butterfly girl;

It was humid in the workshop and stretching her legs felt good. Refreshing even. She smiled up to him, noticing his impressive height. "Not that you're not attractive but like you said, safety hazards!" Despite his stature, he seemed to shrink slightly before her. Perhaps he was used to people bowing under the weight of his charms and confidence, but she felt no need to cower. Instead of intimidating her, it drew her in like a moth to a flame.

"well, you’re not too bad yourself." he looked down at his hands, becoming shy, little jongin once again.

her hand grazed slightly against his nose, he raised his head towards her, before being greeted with a thick layer of whip cream to the end of his nose. it was childish, but adorable none the less. he smiled as he removed it with a single swipe of his own finger, placing it in his mouth, the taste was incredible. "just tell me, it’s not like i’m going to go and tell the guy…" he whined, sometimes, jongin was so blind, was far too innocent.

"Yah! You're such a kid! Why do I even like you so much," she spluttered, grabbing the can out of his hands and turning it to spray over him. Now she was the one laughing but... he'd seemed to have stopped. She dropped the can, realising what she'd said.

Right now her brain was too occupied with screaming in terror. She resisted the sudden urge to bolt. She wanted to scream at Luna, beg her not to do this, to not put so much unwarranted faith in her.

Everyone who’d ever relied on her had either left her, betrayed her or died. A small part of Jihyo had always rationalised this, saying it wasn’t her fault. She was not to blame for betrayal, and she had been but a teenager when her mother got wounded. She was just a girl, not a force of nature, not a miracle worker, not a cure. She was nothing but flesh and blood and you can’t fight a fever, only the tears.

She was just a little mosaic of tragedies, a little ragdoll, the white scars on her skins barely holding her together, ready to burst at the seams any moment now.

I might have the same eyes, she wanted to tell her, but I won’t have the same heart.

"Well, they must be pretty eyes then," was all she said, trying for light-hearted, hoping the sudden flash of fear hadn’t shown on her face. She knew it hadn’t, she had become too good at wearing her lies like make-up. Wearing her fear like an armor. 

She let herself slip back into her analytical, logical mindset, focusing only on the problem ahead. Somehow, the possibility of someone taking her life always seemed less frightening to her than the possibility of someone taking her heart.

Her face flushed slightly so she turned to the coffee table. Her eyes bore into the wood grain, praying it would speak words of confidence, support to give her the courage. A war? It shook her inside. War was harsh, cold, indifferent and willing to snuff out the lives of innocent people in the blink of an eye. Speaking of which...

She looked up, letting her eyes roam over the elder woman's figure. This was unfair, to draw her in to this mess. What right did she have to storm in, accuse her and then drag her into the path of danger. To put her life at risk.

"a little jealous are we?" he chuckled deeply, he had no idea what sunyoung was to him, and he had no idea what he was to her, but all he knew was it felt a little stronger than friends. would he ever admit it? -probably not, but he longed for her attention, her touch, her.

"in fact, yes." he smiled, thinking about the large, dark eyes that belonged to the person in his thoughts. the soft, sweet lips that sat on their face nicely. "they’re very my type." he teased, stepping aside and away from her grip. it wasn’t that he wanted to be playing her, but he couldn’t help but keep up the cheeky attitude that he almost always hid from everyone. he looked back at sunyoung, raising his eyebrows as he stepped back towards her, something about her gave him a new attitude, almost too cocky and confident. "what about you?" he smirked, dipping the fluffy white marshmallow into the warm drink. the liquid burnt his finger slightly, although he didn’t mind. "you have anyone on your mind?"

"Maybe I am a little," she said, licking her lips, "I mean look at you! You've grown to be so handsome!" Her tone was light and teasing but it was undeniably true. To think, how much time had passed...

She stuck her tongue out childishly before swiping some whipped cream onto his nose. Her smile was honest as she watched him. He'd seemed oddly tense today but he was responding to her playfulness in kind. He was unlikely to share all his troubles easily but it made her happy to know she could at least do this for him.

Lizzy honestly didn’t mind losing sleep if it meant she got someone’s company, she was kind of a hermit and she had been like that for a long time. She didn’t have any friends to play with when she was a child and neither did she when she was on her teens and entered medicine school; but she always had the love of her family.

Luna’s words were sweet, they had met each other hardly fiftteen minutes ago and yet Lizzy felt like she had known her for years, she felt comfortable just talking to her. “I know that very well, I’m always on guard.” 

