Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

No wedding was perfect, but if Kai was in charge, he refused to settle for anything less.

Every Saturday morning, a fluffy red squirrel appeared on Kai’s windowsill. Its fur was spiky like it ran through a lightning storm, and it had teeth like miniature knife blades rather than the blunt teeth of a nonmagical rodent. It knocked on the windowpane, chittering, bushy tail waving back and forth. Tied to its chest with red ribbon was a slip of paper, neatly folded up and labelled with scratchy letters.

“Good morning. It’s great to see you,” Kai said. He pushed the window open and the squirrel bounded inside, eagerly standing on its hind legs to display its cargo.

Kai tugged on the ribbon, releasing the paper. He unfolded it and smoothed it out on the counter.

Kai clicked his tongue. “I don’t know why Taehyun sends you. He should just ping me directly.”

The squirrel flicked its tail. If it could talk, it would probably say, because I’m a much better courier than magic.

“And what if I couldn’t meet with him today? He should have asked if I was available,” Kai said. The squirrel chittered in agreement. “Rude.”

Kai had met with Taehyun nearly every Saturday for the past two months. He had come to expect these summons, although usually Taehyun’s notes were longer. He usually included a list of tasks that they had to discuss concerning the upcoming wedding, or he would share tidbits about his week.

Always straight to the point, but more than two sentences long. Hmmm.

“Would you like to stay with me until it’s time to go?” Kai asked. Taehyun’s familiar—affectionately known as Jinju—eagerly skittered up his shoulder and burrowed into his hair.

Out of the magicians who were lucky enough to have familiars, an even smaller number were able to bond with more than one. His magic allowed him to connect with all kinds of magical creatures, from his family’s songbirds to the most intimidating, elusive beasts. He may not have been able to use the fanciest spells, but he was the person to talk to if a dragon needed calming, or a gryphon needed a thorn removed from its paw.

“Let’s get you a snack,” he said. Taehyun sent his familiar as a messenger, and Kai would provide fuel for the journey. After a few weeks of working together to plan their friends’ wedding, they had established a solid routine.

The word snack earned the attention of Kai’s own companion, who was lurking just around the corner. A bundle of iridescent feathers shot into the kitchen, leaping onto the counter. Blunt claws tapped against the worn wood, the bird’s beak clacking as he eyed Kai’s empty hands with distinct disappointment. Where were the treats? Saewoo was never one to turn down a snack.

“I’ll get something for both of you,” Kai amended. “An apple?”

He turned the sink on so that he could rinse off the fruit Beomgyu dropped off for him last week—a thank-you gift from his family farm. When Soobin introduced them, Kai had quickly learned that being friends with a nymph meant a constant supply of fresh food coming into his house.

The familiars wouldn’t complain as long as they were fed, but the lightning bird had acquired a taste for fish, and Kai had many questions about what the teeth on Taehyun’s squirrel were meant for. He sliced the apples and peeled two oranges for good measure, saving one for himself and dividing the other between the two little creatures.

“I’ve got a couple things to do before we head out. Want to come with me, or keep napping?” Kai asked. Jinju scrambled up his arm again, nestling in the fabric of his cloak. “Oh, alright!”

When Kai had finished his education and was ready to set out on his own as a mage, he had one important request for his future home: the maximum amount of land that would fit within his budget. Not because he was interested in farming, or landscaping, or had plans to build on his property. No, he needed plenty of space for all of his visitors.

Magical creatures of all kinds instinctually knew that Kai was a safe place. He left his gates open, and each morning, a different pattern of paw prints graced his doorstep. There were some repeat visitors, like the family of winged kittens that perched in his backyard ginkgo tree every October, or the cockatrice that bickered with Kai’s familiars. Just once, he caught the silvery tail of a unicorn swishing into the night. All of the nearby bushes were stripped of fruit by morning.

Some visits were peaceful. Other visits required Kai to drag natural-born enemies apart, or separate predators and prey. Just last week, he had to stop a phoenix from choking on a river sprite.

Sometimes his visitors included humans, magicians who needed help taming their familiars, or who had discovered a vulnerable creature in need of a new nest. Half of Kai’s cabin was dedicated to first-aid supplies and potion storage, ready for just about any species that might need his help.

Today was a quiet day. Kai refilled the birdfeeders, shooed the jackalopes away from the mandrake gardens, and checked to make sure last week’s wolves hadn’t returned to terrorize the local qilin. Taehyun’s squirrel stole a bite from the food bowls he set out, while his own bird soared in lazy loops overhead, eager to stretch his wings.

He still had time to share when he returned to the cabin for a shower. “Let’s get going,” he said, and Jinju chittered impatiently in response.

With a flurry of wingbeats, they were off.

While Kai lived in the forest, the preferred place for rare creatures to hide, Taehyun thrived within human company. He needed to be close to the center of action, where he could observe the world—and visit a library whenever he had one of his endless questions about magic. He was also the ideal in-between meetingplace for the best men.

Once they landed in the town square, Kai slid down from his familiar’s back. “Thank you for all of your help,” he said. Saewoo chirped, ruffled its sky-blue wings, and shrunk down to its normal size. From a horse-in-bird-form to a reasonable house pet, Kai’s familiar suited every occasion.

Magic never ceased to amaze him.

The two creatures perched on his shoulders as he walked down Taehyun’s street. Taehyun lived alone, in a smaller cottage than Kai’s. The plants in the yard were overgrown, only alive thanks to Beomgyu’s panic. A magician like Taehyun didn’t have time for yardwork, not even if it could be accomplished through simple spells. He barely had time to practice one spell before he moved onto the next, creating a mental catalogue of all the magic known to humankind.

Today wasn’t going to be an intense magic study session. If Choi Yeonjun was involved, it almost certainly had to do with Soobin and Beomgyu’s wedding. Taehyun had thrown himself into the planning as fiercely as he did his magical research, which meant that their weekend visits were for dividing up any remaining wedding-related tasks. Taehyun could have organized the whole thing by himself, but Kai was more than happy to lend a hand.

He knocked at the door, and Taehyun yelled back, “I’m coming!” It swung open a minute later, revealing a Taehyun who looked like he hadn’t slept in a week.

“Oh! Good morning,” Kai said. Jinju squeaked with delight, leaping from Kai’s shoulder and into Taehyun’s arms. Saewoo joined it, eager to greet their friend. “Is Yeonjun already—?”

“I’m here!” Yeonjun called. He must’ve already settled on Taehyun’s couch.

Taehyun’s hand moved like a robot as he gave each of the familiars a scratch. “Good, you’re here…. We have a lot to talk about.”

“I could’ve come earlier,” Kai said. “What is it?”

Taehyun peered over Kai’s shoulder, like he was expecting someone else to show up, and ushered him inside. “Come in, I’ll explain everything. Thanks for taking care of Jinju, by the way.”

“It’s no problem. I love having him.”

Taehyun’s familiar had already leapt off his shoulder, eager to greet the other guest. “Aw, I was wondering what you were up to!” Yeonjun said. The squirrel chittered at him, pleased to be the center of attention. “Good morning, Huening.”

“Good morning,” Kai said. He joined Yeonjun on the couch, offering him a polite nod.

Choi Yeonjun was one of the most interesting magicians that Kai had ever met. In school, most of the up-and-coming mages spent their time honing complex pieces of spellwork. They turned magic into an art, beautiful as well as effective—or even beautiful instead of effective.

