1953....

            Blood. A lot of it. That’s the first thing Jinki senses as his bare feet touched the ground beneath his house. Before his mind can go through too many worse case scenarios he realizes the sensation is coming from outside of the barrier. The sun has barely risen completely and a human has already ruined his day. He’s just about to ignore it when Taemin swoops down, fluttering his wings until he gracefully lands beside him. “ I think you may want to investigate Jinki.”

            “And why is that?”

            “It’s that one soldier from almost a year ago. The one that remembered.” 

            “Kibum?” When Taemin gently lowered his head in a nod, Jinki pushed off the soil so hard there was an indent where his feet used to be. 

            Approaching the entrance Minho is already there, having tugged in the man through the barrier and resting him against a tree. Jinki slid onto his knees, searching over Kibum’s dirty and ripped uniform for the source of the blood as Minho started to explain. “I know you like being the only one to let humans in but he was hurt and I heard him calling your name and-” 

            Jinki whipped his head over towards the man, “Do you think you can help me carry him to the house?” 

            Minho blinked silently for a moment. “As in, yours?” 

            “Yes!” 

            “Of-of course.” 

            A few minutes later Kibum was laid over Minho’s back as the buck tried his best not to jostle him too much as they walked toward the center of the forest. 

-----

            Jinki never expected Kibum to make it through the night. There was no way to know how long he had bullets in him or how long he had been traveling to get to the forest. Not until Kibum woke up to be asked. Jonghyun and Minho helped him the best they could to dress the wounds and stop the bleeding. For the last two days all they’ve been doing is taking turns looking over Kibum waiting for him to open his eyes. 

            When he finally does, it’s not for very long. Jinki is wiping his forehead with a damp cloth as he pants out, “Everyone...gone. Nowhere...to go.” His voice is soft and cracks halfway through as he fights for breath. 

            “I’m here, Kibum.”

            That seemed enough for him because he closed his eyes again, a slight smile to his lips before it felt as his breathing had evened out.

-----

            The next time Kibum wakes up Taemin is the one looking over him. “Who... are you?”

            Taemin screams, shifting as he jumps causing Kibum to wail and pass out. ‘Oh .’ He hopped over to the nearest window, looking down and squawking as loud as he could. 

            It was a few minutes before someone came to investigate. Minho stepped through the door, chest rising and falling rapidly. “What in the Earth Mother is wrong with you?”

            Shifting back and rolling his shoulders, Taemin quipped, “The human woke up.”

            “I see that very clearly.” Minho’s big eyes shifted to the very much NOT awake human. “Try again.”

            “He woke up. Scared me. I shifted and he passed out.”

            “Ah .”

            “That’s what I said.” Taemin pressed his lips together when Minho glared at him.

-----

            Jinki smiled as one of his parrots flew in through the window and landed on his shoulder. Creating a few grapes in his hand, he held one out for her. His eyes moved away from the bright green of her feathers slowly when he heard a soft voice. “A pet...or a man?”

            “She’s neither. Salomé is a companion, but fully animal I assure you.” Jinki scratched her head before letting her fly away. “I apologize for how you met my Water Spirit.”

            “What?” Kibum croaked.

            “We’ll worry about that another time.” Jinki flashed a smile as he approached the bed, sitting on the edge. “How do you feel?”

            “Like I’ve been shot.”

            “At least you have the feeling of that.”

            Kibum closed his eyes as he took slow painful breaths. When he opened them again, he moves his hand over to brush his fingers on the back of Jinki’s hand. “Thank you.”

            “I make a habit of helping the poor injured creatures who venture upon my forest.” Jinki cupped the back of Kibum’s head to help him drink from the ceramic cup. “That just seems to include you too now.” 

            “Was afraid...you wouldn’t save a human.”

            “You aren’t the average human, are you Kibum?” After placing the cup on the table beside the bed, Jinki smiled. “Rest. I cannot heal humans as other animals. You have a long road of traditional healing ahead of you.” 

