Different People= Same feeling-same way fo feel things+Different way to feel things
Luz didn’t seem to be there. Hunter had to hike from the castle to their meeting spot. For the most part, he was in a good mood, until he got to the alley. She wasn’t there; she had said she’d be there!
It made him worry. She kept her promises and held up honor with all her heart. Why wasn’t she here? Was she angry at him for dismissing her assertions about his scars? Had he finally messed up enough that she didn’t want to see him anymore?
No, Luz wouldn’t do that. He thought of all the little things she did. The ones that made his life so much harder but also made it happier. The time she had stolen his work gloves and replaced them with winter gloves. How she always asked him how he was doing, in the early days how she always was gentle when he ‘looked sad’.
He had a whole closet's worth of things symbolizing her intentions and he didn’t know what he would do if she wasn’t part of his life.
“I’m sorry Hunter,'' a voice from behind him.
A plume of air blasted him. He didn’t manage to fully turn to Luz before he was out. The last thought in his brain was 'Huh what an excellent use of sleeping nettle smoke'.
Luz
Luz caught Hunter as he fell. He was both heavier and lighter than she had guessed. She was trying not to cry again. The words "I’m sorry" played on an endless loop in her head.
She had spent most of the night after she learned planning before she fell asleep. So of course she spent the entire next night planning. It needed to be a perfect crime, and Luz was proud to say it was pretty close. She had set it up so the glyphs were well hidden enough that Hunter wouldn't notice them
She had masked her steps with an invisibility/sound-masking glyph combo. Then she recruited Owlbert. When Luz asked Eda if she’d let Owlbert join her Eda asked her to ask again later. So Luz explained the situation and asked Owlbert and he agreed to help.
Luz pulled out her rope. She knew Hunter too well to think he would stay put without it. He could escape in seconds. Gingerly she tied him up but she made sure to make the knots as tight as she could get them. Then she spent the next few minutes trying to load him onto Owlbert.
A short flight and successful secret entrance later, they were in her room. Then Hunter was on the ground and then Owlbert was gone then Luz was pacing.
She had planned everything. A blackboard stood to the side, carefully covered by an old towel, she would have preferred a whiteboard; Hunter probably wouldn’t like the sound of chalk and it wasn’t her favorite thing either but she thought she had everything down that she needed to write.
She made little notecards so he could follow along as well as a PowerPoint presentation. She presented the logic behind things; why he should stay in a pros and cons list and for fairness' sake she put leaving the emperor at the top of the cons list (though escaping the emperor was on the pros list too.)
She knew she hadn’t picked up everything about him but she knew him well enough to look at his motives and morals and try to convince him to leave the coven. She wanted him to stay a week. This was the wrong week to discover the truth as Camila was on a business trip. (Luz loved Eda but she wouldn’t trust her with something as sensitive as showing Hunter his views of the world were wrong.)
Eda was the best second mom Luz could have asked for but Luz wasn’t sure she was the best first mom for Hunter right now. (She adored Eda but she was pretty sure that King’s propensity for crime was nearly 100% Eda’s fault).
Luz had to stall him, convince him to stay long enough that Camila could show him how wrong he was. If anyone could, Camila could. She was too stubborn to let anything stop her from saving Hunter. She knew he liked her somewhat; she knew he avoided smiling but she knew he wanted to.
His normal frown and forced frown were very different. Luz thought if she could convince him to hear her out she could sort of convince him. In that came the main phase of her plan. Found family. She would introduce him to her friends. Well, friends and girlfriend, she thought with a blush.
If Hunter met her friends he would have friends. They would love him… at least eventually, No, More like soon. If her friends met— Hunter they would love him, He was dorky and awkward and it made him so loveable or at least likable. She hoped he didn’t start correcting any of them on their grammar.
She knew Amity would likely be the hardest to convince unless she set it up just right but she didn’t know if Willow or Gus would be easier to convince. Gus was bright, optimistic, and loved meeting new people but he could be a tad suspicious on other people’s behalf if not his own.
