The day after Caleb and the Golden Guards are interred, Eda, Lilith, Hooty, Camila, Luz, and Hunter return to the Owl House. They say their goodbyes to Darius and Raine in Latissa and their friends fly with them over Bonesborough, shouting goodbyes from their staves before heading home. When they land, Clover nestles in Hunter's hair, safe with him until he can return her to Willow.
As they walk toward the door, Lilith realizes there is a motorcycle in the yard; she turns to Eda, "Steve's back?"
"Well I don't know anybody else with a motorcycle."
Lilith runs toward the house, "Steve!"
The door flies open, "Lil!" he shouts, running toward her. He catches her in his arms, lifts her, and twirls her, the two of them laughing, "Word among the scouts is that the Emperor's dead. I mean, the giant 'Belos is Dust' message made out of neon stars floating above the Head a while back kinda made that obvious, but we also had a guy who saw you all coming back to Latissa looking pretty beat up."
"How long have you been back here?" Lilith asks.
"Just a few days. I was helping move scout families back out of hiding after we were sure Belos was gone."
Eda reaches them and rests her hand on Steve's shoulder, "You can be absolutely sure he's dead this time. He's just dust in a jar. Literally. He's in this bag," she says, patting the bag hanging from her shoulder.
Steve stares at it, "Um...why?"
"Well I didn't want to just leave him in Latissa and King said that the Collector insisted he stay with 'King's people' and we weren't sure if he counted Darius and Raine, or if that was just the Owl House folks, so we decided it was safest if it came with me. And just in case he spilled, I didn't want in in the backpack with our clothes. I do not want to put the former emperor through the laundry."
Steve shakes his head, "I missed a lot, didn't I?"
"Yes, yes you did," Camila says, "But we can catch you up. I'm headed inside, though – the kids' clothes are heavy...and I think someone put some books in here." She shrugs, indicating to the large bag slung across her back.
Steve sees Luz and Hunter, "Hey! Kids! I'm so glad you're safe." He offers them hugs and they accept. "The scouts that saw you all leaving Latissa were pretty worried – said they saw a kid on a stretcher covered in blood...."
"Yeah...that was me," Hunter says, "Wasn't exactly my best day. Belos nearly killed me twice."
"Wow...that sucks. Glad you made it through."
"Same here. Now I just get to figure out what to do with the rest of my life, you know? No big deal...."
Luz pats his arm, "I'm going to go in with Mom. I'll see you inside."
"I'll see you in my insides!" Hooty says.
Hunter nods, "OK, Sis. And Hooty...that's kinda creepy."
"Hoot hoot, you know it is!"
He sighs after they're gone and turns to Steve, "How do I start to figure this out? You got to be a kid, you decided to be a coven scout. I...I was born into it. I don't know what's outside that world, really."
Steve puts his hands on Hunter's shoulders, "Hunter...stop trying to figure everything out right away. You nearly died. Again. Just...go to school. Enjoy the time with your friends. And learn from the adults around you. World's gonna look different. We're not going to have an emperor, stuff's going to change...you'll find your place in it. But right now...just enjoy being a kid."
Hunter sighs and bows his head, "How do I go back to school and act like things are normal?"
"You don't. You know things aren't normal. If that means stuff is harder, or you need to do something differently, ask for help. It's OK...you've got people in your corner."
"I know. And I try to laugh it off, to pretend I can handle things, but...ever just look at all the stuff you've been through and wonder how you haven't melted down and walked off a cliff or something? Because sometimes...I just kinda feel like I'm looking at myself from the outside and wondering how the heck I'm still in one piece."
Steve gently hugs him, "Kiddo...that's heavy."
"I haven't told Mom. I don't want her to worry," Hunter replies, resting his head on Steve's shoulder.
"You can trust good ol' Uncle Steve to not say anything unless you want me to," he says. Hunter quietly laughs, "I've got your back. You know that."
