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“Ready?”
Namjoon asks this quickly with a boxy, sturdy suitcase in one hand, and a smaller bag that doesn’t belong to him in the other. It’s familiar in the way that Namjoon has been staring at it for the last month, yet still strange to imagine it here in the same breath, considering he’s always lived alone. This bag had never taken up residence in his home before now.
“I hope,” remarks the vampire beside him, the owner of this bag. Long nails grip the sleeves of his shirt, sharp tips putting pressure on the fabric as he crosses his arms over his chest, almost as if he’s trying to seem more sure of himself. Although, the trembling of his hands is a dead giveaway, prohibiting him from even being capable of carrying his own belongings.
It’s going to be a long journey, Namjoon fears.
There are loose calls in the backwoods, alerted voices whose volume carries against the tall trees that bounce the commotion back and forth. Namjoon can hear the angry words as clear as day with his trained ear, and if he can hear them this well, he wonders if it rattles in the fledgling’s pointed ears.
It’s been over a month, but Namjoon knows those voices. They’ve been here before.
Namjoon fears the worst when he stumbles upon the fairy laying in the grass behind his shed.
At first, he’s startled enough that he drops the keys in his hand with a gasp. For a moment, they both look at each other with wide, terrified eyes, neither of them moving an inch.
It takes a few seconds, but Namjoon is the first to shift his weight, wondering where this stranger has even come from. Namjoon lives a quiet life here in the woods on his own with no neighbors to speak of or relatives to stay with him. He’s been on his own for a millenia, self-isolated due to aging far past his loved ones, not wanting to live through that pain over and over again, this forest a time capsule of sorts.
This event is quite outside the norm overall.
The fairy looks quite dazed, glancing up at the sky as if Namjoon isn’t there at all. It’s like he’s trying to focus, but is struggling to do so.
“Are you okay?” Namjoon questions gently, still unsure of the situation himself. The fairy flinches despite the soft volume, his wings trembling for a moment before they spread wide, the trespasser pulling himself upright. “Are you injured?”
Pink hair is ruffled into tangles, the fairy’s eyes warily lifting to meet Namjoon’s from where he lays on the ground. Like most of the fae, he’s ethereally beautiful, plump lips and warm eyes pairing with the pretty way his ears pull into a point. It’s been a long time since Namjoon has seen a fairy in person, but he knows of their power, choosing to keep his distance.
“Lost?” Namjoon tries again when he doesn’t receive a response. But yet again, he’s just met with curious eyes and lips parted in slight surprise. “Do you need help?”
What catches his eye next are the two dots that sit up high on the stranger's neck. It’s hard to see, but they look freshly scabbed over, the area swollen and red, and that makes Namjoon pause.
Instinctively, he reaches up to his own neck, remembering what those two little wounds meant for him all those decades ago.
Upon closer look, the fairy looks incredibly pale, lips chapped and eyes dilated underneath the moonlight, and it doesn’t take much more to piece together what’s happened.
“You were bitten,” Namjoon supplies. “I’ve never heard of other creatures Turning. It’s always a human.”
He feels as if he’s at a crossroad, entirely unsure of how to handle this situation. This fledgling doesn’t seem to be injured, even if he is disoriented, but Namjoon isn’t the Sire who turned him, so he has no moral duty to help. He could turn around and just pretend as if he never saw anything, but—
“Excuse me?”
It takes a couple of seconds for Namjoon to realize that this voice isn’t from the person in front of him, but actually of someone on the opposite side of his shed. The fairy clearly starts to panic, and instinctively, Namjoon puts a finger to his mouth, a motion to stay quiet. He then rounds the corner to see who else seems to be visiting his property today.
Another fairy stands just outside of his shed, peering into the darkness of the glass window, nodding to herself as she finds it empty.
“Can I help you?” Namjoon questions, guarded as he approaches. “You’re not just on my property, but you’ve completely passed my house and took it upon yourself to enter my backyard.”
She seems startled at the bluntness, her hands held up in front of her. Shimmering wings flitter as she takes a step backwards, wanting to put more distance in between the two of them. It looks like she’s scared on the outside, but Namjoon knows better. He knows the underlying strength they carry.
“I tried knocking at your front door but there was no response. Have you seen anyone else come by?”
Quick to the point. Namjoon quirks an eyebrow as he processes the question; they must be looking for the fledgling. While Namjoon might be isolated here in the forest, his residence sits right outside the Court’s boundary, so it’s no surprise that they’ve come to him.
“Who?” He chooses to play dumb, tilting his head. “I’ve only seen you, and as far as I know, you’re here uninvited.”
She tsks, seemingly annoyed, but she doesn’t try to press any further. Dainty hands reach up as she places an index finger to her chin, a sheepish gesture meant to lessen the tension.
“Apologies, Vampire. We are looking for one of our own. He escaped after being bitten by your kind, and I’m sure you understand the… depravity of this situation.”
