Reprogrammed (Hunter Angst)

When I was Done Dying

TW: drug overdose, suicidal ideation, and emergency services.

One of Hunter's favorite activities during his last few months in the Emperor's Coven was to take Flapjack flying at sunset. After dinner, Belos had always allotted one hour of time for Hunter to complete necessary paperwork for general Emperor's Coven upkeep. The thing was, there wasn't always paperwork to fill out. Most of the time there was, but Hunter did his best to get through it as fast and as accurately as possible.

Tonight was one of those nights where he finished his paperwork in the first ten minutes.

"Flap, you wanna go flying?" The boy asked the vibrant red cardinal. Instantly, the bird stuck his little head out of Hunter's shirt with a little peep. His head feathers were messy, and this fact made Hunter's heart swell with love and happiness.

They took to the skies, sneaking out Hunter's bedroom window. As usual, the sky was bathed in beautiful pastel pinks, reds, oranges, and yellows. The wind combed its way through Hunter's hair, dancing across his skin. They soared higher and higher, faster and faster. The teenager felt so free in these moments. Flapjack could feel his boy's happiness too.

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"Hunter?" Darius called, voice unsure. "Listen, I know it hasn't been that long, but I don't think I'll be able to sleep until we talk this situation out..." No reply. "Hah, you know how I need my beauty sleep!" The quip was met with silence; there was no noise that emanated from inside of the boy's room. Darius sighed. Hopefully Hunter wasn't asleep.

Upon opening the bedroom door, Darius's foot immediately kicked something cylindrical and plastic. It ricocheted across the floor before knocking against the mattress on the floor. Darius's eyes followed the bottle's path, and he caught sight of a foot hanging off the bed in the dark room. Once the lights were on, the scene began to unfold.

Hunter laid face down on the bed, limbs splayed out haphazardly. His chest rose and fell, but his breathing seemed short and labored.

"Hunter? Little prince?" Darius called out again, cautiously approaching the sleeping form. He shook the kid's shoulder, which would have woken Hunter up in any other situation. However, this time he stayed stubbornly unmoving.

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"I wish we could do this every night, Flap. Sunset is my favorite part of the day, but I'm always so busy that I almost never get to enjoy it." Hunter said to his palisman.

My boy is happy, I am happy! Flapjack tweeted back from the front of the staff. They swooped downwards, deep into the trees. Hunter gracefully landed on the thick branch of a massive, ancient oak. Flapjack transformed back into his regular form, and fluttered to rest on Hunter's head.

"I wish we could do this every day, forever." Hunter repeated, voice low and peaceful. The weather was perfect, and the sunset was magnificent. Suddenly, it seemed as though nothing outside of this moment mattered.

Can't stay! Flapjack suddenly warned him with a tweet.