Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It started with an article. A story. It shouldn’t have turned into the mess that it did. It was harmless, really, but as always someone attached to it. Got sucked into a life that never existed to begin with. A story and nothing more. It started in a book, demons and cults and the power of blood and sacrifice. Then it turned into a website. Cults and demons, rituals that can be performed at home. People were always looking for ways to expand this world. Five facts about demons. Six things you can use in a ritual that you’ll find lying around your house. Possessed items you can buy online. It was growing. The popularity of such topics grew almost overnight, little groups would post stories of their encounters. Crying wolf. Crying demon. It was out of hand.

There was a woods, not far from Jungkook’s house. His mother would warn him not to enter, apparently a lot of creeps hung out there at night. Dangerous people. The dark was the perfect place to catch unsuspecting teens and the woods was the darkest space in the region. She had frowned over a newspaper. Another death. Another missing teen. It was getting crazy, that was the eighth teen to go missing in the past three months! A kidnapper? A killer?! No-one knew and no-one dared speculate. His mother had grumbled that it was probably those disgusting men that lived in the woods. People assumed they were homeless. Others believed they were part of a cult and wanted to stay off of the government radar. Jungkook didn’t care either way. He doubted a group of alcoholic stoners would care that much to snatch a bunch of kids from…wherever it was that they were finding them.

No bodies found.

Jungkook didn’t care much for speculation, murder mysteries just glorified death. Glorified killers. He hated them. Hated the names sprawled in pitch black ink on headlines. Naming them. Awed, almost, at the amount of kills. The thought put behind it. Wow they gutted them?! Their heads were missing! Jungkook felt sick just thinking about it. It didn’t take much to be a killer, did it? Was it really something to be awed by? Curious about. People flooding to read more, see the photos. Jungkook shuddered at the thought. Humans were disgusting. Too curious for their own good. Death seemed to be the most amazing thing on Earth to them. Jungkook would much rather read articles on people who cheated death. See the videos caught on dash-cams. Some people weren’t meant to die and that was for sure. Call it fate. Call it destiny. Or even just pure dumb luck. But Jungkook much preferred the stories where they survive. Live to tell the tale. Well…unless it’s a sport hunter…Jungkook mused passively as he washed the dishes from dinner. They deserved it…thinking nature couldn’t touch them. Thinking nature couldn’t see what they were doing. Death wasn’t a sport. Death wasn’t fun or exciting. It was an end. It was horror and fear crumbled into a ball of pain. Why would anyone be awed by that?

Jungkook’s mother had left for the weekend. A business trip, she had sighed heavily with a small suitcase bursting to the brim. Jungkook would place his money on how many pairs of shoes were in there. She seemed to like wearing four or five different pairs per day. Heels or flats. The age-old question. At least she had eaten with him before leaving. That was a rarity. Usually she just up and left, not like he blamed her. Work was work and she had to deal with a six hour train ride. Not his idea of fun by any means. He placed down the last plate before glancing up through the wide window looking out over the garden and out past the creek towards the woods. It still gave him the chills just looking at it, so dark and still. He’d been in once against his better judgement. Stood alone in the darkness he swore the trees talked. Cackled. Whispered about him in awe, in disgust. A tiny human in their home, Jungkook hated the feeling. The feeling of being watched. The feeling that somewhere, someone could see him even in the darkness and was just observing him. Like a cat watching a mouse. Or perhaps like the crazy people watching a murder on the TV in awe. He didn’t like either thought. He was either prey or entertainment and frankly he would rather be neither. Would like to stay alive and kicking for a little while longer.

Watching the thick evergreens bending awkwardly Jungkook scrunched his nose. It was shifting into spring but the trees still looked grey and damaged from the cold. More so than usual. Branches could be seen battered like broken bones, at odd angles and hanging limply around fallen pine needles. Could be lightning, Jungkook shrugged. Or a very bad wood-cutter, they had a few of those in the area and it usually led to a tree or two falling down in the middle of the night. Jungkook remember the one in the park nearby nearly fell on him. Crushed the swings and the crappy plastic slide. Two kids died. Somehow he’d been fine though, and thanked any deity that may or may not exist for saving his life. Because death by tree would not have gone over well for him, he wanted a quick and peaceful death when he hit ninety not a freak accident as a kid with a shitty tree crushing him into the ground or impaling him on the roundabout. He shuddered and shook his head urgently before glancing around for his next task. He was getting sidetracked and it was leading his head to some disturbing areas of his peripheral mind. Places he hadn’t adventured to in a long, long time.

He turned on his heel towards his bedroom, throwing open the door with a sigh and threw himself tiredly onto the top of his bed. Good job he cleaned up last night or else he would have probably landed on something sharp or breakable. His gaming controller or phone were usually the victims after a rough day. Throwing himself onto his bed without even looking had led to more breakages than he could count. And one time he cut his back on an modelling knife, he refused to use clay after that. It hurt like a bitch and what’s worse was his mother blaming him for the blood everywhere. He hadn’t meant to leave the knife there! But now he was comfortable and cool and stretched out to his body’s capacity before sagging into his newly changed sheets. Perfect. Perfect and comfortable and with the house to himself he didn’t have to set an alarm either! He intended to sleep in to at least mid-day and then do literally nothing all weekend. Maybe head into town to take some photos for his portfolio but nothing much else. Jungkook’s lazy weekend, trademark, patented. Jungkook yawned into the back of his hand and offered a lazy smile into the warm skin there. Finally a break.

Jungkook’s phone woke him up and he groaned, blinking tiredly into the darkness of his room. What time was it? He turned and grasped blindly for the offending technology that he instantly silenced with a frown and a small but sleepy pout. Waking him up at this unholy hour. He offered the clock in the corner of the room a glare. 3am. He frowned further, what a stupid hour to call him! Even twenty-one year old students shouldn’t be awake at this time, especially not calling others. Of course others liked to party, Jungkook had been one of them until he realised being thrown up on wasn’t that much fun. So he reached again and unlocked his phone. Three calls all at 3am and a single text. Jungkook turned onto his front, leaning up on his elbows for support as he glanced through his messages to the offending text.

'Going out tomorrow night. Come with.'

Jungkook would rather eat his heart in all honesty and he was determined to be lazy and being lazy meant not going out for shit and not answering stupid calls at 3am.

'No. Fuck off. It’s 3am, go the fuck to bed'

'But Kook, there’s a campfire and everything tomorrow! Come on! You can sing for us, it’s a little camping trip'

'No. Leave me alone. It’s late as fuck.'

Jungkook huffed, turning back onto his back and glanced out of the window at the charcoal sky still thick with clouds and heavy to bursting with rain and the incoming storm. Not camping weather at all.

'Please Kook. You don’t have to stay all night. Just come and meet my family. They’ve been asking about who my friend is and they’ve never met you before. It’s the weekend and my dad is going away on his month-long business trip soon to Japan. Please! My dad really wants to meet you'

Jungkook sighed. He was never able to say no to parents and he knew how hard parents of business trips was to deal with. Not seeing his own parents much.

'Fine. When and where. Only an hour though! I’m watching the house'

'Thank you! You are the best! Shall we say 3am by the creek?'

'3am?! Why the hell are you parents doing a campfire at that time?'

'Night owls and since we’re camping we don’t intend on sleeping much. Any time is a good time.'

'Fine. See you there. You owe me one'

Jungkook set his phone aside with a groan of annoyance. He had expected to be awake for a while after being pulled from slumber but once he curled up back into his pillows his eyes fell heavily and within minutes he was asleep again.

Jungkook woke up in a daze, too much sleep does that to him and he stretched out all cat-like on the top of his sheets and allowed himself a loud and very satisfied groan/whine that rips from his chest. He sagged instantly once all of his joints had popped and his back had that feint ache of a good stretch.

It’s going to be a good day, Jungkook beamed to himself. First task of the day was shower, a long one, one that’s all steamy and too hot and full of bubbles and nice smelling things because honestly Jungkook loves using the nicer things for his baths and showers. He likes to smell good and feel good and that only comes when he has a long wash and scrubs the scent of vanilla or roses beneath his skin. He likes to feel as clean as he looks. He stumbles from the shower a horrific 45 minutes later and Jungkook offers a wince. The water bills are going to be sky high. Oops. But he can’t bring himself to care as the towel around his waist is adjusted and he rubs another towel through his dark hair. How does he want it today? Straight? Crimped? Sometimes he likes to throw in a curve ball and slicks it back from his face and suddenly he looks 26 that should be called ‘sir’.

Jungkook let himself be lazy for another half an hour or so until he was dry and a little bit uncomfortable from the cool air in his room and turned eagerly to his wardrobe. He may have been against this meeting and it was at literally stupid o’clock but he wanted to make a good impression. He wanted to look like he wasn’t a delinquent. Which he wasn’t. He pulled on some mildly ripped black jeans and tugged on some black boots. He used to collect various work boots, clunky and thick with a fair amount of padding in the soles. Jungkook didn’t need the extra height or anything but he did like the extra weight on his feet, good for hiking, he assured himself as he tied the vibrant rainbow laces. The issue next was shirt. Jungkook either went plain white or plain black. He wasn’t really interested in fashion or anything like that, no branded stuff in his collection of shirts and jeans but he wanted to still look approachable. Welcoming. So he tugged on a white shirt and a pink jacket and flicked through his accessories. Was a choker overkill? He liked them, considered them pretty. He slipped a plain black one over his throat, adjusting it carefully. He looked exactly like his friend so he assumed it wouldn’t be an issue for the parents. One choker wasn’t the end of the world.

It was already getting late, the joys of sleeping in so late. Jungkook ate to the loud beats of his music and cleaned up while singing at the top of his lungs. One sure-fire way to get him to relax. Music was the only thing he could say for sure makes him happy. Well. Music and art. And the gym. He watched the sun set with a burst of colour and sighed, leaning against the kitchen counters to watch. If only he had his camera. It was pretty, he mused. All red and orange and purple like paint cans had been spilled in the sky. A canvas of colour and warmth despite how cold it was outside. Jungkook wanted to try to paint the view, but there was no time. In five hours or so he would have to leave the warmth and comfort of his house. He glanced back to the creek and further once more to the woods. Still just as creepy but for some reason it seemed brighter under the red clouds collecting above it. Pretty. Jungkook loved to paint pine trees, their shapes easy to work with. He watched for a little longer, eyes wide. The trees were steady today, barely shifting in the breeze. The broken branches must have fell down during the night because the silhouettes seemed neater. Prettier. All dark but back-lit by the rising moon like a canvas you would hang on your wall. Jungkook hadn’t really paid that close attention to the scenery before but now that it was quiet and the colours of the sky seemed to burst, Jungkook almost couldn’t remember why he was scared of those woods.

2am rolled by; 2:30, 2:40, 2:55 and Jungkook finally left the house bundled with a white scarf and a coat. It’ll be a cold night. He paused at the creek, regarding his phone pointedly. He heard feet shuffling, three of his friends regarding him warmly. Too awake for the hour but he greeted them back, heeding the backpacks they carried.

“Are you all camping?” he frowned in confusion and the oldest, the one had had invited him called Minseok nodded surely.

”I needed a hand setting up camp, my parents will meet us there,” he chirped and Jungkook nodded, following behind as they hopped over the creek and towards the woods. Now usually Jungkook would turn around. He hated the woods. But it was for a camping trip and no stories suggested anything happened when ‘adults’ were around. He could just sprint out of there anyway. So they took the beaten excuse of a path into the thick trees before turning off of the path to the left and continued into the darkness. Jungkook could feel it, even though there were others with him. The eyes. The whispers. He wanted to cry. Throw up. It hurt and it was just a heavy darkness causing it. It was thick with tension and the further they strayed from the path the more Jungkook wanted to run the other way. The whispers were getting louder.

“Right, let’s set up here. Jungkook can you clear a way for the fire?” Minseok chirped and instantly Jungkook nodded, using his feet to shuffle the leaves and debris from the middle of their group. Someone shuffled behind him and there was a sudden flare of pain in his head. Jungkook fell to his knees easily, groaning as his face fell into the dirt.

”We have to hurry. It’s getting late,” Minsung urged and there was a rough grip on Jungkook’s arms that pulled him across the ground. Not caring about the sticks and roots digging into his spine. He was yanked up to sit, his body arched forwards as he tried to blink away the fuzziness in his head. Numb. Numbness with an odd side of an itching pain clawing beneath his skin. His arms, heavy like lead weights were tugged up and together, wrapped roughly with rope before they were tied around a tree. The same being done around his chest and someone hurriedly tied his ankles into an awkward crossed position. Jungkook groaned and tried to pull away but was only hit harder for his efforts.

Blackness.

An odd relief. A darkness that didn’t make his skin feel too tight and his eyes heavy. This was a different kind of dark. It was a numb darkness, one that brought with it very little to think about or feel. Then the throbbing started, first it seemed to be in the back of Jungkook’s skull at the nape of his neck but it moved behind one eye and then both. Fuck it hurt. There was pain flowing up his forearm that was cold and wet with a hint of stickiness in how it clung to his clothes. There was shuffling somewhere distant, everything sounded morphed like Jungkook was under water but when he inhaled shakily he could breathe, somewhat. It hurt to breathe and his chest felt like it was squeezing the blood from his heart but sure enough he certainly wasn’t in water. The shuffling seemed to get closer, louder. More than two feet for sure and Jungkook turned his head blearily towards the sound.

“A kid?”

“An…offering?”

”A sacrifice. What the fuck?! Someone just brought in some kid and left him for dead!” someone huffed in disgust and there was a warm touch on Jungkook’s cheek. Careful and shaking slightly. It was so warm. Jungkook assumed it wouldn’t be for long. He couldn’t open his eyes and his limbs were pulled taut against the rough bark of a tree. He was going to feel the cold and cruel grip of death soon enough.

“You know humans, hyung. They’re cruel beings. Don’t even understand our rules and still think THIS saves them. How wrong they are. How many do you think there were?” someone urged eagerly and Jungkook swallowed thickly. Voices. Six voices all mumbled and shifted around him.

“I smell three…could be wrong through. Let’s get this little one untied first, ok? He’ll catch his death of cold and those wounds,” someone hissed and Jungkook assumed that meant he was in bad shape. Probably looked as bad as he felt which was uncannily like what he imagined dying would feel like but with a hell of a lot more pain. His hands were gently taken hold of, turned carefully as they were pulled from the tree and then something worked on cutting the rope binding his hands together.

”I don’t know if you like being tied up, pet, but this is too much even for us. And I’ve used barbed wire for bondage before,” someone scoffed darkly and Jungkook tried to make sense of the words.

”Hyung! Don’t scare him. You used the wire on food! Not in the bedroom! I’d cut your dick off if you even tried that shit,” someone grumbled in disgust and there was another warm laugh followed by a soft coo that he couldn’t hurt them even if it did get him off a little. Someone sighed in frustration at that.

Jungkook felt the rope around his legs be carefully pulled away and soon he was falling sidewards from the lack of support and grunted at a soft body holding him up. It was warm. Too warm. But the touch was lighting a path of life back beneath his skin and he almost wanted to sleep. Relax and hope death came quick but there were fingers in his hair now and heat against his cheek and he felt his brain stir and try its best to restart.

“Slowly little one, you’ll feel rough when you come to. Hyung can you lift him? Let’s get him our of here…no doubt they’ll come looking for him. Make sure he’s either gone or dispose of him themselves. It was an offering…they knew what they were doing,” someone sighed just as Jungkook was jostled and raised from the ground. It felt weird, his stomach had dropped and churned anxiously at the long strides taking him further and further from home. A sacrifice? They said that a lot. What did it mean? He had been left for dead in the woods. He assumed that much. Jungkook groaned softly, heavy hand falling to his aching ribs and someone hushed him softly.

”Our little human…pretty little thing. Let’s get these wounds cleaned up…I’m sure he’s much cuter not covered in blood and dirt,” someone huffed in mild disgust and there was a shy whine elsewhere.

”No, Tae. You can’t clean him. You know how you react to blood. This one stays alive. No feeding from him. He was sent to us as an offering, I think it’s only appropriate as an initial ‘fuck you’ not to harm him. I’m warning you, Tae. No feeding,” someone gritted, voice deep and earnest until someone mumbled a soft agreement. Jungkook couldn’t care to pay much more attention than that.

Hot hands and a warm, wet cloth woke Jungkook up. The touch was careful and each stroke of the cloth was cautious of wounds and soft. Comforting, even. There were fingers in his hair gently rubbing into his scalp and easing the throbbing in his temple until Jungkook shifted slightly into the touch and it paused.

”Hey little one, you awake?” the voice cooed, familiar and Jungkook yawned around a bleary nod.
”Good…I’m Seokjin, but you can call me Jin-hyung. Just hang on a little longer while I clean you up. Can you tell me your name?” Jin offered softly as Jungkook took a moment to fully comprehend the words. He breathed slowly, relaxing enough to open his bleary eyes. He prepared himself for the worst, a murderer hovering above him with crazed eyes and bloody face alongside a throbbing headache but when Jungkook’s wide eyes finally fluttered open and focused on the face above him he almost recoiled. He was handsome. Jungkook inhaled sharply, wincing at the tightness in his chest and he doubled over awkwardly to cough violently. The handsome stranger had the decency to gently rub Jungkook’s back and chuckled lightly once the younger man had settled.

”Jungkook,” he croaked after a moment and Jin glanced over in shock, eyes widening a fraction before instantly softening. His full lips turned up into a half-formed grin.

“Perfect. Now what were you doing out in that woods at 3am? Hmm? It’s witching hour, kid,” Jin frowned and removed the cloth from Jungkook’s arm and set it aside to regard the younger man with an accusingly arched brow. Jungkook shied away, fiddling with some fraying cotton from his shirt. It happened so fast he wasn’t even sure what had happened. Frankly he didn’t want to know what happened either. He shrugged meekly, eyes lowered to his lap as he waited for something to be said but instead there was just a soft sigh and the hand in his head shifted to his nape and rubbed there tenderly. Jungkook had never felt such an amazing touch before and he groaned thankfully at the comfort and warmth now easing the tension away from his neck and shoulders.

“I was with…people. We were supposed to be camping or at least just having a campfire. We’d only just got into the clearing we were gonna use. And they hit me over the head with something. Tied me to a tree,” Jungkook finally whispered and raised watering eyes up to Jin who had a face twisted in pain and instantly began hushing the youngest with a weak and apologetic smile and tugged him closer to wrap his arms around Jungkook for a protective hug. Jungkook didn’t even know the man. Had been picked up in the woods in the middle of the night. Theoretically he shouldn’t trust him. But the man was so gentle and warm and hushed away his tears while wiping them away with his thumbs and really Jungkook couldn’t find it in him to be afraid. They had saved him, had cleaned him and put him in possibly the most comfortable bed he’s ever laid in. How could he fear him?

“Hyung! We have an issue!” someone called, shouldering the door open and Jungkook startled, catching Jin’s shoulders anxiously as a man not much taller than Jungkook stared over them in shock.

”What issue?” Jin frowned and the man shuffled in the doorway.

”Well…I…he’s awake?” he squeaked, regarding Jungkook now who flushed shyly and nodded. Still clinging to Jin.

”yep. This is Jungkook, said some guys lured him into the woods and knocked him out to tie him to the tree. I suggest we figure out who it was and quick. Before they lure someone else. Is everyone ok?” Jin frowned and only relaxed when Namjoon nodded surely and stepped closer to sit on the edge of the bed.

”Hi…I’m Namjoon. How are you feeling?” he offered softly, eyes raking over Jungkooks’ arms and face worriedly until the doe-eyed boy raised both arms up proudly.

”All better, it doesn’t even hurt that much. Thank you…for taking me from the woods and healing me. I’m sure it was out of your way. But thank you,” Jungkook urged thankfully, arms falling back into his lap as he shuffled nervously beneath their gazes. Stares heavy and interested but equally as worried. He wasn’t used to it. Wasn’t used to having such protective presences around him but Namjoon felt like he could rip off someone’s head with just a glare and Jin, while gentle-looking had a presence he could only liken to royalty. Sturdy and daring with a hint of unreal confidence. He looked like he could put someone in their place and Jungkook really didn’t want to test his theory.

Namjoon had waved off his thanks and had assured him that it was pure luck that they were around when Jungkook needed help. Jungkook wasn’t too sure about that but let the conversation die long enough that he began to nod back off to sleep only to be gently shifted back into the bed and the sheets were pulled up to his chin. Hand in his hair moved to gently stroke over the tired creases between his brows.

”Sleep little bun, you’re safe here,” Jin whispered tenderly, fingers brushing down the swell of Jungkook’s cheeks to his jawline and back up to thumb delicately at the plump lower lip partially parted in a breathless sigh. Comfortable, Jin mused. Comfortable and safe, Namjoon preened because that’s why they were together. Safety. And now Jungkook was here to be a part of it. But they had a meeting to hold. A human was in their home and while no-one had seemed upset with having him in the spare room and no-one seemed all that off-put in not being able to do to this human that they do to others, Namjoon wants to be sure. They have to figure out the next move because eventually Jungkook will start to ask questions and frankly Namjoon isn’t feeling too sure about keeping a human here in a shroud of secrets. There’s a lot to discuss. So he helps Jin to his feet, hands finding the tucked waist and offered a soft kiss to the slightly down-turned lips until the oldest relaxes and kisses back thankfully. Softly. Avoiding stirring the human curled up in a little ball like a bunny or baby deer. Jin feels his heart jump in his chest and breath catch in his throat as Namjoon noses at his jawline and kisses just below his ear.

“I want him,” Jin whispered, eyes fluttering shut at the soft nip he receives in return.

”Soon, my love. Patience. Let’s go talk to the others…we must keep him here. Our clan is full now…we should go before he hears. Soon,” Namjoon urged tenderly and finally led the oldest from the room after both offered Jungkook a final fleeting kiss to his forehead. The youngest hummed sleepily at the touch, lips turning up blissfully before shifting towards the heat and curled further into himself. Sleepy and precious and looking so small in the giant bed. Jin would rip his heart from his chest for this boy. Namjoon returned the sentiment with a smirk but otherwise stayed silent while the two walked away though Jin continued to whine about how long he had to wait before initiating their new little human.

It would require training but Namjoon was sure the soft being in their bed would be able to handle six demons. Hopefully.

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Good morning, afternoon and evening my lovelies! This is a little bit different, gonna be a bit more rough compared to what I'm used to writing but I wanted to try my hand at some angst and darker themes. Of course the boys will still have the cute interactions so expect plenty of fluff around the seriousness but I quite look forward to playing with the more animalistic side of demon-ot6 dragging human Jungkook around for a ride. I hope you enjoy this style equally to my usual. Please leave feedback, anything you'd be interested in seeing or general requests and I would love to hear how you feel about my attempt at darker writing. Of course it's not too heavy just yet but I have a lot of plans for this story if people wish to see more!

Thank you as always,

AJ

Chapter Text

Namjoon could feel the tension in the room, the six of them sat around the dinner table with equally cautious gazes trained on him. His call on what they would do with the little human they saved from the cruelty of his kind. It hung in the air, this one wasn’t the same as the others. No human had ever been brought back to their base. To their home in the middle of the woods. No human had ever seen the lair of a demon and yet one was currently sleeping very contently in one. The irony. But they knew the reason even if it did go unsaid. Namjoon had called it months ago. Somewhere was their seventh and somewhere, someone was holding their precious mate prisoner away from them. How cruel fate was yet equally as kind to have offered him up to them so easily. Their sleeping human so blissfully unaware of his own potential. Not just any human could be the soulmate of a demon let alone six of them.

Jin curled up into Namjoon’s side, sucking his bottom lip between his bared canines with worry. How would the rest of their group react? Two of them were barely even demons, new to the human world and equally as new to the demon realm. Barely babies in comparison to Jin and Yoongi. Yet somehow they were almost paralleled in power and strength. How unfair. Jin had spent aeons perfecting his power and abilities. Seemed the kids had been blessed with pre-maintained powers. They had popped up one day conjuring like it was second nature. Three forest fires later and Yoongi had locked the two away until Namjoon returned from his hunt. Kids.

“He’s it, right?” Hoseok finally whispered anxiously, eyes blown completely black as he regarded Namjoon helplessly. The nerves had been eating at all of them and finally the tension had been cut. Namjoon glanced to Jin first, they had both taken it upon themselves to scout the situation together. Jin was better at reading people, especially humans. They had confirmed between each other the answer looming above them.

“He is.” Namjoon stated softly and offered a small dimpled grin. The entire pack relaxed, sagging thankfully and even Yoongi lowered his head to hide his own shy but appreciative smile. This was what they had been waiting an eternity for, their seventh. Their core. Literally. Yoongi was staring between them and stood, fingers raking over the wooden table.

”May I see him? Just to be sure? It’s not that I don’t trust your judgement but-”

”I’ll take him, stay with the kids and Hobi,” Jin offered softly, offering Namjoon’s cheek a peck in parting before gesturing for Yoongi to follow. They were silent as the oldest nudged the bedroom door open and let the other step inside. Eyeing up their guest nervously. It was true, Yoongi had to admit it. There was a pull there and the soft-faced boy was indeed cute. Yoongi stepped up to the bed, hand sliding nervously up to wrap lightly around the thin throat and he sighed. The pulse was light but there and hammering softly against his palm. The boy inhaled shakily, lashes fluttering before Yoongi retreated his grasp and glanced to Jin.

“It really is him, huh? This…this kid is what we’ve been waiting for?” he frowned and for a moment Jin was worried. Yoongi had never really believed in waiting for their final. Their core member. They had a leader, a nurse and security. That’s all Yoongi cared about but he seemed almost awed at the curled-up human. Other than hunts and the odd run-in with a lost teen or drunkard the group hadn’t really been around humans. Namjoon had taken some time to look around and maybe find their seventh member and Jin had gone once or twice too just to see what the world looked like outside of their territory in the woods but the others had to stay within the boundaries of the trees. Safety was important even for demons.

