#going to destress and try to get an hour of gaming in while momo is sleeping

[jincherie]

bumbleberry berceuse | un

➛ pairing: namjoon x reader ➛ genre: tengu au, forest/mountain deity au, fluff ➛ words: 11.6k+ ➛ rating: sfw ➛ warnings: injuries but otherwise nothing too alarming ➛ notes: a very very belated birthday fic for our beloved namjoon!! i can’t seem to stop myself from writing him as soft i--

Stumbling upon a winged man in the forest in dire need of help wasn’t exactly how you envisioned putting your freshly graduated veterinary skills to use, but the decision to help the handsome man was one you most certainly didn’t regret.

— posted; 30.09.2018 // masterlist | moodboard || un | deux

If someone had asked you a month ago, what would you be doing not even a week after your graduation, you probably would have told them you’d be lying in bed, sleeping off the stress that had accumulated in your body after your five long years of study.

As it happened, that wasn’t how things quite turned out at all.

Instead of snoozing away in the comfort of your large queen-sized bed, encompassed in your fluffy blanket and embraced by the abundance of pillows you’d gathered over the years, you were here— hiking through a forest in a place you’d never been to or even heard of before, with only your classmates for company. Well, those classmates were your friends, but right now you weren’t happy with them – going for a full day hike your first day in a new place wasn’t your idea of fun or destressing.

You didn’t really know the where you were very well—it was some remote island that one of your closer friends in the group, Yeri, had been raving about wanting to visit for months. You and a small handful of others had graduated in the same cohort for your degree and agreed that you should celebrate after your years of hard work finally came to an end. You’d thought they’d meant getting blackout drunk and gorging yourselves on sweet pastries and treats; apparently, they meant a three-week holiday to some island in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere. You knew something was up when they’d come to pick you up and not one of them had a bag full of alcohol—you should have trusted your instincts and shut the door on their face.

You sighed. Ah, if only you had. Perhaps then you wouldn’t be three more smacks to the face from wayward branches away from unleashing all the complaints that had built up within you throughout the day.

You longed for the comfort of your bed, but since that wasn’t very plausible right now, you settled for the one you’d claimed in the hotel room. Even then, it wasn’t that appealing—you’d hardly even had time to settle in or open your suitcase before Yeri and the others were dragging you out for a full day hike. You weren’t one to mind exercise, but you only liked doing it on your terms—something this activity decidedly was not.

“Oh, don’t look so miserable, y/n!” a cheerful voice sounded to your right and you directed a displeased look in that direction. Yeri had the decency to look at least a little sheepish. “Look, isn’t it beautiful? This island is renowned for its untouched, natural beauty! It’s like it has hardly been touched by civilisation at all. Isn’t it refreshing?”

“I could have just as easily seen it from the hotel room window,” you said, not bothering to attempt and deny her words since the locale was very beautiful. The only thing stopping you from enjoying it was a tricky combination of your stubbornness and pride.

Yeri rolled her eyes, and there was a snort from behind you— if you hadn’t already passed the waterfall on the way back down you might have been inclined to push the person it had come from off the edge.

“Where’s your passion for the outdoors, y/n?” Minhyuk came up beside you, slinging an arm over your shoulder; you cringed at the feeling of extra heat and the way your skin stuck together where it met his from sweat. “Your zest for life? We just graduated! And now you’re spending time on an isolated island with your favourite people in the world!”

“Bold of you to assume that’s you,” you retorted, unable to stop the grin that came at his loud, affronted gasp, hand reaching to peel his arm off you.

“Oh, you wound me,” the male nearly tripped on a log in his dramatics, and you watched a bead of sweat roll from his temple, narrowly missing his crimson hairline. “Lucky for you, I like that kind of thing.”

You made a face and he cackled, Yeri reaching to smack his arm from your other side. Desperately, you wished there was a way for you to escape this island— you just wanted sleep, damn it. You’d let them bring you along on this sudden trip, but hiking? And expecting you to be a happy participant? On your first day of holidays? They were on thin fucking ice.

“Minhyuk, she’s going to push you off the next cliff she sees if you don’t stop it,” Irene warned as she climbed past the three of you— you might have been going back down the mountain, but it wasn’t exactly a linear journey. You made a noise of agreement but the male in question merely laughed. The trail you were currently on was fairly worn, but wasn’t the most used— not everyone wanted to climb to the highest possible peak on this mountain.

Which, strangely enough, wasn’t the very top. You’d been confused about it at first, but no one that you’d asked had an answer as to why the very top wasn’t accessible. Apparently it wasn’t just this mountain, but the other six across the island as well. No matter what routes had been attempted in the past, no one had ever been able to reach the top. The best you’d gotten in regards to an explanation came in the form of folklore from the locals of the small town-slash-village that sat at the entrance to a valley between two of the mountains, where you were currently staying. The lady with a kind, weathered face that sold hand-made necklaces of colourful shells and glazed sea glass besides the cafe had told you that for as long as the village had been there, no one had ever seen the tops of those mountains; it was legend among the locals that the seven deities that protected the island resided upon the very tops of the mountains. You, a sceptic at heart, had smiled and nodded in slight wonderment because even if you didn’t believe it yourself it was interesting to know what the people here believed.

Perhaps unfortunately, the six friends you’d come to this island with didn’t seem to share that scepticism. They wanted to try it for themselves, as you’d found when you’d embarked on this hike in the morning. They wanted to try and reach the top, to see if the legends were true, and of course they intended to take you along with them. Of those six friends, you’d been stuck with three— the others, Kihyun, Momo and Jinyoung, had taken a different path. They figured that splitting up and exploring more paths gave them a better chance of reaching it; you would argue that it just gave a better chance of getting lost. It was getting into late afternoon and while there might have been a few more hours of daylight left, there was barely any of it that reached the side of the mountain you were currently trekking back down. It made you conscious enough of your own steps that you watched where you placed your feet like a hawk.

Your limbs ached, the sort of ache that told you tomorrow morning was going to bring some very acute pain, and you decided you were torn between longing for your bed and longing for a hot bath to soak your muscles in. Getting clean would be a definite plus, too, since you'd amassed a generous amount of sweat and dirt over the day and you felt the grimiest you ever remembered feeling in your entire life. You lifted a hand to wipe your brow, thankful you hadn't gone the whole nine miles with your makeup today. God, that would be unfortunate— you'd end up reaching the bottom of the mountain and scaring the locals. You could only imagine the reactions you'd get if you wobbled down there on tired, unsteady legs, mascara smeared and looking like you'd pulled yourself straight out of a horror movie.

