Concordia Discors [Chapter Four]
Title: Concordia Discors [Chapter Four]
Authors: akaanee and minwhore
Pairings: Chanyeol/Baekhyun, Kai/Luhan, onesided!Sehun/Luhan, onesided!Kai/Kyungsoo, Kris/Tao
Rating: PG-15
Summary: For many centuries humans and demons have been at odds. And now the battles fought rise to a crescendo where tables are turned, many are sacrificed, and hopes are both found, and lost.
Author’s Note: ok gaise this chapter is 6k words :| DON'T GET USED TO IT THOUGH OKAY BECAUSE THIS WAS JUST A SPUR OF THE MOMENT THING CRIES but anyway the story will be picking up from here, and we certainly hope you enjoy this chapter as much as we enjoyed writing it!
also! from here on we're going to post weekly, and you can expect a chapter on either a thursday or a sunday. (and if we're nice we might post on both days DON'T GET YOUR HOPES UP THOUGH)
Previous Chapters
Chapter Four
Luhan, what in the world are you doing?! Baekhyun asked warily that night, not removing his eyes from Kyungsoo’s animated chatter and flailing limbs. The fire from Luhan’s hearth made everyone’s faces glow dimly, eyes lively as the reflection of reds, oranges, and yellows danced in their gazes.
Luhan, also making sure to keep his eyes on Kyungsoo from where he stood, had the faint telltales of a smirk on his sweet face. Baekhyun held back a sigh -- he knew from experience that Luhan’s smirks were never a good thing.
I couldn’t just let you have all the fun now, could I, dear Baekhyun? Luhan purred, sounding very much like a satisfied cat. Luhan’s eyes flickered over to Jongin, who was half-listening to Kyungsoo, and with a jolt, Baekhyun suddenly understood.
Luhan’s target was Jongin.
You better be careful with him, Baekhyun warned, shifting nervously in his seat. Luhan only scoffed cockily, obviously thinking that Baekhyun was being a worrywart for nothing. Baekhyun couldn’t wait to see the look on Luhan’s face when he realizes that Baekhyun had been right.
Baekhyun closed his eyes, hoping to stave off what appeared to be the makings of a headache. Already, he could feel the faint beats of his heart at his temple. A hand gripped at his knee gently and he turned to see Chanyeol next to him peering at him with silent worry. Baekhyun shook his head, managing to give Chanyeol a smile before turning back to Kyungsoo.
After the gang had met Luhan, they had somehow ended up at Luhan’s house. The inside seemed to be small but cozy. There was an unkempt garden in the front of the house with wild plants crept up the walls, tiny yellow flowers reaching up to the sun and vines slithering up to tangle through the roof. All in all, the house looked like it had come out of a storybook. The sparks of wonder and awe from everyone’s gazes earlier had been enough to tell him that everyone thought so as well.
Baekhyun wasn’t as fooled as the rest were, though. Being with Luhan for years, Baekhyun knew that Luhan had only used this house a handful of times. In fact, Baekhyun had forgotten the location of the house due to its little use. What amazed him was the cleanliness of the little house, even with Luhan gone year round.
“So. Luhan,” Chanyeol spoke up, and Luhan’s head snapped up, bright smile intact. From the corner of his eyes Baekhyun saw Jongin shift uncomfortably from his position beside Kris near the fireplace. “Looks like you’re an old friend of Baekhyun. How did you meet? Are you... like him?”
Luhan glanced at Baekhyun, a silent question in his eyes. Should I...? Baekhyun nodded; he didn’t see any reason not to show them.
Slowly, Luhan pulled off the hood covering his head. From behind the tresses of butterscotch hair, two delicate cat ears popped up, eliciting gasps of surprise from the people who were watching. Jongin narrowed his eyes. Luhan bit his lips shyly, gaze trained on his feet and a faint pink dusting his cheeks. Baekhyun scoffed inwardly -- it seemed like Luhan had the acting down already.
He couldn’t stop from feeling just a little bit jealous.
“That,” Yixing said in a flat voice. "Is quite possibly the cutest thing I’ve ever seen."
Luhan flushed a darker shade of red and grinned sheepishly. However, the Luhan in Baekhyun’s mind cackled loudly, forcing him to wince in distaste.
“I -- I’m not a full-blooded monster like Baekhyun though,” Luhan said, voice quiet, feet shuffling nervously. Baekhyun had to refrain himself from rolling his eyes at his friend. “I’m half human. My father was human, and my mother was a monster. They ran away to try and find a peaceful place to live in, but they were soon killed because of their relationship. They managed to hide me before their killers got me as well, though...”
Luhan’s voice trailed off in the end, a light frown twisting his face in pain. Baekhyun praised his best friend’s acting lightly; already, he could see the sympathy shining within Kyungsoo and Yixing’s eyes. Chanyeol appeared to be slowly taking the bait. Jongin glared at the fire, clearly peeved over something. However, Kris seemed to be alternating his blank gaze between Baekhyun and Luhan.
Baekhyun chuckled ruefully, reminded of Wufan’s suspicions. Luhan really had picked the best time to pop out, he thought sarcastically. Luhan, who had heard the thought, gave him a mental jab.
“So what are your powers?” Kris spoke up suddenly, pushing himself off the wall. Luhan looked up at him in confusion, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.
“I don’t have any powers,” he said quietly. From across the room Jongin raised his eyebrows skeptically, the fire’s light across his face highlighting the motion. “As I’ve said, I’m only half monster, and we half breeds normally don’t inherit any power. Even if we do, they’re usually very weak...”
Kris nodded, but he didn’t look convinced. In his mind, Luhan stirred uncomfortably.
Baekhyun smirked. Now Luhan knew what he had to put up with.
“Okay, so -- Luhan, was it? We appreciate your offer to stay at your house for the night, but we really need to get going,” Jongin said quickly, slinging his pack over his shoulder and opening the door before anyone had the chance to reply. “C’mon guys.”
Chanyeol, who had stayed silent during the whole conversation, spoke up from Baekhyun’s other side. “Jongin, that’s not polite. Maybe we should stay here for the night? And while we’re here we can also make sure everything is fine in the town.”
“I think Chanyeol’s right,” Kyungsoo piped up suddenly. “We’re all very exhausted and hungry, and sleeping with a roof over your head is much better than sleeping in a tent or unnecessarily spending coins, right?”
“I agree with Kyungsoo!” Yixing chirped, dimpled smile wide. Kris glared at the ground, and if he wanted to, he could have burned a hole right through the floor, Baekhyun was sure. It was obvious from Wufan’s current position near the door that he had fully agreed with Jongin. But then he gave a small nod, albeit grudgingly, and Luhan’s eyes brightened.
“Wonderful!” he cried, clapping his hands happily as Jongin groaned, outvoted. Jongin slumped into the chair beside Yixing and crossed his arms in front of his chest, pouting and glaring out the window immaturely. Kyungsoo leaned over to pat him consolingly, an amused expression spreading across his features, before he turned to Luhan.
“Do you have any ingredients? I’d like to cook.”
Baekhyun found himself roused from sleep, blearily blinking his eyes as he looked around the lighted room, quickly remembering where he was. He’d long since gotten used to waking up in strange places after setting out with the Hero and the rest of the gang. Sighing sleepily, he stretched, pushing himself up into a sitting position as his eyes landed on Chanyeol’s mat of hair sticking up from underneath the blankets.
That was strange. Normally Chanyeol was up before him.
Yawning, he grimaced, squinting his eyes at the window as he wondered what had woken him up from his beautiful, beautiful sleep. Getting up and wobbling on his feet for a second, he went over to the window, looking outside.
That was when he realized it was still night.
Baekhyun’s eyes widened when he saw the town, a few yards off from Luhan’s house, ablaze with fire. He cocked his head to the side, closing his eyes. He could hear distant screaming from the house.
He smiled to himself wistfully, leaving his eyes closed and just taking in the sounds of panic and distress. He hadn’t heard them in a long time; since he had started playing the part of the Hero’s companion, he hadn’t had any time to go play with any humans. Already, he could feel his heart start to beat at his chest; even the mere thought of wreaking havoc on humans was enough to get him excited nowadays.
But all good things must come to an end, Baekhyun thought sadly, lips turning down. He supposed that it was about time he woke Chanyeol up.
He rubbed at his neck tiredly, shuffling over to Chanyeol’s bed. Peering into the dark mass that was the slumbering Hero, he weighed his options carefully since this was his first time waking Chanyeol up before shrugging. He decided to just take his chances, not really caring what danger he was putting himself into.
