#nct dream fantasy au

[neonacity]

ARCANE : INIZIO | CH.4 | NCT DREAM X READER

Summary: When human deviants granted with the abilities of the legendary Arcana cards find themselves racing against devious forces, they are left to make a choice that might change the fate of the world itself: be the victims of the game, or become the masters of it themselves.

But will this war end with a crowned hero?

Or will it just create another mad villain?

*****

Note: This is the second book of Arcane. The happenings in this story is a prequel to the first installment which you can check in my Masterlist. Since the lore is highly dependent on the first book, I highly suggest you check it out first—otherwise, new readers might have a hard time understanding what is happening here. Expect lots of time jumps and flashbacks throughout the chapters.

Pairings: Dream 00’ Line + Mark x Reader

Trigger Warnings/Themes: romance, violence, torture, trauma, poly dynamics, suggestive themes, language, psychological, mystery, sci-fi. The concept of the tarot or Arcana cards will be loosely used throughout the series. Note that I am not a trained doctor so there may be some slips here and there about medical things. Again, this is a work of fiction and I am not implying any likeness between the characterization here of the boys to their real life counterparts. I also reserve the rights to all my work—I do not post anywhere else other than tumblr. Minors DNI. Please do not repost. I only publish my works in Tumblr.

© neonacity, 2022

Previously > CH. 1 | CH.2 | CH.3

[6 years ago, Rosewood Academy]

"Do you want to know what I'm thinking right now?"

The snapping sounds of thin branches breaking under heavy leather boots mixed with the buzzing hums of the forest insects. A light-haired boy of about sixteen grinned to himself as he hacked an offending stem hanging low on his face with a thicker branch he had picked up earlier. He didn't need to look around to know that the girl trudging behind him is frowning at the path they are trying to traverse, wearing that signature frown that always makes him want to tease her more. When she cursed under her breath, he tried his hardest to keep his shoulders from betraying the laugh he had been trying to hold back.

"What?" He asked casually, voice steady as if he wasn't grinning from amusement. He deftly ducked under a flowering branch of a tree before proceeding to go down the small dirt path they have been following for about half an hour now.

"Make a guess."

"Hm... That you hate how there are spiderwebs on your hair?" He proposed lightly. A slight scoff behind him answered his question.

"Spiders are not a part of my ick."

"How about inhaling three dozen insects so far?"

A pause.

"Okay, that is gross. But no. It's much worse than that."

Jaemin stopped and finally turned to face the girl behind him, his grin now in full display. She paused just in time before she crashed against him but he still easily caught her by the arm to steady her balance. His smile widened as she tried to find her footing on the rocky path, her face ducked away from him.  At this distance, he could fully see how he had grown just a bit taller than her since the last time she visited the Academy.

"What's on your mind then?" He asked again as he continued to observe her with his hooded gaze. When her eyes finally found his face once more, his fingers squeezed just a little bit tighter around her elbow before he finally let her go.

"I think you're bluffing. There is no overlooking oak tree in the middle of the forest. There is no view and you’re just leading me nowhere."

His brows slightly raised in interest. "Oh? Why do you think I brought you here then, noona?"

"I don't know. Two possibilities. One, you're planning to finally murder me and bury me under the dead branches."

"Mm. And the second possibility?"

"You're trying to flirt with me."

He paused, letting her words hang in the air for a moment.

"What do you think is the answer then?"

The slight change in his tone made her stop and finally think over what she just said. From the looks of it, she just came out with her guesses out of nowhere and didn't even consider them seriously. The look of dawning realization in her eyes made Jaemin's grin slowly melt into a much more gentle smile. He watched as her lips slightly parted, already knowing the next words that would come out of them.

"Jaemin, we've already talked about this before..."

His expression didn't falter. "We did. You told me to wait. And I did."

"I didn't tell you to—look, it's just a crush. All boys your age have it."

"You're talking to me as if I'm a kid. You're only two years older than me," he said steadily, voice as calm as ever. He closely watched her now, trying to break down every emotion that quickly flitted over her features. He knew she was trying her best to hold back, but she couldn't hide anything from him, even if she tries. She can act all she wants, but he knows she also feels the same for him, even for just a little bit.

He sighed and glanced away momentarily as he thought of another approach.

"Jaemin…"

"Is it because of Mark? Do you like him?"

She frowned at his question.

"What? He's my best friend."

It wasn't a direct answer, so he pushed on. "Is there anyone you like then?"

"I am not planning to date anyone right now so stop—"

"Then one last question. Do you not like me? Is that it?"

The way she froze made it seem like he asked her such a shocking thing. To be fair to her, he couldn't really blame her reaction, especially with how forward he is being now. Though he may not have grown up with her just like Mark did, they've also known each other since they were kids. She had always been aware about his childhood admiration for her growing up, but it is only now that he had decided to stop beating around the bush and put it out there once and for all.

"Just tell me if you like me or not, noona. If you say now that you don't feel the same, then I promise, I will leave you alone."

The look on her face almost made Jaemin want to punch himself. She looked so torn that it took every fiber of his being to not reach out to her and apologize. He may be determined, but he also didn't want to be an asshole. Still, he tried his best not to to be swayed by guilt for the sake of getting an answer.

"I... li—"

The loud crash of something heavy falling to the forest floor made the two of them flinch and quickly turn towards the direction of the sound. The noise seems to have come a few meters from their current spot, but they couldn't see anything beyond a few feet thanks to the thickness of the shrubbery framing the rest of the path beyond. Jaemin immediately reached out for her hand and drew her closer to him as they tried to listen for more additional noises from the distance.

"What's beyond there?"

"A clearing. And an ancient oak tree," he answered warily. "I think we should go. It could be a wild animal."

He was about to steer her back to the way they came from when another noise split the air. This time, it sounded like a low growl that quickly intensified into a shriek. Beyond them, a flock of birds took off from the trees, disturbed by the haunting noise.

"Jaemin, that's not an animal."

"Yeah. It could be much worse. Let's go, we need to go back to Rosewood as soon as possible," he said, his jaw tight as he tried to steer her urgently with a hand in the middle of her back. She barely budged, however, her head still turned towards the distance beyond.

"No, I think we should check what it is."

His eyes widened at her words. "What? You heard it. That is no animal or human. I'm not walking there to get the both of us killed!"

"Exactly. Whatever that is, it's something different. The grounds are shrouded by a protection shield, right? No regular human or supernatural can breach this area unless—"

Jaemin stopped dead in his tracks as he realized what she was trying to say. He turned to look at her and she slightly raised her brows at him in return.

"...They are related to the Arcana," she finished. It took him a while to finally react to that, unsure of what to feel about about the situation. Finally, he sighed in resignation.

"One look. If we see something weird there, I am whisking the two of us away from here, okay?"

The thankful smile she gave him only took a slight edge of the nervousness spreading in his chest. Swallowing, he stepped forward again to tread back towards the source of the sound, his fingers wrapping around the stick he had been using to clear their way earlier. He is convinced that flimsy excuse of a 'weapon' will do nothing against whatever beast they were about to face, but there is also no way he would go down without a fight today.

Fortunately and unfortunately, the walk back felt shorter and they soon enough reached the edge of the forest trail. He slightly turned towards her now and pressed a finger to his lips before nudging his head towards the view beyond. If they're going to be walking straight into danger, they should at least see from the distance what they will be up against.

It was the middle of the afternoon and the sun was just in the right place in the sky to bathe the view that stretched beyond them. Unlike the thick shrubberies they walked through, the clearing beyond was vast, dropping off into a slope where the rest of the thicker part of the forest stretched. It looked like an oasis in a sea of green, mostly bare with trees except for the lone oak tree that stood on its pinnacle. It was majestic and regal with its old age, with branches that spread wide and hung low to ground. Jaemin peered between the leaves of the bushes that covered them now, searching for anything out of place.

The next seconds that passed were choking. Everything was so quiet that it almost made him think that they simply imagined what they heard earlier. He was on the verge of speaking again when another round of ripping screams tore the silence of the surroundings, followed by a sight that made him flinch back in shock. A burst of black void burst straight out of nowhere in front of the oak tree, like a rip from an entirely different dimension. Coming out from the depth of its void are what looked like half a dozen of black, clawed limbs grasping and reaching out as if they were trying to escape. Screeches filled the air again so loudly that they clapped their hands over their ears to block off the hellish sound.

As soon as it stopped, Jaemin snapped and grabbed the girl beside him by the arm again. Without looking back, he hauled her off from her crouch and started dragging her back to the pathway.

"We need to run! Let's go!"

"Jaemin, wait—"

"Noona, this is not a joke—!"

"There's a boy! There's a boy there, we need to help him!"

Everything that happened next came too fast for him. He only stopped for a few seconds in confusion to what she just said, but it was enough for her to struggle out of his grasp and run straight to the clearing. The next moments were a blur of sounds and colors. He realized too late that he was also running, breaking through the edge of the forest as he tried to catch up. The screaming of the monsters grew louder as he ran straight to the middle of chaos, but he temporarily forgot them when he found her again, now kneeling next to a black haired boy propped up against the bark of the oak tree. She looked like she was trying to speak to him, but he seemed unresponsive, despite his eyes staring wide open in fear at the gaping hole and the monstrous limbs trying to reach out to him. It took him a chilling moment to realize what made the other's face look strange. When it did, it was like time snapped back to him again and he could hear the howls of the beasts once more.

The boy's eyes, similar to the dark hole and the creatures inside, were pure black.

"Jaemin! He needs our help!"

Her voice was the one that finally dragged him out of his frozen state. Blinking, he ran towards the two and immediately kneeled on the other side of the stranger.

"His abilities are out of his control! He's the one summoning those monsters!"

"What?! But what should we—"

"You need to calm him down! He needs to let me in so I can do something!"

The look of fear and doubt that registered on his face as soon she said that must have been so obvious because she quickly reached out to him and gave his hand a comforting but urgent squeeze. The truth is that Jaemin has never truly used his abilities on anyone yet, more so for this kind of situation. The prospect of it scared him, probably even more so than those hellish creatures.

"Hey. Jaemin. You can do it. I know you can. Just try."

He gave her one last look before he tried to rein himself in. He was terrified, but it wasn't like he has any other given the urgency of the situation. Gritting his teeth, he turned to the boy now and clutched his shoulder tightly to try and get his attention. From his peripheral vision, he saw her grab the stranger's hand as well, her fingers growing white from the intensity of her hold. Not even a few seconds passed when a faint white light started to glow around their linked palms. Jaemin felt goosebumps rise to his arms as he felt a current run down from the boy right straight at him.

"He's trying to resist. He needs to calm down more," she said, her tone sounding thin and stressed. The strain in her voice made him dig his nails harder against the stranger’s shoulder. It worked slightly as the other boy turned his head to look at him.

"Listen. You need to stop. Do it slowly. Your heartbeat's slowing down at this moment. You can do it," he said, his voice low and clear despite the hellish sounds of the shadow beasts filling the air. It was slight, but the boy in question slightly tilted his head in response, his black irises staring into his own.

"You can do it. Your pulse is getting better, see?"

Just as he said it, he subtly pressed his thumb against the other's neck to feel his pulse. It fluttered against his hold like the wings of a terrified bird, but it also started to slow down a little as soon as the words left him. Quickly, his eyes shot to the girl's hands still clutching the other. The light there has grown a little brighter... Stronger.

"Just a little bit more…" she whispered from the other side. Jaemin looked at her briefly, noting how pale she had become. Beyond them, the hole started becoming smaller, as if it was a cut that was slowly being sewn shut by the seams.

"Let her take over," he said, causing the stranger to blink his eyes at him. A headache was already starting to build at the back of his head, but he still pushed on.

"Do it. Now."

As soon as his last word left his lips, the boy's pulse stuttered, stopped, and started again all in a second. The same moment it happened, the light from the girl's hand grew until it snapped into nothingness again. Jaemin felt the shift in the energy that flowed from her to him. The buzzing feeling sank in his skin too, the force of it making him so dizzy that he had to let go of the stranger to catch his balance. It was uncomfortable—not painful—but numbing to the point that he felt like a part of him had temporarily shut off. The next time he caught his bearings again, the surroundings were back to normal. There were no monstrous cries, not even a trace of the rip in dimension just a few seconds ago.

Two warm hands cupped his face with panic and gave him a slight shake. He didn't even realize that he had his eyes closed until he found himself blinking to make his vision focus. It snapped on her after a bit, and that's when he realized that she was ducked over him, her face pale from worry. He must have collapsed after what happened.

"Jaemin! Jaemin, are you okay? I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to—are you hurt?"

It took him a good few seconds before things finally clicked in his head. Whatever it is that she has done to the other boy has somehow affected him too, probably because of the proximity of their Arcanas working together. Slowly, he gave her a nod as he propped himself up into a sitting position.

"I'm fine. Just a little dizzy… don't worry."

"Your Arcana. Is it—"

"It's back. I can feel it again…" he reassured her gently. Her fingers curled around him more, as if she was afraid of letting him go.

"How did you do that?"

The sound of a new voice made the two of them turn their heads at the same time. Their eyes landed on the boy by the oak tree, his gaze now clear and back to normal. He stared at them with an incomprehensible look on his face but didn't make any outward moves—his non-verbal way of saying that he doesn't mean any harm. Jaemin didn't buy it though, a cold look settling on him as he stood and pushed the girl behind him for cover. The stranger noticed the move, but didn't say anything.

"How did you get here? Who are you?"

The latter didn't answer. He simply stared at him before his eyes slipped towards the girl half-covered by him. Jaemin tightened his jaw and reached out for her hand which she silently took.

"You stopped me," the stranger said, his eyes still set on her. Slowly, he pinned his stare back to him again. "And you helped. You're IL Diavolo, aren't you?"

He didn't answer. Something about the unwelcome stranger told him that he is not an enemy, but that still doesn't undo the fact that he almost released a whole fleet of monsters from who knows where right into this realm. The girl's voice behind him confirmed what he had already been thinking.

"He's one of us…" she said softly as she carefully stepped beside him. The boy followed her movements closely, as if it was his first time seeing someone like her.

"You're hurt… do you need help?"

He didn't react.

"Did someone send you here?"

More silence.

Jaemin watched the one-way exchange silently despite his instincts being on edge. Far away, several warning shots fired from the direction of the Academy, an indication that a party is currently on its way to where they are. With the amount of Arcanas that were released in that tense exchange earlier, the Headmaster has probably picked up the burst of energy even from far away. The girl also noticed, and she threw a quick glance towards the direction of the school before turning once more to the stranger. Not once has the latter looked away from her.

"People are coming… If you want to leave, now's the best time to do it. They might hold you up and ask you some questions if you stay."

Jaemin looked at her, surprised. "Noona, are you letting him walk away? Your father—"

"He's not an enemy. I can feel it," she gently but firmly cut him off. "I'm right… aren't I? You didn't mean to do that earlier. That's why you should leave… If you don't want to stay here."

For a moment, the boy seemed to actually consider her words. A look of wariness briefly passed his face, but it only took another second before his features settled into an expression of finality. Both her and Jaemin noticed the silent decision and exchanged a quick look between each other. Finally, she turned back to the other boy and took a small step closer to where he was still seated. Jaemin let go of her hand, but kept himself ready to jump in if he needed to.

"What's your name?" She asked slowly. Almost a full minute passed without the boy saying or doing anything, except look at her. It was only when the sound of rushing steps had started sounding closer to where they were that he finally decided to break his silence.

"Jeno Lee."

*******

[5 years later, Rosewood Academy Dungeons, one year before the Cypher project]

"Jeno."

Jaemin called out lowly to the boy standing a little ways in front of him as he finished tying the lace around his forearm. Beyond them, just standing outside of their hearing range, was her and Jisung, locked in some quick pep talk with each other. Jeno slightly turned his head towards him at the sound of his name. From the look on his face, he already knows what he was about to say.

"You got it?"

The dark haired boy merely gave him a slight dip of his head in answer. He did, however, throw a quick but pointed look towards their two other teammates for the tourney.

"Back her up if she needs it?"

"Oh, you're going to be the offense now?" Jaemin asked with a teasing lilt in his voice. His best friend gave him a slight smirk that rivaled his.

"Me? You know damn well I'm not the ace here."

"You're right. Let's finish this quickly."

From above, Mijeong watched the scene with equal parts nervousness and excitement. While she is no longer a stranger to tense situations, this is the first time she will witness something on this scale—eight of the most powerful Masters of this generation about to square off against each other. The air in the room itself was different, crackling with energy as the seconds ticked away like a timebomb nearing its end. Beside her, Ten and Kun have gone as silent as ghosts, their eyes also set on the growing tension in the field below.

Five seconds passed. Ten. Twelve. Twenty–and then,

CRACK!

Everything in the room—from the arena below up to the pillars of the underground dungeon—shook as a loud, crackling sound split the previous silence. Mijeong flinched in surprise, her eyes swiveling automatically to the screens in front of her to see what was happening. Her panicked gaze was met by the feedback of the grounds below covered by settling dust. A huge black line now ran in the middle of the field with sizzles of electric blue running down its length. Mijeong's jaw dropped as she realized what caused it.

"Is that—"

"Lightning. It's Mark," Kun said beside her. He turned to Ten now who was back to typing something on his keyboard.

"Did he ever show this before?"

The bespectacled boy gave a quick shake of his head.

"No. But he showed signs of affecting the weather before. I guess he can influence their elements now, too."

Elements…. Matter. The Emperor. Mijeong squinted at the people below again, her eyes raking over their mostly unbothered form. Nobody looked distraught or panicked. If anything, the energy has shifted into an entirely different intensity now that the first blow has been made. It was on edge… On the verge of snapping.

"Dang, someone's pissed off today. And here I thought I was the only one jealous because of the teams, Marky~"

Mark ignored Haechan's teasing and instead nodded towards Chenle who was grinning from ear to ear now. The boy stepped forward, already knowing what the other was going to say.

"Chenle, we'll be the offense. Haechan, shield Renjun."

"Got that," the youngest replied in a sing-song voice as he slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled something there. It was a pen, and he twirled it between his fingers before the small object lengthened and shifted in his touch. Soon enough, he was holding what looks like a spear as tall as him with two blunted sides. Mijeong frowned at the sight from the control room.

Transformative Magic. 

La Luna.

"What is he doing summoning a spear for? We have to get the queen's ribbon, not whack each other," Jisung grumbled from the other side of the arena, his frown settled on the other. The girl beside him laughed, amused by his reaction.

"Do you think you can match him with your solar orbs, Sungie?" She asked. The boy looked a little hesitant at first before giving a small nod.

"I can. I'll try."

"I know you can do it. Without hurting anyone too.”

She gave him a reassuring smile that Jisung returned with his own, albeit a little nervous. Slowly, crackles of energy glowed around his open palm, forming small balls of light. It floated around him like living marbles made of the sun's rays. At that moment Jeno also stepped closer to them his eyes set on the opposing team. 

"I'll take care of Mark. Jisung, you handle Chenle."

"Okay, hyung."

"Be careful. They have Renjun, I'm sure he's already trying to read off our next actions," Jaemin said as a reminder from the back of their pack.

"Try not to think of your next moves too much, that'll throw him off a little," Jeno suggested as he rolled up his sleeves.

"It’s fine. Leave Renjun to me."

Jeno, Jaemin, and Jisung all looked at the girl standing between them at the same time. Her eyes were now also set on the other side of the arena, right at the boy stationed at the very back of the other team. She smiled, a gesture that was well caught by her own teammates. Jeno raised his brows slightly while Jaemin smiled silently from his spot. He crossed his arms over his chest before giving a slight nod.

"Go ahead then. I'll just be here… Acting all queenly and stuff."

From the other side, Renjun frowned slightly to himself as he caught the way the girl looked at him. It completely went unnoticed by Haechan who looked downright bored as he yawned beside him.

"Well? Can you pick up their plan? Noona's there. Pretty sure she's strategized about five different attacks already."

Renjun drew a deep breath before finally flicking his eyes towards Mark and Chenle at the front of their party.

"No. I can't get inside their heads. My powers are not working on them."

Haechan stopped in the middle of another yawn, blinked, before finally looking at him with pure confusion in his face.

"What? They haven't even attacked yet."

The other gave him a deadpan look that caused him to part his lips in sudden realization.

"They've already started. I think you shouldn't relax."

"Oh… shit."

Not a second after those words left his lips, an explosion of sounds swallowed the whole arena again. With no prior warning, the offensive pairs from each team launched their attacks at the same time. Chenle's laugh wove through the noise as he ducked and swung at the solar orbs Jisung sent his way with his spear, the burnt ends of the metal growing back to its shape every time the balls of energy would burn them off. On his other side, Mark and Jeno were engaged in close combat, their movements almost too fast for the naked eye to follow. Instead of simply throwing fists and kicks at each other though, sparks of light exploded from every time they would hit contact with each other. A dull red glow emanated from Mark, while pitch black wisps came from Jeno.

Mijeong watched, equal parts impressed and confused at what was happening. She pointed towards the pair at Ten's screen the same moment the two were pushed back by the sheer force of the impact caused by their collision.

"How are those two doing that?"

Ten answered her question easily, a sign that this wasn't the first time he'd witnessed this show.

"Mark controls matter as The Emperor, the basic building blocks of all elements. Jeno is the master of The Death, which means..."

"He controls everything related to the nether dimension, and all things that are opposite of anything living. Like anti-matter," Kun finished as he straightened up from his leaned position on the table. 

"Those two are like opposite charges… Opposing ends of the magnet that repel each other."

Mijeong slowly processed that information. "If that’s the case... then that means they are almost equal in power…" she whispered silently to herself as she turned her gaze back to the monitor. From the screen, she saw Mark blast a shot of flames towards the other with just a flick of his hand. Jeno counter-attacked it with what looked like a smoke of shadows that mixed with the flames before dissolving it into fumes. 

Finally, she was starting to see what Ten was talking about earlier about both teams having almost equal offensive ability.

Almost, being the operational word, with Jisung's orbs slowly being overwhelmed by Chenle's trained defense, at the very least. The older of the two boys have already moved past the border that Mark had blasted earlier with his lightning, which now, Mijeong realized was a marker created to make it easier for their team to gauge their advance towards the side of their opponent. Jisung didn't miss it and gritted his teeth before sending a more massive round of orbs to the other.

Chenle was too late to catch on to the new deluge of attack, but a burst of black hole ripped open on the space in front of him before the first of the orbs could even hit him. The void looked like a massive pair of jaws that instantly swallowed the rain of fire from Jisung, before it fizzled into nothing as soon as it appeared. Chenle quickly turned to Haechan and gave the other a blinding grin.

"Thanks for the save, hyung!"

The latter winked, looking pleased at himself.

"I got you."

The other team was so caught up in the quick heat of their last minute save that nobody noticed Jaemin when he took a slight step forward as if to closely observe what happened. Casually, he draped his arm over the girl's shoulder, the tips of his fingers lightly grazing her forearm.

"Impressive. I think Team Black is getting so tired with all this jumping around though. Perhaps a quick break would do you good, Chenle? Maybe Mark-hyung, too? The corners of his lips tipped upwards as the words rolled smoothly from his lips. Pointedly, he ducked a little closer to the ear of the girl beside her, his eyes dancing..

"What do you think of the idea, noona?"

It took a while for her to react and consider his words. Finally, she blinked and gave a slight sigh. Mijeong watched as she lifted her hand, her fingers lightly grazing over the boy's hand still resting on her forearm.

"Yes. Maybe just a little while."

Jaemin's smile curved into a full grown smirk. The moment she said it, both Chenle and Mark froze on their spots. It was a strange sight to see, with their faces going from confused, to blank, until they finally relaxed. The shift was so subtle and mundane, but it seemed extremely out of place in the setting that was highly-charged with energies from both sides just moments ago. 

Mijeong watched everything unfold with stunned silence. What she just witnessed was the last thing she could have ever expected, and she slowly straightened herself up as she realized what it is exactly that happened. This might be the first time that she is seeing actual Masters in action, but she knows enough about the history of the Arcana to understand its intricacies as well as its limitations. IL Diavolo’s ability is considered one of the most diabolical in the ranks because it compulses and controls others, but its influence weakens when it comes to influencing fellow Masters. It’s almost impossible even... Especially for a younger wielder like Jaemin whose abilities are presumably still maturing. 

"…He wasn’t supposed to be able to do that," she said slowly, her eyes moving over to Kun. The way her voice came off sounded like she was convincing herself more than anyone else. The look the man gave her made goosebumps rise on her skin before he even spoke. 

"He didn’t. IL Matto did."

*******

"Papa?"

"Yes, darling?"

"Do you think I'm useless?"

The Headmaster looked up from the pile of papers he was reading to peer at his daughter. She was currently sitting on one of the loveseats in his office, her small hands flipping over the pages of the book that she had on her lap. The child had been so silent in the past hour that her question, specifically the nature of it, entirely took him by surprise. Slowly, he put down the documents he had been reading to give her his full attention.

"May I know where that came from, honey?"

The way her eyes flickered guiltily towards him before slipping back towards the page she is obviously not reading told him that she had been simmering on the thought for quite some time now. When it looked like she didn't have any plans of answering, he picked himself up from his table and went over to her side. He nudged her playfully to urge her to make room for him on the seat, a gesture she responded to by pouting slightly before letting him squeeze in. He draped his arm around her small form after and gave her shoulder a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"Come on, talk to Papa. Did something happen?"

The child chewed on her lower lip for a moment before finally giving in. Without looking at him, she carefully closed the book on her lap and started unconsciously picking on the edge of its leather cover, a tick she does whenever she is unsure of something.

"Mark and I… We were playing yesterday. He showed me that he can make fire with his hands. It was small, but he made it from nothing…"

He listened silently despite already knowing where the conversation was going. His daughter continued, her eyes still downcast on her lap.

"Why… Can't I do something like that?"

The way her voice softened at the end of her question made his chest slightly constrict. He watched as she shifted her face away from his, her eyes landing on the small flickering candle in the middle of the coffee table in front of them. He let her sit for a bit on her thoughts while he also tried to think of the best approach to talk about this.

"Do you remember one of the chapters in The Snow Queen story that you love so much, Princess?"

The girl a confused look at his sudden question. He, on the other hand, merely gave her a smile before continuing.

"There's this part of that story that I really love. It's when Gerda met the Lapland woman who was supposed to give her something to help her defeat the Snow Queen. Do you remember what that something is?"

She only thought of it briefly, having almost memorized every word from the fairytale by now.

"The power of ten men… She wanted to be strong to defeat the Snow Queen."

"Mm… and do you remember what the woman said after she asked for it?"

"She didn't give it to her. She said…"

"The power of ten men would be of very little use. There is nothing anyone can do for this girl that she cannot do for herself," he gently cut her off by dictating the exact words from the story she—and her mother—loves so much. He watched as her small face morphed from confusion, into a look of slow realization. Still smiling, he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear before he continued.

"The Lapland woman didn't grant Gerda any special powers, because they weren't something she needed for her mission to save her friend. What she already has is so much more powerful, because she was able to go that far with what she has, despite being human. Gerda saved Kai even if she was just herself."

The look on his daughter’s face told him that she already got the gist of what he was trying to say. Still, he wasn’t surprised at all when she decided to push on.  

"But I am not just a human. You told me yourself," she reasoned, and for the first time he saw the traces of doubt that she often works so hard to hide from him. "You always tell me that I should be careful. People treat me like they hate me or they're scared of me but I—" she stopped, her eyes looking brighter in the flicker of the candlelight. "I don't see why. I can't make fires. I can't move objects with my mind. I'm useless on my own."

A flicker of guilt teased the edges of his own features as he listened to her words. In the few years that she had manifested her ability, he had never heard her talk like this, and it's only now that he realized she never did because he never gave her a chance to. The moment he knew that the powers he hated so much—the very same who took his wife—chose his daughter to claim next, he set on doing anything and everything to hide her away. What he didn't realize, however, was how much his actions alienated the very same person he was trying to protect.

"How big was the fire that Mark made?" He asked again now, his face set. He turned to the direction of the coffee table and gestured at the flame there. "Was it like this candle here?"

Her daughter frowned before giving a slight nod.

At the confirmation, he leaned forward in his seat and reached out for a scrap of paper lying next to his bundle of notes. Without saying anything, he held it up to the fire and let the small flame lick it until they grew bigger and brighter.

"What happens when you create a bigger fire, Darling?" He asked quietly, his eyes set on the burning paper. He kept on holding it, unperturbed by the fact that the page was slowly being turned to ashes.

"It… becomes scarier," she answered, still looking doubtful about what he was trying to do. When he didn't react, she glanced at him, worry and panic obvious on her face.

"Papa. Let it go. You'll burn your hand."

That was enough for him to drop the paper to the same bronze plate where the candle's wax melted and curdled. The two of them watched as the remainder of the page got consumed by the flames before growing even more bigger as it started eating into the wax droppings on the plate.

"That's how it is with you, Princess. The small flame is Mark, but you can turn him into a big fire that can eat up and burn everything in its path. Arcana holders like us have our limits but you… what you do is beyond the usual boundaries that no generation of Masters have ever seen. You can turn a flame into an explosion, or make it destroy itself as if it never existed at all. You will meet many other flames in your life, some of which will want to have and use you, or destroy you."

The look on her face almost broke his heart. He pushed on though, knowing full well that there is a possibility that he might not have the courage to talk to her about this again. This is a necessary evil—something she must open her eyes early on so she could also protect herself.

"Why would they hurt me?"

"Because everyone wants more. More power, more influence, more fire. It's human nature, something even you and I have deep down in our instinct. But people are also terrified of what they can't understand and control. And darling… you will be exactly like that when you grow older."

He reached out for her small, cold hand now and engulfed it with his own.

"You and I are the only members of the immediate circle who can outwardly affect and influence other masters. Without them, we are useless—just people who can easily blend in with regular humans if we want to because we have no physical manifestations of what we can do on our own. With us though—with you most specially—they can be so much stronger." His hold on her hand tightened as he felt the slight tremor that ran through her.

"You can make Arcana powers more powerful if you will them to.  You are an asset, but also a threat. This is why you should never fully trust anyone, and why you should always be one step ahead of everyone. No one can use or betray you then."

