Work Text:
Hunter had been having blackouts ever since he was kill- since he had returned from the human realm. Nobody had been around to witness them before, and he always felt fine afterwards. Well, he always felt like he had just run a marathon, but he was used to that feeling anyway. That wasn’t a big issue, as they only lasted a couple minutes at a time.
People always asked him if he was okay. He always answered that he was fine, because he truly thought that he was.
He hadn't felt one coming on that day. He usually did- but not then.
“How does this look?” Hunter asked, holding up his work for Darius to see.
Darius hummed, looking closer. “Your stitches are really improving, little prince. I’m proud of you,”
Hunter beamed as Darius ruffled his hair, leaning into the touch happily as he looked over his embroidery. A boom sounded from the movie on CB, making him look up to the spherical screen. He saw lots of explosions and flashes, and the next thing he knew, he fell forward, off of the couch.
Darius froze in horror as he saw Hunter scream and collapse onto the floor, starting to convulse violently. A seizure- Hunter was having a seizure. Everything felt like it slowed down, grabbing blindly for his scroll. Amity had been working diligently on a way to connect scrolls to human phones, but he didn’t have time to admire her work as he frantically dialed Camila.
His son was having a seizure.
“Hello, D-”
“CAMILA, HUNTER- HUNTER IS HAVING A SEIZURE, WHAT DO I DO?”
"He's what?!" Camila fretted. "Cálmate, Camila. Okay… don't panic, roll Hunter onto his side and put something soft under his head."
Darius put his scroll on speaker, setting it aside and grabbing a pillow. He put it down and gently rolled Hunter onto it, trying not to break down with fear.
"Okay… now what?"
"You wait until it's over and make sure he doesn't get hurt. If it lasts longer than 5 minutes, take him to a hospital."
"WAIT? How am I supposed to wait?!"
"Who is the person with medical experience here?!" Camila snapped. "Estúpido…"
"Right, sorry…" Darius sighed, looking nervously at the convulsing boy on the floor. "Have you ever seen him have a seizure?"
"No," Camila answered, a bit of concern seeping into her voice. "... but I've overheard him complain about blackouts to Ivory, but I thought he was talking about when he was still in the Emperor's Coven."
Darius frowned. "I wished he would tell us these things…"
"I don't think he quite understands that he's allowed to yet." Camila whispered. Darius huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose. After a few moments, Hunter stilled. Immediately, he reached out to the unconscious grimwalker, gently shaking him awake, though in retrospect, he probably should have let Hunter awaken on his own. The boy on the floor groaned, rolling over onto his back and rubbing his eyes.
"Hey, Darius." Hunter squinted at his guardian. "Why do you look so worried?"
"Little prince, you just had a seizure." Darius whispered. Hunter frowned.
"Seizures? I don't get seizures. I just black out some… times…" Hunter's eyes widened as he was hit with the realization. "Oh… oh my titan…"
Hunter burst into tears, lunging into Darius' arms despite his body screaming with exhaustion.
"Ay, cariño," Camila soothed over the phone, but the words seemed to not have an effect on Hunter's fearful mind.
Darius wracked his mind to search for the right words to say to the poor kid- he still did not quite consider himself an expert on comforting traumatized grimwalker babies that took the form and mental maturity of 17-year-old witches. Normally, he considered himself to have a way with words, but something about Hunter always made him freeze up.
His working theory made the most sense, but it was hard to admit to himself- he was hindered by his actions in the past. Sure, Hunter trusted him now, but that didn't mean that the hurt Darius had inflicted for all of those years never happened. He was too afraid of being another source of struggle for Hunter again. Not to mention how the ghost of his mentor's angry eyes and shouting arguments lingered in his mind if he let it. Rarely had he seen Thorne so upset- which was quite the claim, considering the blazing rage Belos had forced into him that threatened to unleash itself on any poor soul that may have crossed the grimwalker's path.
Did Thorne know about Hunter's seizures? Perhaps he thought Hunter was aware of them himself, already?
Thorne would know how to stop Hunter's crying. He always did. Yet, the Oracle Stone necklace was upstairs, and Darius was not going to leave Hunter alone to go get it, just so he could give the responsibility to someone else.
He would never shrug off Hunter again.
"You're okay, little prince. You aren't hurt, we can figure this out, and you'll be fine." Darius' gaze turned to the embroidery on the carpet next to them. "See? The patch you were working on is just fine. You're okay, I'm okay, nobody is hurt."
"Do you need me to come over there, mi lobito?" Camila asked, tone thick with a motherly concern.
Hunter shook his head. "N… no. No thank you. Uh, thank you, though," he stammered through sniffles.
Darius frowned, bringing Hunter closer to him. "We'll figure this out, little prince. I promise, you will be okay. Got that?"
Hunter nodded, and Darius nodded back, handing Hunter back his embroidery of a red cardinal.