Downy Woodpecker At Lynde Shores :Canon EOS RP With Tamron 150-600mm Lens #photography #naturephotography

Downy Woodpecker at Lynde Shores 📷:Canon EOS RP with Tamron 150-600mm lens #photography #naturephotography #nature #nature_good #birding #birdingphotography #birdphoto #birdphotos #birdphotography #birds #birdsofinstagram #birds_nature #wildlifephotography #wildlife #ontarioparks #canon #canoneosrp #ornithology #birdwatchers #birdwatching #planet_birds  #birdlove #photooftheday #canada #imagesofcanada #canadianwildlife #woodpecker #downywoodpecker #lyndeshores @cangeo @canonusa @imagesofcanada @canon_photos @explorecanada @canoncanada @canada_photolovers https://www.instagram.com/p/B8gfqK-g4f3/?igshid=1n9lhqp6vbogx

| in love and lore | nine |

pairing: ateez x fem reader

genre: fantasy/daemon/soulmate au

warnings: some cursing, violence, death, blood, negative thoughts

summary: the daemon king and his seven black generals. names and faces of these eight had changed over the years as each new king was crowned, but their reputation as the most powerful daemons always remained the same. upon hearing the rumors one of the seven led the charge of the nearby battle, you should have stayed close to the encampment. you should have never wandered out on your own. but you did, and your life would never be the same again. good or bad, you would just have to wait to find out.

“There’s no need to be afraid, angel.” His words were a breath against the side of your neck. “You’ve done so much for us, let your king now return the favor.”

wordcount: 12.5k

a/n: so, originally this chapter and the previous were supposed to be one part, but then somehow the journey from maehwa and taeyang took a life of its own and turned into nearly 30k words. and i think i still have things to add with it in the next chapter too. oops. but, i hope you all enjoy and that the longer chapter once again makes up for the wait. :)

| eight | nine | ten |

~

“Damn it.”

The curse slipped out of your mouth the moment you noticed the way Mingi’s lips had tilted upwards, fully aware the thoughts you had been trying to contain had slipped past your makeshift barrier once more. You leaned back in your seat with a sigh, rubbing at the headache that had begun to bloom in the front of your head. It had started earlier in the day, but your training session with Mingi had only caused it to worsen, the constant throbbing doing little to aid your concentration and causing the mental wall you had carefully attempted to construct to come tumbling down.

You couldn’t pin all the blame on it, however, and the lack of progress you had been making was beyond frustrating. Since you had left Maehwa nearly two weeks ago, you had spent an hour or two with Mingi, or one of the others if he was busy, but it wasn’t nearly as simple as the others made it look. The ease with which they directed their thoughts to one another, blocking out anyone they didn’t want to hear them, had made you assume it wouldn’t take long for you to get a hold of. And though there were rare instances where it worked, these were far and few between, making you feel like you were still exactly where you had started.

They did their best to be encouraging, but you couldn’t help but feel like some of it came up short. No one ever came outright and said it, but you didn’t have to read their thoughts to know what they were thinking. The lack of maetha flowing in your veins made the task all the more difficult for you. Your status as a halfbreed was once again making your life more difficult than if you had been born one or the other.

It felt strange, finding hatred building up inside of you towards the side of yourself that you had wished would be you for so long. All your life you had wanted to be normal. To be human. You had spent countless nights praying and wishing and hoping for a way to be rid of your daemonic heritage. All you wanted was to fit in and not be judged for something out of your control. But now, now you were once again reminded of your shortcomings because of it. Of how weak you were because of the human blood running through your veins.

It was frustrating to see how you fell short among the daemons and to realize that you would always fall short among them. To see how you would never fit in with them the same way you had never fit in with the humans. And you didn’t know which had been worse, being hated, feared, and mistreated, or to be constantly reminded of how weak you were, how impure you were, and how your humanity would always limit you.

“Maybe we should break for the night.” Mingi interrupted your train of thoughts, and though he did his best to hide it, you could tell he knew where your mind had just dwelled to. Whether it was from hearing the actual words, or just the emotions flooding through, you weren’t sure, but it didn’t matter. The general message was still the same. “It’s been a long few days of traveling and I’m sure you’re exhausted.”

You nodded. A part of you wanted to argue, eager to finally have a hold on your thoughts and a semblance of privacy once more, but you knew he was right. You were exhausted and your head was aching. Even if you attempted to push through for the moment, it would only succeed in making you more tired than you already were. 

“C’mon then, angel.” Mingi stood up first, extending a hand towards you. “I can walk you to your tent.”

You took his hand without much thought, allowing him to pull you up from your seat. Once you were up on your feet, you pulled the hood of your cloak over your head and followed Mingi through the rain. You had never minded the rain much before, but after traveling in it for the past week, you were desperate for a bit of sun. The woods you had been traveling through the last few days had given some cover from it, but you still felt like you were stuck in a perpetual state of being wet. This alongside the endless cloudy skies only added to your falling mood.

Things had changed in the weeks that had followed your talk with Hongjoong and the others, not quite as awkward as it had been in the days leading up to it, but you were still left with some level of discomfort. Talking through things had helped to clear the air, but it did little to help the unease you felt over being their mate, a fact you had still not been able to come to terms with yourself. They had kept their word and done little to pressure you into anything, keeping it all on your time and your terms, but you still found yourself squirming any time they did anything for you. The acts of civility and kindness were foreign enough, but the knowledge of why they treated you that way, sent your anxiety over the edge. 

You hadn’t known how you were going to tell your siblings, not when the mere thought of your tie to them left you all flustered and embarrassed. As normal as they tried to make it seem, you knew the idea of you being their mate was insane, and would sound just as insane to anyone else as it had for you. How were you supposed to sit down and explain it to Soomin and Hyunwoo when you couldn’t even accept it yourself? And yet, when you got down to it, you quickly discovered you didn’t have to. While neither had mentioned it in the week that had followed your first conversation with Hongjoong, both of your siblings had been privy to what had happened as your brother had boldly approached Hongjoong that first night and demanded to know what he had done to you to leave you in such a state. 

And while you were mildly perturbed by the fact Hongjoong had told Hyunwoo, who had  in turn told Soomin, it did make the conversation easier on your part. The surprise your relation to the daemons might have brought, had long already dissipated, allowing you to quickly voice your own concerns and fears to each of them.

The topic which had followed, however, had not been nearly as easy to have, and upon learning of your parents’ true demise, each of them were left in a similar state as yourself. Relieved by the knowledge of your father’s true nature, yet utterly crestfallen upon realizing the life that had been stolen from you. 

“You do know that none of us think lowly of you in any way.” Mingi had been silent during the short trek, but spoke up just as you were about to head inside, stopping your movements and causing you to look up at him. “And if anyone were undeserving of this, it’s us, not you. In truth, you’re much too good for us, for me. I’m not the man you deserve, not with the things I’ve done in the past, and you,” he sighed, tilting back your hood to see your face clearly, fingers brushing against your chin, “you’re the kindest and purest soul I’ve ever met and thinking of you as my mate almost feels sinful.”

You struggled to come up with a response, too busy attempting to process what he had just admitted to you. You knew you should come up with something, anything, but the raw emotion that had accompanied his words left you yearning to run away.

His words were a direct reflection of the self-loathing that filled you, and an attempt to try and placate it. You could feel the genuineness in his words, but it didn’t matter if Mingi was speaking what he believed to be the truth or not, the simple fact they were the ones undeserving and not yourself was the farthest thing from the truth. Maybe he did believe it, but that didn’t change the fact it was them who deserved someone better than yourself, someone pure. Someone whole. 

Overwhelmed, you turned your face away, unable to keep eye contact with him any longer. Offering a soft, “Goodnight, Mingi,” you slipped back into the tent behind you, hoping he didn’t see the true extent his words had on you.

“You’re back early,” Soomin looked up from the book she had been reading when you entered. “I was expecting Hyunwoo to return before you.”

