Near the border of the forest the company got separated, was a trio that managed to escape their opponents with less difficulty than the others, except for the pyrokinetic and the gravity manipulator of course. They had their advantages in numbers and abilities though. The three walked further to the opening, witnessing the trees thinning in number until they were all behind them. Right in front of them there was signs of life. Not any life. It was a small village inhabited by the tribe of beast hunters, the Dyr Tribe. Delighted Doojoon quickened his pace towards the familiar place, followed by Yoseob and Hyejoon who seemed to recognise it as well. For the first time since separation, they found themselves slightly relaxing. From the three only Doojoon had been able to take his bag with him. Hyejoon wasn’t one to like nor want luggage, she prefered either having none or as little as possible. Yoseob was the one who fretted the most after losing his luggage.

It wasn’t the only reason why his behaviour seemed odd though. Even Hyejoon pitied the half fairy, knowing why he must feel out of place among the group. He had to end up with them after all. Doojoon however, was completely oblivious to the thought Hyejoon and Yoseob seemed to silently share. Although Yoseob never voiced his discomfort out or let it be noticed, Hyejoon, as a woman and aware of her senses, had noticed from the very beginning. She would have found the situation rather amusing, knowing Yoseob’s suffering, if only her own frustration hadn’t been in the way. After months she was finally reunited with her boyfriend and when they were supposed to be alone, the spellcaster had to be grouped with them. Whatever superior power there was beyond them, it was laughing in her face at that moment, she was sure of that.

Hyejoon’s leisure moment of distressed frustration was soon interrupted by a sharp shiver running down her spine. Her senses instantly grew incredibly sensitive and her instincts grew aware of her surroundings. Although Doojoon wasn’t quick in observing the subtle moods, he was very quick to notice things his girlfriend seemed to notice. And right now it was only one thing, danger. Hyejoon had noticed something, a presence probably. Yoseob was the last to notice the change, but instead he was distracted by a very strange occurrence in the village. The last time he had been there it was full of sounds, warmth, movement, voices and creatures and their tamers either running around actively or leisurely resting somewhere. Yoseob noticed that the closer they got to the village, the more a the bubble of nervousness in his chest grew. He was scared of arriving at the village and finding it empty, or worse. And both his and Doojoon’s attention were caught with Hyejoon’s one word.

“Death.” She spoke in a hollow, chilled voice. “I sense death.”

The eyes of the men rounded, staring at the girl with disbelief but knowing her senses were rarely mistaken. Yoseob clenched his fingers, hoping that there were survivors and that the damage was only minimal. But he knew he was giving himself false hope. The only way to find out what state the tribe was in, was to enter it. They hated it. They didn’t want to. Even Doojoon was trying to search for escape routes away from the cruel scene they would possibly and most likely be faced with. There was no escape though. This was only confirmed when he glanced at Hyejoon, whom had stiffened and grown alerted, which was her was her way of showing fear. The only way she knew how to show fear.

Once at the edge of the village the trail of destruction was very obvious. buildings had collapsed, trees were destroyed, boulders were thrown about. There was also a rain of claw and fang marks of all kinds. Doojoon recognised a few patterns as those of the vexes. They were larger than most of the others and had striking similarities with the previous wounds of his allies. The further they walked into the village, the more horrid the view became. Close enough to the village’s centre building, which was their leader, the Dyr Tamer’s house, they found the first corpses sprawled in the ruins of the once lively village. The more bodies they discovered, the more their hopes of finding survivors shattered. The dread grew by second, knowing that there was a friend who would break down, once they brought him the news of this disaster. Doojoon’s eyes glided over the several horror stricken corpses. There were children, young adolescents, middle aged men and women and also elderly. Corpses of various beasts, Doojoon knew belonged to the tamers, were among them. Young and old. Not a single one was left alive.

Doojoon halted immediately upon hearing a gasp from behind him. He watched Hyejoon tremble, not only in fear but also rage, as her blazing furious eyes were locked onto something in the distance. Her left hand was curled around her right wrist, squeezing it tightly as she suppressed the growing of her claws. Yoseob’s mouth fell open upon discovery of the same thing, his eyes widening in horror. Doojoon followed their gazes and sought whatever had silenced them to that extent. He percepted a familiar big creature looming over the fragile body of a little boy, who seemed lifeless at first. When Doojoon took a better look, he noticed a faint raising and falling of its chest and abdomen. The boy was still breathing. The Vex’ teeth were bared at the fragile state of the motionless human tamer. It’s eyes glowed a menacing shade of grey for a moment as it’s head lowered to the boy’s. When Doojoon was about to move, there was a hand grasped around his wrist, holding him back from whatever had run through his mind at that moment. He glanced over his shoulders to see a somber Yoseob shaking his head lightly at him.

“Don’t… He’s passed away already. We…” He informed and took a sharp breath. “We were too late.”

A moment of silence fell, allowing the words to sink into Doojoon’s mind. He couldn’t keep his eyes of the boy who right in front of him, had taken his last breath, while the Vex fled. A boy who would have most likely had a whole future ahead of him, if not for this catastrophe. Yoseob’s grip on his wrist was released and Doojoon slowly walked to the now lifeless body of the young beast tamer. He knelt down beside it, in the same spot the Vex had been moments ago. Doojoon carefully took the boy’s wrists and placed both hands on the chest that had been heaving lightly moments ago. Yoseob and Hyejoon joined him, the latter had plucked a flower nearby and folded the small hands around the stem. From his standing position Yoseob carefully examined the boy from head to toe and his surroundings. He knew the boy, but he wasn’t sure if this was him. But that was not the only thing. What he had witnessed earlier, involving the Vex, concerned him.

“That … thing.” Yoseob started in a low voice.

“It took his last life energy.” Hyejoon finished for him.

