Chapter Text
Endless fields laden with snow, a howling gale keeps fiddling with a tiny dot in the mass of white.
Winter is severe this year, and no-one sane would willingly put themselves in such torment — no-one but those whose lives are at stake regardless.
Despite a thick pelt securely wrapped around his thin frame, Jimin's exposed cheeks are scarlet and numb. The swirling snow forces him to walk forward with his eyes shut.
Frozen to the core, the boy forces his stiff legs to move, the furious gale almost knocks him into a drift.
'Forward.' He slurs to himself, taking a stand against the endless power of one of the four elements.
Despite coming such a long way, Jimin is really close to giving up and letting Mother Nature consume him whole.
After the strenuous battle, Jimin has no magic left, and it doesn't seem like he'll manage to restore it anytime soon.
He is wounded and yet he doesn't feel pain anymore; it must have congealed together with Jimin's hope for survival.
But the ache of his strained muscles and the freezing cold aren't the worst.
The most tiring is the never-ending mass of white, with no houses or any kind of possible shelter.
But far away there seems to be a dark shape of the woods, and that's what has Jimin move forward.
Trees not only mean shelter from the blizzard but also bring a promise of food — all stocked safely by the peasants.
The hunger and pain make Jimin completely indifferent to the fact that he might get caught and punished for theft as well.
Witch hunters or peasants, it is only a matter of time before he ends up on the stake...
The sky darkens, and all Jimin sees is milky fog and crystals of snow sticking to his eyelashes.
Jimin doesn't know what distance he has covered when his injured leg gives out and he collapses into the white.
It isn't as bad as Jimin had imagined; the snow engulfs him in his soft embrace, and it isn't as cold and hostile as it seemed when he walked.
Hugging the snowladen ground, Jimin smiles in relief — all days of torture suddenly seem completely pointless, stiff muscles relax.
Passing on doesn't seem terrifying anymore.
It's rather calm, peaceful.
And surprisingly warm.
Jimin's thoughts are stopped by a terrible creaking noise but he doesn't care to look up and see who interrupted his peaceful demise.
Judging by the sounds of it, it must be a wyvern or a basilisk, and yet it doesn't really matter to him who ends his mere life.
But then the beast lets out a piercing cry of pain, and there are sounds of a fight.
The creature is growling when the swish of a heavy sword cuts the air before it all stops.
The howling wind suddenly stops, and the sound of heavy steps gets closer.
Someone fumbles with Jimin's clothes and exposes his nape to press two flaming hot fingers against it, making Jimin's freezing frame shiver.
The person walks in a circle muttering some spell and it takes a few seconds for the snow under Jimin to melt completely, resting his body in the mud.
'A witch with no magic left here on my land..' the man mutters in wonder, and Jimin immediately finds himself fond of this raspy voice.
'What could have pushed the little thing so far, hm..?'
Jimin has no strength to answer, but the man must be living under a rock if he's unaware of the witch hunt that has been going on for the past decade.
Fortunately, the man doesn't wait for a reply but rolls Jimin over, and finally the witch can see who he's dealing with.
Covered in a dark-green blood of the monster, his saviour is a well-built middle-aged man with gold cat eyes boring into him, and a deep scar across his right cheek.
The man's thick hair is grey as ash, shoulder length, with the upper half gathered in a loose man bun.
And Jimin is left dumbfounded.
So witchers still exist..??
They're looking at each other for a lingering moment, before Jimin's eyes avert to the luminous shield of warmth around them.
'Help me..' Jimin manages to croak out, fixing his gaze on the witcher again.
'... and I shall be forever … indebted to you..'
The man takes him in for a moment, dark-gold vertical pupils gleaming with suspicion.
'How did you find this place?' The witcher asks cautiously.
Jimin's eyelids are heavy and he can hardly stay awake; the pleasant warmth makes his stiff limbs relax and all he wants is to give in to sleep.
'Ran ahead.. from .. hunters..' Jimin whispers, his strained mind all blurred.
The witcher is looking at him for a moment, and with a sigh, he runs a hand over Jimin's eyes.
Deep sleep falls upon him, and with the last bits of consciousness the witch feels that his heavy body is lifted off the ground.
~~~
Jimin wakes up to the musky scent of a man and freshly baked bread.
Groaning from how comfortable he feels, Jimin turns to the side, resting his head in the fluffy pillow.
But the movement causes a sharp pain in his leg, and Jimin hisses.
He opens his eyes to see gold feline eyes staring at him from the other end of the room.
The witcher is sitting on a chair with a mug in one hand, without averting his eyes from him.
'Slept well?' The raspy voice cuts the silence, the wind is still howling outside.
