(Y/N) POV:

It's a few days before Christmas break and I've been rushing between classes, shifts at the book café and visiting the art gallery where the exhibition is going to take place to make sure everything is set up. Time is flying by too quickly; everything is a blur of rushing from one place to another and there's no time for a breather.

Everything seems to be piling up and it's giving me sleepless nights. No matter how exhausted I am at the end of the day, I want nothing more to sink into bed and fall asleep- surrender myself to dreams or the familiar blackness behind my eyes, but my brain doesn't let me shut down.

It whirs busily, bringing new thoughts, worries and ideas to mind, desperately invading my sleep-deprived mind and forcing me to think more and more, dwell further on the matters.

On nights I stay awake, I seek out Gyeomie, his reassuring familiar presence able to lull me to sleep, something deeply inside me soothed by him. But despite that all, sometimes my eyes fly open earlier than they should, dark sky still peeking through the curtains- and after that I resign myself to staying awake, so slide out of bed and pad to the living room, curling up with a hot mug and trying to be productive in the early hours of the morning, sun rising and light filtering through as I sit there piles of paper surrounding me.

There's a constant weight boring away at my head, a dull hammering sensation that makes it throb and it's painkillers downed with caffeinated drinks that are currently the only thing keeping me awake.

I drag myself lifelessly to the kitchen table, slumping down in it as Gyeomie makes his way over, a frown creasing his lips and furrowing his brows as he crosses the distance and stands over me. I raise my head to look at him, his larger frame is towering over me in an intimidating stance as he looks at me disapprovingly. It's one of those days where I don't have lessons but there's still things to be done, hence I'm sitting here awake at this early hour.

"(Y/N). You need to rest." He says firmly, the lack of any term of endearment or nickname giving an insight as to how frustrated he's feeling.

I let my head droop downwards.

"I'm so tired Gyeomie, but my brain just won't shut off." I whisper, bitter and frustrated tears pricking the corner of my eyes, head leaning down to seek respite on my folded arms that rest on the table.

His hand gently brushes across my head, settling on my nape, a soft gentle squeeze before his clothes rustle and he bends down, voice coming directly into my ear.

"I know flower. But you've got to let me help." He says, words soft and tinged with sorrow.

The rational part of me knows he's right. But there's another part of me warring with that, whispering that it's my burdens alone to bear. That there's no need to ask for help.

But I feel so weary. I need to be in optimum condition to run the gallery from behind the scenes, if my brain isn't working to its fullest capacity- how am I meant to actually learn in class or do my job properly. And that exhausted side wins out more.

"Okay..." I mumble into my arms.

There's a relieved sigh from my side.

"Come on (Y/N)-ah. Let's get you to Jinyoung hyung." And the words both instil relief in me as well as dawning horror. I know for a fact he won't be pleased.

----

I'm right. He's not pleased. He's fuming as he throws open the door and with seething eyes and gentle hands draws me in, out of Gyeomie's hands and into his own arms. Gyeomie's off, calling out a goodbye and threat to 'rest well' or he'll get the coven on me before the door closes.

There's a tight expression on Jinyoung oppa's face, muttering vehemently under his breath in a volume I know is intended so I can hear him loud and clear.

He ushers me into the adjacent room to the living room, a large space often used for the coven to sit together, rest, stocked with pillows, blankets and a large bed. It's where all the official house meetings happen to- because Jinyoung oppa insists that meetings go well when they're all snuggling up together, lying down and talking, rather in a stiff atmosphere.

He gently nudges me so I sink onto the bed, hands resting on the soft thick comforter. He frets around me as he plumps up pillows, fiddles with the thermostat- warming the room before he leaves, coming back moments later- thanks to his natural speed, bearing a bottle in hand, and a spoon in the other.

He bends down so he's looking up at me, eyes both warm and concerned as they trail over my face in a slow examination.

"Aigoo...how long have you been suffering?" he asks, but there's a firmness in his voice that indicates he wants an answer.

"Nearly two weeks." I whisper, feeling shame trickle in under the intensity of his stare.

He sighs deeply, a furrow between his brows before he's twisting the bottle open easily, pouring out some of the liquid- a soft blue substance onto the spoon. He brings the spoon upto my mouth, nudging gently at my lips until I part them obligingly, allowing him to bring the spoon in and the liquid to trickle down my throat. It has a fruity taste, pleasant to my senses rather than the usual revolting aftertaste medicines bring.

After I've swallowed it and oppa removes the spoon, I ask.

"What was that for oppa?" not for a second doubting him but curiosity prompting me to ask. It's something I haven't seen before.

"A tonic for restorative sleep. Should help bring your energy back, and you should've come to me ages ago. Then you wouldn't have been suffering for ages. I could've given it to you then." He scolds, as he sets down the bottle and spoon on the bedside table.

