Chapter Text
His breath was heavy, his heart raced against his chest and his muscles hurt, but he had to keep going.
The moon shone bright, giving them enough light to plan their path as they rushed through the trees. Winter was approaching, taking the comfort of green and shelter with it.
Things were a mess and the chaos still buzzed in Changyun’s ears. He could see blood coming from the figure in front of him. The brown scales on Yuto’s right hip were tainted with a crimson colour and he was slowing down quickly. They had to be fast and find somewhere to hide. Seungjun ran in front, finding their path and leading them as best he could while Jaeyoung guarded their back, using his resilience as a shield.
“The beasts went left here!” the booming voice of one of their chasers shouted. “Through the trees!”
A hound barked, honing in and making Changyun pick up his feet even more. He knew Yuto’s wound made it easy for hounds to track them, but they had no way to fix that right now. They couldn’t stop.
Jumping over roots, avoiding branches and keeping an eye on each other, they tried to make it through the forest. Changyun didn’t know where they would end up and there was no place to turn back to. For all he knew, this could be their last run.
Yuto was doing progressively worse, blood gushing out of his wound as he twisted his torso to keep up. Changyun watched him closely but everything was passing by too quickly to warn him.
A root caught Yuto’s foot and he tumbled to the ground, failing to catch himself and chafing his shoulder against the dry ground. Changyun dodged to the side, unable to stop in time, while Jaeyoung jumped in and picked Yuto off the ground. He was strong enough to cradle their youngest during a full sprint, and so they could set off again without a pause.
Changyun hurried closer to Seungjun, ducking under all the branches Seungjun phased through. It took them further along into the dense forest. Motors roared behind them and bullets flew past their ears. Orders were shouted but Changyun couldn’t allow himself to focus on anything but running.
Another projectile zoomed past him and expanded, flying out into a net but failing to catch anything. Changyun threw a glance behind him and saw Jaeyoung still following close behind. Yuto held his wound in an attempt to staunch the bleeding and scrunched his face.
“HERE!” A chaser shouted again, sounding thrilled by the hunt.
With the vehicles the hunters had, their stamina was never-ending. They weren’t going to quit. So Changyun got an idea.
“Jaeyoung,” he panted, “give me a part of Yuto’s shirt.”
“No—”
“Give it to me.”
Arguing gave them a big disadvantage, so Jaeyoung ripped a part of Yuto’s blood stained tribe shirt and handed it over.
“Keep going!” Changyun ordered and Seungjun nodded. “We’ll meet near the lake on the west side of the forest.”
Changyun slowed his pace and took a ninety degree turn, setting off on a different route. The path was denser; harder to oversee but that was exactly what he wanted.
A few seconds later, a dog barked, it wasn't moving. Hoping to have it confused, Changyun stopped, making himself the closest blood scent.
He briefly caught his breath. How did this mess start…
The morning had been like any other. Everyone did their daily routine; doing regular tasks within the tribe, babysitting the kids, and being scolded by the elders whenever Seungjun pulled pranks again. His playfulness never ended—even with the last few months. Phasing was definitely handpicked for him it seemed. Giving a natural trickster the power to evade and walk through anything was a recipe for disaster. But he had had it since birth. They were all born with their own respective abilities.
While it made daily life more fun, it was definitely never easy. They were from a long line of dragonborn, although their appearance was more human than the ancient ones. The closest they could look to a dragon were their ‘forms.’ An appearance in which scales surfaced on parts of the skin, wings sprouted out of their back, and their hands and feet would turn into those of beasts; growing sharp nails to capture any prey. Long, rigid tails would grow from the lower part of their spine, and their eyes would turn a fierce colour. The colour of their scales and eyes gave away what type they were. Or rather, what they would get in trouble for.
Like when Yuto manipulated the wrong part of a rocky mountain and nearly crushed Seungjun if he hadn't phased through the boulder in time. Or when Jaeyoung carelessly stretched himself, accidentally flipping his scales up and ripping through his clothes. He also often picked things up too fast, almost throwing them into the air.
Changyun managed to keep out of trouble relatively well, because he almost never used his abilities. He had his reasons not to.
Normally they would get classes and training to learn to deal with their transformations and abilities, but the clan had been shrinking—hunters got to them more and more often. With new technology and nature being pushed under the thumb of humanity, the dragonborn's places to take shelter were becoming sparse. They couldn’t hide among people, they weren’t accustomed to society life and their pride often didn't let them, so they stayed together, in the forest, hoping to outrun them someday.
Humans are either scared or curious of things they don't understand. And curiosity was a source of true terror. Being taken to a place and subjected to the will of a human wanting to know what you’re made of might be worse than death.
With their hunting, humans tried to eradicate and mimic what scared them and learn how to counter the abilities. They didn’t come with many anymore, but they came with equipment. Multiple different weapons, fireproof clothes, armoured vehicles, shields—anything to protect themselves and capture others.
Ruthlessly, they ran down small tribes that were, by now, just made up of quickly set up cloths and sticks dragonborn had managed to salvage from their last escape.
After moving again, Changyun thought they would have been safe for at least a few weeks, but it was not even three days before the humans attacked once more. That time, they infiltrated.
With their dragonborn tribe being so small, the defences had weakened. The few that weren’t injured took turns sleeping and guarding.
It was near midnight when Jaeyoung had come rushing to Changyun, telling him there was an ambush. The hunters had snuck in, hidden themselves in the dead of night instead of rushing in violently. The tribe’s outer defences had been taken out quietly and it sent everyone into disarray.
Seeing everyone fend for themselves, Changyun rushed to Seungjun to wake him and find Yuto, who had a guarding shift. The camp frantically ran around, picking up the children, scouring for food or speeding off on their own. With no one following a lead and the tribe’s head having passed during their last fight, the unity had faded. Throughout the years, it had already faltered. Many left, finding it safer to be alone. Others didn’t accept a new leader anymore or started fighting to seize the position. Everyone focused on their own priorities, so Changyun did as well.
Together with Seungjun and Jaeyoung, he jumped through the disorder to where he knew Yuto must be.
Between the smoke and flung projectiles, Yuto was fighting, pulling the earth up to make barriers and hold out, but three hunters surrounded him. Before anyone could intervene, a knife was drawn. A deafening cry followed and Jaeyoung instantly tackled one of the hunters. He set his scales out, making sure no one could grab him and slicing the ones on his arms along the hunter’s armour. The thick fabric and plates kept the human inside the suit alive, but it at least turned the other two aggressors away from Yuto.
Seungjun ran around the hunters, grabbed Yuto by the wrist and set off into the forest.
Seeing that the others made it out, Jaeyoung jumped back up and dodged the incoming attacks with ease. He went past and took Changyun with him to chase after the others, leaving the camp.
Now, catching his breath with a bloodstained piece of fabric, Changyun saw the same humans coming closer. Both hunters chasing the group previously were now after him, their hound leading the way. After making sure the aggression was solely focused on him, Changyun continued his sprint.
He knew a place nearby that had a steep jump in surface level he could climb, and where he could hopefully disappear after leaving Yuto’s scent behind.
The further he ran, the less friendly the ground became and he had to jump and weave past flora more and more. His energy started to deplete.
