“Now what exactly did you tell your parents again?”

Dead leaves crunched underneath their feet, a small breeze whistled through the air turning it into a crisp chill, and the sky was murky today with feathery clouds glided across the cerulean sky like a glacier melting. They covered up any sunlight attempting to seep through. The streets were unusually quiet with the exception of some cars that swooshed by. Somehow, with no visual guide of the sun, the tall trees’ shadows overpowered their bodies. Still, they moved gradually into the forest but made sure to watch their steps. Key turned his head towards his friend with a questionable expression.

Onew sighed, looking up at the sky for a minute as if attempting a thought.

“Um, I told them that we wanted to go on another walk, get some exercise in.”

It was a new day. After last night, the two had decided to befriend their “enemies,” that it was perhaps the better and safer choice of anything else. In the morning they’d talked it over, much so after Onew’s mother decided to leave for a lunch with Key’s aunt. His father was a nonchalant sort of man so there was no point in hushing their voices. The man would get lost in his paperwork either way. But before they left, he wanted to know where they were going and insisted that Onew tell his mother as well in case she came back early.

Key laughed.

“We might have to come up with another lie. After a while, they may start to figure out we’re not going out on a walk. We don’t exercise at all.”

Onew laughed as well.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I mean, it worked this time, though, that’s all that matters.”

Key looked around. Everything sounded...well there wasn't really a sound at all. How curious.

Pieces of his hair moved out of place and danced into the soft winds, whisking in front of his face from time to time. He crossed his arms over his chest at the sudden chill that prickled his skin.

“Hey Onew, have you noticed the weather lately?”

“You mean how it looks like Fall is coming earlier than we thought.” He looked up at the sky too, as if expecting a drop of rain to trickle from the clouds even though the weather channel said otherwise.

“Yeah. Is that weird?” He turned his attention toward his friend who looked back at him.

Onew shrugged.

“I mean, I guess. But then again, anything would seem weird after what we experienced yesterday.”

Key pouted his lips and searched around at the trees.

“Global warming I guess.”

“Duh.” Onew chuckled.

They walked on, occasionally touching the bark on the side of the trees that were peeling off. Key looked down at the mushy dark soil and he frowned a bit.

“Can’t help but feel a little sad walking through here.” He mumbled.

“Why?”

He shrugged.

“I don’t know. These woods are a little depressing. Like they’re dying or something.”

“Well, seeing as Fall’s gonna be hitting us early this year, that’s what happens. I mean look at the damn sky. I’m guessing even it knew who we were trying to meet today.” Onew retorted.

They both laughed.

“We don’t even know where we’re going.” Key commented.

Onew shrugged.

“I just thought we’d keep walking straight and maybe we’d find the house?” 

His lips pursed and his face tightened as the wind blew again. The sudden chill prickled his skin, sending goose bumps across his face and down his arms. Perhaps they should have worn jackets of some kind. It was supposed to be sunny today with warm winds, but verdant moss covered large patches of some of the trees and fallen logs lay down like obstacles in the grass. The day didn't seem as cheerful as the news made it sound. The smell of the air was covered in an earthy acrid aroma that reminded Onew of children who’d played in the dirt for way too long. A part of him thought Key’s magical nature abilities would somehow lead them in the right direction, but said nothing to Key about it. He hoped some small miracle would turn them into a certain path, but so far nothing. Then again, it’s not like there was another way to get into contact with a bunch of anonymous werewolves.

“Wow Onew,” his voice was covered in sarcasm, “you just thought of everything, didn’t you?”

“Hey,” Onew nudged his shoulder, making the boy lean over a bit before regaining his balance. He used the side of the tree to steady himself.

“Arguing already?” A familiar voice filled the silence.

The two boys turned around to find both Taemin and Minho emerging from the side of two neighboring trees like murderers from a scary movie ready to pounce on their victims. Like the drama queen he sometimes steadied himself to be, Key slapped his hand over his chest in an exasperated expression.

“Thanks for scaring the out of us!” He hollered.

Onew arched his brow and turned skeptically towards his friend.

“We?” He questioned.

Key grimaced, cocking his hip to the side in indifference.

“Looking for us?” Taemin asked.

Onew rolled his eyes.

“You already know the damn answer to that.” He retorted.

The boy shrugged.

“Doesn’t hurt to ask.” His silver hair whisked in the wind before flawlessly bouncing back into place. His body made a home on the dark bark of the tree as he leaned against it for support. 

“And you two are out here because?” Key ushered.

“It’s our woods.” Taemin retorted.

Before Key could come up with something smart to throw back, Minho raised his hand.

