Hunter raised a shaking hand to the image to take it, staring at the paper in horror and shock. He stared at the outline of his heart, where a bile-sac should be attached. There was nothing, not even a hint that there was supposed to be one. He really was truly born without one? Was Belos as well? Is this why Wild Magic hurt his family? Because they lacked the bile-sac needed they had to find Luz's methods and went too far? But if he lacked a bile-sac what was he coughing up? WHY was he coughing up black-sludge?

He started coughing, unable to stop himself. He wished he could control it so Eda wouldn't see the first hand display of what was happening, but unfortunately he was already having the sludge dripping down his chin before he screwed his eyes shut and dropped the paper, putting his hands to his head. Lil' Rascal chirped in concern as tears started streaming down his cheeks, thick and black like tar. He just wanted nothing more than to charge to the castle and demand answers…

"Hey." Eda's gentle voice cut through his thoughts, her hands gently placed on his shoulders to force him up. " Listen, Hunter, I know this is upsetting… I am so sorry you had to find out about this, and in this manner as well. You have every right to be upset right now." He slowly opened his eyes to look at Eda, who reacted slightly to seeing his eyes with shock before going back to her concerned, yet motherly look.

"I-I just…" Hunter closed his eyes again, pushing his hands through his hair. " I am supposed to be the leader of his coven, and he kept this from me?" Eda rose her brow in confusion before the slow realization started to hit her. " Why would he do this?! I am his last family alive and he didn't even have the audacity to tell me I lacked a bile sac?" Hunter coughed again, a bubble of sludge hitting his lap. " What else isn't he telem gnil?" Eda leaned back slightly, her eyes going wider as the upset teen kept talking, but his speech no longer made sense.

"stnerap ym llik neve cigaM dliW diD ?em gnillet ton eh si esle tahW !?em llet neve t'ndid eh dna desruc ma I?" Hunter curled into a ball slightly, wanting to fight against his emotions but… it felt too good to let the words out, the frustration. "CITENEG esruc eht sI...sI?" Hunter looked up to Eda with horror at the realization, only to find a bottle being shoved into his mouth. He tried to react away from her, but she had grabbed him by the nose and closed it off, forcing him to drink the foul tasting potion. After Eda let him go, Hunter stuck his tongue out and started coughing a lot, trying to get the taste out of his mouth before realizing no more sludge had made its way to the surface.

"There we go...your eyes are still black but, you at least look to have your wits about you." Eda knelt back down in front of him, looking up gently like she did before. " You were speaking in tongues there, kid." Hunter blinked a few times before slowly slumping back in the chair and staring at the wall. His mind felt like it was still on fire, but whatever that elixir was had taken a strange affect on him and made him oddly calm. Eda moved to sit across from him on the table, letting him take his time with his thoughts as Hooty slowly opened the door to peer in with concern. Lil' rascal moved to Hunter's knee, chirping pleasantly up at his witch. After a good amount of time, Hunter finally spoke up.

"...what is happening to me?" Hunter looked to his hand, his eye going to the slightly showing Coven brand under his glove. He wanted to burn with rage, but felt so incredibly tired. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back as he sighed. " I'm the leader of The Emperor's Coven...Why should I have had this kept from me?"

"That is a good question to ask, kid." Eda looked over Hunter again as he opened his eyes and looked at her. " But...why are you the leader in the first place?"

"Because…" Hunter froze, before sighing. " I don't know….I have been Belos' right-hand for so long, and it was always the plan that I would eventually take the leadership role from Lilith...but that was supposed to be in two more years." Hunter sighed as he let that off his chest. He really didn't know why he had to be made leader so soon when Kikimora was obviously wanting the role. " I could have refused but...I didn't. I wanted to help Belos in any way possible because I owe him so much, but…" Hunter sighed, rubbing at his eyes.

"Well...this kinda leads into what I wanted to talk to you about." Eda shifted to go back to sitting on the couch as she stared at Hunter, who lowered his hand and looked back at her. " Are you really happy as The Golden Guard?"

"...N-no...no I'm not." Hunter sighed, he was so tired of lying to himself and others. He half couldn't believe he was letting this lose on The Owl Lady, a target he was supposed to be keeping his eye on. " I...honestly haven't been for a long time. It wasn't until I met Willow that I...started to realize how unhappy I really was with my role, I guess?"

" I'll be honest, Hunter. I haven't seen a teenager like you at all." Eda said, shifting on the couch again so she was facing him, her arm resting across the back of it. " You have the worst bags under your eyes, visible scars, and a frankly unhealthy way of going about things." Hunter looked up at her, half wanting to glare but knowing she was right, he couldn't force himself to. " That's why I want to offer you this...You are only sixteen, right? You only have just recently gotten a taste of what an average kid your age should be doing, and your eyes are starting to open to the unfair situation you are in…" Eda shifted again, offering her hand out to Hunter with a smile.

" I have a spare room we can clean out. We can keep you safe from Belos if he tries to come after you…" Eda nodded, smiling at Hunter as she watched him furrow his brows, then raise them as he connected the dots. " And I don't mind having another kid around to take care of."

