haven - zb1

3

The weather was terrible for travelling. Dark clouds hurried across the grey sky, ominous and promising a wet, messy journey for any average being. Zhang Hao was the first to emerge from the warmth of their shelter, the impending storm doing nothing to dampen his excitement. He twisted back, catching Hanbin's attention and smiled, "Perfect weather for harnessing horses, hm?"

"The other houses will not appreciate this," Woohyun grumbled as he popped up from behind Hanbin, frowning at the sky. Dismissing his concern with a wave, Zhang Hao tilted his head up and his eyes closed shut as cold droplets pressed to his skin. Hanbin quickly joined his side and as the rain poured down, they began to move.

Swiftly unsheathing the sword strapped to his side, Zhang Hao scraped the moist ground lightly with his blade, and pearls of rain water rose. Moving in tandem with Hanbin, the two manipulated the water until finally, two vaguely horse-shaped figures of water were formed. The liquid beasts threw their heads, sprinkling water on the already drenched two.

Woohyun wordlessly dragged the two "horses" to a nearby carriage, before chasing Zhanghao and Hanbin in. "There's towels as usual, you packed everything, right?" Woohyun ducked around checking the trunks piled at the back of the carriage, with the fervour of a worried mother.

Zhang Hao croaked a weak laugh, "Yes, we have everything. Come on in, let's try and get moving before Hanbin's nose explodes."

-

The journey, as expected, was bumpy, but exhaustion had pulled the three out of their discomfort and worry. The three were groggily awakened as the carriage slowed down, noting that the rain had stopped and their scenery had changed. No longer were they surrounded by streams and the familiar blues of their House. Instead, they were before an old but majestic palace, the gates swinging open to welcome them.

"Good old Celestial Palace," Woohyun cheerfully remarked, though this was all their first time visiting. Their water horses dissolved into puddles after their trunks were removed and Zhang Hao gently ran a hand across their bodies.

Standing at the courtyard in snow white attire were two boys, still adolescents, eyes bright with anticipation. One gently fluttered an inky black fan below his chin, his expression mild but his gaze remained fixated on the newcomers. The other relaxed as he sat on a sturdy trunk, his fluffy dark hair windswept. He leapt up to greet them, all traces of boredom vanishing from his face.

As the three strolled forward, the taller of the duo snapped his black fan shut with a pleasant beam and a swift bow, "House of water, I presume?" His eyes darted knowingly to the sword scabbards hung at their waists.

Hanbin, ever the charismatic extrovert, struck up small talk at once, confirming that the duo were indeed the heirs of the House of air. The taller, older one with the black fan was Gyuvin, the other Yujin, as everyone was aware, the youngest of the nine heirs.

Though none of them knew for sure, Hanbin asked, "When will the other two Houses arrive?" Right on cue, the gates swung open again, a bizarre carriage bursting forth. Pulled by strange beasts of metal and mechanics, it was pretty easy to guess which House this carriage of blood red metal was from.

From the tall carriage, a young man dropped out, followed by another taller man that seemed like he folded himself to fit into the space. The House of fire showed up in style, and the first man quelled the uneasy metal creatures at the reins by extracting two glowing balls of fire from their mouths.

"Greetings," He said, still holding the fireballs, which caused the five others to stare, mesmerised and slightly terrified. "Ah, my apologies," as he extinguished the flames, his kind eyes curved into crescents, "I'm Jiwoong, that's Quanrui." The taller man only nodded, silent and cold-looking as he observed the small crowd.

To ease the awkwardness, Hanbin smiled brightly and remarked, "I see we're just expecting the House of earth now."

As if he didn't hear that statement, Jiwoong's eyes trained on Hanbin, before he said, "The House of water has all three of the highest rankers among us all, don't they?" Zhanghao flicked an eyebrow up while Gyuvin tensed slightly. Sensing the discomfort, Jiwoong only laughed lightly, "Ah, let's not be too tense. I just wanted to bring up that our Quanrui is ranked fourth among the houses."

In reply, Zhang Hao good-naturedly said, "Well, our House is not too concerned about our heirs' rankings, only that we all work to improve to reach our full potential."

"It seems the House of fire is very aware of our rankings," Woohyun piped up, his expression neutral but his tone ever so slightly cold. Quanrui spoke for the first time, "Well, our elders see importance in this knowledge."

Before any of them could respond, the gates flew open again. A final carriage rolled in, the only one that was drawn with real horses. "House of earth," Gyuvin breathed, and before the wheels of the carriage halted a figure gracefully sprung out, hair messy and eyes twinkling.

"Gunwook!" A voice from the carriage yelled out, a mixture of frustration and exasperation, before another figure followed from behind Gunwook. "Careful, watch your bow," The second man scolded, handing Gunwook a long, beautiful bow. Grabbing the extended bow with a quick thanks, Gunwook turned to grin at the others, "Are we the last? Wow, there's a lot of you!"

"Apologies, we didn't expect to be late," The final man hefted a second bow, before catching his breath to meet everyone's eyes, "I'm Taerae, of the House of earth."

"No worries," Jiwoong said, "Now that everyone's here, maybe we should settle down first before starting anything." With no one challenging the suggestion, everyone split to gather their things and move into the palace.