Hoseok stuck his head through the door. Spotting Yoongi, he came over, putting a comforting hand on his best friend's shoulder. "How is he?" he asked solemnly, giving Jimin's unconscious form a quick scan.

"He needs Namjoon to finish the healing process," Yoongi replied dully. "The warlock said he's past the worst part, but even with Namjoon's help it all boils down to whether his body is strong enough to survive the process, in the end. If he wakes up in the next 24 hours, he'll be fine. Any longer, and it becomes harder to predict." Hoseok squeezed his shoulder briefly.

"Taehyung's a mess," he said quietly. "He blames himself for everything."

"As he should," Yoongi growled angrily, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Don't be like that," Hoseok sighed. "He's suffering just as much as you. Maybe even more. Jimin is his Parabatai, after all."

"Yeah," Yoongi sighed, deflating. He didn't really blame the young Nephilim. Taehyung could be reckless and impulsive at times, but he would never willingly put his loved ones in serious danger. He and Jimin couldn't have known there would be so many of the creatures. And Yoongi knew that Taehyung loved Jimin more than anything else. So no, he couldn't really stay angry at the kid.

"Where is he?" he asked.

"In his room. He's been crying his eyes out ever since we came back."

Yoongi sighed again, standing up. "I'll go check on him," he said. Hoseok nodded, smiling at him before taking his place beside Jimin's bed.

Yoongi headed for Taehyung's room. He hesitated before knocking.

"Come in," a muffled voice sniffled, voice cracking miserably. He pushed the door open a crack, just enough to slip through, then pulled it closed behind him. The room was dark, just enough light coming through the crack in the curtains for him to make out a lump in the middle of the bed. He sat down beside the huddle of blankets, where muffled sniffles and sad little hiccups were coming from. Yoongi sighed again.

"Stop crying, kid," he said gruffly, patting the lump of blankets awkwardly. The sobs paused briefly before coming back harder than ever.

"S-s- sorry, hyung," Taehyung hiccoughed. "I d-didn't mean for Jiminie to get h-hurt. And I can f-feel him, h-here," he sniffed, suddenly sitting up and putting a hand on his chest. The blankets slipped off his head and pooled around him, forming a sort of nest. He looked so pathetic and lost, nose red from all the crying, that Yoongi felt his heart go out to the boy. He cursed his soft heart.

"He's gonna be fine, Tae," he promised, pulling him closer and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "It wasn't your fault. You shouldn't have gone there in the first place, yeah, but you couldn't have known how many there were."

"But I got him hurt!" Taehyung wailed, flinging himself onto Yoongi and sobbing into his chest. Yoongi rolled his eyes fondly. "There there," he said gruffly, patting Taehyung's head.

---------------------------------

The heavy double doors of the infirmary slammed open with a bang. Hoseok jumped and Jackson startled awake.

"Where is he?" Seokjin stormed in, closely followed by Namjoon and a black haired young boy.

"Namjoon, man, thank God," Jackson greeted his friend, giving him a high five and fist bump.

"How is he?" Namjoon asked him, purple sparks already falling from his long fingers. Seokjin impatiently pushed Hoseok out of the way, dropping to his knees beside the unconscious boy and smoothing his hair out of his face.

"What happened," he snapped. Hoseok gulped. Seokjin was a gentle man by nature who could be rather childish at times, but his fierce protectiveness when it came to the people he loved was a force to be reckoned with.

"The kids tried to sneak out and deal with a pack of Elapid demons on their own. We arrived in time, but Jimin got bitten and the venom got into his blood," he hurriedly explained.

Seokjin rolled his eyes exasperatedly as Namjoon leaned over Jimin. "I leave you for a day and a half, and this is what happens?" he threw up his hands and moved away, giving Namjoon room to work his magic.

"Thank you so much, by the way," he said warmly to Jackson, who smiled cockily. The younger warlock was way more flashy and obviously magical than Namjoon, who could pass for a normal person if he just changed his hair and eye colour to black or brown. His tan skin actually sparkled, and he had multiple piercings. His body was buff and his blond hair was perfectly swept back. The most striking thing about the warlock was the forked red and black devil's tail that s out of his pants and flicked lazily in the air.

"No problem, babe," he winked. Namjoon glowered at him, pausing in his treatment. Seokjin, slightly flustered, mumbled a thanks and looked helplessly towards Hoseok, ears all red. Muttering curses under his breath, Namjoon turned back to Jimin and concentrated on working his magic. Bright purple sparks flew from his fingers, forming a sparkling, undulating cocoon around the two of them.

Hoseok watched in wonder. He had been one of the first to befriend the warlock, years ago when he had been even younger than Jimin was now, but he was still amazed every time the clumsy, bumbling man transformed into a confident, powerful magical being. He seemed almost like a different person altogether. Seokjin also looked on, a slightly dreamy look on his face as he admired the handsome Downworlder.

Half an hour passed before the sparks began to die down, seeping into Jimin's skin and slowly disappearing. Namjoon sat back, tired but satisfied. He reached out and undid the bandages around Jimin's arm, and the others cheered as they saw the now flawless skin appear from under the white bandages.

"That went better than I expected," Namjoon said hoarsely. "He should be fine, now. He'll probably wake up sometime before tomorrow afternoon."

