Often times, an uninvited guest, whether it be a spider or fly, wanders into Kyungsoo's room and for the most part, he is left mildly irritated by their presence, for they were bacteria-laden nuisances at best. Chanyeol, as it were, was neither a spider nor a fly, and from Kyungsoo could see in the murky darkness, neither was he a human.

"Chanyeol?" Kyungsoo said, rubbing his eyes in the hopes that it was just a very unfortunate dream. Though dazed, he could make out the bony-limbed boy, who was grinning from ear to ear, baring his unusually white sharp teeth.

When there was no answer, Kyungsoo squinted, adjusting his blurry vision to better look at the boy. However, instead of Chanyeol's figure, the silhouette of a cat was in its place, the moonlight bouncing off its metallic-coloured coat. In the shadows of the animal's face, its pale grey eyes - a similar shade to its fur - quietly stared back at Kyungsoo. Fully awake, the boy abruptly sat upright, mouth agape in shock.

"Jesus Christ I'm going insane," Kyungsoo muttered, massaging his temples. Beside him, the cat tilted its head inquisitively, mewing in response. "You can just go away."

Blank-faced, the cat leapt off the window sill and onto a nearby branch before disappearing into the dense woods, as Kyungsoo had requested. Having enough of whatever was afflicting him, he shut the window and closed the curtains, silently praying for the encounter to have simply been a vivid dream, or rather, nightmare.

By the time Saturday morning came, Kyungsoo reluctantly woke up in a disgruntled state, prominent dark circles lining his eyes like purplish bruises. In the centre of his room was a stack of empty suitcases, ones he hadn't seen for a little under five years. Kyungsoo didn't need to be told of their purpose.

Two hours and a cup of black coffee later, not a trace of Kyungsoo's life remained in the room, having all been folded, pressed and compartmentalised into two hefty leather suitcases.  After saying his farewells to the empty house, Kyungsoo carried his luggage to the Sallowthorn dorms, a stack of paperwork tucked under his arm. It had been left on the dining table beside a small note of an apology, hastily written and hardly an uncommon sight.

As he lugged the suitcases up the hill leading to Morborough Court, the occasional car would edge down the rugged country road, leaving Kyungsoo to sidle up against the adjacent lichen-lined wall, the same one where he had re-encountered the mysterious cat. In a way, Kyungsoo was disappointed that it hadn't appeared again.

He eventually arrived at Sallowthorn dorms, the emblem of the house proudly etched on the entrance. Very little had changed from when Kyungsoo boarded in year seven, although the crawling ivy had crept further across the worn bricks, which was partly the fault of the housemaster's leniency with the maintenance.

At approximately midday, the paperwork was completed and Kyungsoo had settled into his second-floor dorm room, located directly in the face of the neighbouring woodland. The view was no different from his old bedroom, a fact that provided some comfort to the admittedly anxious boy.  There were quite a few memories in that building, most of which Kyungsoo had done well to block out.

While he set about unpacking his suitcases, a knock on the door sounded, followed by a muffled voice, "Kyungsoo, it's Junmyeon. Are you coming to the main hall for lunch?"

"Yeah I'll be there. Go on without me," Kyungsoo replied, seated on his bed with an opened box of picture frames on his lap. Despite being mildly irked by the senior prefect's overwhelming niceness, Kyungsoo appreciated his consideration at times, something which most other prefects, including himself, were wanting of. Sometimes, he regretted being so cold to Junmyeon, but for the most part, not really.

When Junmyeon's footsteps disappeared down the corridor, Kyungsoo turned his attention to the pile of photos, each one greatly varying from the other. All of his teenage years were compiled in one box: rowing competitions, holidays to Cornwall, his first day of secondary school, yet nothing of his life prior to Morborough Court could be seen. Kyungsoo didn't particularly care whether those photos were with his father in Canada or lying in a ditch somewhere.

