"NOU!!!!" The sound of Chanyeol's thunder voice rolled throughout the forest as he pounced on top of me. He latched himself to me like a gosling to its mother.

"Chanyeol, what are you doing!?" I forced him off of me to pummel him with my little hands. The comb fell out of my hair and tumbled onto the ground. "I nearly had a heart attack..."

"Was it because you were so excited to see me?" He sweetly smiled at me as I my face turned red. Whenever he said these sweet things to me, I wasn't sure how to reply -- whether I should tell him that he was being too straightforward or if he was telling me too much for my ears to listen to.

"I don't know..." I quickly picked up the comb and dusted off the dry soil. Studying it, I realized that the details became more clear when it was dirty. Each and every carving was horribly scratched on. An amused grin crossed my face. "Chanyeol... How long did it take you to make this comb?"

He looked up in thought, trying to find the answer in his head. "I think it was about two weeks? But anyways..." He cupped my cheek with his large hands and pulled my face in towards his own. Before our lips could touch, I angrily covered my mouth. He avoided the topic of his sloppy etching.

"Will you stop?" My heart was beating so quickly that I couldn't look at him. His golden eyes flashed sadly as I pulled myself away. "I promised myself that I would not do these things."

"Things like...?" Chanyeol asked curiously. He wrapped his arm around my waist and nuzzled his nose into my hair, inhaling every last drop of my scent like it was the air he breathed.

"Things like this!" I pinched his cheek angrily, wanting him to stop before we were caught snuggling with each other. Chanyeol frowned as he pulled away, rubbing his abused cheek. "Keep your distance. Someone could be watching from somewhere."

He looked around with his sharp eyes for a sign of life -- but it was obvious that we were too deep into the forest to be seen or heard by anyone. Well, humans at the least. I was pretty sure that Chanyeol's clan had excellent hearing.

"Why are you worried?" He sighed and looked away from me, disappointed that I held a gap between our skinship. "Fear should not cloak your emotions. I want to be in your heart with you, not waiting on the outside for a sign."

The instant those words came out of his mouth, I pursed my lips and huddled my legs to my chest. The way he smoothly spoke bothered me. Did he hold no doubts? Was he already so profound on his feelings? Hesitation and worry sank into my throat, leaving an unwanted lump.

"Chanyeol... I -- " He cut me off by covering my mouth. Why did it feel like there were always hands on my mouth?

"Don't say it..." A deep sigh exhaled from his mouth. "But... I wish you could have the same feelings as I..."

His hand slipped from my face and fell onto my own. Chanyeol tightened his grip and tried to smile at me. I could tell that it wasn't sincere. My hands wormed themselves out of his.

"I think I will just head home now. It seems that my presence here isn't helping you to feel any better." Quickly, I got up and dusted off my clothes. "We will see each other soon."

"That was too soon!" His lower lip lifted in a pout while he gazed at me. "I wish for you to stay longer. We've hardly even gotten to speak."

I looked down at him, my hands on my waist, and decided to sit back down. "We'll talk about something else."

"Like?" I could see the excitement filling his face. His eyebrows lifted. His ears perked. He was definitely happy that I ended up staying.

"Mama?" Subtly, I tried to learn about her. All the questions that filled my mind wanted answers, and Chanyeol was most likely to tell me.

"Hmm...." His lips curved to the side of his face. Disatisfaction immediately made his face droopy, but he continued anyways. "I guess so..."

"Excellent!" I successfully clapped my hands together.

"What do you want to know?" When he asked me, Chanyeol looked smarter. His face seemed to tense up a bit and he straightened his hunched back.

A finger raised to my lips as I thought about what to say. Even though I had forced him into the topic, I lost all my questions. I made one up at the tip of my tongue.

"Why is she important?" Ugh. It sounded horrible.

He scratched his scalp with a confused look on his face, but continued to answer. "Mama is important because she created us. The men in our clan believe that she sent them to this world to discover themselves in a new world."

Another question came to mind. "Why aren't you allowed to see your other species?"

Again, he looked quite confused. "I'm not too sure, but if I'm correct, Father Wolf said that it is to keep our purity for Mama."

"Purity..." I nodded my head, acting like I understood. Although the fact of the matter was that I obviously did not. But the questions didn't stop there.

For about two more hours, Chanyeol taught me more about Mama and his culture. The way his clan lived, the strange language they learned, and the ceremonies they had every twelve moons.

Every word that flew out of his mouth, like a bird from its cage, fascinated me so much. These men were so dedicated to their Goddess as a way of life. They loved and appreciated her for the life she gave them, blessing her with all of their hearts. Especially Father Wolf, who Chanyeol said was the most religious man of all. Hearing this made my heart and brain smile.

Finally, I learned all that I wanted to know, but I knew it somehow wouldn't stop there. Something would always come up that captured my mind.

"Is that all?" An exhausted look crossed his face. He was tired from doing so much explaining about himself that he had become bored with his own religion. "Less talk of me, more about you! My life is dull compared to yours..."

"Alright, we'll stop there." I giggled as his head fell to his shoulder. "Now what would you like to know about me?"

Chanyeol lifted his head to think for a moment. The first thing he asked seemed impossible to answer. "What do you like about me?"

