LEE RANG.

❛  we'll just have to make do.  ❜ ❛  come on, it'll be fun.  ❜ ❛  wait, where are we going?  ❜ ❛  you can't be here. go now!  ❜ ❛  it's just a dream, a stupid dream.  ❜ ❛  don't be afraid. i'm a friend.  ❜ ❛  i can't stand up. what should i do?  ❜ ❛  now listen, i'l tell you what to do. if you stay here, they'll find you. i'll distract them while you get away.  ❜ ❛  you have no choice if you want to survive here ... and save your parents, too.  ❜ ❛  why do i need a weakling like you?  ❜ ❛  trembling, aren't you? still, i'm impressed you made it this far.  ❜ ❛  what a pain. you're gonna pay for this.  ❜ ❛  keep your wits about you. if you need anything, ask me.  ❜ ❛  hey, are you okay? don't fall apart on me.  ❜ ❛  listen to me. i'll promise i'll save you.  ❜ ❛  what did you expect after all that rain?  ❜ ❛  i'm gonna get there someday. i'll get out of here for sure.  ❜ ❛  i was just coming to wake you up, look!  ❜ ❛  what should i do? he'll die!  ❜ ❛  what's so funny? wipe off that smile.  ❜ ❛  don't do anything stupid until i get down there.  ❜ ❛  you see, someone i really care about is badly hurt. i've got to go right now.  ❜ ❛  this is our little secret. if you tell anyone ... i'll do the same to you.  ❜ ❛  what are you going to do? he needs help.  ❜ ❛  becoming a sorcerer's apprentice is dangerous business.  ❜ ❛  well, getting there is one thing. getting back's the problem.  ❜ ❛  [name], i promise i'll be back. please don't die.  ❜ ❛  don't you understand? it's love.  ❜ ❛  what took you so long? this is a total disaster!  ❜ ❛  what do you want? you can tell me.  ❜ ❛  what, you're still alive?  ❜ ❛  you still don't see it? she's played a trick on you.  ❜ ❛  since when do you talk that way?  ❜ ❛  you held this, and nothing happened to you?  ❜ ❛  i'd like to help you, but there's nothing i can do. it's one of our rules here.  ❜ ❛  but can't you even give me a hint?  ❜ ❛  everything that happens stays inside you ... even if you can't remember it.  ❜ ❛  see? you have a talent for this.  ❜ ❛  [name], i no longer blame you for what you did. but be sure to protect this girl.  ❜ ❛  will we meet again somewhere?  ❜

Four’s legs wobbled as she touched solid ground, unsteady from the rush and exhilaration of everything that had occurred. Her gaze darted around the edge of the forest they were in, and what lay ahead of them, before attention turned back to him at his questions, and she shifted nervously. “N – No. I – I wasn't allowed to - to have friends. And - And no, the only people I had or - or knew were at – at that place.” But she wasn’t even sure she had them, really. So far he’d done more to look after her then they ever had, though she wasn’t sure for how long that would last. Hadn’t he mentioned he was going to take her somewhere for other people to deal with her? The thought petrified her.

Her eyes locked on his at the mention of food, and for the first time she realized just how hungry she was since she’d last ate. Not that she’d ever eaten much. Food was always used as a leverage for what they deemed good behaviour, and what she knew from the lab techs her behaviour was never up to par. Bare feet took two hesitant steps toward him, and she lightly crossed her arms to hide her hands. “Do – Do you want me to do – do something with – with my powers first, so I – I can eat?” she asked weakly, blue eyes pleading that he’d say no. “I – I don’t want to use them, I – I don’t want to hurt people.”

Rang nearly said that she could show him her powers if she wanted to but then she completed her sentence and he realized what she meant. "No, you don't have to do things to get food in return. Those people who kept you locked up only told you that so you'd do what they said. People should be able to eat without having to give anything for it."

But there were so many messed up things about the world that meant that wasn't always the case. It was enough to turn anyone mad with anger and hatred. Rang recalled parts from his childhood where he'd seen poorer families be cast aside and starving on the side of the road just because they weren't deemed worthy enough to be seen as real people. Hadn't he gone through difficulties like that, too? When the villagers learned he was half fox, they treated him like he was evil incarnate. Even his own mother had been disgusted by him. Rang's gaze hardened at those memories and he crouched down to look Kay in the eye.

