"Calm down," Hunter muttered to himself. He screwed his eyes shut as he walked a little distance away from the Owl House. How did it slip his mind that now that he had the curse, he would have to consume palismen?! He's putting Lil' Rascal — all of their palismen — at risk! Maybe when the curse finally takes him he should just wait it out? But… it has already taken him over. He could have already consumed a palisman in the wild without even knowing!
The teen breathed in deeply, then out as he forced himself to calm his nerves. "...Please," he asked, not out loud but to the Beast inside him, "Please don't make me kill palismen." He opened his eyes, looking up at the dark figure that towered over him.
"D̵͈͗ĺ̶̺̖͛i̵̪̫͒̾h̸̠̎c̵͓̺̠̊̉̿ ̴̫̕͜͝y̷̱̲̱͑̀ṁ̵̤̞̮ ̶̟̩̽̅,̷͎̇͂͂s̸͇̠̅̍̏h̴̢͂͠t̸͔̬̓͜a̴͍̐͝ě̵̢̠̬r̸̭̉̌b̷̢̰̊ ̷͔̭̈́p̸̝͙̩̎è̶̳ĕ̶̟̻̔d̵̟̪̫͛͝ ̵̺͉̌͆ȩ̷̢̈́k̴̡̬̓͐͆à̶͇t̵̰̖̀̔͒.̷̩̤̖̈͋" The creature stared down at him with its white, orb eyes. "E̶͕͔̝͗v̶̯̤̇a̴̹͉̟̓ȓ̷̖̋͝č̴̟̦̌̚ ̷̪̣̉͝Ḯ̸̫̱̂͝ ̴̢͙͗t̵͕̮̲́͛a̴͇̮͍͘h̷͍͇͚͌w̸̡̡̩̎̕ ̷̫̊̚t̴͍͂͂̇õ̴̟̤͓͒̚n̸͈̓͋͌ ̴̨̈́̇͠s̷̥̻͊͌͝i̷̜̾͜ ̷̧͎̔͘͠ͅḙ̴̮̅̎f̴̪̮̃͠͠i̸̥͘͝l̵̜̮͑̑̓ ̷̗͒͘n̸̝͔͛̕͠ȧ̷̖̦̹m̶̨̛s̵̡̛̔ĩ̶̯̅̔l̵͚͋ä̵̹͐̎p̶̡̛͖̘̐̐."
"I don't understand you when you dont-" Hunter felt a hand yank him up, and he opened his eyes and looked around to see Eda had pulled him bodily up from his knees to place him on his feet. He blinked at her a few times before looking down at his hands. His fingers were black again, his nails curved into claws. Would the elixirs even work if he took one?
"You were muttering something crazy to yourself, Kid," Eda commented. "You talking to the Beast?" She patted his shoulder in reassurance.
"I-I, uh…" Hunter rubbed his arms, frowning. "K-kinda… It's one-sided… I-I can't really understand it most of the time." Hunter sighed, looking down at the dirt.
"What has you freaking out, Kiddo?" Eda asked bluntly, leaning down a bit to look his face over. Hunter glanced up at her; he was pretty sure his eyes were black, but if they were she didn't react.
"I-I…" Hunter was unsure how to proceed. If he told her why the Emperor's Coven really needed palismen, would she actually kick him out? Belos' curse was now his, after all, and him being there…
"You know, Luz told me she saw Belos consuming a palisman." Eda's words cut through his thoughts, and he blinked before he looked back at her. "Is that what you're upset about?" Hunter thinned his lipped before giving her a light nod.
"H-he used them to help… control the curse." Hunter lowered his head. "T-thats why I was trying to kidnap the palismen from Hexside," he admitted, quietly to make sure no one else but Eda heard him. "B-but if I have the curse-!'' he swallowed deeply, running his hands through his hair. T-this is ridiculous! The reason I fought with Belos in the first place was because he grabbed Lil' Rascal! W-what if I lose control and-?!"
"Hey, hey." Eda put her hands on his shoulders, turning him to face her. "That isn't gonna happen, Kid."
