Chapter Text
I HIGHLY SUGGEST LISTENING TO "I know my place." By Delaney bailey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqoMcmXlv5A
It kinda hurts like the good pain. :'D
You feel the pain your soulmate feels by the time you turn sixteen. They also share the same physical pain you receive. It's an oddity and something witches discovered long ago. Sometimes with injuries that hold more trauma, their bondholder will also receive an external marking like a bruise or a deep cut. No one knows why it happens, as time passed a resident student by the name of Clover Magnis discovered that those who share pain also share a very special link between their very souls. Those with this link seemed to have no trouble connecting instantly. Witches everywhere soon set out to find a link, a friend, a lifelong partner. They named this oddity, soulmates.
“Hunter! Are you excited for your sweet sixteen today?” Luz asked as she practically barreled into Hunter. He was now used to this action and was able to both catch Luz and not fall over.
“I suppose so.” He told Luz.
Unlike everyone else who lived on the boiling isles, Luz was not a witch. Sure, people had questions and she would often visit her home on the weekends but eventually, they accepted her.
“You can start looking for your soulmate!” She added.
“Nah, busy.” He told her.
“What?! Seriously? It could be someone who goes here! Or someone we know.” Luz told him with a knowing smile.
“Luz,” Hunter warned.
“Ok, ok I’ll drop it!” She said raising both hands up.
Luz was well aware of Hunter’s ever-growing crush on Willow. She knew better than to tell her as much as she wanted to.
“Hey, birthday boy!” Willow commented popping up behind Luz.
“Morning Willow,” Hunter said, smiling.
“Are you excited? You get a soul-bond at, wait at what time were you born?” Willow asked.
“Around 12? And not really excited about the universe choosing a soulmate for me.” Hunter told her, shrugging.
“Oh, well you might not ever meet them any way I suppose,” Willow told him as her smile dropped ever so slightly.
“At least we can celebrate soulmates when Willow turns sixteen,” Luz said while squishing her face against Willow’s shoulder.
“That we can!” Willow told her.
It was silly, but a part of Willow knew she wouldn’t have to wait until she was sixteen.
“Are you ready for the match later today captain?” Hunter asked Willow, trying to change the subject.
“Always, Glandus high is going down,” Willow said confidently.
“I don’t doubt that you guys have been training hard!” Luz told them.
“Hard work always pays off,” Willow told her.
The day passed rather quickly, and Gus ended up surprising Hunter with a light display. The surrounding trees did indeed catch fire, but it was well worth it. As a tradition, the group gathered together for their pre-game picnic. Amity brought the group mini cupcakes, which were promptly eaten. There were no survivors.
“Hunter, it’s well past twelve, do you think you have a soulmate link yet?” Luz asked.
“Oh! Oh! You should pinch yourself!” Gus told him.
“I’m not doing that,” Hunter replied.
“It would be funny if someone suddenly shouted, ouch,” Amity told him.
“Come on guys, it’s his birthday he doesn’t want to,” Willow told them.
“Thank you, Willow,” Hunter told her.
“But it would be funny,” Willow said laughing along with the group.
“Never mind, I hate you all,” Hunter said, hiding his smile with a cupcake.
But what if he did? What if Willow was the one who reacted? He wanted to choose his own supposed destiny. He knew deep down the reason he didn’t want a soulmate.
It was because he wanted Willow.
Hunter was in and out of listening to the group's conversation, he slowly brought over his hand to his upper arm.
I don’t know If I want the answer.
He stopped himself from pinching his arm and brought it down back to his lap.
“Hunter?” Willow nudged his arm.
“I’m ok, I’ll be right back.” He already knew what she was going to ask.
Amity, Luz, Gus, and Willow all watched as Hunter got up from their picnic blanket.
“I think this soulmate thing is really bothering him,” Gus told his friends.
“No kidding, he really doesn’t want one,” Luz added.
He really doesn’t huh?
“We talked on the phone yesterday, he said he would rather not have one,” Amity added.
“Oh, well I should check up on him then,” Willow added getting up.
“Thanks, Willow, we have to get ready to cheer for you guys anyway!” Luz told her, linking arms with Amity.
“I’ll gather up the rest of the team,” Gus told Willow.
