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Hunter could hardly believe this was happening. He was going to go to Hexside and learn alongside other kids his age. Including his friends. Well, hopefully he would that was. Apparently, he had to take a placement exam, where enrollment wasn’t guaranteed. At least, not when he wasn’t a full witch like most of the students would be. He knew Luz had to deal with that, they’d talked about it.
He needed to know two spells on his own in order to not be placed at the lowest level in the school, the baby class. He only had one ability on his own, the teleportation and flash step from Flapjack. He couldn’t even use the glyphs that Luz had been able to. Ever since Belos possessed the titan and the battle ended, the glyphs hadn’t seemed to work. He didn’t really understand why. He had a feeling Luz would know more about that, as she seemed to.
He could do more with his artificial staff though, which he would have to start using again. Part of him didn’t want to, but it might be his only option if he wanted to go to this school. And he did.
He didn’t understand why this presentation was like a show for himself on the stage before the principal. He could appreciate the showmanship though. At least, he could have if he wasn’t so nervous.
Darius stood backstage giving him encouraging hand gestures. Darius has been there for Hunter now. More than just giving him somewhere to stay, which Hunter appreciated. It did seem like Darius was stepping into more of a guardian role for Hunter now. If the check-in after Hunter went on his own, the day Belos was defeated, said anything. Still, Hunter wasn’t quite used to a safe guardian who only had his best interests in mind. So, Hunter was having a hard time believing that was going to be the case. For now, he could just accept that Darius was safe and there for him. And really, that said a lot there.
Hunter had his artificial staff off to the side, easy to reach backstage, in case he did need to grab it. He wanted to try on his own first though.
Hunter took a deep breath and walked onto the stage.
“Hey, Principal Bump,” He said a bit awkwardly. Bump’s face was a bit hard to read, but he just nodded in response.
“Yes. G- uh, what is your actual name again?”
“Hunter,” He said.
Hunter’s eyes were drawn to a flash he caught from the back row of the seats. Odd, Hunter was sure it was just supposed to be the three of them in there for this exam.
Hunter’s attention was brought back to the conversation though.
“Yes, Hunter. Given your history in the emperor’s coven-“
Hunter couldn’t help but wince at that.
“-I’m well aware you have the magical abilities to be able to attend here.”
“…right.”
Of course, not everyone knew he was a powerless witch on his own. Only his friends knew that, and he didn’t exactly want everyone to know.
“So by all means, show me what you’d like. To give me an idea where to place you.”
Hunter took a deep breath and then flash-stepped to the side. He also teleported up into the air and then quickly back down, as his staff wasn’t in his grasp to catch him.
“Does that count as two?” Hunter asked.
Bump scratched his chin.
“Hmm, I’m not sure. Is there anything else?”
Hunter hesitated and then walked to the side to grab his staff.
“Well, if I may ask this not leave here, not really without my staff. As the glyphs don’t work anymore.”
Bump blinked.
“What, really? But many have seen you use powers. And you have,” He gestured to Hunter’s ears. Hunter reached to touch one on instinct.
“Uh, yeah. I’m a powerless witch, or I was. Belos gave me this artificial magic staff to be able to use magic abilities.”
Bump hmmed.
“I see.”
“But with it, I can do this!” Hunter held his staff up, making sure not to point it at anyone, and let the staff build up an energy blast at the end.
“I can also move earth with it.”
Bump nodded.
“Well, you have certainly shown you’re magically capable before, considering. Although, you may have some limitations with what tracks you can take though.”
Hunter sighed. “Yeah, I figured as much. I can live with that.”
“Very well. With this in mind, I welcome you to Hexside School of Magic and Demonics.”
Hunter smiled and bowed to him.
“Thank you sir.”
Bump raised his hand.
“That’s not necessary. I’ll let you look over the tracks before you start classes. Let me know if you’ll need any help testing out which ones you are able to do.”
Darius asked Hunter if he was okay while they on their way back home from the entrance exam.
Hunter shot him a confused look.
“Why do you ask? I got what I wanted. I can go to Hexside.”
Darius hmmed.
“I know, but some topics got brought up in there that I could tell you weren’t thrilled about.”
Hunter sighed and shrugged.
“I don’t know. I mean, it was bound to come up. Of course, I’m going to have to consider that I’m fundamentally different from other witches. That doesn’t mean I have to like it. At least I’m able to go to that school at all. Gosh, I need to be able to see my friends there.”
Darius nodded.
“Know that you can talk to me though, alright?”
Hunter hesitated. Trust was a hard thing. He was not used to opening up at all.
“I appreciate that,” Hunter said.
Darius pursed his lips, probably seeing how that was a non-answer. Hunter didn’t know if he was ready yet though. Maybe he could focus on one thing at a time. And at that point, it was figuring out his tracks at Hexside. He was used to working hard, so surely doing so for classes of his own choice would be better. Right?
*
Hunter was surprised that he came to the school his first day with so much trepidation. More than he had the first time he came onto the Hexside campus. Maybe because then he had a mission as the golden guard. And a lot of false confidence for some reason. But this time, he was just Hunter. Not even a full witch. Entering a building of normal witches and demons around his age. Which was something he was very much not used to. It was actually a bit overwhelming.
