brightlit

[brightlit]

change - reunion

virag was quite worried during her flight. she saw hunter’s messages, which served as a jumpscare to her, since she wasn’t anticipating an early arrival from him- if anything, quite the opposite. her being late was nothing unusual either, but never compared to hunter.

the way wasn’t too long, so she arrived before seven as well. their spot was quite gorgeous, and quite hard to discover. the entrance was a little crevice, which you basically had to squeeze through, and it led to a huge, open cave system. it was purple, and full of mushrooms.

but their actual spot, was on a little ledge. it looked down on a gorgeous, gorgeous tree, one that beamed with life and provided enough light for the entire place.

she landed softly on the ledge. for a second, she couldn’t find hunter, which confused her. but mere seconds later, she looked down, and say the boy tangled up between the tree’s roots.

“hunter!” virag yelled, not too loudly. the place was not inhibited by the usual wildlife, or witches, so they often felt the need to be quiet, and not disturb the place’s piece.

hunter immediately looked up, and began to detangle him from the tree’s roots. he kind of resembled a worm, and the sight cracked virag up.

the boy soon joined her on the ledge. flapjack and meri quickly started playing with each other, while hunter basically crashed into virag for a hug. he kind of smelled like smoke, pine trees and green apples.

he made a noise that sort of resembled whining, then pulled away and looked at her with a pouty face. “are you okay? i was so worried! next time just text me more, are you trying to kill me?” virag opened her mouth to reply, but hunter didn’t let her just yet. “no no! let me yell at you first!” he said, meanwhile not even remotely yelling. he was closer to whispering than yelling. “you just left? like that? then gave the most cryptic replies possible, and had me all worried for steve who was quite literally just SLEEPING?! and you kept disappearing over text and never addressed anything! on date night? really?” he pouted. virag just hugged him again in response.

“i’m sorryyyy! i really am! i was just so overwhelmed and thought it was best if i don’t send you too many notifications. then she sighed. “okay, so… i’ll tell you everything now. you might want to sit down for this?” she said, trying to act it off as funny. it did not erase his concerns.

they just sat there for a minute or two, virag trying to start her monologue every now and then, and then stopping herself to change her phrasing. hunter had his hand on top of hers, and once meri snuggled back into her pocket, she began.

“so i’ve been living with you for a few months now.. and i love it! i really really love it, spending time with you means a lot to me and i wish i could do it all the time..” hunter raised his eyebrows which made virag want to scream gutterally. “yeah. so it’s like my favourite thing ever and i love your room and…”

“so?? what’s wrong?” hunter asked, visibly confused.

“well, as much as i love it.. i just have to… ermm… leave? but not really? i just want to explore! i feel like i’m locked in a cage.. a really nice cage but still a cage- and i just need to explore everything, and help luz find us a way back home, and.. ughghgh so hard to express..” virag took a break to observe hunter’s body language and expression.

“oh… okay.” he seemeed a bit down for a second. “that’s okay!” he tried to beam up. “of course, i understand, yeah, yeah of course! that makes sense!” he laughed awkwardly, and his ears went a little red. his chin was wobbly, and virag immediately went to hug him.

“i’m sorry! we will continue meeting up every day, and we will figure this out i promise! it’s not you i want to leave, or flapjack, i want to stay with you every day, but i miss the freedom of the isles. i mean- i know we go out nightly but.. it’s just important for me to be out there during the day with luz, and find new things and discover a way home… you know?” hunter nodded. he did understand. he just didn’t want to.

“and besides!” virag cheered. “you could leave the coven too! then we could explore together and perhaps even my worl-” hunter flinched at her words.

“you know that isn’t an option. i can’t just up and leave. i can’t.” he sighed as he crossed his arms. virag just frowned, all too familiar with this answer.

“yeah, i know.”

“so… where will you live?” hunter inquired.

“the owl house. i think. luz said so. but i’ll figure it out, you have enough things to worry about! really.” hunter stood up, and virag followed.

“and what about tonight?” they checked the time, and it showed 7:03 pm. time in that cave seemed to pass by slower, which was quite confusing, as they were sure they have spent more time together than just 12 minutes. however, it was one of the quirks of the cave that they were quite fond of.

