"My mother?" Kyungsoo asked, burying his nose into Chanyeol's back as the wind lashed his face. Rather than a steady downward climb, the broomstick seemed to be plunging towards the ground at a terrifying speed. "Hey, slow down. You're going too fast!"

"Sorry what?!" shouted Chanyeol, the roaring air current drowning out his voice.

On the wide clearing, hundreds of black-caped magicians landed, gracefully gliding across the grass before coming to a halt in front of the various colourful stalls, where they sprung off their broomsticks and joined the festivities.

Chanyeol, having missed the timing completely, skidded across the turf with Kyungsoo latched onto his back, sending the pair tumbling over each other and into the nearby brush. In the distance, the sound of Sehun's cackling ringed, followed not long after by sarcastic cheers from passing magicians.

After angrily brushing off the leaves and debris tacked onto his shirt, Kyungsoo snapped his head towards Chanyeol, red-faced from embarrassment. "You ," he growled, grabbing Chanyeol by the collar.

"I will compensate any injuries with either food or money," Chanyeol quickly said, hands up in surrender. "Preferably food because I'm pretty hungry myself."

"No, I want you to take me to my mum as quickly as you can so I can leave as quickly as I can," Kyungsoo said, letting go of Chanyeol's shirt before rising to his feet, under which the matted heath had transformed into a trampled bed of mauve foxgloves. Wide-eyed, Kyungsoo spun around to survey the rest of his surroundings.

Where the dense woodland had bordered the clearing, a meadow had taken its place, one which rolled over the hills in every direction. The Carnival had expanded beyond its original borders, with both the guests and stalls having multiplied drastically.

Interspersed with the small spread of festival stalls, canvas marquees stood where none had been before, their interiors glowing a warm yellow to match the equally warm environment.

"What on Earth-" muttered Kyungsoo, stepping out of the way of a game of tag between a group of children.

"You wanted to find your mother? Let's go find your mother," Chanyeol said with a beaming smile, wrapping a hand around Kyungsoo's wrist before dragging his companion through the swathes of people.

'People' in the loosest sense of the word. Some were simply beasts in black capes, whilst others looked perfectly human, save for the odd pair of animal ears.

"Hold on, what the hell just happened?" asked Kyungsoo, tearing himself away from Chanyeol's grip out of pride, which turned out to be a mistake. In a matter of seconds, Kyungsoo was swept backwards by the crowd, who almost blindly trampled him in their excitement.

Laughing at Kyungsoo's expense, Chanyeol reached over and pulled the struggling boy back towards him. "You may be a billion times stronger than me, but that won't stop you from getting lost," he said, chuckling as Kyungsoo reluctantly let himself be led.

As Chanyeol navigated Kyungsoo through the area to an unknown destination, the buzz of the Carnival grew louder and with thrice the level of energy. Seated around the richly laden buffet tables in the marquees, families of magicians merrily ate their dinners, whilst those that crowded the food stands praised the various wild birds on display or the lavish array of desserts.

Had it not been night time, Kyungsoo would've thought it was another summer garden event his aunt liked to coax him into attending. He could never refuse in the end, despite the awful memories of tipped platters and cucumber sandwiches in his hair.

Eventually, Chanyeol stopped behind a relatively large stall, away from the hustle and bustle.

"Right, I've lost Sehun and my mum might kill me, but that's not important at the moment," he declared, seemingly indifferent to whatever plight his brother could have been in. "Because, call me a psychic, I think you're in dire need of an explanation."

"Oh how did I give it away? I mean, it's not like I asked for an explanation before you whisked me away to magicland," said Kyungsoo, punctuating his discontent with an eye roll.

"Still salty about that eh?"

Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes at Chanyeol, who shrugged his shoulders innocently, "…Anyways, I'm all ears for your grand explanation."