Through the window, a breeze sauntered in, filling the relatively small space with the scent of fern, pinewood and…a cat. A cat that had grown far too confident for Kyungsoo's liking. Like a bullet in a spring-loaded gun, it ejected itself off the window stool it had sat on, landing with a perfect aim on the boy's lap. It snuggled itself on Kyungsoo's trousers, tail brushing playfully against his shirt. Unable to contain himself, he lifted the affable animal up to his chest, tickling the back of its ear.

"If I could, I would file a restraining order against you. You've been stalking me an awful lot lately," Kyungsoo said in an odd mix of cooing and berating. As if the cat had understood him, it looked up at the boy despondently, ears meekly downturned. "…Okay, I wouldn’t. "

Ignoring the low rumble of his stomach, he happily petted the cat, pleased that, for once in his life, an animal was actually fond of him. "I wonder what your name is…" Kyungsoo mumbled, letting the cat stretch and roll over his legs. A wry smile appeared on his lips as he jokingly asked, "Heh, is it Chanyeol?"

At his words, the cat stayed still, staring back at him with the same expression from the night before. Caught in a passing beam of light, its pale grey eyes seemed to change in shape, taking on a strangely humanlike appearance. After the brief moment of silence, the cat leapt off Kyungsoo and bounded out of the window, its bell ringing melodiously as it went.

Confused, Kyungsoo clambered after it, peering out the window at the courtyard beneath. There were no traces of silver, no bells to be heard, but only a light breeze, as carefree as the cat that went along with it.

Not wanting to linger on being rejected a third time, Kyungsoo left his room for the dining hall, taking care to brush the cat's fur off his polo shirt. He had, after all, violated the no pets rule.

Sprawled out over the various fields, a few hundred boys wore their casual wear as they lounged on the daisy-spattered grass, either picnicking or playing games. Having been a day pupil, Kyungsoo rarely ever saw such a sight, and though he shuddered at the thought of the grass stains, it was a pleasant change of scenery as he traipsed across the playing field, listless from the rising temperatures.

"You moved back into the dorms?" Jongdae asked, pointing a gravied fork at Kyungsoo. "Are you sure about this? Not to be a prick, but you haven't exactly had the best experience there."

"I'm not twelve anymore. I can hold my own," Kyungsoo said dismissively, swatting his friend's hand away from his face. Around them, clusters of students sat at the neighbouring tables, their conversations all but low murmurs as they ate their lunch.

Unconvinced, Jongdae pressed on, "Mate you literally had a mental breakdown. Unless you know some hyper-stressed kids, twelve-year-olds don't usually have that."

Despite his neutral tone, Jongdae's eyebrows were knitted anxiously. Five years together left both boys with a relatively good grasp of each other's habits, and from Kyungsoo's observations of Jongdae, he found that his friend's eyebrows expressed a whole lot more than his words ever could.

"And here I thought you wouldn't bring this up again." Running his fingers through his hair in agitation, Kyungsoo let his composure slip for a moment as he slumped in the wooden chair, lips pulled into a frown. Out of the many things he despised in the world, being pitied undoubtedly topped the list. "Quit your worrying, it's bloody annoying."

"Kyungsoo if I didn't worry, no one else would," Jongdae said with a teasing grin. Finding no lie in his statement, Kyungsoo shrugged in agreement. "By the way, that Chanyeol guy you were talking about is absolutely nuts."

Interest piqued, Kyungsoo sat up with a fading frown. "Everyone at the dorm seems to really like him. I don't actually know how to describe it. He's just one of those people, y'know?"

"When you say 'nuts'-"

"-I mean, off his rocker, loopy, insane. Whatever you want to call it," Jongdae interjected, smiling as if he was recalling the events. "You were right about him believing in magic, but the thing is, he actually wants to be a magician. Last night, he pulled out a ing sword from his sleeve. A sword, Kyungsoo. Sword . Like the ones that can decapitate you." To emphasise his point, he waved his butter knife, slathering the air with chunks of pork and bits of broccoli florets.

"Did you report it to the housemaster?" Kyungsoo asked, neither amused by Jongdae's behaviour nor his description of Chanyeol.

