Chapter Text
The night market was forever trapped in between a blanket of safety and a ribcage of peril; it was safe from the law, but to thrive there, one must be able to hold their own. Edalyn Clawthorne was fortunate enough to be left with only mild worries. Sure, someone might try and turn her in for the bounty but the coven scouts struggled to keep up with her in the day when they had full reign, let alone at night when they prowled her own territory. A wild witch in the Bonesborough night market was like a trash slug in the boiling sea, no one would even question her belonging in this place, and very few would try and trifle with her either because she did not have the habit of making herself an easy target.
So, when someone went barreling into her, sprawling out on the ground in front of her and nearly knocking her over, she’d been surprised about it. “Hey, watch where you’re going!”
“I’m sorry, I’m- I’m so sorry!” The voice that responded to her was much smaller and much shakier than she’d imagined it would be. When she looked down at the ground in front of her to where they had fallen, her eyes scanned over the small figure wearing an oversized cloak that looked and smelled like it had been fished out of the garbage, quickly shoving some large object back into an equally ragged looking old bag with shaky movements. They were still squeaking out apologies, crumpling in on themselves as though expecting to be attacked.
“Hey, it’s alright, I didn’t mean it like that…” Her voice softened considerably, she bent over and offered a hand to help them up, they hesitated for only a moment before they accepted it. Their hand felt ice cold and fairly textured from what could be a few decades of wear or a few years of a difficult trade.
When they stood up and she got a look at their face, however, her breath hitched and she had to bite her tongue to stop herself from saying anything dismaying. This was unmistakably the face of a child, nor were they particularly a pleasant-looking child at the moment either. Their face and arms were concerningly thin, their eyes sunken in slightly with thick bags under them, and there were little cuts and nicks that could be seen all over them. They had a large, somewhat faded scar on one side of their face and there was a notch in one of their ears. Their arms shook as they clutched the bag close to their chest protectively and with the addition of the general grime they had on them, she could tell they had not bathed, slept, or eaten in quite some time.
Who left this poor kid to fend for themself in the night market ? That was hardly safe, even if children did come here sometimes, this kid was way too obviously a target. They’d get robbed, turned into a toad, eaten by a monster, or something else ridiculous by the end of the night if no one stepped in to help them, probably. Well, not if a self-respecting wild witch like her had anything to say about it.
“You okay?” she managed to ask, brows knitting in concern.
The child just blinked at her, seemingly confused. “What? I- I mean sorry.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” she repeated, holding her hands up in a calming gesture. “You didn’t do anything wrong, I’m not going to hurt you.”
They didn’t seem to believe that but they hung their head anyway, “Uhm, would you please let me go, ma’am?”
A part of her wanted to do just that, thinking that if she were in trouble like this as a kid the last thing she’d want is to be bothered by strangers, but she couldn’t bring herself to walk away just yet. “Wait just a second, kid.”
She winced as they somehow managed to become even more frigid, going perfectly still as if willing their hands to stop shaking. They just waited silently for her to make a move or say something.
What could she say? Normally, she’d ask a kid like this where their parents were but something told her that a kid wandering the night market alone like this probably didn’t have parents, at least none that were worth returning to right now. If she asked for personal information like that, they were bound to get scared and want to leave even more than they already did. Instead, she managed to be a little more vague.
“Are you safe?”
They stared blankly ahead for a moment and then, voice wavering as though they might start crying, they slowly shook their head in tiny movements. “I don’t know, ma'am...” They hung their head again. “I’m sorry.”
Alright, so that was an emphatic no . What did she do now? She didn’t want to pry or invade this kid's personal space but she also refused to just walk away from a child in need. This situation could be dire for all she knew, and though she really shouldn’t get them involved with a fugitive, she also got the sense it was a little too late for something like that to matter right now.
Speaking of time…
“It’s getting late, do you have somewhere safe to sleep tonight? When was the last time you ate anything, are you hungry?”
