#hunter!au

[darlingrini]

Figured my first few posts could be just posting some of my own personal yandere boys :3cc First off, Pon. Top two are more recent and bottom two are just ones I really liked XD He’s Your Landlord and while he can seem a bit abrasive and a bit too eager to please you with love bombing and a LOT of stalking (you got cameras in your apartment) hes a good father to his daughter Ruce and is looking for someone to become his new partner! Fun Facts: * He’s 6′4″ and BULKY * Certified DILF * Doesn’t talk to anyone in his family outside his daughter (whos age can vary) * Around 40+ (can also vary per person) * Y/N is his tenant and he fell hard at first sight! Will fight others to the death for you!!  * Will track you down to your job and come to bother you if able as a innocent customer c:  * Considered a bit of a sugar daddy, he will try to woo you with many gifts and attention! All he wants in return is sincere affection and a loving home <3  * Absolutely loves Chickens (which is a trait his daughter also picked up) though will eat it unlike his daughter. 

[spnfic-search-blog]

Hi, I wanted to thank you for working hard and helping others despite how hard it can be❤️ thank you with all my heart ❤️ I might need your help to look for a fic.(Sam fic). The reader already knew the Winchesters and they meet at this hostel. She speaks at the bar with Dean and complains about the hunter she's tagging along cause he's becoming clingy. She spends the rest of the night with Sam and they talk but in the end she goes in her room where she's attacked but Sam and Dean come and help.

I’m sorry Nonnie I couldn’t find it. Are we sure it’s a hostel and not hotel? Do you remember what they were hunting?

For any followers if this fic sounds familiar please add to the post so we can find this fic for Nonnie

[simplebearperson]

Iron and Downy Feathers

The huntress had always been the cautious sort, never taking any unnecessary risks and always getting the full extent of the situation before acting. Plans were always executed to the letter and jobs were always paid, IN FULL, once they reached completion. She cared nothing for fame or for notoriety, though the latter seemed to bloom, seemingly, out of nowhere in the span of a day for the (un)fortunate huntress. She was the daughter of a well-renowned hunter, a little fact the man had failed to mention, for...whatever reason. Regardless, danger had always been a constant companion in the huntress's life.

"Rah!"

She lets out a fierce breath as she leaps over a fallen tree trunk, not sparing it a second glance even as she hears it erupt into splinters behind her. Her booted feet hit the ground in her run, shattering the once tranquil silence of the forest in favor of surviving another day. She was thankful for the full and bright moon overhead. Despite the canopies of the trees, streams of moonlight poured through their leaves, bathing the trunks and brush in its faint but potent glow. It wasn't the comforting blaze of a torchlight, but at this point she would take anything and everything that would aide her perception.

Quick and heavy footfalls began to catch up behind her. Worst still, she could feel the heat of animal breath licking at her back as if she were being chased by fire itself. She was a skilled huntress, whose prowess matched that of her fathers'. Still, humans were reckless and flawed creatures and error was still part of life, and the huntress had...grossly miscalculated her quarry. Behind her was the towering frame of an enraged chimera surging towards her, its maw opened wide to show fangs and a watering mouth as it continued to nip at her heels. Apparently, the beasts don't appreciate an arrow sticking out from their eye, a dented shield wedged in its jaws, nor a sword stuck in its gut.

She ducks beneath a weathered stone bridge as she runs across a small brook, knowing without turning around that the bridge was now a heap of wet rubble beneath the creatures' feet in its pursuit. Her lungs were beginning to burn from her run. Unfortunately the chimera gave the huntress no quarter and continued to give chase. Nostrils flaring, the beast lunged at the huntress. Its claws caught her armor and she was thrown off her feet, causing her to collide with a massive old oak. Massive claws pinned her in place, piercing through the flesh of her shoulder and upper arm as bark bit into the back of her tunic. Her expression, despite her situation, was eerily calm, even as the chimera leaned all three of its heads close to roar in her face, seemingly flaunting its victory.

As it reared back and opened its fang-filled maw, the beast became still. The huntress struggled against the paw that held her in place and felt no resistance. She opened her eyes, not recalling when she had closed them, and stared up at the towering chimera. Its maw was still open and then its silhouette, shrouded by the night shade produced by the forest trees, began to slowly and subtly deflate. The winding of a cable cord resounded and she could see the beasts' head tilt to the left. A familiar moist sound caught her ear and sure enough, one of the chimera's heads fell from its shoulders to fall at her feet in a grisly heap. The other head was snapped at the neck with the pull of another unseen cord, while the tail's head was crushed by the boot of another. The huntress took this moment to slip out from beneath the massive paw, with mere moments to spare as the beasts' body fell, finally succumbing to its death. The warm aroma of fur and iron permeated the air, making it feel warm and heavy as it died, nothing she wasn't familiar with. It was when the shadows began to stir that the huntress took on another defensive stance.

"Halt!"

The shadows, and the unseen force within it, seemed to stop instantly at someone's command. The huntress tensed at this. From beyond the body of the deceased chimera, out stepped a young woman clad in a crimson mantle with white hair and lavender eyes. She was significantly smaller than the huntress herself but her body language and demeanor was that of one who was in command. She stepped out into the moonlight and addressed the huntress.

"Hail, huntress. I' am the lady Edelgard of Von Hreslvelg. I've come seeking to employ your expertise."

Though this Edelgard spoke calmly, the huntress could not avert her eyes from the shifting darkness staining the area. Sure it was night time in the middle of the forest, but this darkness seemed....alive. Almost sentient, at least that was what the huntress was feeling. Edelgard gave a brief smile.

"I see you're as perceptive as the tales foretold. You are as impressive as your father, sir Jeralt, is. Not many are aware of my vassal, almost none can even perceive him, even on the sunniest of days. Come, Hubert."

The shadows seemed to amass and cultivate itself into a physical being, one that was almost as towering as the chimera itself. Beside Edelgard stood a huge bird-like being, with pale skin, sharp and narrow eyes, donning long dark robes. It was hard to discern if it was a man with wild decorations or if he was a creature with human-like appendages. His features were sharp and he looked to be well groomed, but everything about the man looked....genuine. What stood out for the huntress was the long finger-like feathers protruding from the sleeves of his robes and the downy feather collar. He never blinked, his glowing yellow eyes never budging even as he narrowed them as he took in the woman in front of them. She had shoulder length forest green hair with a near stony look that amused the vassal greatly. "Lady Edelgard wishes to use your talents for her goals. While she may be charmed with your strength and tactical prowess, I' am not so easily won over. Tell me, what is your name, huntress?"

This man, this...Hubert, had all the predatory mirth of a vulture teasing and tormenting its prey with taunts of its mortality. Were it not for her wound, she would find it difficult to hold her composure, even with her stagnant expression. It gave her a foothold to concentrate and focus on her new...allies, and the term is used very loosely.

"I'm the Huntress, Byleth Eisner."

  - For @sleeping-platinum   :)

[emmimimie]

Hunter Sehun

☆ Preferred Monster to hunt: Ghosts

☆ he’s been seeing ghosts since he was a kid

☆ back when he lived in the orphanage

☆ some aren’t violent towards him.

☆ he doesn’t know why.

☆ some are nice to help with hunts if something is bothering them or keeping them in this planet

☆ its v helpful to have spirits that can’t be seen talk to you

☆ or v annoying when you’re trying to seem normal in public

☆ would like to study them.

☆ will never go hunting alone.

☆ usually hunts with Myeon, but if not Yeol’s usually option number two.

☆ is also v happy being the designated driver for any hunt.

☆ you wont believe how helpful it is to have someone in the car ready to zoom you out.

☆ or be back up.

☆ he’s very capable of doing hunts on his own, don’t get me wrong.

☆ he just doesn’t like being alone.

[delomaniaofficial]

I need to draw my Mug child more often. Save me, I'm in Mug hell.

[dreamhimcloser]

PURSUANT

Word count: 13,580. Summery: People once believed that when someone dies, a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes something so bad happens that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul can’t rest. Then sometimes, just sometimes, the crow can bring that soul back to put the wrong things right. Genre: Hunter!Jungkook + Crow shifter!Reader. Slight angst, but mostly adventure.

It took me way longer then I thought it would. Tell me what you thought about it ♥

The world always shifted, changing like a living being with a heartbeat every time something new was discovered, and brought into the light. You learned about the larger changes from educators, about dinosaurs and meteors, human in caves who discovered fire and invented big things, making a worldwide impact.

Every time it happened, the world had to adjust, find new ways to cope with the change, watching how it affects the generation they brought into the world. Some discoveries were good for the evolution of the human kind, some were bad, and all lead to the end of the world as they knew it to create a new one instead.

The discovery of shapeshifters, existing among human like they’re one in the same, had the same kind of impact.

The initial response was violent and surprised no one, mostly in the form of riots. Scared men and women screaming intimidating words to make their rulers maybe, find a solution to this "problem". Your caretaker told you the stories, how they all ran into hiding, fleeting from angry actions of ignorant people. It took time – years – to calm it down. You were born near the end of the fight, after the ruler showed will to study the shape shifters, invest in their brought up to the communities without having to hide what they are, without being afraid for their lives.

Your mother held you in her arms, traits of what you are visibly vibrating as you were just born, as she moved to the cities where the public was less scared and more intrigued. She submitted herself to the authority, as did many shifters of many kinds, to share what they know of their kind in exchange for their freedom.

It was the wrong choice.

Right before your mother got executed to prevent her from using her powers to her own will – before your kind became hunted and not by ignorance, but by knowledge – she managed to give you away to a fellow shifter who wasn't revealed yet for what they were.

The shifter grew you since. She taught you how to protect yourself, growing you as one of her children even though you weren't a wolf shifter like they were. Your bleached white skin and jet black hair always stood out, drawing attention wherever you went. The shifter made you travel a lot, never staying in one place for too long purely out of fear, that someone will find out and take all of her children from her.

 You heard the stories, taking them in as a part of who you were. Even as a child you already knew the bitter truth you’re forced to live your life with for however long you shall live – like atom bombs and gunfire weapons, some discoveries are better off staying in the darkness of ignorance.

