Crystal Snow (Jikook)

25.

"The soldiers will come into the village soon, you need to run, run and never look behind yourself no matter what happens. You have to shift, ok?" Mom's big green eyes were filled with tears when Jimin was clinging to her side sobbing loudly.

"I won't be able to change back if something happens to you, you are the only person who loves me."

"Jimin, I wish I could say, that maybe one day you will find love, but we are living in a cruel world and humans are bad. Be aware of humans and never allow them to find out your true identity, as they will misuse you terribly."

He was sobbing louder hearing a noise as if the sky was crushing breaking out in the village.

"What is it?"

"Jimin shift and run, I'm begging you," his mother jumped up taking a rusty knife she was always using while cooking.

"Mum," he was begging big tears storming down his face.

"Run now!" She covered the entrance to their wooden hut when he shifted into the fox slipping out of the suddenly too big clothes, his heartbeat rapid.

The door flew open knocking his mother off her feet. Jimin scooped back hiding in the hole in the wall observing how two men in black armory grabbed his mother cutting her tail off with a sword. He couldn't look, couldn't watch, his whole body in such pain it was almost impossible for him to put one foot in front of the other, but he was running, stumbling between burning buildings jumping into the lake to swim through with all the strength in his paws reaching the other side where he curled up between the bulrush trembling from agony, willing to die...

Jimin jumped up abruptly feeling the nightmare of the past still so deeply vivid it was bringing shivers to his whole body. It was still dark outside what he could see through the crack in the tent wall. Jungkook's steady breath was calm right next to him so Jimin took a few deep breaths in getting up carefully to not to wake Jungkook up, finding his clothes on the floor then wrapping Jungkook's cloak over himself and tiptoeing to the washroom.

The scariest moments of his life playing out in his mind all the way to the big bath filled with cool water. He was washing himself quickly reminiscing the first meeting which has changed his life.

It has been a day after his mother's death when the significant smell of golden berries locked him to a human shelter deeply in the woods. There have been powerful magical signs surrounding the cot, but Jimin was at the edge of his strength forgetting the common sense, jumping on a barrow to put his snout into the basket and swallow as many berries as possible.

"Leave that! Nasty filthy fox!" A pine cone hit his head causing him to fall over with the basket and hit the ground painfully.

He jumped up snatching as many berries as he could fit into his mouth while trying to run away but a strange force made him stop. No matter how hard he was trying to move his whole body was frozen like petrified. Jimin's heart pounding in so much fear, as it was the end of him for sure.

"What do we have here," a pair of hands grabbed him painfully. He was flipped over while held up by his tail, dangling with his head down becoming so dizzy.

"An innocent baby hybrid untouched by a human, interesting."

Jimin met a pair of clever dark eyes of a young boy with thick curly hair.

He wanted to yell and scream, beg for mercy or defend himself but he couldn't shift, not until someone would kiss him, but Jimin believed kisses might only be meant as torture coming from humans.

"You're all alone right?" Asked the boy and Jimin felt the force lightening, so he could move his body again struggling hard with wiggling his feet in the air helplessly.

"Answer my question," the boy poked his belly with a finger breaking out into laughter.

Jimin nodded hoping it will be enough to be let free, he was feeling sick from hanging upside down and his tail was in severe pain.

"I'm not interested in any intimacy no matter human or filthy animals, but you can stay here if you like," muttered the boy letting him fall into the sand.

Jimin was in so much pain he just curled up into a ball crying. The boy got up walking to the fire putting new wooden sticks in.

"I'm Taehyung by the way, studying to become a magician, that old hag who's my master is almost dead and dumb, but if you can't get what you want settle with what you get," the boy smirked sarcastically sitting down on a chopped off tree trunk.

Jimin wasn't moving, feeling the warmth from the fire reaching him, he had no more strength to escape it didn't make sense anyway as he had nowhere to run and that human seemed to be ok with him being here. The 48 hours after his mum's death caught him rolled up next to the fireplaces in front of Taehyung's forest habitat, it was the first miracle that saved him. The second one brought him towards someone who was treating him like no human should or could ever treat a hybrid, yet he was real, Jungkook was real even though he seemed like dream.

Jimin shared a few tears while dressing up then walking to the glade at the back of the village, sitting down on a fallen tree, looking up into the sky.

He should have been long dead yet he was still here, rescued by Taehyung then by Jungkook. His thoughts coming back to the first one, he needed to find a way to convince shaman a Jin to allow Taehyung graduate and to become a magician.

"Jimin are you ok?" That soft voice brought goosebumps to his system when he turned to see Jungkook, who looked so beautifully in the moonlight, almost like in the silver lake while approaching him. Warm arms wrapped around him, soft lips kissed his fox ears and the top of his head.

Thank you so much for all the love you're giving this story, you are amazing. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. What do you think about Jimin's memories and his past? Will he tell Jungkook about his worries?

Much <3