So... did everyone check out the encyclopedia? if you didn't than you're hurting my feelings... It took a lot of work for me to finish it and there's some stuff there that you won't be able to find here. like some backstories for people. also, the curse pages and the other point of views are moving over there so they're gonna dissappear from here. Well, i'm giving you an update so be happy ^^ there's more to come soon i hope.

Comment replies:
@zanne96: Thank You! *gives you a cookie* it's nice to keep it clean here. And the cruelty? that's actually what i prefer to write. I toned it way down though because I didn't want to scare people off. Plus i have the sneaking suspicion that there might be some younger readers and I don't want to scar anyone for life. Yeah, it will get worse though. Anna wasn't originally going to be a very big player in anything, but now she's become this kind of guardian angel so she'll be around a lot. I mean otherwise the guys probably would have accidentally killed Laeri or something. And the kai-bai-bo thing was meant to be hilarious. it's called a comic relief. you use them because normal people can't handle so much sad, and fear, and anger, without going insane... or something. Sorry it took me forever but here you go!
@Kwonnieskitty: Glad you thought it was scary. Even toned down i was going for scare the wits out of people ^^ I like to write scary and violent things. does that make me a sadist? i think so.... oh well! You're gonna like this chapter quite a bit. and if you wonder! it shall be answered!
@Nyokopuppet: Because at this moment you know a lot more than you should because you actually guess, I'm not gonna give you yes's or no's anymore. but thank you for playing. and don't worry, things will start anwering themselves soon. next chapter will reveal a door.
@hello mynameis: -_-' hello...
@maryrsch: well thank you! more of that to come.

Whoa! just realized that for once i got 5 comments from different people! again sorry that i abandoned you but it's done so on to the story!
 

You woke up feeling warmer than normal. Without opening your eyes, you discovered your fingers were gripping onto something silkier than your sheets, and there were arms around your waist with another across your shoulder. You were on your side which meant there was a person in front of you and behind you. Your eyes opened in a flash, but they were still blurry from crying and sleep. You started to thrash around slightly, trying to free yourself while your heart pounded violently against your ribcage. 

"Huh- why- wha- Lae! Wait, Laeri! Calm down, it's me!" Anna said, being awakened easily by the movement beside her. She turned you around in her arms, throwing off Yoseob's arm in the process. Your friend pulled you closer while the blonde merely turned over, still asleep. You tucked your head under her chin and covered your face as you quivered lightly. "Shh, Lae. It's alright. You're alright. No one's going to hurt you."

You shook your head and stopped listening to her. She might believe you were safe, but after that memory resurfaced, you weren't sure of anything anymore. Anna seemed to become aware that you weren't listening because she gave you a deep frown and sighed. "What did I tell you a couple days ago? Trust me. You used to trust me." You closed your ears to her words and your eyes to her disappointed face. She sighed again and tightened her grip slightly. 

The light was growing outside and started making your eyelids turn a soft red color. You blinked your eyes open and perked up your ears. You knew Yoseob was one of the early risers, and you didn't want to be caught unawares if he woke up. Suddenly, the door whipped open, and Gikwang walked in. He grabbed Yoseob's arm and gave a strategic tug that sent the blonde over the side of the bed. "Hello again, Anna," he said brightly while moving to sit on the side of the bed he had just evicted Yoseob from.

Said blonde sat up groggily and looked around in confusion. "Where am I? What happened?"

"You're in Laeri's room, and you rolled off the bed. Hyunseung wants to talk to you," Gikwang covered easily and sent the blonde, looking very disoriented, on his way. Then, he turned to look back at you. You shot upright and scrambled back against the headboard where you perched on a pillow curled up with your knees to your chest. The other turned calmly back to Anna. "So apparently I missed a lot yesterday. That's what I get for going to visit my friends I guess." He gave your friend a half smile while you continued to cower in fright. 

"Mm, I wondered why I didn't see you. They didn't tell me where you went, though, only that you were out for the day." Anna glanced at you out of the corner of her eye and shifted to be more in front of you, an action that you were immediately grateful for. She reached back and patted your hand reassuringly as you continued to stare fearfully at the demon on your bed. 

"So are you going home today?" Gikwang asked conversationally. 

"Yes," Anna said with a nod. "I can't live here, you know." You tensed at the thought of her leaving. 

"Well, you could. We could adopt you," the demon said playfully. 

