Hunter collected his bags, as well as carefully balancing the Memoria Bonsai in his arm, before stepping out of the door with Willow following close after. As they stepped onto the street for Hunter to summon Lil' Rascal, Willow took his hand in hers before he could. He flicked his ears, smiling down at her as she did the same up to him.

"Remember: Thursday at two," Willow said.

"Of course. Thursday at two," Hunter echoed. It was… strange to think that he would be going to a therapist. He questioned how much of a good idea this would be, considering he knew he wasn't going to flat out talk about everything in his background to the doctor… but, Eun and Gilbert had made some good points about seeing someone who could help him through not only his curse, but the trauma he has dealt with in his past… Besides, if it could help him become better for Willow, how could he refuse?

"Are you okay flying home by yourself?" Willow asked. "You know I don't mind riding with you."

"I'll be fine, Flower Cake," he assured. "Besides, it's getting pretty late and you have class in the morning. I'd rather you take the extra hour to get ready for bed." Hunter lifted the hand she had used to halt him to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on the back of her knuckles. "I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Absolutely. Don't miss me too much." Willow moved to take the kiss from her hands with her lips, gently pulling Hunter down to make the contact. Hunter's ears wriggled, and after the kiss was broken was unable to stop yet another snuffle from escaping him. He winced, but gave a sigh of resigned acceptance before he smiled at her.

"I love you, Willow. Please get some rest."

"I love you, too, Hunter. You get some rest right back." She lightly bopped the tip of his nose with her finger, making his ears wiggle around again before he smiled and finally summoned Lil' Rascal. After watching Hunter mount and start the flight home, Willow stood in the street and waited until he disappeared behind the roof of a few buildings; as always, she noticed that he never let his gaze leave hers until the last possible moment. She sighed through her nose, silently longing for him to come back, but turned to re-enter her home knowing it was best that he didn't.

After a short idle chat with her fathers, Willow soon retired to her room with Clover not far behind. Willow quickly went through her nightly routine of checking her plants over, brushing her teeth, changing into her pajamas, and soon found herself under the covers of her bed scrolling idly through Penstagram. Gus and Matt had been hanging out a lot more lately and had been posting more on their own accounts, Eda had posted a video of King doing a tap-dance with Luz squealing in the background, Amity had posted the same video with a "different angle" of King's dance… which was really just her recording Luz's reactions to King.

Finally a message appeared on the top of her screen.

'Made it home safe. Love you, get some rest. - Hunter'

Willow smiled, sending back a 'Love you' before setting her scroll on her nightstand next to her glasses and turning onto her side. She closed her eyes, thinking over what her next day's schedule would be. Go to the Owl House in the morning, of course, check in on Hunter, walk with Luz, Amity, and Gus to school. She didn't have any extra activities that she could remember, but had told Ron to find her in the greenhouse after school.

And then...

She walked down the hallway of Hexside, surrounded by students and staff who were going about their own business. The halls seemed… greyer than usual. In fact, everyone did. It was like a color-mute filter was on the entire school. She was a bit unsettled, but not enough to look too deeply into it. As she turned the corner to enter the main lobby of the school, she paused.

Hunter stood out in the crowd of students, his back to her. He was brightly colored compared to the blandness of the other students. A literal light in the crowd, but what was he doing at Hexside? Willow started to make her way toward him, but her feet felt heavy, like they were sticking into the ground. She looked down to find that the stone floor had turned into dark mud, and she was sinking into it! She looked back up to Hunter, but he was no longer there… She was no longer in Hexside!

Willow breathed in, trying to let out a scream but was paused as she felt a hand clasp over her mouth, and a breath on her neck.

