C h a p t e r E i g h t 
Legendary Lovers II     Ecru White Woods - Year X665     The wind stilled, and it seemed like all sound was silenced. He watched her with his stormy silver eyes; his gaze piercing. Their surroundings had calmed after the short-lived fight that had taken place just a few moments before. All he had to do was swing around his scythe, get in a few hits and the Thieves ran for their lives.   Little orbs of golden light floated around them and as one of them hovered closely beside her and lighting up her chocolate brown eye. He was able to catch a glimpse of her beauty. And it was as if the world had come to a stop at that very moment. He was captivated by her.   Min watched him carefully. After he had announced himself to be the Reaper she was left nothing short of flabbergasted. And it wasn't like she was in a favorable position anyway, so that left her even more suspicious about the guy's actual identity. Obviously he wasn't the Reaper, she was. So she had to be careful. How he would answer her next question would determine if she could possibly trust the mysterious man, because for the most part it wasn't like she had a choice. If those Thieves showed up again she would be screwed.   She straightened up and upon seeing this the blonde man also straightened. He was incredibly tall, almost about as tall as Zelo but was more athletic in build. His skin was smooth like porcelain but a golden type of tan; his face incredibly beautiful with very sharp and chiseled features. He had a very defined jawline, his eyebrows thick and his lips full. Their was an intensity in his gaze despite it having soften; they gleamed a unique type of silver that she hadn't ever before encountered.   "So you're the Reaper?" She finally spoke, her voice catching him off guard.   He laughed a little, now taking her by surprise with his carefree attitude, a completely different type of attitude than the one she had expected from him to have. "God, no. Not at all." He shook his head. "That guy's awesome. Nah,I'm just some good Samaritan strolling by."   She eyed him suspiciously. "But your scythe?" Granted, it was nothing like her scythe, the scythe the Reaper was said to use, but still. Everything about the situation was making her curious about the mysterious man in front of her.   "Tsk. Tsk," He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Clearly you don't know your Reaper lore. Rumor says he uses a magical weapon that can shapeshift, from double blades to a red bladed scythe." He then held out his scythe in front of him. "This is all mine, and unfortunately incredibly bland," He let the weapon dematerialize in front of him and sighed. "Fortunately for you it seemed like you weren't the only one aware of this. Good thing too because that was most likely why I was able to get away with it."   She smiled. He was a lot smarter than she gave him credit for. He knew what it was he was talking about. "So you often go around posing as him, I take it?"   He shook his head sadly. "No. I rarely go out at all."   Min rolled her eyes. "Never would've guessed."   "I just heard one of the guys mention him and decided why not."   "Oh."   He took a moment to look over her and noted her somewhat ragged and haggard appearance. "By the way you don't look so good. You lost?"   "You can say that. I kind of stumbled here."   He raised a brow, "So..."   She then turned her attention toward the direction in which she descended from. "I fell off the side of the ridge and got separated from my friends."   "You mean there?" He pointed, unbelieving that any normal person could have fallen from there without sustaining any serious injuries. "You fell from there?" Min nodded, looking at him weirdly as he gave her a dumbfounded expression. He really was really nothing like he appeared to be. He let out a little whistle of how impressed he was with her fall. "Well now you don't look so bad."   She gave him a sarcastic smile. "Didn't think so."   He liked her. He couldn't place his finger on it, but there was something he just liked. She was very cool, calm and collected about everything yet obviously still on guard of his presence. That brought about a curiosity in him that he hadn't experienced in quite a while. Normally, he wasn't the type too care so much about anyone. But yet, she piqued his interest in very mysterious ways. "So what brings you to the Whitewoods?" He asked as he casually shrugged off his coat to throw it over her.   Min let out a little grunt as the thick layer of fabric fell over her head, making her hunch over slightly from it's weight. She gave a little growl of annoyance and furrowed her brows as she lifted the coat off from over her face to peer at him. "Just passing through is all."   He nodded in understanding. "You from N'Haria?" He wore a black T-shirt that emphasized his lean but toned body nicely. Clearly he was athletic in stature and that much was showcased through the cut of the sleeves that tightened slightly against his defined arms. Granted, he was still nothing like Taeyang, but he was in great shape nonetheless.   "No. I'm on a trip with a few friends." Min peeled the coat off of herself before slipping it on. She wasn't exactly cold, but she was still very much feeling the effects from the Nullifying Charge, which meant she was a little bit more susceptible to the cool weather without her connection to the darkness. The black hooded coat was rather large on her, she felt ridiculous, but it was comfortable for the most part. With her favorite red coat absent, this had to make due. "Unfortunately we got separated after we got jumped."   "And was it because of them?" He wanted to burst into laughter when he finally saw the already tiny girl looking so much smaller tucked away in his coat. She was cute enough as it was, but even more adorable now looking the way she did. He almost had to fight the urge to go over and pinch her cheeks. She seemed like the type who wouldn't like it too much anyway.   "Yup." Min folded her arms over her chest and sighed. This really was worse case scenario for her. Never in her twenty years of life did she ever feel helpless or the need to rely on someone else for protection. Especially from some stranger. Before she knew it, feeling frustrated with herself, she began walking forward, the man watching her curiously as she did.   "So what did they want from you?" He asked as he caught up to start walking beside her.   She shrugged. "No clue. They must've thought we were carrying valuables or something."   He nodded again in understanding. Sounds like something Thieves would do after all. "And what was it about the Reaper?"   She cocked a brow in his direction. Why was he so curious all of a sudden? She made sure to change her expression before he could notice when she answered, "They wanted to work fast because they were afraid they would appear."   "Damn," He puffed up his chest arrogantly. "Well it's a good thing I pretended to be him. No wonder they were scared less." He then turned his attention back, watching her as she looked straight ahead. He smirked and then came up to stand in front of her. Stopping her in her tracks. "I'm Kris, by the way."   She laughed. He really was nothing like what she expected. She watched him extend his hand out and then reached for it in return. "Call me, Min."   Min. He liked the sound of her name already. "Well Min, would you mind if I escorted you to wherever it is you need to go? I wouldn't feel good leaving a woman like you to travel by yourself. Especially after what happened. They might stick around to try jumping you again."   She didn't know why, but she flattered by his offer. Yeah, she was used to people in her group being protective of her. But this guy was a stranger, and a handsome one at that. He wasn't obligated to worry about her. So despite her better judgment, she agreed. "Sure. I'm headed to the village nearby anyway"   "Alright," Kris was overjoyed. "Let's get going."          

