Chapter Text
“I want to resign my position on the Council.”
Jin wasn’t stupid. The Council was an honor to be on, where only the strongest of the strongest were offered a place in it, but Jin couldn’t take it anymore. The Dragon Massacre was the last straw.
JB frowns into the distance. The alpha wolf was working under the Council, but he and Jin hit it off, becoming friends. They sat next to each other, the grass cool under their palms and the sunlight warming their skin. “Jin.. I understand you’re upset about the Council’s decision to-”
“Upset?” Jin clenches his hands into fists, the innocent grass victims of his anger. “I’m furious , JB. We just wiped a whole magical species off the planet, and for what? For the safety of the rest of us who were never even threatened by them in the first place?” He buries his face in his hands, feeling the sting of tears appear, but he told himself he wouldn't cry. “This was my fault.”
“No it wasn’t.” JB assures him. “You were one of the only few who opposed it. They chose to go through with it, okay? Not you.”
Jin blinks away the tears. “JB, I’m part of the Council. Whatever they choose to do, I have to take responsiblity for it too, even if I didn’t agree to it.”
The conversation is filled with silence before JB speaks again.
“What are you going to do? Be like Elder Elaine? Start a pack of your own?”
“Or coven. Not all of us are werewolves, JB.” Jin briefly teases, before getting serious. “But no, I don’t think I can lead a coven. I can’t see myself being in charge of others and doing a good job.”
JB only hums. “I guess. As an alpha, it just comes naturally to me; leading, begin in charge. It must suck being a vampire.”
Jin rolls his eyes, punching JB lightly on the shoulder.
“Oh god, I think I'm going to miss you.” JB jokes, but Jin sees right through him, especially because he'd miss it to. No more daily interactions. No more lunches spent together. Their friendship wasn't ending, but they were going in different directions.
Still, Jin fakes a glare in his direction. “You should miss me, I’m fabulous.”
- - - -
As Jin walks in the direction of Elder Elaine’s house, his shoulders felt lighter. The Council emblem no longer dragged him down. He felt free.
After the short but meaningful conversation with JB, he had headed straight to the Council, resigning then and there. They tried to convince him otherwise, especially his former unit members, but he didn’t listen. He remembers tossing the cruel emblem to the main member, wishing them all luck in hopes that they wouldn't make any more stupid decisions, and walking out of the Council chamber with the promise of never coming back without reason.
“Someone looks lost in thought.” A voice says by the time he's reached the front of the two story house.
Jin looks up. There on the front porch of a two story house, sat Elaine. He grins. “Elder Elaine.” Elaine was an old witch who mentored Jin during his human years, but she looked anything but old. She resembled a young adult, with pale skin, green eyes and platinum-silver hair that was adorned with some kind of feather on the side.
She laughs at the title. “You’re just as old as me, idiot.”
“Where’s your pack?” Jin questions after hugging her and sitting in a chair. "It's too quiet here."
“Out. I figured you’d want to talk to me, preferably alone.” She answers, a tray of tea magically appearing with a wave of her hand. “Help yourself.” She says as she started making a cup for herself.
Jin doesn't hesitate before doing the same. “Those psychic skills never fail you, huh?”
Elaine gives him a look, before it shifts into something akin to sadness. “I heard about the massacre.”
Jin looks down at his cup, frowning as the liquid swirled from his spoon, before taking a deep breath. “Yeah..” The massacre was still fresh in his mind; the bodies, the heads, the blood. He remembered walking through the once lively village, taking in horrifying images after another.
She sighs, her tone bitter. “You can see why I left. The Council never learns. We think we’re heroes, that we make the tough decisions for everyone, but all we do is make mistakes. And if we struggle too much to fix them, we just don’t bother fixing it at all. It’s shameful.”
Jin sips his tea. “I resigned.” He admits quietly.
“I figured you would. Any reasonable, good being would’ve after that.” Elaine nods approvingly. “Don’t tell me you’re going to pull a me and start a coven?”
Jin just shrugs, a small smile on his face. “JB asked the same thing. It’s an option, but, I don’t see myself leading anyone anywhere.”
Elaine laughs. “Idiot. Just because you create a coven, doesn’t mean you have to lead it. You can always hand over the leadership to someone more fit for it, or simply share it. And who says you have to go anywhere? People just want a place to settle, to call home.”
Jin takes in the information before pouting. “JB didn’t tell me that.”
“JB is an alpha. It’s different for wolves, where they already have a hierarchy of sorts in place for them.” Elaine explains. “But I doubt you have people in mind, so what will you do until then?”
Jin finishes his tea, placing the cup on the table, and she takes his silence as an answer.
The Council was the only thing he had going on. Leaving it, he was just another civilian. A powerful civilian, but a civilian nonetheless. He could find a house and move into the city. He definitely had enough money to last lifetimes. He could move to the top of a mountain and live in isolation for life, although JB and Elaine would never leave him alone. He could get a job to pass the time. He was free to practically do anything.
Free.
"What will you do until then?"
But lost.
I don’t know.