A/N: Early update cause today is HAPPYCHANYEOLDAY! Happy birthday to EXO's happy virus <3 And OMO! So many wanted Xiuhan to be introduced this chapter. Ottokae!? At least you're half right...? Haha congrats to those who got it right. Read on to find out who the two new members are! Enjoy this chapter ^^ 

Their daily routine of training in the arena was disrupted one day when Lady Yura summoned for the four. The boys were anticipating good news; after all it has been awhile since Kyungsoo and Sehun have arrived with no clue as to where they should begin their search for the remaining dragon eggs. It was then there they stood before the Pool of Tranquility, waiting for the Queen’s news- Lady Yura was peering intently into the Pool with utmost concentration while the four boys were patiently waiting for her in the background

Lady Yura squealed and clapped her hands excitedly before turning to address the four boys who had sprung forward, “The Pool has seen it! Finally… you guys have a direction to move forward.” Kyungsoo was specifically thrilled- finally he could embark on the quest Kyōhei had started him on…

“That’s great Lady Yura! So where do we have to go?” Kyungsoo pounced forward to grab Lady Yura’s shoulders, shaking her a little whilst still lost in his delight. Kai stifled a grin at the elder’s cute enthusiasm, “Calm down hyung, you’re going to kill her before she can tell us” he chuckled while ruffling Kyungsoo’s hair. Kyungsoo blushed and hurriedly released the giggling Yura, bowing repeatedly as an apology.

Behind the pair, Sehun and Chanyeol sniggered knowingly- one must be blind to not have noticed the slight progress in the former two’s relationship, they’ve long moved pass the merely acquaintance stage to a now borderline inseparable pair… just shy of being an official couple. It has been barely a week in the Elven Woods, but the four has since grown to be a close tight-knit group- going everywhere together. It was till the point that the rest of the Elves have resorted to calling them collectively as ‘the Elites’ rather than address the four individually. The aura exuded when the four were together was immense. Chanyeol always joked that to gain membership into ‘the Elites’, one must be an expert combatant equipped with powers and skills considered superior to the average man. He may seem as if he was merely his own ego, but he was most definitely not exaggerating.

“Alright, I think I better spit it out before our resident cutie here kills me with his curiosity… the Pool didn’t explain much but I could make out the blurred outlines of a warehouse in the outskirts of Light Nation. There were a bunch of people there and I saw a pair of twins… Two boys around your age, they were auctioning something.” Yura took a deep breath before rushing on, “It’s definitely some sort of black market… you guys can’t let other strangers get their hands on the prize! You guys have to get there and win the auction!”

They blinked rapidly as if to process what Yura just said before Sehun voiced out, “Why must we win the prize?” It was a question that all the four had in their heads. Yura grew animatedly more excited, “Because the two boys were selling an egg!”

Ohhh… Wait WHAT!?

“What??? They’re auctioning a dragon egg? How? It’s impossible… no one goes around showing off their possession of one of the most sacred things across the lands. Also… Zökr, they aren’t in their right minds if they thought the evil lord wouldn’t catch wind of the egg auction and do nothing to them. It’s like they’re personally inviting the Guard to come get them. It doesn’t make sense!” The more he thought, the more Kyungsoo got confused. The other three weren’t doing much better.

“I know it sounds weird, there’s definitely something off there… but at least it’s something! And it’s an egg, I don’t care if the deal sounds fishy… all I know is you guys should make your way down to get the egg as soon as possible.” Yura reasoned. “Kyungie, Lady Yura is right… I know it’s weird but we’ve got to start somewhere. Let’s just make our way to Light Nation to check it out. This could be our breakthrough…” Chanyeol and Kai nodded along to Sehun’s words.

