Silver Lining

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"O-Oh Chanyeol-hyung, Lay-hyung! What can I do for you?"

It's a humid summer's day when Hyunjin hears an unexpected knock at the door and opens it to see old friends. The woods were a dark and murky green, evergreens beginning to dry and a thick moistness to the air as the damp fauna and trickling creeks began to evaporate into the atmosphere under the intense glare of the sun. Soon, the worst of the dry spell season will pass, ushering in a bustling time of selling, gathering, hunting, and storing in preparation for another long winter but for now, the pack's biggest worry was trying not to sprain a paw while horsing around in the vast clearing surrounding their home.

The older hybrids nod their heads in greeting, flashing dimpled smiles. "Is Bang Chan home? There are some matters we'd wish to discuss with him," the younger of the two speaks.

"Of course; he's out back. Lemme go get him-" Hyunjin glances over his shoulder at the empty dining room table, pulling open the door further, "Please, come inside; make yourselves comfortable."

The neighboring pack members enter gratefully, moving towards the sitting area offered.

The blonde hybrid asks, "Tea? Milk?"

"Water, thank you."

"And you, Yixing-hyung?"

The other waves him off, "I'm fine, thanks."

Hyunjin nods, entering the kitchen to fetch Chanyeol a glass of water before disappearing out the screen door near the fridge.

After a few moments, he re-enters with his pack leader in tow.

Chan's brows raise as he gives a surprised smile. "Hyungs?"

"Chan-ah, nice to see you!" The other alpha greets with a wide grin, "You've grown quite a bit since the last time we spoke, huh?"

The two embrace and Chan shakes Yixing's hand before the taller hybrid motions to the chair across from them.

"Yeah, it's been about four years, give or take..." he chuckles a tad awkwardly.

Chanyeol wasn't one for small talk, preferring grander, deeper topics to delve into; this was merely a formality setting up for something much grimmer, he can feel it. He gestures for Hyunjin to leave with a small nudge of his chin towards the family room. The long haired blonde follows the silent order.

Chan takes a seat, fiddling his thumbs at the serious expression that crosses the older's face.

"Have you been looking at the borders lately?" Chanyeol asks.

The question makes the other falter, shame tickling his insides as the instant excuse to lie surfaces to his tongue; he decides to just omit the truth. "Not as of recently, no; I've been um... rather busy."

"Busy?" Chanyeol parrots monotonously, crossing his arms and leaning back in the wooden chair, "Well, I hope it was important-"

"Yeol," Yixing warns, giving a reprimanding look to his younger companion before glancing at Chan with sympathetic eyes. "Don't mind him; he's been stressed lately."

"No, I get it; you're fine," Chan shrugs it off but the eldest doesn't seem finished. His lips part for a few moments before he presses them back firmly together, seeming to really contemplate his next words.

Finally, he says, "The ferals: they are pushing in as of lately."

The information makes a shudder shoot up Chan's spine.

Chanyeol's teeth grit before he breathes out a shaky exhale. "They are getting closer and closer to the borders each day; Suho-hyung has given several warnings but they persist. And with- with Baekhyun-hyung going into heat soon, we can't take any risks..."

Yixing's expression hardens considerably. "We're here to tell you that if a feral so much as puts a single paw into our land, we're starting a turf war."

Chan's mouth falls open in shock, not expecting such harsh measures to be taken place so quickly. Battles over territory were always pretty brutal between packs, wolves taking their borders and land distribution very seriously in regards to the display of strength it shows and asserting dominance over what is theirs. And with a pack like Exo being so resilient, where they lack in numbers, they make up for in sheer willpower.

The aftermath between them and the ferals will be devastating for all parties, whether directly involved or not.

He knows that no good can come from this, that's for sure: Exo won't stop until they have either demolished the ferals' land until it is deemed as uninhabitable, expanded their borders to fully absorb the other's territory (therefore entirely pushing out the other pack to different lands), or completely gotten the message across by killing every last one of them.

Chan swallows roughly. "I... I understand the concern, Hyungs, but don't you think this decision is a little... rash?"

The metallic-blue haired hybrid's brow furrows. "How would you feel if it was your mate's heat, hm? He'll be vulnerable, we all will be: they'll use our priority to want to protect him as leverage."

"Well, yes, that makes sense but-"

"Yes, it does make sense; you don't have a mate or even an omega in your pack so you just wouldn't get it," Chanyeol hisses before Yixing puts a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

The eldest sighs. "What we're trying to say, Bang Chan-ah, is that Suho has already made up his mind."

"What about the village? If you start putting pressure on the ferals, they'll turn on the townsfolk so fast; it would be a bloodbath-"

"That's none of our concern," Chanyeol scoffs dismissively, waving a hand through the air as he rolls his eyes, "What have the townsfolk ever done for us, eh? They casted us out and named us rejects, deciding that if they cannot erase our existence, then they'll just ignore it altogether (out of sight, out of mind); in a way, they sealed their own fate by driving some of our kind to madness a long time ago."

Chan's jaw clenched. "They'll be caught off guard, practically defenseless; they won't stand a chance-"

"We can't play guardian angel for everybody in a hundred mile radius; we can't be responsible for their wellbeing when they were the ones to originally draw the line between are people."

"But-"

"We didn't come here to argue," Chanyeol says, his stare cold as he goes to stand, "We came to give you fair warning. This is going to happen, no matter who's caught in the crossfire."

Yixing nods with a sad smile, pushing in his and Chanyeol's chairs. "We're sorry, Chan-ah, but us wolves gotta stick together. If we don't look after our own, nobody else will; remember that."

And with that lasting advice, the two neighboring pack members take their leave and the Skz leader can only sit there, wondering if a certain silver furred omega would be willing to abandon his home in order to stay safe and secure within Chan's reach.