Ghoultide - 2021 — "Candy" Prompt
This takes place in an AU independent from any of my other works. Enjoy!
Willow had always adored Ghoultide.
Part of it appealed to her love of plants. The season brought along the practice of festive trees — all evergreens, across a broad range of species — that were tilled from the ground and placed into large cylindrical pots to live in the home from the time of the first frost to the night of Ghoultide itself, upon which they would be gathered in the center of the community to be burned in a great bonfire to light and warm the community. In the meantime, the trees were hung with loops of delicate chains from which hung glass spheres filled with swirling snow and small portraits of family members, while everburn candles in a rainbow of colors were propped in the branches.
But just as much as her favorite tradition was all of the others. Willow preferred the colder months when she could wear her favorite sweater-dresses, scarves, gloves, and knitted hats. The warm light of even more everburn candles lining the streets and eaves of houses where there weren't more celebratory bonfires. The smell of sinymon in the air, mixed with the scents of all manner of baked goods from pies and cakes to cookies and custards.
Ooh, that last one … To those who knew her, Willow had a notorious sweet tooth.
But more than any of the parties and traditions, what she most loved about the Ghoultide season was the feeling of sheer warmth that settled upon the Boiling Isles, as if to rise against the bitter chill of the weather. The viciousness of the Isles seemed to subside for a few brief weeks. People were more generous, laughed more easily, and spent time with their friends and family in an aura of hope, joy, and peace. It was wonderful.
And this year, she had a boyfriend to share it with!
Said boyfriend walked beside her, his gait somewhat stiff even as he had his gloved fingers woven with hers. He often fell back on his coven training when in unfamiliar circumstances, and it seemed that the Ghoultide season qualified. That thought was enough to make Willow's smile fade into a somber look.
"Willow?" Hunter asked as he looked at her. "Everything okay?"
"I'm okay," Willow deflected with a half-real smile. Then a gust of chilly wind blew past and they both shivered in their coats and Willow burrowing her face into her scarf. "Just a little cold."
Hunter flashed a small grin and gripped her hand more firmly before gently pulling her toward him and into his chest. Willow squeaked at the sudden action and the soft impact, as well as Hunter's arm wrapping around her waist from behind. "Better?" he asked into her ear.
"Yeah," she giggled, her cheeks glowing from more than just the cold. She savored his hold for a few moments before slowly stepping away to continue leading him down the street. She had a mission, and she would make it happen tonight. After a few more minutes of walking, Willow smiled at the sight of "Crowley's Confections," a sweet shop owned and operated by a kindly old kenku — a raven-man demon with a long, pointed nose.
Willow guided Hunter into the store, a bell above the door tinkling with its sweet chime. Mr. Crowley emerged from the back and smiled at the sight of her. "Ms. Willow," he said jovially. "Welcome back, m'dear!"
Mr. Cowley was a red-faced demon, starkly thin but with a large smile. Small glasses were perched on a long, curved, pointed nose, while his eyes were small, dark, and glittering. His hands were capped in avian talons, and though his scalp was bald, long, pitch-black feathers hung from the sides of his face like sideburns. He was dressed in a clean white shirt and dark slacks, all protected by a red-and-white striped apron.
"It's good to be back, Mr. Crowley," she replied with a smile as sweet as anything in the store. "Do you still have any of the spearing-mint fudge?"
Mr. Crowley chuckled. "As a matter of fact, I have one serving left." He ducked behind the counter that presented his sweets and bagged a few squares of some white and green confection. "It seems the Titan smiles upon you this Ghoultide, Miss." Willow giggled and tapped her lips with a finger of her free hand as she considered more options, the other still entwined with Hunter's. "And who is this young man?" Mr. Crowley asked.
"This is Hunter," Willow said, pulling said young man forward. "My boyfriend."
"Aha!" Mr. Crowley laughed. "Finally found one smart enough to grab hold of the best, eh?" Willow blushed at the backhanded compliment. "What can I get you, lad?"
"Uh-hum-uh-" Hunter's eyes were wide as he looked almost frantically over all of the choices and options. "I-I don't know. It's … been so long."
"Since you've been in a sweet shop?" Mr. Crowley asked.
"Since I've had candy, at all," Hunter replied, his tone distant, as if in deep thought. "My, uh … my uncle would never let me have it after he took me in." Willow gasped at that, her hand clapping to her lips. She knew how long Hunter had lived under Belos's thumb.
"And how long would that be?" Mr. Crowley asked.
"About six years," Hunter said without thinking.
