"Do you want to know why you weren't the perfect one?" Vampire's voice was dripping with an attractive venom that sent chills down his spine. "It's because you're a mix-up of animals that already exist."

"Stop it. That's not true." It was easy to tell that Griffon was uncomfortable, doubting his worthiness. 

"Of course, it's true! Why else would he have created me, huh? I'm the perfect one. The Creator knows it."

"There's another! There's one last creature! She's alive!" Elf cried with happiness. It was not because Vampire was not perfect; it was because the world was blessed with more beautiful life. Elf was the master at making sure all things were sacred. 

"She? A she?" Vampire asked, tensing up. "You're wrong! I am the perfect one."

Griffon shook his head. "Elf wouldn't lie." A smooth half-smile danced on his lips. "Looks like we are both not perfect. You are just like me, aren't you?"

"No. No!" Vampire pointed his index finger to his chest angrily. "I am the perfect one!"

Kai jolted awake, only to have his forehead meet with the wooden shelf. He let out a groan of pain, falling back down onto his makeshift bed. His chest was moving up and down irregularly, as if he was out of breath. He was covered in sweat, glistening against the small light that leaked into the room. When the pain subsided, Kai slowly sat up, making sure to avoid the shelf that jutted out just above him. 

"Yah! What are you doing in there? Are you okay?" Sehun asked, rapping against the light door. The light fluttered, as the slitted door was the only source. The vampire wasn't usually awake when Kai got up in the morning. 

"I had this dream," was all Kai said as he shuffled out of the small closet, residing underneath a staircase. Sehun's sleeping space was no better – a coat closet that had an old musky smell to it and more coats than the vampire could count. They both were cramped for space but they knew that it was a warm, dry place to sleep. "I saw you. But it wasn't you. I also saw Luhan."

"Luhan? You mean that arrogant son of a nymph?" Sehun scoffed. Kai looked towards the standing vampire with a raised eyebrow, unamused with his retort. The younger of the two squeezed his lips together. 

"In the dream, we called each other by our creature names. I felt like it was you, I swear. Except you didn't look like you. And you were making a huge fuss over being perfect..."

Sehun tensed and looked away. "It was just a stupid dream." 

Althought it was clear to Kai that it was far more than just a dream, he didn't dwell on it. The griffon finally stood up and stretched, his pajama pants a disheveled mess while his black t-shirt exposed his stomach. "Shouldn't you be going to sleep, Sehun? Missus will wake up soon and start opening all the windows," Kai muttered as he yawned. His fist hovered just in front of his mouth, as if to make sure nothing would intrude. Sehun absently nodded. 

"I haven't been completely honest with you," Sehun said, still looking away. It was almost as if he was searching for something. Some obscure object that was in the corner of his eye that suddenly disappeared when he focused on it. "Missus will kick me out for sure if she found out. But I'm not an orphan... I'm not like you or any other creature in this house. I have a father and a mother somewhere that didn't want me. They didn't want me because I wouldn't listen to them anymore. But... I mean, I'm not a spoiled brat. I refused to be used as a tool... as a prize. I didn't want to be the child that they'd show off to rich people and powerful people so they could win brownie points with them. I didn't want to be a ladder to their better life. I was just a means to an end for them... I would've been kicked out eventually when I served my purpose. So I left on my own after a... quarrel of sorts."

There was a silence. It was dragged out as Kai chewed on his bottom lip. All this time, Sehun made the griffon believe that they understood each other. That they both got what it meant to be alone from the start. Their friendship was built on false pretenses. He made Kai believe that they were the same.

But they weren't.

Sehun's look of shame spoke more than a thousand words, however. It was pained and angry. And so damaged that his perfect charms and looks shattered with such an expression. The vampire regretted lying, something bloodsuckers don't do very often. 

"This is new..." Kai muttered. "Vampires don't usually confess their wrongdoings..."

Sehun's tongue flickered out as he his lips, a shimmer of long, canine fangs catching Kai's eye. A playful scoff resonated from the griffon's throat. "But hey, that just means you're not like the rest. And I heard that vampires are usually pompous, perfect fools." 

A chuckle came from the vampire as he looked back at Kai. He held his hand out as they did their unique handshake-hug combo. Sehun patted Kai's back before looking at the coat closet. "Also... don't tell that son of a nymph this but... I had a dream about him."

"Huh? What about?" Kai once again raised an eyebrow, although this time it was more inquisitive than exasperated. 

"It was kind of like you said. It was him but it wasn't him. I had a dream that he almost killed a baku. It was like I was watching a scene play out... and I couldn't do anything about it. It was strange. I don't have dreams like that, at all," Sehun muttered, pausing at some parts to try and find the right words. "Isn't killing a baku punishable by eternal torture?" 

Kai gulped. Luhan killing a baku? The idea almost made him vomit. It was unthinkable. "It is... Sehun, go to sleep. Maybe... things will clear out... Who'd want to kill a baku?"

"Apparently, that Luhan does."