"T-the funeral p-preperations are all set, Emper-OR- *ahem* Emperor Belos…" Captain Magz was having a rough time keeping her composure for the event. Behind her stood the Golden Hunt, all heads lowered in silence though she knew under their masks they were in just as much pain as her.
"...Thank you, Captain…" Belos said, his voice sounding dry and emotionless. He had his back facing them, his head bowed as the heart of Titan beat in front of them all. You are dismissed…" Magz nodded before stepping back and turning to usher her team out of the throne room. She knew that out of everyone, Belos might be having the roughest time with Hunter's death. Magz was one of the very few people in the castle privy to the knowledge of the Golden Guard's relation to the Emperor and them being each others' last living relative.
Outside the throne room, the Golden Hunt made their way to their private training area just outside the castle grounds, a small clearing in the woods that they had equipped with targets and dummies of all manner of shapes and sizes. The Golden Guard had paid out of pocket for a majority of what they had to make sure his team had the best of the best.
"...He can't really be gone, right?" Steve asked, finding himself collapsing to sit on a wooden log that they moved for that purpose. "This is… this is just a misunderstanding! Hunter wouldn't be- ...he wouldn't- ...he…!" Steve lowered his head, choking back a sob as Diyanna moved to sit next to him and pulled him into a hug.
" Ssteevee… I havee lookeed into thee futuree many o' tiimee…" Bortaboglly spoke up, stepping forward as he flicked his many eye-stalks out from under his hood. " Hee neeveer comeess homee…"
"GAH!" The team all jumped as Giffin punched one of the target dummies. "This is Scarbury crap! He was a kid!" Giffin yelled, turning to the rest of the team. "I know, I know, he was the best of the best, but how could these rebels do this?! How could that monster do this?!"
"Giffin… please…" Perci sighed, moving to actually pull off their hood and mask, revealing their short, curly orange-and-yellow hair. Their teal eyes looked tired, beaten down by the last two weeks. "We know you're angry. We're all angry, too… But this will not bring him back…" Perci moved to Borta's side, who in turn moved to wrap an arm around their spouse and hug them close, his eye stalks slowly closing as they drew comfort from the witch next to them.
"Heals?" Diyanna signed to Magz. " Are you okay?"
"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" Magz asked the now-youngest member of her team. She gave a sigh before following Perci in removing her mask and hood, reaching up to pull out the hair tie from her dark dreadlocks, before going and sitting down next to Steve who was now silently crying into his hands as Diyanna continued comforting him. "Listen, guys… We all loved Hunter so dearly… and it's so unfair that he was expected to lead the coven, and that it cost him his life to do so. We have a right to our emotions, to mourn for him… but I must ask you all to also remember the good times we've had as a team. We need to keep his memory alive." The group all shifted as they gave a collective light nod, Magz giving a tired smile to all them.
"You know… I still remember so clearly the day he asked Borty and I to join the Hunt." Perci smiled to themselves, closing their eyes and leaning into their husband more. "He asked us to go on a mission with him, not knowing that it would be our trial. He was so impressed with our work that he practically demanded we learn sign language and join." They gave a small laugh.
"Hee kneew wee aree a good teeam," The demon nodded, reaching their free hand up to pull their own hood and mask off, letting their multi-colored eyestalk-hair to freely stretch out and observe them all as he gently looked to his spouse with the colossal eye that rested in the center of his face. "If not for himm, I wouldn't haavee leearnneed of mmy abilityy to narrooww thee path o' futuree eeveennts to beest seee wwhat ann eenneemmyy would do."
'He made a lot of people in the Coven learn sign language for a chance at the team. A lot of people kept up with their lessons after they were denied entry, too,' Diyanna signed, pulling her hood off after. She flicked her fawn-like ears slightly, moving to untangle some of her light-blue hair from her horns before smiling as she continued to sign. 'It made it so much easier for my voice to be heard.'
"He never once gave me grief over my malfunctioning bile-sac," Steve said, wiping his face before pulling his mask off but leaving his hood on. He had a deep frown on his face, his beard only punctuating his expression. "He was able to even use it to our advantage! Man… that kid really was a genius." Giffin moved to sit on the ground, the final member taking his hood and mask off like the rest, lowering his bald head in silence.
