Once the flames had died down and the fairies carried on their merry way, Chanyeol sat down by Kyungsoo, who was curled up into a ball against the trunk of a large oak, his head resting on his folded arms.

Chanyeol tapped on Kyungsoo's crown, hoping to somehow wake the boy. Against the pad of his finger, the soft mess of Kyungsoo's hair bounced back, still warm from the fire's touch.  When there was no response other than a grunt, Chanyeol snorted a laugh, stopping the incessant prodding out of kindness.

Beyond the grove's edge, the Carnival had died down considerably, though the strings of warm-toned paper lanterns still shone brightly in contrast to the waning liveliness. It was a common sight for Chanyeol; his childhood had, after all, been spent in the grove, on Morford Hill, and in the comfort of the Carnival's homely atmosphere. Even a decade later, he'd still fondly recall the memories of him and Sehun playing in the sparse underbrush by the stream, carefree as any child should've been.

Chanyeol held his right hand up against the view, palm inwards. Old scars, thin and white, striped his palm, each one illuminated by the glow of the distance lights. He chewed on his bottom lip, frowning. The scars too were a common sight.

"Maybe if you stopped looking at them, you wouldn't be so upset."

"Holy  you scared me," exclaimed Chanyeol, jolting in surprise as a figure suddenly materialised in front of him, wearing a pleased grin. "Jongin, can't you walk to places like a normal person? Stop appearing out of nowhere, you'll give me a heart attack one of these days."

Jongin raised a questioning eyebrow, whilst fishing out an object from his pocket. "Hey, if you can make a firestorm in the middle of the woods, why can't I teleport as I please? Saw it from a mile away, by the way, the kids were all scared."

"They'll get over it," said Chanyeol offhandedly, catching the wrapped confectioneries Jongin threw his way. "Where's Sehun?"

On the striped packaging, the logo of Jongin's family bakery was stamped, but Chanyeol was far more concerned with the chocolate petit fours hidden inside. No one could beat Grandma Kim's baking.

"He's passed out at my family's stall. Idiot didn't know that the punch was alcoholic," said Jongin, guffawing as Chanyeol devoured the cakes like there was no tomorrow. "And is that Kyungsoo?"

"Argh I told Sehun not to tell anyone, goddammit," groaned Chanyeol, his cheeks stuffed with food. He handed Jongin the last cake, which just so happened to be the smallest one. "Yeah, that's Kyungsoo. Y'know, he's probably the first person to ever fall asleep in the middle of a fire storm."

With the paper crumpled in his hand, Chanyeol burnt it to ashes, letting the grey particulates drift away.

"Maybe he'll be the first person ever to be your partner for more than an hour," said Jongin, taking a bite of the petit four that Chanyeol had so graciously shared. "I know I always say this, but I'm sorry that I couldn't be yours."

"Nah, Sehun asked first, it was only fair," Chanyeol said, waving Jongin's worries off. "And I didn't want you getting hurt like the others."

"Do you think Kyungsoo will be able to handle a blood pact with you? Last time I checked, the magic potency of your blood knocked someone out."

Chanyeol side-eyed his palm again. With a sigh, Jongin bent down and placed a bag of bonbons in Chanyeol's hand, covering the scars with powdered pink sweets and sparkly paper.

"My mum thinks he can. She's usually right, well, that's what my dad says anyway," said Chanyeol with a shrug, stuffing the packet into his pocket. Beside him, Kyungsoo stirred in his sleep, head inclined against the crook of his elbow. "Could you help me bring him back to the Providence?"

"I can only teleport myself-"

Chanyeol shook his head, "I mean, carry him. Like, I'd die if I carried anyone by myself for more than three metres."

"Err…broomstick?" Jongin stated matter-of-factly, earning him another fervent head shake.

"He'd fall off, now come on."

As they slung one of Kyungsoo's arms around each of their shoulders, Chanyeol could see the long, solitary scar on Jongin's palm, stretching from corner to corner. Unlike Chanyeol's short, numerous marks, the deep cut had a certain confidence about it. Like it belonged there, like it was made with the intention of never fading.

He knew that Jongin took pride in it, it was a symbol of his and Sehun's partnership after all. Despite how often Jongin apologised to him, it was fairly obvious to Chanyeol that the younger boy wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Aside from the alarmed looks of passersby, Jongin and Chanyeol carried Kyungsoo along the periphery of the Carnival and into its centre without incident. Bordered by unkempt long grass, there stood a coppiced blackthorn, its unusually wide stump flat and enclosed by interwoven young stems, a shape resembling that of a cage.