They had been on the run for a while with minimal sleep at night, so he couldn't keep this sprint up for as long as usual. A leaf brushed past his face, waking him up again and getting him back to his objective. An up-close and loud snarl made his heartbeat quicken. The hound was catching up.
He forced his body into overdrive and he lowered himself to gain extra speed.
“He’s alone?! Where are the others?!” The man was a lot further away now. They were definitely not as fast as dragonborn, only their vehicles kept up, but those couldn't navigate the forest easily. “FIND THE OTHERS!”
Without thinking, Changyun looked behind him to gauge his chances. He shouldn’t have. A branch hit the back of his head and he stumbled. The black hound jumped and sank its teeth into Changyun’s arm, dragging him to the dirt.
With a loud thud he hit the ground, spraining his ankle on the way. The air was knocked out of him and his vision went black for a second, slowing time he didn't have.
The hound locked its jaw, looking at Changyun with bloodthirsty eyes. Stupidly, Changyun couldn’t bring himself to hit the creature, so instead he pinched its nose with a tight grip. Through a pained whine, it held on as if it was brainwashed.
Aching spasmed Changyun’s shoulder. The outer part of his arm—from his shoulder to his elbow and the top of his hand—was protected by scales, but the inner part was still soft skin, and it started to bleed.
He tried to get up, carrying the weight of the hound as he continued a jog. Having such a big being hanging off his arm slowed him down, and the sounds of motorbikes got closer.
The humans had switched out their armoured car for cross motors and they caught up quickly, their engines laughing harder the closer they came. Changyun desperately tried to keep his feet moving.
Finding some footing, the hound yanked on Changyun’s arm. His ankle throbbed every time he put pressure on it and his lungs felt like sandpaper, but he needed to keep moving, he needed to find the others again.
The rumbling came closer, petrol sputtered every time the human pushed their bike an inch further.
Inevitably, they caught up.
An excruciating pain shot through Changyun's calf when the wheel of the bike drove against it. He met the ground again and rubber burned over the scales on his back, scraping them from their place and threatening to crush the bones underneath. Within the blink of an eye the wheels sped over him, from his back across his shoulder, ripping a hole in the middle of his right wing. It all happened too fast and Changyun heard himself cry out before his mind had even registered the pain.
To avoid being run over as well, the hound let go and moved aside. Changyun knew that was his last opportunity to keep his freedom. Through the excruciating agony, his body pushed out its last drop of adrenaline and he crawled back to his feet, blood dripping down his skin.
Even to his own surprise, he made it to where he could get rid of them; a fairly big mountain that was hard to climb for any creature without claws. Changyun ran towards it and set his nails into the rock.
The only downside to this path was that it was almost completely exposed. As the motors stopped, gunshots began flying past him. Most hit the ridge, but some chafed his legs. Luckily, guns were mostly useless towards scales; the metal bouncing off the surface of the large plates on his spine. With spider-like agility, Changyun climbed alongside the ridge of the stone-covered incline and made his way up.
With one more look back, he saw the hound and its owners scan the ridge, hoping for a way up. The animal frantically sprinted left to right, barking curses upwards, but they remained on the ground. Even with them having no route to chase, Changyun didn't feel safe.
He tied the bloodied cloth he had been holding into a tree and continued his path.
The shouting of the hunters grew faint as Changyun ran further, taking a roundabout way to the lake, hoping his friends were alright and waiting for him. With only three of them, and one being wounded, they could easily be caught.
Seeing the water, he slowed his pace. It was quiet, too quiet. Slowly, he crept closer, hiding in the tall grass, scared that there were humans nearby. He scanned the lake and saw something sparkle. It wasn’t a normal glow and Changyun knew to spot it from far away. It was one of Jaeyoung’s silver scales. He hoped it was a hint, as it was very carefully placed in between four rocks—a little too perfect to be an accident. To any other dragonborn, it hurt to rip out scales, but Jaeyoung's type made it easier.
Changyun followed the direction the droplet-shaped scale pointed towards, trying to keep a straight path as he jogged along the lake.
He found another one stuck to a tree, telling him to take a right and find another after running for a while. This scale pointed to the right again, and he found himself on the edge of the forest, looking over a small barn field.
The view stretched out farther than he had seen in years and he took a second to breathe in the scene. Crops covered but a small part next to a picturesque property, and the rest was unkempt grass, waving gently under the night's wind. There was a town lying in the depths of the valley, but it slept under the demanding moon.
Scanning the area further, Changyun saw Seungjun sitting behind an old barn. It had seen many years, yet was definitely still used and treasured.
Seungjun waved as soon as he saw Changyun and phased through its back. Sadly, Changyun had to find the long way around, and his only option appeared to be a little window on the side of the building.
He used his claws to dig into the wood and hold onto the white slats strengthening the high wall. The window was located right beneath the roof, only there for air ventilation. Changyun’s muscles were tired, but knowing this would be the final hurdle, he pushed through and tumbled through the gap.
Instinct pushed his wings open during his descent and the sting of his tear zapped through his spine. He lost his balance and fell onto the hard concrete flooring. The loud crash set off the animals inside and they became restless.
The few horses housed in these stables started kicking against the door and letting out whinnies in protest. As if this had happened before, Seungjun went to ease them, making multiple shushing sounds and giving them more hay to feed on.
“Be c—” Jaeyoung cut himself off as he saw Changyun's state with what little moonshine got into the barn. “What happened?!” He got up and rushed to help.
“They caught up to me,” Changyun groaned as he got back up, "but I shook them off.”
“Okay, that’s good—” This time, Jaeyoung was cut off by something else. A creak.
They held their breath.
The stable door opened.
“This is it, then,” Changyun thought to himself. Two of them were heavily injured and they were trapped in a building with few ways out. He ran through their options as a bright flashlight shone inside.
All of them froze.
Seungjun stood next to the horses, having failed to calm them down. Yuto was sitting against the wall, clutching his waist, pressing on the stab wound with Jaeyoung’s shirt. And Changyun stood on the other side, supported by his friend.
With the light in their eyes, they couldn’t see who was shining at them and instinct kicked in.
Changyun loosened out of Jaeyoung’s hold, ignored his pains and rushed towards the light. He launched his full weight against whoever stood in the doorway. With one claw he held the figure down and readied his other to swipe along a heavily armoured guy.
He stopped.
There was no armour, no shouting, no protest. He only touched soft fabrics and unprotected skin.
The flash was out of his vision and Changyun saw that he wasn’t sitting on top of a hunter. A random man with a stunned expression stared back at him. He was wearing sleeping clothes and his fluffy black hair was a mess.
Panic grabbed Changyun's throat and he tried to scramble away, but his wounds didn't appreciate the quick and uncoordinated moves. A bolt of pain ran through his leg and he buckled back down on top of the shocked human. Changyun felt a hand land on his chest as support and he looked up, locking eyes with deep brown worry.
“Minkyun!” someone yelled in the distance.
Changyun whipped his head to the new voice.
Another man, one with red hair and a fierce look, came running towards them. He quickened his pace and drop-kicked Changyun, making him roll to his side and cry out in pain. His vision went hazy. The pain and chaos made him close to passing out.
