Chanyeol panted as he continued to climb one of the steeper slopes up the mountain side. He had just gotten away from those trolls and boy oh boy, in such a dense forest, it was pretty difficult to escape them. He shuddered at the thought of those things taking more than the bag that had been on his back.

Looking around, there were only more trees and dirt and grass and some rocks here and there. He gave one more push of energy to get to the top of this slope and laid down on the grass when he realised that the ground flattened out to a plateau. Shutting his eyes and taking a few moments to catch his breath, he didn't notice a cloaked figure approaching him.

"I know werewolves like nature, but isn't this a bit far even for you?"

Chanyeol immediately sat up, looking over to where he had heard the voice, and when he saw the cloaked figure, he knew that the dark colour of the cloak and the fact that he could only really see the person's eyes should have been rather off-putting - but he felt oddly calm.

"Can you speak, wolf? Or did those trolls put a hex on you to disable your speech?" the figure asked.

"Y-you know about the trolls? How? I thought there was no one else around- " Chanyeol continued to just splutter until he finally stood up and when he did, he realised that the figure was shorter than him, not that there were too many people who were taller than him other than the elves.

"I won't harm you, I can promise you that, so come follow me. It will be dark sooner than you think and the trolls love coming out then, as well as other things of the night," the figure said and turned around, wordlessly expecting Chanyeol to follow him without so much as being asked to.

And Chanyeol being the do-before-you-think type of wolf he is, he followed him without question - especially since he didn't like the sound of more trolls.

Chanyeol hadn't even considered that there could be a cottage out here on this mountain since it was so dense, and not many ventured across this mountain range. It was a very spacious home though, though nice and cozy as well. He could instantly tell that there was a glamour and a very powerful protective barrier around the home, but he would do the same if he lived in this sort of forest - that is if he had the ability to do so.

"I'll run a bath for you, wolfie- "

"Chanyeol, my name is Chanyeol," the taller interrupted.

"- Chanyeol," the figure corrected himself as he finally took off his cloak, revealing himself. He hung up the cloak on a hook on the wall by the door and headed inside.

Chanyeol couldn't help but give the other a once-over - eyeing the shorter male from his dark leather boots, to what seemed to be a pair of cotton pants, a silk blouse with a leather vest lined with what seemed to be wool. Past the clothes, he saw milky pale skin, red hair, and when the male came back out from the bathroom, he saw the pair of heterochromatic eyes he had seen under the hood of the cloak earlier.

Those eyes were part of one rather beautiful face.

"I'm not sure if I should be flattered or worried by your staring, Chanyeol."

The werewolf shook himself out of his daze and blushed slightly when he was obviously caught. "S-sorry, you just don't look like any creature I've met before..."

The shorter male looked up at him with a somewhat blank look which was mixed with curiosity, his one hazel eye and his other light blue eye looking at the werewolf unblinkingly. There were several beats of silence before the shorter male looked away and gestured towards the bathroom. "There are towels in there and I'll get you some fresh clothes to wear."

Chanyeol nodded and went over to the bathroom, shutting the door carefully behind him. He didn't know why, but he felt like this person was somewhat familiar in a rather... unclear way.

By the time that Chanyeol had showered and gotten dressed in the fresh clothes - which magically fit his lanky body - he saw that the person was in the kitchen, cooking up something which smelled very appetising.

"You can call me B, Chanyeol. Also, you should stay here for a few days," the other said.

Chanyeol was not yet used to the rather abrupt way in which this person spoke. And the fact that he had told Chanyeol to just call him by a letter was a bit odd, but he wouldn't question it because this was the same person who was offering him shelter. "A few days? Why?"

"There's a storm coming over tomorrow morning and it doesn't look like it will be a short one," B said as he plated up the food and grabbed some utensils, before setting it on the table and also grabbing a glass of water. "Eat up," came the simple instruction, and Chanyeol went along with it, his stomach refusing to reject the meat and vegetables on the plate.

B cleaned up after himself before going over to another room somewhere, only coming out about ten minutes later. "After you're done eating, you're welcome to relax a bit or sleep," he said.

It was strange to Chanyeol. B never really made regular eye contact, nor did he seem to follow what was considered normal social behaviour. He seemed to avoid being too close to Chanyeol, keeping distance between them physically and being quite detached emotionally. It was no wonder why Chanyeol's wolf was whining for attention in his head. Just as he finished eating and he looked up at the other who was sitting on the couch, with his back to Chanyeol, B spoke once more, in that same abrupt way.