“I guess you’re right… ok. We’ll move off for Light Nation at nightfall. I’ll tell Midnight to get ready.” Kyungsoo admitted. Sehun and Kai beamed, they were finally starting off on their quest! Yes, the quest was originally for Kyungsoo and Sehun only… but the other two boys were impossible to shake off at this stage. The four were now an inseparable team- ‘the Elites’- wherever Kyungsoo goes, Kai would surely follow and there’s no way his best friend Chanyeol will want to be left behind… the party of two had doubled.

“You might want to fly to this village near Lake Alfrën, the warehouse is in that vicinity.” Yura offered her final advice before they embarked on their quest, “After Light Nation, I’m sure Draken and the other Faer Gonds will move you guys on to the rest…”

“I understand. Thank you Lady Yura!” Kyungsoo moved to hug the Queen. They didn’t know when would be the next time they could return to the Woods. Upon realizing this, Kai and especially Chanyeol went to embrace their sister, saying their quiet goodbyes. Time was tight, and they needed to get the egg first before others disappeared with it. After they had gathered all their necessary items to bring along for the journey, they made their way over to the clearing where Midnight was awaiting.

“W-Wait… we’re flying!?” Chanyeol’s eyes grew to eclipse Kyungsoo’s. The other three boys deadpanned before Kai slapped his palm against his forehead. To think the elf hadn’t figure out what their mode of transport would be…

“Is there a problem Yeollie?” Kyungsoo asked concernedly. The taller shook his head rapidly as if to convince himself that flying on a dragon thousands of feet above ground was no problem at all. Don’t be a wuss Chanyeol! You can do it… flying is not scary. NOT AT ALL. The four settled on Midnight’s back in this order: Kyungsoo, Kai, Chanyeol and then Sehun. The last boy was purposely seated behind just in case one of the two beginner flyers fell off midflight. Midnight rose from the ground and ambled a short distance before pushing off towards the night sky.

The blood drained from Chanyeol’s face. I take it all back. This is ultimate scary!!! During the flight, Kai’s arms came to rest naturally around Kyungsoo’s waist. The elder laid back comfortably in Kai’s embrace and soon fell into a peaceful sleep, a smile on his face. Sehun can’t help but love the sight- he was glad that his best friend had opened up to another person besides him. The youngest was determined to prove that the Avatar deserved to have friends and loved ones… no one deserved to be alone. Chanyeol soon grew accustomed to defying gravity through flight and was now squashing Sehun, after deciding that leaning back like Kyungsoo was a good idea… except that Sehun had no intention of hugging the elf to sleep unlike Kai with Kyungsoo.

They were soon passed the White Wolf Range, stopping to relief themselves and resting for an hour before taking flight again. It was breaking dawn when they neared Lake Alfrën- the lake so large and the water so clear. They took advantage of the clean water to stock up on water supplies and clean the dirt off their bodies. There was a small village, just off the north bank of the lake… The four decided to make their way there on foot for they could not risk anyone seeing Midnight, being so close to Middle Nation.

The village was bustling despite its small size but one look at the surroundings led the boys to deduce that the villagers weren’t particularly well off. The four stood out like a sore thumb with their expensive silk cloaks- the dark black and emerald green of the Elves on Chanyeol and Kai, and the pure white and gold of Air Nation on Sehun and Kyungsoo. They kept the hoods up, masking half of their face for fear of recognition. Stalking pass the villagers, they could easily pass off as merchants.

“Where should we start looking? Yura said about an old warehouse… it’s going to be hard to pinpoint one without knowing what kind of warehouse to look for.” Chanyeol whispered to the rest in their close huddle.

“It might not be in this village too… judging from the environment, this place doesn’t look like it would have an auction selling off millions worth in prized possessions.” Kyungsoo replied. “Maybe we should head to an inn, get some food first and then start asking around for black market auctions where we can trade our goods or something.” The rest nodded in agreement, Sehun was particularly glad that they could finally get some long overdue food into their stomachs.

