Morning came with the onset of the sun, bright rays shining over the horizon like dancing beams of light covering the ground with an unearthly glow for only a second before the blinding brilliance became bearable again.  Ryeowook found it absolutely stunning and was glad he could still watch it through the slat of the boarded up window that prevented outside illumination from getting into the warehouse.  He was tired to be sure but sleep was not something he wanted to give into, though he had managed to convince JR otherwise.  Turning around, he let the slat fall back into place and approached the makeshift bed his brother was sleeping on.

                A couch had been covered with relatively clean sheets and lined with as much padding as possible, making it fairly comfortable.  JR had hit the surface and succumbed to unconsciousness almost immediately.  Ryeowook drifted close and knelt beside the young man, tracing stray strands of bangs away from his face tenderly.  They had been given relative privacy and he felt no shame in simply staring at his brother; his strongest remaining link to humanity.  It wasn’t the first time he wondered what would have happened if he had never met Kyuhyun and he doubted it would be the last.

                Then again, given the most recent news, he should have a lot of other things to worry about instead.  Irritatingly, the damn vampire kept nudging into his thoughts anyway.  Closing his eyes, Ryeowook rubbed slender fingers against the shut lids and sighed, holding his fingers against the bridge of his nose.

                “You sound like you have a bit on your mind.”  While he didn’t jump at the interruption of the relatively unfamiliar voice, Ryeowook did drop his hand away from his face and open his eyes to peer over the couch at the ageless Changmin.  He was wearing the same clothes as earlier, a t-shirt and pants, with his relatively lengthy hair pulled back into a half-ponytail.  They had all waited tensely before sunrise to see if his clan members would make it back with Victoria’s but there was no such luck yet.

                “Don’t we all?” Ryeowook asked in lieu of giving a straight answer.

                The response made Changmin chuckle as he walked into the room further, pausing to glance down at JR who was sleeping on the couch.  His eyes brushed over the skin of the partially bare neck and then flickered up to Ryeowook evenly.  “I won’t eat him if that’s what you’re worried about,” he grinned, seeing the immediate concern in the half-turned’s eyes.

                “I won’t let anything happen to him,” Ryeowook promised determinedly, his voice surprisingly strong in the face of the vampire.

                Changmin nodded in concession and leaned down closer, propping his elbows on the back of the couch with his chin resting in his palms.  He continued to eye Ryeowook speculatively.  “It seems you’ve got Kyu all sorts of worked up and I’m wondering just how you managed it,” he laughed once, the easy smile coming to his face quickly.

                “What do you mean?” Ryeowook asked uncertainly, leaning back just a touch.  His gaze drifted towards the closed door with a hint of concern before he faced the vampire again.

                “Don’t worry,” Changmin waved in response, shifting fluidly to stand up before he rested his hip on the back of the couch.  “Kyuhyun’s helping N try to track the new hounds and Victoria is trying not to freak out.  Not that I can blame her.  The Songs will give their lives up before they let harm befall those they guard,” he added softly, a measure of quiet respect in his voice.

                Ryeowook remained silent though he absorbed the information.  It was strange being amongst so many different vampires, yet they seemed to work together better than the wolves did, despite the fact they were so varied in their approaches.  There was no sense of hierarchy among them and it was odd.  They all simply did their part, whatever that entailed.  “What’s wrong with Kyuhyun?”

                The vampire shrugged his shoulders in a fluid gesture and shook his head.  “He’s cranky, evasive, and a know-it-all who refuses to let others in.”  His tone was matter of fact but he was clearly amused.  “Except you,” Changmin winked, pointing a suggestive finger at the half-turned.

                “He doesn’t tell me anything though,” Ryeowook denied, frustrated by his very inability to read the vampire most of the time.  He was getting better but it was still a far cry from proficient.

                “No?” Changmin teased, relaxing further.  “I can get under his skin and piss him off but he’s liable to attack me.  And has on more than one occasion,” he chuckled with delight.  “When you do it, he’s… lenient,” the vampire mused, tapping his bottom lip with a finger.  “And the fact he actually helped you get your brother is saying something,” he added as well, glancing at the sleeping human.  “He doesn’t like loose ends or elements he can’t control.  But I’m guessing you already know that,” Changmin murmured with a knowing smile.

                For some reason, Ryeowook figured that Kyuhyun wouldn’t like to know they were discussing him, but he was also infinitely curious about him.  Kangin only mentioned so much and the last bit about him being older than most Chos was slightly frightening.  “How old are you?” he asked, trying to find an indirect way to broach the subject.

