---

"You got it in my eyes, you idiot," Jongin squawks, rolling aside and smacking his hands over his eyes. He nearly ends up tumbling off the edge of the bridge, and it's not until he feels the tip of his tail hit the water surface that he squeals loudly. A family of five enjoying a swim a few feet away send him annoyed looks, but he disregards them before wiping his eyes.

Luhan only rolls his eyes. "You've always been such a drama queen," he chuckles, not taking his eyes off the water as he keeps a hand hovered above the surface. They've been outside hunting fish for nearly an hour with little success, Jongin suggested eating berries from the bushes after the first half hour, only for Luhan to refuse. The latter insisted that the biggest fish were awake at this time of day, which Jongin at first believed, but it soon became obvious that Luhan either didn't know what he was talking about, or that every single big fish just so happened to take a vacation today, because Jongin soon found himself growing impatient and hungry whilst whining for 20 minutes straight.

So far, they've only made one catch, which Luhan insisted they throw back due to it not being 'big enough', and Jongin sort of wishes he'd swiped the fish right then and there and eaten it by himself, because his stomach is threatening to burst with hunger any minute. He stopped trying to partake fifteen minutes ago and let Luhan do the entire job, whilst he sat behind the latter and played with his tail (Luhan didn't really believe Jongin's excuse of fish cakes dwindling the latter's brainpower, but still agreed, nevertheless).

The sun is starting to set and Jongin sighs as he flops down onto his back and stares up at the yellowing sky above. He's been unable to concentrate ever since they came, and despite what Luhan might think, Jongin found himself unable to focus shortly after finding the dried up pool of blood on the bridge from when he and Sehun sat and fished together. Jongin initially blamed it on the eighteen fish cakes he'd stuffed himself with earlier, but it soon became obvious that, after the sun started setting and the fish cakes in his stomach were practically already digested, the feeling was there to stay. Jongin attempted to distract himself for a while by sloshing his finger around in the water and inspecting his reflection, but he soon gave up and accepted his fate whilst Luhan cursed at constantly missing fish by an inch.

Eventually, hunger gets the best of him and Jongin sits up before poking Luhan's back repeatedly. "This is getting boring," he whines, only to get another faceful of water when Luhan brings his hand down and attempts to grab a frog, only to miss. "This is boring, can we do something else--" He sighs and wipes his face with his sleeve, which is already soaking wet from all the previous wiping he's been doing. "Luhan--!"

"Wait, I see one," Luhan says, eyes twinkling and tail straightened as he follows an oval shadow with his eyes. Jongin peeks his head over the edge, only to regret it when Luhan suddenly brings his hand down and emits a triumphant noise when he quickly pulls the animal out of the water and places it on the bridge. "See? I told you!" he squees, clapping his hands as he looks at Jongin, who is busy shaking the water out of his hair.

Jongin runs a hand through his damp hair and eyes the large bass flopping about between them. His appetite, at least for fish, is completely gone as he recalls Sehun's expression after he tried giving his fish to the latter. He watches as Luhan quickly fetches a rock, reducing the animal to a headless pile of red mush subsequently. It soon becomes clear that Luhan has no intention of sharing, which is totally fine with Jongin, and he only blinks when Luhan sends him a strange look.

"Why do you--" Luhan blinks again before leaning in slightly. "Why do you smell like tobacco?" he asks, cocking his head aside before pouting. "You know that stuff ain't good for us," he hums before looking at the fish with stars in his eyes.

Jongin blinks. He suddenly feels Chanyeol's breath ghosting over his ear as well as the latter's fingers on his hip as they caressed his waist, and Jongin has to clench his jaw to distract himself. It barely works, so he briefly wonders if taking a bite right out of the raw fish will help rid his brain of the thoughts. His plan is thwarted when Luhan proceeds to pick it up and put it in his lap possessively. "Uh...my boyf-- I mean, Sehun's colleague," he mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Does he look like a prince, too?" Luhan asks, eyes glittering as he fiddles with the animal's tail. His orange hair is bloodied at the tips.

