The evening had arrived and everything was prepared for the festival. Sehun was amazingly proud at everyone’s work as he saw the huge tables filled with delicacies, roasted meat, fruits and vegetables, the smell itself was amazing; candle holders, that he and Kyungsoo spent so much time putting, flowers decorating all the place and small statues made by some crafty betas. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

He could see everyone dressed in their best attires: soft cotton robes in almost every color possible, except for white, since it was the priest color, grey, reserved for Council members, and red for the omegas that were celebrating their first heat, which was the reason of this whole festival in the first place.

Sehun saw everyone: Kyungsoo in his white, pristine robes, preparing all the oils and burning a lily infused oil, since it was the symbol of fertility; he had seen Minseok and Yifan, dressed in black and gold, they were both talking near the Council Assembly Room, from where the omegas who had passed through their first heating would come out. He also saw Junmyeon approached them, looking completely adorable in a baby blue robe. Tao was out there somewhere, probably near the food table, dressed in a very flashy magenta robe. Jongdae was speaking to another teacher, by the name of Sungmin, both dressed in earthy shades of green; Luhan was approaching him, Seungwan with him. Luhan looked quite regal an orangey pink tone and Seungwan looked beautiful with flowers on her head and a turquoise robe.

Seungwan gave him a hug before proceeding with whatever she intended doing while Luhan stopped.

“Looking good Sehun.” He said, humor evident in his tone, making the younger laugh.

“It is my fancy clothing after all.” He joked back with an amused smile.

“The festival is about to start, Seungwan was just going to bring our musicians to begin the ceremony.”

“Everything is ready then?” asked Sehun.

“Yes, yes it is. It is going to star in moments, I’d assume. I hope so; Hyeri was in the kitchens along with Seohyun and Byung Hee, imagine how good the food is.” Stated Luhan making Sehun side eye him.

“You and your stomach, Luhan! Seriously!”

They both laughed and entertained themselves with mindless chatter while everything was still on a break and the festival, the proper festival, didn’t start. They talked about simple things such as their own feats as healers and some discoveries or curiosities; if anything, Luhan was extremely proud of his student: Sehun was a gem, he was very hardworking and very bright, and Luhan sometimes forgot he was talking with a trainee and not a fully, proper healer yet. They also talked about some pack dynamics, specifically the Council, in hushed tones, minding themselves about the people surrounding them whose hearing was far better than they would like.

Their whispers died when they heard a thumping noise and looked up to see, at the center of the festival grounds, a couple of older wolves playing the drums, hands falling smoothly on the round, leathery surface, a cadence beginning, making everyone know that the event they had been waiting was officially started.

Seungwan, and other female and male wolves alike, were behind the drummers and their voices, joyful and vibrant and happy, began to fill the air with ululating sounds and yipping sounds. They rose into the air and grew in intensity until, all of a sudden they all stopped, and a feminine voice, Taeyeon if Sehun could see correctly, followed by a masculine, powerful voice, made themselves be heard and sung beautifully about ancient histories of love and companionship and happiness, a true hymn to the occasion.

Before the song even ended, Kyungsoo, purifying the air with the some kind of sweet scented herb, created a path through the mass of wolfs that around the area and stood near the drummers, in a central position, where anyone could see him. He slowly turned around and the Council Assembly Room doors opened up and the wolves, the mature wolves, as they were now called, began to walk through the path that Kyungsoo created and stopped before the man.

There were no words uttered as Kyungsoo delivered a sage bundle to every single one of them. Then, he stuck his thumb into a bowl with a colorful oil inside, Sehun wasn’t even sure how that appeared near Kyungsoo to be truth, and then mumbling something to himself in a whisper, he painted the forehead of one of the wolves, a simple straight line.

He repeated the action again and again, until all the wolves in front of him where painted. When he finished, he raised the bowl upwards.

