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How did I get back here?
The hallway stretched on seemingly forever, gilded and gleaming with paintings lining the walls. Hunter stood frozen in place, horror overtaking every inch of him as he processed where he was.
This isn’t real, he told himself immediately, trying to calm himself down. Luz and I got out of this place. This is a trick, or an illusion. Hunter slowly moved forward, reaching towards one of the walls. As he did, he noticed his hands were covered by thick brown gloves. Familiar brown gloves…
Hunter looked down at himself and gasped, stumbling away from the wall at the sight of his Golden Guard uniform. This definitely had to be a trick, because he’d left this version of himself behind months ago. Desperately he lunged toward the wall again, hoping to feel bricks, or some kind of texture beyond the glossy golden surface that would reveal his true location-
His hand phased straight through the wall, sending him tipping forward, and Hunter screamed when his whole body slipped through the wall and into the void beyond. A rush of wind blasted in his ears, his white cape wrapping around his body like a noose, tightening and blinding him as they fell down and down…
WHUMP
The impact knocked the air from his lungs, but didn’t really hurt. Hunter frantically fought to get out of his cape and scramble to his feet, wishing he had his palisman. He had no idea where Flapjack was or if he was hurt - he could only hope that the poor palisman was safe and far away from wherever this was. Hunter pulled himself into a defensive stance to find himself… in the throne room?
This wasn’t right. Hunter sucked in a sharp breath, heart pounding, as he stared up at the braziers, the tapestries, the throne. It was blessedly empty, but Hunter could envision Belos up there, eyes gazing down soullessly through his mask. This room had held some of Hunter’s proudest moments, but also… Hunter reached up to touch his scarred cheek, shuddering.
A harsh scream suddenly shook the throne room, causing the walls to shake and Hunter to near-flatten himself to the ground in sudden fear. It was a shrill wail, layered with voices, and all the hair on Hunter’s body stood on end when he realized that he recognized the sound.
No, he whimpered. Please no, not this. Not again. He watched in silent horror as the slimy body unfolded itself from behind the throne - had it been lying in wait for him to appear? The long limbs clutched to the arm rest, slime dripping and oozing, but within its form Hunter could see the palismen souls wailing and surging forth, trying to escape. Wings and eyes and teeth and claws, thrashing in a desperate frenzy.
All souls that Hunter had condemned to this torture.
When the monster’s glowing eyes and mouth came into view, stretched into a toothy, cadaverous grin, Hunter tried to move. Whether to run forwards, to help the palisman, or backwards, to escape the horrifying creature in front of him, he did not know. And he would never know, because his feet were stuck to the floor.
Hunter cried out in shock, realizing he was trapped in place. The monster was getting closure, tortured palismen writhing inside of the putrid flesh. And the eyes, icy blue, staring into him as those teeth got closer and closer-
Hunter, a voice seemed to hum in the room. It shook the walls, vast and crooning, sticky like tar. I finally found you again.
No! Hunter shouted, trying desperately to move. Now no limb would listen to him, leaving him shaking and terrified. Leave me alone!
Why would I leave you alone, traitor? After I raised you, cared for you, trained you, crafted you into your most beautiful self… and you left me? Threw me away for some commoner children? A human? Belos strode forward, heavy breathing filling the air with a noxious scent. He stepped in front of Hunter, searing blue eyes staring into his own. Perhaps you weren’t disciplined enough. Perhaps you need to learn a lesson.
N-no, Hunter tried to shut his eyes but couldn’t. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I’ll do better, just-
Just what? Belos snarled. You’ll bring me back? Finally learn your place? No, I think I must show you the same sort of treatment you showed me.
One huge, sharp-clawed hand raised itself, a struggling form screaming in the middle of its palm. Bird-like, with a scar over one eye, oh FLAPJACK-
The hand came down. Hunter braced himself for something he knew was going to hurt, wishing he could have spared Flapjack from this horror, and-
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Belos was surrounding him, wrapping him up tight in an embrace of squirming palisman and hot, stifling slime. Hunter squirmed frantically, trying to free himself, he didn’t want to be next, he didn’t want to end up like the other grimwalkers, he needed to get out-
“Hunter? What’s going on? Hunter!”
There was a twittering sound, a cry, a palisman cry. Oh god, were they condemning him? Was that the sound of a palisman he’d led to their death? No, that sounded like Flapjack, had Hunter led Flapjack to his death-
“Hunter, hey man, it's okay. You’re okay.” Something held the swirling wrap of slime still enough for Hunter to squirm his way out of it, streaking forward and pressing himself against the nearest surface. He blinked rapidly, heart pounding, and met the sight of… a room. Not the throne room, but a basement. And that was a face, looking up at him in concern-
A red flurry of feathers, still tweeting up a storm, flashed into his vision and Hunter instinctively jerked away. There was a worried intake of breath followed by a snapped “Don’t crowd him, Flapjack!” and the shape vanished, leaving Hunter to tremble and stare confusedly at the room before him.