-----

            The only light illuminating the house was that of the moon peeking through the two windows. The moonlight just the right intensity so that they could see each other’s faces from where they sat. Earlier that day Kibum had met three beings Jinki referred to as Spirits. Each had their domain they protected and cared for, each with an animal form that aided them in their territory. Apparently the crane shifting man was not a dream nor a manifestation of the improper circulation to his brain from the blood loss but was the Spirit of Water from the Northern Waterfalls. The wolf he had seen following close by before was Jonghyun, the Spirit of the Mountain in the East. And Finally Minho, the Spirit of the Forest, the extraordinarily large buck he had seen through the shadows of trees.

            But meeting them was hours ago and as interesting as they were, it was Jinki who captivated his attention most. It intrigued him greatly how someone could get three very powerful nature spirits to care so greatly. What was it about Jinki that had them threatening to put more than bullet holes in him if he ever harmed the Elf? Kibum was taken out of his thoughts when Jinki cleared his throat from his spot in the chair up against the wall. “I think it’s time to head to bed.”

            “How do you know what time it is without a clock?”

            “Magic.” Jinki gave a sleepy grin. “Goodnight.” He was halfway standing from his chair when he froze, gazing at Kibum. “Unless there’s something you need to talk about.”

            “I thought maybe you’d want to know about what happened...about how I got hurt.”

            “Oh.” Jinki slowly moved to sit on the edge of the bed, giving a gentle smile. “Alright. I have been curious as to how you managed to find the forest again.”

            “It wasn’t as easy that’s for sure.” His laughter stopped short, his body still hurting from the action. “My unit...we were on our way back to base, delighted, as we were told that the war was close to an end. Everyone was talking about seeing their women again, their kids. And then as soon as the brightness fell upon us, the darkness followed too. We were ambushed.

            “There was no warning, no sign that anything was different; one moment we were joking about life and the next I was staring at my friends...at this graveyard that was created in a matter of seconds.” Kibum looked up, startled when he felt Jinki hold his hand, barely noticing the tears falling from his own eyes. “I knew, if I stayed I’d become a prisoner of war or get killed and I had to try. I thought of this place, of you, of how you could, you would help.” 

            “What will you do when you leave?”

            Oh. Leave. Kibum had always expected to leave, but for some reason, hearing Jinki say it made his heart sink slightly. “I.. I don’t know. There’s not much waiting for me.” 

            “What do you want to go back to? What do you want to see waiting for you?” 

            “I have no family. No wife. I’m a twenty three year old that’s seen more demons than I should’ve had to. I don’t know what I want.” 

            Jinki squeezed his hand, smile so pretty and warm in the moonlight. “At least the war should be over soon. You should be able to start fresh in a safe place.”

            “Yes..start fresh.”

            After Jinki finally slipped off to bed bidding him goodnight, Kibum still couldn’t get how pretty Jinki’s smile is out of his head.

----

            After months of fighting and being weathered down by the elements, Kibum had grown to have disdain for rain. His most recent and vivid sensory memories of precipitation were being cold and shivering huddled in a dirty pile with his fellow soldiers. Fires were a luxury and never kept lit for long to decrease being spotted in the darkness of night. Now dry and warm in Jinki’s home as the thunder boomed he still flinched. The noise was different than the sound of gunfire but similar enough it made rest impossible to achieve for long periods of time. 

            He squeezed his eyes shut tightly as the house swayed in the harsh burst of wind. A voice, soft and layered with sleep, came from the right of him. Kibum’s hands were shaking as he tightened his grip on his blanket, finding Jinki standing in the doorway with a single candle. “I can feel your terror through the tree.” 

            “What?” Lightning crackled across the sky causing him to whimper. “If you’ve come to insult me I’d rather wait until morning.” 

            Jinki stepped closer sliding his candle onto the table. He squinted as he stood by the edge of the bed, smacking his mouth a few times before his gaze fell on the two open window frames in the room. Water periodically blew through them, the thin curtains doing nothing to deter the drops. With each thundering boom and crackle of lightning, a light flashed across the room. “The storm, is it the cause of your fear?” 

            Kibum swallowed thickly, “Partially.” 

            The Elf only grunts quietly before his eyes glow a soft green color and the light through the windows goes out. Jinki’s smile can be seen in the dim light of the single candle, “Rest well.” 

