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gingerpeachtae · 5 years

Text

Concentric [22]

masterlist

Words: 18k

Genres: fantasy!AU, angst, fluff, enemies to lovers, eventual smut

Warnings: graphic depictions of violence and death

Summary: You had been ready for the end of the semester. You had been ready to spend time away from your best friend, Jimin, and finally move on from the feelings you harbored. Yet, after your friend was forced to reveal a secret, you found yourself in a new world that was chock full of magic, war, and wonder. So, here you were, basically thrown into your own fantasy novel, with your best friend on one side, and six male warriors on the other.

A/N: thank you everyone for being so kind and patient with me! i hope this extra long chapter helps make up for the wait 💙

*2 weeks later*

The burning orange glow of the afternoon sunlight filtered through the bunches of leaves above your head. Rays of the golden light cut through the patches of shade all around you, creating beams and pockets of warmth that you and Tae relished in as you both quietly jogged through the trees. Weaving around shrubs, bounding over logs, avoiding sharp thorns.

Making your way further into the forest, you winced every time your feet hit the ground just a little too hard or your weight snapped a slight, skinny twig. The rune on the back of your neck might’ve give you some enhanced senses and reflexes, but it couldn’t override the fact you were human, and humans had a tendency to make noise.

Which was exactly what you didn’t need at the moment; not when you were doing recon on the enemy.

You and the grey-haired Saeni at your side were in charge of monitoring the northwest faction of the draikensu forces today. Taking note of their patrol routes, where they were positioned, how they received orders from higher ups, what weapons they carried, and any other intel that may be deemed useful. It was tricky business, though. You had to stealthily avoid the approximate fifteen-thousand dark Saeni that wouldn’t hesitate to slice your guts open, but you still had to get close enough to actually get the information needed. Not to mention also being extremely cautious of any traps or alarms that could be set by draikensu magic users.

Truly a phenomenal way to get your blood pumping chock full of adrenaline, to be honest.

Not having a glamour to hide your body from sight and voice from ears did nothing to ease the hard, erratic thumping going on in your chest either. Yoongi had wanted to place the concealing magic over your bodies, but you and the rest of the group heavily protested. He needed to save the energy in his grumpy ass body for whenever the clash with the draikensu finally came to fruition. The only magic Namjoon was “allowing” him to conjure was a shield to cover camp and maintaining communication with the palace magic users. Neither were very tasking for him physically. It was simple, easy magic.

Though you would see Yoongi roll his petal pink eyes every day when a new leaf fluttered in on the morning wind, holding the same message as always.

Where are you located? Any updates or intel? We are __ days away.

Grumbling, he would mutter something along the lines of “No, you fucking acorn, we haven’t changed our location because, as I have said every day for the past six days, we wouldn’t until you arrived,” before plucking a leaf from a nearby tree and whispering an incantation that “etched” a message containing your ever-the-same whereabouts as well as any new information you’d discovered onto the green fiber. Then, he let the wind gently lift the leaf from his palm and carry it away to its receiver.

It was fascinating to watch, but also made you wonder why the mint-haired Saeni hadn’t used the nifty technique to alert his brothers they were about to walk into a trap while he was injured all that time ago. You know, instead of panicking and having you run around yelling in English. When you voiced the question, Yoongi just huffed and informed you that it only worked if the recipient was also a magic user.

That had made you feel a little bit better at your decision to scream and run around the forest as your alternative form of communication with the boys. Not great, but better.

Speaking of communication, you thought as you ducked below a broken tree limb, I still can’t believe that was the way Illai chose to guide Jimin…

You leapt over a small ditch, lightly landing on the balls on your feet, as the memory washed over you.

It was still dark outside, the sun not yet peeking over the horizon and saying good morning to the world. But it didn’t matter. All of you were awake, packed, and ready to go.

Taehyung sat on the ground across from you as you taught him how to play the classic hand clapping game ‘Slide’ while Jimin and Jiae finished their teary goodbyes to each other. Originally, you had been playing with Jungkook, but he kept messing up and was smacking your hands so hard in retaliation that you decided to kick him out. Now he was pouting a few feet away, sending you tiny glares while leaning against a sycamore tree and kicking at the dirt.

A few trees down, Yoongi was curled into a ball where the roots dived into the earth and Hobi quietly sat next to him with his arms wrapped around knees. Beside them, the last two members of the kiela were double-checking their things as they carried a hushed conversation with one another. Mingi and Chungha stood off the side, speaking lowly in the dark and gesturing toward the lilac-haired princess as she let out a sob and hugged your best friend tightly.

Eventually, Jimin pulled back from Jiae and gently wiped at her tears with the pads of his thumbs while murmuring sweet nothings. You smiled at the duo, causing yourself to falter and lose the rhythm you and Tae set with your hands. The blue-eyed Saeni let out a whine but you didn’t pay it any mind, too caught up watching the cute couple. You felt nothing but happiness as you watched Jimin give the young female a soft kiss on her forehead.

After another minute, the two finally separated and Jiae hugged herself as tears continue to trail down her cheeks. Jimin ran a hand through his hair and took several steps back, almost as if he needed the physical distance to keep himself from latching on to her again. As he moved away, a strong breeze picked up and disturbed the leaves and near quietness of the early morning. The greenery shook all around you, and Chungha reached out to clasp Mingi’s forearm briefly before she pivoted and strode over to Jiae. The female guard placed a gentle hand on Jiae’s shaking shoulder, which caused your eyebrows to raise slightly since it was an act of kindness you hadn’t seen from her before.

After taking a deep breath, the princess squared her shoulders and addressed everyone in a strong tone. “I will get you help. I promise. Just… be careful. Please.”

You all nodded, well, everyone except for Yoongi since he was still resting and oblivious to the conversation.

Jimin flashed Jiae a big grin, but you could tell he was forcing it. His eyes didn’t squish.

“Don’t you worry about us. You just focus on getting back to the palace safely.”

The princess’ chin trembled but she narrowed her pale blue eyes at the half Saeni before pointing a finger at his chest. “And you better be careful when closing that rift or I swear to-”

“He’ll be fine, princess.” Mingi draped an arm around Jimin’s shoulders and warmly smiled. “I gave you my word I would watch over him so that’s what I intend to do.”

Jiae dipped her head slightly in appreciation then looked down at the ground, taking deep breaths. Taking that as their cue to leave, Chungha nudged Jiae to pick up her things, and the rest of you watched silently as she did so.

It was weird having them leave. While you weren’t particularly close to either, they were still a part of the journey and you had grown used to seeing them every day. You didn’t want them to go… but you knew they had to.

As they stood before the group, you saw Jiae’s chin quiver again and you sent her what you hoped was a reassuring look.

“Goodbye everyone,” she called out lightly while squeezing her eyes shut for a few heartbeats before focusing her somber gaze on Jimin. “…Bye Chim.”

Then, she abruptly swiveled around and walked into the expanse of the forest, her lilac hair fluttering in the wind behind her. Chungha stayed for only a half-second longer, just to give you all a curt nod, before she too disappeared into the darkness of the trees.

Once they were gone, Hobi began to gently rouse Yoongi from his sleep, and you heaved yourself to your feet. Quickly shuffling over to your best friend, you heard him sniffle as he stared at the spot Jiae had just stood. Mingi patted his shoulder twice understandingly then turned to give your hair a ruffle as you arrived, making you roll your eyes in false annoyance. While the guard left to grab his stuff, you carefully wrapped your arms around Jimin’s torso and murmured a “come on” while guiding him to his kiela.

“Chungha is with her and you know how seriously she takes her job,” you whispered.

“I know. I know. Fuck, it just kinda sucks that I might die, and she won’t know I think I love her.”

Your feet tripped over themselves as you whipped your eyes to Jimin’s face. His brown orbs bugged out and met yours in shock while his mouth opened and closed several times. Blood rushed to his cheeks as he stammered and stumbled over his words while trying to explain himself.

Giggling, you gave his tummy a pat. “I’m really, really, happy for you, Slim Jim.”

“You’re not… you’re not hurt, right?” Although he was still blushing, he looked at you with apprehension and worry clouding his features.

You bit your lip and quickly glanced toward the burgundy head still leaning against the tree before shaking your head and smiling to yourself. “No. I’m not.”

Then you frowned and jabbed a finger into his stomach. “And shut up, you’re not going to die.”

While Jimin groaned and rubbed the spot you had aggressively poked, Tae skipped over to you. Looking at the male, you noticed the playful and excited glimmer in his blue eyes and hastily detached yourself from your best friend just moments before Tae tackled him into a hug.

“Congrats Chim! You’re in love!” The grey-haired Saeni pinched Jimin’s cheek lovingly before letting him go.

Jimin flushed once more as the rest of the kiela chuckled and offered their congratulations as well, but they were fast to also tell him to hurry up and get moving so you could all leave. As the apricot head ducked his head and did just that, you sent Tae a flying kiss and made you way over to your boyfriend.

“Still pouting?”

“…No.”

“So that’s a yes.” You released a stream of laughter and gave his arm a teasing pat. “I don’t blame you, TaeTae did much better than you.”

Jungkook crossed his arms over his chest and let out a strong puff of air while looking away, making you laugh even harder.

“What, why should we go south?” You heard Jimin call out, but you figured it was addressed to Namjoon, so you didn’t bother replying.

It was odd, though, because you thought Namjoon had said you were going to travel west.

“Y/N? Why south?”

Your brows furrowed and Jungkook met your confused stare before you both slowly turned your heads toward Jimin. As did everyone else.

It was silent save for the rustling trees, chirping birds, and clicking bugs.

“Uh… I didn’t say anything Slim Jim.”

At your statement, his face copied your own bewilderment. The kiela and Mingi looked back and forth between you two, trying to understand what was going on.

“But you… you said we needed to go south…”

“No?” Tilting your head to the side, you pursed your lips. “I said TaeTae did better at Slide than Kookie.”

“Literally nobody said ‘south,’” Yoongi piped up from the side.

“Oh… I could have sworn…”

Jin offered that he could have just misheard someone speaking or maybe it had been the wind in his ears, and the others voiced their agreement. Jimin peered at his older brother unconvinced, but he let out a defeated sigh and hung his head. Shifting the strap of his bag, he went to take a step forward when his head suddenly lifted so fast you thought his neck would snap. His brown eyes focused on your once more and you were shocked at how wide they were.

“Y/N, you just said it again!”

Um, I what now? Your mouth dropped open, unsure how to respond when you clearly had not said anything.

“Chim, you’re just hearing things,” Hobi said while shaking his head and checking over the blades attached to his body.

“No, I’m not!” Jimin ran a hand through his hair stressfully. “A feminine voice said we need to go south and, Y/N, you’re the only girl here now!”

