part ii.

When he was younger, Sehun heard rumors about the Ten Wizards, living deep within the forest, each possessing a different power, capable of making any wish come true. When he was younger, he decided he would go to their hiding place, hidden deep within the heart of the forest, and ask that they give him all the carrots in the world. When he was older, but before he met LuHan, he decided he'd wish to rule the forest, just because. After he met LuHan, and after they had become friends, he decided he didn't need any wishes, solely because LuHan was all he needed in life. Then, that thirtieth day came, and he decided, if ever, he would wish that he could be able to speak with LuHan. He decided to try to fulfill his wish on his own (stubbornly), and tried to tell LuHan how he felt through flowers. 

LuHan left him the day after SeHun had brought him a balsam. It meant "ardent love." SeHun wondered if it was too much, wondered if he scared LuHan away, but he pushed the thought out of his head. LuHan had taken care of him for all that time, LuHan had been his friend, and he knew, without a doubt, that LuHan loved him as much as he loved LuHan. LuHan had whispered it to him on the thirty-first day, tears dripping down his face, thanking SeHun for being there for him. SeHun wanted so badly to hold him, then, to tell him it would be okay. This complete confidence in the other, added to the desire to truly hold him and tell him how he felt, was the reason why SeHun left. He was going to find the Ten Wizards. He was going to go through the forest, and all its dangers, and their ten trials, and he would find them, and he would tell them to make him human, and he would go back to LuHan, and he and LuHan could be together, and he'd never have to worry about not having words to speak to him, and not having arms to hold him, or not letting him know how he felt. 

SeHun hopped through the forest, determination in every skip.

Today, he would've given LuHan a euphorbia, for persistence.

*

He had been hopping through the forest for about a day. His clearing with LuHan was situated towards the very edge of the forest, which only meant that a long journey lay ahead of SeHun. He was making his way through the dark path, tall trees completely hiding the light of the sun, determinedly hopping his way through. Then it started to rain. It never rained here. SeHun was baffled.

He rushed to hide under a large tree, but he had gotten wet all the same. The water seemed to flood in from the rain, and what had pooled on the forest ground began to rise at an alarmingly quick rate. SeHun was struggling to find higher ground, trying to get on to the tallest rock, see if he could find a way onto a tree branch. He couldn't. It was getting higher, higher, and the rain only came stronger, stronger. 

SeHun was determined, though. He figured that this might be one of the trials of the Ten Wizards. He hopped into the water, tried to propel himself down to the ground (the water had reached great heights, apparently) with his feet. He pushed harder, harder. Suddenly, he felt suffocated, and the water was pushing him up, away from the ground where he knew, without a doubt, that he would be safe. He was so close to giving up, he wanted to let go, float back up, wait until the rains would die down (though he knew, deep down, they wouldn't). 

Then he remembered why he was on this journey, why he wanted to meet the Ten Wizards, what he wanted to wish for. This was for LuHan, it was all for LuHan, and he wouldn't want LuHan to look at him disappointedly. He wanted LuHan to look at him with the same love as always, and he wanted LuHan to know that SeHun loved him just as much, and he wanted to tell him so, everyday, in their little clearing, as LuHan sketched the serene scene, sun sparkling in his eyes.

So, he pushed. He pushed harder, and harder, and harder downwards, until he was only a few inches away from touching the ground. When he finally made it, after what seemed like hours, after it felt like he could take no more, the rains stopped, and the water was drained away, almost as if someone opened a hole in the ground to it all in. SeHun sat for a while, tried to clear his head. Just as he was about to leave the rock upon which he was perched, he found a peculiar pebble, the carving of a strange teardrop embedded onto it. It seemed to light up as he touched it, and became warm to the touch. There was a silver pouch next to it, and he decided it seemed important, and tried the hardest a rabbit could to place the pebble into said pouch, and slid the knot of the pouch around his body.

He hopped away, pouch bouncing along in time.

Today, he would've given LuHan a dark pink rose, to say thank you.

*

He had spent the night behind a rock, woke up still slightly damp, and tried to dry up in the morning sun. It beat down on him, scorching hot. His fur was getting stifling. The sun was getting a bit too much for the rabbit, and he swore he could feel its heat, filtering in through the leaves and branches of the trees. He hopped on, hoping it would help relieve him from the torrid heat, but it did not. If anything, the heat only seemed to grow, more, more, more, until SeHun had to stop against a tree and wait for his dizziness, as a result of the heat, to subside. Then a branch fell, its yellow, orange and red leaves going up in flames. SeHun looked up. The tops of the trees were burning. He tried to get away, as fast as possible.