"First thing's first, the place you're standing on is called Morford Hill and over there-" said Chanyeol, dramatically gesturing at the ground beneath him, before pointing at a building beyond the Carnival's reaches, "-is a school, Sagewood Academy."

Kyungsoo stood on his tiptoes to look over the vast sea of tent tops. "That looks exactly like Morborough Court."

"Uh-huh, now turn around and don't blink," ordered Chanyeol, waving a hand over Kyungsoo's eyes once the boy did as he was told.

In place of the expansive meadow, the woodland returned and the Carnival jarringly shrunk back into the clearing's confines. Through the gaps between the trees, Kyungsoo could make out the dorms of Morborough Court not too far in the distance, their roof spires glinting in the moonlight.

Unable to keep his eyes open any longer, Kyungsoo blinked and the school, along with what he had assumed to be Sage's Wood, was no more.

"During the solstices, the boundaries between your world and my world get a bit fuzzy," Chanyeol continued, fishing out a lollipop from the depths of his coat pockets as he spoke. Kyungsoo shuddered at the thought of how long it had been there. "They're each other's counterparts. A lot may look different, but you'll always find similarities."

"What do you mean by 'your world and my world'?"

"My world is called the Voyance, where magic breathes through its residents. If you're a human born in the Voyance, then you're automatically a magician. That process is a tad bit different for hybrids like me," responded Chanyeol as he toiled over opening the lollipop wrapper. "Your world is the Providence, where the magicless go about their pitiful days being, well, magicless."

"I feel like I should be offended by that, but I'm not sure," Kyungsoo remarked, seizing the sweet from Chanyeol to then tear the plastic with ease. "So why were there magicians in the Providence?"

"Because why not? Everyone's free to live wherever the hell they want," Chanyeol said, graciously retrieving his lollipop. "You won't be finding any magicless here though; they don't have the ability to cross between worlds."

"But I'm here."

"Hmmm I wonder why?" hummed Chanyeol, followed by a slick pop .

"Oh. Oh."

"The offspring of magicians are, as you guessed it, magicians by default as well. All you need is the genes and boom! Magic fun times," Chanyeol said enthusiastically, bouncing on the spot like a hyper puppy. He was very much a dog-like cat, as Kyungsoo found. "Congratulations! Your mother, a magician, reproduced you, a magician!"

"Please don't put my mother and reproduction in the same sentence," said Kyungsoo drily, nose wrinkled in disgust. "So I've been a magician for my entire life and I'm only hearing about this now from a stranger instead of the woman who raised me."

Rather than the overjoyed reaction Chanyeol had at least expected, there was only a subtle change in Kyungsoo's usually neutral expression. For a while, Kyungsoo stood there silently, mulling over Chanyeol's news.

"That's...you do tend to dampen the mood, don't you?" Chanyeol tried to joke around, but the laughter soon died in his throat as Kyungsoo merely stared at him, neither a glare nor a look of disapproval. With furrowed eyebrows, Chanyeol dropped his happy-go-lucky attitude for a moment of earnestness. "Are you upset?"

His posture had become rigid, stifled by the sudden awkwardness.

"No Chanyeol, not upset," Kyungsoo finally answered with a longdrawn sigh, shoulders shuddering slightly. His mood had darkened, enough to wash away Chanyeol's smile completely. "Let's just go."

---

There had only ever been two moments in Kyungsoo's life when he was truly unsure of himself. One was at the age of twelve when he held a pair of rowing oars for the first time, handed to him by Professor Zhang in an attempt to connect with the isolated boy.

Second was in the same year, when Jongdae and Baekhyun offered to sit with him in the dining hall, fresh-faced and yet to be swayed by cliques and social hierarchies.

Then came a third, when an overly positive cat magician told Kyungsoo he'd have to see his mother again.

Through a grove where the Carnival's boundaries tapered and across a shallow stream, Chanyeol led Kyungsoo to Sagewood Academy, its classrooms still fully lit as if the school day had never ended. In all aspects, the school seemed to be an exact replica of Morborough Court, down to the type and arrangement of flowers growing outside the entrance.

