T h e   I n s t i t u t e

Chapter Four

To say that the mood was tense would be the biggest understatement since Leeteuk noticed that Siwon’s eyebrows were ‘a little bushy’. After Kyuhyun had stomped off into the forest, the group had continued eating their dinner – pointedly avoiding the issue – then started getting ready for bed. They had lined up mats and sleeping bags inside the ground level hut earlier on so it was just a matter of picking a spot and settling down for the night. It was when they were playing rock paper scissors to decide who got to sleep next to Shindong (who snored and farted in his sleep) that Kyuhyun appeared once again.

He didn’t speak to anyone and resolutely looked anywhere but at Siwon. None of the others knew what to do or if they should even say anything to him as he rummaged around in his bag, presumably looking for his pyjamas. They got on with what they were doing in the tangibly stressed atmosphere, keeping well out of his way. The demon abruptly cursed under his breath and stood up so quickly that Ryeowook squeaked and cowered behind Yesung.

‘Can we talk?’ Kyuhyun bit out the words, staring straight into Sungmin’s eyes and the latter swallowed thickly.

‘Err… sure.’ He got up and followed the other boy out of the hut. They went and sat down on a fallen log a reasonable distance away from the shelter that they wouldn’t be overheard easily.

Of course, back in the hut, everyone had crowded around in the corner that was closest to the pair outside and were listening intently under the open window-frame. Eunhyuk was an exception as he refused to be exploited for his gift just to spy on other people. Well… that and he was worried what Sungmin might do to him for invading his privacy. His scar still hadn’t faded from the last time. Kibum was also not taking part, mainly for lack of interest.

‘Ow Yesung! You’re sat on my foot!’

‘If I move, my face will go straight into Kangin’s arse.’

‘Stay away from my arse!’

‘Will you all shut up?! I can’t hear what they’re saying…’

Kyuhyun and Sungmin hadn’t even started talking yet. They were sat on the log within a friendly distance from each other which meant it hadn’t been too bad of a fight. They looked up at the stars and the stars twinkled back. The air out in the rainforest was clear and clean, allowing for a perfect few of the night sky and the many constellations that decorated it.

‘I’m sorry.’ Kyuhyun frowned and turned to Sungmin.

‘That’s my line.’ He said which pulled a short laugh from the both of them. ‘What are you sorry for? I’m the one who’s supposed to be apologising.’ Sungmin sighed.

‘I know you’re just looking out for me and that you worry about me.’ He explained softly. ‘And I’m the older one. It should be the other way around!’ Kyuhyun sniggered. ‘And… and I do give a what you think. You’re my best friend.’ Sungmin finished with another sigh and didn’t notice the way Kyuhyun’s smile slipped from his face.

‘I’m sorry for shouting at you.’ The younger demon said. ‘But you’ve got to remember who it was that carried you to the medical bay all those times in secret so that no one would find out. I can’t go through that again, Minnie.’ Kyuhyun’s chest constricted painfully. Sungmin looked down at his feet.

‘I’m so sorry.’ He murmured, voice wobbling. Kyuhyun instinctively put his arm around him and shuffled closer on the log so he could hold the other boy tightly and rest their heads against each other.

‘You don’t have to apologise.’ They stayed out there for a long time. So long in fact that Ryeowook fell asleep in his place squished up against the cabin wall with Donghae lying across his legs who was also beginning to doze off.

‘You know they’ve all been listening to us, right?’ Sungmin eventually whispered.

Kyuhyun chuckled and then said, in a raised voice, ‘I know right. Heechul has put on weight.’

However, now he had the unfortunate task of making sure everyone was actually awake so that they could get to work and certain people could be particularly volatile in the morning. Most of them were up already and fighting each other for the shower but Kangin was still snoring and Shindong could have been dead. (He wasn’t – Leeteuk kicked him in the stomach and he made a noise) Then there was his royal highness in the corner. You’d think waking up a sleeping princess would be an easy task.