                Changmin held up his finger and tsked in amusement.  “A gentleman never asks and a vampire never tells.”

                “Kangin did,” Ryeowook frowned, annoyed by the answer.

                “Kangin’s a baby,” the vampire chuckled with a nod.  “Though he hates it when I call him that,” he added with his nose wrinkled in amusement.  Ryeowook could see that being annoying though.  “As for my age…  I was born in the eighth century.  The Shims have a knack for surviving.  We often see or hear things before they get to us.  The Chas too for that matter.  They just stay under the radar.  Victoria is unusual for a Song since they like combat.  Aish.  She thinks she’s invincible, that one,” he snorted with glee.  “She’ll never admit I beat her in wrestling either,” he grinned as he whispered behind his hand playfully.

                As much as Ryeowook liked getting information, none of it was what he wanted to hear and the playful nature fell short on him in light of his irritation.  He was however impressed that the vampire before him was close to thirteen hundred years old, give or take.  “And the Chos?” he prompted hesitantly, shifting in place to ease the tension in his legs.

                “I pity the Chos,” Changmin sighed with a shake of his head, the mirth falling away as if it had never been.  “And don’t you dare tell him I said that.”  Ryeowook nodded in agreement and declined to say anything else until the vampire went on.  “Our creator was cruel when he gave that clan their abilities.  Men were never meant to have access to so much knowledge,” he shrugged.  “As much as many of us don’t like Hunters, they do have their uses and handling insane Chos are one of those reasons.”

                He would have thought Changmin was joking, as he often did apparently, but something about the way he said it made Ryeowook pause as a shiver went up his spine.  He couldn’t help recall the moment in the cave where Kyuhyun had confused him for someone else.  And then that moment in the trailer when he was still so very lost…  “Insane?” he murmured, just to make sure he heard correctly.

                Changmin nodded once.  “Kyuhyun will never tell you because he is a proud creature.  Really I can’t blame him.  He’s made it this far on his own,” he nodded, but his mood turned particularly somber and he regarded Ryeowook with the full weight of his ancient gaze.  “But Ryeowook,” Changmin murmured softly, his tone full of sincere promise.  “You are a danger to him.”

                “What?” Ryeowook blinked, utterly blind-sided by the comment.

                “I like your spirit and what you could be for him, but until you stop screwing with his head, you will continue to imperil him,” the vampire murmured, his gaze unblinking.  Ryeowook felt very much like a mouse in front of a bird of prey and he didn’t like it.  “It wasn’t a problem so much when he was younger but time is not kind in his clan.”

                Floundering for a response, Ryeowook shook his head and stammered, “B-but I’m not doing anything.”

                “And that’s the problem,” Changmin explained with a finger pointed at him intimidatingly.  “Love him or hate him, Wookie.  But pick one,” the vampire stated softly.  “I would not see my friend go so soon.  Especially not when he is needed most,” Changmin admitted as he lowered his hand.  In the blink of an eye, his demeanor changed again and he grinned, reaching out to ruffle Ryeowook’s hair almost affectionately.  “Now you should probably get some sleep so you’ll at least be rested when those other beasties become a problem.”  Without another word, Changmin stood up and exited just as quickly and quietly as he’d entered, leaving Ryeowook even more troubled than before.

                 He shook his head and scratched at his temple with one fingernail while he frowned.  What the hell was he supposed to do with something like that?  Ryeowook hadn’t asked for any of this.  Kyuhyun dragged him into this without a second thought and now it was his problem to fix?  That was not even fair.  Groaning quietly, he rubbed his fingers across his eyes again and took a deep breath.  Sleep was out of the question but it was probably a good time to get some food while his brother was still resting.  He knew it upset the young man when he drank vampire blood; not that Ryeowook could blame him.  It wasn’t like he enjoyed it all that much either, but he’d gone longer than he probably should have and he could tell.

                Taking another shallow breath, he pressed his hand against JR’s arm, smiling when his brother shifted gently in his sleep.  “I will keep you safe,” he promised softly, face crumpling with the very real fear of what they were coming up against.

