Tongue of the wise ones you must seek.

"Ackbl nda itewh ixedm ogethert in armonyh.

Erewh ereth is ackbl ereth is itewh, nda erewh ereth is itewh ereth is ackbl.

Ouy illw indf eth neo ithw othb ereth."

 

---

 

nequam | naughty

 

 

Day 2 of the Lux Pirates’ search to find the trolls wasn’t very different from Day 1. Baekhyun slumped against a tree trunk and dragged a hand over his tired face. Between the strange animal cries that echoed in the forest, and the food that he probably shouldn’t have eaten, the captain felt completely exhausted.

 

Cirrus stood next to Baekhyun and stared at him in silence. Was she supposed to say something to him?

 

“Remind me to get you a painting of myself,” he said in a raspy voice. “It’ll last longer.”

 

He glanced at her with tired eyes and smirked. Feeling flustered, she darted her eyes away from him. Although Baekhyun was unaware of their little scandal that had happened in the gorge, the image remained in her mind bright as day. She knew she wouldn’t be able to forget the event overnight, but she wished the captain could at least tone down his ignorant arrogance.

 

“I was joking, princess,” he chuckled. “No need to get so tense. Unless you thought I was serious?”

 

Maybe it was because he was tired, but Baekhyun’s voice sounded raspier than usual and left Cirrus thinking it sounded quite pleasant. She had never heard such a rich voice in her life before. She quickly ridded her mind of the thoughts though, and convinced herself that she was just as equally tired as he was.

 

Fatigue does weird things to the mind, after all.

 

“Well, what am I supposed to say?” she asked him. She was still a prisoner, though she now knew (or at least hoped) he wouldn’t end her life. But just because he had seemingly lifted her death sentence didn’t mean she could suddenly throw everything he had done to her behind them. The kidnapping, the imprisonment, the kiss, and she certainly couldn’t forget the daily humiliation that he so loved to impel upon her.

 

Baekhyun shrugged and straightened his back. He cracked his neck from side to side, and stretched his hands out in front of him. “You’re so silent sometimes, princess, that I sometimes forget you know how to speak. It seems all you know to do is try and run away, cry, and then stay silent for hours. Honestly, if I didn’t know you were the princess of a nation who could read a dead language, I’d have thought you were a baby.”

 

Cirrus’s face flushed red from anger and she turned her body around so she wouldn’t have to face him. She knew she was being immature, and that the act was not something a princess should be doing. But, with her currently stuck on a fantasy-esque island with an arrogant pirate, sometimes she felt that Baekhyun wasn’t worth her royal mannerisms. In a way, Cirrus found that she didn’t have to force herself to act like a princess in front of him.

 

“Is the princess mad?” he asked her teasingly.

 

She didn’t bother answering his question and instead directed her attention towards the forest in front of her eyes. From a distance, she spotted Ardent crouching down and admiring the various fauna. He reached his hand forward, as if to touch the pink flower with orange spots on its stem in front of him.

 

Cirrus’s eyes widened and she ran towards the first mate. “Don’t touch that!” she yelled at him.

 

Ardent jumped slightly and cocked his head towards her. When he shot her a confused look, Cirrus told him, “That’s a dragon weed! They’re extremely toxic!”

 

“A dragon what?” Ardent choked on his words. He immediately removed his hand and tucked it away. “Good thing I didn’t touch it. Thanks, princess.”

 

Cirrus heaved a sigh of relief. Baekhyun walked up to them and asked her skeptically, “How did you know that?”

 

“The troll told me,” she replied. The image of his face flashed by her mind, and she couldn’t help but remember his sad laughter.

 

“And I’m surprised you remembered it, hime.”

 

Baekhyun and Ardent’s ears perked up at the unfamiliar voice, but Cirrus knew exactly who it belonged to. She instinctively looked up, and just as she had expected, a very familiar troll hung from a tree branch with his black tail. He wore an impish smile, and had his arms crossed as he stared down at the trio.

 

“The troll?!” Baekhyun exclaimed, though quite unconfidently.

