In the next few days of school, the bullying only got worse. Rumors continued to spread. The Emperor's "stray dog" was at Hexside to infect the masses and spread propaganda lies. The hallways were terrible to endure, second only to the locker room. At every corner in the school, kids were there to remind him of how much his dear Uncle ruined their lives and took away their families.
His friends did their best to abate the cruel words that were thrown at him, but to little avail. Even teachers started looking at him with scorn in their eyes. Each night when Hunter came home, he marched straight to his room. The teenager didn't want to disappoint Darius, who had been so excited when Hunter had gotten the opportunity to attend school less than a week ago. Anytime Darius attempted to question Hunter about his day or the on-goings at Hexside, Hunter dodged the questions or simply just lied to say things were fine.
"Things are not fine ," Darius told Eberwolf, who nodded in understanding. "He's barely eating, he doesn't talk, and when he does, he lies to me, and he hides in his room from the second he's home until the second he has to leave for school again!"
Eberwolf shrugged and closed their eyes. The two sat together in Darius's house, eating breakfast shortly after Hunter had left in silence for his fourth day of school.
"Yeah, yeah. I know he's a teenager, but he also should have some respect! I mean, didn't he learn anything while he was serving the Emperor?"
The Beast Coven head simply waggled a clawed finger at his friend with a growl.
"Ugh, You're right, mutt. I guess I shouldn't expect that same kind of behavior that he had in the Coven. Maybe it's a good thing that he feels comfortable enough to not stick to that ridgid side of himself."
They talked about Hunter, among other things, for another hour before Eberwolf had to dismiss himself. Darius felt better about the situation, and he'd also made an important decision: Hunter was going to therapy, and Darius was going to break the news as soon as Hunter got home.
The plan was to tell the kid as soon as he got home from school. Intersect him at the door, offer tea, introduce a calming environment. Eda's words played in Darius's head
' Belos permanently stripped his ability to ask for help as soon as he could talk.' She'd warned him. While Eda was known for her dry sarcasm and exaggerations, she had a very good point. This probably wouldn't go over well, but it needed to happen regardless.
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Someone had ripped the strap off of Hunter's shoulder bag. Somebody else had 'accidentally' spilled food down the side of his shirt. He was desperate to get out of his clothes, desperate to go home, desperate for his scars to stop burning so much. Heavy clouds swirled above as he trekked quickly home to beat the rain.
It would've been so much quicker if he had Flapjack to use in staff form. Darius's coveted abomination shield was already up over the house as Hunter approached it. The creature saw him, and opened a small doorway to allow him permeance.
Darius was waiting for him at the door. Strange . Darius called him 'little prince', which was even stranger. Darius invited him to sit in one of his expensive plush armchairs, despite the fact that he was dirty and sweaty from school. Something was going on .
"Darius, if you don't mind, I'd just like to go upstairs and start my homework, please."
" Please, Hunter. You really can't spare the time for a cup of tea? It's your favorite!" Darius said in singsong, waving a teacup around. Hunter ground his teeth. He was really not in the mood for this.
Darius has spent ample money and time on you, allowed you into his home, and gracefully tolerated your horrendous attitude, and you still insist on treating him like this? A voice in his head said, sharp and commanding.
Hunter huffed a heavy sigh, and flashed a barely tolerant smile at the older man. "Guess a cup of tea would be nice..."
"Excellent! Just what I love to hear. How was your day?" Darius asked, a little anxious. Something was seriously wrong, because Darius almost never sounded anxious. The man was all confidence, even if it was fake.
"Just fine. Went to all of my classes, saw Willow during gym." Hunter replied, short and simple. Somebody called me the Emperor's faggot today , and I also had a brief flashback to Belos's slimy hands crushing my bird in the bathroom , he remembered painfully. It was probably best not to say that aloud.
"Great!" Darius said, clapping his hands together. "I've got some exciting news, if you're interested." Oh boy, here we go.
"Yeah?"
"Mrs. Noceda has invited you to her house this weekend! She wants you to come hang out for 'sábado y domingo', as she called it. You down?"
"That sounds awesome! It would be nice to see Luz." A weekend at Mrs. Noceda's, with Luz and Vee? That was good news. Why had Darius been so anxious to say that? There had to be more.
"And uh... There's something else. I noticed that you've been... struggling, lately-"
"I've just been tired from my first week of school! I swear by next week I'll be adjusted to the schedule." Hunter defended.
"I wish I could believe you on that one, little prince. I've been talking to Camila, and we both think it would be in your best interest to go to therapy."
The word sat heavy in the air. Therapy . They thought he was ill enough to go to therapy ? Small sips of tea sitting in his stomach made him feel nauseous. This was absolutely not what he needed to end his day. In fact, this was the worst possible outcome, by far.
Titan, I wish I'd just died at the bottom of that lake in the graveyard .
Darius sat quietly, his words seemingly echoing endlessly in the warm air of the living room. He watched Hunter out of the corner of his eye. The boy was unmoving, unblinking in the armchair, staring into his cup of tea as if it would give him any answers.