Your best friend gripped his hair as you all looked on, not sure what to do or say.

“You’re positive you heard that Chim?” Tae hesitantly asked in a soft tone.

“Yes!”

Tae nodded but didn’t say anything else, just as lost and dumbfounded as the rest of you.

Letting his hands fall from his head, Jimin let out a strangled sound and began breathing erratically as he whispered that he just heard it again. In response, Yoongi narrowed his pink eyes and studied his younger brother. Nobody moved, nobody made a sound.

Then, Yoongi started laughing. Bracing himself on his knees, the magic user let himself go and almost no sound came out because of how hard the laughter racked his body. Confusion now doubled, you shifted your attention to him, wondering what in Exia’s name was happening.

Did they get bit by a lillaf? Are they high?

Finally, after what seemed like a solid minute of everyone awkwardly glancing at each other, the mint-haired male quieted down and caught his breath. The magic user wiped at his eyes, gummy smile not fading away, and explained what he found oh so funny,

Apparently, your best friend once again found himself as a fleshy GPS, but this time it came with sound navigation in the form of the mother goddess herself… speaking directly into Jimin’s head.

Lost in the memory, you weren’t paying as much attention to your surroundings as you should have been, meaning you weren’t as focused on what was in front of you. Meaning you didn’t see the large rock in your path. Meaning you tripped right over that fucker and stumbled forward several steps with a gasping curse.

As you managed to catch yourself from face planting, Tae skidded to a stop and looked back at you with a slight wince.

You grimaced as you took in his expression. Shit, that was probably loud…

Letting out a small, shaky breath, you straightened and went to start moving again but stopped as Tae’s bright blue eyes expanded in alarm. You froze and he went still, the only movements coming from either of you being the sway of his feather earring and your hair in the breeze.

Then you heard them.

“I’m telling you, I heard something over here.”

“It was probably just a fucking animal.”

Your eyes instantly mirrored Tae’s and you darted your gaze over the mass of pine and maple trees around you to try to figure out what you to do. There was no doubt in your mind that you and Tae could take on a few driakensu, but it could go wrong too easily. It was too risky. You didn’t know how many draikensu there actually were or if there was a magic user with them or if there was another patrol nearby. There were simply too many factors that were unknown, and that could get you killed.

But… you didn’t know what else to do. They were too close to run. They would hear your human footfalls and know it was indeed not an animal they had heard. Biting your lip, you clenched your hands into fists before reaching for your bow. Just as you touched it, Tae’s hand covered yours and hurriedly began pulling you over to a small bundle of pine trees with low needled branches that were close to the ground.

Quickly and quietly, he shoved you beneath the sharp, green needles and you had to set your jaw to keep from yelping at the scratches. Tae soon followed you under the cover of the pines and you both crawled through the dirt and brown needles to the trunk. Your heart was beating rapidly in your chest and you did your best to breath slowly and calm down as you laid flat on your tummy and made yourself as small as physically possible.

The blue-eyed Saeni shifted to grasp your hand in his just before the shoes of a patrol of two draikensu came into view, one pair black and the other brown.

“Sounded like it came from around here.”

You held your breath as they tread over the earth, their faces obscured from view. All you could do was wait and pray they couldn’t hear your pounding heartbeat or smell you in the air. You watched their boots walk around the area for a while, then one of the draikensu turned their feet in your direction, making your heart drop. Footsteps approached and stopped not even ten feet away, so close you could count the number of eyelets they had laced on their boots. Tightly squeezing Tae’s hand as the black boots stared into your soul, you waited… and waited… and waited…

Until they finally stepped away. Black Boots marched over to the other pair and you heard some rustling before Brown Boots faltered back a few steps, most likely being pushed by their partner.

“See? Nothing here you dipshit.”

You didn’t dare move.

“But I-”

You didn’t dare breathe.

“But nothing. It was probably a kwaulta or a damn deer.” Black Boots swiveled on their heels and began strolling back the way they came. “Let’s go.”

Tae gave your hand a slight pump as the other draikensu lingered for just a moment before dragging his feet after their partner. You dropped your forehead to the dry needles on the ground, feeling your tense muscles deflate in relief at their exit. You heard Tae let out a long exhale beside you and he also sagged against the forest floor. The two of you stayed that way for several minutes, giving the draikensu ample time to put some distance between you.

Finally, once Tae was certain it was clear, you both crawled out from the pine cover and back into the open. After wiping the dirt from your palms off on your thighs, you checked to make sure none of your arrows had gotten loose as Tae let out a noise of reprieve.

“Come on, we need to finish this sweep,” he whispered, “Let’s get this over with so we can get back to camp.”

Nodding, you cracked your neck and took a deep breath, then the two of you began jogging through the trees again.

The sun was beginning to dip in the horizon as you sat with your back against a tree watching Jin stir the soup over the fire. Jimin was laying down on you, his head resting on your shins, and playing with a leaf in his hands. Mingi and Tae sat close by, playing Slide and giggling amongst themselves, while Namjoon and Yoongi contemplated the location of the rift on the other side of the fire.

Curtesy of Illai speaking to Jimin, you knew the general vicinity it was in, but since the area was currently swarming with draikensu, you didn’t know the exact location. All you knew was that it was smack dab in the middle of Uzjuk’s forces, hence one of the reasons why you had been doing recon; to see if there was any weak spot in their defenses where you could slip in.

Not that any had been found.

A soft tickle to your wrist made your arm jerk and you lightly glared at Jimin who was grinning innocently up at you as he pulled the leaf away from your skin. Snorting and shaking your head at his squished eyes, you turned your attention to the forest that was growing darker by the minute.

Watching. Waiting.

“They’ll be back any minute now, stop worrying.”

You reached over to poke Jimin’s cheek and scoffed. “I’m not worried, I’m just… just…”

“Worried.”

“Alright fine but hush, I’m allowed to be a tiny wee bit worried about my boyfriend, thank you very much.”

“Wow, not even concerned about Hobi? That’s heartless.” Jin butted into the conversation as he threw some herb into the pot.

“Wha-No!”

“Illai said she agrees with hyung. Heartless,” Jimin sang while splitting his leaf down the middle.

“Oh shut up, no she did not.”

Your best friend just shrugged and giggled into your legs, making you roll your eyes while the bugs clicked and chattered loudly all around you.

“Has the mother goddess actually said anything today?” Mingi called over while still deeply immersed in the hand clap game.

You swear you even saw a sheen of sweat coating the male’s forehead.

Jimin just let out a light groan, saying she had but it was just the usual spiel about needing to hurry and close the rift before the world fell into chaos and slowly withered away.

Geez, she sure knows how to give a quality pep talk.

You blew out a raspberry and picked up a twig by your side. “It’s almost like she doesn’t realize it’s eight against thousands at the moment.”

Yoongi barked out a laugh. “You better watch the sarcasm there, little scorja. Wouldn’t want her taking offense.”

“I’m not trying to be rude, just freaking realistic.” You held your hands up in surrender then leveled the twig at Jimin. “But just to be safe, tell the lovely mother goddess not to smite your best friend, yeah?”

“My girl is going to get smote? Before she can show me what that ‘Ablatar’ thing is? Damn.” A familiar voice came from the trees.

Your head shot up just as the burgundy head strolled into camp, Hobi and his glistening blades only a step behind him.

“Kookie!” You shoved Jimin’s head off you, making him release a complaint, and pushed yourself to your feet.

As the rest of the kiela and Mingi welcomed the duo back, you ran over to your smiling boyfriend and launched yourself at him, hooking your legs around his waist and burying your face into the crook of his neck.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Jungkook let out a airy chuckle and wrapped his arms around you, holding you close. “Miss me?”

Yes.

“Of course not. Who would miss you?” You hid your grin in his shoulder, breathing in his scent of steel and florets as you tapped your fingertips against the handles of his short swords.

Jungkook carried you over to the fire, being sure to avoid the plume of smoke caused by the steady wind, and plopped down on the ground with you in his lap. “Mhmm. Sure.”

You pulled away from his neck as he brushed some of your hair out of your face and gave you a quick peck on the lips, making your body go warm and tingly.

“Ew,” Yoongi muttered but his look of mock disgust was soon replaced with something much brighter as Hobi enveloped his frame in a backwards hug.

Giving Jungkook’s firm chest a pat, you climbed off his lap and sat beside him, your thighs still touching, as he and Hobi started recapping what they saw while scouting the west side of the enemy’s forces. Overall, nothing had really changed since your dear asshat and Tae had checked that area a couple days ago. The same patrol rotations, same camp locations, same array of weapons.

While Jin began to ladle out soup for everyone, Tae seated himself next to you and rested his grey head on your shoulder, asking how much longer it would be until the palace troops arrived. The remainder of the group gathered around the fire and settled down to eat together, and Yoongi grumbled out that Jooheon, the magic user he was corresponding with, said by tomorrow evening or the following morning.

Almost here… which means there’s a high chance I might die soon… and not get to see the upcoming season of Stranger Things. Great. You sighed and took your cup from Jin’s outstretched hand, thanking the male quietly.

But I really don’t want to die. You trailed your gaze over the Saeni with you. And there’s no way I could bear it if any of them died.

“Everything okay, little scorja?” Tae whispered just as Jungkook put a hand on your knee and asked the same question silently with his peridot eyes.

“Yeah, just thinking,” you replied and flashed them both tiny smiles as the sky grew even darker and the sounds of the crackling fire filled your ears.

As long as I’m with you both and the others, we’ll be okay. We have to be.

Repositioning your body for the umpteenth time, you let out a sigh and threw an arm over your eyes to block the blinding brightness of the moon through the treetops. You couldn’t sleep. Your mind simply refused to turn off no matter how many times you mentally scolded it. Releasing another defeated sigh, you pushed yourself up to a sitting position while being careful not to disturb a snoozing Tae beside you. Holding your head in your hands for a few seconds, you cursed your dumb brain for not being able to stop thinking before sliding your blanket off your legs and looking around.

Trees. Darkness. Trees. Darkness. Trees. Jungkook. Darkn-wait.

Backtracking your eyes, you saw Jungkook watching you with an amused expression as he leaned against a tree. Sending him a pout, you shivered as the breeze made you feel the full coolness of the night before standing up and tiptoeing around the jumble of sleeping Saeni.

“It was kind of funny to watch you huff and flop around,” Jungkook whispered as you made your way over.

You gave him a light shove as you settled your shoulder on the trunk beside him. “It’s kinda creepy to watch someone sleep.”

“Try to sleep,” he corrected you with a teasing smirk, eyes glittering in the moonlight.

