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Hunter stepped inside and closed his door.
He let out a sigh, giving in to the overwhelming urge to bend over. He walked over to his bed, favouring his left side. It was a relief, and hurt a lot less.
A red bird flew in from its perch on the open window, fluttering over to him as he sat on the edge of his bed.
Right. The palisman. He… really should turn it in to Uncle… shouldn’t he?
Not now, he told himself. He’d be furious…
Hunter set his mask next to him, unbuckled his belt, and took off his armour, wincing as he did so.
The palisman chirped at him.
“I’m fine,” he said defensively. “It’s just a few scratches.” He tugged his tunic off before removing his vest and grey shirt. It felt weird to be sitting in just his trousers and undershirt in front of it. Which was ridiculous. It wasn’t like it was a witch.
Hunter eyed it, searching for any signs of attack. It stared back, giving him a single, innocent chirp. He squinted suspiciously, not buying the act for a second.
After making a hand motion to let it know he was watching it, he slid off his right glove and reached for his first aid kit. The pain made him fumble with it, nearly dropping it onto the floor. He glanced back at the palisman, which was still sitting on the foot of his bed, watching him. Judging him, probably.
Hunter frowned at it, setting the kit down next to him. “Why are you here? I told you to stay away. It’s dangerous.”
The palisman just tweeted, tilting its head. If he didn’t know better, Hunter would think it looked curious.
Fine. It wasn’t like he cared if it got caught.
He retrieved his balm, struggling to open it with just one hand. It finally worked, and he frowned at how little was left inside. He’d need to get more soon… Trying to ignore the bird’s new string of chirps, he took some out with his fingers and rubbed them on his left shoulder, moving his left side as little as possible. Apparently, he had three bruises crowded together, which he tried to cover with as little balm as he could.
His right shoulder seemed to beg for some, but that would require reaching over with his left hand. Besides, his supply of balm was limited, and he didn’t know when he’d need it again. He could deal with a couple bruises anyway.
He clumsily closed and tossed the balm back into the kit. He searched for the pain elixir for a moment, only to remember he’d finished it off last time. He’d hoped to have a mission near a market before he’d need it again, but that hadn’t happened yet.
He sighed. This was going to hurt, then.
He picked up the purple potion and very carefully removed the top. He dipped a single finger into it, scrunching his nose up at the tingly feeling it caused upon contact. He took a few deep breaths, setting his jaw--It’s just an injury, don’t be weak--and pulled his undershirt up with his left hand.
Ugh, why did the palisman’s tweeting sound surprised? Was it actually watching him patch himself up?
He tried to ignore it and avoid looking down, gently tapping the most painful part of his stomach with the potion. Letting out a quiet hiss at the sting it caused, he let his shirt fall. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, frustrated as the pain slowly lessened. It wasn’t enough. Damn.
He dipped his finger in again, lifting his shirt and gently rubbing more into the injury. He clenched his left hand as tightly as he could, trying to stay silent despite the urge to scream.
“This would be a lot easier if I could do healing magic, huh?” he joked to the bird, though it came sounding out more pained than he’d intended.
The chirps grew closer, and Hunter glanced at it just in time to see the bird land on his left knee. It flapped its wings, tweeting rapidly.
His gaze followed its movement, down to his knee… and then the left side of his stomach.
A twisted, purple bruise greeted him. His throat closed off as his mind began to replay the sight again-–Uncle’s gooey fist slamming into him over and over and over, with him pinned against the floor, unable to fight back–
His head shot up, leaving him staring at his ceiling. Gritting his teeth, he forced the rising emotions down.
“It’s not a big deal,” he said, unsure if he was talking to the bird or himself. “It was just Uncle’s curse.”
He slowly tapped his finger to the bruise again, trying to ignore the combination of pain from the touch and sting from the potion. “It hurts him more than it hurts me. I mean, I didn’t move out of the way fast enough,” he laughed, probably sounding slightly unhinged. “Pretty pathetic for the Golden Guard, huh?”
He closed the potion, letting the pain spike with another quiet hiss before it slowly, excruciatingly slowly, began to fade. Figuring he’d used enough, he put the lid back on the potion and returned it to his kit.
Pulling out a roll of enchanted bandages, he continued. “I hate seeing him suffer like that,” he murmured. “I want to help! But I can’t do that if I don’t know what happened. Or even just more about how wild magic works!”
The bird hopped, letting out a tweet that he swore sounded like concern.
Hunter began to wrap the bandages around his stomach with just his right hand, keeping his left side as still as possible. “I know I’m not supposed to read about wild magic. I know it’s dangerous! But- I have to help him. He’s done so much for me, and I can’t even complete a simple mission. I don’t even have magic; I’m completely useless! Research is the only thing I can do, but… I shouldn’t have brought it up. And I definitely shouldn’t have kept books about it. I just… thought I was onto something.”
