In the Hunters Office, all of the hunters milled about in the upstairs room while they waited for Kyuhyun to return from his meeting with their Mage contact. Lisa, the typically night shift hunter, was nodding off as she sat on her desk, arms loosely crossed and eyes barely open. Her lavender colored hair fell over one shoulder in the loose ponytail and she looked fit to fall over at a moment’s notice. Kevin didn’t look much better off, but his tiredness seemed distinctly different from hers. He sat alone in his desk, arms also crossed and one leg perched lightly over the other. Every now and then, he reached up to scratch at his chin thoughtfully, his mind looking inward.

                For the day shift, Xiumin was working at his desk, typing in the relative silence. He grimaced and squinted at the screen before brushing at his black hair distractedly. As for Taekwoon… he stopped scanning the office again and returned his gaze to Hakyeon who, not surprisingly, was sitting far too close to him on the desk they were both perched on. “There is a chair,” he reminded the were again, nodding behind the desk.

                “After you,” he grinned, dark eyes dancing under the brilliant ruby of his bangs.

                Taekwoon rolled his eyes in response but didn’t answer. He was getting used to the were and it was par for the course at this point. Despite the fact that he seemed virtually unable to take anything seriously, insofar as being around Taekwoon went, he did at least know his stuff. Having been under his tutelage for a couple weeks now, it was safe to say that he’d improved a fair bit already, if only because he was finally acclimatizing to the were’s serum. Now if only he could get Hakyeon to act like a professional mentoring Hunter and not the weirdly attached one he usually seemed to be…

                “Did you skim the files I mentioned?” the were asked, his voice intentionally soft so as to give him an excuse to lean closer.

                “Yes,” the hunter replied quickly, leaning away without looking at him. When Hakyeon didn’t say anything else, he started to get antsy and finally looked over again. Even though he was expecting it, he still flinched just a little bit when the other man was frustratingly close to his face, just watching him.

                “Notice anything?” he went on, resting his chin in the palm of his hand with a smile tugging at his mouth.

                That was a test. Taekwoon was sure of it and he grimaced. He had read them, but he hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. Well, beyond what was expected for their cases anyway. Two relatively new missing persons cases – a banshee and an elf – and an anonymous tip about some sort of power flux in the shadow realm. That in fact was why they’d been called in for an emergency meeting while Kyuhyun met with the Mage. Eventually, he shook his head with a quiet sigh. And then flinched as the were pat him on the head in a consoling gesture. He gave Hakyeon a side eyed glare that was usually effective on humans but only made the other man grin harder. Why did he even bother?

                Everyone jumped when Xiumin made another frustrated sound and leaned back in his chair with an exaggerated sigh. No one asked as they waited for the follow up. He scrubbed his hands over his face and turned the screen so the others could see what he was troubled by. “Another disappearance was just reported by the office in Guanhai. A barghest this time,” he added, scratching the back of his head before shaking it.

                “That’s different,” Kevin mused, glancing up from his thoughts to stare at the screen.

                “Indeed,” Hakyeon mused, surprising Taekwoon with the comment. Normally, he stayed pretty silent. “Not many of them left. Pretty risky to take a barghest,” he added on with a glance at Taekwoon, obviously giving the comment for his benefit.

                “Ugh,” Lisa groaned, rubbing at the back of her neck before hitting her shoulder with a light fist. “Makes you wish they were just standard homicide cases. So much easier to follow up on,” she yawned, failing to stifle it at all. She frowned slightly when she felt eyes on her and met Taekwoon’s gaze with a small grimace. “Don’t get me wrong,” she murmured with a gesture at their youngest hunter. “They very well could be alive but most missing persons cases in the magical creature world mean death and it’s just more work for us,” she shrugged helplessly. “Black market deals, poachers, Mages…” she ticked off, adding to the list of problems they had to work around.

                Taekwoon grimaced distastefully at the answer and Kevin looked about ready to open his mouth but then everyone tensed as they felt the tingling of energy in the room. A quiet pop followed by a bright flash made the hunters gasp reactively. “Dammit!” Kyuhyun grumbled into the tense atmosphere as he stumbled from the center of the power expenditure.

