The Cloak (A TOH Autistic Hunter Fic)
I got this idea because I have autism spectrum disorder and I relate a lot with Hunter. One of my coping mechanisms is wrapping myself in a blanket, so I thought he would wrap himself up in his cloak when he needed comfort while he was living in the castle.
This is the first fanfic I have written and posted in years.
Triggers: Dark thoughts, Mild self-harm (hair pulling). Fear of infantilization
Tags: Autistic Hunter, Hunter needs Therapy, Huntlow (can be taken either as platonic or romantic), Found Family, Belos sucks.
Hunter wasn’t sure when exactly this habit started or what exactly caused this habit to occur. All he knew was that he liked to wrap himself up inside his cloak. It provided comfort in a way he couldn’t explain. Especially when he failed a mission or displeased his uncle (not that he deserved comfort in those instances).
This was only a habit that him and Flapjack knew about. Hunter knew that if any of the coven heads, or even worse the emperor, ever found out about this little habit, he would be instantly seen as weak and pathetic. A small child who needed to be swaddled. He would argue with himself sometimes that he shouldn’t even need this habit in order to function, but that often led to Flapjack convincing him to wrap himself in his cloak for a few minutes until he calmed down. There were times that the cardinal would even pick up the cloak and drop in on him as a way to help the blonde teen. Then the bird would settle himself on Hunter’s lap while he absentmindedly pet the palisman.
The cloak was not only the symbol of who Hunter was, it was the shield that guarded him. If he could hide in his cloak until his mind was clear, then maybe he could think of was to help his uncle. He could think of ways to be useful again...
Hunter threw the cloak off his back. The symbol, the comfort, the shield that the cloak was to him was nothing now. The tests he spent proving himself that he was worthy of the sigil of the Golden Guard, worthy of his uncle’s praise.
No matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried, his un- Belos was just going to throw him away.
Just like the other Golden Guards.
The thought made his stomach drop as he sprinted out the door of the Owl House.
‘I have to run! I have to hide! Somewhere!’ were the only thoughts running through Hunter’s mind as the adrenaline in his body pumped through his legs.
Until he tripped on a tree root and began tumbling through the woods. He cried in pain and sorrow. The mental and physical exhaustion catching up to him. He couldn’t keep running, so he sat in the shadows of a tree, pressed his knees to his chest and sobbed.
Flapjack fluttered to Hunter’s shoulder and watched the boy intently, occasionally rubbing his head against Hunter’s cheek, trying to comfort the boy.
His thoughts continued to race as his body ached and he continued to hyperventilate.
‘He knows. He knows I disobeyed him. I can’t go back to the castle.’
But why not? Maybe if you go back and prove your usefulness, he won’t kill you.
‘But what if the other Guards did that! And he still destroyed them.’
Well then maybe they deserved it. They were all failures. And you failed him too. If you turn yourself in, your death will be swift.
He tugged hard on the unruly hair strand in front of his face. Trying to focus on the pain from his scalp instead of his thoughts. Flapjack pecked Hunter’s face in protest.
“Ah! Okay!” Hunter yelled as he let go of his hair. His breathing finally turned normal. Not because he calmed down. No he was far from calm. He was just too tired to keep panicking.
“Where to now?” The Palisman chirped. The question rang in Hunter’s mind. Where was exactly he running to?
The castle? No, it wasn’t safe there.
Willow and Gus? No, they were still angry from the Flyer Derby incident.
Darius? No he wouldn’t want to help out an annoying kid. And if he went to him or one of the other covenheads, they would just take him back to the castle.
Maybe he could go back to the Owl House? He wasn’t sure how far away from there he ran. And wondering the forest at night sounded like a bad idea.
“Hexside?” The boy muttered under his breath. He carefully stood up and began walking. “We’re going to Hexside.”
Hunter had been staying in the Paranoratorium for a few days now. He was able to find his old Flyer Derby shirt, so he wasn’t sitting around in his Golden Guard uniform. He managed to find some scraps of food around the school. But it wasn’t until he wandered into the Theater’s costume closet one night that he found something interesting.
