It's a Long Way To Dearest Gravesfield

Chapter 24: Sacrifice

The friends stay out around the bonfire well after the adults are asleep, trying to push aside the very real fears that the next day could separate them forever. Gus and Willow lean against each other while Hunter occupies himself maintaining the fire and trying to roast a marshmallow without setting it on fire. Amity, Emira, and Edric cuddle close, stealing snacks from one another. Luz holds Amity's hand and tries to keep an eye on Hunter, hoping he'll say something if he's struggling, even though she knows it's likely he won't. Skara and Viney tell stories and draw them out of the others as best they can while making sure everyone has what they need in what Viney calls Skara's Snack Strategy.

Gus tosses a marshmallow at Hunter, "Roast me one?"

"Only if you want it burnt," Hunter replies, spearing it, "Remember...not that great at this."

"Fire's the way to go," Gus says, shrugging, "Just pass it to me like it's a torch and it'll be perfect."

"So...," Luz says, staring at the dancing flames, "When this is all over, what're you all gonna do? Got any big dreams?"

Gus shrugs, "Nah, just go back to school and maybe tell everybody I survived an encounter with a real-live giraffe in addition to having taken down a Palisman eating, witch destroying monster. You know, the kind of thing everybody does on a weekend."

Willow giggles, "I want to go back to flier derby," Skara and Viney cheer and Hunter smiles, "And I want to do some exploring in the human realm. What about you, Luz?"

Luz shrugs, "I'm not really sure. I kinda want to be here, I kinda want to go home. Maybe we'll find a way to do both."

"If King gives you some of his blood, you'll have a means to power a portal," Amity says, "it could work. Just wait until he's got a nosebleed and ask for the tissue after. Boom, portal power."

"Maybe," Luz says, "but I'm going to have to get better at building doors."

"We'll help," Edric offers, "Not only because we like you, but because I, for one, don't want to have to listen to Mittens pining for her 'dear sweet Luz' for hours on end."

Emira nods, "It'd be unbearable. And I'd miss the mischief you get us into. So you're gonna have to accept the help."

"I'd love to see the human realm," Skara says, "I want to see a giraffe, too!"

"They keep them in zoos!" Gus exclaims, "And they just...stay there."

"I want to learn about how humans do healing, and learn about the animals you have over there," Viney says. "Then I want to come home and kick butt with the Emerald Entrails!"

"Awww, you kept my name," Hunter says.

"Well of course we did, it's awesome and it'll inspire fear in our enemies!" Skara says enthusiastically.

"What about you, Amity?" Gus asks.

"Apparently I'm building a portal and pining over my girlfriend when she's not here," she quips, "But I don't really know about anything else yet. There's a lot to think about. The world might end up looking pretty different in just a few years. We don't now what'll happen. We don't know how the Collector fits into all this. And maybe I'm a little OK with just not knowing right now."

"Makes sense," Gus says.

"What about you?" Amity asks Hunter as he passes a stick with a flaming marshmallow on it back to Gus, "What do you want to do after all this is over?"

Hunter pokes the fire and adds another log, "I don't know. It's not like I had a lot of options before this all happened, you know? One parental figure...who's trying to kill me now. A forbidden Palisman as my first friend...and he's dead. Belos had my future planned out for me. I was just going to be the Golden Guard – he said the Titan had big plans for me and I believed him. There wasn't really room for dreaming, not until I ended up joining the flier derby team and met all of you. I learned a lot in the human realm, and I'm still figuring myself out."