“No, Mingi thought it would be a good idea if I retired early for the night.” You did your best to calm your raging heart, hoping Soomin was oblivious to the conversation you had just had and the state it had left you in. “And with the way my head has been pounding, I didn’t disagree.” 

Soomin sat up in her cot, bookmarking the page she was on and turning to give you her full attention for the time being. “Is it the training?”

“I don’t think so.” You shook your head, inwardly tensing at the sharp jab of pain the movement caused. “It’s never been this bad before and while it could just be a culmination of training so much these past few days, I think I might just be coming down with something.”

The thought had strayed across your mind as your head had worsened over the day, wondering if you were coming down with some sort of illness. The possibility was definitely there; the combination of the stress your body had been under the past few weeks with the cold rain that had left you drenched more often than not the past few days, certainly increased your odds of catching something. And though your blood quickly healed any physical injury you may have received, it did little to aid you whenever you were sick.

“Did Woo say where he was going this time?” You slid off your muddy boots and cloak near the entrance of the tent before collapsing on the cot next to your sister to alleviate some of the tension in your head, as well as attempt to emotionally recover from what Mingi had just confessed to you - god, that exit had not been graceful in any shape or form on your part. “I didn’t see him at the forge when I passed by on my way here.”

Out of the three of you, Hyunwoo seemed to have the easiest time adjusting to your new life, more at ease with the daemons than either you or Soomin were. He chatted with Hongjoong and the Seven with an ease that had you almost envious as you traveled throughout the day, often talking with them more than you ever did yourself, and leaving you wishing you could disappear from view whenever he spoke of tales from your childhood.

You had even begun to find him with one or two of them whenever you broke for camp in the evenings, most often finding him with Jongho near the makeshift forge. The latter had a keen interest in your brother’s daemon ability, and the two often spent the evenings talking while Hyunwoo helped to resupply their weapon stock. Sometimes Hongjoong or one of the others would join them, and it wasn’t until a few nights ago that the source behind their interest finally hit you. Yeosang had claimed your brother’s appearance was near identical to your father’s, the very man who had been close to all of them in their childhood, and this resemblance alongside a similar personality had pulled them in, reminding them of the friend they had lost so many years ago.

“I think he was going to ask one of the generals to teach him how to fight,” Soomin replied through a yawn. “I think Jongho had made some comment towards it a few nights ago and Woo sounded like he wanted to take him up on it.” 

“Oh.” You had a hard time keeping the disappointment out of your voice, unsure why her comment had affected you in such a way. 

It was hard to tell exactly how the budding friendship between him and the others made you feel. You were happy Hyunwoo had seemed to find a friendship among them, something none of you had really gotten to experience before, and more than happy to know he didn’t seem to resent you or blame you for being dragged away from your home. But there was another part of you that was envious of him and the ease with which he communicated with them alongside the naturally forming relationships. An ease which might have been yours if you didn’t have the status of being their mate hanging over your head and how this one singular factor had forced them all into your life. 

Things had gotten better since you had talked with them and established some ground rules for how this whole relationship - if that’s what you were to call it - would work, but that didn’t mean you were at complete ease with your newfound situation either. None of it changed the fact you had been forced into this situation against your will, nor did it change the fact you would be able to walk away if you so wished. And in some ways, the truth had only caused your anxiety to spike, reading farther into things than you had before. While you had constantly questioned the motive behind their actions before you found out they were your mates, you now constantly questioned whether these same actions were done purely because of this fact. Unlike the seemingly naturally flowing relation between them and your brother, you couldn’t help but see how different yours was from it and how it would have never even been if it wasn’t for the fact you were their mate. 

“Do you ever wish I would have just listened to you?” 

“Hmm?” Soomin hummed, not quite understanding what it was that you were asking.

“Do you ever wish I would have listened to you and stopped going out at night? Stopped being the Black Angel?” you asked, gaze locked on the ceiling above you. “If I had, I might have never gotten us into this mess and we might still be at home, curled up next to the fire after a long day at work.”

“Do you really think that would have changed anything?” she replied, and upon seeing your confusion, continued. “Even if you never saved their soldiers, even if you never saved Seonghwa, none of that would have changed the fact you were still their mate. None of it would have changed the fact they were looking for you, and would have found you in Maehwa all the same when they attacked it or that they would want to bring you back with them once the war was over.”

“I don’t know, Min, I can’t shake the thought that none of them would have cared about me if it wasn’t for the things I did. For the way I helped them.” You shivered, remembering the words Mingi had spoken earlier. Would they still think highly of you if it wasn’t for your deeds as the Black Angel? Would they still think a poor, halfbreed was too good for them? Would they still want you for a queen? 

“I’m afraid I’m unable to accurately speak on their behalf, but I can’t help but believe that nothing would have changed.”

“And what makes you say that?”

“Well, for one, have you seen the way they look at you, n/n?” The way your cheeks tinted pink was all the confirmation Soomin needed. “And it’s not just the pure adoration they hold for you, either. You should see what happens when you’re with Hyunwoo, and I’m now fairly confident they’re jealous of your relationship with him, crestfallen at the way you go to him for everything and not them. I had never seen a man look as disappointed as San did when Woo carried you back to our tent that third night on the road after complaining about being sore from riding, especially with the way you two were giggling.” Soomin laughed as her response caused your embarrassment to deepen. “And after everything else they’ve done thus far, I’ve held the sneaking suspicion for a few days now that they’ve started to keep Woo busy at night so you’re forced to spend time with them instead.” 

“That is not true, Min, and you know it.” 

You were quick to deny her statement, finding the idea absolutely ridiculous. The idea of them being jealous of the close relationship you had with your brother was insane, and the only reason Hyunwoo had begun to be busy these past few nights was because of the friendship that had begun to form between them. If anyone were to be jealous in this situation, it was you. After all, not one of them had ever asked if you wanted to learn how to fight or even what it was you wanted altogether. 

“Do you think this will ever feel normal?” You turned your head back in the direction of your sister, eager to change the topic to something else. 

“In which way do you mean?” Soomin’s head tilted at your question. “Normal in the sense the daemons won the war and we’ll now be living in their domain, or normal in the sense your the daemon king’s mate and you’re to be their queen?”

“I don’t know,” you sighed, rolling back over as the weight of her words hit you in a different way than the ones before, “both I guess.”

She was quiet for a minute, pondering the question you had posed for her. “It will likely take quite a bit of time and effort, but I’m almost certain somewhere down the road it will be. We still have our whole lives in front of us.”

“I don’t know, Minnie. I don’t think the fact they want me to be their queen will ever feel normal.”

You couldn’t control the shiver the words elicited from you. With everything going on and the position you were currently in, you had never let your thoughts dwell to that part of your relationship with the daemons and did your best to always push it away, nonsensically believing it wouldn’t be true if you never admitted it to yourself.

“Would you think ill of me if I said I wished it wasn’t the case?” Fighting the pounding in your head, you stared once more at the ceiling above you, wondering once again how you had landed yourself here. “For wishing that it would have been anyone else but me? I don’t want to be their mate and I sure as hell don’t want to be a queen. I just want to be normal. I want to feel normal.”

“And why would I think ill of you for that?”

“Because I can’t shake the guilty feeling that rises up each time I wish things would just go back to the way they were before; just you, me, and Woo against the world,” you replied. “And I’m terrified. I thought I was scared before, back when the daemon brought me to Seonghwa and back when they attached this bond to me, but knowing the truth to everything has only made it worse. I may be half-daemon, but the world of daemons is completely foreign to me. I don’t know their culture. I don’t know their customs, and to be told I’m the mate of the daemon king and to be thrust into it all just feels like some sort of cruel joke. I mean, look at me, do I look like a queen to you?”

You motioned to your current state of dress, the oversized and stained riding leathers a comical difference from the dress you had worn on the night of the ball. And a stark difference from what you imagined a lady of your coming status was supposed to look like.