I eye it with marvel, Jinyoung's talent at making remedies and tonics- his connection with the natural world allows him to easily make them, combinations that he knows will help the most for each problem.

But I don't know if the effect is meant to take place instantaneously. Because there's a warm comforting weight over me, like a blanket has been draped over me, guiding me and lulling me to embrace the warmth and lose myself to it. My eyes blink slowly, suddenly the weight of my eyelids being too much to hold open, eyes fluttering as I try to keep my eyes on Jinyoung oppa.

"Sleep chickie. Don't fight it. Rest." His warm words roll out, a gentle touch on my arms as he helps me slide into the bed, tucking me up with blankets before sitting down next to me.

My head sinks into the pillow, the blankets weighing me down and adding to the heavy drowsy feeling clouding my mind. It's taking so much effort to try and keep my eyes open, it's like my body is weightless and cut off- loose limbs sinking into the mattress with a content sigh.

"Thank you oppa..." I manage to mumble out before the familiar relief of blackness pulls me under.

JINYOUNG POV:

I look at her weary exhausted frame with concern. The dark circles are prominent against her skins, which has become paler than I'd last seen her. She doesn't look like she's been coping well. Why hadn't any of us noticed before it had gotten this far? Why had no-one noticed that she was silently struggling, enduring? Why hadn't we intervened earlier?

Had it been one of the others, none of us would've allowed it to get to this stage. But (Y/N) lived with Gyeom-ah, not at the coven's nest like the others. Which made looking after the two of them more difficult, and harder to feel any emotions off them- distance did dampen it slightly.

Seeing her face smoothen out in sleep, the exhausted look slipping off her face as she nestles into the duvet brings a small fond smile to my face. She's drowning under the pile of blankets but I wasn't going to take risks. Humans felt the cold more, we didn't tend to notice if the temperature was too low- but (Y/N). She'd suffer if she was too cold.

But now that she was at the nest, I was going to keep a sharp eye on her. And she was not moving until she was well-rested.

HOBI POV:

"Hyung I'll be back soon! I'm just popping over to the Im coven's nest." I call into the large space, hearing some sort of bustling before Jin hyung emerges in the kitchen doorway, wiping his hands on a towel.

"All of a sudden?" he asks, confusion causing his face to twist cutely.

"We're running low on some tonics and you know Jimin's muscles tighten after dance lessons. It's Jinyoung's day off too." I say, crossing the distance so I can squeeze hyung into a hug, hands wrapping securely around him, pressing a quick kiss to his lips before I dart away, seeing hyung's mouth drop open in both shock at the act and then my speedy departure.

"Bye hyung, love you!" I call out, before a laugh bubbles out, walking out of the house to the sounds of hyung's indignant splutters.

The walk to the Im coven's nest is fairly short, there are some humans who part immediately- fear souring their scents as they scuttle out of the way and some that gawp with wide eyes and slackened jaws- not bothering to hide their blatant staring. It's unsettling to experience being stared at like you're either a spectacle or a freak. The fact that I can't walk out without being subjected to stares and whispers, no matter how 'normal' I might be dressed as and that my fangs are out of sight. The inhumane grace and speed attests to it instead, drawing attention without even intending to.

They don't really get to me when I'm in lessons- after all dance is about captivating people's eyes and entrancing them with your body's movements, but this...this is unnatural and unwelcomed. Had all my experiences regarding humans not led me to the conclusion that they were heavily sceptical, doubting, and judgemental- I would so easily be willing to cross that distance to interact. Had all the humans I'd ever come across not gawped or instantly reacted- whether it be a recoil or a slight distancing between us, I would've been eager to bring forward that hand of friendship.

But humans aren't like that.

I've yet to meet one who look at a vampire and doesn't judge.

Who sees me as a person rather than something other.

I want to have hope. For that day to come.

I reach the nest, rapping my knuckles against the door in a jaunty pattern, pushing aside those thoughts. No one can gain entry to someone's nest unless the wards are spelled for them, a protective layer that helps vampires live safely without threat.

My ears pick up on the sound of approaching footsteps, before the door is swung open- the smile on Jinyoung's face doesn't widen but slides off, eyes widening as he looks at me.

"Hoseok-ah?" he asks, sounding startled.

"Hey Jinyoung-ah! I'm here for those muscle relaxing tonics, and some of those soothing creams." I chirp, unsure as to why each word seems to make Jinyoung look like he's being physically maimed by them.

The grip on the edge of the door tightens, knuckles whitening.

It makes me worry.

"Is everything okay?" I ask tentatively.

Before a thought comes to mind.

"Ahh...is this about your new nestling? I ask, a wry smile coming to my face. His behaviour makes more sense, understandable and warranted.

