C h a p t e r S e v e n 
Legendary Lovers     Ecru White Woods - Year X665   Ecru; The name of the mystical tree known for emitting an ethereal energy and a beautiful glow within the dark confines of the forest.   A rareity, even in their world, what covered most of the grounds and the trees couldn't be classified as either snow nor crystal. They were just grown that way. The branchesof the great Ecru trees expanded vast distances, resulting in the leaves covering up the outside sky and giving the woods the appearance of it always being night time. Because of this, the woods was cold all year round and as the light of the sun and moon reflected off of the crystal-like trunks and glittering white leaves outside, little balls of light were created and fluttered listlessly throughout the area inside. It was enchanting and those who'd never seen it before would never believe such a thing existed. The expansion of the forest covered almost 200 acres worth of land, but slowly, a decline has been noted, sparking the interest of the Council who wish to preserve it.   Little is known about the Ecru and it's origin but a well known legend spoke of the woods having a direct connection the Astral Plane; a dimension that divides the world of the living from that of the dead; The source of all living things on Earth, including Earth itself. Some believed it to be the cause. And it seemed reasonable enough since even in their world, the existance of something like it was such a strange occurrence.   And such a magical location, it seemed natural that stories passed down regarding the Ecru White Woods were almost endless; the most notably well known among them being the Story of the Star-Crossed Lovers, in which two individuals will walk the same path and ultimately be revealed to be bound by both love and hate. These two will ultimately be connected and destined to a tragic romance that transcends time.   But of course, the story never tells of which path, only that it is a mysterious path isolated from all the others. In some passages, the two individuals aren't even aware that the other is on the same path until the end. While in others, they travel down the path together.   But those were just fairytales and surely they didn't exist...          

"Are you... Okay?" Zelo asked as he looked over his shoulder and down at the Alpha leader of the Southern Wolf  Tribe.

"My powers still haven't full recovered," Taeyang explained. "I used up too much of my power with that stupid a Holy Charge and Shifting between phases."

Upon beginning their journey, the group was caught off guard when the first thing they had to do was fight a wave of Shades. Granted, it was easier now that they knew what they were dealing with, but it still took a lot out of them. They even had to make sure to get rid of them quickly because they thought the three Vampires were closing in on them. It proved not to be the case and instead, they had been alternating between fighting Shades and regular Shadowlin for the last three days on their way towards the Eastersands. As a result it was difficult to fully regain all of their energy and they were basically exhausted once again after having to keep alternating between their primary and secondary charges.

"So you're like this... because?" L provoked as he cocked a brow towards Taeyang's direction. Along the course of the week and three days since their meeting, L made it pretty clear he wasn't too fond of the canine, especially not when Min was involved, and the feeling was mutual on Taeyang's side. He also wasn't too fond of the boys parasitic nature when it came to clinging onto Min.

Taeyang growled. "Shut up."

"I can't believe you can actually turn into a dog, though." Now it was Seungri's turn to voice his opinion in the curious case of what was Taeyang's current state. Which yes, was that of your average wolf. An appearance he had just phased into early on after their last fight with a group of Volat's: a breed of flying shadowlin with mutated bat-like features. In fact, they seemed more reptilian in face.

"It doesn't make me less strong," He assured as he stalked forward, thick jet black fur covering his body entirely. 

"Then why don't you phase into that more often?" Seungri once again continued, actually prefering Taeyang's new doggy form.

Taeyang's face darkened, his golden eyes piercing. "Because it kills my image."

Seungri raised a brow. "And how is that?"

"You're a good little boy," Bom's baby voice could suddenly be heard, making everyone stop to look down to see her crouched in front of Taeyang and petting him under his chin with a silly smile plastered on her face. "Yes you are. Yes you are."

Taeyang just glared over at the group and cocked his head to side. "Like that."

"Bom, give it a rest," Jia sighed as she placed her hands in her pockets. 

"Aw," She pouted cutely and stood up. "But he's so cute."

"I'm not cute!" He barked defensively.

"Sit boy. Here's a treat." To everyone's surprise and amusement, the now quiet Jiyong squatted in front of Taeyang, not truly understanding the situation, holding out what appeared to be a biscuit. When it came to things about battle and reading s, Jiyong had no problems. But once he's placed in a situation in which he needs to read to atmosphere outside of a fight, let's just say he becomes somewhat... oblivious. At the moment, he saw Taeyang as a cute dog, completely unaware of his annoyance towards being treated like one.

"I'm not your pet!" He yelled out again.

"You say that but your tail was wagging both times," Seungri mumbled beneath his breath, careful not to be caught by the sharp eared wolf.

"Where did he get the biscuit from anyways?" Jia whispered to Zelo, who shrugged in reply.

"Okay," Min finally decided to join the conversation and stopped in front of him. "So then why are you like that now?"

