"So, you're trying to tell me," Chanyeol begun slowly, "I've been 'fated' to join a group of Walkers and Shifters, the people who guaranteed my family this way of life, to save the world from a... demonic apocalypse?"

Only the Shifters and Walkers sat on the dusty floor with Chanyeol at this point; he'd long since put his family to bed. Zitao nodded in response solemnly, and Chanyeol looked near ready to hit the man.

"No." Jaw rigid, Chanyeol got up off the ground. "Absolutely not. Get out of my house. Please." 

Zitao sighed, as though he foresaw this coming- which, in all honesty he probably did. "Chanyeol, I'm not lying to you. We need you." The expression on Chanyeol's face was akin to what you might find upon a bear woken in the middle of winter.

Sehun and Jongin were the only two in the room left standing, and it was a miracle that Chanyeol hadn't recognised Jongin yet. It was obvious what regard the pair held Defective in: Utter contempt. Xiumin looked positively uncomfortable in the space, Suho mimicking the sentiments and Jongdae was unreadable. Luhan, ever compassionate, looked revolted, not at the prospect of being in a Defective house but rather the derelict state said house was in, and Kris looked positively in pain - it wasn't everyday you had to rethink your own society's policies, after all, no matter what lengths you'd gone to to remove yourself from it. He was still Skinwalker, but seeing this felt wrong, made him feel wrong. Baekhyun was guilty and sad, and his eyes kept flitting over to Chanyeol, who had steadfastly refused to look his way even once. Sehun and Jongin couldn't care less though and were about one minute away from walking out of the small shack, spitting on the doorstep as they went.

You couldn't get more societally conformed than Sehun, and Jongin had always been a conventional, normal, mainstream kind of guy. Defective were filth in their eyes, and this one was no different from the rest. If they had to get on that bus with him... Words would be had. Blood would be shed. Heads would roll.

"I don't care if you privileged s need me all of a sudden, I'm not going. We've needed your help for the past few centuries, yet nobody cared much for us, did they? Besides, demons don't exist." He strode to the door, gesturing flippantly. "Go."

"Chanyeol, we can do this the easy way, in which you get in our bus without complaining- I'm not even asking you to be civil, just no complaints- or we can do it the hard way, in which we will go get something you love, and then see how compliant you're feeling." 

Chanyeol blinked at Zitao's steely threat. "I still have your knife you know," he finally spat, "And if you go anywhere near my family I will cut you up so bad that you won't be even able to watch us as we run away." Jongdae blanched at the prospect; Kris balled his fists, silently accepting the challenge.

Zitao, however, only smirked. "Chanyeol. I already promised we wouldn't hurt your family." There was a sing-song quality to his tone, one that was taunting but ominous at the same time. "Now are you going to come yet?"

Chanyeol raised his chin defiantly, and the look that crossed Zitao's face was almost pure evil. "Oh, ," Kris whispered- when Zitao wanted to, he could be absolutely demonic.

"Fine." He turned to the door. "As you wish." Then, without looking back, Zitao left. Everybody watched the door close slowly for a moment; then Sehun and Jongin too exited, happy to finally be out. Chanyeol watched the rest trail out confusedly, mouth agape in disbelief.

The silence they left behind was deafening, Chanyeol blinking at the door in relieved confusion and Baekhyun watching him, still looking tortured as ever.

"That was too easy," he muttered as he begun to walk forward, lock the door; then a hand grabbed his wrist, and Chanyeol growled because he knew exactly who those slender fingers belonged to. 

"Chan, I promise I h-"

"I don't want to hear it." Roughly, Chanyeol jerked his arm out of Baekhyun's grasp. "Now isn't a good time, Baekhyun- give me a month, then maybe I'll... I don't know, tolerate you."

Resignedly, the Walker nodded. "But Chan, before you kick me out," he caught the taller boy's eyes, gaze solemn, "Just know that Zitao wasn't joking just now, and he sure as hell hasn't just returned to our minibus." Baekhyun took a deep breath, turning to leave with squared shoulders. He didn't bother turning around, leaving Chanyeol with short parting words. "The people in this house aren't the only ones you love, Chanyeol."

Air warping and shimmering around him, Baekhyun changed form, white fur gleaming dully in the dim. He ambled out of Chanyeol's house with ease, muscles rippling beneath his pelt and tail flicking from side to side as he went. Chanyeol watched him go silently- he'd always been transfixed with Baekhyun's leopard pelt, the creature one of such beauty yet danger that it had him in awe that it was Baekhyun in that skin- then frowned as he heard the turning of dust and rapid pattering of paws on pavement the moment he left. Why was Baekhyun running?

Then the full meaning of Baekhyun's words dawned on him, and Chanyeol felt the air leave his lungs. He scrambled to the dresser in the corner, cursing as he d around underneath for the club he always kept, for safety. When trembling fingers groaned the cool metal, Chanyeol was off, running out the door and onto the street, mindlessly treading a path he knew all too well. He could only think of one thing, one face amidst the red that filled his head: Geum JinJu.

Sehun, Jongin and Jongdae had all retreated to the minibus upon leaving Chanyeol's house, not looking back as Zitao began to run down the street, Kris hot on his heels and Suho kind of trotting behind reluctantly. Xiumin had a spot of indecision, before joining the other Shifters in the bus. They all watched curiously as Baekhyun turned snow leopard on exiting the shack around five minutes later, then brows raised as Chanyeol sprinted desperately after.

"The hell is that Seer-Walker doing now?" Sehun muttered, and everyone silently seemed to agree. They'd known the man for less than 24 hours, and yet already one thing was clear: That seer was trouble. Word of reason, but trouble nonetheless.