Yeri was chattering away happily beside you, but you couldn't focus on what she was saying very well. In all honesty, you just wanted to know when the hike would be done and you'd finally get off this stupid mountain. Your innate love of the outdoors had been squashed by the pain in your thighs and calves from almost six hours of climbing. This hike had really turned you into another person.

"Look!" it was Minhyuk's voice that interrupted your thoughts again, and you turned to follow the direction his finger was pointing in. To the left of your little group there was a light path that branched off this one, nowhere near as well-worn or wide but still there nonetheless. "I don't remember that from when we came up! Maybe it's a shortcut?"

He gasped before anyone could respond. "Oh, what if it's a secret path that will lead us to the top! I remember something like that being in one of the games I played the other month—"

Irene looked somewhat unimpressed at the way he was still so energised and eager to follow a wayward path on a whim and the off chance it would lead to the top of the mountain. "We just barely have gotten halfway down, and you want to go back up to the top?"

Minhyuk seemed like he was barely listening, already making his way over the area where the trail branched and peering down amongst the foliage. He whistled, seemingly impressed. "God, look! It goes really deep in the forest! The trees are so much thicker down there!"

Yeri snorted, and while you were all used to his antics, after a long day such as this one there wasn't much patience left to spare. Irene huffed, grasping Yeri's arm and tugging her back down the path you were already on. Your eyes watched them before your feet could think to follow, body extra heavy now that you'd paused your movement. It was gonna take a lot to get started again, you could feel it.

"Well, you can follow it if you want, but Yeri and I are going to keep on this trail," Irene said, turning and resuming her trek with the younger girl in tow. "I'd like to actually get back before it gets dark."

"Okay, you guys have fun!" Minhyuk called, waving his hand dismissively before it shot out to grasp your forearm and halt you in your attempt to follow them. "Thanks for coming with me, y/n!"

You sputtered, eyes wide. "What? No, I want to go back to the hotel!"

Minhyuk rolled his eyes, already tugging you towards the smaller trail he'd spotted; Yeri and Irene disappeared around a rocky corner, leaving you at his mercy. Traitors.

"That's the eventual destination, babe!" Minhyuk burst dramatically as he led you. "Nothing wrong with a little detour that may or may not lead us to be the first people in history to see the top of the mountain!"

"But I don't wanna go up again," you whined, not even bothering to try pulling back against his hold since your muscles were currently in a worse state than his, if the energy he still had in his bouncing gait was anything to go by. "I physically can't handle it— do you want me to die? Because that's how this is going to end if you try making me go up this damn mountain again."

"You're so dramatic," Minhyuk waved his hand once more, dodging a low branch with ease and just barely indicating in time for you to do the same; it was really starting to get quite dark, your eyes were straining a bit to see. "Even if it doesn't take us to the top of the mountain, it's probably a shortcut!"

That was leaving an awful amount up to chance. You didn't like it one bit.

However, you'd rather go down this path with Minhyuk than leave him alone to his own devices. He was usually the one terrorising the group, but you knew he was just as much of a scaredy cat deep down as the rest of you. He might start crying if he got lost in here at night and as much as you were currently annoyed at him he was still your friend and you absolutely did not want that. Plus, if you parted from him now you would probably get lost yourself trying to find Irene and Yeri. There wasn't much winning in this situation, it seemed.

The two of you walked along the trail for a while, and you did notice that the foliage around here was thicker as he'd said, denser than that you'd been walking through before. It was interesting, but also meant that it got darker much quicker. You'd all brought along things like torches, matches, etcetera, in case you needed them, and it looked like you would be very soon. You didn't fancy tripping on a log or stone and tumbling the rest of the way down the mountain.

"Do you think we'll make the news?" the male asked, turning to you with wide, hopeful eyes. "Dude, we'd be famous. That would be so cool."

"First of all, I don't think there's any way we're going to reach the top of the mountain, especially when we're going downhill," you said, stepping carefully over a large, somewhat unstable-looking rock and using his shoulder as support. He let out a sharp noise of protest at being used. "Second of all, this island is so tiny that I hadn't even heard of it before we came here! I don't think we would be on any news."

Minhyuk let out a disappointed sigh, peering off into the distance through the trees; you could both see the light from the sunset bleeding away into shadow on the opposite mountain. It made an odd feeling settle in your stomach, something akin to urgency thrumming just beneath your skin. You really didn't fancy the idea of being caught on this mountain, on some dodgy trail, come nightfall.

"At least we'd be famous among the locals," the crimson-haired male mused, hopping over a wayward stick with a triumphant noise. "Legends! The unlikely duo that managed to make it to the top of the mountain!"

You rolled your eyes as he continued to prattle on, admittedly a little amused by his antics. You were tired and absolutely ready for a bath and bed, but you were still having a little fun. At some point you deemed it necessary to pull out your torch— probably somewhere along the line after your third and Minhyuk's second trip over seemingly nothing— and now you had at least a little bit more light to guide you. It didn't seem like a shortcut, but you could tell the path was taking you somewhere at least; you just hoped it was in the general direction that you needed.

However, as it grew darker and you walked further along the trail, Minhyuk began to get jumpier. You knew he didn't want to admit he was scared, probably couldn't handle a blow to the pride like that, but you'd known him long enough to be able to tell he was a bit unsettled. You wished you'd stayed on the main path, but didn't bother complaining since he seemed to be suffering enough for his decision to make up for it.

"Gah!" it wasn't much longer before Minhyuk screamed, something having sounded in the distance. It seemed like the crack of a twig, and honestly you hadn't even spared it so much as a second thought, but it seemed to have gotten to the male beside you. His hand gripped your forearm, seeking comfort. "The fuck was that?!"

"Your karma," you snorted, beginning to walk once more. Minhyuk whined, trailing reluctantly after you; you weren't one to scare easily, and knew realistically there wasn't that much to worry about. For Minhyuk though, who probably believed the tales he'd been told about deities living on the very peaks of these mountains, there was probably a lot of irrational things he was scared of in this forest.

"Shut up, y/n, this place is spooky," he said defensively, sniffing when you turned to torch to him and flashed a deadpan look.

"We probably could have been home by now if you hadn't decided you wanted to follow this dumb path," you said, ignoring the way your leg wobbled slightly on your next step from overuse. When you got back to the hotel, you were going to knock out the second your head hit the pillow and sleep like the dead. You didn't think anything would even be able to wake you until your body was ready for it.