"What if it already did, Eda? I had no idea where I was or what I was doing in the two weeks I was apparently missing!" Hunter ran his hands through his hair, feeling the beginning bumps of horns starting to appear and the back of his head was burning. He could feel the beast shifting around in his subconscious.
"Hunter." Eda was stern in her tone of voice. "You are right that we do not know what happened over the two weeks you were gone. But right now, we know you are here. We can stop you from harming our palismen, and we can help you get a better handle on your curse. Just take a deep breath in, okay?" Eda motioned to herself as she took her own deep breath in, then out, then in again as she stared at him expectantly. Hunter furrowed his brow lightly before doing the same, motions and all. "There we go, easy does it. Do you want another potion?"
"N-no, I think I am good." Hunter looked back at his fingers, the black receding once more. He frowned to himself. This was going to be a hard time to deal with. His eyes went to the bandages that were still around his wrist and palm, frowning even more before looking back to Eda. "You were the one who did my bandages, right?"
"I was." Eda put her hand on her waist as she stood back up; she knew what he was about to ask. "And before you ask, I really have no idea where your coven brand went."
Willow crossed her arms as she moved to a window, content for now to just watch Hunter and Eda talk. She knew that as much as she wanted to run out there and grab Hunter and tell him everything was okay, that a talk with Eda would do him a lot better than what she could offer. Not only that, she had to be extremely careful not to step too close to the plant life surrounding the Owl House, lest it start to violently react to her presence.
She couldn't control it. Her ties to plant magic were starting to get harder for her to handle, and she didn't know how she could pull it back. With Hunter safe, Willow really had assumed that her control over how her magic reacted would go back to how it usually was. But now, when she walked by plants they would start to grow wildly and then shrink back down to their usual size when she was far enough away. If she stood next to a plant for too long it would stop growing, but then instead of shrinking it would wither away when she left. It was one of the piling reasons on why she was staying at the Owl House over her own home, at least until her Fathers moved her plants from their home to her grandmothers.
"You don't think people are going to… actually sell their palismen en mass, do you?" Luz asked over to Amity, who frowned and gave a light shrug.
"That is a lot of snails. Some people might be desperate enough… but palismen are so priceless." Amity shook her head, sighing through her nose before rubbing at her neck, "I suppose this shouldn't be a surprise, though… Palismen are considered Wild Magic, after all. This might be the first phase of ridding the Isles of all palismen." Luz shifted as a deep frown appeared on her face, the image of Belos crushing a palisman in his hands flashing through her head. She glanced over to Willow, who was still looking out the window to Hunter and Eda with her own small frown.
"H-hey, I am sure they are alright, Willow. Wanna come take a load off? You've been working really hard recently." Luz smiled over to her friend, who looked at her, then back outside. Eda was having Hunter taking deep breaths, the fur that had sprouted on his back slowly receding. She furrowed her brow and thinned her lips, before turning and going to sit down next to Luz and Amity, noting that King had run off somewhere. "Are you doing okay, Willow?"
"I am. ...I…" Willow sighed, rubbing her face before looking back out a nearby window. It looked like Hunter and Eda were now just talking, the slight transformation he'd gone through having almost all faded away from what she could tell. "This is… stressful," she muttered. Luz went to pat her shoulder, giving her a bubbly smile.
"It will take some getting used to, I admit, but we will figure out a way to handle it," the human said. "Amity and I are already planning another trip to the library if you want to come with us. I'm sure there has to be a book or echo mouse somewhere that can give us a little more of an idea on how to help him!"
"Malphas has already loaned me a few books on curses, but there has to be more somewhere," Amity added with a resolute nod.
"Hopefully somewhere you don't have to sneak into?" Willow asked with a small smirk as she looked the two over. They shifted slightly, giving a few nervous laughs before a scream cut through their thoughts. Willow — already on edge and worried about Hunter — leapt to her feet without a second thought, bursting through Hooty and summoning Clover to her hand. She stopped, looking at Hunter who had his hands up and was looking over to the source of the scream.
