The day was sunny and warm. In fact, it was so sunny and warm that Jimin couldn’t imagine spending the entirety of it stuck in one of the Citadel’s many dark classrooms, learning the same Council-approved material again and again. Instead, he had found himself on the roof for the fourth time this month, hidden in his favorite spot-a small alcove that faced the north, where he could watch the sun rise and set, where he saw people coming and going, always on the move. From here, Jimin could enjoy the light breeze on his face, enjoy not having to think about anything at all.

He stayed up in his little spot, undiscovered by anyone else until a familiar voice broke him out of his daze.

“Hey Chim!”

Jimin squinted through the blinding noon sunlight, shading his eyes to see his friend bounding over to him, promptly plopping himself down next to Jimin. The feathers of Taehyung’s enormous chocolate brown wings tickled Jimin’s face as he folded them back.

“Hello, Tae.” Jimin responded with a laugh. “How was morning training?” Tae, on the other hand, was a much better student than he, never having missed a class. Jimin chalks it up to his incredibly obvious crush on the kid who sits next to him, Minjae (or something like that. Jimin didn’t make a habit of memorizing every one of Taehyung’s numerous crushes and lovers.)

“Namjoon seemed mad that you skipped again. Said something about personal responsibility, how are we ever supposed to make good captains if we can’t even show up and set a good example, blah blah. Crap like that.” Taehyung shifted slightly, patting his pockets in search of something. “He told me to give you this,” he said, fishing a crumpled envelope out of the inside pocket of his jacket.

Jimin frowned, taking the letter out of Taehyung’s hand. A message like this could only concern a few things, none of them particularly good. Whatever it was-a new assignment, a letter from his parents, far away back at the family home, or even just a notice about how many days of training he had missed, he did not want to deal with it now. He shoves it into the bag laying next to him, making a mental note to read it later.

“I have patrol, I’d better get going soon.” Jimin said, standing up and stretching his arms. Afternoon patrols were his least favorite, mostly due to how much longer they were than others.  “Probably won’t be back before dinner. Don’t bother waiting up.”

The way back inside the Citadel wasn’t far-just a drop from a ledge onto a balcony. It was nevertheless more difficult for Jimin than it would’ve been for another Celestial. After all, where many had wings broad and strong enough to support their entire bodies in flight, Jimin had nothing.

He wasn’t the only one, of course. Jackson, Namjoon’s friend, had none, and his friend Youngjae’s hadn’t come in yet. There were a few others too, but Jimin still couldn’t help but feel jealous as he watched the lucky ones zip around effortlessly, practicing complicated in-air tactical movements, sparring high above the trees.

It wasn’t something he liked to dwell on. His parents had excelled in flight as none had ever before, and for their oldest son to end up without that same gift-it was embarrassing, to say the least. That had been his main motivation for joining the Citadel, on the off chance that being around others of his own kind, rather than spending his days surrounded by humans might trigger some sort of biological effect and give him wings. That was five years ago now, and at the ripe old age of twenty two, Jimin had little hope left. It was next to unheard of for someone to get their wings after the age of eighteen, though it had been noted to happen, especially after a traumatic experience. It was accepted that by twenty there was no way for Jimin to fly.

The Citadel itself was a large castle-like structure on the outskirts of a large city. A small forest, formidable enough to deter most humans from the compound, yet easy enough for the Celestials to send patrol groups out. Each tower rose proudly above a large stone building that contained the purpose of the entire compound. It held schoolrooms, meeting rooms, kitchens, dining halls, training rooms, gyms, and countless Celestials.

As a group, they considered themselves not only the governing body of all nonhumans, but also the de facto peacekeepers and protectors of humans. While not all Celestials lived and worked at the Citadel, many did. It housed the largest school, was the home of the Council, and was where all Celestial soldiers were housed and trained.

Patrol was uneventful for Jimin and his team. Yeri, the youngest, yet already the best at tracking, had flown above everyone else in order to search for any potential problems. Except for a minor run in with a drunk werewolf, everything seemed in place.