This… this was the Noceda’s house. This was the basement where he and Gus slept. And that was Gus, hands raised before him, worry written all over his face. He was talking to him, probably telling him to do that breathing thing but Hunter couldn’t because all he could think about was how he was a fraud and a murderer and not even a real witch-
A light flicked on and Hunter flinched again, knees suddenly growing weak so he tucked himself against the wall. His heartbeat was pounding in his ears and his head felt fuzzy. There were footsteps, more voices, anxious, and then Gus was standing in front of him like he was protecting him. But that wasn’t right because Gus was the one that he needed to protect. Not the other way around. And yet, Hunter couldn’t seem to get himself to stand.
“What’s going on? We heard screaming - is Hunter okay?”
“I think he had a nightmare so we need to give him space. He’s not breathing right and he doesn’t seem to hear anything-”
“Mom! We need help, Hunter’s freaking out-”
“Step aside, all of you. Luz, take the girls back upstairs. Gus, you may stay, but be quiet.” The older voice joined the others, a figure of authority. Instinctively Hunter felt his whole body lock up and he tried to stifle his breathing - Belos hated when he got noisy like this, he had to be quiet, he had to find Flapjack before the emperor did-
“Pobrecita dulce,” the voice crooned, and Hunter glanced up at the sound of the voice being much closer. Soft, gentle brown eyes stared back at him, framed with dark curls. Not Belos, but he couldn’t quiet get himself to calm down.
“Can you hear me, Hunter?” The woman - Camila, she liked being called Camila - asked him gently. She was kneeling before him, several feet between him but close enough to reach out and touch if she wanted to. Hunter gave a jerky nod - when had he started shaking? - and tried to focus on her.
“Good, that’s very good. Can you try to do Gus’s breathing exercise with me? You’ve seen it before.” She held up her four fingers and Hunter tried to follow along, he really did, but couldn’t seem to match the rhythm. Stupid, so stupid, useless, why couldn’t he even breathe right-
“It’s okay, it’s okay, baby. You don’t need to follow, just try to relax. Gus, can you go get the lights?”
“Sure thing.” Gus’s shaky voice responded, and Hunter saw him move in his peripheral vision. A few seconds later the harsh light of the basement faded, lit only by the soft glow of the hung fairy lights. The darkness made him feel a little less exposed, a little safer, and Hunter closed his eyes and tried to let the calm wash over him.
A soft twittering sound grabbed his attention and Hunter cracked open his eyes to see Flapjack hop into the space between him and Camila. Now that he could focus a bit more, the palisman’s twittering was intelligible.
Hunter okay?! Flapjack cheeped anxiously, feathers puffed and eye wide. Hunter hurt? Bad dreams?
“Yeah,” Hunter choked out, and startled himself with the sudden rush of fiery tears it brought to his eyes. He forced himself to follow the breathing pattern Gus had shown him, with Camila quickly catching on and moving her fingers again to keep him in the rhythm. With Gus sitting down crosslegged behind her, the four of them sat in silence for a few minutes, the air filled only with Hunter’s ragged breathing and Flapjack’s soft singing of room is safe, Hunter is safe, everything is okay.
The tremors started to fade, leaving only Hunter’s fingers shaking slightly from where he gripped his knees in his curled up position. The tears kept burning though, throat tightening up, and when Camila asked softly, “Would you like a hug, mijo?” He nodded.
Hunter didn’t have much experience with hugs. He’d gotten a few from the Emerald Entrails, a few from Luz, a few from Gus and Willow… heck, he was practically drowning in them now compared to his time in the Emperor’s Coven. But that didn’t mean each one didn’t feel so special, carrying a kind of comfort that Hunter had never experienced before. And Camila’s were a whole new level of special, warm and soft. It cracked something open in Hunter’s chest and soon his shaking and sniffling turned into full-blown sobs before he could stop himself.
And the confessions came too, wailing cries of “It’s m-my fault, I killed them, I led them to B-Belos, I’m so SORRY-” came pouring out of him while he clutched at her soft robe, shame and grief and misery curling up into an ugly ball in his chest. It was all his fault, he’d been blinded by Belos’s tricks from the start - he’d been made for destruction and the others didn’t even know. At some point, he felt Flapjack come up to nestle into his hair, and Gus’s tentative embrace from behind, and that just made him cry harder.
The entire time, Camila held him tightly, the once gentle hug now turning fierce and all-encompassing. It felt like her arms were the only thing keeping him from shattering apart. And even as his ugly, sinful truths came flooding out of him, she murmured soft words to him, placations of it's okay, it’s alright, it wasn’t your fault, you are being so brave mi amor…
Hunter didn’t deserve it, even if it felt so, so good to hear.
