Home..?

Chapter 1: Home...?

            Hi! :) This is my first ever time really publishing my work and I'm happy with how it's turning out. I'm planning on making this a longer multi-part series that diverges from the cannon, however it may go. So, this starts not following cannon after "Thanks to Them" 

  Also, Fun fact for the day because you all might need it. Or will need it after reading this. I cried writing one part of this chapter: Male Gentoo Penguins propose using pebbles, and if their mate accepts, they'll keep it in their nest. 

 Thank you all for reading, I love you all :) 

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  "Time to go home Flap.."

Home... Hunter had never really had a real "home" until the Noceda's house in the human realm. And even then, it wasn't really his home. Just his temporary residence. A place for him and his family to bunker down after the Day of Unity. And they wouldn't consider him family anymore anyway, since he just tried to kill them all.. even if he wasn't really him.... But, he just found himself muttering under his breath as he stepped through the portal about a home he wished he could go back to directed towards a bird that was no longer there.

Hunter came out the other side of the portal, crying for the 14th time since he had arrived in the human realm. He'd found himself keeping count of all the times he cried, like he used to have to do in the emperor's coven when he would get his number of constant training days without food for the week equal to the number of times he showed weakness. He wiped away the silent tears rolling down his cheek and held back more when he noticed Gus's arm wrapped around him in a half hug.

He wanted to jump back, wanted to shout at Gus not to touch him. Yell that he couldn't be trusted! That he could never be trusted again after what had just happened... He choked back another sob as he looked down at Gus, who was fixated in front of them.

"What.." Amity's voice broke the silence, and Hunter jumped a little, not even noticing everyone else had come through. "What happened..?"

It looked like an exact replica of the demon realm, an exact replica of Bonesburrow...just off. There was no life... anywhere. Even the trees looked as though all of the life and color had been sucked out of them. Everything looked as though it had been dusted with a coating of grey. Everything looked...

"Dead..." Luz's shaky voice broke the forever-long silence. "Everything looks dead... why does everything look dead?!" Luz's stoic mask started to crumble as she started to ramble, "We need to find Eda. The owl house should just be a few minute walk and they should be there. They will be there. And..." She kept talking as Camila came up and wrapped her in a hug.

"Hey, Hunter, are you okay?" Willow asked in a whisper, only loud enough to be heard by Hunter. He flinched at the sudden realization she was standing next to him. "I mean, I know you aren't.... but you look really pale."

"I'm okay. Thank you for your concern." He answered, his answer robotically resorting back to the expected answer back in the Emperor's Coven. He'd been out of the coven for months now. He knew it was wrong. Yet that seemed like the only thing he could muster the energy for. The robotic, scripted answers.

"If we need to stop, we can. I don't want you getting hurt anymore." She asked, and Hunter was confused at the concern. He wasn't confused that Willow was worried. After all, she cared about people. It was one of the reasons he admired her. But he wasn't a real person. Why did she care, after all that happened? He almost hurt her.

"Thanks, Captain, but I'm fine." He answered, and he wasn't technically lying. He was physically okay at that moment. Sure his whole body was sore, and he was thirsty and his stomach was growling and every step made him feel like his legs were going to give out on him. But it was nothing he couldn't handle!