"EDAAA!" Luz cried running back to the Owl House from Hexside. "Some new transfer students got their palismen today! One got a bunny, which I didn't think were actual creatures here, and then a bat, which is super cute looking, by the way!"
"Hey, slow down, Luz. Take a breath," Eda giggled.
"Sorry." Luz took a deep breath and then started again. "Some new transfer students got their palismen today and they ARE. SO FREAKING. CUTE! One is a bunny. You never told me that you have bunnies here."
"Eh, you don't see 'em much," Eda replied, waving a hand.
"The other one got a bat and it's super cute!"
"Yep! I love watching little witches get their palismen! It's better when you make your though. Have a guess what it's going to hatch into?"
Luz pulled out her palismen's egg and stared at it. "No. No guesses. But, whatever it hatches as, I'll still love it the same."
"That's good to hear!" Eda smiled, messing up Luz's hair.
Luz glanced at her egg once more before walking inside. Eda waited for Hunter to get back. Hunter needed a place to stay for a little while so Luz invited him over. Eda wasn't too thrilled about it at first, but the kid's grown on her. Today, he's walking a little slower than usual though. I wonder if something's up with him, Eda though as she put one hand on her hip, the other holding her palisman.
Before she walked back in, Hunter came into view, with his hands in his pockets. "Hey there, kid! What's up?" Eda tried.
"Not much," Hunter said, walking past her without making eye contact. Eda walked in front of him, blocking his path. "Something happen at school today? Did you win the big game?"
"Yeah," Hunter said, still looking at the floor. "We won."
"Hey, that's great news!" Eda cheered. "I remember winning games back when I was at Hexside! They were-"
"That's great. Can I go now?" Hunter asked, interrupting her.
"Uhh...something bothering you?"
"No, I'm fine." Hunter walked around The Owl Lady, his hands still in his pockets. She watched him as he sat down and pulled out paper and a pencil. He began scribbling on the paper.
Eda walked inside to meet up with Luz. "Hey, is he okay? He's acting a little more down than usual."
"Eda!" Luz said. "He's been very happy lately!"
"Hey, I'm teasing!" Eda cried, holding her hands up in front of her. "Really though. What's bothering him?"
"I don't know," Luz said, glancing towards Hunter. "He's even doing his homework."
"Really? He doesn't do it until after dinner."
"Yeah," Luz replied thoughtfully. "I'll go check with him. He's gotta tell me SOMETHING."
"And I'll go get King. I left him at the park for a while."
Eda walked out the door and flew off on Owlbert. Luz walked towards Hunter and sat down next to him, placing her egg on the table. "So, Hunter...what's up?"
Hunter said nothing. Instead, he just looked at her. "Okay, don't talk!" Luz replied. "I'll find a way to make you talk!" She thought quietly for a moment, then glanced at his paper. He wasn't doing homework, but he was doing something.
"Whatcha doin'?" Luz tried again. Hunter said nothing and just moved away from her, seat included. Luz huffed and moved closer. "You can't ignore me all day, Hunter. You've been really down lately. The past week actually. But today, you're worse. What's bothering you?"
Hunter moved his seat again, taking his paper with him. Luz moved closer again and this time said nothing. "What do you want?" Hunter asked.
"Oh, nothing. Just sitting," Luz replied, patting her legs. She glanced over Hunter's shoulder to see his paper but he just covered it with his arm. Eda came back inside with King, Lilith, Gus, Willow and Amity. "Any luck there, Luz?" Eda asked as she closed the door, Luz nearing beside her.
"Nope. I'll get something though. I made him talk."
"Hey, nice start," Eda replied.
"Is he doing homework?" Willow asked.
"No," Luz replied. "I don't know what he's doing but it's not homework."
"Thank you for opening the door, Hootsifer," Lilith said, patting Hooty. Hooty smiled and retracted back into the door. King walked over to Hunter and held up Francois. "Will this make you feel better?" he asked. Hunter looked at him and smiled. "No, but thanks anyway."