“Same difference. Still creepy.” You rested your head on the bark and let your eyes graze over his face, noticing that despite how utterly handsome he looked, the bags under his eyes revealed how tired he was. “How are you? How long until you can say your watch has ended?”

“I’ve been fine,” Jungkook shifted closer and reached out to grab your hand and toy with your fingers. “Better now that you’re here with me.”

Letting out a fake gag, you couldn’t help but giggle. “Oof, that was… wow. That was cheesy.”

His nose scrunched as he laughed, agreeing with you, and then he suddenly dropped to the ground and sat with his back to the tree. With the grip he still had on your hand, he tugged you down on top of him, so you were straddling his thighs. The burgundy-haired male placed his other hand on your nape, guiding you toward his lips for a long kiss. Slipping his hand to the front of your neck, he lightly trailed his fingers over the silver chain at your throat, making you whimper into his mouth. You went to pull him even closer to you, craving more, but he pushed you back slightly instead. With a lazy grin on his face, he whispered that it wasn’t the time for making out. He had a duty to be on watch and you were simply too loud and would wake up Yoongi if you continued.

Says the guy who started it. You rolled your eyes, determined not to give him the satisfaction of being whiny.

Meanwhile, he moved both hands to your waist and held you tenderly.

“Come on, you can lean into me and try to sleep.” His peridot eyes were soft as he murmured. “I know my scent calms you so just focus on that.”

Your eyes bulged and you felt heat rise to your face. A bit flustered, you shifted on top of his thighs and asked him how he knew that.

Chuckling, he gave your hips a gentle squeeze. “You always nuzzle into my neck and breathe deeply. Nothing to be embarrassed about sweetheart, just c’mere and get some rest.”

Although you could still feel your face flushing, you nodded in tiny and laid against him.

“If it makes you feel any better,” he whispered into your ear, “I’m just as addicted to your scent. So damn sweet and spicy… just like you and it drives me fucking crazy.”

Oh.

Settling his strong arms around you, he inhaled and placed a kiss to the top of your head, making you smile and feel fuzzy.

And he was right, you did feel more relaxed than you had been on your sleeping mat. This was definitely a softer, warmer, comfier, and all-around better way to sleep. You could finally feel your brain start to wind down.

“You know,” you mumbled into his chest, “this position isn’t very ideal if a draikensu shows up out of the blue.”

Jungkook snorted. “Sure it is. You’re my shield.”

“Hey!” You pinched his torso in retaliation, causing him to flinch and yelp.

Snickering, you could feel your eyes begin to grow heavy and you murmured out a goodnight and thank you to the male holding you. Yet, right as you were about to finally doze off, Jungkook abruptly stiffened.

Cracking your eyes open again, you listened to the forest, but only heard the usual bugs and wind through leaves. Jungkook, though, whispered for you to get up and get behind him.

“Huh?” You leaned back to peer at him, but his eyes were focused on the trees to the left. “What happened to being your shield?”

His peridot gaze flickered back to you briefly, his body alert. “I’m serious, get behind me. Now.”

When you didn’t move, he gripped your waist and stood up, pulling you both to your feet. Once you were balanced on the ground, he reached over his shoulders and wrapped his hands around the hilts of his swords.

You cocked a brow as he yanked the blades from their sheaths. “I’m not going to cower behind you like some stupid damsel, so tell me what’s going on.”

The other Saeni began to stir and you heard one of them sleepily call out the same demand.

“Someone’s coming,” he said through gritted teeth, his jaw set as he stared into the dark forest.

“Alright, cool. Let’s kick their ass.”

Jungkook released a strangled, frustrated groan. “You don’t have your bow, dumbass, and no time to get it. Just get behind me, will you?”

“And you have two swords Coco! Gimme one!”

“For Exia’s sake, could you just lis-”

He cut off his own words as his head jerked to the side. While the kiela and Mingi stumbled to their feet and brandished their own weapons, Jungkook stepped in front of you. His body was on full defense mode as he blocked you from view and lifted his swords. Sighing loudly to announce your annoyance, you were barely able to see around his sturdy frame. Lightly touching his shoulder, you peeked past him and waited for whomever it was to appear. But all you saw was trees and darkness.

Trees and darkness. Trees and darkness. Trees and darkness. Trees and there.

A silhouette formed between the trunks as they jogged through the forest. Though once the person saw Jungkook and his threatening demeanor, as well as the rest of the Saeni ready to fight, they instantly came to a halt and held their hands up in peace.

“Whoa, settle down guys. It’s just me.”

Who?

The male in front of you cocked his head to the side and lowered his arms while taking in the newcomer, as did the rest of the kiela.

“Yugyeom?” Jungkook asked in an incredulous tone.

Again, WHO?

The Saeni, apparently named Yugyeom, waved one of his hands that were still held high, a smile breaking out on his face. “The one and only. How’s it going Kook?”

A funky looking creature that seemed to be a mix between a spider and a scorpion crawled its way across the dirt in front of your knee, though instead of a stinger at the tip of the scorpion-esque appendage, a bright orange feather fluttered in the breeze. Truthfully, you would have been utterly freaked out by the little guy if not for how funny the vibrant feather made him look.

“Viilko,” Tae said beside you.

“Hmm?”

The grey-haired Saeni pointed at the feathered creature with his bow as it scurried beneath some low-hanging shrub leaves. “Viilko.”

You hummed again in acknowledgment before cursing under your breath. The damn viilko made you lose what number you were on. Again.

Sighing, you set about counting your arrows once more, making Tae snort as he sharpened the blades at the end of his bow.

A deep grunt made you glance up from your task and you saw Jungkook with his back to you, his shoulders heaving as he stood over a groaning Yugyeom on the ground.

Yugyeom, as it had been explained to you shortly after he’d arrived last night, had trained with the kiela and they considered him a good friend. He was also one of the few people Jungkook trusted outside of his brothers. The male had been sent ahead of the palace troops with a message that the general wanted to attempt a negotiation with the draikensu and they would be there by nightfall today.

Like that crazy psycho of a god would agree to any terms. You shook your head.

You hadn’t had much of an opportunity to talk to the new male besides a brief introduction last night before he essentially passed out from exhaustion. You had finally fallen asleep not long after him, once again wrapped up in your boyfriend’s arms, and by the time you woke up in the morning, both Yugyeom and Jungkook were gone, having left on one last recon mission that lasted most of the day. As they ran around the forest, you filled the hours by practicing with your bow, doing some light sparring with Yoongi and Hobi, and lounging around in some sun patches with Tae and Jimin. You had been about to doze off in the warmth of the sunlight when Tae jostled you awake and advised you to organize your arrows and tighten your bowstring.

And then these yahoos had to come and interrupt our peace and quiet. You tilted your head as you refocused on the view before you.

Both males were sans shirt for their sparring match, showcasing their sweaty, muscular bodies, and as Jungkook helped his friend to his feet, you found yourself admiring the draeva mark between your boyfriend’s shoulder blades.

Your mouth went dry and a finger twitched, wanting to trace the circles.

Tae cleared his throat, not even looking up from his task but just knowing you were distracted yet again.

You ignored him, though. Too engrossed in the sight of tanned skin and bulging muscles.

As the male with red hair so dark it reminded you of merlot rotated his wrist with a slight grimace, you smiled and cupped your hands in front of your mouth to yell, “Yeah, Coco! Kick his ass!”

Jungkook peered over his shoulder, sending you a cocky smirk and a wink that made you grasp the arrow in your hand just a little harder.

“Ya! Would you stop distracting your girl, Kook!?” Tae leveled the sharpening stone at his brother threateningly.

“Distracting? Distracting?” Your boyfriend asked with a fake scoff while turning around to face you, placing his glistening pecs and abs in full view. “How in Exia’s name am I being distracting?”

Oh Sweet Neptune… You trailed your eyes down his body, drinking in the specimen that was Jeon Jungkook in all his sexy, sweaty glory.

Blatantly ogling him, you felt your body grow warm as you raised your gaze and met his eyes that seemed to darken. His jaw ticked as he stared you down and you swear you felt your core pathetically clench around nothing.

Fuck, please pin me against a tree. Biting your lip, you dropped your eyes to roam over his sinful body one more time before returning to his face. Please please please.

So caught up in the overwhelming sight of him, you didn’t even see Yugyeom’s leg flying toward Jungkook’s side until it was almost too late. But Jungkook just winked at you again then quickly pivoted and danced out of the way before it made contact. Just in the nick of time. The burgundy head laughed as his friend whined and they began to spar once more.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Tae stood up and positioned himself behind you before picking up your still-sitting form and rotating you so the two fighting Saeni were out of your immediate line of sight. “You need to finish this, little scorja. The troops will be here in a few hours and I know your ass won’t do it once they get here.”

Sending a small glare to the blue-eyed male, you huffed and did your best to filter out the sounds of grunting and fists hitting flesh as you began counting once more since he was completely correct. There was no way you would do this later. But you told yourself if you finished fast enough, you could return to a patch of yellow-orange warmth before the sun set and if you were lucky, Jungkook would join you… and if you were even luckier, he would still be shirtless.

Alright, Y/N, let’s get your counting on. Sun patches and hot, shirtless boyfriend await! Chop Chop!

…

Shit… that made me lose count again.

You sighed and vowed it would be the last time.

Okay, NOW it’s time to get my counting on. Let’s do this.

Sitting out of the way with your back against a wide oak tree, you watched the palace troops bustle around as they yelled, enacted more tents, started more fires, and threw up additional magic shields. They’d arrived right around nightfall, just as Yugyeom had said they would, marching in and waking you and Jungkook up from your nap, and it was… a lot.

Suddenly being around so many people was not doing much to settle your nerves about the impending battle. Not being able to speak with Jimin, Jungkook or Tae, or any of the kiela, or even Mingi wasn’t helping either. Within mere minutes of the troops’ arrival, General Son Seungdeuk had called for a meeting with Mingi and the kiela, and your non-Saeni ass was not invited to join. Namjoon had tried though, saying you had collected intel too, but General Son wouldn’t have it since you weren’t a BTS Saeni. He knew you had shared the information with the others, so you didn’t need to be included. So you weren’t. The boys felt bad, but you’d assured them it was fine. Giving them a salute and a smile, you urged them to hurry up and go then watched them follow the general into his freshly set up tent.

That had been over two hours ago.

Whatever, it’s probably a boring and stuffy meeting anyway. Crossing your arms, you peered into a nearby fire.

The flames spat and flickered, burning away at the wood. One of the logs collapsed, sending a puff of smoke and a collection of sparks into the air.

As you watched the smoke lazily rise, you heard your name being called and turned to see Yugyeom strutting through the mass of trees and troops, his merlot hair glowing almost purple in the firelight.