"I apologise, I know werewolves love physical affection and attention."

Chanyeol frowned and stood up, scratching the back of his head in confusion, "Can you read my mind or something?" he asked.

"Or something," came the short reply - which almost sounded playful to the werewolf, as though the other was teasing him.

The werewolf pouted slightly at that vague response and grabbed his dishes, placing them in the sink before going over to the bedroom where B had been kind enough to make the bed and get the room prepared for him. He looked around the room before popping his head back out to the living room when the other male was still seated at the couch, reading something. "I've been trekking for a while... So I think I will go to bed early. Thank you very much for what you're providing me," he said, bowing in respect to the other. As he turned back into the room and shut the door, he swore he saw a small smile on the other's otherwise stoic face.

Werewolves were known for many things, and one of those things was very good hearing. So, even though the storm had already begun outside - the winds howling, trees creaking and the rain hitting the surfaces of the house - Chanyeol could easily hear the distinct sound of someone panting, obviously in pain. He got up, getting out of bed and exiting the room. He looked around and immediately spotted the kitchen light on and rushed over to B's side. "B, are you okay? What's wrong?" he asked rather frantically since the other was holding onto the edge of the counter to keep himself up.

There were another few moments of just panting before B pointed up the cabinets above him. "Middle shelf... Green jar... Two pills," he simply said and Chanyeol immediately reached up, opening the cabinet and grabbing the one and only green jar in there. He popped off the cork and shook out two pills and immediately gave them to B who accepted them gratefully and put them in his mouth and seemed to on them for a few moments before swallowing. B took several moments longer, the werewolf staying by his side just in case anything happened, before he stood up straight once more. He turned to look up at the other and sighed softly, "Thank you. Sorry for disturbing your sleep."

Chanyeol just looked at the other with a concerned expression on his face and knew that he shouldn't pry too much, but he at least had to ask the other, "Will you be okay for now?"

B nodded to the other and smiled ever so slightly, though if one blinked, they would have missed it. "I'll be fine after some rest- "

There was a rather loud crack of lightning followed by an even louder boom of thunder. Chanyeol looked at the other male and saw him gripping the counter even more and tensing up. "Hey hey, look at me," he said and grabbed one of B's hands and held it in his own. "Take a deep breath, alright? It's hard, but just focus on me and let the tension seep out," he said soothingly. He could feel the other still tensing, though he seemed to slowly calm down. They kept eye contact and neither of them broke it.

"How... did you do that? Even my friends who have known me for a much longer time have trouble calming me down when I'm like that..." B asked softly after a couple of minutes.

The werewolf blinked a few times and tilted his head to the side, "Eh? Uh, I don't know actually... Um, is it my voice? Or um- I really don't know. I'm usually the one causing trouble, not helping someone like this- but then again those people don't really let me help them- I wish they would let me, but I can be a little clumsy I suppose- "

B swiftly placed a finger over the taller's lips, stopping his little rant. "It's okay, doesn't matter. I was only curious." There were another few moments of silence - besides the raging storm outside - between them both before B spoke up once more. "Are you perhaps a little peckish? I can make you a snack before you go back to sleep, it's still a few hours until dawn, and the sun isn't coming out anytime soon," he offered and slowly lowered his finger, untangling his other hand from the werewolf's hold.

Chanyeol shook his head though and smiled a bit, "I'm alright thanks. I think I will sleep a bit more though. I've been travelling on foot for quite a while before I even got to this mountain," he said, a yawn escaping him as he said the last couple of words. He grabbed a glass of water, downed the whole glass then headed back to bed. But before shutting the door, he heard B calling out to him. "Hm?"

"Why are you so far out on the mountain?" the shorter male asked.

"I had this... itch? Like I just couldn't stay in my town any longer and I decided to just let my feet lead me wherever... and I've gotten this far in about a week," he shrugged a bit. "I don't know how many people still believe... but I sure do," Chanyeol smiled, a softness to his features making him look more like a puppy than a grown werewolf.

"Believe in...?"

Chanyeol looked up to the other, "The one who brought us all together, you know, the legendary one," he grinned. He swore that he saw some kind of emotion flash by in B's eyes, but it was gone so quickly that he couldn't catch it.

"I see," is all that B said before turning away to grab some water for himself, "Well, good night, Chanyeol."

