Reprogrammed (Hunter Angst)

As the Dust Settles

The whole rest of his week was spent sewing a new shirt for himself. It went slow, given the lack of a sewing machine at Darius's house, but he was passionate and excited enough to see it through regardless. In between the vigorous stitching sessions, he helped to rebuild the Isles. Luz and Vee had come to join him, announcing with a thrill that they were finished with their first year of high school, and were now on something called "summer break". It was a concept of which Hunter was not familiar with. There were no breaks in the coven, not for any season.

But now, he was taking a break. The week he had before his return to Hexside was... really nice, for the most part. The nights were sort of hard, of course. But Hunter also hoped that with enough trial and error through medication, he would be able to find a little more solace, a little more sleep. Darius was there to support him, too.

Now that the adult was in therapy, he was also doing a lot better. Darius was able to guide Hunter through the aftermath of a particularly rough nightmare in a way the teenager had never seen. He still fumbled through the "therapy lingo" (as he called it), but it was a marked improvement.

The Boiling Isles were starting to show some real improvement, too. The place still had a long, long way to go, but Hunter and Luz could really see things starting to shape up into a brighter future.

Every day after school, Gus, Willow, Amity, and many other of their schoolmates would come to help fix the damage done by the Emperor. More and more, the scars left behind began to fade.

"In a few years, it'll be like he was never here! Or at least... I hope that's the case." Amity exclaimed, flicking her fork around. It was finally Sunday night, and Eda's dinner party was well underway. She sat next to Raine, gently rubbing her partner's hand. Everyone was smiling, nodding, providing their own conversation. Hunter had never seen a group of people look so... hopeful . It was refreshing.

The summer sun set late in the evening as Hunter and his friends played Flyer Derby outside. Gus's staff lifting him up and into the air gave him a feeling of joy like no other. He desperately missed being able to fly with Flapjack, and while using another staff would never be an equal substitute, the privilege of being able to play sports and swoop through the air made him happy nonetheless.

Right as the last of the vibrant orange light trickled out of the sky, Eda trotted outside and announced that she had a surprise. Hunter watched as his friends' faces lit up in a way that implied that they were all part of this supposed "surprise". It made Hunter a little nervous, but he would never express these feelings, especially when his friends looked so excited.

Everyone landed, palismen tucking themselves onto shoulders and into pockets. Hunter sucked in deep breaths, partially because of the exertion of their exercise, and partially to settle his nerves. Surprises... did not always treat him well.

As he trudged back into the Owl House, the teenager grimaced a little bit upon seeing all of the adults waiting in the living room. Eda and Raine lounged on the couch, King curled up on the Bard's lap. Darius leaned against the wall; Eberwolf on his shoulder. Camila sat with her legs crisscrossed on the floor. On Eda's lap was a package, wrapped in colorful paper and exuberantly taped. It looked as though whoever wrapped it had a hell of a time doing so.

"Eda, why didn't you just let me wrap it?" Luz said with a playful grimace upon seeing the wad of paper.

"Hey, I already spent a bunch of time working out the logistics for this thing, the wrapping was kind of an afterthought. I'm the Owl Lady, not Santa Claus, or whoever your weird human holiday spokesperson is."

This remark earned a chuckle from Luz as she threw herself down next to King. Amity soon joined her side. Willow and Gus settled on the floor next to Camila. Soon enough, all eyes were on Hunter.