Not Like You

Chapter 1

Luz blinked her eyes open, sitting up with a start. She glanced around at her surroundings, confusion setting in. Where was she? She was in a bed, in a room that wasn't her own. Or was it? The room looked eerily familiar to her. On the opposite side of the room was another bed, almost identical to hers. She tilted her head slightly at this. She didn't have siblings and she never shared a room with her mom. The young human rubbed her eyes which blurred with sleep, then she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Looking down, she realized she was dressed in a nightshirt she didn't even own. It looked old, not the kind of pajamas anyone in her era would wear. Bewilderment flashed across her face. Where in God's name was she? She closed her eyes and let out a breath, about to figure this all out herself, until the creaking sound of a door seized her attention. Looking up, Hunter appeared in the doorway, a grin upon his face. Nothing about his appearance had changed, but he was somehow different. He was a lot more cheery, that was for sure. Luz opened her mouth to ask him what was going on, but he began to speak before she could.

"It sure is a lovely morning today, Luz!" he said with a grin. "I've made you some flapjacks, just the way you like them." She winced at the name, Hunter caught the action. "Oh come now, Luz. You're still not upset with me for bringing that little bird in, surely? I know you think it's preposterous and you don't believe I can communicate with him, but I can!" Luz stared blankly at him, but all of a sudden her movements felt automatic as if they weren't her own and yet were at the same time.

"I'm not upset, Hunter, but surely your time would be better spent not bothering with wild animals the way witches do!" she spoke in a teasing way, but there was a slight edge to her tone. She noticed her voice was different, she was speaking with an unfamiliar accent. "You know as well as I do that if the townsfolk hear you talking to that bird, they'll think you're mad."

"Let them think what they want, I don't mind at all!" Hunter puffed out a breath. Now that she was thinking about it, his voice sounded peculiar as well. And his outfit, she'd never seen him where something like that before, had she? The thought left her mind, of course she had! This was her brother, he always liked to wear the same old raggedy overalls. "Well, you'd best be getting up. We've got to meet the other hunters at the southern forest." Hunters? Oh, right, the witch hunters! She'd just been allowed to join the hunts recently, it was always exhilarating once they'd captured one of those vile demons that bewitched their village. She gave her brother a grin, he walked out of the room and she changed quickly into her own usual attire. Clipping the strap of her own overalls, she grabbed her mask- her mask? Luz paused for a moment, her hands trembling. This wasn't her mask. She recognized it. This was kid Belos' mask. Her eyes widened in horror as she turned towards the mirror in the room. She was clad in similar attire to the inner Philip, although it was a slightly larger size. Fear coursed through her and she dropped the mask, causing a piece of the wood to chip off. The sound of Hunter's footsteps, heavy upon the wooden floorboards, broke her out of her stupor. Luz shook her head, everything felt fuzzy all of a sudden.

"You alright?" Hunter asked, a look of concern etched upon his scarred face. He seemed to blink and glitch out, a slightly older face eerily similar, but without any scarring, replacing his, only for a moment. She gasped, then rubbed her head with her hands. Her older brother moved towards her, reaching out a comforting hand. "What ever it is, you can tell me." Luz shook her head, trying to clear it again.

"I'm alright, I've no idea what's come over me." Hunter patted her on the shoulder.

"If that's the case, we ought to get going!" He grinned, grabbing her hand and pulling her along. "Let's go, Luz!"

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They walked through the center of town to get to the south forest, passersby greeting them happily. Luz returned the greeting, the names of these people floating in her head yet she had no idea who they were. That was odd, this was her town. Sure, she and Hunter had come here to live with their extended family not too many years ago but they'd been here long enough to know the townsfolk. The young girl shook her head, then her memories returned to her once more. Mrs. Taylor was passing by, freshly picked vegetables in her basket. They nodded a greeting towards one another, then she hurried along with Hunter as they walked the dirt path to the forest. It was quiet, save some birds and the nearing chatter of the huntsmen. She and Hunter had been tasked with scouting this hunt, which she was thrilled about. She gripped onto her mask, Hunter had their pitchfork in his right hand. As they approached the other witch hunters, the siblings were met with shouts of greeting and smiles all around. They knew their mission: scout ahead the path ahead through the forest and upon seeing the witch, let out a holler and give chase. The older men motioned them ahead silently, Luz taking the lead while Hunter kept back a few paces to watch her back. They'd not scouted this section of the forest before, and though she should be, she wasn't frightened at all. They went deeper and deeper into the woods, the sun barely pierced through the canopy above them.