pairing: BaekChenLay
length: 1483 words

A healer who couldn’t heal.

Lay never failed to escape the blatant reminder of his ineptitude and today was no different.

As the tiny mouse in front of him hoarsely squeaked its very last breath, succumbing to the deep lacerations across its furry body, Lay stared off into the distance, already tuning out the harsh insults being screamed at him by his necromancy teacher.

After all, it was no different from how he had been yelled at the day before when he had failed to heal a little frog.

Or the week before when he had failed to heal a baby owl.

Or the month before when he had failed to heal a small fish.

Death…seemed inevitable whenever it came to Lay’s healing abilities. And no matter how much his teachers berated him, no matter how many times his tutors practiced with him, it all led to nothing.

Lay maintained a stoic expression as he traversed through the canteen, pointedly ignoring the jeers and jabs from his peers. As always, they jostled him around, taking great delight in smashing his toes, knocking his lunch tray askew, and spitting in his food. By the time Lay managed to reach the top left corner of the canteen, his leek soup was strewn all over the metal tray, his croutons were crushed into dust, and his chicken tenders were nowhere to be seen, all poached by his peers.

After he sat down, he only wordlessly scooped what he could back into his bowl before listlessly taking a bite and briefly glancing at the two other regulars in this corner of the canteen. “Didn’t get lunch today, Baekhyun?”

The raven-haired boy shook his head. “I figured I’d sneak into the kitchens later tonight for some scraps. It’s easier than dealing with that,” he quietly said, jabbing his thumb behind him towards the rest of their peers.

“Eh, today wasn’t too bad,” Lay mildly commented. “Some days, everything gets knocked to the floor, so I consider this a win.”

“Can I come with you to the kitchens, Baekhyun?” the brown-haired boy, Chen, asked as he lifelessly poked his own pile of congealed mash. “Kan and Ari made me throw up a bunch of worms in class just before this, so my appetite is kinda gone right now.”

Baekhyun winced while nodding. “Of course you can, Chen.” He then lightly tapped the eldest male’s shoulder before adding, “D’you wanna come with us, Lay?”

“Sure.”

Baekhyun was about to smile when their table suddenly caught on fire. Lay merely grabbed his tray and swung away from the growing inferno while Chen groaned, not bothering at all to save his lunch tray from instant incineration.

“Looks like that’s another table you’ve cost the academy, freaks,” Xiyeon gleefully hissed as she and Taewoon, who was smirking while blowing on his previously lit pointer finger, walked past the isolated corner. “Have fun explaining that to Headmistress Hwang,” she sang before erupting into hyena-like laughter as the pair disappeared into the crowd.

“C’mon, let’s get outta here,” Lay simply said while tossing his tray into the flames.

Both Baekhyun and Chen nodded, the former pulling his black hood over his face while the latter wearily held his stomach, before slinking out of the canteen with the eldest male through the back window.

--

“I dunno why they keep trying to pin property destruction on us,” Chen complained after taking a few sips of water from one of the few bottles that Baekhyun had managed to scavenge the previous week. “They all know we’re not capable of doing any of that. The Headmistress would have a field day if we actually did manage to light a table on fire.”

“I mean, we’ll probably get punished for instigating violence anyway,” Baekhyun softly said as he mindlessly drew circles into the dirt floor of their shared dormitory. “What d’you think they’ll make us do this time? Clean the showers? Behead the beetles?”

Chen slightly gagged while replying, “Please no bug talk today. I don’t wanna puke anymore.”

Lay only sighed as he mindlessly rubbed at the tiny lotus that was imprinted on his left shoulder. If only he could completely rub away the symbol that marked him as a healer. If only he could completely rid himself of this mismatched fate.

He glanced at Baekhyun and Chen, who also sported their own magical marks. A star on Baekhyun and a thunderbolt on Chen.

Yet the raven-haired boy was the epitome of darkness, unable to generate even the tiniest spark of light. And the brown-haired boy was nothing like the King of Greek Gods, in skill or temperament or presence.

It was rare enough to have one anomaly in the academy, much less three who were all incredibly close in age. Although Lay hated how the trio was treated like outcasts by the rest of the school, he was also secretly relieved to not be the sole black sheep here. It made his unpleasant situation that much more bearable, knowing that he had two others to keep him company in this otherwise austere and miserable home.

Hiding away in their dingy dormitory, as isolating as it was from the rest of their magical peers, was preferable to being constantly humiliated in class for something that was out of his control. Lay had grown numb to his situation, having suffered for years due to his inability to heal. The once sweet, gentle soul who used to deftly wrap wounds with soft cloths and eagerly prepare ice packs for any occasion had long since ceased to exist.

Death no longer fazed the emotionless healer.

Just as darkness completely shrouded the light manipulator.

And storms steered clear of the lightning caster.

“What should we say if Headmistress Hwang does ask us about what happened in the canteen earlier?” Baekhyun asked after a brief stretch of silence.

“Does it even matter?” Lay tonelessly pointed out. “She’ll test Chen, since he’s the only one out of the three of us who has even the faintest chance of causing a fire if he did have his powers. It won’t work. So we’ll all get another disciplinary mark on our report cards and another stack of useless homework assignments to complete in hopes that our powers will magically appear if they egg us on enough.”

Chen grumbled as he punched his limp, tattered pillow. “I bet even if we do somehow miraculously get our powers, they’ll still treat us like sewer rats. If they really cared about helping us figure out why our powers won’t work, they wouldn’t treat us like this,” he bit out.

Baekhyun nodded in agreement.

Lay properly glanced down at the lotus mark on his left shoulder and sighed loudly. How different would his life be if only this accursed symbol emitted the telltale purple glow that blessed all of the other healers in the land?

Would he be treated with respect and kindness like the rest?

Would he no longer be weighed down by the guilt of letting creatures die rather than saving them as he should?

Would he no longer lie in bed at night, on the brink of emaciation and dehydration, and shivering from the cold underneath a threadbare blanket?

Not that the answers really mattered. It was never going to happen. Lay had already made his peace with his defectiveness long ago.

Lost in his thoughts once more, Lay sat against the wall with a hollow stare. Until two hands tugged at his torn sleeves, jolting him out of his dark reverie.

“I’m cold,” Baekhyun stated as he crawled into the crook of the eldest male’s right arm.

“And I’m still kinda queasy,” Chen explained, making himself comfortable in the crook of the eldest male’s left arm.

The smallest of smiles appeared on Lay’s face as he gently drew the other two closer to him, sharing the little body heat and comfort that his own frigid and bony body could provide. “Let’s feast properly tonight, shall we?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna hoard all of the butter rolls and egg tarts,” Baekhyun murmured with a cheeky grin.

“I’m taking all of the potato chips and anything else that’s crunchy,” Chen said. “Anything to get rid of the squishy sensation of bugs in my mouth,” he added, squirming slightly from the unwanted memory.

“What are you gonna eat, Lay?” Baekhyun curiously asked.

“Mm, maybe I’ll make a ham and cheese sandwich for myself today,” Lay answered, his eyelids slowly starting to close as the sun gradually set in the sky, leaving their dormitory dimmer and dimmer with no other source of light. “Something nice and simple…”

“That sounds…yummy…” Baekhyun hummed dreamily, his eyes also fluttering shut.

“I wanna…go to…the kitchens…now…” Chen whispered as the final rays of sun gradually crept out of view.

And once the room was completely enveloped in darkness, all three pairs of eyes were completely shut.

♈♈♈