“So you’re going to tell me that you don’t know what a café is but you know what a mall is? What the , seriously!” 

Jongdae gave the air prince an uncaring face before completely ignoring him, turning to Chanyeol instead, “If you could please go retrieve our fearless leader, I’d truly appreciate it.”

Chanyeol gave the tactician an irritated sigh before walking to the room’s balcony, spreading his scarlet wings and flying to the skies directly above.

“I’d rather he stay where he is,” Sehun sighed after Chanyeol left, “I could really do without his preaching.”

“You know he only preach so much because you two keep arguing,” Jongdae muttered.

“I can’t help the fact that your friend is a complete idiot,” Kyungsoo shrugged as he flopped on one of the three beds that filled the room, “Great physicist but horrible at everything else. That includes existing.”

Sehun rolled his eyes as he flopped on the bed furthest from Kyungsoo, “You know, I would say something but I’m way too tired to care right now.”

“True,” Kyungsoo yawned, “We can hate each other more tomorrow, deal?”

“Deal.”

“Boys,” Kris sounded as he finally flew in, “Get up we still have to discuss what we’re going to do tomorrow.”

“Can’t that just wait until tomorrow,” Sehun whined.

“Remember the last time we slept somewhere without planning first on this planet,” Kris countered.

Sehun rubbed his eyes before rolling them, “Oh right, you almost got us killed.”

Kris gave a defeated sigh, “I messed up, I know. I want to make sure I don’t make the same mistake.”

“I can respect that. You learn from your mistakes,” Kyungsoo said as he finally sat up to focus on Kris, “But you still have to re-earn my trust. If you make another mistake as dire as the first, I’ll have no problem taking you out and getting Yixing and I off this planet on my own.”

“I can respect that as well, Kyungsoo,” Kris nodded as the two connected as hardened warriors, “But know that I’m not going down without a fight and I don’t make the same mistakes twice.”

“That I can believe,” Kyungsoo agreed, “You wouldn’t be known as the Raven Prince or the Omen of Death if you did. Just don’t choke up now.”

“Look, I’m tired,” Sehun snapped from his bed, “Can we just talk about tomorrow? You two can each other’s later.”

Both Kris and Kyungsoo gave the younger threatening looks before Kris shook his head and returned to the topic, “Anyway.... ing brat.... The big question is should we stay here?”

“Well where else are we going to go,” Yixing asked, “This is the safest place for us right now.”

“This is true,” Chanyeol returned.

“However,” Jongdae continued, “She asked us to complete tasks for the room.”

“Is that so,” Kris questioned since he wasn’t there for the negotiation.

 Jongdae nodded to the other’s question before continuing, “These tasks for currency that she’s forcing on us are just a waste of our time. We should be focusing on repairing Chanyeol’s invention.”

“So what should we do, then,” Sehun asked, “I mean we could just keep jumping from hotel to hotel and skip out whenever they ask for currency.”

“But how long can we continue to do that,” Chanyeol spoke up, “We don’t know how long it’s going to take for us to finish the transporter.”

“Chanyeol’s right,” Kris agreed, “It’s best for us to stay in one place. We don’t know what’s out there. I won’t allow a repeat of this morning.”

Jongdae nodded, “Well, I do agree that it’s best for us to stay here. The best solution would be to stay and agree to the exchange but never pay. I can keep convincing the woman that we’ll pay soon. We want our stay to be temporary and we don’t have the time to do miniscule tasks just to appease some old hag. We need to concentrate on finding a way off this planet. We can still use the information she gave us to find supplies, though. Kris, Sehun and Kyungsoo can just stay here and defend us from hunters.”

Four of the six boys nodded, agreeing to the plan as Yixing gave a look of uncertainty. However before Yixing could calmly speak his counterargument, Kyungsoo grabbed one of the lamps that sat next to his bed and tossed it across the room.

“Do you hear yourself,” Kyungsoo growled between his clenched teeth, “How dare you do something so sneaky and underhanded?”

“I agree but, calm down, Kyungsoo,” Yixing said and he reached towards the other.

“No,” the prince shouted, “All of you are despicable! I mean, I expect this from the heartless Therman and from the Areon, but from you two? Chanyeol, Kris, this woman opened up her home to us, trusting us when we gave her nothing but our word and you both planned on double crossing her? How could you agree to this? This is not how Yixing and I were raised. We were told to honor others and appreciate kindness because it’s so rare. How can you return such kindness with such dishonesty? This woman went out of her way to help us in our time of need. If it wasn’t for her we’d still be wondering the forest! This is how you repay her?”

