It was difficult to travel with an injured arm. Kyungsoo was thankful that his dominant hand wasn’t wounded, so he was still able to cook and set up camp by himself, albeit not very quickly. But these last few weeks without Kai felt like winter had finally come. The air felt frostier, even though snow had yet to fall. Regardless, Kyungsoo’s nights were colder and lonelier than they had ever been throughout his entire life. The traveler hadn’t realized just how much he had depended on Kai until nightfall came and he was unable to fall asleep, because there was none of that familiar warmth next to him. There was no soothing heartbeat to lull him to sleep, reassuring him that he would be safe while he rested.

Kyungsoo missed Kai. He missed eating his delicious cooking. He missed hearing his boisterous laughter. He missed seeing his genuine smile. He missed inhaling his comforting scent. He missed feeling his arms wrapped around him as they cuddled in the tent at night. Kyungsoo missed everything about Kai.

His heart was in more pain than his arm was from longing for his former companion so much. He didn’t know why the other man had deserted him. The traveler knew Kai had been upset over burning his arm, but Kyungsoo thought he had made it clear that he knew it had been a complete accident and that he didn’t blame the chimera at all for the incident. If anything, it was the dark winged horse’s fault that it had happened. Or that any of this had happened in general.

The days passed by listlessly and Kyungsoo found that he hated this solitary feeling that he had previously considered his norm before meeting Kai. The bird songs sounded less melodious and the wayside flowers looked less vibrant as he trudged through the forest on his way to the grove of the blue garnet. This trip had lost its excitement and now, the only reason Kyungsoo was even continuing forth with the expedition was because he didn’t want to leave the forest empty-handed. And he had also promised Kai that he would wish for the other male to become human, so even if Kai hated him—why else would he just suddenly disappear from Kyungsoo’s life—the traveler would uphold his word.

Perhaps meeting Kai had been a dream. Perhaps the male had been something his lonely mind had unconsciously conjured after keeping to himself for years. That would explain the absurdity of actually meeting a chimera, escaping from an evil Pegasus, and witnessing the magic of dryads.

But that wouldn’t explain the painful burn he had suffered several weeks back. The skin of the traveler’s scorched left arm was now a pinkish-red color and parts of it were scabbed over, which Kyungsoo would mindlessly pick at after eating dinner. He knew it would lengthen the healing process, but it was difficult to stop since otherwise, his mind would jump to Kai and wonder why the other man had left him.

Every night, Kai was the only thing on Kyungsoo’s mind. And a cold wind blew through the one-person tent.

--

Kyungsoo sighed as he checked his tattered journal. There was a detailed map drawn on one of the pages that he had been following since his journey in Greece began. It had been difficult finding his way after Kai had dropped him in the middle of the forest, but as a seasoned traveler, Kyungsoo was soon able to find the right path after several days of searching for significant landmarks. It helped that he had woken up by a waterfall that morning; it had been much easier to pinpoint exactly where he was since there weren’t many waterfalls marked on the map.

By his calculations, he should be close to the grove of the blue garnet by now. Any other time, he would have been jumping up and down in delight. But Kai wasn’t here to celebrate with him. Kai wasn’t here to step into this mystical grove together with him. Kai just wasn’t here at all. So Kyungsoo was void of enthusiasm and anticipation as he carefully walked through the forest, keeping his eyes peeled for the grove entrance.

He soon stumbled upon two trees with curved trunks that were marked on his map. The curves were in opposite directions, forming a gap between the two that was big enough for Kyungsoo to slip through. And once he did, a bright beam of sunlight shined on his face. The traveler temporarily forgot his heartache as his eyes scanned over the beautiful, tranquil grove. Hundreds of dark blue flowers intertwined with lavender flowers populated the light green grassy floor. The middle of the grove was cleared of trees, making the space seem wide and open. This was the sunniest part of the forest that Kyungsoo had encountered yet and he could feel his spirits being lifted as he soaked in warm sunrays. It kind of made him feel like Kai was with him again.