Willow didn’t look as obviously inclined to be friendly but she might be more inclined than Gus. If Hunter met them he’d like them and maybe he’d want to leave the emperor more. He had to leave him. She looked down at his sleeping form.
Every once and a while he tensed. Sometimes just a fist and sometimes his entire body he turned occasionally and sometimes he murmured loudly like he was having a conversation in a dream. She grabbed her blanket and laid it over him. (Carefully of course she didn’t know how sound of a sleeper he was.)
Was she qualified to convince him? Did she deserve to when she hadn’t known for so long? Did she deserve him in her life? She still wanted him in her life. She shook her head, hate her or not she had no choice on how he felt about her from here on out. She wouldn’t doubt her choice. She sat down and put her chin on her knees. It was kind of strange but right now she really needed to see the steady rise and fall of his chest.
She needed to know he was okay or that he was going to be. She needed him to be safe and she didn’t know what to do if he wasn’t. All of a sudden it came crashing down on her how little she slept. Maybe 3 hours in the last 3 nights? She had drunk a lot of caffeine and hot cocoa. (The sugar helped keep her awake) Hunter and homework kept her up late.
She couldn’t sleep. It would destroy everything if he woke first and left. She just couldn’t sleep! She was so tired though maybe she would sleep lightly. She had to with this situation, didn't she?
Yes, she would sleep light and everything would be alright. As soon as her head hit the wood floor she was out. She was wrong, she decided, she was going to sleep like a log.
...
Hunter awoke with a jolt, a quick spin of 360°, and when he returned to his original position a poster stared back at him. In bold letters, it read The Good Witch Azura. He realized what happened.
Luz had happened. He couldn't believe her. She had kidnapped him! Legitimately kidnapped him! At least that was 100% what it seemed like. The last thing he remembered was sleeping nettle smoke. He couldn't see her right now but he was going to have very angry words with her when he did.
No, what he was going to do was leave. In fact, he could walk out, he would walk out right now so she would see how angry he was. He divested himself of his bonds in a moment's time (the knots were very good but he had learned how to undo even the strongest knots)
He took two steps forward, and tripped on the blanket tangled underneath his feet falling on his face, nearly, he didn't because he managed to catch himself in time on his forearms. It still hurt. He groaned and turned to the side.
He froze, Luz was there. He hadn’t spotted her because she was curled up. She was shivering slightly. A decent amount of rage left him. He wanted it back. It was not coming back. He sighed and walked over to her. He covered her with the blanket that had been covering him.
He almost walked out the door but paused. He knew where he was. The house of the notorious owl lady. He knew Luz trusted her but he didn’t. Luz had been with her for years but she could be playing the long game. He sighed and slid down the wall.
He’d let her sleep for a short while longer. If she didn’t wake up soon he’d wake her up, tell her off properly, and then leave. He would consider not showing up at their next meeting, not only would it hopefully get the emperor to calm down but hopefully, it would get Luz to think about her actions and the fact that she could lose him if they got too bad (he was pretty sure there was something she could do to lose him. He just hadn’t thought of it yet.)
He felt horrible considering it was cruel, but Luz couldn’t just get away with it. Who knew how much she could get herself hurt if she thought she could get away with it? Yes, he decided he would be very angry with her he would whisper yell at her and then leave. He would show up a bit late for their next meeting if at all and she would understand why this had been an incredibly stupid choice.
It would work out well. Part of his brain sneered at him. Would she care? Would she care if you weren’t there? What if she already left and didn’t show up the time after that if you don't show up next time? He shook that thought out of his brain, different rules applied to Luz than applied to the rest of the world. Unlike anyone else except maybe— nope, that thought did not exist.