“uh.. i don’t know? not back in the castle. it’s too dangerous to sneak back in. after-” virag started, but cut herself off.

“after?”

“nothing, just after i decided to leave, you know? maybe i wouldn’t find the mental strength again!” virag laughed it off. it was a heavy weight on her, but she decided not to tell hunter about her encounter with belos, and she was glad he seemed to forget about the steve incident. “anyway, i might just sleep here. these mushrooms look veeeerrrryy comfortable, don’t you agree?” she said, while looking at the jellyshrooms.

hunter exhaled, and then followed up. “i agree, yeah. do you think they can fit two?” he smiled down at her.

“really?” virag beamed up, and hunter nodded. “won’t you get in trouble for being out for so long?”

“nah, i’ll just try and get back early. don’t worry. date night is way too important for me to just leave.” he winked. “and i will bring you all your stuff, like journals and clothes one by one, okay?” virag just hugged him in response. she even teared up a bit, she was really glad hunter took it so well.

they chatted for another hour or two, which seemed like a swift 40 minutes in the cave. they moved onto the mushroom, got comfortable, and talked about their day, the logistics of the move, and just everything they could think of. slowly, they started to drift to sleep, the noises of the environment acting as a lullaby around them. hunter pressed one last kiss on virag’s forehead, and then fell asleep after her.

fun facts

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u can see what their spot looks like on the pics below

hunter actually took the news well and did his best not to freak out

the mushrooms were really comfortable

time actually does move slower and they are not hallucinating

[brightlit]

change - council

they landed on top of the loop, after a few minute long ride. they took a detour, because virag thought she saw a rat- they tried to follow it, but then weird lights came from it’s direction, so they decided to turn back and leave it alone.

they spent almost the entire way there chatting about gus’ antics, and penstagram posts. virag actually almost fell off meri once, due to the non-stop laughter giving her a stomach ache.

nevertheless, they made it. willow was not exaggerating- the view from the top of the loop was gorgeous, you could basically see entire arm of the titan. virag thought about how nice sunsets must look here, but her thought process was interrupted by luz crashing into her, which was then followed by them falling onto the hard surface of the loop’s top.

“VIRAAAAG” she screamed from excitement, and virag just giggled in response, trying her hardest to ignore her now aching back.

“LUUZ! i missed youuu!” virag said with a similar tone of excitement. luz was practically beaming.

she also greeted amity shortly after, and they settled back down. luz was really excited to tell virag more about glyphs, her drawings, and more, which made virag experience less of the whole ‘lumity pre-relationship jitters’ as her and willow would call it. but soon after, the topic shifted.

“so, are you okay? how come you’re here at noon? you usually meet us at like… 2 am or something.” amity asker, her tone tinted with concern.

“i know right? so peaceful… no monsters trying to eat us lurking in the dark.. i think i even saw a rat.” virag said, which somehow did not please the others as much as it did her. she sighed. “well, basically….” and then she paused, follow by a groan shortly after. “ughhh, this is so hard to starttt…”

“take your time!” willow said with an encouraging smile.

“hmm… okay, so, you know how i’ve been living in hunters room, right?” they all nodded. “so, i just… had enough.. i don’t knooowww. it was me, meri, him, his palisman, and i was just starting to go insane, sitting in his room with palismen all day. he is out working, belos doesn’t-”

“why doesn’t he just stop working for belos?” luz interrupted.

“well- it’s difficult, they are kinda tightly bound, i don’t know the specifics. he doesn’t really love him as an emperor, but is attached to him as a person?” virag took a pause, and her friends’ eyes widened. “oh trust me, i don’t understand either. but i guess he never had many people as his support system outside of belos.”

“well, now he’s got all of us! and you, most importantly. so maybe this is his chance to get out?” willow exclaimed, while chewing on some eggshell chips.

“i’ll try to talk to him about it. but, back to the story, basically i just got tired of not doing anything to explore this place before we go home.” she said as she looked at luz. “i want to explore this place, create connections, meet animals, get inspired…. and he means so much to me but i can’t do that from his room. but it’s so difficult because-” she sighed again. “i’d be cutting off his support system - me - , and i want him to rest but he’d just be more motivated to get out in the middle of the night.”

“but you wanna stay together?” luz asked.

