With the weather continuously getting chillier, Baekhyun was staying inside more and keeping Molzey by him...or at least, trying to keep Molzey by him. 

A while ago, Kyungsoo had gotten annoyed with how often Molzey had been running around the castle, saying she was causing too much ruckus. Baekhyun had needed to explain to him how Molzey needed to stretch her legs and run around to burn off energy. She was still young, after all. It had become a normal thing for Molzey to run around during the morning, come back to him a bit after breakfast, and then disappear to run around again sometime before dinner. Lately, however, Baekhyun had realized that Molzey had been disappearing more often and for longer periods of time. 

“Kyungsoo!” Baekhyun called as he spotted the dragon peacefully laying in front of a fireplace with a crackling fire heating up the room.

“Uhg...what?” Kyungsoo asked, opening one of his eyes and staring at Baekhyun. “Do you have to shout? It’s really annoying, you know.”

“Do you know where Molzey has gone off to?” he asked. “I haven't seen her around for a while.”

“What, are you scared that I finally ate her or something?” Kyungsoo asked with an evil snicker while flicking his tongue across his lips. 

“You wouldn’t have dared to do that,” Baekhyun said with an annoyed glare in his eyes,

Another chuckle passed Kyungsoo’s lips, finding it entertaining since he knew Baekhyun would not be able to do anything to him even if he had been serious about eating his precious pet.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t eat your pet,” the dragon finally stated. Leaning closer to Baekhyun, he let out a large breath of warm air which nearly knocked Baekhyun over in the process. “I’ve been seeing her running around outside, going in and out of the forest.”

“Outside?” questioned Baekhyun with a raised eyebrow.

“You said she needed to run around to let out her energy so I figured you were letting her out,” Kyungsoo stated, honestly not caring what the small creature did. 

“I never let her out though…” Baekhyun told him as he scratched his head. 

“You probably left the kitchen door open again then,” Kyungsoo replied in an annoyed voice. “Remember, that’s how we got the rabbit inside.”

After becoming annoyed about having to capture the rabbit and set it free outside again, Baekhyun had become paranoid about always making sure the kitchen door was closed. But, to appease Kyungsoo in what he assumed to have happened, he headed off towards the kitchen. He could hear Kyungsoo curling back up on the floor to rest again as he walked away and could not help but sigh. Kyungsoo did not have to clean, cook his meals, or worry about running out of any supplies, the dragon had an easy life. 

In the kitchen he could see the door was closed and even when he went up to it and pulled on the handle he found is firmly closed. Baekhyun scratched his head while he wondered how Molzey had managed to get outside if he had not done it and if Kyungsoo had not as well.

It was not like he had to worry too much about whether Molzey would come back because she had each day and relied on him a lot. The only thing he wanted to know was how she had managed to get out in the first place. Doors and windows were closed so he really had no clue how she had managed to escape. He stood there in the kitchen contemplating other possible options, when all of the sudden he started to hear a faint scratching sound. First, Baekhyun thought that maybe squirrels had somehow gotten in and were running around, but then the sound started to get louder and sounded similar to how Molzey walked. 

“Molzey?” Baekhyun lightly called as he started stooping down and looking under tables to see if she had been sleeping under one of them. 

When he was bending down to check under one last table where the vegetables always sat, he realized he was hearing Molzey’s sounds she usually made when she was happy or excited. Then, somehow, one of the stones pushed forward and Molzey popped her head out and looked startled to see Baekhyun right there.

As if playing innocent, Molzey slowly walked the rest of the way out of the wall, stood in front of the stone she had pushed out, and slowly backed up into it so shove it back into place, but ever so slightly sticking out on one of the corners.

Without thinking, Baekhyun scooped Molzey up from the floor and held her at eye height with himself so he could stare at her.

“What have you been doing? What was that moveable stone all about?” he questioned her as if she was going to be able to answer. 

Molzey wiggled around in his hands a little making noise until she was able to maneuver herself onto one of his shoulders. Baekhyun felt Molzey nuzzling up against him like normal and could not help but smile a bit, glad that she was at least her same self. 

“I hear that it’s returned!” Kyungsoo called out loudly in a not-too-thrilled tone. 

With Molzey still perched on his shoulder, Baekhyun walked back to Kyungsoo and stood in the doorway.

“You were right, the door was left cracked open,” lied Baekhyun. “The wind must have been strong enough to stop it from closing the last time I had it open.”

