S2 Chapter 26 - Hunted Down For Help

As the warm glow of the autumn sun seeps in through the clouds on a cozy October morning, Marcus Veridan finds himself sitting in his bed staring out the window. As he lays there though, he can't help but feel shocked at how different his morning routine has become.

Where before it was a struggle to just take a foot outside his bed, now he's able to get out of it with ease. 

Where before the home he used to stay in looked untouched as if it was just made, now he can't go a few steps without bumping into a decoration or seeing a photograph hung up on the wall.

Where before, he'd have to prepare his own food if he wanted to, now he can wake up to the smell of a freshly made breakfast filling the air as he goes to brush his teeth.

But one of the more sudden changes he's had to make from his new home is where before, he would always be there by himself. Now he isn't as lonely.

"MOVE OUT OF THE WAY! I NEED TO BRUSH MY TEETH TOO!"

Marcus takes a look to see his foster sister, Selina Gulvonac, rush into the bathroom as she pours herself a small cup of mouthwash.

"Coulhdn't yhu herv weighded?" Marcus questions as he tries to talk while brushing his teeth.

"No!" Selina gargles as the mouthwash swishes around in her mouth.

Eventually, Selina spits it out before immediately getting her toothbrush and brushing her teeth. The two are both stuck in their pajamas, with Selina's sleeping mask pushed up to around her forehead.

Despite the chaos and clutter of his new mornings, Marcus can't help but be fond of the new home he's in now, the one where instead of feeling cooped up in and unwanted, he feels as if the foster family he now has genuinely cares for him.

Eventually, the two finish brushing their teeth as they then walk into the kitchen to see a large plate of burnt toast and rubbery eggs covered in plastic wrap awaiting them. 

On it is a note that says 'Had to go in for a meeting early, so I made some breakfast for you two! I made it with lots of love!'.

Selina & Marcus take one sniff of the food underneath the plastic wrap before agreeing to toss it.

"I keep telling him he sucks at cooking but he still tries anyway!" Selina groans as she goes to the cereal cabinet.

"Well you can at least say he's putting in the effort," Marcus remarks before opening up the main kitchen pantry and pulling out some ingredients.

"What are you doing?" Selina asks.

"Making some pancakes," Marcus remarks, "You want some?"

Selina is silent as she proceeds to watch Marcus pour the ingredients into a large glass bowl, stir the batter, butter up the skillet, and then pour some of the batter atop it.

"Woah," Selina remarks as she watches the batter bubble, "How did you get so good at this?"

"Compared to Mrs Everst and Hamster I'm nowhere near as good of a cook, but I've picked up on a few things from some recipe books," Marcus remarks before suggesting, "You wanna give it a go?"

Selina nods as Marcus hands her the spatula. Marcus instructs her how to use it and Selina then decides to flip the pancake. With the side now having a perfect golden crisp to it, Selina begins to keep cooking all of the pancakes. As she does so, Marcus ends up setting the table for the two of them.

Once all of the pancakes have been cooked, Selina sets the large stack of them down on the table before taking most of the good-looking ones for her plate. The two teens begin to eat their food, trying to think of some way to spark a conversation.

"These are good," Marcus remarks after having some.

"Thanks and thanks for helping with it," Selina replies, "Y'know I bet my dad's gonna be back pretty late today."

"Yeah, though weren't you pretty late returning back home two days ago?" Marcus asks in between bites.

"Oh that," Selina groans before explaining, "So right when I got off work I ran into Randy, then we got roped into finding Mister Fluffykins which took forever."

Hearing the cat's name, Marcus can't help but recall all of the stalking the cat did to both of them.

"Randy, huh?" Marcus says in between bites, "You two seem pretty close."

Hearing those words Selina stops eating and remarks, "Oh god no, he's a total goofball and besides, I'm mostly interested in women."

"Okay okay," Marcus shrugs before slyly adding, "Though, I don't recall asking you whether or not you had a crush on him."

Embarrassed by even the mere thought of it, Selina flushes red before gagging out, "You don't know what you're talking about. And I should've burnt your pancake some more."

