Chapter Text
Cut, slice, cut.
Hunter was carving away at his new project: a mask to wear for his entrance exam to Hexside. Darius had just informed him earlier that he was officially enrolled. Today was Monday, and he had until Friday to prepare for the exam and show the Principal everything he had. Although overjoyed at the idea of finally being able to attend school, Hunter was deathly nervous about the Entrance exam. If he failed, his dream of attending school would be gone for good.
While pondering how to go about passing the Exam, he remembered what Luz had done for him in the human realm while chasing down Belos: giving him a mask to regain his confidence, putting on a persona like his Golden Guard days. If that worked for hunting Belos, then it should work for a far less dangerous thing like an exam.
Besides, Hunter was so scared and anxious about the exam that he needed any sort of confidence he could manage to scoundure, and making this was the perfect way to go about it.
Hunter's blueprint sketch for his new mask was perfect. A beautiful, symmetrical sketch with the face of his beloved old friend, Flapjack. But… there was a problem and a troubling one at that. Hunter had never carved anything on his own without the help of Dell, and he was certainly having problems with this mask. He also hadn't really dabbled much outside of simple carvings, learning the very basics of the skill. He had only carved one palisman so far, that being his beloved blue jay, Waffles, and he had gotten a lot of help with that, s o trying something so ambitious, far beyond his current skill set, and without Dell's tutelage was nothing sort of a nightmare. Despite the perfect blueprint, Hunter was struggling to get the carving to match it. He had gone through multiple pieces of wood already, and to say it was getting frustrating was an understatement. Waffles stayed by his side the whole time, encouraging him the best she could. But despite her kind twitters, Hunter was only getting increasingly frustrated as each earnest attempt ended up being scrapped.
Hunter lost track of time of how long he had been working, only stopping for meals and bathroom breaks. Before long, the sun rested below the horizon, and the moon awoke above the trees. As Hunter was hard at work on carving his mask, a knock on his door sounded, breaking his deathly focus. Hunter gave permission for entry, and the door opened. "Greetings, little prince," Darius said. "I'm heading to bed, but before I do, do you need anything?"
Hunter was quite thirsty now that he thought about it. "Well, some spider milk would be nice, if that's okay with you?"
"I'll write that down," Darius replied.
It went quiet momentarily, then Hunter gave Darius a terribly confused look. "You… didn't write anything down?"
Darius chuckled, "It's an expression, Hunter. Now, how's the mask going?"
Hunter's eyes darted around briefly before returning, an attempt at a confident smile appearing. "It's… going."
Darius cocked a curious brow, "Going, you say? May I take a peek?" Hunter hesitantly nodded, and Darius came over. "Wow… that's… Well, that's definitely going," Darius said with a nervous smile.
Hunter sighed, seeing through Darius' words. "This is driving me insane. This is my fifth attempt, and I still can't figure it out. The blueprint was perfect! Why does this look so bad?!" Hunter groaned. "...I might not have a mask in time for the exam."
Darius gave Hunter a gentle noogie. "Whether it lives up to your expectations or not, it'll still provide the same function for you on the exam."
Hunter faintly smiled.
"Don't stress too much about making the mask perfect. Trying to be perfect just sets you up for failure. Instead, focus on getting it completed," Darius advised.
Hunter knew himself. He likely wouldn't end up listening to Darius' advice, even though he knew he was right. "...I'll try."
Darius warmly smiled before taking in a large, deep yawn. "Titan, I am tired. I'll fix you the milk, and then I'll be heading to bed."
Darius quickly got Hunter his spider milk and gave it to him when he returned. "Before I go, be sure to get some rest, Hunter. You need sleep, and that's final."
Hunter hesitated. "...I know. I'll try…"
"Just make an effort, got it? See you in the morning, little prince," Darius and Hunter exchanged warm smiles as Darius closed the door and left. Once he was gone, Hunter let out a soft sigh, drank his milk, and went back to working on his mask.
Cut, slice, cut.