Near the far end of the grove, a stone pedestal that was cracked with strong thick vines running through and around it stood with a sparkling blue jewel nestled on top. The blue garnet was much more striking in person and the drawing did it no justice. Its edges were sharp and clean-cut, not a chip in sight or a speck out of place. The sunlight that poured from the top opening of the grove acted like a spotlight, centering on the gleaming gemstone. The dazzling light caused the blue garnet to illuminate in an almost ethereal manner and Kyungsoo felt like his breath was being taken away as he gazed at the treasure he had been hunting for a number of months now. It was such a mesmerizing gem and the traveler didn’t think he could ever tire of staring at the sparkles that danced on its smooth surface.

With his breath hitched, Kyungsoo crossed the grove so he could get even closer to the blue garnet. The magical energy was overflowing from this hypnotizing gemstone and the traveler could feel it with every fiber of his being, even at a distance. This would be the finest possession in his collection yet and Kyungsoo began mentally reorganizing his gallery room back home so he could properly showcase this wonderful jewel. He stopped in front of the tall stone pedestal with his slender fingers outstretched, about to take hold of the blue garnet.

But all of a sudden, a familiar clopping sound made its way to Kyungsoo’s ears. The traveler gulped audibly as he slowly turned around while feverishly praying for his imagination to be acting up. But it was no good. There it stood in all of its malevolent glory: the mad Dark Pegasus that had caused the two males to separate several weeks ago.

“Oh no, no, no,” Kyungsoo whispered while frozen in place as the dark winged horse sniffed the air before rearing up on its strong hind legs, its long serrated tail swinging like a pendulum behind it. With no Kai and nothing to defend himself, the traveler had no idea what to do about this insane evil creature. There was nothing he could do. “Oh god. Oh god.”

With a deafening neigh and its front hooves pawing violently in the air, Dark Pegasus spread out its jagged wings that spanned twelve feet and black crystal shards began shooting out of the appendages towards Kyungsoo. The traveler just barely escaped being stabbed by the sharp stones as he somersaulted out of the way, sacrificing his backpack in his place. Ugly sounds of tearing fabric and shattering glass filled the air as the backpack was obliterated by the crystal shards. He sighed deeply, holding his precious journal to his chest. It documented every place he had ever gone to and every treasure he had ever collected, so he would have been devastated if it hadn’t survived that terrifying attack.

Dark Pegasus snorted angrily as its front legs came crashing down after launching the deadly black crystals. It angled its body in Kyungsoo’s direction before rowdily pawing its front right hoof at the light grassy floor to gear up for another attack. The traveler felt like a character in a video game as he dived and rolled to avoid each spurt of razor-sharp shards that exploded from the deranged horse’s wings. He grunted as his injured arm was jolted about, but he didn’t have time to think about the healing burns as he jumped out of the way of another attack from Dark Pegasus.

There were several close calls whenever he moved just a millisecond too late. The swishing sound of speeding crystal shards cutting through the air right by Kyungsoo’s skin shot up his adrenaline levels to new heights. He was like a tiny mouse trying to escape the menacing claws of a giant feral cat. Except this cat had massive wings that shot out jagged stones like they were bullets being fired from a machine gun. And this cat was actually an age-old creature from Ancient Greek mythology. Oh god, he was going to die.

At least he had been able to meet Kai and spend a magnificent number of months with the other male in this forest. Although they had parted on bad terms, Kyungsoo would carry the memories of their time together to the grave. He was so thankful that fate had crossed their paths and even though he wished he could have had the chance to confess his feelings to that dashing man who had stolen his heart, Kyungsoo was glad that the last person he pictured in his mind was Kai.