In the blur, he saw Seungjun run out of the barn and crouch next to him as his defence. Jaeyoung was presumably doing the same inside, keeping an eye on Yuto.
“Are you alright?” the man—probably called Minkyun—asked. “You seem hurt.”
Changyun looked at him and he seemed genuinely concerned, not fearful or aggressive like most humans would.
The red-headed guy picked Minkyun up off the ground and stepped in front. “Leave,” he ordered the group. “Before we call someone.”
“Hyojin, do you see the state he’s in?” Minkyun exclaimed, pointing at Changyun struggling to get up. “No way can he just leave safely.”
“They aren’t staying here—”
Jaeyoung came running to the barn door, urgency in his eyes Changyun had never seen prior. “Yuto passed out.”
Seungjun muttered a cuss.
“It’s fine, check up on him,” Changyun spurred.
Seungjun glanced between Changyun, the door, and the strangers a few times before deciding to run inside.
Wanting to keep an eye on the situation outside, Jaeyoung stayed where he was, blocking the doorway.
Changyun got up while battling the pain. "You go inside too," he ordered Jaeyoung. "Get him out, we have to go."
“Bring him to my house,” Minkyun suggested hurriedly. “The cold isn’t going to do him any better.”
“What?” Hyojin scoffed. “No, let them leave, get them away.” He made a shooing motion towards Changyun as if he were an unwanted stray cat. “They are goddamn dragonborn, they’ll kill us.”
“If they were out to kill, he would’ve done so when he got the chance just now,” Minkyun argued.
“Then take them to your house,” Hyojin scoffed. “If you die it's your fault.”
“Please help me, you're better at medical things,” Minkyun begged.
Hyojin clearly wanted to say something in return but he fell silent when Jaeyoung came walking out with the small, blood-stained frame of Yuto in his arms. Even in the soft moonlight they could see he was awfully pale and struggling to breathe.
“Alright, come with us,” Hyojin gave in and turned around, walking towards one of the other buildings on the property.
“No,” Seungjun interrupted. “We'll figure something out.”
“How?” Jaeyoung bit. "Yuto is bleeding out and Changyun can barely walk, we don’t have another option.”
“It was them who did this to us.” Seungjun pointed towards the humans. “And now you want to go with them?”
“We have no other choice, do we?” Without waiting for an answer Jaeyoung walked towards the strangers and followed them to the house.
“Why would they help us?” Seungjun said to himself.
“It'll be alright, Jun,” Changyun tried to calm him down through a pained groan. “We can fight them off when something happens, they don't seem armed.”
Seungjun looked hesitant but joined the others while he hung one of Changyun's arms over his shoulder.
They moved to a simple but big looking house, connected to the barn by a gravelly path. The structure looked old from the outside, it had definitely been here for multiple generations. Stepping inside, the interior was old-timey and cosy. Wooden planks with small souvenirs decorated the walls of the mostly brown and red furnished living room.
“Lay him down on the kitchen table,” Hyojin said, gesturing to Jaeyoung to move to the next room. “Kyun, get a cloth with some disinfectant and clean the wounds of the one with the yellow scales.”
Changyun stayed put, knowing was the only one here with fiery yellow and gold scales. Not wanting to leave him alone, Seungjun stayed in the living room as well.
A few seconds passed in silence before Minkyun came back with a white box and some wet fabric. “Come, sit down,” he said cheerfully and settled on the large, red leather sofa.
Changyun looked at the kitchen door before he went to sit. Jaeyoung had left it open, so he could see Hyojin bow himself over Yuto's body while giving orders to the bulky, silver scaled dragonborn next to him.
“Can I touch you?” Minkyun asked and it snapped Changyun’s attention to the hand extended his way.
Changyun felt a bit defensive having a human so close, but he had no other option so he nodded and sat down. Scrunching his eyes, Changyun readied himself for the pain that was about to come.
Still, it hurt, and he had trouble keeping quiet and bit his lip as a stinging liquid came into contact with his wound. He wasn't sure what Minkyun was applying, but after the first hint of pain, it began to subside and felt calming, so he let it happen.
“What happened to you guys?” Minkyun asked as a distraction.
“Your kind caught up to us,” Seungjun shot before Changyun could speak.
The hostile tone made Minkyun nervous. “I'm sorry.”
Seungjun scoffed and tapped the armrest of his big chair.
“Are there any more, then?” Minkyun asked carefully to fill the silence. “From your group I mean.”
“No,” Changyun said quickly to keep Seungjun from biting more words. “Most got hunted down.” He didn’t know if any were alive and he wasn’t going to relay information about their potential whereabouts.
“I…” Minkyun wasn't sure what to say.
“It's alright,” Changyun reassured.
Minkyun decided to change the subject. “How are we going to bandage your wing? It won’t work if we wrap something around it, the…skin…will bend.”
“Then don't,” Seungjun grumbled.
With the constant verbal attacks, Minkyun was now definitely anxious. Without saying anything more, he got up and walked off to gather more supplies.
“Can't you be a little nicer? They are helping us,” Changyun mumbled to his annoyed friend. “Let’s not have them turn against us…”
“I don't care, I don't trust them.” Seungjun leaned forward in his chair. “And I know you don’t either.”
“Well your constant awful tone is getting on my nerves even more. Go see if you can help with Yuto's treatment.”
“Fine,” Seungjun sighed and set off to the kitchen.
Minkyun stopped in his tracks for a bit as Seungjun walked past him and shot him a glare.
“I’m sorry for his behaviour,” Changyun apologised and a kind smile was returned.
“It’s alright, you’ve been through a lot.”
At least Minkyun seemed a lot more relaxed with Seungjun out of the room, and he walked up to Changyun.
“Can you spread your wings?”
Changyun tried to, but one was nearly unresponsive, it was so heavily bruised that even the slightest movement felt like torture. Seeing Changyun struggle to keep his wing up, Minkyun ran off again, taking his time in a room in the back.
In the meantime, Changyun got some of the things Minkyun had used and treated the other injuries he could reach himself.
“Here, this might work.” Minkyun came back with a proud grin.
The smile turned his fairly intense eyes soft and he had dimples in his cheeks, but Changyun instantly grew weary of what he was holding. It looked more like a trap. It was a weird amalgamation of rope and a stick.
“Get up,” Minkyun said, excited to try out whatever he created.
Changyun followed the order but set a step back. “What is that?”
“A brace. We can’t exactly go to the hospital, so I tried to make something to support your wing while it heals.” He explained. “Spread your arms.”
Minkyun draped the harness around Changyun. Two of the ropes ran around his chest and were kept up by a rope over his shoulder. The stick was held up and in place with more rope leading back to the harness around his chest.
“Where do you even get all this from?” Changyun wondered, wanting to know what else the humans could have.
“Oh, you don’t want to know what’s in the backroom,” Minkyun said with a giggle and bent over to grab a roll of sticky paper. “There’s so much random crap there, not even Hyojin wants to try and sort it all out."
Ever so carefully he lifted Changyun's wing to align it with the stick. Briefly, he paused and stared at the big draconic feature. Spread out it was almost the length of an arm and it looked intimidating.
