After their meal, Hunter dozed quietly in the armchair for a few hours, waiting for the sun to come up. He and Darius planned to head over to Eda's around noon, and from there they would use the new portal door to get to the Human Realm.
Birds chirped joyfully outside as the sun's piercing light sent coruscating spirals of vivid colors rocketing through the sky. Hunter sat watching the dawn, thinking absently of a variety of things. One of his favorite parts of the Emperor's Coven was waking up and working out in the outside areas of the castle grounds while the sun rose. Hunter loved sunrises.
If the Emperor's Coven was so 'terrible', why are you missing it right now? His internal voice accused. Hunter tried to ignore it, to the best of his ability. He felt awful about the events of the previous day. He pulled Darius out of his important work, made him worry, and wasted his time by forcing him to go retrieve him from school. Like a toddler . The more he sat around thinking, the more anxious and pitiful he began to feel.
I need to do something. I can't just sit around like this. Pushing himself out of his chair, Hunter slipped on socks and shoes, wrote a quick note to Darius, and then left the house to go for a run. The chilly air of the morning shocked his lungs, shoving him forward into wakefulness. The boy pumped his arms and legs to carry him forward. Running felt good. Really good.
By 9am he was back at Darius's; panting and trying to catch his breath. Throat dry and legs shaking, he pushed open the door. The head of the house was awake, stirring batter around with a whisk.
"Morning Hunter, I just read your note." Darius said in greeting.
"Mornin'." Was all Hunter replied with, still out of breath.
"How long did you run for?"
"Ah... uh, I left at like 6:30am? So not that long I guess." Hunter told his caretaker, tone casual. Darius froze, his piercing green eyes looking straight at Hunter.
"Dude, did you just casually run for 2 and a half hours straight on a whim? Did you bring water at least?"
"No... Two hours isn't that long, I used to run for way longer than that when I was in the Coven. And I never bring water, Belos always said that drinking while running slowed you down."
Darius pinched his brow with a groan. The effects of Belos's 'teachings ' were going to take years to reverse.
"Titan, that man was an idiot. I know you don't know better, but it's really bad for you to exercise for that long without drinking water. If you wanna go on runs, that's fine, but you need to bring water with you."
Hunter felt himself curl inwardly, if only slightly. He'd fucked up again so soon after his huge blowup yesterday, and he'd made Darius mad and worried. Blush creeped up his face.
"Hey, don't beat yourself up over it, kid. Everyone makes mistakes, and it's not your fault that some madman taught you bad information for your whole life." Darius said in an attempt to comfort the boy.
"Sorry... I'll do better for next time." Hunter said. He just wanted this conversation to be over. Seems like I can't do anything without fucking it up.
They ate breakfast in awkward silence. Darius was eternally grateful that it was Saturday, and that Hunter was going to spend some time with Mrs. Noceda. It was clear that the kid needed a break from the Boiling Isles as a whole. It would be good for him to see Luz, and it would give Darius some time to draft out a letter to Principal Bump about the bullying that Hunter had told him about. By the end of the weekend, Darius was determined to get Hunter on the path to recovery as soon as possible.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Noon came quickly, much to Darius's relief and Hunter's displeasure. As they walked to Eda's, the adult could tell that Hunter was getting increasingly nervous. Darius tried to make casual conversation about anything and everything, but most of the time it fell flat. This was partially due to the fact that neither person was particularly keen on small talk. Darius much preferred to talk about important things. He had suspicions that Hunter felt much the same.
Eda welcomed them inside with all the love and excitement she could muster. She flashed a fanged grin at the two of them, chattering on about how excited she was to see Hunter, and how she was looking forward to Darius seeing the new portal.
The portal itself was... certainly a feat of engineering. The frame was composed of a mixture of Human Realm technology coupled with magical glyphs and other items. Hunter looked at it with a certain fondness that was interlaced with skepticism. The thing honestly looked like a pile of trash held together with zip ties.
"King! We need your godliness to get down here and get this show up and running!" Eda called.
Muffled groans came from upstairs as the little beast stirred from his afternoon snooze. Claws clacked against the hardwood floor, and soon the furry creature was downstairs. In his claws he held a human doll stuffy, presumably a gift from Luz. It looked homemade.
