Ignis 16/?
Title: Ignis/Chapter 16 - "Mimus"
Author: kaybee38
Rating: PG-15
Pairings: friendship!Jonghyun/Onew, Minho/Onew, Taemin/Sulli, eventual!JongKey, broken!Minho/Yuri
Genre: fantasy, sci-fi, fooling around in the back of a library
Disclaimer: SHINee and Super Junior are owned by SM Entertainment only
Summary: Teneo are humans that live among us that have a genetic mutation that gives them the ability to live on indefinitely. They each have unique abilities and they don't physically age past 25. They all lead double lives since their "gifts" are a secret, some not even realizing that there are others like them. But someone has found a way to kill them. Jonghyun, with the help of a covert society has been secretly trying to warn and protect as many of his kind as he can before it's too late. Onew, Minho, Taemin and Sulli all end up joining forces with him to try to track down the killer before they can strike again. The bonds that grow between them along with their powers might be enough to save them, but the killer is closer to them than they realize.
A/N: Q demonstrates his gift, Onew and Minho become Watchers, and something's wrong with Taemin....
Prologue [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]
Chap. 16 - Mimus
Heechul looked as if he’d just seen God himself.
“You-you’re a mimus?”
Q nodded.
Onew looked confused again. “What’s that?” he whispered to Minho, but before he could respond Heechul jumped in.
“I-It means he has the ability to mimic or take other people’s gifts.” Heechul explained, trying to contain his mounting excitement. “My, my Jonghyun,” Heechul raised an eyebrow approvingly at Q.
“…you certainly keep very intriguing company.”
Q smiled at the compliment, directing his gaze from behind darkened lenses in Leader Heechul’s direction. Minho, Onew, Sulli and Taemin all gaped at the man.
“I still don’t understand. You take people’s powers?” Onew asked.
“No. Not take, just borrow, no harm at all is done to the host.” Q said, with a wave of his hand. He removed his coat and carefully creased it at the center seam and folded it over Heechul’s chair.
“I have the ability to borrow, so to speak, a portion of another Teneo's power for a finite period of time."
Q removed his shades and hooked them onto the front of his shirt. His eyes were soft and warm like his voice and he took his time when speaking and moving, as if every action was a deliberate one. He moved closer to Minho again, who took a couple of tentative steps backward before throwing his shoulders back and crossing his arms as if to mask his fear. Minho didn’t like surprises or feeling as exposed as he did then.
Q stopped moving at that point, sensing Minho’s trepidation.
You have nothing to be afraid of. I won’t hurt you.
Q lips never moved and only Minho could hear him. Minho’s eyes doubled in size.
How are you doing this? Minho asked Q telelpathically
You know how. Q answered the same way with a smirk.
Minho shook his head and looked away trying to think of what the man meant. Then Minho remembered bumping into him earlier in the hallway, how Q had touched his shoulder for longer than a moment, and how he had felt dizzy and a bit drained.
When you touched me?
Q smiled then.
Onew was a little disturbed by the staring contest that was now happening right in front of him between the two men. He figured they must be communicating telepathically, because any other scenario would be just, well…weird.
“Uh…guys?” Onew interrupted. “Care to share with the rest of the class?”
Q turned to Onew then, his face revealing mild interest as he looked him over.
“You’re the time-bender right?” Q said looking back at Minho. Jonghyun was moving back and forth from foot-to-foot excited, one arm crossed over his torso, his other hand near his mouth as he bit his thumbnail in anticipation. He knew what was about to happen and he couldn’t wait to see Onew’s face when it did.
“Y-yes.” Onew answered cautiously.
“Nice to meet you…ah…” Q held out his hand to Onew giving him his full attention as he stepped in front of him. Onew glanced over at Minho who was staring at the floor stunned before he tentatively grasped Q’s hand, shaking it firmly.
“Onew, my name’s Onew. And yes…I” Onew suddenly felt a surge of energy leave him, he was dizzy for a moment, but not faint, just thrown off balance a little as if something had just blindsided his equilibrium. It all happened quickly, and just as quickly, a weight was lifted from his hand as his head and vision returned to normal.
Onew jumped with the realization that Q had disappeared.
