Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

Hello_willow created a new Group Chat

Hello_willow changed Group Chat’s name to『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』

Hello_willow added GustopherTheGreat, Rockin-Bardin, PuddlesMyBeloved and RULERZREACHF4N

- - -

Hello_willow: hi team!!
since we won i thought that it is time to make things official
hence
group chat!!

GustopherTheGreat: AHHHHHHH
is this for real!?
our very own team chat!!

GustopherTheGreat: this is going to be amazing! i cannot contain my excitement!!

Hello_willow: i know right!
this is great

Rockin-Bardin: hey!!
look at this place
official EE chat room
good on us

PuddlesMyBeloved: i’m here! wht did I miss?

GustopherTheGreat: nothing much

Rockin-Bardin: is puddles giving you trouble again?

PuddlesMyBeloved: just a little
after the day we had she is just bursting with energy
you would think it’s the opposite
but no
had to tire her out some more

Rockin-Bardin: man, having a griffin seems tough
how can you even manage?

PuddlesMyBeloved: I have my ways :p

Rockin-Bardin: :p

Hello_willow: :p

GustopherTheGreat: :p

Hello_willow: now we are only missing caleb
or i guess hunter
and we can get this ee party started!!

Rockin-Bardin: its been a minute
you think he seen the notif
*notification?

Hello_willow: only one way to find out!
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N

PuddlesMyBeloved: …

Rockin-Bardin: …

GustopherTheGreat: …
maybe he is busy?

Hello_willow: maybe
but willow won’t be ignored!!
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N

Rockin-Bardin: man, rip hunter when he sees this

GustopherTheGreat: he will be missed

Hello_willow: well
looks like he doesn't have his scroll on him
:/
or he is ignoring us

GustopherTheGreat: you tried your best!

PuddlesMyBeloved: and then some
lol

Hello_willow: maybe he has coven stuff to do?
idk

Rockin-Bardin: its like super late
its still crazy that he has a legit job
and he is what? viney’s age?

PuddlesMyBeloved: ikr
i would actually die

GustopherTheGreat: my dad works late sometimes
so it could be that he is busy

Hello_willow: same with my dads

Rockin-Bardin: same

PuddlesMyBeloved: same
so
what now?

Hello_willow: idk
i said that we are having an EE party, but i hadn’t thought that far
i kindof wanted all of us here
it’s not fun if somebody is left out :(

PuddlesMyBeloved: we can have a party later
how about just vibing
we can get to know each other better

Rockin-Bardin: oh!
idea!!
we can stream crystal ball movies!

Hello_willow: yes!! :D

GustopherTheGreat: oh no

PuddlesMyBeloved: what?

Rockin-Bardin: what?

GustopherTheGreat: remember when i said that my dad sometimes works late
well
not today
today he is very much at home
i’m being told to go to bed
it’s past my bedtime :’(

PuddlesMyBeloved: rip

Rockin-Bardin: rip

Hello_willow: rip

GustopherTheGreat: wow thnks guys i feel so loved :/

Hello_willow: it’s not our fault we don’t need a bed time anymore

Rockin-Bardin: never again!!!!

GustopherTheGreat: curse my youth!

PuddlesMyBeloved: don’t you have a bedtime to get to

GustopherTheGreat: :’(

Rockin-Bardin: i’m so glad to be 15

Hello_willow: ^

PuddlesMyBeloved: ^
+ a year >:)
so is this girls' night?

Rockin-Bardin: !!!!

Hello_willow: could be
so what movie are we watching?

GustopherTheGreat: awww man
i want to join girls' night
:’(

Hello_willow: go to sleep, gus

GustopherTheGreat: i’m being persecuted!
there is no justice!
why must I be the one to suffer so

Rockin-Bardin: :p

GustopherTheGreat: but I don’t want to sleep!
after the day we had who could!
i mean we had our first victory as a team
got kidnapped by our new friend to join the covens
crashed a ship
maybe almost killed a coven head along the way
somehow got away with it

PuddlesMyBeloved: wow, we had a productive day, didn’t we? /j

Rockin-Bardin: you don’t have to list it gus
we were there

GustopherTheGreat: then how can you tell me to go to sleep!!
It is literally impossible
I’m too hyped up

PuddlesMyBeloved: hah like puddles
do you need to run in circles to tire yourself out?
it works for her lol

GustopherTheGreat: lol maybe
if my dad asks I will tell him you told me to :p

PuddlesMyBeloved: :p
try to sleep through
we can talk all about it later

Hello_willow: yeah
and we can make plans for an actual EE chat party!

Rockin-Bardin: now to bed with you

GustopherTheGreat: sigh
the world continues to be unfair to poor, unfortunate gustopher
night guys

Hello_willow: night, gus!

PuddlesMyBeloved: good night!<3

Rockin-Bardin: night, night

GustopherTheGreat left the chat room

Rockin-Bardin: so?
any movie recommendations?

Hello_willow: i got a few :D

Chapter Text

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

RULERZREACHF4N: aploghiess.
I diDnnt hve. tine t reswpondf ,toyr mesAgs.
Wht /s thi .,,s anywy?,,

GustopherTheGreat: this is some modern piece of art man
wth?
you okay there?

RULERZREACHF4N: ,,.wy wolsnt’ I b.

GustopherTheGreat: …
you know what
nevermind
keep doing you, hunter, keep doing you

RULERZREACHF4N: .?

Hello_willow: hi hunter!!

RULERZREACHF4N: grettins,/ captaii,n..

Hello_willow: oh boy
…
you doing ok there
maybe I can help you get better at typing?

GustopherTheGreat: don’t!!!
let him be his unique little self!
don’t stifle his creativity!

Hello_willow: ???

RULERZREACHF4N: ?,,

GustopherTheGreat: this is going to be great, i can feel it

RULERZREACHF4N: Actul;y, I. wld appp,reachi8t th ehelp,,.,
Sry,.
Imne w tothjis,.

Hello_willow: maybe try going slower?
it would help you not hit random letters
how are you doing this btw?

RULERZREACHF4N: Btw.? ,

GustopherTheGreat: short for by the way

RULERZREACHF4N: o,h.

GustopherTheGreat: don’t worry man
we are going to help you get the hang of this
you will be typing like a pro when we are done with you!

Hello_willow: didn’t you say not to stifle his creativity?

GustopherTheGreat: :p

PuddlesMyBeloved: well that’s certainly something to wake up to
hows it going team!
gang?
team?

Hello_willow: team! :D

PuddlesMyBeloved: team! :D

RULERZREACHF4N: ello,..?/

PuddlesMyBeloved: this is viney! rockin-bardin is skara

RULERZREACHF4N: gottt, it.

PuddlesMyBeloved: why are you typing like that?
or you can’t??
sorry, that didn’t come out right
wasn’t trying to be mean

RULERZREACHF4N: Don’’ wory/I’nm no tmads.,,
Im’j ust, havngh sme., dificult.y tryin,,t geet,.te hang.of tis.
It’ss,hard t otyprr wt glov,s onn,.

PuddlesMyBeloved: well that’s something
how about you try with shorter sentences first

GustopherTheGreat: and maybe try writing without your gloves

RULERZREACHF4N: cant.

Hello_willow: what do you mean?

RULERZREACHF4N: .

Hello_willow: …
you are not going to answer to that are you

RULERZREACHF4N: no.

GustopherTheGreat: on a brighter note
look! a normal sentence!

Hello_willow: gus!

PuddlesMyBeloved: he is right though

RULERZREACHF4N: Itis,, fin.
Fine.

Hello_willow: already getting better :D

RULERZREACHF4N: wha ts,., :D

Hello_willow: it's like a little face if you look at it from the side

Rockin-Bardin: could you guys keep it down?
i need my beauty sleep
oh i see hunter has been found
how are you doing my man!
we thought you died or smt

RULERZREACHF4N: ,.?!,

Hello_willow: nobody was thinking that!
don’t take them too seriously

RULERZREACHF4N: Ok,, captaiiin.

Rockin-Bardin: man, your typing is something else

GustopherTheGreat: old news already, skara

Rockin-Bardin: damn
what are you guys doing up so early anyway?
school is like in four hours

GustopherTheGreat: i was awake, couldn’t sleep

Hello_willow: chat woke me up

PuddlesMyBeloved: ^

RULERZREACHF4N: Patrols.,

Rockin-Bardin: pardon?
its the crack of dawn
what are you doing patrolling?!

RULERZREACHF4N: We hVE sc edules.
It” s sim ,ply my tturn,,.
Early.patrol s are betr than..lateo nes,, an,way.
.
.
.
Sorry.
Mess ed up typping.,
Again

Hello_willow: no, no
you are getting there
no need to apologize for something like that

GustopherTheGreat: you got this man!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: yeah, don’t sweat it
it's not that important
we can get used to it

RULERZREACHF4N: Thanmks.

Rockin-Bardin: wait a minute!
did you
did you just try doing three dots?
seperatley?

RULERZREACHF4N: .
No.

GustopherTheGreat: i take it back
you don’t have this

Rockin-Bardin: liar!!

RULERZREACHF4N: Not,

Rockin-Bardin: then what was that?!
hunter?
better start typing!

RULERZREACHF4N: Drammati,c. paus.e

GustopherTheGreat: sgeiwgiyfgdfdr

RULERZREACHF4N: Gus?

GustopherTheGreat: lmao
i didn’t see that one coming!!
but point proven, you don’t have it together my man

PuddlesMyBeloved: we really have to start teaching you things

RULERZREACHF4N: Sorry..
Ihave to g,,.
Byee.

RULERZREACHF4N left the chat room

Rockin-Bardin: …
that was sudden
you think we took it a bit far?

Hello_willow: idk
probably he has stuff to do
if he reeally is patrolling
man that must suck

GustopherTheGreat: you’re an early bird too

Hello_willow: yeah
to water my plants and do my stretches
not to like work and such

Rockin-Bardin: yeah no that’s messed up

PuddlesMyBeloved: all of it is messed up
hello!
he literally kidnapped us to make us join the emperor's coven!!
to ‘take us away from our family and loved ones and never see them again’!
said it with a grin
like it something to be happy about
or to want!!

GustopherTheGreat: man i’m still not over that
i probably won’t be over that for a long time
i can’t imagine never seeing my dad

PuddlesMyBeloved: ^

Rockin-Bardin: ^
except well
i could use a bit of a break from my parents
maybe I will ask hunter if the offer still stads/j
:p
*stands
:p

PuddlesMyBeloved: we are here if you need to vent

Rockin-Bardin: they are jerks
always have been
probably always will be
nothing new

Hello_willow: aw skara you know you can always talk to us
we are a team now!
plus!!!
we can go show them what for! /j
or not :)
if you want to of course

Rockin-Bardin: lol
but thanks willow
youre a real one

Hello_willow: ( /)w(\✿)

Rockin-Bardin: <3
let’s go back to picking on hunter! >:]

Hello_willow: lol
don’t like being in the spotlight?

Rockin-Bardin: not before school

PuddlesMyBeloved: so true
healing track is going to have an exam
pray for me

Hello_willow: rip

Rockin-Bardin: rip

GustopherTheGreat: rip

PuddlesMyBeloved: thx guys
that’s the encouragement a girl wants to hear

GustopherTheGreat: take what you can get, pal
but if we are going to gossip about hunter
you know
since he isn’t here
which i totally do not condone just for the record

Rockin-Bardin: yeah no
that’s super not cool

GustopherTheGreat: weren’t you a bad girl like a semester ago?

Rockin-Bardin: i was always sweet on the inside

GustopherTheGreat: we will get back to that
what I want to know is how in the titan's name did a kid our age become the golden guard!!
heck
how did he become a scout even??

PuddlesMyBeloved: did you miss the part where we were almost recruited?

Rockin-Bardin: i don’t think that’s normal though

GustopherTheGreat: agreed
matt’s brother is in the scouts
and he signed up after school
he also had to be a trainee for months

Hello_willow: he also said some worrying stuff
like he wanted to test you guys by leaving you on top of a mountain or something
or was it a maze full of traps?

GustopherTheGreat: both
also trial by combat

Hello_willow: that and something else too

GustopherTheGreat: ??

Hello_willow: it’s a bit personal to tell
but let’s just say that we talked and what he said hit close
so yeah
let’s just say it made me have some concerning thoughts once i got home

GustopherTheGreat: man, that bad, huh?

Hello_willow: …yeah

PuddlesMyBeloved:
GustopherTheGreat: both
also trial by combat
⮡ wait!
isn’t the point of training scout recruits to have scouts in the end? what if somebody gets seriously injured or even dies??!
instead of dead people?

Rockin-Bardin: somebody is asking the real questions

PuddlesMyBeloved: but aren’t i right?!
oh shoot
it’s already time
got to go guys
don’t gossip without me

PuddlesMyBeloved left the chat room

Hello_willow: good
i think the rest of us ought to get ready as well
and maybe we shouldn’t talk about our friend when he isn’t here

GustopherTheGreat: or maybe we should!
when the guy is clearly not alright!!

Hello_willow: maybe i should make another group chat?
for that?
so that hunter won’t call us out on gossiping

Rockin-Bardin: but wouldn’t he know all this if he simply reads up

GustopherTheGreat: hunter texts like he never held a scroll before
i think we are safe

Rockin-Bardin: let’s just bury the chat in memes
just to make sure :p

Hello_willow: or i could just delete all of this

GustopherTheGreat: no!!
don’t delete precious chat history!!
this is us bonding, willow

Hello_willow: now I kinda want to :)

GustopherTheGreat: nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Hello_willow: okay you win, gus <3
but just because it’s too much work and i’m feeling lazy
until then
i better see this chatroom in shambles by the end of school
am I understood!!

GustopherTheGreat: yes captain!!

Rockin-Bardin: yes captain!!

GustopherTheGreat: but you better have the hunter-free group chat ready as well!!

Hello_willow: when you put it like that it sounds so mean
alright all!
get off chat! get to school!!

GustopherTheGreat left the chat room

Rockin-Bardin left the chat room

Hello_willow left the chat room

Chapter Text

↦↦↦↦↦『We are safe in here』↤↤↤↤↤

Hello_willow created a new group chat

Hello_willow renamed the group chat to ↦↦↦↦↦『We are safe in here』↤↤↤↤↤

Hello_willow added GustopherTheGreat, Rockin-Bardin and PuddlesMyBeloved

Hello_willow: here it is!
the hunter free chat room as promised
where we can gossip about our friend’s terrible life
not to use it lightly

GustopherTheGreat: when you put it like that it makes me feel guilty
:/

Rockin-Bardin: he has a horrible life th
*though

Hello_willow: it is what it is
you can’t run away from your choices!

GustopherTheGreat: you are here too!!
you are the admin!!

Hello_willow: i never said i can’t run either :p
now back to destroying team chat!
we can’t let hunter get suspicious

PuddlesMyBeloved: wow, you embraced this pretty fast

Hello_willow: :)

- - -

It was just… so much.

Hunter had a stupidly busy day. He woke up early like always, prepared in record time, and even forgone breakfast in favor of getting out of the castle as soon as possible.

Patrolling around the castle was always the favorite of his many duties. Mostly because he had the choice of going on his own.

Flapjack hid under his coat, safe and secure. Now, far from the castle and its tense air that raised the hair on his neck, - now more so than ever - Hunter could pull the palisman out and let him stretch his wings. Flapjack twittered happily and flew a circle around the head of his witch before resting on his shoulder.

They were far away, enough that he could relax just a little.

Hunter pulled out his scroll to check on it. The whole having friends and… modern technology was still a novel concept. It still intimidated him, slightly. having access to so much information - both legitimate sources and individuals going about their business - was overwhelming. He didn't dare to venture further than penstagram and his own friends'(?) profiles. That was when he noticed that he missed an entire conversation in this… room? box? chat thing.

Flapjack chirped from his shoulder encouraging him to talk.

“You think that’s a good idea?” Hunter asked, uncertainty taking over. “I mean, they don’t seem to be talking, um typing? At the moment. I wouldn’t want to bother them if they are doing something important.”

Flapjack chirped.

“Well, they could be at school for all I know.”

The palisman shook his head. School’s not open yet, silly, he said then encouraged him to type.

Gathering all his courage Hunter stared down at the scroll.

This is not getting easier.

He type-stammered his way through that morning's conversation - it actually went better than he feared, he didn’t even know why he was stressing about it; even if they did accidentally wake up Skara, but she didn’t seem too mad.

Then he had to return to his patrol, he only had so much precious minutes for himself.

Now and again he stole glances at his scroll only to see text rapidly shifting up the screen. It didn’t seem important so he slid it back into the safety of his pocket. His duties aren’t going to get done by themselves after all.

The next time he had an opportunity to write was when he returned to his room for the night.

And man, it must have been a slow day at Hexside.

He desperately wanted to be part of his friends’ conversation but he was going to be here all night if he read all that.

With a sigh Hunter accepted defeat. Flapjack rubbed against the side of his face as consolation.

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

GustopherTheGreat: btw viney, how did your healing track exam go

PuddlesMyBeloved: eh, it could go either way
i’m not putting too much faith in it

GustopherTheGreat: didn't go well, huh?

PuddlesMyBeloved: i finished it in like, thirty minutes?
first one to be done as well
i was just sitting there rereading the whole thing seventy times
so it’s either the best thing i have ever put on paper
or the other end of the pendulum

Rockin-Bardin: that must have been nervewracking

PuddlesMyBeloved: nah, i already let it go
the only upside of being a detention track kid
these things don’t bother me anymore

Rockin-Bardin: my parent would absolut lose their minds if i brought home a bad grade

PuddlesMyBeloved: mine too
what can you do

RULERZREACHF4N: viney. Ar yiou, goin gt be alllr,ght?.

PuddlesMyBeloved: huh?
why wouldn’t i be?

Rockin-Bardin: hi hunter! :D

GustopherTheGreat: hi hunter!

Hello_willow: hi hunter! o/

PuddlesMyBeloved: hi hunter!
Lol

RULERZREACHF4N: .. hi. All,

PuddlesMyBeloved: its not that serious, btw
just one bad grade
and i won’t find out till next weak so it’s useless to worry about it

RULERZREACHF4N: ifd, you. sy s,o..
Fail/inggh, a eXam,. canhae co, nse,/,uen es

PuddlesMyBeloved: i can’t read that buddy
sorry

Hello_willow: uhm, failing an exam has consequences?
????

RULERZREACHF4N: Y

Hello_willow: what conseqquences are we talking about here?
like scolding?
?
right?

RULERZREACHF4N: no. Din er.,
Forr.
Week/.

PuddlesMyBeloved: what in the actual titan's name!!!!!!
hunter thatsterrible!!!

Hello_willow: ^^^^!!!!

Rockin-Bardin: i don’t have words
like dude!!!!!
isn’t that a bit much
??!

RULERZREACHF4N: thht ‘s not. Tha.t , bad.
It’son of t,e lig hter,. puns hment.s
I get. Wor se,
Fo, faill. ed mi, ssions.’

Rockin-Bardin: …

PuddlesMyBeloved: …

GustopherTheGreat: …

Hello_willow: like? what?

RULERZREACHF4N: ex ttra work. Patro l
Cor ,rectii., ons
Tha t sort ,ofthins.

GustopherTheGreat: i’m never going to complain about getting scolded ever again

RULERZREACHF4N: uncl,e thou,.tg it. Apppropri ate.
i.hadto tak eeducatio. n serious .llyy,
.,

Rockin-Bardin: well your uncle can bite it!!!
seriously
what the heck?!

RULERZREACHF4N: don.t sayy ,thtt.
He. Jussst.,. wants th ebest, .from m e

Hello_willow: …
best from you?

RULERZREACHF4N: yes..

Hello_willow: thats…
i don’t even have words
wtf

GustopherTheGreat: indeed
i hate to break it to you, man, but that’s not cool

RULERZREACHF4N: it ‘s fin,e.

GustopherTheGreat: how did your uncle even get away with that?
i mean, did your school know?
a teacher you could tell?
where do you go?

RULERZREACHF4N: never., wentto sc,hool
Im’ the golden.,guard
Remmemmebr?

GustopherTheGreat: oh that slipped my mind
so you never went to school? ever?
never ever ever?

RULERZREACHF4N: no..
Donne. Withh st uding anyw ,ay.

GustopherTheGreat: …okay
that’s going to take a bit to process
how about a better topic
uhm
how was your day?
anything interesting on patrol?

Rockin-Bardin: yeah, let’s talk about pleasant things!
unless something bad happened

RULERZREACHF4N: no. Notthin g.,
Th re, wasan in,ciden ,t in latissa b utnothin ,g not ewor,.thy.

Rockin-Bardin: but what did you do all day?

RULERZREACHF4N: papperwor.k

Rockin-Bardin: ?
?
?
?
you got to be kidding me
all day?!!!

GustopherTheGreat: is that a form of torture?
was that your punishment for what happened with
you know, the coven head?

RULERZREACHF4N: ?
No..,?
It pilless, up .
Its no t. thtbad.

GustopherTheGreat: it seems worse than bad my man

RULERZREACHF4N: its’ac, .tully, rela,x ing,

GustopherTheGreat: you got to be kidding me
nobody
and I mean absolutely nobody should enjoy doing paperwork!!!
it is against the nature of paperwork!!!!!

RULERZREACHF4N: sor ry.
Itwa s a ,jok e. .

GustopherTheGreat: …
…
…
you nearly gave me a heart attack
you know that?

RULERZREACHF4N: :p

GustopherTheGreat: for some reason, i hate it that you know how to do that...

Chapter Text

↦↦↦↦↦『We are safe in here』↤↤↤↤↤

GustopherTheGreat: can any of you sleep?
because i sure as heck can’t
i have this pervasive bad feeling that won’t leave me alone
also my dad is out for the night so i’m all alone
i could use some company

Hello_willow: you are not alone
i also have this bad feeling
about hunter

GustopherTheGreat: same same
he just seems so nonchalant about it
the stuff he said

Hello_willow: that combined with the things he said to me before flyer derby
i don’t know
on one hand, i don’t want to start jumping to conclusions
what if we are making it out worse in our heads than it actually is
what if he is just fine like that
and on the other…
there are things that people our age just shouldn’t be doing, and there is no way that anybody should be living like that

GustopherTheGreat: like having a grown up job?

Hello_willow: and that job being the titan damn golden guard
the right hand of the emperor

Rockin-Bardin: add it to the list

Hello_willow: :/
i just wish we could help somehow

PuddlesMyBeloved: i wish i could have a talk with that so called uncle of his >:(
a loooooong conversation
along with puddles of course

Rockin-Bardin: what sort of uncle punishes somebody like that?!
and why is his uncle telling him this in the first place?!!
where are his parents in this?