“Told you so,” Kyungsoo stated. “Try not to let it happen again or you’ll be chasing some random animal who comes in again.”

Baekhyun let out a small hum, acting as if he acknowledged Kyungsoo being right. Having no idea if the dragon knew about these, what appeared to be, tunnels that Molzey was using, he did not want to give anything away incase Kyungsoo would try to do something to stop Molzey from using them anymore.

Slowly backing away from the room and heading back to his room, Baekhyun positioned Molzey so he was carrying her in his arms. As he was carrying her, however, she started to wiggle along the way and eventually jumped down from his arms. Baekhyun watched as she ran a little down the hallway and then stopped, looking back at him with her tail swishing back and forth a bit. 

Seeing how Molzey seemed so eager to stand there, and now how she was pawing slightly at the stone, Baekhyun made his way over and knelt down next to it. Carefully, he used his hands to pry the stone away from the wall. As soon as it budged a little, Molzey let out an excited sound and placed her front paws on the wall. After a little more prying, the stone moved away enough for Baekhyun to be able to look into the wall. Although the lighting was not the best, he could tell that there was a tunnel, one that looked just big enough for Molzey to navigate through.

After a quick glance around to make sure Kyungsoo had not appeared behind him silently, a bad habit of the dragon's, Baekhyun slid the stone back into its place and stood back up. With the coast clear, he used his boot to make a small scuff mark on the wall to remind him of where the tunnel was. Although he could not fit through them, he wanted to make sure he knew where they were so that if Molzey wanted to go out he would be able to let her. 

“There has to be some reason why you’re showing me these other than just wanting to go outside,” Baekhyun whispered to her, which he got a small yipp in response. “Do you know where other tunnels are?”

Right as those words passed his mouth, Molzey darted off down the hallway. Even as Baekhyun yelled after her, she did not slow down and led the way. 

Baekhyun has no idea how much time had passed before Molzey finally led him back to their room and settled down onto his bed. In total, twelve tunnels had been marked throughout the castle, not counting the one in the tunnel which he had caught Molzey coming in through earlier.

“Thirteen tunnels in total...but why are they here? How are they here?” Baekhyun asked as if expecting Molzey to suddenly start talking to him. 

Walking over to his bed, he flopped down onto it and looked over at Molzey who was sitting close to him, looking down at him with large eyes. When he reached his hand up, she willingly nuzzled her head into his palm and thumped her tail against the covers. 

“I know you like going out and all...but when it starts snowing I don’t want you going out as much,” Baekhyun told her. “You're still too small.”

As if she understood him, she moved her head out from under his hand and gave him a few play bites that did not break the skin. Baekhyun moved his fingers around and let Molzey get out some more energy by playing with his hand and chasing it around the bed. When she was finally panting and settling down he got up and moved over to the window. He opened one of the shudders and was met with a kiss of cold air that blew his hair back from his face and sent a small shiver down his spine. 

With the days getting shorter, the sky was already getting darker as the sun set. The wind rustled the leaves across the ground and howled through the burnt trees. His situation might not have been the most ideal, and his surroundings may not have been the best, but Baekhyun was still thankful that he had somewhere to stay and had Molzey. Though he did not like to acknowledge it, he was also thankful to have that stubborn dragon as company too. He was better company to talk to rather than having no one, even if he did get cranky, sarcastic, and sassy very quickly on him. 

Having nothing better to do, Baekhyun stood at the window and watched as the sun set and get replaced with the moon and stars. There were so many stars shining in the cloudless night, some brighter and bigger than others. His eyes were scanning across the dark night sky when something out of the corner of his eye suddenly caught his attention. Looking down towards the forest, he realized it was the same wolf as the previous time. Only now, in the light of the moon, the wolf seemed to be glowing as the light bounced off its fur. Baekhyun then watched as the wolf lifted its head up and let out a long, loud howl. 

As the howl got carried away by the wind, Molzey jumped off the bed and ran to the door, scratching at it feverishly. Baekhyun turned around in shock when he heard her growling and making distressed noises. Was something wrong? Was she scared? But then again she had gotten along just fine with the wolf the other time. That was when it hit him like a ton of bricks.

“You’ve been going somewhere with the wolf, haven’t you, Molzey?” Baekhyun asked in a shocked voice. 

Molzey calmed down slightly until the wolf let out another howl. This time, she bolted to the window and stood on the windowsill looking out. 

Scared that she would attempt jumping out, Bae