“May Mother Earth bless you with fertility and love, power and wisdom, noble values and incommensurable strength.” He lowered the bowl and with a claw, he nicked both his wrists, enough to let a few drops of blood into the bowl, swirling it to mix. “May Mother Earth guide you on your life and help you find your path. Respect Her above all things and expect nothing in return but what you are given. Mother Earth, accept the sacrifice of your humble server and shine upon this newly adult wolves.”

Kyungsoo kneeled on the floor, placing the bowl in front of him and closed in eyes in prayer.

This moment, signaled every mature and adult wolf at the festival that it was their time to cast their blessing upon the younger wolves. In order, giving the honors of being first to the Alpha Leader and to his mate, followed by the Council, everyone make a colorful mark, with the blood infused oil that Kyungsoo had on the bowl in front of him, on the wolves body, welcoming them as adults, into their pack.

It was kind of amazing and Sehun felt an incredible amount of pride and responsibility towards these young wolves; he actually wonder if Luhan or Jongdae, even Kris had felt like this when they were painting him, a few years back.

He felt the importance of them moment and it sated him in a spiritual level that, sometimes, he couldn’t really understand since he was first and foremost a man that was tied to science, to medicine, and who, sometimes, forgot about his religious duties, such as monthly offers to Mother Earth and such. Most of all, he felt connected to his pack and the bonds between them never seemed so tight. He just wished he could say that about every single person with whom he shared said pack.

As they finished painted the newfound adults, Kyungsoo finished his prayers, standing back on his feet, white pristine robes painted with earthly colors and picked the bowl from the last member using it. The last remnants of the liquid were used to pour on the floor, as a symbol to bind the wolves to the Earth.

“Rise as adults.” Kyungsoo’s said “And fulfill your duty as one.”

With those words, the ritual met his ending and everyone began screaming and shouting, welcoming the young adults. The joy was evident such as the happiness that lit everyone’s face and it was in those kinds of spirit that the feast began.

The musical and the voices of the many singers of the pack bled through the night, filling the air while other people danced and some of them attacked the food on top of the tables. Others, far shier, were happy with just sitting around and sharing a few words with other people.

He wasn’t, by any means, a shy person, maybe a little too focused on his job which made him far less sociable than Tao would like, since he was the ultimate social butterfly: he knew everything about everyone and everyone knew everything about him too. According to his friend, he needed to work less and start having more fun.

Nevertheless, much to Tao’s surprise, who without any kind of mercy, he found himself in the middle of the masses, dancing away, not even minding with who he danced, sweat plastering to his face, making his auburn air stick to his forehead.

He didn’t’ sing, he felt like his voice was subpar against many of the people on his pack, despite everyone telling him otherwise, but he was good at dancing, he liked it. It felt good and it was so much fun. Like he hadn’t had in months, the tension and the worries about the subtle pack shifts that the leadership of Kris brought, mainly due to the fact that although Kris was the pack leader and that the Council often tried to impose their decisions, their rules, using only their interest, most often than not personal interests, using the Elder’s card as a trump to get their way. However, Kris was a very passionate and just man, fighting them and their nonsense all the time and pushing against their wishes. To say their relationship wasn’t all that good was an understatement; Sehun often felt sorry for Junmyeon since the sweet omega was often looked down by certain members but then the omega, with a regal air surrounding them, in the most polite and proper way he could, and he was the most polite and proper person that Sehun knew, more than Kyungsoo, he asked them to go and bother someone else. Sehun admired him.

Talking about the omega, Sehun could see him having fun a couple of feet away, dancing away with and omega and an alpha, Donghae and Chaerin respectively, having the time of his life, until Kris, lovingly, picked him off the ground, making the smaller man laugh delightedly. After a few spins, Kris put him back on the floor and Junmyeon stretched himself to kiss the taller, letting a hand slip through the blonde locks of the older with slender fingers, in a very sweet and very loving display of affection.