‘I’ll pay you good money to wake Heechul up for me.’

‘I’d rather you pay me with something else.’ Kangin leered sleepily. Leeteuk rolled his eyes; he was used to that most mornings. His eyes darted over to Siwon who was beginning to get up.

‘You’re on your own.’ The younger boy cried as he quickly hurried away.

‘I’ll do it.’ Leeteuk jumped when he heard Hankyung’s voice and then looked at the Chinaman as if he’d just volunteered to be a sacrifice… which, essentially, he had.

‘Are you sure?’ Kangin questioned dubiously. Hankyung ignored him and shuffled over to shake Heechul’s shoulders.

‘Heechul? Time to wake up.’ He said quietly. Heechul pulled his blanket up over his face. ‘Heechul, come on. Get up.’ He shook the blanketed lump some more. Heechul’s fist shot out of the covers and punched Hankyung, far too accurately, in the balls. Hankyung crumpled to the ground with a startled yell.

‘His aim is getting scarily good.’ Kangin commented and subconsciously crossed his legs.

‘Hankyung, are you ok?’ Leeteuk sighed.

‘Yep.’ Hankyung squeaked. ‘Perfectly fine.’ He didn’t look perfectly fine. Heechul then decided to emerge from the blanket and look down at what he’d done. He seemed surprised even through the mess of bed hair and bleary eyes.

‘I didn’t know it was you.’ He muttered, almost apologetically. Hankyung scoffed in disbelief.

‘We’re scouting today.’ Leeteuk decided to announce, since that was what he needed them awake for in the first place. ‘You three are in a team with Siwon.’ He assumed they were paying attention to him but Kangin’s eyes were drooping again, Hankyung was still in pain and Heechul was frantically trying to smooth his hair down. ‘I’m going to see about breakfast.’ He muttered and got up without waiting for acknowledgement.

Breakfast was over and done with quickly – albeit messily – and now they were all hanging around the clearing as Leeteuk gave them their instructions. Sungmin was feeling strangely cheery and he couldn’t understand why. Kyuhyun had fed him fruit so that he couldn’t avoid eating it and Siwon was in a team with Heechul. These things should put him in a bad mood but, for some reason, they hadn’t. His own team consisted of Kyuhyun, Donghae and ZhouMi. He supposed that was good, it was nothing to put him a good mood though.

‘Shindong is going to track you all so he’ll tell you what direction you need to be going in and how far out in the forest you need to go.’ Leeteuk explained. ‘And please remember to check the red light is on when you set up the cameras.’

‘Sir yes sir.’ Eunhyuk gave a mock salute.

‘Just don’t mess about too much. We actually have a job to do here.’ Leeteuk pleaded but they were all already setting off into the jungle.

Sungmin pulled himself out of Kyuhyun’s back hug to walk alongside him instead, absently missing the feeling of protectiveness that the other boy exuded. It was a short walk before they were surrounded by trees with twisting branches, sprouting vegetation at every angle. The ground was uneven and unclear due to all the plants creeping across the undergrowth that left the whereabouts of the path in mystery.

‘Donghae, stay close. If you wander off and get lost, I’m going to leave you there and let you get attacked by snakes.’ Kyuhyun warned, only half joking.

‘Snakes?!!’ Sungmin and ZhouMi squealed simultaneously.

‘Yes snakes. There are plenty of them in here.’ Kyuhyun replied, chopping down a low hanging branch in his way. The forest was thicker and wilder on the other side of the clearing. He was suddenly ambushed by Sungmin who clung onto his arm – for safety. ‘You’re a demon Sungmin. You’re a lot scarier than a snake.’

‘I beg to differ!’ Sungmin wasn’t taking any chances. His legs looked amazing in these shorts and therefore definitely biteable. Those snakes would probably love to sink their teeth into them.

‘Guys, we’ve lost Donghae.’ ZhouMi said.

‘Last one in has to set up the camera.’ Kangin made a mad dash for the water, ripping his vest off in the process. Siwon chased after him and dumped the bag of equipment on the floor.