King stretched, yawning deeply. He greeted the other inhabitants of the room, toddled over to the portal frame, and took a deep breath. With glowing eyes, the little demon rested his little claws onto the frame of the portal. Instantly, it began to vibrate.
"Watch this," Eda said, leaning over to talk in Hunter's ear. "King, let 'er rip!"
"Weh!" With a deep and powerful breath, King sent a soundwave forward through the center of the frame. Space and time seemed to bend and warp with the sound of his bellow.
A strange spiral began to appear, like a bubble assuming the shape of the frame. Hunter and Darius watched in amazement as the portal took shape. Just as it all started, it was over. The portal sat open and waiting. Liquid galaxies and stars spun around, waiting for one of them to step into it.
"As much as I appreciate your awe, one of you needs to step through this thing because it is really hard to sustain." King prompted.
"Have fun, say hi to Camila for me. Tell Luz to come on through, we're doing arts and crafts this afternoon!" Eda said, gently pushing the two males towards the rift in reality. Together, they stepped through the portal.
The human realm looked the same as ever. Luz's quiet neighborhood street was covered in leaves, the trees finishing their descent into Fall. The late November air was chilly and crisp. Darius looked around, awestruck for just a moment, before he quickly fumbled around in the cloak he was wearing. From out of it, he pulled a beanie.
"I kinda forgot about that. You'd probably get quite a few stares with hair like yours," Hunter said, remarking on the slime mimicking hair on Darius's head. Darius huffed as he stuffed the beanie over his head.
"I work so hard to keep my hair looking this nice, and yet I have to cover it up to appease the standards of a few humans ."
"Yeah, yeah, don't be a drama queen. You can take it off when you get inside Mrs. Noceda's place." Hunter reminded him with a smile. He elbowed the older man's side, and together they took the short walk to Camila's.
Luz was waiting for them when they knocked. Instantly, she slammed open the door and threw herself on Hunter, squealing in delight to see her friend.
"Hunter! I'm so happy you're here! Welcome home," She said with the brightest and happiest smile. Behind her, Vee and Camila stood waiting to also say their hellos.
"I wish I could stick around for longer, but Eda and I have plans. Please stay for as long as you want! I'll be home tonight and we can watch some cartoons." Luz finished. She released Hunter from the tightest and warmest hug he'd probably ever had, and reached to grab her backpack.
"Bye Mamá! Te quiero," Luz said, beaming. She seemed happier than ever. Hunter wished he could say the same. Once Luz was out the door and running down the street to the portal door, Camila closed the door.
Hunter had missed her kind and sweet face so much. Mrs. Noceda saw the exhaustion and anxiety in his eyes, and swooped in to hug him too. Her soft and gentle arms wrapped protectively around him nearly brought tears to his eyes. He willed them away, but only just.
Then, after a moment, she gently released him, and hugged Darius. He was much less welcoming of the hug, eyes widening in surprise. But even after a moment, he relaxed a little.
"Sorry, we Nocedas are big huggers." She said, blushing a little.
"Thanks for inviting us over, Camila. You have a lovely house." Darius said politely.
"The pleasure is all mine. Please, come and sit. Lunch is ready to be served, and our appointment isn't for another hour."
Appointment , Hunter thought. The word filled him with scorn and shame. I'm so incompetent that I can't even fix my own brain.
Vee chattered at him for the entirety of lunch. He was secretly thankful for the distractions her excitement provided. He listened in earnest, providing the occasional comment in between her anecdotes. At least she was helping to keep the conversation away from the elephant in the room. Hunter secretly hoped that everyone would just forget all about the therapy appointment.
No such luck, it would seem. A glance at the stove clock eventually revealed that it was time to pile in the car to leave.
"You'll be fine by yourself?" Mrs. Noceda asked, talking to Vee.
"Oh yeah, I'll be just fine, You'll only be gone for like two hours anyways, and I've got enough chemistry homework to go swimming in." Vee reassured her.