"Pfft, Professor Zhang was the first to applaud him," Jongdae snorted, quickly pulling away his knife from Kyungsoo, who had lunged over the table in an attempt to grab the utensil. "Man, the only thing Chanyeol has to fear is you and your stuck-up self. He's hit it off with Baekhyun, Junwoo and all those other loudmouths."

Impatiently tapping the table, Kyungsoo set his mouth into a hard line, none too pleased about the new development. While Jongdae continued to polish his plate clean, Kyungsoo's had been largely left abandoned, his hunger having been filled by a tightening knot in his stomach. After a moment's deliberation, he clicked his tongue and stood up, the chair abruptly screeching across the floor.

"I'll see you later. I need to unpack," Kyungsoo muttered, before striding out of the hall with white-knuckled fists. He had expected Chanyeol to be the sociable type, but not the kind to hang out with the likes of Baekhyun's crowd. As petty as it was, he hated the very idea of it.

"M'kay, I'll come round and help!" Jongdae called out, mouth full of pudding, "…Or not, depends on how I'm feeling."

---

Wanting to avoid the glaring sun, Kyungsoo rerouted himself through the west wing, finding safety in the tepid shadows of the roofed walkway. As he walked down the empty arcade, unsure of where he intended to go after having chosen against returning to the dorm, an arm was slung around his shoulder followed by an earthy smell.

"So a little bird told me that you're boarding again," said the owner of the arm, Baekhyun, the sight of whom only served to further sour Kyungsoo's mood.

Wrinkling his nose at the dirt-stained rugby shirt on Baekhyun's back, Kyungsoo shoved him away. "What little bird?" he asked, wiping the flecks of mud off his clothes.

"The new kid, Chanyeol," Baekhyun answered, leaning nonchalantly against a brick column. "How'd you become friends with someone like him? He's even louder than me ."

"I don't know where you got the idea that Chanyeol and I are friends from," Kyungsoo said, raising an eyebrow dubiously. He had fallen for Baekhyun's pranks many times before, enough to have become sceptical of everything the boy told him. "I think you've been hit on the head by one too many rugby balls. Can't be helped, I suppose, seeing as you're god awful at every sport you do."

"I wanted to have a civilised conversation, the are you insulting me for?" Baekhyun huffed, folding his arms in annoyance. "Anyway, Chanyeol said that he was going to visit you, which was pretty much how I found out that you moved back into the dorms. You can't tell me that you two aren't close in some way."

Once Kyungsoo had managed to process Baekhyun's words, a look of utter bewilderment on his face, his eyes suddenly widened at the revelation. Without saying anything more, he hurried past Baekhyun, who in turn wore a similarly confused expression at Kyungsoo's unceremonious departure.

"Rude. Not even a goodbye," Baekhyun said with a sneer, though Kyungsoo was already at the other end of the walkway. "And watch your back! Junwoo's pissed off with you again."

Spinning around, Kyungsoo returned his attention to the boy, glaring defensively, "Is that a threat?"

"It's a warning, you . Calm yourself," Baekhyun said, giving him a twisted smile.

With that, the two boys went about their separate ways, backs quickly turning on each other as if they hadn't even talked.

Five minutes later, Kyungsoo burst into the entrance hall of the Sallowthorn dorms, surprising Junmyeon, who was sat in the adjacent common area. On his lap and stacked on the end table beside his chair were several books, the former of which seemed to engulf Junmyeon's  body. Accompanied with a knitted shawl, he looked more like a grandmother than a teenage boy.

"Well aren't you lively today?" Junmyeon remarked, softly closing the book in his hands. It didn't help his case that he acted more like a housemaster than the housemaster himself. "Sorry I didn't join you for lunch, Minseok needed help with an errand."

"Is Chanyeol here? Did you see him?" Kyungsoo asked breathlessly, uninterested in whatever Junmyeon was saying.

