Chapter Text
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUGHH!!” Hunter’s alarm clock screamed. The blonde startled awake, sloppily fumbling his arm around like a fish to turn it off. Right off the bat, without even being awake for more than a few seconds, he felt… off. A bad kind of off. His throat was a bit sore, and he had woken up drenched in his own sweat. Neither of those things were normal for him, and they weren't exactly good signs. Hunter threw his blanket off and sat up, but as he rose his head off his pillow, his head began to slightly pound. He rested his hand on the back of his head, wincing.
A daunting realization came to Hunter; he must've been getting sick, which was literally the last thing he wanted or needed right now. He loved going to school. He wanted to hang out with his friends, play Flyer Derby, and attend his classes. He didn’t want some stupid illness to make him miss it all.
No, he couldn’t miss school.
No, he wouldn’t miss school.
He was going, no matter how he felt. Besides, he didn’t feel that sick. Perhaps the symptoms would go away on their own. He had experienced worse, way worse sicknesses in the past, so he figured he would be fine.
However, Hunter now had a different problem on his hands. He knew that if Darius found out about his illness, he would keep him home. Hunter didn’t want that to happen, so he knew he had to do everything in his power to avoid Darius if possible.
Hunter got out of bed, used the bathroom, and went straight to the dining room for breakfast. Thankfully, Darius had already made something for him like usual; better yet, he wasn't in the dining room either. The breakfast was some weeping bacon and scrambled griffin eggs, which were Hunter’s favorite breakfast foods in the demon realm. There was also a cup of ice-cold appleblood on the side. Hunter smiled. Perhaps this meal would help his body fight off whatever illness he had caught.
He poked the weeping bacon with a fork and put it in his mouth, but suddenly, he felt a sharp sense of pain. The food was stabbing every corner of his throat like hundreds of tiny needles. He frantically spat it out. He stared at the food for a moment before deciding to power through and try eating it again. He put it back in his mouth, forcing himself to chew. Unfortunately for him, the pain was too great, and he spat it right back out. Hunter realized that the weeping bacon would be too painful to eat due to his sore throat. He sighed, rather annoyed at this. He hoped the scrambled griffin eggs would be a different story. He put them in his mouth, only to find himself with the exact same problem. The pain was also too much to handle, so he spat that out too. Hunter was incredibly frustrated. If he couldn't swallow the food, he wouldn't be able to eat anything this morning, which meant he was going to school feeling unwell and without breakfast. Hunter whimpered as he thought about his first day of school and how embarrassing it was when his stomach was growling throughout his entire third period. He sure wasn't looking forward to that again, but he knew he didn't have a choice if he physically couldn't eat.
Defeated, Hunter discreetly threw out his food so Darius wouldn’t comment on him not eating it. He figured that with the time he had where he would’ve normally eaten, he could take a shower to get all this sopping sweat off him. Plus, it would help him avoid Darius, so that’s exactly what he sought to do next.
Hunter brought his Hexside uniform into the bathroom and took a nice, warm, steaming shower for as long as possible. The hot water felt extremely nice, and Hunter never wanted to get out, but he knew he had no choice if he didn't want to be late for school. When he reluctantly got out, he dried off, got dressed, and blow-dried his hair. He wiped the condensation off the mirror, looking at his reflection, finding himself to be looking rather pale, and that was definitely exasperated by the lack of any breakfast, too. Hunter sighed. He hoped that Darius wouldn’t notice his sickly appearance before he could get out of the house. He knew today was gonna be rough, but he knew in the back of his head that going to school was going to make this all worth it. Hunter snuck out of the bathroom, carefully avoiding Darius as much as he could as he tip-toed to the front door. As he grew close, he froze as he heard footsteps coming. Darius was heading to the kitchen, so Hunter scurried to the front door and went outside. Once he had made it out the door, a massive wave of relief went over him. With one major problem avoided, he could focus on the rest of the day. He summoned his staff and proceeded to fly off to Hexside.
However, now he had a new, worse problem to face, as flying on his staff made him feel nauseous, which slowed his flight to nearly a crawl. Hunter dry-heaved several times on the way, feeling his sickness only grow worse. Every dry heave sent shockwaves of pain through his throat. To make matters worse, his head had also begun to pound. Hunter couldn't keep denying it to himself. He was getting worse fast, and he was definitely sick. Getting through today was going to be a grueling task, but Hunter kept reminding himself that going to school would make it all worth it. He just had to continue powering through, and Hunter had convinced himself he'd be able to do it despite the fact that he was getting worse by the second.
