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It had been twenty-four minutes since Darius had picked up Hunter from the Principal's office.
When he first received that crow call, he refused to believe it. So, he sent a scroll message to his Little Prince asking if it was true. Hunter confirmed.
He was in the Principal's office for fighting. Really? Hunter? Fighting?
Was Principal Bump sure he had the right kid?
When he arrived he was sitting on a chair with a healing glyph plastered to his cheek. He looked a little scruffed up, his hair more of a mess than usual, but otherwise he appeared fine.
Still, Darius wanted to deny it, saying it was a foolish misunderstanding, but Principal Bump shut that down pretty fast. Hunter also admitted to it. But before he could demand to know what happened Hunter asked to be able to tell him himself. Darius thought Bump wouldn't agree but then he tentatively nodded, told Darius that Hunter was not in any trouble, but to have a serious talk with him, and then let them go.
The whole thing left Darius confused.
Now he looked down at the boy in their living room.
"So, care to tell me what that was about, Little Prince?"
He shrugged. "I was in a fight."
"Elaborate on that."
"...With another student."
Darius sighed. "With whom, Little Prince?"
After a long pause, he finally said. "Boscha."
Ah, things slowly started to make more sense. Darius knew that the whole of the Emerald Entrails was in an off-again-on-again feud with this Boscha girl. It seemed to have quieted down, or at least Darius hadn't heard Hunter say a world of complaints about her. Especially since, if he remembers correctly, she is in potions class with him. So he thought it fizzled out.
So this fight came out of nowhere.
"How did it happen?" Darius decided to press on instead.
Hunter looked away.
"Little Prince-"
"We already discussed this with the Principal."
"And he said that we need to talk," Darius counted, he already started to have an idea of what could have happened, based on how ashamed Hunter seemed to be about the incident.
"We had a... fight."
"You don't say."
Hunter scoffed. "Not like that," he said. "We were coming out of class and she made some comments about..."
"About...?"
He crossed his arms. "It's stupid."
"Yet you started a fight over it?" Darius challenged. One way or another will get the truth out of him.
"She said some nasty things about the team."
Alright, that was a step forward. Now the chances of Hunter telling the truth just went up. But patience was the key.
"And what happened after?" he asked. "Did you start the fight then?"
"No, I... made some comments back..."
Darius nodded in a sign for him to continue.
"Then she drew a spell circle..."
"Little Prince, that changes things."
"And I punched her before she could cast it," he continued. "Then we fought for real. Principal Bump broke us up, took us into his office, and called you. Boscha's Mothers already took her home when you arrived."
Alright, well that's something he can work with.
But Hunter started speaking again before he could. "I know I shouldn't have done it. So please spear me the lecture."
Darius chuckled. "Brave words from somebody who is in trouble, Little Prince."
Hunter dropped his shoulder with a sigh. "I know," he said. "So, how much trouble am I in exactly?"
That's a good question. First, he doesn't need to tell Hunter that his actions have consequences, he is more aware of that than most teenagers of his age. So he could go easy on him in that regard. Also, Principal Bump already judged to not pass down any punishment. He should also consider that.
"I have one more question to ask, Little Prince," he decided to continue. "Did you think Boscha would harm you with that spell?"
He looked away, before eventually nodding. "I reacted."
"Right," Darius said. "Then it is settled. You know what you did was wrong, but you also defended yourself and stood up for yourself and your friends. Although I wish you could have done that without throwing punches. You understand, right?"
"Yes, Darius."
"Now, I'm not a saint, I have been in my fair share of fights and duels in my teen years," he continued. "Punishing you for doing the same feels a bit hypocritical. So how about this?"
Hunter tipped his head to the side.
Darius gave him a reassuring smile. "I can forgive this incident without grounding you. In turn, you will strive to not make a habit of this."
"Trust me, I am not planning to," he chuckled.
"And if Boscha tries anything, just walk away, don't even talk to her," he added. "It's going to be infuriating, but trust me on this one."
"I will try."
"Now with that over," Darius said. "How about you help me make dinner? Be somewhere where I can keep an eye on you, you little troublemaker."
Hunter laughed at that. "Yeah, sure. I won't promise I won't burn something."
"Well, at least you aren't making promises you can't keep."
"Hey! That was one time!"
"One time too many, Little Prince."