Reprogrammed (Hunter Angst)

The Wind in the Grass

Emperor Belos was dead, that much was certain. Melted by boiling rains, stomped to death. Luz had broken the news to Hunter as soon as she'd seen him. She hugged him tight, arms wrapping around his torso, cheeks shining with tears. He'd cried too.

Finally, he was free. No more Emperor's Coven, no more Collector, no more Belos. He could just be a normal teenager, attending Hexside with his friends, playing Flyer Derby. Darius had graciously offered his own private residence for Hunter to live at.

"So Darius is like pretty much your Dad now, huh?" Gus said, playfully elbowing Hunter in the side

"Something like that, yeah. He told me that since the castle's been pretty much wrecked, I could live at his place for as long as I wanted. Said that we could fix it up together and build a pretty 'sweet' bedroom for me." Hunter replied, the corners of his mouth tugging into a smile.

Living with Darius would be nice. The house wasn't terribly far from Hexside, and it was also surrounded by forest. It was a quaint, quiet place. As Hunter stood on the doorstep looking up at the old house, he felt hesitant. Hunter had never really lived anywhere else besides the castle, excluding his brief stint at Hexside.

"Well? You can open the door, it's not gonna bite your hand off." Darius prompted, clapping his hand on Hunter's shoulder as he approached the boy from behind. Hunter flinched at the sudden touch. Darius made a quiet mental note about it.

With a smooth motion, Hunter pushed open the door. Sunlight streamed through the house. Dust particles wafted lazily through the warm rays. Though there was some structural damage and broken objects from Belos's attempt to control the Titan's body, the house was mostly unscathed. It would only take a week at most to get the place back up to normal working order.

"Ugh, stupid Emperor. I apologize about the dust and the mess. As you probably already know, I've been a little preoccupied with... other ventures. I haven't been able to clean." Darius spoke, rolling his eyes.

Hunter chuckled, turning to look at the older man. "Well I was obviously expecting that the place would be perfectly clean. I'm a little disappointed that you weren't able to get over here and tidy up, y'know, while you were trying to defeat a literal god and all" Hunter quipped back.

Darius scoffed playfully. Together, the two of them set to work with cleaning and decluttering. Darius hummed while they worked to sweep up broken glass, dust, and other fallen objects. After a solid two hours of intense work, the kitchen looked a little more welcoming. Outside, the sun drifted ever closer to the horizon.

"Here's my proposal: I'll whip up some dinner with some of the dried food I have saved. You go upstairs, see if the shower's functional, and if it is, take a shower." Darius said.

"Do you need any help down here? We still have a lot of work to do..." Hunter replied, hesitant. He didn't want to make Darius do all of the hard work, especially after he'd been so kind to allow Hunter a place to stay.

"Pfft. Please, kid. Remember, I can also use magic if I need an extra hand. No offense, but you've been fighting for days on end now, you look exhausted, and you kinda stink. Go shower, take care of yourself. I'll shout if I need anything." Darius finished with a kind smile. Hunter smiled in return, before turning to head upstairs.

The upstairs of the house was equally dusty, and would take some time to repair. There were a few cracked windows, and a couple of the support beams in the ceiling had splintered. Objects on shelves had been knocked over, furniture tipped or out of place. Despite the damages, Darius's house had gotten pretty lucky. Some of the houses in larger towns had been completely totaled.