"Yeah, I do. Thanks, Steve."
"Hey...I understand that feeling, like everything you've been through might crush you. I'm sure it's not for nearly as much hard stuff as you're carrying on your heart, but...I get it. And you can always tell me, OK?"
Hunter nods, "OK. I will."
Steve steps back, both hands on Hunter's shoulders so he can look him in the eye, "Promise you'll tell someone if things get too heavy?"
"Yeah."
Steve smiles at him, "You're going to be alright, Hunter, and your family's pretty amazing. I fell lucky every time I think about how they just kinda folded me in."
"Same here," Hunter replies, "I didn't ask for this. I never would have expected it. But...here I am."
"Yep, here we are," Steve says, "And here we are, outside, where it's a little chilly. Want to go inside and join them?"
Hunter smiles and nods, "Yeah, that sounds good." Steve puts his arm around Hunter's shoulders and they walk to the front door together. Once inside, Hunter slips away to the bedroom, flopping on the bed beside Luz.
"Oh hello, sweet mattress, how I've missed you!"
"Yeah, the bunks were OK, but this...this is sooo much more comfy," Luz says, "I think I'm just going to stay here for days."
Camila brings in the bag of their clothes, "Hey kids – try to take care of things today, alright? It'll be easier than waiting and living out of the luggage."
"Thanks, Mom," Luz replies.
"Got it, Mom," Hunter says at the same time.
Camila leaves, smiling.
"So...are you headed right back to the human realm?" Hunter asks her, "Whenever we find a portal?"
"I don't know," she says, "I don't really feel like I belong there. I never have. I don't have friends at school or anything...I want to see Vee, but...I kinda want to stay here."
"Mom's going to have to go back," Hunter says.
"Yeah, I know. But if we have door like the old one, that wouldn't be a problem."
"We don't, though," Hunter days, "And somehow I doubt that was something that was easy to make."
Luz shrugs, "I don't know. We'll just have to keep learning and try to find out."
Hunter stares at the ceiling, "I wonder if there's a place here where, if you put Titan's blood, it'll make a portal, like it did for Belos in Old Gravesfield."
"Where do we get Titan's blood, though?"
"I dunno, ask King if we can keep his tissue the next time he gets a bloody nose?"
Luz giggles, "Ewww...but effective."
"Does Titan's snot have any magical properties? Maybe if he sneezes...."
She lightly shoves him, "Hunter, gross!"
"I'm sure I could think of something more disgusting."
"I know you could, but don't say it."
"Really? What'll you give me not to?"
She glares at him, then turns on her side and grins, "Oh...just...stonesleeper sneak attack!" she shouts as she tickles behind his ear, sending him into fits of laughter that nearly topple him off the bed.
From in the kitchen, Eda and Camila both smile, "Good to hear them having fun," Eda says, "I worry about these kids. They've seen way too much far too young."
"And it weighs on them," Camila replies, "You can hear it in their voices, and there are times it's in their eyes."
"But...it's not like we could stop it," Eda sighs, "Trust me, I tried. I tried to send Luz away for the Day of Unity so she wouldn't be anywhere near where it happened. But that girl...."
"She's determined, and she's fiercely loyal," Camila adds, "There's no way you can keep her from people she cares about when they're in trouble."
"Well hopefully, we won't have trouble for a long time," Eda says, "Belos is gone, Darius and Raine are starting to figure out how to patch some kind of government back together and they're finding people to help, and the scouts have gone home to their families. The kids are all going back to school, and our biggest concern will turn back into finding a way to rebuild a portal door to get you home." She shakes her head, "I sure wish I still had the door and key. It was so easy – I just unlocked it and walked through. It stayed open until I came back – nobody ever went to that run down cabin, it was fine."
"The kids turned it into their hideout," Camila says, "And now that I've met Hooty, the strange face they painted on the door makes quite a lot more sense." She sighs, "They put so much work into that place. And it's where they found the rebus that led them to the Titan's blood in Old Gravesfield. Flapjack found it."
