A couple of weeks have passed since Grom Night.
It's a pleasant day in the human realm. It was sunny but the breeze was cool and soft. It was Perfect.
You are looking outside of your bedroom window, excited about what the day will bring. You're in cloud nine for you'll be meeting Hunter to hang out.
You're currently preparing your stuff and putting them in your bag.
Since the dance, both of you have frequently been meeting in a certain spot in the Boiling Isles to read books and talk about your worlds. Nevertheless, each one still made you feel giddy.
You checked if you had packed enough stuff in your bag. "Ok, do I have everything I need...?" You mumble.
"Oh, of course, snacks!" You exclaimed before running downstairs to the kitchen.
You open the fridge and took out a box of desserts you made especially for this day. You open the box to check the state of the sweets. It was a dozen pieces of lemon bars, dusted with white powdered sugar, and a pop of magenta from the drizzle of raspberry sauce.
You narrow your eyes at the desserts 'Huh... these weirdly remind me of something?' You thought.
'Oh well.' You shrugged.
You neatly put the box of delicacies in your bag and walked towards the front door to leave. But as your finger barely touched the doorknob, your mom calls you. "Where do you think you're going Y/N? Fencing was canceled today wasn't it?" She interrogated.
You were not prepared with an excuse so you tried to think of something on the spot."Oh um... Reading? Yes, I'm going out to read... Uh... stuff." You answer, trying to sound convincing.
You raise an eyebrow, looking unconvinced with your answer.
"I'll be checking out some books about the history and origins of things. It's for research I'm working on." You add and chuckle awkwardly, desperately hoping she would let you go out.
"I see. Well, just be sure you're home before supper." She reminded before turning around to leave.
You could finally breathe, relieved with your mom's answer so you happily opened the door of your house to enter another that lead to a different world.
You finally arrive at the secret spot where you and Hunter hung out. At the edge of a Forest, just nearby Hexside was a cliff covered with grass and wildflowers. It was a place of solitude where the wind was free to dance and no sound can be heard except the rare chirping of birds. Not to mention, the view from there was breathtaking.
You sat down on the soft grass waiting for Hunter to arrive.
'Huh, he's usually early.' You thought.
You looked at the sky while patiently waiting for your friend. You found the setting quite delightful. It was as if you were filled with inspiration.
"This is nice." You sighed with your eyes closed.
Your sigh turned into humming, then you broke into song.
(I recommend listening to "Two Birds" by Regina Spektor before reading this :> or while reading your choice.)
🎶Two birds on a wire~~
One tries to fly away, and the other~ 🎶
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Meanwhile in the Emperor's Coven
3rd Person POV
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Hunter knelt before the angry emperor. "Trust me uncle, my acquaintance with the human is merely a tactic to capture the owl lady."
"Sharp as always. The owl lady should not be able to foil the Titan's will" The emperor ordered.
"She won't have a choice." The boy answered.
Hunter walked in the dim hallways on his way to his bedroom.
He flinched, feeling a stinging pain in his arm. Some blood managed to seep through his yellow uniform. All he did was sigh.
When he arrived at his room he took a healing kit only to find that it was fresh out of healing potions and ointments. He took the leftover bandages instead and wrapped his untreated wound.
He looked out of his window. The day was brighter than most days in the isles. He watched the birds fly around freely in the sky. He envied them.
He laid down his aching back on his bed and let out a deep sigh. He then suddenly remembered that he had an appointment with the human. He glanced at his clock jolted up, causing him to fall off his bed.
"Ow! Oh no, I'm late!"
He grabbed his bag and swiftly went on his way to Y/N.
It was quite a rough ride on the staff for Hunter. It was not easy to drive through the windy currents of the sky with an injured arm after all. As a result, it wasn't exactly a smooth landing.
"Ugh! Ow! Gah!!" Hunter grunted and yelled as he rolled down a hill after the fall before hitting a tree. "Oof! Stupid tree..." He grumbled.
