Of Seasons and Spots - Seventeen
Of Seasons and Spots
Chapter Seventeen: Trip
A snarl echoed through the levels of the massive library, followed immediately by the sound of a heavy tome hitting the hard surface of the table. Only the hundreds of years of respect for books that had been trained into him kept him from shredding the book that refused to give him the information he needed. Out of all of the books he had on were-creatures, not a single one mentioned a half shift or being stuck in one form or the other.
The book he was currently glaring at, had mentioned a brief inability to change that was remedied by the appearance of the full moon. To his knowledge Zico had experienced a full moon already and nothing had changed for him, besides a huge increase in attitude for the duration of it. None of the books he had checked contained anything more helpful and Heechul knew for certain he wasn’t missing any book. He had personally added every book to this library, collected most of the knowledge himself, and knew exactly what it contained. The resource of his library was well and truly exhausted.
That left him with the last option of talking to people. Unfortunately he couldn’t exactly just call up someone and ask them about his problem. For one thing, that would leave him answering some very uncomfortable questions as to why a vampire was harboring half a pack of werehyenas. Thankfully he didn’t always have to call and ask to get the information he needed.
Slowly, Heechul sunk into the large arm chair that had been placed within the library for reading purposes and allowed his eyes to slip shut. Typically there was a range within which his Talent could work. Several things could increase that range including the regular sharing of blood and thankfully he had just recently traded blood with his target.
It wasn’t strictly necessary to close his eyes or relax his body, but both helped him to better visualize as he reached out with his mind, searching for the one he wanted. It was easy to find, tracing the connection between them and then tentatively brushing the surface level thoughts with his Talent. A few hardly noticeable swipes told him that not only was Hankyung sleeping, but that he hadn’t rebuilt many of his mental shields despite their current predicament.
Conscious, he never would have been able to slide so smoothly between what protections there were, but in sleep Hankyung couldn’t or wouldn’t resist him. Heechul didn’t know which it was, and he had never desired to take his time to investigate. He slid deep into the witch’s mind, feeling the curious tingle of magic against his mind. Hankyung’s magic wasn’t resisting him, but was instead uncertain as to why he was there. He tried to sooth it, as he felt the connection between them stabilize. It wouldn’t do for it to decide he needed to be removed just as he was getting to his goal.
A moment later and the magic settled into a quiet hum in the background, content with his presence for now. With the link fully established, Hankyung’s mind began to take form. Heechul had found, through much experiment, that the deepest level of everyones mind appeared differently. Yesung’s was a collection of shimmering globes, each a different color and each containing different information. Kibum’s he had found to be a deep ocean that required a good deal of swimming to get what he wanted.
Hankyung’s, it turned out, was a massive library. That his subconscious mind took that form amused Heechul more than it probably should and he wandered down the nearest aisles reading the scroll on the bindings. All the information in a persons mind, both memories and knowledge, some that they didn’t know they had would be stored here in the deepest place. His best chance of getting the information he needed was to ask the centuries old witch. With his connection to the deep ancient magic, Hankyung could very easily carry more information than he ever knew.
Careful to keep his hands to himself as he wandered down the aisles, Heechul paused at a book that looked promising. Gently, he placed his fingers on the top of the spine and gave a small tug. Any book would have slipped free of the shelf at the moment and into his hands, this book however didn’t budge and he tried again with more force. It was always a delicate thing, being this deep into someone’s mind, and prying too hard could cause irreparable damage. Despite that, he exerted more force to the same end. The book refused to move.
“I don’t think you are going to be able to get it,” a lazy voice that sounded an awful lot like the man within whose head he was sounded from above him.
Not taking his fingers from the book he glanced up to see a large black panther sprawled across the top of the shelf, it’s tail flicking lazily from side to side. “Hankyung?” he questioned cautiously. Most people never went this deep into their own head without assistance. The last person he had known to be able to do so had also been able to fully control the space in his mind. It had resulted in a very long, very painful period of time for Heechul.
The cat blinked at him and tilted its head, “Yes and no.” Although the creatures mouth wasn’t moving, the words were still clearly audible. “I am a part of him, but not. I reside here with the library. Perhaps you can call me somthing like it’s keeper. If books need to be kept.”
“All knowledge is better preserved with a keeper,” Heechul told the creature softly, letting his fingers rest upon the the book that he wanted. “May I look at this book?”
Before answering, the cat yawned wide displaying a mouth full of sharp teeth. “I don’t particularly care, but you have to get it from the shelf yourself and I doubt you can.”