He finished wrapping and put the bandages back into the kit, sighing as he closed it. “He was right. It was a warning. Worse than this will happen if I keep looking into wild magic.”
The bird flapped its wings and chirped, probably wanting attention. Hunter petted it, which it seemed to enjoy. “He’s just worried about me. He doesn’t want me to end up like… that.” He winced, shoving the memories away. “I knew he’d be mad if he found them! I was stupid enough to keep them. And to read them in the first place. It upset him so much that his curse acted up. I should just let it go. Wild magic is dangerous.”
The bird hopped, pushing against Hunter’s hand; he realised that at some point, he’d stopped petting it. He started again, getting a few chirps as a reward. “I need to let it go. I know what happens when I break the rules, and I know they’re important. It’s dangerous, and it’s what cursed Uncle in the first place. So why can’t I just let it go?” He slammed his fist into his thigh, wincing at the pain that caused his injury. The bird jumped off his other thigh, hovering for a moment before settling back down. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” he muttered. “It’s just- If there is a way to harness wild magic, even if it’s dangerous- Wouldn’t it be worth it if it could help him? Ugh, I don’t know.” He rubbed his face, sighing.
Maybe the pain was getting to him, talking to it like it was a witch. “I must sound pretty ridiculous talking to a bird, huh.”
It hopped again and shook its head, making a noise that somehow sounded like a dissent.
“Well, it’s nice to say it out loud, I guess.” He picked up the kit and put it back on his nightstand. “It’s a good distraction.”
He instinctively started to grab a book out from under it, only to remember why he’d gotten in trouble in the first place.
Suddenly, he wasn’t in the mood for reading anymore.
The bird hopped and chirped, successfully getting his attention. Right, he’d been petting it.
“I deserved it,” he whispered, giving the bird the pets it wanted. “I knew I was breaking the rules, and I did it anyway. I know Uncle’s probably upset he lost control, but… It was my fault.”
The bird hopped around and waved its wings, making more incomprehensible chirping noises.
Hunter pulled his hand back at the movement, frowning at it. It didn’t look like it was trying to attack. Maybe it was just tired of being petted. He looked out his window and ignored it until it quieted, listening to the breeze outside and the distant sounds of castle life in the hopes they would quiet his thoughts.
He looked at the sky.
Uncle’s cursed form, mud leaking from his uniform despite being so solid when hitting.
The clouds dotting it. The sun peaking out from behind one.
His pained movements after he recovered.
The landscape on the horizon.
The mysterious origins of this curse, so unlike anything Hunter had ever read about.
“Ugh, I can’t stop thinking about it!” he cried. “If wild magic did this to him, then wild magic could help him! He says the Titan’s got big plans for me, but what if those plans are for me to help him? What if wild magic is the only way to do that?”
No. Stop. He shouldn’t be thinking about wild magic–-Uncle wouldn’t be pleased.
Uncle’s cursed fists, slamming into him again and again, after Hunter had done so well for so long, after he’d become the Golden Guard, gotten his staff, he’d still managed to fail-
“No!” he screamed, as if the noise would scare the memories away. He pressed his hand to his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut to keep any tears from leaking out. “I never should’ve broken the rules. I should have listened! I say I want to help him, but I can’t even move out of his way? I’ve been training for this my whole life, and I can’t do something that basic? What kind of Golden Guard am I?”
A feeling on his cheek made him jump, and he opened his eyes to see the bird hovering next to him, rubbing the top of its head on his cheek.
“Whaaat are you doing?”
Its feathers, somehow soft despite being wooden, felt weird rubbing against his skin.
“Stop it,” he ordered, but it ignored him. “Why are you doing that?”
It perched on his shoulder, pricking his skin with its talons uncomfortably close to his bruises. For some reason, it started to rub its head against his cheek.
“What are you doing?”
The bird just rubbed him some more.
Hunter found himself biting back a small smile. “C- Cut it out!” he snapped.
It paused, chirped a few times, then gently nudged him again.
Was it trying to… comfort him? Had it actually been paying attention to his rambling?
That was probably stupid. But then again, he didn’t know much about palismen. Maybe it was possible…
Hunter hesitated-–it could still be dangerous–-before reaching over to touch its head in some kind of weird pat. He half expected it to bite him or something, but instead, it nuzzled his hand and gave a few friendly chirps.
It felt… nice. He supposed. It was something to distract himself with, at least.
“Thanks.”
The bird hopped a few times and rubbed his cheek again, chirping encouragingly.
Hunter caught himself leaning into it, and almost pulled away when he realised. He shouldn’t trust a palisman. He shouldn’t even have a palisman in his room.
He glanced at his door. It’s not like anyone would know. He was alone, and the bird couldn’t tell anyone even if it wanted to. And, if he… didn’t mind the bird’s strange attempts at comfort… Well, that could be a secret, too.