Of Poison and Glass (goldric)

Chapter 5- A Guilty Panic

The habitants of the Owl house collectively set the table, all but Hunter making casual small talk. He awkwardly stood aside as they mingled, not so sure he had a place in the conversation. Flapjack chirped from atop his head, which seemed to be the palisman's favorite spot.

"Alright, let's eat before it gets any later," Eda announced. The others all nodded and moved to take their portions, Hunter once again hanging behind. He hesitantly served himself a small portion, not wanting to take too much.

Eda took notice of this when he sat down. "Is that all you're gonna take?" she questioned.

Hunter looked up at her and shrugged. "Well, I don't want to take too much, I mean, You're already doing a lot for me by letting me stay here and I don't want to take advantage of it," he responded.

"Take as much as you want, kid, I'm not gonna let you go hungry under my roof. If you're gonna live here, you're gonna get treated the same as anyone else."

The blonde stared for a second before nodding and taking a bit more, but still not a large portion by any means. He sat down and started eating as the others continued their conversation.

He had been eating, tuning out the conversation for the most part, until he had been brought into it by the human.

"So, Hunter, do you have anything you really like to do? Like any hobbies?" She asked.

Hunter shook his head softly. "We don't really get a lot of spare time in the Emperor's Coven. Especially not me, being the coven head and all." He shrugged indifferently. "Whatever time I do get off I'm normally either training, doing research, or . . . " He trailed off, frowning down at his plate. "I'd be with Belos," he finished hesitantly.

Luz and Eda shared a look of sympathy, then looked back to Hunter. "Well, now you have tons of free time, and we are gonna find you a hobby!" Luz smiled, lightening the mood.

A small, somber smile spread across his face and he looked up, nodding at the human's suggestion.

They all continued the small talk as they finished their dinner. Luz took Hunter up to her room to set up a makeshift bed for him to sleep on until they could find something better. "Welcome to your new room!" she said dramatically, arms outstretched as if to show off the room. "We can move my stuff to one side and then you can take the other. I'll probably take that side just so I don't have to worry about moving the echo mouse so it doesn't bother you," She said, gesturing to the rodent at the side of the room.

Hunter curiously looked over to the echo mouse. He had read about them before, but had never actually seen one in person. He silently wondered why the human would have one, but he didn't want to pry, so he let it go.

The two got the room rearranged into two sections, one side far more bare than the other. "Thank you again for letting me stay. I'll do my best to earn it," He said.

Luz frowned with concern, but decided not to press it. "Let's just chill and then get some rest, okay? It's been a long day and we could use it," she smiled gently, to which Hunter nodded. The girl sat down on her own makeshift bed and leaned back onto her pillow. "Ya know, I just realized that I don't actually know that much about you. Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"

"Like what?" Hunter sat down awkwardly, not quite getting comfortable yet.

Luz thought a moment before responding with, "Do you have a favorite color?"

The blonde pondered this for a moment. He had never thought about it before, but when he looked down at the palisman cuddled comfortably by his leg, he smiled and didn't hesitate to respond with, "Red."

This went on for a while, Luz asking hunter questions, occasionally imputing her own opinions, and just general small talk. Eventually Luz had peacefully drifted off to sleep and shortly after, Hunter did the same while lightly stroking Flapjack's feathers. However, once he got to sleep, it was not so peaceful.

The boy's slumber was haunted by the man he had just ran away from. He had never truly escaped, for the thought and memory of Belos had still been hanging above his head like a sick, corrupted halo, constantly reminding him of what he had done. The voice of his uncle sounded in his subconscious mind, guilting and assaulting him in his sleep.

"Why did you run away, Hunter?" it hissed as his image materialized in his dream. "Was this not good enough for you? Did you tire of your privilege? After all I've done for you. I took you in, gave you your magic. I made you who you are. You would be nothing without me, Hunter. And this is how you repay my generosity. By stabbing me in tha back and Leaving the only family you have left. You truly are a spoiled, selfish, ungrateful child."

He tossed and turned, panicking, shaking at the voice of his uncle, until he shot up in a cold sweat, gasping for air. Flapjack had been worriedly chirping, softly so he wouldn't wake the sleeping human, but loud enough in hopes to wake Hunter from his terror. He sighed and brought his knees up to his chest, hugging them like he would do in the coven when he felt particularly lonely. However, just like he had since the time he showed up, The cardinal perched itself on the boy's shoulder, nuzzling gently into his cheek to comfort him. The first couple times he did this, Hunter was just confused, but he had grown used to it quickly, and now found comfort in the small gesture. He brought one of his hands to pet the bird gently, as tears fell down his face.

He felt guilty. Belos had raised him, given him a home and a magic staff when he had nothing, he was his uncle, and yet he threw it all away over a palisman. He still felt at fault. He missed him. Deep inside, the years of abuse and manipulation seeded in his brain, making him believe it was normal. All the extensive training, the punishments when he had done something wrong. He had been brainwashed to think Belos cared for him. He felt bad for giving it all up like he did.

Hunter didn't get much sleep after that. Alone with his thoughts, he sat awake, his thoughts far too loud to grant him peace of mind, even for just a moment.

So until the morning, he sat, Flapjack by his side the whole time.