There was something off about the EXO-M side of the island that didn’t sit right with you. Something about the vibrancy in the foliage; something about the way the plant life swayed in the breeze. There was a sickeningly sweet smell coming from the life of the forest; like that horrible fake cherry scent in pot puree.

Even the air seemed a lot denser than EXO-K land—almost suffocating. You ignored the heaviness in your head despite the slight claustrophobic feeling that kept closing in on you. Looking down at Tao’s hand in yours, you sighed. Knowing he was with you made you feel a little better.

Tao felt your grip tighten slightly and looked back at you with a reassuring smile.

“We’re almost there.”

You didn’t know how Tao could possibly tell which direction he was going in, as everything looked the same to you. It was even more confusing than EXO-K land due to the higher number of trees in this area.

A snap of a twig caused Tao to flinch; his head instinctively snapping in the direction of the sound. This had been happening continuously since he suggested on taking this walk. What exactly was he looking out for?

Should I be worried…?

Tao sneered at the sound and looked away as he led you through a thick cluster of ferns. The long leaves flicked at your face; cold and scratchy. You held your free hand in front of your eyes so as not to be blinded by the sharp edged plant.

When you finally escaped the fern barrier you felt like you could breathe again. Looking around the small clearing you had entered, you saw a large stretch of water that blocked your path.

“This is Talyeok Pond.”

It didn’t really look like a pond at all; with the amount of rocks and boulders that protruded from the surface, it looked more like a horizontal rock climbing wall made of water.  Tao nodded his head towards the pond and nudged you.

“It’s the only way across.” He said with a sly smile plastered on his face. You walked up to the pond and looked down. You let out a gasp when you couldn’t see the floor; the water ran deep. The rocks and boulders seemed to be floating on top of the water—but how?

“Yeah it’s deep, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Tao said as he approached the edge. “But it’s okay; nothing can sink in this pond if you’re worried about that.”

You scoffed.

“Who said I was worried about that.” Tao chuckled and stepped forward towards a floating rock.

“Your face said so.”

Tao jumped on the floating rock and it submerged into the water as it took his weight. You let out a squeak as you thought Tao was going to plunge in with the rock but instead, the rock bounced back up to the surface. Tao almost lost his balance at the force but managed to hold his stance. He then jumped across another three other rocks, using them as stepping stones.

“C’mon, Princess! It’s fun!” Tao let out a few hoots as he bounced from rock to rock, like it was some kind of bouncing castle that kids had at birthday parties back home. You stretched out your leg and pressed down on the rock in front of you. It dipped in slightly and removing your foot, you watched it bobble.

“Priiincessssss!” Tao whined. He had already made it to the other side of the pond and was waving for you to come over. “Hurry up! You’re not scared are you? It’s okay! It’s perfectly safe. Trust me. I play here all the time!”

Tao smiled and gave a thumbs up. You looked back down at the rock and took a deep breath. Stretching out your leg again you rested it on the rock but before you could transfer your weight onto it, you felt the ground shake slightly. You looked up at Tao and saw he was looking into the forest.

“T-Tao...what was that?” The ground rumbled again and Tao took a step backward.

The ground vibrations started getting bigger; the thumping gradually getting louder.

“An...earthquake?!” You yelled.

Tao turned towards you and shook his head, a look of fear in his eye.

“No it’s—AHHHHH”

Kookie jumped out of the trees, a young man on his back. The large feline pounced on a screaming Tao, knocking him to the ground.

“STOP IT, KOOKIE!” Yelled the man riding the cat, pulling at the beasts’ ears in hopes his pet would listen to him. Your blood ran cold as Kookie grabbed Tao in his mouth and lifted him up off the ground. Tao screamed as he wacked the sides of the cat’s face. You screamed Tao’s name and tears begun to gather in your eyes. That was, until you heard the cat rider laughing.

“Kookie—aaahahahaha—put Tao down please!” Kookie looked up at his master stubbornly. Tao thrashed around angrily in its jaw, threatening to take away the cat’s ball if he didn’t put him down. You realized the feline wasn’t grabbing onto Tao hard at all, he simply held him in his mouth without actually hurting him.

“Chen! Get your damn cat to put me down! I swear...every time! Why can’t he greet me like the others?! Why am I the only one that he pretends to kill every time he see me?!”

Chen laughed and patted his buddy on the head, earning a deep affectionate purr from the cat.

“I dunno Tao, he just hates you. Yes you dooo, don’t you my little Kookie boy?” Chen cooed while Kookie’s fur. “My little baby don’t like stupid little Taoie, does he?”

