#gargoyle hunter

It was when Hunter had reached the age equivalent of a 14-year-old that he was officially introduced as a full member of the Emperor’s Coven.

Of course, he’d been undergoing training for several years at that point directly from both his father and Kikimora. During those years it hadn’t taken long to discover that Hunter was just as bad as his father was when it came to using magic… namely he was oddly terrible at it, even by gargoyle standards. It had been almost physically painful watching the boy try so hard to do any magic at all, only to fail time and time again. This was an observation Belos had even voiced out loud on several occasions.

Words that had cut deep into his son’s heart, even if that had not been his intention.

He had never hidden his disappointment at his son’s lack of abilities, even though this disappointment was more directed towards Hunters bad luck in being his biological son. As Belos himself was the source of the boys blood, and the problems he faced were due to this. Sadly this distinction was never actually made clear to Hunter.

Still, there came a point where it was so profoundly obvious that Hunter would never be able to learn ANY magic... a depressing development, yet it was one that Belos had grown to expect after watching his son struggle for so long. So the dark Emperor of the Boiling Isles pivoted to his backup plan and he crafted a specialized staff for Hunter, one that used the same artificial magic as his own. Once he was given this staff everything changed, and from that point on the boy excelled. Hunter learned quickly, his desire to prove himself to his father quickly becoming the driving force behind everything he accomplished, and once Belos was certain that he was ready, the boy joined the ranks of the Emperors Coven.

Hunters introduction to the Coven was… interesting. Considering that he had never truly interacted with anyone outside of Belos and Kikimora, he still did surprisingly well when it came to talking and working with the members of the Coven. That was not to say his people skills were actually good, no, but they were still considerably better than his fathers. Of course, that being said Belos never made any efforts at all to improve his people skills, whereas Hunter actually tried to get along with others.

Lilith however took a near instantaneous disliking to the young boy. No surprise there, given that she had boasted her status as the ‘only gargoyle’ who was skilled enough to be allowed to join the prestigious Emperors Coven. Lilith loved to use that analogy; she was proud of herself and the hard work she put in to reach her position. But that pride led to arrogance, and Hunters acceptance into the Coven at such an abnormally young age must have been a terrific blow to her oversized ego…

Truth be told, Belos never liked Lilith, although he could not deny she was nothing if not efficient in managing the affairs of his coven. This allowed Kikimora a little bit of a break from her usual micromanaging ways, even if only somewhat. But what had really cemented his disdain for the female gargoyle was when she had approached him and asked him to heal her cursed sister. That request had gotten his attention for obvious reasons, and he had none too gently inquired how her sister had been cursed to begin with. He hadn't accepted Lilith saying she didn’t know, as he could tell instantly that she was lying. Applying only the slightest bit of pressure made the woman relent and explain how she had initially laid the curse on her sister, betraying her own blood… although she had not intended for it to go quite the way it had. She had hastily started to explain away her reasons and how if Eda could ever be healed, she could become an invaluable addition to his Coven. Belos had never been more grateful for the mask hiding his face, because he doubted that he could have hidden the luck of total disgust he shot her at that moment.

It was from that moment on he loathed Lilith…

Still, she was useful to him… and his personal feelings on the subject aside, as long as he could make use of her he would. So the Emperor promised that if she could capture her sister and bring her before him, he would heal her curse and she would join his Coven. It was such a shame that liars couldn’t detect lies as easily as they could spin them, because Lilith was so elated at this promise she couldn’t tell that it was his turn to lie… and he felt no guilt in lying to her whatsoever. She had made her choices, so she could deal with the fallout later. It wasn’t his problem.

He needed Lilith on his side…

For now…

But far more importantly, he needed something that was in the Owl Lady’s possession…

It had been years since he had last heard the Titans voice, since he been given his marching orders… But after succeeding in bringing the Savage Ages to a screeching halt and forging order from the hellish chaos that had covered the land. It was on one dark night when he had been by himself in his workshop, that he had heard the great beings voice again. It was unmistakable as it spoke within his mind, its voice silencing his every thought as it gave him new orders. Explaining in vivid details for something which the Titan referred to as the Day of Unity. The plan was impressive, even incorporating his Coven system and the siphoning away of magic he’d developed when creating it… a side effect with a potent use. The Titan had even praised his ingenuity, sounding so very pleased with his work. But there had been something else… As the Titan spoke it was as though it had stirred something within Belos’s own dark heart. Whatever it was, it had whispered in perfect unison with the voice of the Titan… some part of him that seemed completely separate from the rest of his being.

Something that was filled with an old awful rage.

But returning to far more recent events... It should be noted that for the most part while Hunter interacted well enough with members of the Coven, there was one person in particular whom he got along with moreso than the others. Someone whom the boy had grown to call an actual friend, a Coven Scout by the name of Steve. Indeed, the very same scout who had created the map Belos had used all those years ago on Hunter’s eighth birthday.

Steve had always been one of the most upbeat and jovial members of the normally dignified and reserved group, as he frequently joked around and made his cohorts laugh. But when it came to Hunter, Steve had just sensed that the young gargoyle was in over his head. Being so young and already thrown into an elite Coven and burdened with all of the duties and responsibilities that came with it… not to mention the teenagers obvious subpar people skills… Steve had just wanted to help the kid get adjusted, but over time he and Hunter had become very good friends. Not to mention that he often coached the young gargoyle on how to better interact with people both within and outside of the Coven.

He’d even aided Hunter with pulling a few innocent pranks on Lilith…

Seeing the uptight Clawthorne lose her normally impeccable demeanor was amusing especially to Kikimora, and on a very rare occasion had even gotten a chuckle out of Belos himself. Overall, Steve was the friend that Hunter needed… and getting out and actually talking to others had helped the boy grow and mature as a person. Becoming adept at finishing any tasks he was given and eventually even gaining the respect of the other more senior Coven members. Yet in spite of the teenagers personal growth, there was still no denying that Hunter’s upbringing had been deeply sheltered especially to things related to the outside world… Which had led to the current situation which had come to pass in just this last week.

Frequently when Steve was working with Hunter or just chatting with him during a break, he’d tell the young gargoyle about how he loved the outdoors and relayed tales about his past excursions into the forests and mountains on the innumerable trips he had taken over the years. Not to mention all of the various activities he had planned for his latest trip, one that he would be taking in the coming days. Hunter had been entranced by Steve’s stories, commenting how he had never actually done anything like that before and how it sounded like so much fun. True to his good nature, Steve had promptly invited Hunter to come along with him, provided he had enough time that he could take off from his duties at the Coven. And if it was ok with his family. Hunters ears had twitched a little before drooping as he’d thought about it. As he did technically have enough time off that he could go with Steve… But getting permission from his father would be a different issue altogether. An issue he didn’t expect would ultimately end in his favor.

When Hunter had asked Belos if he could go with Steve, the Emperor had been… hesitant… to put it mildly. Stating how such an outing was frivolous and unproductive and that Hunter should consider different activities to make use of his free time. Visibly crestfallen, the teen had simply nodded before turning and leaving his fathers quarters. But as he was leaving the private wing, he ran into Kikimora, who could immediately pick up on the teenagers’ unhappiness and demanded an explanation.

Needless to say, upon hearing Hunters story she had the polar opposite reaction to Belos.

She had openly encouraged him to go, despite what his father had said. Naturally Hunter considered the subject to be dropped and not be brought up again. Of course, Kiki had other plans… and this had led to an argument between the Emperor and the house demon where Kikimora did what she did best, stated the cold hard truth.

“You can’t control everything he does Belos!” She had growled with a particular stress and irritation in her voice that wasn’t usually there. “Your son needs to be able to actually live a life of his own. Even if it means doing things you don’t agree with!” Belos had growled at her when she said this, a blue glow emanated from his eyes and seemed particularly off-putting... Not at all how a normal gargoyles eyes would glow, as males eyes would normally produce an eerie white shine whereas a females eyes would glow a hellish red. Just another biological anomaly that Belos had which was not seen in any other members of his species. But Kiki did not back down, nor taken this warning to heart… rather in agitation she reacted similarly, as her hand-like hair standing on end and exposing her normally concealed heterochromatic eyes as she glared right back at him. While she was willing to let some of Belos bad decisions go unchallenged, as he’d have to learn the hard way later, this was one hill she wasn’t willing to back off of.

There was a rather tense moment where to an outside spectator it looked like the two would come to blows, but before that could happen, Belos sighed… as Kikimoras words had echoed around in his head long enough to finally ring true… The glow of his eyes receding into blackness before the illuminated blue rings became more evident, as they did from time to time particularly when he became stressed. The house demon relaxed as well, as she always knew that she was never in any kind of physical danger from the Emperor… a flareup from his curse being the only exception… but it was rare that they had an argument that resulted in either of them doing an involuntary threat display, but they did occur. Still, Belos said nothing as he turned and left his chambers and retreated to some other part of the castle.

Kikimora later informed Hunter that he was given permission to go with Steve on the camping trip. The House demoness needed to inform him of this as Belos didn’t approach his son at all following his earlier conversation with him.

On the morning of this trip Kiki produced a heavy camping bag and had filled it with some of the basic necessities Hunter would need. Canteen, sleeping bag, blanket, first-aid kit, emergency granola bar etc. Hunter was out of his uniform, wearing a simple black tee shirt with a red-long sleeved shirt beneath it and black pants. Although he still wore his white cloak which was designed to lay in such a way that the majority of the fabric was on the left side, allowing for the exposure of his only wing on the right. Cleverly making it appear that half of the cloak was normal and the other half was covered in feathers… he hefted the heavy bag Kiki had given him over his shoulder his eyes were shining with excitement and he gave Kiki a hug before running to meet up with Steve who was out of his Coven Scout uniform and waiting for him at the opposite end of the castle’s mechanical walkway.

