Owl House was created by Dana Terrace, this is a fan work for entertainment purposes.
Title is from "This Happiness" by Of Monsters and Men
This is set in a generic "Hunter Joins the Owl House Cannon Divergence." I left a lot of those details intentionally vague or missing so you can use whatever head-canon you like to fill in the blanks.
Enjoy!
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This Happiness (is Hell on Earth)
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Sleeping in the owl house proved to be a surprisingly difficult task.
In all fairness -not that he was too worried about being fair in this case- Hunter had never been a great sleeper. With his inconsistent schedule, long days of standing still at the emperor's side interspersed with grueling missions and even more grueling piles of paperwork that could drag on into the deepest hours of night or until the sun rose, he hardly had any sort of internalized sleep pattern. More often than not, he would settle for snatching sleep up in short sessions that were more accurately defined as naps, whenever and wherever he could. Propped up against statues and walls during mindlessly dull castle patrols, tucked into doorways and hidden in brush while lying in wait for an enemy or on surveillance missions. He was pretty sure he had even nodded off while standing in the middle of some of his uncle's endless meetings.
No, he never did sleep well, but he could reliably fall sleep anywhere. Except, it turned out, at the owl house.
It wasn't the faded old mat serving as a bed, which was so thin he could count the cracks between the boards on the hardwood beneath him by feel alone. He'd slept on much harder and much lumpier surfaces countless times before. It wasn't the drafty room or single blanket. He'd survived the snowy mountains with just his scout uniform and cloak, and anyways it was summer and the breeze felt nice. He had slept under almost any hardship he could bring to mind. Where his body drew the line apparently, was at sharing a room with one 'Luz the human.'
At first, it was just the unnerving feeling of someone else in the room as he drifted off to sleep. His room at the castle was far removed from the coven scouts' usual quarters. It was rare anyone even passed through the halls outside his door, and the window was so far above the grounds that any outside noise was jumbled up into a distant muffled chorus. On patrols, any sound of life had him immediately alert to danger. Getting caught sleeping while on duty and being surprised by an enemy were almost equally unpleasant. The sound of Luz breathing from across the room while he closed his eyes was enough to make his jaw clench so hard it hurt. Rolling to face away just made visions march through his head of all the ways someone could be sneaking up on him, the phantom sting of blows to the back of his head when an enemy had snuck close enough. Turning to face her was somehow worse. He didn't dare close his eyes with his face so exposed.
Some part of him felt silly, it really did. He wasn't actually afraid of Luz, in fact he trusted her more than anyone else, save Flapjack. When he was awake and lucid, he could almost call her presence reassuring. But when he started drifting and forgot where he was and who he was with, the noise of another person would jerk him back into the waking world with violent force.
In the end, he made peace with laying on his back so he could feel secure in the knowledge he could throw an arm out to protect his face or body if needed, and he could open his eyes to check his surroundings without having to roll over, but didn't need to face directly towards the sounds of life. Flapjack would usually settle on his chest or on his pillow, half-way buried in his hair, and that would calm him enough to get spans of sleep throughout the night.
But then came the kicking. Flailing might be a more apt term. Kicking implied there was at least some measure of grace or at least coordination involved. It wasn't every night. The first night he spent on the floor of Luz's bedroom, -which he was pretty sure was really just a large closet and a strong sense of denial- she had been fairly quiet. Probably too worn out by the long day's events. He'd been worn out, too, and slept more deeply than normal. The second night he'd woken at one point to the thunk of a heel against the floor and nearly leaped up to his own feet, thinking someone had entered the room to attack them.
The shuffling sound of a sleeping bag drew his attention to the other regular resident of the room. A lump in the vague shape of Luz was almost glowing in the faint starlight leaking from the window. As he blinked the blurry sleep from his eyes she tossed again, a leg kicking out from the unzipped side of her bedding. A squawk came from the dark and Hunter's heart nearly fluttered to a stop as two pointed horns rose from the shadows. For a second they were the thin curved horns of Belos's mask, melting from the shadows as he had done so many times before. Hunter would have screamed or run if he wasn't too busy choking on paralyzing fear. But the horns only rose a few inches, and when they turned, the edges of the straight, flat planes glinted and Hunter recognized the skull of the little demon that lived in the owl house. King. In the delirious half-sleep, his mind shivered at the baseless thought that this name was somehow a bad omen. Too close to emperor.
The little demon had let himself in and curled up at the foot of Luz's bed earlier that night. Hunter had forgotten. The soft, whining snores had been buried under Luz's heavier breathing, and his small dark form vanished into the night shadows with ease.
