make it so sweet.

“what are you doing?!” gaeul hissed, her back having impacted the fall with a harsh thud.

haneul peered down at her.

“you stopped following me!” haneul argued, desperation in her voice; a thread never present around the other woman. as her eyes washed back and forth with gaeul’s, the blonde grasped the collar of the vampire’s shirt and tugged her into a bruising kiss. it didn’t last long, it couldn’t. not when the creature screeched behind them, causing haneul to leap back into action.

she collected the weapon she’d been handling and furrowed her brows deeply at one of the things causing all the chaos in the night. her signature blonde ponytail was plastered to her neck from the storm but haneul ducked and rolled, missing another swing of the demon’s horrid claws. getting to her feet, with one large thrust of the axe towards the demon, it then collided with his frame and was slicing right into its torso. grunting heavily, the huntress knew it still had a lot of fight in it and they weren’t even close to bringing it down. yanking the axe out with brute force, the creature screeched in agony.

haneul’s work wasn’t done here yet.

—————————

“so,” haneul stood with her arms gently crossed against her chest, unable to suddenly process what gaeul had revealed: she was leaving the city in search for a new space, hopefully away from all the supernatural hysterics. “you’re just leaving? just like that?” tone flat, eyes gently narrowed like darts despite the disappointment behind them. haneul wouldn’t admit that, would she?

“i told you, haneul. you’re doing fine on your own now. you don’t need my help anymore.” the other woman stared at her, a shake of her head given.

“that is not true.” haneul instantly deflected with a defensive tone. despite her skill set ever growing and her techniques improving, gaeul was still someone she considered an ally — despite her species. haneul had given her a chance after gaeul came to her rescue a handful of times. she’d begun to rely on the other, silently, knowing the woman had more years and experience than she had even lived. “what— what about that time with the werewolf nest? if you hadn’t shown up i—“

“you’re not that weak anymore.” gaeul reminded her, calmly. and it grated on haneul’s nerves. how could she stand there so composed and emotionless when she just revealed her idea to depart from the infested streets they currently walked along.

“i don’t care!” haneul snapped, unwrapping her arms and taking a small pace forward.

“i don’t think you understand, gaeul.” halting before the other, her dark hues traced the vampire’s eyes for any detection that she would reconsider. but, as usual, gaeul was simply difficult to read. “i need you to stay here with me.” she insisted, knowing that was her only ally and one who held a lot of knowledge about the bumps in the night ravaging the city.

gaeul didn’t respond, she just blinked at the blonde huntress. the fireplace behind her crackled between them in the suffocating silence. she truly believed haneul was ready on her own and that she could move on and go elsewhere. turning towards the fireplace, gaeul stared at the flames licking the wood.

instantly reaching out to grab her wrist, haneul anchored gaeul there, to herself. “please?” she sounded weak, desperate, lonely. despite their differences and challenges, haneul had grown used to her presence in her life.

a large sigh heaved out of the vampire, yanking her arm free from the hunter’s hold. “i told you. i’ve made up my mind.” again, no thread of emotion behind any word, just a chill that ran down haneul’s back. “so, just go already. i’m leaving after sunset.”

since gaeul refused to look at her in the face, haneul scoffed with light irritation and walked by her, deliberately blocking her view of the fireplace. “do you have to be this aggravating? do you have to keep— keep confusing me? one day, you’re helping me and the next…” she let out a small breath, “the next? i don’t hear from you for weeks! while you’re skipping town, i’m the one cleaning up this mess alone and i don’t think i need to explain to you that you’ve been a big help for me. a—and, i— gaeul, just… please, don’t go.”

finally haneul watched the other woman’s eyes catch her own. per usual, she wore the stubborn face and the façade that she wasn’t needed any longer. “don’t make it harder than it has to be.” gaeul’s voice almost sounded like a warning.

a warning haneul didn’t pay any attention to before stepping into her personal bubble and looping her arms loosely around the vampire’s neck. she rose on her toes slightly and brought her lips softly to the other’s. it wasn’t a desperate plea like her words, but a soft and gentle reminder that gaeul’s existence was necessary in her life.

———

fog swirled across the city, thickly rolling through the plush grass beneath haneul’s boots, the huntress cautious with each step forward. visibility was almost next to nothing. she’d wanted to groan, make a snarky comment for the last of the vampires to come out of hiding but that wasn’t as satisfying as catching them off guard and staking them with a comment afterwards. the thought smoothed a smirk across her peach lips, haneul’s eyes swiveling from side-to-side while she bent a little lower towards the ground and dissolved into the fog herself.

her heartbeat was steadied, years of patience and practice had been more rewarding than she’d initially given her trainer credit for. once her only ally had left the city that seemed like a supernatural magnet, she had rapidly learned that haneul could only rely on herself during hunts. there were a few instances where other hunters came from other spaces of the globe to come aid her with a particular target. yet, each year that passed, her senses had grown stronger and the ability of awareness and her surroundings had been the most crucial problem in the past.

