DAY 2 of the test…

Soonkyu woke up in Miyoung’s embrace as the weather remained gloomy and dark. It was another sunless day and the young Lee patted her cousin’s hand to wake her up. Miyoung released Soonkyu from her hold as she awakened and they both stared at each other for a while before exchanging eye smiles. 

“Good morning, dear cousin…” Soonkyu mused as she gave her cousin a hug. 

“Good morning too, lovely Soonkyu…” Miyoung smiled as she returned the hug. 

They both got out of their hiding place and began trudging through the deep snow. They walked hand in hand until they both heard a twig snap. Miyoung turned to see a huge wolf crouching cautiously towards them. Its golden eyes stared menacingly at the two vampires while it arched its back in preparation for the kill. Apparently, the beast was no ordinary wolf. It was a werewolf that had chanced upon them and surely, the two vampires had just trespassed its territory. 

Without a word, both Soonkyu and Miyoung made a full sprint as the werewolf wrecked havoc behind them. Being members of the archer family has its advantages. For one, every member of the family is trained to shoot arrows while running or even while retreating. Both members made a full turn to face their pursuer as they ran backwards and held their bows at the ready. Taking their arrows, both archers aimed at the beast trailing them. With accuracy and precision, Soonkyu and Miyoung released their arrows. 

The Lee’s arrow hissed through the cold air and landed on the predator’s heart while the Hwang’s arrow embedded itself on the wolf’s eye socket penetrating up to the beast’s brain. The two archers did not stop running. They turned forward and continued to run frantically down the mountainside. They knew that when there’s one wolf spotted, the pack will surely be around and to Miyoung and Soonkyu, it’s better to run than become outnumbered. 

When the two vampires grew tired, they settled themselves behind a huge rock that had lodged at the mountainside. They were panting heavily as they looked for any signs of danger in the form of huge wolves. To their relief, there were none in sight and the two young archers heaved a sigh of relief. 

Beads of sweat rolled down Soonkyu’s face as she began breathing deeply to calm herself. “Soonkyu…we’ll rest here for awhile, but we must continue moving later on…I don’t think it’s a good idea to stay here for long…” Miyoung managed to say amidst her tiredness. Soonkyu nodded in agreement. She was too tired to mouth her words. 

They sat there in silence but their senses remained alert for any sign of danger that might befall them.

---

In another snow-coated mountain, Sooyoung awakened to the scent of a werewolf nearing them. When she opened her eyes, she saw Hyoyeon giving her a knowing look. An audible growl could be heard as she felt footsteps circling them. Apparently, the werewolf found them resting in the cave. 

The beast kept circling them as he waited for a slight twitch from either of the two vampires before going for the kill. Hyoyeon gave her tall cousin a nod and in a flash, darkness engulfed them both. The werewolf searched frantically for his victims amidst the darkness and he trashed whatever object he could find. Luckily, the two vampires’ belongings remained untouched.

Sooyoung and Hyoyeon snuggled close to the cavern walls as they struggled to avoid the beast and the things he’s been throwing around. 

“Hyo, we should split up. I’ll take the left and you take the right…” Sooyoung whispered as they stood still. 

“Are you sure you can see through the darkness that I created?” Hyoyeon asked as she stared at her cousin with concern evident in her eyes. 

“I think I can manage…” Sooyoung smiled as her eyes glowed their confident crimson tint. 

“All right…If you say so…just don’t get hurt…” Hyoyeon said as they proceeded to carry out their mutual plan. 

As intended, Sooyoung moved to the left while Hyoyeon headed towards the right direction. The tall Choi covered herself in an invisible shield as she heightened her senses in maneuvering her way through the darkness conjured by her cousin. She could vaguely see the werewolf’s back from the overwhelming darkness that Hyoyeon had summoned and seizing the opportunity, Sooyoung lunged at the werewolf’s backside. 

Taking off her gloved hand, she absorbed the berserker’s energy while a shadowed hand appeared and covered the eyes of the weakening wolf. The monster tried to struggle but as soon as Hyoyeon’s shadowed hand touched his eyes, the werewolf dropped to the ground. Its body shivered and writhed in pain, but no sound could be heard from its mouth. 

Sooyoung got off the paralyzed beast while Hyoyeon’s darkness engulfed their owner and dispersed into her body. 

“Well, so much for a morning exercise…” Hyoyeon muttered as she stood near the beast. 

“I guess we’ll need to find another shelter…” Sooyoung said as she picked up her untouched backpack. 

Hyoyeon did likewise and gathered the things that they could still use among the rubble that the werewolf had caused. The beast laid still with its eyes covered in black. It looked as if it was trapped in some nightmare. Sooyoung inquired as to what her cousin did to the beast. 

“I just gave him a nightmare…” Hyoyeon shrugged as they left the cave. 

Sooyoung smirked. “Some nightmare you’re giving…”

“Let’s head back to the castle before more of them finds us…” Hyoyeon nonchalantly said as they stepped out of the cave’s mouth. 

The two vampires continued moving down the mountainside amidst the gloomy weather. 

---

Yoona woke up to find herself in Yuri’s arms. She admired the sleeping angel that gave her warmth amidst the unforgiving winter. Suddenly, she heard a thundering sound and the ground began to shake. Her older cousin also woke up looking alarmed at the sudden rumbling noise. 

They both stuck their heads from their hiding place and the two vampires saw in horror the rushing waves of snow heading down the mountain towards their direction with great speed. 

The two vampires scampered out of their hiding place and began running away from the avalanche. Yuri took Yoona’s hand and conjured the winds to speed them up. Realizing that Yoona couldn’t keep up with her pace and her battering winds, Yuri held her younger cousin and began flying while the avalanche raged behind them until they passed a fissure from the mountain which had swallowed the avalanche. Yuri and Yoona both landed softly on the other side of the fissure as they watched the last of the snow fill up the crack on the ground.

“Whew…that was close…”Yoona muttered as they sat exhausted of their early morning ordeal. 

Yuri also sat with her cousin as she panted from the exhaustion of using her powers. Then, she laid down on the ground and closed her eyes as she tried to catch her breath. Yoona noticed her tired cousin and she remained silent for a while to allow Yuri to rest.

“That was some trouble we’ve gotten ourselves into…”Yuri mused as she continued lying down on her back with her arms spread on the snow. 

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