Eda nods slowly, "Which means it's likely Evelyn or Caleb put it there. Or even Philip." She sighs, "Unless those are memories in Hunter's cape, we're highly unlikely to ever know."
"I think it's pretty special for Hunter to know he's been a part of your family all along, even before he knew it," Camila says, "Maybe it will make some of this transition easier for him."
"I worry about that kid more than I do the rest of them. Everything he's been through, everything he's seen and been asked to do, the way he was raised, the way he had to find out how he came into the world...honestly, Camila, I'm shocked he's still standing," Eda says, "Because if I had to handle all that, I wouldn't be."
"I'm scared what he'll do when I go home," Camila replies, "I don't want to leave him feeling more alone and like he's lost me. I don't want to go back until I know for sure there's a way he can reach me when he needs me."
Eda smiles, "You know, I never thought I was going to be the maternal type. Not when I was a kid, and certainly not after my curse. But then I found King. We got along fine, but I didn't know what I was doing. Luz comes along, then suddenly I've got a second kid, and her friends end up here...they animated my house once. That was pretty wild." She laughs to herself, "Yeah, this wasn't what I really ever thought I'd be doing. But I like it, you know? They're all good kids. And Hunter...he needs us both, and for different reasons. You're right. We need to make sure he can reach you when he needs you."
"So how do we do that?" Camila asks.
Eda points to the bag on the floor, "Can you hand me the book in there?"
Camila lifts the bag onto the table and slides out the large, old volume, "What's this?"
"King gave it to me. Apparently, it's Belos' notes. And unlike the diary Philip Wittebane donated to the Bonesborough library, this isn't some revised narrative he wanted to donate to the ages. These are his experiments." She brushes her hand over the cover, "King said this is where he kept his notes on making the Grimwalkers, but I'm wondering...maybe there's other magic in here as well. The diary was too neat. Maybe more of the mistakes and messy details are in here from when he built the portal door, too."
Lilith walks in and joins them at the table, Steve following, "That looks very old," she says.
"It's Belos' notes of his magical experiments," Camila says, "Eda says King gave it to her."
"Oof," Steve says, "I wouldn't necessarily let Hunter read that yet...."
"We take notes, and when he's ready, he can read them, just like we did with the other Grimwalker book. After all...as disturbing as it is, he has a right to know how he was made, when he's ready." Lilith says.
"So...how horrified do we want to be today?" Eda says, "Really horrified, or just horrified a little?"
"I'd rather sleep tonight," Camila says, "so let's only horrify ourselves a little."
"Alright, so we flip through and look for pages that have sketches of doors on them and go from there. Got it." Eda opens the book and starts turning pages, not stopping to read. The sketches, though, tell enough of what's on each page, and they keep going until they land on a page with a single eye in the middle, text around it in an arc.
"Well...we're about to learn either how to grow eyes on a Grimwalker or why there's an eye on the portal," Lilith says, "Wish me luck." She turns the book toward her and starts skimming the page, "This is where we start. It's much more detailed than any of the notes Luz had. Give me some paper...I have to write this down." She reads the pages out loud, jotting down notes, asking for help deciphering his handwriting, and pushing the volume in front of the others to capture details sketched in fine pen in the margins. Everything goes on her page. She asks Camila to try to replicate the sketches and has Eda check her notes to make sure they're accurate. Steve smiles, aware this is not his area of expertise, and instead, starts making lunch.
***
Between Luz' notes from Philip's journal and the more in-depth details in the experiments book, Lilith becomes confident they can build their own portal door, one that they can make stable and permanently install between the worlds.
"The only question is how to make sure the key is secure and we can lock it for others, but all of us have a way to move between worlds," she says, working on the theory while the teens are at school. "I suppose we can ask King if he's willing to share some of his blood with us when he comes by today."
