Kyungsoo reminded himself everyday to check on Yixing. It was difficult to locate him, but he soon realised that the Healer always hung out in the forest in his unicorn form. Sometimes Kai came with him (usually for speedy recovery of injuries from Sehun) and sometimes he didn't. He had also gotten to know Sehun and Luhan better and another Power called Baekhyun who controlled light.

Kai always told him that time passed slightly faster in the school than the outside world, so Kyungsoo spent the next few weeks taking lessons like a normal student in ths night, dealt with magical entities in the day and avoided the Demi-gods entirely. Then the solstice arrived. Kyungsoo couldn't seem to walk a few meters without hearing word of it.

"Where do you want to go?" Kai asked him for the umpteeth time as they walked through the corridors. He answered warily, "Going to see my mum. And get some answers out of her." The school seemed to be in a festive mood today. The nature nymphs were planning to go canoeing in the nature parks and the werewolves were going to the arcade. N had asked him whether he wanted to join them but he politely declined.

"You don't have anywhere to go?" Kyungsoo asked Kai. He noticed that Kai's shoulders dropped for a moment before he replied, "No. My parents... They disappeared a few years ago." Before Kyungsoo could even think about his response, Kai grabbed his hand and the melted away from the corridor.

You would ask, isn't teleportation very cool? Yes it was cool, until you feel as if someone flipped you upside down and up again a few times in the darkness. Or the deafening silence. It was pretty fortunate that Kyungsoo didn't lose his meal when they materialised on an asphalt. "Warn me next time you're going to do that," Kyungsoo grumbled at he gained his equilibrium but the other just smiled.

"We're here."

Sure enough, Kyungsoo realised they were standing on the pavement next to his apartment's lobby. He gaped at Kai, "How did you..." "Dunno. It's some sort of connection between us," Kai admitted, shuffling on the ground. Then Kyungsoo took a look at Kai's appearance. Hmm... Messy hair - Not really his mother's style. Jeans with 'patches' - His mum would kick him out he were Kai.

But nothing had been normal for him since he entered the school. Appearances didn't really matter. Besides, his mum owed him an explanation. Kyungsoo whistled finally, "Well? Let's go see my mum, and let's hope she won't skewer you."

------

His mum didn't skewer him, instead she gave Kai a strange and knowing look, as if she knew who he was. Nevertheless, Mrs Do welcomed them into the house with a bright smile. "Kyungsoo!" she squealed as she crushed him with a hug. She looked at Kai and wanted to give him a hug but the boy stepped back, "Uh... I'll settle for no hugs."

"Well of course!" Mrs Do said cheerily as she hurried off into the kitchen, "I've baked some cookies for you two." That was when Kyungsoo realised something was weird. His mum never baked cookies. Maybe she developed some for those pastries when I was gone, he thought dissmissively. He looked at Kai, who was busy checking out the set of necklaces sitting in their glass cupboard. 

Walking over to him, Kyungsoo commented, eyeing a blue crystal necklace in behind the display, "Those belonged to my grandmother, then she passed down to my mum. Nothing really interesting there." However, Kai stared at the necklaces with a frown, like it reminded him of something bad. He shook his head and turned away, "Nothing. I just thought it reminded me of something."

Kyungsoo thought that he still looked quite disturbed, but he didn't say anything. The smell of cookies wafted through the kitchen and Kai instantly said, "That smells good."

"Better than school's cupcakes," Kyungsoo added and Kai cracked a smile for a second. Then his expression turned serious, "Don't you need to ask your mum about stuff?" Ah, touche. He nodded before proceeding to the kitchen. The doorbell rang suddenly and a familar voice made Kyungsoo forget all his troubles momentarily.

He half pushed Kai out of the way to open the door. As expected, Park Chanyeol stood there wearing his usual hoodie. "Chan!" Kyungsoo cried and stepped aside to let Chanyeol in. "Mum! Chanyeol is here! And Kai, meet my friend, Chanyeol."

The problem was, Kai's expression became a guarded one as if he were suspicious of Chanyeol. Kyungsoo recognised that face, the one that was only worn when Kai faced the Demi-gods. "That scent..." Kai growled menacingly as he slipped his hand into his pocket where he kept his army swiss knife. Kyungsoo did not want Kai stabbing his friend, so he stepped in and sighed, "Kai. He's my friend. Nothing else."