He dodged the falling branches, avoided the spreading flames, and moved as fast as he possibly could. He bumped into rocks, trees that had yet to burn, and his body ached from the exertion but he ran on, his goal still in mind. 

He promised himself, and LuHan, though the other had no idea, that he would return to him whole, as a person. That's what the apple blossoms meant: a promise for better things to come, for a better SeHun to return.

He felt like he had been running for days, although in truth, it had only been a few hours. He hopped through the falling debris, avoiding one burning branch by a small margin. They seemed to be falling harder, faster, and in greater frequency. He was getting tired, it was getting harder to move.

Then a bright light came up in front of him, and it was almost blinding. He heard a loud screeching, and he willed himself not to stop moving. He looked up. It was a bird, a burning bird. Phoenix, something whispered in SeHun's mind. It burned fierce and bright above SeHun, and he had to stop, had to ignore the falling debris, had to stare. Something in his body pulled him to it, told him that he had to stop. The phoenix flew down towards him and opened its mouth, and SeHun thought he would die like that, scared, tired, covered in soot, eaten by a bird of flame, when something fell out of its mouth. Another pebble, this time with the silhouette of a phoenix embedded into it, and it was warm to the touch, and as soon as he had touched it, everything stopped, the last few branches fell, and the fire was extinguished, and the phoenix was gone.

SeHun got the pebble to slip into his silver pouch, and he was off again.

Today, SeHun would've given LuHan a purple violet, to tell him that he was always thinking of him. Always.

*

There was a storm. Lightning was striking down the trees, leaving behind burnt up stumps, and scorched patches of earth, and SeHun was running, running, running, moving towards the eye of the storm, where everything would be safe, and he could proceed. He received a pebble with a scorpion on it.

Today, he would've given LuHan a snowdrop, a sign of hope.

*

The ground was shaking, the earth was opening up, trying to swallow him whole. He hopped over the cracks in the ground, tried to survive by hopping up and over the largest stones. He finally, after hours, reached a clearing with green grass, and green leaves, and green, green, green. He knew he was in the safe zone. He received a pebble with a strange shape, almost like sharp teeth with wings embedded into it.

Today, he would've given LuHan a nasturtium, meaning victory in battle, because was almost half-way through, and that in itself was a victory. It was all thanks to LuHan, though.

* 

It was snowing. It was cold, it was freezing. The trees were covered in frost, barely any leaves on them. The stones were slippery, covered in a thick layer of ice, the ground covered in snow. SeHun trudged through, trying not to drown in the thick coldness. He could not see clear ground anywhere. Everything was covered in white, and he was cold, so cold. He thought of LuHan, and his smile, and how he would smile warmly when he came back. The snow seemed to melt at the thought, and when he opened his eyes, he was back in the forest, free from any and all ice and snow. He received a pebble with a snowflake.

Today, he would've given LuHan a yellow tulip, to tell him that there was sunshine in his smile.

*

He seemed to be running through the same path over and over again. He had seen that bush with the purple berries on it at least thirteen times now. He wasn't exactly sure how to get out of this one. He was here, then he was back to there, and then he reached here, and he was back to there. He sat down in the middle of the path and began to think. 

Somehow, he was assaulted with memories of the past, his childhood, his being left alone, his surviving on his own, his meeting LuHan. He was sad. He missed LuHan. He wanted to go home, why couldn't he go home? He seemed to live through every moment of his life, the sad audience of a rabbit's life. 

He was watching that last day, watching as he left behind a cluster of flowers, purple hyacinth, apple blossoms and the flowering bracnch of an arbutus tree, at the foot of LuHan's favorite stone, the seat he called his throne, and to SeHun, it was, because it seemed to him that LuHan ruled his life. 

He remembered when he broke off the branch of that arbutus tree. He knew he had always wanted to use that to tell someone, "thee only do I love." He was saving that for a special day to give to LuHan, but he changed his mind when he decided to leave. LuHan needed to know. 

He opened his eyes, stared determinedly in front of him, and walked straight forward, resolution in every step. He walked straight out of the path without a problem. He received a pebble with an hourglass on it. It was wet, almost as if it were weeping.

Today, he would've given LuHan a blue violet, to tell him that he would always be faithful and true.

