When Kris awoke, it was from the warmth of sunlight on his face. He blinked several times before realizing the time. He jerked up, looking around him with his eyes squinted.  The rest were also waking up, the day seemed rather bright. He sat up. ‘Where’s Krystal?’ he asked. Zhitao, who was washing his face by the bank nodded towards the tree and Kris saw her sitting on a branch.

‘Mornin’,’ she said statically before dropping on her feet to the ground.

‘You didn’t sleep at all?’

‘I was keeping watch,’

‘You should have woke me up,’

‘Well I would,’ her voice turned into a whisper. ‘-but he took shift after the other guy,’ her eyes grew stern. Kris subtly glanced towards Kai, who was feeding Skye some kind of fruit. ‘I’m not taking that risk,’ she said in a rather warning voice.

‘Did you get all of these?’ Baekhyun was rather impressed by the small pile of fruits and edible vegetation that sat near their fireplace. Kai shook his head, pointing towards Krystal before petting Skye again. ‘Neat!’

‘You went out alone?’

‘I can see in the dark, Kris.’ She turned away and went to sort the firewood. Kris sighed of out hopelessness and lent her a hand. Getting mad at her was not going to do anyone any good; she still would not listen anyway.

After a simple breakfast of fruits and fish, they put out the fire and tried their best to rid of any traces of them there before leaving. The moment they set out, Krystal had leaned towards Kris and slept. He could feel the weight of her exhaustion on his back.

‘Is she nocturnal?’ Kai asked as he and Kris rode side by side.

‘What?’

‘Your sister, is she nocturnal?’ he repeated. ‘Her emblem is moon right?’

‘Kind of,’ Kris tried to hide his confusion. It was a weird correlation to ponder upon but it made sense, somehow. Krystal perhaps could live better doing things at night and sleeping during the day but the world did not revolve around her. The moon did.

Besides, Kris was not about to explain that she had been up all night because of him, and not because she liked it.

He didn’t need to. Kai had woken up in the middle of the night and insisted Yixing get some rest. He saw Kris still sleeping soundly and wondered if Krystal had dozed off and forgot to tell her brother. She had not dozed off at all. Instead she was standing on top of a large rock on the other end of the river bank where the trees could not shade her.

The moonlight lit upon her like wisps of light floating in the air, and she glowed along with it. Kai could see through it; when he watched, he felt a jolt of fear and had gone the other way, wandering and checking to see if the area was still clear of any danger. Using the very thing that cursed him to protect herself…

Kai could not blame her.

He was scared of himself too. He was scared of losing control; he would kill himself the next time he laid a hand on Krystal. He was sure of it. They managed to reach the shallow parts of the river. Zhitao took a close look around and confirmed that they were reaching the end of a forest. They would be crossing a slightly hilly dirt area. ‘I see smoke,’ Kris pointed out.

‘It’s a small town,’ Baekhyun announced.

‘Should we pass through?’ Yixing asked.

‘Why not? Let’s stock up and leave.’ He looked up towards the rather bright sky. It was probably only noon. If they were to travel until the evening they could well be far enough from this small area of civilisation. Baekhyun, Zhitao and Yixing checked their surroundings once more before transforming into humans again once they were close enough. Kai and Kris did the same, with the latter insisting his sister stay seated since he could see that she was still tired.

Krystal, shaded underneath her cloak merely nodded.

They walked naturally enough into the small town. There was no fort, merely a wall made of large long logs, spiked sharply at the ends. The streets were busy, although not too crowded. The civilians there looked normal enough; the party could blend in pretty well. Pigs and chickens were running from one end of the road to the other.

They left their horses at an inn’s stable and paid a good sum to a random boy to take care of them while they browsed the area and gathered random necessities and cooled down at a bar, drinking ale and discussing their next move. Krystal could feel the weight of stares on her, despite her draped in her cloak. It was very uncommon for a girl to be in the company of men, unless she was a travelling royalty, and even then she would have her female servants. But Krystal was no royalty.

She pulled her hood further over her face, barely touching her drink. Kris and the rest noticed it too. ‘Why are they staring?’ Zhitao hunched his shoulders, glancing around.

‘Let’s just finish up and leave,’ Baekhyun suggested. Yixing was the first one to stand up,a nd the rest followed suit, with Kris guarding Krystal’s back. They tried to walk casually, held their heads high but a man stepped in the way of the door.

‘Pretty lass you got there,’ he said. He was bald and big, and the mug of ale that he held in his hand looked like nothing bigger than a vial.

‘Please let us pass,’ Yixing’s voice was gentle yet firm. The man laughed, causing the rest of the bar to remain silent as everyone watched.

‘Y’know, usually when they have a lass with ‘em, they tryna run away from some’in.’

‘We didn’t kidnap her, if that’s what you think.’ Kris spoke up.

