Chapter Text
It had been a month since Hunter was stuck in the human realm. A month since his so-called uncle died. A month since he left all the Boiling Isles to die under a draining spell he created.
All things considered, it had been pretty uneventful. Camila took the kids to the Flea Market a few times and introduced Gus to the internet. Today would likely be just as routine, just a quick morning trip to the market.
At least, that's what Hunter told himself as he climbed into the backseat of the Nocedas’ minivan. Willow and Gus followed after him, leaving him pressed firmly against the window. Luz and Amity sat in the middle seat, leaving the passenger seat wide open for Vee.
“Buckle up, we’re going over the rules again!” Camila called as she strapped herself into the driver seat.
Hunter could almost feel the exasperation from the backseats, but no one voiced a complaint.
“Keep your ears hidden, stay with your buddy, and spend your money wisely. If you don’t follow the rules, I’ll round you all up to get groceries with me, and no one will get anything fun,” Her voice was stern, but her gaze softened as she looked over all of them. “Just… stay safe, okay?” Camila finished quietly.
Hunter had already memorized the list, but he nodded seriously as she spoke. This was his chance to show Camila that he was responsible, that he could handle such a dangerous place without her.
The ride was typical, loud and short. Gus was out of the car before Camila had even parked the minivan.
“Vee! Let’s go let’s go!!! I want to learn about ~yarn~!” He bounced impatiently until the minivan stopped and grabbed Vee’s wrist, vanishing into the crowd within seconds. Hunter rolled his eyes, already dreading Gus’s inevitable rant about ‘the mysteries hidden within yarn and the secret art of crocheting.’
Luz and Amity slipped away towards a jewelry stand.
"Come on, Blondie!!" Willow poked Hunter's side as he shut the door behind him. "I want to see what plants they have today, Ms. Noceda said I can get one as long as it's small!"
Hunter smiled. "Let's get going then."
They fought their way through the crowd, hand-in-hand, towards the plant stand that Willow was so sure was “just right over here, come on, Hunter!”
It was not, in fact, right over there, and Willow continued to drag Hunter through the throngs of people in search of it. It sparked an uncomfortable itch deep inside him, the idea of so many potential enemies only inches away. He tried his best to stay alert and ready despite the cramped quarters, since Willow seemed equally determined to ignore the danger they could be in.
Luckily, they made it to the stand without incident. Willow immediately started inspecting and touching just about every single flower and leaf in front of her. Just as Hunter started to squirm again, she stood with a pot full of flowers, thin yellow petals surrounding dark brown centers tucked under her arm.
"Where do you wanna go next, Hunter?" she asked, gaze already scanning the crowd around them. She was probably looking for something fun, but Hunter just gave her a flat look in return.
"I want to go back to the car before we break any of the rules Camila set out for us."
Willow just tilted her head and raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "She also said that we should have fun today. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, we can go back to the car, but don’t leave just ‘cause you’re afraid to break the rules. You deserve to have fun, too."
They stared each other down right in front of the confused flower vendor until Willow relented.
"How ‘bout we walk back to the car a different way,” she said with a small sigh, “and you can look for something as we go?"
Hunter regarded her for a moment before nodding reluctantly. Willow smiled, took his hand, and pulled them back through the crowd.
Hunter still couldn’t bring himself to look around at the stalls. He was painfully aware of their immediate surroundings, the people and escape routes.
And then someone bumped into him. And another. And another. It was clearly some sort of trap, meant to distract him or–
Hunter’s hand slipped out of Willow's and his head whipped back and forth in search of her, finding only strangers. His arms raised in defense as he felt his heart begin to race and beat almost painfully against his ribs.
He focussed through his panic to catalouge the whole group’s strange equipment; bulky plastic helmets and pads, bright and chaotic make-up that made it hard to identify age or even gender, and shoes. With wheels.
One of the strangers approached, towering over Hunter’s head. "Hey dude, you good? Sorry for scaring you like that.” They looked down at their hands for a second before shoving a plastic bowl full of candy under Hunter’s nose. “Want some candy?"
Before he could respond they handed the bowl to someone else and stuck out her hand, padding and all, for Hunter to shake. "The name’s Hot Topic, she/her," she said with a wide grin.
