Another crack

The Shadow of the Light

Normally, people with looks attractive enough to overshadow their pasts were charming. Disarmingly so. Confident too. 

Jungeun was almost shy. Her words were never said hesitantly or quietly, but the look in her eyes wasn’t at all boisterous or b with charm. 

“How are things with the emotional fae?” Jinsoul’s mother asked. “I doubt they’ve forgotten about Tresteu.”

That had been the attack launched by a rogue group of fairies. Tresteu was a fairy whose core emotion had been anger. He’d wanted to exact revenge on some of the Astra, but also bring a true battle to the lunar elves. 

He’d lost, but not without overwhelming a fair amount of their numbers. 

Jinsoul watched for Jungeun’s reaction. How she felt about a battle she hadn’t been a part of —it might be able to say something on her attitude as a whole. 

Had her mother asked this to test that specifically?

“I don’t think they'll ever forget,” Jungeun said. There was an edge to her voice. Even the light in her eyes seemed to have dimmed. “But the Astra meet with them now. Some had had wounds that only the fae could heal.”

“I’ve often heard them talk of light and spirits as though they held emotion,” Jessica said. She had donned the stiff bearing of an elder. Usually, she was quite the free spirit, especially during celebrations. “Can you say if that’s a ramble to ignore or to consider?”

Red eyes flicked to the elder, holding her gaze. Jinsoul could see her mind working for the response. 

“We know they can exercise no control over the light, or actually calm any spirit,” Jungeun replied. “And what more the fairies said, I can’t repeat.” The hint of a smile appeared. “I fell asleep.”

It got her a few smiles and chuckles. Everyone had, at one point or another, gotten their ear chewed off during the ramblings of a fairy. Their culture prided in knowing everything about their individual magics. Most followed that custom. 

Jinsoul had sometimes been accused of being too much like a fairy. All because she was interested in how the mortal world worked, as well as all that lay within and across the sea. 

Clearly, Jungeun wasn’t like that. 

Unless she was lying to keep the rest of them from knowing too much about moonlight. The Astra were very secretive, almost as much as the emotional fae. 

“So what will Jinsoul be doing when she gets there?” Her mother asked. 

Jinsoul wasn’t sure if she wanted that question answered today. What if she was immediately assigned to a role she didn’t want? 

“They’ll see what you’re best suited for,” Jungeun replied. Her eyes met Jinsoul’s once before looking away, almost as if she didn’t want to hold her gaze. 

Someone chuckled. “I suppose that wasn’t so difficult when it came to you.” 

Surprisingly, Jungeun winced at that. Jinsoul watched how she covered it with her own light laugh. 

“You’re right,” she said. “I lit the fires of the camp for a few years.”

Someone sputtered, nearly choking on their drink. Others laughed. 

Jungeun had managed to distract from that remark, as well as her slip-up. Jinsoul wondered if she could even count that as a slip-up. 

_____

They’d left the camp quickly enough. They were actually walking. Why Jungeun wanted a longer journey, Jinsoul still didn’t know. She didn’t know if she was supposed to be concerned or annoyed at the fact. 

And now they’d been walking in relative silence. Jungeun had started to look more tired as they walked, though her step had never slowed. 

Eventually, Jinsoul had to break the silence. There were a lot of questions, but there was one she needed to ask. 

“What do you actually do for them?” 

Jungeun’s reply was immediate. “Other than stepping in for physical disputes, I’m on patrol.”

“You guard them?” Jinsoul wasn’t sure if she should laugh or curse. 

Her brow rose at that. “If necessary, yes.”

“Isn’t that as bad as lighting their fires?” And apart from that, Jungeun only fought for them. 

She didn’t expect Jungeun to look slightly offended at that. 

“You’d be surprised at how much you end up doing there.”

Jinsoul frowned. “I’m not going to become their guard dog.”

“I never said you were,” Jungeun replied. “And patrol isn’t guarding the Astra. If there’s a threat to the camp, we take care of it, but the focus is on mortals.”

“You help humans?”

“We have to if they come across the wrong spirit,” she said. “You and the Astra can recover from those wounds, but they’d die easily. Or go mad.”