So he stood there for a moment just staring forward as students milled about the campus.
“Hey, Hunter. Are you alright?” Darius asked. He hadn’t left yet. Hunter took a deep breath. He didn’t know the answer to that. But he didn’t want to worry the other.
He did want this. He just didn’t feel fully prepared.
“Hunter!” Several voices shouted.
Hunter glanced over and his shoulders relaxed some as he saw his friends. Gus, Willow, and Amity made their way over.
Darius shot him a smile.
“I’ll see you later Hunter. Let me know if you need anything?”
Hunter nodded at Darius with a smile, before the other left.
Gus and Willow immediately hugged him.
“You’re finally here!” Gus exclaimed. He let out little illusion fireworks in celebration.
“Yeah, I know right?” Hunter said.
“It’ll be great to have you on the Emerald Entrails flyer derby team full time!” Willow cheered.
Hunter smiled at that.
“Yeah, I’m really looking forward to that.”
They chattered a bit more as they headed into the school. Being among familiar faces did wonders to help Hunter feel more at ease. It was a great reminder of why he wanted to go there in the first place, even if he was different.
A flash of light would be harder to see in the daytime outside. Hunter had a good sense of when someone was looking at him though. That had developed from moments with Belos. Sometimes he didn’t know when his uncle was understanding or in a bad mood, and he needed to be on guard.
But there are a lot of people at school there. He tried to reassure himself that it’s possible it was nothing. He was new after all, and some did know he was the golden guard. Maybe it had been a passing glance. There was a difference between one look and being watched though. Hunter could usually feel it, but that was likely no magic though. Just an instinctive intuition, or maybe even paranoia.
Still, he looked around, not seeing anyone.
“Hunter?” Willow asked. “Is everything alright?”
Hunter turned back to his friend group.
“Yeah, I think so,” He said.
She didn’t seem convinced, but let the conversation continue. Hunter couldn’t shake the feeling though.
-
Hunter went into Principal Bump’s office first, as he was told to. So he could choose his tracks and get to class.
He had been doing a lot of thinking about this. Yet still, he looked over the choices. He understood why Luz had a hard time choosing. Unlike her though, he probably couldn’t do all of them.
Potions was easy to tick off. It was the easiest for a low or nonmagical person to learn.
Beastkeeping. He liked palisman, so maybe he would like working with other magical creatures too. Construction seemed to be the closest to what he could use the earth-moving abilities for.
He pondered Healing, it was an ability he would like to know how to do.
“Can I add more later?” Hunter asked.
Bump thought for a moment and then nodded.
“Yes. With the new addition of multiple tracks learning, many students have been adding more tracks later.”
Hunter nodded. He held off on that one for then, since he wasn’t sure how he’d be able to do that. Illusion was also a no.
He supposed plants could be similar to earth, but he had moved the ground itself more, not so much growth.
He was almost good with his three tracks, but then he paused on the oracle one. He had read up a bit about that. He was less interested in knowing the future, as it was hard to think about that when you didn’t know how long you’d live. But the pamphlet had said those on the oracle track communed with spirits. He wanted to understand more about that world given recent events. He could at least learn more about the spirits. Besides, he was pretty sure that moment with the ghost of Caleb wasn’t going to be a one-time thing. Even if he wasn’t sure when he would see the other again.
So, he had decided on four tracks for then.
-
Hunter was surprised he hadn’t seen his friends in classes yet. He supposed they did have different track focuses, and the ones he chose didn’t overlap, but still. There had to be some classes everyone took. He hoped they would have some in common.
Anyways, there was something in the schedule called a break? That was not something he expected. When he trained to become the golden guard, his learning was pretty intensive. He didn’t quite understand why there was a break, and so early. It had only been a few hours. Still, he wasn’t going to complain about the chance to see his friends some more if he had time. He was still figuring out the layout of the school.
As he walked through the halls, he walked past a group of students with a girl in the middle who looked familiar. Boscha he thought? She had been that pseudo-leader when the students hid out at Hexside during the Collector’s games. He hadn’t been able to catch everything that happened. He thought Amity had managed to convince her to go against Kikimora who had been taking over though.
So, that in itself could have meant she was an ally. But the Isles were no longer in emergency mode, at least not in the same way. He had heard his friends talk about this girl before. She was a bully. So it was probably best to steer clear of her. At least, that’s what he tried to do.
He was starting to wish he had asked even more about what to prepare for at this school. He caught her looking him up and down before she scoffed.
“Wow, someone’s a bit ambitious. Try hard much?”
Hunter rolled his eyes and kept going. Honestly, many students were taking multiple tracks now.
“Hey!” She exclaimed. “Don’t ignore me!”
Great. She was an attention hog as well. She then walked over to him and started following him.
“Who do you think you are? You’re not the golden guard anymore, nothing special about you now.”
Hunter paused and turned to her.
“How did you know about that?”
Boscha rolled her eyes and smirked.