 As were you.

Growing up as a shifter, hidden from the world but still a part of it, came with a price. You still remembered the day when the order came out, a list created by investigators that specified what each type of shifter can do that's beyond human understanding.

 Some could predict the future, some could breathe underwater. The list went on and on, and you remember you read through it looking for your kind, knowing it was your own mother who gave this information away.

 Crow – a mysterious connection to the dead. Is able to pass souls on and bring from beyond. Limit of power not known.

 It explained so many parts of your life. You were always drawn to graves, and heard voices whispering in the dark of the night, never to fear but to just be aware of their presence.

 You took a secret experiment then, fishing out the powers that came from your animal side. It took you a while to understand, how to hold a soul without tainting it, how to pass it on and see what's on the other side. As your contact with the other end grew, you felt more reassured, the hunted feeling in your heart subsiding as you found a life that you could live for many years to come.

 Then rose the rumors of a spreading phenomenon – men rise to hunt the kind of shifters they need for certain jobs. Shark shifters were used to bring artifacts from the bottom of the ocean, different bird shifters to pass messages between people without the need of a written letter that could fall into the wrong hands.

 You were sure the shifters didn't have a choice to act as they were told, until you heard a report about a mocking bird shifter who was beaten to death by the man who hunter her, just because she told his message to the wrong person. She was tricked and suffered a horrible death for her mistake.

 The hunters stopped pretending they were pleasant when no punishes followed the report. They hunted cruelly, bringing guns and bows to wound and mime the shifters they wanted to capture without a single thought about the fact they're hunting humans.

 Obviously, they weren't the only ones who didn’t think of shifters as humans. The authorities allowed it, not a single response was heard as shifters got stricken down and hurt for the benefit of their hunters.

 Your caretaker as worried as she should have been about the change of behavior. Wolves were mostly good for their sense of smell, and before humanity knew about the shifters' existence, they were looked down upon for how simple their powers were. Now they were the least threatened by hunters.

 You were a very different story though.

 You knew sooner or later crows would be hunted down too, given how abnormal your powers were. Breaking apart from the family that took you in was probably the hardest thing you ever had to do – many tears and sorrows surfaced that day. Your caretaker understood your intention; she knew you were just trying to make sure they stay safe.

 You still remembered how she kissed your cheeks, then your forehead and your nose. "I will always cherish you. Be safe, and keep tracking us so we'll know you're alive."

 Those words warmed your heart every single day, even though years passed since.

 Traveling was harder then you thought it was, and you often found yourself imagining how it must have been for your mother, traveling with a newborn baby when the threat was pressing against her throat. You couldn’t blame her anymore for trying to find reason in the hearts of humans, even if that’s what got her killed.

 You found nice people along the way, some gave you food and some even a roof over your head for a night or two, all of which you repaid with whatever you could. Kindness was not easy to come across nowadays.

 Some nights you shifted to your crow form, paying close attention that no one is watching to later accuse you for it, and slept on trees. Feeding as a crow was easier too; you could dive from the sky and steal someone else’s food without much of a problem or a chase.

 These were the life you were sentenced to live.

 A man took you in one night, after you refused to let him feed you in the market as a beggar. He insisted on at least allowing you to sleep on a bed for a night before you took off. You helped him prepare a meal for the both of you, and watched the man tear up when you told him how old you were. He told you, his throat tight around unshed tears, that he just lost a daughter to an awful illness, and she was just your age. It was her bed you would be sleeping in for the night.

 Your conscience wouldn’t allow you to leave this kind man with nothing. As he fell asleep you waited, before sitting up from where you laid on a dead girl’s bed, and summoned her. It was the easiest summoning you ever had to do. The girl left so young and with so many regrets, she wasn’t even near the border to the next world.

 You watched as they talked between them, the man half asleep still and weeping like a baby as he looked at his daughter’s face once again – and for the last time. They shared words of pure love, bringing a smile to your own face with how pure their intentions were. The girl looked back at you when she felt the pull from the other side, nodding at you to signal she’s ready. You shifted in her room before you took her away, your chest filled with fear, knowing you’ll come back to a man who knows what you are.

 The man smiled at you, thanked you, and tucked you in with a whisper promise that no one else besides the two of you will know of what happened here.

 Only the next night, when you took some money he gave you to eat at the town’s tavern, did you know he lied.

 Many hunters fed in the same space as you, and you made sure to keep your head and your presence low. You sat at the very end of the tavern, away from bows and exes that could turn on you in a second. You listened to filth spoken by greedy men as they talked about how many shifters they had in captive – and how these shifters got to die in their hands. The beer flowing through their veins made them loud and obnoxious, but you simply swallowed your food in a hurry to leave.

 The door opened to let in a warm breeze of early summer, momentarily distracting the men from cheering at yet another horrible story. A young man walked in, you guessed he was about your age from the glimpse you got of his face before his hat hid it away.

 The young man walked straight to the tavern’s owner, the loud laughter returning with each step he took as the drunk men in the background lost interest in the newcomer.

 The man leaned across the counter, exchanging quick words with the owner, who leaned close from the other side. Your instincts warned you from what’s to come, making you stuff the rest of your food in as quickly as you could.

 “Hey, hunters!” The owner crossed his arms on his chest as he looked to the drunken group of men. They wouldn’t stop and he had to scream again, louder to get past all the noise they were making. They stopped one by one to give the owner confused looks and when he finally had all eyes on him, he continued, “This boy looking for a crow shifter. Said passed here not long ago. Ya know something?”

 You stiffened, taking a deep breathe before you relaxed your shoulders with a roll. You can’t give away any sign of fear at this, or you’ll be in troubles.

 “Hell, if I knew a crow shifter was around, I woulda captured it myself!”

 “How about you?” You peaked at the owner in interest just to find his eyes already trained on you. You obviously weren't a hunter yourself, why would he even bother asking you?

 “Haven’t heard a thing,” You shook your head and stabbed one of the last pieces of meat off of your plate, steeling your face into a nonchalant stare. “I don’t even know how hunters receive their information, so I might not be much help at all.”

 “What do you do to get by?” The boy spoke up, and his voice made you instantly frown. It was deep and velvety, almost out of place since it was not as rough as most hunters spoke and acted. Your eyes met for the first time too, and you saw a certain uncertainty in them – again, abnormal for hunters. You saw a hint of determination in them, and that was the only part about him you received a threatening feeling from. His eyes were focused on you like a tight arrow, ready to fire.

 “I’m a writer,” You lifted the writing supplies you took as an excuse with the hand that wasn’t holding the fork.

 The boy crossed his arms across his chest, bringing your attention to the bulking muscles. If you hadn’t seen his face, you could have guessed he was a lot older then he actually was by his body. “Must travel around a lot.”

 “That I do.”

 “And you never listen to talk about shifters?” He challenged, leaning his hips back against the counter. “Aren’t you scared, a small girl traveling all alone?”

“Why would a shifter risk their exposure to pick on a harmless small girl, huh?” You scuffed at him, before dropping the fork and gathering your things. This could count as a reason for you to take your leave, hopefully without alarming anyone of your fear. Your heartbeat was beating in your ears, animal instincts keeping you aware of all the men in the room. Some of the drunk group looked away from you already, returning to meaningless conversation as they tried keeping their tones at bay. Some were still looking on, laughter rolling as they agreed with the young hunter’s words.

It will only be in your best interest to get out of here, as soon as you could.

“Good travelin’,” You heard the owner say as you passed by him. You nodded in confirmation, waving a hand above your head as you took moderate steps towards the exit. Your eyes were wired to their maximus ability in search of any nearing noises that could single danger is coming your way. The drunks were louder now, and the owner and young hunter both stayed silent until the door shut behind you.

You breathed a sigh of relief, taking in warm air. All you had to do was get away from this town. The hunter seemed young and he probably didn’t have that much experience under his belt – a combination you found favorable. There was still something about the look in his eyes, a determined mind shining through that send chills down your spike and a quicker step to your feet.

You could enter the woods, shift there and take a flight this instant to get away from him before he even realizes you’re what he’s looking for. That plan seemed enough, calming your nerves as any plan you made did. Knowing what your next step is going to be always set you at ease.

“Girl!”

Your foot felt heavier as it hit the dirt. You turned around and matched the voice to a face – the hunter stepped out after you. His hat was pushed off to hang under the back of his head by a string, revealing his face to the sunlight. His eyes squinted slightly as they took you in and your hand tightened around the strap of your bag.

What could he possibly want now?

“I learned a bit about crow shifters,” He started, taking large steps towards you. His legs were much longer than yours, and there wasn’t a doubt in your mind that he could out run you without much of an effort. “White skin, black hair. They said their lips and cheeks are redder than normal too. Timid,” He stopped a few steps away from you, and a glint caught your eye as he moved his bow from behind him. “And always carry light in case they need to run off flying.”

“I don’t know what about me seems timid to you,” You scoffed, half turning your back to him as you frantically thought of a way out of this situation. “But I was always told that my skin is too light. Never did like coming out to the sunlight, I always get burnt.” The boy’s eyes were still squinted at you, and you caught sight of his finger twitching on the wood of his bow. “And writers always carry light. Even though I honestly don’t see why I need to explain myself to a boy like you.”

The last of your words brought a frown to his brows.

“Good luck hunting your crow,” You nodded your head in acknowledgment before turning away completely, heading for the trail instead of the woods. It would look too suspicious now if you made any move that wasn’t what a normal traveler would do. His bow was still held tightly in his hand as he watched you leave. No footsteps came from behind you.

The town was still pretty lively for a late evening. You saw a few couples taking a stroll before it’ll get too late for them to walk around aimlessly. Mothers chased down children who refused to come back home to bathe. Everyday lives were all around you, and as always, you watched pieces of lives that you will never get to own yourself.

The anxious feeling in your stomach failed to subside and a glace above your shoulder confirmed the source – the boy walked into town right after you. His eyes were not trained solely on you, he took in his surroundings with a familiar look on his face. He looked much younger now.

