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hxney-lemcn · 2 years

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Stop Being Snarky — Hunter x gn! reader

Summery: Having a high rank in a coven isn’t all it turns out to be, especially when you have to deal with a sassy teen.

tw: Reader gets injured (not graphic or described)

wc: 2.6k

Master List

I quickly shuffled my way towards the captain scout of the emperor's coven. Sir Osran has told me I was joining one of their missions. It was supposedly going to be dangerous, and they wanted a talented oracle to join their forces, and that’s where I came in.

I was considered a prodigy. I was only sixteen and serving as the Oracle Coven Head’s assistant. Though deep down I knew I wasn’t a prodigy. It was all nepotism at play. My grandparents were esteemed healers, and they had friends in the oracle coven. I happen to have a knack at oracle magic and always found it easy. Though I don’t believe I’m exactly qualified to be in such a high position. I had much to learn but since my position is time consuming I had to ‘graduate early’ as my family put it.

I kept my hood up, my golden mask hiding the upper half of my face. It wasn’t required or a part of dress code, I requested it since people didn’t like to take me seriously. Not only did the older members look down on me for my age, a lot of them also talked about how I needed to prove myself, and how I needed to earn my respect. I agreed, but it certainly didn’t help my already low self esteem.

Coming back to reality, I looked over the scouts who seemed to be standing around…in confusion? Were they not debriefed before coming out here? Especially for a dangerous mission. After all, we were looking for clues for a wild witch that has been known for not being merciful.

“Does your team know why we’re here?” I asked out shortly. After all, the only time people actually respected me was when I was stern. Which wasn’t in my nature, but it was necessary.

“N-not yet Mx (l/n),” The captain stuttered out nervously. I felt my eyebrows crease as my view on the Emperor’s coven lowered. “We didn’t have much notice…” They trailed off, probably sensing my disappointment. Besides, if I was given time to prepare, these scouts should have as well.

“I don’t need excuses,” I sighed out, already exhausted. I’ll make sure to talk to their superior about keeping their underlings up to date. That’s the only way to keep your coven well organized and keep everyone prepared.

But before I could call out to everyone to explain what we were here to do today, the sound of boots on dirt seemed to alert everyone and they got into formation. Heads held high, backs straight, uniforms pristine. It would be impressive if they weren’t just doing it to please their superior. Now trust me, I’m a kid, I know witches can’t be at attention 24/7, but they should show some decency on a mission. Besides, they had an image to carry.

“Everyone branch this area out for clues,” The Golden Guard ordered. “The wild witch Lars Sephiran was spotted near here recently. Dismissed.” “Wait!” I called out. Stopping the scouts from moving. They stood stiffly, unsure what to do. “You call that a debriefing?”

“Would you like to do it then Mx. (l/n)?” The Golden Guard replied.

“I would,” I said pointedly.

This wasn’t the first time I had an encounter with him. We seemed to be around similar ages, his boyish voice told it all. But I knew that he was smart and experienced. You’d think since our stories are similar we’d get along, something to bond over y’know? Wrong. He was a little shit. And though I didn’t like starting things with people…he was an exception. He’d like to get on my nerves so I got on his.

“Scouts!” I called out to gain their attention. “We are here to hunt and find the wild witch Lars Sephiran. He is a dangerous witch, so be careful. He was spotted near the caves in the forest. So I’d start searching near there first. Do not be a hero, once spotted, alert everyone. Thank you for your time, you are now dismissed.”

Everyone nodded and began to disperse. Sitting down under a tree, I closed my eyes to focus on finding the witch telepathically, seeing if they still may be in the area. But as I said before, I was still learning, and telepathy was not my strong suit. The sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling was distracting, but I tried my hardest to tune it out. I took deep breaths in and out, blocking out the sounds of the scouts minds. And…I heard something, someone. Someone whose mind was not a scout.

‘I need this to be successful, then uncle will finally praise…I mean prove my worth,’ I felt my eyebrows crease. Yet my concentration was broken by an annoying voice.

“Already taking a break?” Of course it's the Golden Guard. “It hasn't even been ten minutes yet.”

