Another late night. Taekwoon figured he should probably just be moved to the evening shift already at the rate he was going. Though he struggled to stay awake, occasionally nodding off to bump against Hakyeon’s shoulder, he was still paying enough attention to Kyuhyun and Lisa discussing the current map floating in front of them. Their hands pointed to different dots on the screen before spinning the globe and then coming back to their location as if trying to triangulate something.

                “Wake up,” Hakyeon purred, the vibrating tone sending a shiver up Taekwoon’s back when the werejaguar leaned close to his ear.

                “I am awake,” he grumbled, shaking himself again and standing up in the hopes that he would stay more alert that way.

                “Oh?” the were chuckled, following his example and leaning close again. “So what have you gleaned from their conversation?” he asked with all the self-satisfaction he could muster.

                Taekwoon frowned and glared at the other man out of the corner of his eyes. He knew damn well the hunter hadn’t been following enough to understand specifics. “I know there are a couple more missing persons cases across the globe but not so much here anymore,” he grumbled, keeping his arms crossed in irritation.

                “You’re not wrong, but what’s the really interesting thing?” Hakyeon asked, putting his face almost cheek to cheek with the other man while he waited.

                Annoyed, the hunter pushed him away and shook his head. “I don’t know.”

                The pat on his head was just shy of patronizing. “One of the missing persons from the Mexunite coast appeared in our jurisdiction.”

                Alarm bells went off in Taekwoon’s head at that. “Where?”

                “It was a lucky find in the harbor actually,” Hakyeon explained. “One of the selkies caught wind of something odd in the water and they did a quick search just to be safe. You know what the real kicker was?” he pressed, practically b with erse amusement.

                “Ugh, just tell me already,” he scowled, irritated that the were was having so much fun with it.

                “They had been turned to stone. Not dead and a Mage was able to revert the process, but you know what that means,” Hakyeon trailed off, letting the hunter fill in the blanks.

                “With petrification, there’s only three possible explanations,” he murmured, grabbing his chin lightly between his fingers. “A Mage can do it, though not likely. The most probable cause would be a gorgon or a basilisk, both of which are perpetually on watch lists for this reason.”

                “True, but you’re missing a piece of the puzzle,” the were prompted, making Taekwoon look at him with slight alarm. “The missing person was an archon.” That caught his attention. “Exactly,” Hakyeon agreed with an emphatic nod.

                “Unless they were under an extraordinary amount of bad luck or been beaten to a near pulp, an archon wouldn’t fall prey to a standard petrification gaze like that,” Taekwoon mused, frowning thoughtfully now.

                “I’ll give you a hint. The Mage had a hard time undoing it,” the were added in a tone that meant he expected Taekwoon to figure it out from there.

                He glanced at Kyuhyun and Lisa who were still quietly conferring and then went through the options in his head. “Theoretically, he could have been physically weakened by a stronger magical creature like a Rank 4 vampire or something akin to their power.” Hakyeon’s subtle shrug let him know he wasn’t on the mark, even though they both knew he was just thinking out loud. “But if the reversal was difficult, there was probably some kind of layering effect.” The were’s mouth quirked in a small sign of approval. “Likely not a Mage since the casting signature could be traced.” Another small nod of encouragement. “And it shouldn’t be anything like a siren or a banshee.” A shake to confirm those were not the right ideas. “Which means…” he trailed off, cringing when he was left with pitifully few options, but really only one of which actually fit. “A cockatrice?” he blinked in disbelief.

                “That would be my bet,” Hakyeon nodded with a shrug.

                “Holy Magic,” Taekwoon exhaled, scratching at his face. Petrification was bad enough, but the cockatrice was on a perpetual wanted list. They weren’t hated so much as simply feared. Out of all of Magic’s creatures, they were one of the only ones that had a gaze that could kill with enough power behind it. As it was, even a normal glance could weaken a magical creature, and if that was the first attack followed by a petrification gaze, it was no wonder it was difficult to bring the creature back to their flesh and blood form. “Was it a hostage situation?” he wondered, trying to think about why an archon would be on someone’s capture list.

                Hakyeon shook his head. “Not that I know of. There were no records of anyone asking for payment or compensation for her return. She doesn’t even know how she got caught or why in the first place.” When Taekwoon looked at him with a meaningful glance, he waved his hand. “Not a memory wipe. She’d actually been missing for a year prior. Whoever it was just literally got the jump on her.”

