The unease in Jisung's blood took its time leaving his system, but thankfully, by the time they reached the correct village, he was back in the right state of mind. In fact, he was more focused than ever, determined to win against Minho in the little contest they set up between each other.
The village chief greeted them rather warmly, which wasn't terribly common, and he was quick to describe the exact situation. According to him, a group of kids had wandered off exploring a few weeks prior, and they came back with a strange, fuzzy little creature that appeared to be sick or injured. They intended to take care of it, but by morning it had vanished. Hours later, it returned with a pack of shapeshifters.
The pack mostly emerged in the later hours of the day, more commonly right before sunset. However, it was the middle of the day at the moment, so the two mages were left to wait for the first sign of the troublesome creatures.
After a small amount of arguing, they settled on the porch of the local tavern, which was currently closed due to the unstable state of the roof. But the porch was sturdy, and it faced the main square of the village. If a shapeshifters showed up, it would most likely be spotted there first.
Jisung plopped onto his bag to cushion himself as he leaned back against the tavern. "Of course these things have to come around only at a certain time," he grumbled, mostly to himself.
"You're so negative," Minho scoffed, opening his canteen and taking a large swig.
A drawn out sigh fell from Jisung's chest. "Apologies, Mage Minho. I'm typically more cheery when I'm around someone that doesn't drain the life out of me."
"Ah, so you don't normally complain this much? Good to know that I'll always get special treatment around you."
"Yes, you should be honored," Jisung confirmed, giving him a wink.
Minho rolled his eyes. "You're really something, darling."
"Is there a reason you started using that nickname?"
Minho's lips twisted into a smug grin. "It slipped that one time, it pissed you off, so I kept it."
Jisung dropped his head back against the tavern, closing his eyes. "Figures."
A beat of silence.
"I'm going to take a look around. Want to join me, or are you going to take a nap?"
Jisung took his time glaring at the water mage before answering. "You go ahead. I'll keep an eye on things here in case anything happens."
"Right." Minho jumped off the porch, Jisung watching the movement of his body in mild appreciation.
"Shout nice and loud if you need my help."
"Yeah, that's likely," Minho replied sarcastically. He turned on his heel. "Make sure no one steals my stuff."
"Make sure no one steals my stuff," Jisung muttered in a higher pitched voice.
"I heard that!"
"Good."
Jisung crossed his arms as he watched Minho's figure disappear around a corner. What if he got up to something? He didn't know what Minho could do out here in the middle of nowhere, but he wouldn't put anything past the water mage.
There was always an angle.
It took a few minutes, but Jisung decided it was best to remain where he was. The shapeshifters could show up at any time, even if it was before their regular time. All he needed to do was catch one, then he would have an advantage over the whole pack.
An hour slowly ticked by, and Jisung glanced around the quiet village with rising concern. This place wasn't very big, so even if Minho took his time looking around, he should be done with his patrol by now. So where was he?
Jisung had been pacing on the porch of the tavern for the past several minutes, antsy and ready for action. Or ready for a nap, either one would work for him at this point.
He was just about to go looking for Minho when the water mage finally made his appearance, walking over to Jisung with his hands folded behind his back in a proper way that could only be mocking.
Jisung leaned against one of the beams in front of the tavern doors. "Find anything interesting, Mage Minho? I'm sure you have, considering you've been gone for much longer than necessary."
A slight shrug came in response. "I was admiring the scenery, not just looking around." The words came out sounding oddly proper, and Jisung took note of that right away. Something was up.
Time to test things.
"By the way, did you get me that drink I asked you to? I'm dying of thirst over here."
Minho's brows furrowed slightly as he shook his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't. You can have some of mine, if you need," he offered, pulling his canteen from his belt.
Gotcha.
"Thanks." Jisung reached for the offered water, but just as his fingers were about to brush against it, he threw his hand forward, letting his fire spark to life as he slammed his palm into Minho's chest.
Minho stumbled back with an inhuman hiss, and his features flickered violently until the clothes around him fell away. Jisung lunged forward, grabbing at the creature that had stolen Minho's image.
