there might be some inaccuracies in this fic but... let's just take it they live beside a magic forest xD♥ this will probably be a two-shot, hope you'll like it :)

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There are many beliefs and traditions known to the modern world that are assumed to be the dead part of culture at the moment.

The ancients – people who lived years before us – took many things as verity. Most of them appear to be a total nonsense even to those who believe in paranormal things and magic, yet some… well. Some are more than that.

Donghae’s commonalty and the guy himself knew better than anyone else what was nothing but a myth and what was the truth.

They lived in a village, a big place with a small number of people, far, far away from any city. As far as they only could reach for no one to notice these people were not quite usual. They were only one community out of many of those who inherited the abilities of their ancestors, could use only one power out of many, yet, in the world of technological progress and in the era when different people weren’t that welcomed in society, there was no chance for them to live peacefully around those who didn’t know, didn’t believe.

Other people had no idea that such thing as communication with animals was possible, yet this is what every child in Donghae’s village knew since they were born.

Once a child becomes an adult, reaching the age of eighteen, the ability to talk to animals is granted to them. However, it didn’t mean that they could hear the thoughts of each and every animal in the world, and for sure didn’t mean the said thoughts sounded like a speech of humans. It was not a TV show, so no, you couldn’t hear a cat complaining about bad weather and it forming coherent sentences. But you could understand what its signs meant, what dangers it could foresee – the ground palpations telling you there will be an earthquake soon or something like that. It wasn’t exactly ‘talking’, it probably was better to name it ‘understanding’. You two didn’t talk. You understood each other.

Why ‘two’? Well. No one expected such a great power – and being this close to nature was nothing but a true power for sure – to be without any limitations? Of course there were many animals, not just one. But one person could only talk to one kind that basically became their spirit animal. Donghae’s mom, for example, could understand birds. His father was the only one in their village who was able to communicate with lizards – never underestimate their benefit! – and the guy’s brother, who was just a little older than Donghae, became one of those who could understand squirrels.

Naturally, the boy was all excited about finding out his spirit animal. Almost everyone in their village was. Such a cool thing! There were so many things you could do with animals, no one needed Internet or something because nature could help them to deliver messages to each other. And there was one more thing – the bond. That special bond that formed between two people who had the same spirit animal. It was said that the two whose spirit animals happened to be the same, were meant to be, and no one could deny the bond when it was formed.

It didn’t mean the romantic kind of bond, but that was such a perfect understanding of each other, such level of trust one could hardly imagine. The existence of such people could only be described as ‘soulmates’, and it really felt like that. One could only dream to have their soulmate out here.

Although Heechul tried to play all cool, Donghae still remembered how excited he was about whole thing back then. Not only he believed he will get the ability to communicate with the coolest animal out of all (which Donghae found a little offensive – he believed all animals were cool), but he also bragged he’ll be totally fine on his own as the guy truly believed having that kind of bond made you weaker.

But here they were, with Heechul being able to talk to cats (was anyone surprised?) just like Leeteuk (everyone was surprised) and looking all proud of that. He tried to act all noble and calm about that, but one could see he genuinely believed cats were the coolest out of all animals and thought his bond with Leeteuk was amazing as they often could do things others couldn’t.

Donghae never said anything about that because it’s not who he was. He was a pacifist and even his jokes were more on a soft side. For example, he once tried to ‘mock’ Heechul by saying, “Your face became prettier because you’re glowing now that you have the bond with Leeteuk!”

Needless to say, he earned hugs and kisses from the guy instead of seeing him at least a little embarrassed. Donghae didn’t mind though.

His best friend, Hyukjae, on the other hand, always knew what to say to make Heechul pissed.

“Kids, calm down,” the latter spoke, “I understand you all are young and therefore, excited about the upcoming events. But, once you’ll get older, you’ll understand it’s nothing but a flow of our life…”

“Oh, is it why you were jumping yesterday when you found out you and Teukie-hyung can share the images you saw with your eyes to the cats and therefore, share them with each other?” Hyukjae mocked, and Donghae couldn’t help but used both his palms to cover the mouth as a wide smile appeared on his face.