 

The troll swung back and forth with his tail when he suddenly let go. He landed in front of the trio on his feet, and spread his arms out as if he had won a gymnastics competition. He beamed at them and chimed, “Ta-dah!”

 

Baekhyun scoffed while Ardent stared at the figure in disbelief. Cirrus however, knew there was something else behind his smile.

 

When no one said a word about his spectacular entrance, the troll pouted and exclaimed, “And here I thought I’d act like a jester. But what’s a performer without applause? Nothing, really.”

 

Baekhyun’s lips threatened to curve into a smirk, but he kept his poker face. The captain liked to think he knew a thing or two about being able to read others, and in this case, the person standing in front of him seemed like an open book waiting to be read. “Are you really a jester? Here I thought you were an acrobat,” he said to him.

 

“What does it matter if I’m one or the other? Is it a sin to be both?” he asked the captain.

 

“Of course you could be both! Perhaps there is a third title you’d like to share? Do enlighten me,” Baekhyun said. His voice was low, but laced with a charismatic charm that he found easily persuaded others.

 

“Well, I have told myself that I dance very well. So perhaps a dancer?” the troll said with a snicker at the end.

 

That wasn’t what the captain had expected. Nonetheless, he would have to roll with it. Baekhyun cleared his throat and cautiously shifted his gaze to the troll’s black, animalistic tail. “And I suppose all jesters who are acrobats, who are really dancers in disguise all have tails?”

 

The troll swished his tail behind him, until he finally curled it around his waist like a belt. “Oh no, only trolls would have tails. Tails and pointy ears.”

 

“Like those?” Baekhyun asked with a devilish grin as he pointed towards the troll’s tail and pointed ears.

 

“Like these,” he nodded in agreement. Then, he let out a loud gasp and covered his mouth as if he had spilled a terrible secret. In a whisper, he said to the captain, “Le chat’s out of the bag.”

 

“I’m more of a dog person myself, actually,” Baekhyun said as he took a few paces closer to the troll. “But you know what I like better than dogs? Information, intel, analysis; whatever you want to call it.”

 

“Really? That sounds boring,” the troll wrinkled his nose.

 

“It might be, when you’ve read the same books over a hundred times each,” the pirate captain chuckled softly, though his eyes couldn’t conceal the raw desire he felt at the moment. He was so close to figuring out the next part of the map, he could almost taste it.

 

“A hundred times?! Why?” the troll exclaimed.

 

“There are only so many books in English. Too bad I don’t know any other languages, then I could read books in Italian, German, Chinese, and all the other languages out there,” the captain replied coolly.

 

“Oh? Why that’s easy then,” the troll said smugly.

 

“I’m sure, for you,” Baekhyun said, his voice filled with a lust for knowledge. Cirrus gulped as she watched Baekhyun interact with the troll. It was like watching a hungry animal closing in on its prey. “Judging by your confidence, I’m guessing you know about 10 different languages?”

 

“10? That’s too few,” the troll laughed and waved his hand in the air. “I know all of them.”

 

“Really?” Baekhyun raised a brow at him. He smirked, “I don’t believe you.”

 

“Ni xiang xin wo yi dian, ah!” the troll said in a language completely unfamiliar to them. Then, with a grin he said, “Believe me a little!”

 

Baekhyun dug into his pocket and fished out the tiny notebook he carried with him. He had copied over Cirrus’s translations, and he flipped to the page that contained the code he needed the “tongue of the wise ones” for. “What about this? I honestly think it’s gibberish but I’ve been told otherwise.”

 

The troll peered closer to the paper and squinted his eyes at the text: “Ackbl nda itewh ixedm ogethert in armonyh. Erewh ereth is ackbl ereth is itewh, nda erewh ereth is itewh ereth is ackbl. Ouy illw indf eth neo ithw othb ereth.” His lips curled into a smile and he glanced up at the captain.

 

“Can you read it?” Baekhyun asked. He tried his best to remain patient, but the captain was itching to leave the island. He had spent far too long on the island he deemed to be a parallel to Alice in Wonderland, despite only having been there for two days.

 

“Yes, I can read it. I read it already!” the creature said giddily.

 

“Good…” Baekhyun said slowly. “Then what does it say? Probably nothing but… gibberish, am I right?”