Hello_willow: i don’t think they are around
besides I think that’s a little tasteless to talk about that behind his back

Rockin-Bardin: we have an entire chat room to gossip about him!
i think we are more than past that already
what’s some more

GustopherTheGreat: so what do we have so far?
missing (possibly dead) parents
a horrible uncle
never went to school in his life

Rockin-Bardin: is the golden guard
that’s a big one
can’t forget about that

GustopherTheGreat: already there
does paperwork

Rockin-Bardin: lol, i think that’s the least bad thing, gus

GustopherTheGreat: not in my book!
i see my dad bringing home mountains of it
they make him miserable

Rockin-Bardin: okay, fair

Hello_willow: the big question is what are we going to do about it
because as nice as it is talk about it
and let's be honest, we will need it for our sanity
we have to help our friend!

PuddlesMyBeloved: ^^^seconded on the sanity one
it's bad to keep these things in, you need to vent!!

Hello_willow: okay everyone!!
we need ideas
what can we do

Rockin-Bardin: I hate to be the bearer of bad news, guys, but i don’t know if we can do anything

GustopherTheGreat: explain

Rockin-Bardin: i don’t knsw how to explain it
but basic this is how it is
you know how my parents are high up in their respective covens?
the more influential you are the more you get away with
trust me
i have seen it firsthand

Hello_willow: yeah :/
remember how amity’s parents got me and gus expelled
just like that
all it took for them was to walk in

GustopherTheGreat: worst day ever!!

Rockin-Bardin: and that was just a small thing
i don’t know much
my parents don’t talk about this when im around
but i listen in when they think i can’t hear them
and let me tell you
some people can get away with much worse

GustopherTheGreat: yeah, my dad had to drop some stories because it would have shown an influential person in a bad light
once some hired goons knocked on our door to intimidate him
that was terrifying

Hello_willow: was that when he walked us to school that one time?

GustopherTheGreat: yeah
i didn’t say anything because i was scared
sorry :(

Hello_willow: don’t be, gus
it’s really not your fault
and it ended well so no harm done
if i knew i would have been worried nonestop

PuddlesMyBeloved: holy titan!
that happened to you guys?
i’m so sorry!

Rockin-Bardin: you know you can talk to us about anything, right?

GustopherTheGreat: thanks guys :)

Hello_willow: <3<3<3

GustopherTheGreat: skara, you think that hunter’s uncle could get away with
all the things

Rockin-Bardin: most likeley
*likely
not anybody can become the golden guard
it is a coveted position
but who gets chosen is a mystery

Hello_willow: I read somewhere that the emperor chooses them based on guidance from the titan

PuddlesMyBeloved: so the emperor says that the titan wants hunter, a random kid, to become the golden guard?
so he was what?
trained and given the position
just like that?
zero regard to him being a kid?

Rockin-Bardin: if that’s the case then his uncle could be given privileges on account of being his uncle
another option is that hunter got his position because of who his uncle is, but if what willow says is true then idk
either way, we aren’t in a position to do anything
the guy could probably wave everything away

Hello_willow: that’s so unfair

Rockin-Bardin: even worse
it could get us into serious trouble
our families could get into serious trouble

Hello_willow: …

PuddlesMyBeloved: …

GustopherTheGreat: …

Hello_willow: when I get my hands on that
that ratworm!!

Rockin-Bardin: i just said we can get into trouble, lol

Hello_willow: i can dream ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

GustopherTheGreat: go, willow, go!

Rockin-Bardin: sorry to be a downer like that
i just…
i have a bad feeling
that’s all

PuddlesMyBeloved: it’s bad feelings all around, skara
but it’s going to be fine

Hello_willow: still!
we can’t just sit back and watch

PuddlesMyBeloved: for now we should make sure to be there for hunter
he needs to know that there are people he can count on
then we will see after that
one step at the time

GustopherTheGreat: sounds easy enough
that was sarcasm btw

Rockin-Bardin: lol

GustopherTheGreat: :p

PuddlesMyBeloved: that goes for the rest of you as well
we can joke around all we want
and please do, humor is good for you :D
but at the end of the day
we have been through some serious stuff as well not too long ago
and i have a feeling that we haven’t even scratched the surface with hunter
so don’t be too hard on yourselves ok?

Hello_willow: thanks, viney <3
we needed to hear that

GustopherTheGreat: alright, enough of the serious talk
its killing the mood :/

PuddlesMyBeloved: yeah
that’s all the seriousness I have energy for today
now
hypothetically speaking
if you were to grievously injure a certain uncle of a certain friend of ours
how would you do it?
:)

Hello_willow: i have some great ideas
:)

Chapter Text

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

GustopherTheGreat: hey @RULERZREACHF4N do you have a minute?
i got something i need to ask you
buddy?
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
answer me, titan damn it!

Hello_willow: hunter is not online, gus
we talked last night
he has some mission he has to complete for the emperor
so he has to go do that

GustopherTheGreat: can’t he just stop to text for a minute?
wait?
the two of you text? just the two of you :)

Hello_willow: as friends!!!!
i help him learn to type and such!!!!
don’t be like that, gus!!!!

GustopherTheGreat: yeah sure ;) that's why you are so invested in him

Hello_willow: don’t you have a class to prepare for?

GustopherTheGreat: nah im good

Hello_willow: alright
so why are you trying to get a hold of hunter so intensely?
i’m a bit interested, ngl

GustopherTheGreat: well, you remember how-
like ages ago!
i needed to do an interview for my journalism class
but i tried to interview hooty and i couldn’t do it
well
i didn't turn in anything and i failed that assignment

Hello_willow: oh, gus, im so sorry about that
but wasn’t that a long time ago?
how is this relevant now?

GustopherTheGreat: i managed to convince my teacher to let me redo it!!

Hello_willow: :D
congrats!
wait?
don’t tell me
are you trying to interview hunter?

GustopherTheGreat: :)
maybe

Hello_willow: remind me again how you failed your assignment?

GustopherTheGreat: setting too high expectations for myself
but I have learned my lesson, willow
don’t worry
besides!!
hunter is the golden guard
imagine the look on everyone’s face when they learn i managed to get an interview with him
they would freak out!!

Hello_willow: :/ more like strong-armed our friend into it

GustopherTheGreat: have some faith in me!!

Hello_willow: …
you have your mind set on this already, arent you?

GustopherTheGreat: if he says no i will promise to be respectful
on my honor!!

Hello_willow: more like give up after an hour of begging
i know you, gus

GustopherTheGreat: i have to try
:p

Hello_willow: :p

GustopherTheGreat: :p

Hello_willow: :p

GustopherTheGreat: :p
sorry
time to go!!

- - -

Rockin-Bardin: lol
just read up
good luck in your endeavors, gus!
i believe in you!!!

- - -

PuddlesMyBeloved: don’t bully hunter too much
k?

GustopherTheGreat: ill do my best :)

- - -

GustopherTheGreat: @RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
come on hunter
you have to be online, it’s the evening!!
i know you aren’t sleeping

RULERZREACHF4N: im h ere.
We.cn, .talk.

GustopherTheGreat: hunter!!
my man, buddy, good friend of mine!!
i have a huge favor to ask of you

RULERZREACHF4N: sure. ,
Il'l try. To. Hel ,p.

GustopherTheGreat: so you see, i take a journalism class an i have an assignment that i need help with
it would mean a lot if you could help me

RULERZREACHF4N: what. Wou d, tha t be.?

GustopherTheGreat: okay
i’m not going to dance around it any longer
so…
could i interview you?

RULERZREACHF4N: no.

GustopherTheGreat: no?
:(

RULERZREACHF4N: that’ss w at. I. said .
Yes.

GustopherTheGreat: so yes?

RULERZREACHF4N: no.

GustopherTheGreat: no?

RULERZREACHF4N: yes..

GustopherTheGreat: yes?
:D

RULERZREACHF4N: im . get tin,g a hedache.

GustopherTheGreat: come on, man!
all you have to do is answer some questions
nothing major
you can even skip the ones that you don’t want to
easy as that

RULERZREACHF4N: I. can t do,tat.
sorry. Gus
I wouldd, be in.somuch troubl e.

GustopherTheGreat: why?
it’s just a student interview

RULERZREACHF4N: I’m. not.al owed t o give.
regu,lar. interviews eite r.

GustopherTheGreat: not even a short one??

RULERZREACHF4N: no.
Sory..
Most. Of.my informmati on ,.is classifi ,ied.

GustopherTheGreat: but
could you make an exception?
just for a little bit
nobody need to know!!
it would never leave the classroom!!

RULERZREACHF4N: I. realy. Can’ t .
I have.to .sta y on the emperor ‘s, good.side
So.I.can ‘t take,. chances.

GustopherTheGreat: aw man
it would have been a killer interview

RULERZREACHF4N: ???,

GustopherTheGreat: just a saying! don’t worry!

RULERZREACHF4N: oh.okay.
Itsnot,m y.intentio n t .hurt any. Inocent. Ci vilian,s. ,

GustopherTheGreat: :p
you are so stuck up

RULERZREACHF4N: am.not!

GustopherTheGreat: debatable
anyways
if you declined you need to help me find a new candidate
i mean my next go to would have been the owl lady
but i kind of declined her back then
so i don’t like my chances

RULERZREACHF4N: you.did the righ t.thing.
Every. Scout ,would b e kno cking. On.your.door
If they.hear d.
That.you intervi wd the.owl.lady

GustopherTheGreat: i don’t get it how a dumb school assignment could get me into trouble?
i mean who would read it?
besides me having to read it to the whole class

RULERZREACHF4N: notable. Thing s. Catc,hpeoples ,atntion.,
Sooner.or laterr.
Sombody.wuld.ha,.ve noticed
Bette ,r
Play,.it. Saf e..

GustopherTheGreat: :/
you worry too much, you know that?
still
i best cut my losses
so, can you suggest somebody?
preferably a perfectly safe candidate
if you are so concerned about this kind of stuff?

RULERZREACHF4N: I.mean
Isn’.tyour father. A.journalist?.
Ask.h im.

GustopherTheGreat: …
oh
my
titan!
hunter!!!!!!!
you got it!!

RULERZREACHF4N: .??

GustopherTheGreat: i was so caught up in finding the best candidate to interview that i didn’t realize that they were right in front of me!!

RULERZREACHF4N: what.are you? Talkin g.abo ut?
Wat did,. I. do?

GustopherTheGreat: my dad is one of the most prominent reporters on the entire boiling isles!
he is perfect!
thank you so much!
okay
alright!
i have to go now!
have a nice evening!

GustopherTheGreat left the chat room

RULERZREACHF4N: you ''r.welc ome.?
.
.
.
If.no bdy is here.I’’m goin g.t o.sleep
.
Good.n igt.

RULERZREACHF4N left the chat room

Hello_willow: this ended better than I thought

Chapter Text

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

Rockin-Bardin: alright team!!

rise and shine!

Hello_willow: hey! that’s my line!

GustopherTheGreat: lol

Rockin-Bardin: well somebody has to get your sorry behinds into marching order

come on!!

i have been waiting for this training all week!!

Hello_willow: i admire your enthusiasm

truly

love to see it

but something seems off

are you alright?

Rockin-Bardin: im really hyped!!

on a roll!!

with boundless energy that has nowhere to go!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: i have a bad feeling

have you been drinking that new energy potion that i see advertisements everywhere?

that neon green-yellow thing?

looks like actual poison?

and you mentioned wanting to try out?

GustopherTheGreat: the one i wanted to try out but willow stopped me??

Hello_willow: in my defense i think it would kill you, gus

GustopherTheGreat: you don’t know that >:(

it could be perfectly normal

Hello_willow: and it looks like the thing dad uses to remove rust from the door hinges

im not going to go near that thing

PuddlesMyBeloved: skara? did you?

Rockin-Bardin: …maybe

a little

just a couple of cans

like three

…

PuddlesMyBeloved: and how hasn’t your heart exploded by now??!

Rockin-Bardin: eh, it’s fine

PuddlesMyBeloved: no, skara it’s not fine!!

these things can be dangerous!!

there is a reason why the potion coven is trying to regulate this stuff

Rockin-Bardin: well it’s on the market so it should be fine

Hello_willow: yeah sure

you can buy basically anything out there

as long as you know where to find it

RULERZREACHF4N: that’ss,.true

Hello_willow: hi, hunter!

RULERZREACHF4N: hi,.captain! ,

Rockin-Bardin: hi hunter!

PuddlesMyBeloved: hi hunter!

GustopherTheGreat: hi hunter!!

RULERZREACHF4N: hi,guyys

Wat,was this,abou t?

Some,ener gy .potion?

Rockin-Bardin: okay okay, fine

i have been drinking it since yesterday

i tried it out, didn’t seem harmful

it actually tastes pretty nice

and yes, i might be hyper because of it

but isn’t boundless energy good for teenagers??

PuddlesMyBeloved: skara, no

that’s not good, if you are tired you should rest

Rockin-Bardin: who has time for that?

RULERZREACHF4N: I.hav to,.agre e with,,skara ,here

Rockin-Bardin: yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i have somebody on my side, and it's hunter lol

PuddlesMyBeloved: hunter, don’t tell me you have been drinking energy potions as well??

please tell me you have more sense than that

i thought that you of all people in our friend group had more sense than that

RULERZREACHF4N: it.helps,

I,hav so.muschhh to do

And

Every.scout, drinkss,th em.

PuddlesMyBeloved: you can’t hear it but i am sighing

that’s not good

it very not good

RULERZREACHF4N: some,times ,vitimir

Gives,t hem,.

To us,.

PuddlesMyBeloved: the coven head!!

RULERZREACHF4N: but,I thin k,hhe is

Tes ting., ,thingss on,us?

I,do’ntknow

PuddlesMyBeloved: he what?!

im going to fight that man!!!

Rockin-Bardin: okay that might be on the shady side

scratch that

that’s extremely shady

RULERZREACHF4N: nobody.die d

Yet,.

Rockin-Bardin: …

…

…

this energy potion is going to kill me

isn’t it

PuddlesMyBeloved: if you keep drinking three in one morning then yes!!

listen

drinking these in moderation is fine

as long as they are made by legitimate people

but titan knows what they are putting in these things

i would advise you to stay away from them

and that goes for the both of you, skara, hunter!!

but if you have to drink it

maybe once a week?

worst once a day

Rockin-Bardin: okay

understood

i will stay away from these things

but i won’t promise i won't drink one or two when i have to write an essay at one in the morning

PuddlesMyBeloved: i will take whatever victory I can get

Hello_willow: i haven’t seen hunter agree to it yet

RULERZREACHF4N: ther,e is nothing to, agree,. to.

PuddlesMyBeloved: i swear

haven't you heard that it’s bad for your health?!!

RULERZREACHF4N: I.kno w,

even,. vitimir,.

and hettie,.

told mme

but,it’s’ the.only help,I'm going to,get

like,it or not.

i need.it

PuddlesMyBeloved: …

…

yeah, okay, alright

i can’t argue with that

do what you need to do

but the next time i see you im going to test you from head to toe

no arguments

RULERZREACHF4N: I can agreee,to that,.

Sory.,

PuddlesMyBeloved: don’t be

do whatever you need to-

get through whatever you got going on

just

know that we worry okay?

im ready to head out btw

are the rest of you ready

GustopherTheGreat: halfway there!!

Hello_willow: well as the captain it would be bad form to not be there already

ahead of all of you :)

GustopherTheGreat: wait!!

you already left and didn’t tell me?!

Hello_willow: :)

GustopherTheGreat: you left me behind!!

the betrayal!!

Hello_willow: don’t be so dramatic, gus

Rockin-Bardin: or do

i like a show

GustopherTheGreat: i knew that only a fellow artist could appreciate my acting

Rockin-Bardin: ik, we are so underrated

GustopherTheGreat: truly, nobody can see our genius

Rockin-Bardin: but one day we will rise like the stars we are meant to be

Hello_willow: if you guys aren’t here in five minutes

training is canceled

GustopherTheGreat: we are on our way!!

Rockin-Bardin: im out the door!!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: thanks for reeling them in

Hello_willow: no problem

now get your butts over here

skara still has her ‘boundles energy’ to take care off

PuddlesMyBeloved: ay ay captain

↦↦↦↦↦『We are safe in here』↤↤↤↤↤

PuddlesMyBeloved: let it be officially known

that the moment i see hunter again im knocking him out for like a week

that is a mess that’s not going to fix itself

and somebody has to take some proactive measures

Hello_willow: you won’t be getting any resistance from us

the exact opposite in fact :)

GustopherTheGreat: i think the only person who would find some objection with that plan is hunter

he will put up a fight

PuddlesMyBeloved: oh don’t worry

he won’t have any other choice but to go along with it

i won’t be giving him any :)

Rockin-Bardin: sooooooo

are we kidnapping our good old friend or not?

Hello_willow: lol

if only it was that simple

Chapter Text

Hello_willow to RULERZREACHF4N

Hello_willow: hi, hunter!!
are you free to talk now?
or do you have some super secret golden guard business to attend to
or paperwork :p
because that’s the only thing you seem to be doing nowadays whenever we talk
paperwork that is
hello??
you there?
on second thought
don’t feel pressured to answer me
im just bored and everybody is probably sleeping by now
now that i mention it
i hope that you are sleeping as well!!
however unlikely that is
you can ignore this if that’s the case

RULERZREACHF4N: I.cann talk, :),
And.if, yu have to,.know
Iam. doi ng, super,secret golden guardd buisnes s,.

Hello_willow: which is paperwork??

RULERZREACHF4N: which,is, papper work,

Hello_willow: well, good on you
doing your job and all
are you taking breaks?
or do you need a reminder why they are important?

RULERZREACHF4N: I can, take a.break,

Hello_willow: good
because i can imagine you have been hunched over that desk since the morning

RULERZREACHF4N: noon,.

Hello_willow: still not better
please tell me you have been taking breaks
even if it’s just five minutes
you are going to go crazy going like that

RULERZREACHF4N: im.doing ,fine,, thank you very,much,.
But,I can’’t’ take,breaks
This has to be donne,by
Tomorow,.

Hello_willow: then don’t let me keep you from it
i wouldn’t want you to get in trouble

RULERZREACHF4N: don’’t worry. about me,.captain.
I have,done this,since I..knew
To.write

Hello_willow: that doesn’t make this better you know? :)

RULERZREACHF4N: ?
I,dont’ understan d,
Im, jjust doing,whats expected of,me

Hello_willow: I will try to explain another time

RULERZREACHF4N: alrigh,t
But
We.can talk,.
Im,making goood,progress on it

Hello_willow: alright then
i trust your judgment
just don’t get into trouble, because of me
we can always talk another time when you aren’t that busy

RULERZREACHF4N: im, always.busy
:(

Hello_willow: don’t you have like
actually people to do these kinds of things?
doing paperwork? going over reports?
those kinds of stuff

RULERZREACHF4N: some,off them,have.to be done.by me
Because,. of my pos ition
And since,. clawthorn
Left
There is,no body to.do them
So.I have to,.

Hello_willow: but
do you actually have to or did somebody put you up to it

RULERZREACHF4N: well,.

Hello_willow: you can tell me
i won’t judge

RULERZREACHF4N: iknow
The, thing is,
Uncel,has been, very disappointed, in,me,.
I,faild
A.lot of,mi ssions recently.,
So he.expects, ,me to,make, up forit
This,is
How.I woul d, usuallly,do it

Hello_willow: did anybody tell you that your uncle is a jerk?

RULERZREACHF4N: he.is,, justt
Strickt,

Hello_willow: mean is how i would describe it
seriously!
you shouldn’t have to make up for failing a mission

RULERZREACHF4N: thse aren,t just,patrols, captain,.
These,are important,mission s ,trusted to.me
Ican’t fail,
The,least I.can do,is to,.try and, repent., forit

Hello_willow: that’s
a lot
we will have to work on that as well
and that’s putting it lightly
who is your uncle anyway?
some high ranking coven member?
a coven head maybe?

RULERZREACHF4N: That,in formation,is claasified
I can’t ,tell
But,.he is,important
Very.much.,so

Hello_willow: alright, alright I won’t pry
but i will get you to tell me one day

RULERZREACHF4N: sure,
i,just don’tknow how,you
Or the,other.s would re acct

Hello_willow: probably take it casually?
i have seen some crazy stuff so its hard to trip me up
and gus has been there with me so the same goes for him
so nothing you could say could surprise us

RULERZREACHF4N: why,do I,get th,e feeling,that this,is going to.be th exceptionn,

Hello_willow: you can only know if you tell me

RULERZREACHF4N: nice,try

Hello_willow: :)
i had to give it a go
then how about this super important golden guard paperwork?
anything you can share?
or would you rather talk about your day?

RULERZREACHF4N: I.bet your,day was,more interesting.tan my
I have,b een sitting her,e since noon,after all.,

Hello_willow: okay, yeah, that’s fair
wait?
let me see if i get this right
you have been there since noon?
and you said you can’t take breaks

RULERZREACHF4N: yes?, .
I,thought ,we had,this discussed,?

Hello_willow: did you have anything to eat?
and be honest with me
i know you want to lie or say that you are fine

RULERZREACHF4N: but.Iam fine

Hello_willow: oh no you aren’t
hunter, you are possibly the only person I ever met who is the furthest of being fine
trust me on this one

RULERZREACHF4N: alrig.ht
If,you say.so,captain

Hello_willow: now get up and get something to eat

RULERZREACHF4N: the kitchen,is empty,this,time
i,could sneak,something
I,haven’t done, that.
Since I,was a kid

Hello_willow: now go
and flapjack!
i know you are reading thins from his shoulder
make sure he goes
and gets something good to eat

RULERZREACHF4N: .
.
.
Flapjack,says
He.will

Hello_willow: good bird :)

Chapter Text

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

Hello_willow: how does everybody feel about a little practice after classes today?
im free all afternoon

GustopherTheGreat: same! im in

Hello_willow: great!
team!
look at your scrolls!

GustopherTheGreat: lol

Hello_willow: :p

PuddlesMyBeloved: i have like 2 or 3 free hours
then i have to go to help my parents
so im in!

