Chapter Text
Hunter hadn’t slept well in the past few days. Not that he usually does, but it’s noticeably getting worse. It was aggravating — his time sleeping went from ‘barely there’ to ‘practically nonexistent’ at the mere thought of his undercover mission at Hexside. It immediately struck him as strange that the day was sticking with him so much, unlike his other countless missions. Especially since it all worked out in the end rather than a failure.
By the second occurrence of a completely restless night, he was able to (somewhat) wave it off thanks to Darius’ reassurances that he was simply getting used to “normal teenage things.” Whatever that meant.
That wasn’t even the strangest part, though. What Hunter couldn’t even begin to understand was why his thoughts always centered around Willow, the captain. Of course, he bonded with her the most, and he felt so utterly pathetic for making her feel worthless (even though he wholeheartedly believed that she was one of the strongest and most powerful witches he’d ever met). But he found that he felt very… different towards her compared to the other Emerald Entrails and couldn’t explain it.
He hoped Darius would offer some insight about this odd fixation he has on Willow, but he was only met with raucous laughter as a response. When Hunter questioned him further, his laughter morphed into a full-on stereotypical witch cackle, but it stopped itself when the red-faced teen was one foot out of the room.
It was only then when Hunter received a proper response, albeit not one that eased his concerns. He was promised to have a good explanation at another time when Darius wasn’t busy and tired. Hunter uneasily nodded before walking out of his office and bitterly reminded himself that Darius was always busy and tired. His hopes for that promised explanation seemed useless now.
And now, several days after the undercover mission, it still doesn’t make sense to him. He made friends with all four members, so why is he fixated on only one of them? He even attempted to list any differences between Willow and the rest of the Emerald Entrails, but he ended up empty-handed. Of course, other than this newfound feeling he has for her. Oh, and her impressive strength that always seemed unmatched… and how she perfectly balances confidence and modesty… and the way her braids and glasses suit her so well… but of course, that’s just the fixation, Hunter tells himself.
He knows he won’t be getting anywhere today, just like the previous days. He also knows that it’s narrowly reaching the regular time for him to visit Emperor Belos before his patrolling for the day, so he quickly grabs his mask to complete his Golden Guard look.
He glances around the room to double-check for anything missing and to ensure that Flapjack is safe. He finds his answer with the sight of his palisman nestled in his white cloak, causing a small smile to creep onto his face. It slowly gives away after a moment as he realizes that he needs to disturb Flapjack’s peace.
Luckily, his scroll buzzes before he can get any closer to waking up Flapjack. He lets out an exaggerated breath, relieved that his dilemma will be delayed. After rushing over to his scroll to read the message, his whole body stiffens just from the username.
Hello_willow: Good morning!
Before Hunter can plan his response, she sends a follow-up message: a picture of Clover snuggled up on what he assumes to be her bed.
Yeah, that’s another addition to his post-meeting-Emerald-Entrails life along with the restless nights and his weird… thing… with Willow. They’ve been texting as often as they can, considering the conflicting schedules of a student and a literal guard (not to mention he’s also a coven leader with the added stress of a huge event in a couple of weeks’ time). It’s definitely been awkward at points, but for the most part, their “conversations” consist of cute palisman pictures. They found that small talk and their shared love of their respective palismen went a long way for them, so they made an unspoken promise to keep it that way… for now.
It doesn’t take Hunter long to remember that Penstagram indicates when you read a message — meaning there’s a high chance that Willow knows he has been staring at her message ever since she sent it — and he feels his anxiety levels shoot through the roof. His eyes wildly dart towards Flapjack, wasting no time angling his scroll’s camera in a way he hopes Willow will enjoy. (Not that he cares what she thinks. That would be pathetic and stupid of Hunter.) He finally finds the perfect positioning and lighting when he is rudely interrupted by messages that he knows for a fact are not from the captain.
