Hunter's Perspective

I awoke to the delicious scent of some sort of sautéed meet with a meal. I quickly sat up, which I came to regret as my head got fuzzy. I think I have some sort of issue, I always get dizzy when I'm up too fast. "Look who's awake from their nap. Come on then, sit beside me on the couch." A warm, welcoming voice called to me from across the room. I rubbed my tired eyes and looked over, pulling off the cozy blankets. Daryl handed me a warm plate full of yummy goodies, including sautéed steak cutlets, some greens, mashed potatoes, and a little cheese and crackers sandwich. I thought it was cute that he added it. I munched on that first while leaning on the affectionate demon. "Eager to learn after you're done with this meal?" He asked and I nodded, my mouth full of cheese and cracker bits. I looked over at the fireplace that was crackling and bright. It gave me memories of when I was younger. When I had no duties and I played by the fire all day in the cold winter days. It came to me so easily while I stared at the blazing, glowing fire. Before I knew it, my plate was empty and my stomach was very full. What a great meal.

"Thank you so much sir." I said with a smile as he took my dish from my hands. "It's no problem kid, I love spoiling people who need it." He hummed and set aside the dishes, helping me up from the cozy little couch. He put out the fire and stretched, groaning when he popped his back. "Now let's see... which book..? Oh yes, yes, the potions book. Right this way, little prince of the isles." He said with a certain amount of humor. He offered his hand and I stared at it for a moment. Oh, what's the harm? He's not scary. I took his hand and walked beside the stylish demon to the potion brewery. "I think you'll love some of the advanced potions, they get pretty wild." He said with a toothy grin. His shiny white fangs looked like they could easily tear through flesh. Yet I wasn't scared of such a gentle beast. "Daryl?" I said to get his attention. He looked at me with his gaze softened. "Yes my prince?" He asked and I smiled warmly. "Well for one, why are you calling me a prince?" I asked and he rubbed my hand.

"Because you're the closest thing to a prince our kingdom has. And I think of you as a prince, even if you aren't considered one." He explained to me. I liked the way he talked to me like I was adult. I know it's strange, but most adults belittle me and ignore me. So I like that he talks to me with mutual respect. "what's your other question?" He asked and I cleared my throat. "Oh, I was just going to ask if maybe sometime you could tell me more about your past." I asked nicely. "Oh sure thing buddy, maybe in a bit alright?" He said and I nodded. "Whenever you want." I told him and leaned on his arm. He stopped at a doorway and I peered inside. The potion brewery was empty, every cauldron scrubbed clean and every bottle in its place neatly. "Perfect. I've got the book, so let's find an easy potion to start off with." He said and opened up the large book full of knowledge, flipping through the soft pages until he stopped at a particular potion page. "Here we go. It's a skin crawler spell." He said and looked over at me. I started to read the details of the spell, but he summarized it aloud.

"Basically, if you make the potion right, you can "skin crawl", like a form of possession. But it has a lot of difficult to acquire ingredients, and precise brewing, that's why it's in this mastery book. Sooo... Let's get started!" He exclaimed and pulled me away from the book, dragging me to the ingredients pantry. "Now let's see, hold this tray would you?" He asked and handed me a firm wooden tray. I held it close to myself and stood beside him as he piled little jars onto the tray. "Hmm, I'm missing something." He said as he paused to look around. He finished setting a glass jar full of herbs onto the tray and sighed. "It's a shadow walker scale, very hard to get because of where they shed." He told me and I joined in the search. We focused on the skins, scales, and sheds section and shoved aside different jars. "Here we go, I found it." He hummed and grabbed it, placing it in the tray. The jar held a cluster of glimmering black scales that had a shadowy film over them. They were so beautiful and dark.