Kai’s first impression of Yeonjun was that he was showy, melodramatic, and almost overzealous when it came to… just about everything. He had expected magic to match: all fireworks, no fire. Yeonjun would try to impress him, and Kai would smile and forget about it by the next day.

But there was a reason this man was best friends with Beomgyu, one of the most talented nymphs of their generation. Party tricks weren’t enough to catch his eye. Yeonjun had more control over his magic than any mage Kai had met before, far surpassing Kai’s most talented teachers. Like flipping a switch, Yeonjun could go from perfectly-composed to ready for a fight in seconds. Kai didn’t know where the limits of Yeonjun’s power lay, but it didn’t matter; he was never in danger.

After they were introduced, Kai asked Taehyun about Yeonjun’s family line. “They’re all warriors. You’d never beat one of them in a one-on-one fight, because they’re stronger, faster, and more resilient than you. Ask him to help wrangle your creatures sometime. You wouldn’t believe his reaction speed.”

Kai didn’t need to see it to believe it. Yeonjun’s muscles bulged under his tightly-fitted shirt. He wasn’t much taller than Taehyun, but he was thicker all around. He could probably throw Kai around like a ragdoll, even without magic to enhance his abilities. He sported a pair of brilliant antlers, and their pointed tines screamed don’t even try to touch me!

Did Yeonjun have any other specialties? Kai didn’t know, but he wasn’t exactly eager to fight him and find out.

“It’s anything but a good morning,” Taehyun lamented. “It’s a disaster. A complete disaster.”

He collapsed into the chair across from them, his head in his hands. Yeonjun and Kai exchanged a glance.

“What are you talking about, Taehyun-ah?” Yeonjun asked. “I thought we were working on wedding stuff today.”

“It’s about the wedding,” Taehyun said. “I don’t know if there’s going to be a wedding!”

Kai’s heart dropped. “Are Soobin and Beomgyu okay? Did they break up?”

“No. Never.”

“Did they elope?” Yeonjun suggested.

Taehyun shook his head. “Beomgyu wants his family to be there.”

“Was there an issue with the caterer? I was on the phone with that guy for an hour last week!” Yeonjun said. “I don’t know how we’d find a replacement on such short notice….”

“It’s not the caterer, either.” Taehyun sighed. “It’s the ring-bearers.”

Kai’s jaw hit the floor. “The ring-bearers?”

Soobin and Beomgyu’s wedding ceremony wouldn’t have been complete without their familiars. Rather than staging an elaborate magic trick, they decided to have the two creatures—a chimeric wolpertinger for Soobin, and a sentient, always-hungry gourd for Beomgyu—take a more subtle role. Although the familiars tended to be stubborn in day-to-day life, they were dyingly loyal to their mages. Kai had already spent an absurd amount of time coaching them on how to walk down the aisle, a surprisingly difficult feat for two creatures made from pure magic.

There were hundreds of things that could go wrong with the wedding—they might not have enough chairs, or Soobin’s annoying uncle could cause a scene, or one of them could have a wardrobe malfunction, or all of the centerpieces could wilt, or the cake could tip over, or all of those things could happen at once. But under no circumstances could anything go wrong with the ring-bearers. That was the part of the ceremony the grooms were most excited about.

“How could anything be wrong with those two?” Yeonjun asked.

“Did they back out? Did one of them eat the rings?” Kai’s mind was scrambling ahead, flashing through potential scenarios that might have made Taehyun so panicked. “Did they—”

His fears paled in comparison to the truth. “They’re missing!” Taehyun said, his voice nearly reaching a wail. “Not both of them,, but they may as well be. It’s Seoltang. Nobody’s seen it in days.”

Seoltang. Soobin’s wolpertinger, his most trusted companion.

“Like, missing missing? How does that happen?” Yeonjun asked.

“Tell us everything,” Kai begged.

“Kai, remember that guy we found? The one who was willing to tailor children’s clothes for animals?” Taehyun asked. “Soobin and Beomgyu dropped them off with me three days ago. I took them to the fitting, and it went great. No problems. Bichwi didn’t even bite the tailor. Then I brought them back home with me.”

“It didn’t bite anyone?” Kai repeated. Beomgyu’s devouring gourd was notorious for being nippy. “Aww. The socialization is working.”

“Yeah, we didn’t have a problem. I got home and opened up a portal directly back to Soobin and Beomgyu’s place, since I didn’t have time to drop them off myself. I mean, I always send them off on their own, and I was running late to a meeting,” Taehyun said.

He was practically tearing his hair out, more worked up than Kai had seen him in years. Kang Taehyun never lost his cool.

“Did you watch them go through?” Kai asked.

“Of course. I watched them leave, then closed the portal before I left. Then I met with my client, and didn’t think about it at all again until the next day, when Soobin called me,” Taehyun said. “I said it was great, and he was happy, but he said Seoltang must’ve been traumatized because it was still hiding.”

“He didn’t know?” Yeonjun asked. If Kai’s familiar was missing for more than a day, he’d have felt like a limb was missing, but Soobin’s wolpertinger was notoriously shy. A lone wolf, Soobin said, unfazed when the creature retreated to a secret hiding place for days at a time.

It was one thing for Soobin’s familiar to take a “vacation” between quests. It was another for the wolpertinger to run off mere weeks before one of the most important days of Soobin’s life. 

“Nope,” Taehyun answered. “I asked what he meant, and he said that he hadn’t seen Seoltang since he got home. It must’ve been in its den, he said. At first, I agreed, but… fuck, it’s been days. It didn’t seem upset at the fitting, so I know that wasn’t the problem.”

“Was there anything off about its behavior at all? Anything before the appointment?” Kai asked, jumping into veterinarian mode. Wolpertingers were tough nuts to crack. Their biology was an amalgamation of whichever unique creatures made up their bodies, on top of all the general unpredictability created by their magic.

“I don’t think so. Seoltang barely looked at me, to be honest. It only cared about what Bichwi was up to.”

“That’s as normal as you can get,” Yeonjun said. “Are you sure there wasn’t an issue with the portal…?”

Taehyun gave him a withering stare. Yeonjun cringed. “Right. Bichwi made it, and they wouldn’t have separated. Have you checked all of their usual hiding spots?”

“A bunch of times. I sent out Jinju, too, and we came up with nothing.” Taehyun’s shoulders slumped. “Seoltang must’ve dug a new den somewhere, but I have no idea where they could’ve gone.”

“Isn’t it early to be freaking out over this? It always comes back. I’m sure it’ll wander home before the wedding,” Yeonjun said.

He looked between Taehyun and Kai—Taehyun’s face was pale, and Kai couldn’t muster up any optimism. “...Why are you making those faces? What’s the longest amount of time it’s been gone?”

“Two months,” Kai said. Yeonjun looked like he was going to be sick. “Usually it’s only a few days… but….”

“It’s already been a few days,” Taehyun finished.

“Then let’s talk through all the options. Did someone steal it? Soobin’s pretty famous,” Yeonjun suggested. “Maybe it didn’t run away on purpose.”

“Soobin would know. Seoltang would’ve sent a signal if they were in danger,” Kai said. “No magic can cut a familiar off entirely.”

“As long as it’s not in danger, everything should be okay. Right?” Yeonjun asked.

“Everything except the wedding,” Taehyun said emphatically. “Soobin will be devastated. Plus Beomgyu bonded with a menace. I don’t know how we’ll wrangle Bichwi without Seoltang. At this rate, we’ll have no ring-bearers, and they’ll be too busy trying to track down their familiars to actually get married.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Yeonjun said, although he sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than Taehyun.