"Why don't we just carry on walking? The borders of the Providence are still open," said Jongin, helping Chanyeol set Kyungsoo down by the tree. "We'll hit Morborough Court if we keep going forward, won't we?"

"Yeah, but we'll be cutting it pretty close. There's only-" Chanyeol reached down to take Kyungsoo's pocket watch, tucked in the blazer he still hadn't changed out of. "-only fifteen minutes until the borders reform completely. I don't want to get caught up in that and end up in Limbo again Jongin."

"Who knows, it might be fun. You, me, this guy, fighting off witches, fighting off huge- monsters-"

"-almost bleeding to death because of said huge- monsters. No. Your grandmother's going to literally kill me if I put you in danger again," Chanyeol said firmly, returning Kyungsoo's pocket watch. There was something familiar about the image etched on the cover, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Okay fine, be boring then," Jongin said, pulling a face as he touched the blackthorn's bark.

The stems unwound like a length of frayed rope untwining, opening up the caged interior to the trio. On the surface of the stump, a magic circle was engraved; it radiated a bluish glow as Jongin stepped on, followed by Chanyeol with Kyungsoo's body thrown over his shoulder.

"I wonder why he's so tired," Jongin remarked, to which Chanyeol replied with a shrug. Around them, the stems tangled once more, weaving around each other like a nest of brown snakes.

There was no extravagant display; the space was emptied of its passengers as brusquely as the owls that fled at the sudden disturbance of their home.

Those who frequented Sage's Wood knew to avoid the coppiced blackthorn in the vicinity of Morborough Court's grounds, for the tales from their parents had warned them of the consequences if one were to draw too close.

Their spindly stems, akin to a spider's legs, would unravel and wrap themselves around an unsuspecting child, trapping him or her inside the tree for a witch in search of a sacrifice. But those tales were only tales.

Under the gaze of the early morning moon, the trio emerged in the confines of the tree, which opened up to allow them passage into the Providence. After half an hour of trying to navigate through Sage's Wood, thanks to Chanyeol and Jongin's poor sense of direction, they reached Sallowthorn dorm.

"So what now? Are you going to stick around until he says yes?" Jongin whispered, preparing to teleport into Kyungsoo's room, the window of which was still ajar.

Kyungsoo, who had been propped up against the wall, slowly opened his eyes, his bones clicking as he began to move. "Are we back yet?" he muttered, squinting through puffy, bloodshot eyes.

Chanyeol grimaced at the sight of Kyungsoo's exhausted demeanour, bewildered as to how he had been drained of energy so quickly. "Yeah, my friend Jongin's with me. We'll help you get back up to your room," Chanyeol replied, kneeling beside Kyungsoo, who shook his head.

"No, I'll go up by myself. You need to rest, there's Mass at eight, so no sleeping in," said Kyungsoo sternly, giving Jongin a nod of acknowledgement as he rose to his feet unsteadily.

"You look half-dead." Chanyeol held onto Kyungsoo's shoulder, noting how pale the smaller boy's complexion had grown.

"I'll be fine," Kyungsoo said, shrugging Chanyeol's hand off. Though he chalked it up to his imagination, Chanyeol swore had seen Kyungsoo's eyes turn a pallid blue.

Using the wall of the building as a support, Kyungsoo trudged over to the entrance, leaving Chanyeol and Jongin to watch his figure disappear into the darkness.

"I don't think he's fine," Jongin said under his breath.

Rolling his eyes, Chanyeol said with a tut, "I can see that."

---

When dawn finally came, Chanyeol was already awake, having spent a total of two hours sleeping and one hour trying to find the coolest, least muggy spot on his bed. On his bedside table, bundles of confectioneries were strewn about, courtesy of Jongin's goodwill and drive to fatten up the Park brothers with every baked good under the sun.

Chanyeol blamed Jongin entirely for Sehun's sweet-tooth, but he had little room to complain, considering how the Kim family's fudge was his lifeblood.

After getting changed into his uniform, which doubled as his Sunday best, Chanyeol hopped down the stairs to the common area, where Jongdae was sat, idly watching a recording of a football match.

"Jongdae, do you always get up this early?" asked Chanyeol, taking a seat beside the boy, who greeted him with a cheery smile.

