Surprise surprise. Here you were with the golden guard in a cave. Drenched. Pitiful. Hungry. Cold. Sitting on the slightly damp and rocky floor – it kinda hurt your butt a bit, it even took you a while to find a good sitting spot.

"What is Darius even thinking!" you grumbled in anger throwing your hands up in the air like a child complaining.

You and GG found yourselves in a completely unknown endless forest or some sort filled with dangerous creatures that were all at least three times your size. It had taken you a long time to actually find a safe place to rest with all the enormous monsters roaming around.

"This is on you. If it wasn't for you then I wouldn't have to be here!" Hunter turns his head. He really loves putting all the blame on you.

"Ha! Says the one who blew up my lab and destroyed Darius's property," you narrowed your eyes. "And let me tell you this, Darius hates his property getting destroyed."

"You started everything!" He looked at you with daggers, crimson eyes seething with hostility.

"Whatever goldenbutt." You rolled your eyes. You were starting to feel tired of him always blaming you when things go the wrong way.

The golden guard sighs in frustration as he sat down defeatedly. You were both quiet and only the sound of droplets from the damp ceiling was heard. You closed your eyes and cooled your head.

The golden guard finally breaks the silence with a confused tone. "Why did you save me?" he asked.

Is he serious?

"What? You think I'd actually let you die?" You arched a brow.

"Yes," Hunter answered. Okay, that was blunt.

While you really wanted to kill him, you also didn't want to. For all you know, those threats of killing him was simply another way of saying that you were angry, and you were going to beat him up badly. It didn't really mean that you'd kill him.

"Okay look, golden whatever, I'm a bad person. But I'm not a murderer."

"But you said you'd kill me," he frowned.

"Metaphorically. It's a threat of me beating you up, don't you get that?" You frowned. "Were you really going to kill me when you said those?"

"Yes," he said and looked the other way. You couldn't see what expression he was having.

"Then why didn't you let me die on that river hm?"

"Maybe I should have," Hunter scoffed.

You sneered with a quick eye roll.

After small pause, you stood up annoyed and walked over to where the golden guard was sitting. "Listen. We don't know where we are, and we can't survive alone. Let's just put our wrongdoings behind our back for a moment."

You sat in front of him and levelled your eyes with his. "Truce?" Your hand was extended.

After a short deafening silence, Hunter finally sighs defeatedly. "Fine."

After all, it was for both the best of your interests if you tried working together – although the thought of that made you want to gag and so did he.

"Too slow." You smiled sheepishly as you raised your hand when he tried to shake. He grunted in annoyance.

"I can't believe I'm stuck with you," he grumbled and looked at the side.

"What's wrong with me?" You blinked your eyes innocently.

"Everything." Then he stood up, your eyes followed while you stay put on the rocky floor. 

"Firstly, we have to gather food before nightfall. Then we'll spend the night here. Since you have the means to use fire magic, we can use that to our full potential. We- hey! Are you even listening!" He looks down at you annoyed.

You looked at him with a sheepish smile, both your cheeks resting on your palms. "I thought there's no we. Hmmmm?" You teased.

"Only for now. I'll throw you in the Conformatorium once we find a way back," he threatened.

"Fair enough." You brushed your shoulders and got up. "Off to find food we go! My stomach needs some food."

You marched your way outside when he grabbed your shoulder.

"Don't be stupid. Food doesn't just appear in the wild, much less this kind of dangerous land."

"I know that. Don't underestimate me," you huffed and went outside.

And there goes the painful scavenging of food from unknown plants. What was more painful was the debate between you and the golden guard about what to eat and not to eat. Titans was he so stubborn about eating good-looking shit that was actually fucking poisonous.

"Those are not food!" Hunter shouted at you eyeing the horrendous looking mushrooms and unrecognizable fruit in your hands.

"Don't fucking teach me what to eat! I study plants you stubborn butt! And just because that looks normal doesn't mean it's not poisonous!" you retorted pointing at the juicy red berries he picked. 

You swore you were going to make him swallow those hallucination berries to prove just that.

"You? Study? Pfff, no. Now throw those things as- Mmph!" You put a mouthful of the rotten looking berries you picked. 

Yes, you were being petty just to prove you were right but if it's the only way to get him to understand you then you would gladly do so.

"MmmphHhh!" You continued to cover his mouth making sure that he swallowed. Every. Bit of it.