"So...what did Hunter wanna talk to Eda about?" King asked over to Willow from his perch on Luz.

"It's uh...a bit of a private manner, King." Willow rubbed her arm as she looked up at the fur ball. " I just hope he gets the answers he needs…"

" Is he doing ok?" Amity asked, looking at Willow with a small frown.

" In some ways yes, but in other ways no." Willow frowned, " He's become so stressed now over returning home. It's a bit weird to see him like this...when we meet he looks so drained but as time passes he goes into his happy and caring self, until it is time for him to go. He has been having a harder and harder time forcing himself to the castle…" Willow sighed, closing her eyes for a moment before looking back to Amity. " I just wish I knew what to do."

"It's a really hard situation." Luz said, rubbing her neck with a sigh. " But, I know what Eda wanted to talk to him about, at least. She is going to try to convince him to leave and move into The Owl House, so...maybe he will take the offer?" Willow turned her gaze to Luz, eyes wide in shock before it slowly turned to a look of conflict.

"If I know Hunter, I know he will...not accept that." She sighed. " He would be too afraid to put you guys in danger...maybe it will open his eyes to some options, though?"

"WOW!" A voice called from across the street, making the girls and demon turn to look across. A fellow student at hexside stood with his friends, giving the girls two thumbs up as he called out to them, " Looking good, ladies!"

" You work it yourself, boy!" Luz called out, giving him finger guns. The tanned skin, bowl hair cut witch shouted a prologue 'AYE!' before turning to whack one of his friends in the arm, saying a few words to the buck-tooth kid Willow recognized as Ron. She once made an eggplant of his face, and he often came around to ask her to use her magic to make sure it didn't rot. Ron turned his eyes from his friend to her, she gave him a smile and wave of recognition before turning to follow Luz and Amity down the street.

" Wonder what that was about?" Willow asked as she catched up.

" Obviously they were crushing on you, Willow." Luz said with a smirk.

"What? No." Willow shook her head and rolled her eyes. " Why would they call out to all of us if they were crushing on just me?"

"Because everyone knows Luz and I are dating, and it is too awkward to just call 'Wow, looking good, Willow' to you while we are standing here." Amity said, smiling at Willow as well. " Did you realize they stopped in their tracks the moment you turned the corner?"

"A-ahh…" Willow furrowed her brow, then rubbed her neck.

"Better not tell Hunter, we don't want him to beat up the entire school after all!" Luz snorted. Willow turned her eyes to Luz, confused but bewildered, and unsure what to say. " Willow, you realize that pretty much everyone at hexside has a crush on you, right?"

"...I think you are lying to give me a confidence boost." Willow said, facing back forward.

" Willow...just the other day two separate people asked you out." Amity pointed out, making King snort and laugh.

"N-noo! They were just being...friendly...right?" Willow grabbed onto her purse strap to pull on it slightly, unsure of her own words.

" Didn't the one girl ask you to a highly expensive and hard to get into restaurant?" Amity asked, trying not to smirk in amusement at her friend.

"Didn't you tell her 'Oh I am so sorry that your date fell through there! But do not worry, I think I know someone who would love to go' and proceed to try to hook her up with Amelia?" Luz snorted, on her head King started wheezing with laughter.

" H-hey, Amelia told me she had a crush on that girl for a while! And It wasn't 'try'...they are now dating." Willow shrugged before rubbing her face, " Titan, do I need to really start wearing a 'I have a boyfriend' sticker?"

" AAAAHAHAHAA!" Luz turned sharply, almost flinging King off her as she pointed at Willow. " You called him your boyfriend!"

"E-exclusive! I meant-" Willow threw her hands over her face and let out the sound of a balloon deflating. She breathed in sharply before charging forward past the other three, desperate to get out of the teasing mess she found herself in. "Let's just get the last things on the list Eda needs!"

Hunter took a long sip from his mug before setting it back down, resting his head on the table. Eda gave him a lot to think about, and was giving him time to think it over. The offer would never go away, from what she said. Hooty had given him a cup of tea, which he was very thankful for. His body needed the small bit of caffeine it had, though it was not as fulfilling as bean-juice would be.

He sighed, pulling his head back up as he stared at his reflection on the table. His eyes were still black. He probably needed to get something more off his chest, but at the moment he had no idea what that could be. More frustrations at Belos, probably? He couldn't return to the Park household like this! Why do eyes have to be so hard to hide? He groaned before resting his head on the table again, cursing his situation. Lil' Rascal snuggled against his head with a chirp.

He still wanted to help Belos, but he was so tired of trying. He wanted to take Eda's offer, but Belos still needed him for The Day of Unity. What role was he even going to have? He never told Hunter anything and he was getting so sick of it! Maybe he should try to talk to Belos again before making a decision? Tell his Uncle that he knows he doesn't have a bile-sac now and demand he tell him what is wrong with him? Belos wouldn't...wouldn't hurt him over just wanting to know what is wrong with himself, right?

