A sigh left Taehyun as he zoned back in, opening his eyes as he found himself in the middle of the forest. "You did this didn't you?" He asked his wolf as he reached into his pocket and took out his phone, looking at the time. He looked around to try and find his bearings before heading back in the direction of the house.
 

~

"Welcome back," called Gunil as Taehyun appeared in the front yard, smirking at the annoyed look Taehyun gave Gunil.

"God, that was annoying to come back to," groaned Taehyun as he stretched, popping a few joints here and there before walking over to Gunil. "Where's Soobin?" He asked.

"He's hanging out with Kai today," responded Gunil. "Beomgyu would be but Jiseok needed him for something, apparently he's getting discharged today," he added. "Ah," hummed Taehyun.

"Kai wanted to go out, so Soobin took him to the fort," said Gunil. "Turns out it's near his caretaker's home," he added. "I think Soobin should've went to school to be a caretaker," commented Taehyun. "I don't know, he strikes me as someone that needs to be taken care of," hummed Gunil. "You think so?" Asked Taehyun. Gunil nodded in response.
 

~

"Kai," called Soobin as he knocked on the door to the fort, opening it to peek inside to find Kai sleeping on the platform that was the sleeping area. "Come on kiddo, let's roast some marshmallows," he said gently, moving to shake Kai awake. "Marshmallows?" Mumbled Kai as he moved, yawning as he sat up, fully waking when the word sunk in. "Marshmallows?!" He shouted excitedly. "Come on," Soobin said with a gentle smile, helping Kai get to his feet before walking with him out to the small fire pit and sitting him down in one of the chairs.

"Did you have fun today?" Asked Soobin as he worked on starting the fire, throwing a few sticks in before going to carve a spear for the marshmallows. "Yeah!" Kai exclaimed excitedly. "Gyu is coming right? And- and scary man and Tae?" He asked. "Scary man?" Asked Soobin. "Gunil! Gunil is scary man," explained Kai.

Soobin couldn't help but burst into laughter at the nickname. "Yes, they're coming," he said after he calmed down a bit, focusing on the sticks. "Jiseok too," he added. "Um," hummed Kai as he looked thoughtful. "You'll find a name for him I'm sure," Soobin said with an amused tone. "Yeah!" Kai said with a grin.

"Here you go," said Soobin as he handed Kai a stick with a marshmallow attached to it. "Be careful okay?" He asked. Kai nodded eagerly as he moved the marshmallow over the fire. "Don't eat too many, I need to prepare dinner," said Soobin. "Okay," hummed Kai as he concentrated on the stick.

Soobin smiled softly at Kai before going to get the ingredients for dinner ready, going to cut up the vegetables and getting a pan ready for stir fry. Kai blew on the marshmallow when it was ready, gently picking it off the stick and eating it, making a mess as he hummed in contentment, off the left over goo that the marshmallow left behind on his fingers.

Soobin let out a lighthearted sigh and walked over with some wipes, cleaning up Kai and leaving him to his devices while he went back to preparing dinner.

"What's for dinner Soobinnie?" Asked Kai. "Stir fry, it's too hot for the meat today so I couldn't bring it with me," answered Soobin. "But we have potatoes, and lots of seasoning," he added, going to boil the potatoes in a pot as he set it directly on the fire.

"Yuck, vegetables," Kai remarked with a disgusted face. "They're good for you Kai, I hate them too but I still eat them," Soobin explained with an amused tone. Kai looked offended at that. "You have to eat them too?" He asked, shocked. "Of course," hummed Soobin as he grabbed the pan and cut a bit of butter into it, letting it melt as he set it near the fire.

"Ew," whined Kai. "I know, I know," hummed Soobin. "Don't worry, I'll make sure it tastes good okay?" He asked, adding the vegetables into the pan. "Okay," mumbled Kai.
 

~

"Something smells good," came Taehyun's voice as he walked into view with Gunil, Beomgyu and Jiseok. "We're about to have stir fry," Soobin called from his place by the fire as he moved around the vegetables in the pan before taking it off to cool down and add the seasoning.

"Gyu!" Said Kai as he got up and ran over to Beomgyu and tackled him. "Hey Kai," Beomgyu said, chuckling softly as he caught Kai, setting him down. "I have to eat vegetables," whined Kai. "Ah, but you're a growing boy," explained Beomgyu. "You want to be big and strong like me right?" He asked.

"Vegetables do that?" Asked Kai as his eyes widened. "Yes, they do," hummed Beomgyu. "I do, I do!" Shouted Kai. "Okay okay go sit down and we'll wait on Soobin to give you the food okay?" Asked Beomgyu. Kai nodded and went back to sit down, Soobin giving a relieved look to Beomgyu who merely smiled at Soobin before going to sit down on the ground by Kai.