You slipped between two huts when you were sure he wasn’t looking at you, weaving through the numerous huts in the hopes of losing him. The families housing the huts you passed stared at you as you passed by, but you couldn’t spare a moment to give them some mind. You couldn’t tell if it was paranoia caused by the feeling of a hunt or if there really were footsteps following closely behind you anymore.

Your feet carried you faster, more huts passing by you as you stepped closer and closer to the forest, almost there –

“Stop!” The man’s voice made you jump, and leap forward over the last fence to suppurate the village from the surrounding forest. Almost there.

A whistle flew right next to your arm, your eyes drawing to the arrow that missed you by a hair. You looked over your shoulder before you could stop your instinct to see the boy, standing steady with his bow trained on you, another arrow in the ready.

You had to move, now.

You broke into a run, hoping to gain enough momentum to leap right through the shift of your body. Your supplies will probably not stay on you or close enough for you to grab them, but this life and death situation didn’t allow you to care, not even for a second.

“Stop!” The boy called again and you readied your body for the transformation. He probably wanted to warn you again before he took another shot at you, it’s now or never. You felt the wings sprint from your back, black features spreading to feel the breeze as they tore your shirt apart. Shifting so suddenly hurt, the ripping of skin having no time to renew the skin bit by bit like it was supposed to. Your feet hovered above the ground. Wings arching up, tension building before they could lash down and lift you higher –

A new form of pain pierced right through one of your wings. Your shoulder came down to crash against the ground. Your head knocking down on the ground, air torn from your lungs thanks to the impact.

Your arms tingled as you lost touch with your nerves, legs unmoving even as your head screamed at them to. You could see darkness closing in on your blurred view of the sky, warm tears stretching across your cheeks to get swallowed in your hair.

Right before the darkness took over, you could make out a head of brown hair blocking your view of the blues, the freedom you craved most.

The next thing you felt was your body wildly rocking. The rocking had a set rhythm, and it came with a specific noise that you were sure you heard before, but with the haze in your mind it was hard to pinpoint. You felt disoriented with dull pain throbbing like an echo inside your head. You could feel a constant ache in your shoulder too, the nerves sending painful sparks every time the rocking occurs.

The part of you which already returned to rational thinking was deeply disappointed. After all those years of carefully crafted escapes and pathways of freedom, you were hunted down so easily. It was absurd. And by a hunter who clearly had no experience in hunting in any way, no less! The accuracy of his arrows might be a sign of some hunting experience, but the roughness of it told you he was probably used to hunting animals, not shifters.

You forced your eyes open, taking in your surroundings. The rocking came from the horse you were strapped to, and a quick look around informed you it was currently crossing a forest. Probably the one you tried escaping into earlier. The sun's position signaled the end of a day, the bit of sky you caught colored in hues. You were out for a few hours at least, and had no idea how far you were from where you passed out.

On the bright side, your fingers brushed against a material you recognized – your bag. Your kidnapper was nice enough to fetch it for you.

You could see the back of the hunter's head in you stretched yourself a certain way, which hurt your shoulder endlessly. The stretch also made you aware of the bandage, tightly wrapped around your shoulder.

You came across a pretty humane hunter, at least.

Your fingers felt around the knots that held your body to the horse to find them pretty easy to untie, even though you couldn't see them with your eyes. You struggled and pulled on the rough rope without moving too much, making sure the hunter still had his eyes trained ahead.

If you could time your fall well enough, and he'll stay unsuspecting, maybe you could make a run for it and disappear between the trees before he could even notice you were gone.

The ties came undone one by one, and you were hanging by a thread in no time. The last tie was the hardest to undo, with the lack of stability and your nerve system being on edge. You felt like any moment now the hunter will look back and realize you're too close to escaping –

The ropes finally untangled from one another and with the horse's next step, you were sent flying through the air. You twisted your legs and brought your hands forward, preparing yourself for a hopefully noiseless impact with the ground – only for your injured shoulder to be the first organ hitting the ground.

The groan of pain tore from you before you could contain it, and with a flash you caught the hunter's eyes as they widely stared over his shoulder at your body on the ground. The horse kept walking without disturbance, taking the hunter farther away from you as you steeled your body to move, and fast.

You were on your feet when the hunter shouted a comment at the horse to turn around, heels kicking into the ground to run as fast as you could. One of the ropes was still wrapped around your leg and you were worried you might step on it and trip. There wasn't enough time to spare and correct that mistake though, not when the sound of hoops hitting the ground grew closer with every second that passed.

The hunter's arm wrapped right under your chest, pulling you off of the ground with the power you knew those muscles held. "Hey, hey, hey," His voice came right next to your ear, the other arm joining around your body as you kicked and twisted your body in desperation to escape. "Stop fighting, you're injured! Just relax."

The horse stopped a few steps later and the hunter slid down from it with you in his arms, still putting up a fight even though you knew you mainly lost. You were obviously not strong enough to remove his hold from you, and your injury will not allow you to fly even if you had the opportunity to shift.

He has already won.

"Stop, stop come on," The hunter's voice sounded helpless, like he was the one trapped instead of you. "I'm not going to hurt you, just stop fighting."

"Tell that to my shoulder," You hissed, directing a kick to his leg. He whined at the pain but his grip on you never lessened, just like you thought. You weren't strong enough to win a physical fight with him.

"I'm sorry, okay? I had to!" The hunter pushed you down on your knees, allowing you less place to struggle. "You were already shifting, I had to. I had no choice."

You groaned in response but your struggles died down with the reckoning it was probably useless. Hopefully there will be other loopholes to exploit, this one is already doomed.

"I'm sorry I shot you," The hunter repeated behind you as he slipped a rope around your hands, his movements quick and accurate as he tied them together. "I really hoped to avoid it, but I had to hurt you to get what I want."

"What do you want?"

He pulled on the rope one last time, before helping you stand and lean against a tree. You carefully slid down to sit on the ground as he sat in front of you, pulling on the string wrapped around the horse's chest to bring it down with him. "My name is Jungkook," The hunter began as he pulled his hat from his head, and ruffled his bangs slightly. "Jeon Jungkook. I'm not a professional hunter, you might have noticed already."

"I did," You interrupted him, a careful blank look on your face.

Jungkook gave you a sheepish, small smile in response. "Yeah, I can't hide that. What I need from you though…" He cleared his throat, eyes drifting away from you. "A crow has the ability to bring someone from the dead, right?"

You stared at him for a few seconds to catch whatever information his expression could give you. He looked hesitant, like he wasn't sure this information was even correct. His eyes looked darker than before too, like the mare subject brings back bad memories.

You were sure he lost someone dear, and wanted to bring them back through you. The part you weren't sure about was rather he wanted you to bring them back like you brought that man's daughter, or bring them back to life.

"Sometimes," You let out at last.

His eyes flashed to you right before he ripped them away. "What times?"

You eyed him. "If I help you – as much as I'm able to – would you let me go?"

"Of course," Jungkook nodded eagerly, with a kind of innocence in his eyes to contras the tortured soul look he had in his eyes just seconds before. "As long as you cooperate, I won't have to hurt you."

You could hear the suggestive end to his tone, of what will happen if you choose not to cooperate with him. "Well," You sighed, bringing your knees to your chest in a defensive posture. "I wasn't taught the rules to their word. I usually try to feel around to know if the soul is ready for different kinds of journey. I must warn you, though," You gave him a piercing glace he couldn't help but meet with his own eyes. "If you want to bring someone back to life to stay in this world, the odds are definitely against you. It's almost impossible for a soul to remain grounded enough to come back."

You could see how your answer devastated him clearly through his body language. That's exactly what he meant. Talking to him was sort of like reading an open book, this kid never had to hide anything from anyone. Must be nice living so freely, you mused.

"How will you know if you can bring her back?" Jungkook's voice sounded smaller.

"I need to get to the holy ground, and something physical that belonged to that person. Since you shot my wing and I can't fly, we'll have to make the journey there on foot."

Jungkook grimaced, another sorry passing through his lips. "I'll get you there," He pulled a scarf from the inside of his worn out coat, pink and silky. "This belonged to her. Will it be enough?"

You simply nodded, watching him stuff it back where he pulled it from immediately. "Good. Great. Okay," Jungkook pulled himself up, his hands wrapping around your arms to pull you up without much effort. "Which way do we go?"

"We need to cross the sea." You simply blinked at the curse Jungkook muttered under his breath, his dissatisfaction with your answer looking like a fussy child's reaction. "The holy ground is an island, my instincts guide me to it by the wind. We just need a boat."

"You say it like it's easy," Jungkook murmured as he lifted you onto the horse's back, your balance lacking heavily without the support of your hands.

"You're the one who shot a crow in its wing." You raised an eyebrow which Jungkook didn't get to see as he climbed on himself. He simply huffed before pulling on the horse's rains to make him turn around, aiming for the same harbor city he was aiming to reach before you woke up.

  Night caught up with you before you could get very far, and Jungkook announced you’ll be taking a break and camping out when it got too dark to keep maneuvering a horse through the outgrown trees.

You watched Jungkook move around, spreading the tent he had on tied on his horse and collecting enough wood to light a fire. Your hands were still tied so you leaned against a tree and watched him. You felt useless since you weren’t able to make camp with him, but he was the one who tied you up in the first place, so it’s his problem.

Instead you focused on the pains being on a horse left behind. Jungkook was obviously used to it, but you weren’t, and the movements of the horse jerked and moved you in a way that didn’t agree well with your body. You stretched your legs out, raising one as far as it’ll go before raising the other. Your back stayed straight against the tree, so the stretch was affective and helped immediately.

Next you roll your shoulders back and forth, before rolling your head from one shoulder to the other. Your movements were limited by the rope wrapped around your hands. You still felt better when you stretched in any way this position allowed you though.

“Not used to riding a horse?”

Your eyes lifted at Jungkook’s sudden question and you took in the sight on his arms, bulking while carrying an especially big branch. “Not at all,” You admitted.