"Ț̴̻̊r̶̡̰͍̻̮͂͠a̷̮̬̯̅e̵̛̜̫̗̙̻͐̀h̷̛̝̝̠͓̱͋̂̀͘͜͝ ̶̡̛̙̥̣̺͌̇̌̚͝ͅy̶̦̱̑͛̚m̷͈͖͊̎̓ ̶̮͖̺͙̹̰̎͊͊̀̓ğ̵̭̤̳͍͍̺ņ̶͉̝̭̻̰͆͝ï̶̼̼̫̬̻̠̽́̅͗͠ț̶̛̟̠͖̰̬̒͌͛̃́r̶̝̊͊ͅu̸̺̝̭͒̔͋̃ḩ̵̢̝̥̬̣̒̒̅̔͌ ̶̛̺͕̳̤̦͍̾͗̈́ȩ̴̧̮̱̠͑r̸̨͎͇̺͖̈́a̵̛̮̱͈̠̪ ̴̛͉̫́̀͜͝u̸̜̗͂͘̚ó̴̳͇̈͊͠͝ẙ̷̢̹̼̈ ̶͈͋̚.̸̥͔̺̈́̈̐̏̕E̸̪̠̾̓͛m̵̨̢͚͕̤̄ͅ ̸͍̦̱̋͒̅r̸̲͑̀̅̓̀͋ǫ̷̫͒͒̔f̶̧̟̦̊͆̈́̎͗ ̴͙͈̤̤́̀͊f̸͈͎̹͑̄͋̐̅̕͜l̴̹̜̘̈́̆̒̂̚̕e̶̦̘͖̭̱̓͌̓͠s̷͇͖̩̈̈́͊̌͊͠r̵̥̫͙̟̟͑̈́͌̀̅̚ȕ̸̩̱̟̼̱̀̏̉̆͝ơ̵̲͐y̷̡̦̍͌͊̊ ̸̣̻̘̜̦͈̋̚é̴̢̤̦͎͔̇̏̀͜c̷̭͓̹͖͂į̴̯͛̓͝f̶̻̘͓̬͋͋̽͜ȋ̷͈̈r̴̞̹̣̖̀͂̀̀̄č̷̡͓̗̱̲͗͝͝ͅa̵̧̛͇͖̠̞͗̀͜͠s̸̢͍̣͆͋́ ̵̞͠t̷̨͍̅͊̏ọ̶̾́̉̚͝n̶̨̂͗ ̶̬̓͐́o̶̤͔̙̣̙̾͋d̴̨̹̝̠͉̐̉̀̔ ̸͖̤͆t̷̞̙͎̙͖̥̽́̽u̷̙͖̼͊͗̏ḃ̷̛͈̲͇̑͘͝ ̵̢̰͐̈́.̸̛̤̘̔̽̿ẉ̷̗̹͒́̏ó̷͙̫̺͉̩̜̌̀͗ĺ̶͎̻̝̘̪̏̀l̶̞̱̫̭̃ͅi̸̛̱̝͎̓̎̄̓Ẉ̴͕̀͗̿͑̾̽ ̸̛̗̬̗̯̊͐̾,̴͇̙̤͆̋͘͝͝ù̷̝̣̟̥͔̓ò̷͍͕̠̀y̸̼̱̻͗͝ ̶̜̗͔̬̕ḙ̷̢̐v̵̨̰̹̰͖͆̽͌͌͒͘ȏ̴̫̞̘̯͖̀͑l̴̩̳͖̄̉̒̏̋̕ ̶̗̔I̴̗̫̱̫̹͝.̸̬̙̟̀̔" She knew Hunter's voice when she heard it, but didn't understand a word he spoke. In a moment she felt an arm wrap around her waist, and yank her up. She blinked… and she was now in the grove. The columns of balanced stones around her towered so high that they faded into the clouds above… Willow looked around, but Hunter was nowhere to be seen.

Hunter closed the door behind him, looking around the room that Eda had gifted to him. It was still rather cluttered, with a mix of human and demon treasures that the Owl Lady had thrown into the spare room as storage. Tomorrow after Willow went to school he knew he wanted to go through it and clean it out. He was used to a cluttered mess, his room in the castle being proof of that, but he needed to make room for more… junk…

He smiled to himself, setting down his bags before walking over to the window and placing the bonsai on the windowsill, carefully making sure the longer leafy tresses would drape out the window and gently sway in a draft the room had. Lil' Rascal chirped from his shoulder, fluttering up to a rafter that he had dragged a scarf onto.

"Enjoying the little nest you made up there?" Hunter asked up to his palisman. Lil' Rascal chirped cheerfully down at his witch in confirmation before snuggling down into the scarf. Hunter smirked as he went to sit on the edge of the bed, taking his shoes off.

