Author's Note:
Hello all! Thank you so much for the favorites and kind reviews! Anyone who has seen the finale should not worry. Finntress was alive and well there, just subtle as it has always been since Finntress was never a fluff pairing. A little bit of a romantic would have been nice, but it was not the end of the world. If you like Finn and Huntress Wizard together, then they are together. It's that simple. I see so many people saying "Oh, they didn't get together!" but they weren't broken up...so...technically Finn ended with Huntress Wizard if you choose to see it that way, and I do. I loved their little casual thing as it felt like the type of relationship meant to grow strong and permanent with time. And that's how I shall be choosing to write it.
I hope that you enjoy the next part of the series! It's all Finn and HW this go round, shared past an all!
~Tolliver J. Mortaelwyver
Disclaimer: This is purely a work of expressive fiction. I do not own the characters or Adventure Time
I.
Finn remembered her clearly… The female wizard from Wizard Battle…
Huntress Wizard.
He wondered if somewhere in her wizard mind she still hated him…for how he and Jake treated her so long ago…
"Cheater!" the leaf haired wizard cried, grabbing him and throwing him to the ground.
Finn's mind drew a blank as he spaced out. What the heck had just happened?
The stadium lay far behind them. The Wizard Battle was done. The fun had passed, and the kiss with Bubblegum was his and gone. He already missed it…
Jake shielded Finn from the female wizard's assault as her arrows flew. She hissed at him like a beast in anger. Jake flinched but stood his ground while Finn stood and balled his fists. His blood boiled. What the stuff was this chick's deal?
His own angered gaze met hers, and they growled at one another like children. The anger and hurt in her green, cat-like eyes flickered clear. But he did not care. Bubblegum's kiss had been his to win and not hers. He drew his sword and pointed it at the wizard. She snarled and levitated her arrows.
"What the heck's your deal?" Finn exclaimed, throwing his arms open and leaving himself unguarded. An arrow flew for him, but Jake smacked it aside. Finn growled and pointed his sword. "Look. I'm sorry I cheated! Okay? I just wanted to stop the Ice King from cheating…and then things…got complicated."
"I don't care!" she exclaimed madly, throwing her arrows again. Jake moved he and Finn from their path. The wizard fell to the ground, crying. "You took my chance to claim top spot. I needed that kiss as proof of my power. I…I will be strong enough to defeat anyone and anything that crosses me! I won't lose to this world!"
Finn scratched his head as he watched her pound her fists to the ground in anger. This chick obviously had problems. He then suddenly remembered this wizard and Abracadaniel's words about her.
"T-that's…H-huntress Wizard," Abracadaniel had told him. "No one bothers her. She's a nasty fighter. Family drama, anger, and all that… Nuh-uh…"
Finn dropped his arms and felt a pang of guilt well in him.
She was the one they had stopped from killing Ice King in the arena, the one they had sucker punched and knocked flat. She was Huntress Wizard, a warrior like him but magic. He remember how she had pointed at him before passing out and being carried off the battlefield.
She stayed on her knees in a calm but eerie silence broken only by her broken sobbing. Finn rubbed the back of his head as he watched her fume. This wizard's beef was all his fault. He had to make it up to her.
"Come on…" Finn said, trying to soften the wizard's defeated blow. "I'm not getting why power means so much, but I can say that you're a pretty radical wizard. You don't need a trophy to prove it. Who's going to care? They come and go. Just enjoy the battles for fun…like we do!"
"Yeah!" Jake agreed, holding out his fist. "You tell her straight bud!"
They fist bumped and laughed. The Huntress Wizard glared at them but stayed silent. Finn put his sword away and walked to her with his hand held out to help her up. She briskly slapped it away and stood. Finn rubbed his hand and glared.
"Hey!" he exclaimed. "That. Was rude!"
"I can stand fine on my own!" she exclaimed, wrapping herself in her cloak and turning away from him. "Tell anyone that you saw me crying, and you're dead… I'll let you off with a warning…"
She paused dramatically and then glared back at them.
"Step on my toes again, and I'll hunt you to oblivion," she said. Finn pouted. "I refuse to be perceived as weak. I'll forge my own path in this world…the path of a mighty wizard. And don't you forget it."
The Huntress Wizard stormed away, and Finn leered after her in boredom. She transformed into a hawk and flew away. Once out of sight and earshot, Finn shot Jake a look and heaved a sign.
"Man," he said. "Can you believe it? Some folk can get so dramatic."
"Yeah," Jake said, shooting him a blank look. "I can sure think of a few people. Finn."
Jake whispered a mocking imitation of Finn from the Wizard Battle while smiling.