Hello_willow: okay, now we are only waiting for skara
you know what that means
:)
@Rockin-Bardin
@Rockin-Bardin
@Rockin-Bardin
@Rockin-Bardin
@Rockin-Bardin
@Rockin-Bardin
@Rockin-Bardin
@Rockin-Bardin

GustopherTheGreat: no, willow!
what if she is in class?
don’t get her in trouble, lol

Hello_willow: skara is always on her scroll
even in class
she knows better than to not mute it

GustopherTheGreat: in that case she is slacking off
she should have answered by now

PuddlesMyBeloved: maybe she is doing something
anyways
we can meet on the field if you two are free
she can catch up later

GustopherTheGreat: she certainly knows we are looking for her

PuddlesMyBeloved: willow made sure of that xD

Hello_willow: ;)
i can keep going
who knows
maybe all she needs is a little motivation

PuddlesMyBeloved: no don’t

Rockin-Bardin: don’t start without me!
i have like fifteen minutes
haf an hour tops!!
*half
i will be there as soon as I can

GustopherTheGreat: im fine to just chill until skara shows up

Rockin-Bardin: thanks gus
being a true friend, lol

Hello_willow: alright then me and viney will take the field
since we are not true friends

PuddlesMyBeloved: it’s sad that it came to this

Hello_willow: a tragedy beyond proportions

GustopherTheGreat: nooooooooo!!!
im sorry!!!!
don’t cast us out!!!

Rockin-Bardin: im sorry for my harsh words captain!!!
it won’t happen again
take us back!!!

Hello_willow: i will think about it :)
alright
joking aside
get your behinds to the field
lets work out a bit
can’t let you guys get out of shape :p

GustopherTheGreat: hey!
im always in my best shape!

Hello_willow: then get ready to show that off!!

GustopherTheGreat: heck yeah!!

- - -

RULERZREACHF4N: hi.,
Wat, areyou guy,s do ing.?
Stil, practiciing?

Hello_willow: hi hunter!
and no
we are done for the day
my dads called me home to help with chores early
also
we have homework for tomorrow
im actually doing that right now

RULERZREACHF4N: oh
Am I,
Botheriiing yu?,

Hello_willow: not at all!
i think i need a little break anyway

GustopherTheGreat: ^^^me too!!

RULERZREACHF4N: hi,gu s
Didntknow you,a re here., asw ell

GustopherTheGreat: this is the group chat
we are always here!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: always!

Rockin-Bardin: nothing can keep us away!!

RULERZREACHF4N: wha t,w ould, kep yo u,away?

Hello_willow: never mind them
they are in a silly mood

RULERZREACHF4N: had agood,day thenn,,?
I suppose.,

GustopherTheGreat: a pretty great one!!
practice was nice
if cut a short
then willow’s dads called and we decided to go and get desserts before she had to go

Rockin-Bardin: which we should toally do again!!
*totally
going to ghoulberry’s with you guys was so fun!!

RULERZREACHF4N: ghooulbery?.

PuddlesMyBeloved: ghoulberry cafe
it’s a newish place
pretty popular with hexside students at the moment
and I can understand why
i mean it has outdoor seating and some treats for pets as well!!
puddles was a very happy griffin
and she didn’t break anything!!

Rockin-Bardin: she was this close to it
remind me to never get between a griffin and her cup of whipped cream

RULERZREACHF4N: whatt,di d yo get?
At gh oulberry ‘s
I mean,.

Hello_willow: oh, they have a lot of options to choose from
but i went with good old reliable goreberry cake

RULERZREACHF4N: is I t,good??

Hello_willow: they are a classic!!
i don’t trust an establishment that can’t make a decent goreberry cake

RULERZREACHF4N: I woul d,
Like to,tryo ne
Someda y,.

Rockin-Bardin: should i dare ask?

GustopherTheGreat: i will!
hunter
do you know what a cake is?

RULERZREACHF4N: why,wo uldn’t iknow
What a,cake is?
I,kno wwhat,,. dessserts.ar e,

GustopherTheGreat: idk man
we can never be too sure with you
You are sort of a wild card

Rockin-Bardin: also
your life is messed up
sorry
i had to say it

RULERZREACHF4N: it’snot mess ed,up
Just,.
.
Dif ferent,.

Rockin-Bardin: that’s an understatement, buddy

RULERZREACHF4N: :/

GustopherTheGreat: im not convinced
your life is basically patrols and paperwork
that basically gives me the impression that it is entirely void of joy
when did you have the time to get cake?

RULERZREACHF4N: we hol d, balls,
End,event ‘s
Ther are,de sserts at events,.

GustopherTheGreat: ...
oh

RULERZREACHF4N: yea,h

GustopherTheGreat: well
it is true what they say
even geniuses, like augustus porter, can be wrong once in a blue moon

PuddlesMyBeloved: it’s actually a blue moon tomorrow
so you are on time as well

GustopherTheGreat: at least i have good timing!!

Rockin-Bardin: wait
when did you have time to get desserts from balls and such?
aren’t scouts meant to just stand there and observe?
i mean
aren’t you on the job or something?
or is it different for the golden guard?

RULERZREACHF4N: no.
Usually,I accompany,the
Emperor unless, dismisse,d
Then,I just,
Stand to,the side
Keepin g an eye,outt.
so, yes.
I,am technicly,on duty

GustopherTheGreat: then my question still stands!!
when?

RULERZREACHF4N: it,was awhile,back
It’s not,,
Th,t intere,sting.

PuddlesMyBeloved: no, no, we would love to hear it

Hello_willow: yeah
you almost never talk about stuff that’s not your job

RULERZREACHF4N: well.,
It’s,silly

Hello_willow: we won’t make any mean comments
promise

PuddlesMyBeloved: ^^^

GustopherTheGreat: ^same

Rockin-Bardin: you won’t heer a peep out of us
*hear

RULERZREACHF4N: I mean,.
If,yu are sure.
It’sa borring,story
Actual lly.
.
.
I,willt ry to typeit it,right.

Hello_willow: we can wait

RULERZREACHF4N: okay,so..
This was,back wen I was,younger
I was only a scout,so I couldleave when my shift was, over
I dont remember what the event wasfo r
Just,that it was long
And boring
I almost, fellaslep twice,.
So iwas happyto leave,onc e.my shift was up
And asi was leaving
Down thehal l,
There was a tray,of desserts,waiting to be rolled,out
And I took one,
Stole it
And tookit back to my, room
That’s prettymuch it

GustopherTheGreat: really?
nothing happened?
nobody saw you?
no backstabbing or betrayal?

RULERZREACHF4N: no.
At least,I never
Gotinto, trouble forr it.,

GustopherTheGreat: hmmm

Hello_willow: how was the dessert?
do you remember it?

RULERZREACHF4N: itwa s,good
It had bloodaple,. in,it
And some,th ing else.
Almost
Couldnnnt finish it,it was too sweeyt

Hello_willow: and that was the only time you had something sweet?

RULERZREACHF4N: y
Felt,too guilty about,it
I was, about,to
Become the,golden guard
That,wasn’’t proper behavior
And if uncle,found out
I donteven,.want to.thik what, would have happened.,t hen

Hello_willow: yeah i can imagine that
you know what?
when you have your next day off
we are going to take you out to ghoulberry’s
how does that sound?

RULERZREACHF4N: it
Soun d’’s pretty,nice
Thank,you captai n

Hello_willow: don’t mention it

RULERZREACHF4N: unfortunettly,.
I have,to leave
Got,a summon from,the emperor

PuddlesMyBeloved: it’s getting late
can he just summon you like that? any time he wants?

RULERZREACHF4N: yes.
Sometim,es even,in th e middle of,the night
Really have,to go now
Bye

RULERZREACHF4N left the chat room

↦↦↦↦↦『We are safe in here』↤↤↤↤↤

Hello_willow: before you type what i think you are going to type
migrate over here right now

Rockin-Bardin: am i the only one who was sweating through that entire story!!!!
i was just waiting for it to take a horrible dark turn!!
you know
and then for hunter to brush it off!
like it was nothing!!

GustopherTheGreat: right!!!
i was expecting him to get caught and i don’t know
be locked in the dungeon for the night
or whatever punishment his horrible uncle thinks is appropriate
and then!!
nothing
i feel so off centred

Rockin-Bardin: ^^^^!!!!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: i don’t know about you guys
but im going to cuddle up with puddles
that was enough stress for me for one day

Hello_willow: can i come over?
cuddling with a fluffy griffin is just what I need right now

PuddlesMyBeloved: its too late, my parents wouldn’t allow it

Hello_willow: mine neither
but it was a nice thought

PuddlesMyBeloved: better than dwelling on our friend’s miserable home life
that’s for sure

Rockin-Bardin: i wouldn’t call that home life
it’s the furthest from it
its just life
and all of it sucks, dear titan

PuddlesMyBeloved: well said, skara
well said

Chapter Text

Willow was lying in her bed, comfortably tucked under the covers. Her eyes have long since adjusted to the dark of her bedroom, and to the hairline crack running over her ceiling, - she traced it a hundred times by now - as well as a stubborn smudge of abomination goo in the corner that she had long since given up on scrubbing off.

Her fingers absently drummed on the back of her scroll.

It was late, she should be sleeping if she wanted to wake rested for tomorrow. But sleep evaded her. Instead, she was plagued by a foreboding feeling.

And it centered around their newest, strangest friend.

When she first started texting him it didn’t really sink in what situation he was in. As if being the Golden Guard was a neat fact about him rather than a huge part of his life. In the last couple of days, talking to Hunter opened her eyes up to that fact.

She thought about shooting him a message just to confirm - something, she didn’t know, but she felt that she should.

Screw it, she can play it cool.

Willow opened up her scroll and started typing.

Hello_willow to RULERZREACHF4N

Hello_willow: hey, hunter
so
i know we just talked
but if you could check in that would be nice

She frowned at her scroll. Was that good? To dry? Was it betraying the bubbling concern in her chest that she tried to push down?

Either way, Hunter wasn’t answering. For his sake she hoped he was sound asleep and not doing Titan knows what at - she quickly glanced at the clock on her nightstand, - one in the morning, yikes. There goes being well-rested tomorrow.

Willow turned back to her scroll, its artificial light casting deep shadows around her.

She sighed, maybe he would answer when he saw her message.

Then her scroll buzzed.

RULERZREACHF4N: che ck,in?,
Like,regul arly?

Hello_willow: lol, no
only if you want to
i just want to know what's going on with you
you know that you concern us sometimes

RULERZREACHF4N: sorrry,capta in
Dontt mean,to
Wor rryyou

Hello_willow: it can’t be helped i suppose
So
whats going on with you?
does the emperor need you on another mission or?

RULERZREACHF4N: yes
But,.it doesn’t appear to,be a dangeriiious one
Just,some standard ingredient,ga thering mision,.
So it.
Shouldbe finee

Hello_willow: okay

RULERZREACHF4N: captain,?
Is everythi ng,alrgt?,

Hello_willow: yeah
i don’t even know why i decided to message you
i mean
you can obviously take care of yourself
and you have done this a hundred times already
i don’t even know why I am so worried
sorry
you probably have better things to do

RULERZREACHF4N: yes
Imea n
That,its true,tat its notnew
And,i can take,car e of mysel f,. outthere
So yu
dont hav to be,worried abo ut m,e

Hello_willow: okay fine
i will try to keep that in mind
although
if you could take your scroll with you
and check in with us if you can
that would put us at ease

RULERZREACHF4N: im,go ing on a solo,mission
So icould
Bring it,wih me
Icould,write
If tat,helpps

Hello_willow: you don’t have to
and don’t do something just because i ask you
i understand that your job comes first
as messed up as that is
i don’t want this to distract you or something

RULERZREACHF4N: I think,I can
Managge,
:)

Hello_willow: if you are sure
i don’t want you to feel as if you are strong-armed into this
truly
im just worried

RULERZREACHF4N: you,do nt have,to be

Hello_willow: we are your friends, hunter
we care about you

RULERZREACHF4N: .
Im,still
Not usd,to it
Sorry,,

Hello_willow: don’t be sorry
just anticipate us wanting to know what going on with you
also pestering you about it
that’s what good friends do :)

RULERZREACHF4N: harass, eachother,?

Hello_willow: it’s done out of love!

RULERZREACHF4N: ?

Hello_willow: you will understand one day

RULERZREACHF4N: idoubt it
You,guys are
Strangge sommeti mes,

Hello_willow: same goes to you too buddy
anyways
if you are going on a mission shouldn’t you be resting or something?
what are you doing up in the middle of the night?
you know that we are already on your case for your horrible sleep schedule

RULERZREACHF4N: im preparing,
To leavve
I haveto, attend to my,missions the
Minute,I reciv e themm

Hello_willow: immediately?
that has to be rough

RULERZREACHF4N: it’s,not tha t,bad

Hello_willow: trust me, hunter, it is bad
very bad

RULERZREACHF4N: ican take,care of,m yself

Hello_willow: one day i will get through to you
you just wait

RULERZREACHF4N: we.will see
I hav,to hea d out,now
Talk,to you lattter
Captain,.

Hello_willow: bye, hunter
check in soon
:)

RULERZREACHF4N: sure,:)
Bye.,

Willow dismissed her scroll. Glancing at the clock told her that not that much time passed. There won't be more hours in the night either so she should do her best to sleep.

At least now she wasn’t losing sleep for absolutely nothing.

Chapter Text

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

Rockin-Bardin: this chat has been suspiciously quiet all day
how are we all feeling?
any news?
currently i am working on my music theory homework and i need some distraction before i go cross-eyes

Hello_willow: sorry
im just having a not-so-great day

GustopherTheGreat: willow has been up all night worrying about hunter

Hello_willow: hey! don’t sell me out like that
actually, i managed to convince him to check in with us
which is progress i think

Rockin-Bardin: hate to break it to you
but this chat has been lying dormant since last night
thats not really checking in

Hello_willow: maybe he didn’t have time?
then again
he left the castle in the middle of the night

GustopherTheGreat: did he sleep?
sorry, wrong question
does he ever sleep?

Rockin-Bardin: he has to collapse eventually

Hello_willow: :/

Rockin-Bardin: sorry

PuddlesMyBeloved: give it a bit before starting to worry
personally I would give it till tomorrow

RULERZREACHF4N: or.now

GustopherTheGreat: he made an entrance!!
hi hunter!

Rockin-Bardin: hi hunter!

PuddlesMyBeloved: hi hunter!

Hello_willow: hi hunter!

RULERZREACHF4N: w hy,are yo guy’s doing,that?

Hello_willow: what? greeting you?
you don’t chat as much as we do so your appearance has to be celebrated
it’s also a joke lol

GustopherTheGreat: a good natured one!!

RULERZREACHF4N: okay.,
Im,sitting down to,c amp
So I can.talk a bit before,catching som e,sleep

GustopherTheGreat: he does sleep!!

Rockin-Bardin: lol

Hello_willow: well, at least we know that you are taking care of yourself
somewhat
how did your mission go?
well i hope

RULERZREACHF4N: bettr,than expect ed,actually
I,gathereed the ingredie ts,requiere dd, and I,will be returningg to the castle,in the morning.,

Hello_willow: glad to hear :)

Rockin-Bardin: are you sure you want to return to the castle?
my parents have been talking about something going down there
something with the scouts idk
they were vague

RULERZREACHF4N: not.thisone
Don’ttell me people are,alrdy gossiping, about,it

Rockin-Bardin: usually i don’t really care what happens in the castle
but now i kinda want to know

RULERZREACHF4N: it’sactually the reason,.
Why,im gladto be out of,the castle
For a,change

Rockin-Bardin: oh now i really want to know!

GustopherTheGreat: me too! me too!

RULERZREACHF4N: I,shouldnt’ talk,about
These kind of thing,s
But if people are.alrdy ,talking
About it,
So I guess
What,do yu know,skara?,

Rockin-Bardin: something went down in the mess hall?
some scouts went crazy?
started seeing things?

RULERZREACHF4N: and,throwingg things.,
And fightting,
And paniccking
It,was a whole,mess
Im’’glad
That I didn’tneed to helpclean up,after that

Rockin-Bardin: why? usually, you have to?

RULERZREACHF4N: yes,.
Ths happened, just,be fore me, leavng for
My,missio n

PuddlesMyBeloved: yikes
that had to be something
i wonder what caused that?
by the sound of it, it seems like some hallucination event
maybe a curse?
or maybe some potion getting into the food served?

RULERZREACHF4N: there,isn’t
an,offical explanationn,to it
And there won’tbe either.,

PuddlesMyBeloved: what do you mean?

RULERZREACHF4N: becase youwould never guess,who was sitting,in the messhall,
Drink ing,his tea
Acting totally innocent
Vitimir,

Hello_willow: the potion head witch?
why would you think he would have anything to do with it?
just because he is the head witch?
aaaaaaaand i just remembered some questionable things you mentioned about him a while ago
nevermind :p

RULERZREACHF4N: vitmir is,a pieceof,work
Most of,the coven heads,are a piece of,work
In their,ownright
But,this is
Someth ingg he,would do
Trust me,
I know,.

GustopherTheGreat: oh
and that's why nothing is going to happen
he is going to get away with it
doesn’t he?

RULERZREACHF4N: righton,

PuddlesMyBeloved: that’s
frankly just horrible
how?!

RULERZREACHF4N: covenhea ds can get,away with,murder
Some do,literally.
Like snapdragon
Also,vitimir
He does,these thingss to see,what happens
As if he doesn’’t
Know fully,well what’s going to happen,.
Peopl,e were lucky,he was looking,for a laugh
This time.
And nothing,more serious

Hello_willow: im actually floored

Rockin-Bardin: people would actually kill to hear these
you know that, right?

RULERZREACHF4N: whowould ,believe,.it?,

Rockin-Bardin: who wouldn’t believe it?!

GustopherTheGreat: im actually with hunter on this one
people’s beliefs is up in the air
especially without hard-hitting evidence
but im sure they would eat it up that’s for sure
tabloids love this stuff

RULERZREACHF4N: how,can you eat,gossipp?
Are we,sti ll,talking ab out the same thing?,

GustopherTheGreat: it’s a phrase
willow, can you add this to the list of things hunter has to learn?

Hello_willow: working on it

GustopherTheGreat: thank you

RULERZREACHF4N: im not, thatbad
I,just know the,slang the scouts use,.
Not these.

Hello_willow: then we can help you learn :)

RULERZREACHF4N: sure,ca ptain

PuddlesMyBeloved: he is putty in your hands, isn’t he?

Hello_willow: not you too, viney

PuddlesMyBeloved: :)

Hello_willow: >:(

RULERZREACHF4N: ?

Hello_willow: never mind
let’s talk about something else

RULERZREACHF4N: actually,I should,c atch some sleep
Im expected,back before six,
I hav, beengetting two hours of,sleep
the last.,week
and im,feeling it

Hello_willow: yeah, agreed
anybody would feel that
get some sleep
we can talk more tomorrow
or when you have time

RULERZREACHF4N: surre,captain
Bye

RULERZREACHF4N left the chat room

PuddlesMyBeloved: what in the name of the titan?!

Hello_willow: :) -->

PuddlesMyBeloved: excuse me

↦↦↦↦↦『We are safe in here』↤↤↤↤↤

PuddlesMyBeloved: what in the name of the titan?!

Hello_willow: i know right?!

Rockin-Bardin: i had this feeling
that there is something deeply wrong in the covens
right?
i mean i hear my parents talk about these things
but i didn’t really care about it
it’s gossip after all, who knows what’s true and what’s not
but hearing it from the source

PuddlesMyBeloved: this sort of explains every screwed up thing hunter says
he was raised around these people for titan’s sake

Rockin-Bardin: it’s a good thing i don’t need to finish this homework by tomorrow
im sure as heck won’t be able to concentrate now!

GustopherTheGreat: get away with murder, and some do
did he mean for real?
or metaphorically
please tell me it is metaphorically

Hello_willow: idk
hunter doesn’t speak in turns of phrases
at least i don’t think so
i think he means everything quite literally
or more literally then we would
i worry for him

PuddlesMyBeloved: the head witches are supposed to be the most outstanding witches of their respectable coven
as well as leaders
people you are supposed to be able to look up to
and this is the stuff they do?!
for fun?!!

Rockin-Bardin: i believe it
100%!!
just by the stuff i overheard from my parents

GustopherTheGreat: ^^^ same

Hello_willow: i have read some messed up stuff about snapdragon
she seems very open about about wanting to turn people into fertilizer or plant food
and she has been coven head for a while now
soooooo
yeaaaaaaah
i don’t like this line of thought anymore

PuddlesMyBeloved: trust me
none of us like it

Hello_willow: i mean
we had an idea that the covens are messed up
it has to be considering everything we have learned so far
just not this level of messed up
you would think that there is a line somewhere

PuddlesMyBeloved: that line is really far out there compared to ours

Rockin-Bardin: no kidding

GustopherTheGreat: how about some distraction
that’s what we need right now
how about making fun of some horrible cb shows
that’s always good
that will cheer us up
right?

Hello_willow: im in

PuddlesMyBeloved: we are going to need all the distraction we can get

Chapter Text

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

Hello_willow: alright guys, help me with a dilemma
based on what hunter said yesterday
he should be back at the castle by now
but he hasn’t checked in yet
not in here, nor with me
but i don’t know if i should @ him in case he has important things to do still
and i don’t want to get him into trouble
or something

GustopherTheGreat: i say we give this one to him
he did check in yesterday
and he needs his rest
all that he can get
those eye bags are going to become permanent at this point

Hello_willow: okay
so we are trying to be chill
i guess i will try to find something to focus on
:/
im not really happy about it btw

GustopherTheGreat: lol
trust me, me neither but what can you do

Hello_willow: :p

- - -

Rockin-Bardin: it’s noon and still no hunter contact
are we sure that he didn’t die or something?

Hello_willow: don’t jinx it, skara!!!

Rockin-Bardin: my bad!!

GustopherTheGreat: luz says that you are supposed to knock on wood to prevent bad things from happening!
it is a human tradition!!

Rockin-Bardin: lol, hows that supposed to stop bad things happen

GustopherTheGreat: just do it!

Hello_willow: do it!!

Rockin-Bardin: doing it!!!!

- - -

Hello_willow: it’s noon
still nothing
he didn’t text any of you right?

PuddlesMyBeloved: not me
maybe we should try @ him

Hello_willow: after our last talk about murderous coven heads and all that
im kind of paranoid to do so

PuddlesMyBeloved: ?

Hello_willow: i don't want to get him into trouble or something, who knows what they could come up with

PuddlesMyBeloved: you have done it
he didn’t seem bothered or worried by it
it should be fine
maybe he has his scroll on silent

Hello_willow: does hunter strike you as someone who knows how to do that?