“Is everything alright?” Changyun asked the frozen man in front of him, feeling weird being stared at.
“Huh?” Minkyun shook his head to get himself out of the trance. “Yeah, it just looks really cool.”
Changyun wasn’t really comfortable getting compliments about this appearance. He stayed silent as Minkyun taped his wing to the stick and finished up the treatment of the tear by covering it with a piece of bandage and more tape.
“Is everything else alright?” Minkyun asked, inspecting Changyun further.
“Yeah.” Changyun moved around to test his body. “Everything else seems fine. Thank you for this.” He pointed at the weird contraption around his body. “I can't retract my wing in its current state. This feels better.”
Satisfied of his work, Minkyun scanned Changyun up and down to look for anything else to help with.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
Their tribe clothes were made for their transformation. The backs had two slits for wings and the pants were fitted fairly low so their tails could grow over the edge. But with the chase through the forest, most of the fabric had been torn and cut, leaving little on his body.
“Hm, slightly, but I can’t really wear any other shirt,” Changyun said lightly and dusted off his clothes.
Minkyun left the room yet again with a brisk step. Changyun tried to stop him but he was purposefully ignored as Minkyun ran up the stairs connected to the living room. The house creaked slightly with every hop, but it seemed to be the norm. Letting his eyes follow the other upward, Changyun saw the small photos on the wall, picturing a small family and the barn in a younger state.
The voices in the kitchen were getting incrementally louder, so Changyun went to check. Yuto laid atop a table with six chairs around it. A pillow supported his head and the others stood around him.
“If you’re gonna be like that, then leave already!” Hyojin shouted while trying to carefully treat Yuto’s wound. “It’s not like I’m that keen on keeping a bunch of monsters here.”
“What do you mean ‘monsters’?” Seungjun bit back, standing on the other side of the table.
“Something that is covered in weird purple scales and has damn wings I wouldn’t call ‘human.’ So get out,” Hyojin demanded again.
Seungjun hung back and crossed his arms. “Oh, I’ll gladly leave. But the others seem so dumb as to trust you guys."
Jaeyoung looked lost and incredibly done with the other two as he spoke up. “Please just quit fighting. Seungjun, the faster you shut your mouth the quicker Yuto can get treated.”
“Go outside, you’re distracting me,” Hyojin added.
Seungjun rolled his eyes and turned around to phase through the wall. A short, high pitched scream coming from behind made Changyun jump. He looked back and saw Minkyun clutching his heart, spooked by Seungjun's sudden appearance.
Changyun moved further into the kitchen. “How is he doing?” he asked.
“Stable,” Jaeyoung answered, “but he won’t wake up. He lost a lot of blood, but as long as he doesn’t get a fever tonight he should be fine.”
“That’s good at least,” Changyun sighed and thought of their next plan of action. “I can go scout for a cave or other hideout near here,” he suggested. “We should be able to lay low for a little while.”
“You guys can stay here,” Minkyun offered and draped a blanket he found over Changyun's shoulder for warmth.
“What?! No!” Hyojin raised his voice again and Seungjun joined in from the living room.
“We are not staying here,” he agreed.
While Changyun definitely didn’t like the pissed-off tone they both had, he did agree they shouldn’t overstay their welcome. “You have done enough for us.”
“No, please, I insist. Stay for at least a couple days,” Minkyun tried to convince. “You can’t move well with the brace and we should keep him… Yuto was his name? We should keep Yuto warm.”
Changyun was hesitant. Seungjun and Hyojin both seemed to despise each other's company, and Jaeyoung also seemed uncertain. But it was true Yuto needed to be protected somewhere secure. Changyun wasn’t sure what to think of Minkyun. He seemed friendly and genuine, but Changyun had seen what humans could do, and Minkyun being so amazed by his appearance made him anxious.
“Let’s stay,” Jaeyoung suggested. “It’s safer.”
“Definitely not!” Seungjun insisted.
“Stop being selfish," Jaeyoung gave back immediately. "I know you don’t trust them but think rationally.”
Seeing everyone being against him, Seungjun let a bothered breath escape. “Fine, but we’ll take turns sleeping."
Hyojin cleaned up the last of the tools he used for treatment and turned towards his friend. “Kyun, where are you even going to house four creatures? If you keep them in the stables they’ll disturb the horses again.”
“We're not going to throw guests in the stables,” Minkyun answered.
“Are you keeping them in the house?!”
“Yeah, that was my idea.”
“Alright, you know what.” Hyojin put his hands up. “I'm just...going to go back to sleep. It's 3 a.m. and I'm done arguing.” Without saying anything else, he walked past everyone and left the house, a cold breeze flowing into the rooms as he opened and closed the front door.
“He doesn't live here?” Jaeyoung asked.
“This is the main house, I sleep here,” Minkyun informed. “Hyojin stays during most of the day, but his actual house is the other small building on the property.” He turned towards Jaeyoung. “I have a guest room and my bedroom. I'll sleep on the couch here so the injured ones can sleep on a proper bed. And since your friend insists on guarding, you'll then only have to guard the stairs.”
“Sure,” Seungjun agreed reluctantly. “I guess that’s a fair option, if we have to stay.”
Minkyun stepped aside and invited everyone to walk back to the living room. “Let me show you upstairs.”
Jaeyoung carefully got Yuto off the table and followed Seungjun and Minkyun up the stairs. With his brace and wing sticking out, Changyun had to awkwardly shuffle through the doorposts and go almost sideways to the second floor.
After Minkyun showed them the rooms he had, they decided that they would keep Yuto in the guest room with the smaller bed and Changyun would take Minkyun's room, since it had a two-person bed and he needed the space so his wing wouldn't hang off the side. Given that the night was too short to have them all rotate a guarding shift, they just decided that only Jaeyoung and Seungjun would switch to give Changyun a good night's rest to recover quicker.
Minkyun laid a few blankets on the ground in the guest room for Jaeyoung to sleep on, saying he would find a mattress tomorrow. Seungjun took the first shift.
They wished each other goodnight and Minkyun went back down to continue his sleep, this time on the sofa.
So much happened tonight. Being alone and in silence, Changyun’s brain could catch up. They really lost even more this time, he couldn’t even call it a ‘camp’ anymore, just him and his friend group.
He sighed, his eyelids were heavy but the uncertainty of the situation kept him awake. He tossed around, thinking about what they should do next. He cursed his wing for being bruised. It was dangerous being outside with limited movement. And even if he could turn back, he had no idea when Yuto would wake up, nor where they could go after that.
Being with so few, it would be hard to survive. Winter was close, he himself couldn't hunt and if they were found again it would surely be the last time.
Running out of ideas, his mind went silent, finally creating the opportunity to fall asleep, and he did so almost instantly.
Changyun was woken up by the clinking of plates on the lower floor. At the first movement he groaned. His muscles were stiff and his wing hurt, protesting him getting out of bed. After an uncomfortable stretch, he went to check on Yuto, who was still asleep with Seungjun next to him on the ground. Walking down the hallway he found Jaeyoung sitting at the top of the stairs. His extra features had disappeared and one couldn’t tell him apart from humans anymore, especially not with the new outfit he was wearing—a black shirt with a strange sign on the front and rough blue pants.