"No, no. I would miss Tristan too much," Anna sighed dreamily. Gikwang raised an eyebrow and smirked at her. Anna had the decency to blush slightly, and a smile broke over her face. "You just shush, you."

"I didn't say anything," he countered with wide innocent looking eyes. "I might have thought something, but I definitely didn't say anything." Anna chuckled softly and reached across to smack him lightly on the arm. "Well, it was still nice to see you."

You could barely hear Anna mutter, "Even given the circumstances." Both sets of eyes swiveled toward you briefly. You curled down further into yourself. "It's always nice to see you, Kiki."

His eyes widened in surprise, and he groaned while lowering his head into his hands. "They got to you, too."

Anna blinked. "Do you not want me to call you Kiki? Because that's all the other two call you." You were watching the disgruntled demon carefully from behind your hair. 

Said demon sighed. "Yes, I know they do. I find it irritating." He raised his head and propped it up on his left hand. 

"Well, I like nicknames, so I'm gonna go ahead and call you Kiki," Anna said coyly. "That is unless you have a different idea, of course." She smirked at him and raised her eyebrows playfully. 

He stuck his tongue out at her childishly and flopped back onto the pillow. You did a full body freeze and inched slowly away. The demon paid no mind to you and folded his hands behind his head. "How about AJ?"

Anna sputtered for a moment before she started laughing. "And how, exactly, did you come up with that?"

Gikwang shrugged, and his lips pulled up into a half smile. "I don't know. How did you girls come up with Tristan?"

Anna shook her head with a smile. "Point taken. Alright, AJ. It's been lovely meeting you, but I do believe that something wicked awesome this way comes."

The demon's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Did you just make a Macbeth reference?"

"That I did. Vaguely. But I really must be going now." She turned around to face you. You glanced up into her eyes and tried to convey your feeling of despair with only that look. She pulled you into her arms and rested her head on your shoulder. "Lae," she began but paused. "I know that you don't trust them, and I know that this little episode has just made matters a thousand times worse. But you're strong. You've always been strong. You'll get through this just like you always have." You closed your eyes and tried to hear every whisper that escaped her lips. Her faith in you was misguided, but she wouldn't want to listen to that. She pulled back and held you at arms length. "I'm just a phone call away. Don't cry please. Parting is such sweet sorrow."

Gikwang snickered from his lounging place on the pillow. "I never had you pegged for a Shakespeare buff."

Anna glared at him, but his eyes were closed. "Excuse me, Lae," she said as she moved you off the bed, so you were standing next to her. Then, she grabbed the pillow you had been sitting on and chucked it at the demon's head, hard. "Do not mock the great Bard of Avon!"

Gikwang's eyes snapped wide open, the boy seemingly stunned by the sudden attack. Anna still looked miffed, but she smiled at you and gave you a hug before she walked out the door. You stared miserably at the doorway where she had been moments before. You didn't even bother getting back on the bed. Gikwang sat up slowly while you stood there. "Laeri?" You tensed and stayed frozen where you were standing. "Can you come sit back down?"

You slowly broke your gaze away from the door and stared at the sheets. Struck by a form of pure terror, you stumbled back away from the bed. Gikwang let out a sigh. "Please? I want to talk to you about something." You refused to move from your spot several feet away from where he was. "It's important." You shivered but took a minuscule step closer. Taking several deep breaths, you took another tiny step forward. After repeating this process for several minutes, you stood with your knees brushing against the sheets. "Can you sit up here?" You glanced up at him nervously but slid carefully onto the corner of the bed that was farthest away from him. 

You glanced up at Gikwang again when he didn't say anything for a few minutes. He was looking out the window with a thoughtful expression. You waited patiently with a pounding heart for him to say whatever was so important. He looked at you out of the corner of his eye and sighed. "I'm not even going to ask you if you're okay because I know you're not. However, I at least understand what you're going through on a deeper level." His head swiveled, so he could look you straight in the eyes. "I have night terrors, too. That's why I was so tired the other night and why I sleep on the table every morning." You gasped at this new information. He looked back out the window again. "It's easier to sleep when it's light outside, and when I'm around other people. Only Hyunseung and Yoseob know that I have them. Junhyung might too; I don't know. With time, the episodes get farther apart, and the terrors turn into nightmares. You may not cease to have them, but you will be able to manage them better. And we'll be here every step of the way to help you when the terrors come." 