“Tell us what to do,” Kai said. “How can we help?”

“We have to find it, don’t we?” Yeonjun said.

Taehyun nodded. “I’ve made a list of places to search, but honestly, the only thing I know about wolpertingers is that I’m not qualified to handle them. Kai, that’s your job.”

“I can do it,” Kai said. He had a stack of books at home on magical creatures just like wolpertingers, and he had picked up a fair amount of knowledge from observing Seoltang’s behavior.

Helping magical creatures wasn’t just his job, it was his passion. Anything for Soobin.

“What do you need me for?” Yeonjun asked. “I’m great at moral support and all, but….”

“You’ll be Kai’s guard,” Taehyun said. “Wolpertingers favor areas with high concentrations of magic. Has Soobin ever told you the story of how they met? He stumbled into a magic island that no other magicians had visited in a decade, and almost got himself killed. Kai will need someone to watch his back while he’s looking for Seoltang.”

“I can handle myself,” Kai grumbled. Yeonjun may have been the paragon of a beefy warrior-mage, but he wasn’t the only battle-trained magic-wielder in the room. “I go into magic islands all the time.”

Yeonjun ignored him. “Easy-peasy. I can do that.”

“It’ll be faster with two of you. We have a deadline, but I’d like to find it as soon as possible,” Taehyun said. “Preferably before Soobin figures out that it left his property and panics.”

Kai stared at him. “You’re not gonna tell him?”

Taehyun pressed his fingertips together, his face screwing up into a grimace. “I’d rather wait for him to come to that conclusion on his own, but I will if I have to. I don’t want him to worry more than he has to.”

Soobin will definitely freak out more when he realizes exactly how long his familiar has decided to take a vacation for, Kai thought, but he wouldn’t disagree with Taehyun’s decision. He imagined the guilt of having opened the portal in the first place must be eating him alive.

“I can do it, but I’ll need a day to prepare. I should leave out some food for the creatures that come by, and put out a notice that the shop’s closed for a bit,” Kai said.

“Me too,” Yeonjun said. “But I don’t have any other clients, so.”

“The money won’t be a problem, right? Sorry, I wasn’t even thinking about your businesses,” Taehyun fretted.

“I’m in need of a vacation. I was already planning to take some time off for the wedding,” Kai said.

“Can you handle the rest of the wedding planning by yourself?” Yeonjun asked Taehyun.

Taehyun waved a hand. “Most of it’s done already. Soobin and Beomgyu are just being fussy over the little details.”

Yeonjun stretched, his joints cracking. “At least we won’t be gone for long. How hard can it be? Familiars never stray far. By the time Soobin notices they’re still gone, Kai will have convinced Seoltang to come home for the ceremony.”

It would be a lot easier for Soobin to convince his own familiar to come home… unless they had a fight? Could that be it?

“We have to figure out why it left in the first place,” Kai said. “If it was something serious, or it wants to be alone.”

“I have no idea what it could be,” Taehyun said. “But I have a feeling this won’t be as easy as it sounds. That’s why you’re the only people I’d trust to find Seoltang.”

“Are wolpertingers that dangerous?” Yeonjun asked.

“Not Soobin’s, but you should be prepared for anything,” Taehyun said. “I can’t thank you enough. You’re really saving my ass here. And saving the wedding.”

“I’ll do my best,” Kai said. Suddenly his nerves had less to do with the absurdity of the plan and much more to do with the role Taehyun had just given him.

He’d thought that being Soobin’s best man would mean helping him choose flower arrangements and coaching the local band on his favorite music, but he didn’t have time to worry—the fate of the wedding rested on his shoulders.

That was how Kai had ended up here: embarking on a quest with someone who, until very recently, had been a complete stranger to him.

It began last summer. Soobin and Kai were having their semi-regular tavern hangout, but Soobin was acting… stranger than usual. He was quiet and fidgety, and wasn’t laughing at any of Kai’s corny, drunken jokes.

Kai wasn’t taking it personally. Soobin had a busy week—apparently the stars spelled disaster, and everyone who asked him for a prophecy had complaints. People expected elves to be able to solve all of the world’s problems, but in reality, Soobin wasn’t much different from the average human magician. Kai had spent countless hours listening to him complain about magical problems that were even more mundane than Kai’s, like how his spell to unclog the shower drain had backfired and broken the pipes. There were some things magic couldn’t fix.

But as he reached the bottom of his second beer, Soobin murmured something that turned Kai’s life upside-down. “I think… I think I’m ready to propose to Beomgyu.”

Did I hear that right? Kai scooted closer, leaning in to catch Soobin’s words. It was hard to hear over the din of the tavern. “What? Beomgyu?”

“I want to marry him,” Soobin said, louder now. He broke into a smile. “I know he’s expecting it, and honestly, it’s kind of crazy that we haven’t done it yet. We’ve been together for so long, plus we’re already living together. I want to make it official.”

“Oh, hyung.” His grin was infectious. Kai grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him enthusiastically. “When did you decide it was time? Tell me everything. How are you gonna propose?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Soobin said. “It has to be perfect. I know he’s expecting something fun… he’s been dropping all these hints about what he wants in a wedding. I’m so nervous, Kai-yah.”

“Start from the beginning,” Kai said, and Soobin gave him the whole story—the moment he realized that he couldn’t live without Beomgyu, all of his ideas for the proposal, and how hard he’d been trying to keep his intentions a secret.

Kai had met Soobin as a teenager, back when they’d only recently manifested their magic and begun specialized schooling. They were fast friends, and Kai was there every step of the way when Soobin fell for Beomgyu. He desperately needed a wingman, after all.

Over the years, Kai grew closer and closer to Beomgyu, but he didn’t know all of Beomgyu’s friends. In fact, there was one notable exception: Choi Yeonjun, who was Beomgyu’s childhood best friend. His schedule never aligned with the rest of their friend group’s, but finally, when Soobin and Beomgyu invited the whole wedding team out for drinks, Kai got to meet him.

“Yeonjun’s going to be Beomgyu’s best man. That means I get to have you,” Soobin said, hugging Kai tighter than ever. “I can’t think of a better person for the job.”

“And I get to officiate!” Taehyun said.

“We’d really appreciate your help with getting everything ready, but only what you have time for,” Beomgyu said. “I know the three of you have never worked together before, but I think you have a lot in common.”

Beomgyu was right, although it had taken some time for the awkwardness to wear off and for Kai to accept Yeonjun’s friendship during their wedding planning meetings. Yeonjun was excitable and sweet, and Kai was glad that Beomgyu had so many good friends.

But it was one thing to plan a wedding with Yeonjun, and another to go on a dangerous adventure.

“I have no idea what to bring,” Kai told his Saewoo. He tossed another set of clothing into his already-stuffed bag. “I was going to leave most of my supplies at home, but what if Yeonjun’s actually a bad warrior, and I have to go through the whole quest on my own?”

Saewoo yawned.

“I haven’t gone on a proper quest in years. It would be so embarrassing if I fucked up in front of him,” Kai continued. Making a fool of himself in front of Beomgyu’s sexy, important friend was a terrifying thought. “What do you think? Do we have room for the books? Or should I just try to memorize everything and hope for the best?”

The little bird had settled in for a nap on the windowsill, unresponsive to the world. Kai wasn’t going to receive any packing advice today.