Unfortunately, they just seemed more overwhelmed now. “Maybe? I dunno… Uhm, yes, I’m really hungry! But… I don’t have any money for food, so it’s okay…”
Immediately, she began digging through her bag for some snails. “I can give you some, do you know what you like to eat? Have you been to the night market before? You gotta be careful getting food around here, if you don’t know what it is, it could make you sick.”
“What do I have to do for it?” they asked suspiciously.
“For what?”
“The money.”
“Huh? I’m not gonna make you work for it kid, I’m just giving it to you. I might not be an escargatoire but I’ve got a few walks to spare,” she said distractedly as she fished out most of the snails in her wallet— she kept the real valuables in her hair and petty cash in obvious places for pickpockets to feel like they’ve gotten something, gotta support the economy after all, theft was about giving back as much as it was about taking— and held them out for the small child to take.
“I… I can’t take your money, ma’am… That’s stealing . The titan doesn’t like it.”
Huh? That was the first time she’d ever heard that one, were Bonesborough’s zealots always this strict? She held the snails steady, moving them slightly closer to the kid, and clicked her tongue. “Look, I don’t collect the trading cards, kid. Worry about that kind of stuff once you’ve gotten something to eat, I’m sure it’ll forgive you or whatever.”
They looked up at her wide-eyed for a moment, starting to tremble slightly harder, and bowed their head. “I- I’m going through a really hard time right now and I can’t lose the Titan’s blessing, sorry ma’am.”
From the way they flinched back from her and scrunched up their face, she could tell they thought she was going to smack them. She may be the most infamous wild witch on the Isles but kids usually weren’t afraid of her, this kid's parents probably told them wild witches were scary or hated kids or something. She could be abrasive, sure , but she wasn’t gonna hurt some random kid. Well, arguing with them was getting nowhere fast and she did have things to do tonight so she switched tactics.
“If you don’t want to take it, how about I buy you something to eat with it? You can pick out anything you want, okay?”
Their magenta eyes glistened slightly and they fixed her with a long, searching, stare. “Um…” She thought she heard their stomach growling as they hesitated, but in the market, there were too many growling things to tell. “Okay…? Are- are you sure I don’t have to do anything for it? I don’t mind working but I just… wanna know what you want from me first.”
Sheesh, this kid was going through the wringer for real, huh?
“I’m sure. All I want from you is to make sure you’re feeling better, okay?”
They nodded, managing another shaky, “Okay.”
"Alright, stay close to me kid, don't want you getting lost in the crowd. Let's go find something for you to eat."
The kid stayed close, practically tripping over her whenever she stopped to look at something. She wasn't actually sure what she should get for them, they looked like they needed a lot more than the night market had to offer for kids— which amounted mostly to the occasional candy and sweets— but she didn't want them to feel like she was trying to isolate them by taking them somewhere else to eat. Well, something was better than nothing, right?
"See anything you wanna try?" she asked casually after a little while.
The kid was looking all around them curiously. "I've never eaten here before… so I dunno, sorry."
"Hey, it's okay," she said for what felt like the fifteenth time but was actually only the third. "We'll find something together. What do you usually like to eat?"
"I- I dunno," they said, voice shaking still, "whatever they give me I guess?"
This kid was so concerning, like someone out of a fantasy novel about a terminally ill Vicgorian child. She noticed the vague, 'they' and wondered who or what they were referring to. Her best guess on this kid's living situation was the Isle's most pathetic orphanage somewhere or indentured to some evil landlady or something ridiculous like that. Having any actual parents, good or otherwise, seemed increasingly unlikely.
"Hm… that's not much to go on," she muttered to herself.
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay," that was the fourth time, "I wish they sold some good soup, that's usually good for the nerves. Hmm, maybe some fruitcake? The meat would be a good source of protein."
She stopped thinking when she saw the white capes and gray masks passing by them. Instinctively, she whirled around and drew her cloak around herself more closely, going still until they passed the both of them. To her surprise, the kid gasped and hid in front of her, trying to look as small as possible.