She’d probably hug him! He would feel incredible guilt if she hugged him. She had only hugged him when she was incredibly worried. He did not want Luz incredibly worried. Slightly anxious tops and he would still feel bad. What he knew definitely was he needed to be angry he reminded himself of the facts she had gotten him to meet her again knocked him out, tied him up, and brought him to the dwelling place of a wanted criminal, and then… and then she fell asleep. Who did that?
The answer to any question along those lines was that Luz that. Despite her falling asleep, he was still angry. How had she been so stupid? He was going to have to question every claim she made and be extra cautious. He was— "aha". A sound cut him off.
It was similar to a yawn but not quite. Was she waking up? He tensed but no, he relaxed but before he could return to his thoughts another sound echoed then another they were each slightly different slightly strange, and soon he realized a chorus of murmurs was coming from Luz. Simple vocalizations, no words but similar to them it was like Luz was trying to reach out and connect to someone even in sleep.
Though that was ridiculous. The brain was in contact with itself in sleep, not the world. It still felt that way though. The chorus of murmurs that seemed so very Luz came from her. A sigh here and a sound like a tiny laugh there and then- an upset groan.
It made him tense, a slight creasing of her brow occurred, one of her hands previously loose curled into a fist what came out of her mouth now were words he thought it was no” “sorry” and “my fault” a slight whimper reminded him of what she had said the other day.
She blamed herself for whatever misfortune she imagined had befallen him. From anyone else, he would have suspected it was a setup, a trick, a guilt trap but Luz… never her. When she tried to guilt him she used puppy dog eyes, and almost every time before she convinced him fully she reminded him that he didn’t have to do whatever she wanted him to do.
Also, it wasn't even that often. Luz was very obviously asleep; her breathing patterns insisted so. Luz was worrying about him. Maybe not just him but he doubted he wasn’t on the list. She cared. That's why she made the terrible choice she did.
He was still angry but mostly at the choice, not Luz. Her heart was in the right place. It always was, whether it was in helping a kid on the street to find their parents (it was a trap both times) or arguing with the woman who had been discrediting her petition(she had apologized to him for getting into it with her while he was there. He had been a bit surprised but it was nice she often forgot to apologize when their conversations had been interrupted up until that point. )
Or the sign incident: she always had good intentions.
Luz’s heart was always in the right place at least it was when she was with him. When she made a bad decision she made sure to fix it. Much of his reason to be mad at Luz was canceled out by his knowledge of the fact she was trying to help him.
As stupid as her plan was. (had she really thought she could actually manage to kidnap him? He honestly probably would have been more upset if he wasn’t tied up.) He looked at her sleeping form her breathing was steady and she was okay.
With her symphony of little Luz sounds he couldn’t be angry. He was only relieved she didn’t look upset anymore. Ding Luz's phone went off, he stiffened, but she didn’t stir. He padded over to it and cursed at the time the clock read 3:30 A.M. He cursed. He would have to wake her soon so he didn’t interrupt her sleep schedule until then he sat down and turned away from her.
As much as he would have found it interesting to watch her face and guess what she was dreaming about (it was interesting to guess what people dreamed of. He theorized Luz dreamed of an ideal world, Belos dreamed of a safe boiling isles, the captain dreamed of… he guessed maybe the team she wanted? Intellectually stimulating debates she won? Discovering a new species of plant? Something interesting he was sure.
But anyway, he had to watch the door and his orientation towards it would help him judge where any sounds came from. He would wake Luz soon and after she understood his point, everything would go back to normal. It would be alright, he decided. It would maybe even be excellent if he got through to Luz.
...
Across the isles, no special thoughts accompanied the special happenings
King Clawthorne wondered if Luz would agree to play the game he had wanted to play that weekend. He had been saving up toilet paper rolls to use as armor and swords as she tried to invade his castle he sighed and tried to fall back to sleep. Eda would revoke his CB privileges if she caught him up. Luckily he was decent at falling asleep. It would be an easy night.
...
Willow was up early so she could water a particularly picky shrub. She had almost let the shrub go thirsty. It needed better eating habits but the last student taking care of it had been notoriously bad at forgetting to water plants and it was a large portion of Willow's grade.
