Chapter Text
Flapjack was dead.
Hunter knew that, but it still didn't feel real. The moment they had defeated both Belos and the Collector, Hunter's first thought was to return to the human realm. He wanted to visit the Graveyard where he had possessed him and where Flapjack had died. Hunter knew Flapjack was forever inside of him, but it still felt like they were forever separated. The least he could do to honor him was visit the graveyard where everything had happened.
After about a month, Hunter and his friends finally had the time to return to the human realm for a visit. Willow, Gus, Luz, Vee, Amity, and Camila had asked Hunter if he wanted some company on his trip to the graveyard, but Hunter had politely declined. He wanted to be alone with Flapjack, not having anything to distract him. His family understood his decision, but Camila told him to return by noon.
Hunter took the bus to get to the graveyard, and once he had arrived, he silently roamed around. Despite the bitter cold and his several layers of clothing, all he could feel was a sharp pain in his chest. It felt like the world was closing in on him, as if he was suffocating. It was dead grass, leafless trees, freezing water, and tombstones for all the eye could see. All Hunter could remember was that terrible night that had changed his life forever. The night he lost control of his own body to the man who had manipulated and abused him his entire life. The man that wanted him dead the moment he deemed him too worthless to be of use anymore. The man that killed his own brother for falling in love. The man that killed countless amount of clones of that brother…
The man that had murdered his first friend right in front of his eyes.
Every now and then, Hunter would look at his right index finger where Belos had entered his bloodstream. It would make Hunter seethe with rage every time he did. It made him want to break something, punch something, destroy something. Hunter hated him. He hated him with every last bone in his body. No words could even come close to describing how much he hated him. Hunter was glad he was finally dead for good. It was nice knowing he would never hurt anyone ever again. But even though Hunter had gotten his revenge once and for all, the pain he had endured because of Belos would never go away, no matter how much he wanted it to.
The time ticked by, and with every minute, air became harder and harder to enter Hunter's stonesleeper lungs. He walked to the large, deep, freezing lake, going on his knees by the bank. He stared at his reflection in the water. This was the lake where he had tried to drown himself to take Belos with him and save his family. Scars now covered his whole face in the exact places where Belos had dug into his skin. A haunting reminder of the worst day of his life. Hunter couldn't hold it in anymore as tears leaked from his brown eyes, the salty droplets falling into the lake. Hunter clutched his chest where Flapjack had given up his life to save him as he desperately tried not to break down into a hysterical mess. All he could think about was Flapjack. He missed him so much. He wanted him back. He wanted him back right now. He wanted to see him again. He wanted-
Suddenly, Hunter's thoughts were interrupted when he heard the loud rustles of a bush behind him, causing him to jump and yelp.
He wasn't alone…
Hunter looked behind him to see a bush moving around. He froze for a brief moment before instinct kicked in. The boy began to inch towards the bush, preparing himself for a fight. "Who are you? Show yourself!" Hunter demanded. However, what happened next was certainly not what the grieving boy had expected. A small, furry, gray and white animal emerged from the bush, stumbled over itself, and fell with a soft whimper, unable to get back up. Hunter couldn't believe what he saw, as he knew exactly what kind of human creature this was. "What the… is that a… wolf? "
The wolf heard Hunter and looked up at him. Once she saw him, she immediately began shaking. To her, Hunter was a massive, terrifying creature she had never seen before. She would've ran, but her legs were too weak to carry her. She began making loud whimpering noises, continuing to shake in horror. Unannounced to the wolf, Hunter wasn't a threat to her; rather, he was fascinated by her. He had truly thought wolves were mythical beasts humans had just made up, but here he was, seeing one with his own eyes. He went to his knees, putting his body on the ground to get his eyes as close as possible to the wolf. "Are you… real?" the boy asked. Hunter reached his finger out to touch her, but this caused the wolf to growl. He pulled his arm away, getting slightly farther away from her. Hunter finally overcame his initial awe, "I thought wolves were bigger than this…she must just be a baby." It was then Hunter noticed that this wolf pup was in terrible condition. Her fur was matted and filthy, she was quite literally skin and bones, and she was so weakened that she couldn't even walk anymore. Hunter assumed she must've been lost and separated from her mother, and it reminded him of when he was on the run from the Emperor's Coven.
Lost, horrified, alone, filthy, weakened, starving, miserable…
Maybe the circumstances of why they were lost and alone were very different, but they were more similar than Hunter had first thought. Being on the run from the Emperor's Coven was one of the worst parts of his entire life. For this wolf pup, being separated from her mom must've been the worst moment of her life. She wasn't just a cute little wolf to him anymore…
She was just like him.
Hunter couldn't just leave the puppy alone after realizing that, even if she may have wanted him to go away. Judging by how weakened she was, Hunter knew for a fact she was going to die if he didn't do something. He had to help.