The store was silent for a few long moments … and then Mr. Crowley's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed in a dead faint. Willow yelped and both of them ran behind the counter to try and shake him awake. "Mr. Crowley? Mr. Crowley!" She tried gently patting his face, but he didn't respond. She checked his pulse and breathing. "He's alive, but-"
Hunter glanced around until his gaze settled on something he'd seen before. He reached for the drawer and removed something crystalline and yellow-green. He gently moved Willow aside and opened the old man's mouth before slipping it under his tongue and closing his mouth back around it. He drew Willow back and waited.
Mr. Crowley's eyes shot open with a cry of shock and he spat the substance out before coughing into his fist. "Oh my," he grimaced, coughing again, "that's a lot more sharp than I remember."
"What was that?" Willow asked.
"Sour candy," Hunter said with a faint grin. Willow blinked at him before a giggle escaped and she kissed his cheek.
"Thank you, lad," Mr. Crowley said, taking Willow's offered hand as she pulled him to his feet with surprising strength. "Oh, Titan, help me. I'm too old for shocks like that."
"Is it really so strange?" Hunter asked.
"For someone your age?" Mr. Crowley asked rhetorically. "Yes. It's a crying shame to deny a child sweet treats for so long." He rubbed his sharp chin with a hum of thought. 'You know what, lad?" He gestured around them. "Take something on the house. Anything I have, it's yours tonight."
Hunter blinked at the offer. "Oh no, sir, I couldn't-"
"I insist," Mr. Crowley said, his tone firm. Hunter was about to resist again, but the look in the elderly man's eyes made him think twice. His gaze fell to the floor as he thought back to some of his earliest memories. Memories of his mother and the very few Ghoultides he could recall as a kid.
"Do you have … bloodberry tarts?"
Mr. Crowley's eyebrows shot up in something akin to shock. Then his smile returned and he darted into the back room. He was gone for several moments before he reemerged with a small basket lined with waxed paper full of small, steaming pastries filled with crimson filling. "I don't sell these very often. Have at them."
Hunter took the basket and just looked at the tarts for a moment before lifting a trembling hand and taking one. He examined it closely before taking a bite. He chewed … and his face twisted as tears began to fall. Willow pulled him into a fierce hug, her forehead in the crook of his neck like she knew he loved as she held his cheek in her hand.
"Are they really that bad?" Mr. Crowley asked in shock.
Hunter gasped a laugh and brushed away the tears with the back of his hand. "No, no. They're great. Wonderful, even." He sniffled and finished the tart, a few more tears escaping. "It's just … I haven't had these since my mother was alive."
Mr. Crowley smiled sadly and nodded before wrapping his tarts and ringing up Willow's fudge. "Half-price, Ms. Willow" he said, nodding at Hunter, "for taking care of this one." Willow nodded her thanks and led Hunter back out of the shop with a cheerful goodbye.
The pair walked in silence for a while, admiring the everburn candles and other decorations as they did. Soon enough, Hunter looped his arm around Willow's waist from behind and drew her close so they could walk together. Willow giggled and leaned harder into him, savoring his presence.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked quietly.
"Maybe later," he replied. Willow nodded in acceptance.
They walked and light watched for about another hour, at one point seeing Luz and Amity in the distance and waving. Finally, though, the cold began to seep into their bones and they called it a night, Hunter walking Willow home. Their hands stayed clasped, their fingers woven, as they walked with their shoulders touching and their other hands holding their treats … their faces red from much more than just the cold night air.
Too soon, they arrived at Willow's apartment building. They made their way up the stairs to the Parks' door and turned to face one another. "I had fun tonight," Hunter admitted.
"I'm glad," Willow said simply, her smile showing that she'd had fun, too.
Hunter lifted his basket and uncovered the tarts. "Would you like one?" he asked.
Willow smiled and took a moment to decide before picking one up and taking a small bite. She smiled as she chewed … but her eyes widened and her mouth twisted as the flavor registered to her taste buds. Her mouth puckered and she spit the bite of tart out, coughing as tears beaded the corners of her eyes. And Hunter couldn't help but laugh at her reaction.
"Gah, that's so sour," she groaned. "How do you like it?"
"I don't know," Hunter said, snagging the rest of her tart and popping it into his mouth. "Acquired taste?" he suggested from half his mouth. "Maybe it's just nostalgia."
Willow leveled a chilly look at Hunter and crossed her arms, turning a bit away from him. "You knew I would react that way," she accused.
"No," he said, "though given your sweet tooth, I really should have."