"N̴͉͇͓̎̑̆ò̸̲͋i̴͕͐̅̎t̶̤͐̎͝a̶̢̺̗͠m̴̧̪͛r̴̼̪̦̾͝ỏ̶̱͑f̸̤̤͘s̵̯̬̓̄͘n̵̡̒͂͝å̶̟̍͝r̵̛̤̱͝t̴̼͐ ̶̦̥̈a̷̱̩̽͆ ̷̫̲͇̈́͒̈́ṱ̴̂́n̵͖̦͕͂e̴̹̒̕̕v̸̥̟͕͊̓͑e̴͖̥̙͆r̷͈̱̱͋p̸̤̺͛̀ ̷̘͑͂o̸͖͠͠t̶̻͉̖̏͝ ̸̲̳͊̀̕e̵̬͍͂̓l̸͚̙̈́͂͌b̵͙͖͠a̷̻̓ ̵̘̼͈̒̄ȅ̸͚̤͂b̷̢̖̜̈ ̸̜̗̹̅͒̾t̶͈͙̓̓ȏ̷̙̚ņ̴͎̙̍ ̵͇̒l̴̰̞̇l̶̰̀i̷͙̔w̷̘̳̃ ̴̪̋͆I̷̡̜̍̈́ ̵̡͙̺̃w̸̨̘͉̓̈̓õ̶̰ŕ̷̠̖̟̑̾r̸̙̮͇̀ö̶̤́̅ṃ̷̙̫̌o̴͔͛̊̓ẗ̷͓͉́ ̷̲̖͓͑̌̃.̷͉͎̚͝D̴̺̾̿l̷̯̈́̾i̶̠̟̜̐͊̀ḥ̷̰̑́͆c̴̨̣̎͌̉ ̵̩̺͗y̷̛̟̞̒m̵͍͝ ̷̼̝̭͑,̵̠̱͝d̶͚͍̦̓e̶̥̮͒̀n̶̫͖̉̈́̋͜r̸̟̖̃͆͝à̵͍w̷̜̪̠͗͐͝ ̶̼̃͝è̷̢͝b̵͉͙̠̆̈́̓.̷̟̒́̀" Hunter froze, blinking as he wiggled his ears. He furrowed his brow, before he closed his eyes.

"What did you say?" Hunter asked the Beast inside him. He felt it shift, and like before he saw the light outline of the creature shifting in his vision before two white orbs turned their gaze upon him.

"S̷̢̽̄s̸͔͚͝ḙ̶̳̀̾l̴͉̦̇̌͜͝ ̵̰̰̆͌̀è̴̛͚͇̂h̶̢͌̈͜t̵͎̀ ̵̰̮̥̔͊͂ȅ̷̳̕͠n̵̨̘͖̿̀õ̶̙̣̓̀ṋ̵̺͖̇ ̷͎̖̅͝e̸̝̔̒͠ṭ̵͖͇͆͘a̶̙͎͆f̴̯̠̍̚ ̸͇̉͆f̷̥͖̏̐o̵͔͍̰͒̓ ̶̦̊̓̚s̸͖̾͂̉e̵͙͂m̸̪̠̪͑͐ä̵̙́͗g̷͈̦̈́̿̔ ̶̛̟͉͖̆͊ḙ̶̯̂͌h̷̢̳̏̂͝ţ̸͖͓̈́́ ̶͍̾̅̓h̶̨̟̾t̵̯̝͛̑͗i̸͖̹̅̆̾ẁ̴̡̛̪̲ ̵͎̏̂̿y̴̭̠̏́̈a̷̤̳͕̓l̶̝̣͌̈́p̸̧̛͛̒ͅ ̴̘͚̾ẹ̵̦̿́̒ẉ̷̡͒̀ͅ ̶͉̆t̶̠̂ͅủ̸̞̞̑̀b̸̮̈́͂ ̵̝̂́̚.̸̡̩̉̉Ę̸̭͚̓v̵̟̎͋͝o̷̡̹̚̚l̶̘͙̈́ ̴̡̤̤̽̑u̵̧͓͗͝ǫ̸̜̗̍̾̅y̵͙̫̔ ̵̲̘͖̿è̸͈͊s̵̛̘̣̀͠o̵̞͚͋̔ḧ̸͈̦͖́̍͑t̷̥̪͊̚̚ ̵̜͋o̶͓̺̱̍t̶̩̻̉̀ ̴̧̺̊̈́g̵̺̤̺͗̚n̸̗̄̇́i̷̫̪̿m̶͕̰̃͐̃ǭ̶̛̈́c̶̞̈́͝ ̷̘͍̟̋͝m̷̲̏͛̈́r̵̰͑͊a̷͙͌h̸̖́ ̷̫̾t̵̼͑̀̚u̴͌̉͠ͅo̶̤͖̿b̶̯͙̊̈́a̷͙̎̌ ̸̳͈̈́y̴̬͍̆͆ͅṟ̸̈̏̕r̷̩͆͐́ô̵̤̝̟̍͘w̷̦̣͛̀̓͜ ̴̛̖͗o̵̻̗̮͆̉͂t̸̻̠̐̎̕ ̸̤̳̓͝e̷̬̠̰͗͘v̷̢̚å̸̖̦̹ḥ̷̒̃ ̸͍̬̒͗̋t̸̗̔o̵͚͙̓͑̂n̴̛̘̭̂̂ ̸̖̲͍͠ȯ̸̝̫̿͂ḑ̵̩͖͐̔̉ ̶̺̹̇e̶͙͆͒w̸̡̻͙̽.̵̬͇̤͊͘" The creature approached him, before sitting just in front of him. Hunter had to lean back slightly to meet with the Beast's gaze. The teen furrowed his brow, trying to force his eyes to adjust so he could see the curse better, making out the faint outline of the antlers, at least.

