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Hunter rolled out of his bed. He groaned as he opened his eyes, why did his head hurt so damn much?
He glanced up at Gus who was snoring gently on the couch. Beside him Flapjack was resting softly.
Why had he woken up so early? Hunter normally awoke to Camila making breakfast, but it seemed like the whole house was quiet.
As he tried to get up to go to the bathroom he took in a short breath of air through his mouth and had a coughing fit. Hunter stumbled his way to the bathroom and locked himself in there until the coughs subsided. After they did, Hunter began blowing his nose furiously to get the mucus clogging his nose out.
Yeah blowing his nose didn’t work. It just ended with him, wasting a ton of toilet paper and feeling worse. He crawled back into his bed and tried to sleep.
Hunter failed at sleeping, he kept tossing and turning in the bed and his nose was still bothering him.
When he heard Camila start making breakfast, he walked up the stairs and sat down at the table.
“Is there any way I can help?” He asked, looking up at her.
Camila startled, “Hunter when did you wake up?” ;
Hunter shrugged, not wanting to tell her. He probably just had a head mold, back in the coven, he would be scorned for mentioning, he didn’t want to be a burden so he kept it to himself.
So after finishing his breakfast he rinsed his plate and placed it in the washer. He then walked outside and sat in the cold hoping the fresh air would make his sniffles go away.
They did not. The windy October day just made his head and nose bother him even more. When the sun had risen over the trees Hunter decided his friends would be awake by now and he could see what they were doing today.
On normal days Vee and Luz would go to school, and Hunter, Willow, Gus, and Amity would be left at the house alone. Normally they would find things to keep them company like books or board games.
Willow normally spent her days in the gardens, while Amity would spend it on Luz’s computer coming up with a new fanfiction.
Hunter and Gus would find a book or show to keep them company, until around lunch time when the four got together to play a game or something.
Some days Camila would take them to her work, but she only took one at a time because all of them there was too much chaos for her and her workers to handle.
Hunter walked into the living room where Willow was already putting on her work boots. Amity was sitting on the couch music playing as she worked on her Good Witch Azura fanfiction.
“Hunter,” Gus said, popping out of nowhere. “Do you want to go play in the woods? We can do one v one on flyer derby.”
Hunter looked at Gus’s face, he looked so excited. And they had been in the house for so long.
But Hunter also felt like shit. His head was pounding and he was sure playing flyer derby wasn’t going to help.
On the other hand, who could say no to Gus? “Yeah let’s go.”
“Wait on us,” Willow said, kicking off her mud boots. “It’s been forever since I played flyer derby, and we don’t want to be rusty when we go back to the islands.”
“I would love to play,” Amity said, closing her laptop. “I hardly ever play.”
“Then let’s do it,” Gus said, running out the door. In the shed they found a ball, and they set off to the middle of the woods where the trees covered everything they did.
They played for hours, even though on a normal day flyer derby would make him hot and sweaty, he somehow still felt cold. When he was sure no one was looking, Hunter would shiver and try to warm himself up.
He was teamed up with Amity for this round and was making a swooping dive to the ground. Hunter really wanted to win, he had been competitive in the Emperor's coven, and even though he wasn’t as bad as he once was, Hunter still enjoyed winning.
He made a quick turn, throwing the ball to Amity. As he finished the turn his stomach roared. Hunter pulled himself up and threw up onto the ground.
Amity cheered as she threw the ball into one of their makeshift goals.
“Oh my Titan, Hunter,” A voice called, Hunter didn’t pay any mind to them. He landed on the ground and beside the small pile of puke. Curling up into a ball, he threw up again.
“Is he sick?” A voice said, beside him. He became very aware of the three figures over his head, as he let out the last bit of the stomach contents.
“No Gus,” Amity said, crouching down next to Hunter. “He’s just puking because he felt like it.”
“It’s not my fault,” Gus said, rubbing Hunter’s back.
“We need to get him back to the house,” Willow said, placing her hand on his forehead. It felt impossibly cool compared to how hot and sweaty his face felt. “It’s probably the common mold, and it would be bad for him to be outside while he’s feeling sick.”