Baekhyun shook Chanyeol’s shoulder lightly, unprepared for what happened next. Chanyeol’s eyes snapped open, and all of a sudden Baekhyun found himself pinned under the Hero. He couldn’t stop the quick inhale of surprise, pupils blown wide as he stared up into Chanyeol’s eyes. His heart beat fitfully against his chest, this time in fearful anticipation.
Baekhyun almost couldn’t stop himself from frying Chanyeol on the spot and, judging from the alarm crawling up Chanyeol’s features, he’d been close to being roasted himself.
“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol murmured, looking more awake by the second. He blinked a couple of times before he took a look at the situation -- Baekhyun’s wrists grasped in his hands, Baekhyun’s shocked expression -- before realizing what he had done. Leaping from the bed, Chanyeol started sputtering out apology after apology.
Baekhyun stared up at the ceiling, ignoring Chanyeol as he tried to get his heartbeat to slow down. The skin of his wrist that Chanyeol had grasped tightly was tingling and he shivered. When his heart was at an acceptable speed again, he pushed himself up from Chanyeol’s bed slowly, clambering to his feet and walking over to Chanyeol. He gave a small smile to the taller.
“I’m okay,” Baekhyun said. “You stopped before you did anything.”
“I should have warned you about that,” Chanyeol moaned, looking like a kicked puppy. Baekhyun imagined that Chanyeol’s ears would’ve been drooping at this point. He suppressed a smile at the mental image.“I don’t normally like to be woken up so next time, just throw something at me.”
“Duly noted,” Baekhyun said, saluting Chanyeol. The action brought the smile back onto Chanyeol’s face. Chanyeol looked around questioningly.
“Why did you wake me up?” the Hero asked, confusion marring his face.
Baekhyun clucked at himself for forgetting temporarily. “Oh yes, well, it seems like the town is burning...?” He pointed at the window unsurely, hoping this guise would work well enough.
Just then, Jongin came barging in, pillow already flying in the direction of Chanyeol’s bed as he roared for the Hero to get up. Since Chanyeol was standing at the foot of the bed, Baekhyun was able to witness the Hero getting planted head-on with the cushion. The pillow flopped against the Hero’s face.
Baekhyun couldn’t help the snort that escaped his mouth, slapping a hand over his lips to hopefully stop the peals of laughter from being heard.
“Oh,” Jongin said mildly, “You’re up already.” Luhan stood behind him in the doorway, looking amused. Beyond the doorway, it seemed like everyone else was ready, waiting next to the already open door. Baekhyun assumed Luhan had been the one to wake everyone else up.
Chanyeol grabbed at the pillow, fingers twitching. “Kai...” he growled out.
“Sorry buddy, no time for funsies,” Jongin said, already backing away from the enraged male as he chuckled nervously. “The town is under attack.”
Chanyeol glared, throwing down the pillow and stomping over to start putting his stuff on. “Don’t think I’ll forget about this, Kim Jongin.”
The gang skid to a halt in front of a burning bakery, in which five monsters crouched on top of the roof, their talons already dripping with blood. They weren’t human-like at all, with a beak for a mouth, beady obsidian eyes, and bald heads. Their tails lashed to and fro, the ends of them glinting sharply in the firelight. The biggest one in the middle screeched, and immediately the others followed, jumping off the roof towards the Hero and his friends.
Their leader headed towards Baekhyun, eyes sparkling with bloodlust as he sensed the enormous power he held. Baekhyun smirked and widened his stance, palms tingling. Bring it on. Maybe he’d get to have some fun on this little journey after all.
But suddenly he found himself pushed to the side, stumbling over his own feet and hitting the ground with a grunt. He looked up just in time to see Chanyeol blast fire to the monster’s left shoulder, burning it, causing it to crash to the stables nearby and frightening the horses out. It got up shakily, inspecting the damage Chanyeol had done to its body, before letting out another ear-piercing screech and charged towards them again.
Chanyeol drew out his sword, standing protectively in front of Baekhyun. “Stay behind me, Baekhyun,” he ordered.
Baekhyun’s eyes widened. “What? No! I want to help!”
“Just do as I say!” Chanyeol thundered without even looking back, slashing a deep cut on the abdomen to the monster that attacked them. Baekhyun’s face fell in disappointment, and Luhan piped up in his mind.
Just do as he says, Baekhyun. Wouldn’t want the Hero to get all suspicious on you now, would we?
He growled angrily in response, because who asked Luhan, but his friend was right. He looked around and saw that Jongin had climbed on top of a roof, shooting arrows three at a time, Kyungsoo sending huge mounds of earth towards the unsuspecting monsters, Yixing healing townspeople and Luhan right behind him. That was when he realized something.
They were only pushing the monsters out of the town, not killing them. They gave out attacks just enough to injure but never to kill -- never aimed anywhere vital. Just the sight of it confused him.
A burst of heat erupted behind him and he looked back to see Kris standing on a square of dimly glowing, translucent looking platform that floated in mid air, blowing huge tongues of fire to keep monsters away from a group of terrified villagers. Baekhyun watched in awe at his power as he jumped. Another platform appeared, catching him mid-fall. Kris looked down and caught his eye, narrowing them before he ran down towards him, the platforms creating a glowing path as he descended towards Baekhyun and Chanyeol.
He jumped off and landed beside Baekhyun, and Chanyeol glanced back, still brandishing his sword and breathing fire to monsters.
“Kris, get Baekhyun away from here!” he bellowed, and before Baekhyun even had the chance to say anything, the tallest of them had hauled him over his shoulders, zooming away on his floating platforms again.
"Put me down!" he cried, thumping Kris on the back. He wanted to have his share of fun, too. But Kris merely snorted, jumping down to the ground so suddenly Baekhyun's stomach lurched for a frightful moment.
"You stay here," he ordered as he dumped Baekhyun on a pile of hay hidden on an alleyway. "Don't go out making more trouble, monster. I'll be watching you."
"Why aren't you killing anything?" Baekhyun sputtered as he spat hay out of his mouth. Kris raised his eyebrows.
"I thought we've made it clear enough that we never kill."
And with that, he jumped up and zoomed away back to the battlefield. Baekhyun grumbled and crossed his arms, pouting childishly. A rustling noise to his right caught his attention and Luhan's blond head popped up from behind a stack of crates.
"This is so boring," he whined, making his way over to sit beside Baekhyun. "I'm not allowed to do anything!"
Baekhyun bit his lip, gazing longingly at the entrance to the alleyway in which screaming could still be heard, shadows of people running for their lives. Suddenly a thought came to his mind, and he turned to Luhan with a wide, sinister grin.
"I’m going to go have my fun,” Baekhyun said. He shushed Luhan before his friend could ask what the hell he was talking about. “You --” he pointed to Luhan, “ -- get to stay here, and give me a warning for when the Hero or his companions start looking for us.”
Peeved, Luhan huffed, collapsing back on the ground but made no move to follow him. Sparing his friend one last glance, Baekhyun walked out from the alley, easily making his way amidst the chaos going on. He found what he was looking for soon after.
One of the smaller monsters that had attacked the town looked up from where it was tortuously carving deep slashes to the arm of a man who was still writhing and crying out in pain under it, long curved nails painted with blood. The monster rounded on him after quickly killing the man, though thankfully it seemed to have more intelligence in its beady eyes than the rest of them did.
Perfect.
It gave a horrible chuckle, not sensing the danger it was in. “Poor little monster,” it cooed at him. Baekhyun held back a sigh, waiting patiently for it to finish. “You got lost from the group, didn’t you? Well, that’s too bad! I’ll be killing you now.”
In the blink of an eye, Baekhyun had the monster on the ground, head crushed beneath his boot. He sneered at it, the monster’s struggles not moving him at all. “Poor little monster,” he mimicked, squatting down. “I don’t know if you’re just brave, or stupid enough to try and kill the Demon Lord,” he breathed, his tone filled with pity.
The monster stilled. “Demon...Lord?”
Baekhyun clicked his tongue in annoyance. “No, I’m the tooth fairy,” he said, sneer becoming more pronounced.
“Anyways,” Baekhyun said, adopting a conversational tone, “I’m going to let go of you, and you will do as I say, got it?” The question was punctuated with him grinding his foot onto the monster’s head harshly. The monster let out a muffled groan of acceptance and he lifted his boot, waiting impatiently for it to get up.
“Now,” he said, walking up to the monster and bringing his hands up to dust it off. He ignored the flinch the monster gave at his close proximity. “You are going to call off all your little friends and leave this town.”