"Ahheeeeee!" Jake whisper screamed while stretching far above Finn. "No one kisses Bubblegum but meeee…"
Finn glared at Jake and walked off. He did not have to listen to his brother's antics. Jake laughed and stretched after him, grinning. Finn shot him a look and kept walking towards their treehouse home in the distance. Jake playfully chuckled, and Finn finally laughed.
"Dude," he giggled. "You are such a jerk."
Finn chuckled to himself as he remembered him and Jake going home that night and celebrating Finn's "victory" with BMO…only to never kiss Bubblegum again. How stupid had he been? Huntress Wizard ignored his laughter as she sat quietly in meditation, seeking guidance from the Great Oak on where to begin playing his flute. Finn's face softly flushed as he admired her and the discipline of the skill. Meditation was hard when your mind ran everywhere, sometimes in circles.
He leaned back against his own tree and recalled his time in Egress. The rushes of the river's flow, the winds' gentle combings and songs on the leaves, the odd chatter or complaint of an animal or two—meditation had been easy back then with his eyes closed shut, a necessity even. Finn heaved a deep breath and wondered if he could feel a state of Egress once more, of the good times he had had there before being forced to leave them behind for his own home where he could be with his friends forever.
Finn closed his eyes once again, expecting to see Egress, expecting to finally see her at least once like he had wished for so long. Only images of Huntress Wizard formed in his mind instead. Finn's eyes popped open to find her still in meditation, and he gulped.
He recognized the feeling inside him quite well.
Huntress Wizard's long, leafy hair fluttered in the breeze as she sat completely still against the Great Oak. Her long legs crossed with great flexibility, and her palms rested in an interlinked upwards position at her core, probably one for spiritual magic. Her breathes heaved in near stillness, a reflection of a mind unfettered by the woods around them.
Finn felt his body tingle as it had with their meeting in the river. His head spun with madness.
He had to stop. He couldn't go down that path with her. She…was not that type of girl. She had hired him for a job, and he needed to perform it and not waste time, not her time. Not again…
She was not a princess. She was not a girl who needed a hero…
Finn calmly read the Enchiridion.
"Regarding the Mysterious Symbiosis Betwixt Heroes and Wizards" he read to himself. Finn yawned and flipped the pages. "THE MOST IMPORTANT THING a Hero Wannabe needs to find is a Wizard Mentor—somebody adept in magical arts (or somebody with major smarts), to send the Hero Wannabe on Heroic Quests, Missions, Voyges, Journeys, Expeditions, Travels, Campaigns, Adventures…"
Finn's head started to hurt as he read.
Lame… Finn thought. Prubs was not a wizard, but she did all those things! The book was bonk…
Finn's eyes scanned the next lines.
"90 percent of the time, Heroes are just gofers for lazy Wizards…" Finn hummed at this but quickly shrugged. Being a gofer to Princess Bubblegum meant fun. Finn scrolled past the more tedious text for the bigger section. "WIZARDS AND HEROES SITTING IN A TREE K-I-S-S-I-N-G FOR ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER CANNOT BE."
Ugh. Finn imagined kissing a wizard. All the ones he knew were male.
"That's gross man…"he mumbled.
"Gross, right?" the book seemed to answer, and Finn hummed. "I mean, who needs to hear about Heroes and Wizards kissing? However, it does convey a Manifest Truism: HEROES AND WIZARDS NEED EACH OTHER. WITHOUT A WIZARD, A HERO IS NOTHING. AND VICE VERSA."
"Hmm," Finn hummed, shutting the book and setting it on the grass; he stood up and then sat on it.
He couldn't bear to read anymore. Still, the book had given him an interesting idea. What if he and Jake went out to find a wizard, one that could read the book for them? Since Bubblegum was neither wizard or hero, they couldn't show her. They'd need a real wizard to comb through the text and tell them what was what, a trustworthy wizard.
Ice King?
Finn blew his breath and laughed. No way would they ask Simon. That would just turn out annoying.
Abracadaniel?
Finn hummed. Abracadaniel could possibly work. He was a nerdy wizard desperate for company. Surely he could be suckered into ready an ancient text…! But…his magic kind of sucked.
Finn pondered and pondered but could not come up with a thing. He didn't know too many of the wizards… But perhaps Jake did. Finn stood up and placed the book in his backpack before turning towards the treehouse and heading for the door.
Jake would surely know somebody. He always had the right answers!
Jake trembled behind Finn as the female wizard hovered her arrows around her and glared towards them. Finn groaned. He had not been expecting HER to be the one Flambo summoned. In fact, up until seeing her and remembering their last unpleasant experience, Finn had all but forgotten that she existed. The wizard glared at them while they stared at her blankly.
Huntress Wizard.
