It was almost as if there was a guiding hand, gently urging Chanyeol towards the guitar that was tucked into its carrying case atop one of the tables. It was a beautiful, deep coloured wood with a long black neck, stretched with taut strings. The phoenix ran his fingers lightly over the strings, watching them vibrate with the slight touch. He was so enamored with the instrument that he didn’t hear the next instructions from his professor, but the commotion creating sounds behind him was enough to draw his eyes over to the doorway leading into the classroom.

There was an influx of what looked like students, each carrying their own instrument, each one different from the last. The professor explained that they were returning students that had completed this class the year before and would be helping out the first month or so of class. Because the class would be divided up into different clusters according to the instrument chosen, these returning students would act as mentors to help teach the basics to playing an individual instrument. While the professor would provide the knowledge needed to read music – it wasn’t required to have any prior knowledge of music to take the course – the mentors would then connect that music knowledge to their specialized instrument. Chanyeol certainly needed the basics of basics. By the end of the term, hopefully, the students would be able to play easy musical pieces.

Once the older students began breaking off into the small groups according to their instrument, Chanyeol turned back to the guitar that was calling to him. There had been an electric guitar seated next to it earlier, but it had since been claimed. The one Chanyeol had his eyes on was more traditional – an “acoustic” guitar if Chanyeol’s knowledge was correct.

“Is this your choice?” a voice asked, causing Chanyeol’s head to snap up to see who was speaking.

A short pink-haired guy stood on the other side of the table, a large grey case the same shape as the one laying before Chanyeol was slung over his shoulder. The phoenix couldn’t be sure of his species at first glance as nothing really stood out besides the pale pink hair.

“Uh,” Chanyeol smartly started, glancing back down at the guitar he was touching before nodding. “Yeah.”

“Guess I’m your mentor.” The guy stuck out a pale hand which Chanyeol grasped a moment later in a handshake. “I’m Lee Jihoon, faerie.”

“Park Chanyeol. I’m a phoenix.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Chanyeol.”

They moved over to an unoccupied corner of the classroom and found themselves each a seat. Chanyeol brought his chosen instrument over with him and carefully removed it from its protective case, as if it were some precious ancient relic. This treatment would probably change over time as the phoenix became more and more comfortable with the guitar. He could already picture himself seated on the end of his bed, plucking at the strings any spare minute he had.

Jihoon taught him the different parts of the instrument and gave a brief explanation of what each part did. He explained the layout of the strings and had Chanyeol make up a mnemonic, or rhyme to help him remember the corresponding letters for each string. After writing down a few options, Chanyeol settled for the very relatable – Every Bird Gets Drowsy After Eating. Jihoon showed him how to place his fingers and helped him hold the instrument right so he could strum the cords correctly.

Pretty soon, Chanyeol could produce sound with the guitar, playing around with different finger placements on the neck. There was no sort of structured song – they hadn’t learned how to read music yet – but Chanyeol could at least produce distinct notes.

“Here, keep your fingers on these strings,” Jihoon suggested, reaching out to manually place Chanyeol’s fingers in the correct spot. “Strum like this.” The faerie grasped Chanyeol’s other hand and moved it up and down in a steady rhythm. The phoenix kept up the strumming and Jihoon picked up his own instrument from where he had rested it against the side of his seat. He settled the guitar against his body and placed his fingers into position before beginning to play. The notes matched with Chanyeol’s to create a more dynamic sound and melt into a proper song. Jihoon’s fingers moved beautifully over the strings, effortlessly holding down different strings as he played, weaving a smooth but somewhat upbeat song.

Chanyeol was focused on the faerie’s hands, watching the way they moved and hoping to be able to play like that soon. He could have sat there and watched and learned all day. Jihoon’s pink bangs fell into his eyes as he leaned over the instrument a little, invested in what he was doing.

There was all sorts of sounds happening in the room. Some of the louder instruments had disappeared from the room, leaving only the bigger, less transportable instruments to remain. Chanyeol’s eyes drifted from his mentor towards the sweet sound of a piano.

It was clearly a returning student who was playing as the song was complex and drew the ear. Chanyeol’s classmate sat nearby but the phoenix didn’t even register their species for his eyes were on the person playing. He thought the guy was probably an elf due to the pointed ears slightly hidden under blond hair. The piano player’s fingers danced over the keys, confident and graceful. The instrument produced such sound that everyone else in the room had gone quiet, turned towards the source of the music.

Sometime during the song, Jihoon had stopped strumming his guitar seeing as Chanyeol had completely abandoned their playing in favour of watching the other student.

