‘Brother, I was not being serious when I said we should bring her with us!’ Sungyeol wrung his gloved hands together, eyeing his elder brother anxiously. ‘This could all be a trick.’

 ‘The only way she could have the necklace is if she is a Nymph.’ Sunggyu grunted as he adjusted his hold on the girl.

‘To think the humans could have stolen her essence.’ Woohyun gripped the handle of his sword out of habit as he looked back to the village, it’s ugly walls an abomination against the natural scenery.

 ‘Clan Mother will not be happy.’

 ‘Clan Mother won’t be?’ Woohyun scoffed, crossing his arms, ‘father will be less happy.’

 ‘She’s untaught,’ Sunggyu spoke up, immediately gaining the attention of his younger brothers. ‘She does not know our language, how is that possible?’

 ‘That’s right,’ Sungyeol nodded as he frowned at the unconscious girl Sunggyu was holding. ‘She was confused when we spoke she had no idea what we were saying, what Nymph doesn’t know her own language?’

 ‘She could have been kidnapped at a young age,’ Woohyun looked up at the trees as they entered the forest. ‘It is not unheard of,’ his tone dropped in disgust before he whistled announcing their return. ‘Brothers, do you remember that boy we found yesterday,’ Woohyun moved the mask to rest on the side of his face, revealing his grinning face to his brothers. ‘That was a fun time,’ he grabbed the vine that encircled the tree, digging his heels in so he could pull himself up.

 Sungyeol laughed as he pulled himself onto the tree as well, ‘you could hear his mother’s shrieks from a mile away.’ He turned his head to look at the eldest among them, ‘brother, how are you expecting to make it up the tree while carrying her?’

 Sunggyu scoffed, not looking at his younger brothers, ‘do you think me a human?’ The boys laughed watching as Sunggyu slung the girl over his shoulder before clutching the vines. ‘I can still climb to the top first.’

 ‘I’ll beat you old man,’ Woohyun sneared at Sunggyu before digging his heels into the trees, vaulting himself upwards. Sunggyu tsked before vaulting himself up as well somehow managing to keep the girl on his shoulder as well. Dongwoo dropped down onto a branch that had twisted itself away from the tree. He watched his brothers climb in in amusement, before his mouth fell agape, unnoticable behind his mask.

 ‘The girl, she’s the one from yesterday.’ He muttered, recognizing her soft features. He was confident she was the one he saw watching from the walls of the human village.

 ‘Girl?’ Sungjong dropped down beside Dongwoo before whistling a short tune. ‘I thought we gave up on kidnapping wenches,’ he yelped in surprise when Dongwoo smacked him upside the head. ‘Brother, don’t hit me!’ He whined shaking his shoulders, his mask hiding his pout.

 ‘She’s not a wench,’ Dongwoo jumped up grabbing the branch above him and swinging himself onto it so that he stayed above of the three racers.

 ‘She’s not human either,’ Sungyeol spoke up causing Sungjong to nearly drop mid swing.

 ‘What is she?’ Sungjong jumped onto the tree beside Sunggyu staring at her hanging head as Sunggyu climbed up. ‘She wouldn’t be a gumiho, would she?’

 ‘No,’ Sunggyu grunted in response as he climbed by Sungjong. Sungjong immediately noticed the necklace dangling in the air, he grabbed it and looked at it, almost losing his hold once again.

 ‘She’s a Nymph!’ He dropped the pendant and climbed back onto the branch he was on before, making his way up that way.

‘Really?’ Dongwoo stared at the girl with narrowed eyes. ‘That would explain why she didn’t react to the song. She should have thrown herself off of the wall.’

 ‘You also had Miyoung in your group,’ Woohyun snickered before growling when Sungyeol climbed past him, almost kicking his head. Miyoung was a Fae known for her inability to sing, though the Fae’s view of incapability matched that of a human’s singing voice. She was rarely taken on hunts that involved charming the humans because her voice could do no such thing, she was a liability so they utilised her strengths in other activities.

 Reaching the top Sunggyu suddenly threw himself forwards, climbing past both boys and reaching the top before them. ‘Sunggyu won, yet again,’ Woohyun lept onto the ledge, almost ramming into Hoya who was standing at the top waiting with his arms crossed. Hoya scanned the newcomers, his eyes widening in shock when he saw the extra person.

