TW: drug overdose, suicidal ideation, and emergency services.
One of Hunter's favorite activities during his last few months in the Emperor's Coven was to take Flapjack flying at sunset. After dinner, Belos had always allotted one hour of time for Hunter to complete necessary paperwork for general Emperor's Coven upkeep. The thing was, there wasn't always paperwork to fill out. Most of the time there was, but Hunter did his best to get through it as fast and as accurately as possible.
Tonight was one of those nights where he finished his paperwork in the first ten minutes.
"Flap, you wanna go flying?" The boy asked the vibrant red cardinal. Instantly, the bird stuck his little head out of Hunter's shirt with a little peep. His head feathers were messy, and this fact made Hunter's heart swell with love and happiness.
They took to the skies, sneaking out Hunter's bedroom window. As usual, the sky was bathed in beautiful pastel pinks, reds, oranges, and yellows. The wind combed its way through Hunter's hair, dancing across his skin. They soared higher and higher, faster and faster. The teenager felt so free in these moments. Flapjack could feel his boy's happiness too.
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"Hunter?" Darius called, voice unsure. "Listen, I know it hasn't been that long, but I don't think I'll be able to sleep until we talk this situation out..." No reply. "Hah, you know how I need my beauty sleep!" The quip was met with silence; there was no noise that emanated from inside of the boy's room. Darius sighed. Hopefully Hunter wasn't asleep.
Upon opening the bedroom door, Darius's foot immediately kicked something cylindrical and plastic. It ricocheted across the floor before knocking against the mattress on the floor. Darius's eyes followed the bottle's path, and he caught sight of a foot hanging off the bed in the dark room. Once the lights were on, the scene began to unfold.
Hunter laid face down on the bed, limbs splayed out haphazardly. His chest rose and fell, but his breathing seemed short and labored.
"Hunter? Little prince?" Darius called out again, cautiously approaching the sleeping form. He shook the kid's shoulder, which would have woken Hunter up in any other situation. However, this time he stayed stubbornly unmoving.
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"I wish we could do this every night, Flap. Sunset is my favorite part of the day, but I'm always so busy that I almost never get to enjoy it." Hunter said to his palisman.
My boy is happy, I am happy! Flapjack tweeted back from the front of the staff. They swooped downwards, deep into the trees. Hunter gracefully landed on the thick branch of a massive, ancient oak. Flapjack transformed back into his regular form, and fluttered to rest on Hunter's head.
"I wish we could do this every day, forever." Hunter repeated, voice low and peaceful. The weather was perfect, and the sunset was magnificent. Suddenly, it seemed as though nothing outside of this moment mattered.
Can't stay! Flapjack suddenly warned him with a tweet.
"I know, silly, I'm just fantasizing. Imagine what life would be like if we did get to do this every day, huh? No coven, no rules..." Hunter stopped himself. He liked the Emperor's Coven, even if it was a lot of work and stress. Hunter was really successful, and Belos was, for the most part, happy with Hunter's hard work.
No, no, can't stay! The bird insisted, twittering from his spot atop Hunter's head.
"What's up with you tonight, little guy?"
Wrong, wrong, something's wrong!
Hunter heard is palisman, but couldn't understand what the little bird meant.
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Hunter wasn't waking up. There was an empty pill bottle on the floor. The dots were connecting in Darius's mind, and instantly his tense arm muscles were pushing the boy onto his back.
The kid's body was limp against the mattress, and his breathing was getting more shallow by the minute. His entire body was pale, and very, very cold. Darius pressed an ear to Hunter's chest, and his stomach dropped when he barely heard a heartbeat.
Darius helped the limp teenager into a sitting position, hoping that the jarring motion would jar some kind of response. A small groan came out of the back of the boy's throat, and then he started gagging.
" Fuck, " Darius swore with panic. Quickly, he swooped the boy up and dumped him onto the bathroom floor in front of the toilet. Bile made an appearance not long after. A few half digested pills swirled around in the toilet bowl.
Hunter's eyelids fluttered briefly, and his fingers flinched uncoordinatedly. Darius wiped his face with a warm, wed rag in a continued attempt to elicit any kind of response. Much to the man's dismay, the kid's body stayed unresponsive. He held the boy's body in a sitting position, hoping that more medication could be expelled, but to no such luck. The time to act was beginning to fade. Darius had to move.
"So help me Titan, I will not let you kill yourself before I give you the rudest talking-to of your life, child!"
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Hunter was starting to feel a little tired. The sunset was beautiful, but... it also looked as though it hadn't moved in forever. The colors in the sky were the same dazzling bright warm hues, but they too hadn't changed. Even the clouds dotting the sky hadn't moved with the breeze.
"Flap, do you wanna go back soon?" He asked his little bird.
Can't stay! Flapjack reminded him.
"I wish I could... I love spending time with you."
Flapjack looked so sad at that. Hunter felt sad, and perhaps a little ill too.
Flapjack sensed Hunter's wavering wellness, and chirped out another warning My boy is sick! He cannot stay!
"I wanna spend forever here. It's so warm..." Hunter was getting woozy now, the eternal sunset doubling in his vision. For a moment, the tree branch underneath him dissolved before snapping back into place. Flapjack twittered around him now, pulling at his hair.
Someone was jostling him, carrying him somewhere. He wanted to squirm and struggle, his mind telling him that he was in terrible danger. Synapses sent orders to his limbs, calling for them to move, to fight. Said requests were drown out by the sheer volume of medication in Hunter's system. Consciousness was an exhausting burden, and now Hunter wanted no part in it at all.