Yoseob glanced at the girl, with a slightly amazed expression. “How do you know?”

“I am a succubus, oppa. Life energy is the essence of my abilities. And I can tell when it fades.” She explained.

The spellcaster nodded and Doojoon stared at the two, completely bewildered. He had seen the grey flickering of that Vex’ eye, but he had no idea what it could mean.

“What do you mean he took his life energy?” He asked.

“Well… not exactly that… I guess.” Yoseob commented, confusing Doojoon even more. “It didn’t actually take the life energy, it was slightly different. That Vex was waiting till the last drop of life faded… and in that moment it’s own energy level grew.”

“It grew stronger?” Doojoon asked for confirmation.

“Yes. And it’s crazy how much stronger from one death.” Yoseob confirmed.

“Imagine… how strong they grow after massacring a village.” Hyejoon whispered, sending a sharp tingling down their spines, including her own.

“Or a temple, filled with skilled priests.” Yoseob referred to Chaima’s home.

“Yoseob, is there any way we could communicate with the others?” Doojoon asked.

The other two stared at the alchemist for a moment, quite surprised at the sudden return of their leader.

“We could… if I knew their exact location.” Yoseob responded.

Doojoon sighed and glanced around. Hyejoon was looking around the greens of the village, that weren’t destroyed, seeking flowers and other means of decoration. She noticed Doojoon’s eyes on her and flinched slightly before turning to face him from her crouching position.

“What?” She asked. “I know my kind isn’t known for being the most compassionate, but we do have hearts.”

Doojoon smiled tenderly at the girl, shaking his head softly. “I know that. It’s just you I’m looking at.”

Hyejoon found herself blushing at her boyfriend’s sweet comment and Doojoon had noticed the faint shade of pink that enriched her face. He smiled fondly at the girl’s back view while she did whatever she could manage to do in a situation like this. Meanwhile Yoseob was pondering on how to reach the others. He was seated on the ground with folded legs and his elbows resting on each knee. His hands were folded in a platform to support his chin resting on it. The half-fairy’s eyes were closed and his brows furrowed in concentration. His mind raced through the arsenal of memorised spells, seeking the ones that could help them out in their situation. The task seemed more difficult than he had imagined it to be. The spellcaster had gone through the list of spells he recalled thrice and there was nothing he could find. For every solution he thought he found, he realised that there was no means of tracking their location yet.

“Yah.” Hyejoon demanded their attention. “Isn’t that eagle approaching us?”

Yoseob’s eyes snapped open and he browsed the sky. Once his eyes were lead on the familiar animal, he smiled.

“It’s Gikwang’s!” He exclaimed and jumped to his feet.

Yoseob reached his arm out for the eagle once it was close enough. With a screech the great bird flapped its wings and came to a halt, landing on the fairy’s arm gracefully. Doojoon and Hyejoon approached the spellcaster and their friend’s eagle who seemed to carry a message in the tube around it’s paw. Yoseob took it and unrolled the piece of paper. He recognised Gikwang’s handwriting immediately. The letter was short, but Yoseob was grateful for the way his friend thought. Luck was clearly on their side.

“Doojoon, Hyejoon, I know how to track them. We only need something edible.” Yoseob told them with an anticipating smile.

“Wait!” Hyejoon spoke before running off towards the spot she had been plucking flowers earlier.

She returned with a handful of leaves and presented it to Yoseob. “It’s cat’s ear. Bland, but can be found almost everywhere.”

“And edible right?” Yoseob questioned.

The nod he received was enough for him to start working. He took a pouch from Doojoon after taking out the leaves and whispering words to nine of them. He handed one to Doojoon and Hyejoon, after consuming one himself. The rest ended in the pouch. The eagle was placed on his shoulder, while he stared at the letter and changed the letters on the letter with another spell. Once the message had changed, Yoseob rerolled the piece of paper and added it to the small pouch. He handed the small black sack to Hyejoon, who tied it around the paw securely in a way it could still be opened without removal, the letter being on top. The eagle returned to Yoseob’s lower arm and he tapped its head twice, casting a command spell. With a swing of his arm, signaling the departure of the bird, it spread its wings and soared the skies.

The first party the bird arrived at was Chaima and Dongwoon. While the pyrokinetic panicked and screamed at an approaching hunting bird, Dongwoon recognised it immediately as Gikwangs once he sighted the black pouch. He calmly received the bird on his arm and opened the pouch. ‘Eat one and call your name once you have. Return this to the pouch and release the eagle. - Yoseob.’ Dongwoon smiled and handed the curled brunette a leaf before eating one himself. And as requested, he called out his name. Staring at the man for a moment, Chaima questioned his sanity but mimicked his actions as well. The two heard a cheerful greeting from their spellcaster friend and smiled at each other, after the realisation hit them. They could finally communicate and regroup. As expected of them. The next to find the eagle were Hyunseung and Baeri, who were fishing at a pond for their meal of the day. Hyunseung welcomed the eagle and after reading the message, handed Baeri a leaf and ate one. The call of their names allowed connected them to the telepathing network with the others. Once again the bird was released until it reached its original owner with the final leaves.

“Welcome back,” Gikwang greeted it with a smile and its feathers gently. The animal let out a satisfied creature, before disappearing into thin air as the summon had ended.

“Junhyung-ah, eat this.” Yoseob told the shape shifter and handed him a leaf. “It’s Yoseob’s.”

 

The other did as requested and called his name after Gikwang called his own.

“Good, we’re complete.” They could hear Yoseob say.

“Hyung!” An excited Dongwoon’s voice was heard.

“Finally! That took forever guys.” Baeri complained, with what seemed a mouth full.

“Listen guys. I have to tell you something.” Doojoon firmly silenced everyone. “Gikwang-ah, I have bad news.”