‘Is that a human?’ He stepped towards the girl confused, barely catching her limp body when Sunggyu tossed her into his arms.

 ‘Take her to a room, I have a meeting,’ Sunggyu walked by them, not glancing back as he made his way to the center tree where their parents were waiting.

 ‘Actually, she’s a Nymph,’ Sungjong hooked his arm in Sungyeol’s, only to get pushed away.

 ‘We can take her to my room, it is the cleanest,’ Dongwoo took off his mask, hooking it onto his belt as he walked past the boys.

 ‘L has a clean room,’ Sungyeol piped up removing his mask as well, instantly the boys started laughing, they all knew L was anything but clean. Walking along the bridge to Dongwoo’s room the boys went silent saying nothing. They all got along but that didn’t mean that they necessarily had something to say all the time. Since they were all brothers there was bound to be friction between them.

 As soon as they got to Dongwoo’s room Hoya deposited her on his bed and disappeared, not one to be around females more than needed especially not ones that were related to humans in any way. ‘So, she’s the one you saw last night?’ Sungjong stared at her unashamedly before grinning at Dongwoo, ‘she’s not bad for a late start.’

 The Fae were always conflicted with Nymphs raised by humans, so refusing to accept them as full Nymph they would refer to them as late start. The term was a derogatory for the Fae because it meant that the Nymph had not been brought completely into their bloodline. The Nymph would not look like a Nymph, the magic in their blood would keep them looking like the humans around them so they would look like they belonged. The worst thing of all for the Fae was that the Nymph would be full of the rotten teachings of humans, oblivious to the pure teachings of the Fae.

 ‘There shouldn’t be such a thing as late starts,’ Dongwoo retorted, his tone low and bitter as he scowled in the direction of the village. ‘Those humans are always messing with the course of nature.’

 ‘We need to go,’ Woohyun picked up her pendant, staring at it before laying it on her chest. ‘The balancers will be waiting.’

 ‘Who cares about the balancers, I want to be the leader,’ Sungjong crossed his arms sulking as he made his way to the door. Sungjong knew the balancers were important they were the clan leaders, in charge of keeping the clan life balanced and just. But there were also two heads of the clan, the lead Nix and his wife and Sungjong wanted to be there, he had been bossed around his whole life as the youngest and he wanted his chance to boss others around for once.

 ‘You’re still a child Sungjong, you haven’t even had your rite of passage.’ Sungyeol grabbed the chain Sungjong hid in his shirt, his own pendant hanging on a chain that was wrapped around his leather encased wrist.

 When the Nymphs come of age they go through a ceremony, one of the major rites of passage in the ceremony is where the Nymph can decide where the pendant gets put. The pendant can remain as a necklace, be imbedded in a piece of clothing such as a leather belt, or like what Sungyeol had where he had the chain and pendant imbedded in his leather bracelet. Since Sungjong was still considered a child the necklace hung on his neck.

 ‘I’ll have it soon enough,’ Sungjong smacked his brothers hand away, before smiling largely. ‘Then I’ll be able to leave the forest and go see the water Nymphs.’

 Dongwoo chortled as he pushed past his brothers and through the door, grabbing a vine to pull himself up a level to the main walkway. ‘Just because you get to see them doesn’t mean that they will want to see you.’

 ‘You just want to keep them all to yourself,’ Woohyun followed after Dongwoo’s lead, practically running down the bridge.

 ‘Leaving me behind again,’ Sungjong glanced at the room and pulled the door closed making sure it stuck before following after them. Sungjong’s ears twitched as he heard the sound of a cockatiel echo through the forest, the call to the sons of the balancers to go to the main tree.

 ‘The balancers are taking this seriously,’ Woohyun pulled his mask off completely, resting it on the hook on his belt.

 ‘What are they taking seriously?’ L dropped down onto the main bridge from his room, making his way to the main tree with his brothers.

 ‘Sunggyu kidnapped a girl,’ Sungyeol scowled, crossing his arms.

 ‘A human? Is he thinking of mating with such a repulsive being,’ L’s lip curled in disgust as Woohyun snickered.

 ‘Yes, he is going to mate with the girl we brought,’ Woohyun ran towards the end of the bridge, leaping and grabbing a branch his leather gloves sticking to the smooth wood as he flung himself onto the lower platform.