Hunter dozed off, his head pounding. He couldn’t pay attention to the conversation, while his head hurt. And maybe the lack of sleep wasn’t helping either.
He only came back to reality when Willow pulled his arm up and moved underneath it. Amity did the same pulling him up to a standing position.
“What’s going on?” He asked, blushing, looking down at Willow. He wasn’t used to being so close to her.
“We’re taking you back home,” Gus said, pulling the Flapjack staff to sit in front of him. They made a sort of raft out of Willow’s, Amity’s, and Hunter’s staffs, placing him in the middle while the other two supported him from the front and behind.
Hunter drifted off multiple times as they flew back to the house, resting his head on Willow’s shoulder.
“Hunter we’re back,” Gus shouted, making Hunter jerk up from where he had been sleeping.
“I was just dozing off,” he said, looking around. His heart was pumping, and his face was hot. For a minute he didn’t know where he was, expecting to be in the Emperor's Coven, and Lilith was waking him telling him they had stopped traveling for their mission.
“Hunter, do you need help getting into the house?” Willow asked, sliding off the staff. Clover came to life with her and Hunter felt his feet brush the ground.
He looked to the side where Amity was already opening the door to the house. “Where is she going?” he asked.
“She’s going to go try to use the weird voice box, and get in contact with either Camila, Luz or Vee.” Willow explained, standing in front of him, eyes full of worry. “Do you want my help getting to the basement?”
Hunter dismissed Flapjack back to his normal form and he flapped up to his shoulder. Hunter stood on shaky legs, giving Gus and Willow a strained smile. “I’m alright.”
“Hunter, you know you threw up less than an hour ago,” Gus said, stepping up to him.
“Oh it’s all fine,” he said, stepping into the house. “I just didn’t have a good breakfast.”
“Then why is your skin burning to the touch?” Willow said, raising one eyebrow.
“I’m just really sweaty,” Hunter said. Technically it wasn’t a lie. He was super sweaty. “I’m going to get a shower in just a few minutes, as soon as I get inside the house.” He smiled walking past the other two.
FlapJack chirped something about him being sick but he ignored the bird. He walked into the bathroom and turned on the water. Once he was sure no one could hear him from outside he fell onto the floor and started shaking.
“He’s not okay,” Willow said, sitting down on the kitchen table. Gus sat across from her. Fidgeting nervously looking back up to the door of the bathroom and back.
“I just don’t understand why he won’t tell us anything,” Gus said, shaking his head, and placing it in his hands.
“Camila gave me instructions on what to do,” Amity said, placing the phone down and sitting beside Willow. “She said she can’t come back from work right now but will drive home on her lunch break.”
“What did she say to do?” Gus asked, looking up.
“She wants us to make sure he’s comfortable, getting tons of rest and fluids. She doesn’t know what he has yet but will buy some tests at the store.”
“Tests won’t do him any good,” Willow said. “How is he supposed to relax and get better if he has to take tests, that’ll just make him more stressed.”
“I don’t know,” Amity said, shaking her head. “We’ll just have to wait and see. But for now we should get him in bed. Where is he?”
“In the shower,” Gus said.
“How long?” Amity said, glancing at the clock on the wall.
“Since we got back into the house,” Gus said. Willow's eyes widened as she looked at Amity.
“He’s not in the shower,” They said, at the same time as they ran to the bathroom. Hunter would normally only take a five minute shower at minimum. The house had limited hot water and he always wanted to make sure everyone else had enough water for the rest of them.
The three ran over to the bathroom and knocked on the door. “Hunter, are you there?” Willow asked.
No response came.
“What should we do?” Amity asked, looking between the two of them.
“We have to go in,” Willow said.
“But what if he’s naked?” Amity asked with a face of disgust.
“Then Gus will go in,” Willow said, pointing at him.
“But I can’t carry Hunter,” Gus whined. “I wasn’t built for that kind of brute force.”
“Fine then if he’s nude dress him and I’ll carry him back to his bed,” Willow said, rolling her eyes. Trying to ignore the surge in her gut when she thought about comforting Hunter.
“Hunter we’re coming in,” Amity called, then she used one of her abonmations to unlock the door.