"Aren't you guys the least bit worried about her?" Taeyang, now in his human form, asked as he walked beside Jiyong at the back of the group.

It had been almost twenty minutes since they separated from Min and the journey toward the village had been quiet. He had considered going back, maybe even trying to make it down the ridge to meet her, but his gut decided against it. If her own group members weren't bothering to do it, then why should he? And why should he be caring so much anyway? It's not like he did, really. And as much as he wanted to try, he couldn't find a reasonable excuse to justify why he did. If he did. Which he didn't.

"Of course we are, but we also have confidence in her abilities," Jiyong explained. "She's our leader after all and you've seen what she can do first hand. You should be confident too."

"She took a hard fall," He reminded Jiyong.

It was easy for Taeyang to get along with the red-haired Hunter, surprisingly. Not only was he a good fighter and a reliable comrade, but for some reason it was just easy for him to talk to. Jiyong was someone with no qualms about him. He was very honest and straightforward, while still being a little bit more polite about it then someone like Min, who was also very straightforward but just very blunt about it. He came off as someone you could trust. And despite having once seen them as enemies, he found that it was good to socialize with the 

Jiyong on the other hand, was amused by the wolf's concern for his small leader. It seemed that not even Taeyang himself had realized how concern he actually was for the girl. "A fall like that means absolutely nothing to Min." It made Jiyong assume that he was probably telling him that because he wanted to persuade Jiyong into going back for her so that way he could volunteer to assist him. But he wasn't budging. Min was strong. And if Taeyang knew any better he would be more concerned for them than her.

"I never knew Hunters could be as strong as you guys are," Taeyang then started, surprising himself as he kept the conversation between them going. "The Hunters I've met have always been... how shall I put this..." He thought about it for a moment. "Lackluster at best. But I guess that's to be expected from the Elite Seven."

Jiyong shrugged. "Maybe so."