                With his knew knowledge about Kyuhyun, it was difficult to approach the vampire as normal and Changmin watching him did not help any.  But neither did the vampire act as if anything had changed and Kyuhyun at least was agreeable enough to take a moment and bleed himself for Ryeowook.  Watching the blood ooze from the self-made cut on his wrist into the hastily cleaned glass made him wonder when Kyuhyun would need to feed again.  It hadn’t been that long ago but things were slightly different at the moment.  He was using more energy and it seemed to require more food sooner.  The thought made him nervous again because when Kyuhyun fed from him, he didn’t know what to think anymore.

                “Here,” the vampire offered, pressing the partially full glass into his hands as he the wound clean, a trace of red disappearing on his tongue when he pulled it back into his mouth.

                “Thank you,” Ryeowook murmured almost by rote as he clasped the cup in his palms and stared at the dark liquid.  He’d come to accept it as necessary so he neither loved nor hated it, which was exactly where he was with Kyuhyun.  Changmin’s warning came back to him and he frowned, his brows creasing slightly while he continued to stare.

                “What’s wrong?” Kyuhyun asked, noticing the expression as he reached to pick Ryeowook’s chin up so he could get a better look, leaving his fingers resting against the shorter male’s skin while he kept a neutral expression.

                Ryeowook’s natural response was to assure him that it was nothing but it felt like a disservice just then.  He simply held the glass close and blinked at the vampire, searching his face and eyes for… something.  He didn’t know what but after their last conversation, they hadn’t really spoken again.  Ryeowook maintained that Kyuhyun had been acting like a jerk and he hadn’t changed his mind but it could have had more than one purpose.  “Why haven’t you turned me?” he asked in a voice so soft, it was barely a whisper.  Kyuhyun had never answered specifically why he’d taken Ryeowook, other than the fact he reminded him of past lovers supposedly, but he never understood why he didn’t just force him to become a vampire like he’d done with Kangin.

                Kyuhyun’s jaw firmed and he removed his hand from Ryeowook’s chin but he didn’t step away.  His gaze turned sharp and the dark eyes bored into Ryeowook’s intently.  “Is that what you want?” Kyuhyun asked instead, reaching up to thread his fingers through dark locks before gripping firmly as he closed the distance between them further, leaving the glass as a barrier in the middle of them.

                It was not the response he was expecting and Ryeowook tensed up, but the look he got from Kyuhyun in return made him shiver.  “No,” he breathed with a minimal shake of his head.

                “Should I force you to become like me?” he asked almost seductively as he pulled Ryeowook’s hair to tilt his head back while he loomed close and peered down into the wide eyes.  “A creature that lives off the blood of others and can’t stand the light of day?”  Their faces were only a couple inches apart and while Ryeowook trembled slightly, there was a strange, honest intensity in Kyuhyun’s gaze that shook him to his core.

                “No,” he whispered again, utterly unable to move or say anything else.

                He inhaled slightly when Kyuhyun leaned even closer, their cheeks nearly brushing together as he whispered into Ryeowook’s ear.  “That’s why.”  In the blink of an eye, he let go of Ryeowook’s hair and turned around, walking off as he if hadn’t thoroughly unnerved the half-turned in a couple sentences.

                Blinking repeatedly while he clutched the glass hard against his chest, Ryeowook watched the vampire leave.  It was a profound and unnerving revelation that he was still the way he was simply because he didn’t want to be a vampire.  It seemed impossible that Kyuhyun would respect his wishes that much but was that not what he’d just admitted?  Taking a calming breath, he raised the glass to his lips and downed the liquid in one, large gulp, pressing the back of his hand to his mouth when the taste lingered on his tongue.  That too was a love-hate relationship.  His body craved it but he really didn’t like the taste of blood…

                With effort, he put the cup down on the nearest surface and scrubbed his face with both hands.  Frozen in place, he swallowed once and tried to calm his thoughts.  He didn’t hate Kyuhyun.  Not anymore and he wasn’t even sure if he really ever had, though Ryeowook knew he’d said as much before.  But… he didn’t love the vampire either.  How could he?  He didn’t know anything about him and their existence together was mostly forced.  Hell.  The vampire had kidnapped him for heaven’s sake…  But he couldn’t deny some of the things he felt around him though.

                Their feeding sessions were strangely intimate and the way he’d felt when Kyuhyun had looked at him just now was almost frightening in its intensity.  But the vampire wasn’t trying to hide his thoughts so much anymore.  He could see the emotion and the confusion in his eyes.  The want that was there and it scared Ryeowook.  Kyuhyun didn’t voice it, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t see it.  The only problem was that Ryeowook wasn’t sure if he was seeing familiar faces in him or if he was actually seeing Ryeowook for who he was…  And that was a huge concern.

