"Thanks for today," Arwen breathed in Baekhyun's sweet-scented hair as he held her.

"I've missed you so much," he smiled.  "I'm glad you're back."

She smiled back.  For the first time, she felt like she actually belonged there.  She had always felt out of place, but here, she felt comfortable. 

She suddenly frowned a bit.  "Is he really that evil?"

His face darkened.  "Who?  Jae?"

"Tell me more about him," she requested.

Baekhyun looked around for any sign of Kris before he spoke.  "Jae is Kris' younger brother.  Their parents both died in an accident when they were both young.  Kris was about eight-years and Jae was five.  Kris did his best to care for Jae, but his poor brother's heart was broken in a way that could not be healed.  Jae became more and more cold. 

Kris finally came here like the rest of us.  He left Jae.  It wasn't the easiest thing to do, but it was necessary.  Jae had fallen into the dark too much for Kris or anyone to save him. 

A few years later, you appeared, and everything changed.  As soon as Jae heard about the prophecy, he was enraged and tried his hardest to kill you.  He ended unsuccessfully each time, of course, but it was getting harder and harder to fight him off.  Kris finally chased him down and put a temporary end to his madness the day he sent you away."

Arwen's eyes were wet with tears.  "I never knew..."

"I know," he cooed and held her close.  "It's okay..."

"I don't want to kill anyone," she cried.  "It's not fair."

"I know," he breathed in her hair.  "You'll know what to do when the time comes."

She looked up and smiled.  "Thanks, Baekhyun."

He smiled back and held her head close to his chest.  She could hear his heart pounding loudly and quickly.  Feeling comforted, her eyes slowly drooped and she fell into a deep sleep.

--

The sun peeked through the cracks in the curtains, lightly kissing Arwen's face.  Her eyes opened, shining in the soft morning light.  She looked over to see Baekhyun sleeping soundly. 

A distant howl was heard, causing the peaceful moment to end.  Baekhyun sat up fast and looked around anxiously.  "What was that?"

"A...howl?" she furrowed her eyebrows.

The two jumped off the couch and dashed down the hall, nearly crashing into the rest of the boys.  They looked sleepy, especially poor Lay and Tao. 

"You heard it too?" Kris stared at Arwen.

"Yeah," she nodded.  "Who was that?"

Kris' face grew even darker.  "My brother."

"Oh," she looked crestfallen.  "What do we do?"

"He's calling us, which means he knows that you're here," Kris thought aloud.  "We shouldn't back down and portray fear.  We should meet him."

"Will you get hurt?"

"I don't know," he shook his head.  "I'm sure we'll be fine.  You should stay here; it isn't safe to meet anyone yet.  You're still weak from the atmosphere change."

"But-"

"Stay," he commanded.  "Chen and Tao will stay with you."

She reluctantly nodded.  "Okay," she paused and added, "Stay safe."

Kris gave her a hopeful smile and pat her shoulder.  "We'll be back later."

Tao came up behind Arwen and put his hand on her shoulder as Kris, Baekhyun, and the rest of the boys walked down the hall and out the door.  He could feel her muscles tense with fear. 

"Will they really be okay?" Arwen sighed.

Tao wanted to say that they were guaranteed to return, but Jae was ultimately unpredictable.  "He wouldn't dare hurt his own brother," Tao thought.  "But times have changed."

"I think..." he timidly said.

She looked at him with worry in her eyes.  "Promise me.  Promise me they'll be okay."

"I-," he paused.  He didn't want to let her down, but he didn't want to tell the possible truth.  "I promise."