“Must be stiff then,” Jungkook dropped the branch down on the pile of wood he set, and started kicking parts of it to suppurate them into smaller pieces.

“I’d really help if you’d untie my hands. I could attend to the stiffness better,” You suggested, knowing fully well there’s a good chance it won’t work on him. He threw a glance your way, holding your gaze for a few seconds before averting his eyes with a shake of his head.

“I need to change the bandages on your wing later. I’ll untie your hand when your injury is at my mercy.”

“Sounds delightful,” You huffed, the obvious rolling of your eyes making him chuckle but say no more words.

It didn’t take him long to start a fire, the flames lighting up your space before the darkness could swallow it. The moon hung right above the tops of the trees, its pale light fleeting through the treetops. Jungkook took a walk in the woods right after, hunting gear in hand. It took him a few minutes to come back, two birds in his hands.

You swallowed thickly as you looked at him treating his meat, the sight too much for you yet you still couldn’t find the will to look away. “You probably don’t eat meat, do you?”

“Not bird meat.”

Jungkook’s hands hesitated for a second, and you found he was watching you. “You won’t eat this then?” You shook your head as an answer and Jungkook wiped his nose across his arm as he looked up. “Maybe I can find you some fruit or something. It’s almost summer, they might not be ripe but eatable enough.”

You raised both eyebrows as he still watched the trees around them. “Why not just starve me?”

The frown he gave you surprised you only by a little. He must have not even think of this possibility. “I have nothing to gain from torturing you. I need to get you to that island in one piece to bring my sister back.”

“If I could bring your sister back,” You corrected. Jungkook pushed to stand on his feet, turning his back on you and walking away, back to the woods. It took him longer this time, and when he came back his hat was in his hands. He placed it carefully in front of you, hands on your shoulders pulling you away from the tree to sit you with your back to him.

You peaked inside the hat, finding he filled it with berries, mushrooms and even two types of nuts. He didn’t bring much, but you could tell he tried. The rope came undone from between your hands, and you immediately brought them forward to rub at were the rope pressed for too long into your skin. “Take your wing out,” Jungkook instructed as he stretched his body behind you to reach for his back.

 Sharp pangs on pain came with the action of pulling your wing out, and you tilted your head back to look at it. Your black features hung weakly, some caught in the binding fabric Jungkook placed on them. You could smell the strong scent of a certain cream he must have put on you while you were unconscious.

“Here.” A small bottle landed near your knee before you felt Jungkook’s hands gently closing around your injured wing. “You can put that on your wrists. If you’ll start losing blood it’ll make the journey harder, and there’s no reason to do that.”

“Thank you,” You said lowly as you grabbed the bottle and popped the lid open. The scent was strong, and it tickled when you applied it to your irritated skin. You could feel the swift movements of his fingers on your wing, gently pulling the bandage off. He applied something to your wing, small noises of different things moving around came from behind you.

You whipped your hands against your skirt when you were done taking care of your wrists. You still couldn’t roll your shoulders to take out the knacks when he took care of your wing, so you moved your attention to his filled hat instead. You heard before of different mushrooms taking different effects on humans and shifters alike. Your caretaker always advised you to not eat a mushroom unless you were sure it wasn’t toxic.

“Did you just randomly pick mushrooms?” You asked carefully, pushing a few berries passed your lips as you waited for an answer.

“My mother studies plants,” Jungkook said from behind you as his fingers moved through your features to apply the smelly cream thoroughly. “I was taught how to distinguish them. They won’t drug you.”

“Were you taught how to tend to injuries too?” You asked, biting on a mushroom now that you knew it was safe. The earthy flavor met well with the sweetness of the barriers, and your stomach felt very happy for finally getting food again.

“My father is the town physician. I watched him fix people since a young age too.”

You considered the information as you continued to eat, and thinking about what you saw of Jungkook so far. If he was already this open with you, you might as well try to get as much information from him as you could. “How did the son of the plant studier and the physician become a hunter?” He didn’t reply immediately, and you managed to continue before he could, “Usually children of educated parents would be educated as well. If not by studying then by doing – “

“My father is training me to become a physician myself. I only became a hunter temporarily for my sister.”

You hummed, pleased to see you were right. He really wasn’t a hunter, not one who will continue to hunt once he’s done with you.

Hopefully, he won’t kill you when it ends either.

“What happened to your si – “

“Stop,” Jungkook cut you off before you could even finish your sentence, his tone sharp like a knife. “That’s enough questions for one day. Eat quietly.”

 You complied with only one glance at him above your shoulder, but he was too busy with your wing to look back at you. You concentrated on your food instead like he ordered. It’s not obvious that he’ll feed you on the way to what he needs, so that’ll have to do for now.

 When his work was finished he told you to move your wing back in, and tied your hands with the rope again, in front of you this time so you could keep eating. You thanked him and was granted no answer in return, only his back as he turned it on you.

 No more words passed between you as Jungkook roasted his meat and ate it, the atmosphere thick with tension. You were sure that if you would have chosen any other subject but his sister, Jungkook wouldn’t have cut off the conversation to sit in silence like this. It was probably too sensitive to talk about, must have happened recently.

 You raised your voice one last time to ask Jungkook if he could throw you your bag to sleep on. He threw it without a word to the tent, his action telling you to sleep in there even as he refused to speak. You barely succeeded to pull yourself on your feet to reach it, putting a fight since you knew Jungkook will not help you.

 The last thing you saw before you fell asleep is the flash of silver from the piece of metal Jungkook played with between his hands, his eyes looking ahead in thoughts you can't begin to imagine.

  Morning came and with it, the realization you probably won't succeed to sleep well as long as Jungkook keeps your hands bound. Your shoulders were so stiff you had troubles pulling yourself into a sitting position without help from the boy. He grimaced and muttered something about getting ready to move, untying you to tie only one of your hands to a tree. You busied yourself with every stretching technique you've ever heard of as Jungkook packed up your camp, loading it on his horse again. He fed it too, the same barriers he gave you last night.

 "Are you ready?" Jungkook asked when he was finally done.

 You nodded and Jungkook stepped closer immediately, untying your hand from the tree only to tie it to your other hand. He moved the rope from where it rested before to check how your skin was doing underneath. You frowned at him as he sighed and paused to take pull a dirty fabric from his pocket, strong arms ripping it in two.

 "What are you doing?"

 "I'll wrap it around the rope so it won't harm your skin too much," Jungkook replied as he put his hands to it, slipping the fabric against your itchy skin. "It's not the cleanest thing, but it'll keep your skin from breaking."

 "Why do you care if my skin breaks?"

 Jungkook raised widened eyes to meet your own, "I have no reason to make this trip uncomfortable for you. I only caught you to bring my sister back, that's all."

You nodded weakly, looking away as he finished placing the fabric to his liking. This kind of behavior confused you, with all the stories you heard so far, and Jungkook's earlier words. If you won't help him, he will hurt you. You didn't even know how much you should trust his promise to let you go when it's done.

After all, what he's asking for could be impossible and you weren't sure how he'll react to that.

When Jungkook was finally done he lead you through the rope to the horse, lifting you onto it with ease before pulling himself up. You stayed in silence as his horse made his way along the path, steps quickening with time. You tried relaxing your body as much as you could to make the jerking of the horse more manageable, which failed. Miserably.

"You should move on it like a swing," Jungkook spoke up suddenly. "Moving your hips back and forth with the movement. Don't fight it and don't relax, both will hurt your back."

"Thank you," you said softly, taking his advice into consideration. He chuckled and you assumed he just felt you jerking less now, as you brushed against his back a few times in a battle for balance.

"You know," Jungkook began and you watched the muscles of his back moving as he rested his hands down on the horse's back. "When my parents told me about shifters, I was never scared of you. I mean, maybe a little of the predator ones, but I was interested in it. I always listened to hunters and collected pieces of information to realize what you are." You listened carefully, not sure what kind of story he's beginning to tell you. "I still remember the day my dad found out about crows specifically. He came home all excited and said he knew it, with all the abilities popping around, there had to be one used to heal! He tried finding out more about your kind, but he failed to get a lot."

 "My mother was killed before she could say too much," You commented and could feel immediately how the mood just got sucked from the moment.

 Jungkook's arms tightened around the rains in his hands, "Your mother was the informant?"

 "She was."

 The next few minutes were filled with tense silence. At last, Jungkook cleared his throat to choke through, "I heard all the informants were killed. Sorry for your loss."

 "It wasn't really a loss, I was too young to remember her."

 "Is that why you weren't taught how your powers work?" Jungkook threw a glance over his shoulder.

 "Yeah. I was grown by wolves, literally, so I had to learn by doing," You chuckled, your heart filled with warmth for the mere thought about the family you grew up with.

 "I think you're amazing. Your kind, I mean," Jungkook corrected himself quickly, and you didn't miss the way his shoulders stiffened momentarily. "As a future physician, being able to do good for someone even after they die… That's a really positive thought."

 "It feels kind of amazing, actually," You caught Jungkook eye as he threw another glance at you. "Helping the dead say goodbye to their loved ones, passing them on. It feels good."

 "Did you ever bring someone back?"

 That's exactly the question you were afraid he'll ask you, "No."

 As you expected, Jungkook grew very quiet after hearing your answer. You knew what kind of high hopes he had for your help, and you knew very well it might never happen. You met other crows on the island, and you asked so many times in the hopes of getting to meet your mother. Your bubble was popped very quickly.

 Always, there was a warning attached to the same straightforward sentence – Don't mess with the rest of the dead.

 Jungkook’s shoulders remained drawn up and his movements to control his horse was sharp and sudden. You figured he must be thinking about it, the possibility that his journey would be for none. You wondered again what will happen to you if he were to end this journey unhappy.

 With both of you lost in thought, the time stretched to feel as if it wasn’t passing at all. Every minute felt like an hour and the air was too stiff to breathe in comfortably. You kept looking left and right, willing the nature surrounding you to give you any sort of peace. Anything.