                “Welcome back,” Hakyeon smiled as he stood up. Taekwoon mirrored him quickly, standing shoulder to shoulder with the were as they waited.

                “At ease,” Kyuhyun waved with the folder in one hand while he used his other to thread through dark brown locks. Heavy bags under his eyes were the only concession that he was running on a longer than twenty-four hour day currently. “We’ve got work to do,” he announced, setting the folder on his desk before he stuck a disk from his pocket in his computer and touched the projection button to give them a 3D rendering of the area. The image showed the island of Panea. Tradeborough was a bright dot in the northwest of the island but everyone was more interested in the circled area to the southwest.

                “What do we have?” Xiumin asked, standing up to approach the image with focused eyes.

                Kyuhyun tapped on a paper on his desk and joined him with a magic marker before he drew an x near the circled area. Tapping the magic marker near it, he pasted the image of the missing elf. “The anonymous tip about the shadow disturbance was from the Crone. Ailee confirmed it when I spoke with her. She doesn’t know how the Crone knew about it or how she tracked it down but here,” he pointed at the circled area, “is where the disturbance supposedly originated from. And here,” he pointed at the x mark, “is where the elf supposedly went missing.”

                “Kailelan Fagacaea,” Lisa mused, chewing on her bottom lip. “With that name, he’s definitely a forest elf.”

                “Yes,” Kyuhyun confirmed with a nod. “He was supposed to be on a short meditation retreat. The forests there are generally quiet and friends say he was only going to be gone for a couple days. When he didn’t come back at the expected time, they went to try and find him, but there was nothing. One of the more sensitive ones said it felt strange but they couldn’t explain why.”

                “You think it’s no mere coincidence these two things are so close to each other,” Hakyeon hummed.

                “Exactly,” the lead hunter nodded. He moved the image to expand the screen and placed three more x’s on the screen. With a frown, he sighed and added three more, all at various points on the map. “Okay. Within the span of two months, we’ve received missing persons reports for a banshee,” he pointed at Tradeborough, “an elf,” his finger moved to south of Tradeborough, “a vampire,” it drifted up to Wandermoot, “a kelpie,” that one near the southeastern coast of Euria, “a fairy,” his hand moved north, “and a werewolf,” his hand moved inland.

                Xiumin grimaced and stole the magic marker to place an x at Guanhai. “A barghest was just reported too,” he sighed, wincing at Kyuhyun’s scowl in response.

                “And these are just the ones we know about,” Kevin reminded them as he chewed his bottom lip.

                Kyuhyun raised a brow and looked at the still seated hunter. “Did you hear anything from your contact?” he asked, eyeing the other man critically.

                “Not much,” he grimaced, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “He seemed reluctant to part with any information this time though he did mention something about a peculiar creature potentially making an entrance.”

                “Oh?” the hunter mused, waiting for further information.

                “He would only say it was – probably – some kind of spirit,” he grumbled, clearly unsatisfied himself with the response.

                “And what did you give him in return?” Kyuhyun asked, expression neutral and focused.

                Kevin scratched at the side of his neck and turned away briefly. “That we have a pretty good idea of what Mage in Tradeborough is responsible for the chimera activity.”

                “No name?”

                “No,” Kevin confirmed with a quick shake of his head.

                “Good.” The lead hunter took another breath and returned his focus to the map. “If it’s a spirit…” he trailed off, the wheels turning swiftly.

                “There should be no spirits left in this world,” Hakyeon commented matter-of-factly. “They all left or were sent away after the Dark Ages when Magic intervened.”

                “Right. If it actually is a spirit, chances are high that it would have had to have been summoned,” he mused, chewing on his thumbnail with a frown.

                “Which would require a Mage,” Lisa sniffed, face scrunched as she tried to focus.

                “And power,” Hakyeon added, eyes scanning the various x’s on the map.

                Taekwoon leaned a little closer to the were and quietly asked, “You think the missing persons are connected?”

                “Not all of them,” Hakyeon answered with a small smile as he shook his head. “But certainly some.” He stepped forward and tapped on the barghest mark. “I would almost bet money on this one. And possibly the banshee too,” he added, tapping on her x mark.

