‘Alright,’ Dongwoo smacked the slab of wood that opened the door, storming in the room, ‘time to get up larva.’ He pulled to a stop instantly upon seeing her asleep on his table, her head was laying on a black journal and her fingers had black ink splotches on them from her constant writing. He could feel an involuntary wince as he took in her uncomfortable posture, she was going to be sore when she woke up.

 ‘I thought you were supposed to let her sleep in your bed?’ Hoya stepped up behind Dongwoo, peering over his shoulder at the girl.

 ‘She was….’ He trailed off before he looked at the desk, ‘somebody was in here last night,’ he picked up the jar filled with fireflies.

 ‘Or maybe she went out and caught them herself,’ Hoya’s eyes lifted into half moons as he laughed, the very idea that she could do such a thing was amusing in itself. Dongwoo threw his head back laughing as his eyes squeezed shut.

 Hyunsu’s eyes fluttered open to take in the sight of the two stoic Fae laughing with each other. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, she found it extremely hard to believe that they were actually laughing. Hyunsu was convinced that she was still dreaming. The moment the two of them saw she was awake they went quiet, Hoya looked out the door looking as if he was fascinated by a distant falling leaf as Dongwoo grabbed her gloves up off of the bed and threw them at her.

 ‘Hurry up,’ he snapped before stepping out of the room, standing on the platform with his arms crossed and face twisted in an unpleased look.

 Hyunsu pulled the gloves on then neatly wiped the strange quill, placing it back between the leather straps. Smiling at her journal she placed the ink bottle on top and walked out of the room. She barely had a moment to react before Hoya grabbed her and jumped over the gap before dumping her onto the bridge.

 ‘Come on,’ Dongwoo grabbed her arm, pulling her off the ground and along the bridge, ‘we need to hurry.’ Hyunsu scoffed and glared at them as they continued rushing down the path.

 ‘Disrespectful,’ she hissed at their backs, instantly she went quiet and stared down at her feet when they both glared at her. She could instantly feel regret welling up in her chest as she focused on her surroundings, the cool forest air that flowed around her overwhelmed her senses with new strange smells and her sight with the new creatures that climbed the branches with them, staring at her with their large eyes.

 ‘She’s already being assessed,’ Hoya glanced up, smiling at one of the Fae who was watching them. Immediately the young Nymph went red and scurried off.

 ‘Is the larva even going to greet anyone?’ Dongwoo glanced behind him at Hyunsu who was looking around the forest.

 Hyunsu would have subtly greeted the Fae, if she had known they were there. Yesterday there had been next to no Fae in the village, however since there was a clan meeting soon the Fae were all around the village chattering excited with their friends. Not that Hyunsu would have noticed the difference, her hearing and sight was not the same as theirs so the only difference she could spot was that for once Hoya was involved in her life.

 Dongwoo barely looked up as he heard Sungyeol’s hectic footsteps running along the bridge behind them, ‘he has absolutely no idea of subtlety.’ Sungyeol could immediately tell that although his brothers could hear him Hyunsu’s senses were dim and she had no idea he was behind them. So, with a large grin he slung his arm around Hyunsu’s shoulder and pinched her cheek with his other hand.

 ‘Good morning Yeonjung!’ Hyunsu’s eyes bulged out in surprise as her heart pounded, breathing out to try and ease the frantic beating of her shocked heart she glared him, not even the calming scent of pollen that flooded her sense from his clothes could relax her. Hyunsu was confident that whatever scent that emitted off of him was the result of his magic and that he was corrupting her emotions so she wouldn’t get upset, but really he just liked flowers so his clothes naturally gained the strong scents of their pollen.

 ‘She’s got that weird look again,’ Dongwoo scowled at her before focusing on the bridge ahead.

 ‘You have a weird look,’ Sungyeol glared at Dongwoo, taking up the role of Hyunsu’s protector. Shaking his head, Hoya ignored his younger siblings, he looked over at Hyunsu instantly images flashed in his mind of the previous night and her break down. He inched away from the late starter, the thought of her getting emotional again was terrifying for him. He barely knew what to do the first time, in fact he was rather fond of how she ran away because that meant that suddenly she wasn’t his problem anymore.

 ‘Stop arguing,’ Hoya glanced at his brothers with his head tilted in an odd way so he wouldn’t see Hyunsu. The three went quiet as soon as they approached the main area of the tree village.

