Spirit Animal: Pride of the Panther

Ch. 28: Palismen and Revelations

"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.