"They offer evening classes here," said Chanyeol, giving a courteous nod to the receptionist as the pair strolled into the main building. "It's for magicians living in the Providence, 'cos how else are they going to learn about magic?"

Preoccupied with observing the familiar surroundings, Kyungsoo muttered indifferently, "I didn't ask."

Perhaps it was the muggy weather or it being well past his curfew that was slowly draining the life from Kyungsoo. Or perhaps it was the inevitable meeting with his mother that hung over him, stirring up all sorts of unpleasant feelings. Or perhaps it was Chanyeol, whose vocabulary lacked the verb 'to quit'.

"Any comments will have to wait after my guided tour." With a smirk, Chanyeol continued on his spiel about Sagewood Academy, including, for some reason unbeknownst to Kyungsoo, the history behind its brickwork. Never before had Kyungsoo heard someone outline the origins of lumps of clay so eagerly.

While Chanyeol's lilting voice provided some background noise, Kyungsoo's eyes were drawn to the wall of paintings they came to pass. Instead of portraits of famous alumni, it consisted largely of still life, most of which featured bizarre plants Kyungsoo didn't even know existed.

"The previous headmistress commissioned for these to be made," said Chanyeol, hopping over to a particularly large painting of a wreath. "This one's her favourite. The plants here are sallowthorn, blackthorn and hawthorn. Personally, I find it kinda ugly - needs more oomph ."

"Now how does this concern me? Stop stalling and move," Kyungsoo snorted, though he still examined the artwork out of interest. After all, it was rare even in Morborough Court to come across the namesakes of the houses - they just weren't as visually appealing as traditional roses or lilies.

With a laugh, Chanyeol answered, "Of course it concerns you. Where do you think we're going?"

"To see my mum-" said Kyungsoo matter-of-factly, before pausing at the sudden revelation. "-Wait a minute, is she the headmistress of this school?"

Slumping his back against the wall, Chanyeol shook his head, "No, not anymore. My mother is though."

"And why am I only hearing about this now?" Kyungsoo asked, staggered by Chanyeol's decision to give a rundown of useless facts instead of sharing such crucial information.

"You didn't ask." Chanyeol stuck his tongue out teasingly, before knocking on the wall beside the picture frame.

Aside from the image of the wreath, the entire canvas faded away in a distorted shimmer, resembling that of heat hazes like the ones Kyungsoo had seen on the baking concrete roads of the motorway. Where the painting had been stood a mahogany door, on which a three-dimensional wreath hung. A debossed plaque on the central panel read 'Headmistress'.

From the clock tower not too far in the distance, fairly visible through the arched windows of the corridor, the one o'clock bell sounded. At that moment, the door swung open, in time with the first and only ring of the hour.

"Right on time!" said Chanyeol, motioning his companion to enter first. Once Kyungsoo was a little ways beyond the threshold, Chanyeol gave him a reassuring pat on the back. "Have fun!"

With that, the door slammed shut, leaving Kyungsoo in complete darkness. A pleasant smell lingered in the air, though Kyungsoo was unsure from where or what. It was somewhat familiar, he had to admit.

"Chanyeol if this is your idea of a joke-" Kyungsoo said, groping blindly for a door knob. Without warning, the light bulbs flashed on, bathing the room they illuminated in a warm, welcoming glow.

At a desk in the middle of the small space, a suited woman who bore a striking resemblance to Chanyeol sat with a smile, her clasped hands resting on the surface as if she had been waiting patiently for a visitor.

"Welcome to Sagewood Academy, Kyungsoo," she said, rising from her seat as she offered a hand. "Is my son giving you a hard time already?"

"You mean Chanyeol? Well…yes, to put it bluntly," Kyungsoo said in response, firmly shaking Mrs. Park's hand after making his way to her desk. "I'm sorry if this comes off as rude, but I was expecting to see my mother."