After a long moment, the halo'd horns began to sink back into the shadows as the demon settled back down to rest. With a huff, Luz tossed again, twisting over to face away from Hunter and kicking her leg violently enough that King was sent tumbling off of her bedding entirely. The demon landed with an indignant yelp and the sound of bone hitting hardwood. The room filled with the small creature's squeaking grumblings as he righted himself and turned to tug his small blanket and precious stuffed toy out from under Luz's foot. The tapping of his nails was louder than the strike of his heel as he stomped his way around the sleeping body and towards the door, pausing as he passed Hunter to catch his eye as the young demon let out a long-suffering sigh and slung his blanket over his back.
"Once she gets like this, she doesn't stop for a while. Good luck, buddy."
With that, he abandoned the room, leaving Hunter staring at the door and wondering if he should have followed. But King didn't have his own room as far as Hunter knew, so he was most likely just going to join the Owl Lady in her room, and Hunter would much rather stay here and get kicked than intrude on an adult's private space while they were asleep, especially one he hardly knew.
He didn't get much, if any, sleep while she tossed and kicked, but she eventually quieted down. In the end Hunter managed a couple hours before the sun came up, and that was all he really needed.
It turned out, kicking was the least of his worries anyways, because a couple nights after that came the traveling, for lack of a better name.
The room didn't offer much in the way of floor space, but when he had first moved in, he and Luz had wordlessly placed their bedrolls as far away from eachother as comfortably possible. There was plenty enough space between them that any light tossing or turning wouldn't impede on the other's space, and a flailing limb had no real risk of striking anything but floorboards. It turned out, about a week into his stay at the Owl House, that a sleeping Luz could cross the divide in just about two short rolls.
King had been cuddled up in her arms when Hunter had crept in to collapse on his own bed. There had been some big school event at Hexside that afternoon and the human had come home worn out, scarfed down an early dinner of "cereal," not wanting to wait for Eda to finish cooking the stew she had on the stove, and wandered up the stairs, calling out what was probably meant to be a 'goodnight' but it was swallowed up by the huge yawn and just came out as non-sense.
Hunter had stayed downstairs, reading, for as long as he dared before preparing for bed himself, hoping she'd be deeply asleep and he wouldn't risk catching her still up or waking her with his entrance.
It felt like he'd only just drifted off when he was jolted awake by a noise that was way too close. When he opened his eyes, though, the roof was lit with the creeping grey-yellow of an early morning, just before the sun broke the horizon.
At first, he thought he'd been woken up by King stomping past. He traveled in an out of the room on his own schedule, and it wasn't uncommon for Hunter to be woken up by his movements. The thump came again and it was definitely something bigger and more solid than King.
Blinking the blurry sleep from his eyes as best he could, he glanced around in search of the source of the noise and almost couldn't contain a startled jerk when he found a hand just a few inches from his face. Once his heart started again, he realized the hand belonged to Luz, who had rolled out of her half-zipped sleeping bag and was now laying face-down on the bare hardwood floor. One leg was still tangled in the sleeping bag which she had partially dragged with her, and she had one arm thrown out towards him like she was reaching for something. It now rested, palm-down against the hardwood, finger tips inches from his cheek, just brushing the edges of his pillow.
Too many old nightmares and rusty memories bubbled up from deep down in his subconscious of hands reaching for him, objects way too close to his face, the stinging pain of something solid striking against barely-buffered bone before he could jerk back in time, and his lungs couldn't seem to decide if he should hyperventilate or freeze.
The fingers far too close to his eyes twitched again and he could almost smell the copper tang of a bloody nose or a cut lip.
"Kiiiiiing." Luz's voice was a low, muttering, breath against the floorboards. Hunter almost didn't hear it at all, but as his frozen brain started to wake up, he found he could breath again. She was just looking for the demon. Of course.
He started to will his muscles to relax, and quietly scooted away from the sleeping human, intending to put some distance between them and go back to sleep once he was safely out of her reach. As if she'd heard the shuffling in her sleep, Luz rolled closer. She'd been laying at an odd angle to him, so it had only brought her somewhat closer, but he still had to quickly dodge the flailing arm that instead grabbed a fistful of his blanket.
"King, it's cold," she muttered, pulling the stolen blanket towards her chest and frowning in her sleep.
"Luz!" Hunter hissed. His back was pressed into the edges of the bookshelf that lined his side of the wall, already out of space to move further away. "Luz, go away. King's not here!"
It seemed like all she heard was the word 'King,' because she twitched and reached towards him again. Hunter shrunk back against the shelves so hard he was sure they'd be leaving an impression in his back, or possibly some bruises. His frown was deep enough that the edge of his scar was starting to burn from being pressed.
"Luz, stop it! Shoo! Go back to your side!" His voice was definitely not cracking with a rising panic.
She didn't move again, and it seemed like she had finally settled down, probably satisfied with the blanket that was now balled up in her arms and half-way formed to a pillow. Hunter grimaced at the sight of her face smashed into it as she let out a snore. He really hoped she didn't drool when she slept.
