AN: Edited for clarity

Hunter closed the door behind him as he entered his room. He dropped his bag on the floor and took a seat at this desk, he put his head down and sighed. Waffles looked at him with a concerned look in her eyes, she gently nuzzled his hand and chirped. He turned his head to look at her and smiled.

" I don't know Waffles, this is just a lot it makes sense though. What would you do if you experienced a dead person's memories? " As he laid there, another memory drifted into his mind.

He was sitting at a desk with his hand outstretched; he couldn't help but feel himself smiling at the little red Cardinal as he chirped and nuzzled his hand.

" You are beyond charming, you know that?" The bird looked at him and happily jumped up and down in agreement.

" Talking to your bird again? I'm surprised you're not out with that witch this evening" He turned to see a seventeen year old Philip standing in his doorway.

" For the last time Philip it's called a palisman, come with me next time I go to the Demon realm with Evelyn." Philip completely ignored his suggestion, as he saw Philip stare at him with a cold expression on his face

" You know the Witch Hunters still ask about why you stopped participating a few months back.. "

" Oh, you haven't told them that I-"

" Tell them what? That you hate Witch Hunting or That you're dating a Witch? of course not, I don't want you being killed. I have been telling them, you are selling your wood carvings in the next town over, and you don't get back until sunset and are exhausted. "

" Thank you for keeping this a secret, it really means a lot to us."

" I'm not doing it for her, quite frankly I have thought about it, to have things go back to how they were before."

" Philip, you don't mean that? "

"By the Titan, this hurts…no he is hurting, not me these are his memories not mine."

"Philip, if you're thinking she will replace you she won't. You are my brother, nothing could replace you. It's just I don't have words for how she makes me feel. She also means a lot to me, both of you are the most important people in my life. There is just something about her that allows me to be myself when she's around. It's an amazing feeling. "

" Caleb, you are in love with her aren't you?

" I am." He felt himself smiling at Philip.

Hunter snapped back into reality, "I didn't even realize it happened that time." He whispered to himself Waffles hopped onto his shoulder and rubbed her head on his cheek.

" I'm good, come on, let's start reading this journal." He said as pulled out the one in his bag he hid earlier and skimmed through the pages,nothing really standing out to him. Just mostly ramblings of his day, until a page caught his interest.

Today is July 15th. I have been Witch hunting for a little over a year now Caleb dropped it several months ago and we're back to barely seeing each other or speaking unless it's idle small talk. He's been going out every day and coming back late almost every evening. He promised.he would make time for me. That's just one more promise broken. I know he's still seeing that witch, we met a couple of months in as professional witch hunters He is enamored with her, when he comes back he is always beyond happy and enthusiastically tells me about the demon realm, magic, and apparently how the rain boils there. I'll admit a part of me is fascinated by it, but I don't want to associate with such things… he shouldn't be either, he's damning his soul to hell as he plays with the fire that is Evelyn Clawthorne.

Get this? She even made him a bird…out of wood, that is a living thing. He talks to that thing more than he does me. He even named it Flapjack. Because it was his favorite food mother used to make. I am scared I am losing him.

Hunter closed the book, and sighed as his mind drifted back to earlier today when he was in Caleb's room. Something inside of him was telling him he needed to go back there, like this subtle nagging feeling.

"I wonder if Caleb's room is in fact hiding anything. I kinda needed to leave earlier today. Wouldn't hurt to check right? " He asked Waffles, looking for some sort of approval from the little blue cardinal. She just tweeted at him telling him he should do what he thinks is right.

Hunter grabbed his hooded cloak and opened the door to his room sneaking down the stairs. He looked in the living room and saw Luz and Amity passed out on the couch. Luz's head resting on Amity's chest as Amity had her head resting on Luz's. Hunter couldn't help but smile at them. He saw the portal case was missing and he went into the kitchen to see Eda standing there with the case hand.

" Looking for something Blondie?"

" May I borrow the portal please."

" Depends. Where ya going with it?"

" I was going to check out Caleb's room, I didn't get a chance earlier. "

" Ah well if that's the case mind if I come with you?"

" Why?"

" Luz told me about what happened earlier. "

" Oh." Hunter said looking down at the ground and grabbing his arm

" Hey it's nothing bad kid , it's a lot. " Eda said lightly, touching his shoulder.

" Caleb he will be okay, you have to be honest with him. "

He blinked, shaking his head.

" You okay? "

" Yeah I am sure you can come with me. I would appreciate it."

" Alrighty, and besides there might be fun stuff I can take back with me " she said winking and opening the portal case. Hunter froze.

" Caleb, we need to go, the portal will close soon." He shook the thought from his head and stepped into the portal right behind Eda.

In mere seconds they were in the house. Hunter turned on the lamp and Eda took a Look around, the living room

" Wow, you all did the pretty bang up job turning this dump around."

"Thanks Eda, I am going to head upstairs, you're welcome to do whatever you want just don't break anything."