With another shrill whinny, Dark Pegasus began charging towards Kyungsoo. Having finally accepted his eventual death, he didn’t try stepping out of the crazy winged horse’s line of motion. It was still harrowing to see the giant winged horse gallop wildly in his direction, but Kyungsoo also felt a wave of calm wash over him as he stood with his journal clutched to his chest and the image of Kai etched into his mind.

But the deathly crushing impact never came.

Growls and bleats filled the air while the neighs were cut short as a giant golden body burst through the trees and crashed into the body of Dark Pegasus. The winged horse grunted furiously, unsteadily staggering onto its feet after being knocked down, once it found itself face-to-face with the creature it had been hunting for centuries now. It whinnied at ear-splitting decibels before aiming its deadly wings in the chimera’s direction.

“Kai!” Kyungsoo shrieked as he helplessly watched the dark creature unleash a black storm of stone shards at his companion.

The chimera’s dragon wings immediately lifted the creature off the ground and into the air, successfully avoiding the spray of crystals. “Kyungsoo, get out of the way!” the goat head shouted while the lion head let out another fierce roar. The traveler immediately jumped towards the edge of the grove opposite to Dark Pegasus. The aggressive winged horse pointed its head in Kyungsoo’s direction and was about to rush towards the small male when the chimera flew tauntingly close to its face. It neighed in anger whenever Kai’s sharp claws swiped dangerously at every inch of its body he could reach without impaling himself on its pointy wings.

Now that there was an open space for the chimera to fly around, Kai took advantage of the air and tried to taunt Dark Pegasus into following him out of the grove. But the winged horse only narrowed its blood red eyes at the other creature before directing another wind of crystal shards towards Kai. He dodged the spray much more easily than he had when they had fought in a closed space, but this small achievement didn’t bolster Kai’s spirits at all. It seemed that although the horse-like creature was mad, it still had enough wits about it to see through Kai’s scheme and stay firmly on the ground. It was also smart enough to realize that Kyungsoo was the chimera’s weak point and tried advancing towards the traveler before being stopped by Kai each time.

From where he was standing at the other side of the grove, Kyungsoo could tell that Kai was holding back for some reason. Even though the chimera was valiantly putting up a good fight, Dark Pegasus was gradually forcing the other supernatural creature to retreat back. And then it clicked. Kai was refusing to use his fire-breathing abilities to fight. He was solely using his claws and jaws to attack, but they couldn’t do much against the sharp wings of the winged horse. So the chimera was mostly on the defensive, which wasn’t really helping him.

“Kai, blast him with fire!” Kyungsoo yelled from his spot, hoping the chimera could hear him above the loud neighing.

Kai’s goat head swiveled towards the traveler as he shouted back, “No! What if I hurt you again?” His attention shifted back to Dark Pegasus, who was slashing its jagged wings at the chimera while using its pointy tail to send bursts of black crystals in the other creature’s direction.

“You’re going to die if you don’t! I promise I’m safe over here! You’re not going to hurt me!”

“But—” One wingtip sliced through the left side of the chimera’s body, shedding dark red blood that rained onto the ground. The goat head screeched, having felt the most pain since the cut was on his side of the body.

“For god’s sake, just use your flamethrowers already!” Kyungsoo screamed in panic when he saw the droplets of blood rush down Kai’s body.

The dragon head wasted no time and began pelting fireballs at Dark Pegasus. The sudden change in tactics threw the winged creature off guard, causing it to whinny noisily as a few of the flames dangerously its body. It finally took off from the ground, knowing that it would be easier to avoid the flames by maneuvering in the air. Kai’s snake head tail shot more poison at it, trying to corner it so that the dragon head would have an easier time of aiming more embers at the mad horse-like creature.

Kyungsoo watched from his post, feeling his heart slash with pain whenever he saw Dark Pegasus attack Kai. He felt so useless, not being able to help the chimera fight off the enemy. Having never engaged in any physical confrontation before, the traveler had no combat skills or any weapons he could use to help Kai gain an edge in the battle.

