Chapter Text
When Hunter returns to the castle he hands over the wild witch to Lilith. She's the one who handles the punishments of criminals. “Greetings lilith, I have something for you”
Lilith looks over to him, annoyed that he’s talking to her. “What is it”
“I just captured a witch. They need to go into your hands now I already placed them into a holding cell” Hunter tells her. He doesn't give any more information before walking away. He doesn't care what happens to the witch now it's not his problem.
Hunter makes his way to the throne room. Not having any time to wash the blood of himself or change his clothes. Hunter didn't care about the blood on his uniform but he did care about the blood making his hair stick to his neck. He hated the feeling of dried blood.
Hunter walked into the throne room. He always feels nervous in this room. Even when he should feel glad that he gets to tell his uncle that he completed the mission. And the mission was a success. But even so he was still scared. One mess up could ruin everything.
The air always smelled off here. It wasn't a bad spell but it also wasn't a good one. It didn't help Hunters ' stomach. Hunter kneeled in front of the emperor keeping his head low.
“I heard the mission was a success" The emperor says.
“Yes sir, I was on the way to the checkpoint when she attacked. We fought for a while but I got them.” Hunter reports. “They are now in the holding cell”
The emperor straightens the throne. “I knew you wouldn't disappoint me”
Hunter is glad that the emperor is happy with him. He basically just said that he was proud of him. Sorta, in a way.
“Your dismissed”
Hunter walks out of the room with a sigh of relief that he doesn't have to kneel in that room anymore. He goes to his room and washes off the blood and changes clothes. And patches up any wounds he got from the fight.
That's when he notices that he doesn't have his packback. He must have left it. It's not that it matters anyway. He wonders if anyone will care. Probably not. They will most likely be relieved that he isn't there. And that they don't have to interact with a magicless witch. He also wonders if Darius will continue being nice to him. He doesn't think he will. After all, he and Darius aren't friends.
The rest of the day goes as normal. He did his paper work, and trained. Just as he did every other day he got back from school. At least this time he didn't have to do any homework.
Soon after he caught the witch there were newspapers about it. ‘Golden guard does an undercover mission at hexside. Catches the wild witch terrorizing bones borough!” and he gets congratulated for his work. And the witch is executed. Normally the coven tries to get the witches to join a coven. But in cases like these they want to send a message. Hunter feels bad for whoever has to do the execution. Hunter doesn't think he would be able to do it.
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Hunter was around eight years old. He was practicing with his brand new staff uncle! He was pretty good at it. When uncle found out that he couldn't do magic he wasn't angry with hunter like he thought uncle would be. He simply told him it would be alright and made him a staff using artificial magic.
Hunter was fighting with one of the scouts with uncle watching. Hunter was losing but he wanted belos to be proud of him. Losing would just make him disappointed. So Hunter blasts him with his red artificial magic.
The scout falls down, a hole in his chest. No longer moving in breathing.
“Hunter.., what did you do?” Belos appears behind him. Placing a hand on hunters shoulder.
“I…” Hunter goes back up but he just backs up into his uncle. “I dont know, im sorry i-i i didint mean to”
Belos pats his hair, “Its okay lamb, it’ll be okay”
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Hunter shakes the memory away. He does not like thinking about it.
It's night now. Hunter prefers doing stuff at night. It's calmer. At least it normally is until a scout knocks on his door.
“The emperor requests to see you sir” The scout informs him.
Hunter simply nods and shuts the door. Hunter makes his way to below's study below. He only ever asks to see him there at night. After missions they pray together so they can pray for more success in the future.
Hunter walks to the room and knocks on the door.
“Come in hunter” Belos calls out.
Hunter walks in and takes off his mask. “You asked to see me sir?”
Belos nods, “Yes, sit” Belos gestures to the set in front of him, next to the fireplace.
Hunter sits down and places his hands in his lap. This room also makes him nervous. But not as much so than in the throne room.
“So, i want to talk to you about your school” Belos starts.
“My school?” Hunter asks.