" I know I am not the smartest around. Heck, I am not the strongest in beast-keeping or anything… but Hunter always had faith in me." Giffin sighed, a deep frown on his face as he looked over his mask. "I guess that's what makes our team work so well, huh?" He looked to Magz, who nodded.
"He had his pick of the entire coven," Magz said simply. "You guys know and accept the fact that separate you all are not the strongest the coven have to offer in your magic styles. But you all proved yourself to Hunter in your own ways, and showed you were strongest in the most critical trait he looked for… loyalty." Mags smiled, looking up at the sky as she continued. "Most of our coven only want a paycheck, I'll be the first to admit that. They're not the most… competent, only showing off their skills in battle to get in but then failing to understand battle tactics… Hunter knew this when he made our task force. If he'd just picked those with the strongest magic, the team would have fallen apart."
"That's why he tended to put us in teams to test us," Steve said, wiping at his eyes again and leaning against Diyanna. "He knew Diyanna and I had joined together. She's my little sister from another mister, after all, and he was ready to test us on our loyalty to each other."
"Yeah, you two were the first members of the Golden Hunt…" Perci recalled.
"We were. He actually lured us out here then attacked us under the guise of being a wild witch. We kept up with him for a while, but when he took me down he was not expecting Diyanna to punch him in the back of the head!" Steve chuckled at the memory, watching Diyanna puff her cheeks and cross her arms. "But, that's when he knew that we were more loyal to each other than to the paycheck." Diyanna smiled slightly, before nodding and unfolding her arms.
'When he revealed himself and told Magz to make it a note that anyone seeking to join us must learn how to hold a conversation with me, I was baffled…' She smiled, before continuing. 'I never thought someone would go out of their way like that.'
"And the hard work he had us do, while also doing himself, really shows." Giffin smiled. "We always do good on our missions."
" Wwee aree fammilyy, afteerr all." Borta smiled, giving a nod.
"But, what will happen to us now?" Perci asked, looking at Magz. "Without the Golden Guard, will Belos still keep us as a special team?" The captain reached up to rub her neck with a frown.
"Well… I guess now is as good of a time as any to break the news…" Magz watched the team shift uncomfortably, eyes on her. "...Kikimora is going to be taking Hunter's position…"
Hunter opted to relax in the kitchen with some of Eda's books, Willow sitting next to him as she did some homework, as his funeral was proceeding. Luz, Eda, King, and Hooty were all watching, Luz occasionally being heard saying 'Look there she is!' as she pointed to where Amity was in the crowd. It was expected of the Blights to attend. Hunter half-wondered if he should peer in. And despite how low the volume was, his curse was making it too easy for him to hear the crystal ball in the other room.
"The Pallbearers are from the Golden Guard's specific task force," he heard, making his heart sink and his lips thin. "No doubt they are having as hard of a time dealing with this loss as the rest of the Isles. As the body of the Golden Guard was never found in the rubble, the coffin actually holds one of his armor sets. As we can see on the top of it, his Golden Mask that has become so iconic rests, still covered in soot and dust as a reminder of the sacrifice he made."
"Are you okay?" Willow asked, moving her hand to Hunter's wrist. He flicked his ears up at her, giving her a small smile.
"Yeah… I can hear the crystal ball, is all." Hunter took her hand in his.
"Do you want to move outside?"
"Not… yet… It's fine, I can tune it out," he reassured her. The broadcast had gone silent, music was playing as he assumed they were just showing his coffin being moved.
"Is Amity's Mom really crying?" King asked, making Hunter raise his brow.
"Probably just a show…" Luz replied. "She is definitely the type to fake-cry." Hunter gave a small snort before turning back to the cooking book, keeping Willow's hand in his. He was quickly able to tune out the funeral proceedings, focusing on reading over a recipe for a soup. He jotted down notes with his free hand, trying to rework the recipe as best he could for himself. Hunter had always had food allergies, and a lot of items tended to not agree with him. The chefs in the castle made sure that his food was safe to eat, so doing this on his own was going to be a lot of trial and error, but he was confident that he could get a few set recipes down before too long. He planned on seeking help from Eun and Gilbert when he saw them tomorrow, too. He always was able to digest what they served him.
The fact that Luz was the same also made him ponder. Her diet was apparently mostly based on eggs, peanut butter, and a few other select items he knew for a fact he could eat. Maybe the lack of bile-sac was the reason he couldn't eat a lot of common foods? It was an interesting thought to entertain.