Physically Steve looked about as harmless as his upbeat voice often indicated he was. His skin was paler than normal, which was not very surprising given that every scout wore clothing that prevented even a drop of sunlight from touching their skin. His eyes were a rich jade color, while his chocolate brown hair always looked to be somewhat disheveled even though he had clearly made an effort to brush it down and he had a bit of stubble on his chin which was clearly a failing attempt at growing a beard. His clothes were average, a nice green tunic shirt with a forest green vest that had tons of pockets, rugged dark grey pants and black hiking boots.

As the two left Hunter spared a glance back at the castle, searching quickly if he could see his fathers form watching him go… which he did not see. He felt a pang at this, although he had doubted his father would be there to see him off as he departed. After all, for appearances sake the Emperor couldn’t be seen giving him more attention than he already did… But in his heart the teenager had an unpleasant feeling that his father not seeing him off surely meant that he still disapproved of him going on the trip. Hunter forced himself return his attention to Steve and following him away from the castle.

What Hunter had not noticed was that Belos had indeed watched him leave; he’d stood as still as statue atop the castle, not immediately distinguishable from the ornamental stonework that was across all of the exterior walkways. To the elder gargoyle the whole situation he was not quite as simple as Kikimora had made it out to be… although a part of him knew it SHOULD have been… It wasn’t as though he didn’t know that Kiki was right, hell she usually was… but it was difficult beyond words for him to let go, even if in some part of his being he knew he had too. Naturally he was worried about Hunters safety, as this trip would be the longest he was on his own. Even if he wasn’t actually alone; prior to this the longest Coven-related business he’d been on had only taken three days and he had gone with Lilith… his personal feelings about the woman aside he knew that she wouldn’t intentionally put another Coven member in danger. But that was not the reason why he had been so reluctant to let his son go… the real reason he could not even bring himself to say out loud should Hunter be close enough to hear him.

And it was something he desperately did NOT want Hunter to hear him say…

So with this in mind it wasn’t so surprising that in the following days, Emperor Belos seemed to be in a far worse mood than he usually was. Yet in spite of the tense atmosphere in the castle, Kikimora remained completely unfazed and the small demoness treated each day no differently than the rest. Her dark sense of humor remaining unchanged as business as usual carried on through the rest of castle, seemingly unaware of the fear that gripped the guards and the other Coven members down to their souls as their Emperors anger could be felt like the fire of a thousand suns as he glared at anyone who dared approach him for any reason at all. Disregarding Belos's awful attitude, his house demon advised him to at least attempt to take his mind off of worrying about his son and do something constructive with his time rather than bask in his own misery. Something she pointed out he was becoming far too proficient at…

Admittedly he had attempted to take her advice. Retreating to his workshop where he began trying to craft a second staff for himself… just in case anything ever happened to his primary staff and he was in need of a suitable backup. But try as he might, he was unable to completely focus on his work and not wanting to end up with a staff that would catastrophically fail on him because he didn’t wire the damn thing right, he put it to the side and opted to finish it at a later time.

But it was on the fifth day of Hunter and Steve’s trip that things took a bit of an unexpected turn…

The day had been normal for the most part with Belos continuing to be in a foul mood, although that as was to be expected at this time. Kiki had just entered the throne room holding a golden tray with a steaming teapot and a teacup. Hoping to give his grumpiness some nice calming tea and hopefully force him into being in a better mood. But no sooner had she made her way over to his throne did she notice Belos’s head perk up. His full attention suddenly drawn to the grand doorway at the opposite end of the room. Kiki barely had the time to register that something was wrong, before the doors were blown off their hinges by a massive fireball.

And five Wild Witches stormed into the room ready for battle.

It was actually impressive that they had made it this far. As there was only one point in the entire day where the throne room had no guards present inside of it and that was during a specific shift change towards the evening. This lot must have been working out the plan from months, observing his castle and the guards rotation schedules. Also selecting a day when Lilith and an entourage from his Coven would be out giving a speech on Belos’s behalf, leaving fewer obstacles in the castle overall to complicate their attack strategy. They truly had narrowed everything down to a single opportune moment to strike. The Emperor had to give them credit for how much planning must have gone into this endeavor.

Of course, it was all irrelevant…

Because no sooner had the leader of the group of these five foolish souls started speaking; something along the lines of ‘Your reign of tyranny and he ends now, blah blah blah blah…’ Belos stood from his throne, audibly cracking the bones in his neck and spine as the massive heart above his throne began to rapidly quicken its pace… and from behind the golden mask the blue rings of his eyes suddenly illuminated themselves from the darkness and he smiled a maniacal grin that bore his razor sharp fangs.

And that was when all hell broke loose…

Clearly none of these fools had truly grasped just what kind of opponent they were about to go up against because Belos didn’t wait for the idle chatter to finish before pulling out his staff and unleashing his magic like a plague throughout the entire throne room. A wave of blood red tendrils erupting from the ground as though a damned gateway to hell itself had suddenly been thrown open. The five witches managed to dodge the first wave he unleashed… Using their staves and palismans to go over his initial attack and again their leader was the first one to counterattack with a fireball spell as they fanned out, preparing to hit him from every angle no matter which direction he dodged. But Belos didn’t dodge… and the fireball hit him straight in the chest. Of course it did no damage beyond faintly scorching the fabric of his witch’s wool robes. However, before the other four members of this little group could begin their own attacks, the sea of tendrils suddenly quivered for a moment and went still before exploding open. Unleashing a torrent of scorching hot blood… and thousands of sharpened bones suddenly flew upwards like missiles.

It could be easily surmised that when Belos was in a fight and he wasn’t taking anything seriously, the clawed tendrils and waves of stone were often enough to overwhelm most opponents… Occasionally he’d even throw in a golem, a mindless amalgamation of flesh and bone often bearing some similarities to bug demons. He would do this with no other intention accept to unnerve his adversaries.

But if he was being serious, flesh tendrils were the least of his enemies worries…

So this fight really was over before it started…

Two of the wild witches were immediately impaled by multiple bones shards in their chests, whilst a third caught one right in the forehead. They and their staves fell down into the awaiting gory mess of boiling blood and flesh on the floor below. One of the last remaining two, upon watching his friends die gruesomely, panicked and abandoned whatever plan his leader had come up with. Screaming bloody murder, turning tail and attempting to fly back out through the damaged doorway. Only he was consumed with so much fear he hadn’t noticed the fleshy tendrils climbing up the sides of the destroyed doorway and forming hundreds of razor sharp teeth along the sides as they went. And no sooner had he reached the doorway did these proverbial jaws suddenly clamp closed cutting both him and his staff in half… He made a sound, a disturbing mix between a scream, a whimper and a gurgle as the two halves fell onto the floor with a sickening splat… he lingered for a few moments. Although severed in half at his abdomen his top half had still cleared the doorway and he tried in vain to crawl with his arms away from the nightmare behind him. But Belos clearly could care less he most likely only had a few seconds left, so he willed the jaws to open and then sent a fresh wave of scalding hot blood, erupting out from the throne room and washing the dying witch further down the hallway. Assuring their last moments were as agonizing as possible…

Only one remained, the ringleader and probable mastermind of this ill-conceived endeavor. It took the man a minute to register that all of the friends he had set out with were now dead. But rather than begin to mentally collapse, like so many others before him had, he screamed in rage and dove at the Emperor creating multiple spell circles and undoubtedly unleashed every offensive spell he had in his arsenal.

Not that it really did in much good; Belos seemed to melt out of the way just as the witch leapt off his staff actually attempted to stab him with a knife he pulled from his belt. He barely had time to register that all of his spells had missed their mark before Belos caught him by the neck and held him in a seemingly unbreakable grip. The young man flailed for a moment before he regained himself enough and sank the knife straight into the Emperor’s collarbone… Belos didn’t even flinch as the knife cut through muscle and embedded into the bone. The only thing that happened was that suddenly he growled so deep and low it could be felt more than heard. Now forced to stare into the burning blue rings of the Emperors eyes, the man found himself gripped with so much fear that he may as well have been paralyzed. There was a loud mechanical creaking as Belos is prosthetic wings adjusted themselves as he suddenly adjusted his grip on this witch whilst his staff disappeared… And with a sickening ease he brought his now free hand back and punched it straight through this mans chest and spine. His clawed hand protruding from his back covered in blood, innards and meat.

A long silence fell over the room like a burial shroud. Nothing moved, spare the continual beating of the Titans heart. But even then it almost seemed like the air had stopped moving, allowing for the putrid stench of death to permeate every nook and cranny of the grand room. But throughout this entire ordeal, Kikimora had not moved at all from where she stood next to the Emperor’s throne. Still holding the platter with the teapot and still warm tea as she had watched this entire event take place in under five minutes…

“Feel better?” She questioned finally deciding to break the uncomfortable silence. No doubt it sounded comical, but judging by her tone she was being completely serious.