“Hey, I wasn’t jumping!” Heechul sounded quite offended.

“Well, yeah, my bad,” Hyukjae never stopped smiling though. He for sure didn’t feel even half as guilty as he tried to make it look like. “More like you were dancing. Those moves were cool, hyung.”

“Hey, Lee Hyukjae, learn about respect to those who are older!”

“You’re only three years older than me, don’t speak like you’re a grandpa or something. And I never heard you saying something like this to Donghae?”

“Don’t even try to drag my child in this silly fight,” Heechul snorted and then hugged Donghae’s shoulders. “He owns my respect, which you might only aspire to possess.”

“Oh no, I’m so upset,” Hyukjae rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless.

Even Leeteuk who’s been keeping quiet – he didn’t really like to interfere into fights unless they were becoming a little too serious – chuckled at that. Heechul’s little obsession with Donghae was somehow cute; the guy really acted like the boy’s mother from time to time and even called himself one.

Donghae’s real mother wasn’t that fond of those talks though.

“You’re just jealous,” Heechul concluded all of a sudden. “You’re jealous because me and Leeteuk basically are soulmates but you don’t have one and most likely won’t have one, and you know it. No one would even love to be yours.”

“But he has me!” Donghae found himself saying all of a sudden. “Everyone’s been saying we’re like true soulmates who complete each other! I’m sure we’ll get the same animal too!”

It was a little alarming how everything Hyukjae did was smiling at those words and even Heechul didn’t say anything. Both weren’t the types to crash the boy’s dreams – basically, both were too whipped for it, and yes, Donghae was the only person Hyukjae was soft with – that’s why they tried to never mock him.

Just like his jokes were soft, Donghae was good only at receiving jokes that were as soft and kind. He was getting lost if you were pushing him a little too much and could even, well… become a little too emotional.

He could cry.

That’s why there was an unspoken rule in their circle – you might be as harsh as you want to anyone but Donghae. It started among those four friends, but soon, whole village was following it. Because the boy was a ray of sunshine, the purest soul to be found, so no one had a heart to be bad to him.

“And what animals you think you two would be?” Leeteuk asked softly, and the other two could only send him the looks full of gratitude for finding right words in those uneasy times. No one wanted to say that the probability of them getting the same animal was close to zero.

“Tigers, for example?” Donghae beamed. “I can really picture us as tigers!”

Hyukjae’s smile only grew wider as he didn’t know what to say, yet found Donghae adorable whatever the boy was saying, but Heechul pointed out, “Just because both of you were born in the year of tiger doesn’t mean you’ll get this animal as your spirit animal, you know?”

“Yup! But I think it suits us.”

Heechul and Leeteuk exchanged the glances, and the latter said, “But, Donghae, you know we mostly get animals we can actually encounter in this area, right? That’s what our abilities are for. No need to be able to befriend tigers if you can’t meet any in the forests that surround us. So you getting a tiger is very unlikely.”

“But not impossible, right? I heard there were cases when people were getting the animals that don’t live in their area and that could be solved by moving. But anyways,” he shook his head. “Tigers are just a dream. It doesn’t matter what animal we’ll get as long as we’re getting the same one, right?”

Donghae looked at Hyukjae with anticipation, and the latter could only nod to that. Even if he doubted they’ll actually get the same animals, he simply couldn’t say no when it came to that guy.

“Well…” Leeteuk drawled. “People usually get animals they’re pretty alike with as their spirit animals, don’t they?”

“That’s why me and Hyukjae getting the same one shouldn’t be a problem. Everyone thinks we have many things in common!”

The older smiled, “You sure do. But having many things in common and being alike are not exactly the same things, you know?”

Donghae frowned, “What are you trying to say?”

“He’s trying to say that Hyukjae will most likely get someone annoying as a skunk when you’ll… well… you’ll probably end up with a hamster.”

“A hamster?!”

“No one ever asked you to be this cute, so be ready for the cutest animals to line up just to become your spirit animal, my dear.”

Donghae frowned.

