The tension emanating from Jun's very stance was tangible, an aura almost, like a haze of solemnity radiating from his body. His normally friendly eyes were cold and calculating, watching Kyungsoo as though he were weighing him up, finding his weaknesses; Kyungsoo blinked, shoulders hunching defensively despite his very real confusion regarding the entire situation.

It'd been days since he'd been rescued from the Palace - awkward, somewhat mopey days, but days nonetheless. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but Jun and his father had been nice (at least, Jun had - Chen had his moments, but he was standoffish and cryptic for the most part), and Kyungsoo hadn't felt at all threatened by them. Until this morning, when he was all but hauled out of bed at the crack of dawn, not a word of explanation given. A banana had been shoved into his hands as he'd blearily dressed, urged on by an uncharacteristically quiet Jun; he'd been lead outside just after sunrise, pushed onto the outside sprawl of the family's estate with the beginnings of a chill bothering at the sensitive prickling between his shoulder blades. It wasn't as hot this early - which was why they'd brought him out at this time he supposed.

They just stood still for a moment, Jun eerie as ever, watching and seemingly waiting. Kyungsoo had seen this before - his mother was patient to a fault. She'd remain stock-still until her prey wasn't expecting anything, and then...

Kyungsoo shot Jun a final, wary look, before glancing over to Chen. The man had known this was happening, that much was certain. He'd erected a fold out chair for crying out loud, and was now watching with that usual poker face, hands clasped over his belly and eyes narrowed pensively. Was this a test? Or maybe, Kyungsoo thought, maybe they were out for revenge after all? He hadn't gotten those loathing vibes from them, but a lot of people hated Reina, so as disappointing as it'd be...

Out of the corner of his eye, Kyungsoo caught a flicker of movement; instinctively he growled. Chen sat up in his chair even as he turned to face the oncoming Jun - the man was fast, but Kyungsoo was quicker, bracing himself as he stepped forward and wrapped an arm around his middle, throwing Jun to the side with a guttural grunt and sending him skidding over the dirt.

"What the hell?" he spat, shifting backwards on the balls of his feet, prepared for whatever else may come. Jun sat up with a groan, then looked over to Kyungsoo with an expression absolutely befuddled. 

"Wait - you can fight?" he asked dubiously, all that raging hostility and whatnot gone. The mood had changed instantly, Jun looking harmless as he scratched his head in honest confusion. Kyungsoo relaxed slightly.

"I, uh, yeah. Mother taught me... You know, in case the gene became active or something when I got older."

Jun nodded, "So you were taught to prey?"

"Hunt and kill." Kyungsoo shrugged nonchalantly, "I can deal with basically anything - but only in small doses."

Jun nodded, trying transparently to mask his discomfort. Kyungsoo could still see it though, in the uneasy quirk of his mouth, his unconsciously furrowed brow. Kyungsoo knew what he was, and despite not having spent much time around people other than Reina in general, he could call disbelief when he saw it. Jun couldn't come to terms with the monster that coursed through Kyungsoo's blood, however dormant, couldn't quite accept it as reality.   

"Huh. Well there go our plans for the next few weeks or so, I guess..." Jun trailed off, glancing over at a composed Chen. "I guess we can build on what you've got, but it's already looking - feeling-" he rubbed his shoulder with a exaggerated grimace, "- pretty damn solid."

"You were, uh..." Kyungsoo blinked. "You were going to teach me to fight?" he asked, voice raising a little more than it should've at the end. His posture relaxed completely, back sloping into that default slouch of discomfort. "Why?"

Chen smiled warmly, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "All in good time," he said, and it was probably intended to sound assuring, but Kyungsoo felt nothing more than discomfort, looking away quickly.

Jun coughed. "So... Ever seen the city, Soo?"

"Just Kyungsoo," he corrected firmly, and Jun nodded with a sheepish smile. "And no. We never had the time for sightseeing, you know?"

Jun turned to Chen hopefully, encouraging smile plastered wide across his tan face. "Pa? What say you to an excursion into Glaross?" Kyungsoo nodded at the elder as eagerly as he could muster - he was never really one for shows of enthusiasm. Truthfully, he didn't care where he disappeared to, so long as it was out of Chen's inscrutable gaze. Usually there were hints of paternalism in his manner and words, but for whatever reason, he was plain unpleasant this morning.

"You two can go," he finally croaked, easing himself up and out of his chair. "Have lunch or something, I don't really care - just no stupidity."

"Understood." Jun turned to Kyungsoo with a growing grin, one that would've been infectious did Kyungsoo not have such iron grip over his expression, such an impenetrable poker face. 

And with that, Kyungsoo was bundled into a car, headed straight toward the city of smoke.

Glaross was a mishmash, old and new blending into an almost artistic fusion the further into the city they got. Kyungsoo had only ever been into the city once when he was young - aside from that, he'd frequented lonely mountain ranges and small, rural villages. They were beautiful, yes, but this, this strayed from that naturalistic aesthetic. In fact, it was alive with the exact opposite, the smoke and noises and shouts coursing through the narrow side streets and unevenly cobbled roads, under the elaborate carvings and curtaining umbrellas of small stalls, like some sort of intangible blood, keeping the city thriving, throbbing. 

The bustle made the city, and the colours of the old buildings and tiny shops mixed with the sleek, yet still faintly oriental, skyscrapers, made for an unforgettable sight. Needless to say, Kyungsoo was mesmerised.

Jun had parked the car in the parking lot of an old, packed indoor market, and they'd then ventured into the city on foot.  The colours were everywhere, splashed in form of street side food, or vibrant awnings of cramped houses, or billowing sheets strung up on overhead clothes lines, writhing not with the wind, but the occasional rise of steam or smoke. 

What really had Kyungsoo so enraptured though, was the people; endless throngs, always moving, talking. Forests were alive in one sense of the word - cities were also, but in a completely different way.

Jun was amused, glancing over occasionally at the Kyungsoo's wide-eyed, glassy state as he took it all in. From what he could gather, Kyungsoo wasn't used to people. He'd been sheltered from society - and watching him now, he looked like a child in a candy store, eyes darting this way and that as they strolled, as though unable to fixate on one thing, too in awe of the entirety.

"Not used to cities, eh?" Jun leant in and spoke loudly in Kyungsoo's ear, only just overpowering the din surrounding them. They ducked to avoid a skewed umbrella, and Kyungsoo curiously glanced the old woman doing what looked like embroidery roadside beneath it, then shook his head.

"Mother tended to avoid them - it's hard to suppress appetite when surrounded by so much potential food, you know?" Jun frowned, before jumping aside to dodge an incoming bicycle. "Not to mention, she was always paranoid about being found... Guess she was right for that in the end, but it was always a bit..."

Jun was forever dumbfounded at how Kyungsoo managed to say su