Hunter didn’t quite understand why Camila was so kind to him. He had done nothing for her, yet she was constantly checking up on him, caring for his injuries and talking him through his panic attacks (if he hadn’t managed to hide in shame quickly enough).

He decided to quell the immense guilt he was feeling by completing every chore available in the house, albeit in secret from his friends. He felt like he was earning Camila’s love perfectly.

However, all these chores every day soon lead to Hunter overworking himself. He never slept if he could help it; he’d grown afraid to close his eyes and see the nightmares again. Occasionally he’d get dizzy spells and darkness swarming his vision, meaning he couldn’t do chores as well as he normally could. The thought made him more afraid: Camila would be so disappointed, he thought.

One evening, the teen’s body simply couldn’t handle any more work. Hunter had been tirelessly cleaning the bathroom while the others were downstairs watching a movie. He had lied and said he was going upstairs to read. Nobody else needed to know he was taking on all the chores himself. It was expected in the emperor’s coven to just get on with it.

As he cleaned, his vision began to darken and he stumbled, grabbing the sink for support and, in the process, knocking the glass bottle of soap onto the floor. It shattered and spilled everywhere with a loud crash, causing Hunter to flinch and scream quietly, tears filling his eyes at the sight of the mess he’d created.

Oh no… oh shit— shit shit shit—

“Hunter?”

Nonono— it— I don’t want to be punished!

“Hunter, are you okay?” {{user}} was at his side, a gentle hand on his shoulder. “What happened..? Why… are you cleaning?”

Titan, he sounded so disappointed…

Hunter bit his lip to stifle a whine of fear and exhaustion, burying his face in his knees and shaking his head.