could tell how long Emperor Belos is willing to leave Hunter alone. But in the meantime... "Let's go to bed, you actually get some sleep, we'll talk more in the morning."

Decided to be nice, you're welcome 😌
Rascal is alive and okay guys :D I might've been planning on ehhh unaliving them but my aunt said no :( Glad it turned out this way though!)