With that, they jumped in Mrs. Noceda's car, and made the quiet drive to the office. Hunter thought about all of those old TV shows he'd watched with Luz and their other friends while they were stuck in the human realm. He'd seen characters go to therapy in those shows, and he did not like the look of it.
He thought of a brightly lit room with fluorescent, white lights. A middle-aged caucasian woman, stick skinny, blonde with black glasses, sitting in a hard chair with her hands clasped together and her legs crossed. The client always sat on a brown, plain couch, lounging across it with their eyes covered by a hand. The therapist's room was always white and barren, bland. Honestly, the whole thing just seemed so unwelcoming. Hunter had no idea how he was supposed to just spill all of his darkest secrets and thoughts to a complete stranger in a room that looked like that.
Maybe it would just be better if he just lied to her and weaseled out of it. They parked in a shady spot. The parking lot was quiet, colorful trees dotted the outskirts. The building itself was plain, built with brick and brown building materials. Windows lined every wall.
They walked in, took the elevator up to the third floor, and sat in a waiting room. Eventually, a soft pudgy woman with curly gray hair stuck her head out of a doorway and invited them inside. She had dark skin, and wore warm colored professional clothes. Hunter anxiously itched his arms as he looked her up and down.
"We'll stay and chat with your therapist for the first half of the session, and then after that we'll leave you and her to chat. Darius and I will just be in the waiting room when you come out, okay baby?" Camila said, noticing his heightened anxiety. He nodded quietly.
The therapist's room was dim. Natural sunlight streamed through curtains, making the room warm but not bright. A candle, smelling of cinnamon, burned on the therapist's desk. The room was filled with a few plush, old looking couches. The walls were covered in various tapestries, posters, artwork, and decorations. The therapist herself held the door, inviting them all inside. Hunter chose a spot on the edge of a couch, closest to the door.
"Good afternoon, new friends. Please make yourselves comfortable however you see fit. My name is Doctor Gloria Rosenburg, but some of my clients just call me Mrs. Rose. I'm so happy that you've come to visit today. How are you all doing?"
Her voice was soft and sweet, a touch of rasp from years of use. The woman looked to be in her late fifties. Darius smiled, greeted her in return, introduced herself, and Camila followed suit. Then, their eyes rested on him.
"I'm Hunter." He said, a little curtly. She smiled, greeted him, and then settled into one of the couches in the corner of the room, next to a shelf of colorful boxes. Gently, she reached over and pulled a box from the top of the stack.
"The first time you meet someone can be really hard. So, I figured for the first part of our session, we should play a board game and I can get to know everyone a little more. How does that sound?
So, they played a game called Candyland. The rules were simple enough. The drawings and characters sprawling across the cards and the board itself made Hunter feel childish. The game pieces were well worn, implying that they'd been in use for a long time. Mrs. Noceda was happy to play, participating with joy. Darius was doing his best to follow her energy, but appeared a little out of his depth.
Half an hour passed. Eventually, Mrs. Rose announced that she'd "like some time to get to know Hunter a little bit, and if the adults in the room wouldn't mind please waiting in the lobby, that would be most excellent."
Hunter subtly rolled his eyes at her overuse of pleasantries and manners. Darius and Camila rose from their seats. Camila ruffled his hair, and Darius gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up. He returned their gestures with half lidded eyes and a frown. Sooner than he preferred, it was just him and the therapist. He kept his gaze locked onto the floor, and his shoulders hunched inwards.
"So, Hunter. I know starting therapy can be a little intimidating sometimes. There are a few things I'd like you to know that may ease your worries," Mrs. Rose began.
She told him that Darius and Camila had taken the time to inform her of Hunter's situation, including snippets of his past with Belos and the Coven, and that Hunter 'struggled' with flashbacks. Struggled , that was the word that she had used. Hunter didn't struggle , that's not who he thought himself to be.
"I also want you to know that everything you say while you're here is confidential, with just a few exceptions." Mrs. Rose continued. This got him to look up. Confidential? Would she not report to Darius and Camila after every session? She chuckled upon seeing his confusion.
