Exoplanet

Chapter 3: On the Border

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Tao didn’t realize he had fallen asleep until he woke up the next morning with a crick in his neck. The Elven book that Junmyeon and Luhan left him was lying open next to him, pages surprisingly unwrinkled from Tao’s arm resting on them. He rolled over, taking his arm off the book, and massaged his neck, hissing at the throbbing pain.

The mercenary slowly sat up, careful not to move his head too suddenly. He glanced at the book and gently pulled it closer.

A symbol resembling a winged serpent stared back up at him. Tao remembered seeing the symbol last night before he fell asleep. Continuing from where he left off, Tao turned the page, surveying the bird symbol. There was writing underneath that Tao couldn’t read, so he assumed that it was Elvish.

There was a knock at his door. Tao quickly shut the book and stuffed it under his pillow as Hiro entered. Upon seeing Tao’s scandalized look, the butler bowed and made to leave the room.

“My apologies, Master Tao. If now is not a good time, I can come back later.”

Tao swiftly schooled his expression. “Oh, no. It’s alright,” he said before Hiro could shut the door, “What is it?”

The butler stepped fully into the room and shut the door behind him. Only then did Tao notice the clothes hanging off Hiro’s arm.

Hiro noticed Tao’s curious look and carefully placed the garments on the bed. “The Lady has instructed me to give you these. It is part of your payment for helping to protect the village.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out an embroidered, purple bag. “Here are the coins, sir.”

The pouch of coins went on top of the folded pile of clothes. Hiro straightened up. “Masters Junmyeon and Luhan are having breakfast downstairs. They wish to speak with you as soon as possible.”

Tao’s stomach did a flip. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to face Junmyeon and Luhan yet. They would expect him to give an answer. An answer that he didn’t have yet.

He dismissed Hiro and reached under his pillow for the book.

Suddenly, images began to flash through his head. He was in a different room, one that he did not recognize. The walls were made of a light-colored wood, and a weak beam of light entered through a small window in the wall.

A man sat in front of a table, scribbling furiously in a book. Cautiously, Tao approached him, not sure if he was friendly or hostile. The mercenary’s eyes fell on the book and widened as he took in the familiar symbol the man had drawn. Then, Tao raised his eyes and noticed the pointy ear sticking out from the man’s hair. An elf.

He was staring at the person who wrote the book.

Just as abruptly as the vision had come, they left. Tao blinked in confusion, finding himself back in his room in the Jungs’ mansion.

Tao hissed as he became aware of the burning feeling on the back of his neck. Tentatively, he raised his hand and felt the skin, running his calloused fingers over the warm lines of his mark. Without anyone saying, Tao knew.

He had just used his power.

A voice in his head told him that Junmyeon and Luhan had been telling the truth.

Tao knew what he had to do now. He didn’t like it, but he had no other choice.

He took off his old, dirtied clothes and picked up the ones that Hiro left. The shirt was a solid, dark-blue color, and when Tao put it on, he realized that the material it was made of was stretchy. The black pants were the same way, and both pieces of clothing were neither too tight nor too loose.

Carrying his small bag of belongings, Tao headed downstairs into the dining room, book in one hand and old clothes in the other. Junmyeon and Luhan were sitting next to each other at the table, conversing quietly about something. They looked up as Tao entered and greeted him with smiles. Tao could see the hope on their faces, even though he figured that they were probably trying to hide how much they wanted him to join them.

Wordlessly, Tao walked over to Junmyeon and held out the book. He waited for Junmyeon’s and Luhan’s faces to fall as they assumed that he was not going with them.

“So what’s the plan?”

Junmyeon’s head snapped up so fast that, for a second, Tao was worried the shorter male would give himself whiplash. Luhan stopped chewing on his scrambled eggs, staring at Tao with owlish eyes. Then, he hurriedly swallowed and asked hoarsely, “You mean…you’re coming with us?”

Tao had barely nodded before two solid objects collided with him, knocking the breath out of his lungs and sending the mercenary tumbling to the floor. He yelped in pain as the back of his head smacked the wooden floor, struggling to recover the air that Junmyeon and Luhan were currently squeezing out of him as they hugged him tightly.