She kept quiet, taking in every word he said. He is sure she had this train of thought before being the smart and observant girl that she is, but right now, he gave her the hard, uncoated truths she needed to hear. He hates doing this, but if it means he can save her from facing the same fate as her mother, then he is willing to sacrifice even some parts of her own happiness just to keep her safe.

"Do you understand it now, honey? Why I'm working so hard to protect you from everything? Can you promise me you'll try your hardest to keep yourself safe?"

Something flickered in her eyes that made a hollow spot in his chest tighten. It brought back flashes of memory of another girl who, at one point, also found herself lost because of a power she never even wanted in the first place. His daughter's voice finally saved him from the memory before it consumed him again.

"Yes, Papa… I promise."

*******

"Ability Amplification. That's the power of IL Matto," Kun said calmly, his eyes set on the figure of the girl on the screen. Mijeong looked at him as if he was saying the impossible. He’s no longer surprised by the reaction, knowing how ridiculous and far-reaching it might sound, even for members of the Family who are acquainted with the Arcanas. In the long history of recorded manifestations of IL Matto, this is the first time a master who can affect the strength of other abilities has been born.

"And they know?" Mijeong asked, her own voice still unstable. Before she even got her answer, she moved to step away from her hovering position over Ten’s shoulder and stalked to the open balcony overlooking the field. Her eyes zoned in on the same girl she had been trying to protect in secret before studying the other boys in the field. Kun and Ten exchanged glances before the former followed her there.

"The Headmaster has only let a certain number of families know about her. But yes, the boys know."

"Is that safe?"

Kun paused. His eyes strayed towards the open field, briefly studying each face there.

"It probably isn't," he finally said, deciding to be honest about it. 

"But it's strategic."

*****

"What the fuck, Jaemin? That's such a dirty move," Haechan scowled from the other side of the field to the amusement of the silver-haired boy on the other team. The latter openly smirked at him, pleased at his reaction.

"Hey. Only rules of the game is that a Queen cannot attack another Queen. The rest of the knights are fair play."

"You know damn well your Arcana's black listed for things like this," Haechan shot back, his jaw tight. Jaemin merely shrugged and pulled you closer to him, a blatant move that only made the other boy fume more.

"Oh? So you're admitting I'm stronger then?"

You sighed and shot him a quick look. He easily caught it, his eyes sparkling in amusement.

"Stop it already. You've done what you needed."

The boy gave a slight shrug but didn't say anything else to deny what you were implicating. He did finally let you go though, wearing a pleased look that he didn’t even try to hide. Jaemin is the type of person who mostly doesn't care about things like this, but when he starts to get serious, he is also not afraid to play a little dirty. After all, it's in his nature to know how to get under anyone's skin using their emotions.

"Sorry, love. I had to. Somebody has to piss someone off or else we'll be in this field for hours. I think it's kinda working."

"Kinda is a very humble way of putting it," Renjun finally spoke from the other side. His voice was steady, but anyone who knows him enough could see that he was also not amused by what his friend just pulled. He raised his hand now and snapped his fingers twice. As soon as he did, both Mark and Chenle flinched, as if somebody woke them up from their stupor. Unlike Jaemin's Arcana that controls, his protects, shielding all of his teammates from other mental attacks. The two boys who were just released from the devil's spell both looked around, gathering their bearings.

"What the hell…" Chenle frowned and pressed a hand at the back of his head. Mark seemed to have caught on faster about what happened as his eyes moved from Haechan, to you, and finally to Jaemin's Cheshire grin.

"Did you just…"

Renjun sighed and rolled his eyes slightly.

"Yes. He did. Before you get pissed, hyung, please know that this guy here is already doing a pretty bad job in controlling his temper," he said as he jabbed his thumb towards the boy on his side. "Yah, Haechan. Calm down. Irritating you is exactly what Jaemin wants."

"And that’s exactly what he is getting," the other answered without even batting an eye. "He's right. Let's quit playing."

"Time to get to business."

At his words, two black holes resembling jaws of void opened up on the still air beside him. They snapped and howled like two wormholes ready to swallow anything their way.

From the other side of the arena, Jaemin watched with a pleased look as the opposing team started to lose their cool. Jeno moved back closer to where you all are huddled, his eyes silently reading the energy of the other boys. He slightly pressed a hand on your lower back to catch your attention.

"Now?" He asked in a voice only you could hear. You gave him the slightest nod ever as your eyes shifted to Jaemin. The latter is already looking, and he leaned his head a little to the side in confirmation to your silent message.

"I got you both," he said. "Go off."

At his assurance, you moved to reach out to Jisung next. The boy looked down on you, a questioning look on his face.

"Jisung, can you shield us?"

He frowned, clearly confused by the request.

"What?"

"Shields. Can you do projected energy fields?"

His confused look slowly morphed into that of panic.

"I—I haven't tried. I don't think I can do it yet."

"Well, you have to. You have ten seconds to do it before Haechan tries to swallow all of us with his void monsters."

The boy’s face paled at your words. "No, you don't understand, noona. I literally don't know how to do it—"

"Seven, six, five…" you said in reply, softly counting under your breath. Jisung whipped around, looking absolutely terrified. From the other side of the arena, Haechan's black holes reared back their heads like cobras preparing to attack.

"Oh my god."

"Come on, Jisung. You can do it. Just think of summoning it."

"I c-can't—"

You squeezed his hand in yours and gave him a smile.

"Go ahead. I'll help."

He barely had any time to process what you just said when Haechan's shadow tunnels finally snapped and hurtled straight towards where you are. Jisung threw out his arm in instinct before impact and sure enough a bright burst of light flashed in the arena, temporarily blinding everyone. When the air cleared out again, a bright golden dome stood high above your heads, covering the good half of your end of the field. Grasping and snapping its jaws outside of it, trying to break through, were Haechan's voids.

Jisung's jaw dropped as he stared, dumbstruck at what he just conjured. Outside, Chenle straightened up as well, his eyes round with surprise.

"Holy shit dude… You just unlocked a new game skill."

Your smile widened as you patted the boy in the back. "Good job. Now try to hold that a bit more." Turning around, you looked at Jeno who was still calmly observing everything from his position. You watched as the ground beneath him seemed to ripple and shake before long shadowy figures started to rise from it. They moved like smoke, bearing the resemblance of slender women about 6 feet in height each. None of them have any solid features nor a body, but their eyes glowed bright like beams of light. You smiled. The figures sauntered forward, their bodies dispersing slightly as they passed beyond Jisung's shield. They snapped back to their form again as soon as they did and started slowly advancing towards the other team.

Mark and Chenle, who still brought the front, exchanged tense looks. Behind them, Renjun watched the shadow maidens fan in formation like predators eyeing their prey. They moved languidly but tensely, like strings about to snap anytime.

"Haechan…" he murmured under his breath. The boy beside him didn't need to look at him to understand what he was trying to say. Nobody moved, waiting for the tension to finally break. When the pin finally dropped after the suffocating silence, it drowned the field with deafening sounds that exploded at the same time.

Mark lifted chunks of earth from the ground, hurtling some straight at the shadow monsters that had sprung into action to attack. Assisting him was Chenle who turned some of the rubble into orbs of steel, some of which went straight into Jisung's shield. The dome grumbled under the force, making the boy grit his teeth from the attack. Lifting his free hand, Jisung pushed back against it, a move that caused spears of light to shoot out of his barrier. Haechan moved back his own monsters, the two voids merging together to form one big black hole that swallowed the younger boy’s attack. He flicked his wrist afterwards, causing the beast to swoop down and grab two of Jeno's shadow maidens closing in on Mark.

Mijeong watched, petrified, at everything that unfolded in a matter of seconds. What she had witnessed earlier was nothing compared to the scale that she is seeing now, the whole arena being torn apart from the ground up. Explosions were erupting everywhere and it was getting harder and harder for her to follow everything that was happening. When the field finally cleared again after a particularly strong blast, her gaze made a beeline towards the sole girl in the arena to make sure that she is still unharmed. She froze. There was something about her face that seemed out of place at first, and it took her a moment to realize that her eyes had turned lighter—the color of amber—as she watched everything that was happening.

"Is she alright? Ten?" Kun spoke before she could ask her question. The other boy took a while to answer, his lips pursed.

"Her heartbeat is rising, but everything else is okay."

"How about Jeno?"

"His control is more stable than his last record. He's good."

"What is going on? Are they in danger?" She finally spoke up, her voice barely masking her panic now. Kun, however, simply turned back at the carnage below.

"No. Everything's fine."

"Fine? Your kids are killing each other!"

The man smiled, an expression that seemed entirely out of place in the situation. "They're being a little more energetic right now, but everything's still under control."

Mijeong wasn't convinced but she pursed her lips anyway.

"I'm more worried about her. She's influencing that boy's powers, right? The one who created the shield?"

"Mm. That and the two others with her. Why do you think she asked Jisung to create that wall? I can assume it's her way of containing the reach of her ability to her teammates to tip the scales to their favor. Otherwise, Haechan and the others would be affected too."

His answer did nothing to assure her. "Isn't she pushing herself too much this way though? What if she—"

"Goes overboard? I doubt she will ever let that happen. Besides, Jaemin and Jeno are both there," Kun explained, nodding towards the two boys. At the look of confusion in Mijeong's face, he continued.

"Masters can lose control over their abilities when they falter in their focus and let the Arcana take over them. Jaemin will step in for her—and for anyone else in this arena—the moment he senses that. As long as they let him, he can bring them back to focus. Jeno, La Morte's abilities, come from the Nether. The rest of Arcana's originate from the Aether. If he wants to, he can also cancel or stabilize other powers since his source is the direct opposite of the others. She'll never go mad, as long as he's with her."

"And Jeno will never lose control, as long as Jaemin and her are there,” Ten added, his eyes twinkling as he looked at her. “Why do you think we put them in one group? Those three…"

"They're a package deal."

Mijeong processed all of that slowly. She turned back to watch the battle as she put together the pieces in her head.  So this tourney is not only done to check each of the Master's abilities. They also do it to see how abilities mesh well with each other. It’s a training and a study in one.

A blast of force shook the field once again making her and Kun slightly duck for cover. Unlike the damage caused by flying rocks and exploding metals though, this one is silent and invisible, like a wave of wind running through the bare arena. Rocks split and shattered as it swept through, including the shadow figures who were now just a few meters from breaching Mark and the others' side of the arena. When it hit Jisung’s force field, the surface shook under its force.  

You looked up, surprised and confused by the attack. You know Mark, Chenle, and Haechan were too focused on defending their spot, which only means…

"Renjun," Jeno said from beside you as more of his shadow maidens rose from the ground to replace the ones the force obliterated. Your eyes rounded in response.

"Psychokinesis… Since when did he learn to use it?"

Jaemin was the one who answered. "Nobody knows. He barely shows it, but when he does, it means…"

"You're very pissed," Haechan smirked and stated the obvious as he closely watched the boy beside him. Renjun had pretty much remained calm and quiet in the middle of all the chaos, but the set of his lips easily gave him away, now that Haechan gave him a real good look. The boy in question scoffed in reply to his teasing. 

"I'm not. I want this over.”

"Sure, dude. At least you seem like you impressed her,” he snickered, amused by the denial of the other. “Look, how about we all give it one last shot so we can finally get this done?”

For once, the pair agreed on something.

"Sounds like a good idea."

"I think we should end this," Jeno said as he noticed the shift in energy from the other team. You caught it too, and you gave him a slight nod in answer. Walking over to Jisung, you whispered to him in a voice you made sure only he could hear.

"Jisung, I need you to release your shield at my signal."

The boy gave you a look as if you've finally gone mad.

"What? But they're attacking us, noona."

"Just do it quickly then bring it back up again. I just need to do something."

He still looked unconvinced but both Jeno and Jaemin gave him a look that finally made him give way. In front of you, the shadow figures moved to guard the front of your team, just beyond Jisung's border. You watched with bated breath as the opposing group quickly responded to the move, every boy's attention set on getting the last line of your defense. When Haechan's void reared back again to do its final attack, you started counting the seconds in your head.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

“Jisung, now!”

You gave the signal the exact same moment that the black hole burst straight towards all of you. Its jaws split wide, it hurtled forcefully in the air with the full intent of swallowing the shadow army acting as your last line of offense. Jisung almost missed your signal in panic, but he thankfully managed to dissolve his force field at the last moment, enough for you to slip in the same periphery where Haechan’s targets are. You fell in the right spot just in time for the void to swallow you whole before everything disappeared, leaving nothing in its wake.

*******

"Haechan!" Mark turned and shouted in panic as he saw everything unfold in front of him. He wasn't the only one who shared the reaction though, with both Chenle and Jisung giving gasps of horror while Renjun froze in shock. Haechan paled as he realized what just happened, his eyes wide.

"Shit. Shit, shit!"

Above, Mijeong gave a wordless scream as she watched the full extent of the scene from above. Before she even realized what she was doing, she turned, ready to storm the field. She had barely made two steps when she felt Kun grab her wrists and pull her back.

"No. Don't go there."

"What the hell?! Let me go! Can’t you see—!"

"Stop. Just watch."

*****

You tumbled and stumbled inside the void, hands trying to find purchase on something, anything so you could slow down your spiral. Everywhere was dark, but you could hear sounds merging over each other as if you were speeding through different worlds and realities. You couldn’t figure out which direction you are going, or whether you are floating or falling. There was no sense of time or velocity where you were but you could also feel Haechan all around you—his fear, his shock, and his panic.

You didn't know how long you got suspended there, but when you heard Mark scream out your name from what sounded like a distance, you closed your eyes briefly and grasped at the weightless void surrounding you. The noises around you intensified, but you focused everything that you have in a single command. Whether you said it out loud or screamed it in your head, you weren't sure, but you poured every bit of your concentration on the thought, even as you struggled in the chasm surrounding you. 

Dissolve.

Now.

As soon as you expressed your intent, the churning darkness around you froze into a standstill. When you finally opened your eyes again, rips of light started puncturing the void, widening and pulling until…

You stumbled back to the field, the maw of Haechan's black hole releasing you back to the right dimension. Instead of finding yourself in the right side of the arena where the rest of your team are, however, you are now standing directly in front of Haechan who was currently looking at you, frozen in shock.

You smiled. Without saying anything, you flicked your wrist slightly, the move making his still gaping void to splinter into glass like pieces behind you. His expression changed into that of understanding as he watched it dissolve right in front of his eyes.

"You boys were so focused on attacking so you got distracted. Number one rule in the game, never forget your goal. In this case…" your gaze moved towards Renjun who was still standing beside the other boy. He looked at you, still surprised and confused, as you reached out towards him. It was too late for him to stop you from gently pulling at the ribbon on his arm.

"Your Queen's lace."

The bell sounded off again, this time, announcing that a team had won. Your smile widened.

"Checkmate."

*******

"What…"

Mijeong stared, thunderstruck, at the scene below her. Everything moved so fast, but she doubts her eyes were tricking her about what she saw. Kun quietly voiced out the thoughts that were already crowding her head.

"Ability Nullification. She dissolved Haechan's powers. Made his Arcana completely null," the man said, his eyes calmly set on the girl below. "The Fool always has two sides, a strength and a weakness. The true force of IL Matto's Arcana does not lie on how it can amplify powers…"

"But how it can void them."

The silence in the balcony was matched by that in the field. The only sound that disturbed the room where Mijeong, Kun, and Ten were on was the slight ding of a message that popped out on the edge of the latter’s screen. Ten quickly clicked on it and promptly read the short message there. His gaze shot to Kun then before he leaned over to the mic, his face set.

"Tourney's over. Winner of this round is the White Team. Please go back to your dorms and rest. Everyone here needs to report to the head office this afternoon..."

"The Headmaster is back."

CHAPTER 5

*******

Note: I had to redo my taglist because of Tumblr problems. The new list below are those who requested to be re-added or recently requested to be part of the new list. 

NEW Taglist: @effulgentfireflies, @kasperneo, @lostlovesoul11,  @byunniebaekhyunnie​, @smolpeyy, , @dearj43, @bettyschwallocksyee​, @babyksworld​

Untaggable for some reason:  @yongboksfreckles,  @user103843

#mark x reader #renjun x reader #haechan x reader #jaemin x reader #jeno x reader #nct dream x reader #nct dream 00 line x reader #nct dream fic #nct dream imagines #nct dream scenarios #nct dream supernatural au #jisung fic #chenle fic #ten nct fic #kun fic #nct dream fantasy au

[softsan]

NCT WEREWOLF AU (AESTHETIC)

A remake of this: X

Taeyong

alpha

seven hundred and one years old

suspicious and dubious of humans

puts his pack above all

can be rash and unforgiving

encounters his mate on a non-routine hunt

mate: councilman's daughter

Taeil

elder

eight hundred and fifty-six years old

oldest member of the pack

works as an adviser to the alpha and the betas

breaks up and resolves pack conflicts

stumbles onto his mate who's wearing a disguise

mate: physician

Johnny

hunter

four hundred and eighty-nine years old

has the best sense of smell in the pack

the pack's number-one tracker.

exceptional at mauling his enemies.

left heartbroken by his mate's rejection

mate: rival pack member

Yuta

hunter

four hundred and sixty-seven years old

incredibly quick and stealthy

is labeled the 'ambusher' for his cut-throat hunting tactics

despises the prospect of a mate

believes fate is cruel and callous

mate: city guardian

Kun

beta

six hundred and eighteen years old

second in command

rules in taeyong's absence

known to be morally strict and stern

goes against his beliefs by stealing his mate away

mate: stolen bride

Doyoung

delta

five hundred and thirty-two years old  

is the support unit of the pack

on standby to fulfill the duties of ill or injured packmates

finds himself in a hopeless situation

accidentally marks his mate in a poisoned haze

mate: north's princess

Ten

head scout

five hundred and sixteen years old

has an unparalleled control of his inner wolf

works as the pack's eyes and ears in the city

warns the pack of dangers outside their territory

overcomes his heartbreak by meeting a nifty pickpocket

mate: thief

Jaehyun

delta

four hundred and forty-nine years old

strongest member of the pack

formidable opponent in battle

responsible for guarding the pack's territory

comes across his mate in the scorching sands

mate: she-wolf

Winwin

sentinel

four hundred and three years old

routinely patrols the pack's territory

greats new visitors and learns their intentions

will harshly punish aggressive and disrespectful intruders

accidentally kidnaps his mate instead of his actual target

mate: royal governess

Jungwoo

scout

three hundred and twenty-one years old

has great command of his inner wolf

can avoid shifting on a full moon

gathers and shares information for the pack

blown away by his sweet mate

mate: royal maidservant

Mark

delta

three hundred and twelve years old

known to be sunny but stubborn

incredibly fast learner

teaches hunting skills to younger pack members

saved by his mysterious and magical mate

mate: thread coven witch

Renjun

salutary

two hundred and sixty-three years old

is the pack's herbalist

makes tonics and concoctions for his fellow wolves

plagued by dreams of the past

gives the cold shoulder to his mate

mate: old soul

Jeno

hunter

two hundred forty-eight years old

a distinguished pack fighter

often organizes hunts

is the first to volunteer to go on nightly patrols

captured by his formidable mate

mate: general's daughter

Haechan

omega

two hundred and twenty-four years old

rash and impulsive

has poor control over his inner wolf

frustrated by his low status within the pack

taken in by his beloved mate

mate: baker

Jaemin

hunter

two hundred and twenty-two years old

very talented tracker

is the most versed with their territory's terrain

lovestruck by the idea of love and fate

has his memory wiped by his elusive mate

mate: siren

Xiaojun

scout

one hundred and eleven years old

has mastered controlling his inner beast

recently elevated to the position of scout

is eager to prove himself within the pack

rescues his mate from the cruelty of humans

mate: seer

Hendery

hunter

eighty-three years old

loves running under the moon's light

known for his great speed and stealth

recently elevated to the position of hunter

taken down by his fearless mate

mate: assassin

YangYang

omega

twenty-three years old

only recently had his first transformation

is the pack's forager

searches for plants and provisions to help feed the pack

is reunited with his childhood friend and mate

mate: greenskeeper

Chenle

pup

twenty-two years old

is eager for his first transformation

spent his early years on the run with his aunt

thankful to be accepted into a pack

ambushed by his wicked mate

mate: star coven witch

Jisung

pup

twenty-one years old

is nervous about his first transformation

last to join the pack

spent years hiding underground from humans

shyly taken by his doting mate

mate: seamstress

#nct #nct imagines #nct fluff #nct dream #nct fanfiction #nct werewolf au #nct agnst #nct fanfic #nct 127 #nct u #kpop #wayv #wayv au #wayv fanfiction #nct dream fanfiction #nct moodboards #nct au #nct icons #nct fanfiction au #nct fantasy au #nct dream fanfic #nct reactions #nct dream reactions #nct 127 reactions #wayv reactions #nct headcanons #nct x reader #kpop moodboard #kpop icons #kpop fanfic

[mint-yooxgi]

Kinktober Day 6 - Kitsune!Jaemin + Mistress & Bondage

Anonymous Said: for kinktober: kitsune jaemin + calls mc mistress as he is subordinate to her + bondage

A/n: *insert laughing lizard gif here*

Word Count: 508

Kinktober 2022 Mini Masterlist

A choked moan escaped his lips as Jaemin throws his head back in pleasure. Desperately, he attempts to free his hands which have been bound above his head so that he can touch you, but it is futile. The silk ties you have binding his wrists are enchanted with magic that even he cannot break.

Looking up at him through your lashes, you meet his gaze, a hum reverberating along his shaft as you release the hold you have on him with your mouth. He nearly comes from that feeling alone.

“What’s the matter, Jaem?” The way you drawl out his name with a practiced purr on your lips has a pleasant tingle running down his spine. “Cat got your tongue?”

Fuck, you really will be the death of him as he sees that all too familiar smirk tugging onto your lips. Lips that have been teasing his cock for the past hour alone, your tongue working wonders on his shaft and making his head spin.

He wants to respond, to tell you how frustrated you’re making him, and that all he wants is for you to actually do something to him. Perhaps even free his arms so that he can touch you, but he knows your rules. He’s already tested your patience by letting out that last moan of his while tugging at his restarts. Both of which he was instructed not to do.

“Good boy,” you can feel the way his cock twitches in your hand when you praise him, only causing your smirk to widen. “Speak.”

It’s like a switch has flipped as soon as you say those words, his eyes shining with the clear want and desperation he has for you in each and every moment of his life.

“Mistress, please,” he begs, “please, please, please, please, please, let me touch you.”

“Do you think you’ve earned it?” You quirk a brow, a slight tilt to your head. “Do you think you deserve it?”

Jaemin whimpers, feeling the way your grip tightens slightly on the shaft of his cock, giving him another firm stroke along his length.

You tut, “can’t even resist making a sound after one simple little movement.”

“No, Mistress, I-“

“No?” You cut him off with a sharp look.

“I can be good, I promise!” He cries, biting his lip as you repeat your action from earlier to prevent a hiss from escaping him. Then, with an even shakier voice, he breathes, “I am good, Mistress. I’m your good boy.”

“That you are, Baby,” you hum, “and only good boys get to come.”

“I’m your good boy,” he repeats, over and over, choking on a sob as he feels your hand start moving along him once more. “I’m your good boy.”

“That’s it, Jaem,” you grin, a devious look shining in your eyes. “Now, if you truly want to be good for me,” he meets your gaze eagerly, nodding all the while and proving to you how ready and willing to submit he is, “stay quiet, and I’ll let you come.”

#jaemin scenario #jaemin smut #nct scenario #nct smut #nct dream scenario #nct dream smut #kpop au #kpop smut #kpop scenario #kinktober #kitsune au #fantasy au

[yutafrita]

To Pierce The White Eye- THREE

Pre. / One / Two / Three / Four / Fin.

Pairing: Psychic!Jaemin x Reader (She/ her)

Genre: Fantasy, Thriller, soulmates au, angst

Warnings: Graphic depictions of physical violence, mentions of vomit, Occult imagery, mentions of religion,

Word Count: 7.1K

Work is inspired by/ based on blue exorcist & vampire knight.

You and Jaemin were squatting over your tiny kitchen table, shoulders brushing as you watched him doodle on a loose paper he asked for. You had taken him back to your studio so you could put on fresh clothes, and all the while he was silent as he pieced together his thoughts.

“The Na prophecy has been passed through my family for hundreds of years. We bear the burden of seeing it through to completion,” he started, capping the pen he was using and now using it as a pointer. 

“The university’s goal was to always assist in bridging the human and mythic world-,” he pointed at the two opposite edges on the rickety bridge he had hastily drawn, “but they always lacked the proper parts to build a bridge. Architects, sure,” he pointed at a small stick figure with a large coat, “and two- somewhat begrudging- sides. The bridge, though, never properly came into fruition. It wasn’t simply a bridge that we were missing, and the prophecy my ancestors saw knew this,” he paused to look up at you and away from his drawing.

“Spit it out,” you whispered, struggling to not collapse under your nerves.

“The bridge, that connection, needs three things- a human, a mythic, and… Satan’s blue flames,” your eyes widened when he uttered the last words. Blue Flames- like the ones you just exploded in. “A human and a mythic, easy enough, but Satan’s blue flames can only be achieved by either Satan himself or his offspring.”

You dropped yourself onto your floor, knees giving out on you. Jaemin couldn’t catch you in time, reaching at your elbows and falling to your side.

“If I could have seen your future, I would have caught you,” he admitted sheepishly, hoping to lighten up the weight he dropped. Your hands raced through your scalp, terrified as you tried in vain to dig up any memories from before your abandonment, but none coming to fruition. Those flames… it made no sense how they didn’t burn you except…

“How did you know?”

“... I could see your future for a while-.”

“No, how did you know who my birth father was? How did you know to keep watch over my future?”

Jaemin sighed, his chest deflating, “You met my mother when your father took you in. You were still young, confused, and even vampires who hid their fangs terrified you.”

“I was scared of everything- I was a kid,” you defended, your eyebrows knitted together.

“Right, but your father still had to host council meetings, so to help acclimate you he sometimes would ask a few parents to get there earlier and just… chat with you.”

“Ten was always there with me so it was more of a playdate when his Mom would visit… but I don’t remember your Mom,” you confessed.

“I know, she was only there twice. We have a habit on occasion of just seeing someone's future just because we can will it- but when she saw yours… she said all she saw was blue. She went by a second time, just to be sure.”

You moved away from Jaemin, frustrated then as you sat on your couch with your head in your hands. 

You were busy trying to plug different parts of the prophecy into your current situation. If you were truly Satan’s child (the flames made this difficult to deny), the human and flames were your parents (yuck- biological parents), but the mythic left you feeling uneasy.

“There’s more,” he whispered, still on the floor and staring up at you with wide eyes. When you remained silent, he took this as a sign to continue, “when those three ingredients are achieved, then the following sequence will occur,” Jaemin breathed in deeply, building up his courage, “a destined ruler will die in order for the blue flames to arrive on earth. A mythic in relation to the deceased ruler will fall in love with the flames. Then, either the pair dies, or someone else dies in order to protect them.”

The weight on your chest became crushing, and you released the breathe you were holding in. You couldn’t even fathom how Jaemin had to have felt bearing this knowledge.

“Just because your family says this prophecy is your responsibility, doesn’t mean it actually is,” your voice was hardly a whisper, and you stared at the blank TV in front of you.

You felt the couch dip next to you, and you didn’t bother looking over.

“So she told you about me and you took the mantle of making sure the prophecy is followed,” you thought over his words again, frowning, “no one should have to die to build a stupid metaphorical bridge.”

“Aren’t you going to ask?” Jaemin’s voice cracked, and that was when you looked to meet his gaze.

“What?”

“Ask me who I see dying.”

You looked at the psychic, petrified by the pained smile he wore.

“It was supposed… it was supposed to be me,” your eyes widened at his revelation, “but now… I don’t even know now because I can’t see your future,” he chuckled dryly, running his hands through his hair before looking back at you, “do you want to know why?”

“Stop with the fucking quest-.”

You stopped, guilt slamming your chest as you watched a silent tear graze down his twitching cheek. Clumsily, like how he did with you, you passed your sleeved hand over his cheek, sloppily drying him off.

“I want to see your future the most,” he whispered, his eyebrows furrowed as if he was deeply concentrating on something.

“A destined ruler will die in order for the blue flames to arrive to earth, and a mythic in relation to the deceased ruler will fall in love with the flames…” you repeated, “no one’s in love with me…”

Jaemin cleared his throat and averted your gaze, “yeah, well, I thought it would be someone else. I guess he’ll just need more time.”

You studied the side of his face, burying your own suspicions before you simply nodded in response. It’s not that you were not a believer in love- matter of fact, romance was one of your favorite book genres to read. It was more so that fact that you yourself had never been in love with someone- in relationships, yes, but being fully in love with someone…

“In your paths… did you see yourself in love with someone?” you asked. Maybe the psychic could tell you about how he would feel eventually.

He glared at you before he softened his expression. Jaemin internally was having a bit of a dilemma- he so desperately wanted to tell you what he knew, but he was petrified of your reaction. It terrified him that he couldn’t see your future, but he could catch a few small snippets of his own.

“... warm. It… feels warm. Like, yeah you’ve been warm before but there’s this warmth somewhere in your heart that you didn’t even know was cold,” he answered. His explanation made you melt- there was something so sincere about how he spoke, and there was something you felt blossom inside of you.

“Well, the person you’re meant to be with is very lucky,” you offered. You felt envious, and you chalked up the feeling to wanting to have someone who thought of you like that. Someone that felt warm at the thought of you.

Jaemin smiled grimly, “I wouldn’t say that at all.”

You’re not sure at what point it happened, but between you leaning your head on the couch and maintaining a half conversation with Jaemin, you stopped responding, instead falling asleep. You knew he had fallen asleep too, because in the midst of your dreams you found yourself being yanked out and returning to that white circular room. 

Jaemin was on his hands and knees on the floor, slapping the ground to look for something. You ignored the TV screens- some of which were more grainy than others- and kneeled in front of the psychic.