PuddlesMyBeloved: fair enough

Hello_willow: i will wait until i get home
i will try then

PuddlesMyBeloved: sounds like a plan
or if you are nervous i could try

Hello_willow: lol it’s not talking to hunter that i am nervous about

- - -

Hello_willow: alright!!
im doing it consequences be damned!!
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N

GustopherTheGreat: 20 snails that he says something crazy

Rockin-Bardin: he really should be responding
just so that i know i didn’t accidentally kill him
or something

PuddlesMyBeloved: why would you have killed hunter?
what the heck did i miss?

GustopherTheGreat: skara might have jinxed hunter!
she said he could be dead!!

Rockin-Bardin: it was an accient!!!!
*accident!!

GustopherTheGreat: you still said it!

PuddlesMyBeloved: lol
you guys know that jinxes don’t actually work unless you follow the proper ritual

Rockin-Bardin: you can still speak one into existence!
gus said to knock on wood to keep it from happening!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: what would knocking on wood do?

GustopherTheGreat: it’s a human custom!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: ah, understandable
don’t know how useful it is
but i can reassure all of you
speaking a jinx is only a scarytail nothing else
you can calm down

GustopherTheGreat: well he is not answering
willow, can you give it another go?

Hello_willow: sure but i won’t lie im starting to feel nervous
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N

RULERZREACHF4N: sorry,captai ,n!
I was,busy
Im here noww,!

Hello_willow: oh my titan, hunter!
you had us worried
i was starting to come up with worst case scenarios

Rockin-Bardin: he lives!!!

RULERZREACHF4N: why?,
Didd,somethi ng,happen??

PuddlesMyBeloved: nevermind that
just skara and gus freaking themselves out
and willow worried because you didn’t check in this morning as expected
so what about that?
did something happen?

RULERZREACHF4N: apologies.,
And yes,
I was,woken up,by a message from,th e,castle,,
More,thing s,got added to,the list
My mission,just
Got longgger

GustopherTheGreat: aw man that sucks

RULERZREACHF4N: it only,means
That I,have to.
Campout for longerr
Which,i don’t mind
I can,spend time with,flapjack
He says,hi

PuddlesMyBeloved: aw, that’s so cute
hi flapjack!

GustopherTheGreat: hi flapjack!

Hello_willow: hi flapjack!

Rockin-Bardin: hi flapjack!!

RULERZREACHF4N: he says,that you.guys are sillly.,

Hello_willow: :p
so your mission?
how bad is it?

RULERZREACHF4N: not,much
Still ingredientt,ga thering
But it,taks me down,to the toes
So Iwill.be
Out
For a while.,
Im just,happy to be a ble to,spend some timme with flapjack.,
.
.
I was,think ing
If,maybe..
If I finish,early
We can,meet upfor an hou r
Before,I have to return
,To the cast le.?

Hello_willow: yes! absolutely!

Rockin-Bardin: that would be awesome

PuddlesMyBeloved: i can not wait!
believe it or not puddles has been missing you

RULERZREACHF4N: you are,righ t
I don’t.believe tat,

PuddlesMyBeloved: you grew on that big ball of feathers
trust me
i can tell

RULERZREACHF4N: sure,.
But I would,rather not
Hav my.boot stolenn again,.

Hello_willow: we can finally have a proper flyer derby training!! :D
of course if you are not too tired
we can just sit and chat
or we can take you to get cake instead!!
if you are not up for that

GustopherTheGreat: there are so many things to do!!
i don’t even know if we could get them all done!!

Hello_willow: we can fit it in
there is always a way!

PuddlesMyBeloved: easy there
don’t get him overwhelmed

Rockin-Bardin: we can decide when he gets here

RULERZREACHF4N: I,will try my besst.
To hurry.
But iam expectedd,back at the castle
In the,afternoon

Hello_willow: im sure it’s going to work out
but don’t rush for our sake
maybe we can make actual plans to meet up in the future
if you can’t make it this time

PuddlesMyBeloved: yeah
don’t get yourself hurt out there alright?
your mission comes first
but send us a message and we can meet up

RULERZREACHF4N: then,I
Should return,to it
The,s ooner I finish the sooner,we can meet
:D

Hello_willow: :D

RULERZREACHF4N left the chat room

↦↦↦↦↦『We are safe in here』↤↤↤↤↤

GustopherTheGreat: can i be honest?
for a moment there i actually thought that he was dead or something
being friends with hunter has surely introduced a lot of stress into our lives

Rockin-Bardin: weren’t you the one who gave me so much trouble for accidentally jinxing him
>:(

GustopherTheGreat: i was genuinely worried!!

Hello_willow: i just feel relieved that it is nothing
and hey
he seems happy to be away from that horrible place
so win-win?

GustopherTheGreat: looking at the positive side of things?
i can sign up to that
but the next time he misses a check in
we are blowing up his notification box

Hello_willow: agreed

Chapter Text

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

RULERZREACHF4N: Viney.?
May I.request ,you r.assistan ts??

PuddlesMyBeloved: you don’t have to be so formal, hunter
we are friends in here
but sure, what do you need?

RULERZREACHF4N: how.would y ou treatt finger.scorpi on sting. ?

PuddlesMyBeloved: ??????
excuse me?!!
a what????!!
hunter! did you get stung??!!
what were you doing around such a dangerous creature??!!

RULERZREACHF4N: y

PuddlesMyBeloved: okay, uhm
you will need the antidote
as soon as physically possible
where are you?
could you get to any healing coven stations?
they should have something like that on hand
especially locally

RULERZREACHF4N: can’tt.
Im. On.a islandd, of.the toes.,

PuddlesMyBeloved: okay
so no healing magic, no potions
omt
that’s bad

Rockin-Bardin: on a scale of 1 to 10
how bad are we talking about?

PuddlesMyBeloved: it’s better if im the only person panicking about it

RULERZREACHF4N: don’’t.panic

Rockin-Bardin: you shut up, hunter!!!
this is very much worth panicking over!!
viney!
could he get to help in time?
can you get to help in time?
^^hunter!

PuddlesMyBeloved: idk!
hunter, when were you stung?

RULERZREACHF4N: 20.min. Tops,.

PuddlesMyBeloved: okay, screw it
i’m talking to my healing track teacher
they will know what to do!

RULERZREACHF4N: wait.no!!,
I didn’tt, .kno w.you weree in clas.s

Rockin-Bardin: shut up, hunter!

RULERZREACHF4N: .
Okay,.

Rockin-Bardin: just
idk
go and sit down or something
im sure that viney and her teacher will figure something out soon!

RULERZREACHF4N: its.not thatt, bad.
They.shouldn’ t. botherrr

Rockin-Bardin: like, heck! it’s a finger scorpion!!!!!
It’s a bif deal!!
*big
>:(

RULERZREACHF4N: do.you even,. k now
whatthat,.i s?

Rockin-Bardin: viney is getting her teacher
that basically tells me all i need to know

RULERZREACHF4N: it,,s not tha.t bad,
had.wors e.

Rockin-Bardin: i swear on the titan i’m going to throttle you

RULERZREACHF4N: :p

Rockin-Bardin: i swear

PuddlesMyBeloved: i’m back!!
so here is the plan
i’m with my healing track teacher and the potions teacher
they are going to talk you through brewing a potion that can help!
can you manage it?

RULERZREACHF4N: you.realy. Don ‘t need.to. Bother.
I can.take care of.I t.

PuddlesMyBeloved: well, they are already here so get with the program!

RULERZREACHF4N: .??

PuddlesMyBeloved: how are you feeling?

RULERZREACHF4N: my fingers.ar e.going numb.
But.fine otherwise.

PuddlesMyBeloved: fever?

RULERZREACHF4N: not,ye t.

PuddlesMyBeloved: okay, here is what you are going to need for the potion
clean water
crab weed
snake lech bile
petrifying penstemon flowers and roots, a lot of these
and most importantly
venom from the finger scorpion

RULERZREACHF4N: that’s.doable
Give. Me. A,moment.

PuddlesMyBeloved: come back to us when you are ready
ill write out how to brew the potion until then

Rockin-Bardin: is he going to be alright?

PuddlesMyBeloved: don’t worry we got this
now don’t talk
don’t clog up the chat

Rockin-Bardin: k!!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: first set the water and penstemon roots to boil
wait until the potion turns orange
add crab weed, snake leach bile and the penstemon flowers then stir until the potion turns dark pink
add venom and let it boil for twenty minutes
let it cool then drink it
then get to a healing witch as fast as possible
get back to me as soon as possible, okay?

↦↦↦↦↦『We are safe in here』↤↤↤↤↤

Rockin-Bardin: somebody come talk to me because im freaking out!!!!
!!!
@Hello_willow @GustopherTheGreat
don’t talk in the main chat!!!!!!!
important things are happening in there!!

Hello_willow: what’s going on?

GustopherTheGreat: calm down, skara, talk to us!!

Rockin-Bardin: okay so
hunter texted
he needed help with a finger scorpion sting
viney is handling it with some teachers

GustopherTheGreat: how did that happen?
is he alone?
how does one get into this situation?

Rockin-Bardin: idk!

Hello_willow: okay
first thing first
skara, breath
in, count to four, let it out

Rockin-Bardin: thanks willow <3

Hello_willow: <3
viney is handling it
you just focus on yourself now, ok?

Rockin-Bardin: okay, thanks
i’m doing better now
i don’t know what came over me

GustopherTheGreat: hey, its alright, its some high-stress situation
and we can’t do anything about it
don’t be hard on yourself, k?

Rockin-Bardin: thanks guys i needed to hear this
<3

GustopherTheGreat: <3

Hello_willow: <3
i’m sure everything is going to be alright
hunter is tough
and he has help

GustopherTheGreat: yeah!
he survived so far!
…
that came out way worse than i wanted
you know what i mean

PuddlesMyBeloved: good, everybody is here
status report!
hunter is not answering but i have given him all the information he might need and i’m also in stand by just in case
please don’t talk in team chat until then

GustopherTheGreat: got it
what about you, viney?
how are you holding up?

PuddlesMyBeloved: fine
i mean
my teacher warned me that there will be stressful situations
on both healing and beast keeping track
and the teachers got my back so
don’t worry about me

Hello_willow: still we are here to talk

Rockin-Bardin: srsly talk to them
they are great!

Hello_willow: :p
are you in class viney?

PuddlesMyBeloved: i’m in the teachers' lounge
to destress
my healing track teacher will check on me later
so don’t worry
:p
i will keep you guys posted here
now if you excuse me i got to go watch cute baby beast videos on pensta
it’s going to be a wait

Rockin-Bardin: that’s valid

- - -

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

RULERZREACHF4N: thank,s viney.
The. Potion worke d.just finee

PuddlesMyBeloved: oh thank titan
how are you feeling?
generally?

RULERZREACHF4N: exhausted.

PuddlesMyBeloved: that’s expected
no pain? soreness? inflammation?

RULERZREACHF4N: Noo .

PuddlesMyBeloved: okay
now listen here, this is very important
get yourself to the nearest healing coven station and get yourself checked out

RULERZREACHF4N: heading.to the castle.
They willl take.care ofit.

PuddlesMyBeloved: okay, good

RULERZREACHF4N: can i.ask somethi,ng?

PuddlesMyBeloved: as long as you are heading to help
ask away

RULERZREACHF4N: what,d id,youtell your teachers,?
Did,yu tellthem
That.im the golden,guar d?

PuddlesMyBeloved: no, don’t worry
i told them that you are a penstagram friend
your secret is safe

RULERZREACHF4N: oka,y
thanks,.

PuddlesMyBeloved: now focus on getting help

RULERZREACHF4N: okayy,

RULERZREACHF4N left the chat room

PuddlesMyBeloved: i swear you are going to give us a heart attack one day

PuddlesMyBeloved left the chat room

Chapter Text

Deamobination to RULERZREACHF4N

Deamobination: are you alright, little prince?
i just heard that you have been released from the healing coven
what happened?
…
it’s fine if you don’t want to talk
or not at the moment
…
just text me when you can
show some sign of life, alright?

RULERZREACHF4N: tg ,
d
ft.
u
fhy
sf
d

Deamobination: little prince?
are you quite alright?

RULERZREACHF4N: j
jhy
ftfn vc
fdignvv. ..h
djf
y

Deamobination: i…
correct me if i’m wrong, but i was under the impression you had a better grasp on typing than that?
or maybe you hit your head

RULERZREACHF4N: klo
Xf. .
!!

Deamobination: okay that's it!
i’m going to your room and bringing some healing patches
because apparently, hettie doesn’t know how to do her job

RULERZREACHF4N: darius!!! he y!
You.don’’t have.t o bother.
Realllty!!.
I’m.fine

Deamobination: oh look, he can talk
you are not alright, little prince!
what was that before?

RULERZREACHF4N: th at.
Thatt.was flapjack.

Deamobination: how in the titan’s name was that your palisman???

RULERZREACHF4N: I fell.asleep.
He.mustt hav e.seen yourr message.and
tried to. Answeere.
He sais.hi
Also .
He is very.proud of himself.

> [picture of Flapjack with his chest puffed out and indeed looking very pleased with himself]

Deamobination: well, that’s something
for a moment i was worried that i would need to reteach you how to type
i can’t believe that there is somebody worse at typing than you but they say that palismen do start resembling their witches after a while

RULERZREACHF4N: >:p
For.your. Knowwledge
Flapjack i s.very smart.

Deamobination: i wasn’t saying it otherwise
but serious talk
how are you doing, little prince?
i heard that something happened

RULERZREACHF4N: it’ .fine.really
I just. Got stungg. By a finger.scorpion
It’s all.taken care of
By now.

Deamobination: titan, little prince!!!

RULERZREACHF4N: I.told you
It is.f ine.. jus t.tired

Deamobination: alright, if you are sure
that said, i have some free time on my hands and i wouldn’t be against making a little visit
only if you are fine with it of course

RULERZREACHF4N: .
..
You.mean it?.

Deamobination: i wouldn’t have said if i didn’t

RULERZREACHF4N: right.of course.
You can. .come.visitt
If you.want

Deamobination: i will be over shortly

- - -

Hello_willow to RULERZREACHF4N

Hello_willow: hi, hunter!
how are you doing?
did you get yourself checked out?

RULERZREACHF4N: hi.captain! !
And I.did
I jus t,got released fromm.th e healing coven.
Everything.s fine

Hello_willow: good. you got us worried there

RULERZREACHF4N: sorry.

Hello_willow: don’t be
just know that we care about you, ok?
can you talk right now?

RULERZREACHF4N: ye.
I’m.in my room.
Darius.is wit h me, so.is flapjack.
So Im’.not
Alone..

Hello_willow: I’m sorry but who? darius?
is this the same darius i’m thinking about or just a random scout?
Who just happens to have the same name?

RULERZREACHF4N: > [picture of Darius making himself comfortable on hunter’s chair while he is focusing on stitching something into a white fabric]
The.very same darius.
:)

Hello_willow: i’m speechless
…
is he sewing?

RULERZREACHF4N: stitching.
He.is als o.teching me

Hello_willow: i’m so happy for you, hunter
but believe me when i’m saying that this isn’t how i thought you would spend your afternoon after being poisoned

RULERZREACHF4N: neither did.I
It’ s pretty.nice.

Hello_willow: so what? you just texted him and he came over?

RULERZREACHF4N: darius.wrote first.
Then.flapjack texted.him bck.

Hello_willow: … O.o
you are joking right?

- - -

↦↦↦↦↦『We are safe in here』↤↤↤↤↤

Hello_willow: i have so much to gossip about, guys
you won’t even believe me

Chapter Text

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

RULERZREACHF4N: helllo,everryone .

Hello_willow: hi, hunter!
welcome back

Rockin-Bardin: wow, that was fast answer time willow

Hello_willow: shush, you!!

Rockin-Bardin: sure, whatever, if you say

RULERZREACHF4N: ?

Hello_willow: it’s nothing hunter, don’t worry about it!!!

Rockin-Bardin: yeah, don’t worry about it, lol

PuddlesMyBeloved: is this what I need to wake up to?
skara play nice

Rockin-Bardin: >:p no!!!

GustopherTheGreat: this is not worth waking up too

RULERZREACHF4N: wy are you.,all,
still,sleping??,
its’ pa st
8am

GustopherTheGreat: it’s the weekend, dude
it’s normal to sleep in on the weekend

RULERZREACHF4N: ?
I diidn’’t kno w that, ,

Hello_willow: anyway, what are you doing, hunter
we hadn’t heard from you since you got back to the castle and we talked
is everything alright?

GustopherTheGreat: yeah, man, we were concerned

RULERZREACHF4N: yes, iam fine ,
I. haveb een restingg,,
Darius m ade me..
Also
Flapjjack hel ped himm

GustopherTheGreat: lol
now that’s a picture

PuddlesMyBeloved: alright, just a couple of questions, hunter
if you don’t mind

RULERZREACHF4N: sure

PuddlesMyBeloved: do you have any lingering effects, such as nausea, dizziness, feeling of numbness in your limbs?
any negative effect to the potions?
or anything strange?

RULERZREACHF4N: no,, I feel,generally, fin e,
After I wwas given,a potion,I was sent on my,way
Darius kept me,on bed res t .
All is .goo d

PuddlesMyBeloved: alright
that’s nice to hear
my healing track teacher keeps asking how you are
can i tell them that you are doing alright?
you kinda freaked them out
a little bit

RULERZREACHF4N: sure
Would n’t, wantt hem to , worry.
without,reason..

Hello_willow: and what about your uncle?
is he giving you any trouble?

RULERZREACHF4N: no,n o
It,w as .fine
He,was displeasedd,but
I,manag ed to,bring bac,k
Everythingg,
So,i was,on.ly
Reprim,ended.

Hello_willow: reprimanded?
for what?
getting stung by a highly venomous creature?

RULERZREACHF4N: i,reallly
Should,h ave been. more
Car eful,

Hello_willow: still not your fault
and still a pretty mean thing to hold over somebody

RULERZREACHF4N: it,wasnnt’ that,bad.
He expect.s a lot,from me

GustopherTheGreat: you said that already once
still wont change our minds about it
i mean
you completed the mission!!
so what’s his problem

PuddlesMyBeloved: not to mention that getting stung was an accident
that just seems unnecessary

RULERZREACHF4N: lik,e i saiid
It,wasnt’ that,b ad
I’m,just disappointed tha,t
We couldnt’ meet,up.

Hello_willow: yeah, but maybe next time?

RULERZREACHF4N: next,ti me.

Rockin-Bardin: so? all’s well that ends well?
crisis averted?

RULERZREACHF4N: :)

Rockin-Bardin: …
don’t do that

RULERZREACHF4N: wy ,?
Is’t,it customma ry.,to send thm?

Rockin-Bardin: context matters my guy

RULERZREACHF4N: but…
I.dn’t get,it ,

Rockin-Bardin: one day im going to sit you donw and teach you all about text interpretation
*down
im going to make you a pro
the best there ever was

RULERZREACHF4N: I wold appr ,eachiat tat.t
Caaptain,is alredy.te aching me,
A,bit

Rockin-Bardin: of course she is @Hello_willow
how could i forget :)

Hello_willow: O/////O
didn’t viney tell you to be nice??

Rockin-Bardin: she did
you know I won’t listen
>:)

Hello_willow: >:O

Rockin-Bardin: >:)

Hello_willow: i will get you for this, skara
mark my word!!!!!

Rockin-Bardin: muhahahahah!!
you will never catch me!!!!!

Hello_willow: alright, now that that’s over with
who else is up for a little flyer derby practice?

GustopherTheGreat: count me in!
i have been itching to let loose on the field
emmiline also wants to go flying!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: i have to take puddles on a flight or else she gets grouchy
she already got her talons onto my boots
not much remained once she was done with it, lol
but I will be free after :D

Rockin-Bardin: of course im coming!
i don’t have anything to do today

Hello_willow: what about you, hunter?
how about meeting up now?

RULERZREACHF4N: Iwold,.lov e to,
but I,m be hind on.all my pappp erwork ,

Hello_willow: couldn’t you, i don’t know?
sneak away?
just for today!
please?
pretty please?

RULERZREACHF4N: I rea ly, .can,t .
…it’s a lotof paerwo, rk.

Hello_willow: worth a shot
good luck with all of that then

RULERZREACHF4N: thannk s, i,ll need.it

- - -

GustopherTheGreat: man, im dead tired
great practice everyone!!

Hello_willow: <3
everybody did great today!!
maybe we can do this next saturday?
we will need to regularly practice if we want to keep the emerald entrails going

GustopherTheGreat: agreed, but im also sad that hunter is missing out
he is all cooped up in that huge castle
doing paperwork of all things
even thinking about it makes me shiver

Hello_willow: maybe we can convince him to sneak away?
or he could set up a mission
or maybe a patrol?
and come see us!!

GustopherTheGreat: i like your thinking there
but could you convince hunter?

Hello_willow: yeah that’s the hard part here
he is very diligent

GustopherTheGreat: we just need a good hook!!
work our charm and bring on our persuasive nature!!
surely not even the workaholic golden guard can resist us if we bring our best performance!!

Hello_willow: or you know
he could :p

GustopherTheGreat: pessimistic like always

Hello_willow: im not! lol
but im sure that if we put our heads together we can come up with something

GustopherTheGreat: that’s the spirit!!

Rockin-Bardin: i appreciate this show of comradely
and scheming
but how about you discuss this where he can’t read it
you know
so that he doesn’t know to anticipate it?

PuddlesMyBeloved: ^^^seconded

GustopherTheGreat: always with the pessimism

Chapter Text

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

GustopherTheGreat: are you ready?

Hello_willow: yeah!
let’s do this!
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N
@RULERZREACHF4N

RULERZREACHF4N: hey?,
Whatt’s up.?

GustopherTheGreat: ahem
hunter, our dear friend
we have prepared a proposition that you will find positively irresistible

RULERZREACHF4N: no

GustopherTheGreat: what?
i haven’t even given the presentation
we worked a lot on it!!

RULERZREACHF4N: i kknow tht,you
Want,to convinc e ,me
Toskip work
An ,get me
To ,come and,pplay with you,

GustopherTheGreat: how can you know that before we said anything?
are you secretly an oracle witch?
have you seen the future?

RULERZREACHF4N: i ,read uup in the.chat

GustopherTheGreat: you can do that?!!

Rockin-Bardin: haha!!!