If Sehun was perfectly honest, he felt envy of the relationship they had. Their system, or at least the system his pack had, wasn’t exclusive in the sense that omegas could only mate with alphas and betas were bound to end only with betas, pretty much like arranged contracts between wolves: everyone could be with the person they liked the most; rank did not matter the least. Junmyeon and Kris had known each other since they were little and there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Kris loved Junmyeon even before they were fully adult; he had always gravitated towards the smaller wolf, completely drawn in my the beauty of the male and the pureness of his soul, there was no other way to put it, Junmyeon was simply a genuinely good person, no evil or malice whatsoever on him body, and as soon as they were recognized as adults, Kris began courting Junmyeon, making it obvious for everyone about his intents. Junmyeon was a wolf that had lot of suitors but Kris was quick to put them and them in their place, not by force, simply by being the perfect gentleman and outdoing them in romantic gestures and showing his mature and incorruptible personality. It had clearly been the way to do it: Junmyeon had chosen him soon after if they only had solidified their relationship with proper mating rituals, something akin to a word called ‘marriage’, that Sehun had found in an antique book.

Sehun wanted that kind of relationship, to have something that was unbeatable, undefeatable like their love, starting with nothing but love. They trusted each other, loved each other and that was the main pillar of their lives and it just come out as natural and effortless for them. Sehun wanted that but being a worm book as he was…well, let’s just say that he hadn’t much luck on the love department.

Jongdae came to dance with him a few minutes after, his uncoordinated body spinning with Sehun, letting the slightly younger man to lead him on the dance floor; Sehun had to smile, it would seem that awkwardness at something, no matter what it was, had been an issue for them, for a while.

They giggled like small children after dancing for a long while, just the two of them, and chose to wander a little around the general vicinities, to try and cool off, drinks in hand, a concoction prepared by someone that had a strong fruity flavor with honey.

“The festival is going great!” stated Jongdae happily taking a small sip of his drink while they both wander around, the night not even a problem for the duo.

“It’s going amazingly well, I’d say: for once the Council isn’t actively trying sabotage the whole thing by acting like arrogant know it all we know they could be or, to be fair, the majority of the Elders can be.”

“True. I am feeling a little unsure about their intentions.” Said Jongdae, in a low voice, sounding a little hesitant.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know but I see them trying to overpower the pack leader for a couple of years and they had all complied, more or less, until Kris arrived. Kris cuts their attempts to meddle much in his decisions. However, it seems that this lack of compliance, the lack of obedience from Kris’ part is making them anxious and more…cruel. They are letting personal matters affect their capacity to lead and guide. Also, remember what I told you about Minseok? That thing he saw on his mission? I overheard him talking to Kris that somehow the Council was trying to hush up the whole thing.”

“Did they really?” asked Sehun surprised “If they know about that, they shouldn’t hide it. What if something happens to our village? We have no method of defense if they keep acting like nothing is wrong! It’s more than that; it’s also the recent sightings about harpies nearby, along other creatures that don’t belong in this area.”

“I know, I know, it’s worrying. For a while I feel like I am not comfortable in my own pack; I mean there are a lot of good people here but there are also the ones swayed by their opinions. And it’s like being stuck in a dictatorship.”

“Hmm…very true. It’s suffocating and worrying.”

“Yes, it is! Historically, there has never been a pack whose relationship with its Council was totally pacific but I don’t think I’ve never seen anything like this. I mean the trusting issues are…what’s that?”

Sehun stopped walking as soon as he saw his friend stopping as well. He wasn’t really sure what had made Jongdae stop but he trusted his friend instincts, if Jongdae saw something, it must had been something.

“What?”

“I’m not sure! I think I saw something glowing over there.” He said while pointing in a direction to their right.

“Glowing?”

“It looked like eyes.”

Well, now Sehun was starting to doubt his friend a little, he squinted a little at his glass, trying to remember if Hyejeong had told him that the drink contained or not alcohol. How many of these had Jongdae drunk?

Jongdae seemed to understand what Sehun was thinking because he suddenly swiped a hand in the direction of the younger, hitting him on the shoulder.

“I’m not drunk! I saw a pair of eyes in that direction. Glowing eyes, much like a wolf but not.”

“Explain please, you’re not making sense.”

“Eyes!” growled Jongdae, pointing to the same place as before. “I saw them there. Strange looking, multicolored eyes, like a nebula.”

