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The shirt was unbelievably cool.
Unlike anything he had every seen in the Demon Realm.
The now established tourism business that had become all the rage after most of the Boiling Isles had finally brought something good, other than the occasional dog or cat in Bonesborough.
For the very first time, there was a wolf shirt at a regular Boiling Isles clothes shop.
And Hunter really, really wanted it.
It had even been charmed so that whenever someone came close the wolf would look like it was howling!
Hunter was so getting it.
Darius said he could get something if he liked anything. One of the few fun things about the endless shopping trips with him was that if he ever got bored, Darius never objected to wandering around for a while, as long as he made sure not to get lost and had his scroll on him. It was nice to be able to get clothes little by little, plus that way he didn't have to make more trips to get stuff for himself. All the loud noises and bright lights were worth it after finding something cool.
And oh boy, he had found something.
He rushed to the capes section, where Darius had finally decided between an exceptionally soft and flowy burgundy one with golden embroidery and a bottle green one with light purple, white and golden accents to go with his formal suits. Even after Hunter had helped him narrow a selection of about fifteen to those two, he still took about half an hour to make his decision.
"Which one are you getting?" Hunter asked, curious.
"Well, it was hard, and I think the sales clerk would like kicking me out if it weren't for the fact we're easily their best clients, but the final verdict is both."
Hunter couldn't repress some laughter at those words. Half an hour, and he had done exactly the same as every time he tried getting only one article. Well, at least he looked very happy with his decision. Hunter noticed how happy Darius looked at his findings, running his fingers over the golden accents of his new capes over and over.
"What did you find?" Darius asked as he noticed the little bundle of fabric Hunter was clutching.
"Just a shirt, but it's really cool! It's the first one I've ever seen here, and it has an Illusion glyph so that the wolf moves, look!"
Hunter extended the shirt to display it in all its glory.
Darius smiled at the kid. He had an eye for unique stuff, even if some of it was too eccentric even for him. This shirt, though, he had to admit it was one of his favorite discoveries of Hunter's so far. The illusion truly added to the design.
"Well, what are we waiting, let's pay for this and leave. We have time to get eye-scream before Eber gets home, I'd rather not have to clean up a mess like last time when we brought them goreberry. Do you want me to pay for that?" Darius asked, pointing at the shirt.
"Nope, brought my own snails!" Hunter said as he patted a tiny bag attached to his pants.
Darius rolled his eyes, still smiling. He had to stop taking Hunter on shopping trips if he was going to keep insisting on paying for his clothes. Sure he gave him an allowance, but it was mainly in case he ever wanted to get eye-scream right after school and didn't want to have to go back home to ask Darius for some money, or if he wanted to get something and Darius hadn't brought much money with him that day. Titan, that was for cheap candy or whatever. The boy deserved some sweetness after all. Clothes were very much on the household budget from day one.
Beaming, Hunter walked up to the cashier.
"Nothing more? That would be fifty snails."
Hunter reached for his bag. Another of the few things he liked about the Human Realm was those paper money things. It was much easier than carrying different-coloured snails.
He emptied it on the floor, counting as quickly as he could.
"Forty two, forty three, forty-"
Oh no.
He looked in his pockets frantically. Rubbed his eyes, hoping he had confused a yellow snail with a brown one.
He rubbed them again.
Nothing.
His smile dropped as he realized.
"Go ahead Darius, I'm missing seven snails. My bag was full, but it was all single snails. All change."
Darius peeked. Nothing but brown snails.
"Don't worry, Little Prince, I brought more than enough. I wasn't planning to buy much, but I expected my capes to be a little more expensive." He turned to the cashier and paid for his clothes. "The shirt too, take his snails. Here is the rest," Darius said as he extended the missing cash.
Before the man could reach the cashier's hand, Hunter threw himself at him.
"Wait no, don't worry about it! I'll just get it the next time we come."
The cashier looked at Darius, practically whispering. "Actually sir, if he really wants it he should get it now. Our Human and Illusions collections have been our most bought in months. This is the last restock, and I can't assure you we will still have it by tomorrow."
"Don't worry, it's only seven snails!" We'll take it, please."
"You don't have to," Hunter tried to persuade him.
"But I want to. You looked so happy when showed me the illusion. Besides, if the money is what worries you, seven snails is basically nothing. I don't make as much as I used to as a Coven Head, but the Council salaries are not bad at all."
Hunter didn't know how to explain it.
"It's... not the money."
"Did you find the seams too much? We can always ask your friend Gus to hex the next shirt you make."
"It's not the seams either."
"Didn't you like it? What is it?" Darius asked, concerned.
Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind.
The shirt was grey wolves against a black background.
It was not so similar enough that he had just noticed it, but maybe for Hunter...
He grabbed his arm, turning him out of the cashier's hearing range.
"Does it remind you of that shirt?"
Hunter knew exactly what he was talking about. He had noticed the slight resemblance, but it was different enough that it didn't bother him at all.
However, it was kind of close to where his discomfort stemmed.
"Not exactly but..." he tried to say as his ears dropped.
Darius knew exactly what that expression meant.
It did have to do with Belos.
"It's just... I know it's silly but, if you pay for it, will it still be mine?"
"What do you mean still? Of course, I'm buying it for you!"
"But if it's not my money, you own it. At least partly, I mean. If it's fifty snails, it's fourteen percent your money"
Darius wasn't sure if he had actually understood.
"What did you mean by you own it ?"
"Well, if it's your money that paid for it then it's technically yours, isn't it?" Hunter's tone became darker. "I'd... really like to have this shirt be mine mine, if you get what I mean."
Darius had a lot of questions, although he was pretty sure he knew the answer to every single one of them, and he did not like it in the slightest.
"Hunter, a gift is something given for the other person to keep, no matter how much they paid for it. If they gave it to you, it's yours. While you live under my roof, anything I buy for you, is for you. Yours. Once it's yours, you decide what you do with it. That's the point of a gift."
"But this is helping pay for it, not giving it to me."
"Take it as a gift."
"And if you need to punish me?"
"Little Prince, you know the only things I might take away are your scroll, your crystal ball or books, and that is only to get you to sleep. Even if I take them away, they are still yours, and I always give them back after the time I promise to, right?"
Hunter nodded shyly.
"You promise?"
"If it makes you feel better we can always make an everlasting oath. I'm serious."
Darius was willing to make an oath for something like this?
"It's not necessary."
"Are you sure?"
Feeling a little more reassured, Hunter nodded.
"Now, go grab that shirt before any other wolf expert wins it! I can always create an abomination to fight them but I doubt we would ever be allowed in here again, and I would really like to be able to keep buying these capes."