"This is probably a shortcut!" he didn't even sound like he believed it himself, wide-eyed as his gaze flitted around your surroundings. "We're probably really close to the bottom!"

You raised your brow at him; he said that, but you'd noticed that the ground you'd been walking on the past few minutes was actually somewhat level, despite the fact that it was too soon for you to have reached the bottom already.

"Whatever you say, Minnie," you said, pushing on with him lagging a few seconds behind you.

Despite the words he'd no doubt spoken to comfort himself as much as you, not that you needed it, the tall male only managed to get jumpier as you went. To be fair, there were more sounds beginning to filter into the air around you as the creatures of the day retired and the creatures who made their home in the night began to wake. So it wasn't like he was jumping at nothing, although you were getting a bit worried as to exactly how scared he was growing. Was he going to be okay? You weren't getting scared yourself but the extent to which he was reacting to the environment did make you somewhat unsettled, more so than you usually would.

After the male screamed again, for what had to be the fifth time, you finally burst, "Will you stop that! There's nothing there dude, you're just freaking us both out."

Minhyuk stomped his foot, shining his torch in the trees where the sound had come from. "I heard something! It was different this time, I swear. It sounded like something really big stepping on a twig or something."

You squinted at him, keeping your torch pointed at the ground. "How have you survived this long with an overactive imagination like that?"

He ignored you, still staring into the trees with furrowed brows, and you let out a sigh.

"It's probably just those other rich tourists that arrived on the ferry with us," you said, grasping his arm in what you aimed to be a comforting manner. "They're probably on their way back down too; I saw them leaving for the trail this morning."

Your words seemed to soothe your companion somewhat, and he turned back to you with a small smile. "The ones with the loafers?"

You snorted, beginning to walk again. "Yeah, and the 'had to do it to em' outfits."

Minhyuk cackled, and you were glad you'd managed to take his mind off his needless worries. Your victory was short-lived, however, as there was another loud noise sounding not far from your whereabouts that had even you pausing. Minhyuk yelped, and you barely had time to turn let alone console him before the noise returned, louder now, and seemed like it was growing closer.

This, in combination with the branch you'd just passed hitting against Minhyuk's back, was enough to make him snap and finally activate his fight or flight response. He let out a sharp noise that reeked of fear and alarm and darted off, body contorting away from whatever had touched it.

"GAH, FUCK WHAT THE FUCK! y/n RUN!"

"Minhyuk, wait!" you called with wide eyes, going to follow after him but tripping on the rock laid conveniently at your feet. The fall wasn't far but your knees still stung as they hit the ground, dirt and rocks digging into your sore skin. Your mind whirled, attempting to catch up to whatever had just transpired, and you listened as that same noise sounded even closer now— you recognised belatedly that it was the sound of something thudding against the earth. You rose to your feet, Minhyuk now long gone, not even the light of his torch visible through the darkness and dense forestry, and scrambled mentally for what to do. You wondered what the hell kept falling so loudly in the first place to make Minhyuk leg it so quickly like a spooked animal, and you wondered how you were going to find him— you hoped he'd stayed on the path.

As your mind began to kick in, you realised that whatever fell must have been a decent size if it was making such a racket— and you quickly came to the conclusion that it could be a wounded animal, or even another hiker. As a recently graduated veterinary student, and a compassionate human being at heart, you decided to check out whatever had been making the noise before you went further down the path in search of Minhyuk. You knew it would bother you more than you could handle if you didn't, and so you waited for the sound to come again before brushing your knees and heading in that direction.

Thankfully, wherever it came from wasn't a place with foliage as thick as the other side of the path. You used your torch to watch where you were stepping, illuminating the path for a few feet ahead of you. Where you were walking seemed like a rough game trail rather than the hiking path you'd been on before with Minhyuk, which was fortunate since you didn't fancy the idea of weaving through tree trunks and around spiky shrubbery with nothing to guide you.

The further you went, the more your straining ears picked up— heavy breaths, pained noises, the shuffling of limbs against the earth. You grew a bit worried, not for yourself, but for whatever was making those noises. You didn't have the proper tools to treat an animal that was hurt as badly as this one sounded, although there wasn't any wailing so you counted that as a good sign. Maybe it was just sick and tired? But even so, what would you do in that case? Drag it down the mountain? You frowned to yourself as you went, half wondering what you'd find and half wondering what the hell you'd do once you did. It occurred to you randomly that this was something Minhyuk would never do, especially given his recent show of fear. You just weren't scared by those sorts of things. Your scepticism allowed you to remain objective about a lot of things, which you were definitely grateful for.

So caught up in your thoughts were you, that you didn't even realise the trees had parted slightly and there was a small metre or so squared area of nothing but grass, leaves and twigs. Your flashlight moved with your stride and you froze on the spot as it shone over something large and hulking, black as ink even beneath the artificial light.

What the fuck was that.

Your first thought was bear, but then you really didn't think there would be bears on an island like this— boar? No, it was shaped too funnily to be a boar. Your internal musing was cut short as the shape shifted, rolling on the earth with a groan.

Holy shit was that a person?!

"Oh shit, are you okay?!" you burst, rushing forth before you could entertain any second thoughts. You got within a few feet of the person on the ground before you halted suddenly once more. "What happened— oh holy fuck, are those wings?!"

The figure— male, as you noticed, with what looked like a massive pair of inky god damn wings stemming from his back— merely groaned, barely managing to crack his eyes open against the stark light of your torch. You quickly pointed it away from his face, too fucking shell-shocked to muster an apology despite the urge that rose within you.

The man— bird-man— creature— whatever he was, pulled himself onto his front and attempted to stand, only to wobble and crumple back onto his knees. He was panting heavily, breathing laboured, and as the light of your torch fell across his wings you noticed with a sickening feeling that one of them didn't look right. The feathers in disarray, the muscle and bone bulging beneath the skin in ways they most definitely shouldn’t, and the limb held differently to the way it should be; it was only now that you noticed the blood staining the dark feathers and gleaming in the flashlight.

He attempted to stand once more, ragged breaths and gasps of pain breaking you from your stupor and you rushed to help him on instinct as he crumpled once more, wings be damned. If you didn't think about them then maybe your mind wouldn't blow up from the overload of stimulus. You darted forward, grasping his arm and pressing a hand against his abdomen so he didn't fall forward.