                “Not poachers then,” Taekwoon surmised, frowning harder, especially with the year gap. There were plenty of unsolved missing persons cases that theoretically could fall under the same category. “They traffic in fresh ingredients. And they’re too public to have a gorgon, cockatrice or basilisk among their ranks. That we know of anyway,” he corrected quickly when Hakyeon raised a brow. “I’m guessing Chen didn’t pick up anything in regards to the shipping?” he asked. The kelpie was usually pretty good about being on top of things like that.

                “Not this time,” the were frowned. “He’s been skittish about the open water lately. Won’t say why but it makes me think something bigger is going on.”

                “Ugh,” the hunter groaned, rubbing at his temples with both hands. “This on top of the mystery creature here.”

                “Speaking of that,” Kyuhyun interrupted, startling Taekwoon enough to flinch when the other hunter approached.

                “Sir!” Taekwoon snapped to attention, much to Hakyeon’s amusement.

                “Relax,” the hunter scoffed with a wave of his hand. “You’re not in trouble.” Taekwoon sighed in obvious relief but stood straighter just in case anyway. “I want you two following up on the mystery creature in Tradeborough. Soonkyu and Donghyun have both given their blessing for us to do what needs to be done to sort it out. Ailee’s got some insights and Namjoon’s Coven has been trying to keep an eye on it too. The Pack has sniffed it around from time to time but they can’t get a solid scent,” he explained, divulging a fair bit of information for his benefit.

                “Why us?” Hakyeon asked with a sly smile. Taekwoon wouldn’t dare to question but he was grateful the were did.

                Lisa frowned at the query but Kyuhyun just laughed once. “Kevin’s busy with the Incubus and his spirit conundrum, Lisa and I are working the evening shift with an ever growing list of cases, including that damn missing chimaera,” he added, gesturing towards the still hovering globe, “Jaehwan is keeping his eyes peeled for anything and everything as often as he’s awake, and Xiumin is busy running general reconnaissance during the day. That leaves you two.” Though he gestured at both of them, his finger ended up pointing at Hakyeon in particular.

                “Doesn’t hurt that you think the mystery creature is probably strong and I’m the best you’ve got right now,” Hakyeon stated as a matter of fact.

                This time, Lisa snorted and Kyuhyun’s lips curled in annoyance. “You’re not entirely wrong,” he admitted after a brief pause. “You’re not getting the whole picture either though. There seems to be a growing pattern for the creature where it is most often hinted at being near our base, near the Coven, and near the Mages, particularly Ailee and Ryeowook.”

                “That’s strange,” Taekwoon frowned, unable to think of any reason why those things might be related. Other than the fact they were already working on tracking it but that seemed rather like chasing one’s tail.

                “Exactly. What’s even more frustrating is that just last week, we had a local vampire, Rank 2, let us know about a strange happening near the Green District. He was too afraid to check it out, but it might have been a magical creature attack,” Kyuhyun explained with a frown. “He didn’t see much. One was shadowed and partially hidden by his account and the other could have been anything.”

                “I checked it out myself but nothing came up,” Lisa grimaced, folding her arms in frustration. “We haven’t heard about a new missing person in the city yet so we’re not sure what the details are.”

               “I see,” Taekwoon mused, chewing on his bottom lip thoughtfully. “You think it might have started attacking people?”

               Kyuhyun shrugged and made an exasperated face. “Personally, I’m hoping that it is what’s causing this bit of trouble and not something else entirely. We’ve had an unfortunate uptick in occurrences this past year and I’m afraid the city is starting to gain a certain reputation,” he admitted with a sigh. “But for now, you two, on it,” Kyuhyun instructed with a gesture towards the door.

                It took a second to sink in. “Now?” Taekwoon blinked in surprised confusion.

                “When else?” the Captain asked, looking at him pointedly.

                “We’re on it,” Hakyeon laughed, deftly sliding an arm around Taekwoon’s waist so he could propel him along.

                “Don’t let him forget his coat this time,” Lisa called back in a sing song voice that was meant to cast a shade of embarrassment over Taekwoon.

                It worked and he hunched his shoulders under her words. So he’d forgotten his cold weather coat one time when winter was setting in at the end of October and Hakyeon had to play space heater again. Unfortunately, Jaehwan had seen it and relayed that information to the rest of the Hunters and he was still living it down…

                “Of course,” Hakyeon grinned, unflappable in his response. “Not that I would mind,” he added in a much quieter tone for Taekwoon’s ears only.

                Granted, that only made Taekwoon flush harder, much to Kwangmin’s amusement when they marched down the stairs and into the agrabuamelu’s sight. Characteristically, the lanky, dark haired secretary – that was also a deceptively strong guard in disguise – clapped both hands on his cheeks and practically squealed. “You’re so cute when you blush!”

                “Not you too,” Taekwoon groaned, trying to duck his head further to hide while still somehow managing to walk forward.

                “The October incident,” Hakyeon filled him in with a shameless grin, grunting with a breathy laugh when the hunter elbowed him in the gut.

                “I see,” Kwangmin crooned, rising out of his chair to retrieve Taekwoon’s leather coat from their closet so he literally couldn’t forget it this time. “We can’t let our wayward were’s hunter catch cold, now can we?” he teased a bit more as he laid the coat around Taekwoon’s shoulders.

                With his rampaging flush now completely out of control, Taekwoon looked up to glare between the two and muttered, “I hate you both.”

                The two creatures shared Cheshire grins before the were played along, “Thank you for taking care of my hunter.”

                “I’m not your hunter,” he grumbled crossing his arms over his chest.

                “Of course,” Kwangmin agreed as if Taekwoon hadn’t spoken.

                Just past embarrassed and now making his way towards fully annoyed, Taekwoon shrugged Hakyeon’s arm off and marched forward, ignoring both of them with a disgusted, “Ugh!”

                “Oops!” the agrabuamelu cringed and stepped away, acting apologetic but it was likely only a placating farce.

                The cold air hit Taekwoon like a blast of icy water and he stopped with a quick shiver. “Stupid magical creatures,” he muttered, yanking the coat into place with frustrated energy. He couldn’t quite hide the surprised flinch when Hakyeon appeared beside him without a sound. “!” he scowled, taking a small sidestep away.

                “Sorry,” Hakyeon grinned apologetically. “You’re just so easy to tease,” he explained with a helpless shrug.

                “Doesn’t mean I like it,” he complained in a gruff voice, huffing once in irritation, his breath pluming out in a gust of white air.

                “Alright, alright,” the were sighed with his hands raised in surrender. “I’ll stop. For now,” he added a half second later.

                “Hakyeon,” the hunter warned, a side-eyed glare accompanying the word.

                “I said I’ll stop,” Hakyeon reiterated, closing his mouth and running his fingers across his lips like he was zipping it shut.

                For a moment more, he glared at the were and then sighed before a shiver racked his body. “Shards it’s cold!” Couldn’t the Mages do more to control the weather inside the city as opposed to just keeping the worst of it on the outside?

                “Space heater,” Hakyeon reminded him as he pointed both fingers at himself while a mischievous grin danced on his face.

                “No,” Taekwoon denied, pointing one finger at the were with a steely expression.

                “Had to try,” he shrugged, taking a breath before looking around as if attempting to figure out where to start.

                “We should probably check in with Ailee first to see if she has any new information for us,” Taekwoon encouraged, nodding towards the direction they’d need to go for her shop.

                “Then we could swing wide and stop at the Coven and the Pack for more information and make a full circle,” Hakyeon agreed as he finished the thought. “Were form or no?” he questioned, a sly smile playing on his lips.

                “Not in the city,” the hunter couldn’t help but laugh in response. He’d probably scare the living daylights out of any human in the vicinity and probably a fair few magical creatures too.

                “What if we find the creature?” he asked facetiously. Taekwoon raised one brow at him and he grinned back. “Just checking. You never know with you,” he winked, reaching out to nudge the other man’s shoulder playfully.

                “So irritating,” the hunter snorted once, rolling his dark eyes.

                “You know you love me,” Hakyeon shot back, unaffected as he swiped at his cherry red bangs.

                “I tolerate you,” he clarified firmly.

                “Close enough!” the were responded as if it was a victory, raising one arm into the air. When Taekwoon gave him another side-eyed look, he grinned again but did lower his arm this time. As the look continued, he ducked his head sheepishly and made his smile close-lipped before drawing the zipper over them again.

                “Better,” Taekwoon nodded agreeably. “Come on then,” he added, jerking his head in the direction he started walking to lead the way.

                ‘Yes, sir,’ Hakyeon mumbled behind closed lips, the words muffled but still faintly recognizable, if only because of the context. Taekwoon’s responding sigh was both amused and annoyed in equal measure.

                Outside, the weather was cold with snow covered grounds everywhere. Inside, the den was a veritable paradise of warmth, seated luxury, and what most would label as inappropriate excesses or downright illegal interests. To someone like Heechul, they were simply a (pleasurable) way of life. Above, he could hear the sanctioned activities of his night club in full swing. His pleasure house above it straddled a delicate line of acceptable entertainment for more esteemed personalities. And his current purview would likely get him banned from the city, if not worse. Of course, they’d have to catch him in the act first and none had managed to come close in his century plus of business existence.

                Furthermore, the majority of his present company had every reason to help him maintain his current way of life. He accepted that he would likely never see a member of the Co-Existence movement within his business, unless by sheer dumb luck, but he often saw members of the Revolutionaries, Neutrals, and Return to Realmer factions. His current host of guests all belonged to the first faction, unless he was vastly mistaken.

                For the moment, he was allowing the five individuals their fun with a toy of their choice. It always helped business if they were in a good mood after all. Hwasa, the striking woman in the middle with raven hair and kohl rimmed eyes, had a female fairy perched on her lap. One arm was looped around her waist, demonstrably possessive, while she allowed the fairy to fawn over her. On the surface, she played the game of being entertained, but her attention was solely on Heechul. It was a slightly unnerving experience, truth be told.

                The same could not be said for her companions though. Not entirely surprisingly, the thick Kangin with shorn hair and no tact had chosen one of Heechul’s deaf, dumb, and blind fairies to entertain himself with. The blind bit was probably for the most obvious reason but the rest… Heechul did not care to guess. Nor was the creature abashed in his lechery. Also not entirely surprising. Beside him was a peacock of a young man with a black fringe that covered one eye and contrasted starkly with the clash of colors on his clothes. They were a strange choice of accoutrements for Hongki, given what his rumored status was, but he seemed more than content with lapping up the constant praise from the mostly male wood elf perched on the arm of his chair.

                And on the other side, the questionable wendigo Eric sat eyeing the almost childlike nymph that was settled on his lap. Heechul’s primary concern was that he’d be tempted to take a bite out of her. It wouldn’t be the first time and he nodded at a Rank 3 vampire in the corner to keep an eye on him. Eric wasn’t actually touching her. She didn’t interest him in that way. But he didn’t often get to savor such an innocent experience in his usual daily life. The last guest in their collection was one Heechul hadn’t seen much before, though he knew of her name. Irene was a were-lynx with long sandy colored hair, though when she got excited, her skin would occasionally freckle with spots like it was doing now. She’d chosen one of Heechul’s more strapping fairies to pay attention to her. Furthermore, she’d apparently given him license to take quite a few freedoms with his hands. Then again, given that she was a cat to some degree, it didn’t surprise him she enjoyed being pet.

                Pleased by the majority of their reactions, Heechul continued to observe until it became obvious that Eric was getting antsy and Hwasa may have been becoming impatient. Delicately, he cleared his throat to call attention to himself. “To what do I owe the honor of your company?” he purred as he crossed one knee over the other, revealing one pale calf from under the asymmetrical golden skirt and a blindingly white stiletto heel beneath it.

                Kangin ignored the question and Irene had to struggle to focus her attention but it was Eric who responded first. He pointedly moved the nymph from his lap with a nod in the vampire’s direction and then sat forward before speaking. “You know very well why we’re here.”

                “I do, but I have found it’s always best to ask, just in case,” Heechul winked and gave him a flirtatious wave of his fingers.

                Eric grimaced at the exchange, an evident curl of distaste on his lips. Hwasa moved her hand just enough to call attention to her and he took a breath to calm himself. “You haven’t been holding up your end of the bargain,” he claimed instead, sitting up in his chair and rolling his shoulders.

