Chapter Text
Living with a man who had previously ignored your existence for practical years would certainly deem as… difficult.
Hunter, a 16 year old half-witch who he himself deemed such, shivered as his body pressed against a broad figure. A plethora of strong familiar smells of lavender indicated that he was in fact hugging the previous Abomination Covenhead, Darius Deamonne. He, the former second-in-command of Emperor Belos’ and the first Golden Guard to defy the emperor, instinctively sunk into Darius’ embrace. This was a gesture he never knew he’d long for, especially if it was during the time he was stuck in the covens. While in the clutch of the Emperor, his uncle, Hunter wouldn’t have thought an embrace could hold so much meaning and comfort. The closest he had gotten to with Belos was a grip on the shoulder, or a cup of the cheek. He felt as if he could still feel the cold metal of Belos’ gauntlets pressing against the side of his cheek. He had to admit, he previously found a great value of comfort in the motion. But after the realization of the man’s true authority over the isles just made his stomach churn with a signal of disgust.
Hunter was dragged back into reality when a hand combed through his hair, and the steady ringing that was previously sounding-off in his ears began to soften and fade. He retreated back slightly when Darius’ grip loosened. His body stiffened when the man ruffled his hair, causing a great value of sudden discomfort and confusion. Why would Darius run his fingers through his hair? His oily, dirty hair. Darius was notorious for his distaste in germs, mud, dirt, or anything other than spotless. Hunter recalled a time he entered the man’s room in order to deliver paperwork. The room resided in the Emperor’s castle, and upon entering it was equivalent to entering the gates of where The Titan lives in the Heavens. There was not a speck of dust in that room. It was so clean that even bugs recoiled at the sight. So, Hunter wondered why Darius would knowingly rest his silky-white gloves on his dirty head. Was it an act of pity?
“I was so worried about you, Little Prince.” Darius’ suddenly said. His voice is deep, smooth and commanding with a slight growl to it. He tends to be serious, and he has a habit of being very direct and assertive.
Hunter blinked, “Darius? I- you-“ his voice shook with each word. He felt pitiful and embarrassed, as his voice seemed to be the complete opposite of Darius’. Hunter was unsure of what to say. He had always struggled to find words when he wasn’t being a leader to a group of soldiers. The boy discovered when he was living with Camila that it was difficult to navigate through a casual conversation; and now that he was reuniting with a former acquaintance, he was internally searching through his catalog of words. He hadn’t spoken to the man in months after disappearing off into the Human Realm.
Hunter tensed when Darius cupped a silky white glove against his cheek, his thumb gently rubbing at the aggressive scarring on his face.
“Oh by the Titan! What happened to you?!” The man was frantic at the sight of Hunter. Thick scars lined his body, especially along his arms. Hunter hadn’t noticed. He was still processing everything that had went down in the past 24 hours.
He tried to recall the previous events starting from the most recent. The boy knew that The Collector, a child of the stars who genuinely scares Hunter, had successfully been stopped. He guessed Luz, who, in short, is a human and first to master glyphs, had something to do with it. Hunter knew this because The Collector’s magic he possessed was unpredictable. If Hunter could describe it, he would note it as limitless. The child could manipulate the physical world just by a snap of his fingers; a dangerous mysticism to possess for a child.
Months ago, Hunter and his group of friends had to retreat their home, the Boiling Isles, in order to escape The Collector’s catastrophic events. A heavy feeling weighed in his chest at the rememberance, as if something was sitting on top of it. When they had returned to the isles, their friends and family had all been turned to some sort of equivalent-puppet version of themselves. The puppets were stored in the archives to collect dust while The Collector continued his sickening game. Darius was one of the many to have transformed into one. Hunter had only seen him for a small bit in the form, but even then, he refused to acknowledge his presence in the belief that it wasn’t truly Darius.
But now, here he was. The man was standing in front of him, no longer damned to the punishment of a marionette. He was real. He was okay. And he was comforting Hunter.
Hunter lifted his head reluctantly, knowing he couldn’t avoid the man’s gaze forever. His heart skipped a beat when his eyes met Darius’; a striking green that reminded him of the foliage in the Human Realm. Hunter felt his own gaze grow heavy, exhaustion finally settling in. He doesn’t remember the last time he slept. A growing discomfort in his stomach made him seemingly attempt to retreat back, but Darius’ hand on his shoulder held firm.
“What’s wrong?” Darius asked, noticing the boy’s discomfort.
Hunter just stared up at the man for a few seconds, he could feel the man’s eyes burning down on his body, and most prominently, at his scars. The boy also noted the look upon the man’s face. He seemed incredibly worried, and his eyes were soaked with tears. His mascara was going to smear soon if he didn’t stop being so emotional. Hunter supposed he should explain to the man the events.
