The infiltration of Hexside and the heart (goldric)

Chapter 2: a new development

As soon as class ended, Hunter ran into a bathroom and ran the tap, splashing the water into his face. He looked into a fractured mirror and watched as his blush faded. He took a deep breath in, smoothed back his hair and left, only to find himself in a similar position he was in last night.

"Hey, I'm Edric, but you can call me Ed." Blight's son extended a hand, the same smile on his face.

"I'm Hunter. I'm a transfer. It's good to meet you." Hunter squeaked.

"Well you're a little nervous aren't you? I guess the presence of a Blight extends past our parents." the oldest girl joked, "I'm Emira. People call me Em. You can too, red."

"Red?" Hunter asked.

"Your clothes are red. It's okay, you'll catch on." Em giggled as she took Hunter by the wrist, "Come with us. It'll be fun."

Hunter nodded slightly before being whisked away by the twins, the two of them whispering and glancing back at Hunter.

----

They took him to a portrait of a girl. She had long, ginger hair and a smile that invited trouble. And then they opened it. Edric hooked his fingers behind the frame and heard a soft click before swinging it open. Hunter watched as the twins climbed through the open hole and into a room of mystery. The stairs wound around the room, leading to doors that led somewhere.

"Come on. I wanna introduce you to the gang." Ed smiled, holding out a hand to help Hunter into the room.

Hunter took it and climbed in, his training as the golden guard helping him to fit and not land on his face.

"Thanks." Hunter smiled, meeting Edric's eyes for the first time.

Titan they were beautiful.

Edric turned inside, just in time to miss the huge blush that exploded on Hunter's face. If Em had seen it she would definitely have said something about him matching his uniform. He took a deep breath in and felt his face return to normal as he followed the two further into the room.

"Amity, Willow, Gus, we collected another stray!" Em called out.

When Hunter looked up at the room, he saw three faces pop out from the stairwell.

"Hello new friend!"

"Hi!"

"Hey!"The three said in turn.

Hunter waved back as he started climbing the stairs, partially excited to learn more about them all.

"So red, this is Gus, Willow and our darling little mittens, Amity. Everyone, this is Hunter." Ed introduced them all to each other.

"Hey, where's Luz?" Em asked.

"Eda dropped by. They're probably off doing something dangerous." Willow explained.

"Eda the owl lady?" Hunter asked, playing innocent.

"Yeah. Don't worry about her, she's cool." Amity responded.

Hunter sat in silence after that, the group aspect of talking to others was new to him, and he wasn't sure if he was entirely welcome. They talked about nothing for the most part, just how their day had been and planning on a day trip to Bonesborough. Hunter bit the inside of his cheek, anxiety overwhelming him. Normally he commanded a room, and if anyone dared to talk over him they would get their comeuppance. But here, everyone was pretty much equal. And, yet he was probably the lowest in the food chain.