Chapter Text
As far back as he can remember, Hunter had been what people would call ‘not normal’. Though when you compare him to other creatures and people in the Boiling Isles, he looks almost human in comparison. Through the years he had been the golden guard, there had been incidents where he realised he was different, that he had habits that no one else seemed to replicate. Sure, he was a feared member of the emperor’s coven, a position that anyone would want to have, but it was difficult sometimes.
First, there were the many times Belos felt it necessary to take his anger out on Hunter. That often left him with scars all over, and of course in pain. But pain was almost familiar to Hunter. It didn’t mean he liked it, in fact, he hated it. But he had no choice but to endure it.
Secondly, there were the others employed in the coven and the other coven heads, like Darius. Kiki Mora was the worst of them. She seemed to be hell bent on making him suffer to no end, but again, he could live with all that. If anything, it gave his life structure. He was used to it, and as sad as it sounds, it became integrated into his routine; a thing he was very attached to.
Hunter adored structure, and that's one of the main reasons he had never considered leaving the coven or even thought about it. All he had to do was wake up, perform tasks for Belos, face his wrath as well as the wrath of his peers, and then go to sleep. It wasn’t the best life, but it was his. He needed this. So when things went wrong, it worried him.
Hunter came back from the Selkidomus mission more stressed than ever, and people could tell. On the entire way to his room his hands flapped in front of him, an action he had always done in stressful situations. A human was here, in the boiling isles, and that made him unable to complete his mission. He treasured the fact that he had a mask on more now than ever.
The whole time he stared at the floor, trying to get his breathing in check. When he finally rushed into his room he shut the door behind him, quickly closing over the window too. He usually kept it open to let in fresh air but he couldn’t do it, anyone who could hear him as a result.
He didn’t know what to call these incidents, all he knew was that things were starting to change and he hated that. Everything was fine before, why did there have to be a stupid human in the mix now?!
Hunter took off his mask and cloak, slowly curling up on the floor and trying to breathe. Things would be fine, this was just a one time thing. The human was just a small complication, and that was it. Things would be back to the way they were soon. All he had to do was cope.
But alas, things didn’t go back to normal. In fact, things got worse. Or better, depending on how you see it. One chain event after another led him into being wrapped up with the human in question, who’s name was Luz, and her friends. It was a lot of change and Hunter had definitely needed time to get used to it all, and there were another few of those incidents that he still couldn’t figure out the name for. But this time, he had a support system. A very small one, but it existed. He even had his own palismen. He loved Flapjack. The small bird had helped keep himself calm and had even helped him calm down if he ever got overwhelmed.
Even Darius had warmed up to him, which Hunter internally delighted in. There was something about his elders recognising his efforts and giving him praise that made him want the happiest he had ever been. He supposed that's why he had always been doing whatever Belos asked of him, except he never gave him those nice words of encouragement or praise. But now, things were looking up. He had his own scroll to text his new friends and he was free to continue with his emperor coven duties, while secretly becoming more social.
Then he got transported to the emperor’s mind with Luz, and everything Hunter knew seemed to crumble right in front of him. He had hints here and there that Belos was not what he seemed, but it was still hard for him to process that his intentions were evil, that the day of unity was going to essentially wipe out all of witch-kind. And now that he was here, stuck in the human realm with his friends, everything seemed so confusing.
For once, he wasn’t being yelled at. He had expected Luz’s mother to be angry, to tell them that they didn’t belong there. He was plenty prepared for that eventuality. He had spent the entire night out on one of the coldest mountains in the boiling isles just to prove himself to the emperor’s coven. Finding shelter in the woods would be no problem, but when he brought this factor up with Mrs Noceda she just stared, before her expression softened.
“Oh cariño, I’m not going to throw you out. You’re my daughter's friend, you can stay here for as long as you need.”
“But-”
“What kind of mother would I be if I threw all you kids out, and especially during a storm?..”
Hunter tensed as she cut him off, bowing his head on instinct.
“My apologies. I shouldn’t have questioned your skills as a parent.”
Camila looked to Luz as he spoke, and when she just gave back the same worried look she had, Camila sighed and kneels down.
“Hunter, you don’t need to say sorry. I should be apologising, I didn’t mean to frighten you or make you scared.”
“I-I’m not scared, Mrs Noceda.”