Jongin blinks again before shaking his head vigorously. "He's mean and weird, I don't like him," he mumbles. He sort of feels bad for bad mouthing Sehun's friends, but he figures it can't be helped. His stomach growls, which makes him whine. "I want berries--"

"So he's like The Beast?" Luhan chuckles whilst standing up and stretching, the fish still in his hands. "You know, from Beauty and The Beast?" He waits until Jongin stands up before he skips towards the playground. "I know a good raspberry bush over here." He points and Jongin feels his tail puff up when he spots the bench near said bushes.

Even though he most definitely doesn't want to, Jongin finds himself trotting after Luhan anyway, and before he knows it, he's stuffing his face with bright pink raspberries. A part of Jongin feels sad, because if Sehun were here, Jongin would have treated the former to a berry eating session. Jongin figures he's lucky to find ripe raspberries at this season, and he continues shoving berries into his mouth until his stomach is screaming at him to stop. Luhan only grimaces when he sees the pink mess all over Jongin's face when the latter stands up.

"Christ, where're your table manners," Luhan giggles before gesturing at a large oak tree. It's probably the largest tree in the entire park and Jongin automatically swallows when he sees how tall it is. "Don't worry, just don't look down and you'll be fine," he says when he spots the flash of hesitation in Jongin's eyes. "You're not fifteen anymore, right? C'mon, it'll be fun, I promise--"

Figuring protesting is out the window, Jongin bites his lip as he watches Luhan skip towards the tree, the latter biting down on the fish before gesturing at the younger to come closer. As Jongin watches Luhan proceed to climb the trunk, just as effortlessly as he did when they were fifteen, he wonders if sitting in a tree is a good way of getting away from scary drunk people, since Jongin assumes (and hopes) drunk people can't climb trees easily. Before Jongin feels like he's had a chance to blink, he spots Luhan waving at him from one of the branches. The branch is almost entirely covered in orange leaves and Jongin can hardly see him, but he squashes the thought before reluctantly taking a step forward. Jongin hears Luhan call his name encouragingly and Jongin scrambles up the trunk when he spots a dog a few feet away.

"See? That got you going," Luhan chuckles, leaves resting on top of his head as he eyes the golden retreiver down below. It really is high up, and Jongin worries he might go lightheaded when he looks down. "I told you not to look down, lunkhead," he huffs with a small laugh. The fish rests on the branch in front of him and he places a steady hand on it whilst Jongin struggles to get comfortable.

Much to Jongin's relief, the branch is much wider than he initially thought. In fact, he figures he's able to lay himself down on his stomach without breaking a sweat (not that he's going to attempt it, ever), and he feels himself relax ever so slightly as he eyes the thousands of red and orange leaves surrounding them. Jongin grips the branch tightly when he hears and smells the canine passing by beneath them. He hopes it doesn't bark, because Jongin knows for a fact that it would startle him to the point of falling clear off the branch.

"This way you don't have to share with anybody," Luhan says as a matter-of-factly before picking up the fish and proceeding to bite down on it. It sort of reminds Jongin of the way Sehun looked when the latter took bites out of his sandwich at breakfast time, which sort of makes him sad. "Wait, so that guy was his colleague? Were his colleagues nice people?" he asks, chewing with his mouth open.