I followed Daryl back to the cauldron and watched as he popped open each jar and set aside the exact ingredients. "Are you excited? It's a pretty high-class potion, after all." He said with a warm smile. I stood beside him and smiled as well. "I'm mostly happy that you're the one teaching me." I told him with a look of admiration. He gently kissed my forehead and hummed. "Good, making you happy makes me happy too." He said with a sweet tone. I happily looked into the cauldron and heard him laugh. "Hunter we have to fill it up with water first." He reminded me and I blushed out of embarrassment. "Oh, right. Of course." I mumbled and rushed to fill up the cauldron. He helped me to fill it up with buckets of tap water. "There we go, much better." He said and set down his empty bucket. I set mine inside of his and looked up at him. His glittering pale blue eyes were so welcoming, especially compared to Belos' sickly, old, dull eyes. I wanted to say something, but I suddenly couldn't remember what it was.

"What's up little dude? Your mouth is open, but it's quiet." He asked and I closed my mouth, turning back to the cauldron. "... Alright, well, let's begin." He hummed and picked up the first ingredient, which was the common blood of a witch. He slowly stirred it into the cauldron as I watched. Potion brewing wasn't as exciting as other fields, well, aside from being a bard maybe, but it's still cool to know that I can use them without a staff. And I don't even have to memorize and practice a spell to use it. It's like a spell in a bottle. Actually, that's different, but it has a huge similarity. Gah, I'm rambling to myself again... "Hunter, could you hold this spiderfruit for me while I stir?" He asked and handed me a fruit covered in silk and webbing. "Why is it called a spider fruit..?" I asked, both curious and terrified. "It's a fruit that spiders, and only spiders, help to pollinate. They also reproduce inside of them, and store the eggs inside because it's safer. It's needed for this spell because the flesh of it has the nutrients of dead spiders, as well as the properties of any other fruit." He explained and I stared at the cocooned fruit with growing anxiety.

"Don't worry about it Hunter, the spiders aren't going to burst out and get all over you. It's alright." He told me and gestured for me to drop it in the stew of ingredients. I eagerly let go of the strange fruit and watched as it dissolved in the demon blood. I didn't see any spiders, which somewhat relieved me. "Now let's see, next is ground up faze lemon. Quite common in potions that need transference of any kind." He hummed and handed me the jar. "I'll keep stirring, you dump it in slowly." He instructed me and I slowly tipped the jar, watching as the glittery powder poured out into the strange mixture of ingredients. The potion slowly changed as Daryl continued to stir, and emitted fumes of a light yellow tint. "Wow, that powder is really strong." I observed and took a breath. It definitely smelled like a citrus fruit, but also strangely spicy. How strange. "Yeah, a little can go a long way when it comes to this stuff. Now, take this." He said as he handed me a jar of... white powder-? "What's this?" I asked and twisted off the lid.

"It's just ground up bones. It's used as a neutralizer for some of the more undesired effects in the potion." He explained to me and stopped stirring. "Pour it in, and then stand back." He told me and walked backwards quickly. I nervously fidgeted before dumping the powder in, backing up just as quickly. The cauldron bubbled and fizzled and shook before a large bubble formed and popped, scattering what seemed like acid onto the stone ground beside the iron cauldron. "And that is also why it's in the mastery book- if not handled carefully, these ingredients can combine to make a very toxic potion. Also hence the bone dust-." He pointed out and walked back over to the cauldron once the acid dissolved. I hesitantly walked up beside him and hugged his arm. "I wonder if people have died trying to make this potion." I thought out loud as he got out another jar. "Yeah actually, but it's not usually during the creation process. Usually it's if they digest an unbalanced potion, and then they either explode or dissolve." He told me with such a carefree smile. Gosh, he's pretty brave to not be intimidated by that.

"Now here, I need you to pour this shadowbloom honey in as I stir." He said and shoved another jar into my hand. Honey? Oh, I wonder if it tastes good. "Can I try a little?" I asked cautiously as I opened the jar. "Haha- only if you want to. But it's really bad for digestion." He warned. Oh, just that? Well, I sort of expected something more dramatic than that. I shrugged and poured the viscous liquid into the pot, watching it become one with the stew of yellow and white and orange. "Almost the last ingredient, the big one." He informed me and gave me another jar. "Deathnettle leaves. Now that's definitely bad for the stomach." He chuckled as I dumped it in. I've had my fair share of stings from those things, it feels worse than getting kicked in the balls and lasts way longer. Luckily I haven't stumbled into a patch of them in a while, and I hope to keep it that way. "Now for the big boy, those beautiful scales." He hummed and took the liberty to drop in a single scale himself. "Hold onto your hat boy, this ain't a joke." He warned and set down the jar. The potion's color drastically changed as the scale slowly dissolved and sank to the bottom. The fumes changed as well, from a somewhat sweet and fruity scent to a foul odor. He then gave it a few more stirs and scooped up a potion's worth, dropping in a sugar cube that quickly dissolved.