“definitely! i love him so much, and i would not want to hurt him like that. i asked him to meet me today, at our special place. but he doesn’t know what it’s about.” luz gasped.

“you haven’t told him?” she said, seemingly horrified. virag chuckled nervously.

“i knoooow, i can’t text him much, and i sorta just left. but i asked him to meet me at 7, his shift should end at 6 today, so i hope he can get here. i obviously hadn’t thought thus through too much.”

“and where will you live now?” amity posed the question.

“exactly! i have no idea.” virag shrugged. “not too proud of the planning here.”

“the owl house is always open! we’d love to house you!” luz exclaimed.

“have you asked eda about that?” amity followed up.

“nah, but she’d be fine with it.”

“aren’t you kinda broke?” virag asked in a low voice. “no offense.”

“well, who cares! eda would still be fine with it. soooo.. wanna stay at ours?”

“are you sure?” virag asked, still in a low tone.

“heck yeah?!” luz replied, in a ‘i don’t see why not’ tone.

“thank youuuuu..” she said, and crawled over to hug luz, and the girl hugged her back with enthusiasm. a little too much of it.

“can’t.. breathe..” virag mumbled, barely auidble.

“sorry! just sooo excited for you to live with us!” luz exclaimed.

amity took a deep breath in. “so.. i do agree that you should move out. being that close to belos is dangerous, and whatever bond he has wit hunter… best for you to not get too involved.” virag’s face twisted at that. “oh you got involved didn’t you?” amity asked immediately.

“nooo… i mean.. not really?? i don’t know.. i was trying to get out of the castle, and i accidentally met belos, and he was soo intimidcating… and touched my shoulder, then it was all tingly… eugh.” she shook the feeling off. “but, he left us alone. i was careful, but never noticed being followed or anything, soo..”

“responsible.” willow added, and virag was not sure if she was sarcastic or not.

they continued to chat, luz never letting go of her horrified demeanour after virag told her she had spoken with belos. everyone ended up agreeing that it’s better for her to move out, and they all wished her luck on her chat later.

the conversation later shifted onto other things. virag tried to learn some glyphs, willow tried to do a cartwheel, and luz was forced to eat a fairy leg in a game of truth or dare. they had agreed to stay with virag until 6:30, so she doesn’t have to be alone too long before meeting hunter.

as 6:30 approached, virag was already on her staff, trying to procrastinate leaving. when the conversation lulled, she did end up saying goodbye and leaving.

fun facts

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lumity was pretty chill for the first part, but after the conversation got trivial again they were right back at it

virag learnt the ice glyph

today Is infact date night

they have one every week

this is the first time virag forgot

hunter got there at 6:30 and was texting her by 6:31 even tho they said 7

[brightlit]

change - rescue

virag was pacing around, with meri running up and down her arm. she has been waiting for willow at the discussed spot for seven minutes now, and she was contemplating just going back and chatting with hooty until she shows up.

two minutes later, willow appeared in the distance. she was waving at virag, who lightly waved back. willow landed and almost stumbled over her own feet.

“sorry, sorry! took a little detour when clover smelled a bunch of gnarchideas. she was just NOT willing to turn into a staff. and it is not comfy to walk here.” willow exclaimed before giving virag a very quick hug.

“don’t worry, i wasn’t too bored.” not even meri believed that. “thanks for fetching me, i have never heard of the loop before?” she said with a tint of confusion in her voice.

“it’s this little cave… place… thing. eh, you’ll see for yourself. we call it the loop because it goes around! it’s fun, but full of creepy critters.” after willow said that, both virag and her shuddered a little bit. she was very glad willow didn’t elaborate.

“what’s good about that?” virag asked, still creeped out.

“oh, the cave itself is not too fun. but we always throw picnics on top of it, it’s a pretty big, flat surface with an amazing view! you can see a huge part of the island, and the ocean! and if it suddenly started raining, we could hide in the cave, so it’s pretty safe. no coven guards either!” willow explained enthusiastically.

“you should have a career in real estate.” virag said with a giggle.

“in what?” willow said, tilting her head from confusion.

“nevermind, human thing. so, show me the way?” virag tilter her head as well, so that her eyes were level with willow’s.

