"Yah! What do you think you're doing, dragon!" he snapped, shoving Yixing behind him protectively despite the fact that Yixing was considerably taller and more muscular than he was. "And what the hell are you doing here in the Prince's rooms? How did you get past his wards?"

Getting up slowly from the floor where he'd fallen when Baekhyun had pushed him, Yixing put his hands on the faerie's shoulders to try and calm him down.

"Baekhyunnie," he murmured softly, carefully kneading his shoulders to loosen them. "I brought him here. Jinon is my guest, and not just that, but he's my bondmate." When Baekhyun gave an indrawn gasp, Yixing continued. "I know, I was surprised too, and so was Jinon, but it's true. We're bonded. I don't know why, but...anyway..."

"We need your help..." He grinned slyly when Baekhyun turned to look at him warily. "It does mean you get your own back at Kyuhyun...if you want..."

He hadn't planned to have Yixing in his lap, but he had to admit, for the seconds he was there, Jinon was perfectly content. And then ripped back out of that due to the bloody faerie.

"Drat," he muttered, and folded his arms protectively. "You should be careful," he added softly, leaning to make sure Yixing hadn't hurt himself. "He's going to collapse if we aren't. He's been a bit overworked."

"And whose fault is that, dragon?" Baekhyun snapped, subsiding when Yixing's hands pinched at his shoulders warningly.

"Mine. I just...." Jinon let his breath out in a sigh, deciding not to explain right now.

Jinon could tell just how badly overworked, now. It had come slowly enough, but he could feel it. "In fact, it might be a good idea to get him into bed and continue the discussion there."

Glancing back at his friend yet again, Baekhyun could see that the dragon was right. Yixing looked even worse than he had before and was basically using Baekhyun to keep himself upright. Giving a long-suffering, though at the same time worried sigh, he turned and pulled Yixing into his arms and began to lead him to his bedroom, not caring whether the dragon followed or not.

It took Jinon some effort to get himself off the couch, and he paused a moment to bind up his somewhat smaller wound (he'd have words with Yixing about that) when it broke open again. He trailed after them, feeling a bit woozy himself.

"Come on, idiot," Baekhyun murmured quietly, gently setting Yixing down on his bed and pushing him onto his back. "Lay down, and stay down, stupid. Kyungsu didn't almost lose his life, and I didn't go all the way back to that battlefield and make a fool of myself looking for you, only for you to kill yourself. Now get some sleep..."

Sitting beside Yixing to make sure he slept, Baekhyun eyed Jinon warily. "What do you want?" He was willing to be civil for Yixing's sake, if only barely so, until Jinon proved himself worthy.

Jinon stopped well back from the bed and forced himself to focus on the faerie, choosing his words with care.

"My friend is going to be turned loose somewhere neutral," he started. "He's going to go straight to my father and tell him what happened. That... would bring the battle to your door. Or, at least, his father's." He gestured at Yixing. "I'd rather it not happen. Would you go and speak to him, to explain where I am and what's really happened? To tell him that I'm fine, I'm being cared for, and I will come and see him soon?"

"Why would your father believe me?" Baekhyun asked bluntly, relieved when he heard Yixing's breathing even out into sleep. He wasn't going to have to knock him out after all. "You dragons have as little love for us as we do for you, and probably for as good reason." He gave Jinon a shrewd look. "And just who are you that all this is even necessary? Are you some kind of royal like this idiot here?"

Baekhyun looked thoughtful. "You might want to write this all down, as well. I don't think your father would believe the word of a faerie. I know I wouldn't, in his place. But I'd recognise my kid's handwriting anywhere. That is," he smirked, "If I had a kid."

"And what's to stop your father or any of your kind from slaughtering me on the spot? How would I even get close to your father to give him the message without getting killed for my pains? I rather like my life, thank you..."

Jinon smiled. "Some sort of royal," he said, and went to sit down in a chair. "Yixing's father and my father are having... an argument. Have been for a long time. So, yes."

He frowned, trying to get comfortable, and then suddenly grinned. "He'd believe you if you told Kan you were the one looking for XingXing. Knowing to look for Kan would help, and anyone who goes openly asking to see the King will get an audience."

