Power is back
Aug. 25th, 2023 09:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cornerofmadnessI don't know how long it was out but five hours worth that I was aware of. I returned to have it still out but luckily it did come back. It forced me to eat Subways for dinner (not a lot around the university) and it was so pathetic I had to go back to taco bell for a bean burrito (should have just gotten two of those) but the cinnamon twists smelled like paint and tasted like chemical so I tossed those. really?
Oddly enough I don't see a lot of damage here but something took out the power. My parents apparently had a minor twister. Sadly the neighbor's 80 foot maple was sucked straight out of the ground like I mentioned. Dad's brother lives on that side of the street and lost trees too.
Also in that conversation with the parents Mom informed me she finally looked at my top 6 potential TV stands and asked me 'are you high?' Thanks mom
And another swing and a miss. The bunny slippers are too short. They don't have the bigger pair in my size unless I don't get them in the yellow I need. WAHHH. Damn You Cosplay.
I took the opportunity in the 2 hours I was home hoping for power to write (over 2K) and finished the second chapter in a story I have no idea what I'm doing but I keep usingspikesgirl58's 6 word prompts to finish chapters.
Title: Making Things Right
Summary: Hunter, Steven and Katya are on a rebuilding the Isles mission to the Knee. It should be routine, trying to root out Terra Snapdragon’s minions but things go sideways.
Notes: Written for spikesgirl58’s 6 word challenge. The six words are Shivering, Mute, Moldy, Bizarre, Ponder & Creepy
here on AO3
Chapter Two
Consciousness filtered slowly back to Hunter. The first thing he was able to focus on was the pain in his gut, a vague throb. Didn’t Steve heal me? Am I unhealable? Does it still hurt a little after normally? Hunter had no idea. He pondered the implications briefly, in a fragmented way, unable to make sense of it. He barely remembered what had happened.
The next thing that penetrated his scattered mind was he wasn’t in a moldy cave. After the vines had torn into his gut, Hunter expected Steve would take him into one of the caves in the Knee just to keep him out of the elements until he was strong enough move. Where am I? His vision swam and nothing made sense.
Wherever he was, he was shivering hard. How much blood did I lose? No, wait, it’s freezing in the Knee? Why am I swaying when I’m flat on my back? Hunter tried to warm up but whatever covered him was squishy and…purple? He groaned loudly. He was on an airship, probably Darius’s if he was under a thick blanket of abomination goo. He didn’t have the heart to tell Darius – not to mention Amity and Alador – he found the goo creepy. It was a new fear and it was most pronounced with Darius who could shift his form with it.
Ever since Belos had hijacked Hunter’s body – since the memory of his arms stretching like a monster’s to hurt his friends, since horns forced themselves out of his skull – he had become uncomfortable with the things the Abomination coven could do with their goo and their bodies. Body horror for the win as Luz would say. Ugh, better not tell Willow’s dads either. I think one of them is in the Abomination coven.
Hunter tried to sit up and more pain tugged at him. A hand gently pushed him back.
Steve leaned into view. “Take it easy, Hunter.”
He pressed a hand to his gut. “It still hurts some.”
“I’m not surprised. It was a significant wound and, while I’m pretty good at healing, it would be….” Steve paused and made a face. “I was going to say have Coven Head Cutburn take a look. Wonder how long it’s going to take before I don’t fall into old habits.”
“It’ll be fine,” Katya jumped in, resting against his shoulder.
Gratitude filled Hunter for her interruption. He knew where this conversation was going and he didn’t know how to stop it or what to say. “I’ll be okay. I’ve had bad wounds before.”
Steve’s pinched expression worsened. “I shouldn’t be hearing those words out of a kid. You’re barely older than my kid brother.”
Katya laced her fingers with his and gave his hand a squeeze.
“Didn’t know you had one,” Hunter managed to say. His tongue was thick, like bee-stung flesh. His head began to throb.
“Half-brother really. I barely know him, certainly not as well as a I should,” Steve replied, his voice thick with regret. “Mostly through Pentsagram and crow phones and the occasional letter. His writing is atrocious. You know how little time off Scouts had and one day a year is nothing, certainly not enough time to have a relationship with anyone.”
“I can’t believe it was that bad with the guards. How did anyone ever accept that?” Katya made a derisive noise.