Chanyeol broke into a grin, "I didn't know that I smell. Do I smell that bad?" Kyungsoo broke into a laughter but Kai remained silent. He decided to settle Kai and his paranoia later. Now he had to-

As if on cue, Mrs Do walked out from the kitchen holding a tray of cookies. She beamed at Chanyeol in a friendly manner, "Hello Chanyeol!" That was when the second flare went up. She never called Chanyeol like that. She only called him Channie. Just then, Kai very rudely barged in front of Chanyeol and him. "Uh Mrs Do? Thanks for baking the cookies for us. But we really need to go."

Kyungsoo swore his mum narrow her eyes but she almost instantly changed into a smile as she offered the cookies to Kai, "Are you sure you don't want one of these?" Kyungsoo felt his arm muscle tense up, something was very wrong. Kai scrunched up his nose like he had smelt something foul. On the other hand, Chanyeol gave her a goofy grin and stretched out a hand to take a cookie, "I'll take one-"

"No!" Kai screamed. That was when everything fell apart. The cookie fell from the tray and cracked on the floor, and a black liquid oozed from its center. Chanyeol's eyes opened to about as wide as his and his mouth opened up in a scream. But Mrs Do began cracking like a peeling statue til she became a smaller lady wearing a ragged dress with sickly green smoke evaporating off it.

Kyungsoo could not register what was happening. His mum was a cleaning lady, except much more of a hippie. Kai yelled behind him, "Demon!" "You're a smart one, for a Power..." Mrs-Not-So-Do hissed, her eyes flickering dangerous between red and yellow. Kyungsoo was very aware of Chanyeol who was still frozen in shock behind him.

"I seem to be in a very good fortune today," she declared and grinned, revealing a set of sharp canine teeth, comparible to the werewolves. Kyungsoo tried to not let the fear get into his bones. But where was his mother? She continued, "Two Powers and-" Then she narrowed her eyes at Chanyeol, who was still stuck in paralysis mode. Her smile wavered, "I see... Interesting."

"What's so interesting?" Kai asked menacingly. Kyungsoo grimaced when he saw Kai pointing his small blade at the demon. He didn't think that the blade could hold through a frontal attack. "No matter!" the demon snarled and smashed the tray of cookies onto the floor. The black liquid moved towards each other and bubbled in a pile as if it were trying to form something. "I'll still kill you today! An extra gift, Park Chanyeol!"

She her hand forward and a beam of green liquid shot towards the boy. Fortunately, Kai had enough sense to tackle Chanyeol to the ground. The liquid landed on the far wall and the paint melted off like wax with a hiss. "Oh my god," Chanyeol mouthed. Kai growled, "No, its oh my gods! Let's get out of here!" He had barely said that when another jet of poison shot towards him.

Kyungsoo threw a chair at the she-demon and apparently, demons don't have quick response. She fell down with a loud thud, but she also had more tricks up her sleeve. She snapped her fingers and the doors slammed close just as Kai ran towards it. Another snap and the windows locked themselves. "We're trapped!" Chanyeol shouted.

The demon kicked the chair off her and stood up immediately, poison radiating from her. "Open the cabinet for me, Do Kyungsoo. Then I'll spare your lives," she hissed, gesturing to the set of necklaces which seemed to be glowing white. Kai looked as if his worse nightmared had come alive. He muttered in a trance, "Fruits of the Tree..."

She cackled, "Why of course! The first steps to destroying magic!" Kyungsoo didn't understand anything, but he understood enough that 'if you don't get those, you're damned'. He scowled, "You won't ever get them." Then he raised his hands. When the she-demon realised what what going on, it was too late. The potted plants in his house began growing into thick stems and quickly bound the demon.

Kyungsoo hastily punched in the code for the cabinet and retrieved the set of necklaces. Just as he ran towards Kai, she snarled, "Run, little boys. My minion will hunt you down!" Then a stem covered . He quickly grabbed Kai's hand and they materialised on the pavement outside of the building. "Hurry run!" Kai urged as he sprinted forward.