Jongin sits at a perfect ninety degree angle, terrified to lean back in fear of losing his balance and falling to his death. "Yeah, I only liked one of them, though," he sighs, making a mental note not to eat six pounds of berries in one sitting when his stomach cramps up painfully. "His name's Baekhyun, he gave me candy." Swinging his legs back and forth, he hums to himself and flinches when he gets his face sprayed with blood after Luhan bites down on the fish a little too forcefully. "And there was also Jongdae--" He clamps his mouth shut when Luhan blinks, and Jongin nearly does end up falling off the branch when he slaps both hands over his mouth. "OhmyGodI'msorryI'msorryIdidn'tmeanto--"

Luhan is silent for a second before he shakes his head. "It's fine, don't worry about it," he says casually before taking another bite, effortlessly ripping the animal to shreds before he hums whilst chewing. "Wait, Jongdae worked there, too?" he asks, eyes wide in surprise when Jongin nods. "My, it's a small world, isn't it--"

"Aren't you mad?" Jongin blurts out, eyebrows furrowed in question as he eyes Luhan. When it becomes obvious that Luhan isn't, in fact, planning on shoving him out of the tree and leaving him alone, Jongin relaxes his grip on the branch. He only blinks when Luhan shakes his head. "Why not--"

"I've learned to get over it," Luhan hums, stuffing the last piece in his mouth. When he sees Jongin's expression, he chuckles. "You either choose to hate your enemies or forgive them, my friend," he simply says before the blood off his fingers. "What happened between you and Sehun, anyway?"

Jongin blinks. "Wait, but like-- He was an to you, why would you forgive him?" he asks, geniune confusion in his eyes as he looks at the older. "I mean-- I...I thought you said you never wanted to see another human again after...well, that--" He his head aside as his head spins.

Luhan doesn't look one bit worried or saddened, and Jongin doesn't know if that's a good or bad thing. "I did say that, yeah," he chuckles, leaning back and grabbing an acorn from one of the smaller branches. His orange tail sways back and forth as he eyes it. "But there comes a time when you realize that you have no choice but to change yourself in order to change everything else," he says, picking at the acorn before biting down on it. "Now tell me, what happened between you and your prince?" He eyes Jongin with twinkling eyes.

Jongin blinks. He spots an acorn two feet away and hooks his tail around one of the branches to bring the acorn closer. After grabbing it, he eyes it curiously. "I...he worked too much and didn't spend any time with me," he says and reluctantly sinks his teeth into the hard, brown shell. It tastes like sandpaper and he grimaces before tossing it off the branch and on the ground. Across from him, Luhan sends him a puzzled look and he sighs. "Yeah, like, I wanted him to pay attention to me but he never could so he said I couldn't stay there anymore." He ignores the pang of sadness that erupts in his chest when he thinks of Sehun's expression when he sat them both down that morning.

"Careful, don't just throw things like that," Luhan squawks before shaking his head. "You could crack somebody's skull open, you know," he adds before furrowing his eyebrows. "Wait, so like, he ended up giving you up because you wanted attention all the time? And he worked too much?" He raises an eyebrow.

Jongin nods slowly, eyes fixated on the bright red bloodstains on Luhan's shirt. "Yeah," he says quietly, shivering when a cold gust of wind passes and rustles the leaves around them.

Luhan is silent for a minute before a small, knowing smile slowly appears on his lips. "I don't believe you."

Jongin blinks. "What do you mean?"

"I said I don't believe you," Luhan simply says before standing up, and Jongin hopes he doesn't slip and break his neck when he proceeds to grab a few leaves with nifty hands. "They say these taste like chicken," he hums and stuffs them all in his mouth, only to spit them all out less than five seconds later. "Okay, yeah, nope--"

Jongin grimaces, trying his best not to lose his balance as he backs up a bit. "Wait, but like, what do you mean?" he asks, pouting slightly as he scratches the back of his ear.

"I meant," Luhan says, still spitting over his shoulder. He sends Jongin an unreadable look. "I'm sure he worked a lot and that you were, y'know, demanding, but I don't think that's the full story." He chuckles before cocking his head to the side. "Wait, how many are you up at so far?" he asks, his entire tail puffing up when two dogs suddenly start barking at each other. "Christ--"

Jongin swallows, feeling that all too familiar coiling in his gut returning. He tries squashing it with his mind, but it doesn't work, much to his dismay. "Uh...ten." He picks up a black beetle and tosses it at Luhan, who effortlessly catches it in his mouth.