 Hyunsu’s eyes widened as she stared at the area they had just entered, there was a large wooded area, it looked as if the tree had been cut off extremely smoothly, as if a supernatural force had overtaken it slicing the tree cleanly before forcing it to the ground. The tree had steps imbedded in it, leading down to the center platform.  In the village when there were important meetings the people needed to meet in the elders house, Hyunsu could only imagined this was the equivalent. There were more Fae sitting on the steps than the amount of people Hyunsu had ever seen in her life. There were at least fifty Fae all sitting regally, chattering amongst themselves quietly as they gossiped.

 Hyunsu’s eyes drifted up, falling agape as she stared at the canopy above them, the branches were completely entwined. There was a large hole in the canopy directly above the the very middle of the main area. The sun was shining through the opening landing on a wood, illuminating it’s darker colour. As she followed the boys into the main area the Fae started whispering, their voices dropping as they stared at their new clan member. Hyunsu could feel herself shrink in under all of the stares. Her gaze dropped immediately to her feet as Sungyeol grabbed her arm, he was taking it upon himself to rush her to the center of the meeting area.

 Hyunsu slowly lifted her head, L, Sunggyu, Woohyun, and Sungjong were sitting on the steps at the very bottom, bordering the middle of the center. Instantly Woohyun smiled at her and stood up to greet her. Hyunsu nodded to him, her eyes widened in surprise as he reached his hand out and placed his glove clad palm on her cheek. ‘Did you rest well?’ He smiled, not waiting for a response before he walked towards Sungyeol and kissed his forehead, then he dramatically grabbed Hoya’s cheeks and kissed his forehead.

 ‘I rested well, brother,’ Sungyeol smiled and nodded to his elder brother as Hoya grunted, wiping his forehead. Hyunsu was confused to see Woohyun kissing their foreheads but not Dongwoo’s. Woohyun walked in front of Dongwoo and lowered his head slightly and pointed at his forehead. The seven boys often neglected to follow social protocol when they were alone because they barely ever separated from one another, but there was no way they could ignore the greetings when the whole village was watching them, but that didn’t mean they acted serious about it. Woohyun often tried to make the greetings as dramatic as possible, taking advantage of the fact that his elder brothers couldn’t deny him.

 ‘Brother,’ Dongwoo rolled his eyes and kissed Woohyun’s forehead. Hoya crossed his arms watching as Woohyun sat down smugly. Hoya could never understand Woohyun, it should have been Sunggyu greeting them but as always the Woohyun jumped at the chance to greet his brothers, even though he had already greeted them earlier that morning.

 ‘Have you shown her the proper etiquette for the ceremony?’ Sunggyu looked up at Dongwoo, his small eyes were lidded as he scrutinized his younger brother.

 ‘I thought you were responsible for etiquette,’ Dongwoo sat down beside L as he stared at the ground. He wasn’t about to meet his brothers eyes, Sunggyu could be intimidating when he was upset.   

 ‘Dongwoo,’ Sunggyu’s voice was low and stern as he spoke, ‘I told you to make sure she was prepared before you went to pick her up.’ Hyunsu gulped and played with her gloved fingers, focusing on the intricate pale brown designs etched into the back. Sunggyu’s tone was terrifying and she didn’t want to think about it at all, not when all her memories of him previously were so untainted and innocent.

 ‘I guess I misunderstood what you were asking,’ Dongwoo lazily rolled his shoulders before he rose to his feet. Within moments all whispers ceased as everyone in the clearing stood. Hyunsu could hear nothing but the faint trickling sound of the leaves moving in the wind, there were no animals or birds. She couldn’t even hear the breathing of the people surrounding her. Sungjong clasped his hand on her shoulder and pulled her to his side so she was no longer obstructing the middle of the clearing.

 ‘Bow your head,’ Sungjong slightly splayed his fingers across the back of her head and gently pushed it as he nodded to the Fae surrounding her, every single one of them had their heads bowed. Gulping she immediately dropped her head and looked down at her boots. Hyunsu was quickly becoming familiar with her boots, with the amount of time she stared at them she would be surprised if she wouldn’t be able to recreate them perfectly.

 ‘The earth extends her hand,’ Hyunsu could recognize the dominant crisp voice of the Nymph from the previous meaning.

 ‘We shall accept her will and support her,’ the Fae in the clearing spoke in unison, their mixed voices sounded almost supernatural, simply hearing the Fae speak sent a chill through Hyunsu’s body. Sungjong lightly patted her chin signaling for the weary late starter to lift her head. Hyunsu slowly lifted her head to see the clearing was now occupied by the Nymph and Nix, the leaders of the village.

 ‘Today we are gathered to officially welcome a lost Nymph into our village, she was previously held by the humans in the village just outside of our forest.’ The Nix spoke up, his dark hazel eyes were cool and demanding the attention of every listener that could hear him. ‘She is a late starter and will be brought into our culture by the clan sons. She is in need of support and will require any help that may be given.’