"You know he's not going to be the most thrilled by that," Eda says, "But also, he'll do it for Luz. He's said that before."
"I hate asking him," Lilith replies, "It just feels wrong."
Steve brings them tea at the same time Camila comes in from the other room, "Laundry is put away in the kids' room," she says, sitting down at the table, "Hunter sure has created quite the colourful wardrobe for himself."
Steve brings her a cup of tea and joins them, "How's that going to go over in the human realm? He's been saying he might want to stay there for a little while...you know, once we have the door working."
"You mean if we get the door working," Lilith says, "I know, I make it sound easy, but...that key is going to be the tricky part."
"Lil, don't tell yourself you can't do it – you're brilliant, I'm sure you'll figure it out," Steve says. Lilith blushes.
Eda smiles, "Yeah, Lily – listen to the man. And anyway...this depends more on King's willingness to part with some of his blood than anything else. If that's a no-go, we have to go underground and dig for veins."
"You know, the fact that you all live on the corpse of a giant is still rather disgusting and weird to me," Camila says.
"Don't worry, it's disgusting and weird to us, too," Steve says, "We're just used to it."
They hear Hooty call in the yard, "King! Hoot hoot! Need me to eat any more monster emperors?"
"Nah, thankfully we only had one of those to deal with. But Collector and I are here to talk to Eda and the gang – anybody home?"
Eda is on her feet and at the door in moments, "Right here, buddy!" He scampers to her for a hug.
The Collector approaches a little cautiously, "The real Owl House always seems a lot smaller than King makes it sound like it is in his stories."
"Well you don't have to have a big building to have big adventures. Come on in, kids – we're just talking about portals in the kitchen."
"Let me guess...you're gonna want some blood," King says as they walk into the house.
Eda turns to him, surprised, "Er...yeah. How'd you guess?"
"Gee, spending all that time helping Luz try to construct the portal door that only kinda worked might have given me a little clue about you might need to make one...."
She laughs, "Yeah, that's true. And we might, yes."
"Why do you need blood?" the Collector asks as they step into the house.
"We need a powerful power source to build the key to open the portal. The hard part is figuring out how to make it something that can be unlocked from either side, and creating more than one key, so the kids can go through when they need to," Eda says, "We've got notes from the first door, both from the book you found and from Philip's diary. But this...this'll be a little harder."
"Why do you want to make another door again?" the Collector asks.
"Well, Camila and Luz can't stay here forever. They've got family on the other side, lives, and there's another kid they miss still waiting for them," Eda explains, "Camila's got a job she wants to go back to, and a house. And we want to make sure that the kids have a way to move between worlds. It's important to keep the family together, even though we're in different places."
The Collector nods, "So...could I visit the human realm?"
King nods, "Maybe, but you're gonna have to learn to act like one of them. From what Luz tells me, when weird things are discovered there, people are afraid, and they sometimes get mean...like here, but somehow worse, because they aren't used to demons and magic. So you'd just have to observe and try to act like they do."
"I could do that!" they excitedly say, "I'd have to have somebody to teach me, but I think I can learn," the Collector says as they enter the kitchen, trailing behind Eda.
"Well, kid, I'm not exactly a human, so I can't tell you much about living in the human realm," Eda replies, "I mean, I used to go there and cause chaos for fun. Got banned from a few places, too...."
Camila laughs, "When Luz first showed me the pictures on her phone, I realized you were the one banned from the coffee shop for doing something to the baked goods...."
"Just some good old-fashioned hexing. Did anything eat them? What happened?"
"Well," Camila says, "There's a rumour the rats in the dumpster behind it are...unusual."
"Yeah...they would be...."
Camila turns to the Collector, "So...why do you want to learn about the human realm?"
"Well...I dunno. I want to see what it's like." They pause a moment, then shrug, "And I can probably help you with a door and solve your key problem, too."
Lilith drops her pen and turns to stare at the Collector as they climb up on one of the chairs, "You can what?"