“His name is Jungkook…pretty, right?” Jin offered, sitting on the edge of the bed while Yoongi observed the human closer. Jin knew Yoongi well, the slightly younger demon needed a little coaxing. He was hard to read which was never the easiest to handle in situations like this in which Jin needed to read him. Needed his genuine reaction because honestly it was possible that one of the members didn’t take to their new little addition. Even though fate had chosen the human as their final member it didn’t quite guarantee his placement in the group. Yes it would have huge amounts of benefits for the six demons but it completely relied on whether the others took to him. Jin had feared this moments for years. If anyone refused Jungkook it would be Yoongi. Yoongi was a little more demon than the others, more focused on senses and instinct than feelings. If Yoongi didn’t feel completely sure about the placement of the human within the group he wouldn’t take to him.

“Pretty…like a pet,” Yoongi hummed curiously, eyeing up the human before shifting closer. Jungkook was indeed pretty. Soft, bowed lips. Long lashes. His body was slender but athletic with a tucked waist that made him look soft to touch. He was tall yet somehow his proportions made him look small and sweet. Innocent compared to the environment he had now found himself in.
”Pretty…pretty enough to ruin,” Yoongi gritted, hand flexing over the soft expanse of the younger boys’ throat and Jin tensed. Watching with bated breath. He could kill him right now and Jin wouldn’t be able to stop it. Yoongi could rip the poor boys’ tongue from his jaw, rip his throat apart and Jin would have to observe. He wasn’t fast enough to stop Yoongi even from this close a distance. Yoongi would kill the boy if he didn’t like him, whether the others accepted or even bonded to the kid. Jin allowed himself to close his eyes. If Yoongi was going to do anything now was the time when the soft human was asleep and unknowing. While Jin couldn’t see the damage. Sure he wanted to taste the boy, his blood and energy and spirit but not like this. Not with blood painting the walls and Yoongi’s face looking like it did after a hunt.

“I won’t kill him,” Yoongi whispered after a moment and Jin’s eyes instantly flew open at the knowing gaze aimed at him. He knew Yoongi must feel slightly betrayed that his oldest mate wouldn’t trust him.
”He’ll fit in well here…I’ll accept him. He won’t be completely ruined by us, fate has certainly gifted us a good mate. But whether he is core material,” Yoongi hummed and regarded the oldest wearily.

Some groups of demons were fated to bond with a core. Jin had explained it the same way a machine worked. You had the demons. The cogs. They were the working pieces of the machine, the things that worked together to produce something. For the machine to work correctly each cog must be placed correctly, in sync, that was the purpose of a demon pack. Now, some packs, groups of demons, worked without a core. They were the groups that were given a passive role and often worked for a large group. They were typically either hunters or gatherers. Not all demon groups were powerful too. Some bonded groups had only one particularly strong member and it was their job to protect the group. Packs like that were often small, three or four members at most. Jin had explained to Yoongi when they first found out about their missed seventh that the core was like an engine attached to the cogs.

Imagine, Yoongi. Jin had hummed as he thumbed through a book on human laws. Imagine an engine which for other groups is just a purpose handed to them. Imagine their engine has the power of battery. It needs to be recharged. It’s weak. Now imagine the core as an engine with a reactor. Nuclear. Unyielding. Imagine a core like a car engine or a power plant. Constantly producing energy. Constantly producing fuel and power for the cogs to shift. A group with no core requires an outside force to keep their minor energy resources topped up. A group with a core member can go eternally. Untouchable. But only as good as their core. Even some groups with a core member are rather weak in comparison. The cogs must drain energy somehow…if the reactor is barely pushing enough for one rotation of a cog then the machine will quickly burn out. You need a powerful core that can feed you to your maximum strength. The may be lucky and receive such a gift as a strong core member but really no human can really be that powerful. Jin had sighed at this and had licked his lips nervously. Yoongi had hummed curiously, how was he so sure? They could have a beast of a core member. There’s six demons which must mean to some degree their core had to be able to somewhat sustain that many members. Jin had shrugged. He didn’t want to get his hopes up. A bonded demon was only as good as his pack. His pack was only as good as his core. Their success as a demon pack completely depended on who lady luck offered to them as their final member.

Jungkook. Yoongi observed the human with a hint of curiosity. How could a child, barely in his twenties, carry enough power for six demons? Say goodbye to conjuring. Say goodbye to teleportation and fire and all the things they loved and had trained to master for hundreds of years. This runt wouldn’t be able to maintain that sort of power. Yoongi sighed, surely it would be worth it. Keeping him around should put them in some form of good stead above the other packs in the area and Namjoon and Jin genuinely seemed to see something in the kid. This meant, if Yoongi knew anything about those two, that this human was actually a lot more powerful and useful than Yoongi could see from his initial meeting. Jungkook was going to turn out to be something horrifically amazing and Yoongi couldn’t wait. It had to be that way or else Namjoon wouldn’t be so eager to keep him around. Pretty faces didn’t keep humans in demon groups for long so Yoongi would place money on that being a lesser factor into Jungkook’s admittance to the house.

“Go on then,” Yoongi sighed and glanced to the oldest expectantly. Jin smirked, regarding Yoongi knowingly. Of course he had been waiting, letting Yoongi stew over the new situation.

”I have nothing to comment on. He is what he is, Yoongi,” Jin hummed softly. Namjoon had always said Yoongi would be the one hardest to reassure once they found their core. Jin and their leader had stayed awake so many nights with just each other dreaming of their future. Their completed pack. How many lives they would destroy, the weak and pathetic humans that dared harm in the name of pleasure. Those disgusting rats that rivalled even a demon’s enmity. Demons were fine, they had rules and they were often times creatures of habit. Humans were completely unpredictable in comparison and killed for no reason. Demons needed it for fuel. Food. Power. Their entire lives and hierarchy dictated by the souls acquired through hunts. Even when demons play with their food they often deserved it. Humans had no remorse even when faced with their own demise. Namjoon often worried about it in the silence of Jin’s company. If their core and mate was even half as crazy as those that they had to hunt to protect the future of their pack and mate then maybe it wouldn’t work. If their companion would kill without a blink of an eye then he couldn’t be trusted. Jin had assured their leader many times that he was sure they would receive a very sweet and caring core, a perfect addition to their large and loud pack. They needed someone a little more careful than the rest of the members and Jin had secretly hoped for someone with even just a hint of tenderness to help him with his more domestic lifestyle. He was the group carer, after all. His job was to make sure everyone was happy, healthy and well fed. He could use an extra hand sometimes when his group decided to be a little extra rowdy or if someone got hurt on a hunt.

Jin recalled a time when that job would fall on Yoongi as the second oldest but in recent years the demon had preferred his space from the group. Jin had waved it off as their resident sleepy-head being a little anxious about the coming of their core. Yoongi didn’t deal with stress well and Jin could readily understand that. Namjoon had been a mess too once they had felt the presence of their final member upon his birth. Namjoon had dealt with the stress as any leader would, by leading. He had comforted the group, had put plans in place and monitored the world even closer than usual to learn the current human trends and behaviours ready for their mate. He had done everything he could to prepare a group of demons for a human companion. Yoongi had left. Bolted the moment the pull had even begun to raise its head. Jin had never seen anything like it, the way Yoongi seemed almost terrified at the prospect of a human coming anywhere near their home. Yoongi didn’t believe in human cores. Hell, he barely believed that some humans were anything more than insufferable pests. Jin had tried his best, they all had, but Yoongi as always was set in his ways.

”We can’t even conjure a puff of smoke with this human, hyung. He looks as weak as a slug. Muscles will only get him so far around here. What do you sense? How powerful is he?” Yoongi urged pointedly, freezing when Jungkook turned with a groan of annoyance and instantly Jin moved to settle him with a soft coo. Disgusting. Disgusting and domestic and the human hadn’t even been in their home for an hour yet. Jin was too soft. Trusted too much in fate and luck to be even mildly perturbed by their new issue.

“You have so little faith, Yoongi. Don’t you trust Joon and I to know if it’s worth keeping him?” Jin knew this game. They did it so often these days that he wasn’t even shocked to have to mention it again. Yoongi didn’t trust. That was his issue. Yoongi didn’t trust and he didn’t relent which meant that whenever he was wrong or certainly pushing his luck with the way he talked to Jin and Namjoon who were in rank, far above him, he had to be put in his place. Like right now, for instance.

“No. Because you’re soft on anything mildly linked to fate or any bullshit like that. Soulmate or not, if he can’t maintain the group I refuse to let him stay. Tae would cry if he couldn’t conjure a single flame for the rest of his existence. Imagine not even having the energy to hunt, the woods is literally crawling with food and flesh and blood and you expect us as a pack of six to just sit back with a weak core and hope one of them is slow and stupid enough to just wander into our open arms?” Yoongi scoffed in disgust at the thought. Despite his annoyance though, Jin seemed more than comfortable and grinned knowingly. Yoongi hated that look. It meant the oldest had a plan. He was keeping something from him and the jerk was only a couple of months older. He shouldn’t get favouritism just because Joon liked it when Jin babied him as their leader. Maybe Yoongi should try it? Would he be allowed to pick their hunting tracks if he did? He was pulled from his thoughts by a rough grip on his wrist and he startled. He was yanked up the bed by Jin, duvet splayed over the side of the bed and precariously close to being lost altogether while Yoongi’s hand was forced over the expanse of revealed skin where Jungkook’s button-down shirt was opened at the collar. He grunted, trying to pull away until Jin gave him a warning growl and pressed his hand down onto the hot skin above the humans’ heart. Yoongi had never felt heat like this, skin soft and warm beneath his touch only seeming to be amplified tenfold by his nerves. The hammering of a heartbeat beneath his fingers was unsettling. Most humans this close didn’t stay breathing for much longer than this. The time it took to snap their neck or worse was nothing short of seconds and yet Yoongi had his hand over the source of life and was held there by Jin. Forced to take it in. Forced to just take in the human in all of his glory. The heartbeat was too loud, too close and bouncing around in Yoongi’s skull like a drum in an empty room echoing into every corner of the vacancy. He didn’t like it. Too personal. Too alive.

Yoongi tried to pull back, writhing when the claws of Jin’s long hands dug into the back of his hand and pressed in closer until the younger demon was literally writhing trying to pull away. He should have never questioned their oldest and leader. He should have never said anything but his sight was fading as Jungkook stirred and Yoongi allowed himself a lost sob. It was too much. Shrouded in darkness and skin burning and too tight for his body as he contorted against Jin’s pressing.

“Hyung!” Yoongi sobbed, body tensing and shaking urgently as Jungkook turned into his touch and the darkness within his vision burst into the light of a thousand galaxies. He recoiled, finally let go as he fell back from the bed and his body twitched at the ebbing power slowly settling. Slowly letting him return to a semblance of normal. His gaze snapped up, about to shout, about to go all out on the oldest. What the fuck sort of punishment was that?! But he was hovering over Jungkook and Yoongi’s gaze shifted down, down to the burning red hand print on Jungkook’s chest. It was glowing furiously as if the etched outline of a hand was fire and burning yet the human slept on. Unknowing and unperturbed by the pain he just caused a demon. If Yoongi hadn’t known for a fact the brat was asleep he would have believed whole-heartedly the human had meant to do that.

“Learn your manners, Yoongi. Don’t make me do that to you again. I don’t like seeing my mates in pain, believe it or not,” the oldest sighed and turned completely to the younger demon with a hint of remorse in his eyes as he stepped closer and raised Yoongi’s hand worriedly. It still ached, still felt like a thousand needles being jammed into the soft skin of his palm.

“You used him against me, hyung. What were you thinking?” Yoongi whispered in horror. Jin winced instantly at the accusation and lifted Yoongi’s hand to his lips to kiss the pain away until it ebbed into a pleasant and familiar tingling sensation. A silent apology. Jin wouldn’t apologise that easily, whether Yoongi felt betrayed or not, he had deserved it in the eyes of his oldest mate.

“I did it so you could see for yourself the power he possesses. I would never have intentionally hurt you, Yoongi. You should know me better than that, surely. He holds a lot of power and soon it’ll be ours. He will be ours. I know it hurt but imagine what that kind of power can do running in your veins. It won’t work against you the next time you touch him. You’ll be able to do so much with this sort of energy. We’ll be untouchable,” Jin urged calmly but there was a bright sparkle in his eyes like amber glitter swimming in an abyss and Yoongi had seen that look before. Jin was excited. Aroused. Power and food were probably Jin’s two biggest loves in existence and Jungkook could provide both.

“You love him, don’t you?” Yoongi whispered after a moment of collecting himself and Jin recoiled in mild horror at the affronted and slight disappointed tone of the other demon. Yoongi wasn’t big on emotions, especially not voicing them but right now he was in the middle of a territory war. He could lose everything to a single human. A human their pack willingly let into their most vulnerable attentions. Jungkook could crush them all so easily if he ever found out.

“It’s not love-”

”You love him…so easily? It took me years for you to look at me like that! You look at him like he has the answer to all your hearts desires as if I hadn’t been fighting to give you them long before he was even born! How could you use him against me and then expect me to accept him?! Accept you with this new need going to your head?! You are going crazy just being in the same room as him and he’s a pathetic little human!” Yoongi spat, pushing Jin away roughly when the oldest tried to move closer to console him. To hush him. Yoongi was more than furious. Long past furious and boarding into dangerous territory because Jin was staring at him with so much worry and sorrow and Yoongi couldn’t pick which of the two mates he was mourning the loss of. His mate of literally hundreds of years that he would have to throw to the streets or the human he had known for an hour that Yoongi was far too worked up over.

“You would pick him in an instant, I can see it in your eyes,” Yoongi finally gritted, accusing finger pointing at the human and the digit burst with sparks that engulfed his entire hand. One move and it could be over with. They didn’t need a core. They were plenty powerful without one. One incantation and the human would be nothing but dust and ash and an echo of a scream in their home. If he did it fast enough there wouldn’t even be chance to scream. Yoongi had the power of life and death at his fingertip and it was currently aimed very eagerly on the soft-faced human. Jin froze, hands up in an instant in surrender and Yoongi glanced over with a hint of amusement. Really? Submitting so easily for a mere child?

“I would never choose anyone over my mates, Yoongi-”

“He’s one of them! He’s a mate! You may not choose an outsider over one of us but you sure as hell seem more than made-up with your choice on which mate you would die for first! He’s a human, for fucks sake! They die! They perish like fucking cattle and you’re cooing over him like a newborn! He is food! He’s a toy. We’ve killed thousands of his kind before but because this one has fate’s name written all over him you can just accept that this one we’re not allowed to hurt? I expect that from two-faced, indecisive humans but not you,” Yoongi spat. The human was shifting where he laid and Jin was shaking across the room from him as Yoongi cocked a finger towards Jungkook. Ready to aim and fire. Hell. He wouldn’t even aim. Hope it caught on his clothes and lit him up like a candle. Nice and slow and watch Jin apologise for ever choosing such a weak and pathetic excuse for a mate over Yoongi. Jungkook would never belong in their home. He was toxic. He had turned Jin against his mates so quickly Yoongi was sure he would have whiplash after this. Even Namjoon had turned so easily from his mates to be with the rat on the bed.

“Yoongi stop. I would never pick any of you over another. You left us, remember? You’ve been gone for twenty years. You barely come home-” Jin urged softly and Yoongi scoffed, fire flickering to match his annoyance.

“Because of him. Because of this pest. We felt it the moment he was born, some pathetic excuse of a mate. We don’t need a core. We don’t need a seventh mate!” Yoongi urged angrily and turned to Jin. Their eyes were matching now. He had done it. Got beneath Jin’s impenetrable skin. Yoongi could almost feel it, how Jin’s own power matched his yet still held back with the skill only their soft oldest would have. Any other demon with the power Jin possessed would have torn Yoongi to shreds but no, his mate was too tender, too sweet for that. In some ways Yoongi hated it. He wanted to be hurt. Wanted to have an apology ripped from him like he had almost done upon having Jungkook’s burning skin pressed against his. But Jin had relented far too fast. As much as Yoongi had felt betrayed it proved Jin could feel something for him, even if it was wrath.

“Yoongi you just said you accepted him barely ten minutes ago. You looked at him and I saw you relenting. For even a second you changed your mind so why now point fire at him?! Why now do you want him dead after finally relenting after twenty-two years?!” Jin pressed urgently and gestured to the tossing and turning human. Surely the argument should have woken him, surely the heat from the flame pointed directly at him should have woken the human. Yoongi thanked his lucky stars it seemed this one was a very heavy sleeper, either that or he was smart enough not to get involved.

“Because I saw the fucking look you gave him! When was the last time you directed that look at us, huh? Bored of us finally after forever together?! Want fresh meat, huh, hyung? Want something new?” Yoongi scoffed, freezing at the sudden hand around his throat pinning him to the doorway and instantly his fire was snuffed out. Jin was horrifically furious now. Yoongi couldn’t place a single day in their lives together when he had ever seen their oldest like this. His eyes were pure gold and his chest was heaving despite the lack of a need to breathe. Sure neither did Yoongi but the hand around his throat seemed to make him feel otherwise. His chest was already feeling heavy and his mind was swimming simply from the twitching grasp. He didn’t need to breathe but right now he felt like he had to.

“Don’t you ever suggest that! Don’t you ever dare say I don’t fucking love you, Min Yoongi! I gave you my everything! I gave away everything to be here! I killed people I loved for you! I killed hundreds to prove to you I wanted to be here! Don’t you ever fucking say I don’t love you or the others because I’m the only fucking one that does show it! I stay up with Namjoon even when I can barely fucking walk or see because I’m so exhausted but I stay awake and let him talk. Let him work things out because I know he needs it or else he’d go crazy. I waited twenty fucking years for you to come back home. We hadn’t spent a day away from each other until Jungkook was born. You left your pack. Not me. You left your mates. Not me. I stayed here and told everyone to wait for you. I’m the fucking reason you were allowed back, Yoongi. Just remember that. I’m the reason we waited for you,” Jin spat, fingers tightening further until Yoongi actually winced at the pressure and dig of nails into soft skin.

Sure enough, though, Jin was right. Yoongi had left. Barely returned to the group for a whole twenty years. He returned once or twice but never enough to truly reassure everyone he would properly stay one day. He had left his mates for so long. He wouldn’t have known if they were hurt. He had no way of knowing if everyone was safe and eating or if they even had enough dwindling power to keep them surviving until their core was of age to provide them his energy.

“I knew you’d pick him. And you did,” Yoongi whispered finally and the hand fell away as Jin sized him up still breathless with anger.
“I didn’t choose anyone, Yoongi. You did. You chose yourself. You chose whatever you were doing for the last twenty years. You made the choice yourself. If you want to leave, go but don’t bring Jungkook into this and certainly don’t bring my love for you into this. If you leave then it’s your own love that is lacking not mine. If you’re going to go, go,” Jin gritted warningly and finally Yoongi lowered his stare to his feet and fell silent. At his apparent relenting to the situation Jin stepped back and moved away with a soft sigh. Yoongi waited, watching their oldest relax and the colour return to his pupils before glancing to Jungkook. He wasn’t about to leave without a fight. He didn’t intend to leave, this was all because of that stupid human. So he raised his finger again while Jin’s back was turned and smirked at the soft pulse of light. He didn’t have much more power, if he wanted to do this it had to be soon.

“Hyung!” the door slammed open, a bright blue hand folding over his and instantly extinguished his flames leaving only bitter cold in its wake. Yoongi was ready to turn, throw another incantation or just an equally as terrifying glare Namjoon’s way but the bed was now empty and Yoongi froze, eyes darting around the room nervously.

“What the fuck are you?!” Jungkook spat, half-way across the room with a scalpel and scissors in his hand aimed at Yoongi and Namjoon. Jin, wide-eyed and seemingly completely lost glanced between the two. Yoongi could only offer a mirthful smirk. Now was their oldests’ choice. Human or life-long mates?

Chapter Text

Namjoon almost wanted to drag Yoongi out of the room. Wanted so badly to put him back in his place. Poor Jungkook, pressed up in the corner of the room, shaking, crying silently. He hated it. Namjoon hated that look on their young mate. What had the older demon expected to happen? More so why did he choose now to voice his repulsion for their core? Yoongi had been secretive, sure. The older demon had left their home as soon as Jungkook was born but whenever he returned home he was excited to hear about their human mate. How old was he now? What did they think he looked like? Would he be cute and powerful because that was Yoongi’s kink. Someone cute and small but deathly dangerous. Namjoon could agree with that much, Jungkook’s face was sweet and adorable but knowing how much power was bottled up in that slenderly toned body was doing things to Namjoon that he would hate to admit so early on.

He raised his hands instantly in surrender and Jin mirrored the action calmly. Observing their little human worriedly. He shouldn’t be out of bed. He’ll pull the stitches and bandages.

”It’s ok, Jungkook-ah. You’re ok. Please lay back down, you’ll open your wounds,” Jin urged softly with a hint of an urgent whine in his voice. Yoongi was in no state to smell blood, if any wound opened on their little mate he would be turned to dust within a second. Yoongi had no connection to him yet. He wouldn’t hesitate to eat the poor kid up, drink him dry and rip his gorgeous body to shreds. Jungkook bristled, glaring warningly at Jin with the scalpel pointed in his direction. Jin didn’t have the heart to tell the young human he couldn’t hurt them with a simple weapon like that. He probably wouldn’t be able to hurt them physically regardless of weapon or otherwise. They had a bit of power left between the six of them, they could conjure a simple shield or knock-back if they had to.

“L-lay down?! Are you crazy? You’re actually messing with me, right? Lay down while one of you is pointing a hand fire-gun at me?!” Jungkook barked in horror, flailing slightly in the general direction of Yoongi who offered a crooked smirk.

”You’ll open your wounds, Jungkook-ah. Please realise the position you’re in. I can explain everything if you just sit down,” Jin urged, glancing back to Namjoon helplessly who offered a comforting smile. Patience. Patience and understand were all Jungkook needed right now. So the oldest took a deep breath, opening his palm up so Jungkook could see and squeezed his fingers against his palm. Observing the humans’ reaction as a soft yellow light pulsed from beneath his fingertips and Jin opened his hand, showing the soft glowing orb tucked into the cup of his palm.

“I…you’re magic?” Jungkook whispered in shock, eyeing up the light in awe as it pulsed for a few moments before dimming into a soft orange colour, then pink and purple and Jin almost wanted to pat his own back. Fire was scary, especially fire conjured from nothing but light wasn’t. Light was good. Colourful light was even better because he could see Jungkook’s breathing slow from erratic and fearful to calm as he following the pulse of the light. Soft breaths just barely audible but comforting enough to the two observing demons now that Yoongi had been kicked out of the room by Namjoon once Jungkook was distracted.

Yoongi had expected as much, Namjoon had turned to him with bright crimson irises and a pointed glare once Jungkook’s attention had fallen to Jin and bared bright pearly fangs at him in warning. Yoongi, though older, had the decency to cower ever so slightly and lowered his head. He knew he deserved it, deserved their anger and hurt and betrayed glances. He deserved their hatred. So he nodded meekly, turned on his heel and ducked out of the room. He would wait. If he ran now Namjoon would find him, or worse, exile him. He could lose his mates. He could lose everything and his entire being was held in the palm of Namjoon’s hand. His life or death depended on how sympathetic Namjoon felt after dealing with a horrified Jungkook. Jungkook…their human core. He didn’t deserve that, Yoongi groaned in annoyance, rubbing his sore eyes from exhaustion. He didn’t deserve what Yoongi had just put him through straight after being attacked and left for dead in the woods. Sometimes Yoongi really hated the demon within him for being such a selfish asshole. But what was done was done and Yoongi had admitted defeat the moment Namjoon had turned on him. Jungkook was innocent in all of this, he hadn’t meant to steal the affections of a demons’ mates. He hadn’t meant to be a core, or a group of six demons’ mate. That human didn’t even know where he was or what they were let alone what damage was being done unknowingly by his arrival. Everyone had accepted him long ago before even meeting him so why did Yoongi find it so difficult? Why did he hate this poor kids’ innocence?

“See? We won’t hurt you. Can you sit down now, please? I worked hard on patching you up…I’d hate to have to spend another six hours sewing you back up,” Jin tutted tenderly, smiling wide and bright when Jungkook relented with a small, unsure nod and dropped the tools he had been holding onto a small table before shuffling up onto the bed.

“Good boy, see? No-ones getting hurt today. Here, hold this for me while I check you over,” Jin cooed, solidifying the light in his hands and held it out for Jungkook.He couldn’t be afraid of their powers if he was going to stay here with them. He should be able to at least hold their ‘magic’. Trust, Jin had assured himself. If he could touch the things they conjure it would be a step closer to Jungkook trusting them as demons. Jungkook frowned and raised wide, curious eyes up to Jin and the oldest cooed mentally. How sweet. He adjusted the pink light into one hand and gently arranged Jungkook’s outstretched hands into a cup before holding the light out slowly.

”it’s ok…it’s not hot. Just tingles,” Jin assured him sweetly, slowly rolling the orb into Jungkook’s hands. The human froze, breath sharply inhaled back into his shocked lungs as he smoothed his fingers over the ball of light curiously. Good start, Jin sighed to himself.

“It…it’s pulsing. Like…a heartbeat,” Jungkook whispered in mild horror but the morbid fascination on his face was obvious. A light, conjured by someone ‘magic’ that he could hold and had a heartbeat. Of course he was going to be curious. Jin observed curiously, eyes focused on the light with a narrow pointedness. It was mimicking Jungkook, matching his heart-rate. He knew how to do that, he often used that particular light on poor victims in the woods. To see it used in such a gentle, innocent way was shocking. Unheard of. Because the light was used for death and destruction not easing soft, small little humans into a comfortable lull of hope and tenderness. But the light seemed to take a liking to Jungkook, wavering and pulsing with soft colours. When Jungkook moved so did the orb, clinging ever so slightly to his skin. Jin hated his familiar sometimes. Clinging to their core like an infant. It was a killing machine for hell’s sake! But all Jungkook needed to know was that he was holding magic, not a small shape-shifting orb of destruction that liked pretty little humans. Jin couldn’t blame it. It learned that from its master after all.