“Why?” the monster asked, voice scratching at Baekhyun’s ears, sounding angry again. “We could finally kill off the Hero and his friends!”
“Ah,” Baekhyun said, his face dark. “But that’s exactly why you’re going to leave. The Hero is mine to kill. If you come between me and the Hero, I will be forced to kill you.” He smirked, punctuating his statement with a burst of white-hot beam of light from his hand directed at the monster’s leg, to which it screamed harshly. “Not that I would mind. I’ve had to hold myself off from killing so the bloodlust has gotten a bit out of hand inside this body of mine.”
“Now go,” he ordered, voice laced with authority. The monster crouched low in a poor attempt at a bow, eyes scathing and full of an indescribable emotion. Then it turned around and loped into the edges of the forest, screeching all the way, calling for its companions. It soon disappeared amongst the trees, followed by the four others, all of whom kept sending curious but wary glances towards where Baekhyun was standing.
He huffed and smirked in satisfaction, before turning to find his way back to the alleyway again. Luhan looked up as he neared, and made space for him as Baekhyun threw himself to the haystack beside him.
“How did it go?” he asked, head tilted. Baekhyun shrugged.
“It wasn’t much, but at least I got to let out some steam,” he said, flashing Luhan a smug smile. “I told those monsters to back off.”
Luhan hugged his knees to his chest, contemplative look on his face. “But you didn’t kill them?” he asked again, and Baekhyun shook his head in response. “Hmm. I guess it was a smart move to make them leave. Killing would only raise suspicions.”
They waited in silence as the screams died out from around the town, wondering whether Chanyeol and his friends had forgotten about them being here. But then they heard rapid footsteps nearing the mouth of the alleyway, and Kris appeared with Chanyeol and the rest right behind him. When he caught sight of Baekhyun, Chanyeol’s whole face lit up, relief written all over his dirty features.
“Baekhyun!” he cried, not even giving the said man time to stand up properly before pulling him to a bone-crushing hug. “You’re alright!”
Unprepared for the hug, Baekhyun felt the breath get squeezed out of his lungs at Chanyeol’s tight embrace. His vision swam and he lost the feeling on his arms and legs, before Kyungsoo pointed out quietly, “Chanyeol, you’re gong to kill him.”
In a flash Chanyeol’s arms were gone and a lungful of much needed air entered his systems, though painfully so. He coughed a couple of times as he waved away Chanyeol’s wails of ‘I’m so sorry!’s, managing to smile.
Baekhyun’s ears perked at the sound of angry human voices though, his grin sliding off his face. Beside him, Luhan cocked his head to the side. The group gave the two monsters a few weird glances.
“Um...” Baekhyun started, seeing the looks and giving a nervous chuckle. “Did you happen to anger anyone?”
“Wow,” Luhan breathed, confusion and awe warring in his voice. “They sound really angry.”
“What?” Jongin frowned. “We didn’t do anything but force the monsters to flee.”
“Hm,” Baekhyun hummed, face scrunched up in concentration. “Well, they really do sound angry... There are too many voices are talking at once for me to hear why they’re so angry, but I can hear both men and women speaking.” He tossed a concerned glance at Chanyeol, who seemed to already have gotten an idea to why an angry mob was closing in on them.
“They’re probably angry for the regular reasons,” Chanyeol said, a saddened smile crossing his face. For some reason, Baekhyun really didn’t like seeing Chanyeol have that expression on his countenance and he rested his hand on Chanyeol’s arm, trying to comfort him a little.
“Che,” Jongin grunted angrily, glaring at the ground. “It still pisses me off whenever they do this.”
“We can’t help it,” Kris said levelly. “Besides, they aren’t in their right minds at the moment. You know how people are like when they’re distressed. They just need to vent those negative feelings on someone, and it just so happens to be us for now.”
“Still, it would be nice if we got thanked by the whole town for once,” Kyungsoo said wistfully.
“Can we go now?” Yixing interrupted, rubbing at his temples wearily. “I used up too much energy tonight healing people.”
“I suppose,” Chanyeol said. By now, even his sad smile had faded and the adrenaline that was there before to keep him up evaporated, leaving nothing but a drained, exhausted man in its place. Chanyeol turned to Luhan. “Is it okay if we go back to your place?”
By now, everyone could clearly hear the loud, angry voices approaching. Around them, fire from the houses flickered ominously. Luhan smiled, sympathy shining in his eyes. Baekhyun was shocked when he couldn’t tell if it was fake or not.
“Sure!” Luhan chirped, already leading the way out of the alley as he quickly popped his hood back on, hiding his distinguishing cat ears from sight.
Just as they rounded the corner, they found themselves surrounded by the angry crowd, and instinctively, the group bundled tightly together. Baekhyun once again found himself shoved behind Chanyeol and he stared blankly at Chanyeol’s broad back as the Hero raised himself to full height, thoughts hidden beneath a blank mask of indifference.
“Can I help you with something?” Chanyeol asked steadily, eyes flickering to each person in the angry crowd.
“Why did you not kill those monsters?” an angry human male demanded. The roar of the mob echoed his demand.
“Surely you’ve heard the stories by now,” Kris spoke up, eyes narrowed and posture shifting slightly in front of Chanyeol. Baekhyun frowned - as if the Hero needed any protecting! “The Hero has a no-killing policy.” The angry mutterings within the crowd grew. Finally, one man stepped out, fury written all over his face.
“Leave,” the man seethed, practically bristling with anger. “We do not need a Hero who can’t even rid the earth of those foul monsters!”
An expression of pain momentarily flashed through Chanyeol’s features. It was quickly covered by a hard mask of defiance, and before Baekhyun could stop himself, he reached out and gripped Chanyeol’s fingers. He shivered at how cold they were despite the broiling fire around them, and then promptly heated his palm just enough to toast Chanyeol up. When he looked up there was the tiniest of a smile tugging at the corner of Chanyeol’s lips.
For one reason or another, it made Baekhyun feel warm inside to see that smile again.
Chanyeol’s fingers tightened briefly on his, seemingly drawing strength from Baekhyun as he breathed slowly. He stepped in front of Kris then, dropping his hold from Baekhyun’s hand.
“Everyone deserves a second chance,” Chanyeol said, voice firm once more. “Whether they are monsters or humans. Besides, I believe that for me to properly be the Hero, I must cherish all life around me, not just humans.”
“Oh yeah?” the man hissed. “This --” he gestured with a jerk of his arm to the still-burning town, “-- is what happened because you ‘cherished’ those damnable creatures. And it’ll happen again. Monsters don’t just stop. They come back time and time again until there’s nothing and no one left.” By now, spittle was flying out of the man’s mouth in his fit of anger. Baekhyun glared at the man.
“I am very sorry for what happened to your town,” Chanyeol said, his voice thundering through the crowd as he stepped up to come directly in front of the man. For all his bravo though, Baekhyun could see the judgemental stares slowly getting to him again. “However, that is what I believe in, and I’ll make sure to stick to my beliefs till the very end. We will leave, if that’s what you wish. But I will not change my decision to not kill. Good evening.”
He turned to them then, face frighteningly blank. “Come on guys.”
Kyungsoo and Yixing nodded, eyes sad. Jongin spat at the ground bitterly, and Kris sighed, a comforting hand going up to clasp Chanyeol’s shoulder comfortingly, before also walking away with the rest of them. Chanyeol smiled reassuringly at Baekhyun’s concerned expression before slinging an arm around his shoulders, pulling him along.
The angry crowd parted to let them out, and the group soon found themselves trekking through the village. Some people stared at them from the sides of the street, soot covering their faces. Other people were too preoccupied with saving any valuables possible, daring enough to fare the flames as they ran in and out of their tiny houses.
Baekhyun was livid with the townspeople inwardly, making sure to glare his displeasure at the very few people who were brave enough to meet his gaze.
“These people piss me off,” Baekhyun muttered to himself, lost in his own thoughts. “After all Chanyeol and the others did to save them from the monsters, they decide to pin the blame onto Chanyeol and the others for the destruction of their town as thanks. We should’ve just let these damn people burn in hell.”
“You know we can’t do that,” Kyungsoo, who apparently had been listening in on his tirade, said, glancing back tiredly.
“All of us here know that we’re bound to get those kinds of responses from people when we decided to join Chanyeol,” Yixing said, shrugging. Baekhyun held back a snort -- had he been talking so loud that everyone could hear him?