RULERZREACHF4N: hi,skara :)

Rockin-Bardin: hi hunter! :D

GustopherTheGreat: didn’t we ask you not to intervene until we talked with hunter? >:/

Rockin-Bardin: don’t be mad because he already said no

GustopherTheGreat: can we at least try?
please?

Rockin-Bardin: okay alright
i will shut up now
go dazzle him ;)

GustopherTheGreat: thank you kindly
so hunter
would you consider our proposition?

RULERZREACHF4N: i don’t ,know
I,have a feeeling,
I won’t l,ike
What.you came
Up,with

Hello_willow: could you at least give it a try
gus worked really hard on it

GustopherTheGreat: yes, please

RULERZREACHF4N: i don’t wwant,to get yor .hopees up,

GustopherTheGreat: i will take that into consideration

RULERZREACHF4N: alriight,gus
I.will lis,en,

GustopherTheGreat: finally!!
i’m going to get straight to the point then
sinc you alredy know what we are after so
we want to convince you of the following:
find a way to spend an afternoon playing flyer derby and other activities
to achieve this we suggest a fake or set-up mission for you to be able to leave the castle
granted you will have to do the proper documentation
but in compensation
we are willing to fake anything
within reasons of course, don’t worry
now, i understand you have your reservations

RULERZREACHF4N: a few,

GustopherTheGreat: shush
i’m not done

RULERZREACHF4N: sory

GustopherTheGreat: as i was saying
yes, your cooperation is necessary for the success of this mission

RULERZREACHF4N: whatt.missiiiion?
Gus,this is ridiculou,s

GustopherTheGreat: >:(

RULERZREACHF4N: alright,f ine
I’will let youfinish.,

GustopherTheGreat: thank you
So
We know that we are asking a lot of you but consider the upside of it
1 you get a day off
2 you get to play flyer derby
3 you get to spend time with your bestest of friends
4 no paperwork
5 no stress
and what are the cons? i hear you asking. i don’t really see one
:)

Hello_willow: nice job, gus!
you nailed it!

GustopherTheGreat: thank you, thank you

RULERZREACHF4N: can i,start on
My objections,no w
:/

GustopherTheGreat: please consider the itemised points above before forming your opinion
did i also mention that we are not taking objections?

Hello_willow: hunter, i know you are concerned about breaking the rules
i understand, really
i mean i would be worried if my boss was the emperor himself
so i sort of get what’s going down in your head
but nobody has to know!
we can keep a secret!
right guys?

Rockin-Bardin: yeah!
also, we can totally pull off a hest like this
*heist

PuddlesMyBeloved: i know i shouldn’t be encouraging this
but i agree with skara
we can totally pull down a heist
would this qualify as a heist though?
we aren’t stealing anything

Rockin-Bardin: just hunter away from his awful job :p

PuddlesMyBeloved: then it’s a heist!

Rockin-Bardin: heck yeah!

RULERZREACHF4N: guys,i appreci,ate it
I,rea lly do

Hello_willow: but…?

RULERZREACHF4N: but,i can’t
Trust.me
I am disappointed.
That,we column’t
Meet,b ack then
But’i really,cannnot doit now.,
Not with,the day of
Unity
So close
I have,so much too,do that i,,m barely managin.g
And it’s notjust me
Everybody,,is busy.
Ican’t’ just take a break,now

Rockin-Bardin: why does this have to be your problem?
don’t you guys employ a ton of secretaries or scouts or something?
why does a kid have to do all that work?

RULERZREACHF4N: i’m the,golden guard,.
It’s not,just a
Title,
It,comes with a,ton of
Responsibilitiees

Rockin-Bardin: man, that sucks

Hello_willow: ^^^

GustopherTheGreat: ^^^^^

RULERZREACHF4N: it’s not,that bad
I’mean
It’s,rough now
But afttter, the Day of Unity,
Everything is,.
Gooing to
Change. :)
Im’looking forwardd to it

Hello_willow: if you are sure
then i am looking forward to it too :)

RULERZREACHF4N: thank you, :)

PuddlesMyBeloved: are you sure about it though?
i mean, everybody is getting so excited about the day of unity
but what is supposed to happen exactly
aside of the titan wiping out all wild magic and unite the people of the isles under his guidance
but what is that supposed to mean exactly?

RULERZREACHF4N: th Emperor choses to,not share
That, informat ion
Not even,wwith me

Hello_willow: but aren’t you his right-hand man?
that would be something that i would share with my right-hand man
if i was in his place

RULERZREACHF4N: he has,his reasons

Hello_willow: :/

RULERZREACHF4N: i promise,that after the, Day of Unity
we will,get to gether .to p lay

Hello_willow: alright
we will play after the day of unity
it’s a plan

RULERZREACHF4N: i,will do my,best.

GustopherTheGreat: so no mission paperwork is evil?

RULERZREACHF4N: ?
What eve n is,that?

GustopherTheGreat: what? don’t you guys have mission names?
crystal ball movies make it seem so cool

RULERZREACHF4N: we do,.give name s’ to cases, yes.
But nott.like that,
It’smore matter of,fac t actuallly.

GustopherTheGreat: then the mission name can stay
paper work is evil, i want to rescue you from it

Hello_willow: :O gus!

GustopherTheGreat: what?
i’m not going to lie to him!
it’s an objective fact
also you agreed with me when we were coming up with the plan

Rockin-Bardin: ha!

RULERZREACHF4N: sory,guys
I haveto go
Talk to,yu later.
Bye!,

RULERZREACHF4N left the chat room

GustopherTheGreat: did i scare you off?
im sorry, i know you like doing paper work :(
scratch that, i don’t know that
sorry
…
guys, did i scare him off?

Hello_willow: i’m sure you didn’t, gus
he said that is very busy

GustopherTheGreat: okay, yeah, you are right
it just always feels so strange
that he was an actual job, you know?
and a job like that nonetheless

PuddlesMyBeloved: yeah, it’s jarring

Hello_willow: yeah
sometimes we gossip about things happening in the castle
and his tasks
it’s so strange

GustopherTheGreat: yeah
i think i’m going to go do something now
because i’m kind of bummed out that our plan didn’t work

Hello_willow: yeah me too
let’s hope that he is right and we can spend more time together after the day of unity

GustopherTheGreat: ^^^me too

PuddlesMyBeloved: ^^^

Rockin-Bardin: ^^^

Chapter Text

Hello_willow to RULERZREACHF4N

Hello_willow: hi hunter!
how’s your evening?
hopefully fine

RULERZREACHF4N: just,fin ished
For.the night
I diddnt’ expect
To be done wth all,my work,.this
Early

Hello_willow: another busy day in the emperor’s coven?
not as if that would be a surprise

RULERZREACHF4N: all,thankss to
Good work,m anagment
Stil,.
I hav this feeling,
Of something going,wrong.

Hello_willow: don’t get paranoid, lol
relax, enjoy the peace and quiet
i’m happy that you aren’t working yourself to the bone for a change
i mean
you have been very busy recently
you could use some rest

RULERZREACHF4N: maybe,yu are right,
Maybe i’mjust a little,out of sorts
It,still f eels, kind
Of,strange
Maybe,i should check, on,Kikimora
Jus t in case
Mkae sure,she is not up.,to something,

Hello_willow: is that something i should be worried about?
because it sounds like something is should be worried about

RULERZREACHF4N: no,need
I,th ink im’just goingg
To,let it be..

Hello_willow: :/

RULERZREACHF4N: im’lcoking my d oor,just in case
So,don’t wory about,me

Hello_willow: would some cute pictures of clover get your mind off of things?

RULERZREACHF4N: i,could b, convinced.

Hello_willow: lol

>[picture of Clover snuggled up in her basket, sleeping peacefully]
>[picture of Clover in the same basket, this time she is stretching with her wings sticking up]

isn’t she just the cutest little bee <3

RULERZREACHF4N: wat,is that syymbol.?

Hello_willow: what? this? <3
it makes a little heart, look at it closer
like the emotes
and you use it for things you like

RULERZREACHF4N: i,see
Can i,use it for
Flapjack?

Hello_willow: of course!!

RULERZREACHF4N: flapjack <3

Hello_willow: clover! <3 <3 <3
now it's your turn
give up your cute palisman pictures!! >:D

RULERZREACHF4N: :)

>[picture of Flapjack napping on the windowsill, enjoying the sunlight]
>[slightly blurry picture of Flapjack getting comfortable in Hunter’s hair]

I hve,a goood,one!

>[picture of Flapjack completely entangled in thread, he looks fine, but utterly defeated]

Hello_willow: lol what happened?

RULERZREACHF4N: i,don’t kn ow
He wouldn’’t tell,me
But,t his is,how i
Found him.
That’ss Darius’’ thread.,
For our,lessons.,
I thoug.ht he was,ggoing to be so, mad.

Hello_willow: and what happened?
he didn’t get mad at you or flapjack right?
if he did
i wouldn’t mind talking with him :)

RULERZREACHF4N: no,no
He,didn;t
Well,i was scared that,he wouldbe
So.i tried,to get Flap.
Out
I only,endedd up
Making,it worse
Then, Darius came,bck
And,he thought it was,hilarious
He suggested,takiing the picture

Hello_willow: i imagine flapjack didn’t appreciate it lol
which remind me
im totally saving these
sorry flap!

RULERZREACHF4N: you,can do tat?,

Hello_willow: yeah
i can show you how if you want to keep my pictures

RULERZREACHF4N: i,would appreci,ate thhat,.

---

RULERZREACHF4N: wy,is it
That,i don’t feel like,im improving?,

Hello_willow: i would say that you are doing pretty well
considering you have never used a scroll before
your typing is becoming more and more readable
im sure that with some practice
you will master it soon

RULERZREACHF4N: but,im makiing
The ,same mistakes,.over
And over,agai n

Hello_willow: don’t beat yourself down, that won’t help

RULERZREACHF4N: i,m trying to,prac tice
But,i only hav so much,t ime

Hello_willow: hey
i was a very small witch when i got my first scroll
gus got it around the same time so he was even younger
the messages we sent to each other were a mess
you should have seen it
typos, creative spellings, hitting send early
the whole thing
our dads had to sit us down and help us learn

RULERZREACHF4N: but,yu were small,it made,sense that
You,wouldn’’t be very good,at it
I,don’tt have an
excuse

Hello_willow: give yourself time
you will learn
you can’t expect yourself to be a natural at something you have never done before

RULERZREACHF4N: it,makes. me feeel,weird.,

Hello_willow: you are doing fine
more than fine
and even if you never fully master it we won’t mind

RULERZREACHF4N: ,you wouldn’’t?,

Hello_willow: not at all
i thinks it’s endearing
like you have your own style or something

RULERZREACHF4N: really?,

Hello_willow: yeah so don’t worry about it
practice when you can
it will work itself out

RULERZREACHF4N: thanks,

Hello_willow: anytime

---

RULERZREACHF4N: hi capttain.,
I,m checkingg, in
Im,off on another,mission.
I won’t,be able,to take my,scroll
With,me this tiime.
It’s too,dangerous
And,i
Wouldn’’t want to ris,k it
But,don’t worry about,me
Flapjack ,is coming,with me
So i,won’tt be on my own
I,also have to ask
To not,mention this if possible
It is a high,ly classified
Mission
I don’’t, want, the others’to worry.
That’s all,i can say
I will,write as soon as,iget back

---

Hello_willow: i just saw your message!
i know you can’t read this but
stay safe out there!!

---

Hello_willow: check in soon!
just a reminder :)

---

Hello_willow: hey hunter
you hadn't answered in a while
i don’t know how long these missions take
i hope you are doing fine out there and you aren’t injured or hurt or
just be okay
check in soon

---

Hello_willow: hunter?
where are you?

Chapter Text

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

Rockin-Bardin: hey!
is anybody up to some flyer derby practice after class?
or do you guys want to go somwhere to hang out?
*somewhere
man, im bored
we haven’t done anything together since hunter almost died
that reminds me
what’s up with him?
i don’t remember seeing him in the chat
is he still busy with his gg stuff? @Hello_willow
do we know something?
…
…
man, it feels awfully quiet around here.
when did you guys become boring??
blegh :p
talk to me titan damn it!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: do you mind??
some of us want to pay attention to class

Rockin-Bardin: well you are talking to me now so that’s not much for paying attention
also when did you become such a goody-two-shoes nerd
boring!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: i don’t know if you missed it, skara, but i always cared for my education

Rockin-Bardin: NERD!!!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: i swear i will find you

Rockin-Bardin: you know exactly where i am >:)
oh shoot

PuddlesMyBeloved: let me guess
in detention? :)

Rockin-Bardin: curse you!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: how in the titan’s name are you still typing??

Rockin-Bardin: don’t distract me!!
i have to flee the scene of the criime!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: smh

---

Hello_willow to GustopherTheGreat

Hello_willow: gus help!!
i have a really bad feeling and i don’t know what to do!!
this is important!!!!

GustopherTheGreat: wow, alright?
what happened?

Hello_willow: hunter has disappeared!!

GustopherTheGreat: uhm, okay, i feel like you are jumping to conclusions there
didn’t you say that he is super busy with ‘official golden guard business’
you know? because of the day of unity?

Hello_willow: well
technically
…

GustopherTheGreat: technically what?
…
you have been talking to him, no?

Hello_willow: i have something to confess

GustopherTheGreat: willow, no…
what happened?
please tell me it’s nothing bad
or at least not as bad as i think it is

Hello_willow: okay, so three days ago
hunter went on a mission that he didn’t elaborate on
only that he is not bringing his scroll
because it’s too dangerous
or at least he thoughts it's too dangerous

GustopherTheGreat: i immediately do not like this
so let me get this right
you haven’t actually talked to hunter recently?
because he doesn’t have his scroll?
why?
that’s lying, willow!! >:(

Hello_willow: he said to not tell you
he doesn’t want you to worry

GustopherTheGreat: and this is the point where you turn around
come into our private, hunter-free chatroom
and tell us everything!!
>:(
that’s why we have it!!

Hello_willow: i know!! i’m sorry!!
it’s just
idk
he asked, it seemed simple
next thing i know
he hasn’t answered for three days

GustopherTheGreat: alright so what are we going to do?
what can we do?

Hello_willow: idk
i was thinking that
okay, maybe he is still on his mission?
it’s been three days?
maybe it’s a long mission
an important long mission and we shouldn’t worry??

GustopherTheGreat: last time he nearly died

Hello_willow: then we are telling the others
let’s hope it’s nothing

GustopherTheGreat: yeah, lets

---

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

Hello_willow: alright team
i have bad news
hunter is off on another mission
he said that he won't be taking his scroll with him this time
he hadn’t checked in since

Rockin-Bardin: what? since when?
hadn’t you guys been talking?
you said that he said he is busy with his duties
or did i miss something?

GustopherTheGreat: he asked her not to mention it so as not to make us worry

Rockin-Bardin: ah right

PuddlesMyBeloved: maybe he is busy for real?
that’s usually always the answer to everything
when was this by the way

Hello_willow: three days ago

Rockin-Bardin: three days ago?!
and you didn’t think to mention it?!

Hello_willow: i know, sorry!
but he sounded serious
and he said that he can’t say anything
and to not mention it
because he didn’t want you guys to worry

Rockin-Bardin: as sweet as that sentiment is
i’m choosing to worry right now
considering how the last mission ended
i don’t like our chances
man, we have been just over a life or death situation
you can’t be telling me he is in another one already

PuddlesMyBeloved: we can’t know that for sure
let’s keep a positive perspective

GustopherTheGreat: he has been missing in action for three days!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: and we don’t know what’s going on
last time he talked to us
we don’t know a thing now
freaking out won't help

Rockin-Bardin: so what are we supposed to do? just sit around waiting for something to happen?

PuddlesMyBeloved: for the time being, yes

Hello_willow: that doesn’t sit well with me

GustopherTheGreat: ^^^ same

Rockin-Bardin: same here!!
i say we break into the castle ans shake some sense into him
*and

Hello_willow: i like the spirit, but even I have to say that that’s a bit too much

Rockin-Bardin: but we are the emerald entrails!!
nothing could stand in our way!!

GustopherTheGreat: are you usually this fired up after getting out of detention?

Rockin-Bardin: how do you even know about that

GustopherTheGreat: i read up

Rockin-Bardin: and you say that as if i get into detention all the time
sure it happens here or there i won’t lie
and to answer your question
no
but the teacher did have to chase me down this time!

GustopherTheGreat: but you were caught

Rockin-Bardin: ¬.¬
back to the topic
im sure that we will hear from hunter sooner or later
and if we don’t
we can always break-in

PuddlesMyBeloved: smh
let’s just give it time
there isn’t much we can do
for all we know he could be on the other side of the isles right now

Hello_willow: i will tell you the moment he writes

---

Hello_willow to RULERZREACHF4N

Hello_willow: hey hunter
you are still not back from your mission?
sorry if you are getting messages from the others
i kind of told them
i know you said not to
but you have been gone
so i had to
again sorry
write back soon so that i can apologize properly
okay?

---

Hello_willow: i have no idea what you could be doing that takes this long
seriously
im starting to worry for real
not like i haven’t been worrying up until now but
you understand what im saying
if you don’t answer soon i will have to take drastic measures
i will text darius!!
i know the two of you hang out
he ought to know what’s going on with you!
and his penstagram handle is public so i will do it
write back or im sending your mentor after you!

---

Hello_willow to Deamobination

Hello_willow: hi mr. deamonne
you probably don’t remember me but i am on hunter’s flyer derby team
apologies for reaching out like this but I don’t know who else to talk to
hunter hasn’t been answering his scroll
and me and the others are very worried
he mentioned you a couple of times
so if there is anything that you know about and are willing to share please do so
or just tell hunter to pick up his scroll
again, sorry for reaching out like this

Deamobination saw your messages

---

GustopherTheGreat to RULERZREACHF4N

GustopherTheGreat: hi, man
we haven’t heard from you in a while now
seriously? is everything alright?
listen, hunter
if there is anything that’s bothering you, or you think that we are mad at you for something or anything it doesn’t matter
we just want to hear from you
so yeah
talk to you soon, okay?

---

Rockin-Bardin to RULERZREACHF4N

Rockin-Bardin: how’s it going, is everything alright?
you are starting to freak us all out
viney is trying to be all calm and collected and is telling us that you are just busy or something
but that is starting to be hard to believe
not to mention that the last mission you went on didn’t end ideally
so we want to know that you are fine
if there is anything going on
and i truly mean anything
you can talk to us
okay?
okay
i’m going to leave you be now

---

PuddlesMyBeloved to RULERZREACHF4N

PuddlesMyBeloved: please answer our messages
if you can
i don’t know what's going on
but I really hope that you are alright
i’m pretty sure that you are just busy with your missions and stuff and just forgot
idk
the others are worried about you too
willow the most
although she tries not to show it
they probably wrote before me
skara wants to break into the castle if you don’t show signs of life soon
that is a joke don’t worry
none of us would do anything stupid, promise
so yeah
talk soon
please

Chapter Text

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

GustopherTheGreat: i am calling an official brainstorming session!
the aim of the session:
find a way to find hunter!!

Rockin-Bardin: finally!
i started thinking that i was the only person who was going stir crazy
so what are we thiking?
*thinking
im down for anything

GustopherTheGreat: so far here is what we know:
1 hunter has been missing for almost a week
2 he doesn’t have his scroll
3 we know nothing
4 willow tried to make contact with darius deamonne, who could be the last person who saw hunter in person
5 hunter describes the mission he went on as dangerous
:/
so far that’s all i got

Rockin-Bardin: okay
this looks bleak

GustopherTheGreat: you tell me
im just sick of sitting around all day doing nothing
waiting for something to happen
there has to be a way to help
or at least figuring out where he is

Rockin-Bardin: agreed!!
but where should we start?
i mean
we don’t know where hunter went
or what his mission was about
and dangerous could cover about anything

GustopherTheGreat: what i worry about is that hunter wasn’t concerned about his mission to the toes
and he nearly died
sure it was an accident but still!!

Rockin-Bardin: yeah
i don’t want to think what hunter thinks is dangerous
considering everything

GustopherTheGreat: …yeah i don’t want to think about that either
let’s not lose track of our mission here!!

Rockin-Bardin: agreed! agreed!

GustopherTheGreat: i am open to any idea
no bad ideas here they all go on the board
uhm
i don’t actually have a board so
use your imagination i guess

Rockin-Bardin: lol okay
so any idea where to start

GustopherTheGreat: absolutely none

Rockin-Bardin: fair
hm, let me think
…
…
oh!

GustopherTheGreat: an idea?!!

Rockin-Bardin: one heck of an idea!! >:D
at least it is a start

GustopherTheGreat: don’t keep me waiting!!

Rockin-Bardin: okay so
what if we look through penstagram?
there is a chance that, if the golden guard was seen somewhere, people are going to post about it
or if something strange is going on
anything really
so we start reading, see what’s the hot gossip
then review our findings and see what could be potentially golden guard related

GustopherTheGreat: that sounds like a solid first step
alright then
to penstagram!!

Rockin-Bardin: lol
@Hello_willow @PuddlesMyBeloved read up!!^^^^

---

GustopherTheGreat: please tell me you found something
i have been staring at my scroll for hours
i can feel my brain going fuzzy
:p

Rockin-Bardin: well
there is something
but im not sure if it’s going to help us

GustopherTheGreat: what is it?

Rockin-Bardin: a couple of days ago the golden guard was spotted around the night market
but im not sure if this is recent or they are talking about something else
apparently, he is often there for one reason or another
you know, cuz it’s the night market
and the posts are several days old
so
idk

GustopherTheGreat: well it’s more than what we had before
but if he wasn’t seen recently he is probably not there anymore

Rockin-Bardin: yeah
or do you think hunter ever went undercover?
like a secret mission or something?

GustopherTheGreat: probably?
i would think so
i mean it makes sense to do so if the mission requires it or to make things easier
so that’s it?
nothing else?

Rockin-Bardin: i tried looking up things related to the castle
i was thinking
there is no way that scouts aren’t posting stuff on penstagram
and i was right!!
nothing hunter related unfortunately
although some comments said they hadn’t seen him around
for about the same time he went missing
but, yeah, that’s about it
lots of jokes about being poisoned though
and getting a dagger in the back???
man, the scouts are not alright let me tell you

GustopherTheGreat: so what now?
we know that hunter was at the night market
but he is probably not there anymore
should we?
idk go there?
ask around?