“We were walking out to attempt and find you two, though,” he paused, tapping his finger against his pultruding bottom lip, “now that I think about it, we don’t know where your houses are.”

“Neither do we,” Onew admitted.

“Mr. Adventure over here was hoping if we walked straight that we’d find you guys’ houses.” Key chuckled.

Taemin chuckled back.

“Trust me, if it were that easy, everyone would be venturing over to our house.”

This time Onew snorted out a sarcastic laugh.

“I highly doubt that.”

Taemin pushed himself off the tree, forcing his chest forward, the seeps of black liquid forming in the corner of his eyes. Onew crossed his arms over his chest and stood his ground, straightening his stature as a means of dominance and never leaving eye contact. In an attempt to stop what should never begin, Key placed his arm in front of Onew while Minho did the same to Taemin.

“Stop,” Key argued.

“Remember, we didn’t come to fight.” Minho cast a stern look in his frenemy's direction.

Both Onew and Taemin looked towards the other and immediately calmed their demeanor though the un-harmonizing feeling was mutual.

“Good,” Minho announced, blowing his breath out.

He moved his arm out of the way as did Key.

“So, what did you guys want?” Key asked.

“You first.” Taemin scoffed.

Minho rolled his eyes.

“We came for friendship.” He answered.

Onew and Key eyed one another before looking at the duo in front of them.

“You two don’t even look nor act like you like each other, but you want to become friends with us?” Onew stated.

Taemin pursed his lips.

“We’ve come to an agreement with our indifferences, but, we assumed if you two really are Tribeless then you would need help with the supernatural world.”

This time Onew scoffed.

“Trust me, we’re fine. The supernatural world hasn’t bothered us before we knew about it, why would it bother us now?”

“Onew.” Key stated, glaring at his friend, then keenly turning towards Minho.

“We came,” he paused for a bit, “to be friends too.” His arm swung out a little as if to put emphasis on the statement. 

“Well,” Minho started, “at least that means we’re all on the same page with something. There’s definitely a benefit from us being friends.”

“But we don’t tell anyone.” The four of them said in unison, pointing their fingers out at one another.

For only a second, smirks went around the small circle they made.

“We’re all definitely on the same page.” Key affirmed. “But where’s the other two that usually hangs with you guys?”

Taemin and Minho flashed looks at one another.

“They were a little preoccupied. Since we have more authority, we decided to come out instead.” Taemin replied.

“And as for helping you two out with the supernatural world,” Minho resurfaced the comment, “you’re going to need all the help you can get. Even if you’ve never come into contact with problems before, you will now.”

“Why?” Key asked.

“Because,” Taemin continued, “weird stuff has started happening ever since you two made your way into the forest. More so you Key, than Onew. Which means, weird stuff is going to keep happening, especially around you two. It’s like before we turned for the first time. We never sensed the way normal Cerberi would sense things because we hadn’t ever transformed into a full Cerberi. Now, our senses are keener, more advantageous.”

“And what about now?” Key asked.

“Now?” Both Taemin and Minho questioned.

“I mean…” he looked around before continuing, attempting to piece the words together. “Turning. Do you turn now? Like on full moons or something?”

The boys chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“You gotta stop taking from the movies,” Minho stated. “They’re made by human perception.”

“The moon is a guide to us,” Taemin responded. “Has nothing to do with changing us. The moon empowers our senses and if ever a lone wolf should be separated from the pack, the moon will lead them.”

“Then what about those black bands you guys always have on?” Onew nodded towards the small bands that embedded themselves in the boys’ skin.

“Maybe we should find somewhere to sit and talk first. Since you guys seem to have a lot of questions?” Minho suggested.

“Alright.” Onew and Key agreed.

Of course, Onew stayed cautious as they were led by the two, while Key simply stared around, sometimes gazing at the sky, sometimes the trees; almost as if he were searching for something he couldn’t find. Onew noticed. When he was going to speak up, Taemin and Minho had already announced that they were at the spot. There was a huge, down-casted hole in the ground that the light from the sky shined into. Scanty and bulky burnished rocks covered parts of the entrance while making a trail down below. Its walls were tall copper stone that made a somewhat irregular shine though there wasn’t a of sunlight in the sky. Once again, the two friends looked at one another.

“You want us to go down there?” Onew asked.

Key tilted his head.

“For some reason, I think it’s cool.” Which is weird seeing as Key was never the ‘cave’ nor ‘nature’ type. But lately, venturing into the woods again was all he could think about.

“Trust me, it’s fine. It’s my den.” Minho stated.

“Your den?” They asked.