“Actually… no.” Belos muttered as he pushed the now lifeless corpse of the Wild Witch off of his arm. Leaving a trail of gore across his gauntlet as he did so. “But the distraction was welcome. I cannot remember the last time I had to deal with intruders like this personally.” He was interrupted by a tiny terrified squeak which suddenly snapped both Belos and Kiki’s attention back towards the now open doorway. Where there now stood Lilith and her entourage, having apparently returned early from giving her speech. Only to be greeted with the sight of such overwhelming carnage in the throne room and heaven only knows the disturbing sight they had seen as they had made their way down the blood-flooded halls to check on their leader. Now only to be greeted with the sight of blood and gore dripping from Belos, all while he still had a knife still lodged firmly in his collarbone. One that was rapidly staining his majestic robes crimson with his lifeblood. Clearly Lilith was the one making the squeaks, undoubtedly torn between wanting to ask what had just happened and wanting to comment about the blade still lodged in his torso… Honestly, he had almost forgotten about the knife until the firelight glittering off the ornate handle reminded the Emperor that it was still there. And with all the difficulty of turning the page in a book, Belos gripped it and tore the blade free before letting it letting it clatter to the floor.

“Clean this up… I don’t want to see a trace of blood left in the throne room.” He said before motioning for Kiki to follow him. But not before the house demon shifted the tray into one clawed hand before quickly drawing spell circle. Generously leaving multiple mops and buckets of water for the still bewildered Lilith and company to use during what would undoubtedly be a very, very long night… Still even if it didn’t make him feel better, it appeared to calm Belos’s bad mood down at least somewhat. Not to mention added a few extra palisman to their supply.

That being said, in spite of his still grumpy mood, on the day Hunter would be returning from his trip, he actually found a task that managed to distract him throughout the latter part of the day. Nothing grand, just doing some basic maintenance on his primary set of prosthetic wings. A task he did every now and again to ensure their continued function. All machines require maintenance and his prosthetics were no exception to this rule. This kind of work didn’t require the detailed focus making a new staff would, so if his concentration faltered there was considerably less chance of something going to blow up on him. As he had often joked to Kiki that he could do maintenance work on his machines in his sleep. It would be the ideal way to burn away the last few hours until Hunter would return home. Kikimora in turn, informed Lilith that neither she nor anyone else was to bother the Emperor for the remainder of this day… Even when he finished the maintenance work, he had opted to spend a little bit of time cleaning up his workshop as he rarely got the opportunity to do so. And given all the ash from his forge, small metal pieces and shavings that had a habit of getting everywhere, not to mention the occasional spill of some oil… the place really did need a good cleaning.

It was only when he deemed that it was cleaned to his standards, that he walked up the stairs and returned to his bedroom. Walking over to one of the shelves on a bookcase and picking up a pipe and a jar that contained a small amount of pipe tobacco… Kiki was not a fan of this particular bad habit of his, but fortunately she didn’t have to deal with it often. As tobacco was notoriously difficult to grow on the Isles and what crops there were, were usually not big and thus they were quite expensive. Belos himself could only obtain enough tobacco that he could smoke maybe two or three times in as many months. He chose a pipe because he was never a fan of the cigarettes… and some deep part of him found this to be almost familiar. He didn’t know why, it was just more comfortable for him. Still no sooner had he filled the pipe with the tobacco and struck a match, did he notice the door to his balcony was slightly ajar… And standing outside and looking over the edge of his private balcony was Hunter.

Internally Belos swore as he hastily extinguished the match and put the unlit pipe and matches down on his nightstand, having suddenly lost any interest he had in smoking it. “I didn’t expect you back so quickly.” He said catching his Hunter’s attention and noting how Hunter looked a bit disheveled. His hair was messy, but the dark bags under his eyes that had developed since his initiation into the Coven seemed much less noticeable.

“It’s okay dad, I kinda snuck back in. I also heard Kiki and Lilith having one heck of an argument. So, I don’t think she’s even aware I’m back.” He explained rubbing the back of his head somewhat sheepishly.

“Did you not have a good time?” Belos inquired straightforwardly. “You’re back early… is something wrong?”

“No no no, everything’s fine, I had a really great time.” Hunter said suddenly smiling a huge broad smile up at his father. “It was a lot of fun; we just came back early because it looked like a rainstorm wasn’t too far off. And I figured it was better to be early rather than late.”

The boy wasn’t wrong, looking out over the castle’s walls, it wasn’t hard to see the roiling clouds slowly making their way across the sky. Indeed, a bad storm was going to come, as was evidenced by the low rumbles of thunder and the occasional burst of lightning arcing between the clouds. “A wise decision.” Belos said with a slight nod. “If you had been delayed amidst a boiling rainstorm… I might’ve come looking for you.”

“That’s what I thought…” Hunter admitted. “And I really didn’t want you to worry.”

“Hunter, I will never not worry about you. But may I suggest we move this conversation inside?” Belos stated as he and Hunter left the balcony just as a particularly loud crack of lightning resounded from directly overhead. Back in his room Belos picked up his previously discarded pipe and another match, hastily lighting it before putting it in the side of his mouth and inhaling deeply as he sat down on the side of his bed and indicated for Hunter to sit next to him. “Now tell me all about this trip of yours. I want to hear it all… every detail.” Hunter nodded as he sat down next to his father, just as the first droplets of scalding rain started to make their way down from the heavens.

Admittedly watching how animated Hunter became as he explained how the camping trip had gone brought a calming serenity to the elder gargoyles soul. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen such life and energy shining within his son’s ruby eyes. Listening as he explained the long hike up into the mountains to where Steve’s favorite camping spot was, learning how to fish, roasting marshmallows under clear sky filled with more stars than he could count… Actually getting a few nights of sleep where he didn’t have nightmares… Clearly the boy had enjoyed himself to say the least. Although Belos could not bite his tongue on a singular question that was burning in the back of his mind, one that had certainly contributed a great deal to his concern of his son going on this little trip.

“Hunter… How did-” He paused for a moment trying to find the right way to phrase this… “I know you were wearing your cloak when you left and how you usually keep your wing concealed within it. But did he see that you only had one wing?”

Hunter blinked once in surprise at the question. “Umm, yeah he did. It was kinda warm out when we were fishing so I took it off…” The boy paused as the memory of something he had not given an overabundance of thought to returned to him. “He asked if I lost my wing when I got my scars. You know…” He said while pointing to the cut in his ear and the scar ever present on his cheek. Something which made Belos’s heart painfully throb with guilt for a moment, knowing all too well that he was responsible for those scars. “I told him no, I was just was born without one. After I explained that it didn’t come up again. We just talked about other things… Mostly our families.”

Belos inhaled deeply smoke from his pipe and sighed feeling a knot untangle itself from within his chest. “That’s good.” He commented lowly. “I had been worried that the topic may not have been so easily dismissed.” He was only telling a half-truth but in reality, he had been so concerned about that particular topic… that was the real reason he didn’t want Hunter to go, but he just couldn’t bring himself to say it in front of Hunter or even Kikimora. He couldn’t bring himself to outright say he didn’t want him to go because he didn’t want one of the scouts to see that his Golden Guard, his son, was crippled.

He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts he didn’t notice how Hunter had turned away from him and was now staring straight ahead, as the joy that had been in his face slowly faded away as something else clearly began to occupy the teenagers mind. But after a moment or so Belos did take note of this change in his sons demeanor. “Is something troubling you?”

“Not really, it’s just…” Hunter paused looking back at his father with an equal parts nervous and questioning look. “We talked a lot about our families and Steve explained how his dad had worked for your Coven before him and his mom… Well, she was sickly and he learned how to do some basic healing spells in order to help take care of her. But when he asked about my parents-”

“You did not reveal that I was your father, did you?” Belos inquired, maybe a little sharper than he intended to, but Hunter quickly shook his head.

“No dad, I-I didn’t, I wouldn’t do that! But…” The boy trailed off again no longer looking at his father as he let his eyes lock onto the rain now pelting against the glass of the balcony doors. “Dad… Who was my mom?”

Oh hell…

Belos felt his body go rigid at the question. Just as a wave of memories crashed over him, very few of them pleasant. Yet still Hunter continued on… “I mean you never mention her. I doubt you mentioned her even once when I was growing up. And… I know that I’ve never really thought about it until this last week. But… who was she?”

“Hunter…” Belos said as he took the pipe out of his mouth and he focused his full attention on his son. “I understand why you’re asking me this, and know that I have never lied to you before when you asked me questions about the past. But this is a story you’re not going to like. I don’t want to tell it… unless sure absolutely sure that you want to hear it.”

Hunter looked more than a little unnerved at his fathers words. He swallowed painfully as his ears drooped. “I figured it wouldn’t be a happy story but… I really want to know.”

“As you wish…” Belos said as all of the emotion drained out of his voice. He looked away from his son as the young boy’s eyes locked on him. “Now, I’ve told you some stories about the Skull Clan and what they were like. Do you remember those stories?” Hunter flinched as he no doubt recalled some of the things his father had undoubtedly told him about his long dead adopted clan and how they had treated him. But the boy nodded wordlessly and after a moment Belos continued. “The clan followed the olden ways, the ‘Gargoyle Way’ if you will. Which meant they communally raise their children and tried to stick to a more traditional breeding schedule. With no one allowed to have children outside of what was considered to be the ‘traditional’ 20-year intervals. Although I doubt it had something to do with tradition and had more to do with not wanting the clan’s population to become too numerous to support. But I digress… the time had come for the clan to reproduce. Yet there was a problem, since there were sixty-one mated pairs in the clan, it meant that there would be only sixty-one eggs…”

“Only sixty-one?!” Hunter repeated more than a little stunned. “I mean sixty-one eggs is a lot of kids to be born at once.”