“I don’t know, n/n, you look pretty regal to me.” It was Hyunwoo who replied, hearing your question from outside the tent as he clambered inside. “I’ve been told weather-stained leather is all the rage back in Taeyang these days.”

“Oh, sure.” Your eyes narrowed at the innocent smile that lined his features as he kicked his boots off, oblivious to the conversation you and Soomin had been having about him earlier. Really? They were jealous of him? Hyunwoo? Your twin brother? “It must go right in hand with being hornless. I’m sure I’ll be the envy of the entire city when we get there.”

“Oh, I’m sure you will be. Just maybe not exactly for that reason.”

“God, Woo, please don’t remind me,” you groaned, rolling over to lay on your back once more. 

As much as all the traveling and the incessant rain wore you down, you had no desire for it to come to an end anytime soon. You were well aware of what awaited you at the end of this journey and had come to dread it. Though you had never felt completely at ease with the daemons you traveled with here, your previous actions as the Black Angel and the amount of daemons you had healed had created a sort of buffer for you. They may have looked down at you for your lineage, but there was some respect towards you from some of them, grateful for the lives you had saved in the past two years. It was the same respect you had garnered from the human soldiers you had traveled with. They may have never known you as the Angel, but they were well aware of your abilities, having played a hand in healing almost all of them at some point in the war.

But you could only imagine what sort of fresh hell awaited you at Taeyang and what sort of reception you would receive from the daemons there upon your arrival. You had barely come to terms with your own fate as it were; you couldn’t imagine what sort of reaction it would pull from the daemons when they found out and had no doubt that many of them would do everything in their power to stop the plans Hongjoong had for you. And though you told yourself it would never come to fruition, a small part of you wondered what might become of you if they succeeded. Whether this was by killing you off like the other half-daemons or by convincing Hongjoong and his generals of what you had told them all along, that you being their mate really was insane, and that they would finally turn their backs on you for good.

Sensing your distaste for the direction the conversation had taken, Hyunwoo transitioned it over to how his evening at camp had gone. Sure, enough, Jongho had been serious in his offer to train your brother and had spent the last few hours teaching him the basics. Unlike your time with Mingi, however, it seemed Hyunwoo had been able to see some progress by the end of the session, more enthusiastic than you had ever been when you left Mingi, or whoever else was helping you, each evening. 

At some point in the conversation, you fell asleep, exhausted by the day’s events, only to wake up hours later feeling much worse than you had before. No longer was your head the only thing aching, but the rest of your body as well. No matter how much you yearned to go back to sleep, you spent the next few hours in a semi-awake state, tossing the blankets on, off, and on again from the feverish chills that racked your body.

You were only able to stay curled up in bed for so much longer. Despite every fiber in your body yearning to stay curled up in bed, you hated how sleep continued to escape you. You may have felt akin to death in that moment, especially when you slowly pulled yourself up, but the hope of being able to find some form of medicine in the infirmary and ease your symptoms was all the motivation you needed to clamber to your feet.

The camp was quiet as you made your way outside, the daemons who were not on duty asleep inside their own tents. The rain had finally let up a little in the night, slowing to a drizzle, but still enough to have you wrapping your cloak tightly around you. 

As you made your way to the infirmary, you were once again thankful you had convinced them you no longer needed a constant guard. You didn’t know how they might have reacted to the fact you were sick, but you had no desire to find out. The last thing you wanted was to be coddled at the moment, especially when you had to make a short detour when your stomach rolled on you. 

The infirmary was mostly empty when you arrived, the majority of the daemons injured from the earlier fighting having long been healed by yourself. Other than the two daemons asleep in cots among the back corner of the tent, the only other person inside was the daemon sorting through the current stock to your left. He briefly looked your way when he heard your approach, gaze doubling back quickly when you pulled your hood down and he saw who you were.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be a bother, but do you happen to have any medicine in stock? Anything to help with a fever?” You were nervous in your approach, fully recognizing him as someone you had seen working here before, but never without one of the Seven at your side. And while you didn’t imagine he would do anything, not with your relation to Hongjoong and the others, you still grew nervous under his gaze, wondering just how that relation made him feel.

“I’m afraid we don’t usually keep those sorts of medicines in stock,” the daemon shook his head. “We don’t typically need to carry anything relating to human illnesses as it’s rare we ever have need of them.”

“Oh, right.”

Your mood swiftly fell, fully reminded in that moment how daemons didn’t suffer from the same diseases or illnesses the humans did, and that it was rare a daemon ever actually got sick. It was just another way your lineage had cursed you, and another reminder of how much weaker you were than them. And after the past few days and the way you felt at that moment, it was hard to fight back the tears his statement brought.

“But we might have the ingredients in stock for them if you’re feeling up to brewing it yourself.” He motioned to the boxes beside him. “I would offer to do it for you, as I am the one on duty right now, but I’m afraid I don’t know the recipe.”

“Really?” Relief flooded through you at his response. It wasn’t the ideal solution, as you currently felt like your legs were going to give up on you at any moment, but if spending the next hour fighting through the pain meant it would ease it for the rest of the day, then so be it. “I would greatly appreciate that.”

He left you alone after that, spending the majority of his time and attention on his own work, rather than on yourself. And though he peered in your direction every so often, you were able to ignore him as you worked, doing your best to concentrate on the task at hand and not mess it all up.

By the time you were finishing up, the first peaks of sunlight in days began to make their way through the tent, and you could hear the camp beginning to wake up around you. And though you had hoped you would finish up and be back at your own tent before anyone of importance noticed you were missing and sick, your luck wore out as you began pouring the freshly brewed potion into an empty flask and saw a familiar tall figure make his way inside.

You froze, assuming Yunho had made his way here to check up on you, but his eyes never strayed in your direction as he approached the daemon on duty and started asking about the current status of supplies. Not wanting to press your luck, you quickly finished up your work in an attempt to step out before he took notice of your stray figure in the back, but in your haste and weakened state, you stumbled over one of the supply boxes on the ground. The trip was enough to cause you to lose a grip on the cauldron you had been attempting to put back up and creating a loud enough commotion that had both daemons swiftly looking in your direction.  

“y/n, what are you doing here?” Yunho’s eyes widened when he saw it was you, leaving the daemon healer he had been talking with to rush to your side and pick up the cauldron you had just dropped.

“Oh, um… just some potion brewing.” The words stumbled out and it took everything in you to keep your cheeks from tinting pink as Yunho put the cauldron up and turned to direct his focus on you.

“At this hour?” 

“I had a hard time sleeping last night, so-” you paused, burying your face into the crook of your sleeve as you sneezed, “I came here.”

You were desperate to get away, knowing each second you lingered here with him, the easier it would be for him to see through your facade. The last thing you wanted was to attract more attention or concern towards you in this moment, but he stopped you when you made to move past him.

“You’re sick.” It wasn’t a question, and the concern which lined his face at the realization made your stomach drop. “Mingi mentioned your head was bothering you last night, but we just assumed it might have been the training.” He raised a hand towards your face, pressing the back against your forehead before you were able to rebuke his earlier assessment. “Angel, you’re burning up. What are you doing out of bed? You should be resting if you’re not feeling well.”

“I’m fine,” you shook your head, doing your best to not wince at the pain the action caused and attempting to step away and create some distance between the two of you. “I made some medicine for myself, so I’m sure I’ll be feeling like normal here in a little bit.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Yunho continued to press, his reaction revealing exactly why you hadn’t wanted to bother any of them over your health. “We could have gotten what you needed while you rested.”

“Yunho, I’m fine, really.” You waved his concern away with your hand, moving for the entrance in the hopes he would let it be. “Besides, I don’t suppose there’s anyone here but me that knows how to combat human illnesses.”

His face fell at your words, quickly realizing you were right. When it came down to brewing potions that dealt with human ailments, you were the only one in the entire camp who had any knowledge or experience with it. 

