Jooheon stood up straight, both hands supporting Hyungwon's thighs, as the taller had wrapped himself around Jooheon with his legs curled around Jooheon's hips and his arms wrapped around Jooheon's torso and his head nestled into the crook of Jooheon's neck. Jooheon just moved one hand to pat Hyungwon's head softly as he gave Taehyung a smile.

"You-" Taehyung paused, finding it somewhat difficult to breathe. "You're a...a..."

"C'mon, say it," Jooheon teased, an amused glint in his eye as he tilted his head against Hyungwon's, causing Hyungwon to nuzzle against his neck. "The big w-word."

"A witch," Taehyung whispered, staring at Jooheon in slight horror. "Aren't you?"

Jooheon grinned, taking the hand on Hyungwon's head and rubbing it in circles against Hyungwon's back, the feline male exhaling contentedly. "I'm a lot of things, but sure, that's one of them. Why do you look so shocked? Never seen a witch before?"

"I didn't know that Changkyun was a...a witch back then," Taehyung stuttered, wanting to look away from Jooheon but afraid to let him out of his sight. Taehyung's eyes dropped down to the figure clinging to Jooheon's form. "You...know Hyungwon, then?"

Jooheon smiled once more, dimples appearing as he played with the ends of Hyungwon's hair against the nape of his neck. "You can think of me as Hyungwon's adoptive uncle. I help take care of him, especially when Changkyun's off doing whatever it is he needs to do." Jooheon looked down at the crown on Hyungwon's head, making a pouty face. "And I spoil you a lot, don't I? But I can't help it, can't I? Not when my Wonnie is so cute."

Taehyung frowned slightly, crossing his arms in an effort to try to keep his hands from shaking. He knew that if it ever came down to a fight between him and a witch, he wouldn't be the last one standing. He wouldn't even have a chance. "Then why didn't Changkyun just have you watch Hyungwon for him?"

"Because," Jooheon said, shifting his weight slightly so he could better support Hyungwon. "He needed my help with something. And to be frank, he could still use the extra help, but someone created an emergency at home, so he dispatched me to come babysit."

Taehyung scowled at the older, who had turned his attention away from Taehyung and back to the boy in his arms.

"Have you already eaten, Hyungwon-ah? Uh huh? That's too bad, you know I would cook for you," Jooheon soothed.

"How are you supposed to protect us?" Taehyung interrupted, unhappy with the easy familiarity between the two.

Jooheon looked over before nodding. "That's right, I need to reinforce the barrier and add a few additional spells. My specialty is protection magic, after all." He paused to look down at Hyungwon. "Wonnie? I'm going to have to tap into your power, baby. Is that all right with you?"

Hyungwon nodded sleepily as he turned his head back to Jooheon's neck.

"I'm going to set you down, all right?" Jooheon asked, gently disentangling Hyungwon from himself, ignoring Hyungwon's soft whines of protest, and setting the taller down on the couch. "Are you comfortable, Wonnie?"

Hyungwon nodded, blinking with heavy eyelids, and Jooheon brushed aside Hyungwon's bangs, kneeling beside the couch.

"You can't fall asleep yet, okay, Wonnie? Hang in there for a few more minutes, all right?" Jooheon placed both hands on Hyungwon, one on his chest and one on his abdomen, and shut his eyes. Taehyung took several steps back, stumbling into the table, but he watched on with curious eyes as Jooheon's hands began glowing a soft blue. He brought up his right hand and performed a series of gestures over the two of them before he began tracing symbols Taehyung had never seen into the air, beautiful sweeping motions with his index and middle finger, his eyes still closed. After a symbol had been formed, it remained hovering in the air, emitting blue sparks that disappeared before they could make contact with anything. After composing a small script of foreign symbols, Jooheon held up an open palm and pushed forward. The line of characters, what Taehyung assumed to be a spell or something like a sentence, propelled forward, colliding into the wall, and the symbols scattered, dispersing into millions of tiny blue pixels as they were absorbed into the structure of the apartment. The apartment wall rippled once with a wave of blue light before it vanished. Jooheon then repeated the same process with different symbols this time, all the while keeping one palm on Hyungwon's chest as he composed several more spells, pushing them each forward into the walls, whereupon they burst apart and disappeared.

After three or four such motions, Jooheon made a series of gestures over himself and Hyungwon before opening his eyes and removing his hand from the taller. Where his left palm had been now remained the blue imprint of a hand, which began slowly disappearing as Jooheon stood up, small beads of sweat on his forehead and his breathing noticeably heavier than before.