Jimin tries to lift up and lean against the wooden wall, but a sharp pain shoots through his leg, and he hisses again, tears gathering in his eyes.
The man stands up and brings a cup towards the boy, the witch takes it with both hands.
'Medicine..?' Jimin asks, pain blinding his vision.
'Beer.' The witcher grunts, bringing the chair closer to the bed.
Jimin is not fond of any alcohol besides wine but he takes a few sips, frowning.
Now that the witcher has sat closer, Jimin can see that the scar on his face is not the only one on his body; it seems like there's a map of healed wounds under the man's clothes.
'Now tell me how you found this place.' The witcher says, boring his gold eyes into the smaller.
Jimin takes one more sip of the bitter drink before he sets the beer aside and lies down again.
'Running away, I used up all remaining energy to teleport somewhere safe..' the witch explains.
The witcher is still glaring at him, trying to see Jimin through.
'And you've found yourself in the middle of nowhere because none of the places you've visited can be considered safe?'
Jimin nods, realizing that it is the only reasonable explanation.
He scans the surroundings to see that the witcher might not be very wealthy, but he certainly is doing well on his own.
There's a stock of food; huge bags of flour, dried meat hanging above the ceiling and ceramic jars filling the shelves.
At the sight alone, Jimin's empty stomach grumbles.
The witcher sighs and stands up, and Jimin can't help but scan over the man's frame as well.
It is a common physique of a witcher to be well-built and strong, and it's not different in this case, but the man's face seems somehow too soft for a monster hunter, and it makes quite an appealing contrast.
The change in Jimin's heartbeat has the witcher glance at him; he obviously heard it.
'Come, eat.' The man says, setting a bowl of stew and a huge slice of bread on the table.
Jimin slides out of the bed, trying not to frown at the pain in his leg.
And only now does he have a look at the deep wound in his thigh, covered with a thick layer of herbal ointment.
Glancing at the witcher, Jimin stumbles towards the table.
'May I learn the name of my saviour?' He smiles, sitting down slowly.
'Min Yoongi.' The elder replies as he looks at him, holding a mug of beer with both hands.
Trying not to feel awkward under that gaze, Jimin starts to eat, and he nearly moans with how good it tastes.
The witcher's gaze sharpens at the sound, and yet Jimin doesn't notice it, busy with eating.
Once his bowl is empty, Jimin leans back and closes his eyes, ready to go to sleep again.
'Who are you running away from?' Yoongi asks, filling his mug with more beer.
Jimin's eyes halt on the man, thinking that the question is a joke.
It doesn't seem like the man is joking though.
'You must know of the witch hunt that has been going on for over a decade, good sir?'
Yoongi leans back at that, tapping an impatient rhythm on the table with his calloused fingers.
'Who holds the reign now?'
'Kwan Seo.' Jimin spits out, gaze filled with pure hatred.
Then they move to Yoongi.
'I reckon you haven't left your bubble for quite a while? How have they not found it yet?' Jimin asks, curiously leaning in.
'This place is unavailable to humans and invisible to mages.' Yoongi mutters.
'But for your spell, you'd have gone past the shield without knowing.'
'Such a shield requires a lot of power.. where does it come from?' Jimin asks in shock.
'It's derived from those who approach the shield. When it comes to common people who have no magic power, their lifespan is shortened by a few days whenever they pass through. Doesn't work on some monsters though.'
Jimin nods, amazed.
It is certain that he has to do with an experienced and powerful mage.
'What about missions? Doesn't a witcher's life involve travelling?'
'I don't work anymore.' Yoongi answers curtly, and it doesn't seem like he's going to develop his statement.
That's why Jimin speaks up again.
'So the monster was just a guest?' He raises an eyebrow with a smile.
Observing him, the witcher nods as his gaze drops to Jimin's plump lips.
'What are you planning now?' Yoongi asks, quickly averting his gaze.
Trying to figure the man out, Jimin doesn't really know what to say. He'll have to leave soon because he can't use the elder's kindness for long.
'I'll have to seek shelter, but I shall ask you, good sir, to let me stay here until my power is restored to at least a bearable extent.'
The man mutedly nods, taking a sip of his beer.
And Jimin must ask.
'You haven't asked about the reward..?'
'As long as there's enough fare for the two of us, you may stay however long you need.' Yoongi rasps, looking away.
'It is good to have a witch indebted to you; there will surely be a chance for you to pay the debt in the future...'
And it feels like weight lifted off Jimin's chest, he smiles the most gorgeous of his smiles.
'Thank you, sir..!' Jimin grins, and the gold cat eyes sparkle with something akin to fondness.
The witcher quickly composes himself though and Jimin isn't sure if what he saw was real.
____