JinJu was washing up when she heard her mother's shrieks, and needless to say it completely ruined the peace. She frowned, sitting up in the lukewarm water, ears almost perked up as she waited for something else. There was silence; then her mother screamed again, and her father's angry yells boomed through the paper thin walls, and JinJu couldn't jump out of the small tub and grab her towel fast enough. 

Her mind was blank as she wrapped the towel around her, ignoring the biting cold of the cement underfoot; she wrenched the door open, running down the hall with her wet hair dripping water in her wake.

"Mum? Mum! Dad!" It didn't take long until she skidded to a stop, water practically raining down her back at the abrupt halt. She blinked once, twice; then took a tentative step back, shivers running down her spine for reasons other than the cold.

Six pairs of new eyes stared at her, and she barely even noticed her parents huddled against the wall, still in their bedclothes and clutching at one another desperately as they cowered fearfully from the strangers' backs. And with good reason; these men were strong, practically towering over even her father's wiry frame. One stepped forward, one with short black hair and artfully angled eyes reminiscent of a feline's. There was something distinctly animal about him, something serene and beautiful but still feral and dangerous. JinJu knew immediately that he wasn't Defective, and nor were his friends.

"JinJu," he said, and the smile that accompanied the words was so genuine that her wall of distrust slipped momentarily, before righting itself with valour- not Defective! She stepped back again, knuckles white as she clutched the towel to her body with everything she was- all of a sudden, under the scrutinising gaze of these strange men, she felt incredibly exposed.

"What..." she trailed off, regarding the man warily, muscles tensed to flee at any time.

Bang! The door to her left flew open, and JinJu took this opportunity to run, not even stopping to look for the source of the noise. She heard a low, feral growl as she sprinted down the hall, turning into her room and slamming and locking the door behind her. Heavy footsteps thudded down the corridor as she dropped the towel, pulling on the nearest tshirt and she could find before lunging forwards to her cupboard, wrenching it open and rummaging frantically behind the scratchy clothes hung there until she came into contact with cool leather down the very bottom.

Relief, calm, safety flooded her as she pulled the knife out of the sheath; Chanyeol's father had made it, the blade sharp, lithe and deadly. It was the size of a small sword and JinJu grasped it firmly with her right hand, her other brandishing a hairbrush she'd absentmindedly picked up off her desk, confident that she could make even that work as a weapon. Advancing slowly forward with eyes focused on the door, she listened intently to the telltale scratched of a lock being picked. The rest if the house had gone an eerie silent, as though everybody was waiting for her to leave her room. She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply, then opened them with an exhale that sounded almost determined. She had to protect her parents- this was what she'd been practicing for, and despite the look of strength those Shifters or Walkers had about them, she wasn't going to back down now. The odds were low, she decided, but she'd at least be able to buy her parents enough time to escape with the van. JinJu didn't know what these people wanted with her family, but she sure as hell wasn't going down without a fight.

And so she waited, watched the door handle turn slowly and the lock give one final click with bent knees and bated breath. JinJu heard a voice begin to speak as the door was slowly pushed open, but she didn't wait to hear them out.

Instead, she pounced.

Jumping forward, she hooked a foot around the side to fling the door open, then leant back and kicked the intruder with the same leg. In the crotch. He gave a muffled groan, doubling over, and with a yell JinJu moved closer and brought an elbow down on his head, smirking as he dazedly fell to the ground. She delivered two sharp kicks to his gut just for good measure, holding back a chuckle as even more pained noises left the short, blonde man's throat. He was no warrior, that was for sure. Or perhaps she just caught him off guard- either way, he would be down for about two more minutes, so she had to move fast.

"Mum!" she screamed as she sprinted down the hallway, "Dad! Mum, Dad, run! Get out!" Her desperate cries echoed about the room and she narrowed her eyes as the next target came into view- the tall, dirty-blonde. He was scowling, eyes narrowed and shoulders tense and JinJu felt herself waver in resolution because compared to the man from before, this guy was a giant. "Get out of my house," she spat, "Before I take you down like I did your little friend."

The guy looked amused, lips curling as he took a step forward. It was a predatory stalk, everything screamed predatory, and JinJu felt her palms get clammy around the hilt of her knife.

"Kris, stand down." That voice. JinJu's eyes widened, but she didn't take them off the lanky man before her until he'd backed away, hands in the air in a reluctant surrender. Then her head whipped to the side, where the source of the voice stood with hand clasped behind his back and dark eyes downcast and apologetic. "Hi there, JinJu."

"You!" She gasped, unable to articulate anything more intelligent. Byun Baekhyun, Chanyeol's surprisingly likeable Walker friend who should've been in his dorm in Adai- JinJu was beyond confused. Behind Baekhyun, her parents were still huddled against the wall; and while her mother had her face buried in her father's neck, he was giving JinJu a curious look. Why was she speaking to that Walker as if she knew him? She could see the questioning in his eyes, and she averted her gaze to avoid answering.

"JinJu, I promise we aren't here to hurt you," Baekhyun said, spitting out the word 'we' with contempt she didn't know he could even possess. 

"He's not lying." JinJu spun around, instinctually brandishing the knife as she came practically face to face with the black haired one from before, the one who'd known her name. 

"Wh-who... Why are you..." She couldn't seem to finish her questions, each one trailing off mid-sentence, curiosity gnawing at her so incessantly that she couldn't wait to finish the first before asking the next. Her hands still held the knife tightly, but her defensive stance loosened up a bit. He didn't look like he was going to attack.

"JinJu, we need to talk to you," the man said quietly, gaze unwavering, piercing. She swallow