“I never asked but where did you get those locations?” Gahyeon says as she looks over Dami’s shoulder at the map in her hands. Dami gives a slightly annoyed expression at the invasion of her personal space but Gahyeon is oblivious to it.

“From the principal himself. He gave me a file with everything he knows about CM.” Dami pulls out the said folder from her backpack and opens it for everyone to see. They were currently setting up camp at the base of a mountain. They would have to climb it tomorrow when the sun is out to get to their destination.

The campfire crackles, emitting a pretty purple fire (courtesy of one Kim Bora). The file contains handwritten notes and clippings about the sightings of CM over the years. One headline from an obscured newspaper stated that CM had been wiped out by two heroes named Muse and Kwon. A closer inspection at the grainy black-and-white photograph made it obvious that Kwon was the HF academy principal. Dami figures that the woman next to him was the close friend he was talking about.

“This map shows previous locations that CM were known to operate from. The one near your hometown has a cluster of sightings so I went for that one first. If you look carefully,” Dami circles 3 big clusters on the map with a red marker. “There’s exactly 3 main areas. I suspect that the next two locations we are going to check out will have the other two pillars.” The other files were diary entries, detailing expeditions and other miscellaneous information about CM. Dami would have to read through them later and sort out the important stuff.

Handong came back with Siyeon in tow, holding some freshly caught fish from the river nearby. Jiu and Yoohyeon were currently on guard duty for the night so they were perched at a higher vantage point. Bora was resting on her sleeping bag but she wasn’t sleeping.

“You think they’re trying to use the pillars?” Bora asks, staring up at the night sky.

“Chances are, yes. The problem is that we don't know what they do when activated and if we do, how to prevent whatever comes out.” Dami replies, passing over the folder for Gahyeon. Handong and Siyeon sheathe their hunting knives and prepare the fish for grilling. Soon, a delicious aroma fills the night air, attracting a doctor-in-training and a tengu from their perch.

“Wow, you guys caught a lot of good fish.” Yoohyeon comments as she watches them grill over the campfire. “I could never.” She thinks back to the times when she was just learning her transformation. Her clumsy claws and jerky wings did nothing to help her catch fish in the river. In the end, her dad did all the fishing while she did the splashing.

“Nah this is all Dongie. I tried to help but those fish are slippery bastards.” Siyeon nudges her arm in Handong’s direction, much to the chinese girl’s embarrassment.

“I hunted a lot back home.” Everyone grabbed a piece of fish once it was done grilling. They had to admit, despite the circumstances, this felt like a camping trip that they’ve seen on tv. It was a nice bonding experience, especially for Handong. “This is pretty nice. I have never done this before.”

“What? Camping?” Bora asks with fish between . Jiu scolds her for talking with full. Yoohyeon laughs at Bora but then a piece of fish drops out of , causing Jiu to scold her next. Next to them, Gahyeon laughs her head off at top ace Kim Bora and local idiot Kim Yoohyeon getting reprimanded. Even Dami cracks a small smile.

“No, having friends.” Siyeon spits out the water she just drank, unable to believe her ears. She shoots an apologetic look at Jiu, not wanting to get scolded too.

“What do you mean? You didn't have any at your previous school?”

Wistfully smiling at the girls, Handong prods the campfire with her used skewer. “Well I had the village elders and the adults but there were - are no young people besides me in the village. There has not been another since I was born. This academy has given me new experiences, including making friends around my age.”

As Dami listened, she couldn’t help but think that Handong’s hometown was a little odd. From what the blonde has told her, the village is mostly white, mostly winter? And that it was a small hunting village. The language written on the pillar is the ancient language of her village. Now Handong was the only young person in the past decade or two to have been born within the village? It was all very weird but then again, the detective always found Handong to be a little strange. Maybe when this is all over, Dami will take her up on her offer and visit her home.

But for now, they had to talk business. “Is there anything else you can tell us about the pillars?”

Handong closes her eyes, trying her best to recall if there was anything the elders told her about them. She draws a blank. “Unfortunately, no. But the pillars were told as a part of the legend of a god named Haetem. The library at school didn't have any books on her...” Handong unconsciously pouts because she thought of when she spent nearly 3 hours in the library, scouring for books on Haetem.

Cute. Dami thinks. Wait, what?

The detective shakes her head to snap her out of her random thoughts. Gahyeon yawns, causing the others to follow the yawning chain. They decide to talk more tomorrow when they’ve gotten a good night’s rest. Yoohyeon and Jiu go back to their post higher up on the hill, ready for a long night.

--

With the fire put out, only the moon provided light in the dark. Yoohyeon and Jiu sat side by side, watching over the sleeping girls. The younger girl noticed that Jiu was starting to shiver a bit from the temperature dropping. They were close to the mountains too, so it was only natural that the air was getting colder.

“Cold?” The blonde nods, wishing she had Bora’s powers right about now. Frost was even starting to come out of . Unfortunately, their combat clothes did not include long coats because those would hinder movement. Only when it is time to climb the mountain will they put on big coats. Instead, Yoohyeon allows her two main wings to spread out, wrapping around them both in a black cocoon.

Jiu instantly felt warmer. Absently, she reaches out to touch the black feathers. “So soft...” Beside her, Yoohyeon blushes from the admiration in Jiu