“I’m trying to find Lars,” I spoke out, slowly opening my eyes. “Though I can’t say the same for you.”

I smirked slightly as I noticed his demeanor deflate slightly.

“Now if you could let me focus, I’d like to see if Lars is even still in this area,” I said.

I closed my eyes as Golden Guard decided to actually follow my advice for once. Once again I pushed all distractions away to focus on the mindscape. This always took a lot of magic energy, so having to do it a second time was making me feel exhausted. I knew the mind I was listening to before wasn’t Lars’, so when I found it again I brushed it off. Though I was curious to listen more, it wasn’t my job to invade innocent minds and their privacy…well I mean it kinda is but not exactly either. All of a sudden I felt pain hit the back of my head and in the mindscape I saw a rush of fire. Quickly I left it, knowing what this meant. But I couldn’t help the yelp that escaped my lips and I grabbed my head that was pounding.

Having a headache after entering the mindscape wasn’t uncommon, but this was something else. Lars is smart in keeping their mind protected, but that also means they’re still close.

“Mx. (l/n)!” A scout near me exclaimed and came near me, looking around as if I was attacked physically.

“I’m fine,” I panted out, still grabbing my head in pain. Every little sound, every light, every touch was too much at the moment. My head felt like it was tearing itself apart. I was not fine, but I will not show weakness. “Alert the Golden Guard that Lars is still near.”

They seemed hesitant, which I found slightly endearing, but I nodded at them to leave. I kept trying to keep myself from going crazy at the pain I felt in my head. It felt like it was on fire, making me want to dunk my head under water. I felt tears well up in the corners of my eyes but I refuse to let this get the best of me. I will not be looked down on for this accident. We will catch this witch, even if it's the last thing I do…ok well that’s kinda dramatic but my image will be shattered if I fail this.

The sounds of boots crunching on the ground sounds like daggers in my head, but I look up, even if it feels like I’m going to pass out from dizziness. The sound of their voice blurred into the constant buzzing as I was mostly just focusing on staying conscious. But I saw a blue circle and the scout checking my head. They must know how to heal. Good to have on a mission. I kept these thoughts going, trying to distract myself from this excruciating pain.

Slowly the pain lessened. The need to cry from pain went away. Finally it got to the point where I even felt rejuvenated. I thanked the scout for their work and stood up. I’m not sure how long I was out, but I looked around.

“Status update please,” I requested from the scout.

“They found evidence of the wild witch and are in the middle of tracking,” They replied.

“Lead me to where they went,” I ordered. And we then went off deeper into the forest.

I felt the heat seep through my cape as we walked. Sweat dripped down the side of my face. So I lowered my hood, letting my hair out freely. I sighed out as my mask wasn’t helping my situation, but for now I could deal with it. And I knew we finally caught up once I heard that painstakingly annoying voice. I didn’t say anything as I listened to him scold a scout.

Once he stopped I piped up, “Could I get a brief of what’s happened in my absence?”

“So you finally found time to join us huh?” He mocked. After feeling like I went through hell and back mentally all I could do was glare. “Well we found the wild witches tracks, and we’re continuing to follow them.”

“Alright,” I murmured. “We should be getting closer, they blocked me from entering their mind.”

“I thought you were an esteemed oracle, aren’t you supposed to be able to break that?” Golden Guard taunted. The flash of fire crossed my mind and the phantom pain of what I went through. Not only that, but how unfair it was for a kid like me to be out on a dangerous mission like this.

Looking away I crossed my arms, “If you think it’s so easy then you do it.” I knew I was being petty, I knew I shouldn’t speak this way, but I was so drained currently, I couldn’t filter myself as I normally did.

“We don’t have time for this,” He grumbled, turning away. I followed him as we continued on deeper into the forest, and it got denser. The sun being blocked out gave it a spooky atmosphere.

I’m not sure how long we were walking, but finally we found him. I felt like laughing hysterically as he stood defensively across from us. I was so exhausted from the mental pain and the pain of walking in a hot forest. Not to mention that most of my magic was drained. But nonetheless I got into a defensive position as well.