Chewing, Luhan nods slowly, and the way he's avoiding Jongin's eyes does nothing to soothe the latter's nerves. "I see," is all he says before grabbing another acorn and crushing it with sharp teeth. "You know, you're my best friend, so I'm just gonna be frank with you." A gust of wind passes and messes up his hair to the point that Jongin can no longer see his eyes. "No offense, but that sounds an awful lot like a pattern to me."

Jongin automatically feels his ears droop. He's definitely heard that one before. He sort of hates Luhan's ability to switch from his usual, carefree happy self to a second father, at least to him. "I guess," he mumbles after a minute's worth of silence. "One of Sehun's colleagues actually said that to me," he says before he can stop himself. When Luhan only raises an eyebrow, Jongin fights the impulse to throw himself off the branch and drown himself in the pond. "Uh...yeah."

"Really," Luhan hums, nodding in understanding whilst picking apart a ladybug. He hands on half to Jongin, who gratefully accepts it. He's silent for a minute before huffing and sitting upright. "Look--" He leans in slightly. "Like I said, you're my best friend and I want you to be happy, y'know?" he chuckles and stares at Jongin with glittering eyes. The latter only avoids his gaze. "I want you to think about why Sehun and everybody else has kicked you out so far, okay?" There's absolutely no bite in his voice and Jongin doesn't know if he should feel comforted or worried. "'Kay?"

"Uh--" Jongin blinks and scratches the back of his head. "I don't--" He clamps his mouth shut when Luhan sends him a dark look. "I mean...I do, I...guess." He forces himself to rack his brain for a possible answer, but out of all his foster families, all he manages to see in front of him is Sehun's face and he swallows thickly. Jongin vividly remembers Sehun telling him his work was becoming too much, and he soundlessly latches onto the branch as he attempts to think (mainly because Luhan won't stop looking at him with that look of his). Amidst the muffled and distorted voices belonging to his foster fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers, one of them manages to break through the thick cloud wallowing in Jongin's head, and the latter nearly falls off the branch in realization. Oh.

Luhan notices the newfound glint in Jongin's eyes and raises an eyebrow. "Well?" he asks, a small smirk on his face.

Jongin bites his lip. He wonders if simply choosing to remain silent is an option, but one look at Luhan's face tells him it's out the window. "He said something about my 'antics'," he mumbles, unable to swallow due to the godforsaken lump in his throat. His legs are starting to go numb from the awkward position he's sitting in, but he doesn't have the courage to shift into a more comfortable position in fear of tumbling off the branch. When silence fills the air, he clears his throat before looking up at Luhan. "Uh...yeah, that's...that's it."

Luhan follows a moth with his eyes before lashing out and grabbing it. He crushes it in his fist before stuffing it in his mouth (Dessert, Jongin figures). Whilst he chews, he sends Jongin a look. "And what do you think he meant by that?"

Watching a few children splash around in the water between the gap in the leaves, Jongin sighs. He seriously wishes Luhan would stop asking him so many questions, because the headache that's creeping up on him is making him want to toss himself off the branch anyway. "I don't know," he mutters absentmindedly, only to flinch when he sees the look on Luhan's face. "I mean-- Yeah, I don't kn-- What do you want me to say?" He feels his tail tremble in agitation and tries not to let the irritation seep into his words, but he's at least 100% sure that Luhan has picked up on it, judging by the way the latter sighs subsequently.

"Okay, look," Luhan says, shifting so he's sitting cross legged, and Jongin wonders how he manages to do it without falling. "You said one of Sehun's colleagues told you the same exact thing, right? Y'know, the thing about the pattern? Right?" he asks, making sure to look Jongin dead in the eyes as he speaks, even though Jongin is doing all he can to avoid his gaze. "Hey, listen--"

"Yeah, he did, can I go now?" Jongin huffs, lips forming an annoyed pout as he prays his legs don't snap off from how stiff they've become. Now that he thinks about it, his entire body is so stiff he worries he might become one with the tree. The thought itself is enough to make him climb off the branch, but he doesn't get a chance to when Luhan stops him. "Hey, I wanna get off--!"