“Ego,” Steve said grimly. “Part of it was truly wanting to help people, which is what we all thought we were doing but a lot of it was pure ego, belonging to the best of the best.” He rolled his eyes. “Anyhow, you wouldn’t know him, Hunter, since you didn’t go to Hexside or Glandus but Matt seems to have made a friend in common with you. He’s always talking about Augustus.”
“Matt?” Hunter tried sitting up again. This time Steve didn’t have to push him back. His watery vision and swimming head said what, by the Titan, are you doing? Lie down! “Little dude, construction magic, thinks he can take me in a fight.”
Steve snorted. “Sounds like him. He always did think he is a wee bit better at things than he is. He could be as good as he pretends if he’d put in the work. He’s not a bad kid.”
“You’re right, I don’t know him but I’ve met him a few times.” Hunter shivered hard. “Steve, thank you, for healing me. I should have said that straight off.”
“You’d have done the same for me if you could.”
Hunter made an unhappy sound. “I wish I were more than half a witch.”
“Don’t say that. It’s an ugly term,” Katya scolded gently. She patted his hand then frowned. “You’re freezing.”
“A little bit,” he admitted. “How did I even get here? I’m assuming it’s Darius’s airship or Alador’s. My vision is a little wonky still.”
“You seriously did lose a lot of blood.” Steve frowned.
“I rode back to the nearest town, called for reinforcements. The witches we caught are down below in storage. Darius came immediately,” Kayta replied. “You were unconscious the whole time according to Steve.”
“Thanks for helping me, Katya.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Only…how do I say this?” Steve furrowed his brow. “Hunter, when I healed you I felt something…bizarre. You’re different.”
Hunter tried to open his mouth to let it all come spilling out. Fear left him mute. Instead, he fell back into old, bad practices, glaring viciously at Steve who let the heat of it roll right off him. Hunter shook his head as fear morphed from anger to burgeoning tears. I am not bawling like a baby in front of Steve. Bad enough I did it in front of Luz and Willow already!
Raised voices broke him out of the downward spiral. Hunter turned his head to the bow of the ship where Darius and Alador were arguing. Did those two ever do anything but? Hunter wasn’t sure if they were going to kill each other or end up kissing like in all those rom-coms Vee had inflicted on them at Camila’s. Regardless, he was grateful for the distraction.
“I…please, Steve, don’t say anything to anyone. I’ll tell you but… no yet. My head isn’t clear and I’m starting to shake so hard my teeth are going to chatter.”
“Did he say he was cold?” Darius walked closer. Now Hunter could see him more clearly.
“He’s like ice,” Katya confirmed.
Alador drew a circle and abomination mittens glommed onto Hunter’s hands.
“I’m not your daughter!” Hunter huffed.
“Hush. You’ll be warmer that way.” Alador waved him off.
If only I didn’t think the goo smells funny. Funny or not, he had good associations with the smell. It reminded him of Darius who - if he hadn’t exactly been kind all along – had taken care of him in these last months. It reminded him of Amity, too. How had they become friends after he’d threatened to kill Luz and her family and after she’d taken him prisoner?
“And that’s fine, Hunter, but we need to talk when you’re ready,” Steve said.
Hunter thought maybe he assured Steve they would but he couldn’t say for sure because the next thing he knew he was being carried inside by one of Alador’s gross abominations. He must have blacked out for a good while. He squirmed as the thing carried him over the threshold to Alador’s mansion.
“I can walk!” he protested.
“You’ve been unconscious for more than an hour,” Darius shot back. “You get carried.”
“Ugh.” Hunter squirmed harder but the dumb abomination merely tightened his grip. Worse, Amity, Willow, Gus and the twins were waiting just inside the door. Amity had to have been in earshot of Alador and Darius being alerted. Eberwolf sat on the stairs watching intently.
“Oh, Hunter!” Willow raced to the abomination, pulling up sharply. “You’re covered in blood.”
He picked at his shirt through his mittened hands. It had gone stiff with dried gore and cold. “I need a shower.”
“Later,” Darius said.
“No, now. Willow’s right, I’m gross. Also, I’m fine. You don’t have to worry, any of you,” he assured them.
“You don’t know that. Katya said it was bad,” Amity replied. “Em’s still learning healing but-”
“No need!” Hunter cut her off more sharply than he intended to. “Steve healed me but like he said, I lost a lot of blood. Might not want to see plant magic for a little while, sorr,y Willow.”
She shot him a puzzled looked.
“Got impaled by vines,” he said and her eyes shot open wide. “And seriously, can this dumb thing let me down?”