“It should be around here,” he muttered, ignoring your presence as he continued to slap along the pure white ground. You opened your mouth to speak before you let out a terrified scream, the ground beneath you opening as you fell for a few seconds, landing in a dim room on your back. You were breathing heavily, the white room still above you and seeping light into the dark space you found yourself in. Jaemin’s head poked out from above and he smiled, easily climbing down the opening and landing next to you. He helped you up as lights began to hum in the space, more monitors coming to life.

Only, these monitors were far fewer in their numbers than the ones above, and each one varied in age and size. You explored the cramped space with your eyes as they adjusted, noticing the cabinets that filled the area along with a computer tower in the corner.

“What’s this?” you asked, moving towards some of the cabinets.

“These are my memories of all my visions,” he explained, going toward the cabinet you were reaching for. With an experienced hand, he opened a drawer, leafing through the folders to yank one up. “When I was younger, I would pop into my Dad’s memory bank- it was huge,” Jaemin gushed, taking out a DVD from the folder as he moved towards the computer tower.

“So, these spaces change?”

“Yeah, mine hasn’t changed much, though,” Jaemin admitted. As he slid the DVD into its player, the lone blank monitor hummed to life.

“Have you ever tried to change it?” you asked, squinting at the lonely space he was in. Jaemin simply shrugged, his eyes fixed on the monitor in front of him. You moved forward, and Jaemin was painfully aware of your proximity to him, trying his best to not appear nervous.

The screen showed a clear video of you and Mark outside of the night dorm fence, a sunny day. Jaemin lifted an irritated finger, making you turn your gaze to the upper right hand corner that had a date and time stamped on the video.

“That was-.”

“The day after you met Yuta,” Jaemin cut you off, and you frowned.

“I… I was going to say the day we met,” you paused, “how did you know I met him that day?”

“That’s one of your paths I’ve been tracking… it wasn’t supposed to rain this day, and… and you were supposed to take the left,” Jaemin watched the screen with a slack jaw as he watched your figure on screen start to check around the night dorm via the left, and Mark the other side.

Irritated, you ejected the DVD from the computer tower, snatching it up in your hand as Jaemin stared at you in fear.

“Jaemin. It’s done. What the hell is the point of seeing the future if you can’t stop obsessing over the past? What is even the difference here?”

Jaemin was quiet, before shutting his eyes. “I think I should go.”

********

It had been a few days, and you felt as if you were in a constant state of limbo. All you wanted to do was speak with Jaemin again, but since he left that night all you could do was second guess any of your actions- you were terrified of affecting the prophecy and in turn hurting him more. You just wish you could understand him. You felt alone and scared- did he feel that way too? 

You slinked into the back of all your human classes and had skipped all of your night classes, leaving poor Mark to have to manage all of the Warden duties on his own for a week.

It was as you were dipping out of your bio class that your brother caught you. Mark pinched your ear, and you whined as you swatted his hand away, “cut that shit out!”

“Dude, I need you to go on watch tonight,” he snipped, ignoring your visibly disheveled appearance. You had slid out of bed earlier and just had on a hoodie that was far too old and pants that sat awkwardly on your hips since you lost the string that held them up properly. You knew that Mark could tell something was up with you, but he knew better than to pry when you seemed so miserable. You may look irritated, but you were frankly scared above all else.

“Fine,” you muttered. Doing research on your own you found that onyx was a good defense against demons and Satan, so after ordering two onyx bracelets, the bands wrapped around your wrist and seemed to suck out any energy you had. You were terrified of suddenly bursting into flames, but you wished you weren’t tired all of the time.

Ten and Chaein didn’t push your buttons when you walked into class that night. Ten simply glared at the onyx bracelets and Chaein offered a sympathetic smile. The rest of your peers, though, began to whisper amongst themselves when you entered the class, but all you could see was that Jaemin’s seat was empty. You pinched the bridge of your nose, trying to keep some semblance of focus on what your professor was discussing that night.

“... this unit is going to be a bit contentious,” the faerie professor hummed before continuing, “but the next three classes will be focusing on the Sect of Satan.”

“Professor, is that really necessary?” one of the students shot up from their seats. No one else spoke, but you saw multiple heads nodding in agreement.

“Hendery, this is a Modern Mythic Religion class- it would be like a human religion class not once mentioning any of the Abrahamic religions.”

“Sir-.”

“If any of you counter me again we are going to have a big problem,” the professor silenced the student named Hendery, and the student sat back down in defeat. You weren’t pleased at all by the lesson plan, but you were too exhausted to even think of arguing.

Outside now after your class, you sat on a bench taking in the cool night air. You rubbed your eyes in an attempt to stay awake, returning to stare off into space until you heard a leaf crunch behind you. Slower than you would have liked, you shot up from the bench, taking out your bo staff to see…

“What the…?” you looked down to see a small white cat staring up at you curiously. Pouting, and now spent from that small burst of adrenaline, you perched yourself on your knees to meet the cat at eye level. “Oh hi there buddy,” you hummed, scratching behind the cat's ears. It shut its eyes, leaning into your hand as you carefully studied it. Its fur seemed fairly clean, brushed, and the cat was friendly enough with humans to not be scared by your touch.

“Where’s your owner?” you wondered out loud, taking back your hand as the cat made eye contact with you.

“I would say I’m pretty independent,” the cat replied, making your eyes bulge before a realization dawned on you- shifters could turn into a few different animals, and one of them was a cat.

“Creep!” you lurched away from the cat, and it visibly scoffed.

“You’re the one that pet me.”

“What do you want?” you stood up. Your arms were crossed as you glared down at the feline. It was just the two of you outside of the main building, and all the other mythics were still in at least one more class for the evening.

“You should talk to Jaemin,” the cat replied matter of factly. Your eyebrow twitched, stunned by the sheer audacity of this cat. “He’s… been a bit of a mess since you last spoke.”

“I’m trying… I…” you frowned, shutting your eyes as you attempted to gather your frayed thoughts. Sighing deeply, you opened your eyes, “I don’t want to… fuck with my future more and hurt him.”

The cat stood up then, its tail swishing. “You guys are really meant for each other.”

“What?”

“Go see him, I’ll cover your guard,” the cat instructed before within the blink of an eye it transformed into the student that was arguing with the professor earlier.

“Why are you doing this, Hendery?” you asked, tilting your head as you studied his face.

“He’s my friend, and I don’t have to be a psychic to know that you’ll probably be somewhere in my future, too. Now go,” he smiled, taking the spot on the bench you previously were on. With the small bit of energy you had left, you slowly got up and made your way to the night dorm with Jaemin being the only person on your mind.

Across campus, Jaemin was in the courtyard of the night dorm. He hadn’t gone to class in a week and only left his dorm room to use the bathroom or steal food from the kitchen when his peers went to class.

Jaemin hadn’t been inducing any visions, so whenever one was forced onto him he winced in pain with a shot depth perception. Sat on a bench in the courtyard with his sandwich he flinched as a vision shoved itself into his view- it was of Hendery in his cat form, outside of the Knight’s Cross main building. Jaemin groaned. This vision had been popping up these past few days, more clear and crisp whenever it revealed itself to him.

Jaemin wished he wasn’t an idiot.

He wanted to talk to you so badly, but he was afraid of messing everything up. Jaemin wasn’t known for his sociability, and he was sure that he had scared you off. His obsession with making sure the Na prophecy was fulfilled was simply a good distraction for the simple fact that you were each other’s soulmate.

It terrified him.

It’s not that he didn’t feel like he deserved to be loved, but he just frankly accepted that if he was to be loved it would never be in the way his parents love each other. It’s gross, really. They dote on one another and have a secret language only the other could ever understand. There was no way he could ever be that… in love with someone else.

Yet, he smiled so easily with you- truly a rare feat. Even just thinking of you now in the empty courtyard with the last remaining bites of his sandwich, he couldn’t help but smile. He loved being around you and your humor and your love for weird books and topics. He felt so unnaturally safe with you, it freaked him out. 

He wasn’t in love with you, but he knew that he could be, and the fact that Jaemin couldn’t see this future made him want to throw up.

“Come on come on come on….” The soft voice at the front entrance of the courtyard made Jaemin’s ears perk up. For the first time in a few days, he forced a vision of himself, and gasped when he saw the other person entering the courtyard. 

The courtyard entrance clicked, accepting Mark’s keycard. Your brother swiftly entered the space, having a proud smile before his eyes landed on Jaemin and turned sour.

“Hey! Psychic!” Mark called stomping over to the bench Jaemin sat on. Jaemin’s eyes returned to normal, frantically scanning the courtyard for anything he could use to put some distance between him and Mark to no avail. Instead, he stood up tall, doing his best to rid any emotion from his face.

“I have a name,” Jaemin replied briskly as your brother now stood mere inches from him. Your brother may not be as good of a fighter as you, but he was still good enough to handle any medium level supernatural threat.

“You’re a dick.”

Jaemin’s face went blank.  “Huh?”

“You heard me. You know, I get that I shouldn’t get involved in any of my sister’s relationships- but you,” Mark took a sharp breath, shutting his eyes before glaring back at Jaemin, “you’ve made her second guess herself and that’s not okay.”

“Second guess herself?” Jaemin repeated this in a hushed tone, a feeling of disgust settling in his stomach. 

“Yes, shitface. I don’t know what happened, but you need to apologize to her and fix whatever the fuck you did,” Mark tightened his grip on his backpack strap. It was obvious to Jaemin that was all Mark could do to refrain from beating Jaemin’s ass. “She’s in the courtyard of the main building,” was all Mark said before turning on his heel, his steps echoing in the gated space until he finally left the psychic alone.

Jaemin felt a swell of emotions choke him. He felt guilty that he made you feel like that- it may not have been his intention, but that didn’t change the result. He also, and this part was small and he was ashamed of it, was giddy at the thought of you potentially wanting to see him. 

Wiping the sweat that formed on his hands off his shirt, he moved through and out of the courtyard. Along the long path away from the night dorm, Jaemin had expected to see Mark’s receding figure, but instead saw you running towards the courtyard and only picking up the pace when you saw the psychic slip out.

“J-Jaemin!” you shouted, your arms wrapping around the psychics neck as you collapsed into his arms.

“I’m sorry I was avoiding you I just-.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” you cut him off, your voice muffled as you buried your face into his neck. 

“You could never hurt me,” Jaemin whispered. After a few beats of silence, he realized that you had leaned your full weight on him and had fallen asleep. Had you not been able to sleep? As Jaemin adjusted you in his arms to get a better look at your sleeping face, he heard the clank of bracelets, and knew what they were before even seeing them. Onyx bracelets. It was sucking the life out of you because you had no idea how to control your powers. 

*****

Jaemin was seated on your couch when you woke up, wide awake and flipping through a high school yearbook. 

“Good morning, I hope it’s okay that I stayed here. I just wanted to be sure you were okay,” he set the book down, making his way to your bedside. You squinted at the psychic, still sifting through your memories of the night before but nothing after running to Jaemin came to mind. Despite this haze though, you felt more full of energy than you had in the past week.

“It’s okay, thanks,” you whispered. Glancing down, you saw the glass of water the psychic held. Cautiously, you took it from his extended hand.

“I need to tell you something,” Jaemin whispered, his voice shaky. This moment was the one he was dreading as you slept. It wasn’t fair, he felt, for you to not know everything. It made his chest ache at the thought of hiding the truth- the whole truth from you. You deserved the whole world.

You groaned, “you didn’t eat the last yogurt I had in the fridge, did you?”

Jaemin was stunned for a moment before he laughed and shook his head, “no, I didn’t.”

“Good, that means it can wait until I piss,” you hummed, setting the glass on your nightstand and brushing past Jaemin. You stopped at the doorframe of your bathroom and glanced over your shoulder, “Jae?”

Jaemin blushed at the sudden nickname but tried to not show that his heart was racing, “yeah?”

“I know you act weird sometimes because your whole life was spent focused on that prophecy. When it isn’t about that, though, I think you’re actually kind of sweet, so you should just… be yourself,” you spoke, having practiced these exact sentences in your head all last week. You shut the bathroom door, and Jaemin clutched his chest.

What was this feeling wrapping around his heart and lungs? The tightening of it as he replayed your words in his head? You thought he was sweet? 

In the bathroom, you sprinted through your morning routine- you were so aware of Jaemin’s presence near you and all you wanted to do was keep speaking with him. How did he sleep? Did he see any interesting futures as he did?

You stepped out of the bathroom, shrugging on a hoodie you left on your floor as you approached the corner of your bed Jaemin perched himself on. His eyes felt like they could nail you down to your spot. You began to feel oddly shy as you leaned on the wall across from him, waiting.

“So, my Mom told me about why I can’t see your future,” Jaemin’s voice was shaky despite the way his eyes never lost focus from you. You tilted your head, attentive as he continued, “she told me…about how when she never saw my father in her future. And, I remembered how my aunt never saw her partner in her future…” Jaemin squeezed his eyes shut, turning his face away from you.

“Y… Your parents couldn’t see each other in their futures?” you whispered, gears in your head turning in a rapid fire pace. Jaemin’s eyes were trained at his feet now, noticing how yours and his were inches apart before he nodded. There was a warmth spreading in your hands as you tried to digest this information. “You said you used to be able to see me in your future, though.”

“I know. I know,” Jaemin looked pained once he turned his gaze back at you, “I think when your path changed firmly,” he pressed his lips tightly together in a pause before continuing, “it… it locked us into this position.”

You froze, “what do you mean by locked?”

Jaemin’s eyes rose in surprise as your eyes flashed into a cerulean blue right before him.

“Locked… is it… do you view me being maybe your partner as a burden?” You hated that your voice sounded like a whimper, but you couldn’t help the spear of pain his wording sent to your chest. 

Jaemin ignored the color change, instead leaping up from his leaning position on your bed to press both of his hands on your shoulders, “no! Not at all!”

Your face twitched, and you passed your warm hands through your hair in an attempt to cool yourself down. You could hardly decipher the feelings you had in the moment, and were struggling to mask them.

“You wouldn’t wanna be with the spawn of Satan, right?” You forced a chuckle, trying to remain collected but struggling.

“Hey… I’m lucky just to be near you. I just…. I don’t want you to feel… obligated,” Jaemin admitted. He was crushed when Mark told him that you were second guessing yourself- the thought of you being negatively affected any further because of Jaemin made him feel disgusted with himself.

You felt your body cool immediately and you sighed, “you know I’m my own person, right?’

“Of course!”

“Okay, so we can just take… that… as more of a suggestion and just… see where things go. On their own and at our own pace.”

Jaemin smiled, and you felt your chest tighten at the sheer beauty he held, “okay, I’d like that.”

“Good, now,” you lifted both your wrists, “where are my bracelets?”

Jaemin stayed quiet, and you followed his gaze past the couch and to the coffee table, choking back a gasp as you saw that they were snapped into pieces.

“After I set you into bed they basically fell apart,” he explained as you moved forward, studying them as if that would fix the problem.

“Jae-,” there was that nickname again, “I can’t control my powers and I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

Jaemin pressed his lips together in a tight line, avoiding your gaze.

“You know something.”

“Yes,” he admitted, still avoiding your gaze.

“Is it something that can help me?”

Jaemin nodded, before shutting both of his eyes and forcing a vision. It was the one person on earth who could help you, and they were currently in an apartment that Jaemin had very vague memories of. 

“We need to go.”

“Where?”

“To…. We need to go see your biological brother.”

Now, half an hour later, you sat uncomfortably in the living room of Kun and Jungwoo, avoiding eye contact with Sicheng as you tried to justify the random appearance.

“I told her that I was the best super smash brothers player in the area, but she swore that Kun was better. I had to come and see for myself,” Jaemin lied. You fought the urge to say that you knew for a fact could beat Jaemin’s ass in smash, but because you were grateful he thought of something mildly believable, you nodded quickly.

“Come on Kun, are you scared?” You taunted your friend, trying to play everything up.

“Kun should be- because I’m gonna beat all of you!” Jungwoo leapt up, rushing to the spare room likely to grab the consoles and controllers. Jungwoo was known to be easily distracted, so you figured he would take a bit longer than an average person to search for everything.

“Oh, Kun, could you show me where your water is? I’m a bit dehydrated,” Jaemin asked. Kun started to point to you before Jaemin nearly yanked him out of the couch, insisting that the host show him around.

Finally, Sicheng was cornered and alone in the living room. You both studied each other in a way that had never occurred, furrowing your brows and analyzing the other's features. Sicheng was always cool in your book, and closer to your other friends, but knowing that he was your biological brother added a layer of discomfort that never previously occurred. He’s known the entire time and never did a thing about it.

“You know who I am,” Sicheng wasn’t asking. He stood up from the couch and you followed suit, sending a glare to the other.

“You need to help me control my powers,” you didn’t bother asking, either. He didn’t have a choice. He held on to the fact that he was your brother for years- the least he could do was make sure you didn’t burn everything to the ground.

“Why would I do that?” Sicheng giggled, obviously not sensing the burning rage that was threatening to pour out of you. Jaemin and Kun were still in the kitchen, and you could hear Jungwoo tearing through the other room to find the game console.

You swallowed deeply before furrowing your brow and reiterating the phrase Jaemin had given to you, “I know your demon name. And I’m not afraid of saying it.”

This gave Sicheng pause, before his eyes flitted to the door of the kitchen and back to you. “Fine.”

“Tonight at one, meet me in front of the main building.”

Sicheng simply nodded, before a smirk appeared on his face. 

“What?” You challenged, irritated.

“It really does pay to fuck a psychic. You give him some attention and he’ll do all the leg work for you,” he chuckled, before adding, “He has to be as shit in bed as his personality is.”

Without thinking, you wound up your fist and punched Sicheng square in the gut with every bit of physical power you had. The blow landed, causing Sicheng to grab his stomach and groan loudly, falling onto his knees.

“What the hell??” Kun and Jungwoo both appeared in the living room, confused by the site before them. 

“Sicheng said he’s been constipated,” you lied, faking a smile, “I just gave him a small punch to the intestines, I think that should help him get his shit moving.”

“Oh, that never helps me,” Jungwoo mused, his hand that did not hold the console holding his side in sympathy. You could tell Kun was not fooled, but Sicheng forced himself up with a hunch.

“I’m gonna go… try to shit,” he shot you a glare before scooching to the bathroom.

“Well, we actually should get going- my dad just gave me a call,” you slinked past the confused duo, grabbing Jaemin’s arm and escaping their apartment complex.

“What actually happened?” Jaemin asked cautiously as you climbed into his car. You frowned.

“He was being a jackass.”

“I believe that. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t mind. He said that I was only,” you paused, and rephrased, “I was only hanging around you because you could tell me clues about the future.”

Jaemin was quiet, the only sound being from the car as you neared campus

After a while, he spoke, “you don’t have to defend my honor or anything. I know that’s not true.”

“That doesn’t mean he didn’t deserve a gut punch.”

“As cool as you are, you know you can’t go around punching people.”

“I don’t like people being mean to you, even if you aren’t there,” you huffed.

“It’s okay, kind of comes with the territory of seeing the future,” you watched him force a smile as he parked his car. You knew that Jaemin was one of the few psychics left-  one of three families if you could remember- he had to be used to being alone and spoken down to simply for his abilities.

“Do you ever wish you couldn’t see the future?”

Jaemin was quiet, staring blankly ahead at the car he was parked in front of. “Sometimes.  But, no point in changing what I can’t. Might as well enjoy the small wins.”

“What would the small wins be?”

You watched him fight a smile, and you poked his shoulder, watching a blush creep onto his ears and cheek.  “What small win are you thinking about?”

“No… Nothing.”

“Come on,” you teased, poking his now rosy cheek. 

“Well, I was able to help you and… yeah, help you.”

“I like hanging out with you too, if that’s what you were going to say.”

“Are you a mind reader?” Jaemin huffed, earning a good, solid laugh from you. You kept laughing, holding your stomach to keep yourself together until eventually, Jaemin started laughing too, making you laugh even harder. 

You felt safe laughing with him. He was funny without trying and judging by how he managed to help you by distracting your friends, he was reliable. Then, it hit you- you could actually see him being your soulmate. You slowed in your laughter, wiping the tears from your face as you two settled on staring at each other. 

Jaemin when he was in the kitchen earlier with Kun, was running on pure adrenaline- speaking to people he knew and liked was already a challenge, but making up bullshit conversation with one of your closest friends was like he was being sent into a gym that was lit on fire. However, he was determined. So, he worked whatever charm he could muster.

“Oh she tells me you’re her TA for her statistics class- that’s great! Do you like being a TA? How did you even get that job?” Jaemin had plastered on an eager smile, holding the full glass of water Kun had awkwardly handed to him. 

The older boy raised an eyebrow before politely responding with, “it’s a fine job. I just applied since the position was only open to grad students.”

“Oh cool cool cool um…” Jaemin was panicking as Kun brushed past him and moved to leave the kitchen. Jaemin spat out the first words he could string together, “I-I like her- how should I tell her?”

This gave Kun pause, and he moved back to where Jaemin was by the fridge. Jaemin was praying that a) you were almost done trying to get Sicheng to help you with your powers and b) Kun was not about to lecture him.

“How did you two even meet?” This question surprised Jaemin. What he wouldn’t give to be able to quickly check the paths and see which response would work best, but his white eye would not be helpful here to say the least.

Kun was always your most observant friend, this Jaemin knew from the few visions he did catch the man in. This question was for a few reasons, but the main one that Jaemin could guess Kun was most curious about was how Jaemin had never come up in any of his conversations with you.

“I’m another Resident Assistant, we met at an RA meeting.”

“Where?”

“What?”

“What dorm? I’m pretty sure I’ve interacted with most of the current RA’s,” Kun was looking up, clearly shuffling through his own memories.

“Oh, I… I work in the night dorm,” Jaemin puked out. This was dangerous territory, but this was better than admitting the truth and revealing the whole of the mythic existence.

“That’s cool- now how did you get that job?” Kun laughed, smiling and leaning in, “her and Mark never talk about the night students- and we’ve asked a ton.”

“Well, good to know they’re good at their jobs,” Jaemin forced a dry chuckle before pressing onwards.

“Wait, does that mean you’re a night student?” Kun asked, tilting his head. Jaemin felt dumb- that’s the most logical conclusion Jaemin’s lie could have led Kun to, and now he was going to have to try and work with the hole he dug himself into. Before Jaemin could respond, there was a loud thud that came from the living room. 

Now, after the incident, Jaemin and you walked side by side through campus. It was a weekend with most students who were on campus either rushing to the library for last minute studying or leaving from there. The sun was setting, and the sky was filling with hues of pink and gold as you wandered aimlessly.

“Just a heads up, I told Kun I’m an RA for the night dorm and that’s how we met.”

“Why did you tell him how we met? Also, that’s an interesting lie.”

“He asked.”

“Did you tell him we’re dating?” You furrowed your brows.

“No.”

“Then why else would he ask?”

“Listen I had to keep him distracted,” Jaemin defended, feeling that stupid embarrassed blush rise again. He glanced over to see you staring at him expectantly before sighing and telling the truth.

You smiled, “thanks.”

“For what?”

“Just, being yourself I guess.”

That was all you could say. From him not wanting to be presumptuous or pin you in a corner by lying and saying you were dating, for being honest about his visions, and being there to help you in every way.

It didn’t take much convincing to get him to go back to your dorm with you. With just the prospect of food Jaemin had agreed without thinking twice.

“Let me help,” the psychic was standing closely beside you as you boiled the pasta and cooked the sauce.

“There isn’t much to do, Jae. It’s just pasta.”

“Jae,” he mindlessly repeated the nickname you’ve been using for him.

“Oh, sorry, is it fine that I-?”

“Yes,” he didn’t even let you finish getting the words out, and you both let out a chuckle. “Well it’s only fair that I think of one for you.”

“Oh? Well by all means go for it,” you offered before you finished cooking. How had Ten never mentioned Jaemin to you? Even if not you, it was strange for his path to never cross your brother’s at least.

You spent the time eating dinner, only occasionally adding a word or two to Jaemin’s trail of thoughts. He was vocally trying to decide on a nickname for you, all of which he either shot down himself or you would reply with a sharp no. 

“Nicknames are hard,” he relented, his bowl now empty.

“You just need to let it come naturally, can’t force a nickname,” you offered. There was a lull then, and you decided to ask the question that’s been sitting in the back of your mind. “Jae? Why…” you groaned, annoyed with yourself as you tried to string together the question in a way that made sense.

“This sounds like it’s gonna be serious,” Jaemin couldn’t hide the nerves on his face, and it was impossible to fight the small smile tugging on the corners of your lips.

You shook your head, “I don’t think it is. I… I noticed that you keep dancing around Yuta. Even in your dreams in those visions, he’s there- at least I think so they’re so grainy,” you muttered the last part, now having laid your main question bare. The vampire was sweet and helpful, but the way Jaemin had spoken about him, and in the small visions you were able to witness, you knew there had to be more to the story.

You were observant, so Jaemin should have been prepared for this question. Yet, as he stared at you, he felt his own face fall into darkness. In the visions he used to see of you with Yuta, you always looked so happy- how could Jaemin possibly make you feel like that?

“Hey? Did something happen?” You asked, noting the coldness now permeating off of the psychic. Nervously, you began to speak quickly, “it's just that he explained the blue night to me and answered some questions for me. He even said he noticed my ‘smell’ on you or whatever, and helped Ten cover it up,” Jaemin’s hooded eyes were unwavering, so you continued, “I just want to know where your head is at, that’s all.”

This made Jaemin blink quickly and return from his own well of self-pity.

“In my visions of you- before I stopped being able to see them- you were always with the prince.”

It was silent between the two of you for a moment, and now it was Jaemin’s turn to continue speaking, “I was worried about… robbing you of the future I saw you having. But, the future changes… and like someone once told me,” Jaemin smiled now as you raised a questioning eyebrow, “what the hell is the point of seeing the future if you can’t stop obsessing over the past?”

You smiled, a chuckle now escaping before you asked in a teasing tone, “were you jealous of a future that won’t even happen?”

As you predicted, Jaemin’s cheeks and ears flared into the red you’ve started to find adorable, laughing loudly as he tried to defend himself, swearing up and down that that was not the case- he was just concerned is all!

Taglist! @nini0620 @enhazen @shwizhies feel free to reach out if you’d like to be added :)

<- Go Back? CHP. TWO

Continue?-> CHP. FOUR

#nct fanfic #jaemin x reader #jaemin fic #jaemin imagines #jaemin fluff #na jaemin x reader #na jaemin x y/n #nct dream fic #nct dream imagines #nct imagines #nct angst #nct fantasy au #kpop au #kpop imagines #to pierce the white eye #nct fic #nct #nct dream fanfic #nct Dream #nct dream x reader #nct drabbles #nct dream x you #nct dream fluff

[acescavern]

Set Me Free - Teaser

navi - m.list

Intern!Mark Lee x Female Mermaid!Reader

wc: not yet recorded

note: Hello, my lovelies! so here is the teaser for the Mark fic i am writing. it's severely unfinished and im still rusty and crusty with my writing lol. It's based on this fic idea i had. i don't have a current date for when it'll be finished but hopefully in the coming days.

ALSO, honestly feel free to send in asks about scenarios and my fic characters. for instance 'Can you imagine Quiet!Jeno chasing after Chenle for his comment?' And for some of them i may even write a lil drabble and others i'll probably just gush about it with u.

Reblogs are appreciated, and So is feedback whether it be bad or good.

Enjoy the teaser!

Mark hated his new summer job. 

The employees in the offices around him sure knew how to push his buttons. Sending Mark on a coffee run for them to then decide they miscounted. Making him fetch their lunch to then change their mind once he had already gotten to the deli. Mark had lost count of how much ‘overtime’ he had already done in just a week. He hadn’t had a single lunch break yet, opting to work through in any hope that he could leave early. Poor chance that was. SMLabatories were truly using Mark to their advantage. 

Today though, Mark had barely seen a soul. It was as if his floor was a ghost town. He hadn’t had any paperwork dropped on his desks, no task list in his email either. It was only when he caught sight of Wonshik leaving his office with a styrofoam box labeled ‘HAZARD’, did Mark finally learn the reason why. Wonshik looked surprised to spot Mark at the small desk in the corridor, realization dawning on his face soon after. 

“Ah, Mr.Lee. It’s a pretty big day for us, work wise, today. Our focus will be on the new subje- research project for the rest of the week - If you’ve not received a task list or anything to do, feel free to brush up on your studies.” And with that, he was gone quite quickly leaving Mark standing there with furrowed brows of confusion. 

That was the nicest he had been spoken to so far... Mark had also noted that Wonshik looked nervous, jittery, and stressed. Mark just brushed it off, leaning back in his office chair to squeeze his fingers into his pocket in search of his phone.  Teeth gnawed onto his bottom lip as he glanced at the time ‘12:34’. Lunchtime. Mark perked up, with no work... He could have lunch today. 

At that thought, he grabbed his satchel bag and slung it over his shoulder, locking the desktop and strolling down the hallway with a newfound happiness at the thought of food. Remembering where the canteen was was a feat of its own though. He was sure there was one on this floor, He just couldn't remember where. Even if he just found a secluded space to eat his sandwich and read his Deadpool comic, Mark would count that as a win. The visitor pass around his neck swung as he walked, trying different doors with no joy. Until he stumbled across a barely lit hallway. 

Mark had seen enough zombie movies to know that any corridor of a science facility that looks like this should be off limits. Still, he glanced over his shoulder for any one who may get him in trouble before turning the corner. He walked slow, footsteps a dull thud as he attempted to be as light on his feet as possible. All the doors so far were locked but Mark’s keen eye was drawn to the glowing hue emitting from a door at the end. It’s almost as if someone hadn’t fully closed the door behind them. 

He crept toward it, his index and middle finger gently pushing the door the rest of the way open. He didnt spot it at first, focused on closing the door behind him without any creaks, then being distracted by the different diagrams and formulas written on a whiteboard next to the door. 

Mark’s hearing heightened at the sudden sound of sloshing water. It was a gentle sound but it was enough for Mark to finally register that he wasnt alone.. That he felt like he was being studied. 

“You’re new.” A quiet, melodic voice called out into the silence. 

Mark was drawn to the sound, slowly turning around as if captivated. Though the colour drained from his face as he finally caught sight of the center piece of the room. 

