I sighed, listening to Kai and Sehun complain for the fifth time about how tired they were and how cold it was. Well, what did they expect? It was practically winter. I turned my head towards the younger two who were dragging their feet behind them in hopes of telling them to shut up, but my eyes fell on the tall brunette boy who walked even further behind the rest of us. Chanyeol used his hands to smother a cough, but I wasn't blind to the way his shoulder shook violently as he choked on his own breath as silently as possible. 

My heart ached at the sight, and I wanted nothing more than to run to him and hold him, but an elbow nudged into my side. "You're gonna walk into a tree," He muttered quietly. 

I sighed. We had been walking in the forest near Kris' house for hours, and the moon was high in the sky, but it still barely lit our path. "Sorry," I muttered. "I'm just worried about him."

"We're almost there. And since we haven't seen Wu Fan at all, I'm assuming he's already beaten us to the other side," Luhan pointed out, doing nothing to ease my anxieties.

"Other side?" I was about to ask how exactly Luhan intended for us to cross over into this other world, when I heard suho let out a sharp shout of surprise. 

"Suho?" Kai and Sehun past me to where D.O. and Suho had been walking ahead of the rest, and I saw D.O. gripping the back of Suho's shirt as he stood on the edge of a riverbank. The earth here rose a few feet above the rushing water, so if Suho had fallen, he was in for a nasty trip.

"Here it is," Luhan spoke, a smile glinting in the moonlight. 

Chanyeol hurried his pace, although I could see from the sluggishness of his limbs that he was exhausted, and leaned over the river.  "We just have to cross this?"

"Yep," Luhan said with a smirk.

"How the hell do we do that?" I eyed the water below us, the current looked fast, not to mention strong, and I could see multitudes of jagged rocks poking up through the surface, just ready to rip an unsuspecting swimmer to shreds.

Luhan simply shrugged. "If you really want Kris, you'll have to figure it out," He said.

I groaned, wondering if he was testing us or just sadistic.

Chanyeol took a seat on the edge of the riverbank, his long legs dangling over the sides high above the water. A determined pout was etched on to his lips and I had to smile at the fact that he was not going to give up so easily. "There's no way we can swim across this, is there?" He asked me, sighing forlornly.

I shook my head, taking a seat next to him. The edge of the bank was sprinkled with small pink flowers, and I tried carefully to not squash any of them under me.

"How the heck did Kris even get across?" I heard Suho's foice ring out from somewhere to my right. 

"He's a dragon; he can fly," Luhan stated in a matter of fact tone.

"Oh. Right."

We sat in silence for a while as we all tried to think of ways to cross the dangerous river. It was at least twenty feet across, and even stepping into that water for a moment would have us swept away, so we knew that there was no way of going through it. Not when it was coursing by at this speed.

"If Chanyeol is a god, can't he just part the sea or something?" Kai asked, nudging the frail boy.

"It's a river, Kai," D.O. snapped, grabbing Kai's wrist and pulling him away like a mother would do to her child.

"Whatever, same thing."

"Phoenixes aren't exactly water creatures," Suho said with a frown.

"I don't think I'd know how to do it anyways," Chanyeol muttered.

"Can't you give us a hint? Or, you know, help us?" I glared at Luhan who looked mildly amuzed.

"Hmm I can't really help you but... Chanyeol, as gods, you and Wu Fan have many friends who would be willing to help you out if you just asked," He explained.

Chanyeol frowned. "Ask? How?" He frowned. He knew nothing about the Phoenix side of him besides what Kris had probably told him, so he looked about as confused as the rest of us. 

I picked one of the flowers in frustration, needing a distraction from this impossible task. I plucked one of the petals and watched as it glided seemingly too slowly to the ground at my side.

Chanyeol, who had been watching my movement, jumped as if he had just been electrocuted. "Baekhyun! Can I see that?" 

I nodded, handing the flower to him. 

The brunette plucked another petal, holding it between his fingers carefully. "Please, let this work," I heard him mumble, his voice wavering slightly at the end, before he extended his arm above the water and let go. The petal drifted downwards but it was as if the longer it fell, the slower it moved until it was barely moving at all.

"Woah, is it floating?" Kai's eyes bulged out as he took in the sight. 

"Guys, the river!" Sehun pointed out, moving past us and hopping down from the riverbank.

"Sehun!" Suho shouted, about to grab the younger boy, but he was already standing chest deep in stilled waters below us.

"Eww, this is deep," Sehun whined, looked hopelessly at his soaked shirt.

Chanyeol and I eyed each other, before climbing down next to him. I, being quite shorter than Sehun, had to kick and wave around to keep my head an adequate distance above the water, and I could tell that D.O. and Suho were having the same problem. Chanyeol and Kai waded through carefully, helping the rest of us along the way. Luhan glided through the water effortlessly, which I found quite annoying since he wasn't too much taller than the either of us.

Once we made it to the other side and had climbed onto the much lower bank, the petal resumed in it's descent, falling like it normally should, and the currents began to move quickly again.

"What was that?" Suho whispered in astonishment. Although we were on a quest to find a Dragon and help our Phoenix god friend, it seemed like the sense of disbelief hadn't quite left us yet.

"A friend of Chanyeol's," Luhan explained with a smile. "But anways, welcome home, Chanyeol, welcome to Exo."

Chanyeol and I exchanged glances and I offered a reassuring smile, but we could both tell that this was only the first of many more obstacles we had to face if we wanted to bring Kris back.

Hey guys so sorry for the super long wait! I got swept up in the holidays and now I'm back to school which somehow gives me more time.. Anyways, I know, short chapter, but I'll try and get more out this week. Happy belated New Year!