"Yep. I normally ask Professor Zhang to record any football matches I miss during the day, and I only have time to watch them in the morning," replied Jongdae, balancing the remote on the sofa's armrest.

Chanyeol made a small sound, having remembered parts of the previous day's events, "Kyungsoo said that you were meant to help him unpack."

"Did he? Oops," said Jongdae flatly, far more concerned with what was happening on the television screen. "Couldn't go anyway, I was volunteering at the animal shelter down the road."

"You didn't tell him? He seemed pretty annoyed that you didn't show up," Chanyeol chuckled, recalling Kyungsoo's displeased expression.

"I've got appearances to keep. I don't want Kyungsoo to think I'm too soft," replied Jongdae, practically dancing in his seat once Chelsea scored a goal, "And he only gets annoyed when I actually help him with anything."

"Yeah, he's like that isn't he?" From behind the circle of seats, Baekhyun chimed in, vaulting over the back of the sofa to plant himself between Jongdae and Chanyeol.

"Well my morning's been ruined," said Jongdae dryly, pausing the football game as he stood up to leave. Without missing a beat, Baekhyun stuck out his leg, causing Jongdae to trip up and lose balance.

Before he could fall backwards, Jongdae pushed his elbow down, stabbing Baekhyun's stomach as he landed back onto the sofa.

" ," groaned Baekhyun, wheezing in agony while Jongdae fell about laughing. "Chanyeol I think I'm dying. Call the ambulance, something's bleeding."

"Karma, Baek," said Chanyeol, freeing himself of Baekhyun, who was attempting to escape Jongdae's chokehold.

As Chanyeol left for the door, Baekhyun dramatically tried to reach out for him, face twisted in pain, "No, Chanyeol! Arrgh don't leave me."

Jongdae's melodic laughter rang louder, until it was the only thing Chanyeol could hear as he closed the front door behind him.

Outside Hawthorn dorm, the sun could be seen peeking over the horizon, painting the school fields and rooftops a vibrant orange. In the silence of the morning, the echoes of Chanyeol's footsteps rang while he walked across the dorm's courtyard, whistling with a spring in his step.

Those footsteps were soon replaced by the padded tapping of paws, an unnoticed change on the empty grounds. When his whistle became the ringing of a cat's bell, Chanyeol set off, bounding over the pavement to Sallowthorn dorm.

Chanyeol clambered up the wall leading to Kyungsoo's open window, defying gravity like any other magical cat. Without a warning, he jumped into the room, landing square on Kyungsoo's sleeping face.

"At least have the courtesy to knock, Chanyeol," mumbled Kyungsoo, prying the cat off him. His irritated expression soon softened as he lifted Chanyeol up, a change which the hybrid had had hoped for, "…Damn you for being cute."

With Kyungsoo's face in view, Chanyeol could see the boy's dishevelled appearance, as if he had just been dragged through hell and back. His eyes were still bloodshot, telling of a lack of sleep, despite having unintentionally taken a twelve hour nap the day before.

"Chanyeol, I thought about it. I'll do it," Kyungsoo said hoarsely, a look of determination on his face. He put Chanyeol down at the foot of the bed, and sat up cross-legged, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with a yawn.

Chanyeol shape-shifted into his human form, stretching out his limbs over Kyungsoo's sheets. "Well that was quick. I was expecting to have to wait for at least a month for an answer," he remarked in surprise.

"This is going to sound weird, but… I don't know, I just felt like I needed to do this," said Kyungsoo, massaging his temples. From what Chanyeol could see, his skin was still awfully pale, translucent enough for branches of veins to be visible. "It's a bit irrational, I know, but I can't shake the feeling off. It's driving me insane."

"Might just be an after effect of travelling to the Voyance for the first time. Or not. Don't take my word for it," Chanyeol suggested, eyebrows furrowed in worry. However, his concern didn't last long; from his sleeve, he drew out a short sword, its blade inlaid with gold characters, "Okay, let's start."

"Do you always just carry a sword around with you?" asked Kyungsoo, eyeing the weapon warily.

"Hell yeah, it's awesome," said Chanyeol as he spun the sword around his hand, swinging the red tassel tied to its hilt. "It's a concealable saingeom , passed down my family for who knows how long. I'm just fulfilling its purpose by, well, concealing it."

With a look of complete and utter horror, Kyungsoo immediately grabbed Chanyeol's wrist, preventing any further dangerous sword spinning. "I thought the purpose of a sword was to cut things?"