“PUT ME DOWN!”

Kookie finally gave up and dropped Tao to the ground. Tao let out a growl of disgust as he flicked off the cat saliva that was dripping off of him.

“What are you even doing here, Tao? Shouldn’t you be—oh. Hello.” Chen realized that Tao wasn’t alone. He saw you standing on the other side of the pond with your hands over your face and eyes peeking out between your fingers. You brought your hands down to reveal your pale, fear stricken face.

“H-hi.” You managed to yell back. Chen looked you up and down warily as you fidgeted under his gaze. His lips curled in amusement.

“It’s...good to see you’re alright.” He yelled from his side. “Don’t worry, Tao’s fine! This is very normal.”

When Chen didn’t get any response from you, he continued.

“I’m sorry about earlier when—uh you know—my cat tried to kill you and uh—how about you come over here so I don’t have to yell my apologies.”

You nodded silently and looked back at the same rock for the third time. You heard Chen and Tao start up a conversation of how Tao was in big trouble for bringing you out here. It made you feel better that they were no longer watching you, as you didn’t do too well when people stared at you while attempting new things.

You hopped up on the first rock, it went under the water but, as it did with Tao, it resurfaced. You let out a breath that you didn’t know you were holding. You hopped to the next one but this one seemed less stable. It seemed to bounce in and out a little more than the first one. You skipped across a few more when you started to get really nervous. As you went further and further to the centre of the pond, the rocks seemed to not want to take your weight. You jumped onto a rather large boulder and it bounced violently. You let out a small scream which caught Tao and Chen’s attention.

“Princess what’s wrong?” Tao yelled out. His eyes widened when he saw the rock you were on didn’t compose itself like it should have. “Huh...? What the...”

The rock started to shake as if it had a mind of its own. You held on to it, scared to let go.

“TAO WHAT’S HAPPENING?”

“Chen! What’s going on—“

“I have no idea! Uh, girl, quick. Just, come on over here.” Chen ran to the pond’s edge and motioned with his hand to come. “Just jump to the next rock and skip quickly to us.”

Just as you got the courage to let go of the rock to jump to the next one, the rock did what Tao said that nothing could do in this pond—it sunk. You dropped into the water along with it. You thrashed around trying to keep yourself a float; again, wishing you knew how to swim. You reached for a nearby rock but just as you touched it, that rock too, sunk. Despite your efforts to keep afloat, your head submerged under the water. You kicked as hard as you could but you could not get back to the surface. You felt the water slowly rising in temperature, like a warm entity was hugging you from beneath the water. You opened your eyes but there was nothing under there with you; the water was completely clear. You stopped struggling and looked down. There was no bottom to the pond. It ran incredibly deep and eventually disappeared into blackness. You couldn’t even imagine what could be down there—surely it couldn’t really be uninhabited?

You brought your hands up to your nose and mouth, unable to hold your breath any longer. But before you could allow the water to completely fill your lungs, two strong arms grabbed you by the shoulders and pulled you out.

Taking a deep shaky breath, you clung to Chen as he carried you out of the pond. Tao stood frantic and full of worry, his good arm stretched out to help Chen put you down on the ground. You coughed up the water that had seeped into your lungs and Chen gently tapped your back. Your breathing was harsh and you were shaking from shock.

Tao and Chen exchanged troubled looks. You looked between the two as they seemed to have a wordless conversation.

“T-Tao...” You spluttered, leaning against his shoulder. “I thought you said n-nothing can sink in that pond.”

Tao stared at you apologetically, a look of confusion in his eye.

“That is correct.” Chen replied for Tao. “Nothing has ever sunk in that pond. Ever...not even we can swim under there without the pressure bouncing us back to the surface. And the rocks...they...have never reacted like that before.”

You looked up at Chen and he stared at you with a hint of fear in his eyes. You reached out your hand to the man and he subconsciously flinched away from you. You felt hurt at the retraction but Chen let out an apologetic laugh.

“S-sorry... I’m just a little freaked out.” Chen reached his hand out to you and helped you to your feet.

“I don’t understand...” Tao mumbled, still in his little trance. “Why did—“

“Tao.” Chen interrupted. “Let’s take your friend back to the village. Kookie, c’mere. ” Kookie padded over to Chen and lowered himself to the ground. Chen climbed onto Kookie and held his hand to Tao. Tao grabbed it but just as he was about to climb aboard Kookie himself, the large feline turned around and grabbed Tao, forcing the boy to sit nice and snug in his mouth.

“Ewwwww, you stupid cat. Why can’t I just sit on your back with Chen?!”

