Kris lands back in Dragon Territory, and the reaction is instantaneous.

“Wu Fan.” A deep voice echoes through the sky, and the surrounding Dragons turn from their nightly activities in the city on the cliffside to watch the young spirit change into his less assuming form.

Though everyone’s eyes are boring into his skin, Kris looks up toward the castle in the middle of the city. “Y-Yes?” He manages, hunching his shoulders slightly.

“Come.”

Kris hangs his head and slowly re-extends his wings, taking off in the next instant toward the second-highest tower of the castle on the pinnacle of the mountain. He’s hesitant as the guards nod him forward from the balcony, admitting him into the stairwell. He’s received by another guard, whose expression is just as stony as the ancient granite they’re walking on. Kris follows this man down the steps of the tower into the main catacombs and hallways of the castle, focusing entirely on his feet and praying he doesn’t slip.

Soon he’s back in his old training room and the stage is already set for a scolding; his three mentors are lined up in their seats, someone’s standing by to take notes, and the guard turns and nods to him before closing the oversized doors behind him.

“Wu Fan.” The Dragon in the center says calmly, the very image of a father figure who’s not angry, just disappointed.

“Master Baojia –“ Kris steps up to stand in front of all of them and bows hastily.

“Do you know why you’re here?” The older spirit asks unblinkingly.

Kris closes his eyes and clasps his hands in front of himself, bowing his head. “…You had to send a Phoenix…”

“Why was that, Wu Fan?” The leader on the right of Master Baojia inquired, raising his eyebrows and pursing his lips just slightly.

“Because I wasn’t – I wasn’t doing my job, Master Hao.”

“And why weren’t you doing your job?”

“I don’t know. I was in a bad mood, and I – I let it affect the child...”

“You understand why this is unacceptable?” The oppressive-looking mentor asks from the right, tilting his head expectantly.

“Yes, Master Jung. It was my responsibility to help him and I… Failed...” Kris doesn’t risk looking up because his stomach is starting to burn, and he’s speaking through his teeth.

“What will you do to fix this, Wu Fan?” Master Baojia interjects completely evenly, still managing to make Kris want to bury himself deep in the earth and away from the displeasure his eyes.

“I’ll work harder in the future.”

“You understand… This is the second time we’ve been obligated to talk to you?” Master Jung says hotly, leaning forward off of his throne to glower at the inexperienced Dragon.

“Yes, Master.” Clenching his fists, Kris’ eyebrow twitches slightly.

“If we are forced to speak with you again…” He pulls at his small goatee menacingly. “I think there will have to be consequences.”

Kris opens his mouth to protest but bites down on his lip. “I understand.”

“Excused.”

Without another word, Kris turns to leave swiftly, struggling with the weight of the doors in his hurry. With a grunt he’s able to yank one open. His exit wasn’t as dramatic as he would have liked, but he finds his way to a window on his own, and jumps out of it to fly to his own small home to sleep the day away.

His almost-pleasant dreams are disturbed by the image of a taller and stronger version of that Phoenix, Chanyeol, smiling blankly at him and hiding a smaller version of Tao behind his legs.

~

When he finally wakes up once again to the darkness of night, Kris receives his night’s schedule.

He gives a silent thank-you once seeing that he wasn’t going to have to work during the day or on Monday, praying that his fortune would stay good and he wouldn’t wind up being punished for his slip-up with Tao.

The rounds he makes that night are so infuriatingly boring that he tries to block them out of his mind, attempting to remind himself that he needs to stay on top of his game and really deliver.

The younger children usually are calmed enough by his presence alone; they can’t sense Kris’ annoyance with how they’re fiddling with his wings, tracing his fiery veins. The thought of having a “guardian angel” of their own excites them enough to forget about why they were crying.

Even teenagers are usually easy. Girls are soothed by Kris’ visage; even they don’t seem to recognize his complacency for their insignificant issues, because they’re too busy ogling his high cheekbones and toned physique. Teenage boys usually take a while to trust Kris, but they like his aloof manner. Some of them maybe even aspire to be as indifferent as him.

But Tao saw right through him.

Right through his detached manner, his condescending tone. Knew right away the game Kris was playing. And refused to make it that easy for him.

Since Kris doesn’t usually care about the children or teenagers he’s forced to visit, he’s taken aback by how much the small but oddly aggressive teenager from Qingdao crosses his thoughts.

He wonders profusely what Chanyeol said to try to help him, if he’d wound up soothing him, if Tao had liked Chanyeol more than him. Maybe Chanyeol was able to understand Tao’s emotions better than Kris had.

But that’s just after one day.

The next few days pass and Kris is trying to surpass these feelings, but he can’t help worrying. Is Tao still being bullied? Not that he really cares, he knows that he doesn’t really care, but he still wonders. Did Chanyeol fix that? Of course he couldn’t. Then what was the solution? Was there a solution?

He finds out soon enough.

A week after he’d first met Huang Zitao, Kris gets his nightly schedule, which says nothing but to report to the training room immediately. In a second he’s out of the main terminal and up to the tower, waiting in the short line with the other young Dragons who have inquiries.

As soon as the three Masters are in sight, Kris bows hurriedly.

“Wu Fan.” Master Baojia addresses him. “Before we gave you your schedule for today, we wanted to be confident you were prepared.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Huang Zitao is once more in need of help.” He says firmly, evaluating Kris’ reaction. “The three of us have discussed the matter… And we are unanimous in thinking that it would be the best course of action to send you back to Qingdao.”

“Why me?”

“Zitao has already met one of our kind. After what you made him go through last week, he deserves not to have to go through another introduction.”

“I see…” Kris says glumly, glaring at the floor.

“And he deserves an explanation.”

“I understand. I’ll – I’ll do it.”

Master Baojia waves his hand over Kris’ slated agenda, revealing the cities he’d be flying to.

“There’s only Qingdao.” Kris objects to the single name on his roster. Usually he has three or four cities scheduled, but there’s only the one.

“Yes. It is important that you do not rush. The quality of your work has been slipping… Take your time. Excused.” Master Baojia says casually despite the air of an impending doom.

Kris bows and leaves the training room immediately; taking off on the first open ledge he comes to.

The sullen Dragon’s thoughts are cloudy as be begins his tiresome flight from Dragon Territory to Qingdao. He’s glad to only have one appointment for the night. But then again, he has no idea what he’s going to face, what he’s going to have to do to keep Tao calm. Why him, he thinks. Why not Chanyeol. It makes no sense why he’d be expected to go back after his failure.

But then again, Kris is a proud creature. He’s excited at the prospect of proving himself – whether it’s to his Training Masters or to Tao himself. Another chance has been what he’s wanted since he left Tao’s room with his tail between his legs, and he doesn’t fool himself into thinking that this is such a bad idea, after all.

But the large creature is conflicted as he soars through the night sky, flapping his wings only the minimal amount needed to stay aloft. Seeing Tao again means clearing his slate and starting fresh. Then again, it means shrinking his ego enough so he can apologize.

… And Kris doesn’t want to apologize.

A/N: Most chapters probably aren't going to be as long as the first one ^-^