The Owl House (Hunter x Reader)

Chapter 4: How To Survive In The Woods

Eda sat in her cell, itching at the iron manacles at her wrists. The projection of her girl had dissipated, leaving her teary-eyed and worried.  

"Wow. That was emotional. Just absolutely moving."

She looked up quickly to see the Golden Guard peering through the bars. Eda smiled bitterly, oddly triumphant for someone chained to the wall of a dingy dark prison. 

"So what's the plan now, sparkles? Here to kill me and mount my body in the streets? It still won't get you to Y/n; I'd rather die than tell you." she spat, as he unlocked the door and stepped into the cage.

He tilted his head, the mask blank. "That won't be necessary. I don't need you to tell me where she is. I already know."

Eda's eyes widened. "What do you mean?" Please, kid, for once in your life you'd better have listened to me.

The Golden Guard held out his arm, and a glowing projection orb appeared above his palm. Reflected in it was Y/n trekking through trees with a sleeping King on her back. "I don't know where you've been hiding that little pup of yours all these years, but clearly she's too stubborn to stay put."

Groaning, Eda fell back against the wall. "Damn it."

He leaned in closer to the small spherical image, the light reflecting off the metal of the mask. "She's stupid to think she'd make it here alone. Maybe she'd need some help," he said patronisingly.

Eda strained against the chains, trying to blast his stupid golden-masked face into the sun. The Golden Guard only chuckled and backed away, the orb vanishing from his hand. "Whoa, there, Owl Lady. I'm not gonna hurt her. The Emperor needs her alive. You don't have to worry about a thing."

He stepped out of the cell. "For now, anyway. That idea you had about the bodies in the square? Genius."

"No!" Eda shouted behind him as he walked further into the darkness, leaving her alone in silence and horror.

================== 

Y/n ducked under trees and swerved around the trunks of trees, the red light of the sunset showing through slits in the foliage. King squirmed in her backpack as she hopped over a large jagged rock, before yawning and opening one eye.

"I thought I demanded less shaking. You do not jostle the King of Demons!" he complained, poking the back of her neck. Y/n rolled her eyes, swinging the bag off her to rest on the ground. 

She crouched down to make eye contact with the little demon. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty," she said sarcastically, "due to the fact that there's a bounty on my head that's more expensive then the two of us combined, we can't take the paved and highly populated route."

King huffed and burrowed further into the bag. "Can't you just use your wolf-y thing to super speed us there already?" he asked, his voice muffed.

Y/n rolled her eyes. "King, get your head out of the sack and tell me what you see."

He popped out and stared at their surroundings. "A forest?"

She nodded. "Yes. But also," she tilted his face to the horizon. "Do you see a moon anywhere in the sky? The moon that I need in order to use any of the quote 'wolf-y thing'?"

"No..." he sighed. Y/n expression softened. She pulled the bag back over her arms. "We only need to walk for a little while longer, anyways. Even wolves and demons need to sleep."

King nodded. "And eat. All this travelling has made me starving."

"I've been carrying you!" Y/n exclaimed as she started walking. "How are you tired?"

"In case you haven't noticed, being this amazing takes a lot of energy," he said, sticking his nose in the air haughtily. 

She sighed, deciding it wasn't worth the effort of arguing. "Alright then. Does his all mighty majesty need something to eat now, or can you wait?"

"Preferably now," King said lazily, as he rearranged himself comfortably. "What do we have?"

Y/n grinned and grabbed a couple berries from a nearby plant, then held them out to him. King stared at them suspiciously, then glanced back at Y/n.

"How do I know these aren't poisonous?" he asked, taking a berry between his talons and bringing it closer to his face for inspection. "Of course it's safe, King, I wouldn't give it to you otherwise."

He squinted at them. "Maybe you're trying to lighten the load, aka planning to KILL ME?"

"It's a raspberry, King. We eat these at home." she deadpanned, then popped a couple in her mouth. "More for me, I guess."

King watched as she chewed the small red berries, his stomach growling. He groaned and snatched them from her hand. "Enough. I'd rather be poisoned than stay this hungry."

Y/n chucked and continued walking, King messily scarfing down berries and getting the juice all over his face. "They're really not that bad, once you get used to them, you know," he commented. "You don't say?" she asked, humouring him as she reached a relative clearing.

"Oh good, we're finally stopping," King sighed, hopping out of the bag and curling up on the blanket Y/n spread on the ground. "Ah, it feels so good to rest my feet."

Y/n scoffed and wrapped her own blanket around her, settling down against the trunk of a tree. The sun had set, and the moon barely began showing against the night sky. She rummaged through her bag, coming up with a small green vial.

"We don't need the wolf tonight, buddy," she whispered to the moon as it shone against her face. Y/n tilted the elixir back and let the cold liquid run down her throat.

Her whole body shivered in reaction as the potion did its job, smoothing the unnaturally sharp points of her teeth and halting the growth of her claws from under her nails. 

"Elixir buddies, huh kid?" a younger Eda asked a toddler Y/n. She grinned, and the two drank from the bottles in their hands. "What do you need yours for, Eda?" Little Y/n asked, pointing at the now empty vial. "Are you a wolf too?"

Eda chuckled. "No, kiddo, mine isn't nearly that cool." She picked the little girl up and set her on the counter. "You remember what I told you about curses?"

Y/n nodded, then her expression turned sad. "Is mine a curse too?"

"No," Eda told her gently, ruffling her hair. "Your elixir is like a training wand. You can stop using it whenever you need to, but it's still there to help you until you've mastered it."

"When will that be?" Y/n gasped excitedly. Eda laughed and tapped her nose. "We don't know. Whenever you feel you're in control."

Y/n rested her head against the tree, drowsily staring up at the sky. "I'm coming to get you, Mom. I promise."

Then her eyes gave in and the world faded to sleep.