Too soon, the elf brought his song to an end, leaving the last note to hang in the air and slowly fade. Chanyeol’s teacher began clapping, evoking the few other students in the room to join the applause. The piano player bowed his head a little, a smile lighting up his face.

Their professor chose then to announce the end of class and dismissed them all. Jihoon showed Chanyeol how to pack up his guitar safely and bid the phoenix goodbye, promising to show him how to use a guitar pick next class. Chanyeol waved enthusiastically, his guitar case slung over his shoulder as he scanned the classroom. The piano bench was empty and the elf was nowhere in sight. Chanyeol had wanted to compliment him on the playing but it seemed it would have to wait until he saw him in class again.

The phoenix made his way down the nearest stairwell to the main floor – his music class was in the West Wing on the second floor – and headed for the cafeteria. He hadn’t eaten yet that day and he felt his stomach rumble with the prospect of food.

The cafeteria was rather full as it was near lunch time and many students were taking advantage of the team of chefs that were employed by the school. There was a wide range of cuisines available throughout the day and a more specific selection was available during the night hours for students who were more active once the sun set.

Chanyeol’s mouth watered as he stood before the long buffet styled booths, full of steaming food. He picked up a plate and went to work, piling it high with food from all over the world – both the human and mythical world. The smells were absolutely heavenly and had Chanyeol eagerly scanning the longs rows of tables lining the rest of the room.

He was looking for an open spot so he could eat in peace, making a mental note to make friends in his music class so he would have people to eat with. As he was looking, his golden eyes caught sight of two familiar heads. He probably would have overlooked the styled brown head of hair, but the blue-black locks on the other side of the table made him stop.

With a wide grin on his face, Chanyeol made a beeline for that table, setting his tray down next to Yixing and seating himself in the closest chair. The guitar case on his shoulder was set down on the floor, sitting upright against the edge of the table.

The warlock looked up in surprise, his cheeks full of rice. Joonmyun smiled warmly at the phoenix, a plate of pink shrimp in front of him. “Hey Chan.”

Chanyeol mumbled out a greeting from around the mouthful of food he had already stuffed his face with. The phoenix was hungry.

His friends didn’t seem to find any offense. Yixing even laughed.

“Did you have class?” Joonmyun asked, sipping at his tea as he looked at the phoenix curiously with his dark blue eyes.

Chanyeol nodded and swallowed his bite of food before replying. “Music class.”

“Chose the guitar?” Yixing asked, glancing over at the black material of the case next to the phoenix.

Another nodded was given as Chanyeol stuffed another strip of steak into his mouth.

“When you get more comfortable with it, we should play sometime. I play the guitar too.”

Chanyeol looked at the warlock with a bit of surprise. “Really? That would be awesome.” It would be great to have someone to practice with outside of class.

“Maybe Joonmyun will join us with his singing voice,” Yixing added, looking across the table at the water nymph with a smile.

Joonmyun shook his head immediately. “I don’t sing in public.”

Chanyeol looked between the two of them. “Then how does Yixing know you can sing?”

“I overheard him singing last year. He was swimming in the lake by the South dorms.”

“I thought I was alone,” Joonmyun huffed, biting a piece of his shrimp almost violently.

“Joonmyun likes to secretly swim when-” Yixing cut off with a sputter when he was hit in the face with a shot of water, directed from Joonmyun’s pointed finger.

The water nymph glared at the warlock, his mouth downturned in a scowl. “Yixing at keeping secrets.”

The warlock merely shrugged, drawing an open palm over his face, a touch of violet smoke at his fingertips. When his hand had made a full pass, his hair and skin was completely dry and there was a teasing grin on his lips.

Yixing seemed to have something to say, but Joonmyun’s attention turned to something over Yixing’s head and the nymph raised a hand, calling out to someone named Soo.

Chanyeol turned to look over his shoulder and saw two males headed for their table, each with a plate of food in their hands. Both of them were quite a bit shorter than Chanyeol was. As they drew closer, Chanyeol realized who the taller of the two was. He recognized the head of blond hair and pointed ears decorated in silver jewellery as the elf who had been playing the piano in his music class. The navy blazer and white pants were the same. The friend was brunet with round eyes the colour of fresh spring leaves. Chanyeol wasn’t quite sure what species he was.

The pair slid into chairs on Joonmyun’s side of the table and it seemed that Chanyeol’s friends knew the both of them. The phoenix settled his gaze on the elf. “You’re in my music class.”