            The candle is left on the table as he turns away. Kibum isn’t even sure he’s still in the room when he calls out, “Stay?”

            Jinki’s voice cuts through the silence of the room, “You wish me to sleep with you?” 

            “I’m not asking for I-”

            But then he feels the bed dip and Jinki is settling along the edge of the mattress, illuminated by candlelight. “Of course not. If you kill me in my sleep try to make it quick.”

            His eyes closed and before Kibum knows it Jinki is asleep, his soft even breathing almost calming. He wasn’t sure if it was the closure of the windows or the man beside him that allowed him to relax enough to eventually fall asleep. Deep down he knew the answer, but he couldn’t force himself to accept it yet.

------

            Jinki giggled as Maha landed on Kibum’s head, ruffling his feathers and peering down at his new perch. Kibum stared directly at Jinki, trying not to move too much as he whispered. “Is there a bird on my head? Why is there a bird on my head? Jinki! Stop laughing.” 

            “His name is Maha. Come here, sweetie.” The bird hopped onto Jinki’s finger, stepping off onto his shoulder once carried closer. Maha’s eyes closed as Jinki scratched his chest feathers. “He’s what I believe your people named a Rodriques Parrot. The last I knew, he’s the last of his kind.” 

            “He’s very beautiful.” 

            “He lives in the center tree with Salomé. He must have gone up to my bedroom and noticed I wasn’t there… didn’t you sweetie?” 

            Kibum slowly pushes up on his elbow and then fully to lean against the wall, almost memorized by the relationship shown before him. Never had he seen such a close relationship between man and animal, even if Jinki wasn’t human. “Have you had him long?”

            “A few hundred years. He was taken from his home as a baby and sold. In the transit, his wing was badly damaged and they tossed him out of the wagon. He managed to find the forest and I nursed him back to health.” Jinki pressed a kiss to the top of Maha’s head before the bird flew off, twisting out of the door with a squawk. “I have healed many animals and most return to the world outside the barrier. Some I wish hadn’t. Maha and Solomé are the last of their kind. If they had returned to your world they would have been killed or starved.”

            “You love them.”

            Jinki softly smiled. “Very much so.” 

            “I didn’t think you were capable of love.” Kibum watches as Jinki makes a mango grow from a vine twisting through the open window, shaking his head to focus on the conversation at hand. “You have such a hatred for humans, I didn’t think there was room for such pure emotion as love.” 

            “There is much about me you do not know, Kibum.” Jinki bit into his mango, tongue lapping at the juice on his lips as he smiled. “You may end up being surprised by how much more there is to me than my distrust of your kind.”

            Kibum looked down at his hands as Jinki stood and headed toward the door. He didn’t look up as he hesitantly said. “You trusted me last night when you slept beside me.” 

            “Or maybe I just hoped you wouldn’t hurt me and am relieved that you didn’t.” Looking up Kibum realized Jinki was still turned away. “I will be back soon with breakfast and change your bandages. Until then, try not to move too much.”

----

            A month later Kibum could walk enough with a staff that Jinki finds it’s time to take him down from the treehouse. The problem being as they walk across the bridge to the smaller room that serves as the entrance Kibum wouldn’t go near the circle cut out of the floor. “You’re going to drop me.”

            Jinki stares at him as the vine moves around his hand and arm, stepping onto the woven platform. “I think I have proven my willingness to save your life?” 

            His lips were pressed into a very thin line as he took the offered hand. “Fine, but if I-”

            He could not stop himself from laughing at the loud string of curses leaving Kibum’s lips as the platform began to quickly lower.

-----

            Cleaning his hands in a stream nearby the wolf den, Jinki looked up at the call of his name. Standing on the opposite bank of the water was Kibum, holding a small, furry creature in his hands which upon closer inspection proved to be a baby squirrel. “What have you got there?”

            “Can you heal him?”

            “That doesn’t answer my question.” Jinki rose, wiping his hands dry on his skirt. 

            “I was resting as you told me and I think I startled him from his nest. His paw is hurt and I don’t want his mother to not want him anymore or something.” 

