Chapter 4 : The Magnolia Boy

Trigger Warning : a character have a slight anxiety attack at the end of this chapter. If it makes you uncomfortable, please be careful while reading.

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"May I ask you something?"

Taemin's tone was innocent, his eyes were shining with a gentle curiosity and Minho bowed in front of him.

"Of course my Lord."

They were walking on some suspended bridges. The music from the still ongoing ball was slowly fading behind them as they made their way higher and higher to a quiet garden.

At some point, Minho had looked at him, his tired eyes and stressed expression, how he kept blinking in every directions and how he was shielding himself behind Jonghyun's strong posture more and more. So he had come, asking if the prince would be okay to follow him for a minute, and discuss some important matters. Taemin had a confused pout, but nodded anyway, not understanding immediately the soft and grateful smile Jonghyun had send to his best friend.

They went away from the party discreetly, and when they disappeared around a tree, Minho had smiled brightly at him.

"It seemed like you could use a small break. Jonghyun is forced to stay, but I can accompany you around, if you wish."

Taemin had thanked him profusely, asking if it really was okay to go away in the middle of all this. Minho had answered that he wouldn't have dared to take him away if Taemin would be scolded for it later; then, they had decided to head for a calm place.

Now Taemin seemed to be searching for his words, and how to phrase his thoughts. They sat on a small carved bench, and the elf prince was looking around them blissfully, taking in the vines going on the walls, the colorful flowers arranged around and the small shrubs that blended into the architecture. For a moment, Minho thought the other forgot about that question he had. But Taemin turned to him with a smile so genuine that he understood why Jonghyun admitted he might already have a soft spot for him.

"Do you think I could learn faerish someday?"

"I'm sure you will."

Taemin was delighted with his answer. Minho could tell, because the prince had a light blush on his cheeks and his smile was getting wider.

"You'll first have to be able to perceive it. My friend Junmyeon could give you tips for that. Then I'll teach you properly. You have to be prepared though, it's probably gonna be really difficult."

The prince seemed so enthusiastic that Minho thought he was surely fighting himself not to ask to go to Junmyeon immediately.

"How many languages do you know? I was wondering how many there even are in the forest. I just heard so many different voices and accents during the ball. So many creatures I don't know. For real, everything is just so foreign," Taemin was talking fast, with a glint of excitement in his eyes. But he stopped himself and bit his lips. "Sorry, I'm talking a lot. I'm very curious. I have like one hundred questions I haven't had time to ask Jonghyun yet."

Minho had laughed, before assuring him that he was okay with answering any question Taemin had, as long as they didn't forget to get back to the ball before it would be over.

"There are indeed a lot of different species in the forest. As to how many languages, it's difficult to tell. I don't know what kind of creatures you have in the mountains, how you are all organized, how you communicate with the nature."

Taemin looked at him weirdly for a second before frowning.

"All the creatures I had encountered in my home could more or less speak elvish. I had never seen a fairy before I met Junmyeon. We do have some spirits and will-o'-the-wisp in the caverns, but I've never encountered them either. I did learn a bit from mermaids though... As to communicate with the nature, I'm a bit confused. What do you mean by that?"

"Mermaids? There are mermaids in the mountains? You can talk to them?"

The prince had a fond smile, his eyes got lost a moment in memories.

"I was friend with one. They live deep under the mountains, in caves and secret lakes that join the ocean somewhere. I loved to go explore there, and one day when I was young, I met Sinann. She was still learning elvish at that time, so we became friends without really talking. When we were able to communicate just fine, we grew closer. She tried to teach me how to speak like her, but it was complicated. I liked it though, it's more singing than talking."

Minho seemed enthralled, fascinated at the idea of being friend with the sea folks.

"That's incredible," he whispered, before straightening up again, remembering Taemin's previous questions. "So, hum... You might have realized that the way we talk, as elves, is specific. We use words, we have rules, we actually speak. Lots of people in the forest do talk the same way, with a different language, like the gnomes, leprechauns and centaurs. Most of them learn to speak elvish but we also learn their languages, it's part of our education and I suppose you will have to study them at some point."

Taemin didn't seem to be fazed or scared at that perspective, and it reassured Minho. Maybe the other didn't realize yet the amount of work that would be asked of him, but at least he wasn't annoyed by it already.