Taeyang watched as the rest of the group walked ahead of them. The teal-haired Bom and ash-blonde Jia were walking side by side trying to catch the orbs of golden light that hovered around them as they tracked through the Whitewoods. Ahead of them were Seungri, L and Zelo who were lost in their own conversation about the theories surrounding the natural phenomenon that was the Whitewoods.

It brought about yet another question he didn't realize he always had. "So, if I'm not wrong, you guys are the 4th Elite. Does that mean you're the fourth strongest Elite Team the RED has to offer? Because I honestly can't and don't really want to imagine that there are three other groups that are more powerful than this."

Jiyong laughed. "Contrary to what others believe the Elites were assigned by location, not rank. If anyone had to say who was the strongest of the Seven, it would undoubtedly be the 4th, merely by word of mouth. Though the mysterious and incredibly elusive 7th is said to be just as."

This annoyed Taeyang. "So then are you or aren't you?"

"The strongest?" Taeyang raised his brows, expressing his frustration at the obvious question, before Jiyong answered. "Min likes to say that, but it's all based on perspective and what you perceive as strong." This confused the Alpha, but he didn't say anything as Jiyong continued, "We're 4th Elite. A common misconception is that we're known for our strength among the Elite Seven... but that's not all true. What we're most known for is for being an Elite group comprised of Seven Meisters all varying in unique Classes."

To this Taeyang furrowed his brows in confusion. "Classes? Meisters?" Jiyong noticed as if it were all so obvious. "Jiyong, I don't know if you've noticed or not... but I'm not a Hunter. I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. It all just sounds like gibberish to me."

"Leave it to Jiyong to assume everyone is as smart as he is," Jia commented as she glanced at them from over her shoulder. "Layman terms, Ji!"

"My apologies. Let me explain," Jiyong cleared his throat in embarrassment. "A Class is a system created by RED and used to distinguish what kind of Charge a Hunter uses.  The other Elite groups are specifically made up of either all Combat Class members, Defensive Class members or Support Class members, which are the three Classes provided. Some will even go as far as to specify what kind of combat class they are by dividing into sub-Classes, as in Close Combat or Ranged Combat." So far Taeyang was keeping up with his explanation. "Our group on the other hand, has members whose Classes vary. We have some that use Offensive Charges, like myself and Min, some that use Defensive like Seungri and Jia, some that use Support like Bom and some Offensive-Support like Zelo. L varies the most out of all of us."

Taeyang nodded in understanding. "Okay, so that's Class. Now what the heck is a Meister?"

Jiyong laughed. It seemed that his friends, specifically Min and Jia, weren't exaggerating when they would about knowing so much. But he continued to answer Taeyang's questions. "As you know Moxie is the term used for someone that is able to unlock the power that resides in their soul, and can only be achieved if the person has a strong spirit, and therefor can channel that energy. That, in turn, is called Moxie Pressure, and it defines the amount of spiritual power that person has. Charges are the projection of Moxie in a more tangible form, and the type of Charge a person casts reflects on the type of spirit they possess. A Meister, or Charge Meister as it's properly called, is a person who has come to control their Charge enough to be able to perform powerful abilities without using too much energy and still exuding a lot of Moxie Pressure. Not everyone can master a Charge so it establishes who's eligible to become part of an Elite group and who isn't."

"How is that determined?" Taeyang asked curiously.

"The Trials. It's a kind of tournament that happens once a year between RED divisions. Hunters are put through a series of rigorous tasks that is able to calculate the amount of Moxie Pressure that is being used and the amount that's being reserved while having to be resourceful with limited options as you fight through several opponents. The tasks change every years but scoring over three-thousand on the trials means that you're elegible in becoming a Meister. There's more to it than that but that's pretty much the basics."

"So then everyone in the Elite Seven is a Charge Meister?"

"You have to be," Jiyong thought about something before adding, "But there has been exceptions."

Taeyang looked at him curiously, "Like?"

"Min and myself," Jiyong answered proudly. "We were placed in the 4th Elite before we became Meisters. It was mainly for our physical strength and Moxie Pressure rather than our Charge abilities. Though people already had high expectations of us. Especially since Min and I were training with Charges that were known to be quite difficult."

The more Jiyong explained the more intrigued Taeyang became. "How so?"

"Well, despite varying in different forms, Charges have