Shrugging off the indifference as if it was expected, Junmyeon replied, "I don't know who that is, but I think I heard someone walking in earli-"

Before he could finish, Kyungsoo was already halfway up the stairs, practically leaping up the steps in his haste, though he still took care in keeping his movements controlled and respectful of the Student Code of Conduct. It dawned on Kyungsoo that he hadn't even told Chanyeol he was boarding, their last conversation having been outside Hawthorn dorms. He didn't count his lucid dream from the night before, deeming it as just that: a dream.

Wary that he had simply been duped by Baekhyun again, Kyungsoo entered his dorm room uneasily and half-expected a custard pie to be thrown at his face. However, there was neither a creamy dessert nor any sign of Chanyeol, but only the contents of his suitcases strewn about on the carpeted floor, as he had left them.

There was, on the other hand, the same silver cat napping on his bed, making a home for itself amongst the linen sheets it had curled up in. Outside the window, the tell-tale signs of a thunderstorm appeared in the form of grey, brooding clouds, ones that were slowly rolling over the otherwise empty expanse of blue sky.

A muted darkness crept over Kyungsoo's room as he approached the slumbering cat. "Chanyeol?" he asked, before quickly laughing off the idea altogether. Choosing not to delve into such a nonsensical notion that a human could possibly a cat, and vice versa, Kyungsoo resumed unpacking and left the animal to enjoy its afternoon nap.

Far in the distance, the low rumble of thunder resonated in the humid air, and though it was relatively quiet, it was enough to drown out the noise of the boys on the field. While Kyungsoo sifted through his luggage in silence, a soft meow caught his attention.

"Hello there Sleeping Beauty," Kyungsoo said with a warm smile, motioning the cat to come closer. "You really can't stay here, I'm afraid. Pets aren't allowed in the dorms."

When the cat prodded its head against his hand, its ticked fur running against his skin, Kyungsoo sighed in resignation, "But I suppose you aren't my pet."

As the rain clouds gradually consumed the sky, Kyungsoo went about decorating his room while the cat weaved around his legs, sticking close to its pseudo-owner. By the time the gentle breeze had turned into a howling wind, his desk had been meticulously arranged, the shelves lined with his numerous trophies, polished and in height order, and his wardrobe categorised by colour.

Accompanying his padded footsteps and conversations with the cat was the pitter-patter of raindrops, which eventually grew louder and louder until it was a thunderous torrential downpour. No longer able to hear his own thoughts, Kyungsoo shut the window and swooped the cat into his arms, its back as he plopped down on his bed, exhausted from what should've been a two-man job. Jongdae never did show up in the end.

"That idiot's so damn forgetful," Kyungsoo said to no one in particular, leaning his head against the wall. "No that's giving him too much credit. He's just lazy."

On his lap, the cat was dozing off again, its head bobbing against Kyungsoo's stomach. "What's a good name for a cat?" he asked himself, tapping his chin in thought. "Ethel. No. Margaret. Wait, are you even a girl…huh, nope. Okay, Algernon. No, no. Manfred ."

From the cat's throat emerged a deep grumble, one that Kyungsoo assumed was of pure disgust, "I take it that you don't want to be called Manfred. Ethel it is then."

While the brunt of the storm drew closer to the school, the rooftops being mercilessly battered under its force, Kyungsoo picked up his copy of the 'The Tempest' and let Shakespeare's words wash over him, forgoing the analysis of the text his English teacher had set for homework. Much like the cat, he too had grown tired, both from boredom and the lulling sound of distant thunder.

Suddenly, a crackle of lightning split through the white noise, causing the cat to jump in surprise. As Kyungsoo regained his vision after the blinding flash of light, he felt the weight of the cat quadruple, as if it had rapidly grown in size. Before he could figure out what was going on, two human arms wrapped themselves around his neck, holding on tightly for dear life.

In the space where there was nothing, a certain boy with discoloured hair filled the gaps.

"Ahhh I hate thunder," Chanyeol groaned, nuzzling his nose into Kyungsoo's hair. "Oh hey, I morphed."

Speechless, Kyungsoo blinked in response, unsure of what to make of the situation. "You…you're a cat? The cat?" he asked, trying, and failing, to untangle Chanyeol from himself. While he floundered beneath the strange boy, a puckish grin played on Chanyeol's lips, leaving Kyungsoo's stomach to turn with worry.