 ‘He is being sarcastic,’ L cast an anxious look to his brothers, ‘right?’ Sungjong just grinned at him before running towards the end of the bridge, completely ignoring the branch as he gracefully leapt across the gap, landing on the platform firmly.

 ‘Yah! Sungjong! Be careful!’ Dongwoo scolded, yet he did the exact same thing as the youngest, jumping across the void.

 ‘Ignored, as always,’ L scowled before leaping at the branch, and swinging himself onto the platform with a lazy grace. Entering the chamber the boys went quiet seeing the gathering of the balancers, with Hoya and Sunggyu already standing in the center of the room. The seven boys stood in a line, staring at the two adults sitting in the very middle of the room. The woman in the middle stood up, her glaring green eyes scanning the boys.

 ‘The humans had a Nymph child in their midst,’ she spoke up, her voice commanding the attention of the whole room. The Fae contained in the tree stared at her, they willingly ignoring the fact that she skipped a whole step in the meeting, a late starter was important news and worth the skip of greeting traditions. ‘Sunggyu, Woohyun, and Sungyeol brought her to our clan. They say she is uneducated, her cup full of a barbaric teaching. We are holding a vote as to whether we will send her back to the barbarians, or keep her in our fold. As the sons of the great balancers you also hold a vote, and so we called you here.’ Her gaze stopped on Sungjong, ‘even those not of age may vote in this matter. Guk? Does she indeed have the mark?’

 She turned her strict gaze to the Fae that entered, who nodded before moving to a far corner of the room, not eligible to participate in the vote. ‘Then we shall proceed, all in favour of casting the late starter?’ Hoya lifted his amulet, along with L, Dongwoo and five other council members, the designs lighting up. The Fae in the corner, Guk, tallied the ones who opposed, discounting the one whose pendant remained dim. The woman’s lip curled as she stared at the Fae with the dim amulet.

 ‘Guards,’ the male beside her called out, immediately three Fae completely dressed in black took the council member by his shoulders leading him out of the chamber. ‘When voting.’ his voice was low and steady as he glared at all of the members of the council, ‘vote purely, we will not allow rot in positions of power. All those in favor of letting the late starter stay,’ immediately the rest of the elders of the group lifted their pendants, joined with Sungjong, Sungyeol, Woohyun, and Sunggyu. ‘The late starter will stay. Who will empty her glass?’ He stared at the seven boys, ‘Sungyeol, Woohyun, Sunggyu, it was you three who brought her into our midst, who will be responsible for her?’

 ‘Dongwoo!’ Sungyeol exclaimed when the Fae’s gaze rested on him. He cleared his throat at the inquisitive look he gained. ‘Dongwoo saw her first last night, though we brought her here she saw him first. It was because of her that we sent the scum back, as a warning.’

 ‘The late starter was tossed from the village by the mother, as a cascading effect by Dongwoo seeing her.’ Sunggyu spoke up in agreement with Sungyeol, eager to get the girl off his hands, he did not need another burden he already had six.

 ‘I voted against keeping the late starter,’ Dongwoo clenched his jaw, shaking his head.

 ‘You let her rest in your room,’ Sungjong countered, eager to see at least one of his brothers unsatisfied.

 ‘She is in your room right now?’ The Nymph questioned, looking at the Fae beside her, he nodded to her signalling for her to look back at the boys. ‘Then it is settled, Dongwoo will empty her cup.’ He breathed in sharply, grinding his teeth as he resisted the urge to act out, throwing a tantrum would only serve to humiliate him and his family.

 ‘Yes Clan mother,’ immediately after bowing to her, Dongwoo glared at the three brothers who helped to tie him down to his fate.

 ‘The council may be dismissed,’ Dongwoo stalked out of the room, ignoring the chatter of his brothers.

‘The late starter will not wake for awhile longer,’ Sunggyu brushed his fingers through his hair, staring up at the branches above them. ‘We should discuss what shall happen with the late starter.’

 ‘She will have to be taken to the sisters to be dressed up, Clan Mother will not wish to see her in human clothes.’ Hoya smirked readily interlacing his fingers with L when he extended his hand.

 ‘We are not taking her to the sisters,’ Sunggyu rolled his eyes already imagining the disaster that would spawn from placing a late starter with the disastrous duo.

