Hey Fam! Author here! Please don't hate me for this one. I know our boi is traumatized enough, but tbh that's kind of why this was so fun to write. Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter out soon but no promises, lol.
I'm pretty new at this, so please leave a review! Any feedback is positive feedback in my book. Anything to help me grow into a better and more entertaining writer! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own The Owl House. Lol, if I did I think Hunter would be the mc. He be best boi.
The hair on the back of Hunter's neck stood on end. He was in the shower, washing the grime of living at Hex-side while he hid from Belos. He couldn't believe he managed to get dragged back here. A few days after the Emperor's Coven showed up at Hex-side with the head of the Illusionist Coven, they came back looking for him. Hunter tried to get away- he ran as fast as he could- but they still caught him anyway. So here he was, in the shower so he could be "presentable for his audience with the Emperor," terrified for his life. He was sure Belos would simply throw him off the Golden Guard Cliff ™ and in a matter of moments he would never be heard from again.
Hunter got out of the shower, combed his hair, hid Flapjack in the folds of his cape, and left his quarters, allowing the guards outside his room to escort him down the hall. The tension in the air was thick. Hunter took his time getting to Belos. He knew he was going to die in a few minutes, and he wanted to come to terms with that before facing the cause of his demise. Hunter reached the door to Belos's throne room, but he didn't want to go in. Hunter felt Flapjack move against him from the fold in his cape, giving Hunter the confidence to open the door and walk in.
"Hello, Hunter," Belos's creepy voice rang out through the dimly lit throne room. Hunter was doing his best to keep from shaking, but it was a lost cause.
Hunter immediately bowed before his uncle, knowing that any other action would have him flying through the wall. Belos was a demanding man- one slip up and you're done.
Belos smiled to himself in a way where if Hunter wasn't uncomfortable before, he sure was now.
"I am very disappointed in you, Hunter."
"I-I can do better!" Hunter exclaimed, standing. Hunter panicked and stuttered, unsure of what to say next. "A-and, uh, I-I-"
"Silence!" Belos roared, his arm morphing into a scythe that launched Hunter into the wall, leaving a Hunter sized indent. Hunter crumpled to the ground, trembling on his knees. The wind was knocked out of him, and he felt a sharp pain in his chest. There go the ribs, Hunter thought. Blood trickled down from a gash on his forehead. He was going to feel this one in the morning. If he survived until morning.
"You've failed me one too many times. I'm done giving second chances." Belos said happily as Hunter attempted to stand. He was enjoying this quite a bit.
"You know, out of all the Grim walkers, you look the most like him." Belos said coming closer to Hunter. Hunter wanted to run, to get away from the monster that had been haunting his nightmares since the day he entered his mind, but fear let his feet firmly planted on the ground. He wasn't going anywhere. It was silent except for the sound of Hunter's panicked breathing and Belos's footsteps as he calmly walked towards Hunter.
When he was about a foot away, tears started pouring down Hunter's cheeks before he even realized what was happening. Hunter flinched when Belos put his hand on his shoulder. He was sure he would be led to the cliff any moment now.
"Please! You don't have to do this!" Hunter cried. Hunter made eye contact with Belos, trying to see any glimpse of sympathy through that sadistic smile.
"Goodbye, Caleb," Belos said, whipping a dagger out from the folds of his robe and plunging it into Hunter's side.
Hunter's eyes widened and he cried out, sinking to his knees as Belos yanked out the dagger. The look of surprise and anguish on Hunter's face was absolutely priceless to Belos. It was almost as good as the face Caleb made when Belos stabbed him. Belos knew that he could add this to the list of memories that he retrieves to cheer himself up when in a bad mood.
Hunter's gloved hands pressed onto the wound, trying to stop the bleeding while he stared on in shock. Belos made his way to the door and opened it. The guards that were posted there were now gone, but that was for the better. Out of the corner of his eye, Hunter saw that Belos was leaving.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm off to retrieve the final ingredients I need to make the next Golden Guard. It's not like you can run away. When I get back, you'll be dead, and I'll simply dispose of you the same way I've disposed of all the Golden Guards before you." With that, Belos walked out of the room, giggling about the shock on Hunter's face.
As soon as Belos was gone, Flapjack flew out from Hunter's clothes, and Hunter broke into a terrible coughing fit.
"Come on, Flap, we have to get out of here." Hunter said between coughs. "I don't want to be here when he gets back." Flapjack tweeted in agreement and turned into his staff form. Hunter used it to help him stand up. He took a deep breath and teleported into an empty hallway at the castle. It was close to where the building ends. Hunter Immediately fell to the ground, using both hands to hold his wound like if he didn't all his inside would fall out the hole.
"Wow it is a lot harder to do that when you're bleeding out!" Hunter said when he finally caught his breath. Standing up he teleported himself out of Belos's palace and into Bonesborough. To be honest, Hunter didn't really have a plan of where he was going. Why would anyone help him? Bonesborough isn't exactly pro Emperor's Coven. After five minutes Hunter was able to catch his breath, stop coughing, and stand (barely), he made up his mind that if he had to pick somewhere to die it was with the human and her friends, and teleported into the woods outside the Owl House. Leaning up against a tree, Hunter almost gave up. Everything hurt. At this point the teleporting was killing him faster than his injuries were.
Using Flapjack and the trees, Hunter started walking towards the Owl House. His legs felt like lead, and he just wanted to sit down, but he knew he wouldn't be standing up again if he did. Minutes felt like hours, and Hunter's progress was very slow.
Hunter felt the darkness close in on his prereferral vision.
"Flap. This might be it. This might be the end." Hunter couldn't help it anymore; he passed out, collapsing on the ground near a tree.
Hunter awoke not too long afterwards thanks to the insistent chirping and pecking of Flapjack. Taking a moment to let his eyes adjust and let his brain adjust to the pain in his chest and side and normalizing it to a point where he felt like he could somewhat move from his sprawled-out, face-down position on the ground. Hunter gathered his strength, and with a groan, a grunt, and a wince, Hunter hauled himself to a sitting position against the nearest tree.
Perfect! Now when someone finds my body it will be tons more flattering and dramatic! These sort of thoughts soothed Hunter. He imagined whoever it was slowly approaching his body, unsure whether he was still alive until the dramatic reveal as they would round the tree and get a good look at him. Just like all the movies and cartoons these days. Not that he was allowed to watch television.
Hunter was starting to lose hope in someone finding him before it was too late. Flapjack settled into a nice little snuggly spot on Hunter's lap, trying to be a comfort to the boy. Hunter smiled that sad, soft smile at the small act of kindness. It wasn't much, but to Hunter it meant everything. People weren't exactly the nicest at the coven.
A few minutes of silence passed before Flapjack suddenly perked up. Hopping off of Hunter's lap, he flew away through the forest back the way they came. Hunter sat there a bit hurt and a bit confused until he heard it too: voices.
Gus and the Human.