It was another several hours later when Chanyeol woke up. It was still dark outside, even though it was actually late morning. The storm was really trying to make some kind of dent with how strong the winds and rain seemed to be, but the cottage was left practically untouched thanks to the strong barrier. He got up, heading over to the bathroom to freshen up a bit before going to sit in the living room to take a few moments to wake up.

"Did you have a good sleep, Chanyeol?"

Perhaps it was because Chanyeol was still a little groggy that he wasn't surprised by the sudden greeting, but he really felt like B walked on air. "Yes, I did. What about you? Did you get some rest afterwards?" he asked, referring to the incident from the early hours of that day.

B simply nodded his head as he sat down on the adjacent armchair, his posture proper, as though he was some kind of royal. "Storms have... a somewhat negative impact on my health. Though, I won't die," he explained, keeping it brief and vague.

Everyone had secrets, or just things that they would rather not share with others and Chanyeol understood this. So, he didn't pry any further about the matter since the other was fine. "Well, I don't like storms all too much because it becomes so dark and everything gets so much dirtier," he pouted a bit and sighed, "Thank you for letting me stay here during the storm, B. I know it was really sudden and you honestly didn't have to help me out," he smiled to the other. "I'll try my best not to eat too much of what you have in stock," he said half-jokingly. If he did consume too much though, he would definitely help in restocking the pantry.

B looked over to the werewolf and tilted his head slightly. "How old are you, Chanyeol?"

"Me? Oh, I'm..." the werewolf began, though stopped as he actually had to think back and count how old he was, "I'm coming close to about a hundred," he answered with a grin once he finally got to the right number. "What about you? I feel like you're a lot older than me."

B simply nodded, "Yeah, I'm quite a bit older than you," he answered and looked off into the distance for a few moments, staying rather quiet. "Say, when you said that you believed in the legendary one... Are you trying to find him by going on this journey?" he asked.

Chanyeol nodded after a few moments, "Yeah. I wasn't around when the event happened, but as I grew older, the stories of him seemed to fade and more people seemed to just glorify his actions and whatnot. Most, if not all people have actually given up trying to find him, but something in me just didn't want to leave it up in the air like that... not knowing where he is or what he's doing now. Or if he's still even alive for that matter," he explained and sighed softly as he relaxed on the couch. "But he's been in hiding for over two centuries so my chances are pretty slim I suppose."

There was another long pause between them before suddenly a figure appeared in front of Chanyeol, the tan-skinned man sending him a slight glare. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Chanyeol squirmed back a bit and raised his hands up, "I-I swear, I'm not looking for trouble. B just offered me shelter because of the storm and I had a run-in with some trolls and- "

"Kai, stop that. You know I'm careful with who I bring into my home," B spoke, cutting off Chanyeol's rambling.

There were another few beats of silence before Chanyeol cleared his throat, "Well, um, this seems like a private matter so I-I will just be in the bedroom," he said and moved around the newcomer and hopped on over to the bedroom he had been using. He shut the door and laid down on the bed, letting out a sigh. He got along with vampires just fine, but that Kai person was obviously feeling a bit threatened by Chanyeol's appearance. Must be some alpha thing, Chanyeol thought to himself.

"Why didn't you tell me you had another attack?" asked Kai.

B shrugged a bit and avoided looking over at the vampire, "Chanyeol helped me and I was fine afterwards." He could see the vampire tensing out of the corner of his eye and let out a sigh, "It's fine, Kai. The weather was a lot worse last night and I didn't want to call you out here, despite your very convenient ability. Chanyeol woke up as soon as I got to the kitchen," he added.

"What about your second one- ?"

"He stopped it. My body barely got the chance to act up again with how fast he reacted," B said.

Kai was rather dumbstruck, "How? No one has been able to do that... Unless- "

B stood up and went over to the kitchen and got out some water, "Go back home Kai. I'll be fine here with Chanyeol for the next couple of days."

When Chanyeol came out of the bedroom, it was only because he could sense that the vampire had left. He glanced around as he left the room and spotted B sitting on the couch, "B? Is everything okay? I swear I didn't listen in on anything you guys were talking about," he promised, since he could block out certain things at will, and with the storm still raging outside, it wasn't too hard to find something else to focus on.

"I know you weren't listening Chanyeol, don't worry." B stood up and walked over to the werewolf, standing about a foot away from him, "Don't worry about Kai either,