At headquarters, Alador very carefully moves Hunter from the cushion of abomination matter to one of the lower bunks. Willow pulls up a chair to sit beside him. She can tell he's in pain, though he tells her not to worry, he'll be fine, through gritted teeth.
Willow bends in and kisses his forehead, "Stop," she whispers, "You're not OK. And you don't have to pretend that you are."
"I'm scared, Will."
"I've got you. We'll get you through this."
Viney and Emira drop into their own bunks and immediately fall asleep. Edric crawls in bed beside his sister and snuggles against her, whispering how proud he is of her.
Amity comes to see Willow and Hunter, very gently resting her hand on his shoulder, "I'm glad you're still with us. That...was scary. But you made it."
"Yeah. I did."
"Rest. Let everybody take care of you," She looks to Willow, "Are you doing OK?"
She nods, "As best as I can be."
"Look...I know you don't ask for help much, but if I had seen Luz laying there like that...I'd be a mess. I know this can't be as easy for you as you're making it look. So let us know if you need anything. Luz, Gus, and I are here for you. Even if that's just having one of us sit and keep watch while you go get some sleep."
Willow nods, "Thanks, Amity. How's Camila?"
"Camila's going to be fine. She's sore, and she has a lot of bruises, but the healer says she'll be alright. Honestly, I'm surprised that's all anybody seems to have, for the most part – scrapes, bruises, some crushed fingers and toes, and Skara might have a broken arm, but overall...we're OK."
Hunter shifts in bed and stifles a gasp; Willow shifts her attention to him, worried, "I hope the healer comes in here soon. Who is it?"
"Our teacher. Bump had Frewin get her. Apparently she lives in Latissa."
"Does she know how badly he was hurt?"
Amity nods, "Yes. She said that since we knew what Hunter'd been through, and he'd been seen by someone, he's in less danger than the people who came back here upright who were hit by something, or thrown. And I can't really argue with that," Amity says, "If somebody's got something wrong we can't see...."
Willow nods, "I get it. But he's still bleeding. It's not nearly as much, but I'm still worried."
Amity takes Hunter's hand, "Hey...hang in there. We're going to take care of you."
"Thanks, Amity," he manages, voice strained. She gives his hand a gentle squeeze.
"I'm going to go sit with Luz. She's kinda freaking out...everything. But I'll come check in on you when she's calm, OK?" Hunter doesn't respond, but she nods to him, "I know you heard me. You don't have to answer." She stands and turns to Willow, "Come get me, or have someone else come get me, if you need me. No matter the reason." She leaves the room, patting Willow's shoulder briefly as she passes.
Willow moves her chair so she's sitting close to Hunter's shoulder; she rests her hand on his cheek, "I'm sorry I can't take the pain away. I could do the one where people share it, but I think you'd be pretty upset if I did."
" You don't deserve this."
"Neither do you."
"He thought I did. Betrayal, remember?"
Willow leans in and kisses his cheek, "No, Hunter. He was wrong."
"He wanted to take out my lungs while I was still alive, Will," he says, struggling with his focus, "You got there just in time." He looks up at her, "I almost died twice this time. I'm not very lucky."
She smiles, gently stroking his cheek, "I think it's the opposite – you've survived things nobody should ever have to go through – you're still here, against all odds."
He rests his hand over hers against his cheek, "Maybe. I know I'm lucky I have you."
She blushes, "Thank you, Hunter."
"Did you lose your cardinal necklace?" he asks, noticing it's missing.
She shakes her head, "No. I put it on you."
He touches the ribbon, puzzled, "Why? When?"
"It seemed like the thing to do. It was before you woke back up, but after you were stable enough for Darius to move you." He reaches to give it back and she shakes her head, "No. Right now...it's yours. A little way I can be with you, even when I can't be present."
The healer approaches them and gestures for Willow to move, "You'll have to be somewhere else so I can get a good look at this boy. I've been told you were gouged – carved, almost, then speared?"
"Yeah." He lifts his shirt, "It's bad."
The healer shakes her head, "This is awful – no one else has injuries like this. Why would anyone do such a thing? Especially to a child?"
Hunter sighs, "I was the Golden Guard. He wasn't happy I left."
She stares at him a moment, "Oh. Well...that does explain it. But no more talking – I can tell you're having a hard time with the pain." She gently turns him so she can see the gouge better and he gasps loudly, stifling the urge to cry out. She lowers him, "Oh my...."
"Yeah," he barely manages to say, "It sucks."
"Well...I'd best get to work. Don't worry, I'm very thorough."
Hunter nods, closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and she gets to work.
After she finishes hours later, Hunter feels incredibly weak. She tells him it's due to the blood loss and advises him to get some sleep. He is able to slowly sit up, but drops back against the bed, dizzy, after only a few seconds.
Camila walks to his bed, limping slightly, "Come on. Let's get you some clean blankets. These one have blood on them."
"I can't stand up long enough to change them, Mom," he whispers.
"Then you can sleep in my bunk and I'll change the bedding."