Minho ushered them inside, Taemin already having gone in. The boy upturned his lip, his nose wrinkling together as if a strong non-existence stench ventured around the area. It was just as wide and spacious as the woods. Glints of the light outside encumbered the inside, hitting the auburn rocks that sat in the far back of the cave and parts of its ceiling. Key was in awe. His mouth widened and he took into notice the small bits of red coloring that differed in every rock.

“So werewolves changing on a full moon doesn’t exist but a wolf den does?” Onew asked.

“Full moon changes are a supernatural theory brought on by humans,” Minho laughed, “wolf dens are a known fact.”

It was quite silent in the cave, just like outside. Except for the echo of their footsteps, you could hear a pen drop on any close or faraway rock and it could be heard to the human ear.

“So do you two like share?” Key asked.

They both laughed, then made an indifferent face towards one another.

“No.” Taemin sighed. “My den is far, far, from his. On the other side of the woods in fact, where my family house is. These woods are a lot wider and vast than humans give it credit for.”

“I thought…” Key’s voice trailed away.

“Thought what?” Minho asked.

Onew knew what Key was going to ask, but whether Key wanted to continue or not showed otherwise. He stayed silent.

“He thought you two were related.” Onew sighed.

Minho and Taemin abruptly turned towards one another and hysterically began to laugh.

“I thought that’s why you two disliked one another so much.” Key mumbled as the two kept laughing.

“No, no, no, no, no, no.” Minho shook his head. “We are divided, two families. Shindong is my head of the pack and uncle. Heechul is there’s.”

“Our families are bound by pack and bond to one another, but we’re not related. Plus, for us to have any kind of outside relationship with one another would be against the pack. It could never and will never happen.” Taemin assured.

Key raised his brows, scooting his body over to another area filled with jagged sharp-edged rocks and their moist glistening surfaces, a green reflection of light seeping into their minerals. He found a dry one and sat down, patting on a neighboring dry boulder for Onew to come in join him.

“So, now that we got that out of the way, what’s with the bracelets,” He sat down next to Key but gestured his hands to their wrists.

Both the boys pulled their wrists up towards their faces, forgetting the tightened material that was somehow apart of them.

“The band keeps up from transforming into Cerberi. Without them, our transformations are…uncontrollable.” Minho stated.

“Have they ever come off??” The sudden intrusion of question from Key made Onew bend his head towards his friend’s direction.

“Gosh, Key, can the man even try to finish his sentence before you push your way through.”

“Sorry.” His voice was low as he squinted his body inward. “Dumb question.”

While their attentions were away, Taemin eyed Minho expectedly, nodding the tip of his chin towards him in a very minusculed manner. Minho nodded back. They were thinking the same thing. There was no doubt about it now, Key was definitely keeping something important to himself and it wasn’t a simple ‘he’d fallen and messed up his arm during his night in the woods.’ Their worries only grew with confirmation. Was there really a rogue amongst them?

“It’s not a dumb question,” Minho went on. “You guys are new to the supernatural community, questions are expected. But no, since our first turn, they’ve never come off.”

It was a lie.

To a degree.

On the night of Key’s incident in the woods, their bands had, in fact, malfunctioned and allowed their uncontrollable wolves to be let free. Though they were told Cerberi don’t automatically attack humans as movies would suggest, there was that nauseating feeling set in the back of Taemin and Minho’s minds that perhaps during their outbreak of freedom, their wolves had accidently hit Key without realizing. Either that or the unfortunate circumstance of a rogue being on the loose. Either way, the realization of Key getting hurt that night because of some supernatural being was becoming more and more depressing news.

But to keep their lie going, Taemin stuck out his arm so that both boys could clearly see the skin-tight attachment the band had to their bodies. He tried scratching at it with the tip of his nail but it barely marked the surface.

“You can try to take it off if you want,” Taemin suggested, eyeing both of their disbelief.

Onew shook his head.

“I won’t be the cause of some wolf being on the loose. No, sirree.” He shook his head again.

To even ask the two to do such a thing when none of them were sure just what kinds of creatures the boys were, was risky in itself. Minho eyed Taemin with a worrying expression; a look that both Key and Onew missed. But Taemin ushered his free wrist towards Key anyway.

“Key?” He asked.

Key’s lips pinched together as he thought about it, but curiosity overfilled his movements, and he found himself reaching over, attempting to touch the black elastic that was keeping the boy’s wolf at bay. Minho bit his lower lip. This was dangerous territory Taemin was treading on. If Key really could be the cause of them transforming, then one touch would be a bad ending for all four of them.

Key’s hand touched the black material.