“Yes well, it may have seemed that way… but in this clan’s tradition, and by that I mean true tradition and not their bastardized version of the gargoyle way… They must do everything in their power to have an even number of eggs in the rookery. As foolish as it was, this hoped to assure each child had a potential mate in their own generation.”

“But…” Hunter started but stopped as Belos gave him an annoyed look at his repeated interrupting. Although hesitant, Hunter continued with his question. “But they had no way of knowing what the genders of all those eggs would be… So why did they try so hard to keep an even number?”

“As I said before, it was tradition. And that was all they needed to know, even if it didn’t make sense.” The Emperor explained in a warning tone that indicated he did not want Hunter to interrupt him again. “Still… there were sixty-one pairs, but there were two gargoyles in the clan who didn’t have mates. Myself… and your mother.” He sighed and as he put the pipe back in his mouth and took a particularly deep inhale from it, before breathing it out very slowly.

“Your mothers name was Mera. Her skin was as white as a pearl and her hair the color of gold… She had two curved horns on either side of her head, much like yours. Only hers had a singular point rather than the two prongs you have. And her eyes were as red as blood. You inherited those eyes.” Belos paused for a long moment… long enough to make Hunter wonder if he was going to continue talking. Just as he was about to risk saying something, his father finally continued. “We were told that we were to be mates, at least for this cycle… and there was no questioning it.” He took a moment to cast a glance over to Hunter, whose eyes had not only gone wider, but it appeared that he had paled a bit. Still, not wanting to drag this out for any longer than he had to and really just wanting to get this story over with Belos continued... “I didn’t really know Mera well at all. But I doubt anyone did. She was the clans archivist, in charge of the vast wealth of information that was stored away in the castles library. I don’t think she ever left that place unless she absolutely had to. She chose not to socialize with anyone, and that is why she never found a mate. Mera preferred the company books to the company of the rest of the clan. So… reluctantly… we spent a night together and you were conceived.” He concluded. “I did try to, at the very least, befriend Mera. Perhaps make an attempt to be real mates… only she had no interest in that. But unlike everyone else in the clan who despised me for no reason, she actually explained why… and it was not because of my feathered wings, nor was it even my fault. It was because she simply wanted to be alone, it was just how she was. She also didn’t-”

“She didn’t want me.” Hunter concluded, his voice barely louder than whisper.

“No… no, she did not.” Belos muttered. “She didn’t want to be rookery mother at all. Mera only went along with it because she feared what would happen if she refused. Don’t judge her to harshly Hunter, she was just different.”

A long unpleasant silence fell between the father and son. Hunter looked particularly dejected, as though most of the joy he felt from his trip had just bled out of his body. He stared at the floor and Belos could tell he was doing everything he could to try and force this new knowledge into the back of his mind, to hopefully never think of it again. But that was easier said than done, and Belos knew that all too well. “I warned you that you wouldn’t like this story.” He said solemnly.

Hunter didn’t say anything right away… He just kept his gaze on the floor as something, a particular thought, forced its way to the surface from the darkest reaches of his mind. A thought that Hunter had contemplated many times but he had always pushed it away… only now it came back with a ferocity that rivaled the storm raging just outside the castle’s walls. “Dad… would you have been happier if I was never born?”

Belos’s tail went up and swatted Hunter across the side of the head…

He didn’t hit him particularly hard, just hard enough to get his point across. Hunter yelped in surprise, but before he could say anything Belos reached out and put an arm around his sons shoulders and pulled him close in a loose hug.

“Your mother may have never wanted to be a mother, I never said that I didn’t want to be a father.” He stated firmly. “Hunter, you are my son… whether you had been my child through blood or not, it wouldn’t have changed a thing. I would still love you… Just as I would have loved your rookery brothers and sisters if any of them had survived.” Once again a silence fell between the father and son as Hunter let his head rest against his father’s chest and sighed.

“I’m sorry dad…”

“Don’t be. I’m not…” Belos paused to take the pipe out of his mouth again as he looked down at his son. “Hunter, you know that the Day of Unity is approaching?” He didn’t receive a verbal answer, just felt the boy nod against his chest before looking up at him with those deep crimson eyes. “Did I ever tell you that the Titan has special plans for you?”

“For… for me?”

“Why yes my boy, indeed you.” Belos said with a small smile appearing on his features. “I don’t know what it plans for you. But know that you are special. Not only that, your birth was not a hindrance nor burden upon either me or this world. It was a gift. Never think that I don’t love you or that I would be happier without you. You’re destined for great things… However,” he reached down and plucked the golden stone that was Hunters sun talisman off of the boys collarbone. As it had been recently configured from being attached to a chain, to just attaching like the ornamental gems most witches wore. “I think that you should have one last day of decent sleep before you return to your duties. I will give you your talisman back tomorrow night. For now, you will sleep when the sun comes up.”

Hunter didn’t get a chance to react before he turned to stone right there, still sitting on the side of his father’s bed. Surprising Belos to learn that they had been talking all night. Still, without so much as a word, Belos unsheathed his staff and cloaked the stone form of his son in a red light and carefully levitating him from where he had been sitting on the side of his bed, into a different chair that the room contained. Yet no sooner had he done this, was he suddenly aware of the feeling of a new set of eyes upon him. He groaned a little bit realizing he was not alone in this room.

“How long have you been there Kiki?” Belos grumbled as a slight chuckle escaped the house demon who had been quietly listening to the entire conversation that had played out between the father and son.

“I arrived about midway through Hunter’s story regarding what he did on his trip.” She admitted as she walked over to him and sat next to him on the bed in the same place that Hunter had been previously occupying. “I must admit, I hadn’t expected what I heard…” She said as she glanced up at the Emperor with an inquisitive glitter in her when visible eye. “You didn’t want him to go with Steve because you didn’t want it to get out that he only had one wing… That was your big concern? Why?”

Belos exhaled and annoyed breath before he took the now extinguished pipe out of his mouth and a red glow formed around it and placed it back were Belos had originally taken it from in an ashtray on his bookshelf. “I didn’t want him to be seen as weak… especially not by some lowly scout. I didn’t… I didn’t want anyone to think Hunter was weak because he-”

“Has a disability?” Kikimora finished. “Belos, I fear that you are judging your son more than anyone else will.” Her words earned her an icy glare. But this was normal for Kiki and she didn’t pay it any mind. “He has a staff for artificial magic, and you can always make him a prosthetic wing to allow him to glide. I don’t know what the problem is.”

“I tried Kiki.” He said in a voice surprisingly devoid of emotions. “I’ve tried to create a functional prosthetic wing for Hunter, but it isn’t the same as mine. I already knew how to glide before I lost my real wings. I knew how to feel the subtle differences in the air currents and how to adjust to them. Hunter doesn’t know how to do that. Not to mention that he barely has any bone protruding from his shoulder where the wing should be for me to attach a prosthetic to. It’s a different situation and I can’t seem make one that would function properly. I’ve tried… and even if I was able to make one, Hunter still wouldn’t know how to use it… and I don’t think I can teach him.”

“So? He’s made it this far without it…” The house demon retorted. “He’s actually doing very well in the Coven, considering how sheltered he’s been. And even though you may not like it, that scout is helping him learn to be more social. For Titan’s sake, I think that he’s already got better people skills than you!”

Belos growled a little bit before allowing himself to recline on his bed a little bit more… “So, you think that I’m overthinking it then?”

“I don’t think… I know you’re overthinking it.” She stated flatly. “You’re afraid that Hunter will have to go through the same hell you went through. Clearly that’s not going to happen. Try to give him some space, let him grow on his own. He’s doing okay for now… We’ll address any problem when they actually arise. Needn’t look too far into the future Belos or you will kill yourself with worry before the Day of Unity arrives.”

“Or my curse will.” He said with a roll of his eyes. Belos then shifted to fully lay his head back onto the pillow and stared straight up at the ceiling. Internally hoping that Kikimora would take the hint and leave. As he was feeling more drained than he usually did and while he still had little hope of getting any sleep, he was going to try and at least rest for a few hours before he had to return to his duties as Emperor.

Only Kiki didn’t leave…

In fact she stood on his bed walked up and actually sat on his abdomen causing him to look at her funny. But there was an unusual look in her eye. One that if he had to guess might have been mischievousness; something he rarely saw her display, even rarer was it directed towards him. “Yes?” He asked honestly not sure where this was going to go.

“You know what else occurred to me as I listened to you two talk?” She questioned with almost a singsong tone to her voice. “You never had a true mate.” Belos stared at her like she had just grown an additional head…

“Who are you and what have you done with my Kikimora?!”

“I’m serious.” She said with a slightly restrained laugh. “You have never been in love, nor felt love in return. You’re missing out something terrible.”

“Kiki, listen to yourself… I think you’re finally drunk.” He stated flatly mildly concerned that this wasn’t actually his house demon, rather some imposter. Of course, the unamused glare he received immediately afterwards reaffirmed that it was indeed actually her. Didn’t make the weirdness of this conversation any easier to accept though. “Besides I have no interest in looking for something like that. I accepted a long time ago that there is no such thing as a ‘mate’ for me. Nor am I ever going to look for someone to fill that role… I am happy with my life exactly the way it is.”

“You say that, but it’s not exactly true is it? Come now Belos… Are you meaning to tell me that you wouldn’t like to find someone who would love you? Who you also loved in return?”

“I’m too old for such nonsense Kiki… I really am not interested-”

“You look older than you actually are… your curse has worn you down and you also refuse to use chapstick, which would simply lift years from your exhausted ass.” The house demon huffed. Before all of the mischievousness left her face and instead was replaced by a sadness Belos was far too familiar with seeing. “I just… hearing about you and Hunter’s mother… I already knew that there was no love between you, but hearing that story. You deserve to find a mate who would love you.”