“Thank you so much!” Luhan cried, “We’re one step closer to saving the world now!”

“Can’t…breath,” Tao wheezed desperately, hands scrabbling at Junmyeon’s and Luhan’s arms.

“Sorry.” Junmyeon let go and the three of them got to their feet. “Are you sure you want to come? We’re going to be doing a lot of traveling, and it’s not going to be easy.”

“Do you not want me to come anymore?”

“No! That’s not what I meant. I just…!”

“Don’t mind Junmyeon. He gets chatty when he’s happy,” Luhan chimed in with a smirk. Junmyeon covered his face in embarrassment but he was smiling, too.

In just under an hour, Tao found himself ushered outside by Junmyeon and Luhan. They waved goodbye to Hiro, who was seeing them off, and headed down the street towards the west.

“Junmyeon and I already went to Bolvaria and Cassius,” Luhan told Tao as they walked down the road together, “We’re thinking of heading through Dalgu to Sinseye next.”

“Are you guys planning to do all this traveling on foot?” Tao prayed that they would say no. He was used to walking everywhere, but that was only within Halwen. Moving from country to country without horses would be torture.

Luckily, Luhan and Junmyeon had similar thoughts. “We asked around, and there are horse-sellers near the border between Halwen and Dalgu. We’ll be getting horses there.”

“Why didn’t you two get horses while you were in Bolvaria or Cassius?”

“Cassius is a desert country; it doesn’t have horses,” Junmyeon pointed out, “And Bolvaria is too close to Moltuva. We didn’t feel comfortable stopping for more than a rest.”

“Okay,” Tao said slowly, “What are we going to do after we get our horses?”

“Well, Luhan already said we were going to go to Sinseye, but after that, we don’t have much of a plan,” Junmyeon admitted, “We need to find the rest of people for the prophecy first, but we have no idea where they are.”

Tao thought he saw Luhan shoot Junmyeon a strange look but didn’t dwell on it. “So you’re just going to travel to every country until you find everyone?”

“Luckily, Junmyeon thought of a better way,” Luhan smirked, “Instead of us combing entire countries for the others, we’ll go to the capital cities of each country and ask around. The noblemen tend to hear lots of rumors, so they’ll be the ones to know if unusual things have happened.”

“And if they don’t?”

“Then that most likely means the person is trying to lay low, so we search the more isolated places in that country. It’s how we found you.”

Tao considered the idea. He didn’t think it was bad, but there were still loopholes. What if the person wasn’t aware that they were part of a prophecy? What if the symbol was somewhere where it couldn’t be seen easily? They couldn’t go around asking people to take off their clothes in order to check for a strange symbol.

Luhan must have sensed Tao’s hesitation because he clapped Tao on the shoulder and said, “It’s the best we can do for now, so just bear with it, please.”

By the time they arrived at a city near the border, the sun had already set. However, lights from lanterns and houses lit up the still-crowded streets as Junmyeon, Luhan, and Tao tiredly pushed their way through the mass of people, searching for an inn. After several minutes, they finally found one and eagerly went in to rent rooms.

“Shouldn’t we just get one room to save money?” Tao inquired after hearing Junmyeon ask for two rooms.

“You want one room?” Junmyeon asked, surprised, “I thought you might like your own room since you just met us yesterday and might not be comfortable sharing with us.”

“Oh, no. It’s fine. I can share,” Tao said quickly, taking out the pouch of coins that the Jungs had given him, “Let me pay some of the cost.”

“Too late,” Junmyeon said, having already handed over the money for one room. Tao frowned as he tucked the purple bag away, following the innkeeper as she led them upstairs to their room.

The room wasn’t small, but it obviously wasn’t made to accommodate three people. There were only two beds, pushed to separate corners of the room. A table sat between them, but there was no chair in sight. Instead, a candelabrum with three branches, each holding a candle, stood on the piece of furniture. The candles were unlit, but as the three men surveyed the room, the innkeeper walked over and lit the candles.

“I apologize for how small the room is,” the innkeeper said, bowing slightly, “The rooms are built to have only two people.”