                He was still mulling it over when Himchan appeared to retrieve him.  “Wookie?” the newly turned vampire asked, approaching close enough to place a tentative hand on his shoulder.

                “Huh?” Ryeowook blinked, surprised at how lost in thought he was.

                “You look tired,” Himchan smiled gently, cupping his face with a tender palm.

                “Ne,” Ryeowook laughed once, grabbing Himchan’s hand to hold it in his instead.

                “Why don’t you try to get some rest then?  If we’re lucky, nothing will happen until nightfall,” he explained with a hint of concern.

                All the vampires were slaves to the sun’s cycle.  They could fight during the day, so long as it was out of the direct light.  If combat came to them here, they would be in trouble.  Destroy the shelter and they were as good as dead.  But if the enemy attacked elsewhere, they could not lend their aide either.  It was problematic and frustrating.  For all that they’d lived for however many centuries, there was no getting around some of their weaknesses.  “Is JR still sleeping?” he asked, allowing himself to be drawn out of the side room and back into the common area where the rest of the vampires were… pacing.

                “Ne.  He was very exhausted,” Himchan agreed with a simple nod.  “We don’t have much we can feed him but there are some emergency rations around the place,” he confirmed with a gentle push towards the room his brother was sleeping in.

                For a wonder, Ryeowook was actually agreeable to sleeping this time around.  He snagged a blanket, which was little more than an additional sheet, and simply stationed himself at the foot of the couch.  He’d never been one for camping or sleeping on the floor but just then, he didn’t care.  It was comfortable enough with Himchan tucking him in and his brother within arm’s reach.  That was all the consolation he needed.

                “Sleep well,” Himchan smiled, smoothing Ryeowook’s bangs back from his forehead with a tender smile.

                “Thanks, Channie,” Ryeowook murmured, turning into the foot of the couch to hide the rest of the ambient light that might bother him.

                “Anytime, Wookie,” the vampire smiled, squeezing his nearest arm once before he stood up to walk away.  If only everything was as simple as falling asleep in good company.

                He wasn’t sure what it was that woke him specifically.  A tension in the air or the sound of voices in the next room, but Ryeowook shifted in his sleep and rolled over, blinking in confusion.  “What…?” he trailed off, sitting up to find his sibling still unconscious on the couch.  The realization engendered a moment of soft tenderness upon seeing the younger male still curled under the covers but then Ryeowook paused and heard the distinct sound of voices nearby.  He was positive that not a great deal of time had gone by but without being able to confirm, he quietly got up and headed out into the main room.

                “They’re sitting ducks in the bunker,” N frowned, the expression evident in his tone.

                “They’re just as bad off in the cabin too,” Victoria added with an emphatic gesture.

                “They’ve got other parties spreading out in different attack zones but we’ve got a couple hot spots they are very eager to focus on,” Kyuhyun grumbled with anger evident in his speech.

                “We can at least warn them right?” Changmin asked, leaning against the wall.  He noticed Ryeowook first, his eyes darting to the half-turned, but he didn’t mention him before he focused on the other vampires.

                “Of course we already have!” Hyosung snapped at him, waltzing over to jab her finger in his face.  “That was the first thing we did.  But they’re wolves!” she shrilled, throwing both hands up in irritation and storming away just as quickly.

                “What’s going on?” Ryeowook asked into the brief silence, looking around uncertainly as he laid his eyes on the rest of the Cha clan as well as Changmin and Kyuhyun.

                “The beasties are attacking,” Changmin murmured with a fluid hand gesture.

                “Ne.  And their first targets are the wolves.  Granted, the military is splitting the forces up to aim at several different targets and the cabin and the bunker are only two of a few but it’s the first skirmish forces.  They’re testing us,” N snarled with a savage grimace.  “Cowards.”

                “The wolves know, right?” Ryeowook asked with worry in his throat.

                “Of course they know,” Kyuhyun snapped back.  “But they won’t move either.  Too many wounded at the cabin and those at the bunker will simply shift to help them out, drawing more forces down on them.”

                “We have to help them then!” Ryeowook gasped reactively, stepping closer to the midst of the vampires.

                All of them shook their heads.  “It’s still daylight,” Victoria pointed towards the nearest surface that would reveal traces of light trying to make its way inside.  “We’re stuck here until nightfall.”