"From now on you should look out for yourself first. There are too many selfish and cruel people in the world who don't care about your feelings. They'll hurt you as long as they get what they want. Remember that." He straightened up again and smoothed down his suit jacket.

“Run?” Four squeaked and looked out at the woods uncertaintly. Where could they go? It just looked like endless trees forever and ever. She didn’t even know about the world beyond, only from pictures in books, but even comprehending that was chilling. How could she be expected to just run off? Suddenly her feet were no longer touching the ground, and she looked up at Rang in surprise. Instincts had her tensing, bracing for physical altercation, but instead he told her to remain still and said something she’d never heard of before.

“You’re a cool superhero?”

The words had barely escaped her lips, hands only just gripping at his shirt before they were off. Completely mystified, she watched as their surroundings began to all become one big distorted mess. Lifting her head a little against the torrent of wind, she peered at the world ahead, unable to identify what direction they were going or what really lay ahead. Instead she felt a thrill, stomach doing flips, something that she’d never experienced before.

"I'm always careful." As much as he could be in any given situation. He was far more careful than his idiot brother, that was for sure. Once he was certain they were too far for the guards to reach, Rang slowed his pace gradually until he came to a full stop. They were out of the forest now, right on the outskirts. He couldn't say he was all that familiar with this location, but he had a vague idea of which direction to go that would take them back to the main road.

"Okay, so, you really have nobody else I can take you to?" He set her down, wondering if she would flop over from the speed they'd been going at. "Not a single family member or friend?" If that were the case, then what did that really mean? Was she born in that facility? Did her mother abandon her there? There were too many questions sill hanging over this mysterious kid.

Studying her face, Rang tried to plan his next move. He's rescued the kid because it was messed up to leave here there. However, now that they were free of the threat, he had to admit he didn't have a solid idea of where to go from here. Tilting his head back, he rolled his shoulders and sighed.

“I – I could shove someone with my powers?” Four gasped in wide bewilderment as she did her best to keep up with his pace. Was she really capable of such a thing? It sounded like he knew it was possible, but she wasn’t sure just how to go about it, or if it would be too risky. After all, whenever she used her powers for things that the employees at the lab deemed too dangerous, they’d berate her with physical and mental abuse. It didn't matter that they were the ones teaching her this.

Her eyes widened, gaze shifting to him with fear as she shrunk a little at being reprimanded for use of the nickname. “I – I’m – I’m sorry Mis – I’m – I’m sorry, sir,” she responded quickly, and glanced away. Despite it all her curiosity was piqued. What exactly was… a cartoon character?

Her pace had slowed when they reached the hallway where the entrance lay on ahead, eyes locked on the door. A shudder ran through her at the memory of the last time she’d exited through there, and panic filled in the pit of her stomach as she wondered if it was raining out… Rang’s voice startled her, and she looked up at him quickly. “I – I don’t have anything in my room… and – and I don’t know what a teddy is, so I – I don’t think I have one of those either.” Another mystery. She was beginning to wonder what all these foreign words he expected her to know were.

Suddenly she was being urged to move, and she followed as fast as she could, only stopping as they reached the panel locked door. Staring at it, she remembered the guards punching the buttons, but she couldn’t quite pick out which ones they’d hit… and like that Rang interrupted her thoughts once more, and this time he was suggesting something she never dared to consider.

“Y – You want me to - ? I – I - ” She swallowed back her fear, and stepped forward a little. Hadn’t only minutes ago she’d wanted to learn how to throw someone? Maybe she could do this. Another step forward, she concentrated on the build of electricity deep within her, feeling it pulse through her veins as it ran along her arms and down to her hands. The webs of her fingers ignited with sparks, and Four held her hands up as they came to life in a raging blue glow. Releasing the energy, she hit the mark and it exploded in a spray of lightning and crackle of electricity. There wasn't a second for her to come to terms with just what she'd done before alarms erupted, red lights flashed in the hall, and the sound of tromping footsteps came.

The kid had a lot of questions and Rang could answer them easily enough but, with that alarm blaring like that, now wasn't the time. He wanted to know more about these powers of hers — it was quite useful — so that would have to be brought up once they were free of these annoying guards.

"Now, we run."

Since he was clearly playing the role of babysitter (which was his own fault for getting involved in any of this) Rang scooped Kay up. He barely even knew how to hold a kid, but she felt secure enough in his arms, so he must be doing something right. Aiming one last glance over his shoulder, he grinned. He wished he could stay behind and make them regret chasing after them, but no. It was time to go.

