Chanyeol liked Kris (he didn’t really have a choice since they would be living together for the next year, but he was actually a cool guy), he liked Sehun, but he wasn’t so sure about Luhan. Instead of asking questions like a normal person, the ghost already had the answers and he was really making Kai uncomfortable with the information he was revealing. Honestly, Chanyeol didn’t know how to feel about Kai keeping his real name a secret, but the phoenix couldn’t be angry. Kris’ real name wasn’t Kris either and Chanyeol figured both the dragon and vampire had their reasons. Kris was just more forthcoming with that information which Chanyeol appreciated. The phoenix hoped Kai would open up a little more eventually. The vampire was hard to read.

Which is why it came as a surprise that he claimed not to care if Luhan joined them. He even shrugged and adverted his gaze as if he was bored.

The ghost was very happy with the reply if the wide grin on his face was anything to go by. With their group numbers decided, they all headed towards the Athletics Center, with Chanyeol and Kris in the lead.

“The facilities here are top notch,” the dragon said, glancing at Chanyeol with a grin. “The building structure has been treated so that even our fire won’t be able to damage it.”

The phoenix’s eyes widened in surprise. Really, he shouldn’t be surprised considering how old the school is and how many fire creatures there were on campus, but phoenix fire was no joke and dragon fire was probably just as strong. The news brought him a little relief too since this was just one less building for him to worry about burning to the ground.

Kris pushed open the metal door and let the entire gang of them step inside before taking up the rear. Chanyeol’s eyes immediately went to the incredibly tall ceiling. The building didn’t look that tall from the outside, but the space inside was easily at least three stories tall. There were rafters up above with what looked like knotted rope slung over them, hanging down in the open air. To the right there were a few target boards set up, roughed up by burn marks and deep gashes. The entire floor space was some kind of smooth, polished surface but it wasn’t at all slippery. Most of the space was open but there were other doors lining the walls that led Chanyeol to believe that there were smaller rooms. From looking through the brochures, he knew that this was just one section of the Athletics center. There was also apparently an indoor aquatics center with a pool and water features (Chanyeol would be steering clear of that), a locker room with showers and an outdoor basketball court next door.

“Hey Kris!” a voice called, the owner jogging towards them with a hand raised in greeting.

The dragon stepped forward to meet the guy, an easy grin on his face. “Hey Yixing. Training today?”

The guy – Yixing – shook his head and threw a thumb over his shoulder in the directions of a few students who were using the training space behind him. “Dae asked me to play doctor.” Chanyeol couldn’t see any sure signs on Yixing’s body to suggest a particular species. He was pretty pale, with brown hair and brown eyes – very much human looking. He was playing doctor? Did he have medical abilities?

Kris glanced back at the rest of them, and introduced his friend, as if hearing Chanyeol’s mental questions. “This is Yixing. He’s the Headmaster’s nephew and a really talented warlock.” That explained why he looked mostly human. Chanyeol understood warlocks as humans who could use magic and live forever.

Yixing brought two fingers up to his temple in a casual sort of salute. “I specialize in healing so call me up whenever you want to train on your own time.”

“You already know Luhan,” Kris said, turning so he could gesture to the ghost. His hand motioned to each of them as he smoothly introduced them all to Yixing – short and sweet with a simple name and species.

“It’s nice to meet you all. I’ll probably see you all around at some point, but if you want to stick around for a bit and watch the sparring I’m monitoring right now, you’re welcome to.” Yixing smiled warmly and headed back over to the general area where the sparring was happening, keeping a safe distance from the two students facing each other.

Chanyeol easily followed, his eyes on the two sparring. One guy had wavy chocolate brown hair with two fox-like ears sticking out atop his head, tipped with blond hairs. He had a brown and blond-tipped tail too that was very enthusiastically whipping back and forth behind him as he twisted to avoid attacks and cast his own. His hands were crackling with what looked like streaks of lightning and flickering sparks. The energy would gather in his hands and strike the floor around him as if having a mind of its own before it was concentrated and out of its wielder’s grip.

While the fox guy was warm and spontaneous, the other male was cool and calculative. His hair was entirely white and his body seemed to be covered in ice. Glinting geometric shapes coated parts of his face and body making him look more like a marble statue than a living person. Blocks of ice formed between the smooth movements of the guy’s hands and were shot at the fox guy, only to strike the polished floor and cover it in blue frost when the fox dashed out of the way.