"I get that look from pretty much every one of my younger clients. It's true, everything we talk about in here is confidential. I cannot tell your caretakers, by law. The only exceptions there are to this rule are: if I believe you are in any kind of danger to yourself or others, or if there are potentially illegal and life threatening concerns mentioned."
Hunter nodded in understanding. That was kinda nice. At least he knew that she wouldn't run snitching to everyone she knew if he confided in her.
"I think we should spend the rest of the session just chatting and getting to know each other, hmm? We can get to the deep stuff later on, there's no rush. How's that sound?" She prompted.
He nodded again in agreement. It's not like he had any other choice. They talked casually about anything and everything. Hunter did his best to tell her as little as possible. However, they talked about a few of his hobbies, which included exercising, sewing, seeing his friends, playing sports, and doing homework. Despite his social struggles in school, he was still doing very well academically, at least for his first week.
She nodded as he told her about himself, as attentive a listener as she could possibly be for him. In movies, therapists always seemed so passive, busily writing down every word, making diagnosis in the sidelines of their notebooks. But Mrs. Rose listened quietly, her hands still in her lap with no notebook to be found.
Before he knew it, their time was nearly over. In the last five minutes, she pushed herself out of the plush cushions of her couch and walked over to her desk, which was covered in pictures, paperwork, and random trinkets. From inside a drawer, she fished around for a packet of paper.
"I hope you don't mind me assigning you a bit of homework. I promise it won't take long. You seem like quite the young scholar, so I don't think you'll find any trouble in it." She said as she handed him the papers. Mrs. Rose smiled at him before turning towards the door to her office. After opening it, she stuck her head out and announced to Camila and Darius that they were all done for the day.
They got up from their seats and grabbed their things. Camila shook Mrs. Rose's hand, then handed her a slip of paper. Finally, after two hours of therapy, they were walking back down to Mrs. Noceda's car.
"How was it? What did you think?" Camila asked.
"What was that piece of paper you gave to Mrs. Rose?" Hunter ignored her question in favor of his own.
"It was a check, baby. Unfortunately therapy isn't free. But it's okay, we have insurance, and it's important for you to do this, so I don't mind paying. Darius is helping too." Camila said. Darius grimaced a little bit and subtly shook his head 'no'.
Hunter started picking at his fingers. Of course they were paying for this, of course it wasn't free. How did he not think of this? Mrs. Noceda and Darius were shelling out tons of money for him, and he was doing nothing for them in return, like some kind of leech.
"I don't wanna go to therapy if you guys have to pay for it. It's not worth it, and I can just figure out how to get better on my own. You don't need to spend all this money on me."
"Niño, sweetie, I'm not worried about money. I don't want you to worry about it at all, either. You're sixteen. You should be focused on finding out who you are and getting better."
Darius responded with similar encouragement, which only made Hunter grind his teeth. His stupid mental health was not a worthy cause to shell out money. The teenager would've said this aloud if not for the fact that it would have just furthered their disagreement. Instead, he slumped in the back seat.
Wasting resources and money and time and gasoline on me. I'm such a fucking waste of space, and I can't even feel grateful for their gift to me. Hunter just wanted to be asleep, or better yet, dead. He looked down at the papers clutched in his hands and angrily folded them up so that they could fit in his pocket.
Hunter remained eerily quiet for the rest of the day. He lounged on the couch at Mrs. Noceda's with Luz and Vee in the evening, doing homework, eating junk food, and watching TV. Darius went back through the portal shortly after they returned from therapy, promising to retrieve Hunter at 3pm on Sunday.
He should've been enjoying his time with his friends, appreciating the Human World for its peace and beauty, but he couldn't get his brain to relent and turn off. He hardly slept at all that night.
wowee it turns out that when I, the author, actually get sleep and have a day off, I can actually write lots and have fun!! Whoever came up with that idea is a genius.
I'm not the biggest fan of introducing new characters into stories that are not mine because I feel that they are out of place. Hopefully the therapist character I've created is someone that you all vibe with. I don't want to focus too much on developing her character, but instead i want the story to flesh out how Hunter's interactions with therapy impact his own character. She's heavily based on The Oracle from The Matrix, so if you need a visual reference for what she looks like, think of her.