DASHI FRICKING RUN OUT OF THIS MESS RIGHT NOW, MAI.

...wait.

Okay, maybe running from the scene of the crime (well, if the crime was Mai getting so stressed her eye color overruled the spell) wasn't the best idea. Jimin probably could have solved the issue of both Jin and Jungkook going a little bit crazy (probably), but could you really blame Mai for getting stressed out like that when people were acting like she had some weird, contagious disease that shoved them into full-blown panic?

No. The correct answer is no.

In any case, Mai tried to keep her head down as she strode quickly towards the pillars that opened out to the gardens, avoiding anyone's gazes as she shoved by people quickly, ignoring any odd looks. She didn't have a destination in mind, only to get as far away from everyone and their ostentatious dinner as possible. She wasn't even hungry anymore, which was a miracle, considering her insatiable appetite.

Wincing once as he toe caught on something for a moment, Mai continued her quick strides towards the large swath of trees in front of her. Why they were there, Mai didn't know. It looked almost like a forest, and perhaps that's what it was- a forest concealed in the walls of the castle. Who KNEW what rich people in this dimension did with their money, honestly.

It only took her a moment to reach the nearest tree, and when she got there, she instantly let her body thump roughly against it, suddenly exhausted despite having been asleep (for OVER AN ENTIRE DAY) a few hours before. She looked longingly up at the branches that swayed tantalizingly above her- goodness, she wanted to climb this tree. She looked from her seriously fancy clothes to the tree in front of her.

Her mind tried to reason with itself.

You can stay out of the way up there...

This is a bad idea!

It's a really nice tree...

STILL A BAD IDEA!

You know what.

My maids are going to kill me.

Mai sighed in defeat and slid a knife from her holster, digging it firmly into the trunk above her. She held another one ready in her free hand, and she began the treacherous climb up the towering tree. She swung herself up, quickly plunging her next knife into the trunk above her while sliding the other out in a smooth motion. This wasn't typically how she climbed trees, but she didn't want to destroy her gorgeous outfit- mostly because if she even showed her face in front of ANYONE with a dirtied dress, Youjin would chop her head off. Mai noticed that the position of the tree was nice- if she just got to the top, she'd be able to see everyone in the garden-

Mai's hand hit the branch she had been striving for... and then she was promptly pulled up roughly, a tiny screech leaving her lips before she was thrown roughly to the ground.

"WHAT THE HELL?" she coughed out as she lay on the ground, all the breath in her body knocked out of her. Thankfully, she hadn't been that high up... what what in the name of holy starfish had just HAPPENED?

A little thump made Mai scramble up, backing away slowly. "Okay, whoever the actual hell you-"

Mai couldn't see anyone- she could only hear rustling from different spots around her, as if she was being circled- it was dark out, but not so dark that she was BLIND. She narrowed her eyes, focusing on a stop she had just whipped her head around to gaze at. And yet she couldn't see-

No, wait. Her eyes caught sight of a gleaming amber thread, curling in the corner of her vision.

She traced it- and it led to a tumble of them, all wrapped around in a humanoid form... a humanoid form she couldn't see.

Gotcha.

It only took a moment. As soon as she shape neared her, she lunged, lashing out with her leg as she tried to sweep the feet out from under the invisible person, throwing a firm punch at their gut a moment later. The yell that emitted from the person entangled in orange magic strings was distinctly male. She managed to throw herself on top of the man, trying to pin him down, and yet he struggled. Furthermore, the second she blinked, the threads vanished, leaving Mai to grapple with a tangle of invisible limbs that were flailing hard.

A hand caught her leg and threw her down violently, and she shrieked in surprise. She tried focusing again, but the fear kept making her eyelids blink again and again. In a last-ditch attempt, Mai tried to stand up quickly, no matter who was above her, and the top of her head connected with the man's chin. She glared at the patch of empty air, and, finally finding a string, let a backhand land on the person's arm. He yelped, but quickly caught her hand, twisting her arm behind her back and forcing her on her knees.

Mai was strong, stronger than most women she knew. She did martial arts and she danced, both of which built muscles in her. So yes, she was strong.

But this person, who had quickly moved in front of her while still holding her arm behind her back, was clearly stronger.