You watched him carefully as his face struggled through a few different emotions before settling on indifference. When he held his hand out to you, you only hesitated for a moment before you crawled over to his side. You let your head rest against his shoulder as his arms wrapped around you lightly. It was a mingling of sadness and comfort that brought a sort of calm to your mind and a stillness to your body. 

Several hours later, a sharp rap on the door woke you from your light slumber. You and Gikwang had ended up falling asleep at some point, probably shortly after he decided to start humming softly. Slowly, you pulled your head off the demon's shoulder. The arms around you tightened, and you heard a pitiful whine as a face nuzzled closer to your neck. There was a slightly louder series of knocks, and the hold on you slackened as Gikwang sat up drowsily. 

"Laeri, are you up?" Hyunseung's voice floated softly through the door. You sat up to go to the door, but Gikwang groaned and walked over before you could even get out of the covers. He rubbed his eyes sleepily with one hand and opened the door with the other. "Gikwang?! What are you doing in Laeri's room?" you heard Hyunseung exclaim. 

"Well, I was sleeping," the younger responded still sounding tired. 

Hyunseung looked searchingly at you and gave Gikwang a hard stare. "You were sleeping? Both of you?"

Gikwang raised an eyebrow at him and nodded. "Yes, we were sleeping. That thing you do to recover energy and relax? Typically at night? Essential for survival, more so for her?" He tilted his head back toward you on the last statement. Hyunseung did not look very amused with the smart Alec response. "Hey, don't make assumptions, and I won't be as irritating."

Hyunseung sighed and relented, "I suppose you have a point there. I apologize, but you can't blame me for worrying. I'm still surprised she let you so close." You straightened up a bit at that statement. 

Gikwang shrugged. "I just told her the truth." He looked over at you calmly. You pulled your knees up to your chest and set your chin on top of them. 

Hyunseung looked surprised at this piece of information. "You just told her? You won't even tell Doojoon."

Gikwang whispered quietly almost to himself, "It's different when someone understands what you're going through. Besides, misery loves company." You wanted to reach out to him, his distraught voice pulling on every heart string. That action was far beyond what you could manage in this state, however. Instead, you unwrapped yourself and tried to seem as open as possible. Being a mute made you extremely aware of how important body language was. This simple movement was as close as you could get to consoling someone, leaving yourself open in case they needed to use you for comfort. 

Seeming to notice this change, Gikwang smiled weakly at you and walked back over to the bed. He climbed up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist. You let him tug you a little closer as his forehead rested against the crook of your neck. His hair brushed against your cheek lightly as his lips just barely touched your neck. You took the feather touch of his lips as a word of thanks. Hyunseung leaned against the door frame watching the interaction curiously. You calmly folded your hands in your lap as he walked forward and sat down on the edge of the mattress. He looked conflicted as he glanced sidelong at your face. Looking at Gikwang, he muttered something in demon tongue to which the younger immediately responded without moving from his position. The secretive nature of this conversation immediately put you on edge, causing you to stiffen and start to shake which got Gikwang's attention. He pressed his lips against your shoulder blade and started humming softly. Your back was pressed against his chest, causing the song to rumble through you. The vibrations calmed the shivering but didn't make you relax your posture. You wanted to close up, but the way you were sitting wouldn't allow it. Your eyes darted frantically around the room. 

Hyunseung noticed you panicking and moved so he was in front of you. "Laeri? It's ok. What's wrong?" Your eyes clenched shut tightly and you shook your head. Gikwang gave you a slight squeeze while continuing to hum soothingly. "I know something's wrong, and you haven't tried to talk to anyone since your incident." You shook your head again and hugged yourself as if trying to hold it together. You didn't like it when your masters spoke in demon tongue. It usually meant they were planning something unpleasant that they didn't want you to know about. You tried to focus on the little Anna in your mind who was trying to tell you to be brave, but you couldn't find even a hint of courage anymore.

"Hyunseung, let me try something," Gikwang said, breaking off his humming and taking his head off your shoulder. He leaned his mouth toward your ear and started whispering in demon tongue. You instantly tensed up and shook, your entire body going into panic mode. Your eyes bugged out, and then closed as tightly as possible. Gikwang stopped as quickly as he started and switched to hushing you. He looked up at the elder and said, "That's what set her off."