Chiro. Chiro had been with Jin since he could remember. The moment he stepped foot into hell he had been paired with the little shape-shifter. He did adore Chiro but it was a mischievous little thing. Helped the younger demons to cause havoc. Sadly demon familiars were a little more resilient than others so he couldn’t kill the thing as much as he wanted to sometimes. Four house fires caused by the horrific bundle of energy and electricity. Within a month!

Chiro’s original form was what Jin liked to recount as a bobble-head in the human world. A white, glowing phantom about the size of a rabbit. Black abysses for eyes that twinkled with mischief and galaxies lost in time. Faded and blackened with a hush of stardust glittering knowingly. Warningly. Chiro may be small but it sure as hell was terrifying. Jin had never been on the receiving end of its anger but Taehyung had, multiple times.

But right now Chiro, a soft light mimicking an awed human boy was behaving himself shockingly well. Usually it would get bored of playing to Jin’s whims. But both human and familiar seemed more than happy to just enjoy each other. Jin allowed them this much, it had been a long time since Chiro had met another that it could tolerate to such a degree. Jin feared his little familiar was getting lonely, once Yoongi had left the house Chiro had seemed to grow an attitude far too big for its tiny body. Lashing out, starting fires, killing random hikers without Jin’s permission or order. It was quite the clean-up process.

So Jin checked Jungkook’s wounds calmly, catching the way Namjoon seemed to squirm in the doorway and he sighed. Their familiars were all going a little crazy with the sudden appearance of their core. Their familiars were hungry. Hungry for power, strength. They had waited for Jungkook just as long as their counterparts had but they were feeling the brunt of it. Hungry and weak. Judging by the little orb currently melting into happy putty that Jungkook seemed to be horrified at but equally as entertained by as he passed the viscus goo between his hands. Jin could almost hear the phantom light purring with happiness at being held.

“Hyung,” Namjoon grunted, hands clutched to his chest and Jin turned in shock at his heaving form.

”Joon?” Jin slid over, thankful Jungkook’s attention was elsewhere as he pressed his hands to Namjoon’s who shuddered helplessly.

”Quell it, Joon. You can’t let him out. He’s too strong for Kookie. Don’t let him out, Joon. Please. Ro will come and then Yoongi will follow and it’ll be a shit storm. Ire, please! Please don’t do this! Chiro is with him, don’t start anything,” Jin urged, hissing barely above a whisper as he pressed back into Namjoon’s hands that were struggling, pushing back against his and Namjoon grimaced in pain.

”Hyung…hurts,” Namjoon croaked and Jin startled, hand flying to his lips as he whistled and the goo in Jungkook’s hand shuddered and clumped together into Chiro’s natural form and Jungkook recoiled in horror as the small light licked at his hand before dashing away in a dazzling light display and it pressed through the back of Jin’s hands only showing a soft white glow faintly between his fingers. It took a couple of moment before Namjoon relaxed, stumbling slightly into Jin’s chest who caught him easily.

”Chiro will keep him at bay for now. You’re ok, Joonie. You’re ok. Go find Hobi, ok? He’ll feed you. Get your strength up in case he tries that shit again,” Jin frowned and Namjoon nodded blearily, taking one step before his chest burst with a red light and out flew a black mass followed by a fuming red light of Chiro. Namjoon groaned, holding himself up on the wall as Jin struggled to rush after the two, trying to keep them from a stunned Jungkook.

”What are those things? I…that light…it was magic…right?” Jungkook gaped in awe at the dancing lights and Jin glanced over nervously but where he had expected disgust and fear on the humans’ face there was only awe and interest.

”I…it’s kinda magic? Those are our…pets…I guess? The little ball of light is mine. Chiro,” Jin sighed in exasperation and gestured to burning red flame darting after a sleek black shadow.

“Chiro?” Jungkook hummed in awe and the light froze, twitching and rippling as if shuddering and it turned, deep black eyes turning on Jungkook who reeled back but Jin caught him gently.

”it’s ok…Chiro likes you. Right?” Jin offered and the light shuddered again, inflated head bobbing slightly in a silent nod but Jin could hear the small, soft cooing sounds it emitted . Content. Curious. A poor little familiar seeing a core for the first time was sure to be a little awe-struck.

“Chiro…can it hear? Understand?” Jungkook whispered in shock and Jin chuckled lightly.

”Yes, though it’s a bit of a stubborn one. It may understand but it doesn’t always respond, likes to cause mischief rather than listen to commands and suggestions,” Jin scoffed and the light huffed a small puff of steam and seeped dark red into its bobble-head until Jungkook reached out curiously.

”You upset it…I’m sure it just doesn’t mean to cause trouble. Such a nice little thing…I like it,” Jungkook pouted, grinning when the light flashed pastel pink and rushed at him, sparking up a path of light and twinkling sparkles as the small figure brushed up against his cheeks and chin and squirmed excitably around his lap and up his shirt, peeking up out of the neckline with wide pools of eyes staring up at Jungkook as it latched onto his chest and vibrated softly while Jin rolled his eyes pointedly.

“Clingy. Look at that Chiro, you’ve upset Ire now,” Jin huffed and Jungkook glanced up at this, at the lithe shadow clearly watching him but so solid Jungkook couldn’t quite tell what it was. Void of features.

”Ire? Is that it’s name?” Jungkook frowned and Namjoon chuckled, stumbling to sit on the chair beside the bed and he regarded the shadow with a sigh.

”Ire is mine, he’s a bit of a sensitive soul. Come on buddy, stop stressing. You had your chance and you chickened out. Look…Jungkookie is still healing, you can’t be darting around here. I put you there so you were safe, you didn’t have to try breaking a rib or two to get out. See…he needs rest,” Namjoon sighed and the shadow seemed to shift as if turning it’s head and Jungkook’s eyes widened. It looked almost cat-like. Angular ears twitching, long, slender body and long twisted tail.

“Is he…dangerous?” Jungkook whispered nervously, one hand propped on the bed and the other petting a very sleepy and very content Chiro snuggled against his chest just over his heartbeat.

“No. Not at all…he’s just-”

”Clumsy. Like his father. Our…pets…grow with us. They learn from us and are essentially parts of our souls,” Jin offered softly before snapping his lips shut. That was possibly the most inhuman thing he could have said. But Jungkook seemed far from phased, observing Ire in mild awe.

”So…they mimic you? Does Ire like to be pet? He looks like a cat,” Jungkook offered, patting his lap in offering and the shadow twitched excitedly, dashing down to land on the space but stumbled, front paw landing just shy of Jungkook’s knee and it stumbled with a loud squawk of fright like a bird and Jungkook jumped at the sound, of a solid shadow physically hitting him and stumbling into the crook between his legs. Ire, it seemed, had given up in embarrassment, splayed out length-ways in the crevice his thighs made and the long limbs tucked into its chest, pearly white eyes gazing up to Jungkook with slow, sweet blinks.

“You’re a bit of a mess, huh? Very cat-like, though. You should stop running then, you nearly fell off of the bed,” Jungkook frowned worriedly, fingers cautiously running up the displayed black tummy and the feeling was almost abnormal. It felt like fur, warm and soft and up close it did seem to just be a very dark black cat with pearly eyes but it was making these small, obscene sounds like clicking and chirping softly. It’s tail was littered in red glitter but when Jungkook had brushed his hand over it the colour stayed firm. So now he had both hands full of ‘pets’ and Jin and Namjoon were observing carefully. Cautious as to how their little pets were going to act but eventually both of them seemed to relax along with their counterparts and Jungkook yawned sleepily, squirming carefully with Ire sleepily padding at the air as he moved back onto the bed and laid down so both familiars could snuggle up while he napped. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep once Chiro started to pulse against his chest, comforting and warm and soothing like laying against another chest.

The two demons had waited until all three were resting peacefully before relaxing and Jin turned worriedly to Namjoon who was still rubbing the space where his heart should be with a wince.

”he did a number on you, huh? I told you to stop caging Ire up there…he gets nervous being secluded and trapped in your powers. See…he was so good with Jungkookie,” Jin beamed proudly and sat on Namjoon’s lap, snuggling close thanks to the atmosphere in the room that might as well have dictated that everyone in the vicinity should just cuddle.

“They’re being very…placid with him. Not even trying to feed. What do you think it means? He has power, we proved it. Why aren’t they even trying?”

”because…look,” Jin whispered, gesturing over to the sleeping human as the two familiars glowed, Ire’s pit-black fur bleeding into a soft purple colour as was Chiro who was clicking softly. Sleepy.

”He…he’s feeding them on contact? Holy shit, hyung! He’s…fucking hell. That’s some serious power there,” Namjoon whispered in awe, hand nervously reaching over and slid carefully beneath Jungkook’s shirt where there were hard abs and Namjoon’s lashes fluttered for a moment. It was a different kind of feeding from what he was used to, he got power from killing, sucking up blood and souls. He was used to tearing things apart for this sort of strength but Jungkook’s seeped power. Hunger. His skin was an outlet of aura perfect for feeding on.

“He’s…full of spirit this one. That’s why- Yoongi!” Jin scrambled, pressing away from Namjoon and rushed to the door, pulling it open as Yoongi froze in the doorway. Eyes shimmering blue.

”Yoongi?” Jin whispered nervously and the demon’s face crumbled slightly with tears.
”Hyung…I- hyung,” he croaked thickly, holding his hand up where the lines of his palms were running bright violet and Jin hissed, pulling the hand up to his face with a worried whine and kissed the lines urgently. He had done this. He had hurt Yoongi. He hadn’t even thought, pressing his hand to Jungkook like that might backfire. But Jungkook’s body knew friend from foe. He had put his mates at risk but more so Yoongi.

”I’m so sorry! Yoongi I’m so sorry. I didn’t know-”
”Hyung…’m so full…been so sick…so much power,” Yoongi whispered brokenly, eyes shimmering even brighter now. He was full, it was so obvious just from looking at him that his power was close to over-flowing. It had been years, tens of years since they had been so full of energy and power and strength. It had been possibly hundreds of years since they were at full capacity. Yoongi’s body would just have to adjust, adjust to having power on tap. Adjust to having this heat in his veins again after so long.

”Is Ire out? Ro…had some issues settling,” Yoongi mumbled, sighing when beady owlish eyes poked up from behind his shoulder and he lowered his head tiredly. Jin chuckled fondly, reaching out to pet the raven-ish familiar speckled in deep blues and greens like the night sky in the middle of no-where.

“They’re both out…Chiro is having some separation issues,” Jin sighed heavily and Yoongi squirmed nervously.

”Have you calmed down?” Jin frowned darkly and Yoongi nodded urgently before an arm wrapped around his waist and led him back into the bedroom and instantly Ro perked up, flapping urgently before Yoongi scoffed at the pathetic attempt at flight and pulled the fluffy ball of a bird from his shoulder and crouched at the bedside with a frown.

”Don’t make my mistake, be nice to him, ok?” Yoongi warned softly before settling the bird down who instantly ruffled his feather into a puffy ball and settled right against Jungkook’s jaw in a shelter of warmth. They observed for a long while, watching their familiars fill with purple power and equally so observing Jungkook and his peaceful sleep. Yoongi had sat on the foot of the bed, watching the four carefully. Their familiars seemed to have taken a liking to Jungkook and now, rage settled, Yoongi could see why. The kid pretty much glowed, his power and aura thick and soothing compared to a demon that could project various spiteful auras. A way to instigate conflict between humans. Between those less powerful. But Jungkook was so gentle and soft, warm compared to what Yoongi was used to. It had startled him. Hell. It had scared him, and that was the worst feeling. Yoongi was a demon, he could crush hundreds of humans in a single blast if he wanted to but this human had the power of seven demons inside of him and still acted so sweet. Yoongi’s power had gone to his head within the first week he had opened his eyes in hell. Jungkook had made it to twenty-one with this power inside of him and honestly Yoongi was mildly disgusted at how innocent the kid was. Following a bunch of guys into some dangerous woods at 3am because they said they wanted to go on a random camping trip? The human was as dumb as he was horrifically pretty.

“What happened, Yoongi?” Jin whispered softly, a hand sliding into his and Yoongi tensed before lowering his head in apology.

”The kid…scared me,” he mumbled instantly. His mates deserved the truth. He had spent the better part of twenty years trying to hide it from them.
”He still does. He always has. We’re demons. We’re…not meant to fall in love with humans. They don’t understand, they could never understand. We kill people…we eat souls and torture for fun. They could never understand why. He’s our mate…and before we even start we could lose him. As soon as he learn about us and what we do he’ll leave,” Yoongi croaked thickly, brows furrowed in pain.

”I couldn’t let you go through that…so…I thought if I killed him…it wouldn’t hurt as much. You could hate me but at least it would be before he could hate us. Before you got attached…before he could hurt us back. If he learns he has our souls in his hands he could crush them. He could crush our entire existence if he wanted to. I couldn’t let you watch him fear us. I’m sorry,” Yoongi whispered, eyes raising to Jin’s with bright teal speckles and Jin cooed fondly, leaning up from his seat as he cupped Yoongi’s nape fondly and pressed their foreheads together.

“Thank you,” Jin mumbled earning himself a surprised little grunt from the younger demon.
”You always worry for us and our love. You never want us to hurt…thank you. But…you should have said something and we could have worked through this together. Instead of you leaving us. Instead of you scaring the shit out of the poor kid while he’s healing we could have dealt with this as a group. Like we always do. Right?” Jin urged softly as Yoongi nodded meekly against him. There was a moment before Jin tilted Yoongi’s chin up, eyes dark and swirling with pink and Yoongi swallowed thickly, lips already parted when the oldest crushed their lips together urgently. They both made a broken muffled sound as Jin pressed closer with a growl and vaguely they could hear Namjoon chuckle fondly but it was lost in an animalistic whine Yoongi released between parted lips and swiping tongues pressing and sliding lewdly together. They hadn’t had time together like this in such a long time. Jin had huffed something into the kiss when Jungkook had stirred in his sleep, something needy and eager but Yoongi had silenced him with a rough nip to his bottom lip and lapped the beading blood away eagerly. Messy and hungry as he opened the wound urgently again and again after licking it clean and Jin groaned each time, hips canting up urgently at the pleasant sting.

“Guys, stop,” Namjoon hissed and fisted his hand in Jins’ hair and pulled back roughly to separate them only resulting in a long, breathless groan from the oldest that was silenced by a hand as Jungkook squirmed in his sleep. He smacked his lips together sleepily, pouting and scrunching his nose sweetly before relaxing back into a deep sleep that had the demons easing slowly.

”Go clean up, both of you. We don’t want to scare him,” he tutted, ushering the two away before turning back to the bed with a heavy sigh. Namjoon had never really expected this sort of situation when he thought about their core. Had never even considered what kind of pull they would have to him. What kind of human he would be. Being demons they had expected something a little more…dangerous? Something that looked a little less fragile. Breakable. But Jungkook, while tall and well-built looked just that. Breakable. And as exciting as the prospect was to break their gorgeous mate. Make him cry and bleed and beg. Namjoon also couldn’t shake the sense of fear that something could happen to him. Something had happened to him. Jungkook had been a target before and the chances of him being one again were high. Bad men went for the pretty ones, that’s just how the world and underworld worked. Jungkook was in a very dangerous position and they had limited time to try and find a way to introduce him to their own world. Prepare him for any situation that could raise its ugly head. How could they possibly explain to a human what they were and how they operated? Yoongi had been right in his fear of rejection and causing misunderstandings. Humans couldn’t understand what they were, that’s why demons hunted them. Why would this one be any different? Namjoon sighed heavily, leaning over to gently slide the hair from Jungkook’s face and his chest throbbed delicately. To lose such a beautiful, strong core would be a shame. The familiars had taken to him so well too, to separate them would cause so many issues. Like their counterparts, the familiars seemed to have grown into some serious separation issues. To pull them from their mate would be cruel.

Watching Jungkook was a strange experience, Namjoon had never been so close to a living human before. Not like this anyway. Jungkook was so calm, comfortable and bundled up in blankets and familiars all purring into his warm skin. They had ceased feeding though, the purple in their skins now faintly glowing ready for use. Ready for the power to strike out. Jungkook wasn’t like any of the other humans Namjoon had stood over, he wasn’t trembling or crying, he wasn’t dirty either. Most humans he loomed over were covered in blood, sweat and tears. And typically filthy with dirt. But Jungkook was clean and smelled so good, Jin had cleaned him up well and now their mate smelled like water-lily and cotton. Their last hunt had been recent, Namjoon recalled the fear in their eyes. The screams. He frowned, he didn’t want to see that on Jungkook though. He didn’t want to see him hurting or scared, not again, not after what Yoongi had done. Namjoon hated the idea of seeing it again when they told him what they did and what they were. He would leave. He would try to kill them…again. Not like it would work but Namjoon placed bets on the thought alone of their mate hating them that much would probably kill them. His fingers danced over Jungkook’s cheeks, soft and warm. Alive. When Namjoon had taken trips into the town to try and catch a glimpse of Jungkook he had seen many humans. None quite like this. Maybe it was the bond tugging at him to get closer, relent and just mate. Mate and keep Jungkook here with them. But he couldn’t even consider it, not until Jungkook knew.

For an hour Namjoon just stayed like that, touching Jungkook’s warm skin fleetingly in awe. There was a soft knock on the door and in shuffled Hobi, hot drink in hand and Namjoon smiled weakly.

”Hyung said you might be having a moment…I thought you could use some company and some 94 liner love?” the slightly older demon offered softly and handed over the drink with a fond grin that Namjoon mirrored and shuffled so Hobi could sit in his lap.

”So…this is Jungkookie? I could kinda feel his warmth from the other room but it’s kinda overwhelming this close, huh?” Hobi frowned worriedly as Namjoon tucked himself neatly into his back with a small nod.

”I can’t leave him alone...there’s something. Something bothering me,” the leader sighed tiredly until Hobi returned his gaze to him and turned to straddle the comfy lap and rubbed at his mates’ nape.

”That’s because you’re a stress-head. I know you’re worried, we all are. We have to do this together, Joon. You can’t do everything on your own. Leave him to rest and come take a break. Chiro and the others will watch over him. Shi…watch over our mate for us, please?” Hobi cooed, opening his jeans pocket slightly where soft green eyes blinked back sleepily before there was a soft huff and small clawed hands curled over the edge of the pocket, heaving a small fluffy body up into the cool air. Hobi frowned, plucking it from his clothes and set it down on Jungkook’s stomach with a sigh.

”Look after them, Shi. Ok? I’m trusting you,” Hobi urged, scratching the bear-like head with a grin before pulling Namjoon up onto his feet.

”Let’s rest a little while our mate is asleep, we can think about ways to break the news later. Come cuddle,” Hoseok cooed fondly and Namjoon chuckled, dimples on display as he offered Jungkook a final glance before relenting. Cuddles sounded great. Maybe they could grab a quick soul or two to feed on too before he woke up. Namjoon was starting to feel the pull of power and he didn’t exactly want to jump the poor human while he was asleep and healing.

It would have to wait. For now, Namjoon would just have to trust in fate for once. It gave him his demon mates, it would give him his core mate. It would work out, he just had to believe in it and believe in Jungkook.

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Good morning, afternoon and evening my lovelies! The concert in Wembley was amazing! I cried a lot, both good and bad. 70,000 people in one spot is horrifically overwhelming I don’t know how the boys managed it because I think I shook the entire concert! But they were amazing!

On another note, the familiars are all based loosely from Studio Ghibli characters! Have fun trying to figure them out and let me know if you guessed! ^_^ The names for them also have meanings related to core powers so look forward to learning those later on too. Love you all!

AJ

Chapter Text

Hoseok pulled Namjoon along, eager to have some cuddle time only to be stopped by Jin. Pale as snow and eyes wide with hysterics. He didn’t speak, swallowing thickly around words he wanted to speak but clearly couldn’t. Forced into silence as he sucked in a shaking breath. Namjoon hadn’t seen that look in his oldest mates’ eyes in a long time. He would bet on it being over a hundred years. Jin was poised and perfect, princely with a hint of predatory. Jin was, as the oldest, a softer soul. He had his moments, as they all did, when they were terrifying but Namjoon would happily consider Jin one of the less threatening members of the clan. To see his eyes so wide, fear and anger swimming in them like thick clouds on a stormy night. Something was wrong.

”Jimin…” Namjoon breathed, eyes falling shut for a split second before he turned on his heel with a low growl in his chest. He pressed into the room with Jungkook again, eyes scanning the room and he could feel the telling tightness in his chest.

”Jimin! Nox!” he growled, chest heaving as the air thickened slightly around him. Stifling and hot like a cloud of smoke from a bonfire and he stepped closer to the bed. Jungkook’s lashes fluttered and he inhaled. He should have known. But he had been so entranced by their sweet mate and the sudden fiasco with Yoongi that he hadn’t pieced it together. Jungkook’s constant sleepiness while mostly from his wounds was too erratic to be natural. The fact that they had been in the room for long enough and yet nothing had shifted around them. The room deathly still. Too still. Even the air didn’t feel quite the same, stagnant and hotter than usual.

“Nox…let him go…Jungkook could die…let him go,” Jin urged softly, shaking against Namjoon as the room seemed to be sapped of all oxygen before it popped and they both gulped in some air thankfully. The darkness in the room eased slightly into a natural warm glow from the candles on the walls. Jin had reached out, catching a solid black orb in the air and pulled it between his hands, tapping gently on the solid form until the blackness ebbed like smoke or mist and wide, beady eyes stared back at him through the transparent bubble.

”Nox…where’s Jimin?” Namjoon urged and the red-robed doll-like creature narrowed its eyes. It blinked slowly before a wide, toothy grin spread across chalky skin and it wailed loudly. Jin almost dropped the squealing familiar, stumbling with it until Jimin lurched from a corner of the room, shrouded in the shadows of the empty walls as he clutched his head urgently. Namjoon bolted forwards, catching the demon in his arms as he sagged and whimpered softly in pain.
”You let her out,” Namjoon gritted warningly, Jimin shaking softly in his arms.

”She said I could help…I’m sorry. I forgot. I’ve never used her inside before,” the oldest of the maknae line whispered with a raw scratch in his voice that seemed to deepen the words into a tired grumble.

”We told you not to let her out in here, why are you even in here?” Namjoon sighed but picked the smaller demon up bridal style, nudging past Jin who was containing the bubble between his wide hands and they strode down the corridor to Jimin’s bedroom. Barely used as Jin set the orb into a tank of water, clicking the black lid shut and he observed the bubble as it popped, doll standing suspended in the murky water with a hint of glare in her eyes.

“I warned you, you have to be nice to Jimin. He’s not strong enough to handle you yet. You used all of his energy, for what?” Jin warned it, the teeth pulled into a grimace as the soft silk robes flowed in the still water before tightening into something akin to tentacles, red skin pulled taut and shining like scales and he huffed. As always the newest of the familiars was being difficult. Jin recalled Jimin introducing them to the little partial shape-shifter. She had come to them in her doll form, red silk robe tied tightly around the round body she had presented herself in. The eyes had always freaked Jin out a little bit. Nox, unlike the others, had wide, rounded beady eyes that bulged slightly in her head. She reminded him of a fish, maybe a piranha. Her grin was always a little bit too wide. A little too toothy. He feared she may be one of the more freaky, sadistic familiars which, in hindsight, just didn’t suit little Jimin. Jimin was sweet for a young demon, a little eccentric, playful and as usual with his nest-mates Jimin wasn’t very good with boundaries yet in regards to death and feeding but he was far from the terrifying monster Nox seemed to be.

Jin observed her wide eyes and short red appendages grasping at the lid of the tank before she seemed to give up on trying to break free and she huffed a string a bubbles from her mouth. The only familiar that was both aquatic and had limbs that she could grow out. Jimin had attempted to explain why she needed that particularly creepy trait but Jin had blanked it out. Too creeped out to consider the thought of this particular familiar trying to wrap slimy, scaly limbs around him. What a death indeed. No wonder Jimin’s captures always seemed particularly yummy, fear coursing through their veins right up to the moment of death. No wonder with those beady eyes watching them shrouded in the darkness of her time-bubble. A mere minute outside of it could feel like hours or days inside of the darkness. Jimin had tried testing it once. Jin shuddered at the memory. Nox hadn’t even tried to be gentle with him, had wrapped the little demon up in her dark bubble of heat and timelessness and had sucked the energy right out of him. That’s when Namjoon had urged Jimin to keep the familiar in the locked tank so it couldn’t cause too much havoc until they worked out a routine for her to train up her powers.

Jimin had finally settled on the bed once Jin had glanced from the snarling half-octopus, half bobble-headed creature and Namjoon was gently carding the younger demons’ hair back from his pale face.
”She said Jungkook needed it to heal. She promised she wouldn’t hurt him,” Jimin whispered around a shaky breath. His eyes were wide and pleading, urgent that he hadn’t meant to let his familiar out in such a dangerous environment.

”Jimin…how could you trust her?! She’s dangerous. You’ve admitted this to us. She doesn’t understand rules or boundaries, let alone who not to kill. To her Jungkook is just another human to torture and kill,” Namjoon urged worriedly and Jimin’s gaze flickered to the tank. At his little familiar regarding him with such a broken stare.

“But…she didn’t hurt him. She wanted him to heal. She’s not all bad, hyung,” he urged but was silenced by Jin’s sigh.

”Jimin, honey. We’ve warned you. Nox is just too powerful. Keep her locked in there for now. Until we have enough power to give Jungkook proper protection from her. You rest…we’ll bring you some food, sound good?” Jin cooed fondly but Jimin just glanced to his familiar apologetically and sighed.

”Is she really that dangerous? You don’t even trust me to keep her under control?” Jimin whispered and Namjoon sat beside him with a small smile and rubbed his knee comfortingly.