                “Right!” Kyuhyun gasped with a snap of his fingers. “Summonings pull creatures from other realms. Realms divided by veils not unlike those connected to creatures like the barghest and the banshee.”

                Taekwoon’s eyes narrowed in mild confusion and he flinched lightly when Hakyeon leaned closer to explain, “You might recall they were previously known to be harbingers and messengers of death.”

               “Right,” he murmured quietly, flushing lightly in embarrassment. “I knew that,” he added in a quiet whisper, glancing around the room to make sure no one else had heard them. He was fortunate most were otherwise preoccupied.

                “As such, they would be more closely related to the veils and more likely to have a chance of actually breaking through,” Xiumin followed up.

                Hakyeon nodded but his frown returned. “That would maybe be enough to get them through but they’d still need something to help them find what they were looking for…” he trailed off, scanning the other missing persons. “A vampire can navigate the shadow paths,” he commented, pointing at the Wandermoot mark, “but that’s not the same as navigating through whole realms. And the others… are pretty standard missing persons. It feels like we’re missing something,” he huffed, shaking his head again.

                “Exactly,” Kyuhyun agreed, leaving the image up as he turned to address everyone. “This is our new priority. We need to get a better understanding of what kind of spirit was summoned and why. If we can track down a Mage or a poacher, it’ll likely lead us to a clue to several of our missing persons. Lisa. You’re still on night shift so you can go for now. I’ll brief you again this evening.”

                “Yes sir,” she nodded quickly, standing to attention and then saluting. She started to yawn once more and determinedly clamped down on it before she headed out.

                “Kevin. Keep working your contact,” he instructed with a finger pointed at the other hunter.

                Kevin wrinkled his nose but nodded in understanding. “Yes sir,” he mumbled in muted agreement.

                “Xiumin. Keep tracking the missing persons and running down leads in the city. You might find more cases to add and give us a larger picture.”

                “Of course,” the other hunter nodded.

                “And see if you can get your donor to help you with the afternoon patrols, would you?” Kyuhyun added with a small smile.

                “I can try,” Xiumin laughed and shrugged.

                “Which leads me to you two,” Kyuhyun commented as he settled his attention on Taekwoon and Hakyeon. “I’d like you to investigate the disturbance here,” he pointed at the circled area on the map and gestured at Hakyeon. “Your nose is the best bet we’ve got this late in the game.”

                “This’ll be interesting,” Hakyeon grinned, a slightly feral gleam dancing in his eyes brown eyes.

                “Taekwoon, you’ll go with him,” Kyuhyun finished. “It’ll be good experience and I want you to pay special attention to everything you see and hear.”

                "Yes, sir!” Taekwoon agreed with a tense ball in his gut. It was his first mission outside of the city and he was being assigned on something this big? With Hakyeon but still…

                “I’ll stay in contact with Ailee to see if she can help us find out any more information about possible Mage involvement. And speak with the Coven leader. Perhaps he’ll know something about the disturbance as well,” Kyuhyun mused, scratching at his chin in thought. “Take the zu to get there quickly.

                Taekwoon’s heart thumped hard in his chest at the command and he could barely contain his excitement despite the circumstances. Though they weren’t nearly as large or powerful as the original, the current generation zus were large magnificent birds that could cover vast distances in a short period of time. And he was going to get to ride one!

                “Let’s get going then,” Hakyeon grinned, making Taekwoon aware that he himself was sporting an unusually large smile.

                He quickly tried to smother it with a veneer of professionalism and coughed. “Of course. We’ll be off,” he explained, bowing towards Kyuhyun before flailing when Hakyeon slung an arm over his shoulders and started literally guiding him out the door.

                To be fair, the zu ride was amazing, but it was also really freaking cold. The temperatures were still low in the latter half of March and the wind chill was numbing. By the time they landed, Taekwoon could barely feel his face and that was even with him sitting behind Hakyeon who volunteered to take the brunt of it. But he didn’t complain as he stood shivering in the middle of the small clearing they’d managed to land in. He did hear Hakyeon talking to the zu behind him though, and he jerked in surprise when the were told the zu he could go…

                “Eh?” Taekwoon gasped, spinning around awkwardly and then flinching away when the zu took Hakyeon at face value and literally flew away. “But-!”

