Chapter Text
October 31st
Im Changkyun, small, black-haired, and seven years old, hops lightly upon the end of the hotel bed. Carefully, he crawls forward, across the comforter, to two bigger figures sleeping at the top.
“Mommy?”
Gently, he pushes on her arm, rocking her back and forth; yet, despite his best effort, she doesn’t budge. No, she only makes a low sound and buries herself deeper into her pillow, as if, suddenly, she’s uncomfortable. “Mommy...I can’t sleep,” Changkyun whispers, and shakes her again. Still, there's no response.
“Papa, can I stay in bed with you guys?” The child turns to the other side and does the same to his father, but puts more into it this time. Much to his dismay, once again it does no good. His dad only gives a groan and tugs at the blanket in his sleep, attempting to cover up the goosebumps prickling at his skin. “Wake up!” Changkyun sighs, louder, and once more tries his hardest to shake his parent’s shoulder--
Only to suddenly find himself toppling forward, right over his father’s sleeping body and the edge of the bed. He barely even has time and thought to cry out before landing with a whuf on the floor. For a moment, he lies there, eyes wide, breath heavy. Though he feels fine and is pretty sure that nothing is broken, tears threaten to flow down his cheeks. Biting his lips to hold them back, he gets up again, dusting himself off, and takes a glance back towards where his parents are sleeping. Well, no matter that they won’t wake up. Neither would mind if they found him cuddled up to them in the morning. He's their oldest, and only, son and they dote on him anyways. First, though, Changkyun decides that he wants something for the fresh, bleeding scrape on his hand. He remembers that his mom keeps some band-aids in her purse, so he tiptoes his way over to the bathroom and grabs one from where the bag is sitting on the white linoleum counter.
It’s after he’s placed the little brown patch best he can and turns around to go back to his parents’ bed that he first notices the strange hole in the wall.
It’s partially hidden behind the cheap pressboard T.V stand, so anyone else might have simply dismissed it as something the hotel staff had tried and failed to cover up. However, Changkyun finds that, somehow, mysteriously, he's unable to resist looking at it again. At first, he chalks it up to not having seen it before now but slowly comes to realize that there are several things off. For one, there’s a breeze emanating from it, which wouldn’t be particularly strange in itself, except that there's also the faint sound of an owl hooting. Second, light paints the floor around the opening in moonlit hue.
Last, but not least, however, the boy is drawn to it. Perhaps it’s curiosity, childishness, or even ignorance, but he wants to know why and how such a strange thing could exist when there should only be wires, drywall, dust, bugs--or another room. Changkyun pushes aside the television and peers through the hole. He isn't quite sure what to expect, but in a moment awe and disbelief replaces every other feeling overwhelming him.
Before his eyes is a forest. The breeze rustles through the leaves, and various shades of gray, green, brown, and orange speckle the ground. Changkyun cannot believe his eyes. There are no forests close to here, or even near the city where he lives. Sure, they drove through some just the other day, on the way to visit his grandparents, but he’d only barely been paying attention. Thus, he surmises that this must be a dream, though he feels very awake, and it’s all so real.
Changkyun hesitates for a moment, and then pushes himself forward, squeezing through the hole. While he’s here, he might as well as explore, right? True, he’s a slight bit scared and nervous, but there’s also something oddly familiar and inviting about the landscape in front of him. For some reason, he knows that there is something more to this place than endless, massive trees as far as the eye can see, and wants to know more about this mysterious, wondrous place above all else.
Soon, his knees hit the soft ground, and getting back to his feet, he takes a better glance around. Over to his right lurks a shadowed, impenetrable stand of trees; to his left, much the same. However, directly in front of him is a path, beckoning him to follow its winding way. He does, taking his first uncertain steps into the unknown. For a while, the only sound are the ambient rustles and trills of nature, with the exception of the chitter of a nighttime bird or hooting of an owl every once in a while. However, Changkyun can't shake the strange feeling that he’s being watched. It's like a pair of eyes is boring into his back, but every time he turns around, there is no one there. This makes him more uncomfortable and shifty than he already feels, but still, he presses on.