The shapeshifter barely came to Jisung's knees, which was small enough for him to lift it by its long green tail, its pale blue humanoid body writhing in the air as it swiped its claws at him. Its pointy ears flattened back as it snarled at him.
Jisung tilted his head. "You're not the brightest little thing, are you?"
Another snarl.
"Come on, don't be like that. It's your fault for shifting into something without studying it first. Foolish mistake. Now where did you put the real Minho?" He honestly wasn't all that concerned about Minho, but if he found the water mage, he would find the rest of the shapeshifters.
The creature only continued thrashing around, making Jisung roll his eyes.
"Either I hang you by your tail, which I can already tell you hate, and wait for the rest of your friends to come save you, or you take me to them very nicely and I spare your little lives. Your choice."
The shapeshifter sagged, dangling like a corpse from his hold. "You are of fire?" it asked, its voice small and scratchy.
Jisung held his free hand up, igniting his magic in a silent answer. He smirked when he saw that he had won. Shapeshifters hated fire more than any other magic. This was going to be easier than he thought it would be.
"Lead the way, little shifter." Jisung snatched Minho's fallen clothes from the ground and followed where the shapeshifter directed. Of course, he was wary the whole way, especially when they ended up venturing into the forest on the edge of the village. If Minho was ambushed by these little things, he could very well be walking into a similar trap, but he was prepared for it.
Thankfully, there wasn't much to watch out for, and as he pushed through the thickening trees, Jisung paused at the sight of an approaching clearing. The shifters had clearly made this spot their camp, with flattened out foliage providing bedding and random objects and food they'd stolen from the village scattered everywhere. Several shifters were sprinkled throughout the area, some napping, others feeding, and the rest running and skittering around.
Filthy little scavengers.
Jisung held the shifter up. "Tell me the truth, and I'll let you go so they don't suspect that you led me right to them. Is this your entire pack, or is the rest hiding somewhere else?"
"It's all of us, now drop me!"
Jisung studied the clearing ahead of them carefully, and he moved forward a few more steps before he was finally able to spot Minho. He couldn't see much due to the trees hanging in the way, but he could clearly see that the water mage was, funnily enough, hanging upside down. Without another word he dropped is captured shapeshifter.
The creature snarled at him one last time before bolting into the clearing, hissing out in the guttural tongue of the shapeshifters and sending the pack into a frenzy. As expected.
Jisung leapt out from the forest, throwing two bolts of fire rushing on either side of himself to herd the shifters in the opposite direction of the village. A few of the creatures latched onto him, but he only burned them off like the pests they were. The moment the area around him was clear enough, he withdrew his fire.
"Your little operation here has been discovered and compromised," Jisung called out to the rest of the pack. "I'm here to send you back to wherever you came from. If you leave nicely, I won't burn you to the ground, how does that sound?"
"We'll leave!" a few of them hissed.
"Right. Off you go now, and if I hear about you coming back, I will come in and annihilate your entire pack without a warning. That, I can promise you."
That's all it took. The pack of shapeshifters scattered into the forest, hopefully leaving the village alone from now on. Jisung didn't want to have to come back, but he would if he had to. Breathing out a small sigh of relief, he finally turned his attention to the scene he wouldn't soon forget.
Minho was hanging from one of the trees by his legs, and his wrists were tied to the rope attached to his legs. He wore nothing but his underwear, and his gaze was pointedly aimed away.
Jisung scanned the water mage up and down as he slowly approached, appreciating the sculpted, golden body Minho annoyingly had. He was hateful, but damn, if he wasn't gorgeous. "Need a little help, darling?" Jisung crooned, tipping his head down so he could make eye contact with the bound man.
Minho's eyes flicked away as his ears grew red. "Would you shut your mouth and just get me down?"
Jisung grinned. "Didn't I tell you to holler for me if you ran into trouble? Maybe you wouldn't be hanging like a prized deer if you did."
"I was ambushed. And I didn't need your help."