Lifting your hand to wiggle your fingers a bit, you greeted the male and tilted your head curiously as he sat down next to you.

Noticing your perplexed look, Yugyeom quickly asked, “Oh, it’s okay if I sit with you, right?”

“Yeah… I’m just sort of surprised you want to, I guess,” you replied honestly with a shrug.

“I would have come to keep you company sooner, but I had to report to my officer and drop off some maps at the meeting and-wait. Why are you surprised?”

Pursing your lips, you looked back to the fire as you explained how although he was the kiela’s friend, you hadn’t even known him for more than a day. You’d figured that meant he wouldn’t want to talk to you after the palace forces arrived. Plus, you weren’t blind to the stares you got from the Saeni troops. Specifically at your ears. They would point and whisper among themselves as they walked past, making you roll their eyes at their adolescent gossip. But it also made you consider that nobody except for Mingi and the kiela would want to be around you since you were different.

Sheepishly, you glanced at the male after you finished to gauge his reaction, but he only flicked your arm.

“Sure, we barely know each other, but you seem cool. Saeni or not.” Yugyeom smiled before gently nudging you with his forearm. “And I want to get to know you better because you’re obviously vey important to my friends… especially Kook.”

His smile turned sly and he sent you a wink.

You felt your cheeks heat up and you gave the male a tiny shove, causing him to burst out into laughter.

Yugyeom tipped his head back and rested it against the oak tree as he quieted back down. “It was a little shocking, not going to lie. He doesn’t let many people in, but, fuck, wouldn’t shut up about you when we went scouting this morning.”

Not letting yourself linger on the fact Jungkook talked about you to his friend, you snorted as you recalled how rocky your relationship started out with the peridot-eyed male. “Trust me, he couldn’t stand me for a hot minute. He had a few issues with me, and I didn’t like his attitude. We bickered a lot. Like a lot.”

“You didn’t take his shit even when you first met? Damn��” The male whistled approvingly. “You’ve got some gojcha girl.”

“So I’ve been told.” You gave him a crooked grin. “Hobi said the same thing after I called Kook out for choking me and not doing it, uh… properly, if you know what I mean.”

The merlot head clapped his hands together while erupting into more boisterous laughter, making some Saeni turn their heads. “Shit, I wish I could have witnessed that! The poor sprout probably didn’t know whether he wanted to stab you or fuck you after that.”

You couldn’t help but giggle too, feeling much more at ease now that you had someone to converse with. For the first time since the Saeni troops had come, you weren’t dwelling on the draikensu or what the boys were talking about or how you were going to reach the rift. You felt relaxed and somewhat normal.

Thank you Yugyeom… You looked at him gratefully.

“Wai-Wait…” The male struggled to get the words out while turning to face you and clutching at your arm for attention. “Why was he choking you!?”

“Ah, yeah, that probably needs some context.” You chuckled while picking up a stick by your side and twirling it in your fingers.

After a thoughtful moment, you began telling the story of how you met the kiela.

“Alright, so Jimin’s punk ass lied to me….”

“And-And this one time-” Yugyeom slapped his thigh repeatedly while throwing his head back. “Kook disarmed the instructor during a lesson and proceeded to give him advice!”

“I remember that!” Taehyung chimed in, giggling at the memory. “Instructor Hyun was practically spitting and threw him out of the lesson!”

“Not my fault he didn’t know what he was doing,” Jungkook grumbled beside you, causing everyone to erupt into more laughter around the crackling fire.

As your shoulders shook, you gave the male a sympathetic pat on the arm. “I know, Coco, I know. How dare such peasants be in your vicinity?”

Peridot eyes glared at you, and you responded by sticking your tongue out at him.

The boys were released from their meeting with General Son about two and a half hours ago and had found you and Yugyeom soon after. Joining you on the ground, they told you the general dispatched a messenger to the draikensu lines to see if they would be willing to meet for negotiations despite them warning the general no good would come of it. The only thing Uzjuk would accept would be Jimin’s head on a spike… and that was not happening. Besides, even if he wasn’t someone you all cared for, killing Jimin would bring absolutely no benefit to your side. Literally all it would do is destroy the only thing capable of stopping the dark god. Yet, regardless of the boys repeating that fact over and over, the general still wanted to attempt a deal.

Dumbass.

After they explained the General Son’s decision, Yoongi and Tae had begun complaining about being cold under the night sky, so you all had scooted over to the closest fire and claimed it as yours. While waiting for the messenger to return, you and the males passed the time by telling stories. You started by sharing the tale of an adolescent Jimin pissing himself in the airport the first time he had to take a flight to a dance competition. To retort, he detailed the instance where your leggings had a hole in the crotch during an entire performance, giving the judges and audience full view of your Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles panties. Jin followed by describing how Yoongi once fucked up the glamour spell and changed all their armor to a shining neon purple. Hobi then told of the time Namjoon accidentally called a high-ranking officer ‘motherfucker’ instead of ‘ma’am’ because of his nerves.

Basically, you were all trying to embarrass the fuck out of each other.

Shifting closer to Jungkook, you moved the hand on his arm to his thigh to steady yourself as you leaned in to whisper in his ear. “It’s actually pretty hot you were showing up the instructors.”

He looked down at you and sent a wolfish grin. “Is it now?”

“Mhmm…” You trailed your hand just a little higher on his strong thigh, making the male stiffen and narrow his eyes.

“Careful sweetheart.”

“Ugh, there they go again. Nasty.” You heard Yoongi say under his breath, which made you turn to address the magic user.

Peering over the flames, you pointedly stared at how close he and the kiela’s spy were sitting, their hands just a hair away from touching, as you raised a brow. “What was that? Is there something you would like to share with the class?”

His pink eyes widened in alarm and he quickly looked away while mumbling that there wasn’t. Hobi’s face downturned into a concerned frown as he gently rubbed the mint-haired Saeni’s back and asked what was wrong, but that only caused the tips of Yoongi’s ears to burn red.

For fuck’s sake, can they please just get together already?

Sighing at the duo, you leaned into Jungkook’s side and gazed upwards for a moment to look at the swaying treetops through the moonlight and smoke. It reminded you of that one night a couple years back, when you and Jimin were bright-eyed freshmen drinking on your dorm’s rooftop.

“Yo, Slim Jim, remember that time whe-”

A loud curse succeeded by yelling cut you off.

Furrowing your eyebrows, you exchanged confused glances with the males before rising from the ground and following after the sounds. The boys trailed behind you as you jogged and weaved through the gathering Saeni, curious as to what was going on. You hopped over a series of tree roots and slipped past a collection of shoulders, then you stopped in your tracks as you caught sight of what caused the outbursts.

A female covered in blood, barely holding herself up on her hands and knees. Slashes and cuts on her torso, bite marks on her forearms, and bruises blooming all across her skin. Her body shook as she coughed up blood, painting the ground a dark red beneath her. Whimpers and groans escaped past her lips as she trembled.

You could sense the boys arrive at your back.

“Oh my goddess, she was the messenger,” Jimin whispered in shock.

Covering your mouth, you watched as she clutched at the pebbles and twigs and tried to crawl forward.

“H-He said we l-leave by morning…” The crimson-coated female struggled to raise her head. “Or we…”

She hacked up more blood.

“Or we all die.”

Then, she fully collapsed to the ground.

You swallowed hard as Yoongi and a few other Saeni swore and pushed through the mass of people, some hands flaring up with magic as they rushed toward the female.

Jimin shakily reached for your hand.

You met Jungkook’s hardened gaze.

And panic broke out around you.

You were silent yet alert as Namjoon went over General Son’s new plan. It had been a little over an hour since the messenger came back nearly on her deathbed - bloody, beaten, and bitten. Thankfully, she would be fine. The magic users had healed her, not completely to reserve their energy, but enough that she was stable for now.

In the wake of her return, while Yugyeom left to meet with his commanding officer, you could almost see the fear begin to ripple through some of the troops. Most had only heard stories of draikensu savagery, but not many had seen it with their own eyes. Now that they had, they were appalled. Horrified. Scared.

You couldn’t blame them. But you also knew there was nothing else you could do except face them. You had to.

Because Jimin had to close the rift. And you and everyone else were going to be the distraction that allowed him to slip behind enemy lines and do just that.

General Son had pinpointed an area about two miles northeast that dropped to open field but had high ground overlooking the south and eastern sides, which would provide you with a major advantage for archers. Hence why he decided that would be the place where you would engage the draikensu.

“Archers leave in twenty to secure the cliffs,” The yellow-eyed Saeni turned his attention to you and paused for a moment before saying, “That includes you, little scorja.”

Your eyes widened even though you shouldn’t have been surprised. You were an archer, after all. It made sense. But the sudden knowledge of being separated from the boys you had grown so attached to had you breathing faster.

Twenty minutes… twenty minutes is all I might have left with them. With the kiela… with Jimin… TaeTae… Kookie…

Tears began to well up in your eyes, but you blinked rapidly, deeply inhaled, and nodded in understanding to the leader of the kiela, who gave you a weak half-smile before continuing.

“The ground forces will head out in a few hours, right before sunrise. Remember our mission is to keep the draikensu busy to allow Chim and Mingi to get to the rift undetected. If we fail, everything fails.”

No one spoke as Namjoon finished, but millions of thoughts sprinted through your mind. It was so loud… but silent. The only actual noises coming from the snapping of burning wood, the rustling of leaves, and other hushed conversations occurring throughout the forest.

In a quiet voice, Namjoon urged you to get your things together.

Sniffling, you forced yourself to raise your chin and nod again.

This won’t be goodbye. This won’t be goodbye. This won’t be goodbye.

Mingi, Namjoon, Jin, Yoongi, and Tae all looked at you somberly, as if they knew what was going on in your head. Hobi grinned and threw up what you supposed was meant to be a reassuring thumbs up. You couldn’t get yourself to muster an enthusiastic response, but it did make you crack a tiny smile. Though when you shifted your gaze to Jungkook, the smile vanished and you felt your stomach drop. He wasn’t even looking at you. Just staring at the orange flames with a clenched jaw and fisted hands. You started to breathe laboriously again. You needed him to just look at you. Send you a cocky smirk and tell you everything would be fine.

But he didn’t.

So, you made yourself tear your eyes away to focus on your best friend… but the sight of his chin trembling and tears glistening in his amber eyes made a lump lodge itself in your throat.

This won’t be goodbye. This won’t be goodbye. This won’t be goodbye!

Sucking in a shaky inhale, you looked up at the night sky and tried to get a grip on yourself.

This won’t be goodbye. This can’t be goodbye.

As if sensing you were about to lose it, Tae quickly made his way over and gently took your hand. “Let’s get your things.”