He hoped she didn’t realise his shaking, how his fists were balled up to avoid any ‘annoying movements’ as Belos had called them. He was scared, but she didn’t need to know that.
Luckily, Camila simply smiled and stood back up, so Hunter did too. If he learned her movements, how her moods worked then maybe he could avoid her wrath. It worked with Belos, well, sometimes it did. He had the scars to prove otherwise.
“Alright then. How about you sit on the couch with the others and dry yourself off, I was about to make soup for me and Vee. I make big portions anyways so I’m sure there's enough for all of you.”
Hunter nodded, knowing if he spoke again it would only come out in stutters. He grabbed one of the towels that were sitting in a pile next to the couch and sat down as he tried to dry his hair. He had always hated getting wet, it would make his skin so dry afterwards and he’d feel the constant need to keep his hands moist somehow. That is, if he ever took the gloves off to begin with.
He must have zoned out, because the next thing he knew a bowl was being set down in front of him on the living room table. He hated the way he immediately disliked the food. The smell wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be, but the more he stared at the soup the more he realised he’d rather starve.
“Pobrecito, you look like you’re only skin and bones. There's seconds in the kitchen if you’re hungry later on. I think I stocked the fridge to, I’ll need to go shopping later-”
Camila mumbled to herself as she walked away, leaving Hunter with the bowl. He looked to his side to see Willow slowly eating her’s, that dejected expression she had since they had left the demon realm ever present on her face. Then she turned to face him and immediately smiled. It was just like her, to hide her emotions so others wouldn’t worry. But it worked. Seeing her smile, despite it being clearly faked, eased Hunter.
“It’s good right?? Luz said it’s called ‘Fabada’.”
“O-Oh, I haven’t tried it yet.”
Willow nodded before going back to her own bowl, but her gaze lingered on him for a moment.
Hunter stared at the bowl as if it would disappear if he looked long enough. He had one option. He had forced down meals before, the dining hall at the emperor’s coven often had meals that smelled, tasted or looked displeasing to him. They did result in him throwing up soon after, but it was better than refusing meals. He had done that before to the point where scouts would speculate and it would eventually get back to Belos. He shuddered, thinking about the few meal times he had with him.
He picked up the bowl in his hands, feeling the warmth radiate through his gloves. That was nice at least. He touched the handle of the spoon, putting as little of the food on it as possible. He could tell there were chunks of meat in the meal, and he would have liked to think he would have eaten them if they were on their own. But he didn’t know if he wanted to risk it. When he saw his hand shaking too much he decided to throw caution to the wind and shove it in his mouth. And he’d swallow, he promised himself he would. Mrs Noceda had given him food, the least he could do was pretend he enjoyed it. He couldn’t waste this. He needed to swallow.
He didn’t.
The next few moments were a blur for him. He remembers standing up and running to where Luz had said the bathroom was, and he felt his stomach empty and his throat hurt. He started to cry as he leaned over the toilet, mad at himself and scared. He heard yells after him and suddenly Mrs Noceda was next to him.
“Hunter, estas bien. Solo déjalo salir..”
She touched his back and Hunter jumped, scrambling backwards until he hit the bathtub.
“I-I’m sorry..! I’ll eat i-it, I promise..!”
“Hunter you don’t need to. You’re okay bebé, you’re safe here.”
Camila got on her knees and put her hands up in a surrendering position. She often encountered animals at her job that had sadly been abused, they’d hate being handled and would hide in corners if they escaped. Camila had learned that making herself small and as less of a threat as possible helped make the creatures feel safe.
As he backed up against the bathtub, Hunter looked just like a cornered animal. A scared, confused and clearly abused child. His wild eyes darted about the place, as if looking for an escape route.
“It’s me Hunter, Luz’s mom.. You’re in my home and you’re safe. Can you breathe with me for a second?”
Through his eyes blurred with tears, Hunter could make out the image of Mrs Noceda holding up one of her hands, her fingers slowly bending as she exaggerated her breaths so he could follow along. His mind went back, thinking of how Gus used this same technique with him when Hexside was attacked. He could do this, this was familiar.
He breathed out, but stifled a little at the next one. His head was pounding and he still felt the urge to throw up. But he stuck through it for her sake until his sobs died down into small whimpers. He looked up to see her, that same sad smile on her face that he had seen when she gave him the bowl to begin with, when she told him that he was ‘skin and bones’.