                “Don’t worry,” Hakyeon smiled as he leisurely approached Taekwoon. “I’ll get us back.”

                “I know you can’t fly,” he grumbled in response, teeth still chattering on the last word.

                “Still cold?” the were asked with a piteous smile and a head tilt.

                “I’ll be fine,” Taekwoon muttered back, turning around to try and see where they should go next to explore. He paused though when he heard a strange sound behind him and the back of his neck prickled in a familiar sensation. Something dangerous was nearby… behind him, and considering it had to be Hakyeon… A shadow fell over him then and he squeaked when monstrous spotted furry arms enfolded him in a gentle embrace.

                “Better?” a deep rumbling voice asked, vibrating through him.

                He should have been afraid. It would have been a very normal human reaction to having a predator of considerable size holding him in in such close proximity. But he wasn’t. Nervous yes. Afraid… no. Overcome by curiosity, with any possible fear tempered by the fact he knew this had to be Hakyeon, Taekwoon looked over his shoulder to better glimpse the were’s true form. A massive feline head was hovering over his and he could only see the bottom of the jaw and his chest, both of which were covered with splotchy black circles on pale brown fur. “Were…cat?” Taekwoon blinked, mulling the possibility over in his mind and knowing that wasn’t quite right. Hakyeon’s responding chuckle sent nerve tingling vibrations through him again and he shivered at the strangely pleasant sensation.

                “Jaguar, thank you,” he answered, letting the last word become a pleased purr.

                “Oh,” the hunter gasped, feeling his body relax almost involuntarily. That was the first he’d heard of one. Which meant they had to be very rare at this point…

                Almost as if he could read his thoughts, Hakyeon offered, “We were never very numerous. And after the Dark Ages, most of us left. Now, it’s entirely possible I am the last alive today,” he admitted with a shrug. “We did not try to keep in touch after the last great war.”

                Taekwoon was silent for a moment. It seemed to be such a casual admittance for a very significant truth and he didn’t know how to respond immediately. Eventually, he freed one hand to place it on Hakyeon’s arm. “I’m sorry.” Another chuckle rumbled through him and he felt the were shake his head.

                “Don’t be. All things end in time,” he promised, letting his jaw rest on top of Taekwoon’s head lightly. “Warmer though?”

                He was hesitant to answer. It was an easy question, but he had another thought in his mind. “Why are you showing me your form now?” he wondered, fingers tightening slightly on the were’s arm.

                Hakyeon’s thoughtful inhale was loud as he took a breath. “I would have had to change for this anyway. But this way, I can serve a better purpose,” he chuckled with a note of obvious happiness in his voice. “Making sure my partner doesn’t freeze to death,” he laughed even as he tightened his arms slightly around the hunter. “So. Warmer?”

                The answer made him uncomfortably conflicted. He’d half expected it would have been a work reason, but the admittance of being able to take care of him set him off kilter. He still didn’t know how to handle this were… “My face is still cold,” Taekwoon admitted, though he had to concede the rest of him felt pretty good. The werejaguar was not unlike a heat generator and it was delightful.

                “Here,” Hakyeon huffed, loosening his arms to turn Taekwoon around and then hug him again.

                Warm supremely soft fur tickled his face. No wonder he’d volunteered to sit in front on the zu ride… Better still, he smelled nice. Not at all like how he’d imagined an animal form would smell. Hakyeon’s scent was reminiscent of a storm: the smell of rain and charged energy in the air. There was just a hint of muskiness that was likely from the fur but it too was pleasant. And the continuing purr was relaxing and soothing and he was pretty sure he’d fall asleep if he closed his eyes… “I’m good!” he gasped, jerking back slightly and more than a little embarrassed at just how at ease he was around the seven foot monstrosity that was… holding him.