“Kyungsoo,” Kris started, “It’s not as though we-“

“Save it,” Kyungsoo said coldly as he walked towards the door, “I was willing to follow you. I even considered you a respectable, honorable warrior, but it seems you’re just as the rest.”

“Kyungsoo, please,” Yixing begged, “Sit, I’m sure we can re-discuss this.”

“You can stay here if you want to, Yixing,” Kyungsoo said as he gave his friend a tired sigh, “I’m tired of trying to make this work. Maybe we are destined to be enemies.”

“Kyungsoo...”

Instead of answering Yixing’s call Kyungsoo slipped out the door, leaving the boys behind in silence.

Yixing sighed at the closed door, “This underhanded thinking has to stop if we want our nations to unite peacefully.” 

“He’s right,” Kris sighed as well, “If the woman here gave you tasks in exchange for shelter, we’ll complete her tasks.”

“We shouldn’t let emotion cloud our judgment,” Jongdae began, “We don’t have the ti-“

“We complete her tasks,” Kris said once more and the steel in this voice silenced the Therman leaving the room empty once more.

“You know,” Sehun whispered dazed in the quiet room, “I’ve only seen him that angry once and it was when my men attacked a city.”

“That’s because Kyungsoo base his life on honor,” Yixing answered, “Every Eriagon does. He’s a hothead, I can’t deny that, but he’ll always defend the innocent and stand by justice. It was base on those morals that Kyungsoo even agreed to join this rebellion with me in the first place. What you four suggested to do just may have completely changed his whole outlook on all of you.”

“Is there a way to get him back,” Kris asked.

“He’ll come back, but I doubt that he’ll ever trust you again,” Yixing said before giving a heavy sigh, “Just give him some time. His love for his people will outweigh his hatred of you. Besides, he’s an honor-bound man, remember? If he said he was going to help, then he will. Plus he promised me that he would and he’s never broken a promise to me before.”

“You put a lot of trust in someone that’s so unpredictable,” Kris said.

“He’s only unpredictable to those that don’t take the time out to get to know him.”

The elderly woman sat in her check-in chair, a soft smile forming on her face as she read the names of the five boys that just checked into her inn. They looked so innocent and confused. She couldn’t help but to help them out. She knew what it was like to be young and adventurous, getting stuck in foreign places. Her smile dimmed a bit as her thoughts wondered to another young man around their age. She wondered if her grandson would be on similar adventures with his friends right now, instead of stuck in her little inn. 

Her thoughts were instantly interrupted however, when she saw one of her new customers walk aimlessly around her lobby, his thick lips pulled into a frown. She searched her brain as she tried to figure out which boy it was before she remembered that he was the wood worker, the gardener, the smallest one, Kyungsoo. 

“Kyungsoo dear,” the woman called out, “Why are you wondering about? Shouldn’t you be resting with your friends?”

Kyungsoo blinked confused upon hearing his name before turning to the check-out desk confused, “I – yes, what?”

The woman chuckled before waving the boy over to her desk, “I asked why you are wondering about and not resting.”

“I’m not tired,” the little warrior lied terribly, “I still have some energy left.”

The other took in the boy’s dark circles, raffled clothes and still scarred fingers. She knew the other was fibbing but she didn’t say anything. If the boy wanted to keep secrets she’d let him, “I see.”

“Actually,” Kyungsoo began again, “I wanted to ask you if you needed anything from me.”

The woman gave the boy shocked eyes, “Oh?”

“Yes,” Kyungsoo answered, “I’m just very grateful for your generosity and I wanted to help as soon as possible. You really could have left us outside, but you didn’t and I wanted to repay you for your kindness. It’s so rare where I’m from. So I’m out here to try to find something to help with.”

“Thank you, Kyungsoo,” the inn owner smiled, “You really are a sweetie pie. I really want you to rest, though.”

“But-“

“But,” She continued, “If you’re so adamant about helping out, I have a lifted floorboard near the door and the squeaking it’s been causing is driving me crazy!”

“Ok,” Kyungsoo laughed as he walked to where the owner pointed out the raised floorboard, kneeling downwards with his back towards the door.

“I’ll be right back. I’ll go get the tools.”

The owner returned with a box of tools that Kyungsoo was not familiar with along with a new board of wood to replace the old, “Thank you. Take a load off. I’ll have this done in no time.”

