Reprogrammed (Hunter Angst)

The Ghosts of My Actions (Consequences)

The idea of going to school was both thrilling and nerve wracking. In the days leading up to Hunter's first day, he spent much of the time organizing, preparing, practicing what he would say to introduce himself.

In the night, his mind plagued him with visions of Belos, the graveyard, and flashbacks from his time in the Emperor's Coven. He slept when he was able to, which was not often. To keep himself occupied, and to pass the time during the night, the teenager opted to sew, and decorate his school supplies. Darius had been kind enough to scrounge up a few notebooks, writing utensils, and a folder. Hunter sewed himself a shoulder bag during a particularly restless night.

Hunter's mental state continued to slowly wane, worsening with his lack of proper rest. While the boy himself was aware of this, he was desperately trying to ignore it. I just want to be a normal teenager. I want to go to school, play sports with my friends, sew cool wolf shirts for myself, and move beyond my past. Hunter would repeat to himself like a kind of mantra.

Darius watched the kid run himself down. The adult could tell when Hunter stayed up late hours, could see when he was struggling and trying to hide it. Unfortunately, he just didn't know what to do about any of it.

Camila's letter offered solutions, but Darius wasn't sure if either he or Hunter were ready to delve into this mess. Together, alongside the rest of the Boiling Isles, they were both still reeling from everything that had gone down with Belos, the Titan, and The Collector.

The night before Hunter's first day of school, Darius watched as Hunter paced, and paced, and paced. He talked about anything that came to mind, asked a million questions about what school was like, and then paced around some more.

Long after Darius had bade Hunter goodnight, he could hear the younger bumbling around across the hallway. First day jitters were tough, but this seemed extreme. Darius supposed that it made sense, given that a lifetime lacking normality would lead to a situation like Hunter's.

When the morning finally came, Hunter had only managed to sleep for a few meager hours. He had dressed himself, packed his lunch, re-organized his school bag yet again , and even put his shoes on long before the sun came up. When Darius managed to scrape himself out of bed at the sound of his alarm, he looked out his bedroom window to find Hunter jogging circles around the house.

Titan.

They walked to school, reviewed Hunter's class schedule (despite the fact that Hunter had memorized every detail three days prior), and when the two finally arrived at the edge of the school's grounds, Darius bade Hunter goodbye.

"Feels weird, sending my kid off for his first day of school when he's the ripe age of 16. I felt like a Dad dropping his child off for preschool, except the air was filled with grungy teenage hormones rather than childhood wonder" Darius joked, sharing breakfast with Eda. He'd invited her over to distract himself from his own anxieties about Hunter's first day.

"I probably shoulda walked Luz to her first day of school, but I was honestly kinda mad that she was gonna try to sneak into Hexside. You know me and my history with that place." Eda responded with a soft smile. Darius hummed in acknowledgement as he watched the gray haired woman chuck a slice of fruit in her mouth.