Soooooo haven't updated in awhile, here's the next update! College just started so I will be updating more (weird, right?) I have more inspiration now~

 'No!' Sunggyu's shout got Yeonjung's attention as she wandered the long bridges that connected the village. 'He's not supposed to come here. You know who he is and what he does.' She cautiously looked around the tree that was before the bend and watched as Sunggyu scowled at one of the Nixes.

 'Sir, he doesn't work with them anymore.' The Nix sighed and ran his hand through his peculiarly white and pink hair. 'He's more of a wanderer now, you know that.'

 'That means nothing, you know that.’ Sunggyu added the last part, mimicking what the Nix had said previously. His narrowed eyes conveyed the depth of his message.  ‘If anything, send him towards the village with some nuts and berries. But we can't let him know where our home is.' Sunggyu sighed, sounding weary. 'I'm sorry for snapping, brother. It was inappropriate of me.'

 'No harm done, brother.' The Nix smiled at him warmly before resting his hand upon Sunggyu's shoulder. 'I'll go get the supplies then send him away.'

 'Maybe, someday, we'll let him up,' said Sunggyu with a speculative tone. It was clear that he didn't imagine that this mystery man would ever come up, but he in some way felt as though he were obligated to host the man. 'Hyunsu? You can come over, we're not talking about anything serious.'

 Yeonjung struggled to hide the strange frustration that bubbled up in her. She didn't know what she was struggling with, but suddenly she felt irritated, pushing the feeling away she resolved that it was because he knew where she was. That had to be it. Walking around the corner she smiled at the unfamiliar Nix. 'Hello.'

 'Hi, I'm Namjoon.' He flashed her a smile and lightly touched her cheeks with his cool fingers in greeting.

 'I'm Yeonjung.' Her eyes could barely move from the strange pink highlights of his hair as she stared at him.

 'One of my friends decided to try getting some berry juice in my hair.' After Sunggyu raised an eyebrow Namjoon raised his hands and said, 'it'll wash out when I get some water on it.'

 'Good, we wear the masks for a reason. Something like-' He looked at Namjoon's hair with a mixed expression. 'Pink hair is recognizable.' Clearing his throat, Sunggyu nodded at Namjoon. 'Namjoon is from one of the oceanic tribes, he was with the caravan. We rescued him before they got him to their destination.'

 'You're the Nymph that got kidnapped by the humans, right? Everyone was worried about you.' Namjoon raised his hand to his head and lightly scratched at his hair. 'I'm glad you're okay.'

 'Thank you.' Yeonjung smiled at him, before looking at his hair curiously. 'Why is your hair so, white.'

 'Uh-' He looked slightly thrown off before he smirked. 'Lots of us have white hair in the oceanic tribes. It's part of how our bodies react with our surroundings. In fact, I'm surprised more of you don't have green hair.' Namjoon looked over at Sunggyu who laughed and shook his head.

 'You know just as well as I do, that those in the forest tend to have darker hair. The more, colourful, hair types are in the open areas.' Yeonjung watched with interest as the two interacted smoothly, as if they had known each other for years as opposed to days. Her body seemed to warm with pleasure as she recognized that he reacted so familiarly simply because that was how the Fae were, when they weren't talking to humans. 'You should head out before the fox gets tired.'

 'Of course, sir!' Namjoon saluted him with a grin before he smiled at Yeonjung and running the other way, towards where the man was.

 'Who are you talking about?' Yeonjung asked as she walked up beside Sunggyu.

 'He's a fox, a gumiho.' Instantly, Yeonjung shuddered. All the stories she had heard about gumihos was that they were nine-tailed foxes that devoured the livers of humans. Sunggyu felt the sudden increase of nervousness from Yeonjung and he tried to hide a smile from her. 'Gumiho are not.....They are not as violent as you think. But they are tricksters. They don't have the same morals as we do, they have no problem hurting friends, but at the same time they are fiercely protective. They don't make much sense. But they are better than the kitsune, the other faction of nine-tailed foxes.' Instead of saying why, Sunggyu rested his hand on Yeonjung's shoulder as an effort to comfort her. 'You introduced yourself as Yeonjung.'