                Heechul feigned offense, one manicured hand splayed against his chest and his painted lips open in mock horror. The farce ended quickly and he laughed with a playful wave in their direction. “My dear. I have upheld my end of the bargain. Rather, it’s your helpers that have dropped the ball,” he explained deftly, not missing the way that his accusation finally caught Kangin’s attention. Even Hongki looked over curiously.

                “By all means, explain,” Eric offered, waving his hand like it was some magnanimous gesture. For him, it practically was. The scion of violence himself…

                The djinn clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes with a heavy sigh. “When you ask me to find very specific things, I do,” he explained haughtily, his hand gesturing flippantly as he spoke. “I know I don’t need to remind you about the dragon,” he added with an upward look as he lowered his head like he was peering over glasses. “When you ask me to convince certain people about questionable things, I do. A certain satyr anybody?” Another frantic wave of his hands. “When you ask to use my very expensive vampires to help you move around, I oblige.” Affronted now, he placed his fists on his hips and turned his nose up. “It’s not my fault that our so-called agents at the port or in other parts can’t manage their simple transportation tasks,” he scowled, clearly offended.

                “It’s part of your job to make it happen,” Eric reminded him with a quiet growl, wendigo smile peering through his lips.

                Heechul recoiled in mild disgust, but little else. He shuddered as if mildly revolted and then added, “The archon’s discovery, which is currently muddling most possible transports, was not my fault. If anything, it was his,” he added, pointing at Kangin.

                “What did you say?” he practically hissed, eyes narrowing as he forcibly moved the fairy out of his line of sight.

                “I said your work is sloppy you stone brained reptile,” the djinn shot back with all the attitude one of his nature could manage. When Kangin bristled, eyes widening, Heechul scoffed. “Don’t try me, fossil breath. I will make you look in a mirror and you won’t like what you see,” he warned, one hand drawing invisible lines in the air to punctuate his speech.

                “Boys,” Hwasa called quietly, one hand petting the fairy on her lap’s hair. “This is a marathon. Not a sprint.” At her reminder, they subsided, albeit reluctantly.

                “The archon aside, and regrettable as that is,” Hongki began with a nod towards Kangin, “I’ve heard that Ryeowook’s pet has been causing a bit of a stir lately.”

                Irene shivered, not unlike a cat, which caused the fairy to leave her alone for a moment. “From what I’ve heard, it has a personal axe to grind,” she mused, scratching at her face distractedly. “I don’t know who the target, or targets are, but it has not been staying where it is supposed to,” she explained with a quirk to . “Should we…?” she trailed off, shrugging her hands to either side as she waited for a response.

                “No need,” Hwasa waved. “A little bird has said it will not end well if it continues down that path. Which may benefit us.”

                “Oh?” Heechul wondered for everyone’s sake, obviously curious.

                “We only need to make sure it doesn’t get too close to the vampires,” she cautioned. “He has told us we’ll likely need the one to get access to our real targets.”

                “So why do we need the other ones?” Eric asked, brow furrowing as he mulled that over in his head.

                Hongki answered instead and leaned forward matter-of-factly, “Those are insurance. If plan A fails, we must go to plan B,” he crooned, turning his attention back to the elf on his lap as he tapped the young man’s nose with his fingertip. For a second, they made eye contact again and the elf gasped before slowly starting to go limp.

                “Careful, Hongki,” Heechul warned with a critical eye on his property.

                “Oops,” he shrugged in mock apology. “There there now,” he crooned, wiping his thumbs over the elf’s eyes quickly. “You’re alright.” And just like that, he was. Slightly confused but no worse for wear.

                “Don’t damage the merchandise,” the djinn warned with one elegant finger pointing to encompass all of them.

                “In that case, I best be going,” Eric grinned with unrepentant malice.

                “You probably should,” Heechul concurred, not objecting in the least.

                “Buzz kill.”

                “Food .”

                “You may go, Eric,” Hwasa prompted before their name calling could spiral. “Feel free to make another missing persons case,” she added, immediately lifting his spirits as he stood up. “Outside of the city,” she added as a quick measure.

                “With pleasure,” he grinned, bowing in her direction before departing quickly, a hungry gleam in his eye.

                “What?” she asked, catching Heechul’s distasteful expression. “We’re playing the long game, aren’t we?”