Lars quickly set off a fire spell and I dodged. Creating a purple circle, I summoned a spirit and had it attack him, but he deflected it with a vine shield. On the other side I saw the Golden Guard attack with his staff, also being deflected. But the scouts were also attacking. There’s no way this witch can beat us all.

But the battle was long, and my amount of magic was waning fast. I was starting to struggle, a lot of scouts were down. But I can’t look weak, not in front of the Golden Guard out of all people. I was starting to get sluggish, but luckily Lars was focused on the Golden Guard. Once again I went in and brought the spirit to attack the wild witch when suddenly a spike of ice hit me in the side of my head and I fell to the ground. What’s up with me and my head getting injured today? I decided that my best bet would be pretending I’m knocked out cold. So that’s what I did. I evened out my breath and kept still.

Then suddenly the sounds of battle went quiet, but I didn’t dare open my eyes. Instead I tried to use the last of my magic and see into the future, who wins this battle? I stopped when once again, the sound of boots alerted me to the presence of someone approaching me. Once they got close enough I grabbed their leg and dragged it towards me, effectively making them fall. Opening my eyes, I found out it was the Golden Guard. So I made no move to get up.

“Sorry,” I said out, ignoring the noise of pain he let out. “Thought you might’ve been Lars.”

“You think I’d get bested by a mere witch like him?” He boasted getting up.

“You fell for the oldest trick in the book, so yeah,” I teased back, closing my eyes again. Honestly everything was spinning and I wanted to just be in my bed.

“Well now is not the time for a nap, we need to report back…,” He trailed off.

Not having the energy I just waved him off and curled up slightly. It got uncomfortably quiet, but then I felt someone pick me up and I felt embarrassed.

I groaned, opening my eyes, but I noticed I was on the Golden Guards' back, “What the Titan are you doing?”

“Saving you,” He replied back, getting on his staff, me behind him.

“I don’t need to be saved,” I growled, this was definitely hitting a sore spot. I’m independent, I don’t need anyone, I could get back on my own…but watching the blurry world pass us I stubbornly realized that I definitely couldn’t.

“The wound in your head has a different story,” He mumbled back. I felt my body weaken, the throbbing pain in the side of my head not helping my case. Suddenly, my jumbled mind realized my mask wasn’t on.

“M…my mask,” I mumbled out. “I need it.”

“You really think that’s what’s important?” He asked.

“Yes,” I said, continuing to mumble. “They…they’re going to be mean, say I deserved this or something.” My words were slightly slurred, but I felt myself tear up. Shit did I get a concussion or something? Never in my damndest nightmares did this ever happen but now it is. My filter is seemingly gone and all because of a stupid head injury.

The Golden Guard stayed oddly quiet, but my dumbass didn’t take the hint, “They’re all gonna laugh, and say I’m just a kid, and I’m not gonna have my position, and my family is gonna hate me-”

I went silent when we landed, I could barely recognize we were at the palace. The Golden Guard kept an arm around me for support and pulled the hood over my head. Then he led me towards the healing ward and told the healer to keep this quiet. I couldn’t understand why he was being so nice, I mean we are basically enemies…that have to work together.

And throughout it all, he didn’t leave. He stood on the side until I was healed to an extent that I would be fine on my own. Standing up and quietly thanking the coven scout I turned towards the Golden Guard. I guess I should thank him as well.

“Thanks,” I said, eyes cast to the side. “I owe you one.”

“Its…its whatever,” He said, waving it off. “You would’ve done the same (l/n).”

“(Y/n),” I said awkwardly. “You can just call me (y/n).”

I felt uncomfortable as his stare pierced through me. I mean he was wearing a mask but still…

After what felt like hours he finally replied saying, “Call me Hunter.”

I nodded, “Thank you Hunter, I should get going now.”

“...bye,” He said with a wave leaving.

What an unusual day today. Fighting and losing to a wild witch, and getting to know the Golden Guard better. Now to deal with the whispers of my coven. But the thought didn’t seem as bad anymore, knowing I might have a new ally.