"Thank you." A voice from the crystal ball cut through his thoughts as he paused, his ears flicking as he recognized Magz. "It has been... a rough go for my team and I these past few weeks… The Golden Guard was more than just our commander. Words cannot be put to who he was to us…" Magz hesitated, a small sniffle coming from her that made Hunter frown. "I raised that boy through the developmental years of his life. I was his governess, mentor, teacher… to me he was like a son I never had. When he proved how smart, strong, and courageous he was… I was so proud. When he became right-hand to Emperor Belos, I couldn't help but swell with the happiness I imagined a mother would feel when their child did amazing things. I often teased him after he became Coven Head how he now outranked the woman who raised him… all the while knowing that if I jokingly grounded him he would still listen to me and go to his room."
The audience gave a small but sad chuckle with Magz… Hunter stood from his seat slowly, looking at the doorway to the living room. He felt Willow giving his hand a squeeze as she looked at him in worry. "The pain of losing him… it's so hard to bear. He was only sixteen and could have achieved such great-" Magz paused, trying to keep a sob from escaping. "Such great things… I will always have a hole in my heart, as will the rest of the Golden Hunt, as we ponder what we could have done to prevent this horrific happening-"
Hunter turned, unable to hear Magz anymore as he left through the back door. He crossed his arms, walking a bit away from the Owl House before feeling Willow wrapping her arms around his waist from behind him. He leaned back against her, sighing through his nose as the Beast shifted inside of him.
"G̷̖̕n̴̹̈ḯ̶̝h̵̨̄t̶̘̅ ̵͉̍t̶͚̀h̶̲͂g̶͎̅i̴̹̇r̷̉ͅ ̵̣̈́e̴̗̒h̶͖̾ṱ̵̏ ̴̗̏d̷̪̃ǐ̵͎d̶̡̑ ̶͇͂ụ̷͂o̷͎͠y̷̦͌ ̷̝̊f̶̣̾i̸̍ͅ ̷̫͗ ̷̜̊n̶̳͋o̸͔͊ì̴͚t̸̮̋s̴͓͊ĕ̴̘u̵̱̔q̶̼̈ ̸͈̋t̵̠͆o̷͚̐ǹ̶ͅ ̸̺̋ǫ̴̈́d̴̤͋ ̶̘͆e̴̫͂ŝ̶̨ä̸̳́e̸͇̒l̶̬͑p̸̲̄ ̶̌ͅ.̴̨͝S̴̲̀i̴̜̔ ̶͍̏l̶̪̀ḷ̶́i̵̮͝t̵͕͐s̸̞͐ ̴̛͚t̶͚̓i̷͐͜ ̴̩̓n̸̈́ͅi̸͈͂a̸̛͜p̶̥͐ ̵̬̚t̸̪͋u̵͈͑b̶̗̕ ̵̼̏.̶̙̇Ḙ̷̈́m̶̝̊ḯ̷̜ẗ̵̥ ̴͉̎h̵̖̔t̸̡̔i̵̹̇ẅ̴̡́ ̶̦̎ṡ̵̗n̷̰̈́ḛ̴̐s̶̱̀s̴̡̑ḛ̸͋l̵̥͑ ̸̛͔n̵̪̄i̴̤̓ã̶̮p̶̧̆." Hunter winced as the voice of the beast echoed in his head.
"Are you alright?" Willow asked up at him, resting her chin on his shoulder.
"Y-yeah the… The Beast just spoke to me," Hunter said, sighing as he rubbed his head with one hand but wrapped his other arm around Willow's. "I think he was trying to comfort me about the… the funeral." Willow gave Hunter a squeeze, still looking up at him. She knew she didn't have to ask, he would talk when he was ready. "I told you about Magz before, right?"
"You have. Your chosen second-in-command for your task force, a healing major with an ability to call upon the dead. She raised you after your first nanny passed away." Willow smiled softly, "She is the one who gave you your Sprig plushie." Hunter smiled as well, nodding, before the smile disappeared.
"I uh… I heard her giving her speech at my funeral." Hunter leaned back into Willow, closing his eyes. "I… I don't know, maybe I should have told her? Or…" he sighed, posture slumping. "But I know that if I'd done that she would try to fix the situation without understanding what Belos is really like… A lot of the coven is like that."