Kyungsoo sighed. So much for a rest day. No sooner than they passed the next block, a loud explosion shattered behind them. A loud call of between a screech and bark sounded. Chanyeol panted worriedly as he ran beside him, "That doesn't sound good." "Well duh!" Kai yelled in front if them. Another loud call sounded, this time nearer to them and they heard the screams of other mortals.

"Mad cat!" a lady yelled.

Kyungsoo thought it was an understatement. When the creature landed in front of them with its frothing mouth, Chanyeol gasped, "It's a freaking lion snake." That was more accurate. The front side of the creature was a normal lion and it's back part morphed into a scally black reptilian tail, finished with a scorpion's sting. Kyungsoo's heart pounded heavily. Suddenly, he felt really scared.

"Kai? What do we do?" 

"Avoid the tail and mouth?"

"How helpful."

The creature pounced. Chanyeol took it as a cue to run down the street screaming at the top of his lungs. Naturally, the cat-snake chased after the moving target. "Do something!" Kai half yelled. Kyungsoo wanted to turn a few more things into animals, but honestly, the plant trick in the apartment was starting to take it's toll on him. Sighing, he took a deep breath.

Wind. I need you to hold it back. The air suddenly took up vaguely humanoid shapes and sped after the creature. "Wow. Do some more!" Kai said. Kyungsoo wanted to punch his face desparately but his head was starting to spin. He knees buckled and Kai instantly caught him. "I expect I must give you a piggy-back ride." Kyungsoo didn't need to say anything and Kai just picked him up like a parcel and raced after the creature.

The wind shapes were trying to slap the creature. At least that was what Kyungsoo thought they were doing. The creature spat out a ball of green smoke and one wind shape dissipated. Great, a lion-snake-scorpion, poison breathing animal. Meanwhile, Chanyeol stopped running to catch his breath in the front.

"Rarrrrr!" the creature roared in a fury and blasted the rest of the air spirits with his poison breath. Oops. The creature fixed its beady eyes on Kyungsoo and Kai. Then it turned away as if they weren't important- And sprinted towards Chanyeol. The guy dashed off again for his life.

Halfway through the chase, Kai and Kyungsoo ran across a shopping mall and rammed into Ravi face first. "Woah woah woah!" he yelped in shock as all three of them fell down onto the pavement. The rest of the werewolves gathered around them. Kyungsoo instantly got up onto his feet, ignoring his pain. "Sorry! But we have to go! My friend is being hunted by cat-snake!"

Kyungsoo pulled Kai up and began to run. Honestly, he really feared for Chanyeol's life. Chanyeol didn't even have magic in him. It was just his luck that he turned up at his house today. Surprisingly, the werewolves ran after them (much more easily). Hyuk asked with a raised eyebrow, "Chased by a cat-snake?"

Kai pointed to the front, "Yeap. Cat snake."

Even the werewolves were shocked speechless. "Holy . What the heck is that?!" N gaped, "And is that your friend?"

"Yeah."

"Mortal?"

"Not a single drop of magic blood."

Kyungsoo shouldn't have been surprised when all six of them swiftly morphed into snarling wolves and bounded towards the creature. But he was. He guessed it was because not everyone could turn into wolves everyday. The werewolves launched themselves at the creature who tried shaking them off, like: What are these bugs doing around me?

His day was already weird enough. Apparently, it wasn't. As they neared the school gates, Kai whispered, "Let's hope the boundaries will keep it out." The weird part came. Chanyeol passed the boundary line clean and free. Not weird enough? His hand caught fire and aimed it at the beast. I kid you not, his hands caught white hot fire. The creature didn't stand a chance. Kyungsoo watched in fascinating horror as it disintigrated into thin air as the fire beam cut through it's body.

Then Park Chanyeol passed out on the grass in front of the gates.

------

When Chanyeol woke, he felt as if he had a bad dream. "...Why is he muttering about fireballs?" a voice asked. A nearer one answered, "I don't know. But his power is obviously flame, all right." 

"Hmm... Interesting. Your power is light... Light and fire."

"Shut up, Yixing."

