When night is dark and the ground soft, there are no sounds in an old forest like this. Birds are asleep, tucked close together in bushes and three tops. All Chanyeol could hear was his own breath and feet slamming down on the ground, stepping on dry branches and kicking stones into the unknown. He had been running for a while, out of breath from more than one reason and finally dared stop to have a better look around. His long legs were not the best for running, at least not in the dark shadows from majestic trees that shut out the bright light from the moon. Chanyeol bent over to rub his sore knees, hit into an unknown number of rocks after tripping over slippery roots covered in moss.

He should have known better, but he truly believed that he knew this forest by now. How much could it change in 10 years anyway? He had been completely wrong. In the state of panic, he didn’t stand a chance against nature.

How he had managed to get lost was beyond his understanding, unless there were stories there actually were true. When he closed his eyes, he could see everything once again. He had thought he knew who she was, but then the clouds drifted away, leaving the bright moon alone on the sky to lighten up the clearing as if it was mid-day.

Moonlight had been dancing on the surface of the dark pond of muddy water, like the brightest crystals and that was when he had seen it, the tail.

It had to be a tail, he couldn’t be that wrong. He had seen a tail many times enough to know what they looked like. There were always cows on the fields around the village, and the way they used their tail to wipe away flies, had made him want one for himself when he was a kid.

Without saying goodbye, without answering her ask, he had simply turned around and started running. Now he was lost. His mind gone blank, not capable of recognising any familiar tree or rock. When he looked up on the sky, large threes were spinning around him, trapping him, blocking his view.

As his breathing became more regular and he no longer felt the taste of blood on his tongue, he could see clearly again. When his eyes fell on a familiar tree just a couple of meters away, he pulled his dirty hands through damp, unruly hair in relief. It had to be the mushrooms they picked the other day, the ones they had for dinner. He needed to warn everyone, make sure no one ate any more of it, because clearly some of them had been poisonous, making him hallucinate.

On quivering legs, he walked the last part home without looking back.

“What the hell is going on?” A sleepy Sehun with messy hair and narrow eyes yelled at him from the doorway and abruptly pulled him out of his trance. Chanyeol straightened his back and had a quick look around in the kitchen. He had pulled open every single cabinet and drawer in his panicked search.

“We have to throw away the mushrooms”

Sehun just stood there, not saying a word but with a question mark painted on his face.

“They made med sick, I’m seeing things” he tried to explain his brother. “Come on, help me look for leftovers”

“Did you smoke toadstools or what?” Sehun started closing whatever cabinet Chanyeol was pulling open before he took a good grip on his brother’s shoulders and shook him properly.

“Look at me!” Sehun pushed him to sit down at a chair before he pulled out one for himself, just in front of the older brother, knees knocking together.

“You look like . Where have you been? What have you been up to?”

Chanyeol let his gaze rest on the moon outside the window. Now that he sat down, he felt how badly his legs hurt, how the chapped skin on his knees and hands burned. He felt calmer though, even if his heart was still beating too fast in his chest.

“I went to the pond, and then I started hallucinating and on my way home I got lost and panicked.”

Confused eyes looked at him for a while and then the younger shook his head and pointed at Chanyeol’s knees. “I don’t know what you have eaten, but we need to clean up those cuts”

Sehun dragged his older brother up from the chair and into their bathroom and Chanyeol let him. Like a kid, he let the other undress him and clean up all of his wounds. None of them were particularly big or needed a band aid, but being cleaned up was needed. He worked in silence and it felt good not to be peppered with questions. Chanyeol didn’t have any that made sense anyway.

When finally tucked in bed, after forced into having a glass of water, Chanyeol finally felt his body relax and slowly mould into the soft mattress. His eyelids felt heavy and sleep waited just around the corner. Sehun mumbled something like “Idiot” under his breath and turned to leave.

“Wait!”

Chanyeol sat up, memories hitting like strikes of lightning. “You have to stay away from Astrid!”

“What?” Sehun tilted his head and studied his brother. “Are you sure you’re feeling better?”

“I do, I do, but please. I have a really bad feeling about her. Just don’t get involved with her until I know more. Pleeeease?” He knew Sehun would never believe him, but he had to warn him. He had no proof, but he had a really bad feeling about that girl.”

“Fine. I’ll stay away for a couple of days. Now, go to sleep. You look like you need it”

It took some time of twisting and turning, but he finally drifted off to a restless sleep, haunted by creatures from his books and threatening shadows.