*

There was a wall of vines in front of him. He'd tried breaking it through, but it only came back, harder and stronger. He tried chucking rocks at it, see if it could rip through the vines, but every time an opening was made, it quickly regenerated itself. 

SeHun was tired. It had been, what, seven days, and he had not yet reached the Ten Wizards. What if LuHan was worried about him? What if he stopped going to the place, thinking SeHun had left him? What if he never came back? SeHun panicked, teared up at the thoughts that had attacked him.

The wall of vines suddenly opened up, letting a unicorn come through. SeHun stared. It lowered its head, tapping its horn against SeHun's head, and SeHun felt a warmness seep into him. He felt energized, rested, and he felt his negative feelings flush out of him. He felt hope.

The unicorn seemed to smile as it dashed away, leaving a pebble with its silhouette printed onto it.

Today, he would've left LuHan a salal, to show him his enthusiasm, both for LuHan and for his quest.

* 

He was floating. Why was he floating? He went to sleep against a tree last night, and he woke up floating. Why was he floating? He was sleepy, still sleepy, but he was floating. He bumped into the branch of a tree, and floated on, ache growing in his head. He did not know how to get out of this.

He tried to remember LuHan, as that always seemed to be his ticket out. He remembered how LuHan made him feel like he was floating, even hours after he had left. 

He floated up, higher, higher.

He resurrected the feeling LuHan brought to him whenever they were together, and went up, higher, higher, until he was soaring over the tops of the trees.

He looked down at the forest, and thought, I am a rabbit, my name is SeHun, I love LuHan, and I am flying.

He soared forward, closing his eyes, feeling the breeze through his fur, and then he stops. He opens his eyes, and realizes he has bumped into a hard, red object. It has scales. 

The dragon turns to stare at him, and SeHun is rooted to his spot. Dragons, he thinks. The dragon nods, eyes fierce, staring at SeHun. He moves forward, nuzzles silver pouch around his neck. SeHun looks down towards it, and sees a light seeping through. He finds that the phoenix has appeared behind him. SeHun is terrified, and thinks, LuHan, LuHan, this is for LuHan. The two creatures seem to have a conversation; the phoenix seems almost sheepish, clumsy, its fierce face twitching every now and then. Is it smiling? The dragon seems exasperated, tired, affectionately angry at the phoenix. SeHun is not sure how he knows this, but he does. The phoenix flies towards SeHun, floating in the air, jerks his head towards the silver pouch and it glows again, the silhouette of an hourglass glowing through the fabric. The dragon nods again, disappears, and the weight of the pouch around SeHun's body seems to grow. The phoenix stares at SeHun, his face twitches again, and SeHun is back on the ground. He finds that he now has a pebble with the shape of a dragon carved into it. 

Today, SeHun would've liked to give LuHan a cactus, if he could get one, to tell him that his bravery and endurance now was for him. He also thought that it might make LuHan laugh.

* 

SeHun was crawling into a tiny cave behind a patch of trees to rest for the night. It seemed perfect, and he didn't think it'd be possible for him to wake up floating again in there. Just as he was about to drift away to sleep, a light had shone through the cave. A light so bright, SeHun had thought LuHan had come for him, and he felt so light himself, so happy, and then SeHun was blinded, everything lost to his vision except for the whiteness of the light. He stumbled through it, trying to find an escape. There was no sound, no smell, only light. SeHun did not know how to get out of this place. 

*

LuHan was there, and he was human, and he was tall, taller than LuHan, and he was looking down at LuHan, then he was reaching out, handing LuHan a calla lily for his magnificent beauty, and then he takes LuHan, holds him in his arms, and he whispers--

*

He woke up. He had fallen asleep in the light. A black shape appeared. Then it was gone. Then it was behind them, then it was gone, then it was in front of him, then it was gone, then it was there, and then it wasn't. He was disoriented, confused at the sudden black in the whiteness of the light. SeHun watched the black figure, with its graceful movements. It moved with confidence, creating large swirls in the air. SeHun watched.

He pounced.

He jumped, hard, and propelled himself towards the shape. He hit it with a hard thump.

"Get off me, stupid bunny!" The shape could talk.

SeHun had fallen on its chest. He realized the shape was a human, dressed in black robes. The hood had fallen off, and he saw the face of a human boy. 

"God, Jongin, you really ," a voice said. SeHun turned, still seated on the boy's chest, only to find another black, hooded figure. He removed the hood, and revealed another human boy, smirk alight on his face. "You totally ruined the game, getting caught like that. You ."