                “No!” the half-turned gasped, feeling fear coil in his belly as he thought of Henry stuck with the wolves.  He was only wolf-kin and under their protection but he had none of their strength or survival skills.  Minsoo too was injured and there were other wolf-kin and injured members and they would need all the help they could get.

                “We can’t fight the sun, Wookie,” Kyuhyun admitted softly, clearly annoyed by that fact.

                “Well we could but we’d lose,” Kangin snorted, shrugging at his own comment.

                “We have to wait for nightfall,” Changmin grimaced, keeping himself from pacing only by gripping the surface he was leaning against, if the white knuckle hold was any indication.  Victoria had given up on standing still and was walking back and forth in abrupt circles.

                “I don’t,” Ryeowook said at last, pursing his lips.

                “No!” Kyuhyun denied, jumping to his feet as he whirled around to face the half-turned, though he dropped his gaze almost as soon as he stood up.

                “I can’t just sit here and do nothing!” Ryeowook snapped, glaring at the vampire that had pulled him into all of this.

                “But what can you do?” Changmin asked pointedly, eyeing the half-turned with a sharp gaze.

                That was a valid question.  “I can drive the truck.  Get the wounded and move them somewhere safe.  You know the wolves are going to be limited by what they can do with humans in the area,” he explained almost frantically while his mind struggled to help supply him with an answer.

                “And if they come after you?” Victoria murmured, frowning at him.

                “They should be aiming for the wolves,” Ryeowook reminded them, though it was a shaky reassurance at best.  “If nothing else, I know my form better than they do.”

                “Do you?” Changmin challenged, glancing at Kyuhyun who still declined to look up and meet their gazes.

                It irritated him that Changmin would offer such resistance and challenge his worth.  He wasn’t strong normally.  He knew that.  But Himchan at least had shown him some of his ability and even if he didn’t have the specializations of any of the four clans, he wasn’t a weakling anymore.  Glancing around, he found a piece of debris that no one would miss and tossed it at Changmin as hard as he could.

                “Yah!” the vampire yelped, lurching out of the way as the object flew very near where he had been standing, crashing against the wall loudly instead before it settled on the ground in pieces.

                “Yes.  I do,” he stated firmly, clenching his fists at his side as Kangin burst out laughing and a very quick glance at his side showed a strangely bemused, and if he was being totally honest with himself, proud Kyuhyun smiling at him.

                “Let him try,” Victoria urged with a wave.  “If nothing else, he can help buy us time with being a distraction.  They won’t know the limits of their forms yet and if they get caught out here in the dark, they’re ours,” she promised fiercely, her expression anything but playful.

                “Ne.  Kangin.  The keys,” Ryeowook called while his stomach fluttered with all manner of nervous tension.

                “You sure?” Kangin asked, hesitantly retrieving the item from his pocket.

                “Do it,” Kyuhyun nodded once, gesturing at the younger vampire with a simple wave.

                “Aish,” Kangin rolled his eyes and approached Ryeowook.  “You’re even more of a baby than I am,” he shook his head.  The comment made Ryeowook want to laugh because of what Changmin had said earlier but he schooled his expression and nodded once, accepting the keys with a heavy sense of responsibility.

                “Remember Wookie!” Himchan called, taking a hesitant step closer.  “You’re stronger, faster, and better than any human.  And you sure as hell are better than those two bit half-breeds,” he grumbled, clearly irritated by the fact that he couldn’t join him.

                “I know, Channie.  Thank you,” Ryeowook agreed, bowing his direction.  He blinked once and his lips uncertainly when Kyuhyun appeared beside him, moving the space of a few feet without seeming to travel at all.

                “Be careful,” Kyuhyun murmured, daring to reach both hands up and touch his fingertips to Ryeowook’s cheeks as he searched his eyes.  “I can’t protect you right now,” he admitted, the weakness painful in his vulnerability.

                “Then protect my brother,” Ryeowook murmured with sincerity, meeting Kyuhyun’s gaze as best he could.

                “Ah !  They’re at the bunker…” N grimaced, cringing over the console.  “Christ there are a lot of them,” he admitted, finger silently counting those he could make out on the radar.

                “Go,” Kyuhyun urged, shoving Ryeowook towards the door harshly.

                “Yah!” Ryeowook gasped, nearly losing his footing at the unexpected propulsion.