‘I don’t even care.’ Heechul declared, folding his arms and not bothering to move at all. Hankyung shrugged at him and followed the other two.

‘Chullie you’re missing out.’ Siwon called, already swimming around. Kangin had just succeeded in stripping to his boxers and cannonballed straight into the pool, sending an enormous splash of water up over Siwon. Hankyung barely missed it. He could feel eyes on him as he pulled off his t-shirt and started to unfasten his shorts. He didn’t want to turn around and make it more awkward but, even if Heechul wasn’t purposefully looking at him, he could still see. He jumped into the water before he could feel self-conscious.

‘I’m not sacrificing my hair, no matter how hot it is.’ Heechul proclaimed. He’d begun to dig around in the backpack to pull out the camera and start attaching it to a suitable tree.

‘You can dip your legs in.’ Kangin tried to compromise.

‘You’ll splash me.’ Heechul turned around to find a good camera spot.

‘No we won’t.’ Hankyung stifled his laughter at Kangin who had an evil look on his face and his fingers crossed behind his back. ‘I promise.’ His innocent voice was just making it funnier. The shifter didn’t speak as he stood up on a tree trunk to start fastening the tech onto a branch that was covered in leaves and vines that would disguise the man-made equipment.

‘I can’t trust you.’ He eventually said, dusting his hands off when the camera was secure and the red light glowed. Kangin kicked Hankyung underwater and gave him a meaningful look. Hankyung caught on and he smothered a grin, wading nearer to the edge of the rocks. He leant over and gave Heechul his best heart-winning look.

‘We won’t splash you Chul. Come on, it’ll be fun.’ He said with a smile. Heechul looked slightly startled. It was probably the temperature that was making him red, right? Either way, the other boy nodded dazedly and wandered over to them. Hankyung pushed off so he wasn’t at the perfect level to look up Heechul’s skirt. As he spun around, he grinned at Kangin and gave him a secret thumbs up.

‘If my hair gets messed up at any point, I’m never speaking to any of you again.’ The shifter said, taking off his shoes. His hair was shining brilliantly in the sunlight, giving a golden glow to the rich auburn colour. He’d tied it up but there was strands curling down around his face. Hankyung gulped as he watched – in slow motion – Heechul rise up from undoing his sandals, the hair waving back into place now that he was stretching back to his normal height.

‘Jump in!’ Siwon encouraged from his position under the stream of the waterfall.

‘No. I’m sitting here.’ Heechul steadily crouched down so that he could settle himself on a flat piece of rock and dangle his legs into the pool. ‘I didn’t bring my bikini.’

‘You wear a bikini?!’ Hankyung cried incredulously. He didn’t realise the cross-dressing went to that extent. Kangin was nodding his head at him with an exacerbated raised eyebrow. Heechul was going pink around the ears again, bashfully keeping his eyes trained on the water dazzling around his legs.

‘It’s in my suitcase.’ He mumbled thoughtfully as if contemplating whether to go and get it. That’s when Kangin decided to launch a small tide at the redhead. Heechul was drenched and in shock. He sat there stiffly with his mouth open and his eyes squeezed shut. Kangin sniggered behind the back of his hand and Hankyung couldn’t control the grin spreading out across his face.

‘You’re dead.’ Heechul snarled in a low, dangerous voice.

‘I’m so scared.’ Kangin deadpanned. Siwon and Hankyung broke out into proper laughter. Heechul then quickly recovered from the initial surprise and clambered to his feet. They didn’t get a warning before he was pulling his dress up over his head and throwing it onto a rock. Now, in only a pair of grey underwear, did Heechul dive into the pool with his arms outstretched to attack as soon as he came in contact with Kangin.

Hankyung tried to maintain the appearance that he was enjoying it all and laughing along with Siwon while Heechul grappled with Kangin. They were play-fighting and most of it involved a lot of tickling, headlocks and splashing. Hankyung knew he was jealous, there was no point in denying it. He could feel it eating at him and he found it hard to believe he’d come to this realisation on his own. He barely knew Heechul but he wanted to know him; he wanted to know everything about him. Heechul was… he was… coming straight towards him.