A grimwalker’s body was unable to cry forever, it seemed, which unfortunately meant Hunter was soon going to have to pull himself together and face the music of his confessions. He didn’t want to leave - he wanted to stay right here, tucked between Camila and Gus’s arms with Flapjack nestled close, but he knew it couldn’t last. So, after taking several deep breaths in an attempt to gather his reserve, Hunter eventually withdrew and wrapped his arms around himself, squeezing his eyes shut and waiting.
“Hunter, what are you doing?” Gus asked hesitantly. His voice was watery - had he been crying too?
“Waiting for my punishment.” Hunter said tightly. His throat and head hurt, and his voice came out all raspy. “I just confessed to the murder of countless palisman. I’m not safe to be around. And-” I’m not even a witch, he wanted to say, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. “And you should probably keep your palismen away from me.”
“Mi amor…” Camila sighed, but Gus butted in before she could even speak, reaching touching Hunter’s shoulder with gentle fingers. “Hunter, I know all of that was… awful, really awful. But none of it was your fault - it was Belos’s.”
“But I did it-” Hunter protested, only to have Camila’s firm, but compassionate, words interrupt him.
“Hunter, I may not know much about this Belos, but I know that he was cruel, and you were forced to listen to him.” The woman said firmly. “You did everything you needed to in order to stay safe. You’re responsible for nothing.”
“I watched them die.” Hunter whispered, and Camila’s eyes grew glossy. Flapjack chirped out softly and nestled even further into his hair. “I just… I just watched it… even handed them to Belos personally. And - and now there’s Flapjack, and he almost got killed-”
“But he didn’t.” Camila interrupted, while Gus nodded encouragingly from beside her. “Flapjack is safe, see?” She reached up, cupped the little red bird in her hands, and presented him before Hunter like a gift. Flapjack stared up at Hunter with his bright brown eye, then flapped his wings a few times. Flapjack is safe! Feel safe with Hunter.
“And I will say this as many times as necessary, mijo, you did everything you could to survive.” Camila placed Flapjack onto one of Hunter’s shoulders, then reached out and firmly grasped his still-trembling hands in her own, warm and sturdy. “No one blames you. No one hates you. Right, Gus?”
“Absolutely.” Gus agreed, a fierce look on his face. “And I’ll lock anyone who does in a dungeon of illusions.”
Hunter couldn’t help but snort at that, and weakly smiled when the sound caused Gus to beam at him. “L-like that one Cosmic Frontier comic where Captain Avery gets trapped in that mirror universe?”
“Exactly like that.” Gus swore, hand over his heart. Hunter laughed, and Camila chuckled at the two of them while she slowly released Hunter, but not before giving him a final squeeze.
“Nightmares are hard. Especially when they come from true memories.” Camila told Hunter, slowly getting to her feet. “But you do not have to hide them here, and we will help you get through them. You can always come find me for hugs or late-night snacks, alright Hunter?”
“Thank you Mrs- Camila,” Hunter corrected himself with a sheepish grin when Camila gave him a look. He watched as the human bid them goodnight and went back up the stairs, leaving just Gus, Flapjack, and him alone in the basement.
Gus had also turned to watch her go, but looked back at Hunter when she was up the stairs. After a moment of scrutiny, during which Hunter stared back in confusion, the younger witch scrambled to the couch, dragged his blankets off, and laid them all out next to Hunter’s sleeping bag.
“What are you doing?” Hunter asked, puzzled. Gus slipped into the mass of blankets and curled himself up, finally laying facing Hunter with eyes wide and face one of innocence. “The couch is too hot. Thought I’d sleep down here where its cooler.
“But you still have all your blankets-” Hunter stared, incredibly confused, but Flapjack interrupted him with a sharp Hunter lays down to sleep now, before fluttering right up in his face, forcing him to sputter and lay down to avoid the assault of red feathers. The minute Hunter was laying down, Flapjack dragged the cover of the sleeping back up with his beak, then settled himself directly over his chest, effectively pinning him to the ground.
Hunter blinked at Flapjack, then sideways at Gus, who met his eyes with a look of mischievous glee before nestling down into his blankets, shutting his eyes, and giving out an obnoxiously loud snore. Hunter grinned at the sound, then gazed back at Flapack, whose eye was closed and little back was rising and falling in a slow, even rhythm.
The nightmare jitters were still there, heart beating just quick enough to keep him awake. But between the soft breaths of Gus, who quickly fell asleep beside him, and the gentle movements of Flapjack’s breathing, Hunter felt his eyes grow heavy and slow. When he fell asleep, no nightmares plagued him for the rest of the night, leaving him well-rested and cheerful in the morning.