From Chanyeol's tailbone, a silver-furred tail emerged and coiled around himself, while at the same time, the tufts of grey patches on his head twitched and grew, forming pink-fleshed cat ears. For good measure, Chanyeol gave him a sharp-toothed grin, revealing his extraordinarily pointed pairs of canines.

"Yep! Good on you for figuring it out," Chanyeol said cheerily, his face inches away from Kyungsoo's, which seemed to be draining of all its blood. "It's been fun playing with y-- oh dear, you fainted."

Chanyeol carefully climbed off Kyungsoo's lap and tucked the unconscious body into bed. After making sure he was still in fact breathing and hadn't mysteriously died, Chanyeol placed a parting gift on Kyungsoo's bedside table, before proceeding to open the window, letting in a strong gust of wind.

Where his figure had been, a biting cold filled the emptiness.

---

Tick        

The wall clock struck midnight, its chimes ringing in Kyungsoo's dorm room. At the foot of his bed, the waning moon's light spilled through the adjacent window, followed with nothing more than the crisp scent of a cool post-thunderstorm air.

As Kyungsoo slowly opened his eyes, dazed and vaguely able to recall his name, a glimmer of gold caught his attention. It was an envelope: on its face, 'Kyungsoo Do' was written in cursive atop the golden paper, the seams of which were embossed with the emblems of Morborough Court School and its houses.

After making quick work of opening it, Kyungsoo held and examined the invitation card within. Below his name, the words 'Summer Solstice Carnival' and 'Sage's Wood' were written, as well as - quite ominously - 'Congratulations'.

Having no clue as to what it meant, Kyungsoo dismissively set the invitation aside and climbed off his bed, yawning as he trudged over to the bathroom. While he scratched his head sleepily, strands of silver hair intertwined with his own fell to the floor, shining like fine strips of metal. Bewildered, Kyungsoo squinted at them with weary eyes, trying to make sense of their appearance.

Something had happened, yet he couldn't quite remember. There was definitely a cat involved, Kyungsoo was sure of that.

"Evening!"

Practically jumping out of his skin, Kyungsoo swerved around to face the window. Framed by the cotton curtains, Chanyeol sat on the window stool, swinging his legs playfully. Poking from his otherwise neatly coiffed hair was a pair of cat ears, ones that flooded Kyungsoo's head with the momentarily forgotten memories of the afternoon.

"Chanyeol, hurry up!" From behind Chanyeol, an unfamiliar voice whined, "All of Jongin's grandmother's Viennese whirls are going to run out at this rate. I. Want. The. Whirls."

Shaking his head disapprovingly, Chanyeol shifted his attention to the owner of the voice, leaning backwards out of the window, "All you'll be getting is type two diabetes if you don't fix your sweet tooth, Sehun. Now shh , I'm talking."

"How incredibly rude of you."

"I'm your older brother, therefore, I'm automatically more important than you, therefore, you have to do what I say," Chanyeol said with a triumphant smile, before turning back to Kyungsoo, whose mouth was partially open, ready to speak but lacking any comprehensible thoughts to be voiced. "Please don't faint again."

Drawing closer to the window, Kyungsoo grabbed the curtains and swiftly pulled them shut, blocking out Chanyeol's face from his view. Through the fabric, the silhouette of the boy's torso remained still, a tail swinging vigorously with indignation behind it, followed by a fit of hysterical laughter from who Kyungsoo assumed to be Sehun.

Still gripping onto the curtains to prevent Chanyeol from opening them, Kyungsoo sighed deeply as he tried to recompose himself. "If I see you one more time, I probably will," he said. At that, Chanyeol's tail relaxed and dropped to his side. "I'm guessing that you gave me that invite, and that you're going to the Summer Solstice Carnival - whatever the hell that is."

"Well it wasn't from me, but the organiser of the event. I'm just the delivery boy," said Chanyeol, pressing his nose against the thin material. Without missing a beat, Kyungsoo pushed it back with the palm of his hand, resulting in a small yelp of surprise.

