Hoseok was in a sour mood for the rest of day. He was extra rough when grounding up ingredients and none of their patients even wanted to come near the usually happy man. Not that Hoseok blamed them. With the way that he was brooding in the corner it's a wonder that a storm cloud wasn’t actually floating above him.

It wasn’t until the shop was closed that Jeonghi could get the story of what happened at the town center out of her apprentice.

“He was just so full of himself! He’s supposed to be teaching us right? So if we showed promise then he should teach us what he knows.” Hoseok is practically screaming as he paces back and forth. Jeonghi is sat on her stool watching with an amused expression. “He compared our healing to child’s play! Can you believe that? Who even wants to be around that pompous long enough to learn anything from him?”

“Well it definitely doesn’t seem like you do.”

“You’ve got that right! I’m happy where I am.” Hoseok grunted, plopping himself onto the stool next to his teacher.

The truth was that he actually wasn’t happy where he was in his life. After moving out Hoseok realized how much he depended on another person being around him. Of course he didn’t blame his sister for moving on with her life and it truly was more convenient for him to live in the city so they were going to be seperated. However, he still he couldn’t shake this empty feeling he had.

He started spending more time in the shop, but Jeonghi could only take him for so long. If he stayed too much after hours she would kick him out and tell him to find a girlfriend. He tried to advance his arcane skills, but he had hit a wall. Even the most severe stab wounds actually were child's play for Hoseok. There was no challenge anymore, which was half the fun in learning his healing magic.

The only thing that kept him going was his determination to live up to the promise he made in his mothers name.

“Okay, spit it out. What is the matter?” Jeonghi snapped after the nth sigh from Hoseok. The apprentice had become increasingly despondent in the three weeks since the Black Mage had been in town.

“Nothing.” Hoseok cleared his throat and focused harder on the ingredients in front of him.

“I find that hard to believe.”

With yet another sigh, Hoseok put down the marigold he was organizing. He shifted his weight back and forth on his feet, not knowing how to breach the topic. Before he could get another sigh out, Jeonghi slammed her book closed and arched her brow. It was in moments like these that Hoseok found himself forgetting how frail she was.

“I’m bored.”

“Well it’s not like somebody is getting stabbed everyday.”

“It’s not that… Well it’s kind of that, but I mean I’m bored because I’m not learning anything. You said it yourself that I’ve surpassed you.” Hoseok shrung in on himself just a bit even though he was quoting her.

Jeonghi’s face relaxed, a small smile gracing her lips. With a small laugh she walked around their work table and pulled Hoseok’s hands into her own. It reminded of Hoseok when he had done the same thing years ago when he begged her to train him. “It’s true. You’ve got the potential to surpass even the Black Mage.”

“But how?” Hoseok cringed when he noticed he sounded like a petulant child.

“You have to find a better teacher.” When Hoseok opens his mouth to protest she clicks her tongue, “I know I am an amazing master, but I can only teach so much. You need someone with more skill than I.”

“Where could I even find someone like that?”

“That I don’t know. As I’m sure that you saw yesterday there is not much in the way of arcane arts to be found here. In my old age I haven’t kept up with all the usual circles either, but I can tell you for certain that someone is out there. They are sitting around bored like you, just waiting to train someone.”

Jeonghi then surprises Hoseok further by pulling him into a hug. Even after all the time that they had spent together they had never really displayed affection like this. There were times where Jeonghi would say she was proud of him or that she would never be able to find a better apprentice, but that’s about it.

Hoseok is even more surprised when a tear leaks out. His vision quickly becomes blurry and he lets himself fully break down. “Thank you for everything.” He whimpers out.

“The pleasure was all mine.” Her voice sounds just as rough as his, “Don’t forget to write and once you’ve finally passed the Black Mage. I want to show you off as my apprentice to everybody in town.”

“I promise.”