"Don't," he panted, attempting something like a growl only to have it cut off into a pained groan. His hand grasped yours weakly, scrabbling to pull it off; your brows furrowed at how weak he was. Did he have other injuries? You weren't a human doctor, but you could tell that an injury to the wings shouldn't be affecting him so much that he looked like he was a hop, skip and a step away from death’s door. "Don't touch me. Get off."

The low register of his voice might have distracted you, were you not so consumed with worry.

"What happened to you?" you asked, refusing to budge as he attempted to shift away once more. "I just want to help you, you're really hurt dude."

"Get off me, human," the man— creature— bird-man tried to pull away from you once more, but still wasn't strong enough to attempt it. "I won't give you my wings."

"I don't want them?" you said, confused as to why he was acting like you'd chased him through the forest for the feathery limbs sprouting from his back— oh shit, was that what had happened? Was he being chased, hunted? That was so wrong, and your mind was too overloaded to really comprehend the thought as it ran through your head. "Wait, are there people after you?"

Your words made him pause, and you felt your breath catch in your lungs as he turned his head to face you, dark cocoa eyes with specks of amber peering at you through raven locks that stuck to his forehead from sweat. A startling wave of heat flushed over you for a moment, leaving your limbs chilled in the aftermath, and you couldn't help but stare. Had you ever seen someone so strikingly beautiful?

"You don't want... you don't want my wings?" his voice was rough and succeeded in breaking you from your momentary reverie, your eyes blinking rapidly as you refocused on the present. The shift in his demeanour at the realisation your words prompted was instantaneous, a plea making its way across his fine features. "Then please, help me."

You were agreeing before you knew it, mouth running before you mind ever had a chance to catch up. "I'll help you," you said quickly, adjusting your grasp on him. "What do you need? Where are the people chasing you?"

The answer to your last question came in the form of a noise in the distance, the muffle of voices and shifting shrubbery. Your heart leapt in alarm, gaze whipping back to the male in your arms.

"Fuck, we gotta go," your teeth sank into your bottom lip as you struggled to think what to do. You couldn't go down the path, because that would be predictable, but you'd also never stepped foot in this forest before today and had no idea where else to go. "God, I'm going to be so lost."

The male seemed to have calmed somewhat at the revelation that you were a friend rather than a foe, and his dark eyes met yours once more, holding the gaze steadily. His breathing was still somewhat laboured, grasp on you weak, but there was a certain levelness, a certain strength in his eyes that captured you so wholly for the moment you remained frozen in your spot.

"I can help you find your way back," he said, voice low and raspy as it escaped his throat. His tongue darted to wet full lips that had begun to dry. "If you can help me get to my home. I can't outrun them on my own, they shot me with something and it’s— it's poisoned me."

You soaked up the information he was giving you, storing it away for later— throughout your degree you'd grown accustomed to absorbing any and all information you could about the animals you treated because it was usually all crucial. As soon as you filed it away, you did your best to refocus on the situation at hand. A part of you resisted, called for you to leave and return to the trail and look for Minhyuk, and your first instinct was to follow that. But you held fast, the ache in your heart for the person before you greater than your desire to make it down the mountain and back to the safety of your hotel.

You moved closer to the male, slipping his arm over your shoulder while being mindful of his wing; he was taller than you, but the weakened slouch in his posture meant his head hovered around the same height as yours.

"Okay," you said, feeling the scorching warmth his body radiated even through the materials draped over his form. "I'll help you. Tell me where to go."

The male shot you a look so wrought with gratitude you could have honestly wept, and at the distantly approaching sound of voices he was quick to instruct you. You turned your torch to the lowest setting, and off you went to take the bird-man to safety.

Optimistically, you entertained the thought that perhaps you were dreaming.

x     x     x     x     x     x

Half an hour of trekking through the forest with a large bird-man draped across your shoulder later had you thinking that perhaps you'd be needing a bit more than optimism to get your head around this. Not long ago, the male had halted you in your steps, directing you over to a large section of rocky cliff-face around a metre and a half or so tall. You'd listened, perplexed, and watched as he pressed his hand to the surface—

—and the god damn rock shifted away to reveal a tunnel of sorts.

At this point you were convinced you'd gotten heatstroke or something during the day and were now heavily hallucinating. Or perhaps you'd really passed out on the trip down and were now having a frivolous fever dream with incredibly attractive winged men and melting rocks.

Either way, you hadn't been able to do anything but follow the bird-man's lead and enter into the tunnel, only your torch there to guide you. The male you were supporting didn't seem to need it to see, but you did and so it stayed on— you didn't need yourself tripping and taking the both of you down somewhere along the line.

You didn't know how long you'd expected the trip through the tunnel to be, but you were coming upon an end sooner than you anticipated. You expected another wall of rock, perhaps even an open end, but to your complete and utter surprise what greeted you was a thin, nicely-made sliding door. Your feet slowed but the stranger's did not, and so you were forced to continue on until you were sliding it open and letting out a sharp gasp at the sight that lay beyond.

It was, quite honestly, beautiful— perhaps one of the most stunning natural scenes you'd ever seen— and to be fair only added to your suspicion that you were currently in the midst of a fever dream. But could your mind really conjure such a sight on its own? The glittering sight of the sky and its reflection upon the smooth waters of the lake to the side, inky depths bathed in moonlight and looking like a cave with walls decorated in gemstones. The glow of soft lanterns around the edge of the meadow rimmed with high stone walls and broken by ornate pillars, the soft whispering of weeping trees and the pastel blossoms that fell from their branches to brush the earth. It was so much, too much, and you were in such awe that you completely forgot the situation that had brought you there in the first place.

"Holy..." your voice couldn't raise above an awed murmur. "Where are we?"

You hadn't been expecting a response, the question muttered mostly to yourself, but the male to your side supplied an answer nonetheless.

"We're at the top of the mountain," he said, coughing harshly at the end before he recovered. "The very peak."

You gaped at him, recalling the lore you'd heard from the villagers earlier. "You're..."

The male didn't seem to hear you that time, instead trying to take a step from you on his own. He failed miserably of course, and you flew to catch him with a yelp before he could crumple completely. "Dude, you are not okay. Do you live up here? Is there somewhere for you to sit and rest?"

The male nodded, raven locks falling across his forehead as he did so. He lifted his free arm and pointed to your right, the opposite of the small lake. "Through the trees."