“There are an uncountable number of people who never find someone meant for them Kiki.” Belos said returning his gaze to the ceiling and closing his eyes.

“I’m not their house demon!” She snipped at him. “And I’m aware of that; just as I’m also aware that of the likelihood of you finding someone who can tolerate your obnoxious tush is very very low… But I want you to be open to it in the event that it ever truly becomes an option.”

Without opening his eyes to look at her, Belos shook his head. "I have no interest in it… I am content with just you and Hunter in my life. What more could I possibly need?”

“You say that, but I know for a fact that it’s the people who are not looking for love, that love tends to find…” She paused as she waited for a comeback that never came. It would appear against all odds that Belos had fallen asleep. With a sigh, Kikimora hopped off of his stomach and created a small spell circle which levitated one of the heavier blankets at the foot of the Emperors bed… carefully draping it over his now sleeping form.

“You deserve love… But that doesn’t mean you’ll find it.” She muttered as she walked out the door and quietly closed it behind her. “But not wanting to find it, doesn’t mean it won’t come to you... I just pray to the Titan, that if it does find you…

All of the meetings Belos had on this day had run far longer than they were supposed to…

At this point he was practically bleeding agitation. He had been in one meeting after another all day… All freaking day… He wasn’t proud to admit it, but while listening to the head of the Healers Coven explain how they had changed up their entrance exam criteria in order to ensure that they only accepted the best candidates, he nodded off. Much to his dismay when he managed to rouse himself from his impromptu nap, he found that not a lot of progress had been made in explaining the details of the changes. So catching up was disturbingly easier than it should have been after having been unconscious for over an hour.

One by one, all the other Coven Heads and some of the more elite members of their sect came before Belos and gave their reports of any changes they were making to their enrollment programs or anything else that would be beneficial in the long run to the stability of life on the Boiling Isles. Which had led him to the final meeting of the day and the one that was taking the longest by far… Courtesy of the Potions Coven. After the basic drivel explaining a few moderate changes they were making to their initiation process, the rest of the meeting was taken up by the Coven Head explaining the arduous steps they were taking to crack down on the illegal absinthe brewery a few wayward members of the coven had begun… A truly fancy way of saying they still had no clue who was responsible for brewing what had easily become the vilest alcohol on all the Isles. One that had been rather appropriately dubbed the ‘Green Devil’ by the individuals who partook in it.

And yet Belos couldn’t truly bring himself to care one way or another… as it was the unique nature of this particular day, which was why Belos so desperately wanted it to be over and done with. But by the Titan, of course that would mean everything would run late. In fact, it was nearly dawn by the time the meeting concluded. Honestly, at times like this Belos simply loathed being Emperor... But alas he didn’t have a choice in the matter, did he? Once the Coven Head and his entourage had left, Belos dismissed his guards and was finally free to return to his private chambers.

As he walked silently through the dark halls, he slipped his hand into one of the pockets of his tunic and traced a clawed finger over a small box that had been delivered to him during one of the brief intermissions between the meetings. It was something that he’d ordered several weeks ago, but due to some… unforeseen circumstances, it had only been completed and delivered earlier in the day.

‘Better late than never.’ He growled internally. ‘The delay nearly interfered with my plans.’ Something he made certain to convey to the trembling and deeply apologetic craftsman when he delivered it. Belos had harshly warned him that if he was ever to receive business from the Emperors Coven again, and that was a very big if, he had better complete his work during the previously agreed timeframe... As Belos could’ve cared less whatever life-threatening troubles the man had endured which had taken him away from completing the item the Emperor had ordered. That was his problem, not Belos’s.

Upon opening the grand doors to his private chambers, he was struck with just how quiet everything was. This was definitely an uncommon occurrence, as usually he could hear voices coming from at least one of the multitude of rooms in his wing. It was very rarely like this. Still, he had no reason to be concerned about it and he walked quietly into his own room. All the while becoming aware of the feeling he was being watched from the shadows. Once he was in his room he wordlessly took off his mask and went over to the hooks on the walls and locked the heavy prosthetics into them. Before slipping the remains of his wings free… But no sooner had he done so, did he hear a low growling hiss before something suddenly leapt out from under his bed and jumped onto his tail and clung to it while also making small sounds that came off more as squeaks than actual roars.

“I got you dad!” Came the giggling voice of Hunter as he looked up from where he was clinging to his father’s tail. His brilliant red eyes shining up at him with a mischievous joy. Even in the dim light of Belos’s room it was easy to tell that Hunter’s skin tone was considerably healthier in appearance than his fathers, his platinum hair was in disarray. Clearly it had been brushed at one point but the energetic activity the child no doubt indulged in had disheveled it. As was also evident with his golden colored tunic and the black pants that were covered in a fine layer of dust. Not to mention the white feathers on his only wing were slightly grayed at the ends where they had also collected even more dust.

Effortlessly Belos wrapped his tail around his son and brought him up to his chest before taking the small child in his arms and giving him a tight hug… but not too tight. “That you did my fierce little Hunter.” He chuckled addressing his son with the favorite nickname he’d long since given him. “I know that I am late in returning, but please tell me that you weren’t hiding in wait for me all night?”

As if on cue, Kiki stormed into Belos’s bedroom with a peeved look written clearly in her one visible eye, as she looked at the child in the Emperors arms and glared at him while tapping her clawed foot. “There you are you little scamp!” She growled. “I’ve been looking for you for nearly an hour! I was afraid that you went out into the other parts of the castle again!”

“No Auntie Kiki,” Hunter answered in a singsong voice as he laughed at the irritated house demon. “I said I wanted to play hide and seek… I just hid really well.”

“Oh you frustrating boy!” She seethed before casting her eyes to Belos. “And what do you have to say to this? Your son has been giving me heart palpitations all night!”

For a few moments Belos didn’t say anything, before he looked at the child in his arms with a very stern expression. “You managed to avoid Kiki for an entire hour?” He said just as a mischievous grin of his own appeared on his face erasing all of the seriousness he’d held just moment prior. “That’s very impressive for such a little gargoyle.”

“Oh don’t you go encouraging him! That’s the last thing I need to deal with!” She said throwing her hands up as she exaggerated her indignation. “At this rate he’ll never sit still for his lessons again!” With a great sense of timing, Hunter stuck his tongue out at his Auntie… Who in a rare moment of not acting her considerable age, pulled the collar of her uniform down and stuck her own tongue right back at him.

Ever since the day of his birth, Kiki had always been a part of Hunters life. In honesty she was the only other person whom the child interacted with aside from his father. She was also the only soul who knew the truth about the father and son duo… and she remembered it as if it was just yesterday, how Belos was when Hunter was born. How from the very moment that child came into his life, he loved him. So even though he spent every day being the cruel Emperor to the people of the Boiling Isles… every night he spent tending and taking care of his son, giving him love and affection. It had worried Kiki as he was pretty much burning the candle at both ends. He spent his days as Emperor and his nights as a single father. Leaving himself so little time to rest… And even when he did manage to sleep, Kiki knew that he rarely enjoyed sleep that was free of nightmares.

On the rare instance when Kikimora had finally managed to convince Belos to rest for an evening, Hunter would simply run her ragged as she chased him all around the private quarters. Reasons usually varied from him trying to avoid taking a bath, to trying to avoid putting on clothes after having taken one, or simply wanting to just drive her crazy. Point being the little child was full of energy and life and, even though he could certainly push her buttons, Kikimora loved him. She could also tell he was going to grow to be a very good and kind person…

One particular memory that had cemented her belief on just what kind of person Hunter would be when he grew up was made on one of the nights where Kiki was watching him. The little terror was the equivalent of a five-year-old and he was being less than cooperative when it came to eating the vegetables in the meal she had prepared for him. All he wanted to do was see his father, something he voiced continually… But this was one of the days where Belos couldn’t even manage to see his son wake from his stone sleep, since he was completely run into the ground and almost had to crawl to get into his bed just a few short hours prior. Thus why she was tending Hunter alone that night, but the little boy wasn’t behaving for his Auntie.

Kiki had tried to explain that his father needed to sleep or he would get sick, and she had turned around for just one moment to put several dishes into the sink of the small kitchenette in the private chambers… when she turned back she only caught a glimpse of Hunter disappearing down a hallway, sprinting towards his father’s room.

Kiki swore, Belos desperately needed to rest and if Hunter woke him up, she knew he wouldn’t go back to sleep… She chased after Hunter, but by the Titan that child was fast. So fast he beat her to Belos’s room and he opened the door with a surprising amount of care, making sure to be extremely quiet as he walked in. Kiki got to the door immediately afterwards and froze up as she watched little Hunter tiptoeing his way into the room where his father lay on his bed. He was still in his robes, but his mask was discarded on the floor. Although Belos was asleep it didn’t seem to be a very peaceful one, judging by the rapid movement behind his eyelids and the twitching of his hands and tail as he slept. Kiki watched in horror as the child drew closer to his sleeping father, but… only then did she notice that Hunter held tightly in his hands his stuffed cardinal. It was the child’s favorite toy and he carried it with him everywhere, ever since he received it on his third birthday. With the utmost care, Hunter placed the little stuffed bird in the crook of his father’s arm and carefully pulled himself up onto the side of the bed just enough to give his dad a little kiss on the cheek before quietly slipping out of the bedroom.