~#~

Hoseok pauses telling his tale when he notices his own apprentice sniffling. The prince’s eyes are hazy, a small smile gracing his features. The sun is setting in the window facing the Jin, making him look radiant.

“She seemed amazing.” Jin says softly when he notices Hoseok paused.

“She was. I try to do her proud everyday.”

Jin’s smile grows at that, “I will do the same.”

Hoseok’s brows furrow. His apprentice just tilts his head in the way he is known to do, his hands moving to the now cold tea.

“Why?”

“Well if it weren’t for her you wouldn’t have been here to teach me. She is like my Grandma-Master.”

The White Mage can’t contain his laughter from bubbling out.

~#~

The very next day Hoseok settled his rent and was off. He takes in the familiar cobblestone street and buildings. Committing them to memory so he won’t forget his home if he’s away for to long. It isn’t until he is walking on a now dirt road that he remembers he should stop by to visit his sister.

As it turned out Wonil’s family owned a farm as well, so when he and Jiwo got married they made the move there. Jiwo has sold their old farms land, which had been a bittersweet sale for both she and Hoseok. However, the apothecary knew that it was better for them to no dwell in a place with such sadness.

When he walks up to the small cottage Wonil is already on the front porch. He is so deeply concentrated on polishing his armor that he doesn’t take notice of Hoseok.

“Morning, Bro!” Hoseok shouts as loud as he can. The soldier flinches and ends up throwing his plate into the dirt.

“Hoseok!” Wonil grits out, “To what do we owe the honor of you gracing us with your presence?”

“Is Jiwo inside?” Hoseok ignores the question in favor of just saying goodbye already. He’s far too eager to start his adventure.

Wonil struggles to get up, “Y-yeah, but you really should have told us you were coming over?”

Hoseok places a hand on the doorknob and smirks, “Then that would ruin the surprise.”

When Hoseok walks into the home his eyes scan for his sister. He finds her sitting on a rocking chair looking out the back window at the rising sun. Once Jiwo heard the sound of her brothers voice she stands from the chair. Cradled in her arms is a small child that Hoseok surmises is no older than a year based on its size.

“Surprise.” Wonil says.

Jiwo smiles awkwardly, adjusting the baby on her hip.

“I’m sorry, when did you guys have a baby?” Hoseok baulks, his jaw unable to close.

It takes a while for Jiwo to calm Hoseok down, but once she does she sits him down at the table. She explains that she never got the chance to tell Hoseok about it with him being so busy and far away. “And then after I had Taehee everything got so hectic that it slipped my mind.”

“It slipped your mind to let me know that I am an uncle?” Hoseok scolds his sister in a baby voice. His niece is on the table supported by him. While he makes funny faces the little girls just giggles back.

“Having a child takes a lot out of you.”

Hoseok sends her a pointed looks and hums.

“So what brings you around anyways? It’s not like you come out here anymore.”

With that Hoseok stops making faces and flushes a little, “I’m actually going to be leaving for a while.”

“Leaving? Where to?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well for how long?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean!? Hoseok, are you in trouble?” Jiwo clutches at her chest like the thought of her little brother doing crime could cause her a heart attack.

The accusation causes Hoseok to scoff, “As if. I’m going out to learn more.”

“Is Jeonghi not teaching you anymore?”

“She hasn’t taught me anything new in two years. I need to find someone to teach more more arcane arts.”

“Does this have something to do with the Black Mage rejecting you?”

Hoseok flushes even deeper. He focuses back on Taehee, tickling her stomach to get more laughs from her.

“How do you even know about that?”

Jiwo flips her hair over her shoulder and smirks, “It was the talk of the town that he didn’t take on the most promising mage we’ve seen in decades. It was such a hot topic that it got all the way out to here. Well that and Wonil of course works in the city.”  

“Yeah well it’s not so nice try.” Hoseok pouts.

