Chapter Text
Luz stared at Hunter as he sulked.
‘’Ok that’s just sad, we can’t leave him like that-‘’
‘’Do you think he’ll dig a grave like last time?-’’, King muttered loudly as he rummaged through Eda’s hair and pulled out a packet of Hex Mix.
‘’King he’s right there he can hear you-’’, Luz hissed at him.
Eda grabbed her arm and gently steered her a bit away until they were out of Hunter’s hearing range, ‘’Look kid, I know you want to help him. And that’s great and all, but you have to admit he’s a bit…’’
Eda gestured uselessly as if unsure what word was appropriate enough to use.
‘’Unstable?’’, King supplied helpfully.
‘’Well I mean yeah, but also no. I meant that sometimes, you just can’t help everyone and that’s okay-‘’
‘’But it doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t try at least’’, Luz protested, ‘’I know he’s done some…not so great things in the past but I know he isn’t completely bad deep down. He has potential Eda! Plus he’s already showing so much improvement with Gus and Willow’’.
‘’And that’s understandable, it’s nice that you want to see the best in people. It really is, kid. But some people are in too deep and they won’t want to be helped. It’s not your fault if you can’t always reach them’’
‘’I know, I know’’, Luz’s gaze drifted over to him, ‘’I just really hate seeing him so…stressed out. He could be doing so much better without all the pressure from the coven’’
‘’I know, and that’s one of the things that we love about ya. The fact that you care so much about others is a great quality to have, you just need to know your limits so you don’t push yourself too much’’, Eda placed her hand on her shoulder, ‘’You need to think of yourself too sometimes’’
Luz smiled appreciatively back at her, ‘’I know Eda, thanks’’
‘’Hey not to interrupt really this nice moment or anything, but Hunter just jumped in the pit’’, King commented.
Luz’s head whipped around in a panic, ‘’He did what-?!’’
And sure enough Hunter’s previously occupied spot was void of him, with his thick wool cloak and satchel taking his place instead. His mechanical staff lay abandoned a few ways away.
Luz rushed over to the pit with Eda close behind her to grip her hoodie and prevent her daughter apprentice from accidentally falling in.
She looked over to see Hunter flying down towards the bottom. Or at least attempting to.
Luz cupped her hands around her mouth, ‘’Hunter, what the heck are you doing?’’
Hunter looked up at them upon hearing his name, ‘’I’m not going back without at least trying to salvage some of the plants’’
‘’Are you crazy?? That’s super dangerous, there’s barely any light down there’’
‘’Yeah well I’m willing to actually try and not give up the second I face an obstacle unlike some people-’’
Multiple tentacles shot up from the abyss at him, cutting his sentence short as he teleported out of the way to dodge them.
He re-appeared on the patch of grass next to them, trying his best to ignore how much they reminded him of another set of muddy tentacles that he knew-
Hunter gritted his teeth, feeling his determination grow stronger.
Luz stared at him, unimpressed, ‘’You were saying about obstacles and not giving up?’’
Hunter’s ears flushed red, ‘’I am simply…taking a few minutes to strategize my next move in light of this new obstacle’’
He nodded, ‘’Yeah, that’s exactly it’’
Luz, however, did not look convinced, ‘’Uh huh sure, okay’’
Eda intervened, ‘’Look even I know this is a suicide mission, no shame in calling it quits. Plus land spiders are pretty hard for one person to fight off’’
‘’Yeah come on’’
Hunter shook his head stubbornly, ‘’I’m not going to give up just like that.’’
Flapjack tweeted anxiously at him. Danger!
Luz stared smugly at him, ‘’See? Even Rascal agrees, at least that’s what I’m guessing they are saying’’
Hunter frowned at her, ‘’Rascal?’’
‘’Yeah?’’, She stared oddly at him and gestured to Flapjack, ‘’You know, your palisman? Did you hit your head or something?’’
‘’Oh, no it’s just that their name is Flapjack. Not Rascal.’’
Luz’s eyes widened in surprise, ‘’You named them Flapjack? Where did you learn that word from?’’
‘’I didn’t name them anything, they told me that was their name’’, Hunter’s curiosity and borderline excitement evident on his face as his eyes widened, ‘’Do you know what it means though? I’ve tried to research it but nothing came up’’
Luz’s face broke out into a smile, ‘’Yeah it’s a human word! It means pancake’’
‘’Okay. And what exactly is a pancake?’’
‘’It’s like this flat cake that is cooked in a pan. And I must say it is such a fitting name for such a cute little guy, huh Flapjack?’’
‘’You’re named after food-??’’
Flapjack flew onto Luz’s shoulder and cheeped happily at her as they accepted head scratches from her.
Hunter sobered up as he stared at them thoughtfully.
He felt like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
On one hand, he couldn’t just go back empty handed…
On the other hand, they were right (as much as he hated to admit it). Taking on a land spider is pretty much suicide, they are insanely powerful and hard to defeat especially due to their impenetrable hide…
Plus there is a chance they might try to physically stop him from fighting it and as great as he is at combat, it’s three against one. He’s outnumbered. Plus even Flapjack was refusing to give in.
He slowly turned back to Luz and Flapjack, his gaze becoming more calculating as a thought occurred to him.
He’ll ask Luz to take care of Flapjack for him. That’s right.
It’s a big favour to ask of someone who he considered his enemy, but he was ready to repay it back in any way possible. As long as Flapjack was safe and happy.
Because if he was being honest with himself, it’s not safe for them to be in the castle. As much as Hunter hates to admit it, Flapjack isn’t getting all their needs met by being locked in his room all day when they could be flying freely outside in the sun and fresh air. They wouldn’t need to stop living in fear.
Belos’ demands felt like they were increasingly getting harder, in a way it was a good thing because it proves that his uncle believes in him to succeed. But at the same time he’s becoming sloppy with his attempts at hiding them and securely offering them protection. Hunter can’t give his all to Belos while also being able to do the same for Flapjack.
Plus his failures nowadays seemed to be increasing in number and with this mission added to the list…he’ll just be put further under a microscope.
He knew deep down from the beginning that one day he would have to chose between the two, that realistically he could only ever have one or the other.
And he knows which one he has to choose, because really this was all just an illusion of a choice.
His mechanical staff felt like it was taunting him from its spot on the grass.
He never had a choice to begin with. This is just how life was and there was nothing that he could do about it.
Hunter sighed as his eyes went to the pit.
Guess he’s facing Belos’ wrath today.