Author's note: For anyone wondering, yes you can find this story on my Tumblr or on AO3. My username on those sites is the same as here – thenerdycorgi!

When the rest of the Happy Hungry Bunch returned, they'd failed to get any new information from the villagers. Instead, Yun had procured several needed cooking items and some food, but at the cost of bringing half the village with him expecting to be fed. Grudgingly, the beautiful boy genius provided for them all, and Yona and the others continued to badger the people for answers.

Jae-ha stayed at the edge of the crowd, shrouding himself in as much shadow as he could. He was utterly terrified that one person – that's all it would take, just one – would recognize him. He trembled a bit whenever one of the villagers got too close. He spoke to no one.

Thankfully, focused on their still-failing interrogations, the others didn't notice his skittish behavior. He didn't eat much, and couldn't taste it if he did.

That little voice was screaming at him to run again. He had to fight the urge to fly away all evening. He had nowhere to go. He couldn't just leave Yona and the group here alone. And yet he wanted nothing more than to disappear with the setting sun.

With night falling fast and the food gone, the villagers were quick to vanish into their homes again. The group had no more information than they started with, and now they were forced back into the cramped room together. Yun lit a candle from one of their bags and Yona and her warriors began to shuffle about, making spaces for sleeping, settling in.

Jae-ha found himself against the wall again, so unthinkingly he curled up on the floor.

"Jae-ha."

Something about the way Hak said his name startled the green dragon and he couldn't hide a flinch before he looked up.

"Are you…ok over there?" Hak asked, "I mean, sleeping there?"

Jae-ha frowned. He didn't know what the boy was talking about. This was where he always slept.

"Wait…"

The thought turned his blood cold. He slowly looked down and saw the torn mat beneath him. He turned his head and swallowed hard when he saw the chains coiled beside his legs. There was a pain in his chest now, a sharp clenching feeling. He hadn't realized how hard he was breathing until just this moment.

The rest of the group was looking at him now. He saw varying degrees of worry in their faces. Prone to making light of bad situations, his one defense mechanism finally kicked in and he grinned slyly.

He stretched out a bit, ignoring the knot that formed in his belly when his leg touched the chains, he lay his head on his arm so his hair fell over one eye, and said in a low tone, "Of course. Imagine the fun I can have…"

He nudged the chain playfully and licked his teeth. His eyes never left Hak's.

The younger man groaned, exasperated, and turned away from him. Zeno was laughing, Ki-ja looked sufficiently disgusted, and Yona and Shin-ah remained confused but seemed content to let it go.

"In fact, if you would join me, Hak-kun…" Jae-ha added, his voice trailing off. He'd done it for good measure but he wondered if it wasn't a bit over the top.

"Shut up and go to sleep," Hak growled.

Yun extinguished the candle.

Jae-ha's smile faded in the pitch black that engulfed the room. As quietly as possible, he put a bit of distance between himself and the dangling chains. His skin itched where they had touched him.

For a long time he simply lay there in the dark, listening to Hak and Yona and the others breathing around him. He was sure he would never be able to sleep, but eventually he lay his head down and closed his eyes, and he soon drifted off.

He dreamed of flying. He was high up into the clouds over Awa, higher than he had ever gone, and all around him was blue sky and the scent of the ocean. Each time he came down and leapt again he ardently wished that this time he would never have to touch the ground again. And then as he landed, just before soaring off again, something clamped down hard on his leg.

Jae-ha looked back and saw Garou clutching his ankle, glaring up at him. Suddenly, Jae-ha was twelve years old again, and struggling but unable to get free of his predecessor's grip. Garou was dragging him back down. He cried out, but no one could hear them, for they were far into the woods surrounding the village, away from human eyes. And no one would have come anyway. No one would come to the aid of a monster.

Jae-ha sat bolt upright and squelched a scream back in his throat. The nightmare had reawakened his fear of the place, and in the lightless room he was convinced the shackles were already binding him again.

Trying mightily to calm himself again, the green dragon realized he wasn't the only one awake. A pair of eyes was watching him in the darkness.