Changeling Witch

Fearless Champion

"'You're mostly human, you're fragile,'" Hunter mocked, swiping through the bushes with a stick. "Eda doesn't know me! I'm brave! I'm a fucking badass!"

As soon as he said this, he heard footsteps echoing through the woods... and they were coming towards him.

Okay, creepy woods, ominous footsteps---no problem, he thought, raising his stick. He carefully stepped towards the sound, then---

"HUNTER CHOP!"

He bashed the source on the head, sending them flying backward into a puddle of mud. Hunter quickly pulled out a light glyph, activated it, and regretted it.

"Oh my god, Edric, I'm so so so so sorry," he stammered, letting the light go and helping the green-haired boy up.

Edric sighed. "Just when I thought this day---"

As Hunter pulled him to his feet, Edric's face wound up inches from his.

"Couldn't get any worse," he finished, letting go of Hunter's hands and sitting down on a stump.

Hunter sat down next to him. "So, did you talk to Principal Bump?"

"Yep, and guess what? He said no!" Edric said in a sarcastic-cheery tone, waving his hands. "I'm Grom King unless I find a replacement, and who the hell would wanna switch with me? Nobody! Yippee!"

An idea glimmered in Hunter's mind. "I... I would."

Edric looked over at him. "What?"

"I would take your place. I've faced tons of scary monsters in the past."

He shook his head. "No, you don't have to---"

"Edric Blight, I will save you from your school-wide humiliation!" Hunter said dramatically, standing up. "I'll take your place, and face Grom as your fearless champion!"

A gigantic spider crawled onto his face. He let out a shriek and slammed his face into the mud, getting it off---and killing it, thankfully.

Hunter gave Edric a thumbs-up. "Yep! Fearless champion!"

.................

Back at the Owl House, Hunter started looking through an old chest of Eda's for outfit options. Surprisingly, she actually had quite a few, and a lot of them looked pretty promising. He even found one that looked kind of like Casey's.

As he debated between that and a vampire costume, his phone buzzed with more texts from his mom.

Mom: Mira! Visiting our favorite after-school snack spot!

Mom: (1) image

Mom: Miss you bebe! XO

Hunter swallowed back the surge of guilt that came when he saw the picture of her holding a gigantic sandwich. Once again, he couldn't send any words---just a smiley-face emoji.

"Hey, Hunter!" Hooty said, pressing his face into Hunter's cheek. "You have a guest!"

He pushed him away. "What did I say about personal space, Hooty?" He spotted the figure in the doorway and brightened. "Oh, hey! Edric!"

Edric picked the feathers out of his hair as he walked in. "Okay, usually I'd appreciate the annoying qualities of others, but I swear to Titan, I'm gonna wring that bird tube's neck if it ever talks to me again."

"Yeah, that's Hooty for ya." Hunter picked up his options. "So, which one should I wear to Grom? This one says 'witch with a dark side,' but this one says 'vampire,' which kinda implies the dark side already, right?"