”It’s not that we don’t trust you, love. We don’t trust her. She’s already hurt Hobi, Chiro and Shi. We can’t risk her turning on you or Jungkook. You’re both weakened enough. Now rest, we’ll see if there’s any lost and lonely soul in the woods to bring home to feed on. Yeh?” Namjoon beamed warmly, knowing the assurance of good food, some decent energy and the promise of comfort would ease Jimin enough to relent with a nod.

Namjoon and Jin took a moment outside of the bedroom to gather themselves. Poor little Jungkook, having the parasitic familiar sucking his energy away no doubt. No-one in the house trusted the familiar. Anything that had to hide its kills in a solid bubble of death and darkness couldn’t be trusted. Namjoon couldn’t even be sure that what Nox did to those humans she wouldn’t turn on the demons. Or even the other familiars. Namjoon didn’t know the signs of her attacks, everything was done in complete darkness and solitude that he was sure if Nox did turn on them they would be non-the-wiser. He didn’t trust a creature he couldn’t read, he didn’t trust a familiar that didn’t even let it’s counterpart know its attacks. Jimin couldn’t even tell anyone what form the familiar used to kill prey. Did the bubbles do the killing? Did she do the killing? Did she have similar powers to Ire and make them kill themselves? No-one knew and that was the most terrifying thing about having that particular demon in the house with them.

“Is Jimin ok?” Tae whispered beside Hobi, regarding the leader and oldest nervously.
”He’s ok…Nox…was out of her tank and went to give Kook a visit but Jungkook seems fine and so does Jimin so we must have caught her just in time,” Jin assured him fondly, pulling the youngest demon into his chest for a warm cuddle and a kiss to the top of his head.

”She went for Jungkook? Was she in the weird form-”

”No…in fact she didn’t transition until we put her in her tank. I don’t get that familiar-” Jin frowned in confusion that the others mirrored. The doll form didn’t seem to be Nox’s favourite form for meeting possible prey. She liked them scared within seconds of meeting. A doll was oddly unassuming compared to what she really was.

“Why didn’t Chiro or Ire pick up on it though?” Hobi urged, tapping his foot impatiently when Jin hushed him sweetly.
”I’ll ask them later. Come, we’re going on a hunt. We promised to bring Jimin something nice home. Are you up for hiker or lost soul?” Jin offered fondly and Tae perked up.
”I want another teen, maybe those scum that hurt Jungkookie will come back?” he urged and Jin hummed, tilting Tae’s chin up with his thumb to brush their lips together sweetly.

”Sounds perfect my little nestling. Let’s see if we can find something particularly deserving of a rough end. I need to get my frustrations out now before our baby wakes up. Let’s go eat. Yoongi! You wanna come hunt?!” Jin called though already half-way to pulling his shoes on as the second older rounded the doorway.

”Really? I mean…it’s been a while…”
”That’s ok…we’re going in without our familiars for once, get rid of our energy. You wanna come?” Namjoon offered, hand outstretched to him and Yoongi eyed it up before grinning. Gums on show and lips stretched wide in thanks as he nodded and hopped along beside them.

Yoongi hadn’t been on a group hunt in a long time, stepping beside Jin and Tae with narrowed eyes as they wandered the woods close to the den. Usually they would stray further but even the stoic demon could admit the pull was hard to ignore. He didn’t want to be too far from Jungkook and Jimin. He could feel his skin thrum with excitement. How long it had been since they had done this. How long since he had brought something home? Much like a cat bringing it’s kill to its master. He wanted to get something big. Powerful. Wanted to feed his mates and bring Jimin something he could enjoy. Maybe Jungkook…find something for Jungkook too as an apology. What did humans like?

They froze, so in sync after hundreds of years together and Yoongi glanced to the source of the very slight scuffle sound. Leaves kicked up from the ground. They all turned too, ears straining. The sound of erratic breathing. Human. The sound of stumbling legs, a groan of pain and Tae had perked up silently. Already injured. But Yoongi wanted something more powerful, something he could work into such a frenzy that they could feel the fear in every inch of skin and muscle their teeth sank into. He wanted something filling not some scrawny excuse for a meal that would barely conjure a flame of power in them. He glanced to Namjoon who was listening too but his head was tilted in the opposite direction. His eyes had blown wide and his muscles were bunched up. Threat or excitement? Yoongi strained too in the direction Namjoon was regarding and his lips fell. Five or six people. All coming towards them with purpose as if they knew they were there. As if they were looking for a fight. He turned, pulling Tae closer and the demon regarded him in shock before finally noticing the new sounds and Yoongi lowered himself with Tae close.

”We shouldn’t go to them, they might find the house,” he urged softly and Jin inhaled slowly, lashes fluttering.
”They’re…scared…already?” he purred and Yoongi snapped his head up in shock. The feet had sounded so sure to him, but when he sniffed at the air he could feel the potent fear. The electric jolts of anxiety and terror from the bodies getting closer.

”Oh…this should be good,” he crooned, gently nudging at Tae to follow them and they shuffled on light feet to follow the steps. Now shuffling. Now slowing. The air was thicker now that the demons were gaining on them, the trees relenting to give them a shroud of darkness for cover and Yoongi had never been prouder of their combined power. Still so synchronised that they could tear down six humans with their eyes closed if they wanted to. Teens. Mumbling and whispering about the horrors that lurked in the woods. The myths and legends of the terrifying creatures that lived between the shadows of the trees. Yoongi had his eyes pinned on the biggest. The least phased and he regarded Namjoon hopefully who was already watching him with a small smile and a nod. He had permission and he could feel his excitement grow. Shivers running down his spine. Oh, how he had missed this. Missed his mates. There was an unspoken countdown, waiting for the perfect moment when one of the boys stumbled over a rock and with a flourish of growls the pack of demons lurched forwards. Yoongi had to hold back, pinning his target with blood-red eyes and the man recoiled with a cry, bolting in the opposite direction. So slow, Yoongi mused. Humans really weren’t a very hard target when they were scared. They tripped, they stumbled, most of them would just fall to the floor and beg. But at least this one persevered. Wanted to live. He was pushing through branches, sliding around bushes and shrubs. Upon stumbling he even had the balls to throw a collection of rocks back at Yoongi who growled back and stormed faster after his shouting, shaking prey.

Perfect for Jimin, he mused, their little demon mate loved a human with a bit of flair. A bit sturdier than the others. Jimin liked food that put up a fight.
He pressed further, offering a couple of lack-lustre swipes at the human, opening up a wound on the back of his shoulder and another slicing three long welts down his spine and the blood seemed to kick-start the true fear in the human. It made a wounded sound, soft and weak before screaming urgently for help. The pain in the wounds seeped black from Yoongis’ claws poison. Yoongi liked this part the most as the man stumbled, frightened to hysteria and the poison, now making rounds like a racetrack in the humans’ veins. All humans saw different things under its influence. Yoongi liked to guess. Liked to imagine the horrors they saw when they saw him beneath its influence. The human glanced back, freezing and fell down to the floor. Yoongi smirked, watching the man turn onto his back, beginning to crawl back before relenting with wide watering eyes and a busted lip seeping poisoned black blood.

“Poor little thing,” Yoongi scoffed, eyes narrowing at the human’s breathless gasps. Stunned with fear. Paralysed by whatever his imagination was conjuring. What did he see? Shadows? His biggest fear, maybe spider or ghost or a twenty-foot long snake? Yoongi crouched beside the man, long nails scraping over the heaving chest with a curious tint in his eyes.

This was the same thing as the little mate they had curled up at home. Somehow they were the same species. But this was food. Jungkook was…a mate. He was, or will be, home. Jungkook would be comfort, warmth and protection. This human was weak, he was anger and frustration. Yoongi couldn’t see how they could possibly be the same.

How could this fragile little thing, worth no more than blood and meat be the same thing as Jungkook?

“Jungkook…” the human whimpered and Yoongi turned on him in a heartbeat, fangs out with a hiss at the word. What he saw. It seemed. Yoongi could feel the anger bubbling in his chest. He saw the poor, helpless boy he had left for dead. The poison working nicely with his apparent guilt. He scoffed, grabbing the human by his ankle and managed a swift kick into the side of the bulky body. Music to his ears when a rib or two cracked and the human screamed in pain, tossing and turning against Yoongi’s firm grip. If he wriggled too much he would lose a foot, Yoongi smirked to himself as he dragged the writhing body back to his mates.

The body had gone somewhat limp in the short time it took Yoongi to get back to his mates, all waiting for him patiently though visibly excitable and thrumming with hunger and pride at their perfect hunt before they spotted the heaving mass behind the demon.

”Yoongi?” Jin frowned, standing from a fallen log to step closer and Yoongi dropped the body at the leaders’ feet like a cat with a canary and regarded the leader with wide eyes.

”He said Jungkook’s name under the influence of my poison. He’s one of them. I didn’t want to kill him…before you saw him,” Yoongi whispered nervously and everyone turned to the whimpering mass with matching grimaces.

“Jungkook? This gross little thing?” Tae scoffed, crouching beside the twitching man curiously, nudging his cheek with his foot and the human groaned, turning away and Tae’s eyes narrowed into slits, roughly gripping the jaw and turned it roughly so he could see the fear-shrouded eyes staring back.
”What do you know about Jeon Jungkook?” Taehyung growled darkly and the human tensed beneath his grip.

”Kook?” the man spluttered and the demons’ grip tightened, fingers turning white and leaving beading blood in the shape of waning moons across the tanned skin of the human’s cheeks.

”Don’t speak so familiarly of him. What do you know of him?” the demon growled again, chest heaving until a hand fell to his shoulder and gently tugged, pulling him back and Jin rubbed his back gently.

”Let Joonie speak to him, love. Calm down…” Jin cooed, nuzzling against Taehyung’s cheek as they watched Namjoon’s towering form slink closer. Crouching beside the body with curious eyes. Not quite on the verge of anger but wading close. Boarding on frustrated.

“How on Earth did a weak thing like you manage to hurt him? What did you do to him, kid?” Namjoon offered calmly, fingers flitting over the cuts in his cheek and the human turned to the touch curiously.

”J-Jungkook? D-didn’t do anything. I just. I didn’t know they were gonna kill him,” the human whispered, sucking in a weak breath with a wince as he cradled his side, blood drenched his black T-shirt until it stained the skin beneath.

“Didn’t know? But you left him to die-”

”no! I came back for him! I swear! I didn’t want the kid dead, I’ve known him for years. They said it was either me or Kook-”

”Who else was there?” Namjoon pressed, ignoring the pleads as the human shuddered, wiping the tears away with a bloody hand. The boy explained around gasping breaths about the offering, the friends he was with, what they did to Jungkook and while the other demons seemed ready to tear him apart Namjoon stayed silent and complacent as he listened and nodded where appropriate before he sighed and leaned back on his heels.

“I’ll make you a deal, ok? Once a week, 3am every Friday night, bring us an offering. Someone…dangerous. Someone that doesn’t deserve to live. Someone you think would hurt Jungkook too. And bring those little friends of yours along. Every. Single. Week. You miss a week and I’ll find you and rip your tongue from your throat. Your heart from your chest and feed it to you. When I come you will tell me why they deserve to die. If your offering isn’t worthy. You. And your friends. All get eaten. Sound good?” Namjoon cooed, sickly sweet with a flourish of fake grin and the human made a soft sound in the back of his throat mixed between fear and pain.

“I…I’m not a murderer. Please. I didn’t want Kook to get hurt!” he urged and Namjoon scoffed, squeezing at the thick neck beneath his hand and his eyes narrowed into pools of onyx.

”You wanna meet the same fate as Jungkook? I suggest you do as I say. Don’t make me kill you, kid. I quite like your resolve,” he huffed and stood, glancing to Yoongi.

”Leave him here. Others will find him soon enough. I want to meet them as a three,” Namjoon gritted and the second oldest nodded, dipping his head in understanding before turning to help them carry their new hunt home.

Jungkook had woken up to Chiro pulsing against the dip of his collar, clicking softly in sleep. His head was throbbing slightly, like he had slept for too long and no longer had a grip on the date or time of day. Ire, curled up in the crook of his body was snoring, each loud echoing snore had the cat-like creature vibrating from the sheer volume of it. Jungkook had to suck in a giggle. How cute. Ro was puffed out on his shoulder, feathers a mess and shifting beneath Jungkook’s light breaths. Shi, curled up by Jungkook hip was half-awake and blinking slowly at the door.

“Hey…I’m Jungkook. I don’t think I’ve met you yet,” he yawned softly, rubbing his heavy eyes to rid himself of the last of the heaviness of sleep before carefully sitting, adjusting all familiars on him to keep them cozy and warm. The small grey, brown and white bear glanced back at the human with a tilted head and for a moment Jungkook felt a little put off by the gaze before it stumbled from it’s seated position and hoisted itself into Jungkook’s lap. A vantage point for staring at the door.

“Shi…” the bear grunted, voice only a rumble yet clear as day and Jungkook hummed curiously.
”Shi? Who are you attached to? I mean…whose pet-thing are you?” Jungkook frowned nervously and the bear eyed him up, glittering gold and silver in its eyes burning bright and its small mouth curled up slightly in a smile. Or at least what Jungkook could assume was a smile.

”Hoseok…my master and soul-partner. Have you met him?” the bear growled and Jungkook considered. Didn’t sound that familiar.

”I…don’t think so. Shi…how many live here?” Jungkook offered and the bear sat with a small huff, fluffy fur sticking at odd angles from where Ire had rubbed against before falling asleep.

“Six. Including us, twelve. And you,” the bear huffed and padded at Jungkook’s thighs with small paw-like hands that were barely visible beneath thick fur.

”Six pets?”

”Familiars. Jungkook. They call us familiars,” Shi chuckled somewhat, chest vibrating and Jungkook’s eyes widened in awe before he grinned back happily. He liked the familiars. They were nice and gentle, warm around him.

“Familiars…what do you do?” Jungkook pressed curiously and Shi paused. Technically Hobi hadn’t told him not to talk about it. But he knew Hobi didn’t want Jungkook to know about them yet. Shi’s job was keeping everyone in line but that didn’t mean it extended to Jungkook.

“We aid the members of the house,” the bear finally offered carefully and snuffled.
”We’re an extension of them. We’re just around to be companions and help them live comfortably,” the bear grumbled, swatting at Ire who was stretched out and padding into his fur until the cat turned bright eyes on him and chirped back tiredly.

“Do you all…talk?” Jungkook frowned.

“not quite, not in your language anyway. Once you’ve been here a while you’ll learn their languages. It’s gifted to people…familiars like us like our privacy to speak without our counterparts hearing everything. Nosy kids,” he huffed and Jungkook giggled brightly again.

”You’re a weird little thing, you know that? You speak like a human but you look like…a bear…” the human scoffed fondly and even Chiro ticked and clicked their own giggling tone.

”Of course I do, I’m the guidance familiar. My name is literally ‘shine’. Like light. Like ‘shy’ my entire biology is made to replicate and adapt to offer comfort,” the bear growled low and sweet. Jungkook had never considered that this could be normal or even mildly comfortable. Speaking to a possible alien-ish bear that speaks his language hadn’t been something he had ever considered a possibility but it made sense in a weird way. It felt like it was something he would get used to. Jungkook had always had a bit of an imagination, this wasn’t that far out of his relm of creativity.

“Shi…Hoseok-ssi and the others…and you guys…you’re not human are you?” he offered softly, glancing to the bear and now all familiars were awake. Tense around him. Chiro was puffing up, light wavering and heaving like it was trying to gulp in breaths but not quite and Jungkook hurried to scoop it up, enjoying the way it instantly relaxed into a purring blob in his palm and he settled them all with a small smile.

”It’s ok. I don’t think they’re bad people…even though one of them did point fire at me-”

”My master, Yoongi,” Ro whispered in a twittering voice and Jungkook recoiled. The voice felt like it was being drilled directly into his brain. The tiny bird was clearly not speaking in a language he should be able to understand. It was twittering and squeaking but in his head, in the very back of his skull Jungkook could hear it as Korean. Like the translation for the sound were being beamed into the core of his brain and he inhaled sharply at the disconcerting feeling.

“Y-Yoongi-ssi? Why did he want me dead?” Jungkook frowned as the bird-like familiar waddled it’s way down his heaving chest to curl up between Ire and Shi and its feathers rustled softly.

”He was scared…he doesn’t like to talk about feelings…but he was scared that you weren’t what he had hoped-”

”Ro!

”No…he deserves to know!” the bird screeched back at Shi who recoiled away. Black eyes staring in shock at the outburst.

“Jungkookie…we don’t want you to be scared here. But…as their familiars…we need to ask something of you,” Ro squeaked urgently and Jungkook nodded slowly in understanding.

“Jungkook-ssi…whatever our masters say to you…please remember they wish no harm on you,” Ro urged around a twittering sniffle.
”They care for you...they need you…our masters are misunderstood and lost…they need you…we need you too,” the bird squeaked, eyes wide and pleading before falling silent and there was a flurry of movement to drop beside Jungkook as if asleep as the door opened and an exhausted Jin with a new man stepped inside, stunned to see the human awake.

Jungkook had a split second to make a choice, glanced behind him to where the familiars were bundled together, eyes up and pleading to him in silence where the men couldn’t see and he sighed through his nose.

”I was wondering where everyone was…your pets haven’t woken up so I’ve been a little bored. I didn’t want to wake them up for cuddles,” Jungkook pouted up at the two men and he heard a soft breath of relief beside him as Shi stumbled to the edge of the bed to regard to new man with a small growl.

“I know, Shi…you did good. We brought dinner. Let’s go eat,” he sighed, the other familiars jumping at the idea of food before pausing. Seemingly realising that actually they weren’t hungry, all throbbing with purple light and Chiro clicked up at Jin.

”I know…you’re all well-fed but you can’t be in here all day. Come on, guys. Everyone out. Let Kookie rest,” Jin sighed, ushering them to the door, a weird group of toy-like creatures storming to the door and Jungkook froze.

”W-wait!” he urged, clutching his side with a wince as Jin glanced back and so did the new member. Hoseok, Shi had said was their owner was called Hoseok.

”I’m Jungkook…” he offered the newcomer who flushed slightly, rubbing his nape shyly and dipped his head in greeting.

”Hoseok…but everyone calls me Hobi. This is Shi…Shi’s a bit-”

”Shy?” Jungkook giggled fondly and both demons froze in shock before relaxing with a fond smile each.

”Yeh…they’re a bit shy at first. Once we’ve eaten I’ll let you meet them properly. Maybe we can convince them to chat,” he cooed and Jungkook glanced to the bear with a small, assuring smile.

”I’d like that…I like your pets,” Jungkook chirped and Jin leaned over to ruffle his hair fondly.

”They seem to like you too, Kook. Now rest up, I’ll bring you some fruit and noodles to get your strength up,” he chirped before they both left and Jungkook was left in the room on his own, sighing at the new information he had received from the familiars and the context of their warning. These men had the potential to be dangerous but for whatever reason he had been assured they had no intention to hurt him. Which, though Jungkook wouldn’t consider himself an intellectual or good at puzzles, he could consider it to mean he was special to some degree. Maybe, whatever these people were, maybe they were meant to find him in the woods.

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Good morning, afternoon and evening everyone! I'm so sorry for the delay! My graduation day is on the 22nd July and I move out of my home to travel 400miles back to my hometown in early August so I'm a little frazzled. I'm so sorry for the delay and I know a lot of people here ready my A/B/O story so I wish to apologise for the delay there as well.

Starting next week I will be hopfully starting a weekly timetable of uploads including four chaptered stories plus occasional oneshots.

One final point, I'm considering starting up a social media account so that I can interact with my readers and get personal feedback, plot ideas and share concepts. I have six A4 pages of BTS prompts and plots and would love to offer you guys the choice as to what you would like to see me write next. Let me know if you would be interested in that too. Thank you.

All of my love, and thank you for your never-ending support.

AJ xoxo

Chapter Text

Feeding, especially a group meal, was always a big event in the demon’s home. With twelve very hungry mouths to feed and that much energy to try and pass around the group they had a lot of mess to clean up afterwards and had to keep a tight reign on everyone. The kids, especially Taehyung, couldn’t quite keep control of themselves around big meals. He was getting better, Jin could fondly assure him of that but their youngest demon could get quite hot-headed around particularly tasty food. Tasty, at least to Taehyung, seemed to be particularly worn-out. Exhausted at death. They all had their tastes, Yoongi especially was one of the more picky eaters and tended to prefer his food fast but fresh. Not one for pomp and circumstance when it came to meal times and yet Jin would argue the slightly younger demon was notorious for enjoying the slower kills on a hunt.

”Is Jimin ok? Nox didn’t seem too happy in her tank when I went to check on Jimin,” Hoseok frowned while they waited for Taehyung to join them. Jin had offered to help Yoongi and Namjoon sneak in the bodies while they were still warm but had been pulled aside by Hobi instead. Hoseok was a fretter and had been on the wrong side of Jimin’s familiar more than once since the creature had started to live beside them. Hoseok and especially Shi had tried several times to gain the trust of the mute familiar but it had always ended in some horrific exploitation of the aquatic familiar’s powers. Hoseok had had several fingers bitten off from trying to handle it. He had never been more thankful he couldn’t die from a familiar and even more so that he could grow most appendages back.

”Nox isn’t happy with being caught I imagine; you know how she is but I’m more worried about Tae’s. We still don’t know it’s name. What it does. At least Jimin has been able to talk and interact with Nox to some degree and she’s at least taken to him enough to work beside him on hunts. That…thing of Taehyung’s is just as freaky as Nox is,” Jin gritted in mild disgust and regarded the hallway where everyones’ bedrooms lined up to Jungkook’s own room.

”Do you think Taehyung will ever be able to interact with his familiar? It doesn’t even join us on hunts…it wont leave its hide,” Hoseok added fearfully and regarded Shi with a creased brows. If their own familiars were in danger. If Jungkook was in danger. Taehyung’s familiar hadn’t moved from it’s usual hiding spot under Taehyung’s bed but there was the looming dread of if and when it smelled Jungkook. If and when it realised who the human was. The unknown and unnamed familiar had arrived to Taehyung in a ring box. Nothing was inside it but when Taehyung had left the box aside it had crawled its way under his bed and that’s where it stayed. Taehyung had found the crushed and shredded box a few days later and could only assume the familiar inside had grown out of it and was hiding away under his bed as the only dark and decently sized hiding spot in the house. How big his familiar was, Taehyung had no idea but even the young demon had mumbled his fear of eventually seeing it. What did it have to gain by hiding away for hundreds of years from its master and partner? Sometimes if there had been a particularly good hunt Taehyung would be able to hear the creature beneath his bed creaking and cracking like hot glass under cold water but that was the extent of their interactions.

Hobi returned his attention to Jin before clamping his lips shut when the others joined them. Feasts were no place for talk of their worries and training. They had to savour the power of feed while they could. Soon, once Jungkook began to wonder around it would be harder to hide the bodies and remains of their meals from him. Even Jimin had joined them, exhausted and paler than usual but in good spirits to see the display of mangled flesh and smell of fear still hidden beneath the scent of blood.

Jungkook sat cross-legged on his bed as he held onto his aching ribs. He wasn’t one to just sit around but Jin had urged him to. He had been reeling over the day in his head like a rewound film and stirred over the men he now shared a house with and a bed he had shared with ‘familiars’. Whatever they were. He could ask, he wondered how honest they would be if he did ask them who or what they were and if he asked Shi would the familiar be willing to say more of what he had already said too much on? Jungkook didn’t want to pry, especially when Shi had assured him he was in no danger but the questions were only building up the more he sat alone and soon they would bubble over into a frenzy of questions when he saw one of the men again.

“Hey, Jungkook-ah. I brought food. It’s been a while since I cooked so I’m sorry if it’s not the best but I learned specially for guests,” Jin chirped as he stepped inside with a bowl of noodles and a variety of cooked veggies and meats and set it into Jungkook’s lap with a small smile that the youngest mirrored thankfully.

”What do you guys eat then if not cooked food?” Jungkook hummed curiously, mouth already wrapped thankfully around a slice of chicken and Jin winced, glancing away with a shrug.

”Whatever we can find in the forest, I guess. It’s not exactly like there are shops in the middle of the woods. We just eat what we can gather,” Jin assured him passively and Jungkook nodded slowly in agreement. It must be hard to live purely on the outdoors. Fish, random mushrooms and wild vegetables and berries. He couldn’t imagine such a scarce diet.

“Thank you for going to the trouble then…I would have eaten whatever you were eating. I’m not a fussy eater,” he assured the older man around some noodles. Sure he would have eaten berries or whatever but the meat and mild noodles were probably much better than whatever they could have found to eat. Jin waved him off passively, slinging one leg over the other as he sat at the foot of the bed with a small smile of reassurance.

“I was thinking…when you’re ready we still have a couple of guys in the house for you to meet. One of them isn’t feeling very well at the moment but maybe tomorrow if you’re both feeling up to it you could meet? The two youngest members in the house will be keeping you company during the night while I go out to work with the others,” Jin chirped comfortingly and watched the way Jungkook practically shovelled the food into his mouth. He thought his baby demons were notoriously greedy eaters but Jungkook was barely breathing between bites.

”Sounds fun…but when can I go home? My mum will be worried sick…she comes home from work tomorrow. I can walk fine,” he urged the man who sighed and gently patted his knee before standing.

”I’ll let you eat, I’ll be back to collect the plates in a little bit. Try to rest and let yourself heal,” Jin stated carefully, glancing over Jungkook in the bed from the door before ducking out and leaving a considerably confused human in his wake.

”he asked when he can leave,” Jin mumbled to Namjoon the moment he caught the younger demon pouting over some paperwork. He glanced up, brow arched before he hummed thoughtfully back.

”he can’t leave now that he’s seen us…and now that the people that left him think he’s dead. The barrier will kill him the moment he tries to step foot past the creek. He’s technically a demon now. He’s been here a day,” Namjoon stated before sliding back in his chair to round his desk and pulled Jin close for a soft kiss.

