fuse
verb
join or blend to form a single entity.

{Taemin and Minho go into the woods to see what all the fuss is about.} | 1124w

A/N: idk about this one guys. I tried, but I'm not very satisfied with it.. hope you'll enjoy it anyway;;\

“Don't tell anyone about this,” Minho grumbled as he threw a leg over yet another moss-covered trunk that was strewn across the fading trail.

“Why?” Taemin asked from ahead. “You don't want them to know you were actually really curious?

“You asked me to come!”

“So you'll do anything that I ask?” The young teen grinned as he peered over his shoulder to catch Minho's reaction.

He didn't say anything, and just kept walking with his eyes on the soft dirt of the forest. The call of birds they couldn't see filled the silence.

“Don't worry, I won't,” Taemin said, letting him catch up. “How much longer do you think–”

The two came to a stop when they spotted smoke rising languidly beyond the thicket. They hurried through the trees and slick vegetation and saw that it was coming from a two story house with a weathered exterior, wood dark and covered with lichens due to moisture and lack of paint. The few windows it had were covered by mismatched shutters and the porch was completely bare, making it look like no one was occupying the place.

“Is this where she lives?” Minho whispered, padding closer to the house. He and Taemin made their way up the creaking steps and cautiously inched toward the door, which still had traces of white in the nooks of the wood details.

“Must be,” Taemin replied quietly. He held on to the elder's sleeve as he moved forward to take the rusty knocker between his fingers and hit it against the metal five times, the clack echoing across the porch.

“Wait, what are we going to say?!” Minho asked. “We don't even–”

They jumped when they heard a thud on the floorboards behind them, and felt really silly when they realized it was just a cat.

“Jesus!” Taemin hissed. “Where'd it come from?”

The two watched the black green-eyed feline walk past them and into the house, curling its tail lovingly around one of the legs beside it.

They lifted their eyes slowly and found an old woman wearing a plain polka dot dress under a heavy brown shawl. She smiled, revealing an incomplete set of teeth, and welcomed them inside without question.

The boys looked at each other, wondering – and with good reason – if they should really walk into a stranger's home in the middle of the forest.

“Excuse me,” Minho started, but was cut off.

“You boys should hurry if you want to be home by dinner,” the woman called from inside.

Minho shrugged. “Might as well?” He went in, followed closely by Taemin who closed the door behind him.

The interior was dim and cluttered. The only light came from oil lanterns and candles that were placed over dusty stacks of books and at the corners of tables which were covered in all sorts of things they'd never seen before.

They carefully stepped around boxes and chests until they reached a small round table in the corner of the room. The old woman was already seated and she beckoned them to join her.

“This is refreshing,” she said in her sweet quivery voice. “People usually come by themselves. Or they know what they need.”

They shared another look and the woman laughed to herself, crossing her arms under her shawl.

“Skeptics. Someone told you about me and you thought you'd come to make up your minds. Very well.”

“I'm sorry, ma'am...” Taemin scooted to the edge of the chair. “My friend said you helped him with something and suggested coming. He wouldn't tell us what it was though, or what you did.”

She hummed and nodded in understanding. “And you?”

Minho shifted uncomfortably in his seat, not liking being put on the spot.

“I asked him to come,” Taemin said.

“Well alright, darling.” She sighed and closed her eyes, clearing her mind and preparing herself. “It would be easier to know what I was going to do.”

Minho frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I'll be just as surprised as you boys. What you'll see and feel, what it'll be about, who knows. How exciting!” She extended her hands over the table. “I'll need take your hands. Good, you two have already taken each other's.”

They looked down at their interlaced fingers, confusion flashing across their features because they couldn't recall doing so.

“This might not be so difficult,” she told the cat which had appeared at her bare feet. “Are you going to stay for this one?”

The cat gave an unusual mew before scurrying out of the room.

“I thought not. Oh well.” She lightly held their hands and closed her eyes again. “You should do the same.”

They looked at each other a last time before shutting their eyes.

Every other sense left the boys the moment their vision went dark. No sound, no smell, no feeling, or even a single thought. It was as if nothing existed, yet each boy was aware of their own presence, wherever they were. Seconds, maybe hours, passed before an orb of warm light materialized in the blackness. It must've been in constant motion, perhaps vibrating, because it emitted a low pleasant hum as it grew. Only, it wasn't growing. Each realized it was getting closer and the warmth became an unbearable heat. Was the orb the sun? It couldn't be. The light was complete whiteness and there were no violent fiery flares. The scorching sphere came closer still, and now each was being pulled to it. Neither fought it, but it was becoming difficult to reach. As strong as the pull was, resistance like magnetic repulsion kept each at a distance. This went on for what seemed like an eternity, and each boy was drained. They became desperate. They wanted to touch it. Frustration fueled a final attempt to contact the orb and each must've finally reached it because the whiteness somehow became brighter, the heat felt cold before dissipating, and the humming swelled into a deafening boom. Neither could see the light anymore. They were it.

Their senses returned with dizzying sharpness, and they wished there were fresher air to breathe.

“That was really something,” the old woman mused quietly. “I've only seen it once before. It's amazing that yours behaved like that.”

Taemin was dazed and his eyes were still adjusting to the darkness of the house, but he found his voice to speak. “What was that exactly?” He turned to Minho and he could tell that he had the same question. What he couldn't tell was that he'd had the same vision.

The woman smiled warmly. “The fusing of souls.”