The answer I got was not what I expected and yet… It was very much aligned with the siblings I had learned to like: A Hunt. One where they would bring the prey with the only condition of us allowing them to participate. 

I found this hilarious. 

Tim, less so. Especially when the founders started arguing about who would be allowed to attend and Raph was trapped with explaining what exactly a Hunt was to the members of the pack that had been raised outside this world. 

“Do you have any thoughts on this, Touma?” Paul asked with a scowl. He wasn’t happy that his possibilities of attending weren’t that great. 

“I do, actually.” 

“Well, let’s hear it.” Chris prodded with a sly grin. 

I squirmed as many eyes fell on me. Alright, this was less fun now. 

“Um. Alright. Me and Tim are going, obviously.” Everyone nodded. “So I would take Drake and Raph as I was there during their first hunt and know they will be able to keep up. Plus, they’re some of the strongest fighters we have.” 

Raph shook his head, turning towards me with a conflicted look. “I don’t think I’m the best option for this. And I don’t feel confident about leaving the rest alone while this is happening. It may be a little paranoid but…” 

‘Better safe than sorry, yeah.’ I nodded with a grimace. 

“I fucking hate that my leg has never recovered.” Paul sighed, admitting without actually saying that he would not be a good choice either. 

There’s hums of agreement, injuries that lasted that long were shit. Thankfully, most of us had survived our teenage years without long-lasting effects. If a little weird, considering all the shit we did but meh. 

I turned towards Nick. “Have you Hunted before?” 

Because the twins were a no-no, Luke had already said he would not take his brother to another hunt ever again. Too much for Chris’ stomach. Personally, I never had understood that but I knew it wasn’t a reflection of someone’s strength, after all, Jason had never been a fan of hunting and he was very much on Drake’s level. Maybe even a little closer to Leo’s. 

Nick shakes his head. 

I glance at Drake, as Nick’s partner he would know him best. Drake bits his lip before nodding and that’s that. We have our group and the Jin have the prey, there’s only left to get the hour and place.

…

There was a buzzing in the air. Every hair in my body stood to attention, not unlike diminutive soldiers. 

The buildings were different. The air smelled cleaner. The maze I remembered from my childhood was gone but the feeling remained, what made the slums ‘Home’ was still there, even as the scenery was as different as it could be. The power that made my bones humm and washed down my back was a silent greeting that I embraced with open arms. 

I hadn’t been here in longer than I cared to count, the last time my feet touched this blood-filled ground was when I came to take Jason from Leo’s side. 

At the time, I hadn’t appreciated the feeling. 

The buzzing made the anger and hurt flare like an inferno. 

Now, I simply basked in it. 

I was the only one in our party that it did. Drake, Tim and Nick all shivered as the copper taste filled their mouths. 

“Not your speed?” Ran’s voice came out of nowhere. 

I looked up, finding him and Shun sitting at the corner of a roof. Gold and amethyst shining with mirth, giggling as curses filled the air. 

“Outside-born.” I chuckle, sharing in the inside joke because I’m a little high with joy. Then when my companions hissed in outrage, I made a derisive noise. “Come down. And stop trying to start a fight.” 

“As you say, Butterfly.” 

Ran landed with the grace of a cat, crouching down until he was almost touching the ground with his chest. I whistled in appreciation, it was always good to be reminded of how dangerous he was.

Shun, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and simply jumped. Ran caught him by the waist before his feet could touch the ground, spinning over his heels before putting the younger male on the ground with a laugh at his sibling's irritated pout. 

“Butterfly?” Tim asks, voice deceptively mild. I wince as I get a glimpse of his smile; too many teeth to be anything but a warning. 

“Names are not used on the box.” Shun offered as a tentative olive branch. “We’re Jin. He’s Butterfly. We apologize if it bothers you, Timothy.” 

I immediately press against Tim’s side, intertwining our fingers. It’s more than that and the three of us know it but I have no intention to explain it to Tim or Drake. They wouldn’t understand either, so. It’s better to just go with the flow. 

“Where is Visla?” Nick asks. 

Ran sends him an amused smirk. “This is your first Hunt, isn’t it?” 

Nick stiffens. 

“There is a ritual that needs to be done before we start.” Drake explains, marching forwards the Jin. He extends his hand in a silent demand. 

Ran sighs but complains, producing a small velvet bag and putting it on Drake’s expecting palm and I pull Tim along as Nick follows in his partner’s shadow. It’s been a long time since I saw narrow-ashes; the dark, almost too dark, color of them is as off putting as always has been. It’s another piece of home I hadn’t realized how much I missed. 

“I’ll be doing Tim’s. Can you help me with mine, Drake?” 

“Of course, Touma.” 

Using our thumbs and pinkies we quickly work over the faces of our lovers, drawing the soul-marks into their skins. I finish Tim’s as I press my thumb against his lower lip and draw a straight line to his chin. With half-closed eyes, I press a kiss against his mouth. Fully enjoying his surprise and awe as my lips are left without a tinsy of black. 