Several more moments passed and it seemed the immediate crisis was over. Hunter debated just getting up and beginning his day. If he was in the coven he would have started his duties hours ago, but he had spent the day before working away at chores and practicing with his staff to exhaustion, and then stayed up very late. And anyways, if he went downstairs right now he'd probably run into Eda, who had mentioned with exasperation that she'd be up early to finish a potion she had brewing for the market. He'd rather wait until the others were awake and it wasn't just him intruding on her work, especially when she would likely be in a cross mood about being up so early in the morning. And he really wanted to get at least a few more minutes of sleep. Luz was still way too close, though.
Her light snoring filled the room while he chewed his lip and weighed the risk of trying to wake her up again. The sound of his voice didn't seem like it was waking her up, and it might trigger a return to her earlier state of searching.
Before he made a decision, the human muttered something too quiet to make out and rolled over just a bit more, so that her back was facing him, and he saw an opportunity. As slowly and quietly as he could, he brought his knees up to his chest, careful to avoid touching the human. Luz was laying with her torso on his own sleep mat now, so he should be able to slide her back over to her side without waking her if he was careful enough. As gently as he could in the awkward position, he placed his feet against her back just under her shoulder blades, thankful for the thick socks that he was wearing which muted the feeling of her ribs moving as she breathed.
When Luz gave no indication that she had felt the feet against her back, he began to apply a tiny bit of pressure. There was still no change in her breathing, so he started to slowly straighten his legs and push her and his sleeping mat away. He almost thought he was going to get away with it and get to go back to sleep after all, when Luz gave a loud snort and flipped around so suddenly he couldn't jerk his feet away before she'd grabbed them in her arms.
"HEY!" He yelped, trying to pull his feet back in a panic. Her grip was surprisingly secure when she was sleeping and he wound up kicking her in the jaw in his attempts to break free.
This led immediately to disaster. The ruckus of thunks and screeches was loud enough that Eda burst into the room with wild eyes and Owlburt's staff in hand, the palisman's eyes glowing a threatening yellow, demanding to know what had happened and who was hurt. Luz, wide awake now, and still tangled up in a mess of her own sleeping bag, Hunter's stolen blanket, and a very crumpled sleepmat, began gasping out a loud tear-filled description of waking up with Hunter's stinky feet in her face. Hunter, still plastered against the bookshelf, with several objects now scattered around him that had fallen off during his struggling to get his legs free, shouted over her that it wasn't his fault, so loudly his voice cracked. Maybe the screaming was a bit desperate on his part, but he had no desire to be punished for disturbing the Owl Lady due to Luz's nonsense.
Under the onslaught of yelling, the concern evaporated entirely from Eda's face. She stepped back out into the hallway and slammed the door in their faces without another word.
After a moment to compose herself, Luz hit him with his own pillow, said something in a language he didn't understand, and stomped off to wash her face.
Breakfast that morning was the same as ever. Same easy conversations, light teasing, soft smiles and cheesy puns of the day traded between Luz and King while Eda rolled her eyes and tried to hide her smiles behind bites of her own breakfast. Luz frowned and stuck her tongue out at him at one point when he caught her eye from where he was sitting with every muscle tensed for flight or an incoming fight while doing his best to look relaxed and composed, but it was quickly followed by a grin to show she was teasing.
Breakfast ended, Hunter cleared away the dishes and stacked them in preparation for washing, and Eda still had made no comment about the interruption to her morning before leaving for the day with the usual goodbyes. He waited all day to be met with the news of what his due was, but as far as he could tell, neither he nor Luz ever did get corrected for the unseemly behavior.
Hunter really did not understand the rules here, and it was an unnerving sort of feeling. Like stumbling in the dark through a room he thought was familiar, just to find a piece of furniture was missing when he thought he would bump into it. He should be relieved, but instead he was just worried that now the trip hazard could be anywhere, waiting to catch him when he least expected, and it would hurt all the more because he wasn't prepared.
That night, both sleep mats were inched just a bit further away from each other in a silent agreement.
And so things went on. Days were an eclectic mix of mundanities and adventures, strange moments of domestic comforts in the Owl House and spikes of terror that the Emperor had found him to drag him back to whatever fate lay waiting at the end of the road of his old life. Nights were a dice roll of Luz's assorted sleep habits, broken with the occasional nightmare that they were all prone to. Even Flapjack had been found shuddering and twitching, though the palisman refused to divulge so much as a hint of what he'd been dreaming of after Hunter had managed to wake him.
Hunter still never really managed more than a few hours of sleep at a time, but he was settling into his new routine. He found ways to handle sharing the room and keeping the peace.