You turned, following the direction of his gesture with your eyes, and proceeded to help him that way. You tried not to let your mouth hang open as you shuffled between the trees, a tunnel of soft green and pink with leaves so silky as they brushed your skin that it left a shiver in their wake. Before long you were emerging from the gentle, sweeping foliage and arriving upon another small clearing that housed a peculiar structure; you couldn't tell if it was more bungalow or temple in its architecture, for it seemed to be a mixture of both.

You figured this was where the stranger lived, and so began making your way up there. You were admittedly driven by the fact it sounded like his breath was growing harsher against your ears and it felt like he was growing heavier against your shoulders. You needed to get him sitting and resting, because if he'd really been poisoned in some way then all of this movement definitely wasn't good for him.

The door slid open with ease once you'd arrived in front of it, and you were greeted with a surprisingly open and spacious area. A kitchen to one side, cushions, a desk and table to the other; up the back of the room sat several doors, similar to the one you'd just passed through and the one that had laid at the end of the tunnel. On the other side of the cushions were more sliding doors, which you had a feeling lead to a balcony of sorts.

"How does this whole area fit on the very top of the mountain," you muttered to yourself as you helped the two of you to the door that man had pointed to; your limbs were sore, so sore, a deep ache riding in your bones, and you feared exactly what pain you were going to wake up to tomorrow.

"The peak of the mountain is only an illusion," the male managed to pant in response, surprising you once more with an answer you hadn't really been expecting.

"I..." you swallowed, squinting as your brain tried to wrap around that titbit. Winged men, melting rock, a meadow on the peak of the mountain... wasn't this too much, even for your brain to have come up with? This was awfully elaborate and detailed for a fever dream. You refused to consider the alternative, for the sake of your sanity.

Once you reached the room he'd indicated and entered, you had to pause for a moment to take in the sight that greeted you. Considering how clean and well-kept the other parts of his home had been, you'd been expecting the same in here— you had been wrong, however. The floor might have been clean, as well as the table to the side, but the bed that was kept only a foot or so off the floor was another story. Plush cushioning and thick, soft blankets lined the mattress, situated in such a way that they oddly reminded you of a nest— the odd garment of clothing was draped into the structure and you might have been slightly impressed if you weren't so focused on finding somewhere to sit him.

The male was quick to redirect your attention, and you noticed with a slight sense of surprise that his cheeks had reddened at what you'd seen.

"In here," he rasped, straining to lead you. "The washroom."

Getting in and out through the other doorways with his massive wings in tow had been a task and a half, a somewhat difficult ordeal, but you'd managed it well until now— it was as the two of you entered into this room that his wounded wing finally succumbed to the inevitable and banged against the doorway. He yelped sharply, the sound so wrought with pain that you felt it tug at your own heartstrings, and flinched away from the sensation, into you. His other wing nearly flew out to compensate for the sudden shift in balance, but you managed to keep the two of you upright enough to prevent it from doing that.

"Shit, are you okay?" you asked, pressing a hand to his chest without thinking to keep him stable. His heart was racing beneath your palm, breathing ragged and eyes pinched shut.

"I've never felt such pain before," he ground out, eyes opening to reveal a particular glisten that only came from budding tears. "Nothing like this has ever happened to me— to my wings."

You made a soft noise of sympathy, guiding him more carefully into the room he wanted. You stopped for a moment to admire it, stepping carefully down the steps. The floor of this room sunk several feet into the ground, while the ceiling remained the same height, effectively making the room bigger than those in the rest of the structure, albeit in a different way. The floor was a mix of wood and stone, and your eyes swept over a basin, stool, small table, and pile of soft-looking fabric you assumed to be towels, before they fell upon a bath that was built into the ground in the corner of the room, extending above the floor a good foot and a half. It looked deep, water trickling constantly from an opening in the wall, and you grabbed the stool before making your way over. You wondered how it didn't overflow, but figured it probably had an outlet that allowed the water to filter out at the same rate it poured in to keep it the same level. The room was illuminated by soft lanterns hung in each corner, and you were grateful for their presence since your hands weren't exactly free at the moment.

You shifted towards what you presumed to be the bath, placing the stool down before it and easing the bird-man down— the wall of the bath was a bit higher, so you'd be sitting on that instead. The male let out a groan as he seated himself completely, the sound a mixture between relieved and pained.

You were quick to stand, shaking your limbs out; it was time to get down to business.

"What exactly happened?" you started, keeping your expression soft. "Where are you hurt? You mentioned poison?"

The male coughed, dark cocoa eyes meeting yours and rendering you breathless for the second time this night. "They shot at me with crossbows," he answered, hand pressed against his chest and the other clutching his thigh, dark material of his clothes bunching beneath his grip. "I don't think they were locals, because no one here uses those metals. It burns."

"Metals?" you echoed, head tilting as something familiar stirred in your memory. "... do heavy metals like lead and copper poison you?"

The male seemed surprised at your knowledge, nodding slowly. "Yes, how did you...?"

"I'm a vet," you answered quickly, before backtracking at the blank look he displayed. "Animal doctor. I know because birds are often poisoned by things like heavy metals."

His cheeks seemed to flush at your words, but he didn't acknowledge it. You couldn't help but wonder what you'd said that had prompted such a response.

"I have materials in the chest beneath the basin," he said, and you turned in surprise to see the chest he'd mentioned that you hadn't even seen before in your first sweep of the room. You moved over and opened it as he continued to give you instructions. "I'll need the solution in the small blue vial. Hopefully it will work for this."

You retrieved the container in question and quickly moved back over to the male, placing it gently into his outstretched hand. Your gaze swept over him as he pulled the cork from the vial and downed its contents, the new lighting allowing you to see more of him than you had been able to before. He was tall, as you'd noticed initially, and the large, looming wings that stemmed from his back had sleek raven feathers that were the same inky shade as the thick locks that curled across his forehead. His clothes looked more like robes, with layers of material greeting your eyes. The colours were consistently dark though, bouncing between black and dark blues and greys. You thought the bold contrast, especially against his honey skin, suited him nicely.

Luckily for you, he didn't seem to notice the way your stare had swept entirely over his form, too busy wincing at the flavour the solution had left on his tongue. He squirmed, shuddering as its effects began to kick in, and allowed his posture to droop a little bit more. It struck you suddenly that he was placing a lot of trust in you right now, leaving his defences incredibly low considering the ordeal that had allegedly landed him in this situation in the first place.

“Was that for the poison?” you queried, giving him a moment to collect himself; he jumped at the sound of your voice, as though he’d forgotten you were there for a moment. His wide eyes flew to where you stood.