Their morning had been a whirlwind. Kai readied the sanctuary for his absence, adding extra magical shields to prevent ill-intentioned mages—or even magical creatures—from encroaching on the property and disturbing the current residents. He set out extra food and left a sheet of instructions on how to distribute medicine, just in case Taehyun stopped by.

Then he gathered all of the essentials for traveling—his most comfortable clothing, a pouch of extra coins, a map that Taehyun had labeled with all of the wolpertinger’s old hiding places, and so on. Unlike Yeonjun, Kai didn’t need to carry weapons—but he did need tools to safely handle a potentially-aggressive wolpertinger.

Being able to provide most modern conveniences with magic still didn’t make packing easy. Especially when he had to coordinate his packing with someone he’d never traveled with before. What if Yeonjun forgot his toothbrush, and Kai was expected to save the day by providing extras? Would Yeonjun want to spend all of his time in the wilderness, or would they get to stop in town often to do laundry? Was Yeonjun talented with laundry magic? These are important things to know!

There was a sharp knock on the door. “Coming, coming,” Kai muttered. Is it that time already?

As predicted, Yeonjun was waiting on Kai’s front staircase. “‘Morning, Kai-yah,” he said. He raked a hand through his hair, giving Kai a smooth smile. “Hope I’m not too early.”

“No, just on time.” Yeonjun was dressed in breezy clothing, fitting the summer heat, black from head to toe. A scabbard was strapped to his waist, along with what looked like the sheaths for three other, smaller blades, though Kai didn’t know much about weaponry. He carried one bag, a bulging satchel over his shoulder.

Kai stepped aside to let Yeonjun in the door—and suddenly, Yeonjun was the last thing on his mind. “Oh, who’s this?” he asked. “I’ve never seen you before.”

The creature was the size of a large housecat, with tomato-red fur, dark spots, and giant, fluffy paws. It had not one tail, but five, waving in the air behind it. Curious, piercing yellow eyes met Kai’s. Between them sprouted a thick, spiralling horn, not unlike a unicorn’s.

“This is Saenggang,” Yeonjun said. “You’ve never met? I could’ve sworn I brought him to our meetings.”

“I would’ve remembered this cutie,” Kai said. He bent down to the familiar’s level, allowing it to approach him on its own. The cat stretched out its neck, cautiously sniffing his hand. “A zheng?”

“Yep,” Yeonjun said. “My best friend. Very dependable in a pinch.”

“I bet,” Kai said. Saenggang rubbed up against his leg, purring. The sound was comically rough and gravelly compared to the wildcat’s size.

Yeonjun’s jaw dropped. “I wasn’t expecting him to warm up to you so fast. Like, I kind of thought he wouldn’t warm up to you at all. It took us years to get along.”

“I get that a lot,” Kai said. He scratched under the zheng’s chin, and its eyes closed, content, whiskers practically vibrating.

“No, really. He hates everyone. It’s my fault, because we used to do a lot more guard work when we first bonded, and I don’t think it’s sunk in that he’s allowed to trust strangers yet,” Yeonjun said. “Or, at least, not bite everyone who looks at him the wrong way.”

“Saewoo doesn’t know how to be suspicious. They’ll balance each other out,” Kai said. That explained why he’d never met Yeonjun’s familiar before.

“Where do you think we should head first?” Yeonjun asked. He scanned the room, and Kai suddenly felt warm, self-conscious now that Yeonjun was perceiving his space. “You have such a nice place. I didn’t realize you had such a….”

“Legitimate business?” Kai suggested.

Yeonjun laughed. “Such a presence in the community. Should Saenggang and I be stopping by for familiar therapy?”

That made Kai smile, though he didn’t understand why. “I’m not a therapist, exactly. You know a lot more about him as an individual than I do. Each member of a species is unique.”

“Then what do you do?” Yeonjun asked.

“A bit of everything. I know some basic medicine, and I can usually care for any creature that wanders by,” Kai said. “I also give advice to any magicians who ask for help with a creature, whether it’s their own familiar, or if they need help from wildlife control. Since I’m a summoner, so I can get in contact with specific creatures if someone needs help from them.”

Yeonjun’s eyes widened. It made him look softer and younger, which was intriguing. “Any creature? You’re incredible!”

“Sometimes it doesn’t always work. It’s easier if I’ve already met that animal, and if they’re geographically closer to me. I can’t make a living being out of thin air,” Kai said, flustered. “I have to form a connection with them and convince them to come over.”

“You definitely can’t just summon Seoltang?”

“It’s different with familiars, since they’re bonded specifically to one person. Besides, even if it weren’t a familiar, wolpertingers are… complicated. It’d take all of my power to communicate with one.”

“Complicated?” Yeonjun sighed. “Of course he bonded with a complicated familiar, and not a common wyrm….”

Saewoo fluttered over to his shoulder, and Yeonjun scratched the crest feathers on top of its head.

Thankfully, Saenggang didn’t seem too interested in the little bird. Familiars weren’t in the habit of attacking each other unless their bonded magicians ordered it, but Kai kept Saewoo away from felines out of habit.

Kai took the map from his pack. As he unrolled it, the drawings took on a three-dimensional form, glowing bright pink where Taehyun had left traces of his magic. “These are Seoltang’s old dens—the ones we know of. I want to visit the most recent sites and set tripwire.”

“Tripwire?”

“The magic kind,” Kai said. “I’ll set a spell that will alert me if Seoltang passes through. It’s a modified version of the kind you’d use for a person, but it wouldn’t make sense to use Soobin’s magic signature as the trigger, in this case. I’ll cast it with the image of a wolpertinger in mind.”

“And I assume we can’t track it like we would any other animal? Using pawprints and all that?” Yeonjun asked. “It’d be too late for that, anyway, since it went missing three days ago….”

“That’s right. Wolpertingers are highly intelligent, and they have the ability to hide any traces of their existence—their pawprints, their scent, and their magic,” Kai explained. “Also, Seoltang’s prints would look like a jackalope’s, or a regular hare’s. Another wolpertinger’s prints could look like a fox’s, or a deer’s, or even a bird’s. There’s no standard method for tracking wolpertingers because every one is unique.”

“What can we do other than set tripwire? This doesn’t sound like much of a quest,” Yeonjun said.

Kai concentrated on the map, closing his eyes and envisioning the forest in his mind. When he opened them, the map was speckled with bright blue light, marking the locations from his research. “Wolpertingers prefer forested areas and high elevations. We’ll make our way up the mountains and try to get some information from the villages there.”

“Ah, it’ll be chilly,” Yeonjun said, wrapping his arms around himself. “At least there will be plenty of magic islands to search.”

“We won’t only search the magic islands,” Kai added. “We have to think about all the places a wolpertinger might be drawn to. Like, it has to eat eventually, so we should try to find its favorite food.”

Yeonjun raised his eyebrows. “What’s its favorite food? Carrots?”

“It’s one that all wolpertingers like, regardless of what species they’re made of,” Kai said. “It’s called frostberry, but it’s more similar to a pome than a berry.”

“What the fuck is a pome?” Yeonjun asked.

“—It only grows in the same high altitudes that wolpertingers are from, and the flowers only open for a couple days each year, so they’re dying out. There usually isn’t enough time for the pollen to reach the plants, plus wolpertingers aren’t the only animals that like them, so the fruit doesn’t last very long.”

Yeonjun groaned. “So we’re going to spend hours traipsing through the woods, only to find empty bushes?”

“Frostberries grow on large shrubs, actually. Basically trees.”