"What do you think he meant by that?" Luhan's cheerful baby face is nowhere to be seen as he stares at Jongin. "What do you think he meant by 'pattern'?" When Jongin only whines, he leans in and taps his shoulder. "Hey, I'm serious, I know you're full and all, but use your head for a second--"

Jongin blinks. He momentarily wonders if Luhan is toying with him just to make him look foolish, because he knows exactlywhat Chanyeol meant by it. In fact, for a second, Jongin promptly refuses to open his mouth in fear of Luhan laughing at him, but it's not until he sees the expectant look on Luhan's face that he caves. "He meant they can't ever handle us so they choose to leave us," he says glumly, wholeheartedly expecting Luhan to burst into laughter. Except he doesn't, and Jongin blinks before looking up, an electric shock travelling up his spine when he sees Luhan's face.

Luhan is silent for a minute before he nods slowly. "Okay, I don't know this guy, but I'm gonna go out on a limb here-" He's briefly distracted by a big, green caterpillar, which he shoves in his mouth before Jongin can blink. "-and say he was talking about you." He looks up whilst chewing and Jongin wonders how somebody could look so intimidating whilst chewing up a larvae. "Am I correct?"

Jongin finds himself unable to speak for a whole minute, the only audible noises being the occasional sigh that slips past his lips every now and then. His heart is pounding so hard he feels his entire body shaking, and Jongin instinctively clings onto the branch for dear life whilst attempting to remain as still as possible. His tongue feels like sandpaper as he opens his mouth to speak. "It's who we are, it's what we do," he says in a low tone, the words falling from his lips before he can even process them. When Luhan doesn't say anything, Jongin feels a pang of irritation erupt in his gut, which causes him to whip his head up and scowl. "You know that, I know you do, why're you trying to make fun of me--"

"You're right, it's who we are," Luhan interrupts, the calmness in his voice only making Jongin that much more agitated, especially when he looks up subsequently. "But what about who they are?" His yellowish green eyes turn a dazzling emerald shade as the sun continues to set, but Jongin can't bring himself to look at them. "Mom actually taught me a saying about meeting people halfway, and it actually helped me and Jongdae's relationship at the beginning. I obviously couldn't control what...happened next, I guess, but we both tried and that's all that matters." He fiddles with an acorn before smashing it to pieces against the dense wood. "I think Sehun probably tried his best to meet you halfway, but you only stayed on your side and expected him to come to you." He looks at Jongin, who has got his head hung impossibly low, before wincing. "Man, these things sure make your go numb--"

Jongin tries stabilizing the spinning in his head that's threatening to send him over the edge, only to give up and slump onto his stomach when his arms fail to support him. He eyes Luhan's muddy Converse as he opens and closes his mouth, the thoughts threatening to burst through his cranium and spill out all across the branch and tumble to the ground below. It suddenly hits him out of nowhere, that out of all his foster families, Sehun has been the first one to actually sit him down and discuss the problem face to face, as opposed to his previous foster families, who solely resorted to grabbing him by the back of the shirt before quite literally kicking him out the front door. Chanyeol's words suddenly flood Jongin's head and the latter is seriously questioning how he's still managing to sit on the branch given how much his head is spinning. Luhan isn't saying a word, which only makes Jongin that much more anxious, but the former thankfully speaks a minute later, much to Jongin's relief.