Having only wanted to help his father have a better night of sleep and believing his stuffed cardinal and a kiss would’ve done just that…

That was the only time Kiki had ever excused Hunter from eating his vegetables and gave him a small bowl of his favorite ice cream instead…

“All right settle down both of you.” Belos chided as Hunters smile suddenly faded as he looked up at his father.

“Why were you so late tonight?” He questioned. “It’s almost dawn and I didn’t see you at all! You took forever!”

“I’m sorry little one, but my meetings ran late tonight.” He explained as he quietly walked over to the great glass double doors which led out onto his own private part of the castle’s balcony with Kiki now walking next to him, somehow matching his pace. “But we do have a little bit of time before sunrise. And we both know what tomorrow is, now don’t we?” Immediately the smile that had disappeared from Hunter’s face returned, possibly even broader than it was before.

“It’s my birthday!” The child declared.

“That’s right, you’re going to be turning eight.” Belos confirmed. Although technically Hunter was 16 years old at the moment. This was because gargoyles naturally aged at half the rate of witches and some species of demons. Due to them only being flesh at night and only being able to grow during that time. It was because of this discrepancy in their aging that a gargoyle would only celebrate their birthday once every two years. However… there was a way to negate this; special talismans could be created that would keep a gargoyle awake during the day. When these were given to young gargoyles they would seemingly age faster than normal, thus becoming more aligned with the growth rate of other species. It could even be applied to gargoyle eggs, the talismans allowing for them to be born in five years rather than the usual ten they naturally needed to incubate. However, upon reaching adulthood that rapid aging would seemingly dissipate and allow for a gargoyles normal aging rate to return… once again being half the rate of other species.

Why this occurred was anyone’s guess, but they all had the same effect and there was yet to be a sun talisman which didn’t display this curious trait… and rapid aging aside, gargoyles that had carried these talismans with them throughout their entire lives were said to live every bit as long as gargoyles who did not carry them. But Belos had not wanted that for Hunter. He refused to age him prematurely, as he had wanted his son to have a normal childhood… Or at least as close to normal as he could hope to provide. Of course, it was more than a little likely that Belos’s real reasoning for not allowing Hunter to grow quickly was because he could only tend to Hunter during the night due to his often-busy schedule as Emperor taking up his days. He didn’t want Hunter to grow up to quickly and have not spent enough time with him.

Even though there were gargoyle families whom gave these talismans to their children, should they be able to afford them, there were just as many who chose to not let their offspring use them until they were older for the exact same reasoning as Belos. So, he felt no guilt in his decision to let Hunter age slower.

The great glass doors of the balcony opened without Belos needing to touch them and without ever slowing his stride he walked out into the cool night air, which felt refreshing as he inhaled it deeply into his lungs. Such a sharp contrast to the often-stagnant air which filled the castle. Hunter seemed to feel it to and mimicked his father’s deep calming breath. His one singular wing stretching slightly outwards and flapping somewhat. A sad sight considering there was no way for the child to ever be able to fly on his own due to this deformity. The Emperor walked over to the side of the balcony and he and Hunter looked out at the dark world before them. Kiki wordlessly tugged on Belos’s tail and in a motion that was obviously deeply ingrained in him, he wrapped his tail around her and picked her up and placed her on the rail that surrounded the balcony. Allowing her to also get a decent view of the world just beyond the castle. “Now Hunter,” Belos began drawing his son’s attention back to him. “What would you wish for on your birthday?”

Of course he already knew the answer.

It was the same wish he made on every one of his birthdays.

Hunters smile faltered a little bit before it abruptly came back and he closed his eyes as he grinned up at the elder gargoyle that still held him so carefully in his arms. “I’d wish for you to spend the whole day with me... and…” He trailed off as his gaze again returned to the horizon. “Maybe to see what’s outside the castle?”

Belos smiled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a black box with a golden bow tied neatly on its top and placed it in Hunter’s little hands. “Well before we address that, how about you open this present early. I think you might find it particularly to your liking.” As any child presented with a gift, Hunter eagerly untied the bow and opened the box. To which he was greeted with the sight of a smooth golden stone about roughly the size of one of the decorative jewels witches would adorn themselves with. With wide glittering eyes he took it from the box, revealing it to be on a long ornate golden chain. As soon as he touched the stone, a strange red energy began to pulse from deep within its center. And then it began to swirl and dance just beneath the gems surface.

“Wow!” Hunter whispered as he watched the crimson energy form spiral like patterns. “It’s so pretty!”

“Oh there’s a little bit more to this present than just being a pretty trinket.” And with that Belos took the necklace from Hunter’s hands and draped it around the boys neck. Hunter looked up at him a little confused.

“Does it do something?” He questioned innocently.

“You’ll see in time.” Was his father’s rather straightforward reply and Belos turned his head back towards the horizon. “But would you look at that, sunrise is only a few moments away.” He commented as the first light of dawn began to creep into the sky and Hunter turned to look at it knowing he would be turning to stone at any second…

But the sunrise came…

And the child remained flesh and blood.

Belos may not have wanted his son to age prematurely, but he could certainly accept one day in the sun together as an exception.

At first it didn’t really register to Hunter exactly what was happening as he watched the golden orb paint the world before him in the colors of day. But as it steadily rose, Hunters young eyes remained completely transfixed on the light pouring over the world around the castle. Large red eyes just going wider and wider and after a few minutes the sun rose high enough for its warm radiant light to spill over both father and son. Little Hunter then just closed his eyes for a moment, basking in the warmth before reopening them and looking at his father with an expression mixed with shock, confusion and wonder.

“Happy birthday Hunter.” Belos said as he planted a small kiss atop his son’s head. “It’s high time that I honored your birthday wish, but I wanted to make sure that I honored it properly.” He explained. “And it also seemed like a good time as any for your first glimpse of the sun.” There were no words in any known language that could convey the look of sheer joy that appeared on Hunter’s face and he abruptly jumped up and wrapped his arms around Belos’s neck.

“Thank you! Thank you dad!” He whispered as he hugged him with all the strength he had in his small body. “Thank you so much!”

Belos simply patted the boys small back and glanced over at Kikimora. “You are certain that you can handle everything?”

“Yes, yes, yes I can handle things here.” The small demon said as she seemed to pull a good-sized satchel out of thin air. “Here, I packed you both lunch and some money. Now get yourself ready Belos. You can’t just go out in your formal robes.”

The Emperor blinked in confusion for a moment before he glanced down at his distinctive white, brown and gold robes and realized Kiki made a very good point. So he placed Hunter down on the railing and removed his grand robe neatly folding it up and handing it over to Kikimora, just wearing the simple grey and black tunic and pants he always wore beneath it. After which he materialized his mechanical staff and held it up; the red orb emanating its ominous crimson light. Once again the doors to his balcony opened, only this time there was a brief pause before something fairly large and mechanical floated out whilst bathed in a blood colored glow. The strange device floated behind Belos and then pressed itself against his spine while several of the mechanical extensions moved until they properly attached themselves onto the remnants of his natural wings. At the same time several straps wrapped themselves tightly around his chest, securing the contraption to his back.

Belos shifted and as he did so, so did this mechanical device. As it unfurled it revealed itself to be a different set of prosthetic wings. Nowhere near as grand or as awe-inspiring as his primary set was, these prosthetics were considerably lighter not to mention less ornate. His primary set had always bore a strong resemblance to how his natural wings had appeared. Their shape reminiscent of large feathered wings. This pairs simplistic design was clearly made to resemble a more traditional gargoyles wings although the batlike ‘membrane’ was made out of white witches wool rather than leather.

“So that’s what you’ve been working on these last few weeks.” Kiki observed as Belos flexed and checked the movements of these new prosthetics. “Have you tested them properly?”

“Rest assured Kiki they’ve been fully tested and work perfectly.” He explained her as he stretched out the prosthetics and made sure the movements were to his liking. He then turned to Hunter, who didn’t wait before jumping into his arms again. He adjusted his grip on his son and slung the satchel over his shoulder before stepping up onto the balcony railing. Looking down the steep walls of the castle and onto the sea of spikes which surrounded it. “Are you ready my son? This is your first excursion outside the walls of this castle after all.”

Hunter took a deep breath and tried his very best to look serious, although the energetic glitter in his red eyes never faltered for even a moment. “I’m ready.” He said with a nod.

Giving his son a somewhat wicked smile Belos leaned forward and let gravity pull him down. He fell straight down like a bullet; but just as Hunter began to scream the mechanical prosthetics fully opened and caught the wind which Belos masterfully maneuvered and within a moment he and Hunter were high in the air soaring high above the castle and away from it. Hunter’s screams changing into laughter as his fear died and was replaced by a heart pounding exhilaration. His eyes were initially glued to the sky and the sun shining so brightly-

“Don’t stare directly at the sun Hunter.” His father chided upon seeing him have to blink rapidly and rub at his eyes to get the glare out. Belos smirked a little at this as he allowed his own gaze to wander over the world below. In spite of the fact that his wings were not made of flesh and blood, he could still feel the wind on his body and thus was able to maneuver his prosthetics in anyways he required in order to fly with the same dexterity he had always been able to, even before his real wings had been severed.

Hunter readjusted his grip around his father’s neck as he quietly watched the world far below. Even though Belos was not recognizable without his robe and mask he still preferred to stay mostly unnoticed by the people of the Boiling Isles, so he chose a fairly high altitude to glide at. But after an hour or two of watching the world below come to life as the denizens of the towns awakened and set about whatever work the day called for, Belos began to move further away from these populated areas… the houses and the majority of the communities disappeared, replaced instead by a thick blanket of trees. Eventually he spotted a small clearing and descended into it, although he hit the ground far harder than he intended to. And he noted that he would need to tweak a few things once he returned to the castle... and not mention it to Kikimora of course.

