Chapter 2

An Alpha's Struggle

Jimin found himself bonding with Joshua as Minhyuk hung out with Jooheon and Kihyun the few days they were there. They discussed how things were going, and Joshua basically kept Jimin company.

Jimin and Joshua were both at the lake, just enjoying the silence. Jimin had invited Joshua to the lake and Joshua accepted it, going with him. "Just don't stay out for 4 hours again!" Kihyun had called from the kitchen. "We won't," Joshua called before they had headed off.

"It's quiet here," said Joshua as he picked up a rock and skipped it across the water. "Mm," said Jimin. "I can see why you stayed out here for 4 hours without realizing it," said Joshua. Jimin chuckled some before sighing.

"What's it like being a shape shifter?" He asked. Joshua shrugs. "Nothing much different than you werewolves," he said. "I didn't mean that in a mean way by the way," he said. "I know," said Jimin as he scratched the back of his head. "I know as a werewolf you're stuck at the age you were turned if you were turned but what about pure bloods?" Asked Joshua. "I'm not sure actually," said Jimin as he picked up a rock and skipped it across the water. "I just continued to age until I turned 21 and stopped," he said. "I never gave it much thought though," he said. "Maybe it's like you, we stop aging until we stop changing then we start aging again when we stop changing," he said. "Mm," said Joshua.

"Do you miss your wolf sometimes?" Asked Jimin as he turned to Joshua. "Yeah," said Joshua as he picked up another rock and skipped it across the water. "He had been a big part of my life, a last gift given to me by Hyungwon before he went west," he said. "And then as a last gift Hyungwon gave me the chance to be a regular shape shifter again," he said, sighing.

"Do you hate it?" Asked Jimin. "No," said Joshua as he picked up another rock and skipped it across the water. "My animal form has been with me my entire life, why would I hate something I was born into?" He asked as he turned to Jimin. "Some people hate being what they are, even if they were born into it," mumbled Jimin. Joshua sighed. "Sometimes we have to deal with it no matter what we do Jimin," he said. "Problems don't just go away," he said. He looked out at the water again. "We have to fix the problem, not just push it under the table," he said. "Mm," said Jimin as he went quiet.

"Must be an interesting conversation you guys got going on," came Minhyuk's voice as he walked over with Kihyun. "Were we gone for 4 hours again?" Asked Jimin. "No, it's only been about half an hour," said Kihyun. "Just came to check on you," he said. "I see you added a flower to the graves again," said Kihyun. "Mm," said Jimin. "Joshua did it," he said. "It didn't feel right if I didn't," said Joshua as he looked towards the three graves. "I guess," said Kihyun.

"We were thinking of adding a grave for Hyungwon, but we decided to wait on you," he said. Joshua turned to Minhyuk who nodded. "I guess we can do that," said Joshua as he looked back at the water. "When do we want to do the funeral?" He asked. "We can do it tomorrow," said Minhyuk. "Unless you're in a hurry to go home," he said. "Nah, tomorrow is fine," said Joshua. "I'm fine with having the funeral here, we never recovered his body but," he said, shrugging. "He'd want to be put to rest here," he said.

"Youngjae is making dinner," said Kihyun. "Wanna head back and eat?" He asked. "Sure," said Jimin. Joshua nodded. They headed back to the house to get dinner.

Dinner was a quiet event, no one really wanting to talk. Joshua changed to his animal form after dinner, going outside to explore for a bit. Jimin went after him to make sure Joshua wouldn't get lost. "It's a quiet night," said Jimin as he looked up through the trees and saw what little stars he could see passed the foliage. Joshua meowed in response, stopping to his paw. "Did you have any real reason to come out here?" Asked Jimin. Joshua shook his head. "Just to explore huh?" Asked Jimin as he scratched the back of his head. Joshua nodded as he continued to walk around with Jimin at his side.

They returned a little later when Jimin noticed how late it was getting. "Just us being out and about, jeez how time flies," mumbled Jimin. "Mm," said Joshua as he returned to human form. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow I guess," said Jimin as they stood in the living room. "Yeah, see you tomorrow," said Joshua before he went to his spot to sleep on the living room floor. Jimin turned off the living room light and headed down the hall to his and Kihyun's shared room.

The next morning after getting breakfast everyone headed out to the lake with a makeshift cross for Hyungwon. Along the way Joshua had picked a few flowers, handing one to each person as they walked to the lake.

Minhyuk chose the spot next to Shownu and put the cross into the ground. Jooheon was first, putting a flower down, then Youngjae, then Kihyun, then Jimin. Minhyuk and Joshua were the last people to put the flowers onto the grave. Everyone moved away from them to give Joshua and Minhuyk a bit of privacy.

"I wonder how long it is until Doyoung and Hobi are back?" Asked Youngjae. "They are due back from missions soon," said Jimin as he went over to the lake. "Mm," said Youngjae as he walked with Jimin. "You have a lot to live up to," he said. "I know," said Jimin as he sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I think I can do it, but I don't know anymore," he said. "We'll see," said Youngjae. "Mm," said Jimin.

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-SBRPG
#1
interesting