Sehun felt himself freeze. The description of nebula eyes suddenly hit a button on him and his mind immediately went to the three wolves that he had met. He had only seen eyes like that on Baekhyun, the sick wolf but he couldn’t really be it since last time he saw him, he was so sick he couldn’t barely stand, but he knew nothing about Jongin or Chanyeol. With a nervous laugh, Sehun try to dismiss it.

“Jongdae, listen to yourself! You are talking about multicolored eyes; that is not even possible!”

“Weren’t you the one telling me about basilisk teeth on a wendigo just this afternoon?” refuted Jongdae.

Sehun wasn’t really able to say anything against that and the silence was apparently enough for the smaller wolf to start running in the direction he mentioned previously, his curiosity getting the best of him, before Sehun had time to react.

“Jongdae? Jongdae, where are you going? Stop!”

But Jongdae didn’t; the smaller male was already far away, moving swiftly through the trees and bushes at full speed. Sehun actually cursed before running out behind his friend trying to catch him before he would either find the wolf trio or get himself in trouble.

“Jongdae!” he called once more in hopes the other would finally stop.

Jongdae didn’t, instead he looked over his shoulder at Sehun before morphing into a wolf, a grey and black wolf, small but compact, appearing in his field of vision, making Sehun do the same. Jongdae was fast as a human, so in wolf form that trait got even more obvious and, therefore, Sehun had to transform as well.

He chased after the smaller, tongue lolling out of his mouth due to the effort: Sehun was agile and could run for a long time but Jongdae, while a little clumsy, was very fast and could run for a long while.

The smaller wolf was just a blur in the distance when a shrill cry, a bird like cry, made him stop for a brief second, eyes looking around for the source of that sound. A shadow above him made him look up and the image of a harpy, right above him, woman’s face distorted and looking nothing like a human would, her wings, gigantic in size, opened wide and the claws ready to grab its prey.

As soon as he saw it, Sehun dropped to the floor, claws sinking into the ground, making its gravity center lower to avoid being swept away by that huge thing and barked out at Jongdae who, despite being in the far distance, dropped as low as he was, to avoid the same destiny.

Sehun howled, once, the sound long and breaking the sound of silence in the surrounding forests but he was seriously in doubt that his pack would hear it: the festival, the music, the voices and, not going to lie, the drunk people, would probably have their senses to clogged to hear his cry for help.

He crawled forward, making sure that he was advancing quite calmly and without big moves that would attract the creature to himself. He certainly didn’t need any type piece of himself being ripped out by that thing; he also didn’t want that to happen to Jongdae who was ahead of him.

It simply astounded him to see such a harpy in their territory. Trespassing was a serious issue among creatures, they were extremely territorial and one simply didn’t enter another’s land without asking for permission or with an actual intent of fighting. Everyone was aware of that and this was a clear offense.

However what bothered Sehun the most though was the fact that the harpy was so disfigured, pretty much like a gorgon, but those lived on mountains, in caves built by them. It was very strange and he had a ton of questions in his mind begging to find an answer but now was not the appropriate moment.

Jongdae, who looked over at him and understood what he was trying to do, turned back, his body switching directions and moving towards Sehun, and began crawling towards his friend but, as Sehun had said before, Jongdae was clumsy and the bicolored wolf fell into his paws, hitting the floor with a dull thud, alerting immediately the harpy who dived for him, a shrill cry, the eagle parts of her looking more sharp and scary than ever: a couple of wolves would annihilate such creature easily but him and Jongdae? Please, they were no threat to that thing.

It swooped down on Jongdae and Sehun barked in warning, managing to distract the thing, giving time for Jongdae to bolt away and making it focus on him instead. He barely avoided the collision, diving to the left before that thing mauled him; he was far too young to die.

The thing, since Sehun didn’t really know how to classify it, flew above them, taking swipes at their bodies, actually taking turns and looking like it was having the time of its life terrorizing them, until, in one intelligent move that none of them could foresee, since those things were more brutal than intelligent, it dove and struck Jongdae on the back, talons sinking into his back and pulling, ripping the skin and making Jongdae let a sound of pain that was pretty much agonizing for everyone who would listen.

