Hunter's only duty was to enforce the emperor's will. Yet lately, he found his loyalty to the cause waning.

For years, he had been helping Belos collect palismans. His uncle needed their life force to survive because of what wild magic did to him. That was how he justified it to himself all this time. But palismans, though made of wood, were living creatures too. They had names and emotions, they felt pain and fear. Hunter only understood that after getting one of his own.

It's why he was risking himself to do this. He couldn't save all the creatures trapped in the castle; that was something he regretted, but he was able to grab yours before the guards returned. He still remembered the look on your face when it was taken.

Hunter made sure to handle it gently as he flew out into the night towards the towns. He slowed down when he reached your window.

They don't need to know it was me. He didn't want to make things worse by intruding, so he planned on leaving it there and sneaking away. That was until you swung the window open into his face and knocked him off Flapjack.

"Woah, hey!" Hunter cried out instinctively when he caught himself on your windowsill, Flapjack grabbing onto his hood and pulling him up.

"What were you doing-" He went quiet when he saw your face and looked away. He still felt bad about what had happened.