He ends up staying for the night. Most of his time is spent playing with baby Taehee. Spending so much time with his family make Hoseok almost want to not leave. He has already missed out so much in Taehee’s life and his sister was right. He doesn’t come out as much as he should have. However, those thoughts quickly pass when he feels the familiar bubbling excitement at the prospect of learning the next morning.

Before anyone wakes up and convinces him to stay any longer, Hoseok is out the door and again traveling on the dirt road. Birds are singing their songs, the carols echoing off the tree line. The bottom of Hoseok's pantaloons are damp from the dew that he brushed against. Taking in a deep breath of the fresh air, Hoseok feels at peace.

Mornings had always been his favorite time of day. Hoseok never struggled to get out of bed when the sun was just peeking out from the horizon. He loved watching the sky light up, a melody of colors from orange to blue. It was also always so quiet in the morning, peaceful. All of Hoseok’s problems melted away during the calm hours of morning.

On this day it served to calm his nerves that bubbled just under the surface. The chill that crept up his spine was only kept at bay as soon as the sun was high enough for him to bask in. Hoseok pretended that the shivers that went through his body were from the cold breeze, not fear. The fear of the unknown that became more prominent as the sun got further over head.

The familiar fields of home faded into dense woods. It wasn’t until the tall trees surrounded Hoseok, cutting off his view of the place he called home, that he realized he had never been outside Laytani. He spent his whole life in the comfortable bubble of knowing that everything he needed was within reach. It may have been a ways to the city from the farm, but at least he knew that it would be there when he arrived.

Hoseok wasn’t really sure where he was heading now. He could travel in one direction and never find another person ever again. He could die out in these woods. Suppressing another shiver, Hoseok realized that he had never really taken time to study a map of the budding nation. He knows that far to the north is Helgia, but that in itself was a seperate nation and they may not accept him all that easily.

“Oh my gods, I’m going to die out here aren’t I?” Hoseok asked nobody in particular when his stomach grumbled. He had brought some food with him, but the thought of not finding society for a long time had caused him to want to hoard it.  

A bird trilled in response as it landed on a bush in front of him. Frozen, Hoseok watched as the bird stared at him, tilted its own head, and then picked away at some berries on the shrub. Once the small, brown bird got its fill it let out another chirp and then flew off.

Hesitantly Hoseok approached the bush and picked one of the berries. It was a dark blue in color and didn’t look dangerous. However, when did a berry look threatening?

“Screw it.” Hoseok said as he plopped the berry in his mouth. It wasn’t sweet like he was expecting, but that's not necessarily bad. It was tart and caused Hoseok to smack his lips a few times. The apothecary looked at the bush that was still full of berries and sighed, “Well if one is poisonous it wouldn’t do anymore harm to eat more, right?”

With a small snack in hand, Hoseok continued to wander through the woods. He tried his best to stick to one direction, reasoning that if he went one way he was bound to find something of interest eventually. However, the density of the trees really made that hard. They sometimes stood in his way and he couldn’t remember the except way he was going once he got around them. Then there was the fact that they hid the sun from the healer. It wasn’t until it was too late that Hoseok realized that dusk had begun to fall and it was becoming progressively harder to see.

Once he had stumbled for the third time, Hoseok decided that it would be safer for him to just stop where he was for the day. Half blind the healer bumped around until he found a large tree to curl up against. Now that he had let his body relax Hoseok realized that his feet were actually in a lot of pain. With a grunt he pulled his boots off and massaged his aching limbs.

“Mr. Bird, if you are still out there can you point me to a master of the arcane arts?” Hoseok softly asked the darkness. With bated breath he waited for a response, but when he didn’t receive one he let out a small laugh, “I’m going insane and it's only been a day.”

It took Hoseok far longer than normal to fall asleep. The fear of the unknown kept him up. Not only was it not knowing what lurked in the darkness that surrounded him, but also the unknown destination that plagued him all day. Now that he wasn’t focused on moving forward his mind dwelled on his fears. His thoughts were begging for his body to just relax and sleep, but it was far too difficult.