Moments later the delicious smell of food hit Onew’s nostrils as Q sat at Heechul’s table with a plate of grilled pork chops and steamed buns. Dark green cloth napkin stuffed into his shirt, knife and fork in each hand as if he was sitting at a restaurant. He licked his lips and closed his eyes as he chewed and savored the taste, he swallowed before speaking.
“Oh. Now this, “ Q gestured to his plate with his fork, “…is divine.” Heechul let out a small squeak of shock at the man sitting at his desk eating and at the smell of the steamed buns and meat on his plate. Jonghyun giggled as he sauntered over, attempting to pick one of the buns off of his plate, only to have his hand slapped with a pair of chopsticks by Q, who wasn’t even looking at him.
Onew gasped. “You mean, you can…” Onew patted himself down as if realizing that someone had just stolen his wallet. Q nodded and grinned. With that, Q got up and walked over to Heechul plate in hand.
“Would you like some? They are your favorite right, and this restaurant makes the best, I can assure you.”
Heechul nodded slowly and tentatively took the chopsticks from Q’s hands, as Q held the plate for him, taking the smallest portion of steamed buns he saw, just to be polite. Taemin, still brooding in a corner, was a bit fed up with the show.
“How can you help us find the pyrokinetic, sir?”
Q looked over at Taemin and cocked his head to the side, regarding him for a moment before he handed his plate of food to Heechul, who had since devoured most of the steamed buns on the plate.
“Well for one thing.” Q snapped his fingers. “I’ve met him.” An orange flame instantly leaped from his index finger on his right hand onto his palm and grew slightly larger once it landed there. Everyone in the room gasped.
“Wait a minute, I thought you said that you only borrowed people’s powers. How long do you keep them for?” Minho was standing now. Fire always made him nervous.
Q shrugged. “No idea. Each host is different, but it’s never usually longer than 72 hours or so.”
Heechul almost dropped the plate he was holding.
“What?!” Onew, Taemin and Sulli all said at the same time. Minho said it too, but no one could hear him.
Jonghyun was the only one who wasn’t surprised, and he moved back around to the front of the desk to lean on it, crossing his ankles and his arms.
“Could you please tell them where you saw him Q?”
“At the scene of the last fire, I noticed someone constantly changing positions in the back of the crowd, observing everything,” Q walked back over to Heechul and his plate of food, and took the chopsticks right out of the awestruck man’s hands. He used them to pick up the last pork chop and taste it. He grimaced as he realized that the meat had gone bit cold and held it over the flame in his other hand as he continued. Heechul stared bug-eyed, almost choking as he gulped down the last of the steamed buns, Jonghyun patting his back smiling.
“…I waited until he moved away from the crowd and then I pretended I was drunk and bumped into him. That was…hmm..let’s see…two days ago.” Q bit into the now heated pork chop.
“Hmmm, yes that’s much better.”
Minho’s head suddenly whipped in Taemin’s direction.
"How do we know it's not you? You could be here just doing reconnaissance before you kill us!" Taemin blurted out.
A strong wind blew the window open across the room, and everyone except for Q jumped in surprise. Before Jonghyun cold make it across the room to close it, the burst of oxygen fanned the flames bigger for a moment. Q stared at Taemin quietly before closing his fist extinguishing the flame. Taemin was on his feet moving towards Q now.
"Taemin..." he ignored his great-uncle and advanced towards the newcomer.
"Leader Jonghyun, Leader Heechul what proof do we have?” Taemin looked to both of his teachers to point out what he truly believed must be a trap. “We can't just..." Taemin was across the room now.
"Thats ENOUGH Taemin." Jonghyun warned, raising his voice. He’d never seen the boy like this and could feel his elevated heart rate from across the room, so could Minho, who looked at Jonghyun as if he wanted him to do something. Minho just stared, fists clenched, willing the swirling, vehement feelings the boy was emanating to subside within himself. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey,” Onew said softly. “…you okay?”
Onew’s energy was calm, peaceful even and in that moment Minho felt a little of the turbulence within him dissipate. He realized that he was able to release what he was feeling from Taemin by replacing it with Onew’s calm energy.
“Yeah. Yeah, thanks.” Minho answered with a crooked smile.
"It's alright Jjong, he's just a child, and your friends don't know me well either." Q responded calmly, still chewing on the meat.
