thrill of the chase

The species of houseplants that resided in his home varied though he did own quite a hearty collection of smaller succulents and cacti a like, all of which were placed happily in direct sunlight. “Succulents are very nice and easy to take care of as well.” He chirps out, the dog shifting around to curl up next to male as he continuously strokes her. Her head placed in his lap like before, Misty starts to lick Chanyeol’s other hand that laid motionless. 

“You should definitely look into it!” He encourages, tone bright and cheerful as ever. “I–I could even help you research them.. I-If you’d like I mean..” Smiling sheepishly, Chanyeol’s cheeks are flourished with a soft pink as he speaks, the male easily flustered. “They come in so many colors, it would be too hard for me to decide on just one.” He muses, a small laughter following. Misty wags her tail at the laughter, the medium-sized dog gazing up at the taller affectionately. 

Hyunwoo nods, contemplative. The other seemed to be very fond of house plants. Maybe it would be something good to try out. He could use some fabricated consistency in his life. It would be good to maintain consistency at his home and try something new outside rather than simply sticking to the same mundane schedule all the time. 

he taps a rhythm on the counter. a continuous pattern of nerves as his teeth press into his lip, shifting from left and right before settling on the older. jeongguk takes in what the other says eagerly, nodding his head and humming. the question presented makes him pause, shifting in discomfort as he glances away. his tongue prods against the inside of his cheek. 

he murmurs his thanks as he accepts his drink, humming as wraps his hands around the cup. he sips at it idly, flickering his eyes at the older, then dropping it. he wonders if he does– does jeongguk have anything planned out? the future? absolutely not. jeongguk lives day by day, especially with how…risky it’s been going around as sonic. he knows he could be killed, knows he could be in loads of trouble once he eventually gets caught. what happens to mutants now-a-days that are caught? he doesn’t know, and truth be told, he doesn’t know if he really wants to know either.

“i–” he pauses, swallowing. “i’m not sure. i mean, i know…i have my life figured out for the moment? but that all can change. easily, quickly– you know? it’s…living is hard, hyung.” he sighs, tired eyes staring down at the counter. “i miss…how simple things were. i miss daybreak.” and he means it. daybreak was home, and despite how hard he works to attempt to make living okay now, nothing will change to how easy and happy he was months ago. 

There’s obvious hesitation when he asks about how things are going for the other, and Hyunwoo holds back a grimace. Not everyone was as lucky as he had been, to land a stable job and a decent place to live. But the question was out there and he couldn’t exactly take it back, so he leaves it to hang there, concentrating on the task of making the drink. 

He gets an answer though, which half surprises him. Shrugging, Hyunwoo cracks a small smile, “Things were definitely easier there,” he agrees. Being at Daybreak had changed him, probably for the better. And despite how mundane things were there, he sort of preferred it that way. He needed more peace in his life. 

[...]

Taking the steak he threw it across the room, not really knowing what he was trying to accomplish. At least if he moved it away from the stairs, he might have a brain blast, hopefully think of something within the next few seconds that can saw his and his hotels hide. If the beast followed the same principles as other animals, it should move towards the meat. If it didn’t he was screwed.

There was a moment of pause, as though the guy was contemplating his next move. Then the second piece of raw meat was flung over to the other side of the room. Its eyes followed the piece of meat until it hit the ground. And then it was caught with the human on one side and the piece of meat on the other. He looked back at the human for a second, weighing its options.

It was rather curious about the human, but it ultimately decided to turn its back on the guy and pad towards the steak at the other side of the room, past all the weird animals that looked alive, but were definitely not. It was creepy, to be honest, like corpses were made to look as though they were living again and just stood in a room. But to each their own, it wasn’t there to judge, just to hunt down lost souls. 

gahyeon’s just a kid– a kid with good grades, a somewhat decent brain, and a general understanding of how the world works. what she knows is that normally people don’t stick their hands in the fire with a dull look on their face. no, there’s supposed to be screaming, yelling– maybe loud laughter if there’s a few screws loose in their skull. so of course, gahyeon thinks she’s being perfectly rational. why wouldn’t she? she’s not the one sticking her hand in a bonfire for god’s sake.

her fingers twitch around her slingshot, wanting to scramble for another marble as she watches the male warily. she’s sure that the slingshot can’t protect her, but it certainly makes her feel better as she lets out a soft exhale, eyes narrowing as she swallows back her nerves.

seeing things. she’s seeing things. “your hand was in that fire.” she yelps, eyes flickering from the flame, his hand, and then his face. “i– didn’t just imagine that! i’m not weird!” she sputters. her fingers are trembling around her slingshot. “i– i’m sure you were– look, don’t try and trick me. show me your hand!” she takes a few hesitant steps forward, teeth chewing on her lip. “your hand was in the fire. i’m not an idiot! i saw it, i really did!”

It only takes him a second to recognize, but she’s definitely not convinced. That much is obvious. He’s not usually this careless, at least that’s what he likes to think.