"You'll have time for that, of course," Minho couldn't help himself but add.

"I suppose yes," Taemin smiled. "I do hope nobody expect me to master three new languages in a week. I might be great, but not that awesome."

Minho laughed at that, thinking of the absolute commotion Jonghyun would make if his parents were to pressure Taemin too much.

"But," the prince added, his gentle smile still dancing on his lips. "I'm actually eager for it. To learn, I mean. I like the idea that you don't just await for your people to talk elvish."

"I would say it has to do with our culture and history," Minho started, turning better to look at the prince. "Our forest is magic, and it breathes, and it changes. It doesn't need us at all, we're not its commanders, we're its protectors. We're not here to make laws. Elves were chosen to take care of the politics from outside, mostly in a way to preserve our home. We're here to shelter everyone and assure peace. For that, we need to know the forest and understand every species. To accept and comprehend people, you need to respect them, and that goes through learning about them."

Taemin was captivated by his words, not daring to breathe too loud as he was religiously listening to him.

"Our specie is sensitive to magic, so even without fully grasping it, we can listen to the nature through it. But this is were things get complicated. You've met Lord Baekhyun tonight. It was the first time in centuries he came to meet us. Jonghyun might have told you, but Lord Baekhyun is actually the oldest and most respected soul in the forest and he's a nymph. The nymphs are like deities to us, they're born from elements and children of the forest itself. Just like the forest, they don't express themselves like we do. Lord Baekhyun learned to speak elvish through the years, but it's something really complicated for them to do. They talk in a more intuitive way, just like the fauns, they can speak with the trees, with the animals..."

The elf prince seemed a bit confused, he was doing his best to follow everything Minho was saying but he couldn't exactly understand the concept of another way of expression.

"I'm not sure I can comprehend all that it implies," he admitted, a bit bashful.

"How to say it...," Minho whispered.

His eyes got lost in the arch of lilies above their heads, as if he could find all the right words he was searching for in their petals.

"Nymphs, plants, ponds, they communicate with feelings, aura, and sounds too soft for you to hear. You can't learn it by reciting grammatical rules. It's even a bit difficult for me to grasp. I can't talk that kind of pure language. Faerish is actually a bit of an hybrid language. It also has a sensory feeling, you can imagine it as if you don't listen to it with your ears, but with your whole body, as if words were vibrations. Still you have words you pronounce to explain concepts. Fairies have a very special place for us, they're the only ones who can exchange with the spirits, because they perceive enough to hear them, and us at the same time. I've been trying for decades now to straighten our links to them. Fairies are doing their best to learn elvish and I think it's really important that we learn more about them in order to be more conscious of our forest."

Minho could see Taemin's whole face getting brighter through his speech. The young prince appeared so caring and passionate over this new consideration of the place he was in.

"It's amazing," Taemin murmured. "You seem to be really invested in all that."

The other elf smiled brightly at his interest.

"You'll probably learn more during your lessons. I think you'll be taught a bit in the upcoming weeks."

"I hope so," the prince nodded. "And how did you even came to learn faerish in the first place?"

It took a split second, but Taemin saw the brief hesitation in the other's eyes and he felt a bit too demanding. It might have been some personal question, and he barely knew Minho for now.

Before the elf could answer, they heard a discreet call and Minho turned around, noticing a guard, standing a few meters away. He excused himself to Taemin and went to the small male who bowed to him before asking him to follow him a bit further away.

They should probably go back now anyway. Taemin suddenly remembered Jonghyun still left alone in that ball and felt guilty to have forgotten about him so quickly when he was deep in thoughts and conversation with Minho. Taemin should be by his side, he had been gone too long already for a ball in his honor.

The prince sighed, deciding he would follow Minho back as soon as said elf would be finished with that guard. Meanwhile, he closed his eyes, enjoying the silence around him, unconsciously trying to hear all the
imperceptible things around him. He breathed deeply, opening his eyelids again to appreciate all the flowers around him. He couldn't get tired of all the colors and different shades dancing around him in there. He wondered if he would ever not appreciate them anymore, but couldn't imagine a day, even in one thousand years, where he wouldn't feel happiness filling his lungs as the sudden sight of a hibiscus flower.

