"So you exhausted yourself?" Sehun cocked up an eyebrow, partly amused, partly worried.

            Hana lied down on the bed beside Sehun, grumbling and muttering incoherent words. She had recharged a little after drinking two glasses full of blood. She felt particularly lazy that night, rolling in the bed. She had lost a lot of sleep, and she was trying to make up for it. But lying down beside Sehun, knowing that his eyes were on her, didn't help to calm down her nerve.

            "Yep," The girl replied, finally facing Sehun, her eyes brightly shone. He wanted to reach put and held her, talked and cuddled her, but his injuries weren't fully healed. "Did Jaejoong or Kai come here?"

            "They did, when you were sleeping," Sehun replied, leaving out the part where Jaejoong looked pale and worried, and Kai was close to freaking out, if it weren't for Lay, the healer, who calmed them both by saying that she was simply tired and was in deep slumber so fussing wouldn't help much either. "They left for the clans meeting."

            Silence again. It was awkward for Hana. She didn't know what to say. She didn't even know if she should look at Sehun, because she didn't think it would ever be the same again. Sehun stared at her, realizing that her eyes had been on him, but she seemed to be daydreaming about something else.

            "How was Ara? I assume she's been well?"

            Hana snapped back to reality, "Oh, yes. She's..She's great." After a little pause, Hana asked, "Why are Seohyun and Jonghyun so afraid of her? She seems strong... But how strong is she exactly that the two Fallens seem to fear her, as well?"

            "Ara is a special case," Sehun replied, breathing out softly and adjusting his pillow position. He flinched a bit when his wound touched the soft surface. "Because she is the next leader, she is considered as one of the strongest female warrior, comparable to Jaejoong and the two Faery princes."

            "What's her ability?"

            Sehun stopped for a while, remembering the rumors he had heard on the street. The other Fallens refused to talk about Ara's ability, and the other Faeries were mostly clueless about her existence, because a neutral Faery kept their identity a secret from everyone else.

            "Some say it's nullification," Sehun said thoughtfully, "But if it's really just nullification, she can't be that feared. I think she may possess another rare ability, but so far, no one had the real proof about what kind of ability she has. Well, she's Kris' sister. There's no doubt she's special."

            "Kris' sister..." The girl repeated, "Is she mated to anyone? I don't seem to see her with any man."

            "No, she isn't," Sehun pressed his lips together, as if he was thinking hard about the answer, "At least I don't think she is. The Faery Courts, especially hers, has always been very secretive about their lives. We heard rumors, of course, but not detailed ones. They are odd creatures."

            "Aren't they?" Hana smiled in response, laughing a little, "I mean... Looking at Kris, Ara, Suho, and the others, they seem very... odd, yeah. They like to play with riddles. Talking to them can be very confusing from time to time."

            "Probably because they can't lie," The male flinched when he looked directly into a source of light. He squinted his eyes a little and looked away, diverting his gaze to the little details inside this tiny little room. There were only a few beds, all empty except for his and Hana's ones. "They enjoy messing up with your mind."

            It was silence for a few moments.

            "How was the fight with the Elders?" Hana shifted the topic. She was curious about Sehun's last fight that left him with very severe injuries. From what she knew, Sehun was one of the strongest in the Shadow world. Even Kris acknowledged his strength. So how and what exactly happened during the fight had her wondering.

            Sehun moved a little. He was a little bit uncomfortable talking about this. Even remembering it got him chills. "Wasn't the worst fight I had. But well, it was disadvantageous for both Kris and I."

            "We were patrolling around the forest, away from the crowd, when they appeared. Elder Lee and Elder Seo, I don't know if you remember their faces. One of them is a tree wielder, and the other is an earth-bender. We were at a disadvantageous position because of their abilities. It was messy. Lots of blood. Lots of punches and kicks. I was dying when they found me; the wolves. They found Kris earlier, saying that he seems to be fine, except for the deep cut in his shoulder."

            "You suffered worse," Hana stated, "You were at the verge of death when I came in."