Once they got to the store Lizzy took a seat by the counter and asked the owner for two glasses of apple juice, giving her a set of earrings in exchange. Truth was she liked going out to find things like these even though she wasn’t a smuggler or a thief. She often picked them up from the streets or found them hidden under rocks or other things. This habit of her allowed her to get plenty of other things. 

"Thank you so much," she said in reply, "I owe you one!" It had been a long time since she'd been outside with friends her own age. They sat together peacefully, quietly, but she wanted to talk, wanted to learn more about the new friend. She hummed, trying to think...

The air in the room was hot and heavy, sending a soft buzz of light-headedness through her system. She reached out, running a hand down the side of his face. Her fingertips traced Mino's jawline, the skin underneath them supple and warm.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" she asked, "We can head back early if you need to, your rest is important too." It was typical of her, this worrying, but she still couldn't bite it down effectively. "Please don't apologise either, it was a long time ago and not your fault at all!"

"Sometimes though," she says with a smile, her tone almost wistful "I spend time with friends, I don't have many but..." she trailed off, lifting her eyes to the sky.

Up there, the birds roamed freely, crossing each others paths. The clouds drifted, completely unaware or perhaps just underwhelmed by the plight of the people down below. They were lucky, so carefree.

"..but they mean the world to me, I don't have any family left," she stated firmly, moving her gaze back to Lizzy, "but they're a family I chose."

"I don’t have any other appointments until later today." She blinked at Luna’s words and gave a soft smile. "Mm, it is." Thinking about that always made her nostalgic. It did have its rewards, plus being a doctor was what she liked most in the world.

Kill Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character killing yours.Love Me: I’ll write a fluffy drabble about our characters.

I think…I’ll combine these. Feels ahoy~

     What it was that drove him to put so much trust in Sunyoung, Hakyeon isn’t sure he can put into words. The woman that had saved him all those months ago…she certainly was something else. Luna…it had taken him a long time to understand the name she had chosen for herself. Just as it had taken her just as long to discover why he used the nickname he did. 

     At this point, he has no idea what possessed him to let her in, to open up to her. To let her get close. Right in this moment, Hakyeon is certain that it was a mistake. He let himself get attached. Let himself care. N should have learned long ago that caring was a forbidden thing, that all the emotions the word ‘love’ encompassed were off-limits to him. Allowing such things would only get him and anyone around him hurt, but he’d gone and done it anyways.

     Perhaps he wouldn’t verbally admit it to anyone that asked, but that was probably what this was. Love. He’d surprised himself, somehow remembering that loving was something he was still capable of. But oh, how it had been a mistake, if the tear streaks on the hunter’s cheeks were anything to go by. Hakyeon didn’t cry, for anyone. Not anymore. The last tears he had shed had been over the deaths of his parents, and of Wonsik. Oh how he had thought he’d never do this again, and oh how wrong he was.

     Luna had come back bitten. She’d gone off to do a little business, and he had waited quietly in her home for her. And she’d come back bitten. Hakyeon had no idea what to do. He’d offered to wrap the wound for her, but she’d just refused and said it was too late. It was better if he killed her, right there and then. ‘I don’t want to turn into one of those things’, she’d told him. But he just stands there, stunned, for longer than necessary. Trying to decide what to do. 

     A tug of his shirt had snapped him out of it. Sunyoung had begged him to do it, it had to be him. She couldn’t do it herself, she didn’t want to. It had to be Hakyeon. Eventually, he agreed in silence. He couldn’t say no to a dying woman’s wishes, especially…especially when he cared so much about her. 

     It was the worst experience of his life, truth be told. Hakyeon had gently, ever so gently, pulled Luna over to her bed. Picked her up, and laid her down gently on the mattress, careful and sure that a pillow cradled her head. Let me at least show you how much you mean to me, if I have to do this. Surely, she understood the meaning in his care and gentleness. Something he reserved only for those as close as she was to him. 

     For a moment, he pauses, a little unsure of his decision to agree. But it was what Sunyoung wanted, and he couldn’t deny her. Pulling his hunting knife from the makeshift sheath at his belt, Hakyeon joins her on the bed, tears finally starting to form in his eyes. Seeing, Luna had comforted him softly, running her fingers through his hair, touching his cheek, murmuring words of encouragement and telling him that it was okay. That he’d be fine without her, just as he had been fine never knowing her.

     And it takes everything out of him to not break down completely. That…could wait. It had to, N had had no other choice. He hadn’t wanted to say anything, but he can’t help the sweet words that leave his lips in a murmur as he moves over Sunyoung to press his lips to hers. I love you. Once he’s finally distracted her a little, in the hopes of making it as painless as possible, he slips his knife between her ribs, and into her heart.