"It was a rough decision…" Willow said, closing her own eyes as she nuzzled her cheek into the back of his shoulder. "I am sure one day, though, you might be able to speak with her, and all your task force, again."
"...I really hope so. I don't know how I can, but… I really hope so." Hunter sighed. He felt guilt ripping at his heart as he thought about them. Without him, would they carry on as the Golden Hunt or would they be forced to seperate? Or worse, would Kikimora take them over? "...If anything happens to them, I am going to kill Kikimora."
"I'll help you hide the body." Willow squeezed him. Hunter gave a small laugh as he looked back at Willow with a smile.
" Heeeeeeyyyyy, What are you two love birds doing?" Hunter practically leapt out of his skin when he heard Hooty, looking around before down… Hooty's face in the dirt at their feet… his blank eyes staring up at the both of them. Hunter blinked a few times, before looking at Willow who gave a small shrug.
"We are just chatting, Hooty," Willow said down to the bird-worm, who grew out from the ground to face them properly.
"Good! I wanted to check on you two. I felt the backdoor slamming open, hoot."
"O-oh you can-" Hunter blinked, " Wait, you can feel the house?"
"Of course I can!" Hooty answered cheerfully. "I am the house, after all!" Hunter looked confused and just a little horrified as he looked back to the Owl House, trying to get an understanding.
"But can't you remove yourself from-? How does that-?"
"OH! Before I forget!" Hooty cut the teen off, making him flatten his ears as he looked back to the house demon who started to hack and cough. Hunter stepped back, his nose wrinkling as he looked back to Willow, then to the demon.
"Nope! Nope!" Hunter was horrified, back pedalling fast. "No thanks, Hooty!"
"Wait! I have the perfect thing!" Hooty said before heaving again, following Hunter as he backed away. Willow covered her mouth, trying to hide her amused smile. "Just give me a moment, HURK!" Hooty started to follow the teen, Hunter looked at Willow with a horrified expression, hoping she would give him direction on how to handle the house-demon. She looked between Hooty and Hunter, before thinning her lips at the boy and shrugging. The owl-demon kept dry heaving, causing Hunter to retreat more. What was this accursed thing doing anyway?!
"Hooty, I don't think anything is coming out-" Willow started before Hooty let out a final cough and something hit the ground just before Hunter's feet. Hunter blinked a few times, looking at Hooty, then to Willow.
"There we go!" Hooty said, panting slightly. "Eda found this last night and told me to save it for you!" Hooty moved to pick up the item in his beak and offer it out to Hunter, who hesitated and then took it from him. He unfolded the fabric, raising a brow before flicking his ears in realization of what the item was.
"An eyepatch?" Hunter asked. Willow felt her heart skip a beat. She quickly moved to Hunter's side to look at the eyepatch, then up to the boy who furrowed his brow at the item.
"To hide your cursed eye! Now you don't have to worry about being out in public, hoot!" Hooty said with a smile. Hunter hummed, rubbing his thumb over it before nodding.
"Thank you, Hooty… I'll, uh… I think I'm gonna wash it first."
"Good idea! I think that Eda stole that eye patch from a demon hunter, so who KNOWS where it's been!"
"...Gross," Hunter said, shoving the eyepatch into his pocket. He turned to look at Willow, giving her a smile and taking her hand before moving to head back into the Owl House. Willow, of course, returned the smile, and followed him back in as Hooty retracted back through the ground. Willow couldn't help but feel some relief… The eyepatch that the future-Hunter had been wearing in her vision at the amusement park must have been to cover his cursed eye, right? That's what she was going to go with, because the thought of anything else was too painful for her to entertain.
"So, no Belos," Eda mused, narrowing her eyes at the crystal ball. "His own nephew's dead and he can't bother to speak at his funeral."
"Maybe this means he knows Hunter is alive?" Luz suggested with a frown.
"Wouldn't he want to play into that, though? Make Hunter think he has escaped his sight?" Eda sighed, rubbing her chin as she thought. "Maybe it is time to use the scrying potion… If Belos can still sense us using it, he'll probably assume we're just curious about his state of being."
"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Luz asked, glancing at the kitchen in worry. "What if Hunter comes in?" Hooty said he felt Hunter and Willow leave through the back door, and was checking up on them, but if they returned soon it might put Hunter in danger.