Why was the kid avoiding coven scouts? They looked too young to go to the Conformatorium.
She wasn't the only one who noticed the other hiding.
The kid looked up at her searchingly for a few moments and then asked, "Who are you?"
Eda just shrugged, no harm in telling the kid. "Eda, the Owl Lady."
Their eyes widened and they stared up at her in awe. "You're a wild witch ?"
"You didn't know?" Then why were they so scared of her before? Were they like this with everybody ?
Biting their tongue, the kid averted their gaze to the side, clearly debating something. After about a minute, they stared back up at her. "Can I work for you?"
"What?"
They flinched and wrapped their arms more tightly around their bag, gritting their teeth a little. "I need somewhere to go and- and I lost my old job so… if- if you let me work for you, I'll help you with your evil spells and- and anything else you want…" they glanced back up to her, two ruby irises begging for something to go off of. "Please?"
Well she did not want a child doing her bidding for one, and for two she wasn't evil , but she did want to make sure this kid had food to eat and a roof overhead. The Owl House was the safest place a person could stay if they were hiding from the law too, so she couldn't really refuse either, could she? Well, she could but it'd ruin her day and she didn't need anything else on her conscience lately.
"You know what, sure kid. My place is safe from the EC and I wouldn't mind the help." She managed what she hoped resembled a smile but was realistically more her face screwing to one side. "Wanna head home and get something to eat with me?"
The kid nodded nervously. "Uhuh."
◑
The walk back home felt so much longer than usual with a shaky little kid following her. Eda went as slow as she could to give them time to catch up and turned around a lot to be sure they hadn't disappeared or been eaten by birds, so it was an ordeal, to say the least.
After an unceremonious explanation to Hooty that this kid was going to be living with them for now, the two of them stood in the doorway.
"Welcome to— The Owl House."
Aaaaand this place was abysmal looking!
She'd forgotten that since her most recent breakup, she'd been too depressed to clean anything. There was trash thrown about, books off their shelves, and dirty dishes piled up on the couch and floor. The kid grimaced looking at it all, like they were walking into an animal's den.
"Sorry kid, I forgot to clean up."
They inhaled and started to roll up their sleeves. "I'll get working on it, ma'am."
Huh? Did this kid think she was going to make them do all her chores, especially the first night they got there, before making them something to eat? Seesh she might not be a babysitter but she wasn't that careless.
"Nono, I'll do it. You should go get yourself cleaned up, there's a bathroom upstairs that shouldn't be too unusable if you want to take a bath while I make something to eat. I keep spare clothes from the human realm in the closet over there, so you can look for some clothes to borrow in there."
On one hand, the kid seemed startled but on the other they sagged in evident relief. "Yes ma'am, thank you!"
Sorting out the living room and kitchen didn't take too long. The bookshelf was enchanted to call back all the books on command— something that was necessary with her habit of losing them— so they worked themselves out. The trash she tossed into a bag with a levitation spell and put outside for Hooty to do whatever it was he did with the trash. That just left the dishes which would be an enjoyable enough task she could do to have some time with her thoughts. She stacked them as high as she could without dropping any, took a few trips to bring everything to the sink, and then got to work scrubbing and rinsing. She disliked the grime that came with doing dishes but enjoyed the feeling of the water on her hands and the texture of the dish soap foam.
So! She had a whole witchling living with her now! That was a new development. She didn't know how long this would last, preferably not very long before the kid could find someone more responsible to live with, but she wasn't in a rush to send them away either. She'd need to stock up more on food; if she ran low before she could put it off for a few days if she didn't feel like shopping, but that was out of the question with a kid to feed. They'd need new clothes to wear, it didn't seem like they had any in their bag and she doubted she had much in the closet she'd told them about. What was in that bag actually? They hadn't let go of it or stopped hugging it to their chest on the whole walk home and took it upstairs with them. Clearly, it was important. She made a mental note not to touch it without their permission.