"Right, so I suppose that means you don't need my help right now?"
Minho glanced up at him again, mismatched eyes narrowed. "I truly hate you."
Jisung snorted, pulling Minho's clothes from where he threw them over his shoulder. "I would be concerned if you didn't." He dropped the clothes and then flicked his fingers out, burning through the rope holding Minho easily.
The water mage's body crashed to the ground and he groaned. "Thanks a lot."
"Oh, you're very welcome. How did they manage to take you down, anyway?" Jisung asked, toeing at some of the things scattered around the clearing.
Minho began freeing himself from the ropes. "I saw one running for the trees at the end of my patrol. I decided to follow it and see if I could find all of them."
"And you did."
"Yes, they found me first. The little devils actually had the mind to set a trap that I happened to waltz right into. Fighting them off became a little more difficult when I was swinging from a tree."
Jisung couldn't take it any more. He burst out laughing, bending forward as the action robbed his lungs of air. Minho threw a stick at him as he yanked his black trousers on.
"Shut up. Even if your laugh is cute."
Jisung tried fighting some of the laughter down. "What? Did Mage Minho just call me cute?"
"I didn't call you anything."
"Really?" Jisung's eyebrows went up as he watched Minho pull his shirt on and tie his jacket around his waist. For once he was in a good mood around Minho, and it was all thanks to those shapeshifters tying him up in a humiliating way. So he was just fine going head to head with the water mage right now. "I think you did."
"I called your laugh cute, nothing more."
"Okay, but I thought the mere presence of someone you hate pisses you off, let alone the sounds they make. And yet you're complimenting me?"
Minho was still placing the leather belt around his waist that carried his weapons and canteen, and he raised his brows at Jisung. "The sounds, you say?" A twisted smirk. "Oh, I would love to hear certain sounds from you, darling."
A slight heat brushed Jisung's cheeks. He walked right into that one, but he was still dancing on the victory of finding Minho hanging upside down all because of a pack of shapeshifters. "Again, you can dream. And thank you, I happen to think my laugh is very adorable."
Minho groaned. "Don't make me sick."
Something whistled past Jisung's ear, making him jump slightly and forget his response to the other mage. A small sliver dart was embedded into a tree just beside his head. "Shit."
Just like that, the undergrowth of the forest came to life as a swarm of shapeshifters charged out of the greenery. More of their infernal darts flew through the air, giving Minho and Jisung more to dodge than the flying bodies of their fellow shifters.
Minho's back met Jisung's. "You really had to let them go, didn't you?" he grumbled as their magic came to life.
"I was trying to take the easy route!" Jisung threw his hands out, sending boiling waves of flames crashing for a large group of shifters. He whirled to the side, narrowly avoiding another dart, before drawing his dagger and cutting one of the creatures down.
Minho was behind him, walls of water drowning some shifters and keeping others at bay. When he finally grew tired of that, he drew his sword and cut a few of them down.
Jisung had just killed another two shifters when he felt a sharp pinch on the side of his right leg just below the knee. He glanced down to see one of the darts jutting from his skin, and he yanked it out with a small curse. An instant feeling of drowsiness washed through his head. "I'm not dealing with this right now," he whispered.
"Minho, jump!" Without waiting to make sure he did, Jisung slammed both of his hands into the ground, sending fire exploding out in all directions in hot waves.
The rest of the pack scattered with shrieks and screams. Jisung sagged to the ground, blinking a few times to try and clear the sleep that was threatening to take over.
Minho slowly strolled closer. "Show off."
"I had to get rid of them, didn't I?" Jisung rubbed his eyes. "By the way, I won. I don't owe you anything for that dinner last night."
"Did that one attack really tire you out that much? You need to work on your endurance, darling."
Jisung shook his head. It was like his skull was full of water. "It's not that." His words slurred together ever so slightly. "I was hit by this." He held the dart up, and it dropped from his weak fingers.