            “One, that wouldn’t happen.” Jinki hopped across the water by pushing off a rock directly between them. He smiled as the little squirrel hopped into his offered hand. “To answer your question, yes I can heal him.”

-----

            As they walked back to return the squirrel to his burrow, Jinki looked at Kibum from the corner of his eye. “What made you want to save such a small creature?”

            “Though not intentional, I did hurt him and I wanted to fix my mistake.” Kibum smiled softly as he gazed down at his new little friend. “He trusted me enough to pick him up, and I wanted to pay back that trust I suppose.”

            Jinki stared ahead of him, brow furrowed for a moment as he tried to process it all. Never in his life could he imagine a human caring about the wellbeing of a simple squirrel. “Animals remember those who have helped them. You will see more of our little squirrel friend.”

            “Is it alright if I name him Jyu?”

            “I suppose you could, but he’d be quite offended.” Jinki gestures to the animal with a blank stare. “His name is already Theodore Thistle the Third.”

            “It is not.”

            “Is so.”

            Kibum’s bottom lip jutted out a little as he half whined. “You’re lying.”

            “That’s cute.” Jinki stopped to fully look at Kibum with his monotone comment. He ran a finger over Theodore’s small head. “I am not lying. His parents are from North America. He told me his name while I was healing his paw.” 

            “Theodore Thistle the Third?”

            “Yes.”

            “I must be dreaming.”

            “Dreaming… what is that?”

            Kibum blinked at him. “Alright, what the ?!” 

-----

            Kibum wanted nothing more than to curl his fingers around the fur on the back of Minho’s neck, but he was also afraid that the Spirit would toss him off his back and into a tree if he did. Instead, he glanced over at Jinki, trying not to move his head too much, “Are you sure he’s not going to throw me off?” 

            Jinki had his hair up again today, twisted and pinned with small intricate sticks. He ran his hand over Minho’s snout with a smile. “Minho is a giant sweetheart. He promised to help me show you the rest of the forest without putting too much pressure on your wounds.” 

            “Still doesn’t answer my question.”

            “He put you together; he won’t break you apart.”

            Kibum didn’t believe him one bit.

----

            Kibum thought he had seen all the forest had to offer, but while he was being escorted by Jinki and Minho, he found he was very wrong. With the strong presence of the two beings beside him, the animals of the wood were coming out in droves. A few, Kibum could swear he had never seen anywhere other than a science book on extinct animals. When Jinki had told him about his parrots, he never thought there would be more never thought Jinki would be right. “I’ve never- there’s so many.”

            “This forest is a safe haven; animals come here to escape all sorts of disasters.” Jinki laughed as a small furry creature landed on his shoulder, nuzzling into his cheek. 

            “That’s- Amazing.” 

            “Some of them are more friendly than others, but most are victims of circumstances, of human-driven consequences.” Jinki placed the animal onto the ground, smiling as it scampered into the brush. “All they want is a safe home. Here, they never have to worry about a human taking everything from them. They’re much like me in that way.”

            There was a smile on Jinki’s face, but something told Kibum as he turned away that smile was nowhere to be seen.

-----

            It takes another month for Kibum to heal enough to make the trek up to the next place Jinki wishes to show him. Up on top of the highest waterfall, is a bright grove of magnolia trees and Kibum finds out what the basket Jinki had carried all the way up the path is for slowly. It only clicks fully as he watches Jinki lay down and throw the blanket over his body, curled up under the woven canopy. “What are you doing?”

            “I plan on napping.” 

            “Napping?”

            Jinki patted the space next to him on the soft grass. “This is my favorite space to nap. You’re more than welcome to join me.” 

            To not look like a complete idiot, Kibum walked over with a soft huff. Laying down was a little more difficult, but eventually, he found a comfortable spot. Once he settled down beside him, Jinki tossed half of the blanket over Kibum. “You’re really something else.” 

            “I hope good things.”

            Kibum returned the smile, trying not to pay too much attention to the nagging part of his brain telling him to kiss Jinki right then and there.

-----

            “So apparently the images we see while we sleep is called dreaming.” Jinki excitedly summarized from his spot on Jonghyun’s tummy. “Apparently a lot of people do it. Even animals.”

