SKYE’S POV

I woke up to a gold ball of fluff asleep on my chest, and I pushed the fox Key off me gently. I stretched, ignoring his mewl of protest when I woke him up. Key shifted back, rubbing his eyes with slender fingers.

"Where do we need to go?" I asked. Key shrugged, pulling a map from his backpack. He pointed out a large clearing in the center of the forest.

"We just need to go through the clearing we’re in, through some underground caves and that large section of briars, around that bog and past the river where the water kelpies live." Key smiled in satisfaction, ignoring my shocked look.

"We JUST need to?! Do you know how dangerous this place is?" I asked, pulling a clump of berries from the bush of me.

"Do you?" Key asked, swatting the berries from my hands. "Those are poison."

"This isn’t a good idea." I said, crossing my arms stubbornly. Key shook his head, giving me a reassuring smile.

"I grew up in these woods, it’s just been a while since I’ve been in them. Cut me some slack. I promise I’ll get us through safely." Key said. I nodded, giving him back the map and shouldering my pack. He did the same, leading the way through the trees.

Key chattered on and on for hours. Seriously, this fox didn’t stop. I learned all about his friends, crazy family, and his hobbies-whether I wanted to or not. After several hours, Key paused in front of a large rock, sighing in satisfaction.

"Here we are." Key said. I looked around in confusion, wondering what he was talking about. Key grabbed a torch from his backpack and lit it with a little shoot of fire from his hand.

"The Underground Caves of Despair. Just like home." Key chirped happily, leading me inside. Wait a minute, the Underground Caves of Despair? He totally left out the despair part earlier.

"Key, I’m not really feeling so good about this." I mumbled. Key ignored me, gripping the wall to avoid slipping on the wet rocks below.

"It’s really quite alright." Key said, continuing to talk a mile a minute. We kept going through smaller and smaller tunnels, not stopping at all.

"Are we almost there?" I asked, unable to keep myself from whining any longer. Key nodded, smiling back at me reassuringly.

"We’re almost to the halfway point. That’s where we’re spending the night." Key said. What?! I had no desire to spend the night underground, in these cold, wet, slimy caves!

"Key-" A loud roar cut me off, vibrating through the cave and making several rocks splash into unseen puddles. Key froze, and I did the same, scooching closer to him.

"What was that?" I asked. Key gave me a shaky smile, then widened it almost immediately.

"That? That’s Despair. These are his caves after all." Key said, continuing on. In the light from his torch, the shape of a massive lizard filled one wall.

"Key." I whispered, tugging him to a stop. The gruesome silhouette of the lizard growing larger, showing his large horns and the plumes of smoke coming from his nostrils.

"Don’t worry about it." Key said. Another roar shook the ground, followed by a slithering sound. I clung to Key in fear, certain we were about to die.

"Who dares disturb my caves?!" A low, growling voice demanded somewhere near our feet.

"Hey, Despair! It’s just Key. I brought a friend, I was wondering if we could stay with you for the night?" Key asked the darkness. I waited a beat, sure we were going to be eaten anyway.

"Key? Long time no see!" The deep voice rumbled, and I looked down. A tiny salamander looked up at me, puffs of smoke coming from his nostrils and his tiny horns quivering.

"Who’s your friend?" I jumped as the massive voice came out of the tiny salamander, holding in a laugh. This was Despair? But he was so cute!

CHANYEOL’S POV

I yawned, finally getting up from my first good sleep in a while. Pulling on my sweatshirt, I got up to go continue looking for Skye. I jumped back when Baekhyun appeared in front me. I ignored him, walking right through his form and out the door. I could hear him following me, the whisper of the wind he created brushing against the walls.

"Chanyeol, wait up!" Baekhyun called. I ignored him, dropping down to the ground. I froze as a loud howl sounded in the distance. Lu Han.

"Has anyone seen Lu Han?" Kris demanded immediately, the wolves around the campfire looking around. We all shook our heads, looking for Lu Han. He and Sehun were completely recovered, and had been out in the forest earlier this morning.

Sehun suddenly burst through the treeline, running frantically. He waved his arms, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"What is it?" Jongin teleported immediately to where Sehun was, yelling back with the other.

"Intruders!" Jongin yelled. I frowned, wondering who on earth was able to find us. My answer came when sleek black wolves streamed from the trees, a giant silver female leading them.

"Aww, ." Chen muttered next to me.

"We just built the new treehouses too." Xiumin muttered back. Kris and Suho were busy, facing off in their human forms against the wolves in front of us.

"Fey." Kris’ voice rumbled. The silver she-wolf tilted her head to the side, eyes flashing as she shifted back to human form.

"Kris. You knew you couldn’t run forever." Fey purred, crossing her arms. I felt my eyes glow, remembering how Fey and her pack had attacked Skye and I earlier.

"If you and your mutts leave now, we won’t have to fight." Suho said, still trying for a peaceful outcome. Seunghyun’s clan stood up with us, also prepared to fight. Fey’s pack was very powerful, but had also attracted many enemies.

"Us? Leave? No, this is our territory. And we’ve had enough of you pups messing with our plans. The only way to escape us is to die!" Fey said, her striking silver hair curling over one eye. She was only a few years older than us, but very strong.

"So be it." Kris snarled, snapping his claws out. He growled, Suho joining him, and Fey answered their challenge.

"Whatever happened to that pretty little mundane?" Fey mused out loud, a sickening smile curling her lips. "When we’re done with you, we’ll kill her next."

"No!" I yelled, leaping forward at the closest wolf. Just like that, it was utter chaos.

I know, it’s super short but I’m already late for work! What I do for you guys...

Please leave me a comment to let me know you liked it! Kamsamnida, saranghamnida~

-Sujin

<3