When Jimin got back to his and Taehyung’s shared room that night, all he wanted to do was crawl straight into his bed and sleep for years. When hours passed and he couldn’t seem to slip into oblivion, Jimin resigned himself to a night of tossing and turning. He gave up on the idea of sleep when the first hints of sunrise broke over the horizon. Tae, who had crept in four or five hours before, snored peacefully on the bed across the room as Jimin drug himself out of bed and through the monotony of his morning routine.

Jimin tiredly made his way to the Citadel’s library, hoping to at least busy himself with a volume of poetry or two before everyone else woke. He made it four or five pages in when his head began to droop, and before he knew it the sun had entirely risen over the horizon enough to shine directly into his eyes. Blinking awake, he rubbed his eyes with his hands, scowling when he heard a familiar laugh from his right.

“I was wondering how long you’d take to wake up.” Namjoon’s honeyed voice and dimpled smile only served to worsen Jimin’s mood. Little sleep and such a rude awakening had left him grumpy, a stark difference to his usual sunny personality.

“Hello, hyung.” Jimin said, still frowning. Namjoon looked like he had something to say. He waited for the inevitable speech on responsibility and trustworthiness that would be unleashed upon him, but none ever came.

“Normally, I wouldn’t want to spring this on you so early, but the night patrol team reported some issues with the vampire coven in the western part of the city yesterday, so the Council wants me to send your team out again this morning.” He hesitated slightly.  “We’ve had some major...problems concerning that coven before. I wouldn't normally send a group as inexperienced as yours out, but orders are orders. It’ll be your team’s job to investigate that, so make sure you check with Jackson that you’ve got the right gear. I’d hate for someone to end up with a chunk bitten out of them again.”

Jimin grimaced, the memory of his first mission as a captain still burned into his mind’s eye. They’d been through countless missions since, but vampires in large numbers still gave him a gnawing sense of worry deep in his stomach.

“Yes, sir.” Jimin nods. Namjoon cracked a smile, the facade of stern leader hard for him to keep up for long.

“Do good, kid. Don’t screw this one up.”

Once Jimin had gathered his team in the armory situated in the basements of the Citadel, Jackson began throwing out various pieces of anti-vampire weapons and armor. Jimin picked up a neck guard, a thick piece of leather that covered him from shoulders to jaw, warding off the chance of any errant bites. A bite wouldn’t turn you, but vampires could still maim, and the blood of a Celestial was said to increase vampire strength like no other.

Jimin compared the benefits of a crossbow with silver arrows versus a pair of sheathed silver-edged daggers, eventually deciding to slip the daggers under his jacket and strap the crossbow and arrows onto his back. Vampires, though not totally immortal, had nearly impenetrable skin. The only materials that could break through were silver and the fangs of other vampires. The latter being lacking, Celestials typically armed themselves with the former. Once everyone had armed themselves to Jackson’s taste, he left the room and Jimin was left to give the best pep talk he could muster. The same feeling of dread from earlier settled back into his stomach as he stared into the expecting faces of his team.

“Alright, Namjoon mentioned a disturbance with a coven that we’re supposed to take care of. Chances are, that means a few vamps have gone rogue and dined on a few too many humans, but it’s nothing we haven’t handled before.” He wished that Namjoon had given him a little more information on the “problem” itself, but it was useless now.

“Yeri and Eunwoo are going to take the lookout from above. I’ll lead, and everyone else will flank as usual. Even if this is routine, we don’t want to let them catch us off guard. Be prepared for any possibility.”

Jimin considered the possible outcomes. At the best, a skirmish with four or five vamps, nothing major with little chance of injury. At worst, anything from fighting off an entire coven-as many as fifty or sixty vampires- all the way to a full on war with the neighboring covens.

He sighed. Werewolves were so much easier. They typically kept to themselves, forming small villages and packs on the outskirts of the cities. Warlocks, too, were quite easy to deal with. Except for the occasional dark magic user, they were mostly harmless. They didn’t kill humans, though they weren’t above playing tricks on them when the mood struck. Vampires, on the other hand, were always stuck in territorial disputes, covens changing leadership incredibly often, always fighting over the best hunting spots and constantly killing each other.

“Jimin? Everyone’s ready to leave.” Hongbin, his second in command, tapped his shoulder. Jimin, who had been lost in his thoughts, jumped a little, then nodded somewhat sheepishly. Shouting for his team to get into formation, he shook the nervous thoughts out of his head, only for a sense of dread to settle itself into their place.