It wasn’t made from the same material as his Golden Guard one. This was purple, with a few patches sewn onto it. It was worn down and fraying.
But that didn’t stop him from putting it on.
Hunter tied it around himself and sat down on the floor, pulling the hood over his face and wrapping it around his body. Flapjack knew exactly what the boy was doing and immediately flew to his lap.
It was dark. He wasn’t sure what brought more comfort. The darkness that came from the hood of the cloak or the pressure from wrapping it around himself. Whatever the reason, this was the most comfortable he has been since...
Since he was in Belos’ mind...
He didn’t notice the tears running down his face until Flapjack chirped in concern. And the realization that he was crying only made him cry harder.
It was all he could really do at this point.
He was absolutely pathetic.
No home. No family. Just a boy sitting in an empty school wrapped in a cloak crying.
It was done... The Day of Unity came and went... Belos was...
But now they were stuck in the Human Realm with Luz’s mom Camila. They had been staying there for a couple of weeks now. She was happy to accommodate for all of them even though there was barely enough room for Luz, Vee, and Camila, let alone four other traumatized teenagers. But he was thankful to Camila for taking them all in. He did his best to show his gratitude and to be the reliable older brother to the Hexsquad. He was the oldest and he needed to be able to take care of the others. It was partially his fault that they were in this mess, right?
They all had their own place in the house, even if it was just small sleeping bags on the floor that were either in Luz’s room or Camila’s room. Amity and Luz slept in Luz’s bed. Vee was in Camila’s room. And Hunter, Gus, and Willow slept on the floor. There was one time where Hunter tried sleeping in the living room, but couldn’t get any sleep. And turns out Gus and Willow didn’t sleep that night either.
One day, while Hunter was sitting in the room reading, (he had found a human equivalent of wild magic called witch craft. The others didn’t like it, but it was becoming his new special interest) he draped a blanket over his lap. It was soft. A material Camila called Sherpa? The blanket was comforting, but it was only large enough to cover himself in. He wondered if this blanket could bring him the same comfort his cloak did.
He wrapped the blanket around his shoulders the same way he did with the cloak. The blanket wasn’t wide enough to make a hood out of it, but just having the blanket around his body gave a similar comfort. It brought back one of the more pleasant memories of living in the castle. Sitting in his cloak with Flapjack on his lap.
“Hunter? Are you okay?” He heard Willow as she walked into the room. He quickly flung the blanket off him, scared that she would see him wrapped up and think he was weak.
“Oh-hey Willow... What is-up?” He still wasn’t used to teenage speak.
“I just wanted to check on you. You looked comfortable in the blanket.”
His face flushed in embarrassment as he looked to the floor. “I’m sorry.” He said, fidgeting with his gloves.
Willow sat down beside him. “Hey it’s okay.”
“No it’s not. I’m not a weak child that needs to be swaddled. I’ve tried breaking this habit but-“
“It’s a coping mechanism.” Willow jumped in.
“A coping mechanism. My dads taught me plenty of them for when I was stressed, or scared, or sad. My papa liked... likes to wrap himself in a blanket too. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Willow explained, but Hunter noticed how she tripped over her words. They didn’t know if the people they cared about were dead or not.
“They’ll be okay... Your dads.” Hunter tried comforting her. But instead of showing her feelings, she smiled and placed the blanket back on his shoulders.
“I know they will be. And we’ll be able to get back home safely.” She explained.
Then Hunter had an idea. He grabbed another blanket and wrapped it around Willow.
“You know, you don’t have to bottle your emotions and try to be strong for everyone. I know you’re worried about everyone back home, but you don’t have to hide it.”
“Says the person who was too scared to be seen wrapped in a blanket.” Willow chuckled, causing Hunter to laugh.
“Hey, what are you guys up to?”
Gus was the first to join Hunter and Willow on the floor, then one by one the rest of them came as well. They spent the rest of the day wrapped up in blankets and spending time together. It was a nice quiet moment in comparison to the pain they all went through. They could figure out how to fix their troubles later.
But now they had each other and that was the only thing that mattered.