The blond turned his golden eyes to the phoenix and a big smile full of teeth stretched across his face. “I’m Byun Baekhyun.”

Chanyeol couldn’t help but smile back as he introduced himself in return. He glanced at Baekhyun’s companion, expecting an introduction from him as well.

“Do Kyungsoo,” the brunet murmured, his voice soft compared to his companion’s.

“What species are you?” Chanyeol asked.

“Faerie.”

“Soo is a woodland faerie,” Baekhyun further explained, leaning over the table a little. “And I’m an elf with light abilities.”

Chanyeol’s face turned curious. “Light abilities?” He wasn’t sure what exactly that meant. He did know that woodland faeries worked with the earth mainly.

Baekhyun opened his palm and a small ball of white light seemed to gather there, throwing a band of reflected light across Baekhyun’s jaw. “I can manipulate light.”

The phoenix made an impressed noise in the back of his throat and watched as Baekhyun closed his fingers over the ball and the light disappeared.

“You can sing, can’t you Soo?” Yixing asked suddenly, bringing the conversation back to their previous topic.

Kyungsoo nodded and Baekhyun cut in with an ‘I can too!’.

“Chanyeol and I want to practice playing together and Joon doesn’t want to be the vocalist.”

“Is he still on that whole ‘not in public’ rule?” Baekhyun asked as if Joonmyun wasn’t sitting right at the table.

“Apparently.”

Baekhyun turned his head to gaze at the nymph, looking as if he was about to lecture the other. “You’re a fae, Joon. You’re supposed to love singing.”

“I do, I just love to do it privately,” Joonmyun explained, twirling a shrimp between his fingers. He seemed very much done with the topic.

“Fae?” Chanyeol voiced, a little lost in the conversation.

“Faerie,” Baekhyun interpreted. “Nymphs and faeries are the same species. There are just different names for some of them.”

“Because I manipulate water, I’m a nymph,” Joonmyun explained further, “and Minseok uses ice so he’s a sprite.”

“So all faeries can sing?” Chanyeol asked, curious to find out more. He hadn’t realized that the faerie species was separated into types.

“Most of them. It’s their thing.” Baekhyun folded a piece of red meat into a large leaf, finally focusing on his lunch. “Elves can too usually, but that’s just because we’re naturally talented at everything.” He winked at the phoenix and bit into his green wrap.

“Like the piano. What were you playing?” Chanyeol asked, remembering that he meant to compliment the elf when he saw him again.

Baekhyun spoke around the food he had in his mouth, his words slightly slurred. “Something I wrote.”

Chanyeol was impressed. Not only could Baekhyun play beautifully, but he was able to write songs too. “It was wonderful.”

“Thank you.” Baekhyun had another wide smile on his face and his eyes were warm. The elf seemed to be a bright person and Chanyeol had a feeling they would get along great.

“Is that Kai?” Joonmyun suddenly asked aloud and Chanyeol followed his line of sight to a nicely dressed male standing by a box cooler near the buffet tables.

“Kai!” Chanyeol yelled across the room before he could help himself.

The vampire’s head lifted and his eyes settled on the table the phoenix was at.
 

Jongin’s head snapped up at the sound of his name being called rather loudly. He let out a soft sigh when he realized it was a certain phoenix who had called him. Of course it was Chanyeol. No one else would yell out so brazenly in the middle of a busy cafeteria. Once the vampire realized that the phoenix was sitting with some familiar faces, he decided to walk over to them. Otherwise Chanyeol might keep yelling.

Class wasn’t until nightfall for the vampire, but he had gotten hungry. The school had a pretty expansive collection of blood. They supplied different types in individual opaque plastic cups, each with a straw that could be stabbed through the thin plastic cover. It made the act of drinking blood look rather mundane.

With his cup of A positive in hand, Jongin approached the table where Chanyeol sat with Yixing, Joonmyun and two other unfamiliar faces.

“Fancy seeing a vampire up while the sun is out,” one of the two strangers commented. Jongin wasn’t sure if it was meant to be snarky or not. His golden eyes didn’t seem to hold any judgement, but Jongin had learned quickly that some people were very talented at hiding their true intentions.

“Pure bloods have certain perks,” Jongin replied smoothly, stabbing his straw through the thin film stretched over his cup.

The blond haired guy’s eyebrows raised slightly – in shock or interest, Jongin wasn’t sure. “Am I in the presence of royalty?” The star earrings dangling from his pointed elfish ears swayed a little with the movements of his head.