Hunter lost track of time again, not realizing just how late it had gotten. Waffles had stayed by his side the whole time, but she was getting frustrated at how long Hunter was working on the mask. He had made significant progress, and she wanted to support him as much as she could, but she was also tired and wanted to sleep. Waffles noticed that Hunter's movements were much slower now, and he hesitated more and took longer to make decisions. He was clearly tired. Waffles knew that Hunter was playing with fire, and she wasn't about to let that happen. She started to loudly caw at him, "Whoa, Waffles, be quiet! What's got you so excited?"
"Bedtime!" Waffles demanded.
"Waffles, I'm fine. Just quiet down; you'll wake up Darius!" Hunter replied.
Waffles went to Hunter's head and started pecking at his scalp. "Bed, now!" She squawked.
"Ow, ow, ow!" Hunter cried. He growled after, "Okay, okay, fine! I'll go to bed!"
Waffles landed on his shoulder, smiling. "Good. Now sleep."
"Titan, you can be more of a pain than your big brother…" Hunter grumbled.
"Me duty is what best for you," Waffles twittered.
Hunter pouted but let out a sigh afterward. "Yeah, yeah. I know."
Hunter changed into his pajamas and tucked himself into bed; Waffles nested into his hair as Hunter started to doze off. His breathing slowed as his muscles relaxed, and soon, he was swept into the world of dreams.
Hunter found himself back in the castle. Endless, dark, distorted halls surrounded him. His old Golden Guard uniform weighed him down as he rushed to find his way out of the never-ending labyrinth. He knew this area was dangerous, so he hid Waffles under his cloak to keep her safe. Hunter's heart raced as his stomach ached, full of fear. A sense of danger and pure, utter dread loomed over him. Feeling as if someone… or something was watching him.
Suddenly, the roar of Belos echoed through the halls. Hunter gasped, turning around to see a pair of glowing blue eyes rushing toward him. Hunter gasped and attempted to run, but he barely moved. He tried to dash, but he couldn't get himself to glow. He tried to scream for help, but nothing came out of his mouth. Belos grew closer and closer, causing Hunter to panic. Suddenly, Hunter felt warm, gross muck on his shoulder, and he was yanked backward. Belos swung Hunter around to face him, bringing him close to his face. Hunter's heart stopped as everything froze at that moment.
"You can be of great use to me…." Belos uttered. Hunter squirmed as much as he could as Waffles managed to break free. Waffles watched in horror as Belos pried open Hunter's mouth and threw his entire body inside of him. Hunter instantly lost control of his body as Belos' muck crawled to the surface of his skin. His eyes started glowing a sickening blue, and antlers emerged from his skull.
A part of Hunter was still conscious, and his inner self began to fight Belos for control inside his mindscape. 'GET OUT OF MY BODY! GET OUT!!'
It was no use, as Belos had full control. "Don't worry, Caleb," Helos taunted. "We're just finishing what we started. Everything will work out. For me, that is not so much for you."
Helos spotted Waffles approaching. She angrily cawed at the top of her lungs. "MY HUNTER! MY HUNTER! NO HURT HIM!"
Helos stretched out his arm and grabbed Waffles, squeezing the life out of her. The inner Hunter watched with horror, 'No, please, no! Don't hurt her! Please! Not again!'
"Some babies get dropped on their heads, but you were clearly thrown at a wall," Helos hissed, "You fail to remember that I don't care what you want. This weepy palisman is much more useful to me than anything you could ever want."
'NO! DON'T YOU DARE-'
*CRACK*
Helos impaled Waffles several times with his tendrils and then sniffed up all of her essence through his nose and eyes.
Then, everything went black.
"AUGH!" Hunter cried, shooting up out of bed. He panted heavily, sweating profusely as the image of his nightmare haunted him.
Waffles quickly flew in front of him, "Hunter? What wrong? What happened?!" Hunter's pupils twitched side to side, and Waffles could just see that look in them, "You okay?" Waffles softly twittered as she landed on Hunter's legs.
Hunter's bottom lip trembled, gently grabbing Waffles and softly pressing her against his chest as tears leaked out of his eyes. "I'm never going to let anything happen to you…" Hunter croaked.