On one particular night after an especially long and exhausting day, however, he discovered sleep-Luz had one more trick up her sleeve. Maybe it was more accurate to call it a sub-set of another skill. It wasn't like she didn't talk in her sleep all the time, usually complete nonsense, sometimes repeats of conversations, once he'd even heard her mumbling a song in her strange human language. He'd learned some time ago that it was called Spanish, and had gained an understanding of a few random words but it was still largely a mystery to him.
Despite that, this particular habit deserved its own category simply on the merit of how much he hated it.
It started as unidentifiable nonsense, like most of the human's sleep mutterings. They'd gone up to bed hours ago but Hunter hadn't been able to fall asleep yet, and was just starting to finally drift off when it woke him back up. With a groan, he brought his arms up and stuffed the sides of the pillow against his ears. He had a splitting headache from the day's events that he desperately wanted to sleep off.
Luz gave a snort that might have been a laugh in her dream and rolled onto her side. Hunter cracked one eye open to glare at her and make sure she wasn't going to start rolling onto his side of the room again. In the half-light he could see a soft, peaceful smile settled over her face. At least it wasn't a nightmare. But then again, if it had been a nightmare he could excuse waking her up now.
Luz was a ridiculously heavy sleeper most of the time. If he did manage to wake her up it would be obvious he had done it on purpose, and so he just dealt with the sleep-talking. Usually that meant simply waiting until it was over and she fell silent on her own so he could fall asleep, however long it took.
Things fell silent and Hunter let himself believe that that was it and closed his eyes.
A small giggle broke through the quiet, followed by something in Spanish that was said so rapid he couldn't catch a word even if she had said something he'd recognize.
The pillow was smashed harder against his ears. "Please stop," he groaned.
Another round of mutterings, but he caught the end of it.
"... mzzt'in zuh library tm'rrow s' yrrr free t'day?"
Inwardly he begged the titan for just one night of peace. He was so tired, and his head felt like it was stuffed with rocks and put in a vice.
Another giggle, "Amityyyyy."
"That's IT!" Hunter could put up with a lot; the sleep talking, the mumbled singing, the nightmare whispers and half-sobs. She'd even told puns in her sleep on one occasion. He'd been kicked, had his pillow and blanket stolen, been trampled and tripped over. But he drew the line at staying here and listening to her flirt in her sleep with her girlfriend. "I'm done. I'm out," he grumbled to no one in particular as he stood, grabbing up his pillow in one hand and bunching up the thin blanket to toss over his shoulder.
He didn't love the idea of sleeping on the couch. It was exposed. Too close to the front door, visible from the windows, gaping entrances to other rooms that would make it impossible to hear someone sneaking in, and the thought of being in the way in a public space made his skin crawl. But he was desperate. And tired. Even his paranoia didn't have much fight left in it.
When he got to the bottom of the stairs, however, he froze.
"Oh, come on!" he hissed. A small lamp had been left on. Hunter had hoped the owl lady had just forgotten to switch it off before returning to her room, but once he'd stepped into the living room it was clear she had never made it that far.
Eda was draped across the too-small couch. Her face was smashed into the arm at an angle that couldn't be comfortable for her neck. One pale arm was thrown over the arm of the couch, while the other hung off the side between the couch and the coffee table. An empty bottle of the hard apple cider she kept on the tall shelf was resting on it's side not far away from her empty hand. Her ankles were propped up over the other arm of the couch. The scene would be comical if Hunter had the emotional capacity to feel anything but bone-deep frustration right now.
King was curled up under the gap created between her shins and the couch, apparently unconcerned about being kicked. One red and yellow eye cracked open at the sound of Hunter's voice to send him a half-hearted glare for the disturbance.
"Find somewhere else," the little demon grumbled. "The couch is taken."
"There is nowhere else!" Hunter argued, keeping his voice low as he threw a hand out to emphasize the distinct lack of sleeping areas. The pillow in his hand thunked harmlessly against the banister of the stairs as he gestured. "Why is she down here? She has her own room!"
"So go sleep there," King said, like it was the most obvious thing in the Isles.
"What?! I'm not sleeping in the Owl Lady's room! She'll kick me out! Or-or claw my eyes out or-"
"She's not using it. And she won't care, trust me. I sleep in there all the time when she's gone. So does Luz."
"But-"
"If she even notices, just tell her I told you to go sleep in there."
Hunter paused and twisted the edge of the blanket in his hands. It was a sort of loophole Luz and King had discovered some time into his stay at the Owl House. When he just couldn't seem to be convinced something was okay –that he wasn't being tricked into some unseen mistake or set up for a punishment- when they were tired of arguing in circles, they would just sigh and say something to the effect of 'just say I told you to do it' like it absolved him of any guilt in the matter. The worst part was... it often worked.
The twisted up, terrified part of him still firmly believed that the rules were different between himself and the 'real' children of the house. There were Eda's 'good' kids, and there was him; a burden she took in from obligation and pity. If Luz or King messed up, it was forgivable, because they were good people, real people, they meant well and would do better and Eda loved them and genuinely enjoyed their presence in her home. They belonged here and were worthy of grace and patience.