 “Great,” Jungkook groaned, pulling you away from your thoughts to notice the horse was slowing down to a stop. You curiously glanced over his shoulder to see you were facing a three way fork in the road. “Do you know which one leads to the sea?”

 You took a deep breathe, closing your eyes and reaching out to the crow side of you. The feedback you received was a sharp pain in your shoulder. You flinched and shook you head even though he couldn’t see, “No clue. Maybe we should just follow one and find out?”

 “If we choose the wrong one it’s going to take a lot of time,” Jungkook shut down your idea immediately. “We don’t have that kind of time. What do we do?”

You stayed quiet behind him. Whenever you weren’t sure what to do, you would fly above the tree tops to get a better clue of the air and direction, but that was obviously not an option with your injury. You had absolutely no idea if guessing wasn’t on the table.

“Hey there!” A voice called behind you and a quick look to the direction of the voice explained why your instincts suddenly flagged you to run. Out of the right hand of the fork came another rider – obviously a hunter. Behind him was strapped a girl, almost completely hidden behind the man’s back until she peaked up to see who he was talking to. You saw her mouth was gagged and her hands tied cruelly in a blood-filled rope.

The hunter smiled at Jungkook before his eyes moved to look at you curiously. You hid your hands against Jungkook’s left side, to make sure he doesn’t get the idea that you’re a shifter until he walks away. “Got lost, boy?”

“Y-Yeah, we are a little lost,” Jungkook lifted a hand to rub at the back of his neck as you watched his shoulders relax with relief. “We’re heading for the sea, and I don’t know which way leads there.”

“I’m going the same direction! If we’ll head together I could guide you and your little lady thought. Numbers are good against bandits too,” The man drew nearer and you felt every muscle in your body tense. This man was evil, you could feel it just by his aura. Your eyes met with the girl’s briefly, and you could almost physically feel the pain she was going through just by that simple look in her eyes.

“That would be great.” The smile you heard clearly in Jungkook’s voice made you want to scream.

“Good boy. I’m Hunk,” The man pointed his thumb shortly behind him at the girl. “That’s a Wakin fish, good with fortune. Caught a young one though, so her predictions are still pretty vague. Could give you a special price if you want her to predict for you.”

“Thanks but I think I’ll pass,” Jungkook started walking his horse close to the man. “I’m Jungkook, and this is,” Jungkook paused, looking unsurely at you.

You realized you never told him your name before, and he never asked. “Y/N,” You completed.

“Traveling with a girl without knowing her name?” Hunk raised an eyebrow, walking straight to the left side of the fork for Jungkook to follow. His eyes racked over your figure again, to stop at the hands you could no longer hide from him when your horses aligned.

“She’s a shifter too.”

“Fish shifter?” Hunk guessed, giving you a greedy look before looking ahead to maneuver his horse accordingly to the shifting in the road.

“Crow.”

Hunk whistled loudly, jotting a few birds from the nearby trees. “How’d ya get yourself a crow shifter? Those are really rare, boy.”

“I looked for one for quite some time,” Jungkook answered with a slight lowering of his head. You were so used to hearing hunters speak of shifters like they were nothing more than a property they stole for themselves, and you wondered how Jungkook felt about it, especially since he spend more than a few hours in the company of one. “I got lucky.”

“Very lucky, do you know how much they’re worth? You could be filthy rich!”

You felt like throwing up.

“I’m not going to sell her,” Jungkook said in a firm tone. You breathed out as quietly as you could, trying to will your body to relax. Jungkook still needs you, he won’t give you away to this awful man.

“Well okay boy, might as well keep her,” Hunk raised a hand with a chuckle which didn’t sound so amused. “What’d you do to keep her from running, though?”

Jungkook took a few seconds to respond, “Her wing is injured.”

“Shot her right in the wing, huh? Atta boy!” The hunter’s hand came to clap on Jungkook’s shoulder, making you jerk your body back in fear that he’ll touch you. The sudden movement threw your balance off, forcing you to close your fingers around the fabric of Jungkook’s shirt to keep you grounded.

“You okay?” Jungkook looked over his shoulder, an arm coming out to grab a hold of yours and study you. You nodded and allowed your body to relax back into the rocking of the horse.

“No need to act so jerky, crow,” Hunk shook his head and gave a small laugh at the angry expression that you couldn’t pull from your face in time. He turned back to Jungkook and added, “Maybe you should consider shooting her in the foot as well. One look away from her and she could sprint, with just tied hands it won’t be too hard to run.”

“There’s no need. She won’t run.” His words sounded sure enough, but you could spot a slight quiver in Jungkook’s tone. You shut your eyes, hoping with your entire heart he won’t take the hunter’s words to heart because really, you weren’t going to run. It would just risk more injuries, when you just wanted this to be over.

“Suit yourself. Shot this one in the fin, the leg and the shoulder. She won’t get far.”

You moved wide eyes to look at the girl behind him, her head hanging low and her entire body bent in defeat. You could spot a bloody fabric wrapped around her calf, and another wrapped around her waist. Your heart went out to her, and you wished nothing more than being able to help her.

“That’s horrible,” Jungkook spoke up, and you noticed he too was looking at the girl. “I’m a training physician, I can look at her wounds.” The hunter gave Jungkook a disgusted look, which forced him to hurriedly add, “She won’t be of much use to you if it gets infected and raise her fever.”

He seemed to be considering this for a while, before nodding,  “When you put it that way. We’ll have to camp the night, so you can look at it then.”

“And we’ll reach the sea by tomorrow?”

“We should.”

Jungkook nodded and looked ahead, hiding his face from you. You had a very bad feeling about this.

  Night fell quickly, but with Hunk's guidance you went through most of the way to the sea. You could already smell the saltiness in the air, and that feeling you only got when you were out in the open instead of hiding among treetops.

Hunk announced he'll catch an animal to feed on, hopefully a bird, he added when he caught you looking at him. You were about to speak up when Jungkook blocked you, telling him anything but birds or fish will be fine. You could clearly see the disdain in Hunk's look every time Jungkook showed a bit of humanity towards either you or his hostage.

It's a good thing he walked into the woods before he could see Jungkook attending to the Walkin fish's injury. "I'll need your help too," Jungkook said as he untied your hands. He hooked one end of the rope to the tree like he did the night before, giving your skin a look before deeming it covered enough. "You can reach the water over there, right? I read fish shifters like using water to hydrate their skin. Not sure how hydrated she is when he treats her this way."

You nodded and stretched the rope to the end of its abilities in order to reach the jug of water Hunk kept on his horse. You moved closer again to see Jungkook frowning deeply at the wound on her leg, stretched behind her so she won't worry herself with the treatment. You pulled the gag that covered the girl's mouth off, giving her a smile. "What's your name?"

"Eunji," The girl answered in a harsh voice before you helped her hold onto the jug and tilt it to drink from it. She drank quite a lot, and you could see the improvement in her face almost immediately after you helped her lower it to the ground again.

"Take this," Jungkook held a piece of fabric towards you, and you took it. "Wet it with water and try cleaning the gun shot on her shoulder. I see an exit wound, so it wouldn't be so bad."

You nodded and set your hands to work. Only when you grabbed her right shoulder to hold her in place did you feel how much she was shaking. Her eyes kept moving to the left – where Jungkook was – before she snapped them forward, shutting them tightly for a second only for the process to repeat. She was so scared.

"Jungkook is a good man, he won't hurt you," You eyed her as you pressed the fabric to her injury, getting barely a whine back. She nodded stiffly, but her body didn't become any less motionless and surrendered.

"I really won't," You saw Jungkook's hand pressing into Eunji's shoulder, making the small girl jump. "I want to help you."

"Thank you," She replied in a small voice, and you saw her shoulders relax a little.

You worked quietly and so did Jungkook. You glanced at him a few times to see his expression improving as he progressed in treating Eunji's wounds. You finished cleaning the wound and washed the cloth well before you used it to pad the inside of her tied hands, like Jungkook has done to you earlier. Eunji tilted her head at your questions but said nothing as she allowed you to suppurate the tough material from her injured skin.

"You're not scared of him." Only when her voice reached your ears did you notice how closely Eunji was eyeing you. "You're worried, but you're not scared. You have no reason to be."

"Jungkook never expressed a will to hurt me as long as I do what he asks," You answered the question she didn't word.

"Must be nice. Even when I do what he wants, Hunk hurts me," Eunji's voice grew smaller with each word, and you caught her looking at the space where Hunk disappeared to.

"I'm really sorry to hear that, Eunji," You felt like there was so much more you should have said in that moment, but you couldn't find the words to. Jungkook is the only one who could buy her off of Hunk, and you had the feeling that the experienced hunter wasn't going to even consider that kind of trade. Not unless he got you in return.

"I wish I could help you," Jungkook spoke from behind her. You lifted your eyes to look at him, and you found he avoided even touching Eunji as he spoke. His face's features aligned in perfectly visible guilt, the kind you'd be a fool to miss.

"I know you can't." You saw a flash from the corner of your eye. Your senses drew you to it, and your breath was caught in your throat as you took in the distinct change in Eunji's eyes. The blue of her eyes flooded the white of her eyeball and her iris, leaving nothing but endless, sparkling sea in sight. The blue vibrated, the color bright and deep and you felt yourself getting lost in it, even though she wasn't looking at you. "I could feel the torment in your soul from the first moment I saw you. I didn't even need to tap into my powers to know," Eunji paused, and her voice got deeper, like you were listening to the bottom of the ocean speak.

The air felt tighter in your lungs and you couldn't look away, not even when you felt like something was wrong. This is too deep for a crow like you. Eunji brought in air, the movement making your hairs stand on end. "You were wounded by loss. Your heart is shackled and bound to feel the missing hole in it burning, every day. Always. You seek a way out but my friend, the truth will not change not even by the greatest will of the greatest man. The truth, is in the crow, and she can tell what the fate of your heart will be."

The moment Eunji ended her sentence her body slurped forward, eyes shut. She suddenly looked drained, like that swim to the depth inside of her took so much strength she barely had to begin with. With wide eyes you looked at Jungkook, taking in the horrified expression you've never seen before.

He was just as scared of whatever happened here as you were.

"You stupid fish," The sound of something heavy drop snapped you out of the trance, drawing your attention to Hunk's obviously angry figure. What he dropped was the dead body of a boar, and your astonishment of that achievement was swallow in the threatening steps he took towards you. His hand closed around Eunji's arm, yanking her from where she sat. Before you could even think about reacting, a punch landed against Eunji's face, dropping her right back to the ground. One of Hunk's hands held Eunji's head by her hair as the other one forced the dirty gag back to her mouth, which took a few tries since she was openly sobbing.

Hunk allowed her girl to fall down to the ground before his harsh eyes landed on Jungkook. "You need to pay me for that service. She was supposed to keep her fucking mouth shut."

Jungkook pulled his small sack of coins from his pocket and gave Hunk the sum he asked for without any form of argument. Hunk murmured more angry words under his breathe, stuffing the coins in his pocket before walking back to the boar and preparing it to be roasted. Jungkook moved quickly to sit next to you, his shoulder bumped into yours for what you assumed was reassurance.

The older hunter tried cracking a few jokes to lighten the mood he spoiled, his jokes met with mostly silence. Both you and Eunji – who calmed down a few minutes after the violent part of the evening was over – stayed wire quiet, and Jungkook only spoke short words to him. Hunk frowned at him a few times, and you wondered if he even saw anything wrong with what he's done.

The boar barely passed through your throat, and you only succeeded to eat because Jungkook wordlessly encouraged you. The frown set heavily in his features, but this time you weren't sure if his thoughts were directed at the violence, or Eunji's cryptic words. Either way, he had a lot to think about, and you didn't think he'll try talking to you.

You crawled into the tent Jungkook set up the very first moment you could, and Jungkook moved to sit in front of your tent immediately. You briefly wondered if he was trying to protect you from Hunk, but that kind of thought could never lead to a good place, so you cleared your mind from it.

The fire died down before you heard the small noises that came from Jungkook entering the tent, and you felt him with your half-awake mind lying next to you. His leg inched closer until it met your own, and you felt the warmth of his skin pressing there for the rest of the night, until morning rose.

  When you came to, Jungkook’s warmth wasn’t there anymore. You lifted your head to look behind you, confirming his loss before you pulled yourself up. You got used to standing up without your hands, as they were still tied firmly to each other. Getting out of the low built tent was a slightly different story, but you made it without falling on your face. It took you a few minutes to catch up to the changes of your camp – Hunk’s horse was no longer is sight, along with his tent, his belonging, Eunji and himself. Jungkook sat near the dying fire as he poked it with a twig.

“Where are Hunk and Eunji?”

Jungkook turned to look at you, “They left earlier. Hunk explained to me how to get to the city and stormed off.” You nodded, walking towards the small jug Jungkook kept his water in. “I think he was scared you’ll give Eunji any ideas to rebel against him.”

You lifted the jug with no problem, drinking enough to take away the slightly numb feeling sleeping so well gave you. You worked Jungkook’s words in your head, and you knew exactly what he was talking about. Because your kind of shifter had a lot less information than the other kinds, humans labeled you as this scary thing that you need to watch out from. Not much came out of it since there was so few of you – either that or they were extremely good at hiding – but you still heard hushed words on the subject.

You also remembered the advice Hunk gave Jungkook about you, to shoot your leg to keep you from escaping. Jungkook must have heard about your mysterious existence when he started looking for a crow, and you ran away from him once. You said you’d help, but was it really enough for him to trust you this much?

“Why didn’t you shoot me in the leg like Hunk said?” You asked before you even registered you were going to speak your thoughts.

Jungkook huffed and pushed himself up, brushing the back of his pants roughly as he walked closer to you. You remained unmoving to see what he’ll do. His hands closed around your waist and you flinched slightly, not sure what the contact meant. Jungkook lifted you onto the horse’s back, and climbed on himself without giving an answer to your question.

Jungkook dug his heel into the horse and it made a small noise before it started walking the way it was directed by Jungkook’s pull on the rains. Your eyes were glued to the back of Jungkook’s head, but he didn’t look at you or spoke a word to you.

Not even an hour later, you could spot the last bunch of trees before the road opened into the dusty way into town. The salty smell in the air was much more prominent now, and you could almost feel it, the feeling of utter freedom in your chest. Jungkook maneuvered his horse quickly through the town, using the vibrant blue of the ocean as a guide. You passed through a market on your way, men and women selling fish and other sea creatures, a variety you’ve never seen before. You flew over this town so many times before, but you never flew low enough to catch the magic of its life.

“Stay quiet and let me handle everything,” Jungkook threw above his shoulder as he slid off of his horse, walking it to one of the tying stations on the edge of town. He pulled you down as well, and he took a moment to look at your tied hands before shaking his head and walking into the hut by the tying station. You figured they will take care of the horse while you and Jungkook continued your adventures in the sea.

Jungkook took a while to speak to the owner, and you busied yourself by brushing the horse’s mane with your fingers. It was calm, eyes casted at the sea as if it caught his interest. You wondered if Jungkook ever brought it to the ocean before, or if the sights, smells and feelings were all foreign to his horse.

“We have two days,” Jungkook passed right next to you before he kept walking ahead. You hesitated only for a moment before you turned to follow him, leaving the horse behind. You’ll probably never see it again, if everything goes as plan and Jungkook won’t have any sudden heart changes.

You remained as quiet as Jungkook asked of you earlier though his conversations with a few sailors. The first few took one look at you and immediately shook their head. You knew it was common knowledge, what that island was. Many feared coming close to a land associated with the dead.

Jungkook kept asking, his stubbornness pulling through for him. At last you found one man, very young looking and absolutely gorgeous, who was willing to sail you there. He even flashed his pearly whites as he informed you he always wanted to go, but never found a good enough reason to bring back to mama for approval.

The sailor’s eyes landed on you a few lines of conversation later, and you watched as his warm orbs fleshed with realization and endless curiosity. He still held respect to Jungkook and stopped himself from asking anything about it though.

Jungkook’s hand closed around your arm as he led you behind the sailor, helping you safely climb the boat. The wind blew your hair around your frame as his boat started towards the ocean, filling your eyes with endless blues.

You made your way to the bow of the ship, where you couldn’t see a sign of the town anymore. You leaned your tied hands against the rail, looking forward to the dark land ahead – the land where the three of you were headed. It won’t even take a day to reach it, you knew this would soon end. One way or the other.

“Don’t walk off on your own,” Jungkook’s voice came from behind you, but you were expecting him to find you, so the reaction he received was close to none. He leaned on your left, mimicking your posture as he looked ahead like you did.

“I can’t run away anymore. I don’t know how to swim, so my only option is flying,” You informed him, moving your eyes to catch his profile. “Which you know I can’t do.”

“You could soon,” Jungkook flashed his eyes at you in acknowledgment before returning them to the sea. “The wound heals nicely. I put some powerful stuff on it, and its reacting well since your body is healthy.”

“Thank god,” You breathed out, closing your eyes as the wind whipped against your face. “Not every hunter I’ll run into will be as nice as you’ve been.”

“I didn’t shoot your leg because I believe you want to try and help me.” You reopened your eyes at his words. “It would be easy to hurt you just to be sure, but it won’t service me if it turns away your will to help.”

“So you believed in the goodness of my heart.”

"Pretty much."

You chuckled, your frown relaxing. Even though he took such an important role on himself, he was still innocent at heart, somehow. It was a weird thing to say about the boy who shot you but you knew it was true. You took a deep breathe in, looking up at endless blue that warmed your heart. The skies always held a special place in your heart, thanks to the nature of your shift and the possibilities it offered.

A gleam caught your attention from the corner of your eye, bringing you to look down at Jungkook's hands. They were busily running over the same thing he used to play with by the fire. It was the first time you saw the item in the light of day, and you couldn't say you were surprised at the fact it was a very girly necklace. The pendent was shaped like a butterfly, pink stones adorn its wings.

"It was your sister's?" You asked, watching his fingers fluttering for only a second across the silver.

Jungkook hummed and slid the butterfly to rest in his palm so you could see it better. Now when it wasn't moving, you could spot the faded stains of blood. "I pulled it off of her before they buried her. She loved this necklace so much, it made her very happy. I just wanted to keep this happy memory with me."

"I can understand that," you brushed your finger across the body of the butterfly, and Jungkook let you. "I wish I could have something of my mother's to carry with me."

"Did you ever try to bring her back?" You felt Jungkook's eyes on you and when you moved to meet them you were surprised at how soft they were, all of a sudden. Maybe it was talking about his sister that brought this side of him on.

"It was the first thing I tried when I found out it's possible for my kind. It was too late though, she moved on."

Jungkook spoke in a much smaller voice "What did you do?"

"After I knew it's impossible?" You almost didn't see the nod you got in response. "I got over it. Death cuts connections like a knife for so many people, I get to have second chances. If it didn't succeed, it wasn't meant to happen." Jungkook shut his eyes tightly, his fist closing around the necklace. His head lowered to hide his face from you, but you already spotted the fear implanted in his features. You knew it'll only play against you if this fear will spread roots in his heart before you even reached the island, so you lightened your voice and looked ahead at the horizon. "What happened to your sister?"

Jungkook sighed and kept his head down. "She used to go out and bring herbs father and I needed with our mother. On the day it happened, mother asked her to go alone. We were treating a child who caught a violent type of infection, so we needed her helping hands on him." Jungkook paused when his voice got a little tighter, and you allowed this moment to breathe without interrupting it. "The herbs we needed were just on the edge of the forest, she wasn't supposed to go this far. There was a tiger shifter in the woods, he saw she was alone, and venerable."

The tears sounded clearly through Jungkook's voice. He wiped quickly at one of his eyes, and you looked away like you missed the movement, in case he checked if you saw. "He ripped her apart. My mother noticed she took too long, and she went out to look for her. Everything changed since."

You hummed, lost on words to say. Even though you lost your mother, it happened when you were too young to even know who you were, so you never experienced loss. You didn't know what it felt like, to love a person and lose them in one sharp move, without preparation or reason.

"I hope it'll work," Jungkook released his words into the air.

"I hope so too."

"Jungkook." The boy hummed. "Promise me you'll never hunt anyone after me. Being a hunter, even if it's temporary, doesn't suit you."

"I promise."

You nodded before turning your attention back to the ocean. The young sailor maneuvered through the waves expertly, you didn't even get a hint of sea sickness from the waves which guided you through. The island must have been closer to land than you thought it was, you could already spot the familiar sand coming near you quickly.

Just a little more, and your journey will end.

"Hitting shore!" The sailor's shout from behind you broke you out of your trance, and Jungkook asked you to grab the rail. You did and the contact with the land barely jolted you.

This time Jungkook was the one to follow you as you stepped off of the boat. The sailor's chipper step followed the two of you onto the island. You walked in silence in the direction your inner compass pointed, trusting in your crow instincts to come through and help you find what it was you were looking for.

You passed through a tight row of trees, and finally, there was the cave that lead to the underworld. The heavy feeling that surrounded it felt like a comforting blanket to you, but you've heard stories about how it felt for others. You watched Jungkook shiver, and the sailor's face lost any trace of the warm colors they held before.

"I-I'll wait on the boat," The scared boy blurred before he turned around, making his way quickly to disappear behind the trees you just crossed.

Your eyes moved to Jungkook, expecting him to give up on going in on his own. His eyes met yours, shaken and scared but the determination in them never lessened. "Give me the scarf," You asked and he dropped to his knees to search for the fabric through his bag. Your fingers closed around the fabric when he offered it to you, but you didn't miss the slight shake. "You don't have to go in there with me. I know it must feel wrong to you."

Jungkook shook his head sharply, pulling the straps of his bag back onto his shoulder. "I came all this way, I won't give up now. Let's go."

You nodded and held the scarf against your chest, before walking right into the darkness of the cave. As the sunlight shone less and less brightly from behind you, the cave's walls slowly filled with bright gems who lit up when they sensed your presence. The way into the cave always felt amazing to you, how the walls and souls which lived in them all knew who you were at heart, and what you came here to do.

Jungkook bumped into you a few times in his tries to keep his step closer to you. You peaked over your shoulder to find him staring with amazement at your surroundings, even though his unease came through from his entire body.

You felt how close you were getting with each step you took, until finally the cave opened up to reveal the round space in the middle of it. The walls were filled with paintings, tales older than time, present since death first showed its face to this world. Jungkook's hand closed around your elbow and you moved it to your own, squeezing his fingers. "We made it."

Jungkook simply nodded as he stared around the room with wide eyes.

You lead him to the only item in the room. It was a floors fountain made of black marvel, the gleam of the stone shining with promise. You always wondered why it was shaped as a fountain when water never meant to run down it. Each floor had a different color of clear glass, with fog flowing under its surface. You watched that fog react to so many things before, you knew how angry and how calm it could get.

Today, your entire heart was hoping for calm.

Jungkook stood beside you, his body stiff with fear of the unknown as his eyes darted from one floor of the fountain to the other. You pealed his hand from yours, and let it drop by the side of his body. "I need both hands for this," Jungkook swallowed, his head barely moving with a nod.

His reaction to this place was kind of fascinating to you, but you couldn't afford to dwell on it.

You needed the third floor, the one that reached a little below your chin. The fog crawled inside of it, small and seemingly unthreatening. You wondered before if the size of it was a hint to what hard odds of success are.

You lifted both of your hands above it, the scarf dangling from your right hand. The fog paused the moment it felt your presence, and gathered right below the scarf as you lowered it onto the glass surface. It stayed there, allowing you to begin the chant you knew from the depth of your soul in request to help you find the soul you're looking for. You spoke the words softly under your breath, feeling the tension rising in your stomach as the fountain used your power to reach below.

Nothing happened but that buzzing feeling for a few moments, and Jungkook's breath got so quiet you thought he might be holding it in anticipation. You forced your focus on the fountain and what it does, watching the fog closely. As seconds ticked by you held the fabric of the scarf tighter between your fingers.

In one fluid motion, the fog moved away from the scarf – and began bouncing everywhere. It riled up for two heart beats before clearing away from the scarf. A heavy feeling spread in your chest.

"What," Jungkook whispered, too afraid to construct an actual sentence.

You shook your head, your eyes meeting his. "She moved on. There's no way for me to reach out to even allow you to speak to her." Jungkook started shaking his head, eyes leaving yours to get lost in his own grief as he slowly dropped to his knees. "I know this is not what you wanted, but Jungkook – she found peace. She'll never get hurt again – "

"Are you doing this on purpose?" Jungkook's angry tone cut your sentence sharply. Even through the anger you could hear the tears tightening his throat.

"No," You laid a hand on Jungkook's shoulder only for him to hit it away. The sharpness of his rough contact with your arm caught you by surprise, and you stumbled for a second before you caught yourself. "Jungkook, I promised you that I'd help you. There's nothing I could do, I – "

What stopped you this time was the pained cry that left Jungkook. His eyes were screwed shut and he was shaking his head, you saw this stage of grief before. The hope he held before disappeared, and now all he was left with is pain and the only road he could walk – coming to terms with his sister's death.

You watched his body rock with his sobbing, and even though this cave was a part of you, you felt very out of place in front of his overdue grief. Now that your journey with Jungkook reached its very unfortunate end, you had to make sure you'll stay safe.

You needed to get out of there in case Jungkook's sadness turns into rage.

Still, your heart wouldn't allow you to just walk away from him. If he needed you again… Maybe you could help. Even if just to repay the kindness he showed towards you in a situation it was a norm to act otherwise. With that decision made you pulled your wing out, just enough to pluck one of your features out with only a slight wince.

You knew crows had more abilities then other birds, and the last crow you met told you about a contact method to keep in touch with other shifters or humans you cared about. You gave one of your features to your adopting mother so she could tell you if they run into any sort of troubles, and this second feature – you decided to give Jungkook. If he'll need you, he can contact you through that features with ease.

"Jungkook, take this," You laid the feature right next to his knee, not daring to touch him after how he reacted the last time. "You can contact me as long as you keep my feature. If you'll need me… I will find you." You straightened, taking a few steps back. "Leave without me. And Jungkook…" You paused, frowning as you looked at his hunched, pain filled figure. "Stay safe."

With that, you turned your back on him. Jungkook didn't acknowledge you in any ways, and his sobs echoed on the walls on the cave, surrounding you as you left him behind. In the depth of your heart, you wanted to stay and help that boy you got to meet, the boy with the healing hands and the golden heart. You also knew you could never do that.

A pray's fate is never to live with their hunter. This law held truth to you as well.

[ckyking]

fire and ashes

alright! nyxnoctweek, here we go! we are starting with some hunter!au~   (please ignore the fact that this is nearly three hours late in my time zone, i’m using the time magic called extra six hours before midnight to my advantage, okay!?)

“Get. it .off.”

Hearing the growled order so close to his ear – and to his vulnerable neck – did nothing to diminish the glow of Noctis’ practiced smile, which was truly only half-feigned. If one looked closely enough, like Nyx did, they would have been able to see the glimmer of genuine laughter in Noctis’ eyes, blue depths distracting unwary observers from his tight grip on his escort’s arm.

A slight uplift of the hunter’s lips answered the shapeshifter, highlighting once again the delicate beauty of his features and oh, how Nyx loathed him in that moment. The defiant boy was in his element here, surrounded by beautiful things, party in full swing around them. How could he not be? After all, as the older being had so pointedly reminded him of the first day they had spent together, the Lucis heir had been groomed to survive his coming of age, and it showed : greetings in various dialects, some nearly lost to time itself, dropped from his lips like precious jewels; the shadow of a smile or a seemingly innocuous twist of his fingers charmed their fellow guests, leaving them to look hungrily after him; and even Nyx himself, not forgettable in the least, turned into an accessory between his talented hands.

It was enough to drive a man crazy.

 The subtle tensing of Noctis’ fingers against his arm stopped him from trying to claw off the other reminder of how out of place he was in such an environment. He was more suited to wilderness; to the wide open plains and the forests of his homeland; to the moon’s gaze on his back; to the taste of exertion, sweet and pure on his tongue. Nothing like the lies and schemes he had so devoutly avoided all these years, preferring to leave the political maneuvering to either Néit or Selena.

Through unknown means, the hunter had learned of this and vetoed any and all of his suggestions concerning their plan of action, leaving Nyx floundering for the first time in decades as Noctis brought to bear contacts no members of the Council had ever suspected him to have. No one dared contradict a member of the Ulric Clan when they came out of their self-imposed isolation, and here was this slip of a boy, not even a tenth of his age, ignoring him and taking his obedience for granted after leaving him bound and helpless for fun – or as payback if he was honest with himself.

In short order, their shared hotel room had been filled with fabrics and jewels, precious metals and leathers, all of them spread out for Noctis to peruse, the hunter occasionally looking up to assess his escort’s stormy demeanour before dismissing some of his options. With flicks of his fingers, the unwanted items disappeared, taken away as mysteriously as they had been delivered and leaving only the sharp smell of a winter’s night behind.

The enigma behind the Lucian’s casual use of such powerful magic was enough to pull the tattooed man out of his “sulk” as Noctis had categorized it later. Leaving his perch on the windowsill, Nyx cautiously walked closer to the seemingly distracted man to get a better idea of the hauntingly familiar scent that floated around him. As he did so, he kept a wary eye on the darkness stretching on the floor and reaching for him, Pryna’s cold hold still heavy on his mind. The raised eyebrow directed his way drove home how ridiculous he must have looked, literally jumping at shadows, but he ignored both Noctis’ judgemental stare and the dull burn of embarrassment crawling up the back of his neck. Briefly baring his teeth in answer and fighting the urge to strangle the brat, he returned to observing their chosen outfits for the night, laid out side by side on one of the couches lining the wall of their suite. He made it a point to keep his side to the hunter and not his back, watching him spin a piece of silver in his hands consideringly, around and around.