What little sleep he got that night wasn’t able to recharge him. When he finally gave up on resting and decided it was time to ‘wake-up’ he was more tired than when he had originally sat down.

“At least I can see.” Hoseok grumbled to himself as he got to his feet.

He brushed the dirt off of himself and took in his surroundings. The canopy of the forest was no less thick, only little slivers of light breaking through. It was impossible for Hoseok to tell what way he had been traveling. In his last hour the night before he was walking in essentially total darkness.

With a sigh, Hoseok picked a direction and just started walking. His feet were still sore from his travels the day before and his back felt stiff from his uncomfortable rest.

“When I get into a town I’m going to take a vacation.”

As it turned out Hoseok could only bring himself to walk for a few hours before he was completely exhausted. Normally he felt that he was more resilient than this. Hell he put up with years of hurting himself daily just to alleviate the pain of soldiers. However, he got ample rest in between his bursts of magic. It was now that Hoseok realized he was a sprinter, not a long distance runner.

Clicking his tongue, Hoseok dug around in his backpack and decided that he might as well eat a meal to get his energy back up. When he pulled out a loaf of bread he realized that it had already started going stale. Scrunching up his nose the healer took a bite and chewed. Even though it was tough on the outside it was the first thing Hoseok had eaten in a day, so to him it was delicious.

He chewed for an extra long time for two reasons. The first being that the longer he ate the more of a break he got. The second was he just wanted to enjoy the food while he could. Still not knowing how far he was from civilization was plaguing his every free thought.

“Jeonghi would be hysterical if she knew how little I planned.”

Just as Hoseok let his head fall back against the tree he heard a trill. Looking down he saw a familiar brown bird. He had no idea if this was the same one from the day before, but it sure did look like it. It tilted it’s head, the beady eyes trained on what remained of the bread. Slowly, the bird hopped towards Hoseok.

“Do you want some?” Hoseok held the food out and the bird stopped its march.

It let out a trill in response and hopped in place.

“Well I guess it’s only fair. You showed me the berries.”

Hoseok found himself smiling as he held out the food. The bird looked at him, then back at the offering. Without a second thought the creature finished hopping closer and took a large chunk out of the bread. Once it got the food down it let out another song.

The healer found himself laughing as the bird went to town on his meal.

“Oh bird, if only you could talk. It would make me feel so much better to have someone to chat with.”

All he got in response was another squawk from his new companion.

He watched as his meal was consumed by the animal. It pecked away at the stale bread with the same fervor that the healer had been feeling moments before. Once the bird was finished it looked back up at Hoseok. It almost looked like it bowed to the man, before it took off into the trees.

With the sudden disappearance of his new friend, Hoseok was feeling even lonelier than before. He was starting to miss Jeonghi and his sister immensely, and it’s only been a day. He knows neither of them could have embarked on this journey with him. Jeonghi was to long in the tooth and Jiwo had a child now.

As Hoseok began to walk again he began to think about how he really didn’t have that many friends. When he was a child his closest companions were the farm animals and his sister. Then as an adolescent and adult it was just his sister and Jeonghi. He never felt there was anything wrong with that.

It’s not like he ever had troubles interacting with others. Many of his patients said he was far more gentle than Jeonghi and said they preferred him. The few times he found himself in the tavern he easily found someone to talk to for the night. They would even drunkenly promise to stay in contact. It’s just when the sun rose and with the liquid courage out of his system, Hoseok would never follow up.

Hoseok now found himself dwelling on the fact that hardly anyone would notice his disappearance. In addition to the fact that he was so hopelessly lost.

The healer still wasn’t in tip top shape and was barely keeping on his feet as he stumbled through the forest. The half loaf he had gotten hardly did anything thing and he was almost on empty again. It’s almost like Mother Earth herself felt the same way with how the sun had slowly started to disappear again.

