REDBIRD.

red bird ; on a grey cloud

[hyomifey]

he had been fond of flowers. not the deep colored ones, but the softest of them all. the lighter their color were, the more he adored and dotted on them. hyomi had grown to associate everything she was with the color red, but he’d diluted that to a point where she’d started to feel slightly more pastel rose than the vivid red she knew her world was dipped in.

purple had been his favorite on her and she’d all but banished anything that even remotely made her go down memory line like she was right now, but inevitably the world could not controlled as much as she wished it could with certain things. just because she didn’t like something, didn’t mean she could eliminate it entirely from her life. it wasn’t possible. she didn’t like drinking human blood and she was still made to do it whether she wished to or not.

however, hyomi had to be truthful with herself. the main reason why she disliked being triggered into a past she worked so hard to keep at bay was how it softened her. the atmosphere would shift, like now. with the single flower she was twirling in her hand and just the fact that even the scent that emanated from it was making her cling even tighter to the image of him. that last morning he’d stood in her kitchen. his favorite place, he’d never understood why she never used it.

barely used it would be lying. she simply never was seen there even when he was coming over, even when he was staying the night. she’d had all the excuses in the world to never have more than a bite or two of anything he would be cooking in the morning. at night, she could at least have a bit more strength from what truly sustained to not completely gag at the food, but it’d been established after a little while that jihoon could cook anything he wanted in the morning and hyomi would simply not oblige in eating. not even to feel him be satisfied that he’d managed to make her take a bite. 

she had blamed him, not right out in his face of course. but she did remember blaming him for how easily she wanted to say yes to anyone who would ask her to grab a bite because of the memory of him and how happy it made him to see that she was eating. had it been hard to keep it from slipping past her lips that she was eating, drinking plenty, just not what he expected her to be gorging on? 

of course. 

every morning hyomi had woken up, felt the sting of the sun on her skin, quickly covered every inch of her skin before walking in her kitchen. he would make light of how she was constantly cold. especially to the touch. at least that worked in her favor, him thinking that it was simply a condition she had. like she was human but she was just not as normal as most of them. a simple different human being. 

each time she’d had it at the tip of her tongue, the truth, just there. the same uncomfortable tingle it had whenever she let him talk into biting into the stale taste of a meal. she honestly had felt nauseously disturbed by her own persistence to keep this game going. keep it up until eventually it would all crash down. because it would. she would be losing at this. she’d known that from the moment she’d first left him in her bed in the middle of the night to roam about in her fridge, in a hidden compartment of the appliance machine to find where she hid her emergency bags. 

she’d relied a lot on those when they’d been together. she’d been underfed for most of their relationships. temptation had lurked at every corner, even jihoon had once almost made her cave into the need. what a martyr she’d been then. for what? a love that she’d known would be snatched and broken just as easily as it’d been forged and rooted. 

but hyomi had always been foolish in everything else that did not pertain to her missions. she knew her weaknesses lied in the way she felt, how she felt, how much she liked to dive head first into everything she knew had once been a part of her human self. that was where her mistake had been, in believing that she could still fall right back where she’d been stolen from. that it was okay to let him treat her like she was fragile, more than he was. that he could protect her from herself and the world that surrounded her.

that nothing could ever happen to her as long as he was there, alive, breathing, loving, caring. hyomi had forgotten that he was the one with the bloody target on his back and front and side and right beside him in bed. she would have never hurt him. but being with him was already the happy trigger to invite everything else that wanted to get at her to do what they wished and do what they wanted, they did. 

she closed her eyes before the purple in of the flower could turn itself into the images of shredded--

“do you need any help?” 

that was fortunate and right on time. she latched onto that voice, which she knew. although it sounded less childlike than she remembered it. if hyomi was not cowardly enough to turn around, she probably would be able to catch some of his lines traced across the face of the woman she knew was standing behind her. 

however, hyomi was a coward so she put the flower away and shook her head before leaving the store without another word. he hadn’t just been fond of flowers, he’d owned a family business. a flower shop. that she’d sworn to never step in again. now she had the confirmation that his little sister had taken over it just as she’d always vehemently claimed she would one day. 

this was wrong of her. to step back into it, knowing that they would never have closure because his death had gone unannounced, undiscovered. as it should be. as it always was. hyomi had even been part of that cover up. it had been wrong then to make the family think that their son, their brother had simply vanished, disappeared, left them without a reason why, abandoned them when the woman they’d trusted and adopted and welcomed had simply shortened his life. 

the worst thing about this? she was certain he would have forgiven her. because that had been who he was, and that was why hyomi would never forgive herself for not giving him the chance to choose her or the life he could have had without her. 

no matter the consequences, she would never be that selfish again. 

[hyomifey]

HYDRANGEA

HYDRANGEA …thank your muse.

she got distracted, as she always was when that part of her life came rushing back to her. that was the thing with immortality, especially in a world made for mortals. it felt like living a new life with each generations that you were forced to assimilate into. in a way, hyomi understood why some of her kinds wanted to take over and show that they were the better ones to juggle with the fates of this world. because that would mean building a world for immortals, no more hiding, no more rebuilding yourself, erasing traces of who you were so that no one could figure out that you’d never aged at all. 

so much treachery had to go into it that she often times felt divided in all the names, relationships, everything that she’d built and broken. even this one she would eventually have to let go of once the period would end and force her to adapt yet again to another world. for all the love she had for humans, their love for evolution was exhausting and stopping them from truly living in the world as it was, rather than trying to changing each time they were unsatisfied with it. at least if they changed the bad things about it. but no, their habits were always about undoing and redoing the good things because it could be better. 

enough of that though, she blinked at the pot a stranger had kindly grabbed when she’d almost let it drop to the floor. a vampire not being careful or swift enough to stop the fall of a simple object? probably unheard of. but she’d been distracted, because the image of jihoon had come flashing through her mind, as it always did whenever she let herself be tempted to walk in a flower shop. he’d owned one and had given her the love she had for them now in this life. 

hyomi felt herself blinking back the sting she had forgotten even existed in her eyes and quickly gathering back her senses. the world did tend to feel like a deaf storm, a stilled rumble that made time halt in place whenever she caught herself unguarded because of that history. so here she was, holding her hands out to get the pot back, “thank you, it would have been sad to lose it.” 

in the back of her mind, the thought that she hadn’t rescued this, just like she’d been powerless in the murder of jihoon left its touch of hurt where her heart would be beating if her entire life hadn’t been cursed.