“I assume Soobin isn’t going through all this effort every time his familiar gets hungry? I’ve literally watched him feed Seoltang a carrot. It had no complaints.”

“If you were a wolpertinger with all the freedom in the world, would you settle for carrots? Or would you go out and find the food you actually want?” Kai said.

“Alright, alright. Let’s say we find the berries. What are we going to do with them? Make traps? Familiars are smart enough to avoid them,” Yeonjun said. He set Saewoo down, and the bird hopped onto Kai’s bags.

“We’ll leave some in the old dens and carry the rest with us. We can put it in the places we think Seoltang will be drawn to. Hopefully, it’ll pick up on the traces of our magic, and we won’t need to keep chasing it around the mountains,” Kai said.

Yeonjun looked incredulous, but he nodded. “I’ll let you lead the way. Are you ready to head out?”

Kai took one last look at the cottage. No amount of caution could fully prepare them for whatever their journey might entail—it was time to be on their way.

Out of the wolpertinger’s old burrows, two had been destroyed, three were still standing, and one Kai stumbled on as they were traveling between sites. Without the convenience of Taehyun’s portal transportation, it took them the entire day to walk between each of the sites.

Kai had hoped that Taehyun was wrong, and the familiar was just hidden in plain sight, but there wasn’t a hint of life in the old dens. Not a tuft of shed fur, or a molted feather, or the remains of a meal. Magical creatures had passed through during the recent weeks, but no wolpertingers.

Still, he set the tripwire. Seoltang may have chosen a new burrow, but that didn’t exclude the possibility that it could wander by at a later point. The spell was simple enough, extending a kilometer or so beyond the actual burrow. If the familiar was in the area, Kai would know about it.

Kai sent Saewoo to deliver Taehyun a note, outlining their plan and assuring him that they had set off. He held onto hope that Seoltang would simply return home, but by the end of the day, they hadn’t received a reply from Taehyun.

The village at the base of the mountain came into view as the sun set. The shops and restaurants were closing up for the night, but Kai strolled around the village while Yeonjun found them a room at an inn. It didn’t seem like a place that Seoltang would have chosen to stay in—there were no frostberry bushes in sight, but more importantly, there was a low level of magic—so he only gave his surroundings a glance before he went to the inn.

It was a run-down little place, worn and wooden, but warm in every way. The fireplace crackled, and a handful of other mages were gathered in the foyer. They were obviously mages—one carried a staff, and another had a winged hound by his side.

“I only paid for one night,” Yeonjun said, swinging the room key around his finger. “But there are plenty of rooms available, so we can ask to extend our stay if we decide to come back here.”

“Sounds good,” Kai said. He hoped their quest wasn’t so long that they needed to treat the inn not just as a resting place, but a base.

They trudged up the stairs together, hauling bags that seemed to have doubled in weight since they set out. No feather-light spell could erase the exhaustion of a day of hiking.

“This is it,” Yeonjun said. He pushed the heavy wooden door open. “Hm. Cozy.”

There were two small beds, but it brought Kai right back to his teenage days of questing, when he and Soobin would squeeze onto a single rock-hard mattress in the most suspicious inn either of them had ever laid eyes on. At least this room had enough space for their bags and familiars.

Cozy. There was no faster way to push a group of casual friends into a lifelong bond than through questing together.

Yeonjun immediately collapsed into the bed closest to the door. His familiar curled up on his legs, all five tails draping over him like a blanket. “I already checked it for traps, so don’t worry about that,” he said. “Oh, and there’s a shower down the hall.”

“Good to know,” Kai said. Unless something was obviously amiss, he’d never checked a room for traps—magical or otherwise. The most he’d ever found was the previous visitor’s alarm spell, which they had forgotten to dismantle.

Must be part of his training, Kai thought. It’s exhausting to be on-guard all the time. Unless it comes naturally to him by now?

They began their trek up the mountain the next morning. According to Kai’s books, there was a patch of frostberry about a day’s walk from the village—and Yeonjun, who had wandered out of bed early in the morning to make friends with the villagers, confirmed it.

“The old lady in the farmer’s market knew all about it,” Yeonjun said, practically bouncing alongside Kai as he navigated the forest’s tangled branches. “She said they send a few mages to gather the berries—or, what’s left of them after the animals get to them. They’re used in a ton of expensive potions, which is their apothecarist’s specialty.”

“She didn’t mention anything about seeing a wolpertinger pass through, did she?” Kai asked. He turned his head towards the sky, but he couldn’t see through the thick summer leaves. Saewoo was soaring far above them, acting as a scout. It probably couldn’t see anything, either, but it could sense the magic energy of other familiars.

“No. She hasn’t seen one in years, actually. But when she was younger, she used to spend a lot of time in the woods. She saw whole groups of them passing through on their way to the frostberry trees.” Yeonjun sighed dreamily. “I’d love to see that. Have you ever met a wolpertinger other than Seoltang?”

“Only once. It was wild, and another mage brought it in to see me because he thought it was injured,” Kai said. The wolpertinger had been in rough shape—patchy fur, halfway through a molt, sniffles. “I gave it some medicine, but when I went to check on it the next morning, it was gone.”

“What did it look like?” Yeonjun asked.

“It was a rabbit, but it had flippers like a duck,” Kai said. “Oh, and its antlers were more like a deer’s than a goat’s.”

“A duck-rabbit.” Yeonjun snorted. “Sounds cute.”

“Not as cute as Seoltang,” Kai said. “Most wolpertingers stick to magic islands. Unless you spend a lot of time in them, you won’t see them very often.”

“I hardly see any creatures,” Yeonjun said. “Saenggang’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. Oh, and Seoltang. But I never get to see the cute ones, or the rare ones. People only ask me to fight dragons for them.”

“Seriously? Fighting dragons?” Kai asked.

“Seriously. Lots of little dragons, a manticore….” Yeonjun counted on his fingers. “This giant-ass flaming wolf thing… that wasn’t fun. Burns fucking hurt. I’d way rather fight people.”

“Ah. That’s good to hear,” Kai said, and immediately regretted it. Even though Yeonjun knew about his familiar magic, he must have sounded ridiculous. “Um, what kinds of things do you do?”

“I’ll take anything I can get. Mostly security work. Guarding artifacts… guarding people… guarding towns,” Yeonjun said. “Or I’ll offer my services to travelers. People who aren’t comfortable making the journey without personal protection, or need help navigating a dangerous area.”

“And that’s how you ran into the dragons,” Kai guessed.

“Yeah. That mostly happens when you’re escorting other mages, since they’re up for adventure,” Yeonjun said.

“What happens when you’re not escorting mages?” Kai asked. He was so distracted by Yeonjun’s story that he nearly tripped over a tree root and fell flat on his face. Just in time, Saewoo shot down from between the branches, bowling into him and stopping his momentum.

Saving your mage from embarrassment: not the most noble part of a familiar’s job description.

Thankfully, Yeonjun was in the middle of his own battle with vegetation, so he didn’t notice Kai’s stumble. “I’m not actually allowed to tell you who I’ve worked with. Top secret, you know?”

“Top secret,” Kai repeated. What’s he doing here, then? “Like, the government? Royalty?”

“Basically,” Yeonjun said. So much for not being able to tell me anything. “Those jobs were the most boring. Lots of standing around for hours, staring into space—but it’s not like I could rest, just in case something did happen.”

“How often did ‘something’ happen?”

“Out of the hundreds of nights I spent on guard duty, there were… I don’t know, five nights when we had a legitimate security concern. Three of those were just drunk bastards who somehow managed to sneak past the other guards, but weren’t capable of much harm.”