“Ah, yes,” he answered, somewhat awkwardly. He cleared his throat, face scrunching presumably at the discomfort he was feeling from the poison and his wing, as well as whatever he’d just ingested. “It will nullify what it can and flush out the rest. It’s easier to treat than…”

“Your wing?” you finished for him, offering a small smile when he nodded and shifted a bit in discomfort. “I can help with that, I’ve mended broken wings before.”

Once more, the male seemed taken aback by your knowledge and area of expertise. He didn’t speak for a moment and you took his silence as acquiescence to your offer. Turning back to the chest beneath the basin, you rooted around for some bandages, wrap and gauze. You peered inside, searching for anything else that could be useful, and made a pleasantly surprised noise as your fingers wrapped around a jar and pulled it out.

"Honey," you read the messy cursive along the side. "Perfect."

The male was sending you a curious look as you turned back around with the items in hand, and you sent him a smile as you made your way back over.

"Is it only your wing that's wounded?" you queried, glancing over his body once more but unable to tell if he had any other wounds due to the fabric covering him.

The male nodded, cheeks warmed, his gaze averting from you only to flicker back not long after. He was acting like a shy teenage boy that had invited a girl into his room for the first time, and you had to fight back a giggle at the thought.

"I managed to dodge most of their arrows," he answered, lifting his arm— your gaze moved to his side where there was a gap in the cloth that had been disguised by his bicep and elbow. "But one got me in my side, and the end snapped off when I fell— the arrows grazed my wings but it was the tumble that broke one."

You made a sound of acknowledgement, moving so that you were behind him and seated on the edge of the bath. You placed the items on the floor by your feet, rubbing your hands together before dipping them into the water; it was perfect room temperature and almost felt as though it wasn't there at all as it dripped from your fingers.

"Okay, I'll sort your wing out first then we can take a look at that arrow wound," you said, since he didn't display anything more than discomfort you figured it hadn't gone that deep and you could afford to wait a little more. Besides, it seemed like his wing was causing him the most pain. You had to pause for a moment, baffled that was an actual thought that had just run through your head. No, it was fine— this was just a fever dream, it's fine.

"That would be good," the male said, sounding just as awkward as his posture indicated he felt. "... Thank you, human, for helping me."

You waved your hand dismissively despite the fact he couldn't see. "It's no problem, it's in my nature to help, I guess. Is it okay if I touch your wings?"

You knew you'd have to do it anyway to fix it, but it felt oddly rude to just touch his wings without asking; they were so majestic, so beautiful and surreal it felt like it would be too intimate of an action to perform without his consent. At his nod you allowed your hands to settle gently on the affected limb, the feathers brushing against your skin like liquid silk. You caught the shiver that rolled down his spine at your careful touch and hoped that it wasn't one of pain. You stood up, knowing you needed to identify the location of the break you suspected to be there. Your gaze caught on the scraps of material around his shoulders and back that were blocking your touch a little.

"Can you take off your shirt— uh, your robes? It'll make it easier for me to see your wing and find the break," you said, cheeks heating slightly in embarrassment. The process and actions were familiar to you, but the scenario was entirely different— you'd never tended to a bird that had a human body or that had a human face as attractive as this.

The male sputtered, attempting a response before merely giving up and allowing his head to dip in a nod. You released his wing, watching as he slipped the material from his upper half with practiced ease. The cloth moved like liquid across his shoulders, gleaming slightly in the lantern light in a way that reminded you of fine silk and satin. It didn't take long before his shoulders and back were bared to you, with the exception of the areas his wings blocked off. You murmured a thanks before returning to the task you'd previously begun, fingers sinking into the soft, silky down of his wing once more. Another shiver greeted you at the motion but you tried to ignore it for both your sakes.

Carefully, you grasped the wing and extended it slightly so it wasn't so folded— the male let out a soft hiss at the motion but didn't stop you, understanding it was necessary. It was at this moment you realised he was still very much a stranger and here you were, preparing to help bandage his broken wing and then fish out the tip of an arrow from his side. You didn't even know his name!

"By the way," you started, fingers feeling softly along the bone at the upper portion of his wing for the source of the break; you had a feeling it would be on the inner side, closer to his back. "Who are you? What are you?"

The male started a little, letting out a sharp, pained gasp when you prodded a certain area. "Ah, there, I think it's there," he took a moment to collect himself before continuing, with you easing your fingers off the painful area as he did. "And I'm... My name is Namjoon. I'm the deity that resides upon this mountain peak and protects the island's inhabitants."

You let out a soft, unintentional whistle at his words. This was awfully intricate and tied into reality for a fever dream, but you didn't want to consider the alternative and so just decided to go with it, for your brain's sake. It didn't hit you until a few moments later that if what he said was true, you were currently touching the wings and fixing up the wounds of the local deity— the being that the islanders revered and paid their respects to for protection. You didn't really know how to process that revelation and decided to put it on the backburner.

"That's, uh... neat," you shuffled back a little, surveying his wing; the feathers were still ruffled and bloodied in some places, something you'd need to take care of before wrapping it. "Is it okay if I clean your wing and fix the feathers a little? I don't want it to be uncomfortable and crusty when I wrap it."

The male, Namjoon, nodded his consent, and to your surprise he shifted and held out a washcloth. Where had that come from? You decided not to think too much about it. Taking it from his grasp, you wet it in the bath behind you before wringing it out, speaking up again as you did so, "My name is y/n."

You thought you heard him repeat your name softly to himself, but couldn't be sure. Once most of the water was wrung from the cloth, you brought it gently to the feathers across the massive expanse of his wing that were covered in drying blood and began to wipe them clean as carefully as you could. You succeeded for the most part, only eliciting the occasional shiver and soft whimper. Most of the areas that had blood you assumed to have either healed or just been from broken feathers or minor nicks in the skin, since there weren't any visible wounds when you checked over them. You put it down to some god-like healing ability he probably had.

Your fingers ran gently through the feathers as you went, nudging them softly back into place and making the wing appear much sleeker and more streamlined, as you presumed it was supposed to look. With his feathers clean and orderly, it made it that much more obvious where the break was and you placed the cloth down with a hum.

“Well, the good news is that the bone isn’t sticking out so it’s not as badly broken as it could be,” you said, returning your hands to the affected area ever so gently, trying to discern what kind of break it was and if there was only one or more; you winced at the sharp intake of breath on his end that resulted from your touch on the tender skin. “And I think, from what I can tell, that there’s only one break— it doesn’t seem to be too jostled so I won’t have to move it back in place. I think it should be okay if I just wrap it. There is a cut that I presume is from an arrow near it though, so I’ll treat that too.”