 'I did.' She nodded and relaxed, her worries about gumihos fading as she felt a sense of pride. It was nice, relaxing in some way, to introduce herself as Yeonjung. 'Why does Sungjong think that I don't like you guys.' She looked down at her fingers and started fiddling with them.

 'You know why. Before you were taken, most of you was gone, even when you enjoyed your time here you longed for the humans. We could all tell how you felt.' Sunggyu looked into the forest, taking in the beautiful vision of green leaves and little animals. A part of him felt a sense of triumph because he had not felt that sense of longing once since she came back.

 'I care about you guys.' Yeonjung focused on her fingers, feeling embarrassed about what she was saying.

 'We care about you as well.' Sunggyu smirked as he looped his fingers through the empty loops on his belt. 'Come on, there is someone you have to talk to.' He took her hand without a second thought then started pulling her along the path. Their footsteps hit the wooden planks with soft thumps as they continued on. Neither spoke, the only noise came from the rustling of leaves, and the soft chirping of birds in the background.

 He lead her towards a small open area where several herbs were hanging from branches and there was a wooden pot that Dongwoo was pounding a thick wooden shaft into. Yeonjung instantly started slowing down, feeling uncomfortable. 'Why did you bring her here?' Dongwoo stopped pounding the shaft in and turned, crossing his arms. Unlike when she last saw him, he was wearing a black shirt that had no sleeves so when he crossed his arms, Yeonjung could see his muscles flexing. His dark hair fell into his eyes and his thick lips were pulled into the usual annoyed scowl.

 'Dongwoo.' Sunggyu walked towards him, leaving Yeonjung behind him. 'You're showing the wrong side to her. She is one of us yet you're still treating her as if she is a human. Please, spend time with her and try to be yourself.' He leaned towards Dongwoo and whispered something to him before he turned and smiled at Yeonjung.

 'I'll leave you two for now.' Without waiting for another response he walked off, leaving Yeonjung alone with the one Nix that she wanted to avoid.

 'You may as well help me.' Dongwoo ran a hand through his hair, not looking at her. 'Come here.' He turned to look back at the big wooden bowl.

 'What is this for?' Yeonjung walked up to the bowl, watching as he picked up the large shaft.

 'I don't trust the humans. I'm making this up in case something happens.' He handed her the shaft and clutched the sides of the bowl. When she looked down into the bowl she could see a mix of different herbs, roots, and what even looked like berries. She opened to say something but he shook his head. 'Now is not the time to talk. Pound the shaft into the mixture steadily, okay?'

 Nodding, Yeonjung started pounding it into the bowl. The scents that filled the air reminded her of the different plants L had shown her. But something about it was soothing and instead sparked up her memories. It reminded her of the nights she spent writing in her stomach as she struggled to remember everything she could about her human life and trying to learn a new language.

 'Stop!' Dongwoo exclaimed, making her freeze. Sighing he shook his head. 'We cannot do this if you are thinking negatively. What's-' He looked as if he were struggling to speak. 'What's bothering you?' His voice dropped as he asked the question, looking physically uncomfortable.

 Yeonjung froze and looked just as uncomfortable as him. That was, after all, the very first time that he had ever asked a question like that. In the past if she were in the same state he would either ignore her, or send her away. 'My brother said that I'm not a human. I'm not his sister.'

 ‘They've been-' Dongwoo stopped and sighed. 'You're a latestarter, a Nymph that has grown up with humans. When that happens, your essence tries to make you as much like them as possible. That's why you are like this.'

 'I never believed that I was a latestarter.' Yeonjung gulped, trying to stifle to growing awkwardness. This whole situation seemed unnatural and like it shouldn't ever happen. 'I never had any reason to, I had grown up with my parents. My mum was never a Nymph, and my father was never a Nix.'

 'Then you're not their child.' Dongwoo said simply. His eyes seemed to be weighted with his annoyance towards her. His usual irritation for the Nymph was quickly coming back.

 'But that's not possible! If I were truly not their child then I would know. Someone in the village would have remarked on it by now. Everyone knows each other, they would know if a family adopted a child.' Yeonjung shook her head as her eyebrows furrowed. She couldn't imagine whose child she could be if she wasn't a Nahm.