"Please, just try to talk to me! I can't understand you!" Hunter begged. The two orbs suddenly disappeared. "...Beast?" Hunter asked, moving his head to 'look' around the space before opening his eyes. "Damn it…" Hunter sighed, before feeling a movement on his leg. Lil' Rascal had flown down and landed on his knee. "Oh. Sorry, buddy… The Beast was trying to… talk to me." The blonde raised his hand to pet the bird's head, who chirped and nodded.

"Want to help me clean out this room tomorrow?" Hunter asked, leaning back on the bed again. Lil' Rascal fluttered up to his shoulder, chirping out a 'yes' to the question. "Glad to hear. It probably won't take too long, at least…" Hunter mused before looking to the corner of the room and giving a small frown. The Golden Staff still rested against one of the walls. "Hmm… maybe tomorrow we can… start brainstorming about what to do with that," Hunter mused before giving a yawn. Lil' Rascal followed suit before hopping down to the pillow on the bed as Hunter stood to redress into his own pajamas, which were really a few spare human clothes Eda had given him.

That done, Hunter laid down in the bed, carefully minding the little palisman who moved to snuggle into the warmth of his neck. Hunter couldn't help but smile as he reached up to give a small pet to the bird before he closed his eyes. He had to admit, as uncomfortable as the mattress he was using was compared to his old one… since he had started sleeping in the Owl House he has gotten a lot more genuine rest. Maybe because he wasn't constantly having to worry about someone knocking on his door in need of the Golden Guard?

He slowly drifted off…

"And you are saying that what I encountered was 'Fool's Blood?'" the man asked. Hunter turned and saw the man was sitting in front of the Beast. Lil' Rascal was perched on his shoulder, looking up at a hole in the ceiling. Hunter glanced around; the cave they were in had barely any light, but he could hear a stream of water.

"Yes," The Kirin said, nodding to the man. Hunter narrowed his eyes a bit at the creature, who turned and looked at him. "Coming for answers as well, Hunter?"

"Why can I understand you some times, but not other times?"

"Is that really the question you wish to ask me?" The Beast seemed to laugh, standing up. The man he was speaking to had also turned to regard Hunter, though his face, as always, was hard to make out. "It is dependent on a number of factors, my child. We cannot pin down every last reason, but… on occasion the reasons lineup."

"What were you trying to tell me earlier?"

"I would tell you…" the Beast said with a shrug. "However, you know you do not remember your dreams."

"That isn't a great reason to not-?"

Hunter suddenly sat up on the hard sand, looking over the bubbling lake before him… this dream again?

"So, how are you enjoying your first days of freedom?" the man next to him asked.

"It's great," Hunter replied without hesitation, looking at the man before turning his head to the forest behind them. The Beast was laying on a rock with its eyes closed. It looked to be slumbering…

"Let him rest, Hunter," the man advised, smiling at the boy. "The Kirin needs to use just as much energy as you."

"...Why did you tell me to take him from Belos?" Hunter asked, looking back at the man. He could see his eyes this time. Blue, like his uncle's. "I mean… I honestly have no idea why I listened to you in the first place and… stole him… So why?"

" Your… uncle has held the Kirin for quite a long time now," the man started, looking over to the Beast again. "He has forgotten the true manner of the curse and why he bore it…"

"You know how he got it?" Hunter asked, shifting to look at the man.

"Oh, my dear boy… I am the reason for it in the first place." The man smiled before standing. "As to the 'why'…" the man added, looking back to 'Kirin' as he called it, "…you will have to learn that on your own."

"Can you stop being cryptic, old man?" Hunter asked, half dryly and half exasperatedly, following the man as he also stood. The world around them suddenly turned dark. The teen felt like he was swimming, wildly trying to reach air until he finally broke through the surface of mud. He looked around quickly… before his eyes landed on Willow. Her back was toward him, she looked like she was starting to panic.

He quickly slogged over to her, clasping his hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming. The last thing they needed was to alert any enemies around them of their location… wherever that was. He looked around… This place felt too familiar to… to… His heart sank in realization before he looked back to Willow.

"I love you, Willow…" Hunter said softly into her ear, "but do not sacrifice yourself for me. You are hurting my heart." Hunter pressed his lips into the side of her head, before he wrapped his arms around her. He was not about to allow her the same fate! After a swift yank she was freed from the mud under them, and disappeared from his arms.

_AN_

Last Chapter for a while, guys! Sorry! I don't know when I will be posting new chapters yet, but have no fear that there is more to come!

In the meantime, Huntlow Week is going to be soon, and with it I will be branching into a few AUs I have been looking forward to! I hope to see you all there!

As always thanks to Mr. Spinner for Beta Reading, please leave a comment, and be well!