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

From the Other Side

The inside of the Bonesborough Police Department was a lot different from inside one of the cells. It felt colder, almost as if Hunter had passed through into a freezer as soon as he was shoved behind the bars. No Name, despite their valiant attempt to cling to the guard, had also been shoved in. Well, rather thrown in. They hit the ground with a clang of their chain against concrete. Hunter ended up falling with them, though his landing was not as harsh as theirs. They had taken the guard's sleeve with them, to which their captor complained before shuffling off towards the main part of the building.

"Stupid kid, stealing my damn sleeve, exposing my fair skin to the elements!" He grumbled before stomping down the hall. The boy scrambled as close to the bars as he could get.

"Hey! You can't do this! Do you know who I am?!" Hunter shouted after the man, briefly claiming his attention.

"No, actually. Who do you think you are?" He spoke in a mocking tone. Hunter reached his arm through the bars, revealing a small golden triangle with wings on his wrist. His coven sigil. "I'm one of you!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Hunter felt a sting on the back of his neck. He was trying to save himself, and for some reason, he felt guilty about that. Why? No Name was just an informant. Why did he feel so awful at the thought of leaving them behind? Why hadn't he left them behind in the first place? It wasn't his problem! He'd only met this person twice before tonight! Yet still, something had kept him at their side, something that predated the shackles linking them together. It was like... like they had their own gravitational pull on him. Something that made them stick out and draw him closer. Something warm and burning and resonating in his mind almost constantly. Something very familiar. Something almost like-

"Ha!" A taunt broke Hunter from his thoughts. The guard was peering down at his wrist, shaking his head. The man straightened.

"Nice try kid, but I know a fake sigil when I see one!" The man then turned around again and disappeared down the hall. Hunter watched him go, too shocked to say anything. A seed of some strange unpleasant emotion brewed in his stomach. There went his chance of escape! Why hadn't he said or done anything to prove it?? Slamming his free hand against the bars, he turned back to No Name with a grimace, only to have it whipped away immediately. They were still lying on the floor, clinging to the fabric. He felt that seed morph into a pit. They're just  pretending, trying to make that guard come back and get them out of here. He tried to convince himself. Still though, despite his rational thoughts, he nearly tripped as he staggered back towards them, the taught chain going slack.

"He's gone now, you can stop messing around."

No response.

"I'm serious, No Name. Stop." Hunter shook them by the arm this time.

No response. The boy could feel the blood draining from his face.

"Oh my Titan, are you okay?!" Hunter shook them again, more intensely, and to his relief, they stole themselves out of his grip.

"Hell. No." Was all they said. Hunter was still concerned, though a little less so now that he knew they were responsive.

"Well what hurts?" He examined the floor around them. No blood or anything, that was good.

"Everything." They creaked. Hunter loosened his grip.

"Oh shit- do you want me to get you some medical attention or-"

"It's not that kinda pain!" They snapped back unexpectedly, suddenly face to face with Hunter. Hunter drew back, shocked. He had never seen them quite this upset before. Even in their first meeting, when they were still hostile towards him, they had this sort of feeling about them. One that refused to take everything 100% serious. At Moonbucks they displayed this characteristic even more... until they didn't. When they had spoken of life in Olde Bonesborough, they were gravely serious. Serious, angry, and determined. They held most of those same elements now, however their composure was slipping. Their desperation was growing. It was unpleasant to see, to say the least. However, that didn't mean Hunter wasn't going to match their tone.