Although he had traveled for several weeks with Kai since their near encounter with Dark Pegasus, Kyungsoo had still never seen the man transform to his chimera form. The traveler’s curiosity was now peaking at an all-time high. He had only ever read about the creatures in legends about Ancient Greece, but he didn’t think they were as bad as historical accounts made them out to be. Especially since Kai was so nice and caring to him, always offering to hunt for food while Kyungsoo scavenged for water and firewood. Kai had also taken over the cooking, having perfected the art over the millennia, which Kyungsoo quite enjoyed since he had grown tired of his own cooking after years of eating the same foods during his travels. And best of all, Kai always welcomed it when Kyungsoo curled up next to him as they slept, the traveler tightly clutching the thin fabric of Kai’s shirt, and he even pulled the small man closer to him so that he could feel Kyungsoo’s heartbeat against his own chest.

So one afternoon, Kyungsoo asked if it would be okay for Kai to shape-shift to his original form.

“You really don’t want to see what a chimera looks like,” Kai stated gruffly, his voice hardening with each word. “We’re one of the ugliest magical creatures to have ever existed. One of the main reasons my mother went crazy and started attacking the old Greek villages was because she couldn’t come to terms with her appearance.” His head hung low with his light brown locks covering the top half of his face as he spoke of memories from eons ago. “She was so jealous of the serene dryads, the graceful mermaids, and the noble hippogriffs. It just wasn’t fair to her that they could be so loved for their looks while she looked like a complete mess in comparison to them.”

“But you’re so handsome as a human.” Kyungsoo couldn’t believe that the most gorgeous man he had ever laid eyes on could ever be as unsightly as Kai was making himself out to be.

“That doesn’t mean I’m just as handsome as a chimera,” Kai countered. “You’re going to laugh at me or freak out once you see what I really look like.”

“You’re just overreacting. I’m sure it isn’t as bad as you’re making it sound.”

“It is.”

Kyungsoo pouted, his large eyes widening even more as he latched onto Kai’s arm. “Please, can I see it just once?” he begged, blinking up innocently at his traveling companion.

A bright red flush visibly painted Kai’s defined cheeks, even against his bronze skin tone. The taller male couldn’t take it anymore. He had tried to hold himself back for Kyungsoo’s sake and his own sanity, but with the traveler continually pestering to see his other form and his own body impulsively reacting to Kyungsoo’s requests, it becoming too difficult to retain his human form much longer. Not to mention, he had never stayed as a human this long before. So Kai suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“…Kai?”

And then a bright white light erupted from Kai’s body, encasing the male in an iridescent cocoon that almost blinded Kyungsoo who had to quickly step back and shield his eyes when the sudden transformation began. The cocoon began pulsing and widening as the seconds passed, bright light and sparks flying every which way from the brilliant mass. And a giant creature emerged from the cocoon as the light slowly dissipated to reveal the chimera’s true form.

“I’m hideous,” Kai whispered in his gravelly, animalistic voices that echoed against the dozens of trees surrounding the two males. He angled his large monstrous body so that his three heads were facing away from an astonished Kyungsoo, who continued gaping at the scene in front of him.

Kai had transitioned from the dashing young man he was smitten with into a towering creature that comprised of a golden lion, a silvery goat, and a dark reddish-brown dragon. The lion’s head, which Kyungsoo assumed was the main one, had a beautiful brownish-orange mane framing the furry face that refused to turn in Kyungsoo’s direction. Likewise, the long, thin goat’s head that was to the left of the lion’s head and the scaly, angular dragon’s head that was to the right of the lion’s head were also bent away. The main body was of the lion, the taut muscles rippling underneath the shining golden coat and the giant paws with sharp claws glistening in the dim sunlight that filtered through the dense forest foliage. A pair of magnificent leathery dragon wings extended from the back of the lion’s body and a thick scaly tail was attached to the rear end of the creature, ending in a green snake’s head with its long forked tongue darting out from its jaws every few seconds.

“This…this is what a chimera looks like?” Kyungsoo breathed out in amazement as he reached an outstretched hand in Kai’s direction, wanting to confirm that this was reality and not some kind of strange fantasy. But the supernatural creature immediately shrank away from the shorter man’s touch to Kyungsoo’s disappointment. “Kai…”

“Go ahead and laugh at me. I know how disgusting I look with my mismatched body parts,” the chimera growled bitterly with his lion head. His furry triangular ears flattened against his large lion head while his snake head tail hung limply between his hind legs.

Kyungsoo felt his heart wrench with pain when he saw the crystal teardrops gather at the corners of Kai’s three pairs of eyes: the warm umber brown eyes of his lion head, the soft sky blue eyes of his goat head, and the striking ruby red eyes of his dragon head. He wished the other male knew how beautiful he actually was. “I would never laugh at you, Kai. I honestly don’t think you’re ugly. You’ve always been very attractive to me and this new exterior doesn’t change what you’re like on the inside.” The traveler attempted once more to place his hand on Kai, who didn’t shy away this time. “You don’t have to be afraid of being judged,” Kyungsoo murmured to the chimera while resting his forehead against the soft furry forehead of the lion.

The two stood there in companionable silence with Kyungsoo rubbing small circles against the lion’s soft cheeks. After a few minutes, the goat head and the dragon head cautiously wrapped their heads around the traveler so that he was in between all three heads. A musical giggle escaped Kyungsoo’s plush heart-shaped lips and Kai felt his insecurities slowly drift away as his three pairs of ears hungrily drank in the sound of Kyungsoo’s laughter. His snake head tail began wagging and low hums rumbled from the chimera’s broad furry chest, tickling Kyungsoo who laughed even more.