“Oh, please. Word goes around fast here.”
He really hoped that didn’t extend to other parts about him.
“So you won’t be able to get away with stuff like before. This is Hexside, my school.”
“Oh please, you’re just a student here,” He said.
Boscha laughed. “Did you ever think about why I was the leader when everyone hid out at the school? People listen to me. And ignoring me isn’t gonna fly.”
“Why do you care if I give you attention? You don’t even know me. If you had as many fans as you imply, there would be no reason to make a scene at me walking past you.”
She glared at him and clenched her fists at that.
“Because you’re not just anyone. Most students here know their place by now, but you’re new. I can’t have you think you’re better than me. I’m most popular for a reason. The losers need to stay down. Especially half-witches.”
Hunter’s eyes widened at that last part and took a step back.
“What?” He asked.
She put her hands on her hips and smirked at him again.
“What, you think I didn’t notice your limited use of magic? And that you always have a staff with you now, even when it’s not a palisman.”
Hunter pulled his artificial staff slightly behind his back.
“Why were you even watching me for that?” He asked.
“I look out for the important things. Such as threats and the wastes of magic that need to be avoided.”
Just after she said that, a nearby locker door swung out and banged her in the face.
“Ow!” She cried out, stepping back and holding her face.
Hunter startled and looked on in surprised.
Boscha continued to hold her face, but glared out and looked around.
“Okay, who did that!?”
Some students fled at her yell. Hunter looked around, but he couldn’t tell. He hadn’t seen any spell-casting circles. His friends didn’t seem to be in the vicinity either.
Just then, he saw another flash at the end of the hallway. Okay, that couldn’t be a coincidence.
A faded figure formed the silhouette of a familiar man for a moment. The figure then drifted around the corner of the hallway. Hunter sped walk in that direction right away.
“Hey!” He heard Boscha shout behind him, but Hunter ignored her. He went around the corner to a subsection of the hallway off to the side away from things.
The ghost of Caleb reformed to appear as he had when Hunter first saw him. Hunter stared for a moment.
“You found a way to follow me,” Hunter said.
Caleb nodded, “I can’t exactly say I understand why. Perhaps I was able to attach myself to you when my former reason for haunting died. Or it could be because that staff is from the castle.”
Hunter glanced to his staff at the mention then back to Caleb.
“You slammed that locker door into Boscha’s face.”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“I said I would look after you. I wanted to protect you.”
Hunter huffed.
“I wasn’t in any real danger. She’s just a brat.”
Caleb hmmed.
“Perhaps. Doesn’t mean you have to deal with that.”
“I’ve been through worse,” Hunter said.
Caleb sighed. “I know. Trust me, I know. I don’t have to like any of it though.”
“So what, you’re just going to try to throw things at anyone who gives me a hard time? I don’t need that.”
“Do you know what you need?”
“Maybe not to be coddled!”
Calen floated back some.
“I don’t think one instance of retaliating against a bully counts as being coddled. She had no reason to be like that to you.”
“I mean, yeah. Of course she didn’t have a good reason. But I don’t need you to do that.”
“I know. I wanted to. She was annoying me.”
Hunter huffed. “Yeah, she was definitely annoying.”
“See?”
“How often are you going to do something like that?”
Caleb shrugged.
“I don’t know.”
“Because, if that becomes commonplace, someone is going to figure out I have a ghost haunting me.”
“Well, it’s more watching over you than haunting. Are you expecting this type of thing to happen often?”
Hunter opened his mouth and then paused. He didn’t really know what to expect if he was being honest. Caleb seemed to sense that. He smiled.
“Well, then I’m definitely not going to stop.”
“Caleb!”
“My brother caused irreversible damage to this world for years. It’s the least I can do.”
“You are not responsible for his actions.”
“I know,” Caleb said. He looked sad now.
“But if I can do something good in spirit after my brother cut my life tragically short, then I want to be able to.”
It was hard to argue against that. Not like Hunter didn’t appreciate this ghostly ancestor wanting to look out for him. He just wasn’t sure if he deserved it. Especially over something like a mean girl. His life hadn’t even been in danger or anything.
“I suppose that’s fair…” Hunter started. He wasn’t really sure what to tell the other. Could a ghost be reasoned with? It’s not like it would do much harm. Hopefully. This was still new to Hunter, so he wasn’t sure what to expect.
Before he could say anything else,
“Hunter!”
Hunter turned to see his friends running towards him. Hunter turned back to Caleb, or where he had been. Caleb had disappeared again. Hunter sighed.
He still had questions about this whole thing. Like, why did the ghost keep disappearing on him like that?
The school bell rang signaling that the break was over. Other students around started to head to their next classes.
His friends were talking over each other. They mentioned how they heard something happened with Boscha. Concerned that he ran away after. He walked with them to start heading to his next class as well. He tried to answer their questions, without mentioning Caleb. He was honestly still in a bit of a daze over what had happened. He was really dealing with a ghost now even with everything else going on? Well, at least Caleb was a nice ghost, but still. He didn’t know anything about this stuff. He supposed he was going to find out.