It’s always fun to see outside-born react to narrow-ashes. 

Drake chuckles fondly. “Come here, Touma.” 

I take a step forward, closing my eyes. The agony that flares in my chest is almost too much like the moment I understood Jason was going to die; that he was going to leave me behind. You see, last time someone painted the soul-marks on my skin, I was still a part of Strays and that someone had been Asahi. 

And yet. And yet, Drake’s calloused hands feel like a balm to the pain. 

(It’s still weird for him to be so touchy feely, but hey, I’m not complaining. Not when it’s actually quite nice.) 

Drake’s hands leave me and I open my eyes. 

I reach for the bag but Drake shakes his head. Turning, he faces the Jin with pursed lips. The brothers are done already, the marks on their skins different from the ones on ours; Ran’s are only on the left side of his face while Shun's are only on his right. Symmetrical. Two parts of one whole. 

“Would you do mine?” 

I blink in shock; Ran’s mouth opens unattractively. ‘Wow, that’s….’ 

“Huh.” Shun says unintelligently as he stares. His purple eyes were almost popping out from its sockets, very obviously saying that he hadn’t expected that. 

Yeah, well neither had I. And I knew Drake beyond rumors. Still very surprising. I mean, it was not out of character with Drake’s reputation of being Leo’s heart but… Wow. That’s a huge olive branch and I’m compelled to shoot the pang of want that suddenly made an appearance as Ran’s lips formed a hesitant smile. 

“Sure.” 

Drake nodded, extending the bag. 

Ran and Shun exchanged smirks and worked in unison. A few firm, fluid strokes later, Drake’s face was adorned with soul-marks. The design was heavily based on the one in my face, the one that Leo had used, but with four dots under his eyes that were all Kyden. 

It looked nice. 

“Blades?’ I asked the brothers, not wanting to stop and think about how inappropriate that train of thought was. 

“Of course. We’re not savages, Butterfly.” Shun rolls his eyes. 

“Just checking.” 

Ran lifted a black briefcase and threw it to Nick. Nick opened it with open curiosity; this part, Raph had explained to them. So when Nick saw the silver blade-sets, he quickly made to put a set on everyone's hands. 

The blades were very similar to throwing knives; smooth, slender and without a handle that could get in the way. Designed to be light and easy to maneuver. If cheap and fragile, for they were thought to be bought just for one use. 

“Poison?” I inquired, because it was important to know. I really wasn’t going to be happy if Tim cut himself by accident and he got sick because of it. 

“Not this time.” Ran answered with evident disappointment. 

We all ignored Tim’s confused (And slightly horrified) look, Nick included. The blond was actually taking this all better than many. In fact, his reaction was almost non-existent as he took the weirdness in stride. 

“Good.” 

“Now we’re ready, let’s go.” Drake said, sending me an exasperated look. 

I limit myself to smile innocently at him, he’s not impressed. 

“We chose a park as a starting point.” Shun says. “We’ve also ensured that there’s a perimeter, close to two kilometer, around it to minimize the possible casualties in face of… your sensibilities.” 

“We thank you.” Drake says with enough sincerity that I can’t help but wince. Right, Strays was known for the conduct code of his members. Truth to be told, it hadn’t crossed my mind. I wanted Visla gone and I was more than ready to crush anyone who got in the way. 

Ran nods with gravitas. 

Then melted gold met my gaze with a glint of mischievousness. 

“Race ya?” 

 “Bet.” 

Ran’s face illuminated, he turned and in two movements he was on the roof again. I bared my teeth at the implicit dare. 

It was easy to fall back on the easy understanding we shared, it was so, so easy. A great part of me misses this: The non-verbal communication, the implicit understanding. The way only someone who shared your culture could make you feel. 

A smaller, logical part insisted that this was just a natural reaction to a Hunting. 

After all Hunting was a bonding exercise; it was meant to make you feel closer to the people that shared the experience. The Jin were giving me much. It was only logical that I felt like I could trust them. 

But a quick look at my side, at Tim’s face, reminded me that I needed to be careful. That the game we were playing was indeed dangerous. 

“Follow if you can, love.” I teased before racing towards the wall of an opposite house, jumping and twisting in the air to land on the edge of the roof. 

Tim glared from the ground, yet his smile shines brighter than the sun as he copies my moves and lands at my side. My hands immediately lunged forward to stabilize him. He laughed and pulled softly to my hair. 

“You say that as if I couldn’t kick your ass.” 

“Maybe I need a reminder.” 

“Maybe you do.” 

“Are you gonna do that forever or we can get going? I really don’t want those two to win.” Nick yelled as he and Drake took on running behind the Jins, who were already a few roofs over. Tim flipped him off. 

“Shall we, sweetheart?” 

“Let’s beat them down into the ground.” 

Tim’s laughter echoed as he tilted his head back; my heart skipped a beat. 

Creation is hard, cheer me up by comenting!