After you finally convinced him to leave you be to get ready after accompanying you back to your tent, you had thought that it was the last of it and that he would let you be. Unfortunately for you, you quickly came to realize that you hadn’t even faced the worst of it yet when Wooyoung approached you later with only his horse in tow.

“Where’s Nari?” You asked, scanning the crowd around you for the horse that had been given to you for the journey. 

Now that you had some medicine in you, you felt much better than you had earlier, but you could still feel the lingering effects of exhaustion lining your body and you wanted nothing more than to catch up on the sleep you had missed the night before. 

“Considering your current state, we thought it best if you rode with one of us today. That-”

“No, I’m fine, really.” You shook your head, cutting him off before he could finish and hating that Yunho had gone back and told everyone about your current state of health..

Ride with one of them? You were anxious enough being around them all day on your own horse, how the hell were you supposed to make it through when you would be that close to one of them? And while it wasn’t like you hadn’t been that close before, it had only been for brief moments, and you hadn’t been the least bit aware of what was going on between you. Well, except for when Hongjoong had embraced you, but that had been different. That had been an action spawned from the desperate need of comfort rather than any physical gain, like when San had forced you to dance with him. 

He sighed, “Angel-”

“Really, I’m fine. And even if I wasn’t, it’s not like I haven’t had to work or travel while I wasn’t feeling physically up to it before, you know? I might be a little tired, but I can still ride a horse just fine.”

“Just because you’ve had to do it before doesn’t mean you still have to,” Wooyoung replied, just as stubborn as you were when it came to winning this argument. “Honestly, angel, you look terrible - not like that, pretty. You’re still as beautiful as ever,” he was quick to add at the way your eyes had narrowed from the comment he had made about your appearance, causing you to become more flustered than you were before and wishing you hadn’t reacted in the first place. “But I can see how this is taking a toll on you, so please, ride with me today.” His gaze softened, Wooyoung’s generally playful attitude masked by the concern he had for you. “Let us take care of you, angel. Please.”

Your arms crossed as you mulled over his words, turning your head away to hide the flustered state he had left you in. Everything in you told you to continue fighting him on the matter, uncomfortable with the aspect of letting anyone take care of you, of letting anyone love you, especially if it were them. The mere thought of giving in only served to terrify you, leaving you feeling more exposed than you had before. Because what would happen if you did? What would happen if you did allow them to help and care for you? What would happen if you let down your barriers and allowed them closer inside only to discover none of this had ever been true. Only to find out it had all been some cruel plan to use you in some way. Because despite everything they said, why would they ever accept someone like you as their mate?

“But how will you ever come to know our intentions are genuine if you never give us a chance?” Wooyoung let go of his horse’s reins for a moment, taking hold of the bottom of your chin to lift your gaze up to him. “Just ride with me for the morning, and if you’re feeling better in a few hours, you can go back to riding Nari like normal.”

He didn’t wait for your agreement, simply taking your hand and guiding you over to his horse. You knew you should have fought him, pulled your wrist from his grasp and stood your ground. All it would take was one swift reminder that he had agreed to do things on your terms and this was not something you were entirely comfortable with yet, but you didn’t. Whether it was the sincerity in his voice or and the way he had so desperately pleaded for you to let him in, the gentleness in his actions, or just the haze that covered your mind from being sick, you let him continue without any further hint of opposition. 

When he swung up behind you, your body immediately stiffened, straightening up as much as you could to avoid the way his chest had brushed up against your back. It was impossible for you to completely avoid his touch, however, and his arms brushed against your waist as they took up the reins in front of you. 

Besides a few questions about your current wellbeing from a few of them, no one commented on your position with Wooyoung when you had reached the others. You could see the looks they gave, however, and though the daemons’ gazes were directed towards Wooyoung out of what you could only assume might have been possible jealousy, it still left an odd pit in your stomach all the same and had you squirming in your seat, reminding you of the comments Soomin had made the night before. 

The distance between you and Wooyoung only lasted for so long. Even if it wasn’t for the way your back was beginning to ache from the uncomfortable stance or the exhaustion that slowly grew as the day dragged by, you would have still struggled to maintain the distance you had created. Yunho was right when he had said the bond between mates was hard to ignore, and you struggled to actively fight the part of you that craved to give in and close the distance, to allow yourself to fully relax and take comfort in his touch and presence. 

You barely lasted an hour before you finally caved, shifting your weight almost subconsciously until you were fully resting against him. The action caused a soft exhale from Wooyoung, whose own body shifted almost automatically, bringing you in closer against him. 

“If you’re tired, feel free to sleep, angel.” Wooyoung spoke shortly after. “I’ve got you.” 

You nodded, having no intentions of falling asleep, but it seemed your body had different plans. It wasn’t long afterwards that you found yourself beginning to drift off and no matter how hard you attempted to keep your eyes open, you eventually settled into a dreamless slumber, rocked by the gentle sway of the horse beneath you and soothed by Wooyoung’s close presence.

By the time you were waking back up, the sun had long started its descent. It took you a few seconds to regain your setting, burrowing farther into the body behind you and relishing in the warmth that surrounded you. It wasn’t until you felt the chuckle reverberating in the chest you leaned against that you began to remember where you were and just who you were currently curled up against.

“I’m sorry,” you mumbled between a yawn, pulling away from him in embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

The longer you were awake, the more aware of your surroundings you became. And though your exhaustion had left you for the most part following your much needed nap, your body ached from the uncomfortable position you had been stuck in for so long and the headache that had disappeared earlier in the day had once again begun to come back now that the potion’s effects had started wearing off. 

“Don’t be,” Wooyoung replied, gently easing you back into your previous position against him. “Trust me when I say I did not mind in the least and am more than happy to have been able to help you catch up on some much needed sleep.”

You nodded, though his words did little more than deepen the blush that had already tinted your cheeks, fueled all the more by the looks the others sent your way in that moment. The slight frown that crossed San’s face followed by the soft rumble of Wooyoung’s chest as he laughed, all but confirming they were not only aware of your emotional state at the moment, but they were probably in the middle of a conversation you were conveniently blocked out of. It wasn’t the first time they had purposefully locked you out of their mental conversations, and you didn’t doubt it wouldn’t be the last either. 

“How long was I asleep?” you asked, doing your best to stretch out some of your aching muscles without bumping too much into the daemon behind you.

“The majority of the day,” he replied. “The woods should finally come to an end here in the next few miles, giving us a fairly decent place to camp for the night.”

Sure enough, Wooyoung spoke the truth and you soon came out of the woods that had plagued you for the last day and a half, and you were able to catch the first real peaks of sunlight in days before it disappeared behind the horizon. You were relieved when you were finally able to dismount for the day, securing some much needed space between you and Wooyoung, and yet almost instantly missing his presence the moment his touch left.

You rumbled through the belongings Wooyoung had attached to his horse for the day once he had helped you dismount, searching for the potion you had brewed that morning and taking another drink in the hope of quelling the headache that had begun to bloom once more and stifling the fever that would follow soon thereafter. And despite Wooyoung telling you to take it easy for the night, you waved his and the others’ concern away and helped set up camp for the night. 

One thing you could all agree on, however, was that you would forgo your training with Mingi for the night. The medicine might have helped quell the headache that had been plaguing you before, but they had still thought it best if you took it easy for the next few days until you completely recovered. And though you hated the feeling of being coddled and treated as though you were fragile, you had no qualms skipping the session for the day. At the rate you were going, you were pretty confident you would still be exactly where you were even with a few extra sessions.

So, after you had grabbed something to eat for that night, you followed Soomin back to your tent for the evening, wanting some time to yourself after being so close to Wooyoung for the day. You planned on going to bed early that night, hoping to regain your energy for the next day and avoid being put in a similar position to the one you were in earlier, but it seemed as though your brain had a different plan. 

