Everyone Needs Love, Even a Bad but Sad Boy

Hunter's "Day Off"

The next morning when Hunter woke up, he realized that he overslept. He always wakes up around sunrise but this time, it was almost noon. None of the scouts or Coven heads woke him up. Hunter quickly got dressed then he burst out of his room and ran to the throne room to meet with his uncle. He was so lost in thought that he accidentally crashed into Raine Whispers, both of them fell to the ground. "Head Witch Whispers! I am so sorry. I-I didn't see you." Hunter said, panicking.

But Ranie got up and helped Hunter, they just smiled and walked off. Raine didn't say much during meetings or even when he was around Head Witch Snapdragon. But Hunter sometimes caught Raine playing music when he was little and sometimes, they would let Hunter watch. Hunter managed to make it to the throne room and lucky for him, Belos was there. Belos looked a little shocked to see Hunter in his Golden Guard uniform. Hunter kept apologizing for being late and begging not to be punished. But Belos surprised him by saying that he wanted Hunter to sleep in and to take a break today.

Hunter was taken back, his uncle actually wanted to take a break. He asked his uncle if this was just a test or a form of punishment for not getting the palismen. Belos got up from his throne and gently cupped Hunter's cheek. "Hunter, this is not a punishment or a test. You're tired, hurt, and exhausted. You need this, Owlet." Belos spoke softly.

Hunter was shocked, his uncle hasn't called him Owlet since he was just a little kid. He just bowed and headed back to his room where Little Rascal was waiting for him. "So, my uncle purposely made me sleep in, and now he's treating me like I'm a little kid again. Maybe I can just sneak out for a bit and do some patrol. That'll prove I'm not useless. And I just had a conversation with a palismen." Hunter said. He grabbed his gear and used his staff to teleport out of the castle without anyone knowing.

Hunter decided to hike in the forest for patrol, in case he needed to get back to the castle quickly before his uncle found out that he snuck out. Unfortunately, he didn't count on Darius being in the woods. It was only ten minutes when Hunter was patrolling that he ended up getting caught by Darius who told him that the emperor was looking for him. Hunter was dragged back to the palace by Darius. Belos waited for them in the dining hall, Darius left Hunter in the room then left for the two to talk. Belos took off his mask then Hunter took his mask off.

"How did you know where I was?" Hunter asked nervously.

"Let's just say, an old friend alerted me." Belos answered then the Little Rascal appeared on his shoulder.

"Uncle, I can explain..."

"It's alright. I'm not going to harm Flapjack. He was my brothers' palismen. And it seems he has taken a shine to you."

Hunter just keeped his head down and waited to be punished but instead, his uncle gently put his hand on Hunter's shoulder. He told Hunter that he is not worthless, he wanted Hunter to relax for a day because he was overworked, stressed, and tired. But when he went to check on Hunter, he saw the window open and thought that Hunter was taken. "I was really worried about you. Hunter, maybe this was too sudden. I didn't mean to make you think that you are useless."

With that, Hunter broke down in tears and gripped his uncle tight, sobbing into his chest. He had all this pressure to be the perfect soldier and now he was crying and sobbing like a baby on his uncle. He was about to pull away, but his uncle wrapped his arms around him and hugged him tight. Hunter kept sobbing for a while until his sobs turned into hiccups then whimpers. Belos noticed that Hunter was starting to fall asleep, so he picked him up and held him tight. Belos noticed how light and pale Hunter was, he figured that Hunter must have been skipping meals when he did his missions. Belos carried Hunter and thought about bringing Hunter back to his room, but he didn't want Hunter to be alone. So, he just headed to his own bedroom and laid Hunter on the bed.

He made sure that Hunter was tucked in then told Flapjack to keep an eye on him until he came back. He went to Raine and asked them if it was possible for Hunter to take therapy to help him. Raine thought it was a good idea and they volunteered to be in charge of the therapy sessions that way Hunter was comfortable. Belos nodded his head then he headed back to his room; good thing he came back because he found Flapjack tweeting panicky and Hunter who was screaming in his sleep. Belos ripped off his mask then tried to shake Hunter awake but Hunter suddenly woke up in a cold sweat, panting like crazy.

The second he saw his uncle; he broke down into tears again. "Hunter, sweetheart. It's alright, it's ok. I'm here." Belos assured Hunter while rocking him in his arms.

Hunter said that he had a nightmare where his uncle was tired of taking care of him and killed Flapjack in front of him. Belos let Hunter know that he wasn't going to harm him or Flapjack. He laid Hunter back onto the bed and tucked him in then he gently ran his hand through Hunter's hair to calm him down. Once Hunter was calmed down, Belos told him about Raine's therapy sessions and how it might help both him and Hunter out. Hunter didn't think that he really needed therapy, but his uncle insisted that this was for his health.

Hunter heard his stomach growl loudly, he blushed, and it spread to the tips of his ears making them red. Belos let out a small chuckle "You hungry Owlet? When was the last time you ate something?" Belos asked.

"Well... um, I had some snacks during patrol." Hunter answered.

"I meant some real food." Belos clarified.

Hunter didn't answer him; Belos told Hunter to wait here, and he'll be right back. Belos went into the kitchen and made some soup that Caleb used to make him. When Belos returned to the bedroom with the bowl of soup on a tray. Hunter sat up and tried to take the bowl, but his uncle shoved a spoonful of soup into Hunter's mouth. Hunter let out a small whine as the spoon was taken out of his mouth. He wanted to say something, but his uncle kept spoon feeding him the soup until the bowl was empty.

"I could have fed myself." Hunter stated.

"Yeah, but I wanted to do this. I want to fix our relationship, Owlet. You're my nephew. And I love you." Belos said, softly.

Hunter sat up and hugged his uncle, he hadn't heard those words in years. He let go of his uncle then Belos got into bed and gave Hunter a good night kiss on the forehead.