“of course! but let me ask, are you okay? why are you here? did something happen with hunter?” the girl looked very worried, and it could be felt in her tone as well. virag paused for a second after her question, which gave willow some extra anxiety.

“umm… i’m okay! i think? i don’t really know what to- you know what, let’s just get there, this is actually what i came here for. to discuss it with all of you, i mean.” she said, and went to fetch meringue, who was now up on some tree. “oh and-” she said kind of louder, while trying to grab meringue off some branches that were way too high up for her comfort - “again, thanks for fetching me. still not the best at navigating this island.”

“don’t mention it! i was glad to get away, actually.” virag just looked back at her in confusion, still half up a tree, which made willow chuckle. “oh, i don’t mean it in a bad way, but luz and amity are ALL over each other. and i mean alllll over. not physically, but both of them go red like every two seconds. especially amity. they actually turn red, i thought only monsters did that! and when i left, luz accidentally said ‘take your time’, and then tried to correct herself in like five different ways. i did not even reply.” she sighed, and virag, with meri finally as a staff next to her, just looked at her, with her mouth agape.

“it’s that bad? last time they were just afraid to do anything around each other, but.. wow. i think i also saw them flirt in the groupchat? i think? but i couldn’t decide, they communicate in… unpredictable ways.” she just stood there, trying to think about how to have this conversation with them in their current state. she also didn’t want to imagine how awkward it just was for willow. “oh, that reminds me, where is gus?”

“ohhh, locked up in his room.” willow chuckled.

“huh.”

“mhm. he tried to prank his dad with some illusion, and it was bad. i don’t know what he did, but i would looove to know. that’s basically all he said on his penstagram, and that he was grounded, and to come rescue him. he hasn’t posted in 2 days now, so i don’t think anyone rescued him.” virag laughed, and hopped on her staff, which willow did so as well.

“why is he so mischevous? you’d think he is so innocent, with his high pitched voice and nerdy beaviour..” virag scrunched her eyebrows in confusion at the thought.

willow chuchkled, and simultaneously raised her hand, swiftly initiating their departure.

“yeah, he’s been doing crazy stuff lately. dunno what’s with him. hormones? he’s growing up? no idea….” she took a pause. “ but! we should probably get going. i wanna know what happened to you.”

“pfff.. alright.” virag sighed, knowing that this conversation is going to be difficult.

fun facts

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a gnarchidea is an orchid but it’s flowers are alive. they love to gnarl. very harmless though and palismen love them

the creepy critters are a combination of spiders and mushrooms, accompanied by some strange bats.

luz n amity r actually pining so hard

luz thinks she is smooth w it (she isn’t, amity is just down bad)

meringue is a troublemaker as you can see

gus recently learnt about clowns in school

they don’t have clowns in the isles

he made one of illusion for his dad and jumpscared him with it

then tried to be funny

it was not funny

his dad is traumatized

he is grounded for a week

indeed no one rescued him

he is also addicted to penstagram. he posts a lot and has over 7000 posts from the past 5 months

it’s a combination of teenager and base gus

the loop is about 4 minutes from the owl house

it’s just very very uphill so it’s basically impossible to walk

amity took luz on her palisman and they were both dying the entire way

[brightlit]

change - good morning

after she sent the texts to the groupchat, she shoved her phone-like device into her jacket pocket. she heard it buzz she chose to ignore it for the sake of not falling off her staff.

she kept heading towards the owl house, the path was one she could take in her sleep. since she moved in with hunter, shes been coming here basically 3-4 times per week.

the weight of her situation started hitting her mid-way. she left hunter’s room. she met the emperor. she talked to the emperor. the emperor touched her shoulder. she got out alive. she is now heading to the owl house, without a single clue about what to do. she has not thought this through.

where will she go now? where will she live? okay, exploring all day and not being stuck in hunter’s room is amazing, but where will she sleep or shower? how will she get food?

she sighed and decided to toss these thoughts to the side for about ten minutes before it got brought up in conversation again by the girls.

she landed a few steps away from the owl house. meri quickly turned back into her usual squirrel form. virag scowled at her.