"Well, go on and drink it, try it out on me." He said with a grin and handed me the bottle. I sniffed it and cringed. Even with the addition of sugar, this stuff wreaked. I worked up the courage to chug it and took it all down in one painful gulp. The potion didn't work immediately, it just left a disgusting aftertaste in my mouth. "Now focus on me. You want to be in my body, okay? Just focus on trying to be in my body." He instructed me. I stared at the albino demon and tried to focus, despite my thoughts running way too fast to keep it on one subject. "Now, when you start to feel warm, close your eyes." He said and closed his eyes first. I waited and focused, I didn't know if it was seconds or minutes before heat radiated from my stomach across my body. I squeezed my eyes shut and shivered at the feeling of my muscles all tensing up. Almost as if I was having some sort of seizure. Then, suddenly, everything in my body felt different. My skin felt off, I had a tail that I could move, and a pair of horns that felt really weird with my skin. The claws actually weren't that bad, they just felt like long nails.

I opened my eyes and looked around, very disoriented that I was suddenly taller and had new body parts. There I was, standing there, except I wasn't me. I was Daryl. Daryl was me. "Aww, I forgot how scrawny and tiny you were. So adorable." My own voice spoke as Daryl looked at my body. I cleared my throat before speaking. "Um... Yeah." I said awkwardly. My voice was so different now, of course it wasn't really my voice at all. It was Daryl's voice that responded to my commands. "You didn't mention before that you would get my body." I reminded him. He looked up at me and smiled the same smile, but with my mouth and teeth. It looked so strange, I didn't like to see myself smile. But the way he smiled made it okay. "Sorry kid, what can I say? I guess I forgot. But hey, now I'm a hormonal teen. Woo." He said the last part a bit sarcastically. I chuckled and began bottling the potion to store for later. My little body helped, and he seemed to have a bit of trouble seeming as he was used to using claws to grip things. I didn't have much of a problem, I've had clawed gloves before after all. Mostly for climbing.

"So when does this wear off?" I asked and he paused what he was doing, trying very hard to remember. "Argh, I can't do it, I'll just read the book." He grumbled. Gosh, is my voice really that strangely whiny? My own balls need to drop- sheesh. He walked over to the book and mumbled the words as he read them. "Ah, here we are. The potion will wear off either on the next full moon, or whenever both of us want to switch back. So I can be in this pretty blonde body for a while, maybe paint your nails and get a piercing. Awesome." He glowed as he spoke. Yes, to both of us the opportunities are great. Though I don't see how great being in my body is. "Or maybe I can just have fun sitting without accidentally getting on my tail. Or not having to wear extra strong socks because of my sharp toe claws. Oh, the joys of a little blonde witch body!" He exclaimed and looked at my body more. "I wonder what we haaaave down here-." He teased as he started to pull what used to be my pants off. "Alright alright calm down Daryl- you'll have plenty of time to strip down naked and enjoy a wrinkle-free body when I'm not around-." I barked with a red face. He pretended to pout and finished bottling the potions.

"I don't have to listen to you, you're not in charge of me." He mocked every teenager ever. I rolled my eyes and closed the book. "Well I guess there's no point in more potions today. Don't destroy everything in my room please, and I don't think I need to remind you that Belos is not someone to mess with." I warned as he eagerly strutted down the hall. I sighed and rubbed my face, going back to what is now my room. How cozy. Heyyy, I can drink alcohol now. I rummaged around for any bottle of marked liquor in the room, finding a small bottle of wine in his mini-fridge. "I wish I had one of these in my room." I muttered sourly and sat down in front of the fireplace, popping open the bottle of finely aged wine. I snapped my fingers and lit the fireplace effortlessly. "Well damn, I could get used to this. Snapping with claws is painful though-." I hissed and sucked on the scratch residing on my middle finger. "Oh well, the liquor will take away the pain." I said with a shrug and took a taste of the mystery wine. Mmm, not bad. I got braver and started to chug the delicious liquid until I heard a familiar voice.