You and Chen laughed at Tao as he imitated the annoyed gurgle that came from the cat’s throat. Kookie’s eyes fell on you and you felt a shiver run down your spine. Its eyes bore into your skull, taunting you; threatening you. The cat clearly didn’t like you.

“Tao quit your complaining. You’re lucky he’s letting you go for a ride at all.” Chen sighed. “You both should not have left the village in the first place. Tao, look, your stitches have come out again.”

 

The light was scarce in this part of the jungle but that didn’t impair Kai’s hunting abilities. His sharp eye scanned the area as he crouched through the dense foliage. He moved with such stealth that one would never have heard him coming. His footsteps were light, his breath; barely audible. Every crack of a twig, every rustle of every leaf and every movement of the living creatures in the vicinity; Kai heard.

The boy detoured left as he heard a slither of a snake to his right. A small rabbit bounded passed his feet and Kai smiled as the rabbit stopped to look at him before taking off again. He clutched his hunting dagger as he continued on, holding it in front of him as he heard his prey coming closer. Kai had been stalking it for quite some time now, trying to find the perfect opportunity to pounce. This one was a big one and if timed wrongly; it could mean his life.

Kai scaled a tree and perched himself on a sturdy branch. He watched as the 12 foot tall grizzly bear stripped the bark of a nearby oak tree.

Sorry Mr Bear but you ain’t finding dinner tonight because...you’ll be someone else’s dinner—mine.

Kai saw an opening and like a ninja, he swooped down on his prey, grabbing it from behind in a—quite literal—bear hug. The bear growled and thrashed backwards as he felt the sharp dagger pierce his neck but before Kai could sever any arteries, the bear clawed at Kai’s arm and hauled him over his shoulder, slamming him to the ground. Kai let out a pained grunt as his shoulder smashed against the ground. The bear came down on him, teeth merely inches away from Kai’s neck. The boy pin rolled to the side, avoiding its sharp incisors with ease. He slashed his dagger across the bears face causing it to howl in pain as its left eye sliced open. Kai took this opportunity to jab the bear in the throat. Blood splattered as the blade pierced the main artery. The bear let out an ear piercing wail and Kai finished the job with a final slash, severing the jugular completely. The grizzly fell forward as blood bucketed out its neck, painting Kai’s skin a deep red. Within seconds, Kai found himself pinned beneath the heavy animal.

The bear continued to twitch for a few more seconds before it grew still. Kai squirmed under the bear as he struggled to push his way out. Kai’s arms shook as he lifted the bear upwards but a sharp pain in his shoulder caused them to give way; the bear flopping back on top of him. Kai sighed.

“That stupid girl better appreciate the trouble I’m taking.” Kai scrunched his nose at the sharp metallic stench of the bear’s blood. He sighed again looking up at the carcass above him.

“...now the hell am I going to get out from under here...?” He looked around for some way of moving the bear. “...and how am I going to carry you home anyway?”

The sound of the distress horn pulled Kai out of his thoughts. Sudden panic hit him as the horn sounded a second time. Two signals meant something bad.

 

 

 

“Chennnnn, ask your thing to put me down. I want to walk with Princess.”

“Excuse you, Kookie is not a thing. He’s my wittle Kookie boy, aren’t you sweetie-poo?” Chen cooed as he cuddled Kookie’s head from where he was sitting. Chen had tried to get Kookie to let you ride on his back with him but the stubborn feline would not let you come less than 5 feet away from him. The feline really did not trust you even though his master Chen told him to behave.

So, you resorted to walking along side as Chen rode Kookie and Tao hitched a ride in Kookie’s mouth—much to his protest.

“It’s better for you to stay where you are for now, Tao. You don’t want those stitches in your shoulder to come undone anymore than they have already.” Tao grumbled and complained that it smelt like crap in there.

“ATCHOOO~!” You sniffled and hugged yourself tighter, your wet hair and dress clung to you making you feel a little chilly.

“You cold, Princess?” Tao asked.

“No, I’m fi—“

“Chen, maybe we should—“

“Yeah, good idea. Uh...’Princess’...” Chen was obviously not comfortable with that nick name. “Let’s get you dry before we go back to the village. You might catch a cold by the time we get there.”

You shook your head in protest.

“No, no, it’s fine. Really, I—“You sneezed a second time and Chen rolled his eyes. You glared at him as he chuckled at you.

“Follow me. Kookie baby, to the Meul Trees.”

 

 

 

The Meul Trees. They had no branches like normal trees did. Instead, it was just a tree trunk with what looked like green strands of hair falling down to the ground from the central trunk. It was beautiful the way they blew in the breeze—just like real hair.