The whole scenario feels calm and peaceful, her connection with animals was much stronger than with humans and she focused only in enjoying that moment. But the creature didn’t seem to share that intention and it stepped back, vanishing between the woods before she could do anything. Her intuition was tingling and Yuju rushed to undress herself, changing to her fox form and carrying the clothes on her mouth, rushing to catch up with the other. Many would think her decision was idiotic, why would she chase after a black wolf that could make fire spawn?

There was no specific reason, it was a matter of guts and instinct. One thing was sure, the image of Him wouldn’t stop flashing every time she’d look into those wolf eyes and she wished more of it. She sees him pacing down and stopping and she doesn’t reveal her presence yet, instead observes. She freezes.

Just it happened to her, the body of the wolf slowly transformed into a human. And not just any human, she recognized those curves and back, those shoulders and legs. Yuju’s heart races, her mind questions everything. It didn’t make any sense. He passed away. She got the letter, with his calligraphy and his signature. She mourned him for over a year. Stepping slowly from the bushes, body in middle of transformation, her face being the last thing to transform, her voice was firstly a fox mewl, turning into human voice as she dressed her long dress back. “Hyun…woo?” 

His ears are ringing and his limbs are shaky, but all in all, he’s alright. Physically, that is. His mind is a mess, and he wants nothing more than to forget what just happened. If he forgot, there would be less guilt. He didn’t want to be reminded of the past, of the girl he disappeared on because he feared she would be in danger otherwise. It seems like life had a different plan for him. 

He supposes that life was a little merciful, letting him be fully dressed before having to face her, not that he knew what was coming. Her hears her voice finally, behind him, and he turns slowly to face her, cursing himself for not running further, for thinking that this much was enough. He turns towards her and finds he has nothing to say. He wants to go to her and greet her as though the past two years never happened. but that was laughably impossible. 

[...]

Running to the kitchen he grabbed whatever meat he could find, it had to eat meat, right? Maybe he could distract it with meat and then throw a bag over it’s head and get it out, but it’s size would be a problem. Four raw steaks in hand he found himself back at the door to the basement, unlocking it again. Closing the door behind him he followed the steps down and quickly saw the ‘beast’ again, it had moved. It was closer to the stairs this time. He placed three of the steaks onto the ground, opening one of them. Hopefully this wasn’t gonna be such a bad idea, one could only hope, right?

“Hey…. buddy. I got this for you,” he spoke with shaky breath, his arm slightly trembling. Reaching out his arm towards the ‘beast’ in front of him. The worst that could happen would be him losing an arm.

Ears still ringing from the transformation, it shook itself, a little more interested in the long-dead animals around it than anything else to notice the first greeting. It did however, notice the second one, and whipped around, fire licking up its sides until there’s a thin layer of it around its body. It didn’t quite feel threatened, per say but the flames started anyways, as a precaution. 

It smelled blood though, and took a step towards the stairs. It smelled wrong. Meat should be fresh, it should be able to hear the blood pumping through its veins. It should be able to sense the life leaving its body. But the meat was bloody, and it snatched the piece from the outstretched hand. It only took a few seconds to wolf down the meat, then looks over at the producer of this meat.

four nods without much thought– he’d made up his mind before he’d even offered. his eyes flicker up, he can’t help that he’s curious and observant, looking over the other male quietly.

obviously, he seemed to be in a predicament, but he didn’t seem to be running from anyone or anything like that. he seemed a bit unruffled, and there was that cut in his foot but he otherwise seemed unharmed. the sound of the man’s voice brought jinseok out of his (poor) detective skills and he insistently held them out towards the stranger.

“i believe you,” he offers a smile smile– the question was said as if it was something that needed to be proven. “those are kind of my good luck shoes,” he replies, “but it’s okay if they don’t find their way back to me. but,” he tilts his head, “my dance studio is nearby here so if you find yourself in the area again, you can always uhm, drop by,” he finishes, sentence trailing off. but in situations like these, he tends to babble so he begins by listing off the address of his studio.

and then he continues, “my name is oh jinseok, i normally teach in studio a from 9 in the morning to 11, and then again in studio c from 3:30 to 6:30, and 7 to 9. so i’m there quite often,” he supplies helpfully.

Hyunwoo’s surprised to say the least, to have come across someone who would just offer him shoes. He hesitantly takes the shoes and puts them on the ground, slipping his feet in. They’re a little off in size, but they’ll work fine for the walk home. “Thank you,” he says quietly, still slightly taken aback at the act of kindness, but in the best way. “I’m Hyunwoo, nice to meet you,” he holds out his hand a little awkwardly for an introductory handshake. “I work in the cafe next to the park two streets down. But I’ll try to have the shoes returned by the end of the day today.” 

Chanyeol could only empathize with the other male regarding animals. Animals always have seemed to be drawn towards him, though for a time he was admittedly hesitant around cats after a neighborhood stray scratched him. It took some time to get over it, but the payoff was good in the long run, the taller male now the (very) proud caretaker of a feral cat colony. 