“And the other two?”

“I like to think that I’m pretty good in a fight. Nothing to worry about if someone comes at you with a dagger,” Yeonjun said breezily. “But I was always just one member in a team. I’m sure there were threats that I never heard about, because someone else caught them long before they became a problem.”

He paused to take a swig of his water, pushing his hair back with his free hand. It was damp with sweat, and Kai realized that they had been walking for nearly the whole morning. No wonder he was tripping over himself.

Yeonjun cleared his throat. “Still, I’m only good when it comes to one-on-one combat. There’s nothing I can do if someone wants to poison you.”

“Not very reassuring,” Kai teased. He had known that Yeonjun was an accomplished warrior, but he hadn’t realized that his résumé was quite so extensive. “How’d you get into that kind of work in the first place? I know your magic gives you an advantage and all, but….”

“I know, I know. It’s a super boring profession, isn’t it? I manifested magic and all I do with it is beat people up.”

“Not boring. I haven’t met a lot of warriors.”

Yeonjun shrugged. “If you’ve met one, you’ve met them all. Sensory-enhancement magic runs on both sides of my family. My abeoji’s a military guy, so I never see him, and my eomma’s a physical therapist.”

“My family’s like that, too,” Kai said. “We all bond with birds, and our magic’s usually related to birds.”

Yeonjun snapped his fingers. “You’re an Ornith! Taehyun told me about it.”

Kai’s heart fluttered. “That’s right. My sisters, too.”

Outside of his family—and Taehyun—he’d never met someone who knew what it meant to be an Ornith. There were dozens of well-known families and clans who could trace their magic across generations, but there were only a handful of Orniths left. It was an uncommon magic to inherit, and a difficult power to harness.

“Can you fly? That’s way cooler than my magic,” Yeonjun said.

“I’m sure you’ll find out,” Kai said, grinning at him.

Yeonjun stretched his arms over his head. “That must’ve been scary to manifest. Like, I totally expected my magic, so the worst part of manifesting was the fact that I was vulnerable enough to do it. I wasn’t worried about spontaneously levitating, or anything like that.”

Kai couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled so much. Who would have known that Yeonjun would be such an entertaining adventure partner? “We don’t levitate!”

“Either way, it’s not like humans are programmed to know how to fly,” Yeonjun said. “Unless you can’t actually fly, but I’m pretty sure Taehyun mentioned wings.”

Fledging was a story for another day. “I wasn’t really thinking about it. My magic’s based on summoning, so birds aren’t the only creatures I can communicate with. But did you know that Saewoo can control the weather?”

“That little guy?” Yeonjun asked. He glanced towards the treetops, but the bird had already returned to its mission, far above them. “How does that work?”

“It’s technically more like influencing the weather,” Kai explained. “Back when I was younger, a hurricane swept through my village. It lasted for over a week, and the rain just wouldn’t stop. All of the crops were flooded, and… gods, it was getting dangerous.”

No magician was strong enough to control the weather. It was one thing to summon a tailwind, or wish for rain, and it was another to command the clouds themselves. All they could do was hunker down and hope that rebuilding wouldn’t be too difficult. Even now, Kai was less than enthusiastic when storms rolled in.

“I only went outside to help my eomma. She was going through the garden to see if there was anything we could salvage, so we wouldn’t have to go the market. It was the first clear morning we’d had in days, but then… the rain started all over again. I could barely see, it was so relentless.”

They had stopped walking. Yeonjun was completely rapt. Kai wasn’t used to having Yeonjun’s eyes exclusively on him, but he was too deep into the story to care.

“That was when I found Saewoo. The clouds started to clear, and it perched with me.. I didn’t know I’d summoned it at first, not until I realized that all of the other animals were hiding,” Kai said. “I thought I had wished for the storm to end, but what I’d really wished for was someone who could save us. Now every time I’m in trouble, I know that I’m not alone.”

“That’s beautiful,” Yeonjun said. “That’s incredible magic to have. There’s only so much we can control with our own magic, you know? But you have access to way more with familiars.”

“Not all of them listen to me as well as Saewoo. I have to earn their trust,” Kai said. “By the way, how did you meet Saenggang?”

There was an extra spring in Yeonjun’s step as they continued. “One of the jobs I was on, a couple years after I manifested. It was with Beomgyu. He and a couple other nymphs wanted help with their foraging.. He was so set on finding a specific flower. He wouldn’t tell me why, but I later guessed that it was for Soobin.”

“I remember that!” Kai said. “Oh, Soobin-hyung wouldn’t stop raving about those flowers. It was the first time I’d ever even heard him talk about plants.”

“Glad to hear it was worth it. Beomgyu almost got himself killed for those,” Yeonjun said. “We stumbled on Saenggang’s den, and… I thought we were goners, seriously. I managed to fend him off, and when he started following us, I told Beomgyu we had to go home. But he wasn’t hunting us.”

“You earned his respect,” Kai said, and Yeonjun nodded.

“I was a late bloomer,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Way later than Beomgyu, which is impressive, considering that Beomgyu was also late. I used to think that I wouldn’t manifest magic at all, so having a familiar was never in the cards.”

“I was late, too!” Kai said, and Yeonjun’s expression brightened. “All of us have that in common.”

“Where were you when I was a teenager?” Yeonjun asked, laughing lightly. “You’re not that much younger than me, so we probably manifested around the same time.”

How’d it happen for you? The question was on the tip of Kai’s tongue, but it was often considered impolite to ask exactly how a person manifested. Magic could only be born from desperation, and for many people, a threat to their life or to a loved one was the only thing that could bring on the most extreme version of that emotion. People developed the magic they needed, not the magic they wanted.

They reached a clearing, surrounded by thick foliage and dappled with golden light. The forest floor was littered with debris, fallen leaves and sticks that crunched below Kai’s boots. As he looked up, Saewoo soared in a lazy loop overhead. It set him at ease–he didn’t like being away from the open sky for too long.

“Should we take a break?” Yeonjun asked. He was slightly out-of-breath as he took a seat on a nearby rock, swinging his pack around so he could reach his water. “We’ve been walking for a long time now. Where the hell are these berries?”

Kai shook his head. “Hopefully we don’t have to go too high. We haven’t had time to acclimate.”

“Right. Mountains,” Yeonjun said. “You don’t think it’ll take weeks to track these down, do you? We don’t have that kind of time.”

“The berries aren’t that important. We should be keeping an eye out for magic islands,” Kai said, his chest tight. “Or any signs of Seoltang, really. Even an empty burrow.”

“Well, I hope we find them soon. I’m starving. I could use a snack,” Yeonjun said, deadpan.

Kai gave Yeonjun a playful glare, and he broke into a peal of laughter. “You should’ve asked to stop for lunch sooner!”

“But we were having so much fun. I didn’t want to interrupt,” Yeonjun said.

Their conversation was making the time go faster. Kai didn’t generally consider questing to be an enjoyable activity, but so far, traveling with Yeonjun was a lot like traveling with Soobin. Their conversations hadn’t run dry, and Yeonjun wasn’t annoying, so Kai considered it a win.

If only they were more successful in their search.

As the sun began to set, they gave in and searched for a place to camp. Yeonjun set up a tent while Kai built a fire. Normally, Kai wouldn’t risk attracting unwanted animal attention at night, but the mountain was colder than he was used to.

