Disclaimer: I don't own The Owl House!
Title: Owl Beast be like "my kids now"
Summary: Hunter just wanted some R and R. Now he's got a giant bird nurse.
...
The best way to describe the dynamic is parasitic. Hunter will visit the Owl House in the dead of night, clutching at a multitude of wounds, and the human will care for him. He doesn't think he's special or anything- is certain she would do the same to anything that sneaks past the bird tube, really.
It's better for the castle for him to treat himself elsewhere after long missions, to avoid depleting stocks entirely- and, well, the human keeps handing them over, so its really her fault for allowing it. And it's not like Hunter can repay such a thing- they're criminals! So he takes what he needs, and they let him, and he goes on his way. It's also a great way to study Wild Magic without dirtying his own hands, since the human and Owl Lady both were finding new combinations every day.
One day, it'd be a healing glyph. One day, Hunter would refine that glyph and present the cure to him. Then Belos would see, and be proud, and maybe even let him keep the little red bird that had nested in his old pair of boots.
...None of these excuses (because, ultimately, that's what they are) can quite cut the check as to why, upon finding the home lifeless and quiet, Hunter immediately felt terror shoot up his spine.
The Owl House is never quiet.
Drawing his staff, Hunter carefully neared the door, red gem glowing with artificial magic. His first thought is bandits, but he quickly rules it out. Bandits leave brands on doors- and bandits want gold and other trinkets. The Owl Lady is well-known to have little money and a lot of garbage. Hunter ran his hand across the door and found it smooth- too smooth, actually. The pulsating hole in the center wasn't a good sign. It wasn't the Emperor's Coven, because they would have trashed everything, searching for propaganda and other illegal paraphernalia- not to mention they'd be on the news by now.
This, whatever it is, is an unknown entity.
Hunter slides his mask over his face, pulls the cloak over his ears, and kicks the door open. "Emperor's Coven, reveal yourselves!" he bellows into the pitch black home. It's a threat, to some. It usually makes the Owl Lady snort in his face.
In the darkness, something shifts, stands, and begins to stalk closer. A low growl echoed in his ears- sharp, and almost insectoid in nature. Cicadas and glass. Yellow-tipped claws scuff the wood floor as the hulking monstrosity slowly crept into view of his staff. Clutched in its teeth was a colorful pen.
Hunter's hands immediately began to shake. "The owl beast," he whispered. He'd seen glimpses of it, on the crystal ball, but this was in front of him, and huge, and its sharp fangs could snap his limbs like a knife through butter. "Get back!"
The owl beast cocked its head to the side, a bit put off by all the noise, but it flicked its ear dismissively. Empty black eyes fixated on the glowing staff. It let go of the pen with a screech, rushing him. Hunter threw his arm back to cast a spell, but by then it was too late; the source of his power was nestled in the owl lady's mouth.
"No!" he squawked, desperately yanking on the wood. The owl beast didn't so much as flinch. "Give it back, you big oaf!"
The owl beast does the exact opposite of that, ripping it from his hands and chucking it somewhere behind them. She's on top of him before he can even blink, nose twitching as the demon studied the mask across his face. The growl it was making didn't exactly sound friendly.
"I refuse to die by way of overgrown chicken," he told it. "Get. Off."
Hooking the mask around a claw, the owl beast casually flicked it off, took another long sniff, and perked up. The creature let out a coo and took his cloak up in its teeth. Hunter yelped as the demon took off towards the stairs, knocking his head on every step. From there they entered the familiar closet Luz called her own. It let go, letting his head hit the floor with one last resounding thud.
"Oh," said Luz, instantly turning her lamp down. "I see you're making friends."
Hunter popped his head up to glare at her. She looked just fine, having rolled up her sleeping bag to serve as an arm rest as she paged through a book. King was snoring away on a pile of haphazardly stacked shirts, loafing. "I hate you."
The owl beast let out a chirp and vanished back out into the hallway. Hunter reluctantly gathered himself, groaning at every bump and bruise he jostled to do so. He hadn't exactly been in good condition prior to getting curb-stomped by the giant feathery death ball. "Why is that thing here?" he hissed, wary of drawing it back to them.
"The owl beast is part of Eda," Luz replied, turning a page. "That makes this its house too."
"Okay, but. Why is it here?" He gestured vaguely. "Don't you keep the thing contained? Elixired? Not roaming around and attacking Emperor's Coven officials?"
"We ran out of elixirs. Morton opens up around eight, so until then we're having a bird slumber party. It just wants things to be dark and to chew on shiny things. Just a warning, though; it will get all broody and want to take care of you. Does it to all of Eda's kids."
"I am not. Eda's child. I barely know her."
Luz shrugged. "You breathe and aren't an adult. That's enough for her, trust me."
Hunter opened his mouth- to argue, probably, but he really wasn't certain- when the door flew open once again. The owl beast trotted inside with a med kit clutched in its teeth, depositing it (and a lot of spit) at Luz's feet.
"Awwww, mama bird," Luz said, digging around for a rag to collect it with. "Did you remember that Eda always uses those with us? Did you bring it up for the mean ol' coven kid?"
"This is giving me more questions than answers," he retorted. Something clicked in the back of his mind. "Wait. Where's the door bird? The annoying one."
"Hooty?"
"I mean, I prefer not to call it anything other than a menace, but sure."
"He was having one of his crying episodes, so we shuttled him off to visit Lilith. It's for the best, honestly." She jerked her thumb to the giant hulking demon hovering over them. "This gal can get a little territorial."
Hunter blinked at her a minute, waiting for some crack in the façade, a twitch of the lip, anything to prove this was just a joke. Nothing. He rubbed his baggy eyes. "You're really doing this right now. We're really acting like this is a normal thing happening. Human, you're sitting in the dark with a giant demon hunting for children in the house."
"She likes sparklies," Luz replied steadily. "Lemme guess. She went for your staff?"
Glum, he nodded.
"Was it glowing?"
He nodded again.
"There you go. She wasn't after you. You were waving a giant toy in her face. Also, you might wanna cover your breathing holes- she's pretty thorough about grooming."
"Pretty thorough about wh-" he starts to say, only to find himself under several hundred pounds of feathers and muscle as the owl beast settled on top of him, cooing. Its tongue was long and entirely too close for comfort. He threw his head back and yelled. "YOU'RE ALL A MENACE TO SOCIETY AND I'LL BE GLAD WHEN YOU'RE IN THE CONFORMATORIUM!"
"Mmkay," Luz said, unconvinced. "Guess I'll just tell Eda not to make you pancakes anymore, then."
Hunter went down with a bellow of pure betrayal.
Author's Note: The plot is that Eda adopts everything, and the owl beast is a giant bird who Cares. What more is there to say?
-Mandaree1