He stood up and brushed the dirt off of his uniform. He looked around only to realize that this part of the forest where he fell was unfamiliar to him. The trees were denser and taller than those in his usual route. "Where in Titan am I?!" He whispered. "Well no problem, I'll just fly my way out of here." He assured himself.
"I just need my... staff? Where's my staff?! NO no no no no-" Hunter frantically looked for his staff.
"O-ok Hunter Calm down..." He sighed. "I'll just have to look for my staff... calmly."
"But that might take forever. Y/N is waiting for me. She'll probably hate me forever after this." He groaned. He slid down and curled up into a ball of hopelessness.
"This is it. Back to being lonely and friendless." He whined whilst laying on the mossy forest grounds.
But then Hunter heard an echoing sound from afar. "wha- who's there?!" He jolted up. There was no answer.
He closed his eyes, trying to listen to the mysterious sound.
"Is that... singing? It's singing! It's a person!" He quickly stood up and ran, following the singing voice.
He heard the sound grow louder as he approached closer to the source. "Hey, this part of the forest is familiar." He panted.
He weaved through the trees and jumped over boulders before arriving before the forest's end. He stopped. The voice was clear and crisp. "It's coming from here." He said, quite exasperated from running.
He peeked behind a tree and saw Y/N. She was sitting right there in their meeting place, singing a tune that Hunter found unfamiliar. Nevertheless, he was in awe at the beautiful voice.
Y/N:
🎶Two birds on a wire~
One tries to fly away
And the other watches him close from that wire~
He says he wants to as well
But he is a liar
I'll believe it all~~
There's nothing I won't understand
I'll believe it all~~
I won't let go of your hand~🎶
He just stood there listening to her song. It gave him some sort of comfort and warmth. He tried to get closer but he accidentally stepped on a branch. Not a crack from the twig was heard, no. Unfortunately, it was a branch of a screaming tree. The boiling isles is a weird place so of course, that twig had to release a loud, screeching, bloody, scream.
"No no no no shut up-" Hunter whispered loudly as he tried to shush the twig. The branch kept on screaming anyways so he picked it up and yeeted it far away. He turned around after successfully neutralizing the threat only to make eye contact with Y/N with confusion painted on her face.
"Oh uh- Y/N. You're here. I did not hear you- I mean see you there." He laughed awkwardly. 'Darn it, Hunter!'
Y/N's cheeks turned red as she bashfully turned her eyes away from Hunter. "Oh you heard that?! I-I was just messing around. It's just, I got bored and uhh-" The girl stammered.
"No no, You sounded amazing!" Hunter blurted out. He blushed a bit, not wanting to sound over-enthusiastic, and cleared his throat.
"You have a lovely singing voice." he hesitantly said while looking away.
"Thanks." Y/N chuckled. "You're getting better with your compliments. You read that in a book or something?" She teased followed by a smirk.
"Shut up!" He scoffed jokingly. "Now scootch over!" He demanded before sitting down next to Y/N.
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Y/N's POV
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You felt a bit flustered as Hunter's arm lightly brushed against yours as he sat beside you. You always felt this way and it was as if it got worse over time.
But your flushed cheeks turned pale upon seeing the state of your friend's arm. It was wounded with bandages barely hanging from it. "Hunter you're bleeding!" You exclaim as you pull his arm towards you.
"Wai- Ow." He flinched.
You scan his arm with a worried look on your face. "How did this happen?"
"I fell off my staff." He answered.
"Again?" You raise an eyebrow. You're a bit skeptical since it was the same excuse he said over and over again.
"Yeah. I even lost it when I fell on my way here." He argued. 'It's technically true this time.' He thought to himself.
"Give me a second." You sigh then proceed to rummage through your bag taking out a vile of healing potion.
"Do you bring potions everywhere you go?" Hunter chuckled.
"You have to be extra prepared when you're friends with an idiot." You say with a blunt tone.
"Well I guess that's tru- wait are you talking about me?" He frowned.
"Maybe? Now drink this!" You hand him the tiny vile of red liquid.