“Good morning,” Changyun greeted in a raspy voice.
“Ah, morning, Changyun,” Jaeyoung answered and looked up. While his eyes stood tired, he carried himself as if nothing happened. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine, better than yesterday, and you?”
“Alright, woke up not too long ago.” Jaeyoung gestured downstairs. “You should go to the kitchen, Minkyun is preparing food.”
“Have you eaten yet?”
“No, I’ll stay until Seungjun wakes up.” Jaeyoung smiled. “He'll be pissed if I leave.”
“Understandable.”
Changyun wanted to walk past Jaeyoung but was halted.
“Oh, before I forget. Minkyun left some clothes out for us to change into. He put them in the guest room. See what fits.” Jaeyoung scanned the contraption around Changyun. “He did ask not to rip them so maybe keep your own shirt.”
Changyun smiled and went to change his pants before shimmying down the narrow staircase. It didn’t matter much to him if he had to keep either his dragon or human form, but he sure wished he could switch—even if it was just to make navigating the house easier.
He greeted Minkyun, who was setting the table with small white plates adorned with illustrations of wheat. In return he was greeted by a small brown dog. Its height stopped just below Changyun’s knees, but its courage exceeded that and the dog started to growl.
"Somang, stop that," Minkyun shushed his pet and it instantly listened.
“Don’t worry.” Changyun understood that the dog would be wary of him, especially with his current appearance. “I didn’t see it yesterday. Is it yours?”
“She's outside at night to guard,” Minkyun grinned and crouched down, giving the animal a scratch behind one of her ears. “She is a pretty poor guard dog—as you might have noticed. She had no clue you were here. The horses woke us up, actually.” He got back up. “But she is cute and tries her best, so I let her.”
“You got a guard dog that can't guard?” Changyun remarked while Somang kept an eye on him. “But you’re right, she’s cute,” he mumbled. The hunter’s hounds looked a lot more ruthless and large, so he didn't feel frightened by this small dog.
“We didn’t buy her, I found her abandoned a few years back and took her in,” Minkyun hummed and hung on the backrest of a chair. “Anyway, did you sleep well?”
“I did. Thank you for letting us stay over,” Changyun said briefly. He didn’t know where to move to so he stayed standing next to the table.
“Well I couldn’t just let someone bleed out,” Minkyun smiled. Any expression he showed seemed so genuine and Changyun caught himself wanting to mellow, but it felt too soon to trust him.
Keeping a light tone, he continued the conversation and tried to fish for information. “Hyojin seemed fine with it.”
“Hyojin is Hyojin.”
“What does that mean?”
“I get where he is coming from," Minkyun explained and shrugged to decline any prying. “It helps to have him around on the farm as he is more on the business and organisation side, but he sure has a stick up his ass sometimes.” He set some things for breakfast on the table. “Don’t mind him too much and make yourself comfortable.”
“I…I’ll try. Also, I’m sorry for disturbing the horses,” Changyun apologised before he could forget. “I fell through the window and it scared them.”
Concern made Minkyun shoot up from his slouched position. “You fell from that height? No wonder your wing is bruised.”
“Well I fell from the window because my wing was hurt already.”
“What even happened yesterday? How did they find you—”
“‘Morning, Kyun,” Hyojin chimed from the front door and his tone instantly fell when he saw Changyun. “Oh, are all of you awake too?”
“Good morning,” Changyun answered, trying to ignore the snide way the question was asked. “Only me and Jaeyoung are. Seungjun and Yuto are still asleep and Jaeyoung is guarding them.”
“Hm, alright.” Hyojin nodded to Minkyun. “It’s good to see you are still alive.” His eyes scanned Minkyun for any injuries before turning to Changyun. “Also, you, can’t you switch to a human form?”
“I can, but not with an immobile wing.”
Hyojin looked notably displeased with that information and went to sit down at the table, starting on his breakfast. With the new company, Changyun felt even less sure about where he was allowed to be and stayed close to the wall.
It made Hyojin scoff. “Do you even eat this? Or are you going to murder the horses later?”
Before Changyun could refute that, someone else joined them.
“Maybe I will,” Seungjun said, wandering through the wall and making Minkyun jump again. “At least I'll know my food isn’t poisoned.”
“Seungjun, no need to pretend,” Changyun sighed. “You'll die if you eat raw horse meat. Look, Hyojin, we are just like humans but have a different form, that's the easiest way to see it. We eat the same, sleep the same, live just as long.”
“Oh, I know.” A strange smile settled on Hyojin's lips. “But a human doesn't have bright yellow scales everywhere."
“Alright, currently, I'm a bad example. But you couldn't tell Seungjun apart," Changyun said, pointing at his friend, whose only remarkable feature was his platinum blond—almost white—hair. But even that looked believably human against pale skin.
To mute Changyun's point for fun, Seungjun flickered his eyes between their human brown look and his dragonborn purple when he locked them with Hyojin.
“Yeah, looks human to me.” The bridge of Hyojin’s nose wrinkled with disgust. “It's not that I'm afraid or don't understand your kind, I just don't like it. A wolf can be as friendly as possible, but it's still a wild animal. It could turn any second.”
“Fine,” Changyun gave up and began answering Minkyun’s previous question. “Anyway, about how we ended up at your barn.”
“Yes,” Minkyun said and gestured for him to sit down, doing so himself right after.
Changyun looked at all the food he didn’t know and decided to not touch anything. “Our camp had moved to a new spot after being chased away from the previous. We thought we'd be safe for a while but…hunters…caught up quickly.”
“Hunters…” Minkyun mumbled. “How?”
“Hounds,” Changyun answered simply. “Many of us were injured, so it must've been easy to find us using the scent of blood. It's my only guess, since they always have canines with them. Or it might be some other technology I don't understand.”
Luckily, the others stayed quiet to let Changyun tell his story and he quickly summarised the previous night—explaining how Yuto got his injury, the equipment the humans carried and how they made it to the farm. When he explained how he got his own injuries, how the humans ran over him, Seungjun interrupted.
“That’s what happened?!” Seungjun said as he shot up. “I knew I should’ve stopped you from leaving.”
“They would’ve caught up to all of us otherwise, which might have only turned out worse.” Changyun argued back. “I’m still alive so it's fine.”
Agreeing, Seungjun sat back down and picked up the fork next to his plate. “How did you shake them off then?”
“I went to that ridge we climbed once when scouting the area,” Changyun explained. “The one you fell down.”
“Oh, really?” Seungjun looked surprised but quickly realised that it made sense. “I guess they couldn’t climb that with motors and dogs. Smart.”
“Damn,” Minkyun said with a heavy breath and unfroze to start spreading something red on a slice of bread. “Sounds like a lot. You couldn't fight them? Or fly away?”
“They attack harder than we can, they have a lot of new weapons all the time.” As forgotten memories sprung up, Changyun looked down. “We never know what they can do. And we tried to fly before, but they have guns and shoot through our wings pretty easily. Besides, our wings aren’t made for continuous flight, they aren't that strong,” he explained. “It's more short bursts and gliding."
Minkyun looked at the brace around Changyun's shoulders. “How is your wing, by the way?”