"Change doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing, you know," Luhan hums, stretching his legs and apologizing when he accidentally kicks Jongin in the face. "I mean, I used to be the same, you know? I was like, entirely convinced that I'd never meet the right family, like, ever, after Jongdae, even though I knew there were like, a hundred people that wanted to take me in." He visibly swallows at the memory before grabbing a leaf and picking it apart. "But y'know, I got tired of using trash bags as pillows every night, so I decided I'd change, and look--" He gestures wildly with his hands whilst chuckling. Jongin only watches with wide eyes. "Point is, I would've never met my family if I didn't choose to change myself," he adds and nearly loses his balance when he attempts to swat at a dragonfly. "Damn it--"

The sound of cars rushing past is all Jongin manages to focus on as he stares blankly in front of him, his head still spinning like a spinning top as he keeps his chin pressed against the rough, uneven oak. His left cheek aches from being whacked in the face by the underside of Luhan's shoe, but Jongin can't bring himself to focus on the pain in his face as he attempts to pick up the pieces of his thoughts. An empty feeling settles at the bottom of his chest, and Jongin figures his brain must definitely hate him, because the next thing he knows, he can practically feel Sehun's body and heat under his fingertips as he kneaded the latter's torso. Whilst on any normal day, the thought would be reassuring enough to lull Jongin to sleep, but right now, he doesn't know if he's feeling a stronger urge to curl up under a bush and scream or simply cry.

Eventually, Jongin's brain seems to mix the two together, because the next thing Jongin knows, he's curling up into a fetal position, not even caring that he's dangerously close to tumbling off the edge of the branch as he wraps his tail tightly around his ankle. He can picture Sehun adopting another, more well mannered hybrid right this second, and Jongin figures they'll be watching TV and celebrating Halloween together, and Jongin doesn't even realize his entire face is practically covered in hot tears until Luhan wipes them away.

"Hey now," Luhan says soothingly, his soft, baby features returning as he pats Jongin's head. "It's better to change now than never, right?" He quickly swats at an ant that crawls towards Jongin's ear before scooching in and humming low in his throat. "I mean, that's not to say that you need to change yourself entirely-" He chuckles. "Like, don't feel forced to get a job or go to college just 'cause they want you to, but like, try to find that perfect balance, y'know?" He cards his fingers through Jongin's jet black hair, the latter only sniffling in response. "Like I said, if you make an effort to meet 'em halfway, they'll make an effort to meet you halfway, that's usually how it works." When Jongin only buries his face in his hands, he sighs. "Do you think you'll try going back to him?"

Jongin slowly raises his head, only to grimace when he realizes he's practically lying in a puddle of his own tears. He slowly shakes his head. "He won't want me to come back to him, he hates me like I hate his colleague," he mumbles, crushing an ant with his index finger. He sort of wish he hadn't said that, because the way his heart clenches subsequently has him keening. "Why do you think I would, anyway," he grumbles, his body feeling like it's been lying on a bed of needles as he attempts to raise himself off the branch. He ends up making it to a half-assed push-up position before he gives up and flops back down on his stomach. Amidst the leaves rustling, he hears voices and Jongin prays that his theory about drunk people being unable to climb trees is true, or else he might as well say his final prayers.

Luhan, unsurprisingly enough, seems to be unaffected by the idea of possibly being slaughtered by alcoholics, and he simply nods in understanding. "I see, not everyone's as willing to take us back, I guess," he mumbles before a -eating grin appears on his lips. "And It's nothing, it's just that you didn't seem to notice that for a whole fifteen minutes--" He points and Jongin's jaw drops when he sees a crow sitting peacefully on one of the branches to his right. "...So I figured something was up." The bird chirps loudly, which makes Jongin flinch.

Jongin blinks. He seriously wonders how he managed to miss a bird less than two feet away, considering he can easily hear a sparrow rustling in a tree by the upstairs window whilst watching TV downstairs. Nevertheless, he stares at the animal and blushes when his stomach growls subsequently. He doesn't have the courage to move in fear of losing his balance, so he sighs before running a hand through his hair. "What do you mean," he says glumly, flicking an ant towards Luhan, making the latter squawk.