"Thank you, Wonnie," Jooheon said, bowing his head in thanks before running a now non-glowing hand through Hyungwon's hair.

Hyungwon blinked several times, fighting to open his eyes, and he gave Jooheon an adoring smile before his eyes shut again.

"Is he okay?" Taehyung asked, taking a step closer.

Jooheon nodded, carefully sliding a hand underneath Hyungwon's upper back and one beneath his knees as he lifted the taller up. "He'll be fine, he just needs some rest," Jooheon said as he moved Hyungwon from the couch to his bedroom, setting him down before pulling the covers over him. Then Jooheon exited Hyungwon's room, pulling the door shut after him and stopping at the edge of the living room, a slight smirk on his face as he took in Taehyung's wariness. "It's sort of like giving blood," he reassured. "He'll feel a little weak for a short period of time, and it's important that he gets both rest and replenishment, but like blood, his magic will return."

"How can you feel okay just using him like that?" Taehyung asked, a frown on his face, and as Jooheon took a step into the living room, he took a step back.

"Because," Jooheon began. "This process gives meaning to his existence. Witches and familiars have worked together for a long time. What's he going to do with all that magic that he can't even access? And I'm okay with it because I'm doing it in order to protect him and, as an unavoidable side benefit, you as well. And what's more," Jooheon said, taking a step forward with every statement, and Taehyung backed up until he felt his shoulder blades hit the wall. "I always ask for permission. If Hyungwon says no, then I won't do it. That's my rule."

Jooheon was just a foot or two away from Taehyung now, close enough to reach out and hit him or worse, do magic on him if he needed to, but Jooheon just let the tension build for a moment before taking a step back, a grin on his face as the tension in the air dissolved. "Besides," he said with a small chuckle. "Changkyun may be an all-powerful witch, but I'm pretty weak. It would be near-impossible for me to perform that many spells at once with just my own power. Stacking spells basically multiplies the effect produced, but it also multiplies the magic required," Jooheon explained as he took a seat on the couch, folding his arms behind his head as he watched Taehyung take a few hesitant steps forward.

"But...I thought...Hyungwon was Changkyun's familiar," Taehyung said slowly, still uncomfortable with the idea of witches in general, but it wasn't an existence he could doubt after all he'd seen. "So...how are you able to-"

"There's a bond between a witch and his or her familiar that's created through a special ceremony," Jooheon acknowledged, nodding. "A bond that sort of amplifies the magic produced. But other witches can access the source just as easily, although they may not be able to yield as much magic. It's sort of like...how do I explain it...Hyungwon is like a power outlet, okay, and anyone can plug their cord in, only Changkyun has a special cord that doubles the power going through. Does that make sense?"

Taehyung gave a hesitant nod.

"The relationship and familiarity between the witch and familiar plays a role in the amount of power transferred," Jooheon continued. "The more a witch bonds with a specific familiar, the stronger their access to the magic contained. I've borrowed Hyungwon's magic several times, which makes our bond stronger than a witch who is a stranger to him because the magic within him recognizes my magical signature. Changkyun has been relying on Hyungwon for decades, perhaps centuries, so their bond is certain to be stronger than any other."

Taehyung nodded to show his understanding.

"But in the end, anyone can access it. Hyungwon can't reject someone's request once the transfer has started, which is why asking permission is important to me," Jooheon said, his smile fading as his words took on a more serious tone. "The actual transfer of magical energy isn't initiated until the witch has made physical contact with the familiar and has performed the aarambha, which is...think of it like a signal to begin. Then, the process is complete after the witch has finished the rite by performing anta, which is basically the aarambha but in reverse to signify an end."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Taehyung asked after a long moment, but he was unable to deny his endless curiosity and how interested he was in what Jooheon had been describing.

"Because," Jooheon said, although a beat too late as though he'd changed his mind. "If you're going to be hanging around Changkyun and Hyungwon, you may as well understand how it all works. And it's important that you understand how well Hyungwon is cared for here in case you thought about getting any stupid ideas to 'rescue' him and actually expose him to more danger."

Taehyung nodded, although he found Jooheon's explanation to be unsatisfactory. He slowly eased himself onto the opposite end of the couch, still not fully trusting the other. "Jooheon?"

"Hmm?"

"What is Changkyun actually doing?"