“It’s not dumb and no, it can’t. Not until I tell it to,” Alador said. “Carry him upstairs.”
Hunter heaved a melodramatic sigh. Willow cupped his cheek, which felt a little like it might have dried flaking blood on it now that his attention had been drawn to it. “Can it carry me to the shower, at least?”
“When we get you upstairs, we’ll have it shower you,” Darius replied.
“Titan no! Don’t be weird. I can walk into the shower without help.”
Darius harrumphed at him. Gus darted up the steps before Hunter and his purple nursemaid. He held out a pair of pajama bottoms Hunter had stowed in his temporary room. He didn’t know how long he, Darius, and Eber would be living at Blight manor but it had been months already.
“You’ll want clean clothes. Those need to be…burned.” Gus made a face.
“Thanks.” Hunter reached for them and then pulled back. “Can we take the mittens off me now? You didn’t hide this goo anywhere else to keep me warm, did you?”
“No.” Alador withdrew the goo back into the pack of it he wore. “Set him down,” he added to his creation.
It set Hunter on his feet. He wobbled and pain shot up his gut but he fought it back. He held out his hand to Gus who gave him the clean bottoms. With as much dignity he could muster, Hunter strolled into the bathroom and shut the door. Could he hide here and not face telling Steve about the bizarreness of being a Grimwalker? Do I even owe him an explanation?
Hunter couldn’t escape feeling like he did. He stripped off his blood-crusted clothes and threw them on the floor in the corner. He could barely stagger into the shower but he’d rather be hung on a hook in his tender parts than admit he needed help getting clean. He sure didn’t want help from anyone other than Willow and the idea of showering with Willow only led to trouble he was not ready for.
Compromising, he sat on the tiled tub and let the water rain down over him, sluicing pink down the drain. Hunter examined the painful area of his gut. Other than a fine pink line, there was no signs of his catastrophic injury. Steve had done a good job. As the water started to run cold, he crawled out onto the rug and toweled off. He stayed on the ground, worming into his pants. He’d have to pull himself up on the toilet first if he planned to walk out of here but he’d do it, damn it. No one was coming to carry him out.
# # #
Darius wished everyone would leave the room but there was no hope of that. Steve and Katya weren’t ready to go until they were sure Hunter was – in fact – fine. The criminals in his airship would have to wait until then. The kids would probably pile into the bed and sleep next to Hunter if need be and he could hardly order Alador out of a room in his own house. All he wanted was to be sure Hunter was okay and the longer he took in the shower, the faster Darius paced the room. He ignored Eber’s hiss to slow him down.
“If he’s not out here in three minutes, we’re going in to pull him into bed and send for another healer.”
At that, the kids looked panicked. Darius knew why. Alador wouldn’t. A strange expression crossed Steve’s face. Did he know something?
Before anyone could react, the door opened. Heat and Hunter entered the bedroom. Leave it to Odalia’s excesses that most of the rooms had their own private baths. Darius couldn’t fault her there. Hunter hadn’t put on a shirt because the Porter kid hadn’t given him one. All of the kids froze for a second, a collective gasp going up. Hunter turned pinkish, not his usual bright blush. Even Darius didn’t know what to say. Likely none of them had seen Hunter shirtless before.
Darius ground his teeth, seeing the scars. The large one from arm to arm and over his neck and chest was horrible to see but somehow less infuriating than the small ones, casual blows struck by Belos and left as a reminder of what it meant to fail him. He wished he’d been there with Raine and Eda to stomp that bastard to death. Willow whipped around and pulled out a shirt from the dresser drawer while Steve and Gus helped him to the bed.
Hunter sat on the edge and pulled on the shirt. In spite of the heat billowing out of the bath, he shivered. His skin was pallid. “Thanks. I’m fine. You know that, right?”
“Of course.” Gus smirked. “You have to be.”
“And I owe some explanations. I guess now is-”
Hunter didn’t finish his thought. His eyes rolled up and he went out like a light. Steve put a hand on his shoulder as the kids questioned if Hunter was okay. Darius couldn’t even form the words to ask.
“He’s fine. His heart is strong,” Steve said. “But as I kept reminding him, he’s lost a lot of blood. He should probably rest as much as he can. If he’s not better in the morning, then we can think about getting in someone from the healing coven.”
“We should take turns keeping an eye on him all night,” Willow said. “Just in case.”