"How did you know that was what did it?" Hyunseung asked curiously. You were slowly coming down from the near anxiety attack. 

The younger unwrapped his arms from around your waist and ran his hands across your shoulders and down your arms, carefully coaxing you back down into stillness. "Because I was paying attention to her body. Her heart rate jumped when you started speaking, and she continued tensing after I responded." He continued calming you until you had almost returned to your initial state. His arms wrapped back around your waist, and he nuzzled into your neck. You could feel his lips pressing back against your shoulder through your shirt. 

Hyunseung looked to be thinking about something. You were still a bit jumpy from earlier, so when he looked back at you, you flinched slightly. He gave you a hurt look, and you let your eyes fall to the bed. You knew your response was highly irrational given the fact that Hyunseung had never done anything to upset you before today, but instinct was instinct.

"Laeri?" You glanced up against your will. "I'm sorry I scared you." You dropped your eyes back down and nodded. "I just didn't want to startle you." That caught your attention, your eyes slowly scanning back up to his face. His lips pressed together in a thin line as he cautiously reached a hand toward yours. Your eyebrows crinkled together in confusion, but you let your hand stretch to his, feeling your fingertips brush his palm. He closed his fingers around yours and brushed his thumb over the back of your knuckles. Gikwang raised his head up a bit and found your other hand, intertwining his fingers with yours. 

Suddenly, Hyunseung tightened his grip and pulled your arm forward. He flipped over your wrist while his other hand trailed under your sleeve, carefully pushing it up to your elbow. You heard two harsh gasps and froze. All the strength you had just seemed to drain out of you. It disappeared off to wherever your fight had gone years ago. Your body slumped lifelessly into Gikwang, his arms tightening by instinct. 

You watched blankly as Hyunseung started unwrapping the bloody bandages around your wrists, past the point of caring what happened anymore. All the stress and pain from the past couple days combined and crushed your spirit into a thimble sized shard that hid itself in the darkest reaches of your being, turning you into a statue. You only flinched a little when the wrapping tugged at dry, clotted blood, reopening the cuts. "I noticed this," Hyunseung mentioned while holding up the strip of cloth, "yesterday, but you were too worked up for me to even consider doing anything about it." You watched the blood well up in the slashes with apathy. Gikwang let out a quiet whine and nuzzled into your neck again. Hyunseung looked closer at the scars but glanced up at you after a minute. You watched his eyes sadden when he noticed your hollow stare. He closed his eyes for a moment then looked at Gikwang. The elder reached across you and nudged his shoulder. You felt hair brushing against your cheek again as Gikwang's head rose off of you. "We need to go to the infirmary. I didn't know these were that bad."

You saw the other's head nod out of the corner of your eye. Feeling the bed shift under his weight, you watched the younger demon slip off the bed before leaning toward you. He scooped you up into his arms while Hyunseung got up and walked toward the door. Gikwang followed him out the door and down the hallway. You walked past the first intersection and then the second until you reached the door that occupied a long section of the wall by itself. Hyunseung pulled the door wide open and motioned your carrier through. 

The room had white tile flooring with light blue walls. There were three beds with rollers on the left and three on the right with pull around curtains. Each bed was made up in white sheets and came equipped with an oxygen tank and heart monitor. At the back of the room was a table covered in various items from books open and in disarray to jars full of suspicious looking materials. IV stands stood in a row against the wall next to a cabinet that must hold still more medical supplies. All the beds were vacant at the moment.

Gikwang walked to back of the room and set you down on the last bed on the left. He hovered by you for a moment and looked at Hyunseung. Receiving an affirmation, he climbed up behind you and pulled you back into his arms. You watched uninterestedly as the medic floated around the room grabbing a couple different jars and a bandage roll from the cabinet. He grabbed the back of a rolling desk chair that was by the table and towed it over next to the bed. Sitting down after dropping his supplies next to you on the bed, he grabbed your unbandaged hand and pushed your sleeve back up. He flinched at the sight of your gruesome wounds. Gingerly, he dabbed at the ones that were still bleeding with a wet cloth. Gikwang had tightened his grip on you when the scars came back into sight. His body felt rigid and tight like he was a coiling cobra about to strike. 

"Gikwang, calm yourself. Getting angry about it now will do no good to anyone," Hyunseung instructed quietly. The grip around you slackened, and you felt Gikwang relax with a sigh. He pressed his face back into your shoulder. 