The woman nodded before going deeper into the inn, most likely turning in for the night. Once seeing that the woman was gone, Kyungsoo got to work. He dug the tips of his fingers into the raised wood, roughly yanking it free from the rest. He shook his hand, slightly flinching as the wood ripped from his fingers. He frowned at his now bleeding fingers before wiping them on his shirt. Deciding that his fingers could use a break and that the kind woman wouldn’t want holes in her flooring, he gently placed his calloused fingers on the new board. He ran his pointer finger along its edges, cutting the wood to fit the opening. He’d just placed the wood into the hole when he felt the air knock out of him and a larger person falling on top of him and rolling the two of them over. 

“Owww,” Kyungsoo heard someone groan loudly as he tried to lift himself off the ground, “I am so sorry.”

Kyungsoo finally stood, the old wood that he removed from the floor held firmly in his hand as he considered whether or not he should sharpen it and shove it in the other boy’s throat. However as he looked to the boy rolling on the ground in pain, he saw that he was no threat and the added apology convinced Kyungsoo that the boy deserved to live another day. 

He instead dropped the wood and gave his hand out to help the other up, “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine,” the other grunted as he grabbed onto Kyungsoo’s bruised fingers and pulled himself up. The boy frowned as he pulled his hand back to find a bloody palm, “Are you ok? I didn’t do that to you, did I? I’m so sorry. I have some band-aids in my bag. I’m so clumsy and dancing with earphones on only makes it worse.” 

Kyungsoo continued to watch as the boy dug into his bag, mumbling to himself. The prince stopped listening though, choosing instead to watch the taller. The fumbling man had rather dark skin, his hair a rich chestnut matching well with his caramel skin. The colors reminded Kyungsoo of the soil and stone that made up his home in Eriagon. His face was sharp, but his cheeks were still round and childish. His eyes held a carefree nature to them that brought back memories of his mother, and his broad shoulders reminded him of his father. To Kyungsoo, it was like this man was the very embodiment of Eriagon and everything he missed about her. Or it could be that Kyungsoo just missed home.

“Here they go,” the other exclaimed as he pulled out a box with the word ‘band-aid’ written along the front, “I found them.”

Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow unimpressed, “Ok, what now?”

“Now I put them on your fingers,” the other said, “They’re pretty banged up. They should help. Plus I have a bottle of water to clean them with.”

“I see,” Kyungsoo nodded now understanding what ‘band-aids’ were and what they were used for, “So they’re like a gauze?”

“Yeah,” the other nodded, “But for smaller cuts. Wait, you don’t know what band-aids are?”

Kyungsoo paused at the question before faking a sheepish smile, “I’m not from here.” It technically wasn’t a lie.

“Oh,” the boy shrugged, “Well I’ll help you with it.”

“I don’t need you to. I said that I understood.”

“But I want to,” the boy insisted leaving no room for arguments. 

The two boys sat on a bench outside of the inn, the taller boy saying that the plants would like the wasted water more than the floor would. He then instructed Kyungsoo to hold his hands out as he poured water over the cuts. He maneuvered each finger gently as he wrapped each one in a band-aid with care.

 Kyungsoo watched as the other worked. It’s been years since he let anyone other than Yixing bandage his hands. The appendages were sacred to him. It was his way of connecting to the world around him. He can control the earth with just his mind if he wanted, but nothing felt as connected – as personal – as reaching out and touching it with his skin. He felt strange – nervous even – as this stranger touched something that was so close to him. 

“Almost done,” the man whispered as though he could also feel how revered the moment was for the earth prince. “There,” he said as he released the other’s smaller hands from his.

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo mumbled as he pulled his hands into himself. 

The man looked to Kyungsoo. The little guy filled his mind with questions. Where was he from that he wouldn’t know of something as simple and universal as ‘band-aids’ and how did he end up here? How did his hands become so scarred? While he was patching the new injuries he could see dozens of others, long white and pink lines littering his entire hand. What happened to him? 

“What were you even doing on the floor to begin with,” he supposed that was the safest question to begin with, “Are you doing ok?”

“I was fixing something,” Kyungsoo said shortly.

The other raised an eyebrow, “I see. That’s it?”

“You need more,” Kyungsoo questioned angrily.

“I didn’t mean to pry,” the man said and he raised his hands up palms out, “I was just curious. It’s not that often that you see someone lying on an inn’s lobby floor in the middle of the night. I thought that maybe you needed someone to talk to.”

“Even if I did,” Kyungsoo began, “Why would I speak to a stranger?”

“Simple,” the boy said as he gave a boyish smile, “You’ll never have to see me again. You don’t know my name. You don’t know me. There are no consequences.” 

The boy was silent as he waited for the other’s answer. Instead of one, Kyungsoo look to the other and began to speak. 

