Once upon a time, Hunter had been nothing but proud to be a part of the emperor's coven, he had been proud of his title as Golden Guard. He had been proud of his sigil. But now as he looked down at the small symbol branded across his wrist he felt nothing but disgust, sorrow and shame. The symbol that once meant so much, that represented his entire life's existence was nothing but a cruel and sick reminder of his naivety and ignorance. That he had lived his entire life as a lie, serving a genocidal maniac.
It had been just under a week since the day of unity but Hunter could still feel the burning, stinging pain shoot through his arm. The phantom pain haunted him, not just physically but mentally as well. But he did his best not to dwell on it, he had everyone else to look after. He was the oldest so it was his responsibility to make sure everyone was as safe as possible. He was used to masking his emotions and pain and he had been through worse in the past, this was nothing, especially after everything they lost (or feared they lost).
Unfortunately for him, Luz had other ideas which Hunter found painfully ironic. She blamed herself almost as much as she did and all she had done was try to help a fellow human. It wasn't her fault she had been tricked and she had done more than enough to make up for it. It wasn't fair, Hunter thought. She shouldn't feel responsible for being manipulated by an adult she thought she could trust.
If only he could take his own advice...but everyone knew it would take more than a few words to heal the years of trauma and abuse he had faced.
But it didn't mean Luz couldn't try, especially after everything they had experienced together, they had a weird sort of pact together. They had even become sort of siblings over the course of everything. Luz always joked "No bonding was as strong as trauma bonding" and while morbidly amused, Hunter couldn't help but feel sorry for the both of them.
"Hey, how ya doing bro?" Hunter who was currently curled up on the couch in the basement looked up at the stairs as he followed the familiar voice. It didn't take long before his eyes fell upon Luz who stood hesitantly on the stairs, silently asking if she could join him. Without words he nodded and patted the seat next to him, he heard the shuffle of her footsteps and she climbed over the head of the couch and quietly sat next to him. The two sat in an awkward silence before Luz finally started speaking.
"So uh...you disappeared for a little bit there, what's up?" Hunter shrugged.
"It's just a bad day, I'm fine I'm sure you and the others have more to worry about...I'm sorry for worrying you though that wasn't the intention" Luz shook her head and scooted closer to Hunter, not too close as she knew he was still weary of close contact but close enough to give him comfort. If he wanted to shift away he was free to do so, but thankfully he didn't seem to want to.
"Hunter, you don't have to worry about burdening us. We're friends now...if you need to talk, or want someone to listen to I will. But I won't be offended if you don't want to, I understand it must be hard for you and-"
"It's my sigil..." Hunter said cutting off Luz's rambling. Slightly surprised he actually started speaking she remained quiet willing him to continue further if he wanted. Hunter felt Flapjack quite cooing in his ear encouraging him to trust in his newfound friends and giving him the encouragement he needed. After one more sign and subconsciously shaking his hands. (Camila had told him that was called stimming, a usual subconscious action your body does in response to an emotion. It made him happy to know that it wasn't something negative and that Luz and sometimes even Vee did it).
"It's my sigil..."
"What about your sigil?"
"Honestly? Everything! I spent my entire life worshipping the ground my uncle stood on, I used to wear this sigil with pride! It meant everything to me and now that I know the truth, that my life was I lie and the uncle I once respected was a genocidal psychopath. I can't forgive myself for everything, but this stupid mark on my wrist is a constant reminder of everything! I can't stand it!" Hunter couldn't hold it in anymore and finally started to crack, he had held all emotions in since they got to the human world but he could only hold on for so long.
"It hurts, I still feel the pain from the draining spell. And every time I feel that pain I remember that everything I stood for, everything I worked for caused pain that I can't even begin to repent for. But do you want to know what hurts the most about my sigil?" By now, Hunter had tears streaming down his face, his voice cracked as he spoke and Luz could feel Hunter's body shaking as he tried (and failed) to contain his sobbing.
"What was it?" Hunter gave a pained and forced smile and gently rubbed his branded wrist.
"All my life I wanted to gain my uncle's approval, all I ever wanted was for him to be proud of me and to earn his love and I thought when I got my sigil...that was my chance to earn it" Luz paled, the pieces all clicking into place. She wanted Hunter to stop, and to save himself from reliving it but she knew he had to say it.
"But after the day of unity and learning the truth behind the sigils...my uncle- Belos never loved me. He planned to get rid of me from the very beginning
.
.
.
.
I was 10" Luz froze.
"What?"
"I got my sigil when I was 10, even then he was prepared to get rid of me, how sad is that" Hunter glanced over at Luz expecting her to say something but was sadly surprised to see tears streaming down her face. This instantly put Hunter into a state of panic as he rushed to apologise, waving his arms frantically not knowing how to fix it. But before he could even get the words out Liz flung herself at him, engulfing him in the biggest hug she could muster. Unexpectedly to both of them, Hunter melted into the embrace as the floodgates finally broke. So the two of them cried as they held each other.
Hunter was the first to pull away which was a surprise to no one but he kept a comforting hand on Luz's shoulder and waited for her to stop crying. He gestured Flapjack to grab a tissue and passed it over to Luz who gave a small laugh as Flapjack landed in Hunter's hair.
"That's better"
"What?"
"You're laughing, none of you guys should be crying...but I'm not going to lie, it did feel nice to get that out of my system. Are you ok?" Luz nodded.
"Yeah, it's just...none of this is fair, no one should have to go through what you've been through" Hunter shrugged and lazily hit Luz in the head, enticing a small whine from the girl as she pushed it off. It was times like this when she could really see the sibling relationship starting to shine threw, she had always wanted an older brother growing up.
"I couldn't agree more but the same could be said about all of us, none of us got the ideal childhood we wanted or deserved but...that doesn't mean it was all that bad, and maybe...maybe I can move past my sigil. I'm nowhere near that now and I have enough trauma to last a lifetime but who knows, you guys are stubborn and if I've learnt anything about you guys it's that you are persistent" Luz elbowed him in the ribs in return.
"Damn right"
"Thanks for everything Luz, if it weren't for you...I don't even know what would have happened, aside from being dead" Hunter joked. Unfortunately, his attempt at comedy fell flat as he was met with the deadpan face from both Luz and Flapjack, both looked equally as disappointed and utterly done. Hunter couldn't help but snicker, Luz took this opportunity to kick him off the couch. She knew he'd be fine, he'd just land on his sleeping bag. The boy could do with a little sibling love, which meant "bullying" came in the territory.
"Don't even joke about that dude"
"Sorry but given we've all faced death, I reckon it's fair"
"Fine! Just this once, don't push your luck hermano"
I'm sorry the end kinda sucked, I had no idea how to end this chapter?