‘Oh we don’t care, lads do we?’ he said and the rest all made a noise of agreement. Krystal was beginning to feel a pinch of anger in her, but Kris grasped her arm hard. ‘If she has a large price on her head-‘

Kai then stepped forward and came face to face with the man, although he had to look up a little. ‘Let us pass,’

‘Why would I do that?’ he seemed all the more cocky to be looking down on a kid.

‘Because we do have prices on our heads,’ Kai smirked. ‘And you know, the higher the price, that means the more dangerous. Do you wanna take a guess at how much we cost? You could live a life three more times like a king,’ his voice grew more and more threatening.

‘We’ll see about that!’ the man swung his glass mug up high and Kai shot his hand up underneath his elbow, the other binding his wrist. A loud crack sound followed, again leaving the crowd in stunned silence. The man let out a painful scream, one that almost deafened the party. Kai had broken the man’s elbow.

He fell back against the wall, still yelling and holding onto his fractured arm.

‘Anyone else want to have a go?!’ Kai bellowed mockingly, looking around at everyone. Baekhyun was biting his lips.

‘We can hold them off but I’d rather not. Word is going to get out,’ Yixing whispered to Baekhyun, who nodded. Zhitao took hold of Kai and pulled him while they were still stunned and no one was standing in their way to the door.

‘Hurry, let’s go!’ he pushed everyone forward.

‘What are you fools doing! Get them!’ the man from earlier yelled but nobody else wanted their arms broken by a 17-year old. As they were walking out, the crowd began to cheer threateningly, getting out of their seats and holding up whatever weapon they had brought with them. Kris hurriedly shut the door and they wall ran, making their way towards the inn where they left Skye and Yui.

The people from the bar began to form a mob, which only proved to scare them even more and they quickened their paces. The distance they could maintain from them was too close, and furthermore, they came out from numerous directions, having the town at the back of their hand as their advantage.

Baekhyun and the party got surrounded by the people and had no choice but to bare their weapons as well. ‘Cut through them!’ Baekhyun yelled. They all knew the drill. Kill no one, but disable them. It was purely self-defense. They could not afford to have the mess of killing someone on their hands, even if they did not start it. They all formed a circle and aimed at creating a gap between the mob so that they could dash through and run.

It was a problem however, that they had to restrain their magical abilities. They were still not pass the Border, and any use of magic in public could lead to fatal consequences. Fortunately, none of the townspeople wanted to kill them either; only to hold them captive. But their large number proved to be a struggle and it was hard for them not to get hurt.

But luck was on their side.

The evening sun was still out; which meant Kris could work up something without being noticed.

He muttered a chant under his breath.

The mob started to feel strangely hot, especially in their fingers. Kris strengthened his spell, and heard some creams here and there, as the people held their hands as if it was on fire. Technically it was; on invisible fire. He had focused the power of the sun and aimed it at them, like a magnifying glass.

He stumbled as he tried to get on his feet

He pushed through some of them and managed to get out of the mob circle.

‘Baekhyun, cover me!’ Kai cried out, and Baekhyun understood the signal. As a controller of light, Baekhyun had learned how to meddle with what people could see and what they could not, often putting matters out of sighting reach even if it was in front of them.

‘Back me up, Tao.’ He said to Zhitao, who nodded and kept a close watch at everyone, trying his best to fight despite the scars they were slashing on his body. Baekhyun targeted Kai from a distance, holding his focus on Kai as he moved, jumping up from the ground and landing on someone’s head. He could feel him disappear from everyone’s sight like a ghost in the wind.

Kai put his powers to use, although he knew it would be risky; he had only recovered and there was a chance it wouldn’t work. He scanned the area, found the stable which was within his radius of power and put his spell to use.

‘Why isn’t he doing it yet?!’ Baekhyun screamed.

‘I don’t know!’ Zhitao was getting equally flustered. His arms were getting tired.

‘Go!’ Krystal jumped into the scene just as Zhitao was about to take a blow, holding it off with her cane. It clashed loudly with one of the mob’s pitchfork and sent it flying away. Zhitao got up from his knees and targeted Kai.

‘Haste!’ he breathed.

Kai felt the world around him come to a gradual slowness and silence. He looked up, time really was slow, except for him. Must be Zhitao, he said to himself and quickly got up, teleporting his way bit by bit until he reached the stable. Kris was undoing the loop of the horses’ rein and threw one of them to Kai.

They rode out towards the mob again, with Baekhyun and Krystal in target for rescuing. Kris understood the strategy. Baekhyun would Blind-light Zhitao and Yixing so that they could transform; their animus attributes would do well to help them run.

The mob, upon seeing the horses, ran to one side in fear of getting stomped over by the large animals. Kai grabbed the first person he saw; Krystal, by her hand and hoisted her up easily enough onto the horse’s back while Kris grabbed Baekhyun.

‘You need to out them out of view so that they can transform,’ Kris merely said to a panting Baekhyun.

