Kris walked up cautiously through the stone arch right outside the forest.  His breathing was shallow, his palms were grimy.

He turned to Baekhyun.  "Stay close."  He said to the rest of the group, "Stay here.  If we're not back in thirty minutes, then come.  Understood?"

"Understood," the group repeated solemnly.

With that, Kris and Baekhyun walked through the arch with extreme alertness.  Deafening silence rang with their cautious breaths.  Kris constantly looked back to make sure Baekhyun was still there.  Owls hooted annoyingly.  Both boys' ears twitched at the sound of a howl.

"They're close by," Baekhyun interpreted.

"Yeah," Kris whispered.  "Let's head that way."

They slowly walked towards the dead hill next to them.  The grass was yellow and grey.  They entered the forest as they reached the top of the hill.  Cobwebs weaved through the leaves.

All of a sudden, growling wolves surrounded the two boys.  The wolves snarled and spat.  Kris and Baekhyun transformed into their wolf-forms, ready to fight.

A black wolf with red eyes broke the circle.  He smirked and stepped forward towards Kris.  "It's been a long time, brother."

"What do you want, Jae?" Kris spat.

"She's here, isn't she?" the wolf smiled devilishly.  "The destined child."

"She's got a name you know," Baekhyun shot.  "And yes, she is here.  To kill you."

Jae chuckled darkly.  "Do you really think a little girl is really going to stop me?  The world will be mine to dispose of."

Baekhyun shook his head.  "It's over.  The real ruler has come."

Jae growled menacingly and pounced at Baekhyun.  Baekhyun dodged skillfully and landed on top of him.  Jae rolled over and scraped Baekhyun's exposed stomach.  The poor wolf-boy cried out in pain.  Out of retaliation, he swiped his claws across Jae's face, giving the black wolf a new scar to marvel over. 

Kris growled and broke the two wolves apart.  "Stop."  He turned and glared at his brother.  "What do you want?  If you wanted a fight, then you're wasting our time."

"Oh, you can go," Jae waved him off.  "I wanted to see her."

"Never," Kris snarled and helped Baekhyun up.  They both changed back into their cute boy-forms.  Kris turned back around.  "If I ever see you again, don't expect me to be as nice."

Jae only smirked.

As Kris helped Baekhyun, who was doubled over clutching his bleeding stomach, down the hill, Baekhyun suddenly collapsed.  Panicked Kris immediately checked his wounds.  They were deep, but not life-threatening.  He quickly hoisted the boy up in his arms and ran out of the arch.

"What happened?" Luhan came up and took Baekhyun from Kris.

"Things got a bit out of hand," he explained calmly.  "He should be okay."

Luhan side-glanced at Kris with a questioning look before proceeding towards the castle.

--

Arwen sat worried at the window.  Her heart nearly skipped a beat as she saw Luhan appear around the corner with Baekhyun bleeding in his arms.  She hurriedly ran towards the door.

"What happened?" she asked as Luhan dashed through the door.

Kris came walking up the step.  "I'm sorry, Arwen.  Things got a bit messy.  I tried to stop them..."

"Idiot," she whispered teasingly as she sat down next to Baekhyun on the couch.  "The things you do..."

Baekhyun opened his eyes and smiled.  "I'm okay."

She lightly brushed her fingers over the wound.  He winced slightly.

"No you're not," she told him.  "Did Jae…?"

Baekhyun moaned.  "Argh, it hurts!"

Lay came up and put his hand on Baekhyun's stomach.  Immediately, the blood evaporated and the wound closed.  Baekhyun sighed with relief and looked up at him. 

"Thanks, Lay," he smiled.

Lay smiled back and pat his shoulder before disappearing into his room down the hall.