To love and to Hate

4: No competition

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.