“Why are we landing here?” Hunter questioned as Belos gently placed his son on the ground as he rose up and brushed the dirt off of the plating on his knees.

“You can’t very well enjoy the forest strictly from the sky.” He explained as Hunter began looking over the world around them with wonder and awe shining in his eyes. “Besides I’d like to test your knowledge of the flora and fauna that I know Kiki has been teaching you all about. Seeing things in person is far different than reading about it from a book.” Immediately his sons smile returned and the boys obvious happiness brought a warm joy to the elder gargoyles usually frigid soul. A quick glance around the area and Belos found what looked to be a trail that led deeper into the woods and with Hunter sticking close to him they both ventured deeper in… although Belos did reach into the satchel and pull out a map he knew that Kikimora had included within the supplies she’d provided them.

Kiki had truly outdone herself when it came to helping him with this little excursion he’d been planning for himself and Hunter. Of course she’d always gone above and beyond helping him with just about everything he did; but she had found out about this particular section of forest as well as the various hiking trails it was connected to from one of the newer scouts to be accepted into the Emperor’s Coven. A fellow by the name of Steve. He was apparently quite fond of hiking and camping and when she’d inquired further about the different trails he knew, he’d provided the little demon with a map of the entire area that he had made himself. The aforementioned map was very well drawn out and even adorned with a few doodles of some varying monstrous creatures and notes of where to avoid going as to not run into them. There were also other drawings of various types of flora and fauna and where to find them amidst the trails.

It was actually rather impressive work in Belos’s opinion. It would appear this new coven scout had some skills as a cartographer, he would need to remember that for the future. In any case Belos was careful to keep a close eye on both the map and his young son who was energetically running ahead of him on the trail. Taking in every single thing there was to see and at the same time, identifying every species of tree and plant that they saw along the way.

It was to be expected, Hunter’s excitement at finally seeing the world outside of the castle he had spent every night of his life in ever since the day of his hatching. Belos was in many ways too protective of Hunter and it wasn’t as though he didn’t know it. Hell, he barely let Hunter leave his personal wing of the castle and even then, the boy was never unattended.

He just wanted to protect his son…

But there were times he wondered if his overprotectiveness might be doing more harm than good…

He pushed these thoughts away from the front of his mind and instead he refocused his attention onto Hunter; the child now pointing at a particularly large, withered tree with many of its branches cut off and properly identified it as an old Palistrom tree. Belos nodded approvingly at his son and made a mental note to tell Kiki that, in spite of Hunter giving her such a hard time when it came to his studies, the boy was actually paying attention when she tried to teach him things. Still, they continued on and occasionally Hunter would stop in a sunlit patch shining through the branches of the trees overhead and just bask in the warm rays of the sun for a few minutes before continuing down the path with his father.

This is just how it was for hours… peaceful, calm and quiet.

Being careful to stay on the specific path which wouldn’t lead too far into the wilderness, eventually the two came out of the forest and into a more populated area. In actuality the hiking trail had branched off from its main route and led them into an open and spacious park on the outskirts of Bonesborough. Looking around, Belos could see a picnic area with a multitude of different families sitting about and conversing with each other in jovial tones. Directly next to this area was what appeared to be a playground with the standard equipment such as a slide, a jungle gym, some monkey bars etc. Unsurprisingly there was a large gathering of youngsters who were playing and laughing about, not far from the protective gaze of their parents.

“Do you want to go play with the other children Hunter?” Belos inquired as he noticed his son watching the other kids on the playground. As this was perhaps the first time he had ever seen any children his own age.

Hunter watched the other kids with interest for a few minutes before looking back at Belos and shaking his head. “No. I want to spend the day with you!” He stated, but then a low rumbling sound came from his stomach and his ears drooped a little. “But could we eat now? I’m really hungry.”

“A reasonable request.” His father surmised with a slight laugh as he spotted a particularly large tree a fair ways away from the rest of the people currently gathered at the park. He motioned for Hunter to follow him and they both sat down in the shade at the base of this tree. Belos pulled out the bag Kiki had given him and sure enough there wasn’t just food for Hunter inside it. There were two sandwiches, one considerably larger than the other and the smaller of the two had a small sticky note labeled ‘For Hunter’ along with a juice box of apple blood. The larger sandwich had multiple sticky notes attached to it, most of which read along the lines of:

‘Eat this, I mean it!’

‘Seriously, don’t skip another meal!’

‘I know you haven’t eaten in four days!’

And a few others that were mostly along those lines. It made Belos roll his eyes as he handed Hunter his food and drink and unwrapped his own as well. They both had the same lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as Belos wasn’t exactly picky when it came to his food. There was also a thermos of ice-cold water for him. As Hunter was eating his lunch and taking some time to enjoy watching all the other people in this park, Belos couldn’t help but let his mind wander onto some… far less than pleasant topics.

Poor Kiki, she never stopped trying to take care of him. He wasn’t ungrateful to her for her actions as he knew full well that he wasn’t exactly the easiest person on the Isles to deal with… he just wished that she could stop worrying about him. Of course in her mind she didn’t see it that way, and Belos knew that she still saw him the same way as when she’d found him half dead on the riverbed and dragged him into her home all those years ago. She would often state that he was incapable of taking care of himself, as she needed to remind him to take breaks from whatever project he was working on; to sleep or at least attempt to sleep on a normal basis… and most importantly she needed to remind him to eat. As it wasn’t at all uncommon for him to go on for days without food. That one annoyed her the most…

Ironically his explanation for his poor eating habits didn’t involve any form of side effect from his curse…

He had tried to explain this to her before; during his time with the Skull Clan he frequently went hungry or was denied permission to eat. Over time… He just lost his ability to tell when he was hungry and became fine going long periods of time without eating. To him this was normal. Even if she assured him, through gritted teeth, that this was not something that was normal in the slightest. She had eventually managed to convince him to at least attempt to eat at more normal intervals, if only so that Hunter wouldn’t pick up on his bad habit of rarely eating. It was funny how the little demoness always knew how to get him to go along with things. He mused as he quietly ate his own lunch. She’d probably saved him more times that he could count, not to mention prevented him from mistakes that could’ve led to armed rebellions trying to dethrone him.

Especially in regards to the one time he had nearly outlawed adoption. Of course looking back, he was glad she talked him out of that one. Even though he remained someone who was naturally very wary of the practice…

After all he had been adopted himself and look how well that went…

It was a story he wished he could forget, but alas it never stayed buried for long in the dark recesses of his mind. Memories that hurt about as badly as his curse did at times.

His earliest memory was wandering alone lost through a forest he couldn’t remember entering. He was only a child somewhere between the age of 12 and 14 at oldest. He couldn’t remember anything of his past, not his age… let alone his name, if he even had one… All he knew was this terrible awful despair that clung to him down to his very soul. A knowledge that he had no family left, a feeling of brutal abandonment and agonizing betrayal ripped into him and made him sob aloud as he desperately tried to find his way to… anywhere… His pitiful crying however had resulted in being found by two scouts from the Skull Clan, both of whom led him up to the castle that the clan resided in and brought him before their leader Tarloc.

He could still remember the utter loathe he had seen reflected in that creature’s eyes as he stared at him. His bald head adorned with a pair of twisting horns, thick muscular wings with two razor-sharp claws at the ends, a pair of tusk-like teeth protruding from his lower jaw, crimson colored skin and a muscular torso that was partially covered in battle worn armor made him look as though he was actually standing before the devil incarnate.

Tarloc had taken one look at him, a thin gangly boy with long unkempt brown hair and pale yellow skin, a pair of pronged horns atop his head and large feathery wings with white, gold and brown plumage and equipped with a single sharp claw at their tops… Belos knew the second Tarloc saw him, he hated him. He wanted him gone from their territory as fast as possible and he was almost willing to throw him off the cliff at that moment. But this wasn’t the sentiment amongst all the other members of the clan… Especially from his mate Kaluba. She was thin and lithe, built with four wings and amethyst colored skin and wore nothing but a pale white dress, clearly she was no warrior unlike her mate. Her smile had been friendly and she had clearly felt pity for him as had several other members of this clan… And in spite of Tarlocs disapproval he had relented and allowed the lost one to stay.

Kaluba even gave him his name… Belos…

Though this welcome into this new ‘family’ was short-lived. He tried, he tried so hard to fit in, but in spite of that he was always… different… always strange. And what generosity and kindness there had been to begin with rapidly dissipated. Especially in regards to the fact that everyone began to blame him for every random misfortune that befell the clan. They blamed him because of the old superstition that a gargoyle with feathered wings were harbingers of misfortune and bad luck to whatever clan they were a part of. Within a few months of his arrival, his newfound family despised his very existence and that was when the abuse started. Kaluba’s once friendly almost motherly demeanor was now nothing but a glare and a scowl. Not to mention she would frequently crack her tail like a whip against his wings if he was in her way for too long. Sometimes damaging his feathers, but other times she would hit him with enough force to dislocate a wing from his shoulder altogether.