 

The troll scrunched his nose and shook his head furiously. “No,” he said.

 

“What do you mean?” Ardent said in an outburst. Watching Baekhyun’s taunt left him with a feeling of suspense, and he was dying to hear the translation just as much as the captain.

 

The troll shook his head again and grinned. “No.”

 

“It says… no?” Cirrus wondered. How could that be right?

 

“Nope,” the troll shook his head.

 

“Come now, troll, let’s be civil shall we? What’s the fun in keeping a secret to yourself, hm?” Baekhyun asked.

 

The troll’s face contorted into one of disgust, and he eyed the captain. “I have a name you know, and it’s not troll.”

 

“What is it?” Cirrus asked him.

 

“I gave it to you already! I can’t believe you forgot it!” the troll said as he slapped his forehead.

 

“Dong dong dong, jay jay jay?” Cirrus recited the lines she recently had a hard time getting out of her head.

 

“Dong Jay? That’s your name, isn’t it?” Baekhyun exclaimed with certainty.

 

“Nope.” The troll bent his knees and jumped 10 feet into the air. He landed gracefully on a tree branch, and kept his balance by placing his hand on the tree’s trunk. He stared down at the trio for a few seconds before he announced, “Switch the first two letters around.”

 

Cirrus looked up at him with wide eyes. How did he jump up so high? the princess asked herself. When the troll’s word finally sank in, she shouted, “Dong Jay, no, it’s Jong Day, isn’t it?”

 

He grinned at her, though Cirrus could tell this one was different than before. It wasn’t his usual impish grin, but rather one that clearly masked something much darker. “Jongdae,” he said his own name. “Don’t forget it this time. It’s proof that I’m real, that I am here.”

 

Then, he jumped even further up and his figure disappeared into the green leaves.

 

Baekhyun dragged both of his hands over his face and groaned. “I let him get away. I was so close,” he scowled at himself. Then, he rubbed his temples and closed his eyes as if he were trying to rid himself of a headache.

 

“Do we continue looking for the troll village?” Ardent asked Baekhyun.

 

“Yes, and no,” Baekhyun muttered. “We look for him.”

 

“Why?” asked the first mate. It wasn’t that he doubted Baekhyun’s words, he was simply curious as to why he gave him that answer.

 

“We’ve been searching for nearly two days and we barely found any leads. I doubt he’s the only troll around, so why is it that we’ve had an encounter with him once per day? Clearly he has an interest in us. If we wait, we’ll probably see him tomorrow. That doesn’t mean we stop our search for the village though,” the captain explained.

 

“And let’s say we find him again,” Ardent started. “Then what? How do we stop him from running away again?”

 

“We’ll catch him,” he said adamantly. “Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on you, right?”

 

.::.            .::.            .::.

 

It had been a day since the troll encountered Cirrus’s group, and as fascinated as he was by the strangers whom he was sure were not residents of Dolum, he had something else he had to. The young male was currently sitting on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, when he decided to get up. Just before he left his room, he grabbed a straw hat and a thin jacket which he wrapped around his waist.

 

He emerged from the small hut he lived in, and was greeted by trolls of all ages. He lived in a small village, so everyone in town knew exactly who he was, and he knew them too. No one approached him, and as he started making his exit out of the village, he noticed fervent stares being casted upon him.

 

It was then that a young child bumped into him, and fell on her behind. He towered above her, and she looked up at him with curious eyes.

 

“Mister, you’re soooooo twall,” she mumbled. He helped her up, and brushed the dirt off of her pretty dress. Then, he tucked a lock of stray hair behind her pointed ear and flashed her a friendly smile.

 

The child’s mother ran up to them, and grabbed her from his grasp. The mother reached only to the height of his stomach, and the child just below his knees. In a nervous voice she muttered to him, “T-thanks, Jongdae.”

 

“Oh, not a problem,” the young male replied with his usual impish grin. “Your daughter is very lovely. She’s certainly got your eyes.”

 

“Yes, well thank you,” she said in a reserved voice as she tightened her grip on her daughter’s hand. “Come now child, let’s go.”