“W-What the fuck?...” He choked, feet nearly stumbling over one another to press his back against the door. 

In the very center of the room sat a large rectangle tank filled with blue murky water, spilling over the edges as the occupant of the tank moved within it. Mark’s eyes were glued to the fiery orange fins and scales, as beautiful as they were, he had never seen such a thing. In place of legs, there was a thick tail with fins at the very end. The tones of orange and red complimented the person’s skin tone beautifully, shimmering in the water. Mark’s frightened, but curious, gaze drifted higher. Noting that the tail blended into a regular human torso, flawless, naked navel and he couldn’t fight the blush on his face at the white bikini top that covered you. It took him a while to register what he thought he was seeing… A..mermaid?

#Mark Lee #Nct mark #nct127 #nctdream #nct dream x reader #Mark NCT dream #Mark NCT127 #Mark Lee au #Intern mark #Mark #Mark college au #mermaid!reader #Mark x Mermaid!reader #Mark Lee Angst #Mark fluff #Mark fic #Mark fantasy fic #Mark drabble #Mark teaser #Mark scenario #mark lee x reader #nct #nctzen #nct dream #nct drabbles #acescavern

[lily-blue]

The choices he makes

☆ characters: assassin!renjun & dragon whisperer!you ☆ genre: fantasy ☆ warnings: mention of blood and death ☆ summary: Renjun chose to stay on your island instead of going back home. Now, time comes for him to bear the consequences. ☆ words: 10,5k ☆ also: i’d like to dedicate this story to @dat-town ♥ i wish you the happiest birthday, darling! 😘🎉 ☆ a/n: this is the sequel to one of my previous posts, The choices you give. i believe this can be read on its own as well, but the story definitely makes more sense if you start with the first part. ☆ taglist: @soobin-chois​

When Renjun had turned five, his father had sent him to the Ivy Tower where the little boy had started his training immediately, the chapter of his childhood coming to a rather abrupt end in blood and misery. The servants who had worked at their house while the young master had still lived there had either died or disappeared. The guards who had watched after the boy from the moment he had been born had lost their tongue. And the old maid who had been his only mother figure while growing up had been accused of practising black magic which had led to not only hers, but her entire family’s execution.

As the second son of their clan’s chief, Renjun had been pushed towards a very different path than what his brother had taken. Because while the older boy had been raised to rule and lead their army into ruthless battles for land and power, Renjun had been trained to put himself between his brother and their enemies. He had been taught how to live in the shadows and kill from there when it was necessary. He had learned to accept that his father and older brother were the only ones allowed to know his face and that they were both too busy to keep him company even when he felt particularly lonely.

Huang Renjun had grown up in the shadows without people to care for or get attached to. He had grown up without friends to talk to. Therefore, he should have been fine with not talking to anyone for days in the cave he had found a few miles from your tribe’s borders. Silence was what he had been already accustomed to. He liked silence. So why was it so damn loud all of a sudden?

The boy didn’t have to be a genius to figure out that it was all because of you, although he was fairly smart nonetheless. He was aware that before you, he hadn’t shared a single meal with anyone in over a decade and that even though the two of you had shared silence more often than not, kept the truth from each other more often than not, a part of him had enjoyed the newfound dynamic. To Renjun, your lies had been clear as day from the beginning. After all, what kind of person owned fabrics like yours when they were supposed to live on their own in the woods? Who got bruises like yours while collecting berries? It had been almost too easy to see through you. Maybe, that was why he had remained oblivious to your biggest secret until it had been too late.

The bow and arrow Renjun had found near the clearing where you had left him a month ago was in his dominant hand as soon as he registered the noise coming from the mouth of the cave, but he remained seated by the fire that he had set for his dinner. The assassin was pretty sure he knew who was his uninvited visitor and kept his weapon close exactly because of the boy who walked up to him with such ease as though they were best friends or something.

Renjun couldn’t have stood the wide grin on the guard’s face.

‘Are you even trying to be subtle about it? Your steps are louder than a freaking elephant’s,’ Renjun scoffed as he watched Yangyang took a seat on the other side of the fire before he reached out for one of the sticks the assassin was roasting his birds on. The meat already had a nice, golden brown colour, but the older boy preferred them more crispy. 

‘What’s the point?’ Yangyang asked. He raised his right eyebrow in amusement and lifted one stick off the fire. The meat smelt delicious and would have most probably tasted even better if only it hadn’t burnt the taste buds off the guard’s tongue. Renjun let out a displeased sigh when the younger dropped the food with a yelp. He just knew that you would have never been so damn careless with food. ‘I’ve already knocked you out once, Huang. I’m not afraid of you.’

Even though Renjun had been taught to not let his pride or greed get the best of him in enemy territory, around this one particular guard, he had a hard time concealing his annoyance. Especially because Yangyang was not only an unapologetic prick, but a real pain in the ass as well, who used every opportunity he got to bring up the fight between you and the assassin. Obviously, Renjun felt sour about the mistakes he had made that night. He should have killed you as soon as he had set foot into the bedroom, but he hadn’t. He had let you entertain him with your words and now, he was suffering the consequences.

Renjun could recite at least four different ways to kill someone from the distance the younger sat from him. The guard really shouldn’t have underestimated him. But it would have been foolish of Renjun to give his enemy a lecture about his skills, and he wasn’t in the mood for talking too much anyway. The only reasons why he let Yangyang hang out at his new home like he freaking owned it were those crucial pieces of information he gave him in exchange for not slicing his throat.

The latter obviously wasn’t the whole truth, but it was the only part that the assassin would have ever been willing to admit out loud.

Renjun watched as Yangyang reached out for a second stick, then took one into his own hand, too, blowing some air on the meat to cool it a little.

‘What is it this time?’ He asked the guard before the first bite, his gaze settling on the barely visible furrow between his eyebrows, the glint of realisation in his orbs and that damn smile that seemed to be a default facial expression on his face. If Renjun hadn’t known better, he would have thought that Yangyang was just another young boy from the neighbourhood who had been protected from the wind all his life. He was too cheerful for a soldier. His existence didn’t sit well with the assassin.

In the back of his mind, Renjun knew that the people of your tribe grew up in a completely different environment than the one he had grown up in, but because of this very reason, it was hard for him to understand your kind. Why would you have saved him when you had known he was dangerous? Why would your sister and captain have given him another chance when you had told him they would have never done such a thing? These decisions were hard to comprehend when back on the mainland, his family would have killed him before he could have even made the call to betray them.

‘Oh! Right!’ The guard exclaimed before he placed the food on top of his pants, wiped his greasy fingers into the same, dirty textile and fished three thick books out of his bag. ‘Kun asked me to bring you these. They’re about our side of your history. A little dry if you ask me, but… captain’s order,’ he saluted as he handed the books over to Renjun.

With knitted eyebrows, the assassin took them from him with a firm nod, but didn’t waste his time flipping through them immediately. He was sure there would be plenty of time for that during the next couple of days, right after his usual workout sessions.

Munching on the slightly burnt meat while keeping his gaze on the eccentric boy in front of him, Renjun thought back at the prophecy you had shown him while he had been locked up. He didn’t remember whether those stories had mentioned anything similar or it was a mere coincidence, but he found it almost amusing how both of you had become traitors because of the other. If he had believed in such nonsense, he would have said it was written in your fate. But that sounded like something weak people would have used to justify their mistakes and the assassin had been taught to take the punishment when it was deserved.

So why was his mind suddenly filled with thoughts of you? Why did he feel sorry for you for growing attached to him when you shouldn’t have bothered to save him to begin with? Their initial plan had been to infiltrate your tribe by using your people’s compassion to their own advantage. He should have been found by someone who had taken him straight to your clan’s healer instead of… well, you, who had kept him as far from them as possible.

Renjun had no idea, but he was smiling at the memory of your sassy attitude when you had called him out on his injuries and taunted him with the nickname “good sir” like it was an insult.

‘You know, you could just ask,’ Yangyang said with a scoff, pulling the assassin out of his thoughts.

‘Ask what?’

Renjun didn’t like the smug look on the guard’s face. It made him feel as though the younger had known something that should have been obvious for him, too. Yet, it wasn’t.

Yangyang wiped his oily lips clean with the back of his hand and made himself comfortable while shifting the majority of his weight on his palms behind his back. The smile on his face grew twice as wide as it had been when he had walked into the cave which only irked Renjun more. It was as clear as day that Yangyang was having fun to his disadvantage.

‘She’s doing alright. I mean, it depends on what you consider alright, but she’s healthy and Kun seemed pretty proud of her improvement when I heard him talk with our chief about her training,’ Yangyang said, earning a low hum and a subtle nod from the assassin.

If the guard had expected the other to be more enthusiastic upon hearing from you, he didn’t show it. Instead, he took Renjun’s modest acknowledgement as a sign of encouragement and kept telling him stories about you. He told him how you didn’t seem too keen on becoming the new captain, but trained to the best of your abilities nevertheless, because you had made a deal with your sister and their captain that you would do so. Yangyang didn’t know too much detail about the matter (he actually thought that Kun was an excellent captain already), but according to the rumours amongst his team members, it had been the late chief’s wish that his daughters would lead the tribe shoulder by shoulder.

Yangyang also told the boy about the unfortunate consequences you had to suffer because of your decisions. He was convinced that a couple of people were instructed to keep a close eye on you since the night Renjun had broken into your sister’s bedroom, because he himself had already witnessed his fellow teammates’ gaze follow your steps when you had entered or left a room. Despite being borned into the most respected family of your clan, despite bearing the sacred power of dragon whisperers, this had never happened before.

It was obvious from the way he was talking about your situation that Yangyang thought Kun and your sister were too hard on you, but Renjun knew they weren’t. He had experienced way worse for way smaller sins.

When Yangyang eventually ran out of stories - or got tired of Renjun’s passive attitude -, the assassin asked the guard about the soldiers around the area and whether any of his comrades had seen a man with an ugly, angry red scar on his right cheek.

‘Once General Xu joins the troops, they are ready for war. You should make sure your people are somewhere much safer when that happens,’ Renjun advised, knowing more than anyone that the Huang’s army didn’t care about innocent lives. Even when there was an entire village between them and their targets, they didn’t hesitate to massacre every villager who dared to stand in their way. They killed them all, regardless of gender and age, within a heartbeat.

‘What about your father?’ Yangyang asked, stealing a glance at the assassin before he turned back to the strategy they had drawn in the sand.

Renjun didn’t lift his gaze from the ground. He was staring at the approximate location of the Huangs’ troops, trying to find a pattern that could have told him which phase they were in exactly. But so far, his father’s men looked like explorers as though they were still searching the area.

‘He doesn’t fight anymore,’ he said with a sigh devoid of emotions. In all honesty, Renjun couldn’t recall a time when his father had joined those quests he had sent his army for, but the generals and captains he had met during the most ruthless battles had all sung songs about his glory days. Once upon a time, he had been a good leader. Something his brother could never be until he was so keen on relying on Renjun’s skills more than on his own. ‘But my brother will come. He won’t be near the front line, but he’ll be there, somewhere among his men.’

‘How brave!’ The guard mocked, his scoff making the older to really look at him.

Renjun wasn’t sure whether it was conscious of him or not, but Yangyang was picking on the dead skin near his nails. For the first time that night, he looked unsure to meet the assassin’s gaze. Good. He seemed to be afraid of the possibility of an upcoming war as he should have been. Only dead soldiers were overconfident.

‘He was born to rule. I was born to fight,’ he said plainly. It was something he had learned to accept through the years. His brother might have enjoyed stealing his favourite mooncakes from Renjun when they had been younger, but he was their leader now. And Renjun didn’t mind fighting for him and what he believed was the best for their people.

‘Yeah, sure. You mean, to die instead of him,’ Yangyang said after another displeased scoff. The confidence that laced his words made the corner of Renjun’s mouth twitch in annoyance. He needed to clear his throat to find his voice.

‘For him.’

After his claim, the atmosphere turned heavy. The silence that embraced the two was broken only by the occasional snapping sound that came from the fire.

Renjun hated small talk. He also felt uncomfortable when he had to initiate a conversation. But before Yangyang could have stood up and left, he willed himself and gave the guard one unsolicited advice: to be careful with the foreign soldiers.

‘She was able to knock them out so easily, because they wanted her to find me. You have to tell her this. She can’t get careless,’ he said, and while there was clear doubt in the guard’s eyes, the boy’s firm nod seemed convincing enough.

You had both saved and ruined Renjun’s life with your decisions. His debt should have been considered paid off already. Still, he couldn’t not warn you of the danger at least. Because for some reason - despite his original mission -, he didn’t want you to die.

Renjun had never looked for you actively after the day your paths had parted. Still, there were days when he found himself staring at the sky after training, hoping to catch a glimpse at one of your dragons. He wasn’t ready to face you yet, but seeing them would have meant that you were doing alright which was an unexpectedly comforting thought.

Wiping the sweat off his forehead and chin, Renjun sat down in the base of a tree and took a few bigger gulps from his leather water bottle. He had always hated endurance workouts the most, but without a fair opponent, he figured that these were the most effective to keep him in shape. Maybe, he should have asked Yangyang one of these days to train with him. Then, he could have kicked his ass without raising suspicion.

Smiling at the mental image of the eccentric guard’s suffering, Renjun allowed himself two more minutes of rest. However, his plan soon went up in smoke when the softest fall breezes carried the unmistakable sound of iron hitting iron towards him through the wood. Grabbing his own weapons, the boy did what he was best at: ran into danger.

The closer he got to the source of the noise, the clearer it became that it was created by a real fight instead of a simulated one. People who were under training - even in the Ivy Tower that was the most brutal training facility on the mainland - rarely screamed because of pain. Their screams were usually ones of frustration and anger. Renjun secured his grip around his bow and climbed on the tallest tree he could find to have a clear view at the battlefield.

Once in position, the assassin closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his heart. It was new: feeling so jittery before a fight. But it was also the first time he was about to shoot his arrows into his family’s men to…

To save people who should have meant nothing to him.

To save someone as annoying as Yangyang who, for some reason, had grown on him without either of them realising.

To save someone like you, who had been previously his target.

‘It’s her! Kill her!’ Someone shouted from the top of their lungs, pointing at the sky. At that moment, as Renjun watched you jump off from the back of your dragon, hair braided back like a warrior’s, he honestly doubted Yangyang had passed on his warnings to you. Because he refused to acknowledge the possibility that he might have done so and you were simply acting like an idiot.

Bringing your dragon to a fight without as much as a mask that could have hid your identity? What were you thinking?

Renjun’s first arrow sank into the chest of a soldier who tried to launch at you while you were busy knocking out the one in front of you. You couldn’t see it, nor did your comrades, but the assassin preferred it like this anyway. He was a silent killer, and had always been one.

With your dragon there and him eliminating your enemies one by one from the shadows, the Huang soldiers retreated not long after they realised their disadvantage. Which meant that the assassin had to leave the scene as well before you could have put two and two together. You, out of all people on this island, were familiar with the coal black fletching of his arrows. He was certain that you would have recognised them.

So he secured his bow on his back while he watched you capture one of the soldiers, then climbed down the tree without looking back. He didn’t have to stay to know, the warrior would collapse in a matter of seconds from the poison every Huang soldier carried with them to the battlefield. Those men who hadn’t been trained in the Ivy Tower were ordered to kill themselves before they could have betrayed their people because of the unbearable pain of physical and mental torture.

For a long time, Renjun had believed that the difference between them and him was that he had been accustomed to these two in all his life. They couldn’t break him anymore.

That night, Renjun made enough food for dinner for two. Yet, when Yangyang marched into his new home with more annoyance than ever before, he refused to acknowledge him or his anger.

‘What were you doing so close to our home? We told you to stay away,’ the young guard started, taking a seat on the other side of the fire like he usually did, displaying his emotions with a huff.

Renjun remembered the ultimatums he had gotten from your captain when he had found him in the woods, close to your territory. And while he still believed that one man wouldn’t have been a challenge to take down, the second chance he had offered him had been too tempting not to take.

To earn himself a way out from his solitude, a chance for an ordinary life if one pleased, there were only four silly demands to go along with. 1) He had to do whatever Yangyang told him to as he was the messenger of the tribe’s chief and the guard’s current captain. 2) He couldn’t move to another part of the island without telling them in advance. 3) He wasn’t allowed to hunt animals bigger than a rabbit. 4) Renjun had to avoid the borders of your territory so that the two of you had never crossed paths again.

It was the latter he had disregarded in the afternoon - this much was obvious -, but as serious as the consequences of his actions could have been as nonchalant he appeared to be when he shrugged. He hadn’t meant to meet you. He hadn’t met you, either. All Renjun had done was saving your people’s sorry asses. If anything, they should have been grateful.

‘Kun is angry. Now that she saw the arrows, she doesn’t stop demanding answers,’ the guard added, earning another shrug from the assassin.

Rolling his eyes, Yangyang reached out for the spoon in the bowl of soup above the fire then took a sip from the meal. It was lacking salt and other spices, but the meat’s flavour was quite prominent which saved the whole thing. He dived into it with a satisfied hum.

The two boys ate their dinner in silence. While Yangyang tried to calm himself down, Renjun was thinking about his options. He didn’t have many - at least, not as many as he would have prefered to have -, but the decisions he could have made were still heavy. Should he have turned down your tribe’s generosity or stood by you with his full chest? Hadn’t he made his choice clear already when he had killed for you a few hours prior?

With a shallow breather, the assassin shifted his gaze to the guard and said:

‘I chose your tribe today. I should be able to walk into your village freely,’ he claimed as if things had been so simple. Of course, they weren’t. But the majority of your clan lived a simple life. They believed in superstitions. They believed in their saviour.

It was Yangyang’s turn to, lacking words, answer with a pseudo-nonchalant shrug. It was as clear as day that the guard couldn’t allow or forbid the other boy anything on his own. Thus, he would have to ask for his captain’s permission first. But that was perfectly fine. Renjun wasn’t in a hurry anyway.

The two of them finished their dinner without talking much. Then, the younger left the cave with a tight lipped smile and the promise of returning with an answer soon.

In hindsight, Renjun would have chosen to stay at one of your tiny cells over sharing a room  with so many noisy guys within a heartbeat. He didn’t like their obnoxious attitude, their loud as hell laughters and the pranks they pulled on each other at the end of the day. It was very unprofessional and childish. It also reminded him of a childhood he had never had, friends he had never made and a warm and caring family he had never encountered in his life.

Overwhelmed by the amount of questions the guards had asked from him during dinner on his very first day at your village, Renjun excused himself before the dessert and left the building altogether.

With a cloth wrapped around his hand so that his birthmark would have been hidden from unwanted eyes, the boy walked around the streets aimlessly, paying attention to the smallest, most trivial details in his surroundings to keep his mind busy. He didn’t want to think of his father. He didn’t want to think of anyone he had stabbed in the back when he had chosen to stay on the island, let alone those people in his father’s army whose blood was and would be on his hands because of the conflicts between his and your tribe.

Guilt appeared to be a new, lifelong companion the boy would need to learn to live with.

The assassin picked up on your subtle movements before you stepped out from the crowd, yet did nothing about his discovery until you walked beside him and fell into steps with his own, cat-like strides. You moved with such ease as if it was the most natural thing to do. As if the two of you had walked down the same paths a dozen times already.

‘Are you avoiding me?’ You asked, a pinch of hurt lacing your words as you kept your gaze stubbornly on the people ahead of you.

Renjun was excellent at reading certain situations and his surroundings. He could detect pain and greed, selfishness and amtibiton in anyone simply by looking in someone’s eyes. But he was terrible at comforting other people or confronting them for that matter. Human emotions were tiresome. Therefore, he preferred not to deal with them at all until it wasn’t necessary. Like… life-and-death type of necessary.

But he knew this tone. He knew that you wouldn’t leave without that one specific answer you were dead set on getting out of him. To Renjun’s dismay, you had expectations, hopes. He let out a resigned sigh.

‘Were you following me?’ He answered your question with another question, stealing subtle glances at your side profile after you let out an amused snicker. He couldn’t decide whether you were really upset with him, and if you had been, why.

A less rational part of the assassin’s mind was screaming at him that your attitude had to do something with the fact that you had been kept in the dark regarding his whereabouts for long weeks. After all, he had also been curious about you. It should have been only natural that the same had gone for you. The possibility that you were annoyed because unlike Renjun, you didn’t have a Yangyang who reported to you about him made the corner of his lips twitch.

‘You know, when Sicheng told me that you’ll move in with them, I thought he was messing with me. Because why would you, out of all people, turn your back on your father for them, for people like me…’

Oh. So you weren’t angry because of the lack of information about his well-being. You were mad because of what he had told you in the cell and the fact that he had stayed nevertheless. What a ridiculous thing to be upset about! Weren’t you aware that he would have died by his own family’s hands as soon as they stumbled upon your stupid prophecy? You were. So what right did you have to act like the victim?

‘Are you done sulking? Because I’m really not in the mood at the moment,’ he cut you off with a wave of his hand before you could have thrown more of your groundless accusations at him. As if he had chosen to not tell you that he was still here, living in a goddamned cave. By now, you should have been aware that it had been your sister and your captain’s decision. That it was a well-deserved consequence of your own secrets and lies.

Seeing the look of resignation on your face, the assassin knew that he was right about you. You weren’t stupid. You just needed someone to channel your frustration towards since you couldn’t fight with those above you in the hierarchy system. Especially because, according to Yangyang, you had promised them that you would behave.

You felt trapped and had no idea how to break out of your cage. Finally, a feeling Renjun was more than familiar with. A feeling he could understand.

‘Fine,’ you said when the silence became too heavy. With an elegant movement you stepped right in front of Renjun and lifted your hands so you could have shielded yourself from the impact of his firm chest. The collision, however, never came.

Renjun’s body was so close to yours, he could phantom your warm breath through those layers he wore as a disguise. Yet, he didn’t make the smallest effort to put a bit of distance between the two of you. He didn’t, because your comically wide eyes entertained him too much.

‘Where are we going?’ You asked once you regained your composure and the assassin almost couldn’t believe himself when he realised that he found your rosy cheeks adorable.

The boy raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but when you refused to offer him more than a shrug, he mimicked your movements and stepped aside.

‘I’m not sure. Somewhere more quiet,’ he claimed while he shifted his gaze from one house to another, looking for a less busy street between the tiny albeit homey, wooden buildings. He couldn’t have seen any intersections, but considering the size of your village, he doubted that your tribe had built their homes around a single street.

‘I know a place!’ You exclaimed with a determined look on your face that reminded Renjun of those weeks you had spent together at that wooden cabin where you had taken him to treat his injuries. You had applied ointment on his wounds then dressed them with the very same facial expression and funny or not, but the small furrow between your brows had also been quite similar to the one he was staring at now when you had boiled some water for your tea. It was a part of the assassin’s job to observe his targets closely, but Renjun hadn’t realised until this moment how familiar he truly was with your habits.

You didn’t wait for his reaction and Renjun didn’t bother to give you one, either. However, when you turned around and led the way, he followed you without further questions like he was your shadow. You didn’t talk much until you eventually reached a garden-like area with flowers and trees unlike any Renjun had ever seen. He couldn’t understand how a place like this could have been so abandoned when it was a piece of heaven on Earth. But then you told him that it was actually where your parents had been buried and suddenly everything made so much more sense. It was a sacred place; too precious to be visited just by anyone.

He didn’t understand why you had taken him here.

It was in the assassin’s nature to be ready to fight all day every day. Therefore, when he saw a shadow launching at you from the corner of his eyes, he grabbed his blade and threw it at his target just to miss it by two inches. Fuck. It hadn’t happened to him since he was seven.

‘Easy! It’s just Clover,’ you reprimanded him, before you walked towards the tree his blade had sunk into and pulled its point out of its trunk. ‘Try not to harm anything here. If someone sees you, we’ll be in trouble,’ you pouted, holding the weapon out to him with the small dragon on your shoulder.

The assassin shoved his blade back to its sheath and murmured a quiet “sorry” under his nose while you took a seat on the grass and tapped the empty area beside you to encourage him to do the same. The breathtaking colours of the setting Sun painted your skin in orange and pink hues and made it a tad bit harder for Renjun to act nonchalant, but he complied with your request nevertheless.

At first, you didn’t do much and Renjun felt too awkward to initiate a conversation. Thus, he settled for watching the sunset in silence, the way your fingertips massaged the thick-looking skin under Clover’s ears and the trembling leaves on the nearby trees. It was the tranquillity he couldn’t have found among the other guards, the quietness he had craved. And still, the cogs in his mind kept spinning, desperate to find the right words and speak.

‘Do you regret it? Staying,’ you inquired when the first stars appeared in the sky, making the boy look at you although you didn’t take your eyes off the crescent moon.

‘It’s not like I had any other choice,’ Renjun reminded you a bit defensively, coaxing a scoff out of you that sounded rather amused than mocking. The boy didn’t understand what was so funny in the truth, but a part of him assumed you were more entertained by the lack of his usual, straightforward yes or no than his helplessness.

He wasn’t ready to face the answer yet.

And you must have sensed that. Because instead of pushing him, you turned towards him and smiled.

‘Yangyang seems to be quite fond of you,’ you stated with such certainty, Renjun couldn’t help but wonder whether the two of you had been talking about him. Had you asked the guard about him? When? Had you been just as eager to know more about his well-being after you had discovered his arrows as he had been about yours since you had left him behind? A tiny part of him hoped so, but then he needed to reprimand himself for it. Hope was dangerous. It made people forget about rationality. ‘He trusts you.’

Renjun frowned. And frowned some more when your dragon nuzzled up against his thigh as though they were friends. 

‘I didn’t ask him to,’ the boy retorted with a scoff, trying yet failing to push the small animal towards you. It didn’t really help his case that you were visibly entertained by their actions which made him wonder whether you were controlling the dragon or Clover was simply too interested in him to give up.

Renjun had to realise that he knew close to nothing about dragons and dragon whisperers. Those scholars who had taught him had never talked about that part of the history, at least not from your point of view. For him and his people, you represented something immensely evil that his ancestor had saved their clan from.

But looking at you… the boy saw nothing evil. Sure, you might have been stubborn and a tad bit annoying, but these fitted quite a lot of people around the assassin. At least, you weren’t as nosy and loud as Yangyang or as cold-hearted and merciless as his father. You were you and he couldn’t deny how okay he was with your characteristics in general. He was fine with your closeness.

‘I trust you, too,’ you whispered with your lingering gaze on his figure, forcing the assassin to look back at you with the quiet confidence in your voice. Renjun had thought all his life that power was something loud; like the ear splitting screams of a warrior or the authoritative commands of a leader. However, listening to you, he came to realise that there was power in tranquillity, too.

‘Then you’re just as naive as him,’ he said, his eyes boring deep into yours, looking for more. More answers, more surprises, more discoveries. Since when had your eyes been so pretty?

Renjun was hit by deja vu when you chose to turn your head towards the cloudless sky instead of engaging into a heated argument with him about his statement. It reminded him of those late-night conversations you had exchanged in the wooden cabin and the ones in broad daylight when both of your lies had been more visible. He remembered each and every time he had caught a glimpse at those glints in your eyes that indicated: you knew something.

He laid down on the grass in defeat and let Clover lay her head on his abdomen despite his distaste for cuddles because he felt too tired to put up a fight with the dragon right after he had lost a battle against you.

Although the stars were particularly beautiful that night, the boy closed his eyes to shut them out, his right hand slowly finding their way to the small creature. He couldn’t see, but you were smiling brightly at them both when Clover let out a satisfied noise as soon as he started to caress the soft skin under her ear and he mimicked the animal’s pleased sigh without realising.

Next time someone broke the silence, you told him why you had chosen to hide him from your people instead of carrying him to Kun. As silly as it sounded - and it did sound stupid for the assassin! -, your initial plan had been to treat his wounds and leave him in the woods to fend for himself without bleeding out. But then you had apparently noticed his birthmark and while you had needed some time to make peace with what it meant, you couldn’t have let him leave before you could have come up with a plan.

‘Oh! So you had a plan? Could have fooled me,’ the boy asked with a chuckle, earning a light punch from you with his sarcastic question.

‘Shut up!’

In return, Renjun told you why he had stayed and his reasons led you to a deep conversation about your fathers, the responsibilities you both had inherited and how much you wished Kun and Shuang had trusted you again. It turned out - a.k.a. Yangyang was more gossipy than the boy had originally thought - that the two of them had had a backup plan on the night of the attempted assassionation and this revelation still hurt you a lot. Yet, as someone who could understand your sister and captain’s side more, Renjun had no idea how to comfort you.

So he didn’t.

Renjun and you walked back to the guards’ home side by side, enjoying the peace of the once crowded streets. Back where the assassin lived, one couldn’t hear the animals so clearly from the centre of their bigger villages, but yours was so integrated into nature that Renjun almost couldn’t tell the difference between this place and the cave he had lived in for weeks. At first, with closed eyes, they sounded the same.

It was less awkward than how the assassin had pictured it; your goodbye. Still, it took longer than it should have and your hesitation to leave gave him enough time to make up his mind.

‘I don’t,’ he blurted out the moment you turned your back on him, his shoulders feeling way too heavy even without the dragon’s weight on them. He should have spoken up sooner; this was the only thought in his mind when your steps came to an abrupt halt and you looked back at him from above your shoulder. He gulped. ‘I don’t regret it.’

The smile you shot at him was the softest smile he had ever seen in his life. And it did things to his heart the boy hadn’t known he was capable of feeling.

‘Me neither,’ you admitted, pushing him closer to his limits than you knew.

The thing was, Renjun was aware how much you hated lying. He was also aware that you had lied for him numerous times already. So shouldn’t you have resented him for unintentionally putting you in that position? That would have been the rational reaction. Yet, here you were, smiling at him as if he had meant something to you and telling him how you didn’t quite regret losing your credibility over the choices you had made with him in mind.

He didn’t know what to do with this piece of information. Thus, he brushed it aside.

To Renjun, who had never been allowed to visit his mother’s grave and quite frankly, didn’t even know where she had been buried, it was beyond weird that your parents’ sacred burying place had become your usual meeting spot. But it was quiet and also lacked nosy people so he didn’t complain. After all, out of the two of you, it should have been you who felt sadder and more uncomfortable in the garden. Yet, you looked more and more at home after each night.