“I’m not saying no to that.” Darius brushed Steve to the side, worrying what a healer might find. Hunter trembled hard despite being out. “Do you have any more blankets, Alador?”
“I’ll go get some,” he replied.
Darius pulled a robe out of the dresser and Steve helped him put it on Hunter. Willow and Amity got the bedding down and helped Darius tuck Hunter away. The boy snored softly and instinctively burrowed into the sheets. Alador returned and heaped him with blankets.
“He’ll be okay,” Alador put a hand on Darius’s shoulder.
He hoped Alador knew what he was talking about but he was the one with experience with kids, not Darius.
“I know. He’s strong. But I like the idea of us keeping watching.”
“No,” Hunter mumbled, drawing attention to him. He didn’t seem awake. “No more Azura movies, Luz.”
“I’m with you buddy.” Gus patted Hunter’s arm. “He talks in his sleep a lot. I got used to it. Want me to take a later shift?”
“Yes, I want to go first.” Willow plopped down next to Hunter on the bed.
“I’ll let you kids figure out the schedule. Alador, Steve, Katya, we have prisoners to deal with. We’d better get them to the jail,” Darius said when what he wanted to say was ‘keep me from them because I’m going to destroy them for hurting my boy.’
Darius reluctantly left the room with the rest of the adults. He’d take a shift later. For now, he had other pressing concerns. Someone was going to pay for this.
Guess you can have the fandom recs now after all
Birthday Presents Harry Potter
Resorting To Friendship The Owl House WIP
How Very Far Apart We Are The Owl House WIP
Parent Teacher Conference 9-1-1
Healing Harry Potter
9 Crimes Batman/Prodigal Son
No Dress CodeTorchwood
Shopping Spree – Follows ‘Dragon’s Treasure’ Torchwood
Art: Surprise Encounter 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | The Grave Robbers' Chronicles - Xu Lei
the family you choose teen wolf
the world has taken too much from you (for you to still be considered a child) Outer Banks
Private Performance Stargate Atlantis
Sweat, Tears, the Sea Percy Jackson
Days of Future Past Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Burning Again The Owl House
Author, Author 9-1-1
Me and My Friend The Addams Family
Flames in New Bonesborough The Owl House (dark AU)
Got You Under My Skin. The Owl House
Critique 9-1-1
Fallen Hero FAKE
The Bite Me Affair The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Ill Met Teen Wolf
Oddly enough I don't see a lot of damage here but something took out the power. My parents apparently had a minor twister. Sadly the neighbor's 80 foot maple was sucked straight out of the ground like I mentioned. Dad's brother lives on that side of the street and lost trees too.
Also in that conversation with the parents Mom informed me she finally looked at my top 6 potential TV stands and asked me 'are you high?' Thanks mom
And another swing and a miss. The bunny slippers are too short. They don't have the bigger pair in my size unless I don't get them in the yellow I need. WAHHH. Damn You Cosplay.
I took the opportunity in the 2 hours I was home hoping for power to write (over 2K) and finished the second chapter in a story I have no idea what I'm doing but I keep using
spikesgirl58's 6 word prompts to finish chapters.Title: Making Things Right
Summary: Hunter, Steven and Katya are on a rebuilding the Isles mission to the Knee. It should be routine, trying to root out Terra Snapdragon’s minions but things go sideways.
Notes: Written for spikesgirl58’s 6 word challenge. The six words are Shivering, Mute, Moldy, Bizarre, Ponder & Creepy
here on AO3
Chapter Two
Consciousness filtered slowly back to Hunter. The first thing he was able to focus on was the pain in his gut, a vague throb. Didn’t Steve heal me? Am I unhealable? Does it still hurt a little after normally? Hunter had no idea. He pondered the implications briefly, in a fragmented way, unable to make sense of it. He barely remembered what had happened.
The next thing that penetrated his scattered mind was he wasn’t in a moldy cave. After the vines had torn into his gut, Hunter expected Steve would take him into one of the caves in the Knee just to keep him out of the elements until he was strong enough move. Where am I? His vision swam and nothing made sense.
Wherever he was, he was shivering hard. How much blood did I lose? No, wait, it’s freezing in the Knee? Why am I swaying when I’m flat on my back? Hunter tried to warm up but whatever covered him was squishy and…purple? He groaned loudly. He was on an airship, probably Darius’s if he was under a thick blanket of abomination goo. He didn’t have the heart to tell Darius – not to mention Amity and Alador – he found the goo creepy. It was a new fear and it was most pronounced with Darius who could shift his form with it.