And Hunter... Hunter was Hunter. He was 16 and knew better, or he should know better, than to break rules or act out of line, even if he struggled to see where those lines were in the owl house. He was raised to obey the rules and earn his keep and would be treated as such -should be treated as such. He was an enemy that had long since used up any obligatory patience or forgiveness any civilized person could expect, let alone a grimwalker or whatever he was. He wasn't even real, anyways. He couldn't even expect the same considerations a real witch or demon could. Socially, he was already in a place of debt, and he simply couldn't afford the mistakes that Luz and King could. But when they offered their own status like a shield he clung to it like a child.
He really shouldn't do it, and he knew he shouldn't. If it came down to it, if he was ever caught or challenged, he would take whatever punishment he was due and not hide behind them, but somehow it still helped to have those words. A lifetime of conditioning to adhere to the hierarchy of power was still ingrained into the very marrow of his bones. It offered safety. Familiarity. Rules he understood. Even if it had offered cruelty just as easily. At least he could understand the cruelty and knew when to expect it and when he could safely fight back.
A long glance up into the dark hallway above the stairs, and another moment of staring at the Owl Lady's sleeping face offered no more answers or help with his situation. The option to sleep outside or even on the roof danced across his mind, and not for the first time, but they were dismissed easily. He was meant to be hiding. Even if he could manage to sleep with the forest and all its wild beasts so close, he couldn't risk a scout or passerby somehow spotting his painfully recognizable hair or face. Hooty was a decent enough security system, more than that really, the house demon was downright frightening, but he couldn't be everywhere at once, and there were many lines of sight that didn't require a scout to get too close.
And the reassurance of solid walls and a closed door went a long way.
"Alright," he breathed. He didn't mean to make it sound so pathetic, but the demon just closed his eyes and curled back up with no comment. They'd all had a long day.
His feet dragged as he marched back up the stairs and down the hallway. At the sight of the Owl Lady's door, his courage faltered again. He paused with one hand on the copper doorknob and rested his forehead against the rough cool wood. It still felt weird, intrusive, but he was so so tired. And while King did enjoy the occasional prank, he'd never once intentionally steered Hunter into trouble with the rules. It was fine. It would be fine.
He would be fine.
The doorknob turned easily, and with a little click the door swung open.
It was... messy but surprisingly clean? Objects cluttered every available shelf and tabletop in no order or pattern that Hunter could identify. Books, potion supplies, and the occasional scraggly potted plant were crammed in between Knickknacks wherever they could fit. Several empty potion bottles sat on an end table by what appeared to be a gigantic nest. That must be her bed. His foggy brain recalled a distant memory of a couple of coven heads joking after a meeting about the owl lady sleeping in a nest made from her enemies' bones. He closed the door behind him and crept closer to inspect the nest where he just found a sea of smooth twigs and branches woven together with surprising skill. No bones in sight, except for the little ones in jars on the shelves. Well, they were half-right.
His first thought was that the floor would probably be more comfortable, but he kneeled down and gave the bottom of the nest an experimental push and found it was almost bouncy. The branches were weaved in a way that allowed some give between them, so it almost worked like a mattress. And the twigs that looked like they should jab and bruise were actually polished and smoothed and carefully arranged so that they felt more like a weaved basket.
He folded his blanket in half and laid it over a section of the nest. It was plenty warm tonight, so he would rather have it under him like a sheet. With one last deep breath to steady the hammering in his heart, he climbed over the edge of the nest and flopped down onto his blanket with his pillow tucked under his head. The nervous energy humming in his body fell silent almost instantly. The physical exhaustion in his muscles and bones won out over his overworking mind again and in the dark and silent room he fell asleep in what seemed record time.
-x-
"LUZ!"
Luz jerked upright in her bed. "Wha!?"
"LUZ!" The door was thrown open and King leaned in, his eyes wide and hair fuzzed up. "Luz, quick! You have to come quick!"
Panic flared in her chest as she scrambled free of her sleeping bag and sprung up, reaching for the glyphs in her notebook. "What's wrong?"
"Just hurry!" King's skull reappeared for just a moment. "And bring your camera! You're gonna want it!" With that he was gone again, the clicking of his nails retreating down the hallway.
Luz paused half-way to the door. "Camera?" Her hammering heart slowed to a more reasonable level of concern and she turned back to snatch up her phone from the charger before jogging into the hallway. "King, what's going-"
"Shh!" King was standing just outside of Eda's room. The door was cracked open a sliver and he was peering in, waving one hand at Luz to join him. "Don't wake her! You gotta see this." His tail was wagging, actually wagging, and the last of Luz's fear was eclipsed with curiosity as she tip toed to his side.
