✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* Lightmaker • hyunchanlix *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* Ten - Strange Dreams *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Sometimes there were dreams. Dreams of faceless people. Faceless people begging him for help. They would scream at him and cry. He would always try to help them, but he could never move until the little girl appeared.

The little girl wasn't faceless like the other people, but she wouldn't or couldn't speak to him. All he could see was the overwhelming fear in her face as shadowed hands reached out towards her, wanting to drag her back into the shadows with them.

The sound of cackling laughter could be heard as the little girl sobbed, reaching her arms out for him. He raced forward, trying to catch her. He tried to save her, but he always missed her by barely an inch. His fingers brushed hers just as she was dragged back into the shadows screaming.

He woke up with a similar scream on his lips every time.

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Eventually they exited the forest into an open field of wildflowers. In the distance they could see the mountains looming over the landscape. They were shadowed by clouds from that far away, but anybody could tell how massive they were.

"Do we really have to climb that?" Felix asked as his horse sidled up next to Chan's. Chan nodded his head determinedly.

"If we want to get to Caelym, we have to. They completely surround the kingdom, so the only way through them is over them."

"The horses won't be able to climb, Chan." Hyunjin pointed out, startling Felix. He didn't think Hyunjin had been listening.

Chan sighed. "We'll have to climb without the horses. We can make a trip to a human village and get horses on the other side of the mountains."

Felix wanted to argue how dangerous it would be to go to a human village, but he knew it would be a necessary risk. The horses couldn't climb the mountains with them, and they wouldn't be able to go back for them. There were members of the crew who wouldn't be able to continue on after the mountains without horses. Those that couldn't fly or shift forms wouldn't be able to follow them.

That didn't mean he had to be happy about it. He knew firsthand what humans were like. They all knew, and Felix was sure that Chan knew most of all. But Chan was also smart enough to realize when it was necessary to take those risks. Felix trusted him and his judgment, but it was still terrifying. He didn't want to lose anyone else like they lost Salem to the humans. He couldn't handle it if it happened again.

Hyunjin, as if reading Felix's mind, asked, "Is that really a risk we can take? We already lost Salem to the humans, and we barely avoided getting caught when a human almost saw Saturday's scales the last time."

"Well," Chan replied, "You don't happen to know of a Magicfolk village anywhere, do you?"

Hyunjin hung his head. They all knew the answer to that. There were no Magicfolk towns left. They were all destroyed during the Great Purge. Any Magicfolk who survived left for Koreth. The Sun Searchers were the only ones left here that they knew of. Lark was the exception.

The humans had even driven Magicfolk out of the Nether, and humans couldn't even survive in the Nether.

Felix barely remembered the purge. He'd only been five years old when the humans massacred supernaturals and destroyed their homes, forcing them to flee. It was why their parents had fled, leaving them behind.

Felix wished he could resent his parents. He wished he could hate them for leaving him behind. But he knew better than anyone that they didn't have a choice. They were forced out of their home, forced to make a difficult decision. Most supernatural children didn't survive the purge, and even less would have survived the journey to Koreth.

"Hey, I thought we talked about this. Don't think about it, Lix," Hyunjin said, obviously noticing Felix's inner dilemma.

Felix sighed as loud as he could so that Hyunjin could feel the jumbled mess in his head.

Hyunjin smiled softly softly. "Just think about this. When we get to Koreth, none of that will matter anymore. We'll be with our parents."

Felix knew that even if they never found Koreth, he'd never be alone.

He'd always have his crew. His family.