It seemed more people knew of the social hierarchy of the vampire world than Jongin had anticipated. “I’m merely Kai here,” he said, answering and yet not. So far it didn’t seem like the other species here at the school cared. Perhaps they were too young or perhaps Jongin was under the impression that his family had more influence than they really did. Either way he didn’t want to use his family name unless necessary.

“Baekhyun,” the blond introduced, smiling in a friendly manner. “Elf.”

“Sit down, Kai,” Yixing suggested, patting the empty chair next to him.

Jongin considered it before accepting the seat. He rested his arms on the table in front of him, holding his cup between his fingers. His crimson eyes returned to the elf on the other side of the table. “What element do you practice?”

The vampire was aware that elves were taught elemental magic. It was similar to how faeries were divided by elements but elves didn’t have the ability to transform their bodies as many faeries did. Elves practiced magic that had to do more with manipulating the elements as they already existed. While a nymph like Joonmyun produced water from his own body, elves could only manipulate water found in their environment.

“Light.”

Jongin made a sound in the back of his throat to signify that he had heard, but instead of answering with words, he stuck his straw between his lips and sipped at his drink. The blood warmed his body and brought a slight flush to his cheeks. Each type had a different flavour – A positive was tangy with an almost floral aftertaste.

As he drank, Jongin’s eyes brightened in colour and he turned his attention to the quiet brunet seated next to the elf. His nose told him that this guy was a faerie and judging by the colour of his vibrant eyes, he was most likely one of the woodland.

Probably feeling the eyes on him, the faerie lifted his gaze from his lunch and turned the full intensity of his emerald orbs on Jongin. He seemed to get the intention behind Jongin’s look and introduced himself in a soft voice, confirming the vampire’s guess of a woodland faerie.

Things went quiet for a few minutes after that, as neither Kyungsoo nor Jongin were very good conversationalists.

Baekhyun was the first to break that quiet by pointing at Jongin’s cup. “What does blood taste like?” he asked, leaning forward a little in his curiosity.

The vampire held out the cup in mock offering. “Take a sip and find out.”

The elf’s nose curled in disgust. “No thanks.”

Jongin caught the corner of Kyungsoo’s mouth lift into a bit of a smile. Was he amused? It was gone a second later.

“I’ve wondered too,” Chanyeol mused, leaning over a little so he could see Jongin around Yixing.

Jongin offered the cup towards the phoenix and after a moment of hesitation, Chanyeol actually took it. The vampire watched as the phoenix pulled the straw up so that the lower half of it that had been submerged in Jongin’s drink was up past the plastic seal. He swiped a finger down the straw, picking up some of the thick scarlet sticking to the plastic tube. Everyone at the table had their attention on Chanyeol, poised with curiosity or disbelief.

The phoenix held his finger up to his face for a moment, just looking at the bit of blood that had begun to slide down the side of his fingertip. His expression was apprehensive but also interested. Jongin thought he was going to chicken out but a moment later Chanyeol stuck his finger in his mouth and the reaction was instantaneous. Yixing in a sharp breath just as Chanyeol’s face transformed into that of someone who had been punched in the gut. His mouth opened with a choking sound and he stuck out his tongue, scrambling for his napkin to wipe the traces of blood from his mouth. He immediately reached for his own drink to try and wash away the taste.

“What did it taste like?” Baekhyun questioned, eager to find out since he didn’t have to be the guinea pig.

Chanyeol wiped at his finger to make sure all traces of blood were gone before responding to Baekhyun. “It was metallic, but it was like if you on the hilt of an old sword that had been held by dozens of sweaty hands.”

Baekhyun made a gagging face and Kyungsoo was muffling his quiet laughter behind his hand. There was a sliver of green peeking out from beneath Kyungsoo’s high necked shirt when he moved and the vampire wondered if it was a tattoo of some sort or a marking of faerie. Jongin took his drink back and shoved the straw back in properly. He took a long sip, his eyes lingering on Kyungsoo in quiet curiosity. While Baekhyun was very talkative, Kyungsoo had hardly said anything. The vampire wondered how the two of them had become friends.

“Have you ever had living blood?” Baekhyun asked. The elf seemed to be full of questions and wasn’t shy in the least with asking rather brazen ones.

Jongin wasn’t about to admit to these strangers that his family had humans whose main purpose was to feed them. That probably wouldn’t be looked at as casually as it was in the vampire community, even if it was consensual. So instead Jongin answered with a simple ‘yes’.

“Which is better?”