"It helps me preserve my energy in between fights. I can use my werewolf battles, but this provides a bit more regeneration. It's faster, better and more effective then my human state." Taeyang answered simply while he still kept a watchful eye on Bom and Jiyong who looked like they were about to fight one another so that they could have the next turn to play with him. "I've been phasing in and out of battle too much, it's taking a lot out of me."

"Makes sense," She nodded in understanding. It was normal. Especially since they were all becoming drained by switching back and forth between their primary and secondary charges.

"Does it really, though?" L cocked a curious brow at Min.

She shrugged and nodded once again. "Sure."

"I didn't know phasing affected you so much," Jia then commented as she tried catching some of the little balls of light that floated around them.

"Phasing is a part of werewolfism but it's not something to be done so often," Taeyang began explaining. "Old lore often said that werewolves could only shapeshift on a full moon, but it was only because that's how often a werewolf should phase in order to retain energy, not because the moon is what makes us shift. Although it does affect our powers."

"How so?" Zelo then asked as he leaned against the tree beside Taeyang, watching in amusement as his older brother looked like he wanted to go back to pet him again but was being held back by Bom. It was a little known fact that Jiyong had a weak point towards animals, especially dogs. He spent most of their childhood asking for one. It was the only thing he ever wanted and if Zelo recalled correctly it was the only thing he ever asked for until their parents died.

"It heightens them."

"Well... Guess the old lore had to come from somewhere," Seungri concluded, proud of himself for getting top the bottom of it.

The others watched him with a frown, the word idiot being a common one in all of their thoughts. And that was without having to read one another's minds.

"It's just weird not seeing you in a white shirt and your black leather vest," Min smirked provokingly.

Taeyang's eyes narrowed. "I can still rip your head off."

"Heel, Fido," Min smirked. "I don't want to have to put you down."

The rest of the group stifled a laugh and took a moment to rest near a tall ridge. They had been walking for almost three days and have only been taking quick stops in local Inns of neighboring towns and villages on their way to the RED Eastern Division located in the Eastersands which happened to be on the other side of the Ecru White Woods in N'Haria.

Despite it's location near the South-Eastern Coast, N'Haria was cold all year round. And while the others struggled to keep warm, Min and Taeyang had no problem adjusting.

"I can understand Taeyang not being cold since he's warm bodied. But why are you always so at ease in the cold?" Seungri asked as he watched Min take off her favorite red coat and place it on her legs as she sat on the ground.

"Could it be her darkness powers?" Bom wondered as she placed her index finger under her chin and began tapping it slightly as she thought about it. "I remember when I used to dual against Min. Whenever she trapped me in one of her darkness charges, it was always freezing.

"I still get cold," She assured. 

"Rarely," Seungri added under his breath.

She gave him a glare making him grin at her sheepishly before she continued. "Besides, if that were the case than shouldn't it be the same for Ji. He uses gravity charges."

"My gravity abilities vary accordingly," Jiyong then began. His arms were folded across his chest as he leaned his back against a tree with his right leg tucked under him. "I only have one ability lowers the pressure immensely that it can reach below zero temperatures. Your Darkness abilities are constant no matter how you use them. Therefor it's always cold."

Taeyang, who was listening to them speak as he laid down on the ground beside Jiyong, found it interesting how Primary Charges directly affected the user. Would I feel cold if I was ever caught in one of Min's abilities? He wondered and then looked over to find the small girl closing her eyes as she leaned her head back against the trunk of one of the large Ecru trees. Again, he found himself watching her intently as he placed his head on his paws, his large golden eyes focused on her. Her breathing was perfectly even and it was the first time he had been able to see her so relaxed. As he was in the middle of hoping he would never have to find out, he once again caught himself repeating the same question over again. How can someone like her be so powerful? In the current state she was in, she looked almost nonthreatening. If anyone were to see her, who would ever imagine that she would be who she says she was? Who would ever believe it?

"Minnie. I got you this." She flinched a little when she saw a hand suddenly appear in front of her. She cocked her head curiously at the young Zelo as he held out a closed fist. He smiled and opened it to reveal a Galaxea Rose; A flower indigenous to the Ecru White Woods. 

"My favorite!" She beamed. "Thanks, kiddo." She ruffled his hair lovingly after she took the rose and placed it in her hair, weaving the stem of the flower into the braid she now wore to keep the loose strands of her flowing hair out of her eyes.

L watched with interest and looked over at Zelo as he came up over to sit on a large boulder beside him.

"Why do you try so hard? It's not like he's interested."

Zelo frowned. "There's still a chance." He made sure to keep his voice low, and in a way he was hoping L didn't hear him, but when he heard him sigh, he knew he did.

L ran his fingers through his ashy hair. "I understand you want them to be together, but it's not going to work."

"Why?" Zelo's eyes narrowed as he snapped at the older but still making sure to keep the conversation between them as the others went