However, that did bring up a good point. He pursed his lips together, trying to think about that. And then sighed and closed his eyes, concentrating. After a moment, he reached under his bandage and pulled out a small, blood-red gem.

"They'll know it's mine. They'll know I'm alive. My father will request you give it to him. Do so, please. I don't want Kyuhyun to get his hands on that, and neither do you. But that will get you to see him."

Baekhyun snorted. "Some kind of royal," he sniffed, shaking his head. "Only Yixing would go and get himself bonded to a dragon prince. Idiot." He glanced at his sleeping friend fondly, the concern easy to see in his face.

Flushing as Jinon mentioned the nickname he'd used for Yixing on the battlefield in an attempt to find him, Baekhyun went pale when Jinon produced the bloodstone, instantly recognising the significance of it, and the trust that was being placed in him. Suddenly this was more than just a game, more than a simple passing of a message. Carefully taking the bloodstone from Jinon, Baekhyun nodded soberly.

"I will guard it with my life. You have my word," he said solemnly, closing his fingers around the stone and concentrating, a pulse of light emanating from his hand for a moment. When he opened his hand again, the stone was gone. "It is safe, I assure you," he added, just to make sure Jinon knew he hadn't destroyed it. "I have hidden it so nobody knows of it until it's necessary..."

Standing up, he bowed deeply to the dragon prince. "Thank you for trusting me despite my disrespectful behaviour," he murmured. "Yixing is my best friend, and I would do anything to help him..."

"Yes, well, we all can't be prim and proper, can we?" Jinon teased softly.

He sobered when Baekhyun accepted the stone. "I know," he said. "You've done nothing but help him from the beginning. Be careful. Be safe. Return soon."

He glanced toward Yixing, glad to see he slept, and tried to get a bit more comfortable himself.

Nodding, Baekhyun watched Jinon for a few moments, noticing how uncomfortable he was. "The bed is big enough for you both," the faerie grinned slyly, gesturing at his sleeping friend. "I don't think he'll mind if you join him."

"Though I wouldn't recommend trying to do anything other than sleeping," Baekhyun added somewhat wryly. "He may be asleep but his wards are still fully functional." He coughed, Baekhyun's face turning pink as he looked away. "As I've found out from past experience, and he's never let me live it down. Sure we were drunk out of our minds and I only tried to kiss him, but I won't be doing that again anytime soon."

He waved a hand in embarrassment. "So yeah. Don't do anything I would do and you're safe." Grinning, Baekhyun winked at Jinon, then stepped back from the bed, his palms up as the light bent and twisted around him, the faerie soon disappearing on his mission for Jinon.

Jinon stared at him as he disappeared, and then smirked, one side of his mouth lifting in amusement. "It appears that might not be such a good thing," he murmured. "Tried to kiss him."

He'd wait.

Moving turned out to be much more than he really wanted to do, and he managed to find a mostly comfortable position in the chair, and with a sigh, fell asleep.



Tao sighed, slumped in the driver's seat of his car (or rather, one of his father's many cars; if he used his own, it would be too easy to trace back to him) as he looked through the rear-view mirror at the blank-eyed dragon in the back seat, still frozen in his time barrier. He had planned to drop him off in Myeongdong, but it had been too crowded, so he was stuck in traffic on his way to Hongdae, the other neutral area of Seoul.

Trust Yixing to get himself into trouble like this, Tao shook his head, wondering if he'd imagined the looks he'd seen in both his brother's and the one dragon's eyes. He knew that look, having seen it in their parents' eyes, and every other bonded couple's eyes, for that matter, but Yixing...and a dragon? It defied logic and belief, but Tao had seen it for himself, and you couldn't fake a bond magically, no matter how you tried, and there had been those who had in the past.

It saddened him though; was he going to lose his brother because of stubborn, narrow-minded, and bigoted attitudes, and the irrational hatred their cousin Kyuhyun had always had for Yixing? This was the perfect weapon that could make or break them all, and it scared him. The sudden beeping of a horn woke Tao from his musings and he frowned as his destination came into view, thankfully less crowded. He could free the troublesome dragon and then go home.