Jinyoung laughs, a slightly weary sound. New nestlings do require a lot of time and attention, the bond needs to settle fully, and until then- a coven's instincts go haywire.

But when Jinyoung opened the door he brought with him a soft whisper of something gentle and soothing. A scent that winds itself around my senses and captivates me, it's alluring. A promise of something more, something better.

What on earth does Jinyoung put in those tonics?

I find my feet moving, entering into the house, the door still held ajar by Jinyoung as I cross into the threshold. The scent is barely there, but when I toe off my shoes and sit down onto a couch in the living room, it becomes stronger. And it makes me fidget, restless.

Jinyoung disappears into the large cupboard as he rustles through it, slow muttering as he eyes the shelves- picking up several bottles and small pots and examining them with careful, precise eyes. Debating about which would be the better one to give.

The adjacent room has been closed, door shut- though it usually sits open, giving a view of the comforting bed and occasional armchairs dotted around. It's a room I've visited on occasion but one that's largely left untouched otherwise.

But for some reason, there's something about the shut door that silently taunts me, silently urges me forward. The feeling that something is waiting for me beyond that door, a deep instinct guiding me, whispering to me that I should get up, walk over, see what it is that awaits me.

I find my body operating without control, the promise of something unknown guiding me without my knowledge and pushing my feet up until I'm standing. As I move closer to the door, the scent comes back- in thick heady waves, so intense that it swarms my senses, consumes them until my mind is filled with a desperation to get closer to it, that I need it. I need the source of the scent more than anything.

My hand settles on the door handle, a small measure that wouldn't do much against vampire strength but I distantly recognise that it's made of a sturdier metal. The thought vanishes as quickly as it comes, pushed aside by my growing need.

My hand pushes down at the handle, the door opening a crack. Just as my hand goes to push against the door, to open it wide, bare the contents of the room to me, there's a tight grip on my wrist, lurching my hand back and distancing me away enough that Jinyoung slides in front of me. Becoming another barrier barring me access from the source of the scent.

His face is void of his usual softness, eyes flashing a crimson that lingers and doesn't vanish- frame protectively hovering in front of the door, stance widened.

"Don't." he says, word hard.

My own eyes flash at the challenge and harshness in his words, even if I take a step back to show I've respected his words.

"Sorry Hoseok-ah. But at the moment I can't let you go in there. Our nestling is resting inside." He says, words softening slightly, posture slightly loosened but still coiled with his raised instincts.

Now I take several steps back. I had almost crossed a boundary. One no vampire should cross.

I shoot him an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry Jinyoung-ah. I should have asked." I say, feeling guilt and remorse.

He steps forward, eyes softened now and back to their usual brown.

He steps aside and appears just as quickly bearing the tonics and creams bundled safely into a bag which he holds out towards me.

I take the bag, clutching it tightly- the scent still swirling around my senses, though not it's dimmer.

I turn to leave after thanking him, walking to the door, and opening it.

But when I turn to the sound of a door opening, it brings me a clear sight of the bedroom and from here I can make out a small figure swaddled under blankets, a figure Jinyoung bends over fondly.

But I can't see their face, can't make out any features except the thought that their new nestling looks delicate and frail from a distance. Small in the vastness of the bed.

And as I turn to leave...I distantly recall that the nestling we'd seen had been a tall male.

But it's not odd...I've seen Kookie meld himself to one of us, curling up into a small ball.

Maybe their new nestling is going through something too. Or maybe they just like curling up in sleep.

And even as I walk home, the scent refuses to leave me, can't be banished by the other senses that are an onslaught to my nose.

(A TINY, TINY TIME SKIP BUT HOPEFULLY IT WASN'T UNNATURAL! JUST SO WE CAN MOVE CLOSER TO THE EXHIBITION DATE WHERE MORE THAN JUST PAINTINGS WILL BE THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE EVENT! HOW WAS IT MY LOVELIES? DO TELL...I LOVE HEARING FROM YOU ALL, WHAT YOU MADE OF THE CHAPTER AND YOUR FEELINGS TOO! GOSH! IF ONLY HOBI HAD PUSHED THE DOOR OPEN...IF ONLY! DAMN IT! WHAT'D YOU RECKON WOULD'VE HAPPENED IF HOBI HAD SEEN HER...THEORIES? AND NOW THAT SHE'S FINALLY SLEEPING...I WONDER WHAT SHE'LL DREAM OF? 😉 SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE! STAY SAFE!)

Our life is vivid because we can see, see the bold vibrant colours fill our lives and paint themselves brightly across our minds. If you see something beautiful...take the moment to appreciate it, cherish it. Life is valuable- don't let those small precious moments slip away.

Borahae! 💜💜💜

PurpleQueenie <3