Once she'd done enough dishes that she could use the sink comfortably without taking anything out, her head was much clearer and she started making spider web soup. The spider silk would be a good source of nutrients and the vegetables and blood-broth would hopefully be soothing. Back in the days before her curse, her mother had made this for her when she was sick. She sighed, reminded herself not to think about Gwendolyn right now, and got back to cooking.
The broth was premade, though she did add a little more blood to it for flavor sometimes, and the vegetables were frozen so she just used the micrograve to thaw them before tossing them into the pot. The spider silk would come last, it needed to be a little melty and to absorb the broth, but if it boiled that could ruin the texture in her experience. She turned the heat down low before adding the silk and stirred gently. She didn’t actually need to be stirring it, really, but keeping her hands busy right now was a good idea.
What was this kid even gonna do around here? She could already tell that if she didn’t give them something to do that they’d be suspicious of her, they didn’t seem to have much experience with basic kindness or decency. She could use the help too, it wasn’t like she was exactly thriving lately but she wasn’t really hurting either. What were normal chores for a young witchlet? She generally avoided hers when she was that age so she couldn’t remember what she was supposed to be doing.
Oh well, maybe the kid would have fun making potions with her? More than anything, she could probably use the company. Even Hooty was starting to take pity on her moping around in silence and Hooty’s pity was never a good sign; Hooty considered eating moldy bread a hobby.
Once the spider-web soup was done, she ladled it into two freshly washed bowls and brought it out to the living room, setting them both down on the end table in front of the couch, along with a basket of breadsticks she'd stocked up on from that human realm carb garden. A cozy meal in the living room was exactly what this kid needed right now, she was sure of it.
Soon, she heard soft padding down the stairs and looked in time to watch the kid walking back into the living room. Without their cloak they somehow looked even smaller, now wearing an oversized lime-green t-shirt that fell around them like a dress, bright pink shorts fastened in place by a belt that they’d poked more holes in to fit, mismatched socks at least two or three sizes too big for them, and had replaced their bag with a green backpack that had a dinosaur doing a kickflip printed on the front. The new clothes were silly looking but an improvement. However, before she could celebrate, her eyes flashed over the numerous visible scars on the rest of the kid’s body. A lot of them looked similar to the one on his cheek, which was alarmingly large of a scar to be on such a little kid. What exactly had this poor little witch gone through, anyway?
They stood nervously in front of the stairs and laced their fingers together, fidgeting slightly. “Uhm, hi?”
“Hey kid, you’re just in time for dinner.” She approached them slowly, careful not to make any sudden or startling movements, and tried to get a better look at them. “I won’t ask about the scars but are you still hurt anywhere? Any injuries I can help with?”
They considered this for a moment before holding out one of their arms which on closer inspection had a lot of tiny bite marks. “Fairy bites,” they said tiredly.
“Fairy bites?” she asked, a little surprised, “did they gang up on you? Why not just push em away?”
“We were hiding from the coven scouts and they threatened to tell on me.” They pouted. “I’m usually a good fighter, promise.”
“I believe you kid,” she said, and for some reason she really did. “Anything else I should know about?”
“Umm…” They debated on something for a few moments, looking as anxious as ever. “Well I sort of almost died but don’t tell anyone about it, please.”
“What do you mean you almost died?! Are you still dying ?!”
They shook their head no. “Nuhuh, someone healed me back at the castle, I think? There was a lot of blood around me when I woke up but all my wounds were closed and scarred over, they still hurt pretty bad but I’m used to it, so I’ll be okay.”
There was just so much more to process every time this kid spoke, dear titan. “You mean like… Belos' castle?”
They stiffened at the mention of his name, their posture straightening oddly at a sort of tension like someone had pulled a string in their back. They didn’t answer her, instead opting to stare at the floor sadly.
“What were you doing in there?”
The poor kid seemed like they did not want to answer that question, but before she could try and reassure them they didn’t really have to, they looked to the side and responded dutifully. “My last job was there, I uh… ran away from the Emperor’s Coven.”