Chanyeol chuckled softly, arm tightening across Baekhyun’s shoulders. “It’s okay, Baekhyun,” he said. “You win some, and you lose some. That’s what it means to have a belief.” Still, these words didn’t get rid of the sadness that crossed Chanyeol’s face.
“I just don’t understand,” Baekhyun said, making sure to keep his voice soft so only Chanyeol could hear him. “Why are you defending them? They hurt you. They didn’t even thank you for risking your life to protect them!”
A family of three came up to them, interrupting any reply Chanyeol could’ve given him. Baekhyun narrowed his eyes at them, subconsciously stepping in front of Chanyeol as if to shield him. The little blonde girl glanced up at Chanyeol, disregarding him, eyes wide and holding up a crumpled paper bag.
“This is for you,” she said, glancing back at her parents. “Mommy and daddy said you really helped the town today so we wanted you to have this.” She thrust the bag forward, ducking her head shyly.
Chanyeol stepped out from behind Baekhyun, squatting down to give the little girl a small grin. He reached up to pat her head softly, his other hand taking the bag. Baekhyun could see him getting sentimental. Chanyeol managed to croak out a, “Thank you.”
“Son,” the father said, addressing Chanyeol warmly. “This is the very least you deserve. Don’t take the others seriously, okay?”
“I’ll try not to,” Chanyeol said, smiling as he got back onto his feet.
“That,” Kris said, appearing beside Baekhyun as he watched the scene. “That is why we protect them.”
They went back to Luhan’s house silently, grabbing their stuff quickly and packing them haphazardly into their packs. Luhan stood in the middle of his tiny house, looking a little lost. They gathered in the front room and gave Luhan a small bow of appreciation before filing out the door.
“Wait!” a small voice shouted behind them, and they looked back to see Luhan stumbling in their wake, almost tripping over his long cloak. “Wait, please take me with you!”
“What!?” Jongin exclaimed, face incredulous and slightly alarmed. He looked scandalized at the prospect of Luhan accompanying them. “No! You stay here.”
“Please,” Luhan begged, turning from one of them to another, face beseeching. “Please take me with you. I can’t stay here alone -- I hate being here. Please, please, I won’t be a burden, I swear!”
There was silence in which Luhan stared at them with wide, pleading eyes, and Baekhyun could feel laughter slowly bubble out of his throat as Chanyeol’s face softened. Finally, Chanyeol said, “Alright.”
“What?!” Jongin rounded on Chanyeol this time, expression comically horrified. “Chanyeol, you can’t just --!”
Whatever he was about say was drowned by Luhan’s delighted squeal, and to everyone’s huge amusement, he latched himself to Jongin’s arm, who looked like he wanted nothing more than to rip those ginger cat ears from Luhan’s head.
Baekhyun himself stifled some laughter, hand going up over his mouth as if it would help keep the laughter in. As he watched Luhan and Jongin’s antics, a bubbly feeling came over him.
However, the fuzzy feeling was quickly chased away by a wave of dread as he thought about what that meant.
He was starting to like the group.
Baekhyun hoped for his own sake that what he was feeling was just from the spur of the moment.
Chanyeol had been silent as they trudged away from the town. Even with the advice the man back in the town had given him, he couldn’t stop thinking about what those villagers had said. He’d received that kind of treatment many times before, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.
Baekhyun and the rest kept giving him concerned looks the whole way. However, as they set up their now five tents on the outskirts of town, Chanyeol couldn’t be bothered to care. He was tired, sore and hurt, not to mention injured, and all he wanted was to just collapse and sleep it all away.
After being fully healed by Yixing, who was also looking a little worse for wear, he bid the others a quiet goodnight and retreated back into his tent. He let himself fall face down to his side of the tent, groaning helplessly. As he settled to a more comfortable position, the flaps of the tent opened once again, and Baekhyun stepped in, smiling.
“Hey,” Baekhyun greeted as he untied the laces of his boots at the entrance. “You okay?”
Chanyeol nodded, but he didn’t look very convincing. Baekhyun huffed, blowing at his bangs, and frowned as he crawled to the other side of the tent, kneeling opposite of Chanyeol with a mysterious smile on his face.
“I want to show you something,” he said excitedly, holding up a brightly glowing hand to give some light inside the dark tent. Chanyeol pushed a small grin onto his face, slightly interested despite how tired and weary he was. He sat up, raising an eyebrow expectantly at Baekhyun. “You know how Luhan has cat ears, right? Didn’t you ever wonder if I had other features that would distinguish me from humans?”
Chanyeol frowned, shaking his head. Baekhyun laughed and shifted again, a little nervously this time, before he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. There was a small rustle and Chanyeol yelped in surprise as a tail, long and looking much like a lion’s tail, appeared behind Baekhyun. Baekhyun opened his eyes and grinned, amused at Chanyeol’s shocked expression as he flicked his tail back and forth. He brought it forward to tickle Chanyeol’s side playfully.
“Stop that!” Chanyeol squeaked in an unmanly manner, slapping the tail away and shielding his side. He inspected the tail, squinting at it. “Wow, I didn’t know you had a tail.”
“I hide it most of the time,” Baekhyun shrugged, grin still intact. “That’s not all though.”
Chanyeol was just beginning to wonder what Baekhyun meant by that, when a louder rustle disturbed the silence of the tent and a shadow appeared at Baekhyun’s back. It grew larger until feathers suddenly burst out and this time, Chanyeol shrieked (to which he would later deny) and backed off as far as he could in the space provided. A rustle from the outside accompanied his scream.
“Chanyeol?” Wufan’s tired voice was heard, just outside their tent. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he replied quickly, eyes wide and heart beating just about a thousand miles per hour. “I’m fine. Go to sleep.”
“Alright,” Kris said dubiously. A rustle indicated that Kris had gone back into his own tent.
A pair of wings stretched and flexed in the tiny space of the tent, iridescent russet feathers glimmering. Chanyeol stared in awe, unable to tear his gaze away as the wings moved, gently folding neatly into Baekhyun’s back.
“Well?” Baekhyun asked timidly when Chanyeol remained silent, twisting his fingers in his lap. “What do you think?”
“Baekhyun, I --” he croaked out, the words stuck in his throat as he crawled forwards. “God, they’re beautiful, Baekhyun.”
Baekhyun flushed red at the tips of his ears, but Chanyeol didn’t notice. He was too busy admiring the way the muscles worked under all the layers of coppery feathers as the wings quivered. They had gentle slopes of joints and soft, downy feathers at the place where the wings were joined to his back. His clothes had ripped from where the wings burst out and, from what he could see, it was a smooth transition from skin to feathers. Chanyeol sighed dreamily.
“Can I touch it?” His hand was already in the air, waiting for the confirmation.
Baekhyun’s head snapped up, clearly not expecting the question. But after a slight hesitation he nodded, turning around to fully expose his back to Chanyeol.
The feathers were unbelievably soft to the touch, and Chanyeol ran his fingers from tip to tip, delight bubbling in his chest. He traced each feather softly, and slipped his hand under the longer flight feathers at the base to skim at the coarse skin underneath. Baekhyun shuddered at his touch, goosebumps breaking across his skin. Chanyeol’s attention, though, was drawn to the joint between Baekhyun’s wings and back.
“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun called, craning his head to look at what he was doing to no avail. “Chanyeol, what are you -- ahh...”
Chanyeol’s hands froze at the quiet moan that escaped Baekhyun’s lips. His hand stopped exactly where wing met skin. Belatedly, Baekhyun realized what happened and clapped his hands to his mouth, mortified.
"Sorry!" he said helplessly, voice muffled by his hands. "It's just -- I'm a little...sensitive there."
Chanyeol frowned, before slowly, realization dawned on him. He jerked his hand back as though burned, turning red himself. He stuttered apologies to Baekhyun who had turned back around, not even looking at him. Chanyeol flopped down, immediately burying his burning face into his pillows.
He wished a hole would open up on the ground and swallow him whole when he heard Baekhyun chuckle quietly. The rustling stopped, and when he chanced a glance behind him, Baekhyun had also settled to his blankets, his tail and wings nowhere in sight.
Baekhyun turned his head to smile reassuringly at Chanyeol, and he smiled back. But then the memory of the quiet sound Baekhyun made at the back of his throat when Chanyeol had stroked that particular part in his wings came rushing back to him. Chanyeol turned his back to Baekhyun again, quickly sputtering out a 'goodnight!'
He pretended to be asleep when Baekhyun chuckled once more and said quietly, "I'm glad you cheered up. Goodnight, Chanyeol."