 ‘The Nymph is now called Yeonjung, that is to be how she is referred to. Her cup is still full, she may rebel against our teachings, be patient. It takes time to empty a mind of it’s previous rules,’ the Nymph continued his words easily, almost as if she had always been the one speaking. Hyunsu could feel a sense of amazement, it was almost as if the two were so bonded that they could read each others minds, they were almost as one entity rather than two.

 The Nix reached towards her and gently grasped her hand, pulling her in between him and the Nymph. ‘We have the ability to bring one of our own into our heritage and for that we are proud. Remember this face because when the soul changes so does the physical body.’ They stepped back leaving Hyunsu in the middle of the clearing. She watched Sunggyu stood up and walked towards her, his brown eyes were sparkling as his cool fingers pressed against her cheek.

 ‘Welcome to the clan, Yeonjung,’ he nodded to her before he removed her hand and walked past her. Woohyun walked up after him, his lips were pulled into a cheeky smile as he pressed his gloved hands against her cheeks. He lightly patted her cheeks and winked at her before walking the same path Sunggyu did. Hyunsu was completely frozen in shock as every single person in the clearing did the same, older Nix would press their hands on her cheeks and mutter the same strange phrases and the Nymphs would kiss her forehead and say the same phrases. The whole time this happened the two Fae were standing behind her.

 Hyunsu watched as a younger boy walked up to her. His hair was splayed across his forehead, his bangs practically covered his dark blue eyes. He stopped and dug the tip of his left boot into the wood as he stared at the ground, his small lips were pursed into an embarrassed pout as he stood waiting. Hyunsu’s eyes widened as her eyebrows squeezed together in thought. He was waiting for her to do something. her chapped lips nervously she gulped and reached out her hand to him. Freezing she looked to her left where the Nymph stood. The Nymph raised an eyebrow at her and nodded slowly, as if questioning why she was so confused.

 Looking back at the younger boy she pressed her hand against his cheek. Unknowingly the words slipped from that she had heard so frequently when the elder Fae came to greet her. ‘As our world grows so may our relationship, and may it be blessed by the fertility of the nature we thrive on.’ She watched as the boy lifted his head, immediately he lunged at her and wrapped his arms around her waist, she could feel his breath warming her vest that he had buried his face into.

 ‘Welcome home sister,’ his words were muffled, unrecognizable to her. She stared at him with wide eyes, her hands hung limply at her sides as she looked at the Nymph helplessly. Hyunsu couldn’t comprehend why he was hugging her, he wasn’t her family.

 ‘Astar, go, your mother is waiting for you,’ as soon as the Nix spoke the boy let go and smiled at Hyunsu before running off. A girl walked up to her after, Hyunsu immediately kissed her forehead and whispered the greeting she had said to the boy. The girl smiled at her with a fond pride as if Hyunsu as a family member that she was pleased to see was so accomplished.

 ‘Welcome home sister,’ she whispered, copying Hyunsu before she ran off. Hyunsu continued repeating the phrase and greeting all of the younger Fae until the whole area was empty, except for the four of them, the Nix, Nymph, Hyunsu, and Dongwoo.

 ‘You did well,’ the Nymph smiled at Hyunsu as Dongwoo scoffed silently. ‘Dongwoo,’ her eyes flickered over to him as her jaw clenched. ‘I just told the clan to not give attitude towards Yeonjung and you’ve already started. Don’t set a bad example, all it takes is one to change the atmosphere.’  

 ‘But-’

 ‘Listen to your mother,’ The Nix crossed his arms, his eyebrows rose as he stared at his defiant son. Dongwoo pursed his lips and nodded stiffly, ‘go meet your brothers for breakfast, Yeonjung must be hungry.’

 ‘Fine,’ Dongwoo sighed and grabbed Hyunsu’s hand as he pulled her out of the main area.

 Hyunsu’s face was twisted into a look of wonder as she stared at the odd food sitting upon the table, everything looked different from what she was used to. There were three bowls and a plate that had the strange fish from the water on it. One of the bowls was full of small plump red balls of some kind, another had large odd seeds of some kind, and the last held small leaves. ‘Isn’t she going to eat any?’ Hoya sighed and picked up a berry, Hyunsu cocked her head to the side and watched him push it into his mouth before chewing. Hesitantly she reached for one of the berries, picking it up she rolled it between her fingers. Almost immediately she accidentally squished the berry, sending dark red juice over her fingers.

 ‘Careful,’ Woohyun smiled at her naivety as he picked up a cloth and started wiping her hand for her. He watched amused as she flinched trying to pull away from him. ‘Let me do it,’ he watched as her lips pursed into a pout as she watched him brush the sticky juice off of her.