Namjoon nodded, turning to glance over his shoulder as you reached for the honey, eyes caught on watching the firm muscles shift beneath the smooth skin of his back as he moved. His wings fluttered softly, the left one more so than the right, as he adjusted himself and you found the gesture oddly endearing.

He didn’t talk much as you set about tending to his wounds, carefully setting and wrapping his wing so it didn’t move too much and allowed for optimal healing. You wondered why he was so quiet before you remembered he’d been chased through the forest and poisoned a little, so was probably understandably exhausted. You found your own fatigue catching up to you now, as you wound the gauze around his wing a final time, your limbs feeling as though they weighed more and more with each motion you had them conduct. An ache was settling deep in your bones, and your eyes began to burn, tired brain urging you to close them and rest. It had been a long day, for the both of you.

By the time you’d managed to fix up his wing, the cut and the wound on his side, the two of you were just about ready to fall asleep where you sat. With somewhat wobbly legs, you rose and helped him up, almost dragging him back to the room you’d come through to get here. You were extra mindful of his wings now, and they fluttered softly as he walked, the unwounded one curving slightly to drape around his side like a cloak while the other remained constrained within your bindings. When he reached his bed you eased him down with a groan from the both of you, his eyes closing as he went down. By the time he’d flopped onto his stomach completely, he was out.  In all honesty, you weren’t far behind. You slid to the floor beside the bed, meaning to take only a moment’s rest before shifting to somewhere more opportune, but once you were down it was all over from there. Your lids fluttered clothes and within seconds you were well on your way to the land of dreams.

Could you dream in the midst of a fever dream? You supposed you’d find out.

 x     x     x     x     x     x     x     x

 The first thing you thought when you woke up was, holy fuck did your neck hurt. Blinking awake and wincing at the acute pain in your neck from the barest movement, it didn’t take you long to realise you’d fallen asleep sitting against the bed, which was no doubt the cause of your pain. Having said that, an attempt to sit up had you realising with a groan that the pain you’d expected from yesterday’s activities had very much arrived. Your thighs, calves— hell, even your shoulders, were all tight and sore. You’d need to do some serious stretching later; maybe you could get Yeri, or even Irene to help you—

You paused, the thought triggering a certain set of memories that were quick to flood your mind. The forest, Minhyuk disappearing, the winged man who was apparently a deity and lived on the top of this mountain. Your head was reeling as you attempted to reign your focus back in— had all that really happened? Your gut twisted in an answer of its own, while your mind vehemently denied the possibility. How could it have happened? There was no way, absolutely no way…

Blinking, you allowed your gaze to finally wander, sweeping over your surroundings. A room that seemed oddly familiar, but felt different than you’d expected. It took a second for the reason to hit you; this wasn’t your hotel room. Something akin to panic rose within you, your body lurching into a sitting position despite the resulting pain that throbbed in your limbs. No, this wasn’t your hotel room, this was the room that belonged to the bird-man-deity, Namjoon, in your dream. But that prompted the question; had it really been a dream at all, or were you still currently in the middle of it. It didn’t feel like a dream, but you didn’t know how else to explain the memories you had and the things you’d seen…

You couldn’t help but think that Minhyuk would have handled this much better than you.

Your admittedly chaotic thoughts were interrupted by a soft sound, from outside the room you were currently in, and a pained turn of your head had you realising belatedly that the bed you were leaning against was currently empty. Which begged the question…

Where was the bird-man?

With much effort and sheer force of will, you managed to pull yourself to your feet, the bed admittedly playing a large supporting role in the feat. It hurt a little to move your legs but it was fine, nothing you couldn’t really handle. You suspected that as soon as you moved more and got to stretch them it would ease the pain somewhat.

The shuffle out of the room and in the direction of where you’d heard the noise come from was a surprisingly quiet affair, and that meant that when you froze at the entrance to the kitchen its occupant didn’t notice your presence.

Namjoon, as you recalled he’d introduced himself, was fiddling with something, a pot from what you could glimpse, and gently throwing some food items inside. You sniffed, fighting a soft moan at the enticing scent and slapping a hand quietly to your stomach when it roiled in hunger. Surprisingly, the male still didn’t notice you— you didn’t doubt the large, inky wings played a role in obscuring you from his vision. Subconsciously, your eyes strayed to analyse your handiwork; the bandage and gauze was holding up well, the wing not looking like it was sitting too uncomfortably or too restricted. You felt a pang of pride in your chest. All those hours of prac had come in handy.

You didn’t get to stroke your own ego for very long though, because a few moments later and the male was turning. Your breath caught in your throat, since you weren’t ready at all — you hadn’t even thought of what you were going to say yet— and you might have let out a panicked yelp did he not beat you to it. As he turned, his wings shifted, ruffling slightly, and the bandaged one didn’t cause any problems but the unrestricted one decided it was time to stretch. It extended as he turned, succeeding thoroughly in knocking a large array of items from the bench. Your mouth dropped open, hand extended to help, as the winged man before you whirled around and scrambled to catch the items; he ended up knocking more things down in the process.

“Gods,” you heard him mumbling under his breath. “This is the worst. I haven’t had to have my wings out constantly in so long— this house is not wing friendly.”

Unable to hold it back at the hilarity of the entire scene before you, a snort slipped from you before you could stop it. The male shot upright, back ramrod straight and eyes wide as they found you, and once more his wings proved to be too large and clumsy for the space he was occupying as a bowl went tumbling from the counter and hurtled towards the floor.

You were aware enough of the situation at this point that you could lurch forward and catch it in time, the cool, smooth stone nearly slipping from your fingers before you grasped it securely. The male was gaping at you, his own large hands outstretched in the ghost of his belated attempt to catch the bowl as he fumbled for something to say.

“I, ah— you’re up,” was all he managed, face flushing. You’d noticed he was a little awkward, but if anything it was kind of endearing. “I was making something for the pain— mine and yours. Your limbs are sore, no doubt?”

You nodded, slightly taken aback at the fact he knew you were one big walking ache right now.

The male hummed, having confirmed his suspicions. He turned slowly back to the pot that had miraculously managed to stay in one piece on the stove above a flame. From what you could tell it was some sort of stew, and the mere thought even without the smell beginning to brush your nostrils was enough to have you salivating slightly.