                “Be safe, Wookie!” Himchan urged as he waved frantically.

                “I will!” Ryeowook shouted while he turned to run, telling himself he couldn’t waste anymore time here.  It was hard enough leaving already, but he had to do what he could.  Sprinting for the truck, he hopped in and turned the engine on, setting it to drive and slammed the accelerator to get moving.  Only after he was headed on his way did he realize he had absolutely no idea where to go.

                “Wookie?”  He gasped at the voice coming from the dashboard radio.

                “Kyu?” he asked, feeling a strange sense of gratitude fill him at the speaker.

                “Ne.  I can see you on radar.  This is where you need to go,” he explained calmly, a breath of fresh air in his veritable sense of panic.

                “Okay,” Ryeowook smiled, not even questioning how the vampire realized he had no idea.  He was just glad he was there for him.  His directions were simple and easy to follow, often given well in advance of any turns though the way was pretty much straight forward.  If nothing else… he could have just followed the smoke.  “Oh my god,” he murmured in horror as he came upon the cabin, though it was burning merrily while figures fought around it savagely.  “Henry,” he whispered, turning the vehicle off and hopping outside to see what he could, immediately feeling a small sense of loss at severing contact with Kyuhyun.

                Fully transformed werewolves and a mass of half-turned vampires battled fiercely while carnage littered the ground.  It was obvious that most of the casualties were the attackers, but the wolves were outnumbered and Ryeowook could see a pack of them creating a barrier around what had to be the survivors.  He gasped suddenly and flinched away when an attacker suddenly exploded and tore away part of the werewolf he was fighting against.

                Ryeowook paled at the reality, both hands clapped over his mouth in horror as he saw the wolf fall, alive but severely wounded.  Another half-turned sprinted in to finish the job and he felt an unreasonable sense of outrage at the savagery of it all.  “No!” he screamed, hurling himself at the attacker who never saw him coming.  A primal, animalistic hunger took root in Ryeowook’s being and he dug his fingers into his target, grabbing tight so he could haul him away bodily, getting him far from the wounded werewolf.

                “Hang on!” he called, running to the downed creature’s side.  “Yah!” he yelped when the werewolf snapped at him reflexively, smelling half- him and seeing Ryeowook as the enemy.  “!” he screamed, scrambling out of range of dangerous fangs that clacked shut much too close to his body.  “Help!” he shrieked, looking around for another wolf to get close.  “Someone help us!” he screamed again, rounding on another approaching half-turned with bared teeth and crooked fingers.  He had no claws or fangs to speak of, but the urges were all there.

                A high pitched shriek caught his attention instead and he noticed a blood covered woman leap into view, dual wielding daggers flashing dully in the bright light, the blades covered in red.  She landed on top of the attacking half-turned and ripped through his throat with both knives before lurching back in case the body exploded.  Eerily, she wasn’t wrong and the dead form was consumed in a burst of heat and flame, sending debris and shrapnel flying every which way.  “Yah!” the young woman screamed, attacking Ryeowook in the next instant.

                “No!” Ryeowook yelped, catching the wrists of Chaerin mostly by luck.  “It’s me!” he yelped, cowering away from the dull, angry gleam in her eyes.  Instinctively, he knew it wasn’t Chaerin that he was looking at and likely the briefly mentioned L. Joe…  .  “I’m a friend!” he trembled, falling onto the ground with Chaerin’s body on top of him, knives shaking in her hands as he held her at bay.  Kangin hadn’t been wrong when he said the possessed were comparable to a half-turned.  Good lord…

                She paused for a half-second, hand pulsing around her daggers.  “Ally?” the strange dual tone emerged, part masculine, part feminine, sending a shudder up his spine.

                “Ne!  I’m looking for Henry!” Ryeowook practically screamed as he panted under his attacker.

                “There!” Chaerin pointed gruffly, yanking her hand free as she directed Ryeowook towards the circle of protected wounded people.  “Go!” she snarled, ripping her other hand free as she stood up the rest of the way and looked around before sighting on another target and throwing herself back into the fray with a savage cry.

                “Holy ,” Ryeowook swallowed, scrambling to his feet to get away.

                Explosions continued to echo around him and the only thing they did was make him more angry.  How dare the fools that used them think these manipulated creatures were simply fodder to be thrown away at a moment’s notice.  It was sickening and infuriating.  Ryeowook found a side of himself that he never knew existed and he gave himself over to the survivalist within, heeding the monster’s call.  He was tackled by an assailant and felt teeth scraping against his throat which sent him into a frenzy.  Pushing with all his strength, Ryeowook launched the half-turned away and doggedly followed him, pinning the stranger to the ground with his hand against his throat and his other held back preemptively.