“you could’ve gotten us killed. why don’t you use your head?? did you not hear the belos right in front of us? you know how he is about palismen.” virag spat at meringue, to which in response meri just chirped. virag sighed and pet her, knowing she wouldn’t be able to stay mad at her.

she shoved meringue into her pocket and walked up to the front door of the owl house. she coughed in order to wake the… house guard? house? door? up. the said creature yelped and then immediately yawned in response before properly opening his eyes.

“virag? this early?” he said surprised.

“hello hooty! yes, off schedule, typical me. how are you?” virag then listened to hooty’s monologue, not wanting to interrupt in order not to seem impolite. someone else, however, decided to stop him after 4,5 minutes.

“enough, bird. you’re basically yelling. it’s too early for this, go back to sleep.” she said from inside of the house, after not too loudly slamming her palm on the door. hooty sighed and opened to let virag in.

“oh? is that who he was talking to? thought he just finally lost it. hi, kid.” eda said. she seemed quite fresh out of bed, still in her robe, slippers, and with a mug of apple blood. her hair was maybe a bit messier than usual, though that is hard to decide.

“hi, eda!” virag said before stepping closer to her. “thank you.” she whispered to her, referring to the previous (unintended) rescue.

“just the usual.” eda shrugged in response with a smile. “how come you are here? is it the middle of the night?” she said before doing a triple check out the window to make sure the sun was shining.

“yeah, no, a little different today. i’ll tell you about it later. are the girls here?” virag looked around the room to find king sprawled out on the couch. “hey king!” virag said, and king just groaned in response and rolled over. looks like 11am is still too early for this house.

eda scratched her head. “err, i think they’re waiting outside. like, bit behind the house or maybe a lot behind it. or elsewhere. dunno. sorry kid-” she yawned. “too early.” virag just blinked. it was 11:28 am.

“okay, thanks eda. see you later, have a peaceful morning!” she said as she hurried out the door.

fun facts

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eda and co usually wake up at 6, then go back to sleep til 1:30. this change only happened in the past month, they used to have a good sleep schedule

when luz said “awww thats so sweet” amity took 3 minutes to reply bc she got flustered

luz hated all of those foods but wanted to be nice to amity

when she said “ams” amity died she was RED

virag also hates those foods and luz knows damn well

eating in the boiling isles is not for the weak

virag tried to only send 1 msg to hunter so his phone thing doesnt buzz too much

hunter is brewing….

he has no clue what is going on

the loop is like a small cave system it has one entrance and its like ?? u go around in it then ure back basically like a C it’s not too big

they like to picnic on top of it cuz it’s a flat surface w a nice view

[brightlit]

change - the gardens

he was tall, extraordionarily tall. he had a long cloak that made a windy noise while dragging on the ground, and a mask that had antlers on top of it, making him look even taller than he was.

she knew exactly who he was, and she was scared shitless. but she didn’t want to act suspicious. she had already shut the door behind herself, so she just kept on walking forward in the garden, hoping he would not pay her any mind. stupid, considering no one was scheduled to be in the gardens at this time of day. 

he turned his head towards her but she just kept walking straight, still military style. they were about to pass each other, when he extended his palisman like coven stick in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. her stomach dropped.

she turned around to face him and bowed down, even if it made her feel immense disgust. she’d rather flatter him for a minute and survive than be turned into stone. yeah, she’s heard stories.

“what should i thank your presence for?” he was breathing with a weird, raspy noise, and his speech had a weird echo to it. virag couldn’t decide if it was due to the mask, or simply a weird quirk of the emperor. 

the question made her mind race, thinking about endless possibilities in less than a second. she coughed a little and spoke in a voice much deeper than her usual one. “i was sent here to check on the garden, sir. someone saw movement and wanted to make sure nothing gets disturbed and there are no unwanted visitors here.” as she answered she slowly felt a vine creep along her ankle. her heart was racing, hoping she answered correctly. her voice faltered, and she hoped he wouldn’t notice.

“why wouldn’t they check it out themselves?” he said in a weird tone, she couldn’t quite place it. playful? threatening? 