You allowed him to lead you away, face blank and empty as you did your best to hold yourself together. But, once the rest of the boys were out of sight, you let out a choked sob and finally let your tears roll down your face.

“It’s okay, little scorja, let it out. Let it all out so you can be strong.” Tae rubbed his thumb soothingly across the back of your hand as he guided you past the fires, Saeni, and trees.

Your chest shuddered as you tried to suck in air. You knew the Saeni around you were staring, but you couldn’t bring yourself to give a damn. All you could think of was that you had to leave, and you were terrified.

Holding a thin branch so it didn’t whip back into your face, Tae’s pained eyes met yours and you whimpered. Neither of you said anything, though. Just let the sadness float over you both as you made it to the partially hidden spot behind a shrub where you had left your backpack, quiver, and bow. Not letting go of Tae’s hand, you bent to grab a backpack strap.

But as soon as you reached for it, another sob raked your body and you folded over. “I don’t wanna-”

You fell to your knees and wrapped an arm around your stomach.

“I don’t wanna lose you. Any of you. I don’t want to be alone.”

Dropping to his own knees, Tae pulled you into him and squeezed you tight while letting you cry into his shoulder. You clutched at him, needing something to anchor you as emotions poured out of your eyes and past your lips. After a minute of his comfort and your tears, you pulled back, wiped at your cheeks, and whispered a thank you. He gave you small smile and asked if you were ready. Taking a deep breath, you shivered at the breeze and grabbed your backpack while standing back up. After slinging a strap over your shoulder, you did the same with your quiver, then bent once last time to pick up your bow. Finally, you squared your shoulders, which made Tae’s blue eyes brighten, and marched back to the boys with your head held high.

This WON’T be goodbye.

You power walked through the milling Saeni, many of them embracing or clasping the arms of their fellow troops. Others were settling down to get what little sleep they could.

You walked past the fires, feeling their heat come and go.

You walked around fully-grown trees and tiny saplings.

You walked beneath the moonlight and leaves.

You walked over sticks and twigs and rocks.

You walked, determined to be strong and to believe that this wouldn’t be the last time you saw them.

You walked until you made it made it back to the boys.

Letting your backpack fall from your shoulder with a thump, which caused most of their eyes to swivel to you, you then eased your quiver and bow down on top of it.

There was no doubt they could smell the saltiness of your dried tears, see the puffiness of your red eyes. But you didn’t care.

As you stared at the males scattered around the fire, Jungkook only spared you a quick glance before returning his gaze to the blazing flames.

It caused a twinge in your heart but you chose to ignore it for now.

Instead, you strode over to Namjoon and wrapped your arms around him, hugging him close and telling him to be safe and watch his back. And if he forgot, then you would do it for him.

“Thank you. Make sure you take care of yourself, yeah?” He smiled and his dimples seemed even deeper in the glowing light of the fire.

You both stepped away, and you moved on to Jin, murmuring a fond ‘Papa’ as you wound your arms around his torso.

“I’m looking forward to trying more of your cooking after this… and hearing more of your dumb jokes.”

“Ya, you tyrant! They’re not dumb! They’re impeccable jokes, thank you very much.” He shook you in his arms playfully before turning more serious. “But, of course, little scorja. I’ll make you anything you want. Be safe.”

The raven-haired male flicked a finger under your chin once then wandered over to stand with Namjoon.

Next was Mingi, who’s hazel eyes were round and glossy as he embraced you. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep him safe. I’ll protect him. I promise.”

You patted his back while tightly shutting your eyes. “I know you will, but I want you to promise you’ll protect yourself too.”

The guard leaned away and rested both his hands on your shoulders, making you open your eyes to meet his gaze. “I promise.”

Satisfied, you slid your hands to rest on his arms for a heartbeat before removing yourself and walking to Hobi, feeling both warm and cold at the same time.

As soon as you were close enough, the white-haired male yanked you into a hug and hummed while rocking you back and forth. You felt the multitudes of straps crisscrossing his body and the coolness of his blades under your fingers as you let out a sad laugh.

“I don’t know for sure if everything will be okay, but… everything will be okay, little scorja,” he whispered into your ear, “Just have faith in yourself and in us and be brave.”

“I’ll try my best. Don’t run out of knives.” You smiled softly while giving him one last squeeze and letting go.

Shuffling to Yoongi, he surprised you by grabbing your wrist and tugging you against his chest.

He held you lightly and murmured, “I may act indifferent most of the time, but I really care about you. Remember what I’ve taught you and kick some fucking ass, alright?”

You pressed your lips together and slowly inhaled as he smoothed a hand over your hair.

“I’ll remember,” you whispered back, “and I’ll be on the lookout for your blue sparkles so I can watch you destroy some draikensu fuckers in style.”

“I’ll try to make it entertaining, just for you.”

You both pulled away and sent each other easy grins, and yours grew when you saw his endearing gumline make an appearance.

You went to turn and was suddenly tackled by a body with apricot hair. His breathing was heavy and uneven, and you felt droplets hit your shoulder as he clung to you.

“No no no no no. Don’t cry, please don’t cry because you’re gonna make me cry again.” Your voice went higher in pitch as you placed your arms around your best friend’s neck and rested your face on his front.

“You don’t have to go.” His words were slightly muffled from talking against your skin. “You can stay here and be safe. You don’t have to go.”

You took a long, deep breath and willed yourself to keep it together and not give in to the rising urge to join your best friend’s tears.

Gently detaching yourself from him, you reached up to cradle his cheek and used your thumb to clear some of his tears. “I’m gonna go. I can’t just sit around here and wait.”

Jimin’s lower lip wavered and he tried to say something, but no sound came out.

You gave him the best smile you could, but it faltered a bit. “I’m your best friend, Slim Jim. You can’t get rid of me easily. We’ll see each other again.”

Leaning his face into your palm, he closed his amber eyes and covered your hand with his. “I love you, Y/N. You know that, right?”

“Of course I do, you big doofus. I love you too.”

You pulled him in for one, last hug, then stepped away before you could change your mind. With a sniffle, Jimin hastily moved around you and into Hobi’s arms, who held him as more tears cascaded down his face.

You looked down at the ground and fisted your hands on your thighs as you felt a lone tear make its way down your cheek. As it dripped off your chin, you made yourself pivot and start walking toward Tae. Though as you did, he shook his head and gestured to his younger brother, who was still staring into the fire as if it was his lilfeline.

You paused, taking in the male.

“Kookie…?” You gingerly called out to him.

There was no response beyond a tick in his jaw which made your chest tighten painfully.

Hearing the others move back a little to give you two some sense of privacy, you hesitated for just a moment before treading over to Jungkook.

You stopped right beside him and placed a hand on his bicep, trying to coax him into looking, saying, doing something. “Jungkook?”

No response.

“Kookie, please… please… I-I need you right now.”

Your resolve started to break again as the person you cared for so much refused to acknowledge you.

“I really really fucking need you. Please, just… something. Anything. I…” You trailed off as a gasping sob came from your lips and you dug your fingers into his arm.

As if a switch had been turned, Jungkook whined and yanked you close so he could hug you desperately. Strong arms surrounded you and he buried his face into your neck.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he repeated over and over like a mantra, his voice strained. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart, I’m just- I’m scared.”

“Me too,” you admitted quietly, hands starting to shake.

“I don’t… I can’t lose you.”

You breathed in the familiar scent of steel and florets, trying to calm down. For once, it actually made things worse. All you wanted to do was stay by his side, but you couldn’t. Being with him would only slow him down, make him lose focus. You would distract him. You would get him hurt.

You shook your head at the thought and nuzzled further into him. “I’ll be okay, I won’t be in the mess of things. I’m more worried about you.”

“I’m the best, sweetheart, nothing will happen to me.” He traced a light fingertip against the rune on your nape, making you tremble even more. “No need to worry.”

You let out a pathetic snort as the wind picked up and made the trees groan. “Cocky as always.”

“Just the truth.” He smirked against your skin.

In your peripherals, you could see Saeni holding bows start to gather a little ways away.

Closing your eyes, you allowed yourself just a few more seconds of Jungkook before unwinding your arms from his middle. Though before you could move away entirely, he used the hand behind your neck to hold you still while crashing his mouth against yours. He kissed you with all he had, searing the feeling of his lips against yours into memory.

Then he released you and placed a final, tender kiss to your forehead. “Time for you to go sweetheart. Hyung will take you to the archers.”

You flickered your gaze to the side to see Tae waiting for you, blue eyes swimming with emotion. Biting your lip, you removed yourself from Jungkook’s arms but stared into the beautiful peridot eyes that always captivated you.

“I… um, I think I…” You struggled, trying to find a way to say what you wanted.

I think I love you.

Jungkook just softly smiled and tucked some of your hair behind an ear. “You can tell me later, go on.” He gave you a tiny nudge toward his brother.

This isn’t goodbye. You reminded yourself, and let your body be pushed away. I can tell him later.

Not looking back at Jungkook or the other boys, you jogged away from the warmth of Jungkook and the fire and over to your things.

“Ready, little scorja?” Tae asked in a small voice.

You picked up your backpack, quiver, and bow. “As I’ll ever be.”

Taking your hand, he tugged you toward the other archers. Past the fires, around fully-grown trees and tiny saplings, beneath the moonlight and leaves, over sticks and twigs and rocks. Away from your new family.

Slowing down when you reached the group, he gave your hand a pump and went to say something but was interrupted by a voice shouting for you.

Looking over your shoulder, you saw Jungkook running over. Skidding to a stop a few feet away, he thrust something at you. It took you a couple seconds to register what it was, and your eyes bugged out when you did.

“Are… are you sure?” You looked up at his face, uncertainty coursing through you as the ruby gemstone of Jungkook’s dagger winked at you in the low light. “It’s so important to you.”

“You’re more important.” He placed the weapon and its belt into your hand then enclosed your fingers around it. “If you drop or lose your bow, use this okay?”

“Okay,” you whispered.

“Okay.” Jungkook smiled. “I lo-… I’ll see you soon sweetheart.”

With that, he turned and ran back to his brothers. Tightening your hold on the ruby-hilted dagger, you held it against your chest and watched him disappear into the dark. Once he was gone, Tae muttered something under his breath that you couldn’t quite catch, making you tilt your head at him curiously. Waving you off, he pulled you into a hug.

“I wish I could go with you bu-”

“I know, you’re a special, one of a kind, kickass archer who fights better in close proximity.”

“Your words, not mine.”

You chuckled and gave his but a tiny poke as someone gave the order to start heading out.

Tae pressed a kiss to your cheek. “Bye, little scorja. Be safe. Love you.”

