After having sought high ground, making sure they were not followed, the duo, consisting of Hyunseung and Baeri, had found shelter in a cave. The running had quite exhausted them. Baeri had managed to heal the wounds of the illusionist, resulting in an even greater amount of energy being drained. Hyunseung found himself in a similar situation as the escaping with his injuries had taken a toll on his stamina. He leaned against the cold stone wall of the cave, resting as much as he could, while staying alert. He had casted an illusion to seal the entrance of the cave, but needed his concentration to keep the image as he had envisioned it in the beginning. Being tired didn’t benefit the improvement of his concentration either. Baeri was seated right in front of him, also leaning on the walls of their temporary shelter. She had pulled her trench coat over her, in an attempt to warm her small frame. There wasn’t much they could do except for waiting.

“Yah.” Hyunseung’s whisper rang through the cave. “Get some sleep, you had a watch last night.”

Baeri tilted her head to meet the illusionist’s eyes, arching an eyebrow. “While our fans are chasing us? No thanks.”She refused the offer.

The male sighed, realising that the stubborn elf wouldn’t give in. Then again he was about as, maybe even more, stubborn than she was.

“Rest,” he demanded this time. “I’ll take the watch and when you think you’re ready, you can take over.”

Staring at the taller man in silence for a few moments, Baeri arched an eyebrow.

“And you think your ability of percepting the Vexes’ presence is good enough to keep us safe?” She scoffed.

Hyunseung let out a sigh as he turned his gaze from the girl to stare at his illusion, that covered the entrance to the cave, from the outside world. From the inside, both Baeri and Hyunseung could easily look out. He turned his head again, eyes narrowing, to let his eyes fall once more on the fatigued girl in front of him.

“Look,” he gathered her attention. “I have no idea what is going through your mind right now. Nor do I know exactly, why you are acting strange lately. But if we want to survive, we have to work together. My illusions are useless in a physical confrontation with these things, so I need you to be at your best.”

Baeri was about to respond to the illusionist, but wasn’t given a chance.

“Hurry up and close your eyes, before I make you.” He interrupted her attempt to speak.


Baeri allowed a few seconds of silence to pass, making sure Hyunseung was finished with talking. After confirming it, the elf rose to her feet and took a few steps towards the man.

“You’re not telling me what to do, Jang Hyunseung. I rest when I want to. Whatever is on my mind, is none of your business nor that of others.” She barked at the man, whom remained sitting.

"If you consider yourself useless, just shut your mouth until we find a way to find the others. I seriously wonder how the others put up with your attitude, ordering them around. Especially Chaima.”

It wasn’t the insults that had gotten to him, nor any of the words she had said. It was simply the fact that this girl, Kim Baeri, who happened to be his long time friend and also a woman more stubborn than probably all the goblin’s in the world, didn’t know what was good for her. That is what caused his patience to evaporate within a second, what caused his veins pop in annoyance, irritation and anger. So naturally the man shot up from his spot, approached the girl and grabbed the elf by the collar. She was lifted in the air and pushed against the wall. To his surprise there was no reaction at all from Baeri. She just glared intensely at the man, penetrating him with her furious gaze. Her hands were dangling beside her torso, not even making a notch to move. Hyunseung was internally slightly bothered by her lack of reaction, but let it slide for now. There was another point he had to make.

“Listen up, you obnoxious fool.” He angrily started in a whisper. “Since violence is the only way to convince you, I will use it if I have to.”

Again the response from Baeri was minimal.

“Since you seem out of your mind lately, I take it you listen to what I say if you want both of us to get out of this mess alive. Get your act together or shut up and simply follow me.”

With those words Hyunseung released her and watched her slide down the wall a bit eventually landing on her feet.

“ I am not planning on dying here, leaving Paro in the hands of those bastards.” He added with a silent and cold gaze. “Nor will I allow you to die.”

This time Baeri remained silent. Without words she turned away from the man and walked further into the cave, seeking a spot that wasn’t too dark but still shadowed. Hyunseung’s words had gotten through her and knowing that he was right somewhere, she couldn’t argue. On top of that Baeri realised that Hyunseung must be about as unstable as she was. Filled with worries about Paro, the friends they got separated from and now even her. Baeri knew that Hyunseung was probably one of the most sensitive in their group, despite mainly showing his tough exterior. It was one of the reasons he had become close with Chaima and eventually her. Though her curled friend was better at dealing with him, than she was. After drifting off into thoughts, Baeri found herself drifting back into the darkness once again. The elf managed to get a few hours of sleep and woke up by herself. She stretched her muscles, feeling the exhaustion slowly wash away. When she turned around, Baeri squinted her eyes into the light to find Hyunseung. It took her a while to spot his figure, staring into the distance from near the cave’s exit. She rose to her feet, slipping on her coat before stepping towards him.

“Rested well?” she heard the illusionist’s soft voice ask her, without turning.

“Yeah, I did.” was her response.

Baeri was slightly surprised at his sudden movement. Hyunseung jumped to his feet and turned to the girl, eventually looking down on her. She witnessed his soft smile, but his eyes were expressing the opposite, sadness.  She couldn’t help but wonder what was going through his mind. The duo hadn’t quarreled after that and instead made plans to hunt and find food and water. Neither of them had been able to bring their bags with them, that contained the food, blankets and even spare clothing. Hyunseung was left with his ripped jeans, while Baeri had lost her melee weapons. It left them with no reserves and limited weaponry. The first thing to do was, find clean water and possibly new shelter. Neither of the two knew where they were or how to find the others. Survival was priority, while finding out how to find the rest as well. Of course they had to avoid the Vexes, since even with the two of them, they wouldn’t be able to take down the group that had followed them.

* * * * *

Meanwhile back at the original camp, both Chaima and Dongwoon started gathering the belongings of the other members that survived the chaos that had been the confrontation with the Vexes. From the two of them, only Chaima’s bag had survived the ordeal, while Dongwoon’s was burnt to ashes. There were two other bags. They recognised one as Yoseob’s and the other as Gikwang’s. Yoseob had a large pouch filled with several ornaments that would aid his spells, while Gikwang had a small pouch with small weapons and bits of animal food. There was nothing else they could find, assuming they were either taken with or burnt unrecognisably by Chaima’s flames like Dongwoon’s bag. After finishing at the scene, the two started wandering around the forest in an attempt to find the others, or at least hints to find their tracks. The Vexes they found wandering the forest, probably also seeking them and their friends, were instantly taken down upon discovery. Neither of the two talked much in the beginning as they solely focussed on their reuniting. It was Dongwoon who broke the silence after a while.

“Let’s take a rest and eat something. We won’t last long if we keep going.” He voiced his opinion, noting the setting sun in the distance.

Chaima had followed his gaze and nodded upon seeing the same scenery of the sky turning orange slowly.

“Yeah. I have some bread and meat from breakfast. And I managed to slip some apples into my bag. So we’re good for a few days if we’re careful.” The brunette informed.

“Good. I still have some water in my flask.” Dongwoon pitched in.

Satisfied the two made a small camp, without fire, near a big chestnut tree. They decided not to make a fire in the beginning, in case they lured the Vexes towards them. Once the two satisfied their appetites and thirst, they started making an effective plan on taking out the Vexes and following their paths to their friends, knowing that they were still chasing their victims. Once the outlines of the plan was formed, the two took turns to sleep while guarding the other and the remainder of their belongings. There wasn’t much they could do but wait and advance as much as they could by day. They needed their rest, knowing that a confrontation with foes other than Vexes was just a matter of time. Besides they had to save a little girl they had grown to treasure, from the grasp of their foes. And also make sure that her curse wouldn’t be used against her will. Both Dongwoon and Chaima knew that it would happen in time. Once the enemy learnt of Paro’s abilities, there was no way they would ignore them.

* * * * *

Gikwang and Junhyung had a harder time than Chaima and Dongwoon defeating the Vexes that chased them, but of course they were better off than Baeri and Hyunseung. Both men were short range fighters and despite the unusual pairing, they managed to work together perfectly well. Gikwang had limited the summoning of his beasts to a minimum, not wanting them to fall victim to the Vexes, knowing how much more powerful they were than normal animals. Junhyung had coated himself with an effective layer of armor, while taking down his enemies one by one. The two had found shelter near a small pond with water and plenty of greens. Gikwang was familiar with the species of wild around them and could effortly distinguish the poisonous from the edible. Although Junhyung had remained calm for most of the time, he had noticed that Gikwang was quite alert and edgy. The smallest sound could make him whip his head towards the source, probably anticipating something, or someone.

At first the shapeshifter had tried to ignore his friend’s behaviour, knowing that questioning it would worsen it. But even after sunset, the beast tamer couldn’t calm down, resulting in lack of rest. Around this time, Junhyung’s patience had started to wither slowly, slowly growing anxious and crazy by the dark haired. He was sitting against a rock, with his back leaning on it and both hands cushioning his head from the hard material. His eyes were glued on the shorter man in front of him, who was throwing pebbles in the water, in an attempt to make them bounce on the surface. It had started out well, and Junhyung had seen some of the small stones reach their seventh jump. However as time passed and Gikwang drifted more and longer into his thoughts, the jumps reduced. From seven to five, then to three and in the end, they wouldn’t even bounce and simply sink to the bottom of the pond. A sigh escaped the man’s lips as the shapeshifter pushed himself to raise and approach his friend. A hand landed on Gikwang’s shoulder, startling him.

“What’s up?” He heard the familiar voice speak.

He let out a puff of air in relief, before gazing down at his reflection in the water. “Nothing… Just…”

“Let me guess,” Junhyung continued after the man fell silent. “You’re worried.”

He saw Gikwang nod and a small grin formed on Junhyung’s lips. “About a certain someone.”

And that was when Gikwang’s head turned to stare at his friend questioningly.

“And not just a certain someone. Being this worried about that person… She must mean a lot to you. Kim B-...”

“I’m going to sleep.” Gikwang interrupted Junhyung after firmly sealing his mouth with his hand.

The latter smiled as he watched the beast tamer walk over to the spot he was resting moments ago and turned back. Once left behind, he was alone with his thoughts. Thoughts he, at least, could conceal better than the others in his group. And maybe for the best.