Depravity. She says it so vehemently, so full of acrid force, as if the fledgling behind his shed isn’t someone worthy of respect. She carries a stoic expression as she says this, clearly set in her belief, so Namjoon just shakes his head with a shrug, feigning nonchalance.
“I have yet to see anyone else.” He pauses before adding, “I’ll be sure to tell the Court if I do.” for good measure.
She bows a little, her wings fluttering in the breeze once again as she disappears into the forest.
Immediately, Namjoon returns, still a little flustered. He’s normally not so rude or crass—on any other day, he probably would’ve invited her for tea. But he had been able to sense the hostility from her the moment they made eye contact. With a dazed fledgling hiding just behind him, the choice was an obvious one.
“Are you okay?” Namjoon questions once again, meeting the gaze of this fairy still left behind. When he gets a curt nod in response, Namjoon feels a bit of relief. “Your name. Care to tell me?”
The stranger slowly blinks, seemingly processing that the other fairy is truly gone thanks to Namjoon’s meddling. His wings have taken on a reddish hue, perhaps an indication of the Change beginning its process, but they’re still beautiful, large and detailed—something to hold pride in. The other thing that’s been brought about from the Change is the fact that the bottom pair of wings have shifted into something significantly darker, resembling bat wings sticking out right underneath the top pair.
He’s also severely hungry, that’s easy to tell.
This, by all accounts, is something that should never have happened. It’s a juxtaposition. There has never been anything like this documented before, or at least, nothing Namjoon knows of personally. A fairy turned into a vampire? The power this one will likely possess in the future will be unheard of.
No wonder why the fae are looking for him.
“Seokjin. My name is… Seokjin.”
Seokjin bustles around the house once again even though they really don’t have the time or luxury to do so. No matter how many times Namjoon asks if he needs something in particular, he doesn’t receive a proper answer.
The voices sound louder now. They don’t have a whole lot of time left, so this is truly something they can’t delay any further.
“We have to go,” Namjoon warns, remaining as calm as possible. “It’s time.”
Seokjin pauses and spares Namjoon a glance. He looks tired, face sunken. It’s only natural considering he’d just barely finished the Change right before this mess, and even though Seokjin probably needs a few more days of rest, there isn’t any other option right now.
Despite the urgency, Seokjin’s expression shifts into something softer yet more serious. He doesn’t seem upset or angry, but it’s clear that what he’s about to say is urgent.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
The words are firm and direct, but Namjoon can still see the slight wobble in his lip as well as the hint of fear that manages to linger in his eyes. They’ve only known each other for a handful of weeks, yet Namjoon already knows that Seokjin is speaking with his heart laid bare. He’s seen glimmers of Seokjin’s true personality lying right beneath the surface, ready to show itself soon.
“I’m sure.” Namjoon hoists the single bag he’ll be bringing up high, ready to show the fledgling that he means it. “I already packed my things into one bag for myself, so don’t let my efforts go to waste.”
Seokjin snorts a little, some of that familiar shine returning to his dark eyes. Now a bit more confident, he reaches forward and takes his own pack from Namjoon’s other hand. “I’m the one who usually jokes like that, not you.”
“Then stop frantically running around the house. You can tell me the jokes instead when we’re on the road.”
At this, the new vampire stands more resolute, wings spread far and wide, fresh fangs poking out just past pink lips. The change in demeanor feels good, more familiar as Seokjin’s warm personality starts to reveal itself bit by bit.
“Wait, one more thing.”
It finally seems like Namjoon has an answer as to why Seokjin had been running around the house. The fledgling pulls off the necklace from around his neck, a gift from his parents Namjoon had been told. They were the very first to chase Seokjin out of the Court.
“You’re not taking that with you?” Namjoon asks, eyeing the green gem that dangles at the end. He recognizes it from their first meeting behind the shed, the jewelry lost in the grass as Seokjin scrambled to find it the next morning, worried he’d lost it for good during his escape.
But now— “No. I have no use for it anymore.”
Namjoon looks at the fang marks sitting high above Seokjin’s collar, mostly healed, but still so recent. He thinks of the family Seokjin lost and even the Sire who forced Seokjin into this mess, who knew the trouble this would likely cause and still chose to Turn one of the fae. This decision had thrust Seokjin into condemnation for the rest of his life, all before disappearing and leaving the fledgling to Change alone, Namjoon being the one to help him through it instead.
“Ready? Seokin questions after clearing his throat, necklace already forgotten.
Namjoon also thinks of the angry mob that approaches, pitchforks and fire and magic in hand, a hefty bounty ready for them to collect the longer they wait here.
Seokjin doesn’t deserve this life simply for existing, and now that Seokjin has Turned, he’s been sentenced to an incredibly long one ahead of him.
Namjoon knows what that lonely path looks like firsthand, but maybe, neither of them have to walk that road alone now.
“Yes,” Namjoon reiterates, firm in his decision. “I’m ready.”