“Jongdae is a kitsune with lightning magic,” Yixing explained, drawing Chanyeol’s curious eyes towards him for a moment before looking back at the fight. “Minseok is an ice sprite.”

The phoenix felt presences come up behind him, but they were familiar – Kris and the others – so he didn’t bother tearing his gaze from the pair in front of him. Chanyeol had never met a kitsune or ice sprite before. He didn’t know very much about their species so he was very, very intrigued with the match before him.

The two fighters were focused entirely on each other and they seemed to be very serious about it. There was no joy on either of their faces, just hard eyes and tense bodies. If it was taking place in a different setting, Chanyeol would have assumed they were actively trying to kill each other. There was no holding back in either of their attacks. The two of them must have trained together before or they were just both extremely talented, because even with the amount of bolts and ice flying back and forth, nothing hit. Both the kitsune and the sprite dodged each other’s attacks, moving as if they were a part of a complicated choreography.

The phoenix hoped that soon he would be able to fight like that.

It didn’t take too long for them to change tactics with the kitsune making the first move towards fighting hand-to-hand without long distance attacks. The fox dashed in, launching himself towards the other with his hands outstretched, electricity cracking at his heels, providing more power to his jump. The sprite tried to lunge to the right but the fox managed to wrap an arm around his middle and pull them both to the ground, rolling a few times across the shiny floor.

Chanyeol thought they had hurt themselves for a moment as the kitsune was laying atop the sprite, their bodies unmoving but then there was the loud sound of a laugh coming from the heap. The kitsune began squirming, his tail lashing as sparks appeared around him, fizzling into nothing as they struck the floor. He managed to roll away but the sprite followed, snowflakes fluttering to the ground and slowly melting. It took Chanyeol another moment to realize the two of them had turned their sparring match into a tickling match. The kitsune was letting out peels of laugher, his hands batting away the ice sprite as he attacked his sides with icy hands.

“I yield, I yield!” the fox yelled out, his tail thumping against the floor as if to further emphasize that he was tapping out.

The ice sprite sat up with a wide grin on his face. “That’s what you get.”

“Why do they insist on sparring when it always turns into flirting?” a new voice muttered from beside Chanyeol. The phoenix tore his eyes away from the two who had been fighting and towards who had spoken.

He hadn’t noticed the male who was standing on the other side of Yixing. He had his dark blue eyes on the two sitting on the floor, shaking his head with a huff. His blue-black hair looked wet but wasn’t dripping, slicked back away from his face. Chanyeol had no idea what kind of species he could have been.

“You sound annoyed,” Yixing said with a soft chuckle, his head turned towards the guy who had spoken.

“I just wish they would end this little game they have going and just date already,” the wet-looking guy replied, turning to look back at Yixing. He seemed to finally notice Chanyeol on Yixing’s other side. “Hi. Friend of Yixing’s?” He held out a hand towards Chanyeol.

“Friend of Kris,” Yixing corrected, gesturing behind him a little, drawing the guy’s attention to the others standing behind Chanyeol.

Kris raised a hand in a wave. Chanyeol clasped the wet looking guy’s hand, feeling a bit of a chill run up his spine due to the way the guy’s skin felt. It wasn’t wet, but kind of damp, as if he had showered earlier and the water hadn’t yet absorbed into his skin. The phoenix didn’t like water for obvious reasons. Fire and water just didn’t mix.

“I’m Kim Joonmyun,” the guy introduced, shaking Chanyeol’s hand briefly. “I’m a water nymph.”

“Park Chanyeol, phoenix.” Chanyeol dropped his hand quickly and hoped it didn’t seem rude. He just didn’t like the feel of Joonmyun’s skin.

“Fire and water. Sworn enemies,” Kris said with a playful grin.

Joonmyun laughed. “Just like us, huh Wu?” he shot back.

The dragon snorted but didn’t offer a response.

Yixing left their little grouping, walking towards the two students who were still seated on the ground a number of feet away. Chanyeol’s good hearing could pick up his question even from this distance – “any injuries?”

Luckily there wasn’t any so both the kitsune and sprite got up and the three joined the rest of them. The kitsune had thrown his arm over the shoulders of the slightly shorter sprite and had a bit of a bounce to his step. “We had an audience!” His golden eyes – with a split fox-like pupil – were blazing and his wide grin showed off pearly canines.