"I mean, do you just want the old one back?" They snap their fingers and a battered brown briefcase appears in the middle of the table, they key on a string attached to the handle.
"How does that still exist?" Eda asks, "Didn't that blow up?" The Collector shrugs in response.
"But there's no Titan's blood in the key," Lilith says, "It won't work."
"Well that's not hard to solve," the Collector says, "There's loads of Titan's blood underground. I can just...bring it up. And fix the key." In a moment, the cracks on the key have healed and blue liquid sloshes within it.
Steve shrugs, "Well...looks like we should have asked you all along."
"Duh, yeah. I'm kinda powerful."
King climbs up to the tabletop and takes the key, "Eda? Want to try it out?"
She hesitates before picking up the briefcase and setting it on the ground, "Sure. I mean, we can at least see if it works. And if it leads where it should."
"It will. It's the same door," the Collector confidently assures her.
King presses the eye on the key and the door unfolds; he offers it to Eda, "Do you want to do the honors?" She takes it and unlocks the door, opening it and staring at the human realm beyond for a moment before she steps into the doorframe.
"It worked," she says, stunned. "All this worry and it just...worked." She turns to face her friends, a sad smile creeping across her face, "So hey...guess you get to go home now."
Camila takes her hand, "Not until we know how we can make sure it goes both ways, alright? Our kids need to be able to see each other and the rest of their family whenever they need to, and we need to make sure it's safe, so others don't just wander through."
Eda nods, "Yeah, got it. It can't be like before, where we lost our kids for months at a time."
Camila smiles, "Exactly. We're going to do this with intention." Camila turns to the Collector, "So how can we solve this problem? Can it be moved to open in another part of that house? Right now, it just takes the place of the front door, but we use that door when it's not a portal, too."
The Collector shrugs, "Sure. Where do you want it?"
"Maybe you and Eda and one of the kids should go through together to make that decision," Camila suggests, "Then we know it will be in the right place."
"OK, sounds good!"
"What about keys?" Lilith asks, "How do we make sure the kids can go back and forth whenever they want? We can't just leave it unlocked all the time, can we?"
"I mean, we could," Camila says, "But I don't think an abandoned house just anyone can wander into would be the best place to leave it if we did. If it's out there, it needs to lock each time it's closed."
"How many keys do you need?" the Collector asks.
"At least one for each of the kids," Camila says, "I'd like one, too, in case I need to come find someone."
"We should have more than one here, too," Eda says, "If I go through and Lilith needs to come find me, she'll need a key."
The Collector gives up counting on their fingers, "So...if we had ten, everybody could have a key, the door locks when it's closed, you have to have a key to open it, and nobody else can go through unless the door's left open. OK." They concentrate and there is a shimmering in the air over the table as ten more shiny brass keys with eyes sloshing with Titan's blood drop onto the table. "We should test them, but there you go."
Everyone stares at the Collector, "You know, you're scary powerful, kid," Eda says.
"I don't want to be scary, though," they say, "King told me how I kinda make people nervous. But I don't want to. I know I'm gonna live longer than anybody else here. I know I'm gonna have more powers than anybody in the Boiling Isles. And it's really lonely. I like how you treat each other. Everybody's nice to each other, and nobody's afraid."
Camila takes a breath and takes a risk with what to say next, "Collector...do you want to come stay in the human realm with me for a little bit at some point? You can learn about what it's like to live like us, and to live in a family, but you're going to have to follow the rules, too. It's not a game, and you won't be able to use magic for most things. People are fragile, we die, and sometimes, we can't be fixed."
"I'm starting to get that," they say. "King was scared after you fought Belos because of the Golden Guard...I mean Hunter...being hurt so bad. It helped me learn a little. So did watching how Hunter and Darius treated the skeletons. We've talked a lot. But I'm not very good at following rules."
Camila smiles, "That's because you haven't had to practice doing it yet, and if we don't practice new things, we won't ever get good at them."