Chanyeol shifted a little and groaned. His head felt sore, his legs felt sore and his hands felt strangely painful. Did he cut them? And where was he? Chanyeol opened his eyes wider and saw that he was in sort of an infirmatory. He turned to one side and a sharp pain shot through his chest which caused him to wheeze.

"Easy there," the voice beside him said and a face appeared in his vision. The boy had a petite face and puppy-like eyes which shone. Then he rested his palm on Chanyeol's chest before a bright light- those kind of soothing lamps you can find in a bedroom- and his pain subsided.

The other voice said with a grudging admiration, "Why aren't you a Healer?" The boy smiled sweetly and Chanyeol thought that the pain subsided even further. "I like being light, Yixing." The boy looked at Chanyeol in the eyes after saying that. Another boy popped into his view. This time, he also had soft features, but he was in a more emotionless state, his eyes unreadable.

"Sleep," he ordered, "You've lost a lot of energy."

Then Chanyeol felt a lull of something heavy on his eyes before drifting into a listless sleep.

The next time he woke up, he was in a different room which had lots of natural sunlight flowing through. He thought for a moment that the ceiling was glowing. As he concentrated, Chanyeol realised they were glowing orbs of pure light. He his side and saw the boy who eased his pain.

Everything was fine except that he was juggling orbs of light and shooting them into ceiling like a sort of game. The sunlight seemed to bend like liquid around him. The sight of all these made Chanyeol's head hurt again. What on earth was happening?

Suddenly, one of the boy's light orbs lost direction and hurtled straight at him. Chanyeol had a feeling that this light orb wasn't a friendly one like the one in the infirmatory. However, he was too slow. The light orb seemed to disappear into his body, but his body racked with immediate pain. A very sharp pain.

"Oh god! I'm sorry! Are you okay?" the boy yelped as he ran towards him. Chanyeol blinked and concentrated. The boy had a genuine concerned look on his face. Instead of replying, he asked numbly, "Where am I? Why are you playing with lights? Was there a cat-snake chasing me?" "You're in magic school. My power is over light. And yes, there was a demon chasing after you," the boy answered calmly.

Chanyeol's ears buzzed when he heard the answers. "Magic... School?" he asked, pointing at himself. The boy nodded and replied, "Yes. Which means you have some sort of magic that allowed you into here in the first place." 

"W-What did I do?"

"Your magic, you mean. You control fire."

Chanyeol couldn't tell if the boy was joking. Then he slumped onto the sofa, "This is a nightmare." The boy chuckled, "You'll get over it soon. My name's Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun." "Park Chanyeol," he muttered in reply, resting his arm on his face. Baekhyun said beside him, "You know, your friend Kyungsoo? He can morph things and control the earth."

"He's an Avatar?"

"Not exactly. There are-"

Chanyeol raised his arms, not in a mood to hear any explanations, "Later. I'm trying to calm myself down now." "As you wish, Chanyeol," Baekhyun answered, poking him in the ribs, "But after you're feeling better you'll have to meet the principal. Don't worry, she's nice."

That was probably the most normal thing the school had. Miss Kwon just talked to him for abit and managed get him to understand why he had to stay here, at the school. "Safest place for people with magic," she had said, staring at him with her grey eyes, "I'll inform your parents, don't worry. Just stay here and take training. Your type of magic isn't decided yet. You could be a Power, or a..." Then she didn't continue. In any case, Chanyeol wasn't eager to know what she was going to say.

The first few days there, he had spent most of it adjusting with Kyungsoo (or complaining to him rather). His friend Kai still seemed to not trust him and tended to stay far distances away from him. Chanyeol didn't know why. He had showered about like three times in a day and wondered what kind of scent he could give out. Then Kyungsoo and the other guy Sehun explained everything about the school, from the Demi-gods to the teachers to the time-table. He also spent alot of time with Baekhyun, and found him quite adorable.

According to them, the Demi-gods were the worst. They liked torturing people, and that was enough for Chanyeol to avoid them. He certainly didn't want to screw up his life even more. Well, except for one day. Which was utterly screwed up.

"Quickly! They're coming!" Chanyeol heard a sprite day to her friend before disappearing. Many more frazzled voices echoed through the canteen and sure enough, the doofoos walked through. They looked normal enough, until you saw that Hyunseung had mad violet eyes, or the fact that Dara had a smile like she wanted to gut you. And Kris Wu, son of Zeus.