She scrolled through her and Caleb's messages on her scroll. She stopped on a particularly philosophical answer to a very not philosophical question. He was brilliant and it sometimes still surprised her because of how dorky he was.
Luz had called guys like him adorkable and she bet Luz would agree Caleb was adorkable (though Luz was too busy staring into Amity’s eyes to talk about boys or any other girl than Amity).
She loved all the answers he gave to her questions and sometimes she was tempted to ask him a question she didn’t need to ask him just to hear the answer.
She always restrained herself. His time was precious as he had so little of it free and she didn’t want to manipulate him. She knew he already had a manipulator in his life. She had yet to convince him of it.
It would be a slow process, but she would convince him. Her fingers strayed to the keypad but no she had decided he needed sleep(he always did but he had a long mission yesterday and had mentioned today he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in the short hext he sent her.
She found her fingers straying to the keypad again and she sighed the next couple of hours were going to be hard luckily it was going to be a short night.
Gus was exhausted. He had spent almost the entire time since he got off school on his project except for a dinner with his dad. (he often worked then, so, of course, Gus could make time.)
He was proud of his project and his friends would love it. It was a project inspired by the Titan. Specifically, what the titan might look like if witch and demonkind hadn’t settled.
It was covered in plants (based on careful observation of Willow’s plants) and it was gorey enough that Luz would think it was awesome automatically even before she saw all the other cool things.
He smiled at the thought of the looks on his friend's faces. Willow would be impressed by his improved accuracy and Luz would ask him questions about his design choices. It would be a nice moment. He yawned, stretched, and walked to his bed after turning out the light.
“Goodnight,” he said to no one in particular. It had been a long night.
...
Belos was sitting on his throne; he had been kept late for a meeting and the grimwalker wasn’t back yet. Disappointing, but when he was gone long he often came back with results.
Belos wished he’d gotten back sooner. It shouldn't take long to get results. He rose. At least this one looked like his brother. It made his failings not so deadly. Belos smiled with all the malice he needed for the situation.
His generous smile needed practice but he wasn’t going to be here long enough for that to matter. In the human realm, it wouldn’t matter.
He would lead them all. Belos was happy the hall had no windows. Like always in this wretched realm, it was a disappointing night.
...
Amity sighed and put down her penskull. She was up later than usual on homework and she was tired but it was rewarding. She knew without a shadow of a doubt this would be an A.
She smiled as she pictured Luz's reaction, and maybe even Willow's. They would be happy about her doing well and acing this project. Despite the time, it was a rewarding night.
...
Eda had a feeling. A feeling honed over years of observation and action. The feeling wasn’t particularly good. Her intuition told her Luz wasn’t telling her everything and that feeling was rarely wrong.
(Well sometimes it was just a stomach ache or bad mood but she was still often right.) Luz had been upset the last few days and upset Luz meant unpredictable Luz which meant Eda needed to be more predictable than normal so Luz could lean on her.
Eda was worried about how Luz was. Usually, Luz’s upsetness dissipated quickly (if not immediately exacerbated) but this time it didn’t diminish. If anything it built up. It wasn’t good when that happened but Eda could handle it. She set her plans,
She'd do what she usually did if Luz was upset. Check with Luz regularly, ask [carefully] if she wants to talk about anything, (so far the answer was no) make sure to get Luz extra sweets tomorrow, and let King act a bit more ridiculous.
She had been trying to prepare him for enrollment at hexside (tried to remind him about manners please, thank you, sorry, etcetera. Tried to help him socialize (since he always tried to assert dominance.) Things like that but his silliness made Luz and him happy so she could take a short break.
She was happy she had until Friday to figure this out. Still, she has to search for extra tips and pick proper words. (she needs to be delicate at times like these)
It was gonna be a hard night. Eda thought. Worth it, but a hard night nonetheless.