Ever since Belos had hijacked Hunter’s body – since the memory of his arms stretching like a monster’s to hurt his friends, since horns forced themselves out of his skull – he had become uncomfortable with the things the Abomination coven could do with their goo and their bodies. Body horror for the win as Luz would say. Ugh, better not tell Willow’s dads either. I think one of them is in the Abomination coven.
Hunter tried to sit up and more pain tugged at him. A hand gently pushed him back.
Steve leaned into view. “Take it easy, Hunter.”
He pressed a hand to his gut. “It still hurts some.”
“I’m not surprised. It was a significant wound and, while I’m pretty good at healing, it would be….” Steve paused and made a face. “I was going to say have Coven Head Cutburn take a look. Wonder how long it’s going to take before I don’t fall into old habits.”
“It’ll be fine,” Katya jumped in, resting against his shoulder.
Gratitude filled Hunter for her interruption. He knew where this conversation was going and he didn’t know how to stop it or what to say. “I’ll be okay. I’ve had bad wounds before.”
Steve’s pinched expression worsened. “I shouldn’t be hearing those words out of a kid. You’re barely older than my kid brother.”
Katya laced her fingers with his and gave his hand a squeeze.
“Didn’t know you had one,” Hunter managed to say. His tongue was thick, like bee-stung flesh. His head began to throb.
“Half-brother really. I barely know him, certainly not as well as a I should,” Steve replied, his voice thick with regret. “Mostly through Pentsagram and crow phones and the occasional letter. His writing is atrocious. You know how little time off Scouts had and one day a year is nothing, certainly not enough time to have a relationship with anyone.”
“I can’t believe it was that bad with the guards. How did anyone ever accept that?” Katya made a derisive noise.
“Ego,” Steve said grimly. “Part of it was truly wanting to help people, which is what we all thought we were doing but a lot of it was pure ego, belonging to the best of the best.” He rolled his eyes. “Anyhow, you wouldn’t know him, Hunter, since you didn’t go to Hexside or Glandus but Matt seems to have made a friend in common with you. He’s always talking about Augustus.”
“Matt?” Hunter tried sitting up again. This time Steve didn’t have to push him back. His watery vision and swimming head said what, by the Titan, are you doing? Lie down! “Little dude, construction magic, thinks he can take me in a fight.”
Steve snorted. “Sounds like him. He always did think he is a wee bit better at things than he is. He could be as good as he pretends if he’d put in the work. He’s not a bad kid.”
“You’re right, I don’t know him but I’ve met him a few times.” Hunter shivered hard. “Steve, thank you, for healing me. I should have said that straight off.”
“You’d have done the same for me if you could.”
Hunter made an unhappy sound. “I wish I were more than half a witch.”
“Don’t say that. It’s an ugly term,” Katya scolded gently. She patted his hand then frowned. “You’re freezing.”
“A little bit,” he admitted. “How did I even get here? I’m assuming it’s Darius’s airship or Alador’s. My vision is a little wonky still.”
“You seriously did lose a lot of blood.” Steve frowned.
“I rode back to the nearest town, called for reinforcements. The witches we caught are down below in storage. Darius came immediately,” Kayta replied. “You were unconscious the whole time according to Steve.”
“Thanks for helping me, Katya.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Only…how do I say this?” Steve furrowed his brow. “Hunter, when I healed you I felt something…bizarre. You’re different.”
Hunter tried to open his mouth to let it all come spilling out. Fear left him mute. Instead, he fell back into old, bad practices, glaring viciously at Steve who let the heat of it roll right off him. Hunter shook his head as fear morphed from anger to burgeoning tears. I am not bawling like a baby in front of Steve. Bad enough I did it in front of Luz and Willow already!
Raised voices broke him out of the downward spiral. Hunter turned his head to the bow of the ship where Darius and Alador were arguing. Did those two ever do anything but? Hunter wasn’t sure if they were going to kill each other or end up kissing like in all those rom-coms Vee had inflicted on them at Camila’s. Regardless, he was grateful for the distraction.
“I…please, Steve, don’t say anything to anyone. I’ll tell you but… no yet. My head isn’t clear and I’m starting to shake so hard my teeth are going to chatter.”
“Did he say he was cold?” Darius walked closer. Now Hunter could see him more clearly.