The sprite was a little more reserved, giving the kitsune a look with light blue eyes. The ice that had been covering his body while he fought had receded, leaving only frosty traces along his jaw, in his white hair, and even along the sleeves and legs of his t-shirt and jeans.

“This is Jongdae and Minseok. A lightning kitsune and an ice sprite,” Yixing said, as way of introducing them to those who hadn’t met them yet. He turned his attention to the pair. “You’ve both met Kris before, and Luhan I’m betting. This is Chanyeol, a phoenix, Sehun, a djinn, and Kai, a vampire.”

“I know Sehun. He was in my human history class last year,” Jongdae said.

Yixing looked between the two. “Oh, so you’re both second years then? Then is it just Kai and Chanyeol who are new? I don’t recall seeing either of you around campus before and I’ve been here a long time.”

Chanyeol was curious so he spoke up. “How long is a long time?”

“My uncle raised me since I was young. He taught me all I know of magic and I officially enrolled in the school seven years ago.”

Seven years wasn’t a very long time with how long the life spans of most species were but if Yixing had been here since he was young it must have been even longer seeing these same buildings day in and day out.

“How old are you, Yixing?” Chanyeol asked, quickly adding “if you don’t mind me asking” as to not sound impolite.

“I’m two-hundred-and-ninety-two,” he replied easily. “I’ve been living with my uncle for almost two centuries.”

The warlock was so much older than he seemed, though it was hard to tell with pretty much any magical creature. Their physical age was much different than their actual age. Chanyeol looked more like a human would in their twenties than the seventy-three-year-old phoenix that he was. Yixing didn’t physically look much older.

“Hey Chanyeol,” Kris cut in, grabbing the attention of the phoenix. “We should check out the rest of the center. There’s still a whole other half to this place.”

Chanyeol hesitated, not liking the idea of being near so much water. Taking showers was enough of a necessary evil. Chanyeol planned to never go near the pool or the lake if he could help it. “I think I’ll pass. I don’t like the water,” he finally said. “I’m actually hungry so I think I’ll go check out the cafeteria instead.”

“Food sounds great,” Minseok chimed in, smiling at the phoenix. “Mind if I join?”

Chanyeol nodded easily. Another friend was welcome. “It’s an open invitation.”

“I’m down,” Jongdae agreed, his tail swaying behind his head.

Minseok looked at him weirdly. “You don’t eat.”

“I know. I’m tagging along just to annoy you,” the kitsune explained with a -eating grin, poking the ice sprite’s side.

Another tickling match nearly broke out but Joonmyun smoothly cut in. “Let’s just all go.”

There was a majority agreement and it was decided. They all began heading towards the double doors on the other side of the room that Chanyeol assumed was the normal entrance. While they all headed one way though, Kai headed in the opposite direction without a word.

Yixing noticed him first, calling out his name. “Where are you going? They supply blood at the cafeteria.”

Kai had stopped walking but didn’t turn back to look at any of them. Chanyeol wasn’t quite sure what to make of the vampire, but he was still hoping to get the other to warm up to him. He was sure Kai was lonely in some way.

“I’m going back to the dorms. I’ve already eaten today.” He didn’t offer up any other information and merely kept walking, heading for the door they had all entered through.

They let him go, though Chanyeol did consider going after him. The call of food was stronger, so he headed out with the rest of them to see just what the cafeteria had to offer.

While on the excursion to the cafeteria, Chanyeol learned a number of things about the eating habits of his new friends. Jongdae and Luhan didn’t eat at all. Sehun didn’t need food to survive, though that didn’t stop him from ordering bubble tea as he apparently loved the taste. Yixing, Minseok, Joonmyun and Kris ate food as humans did, just like Chanyeol. Joonmyun had a taste for seafood since he had been raised on it and Kris ate more meat than veggies, with a whole lot of spice. Chanyeol wondered if either of those preferences had to do with their species or was just unique to them.

Orientation week had continued with a few more events to help the new students and returning students mingle and find somewhere to fit in. After giving the students a day or two to settle into their dorm rooms and get familiar with the campus, the school set up a festival of sorts along the beach area of the lake. It was still much too cold even in March for swimming for most species, but there was a massive bonfire not far from the shore and even fireworks set off over the lake. Food and drinks were supplied for those who ate and various activities encouraged student interaction and team efforts.

