Willow was aware of Hunter peeking over her shoulder at the group chat, so she waited until they were walking to the market to pull her scroll back out and go to the secret second chat that started when Willow first started to worry about Hunter's sudden disappearance from Penstagram. She knew he wouldn't like them talking about him, so it was kinda important that they had a second team chat, minus Hunter, to voice their concerns.

SECRET Entrails Group Chat

Hello_Willow: Guys! Before you join us, there's something you need to know

Hello_Willow: I can't give the details, but Hunter's having a rough time right now, so PLEASE don't ask him any personal questions today! He just needs a good distraction

Hello_Willow: Also…It's probably best if we all call him 'Caleb' while we're in public

Hello_Willow: And DON'T mention him being the Golden Guard

Hello_Willow: weird request, i know, but please go along with it! For Hunter's-Caleb's sake!

Hello_Willow: Just…think of it like he's undercover

BardQueen15: I have SO many questions but ok! My lips are sealed

Puddles_time: got it, but is he okay? Like he's not hurt or anything is he?

Hello_Willow: No :/

Hello_Willow: Its…complicated…

HUMANGUS: don't worry we'll just act like he's a normal person, right guys?

Puddles_time: Yep! Just a group of friends hanging out, that's all itll be!

BardQueen15: don't worry Wil, we got this!

Willow sighed with relief and put her scroll back away, turning to Hunter as they walked along the streets. He kept glancing every which way, his eyes darting at every person they passed. She frowned at him. "You…doing okay there, buddy?"

"Perfectly fine." Hunter tilted his head away from her, as if he were purposely trying to hide his expression from her. She wouldn't have been able to see his face anyway, with his hood obscuring it, so she couldn't tell whether he was being truthful or not. He didn't sound okay though, and he was acting pretty jittery. He jolted a little bit anytime someone walked past them. Flapjack stayed close to the boy, flying right next to him as they walked.

"Are you su-" Willow started to ask, her brows furrowed in concern.

"I said I'm fine." His tone was surprisingly harsh. Willow hadn't seen Hunter's angry or grumpy sides yet, but she'd heard plenty about it from both Luz and Amity. It seemed like he was in one of those moods now, and so she deemed it best to not bug him anymore until they met up with the others. She could hardly blame him for being upset, even if his tone startled her a bit. He had a lot to be angry about.

After a few short minutes passed, they arrived. It was a little after noon right now, and it was the weekend, so the market place was extra busy right now, which was perfect. Willow had been counting on it being busy, otherwise she wouldn't have suggested that they come here today. They would easily be able to blend in with the crowds of people all around them.

Because it was busy though, it took Willow a minute to spot the others, who were waiting over by The Book Nook. "Caleb, they're over here!" she said, taping his shoulder, then grabbing him by the wrist and leading him over there. "Hey guys!" she said, waving to them.

"Oh Willow! Caleb! You're here!"

"Hey! Nice seeing you again, Caleb!"

Hunter leaned in closer to Willow and raised an eyebrow. "You told them to call me Caleb, didn't you?"

Willow grinned. "I might have." She thought she saw a slight smirk beneath that hood.

"Thanks. That does make me feel a little better, I guess."

"Uh-so what's with the cloak?" Gus asked, gesturing to Hunter.

"Gus," Willow in a warning tone through gritted teeth, a smile on her face.

"Sorry, sorry!" Gus replied, holding up his hands in defense.

"So, Caleb!" Viney started. "Willow said you needed some new clothes, right? Do you like…not have any besides your uniform?" She was grinning and it was obvious she was joking, but Hunter still shook his head.

"I've never needed anything else. I only have one day off, remember?" he said in all seriousness.

"What about on that day off then?"

"I wear my uniform, minus the armor."

"Wait-really?" Viney raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You don't have anything else? Anything at all?"

Hunter just stared at her blankly.

"Oo-kay," Willow clapped her hands together. As incredibly depressing as it was to hear that Hunter never wore anything except for his uniform, she figured they should move things along so he didn't get too uncomfortable being here. "Where should we go first?"

"Ooh! Let's start at Skin N' Linen! They have all sorts of clothing there. What are you looking for, anyway?" Skara asked, turning to Hunter.

"Uhh…Anything? I don't know, I've never done this before."