He takes it and takes a sip. His face turns sour when the potion touched his lips and he spits it out. "Ughh! gross! This is awful. Why does it taste like this?" He complained.
"It's a concentrated mix. I tried finding a way to make potions more portable. I find that the big bottles make my bag too bulky." You explained.
Hunter continued to cough while you explained the bitter taste.
"The downside is that it doesn't taste too good." You laugh awkwardly.
"Not good? This tastes like raw pixies. I'd rather bleed to death." He whined.
"Stop being a baby and drink this!" You forced.
"No!" He pushed away your hands refusing to drink it. You push back both of you now clasping each other's hands and pushing one another away.
"Just take it!" You shout. "You can't make me!!" He shouted back but he pushed a little too hard causing both of you to fall over.
"Hng!" Your eyes tightly shut as you exhale sharply after falling hard on your back and heavyweight was pressing against your chest. You open your eyes and they meet Hunter's. He looked surprised and so were you. You felt on edge as you felt your body temperature rise. Butterflies filled your stomach and your heartbeat became so loud that you can hear it pounding from your chest. You felt overwhelmingly flustered that you started to tear up a bit.
Hunter sees this and immediately gets off you. "I'm sorry are you ok?"
You sit up quickly as well. "Yep, I'm good." You rubbed off the small tear in your eye.
There was an awkward silence between the two of you for a moment.
"Hand it over I'm drinking it." He insisted.
You pull the vile away from him. "Wait I have an idea." You open your bag once more and took out the box of desserts from earlier. You pour a drop of the potion to a slice of lemon bar and handed it to hunter. "Here, this might make it a little bit more bearable. I saw it in a movie once."
He takes the treat from you a bit hesitantly but takes a bite. His eyes widen as he chewed. "What is this? It tastes fantastic." He continued to munch on the treats like a small child.
'heh, cute.' You thought. "Y/N focus!" You blurted out.
"What?" He asked with his mouth full.
"Nothing. Let me see your arm." He gave you his arm and you unwrapped the bandages. "Wow, this is some horrible first-aid skills." You teased.
"I was in a hurry ok." He rolled his eyes.
You inspected his wound and saw that it was almost completely healed. "Hah! it works better than I thought. Your wound closed up." You exclaimed.
"Great." Hunter forced a smile.
"Why what's wrong?" You asked.
"Nothing's wrong? Why would anything be wrong? I'm great." He chuckled awkwardly as his eyes drifted to the box of snacks.
"You want some more?" You tilted your head.
"Pfft no! I'm good." He stated.
You smiled at him and took the whole box and applied the potion on the treats. "Here. You can have more since your wound isn't completely healed yet.
"Really?! I mean... If I have to." He took the box and munched on another treat, trying not to seem so happy. (He looks absolutely delighted.)
"So... what are we reading today?" You ask him.
"I was thinking we could read the latest book on toxic magical flora. It's a new release so getting a copy is quite raree--- Oh titan the book! I lost when I fell." He exclaimed. "And my staff! Oh, Belos is gonna kill me!" He added and put a whole piece of a lemon bar in his mouth out of pure distraught.
"Hey! We'll find your stuff." You pat his back with a concerned look on your face. Hearing from Eda, Belos is not a very pleasant person and this made you worry for Hunter's sake.
"Well, we better start now." You stood up and helped Hunter up as well.
"Ok first we look for my staff then it'll be easier for us to find the books." He stated.
"Wait this means your staff is lying around somewhere in the forest? Unattended?" You gave him a mischievous grin.
"Oh no. You are not touching my staff! Not again!" He demanded.
"Not if I get to it first!" You shout before quickly sprinting away.
"H-hey stop!" He followed.
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To Be Continued
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Author's Notes:
Heyy... it's been a while since my last update. I'm soryy. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I thought about this story a week earlier after being inspired by the song "Two Birds". A really nice song btw. :> The next chapter will be coming soon but I'm not making any promises! Your girl has 3 research papers to write.
Also, yes, the healing food is an Encanto reference.
Thanks for reading!
Once again the fanart is not mine