“Isn’t fresh food better to you?” Jongin countered.

“Touché.”

“Can vampires consume other types of food?” It was Joonmyun who asked this time, looking at Jongin with open curiosity.

“We can, but it has no nutritional value and it tastes rather bland.”

“You’re missing out on so many great foods,” Chanyeol said, sounding like that was a great tragedy.

Jongin shrugged. He was born a vampire so blood was all he had ever come to consume and enjoy. He didn’t have the same human memories that changed vampires had. You can’t miss what you’ve never experienced.

The conversation was directed towards a different topic with a single question asked of Joonmyun. Jongin didn’t understand the context so he took the opportunity to sit back and drink his lunch. His vermillion eyes remained watchful, taking in the subtle actions of those around him.

Chanyeol was full of wide hand gestures while he talked, but he didn’t seem to be very aware of it while he spoke, throwing his arms around haphazardly. He was easy to read and Jongin could recognize that he had an inviting presence. Yixing held himself like someone who had lived through many years, but while there was perhaps a weight on him, it wasn’t a burden. Joonmyun sat back a little from everyone. He was very much present, but he seemed to be someone who watched others like Jongin was doing. There were a few times where the vampire’s eyes met the nymphs and each time Joonmyun was the one who broke the contact first, the touch of a smile at the corners of his lips. Baekhyun was a loud and boisterous person with many thoughts on his mind that he voiced aloud with no inhibition. He and Chanyeol seemed to feed off of each other’s energies.

Kyungsoo was a harder read for Jongin. The faerie was quiet unless directly asked a question and while often times his eyes were on whoever was talking, there were many times when they remained trained on his plate of food. There were a few moments where it looked to Jongin like Kyungsoo was going to open his mouth to add some kind of comment or response, but then the small movement was gone and Jongin was left wondering if he had imagined it.

The time in the cafeteria, while loud, was also immensely interesting, if only as a way to offer some insight into who Jongin’s fellow students were.

The sun had set and it was time for Jongin’s last class of the week. His week so far was decent. Tuesday mornings were spent in dance class with his roommate Sehun. They had grown closer with the discovery of a common interest in dance. Tuesday afternoons were with Chanyeol in Human History class. The phoenix was actually less talkative in class, eager to actually learn. Wednesday at nightfall was Jongin’s class on the History of Night Beings. With a good chunk of his week being spent in class learning history, Jongin was glad to finally get to actual practice with using his abilities, even if it was when he would much rather be sleeping.

Exodus Academy had to provide specialized classes for some of their students who couldn’t survive in direct sunlight. Changed vampires and camazotz burned. Trolls turned to stone. Jongin would be in the same boat as changed vampires if it wasn’t for his ring.

This particular class was focused on mastering the skill of shadow manipulation. Only pure blooded vampires had that ability from the vampire species, so Jongin didn’t expect to see any other vampires (if there was another pure blooded vampire at the academy he would have known about it by now).

The class was small with just under a dozen students. Most of the students were wendigoag and hellhounds. Both those species had the ability to manipulate shadows and Jongin would come to learn that hellhounds shared his ability to travel using them. It made sense then as to why there was a hellhound teaching the class. Jongin’s professor would have to have the knowledge and ability to work with shadows in the same way that all of his students would.

There was one student who didn’t fit with any of the other students and he stuck out just as Jongin did. While the wendigoag took on their form given under the moon – stretching out like grotesque mannequins and growing twisted horns atop their heads – and the hellhounds took on more wolf-like forms, Jongin and this other student remained human looking.

They were well into class and had actually moved location to the expansive area of grass outside since the cold bothered none of them. The students were scattered across the open space next to the basketball court on the west side of the Athletics Center. Jongin’s professor was instructing them to practice stretching shadows between their hands when Jongin remembered where he had seen this other student before.

It was the guy who had disappeared outside of the dorms that first day when Jongin was with Chanyeol. The one who had been looking at the vampire rather intently.

He would be like an actual shadow to those without night vision, but Jongin’s eyes allowed him to see with absolute clarity even in the darkest of nights. The student was all in black with midnight hair that hung long over his onyx eyes. Everything he wore was some shade of black or charcoal grey. The only thing light about him was his skin which looked pale against the starkness of all the black.

It seemed the guy had recognized Jongin too if the glances from his dark eyes were anything to go by. He had yet to approach the vampire though, so Jongin decided to make the first move.

The vampire silently moved across the lawn, keeping it casual as he drew near the student. He was pretty to the point with his words though, wasting no time with small talk. “I saw you shadow walk the other day. In front of the dorms.”

