It's a Long Way To Dearest Gravesfield

Chapter 12: Gifts

Most days, Willow, Gus, and Amity return to living with their families. Every few days, they stay the night at Eda's together, explaining to their parents how hard it is to stay away from the family they've built together. Some nights, they stay up late, daydreaming about exploring the human realm together, or what they want to do when they return to Hexside. Hunter often sews while they talk, a little distanced from these conversations. Having a future at all still seems foreign to him and he struggles to envision anything past the coming fight.

One night, he stops sewing, turns to his friends sitting on the bed, and announces, "So...I've been making things for everybody. I have something for each of you, and for Camila. Can somebody go get her? I want to give them to you."

Luz hops to her feet, "Sure thing, Bro - I'll be right back."

"Thanks, Sis."

A moment later, he hears Luz calling for her mother and not long after, they settle in on the bed, "Luz tells me you made something for each of us?" Camila says.

"Yeah. I mean, I've made a lot for me, too. Not any surprise there - I kinda wear it. But...well, here." He hands each of them a bundle of fabric.

Camila opens hers first and finds a long button up like the one from home and she tears up, "It's beautiful, Hunter, thank you."

"If the size is right, I can make more. It wasn't hard. It'll be a little bit of home while you're stuck here."

"I would love that."

Gus unfolds a pair of wide-legged trousers with paisley side inserts that swish and he giggles, "Just like yours!"

"Yeah! I saw how much you liked them."

"These are so cool!"

Amity is already holding up a fluffy cat hoodie, "It's got ears!"

"I saw you kept borrowing Luz's - I know, that's the girlfriend effect. But now you both have one and you can take that one home...or Luz can borrow it."

She shakes her head, "Not yet. You made this for me. She's gonna have to wait."

"That's OK, because he made me a jacket!" Luz says, laughing as she turns around a denim coat to show off the image on the back. Two witches in silhouette walk hand-in-hand and under it, it says, "Ran off and got a hot witch girlfriend," in looping stitches. Amity bursts into giggles.

"I didn't make the coat, but I figured out how to do the pictures and words," he says, "I fixed up the coat from Eda's human stuff stash."

"It's perfect," Luz says.

Willow is last and she holds up a dark green wrap dress, a flowering vine wrapping from the corner of the hem around skirt and body of the dress, the largest bloom on the end of the vine draping from the back of the shoulder to the front.

"That one took me a little bit extra time," he admits, "You had that one really swishy sundress in the human realm and I remember how much you liked to make the skirt twirl."

"This is beautiful, Hunter," Willow says, "I think I'm going to need to wear it tomorrow."

"Same with these rockin' pants," Gus says.

"Em and Ed are going to be so jealous and I'm definitely going to brag," Amity adds.

"I can make them things, too," Hunter offers.

"I'll tell them that after I gloat a bit," she replies.

"Thank you so much," Camila says as she comes over to give him a hug. The others follow and soon he is in the midst of his friends, all of them snuggled together, chattering excitedly about their new garments and who they want to show them to.