Junmyeon and Luhan reassured her that it was perfectly okay with them. Tao walked over to the window, peering down at the noisy crowd that was still out on the streets. The innkeeper must have seen him looking.

“It’s always noisy here. The people love to celebrate, and today happens to be the city’s birthday,” she explained. Suddenly, a loud crack outside made Tao jump and scream.

Colorful sparks littered the air outside as the crowd cheered. Tao watched as someone pulled out a cylindrical object, lighting one end on fire. The tiny firework shot through the air, exploding in a shower of bright green lights. More fireworks were ignited, and soon, the streets were covered in blue, green, red, and gold.

The innkeeper excused herself, handed Junmyeon the room key, and headed back downstairs. Luhan practically threw himself onto one of the beds, sighing in satisfaction. Junmyeon placed his bag on the second bed and beckoned to Tao.

“You can share with me,” Junmyeon offered, “Luhan doesn’t like having anyone else on his bed.”

“Sure.” Tao dropped his things next to Junmyeon’s. “Are we staying in here or are we going to go outside?”

“You two can go and party,” Luhan groaned from his bed, “I think I’m going to sleep.”

“Want us to bring you back anything?” Junmyeon asked as he checked to make sure he had the key and money bag on him.

“Some food would be nice.” Luhan’s words were slurred as he was already beginning to slip into the dregs of sleep.

Tao and Junmyeon made their way outside and almost immediately got swept up with the crowd. Instinctively, Tao seized Junmyeon’s arm, preventing the two from getting separated. When the crowd briefly thinned, Tao tugged Junmyeon closer before people began pushing in from all sides again.

“You’re so lucky you’re tall,” Junmyeon wheezed, clinging onto Tao’s shirt for dear life, “I feel suffocated.”

“It might be too late for you to grow taller,” Tao joked, earning himself a light punch to the side.

The two of them walked around, observing the dancing people and fireworks. Junmyeon stopped at several food stands, buying an assortment of snacks for himself, Tao, and Luhan. He and Tao ate as they strolled down the street, and Luhan’s share was wrapped carefully in the paper that came with the food. Tao happily traded some copper coins for a handful of fireworks and matches, and he and Junmyeon joined the group of people brightening the sky with colorful stars.

By the time the two made their way back to the inn, the moon was climbing high into the sky. Upon entering, Tao nearly bumped into somebody. The other person skittered back slightly with a surprised exclamation.

“Sorry!” The tall, red-haired man said, “You didn’t get any water on you, right?”

Tao glanced down, seeing the bucket of water that the other carried in his hands. Coils of steam rose from the liquid, and Tao was glad he didn’t stumble into the person.

“I’m alright,” Tao reassured the other man, who looked worried.

Relief spread across the latter’s face. “Oh, thank the Planet,” he sighed, “I don’t know what I’d do if you got burned.”

“Aren’t your hands burned though?” Junmyeon asked curiously, reaching over and placing a hand cautiously on the edge of the bucket. “Ah!” he yelped, jerking back and holding his hand against his chest protectively.

The man laughed. “I’m not very sensitive to heat, so I’m okay.” He shifted the bucket and exposed a bit of his hand. “See?”

Tao and Junmyeon leaned forward slightly, observing the unharmed skin with awe. After a few seconds of letting them gawk, the man adjusted his grip on the bucket.

“I should go now. The miss will wonder what’s taking me so long. I’ll see you around!” He smiled at the two and ducked out the door, disappearing from view.

Tao and Junmyeon made their way back to the room. Junmyeon unlocked the door, and the two of them filed inside. The shorter headed over to where Luhan lay, still fast asleep. He shook the other awake and handed him the lukewarm food that he and Tao had bought. Luhan grunted his thanks and began gnawing on a chicken kebob.

“I want to take a bath,” Tao mumbled, running a hand through his hair and feeling the oily strands, “I’m going to ask the innkeeper where the baths are.”

“Here.” Junmyeon held out his hand, the brass key dangling from his fingers. “Take the key with you.”

Tao took the key and headed downstairs. The innkeeper was nowhere to be seen, so Tao decided to look around a bit. Maybe the man he met earlier worked here and knew where the baths were. Tao could only hope that he was still around.

