It's a Long Way To Dearest Gravesfield

Chapter 21: Firsts

Hunter's first day of school starts out with him eating breakfast in his pajamas, bathing, and then him walking into the living room in his Hexside uniform to find his delighted family waiting for him with a messenger bag from the human realm, discovered in Eda's stash, filled with his school supplies. Camila has happy tears in her eyes as she gives him a hug and sends him out the door with Luz.

They walk together along the path, Hunter trying not to jump every time he hears something moving in the brush.

Luz takes his hand, "Hey – I've got you. Take some deep breaths, you don't want to walk into Hexside a nervous mess. You've got this." She squeezes his hand, "Last time, when thing went wrong in a woods, you were way ahead of me and alone. You're not this time."

Hunter sighs and nods, "Yeah, you're right. I keep feeling like I should be over it, you know? It's not like I don't know these woods. I've been here dozens of times and nothing ever came along I couldn't handle. I always made it through."

"And you did in the human realm, too," Luz reminds him, "You did the hardest work, but you weren't by yourself. And you made it."

"I know. But sometimes I ask if the cost was worth it."

Luz drops his hand and gives him a one-armed hug as they continue walking, "I think it was. We love you. And our lives are better because you're in it."

Hunter smiles, "Yeah, maybe. It just...still hurts." He taps the concealment stone, "And sometimes I wish I could just shed this and be fine. But I'm not ready for that yet."

"And that's OK. You'll get there. Or maybe you won't. And that's OK, too."

Hunter nods, "Thanks, Sis. I don't want to hide what Belos did to me. I want to have it out there so nobody thinks he was a saint, nobody thinks the Day of Unity was a mistake, and nobody can tell me to my face that Belos wasn't all that bad or ask if it was fun to live in the castle and be a scout. A big part of me wants to show my face so there's a record of what he was right out in front of everybody. But I'm not that brave yet."

Luz shrugs, "Nah, you are that brave. You're willing to do it, you're just not ready for it. There's a big difference."

"Even if I'm scared?" he asks.

"Absolutely," she replies, "Most of the stuff I've done that people have said was brave was me either being reckless or me doing something I didn't see another option for. And I was almost always terrified."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"What about when you took my place to go to Belos?" Hunter asks.

"Scared to death," she says, "especially since we'd been in his mind. I knew he wasn't going to be kind. I knew that he might kill me right off. I was betting on him not wanting to kill another human to keep me alive long enough for somebody else to get there. But I also knew that might not happen."

"He would have killed me the moment he saw me," Hunter says. "I can't see it happening any other way."

"Well...guess that means we both need to make the best of all the chances we've had since, right? You've got the chance to be a normal kid right now, so let's enjoy that, OK? You and me, we're on the road to Hexside! How cool is that? Like, neither of us would have thought this was possible a year ago, right?"

"Yeah, you're right," he answers, "Wanted to, maybe, but I never would have thought I'd be here, especially not walking with you."

"We didn't exactly get off on the right foot."

Hunter takes her hand again, "No, we didn't. But I think that's why we're so close. I wasn't nice. At all. And my job meant I was trying to hurt people you cared about, but you just...persisted in seeing me as just another kid. I didn't understand it. Kinda found it annoying. But I'm glad it was you I was with when I found out all the bad stuff. You've never judged me for how I reacted. Pushing back against you, saying over and over again that it wasn't true, all that. You just...let me. And I'm so grateful you threw me that jacket with the pockets full of glyphs...."