Just as he’s almost out of sight of the hole that leads back to the hotel, loud howling breaks the quiet. It seems to come from all directions, and Changkyun's blood runs cold as ice in his veins. All of a sudden, he's having second thoughts about being here. Wrapping his arms around himself, he whirls to make his way back to safety--and finds that his way is blocked by a large, sepia-furred wolf. It has its gleaming fangs bared, hackles raised, and a deep growl rumbles in its throat. Crying out in terror, Changkyun scrambles backward, but the wolf is fast, and almost instantly on top of him. Though he struggles against its weight, it pins him to the ground with its sharp claws. Squeezing his eyes shut and turning his head to the side, the boy prays that this dream will not end in death.
However, when he feels a touch, it's not accompanied by pain, nor sharp teeth. Only, the gentle brush of a strange, soft surface. Cautiously, Changkyun takes a peek and realizes that the wolf is sniffing him, blowing back the hair from his forehead and poking at his cheek and neck. It almost seems curious and inquisitive. Despite the terror that consumed him only minutes ago, Changkyun can't help but chuckle. “So you're not gonna hurt me after all,” he says to no one in particular, and strangely, the wolf seems to understand, shaking its head slightly before slowly backing off of the boy.
Changkyun takes that moment to climb to his feet. When he glances back up, his canine assailant hasn’t disappeared, like he’d expected it to, but remains, tail lazily waving back and forth, looking at him with glowing eyes. By pure instinct, Changkyun blurts out a curt, “What?”. The wolf only blinks slowly in reply before turning toward where the forest path begins again. Then it glances back once more, almost as if to say, come on, let's go.
Together, they keep on through the wood. Changkyun is still sure they're being watched; it never really went away, just ebbed momentarily, while he was distracted by what might have been a fatal scenario. He shrugs it off as being silly and unimportant, though, and sticks close to his new traveling buddy’s side.
It isn't long before the sky grows just a tiny bit lighter. A full moon floats overhead and the trees have vines on them. Their elegant tendrils climb up and around the trunks. Curious, Changkyun steps off the path for a moment to inspect one and discovers that tiny, star-shaped white flowers grow alongside the lush, green leaves. Taking a delicate petal between his thumb and forefinger, he rubs it gently and is surprised at how soft and velvety it feels.
Then, from behind him, the wolf yips. Changkyun turns around to the sight of a trail of petals that dance on the breeze. As he watches, they spiral around each other and form a shape--a very human shape. More join, getting thicker and thicker, until suddenly, the wind shifts direction and everything blows away, leaving a boy standing there. He looks to be a little older than Changkyun, eleven or twelve perhaps, with black hair, cute ears that stick out a little, and a droopy, spade-shaped nose. A crown made from the vine flowers encircles his head, and his only clothing is a white cloth, draped over him. His skin is slightly green. Warm, dark brown eyes scan Changkyun curiously. Disbelieving and speechless, the latter steps closer to get a better look. Several long seconds pass before the flower boy smiles, a bright, white, toothy grin. “Hi! Haven’t seen you here before. I’m Hoseok.” He has a slight lisp, and it’s cute. The wolf bounds up beside the flower boy, tail lashing as wildly as always. Hoseok glances down, and his smile grows at the sight of the canine. He reaches down to run a hand through its long fur. “Oh, hello to you too, Hyunwoo.”
It takes a moment for the human to reply, but eventually, he can’t help it, faced with such a charming smile. “H--hi. I’m Changkyun.” Briefly, he hesitates, before questions are spilling out of his mouth again. “I’m sorry if I sound rude, but where am I? Where did you come from…? What are you?”
“Well uh…” Hoseok’s eyes grow a little wider. “You're in the Land of Shadows.”
"Land of Shadows? Where's that?”
“You know, I...really don't know the answer to that.” Turning slightly pink, Hoseok reaches down to pet Hyunwoo more. The wolf makes a deep sound in his throat and arches his back into the touch. “However, I do know that some of us got here much like you...arriving from a different realm.”
Oh. This is turning out to be a quite strange, but interesting dream, Changkyun thinks. He's too overwhelmed to ask anything else or attempt to answer, so he gives a curt nod.