And then he remembered what he had come here for. The blue garnet was still sitting on top of the stone pedestal, which surprisingly hadn’t been wrecked by any of the crystal shards that had flown into it. It glinted in the sunlight, blissfully unaware of the fight that was currently occurring around it. Kai was busily sending flamethrower after flamethrower to Dark Pegasus, keeping the insane creature occupied. Kyungsoo looked back at the magical jewel, his mind split on if he should use it or not. It only had enough power to grant one wish, which meant that if he used it now, Kai would never be able to become human.

The traveler’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard a pained snarl come from Kai as Dark Pegasus managed to get underneath the chimera and head- him into the air before sending another shower of black crystal shards after him. They sliced at every part of Kai, causing him to roar in anguish, and then the winged horse took flight as it rushed towards the chimera to knock him back to the ground.

That was it.

Kyungsoo dove for the blue garnet just as Kai crashed down from the sky onto the forest floor, the three heads crying out in pain from the impact of the fall as the chimera lay in a heap. The dark winged horse’s chest was heaving from exertion as it landed, but it still viciously pawed at the ground to get a running start towards Kyungsoo. The traveler quickly screwed his eyes shut and yelled, “I wish for Pegasus to return to its previous pure-hearted self!”

When that last word left Kyungsoo’s lips, the blue garnet in his hands began to glow brightly and vibrate uncontrollably. It levitated itself out of Kyungsoo’s grasp and the traveler gaped as he watched the magical gemstone pulse with a soft blue light. A giant beam of sunlight accentuated its shining appearance and dusty particles began flying from the blue garnet towards the deranged winged horse. The brilliant blue particles formed a whirling tornado around Dark Pegasus, lifting the creature high into the air.

It began to wildly thrash all four of its legs, its pair of wings, and its raggedy tail as it struggled to escape from the magical wind that was carrying the horse-like creature higher into the sky. The tornado’s speed promptly increased and soon, Dark Pegasus was swallowed up in its entirety by the bright blue light. The glowing ball continued to pulsate in the air and Kyungsoo was only able to keep looking up directly at it because it blocked the sun from his vision.

After several seconds, the ball of light slowly descended back down to the ground, its brilliance fading bit by bit. As the blue particles disappeared, a stark white creature was uncovered as it was lowered to the floor of the grove. Instead of jagged, stony appendages that cut through the air like swords, the creature possessed soft, feathery wings that gently flapped in the breeze. Similarly, the serrated tail was now a smooth, glossy tail that swished side to side every few moments. The midnight black coat had turned pure white and the bloodshot eyes were now a powder blue color.

This was the Pegasus that Kyungsoo had read about in history books. This was the fabled steed of Ancient Greek mythology that championed knowledge, glory, and inspiration.

The winged horse’s hooves clopped towards Kyungsoo, whose eyes grew even rounder. It neighed softly before bending one foreleg down, as if it were bowing to the traveler. “Please stand up,” Kyungsoo said in embarrassment, bending down as well to pull the mythological creature back up. He then remembered the chimera, who was still laying in a crumpled mess to the side. “Kai!”

The chimera groaned in response, its snake head tail just barely managing to flick its forked tongue. Kyungsoo immediately made his way to the injured creature with his brow furrowed anxiously as he assessed Kai’s wounds. They were much worse than he had ever seen them and it looked as if the chimera was too exhausted to even shape-shift into his human form. “A-are you o-okay?” the lion head weakly asked, blinking its umber brown eyes at the traveler.

Kyungsoo nodded, his own eyes welling up with tears. Any frustration that he had felt after Kai abandoned him vanished upon seeing the poor creature so beaten up. There was no way the traveler could stay mad at him; Kai had risked his life to save Kyungsoo’s. “You came back.”

“O-of course I d-did.” The dragon head coughed up clouds of black smoke, having exhausted its supply of fire during the fight. “I w-wasn’t going to l-let you d-die, l-little one.”