At first she couldn't see anything through the crack of the door as she leaned over King. The room was too dark compared to the hallway. The morning light that leaked through the big colored glass window just caused everything outside of its ring to be further lost in the shadows. But when she reached forward and tentatively pushed the door open the scene began to resolve before her.
"Why is Eda in the owl beast form?" she whispered, one hand coming down on King's shoulder, ready to pull him away if need be. Her other hand clenched around her phone, thankful the camera was still in flash mode. She had her light glyphs now, though, so she wasn't sure why King had asked her to bring it specifically. "Did something weird happen last night?" Sure she could be a heavy sleeper, but she wouldn't have slept through any sort of fight or rampage, right? Whatever had happened, the owl beast was now sleeping peacefully in Eda's nest of a bed, nestled down like any sleeping bird with her feathers pooling over the edges of the nest walls and chin resting against her own chest. Her eyes were closed and her face had a peaceful expression.
The little demon gave a snort of poorly repressed laughter, his hands coming up to cover his mouth with a little clink of bones. "You could say that. Look closer."
Luz looked away from the Owl Beast's sleeping face and found... "Is that Hunter!?"
A cloven hand slapped against her leg. "Keep it down! At least until you take a photo."
A pair of unmistakable scarred arms, just visible from the elbows down, hung out from underneath the feathers, draping over the lip of the nest like he had been trying to claw his way to an escape before being squashed under the Owl Beast.
"Is he okay?" she asked in a lowered volume, but she was already opening the camera on her phone.
"No!" Hunter's voice was so muffled she could barely hear his shout. One of the arms waved, his hand reaching out blindly. "I am not okay! Get me out of here!"
A splash of bright red caught her attention. With a squint she was able to make out the sight of Flapjack perched up over the window. His good eye was open and staring at her, but once they made eye contact he blinked it a few times and fell back to his nap. The extremely loyal and protective bird appeared entirely unconcerned and unmoved by his witch's plea for help, so Luz deduced he must be perfectly fine.
A loud snort came out of Luz's nose as she reined in a burst of laughter. "Oh, oh this is amazing." She raised her camera, remembering just in time to disable her flash, and snapped a photo of the scene before her. The owl beast twitched at the sound of the shutter click, but didn't otherwise stir. It would be a bit grainy, but her phone's camera could adjust to the half-light well enough, and the morning sun had already grown stronger, lighting up the room in a cozy warm glow.
"Luz!" Hunter's hand flailed, grasping hopelessly for the girl who was standing across the room, well beyond his reach. "Human, this isn't funny! I can't breath!"
"You seem to be breathing and talking just fine to me," Luz answered, rearranging a few of the items on the small table by the door so she could prop her phone up. "Now hold still, I want to get a family photo before she wakes up."
The hand that had been reaching out dropped back down. A weary sigh escaped from under the dark feathers. "You're not going to help me, are you?"
King scurried into the room, taking a wide berth around the sleeping owl beast and turned to laugh at the trapped boy. "Ha ha! You're there forever!"
"Not forever." Luz finished setting the timer on her camera and began to back into the shot. "Just like, a minute or two, or three... 15 tops."
"15 minutes?" Hunter echoed. His usual sarcasm was tempered into a pathetic whine.
The camera clicked, the owl beast twitched again but still didn't wake up, and Luz stepped forward to check how the photo had come out.
"Art takes the time it takes." It was okay-ish, but the window behind them was casting everything in shadow and blurring it out a bit too much for her liking. She moved the phone to a new spot slightly to the side that should get a better lighting. "We're gonna try that again."
Another long groan, chorused with King's laughter from where he stood at the edge of the shot.
"Oh come on," Luz teased as she backed up into the shot again. "It can't be all that bad. You're being cuddled by a giant bird. That's hardly nightmare material." She conveniently left out that the owl beast had, in fact, been the star material of Eda's nightmares for decades.
"I'd rather be in a nightmare right now."
Another click. Luz stepped forward again to check on the new photo.
"How did this happen, anyways?"
"You!" Hunter raised a hand and jabbed a finger at where he must have thought Luz was, though he was off by a fair bit. "You're how this happened! You and that little rat! You conspired against me!"
"Hey!" King puffed himself up, looking downright offended, though there was no way Hunter could see him. "I didn't plan this. How would I know Eda was going to go all owl mode? I was just trying to help."
"Oh, yeah? Thank you, King. This is great. Just perfect. Extremely helpful." The hands managed to gesture with impressive emotion, considering they were only visible and mobile from the elbows.
Luz finished inspecting the latest photo and set her camera back. The lighting was better but she needed to get a little closer so they could all be in focus. "I'm sure you're exaggerating. I don't remember doing anything last night that would have led to this. And if you could see King's face right now, you'd see how innocent he looks."