His head perks up, smile growing wider as the pair started to discuss plants. He stops petting Misty for the time, devoting his full attention to the other male, nodding his head softly. “House plants are actually one of the easiest plants to care for.” He chirps. Many of his customers shared the same concerns as the other male, “If you want something with minimal care, a cacti would be best.” He hums. “They only require sunlight and need to be watered at lest once a week.” 

Chanyeol didn’t own too many cacti, though he did like to admire the ones he comes into contact with at the nursery. “Ah, that happens a lot..” A small frown starts to form, the taller trying his best not to think about it too much. It always pained him to see, or even hear about plants going through something like that, but he could only sympathize since most people weren’t able to communicate with the greenery. “Oh! Fish are cute!” He shakes off the twinge of negative emotions, and flashes yet another smile. “And very easy to take care of.” He says cheerily, starting to gently stroke the dog. 

A cactis? He had never really considered that. Usually when talking about house plants, the assumption would be that it was something with leaves or flowers. He supposed a cacti would be easy enough. Maybe it was worth looking into. Though with the amount of times he had tried to practice his fire manipulation at his home in the loft, it would probably be better not to expose a houseplant to that.

mark decides to take his time showering. it’s been a almost a week since his last one. while he’s thankful that he doesn’t seem to smell too gross, having sweat and dirty practically caked on isn’t fun at all. so he manages to step into the shower and does his best to work off the sweat adorning his small, frail body. he needs to wash his clothes too. but he’ll do that in a moment, he just wants to stay under the water and enjoy himself.

so he takes that time to eventually be as clean as possible. afterwards, he takes his time to wash the underwear he’s had on for a few weeks now. he’s best to try and wash it now so that he can have it dry later. afterwards, he rings out the water and covers himself in a big fluffy towel that actually manages to cover his chest to his knees. he feels so massive.

he quietly peeks his head from the doorway. 

“uh… hyung… my clothes are kind of wet so could i borrow some of yours please? i washed some of them because they’re gross.” he doesn’t know why he’s trying to justify why his clothes are wet but he supposes giving an explanation will do. also he manages to spot food and his stomach grumbles loudly, his face flushing red through his tanned skin.

Ah... clothes.... He probably should have thought of that. Instead, he slides slips and slides around in his socks, zooming pat the washroom with Mark’s face peeking out with a “Hold on!” trailing behind him as he slides into his bedroom. A few seconds later, he emerges with a large t-shirt and sweatpants. They might be large on Mark, but that might be the case with all of his clothes. 

[...]

He stumbled towards the door, hoping it was the bathroom. Not even caring at this point honestly. He just needed to be away. Away. Away. It was too much. He gripped a shelf as he hunched over, body shaking with a sudden retching from deep in his guts. He was vaguely aware of someone else’s presence. Vaguely aware that the pressure behind his eyes finally burst into a wave of palpable energy that came off of him in a wave – enough to knock anyone else sideways.

It had been a lazy morning at the coffee shop, but things usually picked up as the day went by. Hyunwoo figured he might as well take his break before the big wave of customers, and maybe if he was lucky, he’d miss the first bit of that as well. So he headed into the storage room as he did habitually, to take his nap. 

 He manages to actually fall asleep, but it doesn’t last very long. There’s the telltale noise of the storage door opening, and it’s enough to wake him up from his light nap. Hyunwoo’s expecting the voice of another employee letting him know to get back to the counter, but instead, there’s silence. When he looks over, there’s someone who definitely isn’t a worker at the cafe. 

[...]

there’s a knife sticking out of his arm, but he doesn’t sound angry. just resigned, and she thinks that’s what jolts her out of it. the weight’s this close to breaking her ribcage. it doesn’t dissipate – never does, of course, bloodlust just receding into the background, there for the picking if anyone so wanted to, but it’s enough to push the customers out of their induced aggression, fear overtaking the primal urge she’d let out. hyunwoo’s eyes darken to their usual brown as the bar puts itself back together slowly, her show over.

chaeyoung makes an aborted movement towards the other, stilted, regretting it immediately and then abandoning it altogether. she stands there, in front of him, unsure and guilty for the relief she feels.

He doesn’t know what he expects, but it’s not the customers calming down. So when that happens, Hyunwoo is surprised, but his eyes never leave her. It dawns on him that he’s holding a bloody knife in the middle of a bar that’s trying to pull itself back together, so he stashes it in his jacket. 

Then he takes her wrist and pulls her into a hug, arms wrapping around her shoulders. He doesn’t exactly have the words to convey how relived he is that she’s not physically hurt. The phrase ‘I’m glad you’re okay’ doesn’t quite cut it, and to be realistic, the use of the word ‘okay’ in itself was debatable. Sure, physically Chaeyoung was fine, but from what he had gathered, holding in the bloodlust wasn’t pleasant, nor was it healthy.