“they were quite a new recruit sir. i’m sure they just wanted to make sure the garden would be safe, and maybe wanted to send out a more experienced guard.“ she bowed down again, chewing on the inside of her cheek. was that egotistical? “i apologize if that was cocky, sir. what are your orders?”

the emperor stayed quiet for a second. virag heard a small breath, almost as if he was preparing to say something- but then meringue moved under her cloak, and ran from the pocket of her hoodie into the pocket of her pants. virag was sure that her heart skipped a beat in that moment.

she saw a really faint hint of green and then blue shift under the emperor’s mask, though she convinced herself that she must be hallucinating from the stress. she could only pray to the titan, or god, or whatever higher being there was that belos did not notice meri’s stunt. she made a mental note to scold her for that later. if they made it out, that is.

“i think i’ll go discipline them myself. you just go and make sure the garden is safe and intruder free. wouldn’t want someone who doesn’t belong here to wander around these parts, now would we?” she quickly nodded, though she was almost entirely sure that belos saw through her facade and this is it for her. the emperor started walking away and so did she, but a second later she felt a hand on her shoulder. 

it was weirdly cold and moist, and it belonged to the emperor. now she was certain that this was it for her and she had made a mistake. she saw her life flash before her eyes.

“what was the guards name? can’t quite teach a lesson to someone who’s identity i do not know.” he said in a chilly tone, that made ants crawl up her spine. she was sure he caught her now.

“steve, sir.” she felt horribly guilty for giving up the name of her ally, as steve was the only guard she had communicated with beside hunter, but this was simply flight or fight. and she really wanted to stay alive. and anyway, steve seemed to have immense luck when it comes to survival. he has survived multiple encounters with the slitherbeast.

“good work today.” he said, his tone sounding more crisp than before. he let go of her shoulder, but the place where he previously put her hand felt weird. it felt tingly, as if something was under her skin, rejecting his entire being. 

she was sure he knew of her origin, so once belos left and she couldn’t hear his steps any longer, she sprinted out of the garden, into the forest. 

as soon as she reached the forest, she tore the white cloak off of herself, alongside the rest of the uniform. she felt a weird sense of relief having gotten rid of the weird musk. she fished meringue out of her pocket, and promised to scold her later for her stunt. not now though, her focus was currently on getting as far as possible. meringue turned into a staff, and they quickly took off.

fun facts ≽^• ˕ • ྀི≼

hunter is stressing OUT about those messages

he did go to check on steve but he was not on shift, he was literally laying in his bed

belos didn't even approach him because he saw through the bullshit

luz jumped up when she read "i'm heading towards the owl house"

willow is the only one who uses her brain in that gc

[brightlit]

change - different

virag suddenly awoke to a loud noise. she quickly sat up in the bed and turned to her left to find the origin of the sound, only to see meringue looking down at a pile of books and acting weirdly innocent.

virag just huffed and laid back down in an attempt to fall back asleep, but her palisman’s stunt shook all the drowsiness out of her. she was hoping to find hunter beside her, but realistically, she knew she wouldn’t. 

the boy always woke up and went out in ungodly hours of the morning- even though virag was somewhat of an early riser herself, if she ever were to catch him in the mornings it would be due to her being a light sleeper and waking up to the noises he made whilst getting himself ready. he tried his best to stay as quiet as he could to avoid this, as he would always feel bad afterwards.

she knew it wasn’t anything he could help, belos ordered him around as if he were a robot. he wasn’t particularly happy about it, but he’d never dare talk badly about his boss- it was basically all he knew before flapjack and virag came into his life. he was an uncle to him, his family. almost.

they were helping him with staying somewhat sane, but they couldn’t quite save him per say. what could they do against belos? he was a tyrant. he would crush them if they didn’t bow down to his rules. and she strongly theorized that a big part of hunter’s loyalty to belos is him being scared of the latter as well.

however there was a small bump where hunter used to lay.

she pulled the blanket slightly back to reveal the red palisman. he chirped at virag and repositioned himself into her palm. this was basically how all their mornings started.

they had settled into a comfortable routine. virag and the palismen would usually sit in the silence of the castle in the mornings, and as the day went on virag would sometimes occupy herself by talking to meri and flap- she would tell them about a specific book series she likes, her life in the human realm, or just anything she could think of that she wanted to share. she would sometimes get a chirp from them in reply. 