Hunter gave a snort that made the feathers over where his head must be ruffle. Luz tried to hold her smile and not break down into a laugh while she stepped into place for the photo.
Another click.
"I'll check it!" King darted forward from where he'd been posed closer to the phone.
"Gracias, King. Make sure the focus is right on all of us."
The small demon had to bounce up on his tippy toes to grab the camera. After a moment's inspection he turned and held it up with the lens facing towards the others.
"Scoot a little closer to Eda."
Luz inched back, keeping her steps light. "Like this?"
"Yeah, but a little closer."
She shuffled again. "How's thi-YAAAAAHG!?"
Something grabbed the back of her pajama shirt and yanked her backwards. Before she could react, the back of her knees hit the lip of Eda's nest and she toppled. Her back hit the bottom of the nest and immediately the owl beast dropped down on top of her, a wall of feathers blotted out all light and crushed her down, pinning her quite effectively in place. Somewhere beside her Hunter let out a grunt of pain as the bulk crashed back down on him at the same time. Slightly more muffled, was the screech of King's laughter.
"He did that on purpose."
"Yeah," Luz agreed with a sigh. "Okay. He did that one on purpose."
"It serves you right."
Luz squirmed and tried to get some more room to breath, or at least wriggle into a more comfortable position to be slowly crushed in. "How is she so heavy?"
"Oh come on Luz," Hunter mocked. "It can't be all that bad."
"Har har. I'm sure she'll change back soon. It's morning."
"Is it?"
"How long have you been here?"
"I don't know. Most of the night? I can't feel my legs anymore. I'm not sure they're still there."
With some twisting and winding, she managed to snake her arm out into the darkness until she brushed her hand against Hunter's pajamas. "I found them. They're still there."
His leg twitched when she grabbed his ankle. It was something to steady herself in the crushing darkness, even if she knew it was just Eda over her. "Hey, let go!"
She released his ankle but kept a loose grip on the hem of his Pajama leg so she could have an anchor. A reassurance that he was there and not just some voice in the void. Not that he was going anywhere anytime soon. "I thought you couldn't feel your legs?"
The nest shuddered when his leg jerked like he tried to kick out at her in reply but couldn't manage more than an inch or two of movement. She gave a chuckle and worked her shoulders into a groove of the nest floor where they wouldn't be pinched. "Well, get comfortable I guess. We're sleeping in today."
Luz's torso was current being crushed by the Owl beast's chest. A loud heart beat thrummed against the feathers and ribs pressed against her. It was strangely reassuring. She tried to focus on that, and the scrap of soft cloth that marked Hunter's presence and despite her initial nerves, found herself drifting off in the gentle warmth.
-x-
"Gwhuh..." Eda let out a long deep groan. She immediately knew upon waking that she had spent at least some time as the owl beast that night. There was a certain feeling, like her body had been stuffed with cotton and hung out in a desert, that followed the transformation back.
The potion she'd taken the evening before must not have done its job. They'd been a bit hit or miss for some time now, and in all honesty Eda had grown lax on using them since she'd come to an agreement with the beast and attained the harpy form. It had been a blissfully long time since she'd taken the full form of her curse. Something was different about this time, though.
Normally when she transformed back, along with the physical toll, there was a lingering mental and emotional strain. The closest comparison that came to mind was like waking from a nightmare. While her mind was aware that the threat was gone, the adrenaline still burned in her veins and her heart would take some time to slow to a regular rate and accept that things were alright.
This time, the usual dried out cotton feeling was present, but the fear and pain was conspicuously absent. Her muscles had the same familiar strangeness, but were missing the tight pain that had to be slowly unwound. Not that she was complaining about it, but it was definitely weird.
As she sat up and rubbed at her face, underneath all of that she found the touch of a hangover. That was... less surprising.
"Either I'm getting old or that brand of appleblood is a lot stronger than I remember."
She gave a final scrub of her eyes with the heels of her hand and opened them to asses whatever damage she had done in the night.
"Huh. That's new."
She was sitting up on her knees in the middle of her nest. To her left was Luz. Her apprentice wasn't a total stranger to sneaking into Eda's room after a particularly rough nightmare, though her appearance now was unexpected. The girl was sprawled out on her back, her legs thrown up on the edge of the bed. Her eyes were closed in a peaceful expression of rest, and there was a soft snore if Eda listened close. To Eda's right was Hunter, who Eda was pretty sure had never even stepped foot in her room before. He was laying face down with his arms over the edge of the nest, but his chest was rising and falling in a steady rhythm.
"Eda!" The voice of her absent kid brought her attention to the doorway. "You're back!" He quickly darted across the open floor, scrambled over the nest's edge and into her arms.
"You turned into the owl beast last night! Look! Look!" He held up Luz's phone for her to see. The cracked screen displayed a image of the owl beast hunkered down in her bed, sleeping with a content and peaceful expression that she had never witness on its parody of her face before. From under the owl beast's feathers, Hunter's arms and Luz's legs were just visible. In the corner of the image, King was pointing at the trio and clearly laughing.