They settled into a modest family inn, sending the owners scrambling to accommodate their rich patrons. A father and son pair soon rushed forward to get their cloaks but the four declined fervently- the cloaks stayed on to hide the weapons strung on their backs. They took their window of opportunity while waiting for the food to be served by pulling aside the young boy…

“Hi kid! Do you know where in this village could my friends and me find some sort of a traders’ market? We were kind of looking to buy some highly valuable goods… you know of a place like that?” Kai smiled gently at the boy who was evidently nervous, having never associated with people in the upper class before. The rest were also smiling encouragingly at the younger boy until Sehun whacked Chanyeol’s head with a loud whisper of ‘stop with that derp smile, you’re scaring him’. The boy seemed relieved from not having to look at Chanyeol’s creepy smile and divulged information about the rich neighboring town just an hour journey away, apparently that’s one of the must visit places for rich merchants- the town had everything ranging from expensive jewelry to simply unexpected treasures. There was definitely a higher possibility of finding the auction there then in this poor village.

They thanked the boy and enjoyed a splendid meal before taking off for the next town on two procured horses, paying plenty more than the norm for their services. Sehun had forced himself behind Kyungsoo, effectively subjecting Kai to share an uncomfortable journey on their horse with an oversized elf. Kyungsoo shot a pitiful smile at Kai while the oblivious Chanyeol hauled him up onto the horse.

It was well into an hour when they approached the high walls of what looked to be a fortress. This was definitely a rich commercial town- everywhere they looked, people were dressed with the finest materials, expensive jewels on display for all to see.

“This must be Calad! The town where snatchers come to trade and sell their stolen goods… the captured men back home were always mentioning of such a town. The people here must be very rich if they could motivate snatchers to come for our Elf jewels… this town trades everything! The auction must definitely be here.” Chanyeol exclaimed. “But there’s too many people here, the town’s bigger too… we should start looking for a warehouse or the twins that Yura mentioned.” Kai surveyed the mass of people before turning to Kyungsoo, “Do you think your powers could help narrow down the search?”

Sehun noticed the slight grimace from his best friend and wrapped his arms around the other, “Kyungie it’s ok… just search for an auction, or if anyone mentions twins… that works too. Just ignore the rest of the voices.” Kai frowned; he had forgotten how painful it was for Kyungsoo to take in so many minds at once. He made to apologize “Hyung, I’m sorry-” but was cut off by the older boy, “It’s ok Kai. I can take it… just hang on for a moment.” Kyungsoo afforded a small smile.

The second he brought down those mental barriers, the loudness of the town erupted in his head causing Kyungsoo to wince, both arms shooting to cover his ears. But through Sehun’s warm arm around his shoulder, Chanyeol’s encouraging (but still creepy) smile and Kai running his palm in circles over Kyungsoo’s smaller back, the boy managed to calm down and start sieving out relevant information. It took time- the four stood in the middle of the busy road waiting for Kyungsoo- before finally being rewarded with a huge heart-shaped grin from the boy. “It’s this way…” Kyungsoo beckoned while the rest trailed after him.

After a short walk, the four halted outside a shady looking warehouse. Eyeing one another, Kyungsoo then determinedly strode forward to knock loudly on the chained doors. Faint footsteps could be heard before the door slid open just wide enough for the four to meet a pair of dark brown eyes.

“Can I help you?” The pair of brown eyes raked through the party outside the warehouse. Sehun cleared his throat and stepped beside Kyungsoo, staring down at the man “We’re here for the auction.” The man nodded, “May I have your invitation please?”

“Invitation?” Sehun panicked, looking at an equally flustered Chanyeol and Kai. “No Invitation, no entry.” The man drawled, “If you have not received an invitation from the Twins, you’re not allowed in I’m afraid. Standard Procedure… I’m sure you guys understand.”

“Listen here mister! You’re going to let us in even without an invitation. Open this door before I make you…” Sehun threatened, fingers moving towards the grip on his hidden sword. Hardly flustered at the threat, the man simply yawned and repeated “No invitation, no entry. There’s no way in hell I’m-