He hesitantly peered through the doorway that the tall man had disappeared through earlier. For a brief moment, Tao was relieved to see the man crouching in front of a fireplace, but the relief quickly turned into shock when he realized that the man was emitting fire from his hands.

Tao didn’t know if he made a noise or not, but he must have because the man stood and spun abruptly. The man’s eyes widened with surprise and fear when he saw Tao, and he immediately dispelled the flames, but the damage was already done.

Tao didn’t know what to do, but before he could react, the man stepped forward, a desperate glint in his eyes.

“Please don’t tell anyone!” he begged.

“I…” Tao began, but the other cut him off, clearly panicking.

“Please, no one can know about this! I’m not dangerous, I swear. I’ve had this…this thing since I was born, and I swear I can control it. Just don’t tell anyone, or they’ll get scared and chase me out. Please, I’ll do anything!”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Tao repeated, hands raised in surrender, “I’m not going to turn you in.”

The man with fire clearly relaxed. “Really?” he asked hopefully.

Tao looked around to make sure nobody was close enough to eavesdrop. When he didn’t see a soul in sight, Tao pushed his way into the room and led the other to a corner away from the door.

Lowering his voice, Tao asked, “You said you had this power since you were born?”

“I…yeah.” The other was taken aback by Tao’s question but answered honestly nonetheless. “My parents kicked me out a few years ago because of it, and I ended up here because I owe the innkeeper.”

He would have kept on rambling if Tao hadn’t interrupted. “Do you have anything else besides your power?”

When the man looked confused, Tao elaborated. “Like, a symbol anywhere on your body?”

The other hesitated. “I have one. On my foot?”

“May I see it?” Tao asked as gently as possible, hoping that the man wouldn’t get scared off.

Luckily, the man didn’t panic anymore even though it was obvious he thought Tao was weird. He took off his left shoe and lifted his foot, showing off the black marking on the bottom. It wasn’t difficult for Tao to recognize it. He had stared at the symbol in the book for several minutes earlier that day, memorizing the avian form of it.

This man was a part of the prophecy.

Tao wanted to get Junmyeon and Luhan and show them the symbol, but the man was still scared that Tao might reveal his ability to manipulate fire, so Tao did what he thought would help gain the man’s trust.

He turned around and pulled down the collar of his shirt, revealing the hourglass mark on the back of his neck. Tao heard the man in a sharp breath, obviously not expecting Tao to show a symbol as well.

“You’re like me?” Tao heard him whisper.

“I am.” Tao covered his symbol once more and faced the other again. “Well, not exactly. I apparently have the power to control time, but unlike you, I have no idea how to use my power.”

“Wow.” The red-haired man looked to be at a loss for words.

“The man I was with earlier,” Tao started carefully, watching the man’s face for any sign of a bad reaction, “He also has a symbol like us. It’s on his stomach. We have a third, who has a symbol on his forehead.”

He paused, letting the other absorb the information. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to introduce you to them.”

“Are they going to expose me?” the other blurted out, folding his hands together nervously.

“I’ll make sure they won’t,” Tao promised, and he was certain that Luhan and Junmyeon wouldn’t harm the red-haired man.

“Then, I…yeah, ok. I’ll meet them.”

“Wait here. I’ll go get them.” Tao stood and made his way out into the hall but stopped in the doorway. He turned to the man and asked, “I’m Tao. What’s your name?”

The red-haired man looked at him, and Tao could see the uncertainty, fear, and hope swimming in the man’s eyes. He felt a rush of empathy, remembering how he had felt the same way when Junmyeon and Luhan first introduced their powers and the prophecy to him. However, he was lucky to not even know he had powers. This man, on the other hand, tried to hide his ability and lived in fear that he would be outed and ostracized.

“Chanyeol,” the man said, deep voice interrupting Tao’s thoughts.

“It’s nice to meet you, Chanyeol,” Tao replied genuinely, “I will be right back.” With that, he went back to the lobby and headed upstairs to the room, calling for Junmyeon and Luhan.

A/N: And Chanyeol has joined the picture! :D Hope you guys enjoy reading this, and thank you for all the comments/subscribes/votes you've given me so far *o*

'Til next chapter <3