He followed the happy way of lilies, disappearing in a cloud of wild flowers at his right. The garden they sat in was round, surrounded by large arcs.

Then, it happened. His eyes flickered over a shrub and he froze, blinking suddenly as his head turned back. His heart beat loudly in his chest, his ears, his neck, before he even realized what happened. Two round dark eyes were staring back at him and he didn't dare to breathe. He got a glimpse of two eyebrows disappearing with fright under fluffy pink hair, and tanned, glowing skin vanished into thin air.

Taemin immediately got up, walking nimbly to the spot where he saw that creature. A curious feeling in his stomach was screaming at him to go faster, while a soft whisper in his head was going crazy because it had no idea what he just saw. But it wasn't an elf, of that he was sure. He didn't even realize he had run, eventually. He turned around a corner and heard himself call to the wind.

"Wait," his tone was confused, a bit begging.

Then he stopped himself abruptly. In the middle of the way stood a small tree. It looked so very odd for a shrub to be standing there that it got Taemin dumbfounded. He could feel magic radiate from it far stronger than in any tree he had passed by, up until now. The situation looked like a dream.

"Where did you go?" he murmured sadly, his eyes still not leaving the magnolia tree in front of him.

The flowers were a very light pink, fading into white. It was blooming extraordinarily beautiful for that time of the year. And Taemin saw a flicker of wings a bit higher than his nose.

"Hey there," he said, as gently as he could.

A tiny head appeared. The fairy had very red cheeks and seemed uncomfortable.

"Are you scared? I'm not gonna hurt you."

The fairy went from one foot to the other, looking around himself. His mouth was moving just a little bit and Taemin wondered if he was speaking faerish just now.

"I... no elvish... very good...," the fairy tried to say before hiding his face behind his hands.

"It's okay... it's okay. Did you see... someone... here just a moment before, perhaps?"

The fairy was pinching his own lips with his fingers and Taemin felt stupid to annoy such a shy and adorable little being with his questions. He was about to excuse himself when he heard Minho's voice.

"My Lord? Where are you?"

Taemin turned around, speaking loud enough for the other elf to hear him.

"I'm coming."

A sudden gush of wind surprised him and he went back to his initial position to stare into nothing. He blinked a few times, letting an exclamation of incredulity leave his mouth. The magnolia tree had disappeared. Just like that. The fairy with it. He was left alone in a matter of two seconds, wondering if he had just dreamt everything.

"My Lord, are you okay?"

Minho arrived, coming next to him and looking at him curiously. Taemin was still looking at the spot where the magnolia had been, bewildered. His eyes fell to his feet and he frowned, kneeling on the ground and extending his hand to delicately take a white and pink flower.

"I saw someone," Taemin explained, finally looking at Minho. "He was looking at me, when I was in the garden."

"Was it a child? Maybe they were curious but got shy."

Taemin shook his head lightly.

"I don't know who it was, but I'm sure it wasn't an elf. He disappeared all of a sudden and when I arrived there, there was a tree right here. And a fairy. They both disappeared though. Can trees walk in this forest? It was a magnolia and now there's this flower left."

He was stammering, as if he couldn't even believe what he witnessed. Minho looked at him in silence, nodding once and smiled at him.

"Trees can't walk. How was this person like?"

Taemin pouted. Minho could remember Jonghyun saying something about Taemin's pout. How it was really adorable. It made him realize that he needed to take Taemin back to the party, but the young prince seemed to have been shaken by his encounter. Minho wasn't even sure what Taemin had seen.

"He was... shining? He had pink hair. With a brownish skin. I don't really know. He was there and suddenly he wasn't anymore."

"There's indeed no elf with pink hair here."

Taemin's pout became more grumpy.

"I told you already, it wasn't an elf. I'm sure of it. The-... His aura was different. His magic too."

Minho bowed apologetically.

"I'm sorry, my Lord, I didn't mean to upset you."

Taemin sighed and shrugged before turning away, softly putting the flower he had picked up in one pocket of his suit.

"It's not-... don't apologize. You don't have to be so formal with me. We should get back to the party now. I'll see about walking trees later with Jonghyun."