Once Kun - Captain Qian, he reminded himself - deemed Renjun trustworthy enough, the boy could finally join the guards during their training sessions and from then on, people started to accept him despite his roots. He still preferred to hide his birthmark with a thick cloth, but he didn’t feel burdened anymore when someone caught a glimpse at it and bombarded him with questions about his plans for freeing your clan.

Renjun didn’t have plans. He tried not to think of hurting his people or letting your people get hurt. For the first time in his life, he didn’t feel excitement at the thought of the battlefield. So his answer was always the same:

‘Captain Qian told me it’s confidential information. I can’t tell you the details.’

It wasn’t a complete lie, though. The captain’s most trusted men, the chief of your clan, you and Renjun were constantly trying to come up with a strategy that could have won you a war against the Huangs without bloodshed, but your attempts at making a plan that could have saved as many lives as possible on and outside the battlefield were futile. Renjun knew that their soldiers would have rather died fighting than to betray his family. Kun and Shuang were just wasting your time.

And considering the latest reports, his brother and General Xu’s arrival to the island, you had mere days left to evacuate your village. A single week if you had been lucky.

Renjun was on his way to the sacred garden when he realised that something was off. It was too quiet in the streets. He couldn’t hear the forest and those restless animals that always kept him on the edge, making it hard for him to fall asleep.

It was too calm. The eerie type that dressed his skin in goosebumps. Like the calm before the most ruthless storms.

The assassin wrapped his fingers around the grip of his short sword, pulled the weapon out of its scabbard and after a deeper breath, he ran towards your meeting point as fast as if his life had depended on it. He had to warn you before it was too late.

By the time the two of you made it back to the guards’ home, there were Huang soldiers in your village. And Renjun cursed under his nose because he had warned everyone over and over again during your strategy meetings. He had told Shuang and Kun that you hadn’t had more than a few days. He had asked them to take the villagers to somewhere safer, because the soldiers wouldn’t care about how their only weapons were pitchforks and shovels. They wouldn’t care about children, either. In best case scenario, their only goal was to kill you, but even then, they would murder everyone who stood in their way until you stopped breathing.

It was against the assassin’s nature to be on the defensive side, but he was good at following orders; no questions asked. Therefore, when you called for an emergency meeting and acted like a real captain - someone you were meant to be -, Renjun supported your plan and so did Kun and Shuang. If only, you had taken the responsibility sooner! But it wasn’t his place to judge. He knew that you respected Kun as a captain and that you would have never taken this title away from him willingly. But the older boy was an idealist. And right now, your people needed a warrior. They needed someone who was able to make tough decisions on the spot and be labelled as the bad guy because of them.

No one could win a war against the Huangs with a peace offering.

‘Captain Qia…’ you pursed your lips and closed your eyes for a brief second before you continued. ‘Kun, Sicheng, Dejun. I want you to take two men with you each and protect the civilians. Take them to the catacombs under the Great Temple. Women and children first,’ you gave the order that the three guards accepted with a firm nod before they exited the room and headed towards the armoury.

Renjun observed your facial expressions and your body language while you divided everyone into smaller groups with concrete tasks. There was Yangyang whose first and most important mission was to take Shuang to the catacombs. There were Kunhang and another guy whose name the assassin didn’t pay attention to who had to guard the healers during the fight. And last but not least, there was him.

‘Muddy isn’t as big as Long, but she should be able to carry an armed person on her back. I hope your balance is as good as your aim,’ you told the assassin with a hint of a smile in the corner of your mouth, earning another firm nod in exchange for your command.

The boy could tell that you were nervous, but he didn’t call you out on your bleeding lower lip and slightly trembling hands. It would have been concerning if you hadn’t acted like this as it was your first time taking full responsibility over the guards. People could and would die tonight according to where you sent them and with how many comrades. He could see it in the furrow between your brows that you were already blaming yourself for their death. 

‘Will you control her? All of them?’ The question whether he should have known how to ride a dragon hung in the air, then disappeared when you nodded.

‘Most of them, yes. That’s why I need you there with me. Because the more scared they will become, the more tiring it will be to control them,’ you explained briefly on your way to the armoury. And while Renjun wanted to know more, wanted to know your limits and when to become concerned for your well-being, he brushed aside his curiosity because these didn’t matter. He could keep you alive without these pieces of information, too. Even if his speciality was to take lives instead of saving them.

Riding a dragon to battle was nothing like sitting on one in front of an experienced rider with a blindfold in front of one’s eyes. The reptile was faster, the night wind was colder, almost biting, and the sight was nothing but terrifying. Because even in the dark and from this far, the numbers of the Huang army seemed to be three or four times as big as yours. Which meant that his father wanted to make your tribe one with the ground.

‘It’s not…’ he mumbled under his nose, wondering what could have been his father’s real reason when he had sent him after you. Was the old man so afraid of dragons and one dragon whisperer that he wanted to kill an entire clan just to make sure you were no longer? If so, why had he sent him on a solo mission first instead of tearing you apart immediately? Could he have known about the prophecy? Had he failed some sort of sick test when he had chosen to stay on the island?

Renjun forced these thoughts into the back of his mind and took the first arrow into his hands. You were right, it was more difficult to aim from the back of a dragon than it was to shoot your target while sitting on a horse, but after the third failed attempt, the assassin got a hang of it and started to decrease the number of your enemies from the sky. Meanwhile, you opted for handcrafted smoke bombs and throwing stars which were both delaying weapons. They forced your opponents to dodge and retreat, handing out opportunities to your own soldiers to fight the intruders on the ground.

However, the fact that a significant part of the battlefield was already in your village left you with limited options, because as powerful of a weapon a dragon’s fire was, as dangerous it could have been if it had gotten out of control and Renjun knew you wouldn’t use it until you saw no other choice. You didn’t want to risk burning down your home with the nearby forest and all the living creatures in it. Still, the assassin would have prefered that on any day over what you did next.

A silent cry escaped the assassin’s mouth when you commanded Long to take you closer to the ground and jumped off the animal’s back. Renjun might have known that you were a capable warrior, he might have seen you training with and without the other guards. Hell, he had even trained with you once not so long ago! But neither of these put his mind at ease.

However, when the boy tried to make Muddy follow your snow white dragon downwards, she showed no interest in complying with his pleas. Which meant that he was too high to land on his feet without breaking a bone or two. And he definitely couldn’t have allowed unnecessary injuries under the current circumstances.

Lacking better options, Renjun decided to keep an eye on you from above and shot everyone in the heart who came too close to you while you slowly became one with the mass of dying and fighting soldiers. At least, until he ran out of arrows.

‘What the…’ He screamed when Muddy started to move around all of a sudden, making him miss his last target by two inches. ‘What’s wrong?’

Renjun couldn’t speak to dragons. Even when the brown creature cried in response, he didn’t understand her. Still, it took him only a couple of seconds to come to a conclusion. You were either too far or you didn’t have enough energy to control each one of your dragons.

You were getting weaker. You were in the middle of the frontline and you were either using up your energy or you got injured. Because it took only a fragment of a second for him to find you from where he was currently holding onto dear life while trying to tame a shaking animal in vain.

It wasn’t good. It was freaking terrible. What the hell had you been thinking?

When Muddy took a sharp turn to the opposite direction, Renjun knew he was out of time and options. He stole a glance at the ground beneath them and measured the concerning distance between the battlefield and himself before he let out a nasty curse (along with your name). He tore a piece of textile off his dirty attire then shoved it between his teeth to spare them from the impact of the collision.

Renjun hated your reckless ass when he lost balance and landed on his shoulder, but he was a trained assassin and he could use both of his hands just fine to fight his enemies. Therefore, when a Huang soldier launched at his still disoriented figure, he could not only ditch the lame attempt at an attack, but slice his throat with one swift motion.

The blood on his hands didn’t faze the assassin; it had never done. But he felt somewhat out of place while he was trying to find you in the mass, since this was something he had never done before. Yes, it had been his obligation to protect his brother in battles, but he always had soldiers around him so that Renjun could focus on killing their enemies. In the end of the day, the younger one was a weapon that murdered, not a shield that saved lives.

Maybe it was because you had been the first person who understood him almost perfectly, the first one who had seen something in him he couldn’t see in himself. Maybe he had just taken a liking of you with your reckless tendencies. Either way, he knew that he had to make sure you survived. He needed you to survive.

Even if the moment his gaze finally fell upon you, what he saw turned his blood ice cold.

You were held by your braids, your head yanked backwards in an unnatural angle. There was a blade against your throat and blood all over the right side of your face. Your nose was either broken or close to being broken. It didn’t matter. 

The soldier who was holding you was one of his brother’s men while his brother was looking at you with disgust. His hand was in the air, ready to signal the soldier to do the dirty work on his behalf. Yet, you were smiling as though you knew that the more pissed Renjun’s brother was, the longer he kept you alive. Because the man you were facing was too proud to make it easy and painless for the likes of you.

Renjun had never been more grateful for your own pride.

The assassin took the longsword from the soldier he had just killed and kept his short one in his injured hand just in case he needed it. Then, he ran towards you and launched at the men who had your hair in his hold. You fell on your side due to the momentum, but regained your footing in a matter of seconds.

You pulled the blade out of your thigh - a wound Renjun had failed to notice before - and held it in front of yourself as some sort of shield while the assassin took down your attacker. He was fast and precise even with his aching shoulder, but obviously not fast enough to take you out of harm’s way before the rest of his brother’s guards surrounded your pathetic duo.

‘You’re making a huge mistake, brother,’ the Huang clan’s heir claimed with mockery in his voice. The snicker that left his throat was deep and full of resentment. It was obvious that he believed Renjun deserved death because of his betrayal and maybe he really did.

But he sure as hell wouldn’t make it easy for anyone to take him down.

‘Spare me from your heartfelt monologues,’ the younger Huang spat, holding onto both of his swords. He didn’t look straight into his brother’s eyes longer than a mere second. Instead, he looked around and analysed your surroundings; the number of soldiers around you two, their weapons and injuries. ‘No one wants to hear them.’

Because the moment his brother had decided that Renjun didn’t deserve to explain himself, the moment he had chosen violence instead of words, they had become real enemies. And the assassin had gone easy on his enemy only once in his life. That one occasion had turned his reality upside down and left the boy with no other option but to deny the same from his own blood.

Renjun’s gaze shifted from the Huang soldier ahead of him to you who were fighting your limits with your back to him. He could see in your body posture that it was hard for you to even stand, but he admired your willingness to not give up. He admired you.

If the boy had been sentimental, he would have said goodbye to you until he still could. But he was terrible at words, especially when it came to his messy feelings, so he didn’t. Instead, he bit back a smile, took a deeper breath and ran towards his first target. Five armed soldiers weren’t impossible to beat even with his injured shoulder.

Four, now that one was already choking on his own blood.

By the time the path got clear to where his brother was holding onto his own sword with his shaking hands and fear in his eyes, half of Renjun’s face was soaked in red. He had also thrown away his shorter sword somewhere along the way as it had become too heavy for his injured arm.

‘Will you really kill me? For what? For what, Renjun?’ He screamed, drawing the attention of those who were fighting nearby. Yet, not a single man came to his rescue as though they had realised who their leader was up against. As though they either dreaded what the assassin was capable of or realised what their leader wasn’t. ‘Will you kill your own brother for rats like her? Goddamnit! Come to your senses!’

The smile on Renjun’s face was bitter. A part of him wished things hadn’t turned out like this.

‘I’m not doing this because of her,’ he claimed and it was mostly true. Even though he didn’t want you dead (and even though everything had started with you), Renjun hadn’t made up his mind to kill his family because of you.

It was because capturing his brother and his father like how Kun wanted to do wouldn’t have made that change he now saw was necessary.

It was because all his family knew was violence.

It was because nothing was sacred to them, not even their own blood.

Renjun’s white knuckles tightened around the grip of his weapon. The only mercy he showed to his brother was the fast and neat end his blade gifted him with when he striked.

News had spread like wildfire on the battlefield. And while many of the Huang soldiers had chosen to retreat, following behind General Xu and his captains, a handful of them had decided to stay and offered their service to the new, rightful heir of their clan.

‘I’m not a leader,’ Renjun shared his concerns with you the night after the battle, his gaze not leaving the stars in the cloudless sky. He found solace in them and how they didn’t refuse to shine down on him brightly even after the sins he had committed. It was an utterly ridiculous thought, though. Your antics might have rubbed off on him or he had simply lost his mind.

‘They are willing to follow you, Renjun. What makes a good leader if not their people’s faith in them?’ You asked, your encouraging tone coaxing a snort out of him despite the gratitude he felt because of your words.

He knew about your mixed relationship with the concept of leadership. He knew how much effort you had put into avoiding it since your father had died. Therefore, to hear it from you that he had potential when you had never been able to see any in yourself meant something. Especially because it was due to your quick reaction and firm orders that only a small number of villagers had died from your tribe last night.

‘I’m not my father,’ the confession fell from the assassin’s lips as a resigned whisper, a silent cry in the night for only your ears to hear. Although the two of you had already talked about his relationship with his father, Renjun had never admitted out loud how much he had looked up at the man when he had been younger. How he still believed that he was a great soldier and an even greater leader. His methods might not have been merciful and conveyed more destruction than necessary, but the Huangs were a strong clan because of him, and his people were safe from harm.

What if Renjun had succeeded and removed his father from the top of their hierarchy system? What would have happened if the old man’s enemies had used this opportunity to destroy his legacy? Could he have stabilised their army and stopped the inner conflicts before everything had ended in blood and fire?

It was hard to tell.

‘Which makes you more qualified,’ you claimed before you tentatively reached out towards the boy and put your petite palm on the back of his hand. You squeezed it and he didn’t pull away.

He let you have your way because he would head back to the mainland as soon as his group was ready and they had already been packing for departure when the boy had decided to pay one last visit to the sacred garden of your parents’ graves. He let you be because what he and his men were planning to do was treason which meant that they would be in serious danger once they set foot on the other side of the sea. He might have never been able to let you stay this close to him again.

Although the little boy instead of Renjun, who looked up at his father, hoped that he wouldn’t have to shed more blood, the assassin, who had been trained to know no other way, was aware that the chances that his father would listen to him were slim. And if he refused to cooperate, he would need to make sure your tribe and his soldiers were safe from his rage in another way. He swallowed down the bile in his throat.

During the silence you shared, the boy stole innocent glances at you, his throat becoming dry like parchment the moment your gaze met. He could see it in your eyes. He could see that you wanted to say more. If his brief history with you could have served as any indicator, you were about to give another try to convince him that he should have taken you with him. But he refused to do that. Because if he failed, you would be needed here. You had to stay here so that you could protect your people.

Renjun wanted to cover your mouth with his palm when he caught you parting your lips again, but he was too late. So he closed his eyes and recollected all those arguments and reasons he had already given you regarding this matter.

‘The garden is beautiful in spring. When you’re too busy with leading your people and other leadery things, and can only allow yourself a little free time, come during the cherry blossom season. That’s the prettiest,’ you said, surprising him with the resignation in your voice.

Were you drowning in the same uncertainty like he was? Were you doubting that you might have ever met again like he was?

Renjun didn’t like promises, because most of them were empty, but wasn’t lying your thing from the very beginning anyway? This thought made him smile.

‘I’ll keep it in mind,’ so he swore, his eyes never leaving yours.

The boy could feel your body leaning closer to his - every inch you destroyed between the two of you made his heart beat faster in his ribcage -, but your moment was ruined when Yangyang ran up to the two of you and informed Renjun that everyone was waiting for him at the gates. He sent him back with the message that he would be there in a couple of minutes, then stood up and looked down at you.

You looked beautiful in the moonlight.

When you followed his movements abruptly and stood up as well, he let you pull him into a clumsy hug - the first hug Renjun had gotten since his father had killed that old maid who had always looked after him -, and even wrapped his arms around you in an attempt to apologise although he couldn’t have been sure whether he had indeed lied about the cherry blossoms. 

His chapped lips touched the top of your head tentatively and gently before he pushed you further from his chest with his hands on your shoulders. He didn’t offer you fake smiles before he turned his back to you. He didn’t really say anything.

He simply walked out of the garden, the village and your life along with these two.

the end.

#nct scenarios #nct dream #renjun x you #renjun x reader #nct fantasy au #dragon whisperer #fantasy #ssbyme

[illumins]

✦𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: dark fantasy, romance, fanfic.

✦𝐩𝐨𝐯: Lee Jeno

✦𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬&𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬: death; change of power; facing darkness; family; desire to escape; disillusionment and dreams; faith versus doubt; fate and free will; moraly grey characters; illusion of power; greed as downfall; identity crisis; supernatural; gods; individual versus society; inner versus outer strength; loss of innocence; love and sacrifice; manipulation; power & corruption; devotion; tragedy.

✦𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: writing.

✦𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: blood; murder; violence; classicism; gaslighting; manipulation; death; abuse.

UNEDITED

𓆸 spotify playlist

⟢𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: 𝑳𝒆𝒆 𝑱𝒆𝒏𝒐, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒏, 𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒍𝒅 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅. 𝑨𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒇-𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑱𝒆𝒏𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒔. 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒍𝒅 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑶𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒆

═══════════════

✦ 𝐂 𝐇 𝐀 𝐏 𝐓 𝐄 𝐑 𝐒 ✦

𝐜𝐡𝐩 𝐨𝐧𝐞

𝐜𝐡𝐩 𝐭𝐰𝐨

𓆸 tags: (ask to be added)

#jaemin #jaemin aesthetic #jaemin au #jaemin ff #kpop #fantasy #witch #kpop au #kpop fanfic #kpop edits #lee jeno #jeno fanfic #nct dream fanfic #nct au #nct fanfic #lee jeno fanfic #nct #lee donghyuk #haechan #haechan fanfic #park jisung #nct jisung #mark lee #mark fanfic #renjun #renjun fanfic #chenle #chenle fanfic #kpop ff #illumins

[nctzendaydream]

Kingdom Come by nctzendaydream

Preview/Introduction

You knew this day would come eventually. The day when you get to meet the man you're supposed to spend the rest of your life with, but you never thought it would be like this.

Your world is a world of three kingdoms: Atollis, Merissa, and Argos.

You felt your father, the King of Atollis, grip your hand tighter as he walked alongside you in the Great Hall of the Kingdom of Merissa. You are being presented to Merissa’s royal family and their courtiers as a potential match for their prince, Jeno.

You keep your gaze at your feet to ensure that you do not trip or fall on your face at such an important moment. You find yourself entering into your daydreams to escape the pressure of your current reality.

You come from the Kingdom of Atollis. A kingdom of island dwellers that relied on the ocean for its sustenance and its survival. You've always loved your island home. To you, there is nothing more comforting than the sound of the waves as they crash through the sand. You have spent your childhood among the islands of your kingdom running free. Atollis is paradise, and it will always be. You knew that you had left a large piece of your heart back home. Your kingdom is the smallest of the three kingdoms, but your powerful navy and control of the trade routes at sea made your family and your kingdom a formidable ally.

You, being the daughter of a king, always understood that your duty included possibly marrying for the sake of your people, for the sake of your kingdom, or for the sake of your family but you still felt this undeniable pit in your stomach, since you knew that your life was about to change forever.

You are currently in the Kingdom of Merissa. This peninsula is very different from your homeland. While your home is composed of small islands, this kingdom is composed of mostly flat terrain to the South. Southern Merissa has a large agricultural industry of rice and grain, while its mountains in the Northern region have valuable mines. Merissa is a powerful and wealthy nation. It is no wonder your father wants you to marry into the royal family of Merissa.

A match between these two families would be beneficial to both parties. Your marriage could mean a stronger connection to a wealthier and more powerful nation which would prevent any potential invasion from other neighboring kingdoms. While a marriage to you would mean access to trade routes at sea that the kingdom of Merissa previously had no access to. This would mean they could transport their valuable minerals and gems to the rest of the world in a much more quick and efficient manner. On paper, nothing seems to be going against this match; but you must not forget, life isn't as clean as facts on paper.

To the north of Merissa lies the third kingdom called Argos. Argos is the largest of the three Kingdoms. It spans almost the entirety of the Eastern Continent. They control almost all of the significant land trade routes which made them wealthy, powerful, and formidable.

As you looked up to meet the eye of the prince, you were shocked to see not one, but two sets of eyes looking directly at you.

Both Prince Jeno and Prince Chenle of Argos looked at you with an intensity you have never felt before. You gave a nervous smile, and the Prince Jeno bowed politely and said, “Welcome to Merissa, Your Highness”.

#nct dream #nct dream fanfic #nct dream au #nct dream fanfiction #jeno x y/n #jeno x reader #jeno fanfic #chenle x reader #chenle x y/n #chenle x you #nct fantasy au #nct royalty au #nct chenle #nct jeno #chenle fanfic

[diorcities]

love and robots

warning: contenido maduro. basado en las crónicas lunares & alitta. nct fanfic. español. 1.3k palabras.

contenido: anterior ♡ siguiente

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ .

jaehyun se frotó los ojos con cansancio, observando el reloj anclado a la pared.

tic tac, tic tac.

sus ojos aventuraron el montón de papeles esparcidos por su escritorio. enfocar la vista le resultaba una tarea difícil, luego de pasar horas leyendo entre líneas. “¿qué estoy haciendo mal?” preguntó en un susurro. en respuesta, el silencio siendo cortado por el sonido de las manecillas del reloj. no sabía por qué conservaba ese cacharro, que solo hacía ruido sin cesar, pero cuando no había nada más que el sonido de su propia voz, era buena compañía. el joven podía pretender que aquel aparato era su mano derecha, y que el tic tac que emitía era, de hecho, comentarios astutos.

quizá se estaba volviendo loco.

río para sí cuando se dio cuenta de sus patéticos pensamientos. aquel reloj antiguo no era más que un reloj antiguo, y jaehyun no estaba más que solo en aquel laboratorio.

la cómoda superficie de su cama a escasos metros donde se encontraba se veía tentadora. había movido el mueble hace unas semanas, porque había caído en la conclusión de que se la pasaba más tiempo allí abajo que en su dormitorio, o en el comedor, o en la sala de estar; el laboratorio era su lugar favorito. con vasos de precipitación, pizarras llenas de fórmulas, telescopios y piezas. esto último había sido añadido hace unas semanas atrás. la verdad era que jaehyun no se consideraba un programador. lo suyo eran las fórmulas; ver si algo era matemáticamente posible. y si era matemáticamente posible, era posible volverlo en algo que pudiera tocarse.

pero aquello había sido hace tiempo, y tuvo que aprender a ser ambas partes. a comprobar y consolidar. algo que él mismo consideraba dificultoso si solo una persona lo realizaba. y jaehyun nunca había estado solo… hasta ahora.

aunque debía admitir que estaba cogiéndole el gusto a armar cosas. se descubría a sí mismo buscando piezas en el mercado de bajoterra, y de vez en cuando, en el vertedero comunal de nueva pekin; siempre había algo que podía sacarle provecho. ¿piezas robóticas arrojadas en el vertedero común? cosa de todos los días. a jaehyun le gustaba ir de vez en cuando cuando necesitaba piezas para un nuevo invento.

pero nunca había visto esa clase de piezas.

y debía averiguar a qué pertenecieron.

claro que, el trabajo no era sencillo. quiso recuperar todas las piezas, pero aquel vertedero tenía kilómetros a la redonda de pura chatarra. y toda la basura provenía de arriba. bajoterra era su vertedero. jaehyun pensó que aquellas piezas eran entonces algo en conjunto, con todas las piezas, pero ahora sólo tenía la mitad de ellas. saber con certitud si provenían de nueva pekin o de bajoterra era otro tema. a saber si provenían de más arriba; pensar en ello le dio escalofríos.

lo que no podía soportar era la incertidumbre de a qué máquina pertenecieron. los robots eran cosa de todos los días en bajoterra; de vez en cuando, jaehyun se topaba con ellos en las calles serpenteantes. En nueva pekin sí que era bastante comunes. cada habitante tenía un robot a su cargo; máquinas que solo saben acatar órdenes. nada del otro mundo. hacían tareas del hogar o eran usados en la seguridad del castillo. los modelos iban desde los más caseros, hasta las máquinas corporativas. jaehyun sabía que los robots eran usados para todo allá arriba. hospitales, tiendas, farmacias. incluso parte de la policía. en bajoterra, esto último no era tan raro, pero en los centros médicos aun predominaban más humanos que máquinas. algunas veces, una combinación de ambos.

se bebió de un tirón el contenido de su taza de café y se levantó en dirección a la camilla ocupada por su nueva tarea. jaehyun había intentado buscar el botón de encendido del cual estaba familiarizado con aquella máquina, pero no lo consiguió por ningún lado. dedujo, al final, que debía tener algún sensor. y tuvo razón. algo tan sofisticado como pasar su palma por la cara frontal. observó la máquina zumbar. muy imperceptible. ¿cómo algo tan exquisitamente detallado pudo haber acabado en un basurero de bajoterra?

la máquina con facciones femeninas abrió sus ojos y los fijó en la nada.

“¿desea restaurar la última sesión?”

“no,” intervino, “corre un examen de estado” ordenó, “... por favor” añadió después, “he hecho algunos arreglos, creo que ya estás” comentó, incluso cuando sabía que no iba a recibir respuesta de nadie más que de sí mismo. se estaba volviendo una costumbre.

observó a la máquina, su satisfacción creciendo a medida que los segundos en los que la máquina permanecía en silencio pasaban, hasta que... “error desconocido. ejecutando protección al sistema, desconectando...” la máquina volviendo a apagarse, junto a sus expectativas. si tan solo pudiera saber dónde se encontraba el error..., si tan solo no se desconectara como mecanismo de defensa. ¿qué podría estar protegiendo?

caviló en el cableado. a pesar de ser primera vez viendo un sistema tan sofisticado (no era como si hubiese visto muchos sistemas, de todas formas) jaehyun estaba seguro que todos debían tener la misma codificación. la misma programación. aquella máquina no podía ser tan diferente a otros modelos. podría estar configurada diferente, pero el cableado seguiría siendo el mismo. por eso notó algo inusual.

acercó lo más que pudo la lámpara e iluminó el interior del panel de cables; no había sido cosa suya. extrajo la tarjeta madre y la inspeccionó, sus facciones cambiando a medida que los cabos sueltos por fin parecían unirse. entonces, se aproximó a su escritorio y buscó en uno de los cajones. lo pensó mejor y también buscó la mini máquina de soldar. la inseguridad haciéndole vacilar. la incertidumbre de que quizá era solo una teoría. sin tener a nadie que lo alentara a seguir más que a sí mismo. “tú puedes…”

se apresuró a la camilla y le dio vuelta a la máquina. en la nuca, un pequeño sensor dejaba entrever el cableado interno. no había tornillos. ni tuercas; la tecnología de arriba era por mucho, más imperceptible que la de abajo. sin embargo, había visto una tarjeta madre similar a la que poseía la máquina. jaehyun no creía en las coincidencias, y por un momento, miles de incógnitas afloraron en su mente. los recuerdos de haber visto la tarjeta madre siendo construida, pieza por pieza, como si hubiese visto una igual, y no solo se tratara de una simple idea que se te ocurren cuando estas cavilando en tus pensamientos. jaehyun se preguntó si había sido víctima de secretos, y si solo conocía el pedazo de la historia que ella quería contarle.

cuando abrió la caja de madera que había evitado mirar en el cajón olvidado de su escritorio, estaba más que seguro. aquella tarjeta era una réplica casi exacta de la tarjeta que poseía la máquina imperturbable en la camilla. salvo por algunos detalles que la tarjeta original tenía. la tarjeta que descansaba en su mano no estaba cubierta de aquel metal plateado.

su mano vaciló cuando pasó su palma sobre el sensor en la cara frontal, por septuagésima vez en la noche. otra vez oyó el zumbido. esperó por la típica pregunta del sistema, pero solo recibió silencio. “ejecuta neo-127” dijo. hubo más silencio. y jaehyun contuvo la respiración. nunca antes había probado el prototipo. estaba seguro que no estaba terminado, porque no había continuado lo que ella había empezado. lo había prometido, pero se había encontrado incapaz de tocar aquel cajón desde el accidente. todo le parecía ofensivo. querer terminar algo que en un principio había sido una idea ajena, algo que no le pertenecía. Y luego, ¿qué? ¿dejar que se beneficien de su proyecto mientras ella no podía verlo? jaehyun se rehusaba a comerciar con su memoria. no cuando el único tributo que había recibido por parte del emperador había sido nada. jaehyun se encontraba ensimismado en algún lugar oscuro de su mente cuando oyó “comando ejecutado con satisfacción. reiniciando sistema...”

estoy trabajando en un nuevo proyecto. es mi primera fic en tumblr aaaaa. anyways, estoy pensando en subirla a wattpad o ao3 más extendida, y más desarrollada. por el momento, esto es un borrador.

masterlist

esta historia pertenece a h-yyuck, todos los derechos reservados

#nct imagines #nct scenarios #nct fantasy au #nct fanfic #nct fic #jaehyun scenarios #jung jaehyun #jaehyun fic #nct dream fluff #nct dream scenarios #nct dream imagines #nct 127 imagines #nct recs #nct au #nct fluff #nct 127 fluff #nct x reader #♡lar

[neowinestainedress]

DYNASTY ⮚ NCT

prev⏐ chapter thirty-four ⏐ next⏐ masterpost

warnings: semi explicit smut scene, minor body worship, minor religious undertones, oral sex (f), implied unprotected sex (wrap it up!)

genre: fantasy au, royal au, super powers au

word count: 3.172k

summary: The apparent calm that reigns in Neo City breaks into million pieces when some members of the Neos find an outsider laying unconscious in the wood. After that, everything they know stops making sense. Menace from the past come back, while they have to rule on their city knowing that the menace of Simon’s dictatorial power is closer day by day. The past they never dared to face will wash over them like impetuous waves. The present is filled with doubts, regrets and the mystery of the lost memories of the nameless girl. The future is even more uncertain.

