Changeling Witch

(S2) Guard Unmasked

Hunter pulled his cloak around him as he walked up to the nest, carefully opening the little door. The blue jay instantly fluttered in, and all of the Palismen perked up when they saw her and Hunter.

"It's pretty cozy in here." He climbed into the nest, giving them a smile. "Mind if I join you?"

None of them seemed to object.

"Okay." Hunter exhaled, clasping his hands. "I'm not leaving here until I figure out what my future is, and one of you becomes my Palisman. No pressure on any of you, though."

As the night went on, he started to spitball a bunch of theories about what he could do in the future, none of them being very likely. After a while, though, he was starting to have actual fun with it.

"What if..." He yawned. "I open a magic pet shop... but it's password-protected." He poked the blue jay on the beak. "The password is 'you're the cutest thing ever.'"

Right at that moment, the nest lurched.

Hunter groaned and threw the door open. "Hey, asshole, we're a little busy in ARGH!"

The ground was already far below him, and it was receding fast. He looked up and spotted an airship attached to the top of the nest.

"I think we're being kidnapped," he said, ducking his head back inside.

All of the Palismen let out little squeaks of terror.

"Don't worry, guys, I'll figure this out." Hunter drew a plant glyph in the dirt and activated it, giving him a series of vines to use as climbing ropes. As an afterthought, he plucked a leaf from one of the vines, just in case he needed some more glyph power.

He poked his head over the edge of the airship and spotted the pilot—the Golden Guard in all her irritating glory, happily whistling as she steered the ship onwards.

Ugh, her again. Hunter sketched out a fire glyph onto the leaf and gave her a mischievous grin.

He leaped onto the ship and slammed the glyph onto the back of her cloak. "Hiiiiii-YAH!"

She turned around. "Huh?"

The glyph activated, sending her rocketing around and then off the ship as she let out a high-pitched scream.

"Eh, she'll be fine." Hunter examined the controls. "Okay, now how do I land this thing?"

"Oh, you just pull that cord above your head."

Hunter started to reach for it. "Thank y—HOLY SHIT!"

Somehow, instead of flying through the air, the Golden Guard was reclining on the edge of the ship. "Hiiiiiii," she said, wiggling her fingers before sending him sprawling back with a wave of her staff. A series of ropes appeared around Hunter, effectively trapping him.

"Not cool!" Hunter shouted.

"Yeah, yeah, good to see you, too, human," the Golden Guard said, dusting off her cloak. "Oh, wait. No, it's not."

"Why the fuck are you stealing Palismen?" he demanded.

"You know what—"

The Golden Guard teleported in front of him. "That is none of your business, and you should worry about yourself. For the crime of—of—" She started to sputter. "For the crime of rocketing me off of my own dang ship, you're gonna be sentenced to the dingiest cell in the Conformatorium for the rest of your sad little life!"

Hunter snorted. "Yeah, whatever. I already broke out of there, like, twice."

"Oh, then we'll just zap you to dust and throw your pathetic remains into the sea!" she said brightly. "That better?"