You and River open the door down the cell hallway and immediately...
Steve is thrown up into the air and slammed down against the ground. Whoever this is has him completely apprehended.
....
Their hood falls off and they look up over and make eye contact at River.
"RIVER THERE YOU ARE! HELP! HES ATTACKING ME HELP!" Someone says.
"LET GO OF ME!" Steve yells
...
"Uh- it looks like you're attacking him-" River says.
Wait.
Wait.
"Hunter?" You tilt your head.
"THATS NOT HUNTER Y/N! HES PROBABLY SOME ILLUSIONIST OR SOMETHING WE NEEDA KILL HIM!" Steve yells.
"Let's not do that..!" The person says again.
"OW!!! My wrist!! Damn it let go of me what the hell?!" Steve says.
"Sorry but I really don't wanna die more than I already almost have so no." The person says still apprehending Steve.
"You think you're gonna die when you have him apprehended..." River facepalms himself.
"Y/n who's glasses over here? OW DUDE LET GO OF ME!" Steve grunts and squirms to try and get a better look at River.
"Sorry-" The guy apologized again.
"This is River, he's my friend." You say.
"River, that's my brother." You say.
"Hi." River smiles awkwardly.
"Don't "hi" me, you and whoever this guy is broke in OUR secret base AKA MY ROOM!" Steve says.
"Your room?! This was my room for like 2 whole years!" The guy says.
"Oh well it's been my room for longer!" Steve exclaims.
"Whatever! It was mine first!" The guys says again.
You squint your eyes at him and try to get a better look at him. This was his room? Wait no it can't be...
"Wait..." you say.
"Oh boy." River mutters and hides his face in his hands.
"Are you Hunters brother?" You tilt your head.
He looks over at me.
"Tom...? Right?" You tilt your head.
...
He gasps loudly and immediately lets go of Steve and walks up to you. Your eyes widen and he immediately runs up to you and grips your hands.
"Oh my gosh!!!! Are you Hunters girlfriend???" He says and grips your hands tightly.
"HIS WHAT?!" Steve sits up.
"Uhhhh...." You blush and look away.
"Yes! I'm Tom! He told you about me? Are you the same girl when he was little? Oh my goodness how sweet... what is it... y/n right?" Tom grins.
"How'd you-"
"Oh I know because I swear he would always mutter your name in his sleep every night when we were on that island-"
You turn red.
"HE WHAT?!" Steve stands up.
"Who's he? That's your brother?" Tom turns his head.
"Yep." You say.
"Oh wait wait wait- you're the little assistant Darius was telling me about weren't you." Tom looks over at Steve again.
"Little assistant?" Steve folds his arms
"Yes! You beat him up!" Tom says.
"Okay, I've only punched him once, I've apprehended him like multiple times but that was because he fucking started it." Steve rolls his eyes.
"Steve you punched him first." You say.
"Yes but I'm talking about when I've apprehended him he started it, because he tried fighting me first." Steve says.
"Well you shouldn't fight!" Tom says.
"Wait wait wait, okay someone fucking explain to me, you're that son of a bitches brother?" Steve gestures to Tom.
"He's not a son of a bitch, and yes im his brother." Tom folds his arms.
"Oh you're the guy in the drawings." Steve says.
"Oh! My drawings! Yes! Where are they? Did you paint over them or something?" Tom asks.
"No, they're under my bed." Steve says.
"Oh my gosh, I wanna see, so many memories, oh that's embarrassing you've seen them though huh?" Tom says.
"I'm used to them, it's fine." Steve says.
"Tom, we should go." River says.
"Oh come onnnn..! I'm making friends." Tom lays on the ground and looks under Steve's bed.
"Aw!!! My toad drawings! And then there's flapjack!" He says.
Steve rolls his eyes and looks the other way.
"Wait wait wait, River how is he alive?" You say.
"...um... actually I'm not sure, how are you alive?" River says.