“As for your other questions...I've always lived here.” That adorable smile slides back onto Hoseok's face. Changkyun can’t help but grin, too. “And I’m a Bryony fairy! Someday, I’ll be the guardian of this forest.” When he reaches out, palm up, a vine shoot appears between his fingers and blooms with little white flowers. Changkyun reaches out to touch it, and the comfort he feels radiating from the boy and the soft petals sets him at ease.
When he glances up once more at Hoseok, the fairy is looking right back at him thoughtfully. The lines between his eyebrows and slight pout reveal his internal debate. Changkyun blinks, waiting, and finally, the older boy speaks. “Let's go see Minhyuk. Maybe he knows something about how you got here.”
“Minhyuk?” Falling in stride with the wolf and fairy as they turn to continue down the path, Changkyun can't help but ask questions. He still feels like he knows little to nothing about his peculiar dream, but he wants to uncover the secrets of this Land of Shadows.
Hoseok beams and nods, but keeps his gaze fixed ahead, only flickering every once in a while to the trees. “Minhyuk came here a couple years ago, so that makes him our newest resident. He might be the darkest of us all but trust me, he's the most lovable.” As he goes on, the environment around them changes once again. Now there are no more vines, and all color seems to have disappeared. A moderate cover of fog has settled over everything, as well. Three colorful beings walking between great, gray trunks appear like shocks of color and light, beacons among the bleak, endless rows of foliage. “Once you get past his appearance, it's easy to like him.”
“Huh? Once I get past his appe--”
Like had been the case with the wolves’ baying, suddenly, out of nowhere, a sound makes itself known in Changkyun's ear. This time, it's hoofbeats. His gaze shoots forward again, and instantly, he recoils. Coming out of the mist directly in front of them is a magnificent stallion, so black that it must be made of night itself. Its eyes burn like there is a fire raging within, and the human cannot gaze into them for too long. His sight next falls on the saddle covering the horse's back, which of course leads to the rider. He has a child's body, is dressed in dark robes, and--much to Changkyun’s horror--is also headless. Well, wait--that isn't completely true. Actually, he does have one. It's just in the completely wrong place: under his arm. Screeching in terror, Changkyun backtracks as fast as he can to hide behind Hoseok. “Wh--what is that!?”
In response, the fairy just chuckles and pats him on the head. “Told ya you'd have to get used to it at first.”
As it approaches, the rider notices them. His eyes almost instantly light up and he approaches faster, a grin growing on his face. “Oh! Hoseokkie!”
Changkyun gives a huge, full-bodied shiver. So, the monster can speak, too? That's like something out of any human’s worst nightmares. He tries to find comfort in Hoseok's expression, but he wears a gigantic smile now, too, and it doesn't help in the least. “Minhyuk-ah!”
From Hoseok and Changkyun's side, the wolf gives a sad little half howl. Everyone's gaze shifts. The smile falls a little from the headless horseman's face, and becomes tinged with a hint of apology. “Hello to you too, Hyunwoo. I'm sorry, I didn't see you at first." Then, finally, comes the dreaded moment. Though he can't seem to look at anything but the ground, Changkyun can feel Minhyuk's eyes on him. “and who is this?”
“Come on, it's okay.” Hoseok pushes Changkyun back in front of him, smiling reassuringly all the while.
Though the fear is already starting to fade, the human's voice is still weak and shaking. He bows hesitantly toward Minhyuk. “I...I, uh, I'm… Changkyun. We were hoping you could tell me how I got here. I came from Earth? I was in a room with my parents, and I crawled through a hole and ended up in this forest.”
“Nice to meet you, Changkyun.” Biting his lip, Minhyuk hums in thought. “Oh, so you're a human! Well, thank you for thinking of me, but I don't really know either. I wish I did, though, maybe I'd be able to go home.”
“It’s okay. And yes, I'm a human. I'm sorry you can't get back,” Changkyun replies sincerely, finally brave enough to look into that handsome, but also creepy and disembodied face. He finds there's a small, fond smile waiting for him on it.
“It's okay. I'm happy here, so it isn't all bad.” Minhyuk's gaze returns to his friends. “How about we go back to my place and talk more over some tea?”