Of course there were still other problems. The Quetzacoatl was still the biggest guilt he had. Then the guilt of Belos asking Hunter to get palismen for him to stem the curse, but Hunter hadn't come back with one in a long time for his Uncle to use. He just didn't have it in his heart anymore, and as painful as it was to watch him suffer, eventually the curse did reside on its own and the Emperor was fine…

But, if this was the same curse that Hunter had...would he need to start consuming palisman life? The thought made his stomach turn. He didn't want to think about it, but his brain forced the thought to the front of his mind. He would eventually get the same symptoms as Belos, including the lashing out. What if he hurt someone? What if he hurt Willow? He couldn't bear the thought...but again...Eda's elixirs helped him. Why did they help?

Hunter looked up from the table to one of the elixirs Eda had sat down on the table. He moved to pick it up and look over the liquid inside, swirling it around. It didn't make all his symptoms go away, but it calmed the curse down enough that he was no longer spitting up sludge. Maybe he could take one to Belos and see how it helps? If it is a different solution than the palisman, then maybe it would open more doors for him. Maybe Belos would be more willing to tell Hunter what happened to their family and accept his help?... Why did he lie about the bile-sac?

"You know…" Eda spoke up, making Hunter turn his eyes to her from the Elixir. " When I first got cursed I did a lot of my own research into it. I have heard of some cases of curses being bound by family."

"Yeah…." Hunter sighed through his nose, leaning back as he turned his eyes back to the elixir. " I just...don't understand why he wouldn't tell me."

" I have my opinions on that, but I will not share them." Eda said, shifting around to set her own cup of tea on the table. " However, there is still a lot we can do to help you better figure out the curse on your own terms. We know my elixirs at least work to help take the edge off. Maybe I can ask Morton to try a similar, but different elixir mix that can better help you?"

"Maybe…" Hunter rubbed his thumb over the glass bottle. He was still not entirely convinced this was going to fully work. Maybe it would if they mixed palistrum wood into it? Even that was too painful of a thought for him to entertain though. " You said that once the elixirs stopped working, though, right?"

"Yeah, but after Lily shared the curse with me they started working again, and to the point that I finally was able to talk to The Owl Beast, like I said."

" So the curse is split between you and Lilith now...what happens if one of you dies, though? Would the curse just fully go back to one of you?"

"Uhh…" Eda's face dropped. She never entertained that thought before.

"...if Belos dies, does that mean I will then take the curse in full? Is that why it only affects my eyes and me coughing right now?" Hunter sighed in frustration before setting the potion down. " Why do I feel something is still not adding up?"

"Well...when was the first time this all happened to you?"

"Uh…" Hunter frowned, sighing through his nose. " When I was...six?" He looked back to Eda, watching as she flinched slightly at how young of an age he stated. " I uh...I used to be raised by a woman named Mithira. One day she got really sick, and never recovered. Belos made sure I said goodbye to her, but the timing made it that…that I was there when she passed. When I realized what happened, that was the first episode of spitting up the sludge that I had." Hunter felt the back of his head scar burning, he moved to scratch at it.

"Jeez, kid." Eda sighed, " I am about to just chain you up and force you to see a therapist!" Hunter snorted at that.

"I don't have the time to see one." he shrugged, still scratching at his scar as he furrowed his brow. Something wasn't sitting right. " Although… that might not have been the first time now that I think about it…"

"Even younger?" Eda rubbed the side of her own head, ten seconds away from legitimately kidnapping Hunter.

" It's...fuzzy. I have a scar on the back of my head...the first scar I ever got." Hunter sighed, " I can't remember how I got it, but I remember when I got it, I think I vomited black tar? It's...hard to remember."

" Hmm...well, it seems the curse acts upon emotions, like mine. Maybe that's why the elixir helps? It has herbs in it that help calm the spirit." Eda offered, standing as she picked up a pillow case off the ground and went to a bookshelf where she had hid elixirs behind the books.

" That...makes sense." Hunter rested his head on the table again. " If I drink another, will my eyes go back to normal? I really do not want Luz, Amity, or Willow's parents to know about this."

"I take it Willow is in the know then?" Eda looked back to Hunter with a smile, who nodded.

" She helped me when my eyes first did this. It's a new development, and a rather annoying one at that." Hunter sat back up. " It tends to go away when I get something off my chest, but since it hasn't gone away yet…"

"Maybe you are not talking to the right person, then." Eda said as she walked back over, setting the pillowcase full of elixirs in front of Hunter. "Here, this should last you for a while, at least!"

"A-are you sure?" Hunter looked over the rather hefty bag before looking up to Eda. " I can pay you back-"

"Not a snail, kid." Eda rustled his hair before going back to sit down. " Still...maybe they haven't turned back this time because you need to talk to a particular person." Eda raised her brow at Hunter.

"...L-like Willow?" Hunter knew what she was getting at, but he really didn't want to think or hear it.

"Like Belos." Eda said, not letting him out of that thought.

_AN_

Things are really picking up now, hu?! Hope y'all are getting ready! Thank you all so much for the lovely comments, I truely read every single one and love them all. Please keep leaving more! I love you!