Once Upon a Dream (Golden Guard x Gender-Neutral Reader)

Run.

There the four of them stood, set like stone flipwart pieces waiting to be moved. The shorter Phantom took a small step forward. By instinct, Hunter matched this with a step backwards. The No Name beside him though seemed to have no reaction, instead opting to stay frozen like there weren't two very dangerous individuals creeping towards them.

"Welp, that was one of my shorter runs." No Name muttered, still frozen in place. That response wasn't comforting at all, but Hunter didn't want to dwindle on it. He attempted to conjure up an intimidating glare, though he got the feeling he just looked more scared than anything.

"Hey! What the hell do you two want?" Hunter spat at the ghosts down the alley. At first they remained silent, deepening the pit in Hunter's stomach, but eventually the smaller spoke up.

"Not any trouble, if that's what you're worried about." His voice was distorted in the same way Soltare used to distort their voice around Hunter. He turned to No Name. "We just wanna talk to you. Your friends sent us."

"I don't wanna see my friends!" The witch's voice subtly strained as they spoke. Hunter could understand why. The smaller Phantom spoke up again.

"They're worried about you. I'm worried about you. I'm almost positive everyone here is worried about you!" He took a cautious step forward. "Just come with us, we can work this out."

There was clearly something going on that Hunter didn't know about. No Name was the previous stranger's sibling, meaning that they thought they were in trouble. What kind of trouble though? Whatever was going on was serious enough that the Phantoms were looking for them. Serious enough that the Phantoms were "worried" for them. Why would a gang be on the lookout for some random kid when they could be doing a plethora of other things? Hunter looked at No Name. By all accounts, they looked like a normal teenager, maybe a bit more on the feral side, but still relatively normal. They shuttered away from the ghosts once more.

If I had asked them if they were scared of the Bonesborough Phantoms the other day, would they have said yes? In his mind, he knew the answer was no. Even if they had said yes, he was sure it would have been out of respect rather than anything else. If he were to ask now though? He really didn't have to. The answer was evident. His informant was terrified of these two to their core.

And for some reason he couldn't explain, that really pissed him off.

Without thinking, Hunter stepped forward. Stepped in front of No Name. He was ready to hop into a defensive stance if the moment called for it. He readjusted his mask over the lower half of his face, pulling it further up over his nose. The joints in his fingers crackled as his hands balled into fists. He glared down the alleyway.

"I don't think they wanna go with you." He announced. The taller one finally took a step forward.

"For your own sake I think you should mind your damn business." This one's voice was lower, even more garbled than the other's. He could feel this Phantom's eyes burning against his skin. Still, he stood his ground.

"They. Don't. Want. To. Go. With. You." Hunter spoke through gritted teeth. His feet began to fall into place as he prepared for what might come next. The tall one turned to No Name and lifted a gloved hand.

"Come on, kid. Make this easy for all of us. We know what type of person you are, we know what you would and wouldn't do. You're a good person. We just need to narrow it all down, prove you're innocent, and then figure out the truth." They gestured for them to come closer. "Innocent?" Just what the hell were you accused of? Hunter thought and glanced at them from the corner of his eye. What the hell have I dragged myself into?

"You don't have to go." Hunter declared. Despite feeling like No Name definitely shouldn't go anywhere with these people, he wanted to give them the choice anyway. He felt a hand on his shoulder.