Taemin was fuming as he stepped into Q's personal space.
"I am a MAN not a child!.."
Q grinned then, pulling the napkin from his shirt and dabbing the corners of his mouth with it. He still spoke in quiet, dulcet tones.
"Compared to me? You're a fetus.” Q's smile dropped from his face then, and even Onew shuddered a bit.
Taemin wanted to yell at the man, to throw him to the ground in a fight, but before he could react or even question his own response, he lost his breath for a moment and he felt dizzy as his heart rate slowed considerably. His head whipped from Q's face to Jonghyun’s hand on his arm before the leader helped him back across the room where he slumped into a chair, completely drained and exhausted from Jonghyun’s draining of his energy. Jonghyun released his grip on Taemin, who’s breathing slowly returned to normal. Once he realized that everyone, including Sulli, was staring at him with worried looks on their faces, Taemin jumped up out of the chair and practically ran from the room and out of the building. Sulli started after him, but Jonghyun stopped her with a raise of his hand.
“Let him be.” Jonghyun’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the empty doorway that Taemin had just escaped through. He was brought back to reality, by Heechul’s hand on his shoulder.
“Should we give them the armilla now?” Heechul spoke in a low voice, and looked over his shoulder at Onew and Minho who were quietly engaged in conversation. “I know it’s soon…but given the circumstances…”
Jonghyun nodded in response.
“Yes, you’re right. Go ahead.” He said turning to face Heechul.
Heechul immediately crossed the room to a large armoire opening only one of it’s doors, which blocked Onew and Minho from seeing what he was doing.
_________________
Teamin didn’t stop running until he felt the cool early evening breeze on his face. He had ignored the nasty comments of a couple of uni students he had accidentally bumped into in his haste to just get out of there. He followed the trail across campus to the end to where the edge of the property met the woods and pushed through the brush until he came to a small clearing. Taemin sat down under the familiar large oak tree, one knee bent and the other splayed out in the grass in front of him and closed his eyes taking a few breaths. He often escaped here to relax, study sometimes even to sleep. At this moment he desperately needed the solitude at the edge of the woods to clear his mind. To empty it of Sulli’s worried face, his Uncle Onew’s angry stare, Leader Jonghyun’s look of confusion and disappointment, the smirk on that damn Q’s face. He knew that if he waited long enough, and breathed slow enough, he’d feel it again. His own personal nirvana. After a few minutes, Taemin could feel the blades of grass near his hands begin to bend with the mounting breeze. He could hear the birds and the rustling of wind through the tree above him and when he opened his eyes and shifted his focus, he could almost see it. raised his right hand a little out in front of him and he smiled.
There you are.
_______________
“Gentlemen, I think it’s time for you to join us…officially.” Jonghyun said, now standing in front of Minho and Onew. He glanced at Sulli and nodded his head towards Heechul, understanding her purpose, she smiled at Onew and Minho and smoothed her skirt as she walked over to Heechul quietly offering her assistance.
“Are you going to actually do this right now?” Q asked as he placed his boots up on the corner of Heechul’s desk. Jonghyun nodded at him in response.
“Join you?” Onew asked, looking from Jonghyun to Minho, who was smirking and looking at the the floor at this point.
“He wants us to become honorary Watchers Onew”, Minho said looking over at him. Onew thought for a moment and then smiled up at Minho hoping that the telepath could hear his thoughts for once.
I will if you will.
Minho smiled warmly back at Onew as an answer and he felt his stomach do a small flip.
“We’re in.” Onew said to Jonghyun with a smile.
“Wonderful.” Q said from across the room with a smirk. “I haven’t witnessed one of these in so long.”
Jonghyun turned to Heechul who was now standing on his right with a length of white silk draped over his forearms which he held in front of him regally as if making an offering. Sulli was on Jonghyun’s left with two black pieces of cloth.
“Sulli would you do the honors please?”
“Gentlemen, if you please.” Sulli gestured with her free hand to two antique chairs placed side-by-side on the far side of the room that looked like they belonged in a museum. They were each carved from one solid piece of oak with highbacks and low arms. An intricate design of 3 pointed looped circles was carved into the center back of each chair at it’s highest point. Onew looked down and was almost afraid to step on the red velvet rug on which the furniture placed, as he and Minho moed to sit. Sulli blindfolded them with the black fabric in her hands. There was movement for a few minutes, and Onew could hear someone snapping their fingers, and the pungent smell of frankinscence, the pouring of liquid, before Jonghyun’s voice was heard, once again in front of them.