The way to the coven’s hideout took them deep into the city, past crowds of humans that averted their eyes and kept out of the way. A couple stared, but decades of coexistence had taught humans that it was generally safer to avoid nonhumans altogether, whether it was the heavily armed forces of the Citadel, warlocks attempting to seduce and enamour with magic, vamps looking for a quick bite, or otherwise.

That wasn’t to say that all humans avoided them. There were a few humans working at the Citadel, though Jimin had never seen them. Werewolves, who were mostly self sustaining within their communities occasionally sold surplus food at farmers’ markets in the city. Wolf-made furniture was in high demand, as was the spells, charms, and curses of warlocks. Humans avoided vamps, though. After all, wouldn’t a rabbit do anything in its power to avoid a hungry fox?

The absence of humans became ever more present as the group neared the coven’s hideout. The shop windows became darker, the graffiti a little less common, and Jimin eventually laid eyes on what must’ve been the most dilapidated building he’d seen.

Though it had once been magnificent, the Hotel de Jacquier was quite literally falling apart. Jimin knew he couldn’t send anyone in there just yet-he had no idea what the interior looked like, he had no idea how big the coven was, if they’d be belligerent, if they’d comply with his orders. He didn’t even really know why he was sent here.

The knot of anxiety in his stomach tightened. His team was watching him now, expectantly waiting for his leadership. One wrong step and he could lose the respect of his whole team.

He pulled Hongbin aside, explaining to him how little he knew in the hopes that he’d have some sort of idea as to what to do.

“Have Yeri and Chanyeol go to the roof and see what the situation is from there. I’ll go with Eunwoo and Seomin around the sides, and you and Leo can go for the front doors. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than nothing.” Hongbin was always the better strategist out of the two of them, it was probably what made them such a good team.

Jimin nodded. He relayed the plans to his team.

“Be especially careful when walking around, and try to keep away from the shadows”, he instructed. “Most vamps can shadowwalk, they’ll stick to dark places and you won’t notice them until they want you to.”

“Don’t forget what happened to Seungri”, Hongbin added.

The mention made Jimin shudder. He shook away the memories. There were more important things at stake.

The hotel lobby was so dark that it nearly hurt Jimin’s eyes. As they adjusted, he could just barely make out the outline of a grand staircase along the back of the room, along with a large check-in desk. Before long enough, the velvety red carpet made itself clear, as well as several suspicious fresh stains leading deeper into the depths of the hotel. As they carefully made their was past the splotches, glass from a broken chandelier crunched under their feet. Jimin thanked himself for taking the time to find his thick soled boots this morning rather than wearing his usual tennis shoes. He nodded to Leo for him to take the stairs on the left side while he took the ones on the right.

Apparently, they led to different places. Jimin’s staircase led up to what had been a bar at one point. Pool tables were scattered around the area while a balcony looked out onto the main lobby. Across from the balcony was a long bar. A few lamps on the walls cast a menacing glow across the wooden countertop and lit up the remaining bottles of alcohol, casting odd shadows on the walls.

The place was entirely deserted. Jimin listened intently for the sounds of any other creature, but except for the low sounds of Yeri and Chanyeol above him, he heard nothing.

Suddenly, a hand was reaching towards him from the shadows that hung around the corner of the room. Jimin, easily startled, screamed. Vampires unsettled him like no other, and though he knew it could reflect badly on him as a captain, he couldn’t conceal his fear around them.

The hand quickly withdrew. Jimin tried to slow his heart rate as he drew the silver tipped dagger he kept beneath his jacket, slowly easing back towards the wall. Distantly, he heard shouting and a crash, the others must’ve heard him scream. He focused on scanning the room carefully, keeping a careful eye on the pool of shadow that he had seen the hand reaching out from.

He backed up until he hit the wall with a soft thud. Footsteps echoed through the lobby, and Jimin heard Leo call for him, quickly followed by Hongbin and Eunwoo’s voices.

He was too preoccupied with the realization that he had backed himself into another set of shadows to respond to them. The arm that slowly curled around his neck made his mind go entirely blank, and before he knew it everything went black.