The morning was crisp and Jungkook's paws got wet from the morning dew. The rays of sunshine came creeping through the leaves, projecting the bright light onto the wet grass. The daylight sky was coloring blue and pink hues and the birds were beginning to chatter. Jungkook tiptoed silently to the front door, and shifted shape behind the corner, before dressing himself back into his pajamas. He hadn't really thought how he'd slip back into his room without a ladder nearby. However, the apple tree near his bedroom window was good enough, and soon he was clambering into the tree, before grabbing ahold of his open window.

The floorboards beneath his foot creaked and Jungkook halted, breath stopping for a second. He picked up the sounds in the nearby room. When he could still hear the deep breathing of a sleeping person, he continued stepping inside his room. He turned around before closing the window behind him. He was tired, that was evident, but he didn't regret his nightly adventure at all.

Namjoon might have been a strong and wise alpha, who pretended to know everything about anything, but his young beta had been sneaky enough for Namjoon to be completely oblivious of his exploits. Jungkook felt his heart swell with pride when he woke up that morning and greeted Namjoon at breakfast as if nothing had happened - if you don't count the spoon slipping out of his hand as he tried eating breakfast just because his hands were so sweaty.

Thankfully, however, the alpha didn't suspect a thing. Namjoon helped Jungkook to pull up and sort the weeds in their vegetable garden, and then went to town in the afternoon to grab some groceries. The fact that he didn't seem to realise that Jungkook had sneaked out made the beta more keen to repeat the actions of the day before. As soon as it was growing dark again, and Namjoon left for bed with a good book in his hands, Jungkook started preparing.

Instead of changing into his pajamas, he put on much warmer clothes, to protect him from the cold. Instead of bringing nothing, like last time, he snuck a few snacks into his backpack, just in case the borderwalker was hungry. He spent at least ten minutes trying to decide what to bring. He was unsure about what borderwalkers actually ate. He really hoped the answer wasn't humans.

In the end, he settled for a couple bags of crisps and some fruit in case the borderwalker didn't like crisps - which seemed like an impossibility, cause who could not like the crunchy treat?

Once the clock struck one, and the snoring had begun, Jungkook slipped out of the window again. There was less wind that night, and Jungkook didn't feel as cold as the night before, when he climbed up to the top of the mountain. The moon was getting fuller, and Jungkook knew it wouldn't be long until the chains would see the light of day again.

A sudden disappointment struck him at the thought of still having to be restrained during the full moon. Was he a failure in Namjoon's eyes? What if the man thought Jungkook didn't deserve the bite? He should've learned to control his wolfish self by now. He should have been better. Before the doubts could swallow him while he shook his head, and pressed on.

The caves were getting closer now, and Jungkook couldn't wait to be out of the wind. His backpack was slowly slipping from his wolf form's back, and he halted behind a rock to change shapes again. It wasn't long until he was walking inside the cave, fully dressed again with his backpack slung carelessly on his shoulder. He took a right turn as he followed the sound of crackling, which indicated lit torches. He eventually saw the flickering of nearby flames dancing on the cave walls.

"You returned."

Jungkook wasn't sure if he could detect a hint of surprise in the usually monotone voice. He stepped closer, and saw the borderwalker, still sitting in the same spot, his legs crossed. Jungkook smiled at the creature and sat down as well, keeping a good five feet of space between them. "Hello again." He took off his backpack and plopped it on his lap."Did you miss me?"

The question was supposed to be a joke, but the borderwalker didn't seem to understand. From the corner of his eye he could see the male tilt his head as he fumbled with the zipper of his backpack. "Why would I miss you?" As he zipped his backpack open and got out a bag of salty crisps, he heard the other speak again. "And you brought... plastic?"

"It's not about plastic, silly," Jungkook chuckled, before putting one of the packets on the ground, "It's about what's inside of it." He slid it to the other, forgetting about the other's caution towards humans, and their possessions and inventions. The borderwalker flinched at the sudden packet sliding his way, and he stumbled back, fearful of whatever the hell the thing was.

Jungkook blinked. Did the border walker not know how to open a package? "Uh", he watched the man's eyes snap to him, "You open it like this." He picked up his own packet, and ripped it open. The borderwalker merely watched him stick his hand in the bag, before retrieving a potato chip. "It's edible", the beta added before munching on the salty treat, "And quite yummy."

There was the head tilt again. "Yummy?" He seemed to have no idea what that word meant. Jungkook realized that kind of vocabulary might not have been around ages ago.

"Delicious? It's tasty, try it." Jungkook nodded over at the potato chips that he had slid over to him. The creature hesitated but crawled closer again before poking the plastic bag. "Yummy?" He seemed to try to taste the word on his tongue.

Jungkook sat back and continued eating. He was unsure if the other trusted him enough to actually try a potato chip, but it was worth a try. "I'm not trying to poison you if that's what you're scared of."

"I am not scared", the borderwalker replied, "I am cautious."

Jungkook feared that would be the borderwalker's excuse for everything. He sat back on one hand, leaning his upper body on it, as the other hand kept feeding him snacks.

"Fine, cautious then. If you don't trust that bag, I can always offer you a potato chip from mine." He picked up his bag and shook it, "Want one?"

Another head tilt: they were driving Jungkook crazy. "Are not both of these bags technically yours?" The male asked, though he opened the packet of crisps without further ado. Jungkook observed how the borderwalker tentatively reached for a crisp, pulling it out and holding it in two fingers, looking at it from a closer perspective.

"They're potatoes but with spices on them", Jungkook explained, "And like the name suggests, it's crispy in your mouth. Just try it. I bet you'll like it."