"Don't wiggle about. It's going to get really fast. Like I'm a cool superhero." Did he really just say that? Hah, maybe Geomdoong was rubbing off on him.

He only gave her enough time to hold on before his own powers kicked in, speed increasing until they were nothing more than a blur shooting out of the building and across the compound. Rang would just escape the way he'd come in, leaping over the high fence without any struggle.

" no , no bad dates . " she shakes her head , crossing her arms over her chest as she keeps walking. "i haven't been on a date in a long time . i'm a newly single woman . practically almost married if you think about it. " they say , shivering against the cool breeze . long story short , that marriage of sorts didn't last long , and neither did he .

there's a beat of silence , if thought about too long , rachel would get upset . so she closed the gap .

"Who cares if you don't fit in. Nobody really takes notice of that nonsense." Rang didn't fit in with half the bozos around here but he didn't mind. If anything, he wanted to distance himself from humans and their tendencies. However, that half part of himself that was human was prone to fall into bad habits against his wishes.

"I get a headache thinking about that stuff. I have more important things to pay attention to." Dating was not for him. How anyone could find someone that they wanted to be with for their entire lives was beyond his comprehension. It didn't help that gumiho were destined to have one love for the rest of their existence. Much like his human half picking up characteristics humans were known for, his gumiho half was linked to the romance part. All in all, Rang was stuck with the worst of both worlds, which made him even more reluctant to get involved in any of it.

She expected the pain, the jolt of electricity to hit her, even though all it did was ignite her own, which further angered the guards. A vicious cycle of abuse they’d discovered as soon they’d been given these new weapons. Her powers were not to be used or visible when she wasn’t in a lab room, so when the prod hit her and her abilities flared, she’d be in further trouble. But it was all her fault, her failed control and responsibility to keep people safe. She was failed, and broken, and bad.

What she didn’t expect was the man to step in front of her, and stop the guard before anything happened. Watching in stunned silence, and awe, she wanted to say something, to tell him to be careful, but she realized very quickly that he had it under control. There was no way for her to see what he’d done, but whatever it was, the second guard had taken off the way the other had been thrown.

It took her a minute to come out of her stupor, and when she did Rang was getting further away. Quickly racing after him, she made sure to stay out of reach from the guards as she passed them by, and finally caught up to the man as they neared the door to the exit. So many questions were racing through her head, and she wanted to ask them all, but only one kept coming back to the forefront.

"What? To throw someone?" He didn't slow her pace, letting the girl hurry after him. She'd need to be quick if she wanted to get out of here before they called for back-up. "It depends on the extent of your powers. You could probably train them up and use your electricity to shove them away." That would probably kill her enemies in the process but was that really so bad?

"And don't call me Mister Fox. It makes me sound like a cartoon character." Wasn't there a book called that? Fantastic Mr. Fox? Well, he certainly was fantastic but he could do without the nickname.

Upon reaching a hallway that would lead them to the entrance, Rang looked both ways. No sign of other guards. What was that all about? He was quite offended, actually. Casting the kid a look, a brow arched before he nodded ahead of them.

"You ready to go? Once we leave I'm not coming back for anything, so don't whine if you leave your teddy behind." If she even had toys in here. Anyway, it wasn't like the police station or orphanage wouldn't provide her with stuff kids needed. Rang would let them deal with all that rather than focus on it himself.

"Come on." Without waiting for her to ask further questions, Rang headed for the door. There was a security panel beside it that required a code. Ah, the perfect opportunity presented itself.

"You got something against the Grim Reaper?"

But if she wasn't a regular human, then what was she? Rang wasn't picking up the scent of anything reminiscent of beasts he'd encountered in the past — even if he wasn't entirely sure about someone, he was usually good at sorting creatures into categories. That tended to narrow it down until he could determine who was friend and who was a foe that needed dealt with.

"You speak so highly of me." Rang knew he was the type to ditch someone with no prior warning but did she have to say it so openly? Now he had to at least stick with her for a bit to prove her wrong.

"Do you get ditched often? Bad dates?"

He'd witnessed his fair share of dates gone wrong; mostly it was the women sneaking away to the bathroom and never returning. However, sometimes it was the man who was unable to pay for a meal and, to avoid embarrassment — or knowingly wanting a free dinner — would take his leave while his date was away from the table.