Swallowing back his frustration, Heechul tried to remember the diplomacy he had been raised with. It unsettled him to not be the one in charge, but the cat held all of the power here, more so if it truly was Hankyung. “Why is it that I can’t?” he asked when he was certain he could keep his tone light and conversational.
“He is rather cross with you right now. We aren’t sure we even want to allow you to live. However he is also growing fond of you. We aren’t certain we want to see you go,” the cat told him, and then began licking its paw. Riddles when he was trying to obtain information, were particularly annoying.
“I need to be able to read this book if you don’t mind,” Heechul told the cat through gritted teeth. The panther, although an ear flicked in response to his voice, seemed to be completely ignoring him. Taking that as permission to continue, Heechul gave the book a firm tug and grunted when it still refused to budge.
“Heechul,” preceded a light, almost gentle touch to his shoulder and he jumped, spinning in mid air so that he was facing the person behind him. No one snuck up on him, not even in the field of the mind and that this one had disturbed him greatly. The young man pulled his hand back, hesitant as if he wanted to reach out and touch him again but was frightened to do so. “I’m sorry,” fell from the lips of the young man that looked exactly like Hankyung simply younger. “I didn’t mean to startle you, but you really can’t stay any longer. He will wake up soon and he won’t want you here.”
Just as he finished saying those words, Heechul felt the soft tingle of magic shift subtly. He wasn’t skilled enough in the feel of magic to tell what it was, but it was beginning to feel less and less pleasant by the moment.
“Quickly!” the younger version of Hankyung exclaimed, wrapping his fingers around Heechul’s wrist and giving him a firm tug. Here the young man was stronger than Hankyung could ever hope to be and he was powerless to do anything but follow. Together they wove through the aisles, Hankyung pulling him around so many twists and turns that he lost track of where they were altogether. With every moment the feeling of the magic became stronger and more violent in it’s intent.
Abruptly, Hankyung halted, causing Heechul to slam into his back. “I’m sorry, Heechul,” he said turning, his hand rising to brush fingers against Heechul’s cheek. The motion was so tender and different than what he was used to from the man, he found himself stunned into unusual silence. “Please be patient with us. We were badly damaged from the past and may never heal from that. You have to go now. This is the center where I can send you back, but the magic is also the strongest here. It could turn on you at any moment.”
“I came here for information.”
“What you are looking for is not something old, but something new. I’m sorry but we don’t contain any information of that,” Hankyung’s face appeared to be truly remorseful.
“You can’t know that,” Heechul tried, attempting to persuade him to assist.
“I can,” Hankyung told him softly, “as easily as you can know that it does not exist in your libraries. I am very sorry, but we are out of time. Please don’t try this again, Heechul. It is very dangerous for you.”
“I can -” but whatever he was planning to say was cut off as Hankyung pressed their lips together. The kiss, unlike all the others they had shared, was gentle and full of love, something the vampire had never felt from Hankyung before. Strangely enough he felt himself melting into the gentle press of lips and he couldn’t help but pull the young man’s body into his own. This version of his lover was so different, yet so the same, and still just as responsive to the motion of Heechul’s hands on his body.
Breaking the kiss with a gasp, Hankyung moved his lips to Heechul’s ear and nipped it lightly before whispering in a language that Heechul had never heard before. The sentence, whatever it was about, was followed by a soft press of lips against his neck and then he was being shoved.
It wasn’t just a physical push, but a mental one as well, forcing him to leave the warmth and desire he had found in Hankyung’s arms as well as the massive reserve of information he had found. A second later he was opening his eyes to his library, firmly back in his own body, with only the lingering echoes of angry magic at the edge of his senses.
Slowly, although he had no need to do so, he inhaled using the human motion to try to soothe and settle himself. He had found nothing of use in his trip to Hankyung’s head. Worse, he had found only more puzzles between the personas in Hankyung’s mind, as well as the strange words the young man had spoken to him.
A chime from his pocket alerted him to the fact that he had a text. With a sigh he pulled his phone out to check it.
Hankyung:
If you ever go in my head uninvited again there will be nothing left of your mind when I am through.
Rolling his eyes, Heechul decided not to respond at the moment. There was a slim chance that Hankyung didn’t really know he had been there but had only guessed that to be what woke him from his sleep. Heechul didn’t actually hold hope that he was that lucky, but it did keep him from texting Hankyung the first sarcastic thing that came to his mind. He hadn’t found the information that he needed, but he wasn’t out of options quite yet.