She tries to help him up and he sags against her, his legs unable to hold him, "I don't think I can."
Willow hurries over, "No worries, we can do this together. She ducks under Hunter's arm and together, she and Camila lead him slowly to her bed. He sits hard on it and almost falls over before Willow sits beside him and props him up. "Hunter, there's still blood on your clothes. Come on, let's at least get your shirt off."
He's too tired to protest and Camila helps while Willow holds him up. He leans heavily on her and once he's shirtless, Willow gently helps him lay down.
"Can you get my concealment stone? I...I feel...I don't know. The scars are bad," he says, tugging the sheet up to cover his chest, arms hidden beneath it.
"Hunter, you just got impaled on a spike and nearly had one of your organs harvested. Nobody cares about the scars," Willow replies.
"We're all relieved you're alive," Camila says, "We thought we'd lost you. Scars are the least of anyone's worries." She leans in and kisses his forehead, "But you need to get some rest. So whatever helps you sleep, that's what you should do."
Willow helps him lay down and he rests his hand on the cardinal charm resting on his chest, "OK. I guess I can do without it. But can you put the bird under my pillow?" She nods and takes it from around his neck, tucking it under as he falls asleep.
She bends in and kisses his forehead, "I love you, Hunter. And we get to grow up together."
***
When Hunter wakes, he finds Darius seated at his bedside, a pile of fabric on his lap, a needle and thread in his hand as he neatly repairs garments damaged in the fight. He smiles when he sees Hunter is awake.
"Hi, Darius."
"Hey, Hunter. How're you feeling?"
"Better," he answers, drawing the blanket back up over his shoulders, "but everything aches and I'm kinda self-conscious."
Darius nods and looks through the pile of finished garments on the floor, "I found your wolf shirt in the laundry and thought you might like to have it when you woke up."
Hunter tries to sit and finds himself weaker than he anticipated, "Well...this isn't going well," he says as collapses back on the bed.
"Just because your insides aren't at risk of being on your outside doesn't mean there isn't any damage. You lost a lot of blood, and while magic is holding you together, not everything is entirely healed. There's still work for your body to do."
"I know. Got injured enough as a scout to understand that one – scars still happen," he says, pointing to the one on his chin, "like this one."
"I remember when you came home from that mission. Belos wasn't happy."
"Belos blamed me for getting hurt. He let me see a healer, but not without a lot of shame first," Hunter says. "I stopped telling him after that. Injuries were dealt with in the field and I just hoped they'd go away on their own."
Darius sits on the edge of the bed and helps Hunter sit up, "Well you don't have to think like that now. No one wants to see you suffer," he says as he makes sure Hunter can get into the shirt. Seeing him awake, Eda brings over a few pillows and tucks them behind Hunter's back before Darius lowers him against them.
" You scared us for a little bit there, kid – we didn't know if you were going to make it."
"Sorry, Eda," Hunter says.
"Don't apologize," she says, "You just about died. We're just all relieved you're still alive."
"I shouldn't have run off, though," Hunter says, "I messed up."
She sits at the foot of the bunk, "We all heard your note. I...I get it. I was willing to do the same thing for my own family. Raine stopped it from killing me. So I'm telling you from experience here...it's alright. We're just glad we got there in time and you're still with us."
He nods, "Thanks, Eda. I feel like I made things worse."
Darius shakes his head, "No. I wish you would have waited, but we all knew he was going to try to kill you, and what you tried to do made sense."
Hunter sighs, "It's really over, isn't it?"
"It is," Darius reassures him, "Belos is dust in a jar."
"King still has the jar," Eda says. "But I think Darius has a few things here he wants to share with you, so I'll leave you two alone to talk."
She goes to stand, but Darius speaks, "Actually...I think it might be best if you stayed. I don't know how to be parental very well and this might get...emotional." She settles back down and waits.
Hunter looks worried, "What's going on?"
"I brought back Caleb's things." He sets his mending aside and picks up the leather satchel from the floor, "I spent last night cleaning and oiling...taking care of what I could by hand." He hands the bag to Hunter, "These belong to you now. Whether you choose to keep them or to bury them with him is your decision But he's your ancestor, and I think it's important that you're the one who makes that call."
"He's also Eda's ancestor," Hunter says, much to Darius' surprise.
"Lily said she told you that story...I wondered if you were going to bring it up."
Darius looks between them both, "Are you going to explain this to me, or am I expected to guess?"
"You or me, kid?" Eda asks. Hunter doesn't answer. "Are...are you OK?" she asks him.
" You go ahead."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I'm alright."
She continues, keeping an eye on Hunter's reactions, "So Caleb and Philip Wittebane were tempted away from the human realm by a witch named Evelyn, remember? She's the reason Philip...Belos...said Caleb betrayed him – he chose to let himself fall in love with a witch instead of staying true to their work as witch hunters. Evelyn was a Clawthorne. And they had a baby. So...there's the family connection – Lily and I are descended from Caleb and Evelyn's kid."
Darius gapes, "That's remarkable."