Authors: akaanee and minwhore
Pairings: Chanyeol/Baekhyun, Kai/Luhan, onesided!Sehun/Luhan, onesided!Kai/Kyungsoo, Kris/Tao
Rating: PG-15
Summary: For many centuries humans and demons have been at odds. And now the battles fought rise to a crescendo where tables are turned, many are sacrificed, and hopes are both found, and lost.
Author’s Note: ok gaise this chapter is 6k words :| DON'T GET USED TO IT THOUGH OKAY BECAUSE THIS WAS JUST A SPUR OF THE MOMENT THING CRIES but anyway the story will be picking up from here, and we certainly hope you enjoy this chapter as much as we enjoyed writing it!
also! from here on we're going to post weekly, and you can expect a chapter on either a thursday or a sunday. (and if we're nice we might post on both days DON'T GET YOUR HOPES UP THOUGH)
Previous Chapters
Chapter Four
Luhan, what in the world are you doing?! Baekhyun asked warily that night, not removing his eyes from Kyungsoo’s animated chatter and flailing limbs. The fire from Luhan’s hearth made everyone’s faces glow dimly, eyes lively as the reflection of reds, oranges, and yellows danced in their gazes.
Luhan, also making sure to keep his eyes on Kyungsoo from where he stood, had the faint telltales of a smirk on his sweet face. Baekhyun held back a sigh -- he knew from experience that Luhan’s smirks were never a good thing.
I couldn’t just let you have all the fun now, could I, dear Baekhyun? Luhan purred, sounding very much like a satisfied cat. Luhan’s eyes flickered over to Jongin, who was half-listening to Kyungsoo, and with a jolt, Baekhyun suddenly understood.
Luhan’s target was Jongin.
You better be careful with him, Baekhyun warned, shifting nervously in his seat. Luhan only scoffed cockily, obviously thinking that Baekhyun was being a worrywart for nothing. Baekhyun couldn’t wait to see the look on Luhan’s face when he realizes that Baekhyun had been right.
Baekhyun closed his eyes, hoping to stave off what appeared to be the makings of a headache. Already, he could feel the faint beats of his heart at his temple. A hand gripped at his knee gently and he turned to see Chanyeol next to him peering at him with silent worry. Baekhyun shook his head, managing to give Chanyeol a smile before turning back to Kyungsoo.
After the gang had met Luhan, they had somehow ended up at Luhan’s house. The inside seemed to be small but cozy. There was an unkempt garden in the front of the house with wild plants crept up the walls, tiny yellow flowers reaching up to the sun and vines slithering up to tangle through the roof. All in all, the house looked like it had come out of a storybook. The sparks of wonder and awe from everyone’s gazes earlier had been enough to tell him that everyone thought so as well.
Baekhyun wasn’t as fooled as the rest were, though. Being with Luhan for years, Baekhyun knew that Luhan had only used this house a handful of times. In fact, Baekhyun had forgotten the location of the house due to its little use. What amazed him was the cleanliness of the little house, even with Luhan gone year round.
“So. Luhan,” Chanyeol spoke up, and Luhan’s head snapped up, bright smile intact. From the corner of his eyes Baekhyun saw Jongin shift uncomfortably from his position beside Kris near the fireplace. “Looks like you’re an old friend of Baekhyun. How did you meet? Are you... like him?”
Luhan glanced at Baekhyun, a silent question in his eyes. Should I...? Baekhyun nodded; he didn’t see any reason not to show them.
Slowly, Luhan pulled off the hood covering his head. From behind the tresses of butterscotch hair, two delicate cat ears popped up, eliciting gasps of surprise from the people who were watching. Jongin narrowed his eyes. Luhan bit his lips shyly, gaze trained on his feet and a faint pink dusting his cheeks. Baekhyun scoffed inwardly -- it seemed like Luhan had the acting down already.
He couldn’t stop from feeling just a little bit jealous.
“That,” Yixing said in a flat voice. "Is quite possibly the cutest thing I’ve ever seen."
Luhan flushed a darker shade of red and grinned sheepishly. However, the Luhan in Baekhyun’s mind cackled loudly, forcing him to wince in distaste.
“I -- I’m not a full-blooded monster like Baekhyun though,” Luhan said, voice quiet, feet shuffling nervously. Baekhyun had to refrain himself from rolling his eyes at his friend. “I’m half human. My father was human, and my mother was a monster. They ran away to try and find a peaceful place to live in, but they were soon killed because of their relationship. They managed to hide me before their killers got me as well, though...”
Luhan’s voice trailed off in the end, a light frown twisting his face in pain. Baekhyun praised his best friend’s acting lightly; already, he could see the sympathy shining within Kyungsoo and Yixing’s eyes. Chanyeol appeared to be slowly taking the bait. Jongin glared at the fire, clearly peeved over something. However, Kris seemed to be alternating his blank gaze between Baekhyun and Luhan.
Baekhyun chuckled ruefully, reminded of Wufan’s suspicions. Luhan really had picked the best time to pop out, he thought sarcastically. Luhan, who had heard the thought, gave him a mental jab.
“So what are your powers?” Kris spoke up suddenly, pushing himself off the wall. Luhan looked up at him in confusion, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.
“I don’t have any powers,” he said quietly. From across the room Jongin raised his eyebrows skeptically, the fire’s light across his face highlighting the motion. “As I’ve said, I’m only half monster, and we half breeds normally don’t inherit any power. Even if we do, they’re usually very weak...”
Kris nodded, but he didn’t look convinced. In his mind, Luhan stirred uncomfortably.
Baekhyun smirked. Now Luhan knew what he had to put up with.
“Okay, so -- Luhan, was it? We appreciate your offer to stay at your house for the night, but we really need to get going,” Jongin said quickly, slinging his pack over his shoulder and opening the door before anyone had the chance to reply. “C’mon guys.”
Chanyeol, who had stayed silent during the whole conversation, spoke up from Baekhyun’s other side. “Jongin, that’s not polite. Maybe we should stay here for the night? And while we’re here we can also make sure everything is fine in the town.”
“I think Chanyeol’s right,” Kyungsoo piped up suddenly. “We’re all very exhausted and hungry, and sleeping with a roof over your head is much better than sleeping in a tent or unnecessarily spending coins, right?”
“I agree with Kyungsoo!” Yixing chirped, dimpled smile wide. Kris glared at the ground, and if he wanted to, he could have burned a hole right through the floor, Baekhyun was sure. It was obvious from Wufan’s current position near the door that he had fully agreed with Jongin. But then he gave a small nod, albeit grudgingly, and Luhan’s eyes brightened.
“Wonderful!” he cried, clapping his hands happily as Jongin groaned, outvoted. Jongin slumped into the chair beside Yixing and crossed his arms in front of his chest, pouting and glaring out the window immaturely. Kyungsoo leaned over to pat him consolingly, an amused expression spreading across his features, before he turned to Luhan.
“Do you have any ingredients? I’d like to cook.”
Baekhyun found himself roused from sleep, blearily blinking his eyes as he looked around the lighted room, quickly remembering where he was. He’d long since gotten used to waking up in strange places after setting out with the Hero and the rest of the gang. Sighing sleepily, he stretched, pushing himself up into a sitting position as his eyes landed on Chanyeol’s mat of hair sticking up from underneath the blankets.
That was strange. Normally Chanyeol was up before him.
Yawning, he grimaced, squinting his eyes at the window as he wondered what had woken him up from his beautiful, beautiful sleep. Getting up and wobbling on his feet for a second, he went over to the window, looking outside.
That was when he realized it was still night.
Baekhyun’s eyes widened when he saw the town, a few yards off from Luhan’s house, ablaze with fire. He cocked his head to the side, closing his eyes. He could hear distant screaming from the house.
He smiled to himself wistfully, leaving his eyes closed and just taking in the sounds of panic and distress. He hadn’t heard them in a long time; since he had started playing the part of the Hero’s companion, he hadn’t had any time to go play with any humans. Already, he could feel his heart start to beat at his chest; even the mere thought of wreaking havoc on humans was enough to get him excited nowadays.
But all good things must come to an end, Baekhyun thought sadly, lips turning down. He supposed that it was about time he woke Chanyeol up.
He rubbed at his neck tiredly, shuffling over to Chanyeol’s bed. Peering into the dark mass that was the slumbering Hero, he weighed his options carefully since this was his first time waking Chanyeol up before shrugging. He decided to just take his chances, not really caring what danger he was putting himself into.