“He’s like ice,” Katya confirmed.
Alador drew a circle and abomination mittens glommed onto Hunter’s hands.
“I’m not your daughter!” Hunter huffed.
“Hush. You’ll be warmer that way.” Alador waved him off.
If only I didn’t think the goo smells funny. Funny or not, he had good associations with the smell. It reminded him of Darius who - if he hadn’t exactly been kind all along – had taken care of him in these last months. It reminded him of Amity, too. How had they become friends after he’d threatened to kill Luz and her family and after she’d taken him prisoner?
“And that’s fine, Hunter, but we need to talk when you’re ready,” Steve said.
Hunter thought maybe he assured Steve they would but he couldn’t say for sure because the next thing he knew he was being carried inside by one of Alador’s gross abominations. He must have blacked out for a good while. He squirmed as the thing carried him over the threshold to Alador’s mansion.
“I can walk!” he protested.
“You’ve been unconscious for more than an hour,” Darius shot back. “You get carried.”
“Ugh.” Hunter squirmed harder but the dumb abomination merely tightened his grip. Worse, Amity, Willow, Gus and the twins were waiting just inside the door. Amity had to have been in earshot of Alador and Darius being alerted. Eberwolf sat on the stairs watching intently.
“Oh, Hunter!” Willow raced to the abomination, pulling up sharply. “You’re covered in blood.”
He picked at his shirt through his mittened hands. It had gone stiff with dried gore and cold. “I need a shower.”
“Later,” Darius said.
“No, now. Willow’s right, I’m gross. Also, I’m fine. You don’t have to worry, any of you,” he assured them.
“You don’t know that. Katya said it was bad,” Amity replied. “Em’s still learning healing but-”
“No need!” Hunter cut her off more sharply than he intended to. “Steve healed me but like he said, I lost a lot of blood. Might not want to see plant magic for a little while, sorr,y Willow.”
She shot him a puzzled looked.
“Got impaled by vines,” he said and her eyes shot open wide. “And seriously, can this dumb thing let me down?”
“It’s not dumb and no, it can’t. Not until I tell it to,” Alador said. “Carry him upstairs.”
Hunter heaved a melodramatic sigh. Willow cupped his cheek, which felt a little like it might have dried flaking blood on it now that his attention had been drawn to it. “Can it carry me to the shower, at least?”
“When we get you upstairs, we’ll have it shower you,” Darius replied.
“Titan no! Don’t be weird. I can walk into the shower without help.”
Darius harrumphed at him. Gus darted up the steps before Hunter and his purple nursemaid. He held out a pair of pajama bottoms Hunter had stowed in his temporary room. He didn’t know how long he, Darius, and Eber would be living at Blight manor but it had been months already.
“You’ll want clean clothes. Those need to be…burned.” Gus made a face.
“Thanks.” Hunter reached for them and then pulled back. “Can we take the mittens off me now? You didn’t hide this goo anywhere else to keep me warm, did you?”
“No.” Alador withdrew the goo back into the pack of it he wore. “Set him down,” he added to his creation.
It set Hunter on his feet. He wobbled and pain shot up his gut but he fought it back. He held out his hand to Gus who gave him the clean bottoms. With as much dignity he could muster, Hunter strolled into the bathroom and shut the door. Could he hide here and not face telling Steve about the bizarreness of being a Grimwalker? Do I even owe him an explanation?
Hunter couldn’t escape feeling like he did. He stripped off his blood-crusted clothes and threw them on the floor in the corner. He could barely stagger into the shower but he’d rather be hung on a hook in his tender parts than admit he needed help getting clean. He sure didn’t want help from anyone other than Willow and the idea of showering with Willow only led to trouble he was not ready for.
Compromising, he sat on the tiled tub and let the water rain down over him, sluicing pink down the drain. Hunter examined the painful area of his gut. Other than a fine pink line, there was no signs of his catastrophic injury. Steve had done a good job. As the water started to run cold, he crawled out onto the rug and toweled off. He stayed on the ground, worming into his pants. He’d have to pull himself up on the toilet first if he planned to walk out of here but he’d do it, damn it. No one was coming to carry him out.
# # #
Darius wished everyone would leave the room but there was no hope of that. Steve and Katya weren’t ready to go until they were sure Hunter was – in fact – fine. The criminals in his airship would have to wait until then. The kids would probably pile into the bed and sleep next to Hunter if need be and he could hardly order Alador out of a room in his own house. All he wanted was to be sure Hunter was okay and the longer he took in the shower, the faster Darius paced the room. He ignored Eber’s hiss to slow him down.