Matt was flat on his butt, pointing at Hunter like he was the ghost of Titan itself. Gus stood behind him, an awkward smile on his face as he shrugged at Hunter and Eda.
"What is going on?!" Luz ran out, two glyphs at the ready as Amity followed with Ghost's staff in her hand. Hunter gave an awkward and slow wave at Matt, who scrambled to his feet.
"B-but you- And they-!" Matt pointed around wildly, eyes still on the older teen. "And they said- and you're- but-!"
"Jeez, Kid, you look like you're about to vomit," Eda snorted with amusement. "Hey, Goops, is he alright?"
"Yeah, Eda…" Gus moved to put a hand on Matt's shoulder. "Dude, I told you not to believe the media."
"I-I thought you meant about, I don't know… something else? But-" Matt motioned his arms at Hunter, who rubbed the back of his neck then slowly turned and made his way over to Willow. "Why didn't you tell me he was alive?!"
"I did tell you," Gus deadpanned. "You weren't paying attention."
"I was-" Matt snorted, then looked back to Hunter who was now sort-of-kind-of hiding behind a confused-looking Willow. She looked up at him, whispering to the older teen who nodded with a shrug down at her. Matt furrowed his brow a little as he noticed the new scar over Hunter's now-grey eye. He sighed before walking over and stopping a few feet in front of the two. "I'm… sorry, man. I just-" Matt sighed again, closing his eyes for a moment before looking back up at Hunter. "I am glad to see you are actually alive."
"A-ahh… thanks, Matt." Hunter rubbed his neck in embarrassment.
"Let's all get back inside, huh?" Eda called out, motioning all the kids around her. "I'm sure there are some stories to tell, if people want to tell them, after all." The kids all nodded, turning to head back into the safety of The Owl House.
"So...that is pretty much the short and long of it," Hunter finished with a shrug. It was the first time he actually told the story on his escape in full, and everyone was looking at him with wide eyes. He noted that Willow had a smile on her face, and a light blush on her cheeks; she was looking mighty proud of him.
"Okay, so let me get this straight…" Matt said, his hands clasped together. "Emperor Belos is cursed and has to consume palismen to keep it controlled. You, when Belos snatched your palisman, decided to fight the Emperor, headbutted him, STOLE the curse, and fled? Then you released the Quetzalcoatl, which used an illusion to make it look like it swallowed you, but it really just picked you up and flew away?"
"...Yeah, pretty much." Hunter rubbed his arm with a shrug.
"I suppose that's the real reason Belos is collecting palismen," Amity noted. "But if you stole most of his curse, wouldn't he not need them anymore?" Hunter could only shrug in reply.
"And… if you stole most of his curse, wouldn't that mean-?" Matt started, but stopped after he saw the look he was being given by Willow.
"...I don't know…" Hunter said, shrugging yet again as he folded his arms to hug himself, staring down at the coffee table, a dark shadow over his eyes. It bothered him deeply that he honestly didn't know if he had to consume palismen or not. He hadn't had a craving for them yet, at least. Willow frowned lightly as she moved to set her hand on his knee, making him look at her as she smiled. He smiled back, flicking his ears at her before his stomach growled. He looked away from Willow, a bit embarrassed, as he held his stomach.
"I'm hungry, too!" King said, jumping up. "I demand snacks!" He turned to run into the kitchen. The teens gave a small chuckle as Eda stood to follow her son into the kitchen with a smirk. Hunter's stomach growled again, prompting him to stand and follow the other two into the kitchen with Willow following after him. Eda had grabbed hold of King who was wiggling and flailing with his arms out toward a cupboard full of snacks, whining as he tried to free himself from Eda.
"Calm down, King," Eda said, reaching out to take a bag of what looked to be crackers from the cupboard, "I don't want you making a mess trying to climb up the shelves again. Or get stuck…!"
