[Year 19 of Exile]

[Kyungsoo]

“I am banning Kai from ever participating in this programme.”

“Luhan-hyung!” Kai wailed, hands on his head, his knees glued to the floor. “I didn’t mean to! Don’t do this to me, please!”

The elder shook his head, walking past the kneeling boy and headed into the kitchen. I shot a last glance at the sobbing boy, motioning for Zitao to take care of him momentarily as I followed Luhan-hyung.

“Luhan, you’re not helping the situation at all.” Xiumin-hyung deadpanned, his eyes hard and stormy. “You know how Kai is sensitive when it comes to her.”

“I don’t care. She is once again hurt under his watch, there’s no way he’s going to be alone with her ever again.” The younger of the two growled, his fists clenched as he sat down at the table, joining Jongdae-hyung and Kris-hyung.

“Xiumin’s right, you know how that boy blames himself. Your rash decision would only aggravate his condition.” Kris-hyung murmured, his long fingers clasped together on the table. His eyes stared at his fuming same-aged friend who refused to meet his eyes. “I don’t agree with you.”

“Well, I’m older so your argument is invalid.”

“Then, as the eldest, I’m invalidating your decision.”

“Xiumin!” Luhan-hyung slammed his palms onto the wooden table, his eyes flashing and a contorted expression of rage formed on his face. “This is no time to be joking!”

“Do I look like I’m joking?” Xiumin-hyung glared at his friend, eyes so hardened that one could tell right away that the boy was in no playful mood. “I have never been so serious in my life.”

The two continued to breathe fire, neither backing down and Kris-hyung could only look at them both, not knowing what to do. In the midst of it all, Jongdae-hyung kept his eyes trained on his clasped hands.

I stepped into the kitchen, and the two oldests’ eyes snapped to me. I should have cowered under their intense gazes but at that moment, I had better things to be fearful of.

Such as an unconscious Jen.

And an insane Sehun.

“Stop quarreling already, you’re making the whole situation worser than it already is.” I whispered, knowing full well that the four boys in the kitchen could hear it perfectly. “We need to figure out what happened to Sehun.”

“I think I know.”

All heads darted to the voice instantly. Jongdae-hyung finally let his eyes pull away from his hands, meeting ours as they flitted from face to face. They looked weary, and the severe eyebags under his eyes proved that he hadn’t been sleeping well.

“I think I might have figured out James Pigalle’s power.”

“Suho-hyung!”

I burst through the door to Kai and Sehun’s shared room, my biceps bulging as I gradually released my control over my super strength. The scene in the room filled me with fear as my eyes took in the bright glow of light surrounding Baekhyun-hyung’s hand, as well as the water that Suho-hyung was continuously gathering from the large basins on the floor to drench a screaming Sehun.

Strong wind that came from nowhere whipped around us, and I wondered why there were no hurricanes out in the neighbourhood yet, seeing how the youngest was struggling so vehemently against the thick ropes that bound his wrists and ankles to the bedframe.

“Kyungsoo!” Relief flooded Suho-hyung’s face as I ran to his side immediately. “Thank God you’re here, I’m running out of water and this moron here won’t shut up.”

“We need you to knock him out, though we really don’t wish to.” Baekhyun-hyung shot me an uncertain look, clearly depicting his desire to not harm the boy. But it seems that we don’t have a choice, because out in the backyard, our spirit animals are fighting too.

Apparently, Gale went berserk as well.

“Here I go.” I clenched my fist, and aimed a well-placed whack to the boy’s head. The impact was loud and I cringed at the sound, praying that nothing within that skull of his was harmed in the process. The boy went limp, silence immediately filling the room and both Suho-hyung and Baekhyun-hyung heaved sighs of relief. “He shouldn’t wake up any time soon.”

“Thanks, Soo.” Suho-hyung collapsed onto the floor, his fingers directing the water in the air back into the basins. “I was about to die.”

“Not only you…” The glow around his hand gradually disappeared, and Baekhyun-hyung, too, fell onto the floor. “I was about to give out as well. Who knew blinding the kid would be so tiring.”

We settled on a side of the bed, sitting with our legs crossed on the floor. Our eyes would occasionally flit to the still body on the bed, hoping that the boy wouldn’t wake up.

“How’s Jen?” Baekhyun-hyung broke the silence first, his hands wringing in his lap. “Is her neck wound alright…?”

I shrugged. “I haven’t seen her yet. I came straight here from the kitchen after hearing Suho-hyung yell for help.”

The other two nodded, exhaustion so evident on their faces. They've been tasked to quieten the insane boy since I discovered him in Jen's room; and that was almost half a day ago. “I hope she’s alright…”

“When I threw Sehun off her, there was blood on the bandage.” I shuddered, the exact image surfacing in my mind. “I just hope that Yixing-hyung would be able to stop the bleeding.”

“I think Kou’s helping him, if he’s not out there restraining that crazy gryphon.”

“Why did the animal go berserk too though…” Baekhyun-hyung murmured, the back of his hands wiping away the beads of perspiration that dotted his forehead. “We can’t seriously be linked to our spirit animals, can we…?”

“I think we are.” I stood up, deciding to head over to the girl since I wouldn’t stop worrying. “They’re called ‘spirit animals’ for a reason.”

“Come back to us after you’ve seen her.” Suho-hyung called out as I gently shut the door after me. “Good or bad, just tell us honestly.”

I can only pray that it’ll be ‘good’.

[Chanyeol]

“She’s losing a lot of blood.”

“I can see that.”

“If only she was awake to actually amplify my power…” The human mock-whined, his hands still positioned above her neck, a shade of blue obscuring the supposedly gruesome mess of blood and flesh. “If only…”

“But she’s not, hyung.” I muttered reluctantly, eyes fixated on her sleeping countenance. She seemed so at peace, so calm, but knowing her, if she was awake, she would be screaming at the immense pain. “And that worries me.”

“Don’t worry, child. She’ll be fine