Changkyun nods eagerly, and it doesn’t occur to him until right afterward that this could be dangerous. He just prays that by home, Minhyuk meant something that resembles a house, and by tea, he meant Earl Grey or Raspberry Gardens, and not something like Essence of Maggot or Corpse Flesh Brew.
They set off together once more, down the forest path. What would otherwise be silence is filled with Minhyuk's constant babble about how he, too, was once a human, until he was gruesomely beheaded in battle and somehow reborn as a headless rider boy. Fate, or some other similar, cruel force, dropped him off in this place, far away from his still-living, beloved parents, siblings, and relatives.
In the midst of all this, Changkyun's old feeling of being watched returns in full force. Well, actually, doubled. For some reason, he knows he and his three new friends aren't alone. This time, when he tunes Minhyuk out for a moment and glances around, he does spot something--two glowing, red eyes up in the darkness of the forest canopy, so obvious against the gray background. They don’t blink at all, and the form that they belong to is hidden in the shadows, blending in perfectly with the exception of the crimson pupils. Once more, Changkyun gives an alarmed squeak and hides behind Hoseok. Minhyuk stops his chatter, and they all glance over at him. "Well, aren't you jumpy. What is it this time?" The flower fairy asks, curious dark gaze trained on the cowering human.
In response, Changkyun only peeks out and points at the mysterious eyes. He really, really, hopes that Minhyuk can chase whatever it is off, make it get far, far away from here…
However, quite unexpectedly, the headless horseman breaks into a grin and chuckles, calling out, “Ah! Hyungwonnie! Come down and join us. We can see you, ya know."
There is a barely audible sound from the dark canopy, a sigh perhaps, and the eyes blink slowly. Then the shadows move, and a figure emerges from the trees--a boy almost as colorless as the forest, with ash gray skin and features and a pair of large, plain moth's wings on his back. Despite his youth and dreary hue, it's almost immediately obvious to Changkyun that he is exceptionally beautiful. The moment he steps out in the moonlight, his eyelids droop sleepily, half veiling his red iris, and his gaze shifts around the small group of woodland creatures, lingering especially on the lone human. “But it's fun,” he says at long last.
“How long have you been watching us for, anyway?” Hoseok, standing firmly in front of Changkyun with his arms crossed, glares at the newcomer, trying to act big and tough though he’s shorter.
“Oh, lay off, Hoseok. Not very long. Maybe ten minutes?” The gray boy glances down as there’s a low sound at his side, and he smiles and reaches down to brush the furry creature rubbing against his leg. “Hello, Hyunwoo.” Then he turns to Changkyun, taking a cautious step closer. “Hi...um, I just wanted to say sorry about scaring you. I’m Hyungwon.”
Though at first, he recoils, the human quickly rebukes himself. Hyungwon seems to be a friendly monster too, and if the others haven’t driven him off yet, he must be a friend. “Nice to meet you,” he says, shy, and bows slightly. “If it’s okay...can I ask what you are?”
“Oh...you’ve never met a mothman before?”
When Changkyun just shakes his head and shrugs, Hoseok helpfully supplies, “He’s a human, and just got here. So of course he hasn’t.”
“Well, then yeah, I have moth's wings, can blend into the shadows, and my red eyes help me see in the dark...you know, a man who’s a moth. A mothman.”
So many more questions are swimming in Changkyun’s head, but just as he’s about to open his mouth to ask, Minhyuk breaks in, “Wonnie, we’re going to my house, and I’m gonna make some tea. Wanna come?”
Hyungwon glances up and bites his lip before nodding quickly. “Sure. I don’t have to be home for a while so I should be okay.” At this, a wide, white grin grows on the headless horseman’s face.
“Can we go get Jooheonie, then?” Once more, Hoseok pipes up from next to them, voice slightly whiny. His lip is sticking out in a cute pout, and his arms are crossed. “You have Hyungwon now, it’s only fair that we go get my best friend, so I’m not totally alone.”
The smile quickly drops from Minhyuk’s face at that, and he rolls his eyes but relents. “Alright, alright. It’s not too far of a detour I guess.”
