The next day, Luz was staring at the log of hers, unsure of what to carve.
"Hey, Kid, you sure you don't want to come with me to see the other Hexside students get staffs?" Eda asked.
"I'm sure... I'm trying to think." Luz said.
"I get that but maybe they could give you some inspiration, get the juices running." Eda said to her.
"I guess but I want to go for a more…..original design, you know?" Luz asked.
"Maybe you should make a black panther." Eda said, with a small smirk.
"Please, I'm not going to do that." Luz said.
"What? I'm just saying, it is unique for this place." Eda said with a shrug.
"I'm not that self absorbed Eda." Luz said, "Besides, that would just reveal that I'm the animal in the woods, and I don't need any beast keepers to come dissect me."
"Okay, that's true. I'll see you later kid, I'll tell Bump you're out sick." Eda said as she put in a red blazer and left the owl house.
Luz rolled her eyes and looked back to the log.
"Okay, maybe I just need a hunt to clear my mind, and then I can think about it." Luz said.
Luz grabbed the palistrom wood and put it in a special box to keep it save before putting it under the couch. Elsewhere, in the castle, Belos was looking at the repaired portal.
"The portal may be fixed, but without Titan's Blood, then it is useless." Belos said, "And I've already searched every inch of eclipse lake, not to mention the key to the portal cracked and the blood leaked out years ago."
"Well, there is the rumor of the last Titan!" Collector said, on the portal.
"Indeed, but the odds of finding it are slim." Belos said, "Still, it may be the only chance."
"So who you gonna send to find them?" The Collector asked, twirling around Belos.
"Hmm, possibly Eberwolf, his tracking could proof very useful if giving at least a whiff of the dried blood." Belos said, rubbing his chin.
"Then comes the big question... how do we capture it?" Belos asked.
The Collector began pondering in this too, not knowing how smart or how big or how old this Titan could be compared to the old one. The one that trapped them in the first place.
"Welp, it will be fun to watch!" Collector said.
'Of course he's no help, just in it for entertainment. Though I do agree, when the Titan is found it will be fun.' Belos thought with a small smirk before sending off for the head of the Beast Keeping Coven.
At the school, Eda watched as everyone, sans Amity and Luz, got their staffs. Gus, Willow, Boscha, Viney; everyone there bonded with their palismans and took their next steps to becoming full grown witches. Eda couldn't help but wonder what Luz would carve the entire time she was there. A Slitherbeast? A griffin? Maybe even a giraffe? Her options were unlimited, both from this world and from her own world of all the animals she could carve.
"Eda?" Willow asked, pulling Eda from her thinking.
"Huh?" Eda let out, gazing at her and Gus.
"Is... Luz okay?" Gus asked.
"Is she our sick or something?" Willow asked her.
"Yeah, Luz is just fine. She's just a little under the weather is all and needed some time off today." Eda said to them, "Nothing to worry about, I'll have her call you later."
The two felt a small bit of relief at this, letting some of their worries fade away for the moment.
"So, with that out of the way, why don't you two go try out your new staffs?" Eda suggested.
"Oh! Right, I guess we should." Willow said, smiling at her new staff. "How about a test flight, Clover?"
"Bzzzzzz." Clover buzzed, eye-smiling at Willow as she nodded.
"Come on, Gus." Willow said.
"Right behind you." Gus said as he and Willow hopped on their staffs to fly.
Something other students began doing as well, playing in celebration of their first Palisman Adoption Day.
"Ah, nothing better than the bond between witch and staff." Eda said.
"Hoot." Owlbert hooted in agreement.
"It is a wonderful sight, young witches bonding with their Palismen partners for life." Bat Queen, protector of all Palismen, said in agreement.
"Thanks to agreeing to this." Eda said.
"No need. This is reward enough, seeing Palismen so happy with new partners." Bat Queen said with a smile. "I look forward to many more adoption days, yi yi."
"Alright, I should go see how my kid is doing." Eda said.
Bat Queen nodded to Eda as the witch pulled out a whistle to give back but shook her head.
"Keep. This one on me." Bat Queen said, making Eda smile as she put the whistle away and fly away on Owlbert.
While Eda was flying over the woods, a person in a Golden Mask was walking through the woods.
'Raine said they wanted me to meet them in the forest to talk but why the forest? The castle would've been more suitable if it's something important.' Golden Guard thought, using his staff as a walking stick.
He needed to get through the Bat Queen's territory, luckily, she was away at the moment.
"Hopefully the rumors about wild Palismen living in the woods is just a rumor." Hunter said out loud, thinking Palismen like wild magic are dangerous.
He didn't realized he was being followed by a red cardinal. It didn't see his face but something about the golden guard just drew the Palisman's interest.
Golden Guard walked through the woods, when he heard a voice.
"I'm surprised you showed up."
Turning to the sound, Golden Guard saw Raine was sitting in a makeshift bench with their violin on their lap being tuned.
"I figured you'd blow this off." Raine said.
"I almost did, but I couldn't help but wonder what the leader of the Bard Coven wanted." Golden Guard said.
"Hehehe, you speak very highly of me." Raine said with a smile.
"It's only right for a coven leader, like the others." Hunter said before sitting next to them. "So, what did you want to discus exactly?"
"I wanted to discuss you." Raine said, "Tell me, where did your scars come from?"