“I’m not that cute even!” he protested. “And even if I look cute, the spirit animal chooses you by what you have inside! And you know how tough I am.”

“Or want to be,” Leeteuk couldn’t resist and chuckled but, once he saw an offended look on Donghae’s face as the boy trusted him, he coughed a little. “Listen, Donghae, what you’re doing isn’t good. You make it sound like those who have cute spirit animals aren’t good enough. Besides, each and every animal can be cute, don’t you think so?”

“That’s not what I meant!” The boy’s eyes widened and he spoke in a small voice, “Every animal can be cute. And fierce too… And I’ve always been the one to tell you there are no ‘cool’ and ‘not cool’ animals, all are nice!”

“What’s the problem then?” Heechul inquired, and Donghae couldn’t help but looked at Hyukjae, seeking his support.

The other guy tilted his head as if asking what exactly the boy wanted him to say about the matter. Donghae was about to use his famous trick with puppy eyes and maybe add a little of pout to make Hyukjae say anything (the guy usually went with ‘Stop bothering Donghae’), but…

He bit his lower lip. This. This was his problem. Donghae couldn’t do anything about his habits – and his mom always told him he didn’t need to as there’s nothing good in changing yourself just to match someone’s standards – but also…

All his friends were so cool and respected in their village. They really were that cool gang. And Donghae… was their cute little brother. He looked cute, acted cute, everyone said he was cute.

But he was cool as well! Being a teen, who was suffering from some identity crisis and badly wanted to be considered big and mighty, way mightier than he ever could be, Donghae was really bothered by the fact everyone was seeing him as a cutie. Even his friends. So big and tough spirit animal was his only chance to prove everyone he deserves some respect from this village as well and will be of use in the future. So, see… he had no problems with animals. He thought all were cool, cute, wonderful, everything. It’s just that for himself, he really wanted a big one, a ‘cool’ one. Just to prove he wasn’t a little boy anymore; he was a whole grown-up man (let’s drop the fact that him having such thoughts only proved he wasn’t quite mature yet).

And…

If he wanted to get his cool spirit animal, and moreover, to convince everyone he deserved one, he had to stop relying on Hyukjae way too much.

That’s why the boy managed to smile, and that confused the other guy. He was sure Donghae was about to pout and ask him for some help, just like he usually did.

“My problem is you not believing that I can be cool and might get a spirit animal that will be even bigger and scarier than yours,” the boy said eventually.

“Donghae, that’s not what we…” Leeteuk tried, but no one could stop Donghae once he was into it.

“I’ll show you all! Every one of you! I’ll show you how cool I can be and how amazing my spirit animal will be! Oh, and mind it,” he sent a cheeky smile to Hyukjae, “that it will be the same as Hyukjae’s.”

All the guys around him could do nothing but smile; only Heechul sighed silently and Leeteuk patted his shoulder. Hyukjae was the only one who managed to find his ability to speak.

“Sure, Donghae. Looking forward to discovering you’re my soulmate.”

Maybe he didn’t really believe they were. But the smile that appeared on Donghae’s face was worthy of that little insincerity.

***

Donghae’s hopes crashed for the first time once Hyukjae’s birthday came and it was his turn to get a spirit animal. The boy asked him to not describe the process of getting the animal – he knew the mechanics and didn’t want more spoilers – and only asked to share once he comes back.

It so happened that all Hyukjae’s family gathered near the entrance to the forest they lived by – this is where the birthday boy went, after all, and this is from where he was going to appear. Everyone was waiting in excitement, and of course Donghae, who basically was a member of their family as well, was among those people. He and Sora, as the youngest ones, were the most agitated about it. Although Sora, Hyukjae’s sister, has got her spirit animal earlier (that was a fox), she still couldn’t hide her excitement when it came to her younger brother.

Naturally, Donghae couldn’t be calm by any means as well, so, once he saw a figure coming from afar, he squeezed Sora’s hands tighter and whispered, “He’s coming!”

“I see, I see!” she whispered back. “Mom, it’s him! It’s him!”