“Damn, it’s been a while since I got to sleep under the stars,” Yeonjun said. “I need to join more mages instead of getting trapped by the city guard.”

“I feel like something is going to jump out and eat me,” Kai said.

“Nothing can eat you on my watch,” Yeonjun said. “That’s what I’m here for, remember? We can sleep in shifts if that’d make you more comfortable.”

Kai had never traveled with a magician who offered to sleep in shifts. Nobody enjoyed taking the night watch, and Yeonjun must have had more than his fair share of sleepless nights as a bodyguard. That’s sweet. Selfless.

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll need all the sleep we can get before we go into magic islands,” Kai said. He tossed a few more dry twigs into his fire. That’s when we really might be attacked….

Yeonjun yawned and stretched, leaning against the tree he’d secured the tent to. “Humanity is capable of so much magic, but we still don’t have a wide-ranging tripwire spell. Where are our priorities?”

“I know. Mine only works on animals, and only one at a time,” Kai said.

“You’ll have to show me that spell sometime. I don’t know if I’d be able to do it, but it would come in handy,” Yeonjun said. “I may not understand them as well as you, but I’m way more afraid of humans than dragons.”

“What percent of the time are you battling humans instead?” Kai asked.

“I’d say seventy or eighty. It’s super common to get animals prowling around a campsite, but they’re easier to intimidate,” Yeonjun. “One loud noise, and most creatures will decide you’re not worth it. But the wrong human enemy will follow you to the ends of the earth.”

“How many assassination plots do you have to foil every year?” Kai teased, but Yeonjun’s expression was solemn.

“Too fucking many. Can’t say I disagree with all of them, but it’s not my job to decide,” Yeonjun said.

“I don’t know how you do it. That’s so much pressure.”

“Just because I said I’d rather face a dragon doesn’t mean I actually want to,” Yeonjun said. “We’re doing the same thing. Saving lives. Besides, my magic’s dime-a-dozen. I don’t have to worry about disappointing my super-special, super-important relatives.”

Kai groaned. He agreed with Yeonjun—he’d much rather face a dragon than his grandmother’s disappointment.

He’d never spent much time considering what it would be like to have a different kind of magic, one that was more common and maybe even more useful in day-to-day life. After all, he could never give up his connection with the animals. He may have had to prove his worth as an Ornith, but he’d never questioned his own abilities.

And still, Yeonjun was sincere and passionate, seemingly undisturbed by the burden that had been placed on him. Kai could learn a thing or two about being carefree.

He brushed twig debris from his pants and dug their leftovers from their packs. He’d constructed a makeshift grill from sticks and rocks, meticulously balanced over the tender flames.

One party member in particular had taken interest in Kai’s work. Saenggang crept closer and closer to the fire, batting at the sticks with heavy paws.

It pinned Kai with wide amber eyes. “Mrrrrow?”

“He’s hungry,” Yeonjun supplied.

“You’re such a cutie,” Kai said. He scratched under the cat’s chin, and its eyes closed, tails twitching. “I can’t believe you’d ever hurt a fly.”

“He’s mauled people,” Yeonjun said stubbornly, but the way he said it only made Kai laugh. The familiar had the potential to be fierce, but right now, it was as docile as a housecat.

“I bet you’d love some catnip,” Kai cooed. “I have some in my garden. You’ll need a reward once we find Seoltang.”

Yeonjun groaned. “You don’t know what you’re suggesting. He’s already dangerous enough; you can’t get him high!”

“I don’t think familiars can get high. He just deserves something fun to roll in,” Kai said. Saenggang began to rub against his legs, purring so hard its pelt vibrated. It sounded like distant thunder.

Yeonjun folded his arms, his lips turning into a pout. “You know how long it took me to get him to purr? You’re condensing years of familiar bonding into a day.”

“I’m just lucky. Plenty of other familiars have bitten me instead,” Kai said. The number of familiars he hadn’t instantly bonded with was… negligible, but Yeonjun didn’t need to know that. “I’m sure he’s become more tame while spending time with you. He’s used to being around humans now.”

“He still doesn’t prefer humans,” Yeonjun said. He held out a hand to Saewoo, who pointedly tucked its head under its wing. “I assume the same goes for this one? Or is it personal?”

“Definitely not personal. Here, I have some treats that you can try. Bribery is always a good option,” Kai said. He reached for his bag, where he was certain he had slipped a packet of Saewoo’s favorite dried fish.

“Look at those eyes. I think they’re smarter than me,” Yeonjun said warily.

“Familiars pick up on our emotions. It’s probably interested in you because I’m interested in you, but it hasn’t had enough time to get a good read on—” Kai trailed off as he realized exactly how that sentence must have sounded to Yeonjun. “Sorry, I mean—since we’re—”

Yeonjun smiled easily. “Then I hope your positive feelings rub off on it. This journey will be a lot more fun if we’re all friends.”

“Then you should start with these,” Kai said. He tossed Yeonjun a packet of dried anchovies, and Yeonjun grimaced. “Be careful of the beak. It’s sharper than it looks.”

“I will.” Yeonjun took one of the shriveled fish by the tail and tossed it into the air, where Saewoo eagerly caught it.

Kai hid his smile as he tended to the grill. His familiar could be quite finicky, but he was sure that they would be good friends in no time.

On the dawn of the third day, Yeonjun and Kai had their first success.

The previous day had been exhausting. They walked for hours, and they only came across one other set of travelers—no other humans, and no signs of a wolpertinger. Kai’s eyes were exhausted from scanning every unique shrub, looking for the right leaf shape and distinctive icy-white berries.

The pressure was on. Kai had only seen frostberries a handful of times in his life, but Yeonjun had no expertise at all when it came to plants. Flora was Beomgyu’s specialty, but even he couldn’t summon a rare fruit from nothing. Are we wasting time here? Should we have tried a different strategy?

Not we. I’m the one leading us.

Even worse, neither of them had felt the surge of energy that indicated a nearby magic island. Kai knew that mountains were hotspots for magic, a haven for magical creatures and a place of reflection for human magicians. But real life didn’t match textbooks, and magic islands were constantly shifting, so maps weren’t of much use. He was afraid to say what both of them were thinking— what if we made a wrong turn at the beginning, and now we’re doomed?

The dew was just burning off the grass when they packed up their supplies and headed out. Yeonjun was bleary-eyed and mechanical as he stuffed the tent into his pack. In two days, Kai had already started to adapt to Yeonjun’s late-riser schedule.

“Need any help with that?” he asked, but Yeonjun shook his head.

“You forget that lifting heavy shit is my whole thing,” he said. “Want me to take your bags, too?”

“Believe me, you wouldn’t want to,” Kai said good-naturedly. He wouldn’t abandon his dignity just to free himself from his bags.

“Alright, suit yourself,” Yeonjun said. Saenggang weaved around his legs, nearly tripping him.

The path had become increasingly wild and overgrown since they left the village. In some sections, there was no path to be seen, so they relied on a compass spell until they located it again. Kai thought there was another village coming soon, and every time the trees thinned, his hopes began to rise.

He was so busy scanning the map, doing math in his head to guess how long it would be before the next settlement, that he almost missed it: a patch of frostberry.

A flash of pale blue caught his eye. Was it the sunlight through the trees, or dust in his eye? Kai turned around, not quite believing what was in front of him.

“Hyung, wait!” he said, and Yeonjun came to a screeching halt. “This is it!”

“What?” Yeonjun asked, looking around in all the wrong directions.

