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Food was never a guarantee in Belos' castle.
It wasn't that there wasn't food or that Belos was unable to afford it. No, the man had private cooks who would supply meals for him and his guards. For Hunter, though, food was often withheld or taken away as punishment for not being perfect or executing jobs perfectly, and it had always been that way, even when he was little.
Because of this, he'd developed the habit of food-stashing, saving snacks and rations that he got (and that didn't require refrigeration), and stashing them under his bed. He knew that, if Belos found out, he'd be in huge trouble, so he was very careful about positioning the foods in such a way that they wouldn't be visible from overhead or far away. This way, whenever the hunger pains got bad enough, he'd be able to satiate them a little bit.
The thing is, he carried this habit into Camila's house.
He didn't have a bed, so he panicked initially, unsure of where he could hide food, but he eventually settled on the back corner of the small closet. He and Gus never went all the way back there, and he couldn't imagine anyone else would, so it seemed like a safe bet. So, once that was decided, he would occasionally slip small snacks from the pantry into his pockets and, when he had the opportunity, would stash them in the back. It was never enough for anyone to notice that food was missing, so he was sure he wouldn't get caught.
After a few weeks, he began to realize that food had yet to be withheld as punishment, rendering the stash a bit useless, but he couldn't find it in him to stop, even though he was beginning to feel really guilty for taking Camila's food. Still, he was sure that food could be taken away at any given moment, so he kept his ever-growing stash.
One day, Hunter was doing the dishes (even though Camila had insisted multiple times that he didn't need to), humming to himself, when he heard Camila walk into the room. He didn't even need to turn to see and confirm that it was her- He'd memorized everyone's footsteps- So, he didn't see what she was holding in her hand.
"Hunter" she said in a calm voice. It was only then that he turned to face her, and he swore that his heart sank through his stomach, out of his body, through the floor, and deep into the core of the Boiling Isles.
She was holding one of his stolen snacks.
"I'm sorry" Hunter blurted out before she could say anything else. His heart rate was picking up rapidly, as was the pace of his breathing. Tears sprang to his eyes and his entire body started shaking. This was his worst nightmare, one of the things he'd had the most anxiety about back at the castle, brought into reality and standing right in front of him. "I'm sorry, I-I didn't want- I didn't-"
"Hunter, hey" Camila said in a soothing tone, setting the snacks aside. Hunter was crying in force now, against his will. He was sure that whatever punishment she had in store for him just got amped up by at least a few notches because of his tears. Titan, he was such a failure. "Breathe, baby, it's okay"
"I-I can't- I need to- Need to run" he was looking around frantically for an escape. Just then, his legs turned to jelly under him and he sank to the floor, making this even more of a pathetic display than it already was. He subconsciously braced himself for a hit and averted his gaze from the woman, staring at the ground.
"Hunter, listen to me" she said. He snapped his head up to attention, afraid of the consequences if he didn't. "I am not mad at you, okay? You are safe. You aren't in trouble. Everything is okay"
That didn't make sense.
How was he not in trouble? He'd been taking her food and hiding it just so that he could sneak behind her back if he got punished. What made it even worse is that, unlike Belos, Camila was consistently really nice to him. Why did he do such a horrible thing? How was he stupid enough to get caught?
"Right now, I just want you to focus on your breathing, okay?" she said gently, pulling him back to reality a little bit. "We'll talk about this, but first I need you to calm down, okay? Let's do the, uh, counting technique that Gus came up with"
She held out her fingers and counted along with her slow, deep breaths, and Hunter slowly but surely got on track with copying her, his breathing making a small, whistling noise as the air went through the gap in his teeth.
"Now, Hunter" she said gently, not making any sudden movements or shifts in her tone so as to prevent him from spiraling back into panic. "You're not in trouble. I just want to understand why you were hiding food"
"I'm sorry" he apologized again, fighting to keep his anxiety in check. "I shouldn't have been going behind your back and stealing your food. That was absolutely unforgivable of me, and I understand and accept any consequences for it"
"Hunter, mijo, you are not in trouble" Camila promised him. "Did you do this back at your old home?" she asked. He gave a small nod. "Why?"
"Food was taken away and... And withheld a lot, as punishment for my failings" he explained. "I would keep the stash under my bed for when the pain got too bad to ignore"
"I'm so sorry, mijo" she said sympathetically. He shrugged. Now that the panic had worn off, he just felt exhausted. "I promise you are safe in this household, and you are always welcome to eat whatever's available. If you aren't sure about something, you can always ask. Food won't be taken away or withheld as punishment, ever"
"Thank you"
"Don't thank me for that" she said gently. He didn't say anything. "If you feel safer having your stash, I'm not going to stop you, but you will never be starved by me, okay?"
"Okay" he said timidly. She smiled.
"Do you want a hug?" she asked. He considered her question for a moment before nodding. So, she scooted forward a bit and wrapped her arms around him. "I'll finish up the dishes. You, go take a nap" she instructed. "You need it"
"Thank you, Mrs. Noceda"
"It's just Camila"
"...Thank you"
"No worries, Hunter"