Hunter landed in the front plaza of Hexside, feeling very dizzy, nauseous, and lightheaded. Thankfully his symptoms began fading after he had stopped flying. He began slogging into Hexside, starting to walk to his first class. There weren’t many other students in the halls, and that was something that was quite puzzling to Hunter. He continued walking at a snail’s pace, only to hear the five-minute warning bell. Hunter's stomach sank as he realized he had barely any time to get to his first class. Hexside was massive. It would take much more than five minutes for him to walk to his first class. Hunter began to regret spending so much time in that shower. If he hadn't wasted all that time, this wouldn't have been happening. Hunter knew that if he didn't want to be late, he had to fly on his staff to get to class faster. He really didn't want to do that, but he'd rather feel a little sick than face the embarrassment and trouble of being late. He reluctantly hopped on his staff and flew there, getting to his History of Wild Magic class with just two minutes to spare.
At this point, Hunter felt like he was going to vomit his insides out. He fumbled his way to his seat, sitting between Willow and Gus. He finally made it. He was finally with his friends. Hopefully, with their support, this day wouldn't be so bad. Willow smiled upon laying her eyes upon her new, beloved boyfriend, “Hi, Hunter,” She greeted, followed by a kiss on the cheek, causing Hunter to blush. They had only started dating a few days ago, and the romantic affection was definitely something he wasn't used to yet, but Titan, did he absolutely adore it. He faintly smiled after the kiss. Somehow, that one kiss alone almost made everything worth it. Willow then spoke again, “You’re here later than usual. I was getting worried you wouldn't show up!”
Gus traced Hunter from head to toe, and something definitely didn't seem right. Hunter had never been this late before. In fact, he almost always was up to thirty minutes early. Not to mention, he looked rather weak, tired, and pale. None of that was like Hunter at all. “Jeez, Hunter, you don't look so good. Do you feel alright?”
“I’m fine-” Hunter instantly cut himself off, slapping his hands over his mouth. Usually, he would've gone on a long tangent about how he was okay, but the second he had opened his mouth, he really regretted speaking. His voice was feeble, hoarse, and raspy, sounding nothing like his usual voice. Not to mention that talking hurt his already sore throat even more. His throat continued to get worse at a scarily fast rate, and Hunter was getting increasingly worried about his ability to stay in school by the moment. How would he get through the day if he sounded like this?!
“Whoa…” Willow went, stunned by the state of Hunter's voice. She also noticed Hunter's body condition. He was sweaty, pale, and overall sickly looking. She began to worry about him. “Hunter, you don't sound good. Are you okay?”
Hunter replied with a simple, quiet nod, wanting to avoid speaking at all costs.
Gus wasn't convinced. Hunter looked pretty not okay to him. He felt his forehead, and Hunter would've told him to stop if speaking hadn't hurt so much. “I don't think you're okay. You feel awfully warm.”
Willow frowned, growing even more concerned. Hunter was probably sick, and he especially didn't need that on top of everything he had been through recently. She rubbed his back, “Hunter, if you’re not feeling well, you should go to the Healing Homeroom.”
Despite his ailment growing worse at a rapid pace, Hunter still didn't want to go home. He mustered up the courage to speak again, “I’m okay. Just a sore throat.” He painfully muttered with a fake smile, wincing the entire time he said that. This time speaking hurt even more, and his sore throat grew worse every waking moment. His voice was growing weaker, raspier, and more hoarse with every word he spoke. In fact, his whole body was beginning to feel weaker at an exponential rate. His head began throbbing constantly, his body was getting the chills, and his nose was starting to get stuffed up.
“You really do not sound okay.” Willow growled, tired of Hunter’s insistence that he was fine despite him clearly not being okay.
“Yeah, Willow’s right.” Gus agreed. “You sound like you’re talking through a cheese grater.”
Hunter knew he needed to speak again, as he wanted to keep on insisting he was okay so he could stay, but before he could open his mouth, his stomach grumbled. Hunter froze as he had completely forgotten he had skipped breakfast due to everything that had happened that morning. It made him feel frustrated, as being hungry was just another nuisance on top of everything else. It was also quite embarrassing as he was in a class full of people.
“Jeez, Hunter. You sound hungry. Did you not eat breakfast today?" Gus asked with a raised brow.
Hunter bashfully shook his head.
“That’s unlike you,” Willow commented. She didn't want to see Hunter hungry, so she cast a green spell circle, summoning a Hexer’s Bar for Hunter to munch on. “Here, eat this. It's not much, but it's better than nothing. Gus can help you keep it hidden with his illusions.” she said as she slid it over to the sick, peckish boy.