He pushed you away and gasped for air. "You vile monkey!" he shouted angrily.

Although, he wasn't going to lie, it actually tasted nice and a bit weird.

"Not dead now, right? These are Eerine berries, I know they might not look nice, but they are edible," you glared at him. "I've lived in the wilderness for more than a year goldenbutt. And trust me, everything that looks nice is not nice."

How dare he question your intellect. You study potions for goodness's sake! Does he think you pick random ingredients on the side of the road or something? That was honestly what the golden guard thought of.

"You lived in the wilderness?" Hunter raised his brow. Now what kind of ridiculous bullshit were you spouting this time?

"Yes and?" You glanced at him.

"I'm not even going to ask. I'm not interested," Hunter grumbled and turned around.

"Well you did ask, goldenbutt." You rolled your eyes.

As you neared some plants to inspect, you saw GG from the corner of your eyes. He rubbed his chin and leaned closer towards a suspicious looking flower.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," you smiled.

"Do wha- AaAH! What the heck?!" he screams and jumps away in fright as the flower opens revealing its disgustingly full of acidic saliva mouth to bite the scrawny guard.

Without his mask, he sure had a different voice. The voice cracks were more evident, and yeah, he sounds like a teen stuck on puberty.

You laughed contently and dried the corner of your eyes. "You look even funnier without that mask of yours," you snorted. "Your so easy to scare,"

"Can't you just make yourself bearable for once?" He snaps to your direction with an irritated face.

"On the contrary GG, whether you believe me or not, I am being bearable for once," you glared.

Yeah, that's right. If you were misbehaving, then you'd surely have the golden guard in a man-eating plant's mouth by now. Who knows, you can cannibalize him as payback for your precious lab later.

As you continued to scavenge for food, your load started to get larger. You put the berries you found on the pockets of your coat, then you touched something. It was round, cold, and smooth. You pulled it out to see a pink shiny potion.

You turned your head to GG, your eyes curving and lips curling to a devilish grin.

"Try it and I will gauge your eyeballs out." Hunter, of course saw what you were doing from the corner of his eyes.

You blew your tongue. "I'll save this for later," You hummed as you put the glitter bomb gently back in your pocket.

"Why do you always have those things?" GG asked, visibly annoyed.

For someone who had fallen victim of your glitter bombs, he had every right to be irritated and angry. The horrible nights of cleaning his cloak from those glitters was still in his mind.

"They're fun." Your eyes narrowed playfully.

Time passed.

Hunter ignored you the entire time, refusing to speak a single word as to not start pointless arguments. Although you couldn't see much of the sky because of the dense and gigantic trees, it was easy to assume that it was almost nighttime as your surroundings had become noticeably dimmer than before.

The sound of sticks and branches hitting the rocky ground echoed throughout the small cave opening. The golden guard turns to you. "Well? Do your thing."

You rolled your eyes in response and neared the neatly arranged sticks and branches. You took note that GG actually did a good job collecting flammable wood. Survival knowledge perhaps?

You drew a small circle pointing to the soon to be bonfire and whistled lightly. A small flame gently made its way to the branches, engulfing it in dancing yellow and orange fire.

The sound of crackling fire pervades the small cave, breaking the suffocating silence.

You sat close to the fire, with a stick in your hand ingrained with a few fruits that you have picked. You hummed giddily like a child cooking marshmallow on a bonfire.

Your playful hum broke the silence in the cave.

"Why are you treating this like a vacation?!" the golden guard who was sitting near the entrance of the cave for lookout suddenly snapped.

"Might as will be. Now, I can take a break from work," you said as you watched the freshly picked fruits slowly sizzle from the heat releasing an enticing aroma.

"You work?" GG looks at you incredulously.

You frowned and made a 'What the fuck do you think?' face.

Sure, you had a lot of time on your hands to go around wasting time on pranks but that didn't mean you didn't do anything other than playing and scamming in the underground. Aside from your vigilante missions, believe it or not, you were the one who usually handled the tavern when Raine wasn't there.

Not to mention that the tavern was a heavy information trading site, geez, just one look of all the paper works handed to you because of Raine's absence was enough to make you gag. Though, it's Derwin who usually handles those, while you were assigned to practical maintenance within the tavern system.

"Whatever. We're stuck nowhere because of you." GG looks away in a disdainful manner.

"What's the rush?" You bit the fruit humming in a satisfied tone as you taste the heavenly hot contents that exploded in your mouth. Your hunger was considerably reduced.