“But then we’ll have to put up with--” Hyungwon begins, but Minhyuk stops him with a wave of his hand.
“Lead the way, Hoseok.”
It would probably be a strange sight to anyone who would come across it, Changkyun thinks--that is, the eclectic group of creatures making their way deeper into the gray forest. There’s Hoseok, a flower spirit, up front, practically skipping and with a gigantic, white smile on his face; behind him is the headless horseman, Minhyuk, and mothman Hyungwon; then finally in the back, the tawny wolf (Hyunwoo, apparently), and one lone human. No matter how hard he tries, though, Changkyun can’t shake the feeling that there’s another presence with them. The hairs on the back of his neck prickle from the phantom gaze. So he has his hand in the fur of the beast at his side. The soft strands between his fingers gives him comfort, as well as its relaxed nature.
The little group approaches a crossroads. A wooden signpost placed between the two paths reads that ‘Ash Vale’ is where the left one leads to, and ‘Finfolk Dwelling (KEEP OUT!)’ is where the one on the right leads. Of course, Hoseok veers towards the latter, practically jogging and calling behind him for the others to keep up. This is met with soft grumbles from Minhyuk and Hyungwon, and they attempt to reassure their friend that they’re moving as fast as they can.
Among all the chaos, Changkyun glances back, over his shoulder, and catches sight of another figure not too far behind, peeking out at them from behind a tree. He only gets a brief glance at the newcomer, but it’s enough to realize that they seem more like himself than the monsters in his presence. Yes, it’s definitely a human, or something close--their skin is slightly pale, and they're slightly transparent, but that might just be a trick of the moonlight. They also have floppy brown hair, and their dark brown eyes are peering at the little group. The moment the person realizes they’ve been spotted, their eyes widen, and the next time Changkyun blinks, they’re gone.
Feeling a little scared and startled himself, the human’s grip tightens. He brings his gaze back to the path in front of him, tries to calm his racing mind. However, something gets off in the rhythm of his steps, and his feet get tangled together. Thus he ends up tripping over nothing. A short cry tumbles from his lips as he falls forward.
A soft but firm body catches him before he can hit the hard ground, however. His hands scrabble for a hold and once again, he’s gripping onto palmfuls of fur. The wolf had sensed what was about to happen it seems, and just stepped forward a little bit to let Changkyun latch onto him.
“Are you alright?” The question just registers on the edge of his mind as he catches his breath and calms his swirling thoughts. In a few moments, he manages to swallow it down and nod, and in the next, finds stability on his own two feet again. When he glances up, the others are watching with concerned looks on their faces. Hyunwoo’s nose bumps his shoulder comfortingly.
“You sure?” It’s Minhyuk asking; that fact finally gets through Changkyun’s head. "You look pale. Like you saw a ghost or something."
“Yeah...I’m fine.”
“Okay. Just tell us if you need to stop and rest, ok?” After that, Hoseok doesn’t walk so fast, and Hyunwoo takes glances toward the human more often.
Even though Changkyun risks occasional peeks backward, himself, he never again catches sight of the figure behind the tree. He still feels like he’s being watched, though, so he knows whoever it was didn’t go away. If he isn’t imagining things again, he thinks it was another boy about his age, a very cute one at that.
Soon, the forest is changing once more. Color returns to the landscape, the trees become slowly more earthy, and the leaves are green again. The air is heavy and saturated with water like a warm summer rain is moments away from falling, and dew is dripping from everywhere--the foliage, the bark on the trees, and even the path itself. Grooves in the dirt falling off the edge reveal where water has collected and run down to the forest floor below. Somehow, though, the humidity doesn’t make Changkyun uncomfortable; he stays cool and dry. None of the others seem to have a problem with it, either, not even the wolf, with his fur coat.
Then, the five of them emerge on a clearing, and he can barely stifle a gasp. In the center, a large pond sparkles in the moonlight, with two streams babbling on either side, acting as an inlet and outlet. A quaint little cottage sits on one side, a light on in its front window. Changkyun expects to skirt the water’s edge and go knock on the front door, and turns his body that way, but unexpectedly, Hoseok runs up to the edge of the pond and kneels there, running a hand through the still water. “Where are you?”
