DragonHeart | Minsung

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Minho and Jisung had travelled about a mile from the village when Minho directed them off of the main road and down a smaller trail. It was clear that not many people traveled that way, because the trail was rough and grown over.

Jisung remained unsure about going off of the road, but Minho once again assured him that he had traveled on the same path a few times before. The younger man eventually pushed his worries aside and they continued on.

Most of their day was spent travelling through more forest, but the trail eventually led them to a clearing. Minho would've liked to continue traveling for another hour or so before stopping. However, Jisung was complaining about wanting to stop again.

"My ass hurts from sitting all day!" He whined.

Minho groaned. "You are the one that decided to do this. Do you want to walk instead?"

"No..."Jisung mumbled, a pout plastered on his face.

He got quiet and Minho thought that he might've actually upset him, so he felt kind of bad. He thought back to Jisung complaining about him scolding him too often, which made him cave in. "Fine, we'll stop here."

The pair set up their camp once again. They still had daylight by the time that they were done. Minho had picked up some food that the inn sold for traveling, so they didn't need to look for any food. They just spent their time sitting around the fire that Minho had started, eating the food and chatting.

"I think I have a sunburn.." Jisung said, bringing his hand up to rub his puffy cheeks.

Minho leaned over to get a better look his face and nodded once he saw the tint of red to his skin. "Mm, yeah...looks like it."

He reached over into the bag beside him and pulled out a small tin. He put some of the substance on his hands and rubbed them together. "This will help." He said as he leaned back over to Jisung, reaching out to his face.

Jisung flinched when the other man touched his face because it was cold, but he soon relaxed into it when the substance began to ease the pain on his skin.

"Thanks...I probably should've thought of that before." He said when Minho was done.

The older man nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you probably should have."

The sun was beginning to set by the time they finished their food, so they both settled into their beds for the night.

————

Jisung was jolted awake by the crack of a stick outside of his tent. He laid with his eyes glued open, but it was too dark for him to see anything. The trees blocked too much of the light from the stars and the moon.

He clutched onto his blanket tighter. He wanted to call out to Minho, just to make sure it was only him getting up to pee, or an animal. However, he was too paranoid to do so.

Frozen in place, he listened closely for any other strange noises. Time passed, and he heard nothing other than crickets and the howling of the wind.

'It's just a rabbit.' He repeated to himself in his head, until he eventually fell back asleep.

————

Minho and Jisung had no issues eating, packing up, and continuing on the path in the morning. Jisung never mentioned what had happened that night. He was too embarrassed that he had gotten so scared over nothing. For a while he thought it might have actually just been a dream.

They came to a very dense area of forest. The sky was almost completely covered by the trees, making the forest dark. It was quite eerie. The setting made Jisung feel unsettled, but Minho seemed to have no problems at all.

The trail became very narrow. It was overgrown and rocky, so they both decided that it would be a good idea to lead the horses on foot for a while.

They walked for another few miles before the path opened up into the bottom of a ravine. The walls were deep, moss lining the stone. A small trail of water ran through the middle, only enough to get their shoes wet. As they walked through it, they'd occasionally pass a small cave along the walls.

"So, tell me more about where you're from." Jisung said. He realised that he didn't really know much about Minho's life, so he wanted to start a conversation.

Minho didn't get a chance to respond. They both whipped around when they heard a noises coming from behind them.

Coming their way were three people on horseback galloping towards them, two greyhounds following close behind them.

Minho quickly looked around them and gestured towards one of the small cave entrances. "Stay out of sight while they pass by."

Jisung obeyed and scurried into the cave, crouching down to try to stay as hidden as possible.

Minho moved to get out of the way, so the travelers could pass by without any issues. Judging by their dogs, they were just out hunting. However, to his surprise, they never passed him. They skidded to a halt right behind him.

He didn't acknowledge their presence at first, but he turned to them once he heard a woman speak.

"Where's the boy that was with you?"

Shit.

Both Jisung and Minho flinched at that question.

He didn't know who the two men were, but after taking a closer look, he realised that he had seen her in the village.

'Did they really follow us all the way here?'

He knew Jisung should have kept his face covered. They should have been more careful. He should have enforced it more.

The air was tense. "I don't know what you're talking about." He stated.

The three already had weapons in their hands, and Minho reached to grab the handle of his sword from the sheath strapped to his back.

Jisung pulled his small sword out as well. He knew that he wouldn't be much help, but he wanted to have it just in case he needed to use it.

The three dismounted their horses after the woman gave a command. It was clear that she was the leader among them.

They began to inch closer to Minho, weapons now held out in front of them, ready to fight.

As they got closer to him he got a better view of the badges on their clothing.

They weren't there for Jisung.