            "When you came in, I was a lot better than before," Sehun frowned, touching the wound on his stomach, which was now scarring. The scar would soon be gone, anyway, like nothing had ever touched his skin before. "And that's only because I fought against the earth-bender. I think I would've died had I fought against the tree wielder."

            "Then the other Elders must be as dangerous as they are," Hana said, fear mirroring her eyes, "There are still ten of them, possessing threat as the two did. What would the other clans say about this?"

            "We have very strong leaders in our clans; Jaejoong, Yunho, Leeteuk, Kris," Sehun spoke of them without the regards of their position, and he knew if anyone heard, he would've been beheaded, Prince or not. "They're having a meeting regarding this crisis right now, a meeting we're supposed to attend actually."

            "Kai and Jaejoong will tell us," Hana replied almost as fast. She had grown to trust Kai more than everyone else, almost as much as she trusted Sehun. He was not only a good friend, but he was also a brother, a companion, a partner in crime. He was like the male version of Miyoung.

            "Hey, Hana," Sehun called out to her so casually, which sounded weird, because Sehun was never casual. He was always stiff, always formal. "Are you close with Kai?"

            "Yeah?" Hana raised her eyebrow at the odd question. She looked at Sehun, trying to make out what he was thinking. But as good as she was in reading his mind, there were just things she didn't know of. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, he's the only one I've got when no one else sticks by me. I trust him with my life."

            I trust him with my life... Sehun clicked his tongue silently, feeling a little bit annoyed. Jealousy was more of the word, but Sehun wasn't the type to admit easily. He grew a bit more restless by her answer, especially now that Kai had indirectly purposes to her. It was just normal for him, or for anyone else to feel possessive over someone that should be theirs.

            "Why the sudden question, Sehun?"

            "Let's just call it a man's intuition," Sehun replied shortly.

            Hana chuckled, almost like a soft purr, "What's with your man intuition? You think Jongin loves me?" And she said it as if it was the most impossible thing ever, "I told you Jongin's my friend. A very good friend. He obviously thinks of me the same way."

            "A man knows how another man thinks," Sehun said, and Hana retorted immediately, with a chuckle, "And what exactly does he think of me?"

            Sehun gritted his teeth, hard. He didn't have to blurt it out to Hana that his cousin was in love with her. The way Kai stared at her was so painfully obvious that she might be the only one who didn't notice it. He mumbled, sighing heavily, as if his answer weighed more than a ton of bricks, "He loves you."

            "Are you trying to scare me here? This ain't funny, Sehun," Hana doubtfully cut him off, looking a little bit alarmed all of a sudden, "You said he tried to propose to me when he gave me his blood, but he shook his head and said no..."

            "Are you really clueless or you're just pretending to be clueless?" Sehun shook his head at her, feeling frustrated, "You seriously don't know?" Hana shook her head, slowly getting up from the bed, her hair messy and unkempt, but she couldn't careless. "Are you sure you don't know?" Hana blinked, "No, seriously, Sehun, stop whatever this is. I don't want to hear it."

            "You're ing stupid," The words came out way too harsh because he didn't think when he said it. He felt pity for Kai, but at the same time, he wanted to shake Hana out of her own little world. She was just so... careless and foolish.

            Pain was obvious in Hana's eyes. Then came disappointment.

            "Thank you, Sehun, what a great answer, really," she sarcastically muttered. To be called stupid by someone who meant a lot to you, whom you trusted with everything was just...What was the word to describe it? "You could've just said it in a nicer way, but what do I expect from you... Just when I think you're nicer and all..."

            The girl stopped before she cursed at him. Hana didn't curse a lot, but when she did, she couldn't stop. And she didn't want to hurt Sehun anymore than he hurt her.

            Sehun tried to catch her eyes, but she looked away.

            "Hana..."

            No answer. "I shouldn't have called you stupid. But you are dense. Really."

            Hana took one deep breath of air, before she glared at Sehun, "That, you know. So you think Jongin is in love with me," she added a snort, "Which is freaking ridiculous by the way."

            "You're really stubborn you know that?" Sehun's anger had calmed down, replaced with the glint of amusement in his dark eyes. He stared at her like how he would nowadays, as of there was something so amusing about Jung Hana. "Other girls would've been shocked, at least, or horrified, or maybe even screamed in joy when their best friend's in love with them."