‘Save me.’ The shifter cried, hurtling through the water and grabbing Hankyung to use him as a shield.

‘I could be on Kangin’s side for all you know.’ Hankyung said teasingly and Heechul gasped.

‘You wouldn’t.’

‘Hmmmm…’ He pretended to consider.

‘Hannie no!’ Heechul was suddenly pressing himself right up against Hankyung’s back and wrapping his arms around the taller boy’s middle. Hankyung briefly forgot what was happening.

‘Hankyung can’t protect you, Rella.’ Kangin called menacingly. Heechul let out a fake scream.

‘Hold on.’ Hankyung took the initiative and hoisted Heechul’s legs up around his waist to give him a piggyback and then took off, laughing, when Kangin tried to chase after them. Anytime he got near time, Heechul would swat him with a leafy twig he’d picked up.

‘Siwon we need to tag team!’ Kangin yelled in frustration as he got ear- by the twig.

‘Uh-oh.’ Hankyung audibly gulped which made Heechul giggle. ‘You should go on my shoulders instead.’ He said and other boy hissed out an agreement conspiratorially. Hankyung dipped down under the water and allowed the shifter to float over and rest on his shoulders before he rose back up again. He gave an evil laugh as they elongated to full height and towered over the other two.

‘You are not going on my shoulders.’ Kangin negated before Siwon could even suggest it. Siwon shrugged, neither of them were as slender and lightweight as Heechul. They continued playing around in the water and then took turns to stand under the waterfall spray, letting it run down their backs and wash away the sweat and stress that had already accumulated in just one morning.

‘Guys are you going to put the cameras up or not?’ Henry’s voice came filtering through the walkie-talkie that Siwon had left on the rocks. They laughed, having forgotten all about what they were supposed to be doing.

‘How are we going to get dry?’ Kangin wondered aloud.

‘I can help with that.’ Hankyung piped up. The others raised their eyebrows at him quizzically. Nevertheless, they started wading out of the water and lining up along the rocks. Hankyung smiled reassuringly then held up his hands, palms to the sky. He concentrated hard, closing his eyes as he felt the heat intensify and ripple up his arms. He looked back up again when slow wafts of steam swirled up from his hands. ‘I’m a human hairdryer.’ He said with a chuckle.

‘Gimme!’ Heechul grabbed his wrist and held it up above his head to dry his hair. Hankyung watched the steam get stronger and whoosh out of his palms just as he’d described, like a hairdryer. He’d only learnt this trick after going through the journal of an acclaimed pyrotechnic back in China, the guy had really known his stuff.

Heechul’s hair began to dry rapidly and soon it was back to its vibrant, bouncy quality – if a little fluffier. Then Hankyung held his hands out so they could all stand in front of the steam and let it evaporate the water droplets clinging to their skin. Once the others were dry, he sorted himself out and put his clothes back on.

‘I wish my power was as useful as yours.’ Heechul complained.

‘Hey, your power is just as good.’ Hankyung countered, fixing the other boy with a comforting gaze. They both seemed to realise they were staring into each other’s eyes at the same time and hastily looked away.

‘We’ve got three more cameras to set up.’ Siwon exclaimed as he gathered up the backpack.

‘It really, really, really hurts!’

‘Yeah, Hae, we know that.’ Sungmin sighed exasperatedly. ‘Do you think you can walk on it?’

‘No!’

‘You haven’t even tried.’ ZhouMi shuffled closer and ran his hand soothingly across Donghae’s forehead, smoothing the creases and the panic away. The group were all knelt in the ditch that the youngest had fallen into, trying to ascertain what to do.

‘Kibum, you got any ideas?’ Kyuhyun spoke into the walkie-talkie. Kibum’s voice crackled through.