[hyomifey]

white lies.

feykijung​:

( tw: death )

kijung, always curious, gave hyomi his full attention as she went into the details of her mission. he listened to her spiel about power, and stayed quiet, even if his thoughts might different from her own. bloody wars started with retaliation for small unclaimed crimes, which seemed to be what they participated in now. it was a cycle of an eye for an eye and escalation. kijung could be as vengeful as anyone, but he liked to think he knew when to stop too, controlled, careful, intelligent about the battles he fought– usually. even he had his moments. was interfering in this really their place? did he want to go along with it, lest it start, in hyomi’s words, a bloody war? 

his gut told him no, and could he really betray it if he might know better? he would withhold judgment for now, and let hyomi speak the rest of her piece. it was bone-chilling, not because of kijung’s own fear, virtually nonexistent, but because…how could a teenager do such a thing? why would they? he wanted to know the answer to that question. 

but first: “is this going to get me in trouble?” he asked her, gaze probing as he paused in his walking, certain to convey how serious he was. maybe he could help her without getting too involved. maybe he shouldn’t walk with her, lest anyone that could smell him become involved and track him down. would all of the supernaturals be on the same side? surely they would be, against this kind of hunter. 

(he made a note to himself to tell kyu not to go anywhere remote– to try and stay around people even despite his thirst. he would try to send him to class with more blood as a safety precaution, and surely he could avoid any danger.)

it was that thought that helped him lean in the direction of helping, if only because he wanted to stop him. he didn’t want anyone else to die. “does he have motive? are his kills guilty of killing humans, or does he just…do it because he can?” if it was the former, maybe he could understand, and safely stay out of this fight that was more hyomi’s than his. 

still, there was something that came to mind. “i couldn’t pinpoint who it was; it was always during times in the day when lots of people were around, but i would smell death sometimes– just vaguely, but enough for it to be unnerving. it was probably near the end of the week, like you said, because it wasn’t all the time, but i didn’t keep track.” it likely wasn’t helpful, other than to confirm the suspicions of hyomi and her sire. 

missing fangs. it still practically made him shudder.

as the scent of death grew stronger as they grew closer to wherever hyomi brought him, so did his hesitation. it was so familiar, however, and he let out a long sigh. “yeah, it smells the same,” he confirmed. he could only assume this was where the last kill was, or at least one of them– another vampire, scent too faint for him to distinguish anything other than that. “how long ago?”

was a life without trouble really in the equation where it concerned them? hyomi was a little surprised at his question, because as far as she was concerned, the moment the bite took and the moment one had woken up with this thirst for human blood that was sure to never leave unless you lost your life after you had lost your soul. it was all over. peace would never be part of your life anymore. being human came with its price, but being more than that doubled or even tripled these conditions despite the idea that it was supposed to make it better. 

but they were hiding from the world, while at the same time trying to keep themselves from being hunted by the likes of those who hated the idea of humanity being preyed upon by their kinds. so kijung, who had been doing this for far longer than she had, asking her if this would get him in trouble. it was slightly laughable. perhaps the brain did halt itself at the age you were turned and cared none for how long your lifespan was. so she wasn’t going to take that like a question that needed to be answered. he might not like what she had to say about it.

like many other things that seemed to just tick him off now and then. his temper was not always welcomed, as far as she was concerned. she liked doing everything she did with a peace of mind that she knew would always be short lived because of her living conditions. so of course she was slowly rethinking this strategy of having invited him to join her in this hunt. she’d thought it over and over again, but he had been the only point of entry without arousing too much suspicion on herself. 

the job she did required secrecy not only from mere mortals but from the immortals too. the council at times came to her sire and hyomi might not know who exactly, but some of these targets were politically inclined more than personal. at least the majority of them. “so far, it’s been said that his kills hadn’t had any historic of attacking humans or feeding to the point of harming any humans lives.” as against the act of drinking off someone’s neck she was, she also understood the pleasure behind it and how it was inherently part of who they were. she couldn’t resent anyone who did not want to give up on the luxury itself. 

“so most likely that he does it because he can.” most hunters did a lot of things just because they could. but so was it for most vampires and werewolves. she couldn’t speak on witches, but humans had a tendency to be cruel simply because they had the ability to as well. supposed they weren’t that different when it came to the violence they could perpetuate on their own kinds, or those who they felt were different or below them. however, she was glad to know, despite her earlier reticence, that kijung might have noticed something suspicious. if not, she might have been led on the wrong path to follow and that would mean starting over from the first hint she’d gotten during her investigation. on going since the second death. 

however, before she could even comment on that something else had gotten the chance to raise the hair at the back of her neck. a tell tale sign that whatever it was that her senses were alerting her to could not be good. she halted completely before turning around the alley she’d meant to take them. the word scent and kijung’s question of how long ago the first kill had taken place nothing but an echo as she zoned in on whatever she could grasp. quiet footsteps, so quiet that one would go so far as to wonder if they were trudging on air. it was the movement in the air and how infinitely silent the heaviness of the body was attempting to blend in with the element that was giving away the action itself.

hyomi spoke only to ask a question to her partner, quietly, for only his ears to catch, “do you hear that?” 

[hyomifey]

fc change + off hiatus!

coming back a little sooner than intended and with a fc change! it might have been just four days but it did its thing! maybe because i was off for more days before that welp. anyways, i’ll resume activity this week. 

so! hyomi’s fc is basically from yooa > to seolhyun. 

[hyomifey]

LILY

LILY …hurt your muse.

the bathroom is plunged in a dim sort of atmosphere, these places are known to not really want more lights than necessary. hyomi understood the idea behind it, everyone else was always surrounded by the brightness of the element. all the time. asking for it. sometimes risking death if they went too long with it. winters could be unforgiving in some places. she in fact had enjoyed travelling to some places where the season itself was harsher, where the sun was always dimmer for months. although the backlash when she came back to south korea did not make it worth it. would she ever consider relocating eventually? possibly. 

she’d been here for a long time. it was starting to feel like too long. that thought aside though, something was off about the room itself. something she’d never truly caught in this bar itself. it was quite secluded, served only one type of clientele and strictly forbade any one who was not fed by blood to even think about coming in. yet something was off. she’d known it the moment she’d seen a hooded figure slip behind a regular customer. she’d smelled the nervousness, the eagerness to be let in and she’d caught the words thrown at the bouncer she’ll be quick. 

that another vampire had possibly let a human slip in the bar was not a worry. at least not to hyomi, she could careless. however, if the human was hiding in the bathroom she must be well aware of what she was facing. forget the touch of something more than the human blood hyomi could sense, she had not been in the guest list. she stood for mere minutes in front of the mirror just to tell exactly behind which of these stalls she could smell it the strongest, her reflection, red eyes, slight frown. hyomi had a tendency to let herself forget that she was more than what she seemed. 

an immediate threat, and there were a dozen of them behind the door of this bathroom. which she deliberately took her time to lock before pushing at every stalls, knowing which one would reveal the intruder and yet taking her time in pushing each of them open. slow in her hunt. she’d never felt hurried in anything, for her control of what she needaed to do, for her preciseness and quick ability to analyze and think and act, she’d been rewarded with the triple efficiency of it. 

there it was, the stall she was looking for. the lock broke under the force of her hand shoving it. the metal left a sudden sound of shattered metal, the door of the bathroom stall met the wall with twin like sounds and she was face to the hunched back of the hooded figure, having been shoved forward. she’d been leaning against the door. had hyomi had knowledge of this? yes. could she have avoided the stranger to possibly have a part of her body shoved right into the toilet facing her or the wall itself? yes. but hyomi was not the one trespassing. so the faint hint of skin having been broken and blood having been spilled from a wound she could not see but smell was none of her concern. not even considering where the stranger was. however, if hyomi was correct about what that blood tingled her nose with--she might just be safe from being drained of it. 

it still did not answer her as to--“who are you and what are you doing here?” 

[feyharin]

déjà vu.

[hyomifey]

feyharin‌:

It takes a lot of self-control not to laugh at the phrase ‘suck you dry’ – Harin’s eyebrow raises, and he bites down hard on his lower lip to stop an immature comment or laugh from slipping out. Objectively, it’s not funny; it’s a real risk that she describes, and for all he knows, that’s something Hyomi has very literally done to an innocent person. And it’s no less unfortunate to think it would’ve been an accident than if she’d deliberately harmed someone in that way. Unfortunate for the victim, and if he thinks the best of her, unfortunate for her, too. It’s hard to conceive of one of their kind who feels no guilt whatsoever for a side of themselves that they can’t change. 

Sneaking a glance out of the corner of his eye … she doesn’t look dangerous, but that’s the problem. If any of the monsters that made their homes amidst humans looked the part of their true nature, then Harin wouldn’t have spent twenty-two years of his life in complete ignorance of them.

He’s quiet for longer than is necessary as they continue walking side by side. Harin distracts himself by imagining what kinds of things witches might try to sell him at the fair, wonders what kind of dubious magic would have to be involved for them to offer affordable prices to customers who might not even know magic was real. Are there regulations on that sort of thing?

Until, eventually, he answers Hyomi. “Thank you, I guess.” For not … sucking him dry of his blood, anyway. For not hurting him, purposefully or otherwise. It’s likely that she’s had more time to practice restraint than he has, though he’s never met a freshly turned vampire to be able to compare their experience to his own recent transformation.

“So how old are you actually?” he asks after another moment, burying his hands as deep as they can go into his jacket pockets. It’s always disorienting to think that there are people among them who still remember Joseon. Some might even remember when there were three kingdoms on the peninsula, which is downright dizzying to imagine. “Just … let me get this into perspective, yeah?”

She hadn’t met someone new to this part of the world for awhile, was this why she felt a little awkward with the way she was giving away information? She’d never once desired to be a sire, had only drank to feed herself and never would consider the mere thought of turning someone else. Her sire had also not been in the practice of taking on fledglings, something along the lines of not wanting to babysit the older he got. 

Calling her a child had been source of amusement for him and many of his comrads as he’d taken on the role of initiating her to a lot of what vampires were meant and made to do. Some of the history was still lost to her, willingly so. If Hyomi had fallen prey to everything her sire held valuable for vampires, she probably wouldn’t have turned out to be so against the idea of a world where they were recognized as the strongest.

Because her sire was indeed one of those who thought they shouldn’t be living in the shadows, hiding away what they could do, what they were. Extremely radical in his stance of wanting to prove to the world and any other creatures that they were most definitely the most powerfully touched by the fae. All while also of course staying loyal to witches, so he was a bit of a lost hypocrite if you asked her. “219 years and counting. Are you looking forward to not aging like the rest of humanity?” 

They weren’t part of it anymore either. That was the most tantalizing of all prices for those who wished to turn, immortality. A silly fantasy. But she knew that where vampires would never look even a day older after turning, she’d seen some werewolves who did look older than the last time she’d encountered them. Quite half a century or even more than that passing in between each meeting though. In fact, that had only been with one particular werewolf and she hadn’t had the joy of meeting her for quite some time now. 

Hyomi could see the colors of the fair coming into view, quite a few of them. But what gave it away was the slowly changing scent in the air, where human blood and heartbeats would dominate majority of the time, finding the entrance of the fair always felt like finding the mouth of a monster’s lair. It was ominous, it had been overwhelming her first time. So many of them mixing in with the humans, regrouped in one place at once. 

It felt like a beacon, and some days she did wonder if it would burn and take everything it could with it. One day, it was bound to, no? “We’re close, can you feel a difference?” She’d often wondered just how strong of a difference there was between their heightened senses. Derived from wolves as they were, surely some of theirs would be more advanced, more pronounced than hers. Far from her the idea of using him as a test subject for her curiosity, but it was there simmering and she couldn’t quite turn it off. 

[hyomifey]

feyhawon‌:

it’s his sister who really commands their booth. she’s the expert, the loving hands who raised the flowering plants from seeds bred and cultured from her own nursery. she’s also an attraction herself; fair skin and big eyes a lure for the shallow human men who don’t know what other sorts of charms a gwiin witch has up her sleeves. hawon knows she thinks it’s funny, how they’ll spent big and keep coming back to spend more just to get her attention. if only they knew, or even paid the slightest attention, to the delicate engagement band on her finger. perhaps a moonstone setting isn’t as traditional as a diamond, but it’s far, far more meaningful for a witch couple.

hawon’s a free set of helping hands today, the little brother who’s more than happy to hang out with his sister for the day in exchange for her gratitude, hopefully able to be cashed in on at another time. and she gives him his own little corner of their booth for whatever he’s got to spare. the charms he’s selling are mostly fake, a few real ones for the true witches who may visit his sister’s booth. his stronger skill is in palm reading, and he’s still tracing over the lines of his last customer’s hand in his head when the woman approaches the booth.

the boy puts on his most winning grin and gestures across the booth to all of the potted plants and seedlings. “my sister is the botanist, you’ll have to talk to her about specific recommendations about the plants. but she raises them like they’re her own children, so she’ll only let them go to good homes.” he winks, always the charmer, and then focuses down onto his own skill set. “these ones here are last year’s crop, dried and preserved, so their properties are all the more concentrated. what are you looking for? something light? protection? i have all sorts of charms and concoctions.”

he holds up a locket, silver plated and not all that expensive in actuality, but it’s a pretty little charm. it’s stuffed with dried wolfsbane and vervain, not inherently magical but will still keep werewolves and vampires away from the average human. “this is a protection charm. it’s pretty too! take a look.” he offers it over to the woman, thinking himself a very clever salesman. he has no idea how badly he’s misjudged the situation.

hyomi would be the first to admit she didn’t understand much of anything about magic. in fact, she kept herself so far removed from them, by choice, that she didn’t know anything else but what she’d heard, seen and taught by various encounters. but she did keep more so among vampires and humans than she did anything else. she just didn’t see the point. the little spells she’d caught here and there, the potions she’d been given during certain missions they’d all seemed so whimsical. to this day she considered magic as that little thing that didn’t make sense. 

far from her the idea of thinking that she made sense, or werewolves did more than witches. but still, magic was something that most human felt was so foreign, it wasn’t just a myth like vampires and werewolves in their movies. magic was spoken of with wonders, without fear, with the idea that it could open doors to so many unknown truths. whether they be of dark or white, magic was the one thing that even humans could believe in without being harmed. was it that she hated the fact that witches could live among humans without fear of ever hurting them? even better, they protected the human race with some of their spells and potions. something that was sure to be frowned upon if she ever told any of her kind that she would much rather go extinct than to let the world be void of human lives. 

because hyomi wanted to protect humans before anything else. from herself, and from anyone and anything else. that had always been the lingering goal at the core of it all. so the envy could be why she’d discarded any and all interests she might have grown into the idea of magic and witches. she couldn’t even find it in herself to be mad at the locket he was giving her. the vile acidic stench of it would not be missed to any other vampires--she could sense one or two that had halted when the locket had been put forward. 

“it would be effective, of course if you weren’t handing it right to what it should protect against.” 

she leaned away from the held charm as she spoke softly, she swallowed and still she felt her throat heavy as it welcomed the bit of hydration from how dried it’d turned at the vervain that could be sensed inside the charm. mixed with something else but she couldn’t quite take her senses away from the threat of the poison meant to harm her. 

“can i get something less poisonous? for children, something lighthearted and that i can carry?” 

she looked down at his table for anything that could take away that bitter taste on her tongue and her eyes fell on a butterfly shaped locket that she was quick to point at, a purple gem--most likely not real, lodged in the middle of it, if she focused away from the vervain and more on it, she could smell lavender, “what does that one do?”

she’d need more than one, but if whatever was inside could be duplicated, she’d pay the price. that was what mattered right? 

[feyevents]

introducing fey lines’ first meme! these prompts may be used either as drabbles or as thread starters, canon or alternate universe. to let members know that you’d like to receive asks in your inbox for this meme, please reblog this post. and remember “rp karma”; the more memes you send out to your fellow members, the more you’re likely to receive!

this meme may be reblogged for the next two weeks, until june 11th at 11:59pm. after this time, this post is no longer permitted to be reblogged and no new meme messages may be sent to inboxes. responses may be posted at any time, including after the deadline.

meme answers longer than 250 words may count toward activity, but only until the june 11th activity check. responses posted after that time will not be sufficient to pass an activity check.

SEND ME A FLOWER AND MY MUSE WILL…

ALSTROEMERIA …pay your muse for something.

ASTER …ask your muse for advice.

ANEMONE …abandon your muse.

ANTHURIUM …offer your muse a place to stay.

BASIL …insult your muse.

CARNATION …reject your muse.

CHRYSANTHEMUM …confess to your muse.

DAFFODIL …forgive your muse.

DAHLIA …congratulate your muse.

DAISY …tell your muse a secret.

DELPHINIUM …tell your muse a joke.

FREESIA …smell your muse.

GARDENIA …smile at your muse.

GERBERA …ask for your muse’s trust.

GLADIOLUS …make your muse a promise.

GOLDENROD …give your muse encouragement.

HEATHER …protect your muse.

HYACINTH …steal from your muse.

HYDRANGEA …thank your muse.

HYSSOP …sacrifice something for your muse.

IRIS …give your muse a compliment.

LARKSPUR …put your muse in their place.

LAVENDER …help your muse relax.

LILAC …give your muse a gift.

LILY …hurt your muse.

MORNING GLORY …give your muse a hug.

NASTURTIUM …compete with your muse.:

ORCHID …trap or capture your muse.

PEONY …accuse your muse.

PROTEA …dare your muse to do something.

RANUNCULUS …flirt with your muse.

ROSE …give your muse a kiss.

SNAPDRAGON …lie to your muse.

STATICE …console your muse.

STOCK …hold your muse’s hand.

SUNFLOWER …help your muse.

TANSY …start a fight with your muse.

TULIP …recognize your muse.

ZINNIA …pay your muse a surprise visit.

[hyomifey]

white lies.

[hyomifey]

feykijung‌:

( ... )

kijung wasn’t afraid for himself, but that surge in fledglings, and the words that followed it, worried him. should he have left his own fledgling alone to do this? would he anger one of the hunter clans sticking his nose where it didn’t belong, if hyomi got him into trouble? no, kyuhwan was alright, at least for tonight. they didn’t make any recent mistakes, and he was home by now, safe with mei, whom kijung trusted with every fibre of his being. that anxiety didn’t quite go away, however, lingering in the pit of his stomach, and maybe it was healthy– so he wouldn’t throw his caution to the wind, and would keep his wits about him. (really though, kijung always did. he was never the type to leap before he looked anywhere.)

he nodded once again, because he understood their makeshift mission of the night, and he agreed with the sentiment that some hunters would use any excuse to try and wipe supernaturals off the map. it was one of the many reasons why he tried to stay so close to his fledgling. “do you have any more information about this rogue you’re hunting?” he questioned, because that seemed to be priority. there was only so much they could do about the hunter population as a whole, and they should never make the first strike against any of them, as far as kijung was concerned. “or is that classified?”

was that how it looked like? like she wasn’t up to something very important? ah right, she’d forgotten what she quite disliked about this world, this part of it and its politics. the years that they’d spent lingering in every dark shadows of the world, so many of them, all the history, wars and all the lives they’ve passed tended to make them feel either too powerful, above everything else, or just damn right bitter. a youth that was nothing but a mask. they tended to quickly forget that they were--quite frankly all abominations. 

however, it benefited her more than he could imagine that he thought she was probably just wasting his time. if this had been a little earlier, say quite a few, few years back, she probably would have taken offense to such a young face speaking to her in such a way. but the bitter after taste of the bile this immortality had burned on her tongue was something she’d washed out of her mouth long ago. if anything, his remark had her sighing. did she feel like she was handling one of her little ones? a bit. but god forbid she voiced that out and made him feel like she was belittling him and made him start going on about their age difference, therefore a power speech she didn’t want to get into.

not that kijung had ever pulled that card yet, but many others had and still did to this day. she wouldn’t be surprised if he did. her sire had been quite categorical about respecting the order of this hierarchy. she did, most times. 

“nothing is classified, my sire asked me if i could help investigate, he does pay me to do the side jobs he can’t be bothered to dip his toes in and,” now, that was a blatant lie about to come out of her, “we have to look out for our kinds, right? imminent extinction is not about to happen, but bloody wars always start with small unclaimed crimes. the more you let them get away with, the stronger they can instill the idea that we are weak.” 

but back to the point. 

“he is believed to be around your age, more precisely to be a student at your current school.” now that might give him an idea as to why she’d gone to look for him. that she did have valid grounds to get him to maybe eventually cooperate enough to lead here further than that. past the rogue. behind the mastermind pulling the strings. quite literally, the true target was a vampire, a teacher, who her sire’s contractor wanted out of the game for betraying his own blood--at least that was what she’d been told. the less she really knew, the better it was.  

“his hunts have consistently coincided with the end of the week, in very unoccupied areas, all of his victims were found decapitated and not just with their heads gone but missing other parts of their bodies, or organs but his signature we believe are their missing fangs.” so possibly a trophy collector too. they were nearing the area where the first victim had been found, the still lingering scent of death a familiar one that didn’t make her feel unwelcome in her body anymore. 

[hyomifey]

these are bloody wings she but whispered, the sharp edge of fear lodged in her throat ; well of course dear, i clipped them off to better match what you seemed so eager to drown your soul in he said, laying them right by her bare feet. you are now tied to this earth, for all eternity.

[hyomifey]

the making of.

                                                _winter 1814 ; spring 1815_

chunghee had been born with nothing but dust to bite on. she’d known the streets of her village more than she’d known the warmth of an embrace. she’d run among the same type of children, abandoned at birth or after a few years but they all had one thing in common. they ate like the poorest. they worked like the poorest. they stole, they got chastised. they huddled together in abandoned places and hurried out when they were found to be ‘squatting’. it wasn’t the most rewarding of life.

but the orphans she’d grown with, she’d kept with her. she’d guided, despite not being the oldest. she’d stood up for so many of them and taught them so many tricks to get further in the shadows. tricks that she’d learned herself, with practice, with the whips of the soldiers that would roam the streets and would have the fortune of catching her in certain devious acts. 

the running joke in their mischievous group growing up had been how she hadn’t been executed yet for the amount of petty crimes she’d been caught. but that was the idea. she’d liked the notoriety, because as much as she’d been caught they’d never managed to keep her long enough for a sentence. she’d been a child, small, a girl, basically not as important as the bigger and adult criminals out there. then she’d met her first mentor in this life. 

yet again caught and locked, this time with a criminal that had had more luck than chunghee herself. he’d taken a look at her and nothing else until she’d been called by one of the prison guards by the nickname she’d been given. red fury. because as much stealth as she did possess, chunghee had grown the reputation of fighting and playing dirty without a second of hesitation.

whatever she’d get her hands on to fight back, you could be sure she’d use it whether it cost a life or not. survival had been her first and most important purpose in this life. the nickname had stuck each time she’d been thrown back in, a running joke and a spat her way with each passing months and years. she’d been all but 14 when she’d crossed path with the most wanted of all thieves. 

in this area, everyone had heard rumors of the shadowy figures using his combats skills to make things right. this criminal had not been like all the others, he’d been stealing from the rich to give to the poor and he’d been defending the poor citizens at night who did not have the luck of being guarded by the walls the kingdom had or the guards the kingdom had. 

a vigilante in his own way, but a merciless one that made the kingdom’s laws look weak by doing their work and made a mockery of the safety of the wealthiest. that had been her first taste of what it looked like to fight not for your own gains but for the idea of a better future for the ones you cared for. for the better future of those underprivileged. 

in that cell, the man had looked old and faded. white hair, white thin beard and dirty, he’d looked like nothing. but he’d said her nickname with the voice of a man who had all the luxury in the world to find a distasteful tone touch to it.

in short, he’d offended her. she’d fumed. then he’d asked her, ‘do you want to learn how to never be caught again?’ 

she’d ignored him--for ten seconds before looking up from the bent of her arms across her knees and taken in some air. the constantly simmering anger had always been the hardest thing to rid herself of. she hadn’t learned of his name then, or during his teachings, or even after he’d been taken out of their cells to be executed, or even after he’d managed to escape before said execution.

chunghee had stayed in that cage with this old dying looking man for months, she’d reached her fifteen years in that cell. but she’d come out feeling like a lifetime had passed her by and less angry. she’d lost half of her madness, she’d instead been more of river, walking back the same road where she’d always thought she had to run.

she’d let the dust across her cheeks sit still instead of trying to wipe it off with the bck of her hands, like she’d always thought she’d needed to do to clean herself up. she’d felt taller than the obstacles she’d always met, she’d walked with his voice in her head. then she’d stolen a horse on her way to a new beginning and had rode it until they were both exhausted to rest by the stillness of a stream. she’d dismounted with that feeling she still carried with her everywhere she went.

the stillness peace of what she needed to do to make this world a better place. 

[hyomifey]

shopping magic.

she had to take her time with the fair. ( @feyhawon )

her first had been overwhelmingly alarming for various reasons, but the main part was what could be sold at the vendors stand. she’d been warned of course, to not trust everything she was given or told that she was being given. but that was easily discernible, it was also easy to tell what was a real potion from what was simple water and some herbs that didn’t really--do much. 

so whenever hyomi had to bring someone along for the first time she felt it was her duty to also warn them of the same things she’d refused to listen to during her first tour. however, she liked to think she was trained, ears, nose, sight--enough to not fall for the same things she’d fallen for the first time. or the second time. or the third time. her less prouder moments had definitely occurred at this fair and she still had a slight tinge of resent for having been swindled so many times before. 

never enough to endanger her, but enough to almost put her in a risky situation with so many human eyes around. whether they were humans who knew what to expect or not, she still didn’t enjoy them being in the known of who she was. that was private and she wanted to be given the option to share it should she have to. so she still kept her distance from them, especially at this fair. besides she was back for a very specific reason. an idea that came to her with spring finally settling in, rain and flowers. 

grey skies and warm colors. her students had been delightfully soaking in the weather too and she’d promised a gift for the whole class. she rarely ever sought out magic but children were deserving of a little bit of more than the reality they were forced to be trapped in. so she was at a stand, that she’d sniffed a few times during her first and second visit, she had to spot the right ones so doing her research and observing before deciding was important. this stand looked genuine enough. at least, she hoped this time her judgement wouldn’t fail her as she made it first in line after a few minutes of waiting and tilted her head down at the range of products being offered before settling her gaze on the man behind the table.

“they don’t look too depressing but what’s the specialty here? what do you sell exactly?” she still had to have a bit more insight from the mouth of the vendors themselves. for extra safety measures.

[hyomifey]

white lies.

[hyomifey]

feykijung‌:

the sound of the fight slowly grated on his nerves, or maybe there was something about it that he associated so strongly with himself now that it was difficult to stand outside of it. he had half a mind to stomp over and break it up, unafraid to throw punches himself to do it, but he didn’t. this wasn’t school; he didn’t need to show off in front of teachers and staff to try to get expelled from high school, and he knew mei didn’t like when he fought regardless. just this once, he would stay out of it, or at least…he would try.

hyomi arrived soon enough, nearly passing him by, clearly distracted by the fight as well. maybe she was so convinced he’d be part of it that she didn’t bother looking further; he couldn’t really blame her for that. what he could blame her for: tugging on his collar. he dug his feet into the pavement, refusing to move farther after the original pull, and he scowled, even as he faced away from her. “i do not,” he insisted, still scowling, and he eventually tugged out of her grip, turning around to face her, not fearing her knowing his displeasure.

“it was already underway when i got here,” he elaborated, expression neutralizing. “i was trying to figure it out from here, but they haven’t talked much at all, and especially haven’t contributed anything interesting.” he spared another look in the direction of the fight, where a clear frontrunner emerged, one of them looking far weaker now. he frowned. hopefully whoever ended up losing deserved it. it wasn’t his business. it wasn’t his business. 

“anyway,” he changed  the subject, eager to move on lest he decide to jump into the fight after all. “what do you need me for?”

“hm, so no meddling from your part. impressive.” she might say it and to some untrained ears, it might sound like a dishonest sentiment but she was truly impressed. this was not a little achievement. if she wanted to push further even in the sentiment and give it a comic tilt she might go on about how maybe he was finally ready to outlive what held him back from everyone else. those teenage years that just seemed to not fade no matter how long he’d actually existed for. 

it was a strange thing to notice, the stillness of a growth that never truly moved further despite centuries going by. then again, most of the brawls she’d witnessed him in had been with those who looked to be his age range, had that been why? was this somewhat of a safer territory than to jump right into a fight between two adults? that was a ridiculous assessment, kijung was much older than any human adults that existed in this period of time. he was also right to move into the reason why they were here, and she tilted her head down the road, to indicate where they were going to stroll by, “taking a walk, catching a rogue maybe, or just sniffing trouble.”

had she not mentioned that bit in her messages? maybe she’d been too caught up with how to smooth it over into breaching the idea that this culprit might be laying lo in his school. that was the ground target. “you don’t really read the news do you?” 

not that this would be news covered by the local or national tv outlets, or if it was, it would just be shown as something normal. because people killed themselves for some normal psychologically twisted reasons. hyomi might believe more in humanity than she did in anything and everything else, but she still knew it had some of the ugliest shadows one could crawl out from. as time went and the years passed, things seemed to escalate, turning uglier with each passing night too. 

these days the monsters were not just the unknown, they could be living right next door to you and they did not need to have fangs or weapons or claws to tear through you. 

“there’s been a surge in fledglings, mostly without sires, at least that is what they are using as the excuse this time around. but the main goal is of course, to be able to get to us without having to justify themselves.” by they, she of course meant the hunters. it was implied. the information was not entirely false, so she could tell it with ease. there had been dead bodies, and a hunter involved in a series of disappearances of vampires. but that was not her hit. unfortunately. 

[feyharin]

déjà vu.

[hyomifey]

feyharin‌:

There’s something sort of disarming about the fact that Hyomi doesn’t demand explanations; maybe she has some casual assurance that she has all the time in the world to find out. Or maybe she’s aided by some unworldly power that would let her read minds or memories—Harin has heard rumors about the things some of the oldest vampires can do, though he holds on to a healthy level of skepticism for now. (On the other hand, just a few years ago, wouldn’t he have laughed in the face of someone who told him with unshaking conviction that werewolves were real? There’s a lot he doesn’t understand—simpler to leave it at that, and accept it, and just take things as they come.)

“Someone said something to me about a fair,” Harin reflects, trying to recall what he’d heard from the members of the pack about that particular topic. In truth, he’d tuned most of it out after a snap judgement that it wasn’t the kind of thing he’d be interested in, a little too fringe and subculture in its marketing. But of course there’s some irony in his judgement, given the things he’s forced to do on a regular basis due to his very nature. Hard to fault people that are just drawn to odd and unusual things. “It sounded like it was for weird people? Ah, so I bet you could show me around then.” He cracks a smile at his own joke. “Just lead the way. I’m curious now.”

Sweeping assumptions about strange people aside, maybe it is a good opportunity to go and observe what he’s sharing Seoul with. From day to day, it’s still mostly humans that he crosses paths with, which would be more comforting if he wasn’t painfully aware of how that was never a distinction he expected to have to make at all. But aside from the pack and the other kinds of wolves that come pouring out of the woodwork once a month, he can claim little experience beyond the occasional brush of shoulders with a vampire (right now being a stellar example of such an occasion) and a handful of witches and their companions.

If he stays out of trouble, he might be looking at a few hundred years alongside these other creatures, so it’s probably not a bad idea to go learn about them while they’re gathered a little brazenly in one place.

As they walk, Harin’s teeth slowly begin to nibble at his lower lip, and he glances over at Hyomi from the corner of his eye. “So was I in danger from you, back then? I mean … those times that I prepared food and brought it to you—I spent all that time, and I guess you’d rather have just eaten me?” Granted, he’s glad she didn’t, but at least one other thing out there had decided he was an easy target–so why hadn’t she? 

“Weird people.” Strange term, a bit insulting, but it was fitting, she’d give him that. It was fitting not only for how every species somehow decided that they were okay with mingling while it was happening, okay with being different in the same space. Of course to some extent, because incidents had occurred, hidden from human eyes, but that was bound to happen with the history that laid heavy between these bloods. History that was growing increasingly diluted with time and how many new generations were made, uncaring for what was and more so of the now and what was to come. 

She gave him a small nod, “I can show you around, it’s like any other fair, except you might catch some things that will be to you now, exactly as they seem. Also lots of witches, so careful if you want to buy anything.”

Rarely affectionate as she felt for much, she had grown appreciative of having Harin. Perhaps from being neighbors, familiar heartbeats, familiar scent and familiar mannerisms, even with the other thing in between now, it was  right still right under that thin layer of heat that was so characteristic of many werewolves. His question came at a strange time, because she’d been going right into the thought of speaking about the many dangers of belonging to this world, mostly the propaganda that some of them could throw themselves in and try to drag their new recruits into.

Of course she knew nothing of what type of talks the werewolves packs had for their beginners’ 101 guide through your new world, but she’d gotten too many talks to forget any of the reasons behind every feuds that had them all at each other’s throats. Her sire had been a scholar in his life before being a vampire, then a professor and had in turn made her go through all the lessons he couldn’t teach to his human classes as if she’d begged for it. But back to Harin’s question, his worry and how it made Hyomi laugh, to play it entirely honest or to juggle around a bit with that apprehension in his tone? 

“You’re still alive aren’t you?” She gave him a side glance, but was quick to dissolve with a roll of her eyes, “No, Harin, I don’t eat human flesh, I can’t even eat animal’s meat, the correct term would be, hm--suck you dry,” Her voice had been low the entire conversation and she did wonder if he realized that he could pick up on her words despite that, but she lowered her volume even more for any passerby who could latch onto the conversation as she added, “Of your blood. But I want to assure you that I wouldn’t have hurt you, purposefully.”

But he’d asked what were the danger he had been facing then and she at least owed it to him and herself to be honest that it had existed. It existed everyday, in every situations that could go awry and had humans lingering around. They were never truly safe from harm. 

[hyomifey]

white lies.

[hyomifey]

feykijung‌:

if his general lingering rage wasn’t so sincere, kijung would find how many people he’s met or become friends with because of his fighting funny. maybe even he can find some humor in it. he’s strangely grateful for it: this outlet, and this apparent way of drawing people to him that aren’t afraid of him at his worst. one of his worsts, anyway. hyomi was one of those people, a fellow vampire, and maybe he would call her a friend. maybe. (it takes a lot to consider anyone a friend with confidence.)

it’s enough for him to agree to meet her though, kyuhwan safe enough with mei, blood in his belly, and more in the fridge should he need it. he always has some lingering nerves in leaving his fledgling, but he knows it’s healthy for them to have some time apart, too. he tells himself it’s good for kyu to know what to do without him, too, even with the potential for mistakes.

he tries not to think about it, and instead makes his way to their makeshift rendezvous point. he clears his mind, and thankfully, when he arrives, he’s presented with a serviceable distraction.

there are two men fighting in the alleyway. he doesn’t know why; they were already fighting before he arrived, otherwise he surely would’ve heard what started it. it piques his interest, so he just observes from a distance, the men too preoccupied to notice his presence. he would be able to guess they were humans from the lack of perception alone, scent aside. it’s unlike kijung these days to avoid a fight, but it isn’t his business unless injustice makes itself clear, so he simply leans against the building beside the alley, and takes out his phone.

yeah, i’m here, he texts back easily, and once he slips his phone back into his pocket, he absently looks up at the sky, dominated by the lights of the city.

hyomi had come to expect quite a few things when it came to kijung. first, he was never one to turn down a way to get his hands into a scramble. she’d liked that. she honestly had. it may have seemed strange to admit to it to anybody else who might have gotten in trouble due to his antics, but she’d been the type to sought out that type of thrill too. from very little, she’d always been around the people who were about the dust that you could pick with your fists. the ones that were left on her cheeks, smeared and untouchable. it was an honor to be able to slip past the storm of dust and leave unscathed in any duels. 

she’d been good at it too. kijung made her feel nostalgic. despite the fact that she’d come to find him in his era, despite the fact that he’d been this way longer than she had, he still held that bit of her teenage years that she’d loved filling with anything that could be loud enough. if hyomi had been born in this era, and not forced to be in it with all these memories, she probably would have been just like him. a good pump of adrenaline was somewhat always necessary. but that was all to say, when there was a fight when kijung was supposed to be, it didn’t surprise her. however, things had been so quiet right until she got to the point of meeting that she’d almost, almost let herself think that this time might be different. 

there was the fight though, the sound of it at least, already getting to her. some panting, her ears rose to attention to try to discern if she could hear him in the midst of this trouble. but surprisingly, it wasn’t picking much of kijung at all. surprisingly, that did not make her think he wasn’t a part of it. in fact, that worried her more. silence was never a good sign when they were people fighting, she could smell small amount of blood in the air but nothing too strong and she was so quick to reach the venue that she almost missed him on the side--almost because soon as her senses caught up with her, she was reaching out and crooking some of her fingers in the collar of his shirt to yank it slightly backward. “did you start what’s happening over there?” 

he was innocently on the side, but she wouldn’t put it past him to trigger it and then use his abilities to extricate himself from the situation before she got here to catch him in the act. because he knew, he knew she’d give him a word or two about it. without meaning much of them. but she still would. 

[feyharin]

déjà vu.

[hyomifey]

feyharin‌:

She’s no fun at all. The pretense would have been fun to keep up, if she’d allowed Harin the luxury of stringing her along with stubbornly oblivious answers. But she has a point. His smile flickers, then fades, and he becomes momentarily interested in the pavement beneath their feet. 

“Wolf in Jongno-gu,” Harin suggests quietly as he lets his arm fall back to his side. That’s the area it happened, anyway; he tries not to go near the exact street these days. He’d strayed too close once, and the result had been his throat closing up and his vision blurring as the memory came back – but the weird thing about the memory is that it doesn’t manifest like recollected images. It’s something he feels bone-deep, like his body is trying to brace to protect itself even though it’s too late to change anything. 

So it’s not a memory he likes to relive, in other words. Hyomi isn’t directly asking, but it is inevitable; if she wants to know about what changed, the answer inescapably lies in that direction. 

“It’s not really much of a story, but I can tell you, if you want to hear it.” After all, what’s the point in hiding the details when she already knows the worst of it? But then, he wonders if she knows what it’s like for them. She knows enough to tell what he is, she’s made that much clear, but what about the manner in which he got here? Is that something that other species have heard about? Do they have stories and legends that don’t start and end with monster, do not touch, but mention that making a werewolf and unmaking a human is the most painful thing anyone could ever be forced to live through? 

There’s a lot of tension suddenly in his body, and Harin forces himself to exhale the breath he was barely aware he was holding in. “Were you going somewhere? I can leave you my phone number, if you’re busy now. Seems like we both have a few things we could tell each other.” With that, he cocks his head in curiosity; he’s still trying to work out exactly what she is – her certainty in regards to him is a little enviable. “Otherwise, I’d offer to buy you dinner, but … I’m not sure that’s going to work for you?” 

… Well, she’d probably deny him regardless, but what can he say? He’s an optimist, and nothing ventured, nothing gained. 

She hummed, at least to show she’d taken the information in, then fell quietly contemplative. It didn’t seem like that much of--a shock to him. Or maybe he’d just gone through it already and this wasn’t as new and fresh as say, the first days or weeks. She had no idea how bad exactly it felt, she’d heard stories and been told about it, but it’d been hard to imagine that there was worse than the thirst she’d first been introduced to in her fledgling days. 

It had been the roughest time, lacking control so much despite having someone to help you through it. Just knowing you were not yourself and still being unable to get a hold of it, have a grip on reality. Like a constant burn that buzzed under the skin until finally it fell quiet under the leash of time and the training to make it fade. 

“You don’t have to tell me the story, but I’ll listen if you do.” It most likely hadn’t been wanted or at least, she couldn’t picture him going out and about researching about the supernatural then finding a link through it--to actually find a werewolf and be turned. If anything, most humans tended to lean for vampires research, the appeal in it made little to no sense, because going from freakishly pale to bursting in flames when you were finally killed ( depending on the ways that was done ) was not the least bit attractive. 

“Have you heard of the fair?” She asked because she was heading there, first. Second, it was a pretty big thing in the community, for humans or non humans alike. But mostly for non humans. A place where they didn’t need to hide and got to play around with people’s minds, the suspecting and unsuspecting ones? This was even better than halloween, this could be described as the formal before prom night. 

“I was heading there, I can’t eat the dinner you’d be offering, but I can show you around. Fair warning,” Her first time had left quite the taste in her mouth. A bitter after taste she always felt lingering each time she made for it, but she did anyways, because she just liked the idea of having something where she didn’t need to fumble around or hold back. Holding back was hard sometimes. All the time. 

“It attracts a lot of--us.” Hyomi fell in step by rounding Harin, resuming down the road where she’d been heading to before she trailed for and bumped into him, whether he wished to fall right beside her and continue, that she had to leave it open to his own instincts and needs, “No worries if you don’t wish to come, it’ll be for another time.” 

She was aware that his offer of giving her his phone number had been slightly dismissed, for many reasons, but reason number one--it wasn’t a good idea. The same way it wasn’t the best of ideas to keep in touch and be seen on a daily basis with hunters alike. There were more precise lines to not be crossed than the invisible ones that existed with humans. 

[hyomifey]

white lies.

far from her the idea of using other people by any means necessary to obtain what she wanted.  [ @feykijung ]

however, she was no angel. never had pretended to be, never would try to be one. had this been why despite the distaste of being turned into what she was now, she’d still settled and let it take over as easily as she’d let anything else she’d done in the past to survive do? maybe. or maybe hyomi was just realistically inclined. she knew what she had to do in order to keep her conscious free of the idolization of perfection. 

there would never be anything flawless in this life. she’d been abandoned after her first cries in this open world and that had been the first indication that she’d been a glitch from the beginning. a stain that needed to be scratched to make the canvas of her parents’ lives blank again, so they could start over spotless. at least, she’d grown to think that over the time. 

before her last time as the simpleton of a thief she’d been. good times. 

now she only ever thought of that aspect of her life when she was ready to do something questionable and she needed the incentive to stop thinking of consequences or of moralities. nobody outlived moralities. she needed information, and any sources she could dig it from was good enough to exploit. would it have been better if someone she knew wasn’t that type of source? sure. but this wasn’t anything new, so why act like it was?

so, true, she’d fabricated a little white lie about a rogue hunter and her checking to see if kijung would like to join her tonight to walk down the dark alleys of where some of his victims had been cleaned up after the fact. it was a start up behind an abandoned building before they would make their merry journey along the darkest sides of the city. knowing she had other intentions, and her new target was looking like he might be somehow linked to the school where kijung was going. a professor or a member of the council. whatever it was, it was not a human affair for once. she much preferred those.

are you there yet? ( sent to kijung ) she slid her phone back in the pockets of her coat and took a breath of the air of the night in, not necessary but she gulped it anyways. she was running a little late, not a habit of hers, but tonight had a strange air about it.