"I hate you, Baekhyun" the boy under SeHun, apparently named Jongin, groaned. "It's not my fault we got a bunny this time. They have strong feet. Also, it's Kai, not Jongin."

"You got beat by a rabbit," another voice said, laughter in his tone. SeHun turned again, only to find a cluster of boys in black robes, their hoods already drawn off. The man who had spoken, laughed, smiled, and his face twitched. Phoenix, SeHun had realized.

"Look," the phoenix-boy says, "he recognizes me!"

"Yeah, your twitchy little face is pretty recognizable," a tall figure says, his face long, almost perfect, as if it were sculpted, was framed by two eyebrows, furrowed in dismay, although his eyes revealed amusement. It's the dragon.

SeHun watches the boys speak excitedly, laughing and joking at one another. He is still seated on Jongin's--Kai's--chest. The giant phoenix-boy picks him up by the ears, and stares at him.

"Hi, I'm Chanyeol!" The phoenix-boy chirps in a deep, deep, deep voice. "I'm the phoenix!"

And suddenly, SeHun can speak.

"Hi," he starts, awkwardly, as if experimenting with his words. "He calls me SeHun..." It comes out as Thehun, as if he has a lisp, and he is embarrassed, but the giant phoenix-boy, Chanyeol, only smiles, his eye twitching again.

"Hi Sehun," Chanyeol says happily. "So, what are you here for?" Baekhyun, the one that insulted Kai earlier, smacks him on the side of the head. (It was a pretty far reach.) 

"Stupid," Baekhyun says without malice. "Let SuHo or Kris deal with it."

"I want to be leader," Chanyeol says, pout on his face. SeHun wonders if giants or phoenixes ever pout.

"Hello, Sehun! I'm SuHo, and we are, one, two, three," a boy with a bright smile on his face begins, trails off into a whisper, and--

"One!"

"...One?"

"One..."

"...are one?"

The rest continued, lacking synchronization, obviously, and practice. 

"We are the Ten Wizards!" They all say that at the same time, thankfully. SeHun wonders if they're serious.

The boy named SuHo smiles brightly.

"So, we've heard about your problem, but protocol states that we still have to hear what exactly it is from your lips, so, go ahead!" SuHo chirps brightly. 

So, SeHun tells them his problem. He tells them about LuHan, and he tells them about his love for him, and how he's sure LuHan loves him back, but he can't tell him, can't show him exactly what he means. He tried, but LuHan did not understand his flowers, and he disappeared that one day, and SeHun decided that he needed to change. He needed to do something. He needed to be human.

The Ten Wizards listen quietly, some of them with their brows furrowed, almost as if thinking deeply. A boy with large, deep, scary eyes and dark hair looks as if he's about to cry. The dragon pats his back silently. One of the boys, one with very big eyes, looks shocked, confused. Others look sad.

SeHun finishes his story, and the boy with scary eyes has tears streaming down his face, and the dragon-boy holds him quietly. 

"That's what you want then?" Kai asks after a long period of silence. "You want to be human, that's your wish?"

"Yes," SeHun responds.

"Think about it carefully," SuHo says, a serious look replacing his sunshine-smile from earlier. "Are you sure that's what you wish for? You have to be very specific."

"Yes," SeHun responds again, even more firmly than the first time, even if SuHo's words confused him. "I wish to be human, so that I may be with LuHan."

There is a flash of light, and before SeHun loses conciousness, he thinks, today, I would've given LuHan a red camellia, to tell him he is the flame in my heart. Maybe later, I can tell it to him myself.

________________

definition of flowers:
EUPHORBIA: Persistence.

ROSE, DARK PINK: Thankfulness.

VIOLET, PURPLE: Thoughts of you, blue love.

SNOWDROP: Hope and consolation.

NASTURTIUM: Conquest, victory in battle.

TULIP, YELLOW: Hopeless love, there's sunshine in your smile.

VIOLET, BLUE: Watchfulness, faithfulness, I'll always be true.

SALAL: Zest.

CACTUS: Bravery and endurance. Grandeur.

CALLA LILY: Magnificent beauty.

CAMELLIA, RED: You're a flame in my heart. Unpretending excellence, innate warmth, alas my poor heart.

____________

author's note: It gets worse. Also, I have no idea if anything I wrote about rabbits are real. I tried to research, I swear I did, but I'm a lazy bum.