Hunter sadly eyed at the Hexer's Bar. He really, really wanted it, especially since Hexer's Bars were his favorite energy bars, but he knew it would be complete torture to eat. Hexer's Bars were extremely hard and crunchy, and if the weeping bacon and scrambled griffin eggs were too painful for him to swallow, he couldn't imagine how bad the Hexer's bar would be. So, despite how much he'd like to eat, he couldn’t accept the offer. He slowly slid the energy bar back to Willow, “No...thanks.” Hunter croaked out with extreme pain. He wished he hadn't spoken. His voice was getting so weak and raspy that it was nearly impossible to hear him. The poor blonde was clearly going to lose his voice at any moment.
This was very confusing to Willow. She knew Hunter like the back of her hand. He was always eager to gobble down any free food that was offered to him, even when he wasn't hungry. Hunter turning down his favorite energy bar while clearly hungry was very unusual for him. Something was definitely wrong. "Why not? I thought you were hungry?" she asked.
Hunter winced, knowing he had to go through the insufferable pain again to explain the situation, “My…th...roat-” but he was unable to finish his sentence, as his voice completely gave out. Hunter tried to continue speaking, but it felt like a thousand knives were poking the inside of his throat, and it was indescribably painful. It was the worst sore throat he had ever gotten. His whole body was sweating, his head pounded like crazy, and his nose was now running and noticeably red. Hunter held his throbbing, aching throat with his hands, beginning to tremble from the sheer amount of pain he was in.
Willow and Gus quickly realized what had happened. Hunter could no longer speak and needed medical care right away, but before they could do anything, class began. The teacher began speaking, “Alright, hush, hush, everyone. Today, we’re reviewing our unit on the elemental magic of the savage ages. Hunter, you're our top student, so you can start us off. What was the most common type of elemental magic used?”
Hunter’s stomach sank. How unlucky. Of course, he had gotten called on when he was unable to speak at that moment. How was he going to answer?! He tried to open his mouth, but nothing came out. Hunter didn't know what to do and began silently panicking. If he didn't say anything, he'd look like a fool and probably get in trouble, and it was impossible to tell the teacher he had lost his voice.
Thankfully, Willow came to Hunter's rescue. “Sir, Hunter’s lost his voice,” she explained.
The teacher then took a good look at Hunter, immediately noticing how unwell he looked. “Oh Titan. Hunter, you clearly are in no condition to be in school. Will someone be willing to escort him to the Healing Homeroom?”
Willow instantly stood up, “I'll do it!” she shouted, trying to call dibs before anyone else could.
"Alright, Willow. Go ahead," the teacher said. Hunter miserably looked up at her, he still wanted to stay in school, but he now knew that nothing he did would be able to change the situation now. Especially since a teacher had told him to go to the Healing Homeroom. Seeing it as hopeless now, he admitted defeat. Willow proceeded to help him out of his seat, and Hunter leaned onto her, grasping her warm hand.
“Get well soon, Hunter,” Gus whispered.
Hunter glanced at him for a moment, giving him a slow, silent nod. Once Willow and Hunter exited the classroom, Willow decided to swoop Hunter off his feet and carry him. This surprised Hunter, but he welcomed it. As Willow carried Hunter to the Healing Homeroom, he nuzzled himself in her soft, warm, squishy arms, getting so comfortable that it was beginning to lull him to sleep. Her embrace made it feel like he was safe, wanted, loved , and that he was going to be able to get through this. He never wanted to be let go. Once arriving, Willow laid Hunter down on a small bed, much to Hunter's dismay, as he wanted to be held for longer. Hunter looked up at her with saddened eyes, wanting to be held again. Then a nurse spotted the two, “What brings you two here today?” she asked.
“Hunter has lost his voice," Willow explained. "And when he could talk, his voice was extremely weak and raspy. He looks really pale and sweaty, and I'm worried. He must be sick.”
“Hmm, If he's lost his voice, I think I have a pretty good idea of what he caught. Let me take a look. Hunter, sit up, please.” Hunter internally groaned. He didn't want to sit up or even move right now. He just wanted to rest and be in Willow’s arms again, but he knew he had no choice. He sluggishly sat up and opened his mouth so the nurse could inspect his throat. His throat had white spots all over, it looked red and inflamed, and even his tonsils looked irritated. Then, the nurse stopped looking, “Yeah, that sure looks like strip throat to me, and a pretty bad case, too,” she diagnosed. Once hearing that, Hunter’s stomach sunk.