‘On it,’ he said. Kris lent a hand, using magic as well while trying to get Yui out of the mob’s reach.  He made the sun far too brighter and scorching hot, which distracted them well enough. Zhitao and Yixing transformed almost immediately and Kai yelled, ‘Let’s move!’, leading the party away.

The rush of that few moments caused them to ride away fast without looking back. Their main concern was getting out of sight, and running out onto a wide plain seemed like a very bad idea but where else were they supposed to go?

As they rode and the distance between them and the town grew, they all calmed. No one was coming after them anymore but they all felt the need to get as far away as they could. Kai could hear stifles of cries coming from behind him. Before he could wonder, he smelled her blood, could smell it dripping out of a wound. He took a glance back, and saw that she had a dagger stabbed through her lower arm.

Krystal was trying her best to ignore the pain, but she needed something to numb it. Luckily, the dagger had missed her bones, but the cut was pretty deep. She was afraid that if she pulled it off it would cause a heavier bleeding and she did not want that. Whatever it was, she had to wait until they stopped so that she could take a closer look at it.

They were halfway cross the plains, waiting to reach the rocky area. It would serve well to hide them at least. Kris looked behind out of worry. They were far off, and no one was after them. Yet he was still worried if they should hold a grudge on them and act upon it. He hoped none of them were worth remembering. He looked the other side.  Kai was riding next to him with Krystal, whom he noticed had a wound. Anger had been boiling inside of him upon seeing the stab but he knew better to wait and focus on running way; it was more important.

A loud whimper emerged all of a sudden and grasped their attention. ‘Zhitao!’ Kai cried out loud. Zhitao had tripped and fell helplessly, sliding across a short distance on bare ground. Kai pulled the reins and came to halt, and Kris followed suit. Kai leapt off the horse and ran to Tao’s aid. Yixing transformed himself, kneeling next his collapsed comrade. Krystal got off and kept watch.

They examined Zhitao, understanding his wolfish whimpers and Yixing immediately took a look at his hind leg. It was swollen just near the foot. Krystal could barely see a thing underneath his brownish fur but whatever it was it must have hurt. ‘Let’s just treat it now. We’re far off. Besides, I don’t want it to get worse.’ Baekhyun murmured. Yixing nodded and pulled out his dagger. Slowly, he lifted Zhitao’s injured leg and shaved off the fur on the affected area before he placed two fingers on it. Zhitao’s heavy breathing receded gradually.

‘There. Is it better?’ Yixing asked. Zhitao gave a low hum. ‘He I think he should go by horseback. It’s still bruised inside.’

‘Yeah, of course.’ Baekhyun agreed. ‘He’ll ride with Kris,’

‘Yixing,’ Kai called. ‘Mind taking a look at her?’ he tilted his head towards Krystal. Yixing stood up, left the rest to tend to Zhitao. Kris was with her, holding her arm very carefully. He had learned a thing or two about medical assistance, since Krystal had always been so reckless. The moment he got off his horse he sat her down. She looked awfully pale and was trembling, though stable and calm. Krystal leaned her head against Kris’ firm shoulder, gripping her free hand hard on his arm. ‘Ready?’ he asked calmly.

Krystal was feeling too faint to answer and Kris counted to himself.

‘One, two-‘ he tightened his fingers around the dagger and pulled it hard. Krystal let out a yelp and gripped onto Kris’ arm harder. Kris was quick enough to have a cloth prepared and he pressed it hard against Krystal’s open wound before it could gush blood. He skilfully bandaged it around her arm neatly and when he took a look at her, he could see the strain on her face as she tried to withstand the pain. Cold sweat was running down her forehead.

Yixing approached the two and lowered himself in front of Krystal. ‘May I?’ he asked. Kris gently tightened the knot of the bandage and Krystal nodded. Yixing took a deep breath and laid a hand over Krystal’s wound. He lifted it then place two fingers exactly on the cut. ‘This is going to sting a little,’ he warned softly.

He pressed his fingers hard and Krystal grit her teeth, clenching her nails onto Kris’ hand. Yixing channelled his spirit, which created a soft green hue of glow around his hand. He counted up to seven seconds, then pulled his fingers back.

Krystal breathed heavily, the dizziness in her head reducing before she realized that the pain was gone. Well, most of it. There was a slight bruising sensation still, but it was a relief nonetheless. Krystal had her eyes wide, trying to collect what was happening. ‘Better?’ Yixing had a look of concern on his face. Krystal was still trying to catch her breaths.

‘Yes,’ she nodded. She tightened her eyebrows, glancing around her.

‘First time?’ Kai snickered with his arms crossed.

‘That was weird,’ Krystal said. Kris stood up and pulled his sister along.

‘Should we try to find a place to camp now?’ Yixing suggested.

‘We should,’ Baekhyun agreed. ‘It’s going to get dark soon,’

‘Let’s go,’