"My scars? They just came from the usual stuff. Training, missions, those sort of things." Hunter replied, like it wasn't a big deal. "It's the same for the other members of the coven."
"Really? So, Hettie was lying when she said she's healed the wounds that Emperor Belos has given you?" Raine asked.
"H-H-Hettie told you of that?"
"No." Raine said, honestly.
Hunter flinched from this, groaning at how he fell for such a lie!
"What is it that you REALLY want to talk about?" Hunter asked, taking off his helmet.
"Simple. I wanted to ask if you were okay." Raine said, putting a hand in his shoulder. "REALLY okay."
"I-I-It's a normal thing." He said, "That's what Emperor Belos said."
"And you believe that?" Raine asked, "No, it is not a normal thing for someone to hurt a child."
"I am NOT a child." Hunter said to them.
"Yes, you are. A child that should be living his life, making friends his age, and be happy." Raine said, firming their grip on Hunter's shoulder. "Not going on dangerous missions and being hurt for failing."
"You... you don't know what you're talking about!" Hunter said.
"I do." Raine said, "I know you're better than what Belos says."
"Not if I fail. I am his Golden Guard, his right hand witch. I cannot afford to fail." Hunter said, gripping his helmet tightly. "I can't."
"Why? Haven't you proven that you're a good Coven Member? Why have to prove yourself when you've done that before." Raine asked.
"Because-!…Because….." Hunter said before thinking about it, TRULY thinking about it for the first time.
"Hunter, do you know what he's been keeping from you?" Raine asked.
"Yes…..but I shouldn't have to. What he does, is for the good of everyone and the will of the Titan." Hunter said, even though there was doubt in his voice. "I should TRUST him with my life, shouldn't I?"
"Has he ever shown what he does is for the Titan?" Raine asked, "Because I've been questioning that for a while."
"Well, he has TOLD me." Hunter said to them.
"Telling isn't the same as showing, Hunter. If he truly trusted you as his right hand witch, he would've shown you by now." Raine said to him.
"Think about it, other than being told, what has he done to prove it?"
Hunter thought about and quickly got an answer, he had never really seen any proof of Belos actually doing things for the greater good or for the Will of the Titan. All Belos ever did that he knew of was sit in his throne room, consume palisman essence, and head off to a secret project Hunter wasn't told about.
"Hunter, I have found some important things about Belos, and also about you." Raine said, handing him a folder, "Look through that for a minute."
Humming a bit, Hunter couldn't deny that he was curious of the strange folder and took it from Raine. He stared for a moment before grabbing the edge and opening it, reading or gazing at whatever was inside. His breathing got erratic when he read the word 'Grimwalker'. The more erratic Hunter's breathing got. The folder told him everything about an artificial witch, made of various magic ingredients and organs, all with just one purpose in mind….to serve Belos as his Golden Guard.
He got to the end and saw one more thing... a draining spell. Hunter's eyes got angry as he threw the folder to the ground. He took his mask and threw it into the woods, then took his cloak and ripped it off.
"He lied to me! He LIED TO ALL OF US!" Hunter shouted, tearing the cloak into pieces before gazing at his staff.
The same staff Belos gave him as a "gift" that allowed him to use magic, because wild magic "cursed" their family as he was told but it was just another LIE! Hunter threw the staff down in rage before his anger began to turn into sadness. He fell to the ground and hugged his knees.
"I... I don't know... My life is a lie... my whole purpose... what am I?" He asked.
Raine felt horrible for Hunter, kneeling next to him and embracing him in a hug.
"You're you, you're Hunter. Personally, I don't care if you're a grimwalker. You're still a good person with a good heart, you just need someone to guide you don't the right path." Raine said to him.
"And I don't think I'm the only one." Raine said.
Hunter looks out and saw a red cardinal.
"A palisman?" Hunter asked, shocked by it as it walked closer to them.
"I think he's been following you for a while." Raine said as they smiled at the palisman. "He must sense you're a good person."
The cardinal hopped towards Hunter.
"H-He always said Wild Magic was dangerous but I'm guess that's another lie." Hunter said, holding his hand out for the palisman to jump on.
The Cardinal chirped.
"Flapjack, huh?" Hunter said, "It's... nice to meet you."
'Flapjack? He already knows it's name?' Raine thought in surprise, never seeing a person bond with a palisman so quickly to understand them.
Raine's awe only increased as Flapjack flapped up and turned into a staff, landing in Hunter's hands!
"Oh! Hehe, wow." Hunter said, in awe and in surprise, "This... this is real magic?"
"Y-Yes, it is. Palismen may be seen as "wild" magic but they are actually the purest form of magic in the form of a lifelong friend." Raine said as they helped Hunter up. "You can feel it, can't you? His magic energy syncing with yours?"
"Yeah, b-b-but I don't have magic." Hunter said, "How is this possible?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe Flapjack is sharing his magic with you, showing that he completely trusts you." Raine said with a smile. "Even if you just met, he wants you to be his witch from now own. Nobody else."
Hunter looked at the staff in his hands before looking at Raine.
"Your folder involved your little rebellion… I want in." Hunter said.
Raine smiled at this, holding out their hand for Hunter to shake.
"Consider it done. It will be nice working with you and having another witch on inside of the Emperor's Coven." Raine said as Hunter shook their hand.
"Another? Who's the first?" Hunter asked, just out of curiosity.
Raine stepped aside, revealing another witch... one with black hair and a white Raven sitting on her shoulder.
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