“Yes, would you like to keep attending”
No! Is the first thing Hunter thinks. No he would not like to keep attending. “Well my mission is over…”
“Yes but I reckon you would have friends you would miss” Belos says, sounding a bit bitter at the statement.
“No sir, I did not make any friends” Hunter tells him looking down at the floor.
“And why is that?”
“They found out I don't have magic. And no one really likes me very much” Hunter fiddles with his hands.
Belos tsks, “Just as I expected. It's alright lamb, I still love you.”
Hunter suddenly remembers the detention track students. “Uncle I need to tell you something”
“Yes lamb?”
Hunter pauses for a moment before speaking, “Uhm… At school I met these students who are in this separate track. Called the detention track, they want to mix magic! I told them that it was bad but then they just called you a lair!”
Belos sighs, “well I am glad hexside is isolating them. Wouldn't want the others to get soiled by those students. Is that all they are doing for them?”
Hunter nods, “Yes, I was wondering if we could pray for them?”
“Of course we can,” Belos smiles and grabs Hunter's hands.
Belos prays that hunters can keep having successful missions. And that they detention track students can get on the right track.
“Amen” Hunter pulls back. He liked to pray, it made him feel safe. And even after punishments when uncle would pray with him. “Do I still need to go to school?”
“Well I originally wasn't going to have you do it but since you've informed me of this I was thinking you could watch them” Belos says.
“What?” Hunter does not want to go back to school.
“Maybe you could get these students back on track hm?” Belos says, a statement said as a question.
“I uhm.. I left my backpack when I fought the witch” Hunter tells him.
“Thats okay i’ll have darius tell the school you were attacked by that witch before the golden guard came and lost the bag” Belos says, smiling at him. “However I am putting trust in you that you will not fall into temptation. You are here simply to observe them, not make friends.’
‘I know” Hunter secretly wanted to talk to them about wild magic. Maybe they knew how he could help his uncle!
“If you ever fall into this temptation you must tell me immediately, understand?”
“Yes sir”
Belos stands up and takes ahold of Hunters face, turning to side to side before speaking. “Im the only one who could ever love you. No one else would ever care about someone like you.”
Hunter nods, he knew all of this already. Because Belos has told him all of this before, he loves Uncle too. You have to love your family.
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Hunter needed to come up with a plan on how to get into the detention track. He knew he could just express a desire for learning two different tracks but he felt like that would be out of line for him. He looks in the school guide book but can’t find anything about the track in it. He does find a lot of ways to get into the ISS however. Maybe if he does those things then maybe he will get ISS which will lead to the detention track.
The next day at school Hunter was actually excited to go. Because technically he could do pretty much whatever and he wouldn't even get in that much trouble because it was a part of a new mission. He didn't have to let people bully him at school anymore. He could actually say something back. He had a feeling that day was going to be good.
“Darius” Hunter greeted as he opened the door to his office.
“Yes?” He looked over slightly annoyed.
“I have a new mission now, I still have to go to school” Hunter tells him his voice chipper.
“You seem happy about that” Darius replied slightly confused on why Hunter would be excited.
“I have to go into the detention track to spy on them” Hunter said, bels never liked using the word spy but that's what it was. Spying. “Which means that I don't have to take the bullying anymore and I can actually say stuff back to them!”
“Okay… just don’t get into another fight okay?” Darius says before shooing Hunter away.
That next Monday Hunter eagerly meets Darius outside of the castle. He takes his lunch from him and puts it into his new backpack. Since his last one was lost. “Did you call the school and tell them?”
“Yes I did, Hunter, I'm gonna get a call from the school today?” Darius sighed.
“Uhm, maybe” Hunter didn't know when it happened but at some point there was a shift in his and Darius' relationship. Hunter wasn't as tense and felt like he could talk to Darius how he wanted to. And Darius wasn't mean to him at all anymore. Sure he laughed at some coven head jokes about Hunter which hurt a little. But he wasn't outright mean to him anymore. It was nice.
Darius groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Hunter…”
“It's for the mission! Anyways i have to go to class now byeeeeeeee” Hunter waves off before running into the school.
Nothing happened until around his history class. He always had trouble in that class but today Hunter was even more disrespectful on purpose.