“Fine, better. I think it needs another day.”
“A day?” Minkyun asked, surprised. “It was really bruised.”
“We recover fairly quickly.”
Hyojin let out an airy laugh. “Another thing that isn't human…”
A kind expression switched to one filled with annoyance and Minkyun whipped his head to the right. “Hyojin, aren't you done eating?” he asked.
“I am, but we don’t have much to do today,” Hyojin said but got up regardless. “You let the horses out and I’ll go do some groceries.” After setting away his plate, he walked out of the kitchen.
They finished their breakfast and helped clean up. Having explored some of the foods, Seungjun made a small meal to bring with him to Jaeyoung.
“Say, Seungjun,” Minkyun started a bit hesitant, “can you…touch things?”
Changyun started to snicker and the one questioned looked baffled. Seungjun had no idea how to react to such a statement, so he just looked at Minkyun and showed the plate he was holding—clearly touching something.
“Maybe it's just for big objects,” Minkyun shrugged as if his question was still valid.
While staring at him, Seungjun silently extended his arm, placing a palm on the wall.
“Well, alright then,” Minkyun agreed.
Nodding, and still looking heavily confused, Seungjun phased through the wall to head upstairs.
“Man, how does that work?” Minkyun breathed in amazement and turned to Changyun. “Can you do that?”
“No,” he answered with a shake of the head. “We all have our own things. He can phase through anything and make anything that isn’t an organism do the same.”
“What can you do, then? Show me!” Minkyun requested gleefully.
“Maybe some other day,” Changyun declined, but he would probably never show it if he didn’t have to.
Trying to fill the sudden awkward silence, Minkyun suggested Changyun join him on his short routine. Even after Changyun said he knew nothing about horses, Minkyun insisted.
Standing next to the front door, Changyun gestured to himself. “I don’t know if I should go outside in broad daylight looking like this.”
“It’s fine,” Minkyun reassured and threw on a light coat before opening the door. “No one can see the stables from afar, we aren’t expecting any visitors and no one ever comes here randomly.”
“...Alright,” Changyun gave in, not wanting to be rude by refusing to work.
Changyun followed Minkyun outside. He didn't want to deal with Seungjun nagging again, so Changyun chose to not inform anyone of his whereabouts. Walking with a human to the stables they had used to hide from other humans felt weird, and he subconsciously grew nervous.
However, Minkyun didn’t pick up on it and strolled over the gravel slowly, his hands in his pockets and his feet barely being picked up. He had his nose in the air and the wind greeted them kindly.
“Do you have training academies?” Minkyun asked after a few steps. Somang followed close behind, her small nails tapping over the stones on the path.
“No.”
“What can Yuto do, then? And Jaeyoung?” Minkyun asked, trying to keep the conversation going.
The invasive questions mainly made Changyun feel apprehensive. “It's nice that you’re curious,” he said politely. “But I’m not sure how comfortable the others are with me sharing that. If you want to know, ask them.”
“Yeah, understandable. Sorry I asked.”
“It’s alright.”
Again, the interest Minkyun showed made Changyun more nervous than flattered. They fell silent.
Changyun looked up and a breeze ran through his blond-tipped, brown hair. As if the view demanded it, he slowed his pace and took a deep breath. He looked around the valley and realised he hadn't seen such a big open space in a while.
The past year, they had been cooped up in dense forests and caves, hiding away and protecting each other. Every day was spent fearing what would come next, if the sun going down was the last goodbye.
Looking at a distant horizon reminded him how large the world was again, how much was still out there, how much he hadn’t seen.
There wasn't a huge amount of land that seemed to belong to Minkyun; the fence marking the edge wasn't far. It was laid atop a big hill that looked down on a small town—luckily far enough to not have anyone come close to spotting them, making him feel somewhat safe enough to walk outside with his dragon-like appearance. While the town was visible from the fields, the road leading to it was quite roundabout and would be a long walk.
“Admiring the view?” Minkyun said softly.
Changyun hummed, feeling a tad emotional at the vastness of nature.
“Come, the horses are hungry,” Minkyun invited quietly and continued towards the stables.
With a harsh pull, Minkyun opened the large door, making small whinnies and patters rumble up in the stables. The horses seemed very excited to see their owner and all pointed their ears to their guests. Softly, Minkyun petted the one closest and invited Changyun to do the same.
Two of the horses were very bulky but looked sweet. Fuzzy brown fur coated them and they were slightly taller than Changyun, and next to that was a shorter, black horse that he was a little hesitant to get close to.
Minkyun kept one hand on a brown horse’s head and waved the other at Changyun. “Come, don’t be scared.”
“I think they’ll be more scared of me,” Changyun said, fairly sure horses wouldn't appreciate being petted by claws.
“Not at all.” Minkyun grabbed Changyun's wrist.
A shockwave rushed through his scales. Changyun instantly yanked his arm back and stepped away.
“Ah, I…I’m sorry. Does your wrist hurt?” Minkyun asked, taken aback by the reaction.
“No. It’s okay,” Changyun mumbled and rubbed his wrist, still feeling the other’s fingers like a phantom’s touch. A heat lingered in his skin, one he couldn’t place.
Getting over his nerves, and wanting to not think of the touch, Changyun stepped closer and extended his hand towards the horse. The big, bulky animal didn't even flinch; it was trusting. It brushed its top lip over the back of Changyun's hand and he pulled it away again.
“Don’t worry, they don’t bite,” Minkyun giggled. “Maybe he just thinks you’re a big carrot. Although you’re a little too yellow to be a carrot,” he thought out loud while walking to a large metal cart. “Anyway that’s Sora, the other brown one is Chica, and the black one is Ace."
“You really keep a lot of animals,” Changyun remarked and tried to get close to the animal again, enjoying the interaction.
“Tell me about it,” Minkyun sighed. “We mainly keep them just for fun, they don't really help on the fields.”
Minkyun puffed as he came back with a big, heavy-looking bucket of food. He hoisted it over the first door and poured some of its contents into a bowl attached to one of the stable walls. After repeating that motion for the other horses, he set the bucket back down. Looking content, he left to a small room in the back to, apparently, retrieve things called halters.
Accompanied by content chewing sounds, Changyun was taught how to put the strange headpieces on the animals and how to take them to the paddock.
Changyun felt he was failing miserably and probably looked really uncomfortable as he guided the black horse after the others. The animal practically walked by itself and didn’t pay any attention to Changyun. Minkyun, on the other hand, was holding the other two with ease and even managed to open the paddock gate.
Inside, Minkyun instructed Changyun to hook the rope off the halter, let go and stand still.
Standing still seemed like a strange order, but Changyun quickly learned why. Right as the horses were let go, they raced off to the back of the paddock. The loud pouncing of their hooves trembled the earth and it felt weirdly exciting. Seeing such big creatures play and buck like young foals made Changyun’s blood rush.
“They always pretend like they never go outside,” Minkyun sighed with a smile, opening the paddock gate so they could walk back out. “It's like this almost every morning.”
“It looks so nice,” Changyun gushed as he hung over the fence, staring at the animals releasing their built up energy.
Minkyun hung next to him, staring over the fields and enjoying a moment of peace together.
