The forest is dark and unforgiving, leaves whistling an ominous tune in Yifan's ears as he creeps through the brush, following a most delicious scent. He can hear his prey's heartbeat escalating, the panic pushing its blood quicker and quicker through its veins. The sound is positively intoxicating.

He gains on it quickly, thanks to his sharp eyesight and hearing. A feral smile escapes his lips when he discovers it’s a girl, tripping her way through the underbrush. Too easy. With a growl, he advances on her and grabs her by the arm, silencing her scream with a hand over . Greedily, he sinks his fangs into her soft skin. Immediately the metallic tang of blood fills his mouth, the endorphins beginning to course and swirl through his body, adrenaline pounding through his veins. Absolutely ing intoxicating. It’s been weeks since his last feed, and his thirst is insatiable. He'll have to be careful not to bleed her dry. Her blood is sweet, like bubblegum, and it’s not long before the sweetness becomes sickening. Yifan takes only enough blood to alleviate the driving thirst before pulling his fangs out of her neck, leaving two small crimson holes.

She is limp in his arms now and he looks around for a convenient place to leave her. In the end, he decides to just throw her to the ground, as if she tripped and fell. He laughs to himself at the sight of her limp body. Humans are so weak, ultimately just sources of food for better beings like Yifan.

A twig snaps, close to them, and Yifan drops into a crouch. Light flickers back and forth across the forest floor. A flashlight. "Seulgi?" a male voice calls, the flashlight shining too close for Yifan's liking. He listens for the boy's heartbeat. It's surprisingly calm, and the light from the flashlight isn't shaking. Yifan sharpens his eyesight. Whoever it is, they have been in the forest before; they would be frightened otherwise.

A bush moves, and Yifan can finally see the boy. Tall and slight, with a prominent nose and hair that reminds Yifan of raven's wings. "Seulgi!” He gasps, and Yifan sees the flashlight is upon her skin. Too close. Panic rises in his throat. He should just kill the boy. Yes, slice his throat and watch the blood drain from his body. That would make it easier, he wouldn't be found, he..

No, Junmyeon would frown on that, he thinks. Junmyeon would punish Yifan for killing a human. Instead he emits a low growl, causing the boy to pause. He takes the opportunity to soundlessly jump up into the tree above him, hovering on a branch. He knows he should leave, but he can't help but watch the boy as he keens over the girl, her hair and asking repeatedly, "What happened to you?"

Yifan is about to follow the boy, who is now carrying the girl out of the forest, when someone appears at his side. "Found you." Jongin exclaims breathlessly. "Where have you been all night? Kyungsoo made the most delicious dinner and..."

"Enough. I was feeding."

“Are you coming back now? I can take you if you want, its a lot less walking and then you won’t waste all the blood you just had-”

“Jongin, enough.” Yifan snaps. “I’ll be home soon. I have.. business to take care of.”

“Um… okay.” Jongin replies, a skeptical look on his face. “Be careful, I don’t want Junmyeon kicking my because I didn’t stop you from doing something reckless again, ‘cause that’s not fun. Okay, bye.” he clams up when Yifan glares at him, and vanishes into thin air.

Yifan turns his gaze back to the forest, its darkness familiar and comforting. The leaves resume their ominous tune, which soothes Yifan’s ears more than the cacophony of noise from the ten other vampires in his house. Part of him wishes he could just disappear into the forest, break free from the others, but the High Queen had tasked him and Junmyeon personally with taking care of the others. What he wouldn’t give for his own space of peace and quiet. Maybe then he could forget about Chanyeol. If only he could forget about Chanyeol...

He spends the rest of the night curled up in the tree, the flashlight and the raven-haired boy forgotten.

~ ~

Junmyeon is awakened by the sound of the front door opening. Cracking open one eye, he sees Yifan slip in and close the door silently behind him. He has half a mind to go greet him and ask him where he was all ing night, but the look of pain that crosses Yifan’s face when he spots Baekhyun and Chanyeol curled up together in the couch by the window changes his mind. Junmyeon scolds himself internally for not making them go to bed in their room the night before. Chanyeol might not be able to see how his behavior affects Yifan, making him more and more moody by the day, but it was driving Junmyeon insane.

He creeps up to Yifan’s room after a minute. “Where were you all night?” he demands, keeping his voice low to avoid waking Yixing in the next room over. “I hope you didn’t do anything dangerous again.”

“I was feeding. Unlike you, I prefer to hunt for my food instead of having it delivered.” Yifan says simply, rearranging the novels on his bookshelf. Junmyeon grates his teeth. His co-leader could be so… difficult sometimes. Always so stoic. Junmyeon was the only one who really cared about the others, Yifan was only there because he was the oldest.

“You should have someone go with you next time. You know they can’t control their powers yet. You could teach them.” Junmyeon tries to keeps his voice positive and encouraging. “It would be good for them.”

Yifan makes a noncommittal noise and draws the blinds, picking an ornately covered novel and reclining on his bed with it. “Possibly next time. But not with Jongin. He talks too much.”

Junmyeon nods and takes his leave, checking on each of the other vampires on his way down the stairs, and he finds Chanyeol waiting for him in the kitchen. “Where was he?” he asks, eyebrows knitted in worry.

“Out, feeding, I suppose. Don’t worry, he wasn’t getting into trouble again.”

Chanyeol sighs and leans against the counter. “He’s been so distant ever since I, uh, found Baekhyun.”

“Well, you know how he feels about you, you bringing Baekhyun home didn’t exactly sit well with him.” Junmyeon says simply. “I’m sure he doesn’t buy your story either.”

Chanyeol opens his mouth to reply when a nervous-looking Kyungsoo stumbles into the kitchen. “Uh, guys, we have a problem.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Thank you everyone for your patience as I re-do this fic! I will have the other chapters up shortly.