“I-“ Hunter began, but immediately stopped speaking when his voice cracked, and a lump formed in his throat. His throat tightened and eyelids fluttered to rid of the sting in his eyes. His face was hot with embarrassment, and like a dam, he broke. He began sobbing despite his efforts to hold it in. To barricade his emotions seemed easier than to express them.
“Oh Hunter, it’s gonna be alright.” Darius’ voice rang through his ears in a mix of concern and comfort. Hunter squeezed his eyes shut, and gritted his teeth to stop his weeping. Darius whispered something to him, which he couldn’t understand over the sounds of his own hiccups and gasps for air.
After an extensive moment, which Hunter wished to never go through again, of crying, he finally was able to force himself to stop. His throat burned and his nose dripped; which he immediately used his arm to wipe away. Hunter had already made a fool of himself by breaking down, he didn’t need to give Darius an image of him in a snotty distress.
“You done?” The older man asked, not in an impatient way, but the opposite. It brought a quick wave of ease to the heavy feeling in Hunter’s chest.
“Yeah.” He strangled out, to which he cringed. Hunter hadn’t realized how pathetic that would sound. He blinked tears away, and to redeem himself, he slightly broadened his shoulders in an attempt to look bigger, “My apologies,” he managed.
“I see no reason to apologize. I just want to let you know you’re alright,” Darius responded, and let his left arm drop back down to his side, while his right hand motioned to Hunter’s shirt. “Your shirt, it’s rather well sewn. Did you do that?”
Hunter’s eyes flicked back up to the man, then down to his shirt. He gripped the bottom, tugging on it so Darius got a better view.
“Yeah, I uhm, I made it.” He answered shyly. “You won’t believe this cool machine Camila has in the Human Realm. It’s a machine that aids in sewing. It’s ridiculously fast, you know..” Hunter knew that Darius had asked this question in order to change the subject, but he didn’t mind. Any chance that Hunter had to genuinely speak about his interests was a delight to him, even if had just got through sobbing a storm.
“Tell me then, what’s that beast on your shirt, reminds me of Eberwolf.” As soon as those words left Darius’ mouth, Hunter’s eyes lit up. His pointed ears perked with interest as he inhaled to prepare his lecture upon the mighty species of wolves. Or scientifically known as: Canius Lupus. Hunter began ranting, explaining to Darius how wolves were similar to other beasts in the demon realm, but added their differences. He described their hunting and eating habits, and how they hunted as a pack more often than alone.
Darius just grinned, nodding every few seconds to illustrate he was in fact listening. He definitely had trouble keeping up with the boy’s quick pace, but he didn’t call him out for it. He hadn’t heard the boy speak so freely since he had stood up for his friends months ago.
When Hunter finished his rant, Darius rested a hand on his hip, “Seems like you had fun in the Human realm?” He asked.
“Oh, yes! I did have fun! It was nothing like what myths have described humans to be in books- but then again those are myths . So I don’t expect it to be accurate-“
Darius’ eyes flicked to Hunter’s shoulder while he rambled, and occasionally to examine to the boy’s body. He noted something was missing. But he couldn’t quite place it. Had Hunter’s eyes always been so.. brown? Perhaps it was just the lighting, Darius told himself.
“-us,”
“-rius,”
“Darius!”
Darius’ eyelids blinked himself back into the present.
“Were you even listening?” Hunter questioned, his gaze slightly hardened. Not from anger, but more or so in disappointment.
“Oh- yes. I was, I apologize. My mind is still fuzzy from everything that’s happened, and from being a puppet.” Darius immediately apologized, patting Hunter on the shoulder for reassurance.
“Oh, sorry.” Hunter felt the need to apologize as well, to which Darius simply brushed it off.
“No need for that. Titan, are those bags under your eyes finally gone?!” The man gasped, cupping his hand around the boy’s chin to bring his face closer. Hunter tensed at the motion, but kept still. Darius wasn’t a threat; at least not for now. However he found it hard to believe it.
“I’m surprised; I never thought they’d go away. At least you were sleeping well.” Hunter tilted his head slightly, trying to determine if that was a praise or if he was just pointing out the obvious. Either way, Hunter’s eyes just looked off to the side as Darius examined his face. He didn’t like it very much, his cheeks were beginning to ache from the man’s strong grip; Darius wasn’t doing it purposefully.
“Titan, you’re dirty.” Darius mentioned. “When was the last time you’ve had a proper shower? And I mean a full shower! Not just a 5 minute rinse.” The sassy man removed his cupped hand from the boy’s face and rested it on his hip. He raised an eyebrow as he awaited an answer.
“At Camila’s.” The boy responded, rubbing the side of his cheek. He nervously glanced around.
“At Camila’s? You mean the random name you’ve just been saying this whole time, and not bothering to give me an explanation? And for the love of Titan, that isn’t even a proper answer. How am I supposed to know when that was?” Hunter shrank back slightly from his scolding; preparing himself for the impending anger.