"Oh god, thank you," Seokjin gasped, rushing forward and catching Namjoon in a huge hug. The taller boy froze, face turning bright red. Seokjin also froze as he realized what he'd done, and stepped back hurriedly, clearing his throat embarassedly. Jackson looked on in amusement, raising an eyebrow at the awkward pair.

"Those two really should get their together," he remarked casually to Hoseok, who agreed wholeheartedly.

--------------------------------

Jungkook looked on in wonder as the tall man worked his magic. He stood in the background, trying not to draw attention to himself as he absorbed every detail of the infirmary. The dashing man with the devil's tail fascinated and scared him at the same time. The brown haired guy next to him looked much friendlier. He was clearly another Shadowhunter, as his bare arms were covered with runes, spiralling up his toned biceps and disappearing into his black sleeveless top. The boy on the bed looked way too small and cute to be a shadowhunter, he thought, frowning slightly in confusion. His baby face and chubby cheeks made him seem younger than Jungkook himself. He wondered how old he was. Seokjin had called him... Jimin?

He was admiring the sparkly magic cocoon when someone cleared their throat next to him. He jumped and turned to see a breathtakingly beautiful Shadowhunter smiling gently at him. He gawked. Were all shadowhunters this attractive, he wondered belatedly. First Seokjin and now this lady!

"Hello," the woman said cheerfully. "You must be Jungkook. My name is Yongsun, but everyone calls me Solar. Come with me, I'll show you around the Institute."

He blushed and nodded, following her out of the infirmary.

"There would be more of us around to welcome you, normally, but some are out right now, while the others were distracted by Jimin's injury. The girls should be back soon, though, they said they were caught in some traffic. Taehyung and Yoongi are both worried sick about Jimin so you'll probably have to wait until he wakes up to get to talk to them."

"How old is Jimin, exactly?" he asked curiously.

Solar laughed. "He's two years older than you," she replied. "and so is Taehyung. He sure doesn't look 19 though, does he?" She nudged him playfully. He laughed shyly, eyes and nose crinkling in mirth.

"This is the training hall," she presented, pushing open a set of doors that led into a huge wooden-floored room. An obstacle course was set up in one corner, while various wooden dummies were clustered beside a row of shooting targets. A few mats lay side by side in the middle of the hall, forming a hand-to-hand combat ring. "These lead to the armoury," she added, marching over to another set of doors that she opened to reveal a smaller room containing all sorts of weapons. Seraph blades and crystal knives, chakrams, throwing knives and daggers, swords, maces, spears, axes, bows and arrows among other weapons were displayed on weapon stands and small tables, hung on the walls and stacked in small neat piles next to each display. Black Shadowhunter gear and sensors, witchlights and steles had their own section, while special equipment like holy water, wooden stakes and silver bullets took up another. Jungkook recognized most from his lessons at the Shadowhunter Academy but some he had never seen before. He explored the room excitedly, flitting from stand to stand. Solar watched him from the doorway, a slight smile on her face.

"This is so cool," gushed Jungkook.

"Which type of weapon do you prefer to use?" Solar asked him.

He considered a moment, head tilted cutely as he thought. "I'm not sure," he said finally. "I was rather good at fighting with all types of weapons, actually. I'm good at adapting and I learn quickly, but I never found a weapon I have a clear preference for."

"Hmm," she mused. "Okay. You have variety, that's a good thing. Still, you should try to find out which weapon type you feel most comfortable with. I use a crystal knife and Japanese throwing knives, for example." She gestured towards the said weapons. "It all depends on your fighting style and your strong points. Taehyung is agile, creative and better at tactics than actual hand-to-hand combat, so he chose the bow and arrows. He finds a vantage point where he can back up and protect his Parabatai, Jimin. Jimin is more of an agressive fighter and not much for defense, which is why Tae's position is so important. He chose the twin knives, so he could use both arms to fight." She moved around the room, showing him the various weapons she mentioned as she spoke. "My brother, Seokjin, uses this heavy double-headed axe."

Jungkook blinked in surprise. He would have thought the gentle, protective Shadowhunter would have preferred something less gory and lethal. The axe Solar displayed to him was huge, the shaft almost the length of his arm and the double-bladed head glinting evilly in the light.

Solar chuckled at his look of surprise. "Yeah, it doesn't really match his looks, does it?" Jungkook nodded in agreement. "My brother is Head of this Institute for a reason. He likes to stay at home, caring for others and forming peaceful bonds with Downworlders and other Institutes. He's good at all that diplomatic stuff, unlike me, who prefers to go charging in at the faintest sight of trouble." She laughed. "There's another side to my brother, though, that not many get to see. He cares very deeply for those he considers his friends, Jungkook. And whenever someone he cares for is in danger, nothing can stop him from charging in to save them. And that's when he takes out this axe. In those moments, he is unstoppable, and quite frankly, he may well be the best fighter amongst us all."

Jungkook processed all this in silence. He watched the light reflecting off the blade of the axe, and thought that he admired Seokjin for being so brave. He himself never dared care for someone to such extents. Ever since his parents had abandoned him, he'd hardened his heart. People died or disappeared all the time on the streets. It was every man for himself. The few so-called friends he'd had would have hardly hesitated to run for their lives if he'd been in danger, and he would have done the same. The concept of going to such lengths to fight for others was almost foreign to him, and he found himself wondering if just maybe, he could start to let down his defenses just a bit. Maybe he could learn from this man - maybe he could love again.