 'Does it really matter? You aren't in the village anymore. You chose to come here, you willingly left that world behind you. Nobody here cares where you came from, only that you stay.' As he spoke, Yeonjung suddenly felt foreign emotions. It was as though someone else's emotions were around her, trying to call attention to themselves. 'I think it would be best if you tried to leave that world behind you.' She could feel the hesitation and interest building around her as he spoke. The emotions that weren't hers were starting to overwhelm her. Yeonjung couldn't understand what was happening, was she going crazy?

 'Hey!' Dongwoo snapped his fingers in front of her face causing her to jump in surprise, suddenly the sensation disappeared and she could only feel her own confusion. 'Are you zoning out on me?' His eyebrows furrowed as he spoke. 'I'm actually saying important stuff here.' He trailed off and looked like he was starting to pout. Yeonjung felt her lips twitch as she tried to keep in a laugh. She had only ever seen negative expressions on his face, or to see such a childish look on his face...

 'I heard you,' she said after she managed to calm herself. 'Thank you.'

 Instantly he straightened up and she realised how close his face had been to hers. 'Good,' Dongwoo said with a satisfied look. 'Now, start mixing again.' He motioned to the waiting shaft before crossing his arms and staring at her sternly. Suddenly, the look that had seemed so natural on him before, looked wrong. Yeonjung didn't understand where the feeling was coming from, so instead of focusing on it, she picked up the wooden shaft and started steadily pounding the mixture like he told her.

 She could hear his quiet whispers as he held onto the bowl. She couldn't make out a single word, but his tone was evident enough that she could feel his determination and longing. As Yeonjung pounded the mixture, the strange feelings started coming to her again. She could feel the intense distrust weighing down on her, but hope and faith seemed to mix into the distrust, giving her such a complex understanding. She had no idea what was happening, or what was becoming clear to her, but she felt safe because of it. Safer than she had ever felt.

 He felt annoyance flash through him again as he watched the Nymph in front of him. He had taken her to the room they ate in because they had missed lunch with the others, but it was only making him feel more agitated. 'Yeonjung.' Dongwoo sighed heavily as she picked at the berries.

 'What?' Yeonjung looked up at him. She shifted on the cushion she was sitting on before eating another berry.

 'You can't just eat berries.' He picked up the bowl that held a pile of greens that placed it down in front of her. 'You need to eat something else as well. You won't get all of your nutrients from just those.' Her nose wrinkled as she hesitantly picked up one of the leaves, then chewed on it. It was still as overwhelmingly bitter as it had been every other time she ate it.

 'Will our relationship always be weird?' she asked as she picked up another one of the leaves, this time wrapping some berries into it.

 Dongwoo sighed, understanding what she was asking. From the start their relationship had been bad because he had hated her. He still didn't like her, but he respected her. He couldn't not respect her, especially when she had willingly left the place she was raised to come back where she belonged. 'I don't know,' he finally said. He watched as she ate her leaf and berry wrap before an approving look flashed across her face. 'How did you get by living here for six months without trying to mix the leaf with other things.' He muttered, not understanding why she had not tried to experiment when she clearly didn't like the food.

 'L told me not to change it. He said most things he was going to show me were bitter, so I should get used to the taste.' She made another wrap, except she put some roasted nuts in as well.

 Dongwoo made a sound of acknowledgement before eating more of the food in front of them. He couldn't argue with his younger brothers logic. The girl needed to get used to it somehow, and considering the body was the last to change, she needed to learn on her own.

 'Look at you two getting along!' Sungyeol dropped down beside Dongwoo with a large smile. Yeonjung smiled back, but stopped as soon as she noticed the irritated look that flashed across the Dongwoo's face. She had thought they were getting along but, she was watching him walk away and leave her and Sungyeol alone. 'Well-' He said after his brother left the room. 'You're growing on him.'

 'Yeah,' she muttered as she started playing with the food in front of her instead of talking.

 'Hyunsu, you shouldn't play with your food.' Her fingers wavered over the bowl as she heard Sungyeol talk to her. The irritation was back again. 'Are you alright?' Sungyeol asked with a concerned look.