“Do you agree that you’ve made the decision to join the Society of Watcher’s of your own volition, and that no one has forced, threatened or otherwise coerced you to do so?” Jonghyun’s voice was deeper, more authoritative than Onew had ever remember hearing it before.
“Yes.” Onew and Minho answered in unison.
The blindfolds were removed then, and as Onew’s eyes adjust to the scene he now sees that the room is only lit by the 3 large white candles on the candelabra at the center of a circle being made by Q, Sulli, Heechul and Jonghyun and rounded out by himself and Minho still seated. Heechul stood to the right of Jonghyun again, this time holding what appeared to be a gold chalice filled with some type of liquid. Sulli stood on the shorter man’s left with a purple velvet pillow with something hidden under another white silk cloth. Jonghyun was now wearing the narrow white silk cloth that Heechul had been previously holding around his neck like a priest’s maniple. At the ends of the cloth which almost reached down to Jonghyun’s knees, were the same interlocking symbols again, embroidered in black silk thread from what Onew could tell. He vaguely remembered seeing the same symbol somewhere else, but couldn’t place it.
“The three interlocking symbols on my scarf represent the 3 monks who founded the Watchers so many hundreds of years ago. They hid and protected this society as well as all Valens under this symbol, hiding it behind the Italian symbol of the Holy Trinity.” Jonghyun cleared his throat before he continued.
“Do you Onew Lee and Minho Choi, solemnly swear to protect the identities of your fellow Watchers and Valens?”
“Yes.”
“Do you promise to follow and uphold the belief that we are no better or worse than any other human and that use of one’s gifts to harm or to the detriment of others is punishable with mortal consequences?” Onew paled a bit at the severity of the punishment, and didn’t answer until Minho reached over and squeezed his hand.
“Y-Yes.”
“Do you promise to defend and protect your fellow Watchers, Valens as well as those innocents that might come in harm’s way?”
“Yes.”
Jonghyun then reached out to Heechul who placed the chalice in his hands. Jonghyun brought the cup to his lips and was about to take a sip when he stopped abruptly as if remembering something and spun around to face Q, offering him the intricately carved golden vessel with both hands. Q smiled at the gesture.
“I thought you’d forgotten about me.” He said with a smile before taking the cup from Jonghyun’s hands.
“My apologies frater.” Jonghyun said staring at the floor face flushed a bit.
Swallowing the liquid, Q waved a hand in air, “Oh please. I’m not one for pomp and circumstance. Please continue.” Jonghyun smiled and took the cup from his elder, quickly taking a sip and handed it to Heechul. The same gesture was repeated with Sulli before she handed the cup to Onew who upon bringing the chalice to his lips realized that they liquid they were all sharing was cool water. He wiped his lips discreetly as he handed the cup to Minho.
“Sulli?” Sulli stepped towards Jonghyun as at his beckoning, aa he pulled the white cloth from the pillow, handing it to Heechul. On the pillow were two silver bracelets that appeared to be the same ones that Onew had seen his nephew and Sulli wear. Onew’s eyebrows raised and his eyes wided as he suddenly remembered where he’d seen the interlocking symbol before, it was on Sulli’s bracelet that night in the ambulance.
Jonghyun pressed some hidden latch on each bracelet and they each opened like a cuff as he placed them on each of their wrists. As the silver band silently closed itself and locked with a small click, Onew couldn’t help but think of the magnanimity of it all.
“With these armilla, I hereby declare this ceremony finis, and welcome you both into the Society of the Watchers.” Jonghyun said with a smile.
A/N: I fought with this chapter, and I'm still not very pleased with it, but the next chapter is so much better, I think you'll be able to forgive me then.
