Everything was a blur for the next half hour or so as Chanyeol packed up and started loading things into a pack to bring with them.  He refused to let Seoyeon help because of the burn on her foot, even when she insisted that it really wasn’t that painful right then, and told her she could relax outside in the sun if she wanted because it might be the last chance she got for some time.

Seoyeon hesitantly took him up on it until the Guardian returned from the forest.  She wasn’t sure quite why an overly large stag covered in butterflies was so intimidating, but all it took was one large eye blinking at her before the stag turned its head towards her and she was scurrying back into the Borderlander hideout.

“Borderlander, your friend does not like me,” the Guardian objected from outside.  It sounded rather amused.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes as he finished tying shut the pack and checked the straps.

“You’re about twice the size of anything similar she’s encountered at home, of course she finds you unnerving,” he muttered.  Seoyeon felt herself blushing, unsure how to respond to him defending her, even if the Guardian couldn’t hear.

It turned out that the Guardian could, in fact, hear.

“I fail to imagine you were not alien to her as well.”  The stag didn’t even sound offended.  If anything, it sounded even more amused than before.

Chanyeol stopped and looked at the entrance with irritation before deciding that it wasn’t worth answering.

“Have you got everything you need?” he asked Seoyeon.  She nodded mutely, shouldering her satchel.  He looked her up and down for a second before striding over to the cupboard and pulling out a heavy cloak, similar to the one he’d lent her on the previous plane.  “Here.  It might well be colder where we’re going.”

Seoyeon looked up at him, swallowing, as she grasped the material tightly in her hands.  He ruffled her hair before turning back to his own things, arranging his cloak around his shoulders and shouldering the pack.  Checking around to make sure that the hideout was tidy, he held a hand out to her.

“Let’s go.”

They walked out to scorching heat and sulfurous fumes.  Seoyeon gagged, coughing into her shoulder (she refused to let go of Chanyeol’s hand).  It took her a moment or two to settle so that she could look around with watery eyes.

The scene before her was wholly unexpected.  The stag was in front of them, coat shimmering with heat, as twin streams of lava flowed around the hideout.  Panicking, Seoyeon turned to look back up at the volcano and saw that the ash cloud had darkened.  Two glowing orange streaks descended from the peak, flowing down to where they were.

The streams clashed directly behind the stag, the lava rearing up like a stormy breaker against a rocky shore.  Flecks the size of pebbles showered away as the two streams collided.  The orange butterflies hovered between the Guardian and the clashing lava in an almost uncertain manner.  If she hadn’t been close enough to make them out, Seoyeon would have thought they were also flecks of lava.

Chanyeol in a breath and squeezed Seoyeon’s hand.

“Ready?” he asked.  “They’re going to open the whorl for us.”

Seoyeon gulped.  She had a nasty feeling the whorl was going to involve stepping into the lava, but before she could admit that she kind of didn’t want to do this, one of the butterflies left the fluttering crowd and came to settle on Chanyeol’s shoulder.  He reached up for it absently.

“It is time,” said the Guardian gravely, turning to face the lava.

At once, a pillar of fire shot up from the lava waves, high above their heads, and the lava flow increased in speed.  Chanyeol pulled Seoyeon in closer and then let go of her hand to tuck his arm around her waist.  Darkness was gathering in the smoke from the flames, and suddenly they split and a rip opened up between them.  Hail tore through it, melting from the heat, but the shriek of the Neuma winds was near deafening.  Seoyeon gulped, wishing Chanyeol had left his hand in hers so that she could squeeze it for extra comfort.  She could feel the winds from where they stood, even with the stag in front of them.

The stag backed away to the side, dipping its head as if to say they could proceed.  The butterflies followed.  How they could fly with a crosswind of that strength Seoyeon had no idea.

Murmuring something Seoyeon couldn’t hear, Chanyeol reached out with his free hand.  Flames were already racing along his arm, and they leapt off it, crossing the four or five feet to the whorl like some kind of rope.  The blackness of the Neuma whorl was on them at once, and Chanyeol turned Seoyeon towards his body to protect her from the hail as the winds shrieked and buffeted around them.

Then it fell calm and they were in utter darkness.  Chanyeol gave Seoyeon some breathing space and she looked up, searching for stars or a moon, but it was even darker than the plane on the twelfth strata.

She felt the butterfly that had come with them settle on her nose as Chanyeol murmured “lakthar” beside her.  A tiny flame sprang to life, but the darkness was so inky and heavy that it was impossible to see more than themselves.  Chanyeol looked around, then fished out his orb, flicking through the various compartments.  Seoyeon peered curiously at it, even though she didn’t understand a thing.  But there was something odd about it.  The flames looked… ill.

Chanyeol’s face looked a little pale when he glanced up and tucked the orb away again.  Seoyeon watched him expectantly, but all he did was look around.

“Sh*t,” he said.  “This is really bad.”

They walked for about half an hour, navigating solely by Chanyeol’s Borderlander orb.  For whatever reason, he didn’t think it safe enough to bring up proper flames for them to see where they were going, and Seoyeon didn’t dare question it.  She did at least have the comfort of his hand, which was a huge relief because she couldn’t even see him in the darkness.

The more time passed, the more oppressive the darkness felt.  There was something wrong about it, something thick and oily and unnatural.  When they stopped, sitting on what Seoyeon recognised to be rocks, she was more out of breath than usual and a bitter taste clung to the back of .

Chanyeol finally let go of her hand to call up more flames, but he kept them low and dim.  They gave just enough light for Seoyeon to be able to make out tall tree trunks and more rocks before Chanyeol turned to the butterfly, which was hovering between them.

Some exchange Seoyeon couldn’t understand passed between them and then he turned back to Seoyeon, sitting beside her and placing the flames on his knee as he rummaged in a pocket.  She heard something breaking and then he was holding out something white and vaguely familiar to her.  Wearily, Seoyeon opened and he popped it in.  She chewed slowly, wondering how he’d take it if she leant against him and then decided to go for it anyway.

All Chanyeol did was shift so that he was more comfortable with her head resting on his shoulder, and Seoyeon enjoyed it in silence as the sugarmint melted on her tongue.  She could hear him chewing quietly too before he spoke up.

“Did you restock your medical satchel?”  He kept his voi