WARNING: Violence, blood, minor death. It's not extreme don't worry, but I felt obliged to mention it.

JinJu had, over the years, trained her body-clock for early rises. So naturally, she was already beginning to stir when Zitao knocked on her door, at the ripe hour of four am.

"JinJu?" he whispered, cracking the door open. She sat up in the huge bed she'd previously sprawled herself out on during the night, the satiny sheets rumpling around her as she groggily scratched her head.

"Yeah?" Her voice sounded like that of a sixty-year smoker, and both of them winced slightly at the grating sound.

"Can you be ready in 15?" JinJu nodded, and Zitao looked relieved. "You don't look like the type to dawdle. Oh, don't forget to pack those." He pointed at the white bags still in the corner of the room, and JinJu groaned. Clothes, clothes upon clothes was what that bag held, clothes that, while practical and comfortable looking enough- aside from some ridiculous pieces- were what you'd expect to find on a high-society Shifter woman. Not a 17 year old Defective girl.

"Why?" she asked, small voice bordering on a whine.

Zitao smiled, leaning against the doorframe. "Because without it you'd stand out too much. We are aiming to move around virtually unnoticed- Defective riding with Shifters wouldn't exactly be blending in now, would it? Knowing the government here, they'd find some way to arrest you. Chanyeol got clothes too, which he will most certainly be taking. It's for your own good."

"Oh. Well, in that case, thanks," she replied, if somewhat sullenly.

"No, no, don't thank me," Zitao's grin morphed into a teasing smirk as he absently drummed fingernails against the oaken doorframe, "Thank Oh Sehun. He's the one that bought them after all."

The Walker was very quickly kicked out of the room; JinJu proceeded to pack the new clothes with a sour expression, hating that Sehun bought them for her. She didn't want to owe that Shifter anything.

"I'm not supposed to be awake this early," Luhan rasped, squinting at Zitao who had been handing out pastries given to him by Sehun's chefs down the aisle of the bus. "It goes against everything I've ever believed in. Fundamentally, I can assure you that this is not right."

"Mm," Zitao agreed, "That's nice. Take the croissant now, Luhan." Pastries were brusquely passed around the clump of Shifters at the back, before Zitao turned to return to his seat. He paused as he passed by where JinJu and Chanyeol sat, looking over at the girl with a surprised smile. "That's right!" His exclamation had JinJu looking up suspiciously. "JinJu, swap with Kris- you wanted an explanation, no?"

JinJu's expression brightened considerably as she rose, just as Chanyeol's soured. Wordlessly, she tailed Zitao to the front- Kris, however, didn't make any move to relocate. "You were serious about that?" he asked incredulously, as though the thought of Zitao wanting anybody but Kris beside him was unfathomable.

"Deadly." 

And deadly was Kris's face as he, after sitting still momentarily, letting Zitao's words marinate, got up and took a seat behind a dozing Suho. His lips were pursed, almost exactly mirroring Chanyeol's own frown; both glared daggers at an unknowing JinJu, the girl settling into her seat somewhat happily, smiling at Zitao.

"So..?" The engine rumbled quietly, gravel crunching faintly from outside as they rolled out of the driveway. It seemed like night still, the sky dark and stars concealed by overhanging clouds; Sehun cracked his eyes open for a few moments, watching somewhat mournfully as his house drew further and further away. 

"So what?" Zitao spared a glance over at JinJu, who was too busy shoving chunks of danish into to notice his bemused gaze.

"Go from the start," she replied around a mouthful of food, words muffled and cheeks bulging. 

Zitao snickered, "The very start. Fine. Well, I guess it properly begins in Ilo..." 

He proceeded to launch into a story, of sorts, narrating to JinJu where he'd first started, with Kris, then explaining the King of Indion's rash intentions and the real reason behind the stirrings in Defluo (which he, funnily enough, also had to clue her in on). 

He went on for an hour, and JinJu appeared to hang onto his every word as he spoke, bringing to life images of Kris stalking angrily through the desert as Zitao stumbled behind, trying to catch up wearing that infuriating, all-knowing grin of his, and Zitao scaring Sehun silly by means of persuasion (and perhaps fabrication- Zitao alluded towards telling Sehun lies, but wasn't overly clear on it). 

Meanwhile, down back, the Shifters had all fallen back to sleep, aside from Jongdae, who had been inconspicuously listening to Zitao speak. Suho, too, slumbered in his chair, a trail of drool making its steady way down from the corner of his agape mouth. Kris and Baekhyun were both awake, with Kris sulking (still) over his earlier displacement and Baekhyun trying to concoct ways to regain Chanyeol's trust and possibly start a conversation with him in the process.

Speaking of the Defective, he'd spent the entirety of the bus trip alternating between glaring at the back of JinJu's seat, then Zitao's. He couldn't really pinpoint exactly what made him so angry, but he was fuming.