Definitions:
Valens - techincal term for Teneo literally means "strong", "powerful", or "healthy" in Latin
armilla - Latin for "bracelet"
finis - Latin for "finshed" or "concluded"
frater- Latin word for "brother"
Maniple
The interlocking trinity symbol on the chairs and on Jonghyun's maniple is this one:
Author: kaybee38
Rating: PG-15
Pairings: friendship!Jonghyun/Onew, Minho/Onew, Taemin/Sulli, eventual!JongKey, broken!Minho/Yuri
Genre: fantasy, sci-fi, fooling around in the back of a library
Disclaimer: SHINee and Super Junior are owned by SM Entertainment only
Summary: Teneo are humans that live among us that have a genetic mutation that gives them the ability to live on indefinitely. They each have unique abilities and they don't physically age past 25. They all lead double lives since their "gifts" are a secret, some not even realizing that there are others like them. But someone has found a way to kill them. Jonghyun, with the help of a covert society has been secretly trying to warn and protect as many of his kind as he can before it's too late. Onew, Minho, Taemin and Sulli all end up joining forces with him to try to track down the killer before they can strike again. The bonds that grow between them along with their powers might be enough to save them, but the killer is closer to them than they realize.
A/N: Q demonstrates his gift, Onew and Minho become Watchers, and something's wrong with Taemin....
Prologue [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]
Chap. 16 - Mimus
Heechul looked as if he’d just seen God himself.
“You-you’re a mimus?”
Q nodded.
Onew looked confused again. “What’s that?” he whispered to Minho, but before he could respond Heechul jumped in.
“I-It means he has the ability to mimic or take other people’s gifts.” Heechul explained, trying to contain his mounting excitement. “My, my Jonghyun,” Heechul raised an eyebrow approvingly at Q.
“…you certainly keep very intriguing company.”
Q smiled at the compliment, directing his gaze from behind darkened lenses in Leader Heechul’s direction. Minho, Onew, Sulli and Taemin all gaped at the man.
“I still don’t understand. You take people’s powers?” Onew asked.
“No. Not take, just borrow, no harm at all is done to the host.” Q said, with a wave of his hand. He removed his coat and carefully creased it at the center seam and folded it over Heechul’s chair.
“I have the ability to borrow, so to speak, a portion of another Teneo's power for a finite period of time."
Q removed his shades and hooked them onto the front of his shirt. His eyes were soft and warm like his voice and he took his time when speaking and moving, as if every action was a deliberate one. He moved closer to Minho again, who took a couple of tentative steps backward before throwing his shoulders back and crossing his arms as if to mask his fear. Minho didn’t like surprises or feeling as exposed as he did then.
Q stopped moving at that point, sensing Minho’s trepidation.
You have nothing to be afraid of. I won’t hurt you.
Q lips never moved and only Minho could hear him. Minho’s eyes doubled in size.
How are you doing this? Minho asked Q telelpathically
You know how. Q answered the same way with a smirk.
Minho shook his head and looked away trying to think of what the man meant. Then Minho remembered bumping into him earlier in the hallway, how Q had touched his shoulder for longer than a moment, and how he had felt dizzy and a bit drained.
When you touched me?
Q smiled then.
Onew was a little disturbed by the staring contest that was now happening right in front of him between the two men. He figured they must be communicating telepathically, because any other scenario would be just, well…weird.
“Uh…guys?” Onew interrupted. “Care to share with the rest of the class?”
Q turned to Onew then, his face revealing mild interest as he looked him over.
“You’re the time-bender right?” Q said looking back at Minho. Jonghyun was moving back and forth from foot-to-foot excited, one arm crossed over his torso, his other hand near his mouth as he bit his thumbnail in anticipation. He knew what was about to happen and he couldn’t wait to see Onew’s face when it did.
“Y-yes.” Onew answered cautiously.
“Nice to meet you…ah…” Q held out his hand to Onew giving him his full attention as he stepped in front of him. Onew glanced over at Minho who was staring at the floor stunned before he tentatively grasped Q’s hand, shaking it firmly.
“Onew, my name’s Onew. And yes…I” Onew suddenly felt a surge of energy leave him, he was dizzy for a moment, but not faint, just thrown off balance a little as if something had just blindsided his equilibrium. It all happened quickly, and just as quickly, a weight was lifted from his hand as his head and vision returned to normal.
Onew jumped with the realization that Q had disappeared.