Finn hummed as he pondered her full name. Things had definitely changed since the old days of Wizard Battle. She seemed calmer…but hardened. Finn scratched his head nervously as he fully remembered the female wizard before him—his old enemy from Wizard Battle. Over a year had passed since that fight, so he had almost forgotten her…but she had clearly not forgotten them or their "transgression". She shot him a cold, hard gaze filled with contempt as her arrows floated above her head. Jake shuffled nervously behind him but seemed ready to act should he deem it necessary.
"I owe you a few good holes in your head for jilting me in Wizard Battle a year ago," she snarled before putting the arrows away and standing. "But…I won this year's, so I'm not a wizard in the mind of holding a grudge over old news, least the madness drive one to evil. So what is it you want, Hero?
Finn cleared his fourteen-year-old throat for her and bowed his head. He had to do this right and coolly least he give her the wrong idea. She huffed at him but continued to acknowledge him. Finn held up the Enchiridion and began.
"I asked for you so that we could talk about this," Finn started. She dully took note of it and nodded. Finn spoke on. "According the Hero's Handbook, Heroes and wizards are like glue…like two sides of the same coin. And we were thinking that we should find a wizard…who's not Ice King…to help us comb through this book. It's supposed to be really important, but we…like…don't have time to read, yo. We searched around and spoke with the wizards we knew, but none of them…uhhh…had the right fit. We really want a top notch wizard for hire who can really hang on an adventure…and you were…uh…recommended. So…yeah."
Finn put on a nervous smile as she glared at them in boredom. He uneasily tapped his fingers against the book as he suddenly felt a jolt of attraction to Huntress Wizard shoot through him. He immediately thought of Flame Princess and wondered if those feelings were wrong or normal. Huntress Wizard looked, admittedly, attractive.
She continued to remain silent as she just stared at them, and Finn slightly blushed. Jake hummed at him, and he shuffled his feet nervously.
"I figured we could do what the book says and be a hero and wizard pair," Finn blurted out, not really capable of thinking another way. "It'd be fun…?"
Huntress Wizard stared at him dully.
"You trying to die, kid?" she asked him coldly, once again levitating an arrow. Finn's face flushed as he wondered what he had said wrong. Huntress Wizard scowled at him and pointed. "You think you can just call me here and ask me out? Like I'm supposed to just answer 'yes' because you're Ooo's hero while I'm a wizard? Get real."
"Wait!" Finn exclaimed, shaking his hand. "I…I didn't mean it like…"
An arrow flew towards him, and he ducked. Huntress Wizard scoffed and walked off.
"Whatever you meant, I'm not interested," she said. "I'm not trying to have my branches burned off by that Fire Elemental you're dating. Bug off."
"Wait" Finn exclaimed, hurrying after her.
She shot him a scowl, and he froze in his tracks. Huntress Wizard glared and refaced him.
"Don't chase me," she growled. "I don't like to be hunted. Not unless you have my permission…and you don't."
"I'm not trying to hunt you," Finn said, rubbing the back of his head. "We just wanted to hire a wizard like the book said. We thought…"
"That book is ancient!" Huntress Wizard said, placing her hands on her hips as she stood contrapposto. "I'll bet not a single page of it mentions a female wizard. I wouldn't put any faith into that old thing. Protect it to be sure because it's a dangerous tome if it falls into the wrong hands, but forget it as a handbook. You don't need a wizard."
She then turned away and kept walking. Finn pouted but heaved a sigh of relief that she had not turned violent. She suddenly stopped, however, and shot him another cold stare. Finn gritted his teeth, half expecting an arrow to come flying his way, but it did not.
"You don't need a wizard," she repeated, "anymore than I need a hero. And don't you forget that…Finn the human."
With those words, Huntress Wizard walked off and vanished amongst the forest trees. Jake heaved a sigh of relief while Finn heaved a sigh of disappointment. Who was going to read their Enchiridion now? Finn stuffed the tome back in his pack and hitched a ride with Jake who stretched them high to leave their meeting place in the forest behind. As the two of them walked off, they spoke.
"That got more intense than expected," Jake remarked. "You really need to work on your dialogue with the ladies, especially a proud lady like Huntress. But whatevs man. She probably makes a good point. That book is old. We've been fine without a wizard before. Let's stop looking before Ice King catches wind of the hunt and decides to never leave us alone."
"Yeah man," Finn said, looking back at the forest before turning his gaze forward. "You're right. We should just keep things the way they are. Still, having a smart wizard around probably would have been handy. Ah well. At least we have each other. Ha! Let's head to the Candy Kingdom and see if Prubs has something for us to do."
Okay!" Jake exclaimed, stretching higher and picking up their stride.
As Finn and Jake both laughed, he thought no more of the Enchiridion or of Huntress Wizard. Who needed either? Not them. They would simply keep having adventures as always, have fun that would never end…
That was right. Finn thought to himself as Huntress Wizard suddenly opened her eyes and stood. She beckoned for him to rise and follow her through the brush. Finn nodded and stood, following after her in silence. All the while, he told himself what she had told him back then.