“The Emperor’s Coven?!” Her head was spinning. “But you’re a baby!”
“I’m over seven and a half!” they whined, indignantly.
Titan this kid was even younger than she’d expected! She did believe them only because it would be a pointless thing to make up but it was just so bizarre.
“I didn’t know they let kids that young join the Emperor’s Coven, don’t you at least have to be in high school?”
“I um…” They hesitated for a moment. “The Emperor wanted to try something new I guess?” they offered weakly. “I was raised inside of the coven, my earliest memories are of starting scout training.”
Sheesh. She’d never liked the emperor or his stupid coven system but this was a whole new low for him. So this kid was some kind of child soldier? What did she do about that, exactly? Well, it was probably more suited for her than dealing with a normal kid, the Owl House was for weirdos and outcasts only, she was pretty sure. She’d just try her best and— wait, what was the kid doing?
They suddenly knelt down on one of their knees, letting one arm rest at their chest and the other on the floor in some kind of weird bowing gesture. Seeing it at all was a little weird but what caught her attention was how rehearsed the movement was, way too fluid a motion for a child their age, and that it was directed at her.
“I know you don’t like the Emperor’s Coven or- or the Titan but if I ever go back they’ll kill me for real so… You’re my commander now, I promise I’ll do everything you say. Please don’t send me away, ma’am, I promise I’ll work hard, I’ll- I’ll…” Losing their train of thought, they curled closer to the floor and their free hand grasped their hair tightly. After that, they waited for her to do or say something.
Well, this was going to make her sick! She thought she could feel some feathers threatening to grow on her back.
“Hey, we’ll have none of that here, okay kid?” she said sternly, carefully holding out a hand to help them stand up again.
Their eyes flashed to her own and then at her outstretched hand, they reluctantly placed their own there and bowed their head again. “Yes, miss.”
She slowly pulled them up into a standing position and then let go of their hand, not wanting to make too much contact without knowing what they were comfortable with. “I don’t know what it’s like in the Emperor’s coven, but in mine, we keep things casual okay? You live here now but you don’t have to do everything I say, and just call me Eda okay?”
They glanced up at her curiously, took a minute to process all of this, and then— “Yes ma’am, er, Eda!”
Well, it was a start! They’d have time to warm up to her later.
“Alright, come sit down on the sofa. I’ll go get some bandages for the fairy bites and I have some spider-web soup for you. Help yourself to some bread too, you look half-starved” She went and got the safety aid kit as they settled down, then came back and gently took hold of their arm so she could start rubbing astringent over it. Then she wrapped it in a somewhat light layer of bandages and secured them in place. The fairy bites weren't particularly deep so the bandages were a little overkill but it was easier than opening a bunch of bandaids.
As she worked she made small talk. "So, they give you a name in the Emperor's coven?"
"I have a name but the Emperor doesn't like me telling anyone so I just go by scout with the rest of the coven," they said casually between bites of breadstick.
"Why'd he do that?"
"I dunno," the kid shrugged. "He says he didn't want anyone getting attached to me 'cause the Titan has big plans for me and he doesn't want me getting distracted."
They paused then, staring down at their hands uncomfortably. "Well um… I dunno if that still matters, I uhh… don't think the Titan’s very happy right now."
They looked like they were gonna start bawling in a second so she tried to distract them from whatever train of thought they were having. "Well I wanna use your name, you're not a scout anymore."
They nodded and went back to eating. "It's Hunter."
"Hunter? Great, it's nice to finally meet you."
She sat down on the floor then, getting her spider-web soup and setting it in her lap. "You'll wanna eat this before it gets cold, it's not very good once the silk cools down.
Dutifully, they brought their bowl into their lap. Rather than use the spoon she gave them, they tipped the rim towards their mouth and guzzled down the broth. Good thing it'd had time to cool down a little, she thought absently. The stuff was dripping down the side of their face and getting on their clothes and probably on the couch but she didn't really mind as long as the kid was eating.
