Kihyun leapt through the trees, wings bent to avoid slowing him down, but ready to catch him if he fell. His cat-like ears twitched and turned, listening back while he focused his eyes on his “prey”. Suddenly, he froze on a tree limb, having to throw his wings out and wrap his tail around the branch to stop himself. Rocking back on his heels, he waited. Silence filled the usually noisy forest. Kihyun’s heartbeat sped up, and he clenched his slightly-webbed hands. He ignored the sting of his claws digging into his palms, instead silently cursing himself for his negligence. Someone was following him, and he hadn’t even noticed. Kihyun turned around on the branch, flattening his ears and clicking his teeth. The small, red-haired Atax spread his wings, attempting to make himself appear bigger and more menacing. The forest remained silent and still, and Kihyun briefly doubted his senses. But he didn’t have time to reconsider. Something shot out of the leaves of a tree not too far away. Before Kihyun could react, the thing slammed into him, sweeping him off the branch and smashing him into the hard forest floor. Kihyun’s eyesight went hazy as his head hit the ground, and the air was out of his lungs like a vacuum. The heavy weight squashing Kihyun disappeared immediately, but the red-head continued to lay there, regaining his sight and breath. 

    “I’m sorry if I hurt you, but I can’t let you stop him.” The voice came from behind Kihyun. It was deeper than Kihyun’s, with a hint of roughness. The voice sounded strangely familiar. As Kihyun returned to his senses, he realized with a pang that he was laying on his wing, bent beneath him. It hurt badly, but he ignored it, rolling over to see his attacker. It was a tallish boy with red hair, redder than Kihyun’s, and muscles that Kihyun couldn’t help noticing. Unlike Kihyun’s, whose wing feathers were pure white, this boy’s feathers were the same shade of red as his hair. As Kihyun studied the boy, he noticed fuzzy baby feathers still nestled amongst adult ones, suggesting that Kihyun’s attacker was younger than him. Shoving himself to his feet, Kihyun brushed himself off, frowning as his hurt wing hung limp. Looking back, he saw the kid still standing there, grinning. As Kihyun opened his mouth to ask him what he wanted, something hard was whammed into the back of his head. Kihyun collapsed to the ground, unconsciousness interrupting his exasperated internal eye roll.

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    Kihyun wasn’t sure how long he had been unconscious, or if he was even awake at the moment. Although he was certain he had his eyes open, he could not see. Kihyun flexed each of his muscles, checking for damage. None, just his head throbbing. Then he remembered. His wing. Focusing on it, he found it no longer hurt; it was numb from a cold ice wrapping. Check up finished, Kihyun realized where he was - a damp, underground place, probably a dungeon. He was tied to a chair, his wings compressed between his body and the back of the chair. Kihyun twitched his ears, finding that his head was covered with what felt like a burlap sack. It certainly smelled like one. Straining his ears, Kihyun could hear, not too far away, voices murmuring. He heard a “I had to!” and then a “Shhh!”, and he clicked his teeth in annoyance, swallowing back a growl. A familiar voice suddenly sounded close to Kihyun’s right, “He’s awake now. Why don’t we meet our hostage?” Sounds of movement, then the sack was pulled from his head. The first thing Kihyun did was glare threateningly at his kidnappers. Unfortunately, the boy standing in front of him squealed. 

    “Omo! He’s so cute!” Kihyun recognized him as the “prey” he had been chasing earlier. The boy was a little taller than Kihyun, with blonde hair, sparkling eyes, and the brightest smile Kihyun had seen in his life. He didn’t have ears or a tail like the other two, but what really caught Kihyun’s attention was his wings. They were the darkest black Kihyun had ever seen, but still looked soft and fluffy. This boy was definitely not an Atax. Looking to his right, Kihyun saw the boy who had attacked him, and curled his lip, coldly turning away to study the figure to his left. It was another boy with brown hair, ears, and tail, definitely younger than the others. His wings were beautiful, a mixture of colors like Kihyun had never seen before - changing from light purple to blue to green. The boy just steadily gazed at the older, very little emotion showing on his face. 

    Kihyun was the first to speak, “Who are you? Why am I here? What do you want with me?” Pretty Wings spoke first.

    “You saw what Joo… You saw what Dum-Dum over there looked like. We could’t just let you walk away, could we?” Kihyun cracked a smile at the name. In all honesty, it sort of fit him. Red-Head gasped indignantly, but before he could begin an argument, Blondie broke in. 

    “Let’s put him in the cell until we can trust him. Tying someone up like that for long periods of time can be physically harmful." Nodding, Red-Head untied Kihyun and pulled him to his feet by his arm. Together, he and Pretty Wings led Kihyun to an empty cell nearby. After locking him in, Pretty Wings and Blondie flew off, but Red-Head remained, leaning against the gate. 

    “Hey, sorry about this. You’ll have to stay here until we can convince you. I’ll come back soon, ok?”

    Kihyun rushed to the door. “Hey! Convince me of what?! What do I not know?!” But instead of answering, Red-Head grinned at him, backed away, and took off. A fluffy, red baby feather floated down and landed beside him as Kihyun let out a yell of pure frustration.