Marcus laughs at his joke before he thinks about it some more. Those two seem to be the best of friends, in a way it kind of reminds him of the friend he used to have. The friend who-

MEOW.

Marcus & Selina both stop what they're doing and look at the front door. They clearly heard a cat meow from outside. 

"No, he can't be back already," Marcus groans as he begins to walk to the door.

Though as he is about to open the door, he hears someone talking on the other end of it, though when he tries to look through the peephole…

CRASH! 

Marcus opens the door to see what caused the crash. There he sees a man who has fallen and crashed into a vase, with Mister Fluffykins standing atop him. The man groans out in pain.

"Are you okay?" Marcus asks.

The man doesn't respond but Marcus notices something about the person. That fair white skin, those spiky brown strands of hair with maybe a bit too much hair gel stuck to them, and those fierce yet melancholic brown eyes. Marcus knows the person lying there is none other than…

"Hunter?" Marcus asks.

"H-hey," Hunter groans.

____________________________

Sitting at the kitchen table of The Gulvonac Household is Hunter Huntingson. He's wearing a black cap, a half-red half-black hoodie, blue jeans, and worn-out work boots. He's also got a black backpack sitting next to him with a metal baseball bat sticking out of it.

Hunter sips on a glass of iced tea while chatting with Marcus. Marcus is wearing an oversized dark brown short-sleeved t-shirt over a light brown long-sleeved undershirt, black sweatpants, and white sneakers.

Saying the two have a complicated history is a bit of an understatement; they once were best friends before Hunter's home situation took a turn for the worse and he took it all out on Marcus. Though despite their falling out they managed to reconcile during the time they shared together on the streets. But since then… the two haven't talked to each other much. Just a few texts every once in a while or a simple greeting if they spot one another in the halls. Though despite the long time apart, it doesn't feel too awkward between the two teens.

"I was trying to come visit when that cat tripped me," Hunter explains, "Sorry about the vase."

"Don't worry about it," Marcus says as he pets Mister Fluffykins, "And this cat tends to be the cause of a lot of trouble."

"Yeah, I bet," Hunter says, "I didn't think you'd end up living here though."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Selina growls.

The two teens look to see Selina entering the room. Where before she was in her pajamas now she's sporting a pair of jean overalls over a short-sleeved white t-shirt with red stripes, glasses, and black shoes.

"Nothing, just saying it's a small world," Hunter remarks before saying, "What? You're not still upset over me being late on that book return."

"Yes!" the stubborn Selina responds, "You screamed at me for an hour!"

"Well so did you!" the stubborn Hunter retorts.

As the two equally stubborn teens glare at each other, Marcus tries to diffuse the situation by asking, "Anyways Hunter, what brings you here?"

"Well, you see," Hunter explains, "The foster family I'm now in is going to be having a D&D Campaign today. I don't really know how to play, so I figured I'd ask you since you seem like the type to."

Selina is silent but Marcus responds, "Sorry Hunter, but I never played it in my life. Though if you do need help setting up Halloween decorations-"

"I'm fine," Hunter insists.

Seeing the opportunity, Selina calmly asks, "Did you say D&D?"

Hunter & Marcus look up at Selina.

"Uh yeah, why?" Hunter says.

___________________________________

A little bit later standing in the crowded train are Hunter Huntingson, Marcus Veridan, & Selina Gulvonac. Selina is holding a bag of 20-sided dice and some costumes as she excitedly stands on the train.

"I can't believe I get to partake in a proper D&D Campaign!" Selina shakes, "I've always read the instruction books at the bookstore on slow days."

"Glad at least one of us is excited," Hunter groans.

"Hey take it easy," Marcus says, "I think today's gonna be fun!"

"I hope," Hunter sighs.

The train they're on continues to chug down the tracks closer to their destination. Closer to Hunter's new home on the west side of town. What none of the three could have expected at the time though, was that this seemingly inconsequential trip to the West Side would be the start of something.

Something that would cause Starlight City & its inhabitants to never be the same.

See You Next Chapter!~