other times they would eavesdrop on the random guards around the castle- the ones on the hallway or the ones under the windows of hunter’s room. if they said something unhinged, funny or pathetic virag and flapjack would make fun of them (well, virag would and flapjack would laugh along- as much as a bird can laugh). meringue usually refused to take part in this activity, she would rather be snuggled up in a quiet corner of the room.

then, when hunter eventually returned, all four of them would sneak out to wander around the isles. they would disguise themselves as guards on night watch, and once they were out of sight, they would drop the uniforms and just be themselves. sometimes they would even meet up with the friends they had made during these explorations.

this usually had to be kept short as hunter would return quite late from his shifts as golden guard, and he would be quite exhausted as well, wanting to pass out in his bed as soon as possible. logically, this would aid him to be less miserable when he had to wake up. but he didn’t want his companions to get bored stuck in his room all day, so he would seldom risk being more tired in the mornings in order to be able to go out. 

there were days when hunter returned after virag had already fallen asleep, making it impossible for the two of them to spend any time together. those were the worst. hunter would usually try to make up for it the day after. not that it was his fault.

however, today felt different. virag was just tired of all of this. she wanted to explore the boiling isles, she wanted to improve her chances to find a way back home. she didn’t want to constantly endanger both her and meringues life, and by extension hunters and flapjacks, just by being in the castle. she wanted to work on practicing glyphs with luz, if she had to be stuck in the isles, she at least wanted freedom to explore, no matter how much she loved hunter. and it wasn’t fair to the others either- the golden guard was making big sacrifices for her, constantly sneaking around to protect her. and if they were found out, it would be over for all of them, including the palismen.

so she decided this has to be over. 

“flap?” she quietly said to the bird resting in her palm. he tilted his head in reply.

“i have been thinking for the past few weeks, and i feel like i just need to get out of here.” the bird widened his eye ever so slightly and gave a quiet tweet in response.

“i know, i know, i will miss you too. and you know how much i love you guys, but me staying here isn’t fair to anyone. not to me, not to you, not to hunter or meri. i’ll talk to the others today. tell hunter to meet me at our usual spot today, okay? in case he doesn’t see my message. and tell him not to worry and be careful when sneaking out!” virag whispered to the bird and put him down on hunter’s pillow. flapjack flew onto her shoulder, chirping to her, perhaps trying to convince her to stay. but she had already made up her mind. 

she grabbed her fake uniform that hunter once stole from the laundry room. it had a weird musk to it that no amount of vanilla perfume could cover up, but it has definitely gotten better over the past few weeks. however she still felt icky while putting it on. both because of the smell and because of the things it represented. it’s safe to say she didn’t agree with the emperor’s coven when it came to most stuff.

she couldn’t fly during the day, she would be found out, as the guards are more strict than during the night. so, she stuck to a more traditional method.

once she was all dressed she scooped meringue up, who was previously chewing on hunter’s pencil. she quickly snuck under her coat, and into the pocket of virag’s light pink hoodie.

she opened the door ever so slightly and quickly took a look around the hallway to make sure it was empty. once she confirmed it, she silently slid out the door and closed it behind her, making sure the lock didn’t make a noise. 

she started walking on the hallway, military style, acting as if she were on duty. she tried to keep a good posture and take long, even steps, which resulted in quite an odd sight. she knew the schedule of the guards from her time spent observing, so she should be able to leave without being spotted, but she was still as careful as she could be, looking around every corner and taking her steps as quietly as possible.

she was on the ground floor now, she saw the door that she would leave through. it wasn’t the main enterance, as that was heavily guarded. it was a back door that led to the gardens, which was unguarded in the mornings. from there she could easily walk out and disappear into the forest.

she opened the door and shut it behind her, sighing with relief.

until she saw him.

fun facts ≽^• ˕ • ྀི≼

virag has been staying at hunters for a LONG time

her fake uniform smells like microwaved fresh fish

and it makes her wanna gag every time she puts it on

when hunter got those messages he immediately assumed the

worst as virag never quadruple texts him during the day

he got very concerned and hid so she could text her back

their little phones they use are Very illegal in the coven

[brightlit]

change - hunter x virag

╰┈➤in which virag decides to change their everydays for the better 𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼

chapter one : different

chapter two : the gardens

chapter three : good morning

chapter four : rescue

chapter five : council

chapter six : reunion