Hyojin sighed. He really didn't want to, but he figured Minkyun would manage to convince the creatures to stay another day, which meant they would stay for dinner.
While feeling incredibly reluctant, he counted what they had in the storage cupboards and concluded that it definitely wasn't enough to cook for all of them. He noted down everything they’d need and headed out to the kitchen again, wanting to ask Changyun if there was anything they couldn't eat. To his dismay, he was only met with Seungjun, who came wandering down the stairs but stopped halfway when he was spoken to.
“Where's Changyun?” Hyojin started, hoping for a short conversation.
“I don't know,” Seungjun answered. “Maybe his gullible face got taken behind the barn and shot.”
Hyojin crossed his arms and didn’t like the fact Seungjun was standing higher up than him. “Why do you think we are out to kill you?”
As if the question was dumb, Seungjun pulled his eyebrows up. “You just seem very hostile. Can't put my finger on why, though.” He leaned himself against the stair railing. “Anyway, why do you need Changyun all of a sudden?"
The conversation was already dragging longer than he wanted, so Hyojin put his aggression down and answered in a monotone voice. “Because I need to do groceries and I wanted to know if there is anything that'll kill you guys.”
“Well,” Seungjun smiled, “and you wonder why there is any reason for me to think that you want to murder us.”
Mockingly, Hyojin mimicked the fake smile. “Well, it was more to avoid buying it, but maybe I'll change my mind."
“Hmm, good to know.”
“Can actually you tell me if there is anything you don’t eat, though?" Hyojin asked, wanting a proper answer this time.
Seungjun pushed himself off the railing and walked further down. “Not really, I don't like cucumbers but I doubt you'll cook anything with that anyway.”
With that information, Hyojin burst out laughing. “You're supposed to be a ferocious beast, yet you are beaten by something that's basically water in a stick?”
“I'm not beaten by it, but you asked!” Seungjun yelled back, a red glow trying to flow into his cheeks. “I just have a preference against them. We stole them from humans once and they're gross.”
“Yeah, sure.” Hyojin walked past him and gave a pat on the shoulder, still giggling obnoxiously.
“Where are you going?” Seungjun asked and spun around to keep facing Hyojin.
“Like I said, I'm going to do groceries, so I'm heading to town.”
Seungjun instantly stepped closer. “I'm coming with you.”
“What, why? Please don't.”
“I don't trust you.” Seungjun narrowed his eyes. “You are definitely going to gather up a bunch of reinforcement and get us hunted.”
“As if,” Hyojin gave back. “I'm not so bothered by you that I need an army. I can take you all out perfectly well if I wanted.”
“But you don’t, so…”
Hyojin rolled his eyes, having to explain himself. “Minkyun would definitely get mad, and this place is a little too precious for me to risk getting kicked out.”
“This isn't your farm?”
“What do you care?” Hyojin scoffed and walked out the door.
He wished they would just leave. Their kind and appearance brought back too much, and Hyojin shook his head to get the thoughts out. Loud steps rushed up and down the stairs, audible from outside, before Seungjun appeared on the porch.
Hyojin sighed again and glanced beside him. “You're really gonna come with me?”
“Yes,” Seungjun nodded. “I'm keeping an eye on you.”
“Well, then you're carrying the bags later.”
Hyojin saw Minkyun exit the stables down the road, followed by Changyun awkwardly handling Ace. He smiled mockingly, seeing the horse look slightly confused at the stiff creature that guided him. However, Minkyun seemed to be having fun so Hyojin decided not to interrupt.
Finally arriving at the big van Hyojin wanted to take to town merely out of laziness, Seungjun looked nervous.
“Do we have to take this?” he asked.
Hyojin's eyes grew a little twinkle at the opportunity to tease. “Are you scared?” he asked.
“The town isn't far away, right?” Seungjun argued, letting his vision fall on the civilization down the hill.
“Too far to carry a bunch of groceries from,” Hyojin said. “Come, don't be a wuss. Like you said, it's not that far.”
Seungjun stared at the car. His hand trembled getting close to it.
Watching the struggle, the same merciful feeling boiled up that made him accept treating these creatures the previous night. Hyojin bit down on his teeth but couldn’t stop himself. “We can walk if you think you can carry the bags back home.”
“Yeah, I can. I don't want to go into that awful thing,” Seungjun said quickly and stepped away.
“Ah, another thing that defeats the beast. A car,” Hyojin joked again but felt a little bad about saying that. Seungjun looked pissed and didn't even give a rebuttal. He just turned around and walked off the terrain.
With the stern reaction, Hyojin didn’t ask any further and changed the topic to what they were going to eat and how long the dragonborn were planning to stay.
Bickering managed to stay absent for most of the way to town, and the shopping was done in silence. Seungjun was way too busy keeping an eye on any human getting in his personal space, not realising they were simply trying to grab an item he stood close to. Hoping to not draw attention, Hyojin pretended not to be associated with the suspicious behaviour and did his errand as fast as he could.
“This is way more than I thought we would get,” Seugjun groaned, carrying an overload of groceries. “Didn’t you say it was only for dinner?”
“I never said that. I just also had to get things for dinner,” Hyojin corrected, putting extra emphasis on the word ‘also.’ “But you said you would carry it, so no complaining,” he continued, completely empty handed.
“It’s not too heavy, just a hassle.”
“Still, no whining.”
As silent as the way to had been, the way home quickly filled with more back and forths. Hyojin kept his own pace and walked in front of Seungjun, almost skipping to drive home the fact he had a light-weighted walk. At least the irritating attitude gave Seungjun the determination to carry the two heavy bags properly.
Coming home, they found everyone sitting in the living room. Everyone including Yuto.
Seungjun's eyes widened. He dropped the bags on the ground and went to hug Yuto's small stature. A bit annoyed by the carelessness, Hyojin went to pick up what was on the ground and was quickly helped by Jaeyoung, who carried them like it was nothing.
Seungjun’s voice was close to a whisper. “I’m so happy you are awake,” he muttered and squeezed Yuto close.
“Thanks,” he said in a weak and low voice, “but you’re really hurting me.”
“Ah, sorry,” Seungjun jumped and let go.
Hyojin left them and went to put everything away, making Jaeyoung follow. With deep black hair and broad shoulders, Jaeyoung seemed intimidating, even without the beastly looks. But Hyojin soon figured his stature didn’t match his personality. Jaeyoung spoke kindly and made small chit-chat about having tried some of the produce they bought, giving his review as he set them away and telling stories about how his camp had acquired them.
“How is Yuto?” Hyojin asked when the reviews stopped, wondering if his treatment had gone well.
“Fine,” Jaeyoung answered softly, “he healed quite alright but isn’t at full speed just yet.”
“So you can leave soon?”
“I guess,” Jaeyoung said, a little disappointed.
They gave Yuto something light to eat and sent him back to bed, telling him to rest more to heal properly. Showing a cunning side, Yuto told Changyun to do the same, given he was also still injured. Changyun could move around a lot better but was obviously still hurt, so he complied. The two uninjured ones went to help Minkyun finish up a few tasks so Hyojin could cook in peace.