Can you break the chain with your past even if it’s running in your bloodstream?

taglist: @saeyeoniee  @shwizhies​​ | if you want to be added let me know under the masterpost or with a message

“I don’t know what happened but you came so far since you arrived,” Sicheng praised Anastasia while he noted down her progress on the medical record. 

Anastasia smiled, swinging her feet in the air.

“I’m getting a little bit more sleep at night, guess that helps,” she chuckled. 

“Really?”

“Yeah. I still have to sleep with someone by my side but Jungwoo doesn’t mind, it helps the both of us.” Since Jungwoo found out who she really was he also insisted more to sleep together, he said that it was a way to make up for the lost time and she didn’t feel guilty anymore to sleep with him. 

“So you’re not getting nightmares anymore?”

“Not as often. It tends to happen if I’m a little bit more tense, you know. If the training doesn’t go so well and I’m nervous, but it doesn’t happen often.” 

Sicheng smiled brightly, looking up and down at her. He was proud of her. He kind of lost her in the way, Kun taking over him because he was too busy operating downtown, but he was the first one that helped her and seeing her like this warmed his heart. It was also nice to know that she was back and even after all that happened she was still incredibly strong, with lots of highs and lows, but she was still fighting.  

“You’re eating more,” Sicheng said, looking at her body. Thankfully he couldn’t see her bones anymore, her curves were starting to get back where they belonged, her face was fuller and she looked way healthier and stronger. 

“Yeah, Kun cooks for me and I can’t really say not to his food,” she confessed. It had been hard, actually, to go back on track and eat regularly without feeling nauseous. But she had to, she couldn’t go on like that, so she made an oath with Kun, and turned eating into a positive moment where she would try to just focus on the food and not think of anything else. 

“How’s training going?”

“It’s hard, I can’t believe I used to do that every day of my life,” she admitted. “But overall, I’m doing good, I mean, I’m surviving.” Anastasia wasn’t so sure about that, she was convinced that she kinda sucked and everybody was just too nice to tell her, but she knew that all those years affected her and her ability. She had been frozen in time for three years, she just couldn’t easily go back on track. 

“What are you doing now?”

“Finished working on resistance. Yuta says that I have to start working on my speed again, he said I lost it.”

“And your resistance?”

“Is good now, my muscles are back, I can run for twenty minutes now and don’t feel so tired. I used to collapse after five minutes.”

“Well, that was what you were good at, I think it’s great,” Sicheng smiled at her. She had always been the fastest of them, her speed was just like no other there but most importantly she wouldn’t get tired, her stamina was really good.

“Yep, it’s a start.” 

“And what are you focusing on? Still kickboxing?”

“Liv thinks it’s better that way, she’s convinced I can take on my speed soon, but I don’t know... I don’t feel so good at it anymore.” 

“Do you want to do something else?”

“Mph, no. The other choices are throwing blades with Yuta or shooting with Lucas and no, thanks.” 

Sicheng laughed. “Liv’s a tougher teacher than Yuta if she wants to,” 

“Yeah, I know, but I don’t really feel in my element with blades, ninja stars and throwing stuff in general. Yuta’s good at it, way too good, if I mess it up he’s going cut me in half,” Anastasia laughed it off but she was totally convinced that Yuta wouldn’t have hesitated.  

Sicheng laughed too. “C’mon, he’s not that cruel.”

“But he takes what he does very personal and I don’t want to interfere.”

“Can’t say otherwise,” he smiled, turning around and heading to the desk to look for some papers that were attached to the medical record. He then came back to her, next to the bed. 

“What if we reduce the doses of your medicine?” He proposed, and Anastasia’s eyes started shining and she started nodding like a happy child.

“Okay, you like this but please be careful,” Sicheng started to tell her. “For insomnia, no more of the other pills, but drops of melatonin before sleep,” he wrote it down on a paper. “Try to avoid alcohol, and caffeine and always keep a routine, force your brain to go to sleep at a certain hour every day and wake up on time.” He knew it wasn’t easy, there was also a severe case of depression and anxiety, and all of these together created a domino effect, but they had to try. She was getting better; she could sleep more, eat more and with an appetite, she started to have interest again, stopped having panic attacks, and also gained weight. Sicheng was positive. 

“Only this?” She asked, tone disappointed. 

“I can’t get you off of antidepressants, maybe anxiolytics, but I want to talk with Kun, first.”

“Fine, guess it’s a step forward, anyway.” 

“It is, and you’re only going to get better. I promise.”

“You’re never going to block a fist if you punch that slowly.” Jaehyun didn’t mean to stare but he had just come out of the changing room and saw Anastasia boxing at the bag box and he couldn’t stop himself to see if she had gotten better. He knew he should’ve minded his business but he couldn’t help it. And giving advice wasn’t a big deal, right? Worst of it all she would’ve told him to fuck off. 

“I can’t be faster,” she lamented, letting a harmless punch hit the box. 

“But you can be less stiff,” he said, jumping on the ring, positioning himself behind her, his body towering on her. His hands reached the gloves and forced her arms to bend more. “You’re too rigid, relax,” he noted, his breath hitting her ear, causing a shiver to run down her spine. 

“I can’t,” she said, voice shaky, as she tried to fight any type of irrational thoughts that were about to fog her mind because of their proximity. 

“If you keep them like this you’re just going to hurt yourself. Trust me.” 

Anastasia nodded and tried to relax her arms the more she could. 

Jaehyun’s knee pushed her legs to bend too, unexpectedly, causing her body to fall forward. 

“I got you,” Jaehyun said as he immediately wrapped his arms around her waist, supporting her body up in a firm hold. 

“You got me,” Anastasia whispered mindlessly as she regained composure.

“Your whole body is too stiff. Bend your knees more, it will be easier to move around and dodge the punches,” he said, he was still gently holding her side and when he realized it, he pulled away, taking some steps back. 

“Can we try?” She proposed, turning around. 

“You want me to fight with you?” He asked, brow furrowed. 

“Yes, you’re the best at this,” she answered as if it was the most obvious thing she could say.

“No,” he said straight away. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he added as he jumped out of the ring again and started to walk out of the door. 

But she didn’t want him to leave. “Then teach me,” she screamed, making him stop in his tracks. 

“Make me your student,” she demanded as she throw the gloves on the ground, the boxing wraps now the only thing covering her hands. 

Jaehyun turned around, their eyes intertwining in a gaze that held thousands of words, and he gulped. His legs started to walk toward her without him knowing. It was a force pulling him toward her, as always, like a magnet. 

He climbed up the ring again and stopped right in front of her, their bodies a few centimetres away.

“What do you want me to teach you?” He asked, his low voice coming out sultry in a whisper, his hand resting on her cheek. 

Her eyes looked up from his full lips to his deep brown eyes. “Teach me how to love you. Make me love you again,” she whispered, leaning closer to him, their lips almost grazing. 

 He snickered. “You’re playing unfair, it’s impossible,” he whispered, and tried to walk away but her hands clasped his hand and pulled him back where he was. 

“If I told you, it’s because I know you can. I know you can show me how to love you.”

He hesitated for a while, his chest raising more frenetically as he felt a strange sensation rise in him, a new confidence, a new attraction. 

“What do you want me to do exactly? How do you want me to show you how beautiful we were?”

“Make me fall in you, Jaehyun. Make me fall so deep that I can never come back up to the surface. Make fall so deep that I will never know another shade of blue but yours.” 

At those words, nothing could stop him anymore. He did it, he pulled her closer by her waist, their chest touching and their lips crashing against each other, eager of tasting each other again, eager of intertwining in each other like two perfect pieces of a puzzle. Jaehyun didn’t want to pull away, but the air was starting to miss, and he had to. He didn’t regret it, though, when he saw her gasping for him too, her lips already swollen from the kiss and her chest panting faster. She was beautiful, no matter where she was, whether it was in the middle of a field full of sunflowers on a beautiful day of spring or in the middle of a gym with cold grey light hitting her. 

She. 

She was everything to him. Tangled in his soul, unable to leave. His lifeline. 

And he wanted to show her. Show her how beautiful their souls were together. Remind her, that they were the ones. 

And as if she could read his mind, she pulled him close once again and whispered. “Make me yours, Yoonoh. Only yours.”

And it was the most unromantic place ever, but they couldn’t really care when her body touched the cold floor and he positioned himself on top of her, starting to kiss her collarbone, down to the hollow in her chest, to her tummy and up again. 

They could’ve rushed it, burned the moment, turned off the flame in the blink of an eye, but they wanted to savour every bit of it. 

To Jaehyun it felt like a fever dream to have her right there in front of him, ready to be so vulnerable in his hands, and the fear that she would’ve disappeared was strong, that’s why he fought it by kissing every inch of her skin. 

His lips grazed her lobe and bit on it gently, then he passed to her neck, leaving small nibbles here and there, and then his hands reached for the hem of the shirt she was wearing, lifting it up, making it meet the floor. 

Anastasia’s arms were swift at covering her body, suddenly the consciousness of having to be exposed in front of him hit her making her feel ashamed. 

“Don’t do that,” he said, reaching for her arms, trying to move them away. 

“No,” she pleaded, making him stop. “I’m full of scars,” she said, her eyes looking away. “Scars they made.”

“Then I’ll kiss every single one of them so they can heal faster,” he reassured her, gently holding her hand up, starting to remove the bandages so that her hands would be completely free. 

She looked back at him, eyes gleaming, her heart warm. Tears at the brim of her eyes. 

“You’ll love me even if they stayed there forever?” She asked in a shaky voice. Her eyes moved up and down to him and his hands that were touching her so delicately as if she was a fragile jewel, cautious of not even grazing it. And to her, it seemed absurd, because she was. She was bruised, marked, and broken, not a single glimpse of light coming out of all her cracks. But Jaehyun could see it, the light, the gold that was still there, buried underneath all of the dust and ashes. And she loved the way Jaehyun was looking at her, because she was sure that if she looked at herself with his eyes, she would’ve loved the sight. And dumbly enough, she needed somebody that loved her in the way she couldn’t love herself. And she knew that what was happening was a little selfish because she still wasn’t feeling the same for him, she was working on it and she was once again asking for him to be patient, and lead her back into his heart.

“I love you, and you’re not defined by the scars drawn on you.” It was the very bare minimum, she knew that, but she found incredible comfort in those words. The nth proof that he really had waited for her and always would’ve done that, no matter what she would’ve looked like, or how much time would’ve changed her. 

“But if you let me to, I’ll also love every inch of your body to remind you how beautiful you are,” he continued, his lips leaving invisible kisses on a scar right under her left collarbone. “No matter how long it’ll take for your skin to heal from the bruises, I’ll still love the way it feels under my fingertips, so smooth.” 

Anastasia let her head roll back, finally letting herself go at the sensation of his hands running up and down her body, touching it in a way nobody else could ever. It was nice, no, it was so fucking good to have his big cold hands exploring her skin as if it was an unknown land that he needed to map. Going so deep under her skin, turning her inside out. 

And before she could notice, a small moan rolled out of her lips just when he started playing with her left nipple, taking it in his mouth and then letting it go, the contrast of his warm mouth and the cold air making her shiver. 

“Let me get rid of this,” Jaehyun said pushing her pants down to her ankles and then on the floor, somewhere behind them, where her shirt and bra were laying since before. 

“Come closer,” Ana beckoned him, and as soon as he did, she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling their lips in a heated kiss again. 

Her hands were swift at reaching for the hem of his shirt and lifting it off, discharging it on the pavement, desperately touching his toned back and scratching it when Jaehyun thrust his clothed boner against her core. 

“Fuck,” she breathed out, biting her lips to suppress more sounds to come out. But that was enough to make her struggle with the belt of his pants to hurriedly get rid of them too. She needed to feel him for real. 

“Getting greedy?” He teased, now romance was getting surpassed by lust and need. 

“Can you blame me when I have you?” She asked, trying to push his pants and boxer down. 

“Let me do it,” he said, getting up to get rid of his clothes. 

Anastasia tried to hold him close to her but before she could do anything he was already lowered down with his head between her legs. 

His hot breath came in contact with her covered heat, while his hands were holding her thighs up, caressing their back in small circles with his thumbs. And he wasn’t doing anything, yet, she felt close to melting. Maybe it was because it was a familiar sensation she hadn’t felt in years, or maybe it was because she didn’t feel a touch so nice, gentle and loving in ages, too used now to slaps, punches, syringes and knives. Or probably it was the sense of reassurance that in the end, it was always him, and he knew all the right buttons to push. Whatever it was the reason, she loved it.

That’s why, as much she wanted to look at him, she couldn’t force herself to do that. It felt too good when his lips started to work on her slowly, but intensely, and with a dedication that felt religious. 

She lifted her upper body, standing on her elbows and took in the sight in front of her. Somehow, he managed to look breathtaking even in this situation, head almost buried between her thighs, hair falling on his forehead and his intense gaze staring right at her eyes like a hunter with his prey. She felt a rush rise in her stomach, and a louder moan escaped her lips. There was nothing rough behind his movement, but it was so intense that she was already feeling on the bridge of an orgasm. Jaehyun was drinking her in as if she was the most precious wine. Jaehyun was worshipping her, eyes fixed on hers, screaming unspeakable words, holy and unholy, the sacred meeting the profane, spilling curses and praises, scratches marking what was crafted by the Highest. 

And just when she thought she could carry a little bit longer, his fingers, buried deep inside of her, doing God’s work, combined with his soft plump lips, pushed her right over the edge. A jolt, so good, that she felt her thighs tremble, and her hand clamped in his hair, pushing him away. 

Jaehyun stared at her; eyes closed, eyelids slightly fluttering, chest panting heavily, moving up and down at a frenetic speed that was slowly starting to come down, lips red and swollen, hair stuck to her forehead and neck. The most beautiful of angels stained with sin. 

“Do you still want more?” He asked, his body towering over her completely, his hands at the side of her face. “Can you take more?” His voice was sultry and low, filled with a lust that was never there in his usual tone. 

Anastasia looked up, nodded and then tried to kiss him, but he backed up. 

“What do you want, love? I need to hear you.” 

“You,” she said, breathlessly. “I want you.” 

A smile crept on his face, he lowered his head to kiss her, bit her lower lip and pulled away. 

“No other shade of blue?” He asked, lining himself at her entrance, his left hand on her hip, making circles, right on top of the tattoo. He wanted to be sure that this promise would be forever, that this time nothing would’ve separated them. He wanted to be sure that this wasn’t just a random night of passion but a vow. 

“No other shade of blue,” she confirmed, her fingers intertwining in his hair.  No, no other pain, would’ve pulled them away. 

#nct fanfiction #nct fantasy au #nct royal au #nct u #nct 127 #nct dream #wayv

[djcaracalhisshiss]

renmin au drabble

wherein baby jaem went with his parents to a pizza place because he got an award from school. Jaem's parents were busy choosing what to order and jaem was too excited he kept on tugging his mum's shirt

'Can I get a cheese pizza and some milkshake please?'

'okay baby' his mum continued to give her order to the girl in the cashier

jaemin walked away from his parents and decided to look for a spare seat and while he was scanning the place his eyes caught a very cute kid sitting with his grandparents.

he slowly approached the table and immediately said hi to the boy

'my name is jaemin how about you?' he offered his hand and even showed the dino toy he was holding

the other boy hid behind his grammy

'renjun say hi to your new friend he seems nice don't be shy'

renjun was peeking and timidly looked at jaemin who was still smiling at him

'im renjun'

jaem quickly seated beside renjun and his grandparents 'let's play with my toy'

jaem's parents were puzzled as to why there was no trace of him behind them but they're not surprised that their outgoing son is already playing

'jaemin baby? come already we have our order'

jaemin's mum tried to apologize to renjun's grandparents

'it's okay your son is very cute and i'm glad he approached our grandson'

'jaem you should say bye to your friend now. we have to go already'

jaemin just pouted and bid his farewell

'bye renjun i wish we could play together again. i'll share my dino toys to you'

'okay i had fun playing with you. thank you jaemin'

renjun waved as jaemin and his parents exited the pizza place

fast forward to a teenage Jaemin on his way to his freshman orientation

he's running towards the school auditorium due to being late when he bumped into another student

'I'm so sorry'

the other student immediately said 'its okay'

jaemin wasn't able to look at the other student when he heard him saying

'are you on your way to orientation?'

'yeah i'm sorry again tho'

'it's really fine. we can go together'

the other student offered his hand and introduced himself smiling

'Im renjun btw what a nice way to meet you'

this suddenly came to my mind while i was scrolling through my fb stories let me know what are your thoughts hehe i might start posting drabbles here

#nct #nct dream #renjun #jaemin #renmin #au drabble #fanfic #nct fanfic #nct fantasy au #nct dream drabbles #renmin drabbles #nct drabbles #nct imagines #nct dream imagines

[neonacity]

ARCANE : INIZIO | CH.2 | NCT DREAM X READER

Inizio (n) : an Italian word for the beginning or start of something.

*****

Summary: When human deviants granted with the abilities of the legendary Arcana cards find themselves racing against devious forces, they are left to make a choice that might change the fate of the world itself: be the victims of the game, or become the masters of it themselves.

But will this war end with a crowned hero?

Or will it just create another mad villain?

*****

Note: This is the second book of Arcane. The happenings in this story is a prequel to the first installment which you can check in my Masterlist. Since the lore is highly dependent on the first book, I highly suggest you check it out first—otherwise, new readers might have a hard time understanding what is happening here. Expect lots of time jumps and flashbacks throughout the chapters.

Pairings: Dream 00' Line + Mark x Reader

Trigger Warnings/Themes: romance, violence, torture, trauma, poly dynamics, suggestive themes, language, psychological, mystery, sci-fi. The concept of the tarot or Arcana cards will be loosely used throughout the series. Note that I am not a trained doctor so there may be some slips here and there about medical things. Again, this is a work of fiction and I am not implying any likeness between the characterization here of the boys to their real life counterparts. I also reserve the rights to all my work—I do not post anywhere else other than tumblr. Minors DNI. Please do not repost. I only publish my works in Tumblr.

© neonacity, 2022

IMPORTANT NOTE [PLEASE READ]: Since this is a prequel, a lot of the scenes have happened in the past before the happenings of Arcane. To make it easier for everyone to navigate, I’m putting this symbol [&] before the start of every part that happens in the present time, post Arcane. 

Previously > CH. 1 |

"Chenle! Pass the ball!"

"Come on, that kick sucks!"

You watched with a small smile as seven boys ran in the open field, their voices and laughter filling the air. The spring wind slightly ruffled your hair and the sundress you were wearing, a yellow number given to you as a gift by the same people you are watching now for your twenty-first birthday. You remained seated on the mat the eight of you have lugged around to the clearing behind Rosewood today, surrounded by the half-eaten picnic set-up they have arranged as a surprise. The day was perfect, and you were content silently watching the rest just run around now after Haechan decided to distract everyone with a game of soccer.

"Yah! You're cheating!"

"I'm not! Maybe if you block the ball well then you'd have a fighting chance!"

"What are you talking about? There is literally no goal post and you're just kicking everywhere!"

A soft chuckle passed you now as you turned a daffodil stem between the pads of your thumb and pointer finger. Your days at Rosewood are always your favorite parts of the year… the only bright spots when you get to feel as if you are part of a family despite your erratic visits. For this year specifically, the moment feels a little bit more different, maybe because of the recent talk you just had with your father. You should have known that something must be up the moment the man decided to let you stay longer in the Academy more than usual, but never would you have expected for this specific ‘talk' to be happening so soon… and so swift.

"Hey, are you not joining us? The weather's really nice."

Your train of thought was cut by the voice beside you. Glancing up, you caught Mark just as he plopped on the mat next to you. His hair was ruffled and windswept, and there was a boyish smile on his face that made his eyes sparkle in the sun. Before you could even answer, he reached out to offer something to you—a bunch of spring flowers in a beautiful splash of colors.

"For the birthday girl," he grinned.

Your smile widened as you received his gift and tucked the blooms with the yellow daffodil you have been holding. Another breeze floated by, causing the scent of the bouquet to wrap around you.

"Thank you. You're all being extra sweet to me today. The dress… the picnic, everything is perfect."

The boy looked proud as he gave a shrug. "Renjun was the one who chose the dress. He said yellow would look good on you. It was Jaemin's idea to throw a picnic."

"It's lovely. I'm enjoying it so much."

Mark glanced at you as you lifted the flowers you were holding so you could take a whiff of their scent again. You took your time to enjoy the slice of moment, before you finally said the words that have been sitting at the back of your mind since the day started.

"He wants me to leave, Mark."

You looked up to watch the others still running around in the field. Beside you, you could almost physically feel the boy's stare as he processed what you just said.

"What do you mean he wants you to leave?" He finally asked, his tone confused. You blinked slowly before answering.

"He wants me to quit college and move to a different university far away from here. He told me he wanted me to stop visiting Rosewood until I finish my studies."

You slowly turned to look at your best friend. For the first few seconds when your eyes met, you saw the raw, unfiltered emotions in his face. But then something in him shifted and a look of resigned but controlled acceptance took over. He swallowed before breaking eye contact with you.

"Did he say why?"

His words sounded empty. It was a rhetorical question, one that the both of you already know the answer for. Ever since you were kids, both you and Mark have already known both of your fates as members of the Family. For your case, your father's condition is something that has been a long time coming. Still, you answered, your words soft as you stared ahead.

"He's giving me the choice to stay in the Family, or live a normal life. He wants me to lose all contact with Rosewood—to all of you—so I can experience being away from all these and make a decision."

"And what did you say?"

"It's not like I really have a choice, Mark."

"You don't, but I don't believe you didn't stand up against it."

That made you stop. Slowly, you turned to face him again. He was looking at you once more, the light in his eyes both inquiring and accepting. You felt your chest constrict a little.

"I told him I'll do it… But if I decide to come back, then he'll have to accept my decision and treat me as a member, free from his authority."

Mark's expression barely changed, but you know him well enough to recognize the emotions that your answer triggered, just simmering under his well-controlled facade. He was scared for you… but at the same time, he was also relieved… for himself.

"Being as far away from us as possible might be the best thing for you. Your father knows there might come a time when he won't be able to protect you anymore, so he's giving you a way out now," he said, though he sounded half-hearted. You smiled.

"Are you saying that because that's what you've been told by everyone?"

"I'm saying it for you. Your Arcana is the most desired in the family. You're safest away from the rest of us, where one of us might turn and betray you."

The boys' laughter echoed from the field and floated into the spot where you and Mark were sitting, a stark contrast to the possible future he was painting.

"Do you believe that might happen?"

"What I believe doesn't matter, you—"

"Then let me rephrase my question. Do you want me to never come back, Mark?"

That made him stop. You've known Mark since you were kids. In fact, he was the first member of the Family that you've ever gotten in contact with. Just like you who has a predetermined fate because of your ability, Mark follows the same vein because of his bloodline. His family is considered one of strongest clans in the network of the Famiglia, with generations and generations producing Arcana masters from their line. He is expected to act and think a certain way, but you also know there is more to the boy you've grown up with than just his heritage.

That was exactly what you saw now, reflected briefly in his eyes as he hesitated to give you an answer. He looked torn, but you already both knew what he was dying to say before he even spoke again.

"No. I want to keep you with me. With us, if it was up to me."

Your eyes slightly widened at the way he phrased it. It was too personal and intimate… two things the two of you have been trying to keep away from for the sake of your friendship. To be honest, you weren't even expecting that he would have the courage to say those words out loud, so it took you a moment now to process what he just said.

"So… will you wait for me then?" You finally asked.

"If you will come back, yes."

"You know I will, Mark. I belong here."

He smiled.

"Then I'll wait."

A moment passed as the two of you simply stared at each other. In that little bubble of time, nothing and nobody could ever get between the two of you. He was the one who decided to break the tension after a while, his eyes shifting slightly away from yours.

"You know what might happen once you come back, right?"

You faltered, but not for too long.

"Yes. They'll want us to get married."

He didn't say anything after that. You knew he was making a pointed effort to avoid your gaze but you kept your eyes on him, unswayed. Finally, you sighed.

"It was a silly arrangement between my father and yours a long time ago. When the time comes, we can talk to them about it. You know that we don't really need to go through with it right…?"

You were so sure that you were giving him assurance, so you were a little taken aback when Mark finally turned to you again, his emotions reflecting exactly the opposite of what you were expecting. You weren't sure if it was just a trick of the light, but for a split second, he looked like he was about to say something that you weren't ready for. But then he blinked, and he was back to being the boy you know—your closest friend in the world.

"Of course. We'll talk about it… At the right time."

Silence dropped between the two of you again. You were both looking at each other, trying to read off and pick apart things none of you were ready to talk about yet. You almost smiled at the same time, and that's when you knew that you'd definitely come back to him—and for him—again.

Your moment was ultimately broken when Mark suddenly turned just in time to catch the soccer ball speeding towards him with his fast reflexes. You both looked up to see Jeno looking at your pair, a knowing expression in his face. Chenle and Haechan giggled just a little ways behind him as the others looked on with smiles.

"You joining us, Mark-hyung?" Jeno asked with a slight nod. Haechan rolled his eyes from his spot and smirked.

"Or are we interrupting something? Stop hogging the birthday girl all to yourself. This ain't a date."

Mark was quick to give the others a scowl. He deftly threw the muddy soccer ball to his other hand before starting to pick himself up from his seat.

"I'm coming. Not my fault you all suck at playing."

You smiled at the banter but immediately reached out to fumble for something from your purse. Mark was about to join the others when you called out to everyone.

"Hey, I want to take a photo of all of you. Birthday remembrance."

Jaemin frowned as he caught your request.

"Right now? We're dirty."

"That makes it even more perfect~" you grinned as you stood up, camera at the ready. The boys exchanged unsure looks, but Renjun finally shrugged after seeing your hopeful expression.

"I guess we should. Wishes from the muse of the day."

You shot the group a pleased look. Mark had already started walking away when you called out to him softly again before he disappeared within ear shot.

"Hey, Mark."

The boy glanced at you, his eyes inquisitive. You smiled.

"Forget what I told you for a little bit, okay? I want to capture the perfect shot."

He paused. Finally, he relaxed and gave you a small nod.

"Only because you asked nicely."

You waited for him to join the others who have already taken positions in the field before you. Once everyone was ready, you lifted your camera and smiled as you checked your viewfinder.

"Perfect. Give me your best smiles, okay? One, two, three…"

Flash.

*******

"That was the day you told us you were leaving."

You slightly looked up from the framed photo that you've been holding when a familiar voice spoke up behind you. You were currently standing in one of the empty hallways of the Academy, right in front of a glass case holding other photos taken from other school events and personal gatherings of its students. You quietly returned the framed photo now, your back still on the newcomer.

"I'm surprised to see it here. It was a pretty personal shot."

"It is. Mark-hyung has a copy of it in his room, but your father wanted it on display here. He must have thought it would be the last one you will ever take of us."

A small ironic smile lifted the corner of your lips. You could still remember what happened next during your birthday two years ago, when you broke the news to the boys about your departure. They probably thought the same too.

"Did you think I wouldn't come back? You were putting up a good front back then if I could still remember, Haechan."

You met the steady gaze of the boy leaning on the wall opposite you when you fully turned your back away from the photo. He didn't immediately answer, but he did give a small, knowing smirk.

"No. I know you can't stay far away from here."

You slightly lifted your brows at his remark. There is always something about Haechan that is a little bit different every time it is just the two of you talking. In front of others, he is this happy go lucky boy who is always so straightforward of his affections towards you, to the point that people usually check off his behavior as superficial teasing. In intimate moments like this though, away from prying eyes, there is a different side to him that you know he only lets you see. There’s a more serious light in his eye… a curve to his lips that pulls you in.

"And why is that?" You asked now as you slightly leaned your head a little bit to the side in curiosity. Haechan's smile widened and you watched as he pushed himself away from the wall to cross the distance to where you are. He stopped less than a foot away from you, just close enough for you to appreciate his beauty marks. For the first time since you came back, you realized just how tall he had gotten too as you looked up at his face.

"Because Jeno and Mark are here. And Jaemin," he casually said. He paused then, waiting for you to react. When you remained silent, his expression turned more teasing and brave. "And me… and Renjun. You know you can't keep away from us, just as much as we can't from you," he added slowly as he made another step closer to you. It took you everything not to back up against the wall and give him the satisfaction of making you lose your cool. Instead, you angled your head up higher to hold his gaze.

"Did you enjoy your little sleepover with Jeno, noona?" He whispered then. Your heart jumped in your chest, even though nothing about your expression changed. In the brief second that you didn't answer, you realized what it is about him that also changed ever since you left.

Haechan's Arcana has always been one of the most volatile in the Family. The Magician is a fickle master, because the nature of its power can easily be swayed to evil in the hands of the wrong wielder. Chaos is part of their nature, and right now, you could see a stronger hint of it in the eyes of the boy staring you down. This wasn't the same person you left years ago. This Haechan… knows more of what he wants.

"So you were listening. Why am I not surprised?" You asked steadily.

"You shouldn't. You should know by now that I will be a little jealous."

You didn't get a chance to retaliate as you felt him reach out and settle his hands on your hips. The moment he touched you, the corridor around you dissolved, replaced by a brief slip of darkness before it focused again on a different scene. You looked around in surprise, your eyes taking in the view of the fields captured in the photo. Everything seemed so real… the smell of the grass and the flowers… even the way the wind slightly ruffled your hair. It took a while for the realization to hit you, but when it did, you turned to look at the boy holding you in silent shock.

This isn't an illusion.

He was bending reality by moving you to a different space in time.

"Haechan… your powers…"

He smiled.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"Since when have you learned to use chaos magic?"

"Not a long time. I wouldn't say I've mastered it. I can only do this now because of you."

You took a step away from him so you could see more of the place he had conjured. Behind you, he did a slight twist of his wrist as he watched you with a smug look. As if a switch was flipped, the field you were standing on changed from the bright colors of spring to the warm tones of autumn. Your lips parted slightly in surprise. You glanced back to meet his proud smirk with a look.

"Now you're just showing off…"

He simply shrugged and stepped closer to you again, pulling you in once more by gently tugging the belt straps of your jeans. You didn't give any outward reaction towards the gesture, despite your heart beating a little faster in your chest. It was obvious now that he was being more open than the boy you knew two years ago—he was never this brave, nor obvious. When your eyes met, his hooded gaze momentarily dropped to your lips.