those were the moments she was left open and vulnerable, her free palm grasping upon a stone cross as slender digits curled around it. stopping in her movements, the silver jewelry upon her neck ghosted into silence, haneul’s breathing hardly audible. that was another thing she’d doubled down on with her trainer: focused heart rate and masking her breathing to the best of her ability. her blonde hair streamed behind her in the wave of wind that suddenly flushed through the graveyard.

vampires, really. this should be so simple.

her patience was growing thin, head gradually rising so her dark amber orbs could peek beyond the grave she hovered near still. there was a slight break in fog ahead, her eyes squinting but no target in sight.

guess they weren’t dumb enough to head out into the woods tonight, she noted before her eyes briefly blinked up towards the full moon. vampires steered clear those luminous nights, all too aware of their vulnerabilities if they were to run into a wolf. or worse: a pack of them.

they should be more scared of me.

in the split of a second, haneul’s head swung to the side after her ears caught a crunch in the brush. it wasn’t loud, just barely there against the wind. anyone else wouldn’t have even noticed such a sound with the way the weather was on that particular night. another snap, it was closer, closing in on her position.

that’s right. keep coming this way, you bastard.

crunch.

in one swift movement, haneul sprung to her feet and brought her free arm up to block an incoming punch from out of nowhere. and with a tuck and roll, she tried to sweep the other’s leg but they were too quick and evaporated back into the dense fog. she didn’t move, rooted to her spot, though a lowly chuckle could be heard nearby along with a small snarl.

this vampire was playing with her and they weren’t going to have a good night once she got her hands on them. following them for days and their friends, she’d taken out all of them but him.

feeling a presence to her left, the huntress spun on her heel, successfully kicking her target in the midsection with an impacting force that she heard stone break nearby with his thud. unfortunately, even squinting she couldn’t find them once more.

“we both know you’re there. stop playing and let’s get this over with.” it was almost a demand, rolling off her tongue with a sharpness in her tone.

grabbed from behind, the enemy brought haneul into a headlock and yanked her backwards further into the veil of fog. grunting, she tried to steel her frame into the dirt by digging the heels of her boots deeply into the earth. clenching her jaw in sheer anger, the blonde took a quick inhale and brought the back of her head crashing into the vampire’s face, allowing her to break free.

grasping him by the arm, there was a clearing a few paces away, much clearer to take the fight to. the blonde spun him in that direction and then gave him a forceful shove with a slight grunt. “you’re not getting away this time, buddy.” determination firmly reflecting on her features, until there was a sudden pained yell from the target.

confused, haneul stopped in her pace, watching his skin grow grey while he began to fall backwards. she took a large step back, blinking at the stake that was struck right through his heart.

who was the culprit who took her kill?

raising her dark eyes, fury sat behind them until she noticed who was in the clearing: gaeul.

freezing, haneul dropped her fighting stance while the pair simply stared each other down. tense, when the hell did she decide to come crawling back?

“you look good.” gaeul suddenly piped up, taking one pace ahead to close some of the gap.

“five years changes a person.” haneul’s gaze ran up and down the vampire. “you look… the same.”

gaeul’s chest rumbled with a gentle rumble within the depths of her form. “that is true.”

slowly, haneul returned her stake to the hiding space in her leather jacket pocket. “so, what? you’re back in town now? got bored?” her questions snarky, face scrunching lightly with an unamused expression.

“something like that.” as usual, she had to be vague, knowing it got under haneul’s skin.

a fierce stare became harder towards gaeul, eyebrows narrowing so tightly she wanted to scream at the vampire herself. haneul wanted to tell gaeul in every way that her skipping town had left her in so many unpredictable situations where her aid would’ve been warranted. she wanted to explain how difficult it had been to solely rely on herself, no backup, no help. even if that were to be the typical case for a huntress, haneul would be lying if she didn’t admit that their partnership had made her life so much easier back then.

she wanted to scream about her long, extensive and dedicated hours spent to become the person she was now. yet, as the pair let the silence wrap around them with the slight fog, haneul couldn’t bring a word to her mouth. it was like they were all caught in her throat, almost choking on them. she wasn’t sure if it was because she was angry or if it was because she had missed gaeul after she left — worried about her, too. often, haneul wondered where she’d taken herself and what she might be up to, aside from feeding on human life, obviously.

in a few desperate steps forward, the huntress was bringing her arms around gaeul with an embrace. she pressed her cheek into the other’s shoulder when the action was reciprocated. there was a stinging in her eyes. haneul was becoming… teary? where was that even coming from?

pulling back to peer up at the dark haired woman, she shook her head when the vampire’s mouth opened as if she were about to speak. “don’t say anything.” she commanded and brought a palm up the back of the vampire’s neck, firmly gripping the base of it before reeling her into a passionate kiss. both her hands roamed back to gaeul’s face, cupping her cheeks as her chest throbbed with a familiar sensation haneul had never forgotten over the years whenever she was in close proximity to gaeul.

she cared about the vampire.