Rockin-Bardin: it’s probably not a smart idea
the night market is a shady place
and i doubt that anybody there would talk to a bunch of kids
unless they wanted to scam us
or rob us or something
also
i don’t think it’s going to be a day trip either
we can’t get there, ask around, and get back without our parents noticing we aren’t in school and stuff
and i don’t know about you
but my parents would kill me if i pulled off something like this

GustopherTheGreat: :/
yeah
my dad would ground me for the rest of my life
then we are back at square one

Rockin-Bardin: yeah…

PuddlesMyBeloved: i for one am happy that you two aren’t running off doing titan knows what
i don’t want to explain how you two disappeared or something

GustopherTheGreat: and where were you when we needed an extra pair of hands to help?
you could have helped with web sleuthing!! >:(

PuddlesMyBeloved: seemed like the two of you had your research covered :p
also, puddles needed her walk

Rockin-Bardin: sure, blame the griffin

PuddlesMyBeloved: lol

GustopherTheGreat: im going to sleep
my brain is going numb

---

Clover chirped when Willow woke her up. She was napping in her next like, she usually does while her witch does her homework. Looking around she noticed that it was evening already, the sun was setting and Willow should be preparing to go to bed.

“Hey there, Clover,” she ran her hand down her back. “Are you up for a little flying session? I already asked my dads, and they said we can go just not to stay out too long.”

She tried smiling but her palisman was the last person she could fool.

‘My girl is sad,’ she chirped. ‘What’s wrong?’

Willow’s face fell. “You know… it’s…”

‘Boy’s still gone?’ she flew up and plopped down on her witch’s shoulder. ‘Don’t worry. Hunter is smart, he can take care.’

Her poor girl was shut up in her room all day, staring at her scroll nonstop. Clover glanced at the screen seeing the chat room she and her friends use all the time. Yet Willow couldn’t seem to bring herself to type anything. Once or twice Clover saw her switch over to another tab - a conversation that was left untouched.

“I hope you are right,” Willow raised her hand and patted her palisman on the head, earning a little happy buzz. “It just- I have this feeling that I should be able to do something, you know? Instead, I am sitting around and- urg!”

Clover tilted her head. It was true, her witch was a bright, strong girl - she couldn’t have chosen a better person to bond with. But there was a soft, vulnerable side to her, a fragile membrane under the thick skin she had to develop over the years. Willow hid it well, nowadays all people saw was the confident and proud plant witch. And she was that down to the bone, there was no lie there - but the soft side gently crumbled away.

Clover didn’t know how to get to it or how to help.

‘It’s going to be fine,’ she nuzzled under Willow’s chin.

“Yeah, maybe,” she mumbled, before shaking her head and correcting herself. “No, I hope so.”

Clover glanced out the window. The evening promised to be quiet.

‘My girl still wants to fly?’

Willow gave her a small smile, Clover counted that as a victory.

“Yeah, I need to clear my head.”

Chapter Text

On any other day Gus would have been able to pay more attention to his illusion class. It’s not that the subject wasn't interesting, they just moved on to a new subject and Gus always loved to learn something new, especially when it came to his magic track.

But any other time he wouldn’t have a friend who has been missing for a week.

His scroll was just a quick summon away and his finger was itching to draw that spell circle. But getting his scroll taken away would be catastrophic at the moment. And he had a good idea of what he would see if he opened up the familiar chats.

Nothing.

He contemplated asking for help from an adult. But he dismissed it just as fast. How could he explain that his friend had been missing and he didn’t know what to do? ‘Did anybody call the scouts?’ ‘Well, he is sort of their boss.’ Yeah, that would go down just fine.

The bell finally screamed.

The teacher was startled as if it caught her by surprise. She seemed distracted by something throughout the class, which wasn’t like her at all.

“Just a moment, children,” she said before anybody could leave their desk. “There will be a presentation in the gym after lunchtime. As you can guess it is regarding the Day of Unity.”

Gus glanced around and saw some of his classmates doing the same.

Saying that the Day of Unity was a big thing was like saying that the sea boils. It seems to be the only thing everybody can talk about nowadays. From penstagram to the news to the neighbours, everybody was making preparations for the big day. Gus’ dad got the honors to conduct the news broadcast for those who couldn’t make the pilgrimage to the Head. But if he wanted to be honest, Gus couldn’t care less about it at the moment and the thought of sitting through yet another ‘this is what we are going to do’ presentation made him want to slump down on his seat. He had seen enough of that on the crystal ball.

“Now, I know that you have heard a lot about the Day of Unity,” the teacher continued. “But this one is different. We have a guest speaker who has something very important to say. Attendance is mandatory. Am I understood?”

She never said that. She was the laid-back teacher, she never had to be this assertive, this serious. It didn’t sit right with Gus.

The students mumbled out an uncertain ‘yes, professor’.

“Class dismissed.”

Lunch passed way too fast. Willow and Amity went ahead, and most of the students headed to the gym. Gus wanted to procrastinate just a bit more, as much as possible. He thought about skipping the whole thing altogether. He could ask any of his friends what it was about later.

Then he spotted a familiar red bird.

At first, he thought he was hallucinating, or just the most unlikely coincidence in the entire Demon Realm. Surely it couldn’t be. What were the chances?

The palisman, flew off, - with a half-eaten sandwich of all things. Gus wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip between his hands.

He followed it, and how glad he was for that. Because at the end of his path, like in some scarytale, he found his missing friend. The very same person who had everybody worried, the one he started to think died, was safe and sound among the very walls of Hexside.

“Hunter!”

Any other day it would have been funny how large his eyes grew when he saw Gus. Even Flapjack chirped in surprise.

“Gus?! What are you doing here?!”

He really had the audacity to say that? But to be honest, Gus too was surprised to find him here. The whole situation was so mundane feeling that it bordered on painful. And he was happy to see him, of course, he was - he feared that he died for crying out loud. So finding him alive and well, and so close, well, it made Gus want to hug the idiot.

But he also equally wanted to slap him for making all of them worry so much.

Hunter turned to Flapjack. “Did you bring him here?” The palisman denied vehemently, shaking his head.

“What the heck, man! This is where you have been all this time?” Gus couldn’t help it, the frustration overpowered any relief he felt. “We were right down the hall! You could have passed a note or something?”

Hunter looked away in what Gus thought was shame - he better be feeling bad. After all he put them through.

But now, taking a closer look at him, he wasn’t doing so fine. It was obvious that he hadn’t been sleeping, the bags under his eyes could have been bruises that’s how dark they were. He looked like a mess in general. And when Gus tried to see behind him, Hunter stepped in front of him, effectively blocking his view of a mostly hidden sleeping bag. And books? Just what was he doing?

“Hey, uhm,” Gus crossed his arms. “Are you alright? What happened? Because you just disappeared on us, you made us worry a lot.”

“I know, I'm sorry,” Hunter said after sighing. He still didn’t seem to be able to meet Gus’ eyes. “I couldn’t inform you guys since I left my scroll in the castle and-” he abruptly stopped as if remembering something then shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t return there.”

“Why?”

“I… I’m sorry, I can’t tell you.” Flapjack chirped something and nodded in Gus’ direction. He must be trying to convince Hunter to just talk but the boy shook his head again. “I’m going to be fine, you don’t need to be worried about me. I will figure this out.”

Gus didn’t know which one of them he wanted to convince more, but it was obvious that neither of them was buying it. Gus started to feel some of the frustration leave him. He might have known him for a short time, but Gus knew that he had to deal with a lot. Like a lot. So something drastic must have happened for Hunter to get to this point.

Something life-changing.

“You know, you can ask for help,” Gus said. “We are friends for a reason.”

Hunter gave him a deadpan look. “I don’t see how you guys would be able to do anything.”

“Hey, we are the Emerald Entrails. There is more to us than meets the eye, you said that.”

Gus hoped that throwing his words back at him would help convince him to just open up and stop being so titan damn stubborn.

Then the announcer sounded off and Bump called for everybody to gather in the gym. Gus suddenly remembered that there was somewhere he needed to be. Curses.

Before he left, however, he took another good look at his friend. There are zero chances that he has been able to take care of himself. He only found him because his palisman had been stealing food out of the trash. That can’t be good for his health. Well, it is his lucky day. Gus still had his sandwich.

“Hey, I have to go, but here take this,” Gus pressed the sandwich into Hunter’s hands. He is not going to give him a chance to refuse it. “Let’s meet here when classes are over.”

“Wait!” Hunter called after him before he could leave. “Don’t tell the others, please. I don’t know what I could say to them.”

“What? They have been so worried for you. There is no way I'm not going to tell them that you have been right under our noses this whole time!” And hopefully, the others will give him the stern talking that he deserves.

Hunter palled a little, most likely coming to the same conclusion. Gus couldn’t help but allow himself a smug smile.

“Then,” he looked around trying to come up with an excuse. “Then don’t tell them yet.”

Gus gave him a quizical look.

“We can meet up after your classes, if you still want,” Hunter quickly added. “Just, give me some time.”

As much as Gus would have loved to unleash the righteous fury of the rest of their friends, Hunter did seem genuinely lost. Maybe he can give him a break, just a little one.

“Alright,” Gus agreed. “But you are meeting them before the weekend.”

“Deal.” Hunter immediately agreed to it.

With that, Gus returned to the halls in a lighter mood. The others are going to lose their mind when they learn that Hunter has been found. He wanted to summon his scroll in that minute and write a quick message - ‘you would never guess who i met today!’. It would blow their minds. But a promise is a promise and he isn’t going to put Hunter through that. He had it rough for the past week - even more if he wanted to be honest but they aren’t going to tackle that just yet.

First, he is going to get a straight answer out of Hunter. Then they are going to come up with a suitable apology for the rest of their friends. Maybe he will throw in his own lecture about friendship and asking for help, all of that good stuff. Then maybe they could go out and do something fun. They are long overdue for a proper hangout, in his opinion.

Now he only had a presentation to get through.

Chapter Text

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

Hello_willow: so, all of us could be dying in a week or so
how are we feeling about it?
because right now it doesn’t feel real

Rockin-Bardin: like it is a bad dream?
because i have had stressful dreams before an exam
they go something like this as well
and to be honest
i rather be having one of those right now

Hello_willow: :(
what are we going to do?

PuddlesMyBeloved: i don’t think this is the kind of situation where we can do anything
and i mean we as in we kids
hunter mentioned a rebellion
maybe they can

GustopherTheGreat: maybe we could join?
we have shown today that we are capable
we could help them!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: don’t let today go to your head, gus

GustopherTheGreat: it’s not going to my head!!
we just chased off a coven head and a bunch of coven scouts!!
sure it wasn’t easy
but we can stand a chance!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: yeah, but they also didn’t expect to fight a bunch of children
or that we are as capable as we are
we had the element of surprise
not to mention we also outnumbered them
you can’t expect the entirety of hexside rolling up at the head and take on the emperor’s coven

Rockin-Bardin: bump would lock everybody in detention before we even got the chance to organize that

PuddlesMyBeloved: ^^^ also that
my point is that this is out of our hands

GustopherTheGreat: what are we supposed to do then?
hope that the rebellion can handle it on its own?

PuddlesMyBeloved: yes?
that’s their job
they are the rebellion
this whole thing is sort of their responsibility

GustopherTheGreat: but we could help!!
give them all the chance they could get!

PuddlesMyBeloved: do you think they would let a child join?
seriously think about it

GustopherTheGreat: …
i hate grown ups

Hello_willow: alright, lets just all calm down a bit
we don’t know much about the rebellion
but we have to believe they know what they are doing

Rockin-Bardin: or all of us are dying?

PuddlesMyBeloved: technically speaking only those with sigils will be dying
which is not better
but since we avoided getting them we at hexside should be fine

Rockin-Bardin: that is not reassuring
what do you think how long we are going to make it without adults?
i mean
i don’t have the best of the best relationship with my parents, but i still love them
i don’t know what i would do if they were gone
not to mention if the emperor has a plan b

Hello_willow: you think that could be the case?

Rockin-Bardin: i wouldn’t make plans to kill everybody and not make sure that i actually kill everybody

Hello_willow: okay, yeah
i see where you are coming from
well
at least looking on the bright side
we finally found hunter!!
so at least it's not all bad news today

GustopherTheGreat: oh
oh no
i just realized something!!

Hello_willow: ???

GustopherTheGreat: i might be wrong
titan,i hope im wrong but it wouldn’t surprise me

Rockin-Bardin: spit it out!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: just say it
even if it might be nothing
don’t keep us in suspense!!

GustopherTheGreat: okay
so, do you guys think that hunter has a sigil

Hello_willow: what?!!!!

Rockin-Bardin: don’t tell me that he does!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: that shouldn’t be possible
he is a kid like the rest of us, he shouldn’t have one

GustopherTheGreat: but coven members have sigils
and hunter is the golden guard, the most important member of the emperor’s coven right after the emperor himself
and he is currently running from the coven
im willing to bet snails that the emperor wants to kill him for what he knows
and if he is willing to kill him now
whose to say he wouldn’t have wanted to kill him back then??

Hello_willow: as morbid as that is
i see your point
but do we know for sure?
i mean i have never seen hunter without his gloves

PuddlesMyBeloved: maybe you could ask?
isn’t he sitting next to you or something?

GustopherTheGreat: i can give it a try

Rockin-Bardin: tell him he is a dummy, btw :p

GustopherTheGreat: lol, will do

Rockin-Bardin: seriously, who doesn't take their scroll with them, i could never!

GustopherTheGreat: he is packing up his stuff right now
he is going to stay with me and my dad for a while

Rockin-Bardin: you managed to convince him to get help?
man, maybe the rebellion really could use you
i don’t think that talking the emperor off of genocide would be that much harder xD

GustopherTheGreat: :p
it’s my natural charm
brb
got to ask my friend if he is going to die or not

Hello_willow: you know joking about it doesn’t make it less grim

Rockin-Bardin: we have to lighten the mood somehow

Hello_willow: i guess
it’s just a lot, you know
i don’t mean to be rude or anything

Rockin-Bardin: eh, let him
all of this seems so hopeless
the whole world is crashing down around us and there is no way out
i hate it
i wish that everything was normal, like how it was yesterday
but that doesn’t make it less real
so if a little dark humor can take off the edge
then why not

Hello_willow: no i get it
i guess im still in denial over everything

PuddlesMyBeloved: i understand
eventing is so messed up
a little joking is good for you

Rockin-Bardin: thanks
hey willow?
i wanted to wait for a better moment to get this off my chest
but i want to clean the slate before things go downhill
willow im so sorry for how i behaved when i was friends with boscha
i knew better i should have done better
yet i turned away when she was bullying you
all i can ask now is your forgiveness
and to make up for it in the future

Hello_willow: i don’t know what to say
skara…
im not mad at you
sure what you did sucked
but you never actively bullied me, not like boscha did
…or amity
and i’m trying to fix things with her
it would be mean not giving you a chance as well

Rockin-Bardin: maybe i didn’t do anything directly
but i did stand at the side
that’s not better
i guess i just wish i was better back then

Hello_willow: if you had done something boscha would have turned on you too

Rockin-Bardin: she went after you because she knew nobody would stick up for you
it was easy
as messed up as it is to say it is the truth
i can’t help but wonder what would have happened if i stopped her when it counted

Hello_willow: you can’t know that
and i don’t want to talk about boscha anymore
and to be honest
i don’t want to spend our remaining days of normalcy thinking about her
what matters is that you apologized
and hey
if i had a problem with you i wouldn’t have let you join my team
so we are cool :p
you can redeem yourself in the apocalypse
or however, these things go

Rockin-Bardin: i could totally take on the end of the world
:p
weren’t you against dark humor?

Hello_willow: eh, i could get used to it

Rockin-Bardin: that’s the spirit!!

GustopherTheGreat: im back! i have news!

PuddlesMyBeloved: pls tell me they are good news
we could use some good news after the day we had

GustopherTheGreat: i have to disappoint
there is no easy way to say it
hunter has a coven sigil
he didn’t even try to hide it, showed it to me right away

Hello_willow: then…
what are we going to do?

GustopherTheGreat: idk
i asked hunter and he said that if there is a method of removing a sigil it is not known off
and we won’t be coming up with one in a short amount of time
so yeah
things are looking pretty grim

PuddlesMyBeloved: i need a break
maybe take a detour on my way home
take puddles for a long flight
titan knows she deserves to unwind after this stressful day
i suggest all you, when you arrive home
tell your parents what we know
even if they don’t believe us they might allow us to miss the day of unity and camp out at hexside as we planned

Rockin-Bardin: are you going to tell yours?
aren’t they like, pretty religious?

PuddlesMyBeloved: they are and i will
they probably won’t believe me but im going to shoot my shot
at least they won’t make me go to the head if i don’t want to
so i have that going for me

Rockin-Bardin: i will try to convince my parents not to go as well
i don’t know how successful i will be
but i will try

Hello_willow: me too
although i don’t know how i could even begin to explain this to them

GustopherTheGreat: put on a show? :p

Hello_willow: that might not work for me

PuddlesMyBeloved: i beg you, gus, don’t put on a ‘we all are going to die’ presentation to your dad

Rockin-Bardin: to be honest that would be pretty funny

GustopherTheGreat: :D

PuddlesMyBeloved: gus!!!

GustopherTheGreat: don’t worry i won’t
but i guess we should head home already
let’s update each other here if something happens
okay?

Hello_willow: ok

Rockin-Bardin: will do

PuddlesMyBeloved: stay safe everyone

GustopherTheGreat left the chat room

Rockin-Bardin left the chat room

PuddlesMyBeloved left the chat room

Hello_willow: good luck everybody

Hello_willow left the chat room

Chapter Text

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

Rockin-Bardin: alright gang!
im at hexside, who’s here already?

PuddlesMyBeloved: im on my way
puddles just want to stretch her wings a bit
and im complying because i don’t want to deal with a cranky griffin
confined spaces and moody animals don’t mix well
speaking from experience

Rockin-Bardin: pls don’t text and fly
shm
you are supposed to be the responsible one

PuddlesMyBeloved: :p
i will let you know that puddles is a steady flyer
she isnt a hatchling
it is fine
also, who told you lies

Rockin-Bardin: you are older isn’t it your job? :p
also pls hurry up
i just passed boscha in the hall and she wanted to talk
and i brushed her off
and it is supper awkward
pls rescue me!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: you would think that the end of the world would be enough for teenagers not to have drama
but it seems some things never change

---

PuddlesMyBeloved: have you seen willow, gus or hunter?
i can’t seem to find them anywhere
and they haven’t said anything in the chat yet

Rockin-Bardin: maybe they are busy?
tomorrow is the day of unity
it is going to be super stressful
it could be that they are still taking care of some stuff
idk

PuddlesMyBeloved: that could be
until they get here do you want to hang out with me, jerbo, barcus and puddles

Rockin-Bardin: haven’t you sworn an eternal grudge upon jerbo for playing on the opposite team?
or something
you seemed committed to it as well
what happened to that?

PuddlesMyBeloved: eh, eternal grudges don’t hold much weight in this day and age
also we talked it out
he said that if he knew we would be playing each other he wouldn’t have joined
and i mostly did it to be dramatic :p

Rockin-Bardin: lol, weren’t you the one who said i was being dramatic this morning?

PuddlesMyBeloved: i never said i wasn’t

Rockin-Bardin: hypocrite :p

PuddlesMyBeloved: :p

Rockin-Bardin: :p

PuddlesMyBeloved: :p
are you coming?
we are in the gym, next to the furthest double doors
we bought snacks!

Rockin-Bardin: you guys are divine!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: get here fast or there won’t be anything left!!

---

Rockin-Bardin: any news yet?

PuddlesMyBeloved: nothing
i feel like i have walked all over the school
they are nowhere to be found

Rockin-Bardin: i have asked around
nobody could recall seeing either of them since the incident with the scouts
most of them didn’t even care >:(
i hate teenagers
was i this bad back then?
don’t answer that

PuddlesMyBeloved: don’t get distracted
have you tried calling them?

Rockin-Bardin: several times already, no asnwer
*answer
i tried texting, the same result
i even tried to message hunter’s scroll as well but i think it is still missing

PuddlesMyBeloved: they probably didn’t go back to the castle for it
kind of low priority at the moment

Rockin-Bardin: viney, im so worried for them
what if something happened?
what if the scouts got them and dragged them to the head?
or what if they couldn’t convince their parents and they have been taken to the day of unity celebration

PuddlesMyBeloved: calm down, skara
i understand that this is a stressful situation
that’s why we need to keep a level head
it is just as plausible that they are simply late

Rockin-Bardin: it doesn’t feel like that
the day of unity is today!!!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: and it won't be until later
it’s still early morning
it could be that their parents wanted to stay in their homes one last time

Rockin-Bardin: don’t say it like that
you make it sound so dark
it doesn’t help my mental state, man

PuddlesMyBeloved: sorry
lets just try and stay positive okay?
they still have time to get here
have some faith

Rockin-Bardin: ill try

PuddlesMyBeloved: that’s the spirit

---

Rockin-Bardin to Hello_willow

Rockin-Bardin: hi willow what’s going on?
i know that this is a stressful time
and you probably have a lot on your plate
but i and viney are already at hexside, we are hanging out with viney’s friends
they are nerdy but cool guys
don’t know if you have met them already
we could hang out together
the more the merrier!!
you must be sick hearing from me by now
so just message me back
and I will stop

---

Rockin-Bardin: it’s getting late and we can’t find you guys anywhere
we have looked everywhere!!
viney is making a round as im typing
her friends are helping out searching for all three of you
i am this close to getting a teacher involved
so
if everything is fine please text
…
…
please, willow

---

Rockin-Bardin to GustopherTheGreat

Rockin-Bardin: hi, gus
if you and hunter are late give me a heads up okay
me and viney have been at hexside since yesterday
the vibe here is something, man
more giant school sleepover
less end of the world
any other day this would be super cool
anyway
im starting to get a little worried
i haven’t heard from you and willow in a while
and you can bet that if hunter had his scroll i would be blowing him up as well
>:p
tell him he is a dummy
again
text soon!!!