                “Well, you have stopped shivering,” Hakyeon agreed as he allowed Taekwoon to escape his arms. “If you get cold again, I wouldn’t mind holding you once more,” he promised with a playful wink, though the sincerity was obvious in his tone.

                Taekwoon’s glare was half-hearted at best. “Thank you,” he grumbled at last, unable to deny that he did feel better. To his credit, Hakyeon apparently decided to give him a break as he padded by with a very light touch on the hunter’s shoulder. His claws were intimidating but the were was infinitely careful with them.

                “Come then. Let’s see what we can find about our power fluctuation,” he mused, padding along silently, very much like his namesake.

                Taekwoon was briefly mesmerized by the gently swinging tail that trailed after his companion but then he jerked and shook himself to snap out of it. He had work to do. Trailing after Hakyeon, and still casting him the occasional glance, he kept pace and noticed the other man was sniffing for something. And listening if the way his ears were twitching was any indication. “What are we looking for?” he wondered, peering around at the surroundings with no clue himself. All he saw were woods and a small road leading through them just up ahead.

                “Preferably a good place for a Mage to cast something that’s not in the open,” Hakyeon answered with a nod towards the hills rising over the trees ahead of them. It was a small mountain range and they were on the lower part of the rise currently but the rock face nearby seemed to be their current target. “We’re late for whoever was here though. The smells are faint at best,” he grimaced, nose twitching.

                “If you can’t smell anyt-”

                “Wait,” Hakyeon interrupted him as he stopped and tilted his head to the left. His yellow eyes narrowed and he growled under his breath. “Wendigo.”

                “A wendigo was here?” Taekwoon asked, frowning in confusion.

                “This way,” the were urged without commenting on Taekwoon’s question. He started off and the other man was left to follow as best he could.

                Mutely, Taekwoon jogged after, head swinging from side to side as he tried to take everything in. He still couldn’t see any differences in the area and he couldn’t smell it either, but he was starting to get a sense of something being strange here. At the meeting, he recalled one of the victim’s friends had said the place felt odd and he was beginning to see how.

                “Here,” Hakyeon murmured, eyes narrowed as he started to pad around a patch of grass near one of the trees. He got down on all fours and leaned close, taking a deep inhale. “There was blood here,” he commented, tail swiping back and forth to match his words. “Elf,” he added after another inhale. Head swinging around, he found a scent and started crawling towards the tree before he paused and stared hard at the bark. “Look,” he called, fingers placed gently on the wood.

                “Is that a claw mark?” Taekwoon asked, moving closer as he saw what the were was pointing at.

                “Yes. He grabbed the tree like this,” and Hakyeon demonstrated with one hand, “before he jumped up there,” he finished, pointing into the branches. “My guess is that the wendigo attacked him down here and then took the body into the tree to finish.”

                Taekwoon’s face paled at the casual description. “He ate an entire elf?” He knew they were depicted as ravenous most of the time, and he’d heard about cases where wendigos had been involved, but he hadn’t run into an event where an entire person went missing.

                “Wendigos have voracious appetites. Something about being born of the cold that makes them perpetually hungry. Like they’re trying to always find enough food to survive the long winter,” he frowned with a shake of his head. “That or they’re just gluttons,” he scowled with a fearsome array of pointed teeth peeking through. “Come though. We’ll let forensics verify for sure. The wendigo went this way,” he explained, pushing away from the tree and padding after an invisible trail.

                Frowning, Taekwoon sniffed to see if he could smell anything but all he got was the cold and the smell of damp earth and woods. His sense of smell had improved since partnering with the werejaguar but it didn’t help him here. Nor were there any people tracks he could see. There was the odd forest creature and there were at least plenty of birds and insects about, making their typical noises, but he himself was at a loss about what they were tracking.

                They were still trekking through the woods when Hakyeon pulled up short again and snorted, ears flicking back and forth in an irritated manner. “Nothing,” he exhaled, jumping back and forth over some kind of invisible line.

                “What?” Taekwoon frowned, following the were to try and see for himself. He couldn’t smell any difference, but his skin tingled with a sense of wrongness. He shuddered and looked at Hakyeon for some kind of explanation. “What is that?”