“Love you too, TaeTae.” You returned with a cheek smooch of your own. “You better come back safe and sound or else I’m gonna whoop your ass.”

“Well, I have to come back safe and sound now. I don’t wanna get my butt whooped.” He laughed and showcased his boxy smile before taking a step back.

And another.

You felt yourself growing colder with each one.

His smile fell slightly as he waved. Then he pivoted and left.

Leaving you alone.

This isn’t goodbye.

You copied his actions, turning on your heel and joining the departing Saeni while you tightly gripped your bow and Jungkook’s dagger.

This isn’t goodbye.

Crouching at the edge of the cliff, you felt the dirt and rocks dig into your knee. One hand grasped the bow at your side as you peered over into the dark expanse below. The field was mostly barren, only a few lone trees scattered throughout the grass. It was an eerie open blankness that seemed emptier under the moonlight.

But in several hours, it would be different.

It would be stained red with blood. Littered with bodies. Filled with the screams of the dying and yells of the defiant. Soon, this peaceful, quiet land would turn into a battlefield.

You wouldn’t be down in the chaos, but you would be taking your part in it. Sending arrow after arrow into unexpecting bodies. Making them fall and bleed out onto the earth.

And you would do it without a second thought.

Because people you cared for, people you loved would be down there fighting for there lives and you would do everything you could to protect them. To give them one less enemy to go up against. So you wouldn’t hesitate to draw your bowstring and shoot an arrowhead into draikensu flesh.

Anything to help your family.

You released a long exhale, admiring the field for another minute as you traced a finger against the gemstone on the dagger now strapped to your side. After a final glance to the glowing moon, you crept back to your sleeping mat and threw your blanket over your legs.

If you wanted to protect them, you needed to get as much rest as you could before sunrise, even if it was only a couple hours. Most of the other archers were doing the same. There were some Saeni who were too restless for sleep, though, and had volunteered to stay up and keep watch. You could see a few of them leaning back against trees nearby, softly talking among themselves.

With a sigh, you laid back and curled onto your side while folding an arm behind your head. You forced yourself to ignore the emptiness beside you. The lack of warmth. It was the first time you were sleeping alone in weeks and it felt so foreign, so… wrong.

Don’t think about it, Y/N. You slept alone all the time before this whole thing, you can do it again.

Tugging your blanket higher, you made yourself concentrate on the darkness behind your closed eyes and counting your long breaths backwards from five hundred.

Five hundred ninety-five… five hundred ninety-four… five hundred ninety-three…

…

You finally fell asleep somewhere around thirteen.

The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon as the Saeni troops stood in formation on the field below. You were positioned far down the eastern side, close to where the rocky ground finally ended and dropped off, and you had near perfect view of the field and soldiers below. Your fingers anxiously tapped against your thigh as you knelt at the cliff’s edge and continuously looked between them and the trees on the other side of the clearing. The draikensu hadn’t yet revealed themselves, but you knew they had to be coming.

It was sunrise.

It was only a matter of time.

Shifting on the rock, you squinted and tried to search through the hazy dawn to find a shimmer of burgundy hair, a flash of blue light, or a glinting metallic body, but everything muddled together. You couldn’t see them.

Maybe it’s for the best.

The archer to your left, the one with the long pastel pink hair, fidgeted and mumbled to himself again. He had been doing that for the past forty minutes or so.

Flexing your fingers, you observed the thousands of Saeni standing together. You weren’t sure how they were segmented, if at all. If kielas stuck together or if they were grouped by weapon or some other factor. You didn’t even know how battles worked for Exia’s sake. Would they stand across from each other and slowly march forward while letting the magic users exchange blows like some 17th century battle reenactment? Would both sides immediately sprint toward each other and begin fighting like they so often do on Vikings? Would the draikensu use guerilla tactics and have traps planted throughout the forest? Or would the enemy resort to a defensive strategy and stay back to protect the rift with all their forces?

You prayed to the gods it wasn’t the last one, because then General Son’s plan would instantly fall to shit, and the battle would be over before it ever started.

You didn’t think it would be the last one, though. If there was one thing you’d learned about Uzjuk and his posse of dark Saeni, it was that they never passed over a chance to kill and destroy.

And this was a very large opportunity for them to do just that.

Rays of morning light began to shine across the sky, making everything a bit brighter and coloring the world a radiant gold. Though, for now, most of the field was still covered in shade.

You made yourself breath slowly as you lightly touched the feather charm on your choker and listened to the forest. To the birds and the bugs, the creaking of trees, and the scuttling of small creatures in the underbrush.

To the sound of thousands of feet hitting the ground.

Your eyes widened and the pastel-haired Saeni interrupted his muttering to yelp out a curse.

“They’re coming,” someone down the line warned in a low voice.

Okay… okay okay okay. Here we go. Everything is going to be fine. You’re a scorja, you’re strong, you can do this.

You pulled an arrow out of your quiver and loosely notched it while the troops below drew their weapons, the ringing of metal reverberating in your ears.

On the field, one Saeni strode out before them all, holding his spear high in the air. General Son.

“On this day, with the sun shining down upon us, we will look darkness in its face. We may tremble, our bodies may bleed, and our swords may break… but we will not let the darkness prevail any longer!

“As one, we will stand together! As one, we will fight together and die together!”

General Son slammed the butt of his spear into the earth and roared.

The soldiers echoed, pounding their weapons against the ground or their chests.

“Do not fear death, my brothers and sisters… for our mother goddess will embrace you with open arms and Exia shall raise her cup in salute to your bravery!”

He brought his spear down again as he tilted his head back and yelled into the morning sky.

You and the other soldiers followed, screaming with all you had as the draikensu drew closer.

“STAND TALL SOLDIERS OF ILLAIN! STAND TALL AND FIGHT FOR YOUR FAMILIES, YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR KING, YOUR GODDESS. STAND TALL WITH ME, WITH EACH OTHER! STAND TALL IN THE MORNING LIGHT OF ILLAI!”

General Son let his voice sing across the clearing as he turned to face the opposite side of the field while you and the Saeni shouted into the open air once more.

Your heart beat wildly, and you breathed heavily. The sun was warm on your back, but you shivered from the adrenaline now rampaging through your veins.

The draikensu answered your screams with their own, whooping and hollering tauntingly as they ran through the trees.

Your hands began to shake, and you squeezed your eyes shut. Alright, death registration. You know the drill. Let’s do this one last time.

Releasing an unstable exhale, you reopened your eyes and stared into the trees. Waiting.

“Remember, if they move to attack right away, we go loose,” the female beside you reminded the archers close by.

You didn’t forget, but you nodded to yourself.

If they attack, we go loose. If they attack, we go loose. If they attack, we go loose.

The crazed shrieks of the draikensu were so loud now, they had to almost be upon you. The sounds echoed off the trees, filled your ears. Their footsteps seemed to vibrate the earth.

And then they broke through the tree line.

Scourges of draikensu sprinted out of the forest. So many it seemed like they were overflowing and spilling out. And they gave no signs of stopping. They were heading straight toward the Saeni front line.

In the distance, an archer called out the order to take aim while General Son yelled for shields.

It took a second for the order to register because you were so taken back by the draikensu pouring out of the trees, but then you quickly inhaled, raised your bow, and drew back. As you searched for your first target, glowing light began to flare up throughout the Saeni ranks.

You hurriedly shifted your eyes over the multitudes of colors, picking out several areas that lit up blue, but only one stood out as Yoongi’s magic. It was far away, toward the other side of the field, but the mint hue was unmistakable.

All of the sudden, a semi-translucent rainbow wall flashed to life in the middle of the field between the Saeni and the charging draikensu. The enemy slammed into the barrier; most being stopped in their tracks but some managing to slip through.

It was just like the shield Yoongi had enacted around Juufa’s temple. Only much bigger.

The few who were able to push through were immediately downed by archers from the south side of the cliffs.

“Loose!” A Saeni screamed somewhere down the line to the left.

Shit, right.

You narrowed your eyes and peered down your arrow, picking out a draikensu and slowly exhaling. Then, as the mass of archers around you let of their bowstrings and sent a round of arrows into the enemy, you did the same.

You couldn’t tell if it was your arrow or someone else’s, but the person you had been targeting was hit in the chest and the impact caused them to clutch at the shaft now embedded in their body before falling to their knees.

You hastily snatched another arrow from your quiver, aimed, and sent it flying.

You did it again and again and again.

Yells of pain soared into the air, but you didn’t stop.

Volley after volley of arrows were sent into the enemy line where they were held up by the magical shield, and any that were able to get through the colorful barrier made it no more than thirty feet before they were shot down.

The bodies piled up. But more continued to emerge from the forest.

You reached a hand over your shoulder for a new arrow as a gust of wind disturbed your hair and conjured goosebumps along your skin, but all your actions stilled as a mix of maroon, purple, and yellow light erupted from the trees.

With your heart pounding in your chest, you watched three draikensu stroll out from the greenery, their hands pulsating with the glow of magic.

Oh, shit. Oh, FUCK.

“Take them down!” And archer yelled as the dark magic users raised their hands. “Take them down now!”

You grabbed an arrow, notched, and aimed while shadows gathered at a singular spot on the shield’s surface, causing it to ripple.

Their magic.

“Alright, you fuckers, let’s stop right there,” you hissed.

As if she heard you over the distance, wind, and wails, the magic user closest to you lowered her amethyst-glowing hand and peered at the cliff. Your eyes went wide and you cursed under your breath as she seemed to stare directly at you.

You released the bowstring, sending your arrow screaming toward her chest, as did the other archers.

Not a single one thumped into their bodies, though. They all bounced off a dark purple shield fabricated by the magic user just moments before the arrows landed home. It encased both her and her two buddies, making it impossible for you to hit them.

The other two were still attacking the barrier in the middle of the field, the shadows they created causing that spot to warp and distort even more. Whatever their magical counter was, it allowed more draikensu to slip through the increasingly darkening spot. Not all at once, but enough that the southern archers weren’t able to kill them all. Some were reaching the Saeni front line.

Your breath caught in your throat as they engaged with each other, the ringing of clashing metal resonating across the sky.

Returning your eyes to the middle of the field, you saw the shield’s colors were growing muddy. It was growing darker and darker as the shadows penetrated its surface. It almost looked like veins of darkness were spreading out from where the shadows drilled into the magic.

The shield cracked.

And a moment later part of it shattered, leaving a large, gaping hole that caused the draikensu forces to shriek in delight and rush through.

The rest of the shield held itself together for one… two… three… four… five more seconds.

Then it flickered and disappeared entirely.