Kan didn't know what to make of this. In the blink of an eye he went from the floor of some elf's receiving room to standing outside Hongdae with another bloody elf next to him, and no Jinon. He grabbed at the dark-haired elf and yanked him closer.

"Where is Jinon?" he asked softly, trying to not draw more attention to them.

Jinon. So that was Yixing's bondmate's name, was it? Filing that information away for future use, Tao ignored the way he was being treated and blinked at the dragon impassively.

"If that is your friend's name, he is safe," he replied, just as softly, attempting to pull his arm away. "You don't need to worry about him. You are free to go wherever you wish..."

"No, I don't think you quite understand," Kan said, his voice lowering further. "This situation would be much like one of us taking off with your Yixing. I don't relish trying to tell the dragon King that his son is in the elven palace, and I really don't like that I don't even know what condition he's in or where he is."

Blinking in shock, Tao had to thank his years of training that that was the only reaction he had to the dragon's words as his mind reeled with the information that Jinon was not just any dragon but a dragon prince. Did Yixing know? It made him want to laugh suddenly with the irony of it. It just figured.

"I told you, Jinon is safe," Tao replied firmly, his voice even. "Or do you not trust the word of an elven prince?" He drew himself to his full height almost haughtily. "I am not a liar, you know. And when my brother has recovered, he will make sure Jinon is fully healed as well, I give you my word."

"I might, but I do not know you, and the last time I saw him, he was wounded and bound and kicked...." Kan bit his lip, and then blinked.

"Your... brother." He dragged his hand through his hair. "You know," he said conversationally, "I might kill him. He grabs the nearest healer, and it just happens to be the prince. Only him."

"Pipe down," he added, rolling his eyes. "I don't know how things work with you, but would your father believe someone if he came with the news you just told me, about your brother? Really?"

"No," Tao admitted, biting at his lip. "Our father has peculiar blind spots when it comes to Yixing." He sighed. "But I'm sorry. Jinon is with my brother, that's all I can give you. He will be safe as long as he stays with him."

Or unless he left to go back to his own people, which he knew would hurt Yixing. Unless they publicly acknowledged their bond, which wouldn't be without its own set of problems, they would have to somehow have to deal with living apart and Tao wasn't looking forward to a heartbroken Yixing moping around the palace. He wasn't sure Kan would appreciate a heartbroken Jinon either.

Kan sighed and let him go. "Give me your name. Or at least something people know you by, if you don't want to give me your name." He hesitated. "You seem very certain that your brother will keep my prince safe," he said slowly. "Why?"

"My nickname is Taozi," Tao replied, flushing a little at having to give the dragon his childish nickname. It was close enough to his real name that even those unfamiliar with it would know who was being referred to if it was necessary. "And I'm not sure what you mean."

He tilted his head, though he was sure he did know exactly what he meant. He was just unable to say without talking to Yixing first, so instead, he settled for the other reasons why his brother was intent on making sure Jinon was safe.

"My brother takes the security of his guests very seriously, especially where he feels they have been badly mistreated." Tao's eyes narrowed. "And what Kyuhyun did to you both was inexcusable. Yixing takes the treaties between our people very seriously, even if others do not, and for Kyuhyun to have broken the very basic rules..."

Even Tao, who had no love for dragons, had been appalled at Kyuhyun's treatment of them, which was one of the reasons he was even involved, quite apart from his brother.

"Taozi," Kan repeated, not even tempted to laugh. "Yixing's younger brother. And purely aside from the fact that he's the prince, he did save my life."

Right. He could do this. And not get killed. He bowed to Taozi.

"Thank you, for whatever you did to get me out of that thoroughly unpleasant man's grasp. Keep Jinon on his toes, if you see him," he added, and slipped into the crowd, following along until he could get to where he wanted to and get back home.

Shrugging, Tao disappeared as well, losing what little interest he had in the dragon once he'd done his part in dropping him off. He'd said he'd see to it that Kan was safely dropped off in neutral territory, and he was. Anything that happened from here was none of his business. Back at the car, Tao headed home, exhausted and worried for his brother.