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I was barely awake when I heard someone say, 

"Luz? We have that Golden Guard boy in our house. I dunno how long he's gonna be here for." 

Another voice said, "Oh my gosh! Really? Where?" Then loud sound followed, probably someone rushing down the stairs, and a loud gasp. 

I chose this moment to open my eyes. I sat up. Still in the Owl House. My neck was killing me from sleeping at an awkward angle, and it cracked as I moved it. 

"Hunter!" A voice said. I turned towards it, and found Luz standing before me in her pajamas. 

"Luz." I said, rubbing my eyes. 

"Gooooood morning!" She said enthusiastically. "How'd you sleep? When'd you get here? Do you wanna play cards? It's a good thing I don't have school today. Does Belos know you're here?" 

My brain short-circuited. It was too early for this. I flopped back down onto the couch and pulled the blanket over my head. 

"Hunter!" Luz protested, poking me. 

"Luz, let the poor kid sleep." I heard Eda say. 

"Thank you." I said, though it was muffled through the pillow. 

"Good morning everyone." I heard someone else say. "What's going on?" 

"I've adopted another child." Eda said. 

"I am not your child." I said. 

"Oh? Who?" The voice asked. 

"Hunter!" Luz announced, ripping the blanket away from me. 

"Hey! Give me that!" I said, snatching it back. The other voice was Lilith. "You."

"Golden Guard. I didn't think I'd see you here." She said, greeting me with a small smile. 

"Same with you." I said. "..why are you here?" 

"I came to live with my sister." Lilith said. 

"I don't think you thought that through." I said with a laugh.

"So.. how long do you think you're gonna be staying?" Luz asked, sitting down next to me. 

"I'll probably be leaving soon. Belos will want me back, and he'll be wondering where I am." I said. 

"Aw." Luz frowned. 

"Kid, do you think it's the best idea to go back? You could have things a lot better here." Eda said.  

"The only reason I'm still here is because I'm not fully awake yet." I said. 

"Fine." Luz said, as if I had personally offended her. "I'm gonna do homework, then." I watched as she pulled out a small notebook and a pen, and began to draw symbols. I remembered her drawing them before, but as she combined them, she made some amazing display of ice as she tapped them. 

I guess she saw me staring because she asked, "Do you want me to teach you?" She grinned. 

I hesitated. "...fine. But only one or two." 

Three hours later, Luz and I were knee deep in glyph-combos. 

"This.. is amazing." I said. 

"I know, right? A way to create magic without actually having magic." Luz said, her eyes glowing. "Geez, it's crazy that this stuff is banned. It could change the world." 

"I think that's why it's banned." I said, my expression darkening. "It's too different for people to understand. And Belos wants complete control of the Boiling Isles, so that means he has to have control of the magic, too." 

"Belos is full of wack." Luz said absentmindedly. 

I laughed. "You're not wrong." 

"..so.. do you think maybe you could stay just a little bit longer?" Luz asked. 

"I... I guess." I said. "Just.. what if the Emperor comes looking for me?"  

"Eda's been able to evade them for years, you'll be fine." She said. 

"Hey, Luz?" Eda asked, walking into the living room hauling a sack of books. 

"You want me to return these to the library for you?" Luz asked, getting up. 

"Take Hunter with you." She said. 

"Why?" I asked.

"First off, you have nothing better to do, and secondly, because I said so. Now go." Eda shooed us away. 

"....fine. But only because I want to." I said, and caught up to Luz.