"Who the hell are you?" Mai spat, still struggling, "And what kind of psycho brain do you have that makes you think throwing an innocent person out of a tree is ACCEPTABLE?"

There was silence for a moment. Mai refused to look up from the ground, wondering if the secret (okay, not really a secret, but still) of her eyes could still be kept.

Finally, the person spoke in a voice that was low, lilting. "I should be asking you the same question, woman," he spat the last word out like a curse, the intensity making Mai fight the urge to flinch, "What were you doing up there? And how do you know how to fight?"

An odd question, but a rude question nonetheless. Mai let her lips pull back into a snarl.

"I don't have to answer your questions, prick,"

Suddenly, Mai was yanked up harshly, pulled close to the invisible person's chest. How did she know? WELL, SHE COULD FEEL IT. Mai struggled, but the man wouldn't let go.

His face finally blinked into view, two small flashes letting his entire body materialize in front of her.

Holy hell.

Mai completely disregarded the fact that she wasn't supposed to look at him and instead gawked into his gorgeous, bright orange irises. It was dark, and yet they seemed to glow, beautiful and swirling with flecks of darker amber. Little streaks of lighter orange colored the lower part of his eyes while the upper part was darker. His hair was a shocking contrast to his eyes, gleaming a pale, minty green (AGAIN WITH THE STRANGELY COLORED HAIR WHY IS NO ONE NORMAL). His skin was as pale as porcelain in the moonlight, his lips slender and doll-like- actually, his entire face looked for delicate and perfect, he looked like a doll. Not sculpted or chiseled from stone- instead perfectly molded and smooth like glossy ceramic. On his arm, there were words and marks drawn on the skin- not tattoos, they were far too colorful for that. But strange markings and random words decorated his forearm.

Mai could not stop staring at him.

He was beautiful.

Drop dead gorgeous.

With a face like a doll- an innocent, sweet doll.

The effect was only ruined by the heavy scowl on his face and the tiny fact that he was twisting Mai's arm behind her back violently, his grip firm and showing no sign of relenting.

Even when he took in the sight of Mai's color-changing eyes, his face twisted in shock, but he didn't let go.

"Who are you?" he hissed severely, his voice breaking the serene stillness of the garden, "and what is WRONG with you?"

So the smart thing to do in this situation would probably be to just settle down and explain what was going on to this complete stranger- no, that's a terrible idea too, but it was better than what Mai decided to do, her fury at the man's rudeness and the fact that he was causing her actual pain right now just making this option seem much better.

"F*cking let GO of me, you f*cking f*cktard, I swear to GOD, I will rip your f*cking HEAD OFF YOU BASTARD-"

So yes, cussing him out was evidently the better way to go.

Most definitely the high road.

The man had just stared at Mai as she went on her little rant, still thrashing while his eyebrows rose steadily up into his mint green hair.

"Alright," the man finally interrupted, still scowling, but the tightness in his voice gave Mai the infuriating impression he was trying not to laugh, "You're coming with me."

Mai snorted. "Oh HELL no you little wannabe ice cream cone," Mai felt a smaaaall twinge of doubt hit her as she spoke her harsh words, but could you really blame her for being pissed, though? The man had literally thrown her off a damn tree. For no reason. NO REASON.

Mai finally steeled herself and yanked herself away with such a force she could feel the muscles in her arm twisting, pulling- but it worked. She stumbled away from the man, gasping, who just stepped closer, cockily assuming he would just be able to grab her again.

Mai glared at the man with a vehemence, but before she could say anything, he spoke again.

"I'm not one to believe in legends," he began, staring intensely into her eyes which were flickering colors left and right, anger and uncertainty tinting them, "but your eyes would fool anyone who did."

Mai bristled at his now-fully-hostile tone, all traces of laughter gone. "Yeah, well-"

"Typical woman," he rolled his expressive amber eyes, jaw tightening in the moonlight as he spoke, "full of tricks, full of lies, full of silly superstitions."

"HEY!" Mai growled, eyes flashing a furious red as she stepped swiftly towards him and shoved him roughly in the chest, making him stumble back, clearly not expecting it, "I am NOT full of ANY of those things, you sexist PIG, so just back the HELL up before I drop kick you to outer SPACE, jerk!"

