#sundersfate

@sundersfate said: “"Can you let me see? I… please?" (from yiseul)” {♚ x Worried About You x }

 Long Zhi knew their luck was bound to run out at some point, no matter how careful they were and how much they kept their head down. He knew that if Jae-Seok was anything like Xiao Dan, he most likely had connections all over South Korea, and one of those connections must've spotted them. Long Zhi was good, but he wasn't invisible and certainly not invincible.

 They were ambushed on their way back from dinner, when their guard was low and they both had had a little to drink. Despite that, he was immediately alert as soon as a group of four men approached them. His first instinct was to tell Yiseul to run, but then he thought better of it; if she were to run off, they would simply snatch her up and he would've made their job easy. So he instead told her to get behind him, shielding her both from view and from harm.

 Sure enough, a fight ensued only moments after.

 His main concern was with her. So he made sure to keep her in his peripheral at all times. Which meant he had to split his attention between her and the assailants, which no doubt put him at a disadvantage. The first guy went down easily enough, as they didn't seem to think Long Zhi would be armed during what was, essentially, a dinner date. So he ended up with a knife firmly lodged in his throat.

 That seemed to wise them up, and the remaining three attempted to ambush him at the same time. But his reflexes were fast, and he dodged out of the way, taking down another guy in the process. Then things got a little more heated, as one of them drew a gun; by the time he picked up on the threat it was already too late and a shot had rung out. The sharp pain was instant, but it only fueled Long Zhi's determination—and rage.

 The fight dragged on for what felt like an eternity, but in the end, the gun was in his hands, and the two men on the ground. Breathing heavily, he didn't waste any time and grabbed Yiseul's hand before pulling her along. The gun was discarded in a nearby river and he didn't allow them to stop until he felt they were far enough away.

 His concern, however, wasn't with himself. Instead, he looked her up and down, making sure she hadn't somehow ended up hurt. It wasn't until Yiseul spoke up that he remembered the sharp pain he'd felt earlier. Glancing down, he spotted the patch of blood that was now staining his shirt, and he couldn't help but let out a frustrated sigh. That shit would no doubt hurt later.

 "It's alright." Not wanting to worry her, he waved it off, before placing his hand on it; both to cover the blood and to put some pressure on it. "We need to go back to the hotel and grab our stuff. We can't stay. If they found us, there's no doubt in my mind there'll be more coming. Either way, they know where we are."

7 o'clock. This was the time that they were meant to meet. It wasn't as if Blue was immediately worried about Pasha the moment that she wasn't there right on time. He understood that sometimes things happened and ran longer than intended, and so he simply sent a text saying that he was here.

Little does he know exactly what - or who, rather - Pasha is dealing with.

7:05. He was starting to become worried now. Constantly checking his phone, wondering just what it was that was taking her so long to respond. Was she in a tight spot? Was she actively driving? No, she would have at least warned him she was going to be late if that was the case. Fuck. Calling her, the phone eventually went to voicemail...

7:10. Fuck it. He was going to find her. He had checked her location intermittently through the last 10 minutes, saw that she hadn't been moving from the one location she had been at... so he would go. At the very least it'd provide a peace of mind once he found her safe and sound. Storming out the restaurant, he doesn't bother with a vehicle or a cab, slipping through into an ally before using the explosive nature of his flame to propel him upwards to the rooftops...

And he ran. Ran like his life depended on it. Or her life, rather. Covering entire city blocks faster than one could drive in this traffic, he sent off a soft plea, hoping above anything else that Pasha was alright...

Not that she was alright. She was far from it. Not with a high demon standing before her, trying to get to her. At first the demon had simply underestimated her, which certainly led to him getting more than a few bumps and bruises, maybe a cut or two as he attempted to grab at Pasha. Every exit was rammed shut, however, no amount of human strength could get through. He had nearly caught her in an attempt to get through one of the doors, before she had slipped through his grasp. Tutting her, the demon sauntered forward. He was never in a rush, the power that radiated from him beyond that of even Blue. "Little kitten, don't make this harder for yourself than it needs to be.." and with that, a powerful invisible force would attempt to slam into Pasha, pure energy hurdling her way to try and force her against the wall

silver boughs of ivy and diamond chandeliers hung like glittering clouds from the high-arched ceilings, a kaleidoscope of color swirling beneath them. the winter court unfurled within the black ice palace, reflecting the prismatic glow of the guests under intricate, feathered masks. languid waves of music swept the halls, swelling in a varying beat of quick-paced to sensually slow.

it was a living constellation, and towering on the sidelines beneath a simple mask was the youngest of the fae princes. caspian watched like a thought hawk, hands clasped behind has back, and his visible features modified with magic to render him truly unrecognizable. another trick up his sleeve, an arsenal of fools to pull over the courtiers as cheap parlor tricks.

navy blue hues had been tracking the slow movements of one particular guest. he could smell the human on her from here. and he wasn't alone. others in the fae court, lords with ambitions and ladies with debauchery on the mind, noticed her, too. humans were a rare treat to be found in the frost drenched wonderland.