Chanyeol had attended the festival with Kris and Sehun, dragging an unenthusiastic Kai with them. They had met up with Yixing and Joonmyun while there and had run into Jongdae and Minseok at some point. The phoenix was glad to have made so many new friends and he was pleased to discover that he had a class with Kai and a class with Kris surprisingly. Apparently some of the more specialized classes mixed upper years with new students to provide a better learning experience. It was going to be fun.

The day after the beach festival, there was a fair set up around the courtyard of the main building where booths assigned to each club offered by the academy were arranged. Returning students met up with friends and signed up for clubs they had participated in the year before or new ones they wished to learn about. The new students had the opportunity to learn about each of the various clubs offered and a chance to sign up for the ones they were interested in.

There were so many choices that Chanyeol was having a hard time picking just one. He had four classes to balance, as well as training and study outside of class, so he decided that he would only commit himself to one club until he had a better idea of his workload.

Kris had been pestering him to join the basketball club since they had checked out the court the day before. The dragon insisted that it made perfect sense since Chanyeol was so tall. The phoenix allowed Kris to steer him to the table but only after seeing all of the other club booths first. Chanyeol was introduced to the few members who were managing the booth and recruitments and by the end of the conversation, Chanyeol had signed his name on the list. They met on Saturday afternoons for a couple hours so it wouldn’t interfere with his school schedule for the most part.

The phoenix had his history class for fire creatures on Monday mornings which because Chanyeol hated having to wake up before ten and he didn’t yet know anyone in the class. Tuesdays he had his class with Kai, which focused on human history. This allowed Chanyeol a great opportunity to get closer with the elusive vampire.

Wednesdays at three he had fire training with Kris at the Athletics Center. He didn’t get to actually train with Kris though since dragons couldn’t produce fire quite like phoenixes could. Dragons could only breathe fire through their mouths while in their true form. Kris had only been working on stabilizing his shift into his dragon form for the last year so he still wasn’t practiced enough to actually spar in it. Chanyeol’s first class was spent manipulating his flames into projectiles to launch at the targets lining the far wall. The phoenix wasn’t exactly very good at aiming which probably would have led to the entire building catching on fire if it wasn’t for the magically treated walls.

Thursday was Chanyeol’s last class of the week. They were given the choice of an elective class where they could study a subject that had nothing to do with their species or abilities. The phoenix had developed a liking for music during his time traveling the world so he chose a class where he had the opportunity to focus on a musical instrument and learn how to play. It was a morning class, but Chanyeol was a little more eager for this one since he got to study something he was really interested in.

The professor was a woodland faerie with tattoos of autumn leaves crawling up her neck and cheek. She was sweet and had a real passion for music. The harp was her instrument of choice and Chanyeol was very easily enraptured by the way her slender fingers seemed to dance over the strings and create such a beautiful melody.

Each student, even the returning ones, had the opportunity to choose from a whole bunch of instruments supplied by the school. Many of them were of human origin, but there were a few that Chanyeol wasn’t familiar with that he assumed were from a non-human culture. After some consideration, he had his eye on three in particular.

There were many times where the phoenix had heard a human playing the guitar on the side of a street with a hat sitting upside down in front of him. Other humans would gather around to listen and drop coins into the hat. The music was raw and jolly and had made Chanyeol curious to learn how to strum the strings.

The drums were another instrument he had grown to enjoy. The way the sticks were struck against the drums and cymbals in an almost frenzy, keeping a beat that immediately made Chanyeol tap his foot. The phoenix wanted to learn how to keep a steady rhythm and generate a cool rock sound.

The last instrument Chanyeol was considering was the piano. He had heard softer songs created with it – songs with haunting sounds that made the heart ache. He could recognize emotion so easily with the press of every key and he loved the way the fingers danced across the black and white board.

Each instrument had a distinct sound and the phoenix took a long minute to choose.

Many more characters were introduced in this chapter and many more species were revealed. I spent a lot of time figuring out which mythical creature would best match each member based on their superpower. It is very fun to world build with all these different creatures. There are only three EXO members left - Tao, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo. Can you guess what kind of creatures they might be? Perhaps someone else will be introduced next depending on your choice in the poll.

Please let me know what you think of the chapter by commenting. I would really love some feedback. 

Please vote in the poll below. Which instrument should Chanyeol learn to play?