"Really?"
"Oh yes, really."
Eda puts her hand on Camila's shoulder, "Are you sure about this? The Collector's really powerful, and there's no magic in your world to fix any mistakes."
Camila nods, "It might not be right away. I have to take care of Luz and Hunter first. They're going to need some time to settle in, and I need to make sure everything is alright with Vee. We'll have to talk through how to do this. But yes, I'm sure. The Collector may be powerful, but...you're really just a child, aren't you?" she asks, turning to them.
"Yeah...a really old one, by your standards," the Collector replies.
Lilith stares at the door, "Could I come through, too? Maybe we could do an exhibit at the museum about the human realm."
"In time, of course," Camila says, "Let's just start with telling the kids we have a door and figuring out where it will lead. From there...well, after that, we'll settle the other questions. Right now, I get to start believing that I'm really going home."
***
After school, Luz and Hunter return to the Owl House to discover King and the Collector learning how to hit a baseball in the yard with Camila. They exchange a somewhat worried look before either say anything.
"Um...is this a good thing or a bad thing?" Luz asks.
"I don't know," Hunter says, "I mean...could be either, but Mom looks happy."
"Well...that's good. Let's go figure it out before we start worrying."
The game pauses as they approach, King scampering up to them, "Camila's teaching us about baseball! We drew stuff in the dirt. We could use a few more players, though!"
"I have a lot of homework, King," Hunter says, "So I probably can't. Sorry. But I think I'm going to be up all night studying."
Luz nods, "Yeah, it won't be great for me, either, buddy. Maybe tomorrow."
"Hi Hunter! Hi Luz!" the Collector calls, "There's a surprise in the kitchen! Eda said I could yell that to you when you got home!"
"Is this a good surprise or a bad surprise?" Luz asks.
"Neither," King says, "It's a great surprise! Go on, take a look!" Luz bolts for the house, Hunter close on her heels. They drop their bags on the couch and hurry to the kitchen, where Lilith, Eda, and Steve sit at the table, the door still standing upright beside it.
Hunter freezes, "What...that...that shouldn't be possible."
"Yeah, I saw that fall apart on the Day of Unity," Luz says.
Lilith nods, "As unlikely as this sounds...we have our door back. And, thanks to a very powerful child-god, we also have more than one key and a promise that it can be permanently installed somewhere in the human realm."
"We talked a little more with them and only the original key will be able to fold it up – so mine. But these," Eda gestures to the other keys on the table, "will be for each of you."
"What?" Luz says, "You mean...you mean we'll be able to go back and forth whenever we want to?"
"Yep!" Steve says, standing, "Luz...you're going home...and you're going to be able to come back any time. But probably not right to the middle of the kitchen."
Luz starts laughing, tears in her eyes, "Oh my Titan, that's amazing!"
"One of you will have to go through with Camila and the Collector to figure out where it's going to go on your end, and then we'll find a good place to set it up on this end. The only time I'll ever fold it is if there's a threat you need to be protected from and I'll get a message through, first. Otherwise...it looks like there's going to be a direct connection between your world and the Owl House," Eda says.
"Right now, it comes out in our house, right? The one in the woods?" Hunter asks.
"Yeah, and Camila says it blocks the front door. So that's what we need to change," Eda replies.
Hunter sits at the table and takes a deep breath, "Wow. I mean...this is great! I just...didn't think I'd have to make this decision quite so fast."
"What decision?" Luz asks as she sits down beside him.'
"Where I want to be. I want to keep going to Hexside, but I don't know if I want to stay in the demon realm every night. A part of me wants home to be in Gravesfield. But...."
Luz nods, "Yeah, I get it. But I don't think this needs to be as hard as you're making it. We have a room here. There'll be a door here. And you have space at Mom's. So talk to her, talk to Eda, and maybe you can try a few different ways of doing things and see what works."