”How am I supposed to explain to a human that the trees will kill him for going home? How can I explain to him…what we are…what we do…who he is,” Jin whispered and let his forehead fall to Namjoon’s shoulder in annoyance.
”I don’t want to keep him here against his will…I don’t want him to fear us. Joon…we’re monsters. In his eyes…we’re murderers and animals…how can I possibly tell him that we belong together? That we feed off of him,” Jin babbled helplessly until he was silenced by another gentle kiss that urged his lips shut and Namjoon hummed deep in his throat comfortingly. His mate. His beautiful mate. Namjoon understood better than most why Jin was so fearful. Out of all of the demons living in the house Jin had sacrificed the most for his seventh mate. Jin had also waited the longest. Namjoon wished. More than anything in the world and the next, he wished he could see the future just this once. He would have given anything to know the outcome of what had to happen. What had to be said to the poor, injured human currently resting in their spare room. He would give his eternal soul to know, to be able to assured his mate that Jungkook would be ok and that soon enough they would be complete.

”I’ll do it. If he doesn’t agree…if he doesn’t agree to stay…I don’t want you seeing the aftermath. I don’t want to have to kill our mate but if it’s necessary then I’ll have to take that chance. Let him rest for tonight…I’ll speak to him tomorrow. When the kids are away for their training,” Namjoon mumbled. As much as Jin wished to argue, to ask for them to wait a little longer he just sagged into the protective arms around him. They had to do this before Jungkook tried to leave, before he was killed either way and the trees wouldn’t be merciful, he had seen too many people torn apart by the boarder when they had first made the woods their home.

”I’m sorry hyung…I wish it was easier. I believe in him though. I believe he’ll understand once I explain. I’m sure he’ll realise we mean him no harm. He’s our mate…he has to,” he mumbled into Jin’s cheek. He had to believe. He had to hope above anything else when everything was said and done that Jungkook would stay and understand.

“What should I tell him about going home?” Jin whispered after a long silence and Namjoon moved away carefully and glanced to the doorway.

”Tell him tomorrow he can call his family but he’ll have to stay here until you feel he is healthy enough to do the walk home. Let him believe he’ll see her again for now, it’s the only thing we can do to keep the peace,” Namjoon mumbled apologetically and moved from his oldest mate to sit back at his desk with a drawn-out sigh.
”I’m sorry, hyung. I wish I could offer more comfort or at least have an idea of what will happen tomorrow. Don’t let Jimin and Tae meet him. If they feel his power and get attached it’ll break them if we have to remove him. For now…let everyone enjoy having our final mate around,” the leader warned softly until Jin nodded and left the room with a wince. How was he supposed to act like it was ok? He could lose a mate. Like having to kill Yoongi or Taehyung.

”Master?” Jin recoiled, Chiro was sat on his bedside table that Jin had turned into the familiar’s den with plush towels and padding. It was a rarity. Chiro was almost always out exploring or enjoying some of the perks of familiar’s powers with some conjuring classes.

”Chiro…you startled me. Why aren’t you with the others?” Jin frowned and sagged onto the bed to offer his familiar a gentle stroke to the warm softness on the top of its head.

”It’s about the human, right? Jungkook. He is in danger, is he not?” Chiro clicked, head bobbing and cocking with anxiety and the frantic movements stirred something protective in Jin as he scooped the small dimmed light up and sat on his bed with a long hum. Chiro had been with Jin through everything. Every mate, every kill, every move before finding the perfect home in the woods. Chiro had been through everything Jin had and by extension would no doubt feel the same way the demon did about all of this. How could Jin explain the situation? The familiar was an extension of the demon but they didn’t have quite the same abilities to quell their more animalistic tendencies. They reacted more feverishly, they had to, the familiars had to protect their demons.

“I’m sorry, Chiro. It seems having a human mate is a little more confusing than I thought. Namjoon is worried if Jungkook doesn’t agree to stay here with us or if he doesn’t accept what we are then he will have to…remove Jungkook. To kill a mate whether we are bonded or not…I couldn’t even dare think of having to kill one of the others. But Namjoon would rather he do it painlessly than have Jungkook fall prey to the boundary,” Jin reeled off with his bottom lip drawn between sharp canines. How could he rationalise all of this? If he had even dared to whisper such a concept to Hoseok or even Yoongi they would have thrown both Jin and Namjoon aside and cried and shouted as they often did when they had talked about giving up on their human mate before having met him.

The group had known they had a seventh mate for hundreds of years. The bond between the six demons had been strong and there was no doubt about that but it was waning. Lacking. The six even when finally together had felt the missing member long before they knew who or what they were waiting for. Jin had known that feeling of missing a mate, while the others seemed to have felt the pull less the oldest knew they were missing someone. It had been a weird journey of missing a demon, to missing a mate, to missing a human mate in the span of a hundred years or so. Coming to terms with the knowledge of having a human mate had taken Jin a while and extending the information to the rest of his clan had been one of the hardest things he had had to do. At first Jin had considered not telling the others and hoping he was either wrong or the others would find out on their own. When Jungkook was born the clan had collectively felt the relief and pull now that their final mate was alive and in close vicinity to their home. Jin had likened it to a song. One day he was out hunting on his own, he had fought with Namjoon the day before Jungkook was born and had left their home all night in pure anger. Chiro was tucked into his pocket and had been spouting off constantly about feeling ill. Off. Chiro had whined and sobbed about being in pain and as they stood on the edge of their territory beside an expansive lake the familiar had changed forms in a burst of lilac light. He was brighter, Jin noted instantly and the wide eyes staring back up at him were full of colour unlike the onyx pools they had once been. Chiro had also learned a new ability that day, finding a lone walker camping under the stars of their woods Chiro had used his first connective power. Unlike his initial power which Jin knew by heart and how to control it this one was full of power and energy that even Jin didn’t know how to contain or use properly.

Chiro had calmed down in the twenty years since learning how to mix his and the demon’s abilities together but sometimes they still found the power overwhelming and taking over them when they were particularly emotional or hungry. Chiro had officially bonded to Jin that day and Jin recounted the tale of their merging powers fondly. At first he couldn’t understand the sudden change but he had felt jungkook’s presence shortly after their feed together when his powers were alight with energy and excitement.

“Chiro?” Jin whispered nervously as his familiar finally raised its huge eyes up to him and he sagged apologetically. They had been there when Jungkook was born, had merged their power and energy. It was why they were such a solid team now compared to the others who still struggled often to control or work with their familiar when hunting. Jin loved Chiro, his familiar was his best friend and confidant. He had no doubts that Chiro knew what pain the demon was in over their final mate.

”Jungkook…if he doesn’t accept you he will have to die? Like that? No second tries? No…time for it to sink in?” the familiar clicked fearfully, bursting into a bright swirling navy before calming back into an off green at Jin’s sweet soothing hushes.

”There’s nothing we can do…if we tell him tonight to give him warning we risk him going to the boarder out of fear. How do we explain to a human that we eat his friends and that energy fuels us and he will be part of a group that needs to hunt his species to survive. Chiro if you have any ideas on how to tell him that without him hating us, now is the time to say it because I’m at as much of a loss as everyone else,” Jin urged fearfully and moved to rub his face urgently between his shaking hands. One day in and already they risked everything crumbling around them. Poor Jungkook. He didn’t ask for this. Chiro sat silently for a long pause, round head tilted to the side in thought. He was clicking again and Jin squinted down to the small figure. He was blocking Jin out so the demon couldn’t understand him any more. Jin knew that tactic, all of their familiars did it when they were stressed or thinking urgently about something and he couldn’t help but agree to the pure frustration coming from the other.

Jin waited. And waited. And eventually gave up on the task of patiently regarding his familiar for answers. Chiro hadn’t stopped clicking to himself and the typically white figure was a deep midnight blue colour and was pulsing slowly with a dim red glow around its face as if annoyed. The oldest relented, Chiro clearly needed to come to terms with what Jin had told him and honestly the demon couldn’t blame the glowing figure. He offered the clicking head a small pat of comfort before standing and left with a sigh. He should go check on Jungkook before everything got ruined in the morning.

Jungkook was wide awake and pouting down at his phone. No reception. Hell his phone barely even worked that far into the woods and cut out every time he tapped on the screen to try to get his phone-book up. Useless. He should at least let his mum know he was alive in the very least. He perked up at the knock at his door, he had hoped the familiars would come and join him again. He had slept so well thanks to Chiro and Ire and Shi had offered him a considerable amount of insight to where he was. Jin stepped in though and Jungkook tried so hard to not look disappointed as he dipped his head silently in greeting.

“I’m sorry Jungkook…for leaving like that earlier. I talked to Namjoon and he said tomorrow if you’re feeling better and healing ok he’ll take you to somewhere you can get signal to call your family. He…isn’t sure when we can let you go home since you’re still injured and the people that dumped you here will no doubt attack you again in they see you…but we’ll work something out,” Jin assured him weakly. Jungkook lit up instantly at the words, grinning as he pulled Jin down to the bed for a warm hug and the demon tried not to focus on the skin that seeped hot and heavy power under his own touch. Jungkook smelled good, the same sweet lilac scent that his other mates had held before they met. It hurt more knowing for sure Jungkook was supposed to be with them. If he could have pretended even for a moment that Jungkook being there was an accident and his possible demise wouldn’t effect his clan Jin was sure he could have dealt with the pain much easier than seeing and smelling and touching the raw power and warmth that practically hummed his name in need.

“Thank you! I’m sure she’ll be so worried. Don’t worry I’ll not tell anyone you’re out here. I’ll deal with the guys who did this on my own, I’m sure I can figure something out without anyone finding out where you are and who you are. I’ll come back often,” Jungkook babbled, watching Jin gulp thickly before offering a tight smile.

”Don’t worry, I don’t doubt you’ll do the right thing. It’s getting late and I have to put everyone to bed. I’ll see you in the morning before I go to work. Goodnight, Jungkook,” Jin offered sweetly, leaning down to place a sure kiss to the human’s brow who moved happily into the touch. Jungkook’s whispered ‘goodnight’ left a sour taste in Jin’s mouth and as much as the demon wished he could force himself to stop caring the bit of his stomach twisted with disgust in himself and his complacency. He could just tell Jungkook. He could just explain from the beginning and tell Jungkook he was in no danger. No-one he loved was in any danger.

Chiro would usually feel apologetic for what he was about to do. He clambered into Jimin’s room silently with wide eyes and glanced up to the tank where Nox was suspended, tentacles out and pressing lazily at the glass walls. Chiro very rarely dared to go to Nox, typically he would go to Shi or even Ro when he needed help or advice but the situation was more of Nox’s knowledge than the others and he had to admit whatever the familiar had done to Jungkook in his time bubble had seemed to have healed the human considerably. He called out to Nox with a grunt of effort as he popped into a ball of light, compressing his glowing body into a wisp to circle the tank until the other regarded him passively with wide eyes.

”You met our human?” Chiro offered hopefully, buzzing like electricity in the air until Nox perked up fully now with interest and nodded. She held a curled tentacle out, extending it to show a single thread of black hair and the wide grin shrank into a thin line of concentration.

”Please…our mate…their mate…he could be killed if he doesn’t accept them,” Chiro whispered helplessly and Nox let out a string of bubbles from her gaping mouth before pressing harder at the glass walls. The tapping and cracking was deafening as the glass slowly gave way but before the cracks could open up she ceased with a wail of gargled cries. Chiro hadn’t been in containment for a long time but he knew the pain of both of the younger demons’ familiars. They were hindered and hidden like prisoners. Sure Nox could be hot-headed but no more so than Ire could be. He knew that fear. Of small spaces and constant pressure of having to adapt and change and behave. Nox was still young for a familiar, he couldn’t blame her for not being able to contain her own powers let alone Jimin’s too.

Nox reached up to the top of the tank, long crimson tentacle sliding the black hair beneath the lid until Chiro caught it in shaking fingers.

”Ire. We’ve only been able to try it once before. He’ll know what to do. Be careful though, the human’s scent will still be on the hair even if only slightly. Don’t let the masters catch it,” Nox gritted and pressed her wide face up to the glass.

”If the mate is killed they’ll never release me. Please. Before I hurt master again…I can’t contain it much longer,” Nox whispered, bubbles forming against the glass before she moved away with a wave of a long appendage. If Chiro wanted to find Ire and hide the hair he had to work fast before Jin decided to look for him again. He just had to trust that Nox really didn’t want Jungkook dead, she had a lot more to lose than the other familiars if it did fail. She and Jimin had barely bonded, if the connection between them shattered because of Jimin’s loss of a mate Nox would turn to nothing but ash. Chiro couldn’t let his own clan-mate meet that fate. He had to save Jungkook and more than anything else he had to protect his clan. He believed in Jungkook, he just had to prove to the others that humans could learn to understand them.

Chapter Text

Chiro was lucky to have two forms that were small and inconspicuous, getting the hair to Ire was a task in itself though. Finding Ire first, the cat-like familiar liked to curl up somewhere away from everyone and in the dark. It was very rare to find him curled up on a bed or anything easy like that. But Ire liked to be inside so at least Chiro has a limited area to search. She began in the most obvious places, sticking low to the floor and in corners where it was dark and safe from possibly prying eyes. Namjoon’s room was the first to be searched but Ire disliked the demons’ messiness so Chiro wasn’t at all surprised to not find the familiar there. The back bedroom that was used as a an office, even the kitchen but Chiro burned red in frustration at having been nearly caught twice and yet Ire was no-where to be seen. Jimin had passed by her earlier in the hallway but was so busy reading a comic that he didn’t even sense Chiro but Namjoon had passed by in the kitchen after and she was sure she was done for and Namjoon would certainly not allow her to carry out her task. Namjoon, while powerful and strong and smart was thankfully a little lost in his own head most of the time. He liked to ponder, to be in his own company which made him easily distracted. He had caught the tail of Chiro’s wisp in the corner of his vision but had stumbled into the door frame when turning around and had all but crushed his face into the wooden panel. Chiro was shivering and shaking at the thrill and excitement of hiding from her masters as she watched the whining demon rub his face in pain and instantly walk in the opposite direction.

Finally, lost for any other answers Chiro’s wisp squirmed its dim light beneath Jungkook’s bedroom door and froze. All of the familiars, or at least the free ones were in the room. Jungkook was asleep and Ire was sat at the foot of his bed, eyes wide and unblinking.

”You spoke to Nox?” Ire chirped worriedly and turned blue glittering eyes to his friend who nodded comfortingly and clambered up the bed to hand the hair over. Nox had seen that expression before, Ire was a worrier much like his master it was no secret that the cat familiar struggled with emotions, it was his core power after all so anything like this where the familiars were so obviously going against their masters weighed heavily on Ire in particular. Chiro was used to it, in her younger days Jin had always commented on how she liked to push boundaries. She liked to be her own being outside of her masters’ whim, she just couldn’t help it.

”Nox only gave me this…is it safe? Can we trust her?” Chiro whispered fearfully but Ire waved the worry off with a flick of his tail and laid the dark hair on the bed, padding it into a tight ball and Ro shook from the bedpost, flopping down to the floor and clasped a half-asleep Shi in its talons before lifting them both onto the bed to observe. To support Chiro and Ire in their quest to save their coven and mate.

“We can trust her…where Jungkook is involved. It seems Nox has taken a liking to this human. Our human. She wants to belong, she wants to be loved like the rest of us,” Ire frowned sadly and bundled the hair aside before pulling a small purple ribbon from around his tail.

”We all want that, we all need our connection to be strong to survive and grow but Nox can’t handle her powers as they are-”

”Because she can’t be taught. She needs to be given some freedom to learn like the rest of us did. We all make mistakes even as demons. And Master Tae’s familiar…” Ire broke off with a wince. None of them had even seen their sixth familiar sibling. Nox had been quite open to meeting them as a group and had even tried to integrate despite being confined in her tank but their sixth was a mystery. Whatever it was...even by demons’ standards it was solitary and silent.

“Forget that, can you do whatever this hair does?” Chiro urged, silenced by a dark chuckle and Ire sat and swallowed the hair with a wince and gulp. It took a moment as the familiars watched in silence and awe as Ire burst into black blames and Jungkook awoke groggily, eyes barely open as he pinned a figure at the foot of his bed with a wandering gaze. Stood there was another Jungkook but he was dressed in black leather pants and jacket with a loose fitting white tank-top beneath. Every detail was perfect if Chiro had to say so. The belt was studded with gold and the Jungkook at the foot of the bed wore amazingly beautiful gold and silver chains and rings with a single violet pearl in a golden cage on a thin choker around his throat. His hair had grown out a little in this version too and fell against Jungkook’s sparkling eyes.

”wh-” the Jungkook on the bed froze, glancing around the bed fearfully before the other offered a sympathetic smile, nose scrunched slightly as he stepped around the bed slowly. Even the walk was perfect, Chiro had to question how Ire had memorised everything so perfectly or if the hair had helped somewhat in the transformation.

“It’s ok. You’re safe. I don’t have long so I need you to listen to me, I’m you. Future you…the house has called me forwards from two years from now to give you important information. The people in this house…fear your safety,” the Jungkook that had taken the place of Ire frowned and opened his palm where a glowing orb similar to Chiro’s wisp form hovered above his hand until it swirled black and navy like a stormy sky.

”You are powerful but the world has hidden who you are from you. There are things and people that have been hidden from you and the rest of the world. You are not human, Jungkook. Or rather, not a normal one. You’re special, important and this house, these familiars and the men in this house need you to survive,” he urged, the orb shifting in a flash of lightning to show a line of silhouetted trees and long branches lashed out like whips towards fully awake Jungkook who recoiled in horror.

”This woods is home to some amazing people that are not human and you are a part of this world. You belong here. You felt alone at home, your mother had no time for you. This is your home, where you can be safe and loved. The men in this house are demons but they have a job. They are in this world to find you and to make the world around you safe. They must kill, but so must any animal on Earth starved in the wild. They mean no harm to you or the innocent. They feed only on evil and cruelty. You have to believe me…they mean the general population no harm,” future Jungkook urged, now with tears beading in crystal eyes and glanced to Chiro helplessly.

”I don’t have much time life…I’m sorry. I had to come to tell you. They want to be with you Jungkook. They want to give you a home…the world chose you to be a prince, the mate of king demons,” Jungkook urged, body now steaming softly and fluttering like a picture lost in the static of an old TV and Chiro hurried close to catch the body bursting into cloud of ash and sparks and Ire fell back into her short arms.

”I-ire?!” Jungkook squeaked in horror and crawled down the bed to scoop up the panting familiar.

”I’m sorry…my powers are still weak. I wasn’t able to keep it for long enough. I made it worse!” the familiar shrieked around a sob, his voice more like a siren or alarm than a voice until Jungkook gently picked him up in shaking hands and allowed the familiar to cling to his chest.

”You did so well, Ire. It must have been so hard. You did great. Chiro…what happened? Was that real?” Jungkook frowned down to the darkened familiar who shrank under his wide eyes but offered a meek nod and curled up to Ro and Shi fearfully.

”We have our core powers, things we can alter or connect to. Ire is connected to emotions and thoughts and can use them to change himself or surroundings. Like a hallucination. Ire has been working with Nox and apparently has learned how to project the future by combining their core powers. What you saw was a manifestation of your future feelings and knowledge that Ire could show by taking on your future form through the DNA in your hair,” Chiro stated nervously and offered a weak lopsided smile.

”We were asked…not to speak to you. But we had to warn you. Our masters aren’t the best at patience or explaining things simply. Jungkook…this woods is home to many things humans aren’t supposed to know about but that doesn’t necessarily make them bad. We’re all just trying to survive,” Shi grunted and waddled to pat Jungkook’s foot.

”D-demons? Like real demons? Live in hell sort of things?” Jungkook huffed fearfully but Shi shook his heavy head with a soft tut and flopped down to sit patiently while Jungkook set Ire aside to sleep on his pillow.

”Hell is the world the human world give to a place of punishment and fear, we come from…here. Sort of. Home for us is a portion of this woods that isn’t quite Earth. It’s the underworld but not in the way you know it as. Maybe one day you’ll be able to go and see. It’s quite pleasant. It’s just dark…most species from the place you know as hell are mostly nocturnal. It’s not full of fire or anything crazy like that…humans had, once upon a time been able to go there themselves safely until we were outlawed. When the death penalty became illegal we lost our usefulness in this world and were forced to leave. We used to have jobs in this world…hundreds of years ago now,” Shi sighed sadly and froze, footsteps stepping up to the door and the panic in all familiars burst around the room until Jungkook hushed them softly and held a finger to his lips.

”Jungkookie? Have you seen our- oh…Chiro?” Jin stepped into the door with a deep-set frown until Jungkook perked up easily.

”I asked them to join me…sorry. I couldn’t sleep. I was so worried about tomorrow. They’ve been so good at listening. I’m sorry,” Jungkook mumbled until Jin leaned over to pet his hair delicately, his eyes dark and hooded with worry.

”I’m sorry Kookie…I know it’s hard and your injuries must hurt. What have you been talking about? Maybe I could help?” Jin offered until Jungkook offered him a seat on the bed and gathered the familiars on his lap.

”Seokjin-ssi…can you take me outside, please? I need a walk, my joints have seized up laying here all day,” Jungkook offered softly and as much Jin seemed like he wanted to argue he nodded with a honey-sweet grin and ruffled Jungkook’s hair back into place.

”of course, I’ll go get dressed. It must be hard being stuck inside. We can’t walk far though, ok?” he pressed and left so Jungkook could turn to the familiars as he stood to get dressed too in some sweats and black hoodie left out for him.

”You won’t tell him will you?” Chiro whispered fearfully, eyeing up the human with concern at whether or not Jungkook had truly accepted what he had been told. Even just an ounce of understanding would but them in good stead for the morning Namjoon spoke to him.

”You said they mean no harm to me, to safe people. I trust you. Demons or not…they saved me and you have all been so helpful and kind since I arrived. Maybe…the idea of demons being pure evil was for people like me. You said I’m connected to the others here…maybe humans…other humans don’t want us to feel powerful. It’s a big human thing, no-one normal can have power. No-one…like me…we’re not allowed to make a change. If I live beside powerful creatures…that makes me a threat whether I’m dangerous or not. I may not know a lot about what you guys are but I know what humans are like and I can believe that we kicked you out once you weren’t useful. We can be cruel like that. I’m willing to listen to him. I can’t promise anything like the ‘mate’ stuff Ire talked about but…I might stay. I won’t give any names, I promise. I just want to hear it from Jin-ssi,” Jungkook assured them, pulling on some shoes before leaving his bedroom door open for the familiars to come and go as they pleased.

It ached a little, every step made his ribs throb lightly but all things considered Jungkook certainly wasn’t in as much pain as he thought he’d be in as Jin met him and led him outside with a wide smile showing a flash of a sharp canine.

”I had a dream…it’s why I asked the others to come into my room. I know you guys aren’t human. Why are you hiding things from me when I’ve seen your magic…your powers?” Jungkook mumbled as they stepped together through the trees and Jin winced, glancing away from him as he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

”Because…we don’t want to hurt you-”

”Yoongi-ssi nearly set me on fire, I’m past that at this point. You had every chance to kill me, to throw me back on the other side of the creek and leave me there to find my way home. You didn’t have to take me to where you lived. Why?” Jungkook pressed and stopped in his tracks, gently tugging at Jin’s sleeve until he stumbled back to regard the young human nervously.

”Jungkook…whatever Chiro told you-”

”Chiro didn’t have to tell me anything, it’s obvious. At least the familiars had the decency to be honest with me! They’re covering up for you guys, trying to keep you out of trouble so I don’t leave. If you have something to say, say it. Because lying and keeping secrets when there’s clearly something going on is just pushing me away! I’m a human but I’m not useless! I’m not weak!” Jungkook spat, curling his hands into balls by his sides until Jin recoiled at his outburst and sank under his glare.

”I didn’t want to hurt you. I didn’t want to scare you. Jungkook what we are-”

”Is the same thing as what you have been the entire time I’ve been here. A day. A week. A year. What does it matter how long I have been here because you’ve made it pretty clear your intentions this whole time! I’m not afraid of you! If you were just honest, if you just told me what you were and why you did things. I would have understood. I would. I mean…I knew there had to be more than just humans out there…and I knew…I guess I always knew I wasn’t meant to be with everyone else. You pretty much kidnapped me so you could heal my wounds…it would probably have been less creepy if you had told me you weren’t human from the start so I didn’t have to worry about being another sacrifice or something,” Jungkook huffed and folded his arms to pin Jin with a slight glare.

”I understand…and in hindsight yes we should have explained why we brought a stranger home like this and…you know…to be careful around our familiars and powers but normal humans don’t accept that-”

”You’ve made it pretty clear I’m not a normal human. If you wanted to kill me you wouldn’t have taken me to your secret home to heal me and you certainly wouldn’t have shown me your familiars. If I would have got free I could have told everyone what I had seen. So you intended to keep me from the start. I want to understand! You have to believe that I want to know more, I want to be around you no matter how weird you are and what you eat. I like different. Just don’t lie!” Jungkook urged, silenced only by a snapping twig through the row of trees beside the creek and Jin gently pulled him back by his elbow.

”We need to go, I promise no more lies and secrets but we do need to go home. The scariest thing in these woods are the humans and that’s saying something. People very rarely come into these woods with good intentions and if anyone sees you-”

”I can’t go home…can I? Because I’ve seen you?” Jungkook mumbled after a long pause but Jin hushed him and pressed a sweet kiss to his brow, sighing at the rush of energy that soaked between the contact.

”It’s not because you’ve seen us, Jungkook. If we could let you go home I promise we would. The woods…consider you one of us now. There’s a boarder by the creek protected by cruel nymphs-”

”The trees I saw?!” Jungkook gaped, head snapping up to Jin in horror. The trees Ire had shown him as his future self. The ones that whipped bodies away with long branches.