The first one was a study in contrast with the main piece cut from royal purple silk edged with black and artfully embroidered with gold in sweeping patterns closely resembling a dragon’s scales. Laid over it and obviously meant to be worn underneath was a tight sleeveless shirt, black to match the silk and offset by the white sash carefully folded on top.

Compared to it, the other outfit appeared simpler; a white short-sleeved tunic open from sternum to neck, material barely kept together by the black cords lacing it up. However, just like the other, the craftsmanship was impeccable, purple thread standing out against its white backdrop and weaving runes of all origins together in a motif that hid them from sight but did not impede their function. One of them caught his eyes, the archaic design bringing to mind his childhood in the wilderness of Galahd for a second before its meaning caught up to him. As if the entire motif was a door and this very rune the key to it, the pattern unravelled before his eyes and revealed what had only been hinted at until then.

“Noctis,” He asked, forgetting his anger for a moment and turning his head toward the other, ”Why the hell is that thing drowning in ownership marks?”

“Why, Sir Ulric, because you belong to me, for tonight at least.”

Those words barely reached his ears before soft lips covered his and a heavy weight was slipped around his neck. A soft click broke the sudden silence like a gunshot, followed by Noctis’ amused hum against his mouth as coldness flooded his limbs before nestling behind the wide silver band seamlessly encircling his throat.

“You fucking— “

Another peck stole the breath – and strength – out of him before the hunter leaned back, tugging the shapeshifter with him with a finger slipped between silver and the hummingbird beat of Nyx’s pulse. Noctis returned his fierce glare with an even wider smile, enjoying the sight of him struggling against the binding inflicted by the collar.

“Now, now, pet, be nice. Many of your misconducts will be glossed over as long as our fellow guests find me worthy of respect, but if you struggle too much, I will have to discipline you to keep it. We wouldn’t want that, would we?” He punctuated each sentence with a tap against Nyx’s collar, overpowering the enchantments pointedly.

“Oh, and you didn’t think to warn me!?”

A considering hum answered him before a simple “no” was thrown back negligently.

“I know you are not comfortable in such battlefields, so I will be taking over. I hope you don’t mind.” Nyx’s suddenly pointed teeth ground together, expressing his anger when the rest of his body could not, “We’re partners after all.”

And now, here they were, mingling as Noctis put it. The urge to snap and show the brat his place beat like a second heart in his chest, but the usual fire animating him was dulled down to embers by the omnipresent darkness weaving itself around him in intangible bonds of silk.

At least, Nyx thought, he had not been left alone even once. Noctis’ bare shoulder rubbing against his arm at each step had been the closest he had had to anchor since their arrival. He refused to admit it out loud, but they did look good together, a thought echoed by many of the beings laughing and drinking around them.

The hunter – not that anyone knew him as such with the geas temporarily strengthened to hide his identity – was grace and loveliness incarnate. No one could stop themselves from looking at the marked skin of Noctis’ upper arms without wanting to replace the hunter’s own protection runes with their own. With the way silk wrapped around his neck, flowed to his side and looped back up to wrap around his forearms where it was secured by heavy gold bangles, it was no easy feat to ignore him.

The shapeshifter, on the other hand, embodied strength and power. The white cotton molded his muscular body perfectly, turning each of his deadly graceful movements into a display of dominance aimed at every other shifter in the same room as him. His intricate tattoos did nothing to detract from this impression, running up and down both arms and winking briefly from between the laces of his tunic, deep black against his tanned skin. Added to this were the laced-up leather pants showcasing everything from the firmness of his calves to the tempting muscles of his thighs in one line of bared flesh going from the top of his knee-high boots to this waist, the only matching piece both him and Noctis shared.

It had made it much easier to pull information from them. Noctis’ deft maneuvering and charm paired with Nyx’s wild allure and easy grin were a devastating combination, which the latter would have enjoyed more if not for the collar . As if sensing the spike of emotion, Noctis altered their course, aiming for one of the many balconies looking over the forest encircling the mansion, leaning his cheek against Nyx’s strong arm all the while in comfort.

“Hey, how are you holding up?” He asked as they reached the railing, the sweet-scented wind sending his robes and sash billowing in Nyx’s direction. The sound of both materials whispering against each other paired with Noctis’ sharp scent of snow and myrrh cut through the overwhelming smell of roses hanging in the air and leached tension from his frame against his will

“So you care now?” The white and black-clad man bit back, though not as sharply as he wanted to.

“I do. We only have each other here, and we can’t afford to let anything separate us.”

There was no hint of teasing as Nyx had expected, only utmost seriousness and the barest spark of apprehension in his blue eyes. When Noctis reached for his neck this time, he did not fight back and let him do so. Lithe fingers pressed against the metal at this throat and reinforced its enchantments, chasing away the fire coursing through his veins. The cold felt so good after all the heat that his eyes started closing off their own accord, until he was nosing sleepily into the crook of his owner’s neck.

“Nyx,” The hunter mouthed softly against his stubbled cheek, “Summer is heavy here, and they like to…play with people, much more so than Winter. As long as you belong to me, they cannot touch you, so please, play along.”

Just as he was about to answer, the bell which they had gotten a glimpse of as they crossed the manor’s grounds echoed, its loud tolls cutting off their conversation and forcing Nyx’s eyes open when his heart seemingly burst aflame.

“Nyx, Nyx!” Noctis whispered urgently, tightening his hold on the shifter and activating the ownership marks woven through his clothing and collar, “You have to strengthen your protections, now. We cannot afford to join their revelry!”

“What…spells..?”

“Are you— Are you serious!? The collar and clothes were insurance, but I thought that your tattoos were permanent spells! They look and feel like it!”

“Not…Summer.”

Clenching his teeth to resist the urge to shake and berate Nyx for his stupidity, he propped the bigger man up with his shoulder and pulled both of them against the flow of party-goers heeding the bell’s call and exiting the manor. Between maintaining the geas, Nyx’s claim and shielding him partially from Summer’s enchantments, his reserves were depleting, and fast. But he couldn’t give up, not now. Nyx was heavy and unresponsive against his slighter frame, eyes hazy and lost in the distance; much better than the alternative in Noctis’ opinion. As the thought crossed his mind, large hands tangled in the material of his sash while the until-then unresponsive man started mouthing at his shoulder and neck, kissing every inch of skin he could reach. Turning his head away from the tantalizing touches, Noctis whispered a single sentence, lost in the earth-shattering noise echoing through the premises. The shadows surrounding them shuddered before the ones the hunter had named and called himself answered him, uncoiling from their resting place behind Nyx’s collar and slid down his body along the lines of his tattoos.

Each consecutive toll struck harder against the hastily erected web of shadows dampening its effects, stoking the heat roaring higher and higher. Even he who was born immune to such powers could feel the strength of it flowing over him like the sea, only to part when its will broke apart against the hundreds of Lucii who had lived and die to continue their line. But Nyx, he could not protect, not without bringing down Summer’s full might on them in their own territory.

“Look at me, Nyx. Don’t think about anything but me.”

The order, sharp and cutting, broke through the haze covering Nyx’s vision, lending strength back to his legs and allowing Noctis to take a break from supporting his weight to better survey where exactly they were heading. The wandering hands stilled around his waist even as the shifter plastered himself against his back, seeking the relief Noctis and his shadows provided him from the terrible heat.

They were lucky that most of the guests came fully expecting to be swept away by the flood of fire and paid no attention to them, willingly and temporarily enthralled as they were.

Closing his eyes to better shut out distractions and his own body’s reactions to Nyx, Noctis dove down into the dark and vibrant place inside of him that Luna had helped build, piece by piece. It was there that his spells were born, there that he was closest to Umbra and Pryna, there that the source of his power sang in ancient tongues and painted him in white and gold. And it was there that Nyx reached out to him, immersing himself in the coldness of his claim to escape the inferno trying to consume him.

It was unconceivable for him – who had felt Summer’s attempted re-claimings of his line most of his life – to not fear its touch, to not use every means at his disposal to keep it at bay. But Nyx— Nyx who was an Ulric, feared and revered; Nyx who prefered the heat of battle to pacts forged in sacrifices; Nyx whom the Fae avoided out of respect for the treaty the first Ulric bled for millennia ago. He had never known this, and in spite of their age difference, Noctis felt a little closer to him; felt and saw flashes of memories running through their fledgling bond, meant to last only for a night.

Luna, Dad, you never warned me about this.

You never told me they could be this genuine. You never told me they could be so human.

I could kill him. I could fuck him. But how am I supposed to do that when he is reaching for me so?

“To protect yourself, you may have to kill your heart” You told me. But I can’t do it. I’ve tried, but it’s hard sometimes.

“I’m going to regret this.” The youngest whispered to himself as he commanded the shadows to bind his partner. Nyx’s whole body tensed in answer, struggling against the now corporeal shadows crawling all over him. With a push, he was sent sprawling down on one of the many cushions decorating the floor, now unused because of the revelry going on outside.

His cut-off whine went straight through the ice Noctis had encased his own heart in – modelled after the Fae and Lunafreya’s own mask – since his father’s disappearance and the beginning of his mission.

Untying his trailing sash with sharp movements, he moved to straddle the taller male’s hips, not leaving himself one second to consider the consequences of his actions. Even now, the enchantment was still not done with its target, and Noctis felt the result of it against his ass, his erection straining against the leather of his pants, the little hitches of his hips even the shadows could not completely stop. The call of revelry was either to be completely embraced or destroyed immediately; fucking until the sun set and Winter’s power took hold was not a thing to do lightly, and he refused to ever go through such a thing, or use anybody in such a way.

Pushing those thoughts out of his mind, he bent down and pressed his forehead to Nyx’s, looked into hazy blue eyes and called light and shadow to his hands.

“For better or for worse, you’ll be mine. I hope we can both live with it.”

Their first kiss tasted of fire and ashes, destruction and renewal.