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Silence.
For the first time since the 5 children had crossed the threshold into the Noceda household, the house was finally silent. Hunter was almost unnerved- he could feel the memories from the last 24 hours sitting at the edge of his consciousness, so he made a decision to only focus on the hours spent in the human realm. So much had happened that it all still seemed like a blur.
After a broken, “Hi mom, I’m back,” from Luz, Camila had stood frozen for 5 very long seconds before ushering them all inside out of the not-so-boiling rain. Luz and Camila had held each other, Luz staring blankly over her mother's shoulder while Camila quietly cried once they were all in the living room. Unfortunately, they were broken up quickly when Vee, the basilisk, hurried into the room with a first aid kid. A lot of things happened at once. Hunter shoved Gus behind him and darted forward, throwing his arm out to shield Willow, Gus, and Amity, and summoned Flapjack to wield his staff, aiming it directly at the basilisk. He heard the others do the same, and was about to lunge at the creature when Luz threw herself in front of the basilisk, arms open and eyes frantic as Camila watched, stunned.
She had told them to stop, her voice loud and commanding, as she then shielded the basilisk known as Vee, who was trembling with wide, vertical eyes. She explained their living situation, that Vee had impersonated her for months after escaping Belos and that she was here to stay. Hunter, of course, knew nothing of this, but the others all shared guilty expressions when they remembered Luz telling them about Vee, even though it seemed so long ago. All staffs had returned to palismen form, each palisman perched on their respective witches' shoulders instead of tucked away in clothes.
Apologies were exchanged, and everyone was seated in various spots around the room as Vee tended to wounds and Camila made food in the kitchen. Everyone had insisted that Gus be treated first, and Luz vehemently protested that she go last. Hunter had laughed weakly at her the fourth time her mother threw her out of the kitchen to go rest with the others. He understood where she was coming from, the need to feel useful. Normally he would be in her shoes, but at that moment Gus and Willow had most of his attention. Gus needed a distraction while his wounds were cleaned, whatever Vee had used to clean them stung, and Willow seemed to be holding it together while talking to Amity, the two girls pressed shoulder to shoulder as they whispered, but he still was watching her in between helping Gus. Luz seemed to be in her own world, not even allowing Amity to comfort her.
Hunter barely remembers eating, he was more concerned with making sure his friends were eating, but what he does remember was good. He was still full, even now. Once patched up, the whole gang had leaned against the front of the couch, Hunter with his arm around Gus and gripping Willow both to him, and Amity clinging to Luz with Vee on her free side. Everyone but Luz and Hunter had drifted off at some point- Luz seemed to be far away and Hunter needed to watch over his friends. No words were spoken while they listened to the sound of dishes as Camila cleaned up from dinner in the kitchen. Both kids had stared blankly forward, and as time went on they silently leaned against each other. Luz’s mother didn’t ask questions when she returned, she just brought them clothes and gently woke Willow up first to go shower.
He was silently glad that Camila woke Willow first. If she left to shower, Gus would be easier to persuade next, and honestly Hunter just thought she deserved it. His cheeks and ears had turned pink when she grabbed his hand and squeezed it before going up the stairs, for whatever reason. Hunter had watched one by one as they each went upstairs in their battle worn clothes, and returned with wet hair, sleepy eyes, and human sleeping clothes. Willow, Gus, Amity, himself and then Luz all took short showers and returned to the living room where they tried to sort out sleeping arrangements. Camila had wanted to split up the boys into one room and the girls into another, but in the end their panicked and teary-eyed expressions ended them all up in the living room. Hunter needed to be near Willow and Gus, Willow did not want to be without Amity, Gus, or Hunter, Gus was insistent on staying with Hunter but wanted Willow and Luz close in case of nightmares, Amity wanted Willow and Luz to be within reach throughout the night and Luz had just quietly watched on, hands trembling.
Camila had turned the couch into a bed, something that normally would have excited Gus to the point of yelling, but instead all it had rendered was a small “woah” before he grabbed a blanket. The three seated piece of furniture turned into what Camila called a “queen” bed, though none of them were really sure what that meant, and it was covered in blankets and pillows by Luz and her mother. Willow laid down first in the middle after taking off her glasses, a sight that had made Hunter’s cheeks turn pink all over again, and Gus had followed directly after. He had watched as she laid on her stomach, face down in the pillow, and let out a small sigh of relief when he heard Gus actually laugh a little before doing the same thing. Amity followed directly after, turned on her side to face where Luz would surely lay, her back against Willow’s side, and Hunter laid down on the edge, facing Gus on his side.
The others were asleep in seconds, he even heard Amity’s breathing lull before Luz had joined them, but Hunter had still been on alert. He could hear Luz and her mother talking in another language in the kitchen in hushed voices. Every once in a while he would hear a word he could understand from Luz, like “friends” “I’m sorry” “scared”, along with their names. Both humans sounded like they were choking back tears, and there was a long silence after that he could only imagine was a long embrace. He heard Luz quietly tell Camila that she would give her the whole story in the morning, and that they would all still be here when she woke up. She had said a few more things in the other language (maybe Spanish? Is that what Gus called it?) before returning to the living room. Hunter had watched through thinly opened eyes as Luz just stood watching them all for more than 5 minutes before carefully laying down by Amity. He watched as she slowly wrapped her arms around her, and scooted up so that her chin rested on top of Amity’s head.
So now, here they are. Every once in a while Hunter can hear a shuffle from one of their palismen where they are all curled up on the top of the couch in a pile, but other than that the whole house is silent, minus the quiet breathing of his friends. His eyes have closed now as he just focuses on feeling Gus move slightly every time he breathes beside him. Better to focus on the fact that everyone in this bed is alive, maybe not well, but alive, rather than focusing on the events from the day.
The silence breaks with a small sniffle on the other end of the bed and Hunter opens his eyes, almost automatically making eye contact with a misty eyed Luz. She doesn’t even seem to realize that he sees her, like she doesn’t see anything at all. Hunter clears his throat very quietly, trying to break whatever trance she’s in without waking the others, and thankfully she seems to snap out of the fog with a small start. He watched as she quickly looked down to make sure Amity was still sound asleep before looking back up and mouthing “I’m sorry” to Hunter. He shook his head at her and smiled a little, carefully reaching out his hand to her across everyone. No matter how much he previously disliked the human before their mind-scape misadventure, she had wormed her way into his galdor stone of a heart. He saw the uncertainty in her eyes at first, but then watched as she slowly let go of Amity and reached over, grasping his gloved hand, and gently rested their conjoined hands across their friends. Both teens smiled a little at each other, and closed their eyes.
Neither of them understood it, but the small contact connecting all 5 of them together was enough to quiet both of their minds, and within moments all 5 were asleep. No one knew what tomorrow would hold, but for right now, they could rest.
And whatever tomorrow may bring, they could face it together.