”The trees,” Jin nodded sadly but tucked Jungkook’s hair behind his ear to gather himself. “The trees…are there to protect us but to also keep those with cruel hearts here so we can…deal with them before they do more damage to the outside world. The trees consider you one of us-”

”I-I’m evil? You said they keep cruel hearts here! I’m not…I mean no harm!” Jungkook urged fearfully, eyes wide in panic and apology until another twig snapped further down the creek and Jin hushed him again.

”It does not keep you here because you have a dark heart, it’s keeping you here because…it’s complicated. You have met us…and you’ve formed a bond with Shi and Chiro and the others. The woods considers you part of our group now. It thinks you’re part demon,” he winced but Jungkook only sagged, considering the words with pinched brows. So he wasn’t ‘evil’ and the woods didn’t consider him food at least. He was here, much like Ire had said, he was their mate.

“Who’s there?!” a male voice boomed through the trees, silencing Jungkook’s shy reply before it had even formed. The voice sounded furious and not at all cautious that there were others in the woods. More like he had been disturbed. Jin pulled Jungkook back once again closer to the line of trees behind their home and stepped back whenever Jungkook followed.

”It’s a human, right?” Jungkook whispered nervously and craned his neck to see the demon’s steely gaze set on the trees ahead of them.

”No-one comes in here for a nice little walk, not this part of the woods anyway. We had to be careful where we put our home, after all. No one comes this far in without something to hide,” Jin gritted darkly, turning Jungkook in his arms to usher him further along the grassy banking of trees. That statement alone was enough to terrify Jungkook much less when he caught Jin crowding him protectively as a gunshot exploded by their heads and they both ducked beside a large birch tree. Jin’s hand instantly wrapped over Jungkook’s mouth, hushing him sweetly as the younger human shuddered in the grassy seat they had fallen against. The younger of the two wrapped a hand around Jin’s wrist nervously, not pulling but rather holding for stability even if he could barely breathe. He knew if Jin removed that hand they would be found, he was panting harshly at the surprise and his eyes brimmed with tears.

”Master? Jungkook…” Chiro clicked softly, a ball of light above their heads that was barely lighter than the colour of charcoal to blend in the dark trees overhead and Jin perked up instantly when Ro and Shi joined them proudly like a small army of worried little faces.

”Take Jungkook home, Shi. Chiro, Ro…do your thing. We have an intruder,” Jin sighed and stood, petting Jungkook’s hair in passing before removing the hand silencing the soft pants of fear.

”W-what? I can’t leave you here with that thing! He has a gun,” Jungkook whispered fearfully even as Shi took his hand in a small clawed paw and tugged.

”We can’t be killed, we are perfectly safe fighting. You on the other hand are still injured and very much mortal. Please go with Shi…it’s not safe or…Pleasant to be here right now. I promise we’ll continue our talk later-” Jin broke off at another bang; a figure had managed to find them, four men all dressed in black and masks. Two had hunting guns while one had a long knife much like one from a butchers.

”Wh…it’s a kid. Hey, kid you shouldn’t be out here at this time. Especially not with…freaks,” one of them tutted in Jin’s direction who recoiled slightly at the words while Jungkook stood shakily and dusted himself off. Humans. He might be able to get them to leave.

“He’s not a freak, he’s my…brother. We got lost looking for my friend that got lost in here a couple of days ago,” Jungkook assured them worriedly and one lowered his gun to regard them both nervously.

”Brother? You look nothing alike. Who are you looking for, kid?” he pressed and with a wide-eyed gaze Jungkook offered the only name he could muster. His own.

For a moment Jin seemed horrified but Jungkook pressed on blindly, watching Chiro’s dim light in a nearby bush. Watching over them both. Ro was in a lower branch of a tree, feathers ruffled ready for slight while Shi had squirmed his way under a thick blanket of vines that must had fallen from a tree trunk. He was safe. If anything went wrong Jungkook knew he would be protected, he had no reason to doubt the familiars that Jin and the other demons cared for him. His future self had said so himself, he had to trust himself for once.

”Jeon Jungkook? Huh…can’t say the name’s familiar and certainly hasn’t been on the news as a missing person. When did he go missing?”

”Yesterday…he was going out with some friends to these woods and never came back. We were supposed to go for food together earlier and he never turned up,” Jungkook assured them and one of them huffed and stepped closer, stride long and purposeful before pausing toe-to-toe with Jungkook.

”He’s dead, kid. The only people that come in here are up to no good. This is a hot-spot for murders and missing people. Give up on him and leave…this part of the woods is…for special business,” the man gritted and against his better instincts, against everything screaming for him to leave it at that, take Jin and the familiars and leave he met the dark stare aimed on him and cocked an eyebrow accusingly.

”So if everyone in here is up to no good…what are you here for?” he scoffed, silenced by the butt of a gun jamming against his shoulder and he stumbled back with a grunt of pain. It flared like fire up his shoulder and down through his ribs. Jin caught him the moment he sagged, gritting his teeth at the flaring purple mark already circling his collar.

”Kook…you ok? Chiro…make it slow will you? Bring him back with you…alive,” Jin gritted and picked Jungkook from the floor with a soft sigh.

”Mouthy little one, aren’t you? Why did you do that? I told you people here aren’t the nicest, dummy,” Jin tutted and behind his shoulder Jungkook caught Chiro, sweet and bright Chiro bursting into flames and just beyond the flames and smoke something had taken the tiny figures place. A mass of ghost-like hands and arms squirming and pulsing as one lashed out to grab one man and pulled it into the mass, silencing any possible sounds within the limbs.

Jungkook didn’t comment on what he had seen back there as Jin laid him back in bed to tend to his new wound. He shouldn’t have been so surprised that the lovely little beings that belonged to demons were used for…well…death. He shouldn’t have been surprised and hurt but he was.

“Listen…I know you saw something back there. I know it’s hard to accept what we are and what we do. We don’t expect your instant acceptance…but the familiars are born to work beside up and to protect our home and those in it. Those men attacked us, attacked you. We couldn’t just let them go. They mean harm-”

”I know,” Jungkook whispered instantly, lowering his stare away from Jin’s hands rubbing something sticky on his new bruise.
”I know you have to do it…I know they were just protecting me but…Chiro…had hands!” Jungkook urged in horror, silenced only by a gentle kiss to his forehead that turned into a sigh against his skin. Jin seemed to like contact, he was gentle and forward with his affections and even as jungkook’s mind reeled he melted into the touch tiredly.

”I know it’s scary, I’m so sorry. Chiro is an extension of myself, my own powers. It’s a long story and not one important right now. I’ll explain another day if you wish to know who and what we all are. For now I have to go back and check on the others. Chiro doesn’t like to…protect without me there. Ire! Come keep Jungkook company while I go check on the others! I’ll be back soon, ok? Please don’t leave the house while it’s not safe,” Jin urged sweetly before turning on his heel to leave.

Sure enough Ire strolled in shortly after with a small jar with water in and Jungkook observed nervously as the water sloshed over the floor and a wide face observed him from the water.

”I-ire?”

”Please don’t tell the masters, please! She means no harm, no matter what they say. She wishes to heal you. This is Nox, young master Jimin’s familiar. She’s taught me how to combine our powers so I could show your future self earlier,” Ire urged nervously, setting down the jar on the floor so the small robed figure could step out in a pearly bubble.

”Nox? Nice to meet you. I’m Jungkook. What can you do to heal me?” he frowned wearily but Nox only turned to Ire, crackling and clicking through a wide mouth until Ire lowered his head in understanding.

”Young Nox hasn’t learned basic communication, she’s been confined to a tank her entire life. She has not been able to properly control her abilities…she hasn’t been trained how. However earlier she healed most of your wounds so she’s confident she can do it again. However she wishes to ask a favour of you,” Ire purred softly, tail flicking restlessly

”A favour? I mean I can’t promise anything but I’ll do my best. What does she need?”

”Well, you see. You are what demons call a ‘core mate’ you provide energy and power to demons and their familiars. We have all received your energy when we slept beside you earlier however Nox wasn’t here. She has asked…to stabilise her. She is unable to connect to the masters, she was weak when she was born…she needs power and energy to properly adapt to her own abilities so they are stable enough for her to use. We don’t know how she’ll react to your power and touch…but if she doesn’t try Nox fears she will be kept in containment for her entire life. Forever. She is desperate to earn her place in the coven now…there is a sixth and final familiar none of us have seen or met…she wants to be capable to protect the home in case this familiar is…not safe,” Ire explained calmly, voice low and vibrating in his chest as Jungkook sat up to properly observe the familiars now glancing to each other fearfully. Nox was young, as Ire had said and deep in Jungkook’s heart thinking of this little doll being locked away just didn’t sit well in his chest. Even demons didn’t understand their own familiars, Jungkook was stunned to think two of six familiars were not loved like the others. Even Chiro who he had probably see murder someone, he adored the familiars, they had all treated him so well and tried their best to do what was right for the group and Jungkook.

”Of course, as long as you watch over her…just in case she can’t take it. But…how can she heal me?” Jungkook urged a second time and was silenced by the bubble raising above the bed and settled down slowly until he laid back. It landed on his chest and instantly he felt himself slump in exhaustion as if he had just ran a marathon and had finally sat down after. His eyes were almost instantly heavy and he felt Ire curl up beside his shoulder protectively, offering his cheek gentle, soothing licks until his eyes completely shut.

Nox only spent a couple of hours there soaking in Jungkook’s energy and heat. She had removed herself from her protective bubble once she had realised the power Jungkook held wasn’t as overwhelming as she had expected and her bulging fish eyes had rimmed with lilac. When Ire glanced over, seeing colour in once dead coal eyes was oddly soothing, like Nox was…normal now. She didn’t seem as scary with colour in her face and eyes. She looked more like a real doll now and not some floaty fish.

Eventually they had to leave in fear of being caught by one of the demons and by the time Ire returned from putting Nox back in her tank Jungkook had slipped into a more natural slumber peaceful and content. Typically Ire would curl up with Namjoon at night but his master had more than angered him with talk of murdering poor Jungkook if the human didn’t accept them. If they just gave the young human time he doubted there would be any issues and of course Jungkook would learn to love them, flaws and diet and all. Instead the black familiar cuddled up close to his sleeping human, stretched across his chest as the slow rise and fall lulled him to sleep and he shone a soft lavender colour as he soaked in the comforting energy of the coven mate.
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Chapter Text

Jin returned to Namjoon once their newest meal was safely tucked away in their underground bunker for when everyone became hungry again. They had to savour their meals, after all. They never knew when someone suitable would amble by. Jin had taken Chiro with him to their coven leaders’ room to announce their new issue.

”Don’t be mad,” Jin mumbled cautiously in the doorway as Namjoon glanced up from where he was writing leisurely at his oak desk, eyes peeking over the tops of his thick-rimmed glasses.
”Jungkook knows about us…what we are… and we have four guests in the bunker. They won’t last long. Chiro has taken to Jungkook…he was hit and she lashed out unlike anything I’ve seen before. Her powers are stronger than ever…” Jin mumbled, cupping his sleepy familiar between his palms to soothe the pulsing light fondly. Chiro had protected their home and their future mate with so much dedication and power he had never seen any of their familiars in their dark forms.

“She changed again?” Namjoon frowned in confusion and sat back in his chair to regard his mate in awe. None of the other familiars had gained their secondary powers like Chiro had and to know there was a third. A final dark form that each of their young partners could grow to would change everything in the clan. They needed to encourage the others to practise their powers if they wished to protect their new arrival.

”Kinda. Joon she transformed and not like Nox. She became these massive hands…like she grew extensions,” Jin whispered nervously. Joon stood at that, extensions were something their species considered a rite of passage for familiars and their masters. It was a final form that few familiars were able to adopt and took more energy than one demon could supply on their own.

“Jungkook?” Namjoon croaked nervously, silenced only by Jin’s proud nod and Chiro’s wide lilac eyes staring back up at him hopefully.

”He gifted me so much power…you can’t kill him master. He’ll be perfect for the coven, just let me spend some time alone with him, teach him how to live in a coven,” Chiro squealed like a whistling kettle until Namjoon hushed the familiar with a small nudge to her cheek.

”You truly believe he will accept us? Can he maintain our coven?” Namjoon pressed sweetly and chuckled at Jin’s fond smile aimed over to him.

”I believe so…Shi agrees. Jungkook’s heart is strong and with time he will adopt your powers too. He’s still young, we have time to strengthen your bonds and his powers. No human core can remain completely human forever…once master Taehyung’s familiar awakens then our final member will be born. Master, the human race has become more dangerous than usual, they are damaging themselves and the world we share with them out of spite. We need our core and final nestling if we intend to discover why the humans are becoming so…” Chiro drifted off, pouting in thought at the statement. So much had changed in the world in the few hundreds of years the coven had existed but what exactly was new? Why was the world suddenly so…scary?

“Becoming more?” Jin offered sweetly until Namjoon nodded meekly.

”The world is suddenly becoming more animalistic, they are becoming dangerous even by our standards. You’re right Chiro…I can’t put a time frame on Jungkook’s comfort and stability. I will trust him to you for now then…is he safe to be around the kids?” Namjoon huffed, eyeing up their oldest who winced, rubbing his nape awkwardly.

”I…Hobi has met him for a short moment but…Jungkook is powerful and hour by hour as he heals he is only getting stronger. The kids might be overwhelmed,”

”If I may, master,” Chiro chirped again, thankful to be the oldest familiar in the coven. The demons trusted her, let her offer her insight. Chiro knew the familiars better than anyone and their masters knew that. Jin regarded his familiar worriedly now, Chiro was taking the situation to heart and he could hear the urgency in the clicks and clacks the familiar offered them when Namjoon turned expectantly too.

”Young Nox, master…she can heal Jungkook. If you would just let her out-”

”Nox is in containment for a reason, Chiro. She’s dangerous especially to Jungkook,” Namjoon sighed but silenced at the red seeping into the familiar’s face.

”She’s no more dangerous than I am. Ask Jungkook, he’ll agree!” Chiro squealed, freezing the moment their faces fell in horror. Nox had had contact with Jungkook and now Chiro had ruined everything by admitting to this. The master didn’t accept Nox even still, Chiro should have known this. Namjoon hurried from his seat, bypassing Jin and a horrified Chiro to storm to Jungkook’s room. He was asleep with Ire sprawled out on his chest.

”Leave him,” Jin urged but Namjoon shook his head, circling the bed with furrowed brows. No sign of Nox at least but Jungkook looked exhausted and paler than usual. If Nox had been here-

Jungkook awoke to the sound of whispering, Ire chattered sleepily against his chest and raised droopy eyes up to the source of the sound.

“You woke him,” Jin hissed, shutting Namjoon up with a swift swat to the back of the head and the leader of the coven silenced with a wince and a swallowed-back growl.

”Oh…what’s wrong? Did you manage to get rid of those guys?” Jungkook yawned behind his hand and took a moment to rub the sleep from his heavy eyes before lifting Ire up into his arms so he could sit up. Jin sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, sitting Chiro down with Ire before offering the human a soft smile.

”They’re gone now, don’t worry about them. Jungkook…have you happened to have seen one of our familiars? A little octopus-like doll?” Jin frowned and Chiro winced from beside Ire who pinned the older familiar with a narrow glare. So much for staying a secret.

“Octopus doll? Why, what’s wrong?” Jungkook pressed and now Namjoon was closer, gesturing urgently.

”She’s dangerous, she might be trying to hurt you or use you to increase her powers. Has she been in here?” Namjoon gritted but was silenced when Jungkook glared over at the accusation and regarded Chiro with a sigh.

”Nox was supervised when she came in…she healed my wounds while I slept and then left. I wasn’t hurt and she certainly doesn’t want to use me. You give her such a hard time but she’s really not that unhinged, she’s well aware of what she’s doing and who she’s not allowed to hurt. She never once even indicated that she was a danger to me,” Jungkook urged and ruffled Ire’s dark head tenderly.

”Supervised? Healed you?” Namjoon frowned in confusion but was silenced but Jin who nodded in understanding to the human.

”Did she tell you she didn’t want to hurt you?” Jin hummed thoughtfully but recoiled when Jungkook nodded.

”Well…it was translated but she never tried to hurt me, I promise. She’s just scared and lonely, like me. She feels trapped and the people she should consider her family have cast her away without even trying to teach her. She’s too strong for her abilities, she needs to be taught how to control it. Her power scares her! Please you need to let her out of the stupid tank…you’re killing her,” Jungkook urged, startled at the cool slide of a tear down his cheek and Jin inhaled sharply by his ear and crooned. It sounded so animalistic, the first time Jungkook had heard something so inhuman from them but the sound was comforting like the trill of a mother cat to its young and the demon took a moment to swipe the offending tear away gingerly with his thumb that left a trail of warmth where it touched.

“She really said that to you?” Namjoon croaked, glancing down to Chiro who was pouting up at the masters. Why they hadn’t listened to her was a mystery but maybe it was a good thing. Jungkook would be useful in maintaining coven structure if the masters were so intent on the comfort of the human mate.
“You have to let her learn…please. If she felt understood maybe she wouldn’t hurt you either. You’re a threat to her…all she knows is isolation. Just let me prove she’s safe enough…she deserves her freedom just like the others,” Jungkook urged helplessly and held Ire and Chiro close to his chest. Namjoon sighed, rubbing his nape before sagging.

”I’d have to talk to Jimin, that’s Nox’s master. I imagine Yoongi should also know, Ro doesn’t exactly enjoy Nox’s company being a familiar of water versus a familiar of the air,” Namjoon grumbled and set his steely stare to Chiro and then Ire once again and they glanced up apologetically. To have kept such a secret from their masters, they could only hope Namjoon and Jin would understand why they had done such a thing behind their backs. Most familiars would be banished for such an act especially against royalty.

“Ire…what do you think? Is this why you didn’t come back to our room to sleep? I upset you earlier, huh?” Namjoon sighed and crouched in front of Jungkook, knelt on one knee as he reached out for his familiar with a gentle touch and offered a sweet dimpled smile.
”I’m sorry…I never want you to feel like you can’t come to me. We’re partners, Ire. You can always tell me when you think I’m being unfair especially to you guys. I may have been too harsh on Nox. Perhaps it’s not her that’s the issue but rather how Jimin handles her. She needs a strong hand to keep her controlled…I understand now. You’ve been trying to tell me that for years, I’m sorry. Am I forgiven?” Namjoon frowned anxiously until his face lit up as the cat purred loudly, whizzing into his chest in a bolt of yellow light as Ire tracked electric trails around Namjoon’s body before rubbing against his face happily with a nod.

”Same to you, Chiro. We’re the closest of any pair here…we need to trust each other. I understand why you did it though and I’m not upset. I trust you to know what you’re doing…but let’s try not to keep secrets from each other, ok?” Jin chuckled fondly as Jungkook let Chiro go so they could burst into a bright light to bounce around the room like a tiny firework show before settling in Jin’s upturned palms.

“Can you let her out? Please?” Jungkook mumbled nervously once the two demons had had their time to comfort their ecstatic familiars and they regarded him calmly, Namjoon’s face masked by Ire’s now rubbing happily against his.

”I need to talk to Jimin and Yoongi first and then make sure the others know what’s going on. Tomorrow we can, I promise. If she’s been with you before without harming you maybe it’s best you handle her induction…Jimin doesn’t know her very well yet. But Jungkook…about tomorrow…” Namjoon winced but Jungkook waved him off and leaned back on his hands on the bed. How could these two be dangerous? The more he watched and saw them interact the less they seemed like monsters. In fact they seemed more human than most of the people he knew.

”I know. I can’t go home…I’m not sure how to feel yet but if this is how it has to be maybe it won’t be so bad. I mean I didn’t really have a life anyway. I’ll be ok,” Jungkook assured them though his voice held uncertainty deep within the sleep-cracked words. Namjoon retired back to his room with Ire purring and shivering against his chest so Chiro stayed with Jungkook. There was some unspoken worry between them, concern for Nox and how the future would pan out. Jungkook no longer had a human life so what could a demon one have to offer him instead?

Chapter Text

The night felt long, Jungkook spent most of it tossing and turning. Chiro had to resort to laying over Jungkook’s chest, pulsing and beating to help calm the human enough to sleep decently for the last couple of hours of night. The entire house could sense the distress in the bedroom, even the younger demons with their senses still not quite recognising Jungkook as safe were troubled by the distress they could feel in the air. Jimin had crawled into bed with Hobi during the night, had cuddled up tight in his chest as he listened to the shuffling in the furthest bedroom. How he cursed his heightened senses right now. Tae had crawled in with Jin and Namjoon as they bundled close to each other in the oversized silk bed of the master bedroom. It was super late when Hoseok woke up, eyes barely focusing in the dark at the sound of more shuffling. Yoongi. He waited, holding Jimin close as the sound passed by their bedroom. No doubt Yoongi knew where everyone was, they always did. Every moment of every day each and every member of the coven knew exactly where each other was. It was a perk of being both demon and bonded to each other.

Yoongi had barely shut his eyes all night, he could hear Jungkook turning in his bed and sighing to himself. Uncomfortable? Unlikely. Something was bothering him, frustrating and upsetting the human. While Ro usually loved to sleep and usually could sleep for over 20 hours a day much like his master, tonight the air familiar was restless too and was puffed up into a stressed onyx ball on Yoongi’s bedpost. Even their familiars were aware of Jungkook’s unsteady state.

”Ro…go to him,” Yoongi finally grunted and watched the familiar’s beady eyes lock with his.

”You’re worried too…don’t make me out to be the needy one. He’s worried…Ire came by earlier to say he had been hurt by some outsiders in the woods. He knows what we are now. He must be scared,” Ro chirped nervously, head cocked to one side as Yoongi raised a bow in shock. No-one in the house had told him of this, then again they probably assumed he had been asleep. Well, he had been asleep but now he wasn’t but he couldn’t blame his mates for not knowing that. So Jungkook had seen those that came to the woods for their cruel satiation and what’s more? The human knew what the clan was now, knew their dirty secrets. But no…the human wasn’t afraid in the very least. He was annoyed, or rather he was frustrated with a hint of something akin to concern in his sighs.

It took an hour or two for Yoongi to give up, squinting up at the ceiling for a brief moment of consideration before rolling out of bed with a groan. Good job he had slept for a while earlier or else he would have been pissed off. He carried Ro the length of the den corridor to Jungkook’s bedroom door and sat there cross-legged in the doorway. Waiting and listening. Once the room had silenced Yoongi let Ro inside, gently ordering the familiar to keep an eye on Jungkook until day just in case he woke again while Yoongi took watch in the doorway. No-one will wake their restless mate with him there let alone while Ro and Chiro were there too.

There was movement in Hoseok and Jimin’s room around dawn. Typical of the two since Shi enjoyed the sunrise. The three were known for waking up early together to sit on the house roof to watch the sky bleed bright and beautiful with morning colours. This morning however Shi toddled out of the bedroom first, Yoongi would dare say the familiar looked much like he felt. Exhausted, messy and slightly confused. It took a few moments of just standing in the hallway for Shi to finally turn his attention slowly to Yoongi and then past him to Jungkook’s bedroom door.

”Did he sleep?” the familiar grunted, not at all perturbed by Yoongi’s tired scowl and messy state until the demon nodded and rubbed his cat-like eyes with the back of his hand.
”I sent Ro in…I assumed he would be able to comfort Chiro in the very least. You…look exhausted, did the kids sleep ok?” Yoongi frowned, startling into silence the closer Shi got to him until the familiar stumbled up on his crossed legs and sat facing the demon in a similar stance.

“The masters are worried about him…and you-”

”Shi,” Hobi sighed from his doorway as he ruffled his messy hair back into place and strode to collect his familiar with a disapproving tut. It seemed the only ones not afraid to be honest in the coven were the familiars, especially recently. There were so many times Yoongi could count where misunderstandings were cleared up by the familiars and not the demons themselves.

”He’s right, you don’t have to scold him. We all know how this goes. Why didn’t anyone tell me Jungkook knows what we are? Or that he was hurt? I know I messed up Hobi but I thought I made up for it even just a little bit,” Yoongi urged the younger demons who winced and rubbed his nape awkwardly before crouching beside his mate with a small smile.

”You might be better off asking Jin-hyung or Joon on that one…but we all know you’re sorry. It’s a lot for all of us, we do understand,” Hoseok assured the older demon sweetly and settled back to sit beside the other against the wall. The morning was quiet, perfect for a pensive moment between the two mates. They could hear Jungkook breathing softly in the next room and Chiro’s soft clicking. Ro was snoring as was typical, a twittering sigh of a snore that broke the silence ever so slightly. It was peaceful, Yoongi considered thankfully. The den had been chaotic for years even though Yoongi had rarely been home.

“Hobi…you wanna go for a walk? Just us two? I realise…I haven’t been home in a while and we haven’t done much since I left,” Yoongi mumbled awkwardly, silenced only by the gentle kiss to his cheek.

”One hour, then Joonie called a meeting for the coven. Shi can come with us as a guard,” Hoseok chirped, letting the familiar roll into his jacket pocket before pulling both demons to their feet and with a gummy grin from the older member they turned on their heels to leave the den.

It was nice to go out into the woods without worrying about a hunt, early morning was the perfect time to enjoy the beauty of the woods. The two demons stepped out into the brisk air bundled in thick jackets and their beanies, being away from the underworld had made their bodies soft and less resistant to the cold of the human world. Despite the cold seeping in like pins and needles beneath their skin they relaxed into the sweet breeze together. It had been so long since they had been together, Hobi mused as he laced their fingers together nervously but it felt like even longer knowing Yoongi had been avoiding the den. Everyone had felt his absence, that first year without Yoongi had been the hardest in their long existences. That year there was a lot of talk about if he didn’t return to them, if Yoongi abandoned his mates and den. Namjoon had even made Jin their new guard since Yoongi was away for so long.

There was so much fear for so many years, Hoseok had feared for most of their time apart that their core mate wouldn’t have a coven to find in the end. He was sure they were falling apart and one thing they had refused to acknowledge was if Yoongi did reject them. If he did refused to ever return. Their coven would have perished. Demons mated for life, their lives completely relied on staying together. Namjoon hated to admit it, it was a terrifying thought to have your entire existence resting on a forever with people and staying together. To continue loving each other even when it was hard.

