A week ago..
"They're preparing to get you," Nyxara announced, stepping out of the shadows like a ghost, her voice sharp but calm. She leaned against the twisted bark of an old tree, arms crossed.
"The hunt starts in a few days."
Yoon didn't flinch. He was long past being startled by her sudden entrances. Nyxara had always had a thing for drama, slipping in and out of places like a breath of wind.
"So?" he muttered casually, eyes still fixed ahead.
"So I'm asking what you're going to do about it." Her tone carried that signature edge, like she was trying not to care but did, deeply.
He didn't turn to face her. His focus remained on Norin, who was, once again, inching toward the tree line. Yoon had been trying to teach him a few basic tricks, nothing serious, but the little beast was more interested in haunting raccoons and vanishing for hours. The moment Yoon let his attention slip, Norin would be gone.
"Isn't it obvious?" he said, tone dry.
"I mean," Nyxara tilted her head, giving him a look. "It is, but..."
"But what?" Yoon finally glanced at her, only to snap his attention back toward Norin. "You little shit! I saw that!" he growled, making Norin skitter back into place with a guilty twitch of his tail.
Nyxara waited for the moment to settle before speaking again, her voice softer now, tinged with unease.
"But what if he helps them again?" she asked. Her words lingered in the air like fog. She was asking carefully, but the question couldn't be avoided. Not anymore. She had a whole family now, people she would bleed for. She couldn't risk history repeating itself.
Yoon froze. Just for a second. Then he let out a sigh, low and resigned.
"So what?" he murmured. "So what if they find us again? I'm still here. Nothing's going to happen. You are tiring your little brain for nothing."
Nyxara narrowed her eyes, not buying it. She opened her mouth to argue, but Yoon cut her off before she could speak.
"Besides," he added, voice lower now, more conflicted. "I don't think he will help them. Not anymore."
There was something in his tone that made her pause. Something vulnerable. It made her feel like shit for even asking.
"Yeah, that's what you said last time." Her voice dropped, laced with bitterness. "Right before we were set on fire."
Yoon gave a low laugh, shaking his head. It was humorless, but at least it was a sound.
"What can I say? He loves cornering me."
Nyxara scoffed and shook her head.
"Whatever. I always hated his ass. Just thinking of him makes my skin crawl.
Saying his name out loud makes me want to vomit.
Karma hit hard, and I hope it hit harder."
Yoon actually laughed this time, and Nyxara cracked a smile.
Later that night...
He caught her.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't our famous assassin," he drawled from behind her.
Nyxara shrieked, nearly falling out of the window she was halfway through. She spun around, fists flying, hitting him wherever she could reach.
"Fuck off, you fucking idiot!" she hissed, smacking his shoulder hard. "I was about to fucking die!
You were going to make my only child an orphan!"
He ducked and danced out of range, grinning. "You literally have wings, fae."
"Where the hell were you going, though?" he asked, arms crossed now, eyebrows raised. "That's not exactly very motherly behavior."
Nyxara groaned, giving him one last shove before brushing her hair back.
"I was... um... taking the trash out?" she said, voice unsure, definitely more like a question than a statement.
Yoon raised an eyebrow, his expression being 'Bitch, are you serious'.
"In the middle of the night? That's your best excuse? Really?"
"Oh, shut up!" she snapped, giving him another shove. "It's business, alright?"
"You mean sneaking out every night and stalking people like some pervert?" he teased.
"Don't say it like that! You make it sound creepy!"
"You are creepy."
"Whatever." She rolled her eyes. Then after a pause: "You were doing it too. How long have you known?"
Yoon didn't hesitate.
"Day one." His voice was flat.
Nyxara's jaw dropped slightly, a groan escaping her lips. This bastard..
"Damn it..."
He didn't smile this time. Instead, he stepped closer, his expression serious now.
"I'm not stopping you," he said quietly. "Just... be careful."
She nodded, and something in her eyes softened. He turned to leave, the soft sound of his footsteps fading down the hallway.
"Good luck," he added over his shoulder, before vanishing into the dark.
Nyxara stood by the open window for a moment, watching the moonlight stretch across the trees. Yoon's words echoed in her head, quieter now, but lingering.
"Be careful."
She rolled her eyes to herself. Careful wasn't really her style.
Still, she appreciated it, even if she'd never admit it aloud.
With a practiced movement, she slipped through the window and landed on the soft grass below. Soon she was moving like a shadow through the forest, steps light and silent.
Well, someone needs to watch over those old, selfish bastards.
Always hiding behind their power and legacy like it was a shield that made them untouchable. A "hunt," they said.
They will be the one getting hunted by her bare hands!
She also needs to make sure that Francis doesn't get any trace of where Yoon is at.
He can't get close at all.
That bastard couldn't get within a mile of him. Not even a shadow's length. Let him rage. Let him scream at his pathetic little followers and demand answers they'd never find. She didn't care. He could burn down half his estate looking, and she still wouldn't flinch.
What she did care about, what made her blood pressure spike, was Yoon himself.
But she is sure that stupid Yoonie of her would be the one either letting Francis catch him, or worse.
Going to Francis by himself, and in the middle of his family's house.
In the afternoon, no less. Like it was just another errand.
This is how suicidal his ass is.
She pressed her fingers to her temples, already feeling the headache building. "Ugh,"she muttered. "I'm just having a headache thinking about it."