It sounded so simple. Jinsoul had tried to heal the injuries of elves who’d fought with Astra. It’d never worked. She’d had to put them all in the darkest of places and wait it out. She’d barely been able to treat their wounds without having to take a break. The moonlight had burned her. It probably wouldn’t anymore. 

“So that’s all you do?”

Jungeun gave her an odd look. “It comes up more than you’d think. We also go after vampires or wolves if they’re near. We can find them pretty easily.” Without waiting for a response, she continued, “the wolves are a little more obvious, with the way the moon’s tied to them. We don’t kill them. As for vampires,” she trailed off. Then she sighed. “It depends on how we find them and what they’ve done.” 

“And then you burn them to ash?” Jinsoul nearly took the words back. 

But the red-eyed girl didn’t flinch. She also didn’t look offended this time. “If I have to.”

She didn’t know how to reply to that. She wasn’t sure if Jungeun was expecting a response. 

Jungeun smiled slightly then, but it wasn’t condescending or happy. "When we get there,” Jungeun continued. “I’ll tell Haseul that you’ll be along with her.” 

There was an implication to that. Jinsoul wasn't sure if it was on purpose or not. 

Jungeun didn't elaborate either. They just kept walking. 

_____

Author's Note

So their dynamic is currently quite strained. Do you think it's for a good reason or is Jinsoul being unfair? 

As for the other things I occasionally mention like fairies, I don't want anyone to be confused by them. I've got three stories set in this world, all in different times, so my mind has been working with making sure they all work well together. That's not important for those reading and is more or less a bonus if you've read the other stories (which you don't need to!)

But if you've got any questions, feel free to ask them! I hope you're enjoying the story so far. It may be a bit of a slow start, but I can guarantee we're building up to something. 

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Thank you!
hblake44
I have no idea what the problem is, but I get the same error whenever I try to update this story. I've actually got Ch. 20 finished, but I can't upload it on here yet.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/26800525/chapters/74154324

Comments

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_boom_ #1
Chapter 23: As expected. The love and hate of roller-coaster emotions. The push and pull...family death is hard and accepting it is even harder. And we go through a series of stages of grief and we sometimes, no, most of the times we jump stages,some are stuck, some moved on eventually at different rate tho.❤❤❤
Yebinx #2
Chapter 23: Omg this chapter was a rollercoaster pf emotions!!! Can't believe she went away without kissing her... I'm crying, thanks for the update!!!!
Sui-Generis
#3
Chapter 23: Mixed feelings about this chapter: happy Jinsol and Jungeun are getting closer (love the "you're like the ocean to me") and sad Jungeun had to go but well, we have to do what we have to do
locksmith-soshi #4
Chapter 23: you’re like the ocean to me 🥺 i reread that scene while listening to wendy’s like water and their embrace literally happened at the same time wendy sang i need you to hold me and i- 😭
tinajaque
#5
Chapter 23: I love love love this chapter! I love how the other 10 tried to help Jungeun with her grief, I love the literal shipping adventure part lol and I love how Jinsoul helped relieve some of Jungeun's grief. Kinda sad that Jungeun has to go but I bet if Jinsoul asked her to stay she would've, however it's not the best for her right? Also, did Jiwoo used her sight to gently nudge Jungeun into going? Just wondering. Again, I love this chapter, keep up the good work!
Sozoojo #6
Chapter 23: UGHHHH IM CRYING.
I love the long chapters and this would be my favorite (ir second favorite?) now. Also the fact that the time is odd is perfect, i think. It goes well with the immortality thingy, and is not often that one can see time expressed diferently for that. I love it, i love this, thank you so much for writing
StarEz1 #7
Chapter 22: This was such a good chapter!! I loved the closeness of oec and their travels. My favorite part is seeing the amount character growth Jinsoul had from beginning to now in dealing with Jungeun, it's a complete 180! The care and concern jinsoul gives Jungeun's aftermatch is wholesome to see overall🥺
tinajaque
#8
Chapter 22: The lightness of the first part and the heaviness of the 2nd part are chef's kiss! Very well balanced! Love this chapter!
Yebinx #9
Chapter 22: This is one of my favorite chapters! Thanks!!!
tinajaque
#10
Chapter 21: Yay oec travel stories! I just love their dynamics! And wow I envy them, I wanna see the northern lights too... Excited to see how Jinsoul will react to the desert