A strange look came upon my face and then he changed his mind.

"Actually..." He looked to the side trying to switch the question, but his expression suddenly became serious.

Aware of his tensity, I looked the same direction. There, in the distance, two men stood watch. They both looked quite young, bark brown and stardust gold hair. At first, it scared me that the Chanyeol and I hadn't sensed them before -- but then ceased to think that way after figuring that they must have been a part of the Wolf clan.

Their shimmering, golden eyes could be seen from where we sat.

Slowly, they made their way around the forest brush to us. I dared not to run from my spot, afraid of what would happen. My body felt sore from staying stiffly still, unmoving to the sound of their foosteps getting closer.

I could feel the adrenaline shooting through my body. It was a human instinct for me to run from something that looked dangerous, but Chanyeol held me still with the knowledge that I would do something idiotic.

In front of me, the bark brown haired one creeped closer. Although he was not in his wolf form, he sniffed the thick air around me, trying to get a hold of why his brother held me close.

"What do you want?" Chanyeol asked casually.

"What is this?" The man with stardust gold hair came up from behind me, studying parts of my body that he had never seen on another person before.

Chanyeol secured my body next to his, throwing his arms around me in a defensive position. "THIS is my other half." He said with a smile.

"Other half...?" The both of them baffled by their clan member's strange statement.

"This is a woman." It sounded completely stupid, but it was only an explanation of what I was. "She is what I desire."

A low growl came from the stardust haired one. "Brother, this is against -- "

"Yeah, yeah -- ancient law!" Chanyeol interrupted him bravely. "I know the situation. I already have an explanation prepared for everyone."

"Then explain..." The bark brown haired one squinted his eyes like he was targeting us. "I'm curious."

Chanyeol cleared his throat and loosened his hold on me. I faced the two men in front of me with a courageous face. They looked straight into my eyes, estranged by the magic that connected us.

I began to feel faint. My eyes blurred into a different vision -- two young children standing in front of me, holding hands. Their golden eyes peered up at me. Who were they...?

Blinking back into reality, I gasped and looked away from them. My head buried itself into Chanyeol's chest, trying to stop the vision.

"What is this feeling...?" The both of them looked at each other while placing their hands on their hearts. "It's familiar...."

 

"Don't be fooled brothers!" Zitao's voice sounded from a treetop.

 

We all looked up to see him perched in a branch above us. How long had he been sitting there? Had he heard our whole conversation?

"Zitao, don't." Finally, a protective growl hummed from the depths of Chanyeol's throat. "You know you feel the same presence as our other brothers do."

"Other brothers?" The stardust haired one spoke up. His ears slightly lifted as he questioned Chanyeol. "Are you saying that the others already know of this affair?"

A sly smile crossed Zitao's face. He was happy that they were turning against Chanyeol, angered that they hadn't known a single thing.

"Brother, are you trying to make fools out of us?" The bark brown haired one's words chomped at Chanyeol. "I thought we were close?"

"Do not take it that way." Chanyeol calmly explained to them, trying hard to keep their emotions stable. "When the others learned of this woman, it was all by accident. I have been urging myself to let you all know, but I just can't find the right time."

They kept their eyes focused on Chanyeol.

"I had a great fear that you would all misunderstand this. I want to be with her -- "

"That is impossible." The stardust haired one lawfully interrupted.

"Yes, but please listen to my words." Chanyeol barked angrily.

He huffed his breath. "Continue..."

"But when I first saw her, I had this strange feeling in my heart. I told myself that it couldn't be, however there was something about her presence that drew me near." I could hear his teeth grinding in hopes that they would believe his words. "In the beginning, I only wanted to find the answer, but then my heart began to want her."

Zitao's eyes set themselves on me. The hairs on the back of my neck rose; I could sense the shimmering gold in his eyes circulating as he glared.

"Brother, what do you find in this creature that... Interested you so much?" The two clanmen kept their eyes peeled on Chanyeol, yet at the same time, they watched me.

"I'm not too sure myself, but I could feel the power of Mama inside of her. Every move, every breath, every time she looked at me -- time felt like it had stopped." He paused to clear his throat and, again, was cut off.

"It is faint, but I can sense it." The bark brown haired man tilted his head as he studied me. When he looked straight into my eyes, I could feel a rockslide tumbling inside of my heart. Was it true?

"We were misguided, my brother." Both of them bowed their heads respectfully and relaxed themselves. From the corner of my eye, Zitao's disappointment blazed like a large fire. The two Wolf clanmen walked past him to where I quietly sat with Chanyeol. "And we have not yet been introduced."

We got up from the ground, hand in hand, showing an unfamiliar bond.

"Nou," Chanyeol looked at me with a satisfied smile on his face. "These are the two brothers you have not met yet."

He stuck his palm out at the one with stardust colored hair, who formally introduced himself as "Baekhyun of the Wolf Clan."

The bark brown haired man gave me a slight smile and spoke awkwardly. "My name is Kyungsoo."

I could see the delight on Chanyeol's face. The last of his brothers had finally accepted me into their world as the one they loved the most -- Mama.

"Hmph..." Zitao huffed his angry breath. His eyebrows arched above his eyelids and he looked away, annoyed with his brothers. "You're all fools..."