No matter how much you tossed and turned, your brain refused to shut off, running through everything that had happened that day and unable to shake the flustered state it left you in each time you thought about the fact you had fallen asleep against Wooyoung and how you had put yourself in such a vulnerable position before him. 

You were well aware he and the others were already fully aware of your feelings towards them and the way certain actions made you feel. They may have held some constraint when it came to reacting to the thoughts and emotions you struggled to restrain, but you knew they heard more than they ever let on. You may have had a better hold on your thoughts than your emotions, finding it easier to keep your thoughts to yourself than it was to rein in your emotions, but did they need to hear the panicked thoughts going through your mind when your emotions told them everything they needed to know? You may have attempted to put up an air of indifference and the want of space, if only for your own sanity, but there was no hiding the strong attraction that pulled you in. And though you told yourself it was the fault of the bonds that tied you together and that you would never think or act on these things without them, it did little to make you feel any better or hide the embarrassment they brought. 

It just wasn’t fair. You were laid out so plainly for them to see and know and yet, their thoughts and intents were hidden away from you. It left you in a constant state of vulnerability, completely exposed for them, and yet, you knew absolutely nothing when it came to them. You had no clear idea if they spoke the truth or if their actions towards you were as genuine as they claimed. They seemed authentic, the vulnerability Yeosang and Hongjoong had shown you when they had mentioned their past seemed nothing but genuine, but you couldn’t shake the doubt away. Your entire relationship had started on secrets and partial truths, so how did you know anything had changed? How did you know you wouldn’t get to your destination in a few weeks and everything would change. 

Uncomfortable with the direction your thoughts had taken and not wanting to lay there any longer mulling over then sleeplessly, you clambered out of bed. Making your way over to the exit, you pulled your boots and cloak on as quietly as you could to avoid waking either of your siblings and slipped out into the night. 

The camp was still around you, the only daemons up and about at this hour were the ones on guard, quietly patrolling the edges of the ground. Wanting some semblance of privacy, you made your way to the edge of the camp, towards the edge of the forest you had been traveling through. While Hongjoong could reach you at any distance, you were far enough away from him to prevent any of your own thoughts from reaching him or the others, allowing you to relax a bit knowing your mind was your own for the time being. 

The guards patrolling paid little attention to your figure as you went, having long grown used to your nightly escapades the past few weeks and confident by now to know you just wanted some air and time to yourself. You settled against a tree along the border, keeping you just out of sight from the nearest guard. You had come out for a breath of fresh air, hoping the outside world would distract you from the thoughts that had been consuming you, but as you leaned your head back to look up at the night sky above you and noticed the subtle shift in constellations, they all came tumbling back, fully reminding you how you had left Maehwa and the humans far behind. 

You had traveled far from Maehwa before, reaching many of the cities that lay upon the human’s territory of the known world, but this was different. You still had another few days before you reached the border and had been this far from home before, but back then you had always had the reassurance you would be going back. That it was only temporary. Now, you were fully heading into the unknown without any confirmation if you would ever see your childhood home again. And though there was some comfort in knowing you weren’t alone, that Soomin and Hyunwoo were with you this time, it did little to stop the homesickness that had begun building up inside you ever since you had left. 

Maehwa and its inhabitants had never treated you well, and you may have been treated like a prisoner rather than a citizen more often than not, but it had been your home. Knowing you would never again see the four walls of the house you had grown up in or work another shift at the infirmary with Suho created an odd pit in the bottom of your stomach. You hadn’t had many friends outside your siblings, but you would have considered the man who had always treated you so kindly as something akin to it. And after everything you had been through together, you hadn’t even had a chance to tell him goodbye or to tell him how thankful you were for the kindness he had always shown you. 

Now you were on your way to somewhere new, accompanied by people nearly just as foreign as the place you were traveling to. No matter how many rumors and snippets you had heard about the southern kingdom, you had no idea what it was really like there. You may have spent several weeks with the daemons at this point, but all it had done was show you how different your way of life was from there, causing tension between you. You couldn’t imagine what else would happen when you finally arrived at your final destination or how its citizens would react to someone like you. Someone who was not only seen as an abomination and impure, but someone completely oblivious to their customs and way of life.

You sighed, running a hand through your hair and sinking further into the tree behind you. Hongjoong and the others made it sound so easy, as though you could just waltz into Taeyang as their mate without any sort of complications or backlash, completely oblivious to the fact that it was a completely different world for you than it was them. They wouldn’t be the ones on the receiving end of the daemons’ long rooted hatred, you would. And nothing they did or say would ever bring it to-

Your thoughts were shattered when you heard a strangled cry in the distance, coming from the direction of the nearest stationed guard. It was soft enough to not cause too much alarm, but enough to catch your attention in the dead of night. The cry was quickly followed by a thump, as though whoever had made the initial sound had fallen. Rising up from your seat, you turned in the direction the guard had previously been seen illuminated by the fire beside him only to find him missing from view.

For a second, you panicked, immediately coming to the conclusion you were under attack before realizing how crazy that was. The camp contained the bulk of the daemon army, alongside their king and all seven of his generals. Who in their right mind would dare to attack them? Even with a surprise attack in the middle of the night, it was downright suicide for the humans to attempt a rebellion now in such a manner. Not when they had just seen how easy it was for the daemons to conquer their cities. Not when the war had drained them of both men and supplies.

No, the guard must have just grown tired from his watch and tripped in the dark. The area around you was completely still. No further sounds came from the woods around you, but neither did they come from the direction of the guard either. And though this did send a shiver of doubt coursing through you, fearing your first thought might be true, you shook it away as you clambered up from your spot. If you were under attack, there would have been a larger commotion. You would have seen and heard them coming through the forest behind you as they made their way into your camp. But you didn’t, so the more reasonable solution was that the guard had just fallen and hit his head, rendering him unconscious.

And yet, despite your confidence in the way the events had played out, you were still cautious in your approach, pulling your hood back over your head and turning the hair comb Hyunwoo had given you into a dagger. Both might have not done much against any daemon, the runes Soomin had stitched along the hem not quite powerful enough to trick a daemon, but enough to give you some protection against the humans.

“Shit!” The curse rolled0 out when you approached the scene, quickly taking cover behind a nearby tree when you saw the arrow sticking out of the guard’s chest, bringing your original fears to light.

As the panic quickly settled in, your heartbeat began to quickly increase, having no clear idea what to do in this given situation. You could see the laborious breaths of the daemon in front of you, body now outlined with a dim glow from the cloak you wore. He was dying, that much was obvious, and you knew you needed to do something before he succumbed to his wounds, but what? The area around you was still quiet, making it difficult to pinpoint the source of the attack.

You did your best to keep your breathing even, knowing one wrong move on your part would alert them to your presence - if they weren’t already aware of it - but you struggled to control it and the way your hands had begun to shake, loosening your grip on your dagger. You weren’t a stranger when it came to the battlefield, but this was not how it normally was for you. Either the combatants around you were dead or dying, or you had the safety of those who knew what they were doing around you. The last time you had been in this type of situation, your entire life had been turned upside down by the daemons, but it wasn’t the daemons who were attacking you this time around. It was the humans, it had to be them, and they would not show you mercy this time around. Not after knowing you had ultimately betrayed them in the end. 

If it came down to a fight between you and those who had shot the guard, you didn’t stand a chance, and yet, you couldn’t stay here either and just let the guard die. You had to get both yourself and him to safety further inside the camp, and you needed to warn the others, but how?

There was no way to reach out to Hongjoong and the others, not with the distance you had created earlier. And while, Hongjoong might have been able to catch snippets of the panic that had risen inside you, he would be oblivious to your situation while he was sleeping. Unless you left the guard to die and made a mad dash by yourself, you were on your own. 