Minho didn't dare to pursue the issue even when he could so clearly see that the prince was left bothered. He tried to think of what Taemin could have seen but wasn't sure he could just assume anything from what the other said.

Jongdae had managed to collect quite a lot of food in five trips. Jongin had been amazed by the quantity he could take with him when he was so little. They were now having a small feast by themselves, their food spread over some kind of plate Jongin had made with roots. Jongdae was wiggling a bit to the music playing, sitting on a peach while explaining to his friend how terrible his last lessons of elvish had been and how much he struggled to be able to learn it. Jongin could only sympathize to his misery, as the few times he did hear elvish, it sounded so impossibly complicated to him, he didn't want to imagine having to learn it.

They were so caught up in their own little world and discussion, that they didn't pay that much attention to the ball right next to them and it was for the best of Jongin's anxiety. He couldn't exactly forget about it, as all those people were terribly loud, but at least, having someone with him kept him away from boredom and from looking too much around.

Then the music stopped and Jongdae quieted down from narrating how Junmyeon always bothered him to come in different meetings so he could, apparently, learn. Jongdae seemed to like whining over Junmyeon bossing him around. Everything was suddenly silent in the garden, it made Jongin terribly nervous again. Jongdae noticed his friend was starting to retreat against the tree on his back, his body slowly melting in it. He called very softly to him, afraid that the nymph would leave him alone here. Jongin seemed to blink back to reality and blushed a bit, straightening back up. Then Jongdae's eyes got caught by something behind the nymph and he tilted his head, his mouth hanging open.

"Who's this?"

Jongin turned over and froze on his spot, his eyes growing wide as he stared at Baekhyun moving forward the hill.

"It's a nymph, right?" Jongdae asked. "He's a nymph like you..."

His friend was hiding himself as much as he could behind branches, feeling too awkward to keep looking at the leader of his people.

"Yes he's-... ah, he's not like me. That's-... Lord Baekhyun. He's-... he's our redeemer."

Jongdae looked startled at the powerful word his friend just used. His eyes kept going from that Lord Baekhyun to Jongin as he couldn't understand what was exactly going on.

"I saw him only twice before," Jongin murmured, as a small explanation while he was still trying to hide himself behind anything and everything. "I'm-... I'm not very comfortable... with other nymphs. I just stay with Kibum. And Lord Baekhyun is-... he's very impressive."

Jongdae flew to him and sat on Jongin's hand, slowly patting his fingers to reassure him. His nymph friend was probably the shyest creature that he ever encountered; he could remember how long it took for him to be comfortable enough to let Jongdae see him.

"Do you want to go away for a moment?" He asked gently, smiling to the surprised expression on Jongin's face. "I mean, everybody is here now, the city should be empty so we could visit a bit, just you and me. It's rather stressful around here... What do you think?"

"But what if we get lost ?"

"Junmyeon showed me around already, I know a bit. And if really we're in trouble, I'll whine for him to come."

Jongin had a light chuckle at that, his fingers coming to nervously twiddle his ear as he nodded slightly.

"Okay then," he whispered.

He was quite certain that Kibum wouldn't want to leave before the end of the ball anyway. There might even be a slight chance he would have to drag him out of the castle so his friend wouldn't try to go look around the prince's room or something like that. So going away for a few minutes to calm down should be okay. Jongin turned his head one last time and his eyes widened a bit. Lord Baekhyun was looking at him from the other side of the garden. He smiled at him with this peaceful gaze of his that got Jongin to breath steadily again. There was only reassurance and care in those shining orbs, with a small glint of mischief.

"Jongin?"

Baekhyun looked away and Jongin reported his attention on his fairy friend.

"Sorry," he murmured.

"It's alright," Jongdae assured with a nod.

They climbed down the beech tree they had been eating on, and swiftly made their way out of the ball. Jongdae hadn't lie, saying he knew a little bit of the city as he took him immediately to some gorgeous places, through flowery paths, and they ended up high in the trees, where they could watch over their forests in peace.

"Jongin, can I ask you something?"

Jongdae was jumping from flowers to flowers playfully. He had tried to sound casual, but Jongin could see the tip of his ears being red and he wondered what made the fairy nervous.