Belos often wondered why they never just cast him out of the clan. Why did they keep him around for the sole purpose of mistreating him and also reminded him continuously that he had nowhere else he could go as to prevent him from finding the courage to leave on his own? Something that had weighed terrible on his psyche for many years… Perhaps it was because he knew the ins and outs of the clans domain; he knew the territory very well and even knew the secret routes within the castles walls. Perhaps they feared he could bring about immense trouble should he tell another rival clan or faction of rogue witches about their layouts and scouting patterns. Perhaps they simply didn’t want to admit that they had made a mistake when they let him stay and become a member of the clan.

Maybe they just grew to enjoy abusing him…

Belos had long suspected the latter was the case. And with that in mind it wasn’t surprising at all that after everything he had endured. Belos took a deep and dark pleasure on the day he returned to the castle and saw the entire clan torn asunder and dead in many a gruesome way. Oh how he wished he could’ve seen it with his own eyes, he would’ve laughed at their suffering-

“What are you thinking about dad?” The voice of Hunter pulled him from the darkest depths of his mind that he had fallen back into. Belos blinked once only to realize that Hunter had climbed up the tree and was now hanging upside down directly in front of his face. Suspended from one of the branches and holding onto it strictly with his tail as he looked at his father with a worried expression. To Belos, he couldn’t help but think how much he looked like a spider dangling from its web…

He also couldn’t explain why that comparison brought a dull pang of pain to his heart for a moment…

“Nothing of any importance my son.” He muttered forcing a smile onto his face and internally chastising himself for allowing his mind to go down such dark paths on what was supposed to be a special day for him and Hunter. Without another word he finished his sandwich and washed it down with what remained of the water in the thermos before returning the empty canister to the satchel. Hunter eyed his father with a bit of concern until the elder gargoyle stood upright and plucked his son from the branch he was dangling from.

“What are we going to do next?” The child questioned as his father set him onto the ground once again.

“Well, there’s supposed to be some sort of bazaar going on in the nearby town. My thoughts were that we would cut through their and browse the various wares the merchants have. Once we finish that, it will be nearly sunset and then we’ll head back to the castle. Sound good?” Hunter nodded eagerly but before he could run ahead of his father, Belos took his hand. Wordlessly informing him that he was not going to leave his side at all during this time.

Admittedly while Belos didn’t have a problem with activities such hiking through the woods where it was unlikely they would be encountering other people. Walking through a populated towns was… well, that was a different thing altogether. It was something that made him tense to say the least.

Belos had never truly been comfortable around people. At the very least he had always felt out of place… at worst he felt as though he didn’t belong anywhere near the rest of the Isles inhabitants. Whether these were the feelings he’d developed due to the torment he had received at the hands of an abusive family… or if they were due to the forgotten memories of a past he could not remember… he was not sure. Of course, the fact that he also stood out physically amongst a crowd wherever he went did not help these feelings. He was 9 feet tall, even taller if one included his horns. Whereas the average male gargoyle on the Boiling Isles stood between 7 and 8, and he was well past that. The fact that he also had a twisting green scar running diagonal across his face was the worst part in his own opinion. If he was self-conscious about anything, it was that damn scar. Even more than his amputated wings.

He hated it. He hated it when it had initially been inflicted by Tarlocs knife when he slashed it across his face, stunning him, and allowing other members of the clan to restrain him while Tarloc hacked off his wings before pushing him off the cliff on the fateful day when he had first been cursed. He hated how over the long years the curse had seeped up and out through this wound and eventually spread across the entirety of his face and even began to spread down his neck. He hated it so much… He even hated how many of the other scars that riddled his body were beginning to take on a similar appearance as well.

But as uncomfortable as he was going into this town, he did his best to not let it show. Fortunately, Hunter seemed none the wiser to his discomfort. As he was captivated by all of the hustle and bustle that surrounded them as they made their way through the busy streets and into the towns center where the bazaar was being held. Belos, to his own complete surprise, found himself feeling more at ease when he realized few people were sparing him second glances. Everyone was far more interested at the wide variety of stalls with all sorts of unique and unusual goods. Thankfully all of this was deemed to be far more interesting than a gargoyle with an unusual scar on his face and prosthetic wings. For that he was grateful.

Hunter was entranced by this area. His eyes wide and alert at the sight of all the different kinds of people and strange items that he was now finally getting to see up close. Although he and his father were looking at all of the different wares for sale nothing initially caught either of their attention…

Until they passed one particular stall that had quite a few stuffed toys.

As soon as Hunter saw this one particular stuffed animal, something that if the Emperor had to guess was supposed to be some kind of anthropomorphic pink frog, the child’s eyes widened and his pupils dilated. He bit his lower lip and didn’t say anything… No doubt he probably felt a little awkward asking his father to buy something else for him when he was already having probably the best day of his life. But Belos was nothing if not an observant man and he selected the toy his child clearly wanted and paid the woman for it. The nice lady smiling as she presented it to the young gargoyle.

Belos would never get tired of seeing Hunter smile.

And if a silly stuffed animal brought him another smile, he would gladly pay for it.

As twilight fell over the Isles and after seeing everything there was to see at the bazaar, it was clear that in spite of Hunters eagerness to continue his outing with his father, the boy was reaching the point of exhaustion. Even the incredible amount of energy young children were naturally blessed with had its limits.

Realizing there was no way that Hunter could manage to walk the long ways back to the castle, Belos picked up his tired son and decided that, rather than have to deal with any sort of public transportation, he was just going to find a high vantage point and glide back to the castle. After locating and climbing the tallest building in the area he spread his prosthetic wings and took to the sky. Fortunately for him, gargoyles were not an uncommon sight on the Boiling Isles and it was also not uncommon for them to climb up the sides of buildings in order to be able to catch a decent air current to glide on, and very few people had any problems with them doing this…

And even if someone had a problem, no one was about to tell a 9ft tall intimidating as all hell gargoyle like Belos he couldn’t do something…

Of course, the flight back took a fair amount of time, and when they managed to return to the castle, the sun had already set and night had fallen. Darkness proved to be a useful asset to Belos, as it concealed his approach from the eyes of the guards that were stationed on the roof. Something although beneficial for him on this particular night, would need to be rectified in the future. As he didn’t much care for the thought of some winged assassin or Wild Witch having such an easy time making it to his castle unnoticed in the dark… he didn’t actually fear for his life, merely disliked the thought of what an inconvenience it would bring him moreso than any actual threat.

Nonetheless he was able to land on his private balcony with relative ease and when he checked, he found that Hunter was sound asleep against his chest. A small smile still visible on his soft, young features. The sight brought Belos a small genuinely happy smile of his own. Honestly this day had been one of the happiest he’d had in so long… his curse had not bothered him once and he was able to set his eyes on something other than the repetitive sight of his castles walls. He’d shared a meal with his son outside in the warm sun and just… enjoyed himself…

Of course, no sooner had he opened the doors that led into his room did he come face to face with… himself? As standing directly in front of him in the center of his room was a precise copy of Belos, adorned with his golden mask and clad in his formal robes. The sight actually made him chuckle as he got close enough to inspect this apparent doppelgänger.

“Hmmm, it appears that I need to polish my mask.” He said in a joking tone as he looked at Kikis well-made illusion and appreciating all the effort Kikimora had put into this façade which she’d worn all day to give him this free day with his son.

“You have other things to worry about other than polishing a mask. Frankly it took all of my self-control not to smack some of the idiots you have to regularly deal with.” His own voice said with dull annoyance just as there was a brief flash of light and within a second the illusionary Belos evaporated until Kikimora was the only one standing before him. She stood before her dear friend and looked up at him and sighed a tired yet still happy sigh. “So, how was your day out?”

“It was amazing...” To the surprise of both Belos and Kikimora, Hunter answered the question. Apparently, he was not quite as asleep as originally believed to be judging by his barely open eyes and a small sleepy smile still on his face. “This was the best day ever...” He whispered the small smile broadening as he began to purr slightly. An odd trait that was seemingly unique strictly to Belos and Hunter for as far as Kiki knew they were the only gargoyles on all of the Boiling Isles capable of purring. However the young boys exhausted declaration simply made his father laugh… not chuckle or snicker, but actually laugh. For a moment anyway, before his smile faded and he carefully pulled the sun talisman off of his sons neck.

“I’m glad you thought so Hunter.” Belos said trying to rouse the boy. “But this was a very special day and while I’m glad that you enjoyed yourself. However this talisman is not something that you are ready for just yet. There will come a day when I will give it back to you but it won’t be until you’re older. Do you understand?”

“I don’t think he does Belos…” Kikimora said barely managing to restrain her own laughter. “He fell asleep after the word thought.” She eventually couldn’t help it and had a small laughing fit.

Belos rolled his eyes and let out a tired sigh. “I think I will go and put him to bed. He’s probably going to sleep until sunrise. So he will undoubtedly be a hellion tomorrow night.”

“Perhaps you should try to get some sleep yourself Belos.” Kiki said as most of her amusement left her voice spare for some trace amounts still resounding within her stern tone. “You had a wonderful day today with your son. Maybe you should try to take advantage of this and see if it brings you good dreams tonight. So please… try to get some sleep.”

Belos considered her words for a bit before sighing and realizing she was right, as she usually was. He was tired, but it was a good tired and not his usual exhaustion which he would feel weighing on him down to his very soul. “I will give it a try… Maybe I’ll get an hour or two.”

“Or maybe he’ll even get an entire nights worth of sleep.” Kiki added hopefully. “Either way I’m happy you two had such a good time.”

“We did Kiki, and I promise to tell you all about it a little later.” Belos said softly as he went to Hunters room and tucked the sleeping child into his bed and planted a kiss on his head before he returned to his own room and collapsed onto his bed without even removing his prosthetic wings.