“Yes, sweetie,” the woman, who was probably the only calm person there as even Hyukjae’s father looked pretty much excited, spoke. “You weren’t that happy when you were getting your spirit animal even.”

“I was! Just managed to hide it better.”

Hyukjae’s mom shook her head, but it was soon forgotten as Sora and Donghae literally ran and threw themselves into the guy’s hug the moment he approached. Hugging the two, Hyukjae chuckled and uttered, “I didn’t go there to fight or something, you know?”

“How did it go?!” Sora and Donghae yelled simultaneously, ignoring his words completely. “You… you got it, right?”

There were very, like, very rare occasions when people didn’t get any spirit animal. That wasn’t really bad and no one tried to discriminate those who appeared to be just a regular person – the village needed them too – but usually… those people didn’t stay here. Unable to bear with the fact they were too ordinary for this place, most of them left the village and joined bigger communities – or whatever they were called – in the cities. So yeah, the chances were small, but Sora and Donghae just wanted to make sure.

“Do I look like I didn’t?”

Indeed, Hyukjae looked pretty much chill and happy. As much as he’s always been the calmest one among everyone Donghae knew when it came to this spirit animals thingy, the boy still doubted he’d look like that if something went wrong.

“Don’t tease us, son,” Hyukjae’s father tried to sound calm, but didn’t really manage to. “So, what animal did you get?”

Maybe Donghae imagined it, but his friend seemed a little uncertain to tell. Hyukjae looked into the boy’s eyes, and the next second his arm found Donghae’s shoulders to hug them tightly. The older guy for sure was excited about it, but somehow, a little uncertain as well. He didn’t even sound that proud when he uttered, “A wolf. I was chosen by a wolf.”

“Wow!” Sora exclaimed and literally jumped, moving a little away from the two to hug Hyukjae’s father who was just as happy as she was. Even the guy’s mother smiled proudly.

Ah, wolves. They were considered special animals here – so powerful, so graceful and so faithful. None wolf would attack you without the need, but when it came to protection, they were the best. In their village, they had only one person who was able to talk to the wolves apart from Hyukjae – and no, it didn’t make them soulmates as only those who were born the same year and got the same spirit animal could be ones – so that was pretty cool to have another one.

But such people were extremely rare. And Hyukjae knew it. Knew that it made it almost impossible for his friend to get the same spirit animal. Just like he knew that more than anything Donghae wanted to be his soulmate.

And the older guy too, he… Well… kind of hoped they were destined to each other…

“It’s so cool!” Donghae chirped, and one could only envy how cheerful the guy actually was. “Wolves are amazing, Hyukjae!” His smile became so bright his teeth were showing. “Now I only have to get a wolf too! Right?”

Having no heart to crash his hopes, Hyukjae could only smile and say, “Sure thing. Can’t wait for your birthday to come.”

The guy just hoped that, in case their animals won’t be similar, they won’t be too different at least. It’s not like people couldn’t be friends or anything if their spirit animals were too different, but that was only natural their time together could be limited sometimes… There were days when the villagers went out for something they called ‘bonding’ – the thing they did to spend time together with their spirit animals to learn how to trust each other more and understand each other better. Sometimes those were days, rarely – weeks. But, for example, squirrels and birds weren’t against spending time together, meanwhile cats and mice… well, you can get it. So it was impossible for people with such spirit animals to spend time together.

And Hyukjae, he… He’s been friends with Donghae since forever, basically even before the latter was born as their families were in good terms and the boys’ mothers decided they will be friends once grow up. Secretly, their parents dreamed of Donghwa – Donghae’s older brother – and Sora getting married, but the two were polar opposites; they could talk but didn’t even become friends. Donghwa was too timid and seemed to enjoy another friends circle.

But Donghae and Hyukjae, they loved spending time together. Those soulmates talks weren’t pure nonsense; the two were literally glued to each other since birth. Although there were times when Hyukjae wanted to be left alone, secretly he hoped Donghae won’t go just too far away, so they’ll be able to reunite anytime. And it’s not like the guy couldn’t live without his younger friend, but…

He was so used to them being together every day, so separati