"Yeah...we're all kinda connected in this weird tangle thanks to Belos' habit of cloning his dead brother. Hunter's one of us, even if it isn't in the usual way a lineage works," Eda says.
Darius shakes his head and shifts his attention back to Hunter, "Well...do you want to open it?"
Hunter nods and lifts the flap on the satchel, the leather soft after Darius' care. He reaches in and pulls out the shoes, an envelope, and a jar wrapped in cloth.
"Those were his shoes," Eda whispers, "From the human realm."
"Yes," Darius says, "That's my understanding. Nothing is left of his clothing. It was barely more than dust."
Hunter opens the envelope and takes out the silver ring, now brightly polished, "I wonder what this meant to him."
"I don't know," Darius answers, "But the last thing...I want to tell you before you unwrap it." Hunter stops, holding the jar, "It's his hair – the lock from in front of his face, like yours. I don't know why it was saved, but...I thought it was important to keep it safe."
"I've heard of humans making memorial jewelry out of the hair of their dead relatives," Eda says, "Maybe he kept it because he had a sentimental reason to."
Hunter sets the jar aside, "I think I'll wait to unwrap it, though." He picks up the shoes, "He walked both worlds in these. Gravesfield, the Boiling Isles...just like me."
"Yes, Hunter, just like you," Darius says, "But you don't have to keep them."
Hunter slides them back into the satchel, "I know. But I think I might. The hair...I don' t know." He holds the ring up, "This...I know I'm going to keep." He asks Darius to reach under the pillow and to hand him Willow's necklace. He slips the ring on the ribbon before tying it around his own neck. "There. For now." He passes the satchel to Darius, "Could you put that in our closet? It'll be safe there."
Darius smiles, "Of course."
"And thanks. A lot. Even if I don't keep everything, I'm glad you brought it back."
"You're welcome, Hunter. I...I have some other news for you, too."
"Do you want me to leave?" Eda asks them.
Darius shakes his head, "No. You're the maternal one."
Eda laughs quietly, "Not something I ever thought I'd be, honestly...."
Hunter looks worried, "Um...what's the other news?"
He takes a deep breath before speaking, "I found where the Golden Guards' bodies are."
"Oh."
"I promised to go back for them. To take them from where they were thrown and to bury them. They don't deserve the way they were left," Darius says. "The Collector is watching over them for us. I...I...." He sighs, heart heavy.
Hunter reaches for his hand and Darius lets him take it, "I'll go with you. If you can wait for me."
"You don't have to."
"No, I do," Hunter says, "Because like it or not, every single one of them is a little bit me, too. I'm a Grimwalker, and they're family."
Darius squeezes his hand, "Thanks, Hunter. This family is rather unique, isn't it?"
Hunter smiles, "Yeah...that's one way to put it." He turns to Eda, "One of my moms can shapeshift into a harpy, my aunt is an academic whose best friend is an owl-tube that just ate my abusive former uncle who turned into a literal monster, one uncle has a motorcycle...my sister and my other mom are humans, you're goo," he says nodding at Darius; Darius laughs. "So...given Luz is my sister, and Amity's her girlfriend, that kinda makes you and Alador co-uncles. Think you can handle that?"
Darius over-dramatically rolls his eyes and sighs, "Ugh, I suppose I can manage." He laughs, picking back up his sewing, "I know I have my issues with the Blight family, but I'll play nice. Most of the time. For the kids."
Eda shakes her head, amused, "Well while you grapple with the fact that you're co-uncle-ing with your nemesis, I'm going to go try to see how impressed Raine is with my harpy look."
"She's not exactly subtle that she's still into Raine, is she?" Hunter says to Darius, still making eye contact with Eda, smiling.
"Not so sure you should be the one pointing out somebody else isn't subtle with their emotions, bud," Eda gently teases him, "And that's not a bad thing, so don't stop wearing your heart on your sleeve."
"Family trait, Eda – though weirdly, given the whole cloning thing, I think it means you got it from me...."
She laughs, "Yeah...we're gonna confuse some poor historian some day."
"Aunt Lilith is already confused by us, so...mission accomplished," Hunter says.
Eda stands, "Keep those spirits high, kid, and you'll get through this. Hang in there." She turns to Darius, "Make sure he behaves himself."
"Is that your standard of behaving, or mine?" Darius asks dryly.
Eda snorts, amused, "I'll leave that determination up to you, slime boy." She leaves the room.
Hunter smiles, "Don't worry. I'm not planning on going anywhere. Just...happy to sit here and rest."
"Do you mind if I stay and sew?"
Hunter shakes his head, "No, not at all. I like having you here. It feels safe. But I might go back to sleep. It's exhausting, just being awake."
"Your body still has a lot of work to do. You've been put back together by powerful spells, but...well, it still has to heal the rest of the way."
"Well...sleep'll help with that, so...bye...." he says, closing his eyes and dozing off.
Once Hunter is deeply asleep, Darius sets aside his sewing, covers his face, and lets himself cry, immensely relieved that he doesn't have one more Golden Guard to bury with the rest.