‘One of you will just have to carry him if he can’t walk. His ankle is probably sprained so he needs to keep it elevated or it’ll swell.’

‘Let’s lift him up and see if he can put any pressure on it.’ ZhouMi suggested and that’s what they did. With a lot of difficult and swearing.

‘No, no, no, no!’ Donghae yelped as soon as he was upright and attempted to put his foot down.

‘Urgh you’re impossible.’ Sungmin griped.

‘I’ll never walk again!’ The aquakinetic wailed.

‘Stop being such a drama queen, you’re as bad as Heechul.’ Kyuhyun snapped. He realised Sungmin and ZhouMi had begun to look at him expectantly and he cursed under his breath. ‘Fine. I’ll carry him. But you can give me a back massage later when it’s broken.’

‘Oh Shisus not again.’

‘No this is a good one!’

‘Yeah you said that last time.’ Ryeowook rolled his eyes which Eunhyuk didn’t appreciate, he knew he was onto something this time if they’d just listen to him for once.

‘Go on then. What’s your theory?’ Yesung inquired in resignation.

‘Ok, right. Well, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but Heechul turns into a complete spaz whenever Hankyung talks to him.’ Eunhyuk began eagerly. The other two considered it.

‘Yeah I did notice that actually.’ Ryeowook admitted.

‘As soon as someone else turns up he reverts back to his usual self though.’ Yesung pointed out.

‘Right but I was thinking that if he spends enough time with Hankyung then he might end up a normal human being!’ Eunhyuk proudly proclaimed. The others hummed in recognition as they thought it over in their heads. Then Yesung had to go and spoil it.

‘But wait. What if Heechul rubs off on Hankyung? What if Hankyung ends up evil?!’ He cried in horror.

‘Dammit!’ Eunhyuk groused.

‘You two are missing the obvious.’ Ryeowook stated with an air of wisdom.

‘What’s that?’ Yesung asked.

‘Why do you think Heechul can’t function like usual when he’s around Hankyung?’

‘Err…’ Eunhyuk scratched his head bemusedly.

‘Why?’

As soon as they got back to the clearing, Kyuhyun marched straight into the shelter and unceremoniously deposited Donghae onto the nearest sleeping bag. He then quickly found his own spot and slumped down onto it with a groan. His arms would be killing him for days let alone his aching back. He more than appreciated Sungmin coming over with a water bottle and squirting it over his face; the cool liquid was bliss.

ZhouMi went up into the tree hut to find Kibum or Leeteuk and bring them down so that they could deal with Captain Fish-For-Brains. Kyuhyun tuned out the continued complaining and focussed solely on the feeling of Sungmin snuggling down to lie next to him. He told himself this didn’t mean anything like he usually did and found sleep coming to weigh down on his eyes.

‘We just saw an orang-utan!!!’ Ok so maybe it wasn’t going to be sleepy time. Kyuhyun and Sungmin slowly sat up as Heechul bounded into the hut with the rest of his team excitedly following.

‘Oh really? Well I just had to carry Donghae all the way back through the jungle because he sprained his ankle.’ Kyuhyun replied and dropped back down to a laying position, closing his eyes for emphasis.

‘Oh my god! Donghae, are you ok?’ Siwon cried. The attention switched from furry orange creatures to the slightly less furry Donghae creature on the floor.

‘Haebaby!’ Heechul shrieked, promptly kneeling down next to the invalid and started brushing his hair back from his forehead. Donghae was an exception to the rule that if any of them were injured/dying/on fire, Heechul would rather paint his nails or buy shoes unless he absolutely had to help. Kyuhyun knew that Donghae and Kangin were the two that Heechul had known the longest and he supposed that was why they got favouritism.

‘…might cause a forest fire.’ He caught the end of what Hankyung was saying as he trotted over and settled down beside Heechul who automatically reached out to scratch behind his ears. Oh that felt nice. He could always rely on Heechul; he knew the best spots. This was heaven.

‘You won’t start a forest fire.’ Siwon reassured though he didn’t look so certain himself.