---

Rockin-Bardin: please
if anything happened write
or if nothing happened
the day of unity is in a couple of hours and you guys are still not here
if this is a prank i’m giving you permission to jump out and say ‘got you, sucker!’
right?
i told the teachers you guys are missing but they said that if you aren’t on school grounds they can’t do anything, there are too many kids here for them to leave
im starting to lose hope
are you guys okay?
is there anything we could do?
…
…
…
please text me back as soon as you can

---

Rockin-Bardin to PuddlesMyBeloved

Rockin-Bardin: they are not here!!!!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: …

Rockin-Bardin: the day of unity is happening any minute now!!!!
our friends are missing!!!!
it’s happening!!!!
and they are gone!!
what if something horrible happened to them?
what if the scouts got them?
they did
i so knew it

PuddlesMyBeloved: you don’t know that, skara
don’t jump to conclusions

Rockin-Bardin: what else am i supposed to do?!!!!
we tried leaving hexside to go looking for them but the teachers won’t let us leave!!
i have failed to convince my parents
they are at the head as we speak
and they are going to die!!
no matter what i do
i don’t want to lose my friends as well

PuddlesMyBeloved: i’m so sorry

Rockin-Bardin: i don’t understand how you can stand to be so calm
im barely hanging on

PuddlesMyBeloved: i don’t want to scare the others

Rockin-Bardin: …
i’m sorry for blowing up at you
im just terrified
i need somebody to talk to

PuddlesMyBeloved: me too

Rockin-Bardin: …

PuddlesMyBeloved: …

Rockin-Bardin: this is real isn’t it?
it’s not a bad dream or a horrible joke

PuddlesMyBeloved: if only

Rockin-Bardin: it’s getting dark outside

PuddlesMyBeloved: that’s the eclipse

Chapter Text

┍━【✩Apocalypse Team✩】━┑

HAS_president: alls quiet at my position
eerily quiet even
what about you?

Rockin-Bardin: haven’t seen anything since the spies this morning
no movement from the crown either
i say we count our blessings
maybe we can have a nice day without any incidents

HAS_president: don’t jinx us, skara!!
barcus, could you do a divination?
maybe you can see something we can’t

direwolfBOY: on it

Rockin-Bardin: I’m going to go scout a bit more to the west
matt, is that you on the bell tower with the blue roof?

HAS_president: ay ay

Rockin-Bardin: dude, you are going to fall down
be careful
i don’t need to bail you out when you break your neck

HAS_president: relax it’s fine
i haven’t had an accident since
like
seven weeks

Rockin-Bardin: yeah, but you almost broke that streak several times
this might be the one that finally does you in
especially if you are staring at your scroll and not where you are putting your feet

HAS_president: aksdsgh

Rockin-Bardin: told you

HAS_president: i just slipped!!
i am totally fine!!
nothing happened!!
forget about it!!

Rockin-Bardin: lol, smh
don’t get yourself killed out there captain tholomule
also, i will not forget about it :p

HAS_president: shut up…

direwolfBOY: done
nothing of worth to report
our best course of action is to return to base
for a well deserved rest
:)

HAS_president: are you saying that because you are tired or because there is nothing to do?

direwolfBOY: both things can be true at once

Rockin-Bardin: i agree with barcus
come on captain
we have been out here all day!!
if there is nothing to do then there is nothing to do

HAS_president: alright, alright
i hear you
let’s finish up this one last round then we can get back
just to stay on the safe side
barcus, stay in position and watch our backs

direwolfBOY: o7

Rockin-Bardin: o7

---

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

PuddlesMyBeloved: heard you got back
how was it?
hopefully better than my day is shaping up to be

Rockin-Bardin: any kindergartens giving you trouble? :)

PuddlesMyBeloved: all they give me is trouble
we have to figure out something or else the baby class is going to rule hexside
i just dismissed the sixth student sent to the healing homeroom because of their shenanigans
and it’s only past noon!!!
i don’t know what’s going to happen first
the end of the apocalypse or me going crazy in here

Rockin-Bardin: who knew six year olds have such an affinity for violence

PuddlesMyBeloved: and setting traps
i’m so tired

Rockin-Bardin: me toooooooooooooo

PuddlesMyBeloved: have you had lunch already?

Rockin-Bardin: no i just arrived and put my stuff away
man, it’s a relief that matt managed to get us a classroom
im sick and tired of my stuff getting stolen all the time

PuddlesMyBeloved: you can say that again
at least in the healing homeroom, i can lock up some stuff in storage
but it doesn’t beat an entire room for ourselves
sorry that you have to share with the former detention kids :p

Rockin-Bardin: not at all :p
you guys are the least animalistic out there
and im counting puddles as well

PuddlesMyBeloved: lol, what has warranted this level of savageness??

Rockin-Bardin: a couple weeks of unresolved grudges
meet you in the mess hall

PuddlesMyBeloved: hurry up!!
they are serving this days fresh veggies

Rockin-Bardin: never thought i will be so happy to see greens
be there in a sec!!!

---

PuddlesMyBeloved: im this close to pulling my hair out!!

Rockin-Bardin: boscha again?

PuddlesMyBeloved: who else!!
everything we suggest she just brushes off!!
like it’s nothing!!
wouldn’t even take it into consideration
she would much rather listen to this miki girl
and she shoots down every one of our suggestions no matter how useful or logical they are

Rockin-Bardin: yeah
i hear this conversation from matt and jerbo all the time as well
i don’t know what her problem is
i mean
amelia and cat have been taken
so i understand that she is not doing too well
but she at least should do something

PuddlesMyBeloved: im sympathetic as well don’t get me wrong
but my patience is wearing thin at the moment

Rockin-Bardin: im here to vent to if you need

PuddlesMyBeloved: i hate saying this
but could you talk to boscha?
i know that you are not friends anymore
but you were at one point
there is a chance that she would listen to you
more than us at least

Rockin-Bardin: even over miki
no chance
do you know that she actually talked to me a couple of days ago
boscha, I mean

PuddlesMyBeloved: what did she want?
she almost never talks to anyone

Rockin-Bardin: just to talk, catch up, ask how im doing, those kinds of things
she seemed genuine
even more so when we were friends
it was kind of nice
she seemed to want to ask something but she just left in the end
which was weird
the boscha i knew would never dance around a subject like that

PuddlesMyBeloved: strange
that doesn’t seem like the confident queen of the hexside
but i guess the end of the world changes people
maybe even boscha as well

Rockin-Bardin: more than likely
listen
im sorry but i don’t want to talk to boscha
at least not at the moment

PuddlesMyBeloved: ?

Rockin-Bardin: she just
reminds me of a part of my life im not very proud off

PuddlesMyBeloved: i understand

Rockin-Bardin: don’t be disappointed
i will try if you want

PuddlesMyBeloved: no no
i don’t want to make you something you are uncomfortable with
i just had to ask
worth a shot :p

Rockin-Bardin: yeah i get that
i got some free time, want to hang out?

PuddlesMyBeloved: im doing inventory in the healing homeroom
i could use some company

Rockin-Bardin: on my way!

---

PuddlesMyBeloved: does it feel weird to you that we are still talking in this chat while who knows what happened with the rest of our team?
idk
sometimes i look at it and i just
i have this feeling that i am doing something wrong
it was fine at the first few days but now
it just feels like it shouldn’t be touched anymore
you know?
or maybe im alone in this

Rockin-Bardin: no, i also get that feeling
but im more sad than anything else
then i think that it would be cool if they could read our messages when they get back
like a log of what we have been up to

PuddlesMyBeloved: we don’t know if they will be back, skara

Rockin-Bardin: we don’t know that they won’t either
im trying to have a positive outlook on life
or try to hold out hope
idk

PuddlesMyBeloved: just don’t fall into denial

Rockin-Bardin: :p
don’t worry about me im fine
im just…
…
i feel like i am doing this for myself as well

PuddlesMyBeloved: doing what? trying to stay positive
because you know
i have been telling you all the time :p

Rockin-Bardin: yeah i know
it might sound corny
but the rest of the students are relying on us to do a good job
me and my team to keep them safe
you to heal them
i don’t want to break down and let them down as well
you know

PuddlesMyBeloved: yeah…
man, if this is over we are going to need so much therapy

Rockin-Bardin: when it is over

PuddlesMyBeloved: alright, you win
when this is over we are getting some help
how does that sound?

Rockin-Bardin: good, actually

Chapter Text

PuddlesMyBeloved to Hello_willow

PuddlesMyBeloved: hi willow
i don’t know if this message finds you
but skara had this idea to write to you guys
who knows
maybe you are reading this as im typing
i really hope you do
you know
when the day of unity happened we didn’t know what was going on
the teachers kept us inside, away from harm, but we didn’t hear from you guys and we wanted to go and find you
skara told me that she was franticly writing to you
hope she didn’t scare you
if you can see this that is
…
sorry
i didn’t mean to be a downer
what i want to do is give you a little status report
you are the captain after all :D
/j
man, where do i even start
a lot of things happened since you guys went missing
me and skara arrived at hexside without any problem although our parents didn’t believe us and went to the head
i hadn’t heard from them since
i don’t know if they are out there somewhere
or…
the teachers kept us safe here in the school
well, until the collector's spies got them
there are these creatures out there and
i don’t even know how to explain this, but they turn people into puppets or toys?
idk
there is a lot we don’t know
and then they are taken away to the head of the titan
there is a massive crown hovering over it now
the collector’s archive house
whatever that is meant to be
nobody knows what happens after but skara said she has seen people who have turned into puppets playing out some sort of game with the collector and a little rat/dog looking demon
sorry for dumping all of this on you
i bet this is so confusing to you
heck, i know this is confusing to me as well
everything turned into a huge mess that didn’t seem to end
…
…
sorry i don’t want to talk anymore
maybe another time?

---

PuddlesMyBeloved: sorry for brushing you off like that, it was rude
especially if i continue to entertain the thought that you are somehow reading this, i really should be more considerate
i hope you are doing fine
better than us even
i haven’t talked about myself last time
im doing fine!! :D
all things considered
im doing what i do best, helping the injured
me and the other healing track students set up the healing homeroom as an infirmary to take care of any and all needs
at the best of our abilities
it has been hard but we manage
i’m going to spare you all the details about what has become of hexside for the time being but you might catch me ranting about it to you
or new hexside as it is called now
shm
all you need to know that it’s horrible
not life-threatening
i would take this over anything happening outside that's for sure
but the place looks like the worst of groms times a hundred
i never want to live with a gaggle of six year old ever again!!
aaaaaaaaaaand
that’s the time i had
somebody needs me
so
talk to you soon
and you know, write if you can

---

PuddlesMyBeloved: omt, willow!
you wont believe the nerve of boscha!!
i swear
what does she think? that she owns the place?!!
…
and i suddenly realized that you probably don’t want to hear about boscha of all people
sorry, let’s just say that the apocalypse is not void of pointless drama
smh
get in touch soon! <3

- - -

PuddlesMyBeloved to GustopherTheGreat

PuddlesMyBeloved: hi gus and hunter!
i don’t actually know if you guys are together or not, but last time i checked hunter didn’t have his scroll on him so im writing this for the both of you :p
skara decided that it would be a good idea to write to you guys
both as a form of therapy for us, venting
and just to keep you guys in the loop in case if you can read these messages somehow
i wrote a tone to willow already about what has been happening here at hexside
you can ask her if you can
at least i hope that all three of you are together and safe
i guess i just want you two to know that we are fine
we are holding out and making it work here in hexside
im sorry
☆new hexside☆
im being sarcastic here
most of the times im so done with this place
but its not all bad
i just wish people were less reckless
i will tell you all about it another time
so don’t you worry
stay safe wherever you are

---

PuddlesMyBeloved: im thinking about you guys a lot
and willow of course
today more so than usual
idk why
nothing really happened
i guess the monotony caught up with me
i have done inventory and rechecked it twice already
i feel like i'm going insane
wish this was over
rather i wish everything was how it used to be
i miss talking with you guys, just messing around
hanging out, practicing flyer derby
having a normal life
now everything is so serious, so dire
wish things went back to how they used to be
i want a break
if you are reading this, we are fine
still surviving the end of the world and all that

---

PuddlesMyBeloved: there is this kid with us who mentioned that he knows you gus
i gave him your contact, he too wants to write to you
i hope you don’t mind

---

PuddlesMyBeloved: hunter, when you get back I will have to acquaint you with the ingenuity of six year olds
i swear they hunt us for blood sport

---

Rockin-Bardin to Hello_willow

Rockin-Bardin: hi willow its me again
hey, sorry for blowing up your scroll back then
i couldn’t reach you and it scared me
well i guess i still can’t reach you but im trying to think positively
so im assuming you are out there
fine and alive
and coming back
or not coming back
i wouldn’t blame you
it’s kind of a mess here
not just at hexside but everywhere in general
this collector guy made the whole isles unrecognizable
i think it is better that you don’t see this
titan know i don’t want to see it either

---

Rockin-Bardin: we try to help people
me and the team we put together sometimes go out there, mostly around bonesborough and try to look for survivors
sometimes we are too late and only see the spies taking away the puppetified bodies of some witch or demon
nobody we knew
which is a small mercy
i haven’t seen anybody turned into a toy since the teachers were taken away
…
or when amelia and cat were taken
titan, willow
they are gone and i don’t know if its for forever or if we could do something about it
maybe the collector can turn them back
probably won't
sorry for bringing this up
i guess it’s just on my mind
you would never guess but i talked to boscha and it was pleasant
nothing like what we had when we were actual friends, it feels like im talking to an old acquaintance rather than my childhood best friend
don’t get me wrong she is still arrogant
especially now that she is the boss
yeaaaaaaaah
but she seems… softer is not the right word but there is something changing there
sorry
i know you don’t like her
you have all the right
more than anybody
it’s just
i don’t know who to tell this too
viney listens to me talk about this sometimes but she still has her old friends
and jerbo and barcus are great but i just met them
i guess all i want to say is
if there is a chance to let a better boscha back into my life, i think i would like that
not now, probably not in a long time, but maybe
i hope you won’t be too mad at me
i wouldn’t want to lose you over this
didn’t you start to be friends with amity again?
she changed a lot
how do you do it?
how do you accept somebody who used to be bad but changed? or is changing
idk
sorry
i won’t be bothering you about this again
im sure you have better things to do out there
wherever you are
i just hope you and the guys aren’t puppets
sorry, no
i try to keep a positive attitude
it’s just hard sometimes :(
be well, write if you can

---

Rockin-Bardin: i finally have good news!!!
today, me and my team fought of one of the collector’s spies and successfully saved a total of three people!!!
woohooo!!!
go us!!!
we didn’t manage to talk with the survivors
they ran away before we could
but we helped!!!
finally something good happens!!!

---

Rockin-Bardin to GustopherTheGreat

Rockin-Bardin: hows it going gus!
and i guess hunter too since he is missing his scroll, and i hope you two managed to stick together and are seeing this and are safe wherever you are
i also hope that you are with willow
something in my guts tells me you are, after all, the three of you going missing at the same time cannot be a coincidence
i hope it isn’t
i can’t even imagine where you guys are right now
bet it’s nice there
men, if you saw what happened here
its-
certainly not what i imagined the end of the world to be
we are holding out in hexside
properly ruined the place as well
children are a bunch of animals, let me tell you that
but me and viney and her friends are doing the best we can and we are helping as many people we can
hunter, i bet you would be very impressed with us!
we are like scouts!!
well, without the rigid structure and all the coven nastiness
captain tholomule really knows what he is doing
and he is a kid!
like gus’ age i mean, lol
that reminds me i think the two of you used to be in the same club?
he used the be the president, his username is still that
anyway
im awesome on the field
when you get back i can show you all the awesome moves I got
maybe we can incorporate them into our flyer derby tactics!!!
oh even thinking about it makes me excited!!
…
sorry i have to go now
talk to you latter
stay safe!!

---

Rockin-Bardin: it’s odd to write whole novels and not have an answer
feels like im talking to the wall
but that’s sort of the point?? i guess
i know that you can’t answer
it’s just-
i feel foolish
not writing seems like a betrayal to what we had, like im accepting that you are truly gone
but I don’t know that
i don’t want to know
i want all of you back and the world back to how it used to be, when the biggest thing I had to worry about is bard auditioning and stupid exams im not going to study for anyway
my parents getting mad at me…
…
i hadn’t seen my parents in a long time
they went to the head on the day of unity no matter how hard I tried to convince them not to
i wonder what you guys were doing on that day
that was forever ago
but it still feels like yesterday
im not saying this to guilt you or anything
i just miss you
the day of unity felt like losing everything
in a sense that was what happened
all of us are supposed to be dead yet we are still here
but we are only living day to day, potential crisis to potential crisis
the entirety of hexside relies on us to keep them safe and sometimes it gets too much
hunter, i understand you now
this is a lot of responsibility
and it keeps me up at night
…
take care
stay safe out there
i will write again, hopefully with something better to say

---

Rockin-Bardin: sorry for being such a downer last time
i was in a mood
with the circumstances i think that’s understandable
but i have good news to share!!!
today marks the day that we are 5 out of 5 victories against the collector’s spies!!!
we officially kick butt!!

---

Rockin-Bardin: its really quiet here lately
i don’t know if its because matt’s plan worked and we have managed to divert the spies away from the school
or because something is happening somewhere that we aren’t aware off
i know i should be happy
we are safe even if on a technicality
instead, it is putting me on edge
maybe im starting to get paranoid
maybe this is finally getting to me, huh

---

Rockin-Bardin: when you guys get back we should finally have that emerald entrails sleepover we never got to do
that sounds really nice right now

---

Rockin-Bardin: gus do you remember that slop they served at lunch a couple years back?
the one that looked like raw ground meat but tasted amazing??
i think the plant track kids managed to recreate it with some fleshy plant??
it brought back memories
anyway this thing is amazing!!

---

Rockin-Bardin: are you guys reading this?
i hope you do
sometimes i don’t know what im hoping for
please be alright

---

HAS_president to GustopherTheGreat

HAS_president: hi there gus
uhm, this feels a bit awkward
but one of your flyer derby team members gave me your contact
anyway
i just wanted to send you something
i know you can’t answer and maybe you can’t even read this
or whatever
but
it doesn’t feel right to just ignore you, you know
i know I haven’t been the best to you
messed with you sometimes
i like to think that i was doing better before the day of unity
but it doesn’t feel like it sometimes
everybody we know is gone and it feels like one thing is happening after another and we can’t catch a break
we are doing fine
we are surviving
but it doesn’t stop me from feeling as if we are losing everything
…
sometimes i go out there to look for people
yes i know
we do that all the time
but specificity looking for people we know
my brother, our parents
sometimes even you and your friends
even if it sounds dumb
so dumb
sorry im blabbering
anyway i have things to do
never a boring minute here in new hexside
and hey
i don’t know if this message reaches you or not
or if you are laughing at me while reading this
but
just stay safe
and get back as soon as you can
we could all use some help out here
bye for now
and you know
write back or something

Chapter Text

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

Hello_willow: hi team! this is captain willow signing in!!
im here to tell you we are all safe and fine
you don’t have to worry about us
we are
gosh, it’s hard to explain
i will try later when i have the right words for it
but long story short, we have been at the head during the day of unity
that whole thing was a mess
i really thought that we were going to die
the emperor was there
and he turned into a horrific sludge monster
we fought him
i would like to tell you that we were winning but if it wasn’t for the collector showing up we would be gone for real
then we were transported to the human realm
yeah i know
crazy
things are so strange here, so different
but also a lot more peaceful??
we ended up in luz’s neighborhood and so we are staying with her family now
her mom is very nice and tries to help us where she can
and don’t worry we are working on a plan to return home!!
we have to rebuild the portal for that and…
but that doesn’t matter at the moment
i hope you are fine and staying somewhere safe
we will be returning to help fix this mess
i promise
hang in there until then

---

★【The Park Family】★

Hello_willow: dad, pa, can you read this?
i am fine, please tell me you are too
don’t look for me, i am in the human realm
it’s a long story and i don’t know how to explain it all at once but what you have to know now is that i am fine and safe and looking for a way to get back home
im staying with luz’s mom
she is very kind and she is taking care of us
i miss you
a lot
and
i don’t know if we can get back home
we are trying
but luz said that one of the ingredients needed for the portal is titan’s blood
and there are no titans in the human realm
…
i think about you a lot
im afraid that something happened to you
the collector, they didn’t seem that bad, but they are insanely powerful
they stopped the eclipse
and they killed the emperor
i hope they didn’t hurt anybody else
…
i will talk to you soon
and getting back home as fast as I can
be safe
i love you
<3

---

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

GustopherTheGreat: i don’t think that our messages are going to go through
we might be completely blocked off
and based on how skara blew up both of our scrolls on the day of unity i doubt that they wouldn’t answer the minute the first message went through
sorry

Hello_willow: we can never know
it might go through

GustopherTheGreat: i think we would be getting messages as well
from basically everyone

Hello_willow: i still feel bad for ignoring skara and viney on the day of unity
i mean they were worried about us

GustopherTheGreat: in our defense, we were a bit preoccupied with everything going on

Hello_willow: we could have taken the time to send them a message
idk i just wish we did it better

GustopherTheGreat: :/
well we just have to get back and apologize then
right?

Hello_willow: then we will have to make it a good apology

GustopherTheGreat: wish it was easy
getting back home i mean

Hello_willow: aren’t you supposed to be sleeping by the way? :/

GustopherTheGreat: aren’t you???
the sun is down and it’s pitch black outside
that’s sleeping time for everyone, willow

Hello_willow: yeah, but you are 12 :)
which means i can boss you around

GustopherTheGreat: asjhufsug!!!!

Hello_willow: lol :p

GustopherTheGreat: :p

Hello_willow: but seriously you should be sleeping
we are having a big day tomorrow
hopefully, this next portal prototype will work and we can go home

GustopherTheGreat: hopefully
hey
what do you think is happening on the other side?

Hello_willow: i don’t know
and i don’t want to say something that would get your hopes up

GustopherTheGreat: sometimes i hope this is all a nightmare
that tomorrow i wake up and everything is how it used to be
the only thing i have to worry about is getting to class in time and not forgetting about an assignment or something
and there is no plot to kill everybody in the isles
and the emperor is actually nice and the collector is nice and everything is just fine

Hello_willow: that seems more like a dream than anything

GustopherTheGreat: do you think i’m being childish?

Hello_willow: no

GustopherTheGreat: i sure feel like it

Hello_willow: don’t beat yourself up
that’s not going to do anything
you know what
how about tomorrow we go exploring the human realm a bit after we test the portal

GustopherTheGreat: do you think it will work this time?

Hello_willow: who knows
we still don’t know what we are doing
so everything is up in the air

GustopherTheGreat: i kind of hope it works
i hate how sad luz gets when it fails

Hello_willow: yeah, me too
the more reason to have something to cheer her up if it does fail

GustopherTheGreat: okay

Hello_willow: now off to bed with you mister!!