Strip throat…
A bacterial disease that attacks the throat and strips away one's voice for the duration of their illness. That meant that he wouldn’t be able to talk for a long, long time. Definitely for the rest of the day, and maybe even for a couple of days.
Hunter couldn't believe it. Strip throat was one of the most physically painful illnesses on the isles. This was just perfect…he could never catch a break, no matter how hard he tried.
“Hunter, you need to go home immediately, and your parents should definitely have you see a physician,” the nurse ordered.
Hunter's stomach dropped again. That was the one thing he was hoping wouldn't happen. He thought things couldn't get any worse, but they just had. He was extremely upset that he had to go home, possibly for several days. Tomorrow was the weekend too. He was going to miss out on the plans he and his friends had made and the rest of the school day, including Flyer Derby practice. Plus, to make matters worse, he had to fly to even get home, and his previous flight had made him feel extremely nauseous. With him now feeling even worse than before, he couldn't imagine how awful the flight home was going to be. To top it all off, Darius had definitely gone to work by now, meaning that once Hunter got home, there would be no one to take care of him. Not even his friends or Willow could come over to help, as they had the rest of the school day to deal with. He was going to be alone…
Hunter’s eyes began to sting with tears. He couldn’t believe it. That was terrible. He was going to miss out on so much, and he was going to be alone. He hated being alone. He didn’t want to be alone. He wanted to stay here with all his friends. Despite Hunter being unable to say a word, Willow could tell that he was extremely upset by this. She frowned, feeling terrible for the poor blonde. “Goodbye, Hunter. I hope you get better.” She told him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Hunter sadly nodded at her, knowing he had no choice but to accept his fate. Not even a kiss could cheer him up. He waved goodbye to Willow and slowly exited the Healing Homeroom. Willow watched him as he left, deeply worried about her boyfriend. She had to do something to help, but first, she knew she had to wait for school to end.
Once outside in the front plaza, Hunter sighed heavily and hesitantly summoned his staff, knowing exactly what was about to happen. Titan, he really didn't want to do this, but he knew he had no choice. He boarded Waffles and began to fly home.
Just as Hunter had predicted, the flight home was even worse than the flight there, and his motion sickness returned with a roaring vengeance. Flying was nearly impossible, as Hunter had to take several stops to go on dry-heaving fits. Each violent gag caused intense shockwaves of pain throughout his entire body. To make matters worse, his body would keep going, trying to eject what was in his stomach, only for nothing to come out since it was empty. It was terrible. This was agonizing. The longer he flew, the dizzier he got, heavily disorienting him and leading to several painful crashes. Whenever he crashed, Hunter would go on another dry-heaving fit. It was a vicious, horrible, insufferable cycle. At this point, all Hunter wanted was to make it home so the pain would end. He couldn't take this for another second, and to top it all off, Hunter had to fly at a snail's pace to even have a chance of making it home in one piece.
After ages of many crashes and gagging fits later, he finally, finally managed to haul his way home. He landed on the front porch and immediately collapsed. After that whole debacle, he was extremely physically exhausted, and he didn't even know if he would be able to get up. Waffles transformed into her live form, digging under the welcome mat and giving Hunter the key to the house. Hunter took the key and continued lying on the floor, unable to move. He had to wait for the motion sickness to wear off before he could do anything, and it was fading away at a frustratingly slow pace. While waiting, Waffles crawled on top of Hunter's back, patiently waiting for him to be ready to get up. Hunter didn't know how long it took, but soon, he was able to drag himself back to his feet. Hunter opened the door and entered his house. He could barely walk, and he crept his way to his room. He needed to lie down. Once he had gotten in his room, he flopped onto his bed, feeling a minuscule sense of relief that he could finally rest.
The house was quiet and empty. There was not a sound to be heard that wasn't made by Hunter. The sick boy whimpered, grabbing the giant Sprig plush Willow had won him back at the carnival and squeezing it tight. He was already so lonely. It felt like his days back in the Emperor's coven, where he was almost always alone. It was painful to remember that. He hated being lonely. He missed Darius, he missed his friends, but most of all, he missed his girlfriend. He desperately wanted Willow. He wanted to see her beautiful face. He wanted to hear her soft, soothing voice. He wanted to receive her warm, loving kisses. He wanted to be embraced in her squishy, comforting arms. Sadly, he knew that wasn't going to happen. He was alone.
But…at least he had one thing. His little blue-jay palisman, Waffles. She couldn't do much, but she could keep Hunter company. The bird walked on top of him, rubbing her face against Hunter’s cheek. Hunter miserably wallowed to himself. It was going to be a rough few days of recovery.