Baekhyun shook Chanyeol’s shoulder lightly, unprepared for what happened next. Chanyeol’s eyes snapped open, and all of a sudden Baekhyun found himself pinned under the Hero. He couldn’t stop the quick inhale of surprise, pupils blown wide as he stared up into Chanyeol’s eyes. His heart beat fitfully against his chest, this time in fearful anticipation.
Baekhyun almost couldn’t stop himself from frying Chanyeol on the spot and, judging from the alarm crawling up Chanyeol’s features, he’d been close to being roasted himself.
“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol murmured, looking more awake by the second. He blinked a couple of times before he took a look at the situation -- Baekhyun’s wrists grasped in his hands, Baekhyun’s shocked expression -- before realizing what he had done. Leaping from the bed, Chanyeol started sputtering out apology after apology.
Baekhyun stared up at the ceiling, ignoring Chanyeol as he tried to get his heartbeat to slow down. The skin of his wrist that Chanyeol had grasped tightly was tingling and he shivered. When his heart was at an acceptable speed again, he pushed himself up from Chanyeol’s bed slowly, clambering to his feet and walking over to Chanyeol. He gave a small smile to the taller.
“I’m okay,” Baekhyun said. “You stopped before you did anything.”
“I should have warned you about that,” Chanyeol moaned, looking like a kicked puppy. Baekhyun imagined that Chanyeol’s ears would’ve been drooping at this point. He suppressed a smile at the mental image.“I don’t normally like to be woken up so next time, just throw something at me.”
“Duly noted,” Baekhyun said, saluting Chanyeol. The action brought the smile back onto Chanyeol’s face. Chanyeol looked around questioningly.
“Why did you wake me up?” the Hero asked, confusion marring his face.
Baekhyun clucked at himself for forgetting temporarily. “Oh yes, well, it seems like the town is burning...?” He pointed at the window unsurely, hoping this guise would work well enough.
Just then, Jongin came barging in, pillow already flying in the direction of Chanyeol’s bed as he roared for the Hero to get up. Since Chanyeol was standing at the foot of the bed, Baekhyun was able to witness the Hero getting planted head-on with the cushion. The pillow flopped against the Hero’s face.
Baekhyun couldn’t help the snort that escaped his mouth, slapping a hand over his lips to hopefully stop the peals of laughter from being heard.
“Oh,” Jongin said mildly, “You’re up already.” Luhan stood behind him in the doorway, looking amused. Beyond the doorway, it seemed like everyone else was ready, waiting next to the already open door. Baekhyun assumed Luhan had been the one to wake everyone else up.
Chanyeol grabbed at the pillow, fingers twitching. “Kai...” he growled out.
“Sorry buddy, no time for funsies,” Jongin said, already backing away from the enraged male as he chuckled nervously. “The town is under attack.”
Chanyeol glared, throwing down the pillow and stomping over to start putting his stuff on. “Don’t think I’ll forget about this, Kim Jongin.”
The gang skid to a halt in front of a burning bakery, in which five monsters crouched on top of the roof, their talons already dripping with blood. They weren’t human-like at all, with a beak for a mouth, beady obsidian eyes, and bald heads. Their tails lashed to and fro, the ends of them glinting sharply in the firelight. The biggest one in the middle screeched, and immediately the others followed, jumping off the roof towards the Hero and his friends.
Their leader headed towards Baekhyun, eyes sparkling with bloodlust as he sensed the enormous power he held. Baekhyun smirked and widened his stance, palms tingling. Bring it on. Maybe he’d get to have some fun on this little journey after all.
But suddenly he found himself pushed to the side, stumbling over his own feet and hitting the ground with a grunt. He looked up just in time to see Chanyeol blast fire to the monster’s left shoulder, burning it, causing it to crash to the stables nearby and frightening the horses out. It got up shakily, inspecting the damage Chanyeol had done to its body, before letting out another ear-piercing screech and charged towards them again.
Chanyeol drew out his sword, standing protectively in front of Baekhyun. “Stay behind me, Baekhyun,” he ordered.
Baekhyun’s eyes widened. “What? No! I want to help!”
“Just do as I say!” Chanyeol thundered without even looking back, slashing a deep cut on the abdomen to the monster that attacked them. Baekhyun’s face fell in disappointment, and Luhan piped up in his mind.
Just do as he says, Baekhyun. Wouldn’t want the Hero to get all suspicious on you now, would we?
He growled angrily in response, because who asked Luhan, but his friend was right. He looked around and saw that Jongin had climbed on top of a roof, shooting arrows three at a time, Kyungsoo sending huge mounds of earth towards the unsuspecting monsters, Yixing healing townspeople and Luhan right behind him. That was when he realized something.
They were only pushing the monsters out of the town, not killing them. They gave out attacks just enough to injure but never to kill -- never aimed anywhere vital. Just the sight of it confused him.
A burst of heat erupted behind him and he looked back to see Kris standing on a square of dimly glowing, translucent looking platform that floated in mid air, blowing huge tongues of fire to keep monsters away from a group of terrified villagers. Baekhyun watched in awe at his power as he jumped. Another platform appeared, catching him mid-fall. Kris looked down and caught his eye, narrowing them before he ran down towards him, the platforms creating a glowing path as he descended towards Baekhyun and Chanyeol.
He jumped off and landed beside Baekhyun, and Chanyeol glanced back, still brandishing his sword and breathing fire to monsters.
“Kris, get Baekhyun away from here!” he bellowed, and before Baekhyun even had the chance to say anything, the tallest of them had hauled him over his shoulders, zooming away on his floating platforms again.
"Put me down!" he cried, thumping Kris on the back. He wanted to have his share of fun, too. But Kris merely snorted, jumping down to the ground so suddenly Baekhyun's stomach lurched for a frightful moment.
"You stay here," he ordered as he dumped Baekhyun on a pile of hay hidden on an alleyway. "Don't go out making more trouble, monster. I'll be watching you."
"Why aren't you killing anything?" Baekhyun sputtered as he spat hay out of his mouth. Kris raised his eyebrows.
"I thought we've made it clear enough that we never kill."
And with that, he jumped up and zoomed away back to the battlefield. Baekhyun grumbled and crossed his arms, pouting childishly. A rustling noise to his right caught his attention and Luhan's blond head popped up from behind a stack of crates.
"This is so boring," he whined, making his way over to sit beside Baekhyun. "I'm not allowed to do anything!"
Baekhyun bit his lip, gazing longingly at the entrance to the alleyway in which screaming could still be heard, shadows of people running for their lives. Suddenly a thought came to his mind, and he turned to Luhan with a wide, sinister grin.
"I’m going to go have my fun,” Baekhyun said. He shushed Luhan before his friend could ask what the hell he was talking about. “You --” he pointed to Luhan, “ -- get to stay here, and give me a warning for when the Hero or his companions start looking for us.”
Peeved, Luhan huffed, collapsing back on the ground but made no move to follow him. Sparing his friend one last glance, Baekhyun walked out from the alley, easily making his way amidst the chaos going on. He found what he was looking for soon after.
One of the smaller monsters that had attacked the town looked up from where it was tortuously carving deep slashes to the arm of a man who was still writhing and crying out in pain under it, long curved nails painted with blood. The monster rounded on him after quickly killing the man, though thankfully it seemed to have more intelligence in its beady eyes than the rest of them did.
Perfect.
It gave a horrible chuckle, not sensing the danger it was in. “Poor little monster,” it cooed at him. Baekhyun held back a sigh, waiting patiently for it to finish. “You got lost from the group, didn’t you? Well, that’s too bad! I’ll be killing you now.”
In the blink of an eye, Baekhyun had the monster on the ground, head crushed beneath his boot. He sneered at it, the monster’s struggles not moving him at all. “Poor little monster,” he mimicked, squatting down. “I don’t know if you’re just brave, or stupid enough to try and kill the Demon Lord,” he breathed, his tone filled with pity.
The monster stilled. “Demon...Lord?”
Baekhyun clicked his tongue in annoyance. “No, I’m the tooth fairy,” he said, sneer becoming more pronounced.
“Anyways,” Baekhyun said, adopting a conversational tone, “I’m going to let go of you, and you will do as I say, got it?” The question was punctuated with him grinding his foot onto the monster’s head harshly. The monster let out a muffled groan of acceptance and he lifted his boot, waiting impatiently for it to get up.
“Now,” he said, walking up to the monster and bringing his hands up to dust it off. He ignored the flinch the monster gave at his close proximity. “You are going to call off all your little friends and leave this town.”