‘But what if I do?! They’ll have me on the WWF adverts with a warning ‘stay away from the orang-utan murderer.’’ Hankyung joked and Kangin’s ears pricked up when he heard the snickering coming from Heechul that the shifter was trying to conceal. He hadn’t heard Heechul’s snort-laugh in a long time. He took this as a good sign and then went back to concentrating on the amazing feeling that was a good belly rub from Donghae who had joined in the pampering.

‘If you start any fires I’ll just have to put them out.’ The latter voiced.

‘You can’t. You’re staying here, remember?’ Heechul pointed out. His gaze showed a glimmer of sympathy for the injured Donghae who now couldn’t take part in the mission. ‘Wookie will have to make it rain or something if the jungle goes up in flames.’

‘Which it won’t.’ Siwon added with that not quite comforting smile again. If Kangin didn’t know any better, he’d say Siwon was scared of what Hankyung could do. Not that he wasn’t intimidated himself. Pyrotechnics were powerful and dangerous which had made them extremely sort after allies in the war against the Elves. Kangin found it amusing that Hankyung should be so calm and collected when he possessed such ability. Although there were times he thought he saw something in the Chinaman’s eyes that told a dark tale which he wasn’t sure he wanted to be told.

‘Simba, where’s Minnie?’ Heechul asked, changing the subject.

‘Dunno.’ Siwon replied vaguely with a shrug.

‘How do you not know? Isn’t he usually attached to some part of you?’ There was more of a challenge pulsating in Heechul’s stare than in his words and Kangin’s attention was momentarily drawn to it rather than Donghae his fur. Wait. Was that a squirrel?

…

…

Focus Kangin.

‘We’re not connected at the hip.’ Siwon rebutted. ‘We’re not even together.’

‘Might want to tell him that.’ Siwon, you should have known you weren’t going to win in a battle of wits against Kim Heechul. The shifter was smirking craftily. Kangin could have sworn there was something going unspoken between the pair of them. They were talking with their eyes and it was completely unnerving.

‘I think he went up to watch the cameras with Kyuhyun.’ Donghae interrupted, having little awareness of the mind games going on.

‘Why are you talking about me?’ Speak of the devil. Kangin looked around and spotted Kyuhyun approaching with Henry tagging along beside him. His tail started wagging involuntarily at the excitement of new people appearing.

‘We were taking bets as to likelihood of you taking off your shirt while we’re here. We know you’re hiding something under there.’ Heechul teased and poked at Kyuhyun’s stomach for emphasis. The demon rolled his eyes.

‘Wouldn’t you love to know.’ He replied, sitting down in the – sort of – circle that had formed on the hut floor. It wasn’t a perfect shape because Kangin had just rolled over to give Donghae and now Henry a better access to his furry belly. Oh this was the life. He never wanted this to end.

‘I would. Show me.’ Heechul demanded, only half joking.

‘I love how subtle you are about wanting to get me .’ The pair leered at each other and laughed but Kangin could smell something fishy. No, not fishy... smoky. Something was burning. His nose twitched and sniffed as he tried to look around without having to get up. But the smell was getting stronger and the curiosity drove him nuts. He rolled over and sprung to his feet, catching the others off guard and making them jump back in surprise. He ignored them and let his nose snuffle a trail along the wooden floor.

‘Kangin-ah?’ Heechul questioned. They watched him in confusion as he followed the scent. Surely they could smell it themselves by now. He was getting closer… AHA! He lifted his head up and then gave a puzzled whine when all he’d done was come face to face with Hankyung. He cocked his head to the side.

‘Kangin?’ The Chinaman asked. Man and wolf stared each other down until Henry let out a startled yell.

‘Hankyung! You’re on fire!!’ The others flurried into motion once they caught sight of the flames spreading up Hankyung’s back and curling around his body. Only Heechul remained calm which Kangin couldn’t explain.