" But that's the fun part" Hunter side-eyed her " I'm kidding…maybe." She said winking as Hunter rolled his eyes as he grabbed a flashlight and teleported up the stairs. He walked into Caleb's room and got a good look at it. Unlike Philips room his was actually in pretty good condition there was no broken or overturned furniture. Just lots of paper scattered over the floor, and the moon light exposed the layers of dust covering the room. Hunter walked around trying to find anything about who Caleb was. He walked over to the desk and took a seat in the chair when a memory struck him.

He was sitting at the desk, he looked down and saw what looked like he was writing something, he noticed Flapjack was looking at him sadly. Before he had a chance to read it he heard a knock on the window. He felt himself turn his head to see Evelyn sitting there floating on her staff, waving he got up and walked over to the window opening it.

"Good evening Evelyn" he felt his heart flutter as he smiled at her.

" Is your gatekeeper home this evening? " She teased.

" No, he's off witch hunting. "

" Of course he is, your brother is obsessed with them. "

" Evelyn, don't be like that. I used to be like him and enjoyed participating in them when I did it."

" the keyword there is used to, and unlike him you actually have an open mind, and saw how wrong they are. So have you told him you're thinking about moving to the Isles with me? "

" No, I have been trying to figure out what to say. Come in." He said moving out of the way so she could fly through it. They took a seat on his bed and he felt himself sigh.

" What's going on Caleb?"

" I'm worried about how Philip would take it. He has no one else besides me. I would love for him to come with us and live in the demon realm. I feel like if he had an open mind he would really love it and fit in. "

" Caleb, you have raised Philip, since you were twelve You have done everything for him, you have lived your life for him. It's time you start to live the life you want." He felt Evelyn turn his head to face hers. Touching his cheek he heard her say " Caleb he will be okay, you have to be honest with him. He will be sad but you said it yourself, you're going to give him the choice to join you in the demon realm. If he chooses not to, that's on him. "

" I know. I do hope he is able to put this mindset aside and see what beauty magic and your world holds." Flapjack chirped in agreement.

" Then show him the Light," She said, pulling out a stack of tiny papers. He looked down at the design drawn on it."

" What is this?" He felt himself say. He felt Evelyn grab his hand, placed it on the symbol he watched in amazement as it curled in on itself and turned into a glowing blue flower and from its center a ball of light appeared.

" Magic? I thought you said Humans can't do magic?

" They can't, But this type of magic is special. Legend has it that this is magic the Titan gifted the isles. They used this magic to teach the first witches. The legend also says They hid these symbols or Glyphs as we call them, in nature itself; we call it Wild Magic. It's beautiful and pure. But it can also be powerful and dangerous. That's why it's wild. Palismen are also made of their own type of wild magic." He watched as Flapjack hopped over on her shoulder, and she petted the tiny cardinal on his head. "Their magic is embedded in the wood of the Palistrom tree. That's why they are so special, and unique. The best part is that anyone can do magic. As long as the Titan's magic exists in the isles." She said, smiling at him. He felt himself stare at her, as he took in her explanation. " What?" she said, looking at him. felt himself putting the paper down on the bed then felt himself hug Evelyn.

" Thank you."

" Anything for you my love."

As the memory faded. He felt he had tears in the corner of his eyes. " That was beautiful… No wonder Caleb was in love with her." As he got back up he felt a suspicious loose floorboard. He got down onto the floor and pulled at the suspicious board, until it popped up. He looked down and was surprised by what he saw. He saw a deer shaped Palisman. " But Caleb already had one why did he make-" Hunter had the realization why he had carved it. "He made it for Philip…so Caleb would always be with him regardless of what he chose." Hunter couldn't help himself; he felt himself starting to cry, this was too much for him. He felt his heart was hurting. He could feel the love Caleb put into carving it. he could feel it in the wood itself.

" I wanted to show him the beauty that magic held. But he was to blind to accept it." He heard a man's voice say in his mind. Before another memory surged.

" Philip, are you busy at all this evening?" He felt him say, standing in the doorway to Philips room. Philip looked up from his desk and glared at him, as he looked to be around eighteen years old.

" No I'm not, there is no witch hunt going on tonight, why? Don't you have a date or something? "

" No not tonight I want to show you something, you're going to be amazed by it. " Philip rolled his eyes. and followed behind him. He felt himself walk through the woods and as he heard Philip tagging along behind him.

"Caleb, where are we going? "

" We're almost there, I promise you won't regret it! " They eventually made their way to a clearing. Where a giant waterfall stood in front of them.

" The waterfall we used to play in when we were children? Why did you bring me here?"

" Just wait!" He felt himself put the small sheets of paper all around the clearing. Philip just raised an eyebrow at him.

" Caleb what-"

" Don't say anything, just watch." He felt himself walk over to the first piece of paper and step on it, just as before the paper turned into a blue flower and an orb of blue light appeared. He stepped on to another one and another appeared this time pink. Then another, he could feel himself laughing and enjoying it, as he lit them all. soon the clearing was covered in glowing flowers and multi-colored orbs danced in the sky, he looked over at Philip who showed no emotions he just stared at him.