                “Fair enough,” he conceded without a fight, though his lip remained curled in disgust. “But about Plan A and Plan B?”

                She glanced at Hongki, Kangin, and Irene and waved her hand dismissively. “Our little bird indicated that it will likely be between ten and twenty years before the proper convergence of pieces happens. It’s not an exact science,” she grimaced, showing just a trace of her frustration. “But it does seem like one came home this year,” she added with a pensive look. That drew raised brows all around but no comments otherwise.

                “So what do we do in the meantime?” Hongki asked instead, letting his fingers playfully crawl on his lap elf.

                “Marathon, remember?” Hwasa reminded him pointedly. “First we’ll let Ryeowook’s pet play out and see how that goes. Then we can continue or not as needed.”

                “Hwasa. Kunpimook has said the water creature is currently under control and so long as he makes an appearance from time to time, it should be okay,” Irene explained, shivering at the mention of the unnamed person.

                “Good,” she smiled with a satisfied nod before turning to look at the two remaining men. “Enjoy yourselves but continue to lay low.”

                “Again, do not damage the merchandise,” Heechul added forcefully, a finger pointing at Kangin in particular, though he did glance at Hongki with a quick up and down scan, eyes thoughtfully narrowed.

                Hongki raised one hand in mute promise, but Kangin complained, “Not even a little bit?”

                “No,” Heechul stated simply, turning the full ire of his gaze upon the other man.

                “You’re no fun,” he grumbled, though he didn’t push the fairy away either. Surprisingly, he was able to completely ignore Heechul’s scathing glare as he stood up and pulled the fairy after him towards a private room in one of the corners.

                “Practically feral that one is,” the djinn tsked, rolling his dark eyes and brushing at straight mahogany locks in irritation.

                “What did you expect?” Hongki asked with a snort as he leaned back in his chair.

                “Probably manners,” Irene grinned, full of too sharp teeth.

                “Speaking of…” Heechul snorted with a bemused look in her direction.

                Hwasa’s quiet stretch and mute suggestion for the fairy on her lap to move caught the general attention of the room. “Don’t stop on my account,” she encouraged, gesturing at them with both hands. “But I must be going. Heechul,” she murmured with a nod towards the vampires in the back.

                “Of course,” he responded, dipping his head in agreement and motioning for one to come forward.

                “Be gentle,” she teased with a wrinkle of her nose and a wink that should have been playful but came off as more of a warning.

                “Of course, my lady,” he murmured with a bow. Head still lowered, he retrieved a lighter from his pocket and waited for her destination.

                “Surprise me,” she grinned, placing one hand on his shoulder before waving at the gathering she was leaving behind.

                The vampire frowned in mild confusion and glanced at Heechul to make sure it was alright. When the djinn nodded in consent, he shrugged and opened the shadow paths, deftly taking Hwasa with him.

                “How much do you want to be bet she eats him?” Hongki asked, completely serious as he traced strands of hair away from his elf’s face.

                “Please,” Heechul scoffed and waved the mere idea away with a flick of his hand. “She’s far too professional for that.”

                “Then why do you look nervous?” Irene giggled, leaning forward and shivering when her fairy’s hands made their way down her back.

                The djinn tsked again and waved at them both as he shook his head. “There are rooms for that, you know.”

                “I know,” Hongki grinned, completely at ease where he was. Irene’s laugh seemed to echo his sentiment.

                Heechul sighed with a defeated laugh. “Very well. Just remember to play nice,” he warned them as he easily rose from his chair and moved to head upstairs, heels clicking commandingly on the marble path to and from the elevator. One vampire moved to shadow him without a sound and the other remained to keep an eye on the two lingering guests. “A pity establishments don’t run themselves,” he laughed, covering his mouth with the back of one hand. The elevator doors opened, he stepped inside with his shadow at his heels, and he waved at Hongki and Irene before the doors closed to take him to the heart of Madam’s Resort.

(a/n: More of an intrigue chapter I know, but certainly lighter than the previous one. haha I hope you enjoyed it and if you have any thoughts or questions you'd like to share, I'd be more than interested in hearing them. ;) Otherwise, know that the next update will likely take a little bit longer to post seeing that I'll literally be moving in a matter of days. >.> Thank you for reading though and I hope you do look forward to the next update!)