"Hunter,” he replied warily, ignoring her hand. “That's a weird name." He wanted to slap himself as soon as the words left his mouth. If she took offense, he would probably have to fight her and all her friends. He was pretty sure he could take them, but he’d really rather not cause problems for Camila.
Hot Topic eyed him up and down, maybe sizing him up for a fight, but she just barked out a laugh and dropped her hand. "Ha! That’s not my real name, just my derby one. Like a nickname!”
"Derby?" Hunter took another look around the circle that had formed, keeping Hot Topic front and center. Like… flying derby? But humans couldn’t fly by themselves, as far as Hunter knew. Had they somehow discovered brooms?
“Yeah, roller derby!” the woman didn’t seem put off at his confusion. “It’s a sport on roller skates where everybody hits everyone else, it’s great!”
“Roller derby?"
"Yeah, man! I’m not surprised you’ve never heard of it, it’s not exactly mainstream.” She gestured around at the other skaters, “This is my team, the Gravediggers! A lot of these kids joined without ever wearing skates before, so it doesn’t matter if you’ve played before or not.”
This sounds like something Willow would enjoy. She was the one that had founded the flyer derby team, after all, and the one who fought to keep it.
He almost turned to ask her, but he felt his slowly dissipating tension come back full force. Whether they meant to or not, these strangers had separated him from Willow. He was supposed to stay with her no matter what, he had to find her before something bad happened.
“That’s great and all, but your- your team split me up from my friend and I have to find her, she’s about my height, blue hair, yellow dress, I have to find her-” Hunter hadn’t notice his breath pick up until Hot Topic laid a solid hand on his shoulder, plastic digging into his skin. Her padded hands were much more solid than Belos’ oozing fingers, but it was close enough to make everything worse.
She loomed over him, bending just enough to catch his eye. “Hey, kid, take a breath. I’m sorry we got between you and your friend, but I could help you find her.” When one of the other strangers skated forward she just waved the girl away. “How about you calm down for a second and tell me again what she looks like.”
Hunter took in a deep breath and held it in, like Gus had shown him in the now-distant Hexside classroom, before letting it out in a huff. He almost shrugged Hot Topic’s hand off, but he figured it would make it easier to stick together; he had always managed to keep himself in place until after meetings with his uncle, so surely the familiar touch would not fail him here.
“Her name’s Willow, she’s got glasses, a yellow dress, and dark blue hair,” he said, pointing towards the last place he saw her.
It only took a couple minutes, Hot Topic’s height speeding along the process. As soon as she was within arm’s reach, Willow wrapped him in a firm hug.
She pulled away and let her hand slip into his again. “Are you alright? Someone bumped into me and all of a sudden you were gone – what happened?
"That's kind of my bad. I held him up talking about roller derby." Hot Topic gave an awkward laugh before dropping her hand from Hunter’s shoulder. It felt like a weight was lifted.
“Roller. . . derby?" Willow asked eagerly, stars in her eyes already. It was completely unsurprising.
Hot Topic’s grin gained a dangerous edge. "It's a sport all about skating fast and hitting hard. If y’all want to join, I’ve got a couple flyers with the information.. Show up a bit early and we can get you all set up with the gear you need."
Willow buzzed with excitement. Hunter wasn’t entirely sold on the idea, but Camila probably wouldn’t let Willow go on her own. He just sighed and resigned himself to whatever wheel-shoe based shenanigans he would be dragged into.
Hot Topic slung her bag off her shoulder and dug around inside, producing a brightly colored sheet of paper and holding it out to Willow. Hunter was distracted momentarily by the fierce expression of the girl on the paper, barely catching the piece of candy she tossed at him.
Before either of the kids could respond, she had disappeared into the crowd. Willow began to drag Hunter in the opposite direction, chattering about something or another, but he was entirely focused on the candy, the “Starburst,” sitting in his palm.
When he unwrapped it with his free hand, he was surprised to find it was better than anything he had ever eaten on the isles.
He would never admit it, but Hunter felt a faint spark of excitement at the prospect of joining a team again. Before he knew it, they were back in the minivan on their way back to the Nocedas’.