Chapter Seventeen: Trip
A snarl echoed through the levels of the massive library, followed immediately by the sound of a heavy tome hitting the hard surface of the table. Only the hundreds of years of respect for books that had been trained into him kept him from shredding the book that refused to give him the information he needed. Out of all of the books he had on were-creatures, not a single one mentioned a half shift or being stuck in one form or the other.
The book he was currently glaring at, had mentioned a brief inability to change that was remedied by the appearance of the full moon. To his knowledge Zico had experienced a full moon already and nothing had changed for him, besides a huge increase in attitude for the duration of it. None of the books he had checked contained anything more helpful and Heechul knew for certain he wasn’t missing any book. He had personally added every book to this library, collected most of the knowledge himself, and knew exactly what it contained. The resource of his library was well and truly exhausted.
That left him with the last option of talking to people. Unfortunately he couldn’t exactly just call up someone and ask them about his problem. For one thing, that would leave him answering some very uncomfortable questions as to why a vampire was harboring half a pack of werehyenas. Thankfully he didn’t always have to call and ask to get the information he needed.
Slowly, Heechul sunk into the large arm chair that had been placed within the library for reading purposes and allowed his eyes to slip shut. Typically there was a range within which his Talent could work. Several things could increase that range including the regular sharing of blood and thankfully he had just recently traded blood with his target.
It wasn’t strictly necessary to close his eyes or relax his body, but both helped him to better visualize as he reached out with his mind, searching for the one he wanted. It was easy to find, tracing the connection between them and then tentatively brushing the surface level thoughts with his Talent. A few hardly noticeable swipes told him that not only was Hankyung sleeping, but that he hadn’t rebuilt many of his mental shields despite their current predicament.
Conscious, he never would have been able to slide so smoothly between what protections there were, but in sleep Hankyung couldn’t or wouldn’t resist him. Heechul didn’t know which it was, and he had never desired to take his time to investigate. He slid deep into the witch’s mind, feeling the curious tingle of magic against his mind. Hankyung’s magic wasn’t resisting him, but was instead uncertain as to why he was there. He tried to sooth it, as he felt the connection between them stabilize. It wouldn’t do for it to decide he needed to be removed just as he was getting to his goal.
A moment later and the magic settled into a quiet hum in the background, content with his presence for now. With the link fully established, Hankyung’s mind began to take form. Heechul had found, through much experiment, that the deepest level of everyones mind appeared differently. Yesung’s was a collection of shimmering globes, each a different color and each containing different information. Kibum’s he had found to be a deep ocean that required a good deal of swimming to get what he wanted.
Hankyung’s, it turned out, was a massive library. That his subconscious mind took that form amused Heechul more than it probably should and he wandered down the nearest aisles reading the scroll on the bindings. All the information in a persons mind, both memories and knowledge, some that they didn’t know they had would be stored here in the deepest place. His best chance of getting the information he needed was to ask the centuries old witch. With his connection to the deep ancient magic, Hankyung could very easily carry more information than he ever knew.
Careful to keep his hands to himself as he wandered down the aisles, Heechul paused at a book that looked promising. Gently, he placed his fingers on the top of the spine and gave a small tug. Any book would have slipped free of the shelf at the moment and into his hands, this book however didn’t budge and he tried again with more force. It was always a delicate thing, being this deep into someone’s mind, and prying too hard could cause irreparable damage. Despite that, he exerted more force to the same end. The book refused to move.
“I don’t think you are going to be able to get it,” a lazy voice that sounded an awful lot like the man within whose head he was sounded from above him.
Not taking his fingers from the book he glanced up to see a large black panther sprawled across the top of the shelf, it’s tail flicking lazily from side to side. “Hankyung?” he questioned cautiously. Most people never went this deep into their own head without assistance. The last person he had known to be able to do so had also been able to fully control the space in his mind. It had resulted in a very long, very painful period of time for Heechul.
The cat blinked at him and tilted its head, “Yes and no.” Although the creatures mouth wasn’t moving, the words were still clearly audible. “I am a part of him, but not. I reside here with the library. Perhaps you can call me somthing like it’s keeper. If books need to be kept.”
“All knowledge is better preserved with a keeper,” Heechul told the creature softly, letting his fingers rest upon the the book that he wanted. “May I look at this book?”
Before answering, the cat yawned wide displaying a mouth full of sharp teeth. “I don’t particularly care, but you have to get it from the shelf yourself and I doubt you can.”