Moments later the delicious smell of food hit Onew’s nostrils as Q sat at Heechul’s table with a plate of grilled pork chops and steamed buns. Dark green cloth napkin stuffed into his shirt, knife and fork in each hand as if he was sitting at a restaurant. He licked his lips and closed his eyes as he chewed and savored the taste, he swallowed before speaking.
“Oh. Now this, “ Q gestured to his plate with his fork, “…is divine.” Heechul let out a small squeak of shock at the man sitting at his desk eating and at the smell of the steamed buns and meat on his plate. Jonghyun giggled as he sauntered over, attempting to pick one of the buns off of his plate, only to have his hand slapped with a pair of chopsticks by Q, who wasn’t even looking at him.
Onew gasped. “You mean, you can…” Onew patted himself down as if realizing that someone had just stolen his wallet. Q nodded and grinned. With that, Q got up and walked over to Heechul plate in hand.
“Would you like some? They are your favorite right, and this restaurant makes the best, I can assure you.”
Heechul nodded slowly and tentatively took the chopsticks from Q’s hands, as Q held the plate for him, taking the smallest portion of steamed buns he saw, just to be polite. Taemin, still brooding in a corner, was a bit fed up with the show.
“How can you help us find the pyrokinetic, sir?”
Q looked over at Taemin and cocked his head to the side, regarding him for a moment before he handed his plate of food to Heechul, who had since devoured most of the steamed buns on the plate.
“Well for one thing.” Q snapped his fingers. “I’ve met him.” An orange flame instantly leaped from his index finger on his right hand onto his palm and grew slightly larger once it landed there. Everyone in the room gasped.
“Wait a minute, I thought you said that you only borrowed people’s powers. How long do you keep them for?” Minho was standing now. Fire always made him nervous.
Q shrugged. “No idea. Each host is different, but it’s never usually longer than 72 hours or so.”
Heechul almost dropped the plate he was holding.
“What?!” Onew, Taemin and Sulli all said at the same time. Minho said it too, but no one could hear him.
Jonghyun was the only one who wasn’t surprised, and he moved back around to the front of the desk to lean on it, crossing his ankles and his arms.
“Could you please tell them where you saw him Q?”
“At the scene of the last fire, I noticed someone constantly changing positions in the back of the crowd, observing everything,” Q walked back over to Heechul and his plate of food, and took the chopsticks right out of the awestruck man’s hands. He used them to pick up the last pork chop and taste it. He grimaced as he realized that the meat had gone bit cold and held it over the flame in his other hand as he continued. Heechul stared bug-eyed, almost choking as he gulped down the last of the steamed buns, Jonghyun patting his back smiling.
“…I waited until he moved away from the crowd and then I pretended I was drunk and bumped into him. That was…hmm..let’s see…two days ago.” Q bit into the now heated pork chop.
“Hmmm, yes that’s much better.”
Minho’s head suddenly whipped in Taemin’s direction.
"How do we know it's not you? You could be here just doing reconnaissance before you kill us!" Taemin blurted out.
A strong wind blew the window open across the room, and everyone except for Q jumped in surprise. Before Jonghyun cold make it across the room to close it, the burst of oxygen fanned the flames bigger for a moment. Q stared at Taemin quietly before closing his fist extinguishing the flame. Taemin was on his feet moving towards Q now.
"Taemin..." he ignored his great-uncle and advanced towards the newcomer.
"Leader Jonghyun, Leader Heechul what proof do we have?” Taemin looked to both of his teachers to point out what he truly believed must be a trap. “We can't just..." Taemin was across the room now.
"Thats ENOUGH Taemin." Jonghyun warned, raising his voice. He’d never seen the boy like this and could feel his elevated heart rate from across the room, so could Minho, who looked at Jonghyun as if he wanted him to do something. Minho just stared, fists clenched, willing the swirling, vehement feelings the boy was emanating to subside within himself. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey,” Onew said softly. “…you okay?”
Onew’s energy was calm, peaceful even and in that moment Minho felt a little of the turbulence within him dissipate. He realized that he was able to release what he was feeling from Taemin by replacing it with Onew’s calm energy.
“Yeah. Yeah, thanks.” Minho answered with a crooked smile.
"It's alright Jjong, he's just a child, and your friends don't know me well either." Q responded calmly, still chewing on the meat.