A snort escaped her. "Well that's something. But I think I have more questions than before."
King leaned back in her hold to stare at Luz. "I think you crushed them."
Eda gave a thoughtful hum and took a long look at each of the teenagers while she pretended to deeply consider this. "You'd better go get the shovel, King." She gave a dramatic sigh and shook her head slowly. "Looks like you're an only child again."
With a burst of giggles, King squirmed from her grip and darted back out the door. Only a moment later he reappeared, leaning back into the room with one hand on the door frame. "Ooh! Can I be the older sibling next time!"
"Sure thing, kiddo."
As King vanished back into the hallway a noise came from her left.
"Eeeedaaaaa," Luz whined. Somehow the human managed to sound chastising.
"Oh, you're still alive. That saves my back from digging one hole at least." She reached down to ruffle Luz's hair then turned to look at the boy. "What about you, blondie? You still with us?"
For a moment he gave no response and she thought he might actually still be unconscious. A small worm of worry twisted in her gut that maybe she had hurt him. When she was getting ready to grab his shoulder and try shaking him he finally made a noise.
"Just hurry up with that shovel."
The worry melted away at the sound of his normal sarcasm and Eda's wide grin returned.
Thumping footsteps up the hallway heralded King's return. The too-big shovel in his arms caught on the doorframe as he turned the corner. He hit the bar in the chest and flipped harmlessly onto his back with a little "Weh!" of surprise.
With a grunt, Eda rose and stretched. Her back and shoulders gave a few satisfying pops and cracks, and then she stepped over to free the little demon struggling on his back, pinned by the handle of the garden tool. Once he was untangled, she scooped him up into her arms.
"Sorry King, looks like they survived. I'm headed down to start breakfast, anyone going to join me?"
Twin groans answered her. Neither teen made any move to get up.
King thought for a moment before giving his own answer. "I think I'll stay here. Will you come get me when breakfast is ready?"
Eda stooped to set him back on the floor so he could join the other kids in the nest. "Yeah, sure thing kid."
As the demon scrambled over the edge and slid on his belly down next to Luz, the girl finally stirred to roll onto her side and circle him in her arms, trapping him and tickling him gently. "You little traitor. I can't believe you did that to me, your own best and favorite sister!"
King's laughter turned to little shrieks and he managed to wriggle free of her tickling and bounded over to Hunter. There he hopped over the boy and turned back to sprawl over the blond teen's back so he could watch Luz from out of her reach.
"No," the once-golden guard grumbled, voice still muffled against the branches. "Go sleep with Luz and accept your fate. Traitors should stick together."
"Quiet minion!" King reached out to bap one hand with surprising gentleness against the back of Hunter's head, eliciting another low grumble from the boy. "Protect your King from the human's vile tickle attack."
Eda left them to their bickering to get started on the promised breakfast, a wide smile on her face and a lightness in her chest. There were still so many looming shadows, the threat of the Day of Unity crept ever closer, but for the moment she was happy, and she'd learned to enjoy these moments for all they were worth when they came her way.
End
Bonus chapter preview: "...Having Luz or Eda there was reassuring. The warmth of a body and the sound of a heart beating chased away the bad dreams better than any plush army or glowing nightlight. But neither option was reasonable tonight.
King had just about resigned himself to a night of curling up next to the crystal ball for company when a soft cough caught his attention. Turning to glance over his other shoulder, he saw the blond boy had propped himself up on his elbows on his sleep mat. Hunter's maroon eyes, almost black in the silvery moonlight that washed the color from everything, were staring directly at him. The little red palisman was an inky blot almost lost to the shadows on his shoulder..."
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Thank you for reading!
Based off of an idea I had for a quick silly comic. I wrote most of this in a half-asleep state and then realized that there's at least two other empty rooms in the Owl House; the one with all the swords in the S1 finale, and the room at the top of the tower where Hooty was giving King his Demon tests. It sat around unfinished for months but I finally decided to just finish it anyways. Hopefully it's still worth a smile or a laugh, even if it takes a small amount of suspension of disbelief to ignore my oversight. lol. Not like I was canonically correct in the first chapter of Promisedland about where the kids would be sleeping in Luz's home anyways, since I wrote that before s3 began to air.
Also! There should be a bonus short to this piece added as another chapter in a bit so keep your eye out for that if you're interested. It's a separate but related scene. It's focused on King, since Hunter, Eda and Luz had their focused sections in this part. This was just so long already it would have tipped the one-shot to well over 10k words and it kind of broke up the flow so I had no real reason to force them together. I'm not even done writing the extra scene. I thought it would be easier to read if I separated them and posted the main piece for now.
-OMaM