Swallowing back his frustration, Heechul tried to remember the diplomacy he had been raised with. It unsettled him to not be the one in charge, but the cat held all of the power here, more so if it truly was Hankyung. “Why is it that I can’t?” he asked when he was certain he could keep his tone light and conversational.
“He is rather cross with you right now. We aren’t sure we even want to allow you to live. However he is also growing fond of you. We aren’t certain we want to see you go,” the cat told him, and then began licking its paw. Riddles when he was trying to obtain information, were particularly annoying.
“I need to be able to read this book if you don’t mind,” Heechul told the cat through gritted teeth. The panther, although an ear flicked in response to his voice, seemed to be completely ignoring him. Taking that as permission to continue, Heechul gave the book a firm tug and grunted when it still refused to budge.
“Heechul,” preceded a light, almost gentle touch to his shoulder and he jumped, spinning in mid air so that he was facing the person behind him. No one snuck up on him, not even in the field of the mind and that this one had disturbed him greatly. The young man pulled his hand back, hesitant as if he wanted to reach out and touch him again but was frightened to do so. “I’m sorry,” fell from the lips of the young man that looked exactly like Hankyung simply younger. “I didn’t mean to startle you, but you really can’t stay any longer. He will wake up soon and he won’t want you here.”
Just as he finished saying those words, Heechul felt the soft tingle of magic shift subtly. He wasn’t skilled enough in the feel of magic to tell what it was, but it was beginning to feel less and less pleasant by the moment.
“Quickly!” the younger version of Hankyung exclaimed, wrapping his fingers around Heechul’s wrist and giving him a firm tug. Here the young man was stronger than Hankyung could ever hope to be and he was powerless to do anything but follow. Together they wove through the aisles, Hankyung pulling him around so many twists and turns that he lost track of where they were altogether. With every moment the feeling of the magic became stronger and more violent in it’s intent.
Abruptly, Hankyung halted, causing Heechul to slam into his back. “I’m sorry, Heechul,” he said turning, his hand rising to brush fingers against Heechul’s cheek. The motion was so tender and different than what he was used to from the man, he found himself stunned into unusual silence. “Please be patient with us. We were badly damaged from the past and may never heal from that. You have to go now. This is the center where I can send you back, but the magic is also the strongest here. It could turn on you at any moment.”
“I came here for information.”
“What you are looking for is not something old, but something new. I’m sorry but we don’t contain any information of that,” Hankyung’s face appeared to be truly remorseful.
“You can’t know that,” Heechul tried, attempting to persuade him to assist.
“I can,” Hankyung told him softly, “as easily as you can know that it does not exist in your libraries. I am very sorry, but we are out of time. Please don’t try this again, Heechul. It is very dangerous for you.”
“I can -” but whatever he was planning to say was cut off as Hankyung pressed their lips together. The kiss, unlike all the others they had shared, was gentle and full of love, something the vampire had never felt from Hankyung before. Strangely enough he felt himself melting into the gentle press of lips and he couldn’t help but pull the young man’s body into his own. This version of his lover was so different, yet so the same, and still just as responsive to the motion of Heechul’s hands on his body.
Breaking the kiss with a gasp, Hankyung moved his lips to Heechul’s ear and nipped it lightly before whispering in a language that Heechul had never heard before. The sentence, whatever it was about, was followed by a soft press of lips against his neck and then he was being shoved.
It wasn’t just a physical push, but a mental one as well, forcing him to leave the warmth and desire he had found in Hankyung’s arms as well as the massive reserve of information he had found. A second later he was opening his eyes to his library, firmly back in his own body, with only the lingering echoes of angry magic at the edge of his senses.
Slowly, although he had no need to do so, he inhaled using the human motion to try to soothe and settle himself. He had found nothing of use in his trip to Hankyung’s head. Worse, he had found only more puzzles between the personas in Hankyung’s mind, as well as the strange words the young man had spoken to him.
A chime from his pocket alerted him to the fact that he had a text. With a sigh he pulled his phone out to check it.
Hankyung:
If you ever go in my head uninvited again there will be nothing left of your mind when I am through.
Rolling his eyes, Heechul decided not to respond at the moment. There was a slim chance that Hankyung didn’t really know he had been there but had only guessed that to be what woke him from his sleep. Heechul didn’t actually hold hope that he was that lucky, but it did keep him from texting Hankyung the first sarcastic thing that came to his mind. He hadn’t found the information that he needed, but he wasn’t out of options quite yet.