As you approached the trees, you noticed the strands of hair blowing in your direction. They looked so soft, you wanted to touch it. Your feet were suddenly rooted to the ground as you realized that the tree wasn’t blowing in your direction but was leaning and reaching out to you.

Chen laughed as you retreated a few steps behind. He jumped down from Kookie’s back and walked over to you. Tao tried to signal for Kookie to drop him from his jaws but the large cat simply sat where he was and ignored the boy’s pleas.

“It’s okay. These trees are very friendly. They love water so they love anyone baring water.” Chen placed his hand on your back and willed you forward. “Don’t be scared, I’ll go with you.”

You and Chen walked closer to the trees and again, the trees reached out to you, stretching as far as it could. On instinct you tried to back away again but Chen’s firm hand on your back stopped you from chickening out. Stepping into the tree’s strands, you felt the pale green fibres caress your cheeks and slowly wrap around your head. You felt them cling to your legs, snaking itself around them. They felt like fine silk hairs; cold and slightly damp. You raised your arms and watched as they were enveloped completely. The tree wrapped itself around each one of your individual fingers and soon enough, you looked like a green hairy mummy.

You looked at Chen who had backed away, his hand over his face trying to conceal his laughter. Tao on the other hand was laughing freely. Even Kookie made a noise that sounded like a laugh.

“Guys. Pardon me if I’m interrupting your show but, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE. WHAT IS IT DOING TO ME? I CAN’T MOVE. GET ME OUT.”

Chen finally let out the laughter he was holding and reached his hand to you. You took it and after a few strong pulls from Chen, you slid free of the tree’s grasp and fell into his arms. Chen looked down at you and smiled awkwardly, pushing you away from him gently.

“There we go, that did the trick.”

You raised your eyebrow at the man, unsure of what trick he was talking about, when you realized you weren’t cold anymore. You felt your dress and your hair; they were completely dry.

“Woah...but how—“

“The tree likes water. Clings and absorbs any water it comes into contact with.” Chen patted you on the shoulder and walked back towards Kookie. “Best not to stay wrapped in its leaves for too long though. Remember, we are made up of mostly water. Can only imagine what could happen—“

Chen suddenly went quiet and his head whipped around as if he’d just heard something.

“Chen, what—“ Chen silenced you with his finger and continued to listen. Tao let out a grunt as Kookie dropped him to the ground and looked off into the distance where Chen we also looking. Tao stood up and rubbed his shoulder.

“Hear something, Chen?” He asked. Chen nodded and looked at you, his forehead creased.

“I just heard two distress signals coming from K-land. Do they know where you are right now?”

Your eyes widened with fear. They must have realized you were missing. The look on your face told both Chen and Tao that EXO-K did not know where you were.

“I...I should probably go...”

“No!” Tao grabbed your arm. “You can’t go yet! You haven’t met Duizhang yet. And you were meant to have dinner with us and show Xiumin your silver hair and—“

“—but Tao, if they have realized I’m gone, they’re going to think I’ve been kidnapped by you and they’ll come here and...and...no. I need to go.” You yanked your arm away from Tao and saw that Chen had already mounted Kookie.

“Chen, say something!” Tao yelled. “Tell her she can’t leave yet!”

Chen looked away and patted Kookie on the head. Kookie stood up and grabbed Tao his mouth again.

 “No! Stop. Let me down. Princess, don’t go!”

You swung your backpack off your shoulder and rummaged through it. You sighed with relief when you found what you were looking for. Taking the small vintage pocket watch out of your bag, you ran over to Tao and handed it to him. Kookie growled at your closeness but didn’t back away like he was doing before.

Tao looked at the pocket watch, unsure what it was.

“This belonged to my birth mother. I never knew her, but my adopted parents gave this to me and said my real mother wanted me to have this. It’s very special to me, so the fact that I’m giving this to you means I will definitely come back.” You pointed to the number 12. “When the sun is up and the hand is pointed to the 12, I will try to be at the border. I don’t know when I can come again...but I definitely will.”

Tao stared at the object in his hand and traced his finger over the small knobs and intricate carvings in the gold frame.

“How will you know when it’s at 12 if I have it with me?”

You showed Tao your cheap water proof wristwatch and smiled.

“Because I have one too.”

Tao clutched the pocket watch to his chest and smiled at you.

“I’ll take good care of whatever this is until you return. And I will be here at 12 every single day until I see you again, so don’t break your promise.”

