Chan - The treacherous jungle to Trehir

“Hyung! Soonyoung hyung?! Jun hyung?! Minghao hyung?! Anybody..." With his voice softly dwindling into pitiful sobs, Chan has finally allowed himself to fall down in what seemed to be a very rocky dirt road. There in the middle of nowhere, the young middle grounder cried and cried from fear and confusion.

It was dark and he was cold and most especially, alone. The young man who was always beside his older brother like a shadow was now all by himself, fearful and confused.

"Hyung? Where are you? What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do without you?" With his voice harshly quivering through the middle of darkness, Chan once again called out hopelessly. He honestly didn't know what to do. All his life his parents and older brother were there for him, always ready to guide him, to instruct him on what to do and where to go. He was born following instructions and he believes that he is bound to follow them until his grave. But now that his parents are out of the picture and his older brother is nowhere to be found, Chan is confronted with something he thinks he has never done before. It was to decide for himself.

The young middle grounder continued to cry, tears and snot mixing as he sobs his heart out from the realization. Before, every decision he makes was influenced mostly by his parents so he was always assured that he was making the right choices. Now, he has no clue as to what he should do. He was unsure of things and the pressure of choosing the right things are eating him alive. He was full of doubts with himself, deeming that he was useless and nonfunctional until he saw a pack of shadow mongrels. Immediately, the middle grounder tensed. His sobs were reduced to shivers as the pack of demon beasts sniff through the air. Sooner or later the demonic hounds will find him and he has to do something before it was all too late.

Closing his eyes, Chan tried to think. He thought of what his parents will say in this kind of situation. Then, he tried to think of what will his Soonyoung hyung tell him. His hyung usually doesn't let him fight, the older would opt to have him stand in the far end of the battle and maybe allow him to poke the demon beast if it comes near him. He was always protected. 

When Lilith first showed up and they had to fight demon beasts to find the source, Chan only waited for Instructions and obeyed every single thing Jisoo said. Even during the battle with the ginormous demon beast at the Syn river a few days ago, Chan was never allowed to go near it. Instead, he was told to defend the unconscious bodies of Seungkwan and Hansol to any meager demon beast that might harm them. Weighing all the times that he was with his brother during fights, Chan can almost hear his older brother telling him to run, never look back and hide. 

Nodding to himself as if he actually heard his older brother saying the words, the young middle grounder took in a deep breath and dashed through the darkness. Stumbling here and there as he runs through big tree roots and mossy rocks. 

Chan continued to run and run. He continued to run and refused to stop even if his chest is constricting in pain from the lack of air. He continued to run even if both his legs beg him to at least take a short break. He continued to run even if his vision was slowly turning dark. He continued to run and only stopped once he saw street lights from a town afar.

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"Chan, brother! Where are you?" Soonyoung screamed at the top of his voice in search of his younger brother. By his side, he can see Jihoon walking silently, hands balled into tight fists and deep dark blue eyes shining brightly. They were both in the middle of the forest for quite some time now in search for their brothers and friends.

"I can't find them." Jihoon finally spoke after a moment of silence. His voice was filled with a mixture of resignation, fear and sadness.

"I've sent so many chimes but none of them responded. Even Jeonghan hyung who is the most sensitive out of all of us would've received it by now." The astral added as he slowly wrapped his arms around himself.

"And-and Seokmin, my own brother. He should've been the first one to feel it. That oaf may not be the best in telepathy but astrals who are closely related by blood have a special link that even distance can't separate." Jihoon is trembling, eyes watery and is now grabbing a fistful of hair.

"He should've tapped my consciousness moments after I sent the first chime. It's been probably almost an hour now but not once did I felt him." Jihoon finally slumped to the ground as tears flowed through. Soonyoung was quick to pick him back up and embrace him tightly, tucking him securely as he tries to comfort the shorter male.

"The only reason he's not responding is his either unconscious or worst-" Jihoon paused and Soonyoung felt he almost stopped breathing as well.

"He's d-dead." Soonyoung fell rigid after hearing the astral spoke. He was left blanched and speechless. The reality of it happening was not far from their current condition. They can die or lose someone at any given time from this mission, and Soonyoung can only imagine the pain from losing Chan or any of his friends.

"Don't worry Jihoon, we will find them. We will find both of our brothers. We'll get through this." Soonyoung finally spoke after a few moments filled with sobs, he tries to comfort the astral and himself as well with assurances.

Assurance that he himself is not sure as well.

Soonyoung too was about to lose it. They have paused a couple of times to allow Soonyoung to see through the energies flowing through the forest. However, other than the trees that strangely have the same amount of energy running through them whether big or small, there were no other living things. It was something very unusual for a forest covered with greenery to not even have one single living organism. Soonyoung has tried and tried to look for even just one insect whilst looking for his younger brother, but after so many attempts, Soonyoung concluded there was none. This idea has not sat well with the middle grounder and he was about to share it to the astral before Jihoon broke down.

Adding this newfound discovery to what Jihoon might think have happened to his younger brother, Soonyoung couldn't help but worry more for the youngest middle grounder.

For Chan is still young and naïve. His brother grew up under the tender and loving arms of his parents. He was cushioned with care and enveloped with warmth, not once did he felt the pressure of just being alive. Unlike Soonyoung, who was trained to become the next best swordsman in the middle grounds after his father, his parents did not see the importance of gruelingly training their youngest son with sharp objects at a young age. Instead, they allowed Chan to live in a happy harmless dream. After all, it was Soonyoung who will take after his father's position and Chan will only be there to be a part of his court.

But now that the dreamlike walls that his parents built around his brother has long been shattered after coming out with them to the realms, Soonyoung is now doubtful if agreeing with his parents that Chan should be shrouded with nothing but happiness was the right thing.

Will his younger brother fare out without him? Will Chan be able to protect himself alone? Soonyoung can only wonder nervously as he draws comforting circles on Jihoon's back.

"Please Soonyoung we need to find them. I need to find my brother. Seokmin is the only one I got, he's the only person who believes me when everybody doesn't." Soonyoung heard Jihoon mumble ruefully on his chest.

Hearing the other pleading to him very sadly, the middle grounder found new strength. He wrapped the astral tighter unto his chest and hopes his newfound strength reaches the other. "I promise you that no matter what, we will find them. We will find our brothers and we will be with them together again."

Facts about the Fic:

• Chiming – Chiming is like echolocation to astrals. This method is widely used by astrals during emergencies to locate their families and friends. It’s a telepathic communication excluding vocabulary. With normal telepathy, one can hear the exact voice and emotion the sender conveyed. In chiming however, the sender can only make a unique signature disturbance in the wavelengths of their environment and send it out in hopes that the astral they are looking for receives it. Once the other end receives the chime, it will register in their minds like a sound of a bell, thus the reason why it’s called a chime. They will then chime back signaling that they have received it. Chiming also has some restrictions. If the one receiving the chime is in any form unconscious or in worst scenario, has passed away, they will not receive the chime.