            Jonghyun ran his fingers through Jinki’s hair as he listened. The fire of his den crackled as it burned, giving the stone walls a warm glow. “Dreaming, you say?”

            “Yeah. Kibum told me all about it on the way back to the squirrel tree this afternoon.” Jinki looked up at him, “Did I tell you how he had me heal a baby squirrel?”

            “I don’t think so.”

            “Oh well-” Jinki’s big smile dropped as he took in Jonghyun’s expression. “What’s wrong?”

            “Nothing Dear.” 

            “Jonghyun~” 

            With a deep sigh, Jonghyun asked, “Don’t you think you’re getting a bit too close to Kibum?”

            “I don’t get what you mean.”

            “He’s the only human since the barrier went up to be in the forest more than once. You saved his life and I just-” He flashed a little smile as he continued to pet Jinki’s hair. “I am so happy to see you excited about something, even if it’s something as small as having a name for the images we see while we sleep. I love you too much to stand idly by while history repeats itself. I am worried about you that’s all.” 

            Jinki lifted his head from Jonghyun’s stomach, twisting to look at the man fully. “You think Kibum is going to be like Bonhwa.”

            “Don’t look at me like that.” Sitting up, Jonghyun reached for Jinki’s hand. Thankful he was allowed to intertwine their fingers. “You have such a big heart and for so long it was clouded by this large storm of hatred for humans. It’s starting to clear. While I am happy to see you as bright as you have been, I don’t want you trusting the wrong people.”

            “I want to hate him Jonghyun.” Jinki whispers, breath shaky as he meets the other’s gaze. “I don’t know what to do.”

            “If you want to pursue this, promise me you will be careful. One day soon his wounds will be completely healed and he may leave again for good. You need to be prepared.” 

            Jinki lowered his head, nodding softly. “You are right. It is better if he leaves without complications.”

            “C’mere.”

-----

            Jinki was bathing a few feet further into the water, away from the shore. After redressing Kibum’s wound, the Elf had dropped his skirt and dove in. Watching Jinki swim made Kibum feel slightly warmer; every time he tried to remove his eyes from the scene, Kibum found himself gazing at Jinki once again. Finding beauty in the male form was not a new phenomenon for him, but he believed himself better at hiding his preference for such things. It only got worse when Jinki swam to the edge, smiling as he ran his hands over his hair to keep it back. “Can you pass me some of the melon?”

            Expecting Jinki to take it from him with his fingers, Kibum can’t help but stare as plump lips brush his fingertips as Jinki takes it with his mouth after pushing up from the water slightly. The juice from the watermelon drips from Jinki’s bottom lip, but he quickly laps at it with his tongue. Suddenly Kibum’s mouth is dry and his eyes drift down Jinki’s form. He almost misses the grin flashed as he raises his eyes. “Do you like what you see, Kibum?” 

            Clearing his throat, Kibum quickly adverts his gaze, warmth rising to his cheeks. “I don’t follow.”

            “No need to play coy.” Against his better judgment, his gaze whips back toward Jinki at the sound of the water splashing; it seemed the other had decided to get out of the water. All was well until Jinki gathered his long, wet hair that had covered most of his body from the back, and twisted it up over his left shoulder. 

            “I have yet to lie to you and I will not start now.” Kibum bit his bottom lip before softly admitting. “You are just as breathtaking as the forest around us.”

            “A simple yes would have sufficed.” Jinki chuckles as he turns a little more to gaze at him. “You know, I would almost say you look like you wish to kiss me.”

            Kibum let out a shaky breath as he leaned a little more on his left hand closer to where Jinki was sitting on the edge of the water. “And what if I do?”

            “I would say don’t be a coward and do it.” 

            A slight shift of his body and he was able to press their lips together softly. It was too short, and before Jinki could change his mind he pressed in for another. The third was given to Kibum, deeper than the previous before Jinki whispered. “You are a far better kisser than I dubbed you as.”

            When Kibum opened his eyes again there was a splash of water and Jinki was swimming away with rose-tinted cheeks.

-----