"Oops," Minho snorted, stepping in front of where Jisung was kneeling. He crouched, tilting his head as he grabbed Jisung's chin between his thumb and finger. "Yeah, that's their sleeping tonic right there. It makes you so drowsy you sleep for three hours after one little hit."
Jisung couldn't even pull away from Minho's hold. He already felt so out of it, his vision was unfocused and his body felt separated, somehow. "Damn it. Is there a... Is there something that can counteract the effects?"
"No, not really. You just have to sleep through it." Minho leaned a little closer. "Looks like it's already affecting you pretty well. Let's get you back to the village to sleep it off."
Jisung shook his head. "No, no, you are not carrying me."
"I'm going to have to. You're about to pass out." Minho's voice was muffled and distant even though he was crouching right there.
"Just make sure those shifters don't come back, and I can sleep right here." He felt his body droop to the side.
Minho caught him like a sack of potatoes and threw him over his shoulder, making Jisung so dizzy he had to close his eyes. And that was the last thing he was aware of.
✿✿✿
Jisung's eyes slowly focused on the plain ceiling above his head. A moment later, his mind caught up with the fact that he'd passed out. Damn shapeshifters.
He pushed himself upright, only slightly surprised to see that he was laying on a bed. He half expected Minho to leave him on the floor somewhere. The curtains were drawn, so it was hard to tell what time it was. The blanket covering his body slipped down as he sat up, and it was then that he realized he wasn't wearing a shirt.
Eyes widening, he frantically looked around the small room he was in. Aside from the other bed sitting on the opposite wall and a small desk in the corner, the room was empty. Jisung quickly made sure his pants were still on, and he felt a small amount of relief when they were. He moved to get out of bed.
The door opened on squeaky hinges, and Minho stepped inside carrying both of their bags. "Oh, you're up. Finally."
"Why the hell is my shirt off, and where is it?"
"Relax, darling," Minho said, closing the door, "I didn't do anything to you. You just smelled and one of the village ladies offered to wash our clothes for us since we took care of their problem. There's a washroom on the other side of the hall, you need it."
Jisung could feel his skin flushing red from the thought of Minho undressing him like he apparently did, and it irked him. Why should he care that Minho saw him shirtless? He just saw Minho hanging upside down while wearing practically nothing, yet he was the one embarrassed about a missing shirt?
"I have other clothes, that shirt didn't need to be washed right away."
Minho threw Jisung's bag onto his lap. "Well now it has been. Along with the rest of your clothes. Now go use the washroom, it's getting late and we'll need to head out first thing in the morning."
Jisung rolled his eyes. "Now who's in a rush?"
The water mage fell onto the other bed, running his hand into what Jisung was just noticing was wet hair. "They have running water here, which is really nice, considering how poor this place is."
"Oh, finally something good." Jisung threw the blanket off and got to his feet, bag in hand so he could use the good hygiene products he packed along and to change into a new set of clothes. He paused at the door. "Oh, did you take care of the paperwork for this job already?"
Minho nodded, hardly glancing up from where he was rifling through his own bag. "We've been paid and all the formalities have been taken care of. Your portion is already in your bag."
That was a headache Jisung was grateful not to deal with. He hated the process of finishing a job. "Thanks." He opened the door.
"By the way, darling," Minho called, making Jisung pause again, "I didn't realize you had a tattoo."
Jisung's heart stuttered slightly, and he glanced down at the tattoo Minho was referring to. It was a jagged black line that started between his pecs and widened as it snaked down his torso like a crack on a vase. He got it years ago, representing the missing gap in his soul. "You weren't meant to see it."
Minho hummed slightly. "Well, you don't need to be so shy about your missing shirt. You have every reason to be confident in how you look."
Jisung's cheeks heated, and he quickly left the room without another glance or response. He would rather die than let Minho see that he got to him in any way.
-------------------------- When I originally got to this chapter I had the vague idea of them, you know, taking care of the shapeshifters and that was pretty much it. Then as I was a few pages in, I realized I could have some fun with it so this is the result.
Also I typed this up while I was sick so hopefully its at least kind of good lol. Thanks for reading 'u'