"Which it'll be doing today, so give me your hand."

Sliding closer to Chanyeol, Kyungsoo did as he was told. "What, no chants? No magic circles? No frog's eyes or newt's toes?"

"You mean newt's eyes and frog's toes?" Chanyeol cradled Kyungsoo's hand in his own, the unblemished palm facing outwards, "But yeah, the only thing that needs to happen is for blood to be exchanged."

"Then what?"

"Our partnership is automatically transcribed into Sagewood's records and a count is kept. Once we reach three hundred and sixty five days, then I can leave my magician-in-training status behind," said Chanyeol grandly, pressing the tip of the sword against Kyungsoo's skin. "It's like a one year anniversary gift!"

"And then you become a magician?" asked Kyungsoo, his fingers tensing at the touch of the metal.

"After I graduate from the Academy, yes."

"You seem…a lot less thrilled about this than I expected."

With the blade still connected to Kyungsoo's skin, unmoved, Chanyeol started to dig in the flesh, but abruptly stopped. He quickly added, "I will be, if you don't break the blood pact."

"Why would I?" Kyungsoo gave him an impatient click of the tongue, forcibly taking the sword by its hilt, "I stick to my commitments, Chanyeol."

"I haven't told you, but my bl-" said Chanyeol, mildly surprised. Before he could finish, Kyungsoo sliced his palm without a second thought, creating a thin cut that ran parallel to his wrist. "--bloody hell you just went for it."

"Hurry up, the blood's going to stain the sheets." Kyungsoo returned the sword, gesturing Chanyeol to follow, "Your mum already told me about your problem."

"And you're still going for it?" Most, if not all, the scars on Chanyeol's palm were vertical, making it a somewhat satisfying process to cut through all of them with one horizontal slit to match Kyungsoo's. Of course, the pain was far from satisfying, not that Chanyeol would ever admit it.

"I cut my hand for you, what do you think?" huffed Kyungsoo, placing his palm on top of Chanyeol's. "And if I do end up in hospital or something, I expect daily visits from you."

"Aww, sure-"

"As a cat, obviously."

Sighing in annoyance, Chanyeol squeezed Kyungsoo's hand tightly in retaliation, which was met with a condescending smirk from the prefect. Upon realising his mistake, Chanyeol opened his mouth to apologise, but yelped pathetically once the strength of Kyungsoo's grip increased to bone crushing levels.

When Kyungsoo finally let up on his revenge, Chanyeol wiped the tears of pain from his eyes, laughing at himself. Their hands were clasped together, blood seeping into each other's wounds.

"What exactly was it that made you want to do this?" asked Chanyeol, wedging a tissue Kyungsoo pulled from his drawer between the edges of their palms.

"Last night, when I fell asleep, I had a dream," Kyungsoo replied, piling on more tissues. "I can't even remember what happened, but when I woke outside the dorm, it felt like I had seen something…messed up. You know when you see gore for the first time? That feeling, minus the actual experience of seeing it."

"And that drove you to wanting to become my partner, how ?"

"It seemed like the right thing to do," said Kyungsoo with knitted eyebrows, as if he himself was unsure of the answer. "Like I needed to do it."

"…Right." After another minute, Chanyeol pulled his hand away, staring down at the gash on his palm. It was deep, much deeper than any other cut he had made before. He hoped it wasn't in vain.

Silently examining his own hand, Kyungsoo meticulously cleaned the wound, seemingly unharmed by the power of Chanyeol's blood. In fact, it was as if his condition had greatly improved: the life had returned to his fatigued eyes, along with the colour in his cheeks and steadiness in his breathing. Kyungsoo looked less like a rigid corpse, and more like his usual, slightly less rigid self.

Chanyeol chose not to make a comment, in fear of jinxing it and somehow sending Kyungsoo into a coma.

---

While Kyungsoo changed into his uniform, Chanyeol lazed around on the bed, finding the air there much more tolerable than in his own room. Despite Kyungsoo's nagging about crumpled clothes, he mostly left Chanyeol to his own devices, primarily due to the hybrid's constant complaints about being sleep deprived.

After trying, and failing, to find a stash of magazines to blackmail Kyungsoo with, Chanyeol resorted to flicking through the books on the bedside table, scrunching his face up at the ridiculously boring content.

"Since I'm in a partnership with you, have I automatically enrolled into Sagewood?" asked Kyungsoo as he tied his tie while pacing around the room, tidying up after Chanyeol's snooping.