"That's what I was hoping to discuss," said Mrs. Park, gesturing Kyungsoo to take a seat. "But first of all, let me ask you a question. Do you know why you're here?"

Seating himself opposite to the headmistress, Kyungsoo answered flatly, "Like I said, to see my mother. She apparently organised the Carnival, and for some reason, she invited me."

"You don't seem very pleased about that," she remarked in a mildly surprised tone, raising a curious eyebrow.

"Hence why I want to talk to her," Kyungsoo continued, eyeing the papers strewn about the desk and already making judgements about the woman's organisational skills. On top of a messy pile of documents, a file with his name printed across the top was placed. "Unless, Mrs. Park, I'm sitting here for another reason entirely."

"How perceptive. It must run in the family, I suppose," said Mrs. Park, offhandedly covering the file with a loose sheet. "Yes, the Carnival was her creation, the invite, however, was not. That was my doing."

"So this is all a lie?" asked Kyungsoo, jaw clenched. "Why am I here?"

"Truth be told, no one knew you had existed until recently, not even myself," Mrs. Park replied, sliding a bowl of biscuits towards Kyungsoo. There were only coconut macaroons left; Kyungsoo politely declined.

"Not too long ago, your mother sat in the same seat as me. In fact, the plants she tended to are still here. But a day before the summer solstice, she handed in her resignation and disappeared."

That seems to be her habit , Kyungsoo thought, gritting his teeth. It was no wonder it smelled like a palace garden; his mother often left traces of her love of plants everywhere.

Mrs. Park passed Kyungsoo a slightly crumpled post-it note, the words on which were hastily scribbled. "The only thing she left behind was a note with your details on it. She wanted you to enrol at Sagewood. That is why you're here."

"What makes you think I'll say yes?" asked Kyungsoo, screwing up the piece of paper before throwing it into the nearby bin. It had stunk of perfume. His mother's preference for lavender scents hadn't changed.

"I understand if you don't want to," said Mrs. Park, leaving her desk for the kitchenette in the corner of the room. "When I sent my son to you, I expected him to come back empty-handed. It's a miracle that he managed to persuade you."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't sound very confident in your son's abilities."

"His magical abilities, I have every confidence in. His ability to find a partner, not so much," she continued with a resigned sigh, busying herself by preparing two cups of tea.

"A partner?" Kyungsoo asked with uncertainty, gesturing for two sugar cubes.

"By law, hybrids have to be a human magician's partner - or familiar - for a minimum of one year during their education, or else they'll never graduate from their 'magician-in-training' status to a full-fledged magician," said Mrs. Park, flicking the kettle on with a manicured finger. To Kyungsoo, she was perhaps the most lax teacher he had ever met.

"Wait why is that a legal obligation?"

"Oh it's an ancient system, back when hybrids were more animal than human and had to be 'tamed'," Mrs. Park said with an edge to her tone, tapping her long nails on the countertop impatiently. "It's become more of a tradition now, one that's ingrained in the Voyance's society."

Suffering from mild culture shock, Kyungsoo pressed on, "Isn't that basically discrimination?"

"The school does its best to promote it as a 'buddy' system rather than a reminder that hybrids used to be feral slaves." After a click and the clatter of saucers, Mrs. Park returned to the desk with two cups of brewing tea. "But we can't not do it. Lying about a hybrid's partnership results in hefty fines, and permanent damage to their reputation as well as the institution's."

"…Are you telling me this just so I pity Chanyeol and enrol into Sagewood?" Kyungsoo asked, silently disapproving of the headmistress' choice not to use coasters.

"No, but I want you to understand his situation," said Mrs. Park, pulling out two doilies from her drawer as if she had read Kyungsoo's mind. "Hybrids are only marginally weaker in magic ability than humans, but they're still not considered magicians by birth. The rare few can even surpass a qualified magician."