He morphed back into his human form, as there wasn’t much he could do for Jongdae with paws. He ran over to his friend, not even minding the fact that the gargantuan monster was still above him and could possibly rip him apart, since he was far more fragile on this form than ever; however, the panic he was feeling at the situation totally clouding his judgement but, well, in his defense, Jongdae was laying on the floor, trying to move, pain painted on his eyes.

“Jongdae…” he mumbled ad soon as he was beside his friend. “Morph back so that I can carry you out of here.”

The smaller wolf made a disagreeing noise, probably telling Sehun that morphing back would mean they would both become sitting ducks to that predator.

“Please Jongdae, you’re hurt and I cannot withstand your weight as a wolf. More muscle and lack of opposable thumbs are a problem.” Jongdae sent him a questioning glance, doubting and understanding dawning on him. “Come on, Jongdae! Please!”

As Jongdae morphed back, a scream of pain in its wake, as the wound on his back, not really big, from what Sehun could see, but deep enough to hurt a lot. He could literally see little holes on the others back that he could stick his finger in it.

A sturdy branch was enough to put the creature out for a few moments, since when it lashed at them again, cutting the skies like a knife, Sehun picked one, the thickest he found nearby and swung it at the thing, with so much force that it broke and half but disoriented the thing for Sehun to pick up Jongdae, who winced and whined in pain, before running with him trying to find coverage.

It was hard, Sehun was lean and, well, not exactly like Minseok who was solid with muscle, and Jongdae had weight which strained him. Running was hard, he was out of breath, his legs were cramping. He just wanted somebody to help him and Jongdae, especially when his legs gave out and he collapsed forward, twisting its body as not to fall on top of an already hurt Jongdae. It didn’t prevent him from releasing a pained groan though.

As soon as he spoke, as if someone heard his thoughts, a dark grey wolf appeared out of thin air, almost as if he had materialized himself to the spot. Sehun jumped in the air, afraid at the sudden appearance. He didn’t recognize the wolf: it wasn’t someone from his pack. From the coloration of the eyes, that deep aurora borealis pattern of colors that swirled around magnificent orbs. The only person he knew with that specific eye color was Baekhyun but the other wolf wasn’t in any condition to do anything the last time he left him just a few hours ago. The wolf, however, seemed to know them since he looked over at his and Jongdae’s form and stood in front of them.

Seen up close, the wolf was a gigantic thing, far bigger than Sehun ever saw. Besides being enormous, it was very solid, built almost exclusively with muscle. Rationally, Sehun knew that it was impossible, simply due to the fact that there was more to them than just muscle but, Sehun also knew that their anatomy and physiognomy, as a wolf, was far more different from their normal, human one.

As the harpy or gorgon, or whatever the heck that was, descended upon them, after flying on the air again despite Sehun’s blow to her, the wolf didn’t move and Sehun wasn’t exactly sure if it was brave or stupid. His answer came when, with a speed that gave Sehun whiplash, the wolf lifted his paw, claws sticking out, and delivered such blow on the creature that it dove straight into the ground, the mere force of the thing being enough to, if Sehun’s ears proved him right, snap its neck.

As the bird like think fell into the ground, its vacant eyes proving Sehun right, that it was in fact dead, the wolf turned to look over them. It was scary; there was a power in those eyes that was crushing, as if the wolf, itself, was one of superior hierarchy such as alpha; in short, someone far greater than he was.

As the wolf moved two or three steps forward, Sehun grabbed Jongdae, who was now unconscious, having fainted from the pain and the shock of the situation, something that Sehun couldn’t blame him since the man was a scholar and not someone who was used to fight. Well, he wasn’t really a fighter either but he had a sense of adventure that Jongdae lacked. He kept the slightly older male in his arms and screamed at the big wolf.

“Please don’t hurt us!”