Slashing diagonally, Jungkook cut into a male’s chest. Blood spattered onto his upper leg as the draikensu fell. Before his previous target even hit the ground, the burgundy head spun and thrust one of his blades deep into the belly of a female while parrying the strike of a curved sword with the other.

Grunts and screams were all around him. The clanging of metal against metal filled his ears. Crimson coated his fingers and the smell of iron permeated his nostrils.

Yanking his blade from the female’s gut, he kicked her away before stabbing his now freed short sword into the thigh of the draikensu who’s attack he blocked. As the male’s leg gave out underneath him, Jungkook dislodged the blade, adjusted his grip on the handle, and quickly cut the male’s throat. The action caused the draikensu to drop his sword and clutch at his neck. Blood poured over his hands and he gargled while collapsing into the dirt, the life in his eyes dissipating as the blood from his body spilled onto the earth.

Breathing hard, the Saeni caught movement out of the corner of his eye and sidestepped the swing of an axe. The blade so close he could feel the disturbance it caused to the air. Blood and sweat dripped down Jungkook’s face as he leveled his gaze on the new opponent. The draikensu sneered, peeling her lip back from her teeth while pointing her axe in his direction.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Jungkook rushed the female. Ducking below her next attack, he continued forward and dragged the edge of sword along her calf, which caused her knee to buckle. At the same time, he rotated his torso and brought his other blade upwards to slice at the flesh on her side. She gasped and faltered a step while Jungkook dug his heel into the ground and narrowed his eyes. Hissing in pain, the female swung her axe wide, but the burgundy head jumped backwards to avoid the weapon.

Placing a hand over her bleeding side, the draikensu bared her teeth and snarled, “I’m going to cut off that pretty head of yours.”

Jungkook tightened his fingers around his short swords but didn’t bother replying. With a growl, the draikensu brought her hand back to the axe’s shaft and heaved the weapon toward him. Dodging the axe bit, Jungkook swiftly pivoted and dashed forward, carving into the female’s torso. Using the momentum of his movements, he then slipped behind her and thrust both swords into the junctions of her neck and shoulders. Wrenching the blades out, she toppled to the ground.

Blood dripped off the tips of his swords as Jungkook allowed himself a second to glance up at the eastern cliff again, desperately searching for a glimpse of you.

There, still in the same spot as last time. Relief flooded his heart as he caught sight of you still raining down arrows into enemy lines while surrounded by soft, golden sunlight.

Knowing you were alright gave him the resolve to refocus on the chaos around him. On the male that was running toward him, longsword brandished and ready to be swung.

Gritting his teeth, the peridot-eyed male charged and met him head on.

Letting out a loud yell, Namjoon rammed his shoulder into the draikensu, knocking his opponent back a step and giving the yellow-eyed male space to clobber her with his hammer. The blunt, heavy head of his weapon hit the draikensu’s chest, shattering her sternum and sending her now broken body backwards.

Straight into Jin’s side.

The impact of an unexpected body flung into him caused the eldest member of the kiela to stumble and slip on the dewy, blood-slicked grass and trip over the dirt clods. With a curse, the raven-haired male lost his footing entirely and fell, the limp body of the female pinning down his sword arm. A nearby draiknesu noticed him struggling to get his arm out from under the body, his sword caught on a strap or something. With a gleeful squeal, the draikensu bounded over the corpses strewn on the ground and raised his spear. Ready to impale the partially immobilized raven-haired male.

Jin tried to yank his sword out, to no avail. “Fuck. Shit. Fuckin-fuck it.”

In a last second decision, Jin let go of the sword’s handle and tugged his arm out from underneath the heavy, limp body. Heart pounding in his chest, he rolled to the side just as the spearhead was thrust into the earth right where his head had been. The draikensu yelled and went to retract his weapon but Jin braced his hands against the ground and kicked the male’s legs out from underneath him. The action caused the draikensu to land hard on his back, which forced the air out of his lungs. Before the male could regain his wits, Jin pushed himself up to his knees and crawled on top of the draikensu so he could deliver a punch to the male’s temple. The hit left the male in a daze, allowing Jin to wrap his hands around his opponent’s head. One palm at the chin and the other at the back of the head. Then, the raven-haired Saeni grunted and abruptly pulled the male’s head up and to the side, snapping the neck with a loud pop.

Releasing the draikensu with a sigh, Jin let the male lifelessly flop back to the earth while moving off the body. Focusing his attention on the dead female still on top of his sword, he went to shove her over when a crunching sound came from just behind him. Spinning on his knees, he saw Namjoon following through on a swing that had crumpled a draikensu Jin hadn’t noticed sneaking up on him.

The older Saeni blinked as his leader wiped sweat from his brow.

“Shit, thanks Joon.”

“Sure thing hyung. And sorry about that.” The yellow-eyed Saeni gestured to the dead female.

Shrugging, Jin finally rolled over her body and began started to detangle the hilt of his sword from where it was caught in the straps and loops of her armor. Meanwhile Namjoon covered his back, demolishing any draikensu that dared to come near with precise swings of his destructive hammer.

The seven Saeni could hear the battle as they weaved through the trees, the sick melody of cries and wails piercing their ears. None of them commented on it, though. They had their own job to focus on and entertaining the possibilities of how their comrades were faring would only serve as a distraction.

So, they remained mostly silent as they continued moving in formation, listening to the distant screams and staying alert for potential threats.

Jimin was in the middle of the small pack, escorted by Mingi and a tall, golden-haired female named Ipsa at the front. To his right was a short male who had introduced himself as ‘Geodin,’ and to his left was the archer who requested to be called ‘Stem.’ Bringing up the rear was the whip wielding Koliifa and his sister, Opikal, who had eyes so dark they appeared obsidian.

As the seven looped around the draiknesu’s forces, a light, beautiful voice occasionally floated into Jimin’s head, making tweaks and adjustments to their route. The apricot head would quickly relay the message to the others, but the Saeni didn’t talk much beyond that.

There was too much at stake for casual banter.

They had been moving for about forty-five minutes, heading out just before the sun began to rise, and so far, the plan to go around the enemy was working. Not a single dark Saeni had crossed their path. But that could easily change at any moment, so the group never relaxed.

After they each vaulted over a fallen tree, Ipsa briefly glanced over her shoulder and interrupted their silence. “By any chance, does the mother goddess know if this rift will be out in the open or…?”

“Or if there will be any draikensu guarding it?” Stem added while dipping his head to avoid a branch to the face.

Jimin winced and dug his nails into his palms while his legs rustled the leaves of several plump shrubs. “No and… no.”

One of the Saeni breathed out a curse and the apricot head held back a frustrated groan at how much of a disadvantage they truly had before explaining that Illai could only see the world through his eyes while she was leasing out space in his head. However, she was able to feel the dark energy pulsating from the rift like a beacon, and that was how she was guiding them.

As the terrain started to grow more inclined, Mingi gruffed out, “Each of you were selected for this mission for a reason. Whatever is waiting for us, we can handle it.”

“You know, General Son said we’d be going in with little information,” Opikal piped up from the back in an incredulous tone, “but I didn’t think it would be this little.”

Koliifa snorted beside her while skirting around a thin tree. “Aw, cheer up, sis! It’ll be fun.”

“It’ll be something, alright,” Geodin muttered in response.

Using a collection of tree roots as steps to climb further up the steady slope, Mingi offered how even if there were indeed draikensu guarding the rift, they were probably so pissed they weren’t allowed to join the battle that they won’t be as attentive to their surroundings as they should be.

“And that makes for easy pickings,” Koliifa said as he sent his dark-eyed sister an easy grin.

Opikal just grumbled in return, skepticism swimming in her eyes.

Then, the conversation faded, and the faraway screams once again filled the void of their voices.

His feather earring swung heavily in the air, weighed down by the blood soaked into the fluff. It continuously hit the blue-eyed Saeni’s neck as he fought, which stained the delicate skin a dark crimson.

Tae released his bowstring, sending an arrow flying into the middle of a male’s chest, then lunged to the side while tilting his bow to gouge the razor edge of his weapon into the lower belly of a draikensu. As the male dropped his axe, clutched at his gutted abdomen, and bellowed in pain, Tae retrieved a new arrow from his quiver as his body came to a stop. Quickly scanning over the people fighting around him, he picked a target and embedded the arrow just below their clavicle before he turned and quieted the screaming draikensu by efficiently slicing his throat open.

Following the momentum of his bow, he pivoted on his heel while pulling out another arrow. Tae spotted a female running in his direction and nocked the arrow, but as he went to draw, he caught a flash of metal in his peripheral vision. Diving, he evaded the arcing blade and rolled to a crouch on the dirtied grass. Re-notching the arrow, he allowed the silky fletching to sift through his fingers for just a moment as he hastily relocated the draikensu female.

As soon as he let the arrow fly, Tae found himself dodging another strike of a sword by lurching forward into another roll. The sword wielding female growled at her second miss and geared up for another attack while the grey-haired Saeni rose to his feet. With an aggravated yell, she heaved her large blade toward Tae’s body, but he ducked and spun behind her in one, fluid motion. The sun glared in his eyes and Tae dragged the sharpened edge of his bow up the female’s entire spine, making her stiffen then collapse.

Sucking oxygen into his lungs, Tae slumped for just a moment to catch his breath. Long gone was the natural scent of the forest, rather the stench of iron and death was rich in the air. The once smooth, undisturbed grass of the field was torn up and ravaged. Blood slowly trailed along the curves of the weapon, covering more of it in liquid red until it collected and dripped off toward the ruined earth.

It was a messy, brutal battle.

And it was far from over.

Pressing his lips together, Tae lifted his chin, narrowed his bright blue eyes, and found his next target.

Dropping to the ground, the arrow barely missed your head.

Not many draikensu carried bows since most of them wanted weapons that allowed them to directly carve into flesh, but the handful that did had begun shooting at you and the other archers not too long ago. Which was just great. Fantastic. Splendid.

Your cheek pressed into the sun-heated rock as you contemplated if you should lay low for a minute or get right back up. You blew out a puff of air, disturbing some of the dust beside your face, before pulling your body forward a bit so you could peek over the cliff’s edge.

You raised your head just a smidge and CLINK!

An arrow hit and bounced off the rock just a few feet from your face, making you immediately duck back down to safety.

You breathed in through your nose. Alright, well… this fucking sucks.

As you exhaled, you glanced up just in time to see a Saeni further down the line get hit in the shoulder, blood immediately blossoming around the shaft now buried in her body. A tiny whine escaped past your lips and you squeezed your eyes shut… but all your saw were the corpses littering the field behind your eyelids. Their broken and mangled bodies.

Please don’t be one of them. You sent out a silent prayer to the boys below as your chest rose and fell heavily. Please.