‘It’s fine. Don’t panic.’ Hankyung assured but Donghae was already rooted in panic-mode even when the other boy began to collect the flames back into his palm. He got a very unexpected shower and the fire was extinguished. Heechul and Kyuhyun thought it was hilarious. Kangin might have laughed had he not been caught in the splash.

‘Err… sorry.’ Donghae said sheepishly. Hankyung gave him a sarcastic smile and slowly shook the water from his arms.

‘The fire doesn’t hurt me.’ He explained tersely.’ Like how you can breathe underwater.’

‘I knew that!’ Heechul declared with a smug smile. That must be why he didn’t panic, Kangin thought. Hankyung flicked water at the shifter and he turned pink. There was another distinguishable aroma coming from the Chinaman and, if Kangin had to give it a name, he’d call it jealousy. Better warn Kyuhyun not to flirt with Heechul so much. Scratch that. Better warn everyone not to flirt with Heechul.

‘You know I actually came down here to tell you that we need to go over the plan because we know exactly where the vampires are now.’ Kyuhyun said, pulling them all away from their distractions and back to the serious business of the mission. Kangin flopped back down onto the floor to listen, stretching out in the middle of the circle so that they could all feel free to scratch his ears again… you know… if they wanted to.

‘It’s definitely a nest isn’t it?’ Siwon asked.

‘Yeah. They’ve burrowed underneath some big slabs of rock near a stream. It’s at the top of a hill overlooking a village which is obviously their food source at the moment.’ Kyuhyun detailed. ‘It should be easy to surround them but the main thing is keeping them enclosed because it’s going to get tricky if they start spreading out and we have to chase them individually.’

‘Are you sure the circle of fire is going to work?’ Hankyung inquired sceptically, his doubts from earlier coming back.

‘Should do. They’re really.’ Kyuhyun scoffed. ‘We’ve got fire and wolves so in theory they’ll be ting their pants.’

‘Yes but you don’t have to worry about getting bitten.’ Henry pointed out.

Yesung tightened his grip on the machete in his right hand and Ryeowook’s hand in his left. The other boy was always wary about these kinds of missions. Set him up against a couple of boggarts and he was fine. But vampires… not so much. It was probably something to do with the ‘undead’ aspect of them. Vampires were soulless, sickly creatures that the life out of humans to feed their decayed corpses which allowed them to continue their parasitic existence. Eunhyuk once equated them to wasps since there really was no need for them.

The group had now reached the designated clearing that the cameras had picked up and Yesung hadn’t given a second thought to in the daylight. He could see where the mouth of the burrow was partially hidden in the undergrowth and the jagged rocks that separated it from the stream. The vampires hadn’t yet emerged for a feeding, it was too early yet. A quick look at his watch told Yesung that it was getting close to midnight. In a couple of hours, the vampires would crawl out and slither down into the village to find a meal. However, tonight, they wouldn’t get the chance.

Shindong gave the signal for them to spread out and Yesung took up his position near the stream, behind the burrow entrance, watching the rest of them manoeuvre around the clearing to circle the vampires completely. After a nod from Leeteuk, Ryeowook closed his eyes and concentrated on bringing up a strong mist to linger in the trees behind them and black out the visibility. It had been Kyuhyun’s idea to add flare to the dramatics for this. Vampires would take any opportunity to scarper out of harm’s way so they needed to make sure they felt wholly trapped.

There was another signal and Yesung moved forward through the trees. They were all exposed now but they needed to keep within the wall of fire that Hankyung was now sparking up in a ring around them. He did it with such ease that it worried Yesung as to lengths of the new guy’s capabilities. But he couldn’t think about that right now. It wouldn’t be long before the vampires got a whiff of smoke and came creeping out to investigate. Fire was pure and uninhibited; something that tainted creatures recoiled from.