A small smile appeared on Kyungsoo’s face when he heard the pet name and he reached over to tenderly the dragon’s snout. “Thank you for rescuing me, Kai.”

Then Pegasus softly whinnied to get their attention. It motioned with its head for Kyungsoo to step back, which the human obediently did, before closing its eyes and emitting a yellow light from its body. The bright light washed over Kai’s trampled body, instantly healing all of the cuts and bruises that had been inflicted on the chimera during the winged horse’s earlier rampage. Pegasus neighed again once it had finished restoring Kai to perfect health, bowing its head in apology to the chimera.

“It’s fine,” Kai answered with all three of his heads.

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo added with a grateful smile as he the white winged horse’s silky mane.

Pegasus surveyed the grove, which was scorched and damaged beyond belief. Small fires were burning in patches all over the place and various piles of sharp crystal shards littered the floor. So the winged horse let that same light pour from its body and touch every corner of the grove, returning the area to its previous pristine state just as Kyungsoo had found it. The grove of the magical blue garnet looked as beautiful as ever once the light from the mythological creature’s body faded. Kyungsoo’s backpack had even been repaired and now looked as good as new.

The mythical horse then stretched its feathery wings and jumped into the sky, neighing goodbye as it disappeared into the fluffy white clouds. Kyungsoo waved to its retreating figure, grinning happily with the knowledge that the mythological creature would no longer terrorize any other creatures for vengeance.

The moment Pegasus left the grove, Kai transformed back into his human form before rushing over to Kyungsoo and picking up the small male. He swung him around and hugged him tightly, murmuring words of thanks. And when he finally set down the traveler, Kai cupped his cheeks and mashed his mouth against those soft heart-shaped lips of Kyungsoo that he had been fantasizing about since he first realized he was attracted to the other man. The kiss carried a note of urgency as Kai molded their lips together, feeling and tasting every inch of Kyungsoo’s delectable mouth that he could.

The traveler let out a surprised squeak when their lips initially crashed together, but soon, he was swept away by the magic of the kiss. Kyungsoo’s small hands tightly gripped the sides of Kai’s upper torso that was slick with sweat and he was too caught up with locking lips to even register that he was touching the taller male’s bare bronze skin. His mind was dizzy with euphoria and he just couldn’t get enough of Kai’s mouth, the fiery kiss searing their lips together.

“Gods, I love you so much, Kyungsoo,” Kai gasped fervently in between kisses. His hands had moved from Kyungsoo’s cheeks and one was now holding the back of the smaller male’s head while the other was the fabric of the traveler’s wooly sweater. It felt so right to have Kyungsoo’s lips molding against his, to feel the other male melt in his warm embrace, and all of the guilt and sorrow from deserting the traveler all those weeks ago slowly dissipated as love and passion for Kyungsoo overrode his senses instead.

Kyungsoo was too busy trying to keep his lips attached to Kai’s to respond to the claims of love and the traveler made a noise of impatience whenever he felt the taller man pull away. There was no way Kai was going to escape from him this time. And Kyungsoo wasn’t going to lose this chance to respond with all of the passion and love he felt for the other male that he had kept locked up for weeks. “I love you too, Kai,” Kyungsoo finally managed to verbalize as he took a short breather before launching his mouth back onto the other male’s puffy lips. With renewed vigor, the traveler took command of the kiss and the ends of Kai’s lips curved up as he allowed Kyungsoo to lead him.

--

Kyungsoo smiled when he found a soft white feather at the entrance of the grove. He bent down to pick it up, fingers lightly trailing against the soft edges. Sparks of electricity traveled up his arm and somehow, he knew that this feather was b with untapped energy that was meant for him. All he had to do was confidently harness the magic that was b within. Kai nodded with a reassuring smile when Kyungsoo looked to him and that was all the traveler needed. He carefully stuck the feather in the ground so that it was standing upright and walked around it.

“I wish for Kai to become human.”

♈♈♈