To say Mai was angry would be an understatement. Even in her world, women were still treated inferior to men- in different cultures, it was different. Mai had finally broken away from all the stereotypes and built a world for herself where she was accepted as she was.

But here- here, in front of this hostile, angry man who clearly hated her, not for who she was, but because she was a woman, well- she could feel her walls come crumbling down.

And she didn't like it.

The man looked taken aback at her fury for a moment, but quickly regained his composure, opting not to say anything, but rather stare coldly at her as he lashed out and grabbed her wrist, as if considering what to do with her.

Mai just stared coldly back.

"YOONGI!" Mai heard a yell from behind the man that sounded vaguely familiar, deep and commanding. The man in front of her finally broke eye contact, his head swinging around. "Yoongi hyung, what are you doi- Mai?"

A rush of relief surged through Mai, breaking the tenseness in the air that she hadn't even realized was there. A familiar mop of ever-attractively tousled blonde hair popped into her vision.

"Taehyung," she hated how quiet her voice sounded in that moment, how weak. The sight of the familiar Esterie prince had made her smile. She didn't want to admit it, but fighting with this strange, orange-eyed man had sent fear rolling through her, making her heart beat faster with every moment. She didn't get the vibe of Taeyong from him- just undulating hostility, with an undercurrent of hate that was proooobably not directed towards her, but who knew.

"Yoongi hyung, let go of her!" Taehyung sounded... not quite angry, but utterly affronted. He pushed 'Yoongi' aside, taking Mai's hand in his own gently. His long fingers dwarfed her own hands, making her feel warm and safe. Comforted.

Mai... stop it.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his deep voice soft- soft because of HER. Mai felt her heart begin to stutter, send hot blood up to her ears and cheeks. She broke eye contact, drawing her hands away. She was keenly aware of Yoongi's eyes on her, sharp and suspicious. "Mai," Taehyung refused to give up, letting a slender finger slide under her chin and tilt her head up to face him. Mai didn't know what to say, didn't know what to do. When had Taehyung become this... gentle?

When Mai's breath began to catch, her silence stretching for a heartbeat too long, she pulled her mask of humor back up again, playfully swatting Taehyung's hand away.

She didn't catch the glimmer of hurt in his gray irises as she spoke liltingly, teasingly. "Yah, chill, Blondie!" she rolled her eyes as she took a step back, "I'm fine. But your friend over there needs to learn that throwing people out of trees isn't a very nice thing to do."

Taehyung whirled on Yoongi the instant she spoke. Mai was now seeing the similarities between the Taehyung and his pink-haired cousin. They'd both reacted so similarly, although she couldn't pinpoint why they were so protective over her.

It's probably because I'm their legendary warrior and stuff, the logical part of her mind piped up, They can't afford anything happening to me.

"HYUNG!" Taehyung screeched, narrowing his eyes at Yoongi. Wow. His eyebrows were strong, already giving him a powerful, stern look (when he wasn't smiling, at least. When he was smiling that box-shaped grin, he was the cutest thing ever- MAI WHY ARE YOU THINKING THIS). "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

Yoongi just raised a thin eyebrow at his donsaeng. "Come on, no need to get so snippy over one of your flings, Tae."

Mai began to bristle again, gritting her teeth. This man was so JUDGMENTAL. And SEXIST. And just purely ANNOYING. "HEY," she protested, pushing Taehyung out of the way to get in Yoongi's face and snarl, "can you stop being an irritating prick for literally ONE MINUTE, please? Because NO, I am NOT one of Tae's flings-"

The nickname slipped out. Taehyung noticed it- he began to stare at Mai with a hunger, with an unreadable emotion in his gray eyes. Yoongi noticed it- his eyebrows just lifted higher, elegantly arching above his irises. "Tae?" the Oceier snorted, rolling his gorgeous orange eyes at Mai's bristling form, "Listen, doll, that's what they all say. But this boy'll dump you soon enough, so don't try to think you're anything more."

Mai was stunned speechless. Apparently Taehyung was too, because she could see his mouth opening and closing like a dying fish as he stared at his hyung.

