Glossary

Once they had set up camp, Taemin helped heal the little wounds they had acquired during the storm as Kibum did the same to the horses. Jinki was sorting through their belongings, trying to help Kibum start up their supper.

“You and Jonghyun should go freshen up.” Minho sat down beside Jinki, fresh from his bath in the stream. “I’ll take over from here.” He smiled gently at Jinki.

“No you won’t,” Taemin butted in, “You need to rest. Don’t make me heal you again,” he grumbled as he snatched the bag Minho had taken from Jinki.

“Take the horses with you,” Kibum said, “The water isn’t that cold, they’ll like it too.”

Jinki sat down on the shore, watching Jonghyun bathe the horses, watching how gentle he was with them, talking out loud to them occasionally and he was pretty sure, he was talking to them through his mind too. Jonghyun didn’t talk much at first only speaking up when it was need to, as he felt awkward about his voice. But over the course of time Jonghyun was talking more, opening himself more to the others too, reminding Jinki of the six year old he had first met.

Jinki felt Jonghyun’s voice was beautiful, so soothing to him, and he was glad Jonghyun was talking more. Jonghyun’s gentle laugh was heavenly, making his ears tickle and above all Jonghyun’s smile was ethereal, and whenever Jonghyun would smile at him, Jinki could feel that smile affect his whole being, melting him as it would heat him up from the inside. Jinki’s eyes met Jonghyun’s alluring brown eyes that seemed to speak a lot, but still never gave up their secrets.

“Aren’t you coming in?” Jonghyun asked.

Jinki swallowed, “Yes I should,” he got rid of his boots and shirt and slowly wadded to where Jonghyun was.

“Let me help you clear out the sand from your hair,” Jonghyun offered as Jinki stepped closer.

Jinki felt Jonghyun lean in closer, their chest’s almost touching as Jonghyun tip-toed, his fingers combing through, shaking Jinki’s hair gently. When Jonghyun’s balance slipped, Jinki caught hold of his waist, steadying him. Even after Jonghyun had regained his balance, Jinki’s hands remained on his waist, his thumb softly rubbing against his bare skin. His gaze travelled up from Jonghyun’s waist where his hands were resting, gliding over his smooth stomach that was dusted with hair that disappeared beneath his pants. His gaze drifted to his chest, admiring the pattern on Jonghyun’s chest;  though it was the same pattern, for some reason it looked softer on Jonghyun, a stark contrast to how rough and crude he felt it looked on his own chest. He saw a faint blush begin at the top of Jonghyun’s shoulder’s spreading up along his neck, coloring his cheeks, making his soft pink lips stand out more. His eyes met Jonghyun's and a wave of emotions swept through him at the vulnerability and affection they presented.

“Let me.” Jinki's voice came out rough and low, his heart suddenly full.

Jonghyun nodded shyly, as he let Jinki’s finger’s run through his hair. Jinki’s touch was warming him up, making him too sensitive, that little touch seeming to become bigger and bigger with each passing second. He tried to hard to suppress the shiver that ran through him as he felt Jinki’s eyes boring into his individual, the arm around his waist feeling so hot, so rough; a contrast to the soft and gentle movement of Jinki’s fingers in his hair. He wanted to runaway but he also wanted to feel more, feel that touch more deeply, more intimately.

Jinki liked how the golden rays of the sun played with the soft brown of Jonghyun's hair. He liked how soft it felt against his fingers even though they were a little wet towards the edges. He liked how Jonghyun smelled; like the earth and just himself. He liked Jonghyun's warm breath against his neck, making the fine hair stand up.

“Is something wrong?” Jonghyun asked softly when he felt Jinki slightly tug on his hair.

Jinki realized he had stopped mid way, Jonghyun's hair curled around his fingers and his other arm still around his waist. “I wouldn't mind getting used to this.” Jinki whispered between them. He saw the pink on Jonghyun’s features deepen and it hit him what he had just spoken out loud. He cleared his throat, slowly taking his hands off Jonghyun, not wanting to pull on his hair or make him fall in the water. “Let’s clean up fast and join the others.” he added hastily, quickly turning around, not wanting Jonghyun to see the color blossoming on his own features.

They quickly washed up in silence, a silence that was suffused with unspoken words, with  unfamiliar yet charming feelings. Whenever their eyes met Jinki could see the shy smile on Jonghyun’s face before he quickly looked away, which made Jinki’s heart even more flustered.

“Took you both long enough.” Taemin commented as Jinki and Jonghyun joined the rest.

“The horses were uncooperative,” Jinki added impulsively as he accepted the bowl of soup Minho offered.

“I had not expected Shaerir to be so pretty,” Minho commented, breaking the silence that had befallen them, his gaze admiring the tall and wide trees in front of them

“The forest is pretty old, the trees are at least two to three centuries old,” Kibum gestured towards one of the trees near their camp, “Some are even older than that, but the magic and the life force flowing through them is still so strong.” Kibum swallowed before he continued. “I tried doing some magic on them, trying to set-up a trap of sorts but I was not able too.” He informed them all. “The magic flowing through this forest is so strong that no one can manipulate it.”

“So that means we won’t find any curses or traps in these forests then?” Taemin asked.

“Yeah, I think so… but I can’t say that holds true for the caves as the beast resides in it and they definitely would have rigged it with enchantments.” Kibum said, his gaze settling on Jinki watching him as a sly smile shaped his lips.

Jinki gradually tuned out the conversation, passively