" Come on Philip, try this! It won't hurt." He grabbed his hand to put a sheet of paper in it, but Philip pulled his hand away. " Philip."

" I can't believe you.You're doing witchcraft now?" He spat.

" Philip, I thought you would-"

" What? Did you think I would find it to be astounding and amazing like you do?"

" Philip…I wanted to show you how magic can be beautiful. Here, I also have something for you." He said as he felt himself pull out the deer shaped Palisman, and put it in Philip's hand. He saw Philip look down at it, and then stared angrily at it before tossing it back at him.

"Philip I carved it for you, I thought you would like to have one… so you won't be lonely when I'm-"

" I want nothing to do with that." He said before watching him walk away. As the memory started to fade he heard himself yell

" Philip, wait let's talk about this!" Hunter's thoughts were Interrupted when he heard Edas' voice.

" Kid you okay I heard you yelling." He turned to look at her, he was out of breath. Before he could say anything he grabbed his head as another memory struck him.

He saw they were back in their house in philips room.

" Philip, talk to me please."

" I can't tolerate this fascination and obsession you have with magic anymore! Especially now that you're able to do actual magic"

"Philip I don't -"

"Caleb, ever since you met Evelyn, you have changed. I miss our Witch hunts together. I miss the time we used to spend together. When that Witch came along…she ruined everything! It's bad enough that you're dating her. On top of that you also have a magical piece of wood that is supposedly a living creature, then you have the nerve to carve me one. "

"I did it so you wouldn't be lonely..they are not evil Philip I mean look at Flap, he's-

" I can't believe you're defending a piece of wood, like it's a real living thing."

" Because he is! Yes, A Palisman is made of wood, but the wood they come from is special, the wood itself is alive with wild magic. "

" That makes no sense Caleb!"

" Then spend time with me in the demon realm! let me show you what Evelyn has shown me. You would fit in There Philip."

" You have gone truly mad. No, you're not mad. Evelyn has bewitched you, she is nothing more than a temptress sent to drive us apart." he felt himself back up. As Philip stormed over to him saying " That monster has warped your sense of reality and you allowed her to do it!" He felt his own blood start to boil.

" How Dare you talk about her like that! Evelyn is the only person who truly understands who I am now! I have tried Philip, I have tried countless times in these past two years to show you that this mind set of all Witches are evil is wrong. I have lived my life for you. Philip, I have raised you since I was twelve. I spent my childhood trying to do right by you. and now that I found something that makes me happy, for Titans sake you can't even bring yourself to try and act happy for me!"

"What is this emotion… I can't put it into words how much this hurts…how much anger and pain you were carrying Caleb is this how you truly felt? "

" You want to know something, Philip? I hate the fact you still love and participate in Witch hunts after all the things I have told you about the Boiling Isles! I just showed you how beautiful magic can be! But,unlike you I won't try to stop you from doing it, despite now knowing how utterly wrong they are. Why can't you do the same for me! You are so Selfish that you can't even take the time to try and open your eyes to see the beauty magic has. Yes Magic can destroy and be dangerous. But it can also create beautiful things." He saw the burning anger in Philip's eyes.

" Fine! If you love that god forsaken place then why don't you live there! "

" I'm planning to!" He realized what he just said, he felt himself look at Philip, he saw the hurt and confusion in eyes.

" What? You-you're going to abandon me"

" I'm not abandoning you. You are more than welcome to come along, I want you to come along with me Philip. I think you really would love it there if you gave it a real chance. But you need to change your mindset about magic and witches in order to do so. It's your choice. "

" When are you leaving?"

" I don't know yet. You have time to think about it. I highly implore you to think about it and hard" he said as he felt himself storming out of Philips room, as the memory once again faded away.

Hunter's head shot up, he tried to steady his breathing, that was the most intense memory he had so far. He had never felt those types of emotions .He noticed Eda was still kneeling in front of him with her hand on his shoulder.

" Hunter, what did you see?" She looked down and noticed the deer Palisman laying next to Hunter.

" A Palisman?"

" Caleb… he made it for Philip…he tried so hard to show Philip how beautiful magic could be… he was so hurt Philip couldn't…even try. "

" Hunter."

" Philip, did eventually…though he saw what magic could do…but he never saw it how Caleb did. He saw it as a dangerous force and also a powerful tool that could be used to hurt and destroy, and be controlled. " He said, looking down at his own sigil. He felt Eda hug him.

" Eda."

" don't say anything blondie. Just sit here and process what you just saw." They sat there in silence. Hunter closed his eyes, trying to make sense of what he just experienced as Eda said, running her hand through his hair.

Little did they know a presence was standing in the doorway watching them. The presence couldn't help but smile all be it sadly, it reminded him of the nights when they were kids and Philip would wake him up by crawling into his bed whenever he would have a nightmare. he would just smile at his younger brother half awake and wrap his arm around him reassuring him what ever nightmare he had wasn't real. He wished he had spent more time with him, than maybe, just maybe things would have been different.