The dark haired guy looked at Jongin with unreadable eyes, the shadows at his fingertips dissipating like smoke as his concentration was moved to the vampire.

He didn’t say anything for a long moment, so Jongin kept going. “I didn’t know there were species besides pure blooded vampires who could walk through shadows.”

“There aren’t many.” The guy finally spoke, his voice low but not gravelly. He went quiet again, just peering at Jongin with those deep, dark eyes. His gaze was actually kind of uncomfortable for Jongin, though he would never admit that out loud. It was as if the other male could see things about the vampire that he didn’t even know himself.

“What are you then?” Jongin pressed, seeing as his fellow student wasn’t inclined to give out information without being outright asked.

“A grim reaper.”

An odd chill ran down Jongin’s spine. It was odd because Jongin wasn’t effected by the cold, but also because that shouldn’t really bother him being a vampire and all. A grim reaper was a creature that dealt with death. Jongin had never personally met one until now and he didn’t know very much about them. Vampires were immortal though, so death wasn’t something Jongin entertained often when pertaining to himself.

“You seemed to already be good at shadow walking,” Jongin commented, curious to find out what a grim reaper was doing at this school. The species kept to themselves for the most part, only showing up when someone was going to die. It made sense if you think about it. They held the power to choose between life and death for someone. There were people who could try to exploit that.

“I am, but practice doesn’t hurt,” the dark-haired male replied with a very flat voice, as if he was reciting boring statistics.

“So were you just sent here for practice?”

“It was decided to test the resources of the academy. I’m the only grim reaper who has ever attended this school.”

That was more information than Jongin had expected to receive and it was very interesting. It was assumed that the reapers had their own system to teach their new recruits, though Jongin knew very few details. What made them decide now to find out what Exodus Academy had to offer when the school had been around for many years already?

“What’s your name?” The vampire was genuinely interested in this student. He wasn’t interested in knowledge of the future, but rather in the reaper species. Befriending one wouldn’t hurt.

“Zitao.”

Jongin chose not to hold out his hand. He didn’t think the other was into handshakes and Jongin didn’t really want to find out if grim reaper skin felt as cold and dead as it looked. Instead he merely introduced himself and asked for some simple assistance. “My name is Kai. Do you think you could give me some pointers with shadow walking?”

Zitao seemed reluctant but actually agreed, much to the vampire’s surprise. He and Jongin spent the rest of class working through the problems that Jongin seemed to have when it came to teleporting himself. They worked with short distances so that Jongin didn’t accidentally end up stranded in some far off location. They went through the steps Jongin had been taught and Zitao gave a few very helpful tips. Instead of just visualizing the place one wished to travel to, adding in smells and sounds into your mental image strengthened the location and made it less likely that it would shift mid-travel.

When class was finally called to an end, Jongin felt much more confident in his shadow walking skills. He had successfully teleported himself up to ten metres across the field. During their little one-on-one training session, a couple of the other students had become interested in the two of them. Zitao seemed to be able to ignore it while the two of them were talking or he was focusing on showing Jongin examples of shadow formations, but as soon as class ended, it was clear that the attention of more than one person was uncomfortable for the grim reaper. He bid the vampire a polite but short goodbye and promptly disappeared, being consumed twisting shadows.

A female wendigo – back in her more human looking form – introduced herself to Jongin before the vampire could make himself scarce as well. She was clearly interested, letting her violet eyes wander up and down Jongin’s body as she suggested they hang out sometime. Jongin was pretty certain he gave her some kind of slightly positive response even though he had no intention of actually following through. The vampire couldn’t even recall her name.

He summoned some shadows for assistance and visualized his dorm room for an easy out. With one step into the dark, swirling doorway of living shadows, Jongin silently hoped he would actually end up at his intended destination and was swallowed whole.

Happy 2019! This chapter was over ten pages long so it took me a little longer to get through it. I had a lot of fun with it though. 

Finally all of the EXO members have been introduced. Did any of you think Tao was the guy Kai and Chanyeol had seen before? And before anyone decides to bring it up, I know that the official power of Soo is "Force", but it just doesn't make sense to me to have all of the other elements represented but not earth. Soo has always had the power of earth in my mind so that's why he's a woodland faerie. 

Please vote in the poll down below to help me decide where Jongin is going to end up! He was a little overconfident when it came to shadow walking. 

Let me know in a comment who you wish ends up together! You may just convince me to add more possibilities. 

Until next time~