Taehyun went to see about helping Soobin while Gunil and Jiseok went to sit on the other side of the fire across from Kai and Beomgyu.
 

~

After dinner Kai enjoyed another toasted marshmallow before getting cleaned up by Beomgyu and placed in the fort to sleep, being tired from the days events. Soobin and the others sat around the fire, Soobin enjoying a nice bottle of beer while stoking the fire with a stick. Beomgyu left the door open and pushed back the tarp roof to let the air circulate before going to join the others by the fire, a somber mood suddenly overtaking everyone.

"My wolf is finally waking up it seems," Taehyun exclaimed suddenly, causing everyone to turn to him. "Really? After months of not showing itself?" Asked Soobin as he tossed another log into the fire before leaving it, leaning back on his hands as he set his bottle of beer beside him.

"Yeah, it's taking its sweet time wanting to show itself though," grumbled Taehyun. "It's probably waiting on you," remarked Gunil. "You've been having a lot of zone outs lately, but you haven't changed yet," he added. "So it's waiting on me wanting to change?" Asked Taehyun. "It seems so," hummed Gunil.

Soobin yawned, breaking up the tense atmosphere and causing Taehyun to start laughing. "Oi, it's been a long day with Kai okay?" Grumbled Soobin as he got up, stretching. "I'm going to turn in for the night then," he added, stumbling into the fort to sleep.

"Kai can be a handful," Beomgyu said with a fond smile before sighing and leaning back in his chair.

"Your nickname is now scary man by the way," Taehyun said with a snicker as he turned to Gunil who snorts in response. "Okay," hummed Gunil. "I'm not scary whatsoever but sure," he added, earning a chuckle from everyone.

"Did he ever come up with one for me?" Asked Jiseok. "I think he was in the midst of coming up with one," hummed Beomgyu.

"So how's his brain? Is it getting any better?" Asked Taehyun. "It's healed from what the doctors said," responded Beomgyu. "It's perfectly fine," he added. "But whether he moves out of that mindset or not is up to him apparently," he hummed.
 

~

The next morning Soobin woke Kai after leaving the fort to see Taehyun already making breakfast for them. Soobin went to help Kai get washed up in the river before drying him off and getting him to change clothes. Soobin went to do the same, coming back with Kai to the fire pit and sitting him down in a chair.

"Where's Gyu?" Kai whined sleepily as he rubbed his eyes. "He went to get cleaned up, he'll be back soon," explained Taehyun as he brought over a plate of eggs for Kai. "...Mm want to see Gyu before going home," mumbled Kai as he started eating. "You'll see him, don't worry," Soobin tried to reassure Kai. "They'll be back soon!" Taehyun responded gently, smiling at Kai who smiled sleepily back at him.

Soobin got his own plate of food and sat down in the other chair and started eating, humming in content as he missed Taehyun's cooking. "I guess my cooking hasn't gone away yet," Taehyun remarked with a snicker. "I did miss your cooking not gonna lie," Soobin responded with a chuckle.

"I'm going to miss this place," hummed Taehyun as he put the tarp back over to cover the rest of the roof. "Yeah, same," agreed Soobin as he turned to the fort.
 

~

After breakfast Soobin was about to start carrying Kai back to the caretaker's home while Taehyun cleaned up when Beomgyu finally showed up, looking out of breath as he came to a stop nearby.

"Gyu!" Yelled Kai as Soobin and Taehyun looked at him. "I'll take you home okay?" Asked Beomgyu as he smiled at Kai. "Come on," he said, walking over to Kai who jumped onto his back. Beomgyu made sure he was comfortable before he started walking back. "Close your eyes okay? I'm going to go really fast," he commanded. "Okay Gyu," mumbled Kai before he did so. Beomgyu soon ran back full speed, just as a howl was heard in the distance.

Taehyun got to his feet and Soobin looked surprised when Jiseok appeared, looking worse for wear as he slammed into Taehyun. "Kid, your wolf needs to come out now," yelled Jiseok as he shook Taehyun. "Wha-?" Asked Taehyun as he felt it, jolting forward and into Jiseok who caught him.

"Don't fight it okay? Just let it happen, I need to get Soobin out," said Jiseok. "I-I what's happening?" Grunted Taehyun as he grit his teeth, feeling the signs of the first change. "I don't have time to explain this," said Jiseok as he sprinted over to Soobin as if protecting him.

Taehyun moved away from the firepit, whimpers escaping him as his wolf started to claw its way forward. "Don't fight it Taehyun, whatever you do!" Shouted Jiseok. "W-Wait," Said Soobin as he was pushed into the fort, Jiseok slamming the door in his face. "Stay there, it's for your safety," growled Jiseok as he made sure to block the door with a log.

Soobin was engulfed in darkness, listening to the sounds of Taehyun's first change. He went to sit on the platform, hugging his knees and trying to not make a sound as he heard the cries in pain from Taehyun.