"Who's the organiser?" Kyungsoo asked, letting go the curtains out of fear of crumpling the fabric.

"You'll know if you come with me," Chanyeol replied, glimpses of his face appearing in the gaps to reveal a smug grin. "Also, declining a direct invite is considered an insult. You wouldn't want to disrespect the organiser, am I right?"

With his eye twitching in irritation, Kyungsoo glowered, knowing full well that Chanyeol had hit all the right buttons. "Will everything be explained if I go?"

"Mm-hmm. Everything," Chanyeol hummed, unfazed by the murderous glare aimed at him. As he dramatically opened the curtains with a flourish, the sight of unknown objects whizzing across the night sky caught Kyungsoo's eye. They certainly weren't shooting stars, but they seemed to leave a trail of glistening dust behind.

"…Fine," he finally answered, in awe at the hundreds of glowing streaks painting the velvety darkness. "What is that?"

"They're on their way to the Carnival," Sehun said nonchalantly. Squeezing himself into the gap between Chanyeol and the window jamb, Kyungsoo peered out to look at the boy. Like his brother, Sehun had a cat's tail and ears, albeit black instead of silver and the same shade as his hair colour. However, unlike his brother, he looked perpetually annoyed rather than happy.

There was also the matter that Sehun was perched on a broomstick, one that was floating in mid-air, free of any strings or supports.

In some twisted way, it was starting to make sense for Kyungsoo.

"Are you witche-"

"No. We're magicians in training. Don't you dare say witches or warlocks or wizards or any other 'w' word," Sehun quickly stopped him, ascending on the broomstick to meet Kyungsoo at eye-level. "And no, the Carnival is not a coven and you aren't going to be made a blood sacrifice. Just thought I'd clarify."

"The Carnival is a gathering of magicians, not witches," Chanyeol added, swerving his body around to sit on the outer ledge of the window, his back to Kyungsoo's room. "We don't take kindly to being mistaken for those hags."

"But you're both cats," Kyungsoo said drily, narrowing his eyes at the two brothers. "You can't possibly be a cat and a magician. Pick one to confuse me with."

"We don't have time for this," Sehun said impatiently, bouncing on his broomstick like a child mid-tantrum, "My whirrrls."

Pursing his lips, Chanyeol scolded him, "Pack it in Sehun. God you're an embarrassment."

With a flick of his wrist, an unoccupied broomstick rocketed towards Chanyeol, coming to a halt by his knees, where it bobbed in anticipation for its owner. After hopping on, Chanyeol gestured Kyungsoo to join him, the latter of whom raised an eyebrow apprehensively.

"I better be alive by this time tomorrow," Kyungsoo said, carefully seating himself behind Chanyeol.

In a matter of seconds, Kyungsoo found himself soaring through the sky, merging with the never-ending legion of magicians. Behind him, lustrous clouds of particles diffused from the bristles of the brush, spreading out into the chilly air. As much as Kyungsoo liked to think that everything had a rational explanation, he couldn't find one for the cat-boys, the magicians nor the sparkling flying broomsticks, which frightened him more than anything else.

Sage's Wood, as Kyungsoo soon realised, referred to the woodland bordering the school. In the centre of the dense cluster of trees, where all the magicians seemed to collect, a brightly lit clearing could be seen, from which the sound of lively folk music and the chatter of the Carnival guests arose.

"The organiser's been waiting for this day," Chanyeol said, his voice barely audible in the whistling wind as they dove down towards their destination.

"Who is it? You can tell me now, we're practically already at the Carnival," Kyungsoo stated, a rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins as their descent quickened.

Humming in thought with his hair wildly tousled by their rapid flight, Chanyeol answered, "If I recall correctly, she said that the last time you saw her was around five or so years ago."

Images of guelder roses and a comforting smile framed by sleek black hair came to Kyungsoo's mind. A woman with an interest in botany. A woman whose husband left her for another. A woman who abandoned her son.