“The woman here gave me and my,” Kyungsoo paused. What should he call the other princes now? They were never his friends, “Well she asked us to complete small task in exchange for some money. She’ll give us the room for free... for now... and we can pay her back later.”

“That sounds like something she’d do,” the boy muttered.

“The people that I’m here with don’t want to do the tasks,” Kyungsoo said before growling, “They found it too time consuming. They were planning on skipping out on paying her.”

“What?”

“It’s horrible,” Kyungsoo mumbled as he balled his fist causing his fingers to bleed again.

“Hey,” the other said as he grabbed on Kyungsoo’s wrist, “Don’t do that! You’re hurting yourself more.”

Kyungsoo blink as he looked to his hands, “Sorry. I’m just so angry! I’d never even think to do something like that. To hear people that I hate... but respect go so low, it disappoints me. I just don’t understand their way of thinking. What happened to honor? Maybe I’m the one that’s wrong. I mean, we’re some place new with nothing to our name. We have to look out for ourselves and I understand that, but do we have to overlook others in order to protect ourselves? I feel like an outsider among people that I share a home with.”

Kyungsoo brow frowned in confusion as he gave the ground below him a hard stare. When he joined this rebellion he believed that he would come across others like him. He even thought of Kris as a mentor of sorts upon meeting him, but now he sees nothing but a group of liars. If they could so easily turn on someone that was so nice and understanding, what to say that they won’t do the same to him or his father once this is all over? None of them could be trusted in Kyungsoo’s eyes, only Yixing. 

“I understand,” the one next to him said pulling Kyungsoo out of his sour thoughts, “People just don’t understand the concept of honor or see the value of selflessness anymore. Actually, I just came from a friend’s place. You see, I used to dance.”

“You’re telling me that you,” Kyungsoo paused as he looked to the other, “The guy that tripped over a grown man, can gracefully dance?”

“Hey,” the other whined, “I wasn’t paying attention! Plus you were the one that was lying out in the middle of the floor!”

“I told you, I was fixing the floor!”

“Anyway,” the other said with an eyeroll, “I used to dance. I got an offer to dance at a school out of the country for four years for college and so did my best friend. I turned it down.”

“Really,” Kyungsoo said surprised, “It seemed like a grand opportunity.”

“It was,” the boy said, “An amazing opportunity, but I couldn’t take it. I have obligations here. You see, my grandmother raised me. She was there when I really needed her and I want to be there for her now that she needs me. My friend doesn’t get that. He tells me that she’d be happier if I followed my dreams, but I can’t do that knowing that the person that sacrificed so much for me is suffering while I enjoy life. I want to sacrifice for her just as she has for me. Even now my friend still won’t talk to me. He calls me a fool and throws me out every time I try to visit. He really wanted us to go together, you know.”

Kyungsoo stayed silent for a while after the one next to him spoke. The two of them looked to the stars above them in a comfortable silence. 

“You’re not a fool,” Kyungsoo finally said, “I appreciate your decision. It was a very honorable and selfless thing to do. I respect your choice, even if no one else does.”

With that Kyungsoo stood and returned to the inn, leaving the young stranger to sit in awe at his words. 

“No one’s ever said that to me before,” he whispered as he watched the wooden doors of the inn close, the little man that caught his interest disappearing behind them, “Now I wish that I had asked him his name.”

“Oh, I supposed he’s finished with the floor,” the inn owner said as she watched Kyungsoo walk up the steps and towards his room.

“Granny!”

The inn owner then turned to see her grandson bounce through the door and run excitedly to her desk.

“How can I help you,” she playfully asked, “And can you put those tools away please. It seems like my little helper forgot to do so.”

“Ok, Granny,” he said as he went to pick up the tools before jogging back to his grandmother’s desk, “Speaking of little helper, who was it that fixed the floor. I thought that was my job.”

The elder lady gave a giggle before she pinched her grandson’s cheeks, “Is my little Jongin jealous? I just got one of the occupants to help.”

“What’s his name,” Jongin asked a little eagerly.

The woman picked up on her grandson’s enthusiasm but said nothing as she answered, “Kyungsoo. His name is Kyungsoo, a sweetie pie if there ever were one.”

“Kyungsoo,” Jongin repeated.

“Anything else you need,” she asked her boy.

Jongin gave his grandmother a wide smile and big hug before running to the back of the inn to store the tools. “No, Granny,” Jongin called back, “That’s all!”

The woman gave a small smile then whispered to herself, “Did you happen to catch the heart of another Kim, Kyungsoo?”