"... I know that this was probably not the thing that you wanted to hear, and I'm truly sorry for that. But I also know that I am responsible for you as your caretaker, and that it's my job to get you help when you're struggling."
"I don't need help. There are so many people on this island that have lost loved ones and their homes that could use therapy. I'm just fine." Hunter shot back.
Darius wanted to argue. He really wanted to argue. But the bigger, more mature part of his brain fired back, telling him that any kind of argument would put a huge burn in their relationship, and right now what Hunter needed most was help and trust. It was best to stick to his decision.
"I'm sorry little prince, but it's not an option. If therapy isn't your thing, then we don't have to stick with it forever. But for now, we need to try." Tears were brimming at Hunter's eyes. Thunder rumbled angrily outside, almost as if on cue.
"I. Don't. Need. Therapy. I'm just fine, everything is fine." He bit out. The teacup shook in his hands, and his scars ached. In fact, his whole body ached, including his head. The teenager was much too busy for this. There was homework to do, weighing down his ripped bag like sand.
"I'm sorry, my decision is firm." Was all Darius said.
Hunter slammed his cup of tea down, and tears slid down his face. Without another word, he teleported up the stairs with a flash of neon yellow light, and slammed his door, leaving Darius stunned.
I didn't know he could even do that, he thought to himself. His next thought, vainly, was to check on his teacup. By the grace of the Titan, it was unscathed. In all honesty, that was... pretty close to how Darius had imagined that this conversation would go.
Upstairs, Hunter fumed. Shitty day, shitty Darius, shitty room, shitty everything. He was half tempted to teleport out of the house and into the rain, but a tiny logical voice in his head told him that a move like that would leave him with more scars than he already had. Burns were notoriously hard to heal.
Instead, the teenager chose to pace, rip at his skin with his nails, and grip tightly at his hair. He was so tired, having barely slept for most of this week. Darius was already fed up and tired of him, and was opting to dump him off with Camila for the weekend so she could take him to therapy. Fucking therapy.
He just had to get through school tomorrow, and then maybe he could pack his things, run away, and build a new life for himself... again.
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Somebody put a dead bird in his bag. He found it after lunch when his hand brushed against it when he was digging for a pencil. There was somebody yelling, screaming loudly. There were also what felt like a million eyes looking at him, staring at him, scrutinizing his every move.
Speaking of moving, he really could not feel his body. His hands were so incredibly numb, and it was hard to get his body to do anything at all. The bird clutched in his grip looked an awful lot like Flapjack. Slime trickled up his neck, clouding his senses. Hands were pushing against him, trying to take Flap's body, trying to lead him somewhere.
"Call Darius Deamonne, his number is in Hunter's file." Somebody was saying, a male voice. Hunter wanted to struggle, wanted to tell whoever was speaking and leading him somewhere to let him go . It seemed impossible to catch his breath, and no matter how much he tried to breathe, he could never get enough air. The graveyard spanned in front of him, rotting antlers jutted out of his head.
An adult from the Healing Coven was kneeling in front of him, her kind and soft presence reassuring in a strange way. Maybe he'd met her before. His head was so scrambled that he couldn't remember. He watched as she drew a glowing circle in the air with her finger. Then, like a bubble, it popped, sending glowing particles to swirl around his head.
Everything became quiet so quickly. His breathing halted, before restarting in a slow, almost artificial rhythm. Hunter's pupils widened from their terrified pinpricks into soft, dazed circles.
"It looks like he was having some kind of a flashback, but I can't really be sure. I put him into a kind of trance because I was afraid he'd black out if I didn't. Is Mr. Deamonne coming soon?" Hunter heard the nice lady say.
Somebody was gently guiding him by the shoulder to lay down. It sounded really nice to lay down right about now. His head found something soft to rest on, and his eyes fluttered. It was still so difficult to think, but in kind of a different way than earlier. Earlier, everything had been so loud, so panicked. His heart had been so loud in his ears; somebody had been screaming, he had been so out of breath.
Now, he just felt empty, and utterly exhausted. What had he been so upset about? Somebody removed something soft and feathery from his hands, and it felt so easy to let them do it.
The feeling of nothingness dogged at his heels as he tumbled willingly into oblivion.
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Darius was busy experimenting with a new formula for abominations when the crow arrived on his windowsill. The words it spoke from its mouth sent his heart stuttering: Hunter was experiencing some kind of attack, and had to be removed from class. They were keeping him in the healing wing.
The adult wasted no time in getting himself over to the school. Abomination slime coursed over his limbs as he thrust himself closer to the property. Upon arrival, Principal Bump was there to greet him. Darius morphed into something more presentable before approaching the man.
"I came as quickly as I could. What happened?"
"Well, we're not completely sure. We've pulled a few other students out of class who were there to witness the incident. They claimed that someone must have slipped a... well, a dead bird in Hunter's bag. When he found it, he started screaming, wouldn't let go of the bird's body. We couldn't get a response out of him, and he seemed completely separated from reality. Our nurse couldn't get him coherent, so she put him in a trance. He's sleeping it off now."
