Of Poison and Glass (goldric)

Chapter 6- Healthy distractions

Scouts moved from place to place as ordered, while the coven heads all gathered in the emperor's throne room. Rumors of the Golden Guard's disappearance had spread quickly throughout the castle and Belos could not ignore the issue. He needed the situation taken care of.

"It seems that the golden guard has lost his way and is nowhere to be found. If you find him, please do not hesitate to send him back to the castle. I only hope he is safe wherever he is." The emperor announced, feigning distress at the disappearance of his "nephew".

The coven heads all seemed to sympathize, nodding as they left to resume their duties. That is, all except for three. The abomination head was especially expressionless until he left the room, worry falling over his face. He thought a moment before throwing a cloak over his body and leaving the castle, his worry morphing to determination. "I'll find you, Little Prince."

••••••••••••••••

Meanwhile at the Owl House, the rays of the sun pooled through the windows, waking the human from her slumber. She groggily sat up, stretching her limbs with a yawn and a small smile. However, when she glanced over to the side and saw hunter curled in a fetal position, face hidden in his arms, her smile fell.

She cautiously walked over, trying not to startle him, and crouched down beside him. "Hey, Hunter, are you okay?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

The blonde reluctantly looked up, revealing his face, which gave Luz all the answer she needed. His eyes were bloodshot, the bags underneath them somehow worse, and his cheeks were stained with tears .He wanted to speak, to answer her verbally, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything. No words came to his mind, and his lips refused to move no matter how much he willed them to. He shook his head and avoided making eye contact. He felt embarrassed being seen in this state.

Flapjack chirped softly to console the blonde.

Luz gave a nod, placing a hand on Hunter's shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?" She offered.

Hunter pondered the offer for a moment, before giving a small shrug. He couldn't really think too clearly, his mind still overrun by his thoughts from that night.

Luz nodded once again, giving Hunter a reassuring smile. "That's ok, you don't have to. How about a healthy distraction? Are you hungry? I could make some griffin eggs, maybe some pancakes if I could find the right ingredients?"

Hunter was going to decline, but perked up a bit at the suggestion of pancakes. He still didn't know what they were, but this was a chance to find out. From the context of the suggestion, he could safely assume it was some sort of food. He gave a timid nod, to which Luz smiled.

"Alright then. Is there anything else you need before I do that? Maybe a fluffy blanket?"

He hesitantly nodded, and Luz stood up and left the room to get a blanket. After a minute, she returned with a fluffy blanket and draped it over Hunter's back, earning a small smile. "I'll go get started on those pancakes. Feel free to come down whenever you're ready. If you're not ready by the time I'm done, I can bring them up here for you, Okay?" Once she got a nod, she smiled and left for the kitchen to search for the ingredients for pancakes. She walked in to find Eda with a mug of her morning apple blood. "Good morning, Eda," she greeted.

"Hey, kid. How's Blondie doing?"

Luz sighed. "Not great. I think he stayed up all night. Whatever happened, it left a pretty big scar. Physically and emotionally."

Eda frowned and nodded at what she heard. She didn't know what the kid was going through, but she knew it couldn't be easy. "Well, the most we can do is just try to help as best as we can. It's a good thing he's got flapjack, otherwise I don't know how much longer he could hold on. He's a tough kid, but what he's been through would be a lot for anyone," she said.