"Long story short... Hunter thought he killed me, but when he left with the scouts, I noticed the light glyph in the sun and the plant glyph in the leaves. I drew them in the dirt... and... Tada..! Healing glyph! Isn't that cool!" Tom grins.
"Ooh I've heard of glyphs, that's cool you managed to do that...! I've been curious about glyphs I've heard rumors and stuff about them and their connections with the Titan and-" River speaks
"Yeah! That's what I was thinking too! I honestly think it was the Titans way of blessing me and saving my life in a way..." Tom smiles.
"Yes! He must have! That's probably what it was! He probably saw some potential in you and he gifted you a new beginning! That's so beautiful..!" River smiles.
"I was thinking that too!" Tom grins.
"What the hell? Hunter killed you what?" Steve says and sits back down on the ground.
"It's a long story... maybe I could explain it to you sometime, when would you be free?" Tom holds his hands together and smiles.
"W-wait- what-" Steve furrows his eyebrows.
"Tom no! You can't hang out with anyone! You're not supposed to be here! If Darius finds out-" River grabs Tom's arm.
"Darius Shmarius, I like these people, I wanna stay longer and get to know everyone! This place is safe anyways!" Tom smiles.
"No because if your brother comes in here and sees you and sees me I don't know what would happen so let's go before he gets here i don't wanna deal with him he hates me he-" River panics.
"That might be a good idea, I think this would be a bit much for him to take in all at once." You say.
"Okay, true, but anyway, me and you, I could explain to you who I am a little more sometime, when can you hang out." Tom asks Steve as if it's not a question but a demand.
"Uh- um-" Steve stutters.
"Let's do that later." River smiles sheepishly and puts his hand on Tom's shoulder.
"But I don't know when I'm gonna see them again..." Tom frowns.
"Oh- I could... I mean... um..." River mumbles and looks down.
"Maybe if I talked to Darius I could invite you to... my temples anniversary..? And... Y/n... you could bring your brother too or something?" River smiles nervously.
"I think it would be nice..." River smiles.
"Yes! Steve do you want to come to Rivers festival?" You ask.
"Yes Steve! Do you want to come to Rivers festival??" Tom also says.
"Don't go saying my name like you're some good friend of mine." Steve glares at Tom.
"Hm, tough guy eh?" Tom raises an eyebrow.
"Rivers festival? Who this guy?" Steve gestures to River.
"Yes. Steve." You look at him deadpan.
"Is it some religious shit?" Steve asks.
"Be nice Steve." You glare at him.
"Yes, be nice Steve. we love River here." Tom folds his arms.
"Tom." River facepalms himself.
"Oh Titan." Steve says.
"I think it'll be a nice experience for you, you know, some peaceful atmosphere? For you? Would really help with your chaotic behavior." You say.
"Yes Steve! I also think it would be a nice experience for you because it means that we can be good friends and get to know each other." Tom holds up his finger and peers over your shoulder.
"I-" Steve furrows his eyebrows.
"Just come." You say.
"There's food...! And we're gonna have fireworks... and my sisters are gonna host some events and stuff..." River smiles.
Steve sighs.
"Are we excluding Hunter?" Steve asks.
"Yes." River says quickly and confidently.
"I feel bad." You say.
"It's... for the best... I mean if he doesn't like River and him coming to something personal for him... and his family also being there I think that would be a bit much for River to be fair. And Darius apparently doesn't want me seeing him yet for some reason." Tom says.
"That's true." You frown a little.
"...is Hunter doing okay?" Tom asks.
"He's fine, he's just... well... now that I know what River and Darius were up to I know he has no reason to be stressed about that... he was really worried about it earlier." You say.
"Aw, once I see him I'm gonna give him SUCH a hug." Tom says.
"I'll see if I can do something... with him, maybe help him get his mind off all that, and make up for the fact I'm gonna be doing something with you guys and not him, I'll think of something." You smile.
"I don't want him to feel all lonely." You say.
River looks the other direction and scratches his arm awkwardly.
"Anyways... it's so nice to meet you Tom! Hunters told me a lot of you, and i just know he'll be so happy to see you again..." you smile and take Tom's hands.