 Hyunsu hated being treated like a child, she was struggling to not be offended by the way he was pampering her. If Dongwoo had been doing this she would have certainly thought that he was merely doing it because he thought she was incapable but for all she knew Woohyun genuinely cared. She leaned towards him, watching as he carefully folded his cloth and placed it down onto the table. He picked up a berry and showed it to her, ‘berry.’

 Nodding she reached out her hand to pick up another berry, he grinned at her before he lifted his hand to and pushed the berry in. She froze and stared at him wide eyed as he laughed, amused with her reaction. Hyunsu slowly bit down on the berry, wary of the taste. Her eyes brightened and she stared at the bowl of berries as she chewed on the one in . It was delicious, the berry was sweet and had a strange taste to it. She squeezed her eyes shut as the strange taste made water.

 ‘Sour,’ she opened one of her eyes to see Sungyeol pointing to his mouth. ‘It’s sour, right?’ He picked up a berry and smiled at it, ‘I love sour berries.’ He put one in his mouth and chewed on it, she watched as his face immediately contorted as he scrunched up his nose, squeezed his eyes closed and puckered his lips.

 ‘Too sour, brother?’ Sungjong laughed then rolled one of the leaves up and started chewing on it. Hyunsu picked one up and mimicked him before eating it, she frowned and looked down at it, rubbing her tongue against the roof of as she tried to ward off the bitter taste. The strange leaf was leaving dry and leathery.

 Sunggyu’s eyebrows raised as he pushed the bowl of nuts towards her, ‘try the acorns.’ The four of the brothers that liked her were amused by her cautious eating and were more than happy to make her eat as much of their food as possible. When she ate their food it was as if they were experiencing their world for the first time all over again. Her explicit reactions were so pure and innocent that they wanted to see her react to more things. Whereas the last three took to sighing in annoyance and ignoring the her wondrous reactions.

 Hyunsu picked up one of the strangely shaped seeds Sunggyu gave her and rolled it in her fingers before she put it in and bit down on it. Instantly she decided that the odd seeds were her favourite thing on the table. The seeds were roasted and had an almost sweet taste that complimented the earthy aroma that filled with each bite.

 ‘What is this?’ She picked up another acorn and started eating it, ignoring the evident scowl that crossed Dongwoo’s face as soon as she spoke her native tongue.

 ‘Acorn,’ Dongwoo spoke in a monotone drone when Sunggyu stared at him expectantly. As soon as Dongwoo spoke Sunggyu’s lips lifted into a small smile.

 ‘A...corn,’ Hyunsu looked at Dongwoo who slowly nodded, affirming that she had said the word correctly. Instantly she beamed at her achievement and popped another acorn into .

 ‘You can’t just eat acorns,’ Sungyeol laughed and pushed the plate of fish towards her. He picked up one of the fish and handed one to her, then picked up one for himself. She watched as he lifted it to his mouth, she copied him, freezing as she watched him place his lips over where the eyes were. She grimaced in disgust as she heard him the eye out.

 ‘That’s disgusting,’ her voice was shaky as she watched him do the same to the other eye.

 ‘What?’ He blinked innocently and looked at his brothers. ‘Doesn’t she realise it’s a good source of water?’

 ‘Do they not eat fish?’ Sungjong looked at Hoya who watched as Hyunsu poked the fish with her finger.

 ‘How would I know?’ Hoya placed his fish on top of a clean plate and picked up a pair of strange wooden sticks and picked at the flesh of his fish. Woohyun picked up one of the clean plates and put it in front of Hyunsu, then placed down two chopsticks in front of her. She picked one up and looked at it.

 ‘The Elders have these!’ In her home they ate with their hands, there just simply wasn’t any cutlery to use. What they had ran out quickly so they had to keep it specially for cooking, and seeing as how the caravans rarely made it to her village they couldn’t buy more. The Elders and the Lord of the village were the only ones deemed worthy of the use of chopsticks, because of their status they were able to keep their hands clean while eating.

 ‘Will she ever stop talking,’ L sighed and stared down at his fish he was working on.

 ‘No,’ Dongwoo stared at her with raised eyebrows as she clutched them awkwardly in her hands. ‘I think it’s impossible for a larva to not squeak.’

 ‘She’s not a larva,’ Sungjong sighed and glared at his elder brother, finally speaking up. Hyunsu looked over to him immediately and smiled at him. She didn’t know why Sungjong hadn’t been speaking for the past while but she felt relaxed hearing him finally speak. He was one of the few Nixes that actually liked her so it scared her when he started shutting her out. Hyunsu just couldn’t imagine what she could have possibly done to offend him, she never would have guessed that he was avoiding her because of his own fear, his own shame of avoiding her and not being mature enough to help her when she needed help most.