            "I am different, sorry, I like being stubborn, and I don't think Kai likes me that way. I mean... I can't just go up to him and ask,'Jongin-ah, so I heard that you're in love with me. Is that true?' " Hana grinned and sat on the bed, her feet hanging midair. "But seriously, what is this fuss all about, Sehun? You're not usually so chatty and anxious."

            Anxious? Sehun snickered. He didn't even remember feeling that way. He was agitated, sure, because this girl in front of him wasn't only dense, but she was also so stubborn. Well, one day when Kai really did confess to her of some sort, she would realize what Sehun said had been the truth.

            "I'm not anxious," Sehun frowned, his eyebrows knitted together perfectly. His hands were on the bed, supporting himself from falling off. As the wind blew a bit, Sehun closed his eyes, feeling a little bit comfort. Elemental user always felt more at ease when they were around their natural elements, though Hana doubted she would ever get used to fire and heat.

            "Are you jealous?"

            The one question that caught Sehun off guard. When he opened his eyes, he saw her waiting, biting her lips impatiently, like she wasn't sure of him. Hana tried to keep a calm facade, but failed miserably when her heart raced like a bullet.

            "What?" was his only reply.

            Hana also stopped, suddenly looking horrified at her own question. Did she just ask that? Why did she sound so flirty? She didn't want to come off too strong to Sehun, and judging from his reaction, she was scared that she had. Clamping shut, Hana blushed furiously, "Nothing. Forget I ever ask that."

            "No, really, what did you just ask?" He pretended like he hadn't heard anything. The girl opened and closed it, gaping and contemplating, in an unladylike manner. She was just so ashamed of this that she literally had nothing to say anymore.

            "I... I was just trying to... tease you?" Hana timidly answered with a stupid grin plastered on her face.

            "So... Because I'm lying on the bed, waiting for my wounds to heal, you think that I can't move?" Sehun raised one of his eyebrows in an alluring manner. God, he really knew how to tease people, didn't he? Hana sat there, almost petrified, as she watched him getting up, checking his arms, which had completely healed after a few hours. The deep cut was no longer there, and not even a scar existed to remind him that there was a wound before.

            "No... I mean, yes? Wait," She started panicking a little and backed away when he stood up, folding his arms, as if waiting for her answer. She couldn't really think at the moment. Heck, she didn't even remember what the question was. "Wait, Sehun, don't come closer. I..."

            He had her trapped by reaching out to her waist and straggled her to his lap. She squealed a little, surprised that he actually did that to her. It was like all her fantasy before came true. Sehun was actually here, face to face with her, gazing at no one else but her. When she said gazing, she literally meant knocking you out of the breath with one simple look.

            "Am I not allowed to get jealous?"

            All of the skin ships he did to her seemed to mean more than before. Even a single touch could leave her feverish. She had the urge to giggle like a little girl, but did her best to hold back. She still needed whatever dignity she had in front of this beast. But God, was he beautiful, with every little details etched in the back of her mind. She was wonder struck.

            "I just never thought you could... feel such emotion," Hana dared not to move, hadn't totally convinced herself this was not a dream.

            Sehun chuckled, burying his face on the nape of her neck, seemingly contented with her presence at the moment. She could feel his breath hitting her skin softly, and it tickled.

            "I can make an exception for you," he spoke, kissing her neck once, then looked up to meet her eyes. The spot he kissed was left with a burning sensation, and she was left speechless, gazing at him lovingly. "I've always made an exception for you, in case you didn't know..."

            "You are such a flirt," Hana retorted, almost like a cry of protest. "You... I... Argh! Never mind. I'm at loss of words."

            "Well, you don't need to say anything, actually," Sehun put his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. "I just want to continue that kiss from before." He gave her a soft peck, grazing her lips and she shivered in delight. "You owe me a kiss." By leaving him hanging hours before. Now he wanted those soft lips back on his. He wanted it badly.

            "I owe you one," Hana smiled and leaned forward to kiss him.