                What he saw was another human, twisted like he was, but not ready for reality that had been upon him.  He was horrified by his state and awed by the power he’d been given, but he didn’t know what to do with it.  Under it all, he was just another confused human like he was; barely older than him…

                His musing almost cost him his life.  The monster under his hand screeched almost inhumanly and Ryeowook opened his mouth in a silent scream before the body began to explode, as if in slow motion.  He tried to push away but realized even as he did so, it would be too late, until the breath was nearly knocked from his lungs as someone else caught him and yanked him away.

                Ryeowook hit the ground hard and found himself framed under the bristling body of an off-white werewolf that growled ferociously above him.  “Luna?” he gasped, believing he recognized the diminutive form.

                She howled savagely and glared at those around them, ready to take action again.  Her cry became perplexed when she noticed something strange however, and she cocked her head at an individual who seemed to have an exact duplicate nearby.

                “Hunters!” Ryeowook yelped, scrambling out from under Luna to put his hands up defensively, ready to defend her if need be.

                As multiple images of the same Hunters appeared on the battlefield, drawing the focus of the otherwise oblivious half-turned, the tide shifted inevitably in the defender’s favor.  Bodies were detonated against false foes and the opposing forces dwindled until there was nothing left.  No one retreated but none of the attackers survived either.

                It took Ryeowook a moment to realize it, but their masters didn’t care what happened to the half-turneds when they were set upon the targets.  Not a one of them was allowed to remain alive.  Even those they had unexpectedly managed to capture were destroyed in an attempt to take as many targets as possible.  Battered, bruised, and shaken, he held his hands to his chest and looked around, taking in the horror of the massacre.  All of their enemies were fallen, nothing more than ash and refuse in the wake of combat.  Their injured numbers abounded and Chaerin appeared back to her more docile self as she moved amongst the wounded with Ken in tow.  This time around, they had two new members to count among their captives: the Hunters Yongguk and Mir.

                And when he really checked again, Ryeowook saw that it was still nowhere near nightfall.  It was almost startling how quickly combat could begin and end and the thought sickened him.  So many dead in so short a time frame.   And for what?  All of those who attacked them were misguided humans.  They were deceptively conned into becoming pawns for this game of the military and those who suffered most were the wolves that had survived.  More were injured and a few were dead which saddened Ryeowook immensely.  He didn’t know any of them well, but they weren’t malicious in nature.  They just wanted to survive.  Like he did.

                It wasn’t fair.  None of it was fair.  Helpless tears he couldn’t stop welled on his lashes and spilled over as he finally found a wounded Henry and latched onto, him clinging tight as if his life depended on it.  “This isn’t right!” he howled into his friend’s shoulder.

                “I know,” Henry cried in return, clinging to Ryeowook just as hard.

                It wasn’t right and they all knew it.  Every one of them.

(a/n: So I know this is late, relatively speaking.  I've usually done better in terms of not making you wait for almost two weeks for which I do apologize.  School is now finished so hopefully there will be no extended delays.  T_T  And I'm hoping this surprisingly lengthy update will help make it up to you.  It wasn't supposed to be this long and there wasn't as much action as I had intended but it's a start.  And it does begin to outline the reality they are up against.  As well as a bit more of Ryeowook's mentality.  I'm always trying to expand on that.

Did you like Changmin's conversation with Wookie?  That was not at all what I envisioned initially but then it sort of made sense.  The vampires aren't close exactly but they do sort of look out for each other.  I will tell you now, since it wasn't clarified here, that Kyuhyun is the current baby of the vampire clan leaders.  Yes, everyone is older than him, inlcuding Victoria and N.  So they generally have a relative soft spot for him; in part because he has lasted this long, which Changmin has sort of elaborated on.

We may get more combat the next update but it's a start.  Ryeowook isn't a fool though he has a lot to learn yet.  Yay for Luna watching out for him.  heh  And the Hunters in the mix will likely be interesting.  What can their involvement herald?  Also, this update wasn't supposed to be as long as it was but the words kept coming so I'm not going to complain.  Hopefully it's not a bad thing for you guys either.  ^_^  Thank you for reading and have a great day!)