“Can I ride you?” the traveler asked shyly as he threaded his fingers through the thick lion fur.

“Of course, little one,” Kai’s goat head answered kindly as he moved to let Kyungsoo out of the circle. The traveler was too excited at the prospect of riding the chimera to even retort that he wasn’t little. The dragon head stretched forward and pushed the traveler towards the towering body which lowered so that the short male would have an easier time climbing up.

Once Kyungsoo and his belongings were securely nestled in the small dip of the chimera’s back, his hands large clumps of golden fur so that he wouldn’t fall, the traveler loudly cheered, “Let’s go!” and the chimera began padding forward in the direction of the grove that housed the magical blue garnet. It was strange seeing the world from this high up. Kyungsoo had never been so close to the top layer of foliage before and he found himself entranced by the calming rhythm of Kai’s gait as his large round eyes swept over every single detail of the forest he had missed while traveling on the ground.

The dragon head stretched his neck to look backwards at Kyungsoo, who beamed brightly and fawned over how beautiful this point of view was. A low grumble hummed from his scaly throat before Kai’s raspy, reptilian voice began speaking about the clear blue skies of olden times. “Nothing at all like the pollution that covers the world nowadays,” the chimera commented with a deep sigh as he pensively thought back to Ancient Greece.

“It must’ve been nice to live in that era,” Kyungsoo said wistfully while petting the back of the goat head, scratching his silvery gray ears.

“It was a much simpler time,” Kai agreed.

They comfortably traveled like this from then on, covering much more distance than they had when Kai was a human. And the chimera’s fire-breathing abilities came in handy whenever they set up their campfires or had to incinerate small piles of dead trees in their path. It finally made sense to the traveler why Kai’s body was naturally so warm and toasty. At night, the chimera would transform back into his human form, much to Kyungsoo’s delight. Although it had been magical and mesmerizing to finally see an actual chimera, somehow, the creature didn’t truly feel like Kai. The traveler preferred it when his companion was human, hearing the familiar soothing heartbeat against his ear whenever he laid his head on Kai’s chest at night as they fell asleep. But Kyungsoo couldn’t deny how incredible it was to be traveling with a mythological creature and couldn’t keep the awe from his face whenever he watched Kai morph back into a chimera.

It was also easier for Kai to stay in his true form since staying as a human for more than two months since meeting Kyungsoo had taken a toll on his body. He would have healed faster if he had transformed back sooner and his senses would have been much sharper so they could have avoided encountering Dark Pegasus that one time, but the fear of the smaller male leaving him had been too strong at the time. Now, the act of returning to his human form was purely for the selfish reason of being able to hold Kyungsoo in his arms at night. He had grown addicted to the traveler’s presence and the thought of not having Kyungsoo in his future was extremely daunting. “Kyungsoo?”

“Hm?”

“Is it okay if I make one simple request?”

Kyungsoo hummed his approval into Kai’s chest, feeling too comfortable to move his face away and open his eyes or mouth.

“Do you think…that maybe…you could use the one wish from the blue garnet…on me?” Kai held his breath and Kyungsoo could feel the other male’s chest tighten as a result.

The smaller male shifted his body so that there was a small space between the two and he could look into Kai’s umber brown eyes that were exactly like those of his lion head. “What do you mean?”

Kai nervously scratched the back of his head as he said shyly, “Well, I know you weren’t planning on wishing for anything when we find the blue garnet, but if it’s okay with you, do you think you could wish for me to become…human?”

“You want to become human?” Kyungsoo asked in surprise.

The taller male nodded vigorously. “I’ve lived for over three thousand years already. I have no desire to live for another three thousand years or longer, especially if,” he gulped loudly, “that means I have to outlive you.”

Kyungsoo’s heart began to race again. He had never really made friends with anyone since he was so nomadic, always traveling from one place to the next. Yet this wonderfully attractive and kind-hearted man named Kai had wordlessly wormed his way into Kyungsoo’s heart. The traveler couldn’t imagine a future without Kai now; his mind blanked when he tried. And to hear that the other male felt the same way made Kyungsoo’s heart feel warm and cozy, just like how he felt whenever Kai held him close as their breathing patterns matched and their hearts beat in tandem.

Even though he didn’t mind that Kai was a chimera, Kyungsoo realized that it would be difficult for them to have a future together. They would always have to hide from Dark Pegasus, they wouldn’t be able to stay in civilized areas for long since Kai was still understandably uneasy around humans and would have to transform back into a chimera periodically, and Kyungsoo would gradually age while Kai would stay the same until the traveler’s eventual death. To think of Kai standing at Kyungsoo’s grave, still as young as flawless as he was now but alone and grieving instead, depressed the smaller male to no end.

He hadn’t even been planning to use the blue garnet anyway. Why not use it for Kai’s wish? There was no reason not to. And if the blue garnet lost its value after being wished upon, well, Kai was more important than some silly magical gemstone anyway. “Of course I’ll make this wish for you, Kai,” Kyungsoo replied, his heart-shaped mouth stretching widely into a brilliant smile. “Once we find the blue garnet, that’ll be the first thing I do.”

Kai wondered what great deed he had done in his three thousand plus years of living to find someone as precious as Kyungsoo.

♈♈♈