"Come on Hunter, you can't sleep forever, not now," A man's voice was saying between heavy panting breaths. It sounded like they were running. But Hunter wanted to sleep. He tried to tell Darius as much, but he couldn't feel his tongue. The situation sounded rather urgent, but the kid couldn't really force himself to care about it too much. Nausea roiled around in his gut, but it was quickly overwhelmed with the desperate need to sleep.
"Don't go to sleep, little prince. Please, we're almost to Eda's!" Darius's voice begged. Rain pattered around them, hissing on the ground.
"Tryin' m'best..." Hunter mumbled, and then his eyes rolled back into his head and he went limp again, dreams sucking him deeply under in a strong current.
Flapjack was still pulling at his hair, and he blinked out of his stupor.
"Hey, ow! Be gentle, Flap. We've still got more time, just enjoy the view." Hunter told his palisman off. For some reason now, he felt a little better. Perhaps dinner was just sitting weird in his stomach, maybe it had made him woozy for a moment. The cardinal tweeted bitterly at him before settling on the branch. Other birds sang and chirped around them, the sounds strangely loud.
"I love you a whole lot, y'know that?" Hunter told the little cardinal perched next to him.
I love my boy too! Flapjack twittered back to him.
"I hope we can spend our whole lives together. I never wanna be without you."
Soft red feathers rubbed against Hunter's pointer finger.
Can't stay, the bird insisted. Hunter didn't know what he meant. He wanted to stay in this dream with Flapjack forever. Then, he'd never have to face a terrible and cruel world without the creature he loved most.
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"Eda! Eda please, please wake up! Hooty, let me in!" Darius yelled, slamming on the door to the owl house with his fist.
"Darius, what are YOU doing here?" Hooty questioned, squinting his eyes suspiciously.
"Please, bird demon, I need you to get Eda, I need to use the portal, Hunterー" Darius was cut off by the Owl Lady herself opening the door.
"Jeez, Darius, what's... oh shit, get him inside!" Eda ushered the two men inside and away from the boiling rain.
"Eda, I fucked up, please help, I need to get him to the Human Realm, I think he took too much medication and I don't know what to do, please " Darius was close to tears, frantically trying to explain through desperate gasps.
"Darius, Darius, I need you to be calm, you can't help him if you can't even tell me what's going on." Eda said, trying to make her voice as even and reassuring as possible. "King! We need you!" She yelled upstairs, a bit of desperation slipping into her own voice. Little clawed footsteps pattered quickly downstairs as the little Titan scrambled to come down.
Hunter's breathing was getting more shallow by the minute.
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"Hey Flap, what do you think happens after we die?" Hunter said, suddenly. "... Kind of a random question, haha."
Flapjack looked up at his caretaker, that same deep sadness from earlier consuming his one good eye.
"Awe, don't look so sad. Don't worry, I'm not planning on dying anytime soon. I just... Sometimes I wonder if death is just as beautiful as life is. Maybe when I die, I'll get to spend every day with you, just like this, watching the sunset... At least, I hope that is what's going to happen" Hunter ended, voice a little melancholy.
Hunter is going to live for a long time! Hunter is going to be happy.
"I'll be happy as long as I have you, Flap." Hunter told his bird. That same sickness from a few minutes ago was starting to seep back in, but Hunter shoved it down. He was desperate to enjoy this moment. Who knew how many more of these sunsets they had to enjoy with each other.
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Getting through the portal was a rushed and hurried thing. Eda opted to come with, instructing Hooty and King to watch the house. Soon, they were both slamming on Camila's door. Luz answered, sleep clouding her eyes for the briefest moment before she saw the boy wrapped in blankets, supported by Darius's strong arms. Paramedics were on their way not two minutes later.
Hunter was getting worse with each passing moment. They attempted to make him vomit, but his body was now too weak. He shivered, but barely enough to notice. Camila was on the phone with an operator, receiving instructions for CPR. They expected his breathing to cease any minute. Meanwhile, far away from all of the chaos of his physical body, the kid in question was quite enjoying his evening with his beloved palisman.
Flapjack loves Hunter very much , Hunter's palisman told him as much.
Hunter smiled back, teeth flashing in a bright grin.
Flapjack misses his boy .
"Silly, why do you miss me? I'm right here," Hunter said with a laugh. The sun was finally starting to sink lower in the sky.
I love you, Hunter . Flapjack told him. Then their sunset disappeared, Hunter's vision fuzzing momentarily before revealing a new scene. There was somebody shoving a tube down his throat; needles branching out of his arm.
Voices were talking to him, and there were loud noises emanating from somewhere outside. Fluorescent lights pierced his eyes like knives. Hunter thrashed weakly, and Camila's voice slowly reached his ears, though it did not calm him. People he did not know were calling his name, and he was in a place that he did not recognize. Just a moment ago, he was with Flapjack, and now it was as though he had awoken to a terrible hell. The tube down his throat hurt, and his body felt like agony . Despite this, the Alprazolam did everything in its power to sedate him, and soon his body relented to a long, dreamless sleep. Hunter listened for Flapjack calling for him, and was met with silence.
do you guys think he's gonna be okay?????? bro i don't even know and i'm the one writing this fuckin thing LOL
I've had to do a lot of research about medication overdose but forgive me if i've gotten anything wrong. I strive for absolute accuracy in my fanfictions but dude it's so hard