Hunter couldn't wrap his mind around it, he just couldn't. What-what just--what just happened?!
For his whole life...For his whole life, Hunter had been so incredibly proud to be the Golden Guard, but now...now he was only disgusted.
Hunter ran. He ran and ran and ran, and he didn't care where to, but he just...Had to get away. From all of this, from everything. He couldn't stand to be near Luz right now, not since she knew what he...what he was.
As he ran, tears streaming down his face and hand clutched to his chest, Flapjack tried to calm him down.
Breathe! Please breathe! The palisman said, though Hunter was having a hard time concentrating on anything other than his own panic right now. It's going to be okay!
Hunter only stopped running when he really couldn't breathe anymore. He collapsed to the ground, heaving, desperately trying to breathe. He couldn't though--he just couldn't. His whole entire life just came crashing down before his eyes. Belos--Belos, he...he tried to kill him! His own uncle tried to kill him!
Was he ever really even his uncle though? Hunter wasn't even completely sure what a Grimwalker was, he just knew he was one. He wasn't real, his whole life was a lie, everything was--everything was too much!
Tears blurred his eyes. Hunter pulled his knees up to his chest and tried desperately, so desperately to calm down. His shoulders shook.
"Fl-Flap...What am I...What..." He wanted to ask the little cardinal what to do now, but he couldn't even get the words out. Running away from the Owl House probably hadn't been such a good idea, in the way that the exertion only made him panic more from not being able to breathe.
Breathe, breathe! Flapjack pleaded with him. The bird seemed very distraught at not knowing how to help his witch right now. All the little guy could do was pirch gently on Hunter's shoulder and be with him as he tried to calm down.
"Little Prince?" Darius' hesitant voice rang out, and Hunter immediately scooted back on the ground, hands catching dirt as he tried to steady himself. He looked up sharply, a wild look in his eyes and tears still running down his face.
"Wha-What do you want?" His voice was scratchy and it hardly came out in more of a whisper, but it was all he could mutter out. As if he wasn't already terrified out of his wits, seeing the cloaked form of Darius walking over to him only made his breath hitch again. He wanted to yell at him to stop with that stupid nickname. He definitely wasn't a prince anymore, that was for sure. He couldn't do this now--not now, oh please, please, please...
He didn't even see the other two cloaked figures.
Darius brought his hood down and knelt with one knee on the ground, his expression one of worry. "Are you okay? What happened? What did you...see in there?"
Hunter's fingers ranked through the dirt as he tried to push himself up off of the ground. He did so, but found himself clutching to a tree for support. His legs were weak, and his arms wouldn't stop shaking. "Go-go away! I-I-I can't go back there! I can't! Belos he--he'll--" Hunter couldn't say it. He just couldn't. It was too horrible, much too horrible, and he really, really, really didn't want to think about it anymore.
"Hunter--"
"No...No!" Hunter ran a dirt-coated hand across his face to wipe away the tears obstructing his vision. He didn't know what Darius was doing here (if he was in his right mind then he probably would have been able to piece it together), but he couldn't be near him right now. He couldn't be near any of the coven heads, or scouts, or anything related to Belos at all. He had to get away. Right now, he just had to get away.
So he ran. He felt horrible, both mentally and physically, but he needed to get out of here. He kept going, no matter how much Flapjack pleaded with him to stop, to calm down, to take a rest.
He ran until he came to someone's front door. He didn't even really comprehend where he was, but now that he looked around, the overwhelming panic gripped at him again, telling him it wasn't safe to be in such a busy area. It was night now, and most people would be sleeping, but what happened once the sun rose and everyone came out of their houses? Belos could be putting out wanted posters for him right this very second.
He couldn't stay here either.
But then Hunter raised his eyes and looked at the name at the front of the house. The Parks. This was Willow's house, wasn't it? That's right, she shared her address with everyone in the group chat a little while back. Hunter hadn't been here before, not directly in front of her door, but he had passed by here on patrol before. He must have remembered it subconsciously, and was glad he did because Willow was his friend. Maybe he still had some trust issues, and maybe a part of him was afraid that Willow would only rat him out to the Emperor, but the more logical side of him (the side that hiding for the most part right now) knew that she would never do something like that.
That's right. Maybe he hadn't known Willow for very long, but he still knew how sweet and kind she was. She wanted to be his friend, despite him being...formally being the Golden Guard.
Hunter knew this wouldn't be a long term fix--he knew he wouldn't be able to stay here for long, if at all--but he had nowhere else to go right now. He didn't know what else to do, so he knocked.
Half-covered in dirt, tear marks on his face, hair a mess, and eyes wide blown and terrified, he knocked, hoping desperately that Willow would answer. His heart pounded frantically, and he felt sick to his stomach. He was trembling and his hands felt numb and his head was swirling, but Willow answered the door. Hunter had never before been more grateful to someone than he was then.
"Hunter?!" she exclaimed, looking very surprised to see him there, and he could hardly blame her. He hadn't spoken to her in a week, and now here he was, at her front door in the middle of the night, looking a right mess. "Hunter are-are you okay?! What's going on?"
"Who is this?" a voice Hunter didn't recognise asked. Another witch stood at his side. Oh, those were probably Willow's dads.
"I-I didn't--I didn't--" Hunter tried to say, but he still couldn't get any words out. He just shook his head miserably.
Thank goodness for Willow though, because she immediately ushered him inside the house and closed the door.
Hunter had no idea what he was going to do now. He didn't even really know what happened back there in Belos' mind, but...for the time being, he was glad that he had Willow, at least.
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Grim, Speak the Shadows
FanfictionHunter thought he knew what he was--a teen prodigy, the emperor's right hand man, and a powerless witch who was given a chance--but after infiltrating Hexside and accidentally becoming friends with kids his age for the first time ever, he's not so c...