Jimin felt himself get pulled gently to the left, the tingling sensation in his head compelling him to make a slight turn when they had been walking uninterrupted for about five minutes. He obeyed, and before long, he saw something blindingly white pass between several of the trees. It seemed to suspend itself at just above eye level, and Jimin heard the sound of rushing water as he stepped out into a small clearing amidst the pines.

“Woah…”

Jimin’s voice was almost drowned out by the gurgle of the shallow stream that ran in front of him, but his eyes were pointed upwards, where a cavalcade of what could only be described as beings of light danced gracefully above him.

There must have been a dozen or more of the elegant, flowing creatures, and Jimin marveled at them for several moments before Hoseok came to stand beside him, the older man also gazing up at the fantastical display.

“Beautiful, aren’t they?” he murmured. “And so delicate looking. Like they’re made of nothing.”

One of the wisps passed close by Jimin’s awe-stricken face, and he felt a light tickle as the thing ascended, continuing on its way to join the other members of the waltzing assembly to which it belonged. The creatures seemed to have a hovering central point of very bright light, and it was from here that the multiple transparent tails emerged - almost like the effect produced by a slowed-down camera shutter when it was used to photograph a moving light. The trailing appendages were soft and gauze-like, and they appeared to twist and turn in the cool night air as the beings frolicked and danced through space.

“What are these things?” wondered Jimin aloud, totally entranced as he took a step closer to the congregation of floating creatures.

“You might hear them referred to as ‘nymphs’ in popular folklore,” chuckled Hoseok. He raised a hand up to brush through the smoky trails as one of the beings streaked lazily above him. “Spirits of the forest, if you prefer that term.”

✧✧✧

Taehyung slid over to stand on Jimin’s other side, and placed his hands on his hips as he stared past the shorter man to look at Hoseok.

“This is all well and good,” began the auburn-haired man. “But can we focus on the fact that little newbie Jiminnie here just tapped into his Sensor abilities for the first time?!”

Jimin looked over to see Taehyung’s usual overexcited, rectangular smile as the younger man jumped for joy on the crunchy pine needles. He grabbed Jimin’s arm as he continued to vibrate with happiness.

“I’m so proud of you,” beamed Taehyung. “Just yesterday you didn’t even believe me when I was telling you all of this existed, and look at you now! Tracking down invisible nymphs in the forest like a goddamn honest to goodness Sensor. You did good, Jimin. And you, too, Hobi.”

“Of course he did well,” interrupted Hoseok. “You said it yourself - he’s a member of one of the strongest bloodlines out there.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t expect him to be so… capable,” confessed Taehyung. “Not after what happened earlier today, at least.”

Jimin wanted to be offended, but he was too busy being captivated by the entities that continued to dance around him, swooping and diving as they hovered in the air. One came close to Taehyung’s smiling face, and the young man swatted blindly at the unexpected touch, stumbling backwards slightly as he felt its tendrils brush against his nose. Jimin couldn’t help but laugh, and he covered his mouth with his hand as he giggled.

“What’s so funny?” panicked Taehyung. “Is it on my face?”

Jimin didn’t answer, and Hoseok only joined in the laughter as Taehyung swung around, trying to catch a glimpse of one of the multiple effervescent creatures. Jimin’s tittering died off as he turned to face Hoseok, a small smile spreading across the younger man’s lips.

“I thought we were going to find something really scary out here,” admitted Jimin. “But these things are amazing! I didn’t realize that Sensors could track good creatures, too.”

“Of course,” remarked a smiling Hoseok. “Not everything that hides in the shadows is completely evil, you know.”

Taehyung stopped flailing around to stand behind Hoseok, grabbing the older man’s upper arms and pulling him into an awkward sort of half-backhug.

“Do you think this might be a lesson that we could learn to apply to other areas of our lives?” Taehyung hinted, pressing his face a bit closer to Hoseok’s shoulder as he gave it a squeeze.

“Nope; you’re still one hundred percent annoying, Tae-tae,” teased Hoseok.

Even through the older man’s steely exterior, Jimin could see a small grin spread across Hoseok’s face, and he knew that Taehyung had noticed it, too, because the latter rustled Hoseok’s hair roughly before pulling away.

“Admit it: you love me, Hobi.”

Hoseok ignored the beaming young man as he turned his attention back to Jimin.

“This one’s probably been filling your head with all kinds of cryptozoologist propaganda about terrible monsters with sharp claws and rows of teeth, right?” asked Hoseok as he jerked his thumb in Taehyung’s direction. “I’m not gonna lie; those things exist. But they are by no means the only creatures out there.”