“Hunter? Cariño, can you hear me?” He nodded, clutching at the bathmat he was sitting on to ground himself.
“Alright, that’s good.” Camila let out a deep sigh and turned to flush the toilet, grimacing at the contents before putting the lid down and flushing it. The loud noise made Hunter flinch, even though he willed his body to stay still. He didn’t know what she was going to do. Even though she had helped him calm down from the panic he still expected some form of anger. He was ungrateful. He had been given a meal and he couldn’t even handle a single bite before throwing it up. He deserved to be yelled at, to be hit, to be scolded-
“-at happened?”
He was brought back by Luz’s voice, who had peaked her head into the bathroom.
“It’ll be okay mi vida, just let me talk with your friend for a few minutes. Is everyone else okay?”
“Mhm, Gus got a little spooked but he’s okay now, the carpet is clean now too. Ths stain will be okay, I think it helps that the carpets red so it won’t be noticeable-”
Her voice drifted away from his ears as he realised the mess he made. The bowl was on his lap when he ran in here,and it must have spilled on the floor. What had he done?
“Hunter?..”
“Give us a second Luz.” She nodded and left, softly shutting the door behind her, then it was just him and Mrs Noceda. The minute Luz left Hunter moved into a bowing position, prostrating himself in front of her. He knew how to plead for forgiveness, even when he knew he didn’t deserve it. He pushed through the pain in his throat and his stomach, he ignored the urge to stutter and spoke clearly.
“I’m so sorry for what I have done. You have given me shelter, food and kindness and I have repaid it with insolence. I accept any punishment you wish to give me.”
There was silence, only broken by the sounds of Camila’s shuddering breaths. When Hunter felt a hand on his head, he was fully prepared for his hair to be gripped, lifted and for his face to be smashed into the tiled floor. He was prepared for the bloody nose, the missing teeth and the rest of the hurt that would follow. What he wasn’t prepared for was that hand to start softly petting him, and to hear sniffles coming from above him. He raised his head, confused as he saw Mrs Noceda’s eyes fill with tears.
“Oh baby, what did they do to you?..”
That was all it took for Hunter to start crying again, and he was quickly brought into Luz’s mom’s arms. He could feel the wounds he kept hidden from her hurt from the hug, but at that moment he didn’t care. The pressure felt nice overall, and it calmed him more than anything else he had tried before. Even Gus’s breathing exercises didn’t help as much as this. They both cried for a while, holding each other close while one comforted the other. Camila’s slow rubs on his back helped slow his sobs down and Hunter’s inconsistent pats on her shoulders helped her somewhat. He didn’t really know what to do, but he felt bad having her comfort him when she was upset. When they eventually pulled apart Camila took her glasses off, wiping away the loose tears.
“W-Well, seems we both needed to let out our emotions a bit. Do..Do you want to talk about what happened out there?”
Hunter took a shuddering breath, staring at the wall behind her. As much as he tried, eye contact was going to be impossible right now.
“I-I’m sorry-”
“You don’t need to apologise. Lord knows I have foods I don’t like, so does Luz. I didn’t even check if you kids had any preferences. I should be the one saying sorry.”
“I-I don’t know what happened.. Usually I can force myself to e-eat things easily.”
“Aye, cariño you don’t need to do that.. If you don’t like something, you don’t have to eat it. I just gave you the fabada because it was already cooking. And you don’t have to worry about the mess, like Luz said, the stain won’t be noticeable. It was an accident.”
Hunter nodded, though he felt bad that he couldn’t fully believe her. What if this was a trick she was using so the next time he refused her food she could truly punish him?
“Do you still need to be sick? I can leave if you do, and then when you come back out we can figure out what you want to eat.”
“R-Really?”
She nodded and Hunter couldn’t help but smile. If this was a trick, he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
“I-I feel better, can-..Can I please have a g-glass of water when we go back?”
“Of course you can, I have juice too if you prefer that.
He watched as Camila stood up and offered him a hand that he took. He felt weak when he stood up and his stomach grumbled. He blushed at the noise and Camila smiled, pushing open the bathroom door.
“Come on cariño, let’s get you some food.”