The Owl House Oneshot Collection

Brother

Word Count: 869

Originally Finished: 04/15/2023

Rating: General

Warnings:  N/A

Characters: Philip Wittebane, Caleb Wittebane

Relationships: Caleb Wittebane & Philip Wittebane

Other Tags: Afterlife, Feels

Summary: After finally dying, Philip finds himself face to face with the last person he wanted to see

Darkness.

All consuming darkness was all that could be seen. A feeling of sinking all that could be felt. And a deafening silence all that could be heard.

He was actually dead. He knew it for sure. This is what death was supposed to be. At least at first. Soon, he'd find himself in heaven where he could spend his afterlife with the glory of God, no longer troubled with those demons and their precious Titan.

The darkness slowly began to shift into light, and Philip closed his eyes, calm and ready. But instead of feeling the warm, comforting embrace of heaven, there was a strange, windy cold.

Philip opened his eyes slowly, and it was a good idea to do so because he was surrounded by an almost blinding white. He looked down at himself and saw his body start to change, almost regressing through time. He started in his weakened cursed form, then his fully curse-ridden form, then his witch persona, then to himself again. Philip Wittebane. He could still feel the pain in his nose where it had broken, which was off-putting. Why would he be feeling that? Why could he feel pain?

Almost anxiously, he quickly pulled up his sleeve and was relieved to see that the scars of carving glyphs into his arm were gone. He sighed in relief, glad that God at least got rid of that. He slowly stood up and began to look around the empty, bright void. He noticed wherever he stepped, soft grass was created, as if this place was building the ground beneath him so he wouldn't fall into the bright abyss.

The place was strange, and certainly not what was described in church, but the sermons and scriptures were written by fallible men, not God himself. It was empty besides the ground that was created where he walked, and that was almost comforting. For centuries he was stuck in a realm of constant busyness. For once in a long time, Philip actually smiled.

Then he looked behind him and saw the last person he wanted to see.

"Caleb," He said, practically growling, "what are you doing here?"

No response.

"Here to tell me I'm wrong? We're both in heaven so you can't say that. I must have done something right to get here."

No response.

"They deserved it and you know it. It's a pity I failed. Twice. But they were in league with the devil and were using their unholy witchcraft to their advantage."

No response.

"After 400 years and you still have nothing to say? You're just going to keep staring at me with your empty expression?"

Still no response.

Philip's expression turned from disdain to fury.

This was his paradise, and he was still stuck with this vision of his brother he once held so dear? He couldn't even get the real thing? Just a ghost?

"I WAS RIGHT!" He yelled, "I was right and doing what had to be done! You betrayed me. You got us stuck in the demon realm. You ran away with the witches and hid the portal. It's your fault what I did to them. YOU TURNED ME INTO THIS! "

Philip felt tears beginning to fall down his face. Why was he crying? He had no reason to be sad. He was saying what he'd been wanting to ever since he first saw the spirit of his brother.

Caleb gently placed a hand on his shoulder, confirming that it was actually him, not just a vision.

"Did you get what you wanted?"

Philip's crying turned into sobbing as he collapsed to the ground. He sounded weird and, when he looked at himself, he saw he had regressed yet again and was a child.

That's really all he was, wasn't it? Just a child throwing a 400 year long tantrum. And for what? He lost. He lost everything.

He lost his power. He lost his control. He lost his body. He lost his humanity.

He lost his brother.

"I just wanted to go home." Philip softly cried.

"Gravesfield was never our home. We lost our home when ma and pa died. The isles were my home. I had a life, a job, a wife, a palisman, and a kid I never got to learn the name of because you killed me. And you? You lost your home the day you lost me."

Philip just continued to cry, knowing his brother was right. That's why he had made the grimwalkers after all, to fill the void he created out of jealousy and spite.

He curled into himself, as if he really was a child again and didn't just look like one. Caleb sat on the ground and pulled Philip into his lap. Philip instantly wrapped his arms around Caleb, holding him close as he sobbed into his chest.

"No." Philip said through the tears, so quietly Caleb could barely hear it.

"No?"

"I didn't get what I wanted."

"Well, you have it now."

Caleb gently ran his fingers through his brother's hair, even after he turned back from a child into his adult self, but now with no sign of his nose having ever been broken.

"Your big brother is here."

A/N: Well my previous oneshot was about what happened after Caleb died, so why wouldn't I write about what happened after Philip died?