"That only happened once!" King pouted before making grabby hands at the crackers. Hunter snorted as he watched, moving more into the kitchen to look around awkwardly, unsure if he should try to find something himself or ask. He had been brought food the past few days so he hadn't needed to know where anything in the kitchen was. Willow seemed to pick up on his apprehension and smiled as she moved to the fridge to pull out a container. Hunter flicked his ears around, turning as he smelled something… savory? Willow barely closed the fridge before she felt Hunter press against her back, his head over her shoulder as he stared at the container she held.
"What chu got?" he asked, looking over to her. She gave a small laugh into the back of her hand as she felt his ears flicking against her own.
"My father made this for you," she replied. "I figured that with how much your stomach is growling it's a good time to give it to you." Willow moved to set the container down on the counter, opening the lid. Hunter felt his mouth watering as he stared at the steak inside of the tupperware. Next to it rested a bed of mashed potatoes and gravy. Willow moved over to grab a fork and knife out of a drawer for him to use, but when she turned back she stopped as she saw he had already picked up the steak with his bare hands. Willow cleared her voice loudly at him, making the boy freeze and look back at her, his mouth hanging wide for a bite.
"...I'm hungry!" he pouted at her, his ears flattening before he hesitantly put the steak back into the tupperware. Eda gave a snort and laugh turning to look at the two teens. Willow smiled before handing him the fork and knife.
"I'll make sure to tell my father how much you love his cooking," she teased, watching as Hunter flicked his ears with a small smile, taking the fork and knife with a snuffle sound that he winced at before moving the tupperware to the kitchen table to begin eating properly. Willow smiled as she went to join him, watching as King scurried up the table then leapt to his 'eating throne' as he waited for Eda to give him his plate of snacks.
"So…. now what?" Matt asked quietly as to not alert the four that had gone into the kitchen. He'd never considered himself to be defiant against the Emperor or his will. In fact, he'd been raised to be the opposite. But when the leader of the Emperor's Coven fakes his own death to escape, what exactly can be thought? Granted, Hunter was still young, barely past the age of sixteen from what Matt knew. But the new scar he sported over his eye was…
"We just… be here for Hunter," Amity said resolutely, giving a nod to Matt. "It will take him a lot of time to adjust to his new life."
"Aren't you guys worried that he will consume your palismen, though?" Matt felt bad for asking the question. He himself didn't have a palisman since his parents refused to allow him to participate in the adoption, but in the time he had started hanging out with Gus as a friend, he had grown attached to Shimmer. He couldn't bear the thought of any of the palismen getting hurt.
"That's the thing…" Luz piped up, rubbing her chin. "In the past few days he hasn't really… done anything like Belos' curse, from what he described. I mean, there are similarities like the green scar of weird wood across his back, occasionally dripping that black-tar from his mouth, and his eyes glowing… but all and all he hasn't done anything to really concern me, Eda, King, Hooty, or Willow."
"Do you think the curse might be taking a different form inside him than it did Belos?" Gus asked, his brow raising at the thought. Luz tilted her head, then lightly nodded.
"When Lilith transformed into the 'Raven Beast' she was a lot bigger and meaner than the Owl Beast… Maybe with Hunter, since he willingly took on the curse while already having a small amount of it… it's manifesting with these weird bits of transformation instead of Belos' mud and anger thing he described?" Luz seemed unsure at her own suggestion.
"But Lilith still has to take the same treatment as Eda…" Amity commented with a frown before furrowing her brow slightly. She looked at the crystal ball on the table, then out the window. "Something is definitely not adding up… But, I think I have an idea on how we might be able to find some answers."
"What are you thinking?" Luz asked, looking over to Amity.
"He was gone for two weeks. When he stumbled to the Owl House he was caked in dirt and scratches, but otherwise was fine… If palismen are the cure, there's a place nearby he could have gotten one…" Amity frowned as she looked at Luz.
"The Bat Queen…" Gus muttered, earning a nod from Amity.
"She would definitely know if one of the wild palismen is missing…" Amity mused. "Besides, someone should warn her about the bounty on palismen. Those poor little guys will need a lot of help."
Luz nodded in reply.
