“From the ground,
To the sky,
I sing this song,
I sing it high.
Song of weathers keep,
Lull the sun to sleep.
Heavens hear, this melody,
Rising from below; my plea.
Your tears wash away, all strife.” 

A soft voice sounded through the green lands of Sildir, an ancient forest located in the ends of Silvermoor - just by the foot of Mount Grimstone. The forest had been standing tall since the beginning of time, before the mankind first set foot in those lands. Many legends have traveled through the ears of mankind, mostly about the lands of Sildir. They spoke of the mythical creatures said to reside within the safety of the trees standing tall against the baby blue sky painted with small, fluffy clouds, the ground clad with a thick layer of old leaves from many autumns, plants and mushrooms — treaded only by the forest’s inhabitants, and very brave hunters and explorers.

The sun was still high on the sky, the air was crisp and the grass was very wet, and very green from the rain falling during the early hours of the new day when Jongin — a hunter living in a small village a few miles from the outskirts of Sildir — carefully walked across the meadow and entered the said forest. He was met by the smell of damp earth combined with the smell of young birches and beeches — small drops of water was dripping from the treetops, occasionally landing on Jongin, making his brown hair damp. Walking farther and farther into the lively forest full of life, all the different kinds of trees grew higher and thicker, the branches also growing closer to the ground. Jongin climbed over a fallen tree now inhabited to the ends by bugs, worms and maggots, and straightened the quiver full of arrows placed on his back. The birds were chirping happily everywhere around him, bugs buzzing and the wind singing a song as it moved the leaves in the tree crowns.

An hour and a half’s walk into the forest, and after exploring parts of the forest he hadn’t seen until now, he decided to rest. He drank of the cold water a small stream provided him with and washed his face before he sat down with his back against an old oak which gave him shelter from the burning sun. His eyes met with a curious squirrel climbing the branches when he looked up. He chuckled to himself, grabbed a piece of bread from his rucksack and broke it in pieces.
“Excuse me little one, would you break bread with me? The sun is awfully high on this beautiful day and I have yet to eat. I would like to share my bread with you if I may.” The little squirrel up in the canopies so high slowly climbed down from where he was. He jumped down and landed a few feet from the young lad, not sure if it was safe to come closer or if it was much wiser to stay away.
“I promise that I will not cause you any harm in any way possible, I promise you this on our Gods” with this the squirrel finally came closer and stretched his small paws out. Jongin carefully handed the squirrel a piece of the bread and the both of them started eating.
“May I ask what your name is?”
“Kim Minseok at yours!” said the squirrel with his mouth full of bread, and bowed. Jongin had met brave animals, unafraid of people before, but never ones with the ability to speak and understand the languages of mankind. He had heard stories about it, the elders loved telling the children in the village stories about what dangerous creatures that probably lived in the forest.
“K-Kim Jongin,” he stuttered a bit shocked and slightly flustered a moment later when he regained his ability to speak. “I never would have believed that things who are not of my kin would be able to talk.”
“It’s a long story, kind of.” Minseok scratched his head with one of his long legs and looked up at the man in front of him. “What are you?”
“A human of course. A thing on two legs, like you we were created by the ancient gods of these lands.”
“Many creatures walk on two legs,” Minseok commented, “besides, I know what a human is. What I was meaning to ask was what your intentions are here in Sildir.”
Jongin smiled at this, sighing softly. “I’m a hunter from a small village. Don’t worry, I have no intention of taking your life. If I would, then why would I ask of you to eat of my bread?” Minseok nodded slowly leaning back on his heels. He finished his piece of bread and bowed again.
“It was nice to meet you on this day of summer. May we meet sometime again soon — I owe you a favour.” Minseok ran up the sturdy tree trunk leaving Jongin by himself, Jongin rose from the damp ground and brushed leaves from previous autumns off of his behind. He tied the quiver to his back, grabbed his bow and rucksack, and then strolled farther into the dark, mesmerising forest — deep in thoughts of this special meeting.

It wasn’t until the sun had settled before Jongin returned to his humble home in the village. His body was drained of energy and he couldn’t wait until he was finally resting in his warm bed with his belly full of food. “Brother!” a voice called out for him as soon as he set foot inside the small, but very warm and homey building. His plump lips curled into a weary smile as he closed the door behind him and put the quiver and bow away, the rucksack he was carrying was put down on the wooden table before Sehun pulled Jongin into a bone-crushing hug. “Did you find anything special today during your adventures?” The two brothers sat down by the table, Jongin stretching before doing so. “I explored more parts of the forest. Many animals such as elks, deers and rabbits tread the ground I walked on today.” Jongin opened his rucksack and pulled out two rabbits he had caught around early afternoon that day. “I will prepare them whilst you get ready for bed.” Sehun started a fire in the kitchen to cook the rabbits, leaving Jongin on his own. Jongin washed his hands and face in the bathroom, and Sehun helped him pluck leaves among with other things from Jongin’s messy brown locks. They ate a meal in silence and then went to bed as the brothers were tired from the days’ activities such as hunting, exploring, and doing regular work around the village.