“Why?” the monster asked, voice scratching at Baekhyun’s ears, sounding angry again. “We could finally kill off the Hero and his friends!”
“Ah,” Baekhyun said, his face dark. “But that’s exactly why you’re going to leave. The Hero is mine to kill. If you come between me and the Hero, I will be forced to kill you.” He smirked, punctuating his statement with a burst of white-hot beam of light from his hand directed at the monster’s leg, to which it screamed harshly. “Not that I would mind. I’ve had to hold myself off from killing so the bloodlust has gotten a bit out of hand inside this body of mine.”
“Now go,” he ordered, voice laced with authority. The monster crouched low in a poor attempt at a bow, eyes scathing and full of an indescribable emotion. Then it turned around and loped into the edges of the forest, screeching all the way, calling for its companions. It soon disappeared amongst the trees, followed by the four others, all of whom kept sending curious but wary glances towards where Baekhyun was standing.
He huffed and smirked in satisfaction, before turning to find his way back to the alleyway again. Luhan looked up as he neared, and made space for him as Baekhyun threw himself to the haystack beside him.
“How did it go?” he asked, head tilted. Baekhyun shrugged.
“It wasn’t much, but at least I got to let out some steam,” he said, flashing Luhan a smug smile. “I told those monsters to back off.”
Luhan hugged his knees to his chest, contemplative look on his face. “But you didn’t kill them?” he asked again, and Baekhyun shook his head in response. “Hmm. I guess it was a smart move to make them leave. Killing would only raise suspicions.”
They waited in silence as the screams died out from around the town, wondering whether Chanyeol and his friends had forgotten about them being here. But then they heard rapid footsteps nearing the mouth of the alleyway, and Kris appeared with Chanyeol and the rest right behind him. When he caught sight of Baekhyun, Chanyeol’s whole face lit up, relief written all over his dirty features.
“Baekhyun!” he cried, not even giving the said man time to stand up properly before pulling him to a bone-crushing hug. “You’re alright!”
Unprepared for the hug, Baekhyun felt the breath get squeezed out of his lungs at Chanyeol’s tight embrace. His vision swam and he lost the feeling on his arms and legs, before Kyungsoo pointed out quietly, “Chanyeol, you’re gong to kill him.”
In a flash Chanyeol’s arms were gone and a lungful of much needed air entered his systems, though painfully so. He coughed a couple of times as he waved away Chanyeol’s wails of ‘I’m so sorry!’s, managing to smile.
Baekhyun’s ears perked at the sound of angry human voices though, his grin sliding off his face. Beside him, Luhan cocked his head to the side. The group gave the two monsters a few weird glances.
“Um...” Baekhyun started, seeing the looks and giving a nervous chuckle. “Did you happen to anger anyone?”
“Wow,” Luhan breathed, confusion and awe warring in his voice. “They sound really angry.”
“What?” Jongin frowned. “We didn’t do anything but force the monsters to flee.”
“Hm,” Baekhyun hummed, face scrunched up in concentration. “Well, they really do sound angry... There are too many voices are talking at once for me to hear why they’re so angry, but I can hear both men and women speaking.” He tossed a concerned glance at Chanyeol, who seemed to already have gotten an idea to why an angry mob was closing in on them.
“They’re probably angry for the regular reasons,” Chanyeol said, a saddened smile crossing his face. For some reason, Baekhyun really didn’t like seeing Chanyeol have that expression on his countenance and he rested his hand on Chanyeol’s arm, trying to comfort him a little.
“Che,” Jongin grunted angrily, glaring at the ground. “It still pisses me off whenever they do this.”
“We can’t help it,” Kris said levelly. “Besides, they aren’t in their right minds at the moment. You know how people are like when they’re distressed. They just need to vent those negative feelings on someone, and it just so happens to be us for now.”
“Still, it would be nice if we got thanked by the whole town for once,” Kyungsoo said wistfully.
“Can we go now?” Yixing interrupted, rubbing at his temples wearily. “I used up too much energy tonight healing people.”
“I suppose,” Chanyeol said. By now, even his sad smile had faded and the adrenaline that was there before to keep him up evaporated, leaving nothing but a drained, exhausted man in its place. Chanyeol turned to Luhan. “Is it okay if we go back to your place?”
By now, everyone could clearly hear the loud, angry voices approaching. Around them, fire from the houses flickered ominously. Luhan smiled, sympathy shining in his eyes. Baekhyun was shocked when he couldn’t tell if it was fake or not.
“Sure!” Luhan chirped, already leading the way out of the alley as he quickly popped his hood back on, hiding his distinguishing cat ears from sight.
Just as they rounded the corner, they found themselves surrounded by the angry crowd, and instinctively, the group bundled tightly together. Baekhyun once again found himself shoved behind Chanyeol and he stared blankly at Chanyeol’s broad back as the Hero raised himself to full height, thoughts hidden beneath a blank mask of indifference.
“Can I help you with something?” Chanyeol asked steadily, eyes flickering to each person in the angry crowd.
“Why did you not kill those monsters?” an angry human male demanded. The roar of the mob echoed his demand.
“Surely you’ve heard the stories by now,” Kris spoke up, eyes narrowed and posture shifting slightly in front of Chanyeol. Baekhyun frowned - as if the Hero needed any protecting! “The Hero has a no-killing policy.” The angry mutterings within the crowd grew. Finally, one man stepped out, fury written all over his face.
“Leave,” the man seethed, practically bristling with anger. “We do not need a Hero who can’t even rid the earth of those foul monsters!”
An expression of pain momentarily flashed through Chanyeol’s features. It was quickly covered by a hard mask of defiance, and before Baekhyun could stop himself, he reached out and gripped Chanyeol’s fingers. He shivered at how cold they were despite the broiling fire around them, and then promptly heated his palm just enough to toast Chanyeol up. When he looked up there was the tiniest of a smile tugging at the corner of Chanyeol’s lips.
For one reason or another, it made Baekhyun feel warm inside to see that smile again.
Chanyeol’s fingers tightened briefly on his, seemingly drawing strength from Baekhyun as he breathed slowly. He stepped in front of Kris then, dropping his hold from Baekhyun’s hand.
“Everyone deserves a second chance,” Chanyeol said, voice firm once more. “Whether they are monsters or humans. Besides, I believe that for me to properly be the Hero, I must cherish all life around me, not just humans.”
“Oh yeah?” the man hissed. “This --” he gestured with a jerk of his arm to the still-burning town, “-- is what happened because you ‘cherished’ those damnable creatures. And it’ll happen again. Monsters don’t just stop. They come back time and time again until there’s nothing and no one left.” By now, spittle was flying out of the man’s mouth in his fit of anger. Baekhyun glared at the man.
“I am very sorry for what happened to your town,” Chanyeol said, his voice thundering through the crowd as he stepped up to come directly in front of the man. For all his bravo though, Baekhyun could see the judgemental stares slowly getting to him again. “However, that is what I believe in, and I’ll make sure to stick to my beliefs till the very end. We will leave, if that’s what you wish. But I will not change my decision to not kill. Good evening.”
He turned to them then, face frighteningly blank. “Come on guys.”
Kyungsoo and Yixing nodded, eyes sad. Jongin spat at the ground bitterly, and Kris sighed, a comforting hand going up to clasp Chanyeol’s shoulder comfortingly, before also walking away with the rest of them. Chanyeol smiled reassuringly at Baekhyun’s concerned expression before slinging an arm around his shoulders, pulling him along.
The angry crowd parted to let them out, and the group soon found themselves trekking through the village. Some people stared at them from the sides of the street, soot covering their faces. Other people were too preoccupied with saving any valuables possible, daring enough to fare the flames as they ran in and out of their tiny houses.
Baekhyun was livid with the townspeople inwardly, making sure to glare his displeasure at the very few people who were brave enough to meet his gaze.
“These people piss me off,” Baekhyun muttered to himself, lost in his own thoughts. “After all Chanyeol and the others did to save them from the monsters, they decide to pin the blame onto Chanyeol and the others for the destruction of their town as thanks. We should’ve just let these damn people burn in hell.”
“You know we can’t do that,” Kyungsoo, who apparently had been listening in on his tirade, said, glancing back tiredly.
“All of us here know that we’re bound to get those kinds of responses from people when we decided to join Chanyeol,” Yixing said, shrugging. Baekhyun held back a snort -- had he been talking so loud that everyone could hear him?
Chanyeol chuckled softly, arm tightening across Baekhyun’s shoulders. “It’s okay, Baekhyun,” he said. “You win some, and you lose some. That’s what it means to have a belief.” Still, these words didn’t get rid of the sadness that crossed Chanyeol’s face.
“I just don’t understand,” Baekhyun said, making sure to keep his voice soft so only Chanyeol could hear him. “Why are you defending them? They hurt you. They didn’t even thank you for risking your life to protect them!”
A family of three came up to them, interrupting any reply Chanyeol could’ve given him. Baekhyun narrowed his eyes at them, subconsciously stepping in front of Chanyeol as if to shield him. The little blonde girl glanced up at Chanyeol, disregarding him, eyes wide and holding up a crumpled paper bag.
“This is for you,” she said, glancing back at her parents. “Mommy and daddy said you really helped the town today so we wanted you to have this.” She thrust the bag forward, ducking her head shyly.
Chanyeol stepped out from behind Baekhyun, squatting down to give the little girl a small grin. He reached up to pat her head softly, his other hand taking the bag. Baekhyun could see him getting sentimental. Chanyeol managed to croak out a, “Thank you.”
“Son,” the father said, addressing Chanyeol warmly. “This is the very least you deserve. Don’t take the others seriously, okay?”
“I’ll try not to,” Chanyeol said, smiling as he got back onto his feet.
“That,” Kris said, appearing beside Baekhyun as he watched the scene. “That is why we protect them.”
They went back to Luhan’s house silently, grabbing their stuff quickly and packing them haphazardly into their packs. Luhan stood in the middle of his tiny house, looking a little lost. They gathered in the front room and gave Luhan a small bow of appreciation before filing out the door.
“Wait!” a small voice shouted behind them, and they looked back to see Luhan stumbling in their wake, almost tripping over his long cloak. “Wait, please take me with you!”
“What!?” Jongin exclaimed, face incredulous and slightly alarmed. He looked scandalized at the prospect of Luhan accompanying them. “No! You stay here.”
“Please,” Luhan begged, turning from one of them to another, face beseeching. “Please take me with you. I can’t stay here alone -- I hate being here. Please, please, I won’t be a burden, I swear!”
There was silence in which Luhan stared at them with wide, pleading eyes, and Baekhyun could feel laughter slowly bubble out of his throat as Chanyeol’s face softened. Finally, Chanyeol said, “Alright.”
“What?!” Jongin rounded on Chanyeol this time, expression comically horrified. “Chanyeol, you can’t just --!”
Whatever he was about say was drowned by Luhan’s delighted squeal, and to everyone’s huge amusement, he latched himself to Jongin’s arm, who looked like he wanted nothing more than to rip those ginger cat ears from Luhan’s head.
Baekhyun himself stifled some laughter, hand going up over his mouth as if it would help keep the laughter in. As he watched Luhan and Jongin’s antics, a bubbly feeling came over him.
However, the fuzzy feeling was quickly chased away by a wave of dread as he thought about what that meant.
He was starting to like the group.
Baekhyun hoped for his own sake that what he was feeling was just from the spur of the moment.
Chanyeol had been silent as they trudged away from the town. Even with the advice the man back in the town had given him, he couldn’t stop thinking about what those villagers had said. He’d received that kind of treatment many times before, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.
Baekhyun and the rest kept giving him concerned looks the whole way. However, as they set up their now five tents on the outskirts of town, Chanyeol couldn’t be bothered to care. He was tired, sore and hurt, not to mention injured, and all he wanted was to just collapse and sleep it all away.
After being fully healed by Yixing, who was also looking a little worse for wear, he bid the others a quiet goodnight and retreated back into his tent. He let himself fall face down to his side of the tent, groaning helplessly. As he settled to a more comfortable position, the flaps of the tent opened once again, and Baekhyun stepped in, smiling.
“Hey,” Baekhyun greeted as he untied the laces of his boots at the entrance. “You okay?”
Chanyeol nodded, but he didn’t look very convincing. Baekhyun huffed, blowing at his bangs, and frowned as he crawled to the other side of the tent, kneeling opposite of Chanyeol with a mysterious smile on his face.
“I want to show you something,” he said excitedly, holding up a brightly glowing hand to give some light inside the dark tent. Chanyeol pushed a small grin onto his face, slightly interested despite how tired and weary he was. He sat up, raising an eyebrow expectantly at Baekhyun. “You know how Luhan has cat ears, right? Didn’t you ever wonder if I had other features that would distinguish me from humans?”
Chanyeol frowned, shaking his head. Baekhyun laughed and shifted again, a little nervously this time, before he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. There was a small rustle and Chanyeol yelped in surprise as a tail, long and looking much like a lion’s tail, appeared behind Baekhyun. Baekhyun opened his eyes and grinned, amused at Chanyeol’s shocked expression as he flicked his tail back and forth. He brought it forward to tickle Chanyeol’s side playfully.
“Stop that!” Chanyeol squeaked in an unmanly manner, slapping the tail away and shielding his side. He inspected the tail, squinting at it. “Wow, I didn’t know you had a tail.”
“I hide it most of the time,” Baekhyun shrugged, grin still intact. “That’s not all though.”
Chanyeol was just beginning to wonder what Baekhyun meant by that, when a louder rustle disturbed the silence of the tent and a shadow appeared at Baekhyun’s back. It grew larger until feathers suddenly burst out and this time, Chanyeol shrieked (to which he would later deny) and backed off as far as he could in the space provided. A rustle from the outside accompanied his scream.
“Chanyeol?” Wufan’s tired voice was heard, just outside their tent. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he replied quickly, eyes wide and heart beating just about a thousand miles per hour. “I’m fine. Go to sleep.”
“Alright,” Kris said dubiously. A rustle indicated that Kris had gone back into his own tent.
A pair of wings stretched and flexed in the tiny space of the tent, iridescent russet feathers glimmering. Chanyeol stared in awe, unable to tear his gaze away as the wings moved, gently folding neatly into Baekhyun’s back.
“Well?” Baekhyun asked timidly when Chanyeol remained silent, twisting his fingers in his lap. “What do you think?”
“Baekhyun, I --” he croaked out, the words stuck in his throat as he crawled forwards. “God, they’re beautiful, Baekhyun.”
Baekhyun flushed red at the tips of his ears, but Chanyeol didn’t notice. He was too busy admiring the way the muscles worked under all the layers of coppery feathers as the wings quivered. They had gentle slopes of joints and soft, downy feathers at the place where the wings were joined to his back. His clothes had ripped from where the wings burst out and, from what he could see, it was a smooth transition from skin to feathers. Chanyeol sighed dreamily.
“Can I touch it?” His hand was already in the air, waiting for the confirmation.
Baekhyun’s head snapped up, clearly not expecting the question. But after a slight hesitation he nodded, turning around to fully expose his back to Chanyeol.
The feathers were unbelievably soft to the touch, and Chanyeol ran his fingers from tip to tip, delight bubbling in his chest. He traced each feather softly, and slipped his hand under the longer flight feathers at the base to skim at the coarse skin underneath. Baekhyun shuddered at his touch, goosebumps breaking across his skin. Chanyeol’s attention, though, was drawn to the joint between Baekhyun’s wings and back.
“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun called, craning his head to look at what he was doing to no avail. “Chanyeol, what are you -- ahh...”
Chanyeol’s hands froze at the quiet moan that escaped Baekhyun’s lips. His hand stopped exactly where wing met skin. Belatedly, Baekhyun realized what happened and clapped his hands to his mouth, mortified.
"Sorry!" he said helplessly, voice muffled by his hands. "It's just -- I'm a little...sensitive there."
Chanyeol frowned, before slowly, realization dawned on him. He jerked his hand back as though burned, turning red himself. He stuttered apologies to Baekhyun who had turned back around, not even looking at him. Chanyeol flopped down, immediately burying his burning face into his pillows.
He wished a hole would open up on the ground and swallow him whole when he heard Baekhyun chuckle quietly. The rustling stopped, and when he chanced a glance behind him, Baekhyun had also settled to his blankets, his tail and wings nowhere in sight.
Baekhyun turned his head to smile reassuringly at Chanyeol, and he smiled back. But then the memory of the quiet sound Baekhyun made at the back of his throat when Chanyeol had stroked that particular part in his wings came rushing back to him. Chanyeol turned his back to Baekhyun again, quickly sputtering out a 'goodnight!'
He pretended to be asleep when Baekhyun chuckled once more and said quietly, "I'm glad you cheered up. Goodnight, Chanyeol."