The realization caused the panic to spike once more, and you silently cursed your luck. The one time you were thankful for the bond which tied you to them, and it was now closed off to you. The one time you found yourself wanting them, needing them, and they weren’t there. And the only one to blame for it all, was yourself. They had offered you protection before, but the constant guard had felt so unnecessary when you had been surrounded by soldiers. It had felt stifling then, leaving you yearning for space and privacy, and yet, here you were. In the very situation you had sworn would never happen, and completely on your own because of it.

But standing here and wishing things would be different wasn’t going to do you any good now and it definitely wasn’t going to help you save yourself or the guard either. If you wanted to get the both of you out of this situation alive, you would have to act, and do so quickly. Already the light lining his body was beginning to fade and if you stood around wasting any more time panicking, he was going to die.

Without waiting to think about it and allow your fear to stop you, you rushed out from the cover of the trees, making your way as quickly and quietly to the injured soldier as you could, and hoping whoever in the woods was human and would have a hard time tracking you with your enchanted cloak. When you reached the man, you put the blade of the dagger in your mouth, using your teeth to grip it and free up your hands so you could drag him back into the camp and take cover behind one of the tents.

Fueled by the adrenaline coursing through your veins, it didn’t take you too long to pull him away, only stopping once you were no longer out in the open. Dropping him as gently as you could manage, you grabbed your dagger out of your mouth and began tearing away his shirt to get a view of the wound.

The arrow had missed his heart, but the black veins which greeted you only fueled your fears, the way they slowly spread across his body a telling sign of the poison which had coated the tip of the arrow. Bloodsbane, a deadly poison you might have been able to properly combat if the antidote wasn’t sitting in the infirmary on the other side of the camp.

Disheartened, yet desperate to save him somehow, you went to work. The tip of the arrow hadn’t gone all the way through, leaving it still embedded inside his chest, so you eased him to his side as gently as you could manage, ushering soft reassurances under your breath as you went. Despite your panic, your hands moved on their own accord. You may have been clueless when it came to handling the previous situation or what to do if the attackers began to pursue you, but you did know exactly what to do with the daemon in front of you. You had done it hundreds, if not thousands of times before, ingraining the process inside your mind.

Your focus helped with the nerves, keeping your hands steady as they eased the shaft of the arrow further into his chest, continuing until the tip of it pierced through his back. With the tip now all the way through, you broke off both the head and the fletching at the end to allow the shaft to slide all the way through without causing any further damage. Tossing the broken arrow to the side, you took the dagger in your lap and quickly slid the blade across the inside of your wrist. A low hiss escaped at the cool sting of the blade, but you ignored it the best you could and raised it over his open wound, hoping your blood would be able to hold him together long enough for you to make a dash for the infirmary and grab the antidote you needed. Your blood might have held healing properties against physical injuries, but it could only do so much, and the poison which coursed through his veins was far beyond you. 

“What the hell is going on out here?”

You were startled at the voice that spoke up behind you, finding a daemon shuffling out of a nearby tent. He was yawning at first, only half awake as he stretched out his limbs, but the smell of blood that filled the air and your crouched figure was enough to pull him fully awake.

“Please, you need to get Hongjoong.” Your eyes were quick to notice the way his hand flew to his side, leaving the tip of a sword pointed in your direction. In an effort to alleviate the tension and convince the daemon to help, you pulled the hood of your cloak back. “He was attacked, though I do not know by whom or where they might be now. I need you to fetch me some bloodsbane antidote and alert Hongjoong to the attack.” 

“Attacked, you say?” His eyes narrowed, and you inwardly cursed at his disbelief. You knew how it looked and you knew how they might feel about you, but of all times for their prejudice to show, it had to be now? At the very moment both of your lives were in danger? “I don’t see anyone else around but the two of us.” 

“If it was me, do you really think I’d be sticking around in the open right now trying to heal him? Or asking for Hongjoong?” Your words were leadened with the frustration you felt in that moment, not just from the prejudice he showed, but fully aware the guard before you would end up dead if he didn’t do as you asked. “So, please, if you do not want this man’s blood on your hands, you need to do as I say and alert Hongjoong to what has happened and get me the anti-'' Your words cut off as the glow around his body began to flicker, signaling it might have already been too late. “Please,” your eyes raised one last time, pleading with the soldier to do as you said, “he’s dying and I can’t save him if you don’t help me.”

You were almost certain he wouldn’t listen, but after what felt like forever, his stance relaxed and the blade pointed your way was sheathed. “Bloodsbane, you say?” And upon your confirmation, he turned on his heel and was off.

There was slight relief in knowing you were no longer alone, in knowing any minute now the guard would reach Hongjoong’s tent and relay the situation to him. The weight of the situation was no longer fully on your shoulders anymore and all you needed to do was hold out for a few more minutes and everything would be just fine.

Your relief was short lived, however, as the light around his body flickered one last time before fading out completely.

“No, no, no.” You cried, unable to accept just what it meant. You reached for your dagger once more, drawing more blood and attempting to pour it down his throat this time around. “C’mon, don’t do this yet. Just a bit longer, please, and everything will be okay.”

Your hands were shaking, fingers pressing against the edge of his neck in a desperate search for the pulse that was no longer there, so focused on saving him that you didn’t notice the hand that had whipped forward and grabbed hold of your wrist until your actions had been completely rendered useless.

“What the hell?” Your eyes widened, shocked by the fact it was the soldier beneath you who had just grabbed you, and the hand which had previously been lying motionless at his side now held onto you so tightly, it was painful. Your head tilted, unable to process exactly what was happening. With the bloodsbane poison flowing through his veins, the daemon was dying, and if he were dying, his body should have been lined in white. And yet, the grip on your wrist only tightened as his eyes blinked open, no glow in sight. “How are you-”

You were unable to finish your statement, cut off by a strangled cry of your own as a burst of pain erupted inside your stomach. Tilting your head towards the source, you found the other hand of the soldier holding a dagger you had yet to notice until that moment, the blade of it now fully embedded inside you.

“Oh, shit!” It was the guard who spoke a few seconds later, eyes widening as he blinked a few times and fully took in your figure before him. His grip on your wrist loosened, and he scrambled to sit up on his own as your body began to slump on you. “Who the hell are you?”

You barely made out what he was saying, the roaring in your ears masking the majority of his ramblings. And what you did hear, didn’t make much sense. You had no idea what he was talking about or how he didn’t recognize you now, but you didn’t care. Not at this moment. Not with the amount of pain you were currently in.

“Please.” Your hands clumsily fumbled with the dagger embedded in you, knowing full well you had to get it out so your body could begin to heal itself, but your hands kept slipping on the handle, too weak and coated with blood to get a proper grip on it. 

“Stop, you’re going to make it worse.” His hands stilled your movements, the two of you slowly switching positions as he supported your sinking body. “You have to leave it in for now or you’ll risk bleeding out.” His aggressive demeanor had all but slipped away, panicking over the mess his previous action had created. “Shit! I thought you were another guard who had stumbled across the body. We had no idea there were half-daemons here with them.”

“No, you’ve got… you’ve got to get… I can’t heal.” Your head was beginning to spin, having a hard time staying focused. Even without the pain that consumed you, you wouldn’t have had any idea what was going on. On how this man was moving and speaking so easily when he should have been dead, let alone what the hell he was even talking about.

“Oh, shit. Your blood.” His grip on you lessened for a moment, finally taking in the color of your blood in the pale moonlight. “You’re… you’re the daughter of that one general… The one who was sent off to the humans. The rumors must have been true; you did survive, but how?” His gaze trailed up to your face, seeing you clearly for the first time. “We’ve got to get you out of here. Before they kill you.”

“No,” you shook your head, attempting to push off the hands that wrapped their way underneath your knees and shoulders to pick you up. “You don’t-” But you couldn’t get the proper words out, interrupted by the wave of pain that rushed through you from the way he jostled your body. “Please, get it out. I can’t…”

Angel? What’s going on?

You had never been so happy to hear that voice inside your head as you did now, quickly quelling the panic that had built up inside you.