Luhan picks up the ant before it off his finger. "You know, I was thinking," he starts, his lips, "since you said he looks like a prince, and that you're his princess, that technically means that you're in love, I think." He pouts in contemplation before beaming. "I mean, I've never really been in love before, so don't take my word for it." An acorn falls from one of the branches above and bounces off his head, and he proceeds to throw it right at Jongin's head when the latter bursts into a series of loud laughter. "Shut up, moron--"

Jongin rubs the sore spot on his forehead whilst furrowing his eyebrows slightly. The temperature must have dropped by at least ten degrees since they scurried up the tree, which becomes painfully apparent when a gust of wind passes and Jongin briefly worries he'll die of hypothermia. "But how can you tell if you don't know what it's like?" he asks, mainly himself, as he continues to sneak glances at the crow in his peripheral. His stomach grumbles again.

Luhan shrugs. "I actually asked my brother how he knew he was in love with his girlfriend," he says. "And he said he knew it when he realized he couldn't stop thinking about her when they were apart and that she made him happier than anybody else in general." He shrugs again. "Maybe you're in love with somebody from your foster families, who knows!"

Jongin blinks. He has never really given the concept of love a thought, aside from the love he feels for fishing and sleeping in a comfy bed, and he finds himself scratching the back of his ear in wonder. "I don't know if I love Sehun as much as I love dressing up and catching fish, but I guess," he mumbles, eyebrows knitted together in wonder as he plays with his tail. He goes back to observing the crow, which is still surprisingly calm, but he's quickly distracted when he sees the look on Luhan's face. "What? What is it??"

"Jeez, I didn't know Sehun equated to ten different foster families," Luhan says with a -eating grin on his face. He puts his hands up in defense when Jongin sends him a look. "I feel you, though, I had a certain love for Jongdae before he turned into a psycho." He grits his teeth in anger for a second before looking at Jongin, only to realize that Jongin is staring at the crow perched on one of the branches. "You know, Mom says it's not good to eat late at night, but eh, screw it--"

Jongin raises an eyebrow, but he doesn't even get a chance to ask what Luhan means when, the next thing he knows, Luhan is swinging his arm out, and Jongin flinches and covers his eyes when a hundred black feathers come raining down subsequently. Jongin hears the bird emit an ear piercing screech and, through the gaps between his fingers, he sees Luhan hiss before dipping down and sinking his teeth into the animal's neck; a technique he taught Jongin when they were younger and the latter was an inexperienced hunter (Jongin figures he's a more experienced hunter when it comes to insects and smaller birds, but even so). Jongin feels his stomach growl when Luhan hands him the bird, and he's about to accept it when the sounds of shoes pressing down against gravel breaks the silence.

"...What was that," Luhan mumbles, wiping the blood off his face as he looks down. There's so many leaves blocking their view that Jongin barely even sees anything.

Jongin shrugs, and all he can really think about is how badly he misses his jacket, because it has got to be at least zero degrees outside right now. His ears twitch as he listens to the sounds feet walking below, and he's sort of really glad he and Luhan are shielded by the leaves and branches. Jongin's relief, however, is short lived when he, in his distracted state, manages to miss the bird, and he curses when it falls off the branch and onto the ground below. "Damn it--"

"Three second rule," Luhan snickers before sending Jongin a look, only to huff when the latter shakes his head furiously. "Come on, it's not that high up--"

"It's not that!" Jongin retorts, ears folded as he cowers slightly. "What...I mean...what if there's scary people down there and they chase me?" He looks at Luhan, trying not to shiver at the thought. He doesn't if death by falling out of a tree or being chased and murdered by a group of drunk people is more desirable. "What if they grab me?? You're a much faster at climber than I am--" He pouts when Luhan sends him a look of pure disbelief. "Pleasepleasepleaseplease--"

Luhan rolls his eyes and sighs in defeat. "Fine, damn you, Kim Jongin, don't tell me you're a low class hunter and a low class tree climber, as well," he chuckles before shifting. "I think I see somebody down there, they look tall so maybe we could ask them for a hand," he mutters, not even giving Jongin a chance to answer before he's off the branch, climbing down the trunk and landing on his feet in three swift moves.

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