“Look,” Kai said. The frostberry bushes he’d seen years ago had been small, not much bigger than a tomato plant, and barely able to bear fruit. This was a massive shrub, absolutely towering over all of the surrounding brush and nearly as tall as the trees. The branches were heavy with globular fruits, the lowest-hanging ones just out of Kai’s reach.

Yeonjun whistled. “And there’s plenty left. You don’t think Seoltang passed through here, do you?”

“I’m not sure,” Kai said. He didn’t see any glaring signs of a wolpertinger’s presence, but Seoltang could’ve easily hidden itself. “Hold on, I’m gonna climb the tree. The berries are too high up.”

“Isn’t that what Saewoo’s for? The flying bird? Have it break off a branch for us,” Yeonjun said.

“Do you see it anywhere?” Kai asked. He pointed to the empty sky above. “It’s on scouting duty, so it’s too far away for me to call.”

“We can wait for it to come back in range. Saewoo’s not one to disappear like Seoltang,” Yeonjun said.

“I can do this. It’ll only take a minute, and then we can get going again.” Kai dropped his bags in the dirt, stretched, and began scanning the shrub for footholds. The branches looked awfully prickly, perfect for poking his eyes.

“We have some time. I haven’t seen any other animals this morning, so I don’t think we’re competing—”

Kai grabbed the lowest branch and hoisted himself up. When he was younger, he often climbed trees to reach birds, who typically refused to communicate with him unless he met them on their level. It had been a while since he’d needed to, but there were plenty of knobbly branches for him to grab onto. The frostberry bush’s bark was rough and crumbly under his shoes, but he managed to pull himself onto one of the thicker branches.

“Wow,” Yeonjun said, but Kai wasn’t ready for praise yet. He crawled onto the next branch, then higher, keeping an eye on the berries. “Okay, okay, that’s probably enough. You have long arms.”

“Not that long.” Kai took a swipe at the fruit above his head, but it was both too high and too far. He crawled to the next branch and straddled it so that he could edge closer to the bundle of fruit.

Finally, they were within reach. Plump, sweet-smelling, and frigid cyan, they were ready for harvest. Kai plucked the first bunch from their stems. He could carry four or five berries in his palm without the risk of crushing them, but they needed more than that.

“Damn,” Kai hissed. He had been in such a hurry to reach the frostberries that he hadn’t thought about how to carry them. He’d have to stuff them in his pockets, or toss them down to Yeonjun—which was less than ideal.

Instead, he unclipped his cloak and folded it up, forming a makeshift pouch. He dropped the berries into it and balanced it on his knees as he reached for more. He wouldn’t take too many, considering the creatures that might pass by after they left, but he could reach a decent number of berries from where he was perched.

Once he’d stripped the nearby stems, he tied the cloak up. “Yeonjun-hyung!” he called. “Catch!”

He dropped the berry-filled cloak into Yeonjun’s waiting arms. “Good job,” Yeonjun marvelled. “Damn, you’re braver than me.”

Kai rolled his eyes. “I don’t know. I don’t think we have enough.”

“Can you just take a whole branch?” Yeonjun asked. “Just a small one. Don’t tell Beomgyu I said that.”

There was a thin branch a little further above Kai’s head, laden with frostberries. He grabbed it with both hands and pulled, a satisfying crack echoing as it began to part from the main branch.

“Perfect,” Yeonjun said. “That’s enough, I think—”

Kai gave the branch one last tug, and it pulled away so abruptly that his heart plummeted. But his heart wasn’t the only thing that was falling. His balance slipped, the tension in his body broke for just a second—a second too late for him to grab the branch again.

But he couldn’t grab it if he wanted to. The frostberries were what he came for, and even as he began to fall from the tree, all he could think was don’t let them fall don’t let them break you have to hold on—

“KAI!”

For one sickening moment, Kai was free-falling, bracing himself to meet solid ground. In the next, the blow was softened, strong arms wrapping around him.

They crumbled together. Yeonjun’s body braced Kai’s own, keeping him inches above the ground. “Shit,” he gasped. “Shit, are you okay? I’ve got you.”

Kai’s blood was rushing so loudly in his ears that he could barely make out Yeonjun’s words. He sucked air into his lungs, struggling to refocus on his surroundings.

“I’m okay. I think,” Kai said. At the very least, the berries were intact—he was clutching the branch so tightly that his hands were numb. Luckily, they hadn’t squashed any in their fall. His cloak was neatly placed on a rock nearby, guarded by Saenggang. “I’m sorry—are you—?”

“I told you, I’ve got you,” Yeonjun said. His arms tightened around Kai, as secure as stone. “I’m just fine. And you’ve got the berries.”

Kai’s limbs were liquid. He could have laid down to catch his breath right there on the forest floor. But he didn’t get a chance to slide out of Yeonjun’s arms—Yeonjun began to stand up, pulling Kai with him.

Kai couldn’t seem to form words. He squeaked as Yeonjun stood to his full height, effortlessly holding Kai against his chest.

“Time to go,” Yeonjun said. “Saenggang-ah, could you grab those berries? Grab them, don’t eat them.”

“Where are we going?” Kai asked. His body was on fire, not just bumped and bruised. He covered his face with a hand, hoping to hide his inevitable blush. “H-Hyung, what’re you….”

“Giving you a lift. I think you deserve to let your legs rest after that, yeah?” Yeonjun said.

He was carrying Kai bridal style. Kai’s hand automatically bunched in Yeonjun’s shirt. The humiliation was overpowering, but he couldn’t squirm out of Yeonjun’s grasp.

“I have to get my bags,” he choked out.

Yeonjun exhaled melodramatically. “Oh, alright. I’ll make myself useful in some other way.” He gently lowered Kai to the ground, and Kai hurried to brush himself off. His face was still hot, like he was sitting in front of a fire, and he scurried back to his bag.

“T-Thank you for the help,” he told Saenggang, who released the cloak. The big cat gave a purr that reminded Kai too much of Yeonjun.

Of course Yeonjun’s muscles weren’t just for show, but Kai hadn’t expected them to be used on him. Yeonjun was proud of his abilities for a reason. He was talented, and reliable, and steady…..

Kai shoved the branch into his pack and turned to face Yeonjun again. “We should still be on-course, but I want to check the map so we can—”

A flash of lavender light cut him off. A folded letter fluttered downwards, flames fizzling out around it like it was breaking free of a cocoon.

Kai snatched it out of the air and checked the seal. “It’s from Taehyun.”

“I know what that’s going to be,” Yeonjun announced. “Taehyun telling us that Seoltang wandered home, Soobin didn’t notice, and the wedding’s going to proceed as planned. After we hiked all the way up this mountain and risked our necks just for the berries—”

Kai tore the note open. Taehyun’s handwriting was as messy as ever.

“Was I right?” Yeonjun asked. “I wonder how long it took to get here. We could be looking at old news.”

“I don’t think it’s old news,” Kai said. He handed the letter to Yeonjun, who smoothed the paper out and squinted at it. His eyes darted back and forth as he read, his expression falling as he made his way down the page.

“Damn,” he said at last, folding up the paper. “I got my hopes up.”

“At least we didn’t do all this work for nothing,” Kai said. He could think of plenty of uses for frostberries, but he didn’t want Yeonjun to worry that that part of their quest had been a waste. “We’ll keep searching the mountain. If we continue at this rate, we can still find Seoltang before Soobin has to worry.”

Yeonjun gave him a rueful smile. He placed a hand on Kai’s shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Alright, Huening. I trust you to lead our way.”