The non-voluntary admission into the Emperor's Coven

Don't run with knives

"Enough." Belos sighed, glancing at the corner of the room where The Collector normally lurked. "I don't have time for this." He stood up and grabbed his mask from off the desk. "We're going back to your room. Go on."

Hunter tensed but listened, turning around back to the door, while Belos followed close behind.

He followed the boy back to the room and cast the scout standing guard a glare from behind his mask. The scout flinched and shied away as they passed; he'd deal with that one later for letting his nephew run off and bother him.

Hunter apprehensively walked into the room while Belos surveyed it curiously and turned on the lights, wondering if The Collector was causing mischief and trying to torment the small child again.

"The shadow shows, shows up there," the boy whispered, pointing at a blank wall at the end of the room. "It's, it's The Hanging Witch."

Belos looked, however, all he was met with was a messy bedroom with toys and books scattered on the floor. "What have I told you about making a mess, Hunter?" he chided the boy sharply. "Clean this up or I'll have the scouts throw it all out."

Hunter's brow furrowed, placing his toy frog on the bed. "Sorry, uncle," he apologised and then went about the room to tidy up the toys.

Belos sighed and shook his head, examining the room with a sharp eye to catch any movement. It didn't seem like The Collector was here, and by now the shadow child wouldn't have wasted a chance to wink or taunt him while Hunter was distracted tidying up...

Then, he noticed the drawings on the desk. He walked over and peered at the drawings and took note of two in particular. They weren't very detailed considering the boy's art skills were terrible, but it was clear what the drawings were of.

There was one showing a dark sludge monster with pipes sticking out of its neck which was clearly the whistling demon who'd tried to kill the boy not so long ago. Then the second one was of the boy's old scout, Mara, who he'd hanged, vines wrapped around her throat.

A curious thing to draw but then again, children did do the oddest things and there was no real harm in it.

"The Hanging Witch isn't real." Belos sighed, shaking his head as he glanced back at the boy. "It's all just your imagination, Hunter." He looked at the cold undrunk flowery tea on the desk, courtesy of Terra. "That's why you need to drink your tea to calm down."

The tea wasn't the best solution, especially considering he had a suspicion Terra was doubling the dosage, but it at least kept the boy quiet and placid so he wouldn't bother him; which was becoming far too frequent now that there were no caretakers to properly watch the boy.

"...But, it makes my head hurt," Hunter mumbled, a handful of toys in his hands.

"That's just it calming you down," he replied dismissively, using his magic to heat the cup again. "So your imagination doesn't run away with you." He picked up the teacup in the saucer, the oversweetness of the tea smelling revolting. "Finish tidying up and then come drink your tea."

Hunter's face scrunched up but he obediently nodded and then went back to tidying up the rest of the toys while Belos watched.

Once all the toys were put away and the room looked passably clean, Hunter hurried over to him and accepted the tea. "It tastes funny," he muttered, wrinkling his nose as he smelt it. "I don't like it..."

Belos rolled his eyes and tilted the cup up a fraction, encouraging him to drink more. "No complaints, hurry up."

The boy drank the tea but still kept fussing and making faces throughout the whole thing. "...Finished." He held up the empty cup. Not a single drop left.