Chanyeol had made a very foolish mistake.

Yet again. 

He tried not to think of how angry Suho was going to be, if he ever made it home, of course. He briefly considered whether it would be worse to face the wrath of the villagers, or that of his leader.

Moments ago he had decided that taking some livestock wasn’t enough, and what they had all really needed was beer. He snuck off to procure a bag of barley, finding one surprisingly easily, but becoming hopelessly lost in the process. 

“I just don’t understand it. This village is the size of a bird cage, how could I be lost here?” He groaned.

He had long since abandoned the bag he was carrying in favor of moving more stealthily. It had to be nearly dawn by now, and he was running out of options. He had been following the high wall that stood around the village, but could strangely never find an exit. He seemed to be running in circles, having passed the same large rock formation several times, finally resigning himself to fate, collapsing behind the largest stone, exhausted and frustrated. 

On the other side of Cholerny, Mira was struggling with just how to proceed.  After helping Suho and the others to safety, she was becoming tired, but waiting until morning to search for Chanyeol was out of the question. No, she had to begin looking for him immediately. After all, who had explored more of the village than she had? Pulling the hood of her cloak back up, she grabbed her shoulder bag and once again slipped through her front door and into the approaching dawn.

Unsure of how long she had been sneaking around, Mira tucked herself behind an abandoned temple, collecting her thoughts. The building was one of several small places of worship in Cholerny which had been abandoned after the Kaplan had demanded they be shut up for good, lest anyone be tempted to practice their heathen beliefs. To do so would be the worst kind of blasphemy, and the villagers were much too awed by or terrified of the so-called holy man to protest. There was one god, and he spoke through the Kaplan only.

She had searched every temple but one, and mouthing a silent prayer for good luck, she made her way to the final one. It was built closely to an ancient rock formation which the villagers had once held up to be a place of old magick. Fortunately, the stones were much too large for the Kaplan to remove without great effort, so they still stood as a reminder of times before the oppressive religion had altered the already troubled village completely. It sometimes felt as though Mira and those close to her were the only ones that realized that they were losing the freedom that had always held so dear.

As she moved closer to the boarded up building, she began to feel slightly warm. She must have been moving around much more vigorously than she thought. Was she beginning to get ill, or was the rising sun making her labor harder? The closer to her destination she moved, the warmer she had become. She stood in her tracks, preparing to remove a layer of clothing, when she realized it was only her chest that was warm. Releasing the ribbon of her cloak, she clutched the pendant hanging there and realized it wasn’t she that was becoming warm, but the necklace. Mira was an observant person, and she would surely have noticed if it had done that before.

As she paused in confusion, she heard an exasperated sigh from somewhere very near. It wasn't from the temple, as she had hoped, but from the large stones nearby. She walked slowly toward them, peering in every direction and clutching her pendant, which was now almost burning her skin.

Behind one of the boulders, Mira sensed movement. Surprised by her own boldness, she called out softly.

“Chanyeol?  Chanyeol, is that you? You needn't stay hidden from me, I only wish to help you."

She stifled a gasp as a figure rose from behind the stones and turned toward her. He was tall; very tall in fact, and his hair looked almost silver in the low light. He tilted his head slightly and furrowed his brows, examining her curiously. 

"Oh, it is you, isn't it? Thank goodness I found you, you've worried your brothers terribly.”

“My brothers sent you to find me?” 

“Ah, in a way, I suppose; they just departed. I helped them escape the village.”

“And Suho, how did he seem? His mood, I mean. How was it?”

“Truthfully, Suho seemed a bit angry with you, but I'm sure that he had his reasons.”

Chanyeol shook his head, “I knew it, he's going to kill me. It seems as though you really have met my brothers.”

She nodded. The two stood in silence for a moment, before Mira turned and motioned for Chanyeol to follow her.

"Well, come on then, the sun is nearly up. We've got to get you somewhere safe."

"Uh....Miss..." 

"Mira."

“Sorry, Miss Mira. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but where are we going?" He asked, somewhat distressed at how his vastly longer legs could be struggling to keep in step with hers.

“Oh, I....I have no idea, actually. I hadn’t really gotten that far, to be honest with you.” Mira stopped abruptly, scratching her head. 

“You hadn’t...well...what are we going to do?” 

“Mind your tone, Sir. Strictly speaking, I'm not the one who managed to get us into this trouble. Goodness, you’d think you’d never been in this kind of situation before. Anyway, I’ll think of something, no need to fret.” 

“Oh, and you've been in this situation many times, have you?" Chanyeol asked condescendingly, hands on hips. Despite his trepidation, he did have to admit that he admired her casual manner.

“Yes, as a matter of fact I have. Cholerny is a very unusual place to live just lately, and it just so happens that by nature I’m,” she paused thoughtfully, “inquisitive.”

“Look, it’s too far to make it to my home in this light, and to exit the village we'd have to make it to the other side of Cholerny entirely. I would suggest that we hide in the temple, but if it's anything like the others, the damned thing is shut up much too tightly for us to enter. Believe me, I've tried."

Chanyeol looked at Mira, back at the temple, and then back to her.

"Are those boards on the exterior the only thing keeping us out?"

"They are. But they're secured very tightly. I haven't been able to budge a single on on any of the other buildings."

Chanyeol smiled at Mira and sprinted toward the abandoned temple. He circled the exterior, carefully examining all possible entrances, and settled on a small window that was facing the farthest away from any possible foot traffic. He then proceeded to effortlessly pull off all of the wood covering it. 

"You can go home now if you wish, Miss Mira. I can stay here for the day and make my escape this evening, just point me in the right direction."

"I- I'm afraid I can't go home just yet. It's very nearly light now, and I don't think there's any way I could make it back without being seen. Villagers are severely punished for being out before the church opens it's doors in the morning. Those are the rules. Besides, you couldn't find your way out of the village last night, what makes you think you can do it now?"

Mira neglected to mention the fact that she was also desperate to ask Chanyeol all of the questions about werewolves that she had always wanted to know.