“Hongjoong.” His name was barely more than an exhale, full of the relief you felt at hearing from him and knowing you were saved. “There was-” Once again jostled by the daemon beside you, who seemed all the more panicked at the mention of the daemon king’s name, your words cut out with another gasp of pain.

Don’t worry, angel. We’re coming.

It was Seonghwa who made it to you first, and who’s arrival you weren’t even fully aware of until you saw the black dagger sticking out of his head. The daemon’s movements quickly came to a stop, eyes widening once more at the scene in front of him before slumping to the ground.

You panicked at the arms that caught you, thinking it was one of the original attackers and attempting to struggle away from him as best you could in your current state.

“Angel, it’s me.” 

“Seonghwa.” Your head whipped around in that moment, body finally relaxing when you saw who it was. You let him take you in that moment, fully relishing in the familiar warmth of his body. 

“Angel, what happened?” His gaze fell to the dagger at your stomach, eyes darkening at the blood that coated your body and you were suddenly hit with a wave of emotions from him, ranging from a deep concern for your safety and wellbeing to a raging bloodlust to make whoever it was that had hurt you pay for their crimes. “Who did this to you?”

“Please,” your eyes pleaded with him, tugging his hands towards the handle. “get it out.” You could talk about what happened later, right now all you wanted was for the pain to stop.

To your relief, he nodded, fully understanding you couldn’t heal the injury until it was out unlike the daemon before him. He wasted no time in wrapping one arm around the bottom of your shoulders to help support your body, grabbing the handle of the dagger with his other.

“On the count of three, okay?” Another wave of emotions hit you in that instance, but they were gentler this time, attempting to help calm your nerves and ease the pain that would come as he took it out. “One… two… three.”

You couldn’t control the cry that came as he ripped the dagger out, burying your head into his chest as the pain racked your body once more. Seonghwa was saying something above you, but you couldn’t quite make any of it out.

It took a moment for your body to repair itself, but the pain eventually began to subside as you were mended. You clung to Seonghwa in that moment, too consumed by the pain consuming you to care much about how close you were or how your actions might have been received. You continued to take comfort in his presence as the pain slowly left, allowing yourself to stay burrowed next to him until your breathing slowly began to even itself out.

“Angel!” At the sound of Hongjoong’s voice, you slowly pulled yourself out from Seonghwa, turning just in time to see him collapse on his knees beside you, Jongho following shortly behind him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”  You nodded, shying away from the hands that cupped your face. Now that the pain was almost gone and you were in a better state of mind, you found yourself growing uneasy with your current state and the concern they showed you. “It’s all healed now.” And to prove your point, you lifted the edge of your shirt high enough to show the injury had been taken care of.

“What happened?” His eyes turned to the dead guard beside you, eyes darkening when he realized it was one of his own. “I thought they said we were under attack, and yet, he’s the one who hurt you? One of our own?”

“No,” you shook your head, “at least, I don’t think it was him. I’m not completely sure though, it all happened so fast.” You paused for a moment, trying to make sense of everything that had just occurred. “He was attacked, and I tried to heal him, but I failed. He died. I was certain he had died, but then…” Your words stumbled to a close, shivering as the memory of the attack flooded your mind once more. 

There had been no pulse. There had been no glow. For all extents and purposes, he should have been dead, and yet, he had moved and spoke with an ease that should have been impossible.

You slowly began to relay what had happened, starting with your reasoning for being out so late and why you had approached the daemon in the first place before moving on to the impossibility of the situation. Of how after you had believed him to be dead, he had come back to life.

“Hongjoong, you don’t think,” Seonghwa began, grip tightening against you once the story had been told in full. 

Hongjoong shook his head. “It can’t be. It’s been years since their last attack, so why would that suddenly change? The war is over.”

“Wait, who are you talking about?” Your gaze turned between the two, confused as to what they were talking about. “You know who did this?”

“During the first part of the war, there was a small militia force that would hit our smaller camps,” Jongho replied, walking over to the dead daemon and pulling out the dagger in his skull. He turned it over a few times, inspecting the blood on the blade before it dissolved in his hands. “They were the reason why Hoseok, Hongjoong’s father, had so much trouble in the beginning. Not only did we have the main force of humans to contend with, but another group proficient enough to continuously wipe out a large chunk of his camps. But when Hoseok died, the attacks stopped.”

“And you think they did this?”

“It's highly unlikely.” Hongjoong continued, pulling your attention back to him. “My father committed quite a bit of time and resources towards hunting them down, so it’s likely he found them before his own death and dealt with them himself. I’m sure it’s just a ragtag group of humans upset with the way the war ended, but you have no need to worry about it any longer. We’ll take care of it. For now, why don’t you go with Jongho. He’ll make sure a bath is drawn so you can clean yourself up and then head to bed if you so wish.”

There were a hundred questions you still wanted to ask, Hongjoong’s explanation making little sense in your mind. If it had been humans who had attacked you, why had they only shot the one soldier? And then what had happened to that solider? The actions that followed all but screamed daemon involvement, the actions that followed only possible by the magic that flowed in their veins. But if it had been the daemons, then why had he seemed so surprised to see you? And why had he been so concerned for your safety? Seemingly wanting to get you somewhere safe instead of finishing off the job he had started? 

But now was not the time to ask. Hongjoong’s statement brought awareness to your current state and the blood that covered your body. Not just your own, but the daemon’s as well, the very one you had failed to save tonight. You never did well with those who died under your care, but this one felt different, fully knowing how things might have played out differently if you had just acted a little sooner.

“And angel,” Hongjoong stopped you before you went, hand brushing against your shoulder. “Tonight was a mistake, one that we don’t plan on letting happen again, so please, forgive us for failing to do the very thing we promised.”

“There’s nothing to forgive.” You shook your head, wondering why he was pinning the blame on himself. “I was the one who went out on my own, so there was nothing you could have done. If there’s anyone to blame for what happened, it’s me. I could have gotten myself to safety, but I didn’t.” 

And what had you accomplished from it? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The soldier had died all the same and you had nearly gotten yourself killed because of it.  Perhaps if you had acted faster. Perhaps if you hadn’t stalled so much, he would still be alive and none of this would have ever happened.

“So, don’t blame yourself, please.” You took a deep breath, wishing how things would have played out tonight if you had only done things differently. “My blood is on my own hands.” 

~

taglists will now be posted in reblogs. if you would like to be added, just let me know! best way to ensure this would be sending an ask as i might miss you otherwise :)

Ice formation on Lake Ontario #photography #photooftheday #naturephotography #mountains #nature_captures #nature_lovers #nature #nature_photo #nature_perfection #nature_brilliance #nature_seekers #nature_good #canon #canoneosrp #tamronlens #canada #canadianphotography #canadianphotographer #imagesofcanada #ice #iceformations #lakeontario #frozen #lyndeshores #cranberrymarsh#icicles @canon_photos @canonusa @cangeo @imagesofcanada @explorecanada @canoncanada @canada_photolovers (at Lynn Shores Whitby) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8XiemkASb1/?igshid=s55u8qubk1y6

{11} - Morning Mist - Yandere!Dragon!Ateez X Chubby!Reader

Yandere AU & Dragon AU

Genre: Mature, Horror, Angst

Pairing: Ateez X Reader (Focus on Yeosang, Jongho, and slight Mingi)

Words: 5,345

Warnings: Past death and trauma alluded to, This is a Yandere story, it will contain themes such as stalking, violence, obsession, possessive natures, and just general overall creepiness and swearing. You have been warned.

A/n: After quite some time, I finally present the next chapter of this series!!! Yay!! I really hope you all enjoy it! What I originally planned for this chapter is actually going to occur next chapter, but I think what happens, especially at the end is really important for the story. Can anyone guess what it is? Hehehe as always, feedback is greatly appreciate! Enjoy~

Also, gentle reminder that I do not do tag lists.

Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight - Chapter Nine - Chapter Ten - Mini Masterlist

Keep reading

{5} - To Tempt Fate - Yandere!Trickster Deities!Ateez X Reader

Yandere AU & Trickster AU

Genre: Mature, Horror, Angst, Suspense

Pairing: Ateez X Reader (Focus on Mingi)

Words: 3,496

Warnings: Depictions of anxiety (not the reader). This is a Yandere story, it will contain themes such as stalking, violence, obsession, possessive natures, and just general overall creepiness and swearing. You have been warned.

A/n: I have an appointment soon, so I just wanted to post this before I had to leave! Anyways, I’m very excited for the threads to begin unravelling now as more time progresses!! I really hope you all look forward to everything I have in store! As always, feedback is greatly appreciated! Enjoy!

Also, gentle reminder that I do not do tag lists.

Mini Masterlist - Part One - Part Two - Part Three - Part Four

Keep reading

Reaction: Asking for cuddles after a bad day.

Requested by @multidreams-and-desires

Genre: Fluff (hurt/comfort)

Pairing: Ateez x neutral!reader

Warnings: bit of crying?

Notes: Thanks for the request hehe I hope this gives everyone comfort that is struggling with a bad day atm.

Taglist: under the cut (let me know if you wanna be added)

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Hongjoong:

The door locked behind you as you entered the dark living room. “Hello?” You asked into the room, only greeted by silence. You sighed. You wanted nothing more than sleep. But when you entered your room, you found something you wanted more. Hongjoong was sitting on his bed, laptop on his lap and headphones on. The reason why he didn’t hear you come in. Tears swelled in your eyes as you saw him. You didn’t even know why but seeing him was a big relief. As soon as he saw you, he closed his laptop and took off his headphones. “You’re back!” He said excitedly. You let out a deep breath before you opened your arms. You didn’t even have to say something for him to put his equipment on the ground and pull you onto him. “Do you want to talk about it?” And that’s why you loved him.

Seonghwa:

It was 6am when you came home from your nightshift. And it was a horrible one. You didn’t expect anyone to be awake at that time but you were wrong. It was your first nightshift in ages and Seonghwa had decided to be up when you come so he could make sure you were fine. And that was definitely the correct decision because as soon as you entered the apartment, you collapsed onto the ground. Your head buried in your hands, you heard footsteps approaching. Seonghwa squatted down in front of you, gently patting your head. “That bad?” You nodded. “Cuddles?” You nodded again. And without any hesitation he embraced you into his arms. As soon as you felt his warmth against your body you couldn’t stop yourself from crying. “Thank you so much..” You cried against his shoulder, you didn’t deserve him. “What to thank for? Caring about my favourite person?” 

Yunho:

“Are you alright?” That question hit you hard. You had just come home from a bad day and immediately fell face first into your bed. Yunho was sitting at his desk, playing some video game. He was really concentrated so he didn’t look at you when you walked in. But by the way you walked, he noticed that something was off. And with you not answering he decided to abandon his game and turn around only to find you laying down on your bed face down. He giggled and stood up. “Can you cuddle me?” You murmured into the mattress. Without any effort, Yunho picked you up from the bed and wrapped his arms around you. Like a baby, you wrapped your arms and legs around him as he started carrying you to the living room. “It insults me that you have to ask.“ 

Yeosang:

No one was home when you sat down on the couch, completely defeated. God your day was awful. You were slouching into the cushions when you heard the front door open. “Yeosangie?” You called into the room, not willing to move one bit. With a curious “mhm?” Yeosang’s head popped around the corner. His hair was sticking to his forehead and sweat was rolling down his neck, making it obvious that he had just come back from the gym. “I need cuddles.” You stated as he walked into the room after taking off his shoes. “Are you sure about that?” He asked, gesturing to his sweat drenched clothes. You pouted. He giggled. He immediately lightend up your mood. “Take it off.” You responded, wiggling your eyebrows. Yeosang blushed instantly. “I’m taking a quick shower and you can smother me to death after.” He said, disappearing in the bathroom. You hadn’t even received your cuddles yet but you already felt better. 

San:

“Y/n!” You heard footsteps rumble as soon as you opened the door. You took a deep breath. You were finally home and the sound of San’s voice made you feel like you were not only physically but also emotionally home. San stopped as he slid around the corner on his socks. “It’s so late where have you been!” He complained sulkingly. You tiredly smiled at him. “I’m sorry Sannie.” You answered while sloppily kicking off your shoes. You didn’t look at him for one second and he was already clinging onto you. You laughed. “Sannie, I need to take off my jacket.” He let go of you with a big pout on his face and as soon as you were done he looked at you with those big sulky sparkly eyes. “Cuddles?” You asked, not realizing how much you actually needed them yourself. San nodded enthusiastically and pulled you into the living room. Everything happened so fast that you were buried under a blanket and San before you even knew it. And suddenly tears ran down your cheeks. 

Mingi:

Mingi was chilling on the living room couch watching anime when you sat down next to him. You were exhausted and wanted his attention but you were too shy to ask directly, so you just let out a big sigh in hopes of him noticing. He didn’t. You watched him from the side. His eyes were completely focused on the screen in front of him. You scooched a bit closer to him, putting your head on his shoulder. Still no reaction. Then you threw your legs over his, now partly laying on top of him. “Can I help you?” Mingi finally asked, making you pout. “I want cuddles.” You whined, causing him to pause his anime. You expected him to be annoyed but it was the opposite. Mingi didn’t even answer, he just pulled you onto him completely, your head now resting. His arms were wrapped around you as he gave you a kiss on the head. “You need to talk to me if you want something Y/n.” He scolded gently and clicked play again. You immediately raised your head to look at him pouting. “What?” He laughed. “I can watch anime and love you at the same time.” 

Wooyoung:

“I’m in the kitchen!” Wooyoung called out as he heard the click of the door. But you didn’t answer. You usually did. That’s why he was confused. You were getting out of your outdoor clothes and dragged yourself into the kitchen. “Hello honey, how was your day?” He asked, mixing some ingredients on the counter while facing you with his back. You didn’t answer again. And that was when he put away what he was doing and turned around to check on you. And there you were, your face on the kitchen table, your arms slouching down. “Oh baby, is everything okay?” You shook your head. “Bad Day?" You nodded. Wooyoung sighed, walking closer to you, giving you some back pats. “I know you’re cooking but can we cuddle for a bit?” Your voice was shaking. “Absolutely.” He answered as you felt his arms wrap around your waist from behind.

Jongho:

He just knew. He had a feeling that something was wrong the whole day and that feeling was confirmed when you stood in the entrance, completely drenched in rain. But Jongho was prepared. He had made hot chocolate, prepared the couch, put on your favorite tv show and didn’t hesitate to grab towels as soon as he realized it was raining. So when you arrived, he immediately dried you off, helped you out of your clothes, led you to the sofa and put the warm cup into your hands. You wanted to react and thank him but no words were leaving your mouth. Jongho wrapped you in blankets before pressing play. You loved him so much for what he was doing but you didn’t need it. All you needed was cuddles. “Jongho?” You whispered into your cup and you immediately had his full attention. “Yes? What’s wrong?” He was obviously worried. “Can we just cuddle?” You were shy to ask but there was no reason for it. Because even though he didn’t like skinship that much, he would do everything to make you feel better. And it was you, so you didn’t need to say another word before he took the hot chocolate out of your hand and wrapped his body around you.

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Tags: @jonghoisbabie @multidreams-and-desires @little-precious-baby @yunhofingers-writes @serialee @crimsonbubble @cometoceantrenches @em--ilysm @deja-vux @kawaiiloli00 @ddeonghwva @aaaaajonghooooo @sansbun @cookies-n-joong @plonys @hijirikaww @nari-nim @yunkiwii @mingi-ivity @racheloveyunho @seongsangsgf @jhmylove @lizsvcks @yunhobabygurl @leoninadecorazones @kerra-that-one-random-fangirl @star1117-archives

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