Hunter's eyes were closed, as they had been for quite some time, but soon, they began to open, and when they did, Hunter found himself sitting in a hospital bed in a Healer's Center room, where Eda and a healer were both looking at him.
"Wh-What", Hunter asked, "where am I?"
"You're at the healer's", Eda said, "we rushed you here as quickly as you could after you passed out."
"Oh, that's right", Hunter said, "I got stabbed by that monster my Dad turned into."
"Fortunately, it missed your vital organs", the healer said, "though, you were still out for several days."
"Several days", Hunter asked, "that's a long time for someone to be asleep."
"Oh, trust me, it was", Eda said, "I was practically worrying myself to death during that time."
"You were worried about me", Hunter asked.
"Of course I was", Eda said, "what mother wouldn't be worried about her son after he got stabbed like that?"
"Good point", Hunter said.
Eda walked closer to Hunter and put her hand on his cheek, and he smiled.
"I can't believe you're my mom", Hunter said.
"Me neither", Eda said, "all this time I thought you were dead, but now it turns out you've been alive this whole time."
"And it turns out my true family was closer to me than I thought it was", Hunter said.
"I love you, Hunter", Eda said, "I want you to know that."
"I love you too, Mom", Hunter said.
The mother and son duo of witches hugged each other, and the healer watched the scene unfold with tears in his eyes.
"That's really touching", the healer said.
The two then separated from their hug.
"Now come on", Eda said, "let's get you home."
The two witches flew back to the Owl House on their staffs, and when they opened the door, Hunter found himself greeted by Amity and Luz.
"Hunter", Amity said, "you're back."
"We're so glad you're okay", Luz said.
"Thanks, you guys", Hunter said, "it sure is nice to come home to people who are happy to see me after so long."
"Hunter", a voice asked.
Hunter looked in the direction the voice came from and noticed Emira standing in the living room with happy tears in her eyes.
"It's you", Emira said, "you're okay."
"Emira", Hunter said.
Hunter walked over to Emira, and the two hugged each other while Eda, Luz, and Amity looked on.
"What are you doing here", Hunter asked.
"I heard that you got stabbed in the chest by a monster and was worried sick about you", Emira said, "I was losing sleep because I was afraid you might die."
"So, we told her she could stay here with us for a while", Eda said.
"I see", Hunter said, "well, it sure is good to see you again."
"You too", Emira said.
It was then that Hunter decided that it was as good a time to say something to Emira that he had been considering saying to her for a while now.
"Hey, Emira", Hunter said.
"Yes, Hunter", Emira asked.
"I want to know that I think you're really amazing", Hunter said.
"You do", Emira asked.
"Yes", Hunter said, "and, well, I kind of want to be more than friends with you."
It was at that moment that Hunter began struggling to find the right words to say to Emira.
"What I mean by that is", Hunter said, "I guess what I'm trying to say is..."
Despite his effort, Hunter found it hard to put his feelings into words.
"I'm sorry", Hunter said, "I'm trying to just come out and say what it is I want to say but, well, I just can't..."
Emira just rolled her eyes and grabbed Hunter's head, pulled him closer, and gave him a big kiss on the lips, much to the surprise of him and the other Owl House residents.
"Yes", Emira said, "I'd love to be your girlfriend."
"Y-You would", Hunter asked.
"Of course", Emira said.
The two looked at each other happily and shared another kiss, and the others watched them with happiness, even Hooty, who had stretched himself over to see what was going on.
"They're adorable", Hooty said, "they deserve the happiness!"
The newly-formed couple separated from their kiss, and Eda spoke up.
"Well, I don't know about you all, but I'm getting hungry", Eda said, "anybody else in the mood for some dinner?"
"I am", Luz said.
"Me too", Amity said.
"Same here", Hunter said, "say, Emira, if you don't have any other plans tonight, would you like to join us for dinner?"
"I'd love to", Emira said, "of course, as long as it's alright with Miss Eda."
"Of course you can", Eda said, "I'd love nothing more than for my son's new girlfriend to have dinner with us."
"Son", Emira asked, "what's all that about?"
"It's a long story", Hunter said.
"And it might be a while before dinner's ready, so he's got plenty of time to tell it", Eda said.
Eda went to work preparing dinner with help from Luz and Amity, and while they did that, Hunter told Emira everything that had happened over the past several days: including things like him meeting Paxton, his encounters with the True Magic Coven, Paxton revealing his true colors, and finally, the battle where he had sustained his fatal injury, and by the time he was done, Eda and the girls finished preparing dinner, which was Boiling Isles gumbo, and after everyone was served, they began to chow down on their food, during which Hunter decided to say something that he had been thinking ever since he got out of the Healer's Center.
"You know", Hunter said, "I recently realized that my search for my family was pointless from the start."
"What makes you say that", Luz asked.
"Because all this time, I was living under the same roof as my true family", Hunter said, "even though I didn't find out until later on that Eda's my mom and Amity's my younger sister, you guys sure felt like family to me."
"Really", Eda asked.
"Of course", Hunter said, "you took me in when I had nowhere else to go and treated me like I was your own."
"We may have got off on a rough start initially, but I was happy to have you as a friend", Amity said, "and I'm just as happy now to have you as a brother."
"Thanks, Amity", Hunter said, "and Luz, I know we're not siblings, but ever since I left the Emperor's Coven, you've sure been like a sister to me."
"Aww, thanks, Hunter", Luz said, "and one day, you and I are going to be siblings-in-law, isn't that right, Amity?"
Amity said nothing and blushed red like a tomato.
"Looks like you've got a great family here", Emira said.
"I sure do", Hunter said, "all that's missing is a second parental figure."
"Give it time", Luz said, "maybe one day, Eda will meet someone who's right for her and get together with them, right, Eda?"
"Uh, yeah, sure", Eda said.
Eda looked over at a picture of her and Raine from their younger years that she had hung up on her wall and remembered how much she enjoyed her past relationship with her partner.
"Get together with them", Eda said.
The End?
AN: And that's a wrap! Hunting For The Truth, which has surpassed From This Moment On as my longest story on this site, has finally come to a close. Let me tell you, this one was really hard to come up with. It took me months to figure out certain details for the story, like who the antagonistic faction in this story would be, as well as their motives, and also how things would play out in the story. And writing it, well, that was pretty hard too. I first published it at the start of my spring break back in March, and now it's all wrapped up just as I'm finishing up my Junior year at college. I think this might be the longest I've ever worked on a story like this. Now that I'm done with it, my plan is to take a break from writing Owl House fanfics for a while and write some stories for other categories. It'll probably be at least a month or so before I return to writing Owl House content. But don't worry, because once I get back to doing that, I've got plenty of great ideas in store for you all. And yes, that does include a story where Eda and Raine tie the knot. But until then, thank you all for reading the story, and I hope you'll continue to support me and my stories.
