Reprogrammed (Hunter Angst)

Limited Resources, Wasted on Me

After their meal, Hunter dozed quietly in the armchair for a few hours, waiting for the sun to come up. He and Darius planned to head over to Eda's around noon, and from there they would use the new portal door to get to the Human Realm.

Birds chirped joyfully outside as the sun's piercing light sent coruscating spirals of vivid colors rocketing through the sky. Hunter sat watching the dawn, thinking absently of a variety of things. One of his favorite parts of the Emperor's Coven was waking up and working out in the outside areas of the castle grounds while the sun rose. Hunter loved sunrises.

If the Emperor's Coven was so 'terrible', why are you missing it right now? His internal voice accused. Hunter tried to ignore it, to the best of his ability. He felt awful about the events of the previous day. He pulled Darius out of his important work, made him worry, and wasted his time by forcing him to go retrieve him from school. Like a toddler . The more he sat around thinking, the more anxious and pitiful he began to feel.

I need to do something. I can't just sit around like this. Pushing himself out of his chair, Hunter slipped on socks and shoes, wrote a quick note to Darius, and then left the house to go for a run. The chilly air of the morning shocked his lungs, shoving him forward into wakefulness. The boy pumped his arms and legs to carry him forward. Running felt good. Really good.

By 9am he was back at Darius's; panting and trying to catch his breath. Throat dry and legs shaking, he pushed open the door. The head of the house was awake, stirring batter around with a whisk.

"Morning Hunter, I just read your note." Darius said in greeting.

"Mornin'." Was all Hunter replied with, still out of breath.

"How long did you run for?"

"Ah... uh, I left at like 6:30am? So not that long I guess." Hunter told his caretaker, tone casual. Darius froze, his piercing green eyes looking straight at Hunter.

"Dude, did you just casually run for 2 and a half hours straight on a whim? Did you bring water at least?"

"No... Two hours isn't that long, I used to run for way longer than that when I was in the Coven. And I never bring water, Belos always said that drinking while running slowed you down."

Darius pinched his brow with a groan. The effects of Belos's 'teachings ' were going to take years to reverse.

"Titan, that man was an idiot. I know you don't know better, but it's really bad for you to exercise for that long without drinking water. If you wanna go on runs, that's fine, but you need to bring water with you."

Hunter felt himself curl inwardly, if only slightly. He'd fucked up again so soon after his huge blowup yesterday, and he'd made Darius mad and worried. Blush creeped up his face.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up over it, kid. Everyone makes mistakes, and it's not your fault that some madman taught you bad information for your whole life." Darius said in an attempt to comfort the boy.

"Sorry... I'll do better for next time." Hunter said. He just wanted this conversation to be over. Seems like I can't do anything without fucking it up.

They ate breakfast in awkward silence. Darius was eternally grateful that it was Saturday, and that Hunter was going to spend some time with Mrs. Noceda. It was clear that the kid needed a break from the Boiling Isles as a whole. It would be good for him to see Luz, and it would give Darius some time to draft out a letter to Principal Bump about the bullying that Hunter had told him about. By the end of the weekend, Darius was determined to get Hunter on the path to recovery as soon as possible.