And with that, Kookie took off at full speed towards EXO-M village, leaving you behind, the feeling of loneliness setting in once again. 

You were surprised that you found your way to the border so easily. When Chen and Tao left so abruptly you cursed at not having asked them which way it was to go back to EXO-K land. You figured all you had to do was go in the direction that Chen heard the sound but you still would have liked a little more guidance than that.

You let out a sigh as you placed your hand on the border fence, unsure of what you’re going to tell the K-warriors when you returned. You hopped over the fence with very little grace, tumbling forward onto your knees.

“Damn it...” You cursed at your lack of coordination skills. You were just about to haul yourself back to your feet when a pair of dirty, pale feet appeared in front of you. Your whole body froze as your eyes slowly travelled up the lanky body, only to meet with a very pissed off looking Sehun. He crossed his arms and looked down at you with a crinkled brow.

“S-S-Sehun...I...uh...hi. Fancy seeing you here! Ha ha...haha...” You laughed awkwardly as you stood up and brushed your dirty clothes down. Sehun stared at you, waiting for an explanation. You rubbed your bandaged head and let out another awkward laugh. “I was just...you see...there was this...cat. And...he wanted to uh...play! Yeah, play! And I...I crossed over the fence but then...it was a big cat and uh I fell coz there was an earthquake and there were these really, really nice people. Like, seriously...they were not nasty at all and uh...well...”

Sehun rolled his eyes at your rambling. He knew exactly what happened with this “cat” because he seen it all happen. He watched as you got attacked and then saved by the two EXO-M warriors. When he saw you passed out, Sehun almost died of a heart attack but he let the EXO-M warriors take you to their healer. Back when he used to be friends with Luhan, the older boy had mentioned his friend Lay and how he was training to be a healer. Luhan trusted him—so Sehun trusted him.

The rainbow haired boy took a step towards you and silenced your rambling with his finger. He looked at your bandaged head wound and caressed it softly. He looked back at you, as if to ask you if it hurt. You smiled at him and shook your head.

“It doesn’t hurt. I’m fine, Sehun. Their doctor-person fixed me up.” You twiddled your thumbs, not knowing what else to say. “You know...the...the M-warriors...aren’t a bad group of people...Sehun you have to believe—“

Sehun grabbed your hand and dragged you back towards the village, not wanting to listen to your words anymore. He knew. He knew that they weren’t all bad—Luhan had proved that. But Sehun was a warrior now. He couldn’t get mixed up in this business.

“Sehun, I—“ The boy turned to you and placed a finger on his lips. He wouldn’t say anything about where he found you. “Sehun. Just so you know. I plan to go back to visit again. Can...we keep this between you and me?”

For a long time, Sehun stayed quiet. You took his silence as a no—not that he could give anything more than silence. You were so sure Sehun would help you out with this considering his history. You sighed in defeat but Sehun suddenly squeezed your hand. You looked up at him hopefully and with a hesitant look in his eye, he nodded.

 

 

“So...you’re saying she actually went under the water...and stayed under?” The tall blonde man paced back and forth as he watched Tao get his stitches redone by Lay.

“Yep. Chen and I freaked out. How many times have we all tried to dive into that water but have never succeeded? Like, a billion—ouch! Lay!” Tao flinched as the sharp needle poked him a little too deep.

“Well if you stopped moving, it wouldn’t hurt so much.” Lay sighed. “It’s your own fault they came out in the first place.”

Tao stuck out his tongue at Lay, earning him another ‘accidental’ hard prick.

“She gave Tao some weird shiny thing. I told him to get rid of it because it could be dangerous but he threw a tantrum and hasn’t let it go since. He doesn’t even know what it is.”  Lay shook his head at the immature boy in from of him. “You’re too trusting, Tao.”

“Was she pretty, Lay?” The blonde man asked, ignoring his friend and colleague. “As pretty as Tao first described her as?” Lay sighed.

“Even prettier.”

A dorky, gummy smile was plastered on the blonde man’s face. He walked over to the window and looked up at the dimming sky.

“I must see her—my Moon Princess—and I shall make her mine.”

Lay laughed at his daydreamer friend.

“Yifan, get your head out of the clouds.”

“Duizhanggggg, Lay keeps poking meeee”

“Shut up, Tao.”

 

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A/N: I'm so excited because my time at uni is almost over! :D Final assessments in November and then I graduate in December yay~! After that I'M FREEEEE~! XD

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Leave me a comment below if you have time :) I'd really appreciate it! And all you new readers, thank you so much for subscribing! I hope you'll stick with me until the end :) 

Saranghae! <3