Willow huffed and turned her head away from him with as much dignity as she could muster. Hunter snorted and stepped closer, but Willow turned even further away, most of her back to him, now. "Willow~" he crooned, taking that final step behind her before they came into contact. "C'mon, it was an honest mistake." Willow remained silent, but it didn't faze Hunter or his smile. "I know for a fact that Luz and Eda have done way worse and didn't get the cold shoulder."
"Luz and Eda aren't my boyfriend," Willow argued loftily, finally turning fully away from him. But he could hear the faint smile in her voice.
Hunter rolled his eyes, even if Willow couldn't see it, and placed his basket on the ground before he wrapped his arms around her, careful to keep his touch at her waist. When Willow didn't resist the embrace, he smiled even wider. "How about I make it up to you?" he whispered into her ear.
Willow's ear flicked at the warmth of his breath, and she turned her head to look at him from the corner of her eye. And Hunter saw the faintest upturn of her lips. "How would you do that, Mr. Wittebane?"
Hunter removed a modified plant glyph from his coat pocket, a seed taped to the paper. He crumpled it to trigger the spell and lightly tossed it up to attach to the ceiling above them. There was a flash of green light, and above the witchlings grew a small, bell-shaped sprig of twigs and droplet-shaped leaves, dotted with white berries that resembled tiny toes. Willow looked up at the sound of the plant growing and gasped.
"Thistle-toes," she whispered.
"And I'm certain you know the tradition, Willow," Hunter said, an eyebrow quirked in faint challenge.
"This is supposed to make it up to me?" she asked with a wry smile, leaning in just a little.
"Let's find out," he whispered, leaning in to close the last distance.
Their lips met in a kiss that was sweet and unhurried. They savored the simple touch for a few long moments before they parted with a faint chu. They looked up to find one of the berries had dropped, and the place where it had been was blooming with a small red flower. "Not enough," Willow said, her eyes lidded.
"That's easy to change," Hunter whispered huskily.
Willow giggled and draped her hands over Hunter's shoulders as she pulled him down to her level, with Hunter seizing her hips to draw her closer. This kiss was deeper, more passionate, more fiery. As warm and frenzied as the night was cold and still. As their kiss deepened, their embrace became deeper still until they were pressed as close as could be.
All the while, the thistle-toes continued to bloom, the white berries dropping like tiny hailstones and red flowers emerging in their place. When every flower had opened, the sprig shook and dusted the couple with silvery dust. Dust that was said to bring good luck for the next year.
Willow giggled as they broke apart for air, both of them breathing heavily. "Alright, I suppose I can let it slide," she said, looking at him from over her glasses.
"Good," Hunter said. "I'm glad."
They rested their foreheads together for a few moments, just happy to be in each others' presence. And then the door opened to reveal Eun. He blinked at the silvery dust that lightly coated his daughter and her boyfriend before his eyes flicked up to find the booming thistle-toes sprig. "Aha," he said with a dry smile. "Considering that wasn't there before, I'm guessing you two had … fun, tonight?"
Willow hid her face in Hunter's shoulder, her smile undiminished, while he burrowed his lips into her hair. Eun slowly closed his eyes and faintly shook his head with a patient, bemused smile. "Either way, it's getting far too cold out. Willow, say goodnight and come on in."
Willow pouted but nodded and lifted onto her toes to place a smoldering kiss on Hunter's cheek. "I love you," she whispered into his ear.
"I love you, too," he whispered back, and kissed her forehead.
Willow kissed her fingertips and placed them on Hunter's lips before moving past her father and into their home. Eun watched her go before looking back to Hunter and handing him a metal thermos.
"Gilbert made hot shock-olate," he explained. "I thought you might like something warm on the way home."
Hunter took the thermos with a nod of thanks before reaching under his hood to remove Lil Rascal in his inert form. "C'mon, Bird. We gotta fly." The cardinal awoke and twittered out a grumble before expanding and floating for Hunter to mount. He did and gave a two-fingered salute to Eun before taking off into the winter night.
As Hunter whooped with the thrill of flight and his love for Willow, Willow was looking out her window to catch one last glance at him. She smiled and crawled into bed with Clover, the bee palisman snuggling close to Willow's warmth.
As she settled into slumber, Willow dreamt of red flowers and magenta eyes.
And after Hunter had gotten home to the Owl House and settled down with Lil Rascal, he dreamt of green trees and greener eyes.
I've gotta say, this was very fun to write.
My original prompt was "candy," and I will admit I went rather far afield of that - but I really like how the story turned out.
If you liked it, leave a review! I'd enjoy hearing your thoughts. May your inspiration flow freely!