“Thanks, guys! See you soon!” Willow waved goodbye as she ran away to find Hunter.
It didn’t take Willow long to find him, Hunter was resting under a tree in the shade not far from the outdoor field.
“Hey,” Willow said, taking a seat next to him.
“Hey.” He replied while fiddling with a blade of grass
“This soulmate thing is really messing with you huh?” Willow told him, resting her head against the tree.
“Yeah, yeah it is.” He replied.
“What about it is making you so upset?” She asked.
“I… I don’t want the universe picking a partner for me, I’d rather choose them myself.” He told her eyes darting back and forth between Willow and the ground.
“You wouldn't have to be with them, you know.” She comments, her own voice dropping.
“That wouldn’t be fair to them, even if the relationship wasn’t romantic, it’s still the norm to build a life with whoever you're bonded with.” He sighed.
“I guess so.” She told him.
“I don’t want to be tied down to that, freedom of choice is so important to me,” Hunter added.
He doesn’t want you.
What are you saying?
You’re probably not linked with him anyway.
“Hey, you might never meet them anyway, if that's any comfort,” Willow told him.
“Yeah, I guess so.” He chuckled and got up from his stop against the tree and offered a hand to Willow.
“Thanks,” Willow told him, letting herself get pulled up.
“Now let’s go show Gladus what Hexide is made of!” Hunter told her.
“Heck yeah, we will!” Willow replied.
Willow and the rest of the emerald entrails got ready while listening to Gus and Viney sing goofy birthday songs to Hunter. At first, he tried to stop them, mainly due to the embarrassment he felt. Hunter had a hard time accepting compliments in general, so all the extra attention was a bit hard to receive.
The Game was about to start. They gathered together for one last team huddle for good luck, then they all called their respective palismen and waited for the sound of the whistle.
“Let’s win, birthday boy,” Willow told Hunter with a wink.
“We will, after all, we’ve got one heck of a captain.” He quipped back.
The whistle blew and Willow heard Luz screaming a cheer, she couldn’t help but laugh. Willow skillfully avoided getting her flag captured while grabbing a flag from her competitors. She successfully passed it onto Scara who was able to hang it up on their side.
The match continued, and Willow and Hunter ended up being the last ones on their team who still had their flags. They had to grab one last remaining flag.
“You’ve got this match! Remember the strategy I told you to use.” Skara told them.
“Easy win, just stay focused,” Viney added.
“I’ll be cheering with Luz and Amity for you guys! Plus, Hunter has birthday luck on his side.” Gus said.
Willow and Hunter both thanked the group before heading back off into the field.
“Ready to win?” Hunter asked while holding up his hand.
“Always.” Willow smiled back and high-fived her friend before gripping her staff.
The whistle again blew, and Willow immediately flew above to the sky waiting for Hunter to grab and pass her the remaining flag. So far so good… Until it wasn’t. Hunter had managed to grab the last flag, but the student out of anger rammed into Hunter’s staff, he couldn’t keep his balance and Willow’s reflexes were not fast enough to create a soft flower cushion for him to land on. Although Hunter wasn’t far from the ground it would definitely still hurt.
Pain shot up Willow’s right leg and her right arm also felt its fair share of pain. She clutched her leg and sucked in a breath.
What? Why? What was happening? Was this a muscle spasm? No this was much more painful than a muscle spasm.
Oh, titian it hurt. Willow was overcome with pain; she felt dizzy and sick. She was vaguely aware she was also clutching her leg in pain.
The same leg Hunter had fallen on.
Oh
Oh no
Hunter didn’t want a soulmate, he was her soulmate. She quickly removed her arm and tried her best to seem unaffected.
He’s going to be so disappointed.
She watched from above, as the whistle blew and observed her friends all gathering around him. She had to get down, she couldn’t look suspicious!
Was she really going to keep this a secret?
Willow flew down to meet the others, how in the world was she supposed to walk? It wouldn’t make the pain worse but walking on it would definitely be a challenge.
I don’t want him to feel obligated to be with me. I’m not going to take his freedom of choice away.
Another part of her mind whispered, he’s stuck with someone like you.
Willow tried her best not to wince as she got off her palismen, Hunter was now sitting up, and Viney was beside him casting some sort of healing spell. Willow slowly sat down next to him. She had to squeeze her hand to hide the pain she was feeling.