“Oh gods. I’m going to die out here.” Hoseok whined as he leaned against a tree. He blinked rapidly in a sorry attempt to adjust to the lack of light. Deciding to just give up, he found himself slumped against a tree again.

“I just wanted to get stronger and help more people.” Hoseok found himself tearing up, “Is that so wrong? So what if I also wanted to rub that snooty Black Mage’s nose in it.”

Alone, cold and hungry, Hoseok felt himself finally fall apart. It’s like the dam broke open and he couldn’t stop the water works. Knowing that nobody was around for miles, Hoseok let everything go. He sobbed loudly and frequently. A few wails of despair also bounced off the many trees.

He lost track of time and hot tears poured down his face. His face felt grimy from wiping his dirty hands through the tear tracks.

“Anybody!? Please I just need a sign that I’m on the right track!” Hoseok shouted.

Hoseok looked around wildly, as if a teacher would just jump out from behind a tree. The darkness was almost completely engulfing him now. He was in so much pain from the non stop movement, his lack of rest and lack of food. Giving up Hoseok tightly shut his eyes and let his head slam back against the tree.

Just as sleep was about to over take the healer a familiar trill was heard. With another sniffle Hoseok opened his eyes and saw a bird before him. However, this bird was far different from the brown bird he had encountered over the past two days.

This one was glowing a bright blue, illuminating the area around it. It had a seemingly random pattern of swirls and shapes throughout its body. Though these markings didn’t just stay in one place. They moved all over the birds body, making the creature seem even more like a mirage. Its eyes were still just as beedy, but they seemed to hold knowledge of a wise man rather than a bird.

“A-Are you real?” Hoseok crawled towards the bird. His fingers digging into the dirt to ground himself. Remind him that he was actually awake and not sleeping, or worse dead.

The bird mad one small hop towards him and then nodded its head.

“So you can understand me then?”

Yet again another nod.

“Can you help me?”

A nod.

“How?”

The bird tilted its head and let out another squawk. It hopped up and down where it stood a few times before turning around and taking off. Slowly, and with no wind to carry it, the bird floated into the air and went forward.

When it noticed that Hoseok was still teary and crouched on the ground it circled him a few times. Yet again it flew forward and yet again Hoseok remained where he was. Almost as if the bird was somehow annoyed it let out another trill, which Hoseok somehow understood.

“You want me to follow you?”

The bird didn’t even dignify him with a response, it just went forward. The amature mage scrambled to his feet and followed after the blue bird. Even though it flapped its wings it wasn’t soaring through the air like a normal bird. It was almost as if it was floating through an invisible river.

This thought almost caused Hoseok to laugh when they actually came upon a river. It was glowing bright white in the full moon above, which allowed the healer to finally see again. The river crashed against rocks that were jutting out at all different angles. The coursing water was almost blinding with how much it reflected the moons light.

Without knowing what was next, Hoseok launched himself at the fresh water and began to scrub his face clean. Once he was satisfied with that he began to drink from his hands. The water was chilly and refreshing. Now content Hoseok looked back to the bird to see that it was steadily going downstream, alongside the river.

Yet again he scrambled to his feet and chased after the feathered creature. It’s almost as if the rivers water had somehow washed away all weariness from his bones, because suddenly Hoseok felt as if he had just set out again. He was optimistic again. This bird was either real and was taking him to a town. Or it was death and he had finally passed on which meant that his suffering was over. Hoseok was obviously hoping for the former, but he would take anything at this point.

Eventually the river ended and what remained was a perfectly circular pool of water. Surrounding the pool were dozens of trees. The trunks were all so close together that not even the small bird could make its way through them. The sand that encircled the pool made the earth look like it was rippling with different layers.

The bird flew around it a few times and then stopped behind Hoseok. Turning to look at it, Hoseok saw when the avian made contact with his back. The healer felt energy surge through him, causing him to gasp. He suddenly felt incredibly warm, almost like his blood was beginning to boil.