     Hakyeon doesn’t leave her to die alone. He breaks the kiss gently as he pulls the knife out, tossing it away like he would something infected by the plague. He’s the one murmuring softly now, running his fingers through Sunyoung’s hair, reassuring her that it’ll all be okay even as she bleeds out beneath him. He watches the light leave her eyes, hardly registering the sob that leaves him as it happens. Hakyeon moves away, curling up on the end of the bed, and just lays there and cries. He doesn’t know if it’s minutes, or hours, and he doesn’t care.

"It’s nice to meet you Luna." She said with a grin as she sat behind the desk and blinked before taking the list the other woman handed her. "Hmm.." She muttered as she looked over the list and back at Luna. "Are these all the medicines you brought? It’s a lot more than I expected, thanks a lot!" 

In a split second, she made her decision. What harm could it really do? Spending a free day with a friendly face, no strings attached.

"Not really, I'm supposed to meet someone in the evening," she replied, "but I'm free until then. I was surprised you're so young actually, most of the doctors here look like they must have been born in the eighteen hundreds!" That was of course an exaggeration - they were probably 40, 50, 60 at the very most. Living out here tended to age people dramatically so it could often be hard to tell. However Lizzy looked to be in her early twenties - she must be sharp to be practicing medicine amongst the old crowd so young.

     Flinching out of his thoughts when her hand touches his shoulder, N looks at Sunyoung, blinking a few times. He hoped he’d be back out there soon, too, but it was doubtful. His head tilts as he tries to think of a good way to describe what’s beyond the walls, but she starts talking again. 

     And he just stares. She…wanted him to take her outside this cage, to see what lay beyond? While she was certainly correct that he didn’t have much reason to trust her, Sunyoung did save his life. He owed her. Quietly, he gives a nod.

"I...I have a gun," Luna said quietly, "have you ever fired one? I don't like using it myself but I could lend it to you. I might not look it but I'm handy in melee combat!" With a switchblade she was rather dangerous in close quarters, despite her diminutive stature. Something people often overlooked.

The pistol however, she kept for emergencies only. In case of attack by Infected or something similar. Her hands were shaking violently at the memory of her first fatal misfire. There was blood on her hands that would never, ever come clean. She shakes her head, trying to bring herself back to earth and focus on her patient.

"I think I can defend myself fairly well though. Possibly good enough for the two of us!" this time the smile doesn't quite reach her eyes as she tries to calm her erratic heartbeat. It was so silly, pathetic even getting this upset over a simple thought... 

She was resting for a moment, her arms crossed over the desk worked as a pillow, she needed to rest for a moment before her appointment with that person... what was her name? She tried to remember but her eyes closed and her mind slowly became blank. Before she could even count to three she had fallen asleep.

"I'm Luna," she smiled politely, "I heard your new here, if there's anything I can do to help you please let me know." She took a seat near the desk and put her back upon her lap, opening it and searching through.

"Here's an inventory, keep it up to date and I'll pop round every week to check and bring new supplies," Sunyoung said as she slid the paper across to her. "If you need anything in between don't hesitate to get in contact with me and I'll do what I can. No promises because I have other clients but I tend to prioritise medicine."

She was ashamed to admit that while she knew how to fire a gun (she’d gone through standard military training, after all), she didn’t owe one. All she owed were a few arrows, her bow and her trusted machete. Not really material to storm a castle.

"I wish I could say, but I never considered attacking his headquarters. As I said, I take what I can before it reaches. I suppose right before dawn, we’ll have the cover of the dark and their exhaustion on our side."

Jihyo couldn’t help but ask, seeing the girl in front of her, suddenly so small and fragile.

"Are you sure you want to get to him? We might be able to get the goods, and more, back without having to directly face him."

She almost hoped she would say it was okay, they wouldn’t confront him. Jihyo wanted him taken down post-hate, wanted his body rotting in the cruel sun, wanted his prescence removed from the world, until even the memory of him would fade. Until he was nothing.

But she knew the dangers too. She knew how easily a life could be lost in fire.

"I have a motto, Jihyo. I try to live by it." she said slowly, "No good deed unrewarded, no crime unpunished." Luna even held herself strictly to this rule. Perhaps she couldn't put her faith in anything else but retribution.

"Even if that stock hadn't been for a good cause I couldn't just turn a blind eye but the bastard is going to pay for this," she wrings her hands together, thinking of the elders prior words, "They might not believe in innocents but I do. I have a friend - a really wonderful friend. He's infinitely kind and gentle, he works as a teacher and he reminds me just how good people really can be." Luna looked up once more, scanning Jihyo's face and letting her own melt into a smile.