By the time they were an hour and a half in, JinJu was beginning to look bored, Zitao noted with disappointment- it was rare that he found a person willing to listen in as he explained the finer points and intricacies of the concept of Fate. When she stifled a yawn, Zitao broke off mid-sentence.

"Am I that boring?" A faint blush crept over her cheeks, lips curving in a sheepish smile, and he scoffed in mock indignation. "Well, you could at least lie and pretend I'm not slowly putting you to sleep."

"I've never been big on lying," she laughed- but the noise quickly turned to a wary hiss as Zitao took one hand off the steering wheel and pressed it to his heart, feigning hurt.

He groaned dramatically, inwardly smirking at JinJu's worry. "You wound me! And here I was believing that I was good at storytelling- like a fool..."

"Yeah, yeah, you're not all bad," JinJu told him hastily, "So put your hand back on the wheel, alright?" With a chuckle, the hand was returned, and JinJu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey, JinJu?"

"Hm?"

"In the glovebox compartment, I've put a large stack of papers that is sort of like a book but not really. Do you think you could get it out for me?" She did so, taking out the yellowed book of sorts, and glanced at the front cover. A small sound of recognition left her lips as she caught sight of the spidery script on the front page.

"This is the Codex?" she asked, tone dubious. Zitao nodded.

"It is indeed. Now, JinJu, we have some very important work to do..."

Luhan slept for two fitful hours before he unhappily woke up at around 6 am, roused by a rough bump in the road that had his head hitting his seat at a very awkward angle. Looking around through narrowed eyes, he found everybody else sleeping soundly in their seats- although in Jongdae and Xiumin's case, he couldn't be too sure. He could only see the back of their heads.

"Jongdae!" Luhan waited for a few moments without reply, then hissed the name again, slightly louder. "Jongdae!"

"What do you want?" he muttered irately, not bothering to turn around. Beside him, Xiumin snorted, and Luhan could only assume that he too was asleep- usually, Xiumin wasn't in the habit of snorting.

Luhan smirked at the back of Jongdae's head. "What time is it?" he whispered.

"Six."

"Am?"

At this, Jongdae turned around. "No, you idiot, you've been sleeping for fourteen hours, yes am!" He scoffed, and Luhan groaned in reply.

"Jongdae, this is not good!"

"Go back to sleep, Luhan." Jongdae's tired sigh rendered Luhan to a sulky silence.

No more words were exchanged between the two, and Luhan really did try to return to that fitful slumber from before, but he simply couldn't do it. Jongin, who was seated behind him, grunted softly as his head hit the hard plastic of the window frame, and Luhan dared to hope for a moment that he might have somebody to talk to in these dark times; but alas, Jongin all too quickly had an elbow subconsciously propping his head up, and he was once again out like a light.

So who, Luhan wondered, who was awake? He straightened up, peering over Jongdae's seat to survey the bus. Zitao was driving, and JinJu sat next to him; Kris was unhappily slouched across the aisle from that Defective, Chanyeol. Said boy looked just as happy as the Walker opposite him, brow drawn in consternation.

Luhan had no idea how to treat the Defective- he wanted to be nice, but he couldn't bring himself to talk to them the way he would another Shifter, nor could he use the polite hostility he'd normally reserve for Walkers. They weren't equals, but they weren't enemies. Walkers were just charity, to put it bluntly, except this case had Luhan feeling a tad bit lost because he simply didn't know what to do. How could he help them, better them? It was only right, he'd concluded, the state of their home was utterly pitiful, something had to be done on his behalf. Now, he just had to devise a plan upon how.

Child of Light - me?
One of a Second Chance- me??
The Halved Man- the 'blinding guy'
Blind Seer- Zitao
The Horse King - Sehun

"Wait." JinJu frowned down at the notepad, Codex balanced on her knees. "Why is Sehun the 'Horse King'?"

Zitao smirked, "Didn't you know? His other shape is that of a horse. I really can't think of anybody else quite as fitting for the title." JinJu was silent for a moment, before she burst into peals of loud laughter.

"What?" she spluttered, "He's a horse? That idiot has been acting all high and mighty because he can turn into a horse?" 

Zitao joined in, chuckling softly. "Keep it down," he grinned, "He'll hear you."

"Ooh, and what'll he do then- trample me? I'm terrified."

Kris watched them laughing, gaze livid. It had been hours since they'd left Sehun's manor- really, hours, it was nearing midday- and the Walker in question had been awake the entire time, thinking, planning. JinJu had fallen asleep for some four hours, as had Baekhyun and eventually, Chanyeol. 