"You always eat this fast?"
They nodded as they went for more bread, biting vigorously down on it. "Uhuh, in the Emperor's Coven, we eat all our rations on the go, don't wanna waste time on a meal break."
Well, she'd have to unpack all of that later, but right now it was just important the kid was eating. "You can take it easy here if you wanna," she said casually. "There's not that much to do around here, so you can take breaks if you want. I know I do, busyness isn't really the way of a wild witch."
Hunter nodded but they didn't seem convinced. They devoured the rest of their soup and a few more pieces of bread before they finally slowed down, movements becoming more sluggish now that they were full. Eda was tired too, it was well after midnight and her fatigue had been killing her lately.
She tried to think about what still needed to happen. The kid had eaten, introduced themself, and was settling into their new home so that just left sleeping arrangements. She could let them sleep on the couch tonight, then deal with the rest tomorrow, but the living room was such a wide open space it was probably intimidating. Should she find some bedding and convert the storage closet upstairs into a makeshift room? Hunter could fix it up over time, it'd be their own little space away from her and Hooty.
"Okay," she said and slowly stood up, her joints creaking slightly. "I don't have a proper room for you yet but we can find one together, sound good?"
Hunter nodded and stood up with a zeal she couldn't tell came from their past as a soldier or from being almost eight years old. "Okay!"
They seemed much happier as she led them up the stairs and into the storage closet, which was a good sign. Were they starting to trust her now? She hoped so, the poor kid needed someone safe to look up to even if she was a horrible role model usually.
When she opened the door and cast a light spell, the place wasn't as bad as she'd been expecting. Mostly it was just a lot of boxes with random objects in them.
Together, they pushed the boxes out of the way, clearing plenty of space for Hunter to get set up in for now. Eda surveyed the room with a nod. "Alright, this should work for now. I'm gonna go grab a roll-out mattress and some blankets for you. Will you be alright on your own in here?"
Snapping their posture into place, they nodded vigorously. "Yes ma'am- Eda." They winced when they slipped up again. Poor kid.
When she entered her room it took everything in her not to fall into her nest and sleep, instinctively. Not just yet, Eda, she reminded herself and trudged her way to the nearest elixir. Without hesitating, she popped the top and guzzled it down. She'd had a few decades to get used to the stuff, so the bizarre almost nutty flavor was almost welcome despite the bitter aftertaste.
The feathers fell off of her back and she finally relaxed. The last thing she needed right now was to become the owl beast.
The roll-out bed and the sleeping bags were harder to find than she'd expected, buried amongst all the clutter in her closet— she really needed to organize this mess, no, one thing at a time Eda— but after a few strained moments of digging she found them and sighed in relief.
She had them in her arms now, she only had to—
Oh, titan now she had to stand up. No matter how many years she'd had this stupid curse, she never broke her habit of plopping onto the floor to get things when she knew full well her fatigue and joint pain was too bad to get back up again. She took a deep breath and fought the urge to just curl up on the floor and sleep, if she did that tonight the poor kid would work themself into a panic waiting for her to return probably. Gritting her teeth, she shoved hard at the ground and slowly pushed herself up, holding onto the nearby corner of her closet wall for support. Once she was up, she shuffled tiredly out of her room and back down to the storage closet— no, scratch that, to Hunter’s new bedroom.
She knocked gently on the mostly open door to give them a little heads up before stepping inside. Once she did, she realized that they had been standing in the exact same position, waiting at a tension for her. Their posture hurt just to look at , she needed to teach this kid how to relax properly.
“Oh, you didn’t have to just stand there, sorry kid.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” they apologized, seemingly not understanding what she’d meant by that exactly. They looked around in mild confusion, “Umm, what else did you want me to do? Instead of standing…?”
“Well, right now, I’d like you to take this and get comfortable okay?” she said, handing Hunter the small blue roll-out mattress and setting down the pillows she’d found. "You can put it down wherever you want, this is your room now. If you see anything you like in any of the boxes you can keep ‘em too, I barely even look at this stuff anymore.”