"Rush? Unlike you I have more important matters to attend to. You wouldn't understand," Hunter glowered.

"Fair." You frankly didn't care. Besides, he was half-right considering he was a coven official. "Hey, GG."

"Wha-" Instincts kicked in and he quickly caught the rock-sized thing that you threw. His hands immediately felt the warmth from the fruit you had 'cooked', it was a bit burnt on the outside and didn't look very enticing.

"Nice catch." You smiled to which he responded with a childish hmph. Feeling that your stomach was full, you rested your back on the rocky wall and closed your eyes with a satisfied expression.

The golden guard looked at your resting figure with an unbelievable expression. How could you enjoy and rest at a time and place like this? It was as if you didn't care about anything.

You were so... free. Ridiculous as it may sound, the golden guard felt a twinge of envy. Never in his life would he be able to be like you. And he hated you for that.

"Why are you so obsessed with trying to prove yourself anyway?" You broke the silence.

"I am not obliged to answer that," Hunter scoffed.

"Alright. Let's make a deal then." You smiled. 

"What deal is it again?" He frowned.

"Its a three questions thingy. I ask, you answer and when you ask, I answer. Truthfully."

"As if I would be curious about you," he said with disdain.

"Your loss," you said and rested your eyes once more. You really were curious about the golden guard though. It's not everyday you see some sixteen year-old kid or even less than that become a high ranking coven officer. 

After a few seconds of silence, you hear him grunt and sigh. "Fine," he says with hesitance.

Your eyes glimmered. "Alright then," you said and stood up, going to his direction. Hunter watched you with suspicious eyes.

You extended your hand.

"What?" Hunter asked, perplexed of what you wanted him to do with your hand.

You took a deep breath and grabbed his hand. Hunter reflexively pulled back but you gripped his hand tight, not allowing him to pull away from your touch. With your other hand, you drew a circle on the back of your palms. Hunter watched vigilantly.

"By moonlight's grace and sun's bright rays, let truth be told in all our ways. No shadowed lies or veiled deceit, in every query, truth we greet." 

You closed your eyes and chanted. Your hands glowed for a minute and the circles disappeared.

"What did you do?" Hunter asked.

You stood up. "Making sure both of us won't be able to lie." 

You smiled as you went back to your sitting spot. "Ever heard of a hex curse?"

"A hex curse?!" Hunter exclaimed and widened his eyes. "You know that those are banned by the emperor," he glowered. 

He could get you arrested for using forbidden curses and spells. He has seen you use a forbidden decaying spell before and to think that you also knew about hex curses. Hunter knew it. You were nothing but trouble.

"Oh please." You rolled your eyes.

"Does Darius know any of this?" Hunter asked.

"He's the one who taught me that, GG." You gazed at him with a bored expression.

"He... did?" Hunter mumbled with a dumbstruck expression. Darius was a coven head. He was supposed to enforce the law! Perhaps the perfect idol he respected so much wasn't that perfect after all.

"Not everyone is keen on following the rules, GG. For all I know, you are the only one who treats the law as your lifeline. Believe me, to get to the top, you have to bend the law to your advantage." You looked down at the cackling fire, watching as the flames burned bright like a beautiful yet deadly flower. "That's just how things work."

Hunter kept silent. What you said wasn't wrong. While he did treat the law as his lifeline, following it like his life depended on it, others weren't so keen on doing the same. He knew of the Illusion coven head and Plant coven head's 'dirty' ways of getting things done. 

He sighed. 

"Care to answer my question before then?" You glanced at him. Your hand glowed for a moment, the circle you had drawn appearing as the first question was thrown.

"Fine. Though you wouldn't understand. I'll try to word it in a way your feeble brain can understand." 

You rolled your eyes. "Whatever, goldenbutt."

"I'm a powerless witch. Though you already know that. Emperor Belos was the one who took me in and raised me. He gave me a staff with artificial magic. He saved my life and gave me a place in this world." Hunter looked down on his hand with a solemn gaze. "I want to repay him. So, I can't fail."

You glanced at his expression. "I'm sorry," you mumbled. "I didn't think your missions meant this much for you."

Hunter sighed. "It's all in the past."

"Your turn then."

Hunter thought for a moment before looking at you with a sharp gaze. "Who are you really?" He asked. His hand glowed.

"What do you mean by that?" You arched a brow.

