Beast, Blood, & Soul

* 18 *

After dinner, I help with cleaning up and keeping an eye on Jin. My hands absent-mindedly scrub the plates while I ponder what Jin means by saying he was glad I was finally here. Did that mean he knew me before I came to work here? I don't see how that could be. I applied to the center on my initiative. I grew up in the local town and this had been my favorite place ever since I came here on a school trip. I may have gotten lost during the class trip, but I never felt scared. I had loved the forest ever since and had chosen to make it my career from that field trip. Subsequent school field trips only solidified my love of the woods. I never met the animals on any of those trips or I would have remembered.

My dreams flash through my mind for a moment but they are hazy and unclear. I" ve been having a lot of very weird dreams lately but I can never remember them. They started when Bangtan's animals started sleeping with me. Thank goodness I didn't walk around naked around those animals. A blush heats my face that I try to hide before anyone notices.

"Oh, why are you blushing?" Damn owl vision. Hobi comes over and smiles as he looks at my red face. "What are you thinking about?"

I flash to his smiling face before looking down back at the dishes in my hand, "Nothing, just thinking."

"You are so adorable," He takes my cheeks in his hands and squeezes. I can't avoid that bright smile he gives me with my face squeezed between his hands. His ruby eyes light up as he sees my own light up as I chuckle between mushed cheeks. His fangs are on full display with his full smile as he starts to laugh with me. He then wraps me up in a hug.

"Stop hogging her," I feel a hand grab the scruff of my shirt and gently pull me out of Hobi's arms, and I back up into the arms of Jungkook. He wraps his arms around me and leans his head on my shoulder. I feel encased as he stands behind me, surrounding me as I look at Hobi's grin as he watches us.

This feels so weird to me. I'm being shared and yet, nobody seems to be jealous. "I'm not used to this."

"What?" Jungkook asks.

"Being held for one, but that you all seem to be okay with passing me around." my forehead scrunches with my concern. Hobi smoothes out my skin with his fingertips while Jungkook squeezes me in response.

"In 500 years, you learn to share," Hobi says simply.

"We all feel the pull to be with you," Jungkook explains. "You feel it as well." He turns me around to look at me. I look into his jeweled eyes and marvel at the sincerity I see there. "I need you...we need you."

"But this isn't normal," I start but then pause. There was nothing about this whole thing that was normal to start with. "You feel a pull to the witch, right? Shouldn't we be concerned that you feel that with me?"

"That's certainly a valid point," Yoongi points out as he comes to join our conversation. "How do we know you aren't the witch in disguise?"

"Other than I can track my entire life, how would I be able to prove I wasn't?" I ask him. I'm serious about this, "If she could change you, why wouldn't she be able to change herself? If you don't age, she probably doesn't age either. What did she look like?"

"She was Korean like us. So the typical black hair and brown eyes, but we live in an age of plastic surgery and looks can be changed." Yoongi seems to be studying my looks.

"I grew up here," I point out.

"True, but the magic likes you. We feel the pull to be with you like we did with her." I can tell Yoongi is bothered by this fact. "Were you adopted?" Jungkook stills behind me.

"No, I was born at the local hospital to pretty normal parents. They run a small store in town. I can show you my birth certificate." I offer. Jungkook's arms loosen with his sigh.