“You can tell me, you know? It was unfair of me to leave. You’ve all been quiet about it until Jungkook arrived. I know I was stupid…and I should never have left you all,” Yoongi whispered with his stare pinned to his feet as they strolled through the dark overhang of trees. Hoseok chuckled sweetly, nose scrunched as he shrugged and squeezed the hand in his.

”It was unfair…but I know you had your reasons. I don’t blame you, none of us do. When you’re ready to tell us why you really left we’ll be here. Just…try and make an effort, hyung. With us and Jungkook. We need to be strong and the only way we can be is by trusting each other and working hard. Chiro grew last night, she’s gained another form which means we’re all behind. We’re not strong enough,” Hoseok sighed in mild frustration but his smile was pulled into his signature heart-shaped smile as his chocolate stare turned up to the pink-tinted sky.

“She’s grown so much…so strong already. How is Tae’s familiar? Any news?” Yoongi pressed nervously but sagged when the younger demon shook his head. Tae’s familiar scared them all, no-one had seen him and even with Jungkook in the house the familiar had taken no interest. The tension was running ever higher these days because of it.

“Nothing new. How about Ro? It must be weird having Jungkook around with all of the other familiars settling into his presence?” Hobi chirped knowingly, that quiet bird had become so fond of Jungkook so quickly it was too obvious. It was nice he found a companion though, Ro really struggled to feel safe around demons or otherwise. A shy little familiar with a strong dislike to crowds.

“He seems to have settled really well. I’m surprised. Ro seems to really appreciate Jungkook’s power, something about it really calms him. I feel like…Jungkook really is what we all need; in hindsight knowing how well the familiars took to him and what little I’ve seen of him. We’re demons, we’re born from fire and fear and maybe a little bit of that still remains? I was born from fear and so was Ro maybe Jungkook is fearless enough to ease that pain?” Yoongi shrugged. They never really spoke of where they came from, it was one thing demons just didn’t like to talk about but it was a part of them. Each and every demon is born from a flame, a flame of emotions so strong it can birth not only a demon stemmed from those feelings but a familiar to match.

“You never talk about what you came from…why now?” Hobi whispered nervously, silenced when Yoongi tugged his hand to pull him close and laid a sweet kiss to Hoseok’s warm lips.

”Because it’s time we’re honest, with each other and ourselves. Hobi…if we’re going to get Jungkook to trust us and love us…we need to be honest about what we are. Who we are. I was born of fear…that’s my existence and one day maybe I’ll be able to appreciate that. We have to learn to love ourselves, Hobi. How can we ever expect Jungkook to when we keep so many things bottled up like dirty little secrets? Starting now…let’s try be a little more honest. Come on…let’s head back. Joon will throw a fit if we’re not back before Jungkook wakes up,” Yoongi sighed wistfully, leaving a final peck to Hobi’s cheek before pulling him along back to their home.

They knew the woods by heart now, it felt like every tree stood out and pointed them the way home. There was a little patch of dirt to the left of a fork in the grassy pathway, Jimin had put it there when they first started hunting in the woods, he was always getting lost and usually when he got lost Taehyung wasn’t far behind him. The more you wondered around the woods the more little patches of dirt you could find, like younger Jimin leaving a trail of breadcrumbs home.

Namjoon was already awake when they got home, sat in the front of the cobblestone house with some coffee. They tried to avoid human foods, messed with their diet but coffee was the one luxury they all dabbled in quite happily. Yoongi slowed down, regarding the leader carefully in case he had a scolding to offer but instead Namjoon leaned down the side of the broken bench he sat on and offered his two mates a cup each. Yoongi didn’t even flinch, taking the offered cup with a sigh of thanks and took a long sip. He loved this part of the day, when they could appreciate the morning in a more peaceful light. Sure they were demons but they weren’t against admitting they enjoyed the simple pleasures too.

“What’s the meeting for?” Yoongi mumbled around the lip of his cup once Hobi had sat down beside the leader to lean against each other passively. Namjoon regarded him with a sure glint in his eye.

”Jungkook has met Nox,” Namjoon stated calmly though his brow arched in thought indicated his true nervousness to his mates. Hobi recoiled, horror in his eyes until Shi fumbled out of his pocket and sat purposefully on his masters’ lap.

”You knew?!” Hobi screeched but Shi offered the demons’ knee a gentle pat of reassurance and tilted his head up to Namjoon with a confidence only the guardian familiar could have when regarding the coven leader.

”Nox…really isn’t what you think she is. She’s scared and young and master Jimin doesn’t have a bond with her yet. We all bonded within our first cycle together, Nox is alone even with a master. She has no bonds to the coven…until Jungkook. Master, Nox has amazing abilities! With our core home with us we’re all learning our secondary abilities faster than ever, she means no harm if you treat her well. Like you do with us. She has the arcane touch, masters. She’s a strong familiar…if we can train her beside Jungkook I’m sure they can do amazing things together,” Shi growled soft, gesturing wildly with his stubby grey paws. What followed was possibly the most deafening silence the familiar had ever heard, standing there waiting to see if he would be punished or scolded. They were getting worse for speaking out like this, maybe the familiars were getting too…familiar? They were used to being allowed to speak up for themselves to their masters but it was a whole different matter to speak against the leader, especially since he wasn’t the leaders’ familiar.

Shi had began to cower before Namjoon reached out, rubbing the soft moss-like fur with a gentle thumb that the familiar sagged completely into thankfully.

”Jungkook has made you all so strong, hasn’t he? You’re speaking up a lot more these days, Shi. You don’t have to fear me…you know how this coven works. We’re a team, don’t fear me. If Nox has attached to Jungkook as you say…and if she truly is arcane then we should indeed have Jungkook train her or at least help to. You say Jimin hasn’t bonded to her?” Namjoon hummed curiously and Shi shook his large head slowly.

”master Jimin fears her and his own powers can’t get match hers…he can’t physically control her yet. Master…they need training and with the unfamiliar still in the den…if Jungkook’s own power wakes it we may not be able to stop it. Master Taehyung’s unfamiliar was given to him unlike the rest of us…what if he was given something dangerous? I mean…not like us but genuinely dangerous to the den, to us and Jungkook-”

”It’s ok, Shi. We’re working on Tae’s, for now let’s focus on Nox, ok? We support your choice to whatever you decide with Nox. I’ll gather the familiars for their say on the matter,” Hoseok chirped and stood with Shi to head inside while Yoongi stood rod-straight regarding the younger leader.

”We have to let her out, hyung. Jungkook has spoken to her, the familiars can understand Nox’s speech if they can translate for us maybe Nox can learn how to integrate before the new moon. Shi is right…the unfamiliar living with Taehyung might be dangerous and might not even be a familiar at all. We need everyone in the den to help out now,” Namjoon urged until Yoongi patted his head delicately with a gummy smile.

”You’re finally learning…it’s so nice to see you be a real leader, Joon. You sound confident for once. Jungkook is really helping, huh?” Yoongi offered with a light chuckle, startling when Namjoon shifted in his seat to rest his head on Yoongi’s stomach and the stood demon tensed for a moment.

”It hurts, hyung. I’m…scared. What if I can’t protect us? I thought we were ready but seeing Jungkook, if anyone feels his power they’ll try to take him from us. We’ve waited so long and I know you’ve not settled into having him around yet and the kids haven’t even met him but he’s still going to be our mate one day-” Namjoon blubbered anxiously until Yoongi wrapped his hands around the nape of the leader’s neck and gently threaded his fingers into the soft hairs there until the younger demon relaxed.

”I’m here now, Joon and I won’t ever leave this coven again I promise. You don’t have to do all of this on your own. We need to get stronger and if I’ve learned anything from that kid is that our familiars are the key to our survival now. They say when a core is introduced familiars can adapt to his central power…if we can train them all up maybe the others will gain powers like Chiro. For now let’s focus on Nox and I think it’s time we all met Jungkook, right?” Yoongi offered thoughtfully, trying and failing to hide his wide smile when Namjoon nodded against his stomach, akin to a young child but this was so very different. This was a demon learning for the very first time his role in the world. Namjoon had always been the coven leader but it seemed after hundreds of years together he was finally learning what that truly meant outside of hunting.

Yoongi let them soak in the moment for a little while longer before carefully moving back to pull Namjoon to his feet and the deep pearl pink that laid beneth his eyes was more telling than any words that could pass between them. They moved inside together, silent in their companionship as they spotted Hobi gathered each familiar and demon in turn from their bedrooms and led them towards the main lounge at the very front of the house. Namjoon paused in front of Jimin’s bedroom, eyes glassy until Yoongi gently pushed at the door and it swung open.

”Nox?” Namjoon whispered nervously, watching the tentacles in the water twitch awake and the small body turned to regard them both but the face that used to freak them out seemed suddenly so different. She had colour in her skin and bright softened eyes that observed the two demons nervously.

”Nox…do you understand me right now?” Namjoon offered carefully as the familiar nodded her bulbous head slowly and both demons relaxed considerably, how calm the familiar seemed to be this morning. Usually when they even attempted to speak to her she would bare her fangs and hiss at them, maybe even try to swat them away with her tentacles from inside the aquarium but she stood still in the middle of the water and just tilted her head slowly in curiosity.

”Jungkook has told us he has met you…that you healed him. The other familiars have all admitted to helping you help him. They said you mean no harm to him. We’re here to ask…if you’re willing to work beside us we’re going to help you and Jimin connect and train up your powers so you can hunt and guard beside us. You care about Jungkook, right? We need your help to protect him and the coven right now,” Namjoon urged softly until the familiar finally moved and drifted closer to the wall of the tank and held her small red hand up to the tank. A silent offering as both Yoongi and Namjoon pressed their index fingers to the same place, watching the glass fog over ever so slightly as Nox nodded once again and regarded the lid of the tank hopefully.

Every movement was careful but even with the air of cautiousness between the demons there was something so telling in the moment, how Nox just stayed and waited and how she was slow and careful with every movement to not startle the demons away from her. She waited for Namjoon’s hands to dip into the water to collect her before letting out a long stream of bubbles, watching them collect and form into one around her body so Namjoon could pick her up and by the time she was out of the tank completely she was back in her doll form, sat cross-legged patiently in her bubble as both demons stared for a split second.

”Please don’t use any powers during our meeting, ok? We need the others to agree to helping us too,” Namjoon pressed as they walked together.

The lounge was full by the time they got there, Jimin and Taehyung were cuddled up as always until Namjoon set Nox down on the small, splintering coffee table and the two recoiled into Jin’s open arms beside them.

”Calm down, Nox is no longer in solitary. She has met Jungkook and has helped him to heal. He’ll be able to join us soon so we need to put things in place for when he does heal. He knows what we are, the basic functions of our existence but it’s up to us now to introduce it to him in a way that he might be able to accept. We have to focus on the group now more than ever. Once Jungkook reaches his full potential he will become a target for other covens and probably humans if last night was any indication. We need to start re-training too, Chiro and hyung have succeeded to gain a second alternative form and a whole new extension of power so the rest of us need to work on our bonds and teamwork to try and get to that point too. Jimin and Nox will be taking formal training to get them initially bonded too,” Namjoon reeled off to each coven member until Chiro sat beside Nox’s bubble with a small smile to the newest familiar who preened happily back. It was painful to see just how happy Nox was to be included, to anyone else it would have been obvious to let Nox exist beside the others, they were social creatures even those that didn’t particularly enjoy company. To keep Nox in a cage for so long, Namjoon could feel the guilt eating away at him.

“Nox…why don’t you stick with Chiro for a while? I’m sure she can help to teach you some ways to control your power. I’ll work with Jimin until he’s able to match your abilities properly,” Jin offered finally, ruffling Jimin’s hair fondly.

It felt like the first meeting in years, what started as a discussion about how to train the kids and Nox ended up being a talk about anything and everything. The first group meeting Nox was a part of and she was able to see the coven at what could be their best. They were discussing how to introduce Jungkook to hunting when Ire skulked tiredly from beside Namjoon and the den silenced curiously as the familiar regarded the hallway.

”Is he awake?” Namjoon whispered nervously, eyes following the familiars’ line of sight as the furthest door opened and a very sleepy and dishevelled Jungkook wondered out in clothes far too big for him.

“Jin-ssi? Can I use your bathroom please?” the human called out groggily, still seemingly half asleep as Jin hurried to stand to meet Jungkook in the hallway and gently led the younger man by his shoulder to a side room where their bathroom was. Jin chuckled fondly, watching Jungkook stagger at the pressing touch before meeting gazes.

”Thanks. I’ll be right out,” he assured the demon before clicking the door locked behind him. Chiro and Nox seemed to have perked up after hearing Jungkook’s voice and the safe bubble around Nox popped until she stood on the table expectantly. Her eyes were wide, hopeful in the way the lilac in her eyes brightened even more until she could see Jungkook walking down the hallway. She forgot herself, screeching in excitement and while Jimin ducked into the safety of Jin’s tense touch Jungkook just greeted her warmly, picking her up beside Chiro with a sleepy ‘good morning’ to both familiars.

Each familiar had a ‘sound’ the way they spoke or communicated between each other. Ire had his clicking whistles, Chiro had her ticks and chirps but Nox made a soft popping noise, smacking her lips together to sound like bubblewrap and Jungkook’s face lit up.

“Morning Nox…you’re out of your cage!” he human beamed and naturally turned to Namjoon in thanks who flushed and shrugged shyly.

”We were just talking about helping to train her…to help her control her powers. She’s a free familiar now thanks to you. Remember she’s still young though, she might lose control sometimes but we’ll work on it with her,” the leader assured Jungkook who nodded slowly in understanding but his wide smile looked anything but worried about the idea of Nox turning against him even by accident.

”You’re starting to make sounds already…maybe soon you can talk to us like the others. I feel so much better thanks to you,” Jungkook urged, setting both familiars back onto the table before turning to Jin next.

”I hope you don’t mind me walking around? I really do feel better today. I can walk much better,” the human beamed even as Jin stood to check his wounds over carefully just to be sure and gave him a solid successful thumbs up. There was still a dull throb in his ankle and one of his wrist was heavily bruised from rope burns but otherwise Jungkook could safely say he felt almost completely healed.

“Oh…I’m sorry. I’m Jungkook…I didn’t realise I hadn’t met you all yet, I’m sorry,” Jungkook whispered shyly once he had caught sight of Jimin and Tae. The two youngest demons regarded Namjoon first for permission, they had been warned not to overwhelm their new arrival but they were given a small but sure nod and within a blink the two were up on their feet to greet Jungkook with eager hugs and warm greetings. They introduced themselves, the others took the chance to also re-introduce themselves before offering Jungkook a seat and like that it suddenly felt like the world had fallen into place. Their coven was full, Nox was free and integrating within the other familiars so well and Jungkook forgot even for a moment that this wasn’t a normal situation to be in. Somehow it just felt right with Ire asleep curled around his nape and Shi passed out in his lap having some twigs and leaves plucked gingerly from his fur the house suddenly felt so much brighter.

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Good morning, afternoon and evening my lovelies! I want to thank you all so much, your support over my previous post has meant the world to me. You've given me the most amazing gift, confidence. Up until now I've consider quitting creative writing in fear of not creating anything of worth. I have been worried that I was just contributing to the stereotype that FF writers aren't real writers, that the only reason they are popular is because they write characters that people already know. Using famous names to get readers but you've really shown me my own characters (my little familiars) and my world that I have offered to share is worth continuing. You've really shown me how much you appreciate and enjoy what I create and that through me sharing it I'm actually doing something worthwhile. I actually look forward to creating now instead of it being a chore...so thank you <3

I just want to mention I am currently working on a selection of hand-made pride flag pillow cases. At the moment I'm working on rainbow flag, bisexual, pansexual, Asexual and transgender flag pillows. I'm not sure how much I'll sell them for but as a thank you I want to let you guys know first if you're interested in buying one please let me know and if you want a different flag let me know. This is a part of my Limitless 'embrace yourself' collection. Please check out my wordpress blog because I am also doing mental health awareness ribbon pillow cases soon too. You guys have shown me not to be ashamed of my mental health but to embrace it as something I can use to connect with others like me. So these hand-made gifts are my way of supporting you too!

Anyway plugging aside, I am currently working on two new stories I will introduce through one-shots soon until I finish this story. I have a few really fun worlds I'm currently creating so please look forward to it! ^_^

AJ xoxo

Chapter Text

Jungkook had been mostly silent through the rest of the ‘meeting’ which was mostly just Namjoon explaining to him how the den worked and what to expect now that he was able to walk around mostly unaided. He went through which bedrooms belonged to which member of the coven but the passive ‘we usually sleep wherever we want though’ was passed around nervously as if Jungkook had no idea the coven members were together. Jungkook nodded anyway with a small giggle but even with the slight nervousness between everyone they seemed to slowly relax. Jimin and Taehyung perked up instantly and for a moment Jungkook winced at their loud antics. They were shouting at each other from across the room before bolting after each other through the den. Jungkook admired the others’ patience and otherwise passive nature with the sudden noise. Chiro sizzled into her whisp form, shaking in excitement before following after the two demons with a squeal of excitement with Ire close behind.

”The kids still have a lot of energy to run off, just ignore them. They like to go play in the woods when the creeps aren’t out and about,” Jin chuckled softly having noticed Jungkook wince from the squeals of delight.

”But you’re demons…can you go out in the sun?” Jungkook frowned in confusion but recoiled at his own words. How rude that sounded but the older members of the coven chuckled and Namjoon shook his head with something akin to sympathy in his smile.

”Only on the human side of the boundary we can’t. In the woods we’re protected so we can go out any time. Honestly after a while time really isn’t a thing anymore. You sleep when you’re tired and the rest of the time is free time. It’s better this way, you can see the sun rise and set and the moon and stars whenever you want,” Namjoon reeled off pensively but Jungkook seemed even more concerned at this, he was used to routine of night and day. How was Jungkook’s body supposed to know how much sleep was a healthy amount?!

“You look ready to bolt…after everything that you’ve seen here and you’re freaking out over bedtime?” Jin cooed fondly at the youngest who flushed a beet red and pouted his disagreement back nervously.

”How do you get anything done? What if you sleep through important stuff?”

”We live forever, Jungkook. We have nothing that important to do-”

”Nice for some…I don’t get that luxury,” Jungkook grumbled and instantly winced, pursing his lips urgently until Hoseok moved with a sympathetic hum and squished up to Jungkook’s side with his long fingers gently combing through Jungkook’s thick hair.

”Things will be hard for a while…just try to be patient . You’ll get used to it, honestly. It’s actually pretty nice. Your body clock will do the hard work once you get used to when the sun rises and falls. Like an animal. Like a little bunny,” Hobi assured him proudly and gestured to the window purposefully. If Jungkook had to adapt to stay here it was just going to have to be something he should get used to. To be fair no bedtime or need to wake up early was probably a lot of peoples’ dream. Jungkook would just have to make it work.

“We should offer some warning though, Jungkook. Now that Nox is allowed out and about. There is a sixth familiar in the house, we need you to promise you won’t step into Taehyung’s bedroom. Never,” Seokjin pressed calmly but his brows were pinched and his eyes were dark and narrowed at the human who startled. Why so serious suddenly?

“But Nox isn’t that bad…I’m sure the other is ok?”

”No…it’s different Jungkook. Nox was placed in confinement because we knew what she was capable of. This one…we know nothing about it. Jungkook. Familiars are bonded to their soul demons, there’s a special connection there that allows both members to grow and learn together. It’s how we hunt together, there is a shared understanding between familiar and master that allows us to work together well. Taehyung has no connection to his familiar, he’s never even seen it. That means this familiar feels no pull to his master or the coven. It’s easy for a unfamiliar to turn against us all if they have no bonds,” Jin urged nervously as Nox nodded in agreement with a soft click of worry.

“An unfamiliar? The others have called it that before…what does it mean?” Jungkook has sat up completely now, collecting Nox into his lap and Shi moved to join him with a large paw on Jungkook’s knee.

“An unfamiliar is an unbonded familiar. It’s essentially a rogue, a familiar with no bonds or attachments. An unfamiliar…is dangerous. It hasn’t learned control, proper behaviour or patience. It’s like a young animal, it knows the basics. Hunt, kill, eat, repeat. We’ve taught all of ours, even Nox, the boundaries on which to hunt and feed, we have to be careful who we take. If Tae’s familiar decides to come out of hiding it’s free-game. Us, you, innocent people…we need to keep you away from it until we know its token-”

”Token?-”

”Hyung,” Namjoon hissed, shaking his head in disagreement but Jin waved him off.

”I promised him no secrets. He has every right to know. Give him credit, Joon…he’s probably picked up on it by now anyway since everyone has been talking to him without us around,” the oldest gritted warningly only silenced by Shi offering a gentle pat to Jungkook’s hand until the human glanced down and Nox clicked softly, lilac eyes turned up to him worriedly.

”Nox says, she wishes to explain hers first. But first we should explain as familiars. Jungkook each demon is born from an emotion strong enough to birth an entity. Usually they are negative emotions since they are the ones that humans tend to feel strongest. Each of the masters has their core which is the emotional energy in which they were birthed. Familiars are born similarly but they are our tokens. I suppose it’s what we as individuals are based on, our purpose in life. A demon’s individuals abilities are based on their soul seed, the emotion they were born from. A familiar’s tokens and abilities are based on it too,” Shi growled sweetly, hand still cupping Jungkook’s as he explained, calm and careful. Hoseok had Shi’s other hand, thoughtfully feeling over the crumbled-leather-like paw pads with a small nod of agreement.

Jin and Namjoon had silenced, Yoongi while sat with a wince in his gaze and an apologetic dip in his head had moved closer to the oldest and silently slipped his hand into the other. Squeezed silently though never meeting gazes. It was moving all too quickly, Yoongi reeled as he observed their allusive youngest familiar with Hobi’s ever-wise familiar basically leading their coven effortlessly. In that moment those familiars were saving their asses again, had already fine-tuned how they spoke and held themselves to comfort their human mate. How was it so easy for them? Yoongi was terrified of speaking, of scaring the youngest. Even Jin and Namjoon seemed lost, ever so cautious that they were barely themselves right now. Namjoon was hoping for Jin to lead as their empathetic oldest and Jin was looking to Namjoon to lead as their thoughtful leader. What a mess, he grimaced.

“Tokens…are what we must take to regain power. It is what we both protect and conquer in the world. For example a familiar born of hatred will have abilities based around what their master requires of them to help them contain such emotions. It could be something like a mirage or rekindling hateful memories. The token we then take from those we cleanse has to contain enough hatred to feed. The issue is…the unfamiliar may try to take its token from you so we need to know what it is looking for so we can protect you,” Shi finished off, flopping back in mild exhaustion before Nox clicked at him urgently, wide mouth forming frantic sounds before reaching a small, cold hand out to Jungkook who let her wrap the small digits around his little finger.

”Nox says, without divulging her core as Master Taehyung won’t be happy if she does. She says if the unfamiliar keeps physical tokens it may try to take…a part of you in expense. Really? You think it keeps physical tokens?” Shi growled nervously and Nox nodded slowly.

”Why is that bad? Don’t you all keep physical tokens? What do you mean by ‘a part of me’?” Jungkook urged until Hobi hushed him calmly.

”Familiars keep that which has the most energy which is usually an emotional or psychological token. Taking a memory or emotion...it’s hard to explain all in one go. For now let’s just say there are several types of token a familiar can take, one that takes a physical token takes a part of the body and fuses with it to grow. It might fuel their abilities or upkeep their physical forms. You must remember, familiars are so varied it’s impossible to explain it all in such a short amount of time,” Hobi assured the youngest comfortingly and Jungkook nodded slowly in understanding.

There was more tension after that, Yoongi had to leave to find the younger demons and Jin had to make Jungkook something to eat so it was left to Hobi and Namjoon to comfort the stunned human. Nox had apologised through Shi and had been allowed to sit on Jungkook’s hunched shoulder, head to the human’s temple as they soaked in the moment silently together and Shi sat bundled on JK’s lap like a teddy bear, half asleep with shaking fingers combing through the fur on his stomach.

Jungkook had gone through the information so many times in his head, trying to make sense of it all. He understood to some degree, sure. He certainly wasn’t afraid but whatever it was that he was feeling was messing with his head all over again. Some anxiety mixed with confusion and curiosity. If what Nox said was true then the unfamiliar of the house might try to kill him to take his token or he was just another lonely familiar in the house.

“What if…the unfamiliar is just scared? Like Nox was,” Jungkook finally mumbled to Shi who blinked awake lazily and scrunched his small nose in thought.

”We as familiars have a link to each other from the moment we are placed in a coven. The unfamiliar’s intentions are not peaceful, Jungkook. Nox was scared, yes but even she made many mistakes when she was young. She hurt a lot of people and she didn’t even mean to. The unfamiliar is not hiding because it is afraid or we would sense it…we would feel its fear as an intense emotion we can feed off like a token. No…the unfamiliar is dangerous. It is in hiding for a reason and whatever that reason is I would hate to be the first to find out. We’ve tried going into its hide, even Chiro as a wisp has attempted but whatever its abilities are it can hide extremely well. Trust us Jungkook, no good comes from an unfamiliar set on hiding from its own master,” Shi warned the human pointedly before standing and hopped down onto the ground with a grunt of effort before toddling away from the group with an obvious frown set behind his pointed canines.

There was so much unease in the house after Shi left. Those of the coven that observed Jungkook still sat on the couch with furrowed brows even hours after their conversation had ended could only sympathetically move on. How could they comfort the human? Some of the information shared between him and the familiars were things even the demons didn’t know. They all had things to process but more so how to help young Jungkook settle and process too. The coven could rely on each other, they always had.