The next part of the plan was simple – watch and wait. Yesung surveyed the area to check that everyone was in place and ready to go. Kangin and Heechul were placed directly opposite the burrow, both in wolf form, to greet the vampires as they appeared. Kyuhyun and Sungmin were either side of them, armed with their weapon of choice instead of the machetes like everyone else. Henry was nowhere to be seen which was good. It was strange not to find Donghae in the line-up but he couldn’t do much with a sprained ankle. ZhouMi had stayed behind to keep him company since he didn’t have any of their combat training yet.

Not three minutes later, the first vampire poked its head out from its hiding place. It saw the fire and the agents and hissed noisily. It crept out of the burrow on all fours, bringing with it another three friends to join the party. They all hissed and spat at them but when Kangin let out a deep, rumbling growl, they cowered in fear. Time for the show to begin.

Yesung teleported forwards and materialised behind the vampires, swiping down and beheading the nearest then vanishing away again before the smoke could clear. They were pissed now. Another five swarmed out of the burrow to boost their numbers and they started chanting in ancient tongue a long list of swear words and curses. Kangin snarled loudly and he and Heechul charged towards them, meeting a pair in vicious combat.

The group closed in. Sungmin took a running jump, landing on top of the rocks and swivelling around in an instant, his whip flashing through the air to thwack and wrap against a vampire’s neck. Sungmin leapt down on either side of the creature’s body and grabbed the other end of the whip. He pulled so tightly that it not only constricted the vampire but messily ripped apart the rotten neck until it was mostly decapitated and dead. The nerve endings that didn’t quite pull apart left the carcass twitching violently.

‘Hankyung! Flush them out!!’ Leeteuk yelled from across the clearing, swiping another vampire head from its shoulders. While the others kept on battling with the creatures, Hankyung dashed through them all with Siwon at his side for back up. He took out a vampire at the mouth of the burrow and then steadied himself before it, letting flames engulf his hands that he then blasted into the cave. Whatever was still inside that unholy hole was smote to ash with a blood-curdling shriek.

Yesung had a second to grin at the sound before he quickly teleported out of reach of a vampire charging towards him. He took a breather before flashing back to chop off its head. The heat of the fire around them was getting unbearable and he felt sweat trickle down his forehead and mildly sting the scratch he’d acquired across his eyebrow. Thankfully, there were only a few left to wipe out.

He saw Kyuhyun almost get attacked from behind but the demon was too quick. His shoulders looked like they dislocated as he flung out his arms to cut off the vampire’s head at his back with his specially carved twin blades. The limbs then cracked back into place like it was nothing. Demons were weird. But useful. Yesung had to remember they were useful. His attention swung to Kangin who had a vampire’s neck in his mouth. It was the last one and it was still alive.

‘Kill it Kangin!’ Kibum yelled in dismay. But the wolf growled, narrowing his big yellow eyes. The others moved closer to him and frowned with confusion.

‘What are you doing?’ Eunhyuk questioned incredulously. Then the vampire starting rasping and spitting, its voice gargling with the blood seeping from its throat. Yesung saw its swollen, vein-filled face twist into a grimacing smile. It was… laughing?

‘The-ey’re c-comi-ing…’ It spoke. Heechul barked angrily. The group exchanged looks with one another, unsure what to make of the vampire’s warning.

‘Who’s coming?’ Kibum impatiently demanded and it laughed again.

‘The-e-em… th-the dark e-elv-es!’ Kangin snapped its neck in two.

DUN DUN DEERRRRRRR

I love cliffhangers haha

I think this is probably my favourite chapter so far - lots of action and fun stuff

Kangin as a wolf is definitely a big softie when he's not beating up vampires, I would definitely keep him as a pet... which I hope isn't weird

also, just for reference, I realised that he's probably similar in general to a direwolf which is awesome, at least I think so :P

and by the way, I thought I should mention that I'm purposefully leaving out the honorifics that they would undoubtedly use - apart from the occasional 'hyung' - since I'm not good with them and I'm English so I don't really know how to use them properly. Even though I'd like to be as accurate as I can, it's probably better if I don't attempt honorifics. (this is something that'll be the same for all my fics unless someone gives me a crash course in how to use them) 

~JC