Taemin was fuming as he stepped into Q's personal space.
"I am a MAN not a child!.."
Q grinned then, pulling the napkin from his shirt and dabbing the corners of his mouth with it. He still spoke in quiet, dulcet tones.
"Compared to me? You're a fetus.” Q's smile dropped from his face then, and even Onew shuddered a bit.
Taemin wanted to yell at the man, to throw him to the ground in a fight, but before he could react or even question his own response, he lost his breath for a moment and he felt dizzy as his heart rate slowed considerably. His head whipped from Q's face to Jonghyun’s hand on his arm before the leader helped him back across the room where he slumped into a chair, completely drained and exhausted from Jonghyun’s draining of his energy. Jonghyun released his grip on Taemin, who’s breathing slowly returned to normal. Once he realized that everyone, including Sulli, was staring at him with worried looks on their faces, Taemin jumped up out of the chair and practically ran from the room and out of the building. Sulli started after him, but Jonghyun stopped her with a raise of his hand.
“Let him be.” Jonghyun’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the empty doorway that Taemin had just escaped through. He was brought back to reality, by Heechul’s hand on his shoulder.
“Should we give them the armilla now?” Heechul spoke in a low voice, and looked over his shoulder at Onew and Minho who were quietly engaged in conversation. “I know it’s soon…but given the circumstances…”
Jonghyun nodded in response.
“Yes, you’re right. Go ahead.” He said turning to face Heechul.
Heechul immediately crossed the room to a large armoire opening only one of it’s doors, which blocked Onew and Minho from seeing what he was doing.
_________________
Teamin didn’t stop running until he felt the cool early evening breeze on his face. He had ignored the nasty comments of a couple of uni students he had accidentally bumped into in his haste to just get out of there. He followed the trail across campus to the end to where the edge of the property met the woods and pushed through the brush until he came to a small clearing. Taemin sat down under the familiar large oak tree, one knee bent and the other splayed out in the grass in front of him and closed his eyes taking a few breaths. He often escaped here to relax, study sometimes even to sleep. At this moment he desperately needed the solitude at the edge of the woods to clear his mind. To empty it of Sulli’s worried face, his Uncle Onew’s angry stare, Leader Jonghyun’s look of confusion and disappointment, the smirk on that damn Q’s face. He knew that if he waited long enough, and breathed slow enough, he’d feel it again. His own personal nirvana. After a few minutes, Taemin could feel the blades of grass near his hands begin to bend with the mounting breeze. He could hear the birds and the rustling of wind through the tree above him and when he opened his eyes and shifted his focus, he could almost see it. raised his right hand a little out in front of him and he smiled.
There you are.
_______________
“Gentlemen, I think it’s time for you to join us…officially.” Jonghyun said, now standing in front of Minho and Onew. He glanced at Sulli and nodded his head towards Heechul, understanding her purpose, she smiled at Onew and Minho and smoothed her skirt as she walked over to Heechul quietly offering her assistance.
“Are you going to actually do this right now?” Q asked as he placed his boots up on the corner of Heechul’s desk. Jonghyun nodded at him in response.
“Join you?” Onew asked, looking from Jonghyun to Minho, who was smirking and looking at the the floor at this point.
“He wants us to become honorary Watchers Onew”, Minho said looking over at him. Onew thought for a moment and then smiled up at Minho hoping that the telepath could hear his thoughts for once.
I will if you will.
Minho smiled warmly back at Onew as an answer and he felt his stomach do a small flip.
“We’re in.” Onew said to Jonghyun with a smile.
“Wonderful.” Q said from across the room with a smirk. “I haven’t witnessed one of these in so long.”
Jonghyun turned to Heechul who was now standing on his right with a length of white silk draped over his forearms which he held in front of him regally as if making an offering. Sulli was on Jonghyun’s left with two black pieces of cloth.
“Sulli would you do the honors please?”
“Gentlemen, if you please.” Sulli gestured with her free hand to two antique chairs placed side-by-side on the far side of the room that looked like they belonged in a museum. They were each carved from one solid piece of oak with highbacks and low arms. An intricate design of 3 pointed looped circles was carved into the center back of each chair at it’s highest point. Onew looked down and was almost afraid to step on the red velvet rug on which the furniture placed, as he and Minho moed to sit. Sulli blindfolded them with the black fabric in her hands. There was movement for a few minutes, and Onew could hear someone snapping their fingers, and the pungent smell of frankinscence, the pouring of liquid, before Jonghyun’s voice was heard, once again in front of them.