 'Of course! It's just, I wish we would get along better.' Yeonjung said quietly.

 'It'll come eventually.' Sungyeol shrugged then picked up one of her berries. ‘I can’t tell you how glad I am that the fox is gone now.’

 ‘Fox?’

 ‘A Gumiho came around here earlier.’ Sungyeol sighed then cracked his knuckles absentmindedly. ‘He is on his way to the human village. Or he is going past it. It’s not easy to tell what a Gumiho might do.’

 ‘Sunggyu mentioned him.’ Yeonjung leaned back and picked at some berries she watched as an uncomfortable look flashed across his face.  

 ‘Sunggyu doesn’t like him, at all.’ Sungyeol sighed and shook his head. ‘We’ve almost all met the gumiho, he’s not a bad guy. The problem is his job, and he refuses to leave it behind. Anyways, that’s not the point. I have something to show you.’ Sungyeol’s face lit up, his eyes filling with vivid excitement. He stood up, his whole body shook with anticipation as his lips curled into a wide grin.

 ‘What do you want to show me?’ Yeonjung stood up and barely had enough time to blink before Sungyeol was pulling her out of the room.

 ‘There’s a lot we didn’t show you. Anyways, your legs okay, right?’ Instantly Yeonjung froze and looked down at her leg. She hadn’t even realised that it had stopped hurting. Her fingers reached down to the brown patch that was cracking off of her leg.

 ‘I wasn’t supposed to move!’ She flushed as panic flooded through her body, chilling and heating her body simultaneously. In her village people died from infections rather than the wounds themselves. They could only sanitize so much with their limited selection of herbs. The tips of her fingers glazed over the dried poultice. She winced as she watched the top of it flake off. She couldn’t feel anything, was she supposed to not feel anything?

 ‘Hey, hey, what’s wrong?’ Sungyeol frowned and stared at her with concern.

 ‘What’s wrong with the wound!’ Panicking, she scraped at the dried poultice. Sungyeol’s lips twitched as her face continued to pale as her fingernails scraped through the crumbling poultice. She stared at the newly revealed skin blankly, staring without comprehension.

 ‘Something wrong?’ His voice was pitched higher than usual and it was clear that he was trying to hold in laughter. Instead of answering Yeonjung stared down at her unblemished skin. ‘I said I wanted to show you something, it wasn’t that, but that works too.’ He finally broke out into laughter as he continued tugging her along.

 ‘Sungyeol!’ Yeonjung’s voice cracked, panicked, as he continued guiding her through the village. Her eyes flickered down to her leg that had not given her a single bit of agitation.

 ‘Focus,’ he crooned. Yeonjung stared at him in disbelief as he dragged her to the central area of the level they were on. His footsteps lightly patted against the steps as he pulled her down to the centre area. ‘Remember this area? You haven’t come here much, have you?’

 She wordlessly shook her head as she remembered the ceremony she had endured to become apart of the Fae village.  Yeonjung had greeted every single Fae and each of them stared at her with warm gazes, welcoming and eager. Her body thrummed as the memories grew in tangibility, she almost felt as if she were there again, stuttering through the same phrases they spoke to her.

 ‘We were happy to welcome you to our home. The late-starter that was rescued from the humans.’ Sungyeol’s eyes were fixed at the bottom of the area. Yeonjung stepped down the final, she stood beside him, in the centre of the large circular area. A small shiver ran through her spine as she heard leaves rustling outside of the circle, and shadows seemed to dance across the steps. ‘But that’s already happened.’ Laughing he shrugged then ran his gloved fingers through his brown hair.

 ‘What did you want to show me?’ Yeonjung looked around them, not seeing anything of interest. It looked just as it did every other time she had been there. The area was empty, with small thin spirals that had the light up bugs inside. The branches hung over in the same manner it had previously, closing off the area making it it’s own place within the village.

 Sungyeol took a deep breath. ‘First of all, don’t tell Sunggyu, okay?’

 Yeonjung’s eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the tall Fae beside her. Sungyeol’s normally bright eyes had an unfamiliar darkness to them. She sensed no distress or hostility from him, yet they just seemed more dim than previously. She swallowed before nodding, unsure of how to react to the way he was acting.