--

Ivarnes was as always buzzing with life. There were trees to be cut down, dragged to the village to then be cut into lumber and firewood at the mill. The cattle had to be guarded everyday and moved around to other places. The local inn also needed workers as travellers visited the village ever so often. That day Jongin decided to take a break from the forest and work in the village. He cut some firewood for him and his brother — he then went to work at the inn as he did once in a while. His friend Jongdae worked at the inn as a chef. Jongin worked as both a waiter and dishwasher to earn a bit more money, he also saved Jongdae’s arse whenever he burnt anything or was the one who caused fires to erupt.
Jongdae smacked Jongin’s as soon as he entered the warm kitchen. The younger simply chuckled and grabbed two plates full of food, “Good morning to you too. Table?”
“The table in the middle. Middlest-middle” Jongdae huffed, stirring the soup in a big pot.
“‘Middlest-middle’? That’s not even a word.” A smile rose on Jongin’s face though as he brought the food to the two gals sitting by the “middlest-middle” tables as Jongdae called them. “Here you go, my ladies.” The young man said with a charming smile, making them swoon. He returned to the kitchen to continue with what he was doing.
Time went by and the sky grew darker. Jongin dried his hands on his pants and grabbed the small pouch with money he had received from Jongdae. “Oh, one more thing before you leave. I need some new ingredients, can you bring me some from Sildir? You visit the eerie place each and other day so… please?” Jongin raised his eyebrows and leaned against the wall. “What will I get out of it?” “A bigger wage, if that isn’t obvious.” Jongin accepted his ‘mission’ with an excited twinkle in his chocolate brown eyes.

A few days later Jongin rose with the sun during the early hours. His younger brother had yet to wake up from his slumber in the room across from Jongin’s. He packed his rucksack with some food, filled his old, worn-down pouch with fresh water, tied the quiver with arrows to his back and grabbed his bow. He then left his home to venture into the blooming forest full of things he had yet to discover.

Just hours later he found himself at the same stream he rested by the day before. He refilled his pouch with water and once again sat down with his back against the old oak, and fished out some bread from his rucksack. His gaze wandered up into the treetops as he looked for something (or someone) familiar. When he looked down at the ground again Minseok sat in front of him, stretching his paws out. A laugh escaped Jongin’s lips and he gave Minseok a piece of his bread.
“I had a feeling that we would meet soon” said Minseok while stuffing his mouth full.
“I was wondering…" Jongin hesitated a bit. "..would you care to show me more parts of the forest? It’s always nice to have someone to talk to. You could be my guide for the rest of the day — but only if you want to” Jongin said with a shrug of his broad shoulders.
Minseok swallowed the piece of bread he was chewing on before he replied, “That’s a good way to repay one of my now two favours to you.”
A small pause followed before Jongin asked, “So what do you say?”

Minseok stayed on Jongin’s shoulder most of the time, sometimes climbing up on top of his head. Minseok helped Jongin gather some herbs and mushrooms the man had never seen before, and taught him about them. Jongin wrote everything down in the notebook that his mother had given him before she died. The squirrel wasn’t one to start a conversation though, so of course Jongin — as curious as he is — asked all the questions, eager to learn more about the world.
“Are you planning to camp outside tonight? If not, then you should head back. The forest is dangerous at night.” Jongin took a look at the sky far above them.
“Outside. My brother won’t expect me back until sometime tomorrow.”
“Should we set up a camp then or walk further?” Minseok asked, climbing down on Jongin’s arm and onto his hand.
“Walk further.” A smile appeared on the man’s lips as he got an idea. “Do you know if there’s a glade or a stream somewhere around here?”
“There should be a glade somewhere around this area and a stream half a mile or so from it. Just keep walking in this direction” said the squirrel who was curious of Jongin’s idea.
A while later they entered the glade — it was late afternoon, Jongin stated by looking at the direction of the sun. He set down the things he had brought with him, Minseok jumped down from his shoulder with ease — being a squirrel and all — they then went to find some food and rocks to start a fire a bit from the glade, and to build a small shelter. When he had built the shelter Minseok showed him to the stream to refill his pouch and wash off at least some of the dirt that had gathered on his body. The squirrel actually had some decency to look away when Jongin stripped and started washing off in the stream.

—

Soft tunes reached them as they got closer to the glade again.
“Have you seen other people this far in the forest?” Jongin whispered to Minseok who was sitting on his head to navigate them through the wilderness.
“No, never. Well, except for you of course.” The two of them crouched behind some bushes in the edge of the glade glancing at the man sitting on the flower bed who was singing a soft tune while his hands were making a flower crown.
Jongin, curious as always, decided to get a closer look at this person. Quietly he made his way towards the small man. Suddenly his foot got caught in some vines and he fell, landing on the soft ground with a thud. The man stopped singing at looked straight at him with a curious expression on his face. Minseok had disappeared somewhere in the treetops. The man was quick to move over to the fallen man and leaned over him.
“Lle tyava quel? Lle anta amin tu?” Two big orbs stared down at the tanned man, the man's heart shaped lips formed words he couldn't interpret.
“I-I don’t understand…”
“Mr Kim?” A distant voice called out for him. “Mr Kim, can you hear me?” Jongin looked around the glade, searching for the voice. It was not the beautiful man’s voice, no, the man's voice was a few octaves deeper and much smoother — almost like caramel, while this one was more highpitched and somewhat annoying.
“S-Sehun?” He mumbled. I must’ve hit my head pretty hard… he thought. He blinked a few times and noticed that the glade was getting much lighter and lighter, and his body was feeling heavier. He reached out for the stranger, but was only able to grasp air. The stranger’s voice still reached his ears, it was faint but it was still there somewhere saying things in a language he couldn’t understand and his voice full of worry.
“He’s finally waking up!” Through Jongin’s misty mind he was able to take cognizance of the hand that gripped his. The glade faded out completely and a hospital room formed around him instead. A male doctor and a female nurse were standing next to the bed — the nurse was checking his levels while the doctor inspected the newly awaken Jongin.
“You’ve been in a coma for three weeks, mr Kim.” Jongin nodded in response, unable to process what was going on. I didn’t hit my head?
"We will call your parents. We will come back later and examine you, we will keep you for a few hours before we determine if you're in a state to go home." The doctor and the nurse left the room and Jongin was left with his thoughts that were occupied by that man he had seen.

Who was he?

What language was he speaking in?

Would he ever see him again?