“Do you agree that you’ve made the decision to join the Society of Watcher’s of your own volition, and that no one has forced, threatened or otherwise coerced you to do so?” Jonghyun’s voice was deeper, more authoritative than Onew had ever remember hearing it before.
“Yes.” Onew and Minho answered in unison.
The blindfolds were removed then, and as Onew’s eyes adjust to the scene he now sees that the room is only lit by the 3 large white candles on the candelabra at the center of a circle being made by Q, Sulli, Heechul and Jonghyun and rounded out by himself and Minho still seated. Heechul stood to the right of Jonghyun again, this time holding what appeared to be a gold chalice filled with some type of liquid. Sulli stood on the shorter man’s left with a purple velvet pillow with something hidden under another white silk cloth. Jonghyun was now wearing the narrow white silk cloth that Heechul had been previously holding around his neck like a priest’s maniple. At the ends of the cloth which almost reached down to Jonghyun’s knees, were the same interlocking symbols again, embroidered in black silk thread from what Onew could tell. He vaguely remembered seeing the same symbol somewhere else, but couldn’t place it.
“The three interlocking symbols on my scarf represent the 3 monks who founded the Watchers so many hundreds of years ago. They hid and protected this society as well as all Valens under this symbol, hiding it behind the Italian symbol of the Holy Trinity.” Jonghyun cleared his throat before he continued.
“Do you Onew Lee and Minho Choi, solemnly swear to protect the identities of your fellow Watchers and Valens?”
“Yes.”
“Do you promise to follow and uphold the belief that we are no better or worse than any other human and that use of one’s gifts to harm or to the detriment of others is punishable with mortal consequences?” Onew paled a bit at the severity of the punishment, and didn’t answer until Minho reached over and squeezed his hand.
“Y-Yes.”
“Do you promise to defend and protect your fellow Watchers, Valens as well as those innocents that might come in harm’s way?”
“Yes.”
Jonghyun then reached out to Heechul who placed the chalice in his hands. Jonghyun brought the cup to his lips and was about to take a sip when he stopped abruptly as if remembering something and spun around to face Q, offering him the intricately carved golden vessel with both hands. Q smiled at the gesture.
“I thought you’d forgotten about me.” He said with a smile before taking the cup from Jonghyun’s hands.
“My apologies frater.” Jonghyun said staring at the floor face flushed a bit.
Swallowing the liquid, Q waved a hand in air, “Oh please. I’m not one for pomp and circumstance. Please continue.” Jonghyun smiled and took the cup from his elder, quickly taking a sip and handed it to Heechul. The same gesture was repeated with Sulli before she handed the cup to Onew who upon bringing the chalice to his lips realized that they liquid they were all sharing was cool water. He wiped his lips discreetly as he handed the cup to Minho.
“Sulli?” Sulli stepped towards Jonghyun as at his beckoning, aa he pulled the white cloth from the pillow, handing it to Heechul. On the pillow were two silver bracelets that appeared to be the same ones that Onew had seen his nephew and Sulli wear. Onew’s eyebrows raised and his eyes wided as he suddenly remembered where he’d seen the interlocking symbol before, it was on Sulli’s bracelet that night in the ambulance.
Jonghyun pressed some hidden latch on each bracelet and they each opened like a cuff as he placed them on each of their wrists. As the silver band silently closed itself and locked with a small click, Onew couldn’t help but think of the magnanimity of it all.
“With these armilla, I hereby declare this ceremony finis, and welcome you both into the Society of the Watchers.” Jonghyun said with a smile.
A/N: I fought with this chapter, and I'm still not very pleased with it, but the next chapter is so much better, I think you'll be able to forgive me then.
Definitions:
Valens - techincal term for Teneo literally means "strong", "powerful", or "healthy" in Latin
armilla - Latin for "bracelet"
finis - Latin for "finshed" or "concluded"
frater- Latin word for "brother"
Maniple
The interlocking trinity symbol on the chairs and on Jonghyun's maniple is this one: