The dinner table was silent. Jinri sat across from Luhan, who kept his eyes trained on her. The others were focused intently on their food, and Jinri got the feeling that they were scared to say anything.

“Soooo…” She began. It seemed to be some kind of catalyst for action because all at once, she was bombarded with apologies from Suho, Tao, Sehun, Luhan, Kris and Lay. The effect was a rather chaotic clamor for dominance, which Suho eventually won.

“We’re sorry we didn’t say anything earlier,” He said, his tone unusually heavy and apologetic. “We didn’t exactly know how to bring it up.” He paused, and his look turned even more solemn, if possible.

“Does it change your mind about us?” He asked. Twelve pair of eyes now focused solely on her, anticipating her answer. She stared back for a moment before letting out a laugh.

“Of course it doesn’t,” she reassured them. “It’s a bit shocking, but like I said, short of being possessed again, I don’t think anything is going to change my mind.” She looked at Tao as she said this, remembering their earlier conversation.

“So you’re not mad at us for not telling you?” Sehun asked. Jinri shook her head. Her look grew serious as she answered.

“I know you don’t trust me yet,” she began. “I don’t trust you all just yet. It’s natural – we were thrown into this situation with no ability to be able to say ‘no’ or to choose another path. If I really had a choice? I would run as far as I could in the other direction. As I’m sure that if given the choice, you wouldn’t want to change into a wolf, you wouldn’t want whatever power you possess. I don’t know how or why we were brought together like this, but that’s the way things are. It sounds all movie-drama-inspirational, but it’s true. There really isn’t anything we can do about this situation besides accepting and adapting.”

The table was silent as she spoke, an understanding passing between them. When she was finished, she stood and took her dishes to the sink.

“Now, what’s for dessert?”

______

Three hours later, Luhan stood nervously outside of Jinri’s bedroom door. He had been standing there for a few minutes contemplating whether to knock or not. He wanted to talk with her; about nothing really, just talk, but it made him nervous when he knew he shouldn’t have been.

“Luhan? What are you doing?” He spun around to see her coming down the hallway, a bowl of cereal in one hand and a glass of milk in the other.

“Oh, I was just going to see if you were in there,” he explained sheepishly. He felt stupid all of a sudden and gave her one of his little smiles. “But it looks like you’re out here, not in there. Mystery solved. Good night!” He turned quickly on his heel and walked quickly to his own room before she could answer. Raising her eyebrow in amusement, Jinri shook her head and entered her room. Just as she was setting herself up at the desk, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in, Luhan!” she called, and after a moment of hesitation, the door opened and Luhan came into the room. She gave him a small smile before returning to her task of her late night snack. He stood awkwardly by, waiting for a chance to start the conversation.

“So, what’s up?” She said, through a spoonful of cereal. “I thought everyone would be sleeping by now.”

“Suho took a group out for a run,” Luhan explained. She nodded her head in understanding. He rubbed his neck sheepishly. “I didn’t think you would be up either, actually.”

“Dinner was good, but I got hungry,” Jinri shrugged. “I’ve been hungry like a wolf ever since – Oh. Sorry.” She looked away a bit embarrassed, and took a bite of cereal.

“It’s okay,” He laughed, realizing her almost-mistake. “We were trying to hold back because you’re here, but…”

“Please, my best friends are guys, I think I can handle it,” She said, an