Eda smiles, "You know you'll always be welcome here, Hunter. If you need to take your time figuring this out, I have no problem with that."
The Collector, King, and Camila enter the house as the Collector excitedly hollers about hitting the ball without magic, laughing and skipping with King. They tumble into the kitchen and Camila watches them play as she trails behind.
"Sorry, we're a little excited," she says. She notices Hunter's expression and comes to sit beside him, "You look worried."
"I just...don't know where I want to be."
Camila shrugs, "Well, you know you want to be at Hexside, right?"
"Yeah."
"And you know you want to be where you can see Willow, right?"
He blushes, "Yeah."
"So...what's the trouble?"
"I also kinda want to be in the human realm, away from everything that scares me," he says. "I mean, I'm feeling better. Burying Caleb and the Golden Guards feels like it put something in me to rest, too. But...I don't know. A lot of hard things happened in the Boiling Isles and I kinda liked being away from it all."
"Why can't you have both? Go to school, come here, study, whatever, come through the portal for supper, sleep in the human world, and come back here in the morning for school?" Camila suggests.
"There's no reason he can't," Eda says.
Hunter thinks for a minute, then smiles, "I guess you're right. I just...need to try it and see what works."
"Exactly," Lilith says, "But right now, you need to go do your homework."
Eda presses the eye of her key and the door folds up, "For now, we'll put this away. If you don't have as much studying tomorrow, you can go through and figure out where it's going to go. And this weekend...well, this weekend you can go back to the human realm and start to figure out how this is all going to work."
Luz and Hunter agree, and then go get their schoolwork. They settle in for some long hours of homework, trying to push the news about the door out of their minds until morning. It only mostly works, and when they tuck into bed, they snuggle together, Hunter still worried about how he will make this new future work while Luz tells him quietly about her own plans.
"See...here's what I want to do. I want to keep going to Hexside, and some nights, I want to stay here. Other nights, I want to stay at Mom's. Some weekends, I'll go live in the human realm. Other weekends, I'll live in the demon realm. And when we have time off, like for summer break, maybe we can all spend a few months living over there and coming here on the weekends or something. But I want to be able to be both a human and a witch, and I don't think there's any reason I can't be."
Hunter takes her hand, "You know, Sis, that might work. Maybe this isn't so scary after all."
"It isn't. You'll be fine, Hunter. There's no reason this can't work." She squeezes his hand, "I know new things can be hard, but I've got you. You'll figure this out."
"What about Willow? How's she going to feel about me wanting to stay in the human realm?" Hunter asks softly.
"Have you talked to her about what you wanted to do when the portal was open again at all?"
"A little. I just...I don't know. I don't want to lose her."
Luz smiles, "Then talk to her. She loves you, Hunter, and you love her. The best thing you can do is make sure you both are on the same page."
"How are you and Amity handling it?"
Luz shrugs, "Fine, actually. We've always known I was going to have to go back. We started this knowing that we were from two different worlds and that might separate us some day. And now...now I get to tell her that it won't. That it'll be OK, that we'll be able to go back and forth and see each other when we want to. She's going to be so excited!"
Hunter nods, "I hope Willow is, too."
"You'll have keys. You can see each other whenever you want."
Hunter sighs and lets go of her hand, turning over on his other side, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Maybe this'll be OK."
She rests her hand on his shoulder, "I know every big change you've had to go through has been sudden and none of it's been something you could really control. But this is. You don't have to go back right away. You don't have to go back at all. You can take your time, make your decisions, and Willow can be a part of this. You get to make your own future, Hunter."
He turns on his back and looks over at her, "I do, don't I?"
"Yeah, you do."
He quietly laughs to himself as he closes his eyes, "You know...eat that, Belos. The Titan has big plans for me? Nah. I get to have big plans for me. Or maybe just little plans. Or maybe no plans at all. And that's...really amazing." He falls asleep with a smile on his face, dozing off as he says, "Thanks, Sis...for all of it."