NCT Oneshots {ot23} | open

The Stars Align: JaeRen {Request}

▹request acc: NiNE_ZEN
▹prompt: jaehyun x renjun
▹word count: 5304
▹warnings: blood and death but only in a vampire context

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹❀◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

The full moon hangs high in the sky. Stars scatter across the inky canvas, but their twinkle is dulled by the mesh of clouds that suffocate most of the light. It's cold, a chill clinging to the air no matter how tight Jaehyun pulls his coat around his body. He's quick on his feet, slipping through the shadows of the night with practiced ease. He has his hood pulled up over his head so all anyone would see on passing is the subtle red tint in his black eyes that reflect the moon and glimmer with hunger.

He hates the feeding droughts. He always has, and he always will. The excruciating days of starvation. And it's near impossible to gather the energy to hunt. His fangs ache, begging for some sweet blood, but they feel so out of place in his dry mouth. He tugs his lips over them and focusses on the pavement ahead. The full moon only heightens his frustrations. These nights are supposed to be his best, where his strength peaks and he makes the best kills. That's what people always told him. Only he's starving instead, barely strong enough to drag himself through the town in search of food. Leftovers. Anything.

If he fails, he'll be a disgrace of a vampire.

After a few more minutes, his drooping eyes snap open when the scent his instincts have been craving reaches his nose. Blood. A live animal. It's faint, but it's there. Jaehyun grunts in relief and increases his pace, desperate to find his long-awaited meal.

The scent turns sharp, edged with sourness, but Jaehyun pushes away the thought of his prey's fear, having gotten used to the guilt that comes with singing his fangs into live prey decades ago.

Until he turns the corner and stops dead in his tracks.

Jaehyun's fangs beg for him to lunge forward and attack, while his heart tells him no. It always does.

The werewolf is tiny in the shop doorway. He wraps his tail around his body and buries his face in his knees when Jaehyun's shadow looms over him, entire body quivering from surely both the cold and the terror of being so close to a starving vampire.

Jaehyun has to push through the throb of his fangs to approach the werewolf slowly. He doesn't want to scare the poor thing even though the primitive part of his brain wants nothing but to drain the creature of all its blood. There's a nasty wound on the werewolf's left cheek and his ear drips when it moves, listening for if the stranger is going to pounce or not, the shiny, silver fur still drenched from the downpour earlier on in the evening. Jaehyun just stands still, looking down.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Jaehyun asks, even though he knows the werewolf is clearly not alright.

He's witnessed the terrible things the werewolves have done to the vampires. The dreadful wars raging on and off for two centuries. But Jaehyun also knows of the terrible tragedies caused by vampires, so he supposes that both sides are as bad as each other and he crouches down, frowning when the wolf snaps his teeth and huddles tighter into a ball.

"I'm not going to hurt you. You must be frightened." Jaehyun has no idea what to say. He presses for more information, only to be shut out of the werewolf's mind no matter how hard he tries to prise a name or address from him.

This werewolf is nothing like the others Jaehyun has met. They tend to be fierce, muscles as raging as their attitude in their human form, and they only turn nastier under the full moon. But the pup in front of him is skinny, whimpering, and his eyes are softly glistening with tears when he finally looks up at Jaehyun, silently begging for mercy.