"You can see it, right? How powerful we both can be together?"

You almost froze in his hold. You were expecting—no wishing—for him to say a multitude of things, but not this.

"What do you mean?"

A slight flicker of something quickly crossed his face, but it was soon gone before you could entirely catch it. You thought he looked momentarily guilty about the topic he opened, but there was something about the way he was looking at you that told you he was being pulled by a different desire. A slight jolt down your spine hit you when you realized what it was.

"Your Arcana and mine can do so much more—"

"Haechan. Don't say it."

Your voice was firm with a tinge of warning when you spoke. Haechan quickly stopped, but the look in his eyes remained. He didn't say anything, but the thick silence between the two of you said so much already.

"Do you like me?"

His eyes shot up to meet yours at your question. Ever so slightly, the curve of his lips changed as if he was about to answer you. His pause, however, gave you what you needed.

"You can't even answer… because you aren't sure yourself… are you?" You phrased what he couldn't say carefully. Haechan's jaw ticked, but he didn't move away when you took a calculated step towards him so you could stare deeper into his eyes.

"I'm right. You want me… because your Arcana feels pulled towards mine. It knows that The IL Matto can make him so much stronger, should I allow you to use me. It's what the rest of you feel," you stopped, your eyes bouncing all over his face.

"You do not crave me. You crave what I can do for you."

For a moment Haechan looked like he was about to disagree with you. His lips parted, but then he closed them again as if he cannot really bring himself to say something he himself doesn't believe.

To say that you are surprised would be an outright lie. You've always known this was going to happen—maybe not too soon, but in time anyway. You will never admit it, but there is some truth to what Mark said before in this very same field when he was trying to convince you to move away. Arcana abilities, after all, are energies. They are sentient outside of their human masters, but they do not have emotions, nor a soul. This nature makes them singularly pulled towards something that can make them stronger… bigger than what they can project in the human world.

The IL Matto is exactly that, the Arcana that can amplify other abilities should you wish to allow it. Haechan… doesn't want you.

It was his Arcana desiring yours.

"You can't even answer…" You smiled, though the gesture didn't really reach your eyes.

You were about to turn around to leave when you felt him reach out to you again. He almost looked pained when your gazes clashed again.

"Why can't it be me?" He managed to ask. Your expression softened and you took a while to gather your reply.

"Because you and I together can mean trouble, Haechan. We'll just bring out the worst in each other," you said softly. Ever so slowly, you flipped your hand so that it was you touching him instead. The moment the pads of your fingers got contact with his skin, the field around you dissolved, leaving you in the empty hallway of Rosewood again. You gently pulled back away from him and smiled.

"Will you like me as a woman, even without an Arcana ability? Maybe that's something you should try to find the answer first…" you said before finally walking away, leaving him staring after you as you disappeared around the shadowy corridor.

*******

You opened the door with purpose and trudged towards the bed in the middle of the room without sparing the surroundings a second look. With an ungraceful plop, you let yourself fall face first into the mattress, before lifting one corner of the duvet so you could crawl under it. A soft sigh of relief and satisfaction passed you as you finally managed to sink your head on the fluffy pillows, a light wood sage perfume scent wrapping you in a relaxing embrace. You took it in slowly before you closed your eyes to let the stillness in the room lull you to peace.

There was a slight rustling that you could hear from beyond your darkened vision but you didn't really react towards it, not until it was finally followed by a soft clearing of a throat. You pulled the duvet higher up your cheeks, but refused to open your eyes still.

"What are you doing, noona?"

You slightly frowned and took a pause before finally glancing upwards with a quiet sulk. Your gaze met Renjun who was currently seated on the wooden desk next to the bed, his hand still up in mid-air with a paintbrush loaded with paint. He didn't look surprised at all as he peered at you, though there was a look of curiosity lighting up his brown eyes behind his glasses. You blinked once before finally giving another sigh.

"Can I nap here?"

His brows rose as an amused look took over his gentle features.

"Well, you're already in my bed."

You grunted.

"Thank you."

He silently observed you as you adjusted yourself deeper under his sheets. Finally, he put down his paintbrush and turned his body a little on his chair so he could better look at you.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong…"

"Uh-huh? You never visit my room unless you want to escape from something."

You paused. Renjun smiled upon seeing your guilty look, despite only having half of your face visible under the duvet. The silence stretched between the two of you as his eyes steadied on yours. Finally, he frowned.

"What did Haechan do this time?"

You quickly looked away.

"You're reading my mind again…"

"Yes. Because you're letting me. What did he do?"

You hesitated before answering. You adjusted yourself a bit on his bed then, sitting up and leaning the back of your head against his headboard instead. You could feel his inquiring gaze on you, and you realized just how thankful you are to be with him at the moment. Your relationship with the others have their own intricacies, but Renjun is the only one who always manages to calm you down. Maybe it's because of his Arcana—the High Priestess is an energy of peace and reflection—but you've always felt like you can rest your head easy whenever you are with him.

"He's changed. He has become more powerful," you mumbled softly as you stared blindly at the wall. Renjun processed your words slowly, understanding the hidden things you didn't verbalize.

"We've all changed. Our abilities have matured a lot in the last two years," he said carefully. Your gaze flickered though you kept silent. When he spoke again, he could barely conceal the slight tinge of worry in his voice.

"Did he… force you to do anything?"

"No. No, he didn't," you were quick to correct his concern. "He was just—he was asking me… about the two of us. I guess I was just surprised."

This time, you could almost feel the unspoken words that his stare sent you. You made a pointed effort to avoid meeting eyes with him but he knew… you both knew…

"I don't think you're surprised, noona. You were just hoping it wouldn't happen so soon… don't you?"

Your fingers closed just a little bit tighter around the blanket covering you. Renjun continued, perfectly reading you, despite not having to get into your head with his ability.

"It's bound to happen. All of us are maturing, which means our Arcanas are also developing. Our instincts are shifting—it's part of who we are. Haechan is just a little bit different, because the nature of his powers can turn chaotic if he doesn't work on controlling himself. But all of us are changing. I think that's one thing you should learn to accept…"

You slowly turned to look at him. Renjun's face was still serene, but you thought there was a quick shadow that quickly passed his gaze when your eyes met.

"Is me being here hard for all of you, then?"

He smiled.

"Yes and no. Most of us have learned to control our abilities, maybe except for Jeno and Haechan since theirs are more dangerous and volatile in energy. But I would be lying if I say the pull now towards your Arcana is not stronger from how it once was."

A flash of guilt passed you.

"Should I leave your room… right now then?"

Your question made him laugh suddenly, the sound honey-like as it filled the room. You must have looked so worried because he shook his head after as he tried to calm his amusement.

"No. Unlike Haechan, I have self-control. I'm not a beast in heat."

You winced. You barely noticed it when he picked himself up from his seat to perch on the side of the bed. He nudged you playfully, and you made space for him to join you under the covers.

"You know what, I need a nap too," he said as he scooted to lay down on the mattress and removed his glasses. You blinked at him slowly, your gaze almost suspicious. You knew he caught it from the way his lips twitched.

"Just nap, right?"

"Why? Do you want to do more?" He asked with a raise of his brows. You grabbed one of his smaller pillows and playfully hit him with it. Renjun laughed but pulled you down with him after.

"I can't lose my pure boy yet. Don't."

He gave a slight scoff as he casually wrapped his arm around your waist. For anyone else, the gesture might seem too intimate, but you honestly felt more comforted than anything else. When he said you could trust him… you knew you could take his word on it.

"I never really was the pure boy you've always imagined to be, but if that's what will make you relax right now, then sure. Now, can we nap?"

He didn't need to ask you twice. As if it was something natural for you, your body relaxed on his hold. You were close enough to each other that you could almost count the long lashes that almost kissed the tops of his cheeks when he closed his eyes. Renjun has always been ethereally beautiful… but looking at him up close made you notice some changes on his features too. He definitely grew more into the curves of his face, and he looked more mature… manlier now than before.

"You smell like paint," you said softly without even realizing the words that left your lips as you admired his beauty. "And sage…"

He smiled.

"Good night, noona."

You closed your eyes slowly and moved to press your face closer into the crook of his neck. Your heartbeat was slow and relaxed and a soft breath left you as you let your mind relax in his embrace.

"Renjun?" You asked sleepily.

"Hm?"

"You never did try to make a move…"

He was silent. Just when you thought he had fallen asleep, you heard him speak again, his voice barely a whisper.

"You want to know why?"

You simply nodded, too sleepy to even manage speaking. You were a second away from slipping into slumber when he finally continued.

"Because if I do, I wouldn't want to share you with anyone else."

*******

[&]

"What do you think about the sunset here?"

You turned from the ledge that you've been leaning on and watched as the newcomer joined you on your spot by the rooftop. It was a few minutes before night falls and the sky was fading its last golden rays from the sun. You smiled at the boy beside you now as you straightened up and tucked yourself deeper into the oversized cardigan you're wearing. It's been almost three days since your escape from Cypher and the return of your memories, and you've been spending the time you have just recovering just like the others.

"It's beautiful… though not as beautiful as the view we have in Rosewood."

The man also trained his gaze at the sight, his expression solemn.

"I agree. Though I don't think anything can really come close to that."

"Thank you, though, for offering this place. I'm sure we're all safe here. This is such a big help while we're trying to come up with new plans. Cypher will never find us here,” you smiled.

"I don't think lending a former fortress owned by my family is much reason to be thanked for, but you’re welcome, I guess."

You easily caught the undertone in the voice he used. Looking around, you slightly frowned at him as he kept his face trained towards the view stretched out in front you. 

"Kun-ge… You know you've done a lot in all of this, right?"

Kun's expression didn't change, but you knew him well enough to know the exact things running through his mind right now.

"I have to. I don't have an Arcana like the rest of you so I have to do more. I… "

"You are still a part of the family. A very important member of it," you cut him off firmly but gently. His eyes shot to look at you and you held it before he even had the chance to look away. In that brief moment, he confirmed exactly what you were thinking—his worries and frustrations in full display for that slip of a moment. This wasn't the first time you've seen it in him, and you know exactly where it was coming from.

The Arcana network is a complex organization, a secret brotherhood made up of families with heritages tracing back centuries. Masters of the twenty-two major powers are born every generation, jumping from one family name to another, which means that those who are granted abilities can change just as soon as a new Master is chosen. Kun—unlike you and the others who currently hold the status of 'Masters' in the hierarchy—is a 'Legacy,’ a born member of a family that has a heritage of being Arcana masters but is not currently a holder of any ability. Legacies often have more freedom in detaching themselves from the private circle of the network but some, like him, decide to dedicate their life working closely with the private circle of the current masters.

For some, the decision is a perfect show of loyalty. However, it can also be a main cause of frustration.

"You did so well. I'm sorry I didn't get to thank you sooner, but I couldn't have done it without you," you said now as you reached out for his hands. You gave them a gentle squeeze to urge him to look at you. "You saved all of us, you know that, right?"

Kun's eyes finally met yours again. This time, he actually looked a little pained, though he managed to give you a small nod.

"I know. But please, do not make me betray you again."

Your chest squeezed. As a Legacy, people like him are naturally pulled to help and protect the Masters. What you asked of him—to betray you at one point to make sure your plan goes smoothly—is going directly against that instinct. He must have been so torn in both directions ever since.

"I promise… thank you so much for helping me out, gege."

He took in a slow breath before he finally managed to smile at you again.

"I'm sorry we couldn't save your father. When Ten and I realized what was happening, we decided to go and help out your group instead."

This time, it was your face that fell a little. You finally let him go and turned towards the view again. This time, the sky is now painted an inky black with a smattering of stars that weakly winked from the distance.

"No. You made the right decision. It would have been worse for all of us if we all got stuck there."

"So… what's the next plan…?" Kun asked carefully. You set your jaw as you looked on ahead.

"We need to move as soon as everyone has recovered… We can't wait too long. Cypher has exact copies of the seven Arcanas. They might be creating armies of clones of all of them right at this very moment."

Kun looked equally worried. No matter how he looks at it, this war seems to be a losing battle. Mark and the others might be powerful, but they will still be against numbers in the end.

"How do we even win this…?" He asked with a low voice.

"We might not," you answered, not even beating around the bush. "We might not have a chance against the number of their forces, but I can help amplify our side's Arcanas if I want."

"But that will be extremely damaging and dangerous to you, and even the others," Kun reasoned.

You nodded.

"Which is why we don't only depend on that. Cypher only has access to seven abilities… What will give us an edge are those they haven't had their clutches on yet."

Kun's eyes slightly widened in realization as things clicked in his head. He was about to say something when the door to the rooftop opened, ushering Mijeong out of it. She gave you and Kun a quick look before she slightly gave a polite bow of her head.

"Miss, you have visitors."

You turned just in time as the door once more and ushered new guests in. A number of men stepped outside, unbothered by the icy bite in the air. Your eyes lit up when your gaze landed on the man in the middle with jet black hair. He gave a small nod of greeting as the rest filed in beside him.

You smiled. 

"IL Matto, it's nice to see you again."

"Welcome back… Taeyong-oppa."

CHAPTER 3

-------

A/N: New chapter is up! I’ve dipped in activity for a little bit in Tumblr because of personal things but I wanted to make sure I push out something before I get lost on work. As usual, thank you to all of those who keep up with Arcane! I appreciate each and everyone of you. <3

P.S. If I might suggest, y'all cam reread Haechan's confession again in Book 1. 😏

Taglist [OPEN]:  @negincho, @jhornytrash, @aaasteroidsky, @huangberryyy, @marijmin, @ashkuuuu, @reluctantserpent-101, @huskyhunny, @domojoo, @anaveragefangirl, @lostlovesoul11, @dreamisfelix, @lomlwoo, @coconuttiez8d, @jaehyunenthusiastsworld, @shininginthemoonlight, @bettyschwallocksyee, @w3bqrl, @smolpeyy, @chenlejjang, @kunssouschef, @thesunsfullmoon, @chokopocky, @azzygongez, @tito-the-mermaid, @jakeshuneybby, @yutacchin, @baehaechannie, @thefoxsleeps, @caspervoid, @jaeyuuns, @ssuungchans, @furryllamas, @meiinumaki, @yayaistime, @byunniebaekhyunnie, @parkthothwa8, @johnniverse, @bee-bl41r , @peachyjaemin, @injeolmiee, @kasperneo, @chelzinha26,   @peaceout97,   @yongboksfreckles,   @kpopstanforlifeuwu, @dearj43​,  

Untaggable for some reason: @user103843, 

#mark nct x reader #jeno x reader #renjun x reader #jaemin x reader #haechan x reader #nct dream 00 line x reader #nct dream x reader #nct dream imagines #nct dream supernatural au #nct dream au #nct dream reader insert #mark nct fic #renjun fic #jaemin fic #jeno fic #haechan fic #chenle fic #kun fic #jisung fic #nct dream fantasy au #nct dream fantasy fic

[herwonderland7]

Map of Wonderland

Aerina's Kingdom

Former Queen Lenora Aerina Delcous

Queen Aretha Anthia

Princess Ariane Aurelia, Princess of Aerina Kingdom

Elexis Violeta Doukas, General Violeta

"You have been gone for too long,

That people wouldn't believe much,

Hence you would be called,

To mend their faith and beliefs,"

KINGDOM OF AERINA [mood board], characters : Aerina Royal Family

KINGDOM OF ATHENIAN [mood board], characters : Athenian Royal Family

KINGDOM OF MORIAN [mood board], characters : Morian Royal Family

KINGDOM OF NEO [mood board], THE JUNGS [mood board], characters : Neo Royal Family - 127, DREAM, WAYV

KINGDOM OF ESTELLEA [mood board], characters : Estellea Royal Family

KHIONEA, THE FALLEN ICE KINGDOM [mood board], characters

her wonderland : for infinity [the 3rd adventure]

#nct royal au #nct fantasy au #nct scenarios #nct imagines #nct au #nct 127 scenarios #nct 127 au #wayv au #nct dream au #nct prince au #nct royal #nct prince

[yutafrita]

To Pierce the White Eye- FOUR

Pre. / One / Two / Three / Four / Fin.

WARNINGS: Graphic depictions of physical violence, crude language, mentions of vomiting, discussions and threats of death, occult imagery, discussions of “virginity," discussions/ mentions of mc dying, majorcharacterdeathsI promise the ending is happy

Chapter WC: 6.1K

“God, you suck,” Sicheng hummed. 

You were stationed in the basement of the university in the practice room. Nearing three in the morning, Sicheng has been trying to get you to feel enough anger to ignite your flames so you could properly control them, but you were finding it hard to be filled with enough rage to set two of the three candles in front of you aflame.

“I just don’t… feel rage like that,” you admitted, frustrated. Sicheng had exposed his demon ears and tail, and he glared down at you as you struggled to make the flames return. In the one instance you did conjure them, it was only after you were beating up a training dummy in deep thought about Jaemin that you felt so angry.

“Well, do you have any strong emotions?” Sicheng asked, raising an eyebrow. “You have to feel something.”

“Right now I just feel irritated,” you snapped.

“Come on sis.”

“Don’t call me that,” you countered. To you, Mark was still your brother- your only one at that. Sicheng had no grounds or reason to call you his sister. You loved your family- your real family, and Sicheng did not fit into that equation.

Sicheng smirked, “well, you got one candle lit. Let’s try again tomorrow.”

As he maneuvered out of the practice room, you sat stunned as you stared at the one flickering candle wick, the blue flame feeling like an extension of you. It wasn’t much, but you felt a bit of pride to have conjured the flame of your own volition, and as you felt the extension, you swiftly snuffed it out.

You were so excited, you surprised yourself when the first thing you did was call Jaemin, and even more surprised when you heard the ringing of a phone in the hallway. Within a second, Jaemin knocked on the door, holding his phone up to the door window with a smile on his face.

“How did you know I finished already?” you asked after you opened the door.

“I had a hunch.”

“You watched Sicheng’s path to see when he wasn't with me anymore, huh?” you tilted your head, smirking as he let out a bashful smile. You hadn’t noticed before, but you noted the full plastic bag in his other hand and gestured to it.

It was dinner from Deer Moon, the one restaurant within a comfortable radius of the university that was open all night. It was where Jungwoo and Kun had dragged you to pay your debt to them before, and was now your dinner with the psychic.

“So, you think the Queen is going to resign soon?” you were unscrewing the cap to the soda Jaemin brought, listening as he recounted a few visions he’s been getting.

He nodded, frowning a bit as he shoved his food into his mouth, “Yuta’s going to be miserable,” he muttered between bites.

You matched Jaemin’s frown, “so there’s no way that you can switch the government over or something? Yuta doesn’t seem too keen on being king.”

“Things don’t change in the mythic world quite that easily,” he sighed.

“It’s just… it’s unfair,” you replied, picking at your dinner.

“I know… I saw it changing at some point but now…” his voice trailed off and you met each other’s eyes. “Your eyes are pretty.”

“You have great timing,” you teased, finally eating your meal. “I just think it’s weird that Sicheng is helping me.”

“Hm, it is,” Jaemin agreed but shrugged, “are you happy to be having help?”

“Of course, I’m just suspicious.”

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Jaemin winked.

The next few weeks followed a similar pattern- day classes, warden duties, night classes, training, and then Jaemin. Before day classes you hung out with Kun and Jungwoo who consistently teased you about the psychic, and after night classes Ten would complain about not having your ear all the time. 

All of this time and Jaemin hasn’t even so much as kissed you!

“He’s not my boyfriend,” you grumbled after night class one evening. Mark decided to join you on your guarding of the main building. While there hadn’t been a demon sighting in a while, your brother was still nervous at just the thought of one lurking about.

“You guys are together all the time. You text all the time. You giggle like a schoolgirl whenever you’re with him,” Mark listed. You frowned, knowing the part that your brother was missing- the fact that you two were soulmates. This was something that had laid silent between you and the psychics' interactions now. You both knew that this was a fact, and whenever you felt even more comfortable with the other, this fact made you feel immediately nervous.

“We haven’t even kissed- he’s not my boyfriend,” you repeated the last part, frowning. This took Mark by surprise as he blinked quickly. You rolled your eyes, your gaze returning to the homework you wanted to get a head start on. 

“You have a hot boy around you every night and he hasn’t even kissed you?” Mark repeated this statement and you groaned.

“Unless you have anything to tell me about,” you glanced down at the paper, “EEG machines or demons,” you gestured to the empty main building courtyard, “then I don’t want to hear it.”

It was relieving to have a moment of reprieve to be able to learn about something ‘normal.’ Sure, learning that humans generate electricity in your bio class isn’t necessarily the most interesting thing in the world, but it keeps you grounded when faced with the fact that you were the child of Satan and constantly speaking with someone who could see the future. 

You felt your brother peering over your shoulder as you scribbled down an answer to your worksheet.

“So we’re all like… batteries? That’s crazy,” he whistled. You wanted to be annoyed, but one glance at your brother made you release a small laugh. 

“You’re annoying,” you were still chuckling, punching your brother’s arm lightly. Mark was your brother- you would always have each other's back. You shoved your work back into your pocket, listening to Mark talk about his classes without any fervor. You squinted, studying his face until he stopped speaking. “You have something else on your mind.”

“Hey, don’t turn this on me when you have a weird relationship with a psychic.”

“It has to do with school,” you pointed, watching your brother squirm on the bench. You would always catch him in a lie the same way when you were younger, and just like when you were younger he still squirmed and avoided your gaze. Mark’s ears lit up red and he stood up, turning his gaze away from you.

Mark was always the least interested in Knight’s Cross College and carrying on your family’s mission. Your Dad flipped out when Mark just floated around the idea of applying to a local community college to take classes Knight’s Cross didn’t offer.

“You don’t have to tell me,” you stood up, glancing at your watch, “just know that I’ll support you no matter where you are. I’ll see you later,” you turned back into the main building, making eye contact as a few night students started to leave their classes. 

Taeyeon had managed to get your father’s office cleaned and reorganized, making it so that the office hardly wore the marks of a demon attack. You took out your backpack from your designated shelf, and stole a glance at the family portrait. It was the only piece in the office that bore the scar of the attack- small creases over each of your faces where the painting was glued back together.

Re-entering the main hall, the hairs on the back of your neck stood tall. Across the way from the now locked President’s offices stood one of the night class students, his eyes flashing between a brown and a golden hue as he glared at you. 

“You,” he practically growled, taking two steps forward. You stole a glance at his night student ID that hung pristinely around his neck on a lanyard- Kim Doyoung. This was a name that Jaemin had mentioned to you briefly- a powerful shifter, and his family belonged to the oligarchy as well.

“Do you need something?” you asked, crossing your arms.

“You know, Jaemin is one of the only psychics left in the world,” Doyoung furrowed his brows, his eyes settling on a golden color.

“And you’re going to tell me to stay away from him?” You fought back a smirk, watching his face contort in anger.

“You need to fuck off- he is royalty and you’re just a human,” he snapped, wolf ears morphing onto the top of his head. Just a human- you had to hold back a laugh.

“Doyoung, fuck off,” you both looked towards the main door, seeing Jaemin standing tall with Hendery at his side. Hendery looked less confident than his friend, but he certainly looked protective nonetheless.

“Jaemin,” Doyoung glared, not even acknowledging the other shifter. Jaemin and Hendery moved forward, standing at your side across from Doyoung. The air was thick with tension, and you knew any moment Sicheng would be at the main gate, waiting to enter for your training.

“Doyoung, you need to learn to keep your nose out of other people’s business,” Jaemin took two steps forwards, close to the angered shifter, “or else… well. I guess people shouldn’t know how they die,” you didn’t have to see Jaemin to know he was wearing a smirk.

Doyoung’s mask dropped for a moment, his eyebrow twitching as he thought over what the psychic just said, “you’re lying.”

“And you’re willing to bet your life on that?” you stepped forward, meeting Jaemin’s side and studying Doyoung.

“She… I can smell that you aren’t human,” Doyoung hissed, “no one else has my skills, but I know it! And I’ll tell everyone.”

You all remained silent, watching Doyoung’s growl grow louder until he fully snarled.

“You should leave,” you spoke up, keeping a stern face as you watched Doyoung fully waver. “You don’t wanna be known as the incredibly talented shifter who died young, now would you?” You added, and with this Doyoung nearly sprinted out of the building, leaving the three of you alone.

“I can’t believe he can smell a change, too,” Hendery muttered, scratching his chin.

“Too?” Jaemin asked.

“… Oh look at the time!” And before either of you could press Hendery, he too flitted out of the main building.

“Weird,” you chuckled, finally looking and making proper eye contact with Jaemin. How have you not kissed?? You’ve definitely made attempts to only be ignored-  has he made an attempt that you hadn’t noticed?? 

“You gonna get that?” Jaemin’s question combined with your phone ringing brought you back. 

“Sicheng?”

“I’m canceling tonight. Bye,” he hung up as quickly as you answered.

“Huh,” you muttered.

“What are you gonna do now?” Jaemin asked. You pursed your lips as you thought it over.

“I’ll probably do some practice on my own.”

“Do you want some extra help?”

Jaemin sat behind the candles across from you, the lights dimmed to help you better concentrate on their wicks. Over the past month, you haven’t had any major flare ups and had managed to turn on all of the wicks one after the other, but Sicheng had been having you try to light up the two ends of the trio at the same time without touching the center.

“You have so much more control now,” Jaemin whistled, his eyes wide as he watched you light up the left candle and then the right candle. In his past visions of you (different versions of you) you were far more prone to flare ups, but your flames were so well controlled. He was in awe of you, truly.

You were thankful for the dimmed light and the small blue hue the candles offered, for they were able to hide the blush on your cheeks. Jaemin’s rounded out eyes fully admiring you made your heart pound and throw off your concentration- and this caused all of the candles from wick to their bottom to completely burst into flames.

“Shit!” you cried, horrified as Jaemin grabbed the fire extinguisher to quickly blow it out.

With heavy breathing, Jaemin plopped down next to you, a smile splashed across his face. “That was so cool.”

“I don’t think so.”

“It is… you’re pretty cool,” he playfully pushed your shoulder, and as the blush heated up on your ears and cheeks, you remembered your conversation with Mark. You met the psychic's eyes, noting the deep shade of red his ears wore.

“Kiss me,” you stated plainly, watching Jaemin’s face go blank. 

Jaemin had been dying to kiss you since he met you, frankly. He would always catch himself staring at your lips, and sinking into himself whenever your skin would brush against his own. But…

“I… I’ve never kissed anyone,” the shame washed over him as he spoke, and he felt the painful prickle of embarrassment envelope him. He wasn’t focused much on being physically close to anyone, and the only people he had any interest in kissing he never actively tried to. With you, though, he wanted to be as close to you as physically possible, but how could he? Jaemin knew you not only had more experiences, but you deserved the best. There was no way, he felt, he could even compare.

You blinked, “oh… so you don’t want to kiss?” you were confused. You were surprised that someone as beautiful as Jaemin had never kissed anyone, but you were frankly more concerned with whether or not he even felt comfortable kissing you.

“N… no I do want to kiss you but… what if I’m terrible?”

You couldn’t help but giggle at just how adorable he was and placed your hands on his cheeks, feeling the heat from them rise. “Jae… every first kiss is awkward-.”

Jaemin groaned loudly, but you squeezed his cheeks gently to get his attention back, “but! Just like everything… it takes a bit of time and… practice… and just being open with your feelings and your needs.”

“You’re not… freaked out by that? I mean- I’m in college,” Jaemin sputtered out, leaving your hands and listing off all of his tense feelings. You waited and listened, nodding along as he spoke.

“Jae,” you had him look back towards you once he finished, his breathing heavy as he wasn’t able to catch his breath while he poured over his thoughts. “Just… follow my lead,” you whispered, moving slowly forward, and when Jaemin stayed where he was, lips slightly parted, you pressed your lips against his gently.

Jaemin’s lips were soft, and sweet. He was shy as he slowly began to kiss you back, but once he placed his hand on your hip so he could lean in closer, you couldn’t fight your smile. Jaemin was kind, sweet, respectful, and far from your worst kiss.

Your phone ringing loudly forced you two apart, and when you expected just to see blown out pupils you screeched impulsively. Jaemin’s one eye going white was fairly normal, but both of them having glazed over into a white was new and a frankly terrifying sight to you. He blinked in confusion, the white slowly fading.

“Why are both of your eyes white?”

“They are?” He was surprised by this fact, but didn’t seem at all concerned.

“They’re fading back to normal,” you noted as his soft brown eyes returned slowly, along with another phone call. 

“Sorry,” you apologized as you checked the caller ID, “Mark?”

“I’m fine, don't listen to him!” it was Mark’s voice, but it was from a farther distance than it should be, and he was shouting. Your blood froze.

“Your brother is quite a baby,” a somewhat familiar voice chimed in. They were calm to a chilling degree with the backdrop of Mark’s shouting.

“Sicheng,” you gritted your teeth, “what the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“Deer Moon. Come here- alone- or your brother croaks,” the line went dead afterwards, and you felt your heart stop.

*******

Jaemin threw up on the side of the road as he watched your figure shrink away towards Deer Moon. He had driven you as close as possible to Deer Moon, and after begging- and begging, and begging- you to not go by yourself, you got out a block away to walk over on your own.

Jaemin wiped the spit from his face, hunched over. He felt fucking useless. How was he supposed to help you? The only way he knew how was stolen from him. It was cruel, he felt, that the person he had come to care for the most was the one person who he couldn’t make his power useful for. Hands shaking, he shoved his hand into his pocket and started a round of calls for help.

Meanwhile, on your path down the empty street, your stomach turned as you realized the parking lot around Deer Moon was teeming with demons. Their blue, beady eyes were glaring at you the closer you approached, and you swallowed the massive lump in your throat. Demons were notorious for only following Satan himself, but it seemed that Sicheng had managed to tame enough to follow him to earth and make sure you were truly alone. 

What a goddamn monster.

The demon closest to the door snarled at you, but allowed you to enter nonetheless. You were half-expecting to see Sicheng and Mark at a booth, but instead were greeted by the bartender wiping down the bar top, a pair of deer antlers exposed at the crown of his head. He barely glanced up at you, simply sighing to himself before he spoke.