For a moment, there is stillness. Then the surface of the water ripples, and from the center, a figure emerges, rising up out of the depths almost like a diver surfacing for air. Like all the other times before, it’s a boy about Changkyun’s age. This one is dripping with water, orange hair plastered to his forehead and neck. A black, wetsuit-like garment hugs his young body closely. With a start, Changkyun realizes that there are sections cut out of the sides, exposing flexing gills. More line his neck, and his chest is strangely still. When the boy sees Hoseok there at the edge of the pond, a large grin grows across his face, revealing two deep, deep dimples hiding in his chubby cheeks. “Hoseokkie!” Light as a feather, he steps across the surface of the pond, rapidly faster until he’s running straight into the flower fairy’s open arms.
Both Hoseok and the water dweller are grinning and giggly as they embrace. The former is knocked back a little by the force of another body crashing into his own. However, he manages to stay upright, and curls his arms around the newcomer’s waist, as legs wrap around his own. “Hello, Jooheonie.” Hoseok presses a gentle kiss to his temple. “How is my beautiful boy on this fine evening?”
(Minhyuk and Hyungwon are fake gagging in the background.)
“Better now that you’re here,” Jooheon sighs and buries his face in the crook of Hoseok’s neck.
“Mm, mine too.” Changkyun can’t see the flower fairy’s face from where he is--neither he nor any of the others followed Hoseok to the water’s edge--but he’s sure that there’s a bright, soft smile on it, and he plants another tiny peck on Jooheon's cheek.
“Why’re you here so early? You almost never break our routine.” The water dweller’s tone changes, and he opens his eyes slowly. That’s the first time he spots that he and Hoseok aren’t alone. “Minhyuk! Hyungwon! Hyunwoo! Hello!” Then his gaze comes to rest on Changkyun. “Oh! And you must be new.”
“Yeah, that’s Changkyun. He’s a human. We’re trying to get him home.” Hoseok loosens his grip and lets the boy in his arms down. Excited, he hops back to his other friends, the water dweller in close tow. “Changkyun, this is Jooheon, my best friend forever. We’re gonna get married someday.”
Not for the first time that evening, a surprised oh flashes through Changkyun’s head. Perhaps boys so young shouldn’t be making such promises, but he doesn’t voice the thought because he can tell that these two care greatly for one another. “Nice to meet you.” Changkyun bows and glances up, focusing on the water dweller’s face. He can’t get over how deep those dimples are. Also, he notices that Jooheon is breathing now, as someone with lungs would. “Are you finfolk?"
“Yep,” Jooheon replies brightly. “Just like my mom and dad. I can control water.” He waves his hand, and the water in the air around them collects and forms into a fish shape in his palm. “I've never heard of a human before. What can you do?”
The human’s eyes widen at the question, and he stutters, “W--well, nothing special like that. My kind is boring I guess.”
Suddenly, Minhyuk’s voice breaks back in, saving Changkyun from any further questions. “We’re going to my house for some tea. You’re invited if you want to come, Jooheon.”
“Ooh, that does sound good.”
“He better be invited.” Hoseok comes up to Jooheon from behind, wrapping an arm around his waist again. The fond, bright smile returns to his face too. “I would have brought him along anyway.”
The headless horseman rolls his eyes. “Maybe I’ll just uninvite the both of you.”
A familiar soft, textured surface nudges Changkyun’s palm then, and he glances down to see the wolf turned back toward the forest path, impatiently waiting for them.
“Hyunwoo’s right. Let’s just get going,” Hyungwon says. “You’ll survive, Minhyuk.”
The rest of the boys seem to agree, and everyone starts back down the way they came from. Once again, Changkyun and Hyunwoo are in the back. In the front, Minhyuk and Hoseok are bickering; Jooheon follows the latter closely. Hyungwon has decided to fly for a while and flutters at Minhyuk’s horse’s right flank. Despite the clear sides and rivalry, the sense of friendship between them is evident.
Changkyun feels his heart warm. If he ends up stuck here...it might not be too bad. He’d most definitely be able to get used to this.