"And Chanyeol really wants be a magician, I'm guessing," Kyungsoo muttered, staring at the still surface of the tea. "…I'll think about it."

"Thank you."

---

After exiting the headmistress' office, Kyungsoo was greeted by Chanyeol, whose bottom lip was smeared with blood. At the corner of his mouth, the downy barbs of a feather poked out. Kyungsoo assumed that was what remained of Chanyeol's dinner.

"Take me back," Kyungsoo said, stifling a yawn. He rubbed his temples, trying to soothe his pounding headache. "I need to do some thinking."

Flashing a grin in response, Chanyeol revealed his demonic set of red-tainted teeth, which almost sent a weary Kyungsoo into a state of shock. "Go gargle some holy water," said Kyungsoo with a glare, brushing past Chanyeol and back down the corridor to the reception area.

During the short return trip, Chanyeol mindlessly chattered about several things Kyungsoo couldn't care less about, but he kept an ear open nonetheless. The words washed over Kyungsoo, and as much as he hated to even think it, Chanyeol's voice was quite relaxing. Neither the soft rush of the stream, nor the gentle rustling of the leaves could hold a candle to the way Chanyeol's voice made him feel.

Before Kyungsoo could fall asleep on the spot, he stopped Chanyeol once they reached the centre of the grove, wherein fireflies had started to dance over the fairy rings littered across the ground.

"Chanyeol, show me what you can do," ordered Kyungsoo abruptly, squinting at the insects flying through the air. They weren't in fact fireflies, but little humanoid creatures with gossamer wings. Fairies, was Kyungsoo's first thought.

"I thought you didn't believe in magic," Chanyeol said in a mocking tone, hands resting on his hips in fake haughtiness.

"Maybe you can change my mind," said Kyungsoo with a wide, playful smile, and judging from Chanyeol's raised eyebrows, it wasn't an expected response. A group of fairies had fluttered over to Kyungsoo's shoulder, tickling his ears and neck with the beat of their shimmering wings.

"Right then! Watch and be amazed!" said Chanyeol, returning Kyungsoo's smile with his own.

While Kyungsoo sat at the base of a nearby tree, Chanyeol curled and uncurled his long fingers, taking in deep breaths as if he was about to run a marathon. Whether it was the trick of the light or exhaustion, Kyungsoo swore he had seen Chanyeol's expression turn uncharacteristically serious, pressed lips telling of an immense concentration.

Chanyeol extended his hands, palms outward and fingers loose, like he was praying to a deity. Through hooded eyes, Kyungsoo could see tendrils of smoke rising from the tips of his nails. His conversation with Mrs. Park rang in his head as solid embers started emerging from the gas.

I may be biased as a mother, but he's incredibly talented.

The smoke spread, snaking through the air, even weaving through Kyungsoo's hair, and to his surprise, it wasn't unpleasant at all. Perhaps even Kyungsoo's nose had grown tired, but the smell of freshly mown grass, barbecues at noon and ripe strawberries in the field seemed to fill the grove. He could smell summer in the smoke.

It's only for a year.

As if there was a lighter at his fingertips, Chanyeol ignited the gas with a click. The fairies didn't fly away in fear. They, much like Kyungsoo, watched in awe.

Vibrant flames, as energetic as their creator, burst into existence, blanketing the grass and the bark, but never burning. They were gentle, warm in their embrace, fiery in their love to touch and , but never burning.

Give him a chance.

The flames, a myriad of reds and oranges, grazed Kyungsoo's cheek. It wasn't hot, it didn't scathe him, but instead, it lulled him into a comfortable state of half-asleep, half-awake. Through the bold lights, Kyungsoo could see Chanyeol staring at him, waiting for approval, eyes b with joy.

Kyungsoo smiled, a thumbs up before he could fall into a slumber. Chanyeol laughed, letting his creation vigorously envelop the grounds with a final flourish of his fingers.

Who knows what both of you will achieve?