"Weh!" King exclaimed as he hugged Francois and ran off again. "I'll try again," Luz said, patting King on the head. Luz sat back down on the chair next to Hunter and asked the same question as before. In reply, Hunter just moved closer to the wall so that his right shoulder is on it. "It's fine, Hunter," Luz said. "You don't have to tell me. I'll just make you feel better by sitting here."
Luz stayed quiet for a few minutes. "Does it have something to do with the transfer students and their palismen?" Luz asked, softly. Hunter said nothing. "It is about...you know...yours?"
Hunter sighed. "Yeah. It does." Luz flinched. She wasn't expecting him to actually talk. "So, it is?" Luz stopped patting her legs. "Do...do you want to talk about it?"
Hunter stayed silent for a moment. "It's...Flapjack's birthday," Hunter replied slowly. Luz stopped. What do I say? she thought. "I'm...uh.." She looked at his paper again. On it was a few written words and a drawn picture of a cardinal. "Is...is that for Flapjack?" Luz decided to ask.
Hunter looked at it. "Yeah. I...make him cards for every birthday. This will be his second."
"Aww! That's so sweet!" Luz said, wiping a tear from her eye. She paused again. "I'm sure Flapjack will like it!" Hunter looked at her. Luz smiled. "You think? I don't think it's drawn very well and I've kind of ruined it with my tears..."
"I'm sure he'll like it!" Luz repeated. "You and Flapjack were pretty close, huh?"
"Well, not at first," Hunter replied with a soft giggle. "It took me a few days to realize that he was my...my friend."
Hold in those tears, Luz, Luz told herself. She paused again. "Do you want anything for your card?" she offered.
"No. I'm fine."
"Okay." Luz stood up.
"Wait, Luz," Hunter said, making Luz jump and stop n her tracks. She turned to face Hunter again. "Thank you. You weren't kidding when you said that talking to people makes you feel better."
"Of course, Hunter! That's what friends are for!" Luz sat back down in her chair. Hunter stayed silent. "You're still upset, aren't you?" Hunter nodded. "Do you want a hug?"
Hunter hesitated for a second before nodding again. Luz smiled and leaned in closer to hug him. She waved for Eda and the others to come in as well. Before he knew it, Hunter was surrounded by his friends, receiving hugs from every direction, including Hooty. "Better?" Luz asked.
Hunter didn't reply. Luz checked to see if he was okay. He was crying. "There, there. Let it out." Eda pat his head as Hooty wrapped tighter around them. "Better now?" Gus asked.
"Yes," Hunter said, sniffling. "Thank you, guys."
"Anytime," Willow said.
A few more seconds passed before the group released the hug and let Hunter finish his work. In the meantime, Luz went into Eda's room. "Eda?" she checked before walking in.
"Come in," came a reply.
Luz walked in. "Eda? I found out what was bothering him. It's Flapjack."
"You mean his palisman?" Eda checked. Luz told her the whole story of what happened in her realm. She made sure she got every detail and to not miss a thing. "Yeah," Luz replied quietly. "He said that it's Flapjack's birthday. He wasn't doing his homework. He was making him a card to keep the tradition alive. And-"
"Hey, calm down, Luz," Eda said, approaching her. She wiped a tear from her face. "It's okay, Luz. Take it nice and slow."
Luz explained the conversation she had with Hunter to Eda. Eda thought about it for a second. "Do you mind explaining this...'Christmas' thing to me? The whole gift giving part of it?"
"Hmm? Que?"
"The 'gift giving' part of your Christmas, Luz. What is it?"
"Well, the point of the gift giving is not about the gift itself, but the heart that goes into it. Even then, Christmas isn't about the gifts, it's about family and spending time with them together. Do you have Christmas here?"
"Well, not really. What we have is called 'Gromas.' Instead, we just hide in our houses from the Grom that the Gromqueen tried so hard to keep in."
"You mean it gets out?"
"Yeah, but only for one night, until the professionals handle it and trap it again for the next Grom," Eda said. "It's weird. It's never made any sense to me."
"So...Christmas would work here! We have to stay inside anyway so it works! Wait...what are you thinking?"
"Oh, nothing special. I'll be gone for a few days trying to see if my hunch was right. Lilith will be here to watch you guys until then."
Author's Note
Okay, I lied. Here's the prologue