                “Mage work,” Hakyeon growled, shoulders tensing automatically. “Whoever it was scrubbed the area. A very specific area,” he added, walking several paces in either direction and then angling directly towards the hills. “It’s a circle of some kind. Come,” he instructed, moving at a quicker pace as he set off again.

                “Wait up!” Taekwoon grumbled, having to run lightly to keep pace this time.

                Hakyeon didn’t stop until he reached another small clear area where the dirt road ended and the stone face of the hill rose above them. He scanned the area quickly and asked, “What do you see?”

                Exhaling once as he caught his breath, Taekwoon looked around and tried to make sense of things. “Nothing,” he finally admitted with a groan, certain he was missing something again.

                “Exactly,” the were growled, a sound that made Taekwoon flinch. “Come on,” he urged, grabbing Taekwoon’s hand and dragging him down the path of the road.

                He moved quickly but with the were’s help, Taekwoon was able to keep up. Still, he was left floundering when they stopped short again and he frowned hard at why. “Tire tracks,” he gasped, staring at the very definitive line of where there was a set and then they just disappeared.

                “It doesn’t prove anything about our wendigo yet but it does prove someone was here not that long ago,” he commented, one hand rising to lightly grab his chin.

                “Could it be the friends of the elf?” Taekwoon wondered, thinking he saw maybe two sets of tire tracks.

                “No. If they were, they would have gone past the Mage-work line,” Hakyeon promised. “If we go further, we’ll probably see where they came by but this… this is likely from the Mage. Not that I can tell. I can only smell… the car,” he grimaced with a wrinkled nose. “But… if they came here and ended at the road and this is the edge of the circle…” he started, thinking out loud. “Wait here,” he instructed Taekwoon before bounding off along the edge of the invisible circle.

                “Hey!” the hunter gasped, reaching after him reflexively. He was far too slow to stop the werejaguar though and the larger creature was already disappearing through the trees as he frowned. “At least tell me what you’re doing next time,” he grumbled, tempted to kick at the ground but mindful it might disrupt the pitiful clues they did have.

                Hakyeon returned fairly quickly, coming in from the opposite direction, but by the time he did, Taekwoon was almost certain there were only two cars. “If I’m not mistaken, the epicenter of this should be… in the mountain,” the were explained with a frown. “I didn’t see a cave though. Anywhere. It’s possible the Mage closed the entrance, but I… don’t know where to begin,” he admitted in frustration, crossing his arms with a low growl.

                Even though it wasn’t directed at him, the sound still made Taekwoon flinch. “Okay. So we hit a dead end, but we do know a wendigo was likely involved. We can confirm for sure that a Mage was too. And we know that our elf missing person was probably here,” he tallied their finds. “That’s a lot better off than we were this morning.”

                “But not where I’d like to be,” Hakyeon admitted, taking a breath and shaking his head. “My gut says that the banshee and barghest were likely here but I can’t prove anything.”

                “Could another Mage find something?” Taekwoon wondered, thoughts going towards their contact immediately.

                “Possibly. And perhaps a shadow path walker could too…” he added, scratching at his cheek with long nails. “Either way, we won’t be able to find anything ourselves. Let’s head back,” he urged, gesturing for Taekwoon to come closer.

                “Heh?” he chirped in confusion, looking at the large hand waiting for him.

                “I can carry you or you can ride on my back,” the were grinned, demeanor changing in an instant.

                Taekwoon frowned at him. “That’s your answer to getting back?”

                “Of course. I’m not as fast as a zu, but I can keep pace with a car pretty easily,” he winked, still waiting.

                “If you’re giving me a choice,” he started to say, glancing at the hand and then at the were’s face, “I’ll ride.”

                “Fair enough,” Hakyeon nodded, grabbing Taekwoon’s hand when he extended it and carefully swinging him to his back. “Hold on tight,” he encouraged, waiting for the hunter to settle in place before he started running parallel to the dirt road in great bounding strides.

                “Hakyeon!” Taekwoon scowled, only barely ready and clinging on for all he was worth. This was not how he had envisioned his day getting ready to end…