"Thanks, Bump. Sorry about that." Darius spoke as they walked to Hunter's location within the school. The adult let out a quiet sigh of relief upon seeing Hunter's sleeping form. That relief was immediately erased as he noticed the boy's arms.
His fingernails were bloodied, and his arms were covered in deep red scratches. A glance at the kid's face revealed deep stress lines, and deep exhaustion. The nurse was quietly, carefully working to clean off some of the dried blood from Hunter's assault on his own body.
"He's a little beat up, but once I use magic on these scrapes, they'll be all better. Sorry about this, Mr. Deamonne." The nurse spoke. She was a very polite presence in the room.
A few minutes later, and Hunter was cured of his minor physical wounds. The mental wounds still remained, present as ever. The boy himself remained asleep, body clearly too exhausted to sustain wakefulness.
Darius carried him out of the school on his back. Once he stepped off of school grounds, he morphed again, abomination slime transforming his legs. Just as quick as Darius had traveled to the school, they were home again.
Gently, Hunter was laid in bed to rest. Darius held one of his arms with gentle, moisturized hands, scanning for any sign of damage. The nurse had done an excellent job of fixing him up. However, the scars from Belos's possession still remained, a violent reminder of Hunter's trauma.
Another student had put a dead bird in his bag. Now, the unknown culprit continued about his day, normal as ever. Meanwhile, Darius's own kid had to basically be sedated . Hunter's body clearly welcomed the mandatory rest. He had never seen the boy looking so relaxed. It was almost worrying, how smooth and unmoving his face was, how loose his body was.
Darius could worry about what to do next later on. For now, Hunter just needed peace, quiet, and rest.
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Hunter woke up about 12 hours later, at 1am. Blearily, he opened his eyes, and looked confusedly around the dark room. His lamp was turned on, which was strange, because he didn't remember turning it on. Even stranger, Darius sat in a chair to the side of his bed.
The man was asleep, his chin rested gently against his chest. He sat with his arms and legs crossed. Frankly, the position looked incredibly uncomfortable. Why is Darius in my room? Hunter wondered. Then: Why am I in my room?
The noise of pushing himself off of the pillows and into a sitting position caused Darius to stir. Hunter froze with a grimace.
"Mhhh..." Darius started, ever the wordsmith. "Wazzit- Oh, Hunter. Glad you're awake."
"Hey Darius, uh, whatcha doin' in my room?" Hunter replied, trying to keep things casual.
"Ah, my body is not young enough to still be sleeping in a chair, yet I seem to be doing a lot of that lately, don't I? How are you feeling kid?"
"Better, I think. I, um... assume that I had another flashback?" The question was blunt. No point in beating around the bush.
"Yup." Darius confirmed, popping the 'P'. "The nurse put you in a healing trance, and you've been sleeping for the last uh..." A glance at the clock, " twelve hours. Damn, kid. You must've been exhausted."
Hunter sighed, the tension quickly returning to his face and shoulders. "I must have really embarrassed myself today, huh?"
"It's not your fault... Listen, I don't mean to rub it in, but this is why I think therapy would be good, Hunter. It's not a punishment, and it's not because I think you're too 'weak' to figure out your own problems. I want to help you, but there's only so much I can do. Somebody who has experience with this could help you feel better, get you closer to living normally."
Hunter sat in quiet deliberation. A part of him wanted to cry. A part of him wanted to shout, to teleport out of the house, to tear his room apart. Most of him just needed a hug.
"I've been getting bullied at school. People hate me because they think I ruined their lives by working for Belos. I don't know what to do about it, and I can't get away from it. I don't think I'll ever be normal." Hunter burst out, anxiously combing a hand through his messy hair as he talked.
"I know it's hard. You and I were both part of an inherently evil system that did bad things and hurt people... But it's not our fault. You were born into it, and I was indoctrinated into it. We were both just doing what we thought was right." Darius explained. "We can't change the things we've done in the past, but we can help other people and do good things in favor of a brighter future."
"But I don't know how to get people to not hate me. My friends have tried their best, but they just get drowned out. I dunno what to do, and I'm scared that even my friends will hear the rumors and start to hate me too." I already hate me, Hunter finished, leaving the last part unsaid.
"I'll contact Bump in the morning, and see what we can do to stop some of this from happening. Thank you for trusting me, and telling me about what's been happening. If we keep working together, we can keep helping you feel better."
Hunter smiled, if only a little.
"Hey, I'm starving right now, are you?" Darius prompted upon seeing Hunter's emotions shift upwards.
"Yeah, I could probably eat."
"Great, There's this mac 'n' cheese recipe I've been wanting to try for forever, wanna help me cook it?"
Hunter nodded. Together in the dim light of the kitchen, they made the best meal Hunter had eaten in a long, long time.
Me *uses flapjack's death as a plot device* I have a complete inability to write a chapter where Hunter does NOT cry. This kid like NEVER cries in the show, but he straight up cries all the time in my world. Me too, kid.