Baekho pouted as Minhyun prepared his medicine box to be carried up the mountain. He sat at the front door, intentionally blocking it. Minhyun laughed, seeing what Baekho was doing.

"You're not stopping me that way," Minhyun said with a grin. Baekho grumbled and stood up, hopping over to Minhyun and engulfing him in an embrace instead.

"What about this way?"

Minhyun laughed and tried to push him away. "No way. Come on, Baekho. I'll be quick."

Baekho gave Minhyun a quick peck on the lips, making the doctor freeze up. He blinked at Baekho who smiled innocently and let him go. "Okay. Hurry up then!!"

"Eh- what." Baekho started pushing Minhyun out instead. "No, wait, explain."

"No can do! Just come back quickly," Baekho said cheekily, rushing Minhyun out this time. They made it to the door and Baekho helped Minhyun put on his scarf before giving him another kiss on his reddened cheek. Minhyun squeaked and Baekho grinned. "See ya!"

"Not fair! We will talk about this when I come home," Minhyun grumbled and hurriedly made his way to the mountains. Baekho smiled all the way until Minhyun was out of sight and sighed. He wanted to follow Minhyun but he didn't want the other to get upset at him so he didn't have a choice. He looked around the house and decided to help with cleaning instead. He grabbed a broom and started sweeping to the best of his abilities.

After roughly two hours or so of cleaning, Baekho let out a huff and sat down in the clean living room now. He hoped Minhyun would be happy with his efforts and he smiled as he thought about the possibilities of Minhyun's expressions. He wasn't too sure when it started but whenever he thought about Minhyun, he would just break into a smile and when he saw the other, he couldn't stop wanting to hug him either. Baekho thought he wasn't really this clingy or affectionate of a tiger but with Minhyun, he seemed to be. The sound of horse hooves made Baekho perk up as he moved towards the window to peep out. He wiped away the condensed water from the window to get a better look. It was rare for anyone to come by this area since it was quite far out from the any small towns. He squinted since he couldn't see well in the snow but he decided that he was just going to wait for Minhyun back in the room. As he moved away from the window, he caught a whiff of a familiar scent. It made him stiffen and he rushed to the room, throwing the blanket over himself and hiding. A rough knock on the door made him flinch but he wasn't about to get out of bed to answer it.

They were here.

Minhyun hummed as he started descending from the mountain, walking the same path he once had when he had first found Baekho. He smiled a little fondly when he passed by the area and noticed a small patch of winter flowers. He squatted down and silently apologised to the flowers before plucking a few off its stem. He wondered if Baekho liked flowers as he continued his way down. His legs halted when he noticed a couple of horsemen in front of his home. They were all dressed in armor and had capes. He took further notice of the one slamming his door and gasped. Baekho. That was the immediate thought that crossed his mind as he rushed all the way towards his home, the flowers that he held now falling to the ground.

"Hey! What are you doing at my house?" He yelled unintentionally, catching their attention. The one at the door stopped and turned to Minhyun.

"Are you the owner of this house?" the male asked and Minhyun gulped as the other horsemen hopped down and surrounded him. He glanced around but stayed calm.

"Yes. I am. And what business do you have with me?" He asked, keeping a steady tone. The male exchanged glances with the other horsemen.

"I do not have any business with you but I have business with whatever is within that house," He replied and Minhyun feigned ignorance.

"I don't know what you're saying. I live alone in the house," He lied, putting on a blank expression. The male smiled before he started laughing. The others laughed along, making Minhyun feel uneasy.

"Right. You're lying," the male said flatly and signalled the others who held onto Minhyun's arms.

"What are you doing?! Let go of me!" Minhyun groaned while trying to pull his arms away as the male turned back to the door. "Stop! There's really no one else in there."

"You're not a very good liar," the male said flatly and literally blew the door away with his hand. It startled Minhyun but he realised what these people were. They were sorcerers. Minhyun had only heard about them but to see one use their power in front of his eyes made him feel small. These were the people who captured Baekho? How could he ever hope to stand at their level? He stopped struggling for a moment but as the male stepped in, he started again. Baekho.

"You're trespassing into my house," Minhyun yelped, trying to pull out whatever reasons he had to stop the man from going in any further. "Stop it." The man ignored Minhyun as he looked around the house. There was no sign of the tiger even as he blew all the furniture to one side, not bothering about the mess.

"Come out, come out wherever you are. Don't think you can hide from me."

"Ugh! Let go!" Minhyun tried to kick the sorcerers holding onto him but they weren't fazed by it.

The male swung his hand and both doors slammed open. He could see the empty bathroom with one glance so he headed towards the bedroom. He stood at the doorway and gazed inside. There was nothing on the bed or anywhere in the room but he wasn't easily tricked. He swung his hand upwards and the bed lifted up. Baekho yelped as he turned around, blanket still around him as he saw who stood at the door.

"There you are. You sure hid your presence well in that silly human form and to think you managed to free yourself too." Baekho was frozen in fear but the sound of Minhyun's struggles snapped something within him as his body started changing and he growled. Protect. Protect. Protect. His mind repeated it over and over again as he turned back into his tiger form. "That's what I want to see."

Minhyun's unsuccessful struggles paused again when his bedroom window suddenly burst into tiny shards and a white tiger was flung out of it. He cried out, knowing full well who it was. Baekho whimpered as he pushed himself back to his feet. "Ah... Baekho, run!" Baekho turned to Minhyun and growled when he saw the two holding onto him. The sorcerer from inside climbed out through the window, a smirk on his lips.