“Hunter, are you ok?” Willow asked, even though she knew exactly how he was feeling.
“Yeah, I’m alright.” He answered.
“Are… umm, you alright?” Hunter slowly asked, looking her over.
Don’t tell him, you’ll ruin his birthday
“Yeah, of course, I’m fine. You’re the one who fell after all.” Willow was trying her best to seem normal. Striving to hold in the emotions that came with finding your soulmate.
“Oh, right,” Hunter said breaking eye contact.
Hunter's eyes darted all around Willow trying to see if he could spot a bruise, her leg and arm were covered by her gear. Plus, she didn’t appear to be in any pain and Hunter was in a ton of pain. Willow would have felt it, so that meant she wasn’t his soulmate.
It wasn’t Willow.
“Looks like you’ll have a nasty bruise and some minor pain for a couple of weeks. Healing magic can only do so much for an internal injury” Viney told Hunter.
“Mhm, thanks Viney.” Hunter said, trying his best not to seem to upset.
Looks like I’ll be wearing leggings for a week, but it will be worth it to keep Hunter happy.
The game was called off due to Hunter’s injury.
“Can you walk?” Luz asked.
“Yeah, I think so,” Hunter said, with Gus and Amity’s help he slowly stood up.
Willow stayed where she was on the ground, squeezing her arm again while he put pressure on his leg. It didn't hurt as much as she thought it would because thank titan, she seemed to be safe. In the back of her mind, she knew by the time she turned sixteen he would also feel her pain. How would she hide it then? He would find out.
He would be so upset.
“Willow?” Amity called out concerned.
Hunter was leaning on Gus for support and looked back at her, his eyes trailing to her leg.
“Coming!” Willow called out and slowly got up making sure to not wince in pain.
“You alright?” Gus asked.
“Yeah, let's get cleaned up. We’ve got a party to get to after all.” She told them trying to put on her best fake smile.
“True, just because your injured Hunter doesn’t mean we’re not celebrating!” Gus told him.
“Thanks, guys.” Hunter smiled and accidentally stepped on his leg wrong.
Willow once again took a sharp breath in, thank titan she was walking in the back of the group, it wouldn’t be too hard hiding this right?
Scratch that this was going to be nothing short of a challenge. Willow gazed at her leg in horror and took in the big nasty bruise along her leg. Would leggings cover that up? The outfit she had brought with her wouldn’t hide it. Her skirt was far too short. Willow slowly felt the panic rising up, the pain wasn’t helping either. What on earth was she going to do? He was going to find out. He was about to have the worst birthday ever because of her.
“Willow, are you alright?” Luz was knocking on her stall door.
“Y-yeah I’m fine, do you have an extra pair of leggings?” Willow asked.
“I do! Why?” Luz replied, curiosity laced in her words.
“May I borrow them? I think my skirt is too short.”
“Of course! Let me go grab them.” Luz told her while running up to her gym locker.
“Thank you so much, Luz.” Willow signed in relief.
She was ok. The secret was still safe.
The two met up with the rest of the group outside of the school, Hunter now had some sort of splint on his leg.
Good, it should hurt less now.
“How’s the leg doing?” Willow asked him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
“A lot better than before, that's for sure.” He chuckled.
I know
“So, are we ready to party?” Amity asked the group.
“I was ready a month ago,” Gus replied.
It hurt every time Hunter took a step, nothing horrible. It was just the element of surprise pain that would flair up every now and then that made it hard. It was nothing Willow couldn’t handle. Right?
For him, all this would be worth it.
“So, it’s not someone at school, that’s for sure,” Amity said.
“Seems that way!” Gus told the group but made sure to hold a second of eye contact with Willow.
“That would have been a fun way to find out huh?” Luz told them.
“I guess so,” Hunter told them.
When they arrived, Darius had various party decorations out. They all got to celebrate, and for a moment both Willow and Hunter could breathe again everything was fine. Hunter was laughing again, truly laughing.
“Are you having a good birthday?” Willow asked, nudging his good arm.
“Yeah, the best.” He replied, smiling, and nudged her back.
See? He’ll be happier without you holding him back.
I just wish it was you.