Hyojin was still tired from yesterday, having to wake up in the middle of the night to be met with some creatures that kept him on edge for the entire day after. His eyes wanted to shut.
After dinner, they lazed around, exchanging stories in the kitchen. Uninterested, Hyojin quickly decided to head home as the moon started to shine.
He was about to say his goodbye but was interrupted by Somang’s barking.
“Is someone here?” Minkyun asked, hinting for Hyojin to open the door.
“Who would be?” Hyojin shrugged as he went to find what was causing the disturbance.
He opened the door and his heart shot up. Two people with guns stood on their porch, covered fully in black armour and accompanied by a big hound. Before he could force words past the lump in his throat, one of the gunmen spoke up.
“Our dog picked up a trail.” Their voice was deep and muffled by their helmet. “We want to search your barn.”
Finally finding his tongue, Hyojin pretended to be innocent. “A trail? What? Who are you? Why are you here?”
“Confidential information,” the shorter armoured gunman said, annoyed. “We just need a look in your barn.”
“Sorry, but I’m not just letting anyone in.”
A groan vibrated from one of the helmets before the short gunman stepped closer, his tone rushed but quiet. “Please, sir, remain calm, but we suspect dragonborn to be here.” He put a hand to his chest. “We will take care of them, so you can stay unharmed.”
Hyojin shifted his eyes before playing along. “Oh, oh my, yes alright. Let me get the keys.” He closed the door a bit too harshly before rushing to the kitchen. “I think they are here for you guys,” he whispered.
“What?!” Seungjun jumped up and Hyojin instantly shushed him. “Who?” he said in a lower volume.
“I don’t know, but I don’t see any other reason for armed guys to show up here.”
Seungjun grumbled something under his breath. “Why already?” He got up and rushed upstairs, silently waking Changyun and Yuto before taking them back down and informing them.
Three loud knocks were heard on the front door. “Is everything alright there?” A gunman asked. “We are in a rush.”
“Yeah! My friend misplaced the keys. I’ll be right there!” Hyojin yelled back before lowering his tone to a whisper and put his hands on the kitchen table. “Alright, what are we going to do?”
“I don’t know. Run?” Changyun said. “Yuto, can you?”
He nodded, a bit unsure however.
“Just hide in the storage room,” Hyojin suggested. “I’ll get them away.” He looked around but was met with distrusting eyes. “You don’t have another choice, do you?” he continued.
Minkyun quickly shooed them towards their storage room next to the kitchen and Hyojin went to open the front door again. “Sorry it took so long,” he said and guided the pair to the stables.
They had a heavy air around them, so Hyojin didn’t even try to start up a conversation.
He yanked the barn door open, and the horses quickly began acting up, feeling the hostile atmosphere of the men walking past them. The men began poking around, and Hyojin prayed they’d leave soon. Nothing should be left here, even the blood had been cleaned up.
After a few minutes, the gunmen turned to Hyojin. A question started but was cut off. Hay rustled in the loft and a bad feeling sprung into Hyojin’s chest.
“Go check,” one of the guys mumbled and the other quickly went to the ladder.
The frantic sound became louder and got closer.
From the shadow, a purple phantom jumped out and landed on the concrete flooring. The fierce colour locked with Hyojin for a second and a frightening feeling ran over his skin. It took everything in him not to yell the phantom’s name in concern. A smile gleamed in the moonlight before Seungjun rushed off through the barn door.
“THERE, GET HIM!” a gunman ordered the canine and it raced after Seungjun.
Without paying any further attention to Hyojin, both men jumped on motorbikes and followed suit.
“Idiot,” Hyojin uttered and jogged back to the house and into the storage room. “Why was Seungjun out?!” he hissed when he found the others looking distressed.
“He just left,” Changyun his voice hastened.
“Why didn’t you stop him?”
“It’s a bit hard stopping an overly stubborn dragonborn that can walk through walls,” Changyun bit back.
“Guys, we can’t do much about it now anyway,” Minkyun stepped in between. “I’m sure he knows what he is doing, right?”
“I don’t know,” Yuto answered, “he is pretty good at making rash decisions. Let’s just hope he makes it back.”
“I’ll go follow him,” Jaeyoung announced but Yuto stopped him.
“Do you have any idea where he is going?” he asked cynically. “He can go anywhere.”
“So we just have to wait?” Hyojin noticed he sounded frustrated.
“We can’t do anything else,” Changyun shrugged, equally annoyed, but he seemed to be a bit more used to outbursts.
Hyojin felt pissed and he couldn’t place a reason. “Fine, he can go die for all I care. I’m going home.” He turned around and left for his own little cottage.
Stepping into the tiny living room area he felt anxious. “He is such an idiot,” he muttered to himself and went to wash up, trying to forget about the weird creatures. Even with warm water caressing his skin, he felt anxious. Seungjun was fast, but it was obvious motorbikes would be able to catch up with him.
Ending the day and laying in bed, Hyojin kept tossing around, unable to shake his worries.
The feeling gnawed at him until early the next morning, when he found Seungjun sitting on the couch in the main house.
“Oh, you’re back,” Hyojin said casually, but he felt his heart lighten slightly.
“Of course,” Seungjun stood up. “I’m not that easily beaten,” he grinned proudly.
Hyojin noticed the bandage around his arm and small scratches on his face but decided not to ask about it.
“You’re still an idiot," he said instead. "Why did you leave? Alone no less...”
The laugh that left Seungjun made Hyojin feel ridiculed. “Did you really think they would have just checked the stables and left? They would definitely have come to the house.”
“I know, it's why I had you hide. What you did was dumb,” Hyojin scolded. “Good thing you made it out though.”
Probably noticing the subtle caring, Seungjun stepped closer. “Suddenly happy to see me?” he cooed. “Want me to stay?”
Hyojin rolled his eyes and pushed Seungjun away. “How long are you guys staying, anyway?”
“We can leave today, I think,” Changyun said softly, gauging the others’ reactions.
“Are you sure?” Hyojin said. To his own surprise, he was reluctant to let them leave. “The hunters are probably still close by. Isn’t it better to lay low for a little while?”
“Since when do you want us to stay?” Seungjun looked suspicious, tilting his head slightly.
“I just don’t want to send anyone to their death.”
“Are you sure about that?” Seungjun laughed.
“Do you want me to kick you out?” Hyojin gave back.
“I don’t even want to stay—”
“Enough!” Changyun interfered. “If we are allowed, we’ll gladly stay, Seungjun too. It’s indeed too dangerous to go out now and we need a more solid plan of action than just ‘live in the forest.’ Especially with winter coming up, there will be no shelter and even less food.”
Minkyun looked excited—maybe a little too excited. “Alright then!” he exclaimed. “I have a lot to do today, so I could use a few hands.”
“I still don’t want to stay for long,” Seungjun clarified.
Changyun turned a bit harsh and Hyojin figured he was done with the constant rebuttals. “Are you going to go out alone again, then?”
“No,” Seungjun said quickly, dying down a little. “But staying in one place is not going to do us any good.”
“It’s fine.” Changyun assured
Displeased with everyone refuting his points, Seungjun tightened his jaw and spoke promptly. “They already found us here once,” he said. “They will come back.”