The birds intent was somehow clear; bathe in the pool.

And that is exactly what Hoseok did.

Slowly he waded to the center of the circle. It wasn’t all that deep, coming up to just under his hip. He let his legs fall out beneath him and the water caught him. Allowing his body to fully relax, Hoseok began to float. He watched as the bird circled him a few more times. Then in an act that was a mix of horrifying and mesmerizing the bird exploded.

Rather than entrails and bones raining down on the mage, it was a million tiny sparks showering down. They twinkled with every color of the rainbow as they slowly descended into the water. As soon as the first particle touched the pool, Hoseok felt it.

Yet again it was like energy surged through his body. However, this was different. It felt like raw magic, but unlike any Hoseok had ever encountered. It felt more… natural. Suddenly he felt like he was connected to the forest itself. He could feel the grass slowly growing and the lightest breeze rustle through the trees. The river coursed just like the blood in his own veins. The earth shifted as rabbits burrowed in and other predators stalked across the dirt.

Hoseok floated there for what could have been hours, or maybe just minutes. As he got to his feet again he expected the connection to break, but it didn’t. As he waded through the pool he felt as the water parted for him, both as himself and as the river itself. As soon as his foot touched the sand surrounding the pool, the water that clung to him was soaked up leaving him completely dry.

Before Hoseok could wonder what he needed to do next a ball of fire lit in front of him. Just like the bird had, it swam through the air towards the densely populated trees. The mage involuntarily gasped when the trees started to bend out of the way as the ball got closer. The foliage moved to form a path. Lining this path were many balls of warm light.

On shaky legs Hoseok began to move forward. The dirt below his feet felt almost like he was still walking on the sand. It was incredibly soft and parted for him easily. The most weird part was that he could still feel it on two levels. There was the physical feeling that he got and then this odd extra sense. It was almost like he could feel himself stepping on the earth.

Again, Hoseok lost track of time as he was in sensory overload. The lights felt brighter than they should be, warmer than they should be. The wind was sharper even though it was just a small breeze. He could still feel the coursing river, pumping its energy throughout the surrounding forest.

So it was no surprise that Hoseok didn’t even notice he came upon a person. Well a lot of persons.

Suddenly Hoseok found himself in a clearing with many different eyes on him. Most were poking their heads out of their homes, which just so happened to be in the trees. However, these trees were far bigger than any Hoseok had ever seen. They extended hundreds of feet into the air and were thicker than his apartment back in Laytani.

All throughout the trees were bioluminescent bulbs of varying colors. These same bulbs decorated the path that led into this settlement.

The closest set of eyes approached him hesitantly. A soft pink light glowed in their outstretched hand, which caused Hoseok to take note of the fact that he wasn’t in front of a fellow human.

This figure had the same odd markings that the bird had. They went up the man’s arm and all over his exposed torso, even disappearing into his pants. These marks only stopped halfway up his neck, stopping just before his handsome face. He had big lips, that were turned down in a drown. His thick eyebrows drew in as well, just above his large doe-like eyes. His brown hair was contained and wild all at once.

The most striking thing about the man before him were the large, glowing, golden wings that fluttered on his back.

“How did you get here human?” the man asked. His voice soft, but commanding.

“I-Uh… Well… Gods this is going to sound crazy-”

“Spit it out or I will be forced to take you down!” the pink light wavered just a little.

“A blue bird led me here?”

Once he said that gasps echoed throughout the clearing. Hoseok looked at the shocked fairies who began to murmur to themselves. The man before him let the pink light go out completely and he looked dumbfounded.  

“Come with me.” Is all the mysterious man said, before turning his winged back to Hoseok. Under the scrutiny of all the stares the mage felt obligated to followed closely behind.

---

More Namseok to come eventually~

Lots will be explained next chapter