"Ooh it's so nice to meet you too! I've been dying to meet you! You're adorable!" Tom grins and squeezes your hands.
You grin as well.
"And nice to meet you too! You're adorable too! Don't hurt my brother please!" Tom smiles and looks at Steve.
"Wait- I'm what now?" Steve furrows his eyebrows.
"Bye!" Tom wraps his arm around River and starts walking out.
"S-see you guys." River nods awkwardly and goes with Tom.
You smile and nod.
Once they leave you look over at Steve who is still sitting on the floor. Steve looks up at you and then stares off into space.
"What the hell was all that?" Steve says.
"I'm- kind of shocked myself." You say.
Steve goes silent.
"Damn, that makes sense now, a brother? Explains all the drawings..." Steve says.
You nod.
"When did Hunter tell you all this?" Steve asks.
"It was during the ball, we were outside and he was talking to me about why he went missing for 5 whole years." You say.
"And it had something to do with his brother? Damn I thought he locked you in the library just because. Yknow cause he's a brat." Steve rolls his eyes.
"No, he's not a brat." You roll your eyes.
"Yeah yeah, whatever." Steve says.
"Do you wanna come to Rivers festival?" You ask.
"...sure, I guess it would be nice to do something other than this." Steve says.
"That guy creeps me out though." Steve says.
"River?" You ask.
"No, Tim? Was that his name?" Steve tilts his head.
"Ew, no, his names Tom." You say.
"Yeah well he scares the shit out of me." Steve scoffs.
"Why?" You say.
"HE FUCKING- DID YOU NOT SEE HE HAD ME IN A DAMN WRISTLOCK AS SOON AS YOU ENTERED?! Oh and then he just talks all friendly like it never happened after and he had the audacity to call me adorable! What does he think I'm weak or something?! Is that why he's calling me adorable?! What the hell?!" Steve says.
"I don't think that's it at all actually- I think he was flir-"
"Dude, when I was a scout I was one of the strongest scouts in my squad, they always appointed me a leader of the squad, no one could take me down during training, to this day the only person who was able to apprehend me like that was Stephen, and now this guy is even stronger than that, it gives me the creeps." Steve rubs his arm awkwardly.
"That's how I knew he wasn't fucking Hunter. I can apprehend Hunter like he's nothing, I've been training longer than him, but this dude holy shit!" Steve runs his hand through his hair.
"Well... he's the previous golden guard? Definitely has been through more training than you and Hunter combined Steve." You say.
"Also what's with his friendly attitude? He's too happy go lucky and it pisses me off, he's the complete opposite of Hunter." Steve rubs the bridge of his nose.
"And who does he think he is calling people adorable out of nowhere?!" Steve says angrily.
"He's just happy, I don't know." You shrug.
"He creeps me out. I don't want him talking to me. Weirdo..." Steve shivers and looks the other direction.
"Then ignore him? I don't know? I think it would be nice if he came, he's Hunters brother I wanna know more about him, he seems really nice." You smile.
"Too nice for me." Steve says.
"Okay Steve drop it. Anyway, you and Hunter wanted to work on a spell or something?" You ask.
"Yeah, here." He says pulling out a scroll filled with information regarding the spell.
You take a look at it and open it.
"Lavender Candles, specific flowers, spell circle..." you mutter.
"You have all these things?" You ask and look at him.
Steve point in the corner of the room. It's filled with flowers and other little spell things. You look back over at him.
"Hm." You say.
"There's an incantation we have to say too, it says we need to draw a circle with this specific drawing in it, set some candles, herbs, all that stuff... and... we have to hold hands as we say the incantation." Steve says.
"Where did you get this spell at?" You ask.
"At the night market in bonesburrow." He says.
"Hm." You say.
"And what's it do exactly?" You say.
"It says here we need to perform it once every day, for 3 days. It slowly deteriorates the one's soul every incantation we do, leading to death." Steve says.
"For it to connect to the persons soul, we need a belonging of the said person, which Hunter is working on getting one of the emperors personal belongings, to connect the spell towards him." Steve says.