The nymphs had moved slightly downstream by this point, and in the absence of their light, the moonrays were the only things that illuminated the faces of the three young men as they stood observing the midair parade. Or, in Taehyung’s case, grumbling about how he couldn’t see the shimmering beings. After a few more minutes, Hoseok informed them that it was time to go, and the whole group shuffled away from the river and out of the woods, reaching the car just as the first few stars started to appear in the sky.

✧✧✧

“Pull over here,” ordered Hoseok from the backseat.

Taehyung was driving, relieved to be back in control of his own car, as Jimin sat in the front passenger’s seat beside him. The shorter man hadn’t been paying attention until Hoseok spoke, breaking the silence, as his mind was entirely elsewhere; his thoughts populated by the magical creatures of light that they had left behind in the peaceful woods.

“What’s up?” questioned Taehyung as the car rolled to a stop.

“I’m getting out here,” Hoseok informed him. “There’s a bus station a little ways up the road from here, and I wanna go home.” He unbuckled his seatbelt, but stayed sitting in the car as the other two men turned around in their seats. “The deal was that I’d teach Jimin how to track, and I did. I found a group of nice, nonthreatening nymphs for him to sense, took you to a place where he’d be able to pick up the trail, and helped him tap into his natural abilities. I’d say that’s a job well done.”

Taehyung grunted.

“I’d say it’s highway robbery if that’s all you’re gonna do after the amount of money I payed you.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” said Jimin cautiously, “but I’m not sure if I’ve actually learned anything. I still don’t know where those hellhounds are.”

The young man fiddled with his thumbs while he waited for a response, feeling embarrassed that he was still unable to do what Taehyung had enlisted his help for in the first place.

“Well, you both know I can’t help you there,” muttered Hoseok. “But now that you’ve done it once, Jimin, you just have to focus on clearing your mind, and then the trails will come to you. Remember: it’s in your nature. You just have to let it happen.”

Jimin concentrated again, and discovered with amazement that he could now feel several different strings all pulling him in various directions. They were barely there; in the back of his mind - but if he focused hard enough, he could discern each individual pathway as it stretched away from him. There were the nymphs, distant and peaceful, as well as another tether with a pleasant, vaguely ticklish sensation attached to it. Then there was a slightly more malevolent-feeling string, which connected to something far off that sent a shiver down Jimin’s spine when he centered his attention on it. He thought that maybe that was the path to the hellhounds, but something told him that it wasn’t quite evil enough to be that.

✧✧✧

The oldest man had started to exit the messy car, but Taehyung stopped him by putting a firm hand on Hoseok’s arm.

“Hobi, wait,” commanded Taehyung. “I just want to say thank you - for everything. I know you didn’t even really want to help me, but you did… and that means a lot to me.”

“You’re welcome Taehyung,” replied Hoseok softly. “You’re not so bad, you know. You’ve matured a lot since the last time we worked together, and you treat Jimin well.”

Jimin thought that he would hate to see what Taehyung was like when the younger man was even more immature, but he kept his theories private so as not to offend his colleage. Hoseok turned to Jimin next, and offered a few parting words of advice.

“The relationship between a Sensor and the person who enlists their help is important,” Hoseok sternly advised. “You both have to trust each other, and you also both have to look out for your partner.”

He glared momentarily at Taehyung when he added the last part, and the younger man threw up his hands defensively.

“Hey, don’t look at me,” laughed Taehyung nervously. “I know that… now.”

“Be careful.” Hoseok addressed both of them now, as he stepped out of the car into the brisk night air. “I know I’m not going to be able to convince you to give up the hunt, but use your head and don’t get yourself into any stupid situations.” He paused before adding, “Make sure Jimin is aware of the risks, too.”

“He is, he is,” Taehyung assured the older man dismissively.

Jimin himself wasn’t entirely convinced that he was, but he had learned from experience that asking questions would most likely get him nowhere, so he settled for saying goodbye to Hoseok instead.

“Bye, Hoseok,” he smiled. “Thank you for helping me. That was… amazing, honestly.”

“There’s really no other word for it, is there?” agreed Hoseok. “Good luck, Jimin; I know you’ll do great. Just try to keep Taehyungie in line.”

The youngest man took a playful swat at Hoseok as the latter stepped out of the disorganized disaster zone of a backseat, but the older man paid him no mind.

“Take care of yourselves,” Hoseok ordered before closing the door.