"Wait, wait," Matt said, "If you guys are going to see the Bat Queen, I want to go too!" He rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe… maybe I can get my own palisman to keep secret around my parents?" he asked.
"Absolutely, Matt!" Luz said with a smile. "Just be ready to fight… That seems to happen a lot when we go on an adventure." Luz smiled even wider, not noticing Matt stiffen up.
"Should we take Hunter with us?" Gus asked.
"I think we should," Amity said. "At the very least to make sure the Bat Queen knows what to look for if he is transformed." She shrugged, but gave a small frown. "But it will be up to him if he does go with us."
"When should we do this?" Matt asked.
"The sooner, the better. At least in my opinion." Luz stood up, going over to where Owlbert's staff was resting and picked it up before turning to pick up her cloak as well. "Hunter, Willow!" She turned to enter the kitchen, smiling a little as she watched King munching down his favorite picken treats. Hunter looked up from the tupperware of food Willow had given him, by now almost done with his meal. Luz noted how Eda and Willow looked a bit baffled at the other teen; he must have been eating fast.
"Are you heading out on a dangerous mission, Kiddo?" Eda asked, noting Owlbert in Luz's hand.
"We're going to pay the Bat Queen a visit to warn her about the bounty on palismen," Luz said with a nod. "I think it's best if we go visit her so her lair isn't left unguarded." Luz turned her eyes back to Hunter, who had stiffened up and thinned his lips as he stared at the tupperware in front of him, his brow slowly furrowing. Willow looked over to him as well, tilting her head before moving her hand to rest on top of his.
"Hunter, do you want to come with or stay here? We get it if you don't wanna go-"
"I think I saw the Bat Queen when I was transformed…" Hunter blinked a few times, then closed his eyes as he tried to force the memory back to him. "I think… I remember her standing on a wooden log staring down at me…? Why am I remembering this now?" Hunter rubbed the side of his head.
"D-do you want to stay here?" Willow repeated Luz's question, taking his hand in both of hers. He swallowed, looking over to Willow, then to Luz, then back down at the tupperware.
"...I'm going with you. If I hurt a palisman under her care…" He set his face into a look of resolution. "I'm a man of honor and will face her punishment." Hunter nodded. "At least I'll also know if I hurt a palisman while I was transformed." Willow thinned her lips, but looking over Hunter's determined gaze she knew there was no diswading him. The two stood, moving to exit the kitchen with Luz as Eda followed.
"You kids know the rules. Be safe, be careful, don't trust a man in casual drapery, and watch out for each other." Eda leaned against the door frame as she looked over the kids in her living room who started to ready themselves for the trip.
"We know, Eda. ¡Volveremos pronto!" Luz gave a thumbs up to the Owl Lady, before turning to head out the door.
"Stupid thing…! Just set right already- OW!" The trap set itself off, smacking his thumb and causing it to sting. He let out a growl, kicking his hoof out to destroy the failed trap. How had his life come to this point? How could he allow it to?! He was a Grimhammer! He was better than capturing little palismen in the woods for snails! He knew the answers… It was all their fault, after all. Oooh, what he would do once he has enough snails to rebuild.
Tibbles sighed, closing his eyes to calm himself before turning to check over the biggest trap he had laid. The smaller ones were a pain, sure, but he knew how to ensnare bigger prey. He smirked to himself, proud of what he had done. All he had to do was wait for his target to fly by and BAM! He sighed in slight contentment, confident in himself and his work.
"Soon, Tibbles, ol' boy," he smiled to himself. "Soon everything will be back on the up and up, and you can finally get your revenge on those snot-nosed little brats and the Owl Lady!"
_AN_
Sorry if the flow seems weird and off in this story, so far. Originally the past chapters where actually split into smaller parts more resembling Of Balanced Stones. I joined a lot of chapters together since there will be A LOT of story to get to in Broken Cage, Binding Chains and I didn't want to risk the chapter count going to high.
But either way it goes, I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter! Next chapter is one of my favorites! As always please leave a comment telling me what you think! I love you all!