"Daryl, what are you doing-? Didn't you give up drinking?" A male voice sighed in disappointment. I pulled the bottle away from my mouth and glanced over at the doorway. Oh, it's the illusion covenhead. Adrian or something. Kind of a stupid name, but that's just me I guess. I quickly made up an excuse as I corked the wine once more. "Golden glitter was pretty annoying today, he kept pestering me about all these questions about The Day of Unity. Which as you know is confidential." I sighed and watched as he sat down beside me. "Oh yes, I can understand that. I should report his curiosities to Belos, we don't want little golden retriever to get too big for his pants." He hummed and slowly slipped the bottle of alcohol out of my hands. I simply nodded and laid back, stretching slightly as I did so. "So what brings you to my humble abode?" I asked casually as I watched his expression. If he realized that I wasn't really Daryl, I would probably get both of us into deep trouble.

"Right, I just came around because I've been fairly lonely. And you're very good company, so..." He trailed off and diverted his gaze from mine. "What kind of lonely?" I asked with a certain wary curiosity. I hope not the kind that requires me to do anything... intimate. That would be a bit too adult for me. "Oh, you know how it is Daryl. Most of the people our age are married, have kids, or at the very least date around a lot. I'm just sort of lonely that way.." Ohhhhh no. That kind of lonely. Well I hope it's not the lonely I'm thinking of, because I certainly cannot fix that kind of lonely. But I have to act cool about it. "Tried dating anyone then? Don't knock it 'til you try it." I remarked and slowly swayed my newfound tail. His eyes flicked back over to mine and he let out a deep sigh. "Not since high school, and even then I never really found someone I was honestly interested in. But um... Recently, I've been thinking, you seem pretty lonely too. So maybe we could... hang out or something. I mean more than our occasional checking on each other." He said with a certain fear in his gaze. He seems so vulnerable, much more than I'd ever seen him when I was in my own body. He looks at Daryl so differently. He seems so trusting and hopeful. I know what he wants. And hey, Daryl never said I couldn't stir up trouble in his romantic life.

"Do you want to go on a date, Adrian?" I asked and leaned closer, causing him to put on a nervous and flustered expression. "Oh um- I-I suppose I could find a time for it. I'm quite busy though you know, so it might be a while." He rambled while trying to seem professional. "Oh? Well are you busy now?" I asked. He seemed even more flustered by the concept of going out now. He pulled on the collar of his top nervously and cleared his throat. "Now? Oh, no, I don't think so. I was just going to do personal things tonight, so, I'm not that busy.." He said with a nervous smile. Gosh, are all people this cute when they have a crush? "Great, then let's go." I purred eagerly and helped him off of the couch. He seemed so smitten and dumbstruck, it was hard to not be amused. I don't really see the appeal of going out with a self-centered man like him, but that is Daryl's problem, not mine. I just want to cause trouble because it's fun and I have the freedom to do it.

"How about I take you out shopping hm? I know how much you love being pampered and spoiled. And there's always new things to buy." I suggested as we walked in the beautiful halls. "Oh yes, that would be delightful. If I had known we were going out, I would have changed my outfit. But being spontaneous can be fun once in a blue moon." He rambled nonsense as we walked. "And by the way, you definitely need a new wardrobe. I won't lie, your outfits are so out of style and unflattering." He scoffed. Ugh, what a prick. He didn't even try to sugar coat it. "I guess you'll have to use your wonderful fashion sense to pretty me up then eh?" I said, having to bite my tongue to hold back venomous sarcasm. He was cute for a solid minute, now I'm reminded what a pompous jerk he is. "Great idea! Hm, I'm glad I thought of it." He said smugly and hugged my arm, using me as something of an item that was just convenient to have with him. Gah, I'm so stupid for biting the bait.