Apparently, this was a ritual as everyone was quiet while Kris stalked around, as if looking for something fun. Then he stopped in front of a boy. Chanyeol's heart nearly stopped - It was Baekhyun. "You, come up," Kris ordered. No! Don't listen to him! Chanyeol wanted to yell. The crowd grew deathly quiet as Baekhyun gulped and stepped out. 

Kris said meaningfully, "A Light spirit. Interesting." He then proded Baekhyun's back harshly, "Perform something for me. Or else..." He pointed to the sky and a loud clap of thunder sounded, ensuing shrieks across the canteen. Chanyeol watched Baekhyun worriedly. After a minute, Baekhyun still hadn't done anything. The guy called Suho materialised a watery trident in his hand and pushed Baekhyun with it. "Hurry!"

Suddenly, Baekhyun produced a few spheres of light, each of a different colour and began juggling it like he always did. Some people made gasps of surprise and even a Demi-god girl looked amazed. Chanyeol counted the number of spheres, then he looked at the number of Demi-gods standing around. There were six each... A chill began to grow in his nape. Baekhyun was going to get himself killed! As if on cue, Baekhyun made use of the Demi-gods' awe and raised his arms. The spheres glowed dangerously bright before zipping at full force into the bodies of each Demi-god.

"The brighter, the more deadly. So don't ever get me angry. I can light up so bright, it blinds."

The Demi-gods instantaneously made painful gasps. The girl passed out straight away and Hyunseung's eyes burned with hatred, "You idiot..." Chanyeol winced as the guy raised his hand, ready to strike Baekhyun, but the strike never came. A blinding white light seared the air and everyone screamed. However, as soon as the light stopped, a sickening clap of thunder sounded and the air felt as if it had been fried.

Chanyeol saw that Baekhyun was curling on the floor in pain and a wound had opened up on his back. Anger shot through him. Baekhyun was his friend.

Kris raised his arms once more to attack again but this time, Chanyeol jumped out from the crowd and stood in front of Kris. "Who are you?" he demanded furiously. Chanyeol growled, "His friend." "I see you're a newcomer. But you shall learn!" Kris yelled and threw something bright at them. Chanyeol panicked and fell down onto the floor to block Baekhyun.

I will not let him get hurt. I will protect him from these scumbags. The thought of it made him so pissed off that he felt his body heating up. He heard the shrieks of the crowd but felt nothing. Then there was a prolonged silence. "It cannot be..." Kyungsoo's voice wavered nearby.

Chanyeol looked up and almost screamed in terror. Surrounding Baekhyun and him was a phoenix made entirely of fire with such a long wingspan it touched both ends of the circle. And the phoenix seemed to be staring at him with it's red eyes.

Looking around, he saw Kyungsoo, Sehun and Kai at the back. While the other two had faces white with horror, Kai looked like he expected it. But expected what? Baekhyun stirred behind him and asked, "What-" His eyes fixated on the fiery phoenix surrounding them and the next moment they reflected the flames of the bird like crystals. "No," he whispered.

Suddenly, the students made way for something at end of the canteen. It was Mrs Kwon, and she looked grim. Chanyeol stood up and faced the phoenix and her. The phoenix bowed its head towards him respectfully and the rest of the people kneeled down before him, even Miss Kwon and the Demi-gods. The phoenix began to grow smaller and smaller until it was the size of his palm and flew towards him. The phoenix entered his forehead and a strange burning sensation filled his mind, but it didn't hurt.

"All hail Park Chanyeol, Giver of the Phoenix, Master of Fires, Demi-god Son of Hephaestus," Mis Kwon said in a monotone voice and looked at him with her stormy eyes, as if she was already predicting his future. The students repeated what she said without hesitation. Chanyeol couldn't believe it as he stared at Miss Kwon in silence. Then she disappeared in a flicker.

All the students got up uneasily and Kris grinned, "Welcome, my brother." Chanyeol didn't know what overcame him as Kris led him away. 

He looked back at Baekhyun, and the other looked away as a tear ran down his cheek.

A/N: Finally an updateeeee. Please comment! :D