TheOwlLady? He’s confused as to why she of all people would be messaging his account. Yet, he is also intrigued to read the incoming texts. So once the short spam halts for a moment, he takes that as his cue to do so.
TheOwlLady: Are you good now?
TheOwlLady: Is Belos evil?? You can tell me!
TheOwlLady: Also hi!
TheOwlLady: It’s Luz!
Just as Hunter finishes reading the burst of texts, there is yet another message. This one consists of a specific set of emojis that he doesn’t understand the meaning behind. While he is relieved that Eda the Owl Lady isn’t spamming his Penstagram account, anger easily grabs a hold of him once he realizes Luz the human is trying to turn him against his own uncle. Again.
While he definitely has a lot to say to her, he remembers that Willow is waiting for a response. Ignoring the obvious flush that is fighting its way to his face, he hastily types a response to the human before thinking about how his captain will be receiving what will be the cutest Flapjack picture to date.
Hunter pauses.
The captain, he mentally corrects himself.
He shakes his head in an attempt to forget about the slip-up.
Immediately sending his response after he finishes typing, he is also quick to ready his camera for the second time that morning. He doesn’t even bother to read his message to the human.
RULERZREACHF4N: LEAVE.ME ALONE
Returning to the perfect angle that he found before his interruption, he snaps the picture and sends it without a thought.
…Until he catches a glimpse of the Owl Lady’s username at the top of his scroll before he fully closes it.
With fully bugged-out eyes, Hunter desperately opens his scroll back up to see Flapjack’s picture sent to the Owl Lady’s Penstagram. In a panic, he frantically types one last message to save the situation. After reading it over, he gives a cartoon-esque sigh of relief.
RULERZREACHF4N: sORry.wrong.person .,.
He then sends the picture to the correct account this time, effectively relieving the crisis. Perfect.
And finally… now to deal with the regret of waking Flapjack up. Hunter hates disturbing the cardinal’s peace, especially since he always looks so content in his cloak. With a conflicted face, he reluctantly reaches over and gently rubs Flapjack’s head.
“Hey, bud,” he quietly calls out with the softest smile anyone’s seen on his face. “You should hide in my bed now. I need my cloak again.” His face cringes again, more so than the last time. “Sorry.”
Flapjack chirps in response, causing Hunter’s smile to return. Good morning. Understanding what his palisman is saying got easier each day, but to him, it feels like second nature by now. “And good morning to you .” They remain in the same position of Hunter giving light head rubs for another moment until he frowns. “I should go now. Uncle won’t be pleased if I’m late. Especially now he’s barely letting me patrol and research again.”
A couple of sad chirps are given as a response. Miss you. Very much. “I’ll miss you too, Flapjack,” he sends a warm smile towards his palisman as he gently picks him off his cloak and onto his bed. As Flapjack snuggles into the bedsheets and pillow, Hunter swiftly puts on his cloak. He’s about to leave until his attention is brought back to his scroll giving a subtle buzz. Curiosity getting the best of him, he opens it to reveal a new message.
Hello_willow: <3
Words can’t describe what Hunter is experiencing as he first reads the message. Only his physical reactions can be properly noted. Such as his legs almost giving out, and increased heart rate to the point where he can hear it pounding in his ears. At the same time, it feels like his heart is bouncing back and forth between stopping completely and skipping random beats. It also suddenly feels like an intense heat wave is passing through his room?
So, basically, he feels like he’s about to die.
Flapjack just curiously tweets at the sight of Hunter literally turning red all over his face (including his ears and even a little bit of his neck as well). Luckily, that’s all it took to get the awkward teen back to real life with the reminder of his uncle. He isn’t even focused enough to understand what the red cardinal had said to break his near-death trance.
After closing and setting down his scroll maybe a little too harshly, he urgently storms out of his room. He’s glad he remembers to call out a “Love you!” to Flapjack before leaving so abruptly.
Hunter is already mentally planning a trip to Darius’ office as soon as he can stop by.