"It is almost done," he spoke once more, the low register of his voice bringing a slight flush across your cheeks as it brushed your ears through the silence. You sincerely hoped your face didn't betray your state of fluster. His gaze flickered to the floor for a moment, before continuing up to meet your own; the cocoa and amber mix of his iris was enough to make your heart flutter momentarily, the sunlight filtering through the windows illuminating them so prettily you almost let out a sigh in appreciation. "I have to apologise in advance; I'm not a very good cook."

You couldn't help but crack a smile at that. "I'm sure you're an excellent cook," you said, a sheepish laugh escaping you as your stomach growled in anticipation. "But I'm so hungry that I'd eat anything you put in front of me without complaint anyway."

Namjoon allowed a smile of his own to spread across his face at your words, cheeks flushing just enough to bring your attention to the dimples now making their home there. His head tilted and his expression shifted as something crossed his mind.

"I'll hope for both of our sakes that it's at least edible then," he mused, dark lashes fluttering as he peered at you as though he was trying to decipher something. It took him a few seconds to continue, "You know... you're quite nice. Humans possess such duality, it's quite startling."

It took you a moment to realise that he wasn't making a comment solely on your character, but on your kindness compared to the cruelty of the humans that had shot at him for his wings. You nodded, since he was right. Humanity was multi-faceted in that way, and a lot of the faces you wished to never see.

"You're right," you responded after a moment, the ghost of a smile tugging your lips. "A large portion of humanity is... yeah."

Despite your inability to find the word you wanted, Namjoon seemed to understand you just fine. He hummed, before his nose wrinkled and he turned quickly back to the pot; your heart nearly leapt from your chest as his wing narrowly missed a jar on the way.

"Ah, it's ready," he murmured, whether to himself or the both of you, you didn't know. He turned though, taking one bowl from the bench and holding his hand out to you— you hadn't even realised you'd still been holding the bowl you caught, and hurried to pass it to him with a warm face. He sent you a thankful smile and went about serving the stew. "Here you go, eat up. I apologise again if it's not that great in taste, but it should help with the pain and healing of your muscles."

You took the bowl and spoon when offered to you, and followed the male to sit on the floor at the table. Contrary to what he insisted, you found the second the first mouthful graced your tongue that it was delicious. You were quick to tell him so, and the winged deity had spent the remainder of the meal with a shy smile and flushed cheeks. You were quick to devour your portion, resisting the urge to go for seconds since you knew that was your tongue talking and not your stomach which, admittedly, was quite full.

After thanking him profusely for the meal, your attention was drawn back to his wounds and the bandages covering them, courtesy of yourself. He might have been able to treat the one on his side himself, as he seemed quite capable of healing himself somewhat if his decent recovery from the metal poisoning was anything to go by, but since you were already intent on changing the wrap on his wing you may as well change them all while you were at it. The male blushed when you mentioned it, and after placing your bowls back in the kitchen area moved over to the other side of the large, open space with cushions; the long, raven feathers at the bottom of his wings brushed the floor heavily when he sat, and you were careful not to step or sit on them when you returned after getting more materials from the washroom.

"So," you began as your fingers grasped the material of the bandage and tugged it loose gently. The male flinched slightly, but didn't let out a noise besides the hum of acknowledgement he made at your speech. "If you're a deity... shouldn't you have, like, super quick healing?"

The winged man seated before you snorted softly, and you refused the blush that tried to colour your cheeks. His wings shuffled, adjusting softly, before they settled and allowed you to continue your movements. His voice was slightly thick and strained as he spoke, and you gathered that his wings, aside from being hurt, were probably a very sensitive area for him. You did your best to be careful.

"I do," he answered you, the barest hints of amusement curling in his tone. "But being poisoned... slows it down a fair bit. I'm not sure how long it will take for my side to heal and my wing to mend after being poisoned like that."

You hummed in understanding, pondering what to say next when he shifted awkwardly and continued.

"And... about that," you heard him gulp, and a mixture of curiosity and trepidation fluttered within you. He sounded slightly regretful as he spoke, "I'm not sure if you're aware, but when you agreed to help me last night, you entered a deal."

Your hands stilled in their movements, mind blank for a moment before kicking back into gear. Actually, considering what he was... that made sense. You got the feeling his definition of a deal was a little more serious than yours. You let out your breath at once, an oddly calm feeling of acceptance washing over you.

"What does a deal entail, when it is made with you?" you asked, fingers returning to their previous tasks. Namjoon let out a slightly surprised noise and you presumed it was because of the way you'd worded the question.

"In essence, we are both bound to fulfil our ends of the deal," he responded, toned back shifting as he shivered slightly. "So you are to 'help' me as you've agreed, and I am to guide you from the mountain once your end is complete. I've not ever been faced with the consequences of breaking a deal like this, but I have heard from fellow deities that it is not... pleasant."

You hummed softly to acknowledge you'd heard him, while allowing the words to soak in. So really, what he was telling you was that you were stuck her 'helping' him, which in this case you took to mean healing him, until he was as good as before, at which point he would guide you down the mountain and back to your hotel. The hotel where your friends were, probably worried sick about you at this point. A sudden, alarming thought rose to the forefront of your mind at that realisation.

"My friends," you started, clearing your throat when you voice caught slightly in your throat. "They're back in the village at the bottom of the mountain. I'm worried about one of them, he split from me in the dark just before I found you."

"What is his name?" you were surprised at the question, but answered nonetheless. A few moments of silence echoed after you supplied Minhyuk's name, Namjoon taking in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "He is safe, do not worry. No one on this island has come to any harm in the past day— I don't sense him on the mountain or in the forest."

You let out a breath of relief you hadn't even realised you'd been holding, hands resuming their distracted grooming of his feathers before you applied the next wrap. "Can I..."

You didn't need to finish for him to know what you meant. He was apologetic when he next spoke, "I do not think the garden walls will let you pass until your end is fulfilled."

Disappointment was fresh in your lungs, but you understood. Plus, a small part of you was actually relieved— you hated leaving things half done, and at least now you'd know for sure how he healed.

You let out a sigh, hating how dramatic it sounded. "That's fine. I did agree to help, and I'll be glad to know you're healing."

You couldn't see his face, but from the way the tips of his ears began to burn pink you guessed that your words had made him blush. The thought made a soft smile tug your lips.

Surprisingly, you didn't really mind the idea of being here with the winged man until he was completely healed. Even more surprisingly, you could have sworn a small part of you was even looking forward to it.

— masterlist | moodboard || un | deux