 

Jongdae watched as mother and child walked away from him. Although he couldn’t make out entirely what she whispered to the young child, he did pick up the phrase, “You mustn’t go near him.”

 

Jongdae exited the village through a small trail that no one ever used because of where it led to. He left in silence, the place he called “home” where he was twice the height of any villager.

 

.::.            .::.            .::.

 

Jongdae found himself walking through a human village. The straw hat he wore on his head hid his pointed ears from the public, and he had tucked his tail away. From the outside, he looked like any other human.

 

Jongdae admired the bustling life of the village, which was a far contrast from the tranquil troll village he lived in. He poked his head into shops, listened to the music on the streets, and admired the happy families playing at the park. Jongdae sat down on a bench, and watched the scene before him. Small groups of children played tag and sang songs, while their parents watched them from afar with loving eyes.

 

When he heard something growling at him, Jongdae looked away from the perfectly woven scene in front of him and found a dog-lion hybrid growling at him. The creature was the size of a large dog, with the mane, eyes and tail of a lion. The animal had a red collar around its neck, and a leash that kept it attached to its owner. The animal started barking at Jongdae, which caused the troll to jump up onto his feet.

 

“I am so sorry,” the animal’s owner apologized while trying to pull the dog-lion back. “He’s usually not like this. He loves people, but I guess he’s just in a cranky mood today.”

 

The animal didn’t stop barking at Jongdae, and when his owner tried pulling him back, the barking only got louder. Jongdae gulped and backed away slowly, scared that the animal would attack him.

 

“Sir?” the owner spoke. Jongdae whipped his head up and flashed a frightened smile. “Are you alright? I’m really sorry about my pet’s behaviour.”

 

“I-I…” Jongdae started, but the dog-lion’s barking cut him off. “I’m sorry!”

 

Jongdae his heel and ran away from the owner and his pet. Could the dog-lion smell his unfamiliar scent? Could he smell that he wasn’t human? Jongdae closed his eyes and continued to run. He was starting to regret his visit to the human village, but he had made the decision of coming despite the fact that he knew something like this would happen eventually.

 

Is it a sin to be both? he asked himself over and over again.

 

Jongdae collided with an adolescent boy, who fell forward onto his knees. The boy looked to be about 10 years of age, and when he rose his knees had scratches on them. His friends laughed at him, and mocked his clothes which were now littered with dirt.

 

“Oh, that was not cool. My knees are bleeding!” the adolescent told Jongdae.

 

“I-,” the troll started.

 

One of the boy’s friends started laughing, “You better hide the cuts soon. You don’t want them to catch you!”

 

“Shut up!” the boy with scratched knees shouted in fear.

 

“In the dark, in the day; wherever you are, they hide in the gray. They will raid your houses, take your children and your life away. So hide your blood, for that is what trolls use to pay!” the young boy’s friends sang in unison, all the while laughing.

 

The young boy started to cry, and ran towards his mother. As he cried into her chest, the boy screamed, “Mommy! The trolls won’t take me away, will they?” The mother chuckled and comforted her son while whispering words of reassurance to him.

 

Jongdae could feel his heart shattering as the boys’ song reverberated throughout his entire body. It was not the first time he had heard the song, but today’s listening hurt a lot more than usual.

 

---

 

A/N: Basically everyone got it lol yes, the troll is none other than the King (of trolls) himself, Jongdae! Idk why all these past/back stories end up as sad, I just can't help myself from writing them XD

 

But on a more important note, today is #5YearsWithEXO and honestly, this marks a very important date for me. I've been with these boys since their debut, and Baekhyun's been my ultimate bias for a steady 5 years. I've been in and out of kpop, but it's ultimately EXO who reels me back in. Their charisma, effort, talent, and enuthisiasm are second to none in my eyes, and they've helped me through a lot of tough times. PYP is ultimately dedicated to all of them, especially Baekhyun, who is truly the sunlight of my life sometimes.

 

(no pun or meme today becauses I'm trying to be serious but look forward to CirBaek's "sTroll" [get it?] next chapter okay #sorrynotsorry ty kevinoppa for the pun)

 

\\ xoxo