 They instantly froze upon hearing the calls of birds echo through the forest. Hyunsu watched as smiles crept upon each of their faces, ‘it’s that season again,’ Hoya was the first to stand up his fingers gripping his mask as his eyes shone with a vibrant enthusiasm.

 Sungyeol’s fingers caressed his mask that hung on his belt loosely as his eyes lit up at the prospect of the hunt. ‘Keep watch over Yeonjung, Jonggie,’ he chirped as L ruffled the youngest brothers hair.

 ‘Hurry up!’ Woohyun already has his mask on his face and was tapping his fingers against the wooden walls behind him.

 ‘I’m watching!’ Sungjong snapped as he stood up refusing to be left behind. Hyunsu slowly stood up, she had no idea what could have changed their mood so suddenly. One moment it seemed like they were arguing and the next they were all excited and putting on masks.

 ‘I don’t think,’ Dongwoo faltered as his gaze flickered to the Hyunsu who was staring at him with wide curious eyes.

 ‘It’s not fair to always leave me out! I won’t leave the village I swear!’ Sungjong crossed his arms as he argued, completely oblivious to the consequences of his actions.

 ‘Just let them come,’ Hoya clapped his hand on Dongwoo’s shoulder and lightly squeezed it, his mischievous grin was hidden by the mask he had already put on. Hyunsu could feel a cold wave of terror run through her at the image in front of her, all of the Fae were wearing the black masks looking every part the soulless terrors she had heard of all her life, that she had been kidnapped by. It was almost as if the masks were who they truly were and without them she forgot exactly what she was trapped in.

 ‘Get moving,’ Sunggyu snapped, racing through the door. Instantly Sungjong grabbed Hyunsu’s arm and pulled her towards the door.

 ‘Wh-’ Hyunsu could barely get a word out as the excited Nix yanked her onto the bridge, she hissed in pain mildly surprised by how strong he was.

 ‘They are to the west,’ Sungjong observed, trying to help as much as he could. He couldn’t participate in the actual event so he wanted to make up for it in every small way he could. Sunggyu nodded, his eyes stopped for a second to watch Hyunsu who was staring at all of them confused. He could a faint warming in his chest, a sickening warmth that warned him of what could happen if she was exposed to an event too soon. Breathing out he forced all emotion out of him slipping into his role as the eldest, the leader of the group.

 ‘Hurry to the site, don’t jump in immediately, wait to be briefed by the scouts. We’ll decide what to do then,’ Sunggyu’s tone was short and clipped, the lack of warmth in it made Hyunsu doubt the chance of whatever was happening being good. She had no idea what was happening, all she knew was that these were not the Nix she knew, they were the Fae she had always heard of.

 WIthout warning Sungjong picked her up, startling her out of her disturbed revere. ‘Shouldn’t we leave her here?’ Dongwoo spoke up, glancing at Sunggyu.

 ‘She’ll be fine,’ Hoya scoffed and pushed Dongwoo forwards.

 Hyunsu was gripping onto the soft cloth of Sungjong’s shirt as he charged through the branches. She had no idea what was going on, and she had a bad feeling that she didn’t want to. She winced and tucked her head into his chest as a branch racked it’s rough fingers across her face, leaving her cheek red and sore. Without warning he stopped and put her down. ‘Let’s watch,’ he whispered to her. Hyunsu pressed her palm against the trunk of the tree, casting a tentative look at Sungjong. He had crouched onto the thick branch they were on, his pale fingers were clasping onto the wood, curling around the edge as he leaned forwards waiting for the show to begin.

 Sunggyu looked over to where Sungjong and Hyunsu were with a grimace. The sickening feeling returned as he gulped, forcing it away. There was absolutely no room for hesitation, ‘get ready,’ his nails dug into the wood as he leaned forwards, awaiting the sign to move.

‘Brother,’ he glanced over up to see Dongwoo dropping down, trying to get to him. Sighing Sunggyu ignored him, instead he pressed his fingers to his lips and whistled. ‘Brother!’ Within moments the Fae that had gathered in the area dropped down onto the ground, right into the path of a caravan. Hoya had dropped right onto the beams of the roof and was cutting a hole into the tarp as a shriek filled the air. ‘She can’t be here!’ Dongwoo grabbed Sunggyu’s arm and forced him to look at Hyunsu who was screaming, her eyes wide with terror as she realised just what she had been brought to witness. She was seeing the Fae hunt humans.