"I wonder what he'll bring." You say.
"He told me he already got it yesterday, it's just a matter of time before he shows up." Steve says.
You nod. You and Steve just look at eachother silently. Then you decide to say something.
"You know, Matt misses you." You say.
Steve frowns.
"I told him I've been in contact with you and I was thinking of bringing him to Rivers thing as well, also so he can get out because he's playing damn games all day." You say.
"Titan." Steve rolls his eyes.
"Yeah, he needs to go outside." You roll your eyes.
"Plus I think it would be really good for him to see you, he misses you." You say.
"...you know... I would have visited you guys, I was allowed to go outside once Hunter gave me this room.. it's just..." Steve frowns.
"Just what?" You ask.
"I didn't want to see Stephen again." He says.
You frown.
"That makes sense, I know he did a lot on you... so..." you frown.
Steve folds his arms and looks away.
"Ever since you went missing too he hasn't been home much, I think you were like his golden child, like he doesn't even pay much attention to Matt." You say.
"Seriously? I thought for sure he'd pressure Matt to be such a great student and stuff, I worked my ass off both at school and whenever I trained and shit." Steve says.
"I don't know." You say.
"But yeah, as much of a little brat I remember Matt being I'd love to see him again." Steve smiles subtly.
"Awesome! So... Matt, you, me, Viney, River, and Tom all at Rivers festival! This'll be fun." You smile.
Steve nods.
Suddenly the door opens.
You and Steve turn your heads and look. It's Hunter.
He blinks and looks at you both. You both suddenly feel nervous.
"...Are you both okay?" Hunter asks.
...
It's awkward having to keep quiet about the fact Tom and River were JUST here.
"Yeah we're fine." You say and stand up and walk over to him.
"Sorry, I would have come sooner I just had "something" to take care of." Hunter says gesturing to Steve like he gets it.
"I know you kill people Hunter, you don't have to hide it." You say.
"Okay okay, blunt." Hunter rolls his eyes.
"It's fine, it's a part of your job, you can't really disobey that." You say.
"...things... Will be better once Belos is gone, I won't have to do this anymore." Hunter shakes his head.
"Did you get the thing?" Steve asks.
You put your hand on Hunters back and lead him over to you both. He glances at you and blinks.
"Oh the thing, yeah." Hunter says and goes through his pocket.
You both sit down on the floor with Steve. You look over at it.
It's a small bottle of sludge or something.
Steve glances at it and furrows his eyebrows. You furrow your eyebrows as you look at it too.
"What is that?" You ask.
"...residue from his curse." Hunter says.
"What?" Steve says.
"...he gets all green and sludgy and when he's not feeling well he gets this shit everywhere, so... I brought some." Hunter says.
He hands the vial to Steve and Steve takes it.
"Ew, it's moving, you didn't touch it did you?" Steve says.
"No. I had my gloves on." Hunter sits down on the floor.
"Okay good. Um.." Steve says.
Hunter furrows his eyebrows.
"What?" Hunter asks.
"Nothing let's set up the spell circle." Steve says going in the corner to get the things he needs.
Hunter glances at you and you look at him.
"...how are you?" He asks.
"I'm good." You smile.
He blinks a little and smiles subtly too. Then he takes your hand in his and looks into your eyes.
"I was wondering if we could do something together after this." Hunter mutters.
You glance at Steve who's rummaging and grabbing all the things needed for the spell. Then you look back over at Hunter.
"Like what?" You ask.
"Maybe we could go in the woods together and just... I don't know... spend time with eachother like we used to..?" Hunter blushes subtly and looks away.
You squeeze his hand tighter.
"I'd like that." You say.
Hunters eyes widen and the red in his cheeks deepen.
"Okay.." he smiles.
"Okay, here's everything." Steve sits down infront of you both.
He empties a little bag filled with materials like candles, herbs and other things. You take a look at them all and look over at Hunter and then back over to all the things.
"Let's get started." Steve says.