 His lips pulled into a small smile before he dropped straight down onto the wooden floor beneath them. Instantly, he patted the floor behind him and said, ‘sit down.’

 ‘Okay,’ Yeonjung said hesitantly, then she followed his instructions. Her eyes widened as she suddenly felt his back press against hers. Laughter erupted from behind her as she instantly stiffened.

 ‘Relax,’ he said with a teasing twang in his voice. ‘Now, close your eyes.’ Slowly, Yeonjung closed her eyes. Her fingers instantly found each other and she started toying with them, trying to calm her nerves.

 ‘What are we doing?’ she asked weakly.

 ‘I want to show you something,’ Sungyeol said with a tone defined with finality. ‘Keep your eyes closed and breathe deeply for awhile. Calm yourself.’ His voice softened as he spoke, making him sound absent.

 ‘Is this meditation?’ Her question was met with a sharp laugh. Her eyebrows furrowed as she opened her eyes to look in front of her. Yeonjung had heard of meditation from the elders, they always said that it was a corrupted form of concentration that only survived because of the vile followers that spread it’s influence about the world. They never specified what the followers followed, or even what species they may have been, so she never paid much attention to it. But that didn’t mean that the elders had failed to inspire fear within her.

 ‘No.’ After his response Yeonjung hesitantly closed her eyes and breathed deeply. With each strong breath she could feel her shoulders relax. Her back warmed as she grew more aware of his body against hers, and the feel of his shoulders resting against hers. She could feel the small twitching of his back as he adjusted his position. ‘What do you feel?’

 ‘You?’ she questioned, not sure what he was asking.

 ‘Okay, what do you smell?’ Yeonjung nibbled on her bottom lip as she focused again, she could still feel his body against hers, but he had asked for smells, not feelings. She breathed deeply again, this time focusing on the scents around her. A small smile pulled at her lips as she recognised the spiced scent of the trees around her, coming to her by the wind that managed to break through the treetops. She breathed out softly as the soft perfume of flowers caught her attention, she knew there were none around them, but she could smell them as strongly as if they were in front of her.

 ‘I smell the bark of the trees, and the scent of flowers.’ Her mind instantly filled in for her, that she must be smelling the trees because some Fae were cutting branches from somewhere near them. The scent of the wood was never that strong unless it had been cut into. But she couldn’t place where the scent of flowers was from.

 ‘Good.’ She instantly felt a warmth encompass her, her mind provided her with the cause, pride. ‘Now, what do you hear?’

 Yeonjung forced herself to breathe quieter as she focused once again on her surroundings. As always, there was the soft swishing of leaves around her caused by the wind or small creatures scurrying around on the branches. ‘Leaves?’ She felt her lips dip into a pout as Sungyeol laughed.

 ‘What else?’ Huffing, she focused again. Her eyebrows twitched as she tried to listen for anything else. ‘You’re trying too hard. Don’t force yourself, just, relax.’

 Relax, she mouthed to herself before sighing. Placing her palms down upon the wood beneath her, she forced her tensed shoulder to relax before she started breathing deeply again. ‘I can hear you breathing,’ Yeonjung said. She almost couldn’t hear anything with his breathing. It almost sounded like he was speaking to himself.

 ‘Alright.’ She was surprised that he accepted her answer so quickly when leaves wasn’t enough. ‘Open your eyes.’ At his demand, she finally opened her eyes and looked around her. Everything looked the same as when she had first shut her eyes.

 ‘What was that supposed to do?’ Yeonjung asked. She huffed at the lack of response. She shivered as the wind brushed against her back. She couldn’t feel Sungyeol against her anymore. Confused she turned her head only to stare at blank space. ‘Sungyeol?’ Cautiously, she stood up. ‘Sungyeol?’ She called out, louder. He was nowhere to be seen. Her heartbeat increased as she started bounding up the steps.

 ‘Hey! Dongwoo!’ Yeonjung relaxed as she heard Hoya calling out as well.

 ‘Hoya, you’re back.’ She walked up to the Fae who was walking towards her with a look she seemed to always see him with, frustration. ‘Are you okay? Where’s L?’

 Instead of answering he walked through her.