The older man sighed at this. He pinched the bridge of his nose, “Never mind what I said or asked. It’s my fault for asking such questions when you’re clearly exhausted.” Darius shifted over in an elegant way. He moved lightly but confidently at the same time. His heels satisfyingly clacking on the ground of the marbled floor, which brought Hunter to regain his focus on his environment.
They were still in The Collector’s palace. Formed simply by just a touch of his finger. The palace was suspended high in the sky, floating just above the huge Titan’s skull on the isles; forming what looked like a huge crown on top. Or at least it had been. The “crown” palace had eventually eased itself to a resting spot directly on top of the Titan’s skull, no longer suspended by thick, glowing ropes that extended towards space.
The sun had finally risen outside, and was peering through the large columns the represented windows. Around them, parents and children had begun to reunite with their own friends and family; finally free from the marionette curse.
“Child, why don’t we head to my place? You’re exhausted. Plus I need to make sure my home wasn’t.. eh, destroyed.” Darius placed a hand on the boy’s back, leading him towards the exit in a rather rushed manner.
“Hey—!” Hunter gasped, attempting to pull away. The blond was surprised at the sudden rush to get away. He stopped struggling when he heard Darius grunt, and felt the man immediately let go.
“Titan!” Darius hissed in pain, his hands over his nose. Hunter spun on his heels, prepared to start brawling at whatever presence had laid hands on the previously positioned Abomination Covenhead. Thought when he realized who it was he let his body relax back into a unstiff stance. The familiar presence set their hands on his shoulders with a soft approach, it was Camila.
“Oh, you poor thing! Are you alright? Did he hurt you?!” Luz’ mother, Camila, frantically asked.The motherly woman cupped his cheek, examining his face as if it wasn’t already scarred up.
Camila was Dominican-American (an ethnicity from the Human-realm) just like her daughter. The resemblance of the Luz and her mother was very similar. They were both human with dark, curly hair. Luz use to straighten her hair with a whats called a ‘hair iron’, or something along the lines. Hunter had walked in on her straightening her hair at 7 in the morning. They had shared a silent stare, before he slowly retreated.
Hunter snapped back into the present when Darius groaned in frustration. The boy glanced up at Camila, surprised she could throw such a punch; he guaranteed she’d broken his nose.
“Camila! You hit Darius!” Hunter exclaimed, eyeing the older man who was hunched over rubbing his rose.
Camila’s eyes widen at the familiar name. She’s heard Hunter talk about him during his rants while he was in the human realm. She covered her mouth with her hands, shocked. She rushed over to Darius, who immediately lifted a hand to presumably draw a spell circle.
“No!” Hunter clasped his hands down onto Darius’ hand, “Don’t!” He hissed. Luckily his efforts in stopping the spell-casting succeeded. Darius groaned, “She hit me, did you not see her pound in my nose?!” He shook his hand away from Hunter’s, his lips angrily pulled back into a snarl.
Camila nervously just stood there, utterly
shocked how she’d just hit one of Hunter’s friends. She waved her hands, crouching slightly as to not seem intimidating. Though she didn’t have to, her size was tiny compared to Darius, who stood at around 6’3, while Camila was pushing 5’3. It was a wonder she was able to clock his face.
“Just- stop!” Hunter exclaimed. He supposed he should quickly introduce the two before it led to an unneeded rivalry.
“Camila, as you know this is Darius.” Hunter started in a rushed manner, reaching out to her hand to guide her closer. Her body refused though, fear struck through her.
“Darius, please don’t hurt her, this is Camila. She’s Luz’ mother and she took care of me and my friends in the Human realm. She means no harm, I promise you that.”
Darius took a deep breath though his mouth, avoiding breathing in the blood that oozed from his nose. “I would say it’s a pleasure but clearly you’d think otherwise.” Darius pivoted on his heels, flourishing his cape slightly as he turned his side to face her. A sign of the utmost disrespect. Though Hunter couldn’t blame him, he would be upset if he was striked in the face.
Camila continued her continuous apologies, stating how it was clearly her fault for reading the situation wrong. She pleaded with the man to forgive her, and even sprinkled in how much Hunter would comment on Darius back in the Human realm. When the man eyed Darius, his face flushed in embarrassment, and he sent a small wave of the hand in a manner to: forget about it . Darius was starting to get agitated by how much she was apologizing, so he raised a hand and drew a quick spell circle. The boy beside him panicked, his eyes widening as he expected the worst. Camila gasped, and covered her face with her hands.
Though nothing threatening occurred. Hunter was relieved when the purple abomination matter Darius summoned transformed into some small card. He flicked it between his two fingers and held it in front of Camila, who slowly removed her hands, acknowledging there was no impending doom. She took a deep breath, and took the card.
“My address is on it.” He simply stated, and backed away. “Hunter, let’s go.” He set a hand on the boy’s back and led him back over to the exit. Hunter waved to Camila, which she shakily returned the wave.