 Miyoung and her sister Minhee were both some of the most intense haters of humans, The were also the closest friends to the seven boys. The two were notorious for being devious and there were many stories of their pranks. If they left the late starter with the sisters one of two things would happen, she would be accepted into their folds and subject the clan to increased terror or the sisters would hate her and would purposefully sabotage her life with the Fae. Both options were burdensome to Sunggyu and would mean he would have to be careful with the late starter.

 ‘It’ll be fun,’ Dongwoo smirked clearly anticipating the sisters hating the late starter. He readily hopped onto a small platform and walked into a tree that held multiple cushions made from the furs of animals, there were also some tables that were apart of the tree they had entered. Sunggyu immediately sat down at the head of one of the tables, adjusting the cushion beneath him.

 ‘As soon as the late starter wakes up you will bring her here,’ Sunggyu commanded Dongwoo, who nodded acknowledging his senior as he sat down to the right side of him.

 ‘I don’t want to see her,’ L grumbled, quickly sitting beside Dongwoo and Hoya the three of them generating a dark aura of annoyance at the idea of being stuck with the late starter.

 ‘I want to,’ Woohyun sat down to the left of Sunggyu, Sungjong claiming the seat down his side of the table while Sungyeol sat directly opposite of Sunggyu leaving the space between him and Sungjong empty for the late starter.

 ‘You’re all going to see her,’ Sunggyu entwined his fingers, resting them on the table as he surveyed the contrasting emotions on the faces of his brothers. ‘Now while Dongwoo is her caretaker I believe the lessons the late starter will have to undergo should be split between all of us, we don’t want to spread our eggs too far. Dongwoo will be teaching her our language, that involves writing and reading.’

 ‘I don’t-’ Sunggyu raised his hand cutting Dongwoo off.

 ‘You were assigned the task of teaching the late starter, you’re lucky I’m even lessening your burden. Hoya, you will have to teach her basic skills such as hunting and fighting.’ Hoya scowled, remaining quiet as Sunggyu moved onto the next person. ‘Sungjong, you’ll have to teach her the basics of the sky. L, you will teach her about scavenging, what may be eaten what may not. As well as where to find such things if she ever gets lost.’

 ‘Can’t Woohyun do that?’

 ‘No, Woohyun will be teaching her the basic clan skills of very Fae, cooking as well as making clothes. Sungyeol, you’ll have to make help her learn the basics of the different job fractions and help her find where she would be apart of. I will be teaching her basic etiquette.’

 ‘We voted against her staying, we should not be involved with her teachings,’ Hoya placed his arms on the table, subconsciously flexing his muscles to show his strength and dominance.

‘You are still a son of the balancers so it is important that you are involved with this,’ Sungyeol piped up, Woohyun nodding in agreement.

 ‘As sons of the balancers it is our obligation to properly integrate any lost Nymph into their rightful culture and if needed help them find a clan that would fit them better.’

 ‘Dongwoo,’ Sunggyu spoke up, stopping Hoya from making a retort. ‘You will still be with her while she is being taught by us, you are still her guardian and will be involved with all of the teachings. Don’t look at me like that, if Clan Mother had given any of us the job I would be saying the same to them.’

 ‘I could be her guardian,’ Sungjong smiled widely, frowning when all six of his brothers immediately stared at him, each disagreeing with him in different ways. Hoya looked amused that Sungjong actually thought himself capable of being a guardian, Dongwoo was filled with disbelief that he would actually want to be the guardian, and the rest were either feeling the same or annoyed that Sungjong was trying to take up responsibilities out of his maturity level.

 ‘You have not yet had your right of passage,’ Sunggyu spoke wearily, as if he had repeated the lines constantly, and he had. It had become automatic whenever Sungjong opened his mouth the brothers could assume he was going to complain. Sungjong was always fighting his restrictions and was impatient to officially become a clan member.

 Before a Nymph becomes an adult they are not thought to be able to make their own opinions, they are not allowed to be leaders or vote in official events. Once a Nymph becomes an adult their voices may be heard and their opinions become valuable as well as true. They are no longer in the shadow of their parents and may make whatever decisions they choose without it reflecting back on their family because they have have become their own entity. Nymphs are also not allowed to leave the Clan’s village until they were an adult, causing the vast majority to be extremely restless while they awaited their rite of passage. This is not to say that the young were not accepted, they were, and deeply loved but anything they said before the clan had to be filtered by their parents first.