Hunter sat on the floor weeping, still fully clothed.
“Oh Hunter,” Willow said, rushing into the room. Gus and Amity were right behind her.
Hunter looked up at her with bleary eyes. “Willow?”
“Hey, hey we’re here,” she said, brushing a strand of hair out of his face.
“What are you doing here?” He asked.
Willow decided the fever must have been making him delirious. “You’re sick, we’re just taking you back to your room.”
Hunter nodded weakly. Amity and Willow put his arms over their shoulders and supported his weight as they walked down the stairs.
When they eventually reached his sleeping bag they tucked him in.
“Should we take turns watching him?” Gus asked, sitting on the couch. “I mean he might try to lock himself in the bathroom again.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” Willow said, sitting down beside Gus. “I’ll take the first watch, you two get your showers, in like an hour you guys can come and switch and I’ll get mine.”
Amity and Gus glanced at each other, sharing a small smile. But they turned and walked out of the basement.
Willow sighed, her friends were such schemers, trying to read into every act she made.
Since it looked like Hunter wouldn’t be waking anytime soon she sat on the couch, watching Clover and FlapJack play.
The Golden Guard walked into the throne room of the palace. His uncle had called him there after his most recent mission, he had failed.
“Ahh Hunter so good to see you,” His uncle said, as he entered the room.
Hunter bowed, not looking up until Belos spoke next. “Take off your mask, I want to see your eyes.”
Hunter did so, he blinked back tears from his face. Belos would only be angrier if he found out he was crying.
“I found out you’ve been hiding a palisman from me,” Belos said, his voice filled with anger.
Hunter couldn’t hide his surprise. He hadn’t expected the meeting to be about this, that was so much worse. FlapJack was his best friend currently and Belos would eat him as soon as he found out.
“What? I wouldn’t do that?” Hunter said, backing away.
“Hunter, you can’t lie to me,” Belos said, approaching him. “There are always terrible consequences when you do.”
Hunter shivered back when he heard terrible consequences. He knew exactly what Belos was referring to and he didn't want that again.
Belos went to reach a hand at Hunter but FlapJack flew out of his hair and onto Belos.
“No!” Hunter cried, as Belos took FlapJack in one hand and crushed all the life out of him.
Hunter awoke with a start.
The first thing he saw were a concerned pair of eyes staring at him.
“Hunter?” Willow asked.
Hunter backed away from her. He frantically searched the room for FlapJack, he was sleeping on the couch next to Clover. Quickly he pulled the palesman into a hug. FlapJack chirped in concern but stayed close to Hunter.
“Hunter, what's wrong?” Willow asked, standing close but not touching him.
He turned to her, “I just had a bad dream.”
Willow nodded. “Do you wanna talk about it?”
He looked down at FlapJack, he couldn’t stand the thought of him dying. He shook his head. “No thank you.”
“Is there anything I could do for you?” Willow asked.
“A hug would be nice,” Hunter replied. He must still have a fever because he hardly ever asked for hugs. It normally triggered him, but here he felt safe, in his room with FlapJack and Willow.
She pulled him into a hug, and Hunter leaned his head into her shoulder. He might’ve tried crying, that was what people normally did when they had a nightmare. But Hunter wasn’t able to cry. Belos had beat it out of him saying he should be strong, so tears never came out of his eyes. All he could manage was to shake uncontrollably.
Willow held him tightly until Hunter eventually said, “thank you.”
“It was nothing,” Willow said, breaking away from him. “Now the only way you’re going to get better is by resting. Camila, Luz and Vee aren’t home yet so we’ll have to wait.”
Hunter nodded, her reasoning making sense. He layed back down on his sleeping bag, but as Willow got up to go he brought his head back up.
“Are you leaving me alone?” Hunter asked, looking up at her his eyes pleading. He was sure the ghost of Belos would be there when he closed his eyes, or in the room if Willow left.
She paused. “No, I won’t.” She walked back to the couch and sat there. Hunter watched her until his eyes got so heavy he had to close them.
As he fell asleep, he felt someone’s hand in his hair. “It’s all going to be okay,” he thought he heard Willow say before he was lost in a better dream.