"Okay, okay," JinJu panted, cheeks flushed and stomach sore. "What about the 'Guardian'?" She glanced down at her list momentarily, "Or the 'Beast'? I honestly don't know with those two- they're a lot harder to peg than... The Horse King." Both of them sniggered slightly.

"And here is my problem, JinJu," Zitao mused, "I cannot be sure of exactly who they are, I just know they're involved. I can't have all the work done for me."

"Zitao, you said you couldn't see past the meeting with the 'blinding guy', right?" JinJu bit her lip as he nodded, "So how do you know these are the people?"

"My grandfather- my family has been keeping tabs on these families for generations. At one point, one of us might've known who was who, but now-" He shrugged nonchalantly, then heaved a sigh. "If we did know, the knowledge has long been lost."

"So was it certain, like, did your grandpa and the rest know that you were going to be the one? That you'd lead us?" 

Zitao shook his head. "Things were completely uncertain until I was born. Then we were... Enlightened, I guess."

"Oh. Okay, so-"

"Ahem." A loud, completely deliberate from behind cut JinJu off mid sentence. Glancing in the rear view mirror, Zitao found Kris glaring, eye contact made and held with what looked like fury. "Zitao," Kris said, voice almost a growl, "It's nearing midday, we are all awake, and I believe it's high time we ate." His hostile tone contrasted starkly with the inoffensive words, and Zitao had to fight to keep his brow from shooting up.

"Alright, then. What say you to a drive-thru, then?"

"I say no!" called a voice from the back. JinJu turned around just as the culprit stood. "I don't think I can stay seated for much longer," Xiumin added, and Zitao nodded with resignation. 

"Fair enough. I'll stop as soon as possible." Kris took the news with a curt nod, but Xiumin sunk back into his seat relievedly. 

Thirty minutes later, and Zitao had obtained food through a drive-thru - Xiumin's look of despair was enough to make the Walker laugh slightly, before continuing down the road to what looked like an overgrown car park of sorts, or perhaps a resting spot designed for their exact purpose. The eleven assembled randomly across the decaying cement, weeds growing through the cracks that'd appeared over time, and began to ravenously begin on their cheeseburgers. 

JinJu had demolished her fries in mere minutes, and it didn't take long before her burger too had disappeared, strangled sounds leaving her styrofoam cup as she searched for the final drops of thickshake. This time, though, the rest of them weren't too far behind- save for Jongdae, who had never seemed to be quick about anything, aside from thinking. Xiumin had wolfed down his burger, and had taken to jogging laps around the lot as everybody else finished up.

"Good feed," Jongin said quietly to Luhan as he wiped grease delicately off his fingers, the Shifter laughing with a nod in reply. Secretly, JinJu agreed with him- she hadn't realised how hungry she was until the first bite had passed her lips.

There was one upside to this whole affair, JinJu thought as the group trudged back to the minibus, and that was that she got free food out of it. Good free food, might she add, thinking wistfully to that burger from moments before.

For as long as he could remember, Do Kyungsoo had been hearing a voice.

He was born on Athe, had lived there his entire life in a large house atop a mountain; nomadic and isolated, he lived in the Athenan ranges with his mother, and had barely ever left the place. His memories revolved around his mother - treks up and down the mountain side, being sung to softly, lulled into sleep. Quick hands and sharp gazes as he messed around in the kitchen while she cooked, feet stepping lightly so as to avoid his toddler self. 

He remembered running with his mother, through the forests at the base of the mountain in the dead of the night, silvery light catching their pelts and setting their eyes alight with a malevolent gleam. He remembered watching, concealed, from behind an ajar door as she brought men home, men he'd never seen before, men that were never to be seen again.

It wasn't a conventional lifestyle, by no means, but Kyungsoo was happy and knew nothing else. He gave her space, she gave him space, and in return for the privacy both would put their all into protecting the other. They were a unit. Kyungsoo and his mother- and the dry voice in his head.

It was sarcastic, and not a figment of his imagination- of that he was certain. This voice was another presence within his mind, and while the concept should sound intrusive, possible creepy, he was used to it. 

Kyungsoo first became aware of its presence when he was about 7. Like most 7 year olds, Kyungsoo knew everything, and naturally deemed it a fantastic idea to go makeshift-rafting down the rapid stream just behind his backyard. It's probably worth mentioning that Kyungsoo didn't exactly know how to swim. His mother was preoccupied in the kitchen, and Kyungsoo was alone.

It was no surprise to anybody but himself when Kyungsoo fell off the raft, pieced together by sticks and twine. Reassured at first, he extended his legs to stand- only to realise that there was no bottom, and if there was, he couldn't touch it. And so, flailing helplessly underwater and being swept rapidly downstream, Kyungsoo called out repeatedly underwater for his mom, anyone, to come and save him. Then, it happened.

Swim boy! a voice orde