{♚ x @sundersfate || Yiseul x}

 For weeks he'd been tracking her now. In a country he'd never been to, amongst people he didn't know. This wasn't the first time he'd left San Francisco in pursuit of someone, but it sure as hell had been the longest time, not to mention the furthest he's ever been from home. Quite frankly, he'd been surprised by the assignment; usually, Xiao Dan didn't like to let him out of his sight for too long, which only spoke for how desperate his grandfather was to get his hands on this girl. Why, exactly, Long Zhi wasn't too sure. He hadn't been given the details on what exactly made her so valuable, just that she was and he was to retrieve her—alive and well—by any means necessary. 

 Before leaving, he'd done as much research as possible. On the crime syndicate she seemed to belong to, on their leader, their members, and their methods. Going alone, without backup, was a risky move and Long Zhi was all too aware of that, but... In the end he'd decided it was the better option. Utilizing surveillance and stealth rather than attempting a 'crashing in guns blazing' method had a much better chance of success. All he had to do was find the right moment, the right opportunity to strike. And if that required weeks of surveillance? Then so be it. 

 But there was one big, glaring problem: there was no right moment, no right opportunity. When the girl was allowed to leave the house, she was heavily guarded. When she was at the house, she was locked away like a prisoner. So there were two options: either he took his chances fighting several, heavily armed men at the same time—by himself, with no one else to help him when things got dire—or he snuck into the proverbial lion's den. 

 In the end, he chose the latter. It might seem like a much bigger risk on the surface, but his chances of success seemed far better. He could stake out cameras and guard routines in advance, find blindspots and dead time. And, unlike when she was out and about, she was only guarded by two men. Now that he could manage.

 A few more days were spent on perfecting his notes, his approaches and his backup plans. Then, it was time.

 At the dead of night, Long Zhi scaled the wall surrounding the mansion at a spot he knew neither of the two cameras facing this way could pick up. He stuck to the shadows after that, making slow, but careful progress throughout the grounds; avoiding the men patrolling, timing his movements so they'd be facing the opposite way. Climbing the wall wasn't a challenge either, there was enough for him to hold on to to reach the open window within seconds. The open window led to some sort of pantry no one besides the cooks ever bothered to check. Then he sat by the door for a while, closing his eyes and listening for movement. Her room wasn't too far away now, but one wrong move and he'd fuck everything up. 

 Once he was certain there was no one outside, Long Zhi quietly opened the door and pulled out two of his knives. Heading directly for the room guarded by only two men, he approached as closely as he dared, before throwing one knife—aiming directly at the throat—then closed the distance between himself and the remaining guard. One swift movement of his blade, and he, too, fell to the ground silently. Patting down their pockets, Long Zhi retrieved the key, then opened the door and dragged the two bodies along with him, locking the door behind him again.

 Approaching the bed, he pressed his hand to the girl's mouth, and signalled for her to remain quiet. Not that she was given much of a choice, of course. "Work with me, and I'm getting you out of here." If she was necessarily being taken to a much better place remained to be seen, but at the very least Xiao Dan wasn't in the habit of keeping prisoners. Not like this. "If I let go, will you cooperate? Or do I have to tie you up and gag you? Choose wisely. It'll only take me a second to make you regret deceiving me."

The sweet sound of the bell ringing as the door was opened drew Hikaru's attention. With his client having left a short moment ago, he was still up at the front counter, privy to the sight of Pasha walking through the doors because of it... and what a sight it was. She was gorgeous... and every time Hikaru saw her, he felt his heart flutter in his chest, his hands grow clammy and his ability to form complete sentences dying a slow and painful death.

"H-hi!" he greets, managing a smile and a wave as he rounded the counter. He assumed she was here to visit with Emma, but some foolish part of him hoped to god that maybe once she was here to see him.

HADES: well aren't you just as confusing as ever