"Of course, what is it?"

Jongdae finally sat on a leaf, looking away to the forest beneath them.

"I'm still learning... I don't know a lot and they don't tell us much about nymphs. You know, some of my friends are jealous because I know you and Kibum and they haven't seen one of your kind yet."

Jongin stayed quiet at that, not knowing how to answer. It had taken him so long to allow Jongdae in his small circle of friends. It was mostly because Kyungsoo was the other's tutor and mentor. Besides Jongdae, the only fairies Jongin knew were the four that had been there when he was born, and Junmyeon. But the latter didn't really count as an acquaintance; Jongin was too impressed with him despite the other one measuring 9 centimeters from the top of his head to the tip of his toes. He hoped Jongdae wouldn't ask of him to meet those friends of him to make them happy.

But the other had a completely different request.

"Why did you call Baekhyun your 'redeemer'?"

His question took Jongin by surprise. The nymph pawed on his ear again, searching for his words. He tried to remember how Kibum had explained it to him. Because it made a lot of sense when his friend had told him all about it.

"We don't-... we don't get lessons like you do. I'm not-... I don't know a lot either. But Kibum... he told me some parts. And hum-... during the war, Lord Baekhyun saved my kind. I wasn't born yet. Apparently, the forest was really hurt. Everybody flew. But the nymphs couldn't. We're stuck... it's like-... we cannot leave the forest, you know. We die if we do."

Jongin frowned, letting out a deep breath.

"It sounds bad, but it was because of the war. Otherwise, I don't see why I would even want to leave. But we're linked to our places. I would-... I would get sick if I can't get back to my willow, or if something happen to it. And if I totally leave the forest, then I-... I cannot survive. So during the fights, a lot of nymphs died. We're not really warriors. And hum-... Kibum said it was terrible. Then Lord Baekhyun saved them. I don't really know why, but he can leave. Kibum said that he heard it's because he's made of only light. He's the purest of us. So he took the other nymphs and because they were with him, they could leave the forest and hide. He protected them all until they could come back, thanks to the king winning the war."

Jongdae looked at him with wide eyes, his mouth open in awe.

"Kibum was the first nymph to have been born again, once everybody came back. If-... if it wasn't for Lord Baekhyun, Kibum and I would be the only nymphs in the forest now. Nymphs don't come to life so often, you know. I'm the last one who appeared to this day..."

The fairy left out an amazed whistle before giving his friend a smile.

"Wow," he simply said. "I can get why you're shy next to that person now."

Jongin chuckled at that before going away a little bit. He followed the trail of vines growing up on the walls and arcs around. It was very strange to him, those elves houses and buildings. How they used rocks to create holes under which he could go. Kibum and himself didn't really constructed any house for themselves. The forest did it. He had seen Kyungsoo's house once before and the fairy had explained to him a bit about constructing this kind of things and also the purpose of building a bed and a table. Of course Jongin had been unable to actually enter the small hole of Kyungsoo's home, but he had seen through the things the fairy called windows. Some part in him wanted to enter the castle and see all of those things for real, in a decent size. But he was too scared of stumbling over a guard or so. He was content with just looking around the gardens, using the stairs, and witnessing how they even put very small walls up to his hips, here and there.

Jongdae was still following him, bouncing against leaves and playing by himself. He was humming a melody Jongin didn't know but already liked. They turned over another set of rocks and Jongin immediately approached the sculpted bench, sitting on it as if he was on a throne and feeling terribly important because it was the very first time of his life he rested on a chair made from elves. Which made it, to his eyes, completely different from any roots bench he ever laid his precious buttocks on.

Jongdae was about to make a comment about Jongin being both childish and sweet, but he stopped himself as soon as his mouth opened. They heard a voice that made Jongin jump with terror and turn his head hurriedly. There was another voice, answering, and Jongin had no idea what it was about but his heart suddenly went crazy and he was blinking rapidly, looking everywhere around himself.

"Jongin?" Jongdae called, flying in front of him so the nymph could focus on him. "It's alright. Jongin, it's alright. We're hidden. They're not talking to us. They don't know we're here. Jongin, it's alright."

"Where are they? We must go. Please let's go back. Let's go away."