GustopherTheGreat: no!!
believe it or not, hunter fell asleep
so im enjoying the fact that i am the one awake for a change

Hello_willow: lol

GustopherTheGreat: don’t make fun of me!!
you know hunter basically never sleeps
or just waits for me to fall asleep first, idk
this is a milestone achievement!!!

Hello_willow: sure gus
but now that means you can sleep
don’t stay up all night reading cosmic frontiers like hunter does

GustopherTheGreat: >:O
cosmic frontiers is worth staying up for all night

Hello_willow: haha, I didn’t say it wasn’t
i was just saying don’t do it
don’t do it to spite me either
you are going to be all groggy tomorrow

GustopherTheGreat: okay, okay i understand
good night

Hello_willow: good night

Chapter Text

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

PuddlesMyBeloved: i can’t believe it
it is over
it is actually, honest to titan over

Rockin-Bardin: i
i thought for a minute there that we were done for
when the titan’s arm started to move
and those things growing everywhere
we were cornered

PuddlesMyBeloved: are you alright?
do you need help?

Rockin-Bardin: no im fine, not even a scratch
but i do need to sit down
i think my legs are going to be wobbly for the next couple of hours

PuddlesMyBeloved: that’s nice to hear
we are still hanging out at hexside and i think we will still be here for a while
until we can establish some sort of order and a way for students to find their families

Rockin-Bardin: i hope that we can do something about the people turned into puppets

PuddlesMyBeloved: i wouldn’t even know where to start with that one
but if we can figure it out if we put our heads together
we managed so far
what’s a bit of tinkering on unknown magic

Rockin-Bardin: yeah, yeah we can do this

PuddlesMyBeloved: :D

Hello_willow: and the best thing is that we don’t have to do it alone
the collector is helping turn everybody back on their own!!

Rockin-Bardin: willow!!
i almost forgot that since you are back you can text again
also we have been using this chat throughout the month
don’t read up
pretty please

Hello_willow: don’t worry about that
it’s good to hear that this chat room continued to serve a purpose even with half the team gone
i have also seen the messages both of you sent
they came through once we returned to the demon realm
i didn’t have time to read them with everything that was going on
but i will definitely going to!!!
everything >:)

Rockin-Bardin: no!!!!
it’s so corny!!!
just ingore them!!!
*ignore!!!

Hello_willow: now i want to read them more >:)

PuddlesMyBeloved: im warning you some of them are like really moody
and we were venting a lot
both sadness and frustration
so buckle in

Hello_willow: ah don’t worry about it
that was warranted given what went down here
compared to you guys we had it easy
i kind of feel bad about it not going to lie

PuddlesMyBeloved: don’t be
i, for one, am very happy that you guys got away from all the madness
but as penance, you will have to tell us all about the human realm

Rockin-Bardin: i still can’t believe that’s where you have been
you have to tell us everything!!

Hello_willow: i didn’t know you were interested in the human realm, skara

Rockin-Bardin: definitely not as much as gus
but he makes it seem fun
also
i want to know what you have been up to

Hello_willow: i bet it is nothing
compared to what you have been doing
i mean
the human realm is pretty cool at least i think it is
but it is a lot more
quieter?
im not explaining it right

Rockin-Bardin: no it’s fine

Hello_willow: why don’t you ask gus?
he was there as well he could tell you things more in detail

Rockin-Bardin: of course, I want to hear his version as well as hunter's
but i also want to talk with you
you know, as friends??
:)

Hello_willow: oh now i’m feeling silly
of course we can talk, skara
im looking forward to it
sorry, it has been a long day :p

Rockin-Bardin: lol

PuddlesMyBeloved: sorry to interrupt but there are just some things i have to ask
what’s the situation at your end?
where even are you?
and where are the others?

Hello_willow: we are at the archives
the giant palace over the head that the collector created
We have actually been turned into puppets and brought here
but more about that later

Rockin-Bardin: you can’t just say that!

Hello_willow: lol, sorry
right now we are just looking if everybody is alright
which, thankfully seems to be the case
we will rest a bit
regroup
then probably start turning people back

PuddlesMyBeloved: that’s good
so the collector
they are not evil anymore?

Hello_willow: i don’t think they were ever evil to begin with
they are like a little kid
they didn’t really understand what they were doing was wrong
they seem fine now
also, something messed up happened to them
they were locked up for probably centuries
so they weren’t doing much emotional maturing during those times

PuddlesMyBeloved: hmmm
i’m a bit conflicted
even if they are a kid and they don’t know better
they have done inexcusable things
turning people into puppets
terrorizing everybody else for months
wreaking havoc on the isles
who knows what else
i just don’t know how to feel about ‘never been evil, to begin with’ part
you know

Hello_willow: yeah its strange
and they seem to understand that a lot of people are going to be upset with them
probably for a long time lets be honest
but they are apologetic and learning to do better
and of course, they will help fix things
so it’s a start

Rockin-Bardin: yeaaaaaaah
sorry to disappoint but im not that keen on being buddy-buddy with them after all of this
like
i don’t know if they thought that they were playing or what
but this is over a line
several lines in fact

Hello_willow: yeah, i understand
and im not trying to defend them
im just as uncertain about this as you guys are
just try giving them a second chance?

Rockin-Bardin: at arms length

PuddlesMyBeloved: ^^^

Hello_willow: that’s something!!
im going now
i want to rest a little bit before we need to do anything
gus and hunter are saying hi!!
also we will have to go find our parents
but we should meet up sometime
we can catch up later

PuddlesMyBeloved: do that
you guys deserve it
and don’t worry about us we will be fine

Rockin-Bardin: we are going back to hexside
i guess we will be staying there until things are sorted out
but man, does it feel nice to not have to run for our lives
we can finally relax

PuddlesMyBeloved: maybe that’s what im going to do as well
taking a nap right now sounds nice

Rockin-Bardin: that would be amazing

Hello_willow: take care you two

Hello_willow left the chat room

Rockin-Bardin: this is probably the best day of my life

PuddlesMyBeloved: so true

Chapter Text

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

GustopherTheGreat: hi there gang! guess whose back!!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: gus, we have known that you are back for ages now

GustopherTheGreat: its been only a week!!
i missed being home
don’t get me wrong, the human realm was super fun
and super educational might I add
but im also glad to be back in the demon realm and don’t have to worry about what’s going on here

PuddlesMyBeloved: yeah
i guess you weren’t on vacation either

GustopherTheGreat: that would be great
maybe another time
i bet luz’s mom wouldn’t mind us crashing at her place now and then
especially with a permanent portal between the two realms
we could go explore
i bet that we can find things that interest you as well

PuddlesMyBeloved: it would be cool to go and see
but i don’t think there is much that i would care for
except if the human realm has different fauna than our
which is most likely the case
but luz once described the human realm as more peaceful than ours so i don’t know if it has that many animals

GustopherTheGreat: luz wasn’t lying its pretty chill there
beasts aren’t going to break down the doors any time soon
but it is full of creatures!!!
insects, birds, all sorts of little rodents
luz lives close to a wooded area so there are more creatures around than in the big city

PuddlesMyBeloved: that might be nice to see
luz said that they are cute??
or that most creatures are cute??
i can’t remember

GustopherTheGreat: they are super adorable
it is common for humans to keep pets like cats and dogs
i think you would like dogs
they are this fluffy creature that has many forms called breeds
they actually remind me of puddles

PuddlesMyBeloved: ???
you have my attention

GustopherTheGreat: they are insanely cheerful, love to make friends and get pets and belly rubs
oh and i was told that they chew things like shoes and socks and things you leave outside
they also slobber on you

PuddlesMyBeloved: are you sure this isn’t a griffin?
because right now i don’t see the difference

GustopherTheGreat: trust me they look nothing like griffins
they don’t have feathers or beaks or wings

Rockin-Bardin: looks like the two of you already started the fun without us
good to have you back gus
i guess the human realm was fun

GustopherTheGreat: you can’t even imagine
but im also happy to be home
i missed my dad

Rockin-Bardin: i missed my parents too
they are not going to let me out of their sight for a while
maybe never
haven’t i proven myself by being awesome in the apocalypse
give me some credit

PuddlesMyBeloved: i think it’s a parent thing

Hello_willow: most definitely a parent thing
my dads have been extra doting in the last couple of days
i don’t mind
i missed them so much!!!

Rockin-Bardin: me too
i just hate being downgraded
im badass now!!!
respect it!!!

Hello_willow: lol

RULERZREACHF4N: hel lo.everyyone, .
Its ‘good.to beback,
Miss ed
talking.to you.

Rockin-Bardin: hunter!!!
it feels like forever that i actually heard from you
i missed your atrocious typing

RULERZREACHF4N: sorry,.
didnt’ havee time to practic ,
But
I will,get
Beter atit.,
eventuallly

Rockin-Bardin: you misunderstand me
never change!!!

RULERZREACHF4N: but,, Iwantt.
To learn!!

Rockin-Bardin: not now
right now all I need is familiarity and stability
that’s what my therapist told me
or i would like to think they would tell me when i see one

Hello_willow: i think everybody on the isles is going to attend therapy for the next five years
my dads are looking for one for me at the moment
and ones for themselves
but the wait list is already a mile long

PuddlesMyBeloved: this is going to be a long and confusing year
i can feel it
by the way, hunter
did you finally get your scroll back?

RULERZREACHF4N: no.
Darius, got,me a new on e..
Left mine,in the castle
Inmy room.,
Its’ ruins now,.
Not.sure if it,
survived ornot. ,
Haven’’t been,yet

PuddlesMyBeloved: aw man i’m sorry
that sucks

RULERZREACHF4N: yeahh
I want.to get it bacck
There.arre some piictures,. I
Want.to save

Hello_willow: i still have some that you sent me
i can save those for you if you want

RULERZREACHF4N: thankyou.
I would.appreciate tha tt,

Hello_willow: no problem :)

RULERZREACHF4N: :)

GustopherTheGreat: btw they are dating!!

RULERZREACHF4N: gus!

GustopherTheGreat: :)

Hello_willow: its not like anything official
yet
or not
or
arggg!!!!
i don’t know
we just sort of
are????
i mean i don’t want to assume?????

Rockin-Bardin: :D
oh, im so going to tease both of you!!

Hello_willow: skara, noooooooo!

RULERZREACHF4N: I would.likw htat., ,
i meann,
if
we were,.
you,know,

Hello_willow: i
would like that too
actually

Rockin-Bardin: :D

Hello_willow: stoooooop!

Rockin-Bardin: never!!!
you owe me, viney
pay up!!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: you can pry those ten snails out of my cold dead hands

Rockin-Bardin: curse you!! I won that in a fair bet!!
it belongs to me!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: alright, alright
don’t get all vicious over it
jeez
congrats you two

GustopherTheGreat: yeah congrats
even if i have been stuck watching these two dance around each other for three months
they are worse than luz and amity
at least they have the guts to fess up to their feelings

Hello_willow: i think neither of us are really good at that

RULERZREACHF4N: we.can learn.,

Hello_willow: you are right
<3

RULERZREACHF4N: <3.

Hello_willow: you don’t need the dot, hunter

RULERZREACHF4N: my,finger slippped.,
It’sh ard to type
i’m also
out,of
practice. :(

Hello_willow: oh, don’t worry about it

Rockin-Bardin: i worry about it
i read that as menacing
with the dot everything is scary sounding
vaguely threatening

PuddlesMyBeloved: skara, you spend too much on penstagram

GustopherTheGreat: join us in the real world!!

Rockin-Bardin: you guys sound like the teachers >:p
i will stay up late on penstagram just to spite you

GustopherTheGreat: no!!
don’t let us down, we believe in you!!

Rockin-Bardin: im a lost cause, gus
there is no saving me
it’s the curse of the generation
it is coming for all of us
maybe you are going to be next

RULERZREACHF4N: sorry.guyys ,
I havee,to go
Darius,wants to.
Head.out
Andi ,wanted to.go
with him.

GustopherTheGreat: don’t mind us, we are just fooling around

PuddlesMyBeloved: have fun!!
wait!
does that mean that you are living with darius deamonne?
am i getting that right?

RULERZREACHF4N: yess,
i,really hav t o,go
Bye.guys

RULERZREACHF4N left the chat room

GustopherTheGreat: i have to go too
my dad wants to spend some time with me
have fun without me!!

Hello_willow: i think we should all spend some time with family
we all are going to be super busy when the rebuilding officially starts
we should relax until then

Rockin-Bardin: second that
i know me and my parents have a lukewarm relationship, but they are trying
i want to think we will be doing better in the future

PuddlesMyBeloved: im happy to hear that, skara
i should go check in with mine as well
and take puddles for a flight
regular things

Hello_willow: man, i missed regular things

Chapter Text

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

GustopherTheGreat: man, this might have been the longest day in the history of longest days
the last time I felt this exhousedt was when the history exam and my illusion presentation were on the same day
one right after the other
im done

PuddlesMyBeloved: go and rest
you deserve it
everybody had been working so hard cleaning up hexside

GustopherTheGreat: I hope principal bump will never let you live it down that you trashed the school

PuddlesMyBeloved: hey!
we didn’t trash it!!
you try living with a bunch of teens and preteens
there was nonestop chaos and drama

GustopherTheGreat: and bloodthirsty toddlers
i know
we have heard this a hundred times already
right now, my body wants me to tell you that its not an excuse

PuddlesMyBeloved: :p

Rockin-Bardin: i don’t want to hear a word out of you guys
none of you have been to the kitchen
there is crust everywhere!!
everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the ceiling, the lights, the shelf, the freezer
the floor is sticky
and an ocher yellow
we mopped it
it is white
my fingers got sticky under the rubber gloves
i hate my life

PuddlesMyBeloved: that is absolutely disgusting

GustopherTheGreat: i could have gone a lifetime not knowing about that
i thought the graffiti and abomination goo everywhere was bad

PuddlesMyBeloved: i salute you for your efforts

GustopherTheGreat: o7

PuddlesMyBeloved: o7

Rockin-Bardin: thank you, thank you, thank you
now if you excuse me
im going to go take the longest bath in the history of the boiling isles

---

↦↦↦↦↦『We are safe in here』↤↤↤↤↤

Hello_willow: is everybody free at the moment?
i have a very important mission for the emerald entrails
our honor as a team could be at stake here

GustopherTheGreat: hmmm??
why does this sound like the gross misrepresentation of the severity of the situation at hand?

Rockin-Bardin: seems dramatic
im in!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: convince me

GustopherTheGreat: ^^^

Hello_willow: hunter has been overworking himself
he was up all night
i asked how his morning was
and the fool admitted staying up all night fixing clothes

Rockin-Bardin: rookie mistake
should have lied

Hello_willow: you know he can’t lie to save his life

GustopherTheGreat: alright time to sit the guy down
we need to stage an intervention

PuddlesMyBeloved: wait doesn’t he live with darius??
doesn’t he like, makes hunter take care of himself??

GustopherTheGreat: that is true
hunter is terrible about having healthy habits
so somebody has to
darius and eberwolf check on him frequently

Hello_willow: he went to bed and got up when he thought they were asleep
he admitted to that as well

Rockin-Bardin: fool!!!
wait does he tell you everything?

Hello_willow: i think its more about not getting enough sleep that makes him have zero filters :/

Rockin-Bardin: that gives me an idea
we don’t need to move a finger
willow, don’t you have darius’ contact?

Hello_willow: yeah
ohhhhh
are you thinking what i am thinking?

Rockin-Bardin: if that’s snitching to his guardian
or parent
or whatever darius is to him
then yes
yes we are thinking the same thing >:)

GustopherTheGreat: that is evil
but considering the circumstances i have to give my blessing

PuddlesMyBeloved: i say do it
its for his own good

Hello_willow: o7
willow is on a mission

---

RULERZREACHF4N to Hello_willow

RULERZREACHF4N: are y .the one, responsible
for,.this, captain?,

Hello_willow: could be
but i am maintaining innocence
and claim ignorance

RULERZREACHF4N: aha,..
Then yu, arent’ upset,tha t
we,aren't meeting,today
Iam,, grounded,.

Hello_willow: sure
if that’s what you want to call taking care of yourself
then you are grounded
poor, poor, hunter

RULERZREACHF4N: don’’t, .make
fun.of me

Hello_willow: okay, sorry
we are just worried about you
when you told me that you aren’t sleeping but working all night
that worries me

RULERZREACHF4N: I.ussed to do,. that alll the,time. ,

Hello_willow: and it wasn’t okay back then either

RULERZREACHF4N: sorry,:(
I just.co uldn’t slee p
So ihad,
to do somethingg
Next thing,,I know
It’s morning,.

Hello_willow: then you can use the opportunity to rest

RULERZREACHF4N: that’s,what
Darius,. told,me as well.

Hello_willow: go and get some rest
your body will thank you latter

RULERZREACHF4N: alrightt
bye,captain,.

Hello_willow: bye, hunter o/

---

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

PuddlesMyBeloved: anybody saw puddles?
she was here a minute ago but i turned around and she was gone

GustopherTheGreat: no, haven’t seen or heard anything
aren’t you worried that she is getting into trouble?

PuddlesMyBeloved: not really
there aren’t many things that could hurt a full-grown griffin in the middle of bonseborough of all places
but i do worry about her eating something
especially with the debris all around
she could choke or get sick

GustopherTheGreat: i could come over and help you look for her
we just finished cleaning up the illusion homeroom
it wasn’t as bad as i thought it would be

PuddlesMyBeloved: thanks
i would appreciate that
with so much excitement going on it is hard to keep her in check sometimes

GustopherTheGreat: but puddles is such a well-behaved griffin
we had this neighbor
before she moved away to the countryside i think
who had this huge griffin as pet
and he liked to dig up the fencing around the neighborhood
and he would knock me over all the time!!

PuddlesMyBeloved: that griffin needs some serious training
and by the way so dose puddles
ahe might be fully grown but she still has a baby brain

GustopherTheGreat: baby brain!! lol

RULERZREACHF4N: you,don t have,,to lookfor her,.
Puddles,is at the grudgby fie ld.

PuddlesMyBeloved: thank you, hunter!
where exactly have you seen her?

RULERZREACHF4N: I.haven ‘t seen,h er,
She knocked,me of my ,f eet,

PuddlesMyBeloved: aww, does she want to spend time with you?

RULERZREACHF4N: she,want to e at,,. my bootts
Come,and ge t, her!,

PuddlesMyBeloved: lol
don’t worry im coming to rescue you

RULERZREACHF4N: pleas,.

---

Rockin-Bardin: so, rain warning for today huh?
what is everybody doing?

GustopherTheGreat: me and my dad are going to watch a movie we wanted to see for a time but never got to it
dad managed to get somebody to fix the crystal ball

Rockin-Bardin: nice
im going to go and stalk some penstagram pages
i have been slacking off on my social media duties

GustopherTheGreat: i don’t understand how you can keep up with these things
seems exhausting
i could never

Rockin-Bardin: it’s fun if you like it
its just talking to people
like here
just with people you only know on penstragram

GustopherTheGreat: my point still stands
exhausting!!

Rockin-Bardin: well, not everyone can be a socialite

Hello_willow: we are setting up for a board game day with my dads!!
i can’t wait
im going to wipe the floor with these old men

GustopherTheGreat: lol, go easy on them, willow
wait
isnt your pa the one with the unnatural luck in board games??
what are your chances?

Hello_willow: honestly?
all i have is confidence and a will to succeed

Rockin-Bardin: a little bit of strategy wouldn’t hurt either

Hello_willow: unless you are willing to text me some

Rockin-Bardin: that would be cheating, captain :)

Hello_willow: the stakes are high
i allow it

Rockin-Bardin: win fair and square
imagine the bragging rights then!!

Hello_willow: i think i will just have to make a truce with dad and give pa what's coming for him

Rockin-Bardin: that’s a start

PuddlesMyBeloved: aw, everybody is having fun i see
its going to be a self-care day for me
my parents are out of the house because of work and wont be coming back until the rain stopped
so me and puddles have the house for ourselves!!

GustopherTheGreat: wouldn’t puddles get into trouble?
wait, is she house-trained?

PuddlesMyBeloved: yes, or else my mom would kill me for even letting her into the house
and don’t worry
as long as she has her favorite bone-shaped chew toy she is fine
now if you excuse me
there is a hot bath with my name on it

Hello_willow: have fun!

PuddlesMyBeloved left the chat room

GustopherTheGreat: hmm, hunter is silent?
what do you think he is up to?

Hello_willow: you wouldn’t believe it but he is actually sleeping
talked to him an hour ago
said he is lying down for a nap

GustopherTheGreat: that can’t be right
hunter?
taking care of himself and resting?
willingly?
on his own accord?

Rockin-Bardin: it must be a blue moon

GustopherTheGreat: joking aside, we shouldn’t knock him getting comfortable with resting
wouldn’t want to make him insecure about it

Rockin-Bardin: why would this make him insecure

GustopherTheGreat: you know he has some weird hang-ups
you have to choose what you comment on sarcastically or he might think he is actually doing something wrong
trauma twists our words around
makes them sound like the worst-case scenario

Rockin-Bardin: since when are you so knowledgeable about these things

GustopherTheGreat: i have spent a lot of time with him
so i kind of picked up on what to avoid
i also did a little bit of research here and there

Rockin-Bardin: man, maybe i should be reading up on things too
learn how to handle my own hang-ups
but not today
today i am glued to my scroll

GustopherTheGreat: one step at a time
im going to go now!!
have fun!!

Hello_willow: bye, gus!

Rockin-Bardin: bye!!

GustopherTheGreat left the chat room

Rockin-Bardin: and then, there were two

Hello_willow: sorry, i have to go too
i have games to win

Rockin-Bardin: show them what you are made of, captain!!

Hello_willow: oh, believe me i will
or fail miserably trying

Hello_willow left the chat room

Rockin-Bardin left the chat room

Chapter Text

▀▄▀▄▀▄『Emerald Entrails ★FOREVER!★』▄▀▄▀▄▀

Hello_willow: so team
how are we feeling about going back to hexside next week?
even if its with halved schedule with how busy everybody still is

GustopherTheGreat: until today i was nervous, to be honest
idk why
must be some anxiety thing
i didn’t have to think about school for so long now
and now its back
and it’s a whole thing again
it’s jarring

Hello_willow: yeah, same here
but it has to be done
i on my part don’t want to graduate two years later or something
i think nobody wants that
so we just have to put up with it
we have been doing it so far
whats a bit more