"I've seen your records. Aside from being Raine's nephew and spontaneously existing seven years ago, there was nothing other than that written on your files." Hunter frowned. 

You laughed. "Wait, wait. You looked at my files? Curious much?" 

"...Yes. You can't blame me for wanting evidences to throw you in the Conformatorium." Hunter scratched the back of his neck before returning to his haughty demeanor. 

"Seriously?" You crunched up your face.

"Yes, now answer the question."

He has looked at your files before. And it was weird. Aside from your sudden existence seven years ago, everything else was blank. The place you were birthed, your family, and your past. 

He didn't know how you managed to pull a stunt of staying inconspicuous with your background despite all your ruckus and the two drawers of complaint files held against you. He had an inkling that Darius or that politician bard named Raine had some hands on it but... it was hard to say.

You laughed lightly. "Of all the things you would be curious about me, you chose my past? What about my charm? My otherworldly talent?"

"Answer the question already." Hunter rolled his eyes.

"Fine fine. You're so boring."

"I come from a far away place. Far from Boiling Isles itself." Your eyes fogged as you remembered. "I'm a runaway from my so called family you see. I travelled very far. I lived in the wilderness, surviving on my own. Until, I found myself in Bonesborough. I lived off of theft and scams, only to be picked up on the road by Raine."

You glanced up him with a smile. "And voila. I became who I am now."

"That's a very vague answer." Hunter frowned. 

"Do you really want me to tell you the entire story of my life?" 

"No, please don't."

You smiled triumphantly. "Then my turn to ask. Is the emperor really all you will have the heart for?"

"What kind of question is that?" Hunter crunched up his face.

"I mean. Everything you do is driven by the fact that you serve the emperor. Will you really put that above all else forever? Or would you spare a single drop of consideration for other people?" You glanced at him. 

You also didn't know why you would ask such a question. In your mind, you knew for a fact that GG would put the emperor above all else. His heart is filled with nothing but his loyalty to the emperor. So, why would a small part of your heart hope that he could somehow put something above the emperor. Something much more meaningful that he would sacrifice everything for.

"Of course the emperor is the only one I care abou-" His hand started zapping with glowing electric lightning. "AHhhH-! What the-!"

"Liar," you smiled softly. "Better tell the truth else your hand will be burned off."

"Fine, Fine!" Hunter cried out as his hand stopped getting zapped. "I do care about somethings more than the emperor himself. Someone like Darius and... but that's besides the point. I may be loyal to Emperor Belos but that doesn't mean I won't care about anything other than him." Hunter was starting to regret this deal of yours.

"Awwww," you cooed. "How adorable."

"Stop that," Hunter grunted as he held his pained hand. "My turn to ask. Why are you so insufferably annoying?"

"Seriously?" You glanced at him with a face that wanted to laugh. Wait, he was being serious.

"One thing that life has taught me is that pleasing people is impossible, but pissing everyone off? It's a piece of cake. Isn't that funny?" You snorted.

Hunter looked at you with an incredulous expression. He sighed and said with ridicule, "They do say that some individuals aren't just missing a screw." He gazed at you with revulsion. "Sometimes the whole toolbox is gone."

"That's one way to describe it," you laughed. 

The cave was quiet again, just the crackling fire and the howls of unknown creatures from outside. You closed your eyes and enjoyed the moment. Just you and the golden guard, talking normally like kids.

"Aren't you gonna ask your last question?" Hunter frowned.

"I'll save that one for later," you smirked.

"You can do that? Why didn't you tell me?"

"You never asked." 

Hunter grunted, feeling like he was taken advantage of. In the end, he decided not to say anything and save his question for last.

The serene light of the moon draped over the forest like a blanket of dim light. The night was peaceful as the fire burned bright, illuminating two figures in the small cave.

Hunter looks down at the slightly burnt fruit that had long its warmth. It was the fruit you had thrown just moments ago. He took a bite. It tasted weird; unlike all the dishes he usually ate at the castle. It was delicious.

You sneakily took a peak as he ate. You smiled discretely.

In a world of varied voices,

Where differences abound,

We find our greatest power,

In the common ground.

Author: I have decided to cut my usual 5k word chapters into 3k. I realized whilst rereading my book that chapters over 5k words were a pain to read. Anyway, hoped you enjoyed this chill chapter!:)

I'll be writing more chill chapters with Hunter and gn reader just interacting normally or hilariously after this survival training arc.