The wolf stopped, rather surprised at the outburst and its tongue lolled out of his mouth, making him far less intimidated than it was just a few minutes ago. After a few snuffles and a few head shakes, mixed with some hesitation, the wolf moved forward again coming near them.

Seeing that there was no way to stop the bigger wolf, Sehun stood up, arms spread wide open, protecting his friend with a resolute expression on his face that made the wolf snort a little. Sehun wasn’t sure if it was right to feel offended in a situation where he should be scared.

However, before his eyes, the wolf morphed his form into a human on, and Chanyeol’s face appeared in front of him. The sigh of relief that came from his mouth, knowing that it was someone he knew and not an enemy made his legs weak and he almost collapsed if not by the man in front of him grabbing his arm, supporting his weight and letting him slide gently into the floor.

“Mother Earth, I thought I was about to be killed by some random wolf!” babbled Sehun purely out of nerves, letting an anxious kind of laugh out of his mouth.

“Aren’t you more worried about the creature that almost killed you and your friend?” asked Chanyeol, his deep voice making Sehun shiver; if anything, he didn’t really believe he could ever get over the fact about how deep it was.

“I was but its dead now! It hurt Jongdae though.” He mumbled looking back at his friend.

“Your friend…is he hurt severely?”

“It was deep. I need to disinfect it and just apply some antibacterial creams until it heals. It doesn’t appear poisonous but I am not even sure as what it was that thing. Did you see it? It looked like a harpy and a gorgon!”

Chanyeol nodded, giving his agreeance to the younger male. Sehun was a mess and he needed comfort and familiarity to manage to shake his shock.

“We need to go and see Jongin.” Declared Chanyeol “He will probably decide what the best course of action is once he sees this thing. Do you think you can take your friend?”

“Yes! Yes, I can; I just need a moment.” Replied Sehun still sitting on the floor.

A hand on his shoulder made him look up at the other’s somber face.

“You did good: you protected him the best you could against this thing. Take it easy, okay?”

Sehun felt reassured and it helped him ease some guilt he felt over the fact that he couldn’t do more for his friend; he wasn’t a fighter but Jongdae was pretty much like a brother with whom he shared a deep connection and the fact that he didn’t help him, didn’t save him, was bothering Sehun.

“Sehun!” called Chanyeol gaining his attention once more. “There was nothing you could do in this situation, don’t beat yourself over this.”

Sehun nodded slowly and Chanyeol nodded back, seemingly satisfied with the reaction he got.

“Now, let’s take this thing to Jongin. Let’s try and figure it out what is this and what we can do. And you can treat your friend there.”

“Yes, let’s do this.” Replied Sehun, standing up and deciding, as Chanyeol said, to do something instead of just standing there, after all Jongdae needed help and taking him back to the village could possibly bring a lot of trouble if anyone find out, especially the wrong kind of people, and Jongin and this two friends seemed to be the safest choice right now.

“Let’s go!” he told Chanyeol, after gently picking Jongdae up, despite the burning in his legs and arms while Chanyeol dragged the creature behind him, his arm muscles flexing with the effort.

He wasn’t quite sure what was the meaning of this, he was actually still very out of it and his mind hadn’t got time to wrap around the events that had just occur. He just prayed that Jongin could help him get some answers.

A/N: So, let us see what we have in this chapter: festivals, rituals, strange colored eyes, an even stranger creature who tried to kill Jongdae and Sehun and pup rescuer Chanyeol! Wasn't it fun? Not much happening plot wise BUT it does contains some pack dynamics, we explore DaeHun friendship a little and the creature brings something to the plate that will, later on, be part of a bigger thing!
Now, tell me, did you like the chapter? Was it fun to learn more about the characters? What do you think it's happening and/or it's gonna happen next? Please come and tell me all about it either in a comment, through PM or even on my wall, don't be silent, I'm really friendly I promise you! I also promise I'll reply to everything you send me ^^
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At last, but no least important, I wish that you're safe, that you are healthy, that you love deeply and allow yourself to be loved in return and that you are very, very, very HAPPY!
Have a lovely weekend and enjoy it a lot.
Lots of love to everyone!!
<3