The beta wasn't sure if the male just didn't want to come off as too much of a pussy, because he immediately popped the crisp into his mouth before biting down on it. The borderwalker immediately flinched at the sudden *crack* of the potato chip breaking as he bit into it, and Jungkook chuckled to himself.

The borderwalker halted, and then munched some more before swallowing the potato chip. Jungkook waited in anticipation for some sign of a reaction. But the creature just looked down at the bag, before grabbing a handful of chips, and examining them once more. "You like them?" the beta questioned, leaning forward.

The male did not reply, and instead shoving the whole handful of crisps into his mouth. A part of Jungkook had expected the borderwalker to throw the bag at his face, after exclaiming it tasted horrible. He had not expected the creature to start wolfing down the whole bag in a matter of seconds.

"I have a suspicion you might like it,'' Jungkook nodded as he ate his own bag of potato chips. The borderwalker's chest heaved from gulping down the bag, before he seemed to realize his error.

"I am sorry", he said, lifting up the empty bag, "I ate it all."

This time, it was Jungkook's turn to cock his head to the side. "Why are you sorry for that? It was a gift from me after all," he pointed out. The borderwalker just stared blankly at him for a moment, not seeming to understand what he meant.

"A gift?"

"You do know what a gift is, right?" Jungkook questioned, munching on another chip.

It was silent. "Like an offer?" The creature responded. "Do you need something in return?"

"No, a gift is not the same," Jungkook returned, frowning a little. I gave you that bag of potato chips, but that doesn't mean I need something back in return. It was just an act of kindness."

This seemed to confuse the other even more. "You do not want anything in return?"

"No." Jungkook then grabbed another packet from his bag, and slid it over. "This one has a different spice. It's not salty, but peppery." Secretly, Jungkook was curious to see how the other male would like this potato chips' taste.

He didn't need to wait long to see the borderwalker's reaction, because he opened the bag and stuck a potato chip into his mouth. The creature then recoiled, spluttering a little at the unexpected taste.. "It is-", he paused and stuck out his tongue, "Hot."

Jungkook threw his head back and laughed when he saw the borderwalker with his tongue still out.The sound resonated through the empty caves and it eventually bounced back to Jungkook, who cringed at the clamouring echoes. "Yes, sorry, I should have warned you that pepper is supposed to be hot."

The borderwalker retracted his tongue, and then grabbed another chip. "You're really going to try again? Brave."

It was quiet again. The borderwalker kept feeding himself the peppery crisps, jutting out his tongue every few minutes. Jungkook finished his own bag, and then took a sip of water. In the silence, he began to think about what Namjoon would say if he knew that his beta was sitting at night with the borderwalker that he had warned Jungkook about.

"You're quite nice, you know?" Jungkook piped up. He saw how the creature squinted his eyes at that.

"I am?"

"Yeah, I just don't understand why you'd want to be alone? Don't you miss company? Someone to talk to?" Jungkook questioned curiously, leaning forward on one hand as he looked more directly at the other male, who just stared back at him.

"I do not talk very often", he explained, "I do not feel the need to either. Talking is for people who are scared to sit in silence."

Oh, Jungkook paused at that. Does he not like my company? "Do you resent me for being here? I know I sometimes talk too much. My alpha tells me so," he murmured, playing with his hands and lowering his gaze a little. The borderwalker raised an eyebrow, his face still as blank as ever.

"I do not hate your voice."

"I suppose that's a good thing then," Jungkook responded, his smile returning in an instant. A thought entered his mind, and he scooted a little closer. "My alpha told me that borderwalkers are supposed to live in the desert."

"They do." The borderwalker's tone hardened slightly on these two words, and he scooted back a little, looking down at the empty crisp packet for a moment.

Jungkook, noticing the other male recoil and shrink inside himself, wasn't naive enough to push the subject. He looked at their surroundings for a moment, and was suddenly aware of the passage of time. The light of the torches had dimmed slightly. It must be getting close to morning, he thought to himself.

"I think I should go. I need to go all the way down the mountain again. It's supposed to be hot today and I want to be back before sunrise."

The borderwalker stared at him. He didn't ask a question, but Jungkook still felt like answering one. Maybe he thought he should tell the borderwalker where he lived, because he did invade the other's home twice now. It would only be fair if the other had some idea of where he came from too.

"We live in a cottage in the woods, you see?" he clarified, running a hand through his hair. "We steer clear from the town's folks as well unless we need things like food."

The creature nodded. Jungkook pursed his lips, looking around the cave one more time. "Alright, I will go now."

He zipped his bag shut, before getting up. "I won't be able to visit tomorrow. It's the full moon then and I'll be chained to a tree somewhere trying not to rip people apart."

The borderwalker nodded again. Jungkook scratched the back of his neck with his spare hand, transferring his bag onto his shoulder, instead of in his hand, and then dancing on his feet for a moment, awkwardly. "Okay, see you soon?" He knew he wouldn't get an answer to that question but he hoped the borderwalker would think about it anyway.

Jungkook left the caves, heading for home. As he clambered back through his bedroom window, he glanced over at the eastern sky, and sighed in relief at the sight of a still-dark sky. He'd got home just in time. 

In case you're wondering what the chapter titles are: they are from the song Meet Me In The Woods by Lord Huron. I was a huge fan of the song back in 2015. One of my old internet friends sent it to me because it was her favorite. We exchanged letters and we were even together for some time. We lost contact after we both went to college. The song means a lot to me and brings me nostalgia to a simpler time <3 Friends come and go but at least the memories stay :,)