The sound of another arrow sinking into flesh made you clench your fingers around your bow, and you shifted to better lay against the ground and make yourself smaller. But the movement caused the dagger now strapped to your waist to dig into your side and the sensation made you go still with a jolt.

Jungkook…

Fuck, if Jungkook saw you right now… he’d be so disappointed. You were cowering, you were hiding. This wasn’t you.

What am I doing?

You shook your head against the ground, feeling some pebbles grind into your skin, before muttering, “Fuck. This. I need to woman the fuck up.”

Adjusting your body, you bent one leg up toward your head and winced as a decently sized stone scraped against your ankle. Okay, so what if I get shot with an arrow? You forced yourself to scoff while sliding your hands upward along the rock. That’s nothing. That’s just a slightly more painful bee sting.

“I’m a scorja, dammit. I fucking got this.”

One… two… three!

You pushed yourself back up to your knee and snatched an arrow from your quiver. Picking out a draikensu, you aimed. The breeze danced across your face and the sun warmed your back as you squinted and sent the arrow loose. It thumped into the draikensu’s thigh, making you smirk, but as you went to finish her off you heard commotion coming from your right. Furrowing your brows, you spared a glance over but immediately had to double take and stare as your mouth dropped.

Draikensu were pulling themselves up and over the edge of the cliff. The bloody bastards had actually climbed up the vertical rock face.

“For fucks sake…”

They engaged with the archers, working their way down the line. Coming closer and closer to you as more of them crawled into view. They were maybe only forty yards away. Shifting, you repositioned yourself to face north, and as a male began to sprint toward you, you raised your bow.

He was thirty yards out.

You shot, but he managed to evade it.

Twenty yards.

Cursing under your breath, you reached for another arrow.

Ten yards.

Your eyes widened and you tried to move out of the way, but the male rammed straight into you and tackled you to the ground.

You let out a pained grunt as you were slammed down, bow flying out of your grasp, and your heart pounded as the male straddled your torso and held one of your shoulders down with a large hand. His other raised a knife that shined in the sunlight. He aimed it at your chest, and with a wicked smile, plunged the blade down. Throwing your arm up beneath his, you blocked his arm’s descent and stilled the tip of the knife just mere inches from your body. Your trembled as the male sneered and pressed down harder, trying to force the metal into your flesh.

His thighs fully encased your waist, making it impossible to grab the ruby-hilted dagger at your side. Slowly, the knife lowered closer to your heart as his superior strength began to overtake you which made you release a gasping whimper. Desperately, you stretched out your other arm and blindly felt around the ground.

“Why struggle when you’ll just die like the bitch you are anyway?” The male mused, eyes flashing with cruel amusement as you wrapped your hand around what you hand been searching for. “Just let it happe-”

You smashed the fist-sized rock into his skull with a powerful yell.

The strike caused the male’s body to slacken and you used that moment to flip your positions. The movement of the switch, paired with his limpness, made him involuntarily drop the knife. As you righted yourself on top of his thighs, you snatched it from the rocky ground and thrust it hilt deep into his side.

The male wheezed as you wrenched the blade from his flesh, eyes struggling to stay open as he stared up at the sky. His blood began to gush from the wound and pool beneath him while you adjusted your grip on the handle and brought it down again, this time right underneath his sternum.

You were breathing heavily as the male’s gasps turned raspy and more blood leaked from his body.

Then the draikensu released a strangely contented sigh. “My sacrifice is worth it. The key will die while you pathetically fight. The key will die and Uzjuk will reign.”

Your hands tightened around the handle of the blade while the rest of your body froze. “What did you just say?”

A final, rough exhale came from the male’s lips, then his eyes became completely empty and unfocused. You didn’t bother trying to get him to say more. He was dead.

Shit. Okay, he said ‘the key will die,’ but they couldn’t possibly know where Jimin is, unless… fuck, what if they do have people waiting for him at the rift?

Your hands began to tremble as you considered the possibilities. The one that rang loudest in your head was that Jimin was about to blindly run into a death trap. Your best friend was going to die. You pressed the back of your hand to your mouth as you tried to calm yourself, but the thought kept pounding through your mind like a migraine.

Jimin is going to die.

I don’t even know where he is and he’s going to die.

You darted your eyes around in panic, noting the other draikensu who had climbed up the cliff face were also death… though they had unfortunately taken some of the Saeni along with them. The remaining archers were back to sniping down at the enemy, not having a slightest clue as to the hysteric dread rampaging in your mind. Pressing both hands to your head, you held back a scream.

I don’t know where he is, but I have to try. I have to try to help him.

Taking deep breaths, you crawled off the dead male and over to your bow. With it secured in your grasp, you pushed yourself to your feet. Then you ran into the trees without looking back.

I don’t know where the fuck you are, Slim Jim, but I’m coming.

The coolness of the shaded forest slid over your skin and you mentally planned your route around the draikensu.

I’m coming.

An angry growl vibrated in Yoongi’s throat as he flung his magic out toward the female, creating a rope of mint blue energy that fastened around your neck. He yanked, forcing her body to fly over the bodies and blood-soaked grass to be impaled on the dagger held in his other hand. The draikensu let out a choked sob before her head lolled due to him dragging the blade up and to the side, spilling more crimson over his hand and killing her with precision. A blur of movement to his left made Yoongi fling the now dead female in that direction, right into the draikensu that was brandishing a short sword.

The draikensu was pummeled by the body, causing him to hit the ground with a cry. He struggled to drag himself out from the weight now laying on top of him, but after about five seconds he too was laying limp on the dirt and grass.

A tiny throwing knife buried between his neck and shoulder.

Hobi pivoted after his throw and slid beneath the large hammer swinging for his gut.

“You were pretty slow on that one!” Yoongi called over to the spy, who was still dancing around the draikensu’s heavy weapon.

Hobi’s chest heaved and he shouted back without looking. “Give me a break hyung! I’m running low on blades so I’m making sure every throw counts!”

The mint-haired Saeni grit his teeth and raised both hands toward a draikensu that had made the mistake of setting his sights on the Saeni’s partner. Blue light encased the draikensu’s head and Yoongi harshly grunted before ripping one of his hands to the side.

The draikensu’s head followed, separated from its body in a spray of blood.

“Why didn’t you say something earlier, idiot? Get over here,” Yoongi ordered as the headless body slumped first to its knees then crumpled to the ground, the neck pumping out red.

The disturbing image distracted Hobi’s opponent for a split second, giving him the opening to dart forward and sink both of his knives into either side of her neck. He pulled the blood-covered blades out and punched the female in the jaw, forcing her to fall and bleed out onto the earth. Then the white-haired male trekked backwards to Yoongi’s side, his eyes alert and aware of his surroundings.

When he was near enough, Yoongi reached out and grasped one of Hobi’s straps to tug the Saeni fully against him. Shutting his petal pink eyes, Yoongi held Hobi close while inhaling deeply. The magic emitting from his hands flared even brighter and suddenly a circle of mint-colored energy pulsed outward, throwing every draikensu around them roughly fifty feet back.

Now that he had time and space, tendrils of blue light crept out from Yoongi’s hands and Hobi watched in amazement as they leeched onto the dead Saeni on the ground. The light searched the corpses, locating and withdrawing the blades Hobi had flung into them. With a low murmur from Yoongi, the light came zipping back toward the male beside him and they softly returned the blades to their sheaths across Hobi’s body. Then the light retreated to Yoongi’s glowing hands, leaving the kiela’s spy astonished.

“I… hyung… that was-I didn’t know you could do that!”

Even though the draikensu were starting to regroup from his buffer attack, Yoongi felt pride well up inside him and he smiled. “It’s just something I’ve been working on for you. Finally worked out the kinks a few days ago.”

Tilting his head to softly take in Hobi’s flushed cheeks while he stammered out a shocked thanks, Yoongi noticed the draikensu were now charging the duo and he reluctantly pushed the Saeni away. Instantly, Hobi realized as well and hardened his gaze before throwing one of the blades in his hands. It sunk into its mark’s flesh and Hobi ran to meet a new opponent.

Gripping his dagger, Yoongi was about to follow but paused and narrowed his eyes as bursts of maroon, amethyst, and yellow light flashed in the air close by.

The seven Saeni were breathing hard from their nonstop running as they suddenly came to a halt because of Mingi’s order.

The hazel-eyed guard slowly lowered his fist from where it had been raised beside his head and the Saeni all listened intently to the world around them, trying to pinpoint the noise that had caused the guard to stop them.

“I don’t hear anything,” Geodin whispered, and the others agreed.

Mingi swore and shook his head. “I swear I heard something running in our dire-”

A singular, loud howl echoed through the forest… then the sound of large paws running over the earth.

Coming straight toward them.

The male panted as he blocked the draikensu’s attack with one of his blades and cleaved into the male’s collarbone with the other. More blood splattered across Jungkook’s face and chest, the warm liquid causing him to flinch slightly, and the male fell with a gargled scream.

Pivoting, Jungkook sharply inhaled and quickly leaned back to dodge the point of a spear that was jabbed toward his head. The female growled and lunged again, this time aiming for his chest, but the burgundy head jumped aside before surging forward to get beyond the reach of the long weapon. His sudden switch to the offensive made the draikensu stumble back in surprise, and her heel tripped on the arm of a fallen Saeni. She gasped as her body lost balance and Jungkook aided her descent by sending his foot into her stomach. As she fell, Jungkook followed, plunging both of his swords deep into her chest just as she hit the ground. The draikensu weakly coughed and blood bubbled up past her lips. Then Jungkook yanked the blades out, causing the light in her eyes to wither away.

Hanging his head for a couple heartbeats, still panting as exhaustion settled over him, Jungkook gulped in air and looked over to the eastern cliff.

And felt his heart stop when he didn’t see you.

He shook his head and rescanned the archers. You had to be there. You had to be. But he felt dread bloom inside him as he realized there were fewer Saeni kneeling on the edge than before and you weren’t there.

You weren’t there.

His chest tightened painfully as his exertive breaths shifted to panicked ones.

“Fuck, where are you, sweetheart?” Jungkook whispered in a scared voice.

Gripping the hilts of his swords so hard his knuckles turned white, his body grew cold and he began to shake as he raked his eyes over the archers again and again and again. Desperate for any sign of you.

But there were none.

The world seemed to blur around him and all he could see was the empty spot where you. Should. Have. Been. He couldn’t even hear the screams or clashing of metal around him anymore. It all just collected and faded until it was a high-pitched ringing in his ears.

His peridot eyes glistened, and a lump formed in his throat as he choked out a small, fragile “no…”

And he was so focused on the absence of you… so distracted from the battle around him… that he didn’t notice the blade being thrust toward his exposed side.

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