After the talk they had broken off into their comfort circles. Taehyung and Jimin had crept silently into the younger 95 liners’ room and all but emptied it to move it into Jimin’s room. The thought of the unfamiliar now hanging heavy and stagnant until the empty room was locked behind them and the key, rusty and blackened was thrown into a small drawer that no-one had touched in centuries in the kitchen. They had left it lost and hidden beneath scraps of cloth, paper and some unloved sewing needles still attached to cotton from their last particularly dangerous hunt. Hobi had found the hyung line together in the office; Yoongi, Namjoon and Jin were looking over some old photo albums together, fingering through the dusty pages before pausing on a more recent one.

Hobi stayed silent, only acknowledged when Jin opened up his lap for him in the main office chair. The page was just like any Hobi recalled glancing through. So many long years together and as soon as photography was a thing they made sure to update their cameras regularly. Even if they lived forever their memory could only handle so many hundred of years at a time so it was nice to look back on their old lifestyles and how their home had changed slowly but surely.

“The unfamiliar has been out of its hide before…we’re looking for any signs of it in passing. If we know what it is we can work on containing it,” Yoongi grunted after a long silence, gesturing to a crudely taken photo from when Taehyung had first moved into his own room. There, in the corner of the dark and dingy photo was a porcelain doll the 95 liner had recovered from a hunt. The little girl hadn’t made it even though they had been so fast to get to them. Even though Taehyung had turned on the two captors with the wrath of the devil himself. The youngest demon never forgave himself, Namjoon remembered the months of torment their young mate put himself through in anger and regret. They still had a blood stain or two in the old outhouse from the young demon turning those feelings onto himself. It was a sore subject for all of them and they regretted having to admit it wasn’t the first or last time someone was hurt in their woods that should never have been placed in such a situation. They may adore Jungkook’s naivety and gentle nature up until now but it was no secret between them how much they loathed the human race.

There it was though, the doll with half of its pretty blush face cracked and crumbled the way they had found it, crudely glued together besides the pieces missing as it laid on the floor. The doll wasn’t the issue, no matter how much guilt and contempt the sight brought the demons. No. The issue was the tiny fingers reaching out for it from the depths of the bed. Fingers inky black and barely visible in the poor quality picture but obviously dripping with something thick and dark.

Namjoon’s stomach sank to his feet as Yoongi gestured to the hand with the eraser side of the pencil he had been chewing on in thought. It was to some degree humanoid at least but that meant very little for familiars. They all held a concoction of biological functions and aesthetics. They were used to animal-like familiars though. Even Chiro was very barely humanoid despite her soft features and stumpy little fingers and Nox was even less so with only small fingers and vaguely human-like eyes now that she had colour in them. Something felt wrong. First of all, the hand didn’t look solid. The only way they could be sure that they were was the fact that the inky digits had already wrapped around the doll’s throat from behind and was clearly half-way to dragging it beneath the bed.

The demons had plenty of photographs of the familiars, every milestone they took a new set of photos to show the coven growth in a physical way. None of the others made them feel this unsettled. Even what few pictures of Nox they had didn’t seem half as malicious and that was considering all they had to go off was a hand and a missing doll. Everyone in the room seemed to agree though, Hobi had looked away pretty quickly with a shiver of disgust and was all but hiding his face in Jin’s shirt.

“What would it want with a doll let alone a broken one? It was pretty old at this point surely it’s no good as a token or anything. The little girl died so long ago now…surely it wouldn’t know it belonged to a human?” Namjoon frowned in confusion once Yoongi had taken to flicking through more pages and Jin regarded him with a soft hum of agreement.

“Who knows…but whatever it wants I don’t think it’s safe to have around. Familiar or not. Tae isn’t exactly the most stable of us…if his familiar is similar then we have issues. Taehyung may be young but he’s emotional and sensitive. If his familiar has any of those traits what makes for a pretty quirky demon makes for a terrifyingly dangerous familiar. For now…we’ll have someone on guard at Jungkook’s door during the night. If we take shifts we’ll be plenty functional during the day. I also suggest talking to Tae in private about his core. We might not like to talk about it but it could be the key to figuring out just what we’re dealing with,” Jin sighed until Yoongi leaned closer to the album and silenced everyone. Another clue? Another photo?

“Didn’t Taehyung say he’s lost a couple of trinkets since the unfamiliar arrived? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it before…but can personal belongings be a token? Is it taking things that belong to innocent victims for something?” Yoongi added nervously but Jin shook his head and leaned forward with Hobi in his grasp to pat the demons’ shoulder gingerly.

”Tokens are from those they attack or have some kind of attachment to, something that contains or creates deep emotion. The only reason one would take something random was if it attributed to their powers. You remember how Ro…his attribute power…” Jin mumbled nervously until Yoongi’s eyes widened in understanding and a breath of awe left his agape mouth.

“Shit...I mean Ro struggles to take his attribute cores from anyone let alone innocent people. You think…it’s a changeling?” Yoongi pressed with a slight wobble to his voice. The various types of familiars always left covens a little apprehensive to find out what their familiars were and could do. Familiars that require biological…offerings were dangerous and powerful. They could feed on things that could heighten their powers tenfold or more.

“If it is…we need to get the others in good shape. We’ve been lazy for so long…we have to go back into training and that means we have to introduce Jungkook to being a core mate a little earlier than intended. We need his power for this unfamiliar…but also for this,” Yoongi whispered, plucking a black origami lotus flower from his pocket and sat it down on the table. They soaked it in, air hot and cold all at once at the threat before them.

“Why does everything go to shit all at once? Jungkook’s attempted murderers, this dangerous unfamiliar and now Vocan. I guess we have lived 1300 years in moderate peace, it’s about time the world teaches us a lesson on complacency. Let me talk to Jungkook. I think someone who knows what we’re up against talks to him about it. Maybe I can apologize too,” Yoongi offered and stood, throwing the paper flower in the roaring fire in the corner of the room where two plush sofas stood cascaded in a feint red glow. They needed to hurry if they wanted to have everything prepared. Soon enough all hell would literally break loose and they had too many things to worry about all at once.
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Good morning, afternoon and evening my lovelies!!! I've been a little nervous to post this. I'm worried it's a little fact-heavy or information-heavy? I love going into the lore about familiars and unfamiliars but I can't help but worry you guys might not me as much so? But here we have it! Our main antagonist has been introduced (kind of?) And so has the unfamiliar. Any ideas into which ghibli character this unfamiliar is based off of? Little note it's probably from the film you're thinking of but I'm gonna bet it's not the character you're likely to think of ;) Keke! I love playing this guessing game, do you? I think it's a fun little way to get us all chatting and reminiscing on some amazing movies! :3

Also! Are you guys ready to see the familiars AND the demons powers?! It's gonna get a little gory so would you like me to put visible partitions in the chapters to separate the gory stuff even if it has key plot stuff in it?

Much love, smooches and cuddles.
AJ xoxo

Chapter Text

Jin had set everyone their vague timetables, who would be where during the day and who would take which time for protecting Jungkook at night. It was thrown together, still cuddled up to Hobi at Namjoon’s desk but it would be good enough until Jin could gather Yoongi to help him make something a little more concrete. Jin offered to take the first training session before Namjoon and Yoongi could head off to bed. Chiro was the strongest of the familiars, she was also the most advanced with her three forms compared to the others’ single forms. Jin and Chiro had the strongest bond with each other and with Jungkook. Hopefully it would be enough to help ease Jungkook into all of this.

“Are you ok with this? You know once we show him what we do…what we are…we can’t turn back from that, Chi,” Jin whispered that late evening once everyone had been fed in secret away from Jungkook once the human had also been fed and showered. It felt like after their chat that afternoon everything was such a mess. Jungkook had decided to sort out the guest room that he had taken for himself, wanted to make it more his style since he was living there now. Jin had heard Hobi help him with the masses of paint cans they kept stored in the basement to help him paint his room. A soft silver colour, Hobi had chuckled warmly, silver and a deep violet. They hadn’t been able to check up on him though, they could only hope their human was handling it all ok.

“It’s ok…if he likes me and accepts me as I am now. I have to believe he will accept my true form. We worked hard to become powerful…I don’t want to regret that work,” Chiro mumbled back in the darkness of their room, curled on the bed as they usually did. Chiro loved contact, with the masters and familiars and now with Jungkook. They had worked so hard to get to this point but Chiro felt the buzzing of fear in the back of her mind.

“Chi…we can wait. I can train him one-to-one for a while. You’ve only just got the hang of your new form…can you control yourself enough in it? We have to be safe about this. We have no protective abilities to keep him safe from us during these sessions. We can’t risk hurting him,” Jin urged pointedly but his eyes were lost, regarding the familiar and beyond to where his door sat cracked open ever so slightly so he could see the very edge of Jungkook’s own bedroom door where Hobi currently sat with Shi nestled in his lap.

“He has to learn how to control us as equals…we understand that. Master, out of the six of us familiars we still haven’t discovered all of our abilities and we haven’t even started our collaborative abilities. Jungkook will have to be there as we learn and we all know how unstable learning powers can be. If we hurt him-” ”That’s why I’m there, Chiro. I won’t let you or Jungkook get hurt. However…we need a protective ability and fast just in case. The last time we had a big training session we had to relocate and poor Tae was hurt so badly…I can’t let that happen again. As the oldest two, Chiro,” Jin whispered and only snapped his mouth closed when he heard Hobi move from the corridor to glance into his room with a small smile, sleep evident in his darkened eyes. ”It’ll be ok, hyung. You two are the most able to do this first. I was thinking…tomorrow night. After we eat. How about letting all the familiars get together in the woods? Maybe they can work out a protective ability between them? I’m sure two of them together can create something…safe and stable?” Hobi offered softly from the doorway with Shi still clutched to his chest as both familiars regarded each other hopefully.

“On their own? I don’t know Hobi. In all of our lives together we’ve never left them unsupervised together. Collaborative abilities are too strong and unstable and Nox has only just been let out of her tank-””I think it’s safe…master,” Chiro clicked nervously and placed a warm, tiny hand on Jin’s knuckle with a weary smile that lit up her opal face with a soft buttercup colour. ”Familiars need to learn powers together...we are only as strong as each other. If you need us to protect the coven and Jungkook we need to do this. As long as Jungkook isn’t around then it’s perfectly safe, right?” Shi added knowingly until both demons nodded meekly. ”Can you watch over everyone then, Shi? Make sure no-one gets hurt or found,” Jin pressed worriedly silenced only by Shi’s proud nod. ”As always, we will return to our masters stronger than ever. This is something all familiars require to go through at some point. Perhaps you masters shoulder also train together? Master Yoongi’s poison has changed in the years since he left. Maybe your own abilities have too? You have all grown so strong since our last training lesson,” Shi growled excitedly and stretched into Hoseok’s grip. ”We’ll work hard then, go to bed you two. We have a long day tomorrow then,” Jin sighed and gently shifted Chiro closer to curl together in the warm bed. The worries of how Jungkook could possibly come to hate them by the end of tomorrow lurking in the backs of their minds.

Jin rarely slept past dawn, the rising sun hit his bedroom first so he was always awake first but together Chiro had refused outright to wake up. Jin had given into the same temptation and slept in, ignoring the other members of the coven waking up and bustling about their days too in favour of the peace they had wrapped themselves in overnight.

“Hyung…Kookie is ready to go. Are you…still in bed? What’s going on? You’re always up first,” Tae called into the bedroom shortly after his bedroom door first opened. Jin stirred slowly, groggily before bolting upright. He had overslept, completely overwhelmed by everything and he had slept through everyone waking up and even making Jungkook’s breakfast.

“Oh fuck! I’m so sorry. I’ll be right out, let me just throw on some clothes,” Jin urged as he bolted from the bed to hurriedly throw on some jeans and a form-fitting black shirt while Chiro lazily hopped from the bed, clicking and chirping as she seeks out Jungkook in the main room. Sure enough Jungkook is dressed and looking somewhat well-rested, his big doe-eyes lit up when Chiro hobbled over to him and without hesitation he picked the familiar up.
“Morning, you had a lazy morning, huh? Namjoon-ssi said it’s rare for you two to sleep in,” he chuckled warmly, gently nudging Chiro’s face until she fully wakes, clicking softly in relief. He seemed...better. After all the worrying of last night and yet he seemed fine, in fact he seemed a little eager for their training session.

“Jungkook...are you sure you’re ready for this. I...I don’t want to scare you...or for you to hate me,” Chiro whispers meekly, her wide eyes darting to Jin’s room to make sure he won’t hear. For a moment there’s an unsure silence before Jungkook lifts her onto his shoulder
“I saw you...the hands. I was terrified...until I realised you did that for me. To protect me. Chiro, this is all new to me but I trust you. I want to learn and understand” he assured the familiar softly with a small smile before perking up “hey! I’m sure those powers are handy even outside of...you know. Could you lift me up with them?” he beams excitedly and Chiro’s wide eyes blink slowly before she bursts into bright, bubbly laughter that earns the curious glances of passing Hobi and Jimin.
“Maybe we should try. I can show you the view from above the treeline,” she assured him with soft clicks and chirps before Jin returned slightly flushed and flustered,
“Sorry Kookie, come on lets go get started,” he beamed widely and leads him along out of the house and deep into the woods. They walk for a while in comfortable silence until Chiro clicks surely and Jin stills with a small nod.
“here it is...you ready, Jungkook?” he offered worriedly as he sets Chiro down on the ground and gently tugs the human back a safe distance. “If you feel nervous or scared just let me know and we’ll stop. I promise” he adds carefully. The woods is so still in the early morning, not even slightly the terrifying thick darkness it had been last night.

“No...it’s ok. I want to do this. I want to see,” he nods surely before taking a slow deep breath to steady himself and takes a final sure step back to give them space. There’s an obvious tension between the group before Jin steels himself and gulps thickly and closes his eyes. When they open again they’re deep onyx pools with pink flecks and he flicks his wrist calmly.

“Chiro. Let’s do this,” he hums but his voice is a little deeper and eerily calm now and with a sudden rumble Chiro’s small body is engulfed in a sea of huge ghostly hands sprouting out of the ground but they remain still before one slowly lowers to scoop Jungkook up who yelps at the initial touch before he is lifted slowly into the air as promise and another ghostly arm brushes the tree canopy away to let his breech through the leaves. The woods goes on for miles in a seat of green and brown. The trees seem to part a fraction to give him a clear view to the bordering creek. Jungkook’s breaths still for a moment as his wide eyes take in the sight.

“it’s amazing, Chiro!” he shouted down excitedly and after a few minutes he’s slowly lowered back onto the ground and Jin watches fondly with a chuckle, offering his hand to help Jungkook down before gently tugging Jungkook by the waist against him to observe together. Chiro’s many arms move together, shifting and growing before them slam down collectively onto an open clearing, the ground beneath the hands instantly flying everywhere in thick chunks of grass and dirt and the sheer force rattles the ground beneath their feet.

“Holy crap,” Jungkook gawps in amazement and Jin nods proudly.
“You know...she only just learned how to do this yesterday. Thanks to you. You’ve made her stronger, Jungkook. She can protect us better than ever now. These are called extensions. It’s when a familiar gets so powerful they can change forms or increase their bodies past their usual shape-shifting limitations; Chiro is the first and only familiar in our house to have her second form and her extension,” Jin explains proudly as two wide beady eyes peak out from between the arms.

“She’s amazing, huh? Jin-ssi...Nox and Ire worked together to create a new ability. Can all of them do that?” Jungkook hums curiously and Chiro chirps softly, the arms sinking back into the soil before her whisp form emerges.

“We have no idea what kind of abilities our combined ones will make. It depends on compatibility too. But...I’m sure we’d all have at least one collaborative ability each,” she hums calmly before returning to her bobblehead form. “Jungkook...our abilities are used on...prey. Are you sure you want to see more?” she clicks worriedly but he nods surely, his eyes steely with determination.

They set off together deeper into the woods where they find a semi-open spot with rabbits and squirrels and other wildlife. Jin nods, gesturing calmly for Chiro to go ahead and she suddenly releases her third form, arms darting out. Some throw animals bodies aside, their bodies hitting the floor with heavy thuds. Some of them get crushed under her ghostly palms. It’s a cacophony of shrieks, squeals and other animalistic sounds both from the prey and also Chiro. There’s a tense silence as Jungkook observes in silence, pale and eyes wide and unblinking at the gruesome scene and Jin grabs his wrist, pulling him into his chest with a hand over his eyes.
“Chi, enough,” Jin urges softly as he hushes Jungkook. “Too much?” he whispered worriedly to the shaking human who shakes his head weakly.

“I...I understand why but...it’s terrifying to watch,” he croaked meekly until Jin hushes him softly again and Chiro stands beside them looking completely lost, her eyes sparkling with fear and regret.

“It’s ok, Chiro...it’s ok. I’m not scared of you it’s just...a lot,” Jungkook whispers tenderly and scoops her up, holding her small form close.
“We’ll try again in a couple of days, let you come to terms with this,” Jin assures him worriedly. He picks Jungkook up easily, carrying him bridal-style back through the woods. He comforts Jungkook while Jungkook comfort Chiro. Never in a million years did Jin think he would be in this situation, holding Chiro back for the sake of another let alone a human yet here he was.

“You ok?” he whispered softly once they get close enough to the house to see it and the human nods slowly.

“just...give me some time,” he croaks and settles back onto the ground, handing Chiro back to the oldest before heading off to his room. The moment he steps in something feels off. Wrong. The room feels heavy and dark and his skin crawls like he’s being watched. In the moment it takes him to take a nervous step back his eyes shift to the corner of the room where a broken babydoll stands. It’s one missing porcelain leg is replaced by a strange black gunk that has taken the vague shape of the missing foot but looks more like black tendons. Half of it’s missing face is also stuck together with the black tendon-like goo with bulging red eyes. Jungkook inhales sharply, stumbling back with a screech.
“help! Jin-ssi! Hoseok!” he wails as he storms through the house on light feet, the disfigured doll hot on his heels despite it’s ambling run. For a moment Jungkook considers turning and kicking the terrifying creature across the hall but it’s too close, too fast and his heart is in his throat until he’s lifted up by Namjoon and Ire and Ro take over. The doll stumbles for a moment before falling face-down and Ro preens proudly.
“what the fuck is that?!” Jungkook screeches in horror as the other demons hurry closer at the sound of his panic and Taehyung steps forwards, his eyes wide in horror.

“That...I think that’s my unfamiliar,” he whispered lowly with dread.

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Good morning, afternoon and evening my lovelies. I don't know whether I can say I'm back or not. It's been a while...and frankly I've fallen so far off the writing and kpop bandwagon I'm terrified this chapter will suck but I just wanted to return even if it's for the last time to introduce the unfamiliar. Life sucks right now for me...and it has for a long time. So I wanted to return to my happiness for just a moment and bring you another chapter. It's short, it's boring but it's my little shred of comfort right now so I'm sorry if you would have preferred me not to put this one out. I don't know if i'll return to writing...but here's a little something to let you know I haven't forgotten you all.

AJ xoxo

Chapter Text

At Taehyung’s admission the rest of the coven fell silent, a heavy silence that seemed to weigh them all down. The doll was oozing slightly with the black viscous goo inside it and Ro and Chiro stepped closer cautiously until Nox pulled them back with a tentacle each and shook her bobbly head with a series of panicked bubbles and clicks.

“Infected?” Ro chirped in horror and turned their wide eyes up to Yoongi fearfully who crouched beside him to stroke through his feathers.
“what did she say?” Yoongi mumbled cautiously and again Nox bubbles and creaks urgently, tentacles swaying and gesturing wildly before Chiro hushes the younger familiar softly with a gentle pat to her head. They wait a moment, a brief but tense few seconds before Ro gathers themself enough to translate.

“Nox said the unfamiliar is...infected. So she said...well...some familiars if they don’t bond at all...get this demonic illness. Nox was fine because she wanted to bond to master Jimin but this one...they have completely refused any contact. It seems this unfamilar never intended to bond,” Ro twittered nervously while Shi hobbled from comforting Jungkook to joining the other familiars around the doll, glancing over the dark goo and unblinking eyes.

“That explains why we could never fully sense it...this unfamiliar...it came to you, it wasn’t born with you...which makes me think...someone took your familiar at birth and turned it into this,” Shi grimaced around sharp canines and turned to Taehyung worriedly whose eyes were pure black.

“Vocan,” he grimaced, releasing a shrill, animalistic screech before fleeing from the cabin, Jimin and Namjoon hot on his heels shouting for him to come back and Jungkook took a slow breath.

“What is a Vocan?” the human mumbled nervously to the bear familiar who sighed heavily.

“Vocan...is a cruel demon outlaw...cruel even by our standards. Master Namjoon forbids us from speaking too much of him but...he is a dangerous creature...who gave up his eternity in the underworld to gain horrific powers,” Shi growled softly until Jin hushed him and gently pulled Jungkook to his feet.
“stay away from this unfamiliar, Jungkook. it’s not safe but especially not for you. Nothing to do with Vocan is good news,” the oldest stated softly but his voice was low with concern and fear.

“Nox, can you keep it sedated and contained until Tae comes back and we can try and figure out what to do with it?” he added and Nox nodded proudly, despite the obvious concern her face lit up at being needed. Being useful. So she concealed the doll in an inky black bubble and returned it to Taehyung’s room for the time being while Jin moved Jungkook away into the main room and sat him on the sofa.

“Are you ok, Kookie? Did it hurt you?” Jin whispered worriedly, gently checking the humans hands and arms to be safe and Hobi worriedly poked his head around the doorway to observe.

“I’m ok, it just...it just scared me a little,” Kookie admits sheepishly with a shy laugh that even has Jin chuckling before he moves to gently pull him into his arms.
“Does this help?” Jin offers cautiously, shielding the human in his arms who almost instantly sinks against him in relief with a small nod.

“Yeh...this helps,” Jungkook whispered in agreement and slowly sank into the broad chest. After a few minutes once Kookie had relaxed fully against Jin the demon released the more slender body with a small smile.
“We’ll deal with the unfamiliar...and Taehyung when he gets back. Don’t worry, ok? Not about this...not about Vocan. We’ll sort it out between us. I’m sorry today has been such a mess for you” Jin winced apologetically before standing upright when the door opened and Taehyung returned suspiciously quietly with the others.

“Ah crap, stay here Kook. I’ll be right back,” Jin assures him tenderly before ushering the younger demon away into one of the bedrooms worriedly.

The den went silent, the familiars were helping Nox keep the unfamiliar subdued. Taehyung was with Jin and and Namjoon, occasionally Jungkook could hear growls or furious screeches from the youngest demon. Hobi and Jimin had gone outside to patrol, grumbling about portals and outlaws.

Jungkook was sat on his own for longer than he cared to admit until Shi clambered up onto the sofa with a soft growl and Jungkook’s doe-eyes turned down to him.

“Shi?”

“You’ve been sighing since Jin left. Feeling left out?” Shi chuckled knowingly as his round body slumped to sit down like a teddybear on the arm of the chair and Jungkook nodded with a grimace. He gestured meekly to the bedroom door.

“They told me I had to stay...since I arrived here it’s been nothing but crazy secrets and...strangeness. How am I supposed to live here and get used to all this, Shi?” Jungkook sighed with a tint of frustration to his tone that the familiar soothes with a gentle pat to his arm.

“Come on, let’s go take a breather. Carry me outside and I’ll explain everything you need,” Shi assured him warmly. Sure enough Jungkook picked him up, cradled in his arms as he slips on his shoes and heads outside together. It’s mid-afternoon so the sun is high in the sky and Shi gestured a stubby paw towards a narrow dirt path that Jungkook follows obediently.

“So Jungkook, now it’s just us. You must have a lot of questions and sadly now the masters know Vocan is in the picture again I imagine their focus will be split for a while. I’ll help where I can,” Shi growled calmly and Jungkook hummed wearily, an obvious question in his tone despite staying silent as he walked.

“I’m afraid none of us are allowed to talk about Vocan. Other than the fact he’s an outlaw-“

“Oh my...you better not be talking about me Shi,” a deep, delicate voice hums behind them and the familiar tenses, hissing between his fangs and suddenly he’s jumping out of Jungkook’s arms, growing with creaking and cracking bones until he grows into a 8ft tall stone bear, covered in moss and grassy patches and he snarls at the stranger dressed in black leather pants and a tight-fitting black hooded cloak who recoils slightly.

“Oh? So even you have your second form now, huh? Come now, Shi...is that how you greet an old friend?” the man tuts before lowering the hood obstructing his face. His features are sharp with narrow eyes and an ominous curl to his lips that makes Jungkook shudder.
“Vocan...leave. The masters will sense you here-“

“hush now, Shi. They know they’re no match for me. However I am curious about this little one. My little...experiment woke up so I had a feeling that meant you had finally found your core but still...such a feeble human,” Vocan scoffs before stumbling backwards as the ground beneath his feet shakes and the ghost hands of Chiro rip through the soil, swiping him away with one long hit. Vocan careens through the air several feet before catching himself on a low-hanging branch with a small grunt of effort and lowers himself down with a grimace, dusting off his clothes.
“Chiro...you. You got your extensions? What on Earth are you?” he grits to Jungkook who is shielded by Shi who roars in anger, the sound vibrating through the air like thunder. Moments later Namjoon drops down from a tree overhead, standing firmly in front of Jungkook and Jin is close behind with Nox and Ire who snarl and growl protectively.

“Leave, Vocan. You’ve made enough of a mess here,” Namjoon frowned darkly, his eyes pools of onyx that Ire matches with a sharply swaying tail.

“Jungkook! You ok? Shi...is that you?” Jin whispered between the two of them while Namjoon has his tense stand-off with the stranger and the human nodded shakily.

“Vocan threatened Jungkook...and I...I had to protect him. But when I moved I was taken over by this strange feeling and I turned into this,” Shi mumbled as he turned his huge clawed paws that Jin covers with his hands gently.
“You’ve bonded to Jungkook, even though you and Hobi aren’t ready your link to Jungkook let you open you second form without your master. Amazing. Thanks for taking care of our little one, Shi” Jin beamed proudly before pulling Jungkook aside to hold him away from the other two.