"I'll do it alone," Eda said, standing as she headed down the hallway, "Just tell him not to disturb me." Luz and King looked at each other, both frowning. They wanted to spy, too, but knowing Eda she's probably making sure Belos doesn't even think about putting a target on their backs.
Soon enough, Eda had the potion in front of her, sitting before the cauldron it was stored in. Eda pursed her lips as she considered a conundrum. Usually, magic is needed to move the potion's sight, so how could she move it to find Belos? Eda hummed, looking around her room for ideas before her eyes landed on a notepad nearby… maybe she can figure something out?
After drawing out a light glyph, Eda wrapped the paper around her finger before moving to touch it to the liquid of the potion, activating the spell and quickly swiping at the potion. The image moved, zooming through a wall into a chamber.
"Yes! Mama's on a roll!" Eda cheered, moving to make another glyph. "Now… where are you?" It took quite some time and most of her notebook paper, but eventually the potion entered a room with a staircase leading to… her door! Eda shifted, frowning deeply as she saw the reconstructed portal, and sitting on the steps before it, she saw Belos.
His head was down, the mask keeping her from seeing his face. But she saw that in his hand was the Golden Mask that used to belong to Hunter. She furrowed her brow in confusion; the mask was at the funeral, right? It was on top of the coffin… unless that was a copy mask… Eda furrowed her brow, prompting the potion to move in slightly. No, this was definitely the real mask… Her thoughts stopped as she heard Belos sigh, setting the mask to his side before reaching up to take his own mask off.
Eda was caught off guard, to say the least. She was definitely the last person whom Belos would want to see his face, but now she was staring at the green scar Hunter had talked about. His eyes looked dead as he stared blankly at the floor, a frown on his face. She wasn't sure what she'd expected to lay under the mask. Honestly, the last thing she was expecting was… this. A tired witch who looked ready to give up. She pondered what was going through his head right now. He truly looked, however, like a distraught man who had lost someone important. Eda couldn't help but feel her blood begin to boil.
Belos finally sighed through his nose, leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling now, before turning to look at the portal behind him with a bigger frown. He reached into his cloak, taking out the broken portal key that had been partly-repaired to make sure no more blood dripped out of it. Closing his eyes before turning to face forward, he clutched the key in his hand and looked back to the mask that used to be his nephew's.
Finally, Belos stood, taking the mask back in hand before turning to set the key on a nearby table. The Emperor kept hold of the mask, now holding it in both of his hands as he brushed his thumbs over the cheeks of it. Belos looked up to the corner of the room, eyes narrowing. Eda raised her brow as she tried to urge the potion to look where her target was staring.
"As if you would know," Belos suddenly spoke up, his voice angry but defeated. He looked back down at the mask, the frown reappearing. "Perhaps you are right…" Belos sighed, again. He turned, moving back to the steps to sit. "I was never good with children… now look where it has brought us…" Eda furrowed her brows, unable to see who he was talking to. The Titan, perhaps? She never believed he could actually speak with the Boiling Isles, but…
"The Day of Unity…" Belos sighed deeply again, rubbing at his face. Eda swallowed at the mention. "...it will have to be postponed until… until I can figure something out. With Hunter's role now empty… there would be no way for it to happen…" Eda leaned back from the potion in shock, before deciding it was time to put it away. She stood up, backing from the cauldron before finding the lid setting it on top.
Had she heard Belos right? Without Hunter, the Day of Unity couldn't happen? She brushed her fingers through her hair. Why would that be? Should she care, though? She had been trying to figure out how to thwart Belos' plans for quite some time now, and all it took was for Hunter to switch sides? She went to go sit on the side of her nest, rubbing her chin with a frown. Eda couldn't help but think of Raine… Where were they in this mess? She hadn't seen them since the day in the woods where they willingly let themselves get captured. With the Day of Unity apparently stopped, or at least postponed, would Belos still enforce the coven system?
There was still a lot of work to do, and Eda had the determination to do it. But firsts are always first, she needed to make sure the kids wouldn't be dragged into this.
_AN_
As always thanks to Mr. Spinner for beta reading!
I been looking forward to doing more writing for The Golden Hunt, I hope you guys like them as much as I do!
Please be sure to leave a comment, and remember Huntlow Week starts on the 28th of November!