Taehyung wasn't hurt by what Yoongi had said- that much was clear. There was no pain, nor regret in his eyes. Perhaps what the Oceier had said was true. It wasn't Mai's place to judge what these boys did in their free time- unless it began to involve her. THEN she had full right to start freaking out.

And so freak out she did.

"I AM NOT INVOLVED IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM WITH TAEHYUNG. He's my-" Mai caught herself before she said friend (because WHAT WAS SHE THINKING?), breaking her firm hiss off and glaring at Yoongi with eyes that flashed red and orange, slipping into gray every few seconds. She took a step back, regarding both of them coldly. "Look, I am done with people assuming that just because I have to stay with you and your cousin at all times that I am one of the MANY girls you have apparently been with. Yoongi, or whatever your name is, I don't care what you think, but perhaps it should be clear that I am not one of them."

Her voice had slipped into an icy sort of snarl- cold  and dangerous, but not quite shouting any longer. It took a lot for Mai to get so angry she decided no one was worth it anymore, but this little bastard had pushed her over the edge.

She didn't take notice of the way Taehyung tilted his head up, stared at the sky, and pursed his lips, but Yoongi did.

"Manipulative little girl," Yoongi finally huffed out, taken aback by Mai's fury but bouncing back quickly, "you don't have to lie to me so Taehyung-"

"Yoongi," Taehyung finally spoke, staring hard at the hostile Oceier with a look of exasperation and defeat, "she's not lying. Enough."

And that was apparently that, because Yoongi just turned to stare at the blonde, gray-eyed prince in front of him, mouth opening and closing.

Wow, Mai thought with mild amusement as Yoongi's face contorted in shock, Tae must be pretty bad for Yoongi to be acting like this.

For the second time, Mai caught herself. What was she doing, giving Taehyung a nickname? Okay, she could justify that it was because 'Taehyung' was a mouthful, but even Mai admitted it wasn't only that. She was getting used to the flirty idiot. Not only that- she would go so far to call him 'friend'.

A vision of a particular candy-haired boy popped in her mind. Jimin.

Yes, she would call him friend too. She couldn't think of him without smiling, the kindness he showed, the smiles he gave. He was the first person Mai had met in this place, and yeah. It was too late now. 

She cared.

Far too much. 

"Mai, why'd you run? Jimin told me what happened." Taehyung had turned away from Yoongi and was now staring at Mai with his intense, storm-gray eyes. She winced. Yes, she knew it had been stupid, but what else could she have done?

"The spell wore off," Mai began, sighing, "and Jin and Jungkook saw my eyes. Jimin said the potion was with you, and the two of them were starting to freak out, so I got the hell out of there."

Taehyung tilted his head. "You've met Jin hyung and Kookie?" a small smile played at his lips at the mention of them, and Yoongi finally perked up. "They're here?"

Mai snorted. "Yep." She didn't want to relay the incident with Taeyong just yet, but the look in Taehyung's eyes made it clear that he knew she was hiding something. He didn't say anything, though.

"Taehyung, I hate to break it to you and your not-fling," Yoongi drawled, rolling his eyes with so much attitude Mai wanted to punch him, "but we need to get going. We're going to meet in about five minutes now."

Meet? Mai narrowed her eyes, Meet who?

She didn't know... but Mai didn't particularly care in this instant. All she knew was that she was done for the night. She didn't think she could deal with anything else, with the mind-magic, threads, grand eye reveal, and then of course being thrown out of a tree.

She wanted to leave.

"W-e-l-l," Mai began to back up, grinning nervously, "You two can do whatever the hell you want, I'm goi-"

"Nope," Taehyung beamed cheerfully as he reeled her in by the wrist, his hand hot against her skin, "Hey, both Jimin and I will be there, so we can't very well leave you alone, can we?" Taehyung was grinning this irritating grin at both Mai and Yoongi. Yoongi huffed in irritation and turned around, throwing his hands in the air. Clearly, he wasn't happy about Mai tagging along.

WELL I'M NOT HAPPY ABOUT BEING AROUND YOU EITHER, SO THERE.

Mai sighed as Taehyung began to pull her forward, walking slightly behind Yoongi. 

There was no getting out of this one, was there?