 ‘But I will soon!’ Sungjong scowled, jerking away from Woohyun when he tried to place a hand on his shoulder empathetically. ‘I am not a child! I can make my own choices!’

 ‘You are a child!’ Sunggyu glared at Sungjong as he pressed his palms into the table, trying to keep himself calm. ‘You are a child until your right of passage, you must be patient Sungjong, we have all been through what you have. We all had to be patient and await our ceremony,’ Sunggyu was certainly the most burdened of the group, as the oldest of the seven he had to endure the whines of every brother below him as they awaited their ceremony.

 ‘You don’t want your rite of passage,’ Sungyeol spoke up, immediately getting a dirty glare from the youngest brother. ‘You do not want your rite of passage, when you become an adult you are expected to mate.’ Sungyeol shuddered recalling a horrific event with a kitsune that he stumbled upon.

 ‘Thinking about Akari again?’ Dongwoo grinned his eyes filling with a glimmer of mirth as the groups aura quickly shifted to a more happy light air.

 ‘I have never seen a kitsune fall for a Nix as fast as she did,’ L spoke up readily joining in on Sungyeols humiliation. ‘She just wouldn’t give up, followed him everywhere, clung to him like ivy.’

 ‘Kitsune?’ Sungjong’s eyes sparked with excitement, he always loved hearing about the outside world, he never got a chance to experience it, he was still cocooned in the clan.

 ‘You don’t want to ever meet a Kitsune, they choose their mates without a second thought and have no allegiance to anyone.’ Sungyeol shook his head remembering the shock of the Kitsune grabbing onto him, staring at him with wide impressionable honey coloured eyes that held an unnaturally shaped iris.

 ‘Maybe we can leave the late starter with a kitsune,’ Hoya mused, still refusing to accept the girl.

 ‘And leave her to be ripped to shreds?’ Woohyun rolled his eyes in disbelief, not understanding why his brothers were so against her. ‘She’s our duty, she’s a Nymph.’

 ‘She is not a Nymph! She is a corrupt being!’

 ‘She’s still a child, that means her cup may still be emptied, the teachings of humans can be removed from her,’ Sungyeol argued. He preferred his brothers making fun of him over debating about some late starter that while being interesting really meant nothing in the long run. She would eventually forget about the humans and she would eventually become a part of one of the families where they would barely see her again.

 ‘Also, it does not matter whether she is corrupt or not, either way she is a Nymph,’ Sunggyu watched the rotten expressions cross the trios faces. They knew full well she was Nymph, the necklace was the sign, only Nymphs had those necklaces, and the pendants only had the designs hers did when a Nymph was wearing it, when a human touches it the pendant would change to look like plain rock.

 ‘You have proved your point, she is a Nymph,’ Hoya rolled his eyes, his eyes shown with a stubborn glint, just because he accepted she was a Nymph, which was irrefutable in itself, did not mean that he accepted her by any means.

 Dongwoo lifted his head, listening to the clear sound of the birds calling outside, ‘she’s awake.’

 ‘What else could cause the birds to be so upset? L scoffed and glanced out of the tree where he could a bird flying in the direction of Dongwoo’s room. ‘I have no doubt they are ready to attack her.’

 ‘I would not doubt it if I heard that they thought she was a human,’ Dongwoo slowly pushed himself off of the cushion, his expression turning sour as he walked towards the platform. Sunggyu glared at the younger Fae, saying nothing as he watched Dongwoo leap across the gap onto the bridge and disappear from view.

 ‘Who wants to bet he loses his temper the moment he meets her?’ Woohyun grinned watching his brothers perk up at the thought of a bet. Sunggyu narrowed his small eyes, the barely visible glint of them stopped the others from agreeing.

 'We shouldn't be placing bets on this, it should be about emptying her cup and teaching her how to be a Nymph.' Sunggyu scolded, his gaze immediately snapped to Sungyeol when he saw him slowly stand up then send a discreet nod to Woohyun before running out. ‘Yah! Sungyeol!’ Sunggyu glared after him, not saying anything because he knew full well that Sungyeol wouldn’t hear his scolding, or rather he would pretend not to. As always Sungyeol was going to be the scout and tell the others who won the bet.