Hunter went to pick her up, but she growled at him again, even attempting to bite him. She was pretty close to landing it, too, as Hunter had only jerked away milliseconds in time. Hunter wasn't giving up, though, as he began slowly reaching out to her. "Hey, little guy, it's okay. I won't mess with you."
However, the closer Hunter got to her, the more she began growling, and when he got too close, she snapped her jaws at him, and this time she was able to land a bite on Hunter's hand, but thankfully he was wearing thick gloves due to the cold. This meant her little milk teeth were too weak to puncture the glove to get to his skin, but Hunter certainly felt the pressure from the bite. Hunter flinched his hand back and let out a sigh, getting frustrated with her, but then Hunter realized that he couldn't just try and help this pup immediately. He had to earn her trust first. He supposed that made sense, as he was very distrustful of everyone after running away from the Emperor's Coven, but how could he possibly earn this wolf's trust?
Sure, Gus was able to earn his trust, but Gus was a person who could talk; this wolf was an animal, and an animal that couldn't understand spoken language, unlike palismen. It wasn't like he could just tell the wolf that he wouldn't mess with him. Hunter was stumped but knew he had to figure this out if he wanted to save the wolf's life, and he refused to give up. Hunter tried to think of what things could overlap between how Gus earned his trust and how he could earn an animal's trust.
Then, it came to him.
Food.
Everyone had to eat. Animal, witch, human, or grimwalker. The first thing that Gus did that helped Hunter earn his trust was giving him his leftover lunch. Hunter had been quite literally starving before being given that meal, and it was clear that this wolf pup was starving, too. Lucky for Hunter, he happened to have food on him, as he had brought a turkey sandwich for lunch. Even though Hunter was rather hungry himself, he was more than willing to sacrifice his lunch if it meant saving the puppy's life. He could get good quality food whenever he wanted. The wolf couldn't, and she was so thin that it looked like she hadn't had a nibble of food in forever. Hunter dug into his pockets to get the sandwich, "Hey, listen, I know you can't understand a word I'm saying, but I know you're lost, scared, hungry, feeling hopeless right now, but I'm here for you. I promise I won't hurt you. I promise I won't mess with you. I'll help you." Hunter then offered the sandwich to the pup, "Just like someone once did for me… "
Upon being offered the sandwich, the wolf pup immediately scarfed it down. Hunter was stunned when he saw how fast the puppy ate the food, but what did he expect if she hadn't eaten in so long. After she was finished, Hunter didn't know if she would trust him yet. He inched his hand towards her to give her some pets. To his surprise, not only did she not try to bite or even growl at him, she actually let him touch her. Hunter couldn't help but squeal, "Oh, my Titan! I can't believe I'm touching a real wolf!" However, the wolf felt awfully cold, which made Hunter frown. It was freezing today, and he was bundled up, after all. The wolf had absolutely nothing to keep her warm. Hunter could see her violently shivering, and he couldn't just leave her like that. Hunter dug into his pocket, finding a small sweater he had originally sewn for Flapjack. Hunter feared it would be too small, but the fabric he had used was very stretchy. Plus, this wolf was minuscule due to how thin she was. Hunter gently put the sweater on her, and to his luck, it fit her like a snug bug. Instantly, she stopped shivering, and Hunter was relieved. The wolf pup made eye contact with Hunter, causing him to be awestruck by her cuteness. "Awwww!"
Then, to Hunter's utter shock, the puppy managed to pull herself to her feet and then stumbled into his lap. She curled up, finding him to be warm and cozy. A perfect pillow. Hunter hadn't expected her to warm up to him so quickly, but he was very glad. Now he could help her. "She likes meeee!" he geeked. Hunter began petting her, and he nearly began lulling her to sleep, but the blonde knew he only had gotten one part of his job done, as now he had to find her mother. He got to his feet, cradling the puppy in his arms. "Alright, little wolfie, let's go find your mama."
Hunter began scanning the graveyard for signs of her mother. He began mimicking a wolf's howl to try and attract her. Unfortunately, Hunter had no luck, but the puppy also began to howl, mimicking him. The first time she had done that, Hunter thought it was the cutest thing ever. The blonde boy went to every single corner of the graveyard, searching high and low for the mother. No dice. Hunter was upset by this, as he didn't know how he would find her before he had to go home. Speaking of going home, he checked the time on his scroll.
It was 3 PM.
"DRAT! I should've been home three hours ago! Oh mother of Titan, I am in big trouble. Camila is so going to kill me," Hunter knew he had to head back, but he couldn't just leave the wolf behind. Despite his help, she was still going to die without her mother. Besides, the little pupper had already warmed up to him, and leaving her behind would absolutely shatter her trust. There was no way Hunter could do that to her.
So, Hunter made an unprecedented decision.
He was going to take the wolf home.