"You won't be able to escape me again," the male chuckled. "Only in death you will have a free life."

"Baekho! Move! Get away!" Minhyun screamed, not wanting Baekho to get caught again. The sorcerer glanced at the human male and back to the tiger. Baekho didn't know what to do. He wanted to save Minhyun but he knew he wouldn't be able to win them. He wasn't strong enough and he knew the sorcerer had stocked up on his magic power from just one fling. "Don't care about me! Just go!"

Baekho whined and took a step back. He tried to run but even then, he couldn't as a gust of wind pulled him back. He snarled and tried to tackle the sorcerer instead but was met with a large volume of air slamming him onto the ground. He choked out the air in his lungs and laid on the ground, shivering as he tried to breathe and replenish his oxygen that was rapidly being stolen.

"So weak. This is what happens when you stay in your human form for too long," the sorcerer spoke with a venomous tone as he walked up to Baekho and stepped on his body. Baekho gritted his fangs and growled but there was no strength behind it.

"Baekho!" Minhyun continued yelling and managed to break free from one of the two. He shoved the other away and ran to Baekho but slammed right into an invisible wall of air before he could reach him. He felt a constriction around his throat that was slowly lifting him off the ground. He was choking and gasping for air. Baekho let out a cry when he saw what was happening to Minhyun. He turned back to his human form so he could speak.

"Don't hurt him!" he pleaded the sorcerer. Minhyun shook his head and kicked the air as if that would help. "Please. I'll go back with you."

"N-no.. B-Baek-"

"That's much easier, isn't it?" the sorcerer said mockingly. "But... I need reassurance. Take this human with us."

"Huh? Minhyun! No!" Baekho reached out for the human male who was flung back to the sorcerers who caught him. Minhyun coughed and held his throat. His consciousness fading rapidly as his lungs now lacked the amount needed to keep his consciousness functioning. He passed out and Baekho could only watch them strap the human male onto one of the horses. He tried to shift back but he felt as thought his energy was being sapped again. He failed to protect Minhyun and now he was captured with the other. He felt useless even though he was supposed to be strong. "Leave him alone."

"Sorry but you escaped once and that didn't look good for me. So now you know, if you try to escape again, your little human friend probably won't live another day again."

Baekho wanted to cry and beg the other not to do something so cruel but a heavy hit in the head made him pass out before he could say anything.

"Load him up as well."

~~~

Minhyun groaned as he felt his senses coming back to him. He felt terrible but at least he was still alive. He coughed and choked for air as if his body was now recalling the need for it. He sat up and felt a sharp pain in his head. He blinked and shut his eyes again, trying to get them to focus before he gasped and snapped them wide open again.

"Baekho." He looked around and was confused. He wasn't back home but was most definitely in a jail cell. He saw his medicine box laying on the ground and hurried to it, checking if the contents were still intact. He let out a relieved sign when everything was still there but a laugh made him flinch.

"You won't be needing that anymore," the person who laughed said. He glanced back and someone stood behind the bars that kept him captive.

"Wh... What do you mean?" he asked, feeling the pain in his throat as he spoke.

"You're never leaving here, you know," the other continued. Minhyun couldn't recognise him but then again, he didn't have a good look at the sorcerers earlier. He just knew it wasn't the one who was capable of using wind magic.

"What are you talking about? You can't keep me in here," Minhyun gasped as he put the medicine box back onto his back and got up, stumbling a little as his knees shook.

"Oh yes we can. And he totally plans on doing that."

"Who is he? And why? And who are you?" Minhyun only had questions and the cheeky sounding male grinned.

"I'm Minki!" the male introduced himself with a cute smile but it didn't make Minhyun feel any more relaxed. "And the he I was talking about is our wind sorcerer supreme, Jonghyun. He's keeping you here to keep the weretiger in check."

Minhyun let out a sharp gasp and moved forward, gripping the cold bars in his hands. "Why are you guys doing this to Baekho? He's an innocent man."

Minki kept the smile on his face. "He's not a man. Don't be silly. He's a weretiger."

"He's still innocent! And naive. He doesn't deserve to be treated like this," Minhyun said in a saddened tone.

"No, probably not. But he does make for good energy," Minki replied in a playful tone. "You want to know how Jonghyun is so strong? He took a whole cannister of the weretiger's energy before we came. Beat the crap easily out of both of you." Minki giggled and Minhyun didn't know what to say. He was just a regular human after all. He had no magic powers like sorcerers and he wasn't a weretiger, just a plain human.

"But you still can't keep me in here. There are people who are waiting for me. They require medical assistance," Minhyun said firmly.

"You're talking about your little doctor job, right? Well, don't bother. Just let them die. Then you won't have anything to worry about."

Minhyun gasped and he slammed his fists against the bar. "How could you say something like that?! Those are human lives. Don't they mean anything to you?" Minki scowled and took a step forward. He lifted his hand and icicles starting forming at his fingertips. Minhyun gasped and stepped away from the bars.

"You do not use that tone on me. If I was the sorcerer supreme, I would have already killed you." His tone was cold and so was his expression but then it changed back again to a smiling one. "With that said, you're our prisoner. For life maybe."

Minhyun collapsed onto the ground again and let out shaky breaths. What was he going to do? There were people who needed him and Baekho was not safe here. He needed to get out.