“Must you make my job difficult every day?” Mr Milner sighed, running a hand down his face.
“I wouldn't have to if you would stop getting your facts wrong. Or are you that old that your brain has started to get fuzzy?" Hunter tilted his head at him.
“Hardly, I would watch that attitude if I was you. You are lucky you even get to go to school here. After all it's not like you could join a coven anyway, they have no need for someone without any magic” The history teacher said. Which leads other students to snicker.
“Well it doesn't seem like you need much magical ability for this position. Maybe I'll take this job and give people a competent teacher.” Hunter replied. He’s never been this openly disrespectful to an authority figure before! It was awesome! Scary… but awesome!
“You know it's a wonder Darius could keep up with a nuisance like you. They should have put you down the second you came out the way you did” Mr Milner sneered.
That made Hunter pause, put him down. As if he was some kind of detective experiment. Rather than a person. And maybe that's what he was, a failed attempt at a witch child. It was like the teacher was referring to him as a dog!
“He really is the emperors mutt”
“He’s more a glorified lap dog than an actual solider”
Hunter does not like being compared to a dog.
“Well maybe if you had been a better husband your wife wouldn't have left you. Maybe they should put you down for being such an incompetent asshole!” Hunter almost nearly shouted. It made the teacher go red in the face.
“How dare you talk about my wife, you little-” The teacher sighs harshly. He grabs the pink sheets and writes Hunter up. “Go to the principal's office now.”
Hunter takes the sheets and is out the door as fast as he can. He knows the teacher would of hit him if he was able. But lucky for hunter he would not have to endure a punishment like that. He walked to the principal bumps office.
Principal bump had received a message about Hunter before his arrival so he was prepared to see him. “Hunter take a seat”
Hunter sits in front of the principal. And hands him the pink paper.
The principal frowns at him, “Acting out in class really?”
“You need a new history teacher. This one sucks” Hunter tells him.
“Hunter, that is not what this is about.” Principal bump starts, “you can not just say whatever you want. I will have to inform your f- Darius about this.”
Hunter nods ignoring how Bump almost referred to Darius as his dad. “Okay”
“And since I have gotten complaints about you from Mr Milner in the past you will be put into ISS for the rest of the day” principal bump states.
“Thats it?” Just ISS? How much was it going to take to be put into the detention track?
“Were you expecting more?”
“No sir”
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“So I got a call from the school today,” Darius says when Hunter arrives at the check point.
“Yes you did,” Hunter confirms.
“Hunter really? Bringing up someone's divorce that's low” Darius says as if he was any better.
“He said they should have put me down! Like I was some rabid animal” Hunter tells him. Why does it matter what he said and not what the other person said? Why was it always his fault?
Darius just sighed, the walk to the castle was silent.
Hunter keeps getting in trouble. He even gets in a few fights leading to more ISS and even OSS. And he was actually able to fight back when someone tried to beat him up. Of course he was the only one who got in trouble for it. Eventually after weeks of this charade people lay off of him from the bullying. It still happened especially by upper classmen but it mainly stopped in his grade. As if people were scared of him. He did win every fight he was in. So maybe it was fear.
After his 5th fight it happened.
“Hunter it pains me to do this” Principal bump started.
Hunter winced at that. He’s heard that phrase over a hundred times when uncle punished him. He knew the bump was not going to hit him. He tensed up anyway.
“But after so many infractions and calls from parents I'm going to have to take you away from the potions track. And instead transfer you into the detention track. You will still have to go to your core classes, except history Mr Milner suggested you take his class elsewhere. So you will be sent to a different teacher. However instead of going to your electives or any coven track class you will go to the detention room. Understand?”
Hunter nods, he was glad he didn't have to see Mr Milner anymore. He almost fought him many times. “Yes sir”
Hunter was given his new uniform with brown sleeves. He put it on in front of his mirror. It looked fine on him. Same as the other one did. He wondered what people would think of him with this uniform. What Cedric would think. He also thought about the other students in the track. Would they make fun of him also? He didn't make the best first impression. It's fine. He is just there to observe them. Not make friends.