“If he’s not out here in three minutes, we’re going in to pull him into bed and send for another healer.”
At that, the kids looked panicked. Darius knew why. Alador wouldn’t. A strange expression crossed Steve’s face. Did he know something?
Before anyone could react, the door opened. Heat and Hunter entered the bedroom. Leave it to Odalia’s excesses that most of the rooms had their own private baths. Darius couldn’t fault her there. Hunter hadn’t put on a shirt because the Porter kid hadn’t given him one. All of the kids froze for a second, a collective gasp going up. Hunter turned pinkish, not his usual bright blush. Even Darius didn’t know what to say. Likely none of them had seen Hunter shirtless before.
Darius ground his teeth, seeing the scars. The large one from arm to arm and over his neck and chest was horrible to see but somehow less infuriating than the small ones, casual blows struck by Belos and left as a reminder of what it meant to fail him. He wished he’d been there with Raine and Eda to stomp that bastard to death. Willow whipped around and pulled out a shirt from the dresser drawer while Steve and Gus helped him to the bed.
Hunter sat on the edge and pulled on the shirt. In spite of the heat billowing out of the bath, he shivered. His skin was pallid. “Thanks. I’m fine. You know that, right?”
“Of course.” Gus smirked. “You have to be.”
“And I owe some explanations. I guess now is-”
Hunter didn’t finish his thought. His eyes rolled up and he went out like a light. Steve put a hand on his shoulder as the kids questioned if Hunter was okay. Darius couldn’t even form the words to ask.
“He’s fine. His heart is strong,” Steve said. “But as I kept reminding him, he’s lost a lot of blood. He should probably rest as much as he can. If he’s not better in the morning, then we can think about getting in someone from the healing coven.”
“We should take turns keeping an eye on him all night,” Willow said. “Just in case.”
“I’m not saying no to that.” Darius brushed Steve to the side, worrying what a healer might find. Hunter trembled hard despite being out. “Do you have any more blankets, Alador?”
“I’ll go get some,” he replied.
Darius pulled a robe out of the dresser and Steve helped him put it on Hunter. Willow and Amity got the bedding down and helped Darius tuck Hunter away. The boy snored softly and instinctively burrowed into the sheets. Alador returned and heaped him with blankets.
“He’ll be okay,” Alador put a hand on Darius’s shoulder.
He hoped Alador knew what he was talking about but he was the one with experience with kids, not Darius.
“I know. He’s strong. But I like the idea of us keeping watching.”
“No,” Hunter mumbled, drawing attention to him. He didn’t seem awake. “No more Azura movies, Luz.”
“I’m with you buddy.” Gus patted Hunter’s arm. “He talks in his sleep a lot. I got used to it. Want me to take a later shift?”
“Yes, I want to go first.” Willow plopped down next to Hunter on the bed.
“I’ll let you kids figure out the schedule. Alador, Steve, Katya, we have prisoners to deal with. We’d better get them to the jail,” Darius said when what he wanted to say was ‘keep me from them because I’m going to destroy them for hurting my boy.’
Darius reluctantly left the room with the rest of the adults. He’d take a shift later. For now, he had other pressing concerns. Someone was going to pay for this.
Guess you can have the fandom recs now after all
Birthday Presents Harry Potter
Resorting To Friendship The Owl House WIP
How Very Far Apart We Are The Owl House WIP
Parent Teacher Conference 9-1-1
Healing Harry Potter
9 Crimes Batman/Prodigal Son
No Dress CodeTorchwood
Shopping Spree – Follows ‘Dragon’s Treasure’ Torchwood
Art: Surprise Encounter 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | The Grave Robbers' Chronicles - Xu Lei
the family you choose teen wolf
the world has taken too much from you (for you to still be considered a child) Outer Banks
Private Performance Stargate Atlantis
Sweat, Tears, the Sea Percy Jackson
Days of Future Past Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Burning Again The Owl House
Author, Author 9-1-1
Me and My Friend The Addams Family
Flames in New Bonesborough The Owl House (dark AU)
Got You Under My Skin. The Owl House
Critique 9-1-1
Fallen Hero FAKE
The Bite Me Affair The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Ill Met Teen Wolf
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Date: 2023-08-26 11:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-08-26 07:29 pm (UTC)