"Hmmm…" Skara squinted her eyes and looked him over for a minute. "Yeah, I don't know. We'll just try a bunch of stuff and see what you like." She started walking and beckoned for him to follow her. Viney and Hunter closely followed. Willow and Gus did too, but they stayed a few feet behind so that they could talk to each other without the others overhearing.

"Did you figure out what's going on with him?" Gus whispered to Willow as they walked side by side. "With Belos and everything? You said he was in some pretty serious trouble and that he couldn't go back to the castle. Like for good or just temporarily? And now he's wearing-" He pointed to the green cloak Willow gave Hunter to wear. "-That, and it's like he's trying to hide his face. Oh, and you said to not call him by his name!"

Willow sighed and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, Luz told me last night after Hunter came over. Now's probably not a good time or place to discuss it, but…" She lowered her voice to the quietest whisper possible. "...He and Luz got trapped in Belos' mind and they saw some really bad things. Like really bad. Belos found out they were in there and…he tried to kill them."

Gus' mouth gaped wide open, and he quickly covered it. "Both of them? He actually tried to off Hunter-er Caleb? I thought he was super loyal to him."

"He was!" Willow frowned. "But from what I heard, Belos didn't even hesitate to try to get rid of him. This whole time, Caleb's just been disposable to him. It's-it's even more complicated than that, but I think you should hear the rest from him, if he ever wants to talk about it." She wasn't even sure why she was telling Gus this much. Maybe because he was her best friend and she trusted him completely, or maybe it's because she knew Gus would just hear it from Luz later anyway. Or both. Anyway, it probably wouldn't be long until everyone found out about Hunter's "betrayal" since he was no longer the Golden Guard and he couldn't ever go back to the castle or anything.

She wouldn't tell anyone about the Grimwalker stuff though…That felt a little too deep and personal, and she knew Hunter hadn't fully come to terms with it yet. He was still processing everything that happened last night, and he seemed particularly hesitant to talk about him being a Grimwalker. It made sense, it was…a pretty big revelation. She still couldn't even begin to imagine what he was feeling right now, or how he felt about himself. Thinking you were a normal (albeit powerless) witch for your whole life, only to discover that you were an artificial witch and a magical clone…That was…a lot.

Gus nodded thoughtfully, and had a very grim look on his face. "This is crazy. I just…Hunter was the very last person on the Boiling Isles I ever expected to get on Belos' bad side. I mean, I know he ended up letting us go that one time, but that guy was loyal to a fault. I thought he'd spend the rest of his life serving the Emperor."

Willow bit her lip. "I know, me too…Don't get wrong, I'm super glad he's out of that place, but it really was his whole life, you know? Besides us, maybe, he has nothing outside of the castle."

Gus kicked a pebble and watched as it flew a foot or two to the side. "So what's he gonna do now?" He shook his head. "I know everyone has their fair share of problems, but geez does Caleb have a lot, and pretty huge ones too. I don't even know what to do to help."

"Me neither," Willow said sadly, looking down at the ground as they walked. Then she glanced up. Skin N' Linen was just up ahead, and the others were already waiting there. She looked back at Gus, pausing in her step. "And I feel so…so…useless right now. He needs so much help right now, but I-I don't even know where to start!" She wished so, so badly that she had everything that Hunter needed, that she had all of the answers, but she didn't! He was suffering so much right now, and she didn't know how to make things better. She was trying, but it…It wasn't enough. He needed actual help, not whatever small things she could wrangle up. She was growing increasingly frustrated, and felt a single tear come to the corner of her eye. "What kind of witch am I if I can't even help my friends?!"

Gus moved so that he was standing in front of her, and he crossed his arms before shooting her a sharp look. "Enough of that! You're already doing everything you can, and no one expects you to have all the answers! You said that he's staying at your house right now, right? And now you're taking him shopping for new clothes! It's clear that you care, and you're already doing way more than the rest of us, so stop beating yourself up about it! You're a great friend, the best friend, Willow. Hunter's lucky to have you."

Willow sniffed, but then her expression brightened and she smiled softly. "Thanks, Gus. You're a great friend too, you know that? I love the team, but you're just…so easy to talk to."

Gus grinned and bumped her shoulder. "Well that's what best friends are for, right?"

"Heh, right."