Jongdae nodded, knowing he probably wouldn't be able to calm the other down without Kibum or Kyungsoo nearby.

"Follow me. We'll go some place safe and then, I'll go get Kyungsoo. Will you be okay?"

Jongin shyly nodded, his hands on his red cheeks. He felt terrible. The voices didn't stop. Two elves, at least, were nearby, talking. He had been surrounded by so many more of them some minutes ago but suddenly it felt too much, because he had thought to be safer here. And they appeared out of nowhere. And worst of all, Kibum wasn't here. If Kibum had been by his side he would have been okay. But his friend was too far away, and he absolutely didn't want to be seen.

It was so difficult on him when others saw him. His heart would start beating too much. And he would sweat a lot. And it made his cheeks too warm and his insides twist. The unknown fairies who had seen him sometimes, the two centaurs he encountered once and even the other nymphs, they would stare. For so long. And then he couldn't breathe anymore. Pixies and animals, they didn't gawk at him, and that made them the only species Jongin could always approach.

Jongdae was going away slowly and Jongin waited a bit behind, making sure that at every corner, his friend was still alone. The fairy would turn, make a sign for him to join, and the nymph could walk to him.

"We're getting closer to them," he whined as he realized the voice were getting clearer.

"I'm sorry, the stairs to get away are this way... But they won't see us. They won't. I promise."

Jongin sighed and abdicated. But then Jongdae turned to him, twinkling his left wing to tell him it was okay for him to move forward, and the fairy blinked.

"Jongin?"

His friend didn't move an inch and Jongdae flew to him. Jongin's head was turned towards the bushes, his eyes round and his mouth ajar.

"Jongin, let's go...," he said quietly, even though he knew those elves probably couldn't hear them.

But Jongin was still petrified and the fairy finally curiously looked at what exactly caught his eyes. Then he frowned. There were two elves, sitting in one of the gardens, talking. He knew one of them as Junmyeon's best friend and got scared because this person could perceive them. Or at least him.

He looked back at Jongin and wondered if the nymph was having a panic attack over the view, even if it was clear the two others didn't notice them just yet.

"Jongin?" He called again.

"Wait..."

Jongin knew one of them. Kyungsoo had told him it was Choi Minho a long time ago. But the one sitting next to the prince's best friend was unknown.

His heart was beating a little bit too fast, but he couldn't hear it in his temples. He felt a little too warm but his palms weren't moist and his insides weren't twisting as if he was about to throw up. He was few meters away from elves and the horrendous anxiety he had earlier just by hearing them talk had vanished. Instead, he felt curiosity.

"Can we stay... just a minute?"

Jongdae hadn't stop looking at him, trying to decipher what was going on in his head while being ready to contact Jinki, Kyungsoo or even Junmyeon in a second. Then Jongin's question took him off guard and made him fall on the other's shoulder.

"Hu-... hum-... I suppose yes."

He didn't dare to ask about his well-being.

Jongin came just a tiny bit closer, kneeling on the ground as his fingers came to brush a leaf away from his eyes. He didn't even realize his own gestures; his eyes were captivated by the scene in front of him. Everything was silent around. He could only hear Jongdae's soft breathing, and those voices. And the soft smoothing of fabrics when one of the elves moved a bit.

"He's-...," Jongin whispered.

Jongdae waited, but the nymph never finished his sentence. Jongin even forgot he had started to say something, as his mind couldn't find a word in faerish to define his thoughts.

Another voice came out, from behind the two elves, and Jongin trembled at it, his body going tense and his head shaking. He could feel the strange calm within himself shatter as he saw Minho turning away and he realized what he had been doing.

"We should go...," he said in a quivering voice.

But he couldn't move. His eyes were still on the frame of that elf with bright white hair and honey skin.

Now sitting on his shoulder, Jongdae didn't dare to say anything, only looking at him with worried eyes.

"We should-...," Jongin repeated.

Then it happened.

The elf looked around himself and Jongin could feel it coming. He could hear the flowers murmuring for him to go. But his body stood frozen, until those dark eyes were on his. Then the terrible anxiety took over him and swallowed him whole. The elf stared back at him, surprised, and Jongin fell backwards.