"Yeah, you'll get the letter soon," said Chanyeol, flopping over the side of the bed with a comic book in his bandaged hand. "In the meantime, you have the privilege of spending time with the great, oh wonderful me."

Kyungsoo sat beside Chanyeol, jolting the boy accidentally on purpose, as he slipped on his socks and shoes, "You say that like it’s a good thing."

"Don't deny me, Kyungsoo. You know you love me," Chanyeol teased, plucking out the pocket watch from Kyungsoo's blazer pocket to check the time. He inspected it once more, taking note of the design: an etched circle, divided into quarters. Chanyeol had definitely seen it  somewhere before.

"Let's go, Mass starts in fifteen." Kyungsoo retrieved his pocket watch and left for the door, a mildly excited Chanyeol in tow.

In the vicinity of the school grounds, opposite to the neighbouring motorway, a relatively large Anglican church stood with a stone relief of the Royal Arms above its entrance. Chanyeol recalled there being a similar structure at Sagewood, though it was derelict and entirely reclaimed by nature.

Outside the opened doors of the church, students milled about in their uniforms, waiting for their friends from other dorms. The pair skirted around the crowd, as Kyungsoo requested, and stuck close to the verge of the church's land.

"Kyungsoo why are you a Christian?" asked Chanyeol, taking a seat on a low mossy wall bordering the cemetery. "Your mother wasn't, she couldn't have been."

"Neither was my father. It's a choice, let's leave it at that," replied Kyungsoo, tugging on Chanyeol's sleeve in place of a 'Get up'. "Then you aren't Christian either, I'm guessing. Sorry, I should've asked."

"Don't worry about it, I've always wanted to see what Mass was like." Trailing behind Kyungsoo, Chanyeol strolled into the church, empty of any other students, and immediately made his way to the font. He peered into the carved stone basin, leaning over the edge curiously.

"Oooh is that holy water?" he asked, turning to Kyungsoo with eyes bright in wonderment. "Y'know, we use the same stuff against invading demons or witches."

After pulling Chanyeol back by his collar, Kyungsoo threw a glance at the still liquid, its surface reflecting his image. "What's the difference between a witch and magician? You don't seem very friendly with them."

"Not much really, just a difference in interests and powers," Chanyeol said matter-of-factly as he followed Kyungsoo's line of sight. "Witches were originally heretics from the Providence, ones that made a pact with the Devil."

"What does that make magicians?"

"…huh. Dunno." Chanyeol squinted his eyes at Kyungsoo's reflection. Light blue irises seemed to stare back, but were gone with a blink. "The school doesn't teach us a lot about our origins for some reason. What I do know is that we came from the Providence as well."

"So if a witch enters this church, would they spontaneously combust?" asked Kyungsoo who was transfixed by the water, as if he had seen the same change as Chanyeol.

"No, but that'd be pretty cool. All you need to do is splash some holy water- " Dipping a finger into the clear liquid, Chanyeol playfully flicked it towards Kyungsoo, the droplets landing on his cheek, "-and they burn."

Clicking his tongue in displeasure, Kyungsoo wiped the water off with his handkerchief as he threw Chanyeol a warning glare, which was met with a pout and an attempt at puppy dog eyes. "Are you trying to be cute?"

"This is how I normally look," said Chanyeol with feigned ignorance, seating himself at the nearest pew.

Behind them, numerous students filed in, each one in their neatly pressed shirts and primly aligned ties; much like in school, they congregated into their individual groups, claiming and saving seats for their friends as was the usual affair.

Kyungsoo sidled beside Chanyeol, leaving a space beside him for Jongdae.

The church bells rang, its chimes reverberating in the building and hushing the conversations of the hundred or so boys. Hymn books were opened in unison, the first chord on the organ played and soon voices singing Latin filled the air.

Mimicking the actions of his peers, Chanyeol sang for the sake of singing, unsure of the meaning behind the words leaving his mouth. Next to him, Chanyeol heard the smooth, resonant voice of a tenor, richer than any he had heard before. It belonged to Kyungsoo, if the familiar tone was any indication.

Pleasantly surprised, Chanyeol turned to his partner.

Piercing blue irises stared up at him, glossed by tears that welled in its owner's eyes. Kyungsoo's face was twisted in a look of pure agony, but he remained silent, even as smoke rose from his cheeks.

Even as his skin started to char where the holy water had touched him.