Long Journey || ATEEZ

Bonus Chapter I : Afterward

- The next day -

"I realise you arrived a little too late for a proper tour, but it's never too late for one now, eh?" Hyacinth said, grinning as she greeted the eight pirates outside of the hotel.

"This early in the morning?" Wooyoung whined. "Aw, come on."

The bleary-eyed, half-asleep pirates of the ATINY nodded in agreement with the holin. Yunho was practically asleep, drooping onto Mingi's shoulder as the fairy yawned and rubbed his eyes. San had snuggled up to Yeosang – who was one of the few completely conscious – with Wooyoung using his free shoulder as a pillow. Seonghwa was the only one completely awake, eyes sharp and focused as per usual – though his hair was a mess, sticking up in all the wrong places and generally looking like he had just sprinted through a thicket of bushes (minus the branches). Narcia clung to his coat like a sleepy koala, her eyes practically closed as her head drooped. Seonghwa kept his arm stretched out, ready to catch her in case she fell.

"You guys look raring to go," Cin commented, grinning.

"I haven't woken up earlier than 8:00 in months," Hongjoong yawned. "Not since I quit my job, anyway."

Hyacinth smirked, though there was a tense glint in her eye – one that Seonghwa caught onto right away – as she turned to walk off, Jo right beside her. "Hurry up then boys – I've got a lot to show you."

And so, they took off down the streets of the 'new sanctuary', marvelling at the sights of the imposing towers above them, armed to the teeth with guns and searchlights and everything useful in a full-scale defence, the intricately designed Magik patterns crisscrossing across the streets below them, the buildings around them, and even the towers too (Yeosang especially found these interesting). Hyacinth let them admire her work, watching their reactions with a smug satisfaction.

"Oh look, there's the blacksmith's!" Yunho pointed out, slapping Jongho's shoulder almost frantically. The demigod stumbled, crying out in mock pain as the rest of ATEEZ watched with bemusement. Wooyoung took this chance to slap Jongho's shoulder several more times until he straightened, counting off on his fingers the amount of times he'd been hit. Wooyoung began to back away, whispering a mortified 'oh shit', before he took off without another word, and Jongho gave chase, fire in his eyes.

The rest of ATEEZ, Cin and Jo just sighed, and continued to walk on, waiting for when the demigod and the holin finally realised they had no idea where they were going, and returned.

A little while later, they stopped outside a pair of silver gates, surprisingly welcoming and warm despite their imposing height.

"So here's the new school," Hyacinth said, presenting the playground and school building beyond with a flourish. "Well, not new," she said. "It's still the same-old one you guys saw last time you were here. Just with the witch kids added. We've moved the sanctuary to the harbour – as evident," she said, gesturing to the air around them with an air of leisure. "After the fight, the government agreed to give us some territory. The only tactical advantage of the old sanctuary was that it was hidden, so we decided to move it to a more...advantageous location." Hyacinth smirked. "The government can't put their police force, or any soldiers in this place – or they'd quite unfortunately face our wrath," she chuckled, glancing at a nearby defence tower, "and any witches that live here are safe. For any that haven't been able to make their way here yet..." she grimaced, "not quite," she said, her confident air dissipating a little. ATEEZ nodded in grim understanding.

Just then, a bell rang from within the depths of the school building, and children began to flood out in a tide of screams, yells and screeches: the typical sounds one would hear in a horde of children. First came the littlest – scrawny, chubby-handed little toddlers – followed by the taller, bigger, yet still lanky and bony, eldest. There was a lot of roaring and shoving – particularly with the eldest sending the littlest toppling over like bowling pins – and the furious screeches of panicked teachers as they scolded the perpetrators and tried their hardest to stop the victims from bursting into a fit of endless tears.