Huntress Wizard was one who needed no hero. She was clearly a hero of her own thing.
"Don't dawdle," Huntress Wizard commanded, suddenly drawing Finn from his trance.
"Oh, right," he said, slightly blushing. "Sorry."
Finn hurried his pace to better match hers, and Huntress Wizard returned her gaze forward with a huff and said no more. So many things bounced in Finn's head as he watched her briskly stroll with agile turns as she plowed forward.
How had they never crossed paths since the old days? How had he forgotten her so easily? Was it because of the city? Had she been living in the city the whole time? And if so, why had she come back to the forest now?
Did something trouble it? Would she need help? Could he help? Or was that why she sought out the Spirit of the Forest? Why exactly did she seek the Spirit so anxiously?
So many questions ran through Finn's head! But was it his place to ask? Or was it better to let her lead and trust her gut? Could he trust her gut? What if it was crazy and wrong?
Finn watched her closely as he thought it over. As she wove around, and sometimes through, the trees he heard her speak to them under her breath, denying something as if the woods spoke to her of some embarrassing topic. Inside, he laughed, for it reminded him of Simon, the Ice King, albeit in a scarier light; for unlike Ice King, Huntress Wizard was focused and smart…like PB but in a more mystic manner.
If she wanted to, she could kill him.
But he could kill her right back…if he had to. Finn hummed; he really hoped it would not come to that. She seemed fun. A smile broke through from his thoughts, and he decided.
Trusting her until she proved untrustworthy would be his best course of action. After all, not all wizards were evil. That's what his fat basket told him. Satisfied, Finn let the questions fade from his mind and took note of the trees. If she chose to abandon him once done with the spell, he'd have to find his way.
The deeper they traveled, the heavier the air felt as if teaming with magic will. Where they were going, he wondered, but he could feel the denseness of the thick growing around them as if they traversed into the very heart of nature itself. Finn took a deep breath and smiled.
The whole thing reminded him of Egress on a good day and the challenge his journey there had allowed him to conquer not as a child but as a man, a strong man. The whole thing reminded him of her, the mysterious woman of Egress who had sheltered him and given her love in the form of extra blindfolds, the occasional meal, fur for keeping warm, and a wrap to hold that fur in place. Indeed, it was for her why he played his flute, an ode of mourning for his lost…
….Huntress.
Finn suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. Huntress Wizard took no note and kept walk for a bit before realizing he had stopped and facing him with frustrated hands on her hips. Finn gulped as he stared at her, his Huntress… The one who was real…
"Hey," she called out to him from where she stood. "What's your deal, dude? Why are we stopping? Come one…"
Finn's mind raced in competition with his heart.
Oh. My Glob… He thought. It could not be her; it couldn't…
Finn suddenly found himself thrown to the dirt by a half-angry, half-concerned Huntress Wizard. As Finn lay on his back, staring up blankly at her for a good look at her, she folded her arms in defense before turning away.
"Sorry," she said coolly. "I thought you might have grown roots. Just checking."
"Sorry, sorry," Finn said calmly as he picked himself up and dusted his clothes. This was definitely her. Finn cleared his throat and attempted to come up with something impressive yet believable for his joining out. "I didn't mean to stop so abruptly. I just remembered something important, but it can hold off until we've summoned the Spirit of the Forest for you. Where are we going exactly? A…mystical grove perhaps?"
"It would be easier to show than to tell," Huntress Wizard said. She suddenly grabbed his arm and leapt off into the trees. Finn slightly blushed as the young woman carried him along without looking back once or with any signs of visible effort on her part. Her eyes focused on the path ahead, she threw him across her back as they landed on a branch, and she leapt off to the next without skipping a beat. "We're starting the hunt at the sacred part of the forest, an ancient tomb with a number of summoning circles. That's the best place to begin."
"Okay, sure," Finn said coolly, trying to sound normal as he held her tight, not wanting to fall from the trees. Several other…things…ran through his mind, and he ignored them. "You lead, and I and my eager flute will follow."
"Cool," Huntress Wizard replied, almost sounding satisfied and impressed. "A will of steel… That's a fine ingredient for a summon spell. We should be done in no time…barring any spiritual stubbornness on HIS part. Hopefully not…"
Finn listened and wondered carefully about the spirit as the old sacred tomb slowly came into view. Was he a good kind of spirit or an evil kind? And what exactly was his relationship to her? Would he be…competition?
Finn closed his eyes and quickly buried the thought. No, not competition. He could not think like that, not with her. She needed him to summon the Spirit of the Forest, and regardless of their relationship, that was what he intended to do. No more games. No more rewards and conquests.
No more…Egress.
Just Huntress Wizard. That much, he could manage. At the very least, he would try.