Jongdae was flying madly around him, talking to him, urging him to follow, but Jongin couldn't understand what he was saying because now, he could hear his heartbeats in his temples and it was terrible. He went back on his feet and ran, but he heard a word he knew. Kibum kept repeating it because he had picked it up from always watching over Jonghyun.

'When he says it, his friend will stop and not move until Jonghyun is next to him. So I suppose it means to halt.'

Jongin stopped and shifted.

It didn't happen a lot, and it was the first time Jongdae witnessed it. Sometimes when he was too shy, Jongin would disappear inside the trunk of a tree nearby. Jongdae saw Kibum vanishing into droplets too. But Jongin didn't like to take his other form, because it brought too much attention. Melting into another tree was less showy. But there was no tree big enough around them and Jongin didn't even think twice about how it would look like for a magnolia to suddenly appear in the middle of the way. It was still far better than having to face that ethereal elf.

Jongdae got caught up in leaves and flowers and he fell on a branch poorly.

"I'm sorry. Jongdae, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

The fairy was about to tell him that he was alright, but froze when he heard the elf talk behind him.

"Hey there."

Jongin was completely silent again. And Jongdae had a uneasy pout as he turned around, poking his head away from a branch to look at the elf.

"Are you scared? I'm not gonna hurt you."

Jongdae wanted to call Junmyeon to the rescue and hide behind him. But he knew it would only make Jongin freak out even more. And Kyungsoo had told him a million times already that nymphs, and Jongin in particular, were always the priority.

"Jongin? I'm gonna-... I'll try... to make him look away. When-... when he does... you go okay? You run, got it?" Jongdae spoke slowly in faerish, hoping Jongin would still be able to listen to him through his terror.

"I'm sorry."

The elf talked again and Jongdae was fidgeting. He couldn't understand everything the other was saying. He was also trying to find a way to get his attention out of Jongin. Still he tried his best.

But then he heard Choi Minho coming to them and Jongdae could feel in the air the absolute wreck of anxiety that Jongin was becoming. He was about to reach to Junmyeon through their telepathic link, he was about to beg for his friend to make everything okay and protect Jongin, but he felt fingers grabbing him and suddenly, they were running.

Jongin had listened to him and as soon as the elf had turned his head, he shifted back to his nymph form, grabbed Jongdae, and ran. He didn't look back. He didn't let go of the fairy who was struggling a bit in his hand. He wasn't aware of the scared tears running down his cheeks. He didn't notice the quiet guard he passed by as he spurted out of Melalhil. He paid no attention to his burning lungs. His feet were so fast that a squirrel thought he was flying.

The forest around him was quiet and dark. The ball wasn't finished and the vast majority of the forest folks were still enjoying it. He could hear the trees around him, the flowers were whispering worryingly but Jongin still didn't stop.

"Let me come home," he begged to the forest, in his language that Jongdae didn't understand. "Willow, let me come home. Please."

The fairy clinging to his finger let his jaw fall open when he saw a sudden passage pop up between trees. Jongin rushed through it and hurtled the familiar path. He finally let go of Jongdae as he sprawled himself on the roots of his tree, his breathing erratic.

Jongdae dropped on a buttercup flower, blinking with the dizziness of a trip so fast. He saw Jongin curled up against the willow's trunk and had a sigh. He wasn't sure about everything that happened. Why on Earth did Jongin stay there, watching that elf? Why couldn't he move? Why was he so scared of being seen when he had been the one letting his guard down? By the struggle on his friend's face, Jongdae doubted that the nymph himself understood what he had been doing.

"I'm sorry, Jongdae. I'm very sorry."

The fairy slowly approached, putting one small hand on the nymph's cheek.

"We're alright. See," he moved a bit in front of his friend with a smile. "we're alright."

He his cheek a bit more and linked himself to Kyungsoo, asking the other fairy for help.

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Hi everyone,

thank you for reading this chapter. I'm sorry I post one week later than usual, I got a bit busy with life (｡•́︿•̀｡)

also, I'd like to thank every person who commented on this story, and the ones who subscribed to it. It means the world to me to see every single notification and it really does help to continue further. If you can take few minutes to literally make my day and tell me what you thought of this chapter, I'll love you forever.

see you in two weeks ♥