“Oh, okay!” They sounded almost disappointed tone-wise, but that didn’t match the eager curiosity in their eyes as they looked around the room with a renewed interest. “Thank you.”
“Any time, kid. Is there anything else you want before I go to bed? It can be anything, don’t worry about asking for too much, a wild witch’s lifestyle is pretty unapologetic actually.”
“Hmm…” they looked around again, pondering this question. “I don’t think so. I just want to lay down, we’ve been on the run for days and I’m so tired.”
She absently noticed the ‘we’ used this time around, wondering who they were talking about and how the poor kid had gotten separated from them. Oh well, she could deal with that in the morning. “Me and you both, kid.”
After wishing them goodnight, she finally was able to hobble to her room and slip into bed, falling into a deep slumber immediately.
◑
Hunter really wanted to go to sleep too. The bed he’d been given was even nicer than his sleeping bag back at the barracks, let alone the random street corners and forests he’d been sleeping in. He was more exhausted than he ever had been before, but he couldn’t give in just yet.
Once he heard the Owl Lady’s door shut, he carefully retrieved the backpack and removed the large stone tablet from inside, and propped it up so it had a decent view of him. “Are you still in there?” he asked softly.
The shadowy figure emerged into view almost instantly. “Hunter! Hiii!”
“Shh, not so loud,” Hunter hissed but then he relaxed a little.
“Where are we now?” the Collector asked curiously, getting a good look around the dimly lit room.
“We’re in the house of a hardened criminal!” he whisper shouted excitedly. “I ran into the Owl Lady at the night market and got a job working for her, we’ll be able to eat and sleep here now!”
“Oooooh,” they melodized, still looking around, sending playful shadows rippling across the walls. “Does that mean Belos can’t find us anymore?”
Hunter’s heart dropped into his stomach just hearing the question. He was still processing that they were hiding from his uncle at all, let alone whether or not they were actually safe. He wanted to go back, wanted to see what remained of his family again, but he also wanted to live and so did the Collector.
“I dunno…” he whimpered, staring at his lap, “I think so? Hopefully…”
“Hooray!” the Collector did a somersault, smiling. “We’re finally away from that jerkface! I don’t have to be alone anymore!”
“How long have you been alone?”
“A really long time! Like reeeaalllly long, like if you added up the ages of every person you’d ever met you still wouldn’t know how long, long.”
“Did he ever talk to you?”
“Eh, sometimes here and there but he was never any fun like you are.”
Hunter yawned and rubbed his eyes, his vision going pretty blurry. Man he was exhausted, he wanted to sleep for a million years probably.
“Noooo, not this again,” they groaned, looking around anxiously.
“‘M sorry,” he whispered.
“Do you really have to go?”
“I have to say my prayers now,” he mumbled, “then… yeah, I gotta go again, sorry.”
“Why do you talk to that big jerk anyway? He’s never listened to me .”
There were lots of reasons to talk to the Titan; it gave them life and let them make their homes atop its decaying body, purified their magic, and always knew what was best for them. With his uncle gone for now, the Titan was the only person he had left to look up to, even if it never spoke back to him. At least something he’d been taught had to be true and he really hoped it was this.
He didn’t have the energy to explain any of this right now though, so he just whined, “If I don’t I’ll get in trouble.”
The Collector sighed but settled down, looking like they understood what he meant. “Okay. Will you at least leave the tablet up? I don’t like being on my own…”
“Okay,” Hunter readily agreed, he didn’t like being alone much either, “but don’t let the Owl Lady see you if she comes in here… I really don’t want her to kill me.”
After that, he knelt to the side of his sleeping bag and bowed his head, clasping his hands together and closing his eyes.
I’m so sorry, sir , he thought, I hope you can forgive me.
Eventually, he shifted to laying down with his face against the pillow and started repenting in his sleep.