Hyunseung watched him briefly to be sure he was cooling off before picking up a jar with a red-colored liquid. He unscrewed the lid and dipped a finger into the vivid colored substance. Your eyes followed his hand numbly as he traced his finger down the open cuts. Glancing up at your face, he leaned over your wrist and huffed a hot breath onto your skin. 

You let out a sharp hiss and snapped your wrist back out of his hands, cradling it to your chest. The heat had sent a burning wave through every cut on your skin. While it hadn't felt overly painful, the sensation had startled you into a high alert protective mode. Hyunseung simply watched you, allowing you to process the strange feeling still buzzing across each mark. After another minute, he calmly reached forward and grabbed your arm pulling it back out in front of you. Every cut had closed and healed, leaving behind only a thin white line. The new scars looked healthier and safer than the multitude of jagged, rippling scars that had healed over time. 

Hyunseung picked up the other jar and twisted its lid off. Inside, there was a thick white substance baring a resemblance to a gel or creme. He smeared the medicine over the entire afflicted area, old scars and new scars alike. "Gikwang, hold this in place, please," the elder directed while holding one end of the bandage roll against your arm. Gikwang pressed the fabric down with his thumb and helped Hyuseung wrap it securely around your previously wounded wrist. "Good. Now, don't touch," the medic instructed sternly. 

You nodded absent-mindedly, examining the white bandaging covering your wrist to the middle of your forearm. Hyunseung reached for your other arm while you were distracted. When you felt him start undoing the wrapping, you pulled against his hold. He didn't let you escape, but he looked at you curiously. You pressed your lips together in a thin line and looked across the room. The wrapping was stripped away, and you heard two low growls. Your eyes drifted shut as the arms around your waist and the hand on your wrist tightened to just short of bruising intensity. 

Hyunseung got a hold of himself first, letting go of you as if your skin had burned him. You opened your eyes and watched him get up and walk away a few paces, hands running through his hair roughly. Gikwang was still growling lowly and trying to squish you. You butted your head against his jaw in an attempt to get him to release you. He stopped his growling with a slight whine and relinquished his hold on you with unmatched speed. Another short growl rumbled its way out of his throat when he caught sight of your wrist again. Hyunseung turned back quickly and stared hard at the younger. "Gikwang, leave. Go cool off." You heard the door open violently and then slam shut. 

The brand on your wrist mocked you. It said there was nothing you could do to escape. You didn't even own yourself anymore. Some masters liked to use a brand to show ownership. Branding someone on the wrist is used for causing unnecessary pain as well as making it less noticeable. Demons don't like to see possessive marks, though. There are very few demon species who are unaffected by seeing someone else's mark on something they think belongs to them. You had anticipated a sharp response from the two demons. 

Hyunseung sighed and opened the cabinet. He pulled out a few different things and walked back over to you. You noticed a scalpel among the items and narrowed your eyes at the healer. He noticed your stare and pressed the blade against his thumb. A red line of blood started steadily welling up on the pad of his finger. He reached for your wrist. You watched as he swiped a cloth over the brand on the inside of your wrist. The solution on the cloth deadened your nerves to the sting of the scalpel as Hyunseung traced along the lines of the brand, red blood making the design stand out further against your pale skin. He lightly trailed the blade along his own cut once more before pressing his thumb over the brand. You let out a silent shriek as the burning sensation set in again. When you tried to pull away, you were pushed flat onto the bed as Hyunseung pinned you down. Several excruciating minutes later, the burning subsided, and he let you back up. Much like last time, the scar had become a thin white line that was barely visible. 

The healer popped his thumb into his mouth, away the excess blood. He swirled his finger into the red jar again and held his hand out. You presented your wrist with an impassive face, and he trailed the liquid into the cuts again. When he leaned in to breathe on your skin again, you tensed. You didn't freak out this time, but you flinched while the sensation persisted. Hyunseung carefully applied the other salve and wrapped your arm with a clean bandage. He looked you in the eyes while you stared back blankly, void of anything other than emptiness and slight confusion. The demon in front of you sighed and asked sadly, "When did we break you?"

For the first time in ages, your hands raised without a single shake. 

I was already broken. People keep putting me back together, but each time I lose another shard. It was only a matter of time before I came unglued.