“He’s downstairs in the basement. I don’t ask questions, I just do what my boss tells me,” this sounded like a standard script for him at this point. Of course, the one restaurant open late nearby was run by mythics, you thought bitterly.

“Fucking coward,” you spat, walking past him and to the door next to the kitchen he had gestured to.

“Whatever,” he called back. Huffing to yourself, you opened the door to the basement and started down the dimly lit steps.

“... is so foolish,” a voice from below spoke. You hurried your steps and saw Mark on a chair, his wrists uncomfortably tied, a blood streak dripping from his nose, and several bruises starting to form.

“Mark!” you cried, running to where he sat and reaching to untie the ropes.

“No don't-!” Mark had tried to stop you before, but your hands burned as soon as they touched the ropes.

You hissed, ripping your hands away in pain. Cradling them close to you, the burn marks gleamed an angry red on your finger tips.

“Holy water- you’d think you’d be more cautious,” Sicheng hummed. 

“Let him go,” you demanded through gritted teeth, squeezing your hands to dull the pain. Sicheng stood in the far right corner of the room, his demonic sharpened teeth exposed along with a set of green wings 

“Why are your hands burnt from the holy water?” Mark’s soft voice paired with his question made your heart squeeze as you met his eyes. You were quiet, trembling as you watched the terror cross your brother’s face as he looked at you. He had to think of you as a monster, and that was one of your worst fears.

 As you were distracted, the air got knocked out of you as Sicheng brought you to the ground, his body now shrouded in blue flames.

“Get off of me!” you struggled to try and escape his grasp, using both of your feet to ram into his gut and knock him off.

“You fucking brat,” Sicheng growled. He now hovered above you, looking down in disgust. “I should have killed you the moment you were born.”

“... Sis?” Mark’s voice called you back, and angrily you kicked Sicheng’s groin. As he collapsed onto the ground in pain, you rushed to Mark’s side, enduring the agony of the burns as you undid one of the ropes that bound him. 

“Stop, or I will fucking kill him,” Sicheng’s terrifyingly calm voice sent a shiver down your spine as you looked up. He now stood directly behind your brother, knife to his throat.

“Don’t… Don’t kill Mark,” you voice trembled as you stood back up and backed away. You ignored the searing pain your hands felt as the fear of something happening to your brother outweighed anything else.

“You’re going to listen to me very closely,” Sicheng’s voice was shaky despite the determination in his tone, “Father has expressed his impatience. It is time for us to go back home.”

You met the gaze of Mark, and instead of seeing a look of confusion or fear- he shot you a wink.

You had to keep Sicheng talking- Mark was far too calm, and you knew that meant he was up to something.

“I have a theory,” you were spitting up whatever words you could string together, “about the blue night.”

Sicheng raised an eyebrow, “the night we were sent here?”

“It’s nearly impossible to leave hell. So, is it that Satan managed to send two of his kids there?”

Sicheng chuckled, “I’m surprised you remember that I was even there. Father had all of your prior memories completely wiped.”

You frowned. To send two young spawns of Satan to the surface world required a lot of power, power you couldn’t even fathom until….

“B-batteries,” you sputtered out, your eyes widening. In your own attempt to lengthen the conversation, you accidentally stumbled into an answer, “holy shit. Satan used the demons to possess all of those mythics to gather energy to bring us to the surface. That’s what happened.”

“He just had a couple demons possess and destroy some bodies… not that big of a deal,” Sicheng said coldly, not phased in the slightest. 

“You are fucking sick.”

“Oh fuck off- like you’re so great? You can’t even control your powers. Hell- you’re fucking that psychic and you are still losing.”

You smirked, looking back down to see Mark smiling your way, “are you sure about that?”

Sicheng didn’t have time to react as Mark quickly made use of his holy water ropes, knocking the knife out of Sicheng’s hand and killing his flames within the blink of an eye. 

********

Sicheng, the bartender, and the cook of Deer Moon were tied up in the main dining room of the restaurant. Mark had managed to knock Sicheng out, allowing the surrounding demons to vanish since their energy source was pulled. This allowed Jaemin, Ten, Hendery, and Johnny to rush into the place. 

You and Mark were quiet, watching Johnny, Ten, and Hendery arguing over what should be done with the knocked out demon and irritated owners. Jaemin sat himself on top of the bartop after crushing you in a hug, and once he was sure you were okay, he decided to focus on reviewing any possible paths he could.

Mark was easily able to knock out and tie up Sicheng despite the two being friends for years. Mark was your brother in every way but blood, yet you were still nervous to even speak with him. What even would be the most logical way to approach this?

“Sis?” Mark’s voice was hushed, and you glanced over at him. You were trembling, scared of what he was going to say.

“Yeah, Mark?”

“You know Dad’s going to be really sad if you stop calling him Dad, right?” he whispered, a small smirk forming on his lips. You rolled your eyes, punching his arm.

“You guys can’t get rid of me that easily,” you teased. He ruffled your already messy hair.

“Good,” was all he responded with, wrapping you in a bear hug.

“I’m sorry that this happened, and that this is how you found out,” your voice was low as you spoke, squeezing him tightly. You didn’t want to risk everyone else hearing, but you were elated to still have your brother- your real brother on your side.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.”

“I think burning a Prince of Hell is more than enough,” you laughed, pulling away. You looked back at the group and rolled your shoulders back- this was your mess, and you were determined to clean it up.

The bartender had a pair of deer antlers exposed, and the cook’s blue faerie wings showed them fully for what mythics they were.

“All right, what are your names?” you asked. The pair glared at you before the deer decided to speak up first.

“I’m Sungchan, this old faerie is Taeil.”

“Why would you answer her?” Taeil snapped.

“Old man, they have us tied up and outnumbered,” Sungchan sighed in defeat, going back to stare at the wall.

“And do you clowns often let demon princes take refuge in your basement?”

“If they pay enough,” Taeil admitted, and Sungchan nodded in quiet agreement.

You glanced over your shoulder to see Hendery and Ten now trying to arm wrestle each other as Johnny moved to heal Mark’s wounds.

“Well, now you’re going to have to pay up- or else this place will be burned to the ground,” you threatened.

“How much?” Taeil raised an eyebrow, seeming to already try and find a way out of it.

“Hm, about two waiters' salaries?”

*****

The car ride to Yosei Inn and Fine Dining was as awkward as you expected. Jaemin had suggested bunking and trapping Sicheng at the all mythic inn as it should have enough protection for mortals to never spot it and keep Sicheng’s powers weak at the same time. Mark, Ten, and Hendery all squished in the backseat with the still knocked out Sicheng spread across their laps as the vampire and shifter kept sending biting comments your way. All the while, Johnny was sitting in the trunk, eating an apple he had swiped from Deer Moon.

“I can’t believe you’re making us be fucking waiters,” Ten repeated this grumble again.

“It’s just for a bit to keep those guys in line,” you, too, repeated yourself.

“It’s stupid,” Hendery added.

“Ten, this means you can give us discounts!” Mark on the other hand was elated by the idea, as he, Kun, and Jungwoo had gone multiple times.

“You plan to go again?” Hendery aired the question you also had.

“Yeah… I’ll just try not get kidnapped into the basement again.”

It turned out that Johnny’s family owned a suite at Yosei. Johnny and Mark did the work of adding additional demon barriers to the doors and windows as Jaemin and Ten carried and attached onyx cuffs to Sicheng’s wrists and ankles.

“Who just owned those?” you asked in a hushed voice. You stood in the empty hallway of the hotel, staring into the decadent suite as everyone was at work. You said you would keep watch in the hall, and when Ten tried to counter you, Mark and Jaemin snapped back at him.

Jaemin popped his head into the living room to answer you, “I did.”

“Kinky,” Ten’s voice rang out and you groaned.

“Gross,” Mark cringed, tucking his holy water back into his pocket.

It did give you a brief pause, as Ten and Mark began to argue while Hendery made an attempt to lower their voices. You and Jaemin shared eye contact, and by the way he averted his gaze immediately afterwards, you figured he knew what you were thinking.

Jaemin dropped Mark and the others off close to the day dorms, and you hung back with him as he drove to park the car in the student lot. It was so awkwardly quiet until he parked and turned off the car. After a brief pause, you both spoke at the same time.

“Did you plan to use the handcuffs on me?” “I’m a virgin.”

Both of your eyes widened at each other as you processed what was said.

“No, I figured we would need them for Sicheng forever ago,” he lowered his voice, the crease between his brows showing a deep concern. 

“I… kind of already figured that?” 

“Oh… yeah.”

There was that awkward silence again. 

“Jae? You shouldn’t feel obligated to do anything, ever. You… I mean… maybe,” you paused, staring down at your hands. The selfish part of you wanted to stop yourself, but the part of you that cared deeply for Jaemin was stronger, “maybe by soulmates it’s a platonic thing? If that’s what you want.”

Jaemin’s hands cupped your face and had you turn to face him.

“I want to do… everything with you,” and before you could tease Jaemin for his wording, he crashed his lips against yours, kissing you fervently. A chill was sent down your spine as you wrapped your arms around his neck, allowing Jaemin to pull you closer to him. His lips were smooth, and you were lost in him as you tightened your hold on him. The center console of the car was the only thing stopping you both from pressing against the other fully, but it didn’t stop Jaemin from moving his hands from your cheeks to smoothly trace down your arms and sides, landing on your hips.

Much to your dismay, Jaemin pulled away, both of his eyes frosted over in white as he stared at you. You were both breathless, your heated breath fanning over the others’ face. 

“I… I love you,” you admitted, watching as his eyes faded into their beautiful brown. His eyes widened before he pressed a small, sweet kiss on your forehead. Moving a hand to caress your cheek, he smiled.

“I love you,” he affirmed, and you both giggled like children, leaning your foreheads against each other. He smiled, pulling away before he stated, “I have your nickname.”

“Oh? What is it?” Before when you had spoken of nicknames, you primarily turned down ones that he didn’t seem that into- but with how he was smiling at you now, you knew you would give into any nickname.

“Blue,” he squeezed his hand in yours, and with the way he was looking at you, you couldn’t help but nod in approval.

“Blue and Jae. Blue Jae,” you spoke aloud, and you both chuckled at the cheesiness of your two names together. Two pieces that complimented the other perfectly. A small moment of peace before both yours and Jaemin’s phones started ringing. 

“Hendery’s calling me,” Jaemin noted once you both brought them out.

“Ten’s calling me,” you muttered before you looked up at Jaemin, “I’ll answer.”

“Ten?”

“HELP! HELP! HE-,” and then the line went dead.

******

Jaemin handled his first bully when he was five years old. It was an older elf boy who yanked Jaemin’s hair for getting the good crayon pack in the classroom. Jaemin, like he was still prone to do, had forced a vision afterwards only to spurn the bully on more once they noticed young Jaemin’s white eye.

“You fucking freak. All you do is see the future so you can manipulate us!” The bully shouted, finally earning the attention of the teacher who was formerly preoccupied. 

“At least my parents won’t be splitting up because of me,” Jaemin whispered before the teacher could get within earshot.

The bully switched classes, and Jaemin continued to handle his bullies in similar fashions. He was able to not have the physical strength necessary by using his skill of always being one step ahead of others.

Satan, though, was not a bully Jaemin was equipped to handle.

The two of you were fully sprinting through the Knight’s Cross Woods, following both Hendery and Ten’s locations. You had tried calling Mark only for your calls to continue going to voicemail, and every few sprinted steps your hands would burst and extinguish their flames.

You both stopped in your tracks, catching your breath as you saw the blue hues of light whispering between the trees.

“Sicheng?” You asked Jaemin between huffs of air. The psychic’s white eye blew out, showing that Sicheng was still at Yosei Inn, awake and irritated by his entrapment, but still at Yosei.

Jaemin shook his head, “I… I think it’s… him.”

Your eyes widened, and Jaemin watched them turn into cerulean blue.

“I’m not ready to take him,” you panicked, grabbing Jaemin’s hands.

“Hey,” he was holding back tears for your sake, “you aren’t alone. You will be okay.”

“And what about you? What about Mark? And Ten, and Hendery?” You whispered, your voice trembling. The Na prophecy was gnawing at both of you, and Jaemin swiped his thumb across your cheek to pick up a tear that spilled over.

“It’s either both of us, or someone we care about,” you repeated. You turned your head back towards the blue hue, watching as the light slowly grew in intensity. “It’s either we go now… or they all get hurt.”

“You will be okay- I promise,” Jaemin whispered. He would rather die than let anything happen to you.

Nodding, you both continued down the unmarked path, getting closer and closer to the blue hue until you entered a clearing. 

It was empty. The blue hue was gone. You and Jaemin shared a look of worry as both your phones began to ring incessantly, and you quickly answered your brother.

“Mark? Mark, where are you?” you spoke quickly, watching as Jaemin answered Ten’s phone call.

“What do you mean? We’re in my dorm playing smash brothers with those freshman on your floor,” he was calm, and you could hear a loud TV in the background along with people laughing. 

“Where’s Ten?”

“He’s getting his ass beat by Chenle. Sis, are you okay?” 

“I- I have to go,” you hung up and silenced your phone, Jaemin and you silent as you stared at each other. Looking down at Jaemin’s phone, the picture was clear- all of their locations showed them at their dorms. They were in no danger.

“Ten is fine.”

“So is Mark.”

“That was fun for me,” a third voice rang out in the clearing, and blue light began to show again. Turning your head, you stood frozen as you saw a large wall of blue fire that somehow was not burning the surrounding area, and the shadow of a beast behind it. “You were sent here along with your brother, for the day you gained your full powers you were to take over and rule the underworld on my behalf.”

This dropped like a bomb on your stomach, and yet the beast continued, “Now is the time. You are to come with me.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” your voice was loud and strong, your hands balled into fists as flames engulfed them. 

“Your half human body was too frail to survive growing up in the underworld- but, you’ve gained your full strength. It is time you fulfill your destiny as my child.”

“I am not your child.”

“We can do this the easy way, or the hard way,” Satan’s voice sent chills down both your spines. You looked over to Jaemin, tears welling up in your eyes.

“You aren’t taking her- she is not anyone’s to take,” Jaemin moved forward, and you blew the flames out from your hand to grab his arm and stop him. The flames were silent before a booming laugh resounded.

“Don’t tell me my half mortal daughter has decided to fall in love with a psychic? My child, what an excellent strategy. We are quite similar.”

“I am not your child!” you repeated, this time more fervent in your anger.

“Take my soul and use my gifts, leave her be,” Jaemin’s words fell from his lips before he even had time to think about it. You squeezed his arm, now about to collapse. Your head was spinning just as the thought of losing Jaemin- how could he possibly even think to offer himself like that?

Satan himself chuckled before saying, “you fool. Like she would let you go without her.”

He was right, of course. Jaemin offering himself up on a platter displayed Jaemin’s devotion to you, and showed Satan everything he could have.

“Both of you, enter the flames or else I will simply set this forest, this school, and everyone in it on fire. Your choice.”

You moved in front of Jaemin, grabbing his face in your hands, “you need to run. You have to go.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“Jaemin I can probably survive in the underworld but you… I can’t have you die because of me.”

“If you go, I’ll die anyways,” Jaemin was struggling to control his heavy breathing before he continued, “and… I think I’ll live. I can handle a couple hundred demons and Satan himself.”

You were angry as you chuckled- of course, Jaemin would manage to make you laugh at a time like this. You turned back to the flames, “let me send a message.”

“I refuse to send a message to any of your human companions.”

“No… to Sicheng. You can do that, right?”

“How dare you question my abilities?” the voice boomed. You looked back to Jaemin, praying he understood your thinking. He linked his fingers with yours, and while he didn’t understand your plan at that moment, he understood one thing- that you two could face Satan himself as long as you did it together. 

“Just tell Sicheng that he’s free to take what’s his, he’ll know what it means,” you watched as Jaemin’s eye went white, and he nodded in affirmation. What Jaemin saw was more blurry than he would usually rely on, but it did show Sicheng being angry, and that’s all you two needed.

“Enter the flames,” the shadow slowly faded and the wall of blue fire rose. You squeezed Jaemin’s hand as if he was going to melt right between your fingers.

Then, you entered the flames together.

<- Go back? Chp. 3

Continue? FIN. ->

Taglist! @nini0620 @enhazen @shwizhies @ibedreaminghighupinthesky

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[illumins]

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𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑶𝑵𝑬

•◦✦────•◦ᘡ✷ᘞ •◦────✦◦•

NESVEA WAS MET WITH THE COLD TOUCH of winter. Its cypress trees are coated by the pale white snow. The ground beneath his feet hinted of green as he made his way through the forest of Saelan. Each warm breath left gusts of clouds. His nose and cheeks glowed red; ears tinted a soft pink. Jeno and his group of mercenary men have traveled through the cold season for the past month. One would believe them to be vagabonds and not men of the crown. But the red collar of their onyx uniform was enough for everyone to know who they were. Men reborn within the walls of Kreignen.

Jeno's calloused hands grazed the trunks of the ocean forest. The crunching sound of dead branches breaking with every step. Behind him, tirelessly following, are his three personal knights. Mark, a young brunette hair man with a scar on his cheek and temple. The second that followed is a blonde, hair white as the snow that they trudged through. He wore a heavy coat as he's gotten ill from the trip. But Jaemin is a man built on stubbornness. And the one to walk beside him as he carried both their travel bags is Jisung. The youngest of the three; a child when he entered Kreignen. Yet war and fight was something sealed in his blood.

Through a shiver, Jisung questioned Jeno, not being the first time since they began their mission. "Remind me again as to why horses weren't allowed in this trip?"

Jeno continued to walk, used to the young boys grumble, "Because the King specifically ordered for this to be kept in secret."

"Horses are big, Jisung. They're loud," Mark mocked, turning his head back and ignoring the return gesture of rolling eyes.

"We don't even know if it even lives..." Jisung muttered to himself.

Jeno tsk's at Jisungs remark, "It better or we'll have an execution for when we return."

Through a cough, Jaemin spoke, "What a way to die after everything."

"Seems fitting to me," Jeno said bluntly.

He knew his father and the crown he worked for. It wasn't weighed on the head of a righteous, selfless, good man. Good King. No, Instead, it laid on the head of a merciless man driven by the poison of wickedness and greed. Jeno could still feel the hunger his father's weakened eyes emitted.

His father's hand clasped around his wrist, the contact of skin felt like it burned. It made him squirm, wishing he could pull himself away. But the grip tightened as he was pulled down to his laying father's figure. Jeno hovered over him like a scared child, too scared to be bitten by the wolf that cornered him.

"You look like death...." he breathed in, "you smell like it too."

Jeno gulped and tried maintaining his stern facade as he met the devils' eyes.

"I sent you to Kreignen and you return to me like this? A broken mutt?"

From behind, Emric, one of the teachers in Kreignen who'd taught Jeno since young, spoke with a careful tone. "My King."

His father's eyes shifted from him to the man, "Emric."

"If I may be so bold, your son is an exceptional pupil and student in our camp. He is always on the top of his group and is a great example of the soldiers we create."

"Then why does he not look like it?"

Emric gulped down a silent word, fear or cursed, he held it. Instead, he spoke with eloquent words that felt sharp on the tongue, "My King, we raised your son to be the strongest of his kin, not a man of elegance."

The King bit back through a monotone thunderous words, "And I am to remind you that he is still a man of the court. There's as much indifference to him as to our enemies in the south. He is spoken about like a commoner and it's hard enough as it is to get those mouths to shut."

To Jeno, he knew what it meant to have been sent to Kreignen. It was a way to be dismissed and a forgotten mistake his father had made. A mistake he couldn't get rid of. And in hopes that it would be fixed for him and brought to him as a trophy, or perhaps Jeno being too hopeful, a gift or a blessing.

He watched his father's eye move from Emric to his ears, disgust ridden in every crevice of his aged face. "And those things"- he pointed at the elfin ears- "I told you already. Hide them."

His father let go of him and Jeno bowed; quickly a servant made way to the forgotten prince and handed him his black headscarf. In memorizing motions, Jeno wrapped the silk over his head, under the chin thrice, and around his neck twice.

After that intervention and reunion, his father sent the royal doctor to him. Requesting him with a task even Jeno had found absurd and impossible. But he remembered who his father was, to a man like him there was no such thing as the impossible, just time.

And now as they trudged through the ruins of a decapitated village, the only remembrance of the witches having been real. He questioned how long they'd have to be out before they could return home. Had I doomed them to death alongside me? He heard Jaemin cough and felt his stomach churn.

He had chosen his men because he knew them as the few to never betray him. They'd spill blood before they let gold pour onto their hands. And even now as they grumbled through the misery of this expedition they remained by his side.

Jeno looked beside him and watched as Mark's diligent eyes scanned the environment, looking for the mystic signs the town folks had shared with them. Jeno still couldn't help but be grateful that he had agreed to come with him. He was the first he had approached out of the three and he was the first to reject the offer. Jeno couldn't blame him though, if I was asked to search for a god I'd laugh and walk away too. But a god seemed more plausible than a witch. One went to places of worship to look for one, some even believe it's a being that is everywhere. A Witch on the other hand seemed like a bad myth buried to be forgotten.

Yet when the three boys made their ways to the gates of Kreignen with their bags they noticed Mark waiting. 'I'd be damned if you guys got the glory of hunting down a Witch and succeeding.' And that was the beginning of their best tracker joining them on this mission.

៚

The further north of the forest the boys went, the quieter and isolated they felt. The trees stood like large mountains, encasing them in its small valleys of the hearth. Echoes of songs of birds played nicely with the howling coming wind. Although the snow had rested, for the time being, the cold kiss of winter resided. The sun glazed the skies in honey, the clouds stagnant to the eye.

The sun is starting to set. Jeno looked back at his men and dabbled with the idea of stopping for now. But a hand on his shoulder and the shaking head of Mark stopped him from making the choice.

"We're close by," Mark nodded ahead to where the valley turned right. " Remember what the old man said back at the village? 'Only those who see right will walk to the land of the Kruug.'"

"How do you know this is the right right?"

Mark held one of the hanging hand-made talismans they had seen along the way here. "They stopped three steps back."

Jeno looked at him confused for a moment until he remembered what one of the townspeople had informed them. "People used to mark how far they got to it until they got scared off." He reached for the talisman and traced his thumb over the bent and carved wood, linen wrapped around its middle and a wilted piece of rosemary at its center.

"They really believe that this would protect them," Mark says one last time before he threw the talisman on the ground.

Jaemin pushed onward through his sickly state, "People believe a saint can too. What's the difference? At least this one they can hold."

៚

At the end of the valley, the tall rocky hills seem to have enclosed on them tighter. Making them have to go in a straight line and sometimes stepping sideways. Their fingers hooked onto the ragged edges of the rock walls chilled moss grazing their calloused fingers. The further they stepped into the slim valley of rock walls, the quieter the ambiance of earth seem to go. At one point the birds have stopped their conversational songs; the wind has no longer rustled the leaves of the trees; the creek they had taken notice of from a distance was now gone. It is as if they have left the lands they knew and slowly stepped one foot after the other into the unknown.

The sound of their heavy breaths is what nerved Jeno, it made the stillness more haunting. Something doesn't feel right. In front of him, hands up and wide like the rest of the group, Mark took small steps forward. Cautious of the animals and perhaps beings that dwell in this place. He huffed whenever he had to suck in his stomach, and even now, he bit his lip as he concentrated on keeping going without the creeping fear of being stuck. Jeno isn't one to fear much, Kreignen made sure of that. But some demons were harder to beat out of him than the others; the King's face made him sick, stomach heavy, and heart-racing type sick. Yet the idea of being stuck between walls of rock where no one came to visit slowly made its way as the second.

As troubled as him, Jisung grunted, "Where the fuck are we going, Mark?".

Although turning their heads to see each other isn't a big feat, the ragged-rough walls scraping against their face isn't wanted. So as Jaemin's vision is mostly Jisung's brunette head, he lightly shoves him. "Come on, I'm dying here. Keep moving."

The further they went, the scent of berries and sage became more vibrant. Whenever Jeno breathed out heavily he swore he could feel the taste of the aroma. Mark at one point couldn't handle it anymore and covered his nose as he coughed, cursing and holding a gag. It's not that terrible.

"I think I'm going to puke, and that's not just me being ill," Jaemin mentioned from all the way at the back.

Jeno turning his head back as his nose and cheek scraped against the rock, hadn't noticed that his other two members also had covered their noses. Eyes squinting with disgust as the sweet scent from wherever they are heading replaces the stale air.

"How are you breathing this Jeno?" Jisung looks at him with disbelief and disgusted eyes.

"I-"

Mark cut them off when his yell echoed from a distance. Jeno turned to look forward again and is amazed to find the big gap between him and the tracker. Mark disappeared behind the right wall and waved them over.

"I think I found us an exit and perhaps where that horrible fucking stench is coming from."

Shimming the rest of the way through, the three left behind met Mark at the end. The entrance opened up to a cavern, ceilings higher than the throne room back at Thelen. From above, a medium-size uncovered hole lets in the light which illuminates the crawling walls of vine and drawings that seem like sigils. Birds flew in and out through the hole above and nested in the edges of the cavern walls. And below, a tall sea of grass hugged at their calves. In front of the boys stood a large Thriemiin tree, one only told in stories such as the ones of Witches. Its roots had grown far and larger than what a regular tree could. It's brown wood laced with a hint of purple and red. Green leaves with the shape of stars and their tips dipped in purple.

Yet, as Jeno stood seemingly unbothered by the scent and in awe at what stood before him. The boys around him gagged visibly now, coughing so rough he imagined how bad their throats hurt.

Jaemin kneeled weakly and covered his mouth; Jisung ran to him and tries to hold him up but to no avail as he also succumbs to the scent.

"What the fuck," Mark coughed uncontrollably.

In worry, Jeno began to walk towards Mark; as he reached a hand out towards him he halted.

As if one were to be plunged into the ocean, the world around him fell silent. He watch as his friend's face contorted to a confused one. Mark yelled for him from the abyss in which he seem to be slowly dragged into. He notices how the veins protrude from under his skin as Mark continues to call for him, but nothing came of it. The ringing sound mellowed out, introducing a coming wave of a sing-song hum. Jeno turns, stale and entranced, as the slight graze of his friend's touch on his hand lets him know he had tried to grab him. But his feet moved on their own. It made its way through the grass, over the large odd roots, and soon he found himself standing under it. The Thriemiin tree is thicker and larger than when he had only been a couple of feet away. It pulsated like a heartbeat, one thud every five seconds. It calls to him.

Just like he had tried doing for Mark, Jeno extended his hand and faintly touched the trunk. His fingers and shoulders twitch, then stiffening. The hum drowned him further, reverberating against his chest and skull. He feels it.

His fingers plunged into the trunk and it effortlessly broke under his strength. Under the first layer of wood, the wall cracked; underneath it, his fist inclosed into a hard purple-brownish mush. And so he dug. Both hands now digging and ripping apart the trunk, creating a larger and larger whole to be made. The further he dug in, the faster his heart raced. A part of him fears this, screaming at him to snap out of it. But the other part obeys this, the feeling and song which has wrapped itself onto his soul.

He stops, his hand gripped around soft skin, an arm he believes. And with his whole strength and a tight grip on the body buried inside, he tugged and pulled. Slowly more mush trailed out and down from the tree and soon he sees the pale hand emerge. Letting go of the arm, Jeno plunged both of his arms all the way in, feeling for the body and then hugging it. When finally adjusting himself, he pulls with his whole force, bending back and shuffling his footing.

Then he fell onto the semi-tall grass, her along with him. Covered in the Threimiin tree's mush and naked. And as his eyes bore into hers as she wakes, did he realize the humming had stopped. The trance which had drowned him was now gone as he resurfaced. And Mark's voice came clearer as ever.

"The Witch."

𓆸 tags: (ask to be added)

#jaemin #jaemin aesthetic #jaemin au #jaemin ff #kpop #reading #fantasy #lee jeno #nct dream fanfic #nct dream au #nct au #nct fanfic #kpop au #kpop ff #kpop fanfic #chenle #chenle fanfic #renjun #renjun fanfic #mark lee #mark au #mark fanfic #park jisung #jisung nct #jisung au #jisung fanfic #illumins

[ning2lilac]

🪽ANGELS LIKE YOU; NCT DREAM

MASTERLIST

TAGS: fantasy, guardian angel au, angst, fluff

SYNOPSIS: just different stories with them as guardian angels

WARNINGS: none at the moment

TO BE RELEASED: CURRENTLY UNDER PRODUCTION. SLOW UPDATES

MARK

🪽 angel 01: Coming of Age

synopsis: Better be safe than sorry, that's Mark's favourite quote, specially since he is a guardian angel. Is that why he always has to keep holding YN's hand all the time?

RENJUN

🪽 angel 02: Tsundere Angel?

synopsis: YN tends to make really bad decisions and do stupid stuff, she can feel that her guardian angel must hate her. What happens if he suddenly appears because he has had enough?

JENO

🪽 angel 03: Oh My Angel

synopsis: A guardian angel, a spirit that is thought to watch over and protect a person or place. So why is YN's one so lazy? Maybe is time to try to get a new one.

HAECHAN

🪽 angel 04: Someone Else’s

synopsis: YN does have a guardian angel, he's great and gives her all the space she needs. Then why is she always spending more time with her roommate's angel?

JAEMIN

🪽 angel 05: Angeleyes

synopsis: Being the clumsiest person on earth has its perks, like being protected all the time by your guardian angel, Na Jaemin. YN does give him too much work, but he loves it.

CHENLE

🪽 angel 06: Wrong Side

synopsis: YN always thought that the guardian angel's main and only purpose is to protect their designated human... So why is hers being aggressive every single time she needs to be rescued by him?

JISUNG

🪽 angel 07: Training Wheels

synopsis: After YN's guardian angel resigns somehow, she gets paired up with the most inexperienced one. It clearly shows that Park Jisung is still in training.

#college au #nct dream #nct dream imagines #haechan x reader #mark lee x reader #renjun x reader #jeno x reader #haechan x y/n #jaemin x reader #chenle x reader #park jisung x reader